#like get me additional staff before you toss everything on me just because i got the degree

[outarou-mikado]

I can tell I am Going Through It since my daily migraines are back!🥴

I have not had migraines this bad since I was still in school earlier this year

[everygame]

Dave The Diver

Developed/Published by: Mintrocket / Nexon Released: 28/06/2023 Completed: 24/07/2023 Completion: Completed the main story and the Godzilla DLC.

Well, if there’s something that’ll get me to pick up your game, it’s going to be the magic words “Godzilla shows up in it” and with the addition of some (time-limited!) DLC I was driven to finally try Dave The Diver, the game that famously competed for “Best Indie Game” at the 2024 Game Commercials (sorry, did I say commercials? I meant award... no, I can’t keep a straight face saying that) a decision which Geoff Keighley tried to defend by asking the kind of questions that make you wonder if he’s capable of spooning food into his own mouth (before he fobbed the blame off on his selection jury, anyway.)

Anyway, it’s not an indie game, but I understand why in our current, low-literacy culture, people think it “feels” like one. It’s got the high concept of your classic indie games (“You dive for fish during the day and then you sell them at a sushi restaurant at night!”) with 2D pixel art, and it’s also got the endless amount of fucking content of the “one lunatic worked on this for a decade” indie games.

Except, of course, in this situation it’s not the result of one lunatic, but an entire team of staff employed, ultimately, by a multi-billion dollar corporation who seem to have been determined to take something with a clean high concept and keep piling more and more shit on it till you lose sight of what it originally was entirely. It’s the equivalent of those restaurants where you order a bloody mary and it’s got eighteen cocktail sticks with like, entire burgers and deep-fried pickles attached. Like at that point you’re eating a meal, not drinking a bloody... bloody mary.

But let’s not get ahead of myself here. Dave the Diver is, at it’s heart, an extremely solid video game. Now, it’s a bit weird in setting, because I think we all accept that we’re over-fishing and fucking up our seas, and you certainly shouldn’t be eating endangered tropical, fish, but this has you leaping into a pristine lagoon and fucking murdering everything you see, including things like sharks, which is–if you’ve any knowledge of what has been done in the name of shark’s fin soup–pure fucking evil. So I have to admit I felt conflicted immediately, and I think if you’re vegetarian, or just generally sensitive to this sort of thing (i.e. like me every time you see a “rabid” wolf in a movie or something, you’re angry because wolves aren’t like that) you probably don’t want to play this.

I sucked it up–in fact I played this mostly just killing the fish that attacked me, trying to treat it as a “kill or be killed” sort of thing, and trying to get to the point where I unlocked the farm so I could switch to serving vegetarian sushi (which takes a while, unfortunately.)

Anyway. Swimming around feels good. The music is good, the setting is beautiful even if you turn it into a charnel house, and the loop of slowly increasing your ability to go deeper and see more is tip-top. I can’t pretend I liked the sushi section as much however. The game has so many fucking dishes that you actually can spend forever upgrading them or selecting them, and then when you open the restaurant it’s kind of a Diner Dash thing which… isn’t that fun? It’s just stressful?

But if this was all you did, it would be a nice little loop. It would make sense: you get the restaurant in order, maybe there’s a bit of story attached, you max your abilities, boosh. Video game.

Dave The Diver, charitably, can be called extravagant. You can sort of tell from the beginning, when you see a lot of big, bespoke pixel art animations that would, frankly, take fucking ages to do, but which are tossed off almost casually. Then as you play it, and you unlock more and more, you realise that they simply added every idea they had in a way that, frankly, doesn’t even make sense. There’s a stealth level that’s in a completely different style from everything else. There’s a rhythm action game that’s very funny, but so competently done, that you’re like “but this is a whole video game you made for one joke.” There’s a tamagotchi. There are systems after systems after systems. You’re not just catching fish, you’re performing ecological missions. You end up with three farms. You manage and upgrade sushi staff! There’s a casino!!!

There’s a story to work through, too, and it, combined with everything else you’re doing, takes as long as a mid-sized RPG to get through despite being… no great shakes in the narrative sense. It’s all simply just too much.

I suppose for some, who really love everything in this, there’s no such thing as too much, but for me, I was absolutely bored of this game by the time Godzilla even showed up (for me, about half-way through the game.) Every system quickly becomes busywork and you end up so far from the original loop of swimming around–or at least, the time between swimming gets exponentially longer as you have to manage this, or that–that it start to feel like a huge chore to play.

I think Dave the Diver is, actually, kind of the best example of how to make a game that everyone thinks is “indie” while being something that really doesn’t understand the spirit of indie at all. You’re trying to make something you love, not simply pound people to death with endless signifiers. 

Maybe they did love this when they started it–but can they even see what that is any more under all the cocktail sticks with grilled cheeses and sparklers in the way?

If you put down games when you’re bored of them, you’ll get a brilliant five or six hours out of this, I guess. But it’s like a dive mission itself–stay down too long and you’ll drown.

Will I ever play it again? I will not. I’ll avoid any sequels, too. But I’m interested to see what Mintrocket would do next. I suspect something as brutally expansive.

Final Thought: Oh! I never talked about the Godzilla DLC. It’s… fine. It’s nothing very much, to be honest, adding a kaiju battle that isn’t much of anything. The main joy is that once you’ve done it the world is littered with kaiju models, and you can find a MINILLA. Minilla forever!!!

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[ladybugout-au]

Dear. GOD. After seeing Furious Fu, I would honestly love to see LBO!Marinette just chewing out Su-Han for all his canon-to-fic BULLSHIT. Like, I know you’ve already got a plan to incorporate Feast into LBO, which I’m super excited for, so this asshole showing up with all his nonsense after the new Team Miraculous is set, hell maybe even after they’ve already retrieved the Butterfly and the Peacock, and watching Marinette (and possibly Fu since he has the memories to stand up for himself) tear this dude a new one would really be the cherry on top of an already awesome fic. Sorry to rant in your inbox lol but the new episode just made me so. ANGRY.

In the lounge room of the Liberty, everyone jumped as they heard a noise from up above deck, as if something heavy had fallen or been dropped. Marinette briefly pulled away from Luka’s hold, staring up at the ceiling and wondering aloud, “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Juleka admitted, exchanging concerned looks with Rose.

“That definitely wasn’t Mom,” Luka noted with a tilt of his head.

Pounding footsteps followed, making it clear that a person had clearly gotten on the houseboat without the gangplank being there.

Nino jolted on alert, turning to Duusu with a hushed whisper. “Hide!”

“All of you,” Kagami began, standing up and looking around vaguely at every kwami. “get out of sight.”

The kwami, breaking out of their trance after the brief scare, scattered in every direction to find their own individual hiding places, some choosing to hide with their respective holder and others preferring to hide behind or inside objects. Ivan went into his usual protective mode, wrapping an arm around Mylene while she clung to him.

Marinette stood up, rushing over to the table and picking up the Miracle Box to stow it away. She looked around, then dashed for the microwave and stored the box inside.

She shut the door just in time for the intruder to descend from the staircase: an old man, dressed in Chinese garb and carrying a strange mystical-looking staff. He had a stern expression, his brows knitted together as he scanned the room like none of them were even there. He raised his staff, his gaze eventually locking on the microwave the Marinette was standing near.

Without a word, he pushed Marinette aside, earning an offended, “Excuse me—hey!” from her as he grabbed the microwave door and tugged it. When that did little more than jostle the microwave itself, he tried blindly tampering with the buttons to no avail.

Marinette slapped his wrist away, standing with all her pride as guardian as she asked, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

He glared at her in response. “Young lady, I demand you open your magical sealing chamber and return what’s rightfully mine!”

She blanked, the words catching her completely off-guard. This guy thought their microwave was a magical sealing chamber?

In response, Marinette gave a brief glance to the others, who were all looking back at her with equally puzzled expressions, any tension from before completely gone.

An unspoken question echoed throughout the room: Is he for real?

Before Marinette could ask any further, Tikki emerged from her hiding spot, flying over and explaining, “Marinette, I know who this is! This is great master Su-Han, the guardian of the Miracle Box!”

Marinette raised a brow skeptically. “But I’m the guardian?”

“He was responsible for the box before the incident that Master Fu caused,” she corrected.

Su-Han looked down at Marinette condescendingly. “So you are the current holder of the box.”

“That’s right,” she confirmed unapologetically. She gave a side-glance to Luka and the others, seeing that they were prepared to stand up and fight for her, but she gave a subtle gesture to let them know that it wasn’t necessary. Resolving to deal with Su-Han herself, she faced him again. “How did you find us?”

He held out his staff, the jewel on it mere centimeters from her face. “Guardian scepters are equipped with compasses that can find their Miracle Box at any given time.”

“In case you lose it?” Marinette blurted out, but didn’t apologize or try to take it back.

“Insolent!” Su-Han gasped. “You are not even a proper guardian. I can tell that this box hasn’t even been properly passed down to you!”

“Because Master Fu gave it to me,” she explained, “and we agreed that he should keep his memories.”

“Fu?” Su-Han echoed. “You mean Wang Fu? Chicken legs?”

Is this guy five? Marinette wondered.

Orikko popped out from their hiding place, waving a paw at Su-Han as if in warning. “I take offense to that!”

Su-Han glared at Orikko at the comment, and Orikko quickly ducked back down. Turning his attention back to Marinette, he continued, “Wang Fu is a student who wasn’t even able to fast for a day, nor do a thousand finger-pushups. He was never a rightful guardian, and he failed to fulfill the hope we’d seen in him.”

“Master Fu may have made mistakes, but he’s done his best to make up for all of them!” she argued. “He protected the box for over one hundred years and it’s because of his choices that our team was able to defeat Hawk Moth!”

“Team?” Su-Han asked, his face scrunching up as if he were piecing something together.

“Yes!”

Marinette gestured to her boyfriend and friends for emphasis. Luka, Ivan, Kagami, and Juleka stood while Rose and Nino pinched and stretched their shirts to show off their respective miraculouses.

“Children?” Su-Han gaped. Glaring at Marinette, as if she had personally given out the miraculouses herself, he declared, “Children are never meant to hold miraculouses, especially from the first and most powerful Miracle Box! Kwami are extremely powerful, cosmic creatures!”

A voice piped up from across the room. “Y-you say that, but—!”

Marinette and Su-Han turned to look at Nooroo, who had peeked out from behind Rose’s shoulder. He breathed up, seeming to gain some confidence, then floated out to the center of the room.

“They saved me and Duusu from the hands of evil! We would still be in Gabriel’s clutches if not for them!”

“What?” Su-Han asked. Just when Marinette thought they might be getting somewhere, he turned back to her and accused, “The peacock and butterfly were lost?!”

“Fu lost them when he was escaping the temple,” Marinette explained, a mixture between unphased and annoyed at the man’s outbursts, “but we got them back and everything’s okay now.”

Luka chimed in from his place near the couch, “Marinette has been an incredible leader, as both Ladybug and the guardian.”

She smiled at him in thanks, but Su-Han was clearly focused on anything but the positives.

“Ladybug? You’re even wearing a miraculous?! Guardians aren’t meant to hold miraculouses!” he said, throwing his arms out for effect.

“What—why?” she asked, genuinely confused.

Instead of answering her, Su-Han pulled out a book, shoving it pointedly towards her with the cover facing downwards in his palm. “Let me remind you of a few important rules you’ve violated.” He flipped through a few pages, then pointed at one of them. “Rule fourteen: Kwami must not live outside of the box.” He flipped through a few more. “Rule fifty-two: Guardians must never lose a miraculous. “He flipped to a page near the end. “Rule one hundred and thirty-three: Guardians must never, under any circumstances, wear a miraculous.”

“Master Fu wore a miraculous,” she argued, having never heard of any such rule from him.

“And that proves exactly what I’m talking about!” Su-Han retorted. “Neither you nor Fu are capable guardians because neither of you have respected the rules of the order!”

“...”

When Marinette initially imagined the Order of the Guardians and the people who ran it, this was not what she’d pictured. She had pictured zen and calm, not belligerent and immovable. She was reminded vaguely of her grandfather when she first met him, and that wasn’t a good thing.

She tossed another gaze at everyone, who gave her the same look and nod in response: let him have it.

“Young lady, I’ll repeat myself once,” Su-Han warned. “Return the Miracle Box and the miraculouses to me before--”

Marinette grabbed the book out of his hand, shut it with a satisfying “clap,” then set it back in his hand. “No.“

“What did you say?” he asked, aghast that she would speak to him that way.

“I said no.” Marinette advanced on him, the sheer force of her presence making him take a step back. “Now let me remind you about everything you must’ve missed this whole time.”

She raised a finger at him, raising additional fingers as she went on. “One: You intruded on my boyfriend’s house without any sort of permission. If you’d actually called out to us, we might’ve actually been willing to come out and listen to what you had to say. Two: You wouldn’t have even been able to be here in the first place if not for me using Miraculous Ladybug after our team took down Feast, which you weren’t able to do. Three: We aren’t children, we’re teenagers, and the fact that you can’t tell the difference or bother learning what technology is shows that I shouldn’t trust you with the Miracle Box even if you had a right to it. Four: You didn’t bother to listen and blamed me for losing miraculouses when it was you and your order who didn’t keep an eye on a poor boy who didn’t want to be there. Five, last but not least: I say the kwami are allowed out of the Miracle Box because I am the guardian. You and your order have been gone for over one hundred years and you can’t go making demands after I brought you back. You told me rules I didn’t even know about and didn’t explain why you have those rules in the first place. The kwami are my friends and they have feelings and I’m not going to shut them in a box because you told me to.”

Silence filled the room, no one saying a word and Su-Han’s face contorting between shock and outrage.

Marinette took a step back, standing at the ready and gesturing to herself. “So if you want the Miracle Box, you’re going to have to go through us first.”

She tossed a look at her team, all of them doing a synchronized, confrontational motion to face Su-Han.

“Tikki!”

“Plagg!”

“Wayzz!”

“Pollen!”

“Trixx!”

“Nooroo!”

“Duusu!”

They then shouted in unison, “Transform me!”

Several individual flashes meshed together, overtaking the room and then fading to leave several heroes behind, their weapons equipped for battle.

Su-Han looked amongst them, a flicker in his eyes that hinted that he knew he would be outmatched, but also wasn’t willing to admit it. He retreated a few steps back, hands out to show that he was prepared to defend himself.

It was at that moment that Ladybug heard and noticed movement from behind him, realization striking and a smile overtaking her face. Pulling back from her fighting pose, she placed a hand on her hip and stated confidently, “Captain Anarka will escort you out.”

He looked confused, and he was only able to let out a, “What—?” before a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

Su-Han wasn’t even able to turn around before he was pulled backward, a jewelry-adorned fist decking him in the face and sending him flying into the staircase. His scepter fell to the floor and he could only gape at the woman standing there, cracking her knuckles while he was sprawled out on the stairs with all air having been knocked out of him.

“A trespasser on my ship, eh?” Anarka asked, a grin on her face but her eyes glinting with malice. “I don’t take kindly to ship rats who threaten my crew and think they’re too good to walk the plank.”

Su-Han hurried to get up, only for Anarka to grab him by his shirt and haul him up the stairs, a rapid shuffling noise following as Ladybug went over and shut the door.

A few seconds passed and the atmosphere shifted to peace, everyone mutually releasing their transformations and relaxing. Marinette smiled reassuringly at everyone, letting them know that things were okay, but then jumped as she heard a resounding, “Marinette!”

The kwami all emerged from their hiding places, Marinette having no time to react as they all charged at her, their tiny bodies clinging affectionately to whatever they could grab of her.

“You’re amazing!”

“Thank you so much!”

“You stood up for us!”

“You’re the best guardian ever!”

Marinette gasped, finding it hard to move without disturbing any of them. Trying hard not to laugh, she protested, “Aha—hey! Stop, you’re all tickling me!”

She blushed, looking over at her teammates who were only staring at her with pride, which just made the pink on her cheeks turn red. “This is so embarrassing!”

Once the kwami had their fill of thanking her, they finally obeyed and flew away, each giving her smiles of approval. She covered her face with a hand, waiting for the shyness to die down, then noticed the guardian scepter out of the corner of her eye, still lying on the ground.

She approached, touching the scepter at first to make sure it was safe, then properly picking it up and letting it stand next to her. She tapped the gem on top, eyeing the compass that Su-Han had been talking to her about, then followed its direction back to the microwave. She walked over, opening it up, then took out the Miracle Box and held it in her free hand.

Looking back and forth between the two clearly ancient objects, she couldn’t help chuckling. “They don’t really suit me.”

Her friends giggled in response, Luka in particular shooting her a warm smile and approaching. One of his hands went to the scepter and the other went to rest on the Miracle Box.

“I think you make them work, actually,” he replied.

Marinette beamed at him, thoroughly warmed by the compliment. It didn’t feel like that long ago when her support was lacking and defeating Hawk Moth seemed like a pipe dream.

Now, holding the Miracle Box and scepter in her hands, she didn’t know why she’d ever doubted herself.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Then, looking at the Su-Han-less room, she gave a shrug and walked back with Luka to the couch. “So, where were we?”

[itzz-phoenixxx]

Why I don't like All Might: An Analysis.

Don't get me wrong, he was a GOOD hero, but he has a FUCK ton of shortcomings and I'm sick of everyone looking over them. So I'm breaking things down in somewhat chronological order because he's the ONE character in MHA I absolutely cannot stand

His and Izuku's first meeting.

There was no way to know that he had been told to kill himself only hours earlier, but still. Jesus christ dude.

The entire interaction with the sludge villain. He didn't do ANYTHING to make sure Izuku was okay except for smack tf out of him to wake him up. I don't know how shit works in that world, but I think at the very LEAST if someone is attacked by a villain, you should notify authorities and maybe, idk, make sure the kid gets checked out by medical professionals.

He tried to push Izuku off his leg in mid-air. You could argue its for comedic relief, but if you're a pro hero in your late 50's (he's been a OFA holder for 40 years, and I'm assuming he got it when he was about as old as Izuku) you should know better.

Crushing Izuku's dream and leaving what could be a suicidal kid by himself where ANYTHING could've happened. Like what if he had done something??

OH not to mention, he's a pro hero ffs, telling him to "be more reasonable" is terrible. You could argue that Aizawa said the same, but Aizawa also guided Izuku during the first training exercise. Yeah, he told him he should never be a hero, but he also gav3 his quirk back and gave Izuku a chance to prove him wrong, and several times now Izuku has.

The passing of OFA

For One, he completely backtracked. Like he didn't even consider Izuku's feelings before tossing the "You can be hero and here's how" bomb on him. I fully believe he took advantage of Izuku's vulnerability in that moment.

It seemed like he put Izuku in a position where he couldn't say no. All Might asking Iuzku to take his quirk, would be like your favorite artist asking you to perform in a show with them because they liked your voice. You just can't pass up that apportunity.

He failed to inform Izuku about the baggage thay came with OFA. Not only the bone breakage in the first episode, but about All For One, his fated enemy. He didn't give Izuku the option to back out or change his mind, because I feel as though Izuku would've DEFINITELY reconsidered if he knew (but I'm in no way saying he wouldn't take the quirk regardless)

He took advantage of Izuku's adoration of him, as well as his dreams in order to pass along his quirk. Of course, he also saw potential in him, I won't argue about that. He wasn't wrong about the kind of person Izuku was/is, but the fact fhat he just so happened to run into his biggest fan (who was quirkless and dreamed of being a hero) you can't tell me he didn't take advantage of that.

He's a horrible teacher.

It's not only Izuku who has realized this. Most of 1A as well as the staff at UA have realized this. He had flashcards ffs. You could argue that he's brand new to teaching, but he also had time to put lessons together. Even Tsu pointed out during the first training exercise that they had no prior combat training.

He wasn't able to properly teach Izuku how to wield OFA. Everything he learned he picked up from Gran Torino, and the other staff at UA. It took him 2 seasons to regulate OFA, and an additional season to realize he had legs. The only good teaching moment he had was introducing the concept of Air Force.

His blatant and obvious favoritism of Izuku has put the other students in danger too many times.

Seriously, he puts so much faith in Izuku in crisis situations, that he doesn't even worry about the other kids who aren't as capable.

MANGA SPOILER!!! -He fully supported Izuku's vigilante era, knowing it was unsafe. He also followed the boy around and in his state could've been a liability. Even on the brink of death, AM said "here's lunch, good luck." And wasn't involved in bringing him back, even if he would've had the most influence.

That is all for now, thank you!

[space-mermaid-writing]

House Arrest [Reader X Loki] Chapter 3

Summary: You are Clint’s 'little' sister and actually a trained Shield agent. But you gave that up a few years ago and became a Chef, because you wanted a normal live. Then one day Natasha shows up at your door and takes you to the Avenger Tower for a while for security reasons.

Tags: Reader is an former Shield Agent, chef!reader, Reader Barton, 2012 Avenger vibes, everything is still alright, Slice of Life, Avengers Family, Loki has a good heart, still the god of mischief, Slow Burn, mention of food and cooking

Read it on AO3

Chapter 3: Nighttime pancakes

The next few days you got to know everything a little better: The tower, the Avengers - as far as they were present and showed themselves - and the rest of the staff that you ran into from time to time. You also discovered that the tower had its own training halls. Actually this was just logical given the team that lives here. Often when you were out and about in the building, you got the faint feeling of being watched. It was a little disturbing, but you dismissed it by saying that the environment was still new to you. Also, you had learned that JARVIS had access to all the public rooms and most of them were probably video monitored too. You weren’t sure about your own quarters yet, but you were also not sure if you wanted to know the answer.

Unfortunately the nights are very long, because you sleep very badly here. Despite the short time, you miss walking outside, through the streets, and besides, you are used to a rather strict daily routine. Sure, it's nice to switch off for a few days and not have to do anything. A little vacation, so to speak. But you're someone who soon gets bored with that. You chose a profession that requires you to spend hours running around the kitchen, preparing dishes and finishing orders for a reason after all. The price of your now lazy life is that you toss and turn in your bed at night without really being tired. Maybe there are some additional worries that keep you awake. For example, the Hydra question that was still unresolved.

