#outsiders minnesota au

[coca-coeli]

lighting practice with minnesotan au johnny.

[starry-bi-sky]

This is very inspired by @minnesota-fats post about Danny being Bruce Wayne's clone (which has been rotting in my brain for two days) but an au where danny isn't just Bruce Wayne's clone, but also not fully a ghost.

both ideas can be used separately honestly, the idea just came to me while thinking about the bruce wayne clone idea, and a lot of this idea is just "danny without his ghost powers. i might probably make a part two that delves into him being bruce wayne's clone.

Hear me out.

A Danny Fenton who has the ghost sense and the fangs and the pointed ears and the scary eyes and an increase ecto-essence, but does not have the ability to "go ghost". His accident occurred when he pressed the "on" button on the outside of the portal, and the button electrocuted him due to faulty wiring. He ends up miraculously surviving but not without some new additional abilities (and electricity-based trauma).

Since Danny no longer has a built-in alter ego with the invert wardrobe to match, he doesn't see the point to take ghosts back to the ghost zone. What the hell can he do anyways? All he has is a cosmetic add-in, a lower body-temperature with an impressive ability to hold his breath longer than a human realistically should, and a built-in ghost detector. Not very helpful if you ask him.

That is, up until he goes into the lab after his parents catch a relatively harmless ghost and sees them vivisecting it. He's horrified. He thought his parents were using hyperbole when he said they'd tear them apart molecule by molecule.

(Granted, he also believed that ghosts were unfeeling up until he saw this random ghost being absolutely terrified for its existence on the table.)

After an argument over his parents harming the ghost, Danny goes back up to his room and refuses to leave, not even for dinner. Later that night after his parents went to sleep, Danny steels his resolve and sneaks back down into the lab and releases the ghost back into the ghost zone.

This happens a handful of times, until, finally, frustrated, Danny tells the latest captured ghost to tell anyone inside that if they even think about coming through, he'll capture them and bring them back to the zone himself. It's for their own safety.

The ghost agrees, and goes back inside. Danny steals a "failed" thermos from his parents' stash of weapons. The next time that a ghost shows up, its the lunch lady from episode one. Danny manages to defeat her without being seen, but knows that if there's gonna be consistent daytime ghost attacks then he can't base his luck around fighting without witnesses.

So he fashions himself with a makeshift outfit. This really only consists of an old, nondescript hoodie and a plain black face mask. Its the best thing he can do at short notice, however. Later, for his nighttime ghost fighting, his outfit is only slightly better.

He considered using one of his parents' lab suits. But white sticks out at night and the material doesn't protect you from road burn. His outfit is pretty homemade, with knee and elbow pads under his clothes and multiple layers. A long sleeve shirt over a hoodie over a black denim vest he found on sale. He later on manages to make brass knuckles ghost-proof and manages to stitch them into his gloves. (he gets very good at sewing).

His favorite part of the entire outfit, is a Casey Jones-style full-face mask he found while thrifting. It allows him better breathability than the face mask he was using (calling Rule Of Cool law here), and he can use his scary eyes to make him look more intimidating. His gloves, his mask, and his thermos are the things he carries around with him constantly, and, later on, wears baggier clothing to hide the fact that he's wearing knee and elbow gear under his clothes.

Did I mention he has long hair? Danny has long hair (because GNC danny ftw, it goes past his shoulders) that he braids back. it's a bit sloppy but it keeps his hair out of his face well enough. He takes the fenton creep stick with him.

(He and Bruce have, ultimately, a more lean build than a bulky one. It helped Bruce with his Brucie Wayne persona big time when he had to look like a pretty skinny boy, he uses body language, optical illusion, and body armor to make himself look bulkier as batman)

He still goes by the name Phantom. He still has a bitter rivalry with his parents, who have no idea that its him. They think he's probably some other ghost with beef with the other ghosts (he still triggers their ghost sensors), and still want to capture him.

He doesn't talk around the living. He doesn't have any fancy voice changer and dropping his voice hurts and ultimately, he just uses ASL if he ever has to talk in front of people. The ghosts know his voice at night, but not during the day.

He hardly talks to the living. He avoids them like the plague actually. When he defeats a ghost and there's an audience, he barely sticks around to have a nice friendly chat. He tries to get away as soon as possible. He's paranoid over people finding out who he is. He doesn't have that ghost form to fall back on here.

Oh god this is getting so long, so i'll post another part soon.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 4.5 (Dani interlude) Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 7.5 (Dan Interlude) Part 8

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer park Steve AU pt. 55 (12.2)

part 1 | part 54 | ao3

A cop picks him up just outside Dinwiddie, two and a half miles from where he left his car on the side of the road. She’s plump and squat, with red hair and a midwestern accent, like Mrs. Henderson if she grew up in Minnesota.

“Wisconsin,” she corrects. “Hop in, I’ll take you to Lorraine’s.”

“Thanks, Officer…?”

“Greene.”

Steve accepts the offer because his fingertips are so cold they’re starting to burn through his leather gloves, and as she drives them to the diner in town he explains the flat tire — debris flying off an eighteen wheeler, a crazy loud clang followed by a flapping thud-thud-thud, the smell of burnt rubber as he eased onto the shoulder only to remember that he never replaced his busted tire jack.

“Coulda been worse,” Officer Greene shrugs, looking at him with a small grin and tapping a gloved finger against her temple. “Coulda hit ya in the noggin.”

“True," Steve chuckles, "could’ve gone four for four on the concussions.” He has to cover his laugh with a fake cough because he gets a flash of concerned crazy eyes in response, which is pretty fair, actually. Sometimes he forgets the details of his life all sound insane. “Uh. Sports," he amends. "I play— yeah.”

The rest of the drive is quiet. Steve watches the woods, the shadows reaching like blunt fingers over the hills, and the snow turns to freezing rain and pools in all the potholes as they splash down the sad main street, past a junkyard and an old schoolhouse, past boarded-up windows and short, stubby buildings full of failing small businesses. Lorraine’s is a hole in the wall at the end of a neglected strip, half the bulbs on the sign blown out so it just reads Rain’s in flickering yellow light, and Steve thinks that's fitting because this place is shit. This place is shit, and he feels like shit, and he’s going to have to drive home to his shitty trailer and see Eddie’s van parked across the street or maybe it still won't be there at all and he— he fucking—

"Easy," Officer Greene says. "You'll chew a hole through your lip doin' that." She parks the car and turns to him, squinting. "You okay?"

Steve pinches the end of his nose.

In the diner, she slides into the booth opposite him and insists on buying him coffee and a short stack, because, "Well, no offense, young man, but you seem like you may be goin' through it a bit."

Steve winces over his coffee, cradling the warm cup with both hands. “Yeah, well,” he sniffs, “my, uh…" Your what, exactly? "I got dumped.”

He doesn’t know why he gives her the details — the empty bed, the sticky note. Sorry. Something in her eyes makes him feel like he can trust her, and when they finish their meal she reaches over and lays a hand over his. Tells him it sounds like he’s got a lot of other people who love him; tells him he should think about giving one of them a call.

With a lump in his throat and fresh tears in his lashes, he fishes quarters from his pocket and trudges over to the phone. Dials one of the few numbers he knows by heart.

“Hello,” Claudia greets, “Henderson residence.”

A truly ugly noise escapes him, wet and thick with phlegm.

“Hello?” she tries again. "Dusty, is that you? Are you okay?"

Steve’s not about to cry where all the waitresses can see. “Hey, Ma,” he croaks when he feels like he can breathe. “It's Steve. Can I... do you mind if I stay with you for a bit?” 

—

part 56

tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

[slafkovskys]

All of this start of the season Jack content is making me feel things!!! All I can think about is him and older Norris reader after the ring toss! What does he plan for the date? How does it go? What is everyone in their lives reactions to it? Does she go to Jersey with him? Jess your writing is so immaculate this AU has infiltrated my brain😂🥰

read part one here :)

as she hears his footsteps descending the steps, she thinks about how she wouldn't be doing this for anyone else, especially not on a first date.

her dress and heels were long abandoned in a guest room, instead exchanged for a pair of jack’s sweatpants and a too big t-shirt from her college days she had left at the hughes brothers’ house at some point during her many trips there over the past few weeks. her hair was now pulled away from her face, the fact that she had moved her wash day for the occasion be damned.

“so,” he lets out a big sigh before quite literally falling onto the l-shaped part of the sofa beside her. she’s got her legs tucked underneath her, a wine glass held tight in one hand, and her head resting on another on the back of the couch. the remote is resting on her thigh and all either of them had to do was press play on the third mighty ducks movie (“it’s better than miracle, jack. not even an argument,” and she quickly learned that jack does whatever she wants, so that was an easy debate to have before he retreated to shower) that had been queued on the screen for the past twenty minutes. instead, jack throws an arm lazily over her legs, gives her that stupid grin of his she’s become obsessed with, and nods, “tell me about y/n.”

“you know about y/n,” she states as though it was a fact, which it was. they weren’t strangers to each other in the slightest, having been somewhat background characters in each other’s lives for the last eight years.

“no, i don’t. i know about the y/n whose posts i see on instagram or whatever updates my mom tells me she’s learned from your mom. that doesn’t count,” his index finger traces the outside seam of the pants she was wearing from her calf, to just above her knee, and back, “i want to know about the y/n in front of me.”

“okay then,” she takes a deep breath, swirling her wine around in her glass before taking a sip, “i was born here in michigan, but moved to germany for a little while when my dad was still playing. before you ask me, no, the only german i can remember is my old address and how to tell them i was lost. when we moved back here, i picked up hockey for a couple of years before deciding to leave it to the boys-”

“you played defense, right?” jack interrupts, staring at her with such an interest.

she hums, “why do you think i always win when me and my brothers fight? i had potential, but it really just wasn’t for me.”

“is that so? because i remember a certain tipsy moment a few weeks ago where you said you quit because you didn’t like the colors of the uniform.”

“that may have been a contributing factor, but i was fourteen and very fashion-conscious. you can’t hold that against me,” she rolls her eyes. she catches sight of the wristbands on his arm and she can’t help but to reach down and tug on them as she resumes her story, “anyway, graduated high school, moved to minnesota for college. go gophers-”

“debatable,” he teases.

“got my degree in communications. thought that i met the love of my life in the backyard of a sigma chi frat house, which we both know how that worked out. moved down to florida, got engaged, called off the engagement, and now i’m back living with my parents. i have lived a life, jack hughes,” she sighs as she finishes off her glass. she didn’t miss the way that his face twitched at the mention of derek and how she just barely ghosted over what had happened. due to the movement, his damp hair had fallen over his eyes and she reached out to push it away, “it’s going to take more than one glass of wine and a first date to get into the good stuff.”

“but i already knew all of that,” he huffs, “tell me something that i don’t already know. tell me about something that makes you happy.”

“recently?” she quirks an eyebrow and he hums, “honestly, you.”

and jack’s world comes to a screeching halt. for as long as he had known her, she wasn’t the type to get sentimental, vulnerable, but over the last two months, he felt that he had seen more versions of her than he knew existed. from the first night she was home, to that plane ride to florida to get her things, to watching her toss her engagement ring into the water right outside his house, it wasn’t enough. he wanted, no he needed more of her. he needed to know every single version of her, every single story, every single emotion that she had to offer him.

her eyes find his and he squeezes her knee, a silent ask. he watches as her throat bobs and just as he goes to crane his neck up to meet her, an alarm sounds. that stupid fucking pizza.

after scouring the entire grocery store, they couldn’t find any pre-breaded chicken for chicken parm and neither of them wanted to bother with doing it themselves. so that’s how they found themselves snatching up a premade pizza with a reduced sticker on the front because its sell-by date was that day and even though jack insisted on getting one that was fresher, she only rolled her eyes and insisted it would taste the same. he, of course, let her sit it in the basket along with the thing of cookies she suddenly had a craving for the second she laid eyes on them. the way her face lit up made it worth the extra work he was going to have to put in later.

despite the insistent beeping from the stove timer, neither of them dared to make a move to go and pull the pizza from the oven. she blinks, “we should probably go and check on it…”

“i think that it can wait for a couple of minutes,” and yeah, it definitely could, because jack was leaning in and so was she. the second their lips meet it’s like nothing either of them had felt before. the build-up, the tension between the two of them over the summer was worth it as they melted into the kiss.

jack’s hand grips onto her thigh while her hand cradles his cheek. it was easy to get lost in each other, lips moving against one another’s like they’d been doing this forever. only when the need for air becomes too great do they pull away panting, still holding onto each other like either would disappear at any given second.

“we really should go check on the pizza,” she insists, swearing she can smell the cheese starting to burn.

he frowns, “can we do more of that later?”

“if you hurry back, you don’t have to wait that long,” she incentivizes and jack is all but scrambling towards the kitchen with the sounds of her laughter following behind him.

yeah, this was definitely something they could get used to.

(they never did hit play on the movie and the pizza didn’t burn, but it didn’t get eaten either. they were too lost in each other to even bother slicing through the crispy dough as it grew colder and colder on the countertop. oh well.)

[daybreakerangel]

Title: Mall Date [Part 1]

Word Count: 1,168

Another fanfic, yay! This fic takes place in my AU.

This is Adamsapple Harvest lite. The prompts 'Coffee Date' and 'Falling Leaves' if you squint are featured. I never went to Mall of America, but I would love to go. Part two will come out whenever.

Adam stood outside Lucifer’s craft room, his hand hovering over the door. Lucifer had been locked in there for two days straight, and Adam was beginning to worry.

“Lulu, are you okay?” Adam called softly; his voice tinged with concern. No response.

He hesitated, then placed his hand on the doorknob. It was unlocked. He pushed the door, but something blocked it from fully opening. A cascade of rubber duckies spilled out into the hallway.

“Lucifer?” Adam peeked his head inside the dimly lit room. There were no lights on, but the soft glow of his halo allowed him to make out piles upon piles of rubber duckies scattered across the floor.

Among the mess, Adam spotted a silhouette. Lucifer was lying on top of the duckies, his body sprawled across the heap. Adam could not tell if Lucifer was facing him or the wall. His eyes widened, and he pushed harder against the door, squeezing through the narrow opening.

Climbing onto the pile, Adam crawled toward Lucifer, his halo’s glow highlighted the various rubber duckies designs. As he got closer, he noticed Lucifer’s blonde hair was a tangled mess, and his hands were stained with dried acrylic paint. Gently, Adam placed a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder and shook him.

