#let’s just hope she really is not human

[salty-autistic-writer]

"Oh. You got a cat," Buck says, surprised.

"Three. I got three cats," Tommy clarifies with a weak chuckle. "This is Bella. She's the only one of the bunch brave enough to greet strangers."

"Wow," Buck says, hoping it doesn't show on his face that the stranger stings a little. He crouches to pet the black cat sniffing his shoes and looking up at him with golden eyes. "Hi, Bella."

Bella allows him to stroke her back once, and then she retreats, walking back into the house slowly, with her tail raised.

Buck straightens and clears his throat. "So ... three cats huh?"

"Yeah."

"Can I see the other two?"

Buck knows he shouldn't. He came here to give Tommy some of the stuff he left at the loft. Clothes (that smell unbearably much like Tommy). A toothbrush. A book about helicopters (that makes Buck's stomach clench whenever he looks at it). He came here to give Tommy his stuff and ... and maybe ask if Tommy has something from Buck too. And then he would leave.

But Tommy says, "Sure, come in! You want a beer? Or coffee? I have some cake in the fridge too."

Buck follows Tommy inside, closing the door. "Uh, thanks. A ... a beer would be nice."

He looks around, seeing subtle changes. Bowls with water for the cats. Toys lying around on the floor. A cat tree in the corner. Bella is lounging on a pillow on the couch, watching them with her attentive eyes.

"Her brothers are probably hiding," Tommy says, glancing at Buck. "They are shy. All three of them come from a farm and ... Well. They didn't have good experiences with humans. But ... If you stay for a while, they might come out and say hello."

Buck nods. "Okay," he says, sitting on the couch and smiling at Bella. Tommy gets them two beers and sits down as well. In a moment of silence, Buck finally dares to look at Tommy. To really look at him. Again, he sees changes. Tommy is leaner. He lost weight. His hair is longer too. And he has a beard now.

For a long moment, Buck knows exactly what he wants to say but he can't. Why didn't you text me sooner? Were you in pain too? Did you dream about me too? Did you wonder if you would ever feel whole again too?

"Sorry," Tommy says. "There's cat hair everywhere." His eyes are on Buck's jeans. And yes, they are already covered in cat hair.

"I don't mind," Buck says with a shrug. "So you .. saved them?"

"A colleague asked me if I would take them. And I said yes. To be completely honest with you, they saved me more than I saved them. They kept me sane. I had to take care of them. That distracted me from how I sometimes didn't want to take care of me," Tommy admits. And looks almost startled. As if he just realised he said too much.

Buck swallows. "I had baking to keep me sane," he says with a weak smile. "I moved from bread and cake to brownies to cookies to scones. Eddie claims there's a flour shortage because of me now."

"Wow. Interesting coping strategies," Tommy says, raising a brow and taking another sip of his beer.

Buck suddenly spots an orange cat peeking at him with wide green eyes from behind one of Tommy's plants. "Someone is watching me. In a very sceptic way," he says with a chuckle.

"Ah. That's Ron," Tommy says, his eyes brightening. "He's brave today."

Buck smiles. "Maybe he'll come and let me pet him. If I stay a little longer."

"Yeah," Tommy agrees, looking at Buck with a small smile. "Maybe."

(AO3 Link)

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

Oh I don't think I've seen the addition, SO TRUE, Makoto is very selfless in a very selfish way, he doesn't want anyone to die, even if they're the worst people humanity has ever known, because they are people. The worst you can get from him is him admitting to not feel overly bad they died, see his reactions to Celeste, but even then he's still upset and frustrated because she was a human being and no human being deserves to die. Not Celeste, not the Remnants, and not Junko.

Makoto cannot be conflated with Future Foundation, because Makoto constantly butts heads with Future Foundation. He does not like Future Foundation very much, he doesn't trust it, he doesn't really like the people there it seems, and they don't like him either. They're basically forced into working together because Makoto has the brand and Future Foundation has the resources. Even then though, they are ALWAYS at each others throats.

Even before DR3, you see hints of that in the emails Future Foundation sent Makoto in Goodbye Despair in how they assume he was tricked by the remnants, but at the same time they had forced the remnants onto him before they knew they were remnants because they were vaguely the same age.

This also gets mirrored more in UDG when you see that people are NOT really fully sold on Future Foundation, distrusting it, and while some of that is propaganda by Towa, the general vibes of "we cannot trust Future Foundation" are everywhere when they even vaguely get brought up, and there's got to be more to it. Future Foundation needs Makoto for their image, but they do not respect Makoto, and they especially don't respect any of the survivors outside of like maybe, Byakuya and Kyoko somewhat.

Toko is STILL running around in the same ragged outfit in UDG, and while Toko is unhygenic, at some point that's gotta stop being an actual choice and more they straight up might not have other clothes for her because it's gotten REALLY ragged and I'd like to think by that point she'd at least put on a fresher version. The survivor and Future Foundation are not friends, they are extremely uneasy allies, ones that Makoto was more then happy to cut ties with for GBD.

However besides that Makoto is very much a person struggle to understand or connect to, which you can see in Chihiro's FTE's where Chihiro notices they've been doing all the talking and Makoto hasn't had any chance to talk about himself, then has to directly ask Makoto to actually talk about himself, and even then, HE FORGETS HE SAID HE'D DO THAT it takes THREE free time events to get Makoto to open up AT ALL to Chihiro despite Chihiro clearly wanting to know about him.

Which even when he DOES he barely says anything about himself, one of which is just a straight up self deprecation, before the conversation shifts BACK TO CHIHIRO'S PROBLEMS

Actually, there is one other really interesting bit here when Chihiro addresses their issues with inferiority and Makoto actually opens up a bit because it's in the name of Chihiro's problems, not his own.

Makoto directly states that he feels inadequate and ordinary, forgettable even. He's painfully aware that he's just, average. Then when asked how he overcomes it, he straight up says he doesn't think he can, and instead he just accepts it and doesn't let himself think about it. Saying he's accepted it and just distracts himself, which very much implies he has not in fact, accepted it. Makoto displays these SAME BEHAVIORS as the Ultimate Hope. He throws himself into bigger and bigger hard projects, things that let him forget.

Makoto is actually has a lot of avoidant personality traits at times, and they make up some of his worse self deprecating habits. So of course he sees a situation like Junko's or the Remnant's and just, be avoidant about what they've done. Downplaying, or denying, or talking around it, he does not let himself come to terms with anything, because he runs from it. He doesn't think about what they've done, he focuses on the problem of how to save them.

Really, it's a willful ignorance even, he knows logically what they've done, and says he accepts it, but refuses to process it on any emotional level and doesn't think about it. He goes "well they've done horrible things, and i accept that so lets just not let them die" then doesn't actually process what any of that... actually says and means. What they've actually done, what it means to let them live and let these terrorists who have tortured thousands of people, one of which who has led to the downfall of basically an ENTIRE nation, casually live on a deserted tropical island by themselves.

The ethics of whether he did the right thing are not could be debated for fucking hours with no solid conclusion one way or the other. Especially since he fucking leaves before he can even... confirm that the other remnants won't wake up as remnants. Really, his avoidance is what leads him to these great feats of hope, and there is hope don't get me wrong, he's very much an embodiment of hope and a lot of how he avoids has roots in that overwhelming Hope he's capable of. He's still distracting himself from what that means though, still running from himself and the deeper ramifications of everything, still hiding behind the excuse of just being some average person.

He doesn't come to terms with what he is, and what he's doing, because he doesn't think he can cope, he can't overcome it, so he runs into bigger and bigger projects on what can seem like a whim without thinking through them, he can't stop running, if he stops running, it'll catch him, so he needs to keep running.

Junko didn't let him run though, Junko never lets him run, never lets him sit in his denial or pretending that he's just accepted it. Which is definitely one of the reason she has such a profound impact on him.

I don't even know if this makes sense anymore but uh yeah, Makoto is REALLY INTERESTING and I'm biting anyone who pretends like he's not so they can make some joke about how clearly people only Makoto because he's baby.

you ever think about how makoto naegi can understand anyone but no one understands makoto naegi. and that this is the one fundamental thing he shares with junko enoshima.

[mikkomacko]

Imagine nicos reaction when one of the boys accidentally hits reader while they’re messing around playing and maybe she gets a black eye or something, it’d totally be Jack lol

“When do I hit record?”

Jack rolls his eyes, cheeks puffed with a mouthful of water. He looks at you in disbelief, motioning to Nico as if to say ‘really? This is your man?’

You laugh, water bottle in hand and turn to your boyfriend. Eyebrows furrowed in focus, his large hands hold you phone up to record the latest TikTok you and Jack wanted to do.

Ever since the car incident Nico insists on being present for any videos you try to make with the boys. Which works out because he’s camera shy but makes a really good tripod.

“Just as soon as I take a drink of water,” you explain, trying not to laugh at him. Jack and him went over what to do extensively, but it’s cute that Nico is so concerned with getting it right.

“Ok,” he nods, and you take a deep breath, turning back to Jack. Lifting the bottle to your lips, you fill your cheeks with water and set it back onto the counter.

Hoping to god Nico hit record, you wait for Jack to nod. He’s already trying not to spit out his water, blue eyes shining with laughter and you pull back your arm. Swinging forward you smack him with the tortilla in your hand, doubling over when he makes a choked noise.

Water drips messily from between your lips but you haven’t broken yet, so you straighten out again. Tense, you watch anxiously as Jack winds up too and smacks you with his tortilla.

Muffled giggles and water dripping everywhere, you and Jack hit each other again. It’s going well, better than you thought and you’re actually surprised Jack hasn’t spit water all over you. So you’re kind of off guard when Jack winds up again and swings for your face.

Except in his suppressed hysterical laughter he miscalculated and instead of hitting you in the cheek with his tortilla, he’s balled fist catches you in the eye.

It’s not a hard it really, just enough to have you seeing a flash of stars when you flinch away from him. You spit out your water, spraying it all over Jack as you drop your tortilla and grab at the sore spot on your head.

Jack chokes on his water, coughing and trying to blabber something to you. Not that he gets a chance because your human tripod has put the phone down and stepped between you two.

“I’m ok, I’m ok,” you promise, blinking a few times as Nico comes into focus. He grabs your face, fingers gentle as he tilts your chin up to look at him. Even now your eyelid feels swollen, throbbing and tender.