This night you turn from side to side again, sighing, and at some point take a look at the digital alarm clock. Its digits glowing a light red in the darkness. It's three in the morning. Or night. Depending on how you see it. After a few more unsuccessful tries to sleep, you give up and decide to roam the halls a bit. Just walking around and stretching your legs. Outside, it's quiet. Only the soft whirring of some working machines can be heard. The corridors are discreetly lit, so you have no trouble finding your way, which leads you into the large lobby. It’s actually the first time since your arrival that you find it completely empty. Still, you have the familiar feeling that you are not alone. Jarvis probably never sleeps.

Out of habit, you end up in the kitchen and take a bored look into the fridge. Nothing in there appeals to you, but you're not really hungry either. Not even for a little snack. Still, you feel like cooking. Maybe pancakes. You could eat them for breakfast later. Without thinking too long about it, you get a bowl from the cupboard and tie an apron around yourself, which you have obligatory lying here by now. Flour, milk and eggs are quickly mixed and a few other ingredients are added for flavor. You put some butter in a pan on the stove. When it became liquid, you start to fry the first pancake and gradually got more and more, so that you quickly have a respectable pile together. Quietly, you hum to yourself.

"It's been a long time since anyone has been here at this hour”, you suddenly hear an unfamiliar voice behind you. Surprised, you whirl around, holding a knife that had been lying next to the stove. A dark-haired man in a green shirt is standing by the kitchen island, watching your actions curiously. When he sees the knife, he raises both hands to calm you down. On each of his arms you notice a narrow silver hoop with a red dot flashing. You hadn't heard a door, and you're not sure how long he's been standing there. "What’s your deal? Can’t sleep?", you ask him. "Just like you apparently." You raise an eyebrow and set the knife aside as the pancakes demand your attention. "You're Loki, aren't you?" It's more of a statement than a question, and the man nods. "And you're the archer's sister", he respond, which makes you in turn nod. "I‘m Y/N, pleasure to meet you." "You don't often hear that as a prisoner", he says amused, but still keeps eye on you, waiting for your reaction. "Heard about it. I guess we're sitting in the same boat." "Oh, really?" "Well, I probably won't be tasered right away if I try to leave the building." "Probably?", Loki follows up. "Yeah, I'm not entirely sure about that."

You talk for a while until you hear the elevator ping quietly in the lobby. But you're not paying attention right now, as you're busy scraping the last bit of dough out of the bowl and then turning off the stove. "Would you like some?" you ask Loki, turning to him only to find that he has disappeared. Taken aback, you turn your attention to the room next door, where you hear muffled voices. Then the door opens. "THAT'S what I call a nice welcome," Clint grins, looking at the stack of pancakes. "Brother dear", you greet him equally pleased and surprised at his unexpected appearing. Smiling, you walk up to him and hug him. Along with him, Steve Rogers, whom you've also already seen on the news as Captain America, came in. He seems a little confused at first, but after you fill him in on who you are, he welcomes you as well.

"What are you doing here?" your brother then asks you. "You can see that. I'm making breakfast for you." "No, I mean, what are you doing here?" He specifies the question with a gesture that included all the surroundings as well as the Tower. "Oh..." It's clearly too middle of the night for you to be that precise. In a few words, you explain your situation. Clint has some encouraging words for you, but can understand that you are not enthusiastic. "At least we can get more on each other's nerves again. Why don't you start right now and join us while we eat?", he laugh, putting his arm around your shoulder in a brotherly fashion as he pushes you toward the stove. You have to laugh, too. "You mean while you eat my breakfast." "Exactly." You go get two plates from the cupboard and serve the men each a good stack of pancakes with maple syrup. They thank you and the group of you make yourselves comfortable at the kitchen island. "Where and how do you guys usually eat here?", you ask in the meantime. "We each order our own food. Probably have a flat rate with all the suppliers in the neighborhood," Clint explains. Steves' gaze is on you questioningly. "Don't you want some pancakes, too?" "In the middle of the night? No thanks, I'm not hungry." "Then why did you made them, if you don't mind me asking?" "I knew you'd come and could use something in your stomach", you reply with a serious expression, to which Steve shoots first you and then your brother a scrutinizing look. He’d seen enough weird shit while working with the Avengers to take such a statement quite seriously. And he wonders whether you, unlike Hawkeye, have superpowers. But only until you can no longer stifle the broad grin, because his facial expression is just too funny.

Before you can say anything, though, Clint interjects. "As siblings, we've just developed some sort of telepathic ability." You nod in agreement. "Exactly. That's how I always know when he's going to say something stupid and deserve a head butt." "To be honest, I never heard him talk about you before”, Steve admits. "See”, you wink, "It‘s working out just fine." You laugh, and while they continue to eat, Clint tells you about the mission they just came from.

Afterwards, you put another stack of pancakes on a plate to take it with you back to the lobby. "Hungry now, are you?", your brother asks you, clearly tired after the long journey and at this late hour. Just as the super soldier. "Maybe”, you answer shortly and wish them both a good night. The greeting comes back double and you head into the large lobby with the elevators. "Jarvis?" "Yes, Miss Barton?" "Where is Loki's apartment?", you ask the computer. "You are not exactly authorized to receive this information." "I just want to get him something to eat."

You raise the plate in your hands a little higher and apparently your answer is analyzed, because for a few seconds there is silence. But then you get the information you want and are directed to the door you are looking for. It was on another floor and at the end of a long corridor.

You knock, but at first there is no response. So you try again. "Come on, my prince, I know you're not asleep and it's rude to leave a lady at a locked door." You hear an amused sound from the other side and shortly after the door is opened. With his arms crossed, Loki stands before you. "It's also rude to disturb a prince in the middle of the night, M’Lady", he replies. "Rude would be to refuse a dinner from a lady. Especially when she personally hands it to you", you add, giving him the plate. It's impossible for you to tell if he's amused or annoyed as he looks from you to the pancakes in his hand. "I never said I wanted any“, he states. "But you didn't say you didn't want them, either. Just give them a try. I'm pretty good at cooking." With that, you turn to go. "Good night, dear prince," you wish him, but without turning around. So you miss the grin on Loki's face as he closes the door.

[my-writings-and-musings]

For the bot reader sparkling prompt what about Swerve and or Whirl? (I’m especially curious about Whirl’s reaction if the (or one) of the sparkling(s) resembles him pre-empurata) I would toss a possible Misfire in there too but I don’t think he’s a bot you usually do.

Hope you're ready for FEELS and CUTE SPARKLINGS because that's absolutely my favorite combo anon! Plus I'd always liked the Scavengers but never really looked into their appearance in the comic until now, and thank you for giving me the impetus to learn about the chaotic but still lovable gaggle of misfits.

Swerve

·He's admittedly been on a whole new level of euphoria since the two of you started dating, but the moment he found out you were gonna be Creators he more or less ascended. Every scan nearly brings him to tears and he keeps all the pictures on him wherever he goes, so any bot that comes near will be ambushed by a flood of bragging and a veritable album of a bitlet that hasn't even been born yet. Suffice to say that when it was finally time to meet your little bundle, he was emotional, though for your sake he remained a surprisingly steadfast and supportive partner through the entire emergence. But the moment he laid his visor on that squawling little bitlet...

·"Tears" aren't quite sufficient to describe the waterfall that poured from his visor, but thankfully the staff was quite accustomed to such reactions and smoothly checked over the newborn before handing them back to their new parents. As a metallurgist for a species made of metal that's at it's most vulnerable after birth, he's actually been present for a few sparklings entering the world to provide potential care for those considered high risk, but nothing could have prepared him for seeing your beautiful new bitlet in person.

·Between praising you and the beeb he can hardly get a coherent word out through the blubbering, but his awe and adoration is still clear as day. You made a whole new bot, and now they're here, and they're the most amazing little sparkling the planet has ever seen! Every feature of yours or his that he sees gets him crying anew, and he can't possibly fathom what he's done to deserve any of these blessings. Countless photos of their first few hours are accumulated to join his collection in addition to being shared via intergalactic Wi-Fi to every friend you have.

·When your chosen visitors arrive he's absolutely effusive with his praise of you and the beeb. Do they see this bitlet? Have any of them ever seen anything this precious in all of history?! His Conjunx made them isn't that the most amazing thing in the entire galaxy like how did they even do that?! Even bots who know him well are amazed by how genuinely tender and affectionate he is, as there's not a joke to be heard from him even once. Truthfully he can't think of anything funny about this at all, except maybe how even the tougher bots that visit absolutely melt when they see the sweet little face of a newborn amidst a bundle of blankets, but he can't really blame them now can he?

·Despite all of his joy for the two of you being Creators, when it's just you and him and the sparkling again, he's quite hesitant to ask if he can hold them. He's held them before in the rush of the moment, but here in the still and calm... It worries him. There's so much caution in his grip when he takes them into a gentle cradle, his bulky arms easily supporting the tiny weight despite how unnaturally heavy they feel. There's a flash of worry for all the chances he'll have to mess up, but that disappears when a little fist pops free of the blanket and into the bitlets mouth, where they contentedly suckle on it in the most adorable display he's ever beheld. Somehow he knows it will be okay in that moment, because he'll never let anything happen to you or your new little addition.

Whirl

·His reaction to his own prospective sirehood was a near perfect example of internal screaming beneath a veneer of calm. Of course he wasn't necessarily surprised, and he loved you more than anything in any universe, but... you've met him, right? Sure, you fragged him, but have you paid attention to the kind of bot he is? Do you really want any of this around a sparkling, or remixed into one? Admittedly he hadn't had an argument for your simple "yes" in reply, and to the day your little bitlet arrives he still can't think of a rebuttal, beyond how his claws don't give you much of a hand to hold or provide good massages.

·Somehow the entire process manages to be Unicron levels of unthinkable horror and awe inspiring beautiful wonder at the exact same time, and his attitude is even more varied as a result. There are moments he's the calm partner whispering sweet nothings, the aggressive coach shouting for you to kick labor's ass, the panicking wimp who refuses to believe the body parts he's seeing belong where they are, and the petrified but dutiful sire-to-be frozen in horror while you hold onto him for dear life. Thankfully he manages to reign it all in once the two of you have a newly minted bitlet wailing in the real world.

·He'd expected to be awed, but also knew to brace for seeing a bundle that... didn't much resemble his current self, due to Empurata not affecting genetics, but he never could have prepared himself for the reality. One look at this tiny and flawless little accident and he comes embarrassingly close to fainting, his long legs folding into a chair some brilliant medic was smart enough to push beside the bed, and his optic growing misty as he beholds you and the whole new person you made. There's awe at the fact he contributed to making something unbelievably perfect, happiness for a million reasons he doesn't care to comprehend, but also... sadness. A face he'd never thought he would see again is looking up at him with the biggest and most innocent pair of optics, all while a tiny mouth nibbles on a pair of servos so like the ones he had taken from him.

·He should be... angry, maybe? Old Whirl would have been angry, furious at the Functionists for ruining so much, but he just doesn't feel it. The sadness in his spark isn't even for him, it's for this little one who will grow up and eventually figure out why his sire looks the way he does, and all the pain that may cause a bot who never did anything to anyone... But that feeling is so small it's quickly swept away so he can feel what he actually wants to feel, and he wants to feel happy damn it! You and he have a bitlet, and a pretty good one as far as bitlets go! Heavy stuff can be addressed later, the two of you get to enjoy this with friends! There's precious few bots he trusts enough to visit, but those that make the cut are welcomed and invited to pay respects to the cutest sparkling ever born and the bot who squeezed them out. He has to fight incredibly hard to keep from shedding happy tears, but seeing so many of his friends coo over this tiny miracle strains his emotional reservation to the limits.

·For all the love he has for the little one, and all his progress in accepting himself, he still hasn't held them by the time night is settling and you're in need of rest. Only your obvious exhaustion and his protective nature compels him to finally accept the sleeping sparkling, and even then he's a wreck on the inside, his spark all but crackling with anxiety as the delicate beeb is laid in his arms while he stays carefully seated. Nothing could have made him understand just how tiny this little guy was until this moment. As you drift off, he tempts fate and holds out the tip of a careful claw, not daring to ventilate as he gently adjusts some blankets for a better look. Something like abject terror shoots through him as a stubby hand takes hold of him, but he doesn't move, and the little one only coos and keeps his solid little grip. At that he lets himself cry just a little. Nothing will ever hurt you or this tiny gift so long as he lives, and he won't let anything past present or future ruin the happiness you've made together.

Misfire

·His whole life he's had a soft spot for things that need caring for, but every time he's found something or someone to take care of he's told himself all he really cares about is the potential benefit for him. Recent events have forced him to admit that there's a soft spark under his... business savvy ways. Finding out he'd be a sire though? That was an entirely new level of self discovery, because he's absolutely thrilled and has no logical reason why. He quickly has to tell the rest of the Scavengers, which becomes daily updates on everything sparkling related, so even his close collection of friends is admittedly a little relieved when the bitlet finally arrives and they can meet them. Thankfully none of them were there to see him faint on more than one occasion during the delivery, but he does have to make up a story about the dents on his head when he calls to give the announcement that their newest Scavenger has arrived, claiming that he got them in a heroic dive to save the bitlet when they were still slippery and dropped by a medic.

·While never one to be too mushy, he's made incredibly sappy just by the sight of the new little bitlet when they finally end up clean and swaddled in your arms. All across the little one's features are pieces of him that he recognizes on the spot. Blended perfectly with those are obvious signs of you, creating a whole new being who's got some of you both while still existing as their own unique little wonder. It defies all logic and yet he's so happy he can't really bring himself to care. From their optics to their stubby hands to their impossibly cute little pedes they're already the most perfect being to ever come into existence, making them tied with his Creators for perfection, and no bot is ever going to be able to convince him otherwise on that undeniable fact. But, for the sake of the moment he does have to wonder; does this sparkling yet realize how attractive they're going to be?

·The group is getting a million messages a minute from the new sire as they head over to see the newest addition, and when they finally arrive he does everything he can to present the little beeb with a proper introduction but can't stop getting misty optics and sniffling the whole time. Thankfully the Scavengers are an understanding bunch. Every one of them welcomes their new teammate with a carefully observant Misfire there to ensure they don't risk any kind of damage to the bitlet. Not that he doesn't trust them, but he does know them, so... None of them take it personally. Nickel is spared this oversight, of course, being a responsible bot and a medic more than capable of holding even a proportionally sizable sparkling. One she informs the new Creators is very cute in her proffesional opinion.

·Grimlock gets a special little moment with the new Sire, specifically one in which he gets to truly see how far he's come with his little adopted family now that it's started to grow. Misfire is fully trusting as he hands over the snoozing bitlet, and while the Dinobot is beyond touched, he does indeed hesitate just the tiniest bit. Gigantic servos absolutely dwarf the sparkling when they're settled within. Despite what any bot walking into the room might think, Misfire knows that at this very moment his bitlet is more or less in the safest place in the universe. They seem to be at least somewhat aware of this, as their little tubby cheeks lift up in a smile when they behold the gigantic bot looking down on them, a sight so unimaginably adorable it makes every bot present shed at least a single tear.

·When the rest of the group heads out after leaving a mountain of gifts in their wake, Misfire happily takes the beeb so you can get some sleep, because he at least got some rest when he passed out during emergence. Holding his little one with just the tiniest hint of uncertainty, he spends the night mostly chatting with them in a fully one sided whisper conversation, though he does occasionally get a tiny sound from the sparkling he'll swear is a coherent reply. Understandably, this little one has a lot to catch up on though. He can't help smiling at the thought of all the adventures he's going to be able to brag about to them, and how many you'll all have together once this little one is up and finally walking. There's so much he'll have to teach them too, and somehow that excites him more, knowing you and he will get to help shape this little wonder into the most amazing bot that's ever lived...

[nocturnal-milk-dud]

Man Made of Stone: Chapter Six

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Pairing: Horacio Carrillo x Reader

Summary: Sometimes waiting is worse

Rating: PG-13

Warnings/notes: mild depressive episode; there is a spider; alcohol; smoking; swearing; reference to death; reference to violence; once again, I know nothing about medicine; if you want to be on or off the taglist please let me know

Word count: ~1800

No one slept in the bed. Instead, you both stretched out on a couch, finding comfort in each other’s presence. You felt yourself slipping, your eyelids sliding shut.

“Javi?” you whispered. 

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you,” you said.

“What?” He’d heard you, but he wasn’t sure why you were saying it. Javier sat up on his elbow to try and see you, but you were fast asleep. 

It was three o’clock in the afternoon when you woke up. You had no idea what time the two of you had made it back to the apartment, but it had been around eleven when you’d made it to the hospital. Javier wasn’t there, but there was a note on the coffee table, clothes folded neatly next to it. Your mouth felt stale and dry, and a headache had taken root right above your eyes. Every part of your body felt heavy. The idea of moving was too much. You should shower, you should eat. You should drink water. All of those things would help, but they all seemed like too much work. Every little task was so overwhelming. Through the blinds you could see the bright warmth of the day beyond, the sounds of children playing filtering in from outside.

“Just sit up,” you whispered to yourself. “Just start there.” 

Eventually you did sit up and you read the note. Javier had gone to your apartment and gotten clean clothes for you and a few other things he thought you might need. Once you did that one thing, it was easier to do others. You got up and ate some food and you turned the water on in the shower, sitting in the tub. You had your knees pulled up to your chest, arms balanced on them, pillowing your head as scalding water poured over you. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched as a spider struggled in the tub, trying to work its way up the side, only to be knocked back by flecks of water. You reached out, scooping the creature up with your finger, and placed it higher up on the wall, away from the falling water. 

You were extremely grateful Javier had the presence of mind to bring you pajamas in addition to street clothes. You dressed and returned to your place on the couch, intent upon going back to sleep. Every moment, Carrillo’s fate was uncertain. You’d blink and you’d see him in his fevered state, you’d see the smoking shell of the truck sitting dead in the road, you’d see the man you killed. A grim slideshow played behind your eyes every minute you were awake, waiting to hear something, anything. It was too much. 

You felt a hand gently shaking your shoulder and you opened your eyes to see Javier perched on the edge of the coffee table, his lips and eyes pinched tight with concern.

“Have you been sleeping all day?” he asked, leaning back and shaking a cigarette free from the pack.

“More or less,” you grumbled, sitting up on your elbow. You grimaced at the tight muscles in your neck. “What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock,” Javier replied, getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen. “I brought you some food.”

“Jesus Christ,” you muttered to yourself. You really had slept all day.

“Have you heard anything?” you asked tentatively. He shook his head and you sighed, settling onto your back.

“No, no, no,” Javier called and you yelped as something hard landed on your chest. You looked down to see an apple sitting in the folds of your blanket.

“What the fuck, Javi?” you demanded, rubbing the sore spot on your chest where the apple had hit.

“Get up,” he ordered, “eat.” You glared at him, but did as he said, afraid if you didn’t he’d throw something else at you. 

You ate everything Javier put in front of you, not realizing how hungry you were. 

“Am I allowed to lay back down now?” you asked after you finished eating, watching as Javier took your plate in the kitchen and placed it in the sink. He raised an eyebrow at you, but didn’t argue as you slowly shifted onto your side, pulling the blanket up over yourself. A moment later, a glass of whiskey was placed in front of you on the table and you watched as Javier took a seat on the other couch, throwing his feet up. 

“You really love him, don’t you?” Javier asked, relaxing into the leather seat. You stared down at your glass, swirling the alcohol inside it.

“I know it’s silly,” you said. “I haven’t even known him that long.”

“There’s nothing silly about it,” Javier said, placing another cigarette between his lips. “It’s Colombia in the 80’s. You gotta say what you feel when you feel it.” 

“Do you think what I’m feeling is really love? Or did I say it because I was too afraid I’d never get the chance to?” Javier brushed his finger across his lips and shrugged a shoulder, opening his mouth to speak, when the phone rang. You sat up, watching him reach for it, and you looked on in anticipation as he spoke in hushed tones, his face a mask. What would he say when he turned to you? Would his face break before he even had the chance to speak? You held your breath, biting down on your tongue so the pain would drown out everything else. Javier thanked the caller and hung up the phone. 

“They were able to treat the infection,” he said. “His white count is down, blood pressure is stable. They’re gonna move him into surgery.” You didn’t realize the amount of tension you were holding in your body until he finished speaking. Your shoulders slumped and your muscles relaxed, and you found yourself laughing, tears running down your face at the same time. Javier crossed the room and sat down next to you, taking your glass from you and setting it on the table. He pulled you into his arms until the shaking finally subsided and the exhaustion returned.

“We’ll go see him tomorrow,” Javier said gently as you dried your eyes. “Get some rest.” 

The next morning the two of you met with Trujillo at the hospital. You had a hard time focusing and found yourself pacing while the two men spoke. It was the first time you’d been out of the apartment since that night and every movement, every sound had your attention. Your eyes were constantly searching out sources, your head snapping from side to side, your body reacting to everything. You flinched when Javier’s hand touched your shoulder. 

“Sorry,” you said, trying to relax. “What’s going on? Can we see him?” Javier shook his head, and took you gently by the arm, leading you to an empty corner of the waiting room. 

“We can’t see him,” Javier said. “Trujillo says he’s on lockdown, no one but hospital staff is allowed in his room.” You felt all the air leave you and you sank into the nearest chair, hiding your face in your hands. Javier moved his hand in slow, reassuring circles on your back. 

“This is bullshit, Javi.” Your voice came out in a harsh whisper as you dropped your hands, finding the breath and the strength to stand. Panic clawed its way through you, driven by the thought that after everything you all had gone through, after everything he survived it could all be undone. In a place that was meant to heal. “What do they think, Escobar can’t get doctors and nurses on his payroll? They’re some kind of saints in lab coats? All it takes is one person with a syringe full of air. We have to be in there, we have to know what’s going on.” Javier placed his hands on your shoulders as you felt yourself unravel.

“Listen,” he said, his voice calm, steady, “they’ve had plenty of opportunities already, right? He got through the infection, he got through surgery, he’ll be back on his feet in no time. Trujillo’s solid, he’ll keep us updated, but there’s nothing we can do here.” Your eyes flashed unblinkingly around the waiting room and you could find a threat in everything. You had come into that hospital with the intent of sitting by Carrillo’s side until he was well, instead you were leaving it with gritted teeth and the persistent cloud of dread hovering over your shoulder.  