“Babe, wake up,” Adam said softly.

Lucifer’s eyes shot open, startling Adam, who jumped back. Lucifer groaned but did not speak, attempting to rise. His lower half sank further into the mass of rubber duckies, trapping him. Adam could not help but smile tenderly at the sight.

“You are not okay,” Adam said, his voice gentle.

Lucifer sighed, exhaustion written across his face, and nodded slowly.

“Do you want to go to Earth to clear your head?” Adam asked.

Lucifer managed a faint smile, a wistful expression passing over his features. Adam cupped Lucifer’s rosy cheeks between his hands.

“Alright, we will leave before 2 PM. But you need to freshen up first, you smell like sulfur. Adam chuckled, then crawled his way back out of the craft room. Lucifer stuck out his forked tongue as a response.

By 2:15 PM, Adam was lounging on the couch in a grey sweatshirt and matching sweatpants, flipping through a book listing popular tourist destinations in the United States. His yellow eyes caught a particular entry, and he folded the corner of the page before setting the book on the coffee table. Rising to his feet, he began drawing Lucifer’s sigil on the floor in preparation for their trip.

“So, where are we going?” Lucifer’s voice broke the silence.

Adam turned his head to see Lucifer standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking much better than he had that morning. His expression, however, was flat. He wore a romper covered in an apple pattern, with a matching apple-colored bag slung over his shoulder.

“Oh, um…” Adam fumbled for the book on the table, flipping to the saved page. “Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “A mall?”

“Yeah! It has over 500 stores, an aquarium, and" Adam grinned "an indoor theme park.”

Lucifer’s expression softened at the mention of the theme park. “Okay, you had me at indoor theme park. Let’s go.”

Adam smiled, and together they stepped into the center of the glowing sigil. As Lucifer tapped his left foot on each letter of his name, he bit into the tip of his pointer finger, causing a drop of angelic blood to fall onto the sigil. The glowing red intensified. Adam shielded his eyes, and in an instant, they were standing in the parking lot of the mall. Lucifer had shifted into his human disguise, “Lux.”

The air was crisp, with the gentle rustle of red, yellow, and orange leaves swirling around the lot. They made their way toward one of the mall’s anchor stores, L.L. Bean.

“Ugh, I hate that I shrink when we come to Earth,” Adam groaned, now standing at 6’5”, much shorter than his usual 8-foot height.

“Adam, you are still taller than most humans,” Lucifer replied flatly, stuck at 5’2” even in his Earth-bound form.

“Can we go to the theme park first?” Lucifer asked, his voice hopeful.

“We will go before we leave. There is somewhere I want to go first.”

Lucifer frowned slightly but nodded, curious. They walked into L.L. Bean but barely glanced around. Lucifer found the clothes uninteresting, and Adam quickly agreed. Instead, they wandered through the bustling mall, weaving through the crowds of shoppers.

Adam noticed Lucifer started to tense up, crowds always made him anxious. Without a word, Adam took Lucifer’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze as they continued walking.

After a short while, they arrived at their destination. “We are here!” Adam said, smiling as he led Lucifer to the entrance.

Lucifer looked up at the sign. “Barnes & Noble?” he asked, confused. “You are not exactly a bookworm, Addy.”

Adam’s cheeks flushed. “I thought having coffee with my apple pie surrounded by books, would be romantic,” he said sheepishly.

Lucifer’s heart melted, trying his best not to blush. He loves Adam’s odd but sweet romantic gestures. They made their way to the café, where the display cases were filled with tempting pastries. While waiting in the short line, they looked over the menu.

“That Four Cheese Grilled Cheese sounds fucking delicious. I am definitely getting one, two,” Adam said excitedly.

“Of course you are,” Lucifer teased, pinching Adam’s love handles “I am getting the Tomato Caprese and an Americano. What about you?”

“Just a brewed coffee. You know I am basic. I hope they have brown sugar, though.”

Once they ordered, they found a table by the window. Lucifer slumped into his chair and, with a wave of his hand, materialized two rubber duckies, making them float lazily in the air.

“You should at least look around before using magic in public,” Adam whispered, scanning the café to make sure no one was watching.

“Whatever,” Lucifer sighed, he placed the duckies onto the table. Adam considered bringing up the unusual rubber ducky hoard, but he did not want to ruin the mood. The silence between them felt heavy for a moment. Adam pulled out his phone, scrolling through information about the mall.

“There is a bowling alley!? Holy shit, we have to check that out!” Adam grinned.

“What about the theme park?” Lucifer asked, sounding a little dejected.

Before Adam could respond, their order was ready. He got up to fetch their food, while Lucifer grabbed Adam’s phone to search for info about the theme park. When Adam returned with the trays, Lucifer looked frustrated.

 “What is wrong?” Adam asked softly as he sat down.

“The theme park sucks,” Lucifer scoffed. “It is just a bunch of kiddie and family rides and only four thrill rides.” he put Adam’s phone down and grabbed the tray with his order and bit into his sandwich aggressively. Adam sighed, sipping his coffee. This date was not going quite the way he had hoped.

[muldermuse]

Your first date? Or your first time with fox mulder 👀👀

Thank you for sending this through!!! I hope it's ok <3

If u have any ideas for Fox Mulder fics/headcanons/aus anything pls send them throuuuuuuugh. I will be forever grateful <3

He’s nervous, Scully has been giving him sly looks throughout the day as he’s been trying his hardest to keep it together. The day has been littered with small mistakes, starting with accidentally throwing his takeaway coffee in the trash to biting his pen and not realising the blue ink had covered his shirt with soaking blotches. He tried to ignore the superstitious voice in his head telling him that the day (and your first date) was determined to go badly. 

He asked you out on a date the third time he met you, initially the date was planned to be that week, however, a bout of sickness had made you bed bound. You called to apologise and rescheduled for the same date next week, unfortunately, Fox had a case that had taken him out of town. He called you from his crappy motel; his stomach filled with knots at the thought of letting you down. 

Your fingers twisted around the phone cord as you laid on your bed sheet. “You know, I’ve heard some pretty good date cancelling excuses. But travelling to Minnesota to catch a demonic stray dog i-“

He interrupted, “I think you mean, potential werewolf sighting” 

His voice made you blush, it always did, you felt the warmth rise up your chest. “Well, I know that Scully thinks it’s something along the stray dog lines.”

He smiled, you made him feel less alone, even in this dusty motel room hundreds of miles away from you- you were making him smile. “I am really sorry to cancel, I’m back on Sunday. I’ll pick you from the apartment at 2?”

***

So, it’s the third attempt at a first date and he’s nervous. He parked outside your apartment at 1:30 and had been building up the courage to go in. He knew that 30 minutes was too early, at 1:40 he thought he may as well wait for ten more minutes. However, at 1:42, he made his way up to your door. He had your coffee order, a pastry and a bunch of lilies gripped nervously in his hand. He thinks about knocking on your door, or should he ring the bell? Before he has time to consider each option more critically, the door opens and there you are. 

You take his breath away.

He knows that you’d class what you’re wearing as nothing special, but to him you look incredible as always. You’re slightly more made up than usual, your eye lids dusted with a muted brown and your mascara making your lashes look even longer. Your lip liner and lip gloss combo enhances your mouth and all he can think about in that moment is kissing you. Your hair is down and behind your shoulders; you smile awkwardly at him. 

“Oh my god, please tell me I look okay! I’ve spent ages deciding what to wear, at first I chose a dress but then I thought it might be too much and then I de-“. He could tell you were panicked and nervous; just the same as him. He held your hand as he gently pressed a kiss to your cheek, taking in the sweet smell of your perfume as he said with as much confidence as he could muster, “you look amazing. I’m looking forward to spending the day with you.” 

The date is a walk around the park near your apartment, then a trip to a book store which Fox always talks about and then a late lunch at a restaurant you’ve talked about extensively. You’ve been looking forward to it as much as he has. Your previous dates have usually started at 7pm and you’ve been emotionally checked out, or repulsed, by half past.

On the walk, you found out more about his work and how much his career meant to him. He asked you about your job and your future dreams. You noticed that he smiled throughout, looking at you with a grin on his face as he heard you talk about where you wanted to be in five years. In the bookstore, you realised how similar you were as you perused the endless aisles. Seemingly every book you went to pick up he had read or had at home on his shelf. 

“I have most of the ones you’re interested in, you could always come round and choose some.” 

“Fox, if that’s a way to get me into your apartment and to see your water bed- I swear”. A smirk crossed his face as a red tinge covered his cheeks,

“I mean- can you blame me for trying?”

As you both got more comfortable throughout the date, you noticed both yourself and Fox becoming more flirty with each other. You’d hold his arm when he made you giggle, he’d blush when you got closer to him and he’d intertwine your fingers with his in quiet moments.

***

The restaurant was quietening down, it was the liminal zone between the lunch rush and early diners. The candles were lit on each table despite the sun shining outside, only around a quarter of the tables were full as soft music played. All of a sudden, you seemed to remember that you were on a date with the person you have a crush on and you felt a pang of anxiety hit you. Fox seemed oblivious to your rising nerves as he idly chatted through the menu and ordering water for the table. 

He looked so so good today. His hair was perfectly off his face and his smile seemed brighter than it ever had before. Before your thoughts could spiral more about your sudden prick of nervousness, you felt his warm hand cover yours and quell your ill feelings in an instant. His touch grounded you back to the moment. “I’m going to get a bottle of white, is that okay? We can get soda as well if you’d like”.

You moved your hand to hold his fingers with a squeeze, “White is great, thank you”. With his soft eyes and sweet smile in front of you, the nerves seemingly dissipated from your body and you felt a blush creeping up your chest. This was the best date you’d ever been on and you knew in that moment that you had to let him know.

You got a main each and then shared a dessert. The wine was going down easily and you were on your second bottle with no intentions to get a third. The alcohol was coursing through your veins which resulted in a permanent smile being on your face. 

“You know” he swiped his spoon through the caramel chocolate mousse in front of you, “you’ve been smiling at me for the past twenty minutes”. He put the spoon in his mouth and winked at you.

“Maybe I’m having a really good time,” you picked up your wine glass and sipped the remaining liquid, “or, maybe it’s the wine.”

He threw his head back with a laugh, “It’s definitely the first one.”

The bill arrived and Fox paid before you could argue, you made a mental note to pay for the second date. The sun was setting as you left the restaurant and before you could step further outside, Fox held your hand tightly in his.

***

“So, this is me…” The conversation had continued to flow as you walked back to your apartment, you took the long route to prolong the time you could spend with him. You both awkwardly stood in front of your front door. Neither of you wanted this night to end. You could invite him inside for a coffee, you could say that your bedroom light was flickering and you would like him to take a look at it. You couldn't end it without a big move and with the liquid courage still in your body; you pressed your lips to his. 

You brought your hands up to cup his face as you kissed him. His nose nudged against yours as his hands slid down to your hips, pulling you closer to him as you felt him smile against your lips. The taste of chocolate and sweet caramel still lingered on his lips. His forehead touched yours as your fingers interlocked at the nape of his neck. He looked at you with a hunger in his eyes, wordlessly you held his hand as you unlocked your front door and dragged him inside.

“Third times the charm, I guess” He laughed as you locked the door.

[myloveforhergoeson]

✨ - How does your character navigate social cliques or groups in school? Are they part of a specific crowd or more of a lone wolf?

for roxy, especially after the whole thing with brand new day went down. tho feel free to answer for the others :)

ughhh oh my god brand new day... essay incoming that is mostly just me rambling about things i have thought much about but have never put into words

as per usual, i have lots to say about this one. shockingly, i didn't give roxy too much social backstory outside of high school just because i didn't want to get over caught in explaining like. her whole life story? she's not anti-social obviously, but mag and dani really were her only good friends. while roxy had many acquaintances, like cait in the Minnesota chapter!, she didn't really have anyone besides BND she'd hang out with on the reg. this kind of forced her into the social outside i guess? but only because she was bunched in with the other school musicians not because she was bitchy or anything lol. she never really made her personal life a priority unless it was music related, so mag and dani were really all she needed!

i think i briefly mention it in one of the chapters but jo and camille are really her first pair of good, close female friends

as for clique navigation, i'd imagine she wasn't too good at learning the ropes at first, especially if other kids were already shoving her into the musician box before she was able to pinpoint them as a jock or stoner or whatever but overall didn't really affect her. she was more the flying under the radar type. of course this changes when she meets btr later on but that's how i imagine school was for her the first year :)

i'm not sure she'd place herself in any category, that's not super punk yk, but she definitely wasn't a lone wolf. she was more reliant on making connections in the local music community so BND could play gigs and stuff. if that meant she got super buddy buddy with a kid that had a basement for them to play a show in, that's what she'd do, but it was mostly just community connections for her.

if i went to school with her i'd definitely peg her into the musician + artsy type groups. hanging out with mag and dani would also swerve her into the smoker category lol. i tried to include that in the story when she grabs a lighter on the way out the door when she and james go to the show in duluth but got lazy and only had them have the conversation about it in my head. sorry! she used to be a social smoker just as a byproduct of being in the punk community... never her own cigarettes but if someone offered her a hit she wouldn't say no. she used to think it was really cool. girl! stop that! they're so bad for you! we see a bit of this in the rockstar au lol

after the band break up, she was def going lone wolf mode in hopes of protecting herself from ever being played again. not that she was intentionally going out of her way to avoid other people, but she wasn't attempting to form lasting connections outside of sitting next to someone in class or meeting anyone outside of class like she would mag and dani. btr are really the first friends she'd made since the split.

as for the guys idkkkk they all give such jock energy its hard for me to imagine them in any other category. hate to do that to them but really that's just how they present themselves both in public and private. they all seem like social butterflies, even if sometimes they get a bit awkward in certain instances, but they're hard not to like. they're not rude, they're super cute, they play a big time sport, they always help out their friends... who wouldn't like them!

(mag if they went to school together... but that's a conversation for another time...)

tysm for the ask you know how i love to talk and talk and talk <3 what do you think about our oc miss octavia or katie !! i know they're younger, but still. middle school age is like prime time to be clique navigating lol

find an emoji and ask away!

[streamdotpng]

Some world building questions for Military School AU

Where is AMWA located? I know Oregon, Minnesota and another state was suggested but what's the final verdict?

What does the school look like? Is really just a big eco brutalism building?

How big is the school including the transformation grounds?