Jack must have caught you just right.

Nico doesn’t look angry, more annoyed as he softly prods at your face. You wince, grabbing at his wrists.

“S’gonna bruise,” he mutters, then he’s turning to Jack, hands on his hips. The boy is still sucking in ragged breathes, trying to calm down after hacking up water. His cheeks are red, eyes wide and terrified.

“Nico it was an accident,” he says, voice raw and begging. “M’sorry, I am really. I didn’t mean-“

“Shut up,” Nico interrupts, reaching behind him for you. You let him pull you forward, right in front of Jack who’s looking at you with puppy dog eyes. “Say sorry to her.”

“I’m sorry y/n,” Jack apologizes, earnest.

“It’s ok Jack,” you assure, laughing slightly. “Really it’s not bad.”

Jack winces. “It looks bad.”

That has Nico reaching over your shoulder, grabbing at Jack’s collar and he tries to scramble away from Nico. He’s too strong though, moving around the both of you until he’s standing behind Jack, large hands on his shoulders.

“Nico please, no. What are you- I’m sorry!” Jack begs and Nico just nods at you over the top of his head.

“Your turn baby,” he says and Jack freezes.

“W-what?”

Nico grip on him tightens. “You hit her, she hits you.”

Jack lets out a whining moan, squeezing his eyes shut and flinching back into Nico’s body. Every muscle in his body tightens, wound up and waiting. Your boyfriend nods at you again, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

Giggling, you ball up your fist and swing, not hard enough to actually hurt him but Jack yelps with you catch him in the cheekbone. Nico releases him and he leaps away, holding his cheek as he hides on the far side of the counter.

“That really hurt!” He cries, looking at you, scandalized.

“Oh you’re fine,” Nico grumbles, taking ahold of your face again. He examines it, eyebrows pinching in annoyance as he strokes over your eyebrow. “Lucky it wasn’t me that took a swing at you.”

Jack huffs, the red spot on his cheekbone shining against his pale skin and you giggle. Nico chuckles too, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Let’s get you some ice baby.” He moves to the fridge, and you follow behind him, pleased to be under the watchful eye of Dr. Nico.

“Me too please?” Jack asks. Nico glares over his shoulder at the boy. You don’t have to turn around to know Jack has scrambled his way out of the kitchen.

[gamblersdoll]

college jock! kirishima who is the big boy of the group, dumb goofy grin but was known to have a dangerous mouth.

but when he saw you as the mysterious to herself girl with the prettiest hair and makeup (especially your lip liner), he claimed he has got to talk to you.

“you really feignin’ for a girl that hasnt looked your way, huh?” the nerd of the group, kaminari, asked. he was only a nerd for cars that went fast and instruments. “she doesnt know you exist bro, let it die.”

“you finally said somethin’ that makes senes, congrats dunce face.” the quarter back, katsuki said. he was in a decent mood, sitting in the bean bag couch and the clink of his teeth to his tongue piercing echoed. along the line of kaminari giving a whine to his verbal abuse, he chucked the jarrito bottle into the trash. “have you even asked her out?”

“well…” he starts, bouncing his knee and having eyes on him. “i.. dont know her name yet.”

sero laughs, taking the bottle opener and popping the lid off the soda and tossing it to the side (a trait of his drinking habit) plopping on the bed. “first learn her name, then see if you can rub one out.” katsuki huffed a laugh with sero, his laugh contagious with the men.

“i am, i am.” kirishima whined too, kaminari too busy to be on tiktok to care. “its just.. hard to go up to someone and be like ‘hey, whats yer name?’”

“well, start a conversation, dumbass.” katsuki suggests, he finds everything literal until he faces the problem.

“so uhh..” he walks awkwardly beside you, the height difference lacking. he had a foot over you, added three hundred nd some pounds to you— a tinier human. he felt his throat get tight, “do you.. like the weather?”

you stop dead in your tracks to stare at him like he asked you to take shit and clap your hands, but you keep walking. “i hate the heat.” you reply, watching the nervous laughter in him.

“okay, uhm..” he thickly swallows, hands in his pockets. “whats your name?” he asks, staring down at you. “i hope that isn’t weird to ask…”

“.. you come up to me and ask the weather and then you ask my name?” you asked back, raising an eyebrow. “are you okay?” youre chewing the inside of your mouth, you hadnt been approached since highschool of sophomore year.

“ yeah..?” he asks back in the same tone.

you nod, pulling his hand and take a sharpie to his hand. “there, ill see you ‘round, ‘kay red dye?” you chuckle when he starts to internally panick, checking his roots that were in fact blackened. “see ya later.”

he gets warm and fuzzy, watching your frame.

he hated to see you go, but loved to see you walk away.

[smilesatdawnmain]

ETERNAL AU (Part 19) Interactive story

Gongzhu is… hesitant.

The rules are simple.: I will give the written passage, and then at the bottom there will be a vote on how the characters act next!

LMK AU: Eternal

Ship: Shadowpeach

Wukong felt his hands quiver as he spoke. “Mihou,” he had said the name several times today, yet it felt so heavy against his tongue right now. “Mihou is here.” He watched their eyes widen. Gongzhu’s gaze never left his, but Chang’e’s flickered around for a moment. “His soul is here.”

His choice of words caused a moment of hesitation. Instead of immediate anger, there was a pause, enough for Gongzhu to be curious over.

Still, she spoke with a guttural hiss, “Telling ghost stories, are we?” It was a well known fact to human, demon, celestial- all manner of beings. When one died, there was a chance the soul could linger, but it was rare. Perhaps a few days before the collectors of the Diyu would arrive to retrieve that soul and drag it back to the depths.

Even if he was one of those rare souls, it had been too many years for her Brother to still be lingering.

“It’s the truth,” he lurched forward. He was probably botching this whole thing. Mihou had a plan, and one he hadn’t had a chance to really ask about before losing sight of him. His Moon knew these two better than he could ever hope to.

He needed his advice.

“Just-“ he bowed his head. “Give me a moment.” When he looked up next, his eyes were a glow.

Chang’e tensed. Gongzhu held firm, knowing those eyes could do two things- peer into the truth, or scorch your skin to a crisp. When it didn’t do the latter, her hand was still against her fan, keeping it to her hip.

Wukong focused on his stomach first, finding the golden string against his torso. It fell between his bent knees, curling outward and to the left. He followed it, leading him straight to a swishing tail and standing feet.

The relief he felt that Mihou was still there was immeasurable. “Mihou-“ he lifted his head, only to come face to face with a pissed Moon Monkey. He flinched when Macaque growled.

“You are an idiot!!” He shrieked, a heavy load of frustration finally able to be dumped into a single sentence. “Idiot!!”

Wukong was blubbering, flinching and sinking himself further and further into the ground like a startled child. Chang’e and Gongzhu lifting their eyebrows, glancing at each other. Wukong stammered, “I’m sure you are right but- why??” He whimpered.

Macaque made a sharp hissing sound, flicking his hands towards Wukong like he wanted to strangle him- remembered he couldn’t and instead whipped around to pull at his own fur.

The Monk’s staff- which Wukong had revealed, COULD TELEPORT?! That accursed Monk could teleport the ENTIRE TIME and still forced Wukong to travel for years with him?! He thought now that the journey was done he could let go of his petty anger- BUT NO, the Monk found a way to keep it going!

Then they get to the moon and Wukong falls to pieces at the sight of a robot- letting himself get dragged as an official intruder, just because the thing was cute. Letting Chang’e‘s anxiety rise, and make it so stressful for her home- this idiot!

“You let yourself get captured- I wanted to be subtle in coming here, not put everything on high alert!!”

Wukong’s ears flattened, nearly laying himself flat on the ground to pucker his lips into an apologetic pout. “Moon…”

“Don’t think acting cute will get you out of this!” Macaque jabbed a finger at him. “Focus on them again!” He pointed to his Sisters, who were vehemently confused.

To them, it seemed like Wukong was just cowering to thin air. When he looked back at them, Gongzhu scowled “Putting on a play?”

“I think he’s lost it…” Chang’e whispered to Gongzhu, almost pitying. Almost.

Wukong lifted his head, “N-No no, it’s Mihou,” he gestured to the left of him. Gongzhu and Chang’e looked, saw nothing, and glared at him. “I’m being honest!” He insisted, pleading. “M-Mihou,” he looked to his mate for help.

Macaque was pinching the bridge of his nose, “Give me a second,” he exhaled. He needed to show them he was indeed there, but how? “Okay,” he concluded, “Tell them you can see me because of your eyes.”

Wukong did so, the sister’s looking unconvinced. The King was known for his drawn out tricks after all. To them, it was far easier to believe he was just bored and looking to mock them, then to consider his words true.

Mihou rubbed his chin. He wasn’t upset with his sisters for doubting- he was actually relieved they didn’t fall for such things so easily. He too would be the same. “Okay..”

[cpericardium]

This is the story of the time I interviewed at Ubisoft.

When I was a teenager, I became obsessed with the Bioshock series and got it into my head that I wanted to do game design for a living. I'd never seriously attempted it nor did I know exactly what it entailed, but how hard could it be? I gamed!! I had ideas!! I said this to my teacher during a what do you want to be when you grow up talk, and she said, "Oh! My sister works at Ubisoft Singapore. I'll get you an interview."

Emails were exchanged, and someone at the company arranged a "quick chat" with me a couple of weeks later. It was for a QA tester intern position, which I reasoned was sort of like game design. After all, in the Sims 3 it's one rung on the ladder to becoming a game developer. Also I didn't want to anger my teacher. She was quite volatile.

Round 1:

I'd never done a job interview before. I put on a nice blouse and pencil skirt and heels, nervously applied and reapplied makeup which I normally did not wear, and showed up at the office building an hour early. Then as I went up the elevator I realised they never said what room it was. I couldn't very well email to ask now. I'd look like an idiot!! Fuck!! So for an hour, I just skulked around outside various glass doors peering into offices hoping there would be some receptionist around to ask, but there was practically no one there. The email only said "let's have a quick chat at 2pm on x date".

I was about to slink home with my tail between my legs when the interviewer called at the scheduled time. It was a phone interview!!!!! He didn't say that!!!!! I found a dingy secluded stairwell. As if to taunt me, one of the first questions he asked was "have you ever been to the building?"

