#that moon knight guy can paint the town red it’s okay he’s baby

[orestesimp]

me, so far up that moon knight guy’s ass that i was ready to throw hands

Every You Every Me Issue #3

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x female reader

Summary: You are determined to meet your Spider-benefactor face to face and you go to ever increasing extreme lengths to do so. Problem is, Miguel O'hara is very uncooperative to your plans.

Word count: 5,500 words.

Content: Slowest of the burn, so slow you wonder if it's even burning. Near death experiences, the state of the economy and how expensive it is to live in a big city, the emotional whiplash of Miguel O'Hara.

Astroboot’s Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Spiderverse Masterlist

[Previous issue] [TBC]

You saw them in the window display of a bakery in Greenwich Village. Round sugar cookies with red frosting and white eyes, decorated as a tribute to everyone's favorite neighborhood Spiderman.

Before you had time to properly think things over (would he even like the cookies? Is he on a strict superhero diet and workout plan? What if he's gluten intolerant?) you were already standing in front of the cash register having a dozen of them wrapped up in fancy crinkly paper and were $72 dollars poorer. 

Charging six dollars per cookie is practically highway robbery, but that's par for the course with New York bakeries. You wouldn’t be surprised if every bakery in New York was already a part of Wilson Fisk’s criminal empire. 

As you push open the door, box in hand, you wonder wryly to yourself why Spiderman’s ruder alter ego isn't there to save you from that.

You wonder, for Superheroes, what classifies as an event worth intervening in and what everyday citizens need to be saved from?

Financial ailment doesn't quite seem to qualify from what you've been able to glean so far.

Tony Stark, for all the wealth he’s amassed (a large enough treasure hoard that he would be capable of buying the whole planet of Mars according to Forbes) isn't massively involved with charities. He only donates to the one: his own. And the Stark Foundation is really just Tony Stark paying reparations for the damage he and his buddies caused in the first place.

Thor is an actual deity, and you still remember that write-up in Esquire magazine, where local waiters in New Mexico had called him a terrible tipper and a habitual smasher of glassware.

Assault and battery is up in the air. There are accounts of Superheroes intervening; that Tiktok videos of She-Hulk breaking up a bar fight that went viral a few weeks back. But then equally, there are memes of Doctor Strange peeking out the window of Sanctum Sanctorum watching a street fight unfold,, utterly uninterested in getting involved. The internet labeled it as "mood". 

As for murder and mayhem, there's a longstanding public debate as to whether Superheroes cause more than they prevent. Case in point: that Moon Knight guy that paints the streets of London red.

There is no rule book written to explain how Superheroes decides who is worth saving and who is not.

Does one have to be important and have a material effect on the state of the world?

If so, you fall pitifully short. The most world-changing decision you made as of late was deciding to opt out of utensils on your last GrubHub order to help save the environment.

So it makes you wonder: Why on earth has this non-costume accurate Spiderman saved you, not once, not twice, but 13 times to date?

That’s just the first of many questions you’d like to ask him. What does he know that you don’t? Does he know why the universe seems to be out to get you lately? Or why death itself is following you everywhere you go, nipping at your heels?

You haven’t had the chance to ask him anything, because despite all of your encounters, you haven't met him face to face since that very first time. 

Inconveniently, you don't exactly have a way of contacting him. Superheroes aren't listed in the phone book. 

With no other way to reach out, you go at it the old fashioned way. You write him a note from a page you've ripped out of your notebook:

‘Thank you for saving me. Can we meet? I have questions.’

You place the note on the window sill. Setting the plate with $72 dollars worth of Spiderman cookies on top of the left corner of the paper to make sure it doesn't get blown away in the wind. Then you leave the window open for the first time since you've moved into this apartment before heading to bed.

There's nothing else to do but to wait. 

You wake to the spit and splatter of rain against your window. It's gray outside, and the cookies you set out the night before remain untouched. You frown at the sight, but you can't say you're surprised.

There was never any real indication that he was lurking around you. Superheroes are bound to have more interesting things on their schedule than stalking a random insurance employee.

You don't know why you thought this would work in the first place.

Getting out of bed, you walk up to your window to inspect the scene. The note is where you have left it, ink a little smeared from the rain, where the plate has kept it in place on the right corner.

That seems odd, now that you think about it. You stare at the note, eye drawn to the watermarks. Why are there water stains bleeding into the paper if your window was closed? As crappy as your rundown apartment can be, water damage is the one thing you haven't had issues with.