What do non-AMWA werewolves think of the AMWA werewolves and vice versa?

Do AMWA werewolves continue to join the military after that?

I think it was Alaska but I low-key forgot, it's been mentioned already before tho. I know that much

The school is very much a big eco brutalism building. There's a rule that you can't decorate the outside of the school unless it's for big events but you have free reign inside your dorm rooms sooo

The school is pretty large, most likely owns a bunch of acres of land for the full moons. It was purposefully built far from Arcadia after all

Non AMWA werewolfs? They probably think the same thing when we think of military school. Either they're uppity and stuck up or revere them since they're from a prestigious school

As for AMWA werewolves joining the military, yeah! It's like a 50 50 chance all the time. Some go to higher better end colleges and universities or continue military training in military academies when they graduate

[coca-coeli]

this is for later reference, when I actually start posting about the minnesota au

ponyboy curtis

- his family moved up to duluth after their parents died to go live with family friends, the Mathews

- originally from owatonna, in south mn

- the curtises had a small family farm, pony hates that they had to leave it behind

- becomes interested in lake superior and ships, since it’s so ingrained in the culture

- starts drawing ships and landscapes, starts to consume his waking life

- often bikes down to lake superior to calm down, later on johnny shows him a lot of the little natural wonders

- desperate to find a purpose for himself in the world

- later on works at the maritime museum as a tour guide

- bikes around everywhere, usually with johnny who’s the only other person who has a bike

keith mathews, aka mathews

- him and his mom used to move all over since his mom was searching for job opportunities, now in duluth because she has a steady job as top manager of a carhop place near their house (a & dubs)

- the curtises are living with them for a while until they can get their feet off the ground in duluth

- originally from montana, but has lived in owatonna (where he met the curtises), two harbors, pierre (south dakota), and now duluth

darry curtis

- arranged the move, pony hates him for it

- works at a shipping company, loading coal

- also hunts with steve, bringing home decent income and decent food

- still skis, and begins making friends with people outside of the gang while he’s there

- works at the ski hill in the winter, when he can’t hunt

sodapop ‘pepsi’ curtis

- works at the nearby auto shop, the boys there call him pepsi

- likes duluth plenty, doesn’t mind a thing about moving. more suited for city life

- doesn’t get cold, gives all his coats and hats to pony (drives darry wild)

- once summer rolls around, swims in just about every body of water he can find

steve randle

- works at the auto shop and occasionally at buck’s place (hates buck, likes the money and the decorations)

- likes deer hunting, has a slim alliance with buck (since he buys deer skins and antlers from steve to decorate his bar)

- the better hunter between him and darry

- doesn’t spend a lot of time at home, prefers working

- keeps his hunting guns in the mathews/curtis house so he doesn’t have to go home to hunt

- though mathews’ family is better off, steve has the most money out of the gang (due to a mix of responsibility, a pretty good income, and a lack of a family to feed)

- originally from iowa, moved up north around five years before the curtises came around

dal winston

- came up from chicago

- homeless but always ends up under someone’s roof to sleep

- tries to get johnny under a roof too, but johnny prefers camping out

- gets cash from occasionally bartending at buck’s place, often breaks in on off-hours to get food for him and johnny

johnny cade

- homeless, unemployed

- has a bunch of different spots he camps, usually far away from people

- excellent fisherman, eats fish whenever he doesn’t feel like sticking around for meal from the mathews/curtises

- runaway, nobody knows where from

- no purpose until pony comes along with enough restlessness to jog johnny’s desire for more

- later works at the maritime museum with ponyboy

- constantly swimming in the summer. knows a hundred little watering holes and has swam in all of them at least three times

- has the most expensive coat of the gang (it was shoplifted via a dallas and mathews double team event)

- has a cheap bike that he leaves at the the mathews house

adding playlist here…

[starry-bi-sky]

Part uh, four? of "Clone Danny"

...taking a risk and @ing @minnesota-fats since they seemed pretty hyped about this au. So i figured they'd want to know when the next part came out.

So where did we leave off? Oh yes... Danny taking the stairs two at a time to book it away from Bruce Wayne before he realized that he and Danny shared the same face.

So safe to say after Danny calls Tucker and they both panic over Bruce's appearance, and he finds himself slinging on his black hoodie and stuffing his pockets with his mask and his jawbreaker gloves before scaling down his second-story window to book it over to Tucker's place.

(you never know when there might be a ghost attack)

It's of no surprise to him when Sam is already there when he arrives at Tucker's, and they all migrate to Tucker's room to come up with a plan of attack. Was Danny gonna tell Bruce Wayne that he was a clone? hell no! He decided to let the man live in ignorant bliss and he is sticking to that decision no matter what anyone says.

Besides, his parents can open that pandora's box, considering they created it.

So their plan of attack? Literally just "avoid Bruce Wayne like the plague until he leaves" which is... a bit difficult right now.

"you could stay at our place until he leaves?" Tucker says

"And what if he stays for a month?" Danny asks, overthinking as he's become prone to do. Ghosts are unpredictable after all. "I cant have a month-long sleepover at your place."

"You could wear a mask?" Sam suggests

and Danny makes a face, "What kid wears a face mask in their own house?"

"You could feign an illness."

...And so on and so forth. They discuss ideas for nearly an hour until Sam leaves and Danny needs to head out as well before his parents discover that he's gone. (he cant exactly tell them he snuck out his window)

(He crawls back through his window only to get the daylights scared out of him by Jazz, sitting on his bed and wanting to talk to him about Bruce Wayne being, apparently, in their living room. Danny kicks her out instead because he already talked about it with Sam and Tucker and doesn't want to talk about it again for tonight)

Skip to later that night when he gets woken up by his ghost sense triggering. He wakes up with a chill and mist breathing out of his mouth, tasting like what freshly fallen snow smells like and ozone. It makes his teeth chatter.

Danny doesn't bother checking the time, and grabs his mask from under his pillow and his knucklebuster gloves. he all but sleeps in his hoodie and padding so all he does left is his boots and vest and thermos.

(He grabs his bat on the way out, and keeps his mask in his pocket until he steps outside)

when he sneaks into the kitchen, halfway through pulling his hair into a ponytail, light draws his eyes and there, up at who-knows-o'clock, is Bruce Wayne on his laptop. In their living room. He looks up at the same time as Danny.

Danny makes direct eye contact with him. Again. But there's no door to slam in his face....and behind Bruce Wayne, standing ominously at the window outside, is fucking Skulker. of course it is.

"...Mister Wayne." He says after a considerable silence where he's not sure if he's staring at Skulker or at Bruce. Skulker just stands. Menacingly. Like he crawled straight out of a horror movie.

Danny's not sure if Wayne's seen him or not.

(Bruce has, indeed, seen him in the reflection of his laptop. And considered investigating the problem just before Danny appeared.)

"...Mister Fenton." Wayne says moments after, sounding pretty calm and uncurious about what he's doing up. "What are you doing up?"

…Nevermind.

"Go…ing on a midnight stroll?" Danny says, he's a terrible liar but people never seem to assume he's off kicking ghost butt.

"With a bat?"

(Note: this is the only time Danny curses the fact that the Fenton Creepstick is painted with glow-in-the-dark-ectoplasm-infused paint. It's saved his butt numerous times in both finding it and smashing it into ghosts' faces. But now its just a hindrance.)

"...We have a ghost problem." Danny says, feeling like he came straight out of a sitcom. "What are you doing up?" Skulker looks like he's getting impatient behind the anti-ghost glass. Danny promptly ignores him.

"Just doing some Wayne Industries work." Bruce says.

And Danny nods thoughtfully. "Cool. Cool... Bye." And he turns and books it out the door.

He just barely has enough time to make it to the street and put on his mask before Skulker damn near takes his head off with his usual proclamation of skinning him. Danny, pointedly, sarcastically signs back his retort until he can get further away from the house.

\\\\\

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 4.5 (Dani interlude) Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 7.5 (Dan Interlude) Part 8

[sixteen-sugars]

Who Are You (Really?)

a dead plate hannibal au

AUX: misery meat - sodikken

Credit: @lcg-lgc

Rody felt his feet skid on the floor as he pushed the door open with his shoulder. A litany of curses filled his head as he frantically checked his watch. I have to be in Quantico in 15 minutes . Vincent had held him late showing him his latest dish, deer tartare topped with a quail egg, where do you even get deer? The beautifully plated tartare turned into a weird slush in his backpack, and just as he went to hop onto his Vespa, it sputtered and died. To try to revive the motorcycle, he attempted to hit the side with his heel. All the key did was spark in the ignition. So, Rody had to make a run for it home. 

The cherry on top was getting a call from Jack just as he was frantically untying his shoes, hands fumbling, he answered the phone, 

“We have a new case, we're hoping you could be in the lab in 10,” Jack said tersely, leaving no room for complaint. 

“Yeah, yeah of course”

Rody took what might be the fastest shower ever, checking his watch, panicking as every minute seemed to pass by slightly faster than the last. Stumbling, he reached blindly into his questionably clean pile of clothes. The haste resulted in a ratty flannel, with a stain of fish guts on the right cuff, and a pair of washed jeans. 

Rody walked through the doors of Quantico with 30 seconds to spare, 

“Now, Jack, what do you need me so urgently for…”

 His voice trailed off as he saw what, or who was on the evidence table. He drew a breath. She was the sixth victim in the last two months and just the same as the five before her; wind-chafed, plain but pretty with auburn hair, trademark Minnesota Shrike. Jack continued his spiel, 

“We need you on the case, you’re the best we have,”

Rody wrought his clammy hands, 

“I can do this, but this is the last one, I have a life outside of this,” 

Jack nodded, 

 “This will be the last one,” He put his hand on his heart, “Scout’s Honor” 

He said that the last five times, Rody could only sigh as he preemptively mourned the next nights of sleep.

-

The file felt like it was made of lead in his backpack as he headed towards his shift at Vincent's restaurant. It was like the girls were holding onto his ankles as he scurried around, serving and bussing. The only time he got a moment to think was when he was taking out the trash. The cold air bit his cheeks as he fought to open the dumpster without covering himself in trash juice. He thought about her , the crime scene as it came back hit him like a semi-truck. Her pale limbs seemed to reach for him as he tried to close the dumpster, the slam rung in the twilight like a death knell. 

Just as he bussed the last table, Vincent came up to him with another elaborate dish, presented with an almost bow, 

“This Antelope is served with stewed collard greens and deglazed carrots,”

“Antelope?”

“Yes, My supplier got some exotic cuts recently,”

“Cool…”

As Rody trailed off he took the dish in his sweaty palms. Being around Vincent was like being around a caged lion. Held back by his instincts and fear, but still scary nonetheless. Vincent was all grace and long limbs as he presented Rody with the Antelope. Rody nervously laughed, 

“I feel all this effort for plating is going to waste, when in my backpack it all runs together,” Vincent almost balked, 

“No, sometimes the plating isn't just to enjoy, it is to see the result, beauty in the infinitesimal,” 

Rody quickly took the dish and scraped it into his stained tupperware and bid Vincent goodbye as he hopped on his Vespa, the Antelope already shaken in his ragged backpack. 

-

That night, the light of the desk lamp was drilling into his already tired eyes, clammy hands pushing back auburn curls as the words inside the file all swam together. His computer was open to College directories to try to track down the Minnesota Shrike’s next victim. In the field, Rody was painfully average. He was an okay shot, and could collect evidence as well as the next, but what he was given acclaim for, was for his focus. When he was given a case, it was all he could think about, he would throw himself wholeheartedly into the investigations. 

Rody’s dreams were full of deer with bloody antlers, dark and shifting. He turned over and saw her, next to him, glassy eyed; mouthing words Rody couldn't understand. Rody bolted upright, patting the bed, checking for unwanted companions. Instead, all he found was his ratty comforter and a shirt he accidentally left out on the bed. Rody shivered nonetheless, taking a hot shower to quell the goosebumps. 

Poking at his now much more pronounced eyebags, He buttoned his white dress-shirt up. Donning the black slacks and socks required by Vincent. Picking up his backpack on his way out, and hopping on his Vespa, he sped off to work.

-

Rody wasn't able to look at the case until early afternoon. It was the tail end of the morning rush and not yet lunch, so the only people in the restaurant were an elderly couple who were brunch regulars. He chewed on his already abused ballpoint pen, red ink staining his lips like fresh blood. There was an idea sloshing in his frontal cortex. Maybe the girl in the field wasn't the Shrike’s victim. Even though it followed the previous patterns, something was off. He drummed his fingers on the lacquered table in thought.

He was startled when Vincent put his hand down next to him and looked over Rody’s shoulder like the nosey person he is. Rody tried to cover up the file, it was classified FBI information.  

“I think I’ve seen that before, maybe on the news, this one seems different from the others,” noted Vincent. 

“That’s why I think this is a Copycat Killer,”

“What evidence showed you that conclusion?”

Rody thought about how to phrase his answer as not to come across like he was insane,

“This one just felt different, the Shrike, he loved those girls but this Copycat, the body was treated like livestock. This Copycat is a killing machine, he sees these girls not as objects of love, but as pigs,”

Vincent looked lost in thought and just as he was going to remark, a party of 8 came through the door. Personable Vincent was gone and now it was Chef Vincent as he went back to his lair in the kitchen. Rody went back to the meek bubbly server. 

The dish that night was cold-smoked pork with a side of roasted mexican street corn. Vincent had changed the meals to be better eaten cold, still presented with the same beauty and care. Given the reverence of a in-house shrine to a forgotten god, dusted and maintained but without the original purpose. Even though the god was gone, Rody could still taste the care and reverence in the food. He could even see Vincent painstaking basting the pork and smelling the wood chips. He felt the microwave annihilated the flavor, but cold pork seemed worse. 

-

Rody smiled sheepishly, the Shrike’s file had gotten stained from a wayward piece of corn. Before Jack could yell at him for staining evidence, Rody gave a peace offering of new insight, 

“Jack, he loves these girls, the body in the field isn't the Shrike, it’s a Copycat, I just needed to see the Copycat to see what made the Shrike,”

Jack looked at him, nodding,

 “Any insight into where the Shrike is from. What he does,” He punctuated with a handwave.

Rody nodded vigorously, 

“Yes, yes, the Shrike is a man, he is a father, he loves those girls not in a… sexual way. But, as daughters, as things he could never keep,”

Jack seemed satisfied with Rody’s insights thus far, 

“We had forensics look into the wounds and clothes of the victims, they found some pipe-threading metal. We have a lead,”

He seemed happy at that, the cat in the game had zeroed in on the mouse. Rody had neglected to mention Vincent’s insight on the Copycat. Letting himself bask in the warm light of victory and appreciation a little longer. 