Me, through gritted teeth: yeah! actually I'm here right now, haha... to scope it out, you know... get a lay of the land..... it's really big... Lots of glass walls...

Him: oh that's nice.

I don't remember most of the questions, but I do know he asked me what my favourite games were. I said Undertale and Life is Strange (they had come out that year), but he'd never heard of them. Maybe I should've said Far Cry or something but what if he quizzed me on it?

Round 2:

I should not have made it to this round. I was coasting entirely on the goodwill of my teacher's sister, who was high up the chain. She interviewed me next. I think her only question was whether I would be okay working long gruelling hours with little support and no overtime.

Me, blissfully unaware of crunch culture being a massive human rights issue in the industry: bring it on!!

Her: what? 🤨

Then she ushered me into a room to take a pencil and paper test. While waiting earlier, I'd frantically googled and memorised a bunch of Ubisoft games, so I could answer the one asking me to list eight of them. I figured I could have gotten away with saying Assassin's Creed and adding a random number to the back though.

The biggest problem was on the other side of the paper: a diagram of a gaming controller asking me to label the buttons. Here's the thing. I'm a PC gamer. Always have been. At the time, my only experience with console gaming was playing Little Big Planet with my best friend when I was twelve, at her house. And I wasn't very good at it! I think I fundamentally lack the hand-eye coordination for console gaming, but that's just a guess because I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever used a controller. And I can count on one hand the number of controllers I have in that hand! It's zero! I knew the wiggly antennae were for movement and the buttons on the sides did esoteric things that people will yell at you to press during crucial moments, but that was it. I ended up labelling the buttons the shapes they were (circle button, triangle button, square button etc).

The interviewer came back into the room after about 15 minutes and said I now had an hour to play an unfinished level of Assassin's Creed, identify as many bugs as possible, and record them on a spreadsheet. And even though she set me up at a computer monitor, I still had to use a controller. Are you kidding me! This was the Victorian era Assassin's Creed. I had never played any AC games before, so I didn't know what were bugs and what were features. Was "can't jump" a bug? Was "invisible wall surrounding staircases"? What was the format and lingo you were supposed to use when recording bugs? I made no progress towards the quest at all (I did not understand it or who my character was), just wandered around and wrote down things I noticed and didn't like until time was up.

Anyway, that's the tale of how I didn't get a job I was woefully unprepared and underqualified for and in retrospect didn't want all that much. Maybe what I really wanted was to be... was Ayn Rand.

[dllamarama]

I will probably remember this scene for a long time. When I saw it the first time, I already knew that this will require a long post.

I really loved it when both the main leads are completing each other’s words to show that they are connected. Yes we have seen this kind of scene a lot previously. But, in this context? To this extent? I think this is the first for me.

We all know that both of our main leads are exceptionally smart. But, even in that situation where they are desperate, I was simply amazed. They both knew the intention of the psycho mom (let me remind y’all again that the mother is a criminal psychology professor and the country’s first negotiation expert) was to make him suffers as she had for the last 20 years by not knowing that her son had always been alive.

Yoo Yeon Seok acting in the scene was also a masterpiece yet again. The emotion and desperation was palpable through the screen. His control of the emotion of Saeon during that scene was immense as he did not went overboard while threading it closely as losing his mind. Because his opponent is someone who can read his mind at a glance and if he had a burst of unnecessary emotion, it would ruin the whole pace of the scene.

The desperation in Saeon’s voice was apparent but he had a full conviction that the psycho mother had kept Heejoo alive. He knew her too well, living and being trained in that woman’s household. When I watch the first episode, I had hoped that he was actually the son to this crazy woman or at least just a random un-named orphan that they took in as an exchange for the psycho Baek Saeon. I believe that all the years Saeon had lived in under her roof, she must have thought and felt the immense hatred towards him because he is the kind of son that she wanted to have instead of that psychopath.

But he is the son to the man that killed her child (a psychopath indeed but her child nevertheless). She can never had half a heart to take a pity to our Saeon because of his bloodline. If the psycho Saeon had actually died during his childhood, and our Saeon is just a random orphan, there can be a possibility of this crazy mom to actually took a pity to our Saeon and had a somewhat diplomatic relationship with him. She was impressed at our Saeon after he correctly deducted her action and intention.

Although it was said that he resembles Baek Jangho because of his intelligence and competence, to me he was closely resembled the psycho mother instead of his biological father. And the psycho Baek Saeon actually have an uncanny resemblance to Baek Jangho as they both till the end thought that killing another human is not a sin that they should be atoning. They had fully believed that they did the right thing. At the end of the series, Baek Yuyeon was the negotiation expert sent to rescue the Korean nationals from the armed militants. A title that was once belongs to the crazy mother. I know the mom is also a killer, but in the sense of similarity and resemblance, it is not a stretch to say that the mom had played a big role in shaping our Baek Saeon/Baek Yuyeon in becoming who he is now.

[wandixx]

Date in the Ghost Zone

@seamistagle

Sorry it took so long, I've cjaged ideas, like, five times along the way because my dating expirience is almost none existant. To make up for that, I decided to write them kissing (i also have no expierience in that) but anyway, I hope you'll like it

“Hi starlight!” a voice rang from her ceiling. At this point, she didn't even startle, too used to Danny's dramatics. Popping out of nowhere, halfway through solid objects was so low on the list of shenanigans that she didn't even respond until she finished a scene of the “Hello, Megan!” episode she was rewatching. That's what he got for not using the door and knocking like civilized humans should.

“Hello sunshine“ She leaned back in her chair and smiled at her boyfriend “What brings you to my humble chamber?”

“You're busy this weekend and it's not a question. We're going on a date” he said, determined and anxious in a way that usually translated to ‘I have an unconventional date idea and I hope you like it’. Her smile widened. She loved Danny's unconventional ideas.

“Sure love, do I need to bring something with me?” She started slowly flying up, careful to not be fast enough to bring Danny's attention to it. He took a moment to consider her question but eventually shook his head.

“I'll get everything ready. Just come to Amity on Saturday morning and let everyone know we will be offline whole weekend”

Her smile got a bit softer. Whole weekend with Danny sounded like a dream, especially after a period when life stuff kept them apart for almost a month.

“Alright,” she just needed to stall a little longer. “Can I make cookies though?“

Just a bit higher, less than two feet.

Danny visibly brightened, looking every bit like an angel from an old painting. 

“I'll never say no to your cookies”

“I know,” she said and kissed him. His lips were cold and dry as if he spent just a bit too long on the snow, like always when she made out with him as a ghost. She loved every millisecond of the experience. 

Obviously, she also loved when he was human, warm and soft and breathing.

She just adored every bit of her boyfriend, okay?

She let go to take a breath, relishing in a way Danny blushed and spluttered. He was an adorable mess every time she so much as smooched him. 

(She said, as if she wasn't exactly the same).

“I love you. See you on Saturday“

“Yeah… See you”

***

Danny carefully stared at M'gann when he phased blindfold off her face. It wasn't as much of a surprise as he wished it could be, there wasn’t many places where could he go to from his house, especially ones that she didn’t see already. But he wanted to give her just this little thing, so he lead her in a little bit further.

She seemed to like it, if his reading of her emotional projection was correct. Apparently he should know it instinctually but he was just tad too alive for the instinct to kick in. From what he knew about M'gann, she liked it. Maybe.

“It's… really green”

Danny blinked. How was he supposed to respond to that?

They both snorted the moment they caught each other's eyes.

“I mean… you warned me but wow–” she said, clearly suppressing out right laughter “–even air is green”

“That's Ghost Zone for you! Green over green with green undertones”

That won him a laugh. Ancients, there weren't many things more beautiful than this laugh and he was willing to do far too much for it. 

“Alright, let's go, I have so much to show you. We won't be able to get to Martian sector now, but if you want, we can save more time next–”

“Later. Show me around now, please”

“As you wish”

He grabbed her wrist to lead the way.

***

Danny didn’t stumble when landing on the snow, he didn’t. He just kinda slipped and almost ate dirt or well, ice. M’gann of course was graceful as if she was born in the air. Actually, for all he knew, she could be.

This was not a moment to think about it.

“Welcome to Far Frozen, literally and figuratively the chillest place in the Ghost Zone” he said with a cheeky grin, trying to sound like and overenthusiastic tour guide. They both quite enjoyed when he was in this role.

“This is the Yeti part, right?”

“Exactly! And the main prize goes to- oh!”

Something small and fluffy hit him in the stomach, tiny hands wrapping around him and forcing breath out of his lungs.

“Phantom!”

“Icefang! It’s great to see you kiddo!” he said, hugging little yeti back. “And you guys too!” he yelled, so group running up to them could hear him.

There was something incredibly funny in a fact that there was group of ghost children who treated him as this cool older friend. No way anyone on the living side could ever consider him that.

“Who is that?” one of them asked, pointing at M’gann like there was anyone else they could mean. She smiled and waved at them.

“This is Miss Martian, my girlfriend!” Ancients, they were together for months and being able to call her that still made him giddy “I’m giving her a tour through coolest places in the Realms”

“It’s nice to meet you all, Phantom talked a lot about you”

He wouldn’t say he talked a lot about them, but he certainly mentioned them from time to time… Like the time when he spent half an hour excitedly explaining how Snowstorm managed one fight move he thought them or how Snowdrop made him really cute drawing or… okay, so maybe this counted as a lot.

“Hi, what is girlfriend?” Icefang asked, cocking his head to the side while other kids stopped behind him and also peered curiously.

“Did you say girlfriend?! It’s a special friend with kissing and saying dumb things!” Snowstorm yelled running up to them, clearly winded. Danny hoped they were late because they had to finish dinner or something instead of getting into yet another trouble. They were magnet, really, Fenton Luck wasn’t as bad as- “Like Snowflake and Frost Junior!” nevermind, little shit could be in all the trouble they found. These two were famous among his little group as an embarrassing teen couple and equating him and M’gann to them was an untrue insult, thank you very much.

Kids giggled, because of course they did. Danny rolled his eyes. M’gann seemed to catch enough to realize the weight of the ‘they’re just like Snowflake and Frost Junior’ insult.

“I’d say that Snowstorm is lying but I know you won’t believe me. Sorry I won’t play with you, today I wanted to just walk around with Miss Martian. We will play extra long next time, alright?”

