#i thought it looked nice there so naturally... *gestures at icon*

[artystaroc]

Need y’all to acknowledge the slight alteration I made to my icon because I am still amazed it took me this long to consider giving myself a sleeveless turtleneck

[sincerely-sofie]

still cant get over travailshipping. i remember when you first tested the waters with it (which i believe was some time before the tpiag chapters started coming out?) and at first i thought it was pretty funny. ark slowly but surely falling headfirst for twig, who if she had a tagline it would be "if i could turn my feelings into weapons, mine would be a goddamn nuclear bomb", and her at first just being oblivious to it and thinking that the letters that expressed love and care that were written in cursive in her mailbox were just funny and she wanted to show them to ark with the guy just looking at her with the most "well that backfired in the weirdest way possible". but when tpiag finally ended i finally connected the dots as to why these two are just. augh. i wont go into detail here in your askbox but i wanna know is: HOW DID YOU DO IT. HOW DO YOU KEEP MAKING SUCH GOOD IDEAS FOR THE FUNNY DIGITAL ANIMALS. TELL ME.

(thinking to myself) "Ugh I should stop posting so much travailshipping stuff... It's probably so annoying to everyone who sees it. I feel bad for my poor followers. I'll check my inbox real quick and then commit to shaking up my content by—" *gets obliterated by your niceness*

Oh man. I remember posting that poll where I hesitantly described a possible Darkrai/Twig pairing in the tags while proposing Twig/Kip as an alternative route, despite it not being the direction I wanted to take the characters, because I was so scared of what people’s reactions might be. If I remember right, I posted it a little bit before I had just barely reached 5k words in the first draft of TPiaG.

I've been trying to write up detailed responses to how I come up with good ideas for travailshipping in particular, but there's one rule I use that defines everything after it and speaks for all of them: I have fun with the characters.

That's it. That's the rule. If I don't want to write a subject, I don't. I stick with what I find enjoyable and resonant. Does a joke make me laugh? Does a scene make me cry? Does a villain make me punch a hole in my wall? Does a cute gesture make me squeal? If so, then into the project it goes. I think people can feel when someone is having fun with their work, and that fun radiates out into their own experience consuming that work. It's like laughter— joy is something we're sharing with others as long as we feel it. Fun is contagious.

Also: when you don't force yourself to make things you hate, you attract people who like the same things as you. These people will find your work even more fun— because not only did you have fun making it, they're having double fun consuming it.

An important tangent I'll go off on is that I think that every creative project idea is a good idea. There's so many beloved bizarro ideas in the world, even the ones who try to be cool about how weird their premises are. There's this weird show where the main character works as a service industry worker in an underwater setting that's ruled by a Roman deity— he lives in a piece of fruit, and his pet gastropod makes cat noises. This show sounds like word salad garbage on paper and could be tossed out for its nonsensical nature, and yet SpongeBob SquarePants has made Nickelodeon over $13 billion dollars and is a treasured part of many childhoods. There's also a character who spends his time locked in intellectual and physical combat with a wannabe clown and wears a costume with bat ears while doing it. Batman's been an icon for over 80 years.

All of this is to say:

Ideas are always good ideas by virtue of existing. They don't derive their goodness from external sources. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Make more of what you love. Don't make things you hate making.

If you have fun while making the thing, people will have fun while they consume the thing's content.

I hope this makes sense. I didn't touch on idea generation as much as embracing existing ideas. Fingers crossed that was the right response. I'd just woken up from a nap as I was writing it, so hopefully it's not too meandering and managed to answer the question and—

— Oh shoot. Was that a hypothetical question??? Uh. Sorry if I went off on this rant when you were just trying to voice your niceness. Oops. 🫥

[juicycoutureheaux]

When It's Over Chapter 15: Get You

Chris had just finished a workout in his home gym. He was disappointed to see Anna hadn’t texted him yet.

She went out with friends tonight,, she even asked him to join them, he just felt uncomfortable tagging along.

“I don’t want to be the ball and chain, go have fun with your friends.”

“Are you sure, Chris? They’d be so happy to see you.”

The truth is, he felt out of place in Anna’s world. She was surrounded by interesting people, people who were gregarious, who would be horrified by the things Chris had done in his career.

Chris sat down on the couch with a beer, the house feeling empty. He looked down as his phone buzzed.

——————//////————/////————/////———-:////

Anna was dressed in tight ripped jeans shorts and a pink bandana top. Her friends had brought her to a “Cowboys vs Aliens” burlesque show. She decided to rep Cowboys. She had put on a cheesy fake tan and a platinum blonde wig and cowboy hat to seal the look.

Her friends were so happy to see her coming out and dressing up again.

“When I was applying the fake tan, I even added a playboy bunny sticker, remember from back in the day?” Anna pulled down her jean shorts to show her friends the iconic bunny’s outline on her hip bone.

“Bambi! Girl you took this trashy cowgirl thing seriously, you look amazing!” Jordie, a bartender, said to her obsessing over her dedication to a theme.

“Does your boyfriend know you’re out here dressed like this?” Lavish laughed at her friend. “I bet he would flip his shit.”

Anna thought for a minute. “Maybe we should take a group picture.” Anna smiled. “That might convince him to come out.”

Lavish and Jordie smiled wickedly. “Let’s get Jack in the picture.” Lavish said wickedly.

Anna damn near passed out. Jack was a hot burlesque performer; he had a nice body, but he had an even nicer personality. He wasn’t into girls but she knew what lavish was doing when she suggested Jack get in the picture.

It was too late for Anna to protest as her friends all posed together, they forced Jack and Anna together as they were the only “cowboys” in the picture. Jack was shirtless and wrapped his arms around Anna flirtatiously.

Lavish thanked the photographer and immediately grabbed Anna’s phone and sent the picture to her boyfriend.

Anna didn’t protest, she figured he’d find the picture cute. She didn’t think Chris was the jealous type.

Was she wrong to assume.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chris looked down at the picture, his girlfriend, with the least amount of clothes on he had EVER seen her in, with another man’s arm around her shoulder.

Chris immediately grabbed his jacket and thought to make an appearance.

Anna was on the dance floor after the show, having had a couple of drinks was dancing freely. She loved to dance and LOVED dancing with others.

Usually the older men in the club were open dancing with her, Anna loved it. She knew being in a club that was mostly LGBT, they were dancing with her because they enjoyed it, not because they were trying to feel her up.

When the next song ended she felt a pair of familiar strong hands wrap around her bare waist.

She turned around clumsily due to the alcohol, “baby!” She slurred.

Chris smiled down at her. He couldn’t deny she looked hot when she dressed trashy like this. “I like how much glitter you have on, I didn’t know you got this tan.” He said rubbing her shoulder, her body glitter transferring to his hand.

“It’s fake tan.” She slurred out and smiled. “I don’t get this tan naturally I’d burn alive.”

“Really?” He said, raising an eyebrow. She was completely drunk. He was thankful he came.

Lavish and Jordie came up to Chris.

“Look who made it to save the day, it’s Chris!” Lavish smiled and hugged the man.

“Hey, it’s good to see you.” Chris said warmly.

Jordie pushed herself to the front. “I’m Jordie, I don’t think we’ve met.”

Anna gestured to Jordie. “Jordie is so nice, she’s so pretty, I love you Jordie.”

“I love you too baby.” Jordie giggled. “Are you taking goober here home?” Jordie asked Chris.

Chris hadn’t realized just how intoxicated his girlfriend was. “I guess I am now, thanks for taking care of her.” Smiling at them. “And Jordie, it's very nice to meet you.” Chris smiled.

Jordie smiled back, showing a gold crown on her right canine. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

Chris gently wrapped his arm around Anna’s waist as she was dancing to the music. “Let’s go home sweetheart.”

Anna whined. “Pleassseeeeee,” she whined. “Can we stay for this next song? They’re about to play Watermelon Moonshine and it’s my favorite song PLEASEEEE,” she begged.

“Alright,” he laughed. “One last song.” He went to stand off to the side when Anna grabbed his hand.

“Dance with me.” She demanded. She never was this serious.

“Anna, I have two left feet.” Chris tried reasoning with her.

“I don’t care.” She leaned her head on his chest. “We can just sway like this, I can show you a couple of steps or two.”

Chris reluctantly agreed and followed Anna’s lead. None of his other girlfriends could get him to dance, but Anna had him wrapped around her finger.

Maybe age was softening him.

The song ended and Anna let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll keep my promise since you danced with me.” She wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him deeply.

Chris felt his body get warm. “Come on sweetheart.”

On the way home, Anna couldn’t keep her hands off of him. Chris had to be firm with her. “Anna, not while you’re drunk.”

“But Chris,” she whined. “I want you so bad.”

When they got back to his home he picked her up and took her to the bedroom. “You need to take your makeup off, you hate sleeping in it.” Chris said to Anna firmly.

Anna instead let her hands wander all over Chris kissing him sloppily. She had never attempted to sleep with him when she was drunk and she was very aggressive.

She immediately got on her knees and unbuttoned Chris’ pants. Chris moaned, he knew he shouldn’t let her do this but it felt so good.

Anna began to take him into her mouth. She began to take him deeper into her throat, Anna was so drunk, it didn’t even bother her that he was gagging her.

Chris snapped out of his thoughts and lust, he tapped on her shoulder to stop her.

“Baby, we should continue when you’re sober, I’m serious.” Chris said to her and kissed her forehead.

“Did you not enjoy it?” Anna looked up at him, her makeup smeared.

“I liked it too much Anna, but you’re not in the right state of mind, baby. I’m not taking advantage of you.”

Anna began kissing his neck. “It’s not taking advantage, I want it, please, it’s not like we haven’t had sex before.” She whined.

Chris gently picked up Anna and put her on the bed kissing her gently. He took off her jean shorts and revealed she was wearing a thong. He cocked his eyebrow. His hands traced over the outline of the playboy bunny.

“You do this for me?” He smirked.

“I always want to look sexy for you baby.” She giggled.

Chris removed the thong and began to tease at her folds with his tongue. She moaned. “Chris,” she moaned, grabbing at his hair.

She was less timid with Chris pleasuring her at least, Chris couldn’t get enough of her, her crying out and moaning making his cock rock hard.

He entered two fingers into her tight entrance, massaging her. “I can tell how much you want me, you’re such a good little slut for me.”

She squealed and giggled when he talked so dirty to her.

He looked up smirking. “I know you’re ready for my cock, but I want you to beg for it.”

“Chris please, I need it, I need you.” She haphazardly sat up and grabbed his face. She gave him an open mouth kiss.

Fuck this bold side of her was driving him crazy.

Chris manhandled her and flipped her on her belly. He lifted her bottom up and pressed it into him.

“Oh no, you’re not in control, Bambi,” Chris growled.

Chris lifted Anna up where her back was on his chest. He supported her legs under her knees. He entered her roughly as he began to bounce her on his cock.

Anna wasn’t quiet. She cursed and screamed. He loved how much she was unraveling. He thrusted into her at a back breaking pace. Her cries became more desperate, he reached his hand down the front of her belly and began playing with her clit.

“Cum for me sweet girl, show me how dirty you really are.” He breathed in her ear, biting her neck.

That was enough to send her over the edge, the muscles in her lower abdomen contracted and she felt a warm gush of liquid leak from her.

She began to shake, it was so intense. Chris was still thrusting into her and playing with her clit.

“Chris, please it’s too much.”

“Oh no sweetheart, not until I cum, maybe you could give me one more orgasm though.”

He used her like a ragdoll, pushing her back on her knees, her chest on the mattress. He held her arm behind her back and thrusted deeply into her.

Anna felt relief when she felt his thrusts slow down and she felt him fill her with his cum. She didn’t realize she had tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned her face on her side to catch her breath. Chris stayed inside of her for a little bit.

He rubbed her sides lovingly. He noticed the tears. He pulled out and laid next to her, brushing the hair out of her face.

“Are you okay sweetheart? Was I too rough?”

“No Chris, it was amazing.” She smiled, “but I don’t think I can move.”

Chris smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You’re beautiful, you’re so beautiful.” He kissed her gently.

She exhaled deeply, something on her mind.

“What’s the matter honey?” He looked at her with concern.

“I had a lot on my mind tonight.” She said silently.

“Yeah? Is there anything you want to talk about?” He said, stroking her arm.

“No, I think I just need some sleep.” She smiled tiredly, her makeup smeared from the rough sex. “I’m gonna go take my makeup off now.”

Chris smacked her bottom, “Alright, gorgeous.” He said, smiling from the bed.

As she left he wondered what was on her mind, he didn’t want to pressure her, but he felt extremely connected to the young woman and would do whatever it took to make her smile.

Xxxxxxxx

The next morning Anna awoke before Chris. She went downstairs and decided to make him breakfast. She felt butterflies in her stomach thinking about a domestic life with Chris.

She knew it probably wouldn’t be in the cards for them, she could dream. She probably wouldn’t be able to have a normal life, because of the virus that lay dormant in her body, she would always be tied to the BSAA.

She tried not to think of it.

When she broke the news to Lavish she was moving out, Lavish was disappointed, but happy for her.

“Will you still visit me though? We’ll stay in touch?” Lavish asked through tears.

“Of course Lavish, we came here together, I’d never leave your life, even if you begged me to.” Anna giggled.

Their mutual friend Jordie, agreed to move in with Lavish, which made Anna feel much better that they wouldn’t be alone.

Anna brought the warm food up to Chris in bed. She sat on the bed and kissed his cheek, he woke up immediately.

He looked confused at first but his gaze softened when he saw who it was.

“Breakfast in bed? What did I do to deserve this?” He kissed her jaw.

“I just thought you deserved it.”

Chris sat up and took a sip of the coffee Anna brought him. “I still don’t understand how you make coffee so well. Makes me want to keep ya’ around Bambi.”

She punched him playfully. “That can’t be the only reason.”

“Of course not.” They ate in silence. He knew Anna too well to know she was acting normally. He leaned in and cradled her.

“Baby, if you tell me what’s wrong I’ll take you shopping today, isn’t that what girls like?”

Anna laughed hard, when they were alone together Chris was goofy. She liked his sense of humor, it reminded her a lot of her late husband.

“It’s just that…” she gripped the ceramic mug she held in her hands. “I’m going to move into my own place, I’m leaving the apartment.”

Chris looked shocked. “You’re not going to be living with Lavish anymore? What happened?” He immediately realized the weight of his words.

Anna shifted uncomfortably. “Anna,” he said softly, holding her close. “What happened to Bunny wasn’t your fault, baby. Please, you have to let it go.” He knew it was easier said than done. He had gone through the same guilt with Jill.

Anna began to cry, it was a genuine, weak cry of sorrow. It broke his heart. He held her close, cradling her in his large arms.

“I don’t want it to happen to anyone else, I’m infected, what if a leak happens and the connections find out? There are days I want to talk with Lavish but I can’t.” She sobbed out. “I carry so much, but I have no one to talk to.”

“Anna, honey. You can always talk to me.” He felt awful. “I want to have a real relationship with you, you can tell me anything.” He lifted up her chin. “But I know there’s nothing like having your best friend.” He looked at her, his blue eyes were softened significantly.

She hugged his neck and nuzzled into him. “I’ve never had to hide anything from them. This hurts so much, I can’t look at them everyday, knowing they don’t know a major thing about me.”

Chris put his large hand on the small of her back. “I know, baby.” He felt guilty, he had asked her to be a part of Hound Wolf. He felt somewhat responsible the incident with Walden.

“Why don’t you move in with me?” He asked lightly.

Anna felt the air catch in her throat. “Chris, really?”

Chris sat Anna in his lap. “Yes, I’d love it if you lived with me. I was thinking…maybe making our relationship official to everyone.”

“Everyone, like officially to the BSAA everyone?” She said skeptically. It was only recently they mutually agreed to let *her* friends know.

“Yes, I want to be official, but you know that you’ll have to step down from Hound Wolf,” he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Anna nodded. “I understand, I’ll put in the request on Monday.”

“It’ll be safer for you that way, you know? We don’t know what The Connections will do if they find out you were infected and survived.” Chris' eyes darkened.

She honestly hadn’t thought of how her life could be in danger. Chris made her feel like she had nothing to be scared of.

“I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.” She pouted. She didn’t want to tell him she’d be scared without him. She was trained in combat and firearms, but she always felt safer when Chris was around. The only reason she made it out of the Abercrombie mines was because he was babysitting her ass.

Chris rubbed her back. “I wish I could read your mind. You have a terrible poker face.”

“I’m just feeling insecure, I really haven’t processed how my life has changed.” She kept fidgeting with her hands. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when you leave, I’m scared.”

“You’re still the same, don’t let them make you feel different.” He said softly. “You’re still human, what Walden did to you was awful. He took away your sense of security. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

“Oh Chris.” Tears rolled down her face. Chris was her protector, she didn’t even know she needed saving.

“I love you Anna.” He breathed.

Anna’s eyes went wide. “You…what?” She squealed like a high school girl. “You said it first! I thought I would!” She giggled.

Chris’ heart fluttered. He loved seeing Anna like this. He wanted to make her happy for the rest of her life.

“Chris, I love you too. I love you so much.” She littered his face with kisses.

“Then it’s settled, this is your new home.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Travis hated bars. He never enjoyed nightlife, because he was never invited by others to go out.

He walked into the bar where he saw a tan girl with a black pixie cut and a gold nose ring. Tattoos covered her body.

He walked up to the bar. “Hey there, are you lost?” She asked.

Travis was taken aback that she acknowledged he didn’t belong there.

“I’m looking to see if a girl named Anna works here?” He said shakily.

The woman cocked her eyebrow. “Oh you mean Bambi, are you a fan of hers?” The woman smiled, her gold canine showing.

“Something like that.” He mumbled. “Are you close with her? Do you know when she’ll be working?” He asked enthusiastically.

Jordie raised her eyebrow. “ You seem awfully fond of her, you know she has a boyfriend right?”

Travis felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. Boyfriend?

She smiled as she saw his face fall, he must have not known. “Anna only works as a bartender sometimes, but she’s a close friend of mine. I can pass on a message.” She smirked. “For a price.”

Travis smirked. This woman wasn’t above taking cash for favors.

He put 500$ in cash on the bar. “I’ll give you this if you can tell me what her boyfriend's name is.”

She looked down at the cash. This dude was serious. “Chris, some buff army dude, he’s older than Anna. I don’t know his last name.” She said taking the money.

Travis clenched his fists. Chris fucking Redfield. “I have more cash if you can do me a favor.”

Jordie raised an eyebrow. This dude was obsessed with her “friend,” But if he kept handing her cash for information she didn’t care. Jordie would never admit she was jealous of Anna.

She thought Anna had it so easy; men basically fell head over heels for her “nice girl” act. She wasn’t particularly prettier or smarter than other girls in the bar either, she was just nice, and straight men ate that shit up; in Jordie’s eyes she was setting women back centuries by perpetuating the nice girl stereotype.

Travis looked around and handed her a small black case. “These are cameras, if you can place them in her bedroom and maybe a bathroom, I will pay you 5,000$.”

Jordie couldn’t believe it. 5,000$ for accomplishing such an easy task? Anna had texted her and Lavish earlier in the day, that she was moving to her boyfriend’s place. She could move into the apartment when Anna moved her things out, Anna even offered to pay for the extra month of rent, so Jordie of course offered to help Anna move.

It would be the perfect opportunity to place the cameras. They were tiny enough, and Anna would never find them. She also had a big tough boyfriend who would probably kick this guy’s ass if he tried to cause her any real harm. He just wanted a personal peep show that was all.

“I’ll do it.” Jordie said.

Travis gave her the 2,500$ up front. “I’ll give you the other half when you place the cameras.”

“Deal.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was move out day, Anna was nervous to be moving in with Chris. Sure, they had been through a lot together, but this was a major commitment.

Anna was thankful her friends were helping her out, they had spent all week packing her things and putting them neatly in boxes. She decided to leave her furniture behind for Jordie to use, and what she didn’t want, Anna figured they could give away.

Chris was into spoiling Anna, he enjoyed being able to provide for her. He hired someone to reorganize the closet space in their now shared bedroom and even made one of the guest bedrooms into a dedicated workspace for her.

Jordie and Lavish entered Chris’ home. They were in awe how nice it was.

“Anna you’re so fucking lucky.” Jordie said entering the workspace Chris made for her. She put her hands on the antique vanity Chris had picked out for his girlfriend.

“I really am, I don’t deserve him.” Anna blushed.

Chris scoffed. “Anna, don’t say that.”

Jordie went into the bedroom area, she scoped it out while Anna, Lavish and Chris were talking downstairs about how they were going to set up the closet.

Jordie positioned the small camera on top of a bookshelf in the bedroom and positioned the other camera on top of the shower head in the bathroom.

“I better get more for this.” She thought. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but this guy probably only wanted to see her naked, it’s not like he stood a chance of ever breaking into this house and hurting her; not with a guard dog like Chris.

“Jordie? Where’d ya go girl?” Anna asked, coming up the stairs.

“I was just checking out your new closet.” She said, motioning towards the large space.

“I know it’s crazy, it’s literally the size of my childhood bedroom I think.” She said blushing.

“You are lucky, Chris loves you. Thank god for you he likes em’ young apparently.” Jordie smiled devilishly.

“Oh my god.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Its not like I’m 21 anymore.”

“I’m still confused how you guys met.” Jordie asked, digging for more info. Maybe if she got extra information Anna’s little admirer would give her a tip.

“Umm,” Anna shifted. “You can’t tell anybody, but Chris is kind of my superior.”

“Superior?! You fuck your boss!”

“Jordie! Be quiet!” Anna tried to shush her.

“What? I’m not supposed to know? I don’t work with you guys.” Jordie made a face of irritation.

“It’s just that, we’re going to make it official at work. I'm transferring out of the unit, but we’re still waiting on the approval. I haven’t told anyone.”

“Don’t worry your secret's safe with me.” She said and walked downstairs.

Something about Jordie’s change in demeanor made Anna uncomfortable. She chose to ignore it. She assumed her friends were just tired of her keeping her relationships so secretive.

They had finally moved all of Anna’s things into Chris’ home.

She didn’t have much, it was mostly just clothes and personal effects. She didn’t have much in her apartment to begin with.

When she sold the home she shared with her husband, she sold most of her belongings too. She was able to pay off her student loans and pay the rent on their apartment in New York for a couple of months.

Chris was surprised she didn’t have more. Chris looked at their shared closet.

“I’m surprised you didn’t have more clothes or shoes,” he said, crossing his arms in the doorway of the chic closet he had rearranged for her.

“Michael used to take me shopping all the time when we were dating, I just don’t like to go shopping anymore.” She turned around. “It’s crazy, my body is the best it’s ever looked but It just makes me sad when I go shopping alone.”

Chris wrapped his hands on her waist, letting his hands roam her body and began kissing her neck.

“You’ve always been beautiful,” he squeezed her breasts and it made her laugh. “I’d love to take you shopping, I want to be bored in a mall, watching you try on clothes and tell you how beautiful you are.”

She smiled and looked up at him. “You’re silly.”

“I mean it, you deserve it. Let’s go tomorrow, please, it would make me feel normal.” Chris looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

“You know I can’t resist you when you make that face.” She kissed his cheek.

She went over to a box on the floor in the closet. It was the picture from her wedding to Michael. She sighed and put it in the box. Chris shouldn’t have to be reminded he was her second love.

The next morning Anna awoke to an empty bed, she heard him stirring around. She saw in the main hallway Chris had put up the photos of Anna’s family, including those of her late husband.

She walked in on Chris putting together her new desk in the spare bedroom. “Hey sweetie.”

“Hey, gorgeous, I didn’t wake you up did I?”

She sat on the floor next to him. “You didn’t have to put up the photos of Michael,”

“He was an important part of your life Anna, I know you kept them in the box because you didn’t want to hurt my feelings.” He stopped fiddling with the furniture.

“Chris I love you, I want to respect your space.”

“It’s your space too now.”

“Chris, you won’t even let me pay a bill.” She laughed.

“You shouldn’t have to, let me be the man.” He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

Chris pushed the hair out of her face. “Why don’t you get dressed and we go shopping? We need to get you a dress for the work event.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxx Anna wasn’t anticipating to go to one of the fanciest department stores in New York.

She cursed at herself for dressing too casual. Chris had apparently premeditated this, he led Anna to what she assumed was a VIP section. The well dressed man greeted the two of them at the check in desk.

“Hello Mr. Redfield, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Mr. Kennedy informed us that you needed your partner fitted for an evening gown.” He turned to Anna.

“Hello, ma’am, My name is James Sims and my team will be assisting you today.”

Anna shook his hand. She looked at Chris, what the hell did he get her into?

A group of women helped Anna into a room where she changed into a robe, Chris sat down on a comfortable couch. The room was set up with a rack of gowns and a private mirror to see every angle.

Anna timidly walked out in the first dress, it was a revealing Tom Ford number.

“How do you like it?”’ Anna asked Chris nervously.

“Anna you’re just beautiful, but how do you feel?”

“I think it’s too much skin, I think it gives off the wrong idea.”

The shop assistant agreed. “My dear, you’re well endowed, unfortunately certain brands don’t accommodate an effeminate figure.”

Anna blushed at the comment.

The next dress Anna adored, it was an opal colored Gaurav Gupta dress. It accentuated her semi tanned skin and chocolate brown hair. Anna couldn’t stop looking at herself.

“I think this one is it, Anna.” Chris said getting up and admiring his girlfriend. She looked like a goddess.

“You think so?” Anna did the wrong thing and took a look at the tag. She gasped. “Chris, this dress is more expensive than my wedding dress.” She suddenly felt constricted. “I can’t possibly get it.”

Chris rolled his eyes and told the shop assistant. “We’re taking it and any other things she may need as well.”

The assistant smiled. “Will do.”

The assistant brought out shoes that would go with the dress, Anna ended up picking out a pair of Christian Louboutin heels and a pair of diamond earrings.

At the end of the appointment, Anna had to walk away, she didn’t even want to see how much Chris was spending on her.

When they got back into his car and he drove her home she was speechless.

“Chris, are you sure we should have done that?”

“Anna, I’ve been working this job a long time, I’ve also been single for a long time. Just know you will never have to worry about anything ever again.”

“Chris, whatever you want I’ll give it to you. Seriously.”

“Just be yourself Anna. Just continue loving me like you already do.” He smiled and placed his hand on her thigh.

[illicitlimerence-writes]

close friends | t. holland

pairing: tom holland x fem!reader word count: 3.1k warnings: some language, some angst if u squint. otherwise it's just fluff and tom being tom. didn't proofread this. a/n: so tumblr decided to be a little bitch and deleted this t w i c e. so i had to write this t h r e e times. this came up in my head after i got like three notifications that tom posted something on his ig story, and then it turned out he deleted them. as always, english isn't my first language so i'm sorry if this gets confusing bye. also, i was listening to cardigan by taylor swift as i wrote this.

my masterlist

so we all know tom sucks at instagram. that's a surprise to literally no one. no matter how many times you tried to teach him he still doesn't get it, and it was only a matter of time before he finally posted something he shouldn't have.

it was just one of those days, you missed him like hell. he was away filming the third spiderman, and you had to stay behind because of work.

naturally, you relied on face time and texts to survive and fill the void he left behind. you loved talking to him, listening as he rambled on and on about his adventures on set. a love-struck look on your face as you tried your hardest to stay awake despite the urge to close your eyes.

eventually, sleep took over you, and you drifted off with the sound of his voice lulling you to sleep. he stopped talking abruptly when he didn't hear your soft chuckling in reply to the story he was telling.

instead, he saw your sleeping figure, long steady breaths moving your chest up and down. and he cursed himself for making you stay up so late for him. he took one last look at you, taking a screenshot of your sleeping form.

he quickly hung up the video call and opened instagram instead, uploading the screenshot to his story,

'missing my favorite girl, thank you so much for everything you do for me. x @yourusername'

the next morning you woke up to the sound of your phone buzzing. at first, thought someone had died as one notification after another filled your screen. most of them came from instagram, so you opened that app first.

thousands upon thousands of mentions, tags and new followers. you frowned, and suddenly a text from your friend popped up at the top of your screen.

'omg just saw his story. so happy for u both'

who's story? what was going on?

you refreshed your timeline, and tom's icon appeared, a colorful circle around it. an odd feeling sank in your stomach. you tapped his icon and suddenly your screen was full of... you.

a picture of you, sleeping. tom's smiling form in a small rectangle on the bottom right corner.

oh god. you read the words he wrote, over and over again. your heart pounding in your chest, and a sudden wave of fear ran through your body. but then you read his words once more, and all you could feel was love. pure, unconditional affection.

sure, your families and closest friends knew about you, but you hadn't talked about making your relationship public yet, but there was nothing you could do now.

you sighed, leaning back on your pillows. a small chuckle left your throat.

you grabbed your phone once again, quickly facetiming tom. you knew he had an early call today, and you hoped you could catch him while he was still in his hotel.

it ran once, twice, and then you saw him, hair all over the place, bare chest. hands rubbing sleep off of his face.

"mornin', darling." he said, his raspy morning voice making you smile.

"hi, baby. did i wake you?" you asked, sitting up and crossing your legs.

"yeah but it's fine, princess. i did keep you up last night so it's only fair."

"i'm sorry about falling asleep on you, that was a really nice picture you took last night," you lifted one eyebrow, and watched as he smiled at you sheepishly.

"i thought you looked really pretty, you always look pretty," he said, grabbing the water bottle on his nightstand and taking a swing.

"thanks, i hope the whole world thinks so, too," you declared. leaning your chin on your fist, watching him expectantly.

he did not react like you had expected him to.

his breath hitched as he sipped his water, and suddenly all you could see was the cream-colored ceiling, as you heard him spitting out and coughing.

"tom! oh, my god! are you okay?" you asked, getting on your knees and holding your phone up to your face, "tommy?" you repeated when he finally stopped coughing, you could now hear his heavy breaths.

at last, you saw his curls appear from the bottom of the screen.

"wh-what did you just say?" his voice was rough, his chest heaving.

"are you okay?" you asked again.

"ye-yeah i'm fine. babe, what did you mean by 'the whole world'? did something happen?" he asked, frowning. you echoed his expression, watching him for a second.

“you posted a picture to your story,” you repeated, and he nodded.

“yeah, i posted it to my close friends, i-” he stopped mid-sentence, eyes growing comically wide. “oh shit, did i-” he caught himself off as he threw the phone to one side, you heard him fumbling around for his laptop and you snorted. “shit, baby, don’t tell me i posted it… fuck!” you couldn’t keep it in any longer, you broke out laughing.

“of course this is how the world finds out about us!” you continued giggling until your stomach hurt.

“fuck, princess i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to, i swear i- why are you laughing!?”

“tommy, tommy! it’s okay, baby, don’t worry. i’m not mad,” you stopped once you noticed his pouting. “it’s fine, my love, i don’t mind. sure it’s unexpected, and a little sudden but i wouldn’t have it any other way. i knew what i was getting into when we started dating,” you told him honestly, wishing you were there to give him a hug and kiss him all over.

“darling, i’m really, really sorry. i swear i thought i tapped the green button like you told me to” he continued his sulking, nervous eyes glancing back and forth from his laptop screen to you.

“i know, baby, i know this is not your forte, and i really appreciate the sweet gesture, honestly. i love you so much,” you told him as you bit your lip. folding your legs to your chest, wrapping one around them.

“god, i love you. i swear i’ll make it up to you,” he ran his hand through his hair, giving you a quick peek of his bare chest.

“i’ll hold you to it,” you chuckled, you glanced to the clock on your nightstand, sighing when you saw the time. “i’ve gotta go,” you said as you stood up and stretched. a wicked idea ran through you head. “i’ve got like five meetings today, so i’ll probably be busy most of the day. just in case i don’t reply or something,” you made up you lie quickly. grabbing your laptop and opening a new tab.

“oh, okay. i’ll be on set until like 1 am, so we’ll talk tomorrow?” he asked, eyes bright. you nodded, biting your lip.

“definitely. i love you,” you blew him a kiss. he smiled, and you felt your heart swelling.

“i love you, too. good luck today!” he said as you reluctantly hung up the call.

you immediately got to work, calling your assistant and telling her you were taking a few personal weeks, and to email you in case of emergencies. next, you texted harry, asking him to call you once tom was busy on set.

you waited for the page to load, and once you had bought your one-way ticket to atlanta you hurriedly threw some pre-planned outfits into two suitcases, just in case. your phone rang and harry’s face popped up on your screen. you quickly answered the call, and let him know of your out-of-the-blue plan. he agreed to meet you at the airport and drive you to set. and because of your recent and sudden rise to fame, he suggested you wear all black and a cap. you followed his advice, throwing on some sunglasses as well, as you had seen tom do many times before.

once you reached the airport and checked-in, you bought some coffee and breakfast, as well as some food for the flight. you opened instagram, seeing all the messages and comments. you had seen how the fans reacted when their favorite celebrities announced a relationship, and you knew to expect the meanest comments, and even death threats. for your own sake and peace of mind, you allowed yourself to scroll until you read three of those, and closed the app.

once the plane took off, you tried to catch some sleep, preparing for the inevitable jet lag, but your mind kept buzzing from one scenario to another. so you took out your book and tried to read some chapters, putting in your earbuds, music playing quietly.

when you finally, finally landed, you stretched your legs and grabbed your bags, putting on the cap and sunglasses again, you spotted a familiar head of wild curls. you quickly approached harry.