Gunshots shook the air that night. You didn’t sleep. Javier had stepped out, simply saying he would be back soon, leaving you alone in the empty apartment. You’d had him pick up an extra pack of cigarettes on the way home from the hospital and you sat smoking and unblinking when he returned an hour and a half later. You turned your head when he tossed a pair of your scrubs on the couch next to you.

“Get dressed,” Javier said. Your confused expression followed him as he stripped off his jacket and disappeared into his bedroom. 

“What is this?” you asked after you changed. “I’m not interested in saving some sicario’s life tonight.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Javier said, turning the lights off and leading you to the front door.

“Could you tell me what it is?” you said, more to yourself than to him, knowing that if he was going to tell you, he would have done it already.

“What are we doing here?” you asked when Javier pulled into the hospital’s parking lot, your heart jumping into your throat.

“Trujillo called. He said he was willing to look the other way, but he can only swing it once,” he said, the cigarette lighter casting an orange glow on his face. 

“He could get in a lotta trouble for that,” you said. “Why is he doing it?”

“Because you saved Carrillo’s life,” Javier said. You hesitated a moment, your hand on the door. “He’ll meet you at the door and he’ll have a badge for you. After that just...be a nurse.” 

It was easy getting past the two guards standing outside Carrillo’s room, all they did was look over the badge Trujillo had given you and ask you to state your business. It wasn’t exactly a comforting thought, knowing it was that simple. It was harder walking to the side of his bed, your feet like lead.

“Ten minutes,” you muttered. That was all you had. You decided to check the readouts on the equipment and his vitals first, making sure everything was in order. In your mind you were treating him like any other patient, your heart having no place, but that was harder than you thought. You avoided looking at Carrillo for as long as possible, remembering what he had looked like the last time your saw him. When you were finished, you closed your eyes and turned your head so when you opened them you would be looking at him. You let your breathing even out, your heart calm. If it weren’t for the hospital gown and the equipment it would look like he was simply resting. Carrillo’s face was so soft. Sleep soothed the worry and stoicism that ruled his life for years. The fact that it was hard to imagine this man knowing a life, even a moment of peace made your heart ache. You placed your hand over his, gently notching your fingers between his. 

“What do you dream about?” you wondered aloud. You glanced at your watch to see that your time was coming to a close. You brushed the tips of your fingers across his jaw and leaned down to kiss his forehead. 

“I will see you again,” you promised.

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[seiin-translations]

2.43 S1 Chapter 4.3 - Drifting Yunichika

3. IN-AND-OUTER

Just continuing to wing all the volleyball jargon here cuz i have no idea what’s going on

Translation Notes

1. Don’t know if there are English equivalents for these terms, but the Japanese uses  terms like 表レフト (omote-left) and  裏レフト (ura-left), where omote refers to the aces of the team, who are put in the front row for as long as possible, and the ura refers to the players diagonal to them

2. A broad attack is basically where the spiker approaches and jumps towards the net when they hit

3. Pipe in volleyball refers to a back row set aimed at the middle of the court

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He had lied to Haijima about one thing.

Just before he entered the training camp, he received an email from Yorimichi for the first time in a long while. I’ll be back home in August, so let’s have some fun. Then call me when I don’t have practice. That was about all they exchanged back and forth, but he somehow failed to bring that up. Kuroba didn’t think that hanging out with Yorimichi was in itself a bad thing. He wasn’t going to go along with his smoking and drinking and riding double on a bike with no helmet like he used to. Even he had already learned to be sensible about that. He loved volleyball, his team was important to him, and he had self-awareness as a member of a sports team. …And yet, Haijima talked like he flat-out didn’t trust him.

Ah…geez, I’m feeling kinda gloomy.

“I’m getting a second helping of rice.”

When he stood with his empty bowl in one hand and a sullen look on his face, Uchimura, sitting across from him, looked disheartened.

“After eating so much meat yesterday, how can you eat again in the morning? I’m still not very hungry.”

“That stuff all got digested when I ran at night. Maybe you should have gone for a run too, Senpai?”

“I’ll have to decline, since I’m not so young anymore,” his senpai said like he was an old man, despite the fact he was only a year older than him.

The school cafeteria was usually open to students only at lunch time and only to faculty and staff in the morning, but during summer vacation, breakfast was prepared for club members using the boarding house. In addition, special meals were offered to members of the athletic clubs, which was much appreciated. The morning special for today was the combo of grilled fish and deep-fried chicken. The after-meal fruits were bananas and oranges. They were free to get second helpings of rice.

When he opened the lid of the six-litre gas rice cooker, the only remaining amount of rice was the rice grains sticking to the inside of the rice cooker.

“Ma’am, there’s no more rice!”

He hit the edge of the iron pot with the rice scoop and called out to the kitchen. “How much white rice can you all eat? There are students from other clubs coming for lunch, so please hold back a little.” A small old lady in an apron powerfully carried a stainless steel cauldron to replace the empty pot. White steam was rising from the pot where freshly cooked white rice was glittering.

When Kuroba left the rice cooker after piling a mountain of rice into his bowl, Okuma and Oda were lined up behind him looking like this was perfectly natural. Aren’t these two on their third bowls?

He returned to the table where Uchimura was, poured the natto over his rice and started eating his second bowl. Uchimura was also not lacking in appetite, and even though he was talking about something or other, he stored everything in his stomach without leaving a single grain of rice or a piece of vegetable on his plate, and he was about to peel an after-meal orange.

“I have no complaints about your stamina. But your mental strength though… Can’t you do something about it?”

“…I know that. You don’t have to tell me.”

“And? What happened to your partner with the mental strength of steel?”

“That’s how you’re comparing us…? Haijima’s still sleeping.”

Last night, he and Haijima were dragged out of the boarding house, and the two of them were made to do twenty dashes on the slope between the mountain and the school. In the darkness of night where there was only moonlight, they could only hear each other’s dying breaths as they dashed up the slope, pitching forward and almost falling, then staggering downhill, and repeat. Every drop of his urge to make merry with his school trip-like mood had been wrung out of him, and he fell asleep in an instant as soon as he collapsed onto his futon after he finally returned to the boarding house, where everyone was already completely asleep. As expected of Aoki-senpai, he had felt.

He woke up this morning feeling hungry as usual because he had recovered his strength after sleeping, but Haijima hadn’t recovered yet, and he was still lying flat on his futon as though he was dead. It’s not like one of our senpais came to keep an eye on us, and they wouldn’t have known if you had cut down on the number of dashes… He wasn’t that kind of flexible guy. When it came to volleyball, Haijima seemed to “not want to lose to anyone,” not just in practice, but also in preparation and cleaning, and he didn’t cut corners. Well, I think that part of him is pretty admirable, but he only has two hands, so there are times when you just gotta cut those corners.

“Haijima doesn’t have much stamina, right? I guess he’s not perfect.”

Uchimura tilted his head while tossing an orange into his mouth.

“That guy has plenty of flaws.”

When Kuroba answered sullenly, a plastic tray was placed on the table with a bang.

“O-Oh, Haijima. Good morning.”

Uchimura pulled himself away from the table, flinching slightly.

“…’Sup.”

With a sour expression like there was a sign reading “low blood pressure” pasted to it, Haijima pulled the chair next to Kuroba. His club activity switch still wasn’t flipped, so he was wearing his glasses, and his thin bangs were bouncing in a strange way due to his bed hair. When Kuroba somehow failed to speak up and kept silent, Haijima also kept silent towards him and began to bring his food to his mouth with his eyes mostly closed and a face that looked like he was about to throw up. He spiked with his left and right hands, but he basically used his left hand for holding pencils and chopsticks.

Kuroba, who had been wolfing down his second bowl of rice without a care in the world, slowed down his eating speed to match Haijima’s, thinking that it would look like he had an easier time even though they ran the same amount.

“You don’t look so good, you know? Don’t force yourself to eat if you can’t eat. Just eat a banana or something. I’ll eat one too.”

“I’m just sleepy from all the sleeping time I lost. I can eat.”

Haijima was strangely stubborn towards Uchimura’s concern for him, and he greedily shoveled down the rice that he had been slowly bringing to his mouth with so much vigor that he had to wash it down with miso soup. Is he doing this out of spite…? No wait, I have stuff I’m annoyed with him about too. Kuroba wasn’t happy with him. But Haijima didn’t even notice his dissatisfaction anyways.

He felt like an idiot and began energetically moving his chopsticks again. The fatigue in his body was reset after he woke up from sleep, and he planned to show his best performance today, but the gloomy feelings in his heart still haven’t cleared up.

Uchimura shrugged his shoulders at the two who were tilting their bowls and turning their chopsticks like they were competing against each other, then said, “I’ll be leaving, then,” before taking his tray and quickly leaving the table.

*** Kuroba’s position was the so-called “front-left” among left-side players, and it was considered the ace position in high school volleyball. Oda was the back-left, diagonal from him. (1) The left-side players, who took on a large percentage of the team’s total attacks and hit from both the front row and back, generally had the most number of hits. Aoki was the front center, and the back center who was diagonal to him was Okuma, who they were trying to polish at a quick pace. The right-side position that was diagonal to the setter Haijima was filled by Kanno. The left and right-side attackers, as well as the centers, were the so-called “attacker” positions. 

The basic six-person team composition was two left-side players, two centers, and two right-side players. Due to the rotation, front row and back row players often changed places, attackers in the same positions were placed diagonally from each other so that the front row’s height and offensive power were maintained. The ability to receive in the back row was also necessary for the left and right positions. Receiving formations were the key to using more difficult combination attacks. 

There was also a player in a special position called a libero. He mainly replaced a center player, who retreats to the back row, and played a central role in receptions (serve receive) and digs (spike receive). It was this position that did the miraculous dive in the middle of a rally. Hokao was this libero. And Uchimura was like a jack-of-all-trades who could step in if there was a shortage of people. There was no way Seiin could afford to have a reserve for each position.

They spent the afternoon of their second day of training camp practicing combo attacks. Two to four attackers went onto the court and coordinated a team play together with the setter Haijima. Although he had many thoughts about Haijima, Kuroba called out to him for a set. “Alright, over here!” Haijima glanced at him. He felt like he had an annoyed look on his face.

Haijima ignored Kuroba, and—also skipped Aoki, who also jumped for a C quick, before jump back setting the ball to Kanno, who ran right up to the antenna on the right side. The precision of Haijima’s back set was so unchanged from when he set from the front that it made one wonder if he had eyes on the back of his head. Quick attacks ranged from A quicks to D quicks, with A being the closest to the left side from the setter’s set position. B was a little farther. C was the closest to the right side with a back set, and D was a little farther. A combination attack was when another attacker got involved with the decoy quicker and disrupted the opponen’s blocking. Of course, there were times when a set went to the quicker. It was the setter’s chance to show what they could do by putting together a tactic that made full use of all the attackers on the court and make the most optimal set at each moment.

That’s what Haijima talked about yesterday. A combo with a center’s C quick and a right side’s broad jump—.

A sharp spike was driven in with a slap from the right side.

Kanno-senpai is so good…he marveled inwardly. He was an attacker whose special qualities were his fast swings and good control, and he was also good at getting around blockers (there was a suspicion that the blockers momentarily forgot his existence because he had such a weak presence). The right side also jumped to a double quick along with the center. A wide-ranged broad attack (2) was also required. Many times, a player who is a consistent receiver would be put in the position. It was a position that required the ability to be an all-rounder. Kanno wasn’t assertive, but he reliably executed the role that was given to him without hesitation. It seemed that Haijima also had a high opinion of Kanno. A guy who fundamentally didn’t communicate with other people always said a few words to him and made minor corrections after each set.

He called the set with all his might and when he was ignored, he felt that he was being lame, so he was determined to make up for it by hitting a big one as soon as possible.

But that didn’t go according to plan. After that, Haijima didn’t set to Kuroba at all. Not even a single one after several hours of play. It seemed that today, Haijima’s interest was in creating a combo between the centers and the right-side players.

Halfway through practice, he stopped calling for the sets and his jumping became half-hearted, which made Oda angry with him several times. “Kuroba—. Concentrate more. Even if a set doesn’t go to you, look around and think about your next move.”

“…I know that.”

When he answered with a rebellious attitude, Oda shrugged his shoulders like he had no idea what to do and made a proposition to Haijima. “Haijima, why don’t you try another combo after you finish this one? The pipe (3) might be faster if you do it with Kuroba.” He didn’t like the way he talked like he was obviously fussing over him. Even though we’re both first-years, it’s like only Haijima is special…I don’t disagree that he is special, but he doesn’t even seem to notice how much he’s valued by the captain, much less be thankful. The things that he was happy to be told about yesterday strangely got on his nerves today.

Though Haijima looked extremely annoyed at having cold water thrown on the practice he was taking part in, this was the first time in a long while he looked over at him.

“Kuroba.”

His body reflexively stiffened at being called. Haijima put his hands on his hips, kicked the floor with his heel once, sighed, and then spoke.

“There’s no point in you being here, so just get out of here.”

“Hah…!?”

His voice cracked at the sudden discharge notice.

“Wha, you…Don’t get too full of yourself, is a setter really dropping an attacker because of a personal grudge?”

“Grudge?” This guy looks like he has no idea what that means.

“You’re still mad that you had to run because of me.”

“I’m not gonna be picky for a stupid reason like that. Are you an idiot?”

This guy really put an emphasis on the first syllable of “idiot”. Don’t play blind to your stupidity! He really is such an unpleasant guy.

“So why…”

He grabbed Haijima’s arm and pressed him for an answer. Haijima’s face twisted slightly as he glared back at him aloofly. He looked and saw that he had put too much strength into his fingers and they were digging into Haijima’s arm, turning the skin there white.

He clicked his tongue and dropped Haijima’s arm as though it was on fire.

“Uchimura-senpai, could you please do receiving practice with me?”

He turned on his heel and left the court with long strides. “Huh? Alright,” Uchimura answered in puzzlement and followed him. “That moodiness of his…” The mutters of his senpais, who seemed to have given up on him, hurt his back, so he couldn’t turn back to the court anymore. I’m not the bad guy here…While frustration welled up within him, he pushed the ball cage to a corner of the gym. If he were to roll this thing with all his strength and smash it against the wall, it would dissipate a little, but that wasn’t going to happen, so he had no choice but to use all his self-control and push it with normal force.

The training camp that had been fun until the first night had suddenly become boring. Was this payback for getting carried away by feeling like he was on a school trip, just as Haijima said? He wasn’t really getting carried away. He had been plenty fired up for working hard at practice. That was all gone now with Haijima’s attitude.

He was the one who joined the team in April, but Haijima, who joined later, became an indispensable member of the team from that point on, and their senpais yielded to him. More than anything, Oda was captivated by Haijima. When it became like that, now that Nagato was gone, he was the only one treated like a halfway middle schooler, and not acknowledged as a necessary part of the team.

Previous || Index || Next

[buckybeardreams]

Loss

Chapters: 1/16

Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Brock Rumlow/Sam Wilson, Clint Barton/Brock Rumlow/Sam Wilson

Characters: Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Brock Rumlow, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes, Lila Barton, Cooper Barton, Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Kate Bishop, Harley Keener, Darcy Lewis, Rebecca Barnes Proctor

Additional Tags: Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Past Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sappy, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Grief/Mourning, Depression, brief alcohol abuse, Brief suicidal thoughts, Separation Anxiety, Insecurity, Misunderstandings, Protective Brock Rumlow, Sam Wilson is a Saint, non-sexual nudity, Soulmates, Mates, Non-Explicit Sex, Anal Fingering, References to Knotting, Bonding, Claiming, Claiming Bites, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, Breastfeeding, Co-Sleeping

Summary:

After Clint lost his soulmate he didn't think he'd ever love again, then he started to hook up with Brock. At first it was just a nice distraction but after a while he thought that maybe it could be something more, that is until Brock met his own soulmate. Clint was sure that would be the end of things, but now Sam and Brock both are flirting with him and he doesn't know what to do with that.

This is the 2nd part in a 3 part series, second chances, but they can be read as stand alone fics so it's not necessary to read the first one to enjoy this one.

You can find part 1 on tumblr or on ao3.

I'm not gonna be posting the full chapters for this fic here after this one, but you can read them on ao3. I'll be updating every Mon, Wed, and Fri.

Words: 1,890

Tony grinned when Brock opened the door, Harley strapped to his back and a bottle of sparkling apple cider in his hand.

"I brought non-alcoholic beverages!"

Brock laughed and pulled him in for a hug.

"You still doing that attachment parenting thing," Brock teased.

"Yeah, you?"

Brock nodded.

"Yeah, Sam's got Sonny right now. He took him for a walk in the park so I wouldn't strangle him."

"Oh no, is it teething?"

Brock raised a brow.

"What? No, not Sonny. Sam. He's driving me crazy. Sonny's a perfect little angel. He gets that from me."

"Uh-huh, sure," Tony indulged, passing the sparkling cider to Brock and following him into the kitchen.

"How's the restaurant? Running smoothly?"

"Smooth enough anyway. Running a business is no easy task, but I manage."

"I'd hope so, seeing as you are the manager," Brock teased as he grabbed the bottle opener and opened the cider before pouring it into glasses.

Tony rolled his eyes at the lame joke.

"At least the transition from a bar into a family restaurant by day, bar by night went smoothly. Everything else is just icing on top now. With the renovations done and the remodeling out of the way, now all we have to do is manage the staff. Well, then there's the paperwork and finances and whatnot, but Steve handles all of that."

"Yeah, I gotta admit, as much as I love hanging out with your baby daddy, I do miss you at all the mommy and baby classes."

Tony hummed, shrugging.

"Not really my thing, but Steve says Harley loves the baby ASL. He's not a fan of the swim lessons though."

Brock nodded in understanding.

"Sonny hated those ones at first too. He doesn't really care too much about the ASL, but the messy arts class is right up his alley. Sam says it's because I insist on having a sparkly clean home. He acts like it's a bad thing. A home can't be too clean."

Tony just hummed, because his Alpha had a similar need to keep things spotless and Tony definitely didn't care for it. At least Steve was willing to do all the chores for him, because Tony would definitely object if he had to do the cleaning. A place could definitely be too clean, but he wasn't about to open that can of worms with Brock. 

"Yeah, Steve was disappointed that Harley wasn't more into the art classes. He just doesn't like getting messy. He takes after Steve like that, kind of a neat freak, and yet Steve loves painting, which I really don't get. His paintings are fabulous though and his studio is a mess. The rest of the house though? Spotless."

Brock laughed and they headed to the couch to sip their sparkling cider.

Harley started to squirm when his feet touched the cushions and Tony set his glass down, standing back up to remove him from the carrier.

"Hi, pretty baby! Look at you! You're so pretty!" Tony cooed at him.

Harley just giggled and reached out to grab at his curls. Tony scrunched up his face and pried his grabby hands out of his hair.

"Okay, enough of that. Mommy likes his hair too much to let you pull it all out."

Tony set Harley down in a large octagon-shaped playpen. It had pillows and toys in it that Harley immediately made a beeline for. It's what Brock liked to call a yes zone, because pretty much everywhere else in their apartment he had to say no to Sonny constantly, but in his playpen everything was a yes.

"How are things going with you and Sam?" Tony asked, sitting back down.

Brock groaned.

"I'm not sure."

"Uh-oh," Tony said and Harley looked around like he was trying to figure out what was an uh-oh. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Things aren't bad or anything. Actually Sam's kinda annoyingly perfect. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to live up to that."

"Aw, Brock, I don't think Sam cares so much about that."

"I know he doesn't," Brock groaned. "Because he's freaking perfect and I'm a lost cause."

"No, you're not. You just need to give yourself a break. Trying to be perfect is just going to leave you feeling like you're not good enough."

Brock narrowed his eyes at him.

"When did you get to be so wise?"

"When my firstborn turned one," Tony teased, nudging him with his shoulder. "No, seriously though. Don't worry so much about trying to keep the house perfect and all sparkly clean and worry more about living your life. Spend more time with Sam."

"I spend almost all of my time with Sam."

"Yeah, but Sonny's there too. There's nothing wrong with family time, but when was the last time you went on a date night?"

Brock wasn't even sure. It had been months.

"You need to get yourself a babysitter, or drop Sonny off with us, and then spend some time alone. Remember why you became mates in the first place. It wasn't because you wanted a baby. It was because you loved each other and you fell in love at first sight. So spend some time looking at each other again and maybe you'll find that spark you used to have."

Brock sighed and downed the rest of his cider.

"God, I wish there was alcohol in this."

"Don't we all?"

They could hear the sound of keys in the door before it opened and Sam came in, Sonny strapped to his belly. Brock got up when the baby started saying mamamamama and pulled him out of the carrier.

"Hi, angel, look at how big you are? You want to go see Tony? Show him your new skills?" Brock cooed at his son, setting him down on his feet. "Go get him!"

"Come here, Sonny! You gonna walk to me?"

Sonny took a few wobbly steps before he got close enough for Tony to reach out and snag him up.

"Woah, you're so big! Such a big walker, huh?" Tony praised the baby. "Did you see that, Harley? Did you see how big your friend is? Walking up on his feet like a big boy? You're gonna be doing that soon too."

Harley was already pulling himself up and walking around while holding onto things, so he probably would be walking soon. He was only a month behind Sonny in age, so they played really well together, for the most part at least. Sharing wasn't any baby's strong suit.

Tony set Sonny down in the playpen after they cooed over him for a few minutes and Harley immediately crawled up to him and tried to crawl on him. Sonny shoved him off, but Harley wasn't offended. He just giggled and rolled over onto his belly, so he could push back up and go after the ring stacker. Sam came over somewhat hesitantly. Brock had been pretty irritated this morning, so he wasn't sure if he should give him space or not.

"Hey, Tony! It's good to see you!"

"You too! Always happy to come over and eat all of your food."

Sam laughed.

"You doing good, babe?" Sam asked Brock carefully.

Brock nodded, biting his lip. He had been pretty distant and irritable the last few weeks and he felt bad about it. Sam didn't deserve that. He was such a good Alpha and a good dad.

"Yeah, I'm good, Alpha," Brock said, licking his lips.

He patted the cushion next to him.

"Wanna sit with me?"

Sam looked surprised for a moment, then he smiled softly and sat down, looking like he'd just been given the best gift ever when Brock curled into his side and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I've missed you," Sam murmured in his ear.

"Missed you too, Alpha."