You draw your eyes to the closed window being smattered with the rain outside. Didn't you leave the window open last night? You're pretty sure you did, hoping that the open window would be seen as a gesture of invitation. You had left it open… right?

You did.

You're sure you did.

He must’ve been here.

Rude, not-costume-accurate Spiderman was here.

Right?

Your eyes flicker back to the window.

Or maybe you did close the window?

You close your eyes trying to recall your evening, packing the length of your apartment as you replay the memory. Suddenly, you're not so sure anymore. You always close your window, and even though you had every intention of keeping it open last night, who is to say you didn't close it out of sheer habit?

It's strange. Because if he was here, he would've spotted the note. But it's in the same spot you left it yesterday right under the plate on the left side of it...

You eye the undisturbed note tucked under the right corner of the plate.

Wait, wait. Didn't you put the note under the left side of the plate?

You did.

Yes, you definitely did.

Which means, he was here... Right?

You feel like you are going insane.

Are you seeing things that are not there? Was he actually here and if so why did he go to such lengths to pretend otherwise. Why would he passive-aggressively gaslight you into thinking he was never here?

You decide on a redo.

Because if you can't trust yourself and your questionable memory, you can trust a recording.

A teddy bear nanny cam sets you back $50. Not cheap, but not as outrageous as your stale-cardboard-tasting Spiderman cookies. 

You set it up on your dresser opposite your window and link it to your phone as per the instructions.

As for the bait. After having tasted those brick cookies for yourself, putting it out for a second night for a man who has saved your life repeatedly didn't seem right. You decide to bake them yourself this time.

The added bonus is that you get to mix blue food coloring into the frosting for the decoration that goes on top. In retrospect, the red Spiderman cookies from last time might’ve implied that you’re calling him a knock-off Spiderman. 

Besides, even with the cost of living crisis: a bag of flour, baking powder, unsalted butter, sugar and eggs cost a lot less than $72 dollars.

This time, you don't write him a sloppily put together note. You decide to write him a proper letter. 

If he did visit your apartment, (and you're not just going insane) the fact that he moved the note meant that he must've read it. 

This note didn’t work. 

It must not have been compelling enough, you were kind of in a hurry… 

You’ll have to write something better this time. Longer. More emotionally compelling. Surely if you take the time to really explain your plight, you can make him understand why it’s so important he talks to you! 

The problem is that it’s hard to sound serious when it’s written on lined paper from your ruled notebook. 

That won’t do. You go to the nearest stationery store in your neighborhood, a chain outlet of Paper Source to get yourself some decent looking stationary paper with a matching colored envelope to boot. 

You immediately regret this part of your plan, because it ends up setting you back another $26 dollars. Why is 6 pieces of paper so damn expensive anyhow? Surely there’s a few trees left in the world to chop down?!

$102 dollars down in your bank balance, you sit down at your dining table that night, pen in hand and begin writing. You pour your heart onto the pages, setting out in as precise words as you can manage the effect your near death incidents have had on you. 

How scared you are, how confused you are, but also how grateful you are that he's saved you, again and again and again. That you believe if you and him can just meet in person and talk, if you could ask questions and figure out why this is happening, then maybe you can find a way to stop it from happening again.

Then you fold the letter and tuck it neatly into the matching envelope and slide it under the left side of the cookie plate and go to sleep.

When you wake the next morning, nothing seems out of the ordinary.

The cookies are still neatly arranged on your plate. The letter snugly tucked underneath it.

On the left side this time, you note. 

It doesn’t look like he came. 

The only thing is that you swear that the envelope is now several inches further to the left than where you left it last night.

Again, maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

You pull up your phone, opening the app linked to the nanny cam and press play.

There is nothing but the still frame of your studio apartment, your bed to the right and your window square in the camera-view. You speed up the video, but the only thing that takes you by surprise is that you apparently toss a lot more in your sleep than you thought.

The camera footage goes well into 3am, and you’re resigning yourself to the fact that this was all down to your imagination.

He didn't come last night. Probably didn't come the night before. Most likely you woke up from the rain, closed the window and were too sleepy to remember.

You sigh, setting down your phone on the table, prepared to let this whole endeavor go.

On your screen, a smudged shadow appears in the corner of the window. You jump to your feet from your seat, knocking your chair over in the process with a raucous thud. The dark figure grows larger on your screen, dark navy blue and lines of stark red that perches itself onto your window sill.