“what happened to all black and a cap to go unnoticed?” you asked as he took one of your bags in his hands.

“think about it, two kids wearing black, a cap and sunglasses? people would think we’re up to no good.” he gave you a tight hug, you’d missed him almost as much as you’d missed tom.

he caught you up on everything he and tom had been doing these past months, you shifted in your seat in excitement, the sleep that was slowly taking over you on the plane had now disappeared from your body.

in what was probably a 15 -but to you felt like five- minute drive, you got to the hotel to leave your bags and take a quick shower. harry left you alone in tom’s room, making his way to his own room next door. he said he’d order something for you to eat whilst you got ready to see tom.

you took the quickest shower ever known to humankind, and when you walked out of the bathroom after using tom’s shampoo and conditioner, -you’d missed his smell all over you. the few forgotten hoodies and shirts that were once drenched in the smell of his soap and cologne, were now very faint.- you wrapped a bathrobe around your body, rummaging through tom’s clothes until you found one of his shirts.

you pulled it close to your face, sighing at the familiar scent you’d missed so much. you got dressed quickly, grabbing your now fully-charged phone and the key to tom’s room that harry had left on a coffee table. you knocked on harry’s door and he let you in.

“i just texted tom, he says they’ve got like three hours left.” you sat next to him on the couch, the table in front of you filled with food waiting to be devoured.

“my poor baby, they overwork him,” you pouted, reaching for one of the plates.

“it was his idea, said he’ll do anything that helps finish filming sooner.” you stopped chewing your food.

“wait, really?” you asked in disbelief, you knew tom loved his job, and you found it odd that he wanted to cut his time on set short.

“yeah, it’s been rough for him. not having you around, i mean, after he spent months with you. he’s been pretty distracted lately. messing up lines, he’s been waking up late and missing early calls...” your heart sank at the words. you ate the rest of your food with a knot in your stomach, cursing yourself for not getting there sooner. soon enough, you were back in the car, your leg bouncing up and down. you fell asleep on your way to set, waking up when harry parked the car and nudged your shoulder.

you stepped out carefully, your head turning back every few steps you took, in fear that tom might catch you. once you reached the stage where tom was filming, you flashed the visitor badge harry had given you to the guard and he let you both in. you walked in as you leaned down, your forehead against harry’s back, shielding you from the curious stares. harry told you to hide behind a giant box where they kept some lights whilst he spoke to the director.

although the box was big and tall enough to cover you completely, you crouched down, straining your ears for nearing footsteps. you heard two sets of feet approaching, your heartbeat racing.

you were met with your accomplice, a friendly-looking man behind him. you stood up as they approached you.

“this the girl?” the man asked, and harry nodded, “nice to meetcha, i’m jon.” you shook his hand, “okay, so we’ve cleared tom’s schedule for one week, we’ll need him back fully recharged and ready to work like it’s his first day on set, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, if it means he’ll work better if you’re here you can stay until we're done. i really don’t mind, i just need my guy back.” you blinked at his words, nodding slowly. “we’ve got a couple hours left tonight, i’m all up for some cheesy reunion, but it’ll have to be when we’re finished, i can barely keep him focused as it is.”

with that he left, and harry led you to tom’s trailer, where you caught some sleep while you waited. like that morning, you woke up to your phone buzzing. you reached for it, sleep leaving your body as you read the text.

‘just finished filming for the night, i’m exhausted. miss u, love you. x.’

all rational thoughts left your head, you opened the door to tom’s trailer and sprinted out of there until you reached the set. your eyes finally, finally met his figure, and tears filled your eyes.

your legs moved on their own accord, you mumbled apologies as you crashed into people, but you didn’t care. tom had his back to you, and even though he wasn’t wearing the spiderman costume, you’d recognize that ass anywhere.

“tom!” you called out, stopping a few feet away from him. you saw him whipping his head around, eyes scanning the sea of people. you made your way up to him, “tommy!” you repeated, and he finally turned around.

his mouth wide opened in disbelief, arms twitching, feet running towards you as you did the same. you crashed into each other, your legs wrapping around him, arms around his neck, fingers curling on his soft hair. his hands running all over your back, your hair. pulling you as close as humanly possible.

whispers of ‘i love you’, ‘god, i missed you’, ‘never leave me again’, and ‘i promise’ were exchanged. you tightened your hold on his hair, pulling back to look at him.

“hi,” you whispered, your nose brushing his.

“hey,” he replied, burying his face on your neck again, pressing small kisses anywhere he could reach. his hands settled on the back of your thighs as he spun you two. you giggled, sniffling as a few tears escaped your eyes.

you could not care less about the people around you, all you could think about was the boy wrapped all over you, your favorite boy. tom led you back to his trailer, where you finally untangled yourself from him. he settled you down and you immediately wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him close to you again.

you had been starved of his touch for so long, there was no way you were letting him go anytime soon.

after many kisses, touches, tears, promises and more kisses, you left for the hotel. harry had already left, getting a ride from another cast member to leave you two alone. at that moment you swore you’d make him godfather of your firstborn child.

as you waited for tom to step out of the shower -you would’ve joined him, but three showers in a day seemed kind of excessive-, you laid down on the bed, throwing the covers over your body, tom's scent engulfing you. you breathed in happily. you tapped on your phone, replying to some work emails when you received a text from harry.

‘i believe the ball is in your court. you’re welcome.’

next, you received a picture of you and tom. harry must’ve taken the picture when you and tom were too lost in each other to even notice anyone around you. in the picture, your legs are around tom, bodies pressed closed together, your noses touching as you stare lovingly into each other’s eyes. it was a beautiful picture. and the black and white filter harry had applied to it made it seem like one of those old pictures of wives reuniting with their spouses after the war.

you smiled, heart swelling with emotion as you contemplated your options. you hummed quietly, tapping the instagram logo and waiting for the app to load.

you quickly uploaded the picture harry sent you tagging both him and tom and adding a quick caption before you shut down your phone. you were drifting off to sleep when you felt familiar arms around you.

you leaned into tom’s touch, your back resting against his chest, legs tangling with his as he interlocked his fingers with your own.

“thank you so much for being here, my love. i love you,” tom whispered into your ear, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“i’ll be here whenever you need me. i’ll always come back to you.” you turned around, facing him. you kissed the corner of his lips, and he cupped your cheek, his lips meeting yours in a slow kiss, filled with emotion. your fingers played with his fingers as you moved to straddle his waist. “i love you,” you broke the kiss reluctantly. as much as you both wanted to make love that night, you’d made it your top priority that tom took his time off to rest as much as he could, and that included that first night.

you gave him one last kiss, going back to your previous position. the familiar and comfortable weight of his arms around you, the feeling of his lips on your neck, his chest rising and falling against your back, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

the peaceful environment you had created suddenly burst like a bubble as tom’s phone pinged over and over again. you heard him grunting, arms reluctantly leaving you.

tom chuckled, putting his phone on do-not-disturb and throwing it somewhere on the bed.

“you’re perfect for me, my favorite girl.” you smiled, leaning into his touch as he kissed you all over. sleep quickly taking over both of you.

tom swore his heart stopped when he’d seen the picture you posted. you’d never looked more beautiful than when you were staring up at him, your bottom lip between your teeth. the words you wrote as a caption were the last thing on his brain as he finally succumbed to sleep.

‘i said, “i bet you can’t keep this a secret for five months.” he said, “darling, i won’t make it past three.” @ tomholland2013 it’s been 10 months, who won?’

edit: i just saw henry cavill's ig post and omg what is my life. pls respect celebrities' privacy and relationships.

[whorelander]

cupid’s chokehold

chapter i. i’m your venus

summary: you’re an icon, you’re a legend, and you ARE the moment!

(aka. you get your supe name, your costume, and meet the leader of the group by chance.)

chapter ii. the things she does to please                  ||                           ao3 link

The Vought Tower is somehow even more imposing now that you’ve been accepted into The Seven. As your Uber slows to a stop outside, you take a moment to compose yourself after unbuckling your seatbelt. The hardest part is over. You’re in. This is just so that the PR team can catapult your debut into a hit.

“Thank you,” you say to the driver with a winning smile.

He smiles back at you. “Have a good day, Miss.”

You sure hope you will.

After getting out of his car and giving him five stars and a tip, you walk through the revolving door that leads to the lobby of the building. Everything’s modern; sleek, pristine, not much of a color pattern besides white and black with a plethora of windows to allow natural light inside. Once security gives you the clear, you’re more than a little confused on where to go.

A few weeks ago, your interview was held with Mr. Edgar on the 82nd floor. Do you go there again, or is there an entirely different floor for costumes and new heroes?

“Hey, there you are!” a familiar shrill voice shouts. It takes everything in you to not cringe.

You glance over towards the source and honestly, you’re not surprised by what you see. Ashley Barrett looks exactly how you pictured her: bangs that don’t compliment her, hardened eyes, stress lines that are just barely covered. Hey, at least she’s rocking the pantsuit she’s got going on. That’s a plus.

“Ashley, right?” you ask despite knowing the answer. Brownie points are always a plus. You walk over towards her and notice that she’s standing next to the elevator. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”

“I’m surprised that you’re just as pretty as your pictures! We did a little digging, found your headshots and a few small town magazine covers. I was so sure everything was done with a little bit of editing, but color me impressed!” she says with a too chipper smile and looks you up and down.

You mull over her words then ultimately decide to take them as a compliment. Less stress for you that way. “Yeah, all natural. But there’s nothing wrong with getting work done.”

Ashley uses the hand that’s not holding her coffee to cup her cheek and sighs in agreement. “I’ll tell ya, sister. In this business, Botox is a girl’s best friend.”

You tilt your head to the side as you study her and quirk your lips up just slightly. “I’m hoping I can at least last a few more years before my time comes.”

“Oh, you’re fine! You’re so young,” Ashley tells you. She takes her hand off of her face and waves it dismissively. The elevator dings as the doors slide open, and she gestures for you to walk in first. You do as you’re told and she follows in behind, then hits the 99th floor and repeatedly presses the button to close the doors faster. “So, today is gonna be a feel for–”

“Isn’t that the Seven floor?” you ask.

Ashley closes her mouth, then opens it, then closes it again. She glances at the button before she grins at you. “Yes it is! Aw but sweetie, you have nothing to worry about. This is where you’re gonna be spending most of your days anyway! Exposure therapy is the best kind, you know.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” you agree, though that doesn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering around in your stomach. It’s just the costume ideas, your hero name, and your new apartment, you tell yourself. The Seven are busy saving the world or doing another bad Vought movie. They’re busy. They won’t be here.

The grounding thought settles your nerves just slightly. You cross your arms over your chest as you watch the floor numbers go up and up. Ashley’s eyes are definitely on you, and it has you feeling just the tiniest bit self-consciousness about your outfit choice. You’re in a deep red satin slit set with a pair of black heels. It leaves little to the imagination, but you’ve never been shy of showing some skin. Although in hindsight maybe you should’ve read the room, you continue reminding yourself you already have the job. Besides, Mr. Edgar seemed to adore your purple outfit which was similar to this one!

You shift your weight from one foot to the other and look at Ashley from the corner of your eye. You’re not used to her attitude towards you–which is strictly professional and almost on the verge of agitation. It’s happened quite a few times where people aren’t enamored, you think it has something to do with sexual preferences, but it’s still jarring every time.

“What kind of coffee is that?” you ask, just to make conversation.

“It’s my third of the day. I think this intern got me straight black,” Ashley answers. She takes another sip and your eyes widen.

“Third?” You raise an eyebrow at her, unsure whether to be impressed or terrified at the fact that she already needs three cups at eight in the morning. “Wow. I like caffeine, but too much would make me bounce off the walls.”

Ashley nods and leans against the wall of the elevator. “I have ADHD, so these coffees don’t even do anything for me. But hey, placebo effects are a helluva drug, because I don’t feel like screaming and crying and tearing my hair out when I’m drinking my lattes. You know?”

You don’t know. Only by the will of a higher power do you manage to stop your horrified expression at her statement.

“Yeah, totally,” you agree. “Maybe we can go out for a cup if you’re ever free.”

Ashley gives a noncommittal hum which irks you, but you don’t let it show. The rest of the ride up is without conversation but not in silence, because her phone can’t seem to stop pinging with alerts. Once the elevator reaches its peak and dings to signal you’re on the designated floor, you wait for Ashley to exit the now open doors first and then follow behind her.

She leads you past a multitude of rooms which all vary in size until you finally arrive at her office. Ashley pulls the door open and holds it for you, and you walk inside to survey the goods. It’s very simple in design; a large shiny wooden desk with a comfortable rolling chair behind it and two chairs in front, a couch closest to the windows with a table that has bowls filled with miscellaneous snacks, a mini fridge in the corner along with a few oddly designed lamps. There’s a flatscreen plastered on the wall directly across from the desk and a few posters of The Seven members hung up.

Ashley follows your gaze and lets out a small sigh. “I know, it’s bland. I’m still renovating ever since… Well, my office hasn’t been too high on my list as of recently.”

“It looks nice,” you tell her honestly.

She smiles at you, then gestures to one of the seats in front of the desk. You comply with the unspoken command and sit down, and she does the same in the rolling chair. “So, while we wait for Seth and Evan, I figured you and I could spitball some superhero names.”

“Sounds fun. Should it be something like my name? My power? Maybe even a nationalist thing?” you suggest.

Ashley hums to herself and observes you. She taps her chin as she stares intently at your face, then your body, then snaps her fingers. “What about… Eros?”

“Eros?” you ask, making a face.

“Now I know what you’re thinking–” she tries, but you shake your head.

“First of all, he’s a guy,” you argue. “Also he’s the Greek origin of Cupid, so if we were gonna do something like that then why not a name more known to the public?”

Ashley seems impressed. “Good PR move, but Cupid is more family friendly. Doesn’t your power cause the effects of lust?”

You bite your lip and cringe. Putting it that way, you just sound like a super pornstar! No one knows about the command stuff, it’s okay, you remind yourself. “It’s not lust. It’s more like… I guess an infatuation? People can’t help but wanna please me and be around me. Does that make sense?”

“Are you turning it off right now? Because I don’t feel anything,” Ashley says.

You roll your eyes. “It has conditions. Anyway, definite no to Eros. What about Cupid’s Kiss?”

Ashley grimaces and shakes her head. “We’re not trying to sell sex toys. Well actually–Never mind. There’s no flow, no rhythm. I still think we can do something with the Greek stuff! Aphrodite’s the goddess of love, right? How about using her name?”

“I don’t think I’m worthy,” you say. Ashley gives you a look and you laugh nervously. “I mean, come on. She’s the prettiest woman to ever walk the Earth. That’s a high bar!”

“We don’t hire ugly people,” Ashley tells you. You decide to take it as a compliment. “Fine. Hmm. Lust–”

“Charisma,” you cut in, but she ignores you.

“Feminism… Manipulating emotions…” she mutters to herself.

“Ladies, it’s easy. Femme Fatale!” Seth announces as he and Evan make their entrance into the office. They’re both dressed snug considering the hot weather; plaid shirt and khakis for Seth, and a white button down and jeans for Evan. “It’s perfect. Am I right, or am I right?”

Femme Fatale. It’s got a nice ring to it. Makes you seem more threatening than you actually are and although the implications have a long history about desire and tricking men, it doesn’t have anything to do with your powers of “lust” so you’ll take it. Plus, it’s way better than whatever the hell you and Ashley were trying to spitball.

“I like it. I really like it.” You grin at him, and Seth winks in response.

Ashley types something on her phone and nods along. “Great. Just sent it to Edgar and the presses. How’s that outfit coming along? They want an interview at the Today Show as soon as possible.”

Evan hands you his sketchbook. There’s a drawing of a woman with your proportions–the tits are a little smaller, but whatever–wearing waist high skin tight pastel pink pants with heeled boots that go up to the shin and criss cross. She’s also wearing a crop top that has a heart shaped boob window, which matches the color of the pants. Finally, a cape that connects to a choker on her neck to bring the look together.

“What do you think?” he asks.

You study the paper and hum to yourself. “It’s–”

“I thought we were doing more of a sex appeal thing for her?” Ashley cuts in. You raise an eyebrow at that, but you’re ignored. “Since Starlight wants to keep up her innocent look for the kids, and Maeve represents more Rosie the Riveter. Don’t you think something with more skin would work?”

“That’s the beauty of this, Ashley,” Seth says, and you can hear the excitement and eagerness in his voice. “It’s a modern sex appeal. The pants give the perfect amount of feminism for the new age, and the crop top and choker are enough of a tease for people to want more. They’re gonna love it.”

“We even thought of going sexy and stealthy with a mask, like something out of Kill Bill but…” Evan trails off, then gestures toward you with a smile. “Look at those full lips, that jawline, the high cheekbones! She needs to be seen.”

You touch your face subconsciously at his words and Ashley bats your hand away.

“Don’t mess with the merchandise, babe,” she tells you, like she just scolded a child for drawing on the wall. You refrain the eye roll and clench your fists, but return them to your side. “Obviously a mask is a no go. But are we sure we can’t replicate something like Starlight’s new outfit? It’s not like the costume’s in commission. The poor thing is rotting away in her closet.”

Seth and Evan look at each other, then shake their heads. “It’s gonna be perfect,” they both say.

“Plus, it’s very form fitting. Skin tight. But don’t worry, the material is real breathable,” Seth assures you.

“You are the experts,” Ashley concedes.

Finally, they all turn their full attention back on you. “If you don’t like it–” Seth starts, but is interrupted by Evan.

“Honestly, we can design whatever will suit you best,” Evan says.

The two practically trip over each other verbally as they stumble out excuses and throw out other random ideas they have that can be salvaged for you.

You look down at the drawing once more, then up at their hopeful expressions. You slowly nod with a smile of your own to match Seth and Evan. “It’s great. It looks like something I’d wear now.”

The two men high five.

“When should I expect it?” Ashley asks.

“Tomorrow afternoon, the latest,” Evan tells her.

Seth nods in agreement. “We’ve had it ready since her acceptance was sent out. Honestly, Ash. Have a little faith.”

Ashley huffs out a laugh and rolls her eyes as she rapidly texts on her phone. She sets it down on the table and appears relaxed for the first time since this morning. “Okay, the interview’s taking place Friday morning. I want model shoots booked and ready as soon as this outfit is on her, and we'll start promoting her on the Vought Insta and Twitter pages.”

“Do you want news coverage too?” Evan asks.

Ashley nods. “Obviously. Alright, this is going better than expected! Thank you both.”

Seth takes the sketchbook from you and your smile makes both him and Evan beam. You think you even see a hint of pink on the top of Evan’s cheeks, but you can’t be sure.

“We’re really excited to work with you, Femme Fatale,” Seth says.

“I am too. You guys seem wonderful,” you say. You bite your cheek to not grin at the sight of Evan bumping into the doorway and Seth tripping over a potted plant on their way out in an attempt to keep looking at you.

Ashley stands up and puts her hands on her hips, then leans forward and backward to crack her back. “So that’s what your lust power is, huh?”

“I told you it’s more–” you try to argue, but shut up at her dismissive hand wave.

“Hey, I like it. That’ll be really useful for us if the V shit ever goes public,” she mutters to herself. You stand up and follow her out of the office with a confused expression.

“V shit?” you ask.

Ashley smiles that practiced Hollywood twinkle at you and claps her hands together. “You did amazing! Thank you for making my life easy, it’s more than appreciated.”

“Of course,” you answer smoothly. “Is there anything else I should do today?”

“Aside from showing you your new living area, I believe we got through the toughest part of the first day!” Ashley says cheerfully after double checking the itinerary on her phone. “Now, tomorrow you’re going to be fitted for your outfit. We already have your measurements so that should be ready to go. Then we’ll do a photo shoot for your debut, and by the way can I mention how perfect it is that you have a background in modeling? Really helps–”

“Well, what do we have here?” a voice you’ve only ever heard on television interrupts, and immediately both you and Ashley stop dead in the middle of the hallway.

Standing directly in your path with a smile full of teeth is none other than Homelander himself. You feel your breath catch in your throat, and you don’t miss the way Ashley stares at the ground instead of making direct eye contact. Her imposing ego seems to have completely vanished in his presence.

Homelander is just as attractive in real life as he is in news interviews and those trash movies the VCEU makes. There’s a few strands of hair that are out of place, but you think he did it on purpose. His eyes are an almost unnatural sky blue, and his smile is so bright you swear it twinkles. He has his arms behind his back which makes him stand taller with his chest puffed out, and you can’t help but be impressed by some of his… assets. Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: why is his bulge so prominent? Is it really that big or is it padding?

“Ashley, are you going to introduce us?” Homelander asks, and you blink.

You quickly move your gaze from below his waist to his face, but by the knowing look in his eyes, you’ve already been caught. Your cheeks flush and you look away to stare at the wall.

“Right!” Ashley clears his throat and for the first time since you’ve met her, you notice how nervous she looks. “Sir–Homelander, this is the newest member of The Seven.”

Homelander gives you a slow, albeit very obvious once over. You feel extra naked under his critical eye. Your heart is beating rapidly in your chest, though you don’t know whether it’s out of fear or excitement.

“Yeah, I remember. Stan told me he picked someone to take over Translucent’s spot,” he says. “I’m glad he went with my favorite of the bunch.”

You smile up at him and hold out your hand. “Homelander, it’s such an honor to meet you. I know you must hear this a lot, but you’re my hero. It’s crazy to me that we’re gonna be on a team together.”

Homelander grins at you and takes your hand in his gloved one. “You’re too kind. Everyone has a place on The Seven, and I for one can’t wait until we go out on a mission together.” He leans down and raises your hand to his lips, maintaining eye contact as presses a soft kiss to your knuckles.

You find yourself unable to form a coherent thought, let alone speak.

“You know, it’s great that I caught you two when I did,” Homelander muses. He lets go of your hand in favor of returning his arms to their original position behind his back. “This is perfect timing. I can show you your apartment after your first meeting!”

“My what?” you ask incredulously.

Ashley looks between you and Homelander. “What meeting? I didn’t think there was anything scheduled…”

Homelander tuts quietly and shakes his head goodnaturedly. “Oh, Ashley. I just called for one a few minutes ago! I wanted to tell everyone about our new member here, and what better way than actually having her introduce herself?” He looks at you intently, and shit, how’re you gonna say no to the most powerful being in America?

“Of course, yeah, great idea!” you say quickly. “I was really looking forward to–”

“Perfect!” Homelander turns on heel and begins walking down the hallway where he came from.

“Follow him,” Ashley mouths at you with wide eyes, pointing at Homelander’s rapidly retreating backside.

You nod and thank her quietly, then rush after Homelander until you’re walking in pace with him. After a few moments of nothing but the sound of your heels paired with his boots, he stops in front of a set of double doors and looks down at you.

“Excited?” he asks.

Fuck. You were really looking forward to taking a nap in your new fancy apartment, too.  

You press your lips together, then meet his gaze with a shaky grin. “Yeah.”

[disfordevineaux]

Hello ! So if you finished watching season 4, could you share your opinion on it ? Did it meet your expectations ? Was the ending satisfying ?

HELLO! Yes, yes I have. Pretty much the second it came out I was watching it. I have pretty much been in a gif making coma for the last 3 days since its release, and I think the fact it's over has now just hit me.

I really liked s4. It was rushed, yes, but that's understandable considering the context. S4 was clearly not the initial plan. Not many Netflix aminated TV shows reach S6 or past that, so I have a feeling they were going for 6 seasons but had to cut it short. It's better than it getting officially cancelled. Which is most likely why season 4 was full to the brim with actions and character development. So I'm not mad at the quick end but I would have loved at least one more season to really flesh the development and plot points. No more so than the Devineaux development in regards to the new Julia and Chase dynamic.

Before I go into that I want to address the solo Chase-ness that was fantastic. Chase got his ass kicked like 5 times this season, once by a chair.

And was clocked by a frisbee for good measure too.

Oh, and landed on his car another time. The pain in his face... I- help this man.

But he got to kick some of his own asses this season too ofc.

Anyway, Chase really stood up and said ‘I am a Himbo’ this season and it filled me with joy. Just look. veryveryveryvery handsome as always I approve of this message.

Enough said.

Let me get on with the big thing I want to talk about. The Chase and Julia dynamic reinvention.

If I’m honest, it did feel quick, due to time constraints, but not out of nowhere. My expectations for Chase and his growth was blown out of the water. I was incredibly impressed with his physical display for admiration for Julia in the end. His way of officially apologising, (as someone said on a rb of one of my posts), Chase is a person of action and his grand gesture of giving Julia the spotlight, as well as a few glowing compliments and a callback and twist of what he used to say, was a great twist on just an ordinary apology. I adore how you can clearly see that he means it.

It was monumental, if a subtle display of respect that clearly struck a positive chord with Julia, and only could have with Julia. Just look at her face in the gif above, PURE. She clearly seemed as though she had decided to forgive his past transgressions after his help in her rescue.

Most definitely helping in her decision to return to ACME to be his partner again. Know she isn't alone and that Chase truly has changed for the best. I love how Chase was complete rapture that she had decided to return, even going for a hug. The guy really went from S1 striving to be stoic all the time, to allow himself to wear his emotions and expressiveness on his sleeves. Just, good vibes right there. It felt like the s4 Chase we got was always there but hidden by his ego and by himself deliberately.

Wholesome stuff my guys. My heart was FULL. I tell you. FULL. I slapped my hand to my chest in awe. He even asked: ‘But your academic career?’ and was happy to be finally able to hunt down real criminals with her, as, and I quote, a family. Adorable.

Don’t even get me started on the fist-bumping. I would throw myself into a pit of fire for them.

And those inside jokes? I could be here all day. Their dynamic now, if not nearly displayed a much as I wanted, was nourishing to my soul. Just LOOK

And that is just one scene.

After the first time jump of 3 weeks, they appeared to be finally enjoying one another company, a true team. Then after 6 months, it seemed even more natural, playful too. They trusted each other's abilities and opinions. Sharing their belief that Carmen was good as well as supporting one another as good partners should, especially Chase. They look so comfortable in each other presence it was immaculate.

They appeared content, and I loved that most of all. Chase was genuinely interested in Julia’s explanations and it was heartwarming to see. Julia appreciating it too. Watching them interact as close friends now was such a treat. The last 2-3 episodes, in particular, Chase even asking her to continue and adding onto her historical divulges. Awesome stuff. And Julia running into Carmen just as she was about to punch Chase’s lights out was pretty sweet too, as well as her getting one in on Cleo, GO GIRL GO. Julia this season had so much more depth. Loved it.

Also, finding out Chase’s name is in fact a self-given nickname was right on theme with the show. So many people with real names we will never know.

Back onto the expressions and his enthusiasm. I mean LOOK. This dude- AND THE CAT JACKET RETURNS!

He just loves his wordplay.

Anyway- The effect Julia had on him was profound and just fantastic to see. He wanted to be better. Chase will no doubt rub off some of his own flairs onto her in due time I'm sure.

Chase working with carmen and the small interaction we got were great as well. Still a little rigid, but full of intrigue.

Chase wanting to go and save Julia, because he earlier felt as though this was all his fault, was precious too. And the whole Tigress and Chase fight scene was amazing. He trapped her inside a casket, iconic. And Chase showing up as Julia is like ‘omfg Devineaux is that you?’ As he just all suave says ‘fashionably late as always’ and pushes his messy hair back like HOOO BOY you lovely little stinker I would die for you. He was ready to fight 1 v 3. No one has the same determination as a Devineaux. For an ordinary guy, he is really able to keep up with the best, if not behind a tad I MEAN UM. DUDE SLID DOWN THE STAIRS AND JUMPED RIGHT INTO A HOLE. No second thought THEN SWUNG HIMSELF OVER NO PROB? Who is this athlete of a man?

Like my man, you are not graceful at all please let carmen do it.

In the end, he really did save them both which was vindication, Speaking of vindication:

Okay, I really went off track and hardly said what I wanted to say. I got carried away with gifs. I think I said what I wanted to say? Right now my brain is still mushie.

To finalize: I was content with the end. Zack and Ivy joining ACME as Carmen has some time to go truly find herself was an interesting idea. The 2 year time jump at the end left a few holes but hey, I’ll take it. Shadowsan returning to his brother was so nice to see, and Player all alone in the restaurant kinda broke my heart. The entire storyline with Chase and Julia was absolutely, revolutionary. It was what we deserved, what they deserved.

I think my love for Chase really made me live for the scenes and moments we got of him alone and interacting with others. Season 3-4 really were his crowning glory. I'm proud of him.

Also, I want to mention the Zack/Turtle scene because I nearly died when I saw it the way the turtle wiggles and the way he rUNS I- okay goodbye.

[hey-a-wild-jojo-simp]

Okay, college professor headcanons for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures

Included characters: Dio (Part three, not vampire, fairly out of character, so sorry about that), Jonathan, Avdol, Joseph, Caesar, Polnareff with a little bit of Iggy, Kakyoin, Jotaro, and a bonus of Okuyasu, Josuke, and Koichi teaching a self-defense class to their peers (Not college profs)

Dio

He is part three in this btw, and he isn’t a vampire, I was thinking about the whole night class thing and deadass forgot he was a vampire

He teaches a night class

He teaches a criminal forensics class

No matter how many students he has at any given time, he knows them all by first and last name

He absolutely allows cussing in his class and takes full advantage of this rule

He will without a doubt notice attitude shifts in his students and will be fairly straightforward about it in his office after asking them to stay for a while after class or after they’re done with classes for the day to talk to them about it

He’s the cool professor

He only refers to students by their last name if he’s mad at them

He has his students skip titles and just call him Dio

He has helped students remove smell from their cars after someone left food in it and they didn’t know and it ended up rotting, or if they had stoner friends they had to pick up

It doesn’t matter if they aren’t in his class he’ll help them

He takes time out of his night/morning to help his students

He shows up about 5 or so hours before school starts and allows students who live in noisy ares to come in to sleep, he sets up pillows and everything

It doesn’t matter if he isn’t their first class he still lets them come in

Basically as far from canon Dio as you can get, just with appearance and accent, along with a few tendencies to snap at his students

He brings in meals on exam days because he knows students skip meals

Jonathan

You’ll literally never get lighter homework in any other class (Besides maybe Joseph)

He doesn’t allow cussing, he won’t report you for it. but will scold you, which normally gets anyone to stop, because no one wants to upset this man, he’s too nice to his students

He will report his students for any form of slurs, and that is the only time he will get angry unless one student is actively attacking another verbally or physically

He has stepped in front of a student in the parking lot who was being mugged and just knocked the mugger on their ass

Constantly jokingly butting heads with the criminal forensics teacher, sometimes gets heated between the two

They’re step siblings

Very few students know this

He’s a ELA (English language arts) teacher

MASSIVE golden retriever vibes, super energetic, loves his students, is the kind of man who would take one of his student’s secrets to the grave (As long as it wasn’t something like self harm or being a victim of a crime)

An absolute lumbering machine of a man, he seems imposing at first, until he breaks out into a smile and laying down the few ground rules, telling his students to feel free to talk to him about anything bugging them

Much like his brother, he brings in meals on exam days

He will fall, no if about it, it’s an inevitable thing, all of his students will see it at some point

The room normally erupts into chaos of running around and picking up his papers and freaking out about whether or not he’s okay until he looks up and is just an absolute blushing mess and he’s laughing

After the first time people still help pick up papers but it isn’t as chaotic

This man is so understanding about late work

He encouraged an enby (Born female) to get their hair cut to a mullet and made a 360 video for them to show to their barber

Absolutely would understand anything his students were going through or would at least try his best

He will hug his students if they’re having a rough time  

Can be counted on to extend due dates unreasonable amounts for large projects

Avdol

Stickler about late work

He does love his students, but for every 3 school days something is late, a point gets marked off

Unless you have good reason

Is a recreational class on astrology and other forms of psychic readings (I have no doubt that’s a class, my sister almost took a class on the history of James Bond)

He also brings in tea for his students daily

Will talk to his students if he sees them in public

Widely loved by students

Amazingly attuned with his students

Not many other details that stand out about him

Joseph

He’s that one guy that no one is really sure what he teaches

The presentations from student projects end up being the kinds that end up being iconic(?) images like the “How I lost my virginity to a mint cookie” thing, because no one knows what the presentations are supposed to be on

It’s harder to fail than it is to pass, seeing as if you forget to turn something in you have to remind him to mark it as missing, otherwise it just sits as not turned in, not as late, so it won’t affect your grade

He shows a lot of movies in class

Brought in a gaming system once and held a tourney amongst the students in all of his classes

There isn’t a single student who doesn’t like him

Caesar 

Cooking class

Lets his students eat what they cook after the taste test for grading

Is often brought flowers by his students after they inevitably find out his love for the colorful displays

Let’s be quite honest, we know Joseph is the one that exposes this

The two of them have a running joke of bringing each other jokingly “romantic” gifts as a show of their friendship

He was at first quite uncomfortable with the students bringing him flowers as it is generally quite a, romantic I could say, gesture (Funny lil’ side note, I was a weird child, apparently I thought as like, a 4 yr old I would have multiple husbands, and this guy that’s like, 7 or so years older than me was one of them, apparently planned to be the last???? I dunno lmao, but he brought me flowers because it’s now a running joke and we’re now sorta friends, anyways, he brought me flowers when I was 9, at least I think I was 9, but his girlfriend got mad???? Like hun, I'm not going to steal your man) until he started getting notes in them (Will post those in a later post)

He blushes very heavily upon receiving the flowers, any blush at all is extremely prevalent and he gets flustered and very happy upon receiving the flowers, his students have likened him to a blushing schoolboy

Has a fondness for paintings of nature, which have also been brought in as gifts by students, and they all get hung on his wall, which is always a great surprise to the students that paint them.

