#my area is pretty dead when it comes to raids and the like so this version of the app

[tansyuduri]

Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E10

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We’re on THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

LETS GO! This one doesnt have the most lore so I am finding little things to cover too. So goosekeeping. In Roman Britain keeping goose domestically was not a big thing. However, by early medieval times, it had very much increased. Merlin stands between these. So keeping geese makes sense. Geese also naturally fatten themselves for winter if left to do so. So are a good choice for a village that doesn't have much to spare in the way of cultivated food.

Now in Feudalism one of the things that was a lord's responsability was basically making sure raiders did not come and do this. Of course, this was done with various degrees of success. Ealdor is a border region and from what we learn. While it is in Cenred's kingdom it does not seem to have a lesser noble of the kingdom ruling over it. It also must be far from Cenred's court. This would leave it far from any protection. Cenred would have more of an interest protecting villages that actually provided him food. (Thus kept up their side of the feudalism deal.) This is later reinforced when it is said they appealed to Cenred (And that their safety is his responsibility) but he cares little for the outlying regions.

Merlin doesn't actually show any lesser nobility that does not live in capital cities. It does however imply they exist. (See Lancelot for more on this) What I find interesting is that Ealdor was not raided before in recent memory. Or at least that it's not mentioned. I wonder if Merlin had anything to do with this.

Funfact "gealdor" in old English means spell or charm or incantation while Ealdor itself means chief, leader, head of family. Prince or king, or Orgin or source. (The last one seems most likely as it is Merlin's place of origin. I cannot find anything about Aecitir Also while Uther is right sending an army over the border would be an act of war. He could VERY likely get away with sending some men as Arthur suggests. ESPECIALLY since there is little likelihood of any of Cenred's soldiers being in the area to know. Its possible if this audience was granted in private he might have risked doing so. And he could have said no and then sent soldiors secretly later BUT this is Uther we are talking about sooooo.

*Screams in not as poor as most commoners Gwen family theory* I feel like I'm kicking a dead horse here but BEING ABLE TO GIVE PEOPLE WEAPONS AND ARMOR IS A BIG DEAL

Morgana: Bring back memories of when I used to beat you

Arthur: That never happened.

So Morgana lost her father at age 10 I have no idea what age Arthur would have been but I'm inclined to believe Morgana and that Arthur made excuses or something. NOW Morgana knows how to fight so I think we need to ask how she was trained? Did Arthur practice with her? Or was she actually trained? From what we see in the show most noblewomen do not know how to fight with swords. So it is not a traditional part of their training in the Merlin world. (The only other noble woman we see using a weapon is Mithian with a crossbow on the hunt and her loving hunting is a rarity by Arthur's reaction.) Medieval woman often used bows on the hunt so this is "normal" There are examples of medieval woman warriors but they are fairly rare. I think Morgana got actual lessons in sword craft from knights and that is was an indulgence of her wanting to learn it by Uther.

OKAY! So they keep chickens too! I'm guessing that they mostly keep them for eggs and perhaps meat very occasionally. Eggs would be a HUGELY valuable source of protein, Along with milk (Merlin mentions there being cows even if we do not see them in this episode) So from what we see, Merlin's diet growing up would have been milk, grains, eggs, and likely some fruits and vegetables as we saw those taken earlier. Perhaps every once in a while some meat.

Confirmation most of the village did not know about Merlin's Secret. I gotta wonder what they thought when Hunith up and sent him seemingly defenseless on the same road we see so many bandits on. Actually Hunith makes her way to Camalot twice on her own though. So Bandaits just ignore peasants if they don't look like they have anything of value on them but if knights and rich people are around attack? I think that's the only explanation for how safe roads in Merlin seem to be for peasants without valuables and how dangerous for LITTERALY everyone else.

Will: why did you Leave?

Merlin: It wasn't what I wanted. My mother was worried. When she found out you knew she was so angry.

Will: I wouldn't have told anyone.

We also know Hunnith said Merlin was at odds with people and Merlin later says you cannot always trust people. (There is also nearly dropping a tree on old man simons with magic.) This entire thing is interesting because Cenred does not hate magic like Uther does. He was fine with Morgouse. So it's quite possible magic is not illegal, or if those rules were in place once Cenred ignored him. Personally I think Hunith was afraid of Cenred taking Merlin and using him as a weapon. Perhaps there would have been a large reward for anyone who discovered a powerful magic user and brought the news to Cenred. This is just a theory of course. She also might have been afraid of someone putting together him being Balinor's son and that information getting out.

Let's take a moment to look at the status of women in the Merlin world. Casual sexism is a thing ("You are such a girl's pedicoat , losing to a girl being bad, Arthur not wanting the woman to fight. ETC) but we sometimes see common women owning land and businesses (Mary's tavern that appears in the Gwaine episode. Alice being a healer.) And the old religion VERY much revered women. However, Female Knights don't seem to be a thing. In fact, As we addressed earlier girls being skilled in battle seems unusual (Though we it in a magic outlaw group once and Isolde. As well as Morgana and Morgouse) and killing them in battle is seen as particularly bad. However, like real medieval woman, they can participate in hunting ETC. They also CAN rule (Gwen, Morgana, Annis) Chastity does not seem as big a deal. Woman can be alone with men without bad comments. And they go where they want without escort. Olaf's behavior toward Vivian is viewed as excessive as well. However, I don't think most noble women have sex before marriage. (Talking about Arthurs's intentions being honorable Uther not trying to bed Katrina until their wedding knight.) While perhaps doing it is not such a big deal (Vivian talking about previous men being chased with knives, Uther urging Arthur to have fun while he can with Sofia) Unsure about commoners. Also I would guess Men inheriting before women is not a thing based on how Morgana is seen as a viable heir to the throne. Also by the size of families we see birth control is readily available. SO A huge improvement on the real middle ages. But casual sexism is still a thing.

[access--granted]

Too Slow

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Anon asked: how about a drabble with reader x luis in another apocalypse universe of your choice? they're just regular, run-of-the-mill people trying to survive a sudden outbreak of some kind, scavenging in a crumbling grocery/convenience store. maybe something angsty happens at the end? idk i just think it'd be interesting to see luis in a different zombie apocalypse universe xD A/N: Hoo boy, anon, do I have something for you 😂 you asked for angsty, and I think I delivered on that pretty well 🤭 I hope you like it because it hurt to write and they're thrown right into the thick of it 🥹 I didn't choose a specific zombie apocalypse universe for this, they're just out here trying to survive. Also, since no gender was specified, I've gone with gender-neutral and friendship rather than romance. I hope that's okay! :) TW: Angst, Implied major character death, mentions of blood and mild gore, use of guns. Pairing: Luis Serra x GN!Reader (Friendship) WC: 1,169

“Luis, can’t you at least try looking for something useful?” You poke your head over the counter, watching the Spaniard rifle through the cigarette kiosk, throwing empty cartons on the floor, his search for an untouched box, so far, unsuccessful. 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get at,” Luis responds, turning his head to look at you with a playful smile. “Cigarettes are vital. Without them, I might lose my mind.”

You scoff, leaving it at that as you return to what you were doing just a second before. You’re on the floor, searching all the bottom shelves in this tiny convenience store. The area had been quiet when you first arrived, and it had felt like a miracle you’d even come across this place after several days on the road, passing nothing but abandoned homes and stripped cars. It’s clear this place has already been scavenged and gutted of its stock at least a dozen times before, but you and Luis are willing to take your chances, having gone hours without food.

So far, all you’ve found are a few expired cereal bars, some painkillers from the medicine section and a bottle of lukewarm mineral water. It’s not much, but it’ll do just fine until you find somewhere else to raid. You stuff your findings into your satchel, running the back of your hand across your forehead to wipe away the sweat beading from your pores. The air is humid; a storm is coming as thick grey clouds sit stagnant in the sky outside.

“A-ha!” A triumphant Luis draws your attention back to him, and you scramble to your knees before standing up, patting the dust off your knees. When you look his way, he’s holding up a carton of cigarettes like they’re a goddamn medal of honour. They’re perfectly unopened– still in their cellophane wrapping, even. “It seems the universe is on my side,” he remarks, looking so proud of himself. It makes you laugh, shaking your head.

“How do you always manage to get exactly what you want?” Swinging your satchel over your shoulder, you watch him. He’s already torn the cellophane off and popped a cigarette between his lips.

“I guess I’m just lucky–” 

It all happens so fast. One second, Luis is proudly showing off his found treasure, about to relish in his first smoke since a few days ago, and the next, he’s grappling with an infected that came out of nowhere. Turns out the corpse hunched over in the far corner hadn’t been dead when you checked upon arrival.  

You scramble to your back pocket for your pistol– knife, anything. A blood-curdling scream bounces through the store, a chunk of flesh ripped from Luis’ shoulder, your eyes wide and pupils quivering as you watch, mindlessly taking shots at the monster, blood splattering out of bullet holes in rotting flesh until you focus enough to aim for the head. Bang. Thud.

The walking corpse crumples to the floor, and Luis staggers and falls on his backside, blood flowing consistently from the wound in his shoulder. Somehow, that cigarette is still perching perfectly between his lips. You’re too stunned to speak, to move. Instead, you stand frozen in place and watch your friend bleed out, cussing under his breath. He doesn’t seem scared, though, at least not to the naked eye. 

Luis clutches his bleeding shoulder, using his free hand to dig his lighter out of his pocket. You’re still standing across from him, the realisation of what just happened dawning on you, hitting you like a truck hurtling down the highway.

Luis lights his cigarette, taking a long drag while he rests his head against the side of the counter. His face gets lost momentarily in a plume of smoke as it exits his lungs. His eyes meet yours, his voice pulling you out of your stun.

“Well… shit,” he says, voice strained and face twitching with pain, “I guess I ran out of luck– too slow.” He grits his teeth before bringing the cigarette back to his lips. Tears start spilling from your eyes just as the rain begins to fall outside; the first sound coming out of your mouth is nothing but a sob while you stutter towards Luis and kneel at his side. Your trembling hand rests on his leg. 

“This– it’s my fault,” your voice gets stuck halfway up your throat, “I should’ve put a bullet in its head before. I should’ve–”

“Don’t.”

“But–”

“Don’t. This isn’t your fault, my friend. It wasn’t moving. You weren’t to know.” Luis looks at you, keeping the cigarette between his lips. He reaches up to ruffle your hair and sweep the tears away from your cheeks. “Sneaky little bastard, eh?”

You choke on a sob– and a bit of a laugh, and you hate it. You and Luis have been surviving together for months. The idea of having to carry on alone terrifies you. The fact that he won’t be around anymore utterly shatters you.

Noises arise from the surrounding area, bringing your and Luis’ attention to the door at the front, then the one at the back. Trash cans clatter, and feet start dragging. The screaming and gunfire likely drew attention. You need to get out of here.

“Come on, we’ve gotta go,” you sniff, moving to bring Luis to his feet again, but he pulls away and gives you that look. The look you’ve been given far too many times by too many people you’d grown fond of throughout this whole fucked up apocalypse. With Luis, though, it hurts a million times more.

His smile is genuine, yet so sad, as he says, “We both know I’m not going anywhere. I’m a dead man walking.” You shake your head, about to protest. You’re not having any of this– “Y/N, I mean it. You need to get out of here. Now.”

A door handle starts rattling in the back of the store, out of sight, but the clock is ticking. Moans of the infected start multiplying, filling the air that had been silent moments ago. Your eyes meet with Luis’ again. You’re pleading with him silently, but his fingers are curling around the grip of his handgun, easing it out of his belt, his cigarette having already burned down to the butt.

He has accepted his fate.

“Go. Run, and don’t look back.”

Thorns squeeze around your heart, piercing it, tearing it to shreds. Lips quivering, you lean in to press a single, lingering kiss on his forehead. For a second, you think you hear Luis’ breath shake as he leans into your lips.

You stagger to your feet, pistol in hand, and turn to the entrance. ‘Run, and don’t look back.’ Quaking legs carry you forward, gaining speed clumsily as you burst through the door, cold rain hitting your skin as a gunshot resonates from inside the store, and your blood runs cold.

Oh, how one moment of misjudgement can turn into such agony.

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

While there's a lot of stuff I wish had been handled differently MSQ-wise, there's a lot I liked anyway, be it because I appreciated the thought or because it just hit the way it was supposed to or whatever.

I enjoy that Estinien seems to be having the vacation we were supposed to have. I sincerely love that for him. I loved him being barely in Stormblood, I loved him barely being in Shadowbringers, I can certainly love him barely being in Dawntrail.

I really enjoyed the first arc a lot! My quibbles with the first half feel pretty minor in the grand scheme, mostly wishing I had more moments where it felt like I was actively mentoring Wuk Lamat, but there was a lot to like and it's hard for me to hold a grudge about it. Most importantly to me, I think it struck the balance between 'important this happen' and 'relatively low stakes' really well, which was heartening to see. I'm one of those people who would like the WoL and the Scions to get breaks from Big Existential Threats from time to time, and I think the first arc did a decent job at showing that's entirely possible to do without it feeling artificially held back.

I LOVED that they did not use the Azem stone except the one time. Sure, some of the trials were set up a little silly with Just the Right Number wandering in off the street to help, but that's fine. I want it to feel special when the stone gets used, and this expansion seemed to get that.

I think they did a really good job tossing potential plot seeds everywhere without being extra obvious about it. Like sure, some of it was more in your face than other things, but I never felt like the writer was pointing frantically at anything and yelling REMEMBER THAT FOR LATER. There's a lot to speculate about, one of my favorite things!

The way the Alexandrians wound up perverting 'memories are how the dead live on' to such a degree was honestly great horror for me, specifically. I might want to edit a bunch of the second arc, but that particular thing? Mmm, made me feel horrible in the best way, and I loved that.

Also just ... Sphene as a character might not have done a ton for me, but Sphene as a concept? Horrifying. Amazing. Loved it.

I appreciate the stones it took to leave the last zone a ruin by the end of the MSQ.

Really, the last area in general, just vibe-wise. It felt Wrong in spite of being superficially pleasant, which was great, but it also still felt a bit sad to shut things down zone by zone. And I liked how it was basically a countdown, and even if I wish the Erenville stuff was handled a bit differently, that sense of marching towards the inevitable as you got closer to what you knew was coming but didn't really want to ever get to was still very, very heavy and I liked that a lot. I know people compared that zone to Amaurot and Ultima Thule, and they should, but I feel it combined what they learned from what worked with both of those into a terribly depressing baby in a really effective way.

As for more general stuff, the new classes are both a lot of fun. The graphical update has done wonderful things for a world I already thought was beautiful AND made my elezen in particular look fantastic. The new zones in particular are a gorgeous flex in what they can do now, and I'm excited to see literally anywhere they decide to go in the future as a result. I enjoyed a lot of the music, the raid series has been super fun, I really liked learning the extremes so far. And I appreciate that they made the dungeons more engaging, even if I want to drop the first boss of the spooky boardwalk dungeon off a cliff.

Look don't I don't really care about whether or not you think Dawntrail as a whole is good or bad.

That's not interesting.

Instead talk abt what makes you go ABSOLUTELY FERAL from it (or ffxiv in general).

What is it that hits your brain in just the right way to make you fall into a never ending rabbit hole of madness and obsession. A rabbit hole from which you emerge from with endless and absolute knowledge about super niche subjects that may come up in conversations once or twice.

a character? Plot beat? Theme? Job rotations??? A dungeon with absolutely unhinged lore? A random ass sidequest that is somehow relevant still today and lives rent free in your brain???

Go wild w those plz, I need more of those.

[aceparagoned]

I recently got back into playing Pokémon Go and nothing quite brings me joy like seeing my shiny Magikarp just flopping around behind me all happily.

[buckgasms]

Goldilocks

I did it....but should I have done it? This is a dark fic so please proceed with caution! It took me a while and I don't know if I like it yet, I think I need some of you to come and discuss this with me 😙

Warnings: Dark Fic, dubcon, kidnapping, p in v, reader is naked a lot, breeding kink, its dark and loooooong

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- Bucky has always craved something that he could never seem to find.

- It doesn't even seem that far fetched to him.

- A pretty wife to take care of who he would come home to, make him dinner, look after the house and raise a brood of little Barnes'.

- Obviously he would keep his little wife busy by breeding her as often as possible so she was always with a swollen belly and a baby in her arms.

- But apparently this was all too old fashioned for the women in his town.

- He spent his nights in his little cabin in the woods becoming more obsessed with the idea, how much better his life would be and how no woman would ever satisfy him.

- That was until you stumbled into his life.

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- You had been visiting the area, planning on going on a hike through the huge national park forest. Just to get away from it all.

- After a few hours hiking you realised you were totally and utterly lost.

- Add to that, you barely packed enough food or drink, warm clothes and your phone battery died because you forgot your spare charger.

- Oh and how about a twisted ankle and a rain storm just to fuck you up a bit more?

- You limped onwards and finally came upon a little cabin. You cried with relief and stumbled over, calling out for help.

- When no reply came you tried the door and found it unlocked. Your first bit of luck that day!

- You stripped off your wet clothes and left them in the hallway before hobbling into the kitchen and raiding the fridge.

- You were so delirious you couldn't focus on what a mess you had made and you stumbled through the house until you came across a cosy bed and collapsed into it, passing out before your head even hit the pillow.

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- When Bucky got home from work, he squinted through the windscreen as the rain lashed down.

- His front door was wide open and the lights had been turned on!

- He rushed inside to find a pile of soggy women's clothes on the floor. Following the drips of water he found his kitchen in a mess, fridge door wide open and most of his dinner gone.

- He was furious until he stormed into his bedroom and saw you lying in his bed.

- You had stripped down to your underwear and he took his time staring at you.

- You were pretty. Really pretty.

- And nobody knew you were here. Well as far as he could tell.

- He left you sleeping and went through your belongings. He bagged up your clothes and chucked them in the bin. Your phone was dead so he snapped the sim card in half and threw that in the fireplace for burning.

- Now you were his.

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- You awoke later and heard noises out in the living room, as well as the scent of something sweet, making your stomach growl.

- You pulled on a t-shirt you found in the wardrobe and headed out to the living room.

- "Hello?" You called out quietly and there he was. A very handsome man, brown locks framing his face and sparkling blue eyes. He was also huge, he looked really strong and well built.

- Ok he was super hot but you also felt a bit nervous of him

- "I'm Bucky, welcome to my home Goldilocks"

- You laughed and shook his hand and introduced yourself.

- "I'm so sorry for breaking in, I was so scared out there and I've hurt my ankle. I was just so relieved I forgot all my manners!"

- He eyed you for a moment then said, "you hungry Goldilocks?'

- You nodded eagerly, bristling a little at the nickname. You had apologised. What more could you do?

- He led you into the kitchen where you found it in a state of total disarray.

- "Tidy up this mess and then you can eat"

- You blinked at him. What the fuck?

- "Um what? Look I said I was sorry but I'm in agony here pal. I'm not your fucking servant."

- He grabbed your arm painfully and dragged you forward.

- "And I'm not yours Goldilocks. Clean up this fucking mess or you can sleep outside tonight."

- You hesitated, just long enough for him to make a decision. He dragged you roughly to the front door and you begged at him.

- "Ok, ok, please! I'll clean it up, just chill, I'll can't go out there!"

- He gave you a dark chuckle. "Too late little brat, maybe you'll be a bit more grateful after a couple of hours?"

- And with that he threw you outside into the rain, the mud and the pitch black forest.

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- After what was probably only half an hour you heard the lock on the door finally he opened it.

- He picked you up off the floor and you clung to his shirt as you shivered violently in his arms.

- "Please....p..p..please let me in" you croaked, your voice aching from screaming and crying.

- "You gonna be good?"

- You nodded as hard as you could and he motioned to the kitchen.

- "Go clean up then and I'll get you nice and warm after."

- You didn't dare argue and you immediately limped away to the kitchen and started on the dishes.

- You ran your cold hands under the warm water and tears streamed down your face.

- Whatever this was.... It wasn't good.

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- Bucky returned when you finished and pulled off your soggy clothes. He wrapped you in a blanket and carried you into the living room where he had started a roaring fire.

- "I didn't want to do that yknow. But you need to learn some manners and respect if you are going to stay here..."

- You tensed up.

- "Oh that's right, you're gonna stay here with me. I've been wishing for a pretty thing like you and just my luck here you are. I don't even mind that you need taming. To be honest....that's the fun part."

- You started shaking again and he rubbed you. This had nothing to do with the cold though. You were trapped with a madman.

- He started pressing kisses to your damp hair and cold skin. You tried to wiggle away but he had you wrapped up tight.

- "You must be starving huh?" He asked and reached forward for a plate of pancakes.

- You cringed as he fed you little bits but you were so hungry you couldn't stop accepting the forkfuls of food he offered.

- He then helped you gulp down some water, rubbing this thumb over some little droplets of water and sinking it into your mouth.

- "Fuck..." He growled and pulled it from you with a pop.

- He then leaned back and rubbed your body until you couldn't help but drift off to sleep in his arms, relived at least to be warm and fed.

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- You awoke the next morning, naked and tied to the bed, your captor sleeping next to you.

- You tried to struggle quietly but your whimpers woke him and he cooed at you as his fingers gripped your cheeks.

- "Hey, hey calm down.... Or you can stay there all day."

- You stilled your movements and looked at him.

- God if you had met him any other way you would have done anything to get back to his cabin.

- He was gorgeous and thick and beefy and it made your knees weak just looking at him.

- He watched as your eyes scanned his body, resting on his thick cock for a second longer than needed and he grinned.

- "You want this Goldilocks? Might be too big for ya? Or is it too hard? Besides, you'd have to earn the pleasure of being split in half by my cock and you certainly haven't done that..."

- You cursed yourself for the whimper that slipped from your lips and you turned away from him as he laughed and left you there.

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- Later in the day he untied you and carried you to a nice warm bath. He sat and cleaned your muddy body and washed your hair.

- Little tears escaped from your eyes as he gently caressed your soft body.

- That's where he told you a little about himself.

- He was a Lumberjack having retired early from the army due to injury. Now working long hours in the sunshine with a few friends, and saved enough to build this place by himself as he craved the peace and quiet of the woods.

- Sadly it was the peace and quiet that troubled you. Nobody was going to find you out here. All you could hope was that some Park Rangers would come by and rescue you.

- "I've always dreamed of having this place full of kids and a pretty wife to take care of them, make this place a home y'know?"

- You shivered again in the warm water and he tutted.

- "You'll come around sweetness, already getting there aren't you?"

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- Hours passed and you were just waiting now, waiting for him to snap.

- You had done your best to keep him kind, without being too commited to his plans.

- Your foot was aching but you figured if you got a chance you could make a run for it. You'd happily take your chances with a bear over this lunatic.

- He was sitting reading a newspaper, his eyes flicking to you every so often.

- "May I use the bathroom?"

- His eyes narrowed and flicked to your naked state and swollen ankle.

- "Sure thing"

- You walked slowly to the bathroom, waited a few seconds then padded as silently as you could to the front door.

- You grabbed a shirt that was on a peg and quietly opened the door.

- Then you started running.

- Your ankle screamed in protest as each step landed heavier than the last. Your body ached and you choked on sobs as you headed into the woods.

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- You ran in any direction until you came upon a dirt track. You could believe it when you heard an engine coming down the track.

- You ran towards it and to your relief was a green Ranger truck flashing it's lights at you.

- Wrapping the shirt around your cold body you yelled at the guy in the driver's seat and the truck skidded to a stop.

- "Please help me, I've been kidnapped by a goddam lunatic, please!!!!" You sobbed and clawed at the door.

- "Get in darling"

- The blonde man unlocked the door and you wrenched it open and climbed in.

- "What happened to you?"

- You explained the ordeal and he handed you a blanket to cover yourself up.

- "Bucky Barnes? You sure that's who did it?" He queried and revved up the engine. You nodded and shuddered at the thought of him

- "Well let's get you back huh? You look exhausted."

- You nodded and sank back onto the seat, leaning against the cool window. Relief flooding through your body as he started to drive.

- It quickly dissipated as he drove deeper into the forest until he came into a familiar clearing, and Bucky appeared from the doorway.

- "Damn he looks mad" the Ranger said and hopped out of the car.

- You watched, terrified as the two men shook hands and laughed as the blonde motioned towards you.

- "She's pretty Buck, aren't you lucky to find someone like her"

- "Well she ain't perfect Steve, needs to be trained up I think. Can't have her running around the forest all the time."

- Bucky walked round to your door and wrenched it open.

- "That was a stupid fucking thing to do."

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- From that day Bucky had kept a close eye on you.

- You could move around the house, but your feet were shackled together to stop you from running, making you a easy target for his hands.

- He became obsessed with touching you. His hands would snake around your body and he would remind you of how he longed to put a baby in you.

- When you had been returned to him he had put you over his lap and spanked your ass raw.

- You had screamed and cried and begged for mercy but he didn't relent.

- Even a few days later you were still smarting from his hands.

- He would punish you harshly for any infraction, making you cry and promise to he good.

- This served Bucky well on two counts.

- Firstly it made you more obedient throughout the days, afraid of punishment.

- Secondly, when he was kind, you were becoming responsive and needy for him.

- You became less able to resist his mantra. You were so tired and afraid so when he would gently take you in his arms, pepper you with kisses and praises, it made all the coldness seem bearable.

- Your adventure with the Park Ranger made it clear that no one was going to look for you or save you. So what was left? What could you do?

- You were making pastry for a pie when Bucky snuck up behind you and wrapped his arms around your body.

- "I can't wait anymore Goldilocks, I think you've been such a good girl for me, you deserve a treat. Gonna breed you tonight, you're gonna make me a daddy. Hey I can be Daddy Bear and you can be Mommy Bear?" He kissed your cheek and left you to cry into your cooking.

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- The usual bedtime routine was for Bucky to lock you in the bathroom and let you wash up before tying you up to his bed.

- Then you would lay there and watch him stroke his thick cock as he ran a possessive hand over your soft skin.

- "Gonna fill you up, fuck, can't believe you're all mine, just made for me..."

- What you hated most was how, just after a few days, your body started reacting to him in ways you wished it didn't

- You would get wet as his fingers squeezed and tugged at you, dipping into your slit once in a while. When he did that your hips chased his fingers and he laughed, stroking himself harder.

- "Soon baby, soon." Was all he would say and finish, wiping his come on your body and wrapping you up in his arms.

- But that wasn't happening tonight.

- Tonight he came in to the bathroom with you, pushed you into the shower and ran a soft cloth over your body.

- He spent time rubbing it through your pussy, creating a delicious burn as he pressed down, making your knees wobble.

- Once you were cleaned to his satisfaction he dried you off and pulled you into the bedroom.

- "I won't tie you up unless you make me" he stated and you nodded, wrapping your arms around your chest.

- He cupped your face in his rough hands and pulled you in for a kiss. You gripped his wrists and tried your best to return it. He was a man possessed and devoured you like no one else had before.

- He pulled away, panting and stared at you. "Everything I ever wanted, right here..."

- He then walked you backwards till your legs hit the bed and he pushed you so you fell backwards.

- He grabbed your ankles in one hand and pushed them up towards your head, his other hand playing with your pussy, spreading your wetness around.

- "Look at you... You gonna be a good girl? Make me a daddy?"

- You whimpered and nodded.

- "Say it, wanna fucking hear you say it"

- His fingers delved into your heat and curled into you, making you gasp.

- "Gonna be good, make you a daddy" you whispered hoarsely, eyes widening as he sunk in two fingers and stretched your walls.

- "Fuck, that's it, so tight, you gonna be able to take me?" he growled, his fingers pumping harshly as he watched you writhe under his actions.

- "Yes, yes.... Can take it" you wailed, desperate to please him, not caring what you were promising him.

- "That's it Goldilocks, good girl" he hummed and he flexed his fingers and soon you were coming around his fingers, howling his name.

- Without warning he sunk his thick cock into you, your mouth hanging open as he dragged his hips, slowly at first.

- "Tell me again, say it again" he grunted, his hips slamming into yours.

- "Gonna....gonna make you....a daddy" you panted, fingers gripping into his thick arms as his dick brushed you cervix almost painfully.