 *****

Brock was trying to make more of an effort and Sam definitely didn't miss the signs. He was more affectionate and he even got Sam a gift. It was important to point out that while Sam had felt the strain on their relationship, he hadn't really been upset at Brock about it. It was just one of those things where he assumed Brock would come around eventually and, well, he wasn't wrong.

"What is this?" Sam asked when Brock tossed a water bottle at him.

He caught it thanks to his great reflexes, not because Brock had given him any warning before throwing the metal cylinder his way. Brock rolled his eyes.

"What does it look like? It's a water bottle, Sam."

"Yeah, but why?"

"I got it for you," Brock said with a shrug.

Sam's heart fluttered at the thought of Brock getting him something, but his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I already have a water bottle."

"No, you don't. I threw it away."

Sam pursed his lips.

"May I ask why?"

"No, you may not," Brock said plopping down on the couch.

Sam raised his brow at him and Brock ignored him for a moment, flicking on the TV before glancing back at Sam with a groan.

"Fine, I got you a new one, because I read that the owner of Hydra Flask is an asshole who doesn't support Omega rights. I can't have my Alpha running around sporting that logo on his bottle, now can I? People might think you're a traditionalist. God forbid."

Sam blinked at him for a moment before a fond look fell over his features and he sat down next to Brock, pulling his Omega into his side. Brock blushed when Sam pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you, love."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brock grunted, but he leaned into Sam's side, turning to press his face into Sam's neck and hide a small smile.

Sam could feel it against his neck, but he didn't comment on it. He just ran his fingers through Brock's hair until his Omega yawned and made a sleepy little whimper.

"Come on, baby. Let's go to bed," Sam said softly.

Brock grunted, but didn't protest when Sam scooped him up off the couch and carried him off to bed. His back hit the mattress and his hands shot out to grab Sam's shirt, whining when Sam gently pried his fingers off of him.

"Shh, you're okay. Just let me undress you, then I'll cuddle with you."

Brock pouted, but let his Alpha do what he wanted. When Sam climbed into the bed he was wearing only his boxers and Brock had on only his shirt. Brock usually liked to sleep naked, but he had whined when Sam asked him to sit up, so Sam had just rolled his eyes, pressed a kiss to his forehead and left his shirt on. 

Sonny usually slept with them, even though he technically had a crib in the nursery, but tonight was one of those rare nights that he actually was using that crib that usually stood around empty like a decorative piece. Brock rubbed at his eyes, turning to press his face into Sam's neck and Sam smiled softly, wrapping his arms around him.

"Night, baby," Sam whispered softly.

"Night, Alpha, love you."

"Love you too, Omega."

Things weren't perfect between Sam and Brock, but that didn't mean they didn't love each other. Just because something isn't perfect, doesn't mean it's wrong.

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

A Piece of You Part 4

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Former Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Word Count: 4K

Warnings: None in this one.

Author’s Note: Here is the next part. And from what I can tell you guys have been wanting this one badly! Thank you guys for being so patient with me. I appreciate it. 

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. ♥

Y/N placed her bags in the trunk of her car. Fresh tears had still been running down her cheeks as she placed the last bag in and closed the trunk.

“Don’t leave.” Freya pleaded as she watched as her best friend was ready to take off. “You can hardly walk straight after that spell. Stay for the night and if you still feel like leaving in the morning, no one would stop you.”

“I can’t stay.” Y/N said with a shake of her head as she turned to face her best friend. “Not after all of this.” She brought her hand up to wipe her tears. “I’ve been so blind and I can’t even think straight.”

“All the more reason to stay another night.” Freya practically begged. She didn’t want Y/N taking off while upset, let alone still weak from the spell they had done. “I’m sure the two of you can work things out. If you want I can have Rebekah drive you to your family home and we’ll talk in the morning.”

A sad chuckle passed Y/N’s lips. “I doubt it. I just need some time on my own. Away from here. Away from New Orleans.” Freya could see how broken Y/N was at that moment. All she could do was pull her into a hug before telling her goodbye. .

“The Father doesn’t know?” The witch, Tiffany, said as she began pouring two cups of tea. 

Y/N shook her head. “It’s complicated.”

“It can’t be that complicated.” The witch was curious about what made it so complicated. 

Y/N bit down on her lip for a moment before she sighed. “I’m pregnant with a child that took numerous tries to conceive with the help of magic. Not to mention he had been sleeping around with a…frenemy of mine.”

“Okay, that is complicated.” The witch shook her head as she handed Y/N a glass. “Will you tell him?

“I want to.” She said with a nod. “He deserves to know.”

Elijah hadn’t meant to invade Y/N’s memories as he had. Her mind was still open to him after spending a majority of the night talking about Henrik. When Y/N fell asleep in the arm chair, Elijah couldn’t just leave her there. It was when he picked her up to take her to the bed did the memories flood his mind with the simple touch.

Y/N sat on the couch with a pad of paper and pen in her hand. She looked between the blank page in front of her and the sleeping baby in the bassinet next to her. She owed him this. Sighing, she began writing. 

Elijah, 

I know I left with the promise of not coming back. Turns out fate is telling me that isn’t exactly in the cards for me. I went back earlier this month. I wanted to tell you in person, but I just couldn’t. I saw you with her and I just thought of all the pain I felt and I left once more. So I’m trying this another way and I hope you understand. 

After so many failed attempts, we finally did it. We managed to bring a child into this world. I know it’s going to be hard reading about this, but it is true. We have a son, Elijah. A beautiful boy that I would gladly give my life for. His name is Henrik, just as I promised. 

.

A babbling Henrik sat in his walker as he pushed himself around the living room. Y/N’s grin was big enough that her cheeks had been hurting the last few minutes. Without another thought, she picked up a piece of paper and started writing. 

You should have seen him today, Elijah. He’s grown so much since the last time I’ve written. He started walking on his own. He just decided right then and there that he was going to take a few steps across the room. I wish you had been there to see it…

.

Y/N walked into Tiffany’s shop and tossed a stack of letters in front of her. Tiffany’s eyebrow raised as she looked at them. “What are those?”

“The letters I sent.” Y/N’s voice had sounded broken at the words. 

“He sent them back?” Tiffany asked.

“Unopened.” Y/N said with a nod. “He has no idea about Henrik.”

“Oh Y/N,” Tiffany walked around the counter and hugged her. “I am so sorry.”

But out of everything Elijah saw in the span of seconds, there was one memory that stood out the most to him.

Henrik’s laugh filled the air as he chased a few other kids around the yard. Y/N had been standing on the porch as she watched the kids. At least that was until she saw a car pull up in front of the house. 

“Henrik, Tess, Lila, I need you guys to come inside.” Y/N’s voice was loud and calm despite the fear that was building up inside of her at the unknown car. 

“A few more minutes, please.” Henrik’s voice carried over to her. 

“Now.” Y/N said as she looked over at the kids. Henrik took one look at Y/N and understood what was going on. He knew when Y/N said now, it was for his safety. She hardly spoke to them like that. 

With the other two in tow, the kids ran past Y/N and headed inside. Y/N kept her head high as she watched the car door open and out came Alric. 

“How did you find me, Ric?” Y/N asked from her spot. 

Alaric stopped for a moment taking in the woman before him. “Y/N?” He asked as he took another step closer. “I swear I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Then why are you here?” She asked, never once relaxing. 

“Would you believe I’m actually recruiting for the school?” He asked as he came to a stop in front of her. “We have a device back in Mystic Falls that shows a source of magic coming from this location. I thought I could help by offering a place at our school.”

Y/N shook her head at that information. “I’m not interested.” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Alaric chuckled. “While you’d make one hell of an addition as staff, it’s actually not your power source, we’ve seen. From what I’ve put together it could be your son.”

“How did-” Panic began to build in Y/N.

“Hey,” He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “you have no reason to be afraid. I’m here to help. I figured you of all people would know what an opportunity this would be for him.”

“Just because I know kids that are thriving there doesn’t mean it is best for everyone.” Y/N noted. “You’ve wasted a trip.”

Alaric sighed as he pulled his hand away from her. “You know, there was something about that source that had me curious.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “What?”

“It’s a lot like Hope’s.” He said as he watched her reactions. “Now I may be out of the loop on many things, but from what Hope has told me, you and Elijah were pretty close.”

Y/N scoffed and shook her head. “If we were that close Ric, I’d still be in New Orleans and not all the way out here.”

He sighed, taking a moment to rework his thoughts. “I know you, Y/N/N. I know about the tragic events your parents put you through before you met the Mikaelsons. And I know all about the stories the Mikaelsons have been through. If my assumptions are right, your son has one hell of a lineage. If the device Hope created was able to locate him, others can do the same.” It wasn’t meant to scare her. He knew what kind of dangers came with being a Mikaelson or a Y/L/N. And if he was correct in his assumptions, her child was both. 

Y/N sighed as she looked back towards the house. “Do yourself a favor, Ric. Get back in your car, and head back to Mystic Falls. We’ll be fine.” She turned and started walking back towards the house hoping he’d get the point. 

“What are you going to do when your own family finds out about him?” He called out after her, causing her to stop and look at him. “If he’s anything like Hope, I know you are already training him. But just think about it. We can have Freya and Hope help you teach him while keeping him safe.”

Y/N scoffed as she walked back over to him. “If you really know the stories of my family, you know what will happen if he goes there. We’ll bring unwanted attention back to Mystic Falls. When the time comes, I’ll be the one to decide who helps him. Not you.”

Not only Did Henrik possibly inherit his own family’s enemies, Henrik also inherited Y/N’s family’s as well. Elijah hated the thought of someone using Henrik just as they attempted to use Y/N for. 

He sighed as he placed Y/N down on the bed beside his son. Instinctively, Y/N turned over in her sleep and pulled the sleeping child closer to her. And as if Henrik had been used to it as well, he curled into her embrace before a content sigh passed his lips. 

A small smile pulled at Elijah’s lips at the sight. But it hadn’t lasted long. Just as Y/N said earlier that day, there was a reason she wouldn’t go to her childhood home. As he walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind him, he could see the several protection spells in place around the suite. 

Candles with protection sigils etched into them had been lit in several places. A long put out sage stick sat on the counter, ensuring that no one standing on the outside would be able to hear within the walls. Even the table had a protection spell in place, one that Elijah recognized fairly easily since it had been Freya’s spell. 

As he walked around the room, Elijah took in every little detail that proved even Y/N had been afraid of what was awaiting them with their return. Y/N took a risk bringing Henrik here. Their son was in more danger in New Orleans than he would be in Mystic Falls. 

Henrik’s magic was different. Y/N’s family dabbled in the darker sides of magic. And if Henrik held the potential to wield that magic, Elijah knew that anyone in Y/N’s family would be able to sense it. And if they could sense it, it would only be a matter of time before they came looking for him. 

It was with that thought that Elijah decided he wasn’t leaving them alone that night. 

_____

“Momma.” Henrik’s voice was a whisper in Y/N’s ear. His hands reached out to Y/N’s shoulder as he shook her slightly. “Wake up, there is someone in the other room.”

It took less than a second before the words registered in Y/N’s sleep filled brain. She got up out of bed quickly before pulling the charm that had been laid out next to the bed and putting it around Henrik’s neck. She held up a single finger to her lips, telling him to stay quiet, which he quickly nodded in response. 

There were a million things running through her head at that moment. All Y/N knew was that she had to get Henrik out of there, safely. The charm that was around his neck would only do so much. But it would be enough to help him get away if needed. 

Leading him over to the door, she gave him a small smile before opening the door slowly.

“Whatever it is you believe you need to do, I assure you it’s not necessary." 

Hearing the voice, a sigh of relief passed her lips before she looked back at Henrik. "It’s okay.” She said with a nod. “Just stay here while we talk.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Henrik asked not wanting to let his mother out of his sight just yet. 

She tilted her head to the door, allowing him to take a look. Henrik moved past the bedroom door for a moment before coming back. “Anything?” She asked with a small smile.

“Nothing bad.” Henrik said with a confident nod.

“That’s my boy.” She said before leaning down and kissing the top of his head. “I’ll let you know when you can come out.”

“Okay momma.” Henrik said watching as Y/N closed the door. 

“You’re still here.” Y/N’s voice was soft as she watched Elijah from her spot, her back leaning against the door. “I thought you would have left.” From where she stood she could see him standing in the kitchenette pouring batter into a pan. 

Elijah looked over his shoulder for a moment, giving her a small smile before looking back at his task. “After you fell asleep, it occurred to me how much of a risk you were taking coming back here now that Henrik is older. It wouldn’t have been me if I didn’t stay and help to protect my family.”

The words caused Y/N to roll her eyes as she pushed away from the door and walked towards him. “We are hardly even close to being a family.”

“That doesn’t mean Henrik should have only one parent looking after him.” He said as he slid the ready pancakes onto a plate before turning the stove off and looking at Y/N. “I am willing to do this on your terms. All I ask is that I get to know him.”

On her terms. She hadn’t been expecting that. While they had spent a majority of the night talking about everything Elijah missed in Henrik’s life, they hadn’t at all discussed how this was going to work between them. She expected a fight. Yet here he was just giving her control over the whole thing. 

After a moment, Y/N sighed as she came to stand beside him, her hands on the counter in front of her. “Remember yesterday how Henrik told me you were good?” She asked as she looked over at him. 

Elijah’s brows furrowed until he remembered what she had meant. During that time he had been in shock, but he had heard the words come from his son. Nodding his head, he waited for her to continue. 

“He’s got this ability to tell someone’s intentions in his life without ever needing to speak to them.” Her eyes moved away from him to her hands as they traced the designs of the counter top with her finger. “The more he gets to know the person, the deeper he can dive into that intention. While I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt him, he’ll know before you do if at any point you even think about turning your back on him.”

“I would never do that to him.” Elijah said as he watched Y/N begin to shake her head.

“You made that promise to me once.” She looked back at him. Elijah didn’t miss the hurt that was clear in her eyes. “You said this would be on my terms, but it won’t be up to me. You can get to know your son. I will never deny you that. Spend time with him, show him the world through your eyes. Let him see you as the man that saved me and who I fell in love with.” A sad chuckle passed her lips as she ran a hand up her arm. “But the moment he tells me you’ve changed, that’s when I’ll step in and put my foot down.”

Elijah understood exactly what Y/N had been telling him. She wouldn’t interfere with the time he asked for, nor would she make things difficult. But he knew that Y/N would make sure that Henrik wouldn’t walk away from this with a broken heart like she had.  

He placed his hand on top of her hand that was still placed on the counter. A sigh leaving his lips. “I know that it is going to take more than a few conversations for us to come close to even a fraction of what we used to be. But I need you to know that I am truly sorry for not only hurting you but making you feel that you couldn’t even trust Freya.”

“That was hard.” Y/N admitted. “There were so many things I wanted to tell her.” She paused for a moment. “To tell you. Every part of me wanted to include you and your family during the pregnancy, but every time I worked up the courage to tell you, I would think about that night. And I know you are apologizing for hurting me and I’ll accept it. But forgiving you is a whole ‘nother level.”

“I have learned from early on that your forgiveness, even your trust, is not something you take lightly.” Elijah nodded, his hand squeezing slightly on top of hers before removing his hand completely. “I would never expect you to shrug it off for my benefit.”

A small smile pulled at Y/N’s lips, disappearing a second later, as she took in his words. “As long as we both understand.” Pushing away from the counter, she took a few steps back. “I’m going to talk with Henrik, and then I’ll properly introduce you two.”

Elijah smiled. “Take your time. But I should warn you, breakfast might be cold by the time you’re done.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and walked back to the room. Once in with the door shut behind her, she found Henrik sitting in the middle of the bed, with her grimoire in his lap. 

“Can I learn this one?” He asked as he looked up at Y/N. 

Y/N’s head tilted as a smile grew on her lips. Walking over to the bed, she sat down next to him, looking at the spell. Her fingers ran over the page as she took the spell in. “This one wouldn’t be hard to do. If you wanted to, we could ask Freya to bring some things over and try later. But how about we talk about something first?” She asked as she gently pulled the book out of his lap. 

“Is this about who he is?” Henrik asked as he watched his mother put the book on the nightstand. “It is more than later.”

Y/N chuckled and ran her hand through his hair. “Have I ever mentioned you are too smart for your age?” Henrik just grinned up at her. “But yeah, this is about him.” She took a deep breath trying to find the right words that she needed. “You know your favorite bedtime story?”

“The one about the vampire that saves the witch?” He asked excitedly. No matter how many times, Y/N had told him that story, it had always been his favorite. He never grew tired of it. In his world of supernatural creatures, that was a positive outlook in a sometimes dimmed world.

Y/N smiled. “Yeah, that one. I was the witch that the vampire saved.”

Henrik’s eyes widened slightly. “I knew it.” He mumbled to himself and Y/N tried to hold back a laugh. “Was he the vampire?” He asked a moment later.

“His name is Elijah and he is that vampire.” She nodded. “And for a while there, after he saved me, he continued to protect me from our family that wanted to hurt me. And in return I helped him protect his family when someone wanted to hurt them. And I-we fell in love. It was a real life fairy tale to me in some ways.” She bit down on her lip a moment. “And then the only thing that was missing from our happy ending was you. And with some help of a bit of my magic, we got you.” She said with a smile. 

She watched as a look of confusion formed on his face. “But if it was a happy ending, why didn’t I know who he was?”

Y/N sighed. “Because before you were born, we got into a huge fight and mommy moved away to get a clear head. I didn’t know I had you until Aunt Tiff told me. For the longest time I tried telling your dad about you. But things got…hard and mommy was mean by keeping you away from him. And when Elijah saw us yesterday, we needed to have a long talk about you. And if you want to, he wants to spend some time with you.”

Henrik looked down at his hands and guilt filled Y/N. Maybe that had been too much to throw on him. Maybe she should have taken things slower. But she always told Henrik everything he needed to know and there was nothing she told him that he couldn’t handle yet. 

“He’s good.” Henrik said, still looking at his hands. “Right?”

“Only you will know, my love.” She placed her hands on top of his, causing him to look up at her. “If you don’t want to spend any more time with him after a while, that’s fine, okay? But it’s what you want to do. I won’t make you do this if you don’t want to. That power of yours is a great one, it will never let anything bad happen to you.”

The table had been set with breakfast. An assortment of plates covered the already small table, leaving very little space. It had been what kept Elijah busy. He had been surprised by the fact that Y/N hadn’t blocked him from hearing the conversation. To be honest, he had only caught the last part of it and it actually made him nervous. 

He now understood what Klaus had felt when seeing Hope for the first time in years. A child such as Henrik, who has known the stories of his father, was sure to have expectations. Living up to them would be a challenge that Elijah would take and hopefully live up to them. 

The tension in his shoulders released the moment the bedroom door opened. He stood in front of the table, letting Y/N take the lead on this. He wasn’t going to jump right into things if there was a possibility of making Henrik uncomfortable. 

Tightly gripping Y/N’s hand, Henrik kept himself close to her as they walked out. While normally not a shy child, Henrik was meeting his favorite person in all of the stories his mother told. To know that character that he had imagined to be so many things was his father had him nervous. But he wanted to meet Elijah. 

Y/N led him over to where Elijah had been standing. She could see the man before her was just as nervous as she and her son were. This was a big step, but if her son was ready to do it, she’d take it with him. 

Sighing, she gave Elijah a small smile. “Elijah, this is your son Henrik.” She looked at Henrik next. “And Henrik, this is your dad, Elijah Mikaelson.”

Elijah smiled at Henrik before he kneeled down to his level. He placed his hand out in a simple greeting. “It is great to finally meet you, Henrik.”

Henrik eyed Elijah’s hand before letting go of Y/N’s hand. Moving past Elijah’s outstretched hand, Henrik moved in to hug Elijah tightly. The action itself had surprised both Elijah and Y/N. “Thank you for saving momma.”

A smile pulled at Elijah’s lips as he wrapped his arms around his son. The comfort of the small arms wrapped around him had been unexpected to him, but he had enjoyed it. There were so many ways this meeting could have played out, but Elijah had been glad this had been the outcome. 

Y/N’s heart swelled at the sight before her, at the same time the guilt poked its head out as well. She never doubted for a moment that Henrik would accept Elijah into his life. But this very moment could have happened years ago if she hadn’t been so stubborn. 

“I believe your mother is very capable of saving herself now.” Elijah noted as he looked up at Y/N. He chuckled as he watched her roll her eyes at the statement. 

As Henrik pulled out of Elijah’s embrace, he began to dive right on into everything Elijah had missed in his lifetime. From the things he could remember, the details of every house they had moved into and even the magic Freya had began teaching him. 

Elijah had a grin on his face as he listened to all of the details he was giving over. Even as he stood and led Henrik over to the table to get him started on his breakfast, he listened and absorbed every piece of information he could.

Y/N watched the interaction before her from her spot. She wanted to save this moment in her mind. Henrik wasn’t upset with either of them that prevented this meeting. Henrik loved that his hero was right there in front of him, wanting to know everything about it. She loved the way Elijah had immersed himself in the conversation as if he had never missed any of it. 

She listened as Elijah began offering his input and Y/N couldn’t believe she had put this off for so long. As she watched Henrik take a bite out of the pancakes Elijah had placed in front of him, she took that moment to interrupt. 

“I’m going to let you two spend some time together.” She said as she took a few steps back towards the room. “I have a few things to get in town.” It was as she turned to continue walking that she felt Elijah grab a hold of her hand. She turned back and looked at him. 

“You don’t have to leave.” He said softly. “Have breakfast with us.”

“You need time with him.” She gave him a small smile. “I won’t be gone long.”

“Please stay.”

His words had surprised her. Not only the words but the way they had sounded to her. She nodded her head after a moment and gave him another smile. 

As they walked back to the table together, Henrik was already starting on another pancake, causing Y/N to shake her head, a smile on her face. “Slow down there, the food isn’t going anywhere.”

“She’s right.” Elijah noted as he took his seat at the small table. “There are several more where those came from. Wouldn’t want you to make yourself sick before you even start.” The eye roll that Henrik gave had Y/N and Elijah chuckling. 

“Seems your mother’s habits have been passed down.” He said as he looked at Y/N.

“Oh he’s just getting started.” Y/N grinned. “Give him time, you’ll learn he’s got more of you than he does of me.”

For the first time, the three had a meal together. It was everything Y/N had hoped it would be. This was exactly what she pictured their morning routine would be if things hadn’t changed as they had. And while she would never admit the thought out loud, she knew this was just a moment of light in the darkness that she was sure to surround them.

