#once that premise is accepted in my head the rest is like ok how are we getting there

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

I have no thoughts on Twins and 7 Days Before Valentaine because I DNF the first and I am binging the last one. That said many people on my dash that are watching 7 Days Before Valentaine felt bad for Q more then they felt bad about Sunshine.

For Last Twilight I am mad at it but for reasons unlreated to Mhok and Day's fight. And for the Sign, I think I half agree with you, that said it doesn't bother me nor take me out of the story for me personally.

What I did want to say is I don't think that Pit Babe was trying to make us believe Charlie is really dead. The preview basically forshadow it, plus we know Charlie and Alan had a plan, I just don't think it was going for a surpise he is alive thing.

I think the reasons it happen like that is two folds, 1 it happened that way in the novel and they have made some changes to details and plot points but they are definately keeping as much of the original structure they can. And 2 shows do sometimes focus on one character first then the next episode see what was happening with the other character, the first two episdoes of My School President did that as well.

Also I would argue that this episode cutting between Babe being devasted and Charlie's secret plan would have undercutted the emotional moments Babe was having. This way Babe's emotions had time to breath and sit with the audience.

Obviously this is just my opinion.

You know what is really bothering me about these last couple of days in Thai BL land?

Yes there were a lot of tears, but none of them were mine. (the exception being cherry magic. that sequence of Karan taking care of Achi and then being heartbroken. My heart wasn't ready)

These are my personal and maybe unpopular opinions so just let me explain. Spoilers galore as usual. We had some heavy episodes this week. Starting with 7 days before valentine and ending with the sign.

7 Days Before Valentine Look, was it heartbreaking? Sure. Did I feel sorry for Sunshine? Nope. Not even a little. Because for 8 episodes we've seen a selfish, self centered human being make a mess of the world without an ounce of remorse. Just picking people off one by one for his own selfish desires. So even if this episode was actually good, because he finally confronted his selfishness, I was watching wearing a big neon sign saying - you had it coming... the world's smallest violin etc... Also we know he's not actually gone so. (this is the recurring theme of the week btw)

Pit Babe I mean Pavel did a great job and this show is doing a great job at showing men being vulnerable and crying. But let's be real. Charlie is not really dead. We know that. Omegaverse or not, this is Thai bl and we don't play that here.

So the idea to leave the audience in the dark is an attempt at a cliffhanger but ultimately void of any real suspense. If the audience were to be let in on the plan, I'm sure there is one, then we could've felt Babe's suffering in a more profound way. Because, in my opinion, that would be more powerful. We could've seen both sides of this and felt bad for both of them. What's the point of leaving us in the dark? Am I suppose to gasp next week when Charlie appears? When what will actually happen will be that as soon as we know Charlie is alive we will get angry at him for making the person he loves suffer and next at Babe because they will get right back to the papa and mamma talk before the I'm sorry leaves Charlie's lips.

Twins I mean, there wasn't really a lot of suffering left to be had here. I was the only one suffering due to the fact that this show really waited until the last episode to make Sprite come clean. And to top it of, making First feel even more like a door mat by forgiving Sprite so fast. What a waste.

Last Twilight I've already said my peace about this show a couple of times. I did feel Mhok's pain. Him alone crying outside the house was heartbreaking. But the problem is how it happened. Idiotic. The catharsis didn't have the time to actually be cathartic for Mhok. The noble break up was not noble. So in the end I cannot emotionally connect to any of this. They threw Mhok's nightmare in there in case we'd forgotten about his baggage, or maybe because they had, so that sudden confession of Mhok had diminished impact as it was followed by the break up which of course is the real heartbreak I guess.

The Sign What is up with the editing of this show?

I already said somewhere last week that I thought the editing of the rescue was terrible because it was not done as to invoke any emotional impact. The same happens this week.

What the hell was that cut after Phaya woke up? We had like 15 seconds of them looking at each other and Phaya reaching out before they cut to Dr ican'tkeepupwiththenamesatthispoint and then to the police story line that let's be honest, it's taking space from everything else that's more interesting and it's not giving us anything of value in return. Stop putting everything but kitchen sink into shows if you can't manage it properly. If you don't have space for these stories to breathe and give me something I'm missing in the main story lines. Look I love that Phaya got up from his hospital bed and immediately went for it, but I mean what am I suppose to feel about it? The show is not letting us settle into any one emotional state long enough to feel anything at all.

And, I'm really asking. Is anyone at all interested in the police investigation? You can have a police investigation as backdrop to a story. But if you're also gonna take it upon yourself to have this massive mythological, past and present lives star crossed lovers story, then something's gotta give. Maybe just make it a case that doesn't also span generations and brings secrets and lies along for the ride.

I'm so mad at Thai bl at the moment. Not you Cherry Magic, you are my precious ray of sunshine in the middle of all this rain. Please be good till the end.

[Thank you @twig-tea for being my proofreader. You're the best. 💜]

[nirikeehan]

For the WIP ask game,

spicing up the marriage but what about dorian

Thank you so much for asking!

Lmaoooo ok SO I'm feeling out the world state of this AU, right? It's six years after Trespasser, when Thalia and Cullen got married. I've written a lot about their early relationship, but a time jump into a part of their marriage where things are very settled and not much is going on is new for me. So I said (half-jokingly, as is how many of my fics become fics) that I needed to write some smut of them as a boring married couple now. I don't write a lot of smut in general; I find it pretty difficult and usually only write it once every six months or so. And it's been ages since I've written any for this pairing specifically.

but what ABOUT Dorian?

So the opening action of my You Take the Dread Wolf AU is Dorian fleeing Tevinter in the midst of the Qunari advance into the country. He's staying with Thalia and Cullen in Ferelden as a houseguest pretty much indefinitely. So... lol. (Have I mentioned I can never write smut unless there's some ludicrous premise? like trying to bang for the first time in months while you're worried about disturbing your traumatized houseguest?)

Oh also I decided Cullen's sister Mia would be all up in Thalia and Cullen's business about why they don't have kids yet. Cullen has warmed to the idea more than Thalia has, as you'll see.

“Did I tell you what she sent me home with last time I visited? A special blend of tea she made herself. Meant to ‘increase fertility,’ she told me.”  “She did not,” Thalia squealed. Cullen nodded, stifling a chortle. “She did too.” “Maker, you didn’t put it in the tin with the rest of the teas, did you?”  Cullen laughed. “No, no. Bottom drawer of my desk. I felt bad just throwing it out.”  “Well, good,” Thalia said, vaguely mortified. “I wouldn’t want it getting mixed up anywhere and served to guests.” “Oh, she means well,” Cullen said, with characteristic defense of someone whom Thalia considered his most insufferable sibling. “After I was incommunicado all those years, it’s the least I can do to accept a gift.” He paused, and she could feel him weighing his words. “And besides, if we ever did want to, you know…” He cleared his throat. “A little luck wouldn’t hurt?”  “Having a baby while the Qunari threaten our very existence hardly sounds like luck to me,” Thalia replied archly. “And that’s not even considering the other dangers we face.”  Cullen’s eyes narrowed. They’d been on this precipice several times before, and mentally she dared him: Say it. Say his name. The moment passed. Cullen gave her a sly grin. “You know, to make a baby, we’d actually have to pay the tithe.” The shift was so unexpected, Thalia burst out laughing. “Are you making a pass at me?”  Cullen joined in with a self-conscious chuckle. “Is it working?” “Not the smoothest line I’ve heard from you, I’ll admit.” Thalia gazed at his sleepy, unshaven face, his messy mop of pale hair framed by the pillow. She leaned over and hooked a finger under the collar of his shirt. “Oh, Maker, how long has it been?”  She seemed to recall the dead of winter, a roaring fire in the hearth, drinking hot cocoa on the sofa. Long before Dorian’s plea for help had come through her end of the sending crystal, upending everything. “Too long,” Cullen murmured, putting his hand on the nape of her neck.  “You don’t—  think he’d hear?” Thalia asked, gesturing downstairs with a tilt of her head.  Cullen pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, “Not if we’re quiet.”

[densi-mber]

A/N: Happy first day of Densimber to you all! As always, we begin with decoration day. Thanks to @mashmaiden for collaborating on this story.

***

Traditions Come and Go

“Baby, I told you I could get that,” Deeks said, hurrying towards Kensi as she toted a storage container of Christmas decorations through the house.

“It’s not that heavy,” Kensi insisted, shifting the box out of his reach as he attempted to take it. “You’ve been doing everything around here for weeks. Or at least attempting to. I can manage this.”

“I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

“Baby, I appreciate that, but just because I’m pregnant—”

“32 weeks pregnant,” Deeks interjected smoothly. Kensi sighed, accepting his point.

“Yes, I am. I can also squat with a 15 pound dumbbell in each hand,” she reminded him gently. “I don’t think this is going to strain me.”

“Ok, touché.” Deeks grinned self-deprecatingly. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok, I know you mean well.” She stretched to lean over the container and kiss him. “And who knows, in a couple weeks, I might change my mind and want you to do everything.”

“You just say the word,” he said, stealing another kiss.

***

Rosa arrived home just as they were unwrapping the now dozens of decorations they’d collected over the years. An entire bin is dedicated to various ornaments Roberta had passed down.

“Oh, I’m glad I didn’t miss everything,” Rosa sighed, hurrying to set her backpack and shoes to the side. She’d woken up early to pick out a tree with Kensi and Deeks before heading out for classes.

“Like we’d start without you,” Deeks scoffed. He patted the spot on the couch next to him. “Grab a seat and start unwrapping.”

“What is this?” Rosa asked, grimacing at a freshly revealed horse with pink hair and an oddly creepy expression.

“Grandma Deeks’ idea of a joke.”

“She said it was a family heirloom,” Kensi added.

“I don’t remember seeing it last year.” Rosa turned the ornament from side to side, seeming caught between interest and mild disgust.

“Yeah, that’s because we usually never, ever take it out,” Deeks explained. He took it from Rosa, tucking it back in with the rest of the unwanted and boring ornaments. “I’m thinking maybe this year it should meet with an unfortunate and tragic end. Do you think a fiery death is plausible?”

“Or we could just pass it on to our beloved oldest child,” Kensi suggested with mock innocence. “Keep the tradition going.”

“Oh, no thank you,” Rosa said quickly, raising her hands as she chuckled nervously. “I’m good. Though I wouldn’t say no to that aqua one over there.”

“That’s one of my—mmm.” Stopping mid-thought, Kensi rubbed a hand over her lower ribs, wincing for a few seconds.

“Was it croissant or donut this time?” Deeks asked.

“Donut, I think,” Kensi replied, arching her back. “I swear these kids are practicing for a soccer match with how much they kick.”

“Are you ok?” Rosa checked.

“Yeah, they’re getting stronger, but I’m fine. I guess they just wanted to join in on the fun.”

“But maybe hang out for a couple more weeks,” Deeks suggested, resting his hand over Kensi’s stomach.

“So, do you want to put the outside decorations up when we’re done here?” Rosa asked once they had lights strung around the tree.

“Actually, since things are going to be extra crazy this year with all the baby prep, we decided to just decorate inside this year,” Deeks explained.

“But you love Decoration Day.” While initially bemused by Deeks’ excitement last year on December 1st, Rosa had quickly been caught up in the general festivities and greatly enjoyed the entire premise.

“I do, but it’s only one year.” Deeks couldn’t deny he was a little disappointed at the thought of missing out on one of their traditions. He knew they’d barely notice though as everything picked up in the next few weeks.

“You know I’d help,” Rosa offered. “I can hold the ladder and even go on the roof if you want.”

“I really appreciate that, Rosalind, but you have your classes and finals to study for. It’ll be ok.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s not the first time it’s happened,” Kensi said. “The year we moved here, we were so busy packing and going to showings that we never got around to it.”

“Next year we’ll just have to do something extraordinary to make up for it,” Deeks suggested.

“Now, that worries me a little bit.” Not sounding worried in the least, Kensi pushed herself off the couch.

“Where are you going?”

“To get those Christmas cookies you guys made,” Kensi replied. “You should never decorate on an empty stomach.”

[chefdoeuvre]

Aftermath

Jay Halstead

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Sister!Reader

Description: People always tend to forget about the aftermath.

Words: 2,122

Requested: yes by anonymous; second, if it's ok i wanted to request a part two to the imagine? i was wondering if you could just explore the aftermath of her assault, as she continues to heal and accept what's happened to her. by this i mean experiencing ptsd and having nightmares, flashbacks and dealing with certain triggers. also, maybe she could still sometimes turn to substances as many survivors do, and just break down sometimes. obviously since it's a halstead sister fic and i love the support system in the last story, i'd love to see jay helping her through everything and being super protective + some scenes with the rest of intelligence? but it's obviously up to you. thank you so much <3

Warnings: mention of drinking, sexual assault, drugs, language, PTSD, Jay Halstead and all of Intelligence being the best.

A/N: This is the long awaited part two to Infliction, and by long-awaited I mean like a month later. I tried to make the end light hearted because it seemed like a good way to go. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.

—

It had been a few weeks since the party and things were beginning to look up. You and Brayden started hanging out more and it was safe to say the two of you were on your way to becoming best friends. The group of guys had all been arrested and sent far away from you. You, Jay, and Will have been having more frequent family movie nights instead of them heading out to Molly's every free night they got. Intelligence had basically adopted you as one of their own and even went out of their way to hang out with you. Kim and Hailey had girls nights away from the ever-annoying guys they work with. Adam and Kevin practically chauffeured you to hangouts with Brayden and took you out to your favorite diner on the weekends. Even Hank had called you once in a while as a check-in and to keep you informed about your case. Overall things seemed to be getting better for you.

Except for one little detail. Your PTSD was hitting you like a truck. Of course, the only person who even remotely knew what was happening was Brayden because he was the one person you spent most of your time with. Thankfully he was there to help ground you and calm you down when it all became too much for you. This wasn't sudden, it's been building up since it happened and clearly you needed to work on accepting it rather than shoving it all down. That's one thing you and Jay had in common, the two of you always had trouble addressing your problems no matter how big they became.

Currently, you were laying in bed and staring up at your ceiling that Jay had covered in stars for you. If there was one thing about you is that you still are a child at heart. You had been shocked awake by your recurring nightmare. It always followed the same premise of the night of the party but every night there were either different people, points of view, or different actions you took that still led you to the same outcome. There were dried tears staining your cheeks that you hadn't bothered to wipe away and every few moments there would be a soft sniffle to break the eerie silence.

Having enough of staring up at your ceiling you let out a low huff and pushed yourself up to a sitting position. You turned to the side and looked at the clock resting on your nightstand. The clock read 4:19 AM which was clearly too early for you to be up but too late for you to try and go back to sleep before Jay's rustling while getting ready would wake you up. Reaching over to open the drawer in your nightstand you checked the small bottle hidden under the glasses case that held your blue light ones. It was three-quarters full of vodka you had inconspicuously stolen from Jay's cabinet. You kept promising yourself that you wouldn't drink anymore, but clearly, that wasn't really panning out in your favor. Sure you would have a swig or two before braving yourself and heading off to school but it was to take the edge off, not to get drunk.

If Jay were to check through your drawer he'd probably think otherwise. You had stopped with the pills since he had found you, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him so you continued to drink. Obviously, it wasn't a lot and definitely not enough to get you drunk off your ass. You just wanted to be buzzed enough to have the courage to walk into your dreaded school every morning and deal with the numerous triggers you kept on discovering.

Eventually, it was time for you actually start getting ready for school. Jay had already left for work a while ago, leaving a kiss on your head before stepping out the door. You pulled on a random outfit that was comfortable and your usual pair of shoes before throwing your backpack over your shoulder and walked downstairs. Deciding against your worst judgment you made the choice to brave the day without the buzz of alcohol. Waiting at the front entrance of your building was Brayden. Like every morning the two of you would walk to school together if Jay had to go into the district early. If Jay only had paperwork that day he would drive the two of you to school instead, but that didn't happen very often.

The two of you walked to school silently, only exchanging a few words of greeting. Once you had made it to the large building you both had to split up for your classes. The day went on like usual, boring teachers droning on about upcoming assignments and tests. Lunch had arrived after what seemed like forever and you sat at an empty table practically half asleep. You held your head in your hand as you kept your eyes from slipping shut at the exhaustion.

"You not feeling too hot there?" One of your classmates from English asked as he passed by.

You froze at the familiar words before shaking yourself out of the memory.

"Fine, just tired." You brushed off their comment as he nodded with an understanding smile before continuing to his table.

Moments later the door opened and you picked your head up reluctantly. It was a few guys on the football team.

"You not feeling too hot there?" One of the seniors asked you.

You simply shook your head which only worsened the pain in it. The boys walked a few steps closer before placing their hands on your shoulders. They shoved you back onto the bed and immediately your body began to react.

You kicked and punched aimlessly to get them off of you but your movements were uncoordinated and your mind was foggy. There were too many of them and they began to overpower you, their hands wandering to unwanted places.

“Y/N?” Brayden’s voice pulled you out of the flashback.

“Huh?” Your teary eyes darted around his face before focusing on his concerned expression.

“Let’s head to the library, all right?” Brayden suggested already standing up from his seat across from you.

You nodded silently before hiking your bag over your shoulder and walked to the library beside him. Luckily at your school, they were lenient enough to let you head to the library during lunch. Usually, the kids didn’t take advantage of it but it was an unspoken spot of peace for you and Brayden.

The two of you sat at a table near the back and Brayden pulled a chair up beside you.

“Want to talk about what happened back at lunch?” Brayden asked softly.

You bit your lip in contemplation. This had been happening for weeks and every time you’d shake your head and change the subject. But the fact was it wasn’t getting better and you just needed to tell somebody that you weren’t okay. A few tears slipped out of your eyes which led to quiet sobs escaping from your lips. Brayden offered you a hug with outstretched arms, making sure to check if you were okay with it. You leaned forward into his embrace and squeezed his waist tightly. He held you there while rubbing soothing circles on your back until your cries stopped. You lifted your head off his chest and wiped away the remained tears on your cheeks before speaking up.

“Uh, flashbacks. I’ve been getting them for a while. I thought they’d go away, but they haven’t.” You explained with a sigh, avoiding his gaze and instead taking interest in your hands.

“Okay first, if they happen again tell me, or pull on my sleeve and I’ll get you somewhere quiet. Got it?” Brayden bent his head to try and get into your eye line.

You nodded your head with a hum before he spoke up again, “since they haven’t gone away maybe you should talk to someone. Preferably a professional, but if you’re only comfortable telling me then I’m all ears. Although, I’m not sure that I can cure you with magic, wish I could though.” Brayden tried to lighten the mood with his magic comment.

“Thanks, Brayden. Jay actually has been bugging me about seeing a therapist. Said it helped him with his PTSD, I think I might take him up on it.” You looked up at the boy with pursed lips.

“That’s good. Just know we’re not trying to force you into anything, we just want you to feel better however long that may take.” Brayden gave you a soft smile.

“You are wise beyond your years, you know that?” You smiled back with a small laugh.

“I try, I try.” Brayden shrugged nonchalantly.

“Can you come with me to the district after school?” You asked cautiously.

“Of course, not like I’d rather do my homework.” Brayden laughed.

“And there’s the Brayden I know.” You smiled widely.

Soon enough you and Brayden had been making your way to the twenty-first district to talk with Jay and probably the rest of Intelligence. The air was lighter between the two of you once you had finally started to open up. Of course, you hadn’t spilled everything but the little you had told him made the weight on your shoulders lessen slightly.

“Ah, baby Halstead and company, what brings you here?” Trudy greeted from the front desk with a tight-lipped smile. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she had a soft spot for you.

“Can you ring us upstairs? I need to talk with Jay.” You asked.

“You’re lucky they haven’t caught a case today.” Trudy walked out from behind her desk and led you and Brayden upstairs.

“Thank you, Trudy.” You smiled and followed the woman.

“I have a special delivery for Detective Chuckles.” Trudy spoke up once the three of you reached the top of the steps.

Jay’s head snapped up from his desk with a look of confusion when his eyes landed on you. He quickly stood up and scanned you over for anything.

“What happened, are you all right?” Jay cupped your cheek in concern before sparing a glance at Brayden for any sign of something bad.

“I’m okay, I just needed to talk to you.” You reassured him.

“All right. You wanna head into the kitchen?” Jay asked.

“No, we could talk at your desk. They’re all gonna find out anyway.” You gestured to the rest of the unit who was watching the two of you intently.

Jay nodded his head and led you to his desk. You reached out and held onto Brayden’s arm as you pulled him along to take a seat and sit beside you. Of course, at this, the entire unit had gathered around with concerned faces once you started to explain to them. Jay’s expression was held with soft eyes as he listened to you agree with wanting to try therapy and asking for help.

Once you were done Jay stood up and placed a kiss on the top of your head before whispering into your hair, “I’m proud of you.” Jay pulled away to give you a warm smile.

“All right come here you little muffin.” Kim held out her arms with a smile.

You stepped forward into her embrace as she squeezed you tightly, she rocked the two of you from side to side eliciting a small giggle out of you. Hailey joined the hug with a laugh once Kim pulled her by the arm.

Antonio placed a hand on your shoulder once you, Hailey, and Kim pulled away, “I’m proud of you, kiddo.” He offered you a kind nod.

“So proud.” Kevin gave you one of his signature bear hugs.