- He leaned down and kissed you, then littered your neck and chest with hickeys.

- "Mine....all fucking mine" he growled and you sobbed into his kiss.

- You wrapped your arms around his neck, as he rutted into you and your eyes locked for a moment.

- "You're perfect baby, so fucking perfect. Gonna take such good care of you I promise. You just gotta be good for me baby..."

- You nodded. It was over, you knew it. He kissed away the tears that tracked down your cheeks.

- "Ok...ok" you panted and he growled in your ear as he came, filling you up and kissing you again.

- "Good girl"

------------------------🐻----------------------

- You heard Bucky's truck revving down the track towards your new home and you rushed outside to wait for him as he instructed you, all those months ago.

- All you had one was a little apron, and your hair was tied up in a pretty bow, looking the picture of a perfect little wife.

- When he approached you, he scooped you up in his arms and spun you around.

- "Bucky!" You squealed "be careful of the baby" you giggled as he placed you back on your feet and stroked your little bump. The pressing a kiss to your cheek.

- "You been good today?" He asked and you nodded, pulling him inside to show him everything you'd done that day.

- Finally he sat down on the couch and you knelt between his knees, resting your head on his thigh, looking up at him, as his hand ran through your hair.

- "So perfect Goldilocks.... My perfect little Goldilocks"

[gaybae1021]

Shadow Knight Talk

God I have got to come up with a better name shadow knights is so freaking edgy

SKs are really confusing in the series when it comes to design. It’s suggested that full SKs have permanently red eyes, but the only ones that’s actually true for are Zenix and Vincent. Gene, Sasha, and Zane never change eye color, and Vylad and Laurance seem to transform the same way, even though Laurance is a halfing (my own name for an incomplete SK) and Vylad seems to be a full SK (pretty cold and logical throughout the series, compared to mystreet)

So here’s my take on them!

In my version Shadow Knights prey on those who fear death. While they’re technically dead during the ritual, those being transformed have a “light at the end of the tunnel” moment where they can choose to pass on or accept the transformation. This fear can obviously have a variety of motivations behind it. It could be a “hey wait I wasn’t done being evil yet”, or an “I still have so much of the world to see”, or even a “there are still people that need me”, but either way, that unwillingness to accept fate, that denial, is a key motif in my shadow knights.

You don’t need to kill to become a full SK, just return to the nether and declare loyalty to their cause. The issue is that being a shadow knight is the ultimate self fulfilling prophecy. Even if they manage to escape the nether Halfings eventually become unstable and lash out at those around them, which either causes them to be rejected by their communities or isolate themselves to keep others safe. This isolation of course only makes things worse, they’re still effectively human, they need human connection for healthy functioning. The depression and self-loathing eventually reaches a point where they’ll do anything to feel like they have a purpose. And guess who’s waiting in the nether to give them that purpose?

SKs don’t lose their emotions like it’s suggested in the series (honestly they didn’t follow that rule anyways) but they gain conscious control of their SK form. Also the fact that they’ve rejected all their past relationships and are choosing to follow a shadow army kind of makes them act differently on its own.

I think I’ll do some differences between full SKs and halfings (duller red eyes for full SKs and maybe a darker armor design) but I want to keep things simple. Halflings have their natural eye color until they enter their shadow knight form, where they turn red. Full SKs have permanently red eyes, though they brighten when they enter their SK form. There are items similar to concealment stones in my story, so full SKs can hide their eye color relatively easily. All SKs, full or halfing, are forced into their SK form in the nether, though halflings are able to keep control while in the nether.

Also I just kind of got bored with the veiny eye look of the series’s shadow knight forms, especially with Laurance. It always looked weird with his freckles, they just layered on top of each other really weird. So I thought it’d be fun to give each SK their own unique eye markings.

Zane

*note Zane is very different in my story and gets a redemption, so if anything goes severely against canon that’s on purpose.

Our newest shadow knight, and second youngest physically. After being put in limbo in Irene’s dimension, he is found when the SKs come to retrieve Aaron. Sensing the weakness in Zane, they transform and imprison him. During one of Laurance and Zenix’s raids on the SK fortress Laurance frees the imprisoned halfings, though he doesn’t know Zane is in that group. Zane manages to avoid recapture and escape the nether.

He doesn’t have the best emotional control, thanks to the years spent with Garte, so he snaps and at least partially enters his form frequently, though it usually doesn’t last long.

His facial markings don’t extend to his scar, the tissue damage effectively blocks the magic flow to that area. His other eye gets a marking that mirrors his scar.

Laurance

Aw yeah, my boy.

Laurance sacrifices himself in the nether to make sure Aphra and Candenza could escape. He’s rescued by Ungurth, wyverns can naturally dimension hop, but he uses up his life force making sure Laurance survives the jump. The corruption from the jump destroys Ungurth and blinds Laurance, but otherwise Laurance seems unchanged until season 2, where all the stress first causes him to start slipping, eventually culminating in a big fight with Aphra and Garroth where he nearly snaps at them, and after talking with Vincent, realizes he needs to leave to keep them safe.

In season 3 he is in a tenuous alliance with Zenix in taking down the SKs, though this eventually fails and Laurance is forced to escape back to Phoenix Drop.

Along with Aaron, Laurance’s potential as a host for Shad was recognized, so both of them are targeted throughout season 2. This makes Laurance’s symptoms much worse than the typical halfing.

His markings incorporate his three freckles, as well as two stripes that frame his eyes

Vincent

Oldest character physically, and after Zenix has spent the longest time as a shadow knight. Vincent was turned a long time ago, and was a high ranking knight loyal to Shad. One day he was sent out of the nether on a mission. I don’t have it super well thought out but at some point Vincent fell in love while out of the nether and defected against Shad, living with his lover until their death. After that, Vincent swore to protect humanity from Shad in any way he could.

Not a ton of story behind his markings, but damn he looks cool

Sasha

Honestly her whole backstory needs some reworking, but overall I think she begins the series loyal to Shad but questioning his methods. She’s very active in helping her fellow SKs but often uses her own methods and frequently goes against orders. When she guides Laurance to the nether in season 2 she refuses to go in, both fearing repercussions and knowing she’d be more useful on the outside. But she is grateful to Laurance for freeing her, and says she owes him a favor, setting up a possible defection.

I don’t have her death planned out, but I imagine it was something very tragic, hence her tear-shaped markings. She was also described as doll-like in the series, so I tried to make her look sweet in an unnerving way

Gene

His backstory largely follows canon, make contact with the shadow knight, gets executed, goes through the SK ritual, all that jazz. Honestly Gene’s just not that deep of a character, he’s a power hungry guy and his loyalty to Shad never wavers.

I wanted his stripes simple but sharp, and I like that they look the most like the og series, kind of highlights the fact that gene is your standard Shadow Knight

Zenix

Youngest physically, only about 16, but a very old shadow knight, one of the earliest. Zenix was a tragic character at the beginning, he was only a kid when he was forcibly transformed. But it’s been so long it almost doesn’t matter anymore. All Zenix wants now is power. While originally loyal to Shad, he defected a long time ago, seeing Shad as weak. Now he only serves himself.

Design-wise, I wanted to contrast his monstrous actions with a soft, boyish face. His markings were softly inspired by jester stripes, again keeping a childish influence

And a bonus S3 Laurance

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Comms

Title: Comms

Pairing: Din Djarin x GN! Teen reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Rating: PG

Warning: Cursing, mention of wounds, blood, scared Mando.

Description: In an unexpected raid, Din finds himself unable to find his foundlings and searches for them.

Request: Hey! I love your stories and thought that I would submit a request myself. So this is about Din having a teen foundling/adopted child. They’ve known each other for a little over a year now and even if they don’t show it a lot they’ve grown attached to each other. So this particular story would be about the foundling nearly dying and Din being a scared Dad (I hope you get what I’m going for. Kind of a fluff/Angst story with comforting afterwards😅)

A/N: I'm so sorry this took forever to write, I've been travelling and my computer has been messing up so I have not had time to write at all. Anyways, here it is! I hope it's to your liking. It took me awhile for inspiration to hit but I am pretty happy with how it ended up. Enjoy!

....

“Okay kid, what do we do when we get in trouble?”

“Call for help and signal our location.”

Call for help and signal your location. That was all you were supposed to do, the one rule Din gave for you before he took you along with him anywhere outside of the safety of the Razor Crest. He considered himself lucky that you rarely wandered off without letting Din know where you were going, and that you always seemed to be able to handle most dangerous situations on your own. Maybe it was because you fretted to be too much of a bother for Din, seeing as he took you in almost a year ago when he could have easily left you. Din didn’t see it that way, if he was honest. You were valuable to the group, taking care of Grogu and the ship when Din could not, and he believed it his duty to protect all on the ship. Only once or twice did you call for him, and he was quick to come to your aid.

He did not think that today would be the day where his timing risked your life.

The Mandalorian found himself aiding a local trading village with a raider issue in exchange for information about a bounty he’d been pursuing. He’d led a group of men over to what they’d suspected to be the raider’s hideout and set up for an ambush. The Entrance of the cave’s dunes felt barren, and only after the mens’ legs grew sore from crouching and backs ached from huddling in the dark was it that Din began to suspect something was wrong. The quiet environment was abnormal behavior to the raiders he’d encountered before, no doubt this specific group would be any different.

“They’ll see you!”

Startling the men surrounding him, Din shot into the air and stalked the vicinity. The dunes’ walls stretched for meters long as he kept his piece raised, occasionally scanning weak spots for life forms or any piece of equipment. He paused, frowning a moment when his scanner detected nothing.

That was the first sign that things weren’t going as planned that day.

“...hiss…”

“...m..do... v.llage... here…”

There was the second.

Din raised his arm to speak into his comms.

“Y/N?” Nothing but static came back from the comms. Din fidgeted and smacked it a couple times before grunting in frustration.

Damn, comms were jammed.

Wait, they were jammed.

And in a moment of a horrible realization, Din was quick to grab the men and make their way back to the village. When they arrived they found the village in chaos- buildings were burning, villagers running, and materials and pieces and bodies strewn across the ground. For a moment, Din froze in fear and worried that you were on the ground as well, your comms still ringing static and Grogu taken from you, lost to the raiders, or worse, the Empire.

Din quickly made his way throughout the village, barely rounding the first corner when a group of raiders assaulted him. He threw punches at the first raider, using their momentum to kick them hard into another. After several dodges and shots from his blaster, most of them were dead aside from one that laid on the ground and clutched his blasted leg.

Din marched over and pressed his blaster against the wound. “Where are the hostages being held?”

As it turned out, the raiders had no plan of keeping hostages. When Din finally tracked the building where captives were supposedly held, he was unable to remain collected when he found that you and Grogu were nowhere to be found. Instead, he stood before raiders responsible for the attack, their blasters disturbingly put away as they argued amongst one another. Din didn’t bother listening, he looked around but saw no sign of his foundlings.

“Wrong door.” He said simply before taking out his blaster and shooting the raiders.

Pocketing his piece Din ran out of the stronghold and went outside, calling for you and Grogu. He thought about the worst possible scenarios that could have happened to you two as he took out the raiders pillaging the village, until all but one remained, the leader. He found him in the main courtyard of the village, his face hidden though his body seethed with labored breaths. He stood there for several moments before Din heard one last labored breath before the leader’s legs buckled beneath him and he slumped to the ground with a sickening crack of skull on stone. Hm? Din didn’t know what to make of this, and further stalked over, hand on blaster, examining the body. Upon closer look a blaster wound to the stomach was made more visible. So, someone got to the leader before Din could. That leaves the question… who?

A quick look around the area pointed out a trail of blood.

The Mandalorian followed this trail without any real reason behind it.

He found the remainder of the villagers at some point along the way. Sullen masses of faces mixed together, mourning the loss of their villages and lost ones but kept busy with treating the wounded. Women sat in huddles cooking with what food was salvaged and children sat quiet. One stood out apart from the rest in Din’s eyes, a large male leaning over a group of medics. Din recognized him as Cyrukee, the villager’s chief, who noticed the lone bounty hunter from the corner of his eye and stood up. In his arms was the most beautiful thing Din had seen all day, Grogu. The baby gurgled in joy as he walked up to the chief.

“There you are.” Din didn’t realize that he was holding his breath when he sighed in relief, taking Grogu into his arms.

“Sir.” Cryukee barely got a word out before Din turned to him.

“I’m looking for a youngling- my kid. Have you seen them?”

“Sir, please.”

“They’re this tall,” Din rears a hand near to your height, “they were with this little green baby. Your husband, he took them to the school. Where is he?” The Mandalorian made a full turn around to look for the red robed headman who was last responsible for your care. He reached for his comms and tried to reach you again. His voice rang back at him, and in a terrible moment of realization he realized that that was your comms.

“Where are they?”

“Sir, let me explain.” Cyrukee wore an exasperated expression and looked as though he was about to speak before one of the medics from the group he was with requested to speak with him. He spared a glance at Din as though he struggled whether or not to say something. And then, Din followed his arm towards the medics he was just with. Din didn’t know what to make of it, not able to recognize any of them. The Mandalorian took one last look at the chief, whose grave expression gave him reason to worry, and slowly walked towards the group of medics. He buzzed through the comms, trying to pinpoint your location. As he got closer he heard medics speak in soothing voices and their patient hyperventilating. Had it not been his own voice coming from the center of the personnel he would have moved on, instead he could not find the will to move. Grogu looked at him expectantly.

One medic in particular took notice of the beskar-armored man. He and some others quickly got up and pushed Din away before he could force his way through the medics to take a look at you.

“Hey, wait-wait-please.” Din grunted at the force and staggered several steps back. He took a moment to collect himself and Grogu sneezed in his arms. Dust must have gotten into his nose during the scuffle. “Please, my ward- my kid. That’s my kid.”

“Just a moment,” one of the bloodied nurses kept her hands on Din’s chestplate longer than he would have liked. He didn’t push her away though.

“I need to see my kid.” Din looked her in the eye, hoping that she could see his desperation through his helmet.

His kid. When Din looks back on this he would think about how he’s never referred to Y/N as his own before. He would have liked to think he said that so the nurses allowed him to pass easier. But deep down, he knew it was because of how much he cared for them.

“I understand but please let me explain. Sir, Sir!” Din retreated in defeat on his second attempt to get past her and the other nurses. She stared into his eyes and patted his shoulders, Din didn’t know whether she was trying to comfort him or control his movements. “They’re traumatized enough right now, and you moving around in that armor of yours will only make it worse.”

“What happened to them?”

“They had an encounter with Jetwal,” Din’s blood boiled at the recognition of the raider’s leader who’d died before him. “according to the children, your child was leading them to the outskirts when he found them. They killed him, he was threatening the children, and they shot him. Now, listen to me. They did get injured. Several blaster wounds to their limbs and upper torso- sir, listen please I cannot allow you to go to them just yet- they’re still panicking right now but I assure you their wounds are being treated right now. They’ll be fine, but disrupting our work will only inhibit us from treating them properly.”

She watched his gaze linger to the sound of your crying. “How much longer until I can see them?”

Din was not pleased to find that he was only allowed to see you when the nurse came for him herself. Reluctantly he walked a little farther away from the medics when asked to give them more space, and sat down with Grogu bouncing on his knee next to a young Twi’lek running their hands over their lekku to soothe themselves. Between glancing at the medics to keeping Grogu entertained, Din didn’t realize how much time had elapsed before noticing the nurse had come to his side to collect him.

She took a seat next to him. “They’re hurt very badly, but with time their injuries will heal. All they need to do is rest. You can see them now.”

Grogu giggled and played with the nurse’s finger that was threateningly wiggling on his little tummy. “Can you take him for a moment?”

Din stood up and gave Grogu a pat on his little head and rubbed his large ears out of habit. Something you used to do to calm the little green alien down after a terrible meltdown. Even under his helmet Din smiled at the alien before dredging towards you. You laid on a pile of fabrics that functioned as a makeshift cot, but you looked like you had a pile of fabrics on you with the amount of bandages that wrapped your body. You didn’t notice Din approaching you as you stared straight into the sky. Din wondered what you were thinking. What could you be thinking? From his knowledge, this was your first time dealing with major injuries from blasters. It must have made this whole ordeal so much more frightening to you.

Maybe Din was too light on his feet, recoiling instantly when you jolted at his touch and groaned in pain.

“It’s me, it’s me.” His voice was soothing, even more than normal which surprised him.

A sort of wheeze escaped your lips and you coughed. “Mando.”

“Hey kid.”

“I tried calling for you.” A gasp. “They jammed the frequencies.”

“Your message barely came through, kid. But it made us realize what was going on. We got here before more damage could be done because of you.”

Your form relaxed. “Good, good. Grogu?”

“With a nurse.” “The one with the sweet voice.”

“Yeah.”

“I liked her voice-” A cough. “Sounds like my mom’s. She was nice. She helped calm me down.” At this point Din had stared at you long enough to realize how puffy your eyes were from crying. He didn’t stop himself from reaching over to brush your H/C hair out of your face. You leaned into his touch.

“I’m pretty fucked up, huh?”

Your eyes were already locked onto his when he met your gaze. A tick passed, and Din’s eyes fell to the wounds you were referring to. He shook his head. “No, kid. That’s not what you are.”

“Feels like it.” Din scowled at your words.

“There are too many fucked up people in the galaxy, kid. You´re not one of them.” You look at him with a raised brow. “Y/N, you barely have any combat experience yet you took on Jetwal? What were you thinking?”

And you said something that surprised him.

“I was thinking of you.”

And Din couldn’t find any words. He cleared his throat and you continued, “We were alone and I had no idea when you’d come, I was scared something had happened to you because I couldn’t get a hold of you through the comms and that guy was coming at us and-” You inhaled sharply, wincing at what Din assumed was a jab in one of your wounds but he didn’t know how to help. You calmed a moment later, closing your eyes and furling your brows together. “I thought about what you would have done if you were there. You always looked like you knew what to do.”

To say that Din was proud of you would have been an understatement, he was beaming wonders underneath his helmet but realized that you couldn’t see through the beskar.

“I thought I’d lost you both.” Din admitted. “But I’m very proud of you. You saved lives, Y/N. That’s no easy feat for someone of your age.”

You grinned at him and laughed. “Did you do something like this when you were my age?”

“Yes, but I didn’t end up as fucked up as you did.” “Hey!” Din laughed and raised his forearm to block your playful hits.

A moment of silence falls between the two of you before you look at Din again. “Do you know how long we’ll be here for?”

“With your injuries, no clue. I’ll talk to the medics and Cyrukee to see what is to be done.”

“Okay.” You nodded, your fingers twitching involuntarily. Din’s hands find their way to your hair again. “Mando, I’m tired.”

“Rest. I’ll be here with you.” He watches you half-heartedly nod at his words and doze off in a matter of seconds. The injuries have taken a toll on your body, Din suspects, and he pulls a sheet over you. He sits with you, watching villagers talk amongst themselves, speaks with those who come by to thank him for his help, and accepts Grogu from the nurse when she comes over, thanking her for all she’d done for you. She told him that a thank you was not owed to her, and that if you were to need anything she was only a call away.

And when he was finally left alone, Mandalorian took one look to take account for his two foundlings. They slept soundly and with luck, heads full of dreams. Most importantly, they were safe in his care once again.

Din realized he’d been holding in a breath, and exhaled a sigh of relief.

.....

Taglist:

@kiara-is-gay @pcotato @sagedgeek

[geek-freak0263]

I Feel Like This Needs To Be Spoken Of…..

Note: I promised I wouldn’t bring this up, but with the recent small information that came up, I feel like this person could be a danger. A danger to other Star Wars discord servers, writers, and minors if this is ignored. This is to bring awareness and to prevent any incidents in other potential servers, minors, and writers.

Trigger warning: Kidnapping, pedophilia, rape, death threats, and homophobia mentions

Before I start this post, I want to apologize for the people in the Bad Batch server I’m in. I want to apologize for opening old wounds about this incident and I won’t blame you for skipping this post in the need of moving on. I just can’t ignore this anymore. I just feel like people should be aware. I’ll leave everyone unnamed for the protection of their privacy.

On this platform, there is a person by the name of @ahsoka1, @lightinglightsaber21, and some may know her as Megan. Some of you Star Wars writers might be familiar with her. A while back she was in a Discord server with me and things were… Okay at first. Well I noticed she was off a bit. Almost like the mind of a child despite her saying she was 21. Well my suspicions became a click when she said she was autistic. Nothing wrong with that. Me personally, I never interacted with someone like that so it put me in a situation of walking on eggshells from the severity. Please forgive me for being uneducated about autism. I’m open to any info about it. Anyway my sense of humor is everywhere and it seemed like I couldn’t hit some areas of my humor because of it leading to it getting me in a bit of trouble in the server. It was never mean spirited humor, more of the “fucking around” humor. That was just my personal experience with her, but with other stuff it just made me go “What the fuck is happening?”.

I would notice some self absorbed behavior like when someone would vent, she would make it about herself. Even acted homophobic towards a member. Megan would even completely disregard someone’s pronoun then made herself look like the victim without saying what fully happened. She would mention something so fucked up in venting at times without warning in such inappropriate timing. For instance, there was a member in the server who mentioned a family member getting Covid. Megan decided to share in great detail of her grandpa dying of Covid and the description of his dead corpse…. Yeah, not the best comforting story there… Aside from the venting incidents, she would repeatedly put in the same stuff just so it would get attention. I would notice the same headcannons and the one thing of art over and over. She would basically beg other people’s headcannons her barely put together prompt. It would be like “What if the Bad Batch went to Disney World with me?” or “What if the Bad Batch went to the beach”. The whole point of a headcannon is to come up with it yourself. This was the tamest things she did surprisingly.

Something that also weirded me out was she was REALLY obsessive over the clones. Like to the point it seemed like she forgot that these are fictional characters. At times she would come up with self inserted scenarios with the Bad Batch. If someone wrote a how they would actually react that didn’t go into her view she would think damaging a fictional character’s belongings is gonna solve it. Those would get toxic pretty quick. It got to the point we had to remind her that they weren’t real people a good few times. People have their hyperfixations, yes, but this wasn’t even that. It was a full on, unhealthy obsession. It was a bit worrying at times.

This brings me to my next point with headcannons. She would make the NSFW headcannons be from being, “Yup that’s a clone’s dingy ding dong” to “Okay that’s unsettling”. A thing she would constantly bring up was the Bad Batch being creepy as all shit. Like pulling off a Spongebob with the panty raid… I wish I was kidding. She would repeatedly send that hours in between. She would be asking people to come up with ideas of the Bad Batch being creeps towards her. We all felt uncomfortable and ignored that. But she just kept putting it in. I would call her out, only for her to then delete the previous messages and send in the new ones. Delete. Copy. Paste. In that order. It took me jokingly sending the Spongebob scene to get her to stop because it was really getting uncomfortable for everyone. That was the one thing she would stop at least.

You’re probably wondering where’s the proof. Well to be dead serious. There’s none. I know, not that strong of an awareness post if I don’t have proof. That’s why I was hesitant to write this post for the longest time. The moment someone questioned her or spoke of logic, she would delete all of her messages to hide what she said. The she would play innocent to it by continuously apologizing, but never learning anything from why she apologized. It would always be an empty apology. She would keep doing it. We would warn her repeatedly, but she never listened or learned. Megan would drain us from the repeated deletes and apologizes, which lead her getting kicked. The thing is, she was originally blocked from having the inability to learn from what we were warning her because it wasn’t mindful to the people in the server. It was unfair for us to baby her and it was unfair for her to be babied. What we found out hours later brought us to pure disgust.

After we kicked her, a fellow member came forward about Megan. Before she joined the Bad Batch server she was in another Star Wars server. She got kicked from that one due to requesting kidnapping, rape, and pedophilia to writers. When one understandably got uncomfortable and blocked her, she went to another one. Then another one and so on. When Megan got caught, she wished the people in the server would die from Covid before she got kicked. It became to my attention that she got kicked from another Star Wars server recently which is becoming a worrying factor that it has happened 3 times. I wanted to write this as a warning to possible writers, role players, and Star Wars discord owners to be aware of this user as she could be a danger to minors. Don’t play into her pretending to be innocent act, she’d never tell beyond of why people are calling her out. Or what people are saying. It’s all manipulation. Be mindful and avoid her. Blocking her is the best solution for minors and writers. Kicking her off servers and blocking her is the best solution for discord users.

If you somehow find this Megan, I hope you find some serious help because that’s not okay. You as an adult should know that’s not okay. It’s basic knowledge that you should know that pedophilia and wishing death upon someone, is not only inhuman, but very illegal. Own up to what you’ve done. As much as I’m disgusted, I don’t wish violence or hate. You need actual help. Help that’ll make you a functional member of society that won’t end you behind bars. The fact that you tried contacting my best friend of 6 years to deal with your dirty work had me fuming. Instead of hiding with deleting and being vague about your situation, own up and accept you did something wrong. It’ll not only save you, but also others as well.

[griffintail]

Hi I'm so so sorry for bothering you! I absolutely love your child reader x parent dreamsmp series, it's amazing!! I had an idea for the lost ones though, or a seperate scenario if that's okay!!! What if the baby was a witch? Witches exist in minecraft, so what if as the child gets older, their powers grow. Windows breaking when they cry, things floating mid air, sparks and fires from their hands, things like that?? I think it'd be really interesting if you want to write it!! If not all the lost ones, then just tge sbi seperate please! Thank you so so very much, i love this series and i cant wait till the next part!!!!!

Magical Born

Pairings: Tommy, Technoblade, Wilbur, Philza, and Ghostbur x F! Child! Reader

Warnings: Mentions of raids, mentions of death, light blood, light violence

A/N: It’s based on Lost Ones Canon, all over the timeline, but it is NOT canon. I didn’t write all of Lost Ones because it’s already a lot to write Lost Ones as its own entity :P I added Ghostbur though for fun because I just really like Ghostbur. Technically he’s part of the SBI!

I went further than planned though so enjoy. ♥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TommyInnit

        Tommy screamed as he ran from Fundy, who had caught him stealing from his house, (Y/N) sitting on his shoulders as she laughed. He was making for the sewers as (Y/N) waved at Fundy.

        “Bye, bye furry.” She smiled.

        “YOU’RE SO DEAD TOMMY!” Fundy shouted.

        But now Tommy was laughing hysterically as he quickly turned a corner and made for Tubbo’s entrance into the sewer. Tubbo startled when his door opened.

        “What the—” Tubbo questioned.

        “No time, good luck big man.” Tommy saluted, (Y/N) waving her hand before Tommy held (Y/N) and jumped into the entrance.

        “WHERE IS HE!” Fundy came in a moment later.

        “Damn it, Tommy,” Tubbo muttered under his breath.

        Tommy laughed as he pushed his wet hair back, (Y/N) clapping her hands.

        “Big score for us little (F/L). And extra disc time for calling him furry.” Tommy grinned. “Let’s get home with it all.” Tommy walked along the pathway, letting (Y/N) walk behind him.

        (Y/N) clapped excitedly hearing extra disc time. She bounced slightly behind him as Tommy was bragging about this adventure.

        “The furry may be an easy target to take, but we managed to escape successfully, becoming richer!” Tommy said to the little girl, who continued to bounce, announcing as she did.

        “Boing!” She giggled.

        Tommy chuckled, not looking back at her. She had a lot of energy like him and always had to find easy solutions to let it out.

        “Boing!” She squealed with delight and Tommy froze where he was walking as she…float over and past him??

        “…What the fuck?!” He shouted, dropping the bag of stolen loot.

        “Boing!” She jumped over to the other walkway of the sewer water.

        Tommy put his hands through his hair as he watched his child fucking float.

        “What the fuck is going on?” He muttered, looking around.

        She jumped over to him, and he yelped as he caught her, staring at her.

        “Hi, big man.” She giggled.

        “We’re going back to Tubbo.” Tommy nodded, picking the bag and walking back down the tunnel. “No jumping.”

        (Y/N) gave a pout but didn’t jump as she followed after Tommy. He had her go up the ladder first before following after. Luckily, Tubbo had gotten rid of Fundy, looking rather miffed as he went back to sorting his chests.