Polnareff

He teaches French

He brings in pastries

Very comedic

I don’t really know what else besides he's just a friend more so than a teacher to all of his students

He definitely brings in Iggy frequently, though he makes sure to keep the coffee gum accessible to himself, but not where Iggy could easily get to it

All of his students love Iggy

Iggy will curl up in students’ laps if he likes them enough

Kakyoin

He teaches a history of gaming

Tournies in his class

He’s a bruh dud, just a friend more so than he is a teacher

Doesn’t give two fucks about late work policy cause there is rarely ever any late work from his students

I dunno, his students bring him a bunch of cherry stuff lol, a mini bean bag that looks like a cherry, cherry pastries, cherries grown by the students, maraschino cherries, even a hat that looked like a cherry

Jotaro (Part 4 Jotaro)

Marine biology, duh

An absolute hardass

Half points for late work unless you have a damn good excuse

A student brought him a dolphin stuffed animal once, and Star Platinum broke out in happy tears (No stand using students) while Jotaro kept his composure, although he did crack a smile

Deadass takes students on aquarium trips I shit you not

Secretly loves all of his students

Most of his students love him

Bonus

Okuyasu, Josuke, Koichi, all canon age of part 4, not college profs

Self-defense classes

Open to any gender

Very kind but firm

Okuyasu either makes people laugh or cry or confused

Koichi normally comforts the people who end up crying

Josuke heals everyone up after sparring matches and is also a sparring partner to many

Tomoko may pop in every so often for some harassment tips to the participants  

[yostresswritinggirl]

21 Years in Another Life Submission

Mother! Mother! By the time I sent this, August 18, I have officially turned 18! I am now legal to drink beer, I can finally drink my icon 😌. I know it's usual tradition to give gifts to the birthday person but I wanted to do a reverse and give something to you and the community. And that is: The Prologue of my Isekai webnovel! I would much prefer if I could also give Chapter 1 but I am currently recovering from tonsilitis and whenever I am not feeling good, my body just makes me sleepy to try and recover

Here's the prologue for "21 Years in Another Life"! -🍺

"It seems you are doing fine Mr. Dante, I'll be back for another check later tonight",

I could only nod and let out a hum as a signal that I understood. The boring white walls of the hospital were something that I had grown accustomed to but still loathed in every sense. The heavyweight of my right hand had a plastic cast of sorts to keep it straight as the needle of the dextrose tube was put inside in one of my veins.

I turned my head to see the dextrose bag hung on the stainless steel IV stand. I watched the small drop that would come out of the bag into the small cylinder that would connect to the tube. I looked back into my life.

21 years of my life. The majority of them are in the hospital.

The sickly body that I was born with not only burdened me but also my parents. Money was no problem for us as my father was the CEO of a well-known company he worked for from the ground up but rather it was the taint in the reputation of the family name.

I was his eldest child but thankfully not his only child. I had younger siblings and all of them have very healthy bodies.

And that is good.

I was about to close my eyes to sleep, not having the mood to read a book or even watch television until, "Oh, should we visit another time?", I tilted my head to the side as I saw my mother enter with my youngest brother, the baby of the family. "No, I was just looking to past the time", I said as my brother walked his way to the side of the bed where my free hand was. That was odd, he usually skips towards me.

I noticed the wide smile that was plastered on his face and the way how his hands were behind his back. "Big brother! I have a surprise!", He said excitedly obviously vibrating with joy, I inhaled a bit to brace myself and noticed the faint natural scent of flowers suddenly in the room.

"What do you have there?", I asked and he presented with three stalks of Sunflowers tied together with a neat little white bow. "I thought you might like them, I asked the nice old couple down the street if I can have some for you", his eyes twinkled and I couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh of my own.

"Thank you", I whispered, touched deeply by the gesture "Mum? Can you put it in the empty vase, please?", My mother nodded as my baby brother gave the flowers to mum.

I sat up with using my dominant left hand as support while my brother removed his shoes. I pat down the spot next to me gently as he climbed up the bed, sitting snuggly beside me as I gave his forehead a gentle kiss.

"I'm gonna start growing my flowers so we don't have to buy anymore from the flower shop", he affirmed to himself as I raised a curious eyebrow towards him, "Oh, why is that?", I asked, already having a hunch as to why he would like to grow them.

"You never really liked store-bought flowers, you said they smell funny", he said as he tilted his head upwards, "Why is that?", He asked as I nodded, "It's not the flowers but more so the paper, there are times that the papers are scented quite strongly that smell of the flowers are not complimented as nicely as I would have liked", I explained to him as he let out an 'Ahhhh' of realization along with gentle nodding.

"Will dad come visit?", I turned towards mom as she finished putting the flowers in the vase, "I hope so, if the meeting ends on time he'll pick up your sister so they can visit you", She sat back down on the nearby sofa as I just nodded. "How are you doing?", I could only give her the usual half-sided smile that I would give whenever my younger siblings are around.

A smile that meant: I don't know how to feel.

My mother could only exhale and gave a gentle reassuring smile and a nod towards me. A smile and a nod that says: I know.

My parents and I don't tiptoe around the topic anymore as if I was a kid. This was a sad reality I grew up in and we just accepted it but we made sure to make the best out of every situation.

The knock at the door caught our attention as my brother was about to open the television. "Come in", My mother called out and the door creaked open and the familiar face of my younger sister peaked through, "Oh! Oh! Look dad! He's awake!", The door opened a bit more to reveal my younger sister and dad, he was holding a canvas under one arm as my sister's bag was slung over the other shoulder of his.

"Hey Kiddo, how you doin' ?", My dad put the bag and canvas down on top of the cabinet as he made his way next to my bed and then ruffled my hair. A comforting feeling, his hand on top of my head as a gentle head pat was enough to help me calm down after rigorous emotions went through me.

"I'm doing fine now, I assume the meeting went well?", I asked and he just nodded along with the usual hand gesture of facing his palm up and down in a sideways motion.

It went well with some people who need convincing, just the usual things then.

"Big brother! My tutor gave me the assignment to draw on a canvas today!", She bounced a bit on her feet before skipping towards where the canvas was put down. She run-walked towards my side as I peered towards the canvas.

It has no color yet just the rough outline of her whole drawing, it seems she will be drawing sunflowers and lots of them. "I didn't have time to finish my sketch since it was already time buuut!", She pointed towards the middle part of the canvas, "This is where you are supposed to be!", I nodded with a smile etching its way onto my lips. She was so excited about it.

"My tutor also said that giving sunflowers to someone means to bring joy to someone's day", she explained before adding, "And! And! I wanted to give you this painting when I finish it so you'll be happy every day", I just chuckled and ruffled her hair with my free hand and brought her in for a side hug.

"And I'll be planting sunflowers in the garden so when you get back back, you'll see it every day and we don't have to buy new ones from the shop", My brother exclaimed. I just gave a nod as we heard a knock on the door, my father creaked the door open and the familiar white doctor's coat peeked through. My dad looked back towards mother and she just nodded and went outside.

I gave a sigh and let my head plop down to the pillow. "Big brother? When can you come home?", My sister's tone was now quite solemn. I just shook my head, not wanting to give them more hope than necessary.

I don't like promises being broken so I rarely make promises that I can't keep.

And sadly, this is one of those times.

The bed shifted a bit until my younger siblings were curled up to each of my sides, I just sighed a bit. "How are you two holding up?", I asked.

"Ehh",

"Mnnggghhh",

They also we're not too sure of it. I let out a breath through my nose, "Remember what I told you guys before? About promises?", I asked.

"Try not to make promises you can't keep", my brother voiced out, his voice coming out meek. They realized I won't be coming home any time soon. We just laid there on the hospital bed.

Closing my eyes as different memories from the times back home came to the front of my mind.

- - -

"Big brother!!!!" The muffled voiced screamed from behind the door. A voice filled with glee, before I could even say the door was unlocked it had slammed right open revealing my younger sister carrying her new case filled with art materials.

I just gave her a big smile, I settled the book I was reading to my bedside table and she made her way towards me. I saw dad peeked through the doorway and put his pointer finger to his lips and proceeded to quietly go away.

Dad had bought Artemis new art materials without mom knowing.

"Big brother! Remember when I made a wish to the shooting star we saw?", She asked excitedly, she bounced a bit on her on feet and, "It came true?", I "guessed" and she nodded, her hair bouncing along with her.

"It came true! The star was also kind enough to also give me a new case!", She heaved the case on the bed and proceeded to open up the case. She pulled out the shelfs that can be easily retracted inside for more efficient compartments.

"Darling?", the door creaked open and we both looked up and saw Mom. She saw the art case that Artemis proudly displayed, mom could only gave a smile and a nod but I could feel her secret fury behind it. It was not directed at us but rather, "Have you two seen your father by any chance?", She asked.

"Nope", "No"

She just hummed and nodded her head a bit, "If you happened to see him, make sure to give him this face", Mom gestured to her unimpressed face with her half lidded eyes and a small frown. Before smiling once again and saying goodbye.

Dad was in a lot of trouble.

- - -

The noises of delight that came from the children as they exited the school gates was one that could be heard from the other side of the street. All of them eagerly excited to come home from school.

I waited just by the sides of the gate, waiting for my younger brother, Artem. I looked over through the crowd of children slowly pouring out of the doors and I just eagerly waited for him, "Need a seat, boy?", I looked behind me and the guard was nice enough to bring out an extra stool, "Thank you", he just gave a friendly wave of his hand and went back to his station while I sat down at the stool.

I pulled out my phone and recalled the phone call that me and Mom had that led up to me being the one picking up Artem for the day.

"Dante? Do you feel alright today?", Mom went straight to the point,

"Yeah, yeah, why'd you ask?",

"If it's alright, can you pick up Artem today for me?"

"I don't mind, why?",

"You'll see when you pick him up",

I patiently waited for my younger brother by the gates. "Brother? Brother!", I looked up and saw Artem running towards me in full speed. He stopped just shy in front of me as his whole body vibrated with excitement. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to hide his smile.

"Come on, we can chat about your day while we walk home", I ruffled his hair as he nodded. I waved goodbye to the guard and we were on our way. Artem had a skip in his step as he told me about his whole day at school.

The activities they did and I just listened intently.

- - - -

I groggily opened my eyes and saw my parents had ushered my siblings out of the bed, my mom was the first one to see me awake, "Had a nice nap?", She giggled and I nodded along, a smile gracing my lips. I noticed how the edges of her eyes were a bit red and how her nose had a specific red tint to it, an indication after crying.

What happened?

I looked over towards Dad and gave him a questioning look and he just mouthed me the word, 'Later'. I just nodded as my mom had brought out a tupperware filled with dinner. "Artemis, can you go to the desk and ask for some spare spoons?", My mom's tone was a bit hurried but my younger sister just nodded and left for the door

"Artem, how about you join your sister? Just don't go to far from her, no?", My mom ushered my brother out the door as well and soon enough it was just me and my parents left in the room. There was an akward silent at first and then

"Mom? Have you been crying?", I asked while sitting up and she just pursed her lips together before nodding followed by a choked sob. I patted the spot besides me and she sat down, they were some tears refusing to fall down. I opened my arms and she just tackled me into a hug, with every inhale she took was followed by a broken sob.

"You've...been...", She sobbed out as I rubbed circles at her back, "Doing...so...well", she choked out before trying to calm herself down. I just sat there and hugged her close, trying to help her calm down.

It seemed the doctor didn't give the good news they were hoping for.

The door creaked open and my mom pulled away, soon wiping away her tears with a handkerchief that my dad had given her. My younger siblings came inside with 5 spoons. "We got the spoons!", My brother exclaimed as they gave mom the untensils.

Mom opened the tupperware and there she had cooked some Beef Stroganoff, my favorite food. "It was your dad's idea to cook your favorite today", she said while dad let out an akward chuckle. "Well, since the doctor had said you won't be coming home anytime soon. I thought bringing you some of your favorite food would cheer you up and give you some break from the Hospital Food", I just smiled towards Dad and gave him a thank you.

It was just comfortable silence until they had to leave, visiting hours were now over and I just waved goodbye to them, with my younger siblings promising to annoy mom or dad to visit me tomorrow.

I just laughed at their response as dad ushered them out of the room. Mom gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead and a farewell to them both. Being left alone in the dim room isn't always a good feeling, especially in recent times.

I toss and turned a bit, trying to find a good spot to get back into napping. The window gave a good view of the sky, it's filled with stars tonight. All of them twinkling individually, I let out a soft sigh before closing my eyes in trying to find a good nap.

- - - -

My eyes snapped open, the heaviness that my body felt before was now gone. I was somewhere else other than the hospital room I was admitted in.

I looked around, I am surrounded by twinkling stars with the ground beneath rippling under my feet with every movement I took.

"My, a young one already here?", I turned around and was met with a masked woman, she was holding a pocket notebook and a stamp in another hand. She looked up and tilted her head a bit to the side.

"You, Mister, are currently in the Realm of Stars" she started as she walked towards me, to ground rippling underneath her feet with every step she took. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and she stopped right in front of me.

She looked up towards me and was faced with her, "This is the realm where the soul journeys to their resting place", she added before looking through her notebook again and flipping through some pages.

Am I dead?

"Ah, here it is. We usually don't meddle with the laws of life but this is an exception", she hums before taking a step back.

"I'll be frank with you mister, if given the chance to live again...", She gestured with her hands, "How long would you like to live again?", She asked and I was flabbergasted with the sudden question. I gulped once more and I answered, "Another 21 years would be great", I replied to her and she looked at the notebook before nodding.

"Interesting, even if the life you were give doesn't have a clean start?", She asked and I just tilted my head a bit to the side, curious "What do you mean by that?", I asked as she materialized away the stamp and notebook she was holding.

"Let me reiterate again, if given the chance would you live again for 21 years but the body already has a history of living?", She asked and I just nodded, unsure still of her words. All I got was that I get another chance of living for another 21 years.

"Alright then, perfect!", She exclaimed whilst clasping her hand together, "We currently have a body that needs a soul but the old one had already left it and it isn't his time to visit the Realm of Stars", she sighed before a couple of stars started surrounding my whole figure.

"I wish you luck with your new life", she waved goodbye before adding another.

"I'll see you again when your 21 years are finished"

- - - -

My head hurts badly, it was dark all around as I tried to find the feeling in my "body" again.

"Call the doctor!",

Huh? Am I in a hospital again.

"Quickly, we must get his majesty back to the castle before any stragglers from the enemy line comes for us!"

Wait, wait, wait, majesty? stragglers? enemy lines? Did this body participated in a war or something.

What did I get into now?

"Don't worry your majesty, we will get you back safely to the castle", Hold on. Are they talking to me?

What is going on?! I should have asked that masked lady with some questions before agreeing.

Whatever the case, I should take this opportunity to have another 21 years to my life even if I didn't get a clean start again.

I should try to wake up by now.

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

YOOOO NIGHTINGALE SKGBAKJGB FIRST OF ALL HAPPY LEGAL AGE DAY!! YOU CAN NOW BE LEGALLY ARRESTED, I'M SO PROUD AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THAT DELISH BEVERAGE!!

SECOND OF ALL HOLY SHIT I DID NOT EXPECT THIS, NOT EVEN THE LENGTH I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A SNEAK PEEK! I LIKE IT, THE TRANSITIONS ARE NICELY PLACED WITH A BALANCE OF NARRATIVE AND DIALOGUE, YOU'RE DOING GOOD AND I HOPE THINGS GET BETTER! FOR YOUR WEBNOVEL AND YOUR TONSILS!!

[monkeydluffy19920]

I also noticed he’s wearing the circles like Nami does. Is there a reason for those circles?

——————————————————-

Greetings @icantthinkof1posts and many thanks for the submission :) I’ve never paid attention to this detail while watching Heart of Gold-tv special before so thanks for pointing this out!  Now that I look at the jacket pattern it surely reminds me of Nami’s skirt and jeans’ circles and after browsing her outfit gallery in One Piece fandom wiki it seems like these circles appear in many of her outfits:

The reason how those circles ended up in Sanji’s jacket in Heart of Gold probably remains a mystery forever but it indeed is a nice detail from the perspective of shipping. However, I think it is partly a coincidence, they both enjoy fashionable clothings and maybe they like same clothing brands. An interesting topic and for example my fellow shippers @pernanegra [x] and @sanjiafsincedayone [x] have written nice thoughts about clothing related to Sanji x Nami for Sannami week- event.

But in general, it’s actually pretty interesting to notice that Sanji and Nami indeed do seem to have some similarities and/ or “parallels” when it comes down to their style and clothing. For example in the following cases there seem to be something:

Sanji’s Alabasta’s outfit

First one might be very far fetched but I admit when I first saw the desert outfit after a long while, the sun on his sleeve reminded me of the logo of the Sun Pirates and guess who was part of the Sun Pirates? Arlong and then who was working under Arlong? Nami!

It’s hard to say did Oda-sensei mean any foreshadowing in this but now to think about the connection to the Sun Pirates came up later in the story line when Jinbei revealed to be close to Arlong.

Sanji knew about Nami’s backstory because Nojiko told it to them earlier when Nami struggled to fight against Arlong’s terror. She didn’t know Sanji knows so she was probably surprised why it was difficult to Sanji to face Jinbei’s confessions.

Actually the Nami’s backstory that returned in Mermaid Island arc turned unexpectedly into a parallel at the latest in Zou arc where Nami became the one who learned about Sanji’s backstory (well there was also Brook and the others but the point is, they both know their backstories)

A bit similar pattern in shirts

Before the Strawhats arrived to Alabasta, Nami wore this colorful heart-patterned shirt and later she changes it to the black/blue bikini top. Sanji also switches his outfit in Skypiea to this red-shaded and flowery patterns too that are a bit similar to Namis (who knows, maybe the same brand?)

 Punk Hazard style

Sanji’s winter outfit after the main adventures in Punk Hazard is stylish and has Nami’s colors and those S-patters partly resemble Nami’s iconic pinwheel tattoo. Her jacket instead follows a bit of Sanji’s suit jacket style (with 6 buttons)

Of course those swirls in Sanji’s jacket and in Nami’s could also represent the symbolism behind their names. My fellow shipper @eleamaya wrote a interesting analyze about their names:  Sanji = whirlpool  // Nami = Wave both things are linked to swirls.

The swirls can also be symbolism for Sanji’s curly eyebrows and now to think about, the symbol of the Arlong Pirates reminds a bit of a whirlpool if one looks quickly.

wearing blue and orange

There are obviously dozens of outfits Nami has worn but one thing that crossed my mind after browsing the One Piece’s fan gallery was that she wears a lot of blue, either the top or the bottom part which is nice because blue is a nice color.

(and yes I am color blind, I can’t distinguish blue and purple-ish well *laughs*)

Also Sanji likes to wear blue but also he has worn a lots of shades of yellow/orange.  Shipwise this  is an interesting thing to notice because their theme colors are blue and orange. Eleamaya linked it to the colors of the sunset which has these two very colors and she also pointed out there the common link in their names (related to the element of water).

(btw @sanjiafsincedayone‘s post about orange and blue sums ups well this theme)

ties

Both Nami and Sanji have been seen wearing ties both in canon and in Color Spreads, if we return into a earlier subject, Nami wears blue again in Water 7.

Offering the suit jacket to the lady

Sanji is a gentleman so it’s natural nice gesture for him to offer his jacket. First time he offered it to Nami when they survived the ordeals in Little Garden. Nami’s reaction was annoyed.

Later he gave his jacket when they were freezing in Punk Hazard’s cold side. Then Nami’s reaction was more friendly (she seemed actually be surprised about him doing it again). This is most likely because they’ve known each other for a longer time in Punk  Hazard arc.

Number 3 in clothing

There has been great analyzes about this topic but to sum it a little bit: Oda-sensei has given each Straw Hats a “theme”number that is based on their birthday and names, Sanji’s is 3.

He has worn number 3 in his outfit in Whole Cake Island arc in flashbacks when he was a child, mostly so their father and his minions could distinguish Sanji and his siblings.  Nami as well has worn number 3 in Water 7 arc. Actually Luffy has also worn numbers in the flashback arc.  but they are linked to his own birthday as far as I remember, Nami is only strawhat who has worn numbers “just for fun” so far but correct if it’s false.

Of course it might be that since  Nami was the third one to join the Straw Hats, her number also is therefore 3 which could be the reason why Oda-sensei made her wear that in Water 7.

clothing details in official art

@sanjiafsincedayone also wrote posts about the colors blue and orange and how they appear in One Piece. Oda-sensei likes to share his official One Piece art in Color Spreads between the chapters and in art collections (Color Walks) and once these are published, we fans then enjoy to find details that match to our OTP. 

Here are some of the stylish details that has been pointed out in Sanji x Nami posts about official art:

- similar/matching accessories

One thing Sannami fandom has pondered together is that they like to wear accessories, for some reason there has been a couple of drawings where the accessories are very similar to each other

(the picture below with giraffe theme is from Color Spread chapter 357 and the picture below with similar flowery necklaces is from Color Walk 5)

(They both seem to really enjoy wearing necklaces)

(and who knows, maybe that necklace that appears in Color Walk 4 could be the same as in  chapter 357)

When it comes down to similarities, there has also been same styled wristbands in chapter 878′s Color Spread

and sunglasses in the Color Spreads of chapter 941 and 835

Sanjiafsincedayone pointed out also that Nami seems to like to wear blue colored kimonos in Color Spreads

A couple of times Sanji and Nami either wear the same patterns in their clothes (i.e chapter 507)

or one wears swirls and the other rings (Chapter 937)

- character shirts, a (far fetched) foreshadow?

In chapter 692′s color spread Sanji wears a shirt where there is a character who l1ooks very much like Nami (with all the bikini top-style and curly hair)

Nami has actually worn character shirts as well, in chapter 578′s Color Spread. If the theory would be far fetched  then we could imagine that picture in her shirt could be referred to Alabasta arc (because of the cactus and desert) where he referred himself with a codename Mr Prince.

If we wanted to put this thought of this even more trickier we would think about Sabo’s background as a noble who never wanted to be a noble and ran away, just like Sanji did so that picture on her shirt could be also a parallel

but  since  the guy looks  more like Sabo perhaps it was more likely foreshadowing to Dressrosa when the Luffy’s long lost  brother made a comeback.  

And now to think about, Nami’s outfit in chapter 771′s and 588′s  Color Spreads could have foreshadowed the upcoming art since Sanji also wore ruffle-styled shirt before the tea party? (and actually, Nami’s WCI arc dress had ruffles too).

fun fact: Robin’s outfit in that Alice in Wonderland themed Color Spread was very close to what Sanji wore in WCI)

sweet escape

The gingerbread theme in chapter 902′s color spread was cute and as a shipper the view of Sanji and Nami sharing the same pattern icing/frosting/topping is cute (there were other Straw hats too in that picture but their patterns were different).

Movie 2 Clockwork Island

Last but not least in the list is One Piece’s second official movie. Yes, it’s a movie and therefore it’s non-canon but I find it interesing that out of all outfits and characters, Nami and Sanji are dressed as they could walk to the wedding aisle any minute. What makes it even more amusing is that Usopp and Zoro are dressed more traditionally and could bless their union *laughs*

And after the Whole Cake Island’s and Thriller Bark’s events and marriage theme that is quite a parallel in total (first Nami being the damsel in distress who needs to be saved from a forced marriage and then later Sanji being forced to marry because of his father’s policies) the more funnier the link between the arcs and  movie 2 feels (since there is too Nami being kidnapped and almost forced to marry someone she doesn’t want and the movie’s promo picture includes a bridal carry)

When it comes down to the concept of the word canon, It really depends on the shipper which is counted so called shipwise-material. For some everything is potential but dor some,  only manga as canon counts and  therefore everything else like side stories (fillers, movies), merchandising (ads etc.) is shipwise just so called “nice extra” (like some of these examples mentioned before) since  these filler-stories and movies are still mostly handwritten and directed by someone else than the main mangaka. Obviously Oda-sensei is the main supervisor and is very strict about what should happen and what not and he might do these detail things just for fun and it’s us reading it as signs for OTP. So all in all, as always said,

as much as we like to seek for details to support the ship,  it’s all about interpretation ;)

[fernsplaysthings]

Here’s about 2.7k words about Birds.

There’ll be more. Eventually.

Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider.

“He must know we could just kill him? I’ve killed Gods. He’s just an overstuffed Ether pinata.”

Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider.

Roost’s shell shivers like the wings of an agitated insect and he turns his single eye towards his Guardian, squinting across at them in judgement. The ornament, a tiny replica of a Vex Harpy, does make the whole spectacle a little sillier than he wants but the impact, he hopes, will be the same. Nestled in the seat of their jumpship Kestral swings their vision away from their descent into the tattered islands of the Reef to take in the scolding Ghost.

“I’m not going to kill him,” they almost whine defensively, “He just needs to know I could if I wanted to. Especially if he tries anything shitty with you. ”

The impression of a sigh sounds from the little light, “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Kes. I know we’ve seen a lot of loss and pain. Sundance, Sagira, Glint. I know some ghosts - the other kind - are showing their faces and it’s...it’s hard for you to put your feelings together. But…” Roost presses into the crook of Kestral’s neck with some force, finding rest in the collar of fur that covers their shoulders, “...You’ll always have me. We’ll have each other.”

Silence. The Ghost’s eye swivels upwards towards his Guardian’s face after waiting a moment to see if the prolonged quiet pulled a reply from them. Their face was blank and stoney and it took a moment for them to realise they were being watched intently.

Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider. Be nice to Spider.

“Stop trying to make me cry while I’m concentrating, you fuck.”

---

“Alright Kestral. The line’s secure. It’s just you, me and Roost.”

The Young Wolf sighs heavily, “Glint is it really a good idea for me to keep coming back here?”

They’d been jumping back and forth to the Shore for a short while now, meeting up with Crow for a run down on the Wrathborn situation and where they were in the general scheme of things. It’d be fine. Once the Celebrant was dead they could part ways and the Young Wolf could go back to their normal day to day activities. And their own normal thoughts. Because holy shit debating the morality of what they were doing and juggling the complex feeling of seeing the former Prince of the Reef’s face regularly, with the fact that the New Light had nothing to do with…

...that. 

It was stressful. And not ‘God slaying’ stressful. Not even embracing the Darkness stressful. Wading into the depths and heights of the fabled Deep Stone Crypt, although unique in it’s inflicted trauma - poor Artemis - hadn’t put them in the same situation. Killing came with it’s own special kind of low. Grieving was a totally different monster.

“I understand why you’re worried but he remembers nothing. Plus, he looks up to you,” the little Light sounds concerned, his synthesised voice with a pleading edge. He obviously and proudly loved his Guardian, “You’re the first kind face he’s seen and I - we would appreciate it. A lot, Kestral.”

Another heavier sigh and the Hunter kneaded at their temples, bracing themselves to see that face again. Reliving the moment - moments? - over again in their mind. Cayde’s final rattling words. Uldren’s futile attempts to reason his way out from the sights of Petra’s gun. The new confounding idea that they now felt something aside from pity for the man that had been laid out on the floor unready to die.

“We’ll be in the lair in a few minutes. Let Spider know we’re on our way.”

“Will do, Guardian. We’re looking forward to seeing you!”

---

Coming face to face with the man that inhabited the body of Uldren Sov was a little less jarring these days and, although still entirely uncomfortable and a little like walking on eggshells at all times, they did kind of look forward to the quick wit - without the underlying loathing he’d always had before - and how damn earnest he was. A real Guardian, determined with all his heart to help people around him.

It was endearing. Unfortunately.

Mostly because it reminded them a little of their early Guardian days. Way back when things were somehow both simpler and more difficult. When they’d known that they wanted to help wherever they saw pain and danger but unsure of who they were and what cause they were fighting for aside from the driving urge to protect...

Even when they’d end up carrying the resulting hurt with them when they left.

Long before the ‘Young Wolf’ was an icon amongst Guardians, Kestral had been sweet and earnest themself. Driven but alone. Aside from Roost, of course. And despite the fact that the face and voice of their newest member of the flock had haunted their nightmares for months they still didn’t want ‘Guardian-hood’ to break him down too. For him to succumb to the slow process of losing himself to the need to help, whatever the cost.

Shared burdens and all that.

Plus Kestral liked to think that they had a good bit of experience under their belt to pass on to him so perhaps he’d find himself happily surrounded in the Guardian ‘culture’ one day soon.

“With Savek defeated and a good number of Wrathborn taken care of I think our next target is somewhere near the mines to the north.”

Crow stands over his cluttered desk, a map somewhat resembling the Tangled Shore spread beneath his hands and marked with crosses in seemingly random locations. One of them they recognised, Sjursrest, where the Wrathborn Eliksni Savek had been called. She hadn’t been the worst enemy to fight and Spider had left them alone for a while afterwards. Apparently he was mildly generous after they’d achieved a small goal.

Naturally the generosity only lasted until another of his shipments suddenly vanished and then it was straight back to work for his poor underling.

“You think the smaller Wrathborn might lead us straight to them again?”

He turns his attention to the Hunter at his side, a head shorter than himself - if you didn’t include the nest of hair in their high ponytail - and catches their gaze. They really wanted to hate that glowing yellow stare but...it was softer than Uldren’s had ever been when looking at them. Held less contempt for what they were.

It didn’t feel like he was sizing them up for a coffin.

Realising he’d been looking a little too long, perhaps uncomfortable with the Hunter’s unnervingly steady returned look, Crow cleared his throat, “If you try the lure at the Cryptolith again we can see where it leads.”

“Sounds good to me,” they reply, stepping back from the map and holding out a palm for Roost to transmat into, “I’ll keep in touch. Unless you’ll be joining me this time?”

The slightly clunky sound of Glint’s shell as he twisted in alarm snapped Kestral away from Roost and they arched an eyebrow.

“Crow, I know you want to help but you have to stay out of sight.”

His shoulders visibly slouch and Kestral hated how defeated he looked when, knowing the ache of feeling useless, they understood how much he wanted to be out there. It made sense to keep him secreted away though, just in case a single Guardian out on the Shore recognised his face and matched him to his former life. Just in case they felt the need to let him know that they knew what he’d done. If Kestral hadn’t been sure that Uldren deserved death even at the end of their hunt, this man, completely unconnected in everything but appearance, definitely didn’t deserve the abuse he’d suffered at the hands of other Lightbearers like them.

Why did Glint have to mention them being the first friendly Guardian he’d seen?

Crow straightened up, his momentary lapse in drive apparently a small hiccough and shot a grin over to his Ghost, “I see, you want to keep me all to yourself. I can’t blame you.”

With that Kestral decided they’d seen enough wholesome Light interactions for the day and threw up a lax salute before turning on their heel and heading for the exit.

“Glint has our feed, if you find anything new let us know.”

---

The following week happened to be the beginning of the Tower’s Dawning celebration. Having taken down yet another of the big Wrathborn, a heavy shank that decided to be the biggest pain in their ass, Kestral assumed that Spider could give the newest addition to his collection a small break to enjoy a mini version of the festivities. Since Glint had explained that their last Dawning had been ‘difficult’ - Kestrel preferred the term ‘emotionally scarring’ - they’d taken it upon themself, with a little prodding from Roost, to see to it that Crow at least received some traditional cookies from at least one Guardian.

Sadly, letting the rest of the fireteam know that the body of Uldren Sov walked again and that of all people Kestral, bringer of his demise, was taking him cookies…

Yeah they didn’t have time to unpack that.

So one tin of cookies (varied flavours), a string of tiny lights shaped like engrams, two servings of powdered hot chocolate (marshmallows stored separately) and a small gift wrapped delicately in a bow made their way aboard the jumpship storage before they travelled to the Tangled Shore.