M’gann leaned on him a bit, projecting tiniest bit of playful possessiveness, as if she tried to tell kids ‘mine now’ and barely stopped herself from laughing. Icefang looked up, up, up at her, eyes narrowed and mouth twisted, like she was most hated person in the whole world. Maybe she was actually. From kids perspective she was someone, who was taking away his cool friend.

“We should put her through Trial of Ice” he almost hissed, like it was the worst thing they could do to her. It certainly wasn’t, but he still would prefer to not go through that.

Danny cursed inwardly, because he really should’ve remember about that when he decided to bring M’gann here. It was supposed to be calm pretty date not… that.

There was quiet ping in the back of his mind, a warning that the Mindlink was established.

“Am I supposed to be scared?” she asked, without an ounce of fear.

“You’ve certainly fought harder battles, but they probably won’t leave us alone unless we do it”

“Isn’t Trial of Ice a family thing?”

“Have your family done that?” Snowstorm asked, in this truly condescending way that only preteens managed to access.

“Well, they haven’t met her and they’re human so…”

“You see? We’re picking up their slack. Now, enough yapping, Phantom go over there, to your place”

“We can evacuate if you don’t want to indulge them”

It certainly wouldn’t make kids happy, but he didn’t want to pressure Meg into anything.

“Why would we?”

Well, who was he to disagree with all of them. He walked over to the place Snowstorm pointed.

“How will it look like?” she asked out loud, leaning down a bit to be closer to kids level “It’s probably obvious to you, but I don’t know the rules”

She looked at them like it was genuinely important to her, like it was almost life and death and Danny was once again reminded why he loved this girl so much and that he could and would commit great crimes for her.

Icefang perked up like an overeager puppy. If there was one sure way to buy his favor it was by letting him share his knowledge. Or have cookies, cookies also worked.

“You have to prove your decli- degi- deti-”

“Dedication”

“Right, that, thank you Briarheart, and show that you’re worth being Phantom’s special kissing friend. To do that, you need to get through us and kiss him while we will do all we can to stop you, mostly by throwing stuff at you. You can use your powers but if we hit you ten times you loose and can’t be Phantom’s kissing friend anymore”

“You can’t fly out of the throwing range for more than ten seconds and can’t phase through the ground”

“Alright, I get it. I have one question. One of my powers is that I can move things without touching them, can I just use it to move Phantom to me?”

“No, he has to stay were he is”

“That’s what I thought, thank you”

Snowdrop tugged at small bit of Snowstorm’s fur and started signing rapidly. Danny was learning Yeti Sign Language but it was slow going, mostly because of everything else he had to get done at the same time. But he was learning when he had time! He even understood a few signs! Not enough to actually catch what she was saying but… Yeah, no, he should do better.

“Good point Snowdrop”

“I didn’t see what did she say?”

“You can just say you can’t read yet Icefang. She said that we should put Phantom through Trial of Ice too. It’s always to ways thing”

“Aw, thank you sweetheart”

“We won’t be good for the task though” Briarheart Junior pointed out, always the rational one “Phantom is our friend so we won’t put up good fight against him. Someone else needs to do that”

Yeti kids all started nodding with various levels of enthusiasm. Snowstorm seemed to already think about logistics and candidates since, again, it was Snowstorm, their involvement could only mean chaos.

“Give us two weeks, we’ll be back with candidates by then”

M’gann looked like she tried to hold back laughter. Instead, she nodded and thanked them again. Snowstorm told everyone to move to their positions, with M’gann exactly one hundred twenty three ‘big steps’ away from him. Then Icefang got to use new trick he learned and made wall around Danny. It was less than one feet high, but they really didn’t need anything higher. He was sufficiently praised for it, which made him smile brightly enough to rival the sun.

For all it’s worth, Trial of Ice was pretty boring when he was the prize. Don’t get him wrong, he was proud of the kids whenever they did some trick he thought them and M’gann ‘fighting’ was one of the hottest thing he could imagine, but still. He itched to join.

Or maybe not. He liked what he was seeing. M’gann changed her clothes into something resembling her night suit, just in white and pale blue to better match surroundings. It looked good on her, emphasizing lines of her body and how they changed in the movement, in such way that he couldn’t drag his eye away from her. He didn’t often get the chance to admire her like in action, to look at the way she was in the air, when she evaded attacks, all grace and power and precision. Usually he was right next to her, or if sidelined, too stressed for her life to ever really look.

He could appreciate this chance.

It made him once again wonder how he managed to get someone as amazing to date him. Like, really, how did it happen?!

This train of thought was abandoned when after last refined loop M’gann descended right in front of him. He looked at her face, maybe bordering on staring but how could he not? How could he not stare at her freckles highlighted by the teal blush from all the exercise? How could he not stare at her perfectly shaped lips, now that he knew how they felt against his?

Damn it, he wanted to kiss this girl five minutes ago.

M’gann leaned forward, close enough that puffs of their breaths mixed together.

“You realize I can still hear all of your thoughts?”

He did, actually, not realize that.

“Good thing, I’m not thinking about anything you shouldn’t hear then”

She finally did kiss him after that, though unfortunately it was just a quick smooch (he said as if it didn’t leave him just a little bit brain scrambled for a moment and wait did she use blackberry lip balm? It was hard to tell when their lips barely touched). Then she grabbed his elbow and dragged him up and away before he fully caught up what was going on. Mock noises of disgust turned into open protest when kids realized they were getting away.

Danny and M’gann kinda laughed as they were sprinting away before kids could caught up to them. It took him a moment to calm down enough to scrap whatever he knew about Far Frozen, so he could point them somewhere where they could hide out until kids got distracted (about half an hour at most).

They dipped into some small ice cavern and curled up next to each other, still slightly shaking from giggles. There was enough room to sit straighter and keep personal space but they didn’t want to.

M’gann laid her head on his shoulder.

“This is so weird, you know? Nice, but weird. Like uncanny valley but without uncomfortable part. Or at least not as much of uncomfortable part”

***

M’gann wasn’t sure why she kept talking after Danny hummed with small projection of curiosity. It would probably just sour the mood, but it was maybe a little too late now that she started.

“It’s just… you know, it’s all so similar to M’arzz. Which is great! Don’t get me wrong, I loved it! I missed it, even if I didn’t realize it! But you know, it not the same,” her voice broke a bit, and she felt an arm circling her back. She took a moment to gather herself “They were all so emotive and loud, I almost started reading their minds because it couldn’t not be deliberate. But it was. Kids didn’t look to different from my peers back home, I could certainly imagine them playing with shape-shifting and testing this type of form for longer time. It’s colder than Earth but too cold to actually be M’arzz. Everything is going on above the ground which isn’t dangerous here but I was raised knowing it was not safe. We also have this thing about proving our worth but it’s with heat instead of ice and right before the wedding instead of right from the get go. It’s all just kinda itching.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah”

“Um, sorry. I haven’t thought about it. I should. Do you want to go back? We can chill in Amity if you want to. Or, you know do something else on the living side”

“No, no, no it’s fine, I like it. It’s nice. It’s familiar, but in a good way. There isn’t really a way for me to just go back and it’s nice to have it even if a little bit”

Danny shifted a bit, as if he tried to look at her, but she kept her face buried in is arm. She shouldn’t have said anything. She should’ve swallowed nostalgia and just keep going. It was such a great time before too.

There was nudge at her mind, clearly deliberate even if clumsy. Absolutely incomprehensible, like Martian’s babies and toddlers did it.

Another nudge, more defined but still unable to carry any ideas more sophisticated than vague invitation to connect.

“Danny?”

“Do you want to talk telepathically? To make it better?”

Oh. Oh.

“Sure. Thank you,” she took a deep breath, trying to collect herself once again “Are you trying to make me cry today? You’re lucky I don’t wear make-up or it would be all ruined”

“You would be stunning anyway. I don’t think there is anything you could do to not be, let’s be honest”

“And now you’re trying to sweeten me up, you dork” She roughly dried her eyes against his suit. It’s absolutely useless to this purpose but she wanted to hide for a bit longer.

“I am not sweetening anyone up, it would have to be untrue for it to be that’

“Oh shut up”

“Never~”

“It’s not even my true form”

“M’gann, Meg, my starlight and love of my Afterlife. When I saw your true form I was so enamored my brain ceased higher functions. I watched ‘Hello, Megan!’ because you liked it, but the main character was just… kinda meh in terms of looks. Do you understand? I think you’re beautiful because it’s you, not because of anything else. No matter what form you’d choose to be in, I’ll love it and want to be as close to you as you’ll let me”

M’gann finally raised her head and with small startle she realized that between their faces were only inches. There was still small blush on his cheeks and his eyes were almost hipnotizing, with the way they focused on her like she was only thing that mattered. His hair was ruffled from wind, just asking to run finger through it. Once again their puffing breaths were mixing but this time they were alone. They could savor it, they could-

“Great One? I was informed you came with your suitor?”

Of course. They couldn’t even kiss in peace.

Thankfully, encounter with Frostbite, even if awkward, was quite short. She didn’t have anything against the yeti, really, she couldn’t even begin to tell how much she appreciated help he extended to Danny but still…

It was not the type of moment she wanted to be interrupted on.

Thankfully older ghost caught it, despite both of them trying to be subtle, and didn’t seem to be too angry about it, so soon they were on their merry way to ‘'one more place’ Danny wanted to show her.

He even brought back up the blindfold, which made her stomach do funny things. She was excited to see what Danny wanted to show her, but also…

There was something really intimate about flying blind, not in a way even their deepest kisses were, but in the absolute trust she had to have in him. In the Ghost Zone she couldn’t even navigate with her telekinesis and telepathy like she could try on the living side. In the Ghost Zone, she had just Danny, and this made something as simple as getting off the ground, into the air all more electrifying in the way that would be almost scary, if she was with anyone else.

She got a little worried when instead of lightly holding her wrist like he did before, Danny caught both of her hands and grasped her like he didn’t plan to let go for the rest of eternity.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course”

And then they were off, faster than she’d ever dare when blind, faster than they usually did, faster than they sometimes went when racing even. Danny kept her close, practically clinging.

Then they were falling and twisting and turning like on some crazy roller coaster and it was breathtaking in both best and worst ways because they were close and it was exciting but she had no idea where they were going or when were they going to turn. Her stomach was doing funny things. Actually, she liked that. She liked that a lot. Especially when Danny slowed down a bit and brought her to his chest before kicking off again.