        “I already got rid of Fundy, what are you doing?” Tubbo groaned, seeing the pair.

        “Dude, you got to see this, I don’t get it,” Tommy told him. “Ok, (Y/N) jump.”

        She smiled again before bouncing around. Tubbo raised an eyebrow as she bounced around like normal and Tommy was concerned for his mental health for a moment when she started to take large leaps again.

        “What the hell!” Tubbo freaked out.

        “Exactly!” Tommy motioned to the girl, who was making her own sound effects as she jumped.

        “Could…has she always done this?”

        “NO! You think I wouldn’t say if she always did this?!”

        “What the hell?” Tubbo put a hand on his head.

        “I know!”

        Then (Y/N) jumped too high and hit her head on the ceiling, crashing on the ground.

        “Shit!” Tommy flailed his arms for a moment before rushing over to the little girl.

        He made sure she had no serious injuries as she started to tear up then cry.

        “Hey, it’s ok.” Tommy tried to assure her, gently rubbing where she hit her head.

        But she only cried harder and Tommy and Tubbo both screamed as the windows in the room exploded. Tommy was hugging (Y/N) to him, looking at Tubbo with wide eyes as Tubbo was looking around wildly at the shattered glass.

        “What’s going on?” Tubbo gestured wildly to the windows.

        “I don’t know!” Tommy said exasperated, still gently rubbing his hand on her head, the effect doing good now.

        The little girl died down to sniffles as Tommy connected the dots.

        “Wait, she cried and the windows broke. I think that was her.”

        “What?”

        “I-I don’t get how it works but she’s doing these crazy things.”

        “Do-Do you think she’s magic or some crap?” Tubbo threw out whatever he could.

        Tommy’s eyes went wide as he nodded. “That has to be it! I mean…I don’t know where she came from after all.” He muttered now, looking at the little girl.

        “So, what, she’s a witch?” Tubbo huffed.

        “I guess…” Then Tommy’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Tubbo, can you imagine all the things we could get away with?”

        Tubbo frowned as Tommy now, as Tommy put (Y/N) down as she had calmed down.

        “This could be great! We’ll need to figure out how to teach her of course…”

        “We don’t even know what we’re doing with her as a normal kid!” Tubbo flailed his arms.

        “But she’s still alive.” Tommy pointed at his friend and Tubbo put his head in his hands. “We’ll be the greatest, richest crime trio!”

        “She’s a child!” Tubbo protested but Tommy picked (Y/N) up.

        “You can help me out now little (F/L).”

        The chaos they could cause once they figured out exactly (Y/N)’s powers were. Tommy couldn’t wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilbur

        “Alright little star, we have to go talk with a few people today but after, we’ll play together, just you and me,” Wilbur promised the little girl as he held her hand.

        They were wearing their matching L’Manberg uniforms and (Y/N) was humming as she walked beside him, their first stop at Niki’s bakery.

        “Ok.” She nodded with a smile.

        “Thank you, little star. Why don’t we get some cookies from Niki to make sure we’re not hungry while we walk?” Wilbur offered with a smile.

        “Yes pwease!” (Y/N) grinned.

        “Please.” Wilbur corrected gently.

        “Hello!” Niki greeted the pair as they came in. “How are you two?”

        “We’re well Niki, I hope you are as well.” Niki nodded and Wilbur went on. “I’ve come to talk to a few the citizens around L’Manberg,” Wilbur told her. “And we were also hoping to have some of your best cookies while we’re working.”

        “Your very best.” (Y/N) agreed.

        “Of course, I just finished a new batch. Would you like to see?”

        (Y/N) looked up at Wilbur with puppy dog eyes and he chuckled. “Alright, but you have to stay away from the furnaces, they’re going to be hot.”

        “Ok!” She nodded before the two went around back into Niki’s area.

        As (Y/N) watched the woman in infatuation put a new batch into the oven as she was taking the other out, putting them up to cool for the few minutes Wilbur was talking with her about how her life in L’Manberg was. The adults continued to talk as (Y/N) was now looking at the furnaces curiously, wondering how the fire worked to make the cookies.  While she was, Niki suddenly screamed, making the little girl jump as Wilbur looked around in a panic to see why she screamed.

        Wilbur saw after a moment, (Y/N)’s hands had little fires on them! (Y/N) spotted them as well and gave a shriek as his reactions kicked in as he spotted a bucket of water. He snatched it up before quickly throwing it on his little girl. The fire was gone as the girl stood soaking wet, Wilbur bolting over to check her hands.

        “I told you not to go near the furnaces!” Wilbur scolded as he carefully took her hands.

        “I-I didn’t daddy.”

        Wilbur looked at her hands confused though. She didn’t have a single burn.

        “How…” He muttered.

        “I stayed away. Just like you said.” (Y/N) shifted uncomfortably in her wet clothes.

        Wilbur looked at Niki, who had run and came back with a health potion.

        “She’s not hurt,” Wilbur told her.

        “What?” Niki looked at him with wide eyes.

        “I-I don’t know how,” Wilbur said, looking back at the little girl, freezing up as he did.

        All of the sudden…her clothes and hair were completely dry! He hesitated before touching her jacket, indeed finding it free of water.

        “Niki…I have no clue what’s going on.” Wilbur gently pulled (Y/N) to him. “Sweetie, how did you do that?”

        “Do what?” She asked confused.

        “You don’t have any water on you anymore.” Wilbur pointed out to her and she looked at her clothes, before shrugging.

        “I don’t know.”

        “Have…you ever done that before?” He questioned and she shrugged again.

        “How…how do you think it happened,” Niki asked him.

        “I’m not sure,” Wilbur muttered. “I need to send a letter to Phil or Techno; they’ve seen a lot more things in their time. I appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone Niki.”

        “Of course.” The soft-spoken woman nodded.

        “Thank you, we’re going to go home early little star.” Wilbur stood up.

        Niki still gave them a few cookies and Wilbur brought (Y/N) home, making a bird call outside first.

        “Whoa, that was cool!” (Y/N) grinned as a crow landed on Wilbur’s shoulder.

        “It’s one of my father’s crows, they’re usually all around,” Wilbur told her as they went inside.

        “Your dad?”

        “I guess I’ve never told you about him.” Wilbur chuckled quietly as he sat, writing a letter to both Techno and Phil. “My father, Philza Mine Craft, is pretty old but he’s a great dad. He taught me a lot and he’s been through a lot. I’ve told him about you a few times, I suppose I forgot to tell you about him in return.” Wilbur ruffled her hair lightly, making her giggle. “I don’t talk to my brother Techno as much though…we had some arguments in the past. I’m hoping maybe we’ll put that aside to see what be happening with you.”

        He signed off the letters and let the crow have them before they flew off.

        “We’ll know in a few days though I suppose. Now, let’s play some music while we eat these cookies.” Wilbur offered out.

        Waiting for a return letter became a little more desperate the next few days. Not only had Wilbur found his daughter’s hands liked to spontaneously combust with flames sometimes, through some careful observing, but he also found if she was particularly happy she’d find herself being able to jump to his height; and thanks to Tommy, when the boy had come to visit to get instructions from Wilbur, he decided to scare the little girl, causing her to scream and Tommy, in turn, screamed when all the windows shattered.

        “Not a word!” Wilbur immediately demanded as he made sure (Y/N) wouldn’t step on any glass. “To anyone.”

        “What the fuck?!” Tommy screeched.

        Wilbur was tempted to force the boy to stay at the house to ensure word didn’t get out but after a bit of time, he got Tommy to promise him. Finally, two separate letters came in to tell him the same thing.

        (Y/N) might be a witch.

        Techno was a bit blunter about it, proceeding to tell Wilbur off a bit for just taking some orphan, but Wilbur knew it was just his brother’s ways and didn’t hold it against him. Phil’s letter had a bit more useful information and he had once researched witches. Wilbur kept that letter safe as he came out to find (Y/N) jumping around with her powers. She was smart and figured out how to activate it, she often liked to play with her floating power.

        Wilbur wondered what else she might be able to do…It was a rather terrifying thought but he’d learn regardless. She was still his little star, witch or not.

        “You’re getting good at that little star.” Wilbur praised as he came over.

        He also let the thought cross his mind if that’s why she was abandoned but pushed it away. That didn’t matter, she was his little girl now and they’d figure it out together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Technoblade

        Techno watched from the porch with crossed arms as (Y/N) laughed while running from Tommy, who was armed with two snowballs. Tommy did know how to bring the energy out of his kid. (Y/N) stumbled and fell, Tommy, grinning with victory as he stood over her but the little girl reacted fast and threw snow at him before running again with a giggle at Tommy’s temporary blindness.

        Tommy shouted profanities as Techno smirked, the voices praising his child. That’s his little girl.

        “How much longer are you two going to be out here?” Techno called now.

        “Not much longer!” Tommy shouted before swearing again as (Y/N) managed to hit with a snowball while he was distracted. “THAT’S CHEATING!”

        “All is fair in war!” She demanded.

        “Don’t track snow in the house,” Techno told them before going back into the house.

        Phil was tending to one of his crows as Techno came back in.

        “They alright?” Phil asked.

        “They’re fine.” Techno nodded, going over to his enchanting equipment.

        “I’m proud of you, mate. For taking in that little girl and making sure she’s happy.”

        Techno simply shrugged as he was glad, he had taken in the little girl as well. Life would be nearly the same. He often thought about how things might have been different if she wasn’t around, he probably would have already taken out L’Manberg but he held back for her. He didn’t need people hunting him down again right now and find out about her…

        He was taking off his pick to put a new enchantment on it when his world slowed hearing a scream and Tommy shouting loudly. Running out with his pick in hand, Phil grabbing his sword off a chest as he ran after, he found (Y/N) shaking on the ground as a wolf stalked towards her as Tommy had a bloody arm. Techno dropped his pick as he ran over, taking off his crossbow, a bolt already loaded.

        He took a shot at the wolf but his panic made him sloppy and he missed! It went over the wolf, it not noticing until…

        The bolt turned around all of the sudden and hit the wolf right in the front leg. It gave a yelp, snarling as it backed away from the little girl now, who was scrambling back.

        “B-Bad wolf!” She shouted as she shook.

        The wolf noticed the approaching pissed off man and cut its losses, running off with a limp. Techno was most certainly confused about the bolt but he had other worries. Phil was already going over, tending to Tommy as Techno came next to (Y/N), putting a hand on her shoulder.

        “You, ok? It didn’t hurt you, did it?” He asked as he quickly checked the little girl.

        “No.” She shook her head before hugging him. “It hurt Tommy.”

        “I know, Phil’s got him though.” Techno hugged her before picking her up. “Let’s get inside.”

        Phil was helping Tommy inside as Techno followed, picking up his pick.

        “If it hurt Tommy, is it ok it got hurt?” (Y/N) asked Techno.

        “Yes, because it was about to hurt you too. So, it’s ok. That’s defense.” Techno told her but he wasn’t sure what happened.

        The bolt had certainly missed and then flew back, striking it in the leg.

        “I didn’t want to hurt it.” She mumbled. “But it’s right.”

        Techno was confused by her words, but maybe she had gotten confused with her own words. He put it to the side for now as he spent a bit of time with her for the rest of the day to make sure she was alright. After he put her down to sleep, he came down into the main room where Phil was sitting by the fire. Techno sat across from him and brought up the thought he had put aside.

        “(Y/N) said something weird today.”

        “What was that?” Phil looked at him.

        “She said she didn’t want to hurt that wolf. Like she was the one who fired the crossbow.”

        Phil hummed, looking out the window. “Something was weird, I saw that bolt move on it’s on.”

        “Good, I’m not losing my mind.”

        Phil gave a quiet laugh. “Not yet my son. But something odd did happen. Have you ever seen anything like that?”

        “No…Not around here at least. I’ve seen witches do stuff like that though. That’s why they’re difficult to kill sometimes.” Techno took off his mask for the day, putting it down safely on the fireplace mantle. “If there had been a good witch around, I’d say it was them.”

        “I haven’t seen a witch in some time. Pretty rare these days, some people don’t like their power with magic and hunt them down. They’ve pretty much gone into hiding.” Phil nodded.

        “Sounds about right,” Techno grumbled, leaning against the stone of the fireplace, closing his eyes.

        “Mate, you don’t think…(Y/N) might be a witch?”

        “Doubt it. Would have meant she was magic born; they wouldn’t have just left her on someone’s doorstep for them to die.”

        “It’s rare but she could have been naturally born, with normal parents, and we’re now just finding out.”

        “Even then, when she was born, she shows signs. A magical birth has effects while they’re born. The parents would have known.”

        That made Techno frown now at the thought as he looked over at quiet Phil, who had the same frown. They were both thinking the same thing; what if they left her because of the magical birth?

        “It would explain why she said she hurt the wolf.” Phil leaned back as well on the other side of the fireplace.

        “Yeah…I’ll find out more in the mor—”

        Both Phil and Techno jumped up with muscle memory at the sound of (Y/N) screaming. Phil’s crows cried out in panic as Techno was first up the ladder to find (Y/N) whimpering as she hugged herself as a few objects floated around the room. Techno went to her side as Phil came up, Tommy shouting up as he had been startled awake by the noise.

        “Hey, it’s ok little goddess,” Techno muttered to her, putting a hand on her side.

        “T-The wo-wolf.” She whimpered.

        “It can’t hurt you. I won’t let it.” Techno told her, sitting next to her and pulling her into him. “And neither will Phil or Tommy.”

        She gave a few more soft whimpers before everything in the room slowly floated down, Tommy standing on the ladder, watching amazement.

        “You’re alright,” Techno promised, looking at Phil, the two sharing a meaningful look. “We won’t let anything or one hurt you.”

        There was just more of a reason to keep (Y/N) their secret. He’d have to brush up on his knowledge about witches as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phil

        “Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Phil told the little girl. “So, I got to do a bit of practice.”

        “Ok.” The little girl tried to have patience as she was taught but couldn’t help but bounce in excitement.

        Phil chuckled, ruffling her hair, before spreading his wings. “Ok, let’s see if I still remember this…”

        He took a deep breath before taking flight; he grinned as he felt the wind flying by, enjoying the wonderful memories that came to him. Flying had been something he had really missed. From the ground, (Y/N) cheered in the snow as she jumped, clapping. Phil chuckled at his little girl’s reaction as he took a few warm-up laps to make sure his wings were truly back in shape.

        Techno looked up from his work at the commotion, coming out as he took off his glasses. Going out, he looked to see Phil snapping by in flight and he smiled watching his father flying again. He had seen how it affected him to be trapped on the ground. Across the field, he spotted his little sister running after their father rather uselessly but she jumped as she followed after the older man, cheering as she did.

        The older brother shook his head as he watched his father again as he leaned his back on the railing, a few of Phil’s crows flying beside him as they were going over the roof. Techno was watching when another figure went over his head, giving a shriek.

        “Techno!” (Y/N) said and Techno fell backward off the railing of the steps, his cape over his face, but he shouted out.

        “PHIL!”

        Phil looked over to find his daughter now falling to the ground?! With practiced ease, he turned and caught the girl before she hit the ground. He took a bit of a crash into the snow as his crows gave out a few cries in panic but he was alright. It wasn’t the first time he had crashed after a flight.

        (Y/N) looked around a bit of daze before grinning and throwing up her arms. “Again!”

        “Did you throw her?!” Phil exclaimed as Techno threw his cape off his face.

        “What!? No!” Techno huffed as he stood up, brushing snow off himself. “I was watching you and all of the sudden she was over my head!”

        “That makes no sense, mate.”

        “I didn’t throw her; I actually like her more than my brothers.”

        Phil looked at the little girl, who was still grinning even though she could have gotten hurt. “What happened?”

        “I jumped and I flew like you! It was a bit scary and I almost fell.” She told him animatedly. “But then you caught me and it was like Whoosh!”

        Phil looked at Techno as Techno was raising an eyebrow at the explanation.

        “Y-You jumped and flew?” Phil turned his attention back to her.

        She nodded. “I was jumping after you because I was excited.”

        “Why…don’t we go inside and then I’ll take you on a flight, alright?” Phil asked her.

        She gave a little pout but nodded. He nodded as well before standing up, letting her walk on her own. Techno followed the pair in and they let (Y/N) be before Phil spoke to Techno alone.

        “I…have a feeling (Y/N) might have magic.”

        “You think?” Techno snorted. “Where’d you find her again?”

        “A village during a raid,” Phil muttered, glancing over at (Y/N) as she was playing with a few of her toys as one of his crows kept an eye on her as a few of them were just as protective of her as he was.

        “They could have been there to get her family. Pillagers tend to like magic and hearing about magic users, they probably were there for them.”

        Phil nodded. It made sense; the village he had found was a pretty small farming village it had seemed. It had been odd to him how they were raided but now it made a bit of sense…

        “Guess I’ll have to brush up a bit on my witch knowledge. It’s been a few years since I’ve run across one, good or bad.”

        “Yeah, it’s been some time. Heard around the arctic that a few of them were going into hiding. Probably because of the pillagers.” Techno nodded, as he went over to his potions to do a bit of work.

        “Dadza! Your crows talk?!” (Y/N) exclaimed in excitement.

        Phil paled as Techno snorted into his potion ingredients chest.

        “You need to learn what the hell they can do too,” Techno said.

        That was going to take a bit of time to learn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ghostbur

        “No one else was in the room where it happened. The room where it happened. The room where it happened.”

        Ghostbur clapped as he sat on nothing as he floated above the ground as he watched his daughter sing and do her own little dance. Tommy had taught her all about his favorite musical and taught her a few of the songs. She now wanted to show off what she learned to her father and Ghostbur was more than happy to sit and watch his little blue. He even made sure Friend was there to give her a proper little audience.

        She stumbled over a few words occasionally but he loved watching and listening to her regardless. Once she finished the song, she gave a little curtsy with her hoodie and Ghostbur clapped, giving a joking call of an encore as Friend gave a baa. She giggled, coming over and hugging him. He gladly returned the hug, nuzzling the top of her hoodie.

        “That was wonderful little blue! I can teach you a few more songs and you can sing more for Friend and me!” He smiled.

        “Please.” She nodded eagerly.

        “I’ll have to get a few of my books from L’Manberg, so we can do it tomorrow,” Ghostbur promised her. “We can all go visit Phil as well and you can show him how wonderful you are. Wasn’t it wonderful Friend?”

        The sheep gave another noise and (Y/N) giggled, letting go of Ghostbur and hugged Friend now.

        “Thank you, Friend. You’re a very good friend.”

        “We should get inside, it’s almost time for dinner.” Ghostbur stood now.

        “Ok, can I ride on you, Friend?” She asked the sheep and the sheep didn’t make a noise of acceptance or protest. “He said yes.”

        “Thank you, Friend,” Ghostbur told their sheep friend before putting (Y/N) on top of the sheep.

        After, he took the lead and took the pair to their home in Logstedshire. (Y/N) gently petted Friend’s wool as Ghostbur brought the pair inside, not seeing Tommy, which meant he was downstairs in his chest room.

        “What do you want to eat today little blue?” Ghostbur asked the girl as he helped her off Friend.

        “Carrots and potatoes.”

        “Ok.” Ghostbur nodded, petting Friend before going to cook.

        He made food for (Y/N) and set her up at the table before brewing a few potions he was low on. He hummed as he brewed, (Y/N) happily enjoying her meal as she talked to Friend. Ghostbur occasionally glanced over with a smile at his little blue and the last time he glanced over, he saw Tommy had come up and snuck up behind the little girl. Ghostbur was about to speak as he held a potion bottle but Tommy moved first.

        “BOO!” Tommy gave (Y/N) a scare as he took her shoulders.

        The little girl shrieked…before disappearing.

        Ghostbur and Tommy both stood there for a moment before (Y/N) spoke, gasping.

        “Daddy! I’m like you!”

        Tommy screamed at that, jumping back as Ghostbur dropped his potion bottle, shattering it on the floor. He floated as he went towards the table.

        “(Y/N)? Are you…invisible?” Ghostbur asked, unsure how to process this

        “I can’t see me.” She spoke.

        “HOW?!” Tommy flailed at the empty spot.

        It was another moment before the little girl appeared in the chair again, grinning. Tommy put his hands through his hair as Ghostbur feet touched the ground again as he stood in front of the little girl. There were a few beats of silence before he grinned.

        “You are like me!” He picked her up, hugging her. “This is a very fantastic day!”

        “You found her Ghostbur! She’s not supposed to be like you!” Tommy protested.

        Ghostbur pouted at that as he nuzzled the top of her head. “She can still be like me if I found her.”

        “I…I’m getting Phil. This is not normal and he’ll know.” Tommy pointed at the pair before leaving the house, too freaked out to stay inside.

        “He doesn’t understand yet,” Ghostbur whispered to the little girl before grinning. “Maybe I can teach you to do it on your own like me!”

        Ghostbur had cleaned up the glass quickly as he made (Y/N) stay on Friend just to be safe before he sat with her on the floor, trying to teach her to go invisible excitedly. The moon was a good bit into the sky when Tommy came back, a worried-looking Phil coming in.

        “Phil! We were going to see you tomorrow!” Ghostbur grinned. “(Y/N) wanted to show you a few things.”

        “Like…what?” Phil questioned carefully.

        “She learned a lot of songs and we were going to learn more. Then at dinner, she turned invisible like me! Isn’t that wonderful?”

        “See? I wasn’t lying!” Tommy motioned.

        “Calm down Tommy,” Phil told the younger boy before sitting on the floor with Ghostbur and (Y/N). “Is that true (Y/N)? You did that?”

        She nodded, smiling widely. “I learned a lot of songs and I disappeared like daddy.”

        “Have…you ever done that before? Disappear like that?”

        She hummed before shaking her head. “No.”

        “It’s new?”

        She and Ghostbur nodded.

        “Well…She could be magical born.” Phil threw out, looking at Ghostbur and Tommy.

        “What the hell does that mean?” Tommy asked as he stood next to Phil.

        “She’s a witch. Her parents would have probably been too. It’s extremely rare to have a magical born in a non-magical family. And as the house that Ghostbur found (Y/N) was the way…it was.” Phil avoided the details but Ghostbur floated off the ground as he remembered. “It would make sense; some people aren’t keen on witches.”

        Tommy frowned at the thought with Phil as Ghostbur tried to just ignore the bad images. As Ghostbur looked away from Phil, he looked at (Y/N) to see her sticking her tongue out slightly as she had her eyes closed as well, looking to be concentrating. What she was concentrating on doing made Ghostbur grin widely.

        “(Y/N) can float too!” Ghostbur cheered, making the little girl open her eyes and grin herself.

        “I’m like daddy!”

        Ghostbur laughed as he scooped her into his arms, cuddling with her. Tommy and Phil shared a look though. They had to make sure Ghostbur wasn’t vocal about this…They couldn’t let little blue lose another life just for being a witch after all…

        But Ghostbur didn’t think about that as he was simply ecstatic about his special little blue.

[pan-fangirl-345]

He Would Tear the World Apart

Summary: During a raid, you're taken hostage. Shouto doesn't take the news well, and will do anything to get you back.

TW: kidnapping, abuse, alcoholism mentioned, Enji Todoroki's bad parenting, mental torture, dissociating, injuries, blood, angst, mentioned character death (no one actually dies), a lot of swearing, chains, starvation, dehydration, that sort of thing. If there's anything I missed, please let me know! Also, there is a happy ending, so it's angst to fluff!

A/N: First and foremost, I have no medical degree, I have no idea what it's like to dissociate, so anything medically incorrect is because I am not a doctor, though I am currently working on getting my psychology degree. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, that was not the intention. I have no idea what went through my head to make me write all of this in an hour, but here you go. Also, please read the trigger warnings, and if you don't like it, don't read it. Anyway, I might make a part two to this if anyone is interested. Feel free to spam my ask box, or slide into my DM's if you want. Please interact with me, I adore you all.

Aizawa sighed as he stepped into the conference room. He sat down heavily in his usual seat, and Nezu climbed onto his shoulder, as was custom after so many years, despite the situation they were in.

Again.

"As you have all heard, one of the second year students, (Y/N), has been taken. She was last seen on a raid with the hero she was studying under, and we haven't heard anything from her since this transmission."

Nezu pressed play on a recording and her voice floated through the air.

She was panting, and she was whispering, but Aizawa knew that it was her.

"To anyone receiving this transmission, this is hero-in-training Tempest, I'm pursuing the criminals associated with the gang 'The Numerals'. I've been separated from the others and my comms have been compromised by one of the members. Please, send back-up."

There was a pause where all they could hear was her breathing, and suddenly she yelled, "Hey! You, stop!"

There was static, and then there was nothing.

"We have received information from one of our recon teams that they have taken her to their base of operations, though we don't know exactly where that is yet. We have also, as a school, received a ransom demand. Her parents have yet to be contacted about this."

Copies of the notes were handed out to the teachers, and they all frowned, clearly thinking the same thing Aizawa had thought.

They were a school, what kind of school had this kind of money sitting around?

"What is the girl's quirk?"

"She can create different types of storms in her hands," Aizawa supplied. "As of the end of last year, she could make a hurricane for a few minutes at a time, sometimes a dust storm, and I know for a fact that she was undergoing training over the summer, so it might be more than that now. Under extreme duress, she can make a full scale electrical storm in a building or outside, but only if her life is threatened."

"So, not helpful for getting out of this kind of situation?" one of the other teachers chirped and Aizawa nodded.

"No," he agreed. "Though we should be checking for any strange storms and freak electrical spikes."

"Do any of the other students know about this?" Hizashi asked.

"No, and we need to keep it that way," Aizawa told his husband.

"Why?" Vlad King asked.

"(Y/N) is Todoroki Shouto's girlfriend," Aizawa replied, then waited for that to sink in before he continued. "If he finds out that she's gone, or that's she's been kidnapped and harmed . . . ." He shook his head a few times before he added, "He would tear the world apart to get her back."

"Fuck," someone mumbled, and Aizawa nodded.

Pretty much everyone that was at U.A. knew what that girl meant to Shouto, not to mention the people at Endeavor's agency, and the one that (Y/L/N) was working with.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Midnight asked.

"We plan a rescue mission," Nezu said. "We're working with nearly every police force in the country to try and figure out where they're keeping her. We have a rough area," he clicked onto a photo of a map, one area to the far north highlighted in bright red. "But there's nothing we can do until then, we need a warrant and evidence."

"The life of a child isn't enough?" Midnight asked. "Especially such a beautiful girl?"

Everyone went quiet, the mood somber and heavy.

"Aizawa, you spent more time with this girl than anybody," one of the third year teachers said, "how likely is it that she'll find a way out on her own?"

"It's a possibility," Aizawa admitted. "She's a very capable student, on par with Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugou, but they know what she can do. Not to mention that sources tell us she was injured, though we aren't sure to what extent. And the longer she spends with them is more time Shouto has to figure out what's happening. Not to mention the other students. We need to get her out as soon as possible."

"Agreed," Hizashi added.

It was no secret that Present Mic and Eraserhead had both taken a liking to you when you were in Class 1-A, all of the teachers liked you, and you were a solid foundation for your classmates.

You were a calm presence, and everyone, Bakugou included, had gone to you for advice at some point, though it was all for different reasons.

You tend to be a level-headed person, but when you felt strongly about something, nothing was going to stop you.

People, Shouto mainly, would start to sense the lack of your presence, and Aizawa wasn't ashamed to admit that he wanted you back where you belonged.

"We can't keep him, Shouto I mean, in the dark about this," Hizashi murmured. "He's one of the best up and coming heroes."

"Not to mention," Aizawa added, "that we plan on flooding the streets with her photo. We've already sent it to all of the major hero agencies involved with the search, Endeavor's being one of them. If we don't tell him, his father will, and we all know how volatile that relationship is."

Everyone in the room shuddered at the mention of the father and son duo and nodded.

"Aizawa, All Might, it might be better if you both told him," Nezu said. "You both have the best relationship with him in this room, and you might be the only two that could hold him back if he reacts violently."

"And he will," Aizawa mumbled, already standing from his chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shouto knew something was wrong.