A mote of panic made its way into their mind as they landed and gathered the items; what if he didn’t like any of this? They could just leave the goods on the ship and not have to worry about being mocked...or making him feel patronised by their silly traditions. Roost’s slitted glare forced them to continue though. He completely believed Crow and Glint would appreciate the gestures and Kestral hoped that he’d been speaking with the new Lightbearer’s Ghost to confirm as much. Either that or Roost had far too much faith in his goofy Guardian’s ideas on ‘welcoming’ and ‘festivities’.

Of course all that was immediately followed by the slap in the face that was ‘realising they wanted Crow to be happy’ and decided to focus on fitting everything in their arms instead.

Naturally the easiest way to get everything to the lair would have been to transmat it all at the same time, but something had to be said for riding up with a stack of goodies. Plus Spider hated it when they rolled in on their sparrow and ditched it in the corridor for a while before sending it away. He’d not been impressed on seeing that his (least) favourite Guardian seemed to have something other than work on their mind but he said little about it. Kestrel strode by quickly regardless because any conversation with Spider that could be avoided, should be.

Glint heard them before they’d rounded the corner, floating just out of view of the entrance, little eye lighting up brighter when he realised who’d turned up. And that they had stuff.

“You didn’t warn us!”

Kestrel struck an awkward pose, upper body ladened with their bounty, “Surprise?”

Crow’s head peeked around into the corridor soon after they’d spoken, a small tilt of the head and raised eyebrow as he glanced towards Glint questioningly. The Ghost simply rounded on Kestral and Roost, nudging them into the room before spinning excitedly.

“What is all this?”

Although trying not to meet his confused face - for fear, embarrassment or shame - the Hunter realised they’d need some extra arms to sort things out. Especially since Crow’s work surfaces seemed to be partially covered in machinery and scrap, with the other parts covered in grease and...Hive gunk? No matter what it was, it was no place for cookies. Placing the small stack in his arms Kestral quickly slung the lights over...something...and powered them up.

The small ‘oh’ could’ve come from either Glint or Crow, they weren’t sure.

“Do you have somewhere sort of clean to sit?”

Glancing over to a seat fashioned from assorted stuff Crow made a pained grimace, “Not going to lie I’m not exactly used to having guests.”

No matter. An ‘only slightly ruined dust sheet’ thrown over it and Kestral was satisfied that it would do for something to sit on for a bit. They took the mini festive haul back from Crow and gestured for him to perch as they held out the tin of cookies.

“I wasn’t sure what flavour you like so…” their smile was awkward, “Yeah. I made a bunch.”

“A bunch of what?”

The Ghosts’ simultaneous outbursts made both Lightbearers startle a little and when Glint settled into a very gentle description of Dawning cookie traditions Kestral took their seat beside him, swinging their legs up to hug their knees.

“Dig in. I bought hot drinks too.”

During the time taken for Kestral to find a comfortable position and for Roost to nestle into his favourite resting spot - Kestrel’s fluffy shoulders - Crow had taken bites of, what looked like, one of each cookie flavour and Glint was telling him which flavours they probably were. Once again Kestral found themself forgetting some of the weird past involving the body beside them, and investing themself in how engrossed in trying cookies he was. How much fun Glint was having talking about festivals now that they’d both finally been able to experience a bit. How much more there was to come and-

“Sorry, do you want some?”

The Hunter blinked up at him, “They’re all yours. I don’t want to help myself to your gift.”

“Glint sa-” the little Ghost tapped a point of his shell against Crow’s face and the New Light stuttered, “Thank you, Kestral. Roost.”

A saccharine warmth filled their chest for a moment, Roost’s shell fluttering again at the shared happiness and pride. They wanted to hate it so much. ‘Past Kestral’ screamed internally about grief and pain and weariness. ‘Present Kestral’ was tired of that and kind of liked the soft smile on their companion’s face - just because they knew they’d helped, nothing else of course - and the way his little Light seemed to buzz with the sheer affection at seeing his Guardian content.

“One more thing,” they press the small gift into his hands, “Don’t get too excited.”

The Awoken’s slightly blank stare prompted Glint into another explanation about how ‘the paper’s actually meant to be removed’ and so on, Kestral mesmerised - oh no - watching him deftly undo the bow they’d worked quite hard to form, reel the ribbon into a roll and then carefully unwrap the paper, Glint all the while egging him on to tear it open since ‘gifts are supposed to be exciting’.

It wasn’t an exciting gift but they did what they could.

On the Crow’s lap lay a folded pile of thick wool and fleece, edges neatly stitched into tidy seams. The deep red of the main body of fabric seemed to be the ideal colour based on what he wore but...well, Roost had said it was a good idea. He’d unfolded it with care, running his hands over the plush underside of the item, that same soft smile on his face.

“Aha, a cosy blanket.”

“I’m sorry if it’s not much I-”

“No! No, it’s...nice. Spider doesn’t supply much in the way of luxury, and…” his voice was a kind laugh as he gestured down to his lap where Glint had already made himself a nest in the folds of the blanket, “...I think it’ll be well used.”

Kestral hadn’t intended to spend almost a full day on the Shore chattering with Crow but somewhere along the way, later into the evening, they’d dug out a camping stove, filled a pan with water and made up two hot chocolates by the colourful glow of the string lights. The pair had settled down, opposite ends of the makeshift bench, feet messily thrown somewhere on the ‘seat’ between them, warm cups in hand. And at some point while immersed in talk of other festivals celebrated at the tower, the blanket had made its way from just covering Crow’s knees to being shared across them both.

Underneath the lively Guardians’ conversation the pair of Lights quietly decided that this might become a little more complicated than they’d anticipated.

[the-pale-goddess]

The Talk - Ethan Ramsey x MC (Tiffany Addams)

And I’ve got nothing left to lose, besides you

I’ve already lost you once, what more could you do?

Warnings: a few curse words, a bottle of wine, just a mere mention of some adult themes? nothing filthy this time – what happened to me???

Author’s note: This fic is the second part of We’ll Talk About It Later two shot based on OH2, Ch 8+9 > the first part: Breaking The Habit (NS*FW)

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, but... the talk™ is finally here. I’ve put so much work into this and I don’t think I’d ever be satisfied with the result so...I’m just posting the last version and never reading it again lol  

Taglist - none of the tags worked last time, so I’ll post the taglist separately in a reblog

_____

We'll talk about it later.

Tiffany's mind was racing at a speed she couldn't control. She stared out the window the whole ride from her apartment to Ethan's, stealing only occasional glances in his direction. They didn't talk much in the car and she was grateful he didn't push the small talk through. The young doctor was reluctant to burst the bubble prematurely and this soothing silence proved to be a source of cold comfort.

Everything seemed so volatile...She needed them to be real now more than ever. But the fear of another heartbreak was eating her alive. Sure, there's been an evident shift in his behavior. As the walls of his stern professionalism have been gradually crumbling down, the list of their unethical pursuits kept on growing – he let her back in, he confided in her, he was showing her affection, he kissed her twice, he comforted her, he fucked her brains out just a moment ago in his office...But he never said he changed his mind about the nature of their relationship. We'll talk about it later. And later was finally coming their way.

„So...Your friends weren't home?” Ethan was the one to break the silence and Tiffany's stomach jumped.

„Yeah, Sienna & Elijah are doing the night rounds. Jackie's probably out & about. I'm not sure about Aurora.” She tried to keep her thoughts in check by recognizing the neighborhood. They must've been just a few minutes away from his apartment.

„What about Lahela?” Tiffany cocked her brow and looked at him with arms folded across her chest.

„What about him?” Her giggle received a reproving side-eye.

„He's not living with you?” Ethan's hidden agenda behind this question was blatant and made Tiffany laugh even harder.

„No. He's just always around, you know, as a part of the gang. Just like...” Her voice suddenly cracked and she swallowed loud before finishing the sentence. „Kyra.”

Ethan's hand slipped on her knee, giving it a comforting squeeze as they were driving into the underground parking in his building. He parked in his spot and turned the engine off.

„Tiffany...” He took her hand in his, their fingers entwined tightly. They shifted in their seats to face one another. There was something different about his smile, something warmer than what she was used to. „Do you remember your first weeks at Edenbrook?”

„How could I ever forget?”

„I've made the beginning of your internship truly horrible, haven't I?” The roughness of his fingers far removed from the gentle touch of his thumb against her silken skin.

„Well...I wouldn't say it was that horrible. But I have to admit you were extremely demanding and harsh. Not to mention you had a real mean streak.”

„I was an asshole, Tiffany. Let's face it.” She dropped her jaw in surprise, but didn't oppose. „I played on your emotions and pushed you to your limits.”

„You wanted me to be the best doctor I could be, I...”

„You had the potential to be the best even without my supervision. Besides, my motives are not the case here.” He interrupted her with a shake of his head. „The point is...I pushed you hard. And you always pushed back. You have a habit of finding a way through all the mud and the dirt. Everything you've experienced only made you stronger and prepared you for the worst. You can do anything, Rookie.”

„Ethan...” She smiled at him with teary eyes and leaned closer.

„I suppose it's not much of a comfort when your friend is dying and you're more than aware of the grim prognosis...But we'll do whatever it takes to save Kyra. And you'll be the strongest support by her side.”

„Didn't we establish earlier that the idea is to stop me from crying, not make me all weepy again?” They shared a laugh while Tiffany tried to keep her tears at bay.

„We did. I just thought you needed a reminder of how powerful you are.” Without a warning, he captured her lips in a sweet, long kiss. Her heart was ready to jump out of her chest.

„I feel reminded. Your mission was a howling success, Doctor.” She muttered between a few quick pecks on the lips.

„Have you seriously considered a different outcome?” His scoff earned a roll of her eyes.

„Oh, boy...I suppose your ego will be joining us at the dinner?”

„My ego will cook the dinner. Quit complaining, let's go upstairs.” She gave him that look before they finally got out of the car. The you're fucking unbelievable look, the one that always gave him an unhealthy sense of pride. Truth be told, he was justifiably proud of himself this time – shutting Tiffany Addams up is quite an accomplishment.

***

„Jenner's in Providence again?” Tiffany asked while taking her heels off. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when her bare feet touched the cold marble floor.

„Yes. My father's babysitting him.” With a simple hand gesture Ethan invited her to follow him further inside. He watched her walk by his side in a skintight jacket dress. He noticed the change in her clothing back in the car, but it was impossible to admire it in the dim glow of the streetlamps. He had to catch up.

„I miss this fella and his cute little paws.” She pouted with disappointment as they moved towards the kitchen.

„Don't worry, he'll be back next week.” Tiffany flushed under Ethan's intense gaze. The unspoken promise of whatever could happen next startled them both.

„Is that an invitation?” She leaned on the counter trying not to show how nervous she was. But Ethan looked right through her. He took a step forward, approaching her with a similar trepidation, and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.

„It is. Mind that Jenner tends to extend his walks – you'll need a pair of comfortable shoes for that.”

„Noted. I'll be ready.” She nodded, cursing herself as a reminder to stay stane. But it was already too late, she was under his spell.

„I need a shower before we start demolishing my kitchen.” Ethan looked her up and down, his eyes were trailing over her curves while his thoughts tormented him with the vivid memory of the silky skin underneath her clothes. „Would you...like to join me?”

Tiffany hesitated with the answer. A part of her demanded immediate answers, the other urged her to throw herself into his arms. She bit her lip so hard she probably bruised it, if Ethan's teeth haven't already done that before.

„As tempting as it sounds...If I'd choose to shower with you we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off each other.” She returned the hungry look and smiled like a wicked witch. „And I came here for that talk you owe me.”

„You're right.” Tiffany could sense the heightened tension in Ethan's voice, no matter how much he tried to hide it. „First things first.”

„First things first.” She repeated after him. „Besides, I freshened up real quick in my apartment. I can actually play the assistant chef while you're showering.”

„Not a bad idea. We're having salmon with tomato sauce.” He moved across the kitchen to get the ingredients. „It's the kind of comfort food that doesn't require much time and energy.”

„I really like the sound of that. Just boss me around, Chef Ramsey.” Tiffany winked at him with a teasing smile, unintentionally testing his patience. He shook his head undefeated, the iconic smirk playing back on his face, his fragile composure still in place.

„You can start with squashing these tomatoes.” He put a bowl of ripe cherry tomatoes in front of her, soon joined by a bulb of fresh young garlic. „And then slice the garlic nice and thin. You'll find all the equipment you need in the drawers on your left.”

„Got it! Just don't take too long.” She waved at Ethan's back while checking the nearest drawer in search of a proper knife and a cutting board.

After gathering all the necessities, she washed the tomatoes and chopped them in halves. When she finished slicing the bulb of garlic into thin wedges, she instinctively moved to the liquor cabinet and started browsing through an impressive collection of expensive wines, allowing herself to pick their poison for tonight.

The search was interrupted by Ethan's footsteps. Tiffany strolled back to reality, experiencing another surge of undeclared anxiety. She glanced at him over her shoulder and the sight had her taken aback.

„Ethan Ramsey in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants? My, oh my...You took the sleepover joke way too seriously.” She hid behind a soft giggle, hoping it would relieve some of the tension.

„You don't think that I move around my house in a suit, do you?” The amused grimace on her face made him chuckle. „Please, don't answer that.”

„Sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you. I just...” Her eyes scanned his body, admiring the way the tight white shirt fit over his defined chest. „Didn't really expect you to be serving this kind of look.”

„Well.” His hand flicked through his damp hair. „I intend to serve you dinner.”

„Then what are we waiting for?” Tiffany grinned at his response and Ethan shook his head with a slight discomfiture as he guided her back to the kitchen. She took one of the bottles and quickly followed him.

„Peregrine is an excellent choice.” Ethan pointed at the red Burgundy cradled in her arms. She fixed him with a meaningful look and put the bottle on the table, waiting for him to bring the corkscrew and two glasses.

„Yeah, I'm a big fan of high-class red wine.” He snorted with laughter while opening the bottle.

„You picked the one with the funniest name, am I right?” Tiffany bit her bottom lip and laughed along as she walked up behind him, sniffing at the fresh scent of his musky cologne mixed with the shower gel.

„What gave me away?” Her eyes were fixed on the burgundy liquor slowly filling the glass. In spite of the seemingly laid-back atmosphere, neither of them could shake the pervasive tension off.

„Let's just say I'm familiar with your drinking habits.” He offered her a full glass and a cheeky smile, and she readily accepted both, brushing his finger ever so slightly when she reached for her drink. Their eyes immediately locked.

„I can't even disagree with you on that. Would you like to propose a toast?”

They kept on staring at each other for a long while, the maddening silence wrapped around them, closing the distance between their bodies.

„To happy endings and new beginnings.” As soon as their glasses clinked, they dipped their lips into the wine, holding the gaze the whole time.

„We should...”

„By all means, yes. The cooking will take about 10 to 15 minutes, so you can make yourself comfortable in the living room.”

„No, I'm coming with you, Chef.” He raised his brows, a knowing smile lit his face up and he nodded in approval.

Tiffany sat on a bar stool in the kitchen, where she had a first-row view at Chef Ramsey in action. He put a drizzle of oil to a hot frying pan and fried the garlic until it was caramelized. Then, he added the tomatoes and cooked the sauce for a few minutes, trying not to distract his attention from the kitchen maneuvers. With a determined effort of will he maintained his focus, barely squinting at Tiffany, as she watched him hypnotized – studying his face and every move he accomplished with mathematical precision.

„You're strangely silent.” He stole a glance at his companion while seasoning the salmon.

„Shh. I'm watching a cooking show.” A dulcet laughter escaped Ethan's mouth and he found himself distracted for one split second when Tiffany sent him the most charming smile.

He put the fillets in another pan and cooked them until the fish was done. After he chopped and stirred fresh mint and dill through the sauce, he dished up the salmon fillets and served them with a generous spread of the sauce and a side of Greek salad.

The Chef Ramsey Special lived up to Tiffany's expectations and she eagerly praised Ethan's cooking skills during the dinner. They managed to forget about the whole purpose of the visit for the time being, chatting about everything and nothing in particular. As quickly as they finished the first glass of wine after the meal, the odd vexation sneaked up on them again.

„Shall we move somewhere comfortable?” Ethan's offer was greeted with a quiet acceptance. Tiffany strolled to the living room and curled up on the couch. Ethan refilled their glasses and joined her, keeping the safe distance between them. His emotions rapidly skipped from vaguely calm to a nervous wreck. He took a massive gulp of wine in order to gather his courage and looked over the room.

„So...”

„We're really doing this.” Tiffany crooned.

„I suppose we are...” He took a deep breath, thinking of a proper way to verbalize his thoughts.

„I had a really long talk with my dad after you've left the other night. It made me realize what a timorous fool I've been.” He downed his Pinot Noir, holding the glass with shaky fingers.

„That's one way to put it.” She took a sip of her wine, leaning on the big pillow.

„A delusional jackass. A blind asshole...” He continued, his voice was dripping with absolute contempt.

„I think I got the gist, Ethan.” She covered his hand with hers. A rueful smile spread across his face as his thumb brushed her skin.

„Tiffany, I can't even begin to apologize for all the hurt I've caused.” He muttered, deeply ashamed.

„You tore my heart apart. I won't lie about that. All these nights I've been wondering where did I go wrong. I've tried to explain to myself which part of me was so undeserving...” She trailed off, her gaze focused on her half-empty glass of wine. The anguish of rejection was stamped on Tiffany's mind. She felt a stabbing pain, much like an old wound just reopened in her chest. The depth of this feeling was so overwhelming, it made her sick and she found herself near to tears.

„Tiffany.” Ethan squeezed her hand tight, his expression dead serious. „It was never about you.”

„I've realized that soon enough. It was always about you, Ethan. And I really thought I could fix you.”

„But you did fix me.” Her eyes met his again, their gaze reflecting the overflowing wave of emotions that filled the room. „I'm sorry it took me so long to acknowledge all the effort and hope you've put into me. You've fought for me tirelessly even when I felt like giving up on myself.”

„I'd never give up on you, even if it was the right thing to do.” She smiled through fresh tears cascading down her cheeks. Ethan's thumb immediately came to the rescue, wiping them away with a gentle stroke and a reassuring smile.

„Does that mean you accept my apology?” Tiffany bobbed her head in answer and sniffled quietly. Ethan drew closer to her, sighing softly with relief when she allowed their knees to touch and leaned into him.

„It's very rare that I'm wrong...But I'm willing to admit when I am. And I was hopelessly wrong about pushing you away, Tiffany.”

She regarded his features thoughtfully without saying a word. Once he realized it's a subtle sign that she's waiting for him to elaborate on the subject, he pinched the bridge of his nose and pressed ahead with his discourse.

„I always considered love to be a load of bollocks. I never thought it was on the cards for me. Then I met you and I knew right from the start that you will turn my world upside down.” The words stuck in his throat for a second. Her fingers entwined with his, sending an encouraging shiver down his spine as he continued. „I was such an adamant coward, too scared to admit that I'm losing my heart to you. I fooled myself into thinking that running away will solve everything.”

„But it didn't solve anything, did it? The reset button didn't work.”

„I don't remember psychology major on your resume, Rookie.” The corners of his mouth formed a cheeky grin.

„I can't blame you, it was listed as a hobby.” She shrugged her shoulders with a triumphant smile. Ethan studied her face in silence for a moment, as if he was looking for the missing piece of the puzzle.

„That's right, it didn't.” He finally affirmed. „I've been living in denial, making excuses I didn't even believe myself. But it ends now. I'm coming clean. ”

Tiffany freezed, feeling panic-stricken all of a sudden. It was happening. She wrote the script down in her mind, rehearsed it about a thousand times and waited patiently until that very moment to watch it unfold. It was really happening. Deep in her heart she knew what he was going to say. He didn't have to actually say it. And yet, it was crucial that he did.

Ethan imagined he'd be composed. He prepared himself to remain calm. He had it all planned, calculated and revised. The world-beating diagnostician failed to add one variable to his equation, though – the presence of the woman he's in love with. The way her wet emerald eyes penetrated his every thought, or how quickly her unstable breathing caused his limbs to shake. But this was the moment. The ultimate make-or-break decision.

The air suddenly brimmed over with bullish expectations. They gazed into each other's eyes, anxiously anticipating what was about to happen. Ethan inhaled sharply before speaking up, trying not to let the overpowering variety of emotions affect the outcome of the talk.

„I want you. I want to...Be with you.” He reached for her hand again and placed a kiss on her palm, studying the thunderstuck expression on her face. „I want to make us work properly this time. If you would have me back I promise I won't let you down.”

Tiffany freezed up completely as she stared at him speechless for what felt like forever. Ethan held her hand tight, stamping one of his feet impatiently in the hope of an immediate response.

Nothing could possibly prepare her for this. His last words triggered something hidden in Tiffany's memory. Her mind flashed back to the first day of her internship, and that distant thought brought an arcane smile to her lips.

„You can see the future?” When she finally found her tongue, Ethan's jaw dropped on the floor. Those were his words. A quick recollection of their conversation during the very first day of Tiffany's internship splashed across his mind.

„I guess I deserved that.” He chuckled lightly and rubbed his chin. Tiffany's infectious giggle was short-lived as her expression turned into an unsolvable riddle. She looked him deep in the eye, still holding his other hand.

„I can't have you back, Ethan.”

Ethan stopped breathing for a second and his body broke out in cold sweat. He didn't understand. Everything was going according to the plan...Has he misjudged her intentions? Could they really be at cross purposes?

„I can't have you back...Because you've never actually left.” Tiffany closed the distance between them, lowering her voice to a soft whisper. „You're the blood in my veins.”

Time stopped the moment they exchanged looks, allowing the meaning of their confessions to wash over them. They marvelled at each other with a beam of happiness, never breaking the gaze.

„Don't let me down, Ethan.” His face lit up with the most radiant smile she's ever seen on him and it was the only answer she needed.

„I'm never making this mistake again. I've learned my lesson.” He grabbed her by the sides and with one swift movement placed her on top of his legs. His hand traveled all the way up to cup her cheek, while she hooked her arms around his neck and squeezed him in a crushing hug.

„I'll be the judge of that.” Tiffany gently bumped her nose against his and licked her lips. Before she could blink, Ethan's lips crashed into hers with tremendous ardour. The kiss tasted like dry red wine and the longed-for sweet victory. It was urgent and deep.

And it still wasn’t enough.

[fanaticfangirl001]

Like Real People Do Ch 5: An Assassin, A Terrorist, A thief, and A Bird Walk Into Madripoor

Taglist:

@p3nny4urth0ught5, @kissofvenom922

Ch 5:

Author’s note:

“I’m going to go in alone.” Bucky turns to Winnie and Sam.

“Why?” Sam asks.

“Bucky does have a better chance of getting answers.” Winnie adds.

“Also you’re an Avenger. You know how he feels about that.” Bucky says.

“It’s not like you two are known for frolicking in the sun together.”

“Zemo would be a good informant though, Sam.”

“He was obsessed with HYDRA. We have a history together. Trust me. I got it.” Bucky walks off to speak with Zemo.

Sam turns to Winnie “ Why aren’t you volunteering to go in with him?”

“I can’t, I doubt Zemo likes me much.” Winnie scoffs.

“Right, SHIELD.”

“Yeah.” Winnie nods hoping Sam drops it.

“So.” Sam changes the subject, “ You were kind of out of it when I mentioned Sharon.”

“I said then that I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“How about now?”

“Look, right before Shield fell I found some documents connecting the dots.I saved them to a flash drive and drove my ass home to the apartment Sharon and I shared. I tried to tell her, she got defensive, we got in a fight. She claimed I was a part of Hydra. I called her a bitch and left.” Winnie explains.

“That’s rough.”

“Yeah, I don’t see us working it out. “

“There’s always couple’s therapy.” Sam suggests with a laugh.

“Oh right, how’d that session go?”

“Got to stare into his baby blues.”

“Did that help?”

“No.”

“I could do better than that.”

“Oh I bet he’d like that.” Sam smirks.

“Not what I meant.” Winnie rolls her eyes.

“What are you talking about breaking Zemo out of jail? Where the hell are we Buck? Have you lost your mind?” Sam asks.

“That’s a fantastic idea, Buck.” Winnie says sarcastically.

“We have no leads, no moves, nothing.”

“What we have is one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars.”

“That Bucky wants to let out of those bars.” Winnie sidesteps by Sam to avoid tripping.

“We also have eight super soldiers on the loose.”

“Shit, he’s gotta point, Sam.”

“Zemo is gonna mess with our minds. Especially yours.”

“He also probably doesn’t like me either.” Winnie adds rubbing the back of her neck.

“Offense, super soldiers go against everything he believes in. He is crazy but he still has a code.”

“How crazy?” Winnie asks.

“Bag of cats.” Sam answers.

“He blew up the UN, killed King T’chaka and framed you for it.” Sam continues.

“We don’t know how they’re getting the serum.”

Bucky says.

“We don’t even know how much serum is out there.” Winnie replies then adds “ Or who put it out there in the first place.”

“What did you do?” Sam asks.

“I didn’t do anything.” Bucky says calmly.

Winnie takes a deep breath and puts her hands on her guns. If Bucky did what she thinks he did, then it’s only a matter of time before shit gets real.

“The weakest point in any system is not the software, the hardware, it's the meatware.The human element…” Bucky continues.

Three seconds to draw, two seconds to fire, three seconds to draw two seconds to fire, Winnie thinks over and over.

“I don’t like how natural, you’re being about this, and where are we, man?”

More lights fill the area and a door opens.

“Woah Woah Woah, What are you doing here!”

“I didn’t want to tell you cause I knew you’d never let this happen.”

Winnie follows the two with a gun in hand.

“What did you do?”

“We need him, Sam.”

“You’re going back to prison.”

“If I may..” Zemo starts.

“No!” Both shout.

Winnie stands besides them with her gun pointed at Zemo.

“Apologies.”Zemo says softly then looks at Winnie.

“When Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you back him.” Bucky continues.

“I really think I’m invaluable.”

“Shut up.” Sam turns to Zemo.

“If we do this, you don’t make a move without our permission.” Sam says to Zemo.

“Fair.”

Zemo turns to Winnie and says “You’ve been very quiet. Penny for your thoughts.”

“Don’t let him mess with you.” Sam says as Winnie puts her gun back in the holster. “Okay, Zemo, where do we start.”

“So our first move is grand theft auto?”

“These are mine, collected by family over the generations.” Zemo starts collecting his things out of the cars.

“Nice wheels.” Winnie gestures to a vintage cadillac.

“So she speaks.”

“Leave her alone.” Bucky says.

“I ended the Winter Soldier program once before. I have no intention of leaving my work unfinished. To do this, we’ll have to scale a ladder of lowlifes.”

“Well, join the party. We’ve already started.”

“First stop is a woman named Selby.” Zemo says carrying his bags away. “Mid level fence I still have a line on. From there, we climb.”

Walking up to the private jet, “ So all this time you’ve been rich.” Sam asks.

“I’m a Baron, Sam.” Zemo says as the four climb on the jet, “ My family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country.”

Zemo drinks the champagne his butler serves him.

“It seems like you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t know your name, and if I had known such a treasure would be with those two idiots, I’d escape sooner.” He says to Winnie.

“She’s Winnie, she’s a hacker. That’s your introduction.” Bucky says gruffly.

“ A hacker...interesting.” Zemo sips at his champagne.

“Not really.”

“Oh no, it is. You’re not with an agency, I guess.”

“No.”

“No health insurance or dental, no pay check.”

“None of that.”

“Do you live in a house?”

“Yes.”

“With no income?”

“Yes.”

“Must have a wealthy family?

“No, I’m an orphan.”

“Then pray tell how you get paid.”

“Easy, like Buck said, I’m a hacker, To make money I hack into bank accounts of the rich and take very little in the grand scheme of things. One percent of the richest men in the world’s wealth.”

“Winnie.” Sam nudges her.

“It’s the truth.” Winnie adds. “Besides not like he needed it in prison.”

The conversation lulls to a deafening silence.

“Why don’t you tell us where we’re going?” Sam asks.

“Sorry I was just fascinated by this. I don’t know what to call it, but this part seems to be important. Who is Nakajima?”

Bucky jerks across and grabs Zemo by the throat.

“If you touch that again, I’ll kill you.”

Zemo nods understanding and Bucky sits back down.

“You okay, Buck.” Winnie asks.

Bucky nods.

“I’m sorry. I understand the list of names.People you’ve wronged as the Winter Soldier.”

“Don’t push it.”

“I’ve seen that book.” Sam adds. “It was Steve’s when he came out of the ice. I told him about Trouble Man. He wrote it in that book. Did you hear it? What’d you think?”

“I like ‘40s music, so...” Bucky answers.

“You didn’t like it.”

“I liked it.”

“It is a masterpiece, James. Complete. Comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience”

“He’s out of line, but he’s right.”

“Extremely right.” Winnie adds.

“Everyone likes Marvin Gaye.”

“I like Marvin Gaye.”

“Steve adored Marvin Gaye.”

“You must have really looked up to Steve.But I realized something when I met him. The danger with people like him, America’s super soldiers is that we put them on pedestals.”

“Watch your step, Zemo.”

Winnie watches Bucky, and nudges his leg with her foot. He nudges her foot back with a small smile.

“They become symbols. Icons. And then we start to forget about their flaws. From there cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought.”

“There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.” Winnie quotes Machiavelli.

“Clever.” Zemo says then adds “ Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we go to Madripoor.”

“What’s up with Madripoor? You talk about it like it’s Skull Island.”

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary in the 1800s.”

“It’s kept it’s lawless ways.”

“Well let’s get the show on the road.” Winnie picks up her bag.

“We can’t exactly walk in as ourselves. James you will have to become someone you claim is gone.”

“We have to fix this.” I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

“Only an American would assume a fashion forward Black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing. The sophisticated, charming, African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.”

“Who am I?” Winnie asks. She dressed in a glittering short golden dress with black thigh high boots.

“A sugar baby.”

“Why am I the sugar baby?”

“It’s a role I thought you would be the most comfortable with.”

“Is this payback for stealing money from you.”

“No.”

“Oh well then Sam and I will be constantly vigilant. I have extra guns strapped to my thighs just in case.”

“The Smiling Tiger doesn’t have a sugar baby.”

“Then who am I..” Winnie’s face falls as she realizes who she’s paired up with on this mission.

“That.” Zemo points to her face,�� is payback enough.”

“I don’t like you at all, but good play.” Winnie admits holding out her hand.

Zemo takes her hand and kisses it.

“Oh you don’t have to do that.” Winnie adds.

“No matter what happens we have to stay in character.”

The four of them climb into the car headed for Low Town.

Winnie stays close to Zemo looking around.

Zemo wraps an arm around her and whispers “Relax and fake like you’re meant to be here.”

“Right.” Winnie straightens her postures and twirls her hair between her fingers.

“We’re here.” Zemo then speaks to Bucky in russian: Ready to comply, Winter Soldier.

Once at the bar the bartender welcomes them “ Hello Gentleman, and lady, Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.”

“His plans changed, we have to do business with Selby.”

“The usual?” The bartender suggests.

“Ah, Smiling Tiger, your favorite.” Zemo says.

Winnie puts a hand on Zemo’s shoulder and lightly squeezes it.

“I love these.” Sam takes the glass

“Cheers, Conrad.”

Sam takes the drink and swallows the snake organ.

A man comes up to Zemo and Winnie lets go of his arm. Zemo wraps his arm around her.

“I got word from on high. You ain’t welcome here.”

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…”

“New haircut.” The man nods towards Bucky.

“Or bring Selby for a chat.”

“Power broker, really.”

“Every kingdom needs its king. Let’s just stay under his radar.”

“Do you know him?”

“Only by reputation. In Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner.” Zemo begins walking to the middle of the room speaking Russian to Bucky.

‘ Oh no, Winnie thinks, it’s showtime.’

Bucky attacks the man standing beside Zemo. People begin recording. Multiple men are attacked until a gun is cocked.

“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.”

“You’re undoing so much therapy.” Winnie adds softly.

“Keep in character or the whole bar turns against us.” Zemo adds softly before ending Bucky’s commands.

“Selby will see you now.” The bartender says.

“You good?” Sam asks.

Bucky doesn’t answer, just walks off.

The four go up the stairs.

“You should know, Baron.” Selby says “ People don’t just come into my bar and make demands.”

“Not a demand, an offer.”

“A lot has changed since you were here last.By the way I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?”

“People like us always find a way, don’t we. I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.”

“You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger.”She purs, “ What’s the offer?”

“Tell us what you know about the super soldier serum. And I give you him.” Zemo touches Bucky’s face. “Along with the code words to control him, of course.He will do anything you want.”

“Now that’s the Zemo I remember.”

“I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. It’d be a bad date for the pretty thing on your arm. You were right to come to me. Arrogant but right. The super soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you want to thank. Or condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum but things didn’t go as planned.”

“Is Nagel still in Madripoor?”

“Oh the bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute. Don’t think you can find Nagel without me.”

Sam’s cell phone buzzes.

“Answer it.”

Winnie stands with her hands by her side ready to grab her guns.

“On speaker.”

“Hello.”