“Okay, it’s my turn.” Adam squeezed his way to stand in front of you. Which caused everyone to laugh at his eagerness.

“I could never forget about you, Ruz.” You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as he lifted your toes off the ground.

“Are we done yet? You guys are treating my sister like an attraction.” Jay sassed.

“You’re just mad that you only got to kiss me on the head and not a hug.” You retorted from leaning back into Brayden with a smirk.

“No, not true.” Jay shook his head with furrowed brows.

“Yup, totally jealous.” You nodded convinced.

“How did we go from a serious topic to Halstead and mini Halstead having a sarcasm battle?” Adam questioned with a confused expression.

“I learned to stop questioning it.” Brayden shrugged from behind you.

“It’s how we cope. Halstead thing, I guess.” You said with raised brows.

“Fair enough.” Jay sighed.

[avengerscompound]

1. Clint cam girl. Yes please. (I don't even know exactly what this is about but all the variations I can think of are still desirable.)

2. I saw you post the masterlist for the Tony small gods and got so excited for it!

3. Steve journalist. Is this like Clark Kent? Because if so, I am expecting Steve with glasses. 🤣

4. Ironhawk?!?!?!??!!? Whoa!!!!!

5. Recruit. Ok I am intrigued, what's the premise/synopsis of this?

Also I can't believe you only have 5 WIPs and knowing you, 2 is probably more done than in progress. Lol

Clint camgirl is Clint dating a camgirl. I will now say something that only means anything to you and maybe 3 other people, but I fucking love Jade and she made me want to write a fic with a camgirl as the protagonist.

Here's a little snippit:

Clint moved quickly around the table and wrapped his arms around you.  “Hey - hey.  It’s okay.  Did I say something?  I’m sorry.” You hid your face in his chest as you started crying properly.  “No. No. You’re fine.  Perfect.” “Then why are you crying?” he asked. “Misogyny,” you answered. Clint started laughing.  “You’re crying because of misogyny?”

2. Yeah you're right. The Small God's Tony one is done. I just figured I'd put it as a WIP because I am just posting it now (though I didn't include the pain in serendipity because it only has one chapter left to post).

3. Lol once again the document title is misleading. It's Steve dating a journalist and probably the fic I'm most excited about writing (or maybe tied with the Recruit) right now. I think it might end up being a big long thing. I wanted to write a fic where you got to see a lot of fine detail in the dating life part the way I did with my first fic. I usually skip over shit a lot because of repetition. Anyway, I've only just started it so I'll see how I go. They're still just in the interviewer and subject mode of their relationship.

You shook your head in disbelief.  “You ever wonder what the things we all accept as true now will be looked at as being completely crazy in the future?” Steve thought for a moment and when he spoke it was almost like he was talking to himself.  “Circumcision.” You nearly choked on your soup, which made Steve laugh, and he leaned over patting you on the back.  “I’m sorry.  It was the first thing that popped into my head.  I mean - that wasn’t even something people did much out of religious reasons back in my day.” “You’re totally right.  They brought it in in the fifties to stop men masturbating, but I wasn’t expecting Captain America to bring up circumcision,” you said, still laughing. “I’m so sorry,’ Steve said again.  “God - I can’t believe I did that.” 

4. CYOA IronHawk is the IronHawk x reader part of the choose your own adventure. I'm getting toward the home stretch on it, but I'm getting stuck on some paths a little.

When Tony’s laughter subsides he takes a long drink from his mimosa, almost draining it in one go.  “You’re talking like I never have groups sex, Clint,” he says.  “I have it all the time.  Three, four, groups of ten or more.  Why would I need to do this again?” “Can I interject for a moment?”  You ask.  “Exactly how strong should the antibiotics I buy be?” Tony dropped his jaw in mock shock.  “You slut-shame Tony?”  He says playfully.  “Jail for you for a hundred years!”

5. The Recruit is something I am loving writing. It's also the one I asked your opinion about a while back (quite a while back tbh you might have forgotten) when I wanted to know what you thought was a big enough polyam group for even a very open-minded person to go 'okay damn that's a lot of people.' Reader x Steve x Sam x Bucky x Clint x Nat x Sharon. Reader goes on a blind date with sam who's just there because he can't tell Joaquin that he's dating all those people and he can't keep saying no. They end up hitting it off. He proposes that the rest of the group date you too. On the way out of the building you save Tony from a gunman and he recruits you to be an agent.

You began to cut up the onion, garlic, peppers, and corn as Sam buzzed around the kitchen getting different things out and starting to prep the seafood.  “You okay with spice?” he asked. “Oh yeah, go crazy,” you agreed.  “Make me regret being born.” Sam burst into laughter and nudged you.  “That’s what I like to hear.  Steve is a complete pussy when it comes to spice.  The guy can lift a car full of people over his head but put pepper in his mashed potatoes and you’d think he was dying.”

And yeah, honestly, my writing has slowed a lot lately. Used to do between 2-3k words a day now 2k is a lot and it's more like 500-1000.

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Back here with another episode of:

Read Part 1 here!

If you’re on mobile, and tumblr hates this post, follow along on this google doc!

Rules/overview this rewrite in the beginning of Part 1

Alrighty then, so let’s just jump into it!  

- - - - - - - - - - 

Recap! So when we last left off, we had just finished off Act 1 of the story. We’ve used the character introduction segments and the gambit feature as a means to give more life to everyone, without sacrificing too much cutscene time. Allowing us to save and focus the major story details and set up on the more cinematic cutscenes.

I had forgotten, but after Part 1 came out, an anon pointed out that Impa’s character introduction could use some work, and while you don’t need to read it right now to understand the rest of this post, I encourage you to look at it eventually to see the strengths and flaws in the original Impa introduction, and the reasons for my rewrite changes! All you need to know is that eggbot was lying around, deactivated, but when in proximity to the Sheikah Slate, was turned on like other Guardians. Eggbot being activated by the Sheikah Slate is kinda brushed over in the original game? But in my rewrite it’s gonna have some later significance. Also during the Royal Lab cutscene, I want Robbie or Purah to mention how Zelda’s control of the Sheikah Slate is quite exceptional or something. It’s a bit obvious already in Hwaoc, but I need it to be verbally said in a story scene for, again, later significance. Alright that’s it for my added details, moving on now. 

After Chapter 1, we moved into the characters accepting the Call to Adventure, whether by the general external reasons of wanting to save the world, and developed a little bit further with more internal related reasons to give nuances and identities to different characters. Revali wishes to prove that his hard work earns him better merit than a sidekick, Urbosa wishes to protect and help Zelda on an emotional level, Mipha wishes to get closer to Link and come back to her family proud, etc etc. 

Then, the climax of Act 1 ends with the Yiga ambush, and the characters get a first taste of leaving their areas of comfort, and journeying into the unknown world. Although the gameplay and the successful defeat of the Yiga establishes the Champion team’s strength, our interaction with Rhoam shows us that they still have a ways to go. The momentum into the full story now has a bit of tension and conflict. 

So now we crash into the beginning of Act 2, the longest Act in a story, as it’s the part where the....story, happens. Let’s take a look at changes to the Hollows, eggbot mysteries, Zelda character growth, and our first real dip into the character of our antagonist, the Prophet of Doom himself, Astor…

So in the game, Chapter 3 opens on the flank of Death Mountain, our heroes overlooking the view of Korok Forest.

There are a few problems I have with this scene. It’s really stale, there’s no movement, nothing dynamic about it other than the opening shot. They just kinda stand there and say words until Revali’s done ranting and summons Medoh. Also Revali’s dialogue is a bit “much” to say the least, and uh, spoiler alert, he’s gonna be reworked a bit more than the other Champions. Finally, this scene doesn’t have a lot of purpose or substance. Sure, it has some character conflict with Revali and Link and the team, but that’s kinda established already, plus it’s something that I’ve already fleshed out in the last scene with King Rhoam, so it’s a bit redundant. So that leaves this scene serving only as a boring current draw to the Medoh fight and nothing else. This is the opening set up for the Chapter where important story stuff goes down! Needs a lot more substance. So! Here’s my rework. 

We open on the sound of running. Link, along with Zelda, Urbosa, Daruk, and Mipha are running upwards on a path by Edlin. They’re chasing a small group of bokoblins and it looks like it’s the end of the fight. Urbosa is more near the back, with Zelda, but Daruk and Mipha both kill a bokoblin, their bodies of the monsters exploding in a cloud of malice upon their demise. When the camera shows each of their kills, the shots are quick, but I want the angle of the camera to be in such a way that the malice evaporates center frame, with Daruk and Mipha being behind the malice. This is because for a split second, it looks like the malice lingers around them like smoke. Huh, I wonder if that’s foreshadowing or something.

Anyhow, Link chases the final red bokoblin uphill, boots pattering against rock. However, we’re now seeing this from a moving, flying, bird’s eye view [quite literally wink wink] 

Cut back close to Link, he kills the bokoblins. Stands there for a sec as he sheathes his sword. And then...

“Well I’ll be plucked. You defeated it, eh?” 

Reveal Revali flying from above, and he lands in front of Link, but faces away from him. “Who would have thought that some little knight, amongst a group of chosen heroes, would get some action. You must be pretty proud of yourself, hm?” Cue that classic Revali head turn with a glare. Also when Revali says “heroes” I want him to flick his scarf dramatically, while staring at Link’s armour, as if internally he were judging Link on a runway.

Zelda runs up and starts speaking. “Oh Revali, I apologize our meet up with Medoh got a bit delayed. I assume that you’ve already positioned them by now for the attack?”

Revali hums a yes, but doesn’t bother to entertain a more fleshed out answer. Instead, he flicks his wing (as if to say, “come on”) and turns his back to walk up the trail. The others follow.

“I was informed that only the Champions and yourself would be present. What are…” Revali flicks a wing in the direction of Link and eggbot, like a Karen shooing a waiter. “...they, exactly contributing?”

Zelda says some stuff about Link being her bodyguard like: “Well, my father was impressed enough with Link’s actions from the other week that he’s assigned to give me further protection.’ She can say this a bit grumpily, to Link’s ignorance. Daruk can pipe in like “And a good thing too! Always great to have little guy at our backs.” and Mipha can nod sheepishly or something. But their dialogue is cut off by another rude interjection (because hell if Revali wants to listen to more rambling about Link)

“Right, right. And this thing is still around?” Revali gestures to eggbot. 

Zelda: “Well, This little one's technological prowess has been quite useful in battle, allowing us to access the rune functions and all. So I figured it’d be a big help should something unexpected happen. Plus...” cute shot of Zelda staring at eggbot, “it just...feels right.” Then the little eggshit can like, chirp happily or make some cute whistle or whatever. Just shove in a bit of that egg fanservice, might as well since I need to better establish its presence for later.

Revali mutters something about “big help,” before gesticulating with his wings as he continues walking up the trial. “Mooore like a big liability should anything happen to your little pet, and one of us be forced to risk our lives just to save it from becoming scrap. Honestly, when it comes to you, and you.” Revali points to both eggbot and Link, “Your presence is an entire waste of time. ‘Backup?’ Help?’ Tsk. Humouring.” Eggbot can make a noise or something while Link just tilts his head. Revali continues: “You’re only here because of a non-existent, fantastical, imaginary hypothetical in which I somehow fail, and I don’t, fail.” When he articulates that last part, he stops walking and does another little head turn/glare, but he still doesn’t bother to fully face him. “I’m sure that your duty will no longer be of importance once your reputation...is nothing but a memory overshadowed by today’s great feats. A forgettable knight, heh heh!”

“Revali,” Urbosa sighs, “How long do you expect us to put up with your showboating and prattle?”

That when Revali finally turns fully to face the group, with a more grim glare. They’ve reached the top of the ledge anyhow, so they’ve stopped walking. This is where the camera can view the Lost Woods in its fullest as it zooms on Revali. Then, that ending is the same as the game with the pan up to Medoh’s presence. 

“Fine. I’ve said enough. The time has come to show you what I’m made of. Now witness...Vah Medoh’s divine power!”

So that’s that. Revali is toned down a bit, and his rude remarks have more of a precision as to their point. It’s a bit hard to explain over words alone, but the fact that this scene takes place as the Champions are walking up the trail, means it’s a lot more interesting to look at. (Kinda like the walk and talk premise that you see in The West Wing) Plus, the trail being uphill establishes that hint of power dynamic as Revali is above everyone else. Also there’s just a bit of some botw dialogue connection, not only in just the opening, [Hwaoc Revali vs Botw Revali “Who would have thought” is put in different context based on their development, so it’s a good establishing point to show where this Revali is at in dynamics with Link in comparison to botw, all in just one line rather than in a more longer explanation] but I also scattered a few dramatic irony pieces in there heheh. There’s a lot more reasons why this scene is an improvement [and hopefully to you, it already *feels* better] but I’m not going to explain them until near the end, as its importance is connected to the later scenes of this Chapter.

In fact, that's the overarching change that I’ve made to these cutscenes, I’ve actually connected them and related them to the other scenes. This is the very first introduction to Chapter 3, after all, so it’s important that this introduction serves to be of more significance than “ok here’s the champions, here’s revali, there's medoh. Now go wreck stuff.”

Medoh’s fight is the same, the cutscenes after are mostly the same. Except here, when everyone runs into Korok forest and you see Astor, I want this scene to end not on Astor’s face (because it’s not as significant anymore since we’ve already see Astor in full in Chapter 2 with Urbosa’s stage) but it should end with Astor reaching out a hand towards the camera. The camera angle would be just a bit below Astor. This is because I want the implication to be slightly more clear that he killed those two Yiga underlings to craft the Hollows. It’s a nice little “watch it for the first time it doesn’t mean anything” but watching again it’s like “ohh how did I not notice that” kind of thing. 

Then, Hestu’s introduction is roughly the same. I don’t think I really need to rework it too much, since Hestu as a character doesn’t serve anything major to the plot, so it’s fine for it to just be fun and cute. I will however, change just a few pieces of dialogue. 

Revali: “Are we even making progress? We could just be going in circles.”

Daruk: “Good point. If only someone could fly above and scout the way.”

Revali: “As though I could see anything through this muck. Honestly, do you even think before you speak?”

Revali!!! Don’t be so rude to Daruk. Like yes it’s a bit funny, but that last part with “do you even think before you speak” is a bit much, because honestly Revali doesn’t really have a reason to hate Daruk. He’s characterized as being rude to Link and those he deems unworthy of respect, but Revali respects Daruk, Mipha, and Urbosa fairly well, considering they were chosen alongside him. So personally, I’d just tweak this to

Daruk: “Good point. If only someone could fly above and scout the way...”

Mipha snickers at this. And Revali mutters more quietly to himself, “As though I could see anything through this muck.” and gives little “hmph!” at Daruk, moving away.

There we go! It still serves it purpose of showing how the Champions are still not completely in sync (which is what I can assume was the original purpose of Revali’s rude comment line) but it’s played a bit more comedic (which makes sense considering this is in the context of Hestu’s introduction) and we get to poke fun at Revali, since just early we had spent so long boosting up his ego. Also Mipha laughing a bit with Daruk while Revali broods adds to that point of them being too busy to see Hestu right behind them.

Another small change, I don’t want Zelda to discover Hestu first. I want eggbot to discover Hestu, maybe they shake their maraca and eggbot notices and gives a little curious whistle. When Zelda notices eggbot not walking with her, she looks right, and that’s when she notices Hestu. It’s almost insignificant, but I really want to establish the eggbot’s presence for this chapter. Especially since this game writes him out of cutscenes a lot. 

Final small change. That Hestu scene ends, not with Revali wordlessly shaking his head and following the group after hanging back. But with Mipha actively turning back, saying something like “Come, Revali. We should all stick together. It wouldn’t do for us to get lost.” and then a reply like “As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to mystic swords, magic trees, lucky knights, and walking eggs...I already am.” I’m just trying to keep intact that Nintendo “vibe” of flicking the character stances right in your face, especially since this game's only forms of telling the story are through these less than a minute cutscenes. 

OKAY! Gameplay stuff. There are no real mechanic or level design changes to the Battle of Korok Forest, BUT there is one important change that I want to make here. 

When the party splits up to take on the bosses in order to get rid of the malice. I think that the Hollows should speak.

Not like full on sentences and stuff (yet) but I think they should mumble and groan and be able to speak a few simple words. Now why do I say this? Well, let’s take a look at how I think we should introduce them. 

First off, I think it should be a cutscene. Not just some 2 second animation where the Hollows spawn in. Nonononononono, this needs to be a cutscene, because it needs to be acted, because we need to see the character reactions. Like, if you’re gonna have that cliche “dark evil clone of the protagonists” thing, then you might as well go all out with the angst. In fact, personally, I would have rewritten is as the hollows actually *being* the champions and astor can temporarily control them but then when he sees that fail later in the game that can be his motivator for making the blights to kill them off since they’re no longer of use to him alive or whatever but we’re scrapping that idea because like I've said I want to try to keep the integrity of the original story.

Ok, so you have a character come up to one of the map points, and when they get there it fades into a cutscene. It’s not gonna be super long, but here’s the vision. 

Character is in the lost woods, they killed a stalbokoblin or whatever. Just some low tier enemy, and then it dies and becomes that whisp of malice. Great. Character turns to leave, but then they hear something. Like a snicker, or laughter. Cut to this angle from behind the trees, but instead of astor it’s the character you’re playing as.

They go over to investigate, creeping closer with caution, until they see a shadow. The shadow of a small figure, about no higher than Link, with a long, trident weapon. 

FWOOSH! An explosion of malice, almost like a fountain behind the character. They turn just in time to block the attack, the Lightscale Trident, but yet...it’s not the Lightscale Trident, because it’s covered in malice. Hollow Mipha is striking from the air, because this is basically her fountain teleportation thing, but malice. Once the character blocks the attack, time slows just a bit so you can see Hollow Mipha’s face, and then cut to the other characters face to give them a reaction. And that’s it. 

Then you can pop back into gameplay, but there should be textboxes on the bottom where you can see the character’s surprised reaction like

[Unimportant detail, but if Daruk fights his Hollow self I want his reaction to be like “Woah! I sure look grumpy. I look like I skipped breakfast.” and then his gambit attack is like “eat THIS!” Also Revali can say something about how imitation is a form of flattery]

Through that fight, the Hollows also have like one textbox and a line of Evil™ mumbling and/or laughing once they’re defeated. The laughing is kinda used in a later scene, but it’s never really seen again so I just want that to be more prevalent. You all could probably think of more angsty “evil version of you” lines that are specific to each character, but I’m just thinking stuff like “You...won’t...last” or even just *muttering*. In fact, this is another thing that I want to flesh out with my gambit feature. It not only serves as interaction between whatever two characters you’re playing as, but also as interaction between your antagonists. So if you use a gambit on Kohga, he’ll say something specific about the characters he’s fighting. Same idea with Sooga, or Astor, and now here, the Hollows can say stuff to you.

There’s gonna be someone out there more creative than me out there that can think up some cool dialogue for them, but basically what I want to establish is that we know that these Hollows are made from people’s like, souls? Or life force or whatever you wanna call it. So it wouldn’t be farfetched to give them the ability to speak. Over the course of the game, I want their textboxes/dialogue to be more and more lifelike, like without the pauses or muttering. This is because the entire point of the dialogue is not only to serve that trope of “I’m the evil you I’m gonna say stuff that emotionally impacts you mwahaha” but it also makes them just a bit more menacing in my opinion. Also overall gameplay wise, I think they need to become stronger with the Champions because idk if it was just me, but they were so easy that I just forgot about them. 

So! Korok Forest Battle introduces these creepy mumbling Champions, people react and are a bit freaked out, but they eventually clear the malice and we hit the next cutscene. 

This is where the shit goes down.

You all probably remember how this scene goes down so I’ll try not to spend too much time explaining it. But here’s my two cents as to why I’m gonna rewrite it a bunch. I think it’s not a good villain reveal. 

Like first off, it doesn’t establish Astor as a threat. His memorable action here is the summoning of the Hollows, and while yes, they do beat up Link and that’s very good, it also let’s Link easily beat them and Astor as soon as he gets the Master Sword IN THAT SAME SCENE. There was no time to let the threat of Astor linger, and when we see Link instantly beat him once he gets his Mcguffin, it really hinders the effect of this reveal.

Secondly, everyone is just silent during this??? Like, obviously Link doesn’t say anything, but Zelda doesn’t do stuff? Astor just kinda says “kill her!” and thats about it. Zelda never says “who are you?” or “what do you want?” or anything because as far as she’s concerned this is just some random dude, he’s not Yiga or anything. Also Astor never even introduces himself?? Throughout the entire game??? So while we the player know who he is because of his fancy title card, as far as all the characters are concerned he’s just a Mystery Clown.  

It’s just super weird how no one asks any questions during this scene like no one acts like a human being with common sense. In fact, one could say that no one asks any questions for this entire game. Things just happen, and happen, and happen, and everyones just kinda chill. And then Zelda just kinda receives 17 flashbacks over the course of two minutes at the end of the game like she’s speedrunning botw memory%. Obviously having an aura of mystery over the course of your game is fine, it’s good to keep questions lingering over the audience’s head. Just so long as you answer them in a satisfactory way later on. Like, that’s not something I need to spell out for you right? If you set up a question, give the audience a good answer. If you set up a mystery, give a cool explanation. If you set up an interesting character you have to give the people a pay off that was worth their investment into them, right? Right? Right? You understand right? Cause as the writer for a story, it’s you’re to explain the significance and importance of why things happen in a creative way. It’s almost as if that’s the entire purpose of storytelling, you know, an explanation of events in a compelling manner. Like please, this is a concept that you are able to grasp right? This isn’t just me right? See that’s how writing works when setting up anything ever, you gotta give an explanation to the choices you make in the plot. You gotta explain why. You gotta explain why. Explain why. Explain why. Explain, why? Explain, why? Why? Why? WHy? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WH

Sorry I got carried away. Anyhow, here’s the rewrite. 