He hadn't seen or heard from you in two days, almost three, and the teachers were acting suspicious. There were fewer of them in the halls, and Aizawa was even more tired than usual, with dark worry bags under his eyes that the students hadn't seen since the Bakugou Debacle in their first year.

The last he had heard, you were going on a raid for some gang members that were selling some sort of hallucinogenic drug based off of a mirage quirk.

You hadn't contacted him or come back since.

"Young Shouto, can we speak to you for a moment?" All Might asked, making everyone look up from what they were doing.

Despite the dorms no longer being completely necessary, (the League had backed off a little bit in recent days, and there hadn't been very many Nomu attacks lately), most of Class 1-A, now 2-A, had moved into the dorms for their second year, you and Shouto included.

"Does this have to do with (Y/F/N)?" he asked, standing quickly.

"Unfortunately, yes," Aizawa said, voice somber.

"Todoroki, do you want us to come with you?" Midoriya asked, getting that look on his face.

"If it's about (Y/F/N) then they all deserve to know too," Shouto said. "And I would feel better knowing they were here."

"Of-Of course," All Might replied, glancing at Aizawa nervously.

"(Y/L/N) has been kidnapped and is being held hostage as we speak," he told them, as blunt as ever.

Aizawa ripped his goggles off right before Shouto blew.

One half of his body erupted into blue tinted flames, and the other exploded in a rain of ice, but they evaporated quickly under Aizawa's gaze, and before any damage could be done to the dorms.

Everything went dark in his head, and his feet were moving before he even had a chance to fully process what his former teachers had been saying to him.

"And where do you think you're going?" Aizawa asked, raising an eyebrow as he moved to intercept him.

"To find her," Shouto snarled, and he didn't even recognize his own voice. It was several octaves lower than normal, and there was a rasp to it that had never been there before. "To get my girlfriend back."

"You don't even know where she is," Aizawa said. "We don't even know where she is. Besides, you're too emotionally involved."

"Too emotionally involved?" Shouto said, his voice too calm, his eyes too dead.

Everyone in the room took a step away from him. Everyone except Midoriya and Bakugou.

"Too emotionally involved?" he repeated.

"Oh shit," someone whispered, though Shouto didn't know who it was.

"That is my girlfriend. That is the love of my life and you're telling me that I can't get her back because . . . I'm too emotionally involved? What about when Midoriya went to get Eri? Was he too 'emotionally involved'?"

No one dared to point out that it was nowhere near the same thing, but there was a collective thought about it in the room.

"That is my fucking girlfriend out there," he snapped. "I will work harder than anyone to get her back. I will be the one person wholly invested in making sure that she stays safe."

"And that is why you can't be one of the people in on this," Aizawa told him. "The others are her friends, but you? You are way more than that, and that means that when it comes down to it, you can't make a clear-headed decision on whether it's worth it to try and grab her or not. Because she'll always be worth it to you."

"Damn right she will," Shouto said, staring Aizawa down.

No one had heard Shouto swear this much at once, if ever, depending on the person. He was starting to sound like Bakugou, and the others knew immediately that if you weren't back soon, he was going to blow.

"Look kid, I understand," Aizawa muttered. "I really do. I understand how you feel, I would do that same thing for Hizashi, but I also know what I would do, and we can't have that in the investigation. What would (Y/F/N) want?"

"She would want to be here!" Shouto shouted. "She would want to be teasing Bakugou in the kitchen, making sure that everyone had a blanket for movie night. She would want to be curled up with me on the couch watching bad romance movies that the girls cheated their way into picking out and making sure that I-!"

Shouto stopped as the emotions got lodged in his throat. Tears threatened to spill over as his vision got blurry, and the others were there to catch him as his knees gave out on him.

"We'll get her back kid," Aizawa assured him, crouching down, touching the top of his head softly. "We will get her back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your head was buzzing as you came back to consciousness and you suppressed a groan of pain.

Consciousness hurt.

You did a short mental tally of your injuries.

Your ribs were definitely a little bruised, if not cracked or broken. Your lips were split in at least four different places each. One shoulder was definitely dislocated, and the other was hurt in some way. Your left ankle was bruised and swollen, broken probably. Your head probably had a huge gash if the blood running down the side of your face was anything to go by, and you were definitely concussed on some level.

Apparently getting your head slammed into solid concrete by someone who had launched themselves off a ledge would do that to you.

You were in what looked like a basement of some sort. The walls were solid concrete, there were pipes running overhead and dripping on you randomly, which wasn't appreciated, and there was insulation and plaster showing through here and there.

"Finally awake sleeping beauty?"

Your head whipped around to see your kidnapper, but your head protested and so did your stomach, despite the fact that there was nothing in it.

You suppressed a groan, trying to keep your stomach where it belonged.

"Ready to tell us who the informant is?"

"Go straight to hell," you muttered, when you were certain you wouldn't throw up on yourself, glaring at them.

"I still can't believe you were fucking stupid enough to kidnap a child! She doesn't know shit," the other man snapped at the first.

"She has to know something!" the first guy snapped. "She was in on the raid!"

His quirk allowed him to change his voice, so he wasn't using the real one, he sounded like a guy that smoked twenty packs of cigarettes a day.

The other guy you had started calling Sandy in your head. His quirk was similar to yours, he was able to turn anything he touched into sand, and then use it. He mostly made sand storms, and that's how they had gotten the jump on you in the tunnels.

One had blinded you while the other had carried you away, much to chagrin of the Sandy.

"I'm in training," you rasped. "I'm hero-in-training Tempest, from Class 2-A at the school U.A."

They hadn't given you anything to drink in the last two days, from what you could even remember of it, and you knew that you weren't going to last much longer, having been dehydrated when they had taken you.

They had kidnapped you from the raid site, and then spent six hours driving around like morons trying to cover their tracks, before driving for an unknown amount of time before they had dumped you in here. You had been unconscious for the secondary part of the drive, and you knew that with everything going on, there was the possibility you were experiencing retrograde amnesia.

"They don't tell me the important stuff like that. I get told when we're going on raids, and what my part in them is, and that's on the very rare occasion that they happen during my shifts. Most of the time, I'm on patrols around the city," you told them, taking a break in your little speech to spit blood onto the floor by your leg. "You need directions, I'm your girl, but you need to know who's a rat, sorry, I can't help."

You would've shrugged, but your arms were chained to the wall behind you, and every time you moved your right arm it made an awful clicking noise that you knew wasn't natural. Your left shoulder was dislocated as well, meaning your arms were pretty much useless.

One leg was operational, but barely. You were so far out of commission you wouldn't be surprised if U.A. kicked you out to recuperate.

U.A. wouldn't, and couldn't, pay the ransom. You knew that. The best hope you had was that you could act your way out of this, or that they planned a raid to get you out.

They had done it for Bakugou, why not you, right?

Shouto passed through your thoughts, thoughts about what he might do to get you back, but you shut them down as soon as they entered your head.

You were trying to keep him in a safe place.

You hoped that Shouto never learned about this. About where they were keeping you, what they had already done to try and get you to talk.

He was your safe place now, safe and away from this building, wherever you were. You thought maybe if you could keep him out of your head here, it was a way of protecting him from the reality of your situation, even if he already knew.

"She's a kid," Sandy snarled, pointing at you viciously. "She's a kid. You know the Boss' rules about kids and you broke almost every one of them!"

"Yeah, well-"

"Guys, hey, I hate to interrupt," you interjected, "but I really have to go to the bathroom."

They both stared at you for a moment before Sandy asked, "Do you promise to not try and escape?"

"Buddy, I don't know if you've looked recently, but I doubt I'm doing anywhere," you quipped. "My ankle is obviously demolished, my head was cracked open like an egg, thanks to your buddy Darth Vader over there. Not to mention, I'm dehydrated and starving, and don't even get me started on how much my ribs are killing me right now, probably literally. Do I look like I'm in any shape to try and escape?"

Sandy frowned, glancing at you like this was the first time he was seeing the extent of what had been done to you.

"Alright, I'm going to undo the chains, but you can't try to escape, you'll only make things worse for yourself."

"Death seems preferable at this point," you grunted, trying to hide the pain you were in.

"Don't you have healing supplies?"

"How am I supposed to use them when I can't move my fucking arms?" you asked, wiggling your fingers in emphasis. "And you morons confiscated my belt, which had them all in it! You know what my quirk is! What did you think was in it? Explosives? No, I leave that to Dynamight."

"Fuck," Sandy muttered.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" the voice dude asked.

"Because if she dies then that means no money and no chance of surviving prison again. Do you know what happens to people who mess with kids in prison? Nothing good."

You logged that little piece of information away, trying to focus on their features, but with your concussion, your eyes weren't the hottest.

"Can you move?" Sandy asked you as he worked on unlocking your chains.

You couldn't help the cry of pain when your arms dropped to your sides, tearing stinging your eyes as you bit into your already roughed up lip.

"Shit. Can we get a medic in here?" Sandy shouted.

A door opened and someone stuck their head in. Sandy repeated his demand, and the door shut again.

"Why are you doing this?" you whimpered, trying to keep your voice even.

If they were sadists, any fear or pain you showed only gave them what they wanted.

"Because we don't have a choice," Sandy said. "The Boss gave us somewhere to belong, he gave us a place off the streets. We owe him. We would've died."

"Shut up," Smoker snapped, and you glanced at him.

"I have a headache, and it comes and goes as you talk. Please, for the love of all things holy, shut up," you hissed to Darth Vader, wanting to touch your head, but not being able to for multiple reasons.

Sandy touched your shoulder lightly and you cried out again, moving automatically to hit him, but your other arm twinged, bringing more tears to your eyes.

"Sorry," Sandy murmured, pulling his hands away.

You took a shaky breath, waiting for the pain to dull before you said, "There's no way I'm moving from this spot without being in pain, and I'm definitely going to need help."

"Holy fuck, you two morons were two lucky blows away from killing her."

You glanced over to see someone with a med kit strolling leisurely down the stairs.

"Hello Tempest," they said, giving you a bright smile.

"Hello Med Kit," you replied, giving them a grimace.

"You can call me Himo for now," Med Kit said. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"You're going to whether I want you or not, but sure, go ahead," you muttered. "It's not really like you can make this any worse."

"I could break almost every bone in your body and keep you alive while doing it, so I could do so much worse, but that's not the goal here," Himo told you, setting to work.

"So what is the goal? Since I'm assuming that I'm never going to get out of here," you said, glancing around.

"Why do you think that?" Himo asked, ignoring your first question.

"Because I've seen your faces, I know your quirks, I know a general area of where I'm being kept, unless someone used a teleportation quirk of some sort. I know the school won't pay the ransom, my parents don't have that kind of money, and my boyfriend's father would never pay to see me safe and sound. He would probably twist his son's grief to get him to be compliant," you grumbled. "Besides, I'm a hero, hero-in-training, whatever, it's all semantics. I'm basically your arch-nemesis. Isn't that what every villain wants? To kill the person in their way?"

"We aren't villains," Sandy muttered.

"You break laws put in place to protect people, you attacked a minor, then kidnapped her after assaulting her, and you are trying to get a ransom for me," you pointed out. "That doesn't really scream 'hero' or 'civilian' to me."

"Have you ever though about who writes the rules? About how money can manipulate everything? The system is flawed, and we are going to make sure people know it," Darth Vader snarled. "Do you understand how unfair the world is?"

"Don't talk to me about the world being unfair," you whispered, your voice dropping, every muscle in your body tensing. "My boyfriend loves his mother more than pretty much anyone in the world. Her parents, his grandparents, arranged a quirk marriage, and she had four children she didn't necessarily want. Her husband drove her to near insanity, enough so that she poured a kettle of boiling water over my boyfriend's face because he looks like his father. His father has already managed to get one of his children killed, and he considers the other rejects because they don't have the quirk he wanted them to have. He's a different kind of monster, and he's not in jail.

"My own father verbally and mentally abused me for as long as I can remember. My mother and I were zombies until recently, when I decided I had had enough and my mother finally found the courage and will to leave his sorry ass in the gutters where it belongs. My father always had enough alcohol in his system to make him a human molotov cocktail. I had little to no self esteem until recently, and I still struggle to understand and comprehend that I am worth love. I am still learning to respect myself. So you don't get to preach to me about how unfair the world is buddy, we all know," you snarled.

"The hundreds, thousands of kids out on the street know. The women and men that get raped, and continue to see their own personal monster roam free know. The kids that get hit every day for not being what their parents want know. That's why people like me exist, to put away the monsters wearing human skin. That's why my friends and I try so hard to be heroes. It's not about the glory, or the money. It's about bring people to justice, it's about making sure that people feel safe. It's about giving other people something that we never had."

Silence echoed through the room as what you said sank in.

You hadn't meant to burst like that, but you were sick and tired of these guys using their shitty lives to make other people's lives shitty too.

"Why are you a hero, Tempest?" Himo asked.

"Because I want to save people," you replied. "I just told you that. I want to make sure that every child like me knows that they don't have to be their parents, that there is another option. I don't want the abused becoming the abuser. I want to make sure that the people doing the bad things get put where they belong. I want to help the kids that have nothing to lose, I want to help them realize that they have everything to gain. I want to give people like you hope."

There was no use in lying to them, they were probably going to kill you anyway. Besides, it might help you build rapport, and they might let you go when they realized that they made a mistake.

"People like us?"

"People who think that there isn't another option. People who have been shown nothing but the horrid parts of the world, the horrible parts of humanity. People who don't know what it's like to be loved completely by somebody, both good and bad. People who think that they owe someone who isn't worth one minute of their time. Good people who strayed too far from the path."

There was silence for a few minutes before you said, "I've seen a lot of real villains, people who aren't capable of basic human emotions, I've seen people who have no humanity in their eyes. They are the villains, they are the monster under our beds personified. People like you, you just simply wandered. You aren't lost, you're just further to the side than some other people. It would be easy for you to walk the path again."

You paused, thinking over what you said, then added, "Well, it wouldn't be easy necessarily, but it would be worth it."

"You still have the naivety of a child," Vader snarled.

"Call me what you want, naive, innocent, optimistic, I've heard it all, but in the end, I'm right," you told him.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because, at the end of the day, I know that every life I save isn't just one life," you replied. "That young woman I saved, she might have kids some day, or foster a child that needs a loving mother. That child I shoved out of the way might help the suicidal child in his class. Every life I save touches other people's lives. As hard as it is to believe, no one is ever truly alone in the world. Every smile I give to a stranger might make their day, might help them live long enough to find the thing that makes them happy. That's why I'm a hero."

More silence.

Your face heated, but there was something in their faces that told you they had never thought about it that way before.

"So, is there anything you can do to heal me?" you asked, breaking the silence.

"Like I said, these guys were two lucky blows away from killing you, I'm surprised that you're still alive, actually, everything considered. Your head will heal on it's own, but there might be a little scar left. However, your ribs might take longer. Three are cracked, and four are bruised. Your ankle might need surgery to get it back to the way it was. It's definitely broken, and there might be small bone particles floating around in there, I'm not entirely sure, my quirk isn't that detailed I'm afraid. Not to mention that, from what I can see, your shoulders just need to be popped back into place. One was dislocated more than the other, but it will hurt."

"Can't hurt worse than the state I'm in now. So what can you do? I'm assuming that taking me to a hospital is out of the question."

"Well, I can treat the cut on your head, relocate your shoulders, and I can see if someone else can take a look at your ankle, but everything else will have to heal on it's own."

"So there isn't much?"

"Nope, we don't have the equipment needed for your ankle here, and, like you said, no hospitals."

"Fucking gre- wait a minute, to you guys still have my belt?" you asked, perking up a little.

"Yeah, it's over here," Sandy said, walking over into the back corner, pulling your med belt out.

"Hand it over. I promise there's nothing too harmful in there. There are some painkillers, but it's just Midol. It's all medical stuff," you said, wincing as Sandy dropped it into your lap.

You opened it, taking out a small device.

"What does that thing even do?" Himo asked, looking at it warily.

"It's not a communicator or anything," you hurried to explain. "I made some friends in the support courses, so I asked if they could make me a device that works like an X-ray would. Himo, take it."

He took from you gently, which you appreciated, and turned it all around, trying to figure out how it worked.

"Alright, see that little button on the top left, yeah, right there. Click that button twice, like hitting the home button of a phone."

Himo did as he was told, and the screen blinked to life.

"Alright, hold the over my hurt ankle, and it should be able to show what's going on. Or," you added, "it'll blow up. Hatsume is kind of unpredictable like that."

Himo's hands tightened on it, but he did what you asked, and was clearly surprised when a detailed X-ray appeared on the screen.

"Holy shit, it worked!" you cheered, grinning.

"You have some very talented friends," Himo told you.

"I know right? She's a little quirky, but she's great at what she does!"

"How are you able to smile right now?" Sandy asked, looking at you with something akin to wonder.

"Don't get me wrong," you started. "I'm fucking terrified, but there's not much I can do in this situation. Besides, from what I can tell, other than the initial assault, you people don't want to hurt me. You want something from me. In this scenario, what I'm guessing, is that you want something from me, so you're going to be nice, and make me want to help you out, or make me feel like I owe you one, and then, when I don't comply, you'll either torture me to try and get what you want until I die, or you'll just kill me right off the bat."

Himo winced, and Sandy twitched.

"You guys really hate the thought of me dying, don't you?" you asked, cocking your head to the side, despite the protect of your brain. "Is this one of those scenarios where kids should be off limits?"

"We may be bad guys, but we have certain priorities," Sandy admitted. "Kids are a sore spot for most of us."

You nodded slightly. "I can see why. You guys said something about being on the streets? I know that sometimes kids band together, that's how they survive. I'm assuming you've lost friends."

"Smart kid," Himo murmured, eyes darting over the X-ray.

"Sometimes they give us profile training," you admitted. "Besides, I've been working on my psychology degree."

"Wicked smart kid," Sandy quipped.

"Alright, so I can set your ankle, there isn't anything wrong with it other than the obvious fact that it's broken," Himo said, handing the device back to you. "Riko, I'm gonna need your help."

"With what?" Sandy asked, looking skeptical.

"Can you hold her legs down? I need to relocate her shoulders before I do anything with her ankle, just because I have a feeling she attacks when she's hurt."

"Good instincts," you muttered.

"I'm a doctor," he confessed, grinning. "You learn a thing or two."

"Sorry about this," Sandy said.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," you told him. "As long as that's all you do I'll considerate your way of trying to make up from everything else."

Sandy snorted, holding your legs just below your knees.

"This is going to hurt," Himo warned.

"I would be surprised if it-"

You clenched your teeth to try and keep your scream in as Himo popped your right arm back into place.

The rest of your body bucked, trying to roll away, but Sandy, Riko, had a firm hold on you.

You panted as the pain started to fade a little in your arm.

"Sorry, I've found it works better when people aren't expecting it," he said.

"Son of a bitch," you gritted out, spitting blood off to the side. "I bit my tongue."

Riko chuckled, shaking his head.

"Alright, now for the other one," Himo murmured. "I really don't understand how you managed to take this much damage."

"At least I only broke my ankle. My friend Deku has broken both arms, both legs, and both hands before. I think he's broken almost every bone in his body sa-"

Himo popped your other arm back into place and you couldn't stop the tears that flowed down your cheeks at that one, your jaw almost cracking with how hard you clenched it to try and keep the noises in.

"Fucking fuck," you muttered when the pain pulsed into something a little bit more bearable.

"Better?" Himo asked, prodding your shoulders.

"Yeah," you admitted, moving them slowly. You dug around in your med belt, pulling out two pieces of metal and a small bottle.

"What is that for?" Himo asked.

You pushed a button on the metal, and they extended to the required length.

"It's for a splint, or a cast," you told him. "Once you set my ankle, you put the metal on either side, and I can spray this one. It's a special kind of plaster, don't ask me how it works, I have no idea what's in it, but it'll hold until my ankle is fully healed, then it'll fall off on it's own."

"Amazing!"

"Heroes, when the respond to disasters, often have to set up triages until other emergency responders can arrive, so we have to know a little bit about basic medical treatments in emergencies like that. So a lot of us have belts and such to keep medical stuff in. I also keep duct tape and glue in here. You never know when you're gonna need it."

You pulled out some painkillers, popping two in your mouth, taking them dry.

"How?" Vader asked, sounding horrified.

"Hate to break it to you, but when you're a teenage girl, especially one learning to be a hero, when you don't always have time for water, you learn to take pills dry."

"TMI," Vader muttered.

"Hey, jackass, you asked," you told him.

Riko and Himo chuckled.

"Alright. Riko, see if you can get a hold on her, this is gonna hurt like a bitch," Himo warned. "Li, hold her other leg down."

"Don't use my fucking name!" Vader shouted.

"You know, I wouldn't have known that was your real name if you hadn't reacted that way," you told him. "Heroes are also trained to pick up on certain behaviors like that."

Li grumbled, but did as he was asked.

Himo situated himself, then said, "Get ready."

The pain had you blacking out before you knew what happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I knew something was wrong," Shouto muttered for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. "I should have gone with her!"

"Dude, it wasn't even your mission," Kaminari told him. "There was nothing you could've done for her."

"Yeah you half-and-half bastard," Bakugou chimed in. "Besides, we're gonna get her back, so shut up and try and think of something useful."

Everyone had leapt into action when it had sunk in that you were in serious danger. It didn't take long, and no one wanted to acknowledge that it was worrisome.

They had split up into teams.

Midoriya, Bakugou, Shouto, Kaminari, and Kirishima were working on the maps that had been given to the students.

Momo, Jirou, Uraraka, Mina, and Tsuyu were going over the interviews with raid members, trying to gather up information on what had happened, trying to see if there was a traitor among them, other than the undercover agent that they had been told about.

Tokoyami, Ojiro, Shoji, Sero, and Koda were helping the other heroes do recon missions and patrols in the area where they suspected you were being held.

Sato, Shinso, Hagaruke, and Iida were working on the case files of all the known members of the gang that you had been going after. Surprisingly, those four were the only ones able to hear about the things that some of the gang members had done.

Hagakure was crying softly to herself as she read, but no one could pull her away from the files.

"I have to know," she kept saying. "I need to know about what they did so I can help when we get her back."

Sato didn't know you as well as the others did, so he was a little less effected. He were itching to get you back, but the others had spent far more time with you personally.

Shinso, on the other hand, was powering through them, wanting to know what he had to avenge when they got to that building. He wanted to know what they might be doing to you so that he could have far more reason to get them arrested.

Iida just wanted something useful to do.

"They just cleared building seven in section 3-C!" Aoyama called from his spot the progress computer that they had set up in the common room.

Aoyama was in charge of letting them know what had been cleared, what was under suspicion, and what they had ruled out completely.

"Fuck, that pretty much clears that grid section," Bakugou muttered, forcefully crossing an abandoned apartment building off his map.

"They might need to expand their net," Midoriya added. "No one knows where she is. There's the possibility that they aren't even in that area."

"I hate this!" Shouto burst out. "I feel useless just sitting here!"

"It's either this or you get stuck back on the sidelines," Bakugou reminded him and he clenched his fists.

He just wanted you back safe and sound by his side, preferably with his arm around your shoulders.

He'd been trying to remember the last thing he said to you before you had gone on that raid, but he couldn't remember.

He hoped that it was 'I love you' or something similar, but not knowing was killing him.

"Todoroki-kun," Midoriya said, laying a hand on his arm. "We will get her back."

"Yeah, we aren't giving up on her, no way in hell," Kaminari added, eyes flashing gold in the lights of the common room.

"She never gave up on us, it's not manly for us to give up on her," Kirishima chimed in.

"I know," Shouto said. "I trust you all."

It went unsaid, but understood, that when it came time to get her back, Shouto was going to be the one leading the rescue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week later, Himo came into the basement and said, "Do you think you can walk?"

"On one leg maybe. Why?" you asked.

Your ankle was wrapped in the cast that you had taken out, but your ankle was feeling a little better than it had been. It still throbbed every once in a while, but it could've been worse.

"The boss wants to see you."

"Oh, the big boss," you griped, rolling your eyes. "He wants to see me he can come down here himself."

Himo hesitated, but he nodded, heading back upstairs.

You had known that there was an undercover agent in the gang, but you had yet to figure out who it was.

Every member of the gang seemed to know that you were there, that, or they were much bigger than you had anticipated.

So far, Himo and Riko were your top two suspicions, given that they were the only two that were actually kind to you, but you had a small part of you that wasn't sure.

The door opening a few minutes later announced the arrival of the leader, and you steeled yourself.

"You fucking morons," the man muttered, rubbing his eyes like he had a headache. "What did I say about kids?"

"Sorry Boss, but we didn't have a choice," Li said, stepping out of the shadows.

He had been stay with you for the entire week, and it was clear that you didn't have the kind of rapport with him that you did with Riko and Himo.

You had been trying to make a storm, something, to let the someone know where you were, but you had idea of knowing whether it was working or not. You were in the experimental stages of the large storm capabilities of your quirk, and you were completely drained at the moment.

"What's your name kid?" the man asked.

His hands were covered in rings, and scars littered the little bit of skin his tailored suit showed off.

You had seen Shouto in high class clothes for gatherings that he was required by social convention to attend, so this guy was either rich, or so far into debt that he was on the run from the banks.

"You can call me Tempest," you said.

"(Y/N). Second year at U.A. Class 2-A student, and one of the new public favorites," Li said.

"Aw, you looked me up, how sweet," you taunted. "But like I said, I prefer Tempest, it sounds cooler."

"Far enough," the boss said.

He was wearing a mask that covered the top half of his face, and a fedora type hat, so there wasn't much to catalog, but you did anyway.

"Are you here to kill me?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest, despite the way it made the chains rattle.

"No, not if you give me what I want," the man said. His voice was deep, and he looked like he was in his early thirties, but you weren't entirely sure.

"I don't know who your rat is," you stated.

"How do you know that's what I wanted?"

"When I woke up on day two, your Sandy man and Darth Vader over there were talking about it. Vader actually asked me about it." You paused, then said, "You guys do realize that I'm right under an intern right? I'm not high enough to know about UC's. Think of me like the intern's intern. I'm lucky I even got to go on the raid."

The man watched your for a moment before he said, "I hate it when people tell me the truth. It means I don't get to have any fun."

"Sucks to be you then," you replied. "So what happens now?"

"You get broken," the man said, reaching out to touch your forehead.

"Good luck with that," you muttered when he pulled away.

Then the visions started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Everybody get up!" Aoyama shouted. "Up, up, up! Someone called in a noise complaint late last night!"

Class 2-A poured into the common room.

Shouto, Midoriya, Bakugou, Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero ran in with no shirts on, and Kaminari fell trying to pull his shorts up over his Pikachu boxers. Shinso was already in there sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee clad in a t-shirt with a cat meme and dark jeans.

The girls poured in in a mix of pajamas and hoodies that they had stolen from the boys over the last week, their hair a mess and dark bags under their eyes.

"What's going on?" Shouto asked. He knew that his bags were darker than anyone's, and no one had seen him sleep in almost three days.

"Late last night someone called the tip line anonymously to complain about screaming from a condemned building smack dab in the middle of section 1-A. Someone checked into it and there has been a lot of activity in that area lately," Aoyama explained.

He had given up trying to keep up the sparkly attitude, though some of the French had stayed.

"Is there anything else?"

"Guess which gang has been operating in the middle of that area?" Shinso said, having stayed up with the sparkly blond.

"The Numerals," Shouto said.

"Tres bein!" Aoyama replied.

"Have the heroes been notified?"

"They started a conference at three this morning," Shinso said.

"And no one told us?" Shouto asked.

"They wanted to let us sleep. They know how hard we've been working," Shinso replied.

"I'll sleep when we get her back," Shouto snapped, heading for the conference room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa shouldn't have been surprised when his former students streamed into the meeting that was being held to rescue (Y/L/N), but he was.

Though that might have been because most of the boys were shirtless and the girls were clad in their pajamas, and hoodies that were clearly not theirs.

"Catch us up," Shouto demanded.

"Shouto, what are you-"

"Shouto, you are aware that this is merely to scope out the building, correct?" Aizawa interrupted, glancing at his former class.

"We don't fucking care," Bakugou snarled. "You're going to catch us up, and you're going to let us join, because she's our friend, and we're the strongest team that you could ask for."