This was electrifying.

She let out a little yelp when they stopped abruptly and gently landed on the snow. For a long moment they both just stood, panting with soft giggles, getting of off adrenaline high.

***

Danny’s breath caught in his throat again when M’gann grasped sides of his face. It was a bit clumsy, with fingers getting on his mouth and ear but it just made it all more… more.

After few months in relationships he should probably get better at handling all the times she did things like that. As it was, he was barely able to focus on anything other than fingers in his hair and cold hands on his cheeks.

“It was amazing”

He shuddered when she whispered in his mind. It used to terrify him beyond belief, the idea that someone could hear all his thoughts, could touch his very being, made him rebel on the most instinctual level. Now, when M’gann did it, when by just being next to him she rewrote his brain to associate her with mind-reading, it was intoxicating.

“I know, you’re welcome” he managed to stuttered.

She leaned closer, obviously aiming for his mouth and it took all of his will to not meet her midway. They stayed just close, with Danny’s eyes fluttering each time warm puff of air hit them.

“Never do it again”

Instead of answering, he put his hands between her shoulder blades to bring her closer, reached up to cross the remaining distance and kissed her.

Oh, it was definitely blackberry lip balm. He loved it. He loved it all so much.

He loved the way her lips felt brushing against his, cold and smooth despite the time they spent in cold. He loved the way he could almost feel her heartbeat, pressed slightly above his own heart, how he could hear it above his own blood rushing in his ears, faster that it was when they were flying moments ago. He loved the way her hand moved through his hair to press against the back of his head, a wordless command to get closer. He happily complied, adjusting slightly and almost locking on her closed mouth. One of his hands moved lower as he rammed forward, kissing her with enough fervor that she had to arch back a bit. Like that he couldn’t reach her without climbing to his tiptoes, but he didn’t mind.

Her mouth opened slightly, so he took invitation for what it was and started to devour what she had. As he was, draped across M’gann’s chest, with her hands barely holding on his neck, her lips against his and her tongue brushing against his teeth, the whole world could disappear and he couldn’t be bothered. Being this close, with her, was all that mattered and all that could fill his brain.

It got sloppy, when hand laid on the small of his back, full body shiver making their teeth clank. Before he got himself at least a little bit together other hand appeared in his hair. It yanked him back on just the right side of painful, while the arm around his waist pressed him forward and all at once he couldn’t find his footing, bend back so much that if his hand didn’t grasp the edge of M’gann’s cape they could probably touch the ground. Other one by miracle stayed on her neck.

He was fully at her mercy and there was nowhere he could rather be, hanging in her arms all nice and docile. He was stuck in almost addicting cycle of telepathic projection of his excited-eager-confident and M’gann's giddy-greedy-restless response and how it made him all fervent-dizzy-thrilled and how much he could feel it, how intimate this type of closeness was, how kiss dissolved whatever it was that made sensing emotions so much harder and more muted at any other time.

He let himself be handled and adjusted sometimes grasping her hair when he felt too much, in the best way he could imagine, but frankly he forgot about everything else after that.

They had to let go at some point, to catch breath if nothing else but they stayed close. Close enough that he could smell the lip balm that by now was probably mostly on him. Close enough that their noses would touch if they turned their heads just right. Close enough that he could count her freckles and connect them into little constellations, as if her skin was map of the space that gave her to him.

It wasn’t rare, for them to be this close, but it never changed the fact, that when he caught her eyes, half closed but striking, sparkling in the cold blue-green light in the way that was almost iridescent, he couldn’t help but think he wouldn’t be mad to get lost in them. He wouldn’t be mad to be trapped forever, like mosquito in amber with which her eyes shared color.

“Okay, you can do that again”

He needed a long moment to realize why that would ever be in question or what she was referencing, or were they were and what they were doing before. By the time he scrambled his brain again, M’gann’s eyes were closed and she was going for another kiss. He tilted her by the chin just slightly away, because they came there for a reason and he wanted to fulfill said reason before he totally forgot.

M’gann looked back at him, slightly dazed, straightening just a bit. She brought him with her, so his position was just a touch less parallel to the ground, which was also nice.

“I have nothing against round to but before that, I wanted to show you something”

He waited for a moment until she full caught what he was saying. It was overwhelmingly exhilarating to see that she was affected by it just as much as he was. When she nodded, he turned her chin to the left, slowly so she could fully admire the view.

He didn’t turn. He knew what she could see, the breathtaking spectacle of Far Frozen, the wonderful mix of futuristic and traditional, shining in the Ghost Zone’s lights like under aurora. He knew this view well.

Arms around him went almost lax, so he slipped and fell on the snow. He could catch himself or stay were he was, close enough to smell her ever changing shampoo, but he preferred it that way.

“Oh… it’s… It’s beautiful”

He propped himself up on his hands and looked up at her, at the curves of her face and shape of her nose and the little scar she could shape-shift away but just didn’t want to. He looked at her hair, the way her red contrasted with Zone’s ambient green and snow’s reflected cold white and how disheveled it was from flight and the kiss and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to brush his fingers through them until they were neat again or ruffle them even more during another kiss.

He looked the golden clasp of her cape, slightly greener ever since they learned he could be summoned and figured out how to make M’gann always have this chance. He looked at the red ribbons crossing on her chest, only thing she kept from her ‘true’ form, only symbol she let herself keep from the home she could both hate and miss. He looked at her fingers, covered in freckles like the rest of her, short and slender, grasping at the improvised railing now that they weren’t holding him. He looked at the way her back curved as she leaned forward to see better. He looked back at her face, at her slightly opened lips and wide opened eyes and her raised eyebrows. He looked at her open, almost child like delight over something he, at this point, seen as almost mundane.

“Yeah, beautiful”

[aychama]

I really can't wait for more of this story to come. The direction it's taking is interseting so far and especially the rival spouses- THE JEALOUSY. I enjoy reading your comic and the angst that's coming towards us like freaking tsunami at some point.

Im really curious about few things tho:

1- Since some animals show instincts (Narinder purring / Lambert's bull anger), do some people hibernate/sleep in winter? Do bat-folk sleep during night and wake up during morning?

2- Does your world has those lesbian lizards? Like, the female only species?

3- Who is Mystic Seller in your au?

4- Will we see Forneus at some point? 👀

5- Your characters are mostly anthropomorphic but how does fish folk work?

Sorry if i asked too many. I'm just curious :^ Hope you have a great day :D

(Bide sey, dipnot gibi, bazen buraya daha fazla yazmak istiyorum çünkü gercekten hikayeni severek takip ediyorum ama bokunu çıkartmakta istemiyorum. Acaba sürekli yazsam rahatsız mı olursun diye :p)

Thank you so much!!! Eheh boy do I have things planned with Chelsea and Theo...

I reveal a lot of my plot on my twitch streams btw :3c

Anyways lets answer!

1- Since they are all really human looking (although i should design more animal-folk) I think giving them animal like behaviours would balance some stuff right? But lets add human elements to it!

So only the wealthy or people with relaxed jobs (like artists, musicians etc.) would get to hibernate, while the common folk needs to work. But I feel like most would be understanding of certain speacies becoming less active during those times!

2- All kinds of animal folk could exist in this world. But those from the arctic and the desert only live in Kallamar's kingdom because they come from outside the 5 kingdoms with ships.

3- Havent thought about mystic seller yet

4- Yes! Forneus is the duchess of the strongest family in Narinder's kingdom and she fully supports Narinder.

5- Aquatic-folk and flying-folk would have like diffrent and stronger lungs.

Aquatic-folk can always live in both the land and in the water (most prefer land)

Flying-folk, depending on the speacies, have wings for arms (birds) or wings on their back (bees).

All of the animal-folk can cross breed and the child would strongly result with the look of one parent while having some little aspects of the other parent. (Lets think it like a beetle x dog = a fluffy beetle or a dog with beetle fangs or horns)

Even tho it is not forbidden to cross-breed, its mostly looked down upon so they arent that common.

(Hiç rahatsız olmuyorum merak etme 😌)

[ravennaortiz]

Rescue Kitty

Summary:Juice finds an injured stray cat one night and nurses her back to health. Shapeshifter AU

Your lungs were burning, heart racing and head pounded as you tore off down the highway. The sound of bullets ringing through the air and your ears. The red  hot burning of something hitting your leg had you dropping to the ground. With a deep breath you pushed yourself back up and darted off into the woods. The smell of singed fur and blood following you. Your eyes watered as you tried to get your mind to focus. How to get out of this? With considerable effort you made one last attempt at shifting. As you lay in your new form on the forest floor you closed your eyes.

Juice was stopped on the side of the road. His mind heavy with the guilt of what he had seen. This life wasn’t for him he thought. He couldn’t imagine hurting a person or an animal. Even if Jax was adamant that monsters were not either. He had seen the fear in the eyes of several of them right before there life ended. Most of the monsters they had killed had not done anything wrong either. He would be okay with this job if they were doing it for a reason. The shifters words from tonight ran through his mind “We police our own we do not need the interference of humans” . She was the first female monster they had hunted down. Juice really couldn’t be behind hurting a woman so he had tampered with the lock so she could break out. They had searched and searched but hadn’t found her. Hope you got far away from here thought Juice as he looked up to the sky before getting ready to start his bike back up.

 A weak meow and movement in the bush next to him had him stopping. A small cat was dragging its back end as it crawled out of the woods. His heart broke and tears prickled at his lash line as he looked at the pitiful creature. Getting off his bike he slowly made his way to the cat. Kneeling down he offered his hand and smiled when it leaned forward and gave him a lick before mewing again. “I hope you are cool with motorcycles cause it’s the only way you are getting out of here.” Stated Juice quietly as he pet the cat as it purred.

Once Juice had secured the injured cat in his saddle bag he looked for the nearest emergency vet and headed off. Hopefully it’s not a serious injury he thought to himself as he tore off down the highway.

2 Months Later

“Well look at you little lady” laughed Juice as he found you perched atop the fridge when he got home. He had been amazed at how quickly you had healed. The vet had given you only a twenty percent chance and that even if you did survive you would never have full use of your back right leg. But here you were climbing, jumping and tearing through his house like you had not been on deaths door a couple of months ago.