-

Now that forensics made a lead, Rody was taking his ‘work’ to work. Worn backpack overstuffed with the resumes from every single pipe-threader in Minnesota. His Vespa skidded as he turned into the restaurant's parking lot with 5 minutes to spare. Unceremoniously shoving his bag into his locker, he clocked in.

Rody felt dead on his feet this shift. Customers were more snappy than usual, it seemed they were sending every other plate back to the kitchen. The dress shoes Vince insisted he wear pinched even more. Rody was over it. The cherry on top was spilling the dozen of resume files all over the sticky breakroom ground. Of course, Vince had to be there to witness Rody’s frantic shoving of the files back into his locker. 

“More ‘top secret’ FBI files Rody? You’re getting sloppy…”

“These are just resumes,” Rody shot back defensively.

“Still looking for the Shrike?” Vincent glanced down at the pictures of the workers.

“Yeah, we just got a lead, the Copycat really helped,” Rody admitted.

For a few seconds, Rody deliberated, should I tell him my hunch…Or just keep it to myself . 

“So, off the record, you wanna know what I think about the Copycat?” 

Vincent looked more invested than usual in Rody’s ‘crime shenanigans’, actually making eye contact, and blase barely-recognition, 

“Sure, what has your brain cooked up this time?”

Rody almost vibrated, this was the first time testing his ‘theory’ 

“So, I think this Copycat is the Chesapeake Ripper. What I felt, when I saw her in the field, was unique to the Ripper murders I saw when I was in training. He holds so much contempt for them, it was almost palpable,”

Vincent’s eyes widened, he cocked his head, 

“Really, how intriguing,”  

He added nothing else, and spun on a heel, disturbing the piles of paper. Rody sighed and went to cram them back into his locker. 

The dinner-rush was a fraction of the hell of the afternoon, it was about as nice as working in customer service, so hell but in like the cold circle. Customers were heavy tippers as they left, dresses sparkling in the fluorescent lights. The dish offered to him tonight was a ‘breakfast’ for dinner with homemade sausage. Into the tupperware it went. The lid snapped as Rody hummed the Bach that was playing earlier. 

-

At home, the scramble was reheated as he poured over the resumes, little progress was being made. Everybody looked the same, nothing was out of the ordinary. Just as he was going to give up, words began to run together in his tired brain. He saw something, a lead. Rody traced the letters and under his breath said, 

“Garret Jacob Hobbs, there’s my Minnesota Shrike,” a daughter that was wind-chafed and had brown hair, a carbon-copy of all the other girls. No address was listed, but Rody went up that weekend to do some house to house interviews. Vincent was with him, Rody had to borrow his car, and Vince didn't trust him to drive. Looking at his Vespa, it made sense. They were at the office at the construction site Rody got the papers from, Rody was talking to the lady who worked there about if she knew anything about Hobbs. Turns out he lived only a 5-minute drive away from where they were. 

He and Vince pulled into the gravel driveway, tires crunching. The house was dated, with 70s style window panes and faded drapes. A man looked to be on the phone inside with a silhouette of another shorter woman. Rody laid his hand on his holster in preparation, and knocked. Presenting his temporary badge, 

“This is agent Rody Lamoree, FBI, come out with your hands up,”

Hearing nothing from inside the house, Rody extended his arms into the weaver stance, looking down the sight of the gun. Then, he and Vincent went into the Kitchen and saw Hobbs with his daughter. He was holding a knife to her neck, as she mouthed words too fast for Rody to read her lips. Hobbs leveled a stare at Rody as he shook, he was always too squeamish to work homicide. 

Vincent stood behind him like a shadow, observing as Rody panicked. Then, the silence broke like shattering glass as Rody shot Hobbs in the hand leaving the man reeling. Hobbs’s back hit the cabinet with a thud as the other gunshots echoed. After his ears stopped ringing, Rody heard Abigail choking on the ground, her throat gaping open, blood spilling out onto the linoleum floor, her chest stilled.

Rody heard a low whistle, he startled as he remembered Vincent was standing behind him, Vince spoke, 

“10 bullets Rody? You’re getting rusty, what happened to your academy days?” 

“ Well , getting stabbed in your shoulder will do that do you,”

“Anyways, let's call the police and get in the car, I have to make the marinade for the pork tomorrow,”

The Police showed up minutes later, lights flashing and sirens blaring. That night Rody couldn't sleep, Abigail showing up behind his eyes, mouthing and pleading as she bled out. All Rody wanted to do that morning was stay in bed, but the bills won’t pay themselves. So, up he went, sipping his drip-coffee and blindly stabbing at his soggy eggs, eyes still bleary. Rody spaced out, just as he was nodding off at the table his chin hit his chest, and he snapped awake, he looked at the clock, 

“I’m late, my god , Vincent is gonna kill me,”

[ladylooch]

The Best Part of It - Kevin Fiala

(The way he is struggling for his life in that GIF and I'm like.. it's okay. I'll breathe for you.)

A/N: So, I had this idea all along and kept saying no to it because it’s in an AU that technically does not exist on this blog, but does in my head. Only I would create an AU for my AU. 👑 anon, your original request came from the angst of the Al and Gabe (and Kup) trade. So I think this is fitting, to imagine what it would have been like for Sam and Kev last summer, if this author didn’t live in a happily ever after/denial mindset 🤣 I literally have been anguishing over this for MONTHS, but I am in love with the smut in this chapter… and I hope you enjoy! Thank you sweet 👑 anon for your patience!! 

Read more about Sam and Kev here ( in their MN reality)

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ content, angst.

Darkness encloses me when my eyes open suddenly. I am groggy as I try to close my eyes again and go back to sleep. But my mind instantly begins to wander, wondering why I awoke in the first place. I don’t remember dreaming. I’m fairly certain the night is calm outside the bedroom window. I roll onto my left side, seeing the empty side of the bed.

Oh, that’s why. 

Kevin is missing… for the third night in a row.

This off-season is turning out to be more tumultuous than I imagine. First, I hated the in-between. We knew nothing would happen with Kevin’s impending trade until after the Stanley Cup finals. But, it felt like the second Gabriel Landeskog hoisted the cup, turmoil began for us. We had been in Switzerland visiting his family, trying to relax when Kevin’s phone began blowing up. 

“Get ready.” His agent had texted. Kevin sighed, grabbing my hand and brining it to his mouth. Hips lips pressed insistently to the large diamond that he is about to add a wedding band to in a few short weeks.

Kevin asked me how involved I wanted to be in conversations. I said not at all. My dream of us staying in Minnesota is ending and I have many feels about that. I want Kevin to focus on the fit for him. We know he will be able to secure an expensive, long term contract and he should focus on that. We both agreed no Canadian teams to make sure we stay in the U.S. Other than that, Kevin was given full freedom from me to pick our next team. I haven’t seen him much in the last few days as he has been tucked away in his father’s office on phone calls all afternoon and evening.

Last night, after dinner, Kevin had pulled me aside to speak away from his family.

“I’m closing in between two teams.” He told me, stroking my hair back from my face. 

“Okay.” I smiled assuringly at him. It doesn’t reach my eyes. I can’t get it there yet. 

“One is L.A., the other is Seattle.” I nod my head, surprised to hear of the latter.  “What do you think?”

“Either one would be fine.” He nods then wraps me into a hug. “We are almost there, baby.” I know he is trying to reassure me, but instead I feel another crack ricochet through my heart.

I sigh now, remembering the turmoil he tried to hide from me this evening too. He had a specific window to talk to LA that closed last night before he could make a decision. Things have been difficult to navigate with the large time zone gap from where we are and Los Angeles. I think this is also giving Kevin pause. But Seattle is no different. This distance from family is seemingly his reality no matter where he is. And soon I will understand what it’s like to ache for home like he does.

I stretch my arms and legs out, then haul myself to a sitting position. Knowing Kevin is out of bed, likely stressed, means any hope of me going back to bed is gone. I want to get my hands and eyes on him. I walk over to the window that looks out in the backyard, not surprised at all to see him sitting by the edge of the pool. The lights are on and illuminate his form in the otherwise dark night.

Kevin is dragging his feet across the surface of the water when I step outside. Waves and rings radiate out from under his feet. My steps are soft, silent in their approach until Kevin sees me out of his peripheral vision. He glances up, not even smiling in greeting. He looks back at the pool.

I sit down, letting my feet gently glide into the water next to his. His hands are stuffed into the pocket of his Wild sweatshirt. I push my left hand inside it to fold into his right one. Then, I press my lips to his bicep.

"This decision might get clearer if you got some sleep.” I mumble.

"I don't think so. I close my eyes and my mind won't stop racing with these options.”

“Maybe you just need more time.”

“I don’t have more time. I need to give Craig an answer by the end of the day in California.” Craig is his agent and has been the driving force behind the intense negotiations the last few days.

“You’re going to make the right decision.” I card my fingers through the side of his head, gripping his neck before releasing him. 

“Why is this so hard, babe? I’m being offered millions of dollars to live my dream and I can’t decide where to go.” He shakes his head in frustration. “Seven years of our lives and I have to make that decision in hours.” 

“Because it is hard, Kev.” I trace a heart on his thigh closest to me. “And we pictured something else.” 

“Babies and a house in Woodbury and your parents ten minutes down the road to help with the kids.” He mumbles spitefully. 

"It's still me and you though… right? Forever. No matter where you play.” He nods. "And I know part of this struggle is because you're sad." He looks down at the pool water. "I hope you'll still let yourself be sad after today too.”

"I wanted it. Not just for me but for us.”

"I know and it's been taken from you." 

"I'm really worried about you. I'm scared you won't want this anymore." He whispers, mouth falling into a deeper frown. "Or me.”

"All I need is you. We are good." Kevin slowly shakes his head. "I'm serious. Your dream is about to come true again. We are great, baby.”

"Then why do you feel so far away from me right now?” He kicks at the water and we both watch the droplets fall back into the pool across from us. All I can do is shrug in response and squeeze his hand tighter in mine.

"Have you decided and you just don't want to tell me?" He doesn't respond. My heart cracks a bit. Tears blur my vision. I hate this. I wish we weren't here. I wish this wasn't happening. I wish it had happened the exact way I imagined it would and not like this. I lay my head on his shoulder. He unlaces our hands to wrap that arm around me. He squeezes me tight to him.

"It's LA." I nod. Two tears race down my cheeks. My chin wobbles with the reality of our time in Minnesota being over. This is it. Our worst case scenario of leaving is reality. My body becomes heavy. Breathing feels laborious.

"Okay. LA... Go Kings Go?" I question, pushing through my sadness to be his supportive partner. He chuckles.

"I think so." His lips brush against my hair.

"Congratulations, babe. I'm so proud of you." I pull away to hold his cheeks. "You deserved this. You've worked so hard. It’s Minnesota’s loss.” He slowly cups my cheeks back, long strokes of his thumbs to gather my tear tracks. 

“I think it’s ours too, Sam. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” 

“I am though. But also really thankful for my time there. I’m leaving Minnesota, but taking the best part of it with me to California. I’m so happy I get to share this with you." I smile softly back, leaning forward to kiss him. It's an aching kiss but the uneasiness between us disappears with it.

"You think we could go to bed now? Maybe get some sleep.”

"We can go to bed... but I don't have sleep in mind." He leans forward, tiling his head to sink his teeth jokingly into my throat. "Wanna mark this neck as mine." I hold the back of his head while he nips his way up to my ear. He sucks the lobe into his mouth. My eyes close in response. “Wanna watch as you bite your lips to keep quiet.” I lean my head into his as he pulls my shirt to the side. He sucks the skin of my shoulder into his mouth, abusing it with his teeth. He isn’t satisfied until he leaves a wet, purpling shape. Then he lets the cotton snap back into place. “Until you can’t hold back anymore and your sweet moan fills my mouth.”

“Kev.” I moan as if on command. 

“Mmmm, yeah. Just like that.” 

His hands wind under my thighs. He lifts me into his arms. Our wet feet and legs drip along the concrete to the patio door. I reach behind my back and push the door open. Then, I place my chin on his shoulder, softly bumping against it with each of his steps. We quietly go into our room where I shut the door with a soft click. 

Kevin brings me to the bed, carefully laying me down. He stays standing, trailing his fingers along my body. He grabs the edge of my sweatshirt, pushing it up to expose my skin. Goosebumps protrude as his lips coat along the waistband of my shorts. I reach for his head, putting my fingers through the brown strands. As he moves up my body, my hand falls to his shoulder then down his abdomen. His cock twitches when I graze it over his shorts.

I push him back so I can fall to my knees at the end of the bed. He watches with glazed eyes at I pull him from his shorts. He jolts out in front of my lips. I play with the plump head, smearing my lips with him and collecting salty, pre-cum. Kevin slowly gathers my hair into a pony tail, keeping his hold loose. I drag my gaze up his thick abdomen, making eye contact with him as I work him into my mouth. He groans, dragging his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Fuck.” Desire curls in my core at his breathy curse.

I suck him back farther, rolling my tongue along the underside of his cock. I push my hand up to meet my lips. More saltiness dribbles out of his slit. His fingers bunch my sweatshirt up over my breasts. He rubs my nipples between all ten of his fingers, working them over like he is obsessed with their texture. I choke on him but moan, vibrating him against the back of my throat. He presses his hips forward more, eyes finally closing shut in pleasure like he can barely take it. His head stays tilted back toward the ceiling as I increase my strokes. 

“Feels so fucking good.” It’s a strangled whisper. He pinches my nipples hard as his cock presses all the way back and partially down my throat. “Uh.” He widens his stances pulling back then fucking down my throat. He tilts his head back down to me with a quick inhale. I throb around the emptiness, whining as I take my time removing him from my mouth. I sit back on my knees as he drags his thumb along my bottom lip, musing it, pressing into the center until it turns white then explodes with red as the blood rushes back. “Get back in the bed, baby.” My pussy pulses in anticipation. 

I work myself up to the edge, settling on my back to watch his slow, strip tease of me and him. By the time we are both naked, I need him more than I need to breathe.

“Quiet.” He reminds me as he strokes a finger through my folds.