Link and Zelda don’t enter the forest at the same time. They run through the wooden tunnel thing, and Link makes a gesture like “go!” while he stays back a bit to hold off some monsters like stal-lizalfos or something. So Zelda runs into the center of Korok Forest.

As far as any of the characters know, this is a safe haven now, this was their destination, so there’s no monsters here, so they’re good. The princess is safe, the Champions are just cleaning up in their respective corners of the forest with the Hollows, and Link is fighting off the monsters by the entrance. So while there is still tension from the battle, Zelda lets out a sigh of relief once she sees the Master Sword. 

She approaches it, cautiously, but doesn’t step onto the stone pedestal, still staying a ways back in the grass. “We’re finally here,” she says to herself. “Now we just have to protect the sword, await for the hero to retrieve it, and await for destiny to arrive.” She looks down at the ground, and then at the back of her hand (fuck what hand was the one with the triforce, her left hand? I’m gonna say left hand). So she looks down at the back of her left hand, before letting it fall. She turns away from the Master Sword and to herself she just mutters, “I only wish that I could make as much progress in fulfilling my own role...in making myself to be of actual use, like the others.”

There’s a moment of silence as Zelda wraps her elbows and closes her eyes. Then,

“If that is what you wish,” a sudden voice echos, and Zelda spins around to face it, “Then perhaps I can be of some assistance.”

Cut to Astor, standing in front of the Master Sword, facing Zelda. Roughly where he is shown here, but Zelda is a couple feet away from him, standing on one of those rocks.

Zelda steps back in shock for a moment. “W-Who? Who are you?”

“Me?” He takes one step down the stairs. “Oh, I am just someone, same as you, who wishes to see destiny fulfilled.” Zelda takes another step back, and seeing this, he stops approaching. “Ease your mind, Your Highness. There is no need to be frightened. You may call me, Astor”

Cut to title card on his face, it can be like this, BUT, no malice or glowing magic around him, it’s all still lush green forest, and I don’t want as much focus on his astrolabe. It’s just his face, and he’s giving a warm, yet chilling smile.

Zelda is still stammering. “Y-You...do I……. how did you—”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters now is taking every step towards stopping the Calamity, correct?” Astor starts to take a step towards her again, and this time Zelda doesn’t flinch.

“Y-Yes. Yes of course. But I’m afraid I’m still a bit confused. ...What exactly do you...want?”

Astor doesn’t immediately answer. He steps off the pedestal and starts to circle around Zelda, eyeing her, but still with that creepy smile. “Tell me, Princess, how fares your recent training? Adequate progress, I presume?”

He continues circling around her, still a few feet away. Zelda looks to the ground, defeated. “I’m afraid not. I’ve been trying to aid the researchers with the Guardians and Divine Beasts. But when it comes to this power…” she looks down at her hand again. “...it seems despite my great efforts and restless hours of prayers, they have yet to awaken.”

Using his free hand, Astor places a hand on his chest, tilting his head in a sorry pout. The gesture seems exaggerated. “My...you poor thing. How harrowing this must be for you.” He continues walking, eyeing her as he circles behind. “But, I am certain it is not your fault. You are but a child, after all.”

“I…” Zelda is still staring at the ground in front of her. Astor continues.

“I mean really, have you ever stopped to think about how absurd this all is? A collection of mis-match warriors, demanded to pilot gods. A sword for an unseen hero. The lives of us all, in the hands of one girl. Expected to lead us all, awaken a divine power, and save the world, all before her 17th birthday…”

After a beat, Zelda finally looks up at him, confusion and suspicion back in her eyes. “What did you say?”

Astor stops walking, he’s back directly in front of the pedestal. The camera is on him center frame, so that when he turns to face Zelda, his figure blocks the sword. 

“Now Princess, is that truly what you want? Do you really believe yourself prepared to live up to such a monumental task?” He’s walking directly towards her now, arm outstretched. 

“I—” Zelda pauses, before shaking her head. “Of course not, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Yeesss. Precisely! You needn’t not let yourself live like this, like some beggar to the gods, like a failure.” Astor is walking more quickly towards her, and Zelda is stepping back.

Zelda lets out a gasp of fear now, as Astor approaches, there’s a swirl starting to form around the astrolabe in his hand. “I don’t understand! What’s your point, what do you want? Who are you!?”   

He stops walking, he’s so much closer now, just a foot or two away from her. “It’s quite simple my dear.” He gives another smile. “I’m a man who wants to live.”

Fwoosh! The air around them is now tinted purple, the astrolabe’s power surrounding them both. Zelda gasps again. 

“If we truly wish to see this realm prosper, we must accept the indisputable truth.” Astor reaches out his hand. “You are not worthy of saving this Kingdom. You do not have the power to oppose such an unimaginable enemy! Therefore I shall relieve you of your burden, for the sake of us all. I will steal, your, destiny!”

Astor is seconds away from touching her, before suddenly...the sound of a sword unsheathing.  

Astor flies back, crumpling on the steps of the pedestal, he looks up to see Link, sword at the ready. Link had pushed astor back with the pommel of his sword [because no stabbing or blood for our PG Nintendo game] and the motion has cause him to drop his astrolabe, which now lies a few feet in front of him in the grass. 

“Link!” Zelda says, relieved. From behind, eggbot also appears. It walks infront of Link and gives a little whistle and does that sassy pointing thing in the direction of Astor, as if telling him off. 

Astor frowns when he sees Link, but when he sees eggbot his face morphs into confusion. “You…? But I…” he glances at his astrolabe. Astor gets up to retrieve it and stands.  

“It doesn’t matter how you’re here again. You can’t stop this.” Astor summons the Hollows, and they appear in front of him. It was harder to see in the lost woods, but here in the lush grass, its undeniable that the Hollows are draining the plant life around them. 

“Kill whoever he is. Fight the Guardian if you must, though I’d prefer it intact. But don’t touch the girl.” He narrows his eyes. “Her thread shall be cut by my hand alone.”

Then it goes into that action sequence. Link is desperately fighting off the Hollows, while also trying to keep eggbot close to protect it. The hollows are laughing, even taunting him, as Astor is just walking calmly forwards towards Zelda, and Link can’t do anything to stop it. 

Then it’s roughly the same, Link flies back as his sword breaks. Zelda is kinda helpless. And then just as Astor is about to reach Zelda again, Link cries out, the Master Sword glows. Everyone looks back, confused. Link pulls the sword. Boss fight. 

After the fight and after Link defeats Astor, he’ll say something like. “That sword...is too powerful.” and blah blah blah. He looks up at Zelda. “Should you come to your senses, Your Highness,” he hisses the words, “I will delightfully accept an invitation with your company again.” He glares at Link. “Perhaps one day, when we have more time, you will fully come to understand where your arrogance is leading you.” He stands, though clutching his side in pain. “Until then, I shall make certain we meet again.” Link charges him, but he disappears in smoke and malice. End the Korok Forest arc.

Okay so! Why is this scene better? Uhhhhhhhh because it fucking is that’s why. We got 1) A villain introduction that’s more menacing 2) an establishment of character goals, but a mystery of character motivation to keep suspense 3) a more insightful look at different character’s feelings and thoughts 4) a much more interesting interaction with dialogue that raises tension and properly climaxes to the action and 5) the story’s momentum moves forward with ascending action, and new story details that set up later scenes. 

I find it absolutely absurd that in the original game, these scenes are not written with more impact. This is the first look into the real mystery and substance that the story has to offer, and the first real look into the prime antagonist’s head. The actions and stakes throughout Act 2 have to properly ascend and rise in order to truly keep the audience engaged. You can’t just rely on mystery alone, you have to make use of character goals. 

Reiterating Zelda’s internal struggles means that this can more easily connect and flow into the later segments where she doubts her ability and sees Link and the others grow stronger. In addition, Astor’s presence is a direct foil to Zelda’s arc. You can already see it a bit based on his dialogue, but I will more fully explain the true depths of how his is a direct foil to Zelda further down the line when all the aspects of his character are revealed. It’s almost as pacing the amount of information you give about a character can properly incite your audience to be more invested in the story, hmm. Anyhow, all you need to know for now is that good antagonists have similarities and aligning viewpoints as the protagonist in the beginning of the journey, much more, than you might think.

= = = = = 

That is it for now! I can’t believe I had to dedicate an entire section to just one battle. But! That is how the story must go, as I need to flesh out as much as possible in only a few cutscenes without ruining the pacing. Tune in next time for flashbacks, backstory, Yiga husbands, token Zelink hours, aaand perhaps just a bit of Impa simping. 

[celestias-right-hoof-mas-au]

WARNING: Although this particular chapter does not depict violence or cursing, future installments will. As this story is based on an adult parody of MLP called The Mentally Advanced Series. I would encourage that if you had not watched it to do so to get a grasp of the world in which this takes place. Many of the jokes, lore, and otherwise are in reference to MAS, not just simply My Little Pony. I have also made a supercut that includes every reference and appearance of Celestia in the series. In case watching the entire MAS series maybe too time consuming. If you find Celestia, or other canon characters, used in crude and unpleasant depictions offensive, this is your warning. However, I would appreciate that you take a look anyway with an open mind. Celestia Supercut Link

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   The morning sun shimmered through Valiance Ascalon’s window. The large pale horse finished packing her briefcase and donned her metallic purple and gold armor. Her parents, a large albino shire and a dusty unicorn, awaited her along with the whole town of Salo at its entrance for Valiance’s departure.

   “... And remember to mind your manners, she is generous, but easily disrespected.” Valiance’s mother, the unicorn, warned as she stood on her back legs to give her daughter one final hug.

   “I know, Ma. You’ve told me several times.” Valiance replied warmly, returning the hug.

   “Don’t you forget about us either, write to us when you get the chance.” her father, the shire, said gruffly.

   “Yes, Pa, I knooow.” Valiance teasingly replied as she also gave him one more hug, “I’ll be sure to write to you as soon as I get settled.”

   “Hey, Valiance!” called a young colt who squeezed his way through the crowd, “I heard you’re going to Canterlot to work for Celestia. You better be nice, or she’ll have ya flailed!”

   “Junior!” the colt’s mother barked, slapping him in the back of the head.

   “Ow! What’d I do?! I was only telling her the truth!” the colt yelped, rubbing his head.

   Valiance chuckled, adjusting her helmet on before kneeling to the colt, “Thanks for the warning, but I think I’ll be ok.” She gave his mane a good ruffling before rising to her hooves. Within a few short strides, all she ever knew was behind her. Then, for one last time, she looked back to the town and proudly declared, “Hail Celestia!”

   “Hail Celestia!” cheered the villagers as they watched Valiance make her leave and waved goodbye.

   The town of Salo was located on the dryer half of the Hayseed Swamps where its residents lived in relative isolation for generations. Its closest neighbor was Dodge Junction, and even then, the walk Valiance had traversed, had taken from dawn to the early afternoon. It wasn’t the first time she had visited the junction for its train station, however, this time was different. Whether it was with her parents, with her classmates, or helping any of the local farmers deliver goods, Valiance had seen her fair share of mainland Equestria, if but briefly and never alone.

   Butterflies aggressively fluttered in her chest once she sat down in her seat on the train. The pony adjacent to her only quickly flipped through his paper as she attempted to gain his attention.

   “Sorry,” Valiance blurted out, “I’m quite nervous, it’s the first time I’m riding the train alone, heh, what about you?”

   The business pony shot her a look with half opened eyes, “Lady, it’s my job.” He flipped his paper to shield himself from the bizarre mare, yet her striking size and armor left his curiosity to be satisfied. Closing his eyes and taking in a sharp sigh, he threw his paper to his side and asked, “So what's your story?”

   Though the stallion could not see her face underneath her helmet, a gleam in Valiance’s eyes shimmered and a smile grew on her lips, “Oh! I am on my way to Canterlot to serve no other than Princess Celestia herself!”    “That explains the getup, but why would you wanna do something like that?”

   “Why wouldn’t I? What could be more meaningful in life than serving Celestia herself?”

   The stallion paused for a moment before lightly chuckling, “I get it now. You’re one of those cultists, aren’t you?”

   Valiance gasped, “I-I beg your pardon? A cultist?”

   “Yeah, every couple of years some loons come outta the woodwork sacrificing foals in the name of Celestia. It makes sense too, since you’re here at Dodge Junction. You probably swam outta the Hayseed Swamps, didn’t you?”

   “Well… yes. But I assure you, we’re not cultists. And we don’t sacrifice fillies. How could you say that to someone you just met?”

   “Hey, don’t worry about it.” He smiled while patting her shoulder, “I’m a cultist too. There’s a bunch of freaks and weirdos like us in the city. You’ll feel right at home.”

   Valiance sunk deep into her seat, regretting opening her mouth. As the stallion returned to his paper with a comforted smile, Valiance hoped her new acquaintance's words were exaggerated.

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

   It was late afternoon when the train had finally reached Canterlot. The cultist gave a friendly wave as Valiance rushed off trying not to look back. She quickly looked towards the station’s clock and noted, ‘I better grab a room so I can hurry to the military signup office before it closes.’ She briskly booked a room in the closest hotel she came across and rushed to the castle. With five minutes to spare, Valiance slammed the door open to the enlistment office.

   “Excuse me, there’s no need to cause a ruckus.” the front desk pony insisted as he shuffled a stack of papers, “How can I help you?”

   “I’m so sorry, but I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to sign up.” Valiance panted, removing her helmet.

   “Eager to enlist? Never heard of that before. Well, here’s the papers, be sure to read thoroughly and don’t pretend like we didn’t warn you.” the secretary grunted as he handed Valiance a stack of documents.

   Valiance thought to herself aloud, “Wow, who would’ve thought it was so easy.”

   “That’s what they all say.” the secretary winked, “Let me know how it goes in a month. They always beg to get out.”

   Valiance’s signature sealed her fate in every document and with a smile stamped across her face, no less. Her stomach was tingling in excitement as the secretary looked over her papers.

   “Welcome to the royal army, soldier.” the secretary remarked while stamping her documents, “You’re in luck, the next boot camp starts up in a few days. Here’s a card of where it will be and what time. Don’t be late, cause we’ll find you if you are.”

   Valiance took the card while she giggled and jumped in place. Just that morning, she was back at home, and now she was working for the God Princess herself. Suddenly, she stopped, “Won’t I need a physical and mental examination of some sort?”

   “Sure. But that’ll come when boot camp starts. Not to mention, you look healthy enough. But between you and me, everypony gets accepted. Where do you think the masked guards come from?” the secretary asked as he leaned in closer, “Just don’t ask them about that. In fact, don’t ask them anything, ever. Don’t talk to them.”

   Valiance tightened her lips, “Thank you. I’ll, uh, be sure to keep that in mind.” Slowly she backed out of the office, wishing the secretary a goodnight, and into the evening air. With the amber glow of her magic, she wrapped her mane up as tightly as she could before placing her helmet back on. Despite the secretary’s warnings, Valiance didn’t feel any less enthusiastic about her success. She stretched and cracked her neck, wanting nothing more than to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to her hotel room for some much needed rest. Thinking back to past field trips as a filly, she recalled the castle garden also led to the entrance and began to make her way through there as a shortcut.

   Inside, beautiful plants of nearly every kind flourished. Contrastly, horribly disfigured marble statues with faces of pure fear and agony drew the eye from every direction. ‘I don't remember the sculptures in the garden being so… what was it? Avant-garde?’ Valiance thought as she looked at a statue of a goblin-like creature mooning her, a lone pigeon sitting right on its exposed bottom.

   "They say that my work inspired the art of Jeffrey Dahmare." A low voice echoed from behind. Valiance froze at the sound and slowly turned to face the source. Towering over even her, hair glistening in the colors of day, stood the God Princess, Celestia. A confident smirk graced her lips, “Do you like it, Pale One?”

   Before Valiance’s knees could buckle from Celestia’s poise, she kneeled and lowered her head, “Your majesty, it’s an honor to be in your presence.”

   “I couldn’t help but be drawn towards your armor. It’s a vintage design. Where do you come from?”

   “The village of Salo, ma’am.”

   “Salo, you say? My, it has been a long time since someone mentioned that name. One of the few populations I needed not show force for their cooperation. Your people’s naivete is amusing, however, your innocence is admirable to an extent.”

   Valiance held her breath, unsure of the princess’ intentions behind her statement. Yet, after a moment, she replied with slight shakiness, “Much obliged, your majesty.”

   “Tell me, why are you here, Pale One?” Celestia asked.

   “As you said, our devotion to you is as strong today as when Salo was founded. To serve and to die for you would be my greatest honor.” Valiance replied humbly, “Today, I signed up for the royal army, in hopes of bringing glory to you, and the ponies of Salo.”

   Celestia’s eyes narrowed and her grin grew wider. After a few moments of silence, Celestia turned away towards the castle. As she departed she called back to Valiance, “I expect nothing but the best from my soldiers.”

   When Celestia left the premise, Valiance sprinted out of the castle grounds, heart pounding, and mind racing. Rushing to her hotel room, she threw off her armor, leapt onto her bed, and screamed into her pillow. Not a more perfect day could’ve existed for Valiance and in a few days her dream of servitude would begin.

   Before then, Valiance pulled out a pen and paper and began a letter to home about her first day in Canterlot.

[babycracker]

EXUSE ME 24 FOR MANNER PLSJDKDKSKKDLSL

👀 i may have gotten a little carried away. also i don’t use the exact words from the prompt, but the premise is still there lol. i hope it’s still ok!

24 from this prompt list, nsfw prompt and answer under the cut!

“first one to come is the loser”

--

"I bet I could get you off with one finger."

Tanner smirks as his hand slips down Morgan's body, unbuttoning her jeans and letting his fingers slip into her underwear. She raises an eyebrow, the challenge instantly accepted and she clears her throat to drive away the gasp she almost lets out when he touches, trying not to let him know he's got her.

"I bet I can get you off with my hand before you do."

"How much are you willing to bet?"

He holds her gaze, pushing her roughly back against the wall behind her with his free hand as she follows suit, sliding her hand into his pants and wrapping her fingers around his shaft.

"You'll lose."

She whispers against his lips as he leans down to kiss her, but she jerks her head away from him before he can deepen it.

"No kissing, just your finger."

She warns him as she starts slowly moving her hand on him and he gives a short nod.

"Deal."

He braces himself with his free hand on the wall beside her head, leaning down a little to be able to reach her more easily as his finger circles her clit more deliberately. He grins when she arches towards him, though the movement is barely noticeable.

"What does the winner get?"

He asks after a moment, sliding his finger down to push it inside of her, pumping it slowly in and out. Morgan smirks and speeds her strokes up just slightly once he's hard in her hand.

"If you can get me off first you can come down my throat."

He swallows, his breathing growing heavier as she starts twisting her wrist on every upstroke but keeps up her slow pace.

"And if I come first?"

"You tell me."

He doesn't miss the slight tremor in her voice when he pushes his finger further into her, her walls tightening around it as though to suck him further in, and he can't help the way his dick twitches in her hand as his mind involuntarily reminds him what that feels like when he's inside of her.

"If you win I'll let you tie me up."

She raises an eyebrow in surprise, not having taken him for someone who'd be okay with being restrained, but he just looks back at her until she nods in agreement. Another smile crosses his face and she bites back a disappointed groan when he pulls his finger out of her and returns it to her clit, his circles faster and more controlled this time.

She removes her hand from his pants, spits on it and then returns it to its place, jerking him faster and a little rougher and smirking in satisfaction when she drags a groan out of him.

"It's not looking good for you, sweetheart."

She murmurs in his ear, but he just chuckles and pushes his finger back into her without warning, curling it forwards this time and making her gasp.

"I'd say it's pretty even so far, sunshine."

She rests her head back against the wall, watching his face for the small twitches he gives that tell how close he is. She stops her rough movements for a moment, stroking him slowly a couple of times and tightening her grip to feel the veins throbbing against her palm before picking her speed up again.

"You wanna come already, I can feel it."

She tells him with a smirk, glancing up to see his hand has curled into a fist against the wall. He doesn't answer, his chin dropping to his chest and his brow furrowed as he lets his finger brush against her g spot a couple more times before returning it to her clit again, this time lightly stroking over it.

She moans despite herself and her eyes fall closed, not even realising that her hips are rocking into his hand, trying to get more pressure. He swells even more in her grip and Morgan swears under breath before biting down on her lower lip, trying to push away the urge to rip both their pants off and slide herself onto him.

"Christ, you're so fucking wet."

He mutters without even seeming to realise he's saying it out loud. He knows exactly what he's doing, touching her just enough to keep her on edge and she knows that it won't be much longer until all he needs to do is press against her the tiniest bit harder whenever he feels like it and she'll be done for.

She wants to get his pants down so she can jerk him off properly, the restrictive clothing making it difficult for her to get full strokes in now that he's fully hard, but he's managing without getting hers off so she's determined to do the same. He turns to whisper to her suddenly, his breath against her ear sending a shiver through her whole body.