YES! yes-yes-yes! You knew it. You fucking goddamn knew it!

You were right.

Adrenaline buzzes victoriously in your veins, and you grip your phone harder. Your heart is pounding so fast and hard in your chest you can hear the drumming beat of it in your ears.

He was here!

(You're not cuckoo for cocoa puffs).

You watch as his large figure sits on your window sill. He's still wearing his mask, and while you can't make out the expressions underneath, the outline where his eyes would have been, painted in dark blue, now narrow into a slit on your screen. 

There's a hostility emanating from that glare that you are able to sense all the way from the opposite side of the screen. He stares down at the plate of cookies suspiciously. Then he just stays there, unmoving, having a staring competition with the cookies you baked in his image.

In the privacy of your living room, you have the luxury of taking the time to get a proper look at him without interruption. It's hard to ignore the fact of just how tightly fitted to his skin that suit is. The dark blue fabric clings to every line of muscles on his body and it makes your cheek prickle with heat when you look. It feels voyeuristic somehow, but you can't help but think that the more modest alternative would be if he had worn nothing at all.

He's absurdly ripped. Muscular doesn't even begin to describe it. Broad shoulders and a narrow tapered waist segueing into obscenely thick and defined thighs that have your eyes linger for far too long. You shake your head to snap yourself out of it, Jesus you are acting like a creep. This isn’t OnlyFans, though lord knows you paid for this privilege! $102 for a cam video! 

On the footage, there is finally movement. He reaches for a cookie, bringing it to his mouth. The blue fabric dematerializes on his lower face until it reveals his tanned skin and that ridiculously cut jaw of his.

His mouth parts. Fangs protrude where his canine teeth are supposed to be and the sight makes you nearly drop your phone in shock.

Is this Spiderman a vampire? Or is he like a tarantula Spiderman with fangs to match?

You watch in suspended horror as he bites into the cookie, those sharp fangs of his are in plain view as he chews. 

He leans over to reach for a second cookie and all your trepidation is forgotten for a second, because if he’s reaching for a second one, it must mean he likes them. You grin at your screen, culinary pride beating out any caution or fear you may have had. 

Then he lifts up the plate, picking up the letter. The anticipation is too much. You press your face closer to the screen to try to get closer, because your screen is too small to pick up any possible nuances in his expression. 

He's carefully opening the envelope as he starts to read. It's impossible to tell what he's thinking. There's no visible change of facial expressions in the outline of his masked eyes. His mouth, which is bared to you, doesn't so much as twitch.

It doesn’t take long for him to read it. When he's done, he tucks the letter back under the plate. Then he bends down over the plate of cookies, and for a moment you think he’s going in for a third. Instead his hand lingers on the plate, before he starts to slide the remaining cookies around the plate to your confusion. You watch in confusion as he picks up the cookies one by one to space them out more evenly. You don't quite understand what he's trying to do, wait… is Vampire spider man re-arranging the cookies to make it less obvious he’s eaten them?!  

The bastard really was trying to gaslight you into thinking he was never here.

Once he’s seemingly satisfied with his work, he straightens up, turning until his back is against the camera preparing to leave.

To your surprise his face turns around to take one last look inside. The direction of his gaze settles on your bed where you're sleeping. His eyes lingers there for a handful of moments, inscrutable over the mask.

Is he sad? Angry? You can't tell.

He finally looks away and then he leaps off the window.

Politely asking him in writing is clearly not working out for you.

You decide the only recourse you have left is to try and physically catch him.

Such a simple sentiment that had sounded so easy in your head, but you quickly run into logistical issues when you try to put it into practice.

The man is built like a tank. Can leap off of skyscrapers (and the window of your sixth floor) without breaking a sweat. Potentially also a vampire.

You're not exactly sure how you're supposed to catch someone like that.

Your google research is off to a shaky start. Somehow you end up down a rabbit hole of tutorials for non-lethal mouse traps. It's not very useful inspiration. Because you can't exactly build a 7 foot large cage trap to catch him the next time he comes around to help himself to cookies.

But the concept of having a lure trap set with bait seemed transferable and so you decide to go for a classic spring trap that you’ll modify. No cage, instead you set up a DIY contraption with a sturdy string attached to a bell meant to quickly alert you to his presence next time he comes around. 

The game plan is to wake up and corner him before he has a chance to abscond.

As for bait, you google things that vampires might like in a half-thought of plan it might be applicable. Unfortunately, there are no young virgin maidens you know of as far as the eye can see in New York (yourself included) so that was a no go. 