He plays with me, rolling his finger trips and exploring my wet heat like he wants to memorize every part of it. It makes me ache. He brings his other hand up, thrusting two fingers in, then curling up. His thumb does soft strokes on my clit. I widen my legs with each pass, beginning to rock desperately into the fingers that hit my spot. My wetness fills the room. Kevin chews his bottom lip before he leans down, sucking my clit deep into his mouth. His cheeks cave in, tongue coming up to lap at the swollen bud. 

“Oh.” I moan profoundly.

I bring my hand up, sucking the flesh of my palm inside to keep my noises from exploding into the room. My eyes squeeze shut in pleasure as my orgasm builds beneath Kevin’s mouth. When he takes another long, generous pass over my clit with his tongue, I come. His mouth becomes a vacuum and he sucks me hard through the waves. I clamp my thighs around his head to shudder until he is forcefully opening them to escape. 

He grips his shaft, teasing my over stimulated clit with his head. He strokes down, finding my soaked entrance. He presses into me fully, then dragging out slowly. He breathes and grunts at the same time. 

“Baby..” Ecstasy has his pupils blown wide when they meet mine. He sees the same visual from me. “I love you.” How he can speak is beyond me.  It feels so good I can’t function. Words fail. Noises are stuck. My eyes can barely focus on him and yet also can’t see anything else.

“I love you.” I choke out in desperation. “Oh.” It’s loud, Kevin grins, then leans forward to cover my mouth as he increases his thrusts. His balls begin to slap my pussy. He changes the angle to quiet the smacking noise, driving deep and perfectly. My moans push at his hand, making it vibrate against my face. I reach wildly for his other hand, weaving our fingers together and gripping them hard.

“Yeah. That feel good, baby? You like when I fuck you like this?” I nod wildly. “Love fucking you so good you can’t stay quiet.” Heat builds along my skin with my hot breath. My pussy clenches him as my orgasm rises from deep in my core. I turn my face away from his hand, he brings it to my neck, holding there as I bite down on the comforter. The pleasure builds and builds. It’s so incredible. Amazing. Pure primal satisfaction that grips me hard then violently shoves me into explosive, white hot heat. The force got my orgasm squeezes Kevin so hard his knees buckle.

“Oh fuck!” Kevin shouts. He launches forward, sinking his mouth into my shoulder to catch his groans as he comes. His cock sputters with each jerky pump of his hips into me. I close my eyes, wrapping my legs and arms around him to keep him close. One of his hands goes to my hair, tangling in the strands, while the other, grips my arm around his neck. Our skin sticks together greedily.

“Fuck you so good you can’t stay quiet.” I whisper his words into his ear.

He chuckles, pulling up so he can kiss my lips. His thumb strokes my cheek as our tongues meld together. We taste like each other’s sex. It’s addictive. I never want it to end or for him to slide out of me. 

Eventually he must.

He grabs a towel to clean me up because I’m too tired and incapacitated to go do it myself. After that, he drags me into his body, tracing circles along my spine until his hand falls still and his breathing air raises his chest. Our naked skin is still warm from before. He sleeps easily for the first time in days. I can’t help but ghost my fingers along his nose and cheeks. He doesn’t even stir. He looks achingly perfect right now in my arms.

“I love you so much.” I coo to his sleeping face. He twitches slightly. His arms instinctively pull me closer in his sleep, then he settles completely. I smile, resting my head against his bicep to leave him be.

I let myself think about L.A. again, wondering if we will still be these people at this time next year. Will we still love each other as much as we do right now? Or will this change tear us to shreds? A contentment in the depth of my gut tells me we will be okay.

I have no idea that at this time next year, we will be preparing to become a family of three, ready for the next, life-changing moment together.

[elisela]

minnesota on my mind (2/9) lydia/jordan au, getting together, long distance relationship

-

“Is this the part where I ask what you’re wearing?”

She grins and unzips her sweater, hanging it on the chair in the corner that she only uses as an extension of her closet and grabbing the pair of pajama pants that dangle over the arm. “You could, but you’re probably going to be disappointed in the answer. It’s cold outside.”

“What, dipped below seventy? You poor thing.”

Lydia swipes the call away and taps on her weather app. “It’s fifty-nine, thank you very much.”

“I can’t imagine how you’ll survive the night,” he says. Despite the dry tone he sounds more upbeat than he had earlier. “Might want to add some extra blankets on the bed.”

chapter 2 on ao3!

[you-are-forever-special]

I Am Your Mother's Keeper

\\×AU where our goofball boys make a new... "friend," and Taiga's life is caught up in another whirlwind.×

<Set to take place the same time as the episode 'Doublebookedklok'>

If you don't know who my OC Taiga is, this is her original story: https://www.tumblr.com/you-are-forever-special/723792412034662400/tenacious-me?source=share

But I wanted to put her in the Metalocalypse universe, and some of my great friends encouraged + inspired me to get here today.

So here we go!//

TW: Cussing, Alcoholism, Implied drug abuse + self-harm, Animal death, Mentions of blood/injuries, Spiritualism + Related ritual

(It's not in great detail, or graphic, but still!

This story gets kinda silly, then action-packed, and suddenly really intense and emotional. But I tried to end it on a more hopeful note.

I hope you enjoy! This was so much fun to make!

I'm open to constructive criticism, and any other comments, as always! And I tried my best to catch any errors, but if you spot any yourself, please let me know and I'll fix it!

Thank you very much~!)