“Hey, um we need to talk about this situation. It’s been driving me, nuts.”

“What situation exactly are you talkin’ about?”

“Are you high? You know what situation, it’s the only situation me and you have.”

“What situation, Sarah? Say it.”

“The damn boat. And watch your tone. Okay? I let you slide at the bank.”

“The bank, yeah.” Sam scoffs. “Laundered so much… Yeah they’ll come around.”

“If that was the case, then why’d they dog you out, Big time.”

“Yeah you damn right I’m Big Time. You’ll see when I have that banker killed.”

“Cass! What’d I tell you about the Cheerios! I don’t have time for this! Sam I’m sorry let me call you back.”

“Sam? Who’s Sam? Kill them.”

The window breaks and Selby falls shot in the chest.

Bucky and Sam fight the two guards with Bucky grabbing the gun. Winnie follows Zemo to the door.

“They’re going to pin this on us.”

“We have a real problem now, so leave your weapons and follow my lead.”

As they walk out, phone’s all over the island begin buzzing with a bounty on the four of them.

“This is not good.”

“Obviously not good.” Winnie says

A man with a large gun begins shooting at the four, Sam and Bucky go in one direction, Zemo and Winnie in the other.

Winnie begins to notice the pattern of the sniper killing all those who want us dead. It reminds her of the cover she had on missions with Sharon. Winnie and Zemo keep going until they meet up with Sam and Bucky.

“We seem to have a guardian angel.”

“Well this is too perfect.” A woman says walking out of the shadows. “ Drop it Zemo.” She has him at gunpoint.

“Sharon.” Bucky says

“You cost me everything.” Sharon takes a step towards Zemo.

“Sharon wait, someone recreated the super soldier serum and Zemo had a lead.” Sam explains.

“That explains why you guys are here. And Selby’s dead.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“I stole Steve’s shield, remember? I also took the wings for your ass to save his ass, from his ass. I didn’t have the avengers to back me up. So I’m off the grid in Madripoor.”

Winnie clears her throat,” Sharon.”

“Winnie.”

“Don’t blow smoke, I was on the run too.”

“Was, is, big difference. I don’t speak to my family anymore. I can’t.”

“Listen Sharon we need your help.” Bucky asks.

“No we don’t.” Winnie argues.

Sharon laughs.

“Please.” Bucky tries again.

“Bucky.” Winnie interjects.

“Winnie, we need her help. You two can get over it.” Bucky turns to Winnie.

“I have a place in High Town, You’ll be safe there.”

“Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well.”

“I thought if I had to hustle, I might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler. You know how much I can get for a real Monet.”

“You never liked art before.” Winnie mentions crossing her arms.

“Deactivate your hustle mode. You sell fake Monets.”

“No, she means real. This gallery specializes in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics.”

Winnie stops by one painting, and Sharon stands beside her.

“The Beach in Pourville, it was your favorite, right.” Sharon points out.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you were listening, when I spoke about it while experimenting.”

“You said that if you could jump into any painting like Mary Poppins, you’d choose this one. So you could lay on the beach after jumping in the waves and watch the sun set.”

“I know what I said.”

“Have you?”

“Do I look like I’ve been to any beaches?”

“There’s a beach on High Town. You could stay.”

“I can’t leave Buck and Sam.”

“You call him Buck.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s nice,” Sharon turns to the group away from Winnie “ You guys need to change I’m hosting clients in an hour.”

Winnie changes into the gown that Sharon picked for her. Albeit not as sparkly as the one Zemo picked out. It was nice and understated. A short lilac halter dress with a black belt paired with her same thigh high black boots, Zemo had picked out.

Sharon opens the door.

“Sure, Sharon, you can come right in.” Winnie puts on the pearl earrings Sharon picked out.

“You look great.”

“Thanks.”

“You were right.”

“About.”

“Everything, shield, the government, being pessimistic. I didn’t believe you, and then I stole the shield and after being on the run I realized I was wrong the whole time. I shouldn’t have called you a hydra agent, especially after everything you did for Shield and the inventions.”

“The rocket boots work.”

“Course, they did, you made them.”

“You think apologizing after more than seven years is going to fix everything.”

“No, because I know you, and you hold grudges like no one else I know. But it’s a start to not hating me.”

Winnie sighs, “I don’t hate you, that’s too strong of a word but another start would be helping us a little more.”

“I thought you didn’t need my help.”

“Buck was right. Any other information you have is going to help us.”

“ Speaking of Bucky, what is your deal?”

“Deal?”

“Yeah are you two friends or more, because I…” Sharon starts but gets interrupted.

“Don’t.” Winnie says sharply.

“Oh.” Sharon smiles.

“Not like that. It’s just, you remember when we’d go out together, and I’d flirt with a guy and then they’d ask me for your number.”

“You don’t want that to happen to Bucky.”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Noted. Just uh he might have heart palpitations when he sees you in this dress.”

“Sharon, go check on the guys.”

Sharon walks in the room as Sam’s changing shirts.

“Much better.”

“What’s going on Sharon? You don’t ever wanna come back home?”

“They’ll lock me up if I step foot back in the States.”

“Madripoor doesn’t allow extradition.”

“Look I’m sorry I didn’t call. But after the blip and the chaos. I just..”

“Look you know the hero thing is a joke, right. The way you gave up that shield.deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy.”

“He knows. And not so deep down.”

“By the way how is the new Cap?” Sharon asks.

“Don’t get me started.” Bucky answers.

“I punched him in the face.” Winnie enters the room in her new dress.

“You look nice.” Bucky looks away from Winnie.

“Thanks.” Winnie sits on the other couch by Zemo.

“Please you buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit. Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr.America! Cap’s best friend.” Sharon sits down by Bucky.

“Wow, she’s kind of awful now.”

“Karli Morgenthau and at least seven others have taken the serum.” Sam starts.

Winnie looks down at her phone tracking the shield and John just to see that they are still in Germany.

“You guys really should steer clear of all this for your own safety. Winnie, seriously, you can and should stay here with me. You know all about art and I can get you drawing again, or inventing. Plenty of people would pay big money for rocket boots, or taser whips, boomerang daggers.”

“I can’t.”

“We know it’s a risk, but we won’t leave until we find the person that cracked the code.”

“We got a name, Wilfred Nagel.”

“Nagel works for the Power Broker.”

“We need your help Sharon, I can get your name cleared.”

“You haggling with my life?”

“Not like that.”

“I don’t buy that.”

“You pretending like you can clear my name.”

“Okay maybe it is hypocrisy. Maybe you’re right. What happened to you. But I’m willing to try if you are. They cleared the bionic staring machine, and he killed almost everybody he’s met.”

Sharon looks at Bucky, he’s glaring at Zemo, who’s talking to Winnie about art.

“You draw and paint?” Zemo asks.

“I did, when I had the stuff or the time.” Winnie shrugs and pulls out her tattered sketchbook with pages falling out. She opens it flipping through a few landscapes and portraits of people she saw at coffee shops.

“You stole money from a billionaire and you didn’t steal enough for art supplies.” Zemo questions.

“I only stole money from you for rent, groceries and to sponsor a few Sokovian families.” Winnie explains. “ I make a tight budget and stick to it.”

“You.. what?” Zemo looks surprised.

“I sponsored a few Sokovian families to emigrate to the United States. It was anonymous so I don’t know where they ended up.”

“I heard that.” Bucky adds to Sharon.

“I don’t trust charity.”

“All right, a deal then.”

“You help us out, and I get your name cleared.”

Sharon shakes his hand.

“Well I sell to some well connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party. Try to stay out of trouble. I’ll see what I can find.”

“Trouble.”

Loud electronic music plays. People are everywhere, dancing with everyone. Winnie feels a little out of place.

“A part to play,again.” Zemo says from behind her. “Relax, your friend said to have fun.”

“Ex-friend, and secondly parties like this aren’t fun for me. I’d rather be..” She’s interrupted by Zemo.

“You’d rather be in some greasy spoon hole in the wall diner with James, sharing a milkshake.”

“Malts, and second why do you think this?”

“On the plane when after James choked me, you asked if he was okay.”

“Friends do that.”

“Again on the plane when I made James uncomfortable, you kicked his leg.”

“Yeah, checking up on him without asking if he’s okay. “

“ He stares at you when you aren’t looking.”

“He stares at everyone.”

“When he stares at you though, his features soften.”

“And.”

“Also when we were talking about art, he was glaring at me.”

“He doesn’t like you much anyway. He has reason to glare at you that doesn’t have to do with me.”

“I’m just saying if you two both feel the same way, why wait? No one is guaranteed time on this earth.”

“You’re ridiculous. Also you might want to change your pin code. Your dead wife’s birthday isn’t a secure code.” Winnie walks off from Zemo.

Winnie finds Bucky by himself on the outskirts of the dance floor.

“Need a breather.”

“Yeah.”

“Winnie, stay away from Zemo. He plays mind games”

“I can handle myself. We were talking about you.”

“That’s another reason why you should stay away from him.”

“He said you like me cause you stare at me, but..”

“I gotta find Sam.” Bucky walks off to find Sam.

The moment Bucky is out of sight Zemo walks back to her.

“Did you get the answer?” He asks.

“Yeah, I did. Not the one I wanted” Winnie nods then says “ Let’s dance, Zem.”

Bucky looks around and finds Sam.

“Winnie knows.” Bucky says nervously to Sam.

“She’s a genius and a hacker. What specifically does she know?”

“She knows that I..” Bucky trails off when Sharon arrives.

“Don’t let me interrupt this.” She says. “ Winnie knows that you..”

“I’m fond of her being around.” Bucky finishes.

“That was a secret?” Sam asks.

“Yes, did you know?”

“Of course I knew. The real question is does she like you?” Sam looks towards Sharon.

“I’m not violating Winnie’s trust. She just stopped hating me. I also found him.”

“Okay Bucky, let’s put in a pin in your love life problem for now, and let’s get this guy. Here we go.”

Sharon signals Winnie and Zemo and they follow the three out of the party.

“Madripoor can give New York a run for its money.”

“They know how to party.”

“You’re not a bad dancer, Zem.”

“Neither are you Win.”

“With that bounty on your head, the longer you’re in Madripoor, the less likely you’re ever leaving. All right. He’s in there. Container four-two-six-one. I’ll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel.”

“Need help out here.” Winnie offers.

“No I got it.” Sharon insists.

Winnie follows the three guys inside putting in her ear piece.

“Completely empty.”

“I’m positive it has to be.”

Walking around on the inside with a flashlight Zemo pushes in the false wall. Music is playing softly.

“Mel Torme, good taste.” Winnie whispers.

“Agreed.” Zemo motions for Bucky and Sam to go forward with the guns.

Winnie pulls out her guns, ready for anything and follows walking through the makeshift lab.She listens out for any signs of struggle from Sharon outside.

Zemo stops the record.

“Dr.Nagel?”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“We know you created the super soldier serum.”

“Get out of my lab.”

“Hey. You know who he is right.This is Baron Zemo.I know you've heard of him too. You seem like a pretty smart guy. So you better become conversational real quick.”

“How about a counter proposal? Make me a better offer and I’ll talk.”

Winnie looks around at the chemicals and the serum making process. It would take years to make sense of this.

“Guys we have company.” Sharon says from the ear pieces. “Every bounty hunter in the city is here we gotta go.”

Bucky grabs the doctor and puts him in a chair with a gun in his face. He fires the gun near him.

“Okay.I was brought into Hydra’s Winter Soldier program to pick up their work after the five failed test subjects in Siberia. When Hydra fell I was recruited by the CIA. They had blood samples from an American test subject, with semi-stable traces of serum in his system.After much labor, I was able to isolate the necessary components in his blood. I was a god. I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to do. But mine was going to be different. No clunky machines or jacked up bodies. Mine was going to be subtle, optimized. Perfect.”

“How have we never heard about this?”

“Because before I was able to complete my work. I turned to dust.Then when I returned, it was five years later,the program had been abandoned, so I came here. THe Power Broker was more than happy to fund the recreation of my work.”

“How many vials did you make?”

“Twenty.”

“Karli Morgenthau stole those, so I can only imagine what the Power Broker has planned for that poor girl.”

“Where’s Karli now?”

“I don’t know where she is. But a couple of days ago she called and asked if I could help someone named Donya Madani. Poor woman has tuberculosis. Typical of overpopulation in displacement camps like that.”

“Well, what happened to her?”

“Not my pig, not my farm.”

“Is there any serum in this lab?”

“No.”

“Now what?”

“Guys we’re seriously outta time here.”

Zemo shots the doctor.

“No!”

A large explosion throws the five on the other side of the lab.

Bucky, Sam, Winnie, and Sharon on one side with Zemo on the other.

“Anybody see Zemo?” Sam asks.

“Let’s go.” Bucky pulls Winnie and Sharon up.

“Alright wait for my signal.”

Gunfire breaks out.

Sam goes early.

“Damnit.” Bucky says running after providing cover for Sam.

“You know the drill, right Winnie.” Sharon says.

“Yeah yeah, go.”

Sharon and Winnie run and fall into their old routine, as though it’s been no time since they were partners. The four find cover and keep shooting.

“And you like living here?”

“It’s not terrible.”

“It’s pretty terrible, Sharon.”

“I thought you were going left.”

“You went the wrong way.”

“I was clearing the way.”

“Do they always fight like this?” Sharon asks.

“Pretty much.” Winnie answers.

“I came out first. You had to follow me.”

“And where are we now!”

“Guys, Not the time!”

“I’m out.”

“This is a barricade.”

“It’s in every action movie.”

“Might have some more in my backpack.” Winnie tells Sharon.

“You carry ammunition in a Jansport.”

“I didn’t judge you in your home with the off season prada purse you were carrying.”

The four look up and see Zemo with a purple mask sniping the way clear.

“Go.” Bucky taps Winnie and Sharon

They grab each other and run.

Bucky and Sam follow into a shipping container.

A car screeches to halt with Zemo in it,

“Supercharged.”

“You’re going back to jail.”

“Do you want to find Karli or not?”

“He’s right, we need him.”

“There’s three of us and at least twenty of them.”

“Fine but if you try that shit again…”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Well that was one hell of a reunion.”

The four get in the car.

“Come back to the states with us.”

“I can’t. Just get me the pardon you promised me. And here.” Sharon gives Winnie back the flash drive with all the hydra information on it.

“Thanks.”

“You’re not gonna move your seat up, are you.”

“No.”

On board the private jet Sam calls Joaquin about Donya Madani.

“Oh ask him about the secret Winnie project.”

“Sure.”

“Do you have information on some secret Winnie project?”

“Yeah yeah it’s a bad name, she’ll work on it. Nothing, yet, okay more importantly is Donya Madani.”

Winnie looks down at her phone tracking John with earbuds in listening to his conversations.

“You okay?” Bucky asks seeing Sam flop down into a chair.

“Yeah. Just thinking about all the shit Sharon had to go through, and Nagel referring to the American test subject like Isaiah wasn’t even a real person. Just makes me wonder how many people have to get steamrolled to make way for this hunk of metal.”

“Well it depends on who you ask. That hunk of metal saved a lot of lives.”

“Yeah I get that. All right. Maybe I made a mistake.”

“You did.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have put it in a museum. I should have destroyed it. “

“Look that shield represents a lotta things to a lotta people, including me. The world is upside down, and we need a new Cap. and it aint gonna be Walker. So before you destroy it, I’ll take it from him myself.”

Joaquin calls Sam back and Zemo comes back with plates of food.

He gestures towards Winnie and says to Bucky“ Can she hear us?”

“No, she’s in survelliance mode. Put a tracker on the new Cap.”

“Smart.”

“Surprised she hasn’t put one on you.”

“Winnie is quite special, isn’t she?”

“Whatever you're thinking about saying or doing, don’t.”

“Oh I have no interest in her. Besides a financial one.”

“You want her to hack on your behalf, not gonna happen.”

“No, she’s an artist.”

“You want to pay her to draw and paint.”

“Yes, she’s very talented. She showed me her sketchbook, you’ve seen it haven’t you?”

“No.”

“Hm, interesting.”

“Stop.”

“They found Madani. Dead. She died in Riga, a city near the Baltic Sea.”

“I have a place we can go.” Zemo says. “I for one am looking forward to coming face to face with Karli. Oeznik we’re changing course.”

“Walker knows you two broke out Zemo.” Winnie says taking out her earbuds. “ He’s also not too concerned with his rules of engagement.”

Walking down the streets of Riga, Latvia, Zemo begins talking. Winnie looks at the small buildings lining the street, it looks like painting by the sea.

“I don’t suppose any of you bothered visiting the memorial, at least the thief donated.” Zemo gestures to Winnie.

Zemo stops at a large building, “We are here.”

“I’m gonna go on a walk.” Bucky says.

“You good?”

“Yeah.”

“Be careful.” Winnie adds.

“Always am.” Bucky nods.

Once Zemo and Sam are inside Winnie follows them.

Sam turns towards Winnie with a smile.

“What?”

“Be careful.” Sam mimics her.

“Not you too.”

“No it’s cute. It’s adorable actually. That you have no clue.” Sam says.

[nevertherose]

One Hundred Seconds to Midnight: Chapters 1-8

"All Roman wanted to do was take Logan on a Doctor Who LARP within the Imagination.

But with Thomas's Sides at their figurative breaking point after the disastrous wedding, the Imagination may just have a few ideas of her own..."

Hello, Tumblr fanders, it has been a while since I've poked around in here...mostly because, I've been writing another story!

Do you like Sanders Sides? Do you like Doctor Who? Do you like the idea of the Sides playing Doctor Who characters? If so, this story was written especially for you.

I found that the process of cross-posting Mahogany and Teakwood across three platforms, one chapter at a time, involved a lot of me spending too many hours squinting at html code. Not especially fun. This time around, I've only been posting on AO3 and Wattpad.

But I wanted it to exist here as well.

So! Today I'm going to post the first half (in two posts, because apparently Tumblr has a post size limit, who knew?), all the chapters that are up so far. Then, when the whole story is up on the other platforms, I'll post the other half.

Of course, you could head to either AO3 or Wattpad, if you want to read as the chapters go up.

But if you're like me, and like to read stories in nice, big, juicy chunks...here you go:

One Hundred Seconds to Midnight

Chapter 1- The Eleventh Hour

“Who are you?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m still cooking.”

Midnight.

The witching hour.

Or was that 3AM? Roman wondered. No, that’s the devil’s hour…damn it, Virgil! You had to get them all mixed up!

It was nearly midnight on the Imagination’s border.

Moonlight, pearlescent and brighter than it could ever shine in the real world, streamed feather-light through the tall windows on Roman’s side of the Dream Palace. It made patterns of light and shadow over the black marble floors, made nighttime caricatures of the white ivory statues that lined the corridor.

Roman’s heeled boots echoed in the silence; Logan’s dress shoes, in comparison, were whisper-quiet.

Logan himself had been uncharacteristically quiet since they entered this place, Roman noted, glancing back. Normally by now the logical Side would have asked a million questions, made a million plans, or be several bullet points into a lecture about palace construction or the history of measurement units or some other nerdy, obscure subject.

And Roman would either pretend to be annoyed, or would interject witty counterpoints to make Logan stop and bluster and…

But not tonight.

Maybe he’s nervous about being here, Roman told himself, smoothing a hand over his red sash. He’s only pointed out a million times that Logic and the Imagination are anathema to one another. Maybe I should have planned something else…

Or maybe he’s just annoyed at you for dragging him out of bed in the literal middle of the night, a more insidious inner voice whispered. When you know he likes to keep a consistent sleep schedule.

Roman pressed his lips together, lifted his chin…he might be a mere facet of a single personality, but he was also a Prince, and Princes do not listen to inner demons. However, he also looked back for the dozenth time to make sure Logan was actually still following.

That was the only reason Roman kept looking back.

It had nothing to do with the way the translucent moonlight caught the other Side’s dark, immaculately kept hair, or glinted off his glasses.

In the real world, of course, and whenever they manifested near their Source, the Sides all had precisely the same face and body as Thomas. But deep inside the mind, where physical appearance was an illusion anyway, the Sides exercised much more control.

Thomas remained their base template, but each Side also tended to portray himself with features that Thomas associated with their core function. Like Patton’s fluffy curls and childlike freckles, or Virgil’s anxious, ever-changing eyeshadow, or Remus’s abominable comic-book villain mustache.

Like Deceit’s…no, Janus’s very real scales.

Damn that snake. Why did I have think of him now?

Hopefully the lying bananaconda had better things to do than pop up and spoil things tonight. Because tonight, Roman was finally fulfilling a longtime promise to Logan, and taking him on a grand adventure.

The thought made his heart flutter in anticipation, and he looked back again.

Logan within the mindscape was leaner than Thomas, an inch or two taller, and his neatly trimmed hair and intelligent eyes were almost black in the low light. His face was narrow and intense, the nose more aquiline, and he had a habit of standing straighter than any of the rest of them.

(A habit which constantly showed off his trim waist and chest muscles…not that Roman paid any attention to that…)

Roman, by contrast, was a bit shorter, but his shoulders were broad and he was more muscular, due to all the questing and sword fighting he did here in the Imagination. He wore his hair in longish disarray that paired devastatingly with his clean, square jawline; hair that could be turned loose and wild on quests, or pulled neatly back as befitted royalty. His hands were strong; with long, artistic fingers, as skilled at wielding pens and paintbrushes as they were at wielding swords.

He liked to think he was handsome.

He was also painfully aware of how little it mattered when a certain someone…ehem…never seemed to notice.

“Roman, I confess to still being a bit lost as to the purpose of this journey,” Logan said at last, breaking the high-ceilinged silence. “You said you were taking us on a…’lark’? If so, why are we wandering around the Dream Palace?”

“LARP,” Roman corrected, flashing him a smile. “L-A-R-P. It stands for live action role play, Specs.”

Logan’s nose wrinkled at the words “role play”, and Roman’s stomach lurched. He hates it, he hates the very idea of it, you haven’t even started yet and you’ve already failed…

“Oh, don’t make the scrunchy face!” he added, a bit louder than necessary, and waved a hand. “At least wait until you’ve seen it.”

Roman had only been planning this for weeks.

“You know, when you promised to take me on one of your ‘adventures’,” Logan said, making finger quotes. “I was not expecting to be roused from bed in the middle of the night.”

“That’s because this isn’t your average adventure.” Roman gestured around them. “I constructed a special dreamscape to get all the details right, and we can only use the Dream Palace when Thomas is asleep.” He turned and dared a wink. “Only the best for you, my detail-oriented friend.”

Logan adjusted his glasses.

“Let it be known that I am indulging your antics right now because you have, on occasion, had some good ideas. You will, in turn, have to indulge my skepticism.”

“I have no idea what you just said, but I’m gonna pretend it was a compliment,” Roman said with a wink, which Logan rolled his eyes at.

“Ah ha, here we are!”

Roman stopped at a set of iconic blue doors, nearly vibrating in excitement as he waited for Logan to recognize them.

The nerd did not disappoint.

“Roman…” Logan murmured, stepping forward to touch the white PULL TO OPEN sign. “They look just like the doors to the TARDIS. The attention to detail is exquisite. But why?”

“Because I’m taking you on a Doctor Who LARP!” Roman exclaimed, flapping his hands. “All we have to do is step through, and the Imagination will make us Doctor and companion, and whisk us away through all of time and space!”

Logan’s face was a mixture of confusion and curiosity. “Again…why?”

“Because it will be fun?” Roman bit his lip, looking at his toes. “I…I know you aren’t into swords and sorcery and dragon-witches and whatnot. I wanted this to be something you might actually enjoy.”

Logan’s brow furrowed, as it often did when he tried to process something that didn’t fit neatly into his graphed, notated, logical worldview.

Usually, it was an emotion.

“But won’t us enacting such an intense scenario at this time of night negatively affect Thomas’s sleep?” Logan asked.

“That’s the genius of adventuring in the Dream Palace,” Roman explained. “You can do hyperreal, immersive stuff, and if Thomas does happen to remember anything, he’ll just think he had a weird dream. The worst that could happen is he might post about it on Twitter.”

“Hmm. I can see you’ve thought this through. I am…flattered that you went to all the trouble,” Logan said in a quiet voice.

Roman had to bite back an ecstatic giggle.

Not…not because of the way his nerves skittered below his skin when his gaze caught Logan’s black eyes and soft expression. No, Roman was merely…excited! That someone like Logan appreciated his hard work!

It wasn’t like he was trying to impress anyone, like some middle school boy with, you know, a crush or whatever. For the last, well…two years.

…and then some.

Ugh. There was little point in denying his feelings; he’d only accidentally summon Janus and his oily smirk, and if that happened, Roman would most certainly die of embarrassment and that was not a lie, thank you very much.

The truth was, ever since Thomas had placed that jar of Crofters into Logan’s hands and inspired him to sing…not just rap, or begrudgingly harmonize, but actually sing…Roman had fallen, and fallen hard.

How could he not?

Logan’s words and ideas had always challenged him, pushed him to be smarter, sharper, better, just to keep up. Logan was the grounding anchor to his sails, the clarity to his excess. It used to infuriate Roman, the way he and Logan always came at problems from opposite sides and fought, sometimes bitterly, over the best way to meet in the middle.

But now?

Now Roman relished the way they traded words in a good fight, like blades in the hands of expert swordsmen. Logan, despite his dislike for anything fanciful, was a natural wordsmith…and Roman was a great lover of poetry. Even better, it seemed like Logan was also starting to enjoy their verbal sparring matches…

And then these last few months had happened.

The Decision, and Deceit, and the way that snake had let Remus out of the shadows to wreck havoc, and then the disastrous wedding itself…and Roman knew that Logan, through all of it, had been feeling pushed aside.

Goodness knew the logical Side hadn’t deserved to be shoved to the back of a courtroom, or relegated to a pixel-y shadow of himself before being removed from the discussion entirely. Worse, in both of those scenarios, Roman had either done nothing…or actively made things worse.

Roman knew he was guilty of letting his mouth run wild in his zeal to solve Thomas’s dilemmas…or in desperately hiding his true feelings. He knew his nicknames often came with barbs, his insults sometimes hit too close to home, that he often ignored or dismissed Logan’s cool, much-needed perspective.

He knew he needed to be better.

I’ll make it up to him tonight, Roman told himself as he laid a hand on the rough wooden blue doors and glanced back at Logan. The logical Side nodded, giving Roman a tiny burst of confidence.

He’ll get to play his favorite character and be his best nerdy self. This is going to be great!

Roman took a breath, and shoved open the TARDIS doors.

Chapter 2- Human Nature

“It’s all becoming clear now. The Doctor is doing the things you’d like to be doing.”

The blaring of a dozen sirens burst in Logan’s ears.

He was yanked across the threshold, Roman’s hand practically a vice around his wrist. Logan inhaled the sharp scent of metal and warm electronics, and a million figurative lights went off in his brain.

Being the physical incarnation of Logic, this wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sensation.

The TARDIS shuddered…wait, TARDIS? We’re actually on the TARDIS?…under impact. Lights flashed; reds and greens over an ambiance of steely blue-gray, and Logan knew exactly what to do.

He shook free of Roman’s grip and strode to the center console…console, how do I know this is a console?…flipping several switches and turning the green dial to precisely 3.56 degrees to offset the radiation sheer from the M-class star they’d just spun past.

Because naturally they happened to be careening through an asteroid field.

The time rotor rose and dipped, Gallifreyan symbols whirling overhead; Logan adjusted shields and dodged rocks, striding confidently from station to station. He guided his TARDIS around the last large asteroid, one that easily could have smashed his beloved ship to bits, and then they were clear.

The TARDIS chimed reassuringly under his hands, relieved to be in empty space again.

Roman screamed.

The sound echoed off the metallic walls, causing Logan to whip around and nearly lose his balance.

“What happened?” he said sharply, leaving the console. The creative Side stood near the railing, staring down at himself in obvious dismay. “What’s wrong?”

“Look at me, Logan!” Roman said shrilly and gesturing at his body. “Just look!”

Logan examined his fellow Side. There were no obvious injuries he could see, no blood, no bruising, nothing that would merit a scream. There was just Roman, unfairly handsome as always.

(He still wasn’t sure how Roman managed that feat when they all literally, at least some of the time, had the same face.)

“I…don’t see a problem?” Logan asked slowly.

“I meant, look at what I’m wearing, Calculator Watch,” Roman snarled, and turned to yell nonsensically at the ceiling. “Am I a joke to you? When I said I wanted to be a companion, this is not what I meant!”

Logan focused on Roman’s clothing, which had shifted rather drastically since passing through those doors. His normal princely attire was replaced by a denim cutoff skirt, overalls, pink leggings, and a tight pink blouse that clung to his muscular chest and arms...

“I look ridiculous, don’t I?” Roman murmured, scuffing a combat boot against the metal grated floor. The motion drew Logan’s gaze again to the way the cutoffs hugged his hips and wow, that skirt was really short, wasn’t it?

And those tights, the way they accentuated Roman’s legs...

Logan frowned, his face feeling unusually warm. Why did he keep noticing these things? Of course Roman was more fit than the rest of them.

Perhaps it was simply that Logan didn’t usually see the evidence of it so…plainly.

Stop, Logan told himself sharply. You might be gay and allosexual, but that is no excuse to be disrespectful.

He cleared his throat.

“If I may, Roman?” he said, approaching, and made a closer examination of Roman’s outfit.

“I gather from your earlier ranting that you instructed the Imagination to cast you as one of the Doctor’s companions for the duration of this scenario?”

“Well, yeah,” Roman admitted, “but I was thinking someone like Jamie McCrimmon, or Rory Williams, or maybe even Jack Harkness!”

“You know there is some debate over whether Jack Harkness would be considered a proper ‘companion’, as he was never full time on the TARDIS,” Logan argued absently, still eying Roman’s ensemble.

It was attractive but also familiar; he just couldn’t quite place it…

“Neither was Clara Oswald at first, but nobody had a problem handing her that label from the start!” Roman folded his arms and Logan had to look away because wow, short sleeves and arms…

“Just because she was a girl and the writers obviously intended for her to be a love interest—”

“A girl, of course!” Logan snapped his fingers. “Roman, you are a companion. Specifically, you are Rose Tyler.”

“What?” Roman frowned, smoothing the overalls across his middle. “I…Hmm. You might actually be right.”

“Of course I am right.”

The creative Side scoffed at that, but continued to frown.

“I think it’s a good choice,” Logan added. “Rose is arguably one of the most beloved companions in new Who; bold, kind, and intelligent in her own way. She was pivotal to the Ninth, Tenth, and arguably the War Doctor’s character arcs.”

He laid a hand on Roman’s shoulder. (To convey reassurance, of course. Not because he suddenly wanted to touch…)

“Hers are not the worst shoes you could be given to fill,” Logan said, “idiomatically speaking.”

“Only you would drop a word like ‘idiomatically’ in everyday conversation,” Roman grumbled, but some of the spark returned to his caramel eyes.

“But look at you!” Roman said in a brighter voice, gesturing. “All proper and Doctor-ish. At least the Imagination let you keep your tie, or, whatever that thing is around your neck.”

Logan glanced down at himself for the first time.

His sensible polo and jeans had become a clean-cut black suit, with a warm grey waistcoat, a crisp white undershirt, and a silver pocket watch. A navy cravat was knotted around his throat.

His knee-length suit jacket was also black, with a striking cerulean lining.

He retrieved a slender, metallic something from the jacket’s inner pocket: of course, the Doctor’s signature sonic screwdriver. Specifically, the Tenth Doctor’s screwdriver.

Logan chuckled, remembering all the times he’d ranted to Roman about how impractical and flashy Eleven’s screwdriver became, and don’t even get him started on Twelve’s, it was practically a lightsaber…

“Interesting,” he murmured, stretching his arms to turn in a slow circle, letting the jacket flare. “Fashionably, I appear to be a cross between the Eighth and Twelfth Doctors, which I appreciate, as they are the two most sensible dressers of the bunch. And by the way, Roman, this is a called a cravat, not a tie…”

He’d lifted hands to his neck but the words died on his tongue.

Roman had summoned a mirror and was, quite literally, checking himself out. He swayed his hips, tilted one toward and then away from the mirror, pouted, did a tongue smile, and…and Logan realized he had been watching for more than a socially acceptable length of time.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat again. But he was saved from having to speak by a loud crackling at the center console.

Both Sides rushed over, Logan seizing the TV screen and pulling it down. Gray static skittered over the polished surface. He flipped two switches and turned a dial, trying to zero in on the signal.

“I meant to ask earlier…how do you know what to do?” Roman asked, tilting his head. “You were piloting before I think you even realized we were on a TARDIS in the first place.”

Logan froze in the middle of winding one of the cranks.

“I…I really do not know.” In fact, the more he thought about it, the less sense any of the controls made. “Now that you’ve drawn my attention to it, you are correct: rationally, I should not know the function of any of these…gizmos.” He gestured at the crank he’d been winding.

“Yet somehow my hands just…know.”

Roman leaned casually onto the console.

