#look i was not even remotely happy with nate's ending and i hate that he's back where he was in s1

[skulandcrossbones]

1x02 | 3x12

[lilxberry]

Truth - Maddy Perez

Synopsis;

Maddy, during a party, was dared to pull quite the mean trick on you, who everyone seems to know had liked Maddy. What comes to follow certainly isn’t that of happy endings.

Warnings: Language. ANGST. 

Words: 1,243 (if only the 3 and 4 were switched lmao)

Pairing: Maddy Perez x Reader. Maddy Perez x Nate Jacobs.

(A/N: Here’s part 2 to Dare. I’m definitely doing a part 3 ‘cause I’m feeling iffy with how this ended. Plus I have ideas to where I can take this now.)

Part 1: Dare

_______________

After the embarrassment at the party during the weekend, you unfortunately still had to attend school today. You kept your head down in shame as you pass through the doors, not brave enough to meet anybody’s eye. It felt odd, being surrounded by so many people after isolating yourself from everyone for a few days.

As you walked along the hallways, heading towards the history class for first period, Maddy had her gaze set upon you. She felt a pang of guilt inside of her as she watched your form. She had only done the dare because Nate had roped her into the game. They had only recently gotten back together so she wanted to keep him happy.

The whole school had known of your feelings towards the girl and it appeared they had taken that knowledge and twisted it to fit into their sick game of Truth or Dare.

Maddy wouldn’t dare to speak of how she truly felt about you, especially when Nate is involved. Nate can become...violent when showing his possessive side and she knew that he would somehow hurt you as well as her if he even remotely felt he was losing Maddy to someone like you.

But Maddy’s secretive side stays as it implies. Secretive. 

Oh how she wished she could go up to you, apologise and confess how she truly felt but this isn’t the same sodding game that was played Friday, this was real shit with real consequences which she couldn’t afford to go through.

Maddy inwardly sighed as to not raise suspicion with her boyfriend whom is placed beside her by her locker. She collected what she needed, closed her locker quickly and headed to class, hand in hand with Nate. 

_______________

You had gone through most of the day without many issues. The old look you received from your peers, in pity or amusement, were a less frequent occurrence than you had imagined they be which shocked you.

That changed once lunch time rolled around. 

You made your way into the cafeteria like usual although more reserved, and sat at your usual table. You were halfway through your food when the large space had suddenly fell silent. Curious, you looked up and noticed Maddy heading towards you, just like that Friday at the party, a more sympathetic and sombre expression across her features this time.

“Hey. Can we talk?” If it wasn’t for the deathly quiet room, you’re almost certain you wouldn’t have heard her. 

You scoffed. “Not really in the fucking mood for conversating, Perez.” She had slightly flinch at the use of her surname being spat out with a venomous tone.

Maddy regained her composure and exuded confidence as she spoke. “I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer Y/N.”

You sighed as you realised the truth behind her words. If Maddy Perez was anything, it’s stubborn. You pushed your half empty tray forward as you stood up and made quick haste picking up your bag. 

She turned on her heel and strutted towards the exit of the cafeteria with great speed, you trailing behind. Just by the silence that still remained, you knew all eyes were on the both of you as you walked.

She had led you towards the parking lot and towards her car. Maddy unlocked her vehicle and motioned for you to get in. You inwardly groaned as you rounded the car to the passengers side and climbed in. You situated yourself on to the passenger seat, body slightly turned, ready for Maddy to speak as tries to get comfortable herself. 

Maddy finally broke the silence as she angled her body to face you. “I’m sorry. About Friday. It was a real dick move and I knew I shouldn’t have done it. I knew it would have fucked with you like that but I still went through with it and I’m sorry.”

You sat there silently, processing her words for what felt like hours but in actuality were only minutes. You sighed out before you looked her in the eye. “You never used to be like this, Mads. Ever since you started dating Nate, you’ve become this colossal bitch and I really fucking hate that. And I think you do too.”

Before she could utter a single word, you continued. “When I realised I liked you, it was before you changed into...this.” You motioned towards her with your hand. “I tried stopping whatever the fuck it was I was feeling for you but it didn’t fucking work. You were really fucking nice before Nate, Mads. It pissed me off to realise you changed so much for one prick who, by the way, does not treat you right.”

“I get it, okay! And I’m sorry! I’m really fucking sorry, Y/N.” Maddy exclaimed loudly, trying to show that she understands. You scoffed yet again at the words the girl spoke.

“I don’t think you do get it, not really. Shit, I was in love with you! What you did Friday was seriously fucked up! When everyone found out I liked you, I had so much shit off of people! I was even threatened by Nate when that shit came out, don’t you understand that?!” By this point, you were enraged at how the girl had made you feel. You noticed the steady flow of tears from her eyes and felt the build up of your own. 

“I hate you, Maddy Perez.” 

Those words wounded her to no end. Maddy had felt like she had been punched in the chest by Mike Tyson on repeat. Her heart had felt like it turned into fragile glass that had instantly shattered.

“You don’t mean that! You don’t mean that, Y/N!” She had began to sob as she shook her head vigorously, denying the existence of that hurtful sentence as much as she could muster. 

Maddy quickly grabbed your face surged herself forward whilst pulling you towards her, crashing your lips together. You quickly broke away from her. “What the actual fuck, Maddy?!” You looked at her in surprise, anger and, much to Maddy’s dismay, disgust. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?! What? Do you enjoy fucking with my head? HUH?!” 

You had wiped the back of your hand across your mouth, harshly cleaning your lips of her gloss mixed with tears. You swung the door open and quickly scrambled to get out. Maddy pleaded with you as you exited her car but her pleas fell upon deaf ears. You refused to listen. 

After she watched your form leave the parking lot and heading for the main gates through her blurred vision, Maddy released a guttural scream as she wailed in anguish over pushing you so far that you had eventually left.

Forcing herself to calm down, Maddy decided that she couldn’t go back in. Typing a quick text to Nate with trembling hands, she placed her phone on to her lap and began to drive home. 

‘not feeling too great rn, heading home. speak later xx’

_______________

Nate looked down at his phone and his jaw clenched. He would have believed her if he hadn’t witnessed the whole ordeal between his girlfriend and yourself. He was pissed but he knew how to work the situation in his favour.

He believed Maddy was made solely for him and him alone. He wasn’t going to share and he wasn’t going to play fair. 

No one snatches what’s his and gets away with it. 

_______________

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I mean, Idek what to say about this

It could definitively be both better and worse. Y’all got to remember that I only started writing fics at the end of November PLUS I’m juggling this with college lmao

Anyway, I hope you enjoy

As always, constructive criticism and requests are welcomed and greatly appreciated :D

[cuban-feminist-that-gives-a-hoot]

Leverage: Redemption

There will be spoilers. Massive spoilers. Plus some angry ranting. Short answer is I loved it and I so hope they decide on a second season.

Let's get the angry ranting out the way.

1. Some folks are acting religious with their hate for Maria Shipp. Knock it off. I loved her, and not as a romantic thing for Eliot, but more of who she is as an individual. She's someone that has her own convictions, beliefs, and boundaries that she will not cross. Her and Eliot were good for each other right now, but as a forever thing? No. Her being there does not mean that OT3 was being shat on. If anything, it only confirmed it further because the only ones that Eliot could open up to freely are Hardison and Parker. With all the hate on her for some stupid reasons, I honestly want to see more of her to spite the haters. Eliot needs a cop friend too, just like Hardison and Parker have Taggert & McSweeten. For those of you shitting on her because of copaganda, copaganda has always existed in Leverage. It's just that they've also balanced it with a fuck the cops attitude too. Stop it.

2. The OT3 not being explicitly in the text is not queerbaiting. Those saying that shit is fucking wrong. We've gotten more queer rep from this one season than we've gotten from many, many other shows that don't even hit the bar. Please knock it off with that shit. They didn't destroy the OT3. It is still safe, as promised.

3. For those that mourn the loss of Nathan Ford, I'm going to need you all to recognize that killing him off was the right choice, both for the story and for behind-the-scenes reasons. Nate was my favorite too, but his death was the right choice. I'm not seeing that much here on Tumblr, but on Reddit? Hoo boy... *sigh*

Now that the angry is done, let's talk about the good.

1. Harry Wilson is such a delight for a character and I adore him. He has done some really, really shady and terrible shit, yet he's trying so hard to do good. If it were another actor in the role instead of Noah Wyle, it would not have been as good or convincing as the lawyer looking for redemption after causing so many, many issues with his policy of no sides picked. While I am sad that he is leaving the crew to be a better, nicer lawyer, I do hope he comes back to do consulting work. Everyone needs a little Fixer in their lives.

2. Breanna is a darling and I am so glad that we have her. Watching her grow and improve has been an amazing journey. If there is a second season, I so hope we not only get more of her, but I also hope she continues her relationship with Emily. They are just the cutest couple!

3. The team from Leverage: Con Artists being canon to the Leverage universe is just such a happy, happy thing and now gives me a reason to watch it, if only to know the context.

4. The Great Train Job needs to come with a trigger warning because that beginning intro was not even remotely OK for folks that are coming into it blind. Yet that was the episode that gave me the most satisfaction (besides The Harry Wilson Job) in watching the mark getting utterly destroyed.

5. The Bucket Job is by far the sweetest episode out of the whole season. That episode is just pure magic, from start to finish. Definitely one my top 3 for the entire season.

6. The brief moments that we had Hardison were fantastic and I do hope that we get more of him, should there be a 2nd season. Because you want to know what's better than a 5-Person Found Family Crew? A 6 Person Found Family Crew!

Loved Leverage: Redemption and I want more. Please let this show do so well that they'll give us a 2nd season. And if they don't, then it still ends on a satisfying note.

[chocoholicannanymous]

Plan M (Leverage)

a Leverage series finale AU

As always, I own nothing. This one’s due to the layout of my season 5 DVD set, I kid you not, and what that made me expect from the series finale.

I’m posting this under scraps and snippets, because it kind of is - it’s either a oneshot or the start of something bigger, and it’s totally unchecked. It’s also my first attempt at writing Leverage, and I’m not sure I can live up to the excellence of the source material.

Plan M 

Alec listens to Parker panicking over coms and tries not to join her. Oh, he'd like to, but someone's going to have to keep it together if they're going to make it out, and looks like he's someone.

“Parker. Parker! I need you to take out your earbud, Eliot's too. Okay? And then smash'em.”

“What about the others? What if they're in trouble and need us?”

“If you don't think they can hold it together while we make sure Eliot survives, then I don't know who you've been spending the last couple of years with.”

If he's wrong about what's going down then there'll be time to apologize later. If he's right... Well, if he's right then ain't nobody going to need no apologizing.

Once Parker agrees Alec takes out his own earbud and crushes it with a pair of pliers before turning on Lucille's internal communications system. Once he's made sure Parker's found the giant first aid kit – Alec had started stashing one in Lucille, in every version of her, after the first time Eliot had ended up bleeding for them – and has patched up Eliot somewhat he starts throwing out orders.

“Right, get back into the cabinet where you found the first aid kit, yeah? Feel the upper right corner, front? There's a thumb-print pad.”

Three people are keyed into that pad, three out of five. Maybe it'd have been different once, but when Alec'd put in that secret compartment after DC that's the choice he had made. The three of them together, for better and for worse.

He directs Parker through removing the canister with acid – slowly, carefully – and dropping all three earbuds and their dismantled phones into it before replacing it in the compartment. Next he talks her through remote-triggering a virus in his system to corrupt and erase everything. Once that's done he feels himself relax a little. Things are still bad, only now their chances of getting out safely has gone up a couple of points.

“Okay, good. Great work. Now, please tell me you have a doctor lined up. Someone you haven't shared with the rest of us.”

And this is why he's secretly happy it's Eliot lying there shot instead of Parker. Okay, part of it – Alec's pretty sure he'd be nowhere this calm if it had been Parker bleeding out, plus Eliot would agree that it's better him than Parker or Alec – but. Between the two of them – hell, between all five of'em – Parker's the one most likely to have secret resources. Be it a secret identity unshared, or a warehouse slash safehouse, a stash of money for easy escape, or a doctor. They've all got some backup-plan, and Nate's got a dozen, but Parker's the one who doesn't advertise. And right now that's what they need.

“Hardison? I don't understand.”

“I know, and I wish I had all the answers, and time for them, but truth is I don't. Eliot don't. I'll tell you everything I can once he's safe. So, you have a doctor? Because if not we need to get in contact with Vance. Now.”