Always & Forever Tag: @taylordrunkonwhiskey @thewolf-and-thesheep @wayward-dan @neeadinghugs @fafulous @kenmen02 @elizamonet @dora-the-grownup @mschellehitt @xanderling @fandom-princess-forevermore @buckysarm4 @hi-my-name-is-riley @helenasingers @alka16555

A Piece of you: @poemfreak306 @xxbeckybeexx-blog @sammykb1994 @misunderstood-shadows @shanty-lol @caelst13 @krazykatkay456 @qveenmikaelson @deaconemnexum @cleverzonkwombatsludge @coalsmind @precious-bands-love @ignorantly-apathatic  @yolobloggers @fading-mentality-bouquet @of-outerspace @cloudyskylines @httpglxssy @hybridgirl99 @scarletmeii @mrsrusso11 @softcaius @fantasy-world-ocs @jemimah-b99 @lillekeneiiris

Stag Tag:   @elejah-wonderland @cheers-my-dears-16 @xxsoveriegnsarayaxx @asiaaisa77 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff

The Originals Tag: @zillahvathek @obsessedwithvampires @alien-sida

Bold tags mean for one reason or another I cannot tag you. If you would like to be added, or taken off, please let me know!

[xmagicxshopx]

Rush Hour Pt 1

Genre: Action Adventure, Angst, Romance, Comedy Rating: PG-13 - M Warnings: drug trafficking, human trafficking, language, smut (in pt 2) Pairing: officer!jungkook x reader , officer!taehyung x oc (Nari) Notes: AU fic. Not idol!bts. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: Thank all the crime shows my parents watch for this. XD Not to mention I love the Rush Hour movies. @u@

Tagging: @grxnadxs​

Summary: You and your best friend are being framed for a crime you didn’t commit and there’s only two people who believe you. Agent Inspector Jeon of the Busan Police Department and Detective Kim of the Daegu Police Department. Can they rescue you before it’s too late?

MASTERLIST

Organized Crime.

South Korea’s biggest enemy.

Financial fraud, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking. It was all because of organized crime and it made the police departments absolutely sick. A beast they couldn’t contain, let alone kill. Drugs were their biggest problem, really. And what drugs couldn’t produce in real cash flow, fake won made up for it. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

“Detective Kim---Agent Inspector Jeon has arrived.”

Having been standing there watching the city with his steaming mug of hot chocolate because he’s not a coffee drinker, he simply turned his head to the officer-in-training and smiled a friendly smile before nodding his head and saying casually,

“Let the asshole in.”

“Hey, I heard that, asshat!”

Detective Kim, more commonly known as Kim Taehyung, just laughed as he set his mug down to greet one of his best friends and favorite partners in law enforcement. Walking through the door was one chuckling Jeon Jungkook, otherwise known as Agent Inspector Jeon. After performing their super secret handshake, the both of them took a seat in which Jeon sighed heavily.

“They briefed me on the situation. One of them is from Busan so they sent me over. It’s a pretty ugly case. This organization seems to have quite the record.”

“No kidding. Drug and human trafficking?? Disgusting. Makes me sick.”

Jungkook watched his older bestie tossing the folder full of files onto his desk and he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Kim Taehyung was a good man. An honest and traditional man. Someone who one day wanted to settle down and have a family. A wife and kids. He cherished his fellow human beings so human trafficking always hit harder for him than anything else.

“Hey. We’ll catch them, hyung. They’re going to slip up and that’s when they’ll hang themselves with their own rope. In fact, it sounds like they might already have. It says they’re on the run. Armed and dangerous. But we’re more dangerous. Besides....”

Kim looked away from the window once more to see what his younger friend might be trying to say. The sight before him made the male snort and shake his blonde head in amusement. Jeon Jungkook had since stood up from his seat and was standing in a fighting position while saying with confidence that only he could pull off,

“I’ve been taking boxing lessons. These dirt bags won’t see me coming.”

“Whatever you say, Jeon. Whatever you say.”

Meanwhile, on a train heading out of Daegu.....

“I’m scared....”

You could hardly hear your best friend and honestly you couldn’t blame her. Both of your voices were hoarse from the lack of hydration. The first thing you’d do once getting to the next town would be trying to buy some bottles of water. Your tongue felt like sandpaper. Trying your best to comfort the female next to you, you simply reeled her in and let her head rest on your shoulder.

Criminals.

In the eye of the public, that’s what you were.

The world knew you both as criminals but the world couldn’t be farther from the truth. You two were just a pair of best friends who had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Simple on paper but oh-so complicated in all actuality. With an internal sigh, you gently stroked your best friend’s raven locks as you spoke up softly,

“It’s going to be okay, Nari. I’m going to take care of us. Just stick with me and everything will be fine.”

Nari, your best friend of four years, nodded gently against your shoulder as she shifted a little closer in the bus seat the two of you were sharing. Honestly, the two of you weren’t used to the silence of the bus. The life you both had been living for the last four months was anything but silent. Guns, violence, moving from home to home. It was all so chaotic.

Human trafficking.

You were no longer considered a person. No. You and your best friend had become objects to be used by scum bags who called themselves men. To be used as they saw fit. Whether it be as a cover-up for a smuggling operation or to release sexual frustration, you were no longer considered a human being. It may have only been for four months, but it’s been the longest four months of your lives.

“Once we get off the bus, I’ll get us a hotel room, okay? I managed to knock the one guy out and grab his wallet. Let’s just hope this won is legit and not fake. Otherwise we’re screwed.”

You didn’t want to scare Nari, but you had to be realistic too. The situation was not pretty but you were going to do your very best to make this as easy for her as possible. Your best friend was a soft and sensitive soul so naturally this was extremely hard on her. Not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. The physical scars would heal, but the mental and emotional? That was a whole other ballgame.

“Let’s get off here. Surely there’s a hotel or motel near by. If not, we can always ask around.”

Back at the Daegu Police Department....

“Okay. So your prime suspects are two females, both in their 20s and South Korean natives. Squeaky clean criminal records. Not even a parking violation.”

Both Taehyung and Jungkook found themselves sporting identical expressions of confusion as their eyebrows knitted together. While the younger of the two was staring at the huge TV screen that had the suspects’ passport photos on display, Taehyung was looking through each of their files and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“The one was going to school to be a kindergarten teacher with a minor in journalism while the other has an online degree in Police Science and has taken several self-defense classes.”

While the blonde detective was rattling off more information from the files, Min Yoongi who was Daegu’s Intelligence Analyst was bringing up those very same records up on the screen for Jungkook to look over as well. Dang. It was hard to believe these girls were their prime suspects.

“The files go on to say the university student, Nari, was currently shadowing a kindergarten class when she went missing four months ago. The Police Science graduate was currently working at a cafe in Busan when she too went missing four months ago.”

“So they were together when they went missing?”

Just as Yoongi and Taehyung were about to wager a guess to the younger’s question, a new voice entered the room as a young man that went by the name of Jung Hoseok strolled in. Hoseok, or otherwise known as Hobi, was a Forensic Psychologist and had been brought it to try and figure out why two girls with absolutely no prior criminal records would be suspects in one of South Korea’s largest drug trafficking ring.

“Possibly. According to their records, they live at the same address. An apartment building on the shadier side of town. Judging from their day jobs, I would say it was all they could afford. The Busan girl commutes.”

Jungkook turned around to look at the older males with his hands stuffed in his pockets, expression pensive as he stood there in deep thought before asking out loud,

“So maybe they did it for the money?”

With a casual shrug, Hoseok looked to the TV screen where the records and photos were on display. It just didn’t add up to him. He had dealt with a lot of cases and in all his years of forensic psychology, he had never seen anything quite like this. But then again.....

“It’s not uncommon for financial stress to drive a person to commit crime. For now, they’re probably going to be your only suspects. They were seen on the storefront’s security footage with the bag as they fled the scene. Looks like it was a deal gone South.”

It was then that Yoongi pressed a button on his tablet and brought up the exact footage Hobi was referring to. The four young men watched as the two female suspects approached two men who were twice their size. Again. It didn’t make sense to Hobi. This was a professional ring. Why would a ring leader who was supposedly one of the smartest men in crime......be sending in two puny girls in their 20s to perform a hand-off???

“Looks like the one put her self defense lessons to good use. But she’s lucky neither one of them got shot.”

While Yoongi spoke in his usual calm tone, the rest of the boys watched on as the footage soon revealed the spat that took place. One man was knocked out and Taehyung could see one of the girls swiping his wallet. The last few seconds of the recording was of the girls running off while leaving the bag behind. The bag was then taken by the two men who ran in the opposite direction. Dang.

“Okay, Hobi hyung. Put your brain to work. Why would those girls try to fight when they were just going to let them have the drugs anyway? What’s the purpose here? The only crimes they committed were assault and stealing a dirt bag’s wallet.”

The psychologist took a moment to consider the young inspector’s questions. Yes. What was the purpose of the whole transaction??? All the girls got away with was a wallet and who knows if it had any actual won in it. Even if it did, the odds of the won being legit were slim to none. Still......it wasn’t adding up......there was more to this story here. That’s for sure. It was then that Taehyung spoke up as he said in an authoritative tone,

“Okay. Jeon---call in Jimin from your guys’ Busan department and have him interview the cafe manager and the staff. You and I are gonna take a trip to the kindergarten class Nari was shadowing and see if the teacher might have any insight. Maybe they got close while working together.”

He then turned to the older males in the room and added in the same tone but with more softness and naturally more respect,

“Yoongi hyung, if you can get me any further footage, maybe even some traffic cams, I’d greatly appreciate it. Maybe we can track down where they ran off to. Hobi hyung, try to take a closer look at the footage we already have. Maybe you can spot something we aren’t looking at. See if you guys can enhance the video any. Get a closer look.”

With that, the four men went to work. Innocent or not, these two women needed to be found because they could be the key to bringing down the largest drug trafficking ring in South Korea.

“There’s a convenience store. Want to grab some supplies and food and then find a place to stay?”

After receiving a timid nod from Nari, you offered her a warm smile and gently tugged her along as the two of you headed into the store. There was plenty of won in the wallet you had swiped so thankfully they could afford the necessities without having to skimp. Shampoo, body wash, water, and food. Pretty simple. Well maybe some toothbrushes and paste as well. The two of you felt absolutely disgusting and probably looked just as much.

The hotel room would probably have little bottles of shampoo and body wash, but you planned to douse yourselves in both. Now that you got to thinking about it, both of your hair looked like rats nests. Comb and brush. Okay. The list was getting longer but still. You both were a little more than ready to start feeling human again. Could anyone blame you???

Once picking out the cheapest shampoo and conditioner you could find, you went to go pick up a bottle of body wash that was just as cheap. You guys didn’t need to be in a beauty pageant, just clean. After picking a brush and comb both, you gently tugged your bestie along with you to have her pick out some food.

Ever since the human trafficking started, Nari had nearly completely shut down. She became quiet and shut off. It was hard for even you to get her to speak. Like the few moments they had alone together while waiting for their next ‘owner’ to arrive and take them ‘home’. It was so heartbreaking because your best friend was once a ray of pure sunshine. A light in the darkness.

And now she had become part of the darkness.

“Okay, Ri, what sounds good for dinner tonight? I think some instant noodles are calling our name.”

You would have loved to just call room service. However, for two reasons, you didn’t go that route. One, it wasn’t essential and therefore you didn’t want to risk wasting your limited funding on it. Two, you didn’t want to give the organization or the authorities any ammo that might help either one of them track you both down. Oh how you wanted to use this guy’s credit cards. But you knew better. Credit Cards were so easy to trace back. It was safer to use the won notes.

After allowing Nari to pick out her bowls of instant noodles, you picked out some as well before buying a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. Carbs. You both needed carbs desperately. The organization and all of your ‘owners’ hadn’t exactly taken the best care of you. Apparently you didn’t need to have a pretty or healthy body to be a sex toy. Go figure. With all of your hygienic items in one basket and the food in the other, you gently tugged your bestie along so that the two of you could pay for the items and get the heck of here.

Coughing up more notes than you wanted to, everything was paid for and the two of you were soon out into the world once more. Honestly, the weather was perfect for a nightly stroll. It had been so long since you felt so.....free. Granted you were currently on the run but you’d take what you could get. Just before you had left the store, you asked the employee on the other side of the counter if there were any hotels close by. Turns out there was. Thankfully just a block away from the store.

“Come on, Ri. Let’s get a roof over our heads and some food in our bellies. You can have first dibs on the shower. It’s gonna be okay, bestie. We’re gonna be just fine.”

You could only hope you didn’t turn into a liar. Going over it all in your head, you were pretty confident that you wouldn’t be found. At least not for a few days. But your mind was already thinking of the next steps to take. Thinking and calculating. You knew better than to think you could be on the run forever. No. You just needed a bit of time before contacting the authorities and explaining the situation; hoping they’d hear you out.

“Morning, Jeon.”

“Morning, hyung. Ugh. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Just kept thinking about those girls. Makes no sense.”

It was a new day and the game plan was simple. Information gathering. After that, the pair would get together with Yoongi and Hobi to analyze the data collected. Meanwhile, Yoongi was going to try and see if he could use traffic cams to map out where exactly the two girls went. They could still be in Daegu for all they knew. Hobi’s job was to pick apart the suspects’ body language and see if there was anything he could identify that might help them figure out why the girls are even their prime suspects. That part still didn’t add up with any of them.

Okay so maybe not such a simple plan. But it was a plan all the same.

“It was a good call to wear something casual. We wouldn’t want to scare the kiddos.”

Taehyung honestly hadn’t thought about it till late last night. He too had a hard time sleeping. All he could think about was the girls. There was this nagging feeling telling him these girls were innocent. He highly doubted they were armed let alone dangerous. Speaking of, as he popped the trunk to his personal vehicle, he said casually,

“Probably ought to hide the guns too. These kids are young but you know how they pick up on every little thing that’s out of the ordinary.”

“Good point. You’re batting a thousand today, hyung. I’m gonna have to up my game if I’m going to keep up with you.”

“Just put your mad boxing skills to good use should something go south and we’ll be square.”

Chuckling softly, the two made their way into the building and showed the receptionist their badges before being escorted to the kindergarten classroom Nari had been shadowing. It was odd to be working in something other than their usual suit and tie. Jungkook could get used to working in his button up shirt and skinny jeans. The two could hear lots of giggling and it warmed Taehyung’s heart. God how badly he wanted to be a dad. But he needed to focus. This was a job. Not a field trip. He couldn’t let his feelings get involved.

“Good morning, Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Kim Taehyung and this is my partner Agent Inspector Jeon Jungkook. If you have a moment, we’d like to ask you a few questions concerning the girl who was shadowing your class. She disappeared a little over four months ago. Her name is Nari. Do you remember her?”

Turns out this Nari girl was quite the ray of sunshine to be around. Naturally shy upon first meeting but once she got comfortable, she was a bit of a chatter box. Kind of cute, really. She got along great with the kids and when she had first disappeared, they immediately picked up on it and kept asking where she was. The class had even made get well cards after being told that she was simply not feeling good and needed some time off.

The whole thing silently broke Taehyung’s heart. This Nari sounded like his dream girl. Aside from the criminal part. Which still didn’t make sense. This girl enjoyed reading, writing, anime, and kids. She enjoyed several things that he too enjoyed. It was a shame to think that she possibly turned to organized crime. But for what? What was the incentive to just drop everything and turn to crime? She had such a beautiful life and it seemed like it was something she was still working on building. Why just abandon it?

“Okay, Jeon. Playtime’s over. Let’s go.”

His partner had been of little help during the questioning. However, it wasn’t entirely Jeon’s fault. The kids were insistent that he play with them. Who was a man to deny so many sets of puppy eyes??? That was how Taehyung found his younger partner currently being used as a human jungle gym. He had a kid hanging off each arm as he flexed his arm muscles to help hold them both up. A little girl was giggling and squealing in happiness as she had been placed on his shoulders, hugging his face to keep herself from falling. What a dork.

“Okay, kids. Let Mr. Jeon go so he can get back to work. And what do we say to others who play nicely with us?”

“Thank you, Mr. Jeon!”

The chorus of high pitched voices was so endearing. Perhaps Jungkook was starting to see why his hyung wanted to be a father so badly. These little ones weren’t so bad. Well that was probably a result of good parenting. Not to mention it sounded like the teacher was trying to set good examples for them too. After smiling to the kids and trying to dodge their questions of whether or not they’d be seeing him again, Jungkook quickly made his exit with his partner who was smiling and shaking his head in amusement.

Kids. Go figure. It was then that both agents heard Yoongi coming in through their ear pieces. Taehyung had just been popping the trunk back open to get their guns when the Daegu native started speaking in a calm but rushed voice,

“You two better get back to the office. Hobi made a huge discovery that’s going to change this into a whole different ballgame.”

Well that didn’t sound good.

Making haste, the two drove from the school parking lot and headed straight for the station. It wasn’t often that Yoongi sounded so urgent. He was usually pretty cool, calm, and collected. That’s what made him such an awesome analyst. He was able to look at things with a clear head. It was a trait that many in the department wish they had as well. Arriving in the information room where the male worked, Taehyung said in a breathless tone,

“What you got for us, hyung?”

But it was Hoseok that spoke up in reply; his tone grave.

“Your suspects just turned into victims.”

Wait what???

Meanwhile, you were up bright and early. It was easy and yet difficult to sleep all at the same time. The exhaustion had knocked both you and Nari out the second your heads hit the pillows of your shared king sized bed. However, it seemed like you were awake every other hour. Your body screamed sleep but your mind was on full alert. It was hard to sleep peacefully when you knew danger could be around every corner. You could open your eyes and find yourself right back in the jaws of danger.

It was exhausting, really. But this was your reality for the time being. Looking away from the window, you peered over at the sleeping figure in the bed. Poor Nari. She looked so small and frail laying there in that big bed. It was comforting to see her getting some sleep. Hopefully dreamless and restful. Last night had been wonderful. Their first night where they weren’t held in some kind of captivity. No disgusting cages or dirty food and water. For the first night in four months, they were just two girls hanging out. No longer objects. But humans.

They were humans again.

Deciding it was safe to take a shower, you tiptoed your way to the bathroom and just cracked the door so that it wouldn’t let all the steam out. Gosh the shower last night had been amazing! Hot water, soap. It was wonderful! The both of you had brushed your teeth twice just for good measure too. While you allowed the water to warm up, you thought about the tasks at hand today. The plan sounded simple but it was going to be tricky regardless.

A disguise. You both needed a disguise. Just until you could get your thoughts together and a plan for when you notified the authorities. You didn’t want to just go waltzing in the Daegu Police Department with hands in the air. No. You needed a plan. You needed to be able to prove your innocence. And that was when you thought of those disgusting bracelets you had to wear. Ugh. They were the ugliest shade of orange too. It was surly a color you’d despise for the rest of your life.

“They’re what?!”

Jungkook tried to put a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder but it got roughly shrugged off. Taehyung was furious. Absolutely furious. Seeing red. That was all the male could see as he stared at Yoongi and Hoseok. The two had just informed them that the two suspects were actually being trafficked and were part of the transaction that took place on the storefront camera footage they were able to obtain.

Human trafficking. These two poor girls were being handed off along with the drugs. It all made sense now. The one using her knowledge in self defense to try and disarm and distract the punks. Swiping the wallet and yet leaving the drugs behind. It all finally added up. These girls weren’t criminals at all. There was a reason their records were so squeaky clean. They never asked for this. They were forced into it. They didn’t go missing willingly. They were kidnapped.

“It’s gonna be okay, Tae. I was able to get access to the town’s traffic cams and I think I know what city they’re in. But you gotta calm down first. The chief isn’t going to let you go into this guns blazing and you know that.”

However, the blonde detective wasn’t entirely listening. It was like his ears were filled with water. He just stood there staring at the single clue that lead Hobi and Yoongi to discovering what was actually going on in the footage from earlier. Each girl sported an orange colored wristband. After doing some digging, Yoongi had discovered it was an inside tagging system for women who were being trafficked. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. It left a horrible taste in Taehyung’s mouth as he thought of Nari......Nari........

It was then that the feline looking male spoke up but this time directed his attention to the younger inspector.

“Kook---Take him to the cafe around the corner. I’ll forward you guys what I believe to be their city of refuge. It’s not too terribly far from here but it’s a drive. Looks like they took the bus.”

“Thanks, Yoongi hyung. Come on, buddy. Let’s go have a drink.”

That was how Taehyung wound up sitting at a small table with a steaming to-go cup of hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Jungkook had opted for an iced americano. Ugh. Gross. While the younger was looking over the traffic cam footage Yoongi had forwarded to his phone, the detective simply stared out the window of the local cafe. His partner had tried to place a single glazed doughnut in front of him to go with his hot chocolate but Tae had touched neither one; too lost in thoughts of the sweet college student trying to become a kindergarten teacher.

His dream girl.

‘I bet she wants to have kids too someday.....I’ll make sure she has that chance. I’m gonna find her. And I’ll save her.’

The young inspector, on the other hand, was more focused on you. What was your story? Certainly you weren’t going to be working as a barista the rest of your life. The fact that you had taken an online course in Police Science intrigued him. Perhaps you were interested in going into law enforcement? That would be cool. Especially since you were a Busan native. What would be the chances of you working in the same station as him?

“Okay, Ri. Today we’re gonna try and get some fresh clothes and maybe do something with our hair. Basically we need a disguise. Just until we can get our thoughts together and figure out how to notify the police without it looking like we’re turning ourselves in.”

It saddened you when all your best friend did was nod. Again....she used to be so talkative. So bright and cheery. You weren’t sure you were going to be able to take her out of this hotel room just yet. While your guys’ physical scars were already starting to heal, there were far deeper cuts that needed attention. Carefully taking a seat next to her on the bed, you gently wrapped an arm around her and spoke in a soft and soothing tone,

“Nari, baby. You gotta talk to me. I’m no therapist but I think being your best friend has to count for something. You can tell me anything. So please, say something.”

“You could have died.....”

Hmm? Out of all the things you were expecting Nari to say, that definitely wasn’t one of them. Before you could ask her to clarify, she did it for you as she added in explanation,

“They had guns, bestie. And they were shooting at us. They were shooting at you. I was so scared you’d get hit and die. I’ve lost so much. I can’t lose you too. Please---”

“Hey, hey. Shhh. It’s okay, Ri. It’s okay.”