So you default back to cookies (because hey, at least it worked last time).

Amazon has your whole set up shipped and delivered by the next day and you implement phase 3 of your rapidly escalating attempts to reach out to him.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. For one he doesn’t show up that night. Or the night after. It takes him four whole days to show up again and when he does, he spots your trap a mile away. When you review the footage on the cam the next day, he avoids the rope and the whole mechanism effortlessly. 

There's no sound on the nanny cam so you can't be sure of it. But you think from the way the line of his shoulders shake as he steps over the rope that he might be laughing at you. He’s definitely seen through few supervillain traps in his days so in hindsight the probability of success here was low.

He does however eat three of your cookies this time.

You get a little bit more desperate after that.

You decide that if a trigger trap to wake you won't work, then obviously, the next best thing is for you to simply stay awake.

The problem is that he doesn't show up every night. His visits are entirely random without an obvious pattern. Sometimes he shows up two nights in a row, sometimes he goes several days without making a guest appearance on your nanny cam footage.

It means you end up downing a whole carafe of coffee, and several energy drinks, every night for a week straight. Entirely unable to predict what night he's going to appear, you keep dooming your already tiny bladder to a dozen visits to the bathroom before the clock has even struck nine.

The saddest part of it is that despite being wired on enough coffee to power a nuclear power station by yourself, you never end up staying awake the whole night through. 

More often than not you end up falling asleep sitting upright by the dining table waiting up for him. Then the next morning you wake with a wry neck, a sore back and your face pressing up uncomfortably against the wooden surface.

But you're nothing if not tenacious. Tonight makes it the sixth night in a row that you’re doing this. You stare down the can of red bull on your dining table as you pick it up and lift it to your mouth. You’re going to keep going, hardness of the wooden table be damned.

You're surprised to find yourself waking up feeling well rested without any aches. Surrounded by the softness of your quilt and your even softer memory foam pillow. 

The luxurious comfort of it all is such a relief that you don't even question it at first. Don't question why you're in bed when the last thing you remember was nodding off against the palm of your hand and the hard discomfort of your dining chair.

In the sanctuary of your bed, you just dig your face deeper into your pillow and snooze for as long as you can. Ignoring the bright sun pouring in from your windows until it sears unforgivingly against your skin and you decide that it’s finally time to start your day.

By habit, the first thing you do as you get up from bed is to pull up the nanny cam app on your phone and press play on last night's recording.

There's nothing of interest. Seeing yourself read a book by the dining table and chugging down a series of Red Bull is hardly riveting television.

Yesterday you barely even make it until midnight because you can see yourself nod off at the table, head sliding off your palm and plonking down on the dining table. You flinch at the impact, vaguely impressed that the collision didn't wake you.

Your (maybe vampire) Spiderman turns up at 3 am.

Much like the times before, he perches himself on your window sill, peering inside (presumably to check for any new traps you might have laid out for him).

His broad frame stiffens, and then, with a smooth leap, he's inside your apartment.

Excitement rushes to your head, because this is the furthest he’s gone and the first time he's come all the way inside instead of just lurking on the window sill. 

He goes over to your bed, flinging the quilt to the side. He seems stressed, the dark shape of his eyes wide as he stands over the empty bed when it dawns on you what’s happening on screen right now. 

Oh, he's worried.

He looks over at you, hunched over the dining table, sound asleep and oh god, is that drool on your cheek? 

The line of his shoulder relaxes. The broadness of his chest rises then dips with a heavy exhale. Something warm trickles in your stomach at his obvious concern for you.

The mystery is confounding. You don't know him. You've never met him, but for some unfathomable reason he cares enough about you to genuinely care about your safety and you want to know why. 

He makes his way over to the table where you are. The mask slowly ebbs away, uncovering his familiar chin, cheeks and then finally his eyes. An other-worldly shade of crimson that has you spellbound and transfixed on the screen. 

You find yourself raising your phone closer to your face, trying to get a better look at him. Cursing the crappy quality of the video. You don't know what to make of the way he's looking at you. It's intensely focused, almost sad, and… and… And you don't know what, but it makes your heart leap up into your throat, chest clenching tight.

He bends over, wrapping his broad arms under your knees. He’s careful in his movements, cupping your head as it lolls to the side until you’re comfortably resting against his shoulders. It’s a practiced movement, as if he’s done this a hundred times before as he picks you up and carries you bridal style to your bed. Gingerly tucking you under the quilt with something that looks a lot like tenderness. 