That makes Parker go quiet, just like Alec knew she would. Bringing Vance in means Eliot lives, but they lose him anyway. Because Vance'll help, but he won't do it for free. Not when it'd mean getting Eliot Spencer served on a plate. Not when Alec and Parker would go with him, even into hell.

And it would be hell.

“Parker?”

She's got someone, and Alec releases a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Good. That's another hurdle passed. As he follows Parker's directions he counters with his own. The secret compartment holding the canister of acid also contains a set of bags. Five, even if only three people can access them, because he still hadn't given up hope then.

Parker leaves four of the bags in the duffel they'd been kept in, only taking out Alec's. She'll sort them through later, safely getting rid of what they can't use. She only protests a little at taking the money and ID:s meant for Nate and Sophie, but she knows as well as he does that at least Sophie's got her own backups out there.

“Don't call anyone. Okay? Not Archie. Not Sophie. No one. Just make sure Eliot is fine, and then head out of the country. Vancouver if you can make it, there's a key to a safety deposit box in your bag, if you can't... Anywhere you think is safe. I'll find you. I'll cover your tracks and then I'll find you.”

“Alec? Why can't I contact Sophie? What's wrong?”

He debates what to tell her, because it's such a long and ugly story, but in the end he tells her the truth. There is no other option.

“Nate wasn't honest about this job. It isn't about a medical patent, it's something else. It's... Well, the details don't matter, not now anyway, but he's looking to steal information. Part of it's because it'd pretty much provide a list of which bad guys to after, but I've realized it just as much about getting one over on Sterling.” Nate and his hubris. Deep down Alec has always feared that one day  it'd get them backed into a corner they couldn't get out of. Oh, he hadn't really thought it'd happen, not with the four of them keeping watch, but what you believe and what you fear at 3 am are different animals.

“And before you ask, yeah, I knew. He promised me he'd tell you before anything real went down, and I was stupid enough – flattered enough – to believe him. Only it didn't go like that.”

The truth is that had Parker and Eliot known they'd have played it differently, and Eliot wouldn't be bleeding in the back of Lucille right now. Probably.

And that's just as much on Alec as it is on Nate.

He hated keeping the secret, but he still did. He still believed that Nate knew best, that Nate would look after them. Now... Now he suspects Nate will look after himself, and Sophie, and the rest of the team will only come into consideration if protecting them won't threaten Sophie.

Alec can, reluctantly, understand that. After all, it's sort of what he's doing now, isn't it? He's protecting Parker and Eliot at Nate and Sophie's expense. Doesn't make what Nate's done any more right though.

Doesn't make what Alec has done more right.

“I'd never have gone along with it if I'd thought either of you would be in danger, I need you to believe that, Parker. I would never. You two are the most important thing in the world to me, I would risk that.”

He knows he has though, and it kills him to think he could have stopped this. Eliot's been shot, protecting Parker, and Alec just isn't okay with that. He knows Eliot is, that it's his deal with the universe – his life for theirs, if needed – but it wasn't going to happen like that. It was going to be the three of them, looking out for each other, and now Alec's fucked that up.

If he makes it to Vancouver and they're not there he won't blame them. If he can't find them? He'd deserve it. Because while Eliot's deal was to protect them Alec's deal – Parker's deal – was to protect Eliot. And now Eliot's bleeding out in Lucille because Alec was distracted by Nate's flattery.

He'd thought this was Nate teaching him, showing him how to be a mastermind. How to make sure he could keep them safe. Making plans that didn't need adjusting, that wasn't too involved and elaborate. How to make plan A the working one. Instead it's... it's plan M. Only a plan M where it's not Alec, but instead Eliot.

No. He won't think like that. Not now.

As he pulls to a stop Parker jumps out and runs up to his window. She's hard to read on a good day, which this is definitely not, and Alec can't even begin to figure out what's going through her head right now. He just knows that it's probably better than he deserves, seeing as he's still in one piece.

“You take care of him, okay? And yourself. Be safe, and smart, and don't let anyone get in the way of you getting out alive.

“I love you.”

He pretends not to notice the tears in Parker's eyes as he drives off.

The hunt's on now, Alec knows it, and he's pretty sure that if he could just get his rapid heartbeat to calm down he'd hear sirens all over. He needs to shake them, obviously, but not really. What they tried to pull is too big for the other side to let go. They'll be hunted until they're found, and so Alec needs to be first found and then, but only then, get lost. He's thought about options before – of course he has, because hello? They lost their first and second office due to people coming after them. The chances of it not happening again were never that great. (Alec mourns the brewpub for a second. It might not have been the office he'd have chosen, but it was never about that. The brewpub was for Eliot, and Alec hates that he's losing that.) Anyway, after that he wasn't going to pretend like they didn't need fall-backs.

He flicks through scenarios in his mind, one after the other, discarding them just as fast as he can remember them. They're not bad plans, they're not, it's just that they're very Alec Hardison. They'd work against just about anyone they've ever gone up against, except this time it needs to work not only against the police and Interpol and Sterling. It needs to work against Nate as well.

In the end he decides that only one thing will work against Nate: the kind of plan Nate himself would come up with. Luckily he's got one of those in his back-pocket. (Okay, not actually in his pocket, but almost. Kind of.)

It takes running a red light or ten, but Alec picks up a police tail. Great. That's step one. Next he heads for the docks, speeding more than a little, praying all the while that he can do this. This plan really needs Parker, or Eliot, or both of them. It's made for the three of them, like they promised it'd be, but Alec can adapt. He hopes to hell he can.

As Lucille goes over the edge Alec sends up a prayer to a god he doesn't believe in, fixes Parker and Eliot's faces in his mind and allows Parker's voice to echo through him.

“Better or worse, we change together.”

[kimlovesgrahamscott]

you should do 'i have your loved one' for the bad things happen bingo!

Bad Things Happen Bingo #3: I Have Your Loved One

Fandom: Life is Strange

Characters/Pairings:  Nathan Prescott & Victoria Chase (Platonic)

You can find me (and a copy of this story) on Ao3!

Victoria

Nathan was trembling as his phone dropped to the ground. He let it lie there on the floor, trying to steady his breathing. It would be no use for him to panic. The more he resisted the more his throat seemed to constrict, his vision blurring. He was fucked, that much was certain, but why did Victoria have to be dragged into all this?

Though at that point he didn't know the full scope of what Jefferson did while Nathan was put under, he still didn't want his friends to end up in the Dark Room. Not after what happened with Rachel. He fought Jefferson tooth and nail over making sure Victoria was never brought to that fucking bunker. Yet there on his burner phone, even with it's shit resolution, Victoria was unmistakably bound on the Dark Room floor. He hadn't the faintest idea of how to get her out safely but he needed to get to her quickly. He could feel the need gnawing at his stomach - she would get out of there safe and alive, even if he couldn't.

He'd never been the safest driver, as evidenced by his broken taillight, but his safety was low on the list of his priorities. Victoria was his everything, the only safety that he had. The only person he could be honest with about what went on in his head. The voices. The hallucinations. The crippling self-loathing. Though he did love Mark and some part of him still put a lot of trust in his mentor, Victoria was the only person he thought might actually love him unconditionally. She loved him even with his many, many, many flaws - not in spite of them.

The next part was a blur, another moment to add to the list of times where his mind was far from his body. He remembered sounds, sensations. The creek of him opening the wooden broken door with the broken latch, the tip-toeing of what felt like lead feet down the stairs and the beeps as he entered in the code to the main bunker door. He was only a few steps in when he felt a familiar prick in his neck. Of course, Mark had been waiting for him.

“No,” Nathan grogged, his legs becoming heavy. He tried to lift his arm, wanting to get out at least one shot before he lost consciousness but knew he wouldn’t have the strength to grip the gun. He managed to get out, “Mark, not Victoria, please…” before he went under.

Nathan was surprised that he woke up at all, wide awake on the Dark Room floor by the coffee table. His arms were bound behind his back, his legs duct-taped from thigh to ankle. He knew Mark was going to kill him and was surprised he wasn't already dead. He’d fucked up too much. He fucked up with Rachel. He fucked up with Kate. He wasn’t going to let Victoria get hurt, too. He was determined to make sure that didn’t happen.

Nathan did what he could to break free; fighting against the rope constraining his wrists only seemed to make them tighten. Trying to free his legs did nothing but tire him out. It took all the strength he had to sit up, observing, hoping to find something he could use to help Victoria. Mark was too smart, though. The only things on the coffee table, the only things he might be able to reach, was a cup filled with amber liquid and the remote to the stereo system. He was fucked. He struggled, and struggled, and struggled against the rope, his stomach churning and the bile rising up his throat as he remembered the first time Mark had used that rope on him.

Things had been so different then. He thought that Mark had actually loved him. He knew nothing of the Dark Room’s true purpose. He was in love. Nothing mattered more than being with Mark, making Mark happy. Their own private studio seemed to be a brilliant idea. Mark could tutor him privately, so there would be no distractions and no witnesses if he and Mark wanted to be alone. He trusted Mark enough to willingly let Mark tie him up, to be completely helpless because Mark was his everything. Mark made him feel good, loved, adored, and safe. From the first moment Mark had expressed an interest in him, he’d really felt like his life was turning around. Finally, for the first time since Kristine had left years before, he felt hope for the future.

Then everything -like always- turned to shit.

Nathan screamed when he realized that he was no closer to freeing himself than when he’d started trying to unravel the knots in the rope. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been going at it but it was long enough that his fingers were cramping, unable to cooperate with what he was trying to do. He screamed until his throat was raw and the tears started pouring out. He had no way to save Victoria. He was failing, fucking up like he always did.

With the little strength he had left, he wiggled his way to Victoria. She was his best friend, probably the only person who ever really had loved him, the real him, and he had failed her. They were both going to die; the only thing he could hope for was that her death was quick and painless.

As he neared Victoria, seeing her dazed eyes, he pleaded, “Victoria, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” before sobbing incoherently again. He’d failed her, he’d failed his best friend, and they were both going to die. Everyone he’d ever loved either left him, betrayed him, or he ended up causing them to die.

After an indeterminable amount of time, Nathan heard the door open. Mark was furious, a string of expletives escaping his lips. It wasn’t long before Nathan felt kicks to his ribs for the second time that day.

“They didn’t take the fucking bait!” Mark screamed before a kick landed on Nathan’s face. He was dragged away from Victoria and onto the couch, Mark muttering about how he didn’t have enough time, how everything was so fucked.

“You ruined EVERYTHING!” Jefferson screamed before smacking Nathan’s face, making sure the hit landed where Nathan had already been bruised by Warren earlier in the day. “You stupid bitch! You left a trail of clues.” Mark put gloves on before grabbing a pocket knife. “I’m going to make sure you die slowly. It will look like you killed Victoria before taking your own life.”

Nathan struggled, still determined to do something, anything. There had to be a way to save Victoria. There just had to be some way. Even with his adrenalin pumping, he still had too little fight in him. He winced as the knife pierced his flesh, knowing that the police would do little investigating into his death since the cut was surrounded by numerous others. Scars. Scabs. Up and down both arms. It was deep, deeper than any cuts he’d ever made himself. He looked at Jefferson with wide eyes, pleading.

“Mark…”

Another slap. Nathan’s ears were ringing so loudly he’d barely heard Jefferson say, “I’m going to make you suffer.”

Nathan felt sick as Mark grabbed the camera, throwing Victoria around like a ragdoll and taking pictures. He tried to scream, say anything when Mark started removing Victoria’s leggings, but he was unable to do more than whisper, “Stop.” He didn’t know why his weakness surprised him. His ears never had stopped ringing, his vision blurring on the edges. He was clammy and dizzy and it took an exorbitant amount of effort to keep his eyes open.

The last thing Nathan heard before losing consciousness was the sound of a gun.

When Nathan woke up, he thought he was dead. The room was white; almost everything in the room was white and it was too bright. He turned toward a beeping sound, making out a green line. A cardiogram. His cardiogram, he realized as his vision started clearing and he noticed that there were many wires and such connecting him to the machine. There was a clear IV dripping something and he wondered if that was why he was largely numb.

“Nathan?” The voice seemed to echo and Nathan was all-too-aware of how dizzy he was. Nauseous. Gagging. Dry heaving until bile spewed from his mouth. Someone had been kind enough to catch it with a container so he didn’t spit up all over himself. He felt a hand on his back, stroking beneath his neck. A gentle touch. The bile bucket was taken away and a cup of water was brought to his lips. His eyes closed, drinking eagerly. His throat had never been that dry in his life and he couldn’t get enough water. He heard someone say his name again but the dizziness was starting to subside; he knew that voice. He could never forget that voice.