"We can't, in good conscience, let kids into-"

"Do we need to mention all the times that the League has attacked us in the last year? Not to mention Gentle Criminal, Stain, the whole Chisaki ordeal, should we go on?" Midoriya asked, frowning.

Endeavor went to talk again but more students started to talk.

"We can help," Kirishima chimed in. "We want to help."

"Besides," Kaminari added before any of the adults could chime in, "the more hands you have the better it'll be. We can capture more members and get her back. It's a win-win scenario. Gangs are known to be disorganized. If you can get word to your informant about a stealth mission, you might be able to get both them and (Y/L/N) out with minimal risk to them both."

"And we have useful quirks," Jirou supplied. "Kaminari can kill any power they have, Bakugou and Midoriya are good for taking stuff down, so are Kirishima and Sato. Todoroki is more than capable of restraining anyone that he comes across, and I can tell you where people are, how many and so on."

"Not to mention I can make communicators that are much harder to disconnect," Momo piped up.

"People don't really know about me yet," Shinso said, hands in his jeans pockets. "They don't know my quirk, so they're much more likely to fall for me, which is more than helpful for you, since it makes fighting back much less likely."

"We want to get her back, me more than anyone," Shouto said, arms crossed over his chest. "We can useful. Besides, I don't think I need to mention all the times that we've stepped in without your permission and gotten the objective completed while keeping everything legal."

Aizawa sighed.

"We really should just let them help," he said. "They're going to keep pushing, and I don't want any of them expelled and arrested. They are some of the best up and coming heroes. Besides, they all make good points."

"I feel the need to point out," Midoriya chimed in, "that the more of us you take, the more heroes you can have causing a distraction, or the more you can release to recharge and work on other things that are starting to take precedent, like the drug that the gang is manufacturing and selling."

There were more whispers, and finally the heroes sighed.

"Alright, but you're working with Eraserhead and Endeavor, since they're going to be leading the mission with Fatgum."

"We can work with that," Bakugou said. "But we want permission to engage if necessary."

"You would have that anyway," Fatgum said.

"We also want credit if we find her," Sero added. "We aren't going to let possible attackers think that we're defenseless. They take on one of us, they take on all of us."

"That can be discussed," Present Mic assured them.

"This should go without saying," Shouto began, "that I get to ride with her in the ambulance when we find her."

"Everyone assumed that anyway," Midnight told him. "Don't worry Todoroki, no one is going to keep you away from her."

Endeavor opened his mouth, but sharp looks from everyone had him shutting it again.

The students nodded.

"Now catch us up," Bakugou demanded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You couldn't remember when you had stopped processing things the proper way.

You couldn't remember a time before the nightmares.

They talked to you, they wanted you to know about an informant. Sometimes Shouto appeared, smiling and reaching his hands out to you. Sometimes your father walked in, drunk as always, shouting at you to do better.

You retreated in on yourself.

You turned to that small part of your brain that you had made to wait out the fighting, the yelling, the hurt. You retreated into the part of yourself that you knew no one could ever enter but you.

Shouto was there like he always was. He wasn't entirely your Shouto, but he wasn't the nightmare either.

He was a figment of your imagination, but he made things a little bit better.

"I'll come," he assured you. "I'll find you."

You were lying in a meadow, a small clearing surrounded by trees that were bent over you to create a small dome of shade.

"I know you will," you told him, reaching your hand out to him.

He touched his fingers to yours, but you couldn't feel it.

You remembered someone in the past calling it dissociating, but you weren't a professional yet.

You had never done it at U.A. since you had never felt the need, but this wasn't something that you would ever be able to forget how to do.

You could still see the nightmares, but it was like it was far away, background noise.

"Do you think that you'll ever go back?" Shouto asked. "Do you think that you'll ever go back to me?"

"Maybe, if the nightmares ever stop. If I think that it's actually you that I'm going back to," you said, watching him carefully.

"Do you remember the last thing you said to me?" Shouto inquired.

"Yeah. I said, 'I'll always come back to you'. Why are you asking me that?"

"Do you remember what I said to you?"

"You said, 'Promise me you'll be safe?' I was about to go on the raid, and you were upset about not being able to go with me."

"Do you promise to remember that?" Shouto asked.

"Yeah, I promise," you told him, smiling a little.

"(Y/F/N)! Oh, darling, what did they do to you? (Y/F/N), can you hear me?"

The nightmare was getting better at looking like the real Shouto, and this one had the same voice.

"Go to him," the dream Shouto said, sitting up.

"Why?"

"(Y/F/N), blink if you can hear me," Shouto demanded.

You forced yourself to blink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shouto couldn't describe to absolute relief it was to see you blink.

He had seen the discarded cast off to the side of you, and he wasn't sure whether you would be able to hear him in that state.

"Hey darling, come on, we're gonna get you out of here, I promise," he murmured, touching your face lightly.

"Sh-Shouto," you rasped. "Shouto, wh-what was the last thing that you said to me?"

"Darling, don't try to speak," he told you, trying to figure out how to cut through the chains without hurting you.

"Shouto, what was the last thing that you said to me?" you asked again, reaching up to grab his hand.

"'Do you promise me that you'll be safe?'" he said, eyes roving over you to try and see any wounds. "That's what I said to you."

Your eyes widened in surprise before tears slipped out of your eyes.

"Sho, it really is you!"

"Darling, hey," he murmured, touching your face softly.

You were sobbing now, fully body sobs, and Shouto wanted so badly to take a moment to just relish in the fact that you were safe, but he had to get you out of there as soon as possilbe.

"Tsukuyomi," Shouto called. "Can Dark Shadow cut through chains?"

"Yes."

"I'm on the basement level of the building. I have Tempest, can you meet us down here?"

"On our way," Tokoyami assured him.

"Guys, I have her, she's in the basement with me, we're getting her out as we speak," Shouto declared over the coms, and he was met with cheers and relief that you were okay.

"How many of you are here?" you asked, wiping at your face.

"The whole class is here," Shouto told you. "Most of the hero agencies sent representatives that are here too."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, people were really upset that you were taken, especially with the role you played in apprehending Numeral gang members on the last raid, and the part you played in bringing the drug to light."

"Wow," you murmured, making Shouto laugh.

"Hold on just a little bit longer darling," he coaxed. "Our friends are on the way."

"I can't believe that it's really you," you whispered, touching his face softly, rubbing your thumb over his scar the way you did.

"Oh darling, what did they do to you?" he asked.

"For the past couple of days they've been trying to break me, they want to know who the undercover agent is. I don't know who it is though, so the leader of the Numerals used his quirk on me. He makes the drugs. His quirk makes you see things, makes you feel things. It's like he can burrow into your head and take the images out of your head."

You shuddered in his arms and he frowned as Tokoyami appeared in the doorway.

"Hello (Y/L/N)," he said, smiling at you.

"Hey little bird," you replied, your smile watery with emotions.

"Can Dark Shadow get through those chains?"

"Of course," Tokoyami told Shouto.

"Hello starlight," Dark Shadow said.

"Hi Dark Shadow," you murmured, stroking the sentinent creature before he tore through the chains like paper mache.

You rubbed at your wrists for a moment before you threw your arms around Shouto, burying your face in his neck.

"Sho," you sobbed, tears back full force.

"I've got you darling," he murmured. "I've got you. You're free, you're free."

You nodded, arms tight around him.

Shouto scooped you up, cradling you against his chest, letting you sob as much as you needed to.

The paramedics that had been called to the scene hadn't managed to get Shouto to let go of you, and you showed no signs of letting go of him, so they had managed to do everything they needed to with you clinging to him.

"She'll need physical therapy, not to mention professional trauma therapy. She's malnourished and dehydrated, not to mention suffering from exhaustion and a very severe concussion. Her ankle needs to be further inspected, and there's some internal damage, some cracked ribs that might need to be taken care of, but we can do some more thorough work at the hospital. I assume that you're coming with her?" the paramedic asked when he was finished.

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend," Shouto said.

"Alright, well, you have to let go of her so that we can get her hooked up to an IV and make sure that we don't make her concussion any worse. You really shouldn't have moved her, but there's only so much we can do about that now," the other paramedic told him.

"I-It's okay Shouto," you murmured, pulling away from him enough to wipe your face off.

Your breathing was ragged, and you looked like you wanted to go back to being unconscious, but you allowed the paramedics to get you onto an IV and a bed with a neck supporter.

"Shouto, will you stay with me?" you asked.

"Always darling," Shouto said, gripping your hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forthree weeks afterwards, you were stuck in the hospital. Your ankle hadn't been as bad as it had been feared, you back on your feet in a week, and you were undergoing physical therapy.

You were back to a normal diet, and you were going to therapy three times a week. Well, the shrink came to you, but semantics.

Your class visited every day, bringing you your homework and recorded lessons, most of them crying, and more than elated that you were back, safe.

Shouto, after being given permission by your parents, was being counted as a family member, and he had been practically living in the hospital with you.

For the first week, he had refused to leave your hospital room. He had slept curled around you, despite the machines that you had been hooked up to, he had missed class, staying with you and keeping you company.

There was also the reason of him being the only one to be able to calm you down after a nightmare.

There were nightmares where you woke up sweaty and nervous, asking the nurse on the night shift to light the candles that were all around your room.

But there were some that had you hurtling to the small bathroom in your room, hurling the contents of your stomach up. Then there were the ones that got so bad that you locked yourself in the bathroom, hiding yourself away in a corner until someone noticed and got a hold of Shouto.

They were getting better, and you were getting better about people coming up behind you, the touching.

For a few days after being admitted to the hospital, the only person who could touch you was Shouto.

Your mother had been heart broken every time you flinched away from her touches.

Your father had only come once, and he had been carried out by hospital staff after Shouto had tossed him out of your room.

You had retreated into yourself after that, and had come clean to Shouto about some of what had happened while you were being held hostage.

The therapy was helping, and so was the massive support that you were getting from the public and other heroes that had been in similar situations.

Your friends were very understanding of you not touching them as much anymore, and you and Bakugou were closer than ever, since he had experienced something similar.

Today was your first day back in the dorms, and you weren't going to lie to yourself, you were nervous.

The class had slowly starting moving all the gifts that you were receiving into your room, so you were only carrying a small bag.

"Shouto," you began. "You know that you can walk away if I get to be too much right?"

It had been bothering you for a while, that he had stayed with you for so long. It had bothered you that he had given up so much of his time for you, while getting very little from you in return.

"Why would I do that?" Shouto asked cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"I just mean that . . . well, I know that I haven't been the easiest girlfriend to have recently, and I . . . I have more issues than when we first started dating, and things have changed. I'm way more high maintenance than I was. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted a different girl-"

"Stop it right there," he demanded, turning to you.

His eyes were hard, despite his soft tone of voice.

"(Y/F/N), I don't want anyone other than you," he said. "I don't care if you wake me up at three in the morning screaming. I don't care if you sometimes have days where you feel like you can't say anything to me. I don't care if you have days where you can't get out of bed. I love you. I love you more than anything, and those things are not going to stop me from loving you.

"You are one of the strongest women in my life, and I am not letting you go because you have some issues. We've all got issues, hell, I have issues we haven't even touched on. Those things are just another part of you that I get to love. Alright?"

You nodded, blinking back tears.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" you asked softly, wrapping your arms around his neck.

He waited for a moment before he wrapped his arms around your waist.

You weren't entirely sure why touch was such a problem for you now. Other than the injuries you had received during the fight, nothing had happened to you that would explain it, nothing you could remember anyway.

There had been some retrograde amnesia that went along with your kidnapping, though the doctors had assured you that those memories would come back with enough time.

And they had. There were still a few blank spots, but there weren't nearly as many as there had been.

"All the right things," he murmured, kissing your forehead hesitantly.

"I love you too Shouto," you told him.

He smiled softly at you, then turned towards the doors.

They opened, revealing your friends and a huge banner with your characterized face on it.

"Surprise!" they all said, though they didn't yell it like you had thought they would.

"Welcome home (Y/F/N)," Shouto said, sliding his arm around your shoulders as you both walked out.

Yeah, this was home.

[that-blue-vault-dweller]

Fo4 Companions React, Fics, Etc. Masterlist

About the Writer (Me!)

Bio of my F!Sole Nora Hale

Rules for Platonic Drabble Requests

Rules for Companion Reacts

Companion Reacts:

F!Sole Drinking

F!Sole Finding Shaun

Danse’s Platonic Relationships with Other Companions

Piper’s Platonic Relationships with Other Companions

Cait’s Platonic Relationships with Other Companions

F!Sole Gets Car Running

F!Sole Hugs Companions

Someone Else Taking Up F!Sole’s Attention

Cheering Up F!Sole

F!Sole Accidentally Farts Out Loud

F!Sole Receives Unwanted Advances

F!Sole Pukes

Being Told They’re F!Sole’s Best Friend

F!Sole Telling Them that She’s Pregnant

Dogmeat Finding Lady Friend and Having Pups

F!Sole Being Artist and Drawing Companions

F!Sole Being Amazing Chef and Cooking for Companions

F!Sole Getting Mad at Them and Leaving Forever

F!Sole Comes Back and Apologizes for Leaving

F!Sole Has Tibetan Mastiff

F!Sole Singing Happy Birthday to Husband’s Grave

F!Sole Can Fly

Companions Realize They Haven’t Heard F!Sole’s Real Name

F!Sole Wakes Them Up and Calmly Says Her Water Broke

Companions Get Drunk

F!Sole as Medium to Bring Back Dead for People to Say Goodbye

Companions See F!Sole’s Baby for First Time

F!Sole Discovers Room Filled with Bombs and She Hurries Away

Activities F!Sole Does with Companions

F!Sole Copying Companions’ Gestures

F!Sole Finds Vault Filled with Caps

F!Sole Finds Out that the Caps are All Fake

Companions Trying to Cook for F!Sole

Pre-Teen F!Sole with Big Dog that Protects Her

F!Sole Says She’s Giving Up on Life

Danse Gets Out of Power Armor

F!Sole Getting Way Too into Nuka-Cola

Musician F!Sole Writes Song for Them

Young F!Sole Having Crush on Male Companions

Seeing F!Sole Naked

Someone Kicking or Hitting Dogmeat

F!Sole Makes Them Ice Cream

F!Sole Has a Dachshund

F!Sole Has Glass Eye and Has to Take It Out to Clean Out the Area

F!Sole Secretly Having Mental Breakdowns

F!Sole Narrates and Does Sound Effects for Things Around Them

F!Sole and Them Make and Set Off Fireworks

Finding Out that Young Shaun that F!Sole Brought Back from Institute is Synth

F!Sole Carries Around and Sleeps with Animal Plushie

F!Sole Has Rock Drake Like Ones from ARK

F!Sole Saying Random Things 

F!Sole is the Fear of Raiders Everywhere

F!Sole Suddenly Sneezing Really Loud

F!Sole Gives Companions a Day Off

F!Sole Explains Baseball and the “Old Days” When Visiting Diamond City

F!Sole Tries to Hide Self-Inflicted Stab Wound on Chest

Companions as The Simpsons Characters

Depressed F!Sole on Wedding Anniversary Listening to “Hi Honey” in Old House

Telling F!Sole a Joke So Good that She is Practically Crying and Can’t Breathe

Teen F!Sole that Knows a Lot About Things that Suburban Teens Shouldn’t Know

F!Sole as Doctor that Makes Really Good Prosthetics

F!Sole Asking if They Want to See Her Defy Gravity Before Suddenly Ascending

F!Sole Gets Projector Running at Starlight Drive-In

F!Sole Makes Movie and Offers Friends a Cameo

F!Sole Stars in a Movie that Companions Watch at Starlight Drive-In

Super-Mutant F!Sole That Has No Idea She Is Super-Mutant

F!Sole Cuddling Dogmeat After Mission

Tattoo Artist F!Sole Offering Companions Free Tattoo

F!Sole Raises White-Faced Baby Deer that Thinks She is Its Mother

F!Sole’s Now Grown Up White-Faced Deer Dies in a Raid at Sanctuary

F!Sole Finds Her Wedding Dress and It Still Fits

F!Sole Acting Like They are in Comic Book

Cuddling with F!Sole

F!Sole Telling Hilarious Childhood Story About Going to Baseball Game

Nick Valentine finds OG Nick as Feral Ghoul

Pre-Teen F!Sole Raised in Abusive Family

F!Sole Has Maned Wolf Pup that Grows Up to Be Pretty, Loyal, and Clever

F!Sole Has Giant Black Wolf that is Really Strong

Catching Teen F!Sole Doing Chems or Drinking Before She Runs and Screams

Teen F!Sole at Doctor’s Office Getting Shot and She Tries to Escape

Rat Runs Toward F!Sole and She Climbs Wall Like Spider-Man and Won’t Come Down

Young F!Sole Seeing Them as Parental Figure and Calling Them Mom/Dad

Young F!Sole Being Bullied At School and Coming Home with a Bruise

Young F!Sole Getting Kidnapped

Nerdy F!Sole and Companions Find Old Silver Shroud Set in Boston

Touch-Averse F!Sole Letting Them Tend to Her Wounds and Hugging Them After

Mufasa’s Death Scene from Lion King

F!Sole Pulling Out Armory’s Worth of Ammo and Weapons Out of Pockets

F!Sole Finding Container of Glitter and Causing Chaos

Teacher F!Sole Wanting to Reopen a School for Adults and Older Kids

Dogmeat Showing Signs of Being Abused

TW! F!Sole is Raped

F!Sole Hatching and Raising Deathclaw as Pet

F!Sole Taking Care of Them When They’re Hurt

F!Sole Gets Old Food Factory Going and Cans Tons of Food

F!Sole Used to Be Part of the Enclave

F!Sole Has Pet Shadowmane from ARK

F!Sole Asks Male Companions to Pretend They are Dating to Get Rid of Creeps 

F!Sole Gives Companions Custom-Made Weapon

F!Sole Gets Tank Running and Then Goes for Ride with Companions

F!Sole as Dentist

Abused F!Sole Who’s Glad Her Husband is Dead

Companions Finding Toddler F!Sole While Looking for Resources

F!Sole Using V.A.T.S. to Shoot Several Targets Accurately and Even Shoot a Grenade Out of the Air

F!Sole Has Beauceron

Shy Teen F!Sole Sees Boy She Has Crush on and Hides Behind Companions

F!Sole Had Long Day and Decided to Shave Her Head

Dynamic Between Pre-Teen F!Sole and Companions

Dainty F!Sole Dropping Something Underneath Car Then Picking Up Car to Get It

Companions Turn Into Super-Mutant and Keep All Their Memories

F!Sole Finds Rat and Thinks It’s Adorable

F!Sole Separates From Companions for One Night and Remodels a Settlement into a Fortress by Morning

Dogmeat Having Translator Collar from the Disney Movie “Up”

F!Sole Making Toys for Kids at Christmas

Minutemen General F!Sole Makes Curie Her Own Lab

F!Sole Asking Them to be Child’s Godparent

Teen F!Sole Hugging Them, Telling Them They’re All She Has Left, and Running Off into the Night

F!Sole in Deadly Fight Starts Singing and Animals Come Kill Enemies

F!Sole with Pet Parrot

Teen F!Sole Makes Tree Swing and Asks Companions to Push Her

F!Sole Gets Working Submarine and Takes Companions on Underwater Ride

Teen F!Sole Stubs Her Toe on Log and Starts Cussing and Kicking It

F!Sole Breaking the Fourth Wall

F!Sole as Pre-War Governor of Massachusetts Siding with BOS

F!Sole Talking About Birds Aren’t Real Conspiracy and Finding Out It’s Real

F!Sole Disappearing for Few Days and Returning with Shock Collar from Nuka World

Teen F!Sole Going Through Rebellious Phase

Teen F!Sole Getting Period for the First Time

Maxson Doing Something Stupid and Motherly F!Sole Sends Him to His Room in Front of Companions

F!Sole Never Sleeps

F!Sole Dies

Fics:

Cold as You (I’ve Never Been Anywhere) (Father/Shaun & Nora)

The End of the World (Piper & Nora, Curie & Nora, Cait & Nora, Danse & Nora, Dogmeat & Nora)

Piper is Obsessed with Sweets (Piper & Nora)

Nora Likes Architecture (Piper & Nora)

Piper’s Height Complex (Piper & Nora)

Piper Is Allergic to Cats (Piper & Nora)

Nora Has a Hat Obsession (Piper & Nora)

Nora Enjoys “Pretty Woman” By Roy Orbison (Piper and Nora)

Piper and Chopsticks (Piper & Nora)

Piper Loves Cuddles (Piper & Nora)

Traumatophobia (The Fear of Physical Injury) [Curie & Nora]

Personality (Baby, You Got the Cutest) [Paladin Danse x Nora, Nora & Piper Wright]

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (Nora & Piper, Nora & Curie, Nora & Codsworth, Nora & Danse, Nora & MacCready, Nora & Dogmeat, Nora & Animal OC)

Happy Birthday, Blue (Nora & Piper + tentative friendship among the rest of the group due to mutual love for Nora)

I’m Sorry, Dad (Teen Nora & Nick Valentine, Teen Nora & Piper)

Braving the Storm Together (Nora & Curie)

Written in Blood (Cait & Nora)

The Price of Humanity (Nick & Nora)

The All-Seeing Synth (Nora & Piper & Nick)

Comics and Art: 

“Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”

“Piper’s Limit”

“At Least It’s Not Raining”

“A Crappy Situation”

“Girl’s Night”

“Raiding the Castle”

“No Funny Business”

“Maxson’s Mommy”

Fallout 4 OC - Jasmine of the Commonwealth

Disney Parodies

“Do You Wanna Be Our General?” by Preston Garvey feat. F!Sole

“Show Yourself” by F!Sole feat. Father/Shaun and the Institute Doctors

“Let Me Go” by F!Sole

[undercover-trio]

Lost in the woods

Malleus x GN!Reader

Could be viewed as romantic or platonic

Word count: 1079

Okay… Maybe I didn’t make the right choice, because right now it’s raining cats and dogs, and surprise, surprise, I don’t have an umbrella.

I didn’t really have a choice not to have an umbrella; I don’t get paid enough to afford those luxuries.. I’ve saved multiple students from overblots and from Crowely’s negligence and what do I get for it? Schoolwork is what, half of which I can’t even do.

I wonder if Sam can hire students? I don’t know. I’m getting off track…

The reason I had been in the forest in the first place is because I was looking for Grim. However, it’s raining now, I’m soaking wet, the sun is setting, and I am extremely lost.. Why was I checking the forest in the first place, you ask? Oh, because Grim is the type of idiot to go into the forest alone, and I couldn’t find him anywhere else on school grounds. He’s probably at Ramshackle, sleeping like the weird, gray, floating, blue flamed, cat-thing monster he is. He also probably also tried raiding the kitchen for tuna. Basically, it’s his fault I’m so lost. If I didn’t have to look for him in the first place, I wouldn’t be here, stuck in the magical forest I am not familiar with. I’m pretty sure I’ve already gone this way at least twelve times before. Usually, I’m pretty good at not getting lost, considering the people I hang out with are idiots, so I have to keep them from getting lost on a daily basis.

I turn around to try to come back the way I came, only to find myself next to the same tree I just walked away from. Welp, I’m so dead. I just hope no one misses me. Sitting down under an oddly-shaped rock, I huff and lean my head on my knee. I look down, trying to see how wet my clothes were from the rain. They were soaked, and the chances of them drying off anytime soon went down the more the sunlight gave way to the chilling darkness of the night. If I didn’t get into warm clothes or find a fire soon, I’d freeze to death. I close my eyes with a sigh, trying to think of more ways to get out of here. Maybe I should try getting back one more time before I accept my fate…

It’s worth a shot… right?

Opening up my eyes, hoping that I’m not making the wrong decision, only to see something oddly familiar… something glowing… fireflies? I jump up, almost hitting my head on the low tree branch I was sitting under. Upon inspection, the eerie green bugs seem to be filing into a line.

There’s only one thing that comes to mind when I try to figure out why they’re arranging themselves like that. In any case, this might be the only help I’ll get to escape the forest.

Listen, I know there are a multitude of ways that following a bunch of bugs blindly around a pitch black forest can pan out, and a lot of those endings could be bad. This place isn't normal, however, and I was getting desperate. If I didn’t get out of here, I would be dead anyways.

Either way, taking my chances was better than slowly freezing or starving to death. I slowly trudge toward the firefly closest to me. Cautiously reaching my hand towards it, the firefly fizzles out, leaving the next one in the line to catch my attention.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I noticed that the rain had let up at some point.Blindly stumbling after the line of fireflies led me to a path… The very same path that I had, quite stupidly, strayed from in my search for Grim.

Excitement surged through my veins as I started running to get to the path faster. Oh thank the Gods! I know where I am! Calming down, I get another look around the area, noticing that the fireflies continue to lead in the direction of the mirror room.

… I suppose it couldn’t hurt to see where they lead, considering I need to head in that direction anyway.

And so, with more confidence in my steps, I start down the line again. After another lengthy walk, the doors to the mirror room are in sight. Strangely enough, these fireflies didn’t veer away at any point.

It's odd, but not truly worrisome. If I should be worried about anything, it's how I'm going to get the homework done that I couldn't do, due to being lost in a forest for hours upon end.

Making my way through the doors and to the mirror for the Ramshackle dorm, I’m now keenly aware of the fireflies that are filing through the mirror. Now it’s even weirder… Why are they heading this way? I mean, I have a hunch but I can’t be sure of it…

The need for a shower and sleep won over my suspicions. I’m too tired to deal with this shit. I have school in the morning, anyway. I brace myself as I step into the mirror… I never get used to that, no matter how many times I do it.. After getting my bearings, I look to the dorm. It is… as decrepit and eerie as ever, except now it has a line of fireflies leading towards it. The fireflies somehow shine brighter as the line continues into the garden.

Maybe I should leave it until tomorrow… But the curiosity will kill me if I don’t find out what’s going on… Well… I knew there was a reason as to why a certain duo, and cat, clung to me so often. I’m just as reckless as them. You know what they say! Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!

…I am so about to get murdered in my own backyard.

As I enter, still following the bugs dancing through the air, I get a glimpse of someone standing by the hedges. Judging by the horns protruding from their elegant, tall figure, I’d say it’s a really good friend. A friend that probably got worried about me after I missed our usual gargoyle appreciation meeting… Oh no, I forgot! I feel so bad.

Running up to his tall figure, guilt written all over my face. I call out to him “Tsunotaro! Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be late.” he looks to me with a rather relieved air about him, then composing himself “Oh there you are child of man”

I don't know what I'm doing, I wanted to get this out as a think for the English sub release of the game but I kept on putting it off, now it's two months late.

Also if anyone wants a continuation I'd be more than willing to do that, just wanted to get this finally out of my guilty little brain.

- Mod Crow

[zealous-whispers-of-us-redux]

a different kind of song

(A/N: no one ever asked for this, but there isn't enough merman!Bucky/reader fics out there, lol. Also, her song is basically "Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood)

Warning- allusions to sexual assault. Do NOT read if that bothers you!

Summary: The sea swallowed her whole, and she was reborn with saltwater on her tongue and webs between her fingers.

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

She did not remember her life as a human. All she remembered was the war, and the hunger, and the men raiding her village. She remembered the sweat-soaked skin of a warrior snatching her up as she cried out for help. She felt the slide of his body, his blade against her throat. Then when he had finished, she remembered being thrown away into the deepest part of the sea, left to die. But she was blessed by the primordial sea god Phorcys, a child of Artemis, and was allowed to live again. Her new body was formed from misery and blood, and the reward for her suffering was eternal life with the chance to kill as many humans as she wished with no divine interference. The killing of human men, for men were the chosen victims of any siren. Women were not drawn in by their song, and if, by chance, a woman stumbled across a siren, that siren would leave her alone.

Slowly, she began to forget the trappings of humanity, the sound of her mother's voice, and the taste of human food. She aged with the world, hidden deep beneath the waves. Countless men fell prey to her beautiful song, and she learned how to kill quickly. She grew to love the taste of flesh, the sound of someone drowning. She forgot what it was like to be lonely. 

Now, she only knew starvation.