-Took about 12hr40min to write out-

~~~~~

It all started with a plan to begin their infamous drinking bender.

But the guys in Dethklok were especially going to up the ante this time.

Mostly because...

They were bored out of their fucking minds.

They've played shows in Minnesota before, but each time, they wanted-

No, NEEDED to spice things up, and at least not be sober for their time spent here.

Besides, it's not like it affected their success much, right?

Everything always turned out fine.

And it continued to go that way...

Until they got stranded.

They just wanted to stop at a nearby gas station for a bit, and ended up accidentally being left behind.

And the boys forgot their Dethphones on the Dethbus they were on, and now they were freaking out because they were most likely going to DethDIE(Hamburger Time) out here with no supplies.

All they had with them were their current drinks that varied in levels of completion.

The boys tried to internally calm themselves down.

They each had a drink in their hand. That was something.

And Nathan assumed that any kind of drink they consumed meant that they were being hydrated, so it was ok for now.

Everyone else agreed, or at least in Skwisgaar and Pickles' case, didn't bother to argue with it.

Still pretty inebriated, the thought of going back into the gas station for shelter, and a phone, etc, to use... Didn't even occur to them.

And they figured that ultimately, the woods that they spotted nearby would be their best bet, because there was probably a shortcut to make it back to their bus.

--

None of these men were scared.

And if they were...

Fuck you, they weren't going to admit that.

...

Thankfully it wasn't cold outside.

And even if it was,

"Hey, at least we have booze, amirite?" Pickles pointedly swished the liquid around in his bottle as he was the first one to break the silence that fell upon them and say what they were all thinking as they trekked deeper into these woods.

He smirked before taking another swig from it; seemingly without a care in the world.

And amongst each other, they all agreed that alcohol + the cold totally cancels out the chances of getting frostbite.

Pickles then recalled what Nathan said earlier while they were still traveling on the road to get here.

About how they'd all get "so damn sloppy, that we'll have to make a new word in the dictionary just for this moment in history."

And he even made a note to himself after that statement to ask Charles how to get something put into the dictionary in the first place.

As usual though, Pickles got a head start on their little "party;" being much more than just drunk before they had even planned to have this so-called "Ultra Doubly-Brutal Bender Extreme," as Nathan had ultimately previously put it.

He seemed pretty proud of himself for that name. So, he just let Nathan have that one.

It could be called the "Party of the Piss Platoon" for all he cared...

He was obviously down for it either way.

But Pickles being Pickles was handling it supremely well, and just going with the flow as they walked; Along with starting to wonder who out there in this world even made dictionaries and chose what got put into them anyway.

Regardless, it'd sure take a lot more than this to get him to the point of sloppy Nathan talked about.

Toki, on the other hand, was currently trying to just win his battle with "stupids gravi-tees."

He was winning so far.

However, it was getting pretty dark, and much harder to see anything.

Toki felt that pit of uneasiness blossoming forth in his chest and rising, but he just tried to keep an eye on his bandmates.

Tried is the keyword here.

Because for now, he could only look up enough to spot the silhouettes of their heads, or legs, depending on how he was able to hold up the upper half of his body as time passed.

His worries subsided a bit since they stayed close by as he stumbled along behind them.

Toki's vision was swimming, but he was grateful that he didn't feel like he had to puke anymore.

As the other members chatted, Toki didn't make out a word since he was too busy grumbling mostly to himself about how he already emptied his new bottle; even swinging it upside down and shaking it like that would magically make more of the feel-happy juice flow out.

Toki sighed, but then he immediately was distracted as a different feeling rose within him.

He suddenly called out to the boys.

"Ah, waits, guys!!"

They all froze and turned to face him quickly, because he basically screamed that out.

Most of them seemed annoyed at the jolting disturbance, besides Pickles who was inquisitive, but overall was just vibin'.

Nathan seemed the most irritated by the sudden piercing pitch that Toki's voice could sometimes reach.

He may be used to loud noises in his profession, but certain ones like that just hit a nerve within him.

At least it wasn't as bad as certain fangirls' who have basically screamed right in his ear before.

And not in the ways that he'd prefer.

Still, Nathan was patient and just asked:

"...Why are you screaming...?"

Toki just swayed a bit and slowly blinked as he stared at them, before he remembered why he got their attention in the first place.

"OH.

I's gots to go pee!"

...

...

...

"Oka-?"

"Yous all waits for me here! 'Kay bye!"

And before they could even attempt to refuse, Toki went off past some nearby bushes and trees, humming to himself.

Murderface spoke up after he left, saying:

"Their'sch schomething scheriously wrong with him. I schwear."

Nathan just grumbled and debated continuing to walk ahead, but the softer side of him relented and decided to wait for Toki after all.

"Don't want him to somehow fall and, you know... Ugh... Something..."

Nathan half-heartedly sent his shoddy reasoning into the air before he shut himself and his feelings up with more beer.

Skwisgaar was the most antsy looking one out of them all; holding onto his bottle like it was his lifeline.

He didn't have his guitar, and needed to hold onto something before he snapped himself.

He couldn't even bring himself to make a snide remark this entire time despite his anger, but he did dramatically let out a heavy sigh; making it clear how much he didn't want to be here anymore.

Skwisgaar mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

Why did this have to happen?

It was so annoying having to deal with things like this all the time.

Some "bender" this was turning out to be.

He didn't realize how much he was truly exaggerating, or how hypocritical he could be.

He would usually tease others for complaining whatsoever. Toki overall. But if even one little thing didn't go his way, Skwisgaar was the one who would technically have the biggest reaction out of them all.

His pouting was unmatched. Especially once he could no longer keep it bottled up.

Sometimes he'd snap and yell, but for now, he tried his best to not hit anyone over the head with his-

OH RIGHT. HE DIDN'T HAVE IT.

Maybe his bottle would be good enough.

Skwisgaar could feel his eye barely twitch and he started weighing his options once Murderface yelled out to Toki about hurrying up, even though he was probably too far to hear, which made Nathan internally groan. Speaking of annoying sounds...

They might end up killing each other before actually partying at all.

Before Nathan decided to say something harsh that would require many types of guitar riffs, Pickles tsked first and sat down on the ground for now; resting an arm over his one bent knee.

"Ehh!

Calm dahwn, dood."

"Oh schorry!! I'm scho schorry for schpeaking and wanting to get out of here, Picklesch!"

Pickles deadpanned and just sipped at his drink, seeing where this was going by Murderface's expression and miffed tone.

"Maybe I schould just go off on my own and get eaten by a bear or schomething!

I betcha'd like that, huh!?"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD-!!!"

Nathan interrupted by shouting in frustration.

--

Toki finished up his business eventually and somehow didn't leave a stain all over his pants, or hurt himself, despite his clumsy movements.

He internally cheered for that and instinctively picked up his bottle, even though it was empty; almost toppling over as he bent down.

But he caught himself.

As he stood back up, he perked up more at the sound of...

Squeaking?

No...

Mewling?

As soon as that clicked in his head, Toki dropped his bottle and immediately started searching in excitement for where the noises were coming from.

He didn't care or even think about the scrapes he got as he looked around; eventually stumbling upon a den after getting by some bigger branches.

Toki's pupils dilated even more as he saw a baby kitty.

It was a pretty big kitty, but a kitty nonetheless.

It wasn't long before they were in his arms, being cradled and gently rocked like you would a human child.

He cooed down at them, and despite his drunken state, he was extremely careful with the baby.

"Oh you poors things. Alls alones down here.

Don'ts worries!

I'll takes care of you!"

Toki started telling the kitty every thing that they would do together once they got back to Mordhaus as he got back out of the den.

"I can'ts wait to shows you to my friends!"

Toki was heading back, but then he froze and his eyes widened when he heard a scary growl behind him.

He slowly turned around...

And his eyes widened as he saw a cougar.

He didn't know the English word for this animal, but he wasn't stupid.

All he did know right now was that this kind of "kitty" meant danger.

And one swipe from their claws could mean Hamburger Time for good.

That sight alone basically sobered the man up.

He became even paler than usual and started to back up a bit.

"N-Nice cat..."

Toki muttered, letting out a soft, nervous laugh.

But as the cougar got down even lower like it was going to pounce, Toki's eyes darted around and he thought quick on his feet, suddenly throwing the bottle he spotted that he left behind earlier.

It hit the cougar on their side, even though he was aiming for their head.

But he didn't stop to think any longer on it as he turned back around and booked it; screaming loudly as he ran.

He didn't even register it as he ran past the rest of Dethklok.

Toki just continued to scream and hold the baby cougar close to his chest; leaving them in the dust.

---Meanwhile---

Taiga was strolling around the woods she lived in, going through her usual rounds of checking the area to make sure everything was safe and secure.

It honestly never got boring to her...

And it was pretty much her duty, after all.

But she'd happily do this even if she ever moved for some reason.

It was all such an honor to be able to do this.

For herself, and for others.

And so far, everything seemed to be peaceful, as per usual.

Taiga smiled and took in a breath of fresh air as she walked.

She looked around, adjusting her duffel bag and gripping tighter onto her nata.

There was one more area to check before she'd head back towards the babbling brook where her cottage was by.

A soft melody flowed from Taiga's lips as she went around.

All was well until she heard what sounded like terrified screaming.

And she immediately tensed up, but kept her composure as she stopped humming and quickly made her way towards the screaming.

Hopefully whoever it was was ok-

"Oof!" "Agh!"

...

Next thing Taiga knew, the wind was almost knocked out of her as Toki barreled into her like a linebacker; knocking her over and onto the ground.

"Ugh...!"

Toki fell over too, but he quickly flipped onto his back and rolled a bit as he did; trying hard to not injure the little cub.

Thankfully they were fine, but in his still adrenaline-fueled mind, it took him a second to realize that he hit someone.

His shocked state amplified as he looked up and took in this stranger's features. His wide eyes blinked a few times.

Was he hallucinating again?

...No, they were still there.

Maybe he just went insane.

Unless, that was just a costume, or-

Toki got lost in thought and was dazed as he blatantly stared.

Taiga held her head in a hand and carefully got up.

She was fine, and didn't land on her nata at least...

So that was good.

She put all that aside for now and looked over at Toki, seeing his expression.

"A-Are you alright??"

Taiga asked, but Toki was silent.

She tilted her head as she waited to see if this man would answer.

As she glanced over his features though, something about him looked familiar...

And...

Oh god. Did he have a cougar cub in his arms!?

---

Back with the rest of Dethklok, they all had stopped arguing as they heard Toki's scream getting closer moments before, and were extremely confused as they watched Toki go off into the distance without halting, or falling.

Their looks of confusion changed to more tense ones, and Pickles got back up on his feet, his guard now raised like the rest of the guys.

They were expecting something, but not THAT.

The mama cougar roared and quickly shot out of the bushes not long after Toki did.

"OH SCHIT."

The guys scrambled, collectively throwing their bottles/cans at the animal, but that didn't do much to deter it.

Pickles and Skwisgaar yelled and decided to run too, off in the same direction as Toki did.

Murderface was about to run as well before he saw the cougar decided to try and jump on Nathan first since he was the closest.

"NO!!"

He dove in front of Nathan as a first response, and was successfully taken down.

They flew over a bit and rolled past the surprised, raven-haired man.

The cougar got a couple good, deep scratches on Murderface's back, but thankfully Murderface kicked and squirmed enough before the animal chose a time and spot to hold him in a tight grip and bite down into the meat of his shoulder, instead of getting his neck.

It still hurt like a bitch, though.

As Murderface screamed, Nathan grunted as he kicked off the animal quite aways off; stunning it temporarily as he grabbed Murderface, pulling him back up so they could run off.

He tried to ignore the pain as he ran, and Nathan just tried to focus on getting somewhere safe as they went.

---

Before Taiga could continue her thought, she heard more yelling and turned her head towards it.

She quickly got back up, trying to keep her resolve despite her own fears; holding her nata at the ready.

She came to find that her suspicions on who Toki might be were correct after all as she saw Pickles and Skwisgaar running over. Were they all here?

The pair saw Toki on his knees on the ground and...

Whoever-the-fuck not too far away with a big-ass sword or something.

The two stopped running for now and were hunched over some, panting, as they looked at each other like:

'What the hell is going on???'

They didn't ask questions right now, and heard the sound of other footsteps approaching and heavy panting; Murderface and Nathan coming from the treeline with differing levels of intense panic on their faces.

Since Taiga realized what was going on, she got a firm voice and spoke up loud enough for them all to hear; directing them to follow her once they were all looking her way.

It was obvious they all were confused and questioning the obvious despite their fear, but that would have to wait.

"Come on, this way! We'll be safe! Just don't. stop. running!"

She said with urgency as she heard the mama cougar's roar getting closer.

No one argued as they followed close behind. Except Toki was still frozen in shock. Nathan had to act fast and take the kitten out of Toki's arms and used his other arm to hoist him up; draping him over onto his shoulder.

Toki didn't struggle, but Nathan thought:

'How many times will I have to do this?'

Taiga instantly felt more relieved once her cottage came into view, but didn't get ahead of herself.

She quickly got the door open with her key and let the guys go in first.

Afterwards, she entered as well, slamming the door shut behind them all and locking it.

She knew that the cougar would most likely hang around, trying to get her baby back. But she would worry about all that later.

Eventually the growling died down when they got closer, but she could see them stalking around the cottage still, as she figured.

Taiga sighed heavily; happy she didn't have to hurt, or kill any creature today.

They were lucky to have even gotten that head start on outrunning the pissed off animal.

But now...

The world famous Dethklok was currently in her cottage.

She was too frazzled to even think about the ridiculous of all this, and more importantly, she took note of how badly Murderface was bleeding.

Taiga set down her stuff then got moving and went to grab her first-aid kit.

Nathan sat Toki down onto the nearby couch and saw how he was mostly just staring into space for now, so he just left him alone.

Pickles was the first to speak up again inbetween huffs and puffs as he tried to catch his breath like everyone else; his hand over his heart.

"Gahddamn, dat was close...!"

Skwisgaar agreed, before the room fell silent aside from their panting.

They all eventually looked over at Taiga and took in her appearance more clearly.

The giant swishing tail was especially what caught their attention.

It looked so real.

Taiga could feel their eyes on her, and she tried to ignore it.

She understood. Truly.

But this was always so uncomfortable.

So, she tried to break the tense atmosphere around them.

"I know what you're thinking...

But just let me get this real quick, and then we can talk."

She set down the first-aid kit on the table in front of where Murderface stood, near her dining area.

"Here...

Not assuming you need my help, but this offer's on the table if you want it...

I understand that I'm just some stranger, but I know what I'm doing when it comes to patching up wounds.

That looks pretty bad, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

Her tone was soft and sympathetic, but she wasn't lying...

From what she could tell, if he stopped the bleeding and cleaned it up well, he could get it stitched and heal up just fine.

Murderface knew he had gotten injured pretty badly, but hey, he didn't feel like he was going to die or anything like when he had that accident on the highway.

When he snapped out of his own stunned state, he defaulted back to his signature frown.

He looked down at the kit and back up at Taiga skeptically, but eventually decided to take the kit and tried fixing himself up.

Wounds from his own knife that he would treat back at Mordhaus could get pretty deep, so maybe this wouldn't be much different.

He avoided any further eye contact.

Taiga could see his attitude towards her, but still understood and didn't push it.

She stepped back and looked over at everyone else as they stared some more.

"...Is everybody else ok?"

They looked between each other, seeming fine, before looking down at Toki.

Now that he was in a safer environment, by a cozy fireplace, he had a bit of time for his anxieties to lower some and feel more grounded again.

He blinked and saw he was instinctively just petting the kitten repeatedly.

Toki smile some at seeing their content, sleepy face as they squeaked a bit.

"...You ams okays..."

He sounded more surprised, yet relieved; closing his eyes and hugging them close, so gently, like they could break at any given moment.

Taiga took that as a relative yes and nodded, mostly to herself.

"Good. I'm glad I came across you all in time. Cougars are pretty rare around here...

Only a few sightings have ever been documented before apparently, but..."

She watched as Toki cooed more at the kitten.

She understood completely why the mother chased them.

But she wouldn't scold them. They already went through enough.

"...yeah.

Either way, it's a good thing we're all safe now. But we might have to wait here a while. If you need anything, just let me know."

Taiga offered and was met with more stares.

She sighed a bit.

"Yes, I know I must look different-"

Murderface suddenly spoke up again, making good progress on the wound he could see. It was almost impressive how well he could handle the pain.

"Moscht furriesch do."

Taiga paused and blinked, then looked floored.

"What the- I- Ah- No, I'm not a furry!" Taiga stumbled over her words a little from how baffled she was at what she just heard.

He shrugged.

"Whatever you wanna call it-"

"I'm SERIOUS, look at me!"

Taiga suddenly yanked a bit on her tail enough to prove a point, along with doing the same, but a bit softer, to her sensitive ears.

"This is just how I am!"

"...Yeah, ookay."

Taiga facepalmed and gave up, realizing she wasn't getting anywhere with this.

She didn't need their validation, but she's never been accused of this before.

She had heard the term in the past, but didn't really consider herself one after learning what it meant.

At least, she thought so???

One of her ears then instinctively flicked over at the sound of a tape recorder click, along with Nathan saying a song title that he thought up just now from witnessing this:

"Feral Contusion"

Taiga looked up in confusion at the man's now more softened features as he seemed pretty pleased with what he just did, but she didn't question it as she sighed and looked down; closing her eyes for a second.

Pickles seemed intrigued once he got past his own initial shock.

"...Okay well, either way, ya gotta admit, dat's pretty cool."

He grinned a bit and glanced at the guys, gauging their reactions.

"I used to think it would be awesome as hell if I had a tail."

"Oh! Or wings!"

Toki suddenly spoke up, looking significantly more excited after all of that.

"Or horse legs."

Most of them paused and looked at the blonde. Besides Toki, who didn't seem perturbed at all as he kept playing with the kitten.

"...What?"

Nathan spoke.

"What!?"

Skwisgaar quickly said, somewhat defensively, and turned away slightly as he crossed his arms.

Back to his deep frown.

He regretted throwing that bottle now, as he tapped his fingers on his arm.

Taiga was so surprised as they all seemed to be less and less concerned about her appearance.

The last time anyone reacted so relatively positively to finding out the truth, was Luci.

Taiga's eyes glazed over a bit as she remembered her best friend's visage again.

It felt bittersweet.

But she took a quick breath and refocused as Toki suddenly asked what her name was.

She didn't even notice he was staring at her this time, but it wasn't from awkwardness, more from awe.

Like he couldn't believe she was real.

"I go by Taiga."

She smiled a tiny bit as her nickname was complimented and called pretty by him, but Murderface snorted and not so softly said behind her:

"Of coursche."

Taiga deadpanned, but pretended she didn't hear that.

Pickles chuckled as he got a big smirk on his face and slyly said:

"Like you have room ta talk, Murderface~"

Murderface was almost done fixing himself up already, but almost botched it as he stood up from the chair he sat in, knocking it over with how fast he moved.

"OH ALRIGHT, PICKLESCH!"

He didn't seem phased and glanced away, snickering at how easily he could make Murderface angry.

Taiga couldn't help but smile a bit more as she rolled her eyes at their antics; seeing Pickles lazily poke his tongue out the side of his mouth.

She didn't want to be weird about it, but still made herself ask once the noise died down, even though she knew the answer.

"And... You're Dethklok, right?"

They each perked up again for once at being recognized, but then nodded/confirmed as such verbally for her as they realized it's truly not that surprising with how big they were.

All types listened to them.

Nathan put his focus back on Taiga; his intense look piercing through her, but she didn't cower at all.

Just looked right back at him.

She realized he was just trying to remember something when he asked if she was at their show.

Taiga almost laughed.

She would have been hard to miss if she did.

"No, but it would be fun to get to go see you guys one day."

Skwisgaar looked slightly surprised and raised a brow as he looked back over at her.

"You've never beens tos a concerts?"

"Just not your guys' before."

Taiga dramatically put her hand up to her head and pretended to be distraught.

"I'm too poor."

But then she stopped and laughed.

"Maybe one day, though!"

Nathan was relieved that Taiga didn't start trying to guilt trip them into giving her a free ticket or something. As soon as he heard it, he was starting to tense up before he realized.

Because even if she technically saved them, they didn't owe her anything.

Toki quickly spoke up again, however;

"Wowee. Maybes we cans gives you a ticket!"

Nathan wanted to tell him to shut up, but he didn't have to, because Taiga waved her hand in disagreement.

"No thank you.

That's very generous of you, but I'd rather actually pay for my ticket like everyone else. Besides, I'd feel bad having you guys do that."

She held one of her arms and giggled a bit as she awkwardly looked to the side; some of her hair covering her face.

She still wasn't used to it whenever so much attention was on her, and sometimes, she just needed a break.

But she wasn't really uncomfortable right now, thankfully.

Especially since most of the tension in the room seemed to be gone by this point.

Which made Taiga relieved.