"Your body's begging for it."

She shakes her head defiantly, but even as she does she can feel the movements of her hand getting choppy and her stomach tightening up as any reply she might have had catches in the back of her throat.

Her free hand grasps frantically at the lapels of his jacket and she moans out loudly as he presses his finger against her roughly and then pushes it back inside of her just as she starts to come. Her shoulders press back against the wall for leverage to rock her hips against his hand, his jacket rolled into a ball in her fist and pulling him against her as she rides out her orgasm.

"Fuck."

She mutters as she starts to come down, a combination of relief and disappointment when he smiles at her and moves his hand from the wall to tangle it in her hair. He leans his forehead against hers and for a moment she thinks he's going to kiss her, but his smile twists into a smirk and he lightly pulls down on her hair.

"Pay up."

She rolls her eyes at him but absentmindedly licks her lips when her eyes dart down to where her hand is still shoved down the front of his pants. He's still throbbing in her grip, close to release himself anyway. He pulls his hand out of her pants and lets go of her hair, resting them both on the wall above her as she sinks down to her knees, hooking her fingers in the top of his pants and sliding them halfway down his thighs as she goes.

She takes all of him into her mouth in one hit, still determined to prove that she can get him off quickly, and hollows her cheeks as she starts bobbing her head on him.

"Yeah, shit. Just like that, Morgan."

He hangs his head again, one hand moving back down to rest lightly on the back of her head. She manages to repress the moan that threatens to escape her when he breathes her name out like that, hating how much she loves the sound of it coming from him.

She grips his thighs, fingertips digging in harshly to stop his hips when they start bucking into her, and when she glances up she can see his abs tensing under his loosened shirt as he tries to stop himself from fucking her face. It's bad enough she lost the bet to him, she's not going to give him the satisfaction of doing whatever he wants with her now and he seems to know it.

She pushes herself further onto him until he hits the back of her throat just as his breath catches for a second, and he chokes out something between a moan and her name as he comes down the back of her throat while she holds him still against her. She keeps him there until his whole body shudders and he pushes at her forehead to get her off of him, and he grins at her as she gets to her feet and they both redress themselves.

"You might still get to tie me up."

He says after a short silence, and she frowns at him.

"How?"

He shrugs and brushes down the arms of his jacket before pulling at the lapels and straightening them, smoothing out the spot she'd creased when she'd grabbed it, then smirks up at her.

"Rematch."

--

EDITING TO ADD MY TAGLIST. let me know if you wanna be added or removed, i just figured i'd add them since i'm doing more prompts nowadays.

@admdmrtn @masonsfangs @oxjenayxo @mmerengue @agentnolastname @freckles-spangledvampire

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 19 - Hardlight

"Heeeello interwebs! Today on 'How Does It Work?' We will be looking at a toaster."

Varian stood inside the Hamada garage as he held up a toaster in front of a tripod that supported his smartphone.

Fred had introduced him to the concept of 'vlogs' a few days ago. Inspired, Varian had hit upon the idea of doing his own web series in his spare time. It'd give him something to do between work and school, when his friends were busy off doing superheroing things.

He still was curious about many modern inventions and how they worked, and while he could simply read about them, he learned better by doing. He also figured that other people might like to know how the things they used everyday without thinking about them worked. Ergo, the premise of his show was to take apart an appliance or other household electronic and then put it back together again.

The first video had received some moderate success. Though the majority of the comments were just simply stating how cute Ruddiger was over and over again. Apparently people got a kick out of seeing his raccoon assistant.

"Aunt Cass has like, six of these lying around, so I'm sure she won't mind this time." He added, off hand to the camera.

He had taken apart her digital clock last time because she had complained about the alarm not working right. He wanted to surprise her by fixing it. She however was none too happy to find him sitting in the midst of the wires and casing that had once been her clock. Fortunately he had managed to put it all back together again, and even fix the alarm while at it, though it now wouldn't turn off unless you held the snooze button down for a full minute. He'd have to look into that little delay later when she was no longer upset with him.

For now though Varian busied himself over the toaster. He took it apart successfully and then pieced it back together like a puzzle, all the while explaining what he was doing to the camera on his phone. It went well, right up until the end.

"As you can see this a very simple device. Eazy to fix, if need be." He stated as he began to plug the appliance in to test it out. But no sooner did he stand up to readdress the camera did the toaster start to spark and crackle before catching into flames.

"Ahh!"

Instincts took over and Varian threw a nearby tarp over the flames to smother them. Ruddiger grabbed the fire extinguisher and after fiddling with it for few seconds managed to spray the foaming stuff onto both him and the small fire.

That's when Varian heard laughter coming from behind him.

He slowly turned around, the foam still in his hair and his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Behind him stood a young girl about his age. She had short brown hair and wore a jean jacket. She was desperately trying to suppress her giggles and failing miserably at it.

But upon making eye contact she coughed away her own embarrassment and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Hi. Is Hiro home?" She waved.

Varian wiped the foam from his hair. "No, he's out at the moment."

"Oh." She said clearly disappointed but then just as soon picked the conversion back up. "I'm Megan by the way, Chief Cruz's daughter."

She held out her hand for Varian to shake which he numbly took. He muttered his name as a way of introduction.

He wasn't sure where this was going. She no doubt thought him the fool due to his earlier misfortune but she seemed eager to move on from that and made no further mention of it.

"You must be the new kid my dad was talking about." She continued. "So how are you liking America?"

"Fine."

She gave him a look that clearly stated to him that she expected more of an answer but he declined to speak further. He didn't want to put his foot in his mouth so soon after screwing up.

"Ooookaaay." She decided to change the subject. "Your raccoon is pretty cool. Did you train him to use a fire extinguisher?"

Ruddiger crawled up his back to rest upon his head as he sometimes did. His pet knew when people were talking about him.

"No, not really. He's just smart."

Megan blinked at him in surprise.

"Oh." She said again, this time having trouble comprehending how a raccoon could teach itself fire safety on its on. "Well, it's still neat that you got such a smart pet then. My dad won't let me keep any animals." She admitted wistfully. "Can..can I pet him?"

"Sure."

She reached her hand out tentatively and Ruddiger reached his head up to meet her hand in kind. She giggled again in delight as she began to pet the wild creature with more confidence.

While engaged in this activity Varian saw Hiro and Baymax fly in. Hiro pulled his helmet off and then froze in terror at the sight of Megan. He quickly turned around and started pushing Baymax the other way, hoping to get away before the girl noticed that they were there.

"Did you hear something?" Megan paused and started to turn around.

"No!" Varian quickly interjected and tried to turn her attention back to him in order to give Hiro time to get away. "Uh, but Ruddiger here, loves being held. If you wanna."

Megan looked like she had just won the lottery. Her eyes widen and her mouth broke into a huge grin. Varian handed his pet over to her and she breathlessly hugged the raccoon.

"Oooh, you're so cute!" She exclaimed.

Megan was still cuddling Ruddiger when Hiro, now dressed in his regular clothes, walked in.

"Hey, Megan. How was Florida?"

"Oh, great! I almost didn't want to leave. I only came back because Father's Day is next week. Mom says 'hi' by the way."

"Oh, well, tell her I said 'hi' back."

"Do you wanna go grab a shake? I'll tell you all about the trip. You can come too if you want, Varian."  

Varian was going to politely decline the offer, he figured Hiro would rather catch up with his friend without him tagging along, but then Hiro's phone dinged, indicating that he had a text message.

Hiro read it. Of course it was an urgent call for help from the rest of the gang, but he didn't say so out loud.

"Soorrry. That was Wasabi. I..I'm suppose meet up for… our study group."

"Seriously? Even during summer?" Megan admonished.

Hiro could only shrug his shoulders in apology. "Yeeeaah, college doesn't let out during the summer, but hey, Varian isn't in the study group. Why don't you hang with him. Teach him what normal teens do for fun."

"Well I guess someone will have to since we all know you ain't normal" She teased in response.

They both broke out into snickers at that, as if sharing some private joke that Varian didn't understand.

"Alright, it's settled then. I'll see you two later, have fun." He waved goodbye and bowed out.

Varian however was left standing there wondering what the heck had just happened.

"Hmm..normal, hun?" Megan cupped her chin in thought. Then she turned to him and flashed him a sly grin. "Do you know how to skate?"

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

The skating park was a jungle of concrete and metal; deep sunken pits, tall curved edifices, piping serving as inclined rails, and even a small paved race track encircling the entire playground. All around people of various ages hurried about on seemingly any and every wheeled vehicle possible. Rollerblades like the type Varian had seen Gogo wear, another four wheeled version called rollerskates, scooters, bikes with pedals instead of motors, most with two wheels, some with three, even one with only one big wheel which looked like it'd be hard to balance on, but what really caught Varian's interest was the skateboards.

He had built something similar back home, only his was larger and he could only roll down grassy hills with it. Anything else would cause the wheels to catch on rocks or cause him to lose control on the uneven ground. There'd be no such problem here on the relatively smooth concrete.

Of course, Varian didn't have his rollingboard with him. Fortunately there was a small store that rented the various vehicles to the park's customers. He paid the man at the counter for a skateboard and the required safety gear. Megan had brought her own skates and helmet.

"I'll race you down to the bottom!" She dared him as she stood next to one of larger pits.

Varian joined her and peered over the side and for the briefest of moments he hesitated. The incline was steeper than any of the hills he had slid down and if he fell there'd be no soft grass to land on, only hard stone. That said, it wasn't as scary as the crystal slide he had ridden down on his first night here, nor was it as large as the snow drifts that he would surf down on his makeshift sled in winter.

"Your on!" He told her, accepting her challenge.

He steeled his nerves as he rolled the tip of the board to the edge and then let out a whoop of exhilaration as the ground gave way and he rolled quickly down the side, he then almost lost control when the board started to just as quickly roll back up the other side. That was new. He hopped off again once he'd reached the level ground, only stumbling a little. Megan met him soon after.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah." Varian breathed and then burst into laughter. "You wanna do it again!?"

It took a little more practice but soon Varian was riding the skateboard with ease. It controlled similarly to his old invention. In fact, due to its smaller size he found he could maneuver it even better than he had the other. Though he wasn't quite at the skill level where he could do tricks like some of the other kids he saw.

It didn't matter though. He and Megan had fun just rolling around the park, alternating between racing one another or chasing each other in a sort of 'follow the leader' type game, usually Megan led.

After a couple of hours though, the time on his rental was up and he and Megan had to leave. Varian would have to buy himself his own skateboard at some point. He bet the rest of his friends would love it here, particularly Gogo.

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

Varian and Megan made they're way back home walking through downtown. They had missed the bus and so decided to walk to the next trolley stop instead. They were probably halfway there when the sky began to suddenly turn gray.

"Brrr" Megan shivered and hugged her jacket close around her. "Is it just me or did it get just get a lot colder all of a sudden."

Varian could only shrug in response. He hadn't felt anything but he was already wearing his big frock coat anyways. He probably didn't need it, but he thought it made him look cool and he desperately wanted to impress the girl after having made a fool of himself earlier that day. Not that she had really noticed.

"So how was your first day as a 'normal teen'?" She gently teased. "Cause I know you don't get a chance to just have fun and be a kid at that nerd school you and Hiro go to."

"Is that all 'normal kids' do? Play?"

"Well, when you're not at school or doing chores that is, but regular school is different from college."

"I wouldn't know." Varian admitted reluctantly. "Never been to any other school besides SFIT. Also chores took up most of the day where I'm from and there wasn't many kids around my age."

Megan stilled. Her father had told her about Varian. About how he came from a harsher country and had escaped to America for a better life. She didn't know any of the details, other than the fact that Varian was now staying with Hiro and his aunt. Her dad had warned her not to bring the subject up, but here was Varian volunteering to talk about his past anyways and Megan didn't know how to respond.

She didn't get a chance to say anything though, as a whole bunch of people suddenly started to run towards them, and then right past them. The crowd was clearly scared of something. Some were screaming in fright as they all tried to run away. Though Megan couldn't figure out from what.

Varian grabbed her hand and pulled them both out of the way as the torrent of frighten people pushed their way past. Together they huddled under a yawning of a doorway, watching the scene in confusion. Then Megan spotted a familiar figure in the sky.

"We gotta go." She warned Varian.

"Why?"

"I just saw Big Hero Six fly by. That means there's trouble that way. We better follow the crowd and leave or take shelter someplace." She tugged at his arm trying to get him to come with her, but he only looked at her in confusion.

"But they're the good guys right? They're there to help people."

"No, they're vigilantes." Megan snapped back. "Where ever they go some crackpot shows up trying to start a fight. It'll be a huge mess. We're better off just going now."

Once again she pulled on his coat sleeve but he didn't budge.

"You mean they might get hurt?" He asked with worry in his voice.

"I don't know, maybe. Someone sure will if they're dumb enough to stick around." She was starting to get annoyed, but she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Look you're new here, I get it. You probably don't have superheroes where you're from. But trust me, we should just let the police handle it and stay out of the way. Now come on, pleeease." She begged again.

Varian bit his lip in thought as if coming to a decision, and then finally to Megan's relief, he nodded his head in agreement. He took her hand again so as not to get separated in the crowd and they started to make their way back towards the park.

The hadn't gone maybe a few steps when they heard a booming voice coming from the behind them. It was projected by some sort of loudspeaker and distorted to disguise the person's real voice.

"Big Hero Six! Face me, Hardlight, in a battle of skill! If you dare!"

They turned to see who was speaking and was greeted by the sight of a masked figure flying upon a glowing pink saucer. He wore armour not unlike BH6's own, but the seams of it also glowed with a dim light same as his mode of transport. He continued on with his challenge.

"The prize? Why, Chief Office Cruz here."

He laughed maniacally as he move his hand upward and a glowing cage made of the pink light followed his movement as if he was controlling it with his very thoughts. Inside the cage was Officer Cruz who pushed against his prison walls unable to escape.

"Dad!" Megan cried out in fear.

Varian looked at her and the sight of her tears rolling down her cheeks forced him to make a very rash and possibly dangerous decision. To her shock, he turned around and ran directly towards the flying figures.

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

Varian neared the battle and ducked behind a mailbox for cover. In the sky and on the ground the superpowered beings fought one another. His friends going up against monsters made of light with Chief Cruz caught in the middle. On the other side of the street stood cop cars creating a barricade while the rest of the police also huddled for cover. A few were helping some straggling pedestrians but they were hopelessly outmatched by the villain, Hardlight, who hovered over everything as if surveying a game.

He appeared to be untouchable. Even Varian's friends were having difficulty trying to fight him one on one as he sent hordes of his artificial minions after them instead and there wasn't anything the police could do. Not without risking their commander who was now in the line of fire.

For all the world it looked like some mythic battle out of a fantasy storybook. But Varian knew better. There was no magic in this world. Everything ran off science. His friends powers came from their inventions and no doubt the supervillain was a scientist as well. Which meant that as soon as Varian could figure out how Hardlight's inventions worked then he could start figuring out the villain's weaknesses.

Though Varian currently was at a lost as to what that might be. He was no physical fighter and was every bit as out classed as the police were at the moment.

Soon he heard footsteps near and he looked to see Megan joining his side. She was shaking with fear and desperately trying to gulp back her tears, but she wouldn't leave his nor, more importantly, her father's side. He understood all to well.

"What are you thinking!?" She hissed under her breath.

"You know I keep getting asked that question a lot lately." He replied dryly and then whispered back to her. "I'm thinking that this dude has got to have a weakness and he doesn't know that we're here. So we figure out what that weakness is and help take him out while he's distracted with Hir-... with the heroes. Thereby freeing your dad."

Megan looked at him, unsure of this plan.

"Oookay, and that weakness might beee…?"

"Uh… give me a minute." Varian scanned the city street again and then dodged out the way quickly as a large hunk of metal sailed past. One of the larger light creatures had picked up a police car and hurled it across the street at the heroes. Varian's heart thudded in chest loudly as he saw the damage. What the heck was he thinking?

He saw Megan crouched down on her knees beside him, her arms around her head trying to shield herself from the flying debris and the heat of the explosion from the car that was now on fire.

He should probably just get her out of there. That was most likely the best way he could help.

But then he paused. Heat!? Cold!? Megan had said it had gotten unusually cold right before Hardlight had shown up and indeed his breath was fogging in the air. The rest of the gang must not have noticed because they were busy fighting in heavy armour.

"Hard light!" Varian exclaimed finally piecing together the clues.

"Wha…" Megam tentatively looked up at him confused.

"That's why he calls himself Hardlight! Because he's using super cooled photons to turn light into solid matter!"

Megan continued to look at him as if he was crazy.

"We touched upon it in physics class." He explained. "Supposedly the science is only theoretical, but it looks like this guy has cracked the code. That cloud must be filled with rubidium and he must be using some sort of projector to shoot lasers into the chilled air.

Megan still looked lost. "Lasers? So it's literally just a light show?"

"Yeah." More debris flew past. "A deadly light show." He gulped.

He braved himself to take another look at the ongoing fight. He peered around the mailbox and saw Hardlight punching commands into his gauntlets. They must have held the device that controlled the projectors. In fact the lights on his suit may have been projectors themselves, looping the connection. He tried to follow one of the particle beams of regular light that flickered against the cloud, a byproduct of the more deadly 'solid light.'

His eyes landed upon a window in a building across the street that flickered off and on. He then looked on the opposite side and saw a similar window in another building parallel to the first.

"There!" He pointed."And over there. We'll have to make our way across and shut down the projectors inside."

"Wait!"

He turned and found Megan clutching his coat sleeve with both hands. Her eyes darted about in fear.

Varian sighed.

She wasn't use to this. Megan was, as she put it, a normal kid. She hadn't been through what Varian had been through nor what Hiro had been through. She had never had to fight for anything before and Varian hoped she'd never would.

He rested a hand upon her shoulder to calm her.

"Look, it's ok." He said gently, trying to come across as calm himself. Which he wasn't, but she didn't need to know that. "You don't have to come. Just wait here where it's safe and I'll do it."

She searched his eyes questioningly, not sure if she should let him go. So he added,"I'll get your father back. I promise."

Varian didn't make promises lightly. He knew how important they were and how devastating a broken one could really be. Once said, he meant it.

She thought for a moment, took a steading breath, and then gently removed his hand from her shoulder.

"No." She looked up at him with determination in her eyes. "I'm coming with you. Just tell me what to do."

"Alright." Varian agreed. "Then follow me and stick close."

Varian weaved and dodged and ducked through the littered sidewalks, behind various debris, and down abandon doorways. Carefully he and Megan made their way across the battlefield staying out of sight. Fortunately, Varian had had a lot of practice with sneaking around back during his time on the lam. The action came back to him instinctively.

They made it by without being noticed and Varian stopped at the building closest to them, diving into the open doorway.

"Ok, so you know what you're looking for?" He asked Megan.

"A big projector, on the top floor. Just either shut it down or unplug it." She repeated his instructions.

"Good." He nodded "Then I'll leave you to it. I'm going make my way to other end of the street and do the same. If we take both projectors out at the same time he'll hopefully be too surprised to recover. You sure you'll be alright on your own."

"Hmm-hmm. You just be careful out there." She ordered back at him.

Varian flashed her a smile that he hoped look more confident then he felt and then took off back outside into the fight.

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

Megan watched him go and she didn't dare move until she saw him make it across the street safely. Once he ducked into the other building, she turned and started to make her way to the top floor.

Just her luck she would befriend a crazy a person, she thought as she started to climb the stairs.

She found the room with the projector easily. What wasn't so easy was the fact the thing appeared to have no off switch. It also wasn't plugged into the wall but was hooked to a mini generator instead. She pulled and tugged at the thick hose like cord that connect the two to no avail.

She huffed in frustration.

Varian was super smart and no doubt was already hot wiring the one on his end. She however would have to find more unconventional means of shutting the device down.

She looked around the room and spotted a heavy looking crowbar near the door.

Perfect.

She took the tool and began to smash the the projector to pieces.

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

Varian cut the last wire using the piece of amber that he always kept with him. It was his most valued possession next to Ruddiger. The only time he didn't have it on him was when he was experimenting with it instead.

It was unbreakable and the point was as sharp as any knife, so it sliced through the machine's inner parts easily.

The light in the projector flickered and died.

He got up and hurried to the window to see what was happening.

The cage was gone. Fred a had caught Cruz and was cradling the chief of police in his monster like arms. The officer looked out of sorts but otherwise unharmed.

Hardlight was raging and desperately fiddling with his gauntlets. He still stood upon his saucer, confirming to Varian that his suit was also a mini projector, but he had lost his light creatures and other weaponry.

Hiro and the others moved in to capture him but the villain stomped his feet in frustration and took off flying in the other direction. The dark cloud also dispersing as he retreated.

Varian looked across the street to the other window and saw Megan waving at him enthusiastically. He gave her a thumbs up to confirm that he saw her.

Then to his horror the worst thing happen.

An explosion ignited behind the girl and she was soon falling out of the hole in the wall where she and the window once stood. Varian's heart plummeted as quickly as she fell.

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

Hiro didn't know why Hardlight's gear had suddenly stopped working and he didn't care. He was just grateful that it had.

He reached his hand to his intercom to tell his team to peruse the villain before he got away, but stopped when he heard the explosion and the scream.

To his terror he saw Megan, of all people, falling from the skyscraper.