Juice smiled as you jumped to his shoulder after he patted it. He had been teaching you tricks and it was wild how quickly you picked up on things. All the guys in the club had teased him when he told them he had been nursing a cat back to health and that he had been teaching you tricks. He just let it roll off though. The majority of them lacked emotional intelligence which is why they had to bury themselves in random stray women that showed up and couldn’t keep a relationship going with a rock even if they tried.

You chirped and carried on as you rode Juices shoulder as he worked on getting his dinner ready. He responded as if he could understand anything you were saying. The last two months had been weird. You had never stayed in a shifted form for so long. You had friends in the community who did and some became house pets just to escape the hunters for awhile. You had never wanted to live like that. To you they lived in fear and had let it rule them. But after having lived the life you understood it better. Your heart though longed for the freedom that was lost. You also didn’t want to hurt the sweet man who had rescued you and opened his home to you. You were pulled from your thoughts with Juices next words.

“I told them I quit today. They were cool with it and understood. I’m not a killer, well hunter but same thing” stated Juice as he moved about the kitchen.

That Night

Juice was sound asleep as you lay on the pillow above his head. You were uneasy. Hunters didn’t get to just quit, once you are in you are in. The only way out would be death. While you knew some of the local hunters were a bit more soft, the leader was not. You had heard tales of his cruelty from Juice as he talked about his days when he would get home.

A click rang through the silence of the house. You cocked your head and tracked the sound of movement. The weak scent of gun powder floated down the hall. The beat of one heart other than Juices could be heard. Carefully you dropped down to the floor. Stretching you focused your mind and shifted. Tonight you would save the man who saved you.

Juice wasn’t sure what woke him up. Looking around the dark bedroom, nothing looked out of place. He strained to hear anything coming from the house. He noted you weren’t on his pillow and frowned. You never got up in the middle of the night. Carefully he got up and started to move to the door but paused and grabbed his gun from his nightstand. Just in case he thought to himself as he made his way into the dark hall as quietly as he could.

“The fuck?” he stated quietly as he stepped into a puddle of blood as he got to the doorway to the living room. His eyes widening as he took in the site of his former boss with his throat ripped out on his floor and his cat cleaning her paws on his chest. “Did…Did you?” he stated as he locked eyes with the cat. No he thought to himself as he shook his head. A ten pound cat couldn’t have down this. But what had he thought as he looked around.

“I wanted to repay you” stated a quite feminine voice from behind him. Turning back his eyes locked onto his cat who spoke again. “Let me change back and I can explain”.

[scariusaquarius]

rehab.

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Winter Soldier! Fem! Reader

Summary: While on a mission to find any more possible super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program, Steve and Bucky make a discovery in an abandoned HYDRA base that was cleared out a few years prior to their mission. They discover the Reader, a long-forgotten soldier that was still asleep within a functioning cryostasis pod; still awaiting orders. While Bucky isn't happy about it, he is put up to the challenge of helping to rehabilitate the soldier in Wakanda where she may be able to become a person again.

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A/n: I couldn't help myself. I really think it would be cool to navigate Bucky's mind within a situation like this, so I really hope that this takes off honestly. I saw another writer on AO3 (@sunny_shadows, PLEASE check out their work, Shattered Under Midnight, it is fucking phenomenal) do story notes and explanations after the chapter, so I wanted to try that out as well! I am NOT fluent in Russian, so I did use google translate cause I couldn't find a good translator that I trusted. If anything is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! Also, I tried to list as many warnings as possible so you know what the story will contain as chapters are posted. Stay safe!

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Genre: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers/Friends to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Drama, Dark Content Rated: Explicit Warning: Angst, Dark Content: Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault, Blood and Gore, Mentions of Manipulation, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Nonconsensual Body Modification/Scarring, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Graphic Depictions of Human Remains, Mentions of Sexual Coercion/Manipulation, Death, Misuse of Drugs/Forced Drugging, Self-Harm (Graphic Depictions and Mentions), Nightmares

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Author: ScariusAquarius

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Cryogenic frost was a completely different kind of frost. It was invasive; delving into every crack and crevice that it could; went into every orifice possible until you were cold from deep within. It hit you internally first; freezing your organs and bones first before it began to spread out to the muscles and tendons and fat of the human body.

It was uncomfortable, and when it was time to come out of the pod; the melting frost left behind such uncomfortable feelings that would have you desperately messing with your ears until the melted frost drained.

Don't even get Bucky started on the way his balls felt after.

It was an all-around uncomfortable feeling; disorienting and sickening that Bucky could recall some times when he would be taken out of cryo that he would throw up from the vertigo and aching that would come from deep within.

Even now, he could feel the tresses of nausea poking at his stomach as he stared up at the cryostasis pod that was steaming as it opened.

"You know, I think I vaguely remember telling you that I wasn't the only Winter Soldier...and I thought Zemo had killed the remaining Winter Soldier's back in Siberia."

His tone was annoyed, accusing, and the response that Bucky got back didn't make him feel any better about what his old-time friend was doing.

"Well, it seems Zemo was lying or he just wasn't aware that there were more soldier's within the program."

Steve then sighed as Bucky continued to stare at him, his brow furrowed deeply and making Steve return the look.

"Listen, with HYDRA being gone from these facilities, someone needs to rescue these people and rehabilitate them...just like we did with you."

Bucky's brow creased, and he was unrelenting as he turned to Steve, shaking his head.

"You don't understand. Without a handler, some of them can't be rehabilitated. I've trained these people, Steve, there's no getting through to them."

"We got through to you, didn't we? Besides, it wouldn't be right to leave these people in these pods like this."

Bucky's lips pursed and he spun around to face the cryostasis again, his metal arm whirring as the plates shifted; ready for a fight.

"That was different. You were my friend before everything...these people don't have anybody to bring them back."

Steve was quiet, concentrating on the pod. Slowly, a form began to show; boots, familiar leather pants, the same vest, and the same mask. Bucky couldn't help the tightening in his chest when he realized that the person in the pod wasn't just a Winter Soldier: they seemed to be a young woman; their hair becoming wet as the frost within it began to melt.

Beside the pod was a black book; most likely with notes about who the Soldier was and how to activate them, and Steve asked gently as the Soldier opened their eyes.

"Do we need to use the book?"

"I don't know."

Bucky was taken back by the brilliant (e/c) eyes that flicked to him for a moment before looking straight; and when the woman tried to take a step, they began to crumple to the ground. Steve jumped over the control center to catch them, giving Bucky a slightly miffed look as Bucky's feet stayed planted to the ground.

It was too familiar; too known, and Bucky was uncomfortable. He watched as Steve dragged the woman to a chair and sat her down, asking her.

"Hello, are you alright?"

She was unmoving and unblinking, staring straight ahead like a good soldier should and Bucky swallowed thickly, shaking his head. Steve asked her again, but Bucky shook his head a little more.

"She's not going to answer. You're not her handler."

"Okay, then how do we get through to her?"

Bucky pursed his lips, sighing heavily before he stood in front of the woman.

"укажите свое обозначение."

Her eyes came to life for a moment, glancing up at Bucky with a look that he knew all-too-well before she glanced back down; clenching her jaw.

"Зимний Солдат."

Bucky sighed deeply, rubbing his temples slightly, and Steve just observed, his blue eyes curious as he glanced between the two of them. Bucky then took the black book, noting the way the woman's shoulders seemed to square slightly; muscles in her neck tensing, and Bucky felt sick to his stomach. He handed it to Steve, muttering.

"There might be some information in here about her. If not, we'll look into the files we downloaded...if we have time."

Steve nodded, and Bucky turned to the woman again, asking.

"Что ты помнишь?"

"Невозможно завершить. Для выполнения инструкций необходимы дополнительные разъяснения."

Bucky frowned again, muttering to himself before he asked.

"Что ты помнишь перед тем, как тебя уложили спать?"

Her jaw clenched again, and this time, she seemed hesitant to answer. Her eyes flicked up to Bucky, and he could see the uncomfortable look she was giving him within her eyes. The person that was in there was trying to respond; trying to tell him, but the programming wasn't allowing her to answer. Fear flashed in her eyes from the inability to complete his request, and Bucky could feel his throat trying to close up.

HYDRA was getting better at their programming, it seemed.

"I'm not going to hurt you if you're unable to answer. We are not HYDRA."

Confusion flashed within her eyes though her expression never wavered, and Steve stepped forward.

"We're with the Avengers...do you know who we are?"

"Невозможно завершить. Требуется дополнительная аутентификация."

Steve turned to Bucky and suggested, crossing his arms slightly.

"This might be a job for Shuri. We should contact King T'Challa and set out for Wakanda as soon as possible."

Bucky pursed his lips before he turned to the woman, her fists clenched slightly.

"Следуй за мной, солдат. У меня есть для тебя миссия."

She stood up immediately, her eyes becoming dead again as the programming within her mind forced her to follow the commands of The Winter Soldier.

"Готов соблюдать."

Bucky hated it. He hated this feeling; of being the one on the opposite side of the glass; giving orders and handling. While Bucky had trained many super soldiers before, he wasn't ever a Handler like Brock Rumlow or Alexander Pierce. He was another instrument; another tool that just had higher privileges because of his compliance and performance record.

He had learned early on that resistance was futile and met with much harsher consequences.

No, the Winter Soldier's only purpose was to serve HYDRA and to further their cause. That was all. Anything that didn't involve a mission was null. He, among others like him, were only meant to serve the purpose of HYDRA and HYDRA alone.

But he hadn't activated her nor told her that he was her handler, so why was the soldier complying?

Was it possible that the woman had been frozen long enough that the programming was malfunctioning? Was she just assuming that Bucky was her handler because of his arm?

Or was it possible that she was faking it on pre-existing orders given before she was put under.

Bucky glanced over his shoulder at the soldier, the woman's eyes still just as dead-looking as they had been before; looking straight ahead. For a moment, however, her eyes flicked to his, and Bucky frowned before he turned to Steve, muttering.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Steve's brow was furrowed, lips slightly pursed as he glanced over at Bucky, worry within his eyes.

"You having a bad feeling is never a great sign."

Bucky almost scoffed, but refrained from doing-so; elaborating on his thoughts about the situation instead.

"I never gave her any indication that I was her handler nor did I activate her. What if she has pre-existing orders?"

Steve frowned, his tone becoming more hushed as he walked a bit closer to Bucky.

"Are you saying that she's a threat?"