It leaves you with more questions than ever.

Ever since you started your caffeine chugging marathon, work has become a new kind of hell.

You're already half-asleep and nodding off at your desk by 10.30. Eyes sore and strained as you stare at the bright screen and try to make sense of the endless columns that are all different and also all the same until your brain refuses to try to make sense of any of it anymore.

You need to go for a walk. Clear your head.

Maybe pop out for a coffee... smoothie. Definitely smoothie.

Outside, the heat is oppressive, far too hot for only being May. Definitely too hot when there are this many tourists around. The street is so crowded you can barely make an inch of headway, trapped behind a family with a stroller in front, trapped in front of a pushy businessman who keeps stepping on your heels every two steps, and trapped next to a guy who is really into his airpods.

With the excess of caffeine still trying to make its way out of your system and the unforgiving heat of the sun beating against your back, it all has the effect of making you feel like you’re hung over. Your breakfast is roiling in your stomach. Sweat plastered against every inch of clothing. You don't know why you do this to yourself.

Every morning you tell yourself never again, and yet every night, there you were, spending half of your disposable income on energy drinks.

Starting from today, you're going cold turkey on the stuff. You've finally given up on trying to stay awake long enough to catch your super-stalker in his cookie burglar routine. Endlessly chugging down caffeine every night is not working out for you. Neither are the DIY mouse traps.

You're running low on ideas of how to trap him. You have nothing else to go on anymore. No idea on how to summon the man. The only time you know he'll be there is the moment before each near-death when he's there to save you.

What are you supposed to do with that? Purposely throw yourself off another building to lure him out?

That's crazy!

…Right?

But maybe... No! Definitely crazy.

Someone screams, and you snap out of your thoughts. There's yelling and terrified shrieks all around you. You're caught in the throng of people, panicked bodies pushing and pressing up against you, all of them trying to run the other way.

You dig in your heels, bracing yourself against the stampede of people. They’re pushing in from every direction until it’s impossible to move an inch. It’s hard to turn your body, when second after second, someone is pummeling into your side, knocking into your bruising shoulder. You barely manage to crane your neck back far enough when you finally spot it. 

A red-green truck with a gigantic taco on its roof is careening towards you across the pavement, no driver behind the wheel. The sea of bodies parts around the out-of-control vehicle, people running left, right and forward to escape being crushed under the wheels.

There’s no time to react. It’s too close. Too fast. 

A hand clutches at your wrist and pulls you backwards, your vision obscured as your face is pressed up against a familiar solid warmth. 

"Hold onto me," he tells you, and you do. 

You're held firm against him as the ground underneath your feet disappears, and everything feels weightless. Then all you hear is a loud thunderous crash.

Your feet touch back down on the ground, and the strong protective hold on you unravels.

When you open your eyes he's already gone. You're left on the corner of Lexington Avenue, still trying to catch your breath. The mob of people is still there all around you, but the panic has passed now, everyone is standing still. Everyone is observing the wreckage of the run amok truck that is now flipped onto its side, rendered harmless.

Miraculously, somehow, nobody around you seems visibly injured.

From a distance, you can hear sirens approaching with a deafening wail. 

But your mind is elsewhere, on the shade of the familiar dark blue and red as you were being saved seconds ago. On his gentle voice in your ear that still thrums pleasantly in your chest. 

You want to see him again. 

It's Friday, and you break half an hour early for your designated 40 minutes of lunch, taking the elevator directly to the 72nd floor, which is under construction to renovate it into an open observation deck for the public next year.

The thing with commercial skyscrapers is that nowadays most of them have safety glass panels on all outside spaces of the upper floors to ensure that it is impossible to climb up the buildings and jump.

It's a safety feature that became standard after the financial crisis of 2008.

Turns out that imposing an 80 hour work week on your employees, where they don't get to see their family or friends or have a life outside of work, and then stripping them of their financial security makes a lot of people miserable and suicidal (who knew?)

The elevator pings open, and you exit into the construction zone, carefully avoiding the various tools scattered across the half-finished deck. On Fridays, the construction workers on the site leave by lunchtime, and the space is empty of people. 

Step by step, you walk up towards the edge of the terrasse, until you stand before the temporary safety rail, looking out over the sprawling city below you. Cars look like tiny moving pebbles and the people, a hive of ants scurrying from street to street.