You sat there at the foot of the bed hugging a sobbing Nari; gently rocking the both of you back and forth as you allowed the girl to cry out her feelings. You had been in such a constant state of survival mode, that you hadn’t taken into account how the dangers of the whole situation would affect her. Of course seeing your best friend get shot at would be traumatizing. Gently kissing the girl’s forehead while stroking her hair with a free hand, you said softly and soothingly,

“I’m sorry I scared you, Ri. It wasn’t my intentions. I just......I needed to get us out of there and it was the only way I knew how. And the good news is, we’re not only alive, but we’re free. No more drugs, no more trafficking. We’re humans again and we’re gonna get through this together. I’m with you every step of the way. Okay? Together?”

You held out your pinkie finger for her to take and was happily surprised to see her return the gesture by weakly wrapping her pinkie around your own. This was progress. It was the most Nari had said since the two of you escaped from the organization. Hopefully with this off her chest, she’d open up a little more and just maybe, things would get back to some kind of normal between you two. You really didn’t want to lose your best friend. Nari wasn’t the only one in that hotel room who had lost a lot.

With the both of you feeling a little bit better, you carefully stood up from the bed and brought your bestie along with you. It would be okay. You’d make it be okay no matter the cost. It was time to get out of these disgusting clothes and find something more suitable for wear. Not to mention your hair needed a trim something awful. Then again.....you were willing to go the extra mile for a disguise if it meant surviving to see real freedom.

Deciding it wasn’t smart to stay in one place for two nights in a row, you made the plan to get your clothes, get stuff needed for your hair, maybe purchase a couple duffel bags, and make your next move. That was as far as you had gotten in the planning. Should the two of you stay in this town or perhaps travel back to Daegu? Maybe Busan? Ugh. You just didn’t know yet. Okay. One step at a time, here. One step at a time.

Crossing the street, you had heard from the hotel desk clerk that there was a hand-me-down store for clothing not too far from where they were staying. That would be perfect! You didn’t need to look like models. You just needed some clean clothes to wear. And you had saw where a pharmacy was close by as well. You decided to dye your hair and cut it yourself but you just weren’t sure what color to get. Poor Nari, on the other hand, was way too happy with her hair and especially the color. So to try and find some even ground, the two of you had agreed on a hat. She could tie up her hair and wear a baseball cap. That would work.

While Nari wanted something pretty, you were more focused on trying to disguise yourself as much as possible. In fact, when you came out of the dressing room with a plain white t-shirt tucked into a pair of black skinnies and a black blazer to match; paired with black combat boots that looked like they could kill, Nari couldn’t stop herself from mumbling shyly,

“You look like a boy if it wasn’t for your boobs and long hair.”

“That’s the plan.....babe.”

You couldn’t help but grin as you watched your best friend blush heavily. Don’t get the wrong picture, the both of you were far more into boys. But it was cute to tease your bestie because as much as you loved her, she was such a cute and easy target. When you heard that familiar whine of mortification, you couldn’t help but feel your chest bubble with happiness and relief. Perhaps that talk in the hotel room really did do some good. Nari just simply needed to get some feels off her chest.

After he got Taehyung to finally eat and drink something, Jungkook ended up lugging his butt up from the cafe chair and hauled him outside into the fresh air. It wasn’t like his older friend to get stuck in his feels like this. Sure human trafficking had always been a sore subject, but he was taking it to a completely new level of sore. Stuffing his hands in his pockets and squinting against the sun’s rays, the young inspector said casually,

“Jimin said there wasn’t much to report on the barista from Busan. Apparently she was trying to save her tips from the cafe in order to go into law school. She’s on the fence of whether or not she wants to be a cop or an attorney.”

Jungkook really wanted to meet you. You fascinated him to no end. First the course in Police Science and now law school? You sounded super cool with how you had taken several self defense classes as well. He wondered if you liked boxing......Yeah......maybe he could teach you one day.

Wait what???

Shaking his head to clear it, it was then that he heard Yoongi coming on the ear piece once more.

“Your girls are on the move. They stayed at a hotel last night but they’ve not made any further reservations. Apparently one of the other guests recognized them in the hallways. I informed the manager to keep it quiet because we don’t want to scare them off. If we’re lucky, we can catch them before they depart. The manager said they’ve not returned the room keys yet.”

“Thanks, hyung. Keep us posted.”

“No problem. Forwarding you guys the hotel address now.”

“You hear that, hyung? We’re gonna find them and it’s gonna be okay.”

Feeling a hearty pat on his shoulder, Taehyung nodded and tried to give his younger partner a smile. The two girls must be so scared. Running from not only the organization, but the law as well. When in all reality, this had since then turned into a rescue mission. This was definitely a first for him in his career of law enforcement. Pulling himself together, the blonde squared his shoulders and held his head up high as he walked to the car. Meanwhile, Jeon was reading off the directions to the city where the girls were currently staying in.

“So.....Hyung.......You seem pretty invested in this case. You wanna talk about it?”

Yoongi was right when he said it was a bit of a drive. At the same time, Jungkook couldn’t help but mentally praise the girls for thinking of taking such a far, out-of-the-way route to escape danger. It was a quieter town too. Or so he had heard. Listening to the ticking sound of the vehicle’s turn signal, the blonde detective finally spoke up but in a small voice.

“I just want to find them and bring those dirt bags to justice.”

Okay. So clearly his hyung wasn’t ready to talk about it. Which was totally fine. But it was easier to work with a Kim Taehyung when he had his head on straight and he wasn’t thinking with his heart instead of his brain. Subconsciously nibbling on his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his, Jungkook silently nodded and turned his attention to his phone. With the help of Yoongi and his ability to enhance images, he was able to get a better look at the two girls they were trying to rescue.

“They’re both kind of cute. Once you get past their bird nest hairstyles and grungy clothing.”

That didn’t seem to make matters any easier as Jungkook could hear his hyung gripping the steering wheel all the tighter; the sound of his skin squeaking against the material of the wheel. Oops....

“What hotel was it again? I think we might be approaching the town soon.”

Yeah. Definitely not ready to talk about it.

“Bestie.....are you sure you want to do this? We can get you a ball cap too, you know. It doesn’t have to be this extreme.”

“I’m absolutely positive, Nari. Lay it on me.”

Nari couldn’t believe what she was about to do to her best friend’s hair. It was already painful enough to watch you chop it all off. She knew the point was for you to look as far from yourself as possible but still......This was just crazy. You had chopped your own hair off and now sported a boy cut of sorts. Bangs hung in your eyes to try and hide them while your back had been completely taken up. Not a single strand of hair was hanging down or coming anywhere close to your shoulders. Nothing framing your face. Just your bangs.

“They won’t be looking for a blonde, Nari. Just trust me.”

And that was how you got your hair bleached for the first time ever. It was worth it, though. Everything you were doing, you were doing for you and Nari both. What was a little hair if it meant keeping you both alive and getting your tickets to true freedom? It was so worth it in your mind and you could only hope your bestie would see that too. With time.

After washing and drying it, you stood there in the hotel bathroom mirror with your girl next to you. Nari looked shocked and a bit pale while you were grinning like an idiot. This was perfect. Sporting your outfit you had picked out from the store and turning your head this way and that way to inspect your new hairstyle, you couldn’t wait to throw both the organization and the police for a loop.

They’d never see you coming.

“Okay, Ri. Sadly we can’t stay here. We gotta keep moving. Let’s check out and find a different place to stay. We’ll grab a bus to the next city over and grab another hotel room. We still have plenty of won left. The guy was stupid enough to leave his wallet loaded.”

Helping your bestie secure her baseball cap on and making sure her hair was tucked in nice and neat, you couldn’t help but think how cute she looked dressed so casually compared to the rags she was forced to wear for the last four months of her life. Nari was way too pretty to wear such filth. You couldn’t wait for things to get back to normal. The first thing you’d do is take her shopping for some pretty new clothes to wear to the kindergarten class she shadowed. You knew how much she loved those kids.

Once the both of you packed your items from the convenience store last night and the new batch of instant noodles and snacks from the pharmacy earlier today, you hoisted up the duffel bags and made your way out of the room; making it look just as it did when you arrived. It would be like you were never even here. Although you couldn’t help but notice how deadly quiet it was in the hotel hallways.

“Thanks for staying with us. Have a wonderful day!”

Cool. You were out and on the street once again. The next step in your plan was simple. Find a bus routing out of town to the next city and hop on. Simple, right? Just as you were about to make a step for the bus stop down the street, you felt something hard and cold pressing into the small of your back. Not only that, but a chin rested on your shoulder and whispered in your ear,

“Scream and I’ll shoot you right where you stand, slut.”

Well that sucks.

[ts1989fanatic]

Every Taylor Swift Album Ranked

We revisited each of the singer’s original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

FEATURESEvery Taylor Swift Album Ranked

We revisited each of the singer’s original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

By Slant Staff on July 6, 2021

Taylor Swift started off as a country artist at a time when the genre was both less respectful and accommodating of the voices of women than at any other point in its storied history. The singer’s first four albums barely scan as country music in a meaningful way, instead embracing her preternatural gifts for pop conventions, and her output has gotten stronger the more openly she’s embraced those skills. In the 15 years since the single “Tim McGraw” launched Swift to country stardom, she’s jettisoned the genre’s ill-fitting signifiers and overcome the limitations of her early recordings—improvements captured in her “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of those albums as a powerful statement of artistic agency.

As Swift takes an apparent break from new music to re-record those early releases, including Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and this fall’s highly anticipated Red redux, we revisited each of her original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

9. Taylor Swift (2006)

Though she was praised for her songwriting right out of the gate, what Swift’s self-titled debut truly shows in hindsight is how diligently she’s worked to hone her craft over the years. Some of her trademarks—her gift for melody, her third-act POV reversals—were already present here, but there’s a sloppiness to the writing that she’s long since cleaned up. Whether that’s emphasizing the wrong syllables of words because she hadn’t quite mastered the meter of language (most notable on “Teardrops on My Guitar”) or mixing metaphors (on “Picture to Burn” and the otherwise catchy “Our Song”), there’s a lack of polish and editing on Taylor Swift

8. Fearless (2008)

Nearly every track on Swift’s sophomore effort, Fearless, builds to a massive pop hook. But while her grasp of song structure at this point in her career suggested an innate talent for how to develop a melody, Fearless also highlights Swift’s then-limited repertoire and lack of creativity in constructing her narratives of doe-eyed infatuations and first loves gone wrong. It’s admirable that she tries to incorporate more sophisticated elements into a few of the songs here, but dancing with or kissing someone in the rain is a default image that crops up with nearly the same distracting frequency as references to princesses, angels, and fairy tales. Fearless, however, just as strongly made the case that Swift had the goods for a long, rich career. The bridge to “Fifteen” includes a great, revealing line about a friend’s lost innocence (“And Abigail gave everything/She had to a boy/Who changed his mind/And we both cried”), while the playful melody of “Hey Stephen” captures the essence of what makes for indelible teen-pop.

7. Speak Now (2010)

Swift’s third album, Speak Now, is problematic in precisely the same ways that its predecessors are, but there isn’t a song here that isn’t an absolute wonder of technical construction. Perhaps even more impressive is Swift’s mastery of song structure. Consider how the instrumentation drops out during the last two words of the hook in “Last Kiss,” allowing the singer’s breathy vocal delivery to bear the entirety of the song’s emotional weight, or how a simple acoustic guitar figure on “Enchanted” slowly crescendos behind each repetition of the line “I was enchanted to meet you.” Unfortunately, the greater complexity and range found in Swift’s sound and in her song constructions doesn’t necessarily translate to her songwriting. Her narrators often seem to lack insight because Swift writes with the point of view that hers is the only story to be told, which makes songs like “Dear John” and “Better Than Revenge” come across as shallow and shortsighted. And though she does vary her phrasing in ways that attempt to mask her limited voice, Swift is still noticeably off-pitch at least once on every song on the album.

6. Red (2012)

Considering that Swift’s previous material was almost always better when she tossed the ill-fitting country signifiers and focused on her uncanny gift for writing pop hooks, Red was a smart, if overdue, move for the singer. The album plays as a survey course in contemporary pop, and Swift is game to try just about anything, from the uninhibited dance-pop of standout “Starlight” to the thundering heartland rock of “Holy Ground.” The tracks that work best are those on which the production is creative and modern in ways that are in service to Swift’s songwriting. The distorted vocal effects and shifts in dynamics on “I Knew You Were Trouble” heighten the sense of frustration that drives the song, and the driving rhythm section on “Holy Ground” reflects Swift’s reminiscence of a lover who “took off faster than a green light, go.” Not all of the songs here are so keenly observed—“State of Grace” and “I Almost Do” lack the specificity that’s one of Swift’s songwriting trademarks, while the title track underwhelms with its train of pedestrian similes and metaphors—but if Red is ultimately too uneven to be a truly great pop album, its highlights were career-best work for Swift at the time.

5. Lover (2019)

Swift’s seventh album, Lover, lacks a unified sonic aesthetic, ostensibly from trying to be something to everyone. The title track, whose lilting rhythm and reverb-soaked drums and vocals are reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s ‘90s gem “Fade Into You,” and the acoustic “Soon You’ll Get Better,” a tribute to Swift’s mother, hark back to the singer’s pre-pop days, while “I Think He Knows” and “False God” evoke Carly Rae Jepsen’s brand of ‘80s R&B-inflected electro-pop. When it comes to things other than boys, though, Swift has always preferred to dip her toes in rather than get soaking wet; her transformation from country teen to pop queen was, after all, a decade in the making. Less gradual was Swift’s shift from political agnostic to liberal advocate. Her once apolitical music is, on Lover, peppered with references to America’s current state of affairs, both thinly veiled (“Death by a Thousand Cuts”) and more overt (“You Need to Calm Down”). “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” however, is her stock in trade, a richly painted narrative punctuated by cool synth washes and pep-rally chants, while “The Archer” is quintessential Swift: wistful, minimalist dream pop that displays her willingness to acknowledge and dismantle her own flaws, triggers, and neuroses.

4. Reputation (2017)

In the run-up to the release of her sixth album, Reputation, Swift was excoriated by fans and foes alike for too often playing the victim. The album’s lyrics only serve to bolster that perception: Swift comes off like a frazzled stay-at-home mom scolding her disobedient children on “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” But it’s her willingness to portray herself not as a victim, but the villain of her own story that makes Reputation such a fascinatingly thorny glimpse inside the mind of pop’s reigning princess. Swift has proven herself capable of laughing at herself, thereby defusing the criticisms often levied at her, but with Reputation she created a larger-than-life caricature of the petty, vindictive snake she’s been made out to be. By album’s end, Swift assesses her crumbling empire and tattered reputation, discovering redemption in love—only Reputation isn’t so much a rebirth as it is a retreat inward. It marks a shift from the retro-minded pop-rock of 2014’s 1989 toward a harder, more urban aesthetic, and Swift wears the stiff, clattering beats of songs like “…Ready for It?” like body armor.

3. Evermore (2020)

Evermore is at once as confident and complete a statement as Folklore. Certainly, it matters that the two albums were born of the protracted isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and that collaborators like Bon Iver and the National’s Aaron Dessner figure prominently on both. But Evermore finds Swift digging further into her explorations of narrative voice and shifting points of view, taking bigger risks in trying to discover how the newfound breadth of her songwriting could possibly reconcile with the arc of her career. What makes Evermore an essential addition to her catalog is her willingness to tell others’ stories with the same insight and compassion with which she’s always told her own. And on this album, in particular, the stories she tells are about how her narrators’ choices impact others, often in ways that cause irreparable harm.

2. 1989 (2014)

Swift’s 1989 severed whatever vestiges of her country roots remained on 2012’s Red, replacing acoustic guitars and pedal steel with multi-layered synthscapes, drum machines, and densely packed vocal tracking. Swift, of course, got her start writing astutely observed country ballads, and these songs bolster her trademark knack for lyric-crafting with maximalist, blown-out pop production courtesy of collaborators Max Martin and Jack Antonoff. The album’s standout tracks retain the narrative detail and clever metaphor-building that distinguished Swift’s early songs, even amid the diversions wrought by the aggressive studio production on display throughout. Songs like “I Know Places” ride a reggae swagger and trap-influenced snare beats before launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus. It’s an effortless fusion that, like much of 1989, displays Swift’s willingness to venture outside her comfort zone without much of a safety net, and test out an array of sonic experiments that feel both retro and of the moment.

1. Folklore (2020)

Folklore is neither a culmination of Swift’s career to date nor a pivot in a new direction. She’s doing exactly what she’s always done: offering a collection of incisive, often provocative songs that incorporate authentic, first-person details and leaving others to argue over specific genre signifiers. Song for song, the album finds Swift at a new peak in her command of language. While tracks like “Cardigan” and “Invisible Strings” hinge on protracted metaphors, “Mad Woman” and “Peace” are blunt and plainspoken. In every instance, what’s noteworthy is Swift’s precision in communicating her exact intent. That she employs her long-established songwriting tropes in novel ways is truly the most significant development here. She’s mined this type of melancholy tone before, but never for the full length of an album and certainly never with such a range of perspectives. It isn’t the weight of the subject matter alone that makes Folklore feel so vital—it’s the exemplary caliber of her writing. The album finds Swift living up to all of the praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career.

ts1989fanatic not sure I 100% agree with their ranking order and some of the snark on reputation is a little OTT but overall it’s not bad

[pl-panda]

Of Heaven and Hell

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @ethelphantom for the cover I use at Wattpad and FF.Net and Me for the plot.

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Of Heaven and Hell: Part 1

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Of Heaven and Hell

From Encyclopedia Demonica

[...] and while many people consider angels epitomes of good, they are mistaken. Indeed, this regal beings are more closely connected to order than to goodness. They perceive divine law as imperative and hold little regard to human lives, as long as they serve their goals. And yet, most of the times they chose to not involve themselves in mortal affairs.

Typical angel have two forms. First look very similar to human, but they retain most of their powers. Such form is also much more durable and their physical capabilities exceed everything you could expect from a mortal. Second is close to the first one in appearance, but differs in terms of power and abilities. In this form Angel spreads his wings and feature specific to his sub-species appear. 

Angel’s powers differ on subspecies, but universally include flight, enhanced senses, enhanced agility, strength and durability, large magical potential, access to magic unique to their species and high resistant to other types of magic. Specific subspecies have different additional powers. Each Angel also possess an ability that is unique to him. Usually, it reflects his personality and present itself when it reaches maturity. [...]

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

Six years ago

Damian cursed under his breath. The temple was under attack. His mother told him to get inside. And he did. He ran to his room to grab his sword. A beautifully ornate weapon with guard in shape of two intertwined pairs of angel wings pointing toward the blade. Great for complicated maneuvers. The pommel held a teal pearl also protected by a pair of angel wings. It was a gift from his grandfather for his eighth birthday. The weapon was perfectly balanced and suited Damian’s style perfectly. 

With the sword in hand, Damian unfolded his wings. His tunic had a special holed cut in the back to accomodate for them and he didn’t destroy every shirt he wore. A pair of large white feathered wings appeared and he dashed forward to battle. He couldn’t let his mother die. A small orb of white energy appeared in his hand before he launched it at the wall in front of him. The explosion created enough of a hole for him to pass. 

In front of him opened a large yard. Usually, a new acolytes trained here under careful watch of angelic masters. Now it was simply a blood bath. Bodies were lying everywhere. But what shocked him the most was that angels were fighting one another. Some wore League’s armors, but overwhelming force was dressed in black-and-orange suits. He wanted to dash forward and into the battle, but someone grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows. A slender figure of his mother looked at him sternly.

“I told you to go inside.”

“Mother! I came to fight with you. I must fight with you. By your side. Together. It’s my destiny!”

“Your destiny is to live Damian.” She scolded him. “Now quickly. Let’s move. Some battles can’t be won.”

“But… what about the mission?” He asked confused.

“Mission will live in you and me. Now let’s go join your grandfather in the tunnels.” She started leading him away.

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

Damian woke up from the dream. He instantly grabbed his sword and swung it around. Only then he realized that is was just a memory. He looked around his room, assessing any dangers. Once he was sure that nothing lurked in the darkness he got up. It was still night and quick glance at the electronic clock told him that it was 3:30 AM. Long time before others wake up. But Damian did not want to go to sleep anymore. He never did after this kind of nightmares. 

He got down to the holo-training room and activated the highest setting. A series of ninja shimmered into existence. Without as much as a second of hesitation, Damian dashed forward. His silver sword cut through them as he zoomed through the arena. With each move, he took two of the enemies. A slight golden aura around him intensified as he burned through his anger. Finally, he collapsed, panting heavily from exhaustion. The “kill counter” showed that he was halfway to a thousand vanquished enemies. He was weak. He was useless. He ran away. He was no warrior but a mere coward.

But it was not true. He did the right thing. Because he ran away he met his father. He actually started to protect people instead to only try to control them. He was a nephilim, half angel, half human. He had all the powers of his angelic brethren and yet freedom to choose. He didn’t need to follow orders of higher beings. He could make his own decisions. And he chose to be a hero, not a warrior. Now, each day he reinforced this decision. First as Robin, fighting side by side with his father, now as… still Robin, but as a part of Teen Titans. 

“You okay Demon Spawn?” A voice of Dick Grayson, better known as Nightwing, came from behind. Damian instantly spun around and stopped his blade less than an inch from his neck. 

“Don’t do that if you want your head to remain where it is.” he scowled at the sight of his adopted brother’s patronizing gaze. “And don’t look like that.”

“Like what?” Dick asked confused. 

“Like I am a baby in need of your care. I am sixteen-years-old Nephilim. I am more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“So that’s why you are awake at five in the morning? Taking care of yourself?”

“Get lost.” Damian barked and started to practice katas with his sword. He had his back turned to dick when suddenly he spun around just in time to block a projectile that was tossed at him. 

“Come on bro. You and me. One on one. First to score three hits.” Dick taunted. 

“I am stronger, faster and more agile. You stand no chance.” Damian said in emotionless expression. He looked at Dick for a moment before taking off his tank-top. “And I can fly.” He grinned at the surprised Nightwing. A pair of white-feathered wings appeared on his back. 