“Vic-” was all Nathan could get out before a coughing fit, wincing as the cough jousted his still-bruised ribs. “Victoria.” She was quite literally a sight for sore eyes. “Are we dead?”

Victoria smiled for the first time in days as she said, “No, Nate, we’re not.”

There was more he wanted to say, that he needed to say to his best friend but their conversation was interrupted by nurses and doctors. Victoria stayed. Nathan kept apologizing, telling Victoria that she didn’t need to stay in the hospital with him but she insisted she stay. She stayed late into the night, only leaving to eat and go to the bathroom. It was hours before they were alone again.

They were watching something on Netflix, eating hospital Jell-O Cups as Nathan finally got to say,”I’m so sorry Victoria.”

Victoria groaned, rolling her eyes as she told him to stop it. In the days between the Dark Room being discovered and Nathan waking up, Max had filled her in on everything and for once Nathan was happy that Max was such a nosey bitch.

“But Vicky, he could’ve killed you.” Nathan wouldn’t be able to function without his best friend; he’d taken her for granted and he almost lost her. Never again. “And it’s all my damn fault. Why are you here? You should fucking hate me.”

“You came to try to save me,” Victoria retorted. “Nate, you’re my best friend. Nothing could ever change that.”

He hoped she’d still feel that way after everything was revealed at the trial.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1242

Monday, December 24, 2018

 I was hit by a spasm of back pain on Saturday like the ghost of Christmas Past. That'll teach me for being such a Scrooge this time of year. I try not to be naughty but being nice is such a pain in the pants. I am slowly recovering under the gentle ministrations of Santa's Helper. Being around family and friends is better medicine than any pain pills I could take. My brother and sister-in-law hosted a brunch yesterday and seeing everyone together laughing and happy soothed me greatly. Just holding baby Oliver and making him smile eased my back pain.

 I saw the Ottawa premiere of Aquaman thanks to my Jee-Riz partner Chris, who won passes from the comic book store Myths, Legends and Heroes. I can sum up how I felt about the movie in one word; wigs. I wish they had spent some of the Atlantis special effects budget on better wigs for the actors. Arthur's dad's toupee was glaringly obvious. I've seen better hair on Cosplayers than Nicole Kidman's wigs. It looked like Amber Heard/Mera was wearing a wig at times but even when it looked like her real hair the colour red they chose was too unnatural looking. The movie's saving grace for me was Jason Momoa. He makes a great Arthur/Aquaman. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this one.

 Ugh. Stan Lee tribute covers. Terrible marketing idea.

 Dead Man Logan #2 - Ed Brisson (writer) Mike Henderson (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). A couple of things really annoyed me this issue. Sin, the Red Skull's daughter, acted like a spoiled brat. It's not a stretch to foresee the villains losing at the end of this 12-issue story. Then we have Forge repairing a machine that can get Old Man Logan back home. They actually go there and he doesn't stay. I'm for super heroics as much as the next nerd and maybe I'm selfish, but that irked me to no end. Old Man Logan has been whining about getting home ever since he showed up in this timeline and now he wants to stay to prevent all the super heroes from being killed by all the super villains. There isn't even a guarantee that is what happens in the future. And why don't they use the machine to fix things? Man I hate time travel. I really like Mike Henderson's art but this looks like another travelling super heroes versus super villains battle every issue, and that's not very interesting to me.

 Defenders: The Best Defense #1 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Belardino Brabo (inks) Dono Sanchez Almara (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). It's the big Defenders reunion to save Earth. Old Man Dr. Strange, Hulk, Namor and the Silver Surfer have to sidetrack The Train in order for Earth to survive. It's a bit complicated and I'm surprised that you didn't really need to read all the one-shots to get what's going on. I mean all those scenes where the stabby killer in the bed sheet is killing aliens isn't even mentioned in this story. So what was up with that?

 Marvel Knights #4 - Vita Ayala & Donny Cates (writers) Joshua Cassara (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Here's where they explain why all the super heroes have forgotten who they are. T'Challa/Black Panther is featured in this issue that ends with him discovering the lair of villains. I'm wondering how the bad guys retained their memories.

 Old Man Hawkeye #12 - Ethan Sacks (writer) Francesco Mobili (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). That was a very satisfying ending. What a great prequel to the Old Man Logan story where Clint and Logan go on a road trip. This is where Clint loses his sight for good. I loved the last page epilogue showing Clint tracking down someone who will help him to continue to fight the bad guys despite his blindness.

 Runaways #16 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Kris Anka (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Reading this Christmas special is better than getting a lump of coal. Having Doombot as a dinner guest made this a treat. I wish he was a regular member of the team.

 West Coast Avengers #6 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Daniele Di Nicuolo (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The good guys have been captured by the bad guys: Satana Hellstrom, M.O.D.O.K., The Eel and Madame Masque. Kate is still free however and she's not going to abandon her team mates. Too bad she gets waylaid on her way to rescue them. Her captor is a complete surprise, which will make the next issue a hoot.

 Thor #8 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This is an awesome issue with Thor fighting the Angelus. It ends with an ex-Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. being paid a visit by the Black Panther. I like how this book is being tied into The Avengers.

 Season's Beatings #1 - Jason Latour (writer) Greg Hinkle, Chris Brunner, Veronica Fish & Mario Del Pennino (art) Rico Renzi, Jim Campbell & Veronica Fish (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I should have realized from the cover that this was a Deadpool Christmas Special. If I had known, I would have bought a pair of socks from the Dollar Store with the $4.99 US that this comic book costs. Unless of course, you're a big Deadpool fan or West Coast Avengers fan or even an X-Force fan. They're all in here too. Plus Squirrel Girl and Doctor Doom. Come to think of it, this is an everything but the kitchen sink gift for a Marvel Comics fan who will get a few chuckles out of it.

 Freedom Fighters #1 - Robert Venditti (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). This is some heavy duty patriotic poop right here. We start this 12-issue story in 1963 America that is ruled by Adolf Hitler and his "ratzi" party. The original Freedom Fighters meet to plot a resistance attack on a war robot factory. Things don't go well for the good guys. Jump forward to 2018 and the surprise appearance of the New Freedom Fighters; Black Condor, Doll Woman, the Human Bomb and Phantom Lady. All we need is Uncle Sam. Robert Venditti holds nothing back showing the Germans as ruthless racists. The art is really well done so I will give these Golden Age heroes a chance to see how they fare in modern times.

 Middlewest #2 - Skottie Young (writer) Jorge Corona (art) Jean Francois Beaulieu (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). A new character named Jeb is introduced who helps Abel get out of a bind. Jeb reminds me of the first time we meet Gandalf. Abel's quest continues and we find out a bit more about the symbol on his chest. I predict he'll meet his mother down the road but unlike the talking fox, I won't be travelling down it with him.

 Cover #4 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Mack (art) Michael Avon Oeming (Owen art) Zu Orzu (colours) Carlos Mangual (letters). This issue is a great example of how a comic book can tell a story with words and pictures. I felt like I was watching a TV show or a short film. Brian, David and Michael work together seamlessly

 Hardcore 1 - Robert Kirkman & Andy Diggle (writers) Alessandro Vitti (art) Adriano Lucas (colours) Thomas Mauer (letters). Yeah man, it is. Agent Drake is a drone pilot but what he controls are other human beings. A new nanotechnology allows him to take over and move a remote body for 72 hours so he can complete wetwork missions. It's really cool. The big problem arises when the guy who invented the tech comes back to reclaim it from the government. That guy is not asking nicely. I like this concept and the predicament that Agent Drake finds himself in at the end of this issue. Therefore, this goes on to my "must read" list.

 Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1 - Grant Morrison (writer) Dan Mora (art) Ed Dukeshire (letters). This $7.99 US one-shot tells the tale of how Sam the snowman helps Klaus save the Earth from murderous aliens. I loved how they wove in Norse mythology. You'd think a crying snowman would be doomed in the end and you'd be right, but fear not, 'tis a happy ending.

 Betty & Veronica #1 - Jamie Lee Rotante (writer) Sandra Lanz (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). The BFFs are back with a 5-issue mini that starts off their senior year of high school. I know that these slightly more mature Archie Comics want to draw in a new audience but Betty dating Reggie? Sacrilege. A few other things bothered me storywise that turned me off even more. Betty drinking a spiked punch without noticing? C'mon. Then there's the art. I didn't like the interiors compared to the nice cover that Sandra drew. I expected my girl Betty to be treated better than this.

 Catwoman #6 - Joelle Jones (story & art) Laura Allred (colours) Josh Reed (letters). The finale of "Copycats" is a quick read so I read it twice. The first time was to see how Catwoman deals with the evil Mrs. Creel and her pumped up on drugs son. The second time was to see Catwoman in action and to savour the beautiful art and layouts. I wish Joelle Jones would do a Betty & Veronica mini.

 Extermination #5 - Ed Brisson (writer) Pepe Larraz (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I tolerated this time travel tale because of the amazing art. I wish Pepe Larraz would do a Betty & Veronica mini. If you thought that the mutants being exterminated was a real threat then you haven't been reading X-Men comic books for very long. This story puts the young X-Men back in their own time and all is well again. The big surprise comes on the last page and I'm thinking "oh geez, here we go again".

 Domino #9 - Gail Simone (writer) David Baldeon & Michael Shelfer (art) Roberto Poggi (ink assist) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Soldier of Fortune part 3. The ladies are asked to kill Longshot. Haven't seen him in a while. Might not see him for long though, since he's supposed to bring about the end of the world. This is interesting because both Domino and Longshot have the same super power. Who's luck is going to run out first?

 Firefly #2 - Greg Pak (writer) Dan McDaid (art) Marcelo Costa (colours) Jim Campbell (letters). Mal and Zoe are being hunted by a gang of thieves and the Alliance. Darn tootin' there's going to be shootin'. I have been watching Nathan Fillion's new cop show The Rookie and I quite like it.

 Batman #61 - Tom King (writer) Travis Moore (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Knightmares part 1. The "what the!?" appearance on the last page of #60 is explained here as a new story starts. I knew something was hinky when I saw the string of pearls around the dead body of Martha Wayne in the alley. I thought we were in an alternate universe and we sort of are but it came as a complete shock when what was going on was explained. Arkham Asylum is getting a new inmate. At least he's new to me unless I want to go back and read Batman #38.

[astronomicalegotism]

Gritting My Teeth

Revenge Is Best Served Together (BOOK ONE)