“When I built this LARP, I gave the Imagination quite a bit of leeway in how it wanted to construct our characters,” he said. “I’m thinking it took things a step further than costume changes, like making me the companion it thinks I most resemble instead of the companion I wanted to be.”

Roman bit his lip as though troubled, then clearly shook himself out of it.

“And it must have imparted some of the Doctor’s knowledge upon me.” Logan added, not sure how he felt about the Imagination having such a direct influence over his mind. He supposed if it didn’t get too invasive, and was confined to this one night, he could deal with it.

It had proven useful so far, after all.

Roman shot Logan a fierce grin.

“Indeed! So engage that big Doctor brain and let’s see who’s trying to call us. Allons-y, adventure awaits!”

“You know ‘allons-y’ is my line, right?” Logan said dryly.

He had to use his screwdriver on the screen before the picture came clear. The stream of static acquired the cadence of a voice…and then a disturbingly familiar face stared back at his own, looking equally shocked.

Roman, for the second time since entering the TARDIS, let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Chapter 3- The Witch’s Familiar

“If you’re going to take my stick, do me the courtesy of actually killing me. Teamwork is all about respect.”

Janus had just settled into his favorite chair with a mug of chamomile tea and a political science book when he was yanked…rather rudely, he might add…onto the deck of a spaceship.

He sighed, and dismissed his drink.

When one lived in the same mindspace as the literal embodiment of chaos, one unfortunately learned to expect such interruptions.

“REMUS!” he roared, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Did I not specifically ask to be LEFT ALONE tonight?”

Silence.

Deeply annoyed now, Janus took a moment to look around himself. This was not a normal spaceship; no windows, for one, and it was laid out in levels around a translucent column at the very center. His mismatched eyes followed the center rotor up and down, his mind almost placing it…

Something clumsily rose up from the deck with a clatter, causing Janus to summon his crook with a yell.

Only…the object that dropped into his hand wasn’t smooth wood, but a slender metal instrument just barely longer than his hand. A…sonic screwdriver? What the actual heck?

Well. It was what he had.

“Get back!” He pointed the instrument at the…figure…who still slowly climbed to its feet. It was an android or robot of some sort; humanoid, and the same kind of weirdly familiar as the ship.

“Janus?” the robot said, tilting its head.

Janus froze, all the scales standing up on his body. That was…that was Patton’s voice. Flat, mechanical, but unmistakable.

After all, Patton was the only Side who consistently called Janus by name.

“Patton?” Janus whispered.

“Oh, that was so weird-feeling! Thank goodness I’m not all by myself,” Robot-Patton said, putting a hand over his…well, where his heart should have been…in obvious relief. “But why are we both suddenly on the TARDIS?”

Janus drew in a sharp breath.

Of course, he should have recognized the stupid time rotor immediately. He’d never admit it to any of them, but he was as much of a Doctor Who nerd as Logan or Roman, sometimes going so far as to spy on them when they argued over episodes together.

To learn their arguing styles, of course.

Not because he had any desire to join those discussions.

And now, looking at Patton with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Janus deduced exactly what he was: a Mondasian Cyberman. They were older and cruder in design than the reboot versions…no wonder he hadn’t put a finger on it right away.

That wasn’t really the issue.

“REMUS!” Janus shouted again, more angrily this time. Bad enough his pleasant evening of solitude had been interrupted by…whatever this was. But putting the sweetest, most emotional Side into a canonically unemotional shell, a robot?

That was cruel. That was insulting.

It was too far, even for Remus.

“Janus, is everything okay?” Patton asked, coming closer. Janus shivered at the sound of that warm voice coming from a blank metallic face with empty eyes.

“Do you…feel all right?” Janus said in a hesitant voice.

“I’m a little chilly, but otherwise I’m in ship shape!” the other quipped, giggling. “Get it? Cause we’re on a ship?”

Is it…is it possible that he doesn’t know?

“Hilarious,” Janus deadpanned, but inside his thoughts spun.

He sensed they were in a dream construct within the Imagination, which meant this had to be Remus’s doing. Remus, who reveled in gore, despair, disturbing imagery, angst, and who was in charge of Thomas’s nightmares.

Remus could…and would, given the chance…recreate the experience of being a Cyberman down to the Last. Grim. Detail.

Maybe he hadn’t meant to ensnare Patton specifically to fill this role…Remus didn’t generally pull other Sides in for nightmares, come to think of it…but meanwhile, Janus didn’t want to find out what this might do to Patton’s head.

Worse, it was becoming clear that Patton was somehow oblivious to the state of his own body; he’d used his metallic hands to clutch at his metallic chest and found nothing wrong with either. He couldn’t hear the electronic rasp in his own voice, or the heavy clanging of his steps on the grated floor.

Should Janus say something?

Would Patton believe him if he did?

Ever since Thomas’s near mental breakdown after the disastrous wedding, Patton and Janus had orbited around each other in a state of tenuous truce. They talked now, sometimes, and those talks didn’t always end in arguments. Patton began to leave space for him by Thomas’s blinds when he was called up, and he…and by extension Thomas…occasionally actually sought his input.

But Janus, well.

Janus was still a liar.

The others still called him Deceit, either by accident (Logan) or out of spite (Virgil). Then there was Roman, who invented a colorful, wounding ego-jab for him every day, and Remus, whose fond nicknames tended to double as sex jokes.

Having no other real allies in the mindscape, Janus really, really didn’t want to screw up his tenuous alliance with Patton. Why sabotage his figurative “seat at the table” over one of Remus’s stupid nightmares?

Patton would assume Janus was slipping back into his old ways, lying just because he could, and Janus would never be able to prove otherwise. And later Patton would make that sour, pinched face he always made when he was disappointed, the one that made Janus want to crawl into a hole…

So.

Best to keep his observations close to the chest, for now.

“Do you have any idea what we’re doing here?” Janus asked, striding to the center console. True to dream logic, the controls made no sense and simultaneously made perfect sense.

Patton shrugged; a strange, clanky motion of his shoulders.

Janus sighed. “Although Remus has dragged me into dreams before, even he generally understands the concept of consent.” He casually flapped a hand. “And he always leaves you ‘light sides’ alone.”

“Honestly, this doesn’t feel like a nightmare to me,” Patton said, nearly making Janus choke. The Cyberman clanked over to stand by the console.

“It’s too clean,” Patton added. “Roman let me glimpse Remus’s side of the Imagination once, not long after he showed himself to Thomas, and it was…”

Patton trailed off.

“Fragmented? Chaotic? Disturbing?” Janus supplied.

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Patton said quietly. “This,” he waved a hand around, “feels more like Roman’s work.”

“I suppose you would know.” Janus ran a thoughtful thumb over his face, tracing the ridge that ran from the corner of his mouth to his ear.

“And I would almost have to agree,” he added slowly. “If this was a nightmare, surely something ghastly would have happened by now. But my being pulled into one of Roman’s creations makes even less sense. He literally cannot stand me.”

“Maybe this is one of those dreams Thomas has sometimes after binge watching a show?” Patton suggested. “When there’s enough material in short term memory that the twins don’t get much input? Did Thomas binge a season of Doctor Who yesterday or something?”

And to think the others still view you as stupid, or slow-witted.

Janus bit back a smile.

“It’s a good theory, Patton, but no,” he said. “Thomas hasn’t really binged on much of anything lately.”

Patton ducked his head.

“You don’t…you don’t have to rub it in, you know,” he said lowly, the metallic rasp grating on Janus’s ears. “You and Logan have both made it pretty clear that I’ve been too strict with Thomas’s time.”

Janus fought to keep his expression neutral, but his stomach twisted.

Damn it.

Leave it to Patton to find guilt where none was meant. Even if Janus claimed he hadn’t meant it like that, Patton would probably not believe him.

Patton tilted his metal head as he examined Janus’s face.

“Did you know you have a mustache now? And a little goatee?”

“I have a what?” Janus felt at his face and groaned, his gloved fingers tugging at hair that most certainly did not belong on his face; with the scales, it probably looked hideous.

His entire outfit had altered in subtle ways, he realized. His usual plum tunic and trousers were now a brown suit and waistcoat ensemble, crossed with yellow pinstripes, with a black collared undershirt. A brown, knee-length suit jacket replaced his caplet, with subtle gold trimming. His yellow gloves were unchanged, thank goodness, and his hat…?

His hands flew up to his head and found something perched over his hair, sitting at an angle. Janus yanked down a screen at the console and stared. His beloved bowler had shrunk into a tiny, flat, rakish thing with a wide brim, festooned with a cluster of yellow rosebuds and black beads.

“What on earth, Remus?” he grumbled, turning his head from side to side. Well, if he had to be honest, pinstripes and a hatinator weren’t a terrible look.

“Well, if we’re on a TARDIS, I guess you’re supposed to be the Doctor,” Patton pointed out. “Which would make me your companion.”

Janus stroked his goatee and examined their surroundings in more detail. But am I a Doctor? he wondered. And if so, which one?

And whose TARDIS is this?

Because while it was clear they were on a TARDIS…what other class of spaceship had a time rotor?…he wasn’t almost certain this was not the TARDIS.

Every corner of the Doctor’s ship, no matter which face it belonged to, tended to overflow with bright, shiny, eclectic whimsy. By contrast, this one was plain, stark, with exposed metal beams and sharp angles.

Too dark, too full of shadows.

An awful suspicion rose up in his mind.

He crossed to one of the bookshelves, ignoring Patton’s soft inquiry, and his jaw clenched. There was the Necronomicon, shelved between the Liber Inducens in Evangelium Aeternum and The Black Scrolls of Rassilon, Book of Vile and its Black Appendix, The Ambuehl Lores and the Insidium of Astrolabus.

Janus finally looked at the sonic device he’d been holding all this time; seeing now that it wasn’t a screwdriver at all, and thanked every god he knew that he hadn’t tried to use it on Patton earlier.

It was a sonic laser.

Once again, even in a stupid, nonsensical dream, Janus had been cast as the villain.

His fist had collided with the bookshelf before he even realized he was moving, books falling to the floor. He punched it again, and again, until a cool rigid hand closed around his wrist and yanked him back.

“Janus, Janus, stop!” Patton yelled in his ear.

Janus wrenched his arm away and stalked back to the console, running gloved fingers over his scales, pushing them up and smoothing them down. The familiar sensation grounded him.

“You were right, Patton,” he threw over his shoulder. “This is definitely one of Roman’s dreams, and he definitely fucking hates me.”

Patton’s heavy footsteps clattered behind him.

“Language. And how do you know that,” he asked. “…Doctor?”

Janus whirled, lips curled in a snarl.

“I am not the Doctor, Patton, and we are not on the TARDIS.” He spread his arms to encompass them both, gesturing to the dimly lit spaceship. “Look around. Look at me!”

He turned, slowly, and eyed his mustached visage in the dark view screen.

“Clearly, I am the Master.”

Chapter 4- Nightmare in Silver

“You think he knows what he’s doing?”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.”

Patton rested his arms against the console and sighed.

Once again, someone I care about is upset, and I don’t know what to do. I guess I should be used to it by now.

It didn’t help that it was so cold in this TARDIS. He folded his arms around his middle, which felt strange and heavy, to combat the chill that seemed to have settled deep in his bones.

Janus stalked past again, grumbling to himself.

“Of course the Prince would pull me into one of his little ‘adventures’ without my consent. He probably needed an antagonist. And naturally the slippery snake would have been the first person to come to mind!”

Patton opened his mouth…though he had no idea what he was going to say…but Janus drowned him out.

“Come on, Roman!” he shouted, throwing his yellow-clad hands up. “You’ve had your fun. Yes, I’m evil, I’m the villain, I’m the bad guy, blah blah. Let’s have our epic confrontation or whatever nonsense you have planned, as I would very much like to get back to my reading sometime tonight.”

Silence.

Patton didn’t know what Janus was expecting.

“Look, maybe we should just play along for now?” Patton said aloud, wincing when Janus turned his murderous expression on him. The deceptive Side had such deep, cutting golden eyes, the human one so much darker than the other…cynical eyes that were, ironically, almost impossible to lie to.

They’d see straight through it.

“It takes a liar to know a liar.”

The glare quickly softened, though, which in Patton’s opinion said a lot about how far Janus had come.

“And how do you propossse we ‘play along’?” Janus said, hissing his s’s in frustration.

“Well, we’ve kinda decided this is Roman’s dream, right? And since we’re in his part of the Imagination, we know he won’t let anything bad happen to us…”

Patton trailed off at Janus’s pained expression, reminded of just how badly Janus and Roman’s last encounter had gone.

“What are you, a middle school librarian?”

“Thank god you don’t have a mustache.”

And I just stood there and did nothing…no, I can’t dwell on that right now. Patton shook himself out of the memory.

It was surprisingly easy; even his emotions felt a little heavy and muted. He supposed he wasn’t used to being in a dreamscape; unlike Roman, who played in them all the time.

I know Roman, Patton reasoned. He might hold a grudge for a while, but he wouldn’t actually be out to hurt Janus.

Right?

“So, if we’re on a time ship, on some kind of adventure leading up to a confrontation like you said, the first thing we’d have to do is figure out where we need to go,” Patton finished, shrugging.

Janus pursed his lips…which looked downright weird with a mustache and goatee, almost making Patton giggle…and began pushing buttons on the console.

“You are definitely incorrect, Patton,” he said, pulling up another screen and flipping a few switches. “If I have been cast as the villain in this ridiculous charade, that means Roman is likely prancing around as the Doctor right now, on the proper TARDIS. Which, as the Doctor’s nemesis, I should be able to contact…ha!”

The screen burst into static.

“Doctor, oh Doctor, do you read me?” Janus crooned, and if Patton hadn’t known just how angry he was in that moment…well, he would have never known.

Janus had tucked it away entirely, in half a second's time.

That’s the scary thing about him, Patton realized uneasily. He’s smart, nearly as smart as Logan. Smart enough to run circles around me, that’s for sure. And he’s easily as good an actor as Roman.

Those attributes, combined with his naturally manipulative nature, made it difficult to trust him.

Patton was trying.

He’d been trying since the wedding, and well, since everything else that had happened. (Patton still cringed when Thomas encountered even a picture of a frog.) He’d done a lot of thinking and growing that day (in more ways than one!), and he’d come to a disturbing, but inevitable conclusion.

Janus wasn’t evil.

He never had been.

Just like Virgil had never been evil. Mean, sure; and sarcastic, and spiteful…but at his core, Virgil had wanted what was best for Thomas.

They all did.

And then there was the uncomfortable corollary to that: Patton, despite his best efforts, despite his core Purpose…Patton wasn’t entirely and automatically good.

Two weeks ago, Janus had proven beyond a doubt that Thomas needed him…ruthlessly, cuttingly, but no one could say he hadn’t made his point. It had been Patton who’d inadvertently pushed Thomas to the brink of a breakdown, and Janus who had to pull them all back.

Despite Patton’s unease, and the little voice in his head telling him that Deceit couldn’t be trusted, could never truly be trusted because it was in his nature to deceive…Patton remembered how they’d pushed Virgil so hard he decided to duck out, and how much of a tragedy that could have been if they hadn’t all intervened to bring him back.

With a pang of guilt, he pictured Thomas lying on the floor, crushed under the metaphorical weight of everything Patton needed him to do to keep from being a bad person…

He would not make those mistakes again.

If Virgil could learn to work with them instead of against them, so could Janus. If Patton could learn to recognize when his own Purpose did more harm than good, so could Janus.

Patton had to believe that.

He’d made too many mistakes lately to believe otherwise.

The screen in Janus’s hands cleared to reveal…

“What? Logan??” Janus exclaimed, as a scream echoed somewhere in the background.

“D—Janus?” Logan countered, then looked over his shoulder. “Roman, for the love of Archimedes, will you stop shrieking? I cannot hear.”

The screaming cut off and Roman’s fuming face squished into the frame with Logan.

“Deceit! I should have known you would show up to ruin this!” he managed to shout before Logan shoved him away.

“Ruin…I’m sorry, what?” Janus glanced at Patton, looking honestly confused. “Is he roleplaying right now? We assumed this scenario was Roman’s creation.”

Onscreen, Logan placed his whole hand against Roman’s mouth to prevent him from interrupting.

“It is. But to my understanding, it was only supposed to involve myself and Roman, and…wait. You said ’we’.” Logan peered around. “Who else is with you?”

Patton started to wave, but his view was blocked by Janus bending close to the screen to whisper something. Suspicion flared in Patton’s stomach; old, familiar, but after the talk he’d just given himself, he purposefully pushed it down.

I won’t assume he’s being shifty unless he actually gives me a reason to.

Lifting his chin, he crept forward until he was next to Janus’s shoulder.

“Hey, Logan,” he said brightly, waving.

“Ah…hello, Patton,” Logan squeaked after a moment, his eyes still wide.

“Wait, Patton’s there? With the snake?” Roman’s voice yelled from the background, and then there was Roman’s face again.

“Patton?” Roman said, narrowing his eyes. “But why are you—?”

Both faces disappeared for a moment as Logan yanked Roman out of frame. Patton thought he heard a rapid, hushed conversation. He glanced at Janus, who only shrugged, looking at puzzled as Patton felt.

Roman’s face reappeared, solemn and deeply annoyed.

“Patton,” he said, and hesitated. “D—Janus. You two…well, you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Very reassuring,” Janus quipped.

“This was only supposed to be a two-person adventure: Doctor plus companion. I have no idea why the Imagination brought you both in as well; I certainly didn’t tell it to.”

“Aw, that’s okay, kiddo,” Patton started gently. “It’s not your fault—”

“Oh, sweetie.” Janus folded his arms. “I’m sorry, but that’s bull. Putting me in the Master’s shoes? Are we seriously going to pretend the Side who unashamedly hates me had nothing to do with that?”

“I didn’t!” Roman argued, his voice going high. “You really think I wanted you here, in any capacity?”

“Deceit…er, Janus, you are being unnecessarily antagonistic, and as such, unhelpful,” Logan cut in with his low, reassuring voice. “But Roman, it might behoove us to consider the role of subconscious influence. You may not have intended to pull the others in, and yet here they are.”

Roman looked at Logan, aghast, and Patton almost flinched at the raw hurt in his caramel eyes. The creative Side backed out of frame.

“So you’re on his side, too,” his voice said quietly. “Is that how it is?”

“I am not on anyone’s side,” Logan argued, raising his hands. “We are all currently in this situation together, and as such—”

Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off by another garbled transmission, taking over the screen and blocking out Logan’s face with crackly, purple static. A gray, snarling face flashed out of the haze, making Patton shriek in surprise and even Janus took a step back.

Then it was gone, dissolving back to static…and the sound of someone laughing filled the connection.

“Hellooooo, nurse,” a familiar sing-song voice crooned. “Did you miss me?”

Chapter 5- The Long Game

“You can’t just read the guide book, you’ve got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?”

Logan sighed.

He knew that voice; they all did. Even Thomas, unfortunately.

“Remus,” Roman hissed.

The mustached Side filled the screen, grinning madly. “Boo!”

“Get out of my scenario,” Roman said, his eyes flashing. “If you know what’s good for you.”

“Your scenario?” Remus echoed, faux-outrage in his expression. “Yours? The Dream Palace is my domain, too, brother, whether you like it or not.” He leaned closer, letting his nostrils and a single radioactive green eye fill the screen. “Did you really think you could keep me out?”

Roman made a sound of disgust deep in his throat.

“Am I to assume, then, that you are responsible for bringing in the other Sides?” Logan asked, careful to keep his voice even. Remus thrived on getting a rise out of people.

“Of course he is!” Roman snapped, throwing up his hands. “He loves to ruin things, especially my things.”

“Now why would having the others here ruin anything, brother?” Remus asked in a sickly sweet voice, propping his head on his hand. “Unless you intended for this nighttime romp between you and Logan to be private?”

Roman sputtered and glanced at Logan, red-faced, as Remus giggled.

“It was meant to be so, yes,” Logan supplied, unsure why Remus would find that funny…or why Roman would find it embarrassing.

“As amusing as this all is—” Janus’s crooning voice cut through the speaker.

“Great. You’re still here, snake?” Roman snarked, his arms folded around himself.

“We’re all listening, kiddo,” Patton’s metallic voice said.

Roman’s lips always curl into a pout when he is angry, Logan thought, eyeing him without turning his head, and he gets a little wrinkle between his eyebrows. Why…why am I noticing such things all of a sudden?

Maybe it was the stress, or the unfamiliar environment.

Or maybe it was the Rose Tyler outfit.

That skirt ought to be illegal.

Logan deliberately focused on the screen, his cheeks warm.

“So this is kinda new,” Patton went on, “all of us actually talking—”

“If Remus is responsible,” Janus cut in again, “then perhaps he would be so kind as to explain the objective of this late night group therapy session?”

Despite the biting sarcasm, Logan did appreciate Janus’s insistence that they get to the point, even if it did mean talking over Patton…

Speaking of, why would Remus have paired Patton with Janus?

Surely he should have grouped Patton with Logan and Roman, and put Virgil with Janus? Or…maybe not, given how Virgil hisses if Janus so much as enters the same room.

Ugh. Interpersonal drama. Logan was thoroughly sick of trying to keep track of who carried a grudge against whom, especially when it seemed to change from day to day.

And on top of that, why would Remus make Patton a Cyberman? None of these decisions make any sense…

“Right?” Roman agreed softly next to him, and Logan realized he’d said that last bit out loud.

“If anything, I should have been the unfeeling killer robot,” Logan murmured.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Specs.” Roman shot him a strange look, both warm and troubled. “And frankly I don’t give a stinky rat’s ass about my stinky rat brother’s sick thought process. What I want to know is why Deceit doesn’t want us to mention it around Patton?”

Logan, who was still mentally stuck on rodents and donkeys…Roman’s metaphors were always something else…shook his head slightly.

“There’s no logical way Patton is unaware of his condition,” Logan pointed out. “So I can only guess he wishes to protect Patton’s feelings on the matter, by not allowing us to talk about it in front of him.” He shrugged when Roman’s frown deepened. “Those two have been getting along much better these last few weeks.”

“I think you’re giving the snake too much credit,” Roman muttered. “Even after he impersonated you, Logan? C’mon. It has to be something else.”

Logan bit back a sigh.

He doesn’t understand, he thought guiltily. Because he doesn’t know what really happened…

#

“This is unacceptable, Deceit,” Logan snapped, flinging the crook away from his body. “I was in the middle of a discussion—”

“He won’t listen to you,” Deceit had said, and there was no sarcasm or snark in his voice.

“Patton asked for my opinion!”

“And he dismissed you from the conversation the moment that opinion went against his preconceived notions!” Deceit snapped back.

Silence.

Logan could hear the others still talking, out in the real world…without him…as the misty dregs of subconscious curled around their feet.

“You tricked him.” Logan folded his arms. “He was scared and off balance and you gave him an out.”

“I didn’t make him take it!”

Deceit sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Logan. You know he is wrong on this. You know what this is doing to Thomas. His unquestioning, black-and-white, juvenile morality; it’s not working anymore. Thomas needs to grow up, and Patton is not letting him.”

Logan bit his lip.

“Logan.” Deceit moved closer, dismissing his crook into mist and setting both gloved hands on Logan’s shoulders. Logan stiffened.

“Logic. Please. I am…no good at this.” Deceit dropped his head, his hat obscuring his eyes. “I operate through deceit because that is the only way I can make them acknowledge me.”

“They don’t acknowledge you because you operate through deceit,” Logan pointed out.

“A perfect catch 22.” Deceit let out a bitter laugh. “But a snake cannot change its scales and I don’t…I have tried everything I know. I cannot fix this from the shadows. I am out of ideas.”

A strange thought entered Logan’s mind.

“You care. You care what happens to Thomas.”

Deceit looked up, his mismatched eyes glittering with stinging intensity. “I am the literal representation of selfishness. Why the hell else would I go to all this trouble if I didn’t care?”

“Well…” Logan trailed off, troubled.

He’d let the others get to him, he realized in that moment. He’d let Roman get to him, with his talk of evil and Dark Sides and how they were always trying to tempt Thomas off the right path.

But…they were all part of Thomas, even the so-called “dark sides”.

Of course they wanted what was best for him…well, what Remus wanted at any given moment was debatable…even if they didn’t always go about it in the healthiest of ways.

Deceit had laughed then, high pitched and bitter.

“Really? Really? Even you think so low of me?”

“You are manipulating me right now.” Logan frowned. “You are using my concern for Thomas to make me trust you.”

“Yes! I am!” Deceit got in his face, fangs flashing. “I am a manipulative bastard because that is the lens through which my Source perceives me. But that doesn’t matter because you, Logic; you see through me, always have. And you know perfectly well that logically, any objection you have to my personality or my methods does not change the fact that I. Am. Right.”

He punctuated each word with a poke to Logan’s chest.

“Deceit—” Logan started.

“Janus.”

“What?”

Deceit sighed. “My name. My…real name. It’s Janus.”

Logan blinked. He knew the mythology, of course: Janus, keeper of doorways and thresholds, looking simultaneously to the past and future. Two faces. Seeing things from every angle.

Self-preservation.

“It suits you,” Logan said quietly.

Tension bled out of Janus’s shoulders, a stiffness Logan hadn’t even realized was there until it was gone.

“Thank you.”

“Why am I here…Janus?” Logan asked, glancing away. “What do you need from me?”

Janus looked at him intently.

“Let me speak to them as you.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, and Janus sighed, waving a hand.

“I know, I know, more deceit, more lies, but—”

“No, it’s…” Logan pressed his lips together. “You already pointed it out. They don’t listen to me, either.”

The bitter twist that accompanied those words was becoming an all too familiar sensation in Logan’s chest.

Janus snorted.

“Oh, they do. Eventually. They heeded your advice on how to deal with Remus.”

Logan shrugged uncomfortably.

“Look,” Janus added, “honest people know how to tell the truth, but liars…” he smirked, not especially nicely. “We know how to wield the truth to accomplish an end. I can pull Thomas and the others out of this rut, but they have to be receptive to my tugging on the reins.”

Logan pursed his lips.

“You won’t fool them. If you recall, you tried to impersonate me once already and barely lasted two minutes.”

“I didn’t have your blessing.”

Janus fixed Logan with his intense mismatched eyes again, and held out a hand.

Logan stared at it, torn.

This was Deceit, the master liar: Thomas’s entire capacity for deception condensed into a single, snake-faced Side. How could Logan possibly trust him to not make things worse, after all the falsehoods, the impersonations, how he’d manipulated them all in one way or another to get his way?

But…as much as Logan, personally, didn’t understand why that callback had been so important to Thomas…he could not dismiss the fallout Thomas had suffered as a result of missing it. The decision to attend the wedding had turned out to be a bad one.

Patton had been wrong to insist upon it over Janus’s objections, and over Roman’s.

Those were just the facts.

Janus sighed.

“I’ll unmask myself when an opportunity arises, if that would help,” he offered, and to Logan’s shock, slowly tugged off a glove. “I won’t…I won’t let it go on as long as it did with Patton.”

He offered his now bare hand to Logan again.

Out in the real world, Logan could hear Patton’s increasingly desperate and ridiculous responses to Thomas’s and Roman’s questions, and winced. Janus did the same.

“Please,” was all he said.

Logan sighed…it really couldn’t get any worse, could it?…and shook Janus’s hand.

#

In his TARDIS, Logan let out the sigh he was holding back.

He might have personal, concrete evidence that Janus wasn’t evil, but he also knew Janus had wounded Roman, badly, that day. The creative Side was simply not currently capable of viewing any situation involving Janus with any sort of objectivity.

Passionate, sensitive people like Roman tended to have an unfortunate habit of hanging onto grudges.

As Logic, Logan needed to remember that.

“Oh, all right,” Remus said, his voice crackling over the connection. “Since you’re all here—”

“Actually, Remus, we’re not all here,” Patton’s voice pointed out. “You all know perfectly well who we’re missing; we’ve done this before.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “‘Where is Anxiety?’” he quoted.

“You mean Tickle Me Emo isn’t with one of you?” Remus asked, looking delighted. “Oh dear, oh dear. Is he lost?”

“I mean, TARDISes are huge,” Roman pointed out. “He could be somewhere on one of our ships.” His voice dropped again. “I’ll bet Deceit stashed him away, because we all know how he hates Virgil.”

“Excuse you,” Janus’s voice interrupted, annoyed. “It is Virgil who hates me, not the other way around.”

“Let’s both scan our ships,” Logan suggested, hoping to head off an argument. Honestly, if Roman and Janus didn’t stop picking fights with one another, he was going to lose his marbles.

The scans pulled up nothing.

“Oh well,” Remus said with a shrug. “Guess the emo gets to miss out.”

Janus grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “lucky”.

“All right, here’s what’s going to happen.” Remus leaned close to the screen. “I’ve crash landed on a lovely snowbound planet that’s crawling with psychotic tin cans who like to roll around yelling ‘exterminate’.”

“Daleks? A snowbound planet, so not Skarro, but where else…” Logan narrowed his eyes.

“He’s on the Dalek asylum,” Roman said lowly. “That was one of the episodes I had in mind when I plotted this adventure.”

“Very good, brother.” Remus clapped his hands. “And up there in orbit is a ship full of people who’d really like to blow up the whole planet. Oh, woe is me, whatever shall I—”

“Save it,” Roman snapped. “You’d probably enjoy getting blown up.”

“Hmm, true.” Remus’s green eyes sharpened. “Think of the mess! Little bits of intestines floating through space, long pink ropey—”

“Or?” Logan interjected, before Remus gave Patton nightmares.

“Or you have to come rescue me!” Remus’s teeth flashed as he grinned. “Because otherwise it’s nighty-night for me and all the other aliens in the asylum.”

There was a beat of silence.

“As terrible as that sounds,” Janus drawled, sounding anything but worried, “given that none of this is real, and at least one of us would very much rather not be here at all…why exactly should your plight concern us?”

Logan secretly agreed, but felt his stomach clench when he glanced at Roman’s troubled face. None of this was real…right? Would something concretely bad happen to Remus if the planet he inhabited was blown up?

Surely not.

This was only a dream. Perhaps, then, Roman was merely upset that his twin had usurped his adventure for the night?

“Also.” Remus buffed his fingernails. “You should know that the Imagination will only release us if we complete the objective. In other words,” and he sneered, purple-shadowed eyes glittering, “we’re all stuck in this scenario until we’re all reunited.”

Remus giggled as Logan exchanged a shocked look with Roman.

“I don’t believe you. This was my dream,” Roman said darkly. “And I’ve just about had enough of all this!”

He stepped back and snapped his fingers with a flourish. Frowning, he did it again, and again, his face growing paler with each try.

“Roman, what—” Logan started.

“I can’t end it,” Roman whispered, still snapping. “He’s right. He’s…he’s sealed off the dream’s boundaries somehow. Remus!”

This he roared at the screen.

“Keeping Thomas trapped in a dream state is going too far, Remus!” he yelled. “I don’t care what kind of demented game you want to play with us, but we don’t bring Thomas into it.”

“Oh, you think I created an unbreakable dreamscape?” Remus snapped. “You let the Imagination have too much reign, my dear brother, and now neither of us have the power to end the dream ourselves. I estimate we have about ten hours before Thomas wakes up.”

For a moment, all Logan could hear was the soft whoosh of the time rotor, and Roman’s shallow, angry breathing at his shoulder.

“So I suggest you all pilot your ships to these coordinates,” Remus added, and a series of numbers and strange symbols flashed up on one of the smaller console screens. “And get started.”

The main screen blipped, and Remus’s face was replaced by an expressionless Cyberman and a snake-faced Side who looked extremely pale under his scales.

“Well,” Logan stated. “This is a problem.”

Chapter 6- Asylum of the Daleks

“You’re going to fire me at a planet? That’s your plan? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it?”

“In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.”

“Don’t be fair to the Daleks when they’re firing me at a planet.”

The familiar wheeze of the TARDIS materializing filled Roman’s ears as he waited by the doors. Logan joined him a moment later.

“Ready?” he asked, smoothing a hand over his cravat.

He looks good as the Doctor, Roman thought, eying the slimming black and navy, the graceful arc that hand made as it adjusted a pair of glasses…

He shook himself out of his distraction. “Let’s do this, nerd.”

Logan opened the doors and the two stepped out…not onto the asylum, but onto a spaceship. Shiny copper terraces lined the vast walls in curving rows, leading the eye up to a domed ceiling with a clear view of black, star-studded space. Like a huge amphitheater, or stadium. Even Roman had to admit, the Imagination had really outdone itself on the realism.

Of course, given that the ship was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of Daleks calling for violence…realism wasn’t exactly comforting at the moment.

“Surprise, surprise, I don’t see my stupid brother,” Roman commented over the dull roar of the crowd.

“No. But I recognize where we are.” Logan waved a hand. “You were right about Remus’s location; this ship is from the episode ‘Asylum of the Daleks’, in Season 7. If we are following the basic plotline, Remus is likely somewhere down on the planet below, and we will be sent to him in due course. However…I am curious as to why all the other aliens are here.”