"Any Winter Soldier is a threat, but I don't know if she's an active threat or not is the problem. She's blankly following orders...either someone gave her a mission before she was put under or...it's possible she thinks that I am still...with HYDRA. We should be careful."

Steve glanced back behind him to look at the woman before glancing down at the black book within his hands. As the three of them walked to the quinjet, Steve instructed Bucky as he sat down at the controls.

"You go ahead and get her strapped in and call Shuri. I'm going to see if there's anything in here about who she is and where she came from."

Bucky nodded before he turned to the woman who was standing in the middle of the jet; rigid and unmoving. Bucky sighed slightly before instructing.

"Присаживайтесь."

Wordlessly, the soldier sat down, strapping herself into one of the seats, and Bucky took a long glance at her. To a normal; outside perspective, it would look as though she was completely still and robotic. It would seem as though she wasn't even breathing; a blank stare to the opposite wall and deathly still.

However, to a fellow soldier, Bucky could tell that there was something on the woman's mind. The soldier's fists were clenched as they rested upon the top of her thighs, eyebrow furrowed just slightly, and Bucky could tell that her feet were fidgeting inconspicuously.

If Bucky didn't know any better, he'd say that the woman seemed nervous.

But what about?

Bucky wasn't able to ponder the thought any longer. Instead, he simply just looked ahead and began to call Shuri, hoping that this wasn't going to end up in a fight.

~

STORY NOTES: In the beginning, Bucky is remembering what it was like to be put into a cryostasis pod. He recalls that it was uncomfortable and that the frost and ice seem to penetrate every orifice possible, which is extremely uncomfortable when being thawed.

Then, it is revealed that Bucky and Steve Rogers are on a mission to find any remaining super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program that weren't killed by Zemo, which Bucky is apprehensive about but Steve is adamant on doing.

The soldier within the cryostasis pod then awakens after being thawed, seeming to be completely blank. When Steve tries to make contact, the soldier does not respond, leaving Bucky to resort to acting as a Handler, finally getting responses out of the soldier.

While trying to ask the soldier for information, Bucky is unable to get anything useful from the woman. He makes an educated guess that HYDRA had further adapted their programming, making it difficult to make the soldier talk without having to completely activate them.

Steve decides to take a trip to Wakanda to see Shuri and T'Challa so they can rehabilitate the soldier just as they did with Bucky, but Bucky begins to think that the soldier is a threat due to their compliance despite Bucky not activating them nor introducing himself as their handler.

Bucky makes a final observation, noting that the woman seems nervous, though Bucky is unable to figure out what about. He speculates further that there could be foul play, and is unhappy at the possibility of a fight. End Scene.

TRANSLATIONS:

укажите свое обозначение - Indicate/State your Designation

Зимний Солдат - Winter Soldier

Что ты помнишь - What do you remember?

Невозможно завершить. Для выполнения инструкций необходимы дополнительные разъяснения - Unable to complete. Further clarification is required to complete the instructions.

Что ты помнишь перед тем, как тебя уложили спать - What do you remember before you were put to bed/sleep?

Невозможно завершить. Требуется дополнительная аутентификация - Unable to comply. Additional authentication required.

Следуй за мной, солдат. У меня есть для тебя миссия - Follow me, soldier. I have a mission for you.

Готов соблюдать - Ready to comply.

Присаживайтесь - Have a seat.

[haileycantcometothephonern]

Scars

Spencer x fem!reader

Prequel fic to this part (but can be read alone)

CW: pregnancy, kidnapping, torture, angst, also a little bit fluff. (not proofread)

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18 months ago

You felt the kicks before you felt the warm sun rays waking you up from your deep sleep. Your baby has been quite excited, you can tell. She is keen to meet her mom and dad, it seems. You open your eyes slowly and crack a smile at your very pregnant belly.

Sydney. That's what you both decided her name would be. Such a pretty name really. You immediately got up to make yourself some breakfast as your daughter isn't so calm when she starts to get hungry.

You then remember the absence of your husband. You really hoped he would be here before next week, as that's when your due date was and your daughter might come out any moment now. You didn't want Spencer to miss such a pivotal moment of your child's birth. You knew how much he looked forward to it.

As you make yourself some breakfast filled with all kinds of nutrients, your mind goes through all of your pregnancy journey. Spencer and you have always wanted to start a family and you were blessed with your angel a few months ago. You were both equally excited about the new edition to your family and made sure to do thorough research about how to ensure that she's safe and healthy.

Spencer was also very present these past few months, putting his foot down when he is needed here by you or your daughter. You really appreciated his support throughout your pregnancy but since a few weeks he has been quite busy. You understood that he can't keep putting off work to stay with you, but you also wanted him to do that for you. Maybe it was selfish, but you were also on the verge of giving birth to an entire human and you wanted your husband there to support you.

You thought back to the call with Spencer last night as you had your breakfast and wondered when you'll get another update from him. You eventually realized that you're focusing on him too much and he must just be really busy saving lives, so you ended up watching some movie on the TV.

Ring. Ring.

You were jolted awake from your morning nap by your phone's ringtone. You immediately hoped that it was Spencer calling to tell you that he's home bound.

"Hello"

"Hey, baby! How are both of my girls doing?" Spencer sounded tired.

"We're doing good, would do better if you're here with us though." You pouted.

"I know, love. I'm already on the jet, and wanted to check on both of you before we started. Will be there by evening." He sighed into the phone and you can feel him physically relax his shoulders. The case must have been a tough one, well tougher than usual anyway.

"Oh that's great news. I'll start on dinner soon. Love you baby, say love you to papa syd." You tried to make Spencer feel a bit less stressed and you honestly felt really glad that he'll be home soon.

"I love you both, stay safe until i get home." Spencer parroted back, and you can hear the caution in his voice.

You suddenly remembered that you forgot to inform about your doctor's call last night.

"Uh Spence, Dr. Min just called me yesterday. She wanted to see us tomorrow, I told her that I'll let her know if we can after I spoke to you today."

"What did she want to talk about? Is everything alright? Are you okay? Is Sydney okay?" He immediately questioned with worry.

"Yes, yes, we are completely alright. And Dr.Min did not tell me what it was about as she had some emergency and ended the call urgently. But I'm sure it's nothing serious." You said with a doubtful tone, you didn't want him to overthink it during the whole ride.

"It's okay, baby. I'll call Dr.Min, and ask her what it's about. Just take care." Spencer tried to reassure you and ended the call as the pilot was ready for take off.

You ended up taking another nap while snacking on some fruit platter as you were still full from your breakfast when you were once again woken up by a knock this time.

You checked who it was through the peephole first, Spencer instilled this cautiousness in you. It was just some delivery guy, maybe it was the new blanket you ordered three days ago for Sydney.

You excitedly open the door and were about to take your order when the delivery guy is pushed aside and you are being dragged out of your house by two really burly men. You wanted to scream, but they had their guns pointed straight at your belly. You gulped and cooperated with them.

"What do you guys want?" You tried not to sound so scared.

"Your husband knows what we want. Don't worry you'll get out of this unscathed if he listens to our demands." One of them replied and pushed you into a black jeep.

After that your memory goes pretty hazy, as you assume that they drugged you. You regain consciousness after a while, you don't know how long it's been but it was darker outside. You can see that through the only basement window in the room that you were held in. Yep, that's definitely a basement that you were in. You weren't scared as you had complete trust in your husband and his colleagues. You trusted them to save you and your baby.

You then heard some voices from outside the door. You remembered one of the voices was the man who brought you here. Just as you were about to concentrate on what they were talking about, the door to the room opened. In walked the two men who kidnapped you.

"Dr. Reid, as promised. Your wife is here, unscathed. Just get us that plane, our money, and Jason. We'll be out of your hair." He screamed into the phone, you assume Spencer is on the other side of.

"No I'm not going to do anything until you let me talk to her." Spencer tried to sound as neutral as he can, but even you can sense the fear in his voice.

"Alright, suit yourself." The kidnapper placed the phone near your ear. "Speak."

"Hello, Spence?"

You could hear the relief in his voice when he asks you to stay strong like you always do and that he'll be there to get you soon.

"Everything will be alright, baby. I'll be there."

And you believed him. Because why wouldn't you. You believed him with your whole being. You believed him. You made that choice. You let him deceive you. You let him deceive not just you, but also your daughter.

Spencer wasn't there. He wasn't there to save you. He wasn't there to save Sydney. He wasn't there when they cut you. When they left bleeding to your death. When they left Sydney to die with her mom. You still don't have complete memory of what happened after the call.

BAU unlike every other time, failed to deliver on their promise and failed to save you or Sydney. The kidnappers tried to get what they wanted by harming you, thinking that'll motivate the BAU to submit to their demands. But this time, the kidnappers were wrong.

Spencer found you that night, almost at the verge of dying. His heart stopped at the sight of you. Multiple cuts on your arms and your collarbone. One large gash on both of your wrists, blood flowing out uncontrollably. If only they were a bit faster, if only Hotch would have agreed to their demands. He knew that he couldn't blame anyone else but himself for what happened that night. He stayed by your side at the hospital until you regained your consciousness.

"Spence, What happened? Where am I? Where's Sydney?" Your frantic voice woke him up from his seat beside your bed. He looked like he'd been through some kind of apocalypse, maybe he was. His hair unwashed and disheveled. His beard, unshaven. His eyes, sunken, surrounded by pigmentation. He looked like he was crying non-stop.

Your thoughts immediately went back to that night.

"Sydney. Where's Sydney, Spencer?" You asked cautiously.

He looked like he was on the verge of tears and held your hands. His lips opened and closed, and tears started streaming down his cheeks.

"No, no, no. It can't be. No, not her. Spence." You were beyond frantic now. The tears came first.

You didn't want to believe that she was no more. Your love, your angel, your baby. Your Sydney.

You sobbed and sobbed and hiccups echoing off the hospital walls. Throughout it all Spencer held you, letting you express your grief. He had his time, although he thought no time could heal this wound. He wanted so badly to redo everything.

The BAU had all visited you and him, offering their condolences. Hotch showed up too, expressing his regret and guilt. Spencer assured him that he doesn't hold anything against him. You didn't reply to anyone. Not him, not his mom, not your parents, nor your friends. You didn't have anything else to say. You didn't know what one says when they feel like their soul has been snatched away. Their voice had been hijacked. Only thing you can know and feel for sure was the ache in your heart and the emptiness in your womb.