An all-encompassing hunger clawing at her belly made her whine with pain. Humans had avoided this part of the sea for a few years, and she last ate three months ago. She'd had to survive solely on fish, which, while technically food, were not filling nor even tasty. She was beginning to hate fish.

There were no boats; she checked three times in the past hour. It was dangerous for her to be so close to the surface because the air outside was toxic. There was also a very likely chance that she would be spotted by anyone who could harm her. But she was so hungry that she forgot herself. She floated just beneath the surface and sang, letting her voice ring out through the water, enticing any man into approaching. The setting sun shined down on the outcrop of rocks above her.

And there! A flash of something!

She sang louder, opening her eyes underwater. There was a man with darker hair than she had ever seen lying on a gigantic rock. He was acceptable, she guessed. She barely knew what that meant.

He had yet to notice her, dumb as he was. She could see her song was affecting him as his eyes started to close, and his hand inched unconsciously closer to the water. His finger just barely skimmed the surface before she lunged, yanking him into the sea with her. He began to fight back as she dragged him down to the sandy bottom. Thrashing against her hold, he scrabbled to gain purchase on her body, but to no avail. Her skin was as hard as stony coral and difficult to cut. She sang her trumph, mocking him as she brought him up to break the surface, only to bring him right back down.

But this man had a tail, and she did not realize it until it hit her in the face. She squawked in surprise, her song cutting off. The merman twisted out of her slackened grip. She snarled, baring her teeth as she swam at him. Sirens were stronger than mer, especially in deeper waters, so it did not take much to grab him again. They wrestled, flipping over each other. She sliced his side with one of her nails; his tail knocked the wind out of her. He pulled her lure too hard, and she made a pained sound, biting at his hand. He cried out as she ate clean through one of his webs. Blood leaked into the water, making her ravenous.

"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible," she began, "The song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons, even though they see the beached skulls!"

The merman ceased struggling. He stared at her, his eyes growing vast and dreamy. She grinned toothily. She had only had mer meat once before. It was harder to draw in mermen than human men, so because of that, she was only able to entice a single merman. But that was years ago, and he wasn't nearly as delicious to look at as this mer.

She dropped the tone of her voice to a seductive curl. "This is the song that nobody knows because anyone who has heard it is dead, and others can't remember. Shall I tell you a secret? And if I promise to, will you come nearer? I will tell my secret to you, to you, only to you. Come closer, closer to me."

She lifted her finger, tempting him to come over so that she could take a bite. The merman swam closer until their chests were pressed together. He said something in a language that she had never heard before.

"This song is a cry for help, my dear. Help me! Only you, only you can, for you are unique!" she cried sadly.

His tail curled around hers, and she frightened at the gentle touch broken out of her song. She spat and gnashed her teeth, but still, his tail stayed where it was. He opened his mouth and said something, but she still could not understand. She went to bite his nose off, but he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers so plainly that she stilled. She was not sure what was happening. She was not sure what she was supposed to be doing. She floated there, letting him mash his mouth against hers. His mouth tasted bizarre.

Finally, the merman stopped. He pulled away only minutely, still looking spellbound. Strange. Her song had ended. Why did he continue to look at her like that? He reached out and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. His own were darting back and forth across her face, searching for something. He spoke more things that she didn't understand.

"Uhh-h- hello," the merman said in a language she could understand. "Hi."

"Why were you crushing your mouth onto mine?" she asked.

"What, never heard of kissin' before?"

His smile was much too pleasant. That was unacceptable. Food was never supposed to look nice. She wanted to claw the smile right off of his face.

"Kissing?"

"Yeah, touchin' lips. Usually done as a sign of love or, you know, desire."

"Desire?"

"Sweet Thetis, you're fuckin' gorgeous," said the merman, ignoring her confusion.

His hand shot out to touch her lure, but he thought better of it and withdrew.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

His smile grew bigger, how funny: "Beautiful. Pretty."

"Pretty? What's that?"

"You know, like when you find a shiny thing, an' you wanna keep it forever?"

"I do not know," she grumbled (How dare this mer make her feel unintelligent!). "I have never had shiny things."

"Never had… Hold on, my pretty one."

Mystified, she waited just as he'd asked as he ruffled through a pouch that she had not noticed before. She had never seen anything like it and wondered where she could acquire one. Of course, she never had a reason to have a bag since she had no use for possessions. Perhaps it could hold weapons! Or bones to snack on!

"Ah-ha!" the merman said, thrusting something in her direction.

She stared at the thing in his hand.

"Looks even prettier underneath your lights," he said, avoiding her eyes.

"What is it?" she replied, her hand darting out nervously to touch it.

She pulled back almost instantly, but the merman grabbed her wrist.

"It's called gold," he explained, tipping it into her hands. "The humans use it to get other shiny things. D'you like it?"

"I am not sure. I do not know what I like."

"You can keep it."

"What kind of trickery is this?"

"No tricks. As I said, you're beautiful, and beautiful things should have beautiful things."

"No tricks, certainly, but what do you want in exchange?"

For the first time tonight, he looked sheepish. She noticed that his stomach was turning pink, but for what reason, she was unsure. She wondered what he was trying to work up the nerve to say.

"Well, er, matin' season is comin' up," he began.

"Not yet."

"Right, it isn't for a few months yet, but I was taught to woo the mer, er, the creature that I choose with shiny things. It's my first matin' season, you see."

"Mhm."

"An' the wooin' part takes a while. An' then there's the courtin' stage, which takes even longer."

"If you need a mate, there are mer all around this area during this time."

"Well- heh." The merman rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I'd like it to be you."

"Why?"

"Because you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Ah."

"I have more shiny things if you want 'em," the mer said, reaching for his pouch.

She shrugged. "I have no use for them."

"You don't gotta have a use for 'em. Where's your home cave? I can bring 'em there."

"I do not have a home cave," she said.

"Oh, right, where is your family's cave, then?"

"I have no family."

"No family? You mean, you're out here all by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you lonely?"

"What is lonely?" she asked.

"Sad, because you have no one with ya."

"What is sad?"

"Whaddya mean, 'what is sad?' It's sad! Don't you know what that is?" the merman twisted his face up like he was in distress, though what kind she was not sure.

"I only know hunger," she told him.

His eyes lost some of their shine. "Oh, yeah, right. How long's it been since you ate properly anyway? You don't look so good."

"I have not caught a human in months."

"D'you need help huntin'?"

"Can you ensnare a human with your singing?"

"No, but I know some good spots for fish."

"I am not in the mood for fish," she said.

"You just haven't found the right kind," the merman replied, closing his left eye.

He turned tail, swimming away from her before glancing back to see if she would follow him. The hunger in her belly was making her act quite strange in that she was willing to go along with this merman. She felt, oh, what's the word, she knew this, like mer, she was curious. She decided to follow him, keeping a bit of distance between them until the merman flipped around in an impressive display of tailfins and long dark hair, and decided they would swim side by side. His hand kept brushing hers, trying to grab onto her fingers for some reason. She tugged away, unsure of what he was trying to do. She still had not yet decided if she wanted to mate with him anyway. Sirens did not mate in the same way that mer did, that much she knew. They called it breeding, and it was over in a frenzy of teeth and claws. There were no gifts of shiny things or "kisses."

"What's yer name?" the merman asked.

The question stunned her. She could not remember her name before the sea took her in, and she had no use for a name now. No one else called to her. Her name was simply another memory, another casualty to add to her list.

"I do not know," she said.

"You know what a name is, right? Like, I'm Bucky, for example."

Her fingers drifted up to her lips, searching for her name. If she remembered the shape of her mouth as she spoke it aloud, perhaps she could remember the correct sounds. She thought back as far as she could, to the feeling of water filling her lungs, to the sounds of screams, to the smell of a fire burning down her village, to her blood staining her tongue. She wanted to remember her name. She had not even realized this was something she had lost until she needed it.

Then there was a flash of memory, jagged and cutting. Her heart began to race. In her mind, she heard it. Her mother had been crying. Her mother had been screaming at the men to stop. Her mother had been shrieking to let go of her, let go of my daughter. Her mother yelling at her to be brave, hold her breath, be strong, my love, my dear. Her mother. She remembered her mother.

Her lips parted, and she whispered the name into the water. The merman, Bucky, repeated it.

"Again," she said.

He did, and oh, she felt something new, something besides hunger. A hole opened in her chest. Her lower lip wobbled, and then she was singing a new song, never before heard from a siren. It echoed around her and Bucky, reaching out to the farthest depths of the sea. It was filled with desperation, isolation, and salvation, but it was hope and home too.

"Is this what sad is?" she asked Bucky once her song was over.

"Yeah, it is," he answered, curling his tail around hers.

When he went to wrap her up in his arms, she let him, falling into his embrace.

[thefirstknife]

Help, I ran Garden of Salvation with some clan mates and i'm Experiencing Great Sadness about the Kentarch 3 again.

I haven't been following you since shadowkeep, and was wondering if you had some theories about what happened, because a lot is left unexplained, specifically about Lisbon-13's motivations. The story from Yardarm-4's perspective shows that something is influencing them before they accept power (stasis teaser?) from the darkness. Do you think they really had a choice? Do you think he was influenced in his decision to kill them? If so, why? As a test just for him? Presumably he's still out there somewhere, and I can't tell from the lorebooks whether Rekkana let him kill her first or not. I just feel so bad for them, they all loved each other. Yardarm probably took the power in the first place to help get them out safely. Do you think it'll ever get concluded? The whole lore series seems interestingly close to what happens with Shayura, just sort of in reverse.

Kentarch 3 fireteam and the whole story on the Garden of Salvation armour and the associated weapons and equipment is amazing and very interesting, I agree. I haven't talked about it before but it's a good thing to revisit every so often! I think there's still a lot we don't really understand, mostly due to not fully understanding the power of the Black Garden.

In short for the general audience, Kentarch 3 was a fireteam that consisted of Yardarm-4 (Titan), Rekkana (Warlock) and Lisbon-13 (Hunter). They went to explore the Black Garden at the behest of the Warlock order called the Cryptochrons which Rekkana was a part of. This order got exiled some time after Osiris for dabbling in prophecies. Cryptochrons were formed around a Oneiromantic Circle and led by a Sibyl (or multiple sibyls; or Sibyl was just a name of one member, it's unclear). Oneiromancy is the practice of interpreting dreams to predict the future and sibyls were ancient Greek female prophets and oracles.

I didn't think this would get long but it did so the rest under the cut:

The Cryptochron order continued operating after its exile and Rekkana received a prophecy from them that revolved around a fireteam learning about the Black Garden and retrieving from it a Vex relic of some sort. The relic is the exotic weapon Divinity and the lore tab on it details the prophecy they were chasing:

"And after any other Cryptochrons they learn of. But your path is more dangerous than most. The Circle has foreseen many fireteams following in your footsteps. You can find the knowledge the order seeks at the Tree."

"Can? Not will?" For the first time, Rekkana sounded concerned.

"The Circle has had limited success in piercing the veil that surrounds the Black Garden, so the order offers no certainties. They say that a group of Guardians will discover secrets about the origin of the Black Garden at the Tree. The Oneiromantic Circle foresees no reason why it will not be the Kentarch 3."

"Nor can I. But…?"

"There is another thread in the tapestry, entwined with this one. The Vex, or some fractal faction of them, worship or honor a… divinity there."

"The Black Heart? It was destroyed."

"Yes, but this is something different. An object. Something like a sacred relic. It is important to the Vex for reasons that we have not yet fathomed. The Circle has determined that it is dangerous—"

"A Vex weapon?"

"Perhaps," the Sybil sounded annoyed at the interruption. "Rekkana, the Circle concluded that it is a danger to you."

"To me? But then, why send me on this mission?"

"When the Circle dreamed of the object, you were beside it."

They agreed that, should they find this object, Lisbon should be the one to carry it. They did find it and he was indeed the one to carry it, as is shown later in another lore tab detailed below.

We know that Lisbon-13 killed the rest of his fireteam because they got corrupted by the Black Garden, something happened to their Ghosts (they all just dropped down and started losing their Light) and then turned on him. He was being hunted and he really had no choice. But he couldn't live with it. In Beyond Light, he's shown trying to kill his Ghost in order to stay permanently dead because he couldn't bear the burden of what he did to his fireteam, even though his actions were justified and he acted in self-defence.

But before he managed to do that, he was faced with his own doppleganger, just like the YW at the end of Shadowkeep. In the end, Lisbon didn't kill his Ghost because the doppleganger offered him power and Lisbon (presumably) chose to take it: his wish was simply to make himself forget about his fireteam (and Rekkana specifically, whom he loved). It's implied that he accepted and after that, we have no formal information what happened.

The outcome of what happened to Kentarch 3 is somewhat known, as detailed in this ship lore. The Vanguard knows Lisbon killed the other two, they're not sure when they lost their Ghosts and they have not found anyone's body, not even Lisbon's. But we know from the lore that came out after that Lisbon accepted the deal with his doppleganger and we have no idea what that entailed. Is he still in the Black Garden? Was he killed? Replaced? Just memory-wiped and sent back? Something else entirely? We'll explore at the end.

I'm pretty sure the voices they heard talking to them were also their own dopplegangers. And it's somewhat implied that they made some sort of a bargain and accepted "new powers" that came "from the wrong side." There's only one description of it:

Her fist glimmered and quaked with an unfamiliar power. She only had to release her grip, and that energy would rip through him, burning without fire.

That's Rekkana attacking Lisbon. It's never fully explained what it is, but it could very well be some sort of prototype Stasis in my opinion. Or some other Darkness power. Not sure why the Black Garden would give them this, which is why I think they simply harnessed the power of their dopplegangers. This is something that's been mentioned a few times in regards to Darkness: duplication. Same is present with the Taken as well (Taken psions duplicate). I mentioned the duplication theme being discussed in Clovis' journal before too.

Honestly, I can't make any definitive conclusion, but Kentarch 3 definitely found something horrifying in the Black Garden and fell to its influence. They also reference doing the puzzles to get Divinity, which they got and Lisbon used it to kill the other two.

Garden of Salvation raid ends with a Pyramid scale opening up and leading us down into the area with the Darkness statue. I think this could've easily been some sort of a lead into the future of Destiny and the powers of Darkness. Kentarch 3 may have accidentally received this power early on or were perhaps some sort of a test the Darkness did on Guardians before offering them Stasis for real.

It's an interesting story and yep, it does mirror Shayura's fireteam and how the story is told! Each member of the fireteam tells the same story from their own POV on armour for that class. I'll link all of them in order, roughly how I think it's best to read each POV:

Rekkana: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Yardarm-4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Lisbon-13: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I like how the armour follows the same name pattern: Righteousness, Exaltation, Transcendence, Ascendancy and Temptation.

Associated Garden of Salvation weapons also have some tidbits of lore that might help, namely:

Ancient Gospel Hand Cannon:

"These forces have existed forever, but only one of them speaks to us." —Rekkana, Warlock of the Kentarch 3

Sacred Provenance Pulse Rifle:

"These gifts were not made for us, but we were meant to have them." —Rekkana, Warlock of the Kentarch 3

Zealot's Reward Fusion Rifle:

"Why not use these gifts we've been given?" —Yardarm-4, Titan of the Kentarch 3

I would really like to learn more about them, and specifically Lisbon because he might be able to actually tell us what happened. He or his Ghost, Piri, who managed to survive last we've seen her. I think the Ghost might be able to give the most accurate version of events. It's interesting that Lisbon was very much against whatever power they received and that was the reason he abandoned his fireteam, which made the other two consider him a traitor to their friendship.

Very intriguing lore story that could possibly be mentioned again in some form. Also as a brighter note, yes, Yardarm literally flew into the Black Garden with an entire ship and crash landed inside. On a less brighter note, we've never seen the remains of a ship in there (to be fair, Black Garden is huge) and it's somewhat implied that they entered through the Vex Gate on Mars which puts the timeline of when they got there into question. The Vex Gate on Mars that led into the Black Garden was destroyed in the Red War. The new gate showed up on the Moon in Shadowkeep (and you can't fly a ship into it because it's in a cave).

An additional note which answers certain things when it comes to Lisbon's fate that I hinted at before: in order to acquire the quest for Divinity, you have to go to the Moon to the Vex Gate for the first time. The gate will open up and a Vex mind will come out. This giant Vex minotaur is called Zeteon, Redemptive Mind. Upon killing this minotaur, you receive "Divine Fragmentation" quest. Details of the quest here. You pick up a Vex core that has strange readings coming from it and you have to decipher it by running it through various Vex technology. Once fully completed, you have to go into Garden of Salvation, do the Divinity puzzles and the weapon will drop from the extra chest at the end.

Why am I mentioning this? Well. Zeteon, Redemptive Mind drops a core that contains information about how to get Divinity. Lisbon was the member of the fireteam that held Divinity and used it to kill his fireteam. There's a quote from Lisbon on the weapon called Accrued Redemption:

"I should never have let it come to this. Now each arrow is a penance." —Lisbon-13, Hunter of the Kentarch 3

Divinity's perks are called Judgement and Penance.

Basically, I believe that whatever deal Lisbon accepted that made him forget his fireteam, free him from the suffering and redeem him ended with him being converted into Zeteon, Redemptive Mind. It's the reason why this Vex in particular had the pieces needed to construct Divinity again. Lisbon was the last person who had it. Becoming the bearer of parts needed for Divinity was both his Judgement and his Penance.

Final note because I love ancient languages being used for the names of things in Destiny: "Zeteon" most likely comes from Greek "zeteo" which means:

to seek, search after, look for

to inquire into, examine, consider

to strive for, desire, wish

Probably tied to Lisbon's search and desire for redemption for what he's done. I think that wraps up his fate quite nicely, although tragically.

[mrsnegan]

Trapped

[Disclaimer: This was my first Negan fic ever, originally posted to AO3, my name's LadyMiddlefinger there. I wanted to share this with you here too, so enjoy this smut fest, haha. 😁]

---

„Great. Just fucking great!“ I stomped loudly with my foot, unable to stop myself from making no sound. This situation was so fucked up, I just couldn’t believe I got myself into this kind of hell.

„Are you fucking crazy? Stop the damn noise or you’re gonna kill us,“ Negan said through gritted teeth. I could tell he was furious with me. In another situation I would've been afraid of him. But now, well, now I was just mad. At myself. At him. At the damn dead fucks outside of our hiding place. An abandoned gas station, or better said, the back room of it. Secured by a heavy locker Negan had knocked over.

I tried hard to calm myself down, I really did. My breathing was so loud I couldn’t form a coherent thought. We had been on a raid, Negan, myself and a few other Saviors. We had looked for food, gas and other supplies, exploring the area south from the usual route. And then those walkers, a big fucking horde of them, crossed our way. I had no idea how many of us were alive still. I was lucky enough that Negan grabbed my hand and dragged me with him, inside of this place. But now we were trapped. And I wasn’t so sure I really wanted to be trapped with the big bad wolf. Even if I liked working for Negan, he most of the time scared the shit out of me.

„Are you getting off or why do you breath so fucking loud?“ I heard him whisper. I bet Negan had one of those arrogant smirks painted across his face. It was so dark in this room, no window, no light, so I couldn’t see him in all his cocky glory. I rolled my eyes at this thought and his comment alike.

„No, damn you, I’m in panic because we’re stuck here, surrounded by death itself. And it’s fucking dark.“

I heard his leather jacket rustle with his movement. He seemed to make a few steps in my direction, I could make out his frame if I concentrated enough.

„OK doll, so here’s the deal. I will hold you for a bit so you can calm down. And you won’t kill us by freaking the fuck out. The only thing you have to do is shut the fuck up. And don’t tell a soul I hugged you. Understood?“

His voice was deep, bearly above a whisper. Was he serious? Big bad Negan hugging me so I could calm down? This must be a joke of him.

„No shit here, I’m as serious as it gets. I won’t ask again“, he added. I heard him put Lucille down and waited a few more seconds before I whispered a shaky „OK“.

Without hesitation, Negan stepped forward some more, closing his strong arms around me. I hugged him back, inhaling his musky smell of blood, sweat, leather and his usual cologne. He was warm, his heart seemed to beat just a tad faster than usual. He calmed me instantly, I was surprised myself.

We stood there for long moments, breathing in, breathing out. As my heartbeat felt steady enough to speak again. „I never thought you would be a soft guy deep down“, I murmured into his chest.

Immediately he let go of me, though his hands remained on my shoulder, squeezing a bit harder than necessary.

„Excuse the shit outta me? Damn it, I wanted to be a decent guy and you make fun of me. Not cool, sweetheart. Besides…I’m anything but a soft guy. Deep. Down“, Negan whispered back though gritted teeth, emphasizing his words with shallow thrusts of his hips. Damn, since when did this situation turn into…this direction?

I swallowed heavily before speaking again.

„Calm down, Negan. This was meant as a compliment. I liked you hugging me.“ My voice trembled a bit and gave away what I felt. Deep. Down.

„Yeah, I bet you did. You always love to be near me, yeah? Shit, why would you even volunteer in the first place to come with us?“

My eyes, finally used to the dark in this damn locked room, roamed over his face. He looked mischievous, his famous smirk on point, eyes darker than usual. I felt my cheeks turn redder while he stared at me.

„I… I wanted to help, not just sit around like your stupid wives do.“ Shit, this sounded bitter, jealous even. The last thing I wanted him to think of me.

His fingers loosened the grip on my shoulders a bit while he tried to suppress a hearty laugh.

„You are shit at lying, you know that, right? So, Miss Jealous Mealous, why don’t we get this“, he gestured with his hands between us in the air, „out of the way? We need to hide some more until those dead fucks have vanished. If you promise me to keep quiet, I could definitely proof to you how hard our little banter got me. And I bet you’re fucking wet for me, am I right, sweetheart? I can practically smell you. You need to get out of your tight pants and onto my cock, hmm?“

I gasped at his dirty words, he left me speechless. And not only because I wasn’t used to his attention. Also because he was right and I hated myself for getting this turned on this fast.

„Oho, I‘m right, I always am. That’s why I’m the boss.“

„Shut up, Negan.“

„Make me.“

This was enough. I snapped, crashing my body against his strong frame. I needed to get on my tip toes to reach his lips, but when I finally kissed him, God, it was with need I haven’t felt in such a long time. He kissed me back with equal fervor, fighting for the upper hand, nipping at my lower lip. He kissed so sensual and dominant, my knees got weak in an instant. My arms slid around his neck, pressing him down some more while my fingers tried to grab at his leather jacket. And his hands, well…they slid down, down, down, over my ass, up again, before settling on my hips with a possive grip, pulling my center into his crotch.

„Yeah, that’s all for you“, he teased, breathing in some well needed air. „Do you want to touch me, darling? Suck me? Or do you need a hand first…or my mouth? I’m in for all of it.“

With that, his lips descended to nibble at my pulse point, eliciting a low moan out of my throat.

„Touch me“, I whispered, breath hitching when he bit down slightly.

„What was that? I didn’t hear you.“

That bastard…

„I said, touch me, Negan, like you mean it.“

He still didn’t do more than drive me crazy with his mouth and tongue on my neck, so I moaned again and added a desperate „please“.

„That’s what I like to hear“, Negan rasped and backed me into the desk that was located behind me. I sat down immediately and he stepped between my legs.

„Tell me, sweetheart, do you like it vanilla or kinky? I don’t wanna scare the shit outta you, if you know what I mean.“

„For fuck’s sake, do I look like a doll or what?“

That’s when he couldn’t suppress a raspy laugh, getting rid of my trousers simultaneously.

„Yeah, more like a wild cat, ready to swallow me whole“, he winked, pulling my trousers over my legs.

Ugh, I hated his bad jokes. Why did he always have to be so sly?

„I will scratch you if you don’t let go of those sly comments“, I taunted.

„Please do, I can handle getting rough.“

„Do you? Or do you just have a big mouth?“

„Oh, you don’t know what you’re asking for.“

Negan grinned, gripping for my underwear and tearing it off in one swift motion.

I gasped at his boldness and moaned shortly afterwards when his fingers dipped through my folds.

„My oh my, like I’ve said, you’re wet as hell for big old Negan.“

His fingers played with my wetness, teasing me with light touches. Finally he relented and stroked my clit in tight circles, making me buck against his hand.

„So responsive, fuck. That’s so hot.“

It took only moments for him to use his long middle finger to sink into my heat, followed by a second one.

„Oh God“, I moaned, apparently a bit too loud for Negan’s taste. His fingers were gone again in an instant.

„What did I tell you? Be quiet or this little freaky deaky won’t be happening.“

I nodded, unable to say a word.

„Good girl“. He fleshed his teeth and continued his ministrations. He drove me insane with his fingers which he curled in a perfect manner, in and out, faster when I bucked against him, deeper when my eyes closed out if pure bliss.

Only a few precise thrusts later, I tipped over the edge. My moans were swallowed by his hot mouth while his fingers fucked me through my orgasm.

Then they were gone and I opened my eyes again…to the unmistakable dirty image of him licking them clean with a sinister smirk plastered on his lips.

„Oh girl, I need to get a taste from the source real soon. But now I think it’s time for you to thank me for that mind-blowing orgasm of yours, don’t you think?“

„Well, thank you then“, I breathlessly reply.

„That won’t do, no, no. You have to thank me properly.“

My eyes burned a hole into his face, though I couldn’t deny how needy I still was for him.

So I slid down from the desk, well aware of the fact that his eyes followed my movements. I stepped forward and lowered myself to my knees right in front of him. His belts were undone one by one, I made sure to do it slowly and hoped to drive him insane too. Two can play this game.

When his trousers were down his legs, his rock hard cock sprung free. My mouth watered despite my efforts to keep as desinterested as possible.

I grapped him at the base, lightly, before I placed a soft kiss to the head. That was when I heard him moan above me and felt his hand in my hair.

„If you keep torturing me like this I will have to fuck your pretty mouth. So what’s it going to be?“

The head of his cock slipped into my mouth and I began to suck, still not passionate enough for him to find satisfaction.

„Alright, I did warn ya.“

With that he pushed his hips forward, entering my mouth with one swift thrust. I slightly gagged at the intrusion but, and that’s what really disturbed me the most, I got even wetter by being used this way.

„Uhh, darling, relax around me, let me fuck your throat like the dirty girl you are.“

I moaned around him which let him grow harder still. His hand in my hair guided me up and down while his hips kept a steady pace. I bobbed my head too, maybe to show him how needy I was, maybe to gain back a bit more control. I enjoyed this treatment nonetheless.

„Yeah. Just like that, swallow around me.“

I did as he said, looking up to see his eyes glued to my face, mouth hanging open slightly. I couldn’t help but whine around him, not used to being this turned on.

He pulled out then, leaving me gasping for air. One single strand of salvia connected his cock with my lips and just this little detail made me so damn wet.

„Up. Now“, he commanded and I happily obliged.

He stripped himself off his jacket and shirt. His boots were next before he stepped out of his trousers.

I drank him in from head to toe, pulling my own shirt over my head and getting rid of my bra. I wanted to feel his skin against mine.

„You have gorgeous tits, do you know that?“ His voice sounded raw and made me feel all tingly and warm.

He stepped towards me, grabbing both my breasts with his hands, kneeding them. I couldn’t hold back my moan when he pinched my nipples, his mouth claiming mine in a heated kiss.

We tumbled back to the desk, but this time he turned me around and bent me over.

In anticipation of what he had in store I spread my legs for him, waiting for him to enter me. And enter me he did. His cock slid into my cunt in one swift motion and stretched me to the edge.

„Fuckity fuck, you are so incredibly tight“, he commented. I didn’t know if I wanted him to shut the fuck up or continue to torment me with his foul mouth.

His first thrusts were controlled, precise movements which drove me crazy and seemed to push all the right buttons.

„Ohh…fffuck“, I moaned when he suddenly increased the pace and drove into me harder and faster than before. My heart felt like bursting at any moment. I could hear our skin slapping with each movement, I could smell my wetness, his musky sweat. His little grunts drove me mad with lust while his hands on my hips pulled me against him with every forward motions. I had no other choice than to brace myself against the desk and try to match his torturous pace.

„Ahh shit, I need to look at your pretty face“, he exclaimed and pulled out.