It’s a dizzying view. Both beautiful and grotesque in its grandeur. The 72nd floor will be 28 more floors to fall from than the 44th was.

The air around you seems to thin, and your stomach wants to crawl down to your feet and hold on to steady ground.

Taking a deep breath, you lift the hem of your shirt, running your hand over the safety harness strapped around your waist, reassuring yourself it's still there. Then you feel along the attached cord, using the carabiner at the end to clip it around the rod of the safety rail. 

Being impulsive and daring in your quest is one thing. Reckless and stupid is another.

It’s not a real climbing rope and harness. Turns out professional safety gear is shockingly expensive, but you found a knock-off resistance training set, complete with harness and stretchy bungee cord rope, on Amazon for a very reasonable $15. You’ve already spent $72 on cookies, $50 dollars for a nanny cam set, and an extortionate $26 for stationary paper in your never-ending quest to lure out Fake Spiderman. You figure a rope is a rope, and you're not paying $100 more to get ripped off by the big climbing corporations. But you’re also not willing to go without.

After all, you've already fallen from the Chrysler building once, and you're not angling for a repeat.

As intent as you are on seeing your Spider-benefactor eye to eye, you're not quite prepared to die for the privilege. Your plan is just to make it look like you are going to jump.

Any superhero worth his dime wouldn't actually let you fall before they would be willing to save you.

That would be a real dick move.

You give your impromptu safety rig one last tug to make sure it's secure, then straighten your posture. Grabbing a hold of the metal rail, you hoist yourself up. You clamber onto it, gripping tight with shaking hands as you swing a leg over, straddling the bar.

Left leg then the right, until all of you are on the other side of the railing.

Then you stay there.

One second. Then two. You close your eyes and try not to look down at the many, many floors below, and how one gust of strong wind could probably knock you over and have you falling down the building again. You count the seconds that pass you by. 

Five. Six. Seven.

A strong gust of wind blows through your side, and your legs buckle at the strong resistance, hand gripping down on the metal railing to hold yourself steady so you don't fall off.

Eightnineten! Ok. Fuck. No. You're good. Fuck this! He's not going to come.

If he didn’t come when you climbed over, he's not going to turn up now.

You briefly let go of the railing with one hand, adjusting your grip so you can climb back to safety. The sun beating down on your back disappears and is eaten up by a large and looming shadow. Every hair on the back of your neck prickles in warning.

Your reaction is too slow, you don't even have time to turn around to see what caused it. Then all you hear is an angry booming voice right next to your ear.

"Have you lost your goddamned mind?!"

You panic, flinging out your hand to catch the bar, but the hard metal of the railings isn't there anymore.

There is a sharp metallic snap. The safety rope around your waist splits from the hasp.

He’s calling your name.

The world tilts and everything goes upside down along with it. Your stomach sinks with a sickening plummet, legs dropping through into zero gravity as you find yourself staring up at the blue and endless New York sky.

Then you're falling from the Chrysler building.

Again.

Fuck!

Dedication & Credits: To my dearest @thirstworldproblemss who has to constantly listen to me jabber on about this day and night endlessly and forever. She is in every sense of the word a collaborator on this project. She brainstorms, she pitches in, she edits and she beta-reads. This and so many of my works would not exist without her, please send her all the love if you enjoyed this story.

I don’t have a tag list but please follow me on astroboots-writes and turn on notifications to be notified when I post something new!

[atopearth]

The Legend of Dragoon Part 1 - The Serdian War

Omggg this is so nostalgic already! Seeing Rose save Dart from the Dragon was a pretty iconic scene haha. I honestly don't remember this game having voice dubs lol, that was a nice surprise. I can't remember why exactly Shana could affect the future of this world or whatever, but I do remember she's the Moon Child or something and Dart needs to go around the world saving her haha. It's sad to see Dart's hometown Seles get burnt to the ground just because Imperial Sandora needed to capture Shana. And omggg I love how unique the battle system is btw, it's honestly the highlight of the game for me hahaha. I used to be pretty bad at it but I usually get the hang of it after a while haha. It's so weird btw. It's probably been more than 10 years since I played this game, but somehow subconsciously I knew that there must be something at the graves in Seles, and there really was stardust there! I can't remember what it's for, but I guess it's good to know that inside me I still remember a lot of things about this game haha. Anyway, Dart and Shana have a pretty common childhood friend relationship where he's always protected her since they were kids, so there's no way he won't go to save her from Hellena Prison. Seriously though, it's a pretty cliche relationship but I don't know why, when I was a kid, I was just really fond of them haha.