Toki shrugged, but didn't look offended before he then carefully held up the kitten in his hands; looking underneath them before he moved his focus back up to their face, happily saying to no one in particular, that he was going to call them Aksel.

Taiga liked the name.

Understanding that it either meant "Father of peace," or "Mighty God," after wracking her brain for her knowledge of the Norwegian language.

Although, she didn't want to burst his bubble by telling him that he'd eventually have to give the baby back...

Especially since he seemed to start to feel much better.

So for now, she just stayed quiet.

Her eyes softened, and she couldn't help but feel bad for the man.

He probably just wanted a pet but didn't know what he truly got himself into.

Taiga then saw that Murderface was pretty much finished with his self patch job.

At least, for now.

He knew that he would need help later on with his back, but he really wasn't comfortable with taking his shirt off right now and letting someone do that to him.

She didn't question him and put the first-aid kit away when she saw he was for sure done with it.

He soon kept staring at Taiga's nata that was propped up against the floor.

He went over and picked it up to examine it; his love of weapons, especially the more stabby ones, getting the better of him.

When Taiga noticed, she immediately tensed up and wanted to snatch it out of Murderface's grip on instinct, but she resisted that urge and just stayed off by his side as he looked at it with a mischievous grin.

"...You like it?"

She asked, glancing anxiously between him and her beloved nata.

It couldn't be replaced.

Especially not Luci's ribbon tied to it...

So she didn't want anything to happen to it.

"Yeah. Could I have it?"

Taiga's breath hitched for a second.

"Eh-

No. Sorry.

But, I know where you can get one."

"Aw, c'mon!

I'll give you a hundred bucksch for it right now!"

Murderface had an expression like he had this in the bag, until Taiga immediately said no again.

He frowned and kept raising the price.

Until Taiga got tired of saying no and sighed, pinching her brow.

"It's not... for sale.

You can look at it, but just please, be careful."

Murderface grumbled and mocked her a bit, but surprisingly listened, looking very intrigued with the design of her nata, along with its finish.

Taiga lowered her arm and was about to get something to eat, but then she stopped when she heard what sounded like...

Helicopter blades?

Oh wow, those were getting loud, and extremely close.

Her eyes widened and she looked out one of her windows.

One of the most daunting and intricate looking helicopters she had ever seen was currently making a landing in the clearing, but was too big for the surrounding trees, effectively knocking them down.

Taiga fumed; she still owned this land after all, but tried to keep her cool.

At least it didn't damage her cottage, she thought, trying to be positive.

As soon as the guys heard and saw their Dethkopter, most of them immediately went to bum rush the door; Murderface even forgetting about the nata for now right after he put it back, and Taiga was about to shout after them to remind them of how the cougar was probably still biding its time, hiding out there despite the noise...

Before her ears picked up gunshots.

Taiga felt dread flowing through her core and she chanced looking back out the window.

She quickly looked away again, letting the guys leave her cottage.

She knew it was self-defense in that moment, as the hooded men shot the cougar, but she couldn't help but feel terrible...

All she wanted to do was protect her baby.

No one else seemed to care.

Like they were used to this.

But Taiga knew that this was a pretty fucked up world they all were in...

People even got killed on damn game shows these days.

Though...

That still didn't mean she had to just roll over and accept it like most everyone else.

But... Now what?

How could she even try to make this better?

They cheered and Skwisgaar mumbled out something along the lines of:

"Finallys."

And Nathan spoke up as they each started to leave,

"Fuck yes! Where were you, Charles!? We could have STARVED."

"It's been, ah, less than an hour."

He wasn't too worried anyways since he had trackers on the boys, but it took longer than anticipated, and he knew that anything could happen in any given amount of time.

---

Earlier when Charles was first informed about what happened to the boys, a sudden Supercell thunderstorm of seismic proportions had come out of nowhere, and wasn't spotted as they were making their flight, despite the weather radar they had installed.

The winds from the violent tornadoes it had caused, along with the severity of the lightning and size of the hail that came with it, was strong enough to even throw the Dethkopter repeatedly off course.

It was one of the worst, and most unnatural looking that Charles had ever seen.

In other circumstances, he may have even thought it to be beautiful...

He knew it wasn't impossible, but from the cyclone, the form of dark blues that flashed from within quickly morphed into a harmonious tertiary mix of purples and reds; a gut feeling tearing through Charles, telling him that this storm, like all the others he had seen happen before, was no mere coincidence.

And it had sent him further into his own level of frantic searching.

Yet he kept his cool. As he always did.

He had to. Especially in the position he held.

It was a difficult fight with mother nature, and some Klokateers were blown out of the aircraft, but he had to stay focused so the entire flight crew would not end up the same way.

But thankfully this battle seemed to end with a truce.

With the assistance of their complete avionics system, along with the Klokateers who were each trained and handpicked as the best of the best for these jobs, were able to make it back on the ground to their destination.

Although, Charles made a mental note to see to it that Dethklok's driver that accidentally stranded them would be replaced immediately.

And effectively "fired" after this fiasco.

But he'd worry about the messy details later.

---

The guys talked a bit louder as they left, to compensate for the loud noises from the Dethkopter.

Taiga didn't hear the bandmates animatedly trying to tell Charles every little thing that happened to them as he saw Murderface's injuries and urgently tried to have him looked at, but he wouldn't budge and said not to worry about that right now because he wanted to finish what he had to say too.

Funny though, because any other time, he'd be annoyed, because usually no one would pay his injuries attention at all.

But Charles just relented and "listened" to them as they talked over each other for the most part, and they had to keep starting over.

Even though he looked emotionless right now, you could see the exasperation in his eyes if you looked hard enough.

But eventually Charles started getting the gist of it throughout the rambling; beginning to fully understand more and take it all in after deciphering their...

Well, basically word spaghetti.

He got used to having to do that.

At first he thought they were all extremely high once again, but then he spotted Taiga through one of the cottage's windows himself.

He didn't physically react much, but it definitely gave him pause for a second.

Then again, not much phased him after the certain things he had witnessed before...

---

In the meantime, Toki stayed a bit behind as he stood up with his new kitten.

He still looked so happy and didn't see what happened to the baby's mother.

Or...

He just pretended it didn't happen.

Taiga had her arms crossed and was hugging herself a bit as she tried to calm down from that image that was burned into her memory when she looked out the window.

Guilt started coursing through her veins like the contents of a chilling IV drip...

Could she have saved the poor creature?

She tried not to beat herself up. It's not like she could really do much...

Taiga shut her eyes for a bit, but re-opened them and looked back up as Toki suddenly thanked her. He was the first one to.

She forced a small smile onto her face and nodded.

"Of course. It was nice to help, and meet you all."

Her voice wasn't as light anymore, yet she still tried to be friendly.

But she could start to see the glint of the unsure look bubbling up in the young man's eyes as he stared down at the new life that he was now responsible for.

It was a crushing weight, and the feeling was pretty terrifying each time that he got a new pet.

Would he mess this up as well even more... Without trying?

Toki felt like an idiot for being so impulsive lots of times.

Taiga tried not to hold any resentment towards him for taking the cub.

It sure wouldn't help anything.

Besides...

Everyone made mistakes.

No one was perfect.

She never forgot a lot of her own past regrets, as they continue to haunt her.

And she wouldn't wish that on anybody.

So she decided to at least throw Toki a bone before he got too deep into his head again.

She knew that feeling all too well, and didn't want to stand by and do nothing overall.

Taiga hurriedly found and handed him one of her favorite and most educational conservationist and ecology books.

"Here. This should help you out... I hope that it all works out for you."

You weren't really supposed to have cougars as pets, but she meant that. Hopefully the cub could be taken care of properly.

Besides, she felt like they'd each already be given lectures of some form at some point before the night was over.

She tried to inform Toki on what sources to look out for as well as those to keep in mind, especially if he ever went looking online.

She thankfully was able to save a bunch of animals out here before, and a few in her travels outside the country. And she was grateful for that, but she was only so knowledgeable.

Regardless, Taiga tried her best to explain it the best she could.

And Toki seemed to genuinely be listening.

His eyes lit up the more she went on, and he borrowed a pencil to write some things down in one of the books.

His handwriting was all over the place, but he seemed to understand it, and that's what mattered anyway, so she didn't say anything.

Taiga almost giggled a bit at how enthusiastically he kept saying "Wowee!"

But she held it back.

She got so into delving into this information, that she almost forgot about the terrible parts of today's events.

But then when she turned a bit, her eyes widened and she almost jumped when she noticed Charles standing in the doorway with a briefcase; the shadows cascading over his features making him look almost ominous.

She saw him a bit before in the media, but she knew even less about him than the band. Besides the fact that he was their manager.

Not that it was her business to know more anyway.

Taiga calmed down and sighed as she stared curiously at the man.

Toki was excitedly finishing up writing as he leaned over the table.

His tongue poked out absent-mindedly as he focused on it; licking his lips a bit.

Charles was almost surprised at seeing him that intensely focused, but once he saw the cub he held in his free arm, he held back a sigh.

"Toki...

What do you, ah, have there...?"

He was dreading asking; figuring he already knew the answer since he had gotten pets randomly before.

He knew how much it could mean to him, but despite his warnings, Toki wanted to keep him, and promised to give him the best "habipstaps."

"Hab... itat."

"Hambitets!"

Taiga shook her head a bit as she just smiled a little again. She looked a bit defeated, but didn't judge.

Toki's confident smile was beaming too brightly, so she just let him have this.

"You ams nice ladies!"

He then faced Charles again to reiterate that he promises he would take good care of Aksel.

He gave up this newest battle.

Toki was obviously dead set on this.

There were worse "pets" out there that he could have tried taking home, he supposed.

Then Toki asked if he could ask Taiga for more "cool" tips if he needed them in the future, or if she could even come to Mordhaus at some point to oversee the structure and layout of the habitat since she knew a lot about it.

His tone was very convincing, and he even tried to say he wouldn't have to hire anyone to do it.

She raised a brow for a second, wondering why he didn't just ask her directly since she was, you know... Right there.

And the fact Toki just assumed and insinuated she'd do it.

For free.

But she just let it go.

It was kind of amusing in a certain way how each member of Dethklok held their manager in such high regard, yet also treated him with such disregard at different points in time.

But it probably wasn't like that for him alone.

Either way, she actually wouldn't mind doing all that, to a point.

It would put Taiga's mind at ease being able to check in on Aksel in some form or another, however.

Even if it wasn't her fault, she still felt like she was responsible, no matter how much she knew she wasn't.

...Not that she had no semblance of trust in these people, but...

At the same time, she didn't actually know really them as individuals.

So it was hard to say.

And today was definitely a rocky start, putting it lightly.

But she tried to keep an open mind at the very least.

Charles stared at the girl.

More calculating than anything.

It was usually a liability concern when deal with who each individual who entered Mordhaus, who wasn't either an employee or a part of the band.

But he knew simple fixes to that...

And hey, if this person could actually keep Toki happy without giving him or others any extra problems to deal with (like a certain clown did), even better.

Not that he wouldn't be keeping a close eye.

Just in case.

So he ultimately said that that would be fine.

However, Taiga could tell that this conversation wasn't truly over yet.

Toki smiled even wider, like a kid in a candy store, since he was told that it was alright, and his top lip twitched a little; his mustache swinging a bit with the movement.

Charles did have a sense of exigency though, and reminded Toki that they should probably get going as well, as soon as he saw the chance to.

He agreed as he politely returned the pen.

"Thanks..."

Taiga sighed out a bit as she leaned over some and carefully wrote out her phone number in his book as well.

But she didn't seem frustrated.

More so, worn out.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and it was all catching up with her.

She internally hoped to at least get some rest later on, but she doubted that greatly.

Taiga put the pen down after she was done, and Toki beamed as he picked up his books and thanked her once again.

He happily said goodbye, gently moving Aksel's little paw to make it look like he was waving at her, before he quickly bounded away; off in his own little world as his tall figure went over towards the Dethkopter.

Taiga could see him through the window; his mouth quickly moving like he was excitedly talking to the cub before covering their tiny ears as they got closer to the aircraft.

It was pretty adorable, but she still couldn't bring herself to feel very chipper right now.

Charles didn't waste any time though as Taiga faced him once again.

Before he left, he wanted to make some things clear.

Taiga suddenly felt the shift in the air, like she should really watch her words, and actions while with this man especially.

She crossed her arms as he spoke, and she made eye contact with him.

"I must say that you, ah, certainly have our gratitude..."

Taiga figured he was half-heartedly attempting to save face in regards to the band, since most of them didn't really show the gratitude he mentioned, but she shrugged a bit.

"I'm just glad I could make it in time. I hope they'll be alright."

He curtly nodded, but took note of her genuine tone, before pulling out some papers.

Taiga could see this is what he actually wanted to get to as she put her arms back down by her sides. He brought the papers over to the table and neatly placed them out for her; his gloved fingers moving precisely, like he's done this routine a million times before.

She took note that he didn't seem affected in the slightest by her appearance, but that was honestly a relief at this point.

Charles explained that he would also greatly appreciate it if Taiga could fill out and sign an NDA, along with a waiver of liability.

She thought, but then paused for a bit.

She wasn't surprised by either option. Especially from the things she's heard happen around Dethklok as a whole.

And she didn't argue, but brought up something.

"Okay. I'll sign the waiver, but...

Actually, may I offer something that could potentially help us both...?"

Charles had to admit, he was taken aback, but he didn't show it.

Most people didn't even think to challenge his offers, but he was actually interested in what this girl had to say.

A slight sound of acknowledgement came from the back of his throat.

"...Let's hear it."

Taiga explained her situation in this city, and how she had help in keeping it under wraps with NDAs as well from her friends Ali and Cait.

Charles continued to make mental notes as she spoke, and she could tell, but continued on; giving over the information he may need if he wanted to confirm the details with them  too.

He didn't think that she was lying, but it was best to cover your bases when legalities were involved.

Taiga figured since there was going to be a contract signed regardless, she may as well just be completely honest, and go out on a limb here for her own sake, as she asked if they could go through with an MNDA specifically.

But she didn't give him a sob story.

Just stated what was most prevalent to the situation.

Besides, she knew that afterwards she'd be looked into more thoroughly anyway.

By either Charles, and/or others.

It was inevitable, but also understandable. Despite how intimidating this all was, she wasn't going to be difficult.

It would be stupid to even try such a thing.

What would she even be able to do, that wouldn't end in disaster?

Especially with the status Dethklok held...

They were legitimately global superpowers.

Not worth it.

Charles understood, and he was glad she actually knew what she was talking about in this regard, and cut to the chase.

Either way, he didn't see how this could really have any negative consequences, so he agreed on it.

Taiga relaxed a bit more at hearing that.

She didn't expect today to end up like this at all...

But if it could end somewhat amicably, with her safety intact, she'd take it.

As Charles set it all up, she wrote down what she needed to and instinctively organized each of the papers before handing them back over to the practically inexpressible man.

He would make sure to keep his end of the deal. If anything, he wasn't the kind of man to go back on his word.

And Taiga didn't know that about him of course, but she felt like she could actually trust this all to not blow up in flames, or worse.

He was critically acclaimed to be preeminent in what he did.

So, she tried not to worry too much about it.

At least for now.

Although, she did have one more prominent issue to bring up before he left.

But she tried to make it quick.

Taiga was confused on how she would even make the commute to and from the citadel itself.

She stated how she would use the money she had been saving up and putting away from her job at the day care Cait ran, but it still most likely wouldn't be enough.

And Taiga's job running the homeless shelter, she didn't get paid for that, and didn't want to.

She loved helping out no matter the circumstances.

She already felt bad enough having Cait pay her at first for something she'd happily do for free, but she insisted.

Charles waved it off, and decided to make a deal with her.

She wouldn't have to pay them any fees, as long as she could make sure not to cause any trouble.

For Dethklok, or him.

Charles said he would have a packet sent to her that would be filled with all of the important guidelines she would have to follow whenever stepping foot onto the property of Mordhaus.

And she wasn't the kind of person that wanted to cause some sort of scandal.

So she especially knew the obvious things to not do.

Again, from a rational standpoint, why would she?

Celebrity or not, there were just some things fans, or others did, that she could never even think of trying.

Also...

The members who made up Dethklok were grown men at the end of the day, and she wouldn't try and play babysitter, or be controlling...

But she heeded the warnings, regardless.

And would try her best to respectfully keep things in check when needed.

Even if something out of her control happened, she would just try to work through and accept it as she paid the price.

Taiga still thought it was extremely fair, and surprisingly generous of him (even if he was mostly being smart and covering his ass) given the circumstances, but she could see that overall, despite his uncaring demeanor or the monkey business that ever took place, he just wanted to keep the guys happy.

At the very least in ways that wouldn't be self detrimental, if he could help it.

So after getting past her stupefaction, she signed off on that agreement as well.

"...Thank you."

Charles glanced briefly over the papers for now before tucking them away once again.

"Yes, well...

Thank you for your time and, ah, cooperation, Ms. Taira."

Taiga nodded as she internally cringed at her real last name being said, but didn't bother saying anything about it.

Charles simply then bid her a good night and farewell; not making any grand gestures, or wasting any more time with further pleasantries as he hastily left her cottage and made his way back to the Dethkopter.

...

Taiga tried to reflect on what all happened today.

Actually, she didn't have to try.

It wouldn't leave her brain.

Especially as she went outside and was left with the mother cougar's body after everyone flew off.

Seeing these kinds of things never got any easier, but she tried to stay strong for what she needed to do next.

Taiga knew that she should take a few moments for herself later on...

It would be healthy.

Not selfish at all, she reminded herself.

And maybe, just maybe, she could successfully get a good rest afterwards.

With no nightmares.

...

But this would continue to itch away at her until she cracked...

She couldn't just leave them out here, anyway.

She wouldn't be able to live with herself.

...

So she got started.

--

As she finished burying the cougar,

Taiga knew the cycle of life would continue, no matter how she felt.

And she took her gloves off, putting them away as she got lost in thought once again.

The body would decay, feeding other lifeforms, just as others that perish.

But each time, she wanted, no...

Needed to give a proper burial.

And when possible, a ritual for it.

It was always such an intense experience.

Emotional and otherwise while going through each ritual.

But Taiga would do it again and again.

In her eyes, it was deserved.

She didn't believe in "perfect," but tried her best to carry this out in the closest way to it as possible.

Taiga closed her eyes, and tears fell down her face as she inhaled; wishing the cougar farewell, and honoring her.

If her spirit wished to remain in contact, she would gladly accept that and try her best to appease them just as she did for any others that came her way...

Whether they made a connection or not, she wanted to be a safe guide, no matter the duration of the stay.

Taiga made another protective charm, similar to the ones inside and around her cottage, and placed it over the grave.

Despite her inner turmoil about how this turned out, she tried to move forward.

Staying stagnant in this moment wouldn't change much.

She would not ever forget this experience of course, but wanted to do right by this being, no matter the cost.

If that meant watching over the cub, so be it.

Taiga would try and help whenever she was called, even after their final breaths were taken.

So after saying her final goodbyes, she got back up, dusted the dirt off herself a bit, and headed inside her cottage again to get on her new computer; immediately getting started on researching more.

She wanted to go above and beyond trying to expand her knowledge on the care, and overall ways of these creatures themselves; highlighting key DOs and DONTs.

Even if she already knew quite a lot about felines as a whole, it wouldn't hurt to read up on them even more.

Focusing on this helped distract her mind for a while...

Easing any pain that came with thinking too much on the events that transpired, or when they would suddenly flash into her head again.

But she also tried to steel herself and not push herself too hard again; taking some breaks inbetween, and trying to just...

Breathe.

When Taiga was able to open her eyes and look back up again, she let herself feel, but reminded herself of what was the utmost truth...

And the end goal she was striving towards.

Strengthened by her new resolve, she took a few more breaths, and was able to set a timer for herself to stop for tonight before trying to get some sleep afterwards.

And as Taiga finished up her current study session and jotted down her notes in the much more silent, coiling vibrations of the now recessing woods that surrounded her...

She couldn't help but wonder what the future may have in store for her from here on out.