“And yet I kick your rear every time we fight.” Dick smirked and drew his staff. Both ends started to crackle with electricity. 

Damian boosted himself forward with a single flap of his wings. His silver sword met with the staff, but before he could cut it, Nightwing sidestepped and allowed blade to slide down. He used the Angel’s momentum to his disadvantage. Damian’s blade stumbled upon crackling electricity, sending a powerful shock through his arm. Normal humans would be paralyzed by this, but Damian only growled. It hurt, but he could fight. Damian tried several more times, but Dick always reflected or sidestepped before the blade could do any real damage. Finally, the Angel changed tactic. Flapping his wings, Damian rose into air. His off-hand glowed with golden light which next formed a runic circle around his fist before several projectiles flew at various arcs toward Nightwing. The hero had to dodge it quickly, but got caught by the last one and got sent into the wall. Damian didn’t bother to check on him. Instead, he dashed forward. Before Dick managed to get rid of flying stars around his head a silver blade was less than an inch from his neck. 

“I win.” Damian proclaimed, looking smug.

“Nope.” Dick said, popping the ‘p’. He then used his staff to jab Damian’s stomach, then jump on his fit and separate his weapon into two escrima sticks. He then started to barrage the teenager with series of swift hits. While they would not usually hurt given angelic durability, the crackling electricity made it a bit painful. Damian shielded himself with his wings, but Dick found an opening and landed third and final hit that ended the fight.

“That is cheating! I had you!” The teen argued.

“So? You lost me. But good fight D. Maybe next time.”

“tt. That’s unfair! I want rematch!” 

“Boys!” Kori joined the discussion. “As much as watching you fight is… entertaining, I made breakfast.” She said cheerfully while walking to nightwing. “And something special for you later.” She said seductively.

“Bleh.” Damian faked vomiting. “I will never understand humans.”

“You are part-human.” Dick pointed out

“And so is neandertales. Yet he doesn’t understand humans.” The teen deadpanned. 

“I heard someone say breakfast!” Beast Boy barged into training room.

“I made pancakes.” Kori cheered.

“With maple syrup?” Gar asked 

“And ‘love’.” Damian gave a sarcastic remark.

“So the best ones.” Beast Boy said with dreamy face. “I reserve the first batch!” He said while already dashing to the kitchen. 

“Scarab said he detected pancakes!” Beetle said while zooming past the room in his full armor. Damian, Dick and Kori walked in normal pace, only to find Gar and Jaime staring wide-eyed at Rachel sitting there and calmly eating her breakfast. 

“Took you long enough.” She said with a small smile. The red gem on her forehead pulsed weakly, but it was ignored in favor of consuming inhuman amounts of pancakes. Damian himself didn’t even realize that he finished three plates before Dick pointed it out to him. He turned pink for a moment before jumping away and claiming the remote for the day. 

After the morning of cartoons Titans spent rest of the day on the beach near the island. Half-way through Dick and Kori disappeared and when the sun started to set Rachel and Garfield also went somewhere. Jami, Damian and their newest addition to the team: Cyborg, were completely obvious to this as their discussion came to sport. 

“I’m just saying. Futball is the best game. Soccer is cool, but it’s for kids.” Victor argued.

“You say that, but last I checked Soccer was much more popular around the world.” Jami pointed out proudly. “Besides it requires much more skill and finesse. Futball is about pure muscle mass.”

“As if! Have you got any idea how important tactics, positioning, territorial awareness and condition are in Futball?”

“tt. The best sport is sword-fighting anyway.” Damian grinned at them. Inwardly, he loved this family. Sure, living with his father was great, but here he finally had one thing he missed so much: friends. They weren’t patronizing like Todd. They weren’t constantly trying to prove something to him like Drake and Grayson was even bearable here. That is if he didn’t act all sugar-eyes for Starfire. Is he even aware she is an alien princess and he is a peasant acrobat? 

As the sun was finally down, the titans made a giant bonfire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. As Damian was about to eat his, suddenly a large yellow balloon sailed toward him. He tried to catch it, but his enhanced strength made him accidentally squash it instead. A wave of water assaulted him and made him wet to the very bones. 

“Beast Boy!” He roared in anger. One thing he hated in the Titans were the constant prank wars that lasted for weeks. 

*gulp* “Will it help when I say that I aimed at Jaime?” Garfield asked weakly. 

“No hermano. It will only make it worse.” Blue Beetle looked practically offended, but he had a small smirk on his face. 

Damian took off his t-shirt and tossed it at Beast Boy. His hand then glowed and a runic circle materialized around it. Garfield tried to run, but a golden beam hit him in his rear and suddenly his fur turned completely gold. He looked like some some hardcore sports fan supporting his favorite team.

“That’s not fair! I only tossed a small water balloon. You could cool off a bit bro!” Garfield tried to argue weakly while massaging his rear.

“Suck it up like a man and stop whining like little girl…” Damian said, but then looked at Rachel who sent him a death glare. “Not that I have anything against little girls?” He added quickly.

After that the atmosphere were great. Garfield was still a bit sore on the subject of his new color and decided that he will appreciate his green from now on. Finally, Damian excused himself and went to the tower to go to sleep earlier. As he entered his room, he felt a breeze of air going on. He distinctly remembered that his window was closed and nobody would enter without his permission. A glyph on the doors made sure of that. His sword appeared in his and and a glowing runic circle formed above his head. A less known fact about Angels was that their Halo was in fact a spell that allowed them to sense other Angels in close proximity. It also gave enough light to serve as convenient source of light. Not that they needed it as they saw in anything but perfect darkness. Damian would never admit out loud that he used it when he wanted to draw something in the middle of the night. 

“Hello… Mother.” He said with disdain in his voice. 

“It’s good to see you too Damian.” She responded with sarcasm. 

“Why do you grace me with your presence?” If Talia’s voice was dipped in sarcasm, Damian drowned in it. 

“I need your help.” She said, ignoring the obvious disrespect. “There are several demons in Paris.”

“So?”

“The city is warded against all things celestial. And magic hides it from your precious Justice League. Had any Angel tired to go there, he would not be able to enter the city. Should anyone else hear about the situation, they would forget it as soon as the discussion ended.”

“So? From what you are saying is true, Mother, then I am twice as locked out as anyone else. I will forget about it the moment you leave.”

“That’s why I need you.” She said with almost pleading voice. “You aren’t a full angel, but your mind is protected from the spell. You should be able to enter the city and remember everything.”

Damian pondered it for a moment. It did seem like something serious. If what she said was true, the whole city was at the mercy of those vile monsters and couldn’t even hope for any external help. “Fine. I will go there.”

“Good. I already enrolled you at Collège Françoise Dupont” She said with a wicked grin. With a flap of her two pairs of wings she was gone, leaving only a thin folder on his desk. Damian cursed under his breath. 

“Looks like I’m going to school. tt. I hate teenagers.”

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

Taglist: Open

[patriciasage]

Forgiveness

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary:

Taako sighs and takes off his hat, wringing the rim of it in his dark, scarred hands. Lup dissipates some of her aggressive energy at the sight of his walls coming down. It’s sibling honesty time.

“I understand why Lucretia did it. I respect it and I respect her.” He stares at the kitchen tiles. “I don’t hate her. I just can’t forgive her.”

posted in full under the break but you can find me on A03!!

Merle’s house isn’t big enough for all of them, especially with the addition of Kravitz, Mavis and Mookie, Killian, Carey, and Angus. But the weather is so nice that they spend most of their time on the beach, anyway. Lup’s on her way to the kitchen to grab another beer for her and Barry when she hears sniffling coming from the living room. Oh no, that won’t do, nobody cries on a Reunion Day.

As she rounds the corner, ready to tackle someone or give a spectacular pep-talk, she sees that she is not needed. Lucretia is sitting on the couch, wiping her tears on a dark handkerchief. It hurts Lup to see her friend look so worn down, so much older. The elf knows from experience that Lucretia doesn’t respond very well to aggressive comfort, so she’s happy to see Merle sitting on the couch too. Merle and Lucretia always had similar energies, and Lup can see that the cleric is grounding Lucretia in her moment of vulnerability. Lup quietly backs out of the room before they notice her.

But Lucretia speaks before Lup is out of earshot. “He told me he can’t forgive me.” Her voice is an awful combination of heartbroken and resigned. Lup’s curiousity and concern holds her in place. Her heartbeat stumbles when she hears her brother’s name from Merle’s lips.

“You know Taako. He’s stubborn, but he’ll come around.”

“I don’t know if he will.” Lucretia sounds so fragile in that moment. Protectiveness blooms in Lup’s ribcage and she storms to the kitchen.

Taako is delicately placing garnishes on a plate of little sandwiches. His “Kiss the Cook” apron protects his flowy, white shirt from any stains. The shell earring that Merle gave him is tangled in his braid. And Lup loves him more than she loves anyone else on any planet, but she is so pissed at him right now.

“Hey, asshole, stop being so mean to Lucretia.”

Taako turns around. With Kravitz’s encouragement, he no longer casts Disguise Self every day, and Lup is only just getting used to his new, average looks. “I’m not being mean to Lucretia.”

“Well, she’s not crying in Merle’s living room right now because that’s a fun beach activity.” Taako’s mouth tightens and he looks genuinely sad. “I know what happened was brutal, but she did what she thought was right, Taako. That’s no reason to hate her.”

Taako sighs and takes off his hat, wringing the rim of it in his dark, scarred hands. Lup dissipates some of her aggressive energy at the sight of his walls coming down. It’s sibling honesty time.

“I understand why she did it. I respect it and I respect her.” He stares at the kitchen tiles. “I don’t hate her. I just can’t forgive her.”

“Ever?” Lup asks. She leans on the table next to her twin. “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, bro? She’s been through a lot.”

Taako mumbles, “She put me through a lot, too.”

Lup snatches his hat out of his hands and tosses it onto a nearby chair, ignoring his half-assed protest. He finally looks her in the eye. “I lived in a fucking umbrella for over a decade. Davenport forgot everything but his own fucking name! If we can forgive her, why can’t you?”

Taako’s dark eyes are sharp and bright like obsidian. “With all due respect, pumpkin, you don’t know what it’s like to live without you.”

There are a few breaths where they just look at each other. Lup remembers how awful it felt to be trapped in the Umbra Staff, watching and listening to her brother and her friends in trouble, unable to help them, unable to connect with anyone. But she had her memories. She had a purpose. She had hope.

Taako continues to speak, his voice rough and breaking more than usual. “And when I say, ‘live without you’, I don’t mean missing you, babe. I mean living without awareness of you, without any memories of our life.”

This isn’t news to Lup. She knows what Lucretia fed to Fischer. She knows that Taako and Magnus and Merle and Davenport were extracted from their old lives. But she doesn’t like to think about it too hard because empathy reaches for her heart and squeezes. Imagining a life without Taako is sickening and almost incomprehensible.

“I was so alone, and I always felt like something was missing, but I thought I was just fucked up.” Taako laughs humourlessly. “I mean, I am…just a little bit. You know that. We both are.” His smile fades. “But not having you in my life was as if someone used Hole Thrower on my fucking soul.” She reaches out and holds his hand. Their hands are the same size and they’ve always fit perfectly together. “And then I remembered you. And you were still gone. And I could have been looking for you the entire time! You literally spelled it out for me. But I didn’t even know…”

They don’t usually do hugs. Sure, when Lup finally got her corporeal form Taako wouldn’t let her go for a full three minutes. But that was an exception. Usually, their physical affection consists of fist bumps and braiding each other’s hair. But Lup wraps her arms around her brother and squeezes hard. They both need it. Seems like they’re siblings who hug, now.

“I care about Lucretia,” Taako says into her shoulder. “I don’t want to punish her, that’s not what I’m doing here. But she hurt me in the worst way anyone ever could.” He gently steps out of her embrace. “So, I can’t forgive her.”

Lup’s heart is heavy in her chest as Taako grabs his hat and leaves the kitchen, tray of sandwiches in hand. A few moments later she hears Angus McDonald on the front porch. “Welcome back, sir!”

“Hey, Agnes. You hungry?”

When Lup returns to the beach, Barry asks her if she’s okay. “Yeah, I’m fine. Oh, shit, I forgot the beers.”

“It’s okay, babe.” Barry doesn’t ask her any more questions, but he wraps his arm tightly around her waist. She’s grateful for the grounding contact, grateful for her sweet Barry.

Lucretia and Merle walk down from the house and sit on the sand next to Magnus and Carey. Magnus finishes carving a dolphin out of a piece of driftwood and hands it to Lucretia. She smiles. The hours pass lazily on their perfect day.

Almost 60 feet away from the group, Taako stands ankle-deep in the water. He’s a tiny, solitary figure, staring out at the vast horizon. Lup hates seeing him alone and it’s almost as if her co-worker hears her thoughts because suddenly Kravitz is wading in the water, his pinstripe pants rolled up to his knees. Lup watches the Grim Reaper kiss her brother on the back of the neck and hold him, and the phantom grip on her heart loosens.

Taako will never be alone again. She’ll make sure of it.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Lullaby

Keanu Reeves x reader (A/n- Things are looking grim ahead , please don’t kill me.) (Chapter Summary- Y/n’s wedding day arrives, and contrary to popular belief, its not really every girl’s dream)

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15

Warnings- Angst, like, lots of it.

Chapter 16

6 Weeks Later A calming breath, slow blinking and a palm pressed firmly to the center of her chest. It was usually enough to ground her when she needed it, but that morning, it wasn’t nearly enough. The hand that wasn’t firmly at her chest clutched a fistful of her silk robe, scrunching the smooth material between her fingers, hoping that all the anxious energy would travel from her fingers to the garment.

Y/n had always dreamed of her wedding as a child. When they were kids, she and Jillian would take turns throwing each other pretend weddings; Y/n had been married to her family’s dog well over a dozen times. And as she’d grown into a teenager, Y/n had fantasized about what it would be like when the day actually came; how old would she be? Would she be head over heels for him? Would he be everything she dreamed of or a pleasant surprise? Though, she never thought that it wouldn’t be her choice, that she wouldn’t really love the man at the top of the altar and have someone else on her mind while she got ready to say ‘I do’. 

But there she was, locked in the bathroom of her old bedroom, near having a panic attack. Tears weren’t falling, but her breaths were heavier than usual and her stomach churned ominously. Y/n wanted to run away, disappear, anything really. “Honey?” It was Catherine, knocking on the bathroom door, sounding worried as ever, “Everything okay?”

It took a minute, Y/n knew that if she spoke immediately, she’d give herself away, though, maybe she’d done that when she hastily ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, right as they’d brought the garment bag with her dress in it. “Yeah,” she eventually managed, sliding to the ground, barely hitting the marble floor with a soft thud.

Everything before that had been somewhat easy to fake; the engagement party, going around for fittings and preparations, and even the rehearsal dinner. But the actual act of getting into the dress, and then taking the limo down to Vibiana? Y/n wasn’t sure if she could do it. This was a wedding, a legal commitment, something she’d be stuck in, for probably the rest of her life. 

“I don’t want to rush you,” Catherine probed gently, “But we’re running late already, the guys are going to be leaving for the ceremony in a bit-”

“Sweetie, you’re mom’s being a bitch, and she really wants to get this shit show on the road,” that was Tracy, who’d flown in like the rest of her girlfriends to be a part of the bridal party, “Maybe if I get you some whisk-”

“Trace!” Jillian snapped, scolding her, “Aunt Heather will kill us if we get her drunk and-”

“Will both of you just shut up?” Amanda hissed, proceeding to direct her attention to Y/n, who still sat, huddled on the bathroom floor, “Y/n/n, I know this probably isn’t what you wanted, and I wish, we all wish,” she corrected, “That this was different for you, but its not, and locking yourself in a bathroom isn’t gonna change that. Now, you can get outta there, and stand up to your mom and stop this before it gets worse. Or you can come out and go through with it. But you can not stay in there.”

Standing abruptly, Y/n cleared her cheeks of any fallen moisture, then pulled the door open with renewed, though frustrated vigor, “You think I haven’t tried that?” Y/n didn’t know where the swell of anger came from, but suddenly, it was there and she couldn’t contain it, “I have tried breaking the rules, standing to them, fighting for what I want, and this is what I’ve gotten. So I’m sorry if I’d rather stay in there than get stuck in a loveless marriage.”

Everyone stared at her and Amanda sighed heavily, “Babe,” her voice broke, half from being startled by Y/n’s outburst and the other for seeing her friend distressed, “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

Deep red lips quivered as she nodded, the anger disappearing as quickly as it surged up, replaced by her recently usual despair, “I know,” she admitted tearily, grabbing Amanda in a hug, which everyone else inevitably joined, “I just….”

“We know,” Jillian assured. They stayed like that for a while, holding Y/n in the center of a swirling ball of sisterly affection, but as long as all good things come to an end, so did their prolonged group hug, “So what are you gonna do?”

Y/n mulled on it for a minute, knowing that there was only one answer to the question; running away would get her family’s name dragged in a scandal, and possibly Keanu’s too, and putting her foot down and not marrying Daniel might just get her disowned. Everything had repercussions and the last thing she wanted for everyone else’s image to go up in flames with hers. This was bigger than her, it always was. “What I have to do,” she’d put up a good fight at the beginning, but every other solution would just make things worse; Y/n was their only child, she had responsibilities and they were her parents, “I’m gonna marry him.”

An uncomfortable silence clung to the room and it felt like everyone was trying to accept the faith with her, sharing in the heaviness of the burden. Though, while Y/n appreciated the solidarity, it wouldn’t help her, so, straightening her back, she looked towards the very large garment bag laid on the bed, next to several white boxes held closed with silk ribbons, all containing additions for the dress. “That’s it?” She pointed a manicured nail towards the clutter, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah,” Jillian sighed, joining Catherine as she went over to pick up the bag and bring it over “Ready to put it on?”

Slowly, and reluctantly, Y/n nodded, “As I’ll ever be.” Those were the last words exchanged among the group, and not too long after, the zipper of the bag was being pulled down, revealing a gorgeous white, satin and tulle, ballgown wedding dress. The sweetheart neckline gracefully led to off the shoulder sleeves while hours upon hours worth of hand-sewn, delicate, pale gold details with pearls and rhinestones only added to the gown’s obvious beauty and finally, the train stretched for at least four feet, more intricate embellishments beautifully leading to the hem. 

Getting into it alone was a task; the gown was heavy and even between the five of them, it was hard to sort the top from the bottom when they pooled it on the floor so Y/n could step in through the open top. The daunting task was eventually overcome though, and eventually, Catherine and Jillian were helping Y/n pull it up over her delicate, white bridal lingerie while Tracy and Amanda worked on getting out the veil at the jeweled hair piece meant to hold it in place.  

“Have you gained weight?” Jillian queried absently as she did up the back of Y/n’s dress.

“What?” She scoffed, incredulously and obviously offended. When she’d tried the dress on a few weeks ago, at the final fitting, it had been fine. Then again, so much had happened since that day, and everything had been so much of a blur that Y/n hadn’t even been paying attention to her weight, she’d really just unconsciously assumed it was going to stay the same. “I don’t know,” she shrugged, trying to look back and meet Jillian’s puzzled gaze, “Maybe?”

“I...uh,” Jillian stuttered, now aided by Catherine in fixing the corset inspired back-work, “Okay,” she declared, “My bad, I think I might have laced it up too tight before.”

Exhaling audibly, Y/n nodded slowly, relieved; the last thing she wanted was to have to explain to her mother that the custom made, designer wedding gown that they’d put on rushed demand couldn’t fit because she’d unknowingly gained a couple pounds. Knowing Heather, she'd probably think that Y/n was intentionally sabotaging the day anyway. 

Immediately after that was over, Y/n was whisked to her vanity, sitting patiently as Tracy and Amanda added the finishing touches to her hair so they could perfectly place the veil. Through the mirror, Y/n spectated as Tracy lowered a rose gold and diamond floral tiara to her hair. She’d read somewhere that it was usually the bride’s mother that did that; adding the decor to the bride’s hair. But Y/n hadn’t even seen her mother since the rehearsal the night before, and even then, she’d been too busy barking orders at the wait staff or on her phone, making sure everything was in order at the venue. In fact, throughout the entire ordeal, Y/n hadn’t even gotten a single strand of motherly advice from Heather, and it went without saying that she wasn’t planning on coming to help Y/n get ready. 

A huge part of Y/n wished that Heather was different, that she was the kind of mother that she could go to about anything, who’d give her advice and wouldn’t force her to marry someone just to block a relationship with someone Y/n loved. Y/n loved her mother, she did, but, then more than ever, she wished she was someone else, someone who cared. But Heather was who she was, and Y/n had to pay the price.

“And in other news; heiress Y/n Warren is carded to marry Daniel Wang; the son of business magnate; Li Jian Wang and former model; Alice Wang. The ceremony is due to start within the next hour at Vibiana in-” Keanu turned the television off, tossing the remote to the coffee table before heading towards the kitchen, nearly empty coffee cup in hand. As he set the mug down in the sink, Keanu gripped the lip of the counter, casting his head down, letting himself wallow in the feeling of loss. He’d seen Y/n just the night before, but she hadn’t been herself; even after getting engaged to Daniel, she’d still managed to enjoy their stolen moments together, but that night she’d been in a sour mood and had snapped at him twice, cried once and had eventually apologized, blaming her behavior on a headache. Keanu didn’t take any of it to heart though, knowing that try as he might, he couldn’t begin to understand what she was going though, and the least he could do was be there for her, be her sweet escape.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t hurting too though; the only woman he had thought of getting serious with for the first time in a while was getting married, and it wasn’t to him. With a huff, Keanu pushed away from the sink; knowing that wallowing wouldn’t get him very far, he decided to go have a shower and then get ready for a ride. He wouldn’t call his friends for that one, not in the mood for  company, instead, Keanu would just go out on his own, hoping the rush of wind in his face and the open road would help him clear his head and shake off the despair. 

He was nearing the staircase, just about to start getting ready when Linda, his housekeeper, caught him, “Mr. Reeves?” He hummed absently in response, shifting his gaze to her. Linda was an older woman and she’d worked for him since he’d bought his house nearly fifteen years ago. By then, she’d become more than just the woman who cleaned up after him, putting up with his occasional bouts of sloppiness without protest, she had become a friend, someone who’s opinion he trusted. “Amanda,” his assistant, “Dropped this off, she said it came late yesterday.” In her outstretched hand, she held a little parcel, and upon reliving her of it, Keanu found that it wasn’t particularly heavy either. 