Part Fourteen

Some point in 2016

~~~

Mad yawned, not even paying attention to the spluttering heater in the run down appartment he was hiding in. Sure it was annoying, but he was too damn tired to give a shit right now.

"Heeeeeeeeey Maddy!!" Mad's eye twitched, not even looking up from his phone as his best fr...tolerated acquaintance...not so gracefully teleported onto the back of his couch and spread him limbs over it like a cat, normally pale white face flushed red. He basically was a cat, A stupid, lazy, definitely drunk cat. Mad wrinkled up his face.

"You reek of alcohol." Despite his nonchalant tone, there was a small twinge of concern in his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, Mad had a small bit of a soft spot for the Ego, one that he could see might possibly cause problems in the future. Mad didn't do caring, and the fact that he actually gave a damn about such a...Idiot was worrying.

"It's Twenty Sixteen Baby!! Paaaaaarty!!" Natemare giggled and whirled his fingers around, purposely poking Mad with his cold bare feet. "You need to loosen up man, Come join me on one of these nights out!!" Natemare's voice was so slurred it was almost impossible to make out what he's saying. "Bet chu are a lady killer!" Natemare winked sloppily at Mad who smirked.

"You know I'd take the literally." Mad laughed as Mare scrunched up his face.

"I don't get you and the whole..." Mare used air quotes, "Killing. You can have much more fun by messing with them." Mad had to resist the urge to ruffle the egos hair.

"Not all of us get our kicks from torture and shit Mare. I don't have your magic fear gas or whatever it is. Besides, You've never had the experience of seeing someone's life drain from their eyes, or the pleasure of snapping a neck. Or fire..." Mad's eyes glazed over wistfully. "Beautiful wonderful fire." Mare gave him a strange look.

"Didn't you almost burn to death in a fire though?" Mad was silent in response, ignoring Mare as he hiccuped. "You...You know like... I don't do that shit for pleasure or anything right?" Mad's brow furrowed and he finally looked Mare in the eyes, feeling a strange feeling in his chest when he saw them filled with glowing purple tears.

"Curious...coloured tears?” Mad thought. "Maybe I should experiment with this in the future? Wait no, I can't just experiment on him he's my...No wait fuck, he is nothing to me, nothing nothing nothing nothing-"  Mare seemed obvious to Mad's internal struggle.

"It's just...I gain energy from other peoples fear, I gain power from it and... hunt for it I guess but like..." Natemare hissed and squeezed his eyes shut. "Sometimes I wish there was a different way, Ya know?" Mad found himself shaking his head.

"No, Not really. I mean, If I had your powers? Holy crap, The Things I'd do!" There was a manic glint in Mad's eyes, although his grin faulted when he saw Mare flinch.

"Yeah...Good thing you don't Huh? Since you have your..." Mare Waves his hands around sluggishly. "Sciencey mathy blood thirsty shit." Mare started to giggle. "You're like, What's his name?? Einstein!" Mad made a face.

"I could not be anything less like Albert Einstein, is that he seriously the only person you can think of?" Mare just blinked owlishly at Mad.

"You mean he isn't blood..." Mare hiccuped again. "You mean good old Albert isn't bloody thirsty?? Then what the fuck is up with the apples??!" Now it was Mad's turn to be confused.

"Apples?!"  Mare nodded eagerly, his face getting way to close to Mad's own for his comfort.

"Yeah ya know...Apples. Fucking hate Apples, Stupid fucking things with their stupid...Appleness." Mad had to resist the urge to cackle.

"Why do you hate apples? So much?"

"Cause like, What are they?! They can't make up their stupid minds, Are they fruits or or or,  Or are they not fruit!!" Mare actually looked sincerely angry about this, much to Mad's continued bemusement. "And there's soooooo many different types!! Who needs that many apples?!!" Mare shoved a finger into Mad's forehead, thankfully not hitting any burns. "The government is going to kill us all with apples, just you wait." Mad finally have in a broke out in a cackle, causing Mare's face to scrunch up adorably.

"Whhaaat?"  Mad finally composed himself enough to snark.

"You know, Future you will despise you for this hang over." Natemare snorted, like Mad had just said the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Jokes on you, Future me will despise me regardless! So, Hah!!" Mad rolled his his eyes and roughly slapped Mare in the face, causing him to fall off the cough with a yelp.

"Don't talking negatively about yourself, It's dampening my mood." Mad grumbled, Pocketing his phone and getting on the couch. He raised his eyebrows as he stared at Mare, Who was now sound asleep on the floor in a position that just had to be uncomfortable and drooling. Mad pinched the bridge of his nose, not even flinching at the pain it brought and walked out of the room, only to return a few minutes later with a blanket. He lazily dropped it on top of the passed out ego and fought the urge to smile. He didn't care, He didn't.

Although, When Mare woke up the next morning sleeping on the old couch with a crick in his back and a apple in front of his with a purple sticky note on saying, "The apples are watching us" , He'd deny it till the day he dies.

~~~

Mad strutted into Dark's office, an bored look in his eyes and a mocking tone in his voice.

"You wanted me?" Mad asked, before freezing. Dark hadn't looked up from his desk, but in front of him were two almost identical limps bodies, one of them shifting and whimpering pathetically and the other one coated in scarlet and still. The first body Mad reconsidered the symptoms of an extreme over stimulation from Natemare's powers. He'd seen it a few times before, when Natemare was truly distressed or angered he'd loose control of how much fear he'd send to a person. Mad had never seen anyone come back from it, and for some reason this time that fact was making him uneasy, instead of delighting him. Oh god, he hoped he wasn't going soft. Although, The second person's symptoms he recognised from his own experiences. Stabbed right in the heart, no one comes back from that without the help of dark magic or...the impossible and fuck this wasn't happening he wasn't, Natemare wasn't-

Mad's eyes went blank as the flickered up from the blood covered body back to Dark.  If this whole thing was a trap, and it most definitely was, Mad knew for a fact that him and Mathew were next. Mad felt a faint strange feeling in his stomach, that he would almost akin to fear.

"You gonna tell me why I'm here or-" The aura around Darkiplier cracked dangerously, But Mad didn't even bat an eye. Oh, Poor Little Darkiplier is feeling stressed huh? Good for him, He can stuff it, fucking bastard he was going to rip out his-

"I need you to dispose of those two bodies, then get started on your level, the faster the better." Dark still hadn't looked up at him.

"Treat him with some fucking respect you asshole, He is not just some useless body in your office!!" Mad shoved down his thoughts and spoke, voice emotionless.

"Right away." I'm going to snap his FUCKING SPINE!!!

Madpat grit his teeth and nodded. As carefully as he could he picked up Natemare's lifeless body, mind already racing with possible ways to bring him back because he couldn't be gone he couldn't be-

Something almost broke inside Mad as he grabbed Nate's arm, the human instantly screaming and starting to thrash at the contact. He looked so much like Mare, he didn't have the right to look so much like-

"His mind is broken beyond repair, just kill him." Darkiplier said casually, as if asking him to do something as simple as change the channel. And Mad wanted to impale him with a remote. "But don't do it in here, I don't want blood on my carpet." It was at that statement that Mad solidified his goal in his mind. He needed to take Nate to that Host guy, he knew for sure that the creepy ego had the ability to heal Nate, maybe even make him forget the whole thing. Whatever it was, Mad knew he had to at least make an effort to save Nate, if not just for the sake of spiting Darkiplier.

"It would be my pleasure." Mad lied, before he exited the room, Mare slung over his shoulder and Nate now sobbing silently, eyes still closed. As soon as Mad knew he was alone his legs gave way and he collapsed, violent sobs wracking through his body. He should be feeling satisfied, happy even right now. Him and Natemare hadn't exactly parted on the best terms, he should still hate the bastards guts but-

Mad couldn't do it, He couldn't force himself to forget all those goofy smiles, those stupid 3am conversation, all of those dumb times when an experiment had gone wrong or when the idiot had gotten them into another bar fight.

As tears rolling down Mad's cheeks, he couldn't help but gasp. This had...This had never happened before. Mad wiped them away with one hand before staring at it.

Red.

He had red tears.

Oh how ironic.

Mad grit his teeth again and pulled himself together. He needed to get Nate to the Host's library, he'll probably be fine and...He didn't know what to do with Natemare...He'd cross that bridge when he reached it.

One thing was for certain though.

This was all the creators fault, none of them would even be in this situation if it weren't for them. He was going to make them fucking pay, even if that meant playing right into Darkiplier hands. Besides, Anti can do enough fighting Darkiplier for the both of them, even though it'll hardly end well for the Glitch. Whatever, whatever, He didn't care!

This was all the creators fault, and he was going to make them fucking pay. Time for Level Two, Madpat style baby!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Shooting Star (Ao3 link) - Chapter 3: Doomworld

Fandom: Flash, Legends of Tomorrow Pairing: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart

For Coldwave Week: Doomworld - @coldwaveevents

Summary: “So, Mr. Rory,” Sara Lance, leader of the Legends, asks, leaning across the desk. “Tell me. Why do you want to join the Legends and be a hero?”

Mick really hopes he doesn’t screw up this interview - it could be his last chance of becoming a real superhero.

(You see, he has this little complication involving this one supervillain…)

———————————————————————————————–

"So," Ray says. "Uh. What now?"

Everyone turns to look at Mick.

"I have no idea," he says crossly. "Leave me alone."

"You usually have the most insight into what Len's up to," Zari points out.

"I'm also still a hero," Mick says, more than a little testily. "So no. I have no idea what he's up to. Or what he was thinking. Or how every single hero group on the planet still managed to absolutely fail at stopping the Legion of Doom from getting their hands on the Spear of Destiny and re-writing reality into a dystopic Doomworld where they're in charge of everything. And absolutely none of that lack of knowledge is going to keep me from strangling him about it when I find him!"

"Probably why he hasn't shown his face since the change," Sara says wisely. "Waiting for you to cool down."

"It's not exactly like him, though," Amaya demurs. "Len's usually a really down-to-earth sort of villain, flair for the dramatic aside. This is really out of character."

"I know it's not like him," Mick says through gritted teeth. "That's why I'm gonna strangle him."

"Domestic violence is wrong, Mick," Sara says.

"In this instance?!"

"Hmm. Point. I will totally let you get in a few punches as long as I get one too," she offers.

Mick grumbles but agrees. Len doesn't actually take being beaten up by heroes when he deserves it personally, after all. "I really don't know what he's thinking this time," he adds gloomily. "He hates world-conquering plans, he thinks all-powerful magical trinkets are cheat codes for losers, and he's normally the first guy to tip off the good guys that something like this is going down."

"Maybe he didn't know about it?" Ray suggests.

Mick snorts. "His membership in the Henchmen and Minion League hasn't been revoked, as far as I'm aware. No way anyone got this far without him knowing."

"Then why..?"

"I don't know! He won't answer any of the usual numbers, and it's been over twelve hours of Alternate World and he hasn't so much as shown his face yet!"

Zari nudges Mick's shoulder gently with her own. "Hey," she says, immediately getting the real problem he's been having, which is not exactly the same problem everyone else has been having. "Don't worry about him, okay?"

"I'm not worried," Mick grumbles.

That's a lie.

He's worried.

Normally, anytime any big battle goes down that the Legends are even remotely involved in, Len can be guaranteed to show up within six hours, usually less, to check on his favorite team.

"He's fine," Zari insists. "He's Leonard Snart, Mick. One of the five co-rulers of Doomworld. He literally helped create this world."

"Yeah, sure. All the more reasons for one of his co-rulers to want to knock him off so they can be the only ones in charge..."

"Go back to being angry," Amaya suggests. "We haven't seen any indication that anything has happened to him, and you know the other villains wouldn't be able to keep from boasting about it if they did do something."

"Hm. Point.

"That means he's fine. And that, in turn, means that he'll have to show his face sometime."

"Does he?" Mick asks glumly. "He owns a fifth of the world now; I'm sure that'll keep him busy."

"Too busy for you, Mick?" Sara says skeptically. "Not really likely."

"More like 'never'," Ray agrees.

Mick shrugs. He admits it's unlikely, given Len's track record, but then again, so is Doomworld itself.

He doesn't like it when Len goes out of character.

Certainly not without some justification like mind-control or new-villain pheromones, and there's been no indication of anything like that.

"Personally, I'm just really happy we're immune to all the Doomworld changes," Nate says.

"Nate," Amaya says gently. "We're not immune."

"Wait. We're not?"

"Nope," Zari says. "Len just let us keep our memories of the original timeline. Possibly without telling any of his co-rulers about it."

"He did? Huh. One point in the 'he has a secret plan' column."

Ray obediently adds a point to the chart they have going on the whiteboard Gideon created for them when they first realized that the Waverider was grounded until repairs could be made. The time drive is totally dead, without any hope of recovery, so at this point they just want to have the air support. Not to mention wanting to avoid notice from the other people in Doomworld any more than they already have...

The other columns in the chart (titled "Why Would Leonard Snart Do?") are "he's gone crazy", "he was tricked into it", and "he's going to literally give the world to Mick on a platter because he couldn't think of a good enough gift to pay him back for that Diana thing".

(Mick objected strenuously to the inclusion of that last one, but got overruled.)

"Wait, if we're not immune," Nate says, "what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what do we do? Is there an evil Wikipedia saying what our jobs are in this universe?"

"Good question," Sara says. "Zari, could you -"

"Already checked," Zari says. "We're officially part of the Enforcers of the New Regime, actually."

"We are?!"

"Officially. Unofficially, we're Len's pet superhero team."

"That doesn't actually seem all that different from how it normally is," Ray says thoughtfully. "In our regular universe, I mean. Without the whole 'Enforcer' bit, but still."

"It's - actually not, sad to say, except for the part where we're all part of the ruling class of a dystopia and have absolute control over about 99% of the population, which has to fulfill our every request."

Silence for a few long minutes.

"Which we will not be exploiting," Sara says, sounding very tempted. "Because we're heroes and that would be bad."

"So much free coffee," Ray says, his eyes dreamy. "So much."

"...not what I was thinking, but you know what, sure, we can demand free coffee."

"Sara!"

"We have to exploit the system somehow or they might get suspicious of us," Sara sniffs.

"They'll be suspicious anyway," Amaya mutters.

"Hey, if we're Enforcers, why don't we get the sexy leather get-ups the rest of them have?" Nate wants to know.

"Because unlike the rest of them, we haven't been brainwashed," Sara points out. "Which I for one approve of."

"We should still get cool outfits."

"I'll have Gideon make you a leather outfit, okay? We'll probably need it to infiltrate somewhere eventually anyway."

"Good," Nate says, pleased. "I volunteer for that mission."

"Of course you do."