Roman looked around again, seeing that Logan was right. Daleks formed the majority of the crowd, but he also spotted Zygons, Sontarans, Silurians, other Cybermen, Ice Warriors…and quite a few aliens from older seasons he couldn’t remember the names of.

(Logan probably could.)

A second TARDIS materialized near their familiar blue box: plain, gray; a squat column of a ship. Janus emerged first, a silver instrument gripped in one gloved hand, followed by an old-school Cyberman…Patton. Roman frowned. Seeing that metal…being…and having to remember it was actually his friend was going to be difficult now that there wasn’t a screen separating them.

“Nice work, Roman,” Janus said, sidling up next to him and faux-clapping his hands. “A ship full of aliens who want us dead; always an excellent starting point for an adventure.”

“This is how the episode starts, Mr. Oh-I’m-Such-an-Expert-in-Doctor-Who,” Roman retorted. “Accuracy is important.”

“But this isn’t accurate,” Logan pointed out. “There should only be Daleks here.”

Roman folded his arms, stung.

Damn Logan and his damned need to be right all the time.

“I…well, I didn’t model this adventure after just one particular episode,” Roman admitted. “I wanted it to be a challenge, and it wouldn’t be if Logan and I already knew the ending. So no, I can’t exactly explain why all the other aliens are here, okay?”

Logan sighed.

“I was not criticizing you, Roman,” he said in a gentler voice. “As this has apparently become as much Remus’s and the Imagination’s handiwork as it is yours, it would be unreasonable to expect you to know what comes next.”

“THE DOCTOR AND THE MASTER WILL APPROACH THE SUPREME DALEK,” a grating robotic voice boomed across the ship, making them all whip around. A large white Dalek with an antenna on its shell loomed on a raised stage near the center of the amphitheater.

“They were expecting me, too?” Janus raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

The lights on the Dalek’s head flashed as it spoke again.

“THE DOCTOR AND THE MASTER WILL APPROACH WITH THEIR COMPANIONS.”

The four Sides exchanged a glance, and weaved through the assembled Daleks to the raised stage. The White Supreme Dalek was not the only occupant; it was flanked by an Ice Warrior, an Emojibot (which made Patton giggle), and…

“Look, a Janus,” Roman chortled, nudging the snake-faced Side in the ribs and pointing out the two-faced alien.

“You are all nerds and my logo is a two-headed snake,” Janus complained, rolling his eyes. “I literally do not know how all of you missed that obvious clue to my name.”

“DOCTOR,” the White Dalek said as they climbed the dais. “MASTER. WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THE DALEK ASYLUM?”

“I’m just impressed my rat-faced brother wasn’t lying about his location,” Roman grumbled, and sputtered when Logan placed a hand over his mouth.

“According to legend,” Logan said, “you have a dumping ground, a planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong.”

“The battle-scarred, the insane. The ones even you can’t control,” Janus clarified. His voice dropped to a hiss. “No wonder they ssstuck Remus there.”

Roman covered his mouth to keep from snorting.

The snake would not make him laugh.

“CORRECT.” The Dalek pushed a button and a hole opened in the middle of the floor. A snow-covered planet lay below them, pristine from this high up.

“Ooh, that’s,” Patton started, and let out a metallic gulp. “That’s quite a drop. Do we, ah, have to go down the same way? Cause I remember that part, and—”

“How many Daleks are down there?” Logan asked.

“A COUNT HAS NOT BEEN MADE,” the white Dalek said.

“Millions, certainly,” a new voice chimed in. The tall, robed, dark-skinned Janus stepped forward, their front face addressing them. “But they will not be your only concern. The population of the planet consists of more than just Daleks.”

Roman exchanged a suspicious glance with Logan. This wasn’t in the episode. This is new.

“What do you mean?” Janus, their Janus, asked.

The alien Janus turned to a nearby monitor, pulling up some information. The backward-facing face continued to address them.

“Some time ago, the Daleks began noticing a curious phenomenon,” they said. “Random people, from all different races and species, started turning up on various planets in this quadrant of space, including the asylum. No ships, no technology, and no knowledge of how they’d gotten there. At first the imprisoned Daleks on the asylum simply killed them off as they appeared—”

Patton visibly winced, even with his metal body, and Logan’s eyes grew flinty.

“—but the new arrivals eventually became too many to exterminate,” the alien Janus went on, unconcerned. “By now we suspect the planet has a population of over a billion, far too many for its automated systems to handle.”

They turned their forward face to the four again.

“THE ASYLUM IS COMPROMISED,” the Dalek Supreme proclaimed. “IT MUST BE CLEANSED.”

“Hang on, you’re still going to blow the whole planet up?” Roman protested. “A billion people?”

“To be fair, that is what they did in the original episode,” Logan pointed out quietly.

“But that was just Daleks!”

Janus rolled his eyes. “Ah, so genocide is fine when it’s only the evil aliens getting blown up?”

“You know, somehow I’m not surprised to hear you defending the bad guys!” Roman snapped.

“That is enough!” Patton snapped in his robotic voice, stepping between them and raising both his hands. Laser pistols popped out of both of them, making both Roman and Janus step back in alarm.

After a tense moment, Patton lowered his arms again; the guns clicked and vanished into their casings.

“Uh, sorry kiddos, I don’t know what came over me,” he said in a sheepish, more Patton-y voice. “Can we please not fight? It…it kinda makes me feel weird and jittery when you do.”

Roman stared at Patton’s blank Cyberman face and armored Cyberman body and swallowed, hard.

Their Patton would never deliberately aim a gun at anyone, let alone his family. But Cybermen were created to eliminate…or rather, delete…anyone who got in their way.

Did Patton even realize what he’d almost done?

What would happen, if and when he was forced to confront the reality of his body in this realm? What if he didn’t figure it out until he accidentally did something terrible? It wouldn’t be real, of course, but to Patton…that wouldn’t matter.

If his Cyberman programming forced or tricked him into hurting someone, the guilt of it would devastate him.

All I wanted to do was take Logan on an adventure, Roman thought bitterly. A fun little dream adventure where he could play one of his heroes. Was that too much to ask, Imagination?

He folded his arms and glared around the Dalek ship, anywhere but at his fellow Sides.

Whatever the hell this has turned into, I want no part of it anymore.

“In order for us to destroy the planet, we will need you to disable the planet’s forcefield—” The alien Janus started, but Logan held up a finger.

“Excuse you,” he said sharply. “We have not agreed to do anything, least of all help you murder a billion people whose only crime is to have accidentally turned up in your prison. Have you even attempted to solve that mystery?"

"And why do you care what happens down there?" Roman added, sneering. "If the insane Daleks are armed—”

“DALEKS ARE ALWAYS ARMED,” the white Dalek proclaimed.

“—then why can’t they defend themselves?” Logan finished, shooting Roman a questioning glance.

Roman huffed, and looked away.

“At first they did,” the Janus explained. “But as I said, the automated systems cannot keep up with the influx. Wars are being fought over food and other resources as we speak. A starliner crashed on the surface mere days ago, and—”

“Ah,” Logan said slowly. “You’re afraid, with all the shifting alliances and new activity, that the mad Daleks will escape in the confusion.”

“We do not know who or what is behind the influx,” the Janus said. “But eventually, they will start coming with ships, or they will build them on the surface, or reach out to those who could attempt a rescue.”

“‘If sssomeone can get in, everything can get out’,” their Janus quoted darkly.

The other Janus nodded. “Even the Daleks agree, their mad brethren cannot be allowed to escape. We, of this assembly—”

They waved to the assembled crowd of aliens, who observed in eerie silence.

“—have decided that one planet must be sacrificed for the greater good of the universe.”

Roman slowly and deliberately drew his sword (which the Imagination had kindly left as part of his outfit). It rasped as it emerged, the sound hair-raising in the sudden lull.

Instantly every Dalek gunstick and alien weapon on the ship was primed and pointed at the four Sides.

“And if we refuse?” Roman said evenly.

“THE DOCTOR AND THE MASTER WILL COOPERATE,” the Supreme Dalek warned, its lights flashing balefully.

“COOPERATE! COOPERATE!” the cry was echoed by the other Daleks, filling the ship with a cacophony of robot voices.

The alien Janus shrugged, spreading their hands.

“You don’t really have a choice. If you want to live, that is.”

“Is that so.”

Roman tensed and sprang at the white Dalek, not giving himself time to think. He dodged a blast from its gunstick and leaped, bringing his sword down hard. This being the Imagination, the katana cut through the Dalek’s metal armor like butter, and it clattered to the deck in two pieces.

There was a shocked silence…but no retaliation.

“Well?” Roman shouted, spreading his arms and turning in a slow circle. “This is me, not cooperating. What are you waiting for? Are you really going to shoot us?”

If they all died on this spaceship…the worst that would happen is they’d be kicked from the Imagination, and that was what they wanted, anyway.

“Roman,” Logan warned quietly, pointing.

Roman looked.

The white Dalek’s shell was…laughing?

“Oh, Roman,” Remus’s crackly voice emerged from the fallen Dalek’s casing. “Roman, Roman, Roman. My poor brave brother who thinks he can solve all his problems with steel and bravado. Did you really think it would be that easy?”

Each word bit like sandpaper against Roman’s ears.

He growled, and stalked to the Dalek’s top half, snatching it up and quickly locating a tiny speaker.

“C’mon, Remus. End this stupid charade,” he said quietly, holding the casing to his face so he could speak quietly. “You’ve had your fun at my expense. Go back to your pile of severed limbs and gloat if you must, but end this. For Patton’s sake, if nothing else.”

“I’ve already told you, it’s out of my hands,” Remus responded; typically, annoyingly casual. “If you want to end the game, you have to come down here and find me.”

Roman exhaled, resting his head against the cold, bumpy metal for a moment. His eyes burned, but he was Prince; he wouldn’t cry, not here.

“Why must you make everything difficult?”

“Roman, in all seriousness,” Remus’s voice dropped. “I didn’t know you were taking Logan on a date tonight—”

“It’s not a date,” Roman hissed, glancing at the other Sides…one in particular.

“The Imagination brought me into this without asking, just like it pulled the others in,” Remus went on. “I am aware of what has to happen, but I did not cause this.”

“You’re lying,” Roman said tonelessly.

Remus’s whiny voice grew hard.

“I don’t lie, and you despise that about me. You hide so much shit from yourself that it baffles you when I refuse to do the same.”

“Look,” Remus added when Roman didn’t respond. “The Imagination is clearly trying to get our attention. Sure, it usually goes through one of us first, but it doesn’t have to. When it comes down to it, Thomas’s mind answers only to Thomas. ”

“How are you so sure?” Roman frowned.

Was Remus seriously suggesting the Imagination they both oversaw had gone rogue somehow?

“Because I don’t curate my side as meticulously as you do, brother.” Remus chuckled. “I listen. I let the Imagination do as she pleases, free from all those pesky ethics and morals and other boring boxes you always force her into, so that our sweet Thomas doesn’t fear the contents of his own head.”

“You expect me to believe that you know what’s going on because,” Roman let every ounce of disdain seep into his voice, “the Imagination talks to you, and not me…because you don’t make her behave?”

“You should try letting her loose sometimes,” Remus drawled, “or you’ll end up with a cane up your butt like Nerdy Wolverine over there.”

“Don’t call him that,” Roman spat.

“What you so-called ‘light sides’ always get wrong,” Remus went on, “is that the juicy stuff, the gruesome and grim, the ‘bad’ thoughts that filter up from the subconscious; they can’t all be locked away and ignored.” His voice dropped ominously. “Repression can be very bad indeed, you know.”

Roman’s reasonable nature knew that his brother, despite his infuriating attitude, was actually making some good points. Thomas had been dealing with a lot lately; the tension in the mindspace felt like a ticking clock, counting down to the next disaster.

But at that moment, Roman had no desire to humor his twin.

All he wanted to do was lock himself into his own room in the Dream Palace and spend the rest of the night writing sad poetry about love, or listing his mistakes to himself until he fell asleep.

“I just wanted to show Logan a good time,” he said aloud.

“And oh dear, apparently you couldn’t even manage that correctly,” Remus said, implacably. “So maybe you should use this opportunity to get your head out of your poopy ass, and reevaluate yourself.”

Roman slammed the Dalek shell against the floor.

It cracked upon impact, the wiring inside sparking and finally flickering down to darkness. He ran his hands through his hair, reminded, once again, why he hated talking to his brother.

Like looking in a funhouse mirror…

“Roman…” Patton sidled up behind him, laying a cold hand on his back. Roman shoved the metal arm away and stalked back to the others.

“Let’s just get this done,” he said in a low voice.

“You will need these,” the alien Janus said, pushing a button on a nearby console. A translucent vertical tube rose from a gap in the floor, holding three bulky black bracelets.

“Ah yes, I remember this,” Logan said, striding forward and taking a bracelet.

“They will prevent—” the Janus started.

“The nano cloud from converting us into Dalek puppets, yes?” Logan interrupted, snapping the bracelet onto his wrist and handing another to Roman.

The nerd is getting into this, Roman thought as he put it on. I guess that’s something.

“The cloud is only active in certain areas of the asylum,” the Janus warned them again. “And those change as different factions seize control of different areas and weaponize them.”

Patton hesitantly raised a hand.

“Um, Mx. Alien, I can’t help but notice that there are only three bracelets, and four of us?”

Logan frowned. “But Patton, why would you—?”

“I’m sure it’s because I’m part snake, Patton,” Janus interrupted smoothly, swooping in to grab the last bracelet and snapping it onto Patton’s arm.

Roman exchanged an alarmed look with Logan; that was the last bit of confirmation he needed. Patton really was unaware that he was a Cyberman.

But why on earth would Janus go to such lengths to keep him in the dark about it? Even leaving aside the fact that Patton was a walking weapon; being a machine, he didn’t need protection from the nano cloud at all.

Whereas Janus…probably did.

But when Roman opened his mouth, Janus shot him a look full of daggers and promises of pain, and shook his head. Roman rolled his eyes and mentally washed his hands of the situation.

Typical Deceit. Protecting his lies.

At least Patton would be twice-protected. If the snake wanted to risk his life for a lie, let him.

“The gravity beam will convey you close to the crashed starliner,” the alien Janus said, and then there were Dalek blasters being shoved into their backs, propelling them toward the hole in the floor.

“Oi,” Roman protested, “get your freaky little eggbeater appendages away from me, you AAAAHHHH!”

There was a push, and they were falling.

Chapter 7- Oxygen

“Look at this. Classic design. Pressure seals. Hinges. None of that ‘shuk shuk’ nonsense.”

“Space doors are supposed to go shuk shuk.”

“Are you gonna be like this all day?”

Janus was done.

He sat up with a groan, brushing snow from his jacket and vest, making sure his hat and gloves were still in place. Everything ached. Bad enough he never wanted to be part this stupid dream game in the first place; now he was probably going to literally turn into a Dalek.

All because the Imagination is being a dick and Patton doesn’t know he’s a killer robot.

Wind gusted around him, making Janus glad that the Master, like the Doctor, usually preferred long sleeves and a coat. He stood, turning in a slow circle as he took in the lay of the land. Nothing but snow and rocks; true to the episode, still.

The gravity beam had split into four as it hurled them at the planet, but Janus was reasonably sure at least one of the others had landed nearby.

He hoped it was Patton.

Not because he was concerned or anything. It was just that either of the others would be absolutely insufferable company, that’s all.

“Janus!” a metallic voice called, and Janus breathed a sigh of relief.

Patton’s Cyberman body clattered awkwardly down a nearby snowbank, sliding the last few feet to land in a heap.

“It is all kinds of chilly down here.” Patton stood, and waved rather nonsensically. “Hullo there, Janus, so ice to see you.”

Janus rolled his eyes. (He would deny to his dying day that the corner of his mouth twitched at the ridiculous pun.)

“If this scenario is consistent with its source material,” he said, gesturing to the closest ridge, “there should be an escape pod from that crashed ship nearby. Come on.”

He set off across the snow, Patton following in his wake.

“Say, what do snowmen call their offspring?”

Janus exhaled carefully. Hoo, boy, maybe Logan wouldn’t have been so bad…

“I haven’t the faintest.”

“Chill-dren!” Patton chortled at Janus’s grimace. “What did one snowman say to another?”

“St. Genesius spare me,” Janus grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What, pray tell, did one snowman say to another?”

“‘Do you smell carrots?’”

Janus quickly covered his mouth.

“You smiled,” Patton crooned.

“I most certainly did not.”

“Okay, okay, one more.” Patton scurried ahead and turned around, so that he was walking backwards. “Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?” Janus said flatly.

“Snow.” Patton hooked his thumbs into the metal rim at waist, like one might on a pair of pants. Janus swallowed and looked away.

“Snow who?”

“Snow laughing matter, Janus, I don’t know why you’re smiling.”

Janus snorted before he could hide it, and cleared his throat.

“I am not smiling, how dare you.”

“That’s twice now!” Patton cackled, the sound coming out all distorted. “Admit it.”

“I refuse,” Janus said, drawing himself up. “You won’t make a liar out of….”

Liar.

He felt the joke fall flat and cringed. Even though Patton’s metal face couldn’t react, those metal shoulders visibly stiffened.

Too soon.

Liar.

Too much history between them.

Besides, you are a liar, his mind whispered. Lies of omission are still lies, Deceit, and you’re doing that right now.

Janus gritted his teeth. They topped a ridge; the expected escaped pod lay half-buried near another ridge, across a flat stretch of snow. The two Sides glanced at each other and continued their journey in silence.

Patton seemed disinclined to continue his little pun war.

Janus badly wanted to say he hadn’t minded the punning, but truthfully, keeping silent was easier. Patton’s baffling ignorance over the state of his own “flesh” was starting to wear on Janus’s conscience. He knew the longer he kept it secret, the worse the fallout would be when Patton finally learned the truth.

The urge to come clean was an unfamiliar one for him, and extremely uncomfortable.

Ironic, the master liar, conflicted about maintaining a lie.

The old him would have laughed, but…the old him hadn’t heard the sincerity in Patton’s voice, when he’d spoken Janus’s true name aloud for the first time. The old him had assumed Thomas would reject him forever…because of Patton.

And then, with Janus still smarting from the sting of Roman’s mockery, Patton had said his name.

Patton had trusted him to take care of Thomas in his stead, when the moral Side knew he had failed at it. The memory still made all Janus’s scales tingle and his heart beat a little sideways.

The new him…this him…couldn’t find it in his small, shriveled, but very much present heart to risk pushing Patton away.

They reached the pod.

Muffled shouts and something that sounded like blaster fire filtered up from inside, making them exchange another glance.

Janus set a hand on the ice-crusted latch.

“Remember, we’ll have to fight our way through a bunch of dead Dalek puppets,” he reminded Patton.

“That’s a lot of noise for just a few puppets,” Patton said softly. “That canonically shouldn’t even be awake yet.”

��I know, and that is strange,” Janus agreed. “Maybe someone got here before us. But we won’t know exactly what to expect until we get down there.”

Patton sighed, a cloud of frost puffing out of his small, rectangular mouth.

Janus pushed the latch, popped his head in, and was met with a scene of utter chaos.

About six or seven human-Dalek puppets, with stalks sticking out of their heads and blasters sticking out of their hands, were locked in a fire fight with a horde of robotic humanoids that looked like they came from the Fourth Doctor’s era, if Janus remembered correctly. Round, bulky shoulders and faces that looked like metal sunbursts.

Both puppets and robots were using the seats as cover, blaster fire zinging back and forth and exploding against the walls in little showers of sparks. Janus and Patton would be directly in the blast zone when they jumped down, a little closer to the robot side.

“Well, someone definitely got here before us,” Janus muttered.

He withdrew his head and studied Patton. Honestly, with his metal body he’d be in far less danger, and those guns in his arms would actually be useful in this situation…but telling Patton he was a walking weapon, now, would definitely not go over well.

“The hatch down into the asylum should be in the cockpit of this thing,” he informed Patton. “There’s a lot of blaster fire, though, so—”

“—don’t get cold feet and hesitate?” Patton finished.

Something in Janus’s heart twisted…something he didn’t dare examine too closely.

“Say, Patton,” he said softly, looking away.

“Yes?”

“What did the hat say to the scarf?”

Patton turned his black Cyberman eyes on Janus.

“What?”

“‘You hang around, and I’ll go a-head’.” Janus let a smirk curl his lips.

Patton was silent for a moment, but then he began to giggle, covering his mouth.

Janus pulled out his sonic laser.

He dropped into the pod with a swing of his legs, catching one of the robots in its metal chest. It fell with a screech, careening into another of its kind, but by then Janus had gained his feet and ducked behind a seat. Patton clattered down behind, with less grace and far more noise…and a random Tivolian tumbled in directly after him.

Patton caught the rodent-faced alien with a startled shout, immediately dropping them again when they screamed and struggled. Janus blinked; where the hell did they come from?

The Tivolian tumbled across the pod’s floor, only making it a few feet before getting cut down with blaster bolts. Janus saw Patton cry out, and caught the Side before he could leap out and draw more hostile fire.

“It’s too late!” he shouted over the noise.

“I should have hung on!” Patton, if he’d had a proper face, would probably be in tears. He hated death. “I don’t know why they were so scared of me!”

Janus could answer that…

“I’m more curious about where they came from,” he said instead, frowning. “They surely weren’t up on the surface with us. It’s like they just teleported in, but Tivolians don’t teleport. They don’t have the technology—”

A blaster bolt exploded across the top of the seat they were hiding behind, showering them in sparks and forcing them both to duck.

“Janus!” Patton snapped. “We need to get out of here!”

“Right.” Janus brandished his sonic. “We’ll just have to run for it.”

He leaped out, activating his weapon, and discovered that a sonic laser had a very satisfying range and kickback. Forget the Doctor’s screwdriver, he thought, blasting a Dalek puppet aside and ducking another gun blast. I wonder if the Imagination will let me keep this…

A cold, dead hand seized the collar of his jacket, yanking him back.

Then there was a yell, a clatter, and Janus turned in time to see Patton blast a puppet with a fire extinguisher. The moral Side chuckled at Janus’s shocked expression.

“I’ve seen this episode too, you know,” he pointed out.

Janus huffed.

The two dodged and fought their way to the cockpit; Janus used his laser to seal the door behind them. For a moment they simply stood there, catching their breath.

(Well, Janus caught his. Did Patton even breathe, in that form?)

“Unauthorized personnel may not enter the cockpit.” Remus’s high-pitched voice came over the speaker system. “Unless it’s an actual pit full of cocks, in which case, where’s my invitation?”

Janus was going to need something a lot stronger than tea, once they finally got out of this mess.

“Remus, for god’s sake,” he grumbled.

“God has nothing to do with my cock, but if that’s how you want to roll…” One of the cockpit screens flickered to life, and there was Remus in all his ruffly, sparkly, mustached glory. Clara’s warm, messy cove spread out behind him, reds and yellows clashing horribly with the green of his sash.

Janus moved so that his chest and shoulders blocked the screen, to prevent Remus from catching sight of Patton. If Remus saw Patton as a Cyberman, Janus would never be able to convince him to keep his mouth shut.

“All right then, where do we find you?” Janus said. “And where did the others land? Not to mention our dear missing ball of anxiety.” He leaned forward, putting on his trademark smirk. “Come on, Re. You must know. One Other to another, you can tell me.”

“Aww, Jan Jan,” Remus crooned, also leaning forward. “You care.”

“I most certainly do not!” Janus sputtered, and cleared his throat. “Patton was worried about Virgil, that’s all.”

“I was?” Patton asked from the other side of the space. “I mean, of course I am, but—”

“But surely you can at least tell us why this scenario isn’t playing out quite like the episode it comes from,” Janus interjected smoothly. He didn’t want Remus to notice the metallic quality of Patton’s voice.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’ve already told you everything that I know.” Remus shrugged. “Roman really did give the Imagination too much freedom.”

Janus frowned.

“Then how do you know the scenario will end when we find you?”

“I actually don’t! Isn’t it great?” Remus crowed, clapping his hands. “I love stories where anything could happen. We could all get vaporized, or have our flesh eaten by—”

“Remus, focus.” Janus pitched the bridge of his nose. “So, given what we know of this particular episode, you’re assuming that our main tasks are to come get you, and to drop the forcefield on the planet so the Daleks can blow it up.”

“That’s the idea, Double Dee!”

Behind him, Janus heard Patton make a weird, choked noise, and grimaced.

“By the way, Roman and Logan are already inside the asylum.” Remus grinned, the whites of his eyes flashing. “So if you want to catch up, you’d better scute those scaly asscheeks along. Check the floor for a breach; that will be your way out. A breach, ha! Like a butth—”

Janus pointed his laser and fired on the screen, cutting the transmission and sending sparks flying all over the cockpit. An awkward silence fell in which he turned to face Patton, who of course wore no visible expression.

This, and all the reasons for it, annoyed him further.

“I swear if you ask one question about scutes or scales,” he warned, holding up a finger.

“I wasn’t…going to.” Patton held up his hands. “Logan kind of taught us how to tune out the more, er, naughty things Remus says. But I am wondering,” he added hesitantly. “Are you…feeling okay?”

“Fabulous. Peachy,” Janus said flatly, kneeling to feel around on the floor. “Fantastic, allons-y, geronimo, what have you.”

“It’s just, you seem a little angry,” Patton went on. “And you remember, that’s, that’s the first step in being converted. Maybe you should wear the bracelet for a while? We can trade on and off…”

Patton’s fingers went to his wrist, but Janus stopped him with a gloved hand on top.

Tell him, an inner voice whispered. Tell him now, before this gets any more awkward.

“That’s sweet of you, but no, I’m merely frustrated,” Janus admitted. “I would very much like to get out of here, so I can return to the pleasant evening I was having before all thisss.”

He gestured irritatedly around them.

Patton joined him on the floor and together they found a person-sized hole, with a rope ladder hanging down.

“Hey, Janus,” Patton murmured, as they were about to start the long climb down. “Can I ask you something?”

“Why do I have a feeling you’re going to ask no matter what I say?” Janus said wryly.

“Do you remember when that puppet attacked you in the main part of the ship, and I fought it off with the fire extinguisher?” Patton ducked his head.

Janus raised an eyebrow.

“They hesitated, when they saw me.” Patton’s unnaturally black eyes met Janus’s. “That’s why I had time to grab the extinguisher.”

Janus swallowed, his heart starting to pound.

“Well, I’m sure they aren’t used to anyone fighting back—”

“No, they hesitated like…like I scared them or something,” Patton pressed. “It was weird, Janus. Please. If there’s something you need to tell me…you know you can.”

Janus’s mouth compressed into a flat line and he looked away, bitterness welling up inside him.

“Can I, Patton?” he asked softly, holding up a gloved hand. A yellow indictment of everything he was. “Can I really?”

Patton sighed, long and deep.

“Touché.”

Chapter 8- Extremis

“Something’s coming. And I’m blind. How can I see them when I’m lost in the dark?”

Logan awoke to someone shaking him.

He opened his eyes to an expanse of blurry blobs and color splotches, and Roman’s sharp, frantic face very close to his. His eyes have amber flecks, his brain noted inanely. But why is he clear when nothing else is…?

Roman threw his head back and exhaled in obvious relief when Logan groaned, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

“Singing chimeras, Specs, I was starting to worry.”

Logan sat up and touched his bare face. Ah, there’s the problem.

“Where are my glasses?”

Roman was quiet.

Logan leaned closer to the other Side, squinting. Bad eyesight was such an annoyance. If only Thomas’s developing brain hadn’t decided early on that “smart and logical” also meant “stereotypically nerdy”, and pigeonholed his own sense of Logic into actually requiring corrective eyewear.

“Roman?” Logan tried again.

“Um. About that.”

Roman bit his lip, and handed over a smashed set of frames. Logan’s stomach sank as he examined them; the lenses were shattered beyond repair.

“I found them next to you like that, when I woke up,” Roman explained. “I’ve been trying to summon another pair, but for some reason the Imagination won’t let me!”

Logan pushed down a growing sense of dread, that he’d have to navigate the rest of this adventure half-blind.

“My glasses getting broken is obviously not your fault. We did fall down a rather deep hole,” he pointed out. “But what do you mean, the Imagination isn’t letting you?”

“I mean it’s not letting me!” Roman threw up his hands. “I could summon things on the TARDIS just fine, but now…” He sighed. “I am Creativity, right?”

Logan tilted his head and frowned.

“Is that…Roman, that is a nonsensical question. Of course you are.”

“So summoning a tiny object in my own dream scenario should be easy.” Roman hung his head.

“How long have you been trying?”

“Twenty minutes, maybe?” Roman shrugged, still not looking at him. “All that time, and yet still I fail.”

Logan resisted the urge to point out that twenty minutes should be long enough to realize a thing might be outside of one’s control, and to start brainstorming other options.

Stubborn fool.

“Maybe it’s just as well we picked the wedding over the callback,” Roman added darkly, an uncharacteristic glower twisting his face. “When Thomas’s Creativity apparently can’t even control his own dreams.”

Oh…this isn’t about glasses at all, is it? Logan swallowed around an achy sensation in his chest; the one he always got when something was wrong and Roman made that face and he just…needed to fix it.

Native English speakers have a passive vocabulary of around forty thousand words, he thought, frustrated. So why, in situations like this, am I constantly struggling to find the right thing to say?

The resigned set to Roman’s jaw prompted Logan to try.

“Your inability to summon things may not be your doing,” Logan said, laying a hand on Roman’s knee. “Perhaps the Imagination is attempting to impose a sense of realism on this adventure.”

“Realism,” Roman echoed flatly. “In Doctor Who.”

Logan huffed. “You must admit, summoning objects out of thin air does defy even time-traveling alien logic.”

Roman’s face twitched in the tiniest of smiles. “So why did it work before, Teach?”

“Maybe it only worked on the TARDIS because the ship already defies every known rule of physics.” Logan shrugged. “I admit I cannot possibly intuit the inner workings of the Imagination; I can only theorize from what I have observed thus far.”

Roman chuckled softly to himself, and bumped Logan’s shoulder.

“Aww, Nerd, I’m touched. You’re trying to logic me into feeling better.”

“Is it…working?” Logan asked.

“Kind of?” An unreadable expression flitted over Roman’s face. “At least one of us is still grounded in reality.”

“Where else could one possibly be grounded?”

Roman laughed outright at this.

“Oh, Logan. Never change, okay?”

He stood up, and pulled Logan to his feet as well.

“Where are we?” Logan asked, squinting.

He could tell they were in some large, open space; all blacks and browns and dull grays. Blurry domes of copper were scattered amongst what could be bits of fallen scaffolding or machinery.

Logan was also hyperaware of Roman’s warm arm pressed against his, and his own hand clasped tightly within the Prince’s larger grip. With everything else blurry, physical sensations were all the more distracting.

“Don’t panic, okay?” Roman started.

Logan scoffed.

“You are fortunate that I am not Virgil,” he commented wryly. “Because starting a sentence like that would almost certainly have caused him to panic.”

“Well, it’s just, do you remember that scene in the Dalek asylum episode where Rory wakes up in the hanger full of dead Daleks who turn out to be not actually dead?” Roman said in a rush. “Because…yeah.”

Oh. Logan swallowed.

“So, I am guessing that those copper domes are actually Daleks?” he said softly.

Roman snorted.

“Copper domes? Jeesh, your eyesight sucks.”

“I am aware,” Logan said flatly. “Which means you will have to guide us out. If I remember correctly, as long as we are quiet and don’t kick any pipes on the ground, we won’t wake them up.”

Roman let go of Logan’s hand… and replaced it with an arm wrapped around his waist. Logan only held back a squeak because it would have been extremely undignified.

“Hey, relax, I got you, Specs.” Roman’s breath ghosted over Logan’s ear. The Prince’s shorter stature allowed him to fit snugly against Logan’s side; if Roman turned his head, he could comfortably tuck his face into the crook of Logan’s neck.

Not…not that Logan imagined him doing any such thing.

Roman drew his sword with a metallic rasp, prompting Logan to pull out his screwdriver, and they set off across the floor.

It was a strange, vulnerable sensation, Logan thought, being this close to another, being forced to rely on him for direction…or maybe it was just that Roman’s Rose Tyler outfit left so much more skin on display than his usual royal attire…

To be fair, Roman’s bare arms and short skirt and leggings were the only non-blurry things in Logan’s line of sight at the moment.

“You know, I am not sure how much good a sword will do against a Dalek now,” Logan said dryly (to distract himself). “Since it would seem that the Imagination is now attempting to be realistic.”

“It’ll be a lot more useful than a screwdriver,” Roman retorted. “Honestly, the War Doctor had a point. The later seasons really do start to treat the sonic like a weapon, and it looks ridiculous. There’s an oily-looking puddle to your left.”

They dodged around it.

“The sonic screwdriver is an ingenious, multipurpose tool,” Logan argued. “Fitting for a character who is, at heart, a pacifist. In the right hands, it most certainly could serve as a weapon. For example one could scramble a Cyberman’s circuits, short out fuses, or calculate the precise amount of blunt force needed to take down an enemy.” Logan waved the hand with the screwdriver around them. “All things that a sword could not accomplish.”