“What is…..” impatient, Keanu tore the tape off the top, ripping the brown box open and shifting around the bubble wrap hastily, his face falling when he finally dug out a little jewelry box, “Oh,” he shook his head.

Worried, Linda mirrored his frown, strands of dull blonde hair falling out of her loose bun as she tilted her head, regarding him thoughtfully “Is everything okay?” When Keanu didn’t respond, simply standing there, with his head down cast and his thumb ghosting the foreign, gold-threaded inscription on the top of the little grey box, she swallowed thickly, “It’s for her isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he choked out, eyes stinging once again and emotion thickening his words. He’d ordered the necklace after they’d returned from New York, when Y/n wasn’t engaged and when they were blissfully unaware of the turmoil that lay in wait. She’d loved it so much, and Keanu had desperately wanted to see her get that excited over something, and show that he remembered, even if they'd both been drunk out of their better senses when they first saw it. But surely, he couldn't do that now, she was getting married within the hour, "I'll have to get rid of it later," he mused, more to himself.

"You're just going to throw it away?" Linda scoffed, folding her arms across her apron clad chest, "You need to give it to her."

Keanu chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head, "Give it to her?" Moistening his lips, Keanu brushed the thought off, "Yeah, I'll just go to the wedding, give to her and send her down the aisle with a kiss. I don't even have an invitation."

"You're Keanu Reeves and you need an invitation?" Linda rolled her clear blue eyes, shaking her head, "Are you really willing to let your last chance just pass you by like this? You need to go down there and give it your best," sighing heavily, she went on a bit firmer, "I've been with you for fifteen years, I've you bring women here and I've seen them walk out of here like it didn't even matter, but I've never seen you care for one the way you care for Y/n. You make each other happy, you love each other. So, you need to get down there and speak your piece, it'll do you both some good. Or at the very least, you'll get closure."

Keanu pondered on Linda's advice for a moment, eventually nodding slowly, "Yeah," he sighed, defeated, "Thanks Linda," gently hitting the railing with his fist, Keanu started the journey up the stairs.

Upon reaching his bedroom, Keanu dumped the box on his made sheets, pulling his t-shirt over his head about to get into the shower. That was, until he decided to flop onto the bed, feeling around until he found the jewelry box again, opening it to stare at the byzantine pendant. Even with Linda’s advice, Keanu didn’t have any intention of going to Y/n’s wedding. What was the use anyway? Going down there would only hurt them both and Keanu didn’t think he could stand the pain or even see it reflected her eyes. She’d already spent too much tears on him. 

For what felt like hours, Keanu laid there, the box eventually falling to his chest as he succumbed to a fretful midday nap, soft snores adding to the sound of his even breathing and dreams of Y/n running rampant. In his dreams she was his, there wasn’t heartbreak or fights, no one stood in their way. They could just be, together, happy and in love. But at some point, even the dreams turned troubling, starting to mirror their reality, tempestuous and painful to bear. She was leaving, yelling about how he didn’t fight for her, how she was being taken away and he hadn’t even helped. In his dream turned nightmare, Keanu tried to say something, anything that would soothe her sobs, but nothing would come, his lips were sealed shut.  

When Keanu awoke with a startle, his eyes instantly went wide and he could help the guilt that rose up in his being. It was getting dark out, but there was still time, he had to do something. 

The party was in full swing. People were dancing, others were chatting and almost everyone was drinking. Daniel had momentarily left her side to go involve himself in the antics of his cousin's children; dancing and playing games with them. Y/n hadn't interacted much since the reception began, though she didn't think anyone noticed. The glass of champagne in her had was probably her fifth for the evening, but she had only just started to feel the slightest tingle, the makings of emotional numbness.

For a while more, she sat at the head table, in her designated chair, which was meant to look like a small throne, with gold painted carvings and floral decorations about it, sinking deeper and deeper into her thoughts. The ceremony hadn't been as bad as she'd imagined it, her father had given her away, they’d read their rehearsed, somewhat impersonal vows with soft violin music as their background and when she and Daniel had kiss after they'd first been pronounced man and wife, their guests had clapped haughtily. All in all, it was a beautiful affair, Y/n's only despondence laid with who she'd had to share it with.

Daniel wasn't Keanu.

Taking a long drag from her flute of bubbly, Y/n jumped when her mother touched her shoulder, her cold grip growing firmer when she leaned near Y/n's ear, "Did you tell him to come here?" A harsh urgency hung heavy in her tone. She and Heather had barely spoken all day and Y/n found it almost laughable that the first full sentence she said to her would be about something she had no clue on.

"What?" Y/n scrunched her nose, annoyed, "Who are you talking about?"

"Him," Heather pointed accusingly to the farthest corner of the large ballroom. Y/n couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed him before, but there Keanu stood, reclused from the rest of their guests, dark strands falling over his face, hands in the pockets of his black slacks and staring right her, looking smolderingly handsome and attractively broody, “Did you ask him to come here?” Heather was insistent, even if she’d probably already made up her mind on the matter.

“You think I’d ask him to come here so you’d have something else to bitch about?” Y/n sneered, she was at her limit with her mother’s demands and insults and the only thing keeping her from screaming that the entire day was a sham was the fear of embarrassment and ultimately being kicked to the curb by her dad.  

“Do not take that tone with me,” her mother warned, the little vein on her forehead standing out, a clear sign that she was already at her rope’s end, “You need to deal with this, now.”

For a minute, Y/n stared at her mother defiantly, partly wondering how they could even be related. She wanted to yell at her, throw a fit, something. Y/n’s jaw clenched as the urge intensified, but that wasn’t a fight she would win, she’d never win. Without another word, she stood, the chair scraping loudly on the marble floor, gathering heaps of her dress in her fists before stomping out of the nearest exit. Y/n bypassed Keanu, hoping he’d get the message and follow her. He did, staying a few paces behind until they’d broken out onto a balcony several feet away from the party, hopefully safe from prying eyes and intrusive disturbances.

“What are you doing here?” Y/n spun just as Keanu shut the glass door behind himself.

Absently, he shook his head, drinking her in, thinking of how gorgeous she looked it white, how much it hurt knowing that it wasn’t for him. He looked so lost and pained, his striking features pain stricken and his eyes red. Y/n looked like that before they made her up that morning and just like that, her anger was melting, he was already as hurt as she was, Y/n couldn’t stand to make it worse. “I…..” Keanu’s breath caught breath caught in his throat, and deciding that he probably wouldn’t get anything else out, he reached for the inner breast pocket of his sport coat, eventually producing a little box, “I got you something,” he choked out.

“No,” Y/n walked backwards into the brass railing, “You shouldn’t have done that, Ke, you shouldn’t even be here…...this….I….” She was supposed to be ending things, not encouraging them.

“Please,” he pleaded, taking a couple steps forward but still leaving a little space between them. Keanu knew that he should say more, but he couldn’t find the words, “I just need to give this one last shot.”

“You can’t,” hot tears prickled at Y/n’s eyes, threatening to fall as she put her foot down. She couldn’t let him finish, if he said what he wanted to, Y/n knew that she’d be gone, that she’d want nothing more that to give up her life to be a part of his. But she couldn’t just do that, it was wrong, at least, that was what she’d been taught, “It’s over Keanu, we’re over.”

“Don’t say that,” he begged.

Shaking her head, Y/n hastily swiped at her eyes, “It’s the truth. I’m sorry, but you need to go,” the words felt like battery acid on her tongue and would poison her memories forever, “We can’t keep doing this, I can’t keep doing this,” the running around, hiding, everything else. It was too complicated, they’d get into too much trouble. “I need to get back, and you need to leave,” already she was trying to walk off.

“Just kiss me one last time,” Keanu pleaded, grabbing her forearm, just below the sleeve of her dress, draped over Y/n’s delicate shoulder. His hold was a little firmer than he’d planned, but it was all in a show of his desperation. He didn’t want her to go, if she left, it’d be over, and Keanu didn’t want it to be over. Maybe it was too late, maybe he’d change her mind.

Y/n licked her lips, tears clouding her vision and her lips quivering ever so slightly. It would only hurt more to let him go if she did it, but Y/n didn’t think it would be right to end the past few months so abruptly. So, instead of denying him, Y/n let Keanu draw her in, submitting without hesitation when Keanu secured his strong arms around her waist. The warmth, the security, everything down to the physical feeling and his smell; she’d miss it all. Her heart raced in a way that was absent the very first time they’d shared affections and Keanu’s nerves were starting to get the better of him, his hands shaking and his knees weak.

This was it, their last kiss.

“I love you,” he breathed, gravitating towards Y/n the way snow fell to the earth, so slow that neither of them was sure it was happening. In turn, Y/n tilted her head, allowing him access, her lips awaiting his.

Her slow blinks were in an effort to stop tears that came nonetheless and her pain weighed the words down when Y/n finally returned them, “I love you too. I’ll always love you,” she had to be sure that Keanu knew, there couldn’t be even a shadow of doubt in the phrase, for it would ache her soul if they’d gone on with any indecision. 

“I know,” he assured, and before either of them knew it, Keanu’s lips were brushing hers, like the slightest breeze on water, rousing reaction but still barely there. The moment felt fragile and singular and Y/n could feel everything; the chilly evening air on her mostly bare arms, the dewiness of nightfall but above all, Keanu’s heartbeat, beating in time with hers, reminding them both that those moments spent on the balcony belonged not none other but the two of them. 

Again, he brushed his lips with hers and really, their endearment only deepened when one of Y/n’s hands rose to tangle in his dark locks, silky strands laced with lithe fingers while the fingertips of her other hand steadied his jaw. Keanu’s grip firmed up, a silent plea for their kiss to be prolonged. Their tongues tangled, dancing around each other and their salty tears mixed. It was everything packed into one gesture, love, loss and a pain that would last a lifetime. Two bleeding hearts intertwined, souls connecting and beginning to not be broken apart. 

How could it be over, when forever together wouldn’t be long enough?

“Please,” he whimpered pitifully when they broke. Keanu could have sworn that he felt his heart break when Y/n eventually untangled from his hold. 

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her thumb ghosting the apple of his cheek, the warmth of her touch lingering even as Y/n moved her hands. The ache was excruciating and Y/n knew that the minute she said it, she’d never be the same; the heartbreak was one she’d carry to her grave and the look on Keanu’s face was branded to her mind as a punishment for the consequence for things that were out of her control. “Goodbye,” she managed, scuttling back towards the hallway, hoping to seek refuge in some empty room or the other.

“Goodbye Y/n,” Keanu breathed, though, he knew she was gone and hadn’t heard it. Scrubbing one hand over his face, Keanu moved to lean on the guardrail, letting the emotion take him, sobbing softer than Y/n had been.  He hadn’t realized it before, but he was still holding onto the box. The urge to throw it, or just open in and destroy the necklace tried to consume him, but he simply couldn’t. Instead, he’d keep it, as a reminder of the woman he loved, the pain they’d caused each other.

He’d keep it as a memory of the woman that was gone, forever, the one he’d hold onto for the rest of his life. 

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited​  @paanchu786​  @a-really-bi-girl​  @baphometwolf666 @sdaff2   @green-forest-dreams @weird-civilian @magnificentclodpiebanana 

[chysgoda]

Chew Toy

Summary:  Emet-Selch learns a valuable lesson in toddler proofing.

Cross posted to my Tales from the Architect’s Bureau collection on Ao3

Idunn adjusted how her daughter rested on her hip as she walked into the Bureau of the Architect. Next to her Lahabrea was poorly concealing his amusement with the toddler’s new favorite game, pulling mommy’s hood down. When Idunn walked past the counters the Speaker arched an eyebrow at his fellow professor and the wife of Amaurot’s emissary. “Surely this is something the counter staff can handle?”

“Yes, however in an attempt to maintain his image as an incorrigible grump to everything and everyone, Emet-Selch is holding my paperwork hostage so that he can see his niece rather than just come visit like a well-adjusted adult.” Idunn huffed in annoyance as she absently pulled her hood back into place. Out of the corner of his eye, Lahabrea caught sight of one of the counter staff biting their knuckles as they turned around to hide their amusement.  

“He doesn’t do a very good job of convincing his staff,” Lahabrea commented as he pressed the call button for the elevator. On Idunn’s hip little Ananke had figured out she could pull mommy’s hood back up as well and was utterly delighted by the new addition to the game. The Speaker chuckled as the doors opened and they stepped into the box. Ananke leaned towards him to coo and babble in the peculiar sounds that toddlers made. He let her grip his fingers and examine his large hand. “I’ve heard it said that children this age know all the secrets of the universe if only they could communicate.”

“And then they lose it to brain trauma because they don’t have any sense of self-preservation,” Idunn said dryly. Lahabrea laughed from his gut causing Ananke to startle, her jade eyes went wide as she looked at him. He ruffled the little one’s hair and she tried to catch his hand again, which he allowed. Idunn watched out of the corner of her eye. “Be careful she’s got teeth coming in and will chew on anything.”

“She’s not even walking yet Idunn I very much dou-“ the Speaker’s words were cut short by an exclamation of startled pain. Ananke had leaned forward so that she could get her mouth around one finger and bite down on her improvised chew toy. Idunn smirked at the door while the renowned Lahabrea reclaimed his finger. He looked down at the toddler who smiled broadly showing off her three white teeth. 

“You know, my freshmen listen when I tell them something in the greenhouse will bite them.” Idunn made no effort to hide her amusement at the Speaker’s expense. Lahabrea glared at her, but the elevator doors opened before he could utter his rejoinder. He followed the younger woman out into the hall and down to Emet-Selch’s office. 

Both Emet-Selch and his Chief were in the office when Idunn knocked on the door and both men grinned broadly seeing the matched set of purple curls. Ananke stopped trying to steal her mother’s mask and shrieked happily when she saw her uncles. Idunn set the suddenly squirming toddler on the floor so she could handle her own hellos. Emet-Selch’s grin turned to a neutral, professional expression when the Speaker followed the mother and daughter in. Lahabrea caught the side-eyed glare the younger man was giving his colleague and snorted. “None of that Emet-Selch, you are the one that insisted on making a production of this rather than letting normal procedure take its course.”

“A concept that requires the signature of two convocation members hardly falls under the category of-“

Idunn split her attention between the arguing convocation members and her crawling daughter. There was a box by Hades's desk that the toddler was determined to investigate. She glanced over to Hythlodaeus who was leaning against the wall ignoring how his husband and Lahabrea were bickering in favor of watching his niece make her way to the box.  Ananke sat next to the shallow box and took a few moments to figure out how to wiggle the tight-fitting lid off. What she pulled out was a painfully, pink rod shaped like a phallus. Idunn’s eyebrows rose but Hythlodaeus caught her eye and shook his head slightly to keep her from automatically going and taking the thing from the toddler. Ananke cooed at the color, and then she began gnawing on the side of the thing. Idunn arched an eyebrow at her brother in law who just grinned. 

“And what pray tell are you two discussing?” Hades asked testily. Idunn and Hythlodaeus looked at him and both opted for silence. The Architect stared at his husband and sister in law hard. Lahabrea glanced down when a flash of bright pink caught his eye. The Speaker’s eyes went wide as he stared at what the toddler was happily chewing on.  Idunn blinked when she felt a shift in the aether in the room. 

SQUEAK

Every set of adult eyes turned on the child who had pulled her new chew toy out of her mouth and stared at it wonderingly. She bit the side and squealed happily when it squeaked again. Idunn looked at Hades and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Behind his mask Hades’s gold eyes were wide and his lips pulled in startled, open mouth horror. 

SQUEAK

“She’s chewing on it!” The startled exclamation made Hythlodaeus roll his eyes.

“Wonderful observational skills most esteemed Emet-Selch.” The Chief drawled. 

Hades turned to Idunn, “Why is she f-” SQUEAK “-ing chewing on that?”

“She’s teething Hades, she f-” SQUEAK “-ing chews on anything that holds still long enough she can put her mouth on it.” 

“Idunn! That’s a s-“ SQUEAK “-oy”

“Given the shape I’m assuming that someone wanted a t-“ SQUEAK  “- that provides a more realistic experience than a zucchini.”

“People use zucchini to fu-“ SQUEAK “- themselves?!” Lahabrea cut in becoming even more horrified. 

“That goes in someone’s-” SQUEAK “- or -“ SQUEAK 

“Are you telling me that you don’t clean your -“ SQUEAK “-s?”

“No! And IT'S NOT MINE!”

 SQUEAK 

“‘Daeus dear please stop the squeaking,” Idunn asked as she glanced at the other man. 

“But she’ll be upset when her inappropriate t-“ SQUEAK “- stops working.” Hythlodaeus protested on behalf of his niece. Idunn leveled a glare at him and he sighed. The bureau chief flicked his fingers in the direction of Ananke and her new favorite chew toy. The toddler had just opened her mouth wide to chomp down and get the loudest squeak possible. Her jade eyes went wide with distress when her toy produced no sound. She tried another few chomps and then looked up into the mask of Emet-Selch and wailed her distress. Hythlodaeus turned to Idunn, his mouth twisted in exaggerated concern. “See she’s distressed.”

“The pair of you are insufferable,” the mother waved the troublemaker off. She turned her attention to Hades. “Well?”

“What am I supposed to do?!” Hades’s tone almost matched the distress of his niece. 

Idunn rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of her robe to pull out a pastel green ring filled with a gel. She ran her finger around the edge and applied a bit of ice aspected aether to chill the chew toy. She tossed it to Hades who almost fumbled the catch. “Take the other toy away and give her that, then hold her like you actually want to and be a well-adjusted adult for once this decade.”

Hades cast a sidelong glance at Lahabrea through the mask of Emet-Selch before he bent and swept the little girl up in his arms. He offered her the chilled ring, “Now that’s enough Ananke.”

Ananke sniffled and took the offered toy. She examined the mint green ring for a moment and then waved both toys enthusiastically with a giggle. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Idunn pinching the bridge of her nose. He decided to ignore it, Lilith had mentioned that her sister wasn’t getting enough sleep so it may well just be a headache. He reached for the new concept and frowned when his niece scowled at him and hugged her new toy close to her side with one arm and shoved the chilled ring in her mouth. “Now we had a deal dear.”

“Really? When did you make that arrangement?” Hythlodaeus’s silver eyes sparkled. There was another shift in the rooms aether and the ring squeaked. Three sets of adult eyes turned on the Chief of the Bureau of the Architect. He held his hands up to protest his innocence. “That one was not me!”

Lahabrea turned to Idunn, “Idunn are you really going to continue to allow your daughter to.. to..”

Idunn’s eyes flicked from the speaker to her daughter, who was squirming to keep Uncle Hades from taking her new toy. She decided to address the speaker by name, “Cicero, the only things in danger in this room are Hades’s pride and your sensibilities, both of which perished many centuries ago. Ananke is just fine.” 

SQUEAK

A high screech of pleasure the purple-haired toddler gave when her new toy made the noise again made every adult in the room wince.  Hades glares at his husband, “Hythlodaeus! What the -“ 

SQUEAK

“It wasn’t -“ SQUEAK “- me this time!”

“Idunn! I -“ SQUEAK “- re-“ SQUEAK

“Of course it w-“ SQUEAK “- you ‘Daeus!”

“That will be enough.” Idunn’s voice cut through the cacophony. She did not shout, but the tone was... big and threatened immediate retribution to any with the temerity to disobey. Ananke and Hades wore matching expressions of guilty awe. Lahabrea was watching his fellow professor warily, he’d heard that tone used with freshmen before. 

Hythlodaeus pouted, “It wasn’t me this time.”

Idunn pushed down the urge to sigh. She went to Hades’s desk and picked up the box and lid that had housed the new concept. She turned to her daughter and plucked the pink toy from her hands ignoring the devastated look on the child’s face. She replaced the concept prototype in the box which she gave to Hythlodaeus. “I know ‘Daeus, your aether doesn’t smell like lemon polish and old books.” 

At the very edge of her peripheral vision, Idunn saw Lahabrea freeze. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling in silent prayer, Father Zodiark give me strength Mother Hydaelyn give me patience. She stepped back to Emet-Selch’s desk and scanned the documents until she saw her concept report with a tidy approval letter on top. She swept it up and thumbed through the pages to ensure that both Emet-Selch’s and Halmarut’s approvals were attached. 

Hythlodaeus looked over her shoulder and smiled when he saw what it was. “Finally happy with the apples you cultivated I see! You know there are going to be a few that will try to use creation magic to create the tree rather than take the long way.”

Idunn shrugged indifferently. “My official notes are very clear that if they want to get good results that it is best to harvest the seeds, plant them, and tend the tree. Unless you have unparalleled knowledge of how the sun, soil, water, weather, and other vagueries of fate affect a tree from seed to harvest all you’ll get is an apple shaped thing that tastes like horseshit. Best to just show some patience and grow the damned tree.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Hythlodaeus saw Lahabrea grimace and he resolved to ask Idunn the story behind that expression the next time they all met for dinner. Still, it wasn’t often that he got to needle Lahabrea. “And ignoring the instructions and advice of a concept’s designer is a good way to have a botched creation.”

“And end up with walking trees that we still haven’t cleaned out of the forest.” Idunn said dryly. She ignored the flush in Lahabrea’s cheeks as she focused on Emet-Selch. “Hades since you seem to have so much time on your hands as to drag me away from my work, I’m sure you can handle babysitting tonight. I’ll let Danu know to pick Ananke up from your apartment tomorrow morning.”

Hades blanched hearing the name of the Emissary’s mother. Hythlodaeus snickered, thinking of the lecture the matron would give the newest convocation member about respect and examples. Idunn leaned over the desk and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Have a good time with Uncle Hades dear.” 

Ananke cooed and laid her head on her uncle’s shoulder. Absently Hades adjusted his hold so that she was more comfortable. Hythlodaeus provided a formal farewell for Lahabrea and a warm hug for Idunn as he saw them out of the office. When he turned back his grin softened to a smile. Ananke had pulled her uncle’s mask off and was now trying to figure out what to do with the toy that was the same size as her chest. Hythlodaeus circled behind Hades and wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist. He leaned over Hades’ shoulder to kiss the top of the toddler’s purple curls. “Let’s head home.”