Meeting Lavitz here for Dart is a blessing since he'll be able to help him get through all the soldiers, but I guess that's likewise for Lavitz. Still better for Dart though since he'll be constantly trying to protect Shana haha. Anyway, I always found it saddening that Lavitz wanted to protect his fellow Knights of Basil that were captured as well, and about to be fed to Fruegel's pet but in the end, they still ended up dying🥺 I didn't realise that Dart actually hadn't been back to Seles for 5 years! No wonder why the others in town took a while to realise it was him, I just thought they were all groggy after their injuries. I guess that's why they believed that if he was there, Seles might have been okay, but still though, one more Dart can't really go against an army lol. Anyway, playing with Lavitz is so nostalgic! Hearing Dart say Double Slash and Lavitz say Harpoon is just so crazy hahaha. I can't wait to get Rose etc~ I still suck at the Additions though lmao, every time I'm like, I'm to good at this, I fail hahahaha, and I'm still just doing Double Slash, I literally only need to press one button when it goes close to the square lol! Fruegel wasn't that hard of a boss at all! I actually really enjoyed being able to use my Addition skills more because the soldiers kept dying in one hit lol. Ohh yeah, Dart's first hometown (where he and his parents lived) was called Neet and was attacked by the Black Monster! I think it was pretty saddening that his family escaped, but his father decided to return to help others, and his mother followed after him, like, what about your child?! It must have hurt for Dart to see something similar happen to Seles though... I can't believe Dart went on a journey to find the Black Monster when he was 13 though, like dang! But I guess a kid like him who had to learn to survive by himself would be resilient enough by that age... Hmmmm, as I gathered, the Kingdom of Basil is at war with Imperial Sandora and the war is widespread over Serdio itself. Can Emperor Doel of Imperial Sandora control the Dragon enough that he thinks he can take over Albert's kingdom instead of keeping the truce?? Gotta love how conveniently that log we chopped allowed us to cross the river hahahaha. Lavitz is such a kind soul though. He doesn't even know these random people on the road, and they're even from Sandora but he just invites them to Bale and even his house because they have nowhere else to go. I guess his kindness is a reflection of the type of country Albert runs.

Lmao, I love how Dart and Lavitz are such bros that even Shana can't butt in🤣 It was pretty scary when Lavitz slipped on the rock and nearly fell off the waterfall though, I felt so nervous for him lol. So cute how the guys are so fond of each other already though lol. Not sure what exactly Shana's powers do, but it instantly decimated that snake when her life was in danger so....hmm. It's so sweet how respected Lavitz is that the artist girl in Bale painted a portrait of him, and Dart said it was too handsome hahaha. Omg! I feel so sorry for the NPC in the inn! His child and his grandchild died due to the war so he thinks there's no meaning to his life anymore... That's so saddening... The lady that has been waiting for her boyfriend to come back even after 10 years is so faithful, it's heartbreaking. It's so cool to see how much the people love Lavitz in Bale, I guess it's understandable though, not only is he a good boy and knight, his dad is also a revered knight, so he's probably doing well succeeding him. Not surprised Dart wanted to leave Shana here to protect her lol. I loved how she practically immediately told him her feelings about it and him, like wow, she's so bold to say she wants to stay beside him forever in front of the king and everyone lol. Albert is right though, with a dragon on their side, no place is really safe in Serdio anymore... Hmmmm Winglies used to rule at the top until the Dragon campaign where they fought against Emperor Diaz and the seven dragons, and it was then that humans acquired their freedom after their slavery by the Winglies? And it was then that the Black Monster appeared.. I think it's really cool of Dart to see that him chasing after the Black Monster all this time has been selfish of him, and it caused him to nearly lose his hometown again, so now he wants to join alongside Lavitz to end this war before it creates more people like him who have lost their homes. No wonder why Hoax sounds familiar huh, that's where the current line of defence has been pushed to, and it's most likely where they'll use the dragon! HAHAHA, why does Albert have a slide that goes back to the entrance of the castle in his bed chambers?! Not complaining though because that was pretty fun and cool lmao. LOL at Shana saying she's Dart's girlfriend and not Lavitz's when the mum misunderstood, even Dart didn't know she was hahahaha. Lmao at Dart saying he can cook aka he can cook a large piece of meat hahaha, is that how he survived by himself for 5 years?! Even Lavitz was like forget it, leave the cooking to his mum and Shana loll. The answers are all so hilarious, imagining Dart trying to practise with his sword in Lavitz's house is so cute loll, he'll destroy the place. It was even more funny when you choose the option to take a nap because Dart says every young lady knows that lack of sleep is bad for your skin, and Lavitz is just speechless at it hahahaha. Looking around the house, it honestly feels kinda lonely that Lavitz's mum lives in this big house by herself considering Lavitz is away most of the time. I've always enjoyed the rooftop scene, you get to see a nice view of Indels Castle and you can see that Lavitz's passion towards protecting his country stems from watching his father, but it's become his dream now too. This is similar to Dart, where his passion lies in protecting Shana because he's the only one that can do that right now, he might still consider her a baby sister for now, but we'll see how it all goes! I think it's really cute how in the end, Lavitz ended up spending the night and even took his mum's handmade jerky haha, he's a soft boy at heart. I mean, the country and the war is important, but who knows how many times he can bond with his mother, so I'm glad he decided to spend some proper time with her instead of just lunch. I find it funny how you can jump from Lavitz's house's rooftop to the stables hahaha, imagine doing that in real life!