The sudden emptiness felt strange, so I whined while he turned me around again, positioning me on the desk. He kissed me like a starving man while he pushed into me again. We moaned into each other’s mouths, continuing where we left off, foreheads pressed against each other.

After a while I couldn’t keep up the upright position, so I layed back, giving Negan full control.

„Beautiful. You look like a fucking piece of art“, he complimented me.

His right hand wandered to my breasts again, squeezing, pinching, kneeding. Then I felt his fingers dancing around my clit, applying some pressure, circling it, pinching it lightly. I completely lost it when I felt his middle finger joining his cock, stretching me further and further. He pumped his finger in tune with his cock in and out of my cunt while his thumb drew tight circles around my clit.

„Oh fuck, Negan…“

„Shh, be quiet“, he taunted. He leaned towards me some more so he could press his left hand over my mouth.

My hands clawed at his arms as his movements turned rougher above me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open as this blissful wave began to build inside of me. I had no other choice than to moan into his hand while he fucked me into oblivion.

„Fucking look at me, look at me while you cum…and… don’t you dare…closing your eyes.“

My eyes shot open in an instant and I lost myself in his gaze. Negan drove himself furiously into me, reaching all the right spots with his forceful thrusts while his finger did the same, stretching me, fucking me. It took a few more seconds before I couldn‘t take the building tension anymore and came around his cock. I screamed into his hand as my eyes were fixed on his.

„Fucking…shit…“, he exclaimed in a low voice and pulled out shortly afterwards. He pumped himself to completion and came with low grunts on my lower stomach and cunt.

It was so hot in this damn room, particularly after our coupling, so we tried to calm and cool us down by leaning against each other, not moving, just breathing.

„Hell, sweetheart, who knew you had such a delicious…“

„Don’t you dare saying it, Negan“, I taunted but he wouldn’t listen. Of course not. He was Negan.

„…pussy.“ His grin spread over his handsome face. He looked relaxed and absolutely glorious with that sweat across his muscular body.

„The next time something like this happens, I will let you pay, you smug bastard“, I retorted with a smile on my face.

„Oh I can’t wait, sweetheart. I can’t fucking wait. But for now, let’s get outta here and bash in some walker‘s heads.“

---

Tag list: @iluvneganandjamie

[poptod]

The Old Gods

Description: Jack has to get close to a powerful suspect. Jack also ponders upon his humanity.

Notes: genuinely didnt meant for this to get so long, my apologies, i just like writing conversations bc i never get to have them.  also! I hate myself so much for writing supernatural fanfiction in the good year of our lord 2021. its not my fault, it was the only show i could watch with my cousin that we both liked. anyway! lmk if you like it i could do a part two WC: 11k

+

The nearest library could hardly be called a library. A more accurate description would be a collection of books––a small collection––that could be read freely but never taken from the library itself. There was little need within the Winchesters to visit the library, considering they had one in their home filled with mythical lore, but the records of Kansas and neighboring cities and states were detailed thoroughly in the nearest library.

Jack knew a great many things; inherent natures and laws of the universe, the experience of power and of fear, both before him and within him. Many things he'd seen deserved to be feared, exposing him to dangers often unheard of amongst regular children.

Three months into existence, however, Jack liked to think he knew more than he did when he was born. This was because he'd spoken to more people, experienced more things, and learned select things about his mother, his father, his family, and strangers. Still, there were things that puzzled him––the age of the world was clear in his mind (4.543 billion years, four months, 22 days, 6 hours, and 52 seconds) but how humanity progressed into what they now were astounded him.

"Humans started as... these creatures with unending curiosity," Castiel explained to him, his hands folded neat in his lap but hidden by his too-long trenchcoat sleeves. "Ceaseless innovation. They started without language but they always had kindness. I think.. that's why God favored them, at least at first."

"So... kindness is a form of.. intelligence?" Jack asked slowly, his brow furrowed tight as he stared past his father.

"I believe so," he said, shifting in his seat. "Kindness drove these animals to building homes, to conversing with one another, to creating a better world for descendants they would never know. It's quite beautiful, actually."

"Am I a part of that story?"

Only half-human, only half-alive, only half the story, belonging to nothing concrete. Jack wasn't really human, leaving him alone in his species.

"Yes," Castiel said without hesitation.

Civilization first started off in a number of areas. The first book Jack found dealt with the fertile crescent northeast of Africa, where Mesopotamia brought forth a number of societies, of cultures, meshed together over the course of thousands of years. Sumerians were one of the first to build their cities, creating writing, the wheel, and the plow in their haven apart from the unpredictable and often violent wild.

But no––the next book Jack found stated that Jericho was the oldest city, west to the fertile crescent near the shore of the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The citystate was independent from any other power, often becoming abandoned from raids only to return to high populations, as humans flocked back to the spring water that still poured from inside the earth to this day.

Over the rest of the day spent in the nearest library, Jack learned there was no single spot in which civilization was created and then spread from. The Nile in Africa brought forth Egypt, the Indus river in Pakistan birthed the Harappan civilization, and the two rivers Yellow and Yangtze in China created the first asian cities. From there villages, towns, and cities spread like mold across the earth's surface, eventually bringing humans to inhabit every continent and nearly every environment known on earth.

There were far too many things to know, and the strain of reading on his eyes eventually forced him to retire for the day. He hardly understood anything yet, but the librarian was understanding as to his prolonged stay, and wished him a good evening when he left. He beamed a bright smile despite the strange pain growing behind his eyes, and waved good-bye.

Dean gave him painkillers when he got back to the bunker after Jack thoroughly (and unnecessarily) described his headache.

"Humans are... strange," Jack said, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He rested his elbows on the table, leaning over an empty bowl of cereal.

"Not wrong, but, care to elaborate?" asked Sam, who was sitting across from him at the kitchen table, a newspaper and pen in his hand.

"Castiel said you created the first cities out of a desire to.. to protect each other, and to keep yourselves safe. And then the first thing you do when you meet other cities is to go to war with them."

Sam sucked in a sharp breath, leaning back as he set the newspaper aside. This would take a little more concentration than a passing ear.

"People are scared by things they don't know," Sam began only to be cut off.

"Why?"

"They don't know if it's dangerous. You didn't trust us, at first, either. We didn't know whether to trust you. Remember?"

"Oh," Jack said softly.

"Yeah. But you're right," he said with a long sigh. "It's strange. We're... strange."

"Are humans inherently good?"

"I don't think anyone is inherently good," Sam said, and Jack straightened his posture, suddenly confused by his claim. "Every person – every thing, every living thing has – has the capacity for good and evil. It's really just up to the individual to decide which side they want to give into."

"Am I a good person?"

"First off, you're not really a person," said another voice from the doorway.

Sam and Jack both turned at the same time, meeting the eye of Dean, who had yet to change out of his bathrobe despite it being 2PM.

"Second off, you haven't been alive long enough to be a good person," he continued as he entered, an empty coffee cup in hand.

"Dean –" Sam began, only to be cut off.

"What? It's the truth."

The coffee machine buzzed loudly once Dean pushed a few of the buttons, setting his cup beneath the nozzle. He muttered something to himself before turning back to the kitchen table.

"Anything strange in the paper?" He asked, leaning against the counter.

"Maybe," said Sam.

He grabbed the paper again, delving into the details of a nearby missing persons case that soon faded out of Jack's state of mind. His thoughts were still absorbed in his existence, in his beginnings, and how they compared to the beginnings of humans. At least with angels he knew everything; that was how angels were born. Knowing everything.

Jack remained seated at the table when Sam and Dean left, still stewing in his thoughts that he imagined would never go away. It was half an hour later when the two brothers returned, this time fully dressed, and packed up on their way to the car.

"We've gotta go find some local records," Dean said.

"So we're headed to the library," Sam finished, and the two gave each other odd glances at the coincidental synchronicity.

"I was there a couple days ago," Jack said, suddenly perking up. "Can I come with you?"

"Sure, just don't get in the way," Dean said with a dismissive hand, already leaving the doorway.

Sam pursed his lips, letting out a bitter, almost apologetic chuckle before he followed.

He liked the middle seat. It didn't have a seatbelt, but he wasn't sure what seatbelts were for anyways, and the middle seat allowed him easy access to see both of the Winchesters. Dean never spared a glance in his direction while he drove, but Sam offered awkward, curt smiles.

Technically Jack could just fly to the library in an instant, but the drive into town was pretty, lined with the colors of autumn. Recently winds had taken up a more brisk edge, marking the absence of birds that flew in packs overhead. He scooted to one of the window seats, craning his neck awkwardly to look up and out of the glass, grinning at the ravens flying through the orange and gold trees.

The librarian showed the three men where the records were kept, directing them towards missing persons cases when they requested it. While Sam and Dean thumbed through the records, Jack returned to ancient history books, studying art and images from Vedic India.

There, amongst the carvings printed on soft paper, he found something rather odd. He stood from his position on the floor, still staring intensely at the print as he walked over to the table Sam and Dean sat at.

"Hey Jack," Sam said as he sat down, gently placing the book on the table. He scanned Jack's hunched posture before he asked, "something up?"

"I found something... strange," he said, his brow still knotted neatly above curious eyes.

"Yeah well, join the club, kid," Dean said with a groan, wiping his face with his hand.

Jack opened his mouth to ask what they'd seen, but Sam answered before he could speak.

"There's been repeated attacks, kind of," he said, waving his hand vaguely. "Once every ten years a couple of kids go missing. Always two kids, always on the same day of the year."

"And another anomaly," Dean said, reaching over to a stack of papers and slapping them on the table in front of Jack.

Big, black words displayed the newspaper title, and below it, the date of publishing. January 4th, 1967. The main article dealt with a concert happening in a nearby city, and the image printed with it displayed a number of concert-goers, most of them in their teens or early adulthood. Hidden behind several other people, a familiar face appeared––the librarian. Unhindered by time.

"Is that..."

"Big boots over there?" Dean asked, pointing with his thumb in your general direction.

You were sorting through a stack of books, but as Jack looked down, he found you were wearing rather large boots. The ends of your pants drowned in them.

"Do you think they're related?" Jack asked as he turned back to the Winchesters.

"Possibly," Sam said with a nod. "Bit early to tell. But, uh..."

Sam trailed off as his eyes focused on something past Jack's shoulder. He, as well as Dean, turned to meet your eyes that quickly darted away once all three of them were looking at you.

"I think I have an idea," Sam said.

Dean and Jack curiously tilted their heads to the side at the same time, though when Dean noticed that, he fixed himself immediately.

"I think they have a thing for you," he said in a much quieter voice.

"Me?" Jack asked, pushing his finger into his chest.

"Yeah. You could get a little closer and see if something's up."

"Are you seriously setting up Jack with a fuckin' demon, for all we know?" Dean asked flatly, earning an odd look from Sam, who had never heard Dean protest putting Jack in danger.

"Dean, Jack's dad is a demon-angel thing. I don't think it's a big deal," he said.

That seemed to shut the older Winchester up.

"Hm," Jack hummed as he debated the idea. "I also found something strange."

"Oh, right," Sam said, clearing his head with a shake. "What was it?"

"It was also... the librarian," he said with a deep frown. "In one of the books."

He pushed forward the textbook, opening it to reveal the page in which he'd found your face. The stone expression was remarkably similar to your traits, from the curve of your nose to the positioning of your eyes, and the small, polite smile on your lips.

"I found it in the history section," Jack explained. "It says it's from Vedic India."

A quick Google-search later, Sam was reading out the age of Vedic India.

"According to this it says the Vedic age was approximately around 1500 to 800 B.C., so... about 2,500 years ago."

"Wow, this fucker's old," Dean snorted.

Sam shot him a look over the top of his computer screen.

Having found the information they were looking for, the Winchesters began to pack up their belongings and their scribbled notes, shoving them into their bags or into their many-pocketed coats. Jack, on the other hand, prepared himself for talking to you, hoping his ineptness towards social situations with humans wouldn't be too obvious. He swallowed through the knot in his throat, taking a shaking breath in an attempt to steady himself.

It didn't work.

"Dean, what am I supposed to say to them?" He whispered when they were already approaching the front desk, his palms growing sweaty.

"I don't know, their job or something? Something normal," he very unhelpfully advised.

"Thanks for letting us stay for the day," Sam said with a polite smile, handing back one of the printed out records you'd fetched for them from beneath your desk.

"Not a problem. You keep quiet. I like that in a reader," you said, smiling back as you glanced between the three of them.

None of them moved, and your expression turned to mild confusion. Dean had to jab Jack in the side to get him to speak. He opened his mouth to protest, but Dean motioned something to Sam, and the two of them quickly left for the car, leaving Jack alone while they 'situated' themselves.

"I, um..." Jack started before he was ready.

The silence felt wrong, but the silence after saying something was much, much worse. Whatever came into his mind first would have to be what he said.

"I like your job," he said, keenly scanning your expression for any hint of your thoughts.

You paused, clearly taken back for a moment, before you broke out into a chuckle, looking down to your hands as your face flushed.

"I like it quite a lot, too," you said with a grin, looking back up at him. "I've always been interested in becoming a librarian. Granted, I didn't quite imagine it in Kansas, but it is pretty here."

"Where did you imagine it?"

"Greece, actually," you chuckled, and he smiled as well, his heart thumping with a sudden haste. "I was heartbroken to hear the Library of Alexandria was burned down."

"The Library of Alexandria?" He repeated, tilting his head to the side again.

"Haven't heard of it?" You asked.

He shook his head gingerly. Was he supposed to?

No matter––you explained in full what the Library of Alexandria was, when it was created, when it was burnt, and the loss it caused amongst human society. He listened intently, frequently asking questions you were happy to answer. When Jack glanced out the library window, he found the impala gone, and realized Sam's plan had, in a way, worked.

"Are there.. any books about the library?" He asked once you completed your short story.

"Yes, but I don't want to hold you folks up –"

It was then you looked out the window as well, finding the two large men had abandoned the smaller.

"Oh where'd they go?" You said in a curious, high voice.

"Don't worry about that, I... have a bus," he said, earning a strange look. "I am... I ride buses."

A beat of silence passed.

"So the Library was in Greece?" He asked, and your earlier mood returned.

You brought him––with much excitement––to one of the rows in the library filled with simple textbooks for primary school kids. Other rows of your well-tended library were occupied by old books, their bindings worn and frayed at the edges from continuous use. Pages were turned yellow and were soft beneath his fingers, but despite their age they were rather hard for Jack to read and understand, meaning his discovery of children's comprehensible textbooks was a giddy one.

Jack wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking for when it came to you. What counted as suspicious? You continued to speak with him even after the sun set behind mountains, that could be a sign you were trying to gather information on him, as well. That could also mean you liked him. Was your friendliness suspect?

"- and the Phoenicians were really only called that by the Grecians. The name came from the purple dye that they're famous for, some root word for 'purple people' in Greek is Phoenicia," you explained, moving your hands expressively despite the fact that Jack's eyes were set dead on the textbook on the floor in front of you. Paragraphs of words surrounded modern depictions of ancient people and their art.

"So what was their actual name?" He asked as he looked up to you.

"Canaanites. From the land of Canaan."

"... you know a lot," he said, looking back to the page as you chuckled.

"It's just memory," you said with a shrug.

"Can I... can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you know anything about mythical creatures?"

Surely this would reveal something, Jack thought––you might react poorly, in which case you could be the monster, or you might react in complete knowledge, which... could also mean you were the monster.

"A little," you said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"I have an interest, in myths and monsters," he said, almost smiling again.

"Oh man, I have a show you're going to love."

Far in the back of the library, a hollow, steel door led to a small break room, the carpet inside being a dark, scratchy grey against his palms when he sat down. There were no chairs in the room, but an old TV sat on a cheap cart plugged into the nearest, bare wall. On the opposite side of the TV was a dull blue counter that stretched from the door to a window covered by plastic shingle curtains.

You snatched the remote off the counter, pressing a large, red button that had the television buzzing to life loudly. The screen sparked, static radiating around it as a thin line of white brought life to a Netflix loading screen.

After several minutes of waiting for Netflix to load and then typing a title into the search bar, a show called Myths and Monsters was before him. He let out a laugh as he realized what had sparked the connection––he'd literally spoken the title.

Would an ancient being or monster know how to work a TV?

Castiel could work a TV.

Kind of.

The first episode began to play and you took a seat beside Jack, crossing your legs neatly beneath you. A few minutes in, rain pattered lightly on the roof, followed by sudden winds that battered the now pouring rain against the window. Jack watched through the side of his eye as you smiled at the change in weather.

That was suspicious.

Late in the evening, when night darkened the land and heavy thunderclouds darkened the sky, he left the library. He stood in the threshold between the warm light on your desk in the otherwise dark room, and the falling rain outside. Yellow-orange streetlamps illuminated the sheets of rain and the nearby bus stop, but you still stopped him, holding the door open as you both stood motionless in front of one another.

"I have a car, I can drive you home," you offered, gesturing over your shoulder to a door in the back that led to a private parking lot behind the library. "I'm not sure if the bus runs this late."

Extended time with you would be good, and he imagined your face illuminated by dim dashboard car lights would be better than good––great. Beautiful. You had wonderfully warm features. But you couldn't know where he lived for a number of reasons; if you were the monster, that was giving away a hiding place, and if you weren't, you would wonder why he lived in such a strange place.

"Thank you, but it's alright," he said. "I like the rain."

A small smile stretched across your plush lips.

"So do I," you said, and the two of you bid good-bye, retreating into your respective dark.

He gave a thorough rundown of the events proceeding after Sam and Dean left, and the three of them––Sam, Dean, and Castiel––listened closely. Dean already filled Castiel in on the rest of the case, and the two brothers were eating at the long table in the bunker's library.

They stared at him in silence when he finished.

"Sounds like a regular kid," Sam finally said.

"Ah don't be so sure about that," Dean said, raising a single brow. "What did you say the monster probably was?"

"A – a fae, or something," he said.

"Fae's good at lying," Dean pointed out, earning a reluctant nod from Castiel.

"He's right. Fairies are remarkably good at acting," he said in his low, grating voice.

"So... what next?" Jack asked.

"We'll keep looking into the case more, and you can probably ask the librarian out on a date," Sam suggested, earning an agreeing remark from Dean. "You can keep them distracted while we search their house."

"Do we know where they live yet?" asked Dean.

"No, but it shouldn't be too hard to find out," Sam said.

Jack watched the brothers for a moment, his mind emptying of answers as to what a 'date' was.

"What's a date?"

"Oh Christ," Dean muttered, moving immediately to his feet and leaving the room.

Sam let out an exasperated sigh at his brother, turning to Jack to explain what a date was, what were appropriate date activities, and how he should act when asking you out and when being out with you.

"Okay," Jack said with a nod despite not really understanding. "What are dates for?"

"They're between people who are interested in.. getting to know each other," Castiel said as he took a seat beside Sam across from Jack.

"So... like when Dean and I went driving."

"No. Not like that," Sam quickly said. "Not like that at all. If – if a guy is interested in a girl, like interested in having her be his girlfriend, then he might ask her out on a date. It's a romantic thing."

"The librarian does seem to be interested in you, from what I’ve heard," Castiel said with a pointed look in Jack's direction.

"I think you've got a shot," Sam agreed, nodding.

Jack thought for a moment before he said, "okay."

A few days later––Dean insisted he only try a few days later, saying anything less was damaging his honor––Jack returned to the library, lighting up when he found you were still working at the small front desk, your nose buried in a large box full of papers. Large, round glasses were hanging off the tip of your nose, and you pushed them up to your eyes when they slipped further off.

The door clicked softly shut behind him when he entered, scanning the room as if there was another reason he was there. You watched him the whole time, continuing to when he approached you, something obviously on his mind.

"I was wondering..." he trailed off, losing himself in your bright, expectant eyes. When he realized he'd fallen silent, he added the first thing that came to mind––a lie. "... if you could show me where the... books are."

You chuckled before you said, "which ones?"

"Maps," he said, smiling as he came up with something actually substantial.

Of course, it wasn't asking you out, but at least it was talking to you. He would have to do that later, though he supposed he'd have to do it that day or he would be disappointing the Winchesters and Castiel when he came back to the bunker without even trying to complete their orders.

"We don't really have a maps section, but I might be able to help you if you tell me the time and place you're looking for," you suggested for him, and he nodded slowly.

"Yes. Please."

"So what are you looking for?"

"Oh. Right, uh.. Greece and Mediterranean," he said, repeating subjects from the last time you'd spoken.

"Mediterranean sea?"

He nodded.

"What year?" You asked.

"Uh..." he drew another blank, "two... hundred."

You seemed reluctant to ask the next question, but it was necessary; "before christ or after?"

"... before."

"Alright," you said with a soft snicker, moving around your crowded desk area and towards the bookcases.

Your stride slowed as you approached a certain shelf, shifting up onto the tips of your toes to reach the highest books. Jack thought of offering his help, but he wasn't much taller than you––if at all––and he didn't know which books to get down.

Four thick books ended up in your arms, and you heaved them over to the nearest table, letting them thump down heavily. You spread them out, flipping rapidly through the pages till you found the proper maps you seemed to have memorized within each of the books.

"This one's about 900 BC to 200 AD, so it's got a bit wider of a range. Includes the bigger cities. This one is.. 1500 BC to 300 BC, so a little bit within range, has a lot more cities," you said, moving from one textbook to the next while Jack stared at you, enamored by your plush lips.

He barely even noticed that you finished your explanations, nor your quick words mentioning you should probably return to your studies and leave him to it. But he reached out on instinct, grabbing your wrist and tugging gently, convincing you to turn back to him. Your eyes, still bright, retained that same patient expectancy as his previous evening with you.

"I... could you talk to me?" He asked, oblivious to the implications read clearly by you.

"About what?" You asked in return as you stepped subtly closer.

"About fairies."

You paused, your eyes widening slightly.

"The ones from Celtic folklore or... like modern media fairies?" You asked slowly, slinking down into a seat you situated to face him.

He did the same, his feet planted firmly on the floor as he watched you, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Just... the oldest versions of fairies."

You nodded, again slowly as you pursed your lips.

"Well the oldest mentions of them in literature actually comes from ancient Greece, from the Iliad, by Homer," you began, immediately using your hands expressively as you spoke. "Those weren't Celtic fairies, though. Greeks considered creatures like satyrs and such to be fairies, as well, so... generally fairies and the fae as we think of them now came from Ireland and Scotland."

"Where are they?" He asked with a head tilt.

You stuttered for a second, your eyes flying across the room until you stood, returning to the shelves. He watched with much humor as you read the book titles at a frightening pace, fingers flipping over the bindings till you pulled one down.

"Here, world map," you said, and though he didn't notice, you didn't comment on the oddity of not knowing where Scotland and Ireland were. Almost everyone knew where those two countries were; or, at least, the general area.

"In Ireland fairies are seen as simply... mythical people. Great warriors and poets, or witches, they're all considered part of the fae in Celtic culture. In Scotland, though, fairies are more dangerous, essentially being creatures that feed off humans in one way or another," you continued. "Like... banshees, those are Scottish, and jack o' lanterns."

"Jack o' lanterns?"

He'd heard of banshees before; they were mentioned a few times by the Winchester brothers.

"Not like the Halloween pumpkins," you said, but when you were met with further confusion, you slowly said, "...and you don't know what those are either, do you?"

He shook his head reluctantly.

You spent the next two, whole hours talking to him, going over any question he had no matter how much you thought he should've known the answer to begin with. Jack relaxed into that feeling, into that ease, while suspicion grew in your own mind. There was no one of his age and stature that didn't know the questions he posed. Still, you found yourself unable to pin any such wariness of manipulation onto such a polite boy.

Engrossed fully in whatever you had to say and rarely speaking himself, Jack absorbed a number of facts about the fae. About their trickery and mischief, about their magic, how different species had different thoughts on humanity. Considering the lengths you knew about other subjects, none of what you told him occurred to him as suspicious. You seemed, again, to be a dedicated––but human––scholar.

When at last he exhausted his questions, both on and off topic, he began a build-up of courage. Asking someone out for a case should've been much easier than this, or at least that's what he thought. Dean mentioned he'd done similar things for other such cases.

Jack's face scrunched up in deep thought despite the silence between you.

"Are you alright, Jack?" You asked.

"Oh. I'm... fine," he said, nodding his head in a way that didn't convince you all that well. "I – I wanted to ask you something."

You nodded, gently helping him along.

"I know we don't know each other that well, but... you.. interest me, and.." he trailed off once more. It was difficult to tell a lie that was technically the truth. "I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. On a date."

He expected a number of things from you––perhaps anger, perhaps embarrassment, perhaps shock, but you just chuckled, leaning back in your chair. His brow furrowed at your odd reaction. Were you laughing at him?

"Was that what you wanted to ask me when you first came in?" You said through your giggles, your soft skin glowing in the warm, early evening light.

"... yes," he said, huffing out his own chuckle as his eyes fell to the floor. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," you said with a grin. “You’re the one who had to listen to me ramble.”

"So.. will you..?"

"Yeah," you chuckled, nodding. "I enjoy your company as well."

A smile made a permanent home on Jack's face as he returned to the bunker, his official mission having been successfully completed, and his hands still burning with the touch you left as he walked out the door. While most of the town smelled like baking pies and cinnamon cider, the bunker carried no such warmth, and smelled more like rotting leaves than anything else, though Sam lit a couple apple candles in his room. The scent filled part of a long hallway.

He found his fathers all sitting on a single couch, facing a television that had some sort of film playing on it through the static. Jack silently stepped round the nearest chair, taking a seat beside them, and watching on intently. A soft, high note hummed from the speakers.

Red, ratted curtains pulled way for sunlight streaming through dust-filled air. The wooden windowsill had a vase in which a single, molted flower sat, most of its petals having fallen off long ago. But that wasn't where the camera stopped; it halted above the image of two women tangled in sheets similarly worn down as the curtains were, requiring many patches over large holes. One had their face pressed to the other's neck, her nose nudging a sharp jawline owned by still sleeping eyes. Their limbs were knotted tight together, chest to chest, and a quiet, sleepy melody humming out of the smaller's pale lips.

Jack frowned. He'd never seen two people so physically close together. The nearest thing he'd seen was Dean and Castiel hugging, and even that was reserved in a way. This was pure trust––pure peace, and he found himself wondering if it was entirely fictional, or if such happiness could really exist in the world that at times felt poisoned.

Maybe it did exist if you found a way to smile that brightly.

He earned a whole other course of schooling once he announced their plan was successful. Dean clapped him proudly on the back, shooting a dirty grin that Sam countered with clean praise. Even Castiel seemed to be proud. Jack beamed at that, his heartbeat now pounding at the thought of three days from now; when he had planned the date.

In the meantime, the brothers stayed up for most of the night, though they looked much worse for wear that morning than Jack after he stayed up with them. Researching faes was actually a little easier than a lot of other monsters––there were many articles about them, and a deeply-engrained fear of changeling children had led to thorough documentation on the fae realm and its inhabitants. Jack was still a little slow at typing, so Sam captained the computer research, while Jack sped through the books in the bunker's library. Dean looked through articles and stories in newspapers searching for any hint of where they children might be kept if they weren't immediately killed.

The more he read about fairies, about their habits, their composure, and their lies, the less he could picture you as one. Originally a fairy brought to mind someone beautiful and fair, or someone like you, with dazzling eyes that could stop an archangel in their step. But the sharp teeth and wicked, wirey hair didn't sound at all like you. He'd felt your hands––once brushing over his––and there were no claws or stinging sensations that lingered in your touch. Still, the Winchesters probably knew better than him, and he pushed the feeling aside.

In the next evening, after Dean took a long day nap, Sam and Dean set to packing up their tools and tricks once more, tossing them into the back of the impala with the rest of the permanent fixtures. Jack watched as they did this, his hair still neat and clean despite not sleeping or washing up for two days.

"Can I come with?" He asked in the politest voice he could manage.

They were headed off to the library under the cover of night. After hearing about several back rooms Jack noticed during his time there, a reasonable question was posed––was there more information you could be hiding?

"Uh –" Sam began, only to be cut off by Dean saying –

"No. If we get found, that's fine, but if you're with us, we lose your relationship with her."