~~~~~

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

ROUND ONE

Dancing with their demons again, The 100 Fandom writer are back!! And boy, oh, boy, have they cooked up a good batch of disaster fics to kick off our fourth annual completion!

It’s officially time to VOTE for the First Round of TROPED Madness 4.0! The structure is simple! Please rank the nine (9) fics, first (1) being your top choice, and nine (9) being your last choice! Since we only received nine fics, we will be chopping one author and the ranking will be used to order all the remaining authors for the brackets in Round Two!

You can vote here:

The nine fics that we received for this round can be found below, or on AO3 here! Each fic follows the theme [Disaster], includes the tropes [Baking AU] and [Dancing], and have included the character [John Murphy (The 100)]! When you vote, please be sure to take into consideration the USE of all these elements, because, as with all other TROPED events, the purpose is to select the authors who best utilize the requirements!

———————————

If The World Was Ending, You’d Come Over, Right? Right. (Rated M) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: What does the consummate survivor do when the end of the world is inevitable? An introspective tale about John Murphy, loss, grief and the bonds that connect people even at the end of it all.

i say that i hate you with a smile on my face (Rated G) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: There's a tornado raging over his head and his father's bakery right in the crossfire, but all Murphy is worried about is what he's going to tell Raven about his date the night before.

When It's Over (Rated T) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes x Emori]

Summary: Murphy is prepared for a perfectly normal day of work in his bakery.

What he gets instead is an earthquake.

in the space between the stars (Rated M) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: Raven saved the world. At least part of it. No matter how scummy and ungrateful that part may be.

Now she needs someone to save her.

Murphy watches the stars come out and makes a decision.

(Cause This Can't Be) The Way the Story Ends (Rated T) [ The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: A bummed-out business owner, a disgruntled barista, a stressed student, a mysterious stranger, and a mechanic on a mission are trapped in a bakery during an ice storm.

Or, how John Murphy found the girl, lost the girl, experienced a natural disaster with the girl, and then found her again.

'til our fingers decompose (keep my hand in yours) (Rated T) [The 100 — John Murphy x Clarke Griffin]

Summary: Murphy's existence post-Disappearance was pretty bleak. Sure, he had his own bakery, and, yeah, he didn't have to worry about his mom's drinking anymore, or studying for math tests, but the fire that came from his hands had blistered and burned his skin beyond any repair that even the best training that any of the kids with babysitter first aid could do and had left them useless and constantly in pain. He couldn't do the baking for his store, or even wash his hair.

And then Clarke came to town.

through the snow and through the storm (Rated T) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: “Everyone is so concerned about this storm,” Raven says. “It’s calling for what, three or four inches of snow? Back home in Minnesota, that’s not even enough to close schools.”

Murphy snorts. “Well, hon, welcome to Georgia,” he says. “This may be a shock to you, but we don’t get as much snow as Minnesota.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” she says, chuckling. “It’s kind of boring, honestly.”

“Being locked up in your house for months because the outside world is trying to freeze your face off sounds boring.”

“That’s what scarves are for, John.”

recipe for disaster (Rated M) [The 100 — John Murphy x Raven Reyes]

Summary: To be clear: Murphy's not quite sure how he ended up here. But somehow, they're waiting in a hospital to make sure Clarke and Raven are going to be alive and Bellamy looks like he's going to punch something.

Well, Murphy's sort of clear: he knows they got here because of the crash. What he doesn't quite remember is why Bellamy is about to pounce.

(or: clarke forces everyone to ballroom dance, there are way too many baking metaphors and people get hit by cars.)

Always Been the End of the World (Rated T) [The 100 — John Murphy x Clarke Griffin]

Summary: Clarke's day is turning out to be a disaster. If stubbing her toe and her shitty roommate, she also has to deal with John Murphy, the bane of her existence. Even though she loves working at this bakery his mere presence makes that harder with each day. But with a major order, for her childhood best friend's wedding no less, she can't let him distract her. Nothing he does is going to get under her skin today.

Unfortunately, it seems, Mother Nature has other plans.

Although, just maybe, her day doesn't end up being quite as much of a disaster as she thought.

[grimdarkandhandsome]

Twilight State

A Twilight fanfiction AU

History

1944

On December 24, Vice President Henry A Wallace murdered President Franklin D Roosevelt & falsely claimed that he was unable to appear in public due to illness. It would later come to light that Wallace had for some years been a vampire. He was the sole public-facing agent of a conspiracy of vampires in Washington, who had since 1914 been scheming to overthrow Volturi rule.

By supernatural means, Wallace obtained the forgiveness of the Judicial & Legislative branches & retained control over the presidency even after evidence of his murder & inhumanity came to light. However, most of the states joined against him in the Second Civil War. And after the Day of Disobedience (1945 January 23), around 90% of US military personnel effectively joined the secessionist side.

1945

The Civil War (1945-1947) was complicated by uncertain loyalties, ignorance, & rejection of orders at all ranks. At far too high a price, it became clear that no amount of numerical superiority would help the FAS take ground held by vampire infantry, & that the CUS was unwilling to openly conquer land claimed by other states.

1947

June 2: In the first & only use of atomic weapons in an armed conflict, an unconfirmed actor detonated an experimental bomb near Florence, Italy. While Benito Mussolini was only 47 miles outside the primary blast radius at the time, he was likely not the target. A majority of historians agree that the weapon was probably a nuclear landmine planted by the Washington, DC coven of the CUS, which likely wiped out the Volturi of Volterra.

Indeed, the very next day began a series of worldwide crises known as the Summer of Demons. While incomprehensible at the time, these events were later understood to all have the same cause: across the planet, vampires were no longer forced to hide.

1948

The Toronto Treaty nominally formalized the borders of the modern CUS. However, low- to medium-intensity warfare between the post-USA nations continues to simmer even today. It has been theorized that a certain minimum military death rate is required to support the CUS's blood economy.

2005

Present day.

Taxonomy of Regimes

Vampire dictatorship - Open dictatorship by a vampiric individual, with unlimited term length

Vampire regime - Upper levels of government are dominated by vampires

Vampire tolerant - Vampires are banned from upper-level leadership, but tolerated as residents

Antivampiric - Vampires are banned from the region entirely

Canada

Vampire dictatorship

Constitutional United States (CUS)

After the Second Civil War of 1946, only the northeastern portion of the USA remains loyal to Washington DC. The CUS, as it is now known, retains control of Missouri & those states north & east of it. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, & Virginia border the secessionist union of FAS (see below).

Vampire regime - While the CUS has only seen one vampiric president, vampires still have extremely influential rules in the Cabinet & in many other government positions. Permitting the facade of human democracy contributes to the high public opinion of vampires within the CUS.

For example, the mayor of New York City is the vampire Aaron Burr. He claims to be the same Aaron Burr who served as Thomas Jefferson's vice president, saying he became a vampire & faked his death in 1836, then concealed himself from public life until the end of the Pax Volturi.

Federation of American States (FAS)

In the Second Civil War, most of the USA seceded & formed the FAS, unwilling to accept a vampire presidency.

The FAS is antivampiric, denying both citizenship & entry visas to vampires.

The southern & western states created the FAS as an emergency replacement for the compromised federal government. Its constitution is identical to the US Constitution, with the addition of a 22nd Amendment preventing presidential succession via criminal means.

Mexico

Vampire-tolerant democracy: While vampires are permitted to reside in Mexico, many consider them invaders.

South America

Legally antivampiric, but rumored to retain a secret undead aristocracy that still follows the laws of the Pax Volturi.

Subsaharan Africa

One of the regions of greatest antivampiric success, having driven out many ancient covens.

Europe & Mediterranean

Almost exclusively vampire dictatorships.

West Asia

Highest rates of direct intervampiric warfare in the world. Since vampiric aggression here is mostly directed against other vampire groups, human institutions have remained relatively intact for now. However, the violence of newborn-based warfare has been very destructive in many large cities.

Asia Pacific

The PRC (China) has the largest human-led military in the world. It has also secured the (temporary?) loyalty of dozens of vampire soldiers.

Most of the rest of the region has succumbed to varying degrees of vampire control.

New Personnel Briefing - Minnesota Theater - Annual Status Report

CLASSIFIED Tier D Secret by the War Department of the Federation of American States

ISSUED TO: Pvt Isabella Swan (RECIPIENT EYES ONLY)

ENEMY DISPOSITION IN THEATER: While numerous vampiric infantry units are stationed in theater, conventional defenses are relatively light. Generally speaking, our ability to penetrate & perform short-term missions is high, but our ability to claim & hold territory against enemy vampires is near zero.

TYPICAL ENEMY UNITS:

Conventional mechanized infantry. Company-scale forces. Armament: Rifles, grenades, body armor, Jeeps. High loyalty. High prevalence.

Vampiric officer cavalry (VOC). Operate individually, within 1-5 miles of conventional CUS units. Armament: Motorbike, rifles, grenades. Low prevalence. High loyalty. Note: A vampire is fully capable of firing one rifle in each hand. Note: A vampire can throw grenades & light vehicles up to 1000 yards with extreme accuracy. Note: Vampiric officers often command precision artillery fire on their own position when engaging in CQC.

Vampiric espionage asset (VEA). Individual nighttime operations. Armament: Poisonous substances. Low prevalence. Low loyalty. Note: Do not engage.

Vampiric air squadron (VAS). Squadron-scale force plus 1 vampire commander. Armament: Bomber aircraft, wingsuit, rifles. High loyalty. Rapid-response air unit. Vampiric component is deployed at altitude then descends or falls onto target. Air components then provide recon & fire support to ground-deployed vampiric component. High prevalence. Note: Occult phenomena response protocols advised.

Canadian vampiric agent. Individual combatants. Armament: Long metal spear and/or vampiric head weapons. Note: May use spear for throwing, vaulting, or even deflecting bullets. Note: Head weapons are the severed heads of enemy vampires, mounted to a handle, with the lower jaw removed. Teeth are extremely sharp. Low prevalence. Assume hostile to all factions.

TYPICAL FRIENDLY UNITS:

Conventional airborne infantry. Platoon- to company-scale forces. Armament: Rifles, grenades, body armor, Ospreys. High prevalence.

Conventional helicopter gunships. Individual- to squadron-scale forces. Armament: Kinetic, explosive, & white phosphorous munitions. Can harass vampiric targets from above their jump height.

Conventional armor. Individually-deployed tanks. Armament: HE & incendiary munitions. Low prevalence. Note: Cannot quickly be disabled by enemy vampires. High explosive munitions useful for removing cover around a vampire such as buildings, or for distracting vampires.

Choir platoons. Armament: Rifles, body armor, close air support. Human infantry with occult abilities, group by similarity of ability. Low prevalence. NOTE FROM CO: THIS IS YOU, AEGIS PLATOON.

Neomorph infantry. Platoon-scale forces, 50% conventional 50% neomorph. Armament: Rifles, grenades, body armor, Ospreys. Low prevalence. NOTE FROM CO: THEY TURN INTO WOLVES.

HOW TO KILL A VAMPIRE:

Neomorphs

White phosphorous munitions

Concealed explosive at point blank

Ceiling weight traps (CWTs)

Carpet bombing