“Sure,” Roman drawled, leading them around one of the still, silent Daleks, “but you don’t point a sonic at an oncoming Dalek and expect to survive. Even the Doctor had more sense than to try that. At least a sword could cut off its blaster arm.”

“We don’t know how strong Dalek amor is down here,” Logan pointed out. “You could end up breaking your sword and then where would we be?”

“Better off than we’d be while you assembled a cabinet at them!”

Logan’s foot collided with a metallic something that made an awful CLANG and went skittering across the floor. Roman pulled them up short, his face going pale.

All around them, round blue lights began to flicker on, one by one.

“I kicked the pipe, didn’t I?” Logan said, his heart starting to pound.

“You kicked the pipe,” Roman confirmed in a sick voice.

“EGGS…!” a crackly Dalek voice next to them stuttered, making them jump. “EG-EG-EG-EGGS…!” Its twin lights flashed erratically as it spoke.

“Roman,” Logan started.

“‘Eggs, you may laugh and that’s great…’” Roman sang in a wavering voice. “‘Your smiles are what make my day’…”

The Dalek rolled toward them creakily. “EEEEEGGS!”

Logan’s breathing sped up. Another Dalek rolled in from the other side, causing him to stumble. All around them, mechanical creaks and groans and a chorus of digitized voices rose up…

“EG…EG-EGGS…TERM…”

“Roman, I believe we need to run.” Logan could see the Dalek almost clearly now, its eyestalk glowing, its gunstick rising up.

“…IN…ATE…”

Blurry, flashing lights closed in.

“‘My self-worth’s fragile like an egg,’” Roman sang. The hand gripping Logan’s middle tightened painfully. “‘When it breaks it’s tough to put together again…’”

“EX…TERM…IN…ATE!”

“Roman!” Logan shouted. “Get us out of here!”

“EXTERMINATE!”

A blaster bolt warbled past and exploded over their heads.

Roman shuddered and seemed to snap out of it, seizing Logan’s arm and pulling him so hard he nearly fell. Logan staggered, hanging onto Roman’s hand for dear life as they ran, and ran, and blaster bolts burst at their feet and shattered around them.

“This way, boys and boys,” Remus’s voice sing-singed across the room. Roman yanked them hard in that direction.

“REMUS!” Roman shouted as they ran, and Logan was impressed he had the breath for it. “Remus, you better open that door like you’re supposed to or we are DEAD!”

“Oh, keep your pants on, brother,” Remus snarked, sounding a little closer. “Although maybe Logan would prefer that you didn’t—”

Whatever else he said wasn’t audible over a hanger full of jabbering Daleks and firing blasters.

They reached a wall and Roman shoved Logan down.

“Straight ahead, crawl. Go, go, go!” he said, turning and brandishing his sword.

Bless that Prince and his stupid, stupid bravery.

Logan went, nearly tripping over his coat as he crawled under the barely lifted hatch door. Once he was past the threshold Roman flung himself under and through, knocking into Logan and sending them both sliding across the floor.

There was a hiss and a heavy thud that Logan hoped was the door shutting behind them, and finally, blessed silence. They both leaned against the wall for a moment, catching their breath.

Roman thunked his head back.

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” he muttered.

“Your welcome.”

Remus’s voice crackled through the hallway. Roman growled and sat up straighter, looking around as if his brother would magically appear.

“I did just save your lives,” Remus added. From the direction of the sound, Logan guessed he was talking through a speaker somewhere on the far wall.

“Yeah, and I’m still gonna whip your butt when this is all over,” Roman groused.

“Oooh, do I get to choose the instrument?”

Roman sputtered, but Logan grabbed his arm before he could yell back.

“You know he just likes to get under your skin,” he murmured, and raised his voice. “Thank you for opening the door, Remus. We are grateful for your help.”

There was a silence on the other end, with a quality that Logan would have described as shocked.

“Well. You two lovebirds better move along,” Remus drawled finally, shrill as ever. “Before the Silurian army shows up.”

“Excuse me, the WHAT?” Logan exclaimed.

No answer.

“Remus!” Roman clambered to his feet and helped Logan up.

Nothing.

Except now that Logan was listening for it, he definitely heard approaching footsteps and murmuring, heavily-accented voices. And they were getting closer.

“That dick,” Roman grumbled through gritted teeth.

“To be fair, I think he is trying to help,” Logan pointed out. “In his own way.”

“Don’t be fair to my brother when he’s just led us out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

“We are neither in a pan nor on fire, Roman; I have never understood that saying—”

The lights dimmed and flashed an eerie purple; Roman silenced him with a hand over his mouth. There was a voice…not Remus’s, not alien, not like anything Logan had ever heard. It chanted something, over and over again, before fading out.

The lights flared back to normal.

Logan waited, counting Roman’s shallow breaths against his neck.

Nothing.

“What was that?” he asked softly.

“Beats the hell out of me,” Roman responded. “But I guess that’s our cue to go. Stay close, Mr. Magoo.”

Logan grumbled, but allowed Roman to recapture his hand and lead them in the opposite direction of the approaching footsteps…which had resumed the moment the purple light vanished.

Next time Roman asked him to come on an adventure, he was bringing a spare set of glasses.

[haechanhues]

My Analysis Of Enhypen (From I-Land mostly) and I was going to do it straight out of watching it, but it was like 2am and the next day I was sick so today it is :) (Edit : It took a couple of days to even write it) and I also watched some Enhypen videos so.... yup but I’ll try my best to keep it to my observations with I-Land and like the behind videos 

Sunoo

- My expectation of him : I thought he’d be the loud one like San/Wooyoung  is in ATEEZ from the get go but he was so shy at first. Watching him open up and spread who he is as a person was one of my favourite parts of the show. He also became more confident in himself and his abilities. You may think differently but if you take the first episode and last episode as examples, you’ll be able to see his level of comfort in showing his qualities as a person.

- In saying that, his expressions, especially in brighter concepts astound me. Like in those concepts, he just has the spotlight. For real, for real. He can also do intense concepts too. Amazing. He also has a voice that surprises me, like you’d expect his voice to be slightly higher but it’s among the lower tones (I don’t know the tonal scale)

- He doesn’t really take too harshly to teasing or when the other people poke fun at him. He takes it in good stride (Though nobody should go overboard) He just accepts it as it is with a smile or maybe a little sigh or even just teasing back. He knows it’s all with a good heart. I find that really admirable - it’s not an easy trait to have. Also the fact he can joke with the others as well.

- I love the way he monitors others, especially his members, and like he can make a person feel good. Like the way he without any hesitancy will help style another person’s hair if they asked or whatever. He just wants to do well, together. He wants to share his happiness with other people and I think that’s such a reason to love him. He also is the first to emphasise the beauty in every person. He brings attention to it in such a beautiful, caring way. He also can see the bigger picture so easily and so thoughtfully. Always looking for others.

- In saying all this, I have a theory that he was chosen as the producer’s pick because he has this ability to him. Like a moodmaker is someone that keeps the team’s spirits up and provide the stress relief and I feel he’s more than that? He has absolute faith in other people and can bring out hidden components of a person they didn’t really know they had e.g Sunghoon during Chamber 5/ The Heeseung Aegyo fiasco. Like he has this flamboyancy and shamelessness to him that you can help but join in or that it’s alright to join in.

Sunghoon

- My expectation of him : I thought he’d be a refined person, with a real likeness to someone with a status of a prince. Regality to a tee. But he’s got such a dorky tender heart. He’s so incredibly handsome. I know this is a really shallow and obvious observation. Anyone with two working eyes can see the boy is incredibly gorgeous. But he just leaves you in awe. He’s arguably the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen. I also love how shy and bashful he can get. 

- The way he cherishes the people around him. I feel from the very first episode, he’s not necessarily a social person, but you can tell he wants to get along with everyone.  He’s so comfortable to be around and you want to try anything in your power to make him smile and laugh and be your friend or whatever. During I-Land, you can see it from the way he talks about his sister and his friendship with Jake and the other I-Landers. 

- He’s a massive dork. Like he doesn’t know how cute he is. And because he’s got that Prince look to him and that title attached to him, when you see him being dorky and screeching you can’t help but like that paradox. I think Episode 10 was his episode and that one VR segment too. Like he’s so funny and just he’s a soft spot for me I think. The ‘Pork Slice’ part I want ingrained into what made my life a life worth living. 

- As a leader, it was so interesting to see him work. He helped K a lot with his leadership when Sunghoon left the team. He takes a couple of steps backwards for other people, and at times it scared me, but it ended up so right for him in the end anyway and I’m thankful. It helped people see what kind of a person he is and I’m glad he had other people looking after him. He also is careful and accepts suggestions and sincerely works with each of them. He makes observations on his own too. 

- This can be interrelated but I think a large massive part of why he’s in Enhypen is how hard he works. He works diligently and wholeheartedly. He’s a quiet powerhouse in that respect. He does his work without the need for attention but solely to improve his skills as a performer and for his future. He doesn’t care if his hands get dirty. As long as one person, even if it’s himself has faith in him, he’ll do it. 

Heeseung 

- My expectation of him : I thought he’d be known as The Ace and hardworking and etc. It wasn’t a wrong assumption but I think we can go into more detail. He’s a really talented person and I mean that with every fibre of my being. From the very first episode, he’s labelled as the ‘Ace’ and it continues throughout the programme so when he does debut, it isn’t too much of a surprise, if at all. 

- Too be honest, I’m not really sure if this counts but I’m going to add it anyway. His relationship with his brother (so hilarious) is such a heartwarming moment. In I-Land he was one of the older ones (I think) and someone with a leadership role and so a lot of people relied on him. But it was great to see he had a good support system who he loves and adores with all his heart. The way his older brother is a source of energy for him really made my heart go into overdrive. So fucking cute. 

- As a leader, I feel a bit like stupid for mentioning it cause it’s so obvious, but he’s got leadership skills. (Duh) But like as a leader, he works on the synergy of the team. He’s patient, stern and is usually almost on the right path. He’s someone very reliable and his objective is clear. He wants to fit the concept as well as he can and makes sure that everyone is on the same page without anyone falling behind. 

- He also has the ability to let loose and have fun. He makes jokes and tries things out because it looks fun. He’s under a shit ton of pressure, especially on I-Land as the ‘Ace’ and I’m grateful he’s able to enjoy his time with the other contestants. He actually plays around quite a bit and his smile is so wide and bright, it’s so nice to see. 

- Even though he’s not the leader in Enhypen now, he has a role of being a caretaker. He helps out when he’s needed (e.g Helped out Taki for the BTS performance) He’s a really thoughtful and understanding person. He’s always the first one to state problems and then come up with solutions. When someone feels bad for getting criticisms, he takes it as his own as well. He doesn’t want to succeed solely. 

Jake

- My expectation of him : No joke it’s just Aussie, at first. He was the first Enhypen member/I-Land contestant who I ever learnt about. I also think he’s a little like Eric from The Boyz. Slightly. Just, not as crazy. Like it’s weird just seeing a not-loud Eric and/or a crazy Jake. Also, he’s really attractive. I don’t know exactly why he’s so attractive but there’s something about him you just can’t describe in words. 

- His debut astounds me the most. Not because I didn’t think he could do it. But because he had such a short training period and even as a trainee he had to exceed hundreds of others (500 others/499 others?) to be let into the company. He’s just got this natural luck to him as well. Imagine that. He’s also quite an adaptable and fast learner. He always seems to improve with every little thing he learns and it always has such an impact. 

- He’s got a charming way of performing. He may not be as rich in skill training as the other contestants or members and often gets criticism for it. But every time he had a performance where you forget about it. He’s got this irresistible charm on stage. You want to learn more about him, watch him more and he plays his role really well. 

- His eyes are so sparkly and they just lure you in. He’s currently one of the only boys I’ll accept lip bites from (I usually find them cringe). But he makes it look natural. He gets so excited with new possibilities - new opportunities of fun, to get to know other people and know the people he knows more. He always engages with every situation with eagerness and acceptance. 

- As I mentioned before, he’s the icon of growth. Yes, everyone knows it. But you don’t look at him and see his inexperience nor the lack of skills in comparison. You want him to debut immediately and grow with him. Out of all of them, I feel like you look at him and apply yourself in his shoes. You want him to succeed and to learn and to grow and you want to hold his hand during the whole process. You want to watch and do the same with yourself. 

Niki

- My expectation of him : I thought he was going to be a mood maker of the team cause I saw a lot of compilations of him being groovy and weird. It’s a weird thing to say but he reminded me of seaweed in the game of Seaweed (I don’t know how to explain this game to anyone, it’s kind of like tag I guess except when you get tagged you have to act like seaweed in the ocean) or like those inflatable balloon people at car autos or something. Weird analogy but- He’s actually quite chic. 

- From the very first episode and all to the very end, he’s a very skillfull dancer. He picks up the dances quickly and he’s such a small person but he has this way of performing large gestures that astound you. He was a really meticulous teacher too. A stickler for details. He’s very satisfying to watch dance. When he’s in the zone of dancing, it’s really beautiful and you just want him to perform more and he could do the same dance again and again and it’d still have the same impact it did the first time. 

- In I-Land, in the earlier episodes he struggled with the team aspect. He was amazing individually and could lead the team well during dancing. But wanted to show the best version of himself and forget about the rest of the team. BUT, if you look at him now, he knows the importance of his teammates and strives for the best. He also allowed himself to open up emotionally and cried more and adored more. (I noticed this moment especially with Hanbin, Sunoo, Taki and those who were eliminated) 

- During the show, it didn’t really show Niki enough being playful. I think we got to see cheery Niki when he received the hanbok from Jungkook. But you can see it better in the behind I-Land videos with the sheep costume that Jungwon wears and during Enhypen’s debut. But my favourite moment is when Jungwon wants to sneeze and he looks at him and he’s like ‘Jungwon hyung ANDWAEEE’ and his voice and everything is going to be stamped into my head. 

- He’s practically made to be an idol. His dancing is one thing but when he takes pictures and has to fit concepts that his hyungs find awkward, he just does it with such a chic way of doing things. He knows where to angle his head and he’s gotten so good at expressions. Off stage, he’s chic yet playful and extremely loving with his hyungs. 

Jay

My expectation of him : First of all, the whole reason I’m into Enhypen is because of him. He’s the reason I watched the show. He’s almost always my avatar on Rhythm Hive. I expected him to be confident and good at everything. He’s also really good looking. Like, the type of guy I’d have a crush on if he lived in my country type of crush. 

- He’s a great speaker. His ability to give feedback and constructive criticism is an amazing feat. He points out problems carefully and constructs a solution. He does so in a way that he creates a feeling of trust and faith. I’m terrible with criticism, like I can accept it but I don’t know how to reply to it. But with Jay, I actually want him to provide feedback. 

- He’s a really intense performer. He’s just constantly burning and his gaze is like a promise. He uses emotion to perform harder and to outdo himself and to prove to others that they’d regret making their decision. He is very emotional and it shows when he performs. A really determined person to do well in everything he does. He’s got this wild and untamed look in his eye but his body is very controlled and confident. It’s seriously a good look on him. It’s really attractive. 

- His leadership qualities are amazing. He knows how to utilise everyone’s talents to make the team standout more. He has an in depth understanding of everyones personalities and talents enough to put them in the right position. (That sounds like a report card). He’s also not as hardheaded as I had expected him to be, he’s flexible and is able to listen to everyones opinions and communicate on an equal level. He helps out without taking complete control over the situation. 

- He’s the moodmaker! Yes, he’s responsible for about 95% of the memes and quotes in I-Land. I don’t think I have to quote them. In saying that he’s pretty much the victim of Enhypen and I-Land pretty much. 

- I think the way he is so emotionally driven is what makes him stand out. He is the epitome of a fiery personality. He’s so unapologetically him and also open about what he’s feeling and what he’s aiming for, which is considerably quite new considering how boys are kind of taught to suppress their emotions. He also doesn’t let his emotions dictate how he treats a person. He treats them fairly, even when he’s disappointed or angry at someone. Watching him succeed and sometimes fail and promise to come back, genuinely felt like he was destined for it and wasn’t waiting for Lady Luck to shine on him. He goes and does shit done himself. He invokes so many emotions and empathies in other people. 

Jungwon 

- My expectation of him : When I was watching KCON:TACT 3 I was really attracted to his voice and they way he talked and danced. Though I didn’t expect to end up biasing him to the point of no return. Never in my life have I loved a boy quite like this. I don’t know it feels different. It felt different with both Haechan, Kyungsoo and Sunwoo but this is all so different this feeling right here. Warning : This is going to be extremely biased. Like no joke. I’m sorry, this boy is just going to have longer lines but I’ll still keep to the same bullet points. 

- He’s so lovely. So so lovely. He has this ability to smile and have fun and tease and make little comments. His eyes are like hypnosis. You’re able to look at him, see the uplifting of his smile and every one of his facial features are uplifted so it makes his expressions brighter, more welcoming and more trusting.  He’s got broad shoulders and like someone you want to cuddle and watch with stars in your eyes. Like that chick is so right, ‘you’re someone I can’t live without now.’ The way he reacts to such comments, bashful smile and the whole hand over his mouth. He’s so pretty. I don’t want him to be sad or whatever. 

- He’s so accepting of other forms of life and doesn’t care for status, wealth, age or whatever. For him, if they’re part of the team, they’re part of the team and he’ll look after them as a team member. He puts his importance on things that actually matter and looks to create an atmosphere where he can be relied on and that others feel comforted. He has fun and talks with others with softness and makes others feel engaged. He’s so fucking attentive. Like he understands other people well and has high observation skills. Like if one is upset, he’ll just quietly go to comfort them and give attention in a soothing matter. He’s also got a soothing voice. I love hearing him talk. 

- The hidden ACE. He made an impact during the competition at significant times. I think the reason why many contestants and him, himself went down the ranks was because they were previously in the higher ranks and were believed to be safe. But as a vocalist, he has such a clear and stable voice. You can recognise his voice immediately, even when I wasn’t a Enhypen stan, I could recognise his voice even without knowing who he was. But as a dancer, he’s so amazing at it. Like, his popping and his ability to do intense choreographies. As a performer he understands nuances, meanings and the concepts of a song and understands his role in the performance. Him getting praises was my favourite thing ever. I think he was a favourite among the producers. Though when he did have stumbles, I was so worried for him. Like no, I refuse. 

- He’s got an optimistic way of thinking, without being overcompensating. Basically when things don’t necessarily go the way it was set out to or when others suggest another way of doing things, he takes his time to think about it and decides. He basically uses it as a tool to grow and adapt in order to produce the best results. Now that I’m thinking about it, rather than being optimistic, I would say he’s an opportunist(?) in a sense. He’ll accept the suggestions and has this greed to live up to and exceed the expectations. This is easily seen when Jungwon isn’t doing too well doing part 5 and ends up swapping with Heeseung. And he also has this greed. It’s a greed I’ve never seen before. The goals are the same but in a way that’s different?; He doesn’t  want his grandmother to be devastated if he is eliminated, he wants to be an artist that does music he loves, ‘it’ll be even more impressive if we can go beyond their expectation’. He uses the current happenings as a way to exceed them and to go beyond capacity. In short he’s a realist without being stuck, he’s an idealist without being too high up in the clouds, he’s optimistic but not unrealistic. It’s inspiring, he’s inspiring. They all are but Jungwon has my heart at the moment. 

[elemental-daddy-neos]

YGO! Questionnaire

Tagged by @cipher-wise

Pleasantly surprised to be in one of these, so let’s go

Favorite series: *Gestures to icon* Is it any surprise I’ll be picking GX? I love GX with all my heart and soul. The story’s pacing is very good and never feels like it’s dragging its feet to get to where it’s going, most duels are over in less than a full episode with the longest one being three, there are so many good characters to get invested in, and this boy right here is your protagonist.

Look at him blow kisses to the audience after beating Crowler, how could anyone not love Jaden Yuki? I care him so much. Even the filler episodes in GX are pretty fun to watch most of the time, and it’s the good kind of filler that may not advance the plot much or at all, but it’ll give you plenty of good memories to take with you. Who could possibly forget the eggwich thief? Not to mention the soundtrack fucking slaps.

Favorite protagonist: I mean...

Yeah it’s Jaden. GX hooked me immediately when I started watching it because of how much I loved this boy. He’s that perfect mix of cocky and sweet when it comes to dueling because he’s confident in his own abilities, but he never stops having fun and being amazed at what his opponent can do, he cares about all of his friends and does his best to help them with their problems, he’s kind to strangers, and he has exactly half a brain cell. 

I feel the gif speaks for itself, but Jaden’s dialogue when he turns around here is “I’m such a sucker for things like this! I’ll help you, ma’am!” Dorothy says “No, you’ll be late... Don’t you have a test today?” And Jaden replies with “Who cares if I’m late? I couldn’t leave a lady in trouble!” Jaden Yuki is my absolute favorite protagonist.

Favorite rival: Oh man is that a tough one. Am I allowed to pick two? It’s a hard call to make between this dumb edgy bitch-

And this dumb gay bitch

Honestly they’re tied for favorite rival in my book. I absolutely loved Chazz when I watched GX, and I thought his arc about breaking through his inferiority/superiority complex and learning to accept loss as a part of life without letting it define him was wonderfully written, and seeing him grow as a person throughout the show just made me feel happy for him. Shark... I really thought I wasn’t going to end up liking Shark at first, but god he just gets so much better as Zexal goes on, starting out as this mean spirited middle school bully in episode one, and slowly ending up as Yuma’s boyfriend closest friend. It’s incredible to look back at how Shark acts when he’s first introduced and compare it to... season 3, I think it was, where just hearing the words “Yuma’s in danger” is enough to send him running to his rival’s side. Chazz and Shark. They are my favorites.

Favorite BFF: Him

Crow Hogan is an absolute treasure and he was my favorite part about watching 5Ds. This little bird man first gets introduced by stealing cards for his kids and clowning on Sector Security, and he’s a source of so much good throughout the show. Excellent best friend (technically brother but I’m counting him), wonderful father, 10/10 person all around. Plus the fact that the only thing stopping him from berating his bitchass brother even more was Yusei having to literally pick him up and pull him away is definitely extra points in my book. What a powerful little bird. His only weakness is people that are taller than him, which is unfortunately most people.

Favorite GFF:

Yuzu. Have I actually watched Arc V yet? No, but I’m still picking Yuzu for my number one here. Tea and Tori are just awful characters, I’m neutral towards Alexis, and Akiza... Did have potential to be something interesting on her own, despite how uncomfortable she made me in seasons 1-2 of 5Ds, but her relevance is alllll downhill from there. I’ve seen one clip of Yuzu yelling at a man eating pie and calling him a 100th rate duelist, and that was all I needed to know she would be my favorite. (Clip here) 

Favorite villain: Oh boy

The fuckin carrot is my favorite villain, and I say this as someone who fully believes he didn’t deserve to be in the last episode. Vector did some fucked up shit in his day, and he only continued to do fucked up shit in Yuma’s day, but I have to say he was pretty effective when it came down to his goals. He got things done and went right for what he wanted by taking direct action to seize Don Thousand’s power, and he manipulated Yuma perfectly by preying on his kind nature and love for Astral to use him to further his goals. 

...Plus I mean just look at his subbed dialogue God he’s such a slut. Evil slutty alien.

Tl;dr Vector was a horrible horrible person, but he was a good villain, and he was so entertaining whenever he was on screen that it was impossible not to like him. Still kinda wish he got what he deserved though, and what he deserved definitely wasn’t another chance.

Speaking of Don Thousand though, can we talk about how unfairly pretty he is? If I had to pick a runner up villain in terms of looks alone, it would definitely be him.

God it was not fair how pretty the big bad of Zexal was. He’s fucking gorgeous, and in my opinion, the best looking villain at the very least.

Favorite card: *Sweats in Duel Links* Favorite? There’s so many cards out there to pick from, but since I’ve already broken the rules with my two favorite rivals, I’ll be picking two of each card type: Spells, traps, and monsters. One for the aesthetic, and one for how often I make use of it.

First up, the Aesthetics group

What can I say, Vampiric Koala is such a cutie, Dwimmered Path has some really pretty card art, and Rainbow Life is an eternal flex on any heteros I may encounter while playing Duel Links. Nothing better than a gay trap card.

Now for usability

Dragon Knight of Creation is suuuper helpful in any dragon themed deck and has a permanent slot in my decks for Mokuba and Kaiba, PoG is always a fun way to boost up weak monsters to ridiculous heights, and Dark Bribe just lets you block your opponent like “Okay I know you wanna hurt me but I will let you draw another card if you do not do that thing”, and they can’t refuse you.

Favorite episode: I’ll be copying cipher’s format here and picking one for each series, but this will still only total out to five for me since I’ve yet to watch past Zexal ^^; Soon I’ll get to Arc V! One day...

Season 0: Episode 16:  Turnabout by a Hair's Breadth - The White-Robed Crisis I’m a sucker for my son Joey, and this was a good Joey episode about him and his sister, plus it was nice seeing that doctor get what he deserved :) Duel Monsters: Season 5, episode 12-14:  The Deciding Match for Duel King - Yugi vs. Leon/Golden Castle of Stromberg/KC Grand Prix Ends  Probably a weird batch of episodes to pick, I know, but a lot of DM was kinda forgettable to me, and these are some of the few episodes I do recall. I just... really felt for Leon’s situation, and I wanted good things for that boy. I care him. GX: Season 3, episode 34: Dark Fusion! Inferno Wing!! Jim. Jim Jim Jimmmmm. This was the episode that finally made me understand why saviorshipping was a thing because it hits you with all these memories Jim has of Jaden and shows how they bonded before all this Dark World shit happened, and the whole thing was very emotional. 5Ds: Season 4, episode 2-3:  Recollections, Entrusted with a Friend's Dying Wish God Crow, my precious bird son. I really liked the backstory they gave him, despite how much it hurt. It was probably the best character development he got in the whole of 5Ds, and let you see a side to him you probably wouldn’t expect. I loved watching him get his justice. Zexal II: Season 2, episode 5-6:  Alito the Silent Fighter - Reunion of the Passionate Duelists!/ Be Revived! The Duelist Soul That Transcends Life!! I picked these episodes for Nistro and Nistro alone. He was one of my absolute favorites in Zexal, and seeing how well he and Dextra were doing was good for the soul. Just look at this good lion man right here.

Look at him!!!

Favorite decks to use: Elemental Heroes, Aromages, Red Eyes, Six Samurai, and Crystal Beasts.

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link: I’m a simple girl, I love fusion/tributes for how easy they are, but synchro can be pretty fun, too

Years in fandom: ??? Even I don’t know the answer to this one, friends. I used to be in the fandom when I was in middle school, wrote/read a few fanfics here and there, but then I fell out of it for... Well I’m 22 now and only got back into things 6 months ago? I started rewatching the abridged series of Duel Monsters in March, and from there I just wanted to consume actual Yugioh content and never went back.

Who am I tagging: @finding-fallen-petals @dizziedaikonn​ @chazzaroo​ Go wild y’all

[blue-mint-winter]

Dune trailer reaction/analysis

Paul’s vision

Paul’s whispering voiceover resembling Lynch’s Dune (also Leto II My skin is not my skin. Something’s changing in him, something’s happening.)

seeing Chani in casual outfit first, very nice. She’s a woman and she’s special to him. Though it is also total opposite of her book introduction in which when Paul first saw her in a stillsuit, he thought she was a young warrior.

kissing scene - looks tender and with chemistry + stillsuit is very prominent in it

the trailer promises an emphasis on their romance in the film which is good because this wasn’t done well before in previous adaptations (or the book itself lol because they just got together and that was it, no extra drama.)

the eyes of Ibad! and she calls him - his destiny calls

he wakes up in the dark, and the headboard of his bed is gorgeous!

also this is literally “The sleeper must awaken”

but the contrast between the dream full of light and waking in the dark bedroom, mmmm nice

“there’s a crusade coming” - Paul knows what’s up, the vision of him looking at war and devastation with Chani is very foreboding - AND it doesn’t say what’s this war about and who’s fighting which is a clever set up - if you don’t know the book, then you know all of it XD. But this gives the plot the sense of mystery and danger and stakes.

GOM JABBAR

I am gushing over the symmetry of that shot in the dark room, with Paul at the center and HIS LEGS. Look how he’s standing!

His face when she asks him about his dreams!

that Atreides sign on the collar! He looks so good!

“From director Denis Villeneuve” and the cut to above clouds and a lightning - a storm is coming. Also a shot VERY reminiscent of his work on Arrival and those clouds.

The most famous, iconic, first scene of the book is in the trailer - well, it makes sense to use it to get people interested.

I LOVE Gaius Helen Mohiam’s costume design in this. I think it might be the best ever. Also, her voice, her acting, it all fits. She’s mysterious, hides her face, she’s dangerous, she’s fast, sharp, dangerous, wise. It is her.

Caladan

Flying boxes - ships/drones/tech because this is still the future despite the feudal system

Paul on the shore on Caladan

I really LIKE the music here. Gives me PoP vibes :)

Anyway, the whole idea of making Caladan the total opposite of Arrakis by making it so dark - that’s different than what I’m used to. I always imagined it as a very green, fertile world, abundant with water, life and plants. Traditionally Giedi Prime is the dark planet. BUT I can see the logic behind making Caladan so sunless, cloudy, water and stone kind of planet - illustrates the stark military nature of Atreides rule just as well as Paul’s uniform-style clothing. They are war-like. And it is very opposite to the scorching sun of Arrakis and lack of water on the desert. And the similar austerity of both is thematically appealing. We get a sense from those surroundings and gom jabbar scene that Paul wasn’t just a duke’s spoiled son.

“You inherited too much power” - hmm, that does sound ominous, GHM wants him gone!

THAT training scene with Gurney!!!!!!

first of all, the actor looks just right, I think it’s Josh Brolin? I like that I didn’t immediately think Thanos when I saw him,  instead I recognized it’s Gurney!

They made the fight FAST!!! And it looks awesome! The issue is that in the book those fights are slow because they use the energy shields, but it would look stupid on film, so instead making it fast was a stroke of genius - visually great and also makes you think the characters are total badasses (which they are)

Is Paul looking at a sunrise or a sunset over the ocean? My guess is sunrise, but it’s pretty ambiguous, could be either and fit the theme of him leaving Caladan/beginning his journey towards destiny. And he looks so handsome in this shot.

Atreides Family

Paul needs to surpass his ancestors - and the shot on some ancient sculpture with Greek writing referring to the mythical Atreides he’s descended from. Awesome, really awesome since his powers as Kwisatz Haderach are based on the ancestors.

Oscar Isaac introduced as Duke Leto and the shot of the palace on Caladan - nice, looks very much like fortress, surrounded by sea and protective stone

Greek style pottery in the palace too

Jessica too! she looks worried

seems that Leto is putting a hand on her nape, an intimate gesture but also kind of... possessive?

Arrakis

They arrive, Paul smiles

more foreboding despite everything looking fine, they have an army, they look strong and prepared

freaking Jason Momoa as Duncan greeting Paul LOL - but this had a right, genuine emotion to it. Very nicely done.

Stilgar! Harkonnen troops! Rabban! Baron!

Doctor Yueh, at last

More foreboding and Duncan being Duncan, but Jason Momoa style - he’s kind of “if Ronon was cocky and loud”. Alright. I had concerns about him, but he might work out in this role. I just don’t see him as a heartthrob knight type honestly. Really wonder how he and Jessica would be done. And I don’t know about him and Alia or the ghola fuckery in later books. (They would have to get a different actor for Duncan in Heretics, there’s no way Momoa could work.)

Paul in stillsuit, ok.

Back to gom jabbar and Chani - he sees she’s real!

The chorus sounds good with the explosions

Ornithopters look like dragonflies, I like it.

Baron... in a bath??? Is it spice bath?

some other iconic scenes from the book only hinted but who knows, knows what they are :)

SHAI-HULUD!!!

Paul in full stillsuit gives me life. Cover up completely, because you gotta save all the water

Final thoughts

This is an amazing trailer. THE HYPE IS REAL. This movie might be the definitive Dune adaptation. I love the visuals, costumes, scenery, designs, cinematography, music. Actors seem to fit well in their roles. Especially Paul rocks.

The focus on Paul and his journey is good, but I am a little worried about Jessica, because she’s barely in the trailer and in the book she’s the character we start with. She’s a co-protagonist and I would hate for her to get sidelined like in Lynch’s film. I am hoping they’re saving her for the best.

Also, no sight of Alia? Is she going to be in the movie at all? She might not if this is adapting only the first half of the book.

Anyway, I am very excited. As far as trailers go, this was awesome. It gave enough info but didn’t try to explain everything about the world and the characters. We get the basic premise and some of the characters, but it left out most of the surprises. As an ad, this is solid and gives us a taste of what it’s going to be like to watch this movie. Good job, Denis Villeneuve. I knew you could do it.