"Wait," Ray says, "are all of the other superhero teams incapacitated?"

"Uh, yeah, as far as I can tell," Zari says. "The only ones still at large are deliberately weakened so that they can be hunted down at the leisure of their respective villains. Why?"

"So what you're telling me is that the Legends are the only hero team left available to fight a world-destroying event? Like, this is our big chance," Ray says, rocking up and down in excitement. "This is our save-the-day, enter-the-big-hero-leagues moment!"

"Huh, yeah," Sara says, already looking vaguely haunted by the responsibility. "Hadn't thought of it that way, but I guess you're right."

"That bastard!" Mick suddenly roars.

They all look at him.

Mick, scowling, grabs the pen from Ray and puts a check in the "world to Mick on a platter" column.

Then he crosses out the word "world" and adds in "opportunity to be a real hero" instead.

Silence for a few long moments.

"You have got to be kidding me," Sara says flatly.

"It is the one thing he's always wanted to be able to give Mick," Amaya muses.

"I'm going to find him," Mick says. "And when I find him..."

"Never mind that," Ray says. "Let's go save the world!"

When reality is returned to normal, Len is given a very long talk about not using reality-altering devices to create what is essentially an Escape Room-style puzzle for the pleasure and glory of his significant other and his friends (from Mick and the other Legends), not playing with his fellow villains' dreams of world-conquering like that (from Lex), and about the fact that this whole gift-escalating thing really needs to stop (Sara called Diana in for that one).

Len responds by proposing marriage to Mick, being as that's the only way he can think of to permanently one-up him.

(He claims that once they're a single unit and Mick is permanently locked down, Mick's amazing gift-giving ability won't make him so frantic to pay him back.)

Mick says yes, but claims loudly that he's only doing it in order to write a pre-emptive restriction of crazy plans clause into their marriage vows.

(No one believes him.)

Their marriage is the biggest social event of the year for heroes and villains both. It goes remarkably well, or at least it does after they all end up teaming up to take down the locust-aliens horde from Earth-ABC.

After all, if there's one thing heroes and villains can agree on, it's that it's one thing to crash a wedding and a totally different thing to try to eat all the food.

Len swears he didn't set it up deliberately so that everyone would have a nice, entertaining fight to get out their hostility before the reception, the food for which was stashed in a totally different place.

Mick, having seen the early drafts of the program for the wedding, doesn't even pretend to believe him.

(Neither does anyone else.)

[thatbluegibson]

CH 41

“If it were any warmer, this would be Malibu,” Dave bent to pick up a shell at his feet before looking it over and handing it to Liz.

“What a fresh hell that would be,” she scrunched up her nose and looked down the beach, counting just a few other people with their dogs on the mile long stretch of sand. They were completely alone at the far sound end of the cape and a mild breeze came in off the waves, but it was warm enough to walk barefoot in the sand. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and she pulled it free.

I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he would go straight to the bar.

She sighed and tapped out a reply to Travis.

It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting him. We’re cool.

Liz put her phone in her sweatshirt pocket when Dave bumped his shoulder into hers. “Travis says he’s sorry,” she said.

Dave shrugged and looked over her head to the rock sea wall behind her. “If you weren’t in any danger then he has nothing to be sorry for, right? Isn’t that all he signed up for?”

Liz was surprised he understood the situation so well when she barely grasped it herself, “Are you my voice of reason now?”

“I’m just saying that if you have that reaction every time you’re around the guy you’re supposed to be co-parenting with, I’m going to die an early death. A very happy early death, but early all the same.”

She flipped the shell he had given her around her fingers, smiling at his words. “I just wasn’t prepared for it,” she muttered. It wasn’t the sight of Kyle that freaked her out as much as it was him seeing her with Dave. She wasn’t ready to have the ‘who is he to you’ conversation with someone she had been devoted to for an entire decade and she wasn’t even sure what Dave was to her. After the night before, she felt like they had evolved into something more than whatever it was they had in LA, but it had been so long since she had dated that she wasn’t sure what exactly it was. On top of all that, she didn’t know how Kyle would react to her moving on. It had always been Kyle leaving her for someone else that inevitably lasted a couple weeks, maybe a month before he came back and she stupidly let him back in. And Kyle had a bit of a temper when he felt threatened which Liz was really trying to avoid. 

“Is that a ship wreck?”

Dave’s question pulled Liz from her thoughts and she looked up as they approached a point in the cape that reached out into the sea making a natural sea wall between two beaches. The tide was receding, revealing several blackened tree stumps in the water.  

“That’s the ghost forest. We only get to see it when a bad storm comes through,” she turned back to the rock point and looked for any signs of storm damage.

“A shipwreck would have been cooler,” Dave replied, turning away from the waves to put his arms around Liz.

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, “Those tree stumps are 4,000 years old! There’s a wreck just north of here, but a storm is coming.”

Dave looked out to the clear, bright horizon, “I think whoever predicts the weather smokes far too much weed.”

“Give me his number so I can send him some product,” Liz mumbled into his sweatshirt before looking up at him, “For real, we should head back.”

*

“How the hell did you know a storm was coming?” Dave yelled over the wind as they ran up the steps to her house.

She unlocked the door and hurried inside, rain dripping from her clothes as she flipped on the gas fireplace. “My collarbone was screaming at me,” she grimaced, rubbing her shoulder a bit. “Doesn’t your leg hurt when the weather is about to change?”

“I guess it hurts a little, but I figured it was from walking, you weirdo,” he peeled off his soaked sweatshirt, giving her a quizzical look.

“I was told it’s something to do with the pressure in the air, but I like to think that the guy that my bone graft came from was a meteorologist,” she laughed a little and jumped when large gust of wind crashed against the house.

“You have a dead guy’s bone in your body?”

“That’s what she said,” she grinned and grabbed his sweatshirt from him, crossing the tile floor to the hallway that the laundry room was in.

Twenty minutes later they were bundled into her bed in their underwear, listening to the wind and rain outside while Dave flipped through the channels on the TV.

“Ugh,” Liz grumbled as her face briefly flashed across the screen.

“Ooo what does the outer world have to say about you today?” Dave teased, flipping the channel back. She lunged for the remote, but he held it above his head and out of her reach as video clips of Liz on various red carpets and in interviews played in rapid succession.

After finalizing her divorce in May of last year, she was seen cozying up with several different men throughout the summer…

“Slut,” Liz grumbled sarcastically as a series of candid photos of her in various social situations vaguely near another famous human male appeared.

Ben Affleck

“Producer of the last movie I was in and also, no thank you,” she shook her head, annoyed.

Chris Pratt

“I buy beef from his ranch... not a euphemism.”

Jason Momoa

“Fuck, I wish,” Liz laughed when Dave glared at her.

Aaron Rodgers

“He bought me a drink and I told him Russell Wilson is my favorite quarterback.”

Valentino Rossi

“His interpreter didn’t believe me when I said I ride and I almost fought him.”

The pictures then changed from candids to two separate photos stitched together and Liz rolled her eyes, “Now they’re just grasping.”

Leonardo DiCaprio

“I’ve literally never even met that man.”

Harry Styles

“I… don’t know who that is.”

Pictures of Liz and Johnny at their many Disney premieres scrolled by.

But the actor and sometimes rocker that claimed most of her attention last summer seems to have fallen out of favor for a different rock star…

A grainy cell phone shot of Liz and Josie staring up at the stage at Dave’s show appeared, then immediately changed to a blaring commercial. Liz looked up at Dave, but his eyes were glued to the screen.

“And here I thought my only competition was Radar,” he muttered, flopping back against the headboard.

“Please tell me you don’t honestly believe that dumpster fire of a show,” Liz said, sitting up on her knees beside him.

Dave just shook his head, but he was beginning to fully understand what Taylor had meant about the unwanted media attention. She was a big deal right now, one of the most sought after celebrities and her disappearing from LA the week before the fucking Oscars only made the media more blood thirsty. It wouldn’t be long before they were pounding on his door asking about her.

“That,” Liz jabbed a finger towards the flat screen mounted on her bedroom wall, “is not me. That’s not anybody. They have twenty four hours of air time to fill so they make shit up.”

“I know.”

“So stop looking at me like that.”

He again remained silent as the commercials ended and Liz’s picture popped back up on the screen.

… Colbert seemingly left the Hollywood rebel in the dust while falling into the arms of the ‘Nicest Guy in Rock’

A picture of Liz and Depp on set gave way to a closely cropped version of the picture of Dave and Liz in the hotel lobby before Liz gently took the remote from Dave’s hand.

No sightings of Colbert as Oscar week heats up and sources say she’s hiding out to prepare for her next big role which is already generating Oscar buzz for next year. Here’s hoping the Best Actress favorite appears before they announce her name on the big night.

“I’m quitting the industry,” she said quietly, pressing the mute button.

Dave felt his heart skip a little, “What? Why?”

“I hate it. I hate that,” Liz tilted her head towards the TV, now displaying paparazzi shots of Dave and Liz leaving the show on Saturday, her neck still streaked with red scratches. “I like acting, but it’s not worth it.”

“What about all the projects you have coming up?”

“Most of them are so far out that I can bail without legal consequences, but I have hard commitments to the next three films.”

“And how long will that take?”

“At least a year and a half,” she sighed, leaning back against the headboard next to him. 

“Principle photography starts in London in three weeks on the first one, the other two are in Vancouver.” She looked over at him when he remained silent. “And you? Any big plans?”

“Just my usual post-album depressive state. Taylor, Chris and Nate have other projects lined up, so we’re on hiatus for a bit.”

“You’re breaking my little fan girl heart, Dave,” she cried, clutching her chest with a smile. 

“It’s fine. I’ll take the girls to Disneyland every other day and pretend like it isn’t eating my soul from the inside out.”

“Hey, those soul sucking Disney trips paid for this house!” Liz laughed. She was happy to change the subject, but didn’t like where this was headed. 

Dave looked down at the sheets between them. “I’ll probably write, maybe call Josh and Jones to do something,” he shrugged.

“Dave,” Liz said, suddenly serious, “Are you telling me you’re making another Vulture’s album?”

He looked over at her, a shadow of a smile on his face, “You’ll have to force that one out of me.”

Liz narrowed her eyes at him, “Challenge accepted.” She slid off the bed and disappeared in the walk in closet, returning a moment later and tossing a small bag and lighter onto the sheets next to Dave.

He picked it up and suspiciously eyed the professional packaging, “Selkirk Cannabis Company.”

 She climbed back into bed and sat across from him, taking the bag from his hands and tearing it open. “This is a late season harvest,” she mumbled, slipping the joint between her lips and lighting it. She inhaled slowly before handing it back to Dave.

He stared at it for a moment before laughing a little, “The last time I smoked, Taylor fucking Swift had to come save my ass.”

Liz exhaled sharply with a smile before taking the joint back from him. “I heard about that,” she mumbled, her voice a little raspy from the smoke and crawled up the bed until she was inches from his face. “She’s a customer of mine,” she said, slipping her arm around his neck and taking another long drag.

“She smoked out Bieber that night,” Dave replied distractedly, his eyes focused on her lips. He was fascinated with how she could go from adorable to seductive so quickly.

Liz smiled and dipped her head, shotgunning her drag to Dave. He pulled her closer as soon as their lips met, running his hands up the backs of her thighs.

“I can almost guarantee it was my weed she did it with,” Liz said when she pulled away, smiling when Dave took the joint from her hand.

He took another drag, tasting her vanilla chapstick on the paper and leaned back against the headboard, “So how does one grow good weed?”

Liz shrugged. “Years of trial and error, I guess. It all comes down to sex.”

Dave’s eyebrows shot up and he coughed a little, “What?”

“Female plants produce the bud and what they want is a male plant to send them some pollen, so they produce more sticky resin to try and capture any that might be floating through the air.”

“O… kay?” Dave took another drag, trying to follow along.

“So I did a little experiment in college and found out that if you have a male plant nearby, but not close enough to pollinate, the female plant goes crazy and produces more and more resin. Therefore, sexual frustration equals great product.”

“Very scientific,” he replied, already feeling his head swimming a little.

“If you call a bunch of broke and stoned college kids scientific,” she laughed, watching his eyes close just slightly. “You ready to tell me about that album yet?”

“I’m not saying a word,” he laughed.

“Oh, no?” Liz smiled and took the joint from his hand, leaning over to set it on a glass tray on the nightstand before reaching back and unsnapping her bra. She slowly pulled the straps off her arms, holding the fabric to her chest to keep it from falling, “How about now?”