"Baymax!" He yelled but the robot was already on it. Together they flew to meet the girl before she hit the ground, angling their flight so as to catch her gently. They then flew to the top of the opposite skyscraper in order to check over her in peace.

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

Varian saw Hiro and Baymax catch Megan and nearly cried with relief. He then saw them fly over the building he was currently in. He turned and ran out of the room and headed for the roof as fast as his legs would carry him.

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

Baymax laid Megan on the roof as gently as he could. Her eyes were closed and made no acknowledgment that she was aware of what was going on.

Hiro hopped off of Baymax's back and tore off his helmet as he knelt down beside the girl.

"Megan?" He desperately called to her. "Megan!"

Baymax was in the middle of his scans so he wouldn't know what was really wrong until the robot finished, but the very fact that she was unconscious filled him with fear.

"Megan, please don't...don't do this." He begged, his voice breaking along with his heart.

Soon Varian was rushing towards them.

"How is she?" He asked in a panic.

Hiro looked up at the other boy in surprise that then quickly turned to anger.

"What happen!?" He rounded on his friend.

Varian took a step back, caught off guard by Hiro's sudden ferocity.

Megan however awoke before a fight could break out between the two.

"Megan!" Both boys called out and Hiro knelt back down beside her.

"I have completed my scans. It appears that she simply fainted. Outside of a few light bruises she should be fine."

Megan didn't feel fine. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, her body was sore, and she felt disoriented by the fall. Even Baymax's familiar voice had her confused. Where had he come from?

"Oh thank goodness." Hiro breathed and wrapped her in a hug.

She looked to Varian standing nearby, worry etched on his face, back to Hiro holding her, trying to piece together what had happened. Then she noticed what Hiro was wearing.

She pushed him away and looked over his armor as realization dawned on her. He also began to realize that his cover was blown as he watched her put two and two together.

"You're...you're Big Hero Six? And you never told me?"

Hiro gulped as she laid into him.

"All the lies! All of the excuses! Just so you can run around playing superhero!? You've been putting yourself in danger this whole time..and...and.." She was so angry she couldn't form words.

"Well, what were you doing inside that building?" Hiro asked defensively, though he knew it would do little good.

"It was Varian's idea!" She pointed accusingly at the time displaced teen. Who backed away even further as Hiro glared daggers at him. "He's the one that figured out the projectors and decided that he was going to break them….and…" She paused as another thought occurred to her. "Did you know all along!?"

Varian only stared blankly at her.

"Gah! I can't believe you! Either of you! You knew all along Hiro was out there being a vigilante. That's why you were so desperate to help."

"That's not Varian's fault." Hiro spoke up. "He had to keep our secret. He's… he's from another world. And we were the ones to find him."

Megan just looked at them both with contempt not believing this new fantastical confession.

"And why should I listen to you? Mr. ‘I've been lying for over three months now’".

"Nine." Hiro quietly corrected. He heaved  a heavy sigh. "I've been doing this since Tadashi died."

She blinked at him, taken aback by how raw his voice sounded. Hiro didn't like to talk about his brother often, the pain still too fresh in his mind.

"Look, I understand that you're mad, and I don't blame you." Hiro continued. "But I'm not going to stop. I'm doing something important. Something that no one else can do, not even your dad. Those villain's aren't just going to go away and we're the only ones equipped to handle them."

"Oh like how you 'handled' them today? When you needed mine and Varian's help. Hey, how do you explain a villain showing up right out of the blue just to challenge you? Was he always going to be there to kidnap my dad or did he only show up because of you!?"

Hiro bit his lower lip, unable to answer. Megan pressed on.

"What happens when you get hurt? Or someone you care about? What will you do then?"

"I do this so no one else does get hurt!" He yelled back at her. "I...I can't lose anyone else." He broke down.  

"Well.. Maybe we can't lose you either." She was also crying now. "I'm telling my dad. He'll stop this."

Hiro looked at her in shock. They held each other's gaze for several moments as if silently holding some sort of conversion with their eyes.

Just then several footsteps could be heard running up the stair well, shouting from below, indicating that others were about to join them on the roof.

Hiro stood up and placed his helmet back on.

"I can't stop you." He told Megan. "But please, leave Varian out if it. No one is going to believe he's from another world anyways."

"Wait, you're serious?" She asked Varian and he nodded yes.

Hiro hopped onto Baymax's back and flew away just as Chief Cruz burst through the door and ran towards his daughter.

"Megan! Oh thank heavens you're alright!" He squeezed her tightly. "What were you doing up there?" He scolded.

"It's my fault." Varian offered up." I figured out that Hardlight was using projectors and I came up with the idea of sneaking past him and breaking them."

"Also, it's my fault too," Megan jumped in before her dad could get on to him. "Varian tried to talk me out of coming along, but I insisted. I was too worry about you." She hugged her dad again before continuing on."Also, I may have shut down the projector incorrectly. That's probably why it exploded. It's...it's a good thing Big Hero Six was there to catch me." She gave Varian a wink as she said this, indicating that she had decided to keep both of their secrets.

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

Varian was getting tired of lectures. He and Megan had both received an ear full from Officer Cruz as the policeman drove Varian back to the Lucky Cat. Now Varian was sitting in the upstairs kitchen listening to another one from Aunt Cass who was pacing back and forth in agitation. And this was what, the fourth or fifth one had gotten this week?

Varian sucked in his breath and forced himself to sit through it. He tried to remind himself that the adults were only getting on to him because they were concerned for his safety and he hadn't actually done anything wrong like he did a week ago with the bot fight. Of course any insistent that he knew what he was doing or that he'd lived through worst, had only upset the grown ups even more rather than ease their fears. So he decided to just remind quite and let Aunt Cass ramble on.

Just as he was starting to zone out he caught a glimpse of Hiro sneaking past the kitchen while Aunt Cass's back was turned. The other boy was back in his regular clothes and trying his best to avoid such a lecture himself.

He didn't succeed. Aunt Cass turned around and spotted him midway through his tip-toe.

"And where were you today?" She asked accusingly.

"Uh...study group?" Hiro lied.

Aunt Cass raised an eyebrow but only said, "Well go on, this doesn't concern you and you don't need to eavesdropping."

"Yes ma'am" Hiro readily agreed and Aunt Cass turned back around to resume reprimanding her other charge.

Varian saw Hiro mouth him a wordless "thank you" before scurrying off, which Varian appreciated. It was nice to know that he'd manage to do something right for once.

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

Hiro dashed upstairs and helped Baymax into his charging station. Then he called Megan. Aunt Cass hadn't said anything to him yet about Big Hero Six and he was hoping his friend had changed her mind about telling.

"Hey Hiro. Sorry, but I can't talk." She whispered to him in a hushed voice as soon as she picked up.

Then he heard Cruz yell at her over the other end.

"Who is it?"

"It's just Hiro, dad. He wanted to know if I was alright" She yelled back.

"Okay, but make it quick, you're still grounded after all." The policeman ordered and Hiro heard footsteps and a door closing.

"Good, he's gone." Megan sighed in relief. "In case you're wondering I didn't tell him."

"I figured that." Hiro admitted and then with a pause he asked her, "Why not?"

He heard Megan heave another sigh.

"Look, today I did something really stupid and terrifying just to save someone I love. And I almost got myself killed while doing it. Yet, I also know that I would do it a second time if I had to."

Another sigh, as if she was steeling herself to admit what she had to say next.

"I still don't agree with you being a superhero, buuuut I'm not going to stop you. I guess understand now why you do it, and you're the one who needs to make the decision to quit. Not anyone else. Just promise me, no more secrets, ok?"

"Okay." Hiro agreed and then he added, "Maybe once you're un-grounded we can go get that milkshake?"

He couldn't hear Megan smile but he knew that she was anyways when she answered back, "Alright, but you're paying. Also you need to buy Varian one too. He saved everyone's butts back there, big time."

"Yeah, I'll find a way to make it up to him as well. See you, in what, two weeks?"

"Just a week. Dad won't stay mad once he sees the awesome Father's Day gift I got him. I'll see you then and I'll want a double fudge swirl."

They hung up and Hiro felt as if some huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't enjoy having to blow Megan off with lame excuses anymore than she enjoyed hearing them, and he was glad now that that would no longer be an issue between them.

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

Ian Williams slammed the door to his office, trying to shut out the nagging voice of his boss. He hated Mr. Krei, he hated working at Krei Tech, but most of all he hated losing.

Ian ditched the duffle bag that held his Hardlight suit and gear into the bottom drawer of his private office cabinet. He had a special encrypted lock built into it so no one could snope around and discover his secret life as supervillain.

He was still in a rage over what had happened today. It wasn't fair. His gear had malfunctioned. Those losers must have cheated somehow. He deserved a do-over.

He closed the drawer and locked it and then went about tidying up his desk. Ian was an unassuming looking fellow. A stereotypical geek, right down to his pocket protector and thick rimmed glasses. What no one knew though, was that Ian was a thrill seeker, always looking out for a new challenge. He'd grown bored with the usual video games, mental puzzles, and high exhilaration activities like skydiving and white water rafting.

So few things combined both his high intellect and his athleticism. But taking down superheroes? Now there was a worthy test of both skill and brains. He'd be the best if he could beat Big Hero Six. He'd finally get both that adrenaline rush and the praise that he so longed for.

Just then Ian noticed a disc lying on his desk that he hadn't put there himself. There was a note attached to the case and it was addressed to him.

Dear Hardlight,

Or should I call you, Ian? Either way, this disc contains information regarding today's fight that I'm sure you will find interesting.

Sincerely,

The Boss

Ian panicked. Who knew that he was Hardlight? Who was this 'Boss'? Surely not Krei. That man never got Ian's name right, instead he'd mistakenly call him 'Ethan' or something similar. He looked around his small office but there was no other sign that anyone had been there.

Without knowing what else to do, Ian popped the disc into his computer. There was only a single video file attached. He pulled it up.

The video showed the image of a kid wearing goggles sabotaging his precious projectors. So BH6 had cheated. Well Ian would just have to even the odds for next time wouldn't he? He gave an evil grin as he took note of the boy who had ruined his plans. He'd just found his newest opponent.

[sopwithwhump]

Something Else is Taking Over

Hey y’all I overcame some writer’s block with some Welcome to Night Vale whump (just discovered the podcast, loving it! It has whumptential >:3) Cecil is experiencing strange blackouts, which lead him to waking up in different places, all beat up. Carlos cleans him up after he gets quite hurt from one such episode. Tw: possession 

It first occurred to Cecil that something was amiss when he suddenly found himself in the diner. Except, it was the daytime. The diner was only open at night. Except, he was on the floor. Bleeding. The glass door was broken, a Cecil-shaped hole smashed into it.

           He looked around. How the hell? It seemed that he was just at the grocery store, purchasing some wheat-free bread. Everything went black, for just a brief moment, and here he was.

           Still attempting to process what happened, he slowly got up, then snatched some napkins from the nearest booth and pressed them to his bleeding arm. He then quietly opened the door and ran out, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain his break-and-enter to the sheriff’s secret police.

           His car was out in the parking lot. The purple Volkswagen’s driver door was open and the keys were still in the ignition, although it was not running. Cecil was left with many questions. Usually he did not entertain questions, because he would go insane if he tried to search for answers to every question his Night Vale life created. He was conditioned to accept the strangeness of his town, to be fond of it even. But never had he been buying bread and then suddenly transported into a diner, seemingly having to have broken in to the place.

           He carried on with his duties of the day. Attending a press conference on the new playground adjacent to the dog park, and how no children are allowed to play on it, visiting Carlos to see what he had discovered about Night Vale today, and going out into the sand wastes to observe the giant sand snake and the blue helicopters circling above.

           When the evening came, Cecil sat in his recording booth. He flipped a switch, which caused the ‘ON AIR’ sign to illuminate. The broadcast then began.

           “A man in a black coat means misfortune. A man not wearing a black coat also means misfortune. You are not safe. Welcome to-”

           He blacked out. Then, a brief vision of the front of city hall. Then black again. After that, Cecil suddenly shook awake on the grimy space-themed carpet of the arcade in the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex.

           “Hey! Cecil! You alright?” A middle-aged man in a bowling shirt called as he ran over, carrying a red bag with a white cross.

           “Teddy? Oh… my head… my nose…”

           “Don’t move, Cecil. So… what happened to him?” said Teddy Williams, looking up at two boys who stood nearby.

           The first boy looked up at Dr. Williams nervously. “Well… you see… you were probably in the back… when he went totally berserk! He ran across the nice lanes, sir! And then he ran into the arcade-”

           The second boy slapped him. “Get to the point. You threw a five-pin bowling ball at his head. Hit him right in the face. That’s why his nose is bleeding!”

           “Dr. Williams, this isn’t true! I’m not the one who threw the bowling ball, Jimmy is!”

           “I don’t care who threw the ball, get outta my bowling alley!” snapped Teddy Williams. “Balls are not to be taken out of the lane area, nor thrown at people! Get out!” The two boys quickly exited the premises as Teddy kneeled in front of Cecil.

           “Cecil? You alright, buddy?” He took a penlight and shined it in Cecil’s eyes.

           “Bowling ball?” said Cecil, “Oww. Listen Teddy… I don’t know how I got here…”

           “I was listening to your broadcast. You got cut off. Then there were… a lot of crashing sounds. Then dead air. Soon enough someone comes running to me about a man trying to crawl into the pin retrieval area of lane ten. I was ready with my broom to chase the intruder when someone again came to my office to tell me that the ‘radio guy’ got hit in the head with a bowling ball. So I put the broom down and brought my medical kit instead.”

           “That… what? I… I blacked out, Teddy… I was running around like a madman? Owww… that explains the pain throbbing through my whole head. Maybe that kid was right to hit me with a bowling ball.”

           “I don’t know, I didn’t see. That’s not important right now Cecil, what’s important is getting you fixed up. Pupil response is fine, your brain didn’t get scrambled. Your nose needs some fixing, though. Come to my office.” Teddy helped Cecil up and gave him some gauze to hold to his face.

           “Sit down… lemme see here…” said Teddy as he took his light and examined Cecil’s nose. “Swollen like a balloon. I… think we should wait for the swelling to go down so the damage can be seen easier. Plus, this is a bowling alley, not a medical facility. Tough luck, Cecil. Just put some ice on it and see someone in a day or two.”

           “Thanks, Teddy…” said Cecil, sulking out of the office. Teddy tossed him a cold pack.

           “Keep it. I… hope you’ll be alright, Cecil.”

           Cecil spent the rest of the evening laying around in pain, holding ice to his face. He eventually went to bed in an attempt to get some rest. These blackouts had left him tired and achy for some reason. Maybe I should get an appointment with the doctor. Or the jam salesman, perhaps, he thought before going to sleep.

           Cecil’s morning went as normally as normal could be. The shrill cries of various sand-monsters in his backyard woke him up at the crack of dawn. After chasing them off his property with his broom, he kneeled at the blood stone circle in his kitchen, still wearing his purple collared pyjamas, to begin the day with a short devotional.

           And that’s when he blacked out once again. This time he caught a glimpse of the outside of the  library, and then the interior of the Arby’s. After another period of sensing nothing but void, he awakened on a cold linoleum floor. In pain. A lot of pain.

           “Cecil! Oh god… it’s you! How is it you? What? I…” he heard the voice of Carlos say. Cecil grimaced and groaned in pain as Carlos tried his best to gently roll him over. “Cecil… you just… smashed through the window… but… you didn’t look like you. Your eyes… they were all white. You… you could float… oh man… there’s blood everywhere…”

           “C-Carlos?” Cecil groaned, looking up at his boyfriend, “Carlos… w-what are you implying? Augh… it hurts… help me…”

           “Whatever. We’ll address that later. Let’s just… get you cleaned up.” He gently lifted Cecil in his arms, grimacing when Cecil did from the pain. He made his way back into the lab, cleared off the top of a lab bench, and laid Cecil on it.

           “Hang in there, Cecil…” said Carlos as he frantically gathered medical supplies, “I’m not a doctor, but I’ve got enough knowledge in advanced first aid…” he rummaged through a large first aid kit and laid out bandages, antiseptic, a pair of forceps, a cold pack, and many more items. He folded up an extra lab coat and placed it behind Cecil’s head, then proceeded to put on some blue medical gloves.

           “Alright, Cecil, let’s just have a look…” he said in a calm, yet concerned voice, “glass… some much glass, oh Cecil…” Cecil had suffered a large number of cuts from smashing through the window and whatever else he did before ending up here, many with glass embedded in the wound. As Carlos continued assessing his boyfriend’s condition, he noticed that Cecil’s left arm was very swollen. He gently brought Cecil’s arm over, which caused Cecil to flinch.

           “Sorry... just hold still, I gotta feel this… I’m worried it’s broken…” Carlos felt the injured arm until Cecil couldn’t help but convulse in pain.

           “I’m not sure if that’s broken or not… oh dear… but your nose does seem broken, however. Ok, we’ll deal with bones later… I need to take care of the bleeding… you okay, Cecil?”

           “H-hanging in there, Carlos…” he whimpered. Carlos looked a Cecil with concern and compassion before getting the gauze and other supplies ready. After sterilizing the forceps, he’s decided to start with removing a larger shard of glass.

“Okay, Cecil... this is going to hurt...” he said, taking Cecil’s right arm. He picked up the forceps. “Hold still... deep breath...” Cecil followed that instruction, drawing air in and holding it as Carlos swiftly worked the piece of glass out of the wound. After dropping it aside on a metal tray, he quickly applied pressure to the cut.

“Okay… two more. These ones aren’t as big.” He quickly removed the next two pieces of glass and worked to get the bleeding under control. Cecil whimpered.

“Hey, deep breaths. I know it hurts. I’m going to get you to the hospital after I clean and bandage the worst of these cuts, okay?” Carlos put his hand on Cecil’s chest. “Breathe.”

Cecil nodded and followed the instruction to take a deep breath through the pain. It hurt quite a lot. Everywhere. His arms, his head, his legs, everything. As Carlos kept one comforting hand on Cecil’s chest, he used the other to gather some gauze. He took it away to soak the cotton in antiseptic.

“This will sting, hold still…” Carlos gently cleaned the wounds, pausing whenever Cecil winced or made a sound of discomfort. Eventually, he had gently cleaned all the cuts he could see and had covered them.

“Okay, you did really good… I’ll just put that arm in a sling and we’ll get you to the hospital. Come on, I’ll help you down from there.” Carlos proceeded to help Cecil sit up, then move to a stool next to the lab bench.

“I’ll just take your arm… now Cecil… I just want to know… what’s happening to you?”

“I started blacking out and waking up in different- ouch! -places,” Cecil explained, flinching when Carlos moved his arm the wrong way. “Sometimes catching glimpses of random locations… I always seem to be floating. And… at a high speed…”

Carlos gently tied up the injured arm in the sling. “Yeah… yeah you were. Flying, I mean. Your eyes… they were all white… no pupils. It took me a second to realize it was you… but… not you. You scared me. Cecil… I don’t think I even have to ask, but are cases of… possession common here?”

“It happens, for sure,” said Cecil, “but- ah! Easy there! I keep myself protected with blood stone rituals and whatever… oh no…”

“Can whatever is possessing you be driven out? Like… is there a cure?”

“Depends on the thing, I guess…”

“Alright. Maybe the doctors at the hospital know more than I do. But we gotta stop whatever this thing is from just… completely wrecking your body.”

Cecil nodded. “But I mean… without a host, wouldn’t it die? Or possess someone else?”

“Cecil, don’t sympathize with whatever is possessing you, please. I’m sure they’ll kill it before it affects anyone else. Or something. I don’t exactly know how these things work yet. Let’s just get to the hospital, shall we?”

Carlos helped Cecil into the passenger seat of his car, then quickly drove off to Night Vale General Hospital. After paying a parking fee of five tears, he helped Cecil into the emergency department.

It was a busy night; they were in for a long wait. “Hour and a half, at least,” said the tired triage nurse at the desk, “take a seat.” Cecil sat down. He was shaking a little, and Carlos noticed this.

“You okay?” said Carlos, putting his hand on Cecil’s shoulder.

“Oh? Me?” Cecil then sighed. “Yeah… yeah I never liked hospitals. They’re too bright. They smell too clean. There’s too many machines. They also smell of the miasma of disease. I don’t know which is stronger.”

“Ah. Yeah, I know it can be uncomfortable. This is my kind of element, of course, working in science, but I can see how it’s unsettling to someone who works in a cozy, dark recording booth. I’m here, Cecil. Just focus on me.”

Cecil closed his eyes and nodded. He held Carlos’ hand as he settled in for the long wait.

About 15 minutes had passed when Cecil blacked out again. This blackout was very brief this time. When he woke up he was in a hospital bed. His whole body felt numb and heavy, as if he had had a couple drinks. Carlos looked into his eyes.

“Cuh… Carlos?” He groaned, “Carlos… what… happened…”

“You, uh… you had another episode. They sedated you. Fixed you up. Got rid of that demon that had taken up residence. Put it in a demon-proof jar for me to study. I’m glad you’re awake,” Carlos explained gently, “I gotcha. You’re going to be alright.”

“Thank you… Carlos…” said Cecil weakly. Carlos held on to Cecil’s limp hand.

“Don’t mention it. Now get some rest. I’ll be right here.”