Before Jack could reply Dean climbed into the drivers seat, followed by Sam clambering in beside him. He had issues getting into the car at times. The engine stuttered to life, and Sam waved good-bye through the windshield as they pulled and drove the car away.

Jack frowned, his brow knitted together again.

"Bye," he said, but he was the only one to hear it.

Castiel would be back soon. He decided waiting in the library would guarantee he'd see Castiel as soon as possible, something he desired, as there were a number of new questions he wanted to pose to the elder angel. Thousands of years his senior, Castiel must've had answers––some sort of insight to some strange impulses, or simply comfort against 'wrong' thoughts.

Technically your library was private, meaning others weren't allowed to take your books away from the building, but you allowed him to take something home under the assurance of a guarantee. He would return it next time he saw you, a promise that clearly meant a lot to you going by the ease that overtook you when he said 'okay' with a signature, sweet smile. The only reason you leant the book to him was because it contained information you considered thought-provoking, thoughts about how humanity evolves, and how technological advances could change the actual anatomy of the human mind. Some of the claims seemed to him to be a bit of a reach, but others brought him interesting points.

The metal latch on the door let out a resounding click as the door swung open, Castiel standing behind with wild hair and a stunned look about him. He flung the door shut before running down the stairs towards Jack.

"Have they gotten back from the library yet?" He asked as he approached.

"No, they left..." he glanced at the clock, "a couple hours ago."

"Hmm," Castiel grumbled. "That's a long time for them."

"Should we go help them?" Jack suggested, setting your book aside as he stood straighter in his chair.

"No, we'll give them some more time. See what happens," he said before he set off, jogging into the hall.

Jack sighed as he slumped back into his seat, almost mourning the death of an easy excuse to go see your library. And Castiel left before he could ask him anything. Dean had a point, though––if they were caught and he was with them, that would ruin your relationship entirely, and that was something he, for some reason, despised.

It took another hour and a half before Sam and Dean were waltzing back in from the garage, tossing their duffel bags aside and shucking off warm, autumn jackets to side chairs. Something must've given away their presence, as Castiel was quick to reenter the main room.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Like shit," Dean said, not even bothering to stop as he passed Castiel.

"We didn't find anything," Sam clarified. "Whole place was clean."

"Well.. maybe it's at their house," Castiel said almost gingerly, turning to keep his ever-vigilant eyes on the elder Winchester. "All the tools and... stuff."

"Yeah, that's what we're hoping," Dean said as he disappeared into the hallway.

"When did you say your date was again?" Sam asked, turning to Jack, who blanked for a moment before he answered.

"Two days from now," he said.

"Alright, well... we'll see what happens," he said with a nod, setting his hands on his hips. "Hopefully find where they might be hiding the kids."

Dean reentered with a bottle in hand, taking a quick swig as he settled down into one of the cushier chairs.

Jack's heart sped when his fingers began to fidget together, squirming restlessly in front of him. Questions still lingered on the edge of his mind, and answers from anyone would do him well, though he was well aware Dean would probably be reluctant to offer any advice to him.

"Could I ask you some questions?" He asked in the general direction of Cas, who happened to be standing right beside Dean. Castiel opened his mouth to answer.

"Sure," Dean said before he could speak. Castiel promptly shut his mouth after that.

"I know this shouldn't get in the way of the case, and it won't," Jack said as he took a seat opposite Dean. He and his brother shot each other glances. "I just have strange... thoughts, when I am around the librarian. Impulses, kind of."

Dean, who had raised the bottle to his lips, paused at those words and set it down instead, a decision that shocked both Sam and Castiel.

"What kind of impulses?" He asked in a flat voice.

"I want to... eat them," Jack said slowly, his brow furrowed deeply as he looked at the ground. When he looked back up, all three men were staring at him.

"You want to what??" Castiel asked.

"Like.. put my mouth on them...?" He tried.

"Wait – you mean kissing?" Sam asked as he shifted his weight between his feet.

"N... no, I don't think it's that," Jack said, though he was growing even less sure of himself with how they continued to gawk at him.

"You want to make out with the fairy?" Dean asked with a look that screamed 'unbelievable'.

"Maybe?" was the best answer Jack could offer.

Dean sighed, rubbing his face tiredly with his free hand.

"I don't want to.. encourage these thoughts," Castiel said, "but they might help on your date."

"So I should kiss them?"

"Maybe at the end of it," Sam suggested.

"And... how do I kiss?"

"Fuckin' –" Dean muttered under his breath as he stood, leaving the room with annoyance in his scowl.

The three of them––Jack, Sam, and Castiel––watched Dean round the corner and disappear.

"Ignore him," Sam said.

Sam, with some help from Castiel, patiently re-explained the happenings and ongoings of dates, from conversation topics to activities often done on dates. Sam assured Jack that he needn't do anything dramatic, over the top, or especially original, since Jack 'wasn't actually going on a date,' a phrase that made him a little sad for a reason he couldn't identify.

A bouquet of chocolate roses lay in his hands, the neon and florescent lights of the convenience store flickering and buzzing above him. Sam insisted a good way to start a date was with a gift––conventionally flowers, but the second Jack saw the chocolate roses he was entranced. He'd never seen candy in the shape of something real. Surely you would be delighted by the art, as well. Sam was less sure than he was, but allowed him to buy it with a chuckle, muttering something about how he wouldn't need to get chocolates anymore.

"Now remember," Sam began as he adjusted Jack's collar, "blood-soaked iron is what kills them, but since we don't have that right now, I think iron should hurt them."

"Forks, fire pokers, metal pipes... those usually have iron in them," said Dean.

"And if you get into a fight, just get out of there," Sam finished.

"No hanky-panky, either," Dean said.

"Dean," he hissed, slapping his brother's arm.

"What's hanky-panky?" Jack asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nevermind, just––be safe, have fun," Sam said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

The brothers dropped him off at your house before circling the block in search of a good vantage point. He took a shaky breath as he climbed your steps, soon rapping his knuckles on the plain, wooden door. It was a bit of a task trying to swallow, but he managed to push past his tight throat and put a smile on his face.

Footsteps sounded, growing closer until the door opened, revealing your wide eyes and the olive green silk you wore, draping elegantly from your chest down to your feet. A heavyweight scarf rested upon your shoulders. The warm light of the hallway behind you illuminated the loose strands of your always messy hair, but the sight still had his lips parting as he gasped softly. He felt suddenly out of place in his simple button-down, pants, and everyday jacket, shifting his weight almost uncomfortably as he found himself at a loss for words.

"You look... really nice," he said rather awkwardly, gesturing vaguely to your outfit with a dopey smile.

"Thanks," you said, chuckling. "You look nice too."

He stared for another moment before he suddenly remembered the chocolate and foil roses in his hands.

"I got these for you," he said as he handed them to you, scanning every inch of your reaction. "Sam told me to get flowers, but I think this is better, ‘cause then you get to eat them."

"You actually can eat roses! They just don't taste very good," you giggled, fixing your hair as you took them, a blushing smile still on your face. "I do like chocolate more, though."

"Oh, good," he said, his shoulders finally falling from their tense position. "I hope you don't mind walking. I don't know how to drive."

"I like walking, actually," you said as you walked past him, trotting down the front steps of your house. He followed along, his soft brown hair flopping like a puppy's ears over innocent eyes. "I like taking walks at night, but I don't take them a lot. It's kind of dangerous."

"Why?"

"A lot of people aren't very nice, or they're down on their luck and make poor decisions. I don't want to get hurt or mugged just because I like wandering around."

"Why would someone hurt you? You're such a nice person," he said with a frown.

"That doesn't mean anything," you laughed softly.

Food wasn't a particular attraction of Kansas, but few things were. The amount of restaurants in town was high, most of them serving a very similar menu containing lots of meat, barbecue, pie, and sometimes funnel cake. None were all that classy, so Jack took you to a place that Sam recommended––a nearly 24 hours open cafe whose kitchen was always open, and who hosted quiet, live jazz on select evenings.

You and Jack spoke of a number of things while you walked, none more interesting than any of your previous conversation topics, as you seemed to want to stay on the topic of him as a person rather than the history you usually rambled about. You asked who Sam was, which he explained as one of his fathers, at which point you asked who the second was. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should tell the truth or formulate a more normal-person lie.

"I... my mother died in childbirth," he said, his voice uncharacteristically low and quiet, murmuring with the sureness of his trust in you. "My father, Castiel, takes care of me, with his brothers, Sam and Dean."

"Oh. I'm sorry," you murmured, and he opened his mouth to give the usual speech––it's alright, I've gotten used to it––but you continued with, "it's an honorable way to die."

He paused to absorb your words. No one had ever said that before.

"Yeah," he finally said. "I guess you're right."

"So what's your father like?"

He sucked in a breath, forced to once again decide between a truth, a half-truth, and a lie. Like with most things, he took the middle road.

"My genetic father isn't... I don't talk to him," he said.

"Oh."

"But Castiel is good. He always tries to do what's right. I'm still trying to learn about this whole.. being-alive thing, from him."

"I think we all are," you chuckled.

You ended up ordering for him when you finally got to the cafe, standing in line for only a few minutes before you were looking for a table. He had trouble understanding the menu, often asking you what things were, and eventually you had to gently push him on to let the next people in line have a turn. If this bothered you, it didn't show.

Piano and saxophone played in time with one another, their rhythms and melodies dancing around the beat of the drummer. Scant, warm light shone from above, illuminating the haze of clouds drifting from smokers, most of whom stood in the corner, nursing the embers as they watched the musicians play. Jack tapped his foot to the beat against the dark oak floor.

You joined him a moment later, two coffees in hand and your coat draped over your arm.

"Have you ever been here before?" You asked as you took a seat, casting your jacket over the back of the chair after you set the coffee down.

"No, I don't really get out much," he admitted.

"How come?"

"I don't.. really have friends," he admitted, again, though this time much more reluctantly. He'd heard that generally people respected you more if you had friends.

"That's alright," you said, leaning back with a soft smile made only more alluring by the dim, red and orange light. "I've found it's more fun to stay in than to go out sometimes. Everything becomes the same after a while. You can drink at home, you can dance at home, sing, host parties..." you sipped from your steaming cup, ".. so, obviously, I don't go out much either."

"You have friends, though?"

"Not really," you chuckled, glancing down. "Books last longer than conversation, generally."

"Then... why talk to me?" He asked, attempting to meet your eye with that knot still tucked into his brow.

"Because you came to me."

Soon your conversation was halted by a server bringing out your food. You made sure to thank him as he left, before hungry eyes settled eagerly upon your funnel cake. Unwrapping the napkin, you set the orange cloth on your lap, revealing your silverware. Jack followed your lead, copying your motions near exactly down to you rubbing your hands together excitedly.

He'd never tried funnel cake before, leaving him to melt as he took his first bite.

"Good, isn't it?" You chuckled through a full mouth.

He nodded ardently.

The crowd began to thin halfway through your meal, turning thick conversation to quiet murmurs confined to singular tables in corners and shadowed areas. Jack still had yet to find anything incriminating about you, an answer that led only to other questions, ones that flew wildly around his head.

You didn't seem human––at least, not entirely. There were things you said that hinted to something else, a knowledge within that was a little too wide for the lengths of a human mind. That and your soul; what he could see of your soul was strangely colored, florescent holographic, and warped far more than normal people's usually were––almost as warped as Sam and Dean's souls now were. Bright, yes, but warped. Something had happened to you.

But there was nothing bad within you. Darkness tinted the edges, the edges so often scraped by the world around you––the world around both of you––but the center within, where your heart emanated, was clear. It was actually rather beautiful; you were rather beautiful.

He wished he could tell you without seeming strange.

"What do you think about most, Jack?" You asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.

He instantly stuttered, as what he'd been thinking about was you, but he couldn't say that.

"Just.. uh, my, uh.. my place in the world," he said, tapping the end of his fork on the old wood table.

"Like your job, or your purpose as a human?" You asked as you sipped from your third refill of coffee.

"My purpose, sort of," he said, his eyes flickering to the ground. "I have a lot of responsibility. My father thinks I'm very powerful."

Was that giving too much away?

"What does he want you to do?"

"He wants me... to stay alive," he said, earning a soft chuckle from you that had a smile spreading across his own face. "I think he wants me to be safe and happy."

"That's a wonderful goal," you said with a grin. "And there are so many ways to achieve that."

So far he'd only found ways to achieve the opposite––how to antagonize the world by existing, how his grandfather wanted him dead, how his genetic father would use him for any power grab he posed. If you wanted to feel at risk of dying at any moment, he knew a thousand ways to do it.

"I haven't really found any," he said quietly.

You paused before you asked, "do you want my advice?"

He nodded, hesitantly at first, but sure of himself when you smiled softly.

"Always be kind to others. Mind your own business unless someone is getting hurt, and if you have to get your hands dirty, do it for only a second. Then get the hell out of there and wash yourself clean for the next hundred couple years," you said.

There it was again. A hint of something more. In passing conversations Jack heard from strangers, no one spoke like they lived history. Not like you did. And he'd wager no historian spoke with the sense of memory that you did.

"Anything specific make you realize that?" He asked, unable to stop himself from chuckling.

You looked his age––sometime in your 20's––but you spoke like an 80 year old. Something about that facade appeared humorous to him. He also looked your age––sometime in his 20′s––but he spoke like a 10 year old far more than he liked to admit.

"Family drama," you said dismissively. "I've been steering clear for a while now."

Did fairies have families?

Well, if you were a fairy, you could just be lying then.

Jack frowned. If Dean or Castiel were here, they would know what to say and think.

"I understand," was what he said instead.

The impala was still parked near the house by the time Jack was walking you home, a sight that nearly sent him panicking. Sam and Dean wouldn't want him to do that. So he clenched his fists in his pockets, his shoulders tightening ever so slightly as he tried to slow his pace in a way you wouldn't notice.

But you did. Of course you did.

"You alright, Jack?" You asked, matching his pace.

"Yeah, I just..." what was something normal to say? Something he could back up – "I meant to ask you something, but I didn't ever... find the time to."

"What was it you wanted to ask?"

He shivered as a brisk wind picked up, the dry, orange leaves on the edges of the sidewalk passing quick by his feet in the breeze.

"Do you think everyone feels this lost in life?" He asked, barely audible above the wind.

"There's a little bit of you in everybody, just like how there's a little bit of everybody in you. You're capable of the same things that a murderer is just as you are a... a hero, or a martyr," you said, taking time to think before you spoke. "Humans are remarkably similar, you come to see after a while. And even Gods face these questions, these wonderings of their origins and their purpose, if their creations are everything they're meant for or – or if they're doing something wrong, and they should be doing something else instead."

He continued to stare at the ground as you walked slowly side by side, brought out of his intense expression by something soft flopping over the back of his neck. His heart thrummed as you stopped him there, turning him to face you, and looking him in the eye as you fixed your scarf on his shoulders. The effect was instantaneous––his shoulders relaxed and the stress fell from his brow, absorbed in the warmth of your gesture.

"Whatever you're going through," you gave him a pointed look, telling him silently to not deny this truth, "is worse and better than what other people go through. It may not be the best but it's probably not the worst."

Your advice, though insightful, didn't mean much considering his problems had to do with the continued life or prompt execution of the entire universe by a bitter, old man. But the main point remained; there were more painful deaths than his, just as there were better ways to die than he would or will. He may not be facing the best circumstances, but they could be much worse, and the fact that normal humans often asked the same questions he did was more of a comfort than he thought it would be. Perhaps he really was connected to his mother in that way.

The steps creaked beneath your shared weight as you both approached the front door of your house. You opened the door, stepping partway through the threshold before you turned to him, hesitation lacing your open mouth.

Behind you, Jack managed to spot two shadowed figures running across the hallway towards what he presumed to be a back door. His eyes widened imperceptibly and he pursed his lips, quick averting his gaze back to you.

"You're special, Jack," you said quietly, scanning him with a careful look. "Don't let bad circumstances own you. You only get so much time in this world."

"You're very kind," was all he could managed to respond with. "Thanks for... going out with me tonight."

"Of course. I like talking to you."

"I'm glad you do," he said with a sheepish chuckle, one you mimicked as you fixed your hair.

"I'll see you again soon?"

"Yes, I – oh," he interrupted himself, remembering your scarf still enveloping him, "this belongs to you."

"Don't worry about it," you said, taking his arms and settling them back down to his sides. "It's kind of cold out tonight, and I'm assuming you're walking home... aren't you?"

"... yeah," he lied, blood rushing to his face at the thought of taking a piece of you home.

"Then I'll get it back another time," you said, smiling.

You hesitated to close the door again, and instead you gingerly moved forward, raising yourself to press a single, soft kiss to his cheek, the edge of it just barely touching his lips. His mouth parted in surprise, but before he could say anything you shut the door.

He walked back to the impala completely starstruck.

"I don't think they're dangerous," Jack said, restating what he'd said earlier to Sam and Dean on the drive home––he just couldn't see you as suspicious. Strange, yes, but not murderous.

"If what you say is true, though, then this is quite likely a fae," said Castiel as his eyes flickered from Jack to Sam and Dean.

"See? Facts are facts, kid," Dean said, pointing to Castiel with a smile.

"Hexbags, crystals, actual photos with them from, like, 1890? And the amount of plants," Sam continued with a slight shudder.

"How many plants were there?" Castiel asked, frowning sternly.

"Too damn many," Dean answered for him. "The point is, we gotta interrogate that thing."

"They didn't do anything wrong!" Jack said, his voice tripling without his knowledge.

Everyone in the room reacted accordingly––stiff postures and sharp breaths as the golden light faded in his eyes.

"Jack..." Castiel began hesitantly, his voice quiet and low.

He barely uttered out an 'I'm sorry,' before he turned and left, disappearing down the hallway and into his room.

It took him nearly a whole day to leave his room, having spent most of the time alone to brood and ponder over his actions, and whether or not he was being manipulated by a fairy creature. He couldn't deny the fact that there was a chance he was wrong and he was under your control, thus landing him with the only sane decision, somehow; trust Sam and Dean.

Silence surrounded him as he padded through the bunker, headed towards the kitchens after not eating for nearly 24 hours. Technically he could live without food for much, much longer than that, even without sleep, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience.

When he reached the kitchen he also found it empty. In fact, the whole bunker sounded empty, leaving all the cereal for him. He smiled.

Sam and Dean returned before Castiel did, though after their return they hid away doing 'private business' in the basement area. Jack tried to ask what it was they were doing, but Dean curtly brushed him off, sending him back upstairs to go clean up the mess they left in the kitchen after a quick, midnight dinner.

As he was scrubbing the dishes, a door lock clattered in the distance, marking Castiel's return. Now that the fort was manned again, he could sneak off to see you in the morning. Castiel informed him that showing up at people's houses at midnight could be seen in a very bad way. He knew you wouldn't judge him, but he still didn't want to embarrass himself, and it was only a few more hours to wait till dawn.

He could fly. He could also ask Sam or Dean to drive him (while he could also ask to drive Baby, he knew the answer would be an ardent no), but the grey clouds promised rain, and the smell of rain hitting the leaf-covered earth pleasured his mind. With your scarf wrapped around him, he could avoid the cold as well.

His feet were a little tired by the time your library came into view, though still warm in the crisp air from fuzzy, woolen socks. The frayed edges of your scarf fluttered about chaotically in the wind as he noticed something rather odd––the library wasn't open. None of the lights were turned on, the chairs were still atop the tables, and you were nowhere to be seen. He had left the bunker a little early, but you always opened by 5AM at the latest, and it was 8 now.

For several minutes he hadn't a clue as to what to do, meaning he stood motionless in silence in front of the glass door, his head tilting slowly to the side in confusion. Maybe you woke up late––that would explain it. You were perfectly safe in your bed, dozing after a good night's sleep, completely unharmed.

But things rarely worked out so easily for Jack. Your home was empty, no sign of your disappearance left as your shoes, jacket, keys, and wallet were still left by the front door. In a sudden panic at the thought of your absence, the world around him flickered for a split second before he appeared in the bunker's war room. Knowing the usual fate of the people he cared about, you were probably being hurt, perhaps kidnapped by the actual fae who'd been killing the children, or lost of your own volition in a forest you wandered too far into.

"Castiel." Jack grabbed the angel's coat sleeve, stopping him on the way to the stairs. "I went looking for the librarian and they're missing."

"Missing?" Castiel repeated with a grimace. "Did you check the library and the house?"

"Yes, I couldn't find them."

"They might be headed for the children," he said, sending a pang through Jack's heart that he ignored.

"Is... is there a way to track a fae?"

"There's no spell I know of," Castiel said, his gaze falling to the floor as he scanned his mind. "But if it's a magical creature, it may carry a sort of... a sort of scent."

"A scent?" Jack furrowed his brow, wondering if something could carry your scent.

Something you'd been around a while. Something like your books, or your bed, or –

Jack jumped after he realized he was still wearing your scarf which, despite its' time with Jack in his room, still smelled of you. He shoved it into Castiel's arms, but he only gave him a confused look.

"It's their scarf," he explained.

Castiel spared him from the embarrassment of explaining how he'd gotten it.

He held the crumpled scarf in his hand up to his nose, intaking a deep breath with closed eyes. Jack hadn't ever heard of this kind of tracking, which was odd since he inherently knew most things about angels, but he would never distrust his father. What he did distrust was the churning feeling in his chest, as though a curved knife had impaled itself in him and twisted slowly through his skin.

Doubts pervaded both angels almost immediately as Castiel followed the trail. It led near to the stairs, but took a harsh turn and went into the hallway, leading them further into the bunker.

"Are you sure this is theirs?" Castiel asked as they hurried down the hall.

"Positive," he said, earning a sigh and a nod from Castiel.

They continued, this time less sure of themselves, as the scarf continued to lead them through the bunker, trotting down stairs till they landed in the base floor. Here the walls, ceiling, and floor were made of thick cement, allowing their footsteps to echo around the empty halls.

Jack picked up the pace and Castiel followed, running after the trail that ended right in front of the dungeon door. The torture room door, where monsters were locked up, and sometimes friends as well. A sort of fury was boiling in his blood despite his earlier acceptance of the Winchester's plan. Keeping you here in secret was never something he agreed to.

Without even fully realizing it, Jack was wrenching open the handle, the door whizzing open and slamming against the wall with a resounding crack. There, in the center of a pentagram, you were bound to a chair with thick, iron chains, your molted form flanked by Sam and Dean. The latter carried a knife in his hand, one covered in dripping blood. Sam whirled around at the sound of the door opening, meaning he was the first to see Jack's glowing eyes, and the suddenly panicked expression on Castiel's face.

"What are you doing to them?" Castiel growled with wide eyes, taking long, quick steps over in front of you. Without hesitation he undid the restraints, letting you fall down to the floor.

"Cas, they're a fae," Dean said, his tone stern and curt.

"No, they're not," Castiel replied, his own voice equally as sure. "I can't.. blame you, for not knowing this. You're only human. But it's obvious to me."

Sam opened his crossed arms, waiting for the angel to explain himself. Meanwhile, Jack regained his composure after being shocked by Castiel's actions, and made his way over to you, kneeling at your side. You'd been cut in a few different places––nothing too grievous, at least not by Winchester standards––and drops of your blood painted streaks down your sweaty skin.

"They're an Old God," Castiel finally said, but the words were followed by silence.

"We're just supposed to know what that is?" Dean asked gruffly.

"I thought your brother might," he said in a quiet voice.

Dean unfolded his arms, shifting his weight as he cast a glance to his brother.

"Old Gods are... ancient deities created by wandering bands of hunter-gatherers in your past. They got their power from their worshippers, not from Chuck, which... made them very different, to say the least," Castiel continued, still keeping his voice soft as he raised his hand above several of your wounds, stitching the skin back together with his grace.

"I've heard of hunter and gatherers," Jack said as he recalled some of the books in your library. "They wandered in bands of around 50 to 100 people."

He earned several unimpressed stares.

"Well – if they got their power from worshippers, how's this one still alive?" Sam asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," Castiel admitted. "I've never met this one before."

"Okay, just because they're not a fae doesn't mean they aren't the one that killed those kids," Dean said, interrupting their short conversation.

The iron knife still twirled in his hands; the only weapon against fairies. Jack kept a close eye on it as they spoke.

"An Old God would never hurt a human," Castiel said with such an intensity that no one had any choice but to believe him. “And besides,” he turned back to you, “they would’ve lost their powers long ago when humans stopped believing in them.”

Your eyes listed open while you lay in Jack's hold, the swirling image of your friend coming lazily into view.

"... Jack?" You mumbled, struggling to keep your eyelids up.

His gaze shot down to you, eyes widening at the sight of your movement.

"Hey," he said softly, hushing you when you tried to speak. "Are you okay?"

You mustered your strength to nod.

"I'm assuming you're an agricultural God," Castiel said after a moment of watching the two of you interact. "You look to be around 12,000 years old." He looked up to Dean and Sam. "That's how old agriculture is."

"Yeah, I know," Sam scoffed, but Dean remained silent.

"Do I really look that old?" You asked, laughing through your slurred words.

"Your soul does," Castiel answered.

You hummed weakly in response, drifting back into unconsciousness, your body going limp in Jack's arms.

Jack healed what remaining injuries you had, using it partway as an excuse to touch you. His palms set flat on the cuts, and with you far off in your dreams, you didn't feel the burn or the relief of his healing. He thought first to bring to his room to lay you on his bed, but Sam gently suggested that you should be put in one of their many spare bedrooms.

Castiel and the Winchesters attempted to take his mind off of you, but it wasn't long before he was back at your side, waiting for you to wake up again. He scanned your body constantly with his mind, searching for any hidden injuries he might've missed the first time around. The case remained unsolved, the children still missing and the culprit unknown. Your disqualifying left the Winchesters with no more suspects, but Jack couldn’t bring himself to worry about a creature that wouldn’t strike again for another ten years when you wouldn’t wake up to his voice calling your name.

It took hours until you stirred again, eyes fluttering into a half-open state as they fell to Jack. He had his head hung low, his elbows leant on his knees, and his hair drooping in front of his face.

"I was created in Turkey," you rasped out through a dry throat.

At the slightest sound his head shot up, eyes widening with a spark upon seeing your soft smile.

"It's a country, by the way," you mumbled, correctly assuming Jack didn't know the country, and only knew the bird. "At a place they call Gobekli Tepe, now. The people of the land would... would gather there, and share their cultured seeds, and the magic needed to make them grow."

"Magic?"

"Simple water and sunlight," you said with a weak chuckle. "It was magic to them. Everything was."

You fell silent before you said, "I miss them."

"Were they different? From people now?" Jack asked.

"Very," you nodded assuredly. "But there are some people, nowadays, that remind me of them."

He chuckled quietly. Warmth spread from your touch when you reached forward, just barely gracing his hand with yours. He took the initiative, entangling your fingers together, and watching intently as your thumb ran over the back of his hand.

"You are a new God, aren't you?" You asked, narrowing your eyes curiously, with no sense of hostility.

"I'm... I'm a nephilim. Lucifer's son, actually, but I promise I'm not like him," he said, gripping you tighter.

"A nephilim?" You asked with a frown.

"The son of an angel," he clarified.

It was the first time he was able to tell you something you didn't know instead of the other way around.

"I've never heard of angels."

His brows raised in surprise.

"Really?" He asked.

"I haven't really kept up with the world as of recent. When did angels first appear?"

"I... don't know," he said after wracking his brain and finding no answer. "Castiel might know."

"Castiel.. Castiel, that was your father, right?"

"Yeah. The good one," he said, earning a chuckle from you that brought a blush to his face.

"He is another God?"

"Another angel, yes," he nodded. "(Y/N), I... I have so many questions for you."

"About what?" You asked skeptically, giving him a playful glare.

"About humans, mostly," he said. "I mean, I've already been asking you questions, but now I know you have a lot more answers than I thought."

"Yes, well, I do keep my memory stored in a mushroom," you muttered beneath your breath.

Jack frowned. Was that normal?

"Can you tell me about them?" He asked, just barely masking his eagerness.

"My people?"

He nodded, and you smiled softly, your eyes glazing over as you recalled thousands of years past.