He grinned and shook his head slowly, relaxing back into the bed. His smile faded as she tossed her bra aside and his hands shot up to touch her, but she grabbed his wrists to stop him. Her slow smile returned and she kissed him lightly before snaking her way down his body. Dave sat perfectly still in Liz’s bed, his eyes wide and staring straight ahead at the fireplace mantle as he felt her hand slip into his boxers and her hot breath against him, “We’re making another Vulture’s record.”

[namingthebadguysismyjam]

In a Moment of Hopefulness

Request: I am glad that you had a great time I was wondering if you could do an imagine with Rip where the the reader has feelings for Nate but when she sees him kiss Amaya she gets heartbroken and runs away crying and later bumps into Rip who comforts her and later reveals his feelings for her

A/N: Thank you! I made it kind of angsty, I’m sorry. Sort of. It has a happy ending. I wanted to make her feeling real towards Rip, so that’s why he tells her what tells her. I’m not about that rebound life, basically. Also, I got inspiration for a part in my Mac fic from this(totally unrelated in every way but it’s super angsty). Thank you for requesting, I hope you like it!

Pairing: Rip Hunter x Fem!Reader

Words: 924

Summary: (Y/N) loves Nate but after seeing him kissing Amaya, it breaks her heart. What happens when Rip comforts her? And he hates seeing her like this.

It was going to perfect. (Y/N) had it all planned out. She was going to go right up to Nate and tell him how she felt about him and kiss him. Well, she was only going to kiss him if he felt the same way. She had rehearsed what she was going to say to him multiple times in the mirror for the past hour. She had to get it right. For her sake. She had started to fall for him a while ago, she couldn’t remember if it was before he got his powers or after. It was all such a blur. He was so handsome, kind, and had such a strong passion for anything he put his heart into. She loved him, all of him. (Y/N) only hoped he loved her back.

(Y/N) took a deep breath in attempts to calm herself. She was finally leaving her room and going to tell Nate. She made it halfway down the hall when she stopped in her tracks. Thoughts of doubt started to arise in her. She thought maybe she should just ask him to dinner or something because that was less straightforward than outright telling him how she felt. Then again, she would chicken out of asking him on a date and he would probably take it as a friends thing because he can be so dense sometimes. Or so she thought. (Y/N) shook off the bad thoughts and regained her confidence before continuing to make her way to Nate. She had a slight bounce in her step as she made her way closer to his room.

Unfortunately, she stopped at the kitchen because of what caught her eye. It was Nate and Amaya, kissing. She shook her head quietly. She spun around and left quickly. Tears kept pricking at her eyes as her heart shattered into tiny pieces. She hated herself. Why did she think someone like Nate would even remotely like her. She was obviously not his type. Maybe that’s why he acted the way he did around her. All of those times felt like flirting and- she was so wrong. She wanted to disappear. Consumed by her own thoughts, she accidently bumped into Rip.

“Oh, Rip,” her voice was quiet in fear of crying, “sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

He set his hands on her shoulders, noticing her sad appearance. “It’s okay. Are you alright?”

She looked up from the ground to him, tears in her eyes. She shook her head. She couldn’t lie to Rip. He just pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. It pained him to see her like this. He loved her and he never wanted to see her in pain. He loved her smile and how it would give him butterflies. Rip wanted to ask her what or who made her so upset. Instead he offered to walk her back to her room. He would ask her there. After they made it and sat on her bed he finally talked.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Rip asked gently gazing at her with so much love in his eyes. She stared at her hands in her lap. He grew more concerned as her silence continued. She was thinking about what to tell or how.

“It was Nate. I really liked him,” she looked up from her hands and into his eyes, “but he doesn’t like me like that.”

Rip was slightly uncomfortable about the situation. This was his crush who just had her heart broken by someone else and he had to comfort her. Sure, this would perfect but he just didn’t like this situation. Maybe it was because Nate was a teammate and friend.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/N).” He spoke quietly and gently to her as if she could break. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain.

“Rip. I loved him and- and thought that telling him would- I was so stupid,” her voice cracked as she spoke.

“If it helps, I love you,” he said almost too quietly. She still heard him. In a moment of hopefulness and pain, she kissed him. He returned the kiss quickly, not thinking. As it deepened, Rip’s thoughts caught up with him and he pulled away. “(Y/N), please take your time to move on from Nate before you make any rash decisions.”

“But-” She thought for moment. She wanted to kiss Rip but he had a point. Rip stood then kissed her forehead.

“Come to me when you’re ready. I’ll always love you,” he gave her a small smile before leaving.

She sat there for a while consumed by her thoughts. On one hand she wanted that on the other, he was right. She was in a bad place and she was out of line. She mulled over these thoughts for about two weeks. By that time she had moved on from Nate pretty easily. Then, she started to have feelings for Rip. Not strong ones but they were there. She planned to go to him when she was ready.

A month or two later, she was. They met in his quarters.

“Hey,” she greeted in a small voice. He looked up from the book he was reading. His heart fluttered at her. He silently prayed that she was here because she was ready. She walked over to him and sat next to him. She gazed into his eyes, “I’m ready.”

He smiled and cupped her face before kissing her for real this time.

[kalinara]

I was thinking about Doomworld and why I found it generally unsatisfying as an episode, especially as the penultimate episode of the season.

I thought it was a great idea, mind you, and it was an entertaining enough watch, but in the end, it just didn’t work for me.

Ultimately, I think the problem is similar to the fundamental problem I had with the Flash/Supergirl musical episode.  It didn’t give us anything.

The Flash/Supergirl musical episode was cute.  Had some great performances.  But I think the creators missed what made the Buffy Musical (which is of course the trendsetter for all of these episodes) work so well.  The Buffy Musical worked because of the insights that the songs gave us for each character and the use of the songs to expose deeply buried secrets was genius.  I don’t think Sarah Michelle Gellar is a good singer at all, but her torment when she reveals that the gang had yanked her out of heaven, not hell, when they saved her sticks with me to this day.   The musical mattered because what it told us mattered, and the effects were important to the rest of the season.

In contrast, the Flash/Supergirl musical was filled with people who are far better musical performers, but there was no point.  Carlos Valdez wasn’t playing Cisco, Jeremy Jordan wasn’t playing Winn.  And don’t get me started on the pointlessness of John Barrowman or Victor Garber’s appearances.  They gave an amazing performance.  But that wasn’t Malcolm or Martin.  So what’s the point? 

The musical served to resolve relationship conflict that seemed to have been invented solely for the musical to resolve.  And it’s not like either Barry or Kara gained some unique insight into themselves through this musical.  Barry learned to fight for what he loved.  Something he’s been doing all along.  Kara learned to empathize with someone desperate enough to lie (at the most generous interpretation), something she’s been doing all along.  If they wanted to give us insight, they should have forced Barry to look at his single minded drive to take everything on himself, or Kara to look at the anger and resentment that she buries because she can’t afford to indulge these emotions like non-powered people can.  But no.

That kind of ties with my problem with Doomworld as well.  Doomworld isn’t a musical, obviously, but it’s an episode revolving around a gimmick that, if done well, could really dig into these characters.  

One of the issues of course is that the promised gimmick didn’t turn out to be the actual gimmick.  The promised gimmick of individualized punishments might have been really interesting, if they’d gone for it.  But by combining it with mind control/memory alteration, they took the sting out.  I can buy that being a conspiracy theorist might be the worst fate that Nate can imagine, but even now, I still don’t know why.  He seemed reasonably happy, until he almost got killed.  Likewise, Ray being a janitor.  An interesting choice for someone like Ray.  But again, mindwiped Ray seemed reasonably happy there.  

I can make some guesses as to what it is about conspiracy theories or janitorial work would be a punishment to someone like Nate or Ray.  I don’t, for example, think that Ray is consciously classist, but I think he treasures his ability and privilege to make a difference in the world, which is something that he didn’t have in this role.  But that’s my speculation, rather than something examined by the episode itself.  Is Nate’s issue not having all the fact at his disposal or the means to get them?  Or is it the lack of credibility?  I saw the episode, but I still don’t know.

The actual gimmick of the episode was the mind control/memory alteration.  Which is a gimmick that the show has already used this season, and used very well.  Which is what makes Doomworld kind of annoying.  

Rip Hunter’s plot all season was a very good use of a memory alteration/mind control, because it allowed us the opportunity to see different facets of his character.  Phil Gasmer, for example, is the man Rip is deep down, without his experience, knowledge, and skill.  Evil Rip is the man Rip could be without his moral accountability and compassion.  Both of these characters were distinctly recognizable as different facets of Rip Hunter, but they were sides of him that we’d never really gotten to explore before.

In the mean time, Arthur Darvill got to play three distinct personality archetypes, the Legends got a formidable adversary, and Rip has consequences that he’s still dealing with (albeit in subtle ways) well until the end of the season.

From an in character perspective, Sara and Amaya’s experiences in Doomworld were basically the same kind of truly horrible thing.  But narratively, the storyline lacked any sort of impact for a number of reasons:

1.  Seeing Sara and Amaya as assassins didn’t give us any insight into them as characters.  There wasn’t enough of Sara and Amaya’s genuine character traits in those women.  There was no indication, for example, that Sara even recognized Felicity when she killed her.  She didn’t have any reaction to seeing Oliver’s mask in the case.  She didn’t recognize the team when sent against them.   Nothing.  (Similarly, Jax and Martin’s dynamic wasn’t an insightful mirror to their usual relationship, but both of them playing unrecognizable characters.  There was nothing of Ray in the Keanu Reeves janitorial portrayal.  Nate was the only character who was remotely recognizable.)  After all of that, I feel like I only really got any new insight into Mick and Rip.  Who were the only characters who were still themselves.

2.  Another advantage of Evil Rip was that we got to see how truly formidable Rip can be when he’s not letting his emotional state trip him up.  He is fucking scary in a way we’ve never actually seen him before.  But we KNEW Amaya and Sara are scarily powerful physical fighters.  It might have been something if they’d actually had Sara and Amaya kill their way through the cast, or something.  But they didn’t.  So the scariness was useless.  They never got to be adversaries, they were defused before that.  MARTIN got to be a better (accidental) adversary.

3.  There are no consequences.  The Doomworld experiences went from reasonably mild to really fucking awful.  For me, I personally believe that Sara, Amaya, Jax and Rip had it the worst, in terms of potential long term consequences.  The former three weren’t just rewritten to be benign losers.  They were rewritten to be monsters and an abuser.  And Sara and Jax remember(ed) that.  Amaya is of course, dead.  Rip was subjected to a year of solitary confinement, despite the comedic nature of his portrayal, which would likely have serious after effects.  But Aruba makes that all pointless.  (Don’t get me wrong, I would NOT have wanted Amaya to stay dead.)

Doomworld was a waste of an episode.  Especially given the way that Aruba concluded.

Sara uses the spear, overcomes her own dark side, and selflessly gives up the chance to save Laurel.  That’s a wonderful moment.

But wouldn’t it have been even better if we’d actually gotten a reference to Laurel after episode FIVE?  Wouldn’t it have been even better if we had any idea whether or not the Spear actually tried to corrupt Sara in Fellowship and what it might have offered her?  And what she was afraid of?  Did it just offer her Laurel, or did it offer her the chance to indulge her wrath and wipe her enemies off the face of the Earth?

Or Rip, for that matter.  He had that lovely moment where he told her he believed in her.  A moment that worked really well with his overall arc, I admit.  (Given how much of his storyarc involved suffering alone, I love that his contribution to the climax was sincere and honest trust in someone else.)  But wouldn’t it have been even stronger if we knew what the Spear said to him?  Did it try to exploit his guilt?  His trust issues?  Did it offer him the chance to undo his mistakes?

What was Martin offered?  Jax?  Nate?  Ray?

I feel like, rather than Doomworld, we could have had a whole episode of the team’s temptation.  The only thing Doomworld really accomplished was a resolution of the Mick-Len arc, and I think that could have been done as a temptation story instead.

In the end, I didn’t hate Doomworld.  But I really do think it was a missed opportunity.

[domitxnate]

Meet The Parents

Who: Nate Lynn, Silas Karofsky @subsilask, Ryder Lynn with Patrick, Gloria and Lawrence Lynn.

Where: Nate’s room

Notes: Meeting Papa Lynn, no triggers, some feels though

Silas fussed over his face in the mirror for the hundredth time. He looked awful and there was no amount of make up that was going to make it look better so he hadn't bothered. He sighed and glanced over toward Nate as the two boy waited for the Lynn's meet them. "...What should I call you?"