[geeky-diary]

Princess Justice: Part 4

For those who aren’t caught up, here is the rest of the story!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

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

Adrien’s eyes scrunched up, his hands balled into fists. Saying he was mad at Plagg would have been an enormous understatement. What was Plagg thinking? He mentally screamed in his head, not having enough emotional energy to even whisper. How could his kwami do this? Sure, the little black cat sometimes did crazy and stupid things without thinking. Sure, he had let himself and Ladybug’s kwami be discovered by a teacher, which almost caused his identity to be revealed. But Plagg had never intentionally tried to reveal Adrien’s identity. So why was he doing so now?

“Adrikins…” A high-pitched voice muttered, breaking him from his thoughts.

With a deep breath, the blonde boy opened his eyes to analyze the scene. God, it felt like hours had gone by since they had all entered that locker room, yet it had to have been half an hour at most. Alya, with her palms pressed together, hovering in front of her mouth, stared keenly at the little kwami. She looked as if she were studying the creature, though he already guessed that she had figured out what the creature signified. Meanwhile, Chloe stood in utter shock, her mouth agape and eyes widened. The fact that she had never expected her childhood friend to be Chat Noir, it made him feel a little bit of an accomplishment.

Then his eyes wandered over to Plagg, expecting to see his usual smirky grin. However, the only emotion that showed on the little black cat’s face was one of sorrow and worry. The look that he would give Adrien when he was concerned for him. 

Now the boy felt like an idiot. Of course, the little cat would be worried, whether it be for him or for Ladybug’s kwami. With a sad smile, the boy held out his hand for the kwami, an offering of understanding, and thanks. Plagg flew over and landed in his hand, accepting it.

“Guys, this is Plagg. He is my kwami.” Adrien said, feeling better than he had initially been. 

“So, you’re Chat Noir.” Alya replied, but it was more of a statement than a question. The blonde boy nodded his head, hoping he didn’t need to explain himself further. Before she could continue, Chloe decided to speak for herself.

“How can that be possible? You and Chat Noir don’t resemble each other at all! Sure, you may look slightly similar, but neither of you act in the same way!”

While the blonde girl just kept piling on reasons as to why he couldn’t be Chat Noir, the boy found it to be an excellent opportunity to think. There was no he could take on all of the akumas alone; he knew that. So he would definitely get the fox and bee miraculous for Alya and Chloe, though those are the only allies he could have since he didn’t know the other ones. But he would also have to figure out where Master Fu is hiding. He remembered Marinette… no Ladybug had said that their master had moved locations after that amok had attacked him. However, he didn’t even know where his original position was, so who knows where he had moved too. However, it was still plausible. Yeah, so he was going to find Master Fu, get the bee and fox miraculous, and then -

“How are you going to save Marinette and get her miraculous back?” The Creole girl’s voice pierced through Adrien.

Instantly, he froze where he stood. All of his thoughts had flown away, leaving not a single trace in his mind. Truth be told, he didn’t know what to do about Marinette much less how to get her miraculous back. His previous panic and frustration started to bubble up within him once more. Before he could burst out again, Plagg decided to cut in.

“Hey, leave the kid alone! He hasn’t had much time to process everything yet. He needs time to come up with a plan.” 

For all their disagreements, Adrien knew Plagg would always have his back. That helped snapped Adrien back to his right frame of mind. While Ladybug could conjure up a scheme in at most a minute, he couldn’t and needed more time to think. However, while he didn’t have the full plan laid out, he still had time to work on the details. The akumas were only after Chat Noir, so if he didn’t transform, then they could delay the battle for just a bit longer. But for now, they could start with phase one.

“It’s alright Plagg, I’ve come up with something of the plan.” He pronounced, trying to produce a morsel of confidence in his voice. “Firstly, I won’t be able to fight that many akumas on my own, so I’m going to get both of your miraculous. We’ll have to meet in a place that is inconspicuous as to not attract the akumas’ attention.”

“How about we just meet back up in here.” The blonde girl suggested. “I doubt the akumas are going to come back here, and everyone else in the school has either already found their perfect hiding spot or has fled the premises.”

“Good point. Alright, you two stay here while I go get your miraculouses.”

The blonde boy turned around and ran out of the locker room. If he was going to have to look for Master Fu, then he better do so now then later. Before he could exit out of the school, he heard someone calling his name.

“Adrien! Wait up!” Alya shouted, racing towards him. Once she had caught up to him, she halted her steps and held onto his shoulder as if to make sure he didn’t leave before she said her peace. “I’m sorry for pressuring you back there, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine, Alya.” Adrien replied, taking her hand off his shoulder. “I know you’re just worried about Marinette. I am also worried about her, but I know she wouldn’t want us to be. Even without Ladybug’s help, we’ll save her.”

Before he could take off to start his search, the Creole girl snatched onto his wrist. 

“I’m not done. When you are getting our miraculouses, make sure you grab Carapace’s as well.”

“What? I don’t know who he is.”

“You don’t, but I do. I’ll fill Carapace in on the situation and bring him to the locker room. Just bring his miraculous as well. After all, four heroes would be better than three.” She confided.

Alya’s hazel eyes pleaded with him, begging him to trust her. She could be lying about the identity of Carapace; however, she wasn’t the type to lie in dire straits. If she really knew who Carapace was, then he could be a big help in defeating Princess Justice. So he decided to trust her.

“Alright, I will.” Adrien responded, sprinting off to find out where the miraculous guardian had hidden.

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

FINALLY, ADRIEN IS GOING TO BE OUT OF THE FUCKING LOCKER ROOM! I To bad he’ll probably end up back there by the end of next chapter. I literally realized after I published the last chapter that they were still in that god damn locker room. 

Ok, I know this update took a while. I’m sorry but I’ve been busy with college and getting ready for finals. I also had a hard time writing this chapter because I didn’t really know where to go with this one. Like, I had a general idea about what I wanted this chapter to do but I didn’t have a clear idea with it as I did with the first three parts and with some of the other part. Plus, I got distracted with other story ideas that I wanted to write so that didn’t help.

I do just want to let y’all know that I probably won’t be able to start writing the next chapter till winter break, so please be patient with me. I do appreciate all the love this story has gotten, especially since I haven’t been able to write a story in about two years. Y’all are the best! ❤️❤️❤️

Tag Squad (If you want to join, just ask and I’ll add you!) @inkshila @aliana6021 @kindastupidbutkindanot @maribug-adrienoir @noire19 @stormysamurott @cumbernuggets @inkyknight @lulema @housekittysden @shinekivi @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo @chlobos-doodles

Edit: Part 5

[marauder-level-chaos]

Mine - A Malec Proposal Fic

So this is a little bit of angst followed by some super cute fluff that leads to a Malec proposal. Alec and Magnus have been together for a while and Alec’s parents are homophobic and all about the family honor. They are also super rich. They don’t know about the relationship yet but Alec has had enough and wants to introduce Magnus to his family. An argument breaks out which leads to an angry Alec. But obviously why should his family decide his life for him so Alec maybe proposes to Magnus on the way home. This isn’t necessarily set in the shadowhunters universe. I just wanted to have a normal, mundane take on this. It’s slightly choppy rn but I migh tgo back to fix it later. Reblogs and feedback are always appreciated so please tell me how this was.

Warning: angst, Robert being a shitty abusive dad, fluff at the end

Alec had always been an early riser. Although he woke up a little earlier than usual today. He rolled over and planted a soft kiss on Magnus’ cheek. Still half asleep, he rummaged through the pile of clothes by his side to find his signature black shirt and matching black jeans. With one last look at his boyfriend, Alexander headed to the bathroom for a shower. By the time he was done with his shower, Magnus had already prepared breakfast. With a towel around his waist, Alec made his way to the kitchen and hugged Magnus’ waist from the back.

“Stop it! Your hair is still wet, Alexander. You’ll smudge the glitter on my face.”

“I don’t care. Besides, you look just fine without the glitter too.”

“Uh-uh. If we’re going to see your parents today, which I still think is a bad idea, I’m going to look my best. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go shower. And I would really appreciate it if you would join me.” Alec didn’t need to be told twice.

***Time Skip***

In a few hours time, the boys had driven down to the Lightwood residence. Alec could tell Magnus was nervous as hell. His leg was bouncing up and down and his hands were shaking ever so slightly.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Alexander? I know your parents aren’t the easiest people in the world and I wouldn’t want you to get into any trouble because of me.” Alec gently cupped his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I need them to understand that this….us….it’s not going away. No matter what they believe. And, Magnus, I thought we established that I would willingly get into all sorts of trouble for you.” And with that, Alec rang the bell. The door swung open to an enormous house. Alec realised that the apartment the two boys share is nothing compared to the grandeur of the Lightwood residence.

“You’re late, Alexander. Your father and I have been waiting for quite some time,” Maryse called as she signalled somebody to take the boys’ coats.

***Another Time Skip because I don’t know how to transition properly***

Dinner was just about as awkward as Alec had expected it to be. Nobody spoke until dessert was served. At that point, Alec felt it was best if he got to the point he was meaning to bring up all evening.

“Mom, Dad, I have been meaning to tell you something for a very long time.” Alec felt Magnus’ hand slide into his from under the table. That was all the reassurance Alexander needed. “Actually, we need to tell you something. Magnus and I….we really love each other. We have been living together for a while now. I just wanted you to meet the man I lo-” Alec was cut off by Robert’s hand slapping him across the face.

“You are a Lightwood! You have a legacy to uphold. I will not have you drag my name through the mud by associating with people like your friend.” Robert then turned to Magnus. “Guards, please escort this man off the premises, or I will throw him out myself.”

“I love him, dad. And if you so much as touch a hair on his head, you will lose your son forever. Magnus….Magnus is everything to me and I will not let you treat him this way.”

“ALEXANDER GIDEON LIGHTWOOD! You will not speak to your father this way. Apologise at once,” ordered Maryse.

“No. If you can’t accept the man I love then Magnus was right. Coming here was a mistake. Tell Izzy I love her and I miss her.” Alexander snuck his into Magnus’ and whispered, “I’m sorry. You were right. I’m not going to stay here anymore. Not if they can’t learn to respect the man I care about.” The twinkle of pride in his boyfriend’s eye was more than anything Alec could have asked for.

***Last time skip I promise***

The walk to their car was quiet. Alec could feel Magnus’ eyes on him. He knew his boyfriend was trying to make sure he was ok. And that’s why, no matter what his parents believed, Alec would never let go of this man by his side.

“Maybe they were right, Alexander. I am clearly more trouble than I am worth. I know you have done so much for your family. I wouldn’t want you to lose them over me.” Alec's face slowly turned to his boyfriend.

“Don’t you Mags? You are my everything. If they can’t accept you, I don’t need them. I need you. I just wanted my parents to meet the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. If they don’t understand you the way I do, then that’s their problem.”

“My dear Alexander, nobody can understand me the way you do. And what was that about wanting to spend the rest of your life with me?” Alec could hear Magnus’ smile in the question.

“I wasn’t joking about that. That is why I wanted you to meet my parents. I thought they would be happy. I thought I could do this over a nice dinner and wine. I just...I wanted this to be perfect. But you were right. I should’ve listened. I am so sorry I ruined this.”

“I don’t need a fancy dinner or expensive wine, Alec. I need you.”

“In that case,” said Alec, as he fumbled through the inside pocket of his coat. “Would you do me the honor of making me your husband, Magnus Bane? I have loved you since the day I met you and I can’t even think of spending the rest of my life with somebody else. You may have shared your past with other people, but I want to be the one you share your future with.” Magnus looked down into the bright blue eyes of his kneeling boyfriend.

“Oh god, yes. A thousand times, yes. With all my heart, Alexander, I am yours.”

Taglist:

@thatwinchestergirl67 @tolkienlockian @a-pirnie-davidson

[soranihimawari]

...Chimera & Jackal...

@m0nstergeneration20xx & @sakuric bc my brain said let’s do a sakusa story at midnight.

There is an album in your gym neighbor’s hands. He is clutching on to it like a landline; there is an audible hum rising around him and the scowl he wears deepens.

“If you stare long enough you might turn to stone.”

Your voice crescendos around his aura and he finds himself visibly relaxing. You’ve been in enough classes with him to know the visible signs of a sensory overload break coming through, so you walk toward the information desk in the concourse you’re in, passing the venue banner. you maneuver through the crowd like the worker bee and pretty soon, he understands what you were doing.

When you reach the other side of the concourse, you turn around with an approving bop of your head when your eyes meet. You flash a toothy grin at him and he momentarily blinks. The hands on the album becomes ironclad as he begins the arduous journey to meet you.

“Miss me already?” you chuckle at the way his brow furrows when his cousin snickers at the way you’re slowly changing each other for the better. You let the cousins know you’re heading out after Komori suggests you join them for dinner at the family estate.

“It’ll be fun. It’s scrabble night,” komori informs you. His cousin on the other hand, yells through his eyes at his ex-captain. You entertain the idea of attending, but at the same time, you are considerate to the pillar who seems like he’s about to die of you accept, so you do what you do best: you say a word which is recognized with the scrabble dictionary.

“Adipopexia,” you say the word with ease. Your tone is warm and vibrant, thus causing a small change in tone. You don’t know what kind of game Komori is playing, but you feel he loves to make his cousin a little more accepting of the general public.

“If you’ll excuse me boys, I have a meeting with my thesis sponsor. Text me later if you need me!”

What you don’t see if the way Komori chuckles at how flushed his cousin’s cheekbones turn as you wave from across the promenade on your way to the liberal arts office building.

☆+ ﾟ. ꕤ.+ .ﾟ*.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ♡｡. +ﾟ ｡

A month passes and finally you stare at the giant iron gate in front of the largest estate you have ever seen. You had half a mind that this was a prank and the tiny houses in the surrounding neighborhood was where the Sakusa/Komori residence truly was. Then you decide to take out your phone from your purse thereby tempting fate when you press the sequence of digits both of them send you (the first time, you thought Komori was really joking, but when your phone receives a confirmation from the other, you close your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose.)

Currently, it is eleven thirty on a Saturday morning. You mutter a curse as the gates truly do open before you and you follow the path through the front lawn. In your hand, you hold a congratulatory card for your fellow (thesis candidate partner) classmate after news traveled he was signed to a professional team. An accidental panic sets in because of your simplistic style choice of tapered indigo pants and graphic tee (paired with ballet flats). Your hair was pulled back into place with a banana clip, so you weren’t expecting the house door to be answered by a professional housekeeper whom you mistake for a family member.

“Who are you?” Her voice is a mixture of annoyance and false kindness.

“I’m a friend of Komori and Sakusa? From the university down the road...?”

Invoking the name of the young men of the house did not dwell well with this lady. You were still denied entry, so you apologize a first time after the third attempt. You extend the card in your hand sighing with as you turn on your heels to leave the premises leaving it in her care.

Inside, the first floor is filled with a few sponsors along with fellow members of the team are seen conversing with their new player who remains oblivious to your sauntering off his father’s home. Komori sees the house keeper holding a card which she is abut to place in the recycle bin, he asks her why she turned away the celebrant’s friend at the door. He takes the card from her and works his way to where his cousin stands in his business-casual attire.

“Excuse me,” Komori interjects. “I need to borrow Omi, for a second.” He explains what happened on the way to the garage entrance reassuring him he’ll bring you back and clear up the misunderstanding.

“In the mean time, you should read the card they got you, ‘Snake-Eyes.’”

Sakusa Kiyoomi only allowed one person to call him that when they met him on orientation day; they were the same one who taught him what adipopexia meant. And when his phone rings, Sakusa hears your voice through the receiver.

“I’m with Komori-San right now, but he wanted me to tel you our eta is ten minutes. Is that ok with you?”

That question was the first easily answered one in a long time for him.

When Komori walks back into the main house, you have to do a double take. You’re a few paces behind him before you hear a rather rambunctious group of voices around the corner.

“Komori! There you are! We were looking for you,” his aunt greets. “Seems like you forgot to introduce us to your friend there.”

You straighten your back and relax your shoulders a bit before sticking out your hand which goes unshaken, so you smile as you play with your own wrist.

“My classmates call me Chi.”

“Ah like the auras?”

You walk past her after Komori stares at his parent for their rudeness. Sakusa and the other players see you and judging by the angered expression on his face, you weren’t going to back away from this woman.

“Mother, please. Not now.”

“My name is Chi, ma’am. It’s short for Chimera, the Greek monsters which breathe fire and traditonally are depicted in the arts with a lion’s head, goat’s body, and serpent tale.”

Sakusa looks to Komori who just shrugs it off like it’s the best damn thing he heard all week.

“You’re a rude little thing, aren’t you?” she seethes as you keep your composure. “Where did you learn to speak like this to someone above your station?”

“The moment you brought down the collective intelligence quotient of the entire neighborhood ma’am. Maybe we’ll meet again on scrabble night when you’re done day drinking to your success.”

Komori has a hard time keeping a straight face while Sakusa’s expression is hard to read, you could tell he was trying not to chuckle at your clever wit.

“I should of recorded that,” Komori says. “It’s about time someone else put that woman in her place.”

“Your mother is wild,” you chide. “Is that why you asked me to come to scrabble night?”

“Nah,” Komori answers. “I was just tired of hearing Omi talk about you like you’re the only one he cannot function properly around.”

“I like him too,” you say as Sakusa starts walking toward you with the newer members of the MSBY team. Everyone on the rookie and senior roster were eager to introduce themselves to the outspoken student with a mighty name.

☆+ ﾟ. ꕤ.+ .ﾟ*.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ♡｡. +ﾟ ｡

You don’t often find yourself inside the MSBY training grounds, but this was at the request of the captain and the manager. Apparently their starting setter called out Sakusa for not being able to hit his sets and somehow that spiraled into the two of them not syncing up the rest of practice. From what you gather with the information presented, you knew the setter would bounce back first the following day, but Sakusa, who still keeps mostly to himself, does not budge. He elected to stay behind for a little while after to collect his thoughts.

You are given a family and friends badge to clip on the collar of your jersey styled dress (you had a dissertation presentation to attend earlier that day, so here you arrive with a metallic jumpsuit and jacket). You sent a text to Sakusa’s phone letting him know you were invited to come. You hear the rhythmical combination of plays being made in center court. You arrive in time to see your classmate nail an close cross-shot with a loud thwack!

Presently Sakusa walks side by side with you back toward his apartment. You think nothing of it when you ask him to come inside when you reach the fancy building in this district. You listen to him complain about everyone including the damning things Miya had said to him during practice. You figured you let him vent as you were recently still getting better acquainted outside of academia as a whole. You switch the conversation topic to a foolish once:“Mmhm,” you muse. “You do like my company Omi.”

Instead of a proper answer, Sakusa Kiyoomi opens the door of his home behind you as you step back into his home. It takes an insane amount of control on both of your parts before you see the athlete pull down his mask to finally act out what he was feeling since he had properly been introduced to you on campus in your joint third semester. His lips touch your Cupid’s bow first because of your height difference, but you shake your head with a soft smile.

“Care to do that again?” He asks you in a playfully menacing way.

His bag lands in the floor prior to leaning forward again and he drops his center of gravity as though he’s about to receive a serve from his captain.

“Sakusa, I swear to you if I—ack!”

The surprise lift he has you secured in was irratic on it’s on accord, but when you adjust your arms and place them against his shoulders, Sakusa nearly growls at the contact.

“My lips are right here,” you chide. Tilting your face to your left, Sakusa manages to successfully kiss you this time.

First kisses are a difficult thing for anyone to navigate, yet there is a veil of innocence surrounding you both since you teach him that showing displays of affection is a love language you are fluent in and his, on the other hand, is touching the subject of desire aka you. And so one kiss turned to two, which turned to three as you let him walk you to the kitchen that has an island counter and he tells you to sit still for a moment.

“You’re being awfully affectionate today,” he tells you this in confidence. You sit atop the granite surface expecting him to kiss you senseless, which he does the moment your hands bring him down to press chaste kisses up and down your collar bone.

You accidentally moan his name into his ear when his nose tickles the nape of yours neck.

“I’ll kiss you for real princex,” the slight growl is there again. “I’ll kiss you until you’re breathing stops.”

If anything, you relearn a few things: one, Sakusa Kiyoomi comes from a successful family; two, he’s insanely dedicated to playing volleyball ; and right now, he’s thoroughly enjoying kissing you in the comfort of his own home.

“Sakusa, is~ahh~ are you formerly asking me to be your lover right now?”

Sakusa pauses his onslaught of wanting to mark you with his lips for a moment, so he nods sheepishly. Your smile is radiant the moment you accept his proposal he almost loses his composure entirely. There is time for that too, but for now being drunk in love in his kitchen is a good start.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “John Wick” Part 1

Y/N left The Organization 3 years ago for the one reason strong enough to make her settle down: love. But after tragedy crushed her to pieces, she decided to leave The Joker and seek refuge with an old friend and mentor - John Wick. Needless to say The King of Gotham can’t accept his wife running away without a word, especially since he didn’t have a chance to tell her things she might want to hear.

Part 2     Part 3

Your high heels click on the marble floor, numerous conversations stopping in the hotel’s lobby since you haven’t been seen around in the past 3 years. The concierge can’t hide a smile and you take your sunglasses off, finally making it to the front desk after driving for hours.

“Welcome to the Continental, Miss Y/N. Such a pleasure to see you.”

“Thank you Charon,” you remove 7 gold coins out of your purse and slide them on the counter towards him. “It’s good to see you too.”