Days passed away before you knew it and it was finally time to go home. Spencer packed everything up from your hospital room and called out to you.

"(Y/N), It's time to go home baby." He whispered slowly placing his hand on your shoulder.

You looked away from the windows and towards him. Yes, nobody is at fault except Spencer. It was him who promised to keep you and your baby safe. But he was nowhere to be found on the day you actually needed him. He was the one who caused all of this. Your brain, filled with grief couldn't decipher what it was thinking or where your thoughts are taking you. You knew only one thing for sure, you wanted to hurt someone. You wanted him to hurt.

"Spencer you killed her. You killed my baby." Your voice was barely a whisper, you almost thought he didn't hear you. But the way his eyes dulled and filled with guilt showed you that he did hear it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby." He said, he sounded wracked with guilt. He started sobbing.

That was the first time in a few days you felt some kind of sick relief. A part of you ached at seeing him like that. But the sick satisfaction over took every other feeling.

"Spencer, I'm going to hurt you until I can find peace. I promise, and I don't break them like you do." Your voice was filled with vitriol. Spencer never even imagined that you could look at him with such hatred in your eyes, but he was proved wrong today.

He knew he was going to be blamed for everything. And he blamed himself too. He was okay with taking everything from you, because he knew behind all that hatred and vitriol, there was love. So he was willing to be your punching bag for however long you want him to be.

You realized that Spencer was going to accept it. And you knew you were just getting started. Maybe this will end up hurting you both, but you felt like that's what the two of you deserved in the end. For failing to save her. Your Sydney.

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a/n: Not that satisfied with how this turned out, wanted to write fluff but it turned out into angst 😭😭. anyways i'm thinking of writing a fluff series next and maybe an angst one too. deleted one on my old blog, want to restart it.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter Nine

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

I was debating aloud today which tea I should have when my partner stopped me. She looked me dead in the eye and said, "you know which tea you want" and ofc she was correct. We both had masala chai with milk and sugar.

I will drink all of it until my pot of spices run out. I stand that this is peak winter tea.

Tea aside- let's go chapter nine!

(first off- ignore all of my penmanship in this photo, I had to refill my pen partway through this page so it's looking a little bit rough LOL).

And we have the ship name in the title! I hope cute things happen this chapter :'3 p279

I am absolutely NOT into this garden face's tongue!!! What the fuck p279

My guy, a secondary location is really never a good sign. Those soldiers of Banyue are intense! p281

Why am I over here feeling bad for the garden face. Poor guy has been sort-of-dead for so long, seeing his own body now is causing him body dysmorphia. pp282-283

This pit is actually horrific. They definitely get tossed in here, no question about this chapter's plot, but OMG it's built so terribly- hanging corpse and all. p286

ofc Xie Lian is over here sacrificing himself without a thought first. p288

Well shit. The traitor wasn't A-zhao. Based on the sound they made, this kid is probably super dead t the bottom of this pit. p289

My heart! oh no, sweet baby. Xie Lian's reaction to San Lang jumping into the pit :((((((((((((( p292

I am assuming San Lang has left the building and Hua Cheng is here now. The way he caught Xie Lian- SO CUTE. p296

Xie Lian: Hey san lang, can you put me down? "San Lang": no. Xie Lian: ?? "San Lang": it's dirty. p298

"It's not important whether you are human or not" :'3 my heeeaaaart p299

oof. okay and then after these sweet words he immediately hits him with a "friendship shouldn't be determined by..." my guy. This man wants you as his husband. p300

ooo! The intrigue! Who actually are the two wandering the streets of Banyue if the Preceptor of Banyue is with them rn. p302

I love Hualian and the Banyue General trauma bonding over the preceptor of Banyue right now. Both of them united by the same enemy. p305

This is what I absolutely love about MXTX. She makes such interesting morally grey stories and characters. I love how she so often makes the "villain" of the story, in this case right now general Kemo, feel straight forward until they really aren't. Once you get to the "villain's" side of the story you're like- huh I see what you did, why you did it, and how it makes sense. Like this guy was really just protecting his family the only way he new how to, or was even able to. pp310-311. I just love how complicated everyone is and how rounded each character- even if they are the grossest garden face man- are.

omg. I thought the situation with the "General's tomb" was just a coincidental story not that it actually was Xie Lian LOL oh no. p318

Not the Hua Xie! Meanwhile San Lang is probably swooning that this guy took his name. p319

Xie Lian: I was so embarrassed that I felt the need to fake my own death. like same bro XD been there. p321

Okay but now I'm curious as to why the snakes no longer obey her. As a side but also on this page, I do hope Fu Yao has some character growth. This kid takes everything at face value when there is clearly a fuck ton more going on. pp325-326 I do not think this girl is evil!

NO THANK YOU! :((((((((( The highly poisonous snake rain!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOPE. p327

Fu Yao my boy, please think things through

This guy is getting mad at the wrong people and about to narc on Hua Cheng.

I am not ready for the next two chapters. They are the last two in the book and I have a sneaking suspicion shit is about to get fucked.

[nothingleftofyou]

Still doesn't believe it though. Stefan didn't know for sure if it was possible or not, but he did think Klaus was capable of trying if the man let himself. "Yeah." He said finally, tone stilted and plaintive. It was the finality of their situation, and for all Stefan accepted it it still hurt the same. "She chose Damon." Hell, she wouldn't have fallen in love with Damon if Stefan's love had been enough. It just... hadn't been. Elena and Katherine too, they liked the idealized version of him that Stefan tried to be. Then, when he didn't live up to the version of himself he wanted to be, there was no one to blame but himself.

"Worked against you, once or twice." It was probably a low blow if Klaus didn't find it amusing, and truthfully Stefan could never find a grip on where Klaus stood regarding much of anything. Back in Chicago, as the ripper, the memories coming back at once made them impossible to ignore. So Stefan couldn't forget how that unpredictable nature of Klaus's was intriguing, how it was always so curious to see what reaction he would garner. The man always managed to surprise him one way or another.

Stefan guffawed. "You aren't wrong," It was actually kind of hilarious in the irony of it all. Klaus was utterly correct, if he let himself fall off the wagon and turn off his humanity then chasing Silas and ruining him would be a whole lot easier. He wouldn't be having flashes of his watery grave, wouldn't have so much resentment for the loved ones who failed him, would actually be able to FUNCTION. It was the easiest way out. "But if I turn it off, then he wins." There was no world where Silas didn't presume Stefan would be turning off his humanity to survive the pain, and it was that same assumption that made Stefan so desperate to hold on. He took a swing of his drink, needing any possible distraction to take his mind away from the immortal doppleganger.

"You really would have come if I asked you, even for Damon? Who you hate?" Stefan was skeptical. "I'm not convinced." He didn't hold the same weight of Caroline in Klaus's esteem, for that Stefan was certain. "And I couldn't risk you saying no." Not with Damon's life on the line. Klaus stepped closer and his mind jilted with the crystal clear image. Hello my shadow self. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to will the image away, unable to meet Klaus's eyes. For all Stefan couldn't read Klaus, Klaus could always read him to filth. It was why any successful deceit was so few and far between. "Would you have?" He bit the words out, hoping Klaus would mistake the audible reaction to the question rather then something else. "If I asked you to come from New Orleans to Mystic Falls to save the life of someone you hate, would you have? For me?"

He had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the lecture that Stefan was barely able to pretend was supposed to be encouragement. Klaus knew that he wasn't the devil. In fact, if he wanted to be, he was certain that he could be much worse than any devil ever dared to dream they could be, but out of respect for Stefan's soft disposition he'd keep that to himself for now. "Yes, yes, even the big bad can be redeemed, I've heard it all before, mate." He wasn't being obstinate just for the fun of it, he just didn't really believe the shite Stefan was pedaling him. Redemption was for those that wanted to be saved and he was just fine being the immortal bad guy.

"Something like that?" he repeated, chuckling at the coy response. "It's either that or it's not, there's not really a gray area in these situations, mate." But for Stefan there was, wasn't there? Knowing him, he was going to bow out gracefully and let Damon and Elena coexist in their den of the most boring sin imaginable while Stefan suffered in silence, ever the hero. The whole thing made him want to vomit. This is why the Mikaelsons stabbed first and whined later when they were cross with one another. At least it wasn't yawn inducing.

A scoff bubbled out of his lips next and Klaus shook his head. "Deception has never been your strong suit, Stefan. We both know that you've always had two interests in this world that would take your mind off all of this but you can't take off your goody two shoes long enough to let yourself indulge. Blood and sin. I saw it in the 20's, the gleam in your eye when you finally let go. It's what you like." He pursed his lips as he considered the follow up words and he shrugged. "Blood and sin, Stefan. Best way I've found to take down an enemy. Morality gets in the way."

One eyebrow went up at the follow up statement and Klaus shook his head once more. "Another lie. I can't tell if you're trying to fool me or yourself at this point, but you're failing miserably at both." He took a step closer to the younger man, sizing him up. There was something more broken about him than the last time they had encountered one another and Klaus didn't like it, not one bit. "You weren't afraid I wouldn't answer. You were too scared to have to consider what it would mean if you asked me to come and I said no."

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[buccellato]

Fucks me up to think about how Legato's legacy in-universe after his death in Trimax (and presumably Tristamp) is probably gonna be how much he sucked and nothing else....

Like, nobody will like Knives but Vash will be long-lived enough to be able to eventually talk about his good qualities from when he was a child and his quasi-redemption in his last days. But who remembers Legato? Livio and Vash are the only living people with any extended memory of him and neither of them would have anything nice to say (and rightfully so). Neither of them probably knew he was a slave, either—as far as Vash can tell this dude showed up one day and hated his guts, for all he knows he's just another survivor from July! Outside of Knives, Elendira, Legato, and maybe Conrad, I don't think any other character knows his actual life story.

And to add on to that, there's no way of looking up that past either—he had no name or personhood before he was effectively rescued, so who could investigators or reporters or archivists track down for information? The human being that was Legato only existed for as long as he knew Knives, before that he was something to be kept and abused as an object. There's presumably no surviving family they can reliably contact, nobody to really say "yes I knew him, here's what his life was like, here's how we can prevent something like this from happening again".

His entire existence will be reduced down to "a human weapon that was freakishly loyal to public enemy #1" without any reflection on the mechanisms that made him the way he was because there's just no actual knowledge of his life.