Nate gave a small sigh teamed with a smile as he walked up behind Silas, seeing both their reflections staring back at them. He brought his cast up in front of Silas' chest, "Well at least we match right?" he said with a dry chuckle. "Well, what do ya feel the most comfortable with?"

Silas snorted a short laugh. "God...having a broken hand is really not helping it look like you weren't the guy who punched me..." The whole situation was so morbid it was kind of hilarious. "Let's just make sure that everyone knows the other guy looks way worse," he joked before turning to rest his head on Nate's shoulder. "Sir..or Master, kinda like I already do...as long as master wouldnt freak your parents out or anything."

Nate chuckled back, "Guess I didn't think about that. Don't go tellin you're little 'jokes'" he said, with an awful attempt at airquotes. "That'll definitely be the quote of the evening," he agreed, smiling as Silas turned into him. He shook his head, "Nah, it wouldn't freak 'em out. It's what mama and Lawrence call Dad. They wouldn't think a thing of it. But, if I get an opinion - i'd prefer it, yeah."

"Oh god...no more air quotes for you," Silas teased, gently pulling Nate's hand down. "Not sure i'll even need to make the joke," he mumbled, laughing to himself. "Alright, Master...then we will just...be oursel-" his words were cut off by a knock on Nate's door. Silas swallowed and let out a sigh. "Here we go..." He got to his knees and crawled next to Nate as the Dom went to answer the door. He sat up on his knees, making sure he was in a good position as Nate opened the door to greet his parents and Lawrence.

Nate hissed slightly as Silas pulled his hand down, "Careful," he reminded quietly. Nate's head turned towards the knock before looking back to Silas quick, "Yea. be yourself. That's all I want and they'll love ya." Nate looked back at the kneeling sub before opening the door. "Hey Dad," he said, opening the door and letting everyone in. He gasped when his mother squeezed him, "Mama...mama stop...i just saw ya like a couple hours ago, calm down," he chuckled as she hugged him tight. Then was a hug to Lawrence followed by jokingly shutting the door on Ryder. "Rise, pet," he said walking back over to Silas. "Mama, Dad, Lawrence...this is Silas. My submissive."

Ryder, awkwardly waited for his parents to get in the door and was about to walk in as Nate shut the door in his face. He put his hand out to grab it just in time to stop from getting a bloody nose himself. "ass," he whispered, flipping his twin off behind their parent's back. Lawrence elbowed Ryder in the gut making him grunt. Silas swallowed nervously as the door opened and he laid eyes on Nate's parents. He let out a shaky breath and moved back so they could come in. When Nate told him to rise, he got to his feet, shyly hanging his head down, in a last ditch effort to hide his shiner. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lynn, Mrs. Lynn..Lawrence," he said, putting his hand out to shake each of their hands, hoping that he wasn't overstepping. He lifted his head to give a half smile and caught Mamma' Lynn's reaction to his face. "Dear child what happened to you," she said, stepping forward and putting her hand up to gently take his face in her hand. Silas flinched instinctively. "Oh...it's nothing Mrs. Lynn, but thank you for your concern. Just took a good hit in football."

Nate chuckled at Ryder, and even harder when he heard the grunt after Lawrence elbowed Ryder. There was actually a part of Nate that was happy his mother saw Silas' eye before his hand, but then immediately realized that was the most selfish thought he'd had in a long time. "He's fine, mama, quit fussin'," he said and immediately felt the flick of his father's finger against his head. "Ow. Sorry, Sir."

Papa Lynn shook his head at his son and focused on Silas, "Football, hmm? What position do you play, Silas? Been playing long?"

Silas had to purse his lips to hide his amusement. So that's where Nate had learned about ear flicking! Ryder glared at Lawrence and pushed past to go raid Nate's fridge as his parents doted over Nate's sub. He doubted they'd be as excited about Davina. Silas gave Mrs. Lynn a smile in thanks. "He says that but you should have seen him fussing," he said, risking a small joke at his Dom's expense. She turned amused to look at Nate almost proudly when she saw his hand. "Nathan James! What in the world happened to you! Oh my god! We just saw you a few hours ago! Let me see, let me see." Silas shot Nate a look and he knew he'd pay for this later. "Yes, Sir. Defensive End, Sir. No, I play baseball back home in high school, but I thought I'd try something new this year. Other than the black eye it's been interesting. Did you play, Sir?"

Nate stared at Silas playfully, "that was hardly fussin'" he joked back. He watched as Silas spoke with his father, waiting for the litany of questions that was sure to happen.

Patrick nodded along as Silas spoke. "Defensive end? That's quite impressive. Oh? And what made you go with football here as opposed to baseball? What position did you play with that?"

Silas smirked as mamma fussed over Nate and Ryder and Lawrence got comfy in the living room. "I'm not sure I'm that impressive Sur, but you'll get a chance to decide for yourself this weekend." This was going alright, he thought. He wasn't exactly some sports expert but he could talk about this all night if it kept Patrick happy. "I just wanted to change it up, Sir. I was usually a center fielder. I had a decent arm and could run. I actually run track as well." He looked down and realized now he was just bragging. But he'd gotten caught up in having a parent who was actually interested in .anything he was doing. "I think the Patriots have the first regular season game tonight, maybe we could watch it, Sir," he asked, even though he had no interest in doing that himself, he knew it'd sound good. "Master? May I use the bathroom, please," Silas asked, turning to Nate, hoping the Dom would give him an out to this conversation before it got too technical.

Patrick nodded with a bit of a smirk, "track too? Goodness you seem like quite the athlete, Silas. Very impresseive, dear boy. Do you have a favorite of them? Are you a Patriots fan? I do believe your right and we can certainly consider turning the game on. Assuming we can get Nate and Ryder away from the remote. They've always argued over which ESPN to watch," he said simply, side eyeing the boys. "We'll Ryder always tries to skip sportscenter. What's the point of ESPN is you're not gonna watch sports center?!" Nate argued, walking into the kitchen as his mother fussed, "mama I'm fine. It's a clean break and they'll be fine in a couple weeks." He looked up at Silas and shook his head, "ya in the middle of a conversation, pet. Don't be rude, ya can wait."

"Yes, Sir...I suppose, I am Sir. I like to keep in shape and keep busy, but I"m not sure I'm a jock by any means. But thank you, Sir. I prefer track, I can get the most lost in it, it's the most natural. The other's I'm constantly thinking about plays and the like. I...no, Sir I'm from Arkansas, we don't have a team so I didn't really grow up watching football actually. I'm from Hot Springs though, so I did gt to see a lot of MLB players when they came from spring training. Even got a few autographs..." He paused, realizing his collection of autographs which he'd always been so proud of was something he'd left behind in Arkansas. He'd never see it again now. His face fell and he looked away. "Oh my god, it's the same thing all day! Ya watch it once and move on," Ryder countered, fishing the remote out of the couch and tossing it toward his father. "You broke a bone, it is certainly not fine Nathan," Mamma said, taking her son's hand and moving his fingers around to assess ...something only mom's undrstood. Silas flushed red and nodded. "Yes, Master... Sorry Sir, " he said to nate and then his father. "Is football your game then, Sir? Did you play at the acacdemy you went to? Where did you go, if I may ask?"

"Arkansas?" Patrick asked, "so from around our region I suppose. How are things in Hot Springs? Sounds like quite the place to be for a baseball fan," he nodded. "Not a fan of titles, myself. If you wanna be a jock, then your a job. I suppose you must be quite fast?" Nate looked up as Ryder argued, "they change as more events happen ryder, duh," he rolled his eyes and quickly felt the sting of a spoon on his good hand, "ow! Mama he started it!" He sighed when he saw the look, "and I'm finishing it," she said, "enough both of you." Nate groaned when she used his full name, he hated that. "Good boy," he murmured back to Silas as his mother finally let go of his hand and moved back to putzing around in the kitchen. "I played football and basketball pretty much through every school year. I went to academy in Georgia and then went to university of Georgia-Atlanta for my undergrad and masters and then later got a PhD from MIT before heading back South."

Silas nodded, "Yes not too far from you guys, Sir. Hot Springs is...neat. There's a lot of really interesting history with fueds and monsters and whatnot, but I won't mind never going there again. I'm actually a distance runner, Sir, so I have more stamina than speed." He smirked as Nate and Ryder argued and their mom took control. It amused him to see a family functioning like this, and he could definitely see that Nate got his Domming style from his mother, ironically. Silas gestured to the chair, offering Patrick a seat and bringing him a bottle of water before kneeling a few feet away so they could still talk. "Wow, pretty athletic, Sir... and man, that's a lot of school. I'm hoping to be the first in my family to go to college. But we will see what life brings. It's a bit hard to plan for the future at this point..." Ryder leaned backward off the couch and moaned, "Naaaate, water me!" Patrick glared at his eldest son, "Ryder Lynn, is that how you speak to Dominants?"

Patrick nodded along listening intently to the submissive his son had become so Inamored with. He had to admit to himself - so far so good. "It's interesting you make the distinction between stamina and speed, Silas. Most assume to win you have to be the strongest or the fastest. Maybe people miss the ability to endure also being high on that list." Patrick sat and accept the water from Silas, "thank you, dear," he said softly as Silas knelt down near him. After Nate got his hand smacked for the third time, he left the kitchen, sitting in the spot near where Silas knealt, his hand finding its way into the sub's hair like it always did. "Oh?" Patrick asked, "have you decided on a field of study? What makes you believe you won't get to go to college?" He asked looking up at Nate, "I thought you told me this relationship was serious, Nathan?" Nate sighed again, "of course it is," he argued, still massaging Silas' scalp, "but I'm also not barrelin' into anythin' we're takin' our time with it."

"I agree Sir, people don't understand the importance of pacing and the amount of effort and restraint that comes into simply just running. There's a lot of science in it really," he said, much more comfortable talking about track. Ryder skunked back into the couch and sighed, "No Sir," he grumbled and got up to get his own water. Silas scooted closed to Nate as he sat, and the familiar touch calmed his nerves. "No, Sir, I- um, I supposed I always had dreamed of owning my own business, but I know that's kind of a lofty dream for a sub. I'd be happy if I could at least take some courses at a local tech school." He cringed as Patrick chastised his son. "Sorry, Sir, I didn't mean...it's just...being Nate's sub is what I want, but...I don't exactly have a history full of success stories. I tend to plan for the worst not the best."

Patrick smiled as a silas continued, "you're a very smart young man, Silas. And I agree there is a science to it." A small chuckle was heard in stereo - on from Mama in the kitchen and one from Lawrence in the living room. "Everything's a science to you, Master," mama giggled. "Yeah, and I think you're drooling a little bit there," Lawrence piped in. Patrick just shook his head softly, "that's enough out of the two of you," he said, still serious but there was something in his voice that let them know he wasn't made. Nate always envied that voice because he'd never figured out exactly what it was. Nate silently chuckled as Ryder got in trouble before turning his focus back to his father. Patrick shook his head, "it's nothing against you dear," he stated clearly, "but Nathan has known for a long time the expectations he's held to. And he sometimes likes to take too long to make decisions. This isn't the time for that, Nathan. You're getting older, you have a submissive, it's time to get serious." Nate continued to play with the boys' hair, "this is serious, Dad. I dunno how to make ya see that. We've only been doin' this a couple of months and it makes more sense to ease into it than barrel in half cocked." He wanted to point out that barreling in was Ryder's MO, not his, but figured the trio of parents would jump to Ryder's defense if he did. "I've got it under control, Dad. We just had a presentation and I think it went real well. Just waitin' for grades to come out. He's got rules, we've got a schedule. We're workin' through everythin to make sure this is the right choice for us."

Silas blushed and looked down, so flattered to be complimented by Patrick. "Thank you, Sir," he said softly but it was drown out by laughter. The sub looked around a little confused and then realized what was happening, sort of. He'd have a lot to catch up on before he really felt like he could make jokes and be any part of this family, but the prospect seemed promising. Silas' mouth opened and he shook his head, ready to come to Nate's defense, but as Nate spoke he shut his jaw. "I've got it under control, Dad," Ryder mocked under his breath which earned him another jab from Lawrence, though the older sub also giggled. "Sir...if I may...I...I don't have a lot of experience with...uh I guess, relationships, friendships or even subbing. Nate's taught me a ton, so much, practically everything I know, but I still have a long way to go. If anything, I'm holding us back just from inexperience, but Nate's been really great and I know that we will eventually manage to navigate everything and I...I can't wait until I'm his, but we still have about 400 points apiece to go and well, we both want to be sure..Sir...sorry...rambling. Shutting up now."