“For how long will we have the pleasure of your company?” the man inquires, taking a peek at the computer’s screen to make sure he can shuffle things if needed.

“One night.”

“That will only be 4 coins,” Charon informs and you point out at the tiny pile:

“The rest is for you.”

“Thank you, Miss Y/N,” he smiles again, typing on the keyboard. “Your old room is available; it will be a couple of minutes for us to add a few finishing touches.”

“Sure. Is the manager here?” you ask because you texted him this morning to announce your arrival.

“He’s waiting at the bar,” Charon gestures towards the elevator and you take a deep breath, excited and a bit nervous about the upcoming encounter. “Also, if I may… Allow me to express my deepest condolences.”

You bite on your lip and can’t utter a sound besides nodding your head instead of a reply: although it’s a genuine declaration, it caught you off-guard.

You slowly walk towards the elevator and once inside you press the B button when a hand halts the doors from closing; you know whom those tattooed knuckles belong to. Ares squeezes inside looking like she wants to kill everyone. What else is new?

“I thought that was you,” the woman uses the sign language and you silently gaze at her.

“Which floor?” you sign back.

“10th,” her thumb indicates the number.

The elevator’s doors shut and she analyzes Y/N, deciding to continue the conversation:

“Remember I told you next time we bump into each other I’m going to kill you?” the mute assassin’s threat brings a faint smirk on your lips.

“Shut up,” you elbow her and the smartass response doesn’t fail:

“I’m always as quiet as a mouse.”

You chuckle and Ares grins at her own cleverness, having a nice suggestion for the evening.

“I have the night off; wanna meet later for dinner?”

You are tired as hell but a distraction doesn’t hurt.

“Will 7pm work?” you accept the invitation.

“Awesome!” she signs, delighted you two can catch up. “They have new items on the menu you would enjoy,” Ares winks then her enthusiasm gradually dies out. “I’m sorry about…,” the discussion takes a serious tone and you sniffle, trying hard not to cry.

“Thank you,” you touch your chin and the ding sound reveals its first destination. “I have to bail; I’ll see you soon,” you step out of the elevator and she remains inside.

“It’s a date!” she signs, concerned you’ll burst out in tears as soon as she’s gone.

Yet after the elevator’s door close, Y/N manages to pull herself together; God knows it’s not easy to pretend she’s fine following the tragedy of losing someone she loved with all her heart.

The individual waiting for her at one of the tables at the bar can definitely notice the struggle behind the tired eyes; Winston sipps from his martini and gets up, opening his arms in anticipation.

“There you are,” he gives you a hug, then invites you to sit down.

“Hello Winston,” you place your purse on the floor and Continental’s owner is attempting to small talk:

“Please make an old man happy and confirm your return.”

“You’re anything but old,” you emphasize while he snorts, amused. “I’m not sure; I have to figure out some personal stuff…”

“Of course,” Winston agrees right away given the situation. “Mmmm… I’m terribly sorry for your loss,“ he addresses the heartbroken Y/N.

“Thank you…” you mumble, avoiding eye contact since the painful subject hurts more than any physical wound you ever sustained.

“I wanted to come attend the funeral yet I was out of the country,” the man underlines.

“No worries. I appreciate the flowers you sent… …”

Moments of complete stillness before Winston changes the topic; he knows better than to prolong your agony. A manager with his flair can at least guess the extenuating circumstances that led to your presence on the premises.

“Any plans for the near future?”

“I’m going to stay with Jonathan until I decide.”

Winston wishes to suggest a couple of options but he’s interrupted by your warning:

“Someone might come searching for me.”

He taps his fingernails against the martini glass, the weak echo dissipating in the background noise.

“Is that someone…somebody’s husband?” his furrowed eyebrows prompt an answer not difficult to estimate:

“More like… ex-husband…”

The manager inhales, debating on your confession.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” he reassures without any hesitation; heaven knows a domestic dispute is the last kind of mess Continental needs but it will probably pass undetected. “Would you care for a drink?”

Suddenly, Winston’s cell goes off and he retrieves it out of his suit’s pocket, apologizing for the delay.

“I’m sorry, I really have to get this,” he slides the screen, attentively listening to the person speaking. “Are you kidding me?!” the man raises his voice with contempt. “Damn…,” he rubs his forehead, annoyed. "Well, he brought it upon himself! Transfer me,” the manager passes the sentence without hesitation after his call reaches the correct department. ”Accounts payable: 11111. Effective immediately: Magnus Stonnenberg, excommunicado. Open contract: 2 million dollars. Distribution: international,” and he hangs up. “Work never ends,” Winston adds even if it’s not necessary; you are perfectly aware how the company works and what it means to run it.

“What happened?” you curiously investigate.

“Trouble on the 15th floor: Magnus murdered Anuscka Volovdya on the hotel grounds, thus I have to implement punitive measures. This is neutral environment and the rules are clear: no killing. Cocktail?” he lifts his glass up and you politely decline.

“No, thank you.  If it’s all the same, I will retreat to my quarters. It was a very long drive and I can’t wait to freshen up. I will come see you in the morning before I leave; would that be ok?”

“Of course,” Winston stands up in the same time with you, a faint smile lingering on his face as he watches you distancing yourself from the bar. He didn’t see you in a long time and he can tell that although you look pretty much the same, something has certainly changed.

Everyone’s cells start chiming and ringing, including yours: the text messages keep on popping up with the manager’s most recent order regarding Stonnenberg.

You wander along the small corridor leading the stairs when at the corner Magnus almost crashes into you; he seems distressed and no big surprise due to his present predicament.

“Are you back?” he hisses while quickening the pace in the opposite direction because he wants to get the hell out of there.

“No,” the short acknowledgement triggers his cockiness mixed with relief.

“Great! One less to worry about!”

You frown at the unnecessary statement: pursuing a bounty is not financial gain you are momentarily interested in; you have more important problems on your plate and chasing a persona non grata isn’t on your list.

************

Next evening, 7:13pm

“There you are!” John exclaims as soon as he sees you. “Come on in,” he grabs the two suitcases out of your hands, leading the way around the house. “Did you get stuck in traffic?”

“Yes,” you close the door and follow him into one of the bedrooms downstairs already prepared for your visit. “Traffic was terrible, took me one hour to pass Lincoln Avenue.”

“Well…” he places the luggage by the bed, “I’m glad you made it.”

“Me too… Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Jonathan.”

Despite having his hair in a ponytail, the shorter strands slide out and John blows them off his cheeks, irritated.

“Yeah, absolutely. Plenty of space.”

“What’s that smell?” you sniff the air, intrigued.

“I cooked chicken Alfredo.”

“Oh no,” you crinkle your nose and he laughs at your despair. “Are your skills as bad as I remember?”

“Worse,” he admits. “Helen is not here to guide… me…”, John swallows the last word and you feel compelled to soothe his grief.

“I’m sorry she’s gone… You had a terrific partner…”, you sadly smile and continue . “We pay such a heavy price for leaving the organization… I must say you got a better deal than I did.”

He’s quiet for a few seconds and you could swear there’s no trace of Baba Yaga inside him; I suppose this is John Wick’s greatness: his ability to switch from an apparent normal guy to the deadliest assassin in a blink of an eye.

“Umm… do you want me to help you unpack?” he breaks the silence and you lift the first suitcase on the bed, opening the metal clasps.

“I don’t have a lot; just some basic necessities,” you explain and gulp when you take out the device you use on a regular basis. “I… I still pump the milk and… and throw it away since I don’t have my baby to feed anymore…”

Jonathan exhales, sensitive to the mother’s sorrow: he knows a thing or two about losing a loved one and Y/N uncontrollably sobbing triggers emotions he kept bottled up for weeks. He pulls you in his arms and you hug him back, hopelessly crying on his shoulder after displaying such restraint in the past days.  

“Why didn’t he drive the car? Why?” you keep on repeating the question and John understands what you’re referring to:

Two months ago The Joker was supposed to bring his three weeks old son from the beach house to The Penthouse and didn’t; he had a meeting and instead he sent one of his henchmen to drive Kase back to you and they never made it. There was a horrible accident on Glissan Street: the car was smashed to pieces by a huge truck, both driver and the baby dying on impact. You couldn’t stop blaming your husband for his indifference regarding the safety of his own child. I supposed the meeting and making money was infinitely more critical than driving his son home.

Maybe if J navigated the vehicle, he would have taken another route and you would still have your tiny treasure right now. 

You’re calming down a bit and John wipes your tears, upset to see you broken beyond anything he could ever fix.

“Do you want to lie down?”

“No,” you whimper and fight to regain your composure. “I’m a little bit hungry…”

“Well,” your friend puckers his lips, “depending on how bad it is we might have to order something. Shall I…call anybody for you?” he hints and surely didn’t predict the reply:

“My anybody is probably too busy with his mistress or planning a heist, can’t be bothered with any type of insignificant matters.”

Your friend seems shocked and you enlighten the mystery for him:

“I followed J so I know… That’s why I decided enough is enough. I packed minimum necessary in a hurry and left… … …I should have killed him… …” your voice dies out and your attitude proves Jonathan that you most than likely tried to. “Can we eat now please?”

“Should I actually order Italian?” he plays along for your sake.

“I’ll try the chicken Alfredo first.”

“Shit! You’re brave,” his brutal honesty makes you giggle and whimper in the same time. “C’mon then, food’s on the stove.  Hopefully we’ll survive,” he smirks and you nod in agreement, grateful to have a soul to talk to since your husband’s lack of empathy made it so much harder to cope with your son’s demise.

***************

Same evening, 7:30pm – Continental Hotel

“Mister Joker,” Winston greets The King of Gotham. “Welcome to New York!”

The gush of wind sweeping the terrace on top of the building messes J’s locks and for once he couldn’t care less.

“Hello Winston,” your spouse growls, barely able to concentrate after he slept a couple of hours the previous night.

“Grape juice on ice?” the manager’s hospitality emerges out of necessity because The Clown isn’t exactly the easiest character to accommodate.

“Is my wife here?” J quizzes, ignoring Winston’s cordiality.

“Walk with me,” the hotel owner persuades your husband; they move alongside the concrete path bordered by decorative shrubs as information is shared. “Y/N was here.”

“She’s gone?”

“Yes.”

“Where did she go?” The Joker sneers.

Winston fails to spill the beans and J is aware he can’t push for a disclosure, not with a high ranking member of the organization. So he attempts a different strategy.

“Imagine my surprise when I returned home after a meeting just to find out my wife abandoned the nest,” he shows management a post-it with your handwritten note:

Do what you want with the rest.

“She just took a few things, thus I have to personally discuss with her a very crucial dilemma: what am I supposed to do with the baby’s items? I have a room full of them. So I’m asking: WHERE.IS.MY.WIFE?”

“Mister Joker, you forget that in my line of business I am good at reading people and I can tell when they lie,” Winston elegantly throws it out there for the heck of it.

The King of Gotham halts and cracks his neck, displeased with the comment.

“Then tell me, am I lying?!”

The manager sighs, carefully analyzing J’s features: although he looks pretty much the same, something has certainly changed.

“Maybe she’s staying with a friend,” he insinuates and your husband articulates a sentence rarely spoken aloud:

“Thank you,” J stomps away, already having a few ideas about your whereabouts.

Winston huffs, intrigued to have discerned a crazy detail while reading The Clown’s reactions: besides the fact he wasn’t lying, something else stood out. 

“He loves her…” management mumbles to himself. “I bet he doesn’t even know it.”

*************

10:34 pm

John softly knocks at the cracked bedroom’s door, unsure if you’re awake or not.

“Y/N, do you need anything before I go to sleep?”

There’s no answer and he creeps inside only to see you passed out with your hand hanging over the side of the bed. Jonathan tucks you in, feeling awkward about your unresponsiveness.

“Hey, are you ok?” he gently shakes you and freezes when he realizes there’s an empty pill bottle on the nightstand.

“Oh God!” he panics and reads the label. “Trazodone 300 mg: Take 1 tablet by mouth nightly for depression/insomnia.” That’s the highest dose for the medication and he taps on your cheeks, concerned you took a bunch of them at once. “Y/N, Y/N! Can you hear me?!”

You moan and open your eyes, unhappy to be woken up in such a hasty fashion.

“Jesus, lemme sleep... would you?!...” you grumble and turn on the other side, groggy from the drug.

“How many sleeping pills did you take?” John doesn’t give up and you yawn:

“One…my last one…” you adjust your body on the comfortable mattress, not comprehending why your host is agitated. “I’m exhausted…” you close your eyes and he lingers next to your bed, relieved the situation was a misinterpretation from his part.

**************

11:32am, New York

“Oh my…”The Bowery King deciphers a missive a dove flew in 10 minutes ago; he got a whiff of some valuable data yesterday and the new documentation is by far the best conspiracy and revenge scheme he stumbled upon this year. “Would you look at that,” the man grins, caressing the bird’s feathers. “What do you think?” he addresses the winged companion. “Should we be nice and tell Y/N and Mister Joker their son is not dead?”

 Also read: MASTERLIST

You can follow me on Ao3 and Wattpad under the same blog name: DiYunho.

[mystery-deer]

Angst HC with fluff potential, Kevin has anxiety. Most of the time he deals with it with his and Holt's signature stoicism-and-snark combo, and he does get flustered easily. Rarely, though, things are just too much and he reverts back to a behavior he developed as a child from dealing with his father. He shuts down. He lowers his gaze, goes vacant and does nothing. Ray freaked out the first time this happened but since then has learned to deal with it, but is always deeply concerned. Thoughts?

 The first attack he remembered having was when he was young. 

He had broken something. He didn’t remember exactly what it was, all he remembered was the rush of his blood cooling all at once as he realized what he’d done.

What was coming.

His mother had sent him to his room without any anger, her own face trying to be stern and comforting all at once as she told him that his father would be home soon. That she’d try to calm him down before he found the wreckage.

Oh, a pen. Yes, it had been a pen. He had taken it from the top of his father’s desk and it had broken as he wrote.

He felt like his heart was going to explode.He was going to throw up.He was going to die.Yes, he was going to die.

The thought kept circling around his head as Kevin sat with his ink-stained hands shaking and then laid down with his whole body trembling and spasming with something he couldn’t quite identify. Fear?

He’d never been this afraid before. It had never rendered him speechless and immobile.

His father had waited half an hour between finding the pen (He could hear him roaring with rage and then talking in loud disappointment “That kid Marie, that kid…” before it was all silence and waiting waiting waiting) and coming upstairs.

He stood outside the door for another minute before opening it. “Sit up.” He demanded and Kevin did.

Then his memory blinked out. A lightbulb with faulty wiring. When it came back on he was washing his hands of the ink as his father looked on.

“I’m proud of you.” He said, resting a hand on his still-shaking shoulder.       “You didn’t talk back.”

He wouldn’t have a name for them for years, until well into his adult life one of his friends told him “That sounds like anxiety.”

“Brilliant.” He’d struggled to reply, everything around him unfocused and too much. “I can see why you’re a leader in your field.”

“I mean anxiety disorder.” His friend had clarified, gently leading him out onto the balcony for some air. “You absolute dick.”

He’d researched it the moment he’d been able to.

“Why are you reading about anxiety disorders?” Raymond asked, coming up behind him and resting his chin in the crook of Kevin’s shoulder.

“I believe I might have one.” He replied, reaching one hand up to idly scratch at Raymond’s hair. Neither of them commented on it.

Raymond closed his eyes (much like a cat, kevin often thought but would never voice) and hummed a matter-of-face “I see.” Before quieting and eventually leaving his boyfriend be.

“Are people not always worried?” Kevin asked one day a few weeks later. His researching had given way to formulating hypotheses and questions. “Does the average man walk around oblivious to the world around him?”

Raymond scoffed. “The average white man.”Kevin smirked. “The average straight man.”Raymond nodded appreciatively.

“Perhaps you have no disorder, your life circumstances are just differing from the norm?” Kevin examined his boyfriend’s face for any derision and only saw curiosity. “Perhaps.” He said, thinking back to his childhood. Differing from the norm, indeed.

Whether or not he had anxiety was giving him anxiety.He had a half-dream when he was half-asleep in bed, brain dipped forever in worry, soaking it all up. In his dream one of his colleagues (the annoying one trying his damnedest to grow a mustache) was giving a lecture and pointing ineffectually without a pointer. Just…using his hands. Like an imbecile.

“And here we see Prof Kevin as a wonderful example of dramatic irony.” He was saying in his trying-to-be-humorous voice. The projector showed Kevin pacing around his and Raymond’s apartment.

Kevin woke up when he felt Raymond shift. “Mm.” He muttered.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” His boyfriend whispered and Kevin shook his head.

“Reynolds.” He tried to explain, one eye still closed.

“Your colleague with the…well, I’m feeling charitable. The moustache?” Kevin nodded. “You were dreaming about him? I’m jealous.”

Kevin smiled slightly. Some might call this a smirk, especially given the intense aura of smug dislike emanating off the man. Raymond called it a slight smile. “Don’t be. He was being very…Reynolds.”

“Ah.” 

       "He called me ‘prof Kevin’ out loud.“       "Dear God.”

They laid in silence for a minute before Kevin spoke again.

“Raymond I don’t know if I have…anything. I am unsure.” Raymond made a noise of understanding and reached out, resting a hand gently on Kevin’s pillow which Kevin took without thinking.

“However, I know that I do have certain issues. You remember my episode that took place in childhood?”

“Vividly.” Kevin squeezed Raymond’s hand to reassure him of his being alright. It always upset his boyfriend to hear about Kevin being upset even if it was years in the past.

“Yes, well there have been…similar incidents since then.” Raymond sat up straight.

“When?” Kevin sat up as well, rubbing an eye.“I can’t remember. Various incidents. What’s important is that should such an incident occur again-”

“There are synonyms of ‘incident’ you know-”

“-I’m very tired Raymond.”

“Sorry, I forgot myself. Please continue.”

“…should such an episode occur again, I will require your assistance.” He moved over and rested his head on Raymond’s shoulder, making a slight show of leaning down to do it.

“I will support you in any way I can.” Raymond said, bringing Kevin’s hand up to his mouth and kissing it softly.

They fell asleep like that.

And so, with a horrible pain in Kevin’s neck and Raymond’s back, they went to work.

Kevin to his literal job and Raymond…also to his literal job, but with an additional personal job as well. Researching on ways to assist Kevin if he were ever to have an attack of anxiety around him.

The first few attempts were less than ideal.

—— (Flashback, Kevin eating breakfast and Raymond washing dishes)-——-

Kevin: It looks like rain today.

Raymond (perking up, alert): Does that…worry you?

Kevin: I suppose. The subway is going to be hell.

Raymond (placing a reassuring hand on Kevin’s back): It’s going to be alright. You are safe.

Kevin: I know. (examining the water on the floor from Raymond’s hand) I will have to change now.

Raymond: Just remember to keep breathing.

Kevin: I’ll try to keep that in mind.

—— (Flashback ends)——–

However, he had persisted in his research and as a result been able to assist his boyfriend through a small series of episodes;

When he’d forgotten his phone at work after telling Kevin that he’d be attempting to arrest “YoYo MaMa” the prolific mother murdering serial killer that day. (He’d come home to find Kevin had re-organized half their bookshelves and abandoned the task midway through to dust the empty shelves instead.)

Kevin’s first work party that accepted plus one’s onto the premises. (They’d both been nervous for that one but it wasn’t until Kevin re-made the ratatouille they were bringing for the third time that Raymond realized he was more than nervous.)

When the news had reported a bomb in the building across the street from Raymond’s workplace. (It had turned out to be a fake threat but when he’d called Kevin after it was all over he’d heard his voice shakier than normal, light with relief.)

And after years of relative peace he had forgotten.

He’d forgotten that this could happen too.

Everything had seemed fine when he’d gotten home. Kevin was researching for an upcoming paper and Raymond had popped in sparingly so as not to disturb him. 

When he’d noticed that Kevin hadn’t touched the tea or apple slices that Raymond had left him he’d idly remarked that the apples would brown and Kevin had snapped at him that, “I know the damn apples are going to brown.” and then stared vacantly at the wall.

Raymond had stepped inside and gently shut the door. “Kevin?”

No response. “Kevin, are you ok?” No response, predictably. Raymond’s own heart began to quicken. He didn’t know how to deal with this. He was going to screw up, he was going to hurt him he was-

Kevin wrapped his arms around himself but otherwise remained blank.He had to do something.

Raymond reached out instinctively before pulling his hand back. He had to ask before touching but Kevin wouldn’t speak. He began to pace, racking his brain.

“Kevin can you…hear me?” He asked, trying to keep his questions small and yes/no. 

Kevin nodded his head slowly. Raymond breathed a sigh of relief. “Is it okay if I hold your hand?” Kevin nodded again and Raymond took one of his hands without moving his arm.

He had no idea what to do now. He and Kevin usually talked through any issues they had and having him be so…out of it, was disconcerting.

In the middle of trying to puzzle out what to do Kevin suddenly squeezed his hand. Raymond blinked, his heart ached. His Kevin was trying to reassure him, to tell him that he was alright.

Kevin was who needed him right now, Raymond thought, nodding resolutely and squeezing his hand back. He needed to stop thinking and act.

So he did the first thing he could think of. 

He began to describe how to make bread out loud, step by step.

“Before you can begin making bread you will need to feed the yeast. This process will take a minimum of half an hour but can continue for longer if that’s how you or your guests prefer your bread. Pour one cup of water-”

He remembered Kevin had been planning to bake bread that afternoon. He remembered that when they had first begun dating he’d said to him, “It’s easy and fun. Homemade bread can be a great gift and the process of making it is quite relaxing.” And Raymond had thought he sounded like he belonged on a cooking show.

He remembered hearing Kevin explain things step by step in a low monotone had often lulled him into a state of calm. Remembered how when he was kept awake by nightmares of crime scene photos and missing persons he was not finding, Kevin would explain to him how old houses were built. From foundation to attic, he’d always fall asleep before Kevin could explain the roof to him.

“-After the first rise you will need to punch it down and shape it once more until it resembles a loaf. Spray the inside of the pan with cooking spray and replace the dough. Watch it rise until-”

He remembered Kevin’s eyes. His laugh and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile. His cat-and-mouse way of teasing or tormenting people. Remembered how much he loved him and thought it hard enough that he hoped it came through in his words. He hoped Kevin would be able to understand, to let that love reach him the way he always had before.

“-Place in the oven and bake for twenty minutes-”

“…Twenty?” Raymond paused, hope hanging in the air between them. 

“…Yes, twenty minutes.” He waited and was about to continue when Kevin spoke up again, voice soft but there.

“…It’s going to be too soft. It’s much better to cook it for thirty five to forty minutes.” Sensing that he had his boyfriend’s attention, Raymond continued to gently prod at him.

“Well, wouldn’t it be less time consuming? You could always…nuke it.” It pained him to say the words but that pain was immediately eased by Kevin turning to face him, eyes focused and voice solid.

“Nuke it? It’s a kitchen not a missile launch facility.” Raymond smiled, the familiar sentiment assuring him that Kevin was going to be alright.

“Point taken.” He agreed, leaning up slightly to kiss him. “Welcome back.”

“I didn’t go anywhere.” Kevin stated, smiling gently. “Thank you.”

From there they discussed the source of Kevin’s anxiety; Namely, that he had become increasingly worried that he was on the verge of being fired.

Why that anxiety might be irrational; Namely, that he had done nothing wrong, he was a smart and capable man and that Raymond loved him. (Which had nothing to do with the situation at hand but Kevin appreciated it all the same).

And what he could do about it; Namely, ignoring professor Nami who had it in for him and continuing to do his work while keeping his anxiety in mind and taking steps to manage it.

“And you can always let me know if something’s bothering you.” Raymond said, the two of them now eating the apple slices. “Whether it is related to your anxiety or not.”

“I know.” Kevin replied. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“I’m your boyfriend. I want to know these things, especially things that might worry me.” Raymond replied, picking up the now cold tea in order to dispose of it. “Because I care for you and want to support you.”

Kevin smiled and turned to his computer once again, picking up his pen and beginning to write. “I love you Raymond.”

“I love you as well.”

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 4x02-- The Gang Tries to Serve a Subpoena

Under the cut.

This isn’t the first episode of season 4, but since it’s the first episode that doesn’t take place in an AU… it’s basically the first episode. 

Reddick, Boseman, and Lockhart has been rebranded as “RBL: A division of STR Laurie”. Remember when Will tried to rebrand Lockhart/Gardner as “LG”? At least RBL isn’t a well-known appliance brand. But I think this might be the same “sleek” font as the LG rebrand.

The acquisition of the firm has led to a remodel. I enjoy how every season RBL looks a little bit less like the LG set.

This remodel makes the offices look like a spaceship/villain’s lair/cyberpunk nightclub. There is a giant spiky cocoon thing (nope, I don’t have better words to describe that) coming out of the ceiling in the conference room and a new spiral staircase near the name partners’ offices. It looks ridiculous and intimidating (and it is supposed to). 

There are also dogs roaming around off lash.

And neon lights and a giant fucking GARGOYLE outside of Adrian’s office. It’s so huge it looks like it was taken from the Harold Washington Library. (This may be the most authentically Chicago thing in this episode.)

Much like the last episode, the first thing we see after the teaser is Diane arriving at work and being greeted by Marissa. And, also much like the last episode, Diane is disoriented.

As it turns out, there’s been a bit of a time jump since the end of the last episode-- Diane’s been traveling/resting (doctor’s orders), so this is her first day back to work in 9 months. “What happened here?” Diane asks. Does it make sense a name partner would be so out of the loop on major renovations? Nah. We are not meant to spend much time wondering why Diane/Adrian/Liz would agree to an acquisition or how the talks played out. This is the premise for season 4 and we’re just supposed to accept it. I’m usually wary of this kind of re-premising, but this doesn’t bug me too much. We saw last season the firm had no identity (bc when the firm had an identity in season 1 it was ALL BC OF BARBARA KOLSTAD) and we saw them lose their top clients. Diane’s been on leave so she probably wasn’t that involved in conversations, Adrian probably welcomes acquisition because it’s more money, and Liz… has always only been idealistic to a point.

My point is: our heroes aren’t actually, and have never been, heroes. Sure, they’re the underdogs dealing with a big corporation… but also, they sold to the big corporation.

Marissa says the cocoon spike thing is a sunset. K.

Jay’s never been up to STR Laurie’s floor. The dogs running around, however, have been upstairs. Monday and Wednesday are pet days, but the pets always come through the RBL floor instead of the STR Laurie floor. 

The name partners can bring dogs. (How many name partners are there if there are this many dogs and STR Laurie is at most 4 people and RBL is 3 and none of the RBL partners brought in dogs?)

JUSTICE FOR JUSTICE! (Poor Justice is probably not still around 11 years later but I had to say it.)

In the partners’ meeting, even the food everyone’s eating looks more upscale. Adrian officially welcomes Diane back. One of the non-name partners is not so happy to have her back. Or, rather, he’s not so happy the name partners got a ton of money in the deal and the non-name partners got screwed. Fair point.

I guess neither Lucca nor Rosalyn got the partnership.

Adrian expositions that they were acquired because they couldn’t survive after losing ChumHum, and STR Laurie is the 7th largest firm in the world. Got it. 

Diane’s check from the acquisition of the firm is so huge it stuns her. You would think she would have known these details. But we’re here now and this show works better if you look at the themes instead of wanting all of the character motivations to always make sense. I’d probably be chewing this plot out if it happened on TGW-- why would x make y decision!? Why didn’t we get to see it!?-- but with TGF I have an easier time accepting radical changes in tone. 

And TGF did need a change in tone. You can’t get that much mileage out of episodes about 45 (whose name might not even be mentioned this ep? I will try to look out for that as I watch) and clearly no one on the writing staff is interested in small, character driven intraoffice power struggles as the primary plots. If the writers have something to say about massive corporations, I’d rather sacrifice a few scenes of character development for a season that has a POV than sit through a season as uninspired as s7 of TGW.

(Perhaps this is why I’ve always liked TGW season 6 more than others-- it’s messy, but it’s INTERESTING. I like the Kings’ work best when it has energy and say what you will about season 6, but it’s not lacking for energy.) 

There is a dog peeing on Adrian’s office door and he is NOT happy about it (no one would be, but he is ESPECIALLY fed up). One gets the sense he’s not just appalled that it’s happening but tired of the dogs altogether. 

Diane is summoned to go upstairs to meet with the overlords. According to Adrian, Mr. Laurie isn’t bad, but Mr. Firth might be. 

Upstairs, there is a very long, very white hallway. It looks like it’s out of a sci-fi movie. 

I see TGF has finally leaned in to their tradition of casting British actors by just… having STR Laurie be a British firm. 

The set decoration of Mr. Firth’s office looks like it belongs on Evil. It’s over the top, has a piece of art that looks like horns (much like the therapist monster thingy… just watch Evil okay) and light fixtures that are clearly crosses. 

Mr. Firth asks Diane what she wants to do and she says she wants to get back to work. “What work?” he asks. Diane wants to get back to her clients and Mr. Firth tells a story about a poor man who wanted to give everything, even the moon, to a thief. Neither Diane nor I understand. Mr. Firth says this story is about how he’s giving Diane her “moon” by having her head up their pro-bono cases because she shines when she has a goliath to face. True, but what does this have to do with the story!? I legit thought that story was going to be about how Diane gives too much of herself and should learn to accept high pay checks while doing no work and getting out of STR Laurie’s way. Maybe I missed something?

Anyway, Diane is getting the pro bono department with 22 lawyers and 40 cases. This is to keep her happy and to make STR Laurie look good. Feels too good to be true. Diane gets investigator time and partner billable hours, and she’s told this is fine-- make the firm a good citizen no matter how much it costs. WTF is going on here? Is this a trick?

Diane walks downstairs, happy, as Lucca heads up the stairs. Maybe she’s not a partner, but she’s important enough to be summoned upstairs. 

Mr. Firth explains to Lucca that he is “the sorting hat of lawyers.” Lucca explains she’s never read Harry Potter because she doesn’t “like wizard shit.” Impressively brave to say that to your new overlord, Lucca. I have missed you and your give no fucks attitude. 

“Yes, fuck wizard shit,” Mr. Firth responds, somewhat stiltedly. 

Mr. Firth wants Lucca to work on a divorce case for one of their top clients as the client has a personality clash with their head of family law. Their head of family law is, of course, David Lee. Welcome back, I guess. At least David Lee happening to end up at this firm that acquired RBL makes a ton more sense than all the ways they found to keep David Lee relevant to TGW in its last two seasons. 

David Lee hasn’t changed a bit.

Diane’s first client is XIOMARA VILLANUEVA!!!!!! 

But in this universe, she’s a restaurant owner whose restaurant is about to be torn down because of eminent domain. Diane tries one of her usual tricks- asking Xo (I’m sure she has a name on this show and once they say it again I will stop calling her Xo) to bring her food truck outside of the courthouse so everyone can smell how great her food is and be more sympathetic to her case. 

“You’re not the lawyer I expected,” Xo tells Diane. Diane responds, “I’ve changed.” Diane, I am pretty sure that’s not what she meant, but ok!

Lucca and David Lee’s first meeting with Bianca Skye, the high profile client, is a bit awkward, but Bianca instantly takes a liking to Lucca. (“I didn’t know this firm had any black lawyers,” Bianca notes. “Oh, they hide us,” Lucca jokes. But it’s not really a joke when all the black lawyers are the RBL staff and they’re on a different floor…)

David Lee has Bianca tell Lucca her whole case-- which is fairly straightforward-- with way too much detail. Before Lucca asks David if he’s just trying to run up billable hours, it’s clear he’s dragging this out on purpose.

“Oh good, the Angry Black Woman has made an appearance,” awful human being David Lee says after Lucca calls him out. 

David Lee plays rank on her and tells her to watch and learn. Yes, making a racist comment and then being condescending without explaining your strategy is DEFINITELY the way to get the lawyer characterized by her complete lack of interest in being a cog in a machine on your side. 

Adrian, Liz, and Barry are all helping Diane do a mock trial before her first day back in court. It’s fun. 

Adrian is SO over the dogs. His face when a pack of them run past is priceless. 

Diane’s mock trial strategy goes well; the evidence is on her side. And Julius, as luck would have it, is the judge on this case. (Why this is in federal court I don’t know.)

Julius is very happy to be a judge. 

Canning is back. Feels weird to have him here without Alicia. But, honestly, I was prepared for worse. As we’ll see as this scene progresses, Canning is the PERFECT person to have as opposing counsel. If there’s a new rule to exploit, he’d be the first to know about it. If there’s a slimy strategy to use while playing innocent, that’s his schtick. If there’s a corporation doing bad things, he’s your guy. 

Canning tries to explain his condition to Julius. I guess Julius must have been in the New York office when Canning was at LG in late season 5. Diane laughs, knowing that Julius can’t be tricked by Canning. 

Canning probably also knows it won’t work, because he’s already prepared to ask Julius to recuse himself. I feel like this is entirely reasonable. Diane isn’t just an acquaintance… they were partners at the same firm for over a decade.

Diane is TOTALLY the type of white lady to overdo the pronunciation of “chorizo”. 

The delicious smelling food seems like it’s going to work, but we quickly learn that what used to constitute tricky is now just child’s play. The CEO of Rare Orchard, who has been subpoenaed, has decided not to show up. He doesn’t have an excuse. He isn’t delaying. He’s just not going to show up. Like, remember when we thought it was egregious that the CEO Canning was defending in 4x11 kept putting off depositions and Alicia calling the judge was an effective strategy? HA! (Anyone know if this case is based on something or if it’s the writers taking some creative liberties for the sake of plot? My fear is that aspects of it are real because I can’t see the writers being this interested in a plot point they invented.)

Canning says he thinks the CEO doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the subpoena. Julius reminds Canning that he is a federal judge and his subpoena is legitimate. Canning is all, “yes, I know that’s your position” as though laws are opinions. AAAAAAAAA.

This show loves this kind of thing, just totally taking the basic assumptions away and letting chaos reign. 

This CEO sent Julius a memo telling him to “go fuck yourself.” Eeek.

Diane doesn’t even get to do much lawyering.

Then there is a random cut (which I hate) to a scene of a massive set falling apart during a battle scene. Why the fuck is this here? And what is this from? If I ff to the credits will it tell me? Nope. Dammit. Someone help me out here. 

Credits! Things are exploding again, yay! Aside from the images on the TV, these credits look really similar to S3. I think they may have increased the saturation on the color of the liquids exploding but I could be making things up.

Julius’s outrage at the situation continues after the credits. 

David Lee tries to get Lucca to agree to just be comforting to the client. Lucca is like, no, because I was brought on for a reason I am going to do my job. 

DLee calls this “PC shit” and says something else racist. Bianca answers the door and asks to do the depo prep on the run. What this means is that they’re all getting on her private jet and going to St. Lucia. 

David Lee is TERRIFIED of the private jet. I would be too since I hate small planes (and all planes, but particularly small ones), but I am still enjoying watching him squirm. Lucca is too. 

Lucca DELIGHTS in reminding David they’re in a small metal tube with nothing holding them up. It’s fantastic. 

Bianca offers David Lee a CBD cocktail, because of course she does. This episode is doing a good job of reminding me of why David Lee and Canning were both once really effective characters, so if the writers can use them this way moving forward, I’ll be happy.

Bianca googled Lucca and demands to see pictures of her very cute baby. She then takes Lucca’s phone and starts up Tinder. This is a strange dynamic because it’s friendly but also sudden and also Bianca is paying Lucca for this time. But both of them could use friends, so I’m just going to be cautiously optimistic a real friendship could grow out of this. 

David Lee chugging a CBD cocktail is most definitely something I needed in my life. Thank you writers! 

Our characters are wealthy but everyone they deal with in this episode is ultrawealthy. Like, disgustingly wealthy. Bianca seems nice but holy shit no one needs to fly to St. Lucia for lunch. 

Court stuff happens. This episode is more interesting than just “court stuff happens” but the point is pretty simple-- Julius gets increasingly outraged at the breakdown of the system he believes in, and things keep getting more and more bizarre. 

Julius turns to the corrupt judge Adrian is sleeping with (I think the writers need to tell me what I am supposed to think of her because… I just don’t understand who she’s supposed to be, unless “corrupt judge who creeps me out yet for some reason Adrian is still into” is the point OR unless I am supposed to see her corruption as somehow excusable... ) for advice. She calls their job “shadow play” and says the system is all fake. That would explain why she’s open to bribery, then. She agrees to help Julius get the CEO into court, but I think she’s just helping to illustrate how futile this will be if he tries to resist again.

David Lee also doesn’t like the food on the island. It’s so funny. 

Lucca’s dress is really cute.

Bianca says Lucca must think she’s crazy for flying just to get guava for lunch. Lucca says, “No, it’s just a very different lifestyle from mine.” That’s an understatement. Bianca’s life changed in the last few years, and she’s worried it’s all going to go away (so, it’s implied, she’s living it up now). It seems she has some sort of skincare/cosmetics empire. 

Bianca is worried that in the next recession (oh look at that timely comment), her products will be the first thing people cut back on. Curious to know if this is happening. 

Bianca’s other concern is that she has no friends now because she’s rich. Everyone wants something. “You’re so full of shit,” Lucca says, refusing to pity Bianca. This makes Bianca like her more. 

Bianca talks about a service to matchmake friends. She found it weird, but she doesn’t find “this” (befriending Lucca, even though she is probably paying Lucca WAY more than the friend matchmaker fee) weird. Lucca is always entering into friendships so formally! Okay it’s just two scenes (this one and the one where she and Alicia become friends) but still.

Lucca reminds Bianca she’s also her lawyer.

Bianca asks if DLee is drawing out the case. She’s not stupid. Lucca says David isn’t drawing it out, but I think they both know the answer.

(Question based on what happens later in the ep- if David actually has reasoning, then why in the world would he not tell Bianca OR Lucca about it? And why do they need to have overly long meetings to draw things out? Can’t they just schedule them with large gaps? Idk the whole thing is weird and if David isn’t going to share his strategy that’s on him.)

The CEO finally shows up in court and Julius thinks he’s won. He hasn’t. He says he’s asserting privilege he can’t reveal because it is privileged. The CEO acts like Julius is in the wrong, which pisses Julius off. The CEO gets held in custody and Julius says that the restaurant can’t be bulldozed until the CEO complies. 

Then Julius gets the mysterious MEMO 618. Dun dun dun. 

I know there must be more but I feel like we know what Memo 618 is? Like, no we don’t know who sent it or exactly what it means, but we know the effect of what it does. What is the mystery? Who sent it? 

At night, Julius takes the mystery memo to Judge Hazelwood. She plays dumb because-- as we find out later-- Adrian is within earshot. Adrian’s jacket is apparently very recognizable because Julius spots it. I believe it; Adrian has a distinctive style. 

Adrian talks about taking their relationship public. So Judge Hazelwood bribing people didn’t end the relationship? 

Adrian also asks about Memo 618. He knows she knows what it is. She distracts him by getting on top of him.

Depositions for Bianca’s divorce get contentious but she has the upperhand. Lucca suggests that Bianca settle now and get the ex out of her life-- “balance money with psychological wellness.” Sounds reasonable to me!

At work, Judge Hazelwood is more forthcoming. And Julius did recognize the jacket. Judge Hazelwood tells Julius to let the CEO out and stop asking about the memo. Julius wants to get her on tape, but instead she tells him to get in an Uber and go to an address. She also warns that the court has a program if you break your phone. Sounds like a threat…

Julius finds the Uber easily and then goes on a long journey to the countryside. The driver, it turns out, is a former federal judge who didn’t comply with a mystery memo and he warns Julius to just do what they say or he’ll end up an Uber driver barely able to support his family. (THINK OF YOUR SIX CHILDREN, JULIUS.) 

Lucca wearing heels at her standing desk is… just silly, why would she do this? She wouldn’t take off one heel to stretch her foot; she would have a pair of flats to wear in her office. (This episode is written and directed by men, just fyi.) (Do women actually do this? I hate heels so I would never even consider it, but I feel like everyone hates heels??? Even the people who wear them all the time???) 

David is all mad at Lucca for encouraging Bianca to settle because it has tax implications. Two things: One, if there’s this obvious reason to delay, I feel like Lucca would have figured it out. Two, LUCCA IS ON DAVID’S SIDE. And if he’s allowed to say this out loud now, he could have said it earlier. So… no pity for David Lee. This is why you cooperate with your colleagues instead of antagonizing them. 

Liz-- who has been quite underused in this episode-- is also fed up with the dogs. She and Adrian storm upstairs to say, in Adrian’s words, “they can’t use this floor as a toilet for their motherfucking dogs.” 

They bust through the doors to the long hallway (which in real life would DEFINITELY have a key card reader on it) and push past the receptionist. 

Mr. Firth is holding a very cute dog named Avenger. Mr. Firth also refers to Liz as “Elizabeth”. 

Liz asks that the dogs stop “shitting” on their floor. After all, this was supposed to be a partnership, not an acquisition (does anyone believe that? I think Liz is just using their BS corporate talk against them). Mr. Firth says he will find a way to deal with the dogs. Adrian takes the opportunity to mention that the equity partners need their money. “How do we want to satisfy this?” Mr. Firth asks. “Give them money,” Liz says. Mr. Firth agrees to meet about this next week. He also gives Liz and Adrian access to the executive elevator. He’s just trying to appease them so they’ll be more on his side.

Liz and Adrian both recognize that was too easy, but decide to take the win. I feel like this problem is going to come back…

Julius apologizes and releases the CEO. He recuses himself but says that in the meantime the restaurant will stand. 

Diane knows something’s off and confronts Julius. She’s furious but Julius asks her to leave. I wonder what Diane would’ve done in Julius’s situation. It’s very easy to become complicit…

The restaurant is torn down anyway, making Diane even angrier. She tells Julius it’s on him and he reminds her that he is a judge.

And this is how systems are perpetuated.

That’s the end of the episode, save for the message about the two week break before episode 3 from the cast and crew. I appreciate that they included this, and that they included the whole crew rather than just the Kings and the cast. 

I don’t even recognize most of the crew! I recognize the cast (duh), Dan Lawson (the costume designer), the makeup artist (I think I’ve seen her in various instagram posts), Brooke Kennedy, and the Kings. 

Jonathan Coulton is in the video too (he’s totally a part of the TGF family at this point-- and is one of few people to be on TGW, BrainDead, TGF, AND Evil) to lead everyone in an adorable (but somewhat out of sync) singalong. Awwww.