Patrick gave a slight smirk, "Of course," he said simply to his son's submissive. He heard Nate's arguement, one he was used to, though his son often had delusions of granduer that Patrick was worried about it. "I appreciate that, Silas," Patrick answered the kneeling boy, "I'm glad he's taught you a lot and I'm sure you've taught him as well. But he still holds onto to things that aren't going to get him anywhere productive." Nate took a deep breath, letting go of Silas' hair so he could ball his fist without hurting the boy. "He's talkin' about the Olympics," he said quietly, "do not say anythin'," he whispered again. He loved that Silas wanted to defend him, but he also didn't want Silas to get out of place. "We're gettin' there, Dad. And there's nothin' wrong with pursuin' my dream in the process. Silas is aware of them and I'm aware of his. We've got this, ya just gotta let me do it in my own time - in our own time. we've still got points to earn and things to learn. But know this - Silas and I - this is end game. He will be mine." nate's gaze held onto his father's. He'd always walked a fine line with the man who expected so much from a son who always felt second rate. Patrick sighed, "I know you can do this, Nathan. I just want to make sure that you can handle the kind of pressure required of a Dominant. You have always struggled with being the leader, Nathan, so i worry that you'll fall back into old habits. Ryder's always been the leader, it would have come easier to him." Patrick's voice was even, but Nate hated it. He hated that this isn't the first time they'd had a conversation about this very thing. "I know that, Father," Nate said, trying to keep himself calm but knowing his voice was giving him away, "and I can do this. In my own time. I...am not...Ryder."

Silas frowned. He didn't understand what Patrick was talking about and was about to ask when Nate shushed him. Gun to his head, Silas would have to admit that Nate's dreams did seem a little unrealistic and lofty, but that's what dreams were supposed to be. He loved that Nate had a goal and would work so hard towards it. He respected Nate's dedication and his inability to let silly things like realism keep him back. He bit his tongue and let the two Doms talk it out. When Nate's hand left his hair, he inched closer trying to be of some comfort. Ryder heard his father and looked back. He was grateful the pressure was off him from his parents, but the pressure to make sure he was still the better twin did nudge at his heart. He'd already sat through a lecture from both Lawrence and Patrick about his lack of effort and letting his romantic relationship get in the way of his progress. Neither of his parents had been on board with his life plan. At least Nate and him could see eye to eye on that. "Nah, ya not," he joked, "I'm way hotter."

Nate could feel the rage and frustration burn in his eyes as his father talked and made insinuations about the swimmer. He respected his father, but he hated never feeling good enough. Because they all knew - it wasn't supposed to be him. Ryder was supposed to be the Dom, he was supposed to be the leader and the highest mark of the family. Nate coudn't help but notice his father's disappointment that it ended up being Nate. "You don't have an overabundant amount of time, Nathan. You need to stop thinking you have all the time in the world. If you need points, you need to get them and stop dragging your feet hoping things will just fall into your lap. Your last exam was well but the ones before that weren't your best work, Nathan. And I'd hate to see that start slipping again and I'd have to come back and get your truck. And I see you have Silas, who appears to be an excellent choice, but what about the second one? You need two, Nathan, to get anywhere in the educational world or business world or whatever it is you decide to do." Nate swore that he was just tuning his dad out and didn't want to hear any of it, but he couldn't stop it. It just flushed through his ears and his head and swirled around him over and over. He knew Ryder was trying to make a joke, but he couldn't hear anything but his mother and Lawrence chuckle slightly. Oh sure - /he's/ the one not being serious when ryder hadn't had a serious comment all evening. "You're right Father. I'll do better. Excuse me, please," he said standing up and walking to his bedroom, willing himself away from breaking his arm further against the door.

Silas didn't know what to do. Every part of him wanted to stand up for his Dom, but the idea of standing up to Patrick was also completely terrifying, and he knew Nate wouldn't want him to. He bit down on his lip and dropped his eyes. Maybe his dad didn't use his fist or call Nate stupid, but this had to hurt Nate just as badly. When he felt Nate moved, he looked up, not sure what to do. Should he follow? Should he stay? Should he say something? His eyes darted back and forth between Patrick and Nate as the boy walked towards his bedroom. Ryder saw his brother's face, and though he'd never quite gotten why everyone was so serious all the time, and relished the idea of rubbing salt in Nate's wounds...it was still his twin brother and he could tell Nate was hurting. "...got it," he mumbled, getting up from the couch and going to the hall. Silas, still confused and frozen saw Ryder move and thought it best to stay out of it. "Sir...if I may? I understand wanting the best and trust me, I understand that we're on a clock...but we've only been at academy for 5 months. And my parents...they're...well, I didn't grow up learning about marks and the system in any kind of positive way. Being a sub is still very foreign to me and a lot of ways. If anything...I'm holding your son back from moving forward any faster. I'd hate to rush it and wind up not being what he needs, or wind up doing anything that would reflect on him badly. I'm still figuring out a lot of things, and I think...we need to go at the speed we are. Trust me, we are very serious, and I cannot wait to have his collar around my neck, and even though it's not my ideal situation, I know he needs and wants another submissive." Silas realized he was rambling and making excuses that probably wouldn't get him far. "...my face...my dad did this," he finally sighed, playing a sympathy card, knowing it wasn't right, but he had to back peddle out. "Please understand that it's hard for me to trust anyone, hard to really trust anyone with my safety or my emotional and mental health...I trust your son, as much as I'm capable of trusting anyone. But...I can't rush this...because if I fu-...If I mess this up," he gestured from himself to the general direction of Nate's room, "It'd hurt worse than any time my father laid his hands on me, or any time my mother stood by and let it happen...Sir." He looked down, wishing he'd just have shut up and gone with Nate.

Ryder knocked on the door lightly and poked his head in. "Hey...so uh...I think Dad likes him, that's somethin'? " He sighed and ran his hand back through his hair. Time to be serious, Ryder. He sat on the bed, "Look...ya not me, ya never gonna be me...ya better than me. You got your shit together. Ya got a great sub. You got hopes and dreams and shit. I'm fucking lost up here, man. I barely get through classes, no one respects me like they do you...I got D but...she's never gonna be the sub I want. I mean I love her but it's not-...never mind. It's just...don't let it get to you, yeah? You're fine. You're doin' everything right."

Patrick did nothing as his middle child got up, though raised his hand when gloria made a move to go after him. He watched Ryder cross the room and returned his gaze to Silas. "Trust is a major part of any relationship - romantic or otherwise. And I'm not naive enough to believe that trust is automatic. But Nathan has a history, Silas. One of very bad decisions that require him to have to clean up his messes but he never seems to. Some things he barrels in, others he takes too long to decide. I worry that he doesn't have what is needed of him to be dominant. He seems to have done well with you, however," Patrick nodded. "My son is capable of amazing things, but I'm sure you've seen yourself that he gets in his own way. I just worry about him the most out of the three of them," he finally admitted. He looked over Silas' face, feeling for the boy but unable to make himself show the emotions Silas was probably looking for. "I'm sorry your father did that to you. And if nothing else, I do know that my son will keep you safe from that to the best of his abilities. I'm not saying he's done anything wrong, but just that this is an important time and he needs to know where his priorities should be."

Nate was huffing and pacing in his room when he heard the quiet knock and saw his reflection peek in. "This is not the time for one of your jokes, Ryder," he huffed, staring out the window a moment as he tried to settle himself down. When Ryder started talking, Nate turned to him, "what are ya talkin about? Ya have your stuff together. Ya literally get to go whichever way ya want - ya have options. And no matter what ya do, no ones gonna faultnya for it. Just like it's always been. He's just...he just still sees me as this impulsive kid. He's always gonna be waitin for the shoe to drop."

Silas was just glad Patrick didn't have the hair trigger rage that his own father had. "...thank you Sir. Nate really has helped me a lot. He's taught me everything I know about being a sub really." He wasn't sure what else to say. The argument seemed so back and forth. Nate couldn't go too fast or too slow. What exactly was the right speed? "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, how long did you know your submissives before you claimed them?"

Ryder pushed his tongue awkwardly around in his mouth and shook his had. "What stuff? Davina? My grades? My plans? Fuck I don't even know what I wanna do with my life...for a job...for anything. Options...that come with twice as much homework, twice as much shit to read, twice the decisions..." He could hardly argue Nate's view of their Dad. It was true, Patrick would always seen his sons as he had them in his head, regardless of their actual actions. "Ya not though...I am. He's startin' to see it too. Man was he not on board with me and D, like, shit, you shoulda seen him. An' he saw everyone's reaction to my post. Not impressed...." Ryder sighed and got up, crossing the room and standing in front of Nate. He put his hands on his brother's shoulders and leaned his forhead on Nate's looking him in the eye. "You got this. We've got this...now. Get back out there and show Dad you're not some kid that runs off to cry when shit gets real..."

Patrick nodded as Silas continued. "Oh goodness," he sighed, "making me think a bit here. Well, I had met Gloria in school first, my first year. Once we had decided we wanted a future, it was probably about 4 or 5 months when we were claimed. I'd already met Lawrence by that time and we were claimed maybe 4 months later."

Nate shrugged, "I guess. Ya just always act like nothin' bothers ya. Like it's fine and everyone else around ya has to be fine about it too." Nate turned towards Ryder as his body was forced to, though the Dom didn't fight it. Nate was afraid his father wouldn't agree with what ryder had with davina. "I'm sorry bro. I mean, but ya could always make it a more serious thing with d. I would imagine he just doesn't like the non-traditionalness of it," he said, trying to help but knowing too well what Ryder was talking about. Another deep sigh came from Nate as Ryder spoke, his bi brothers arms on his shoulders. "Yeah...I know ya right. I just...he'll never see it Ry."

"Well," Silas said, trying not to smile, "Seems like Master and I are right on schedule then. If you'll excuse me, I think I should go see if I can be of any service to him. Thank you very much for the compliments, your kind words and your concerns and patience. " He gave a small nod and crawled down the hall toward the bedrooms, his heart pounding. "Master..." he called out in a stage whisper, not sure if he should interrupt

Ryder shrugged, "Yeah...I do...cause I dealt with all the pressure and shit since like birth. It's too much. Ya can't let it eat at you, can't think about it or just like takes over and your brain oozes out ya ears and then no one wants to fuck you and it's a whole thing," he said, trying to get Nate to smile. "Its alright. I'll figure it out. I always do..." Ryder gave Nate a knowing smile, "I know, he won't, but it doesn't matter. What matters is ya left Silas out ther with lawrence, Ma and Dad and he's probably pissing himself right now. Go be the Dom you are. The best damn Dom in this fucking place....and go save your boy, your perfect sub..the one ya gonna claim when ya ready, and it's gonna be forever because no way in hell you'd risk screwing it up and he woulnd't leave ya if it meant cuttin' his balls off. Now go. you got this. And I love ya" He pulled Nate into a hug, then shoved him backwards onto the bed and left to rejoin the family. "Hey Si...he's good," he said to the sub who was waiting at the door. "Master? " Silas called out, poking his head in.

Nate knew his brother was right, and that nate wasn't the only target for the pressures of Patrick Lynn. "Yeah, I know you'll figure it out and I'll help if ya need me and let me know." Nate took in Ryder's words and let them sink in a bit. He knew he was right, especially all that about Silas and feeling a little guilty that he left the sub like that. Nate returned the hug, though grunted when he was pushed back down onto the bed.

Nate looked down at the sub on the floor and couldn't help but smile. Mat ewalked over to him and lowered his hand to play with the boy's hair. "I'm sorry, Prince," he said softly, "I shouldn't have done that to ya."

Silas smiled and leaned into Nate's hand. "You didn't do anything wrong, Master. Sometimes it's better to walk away....for the wall's sake if nothing else." He licked his lips and debated his next words carefully. "We're okay...no matter what anyone, even your Dad says...we've got this. We're moving at a good pace, one we're comfortable with. I trust you, completely. And I love this...I love what we have, just as it is, and we'll do a claim when we're ready and when we do he will forget all about how much time it took or didn't take."

Nate smiled down at the boy, his expression softening quickly. Nate continued with his fingers through Silas' hair as the submissive boy spoke, nodding along. "I know ya right. It's just hard sometimes with him. But ya right. And I love it too." He bent down to press a kiss to Silas' lips, "don't drown," he whispered.

"Sometimes...some people... they'll never understand. And that's okay, because me and you are the only ones that have to be on the same page. He's still proud of you, I can see it on his face." Silas smiled and pressed his lips back against Nate's his breath hitching. Even if he didn't love Nate in the traditional sense, that didn't make each kiss any less breathtaking. "Don't drown, Master."