Lmaoo at Dart, Lavitz and even Kaiser (the Eighth Knighthood leader taking care of Hoax) saying that as long as Shana's food is edible, it's good enough🤣 To be fair, when you're a knight or a wanderer like Dart, I doubt you'll have much complaints about food haha. Omgg so King Doel is actually Albert's uncle?! Since Doel is apparently Carlo/Albert's father's brother! I wonder why their relationship soured, was it because Doel wanted to be king instead? Lmao at the midwife asking if they came to talk to her because Dart and Shana wanted babies hahahaha. War is always a saddening thing though. When I think about the soldiers such as the one holding the amulet from his daughter believing that he can go back home to her, the people fortifying their houses to protect against the raid and everything, it's just so saddening to see these soldiers fall by enemy arrows and everything... Man, the fight against Kongol is so unforgiving lol! If you fail your addition, he counterattacks you! I missed it once and was like whoa! Otherwise, I always love Rose swooping down in her dragoon form and saving Dart from Kongol~ hmm, so the Dragoon Spirit (the stone Dart's father left behind) means that you "deserve" to rule Dragons and for him, it's the Red-Eye Dragon? Nice that it's clarified that Dragoons were the ones who led humans to victory in the Dragon campaign, the pictures just kinda showed humans riding on dragons so I wasn't sure haha. It was so cute how Dart piggy backed Shana and told her that even if she may not be as strong as Rose, she's good for other stuff and doesn't need to compare herself. Oooh so Winglies used Virages in the Dragon Campaign, this one was pretty weak though! Greham's story is a pretty common one, but I always find it terrible, mainly because people like him driven by jealousy and power in order to get stronger than their best friend that they essentially admire, but then kill them in that quest is just..sad. People like Lavitz's father Servi trusted him, but in the end because of their desire to be stronger, they sacrifice their friend and end up pretty much regretting it in their death. I'm not sure if Emperor Diaz from the Dragon Campaign is alive or whatever as he says, but it's nice that Greham ended up leading Lavitz to inherit the Jade Dragoon Spirit.

I remember Lohan! It's such a crazy city because of how huge it is, yet all the houses and stores are so tiny and in like a maze lol! No idea how Dabas (the antique seller that tells us we can get Dragoni plant to save Shana from dragon poison north of the nest or something) affords his gigantic store lol. Lmaoo at the man staring across the street at a lady thinking she's interested in him, but she's actually just staring at him because he reminds her of her dog hahahah. I love the rollercoaster kinda ride you do at Shirley's Shrine to get the numbers to go to the boss lol, it's pretty fun hahaha. I thought Drake the bandit was aiming for treasure here, but it seems that he was protecting Shirley all along! I feel bad that Shirley's gone now, but I guess this is how it should be, and at least the White Silver Dragoon Spirit is in good hands and will only be used to heal people. It's kinda cute how apparently Haschel and Dart journeyed together before! Now they've reunited in the Hero Competition! Anyway, I've always loved this tournament part because it's really cool to see how Dart himself fares against others without the party. On another note, I'm not sure why I love Lloyd since I've kinda forgotten his character, but to this day, I love the name Lloyd enough that if it wasn't weird, I would totally call my future kid Lloyd, and it's probably the only reason I would prefer a boy than a girl LOL. I think I always found it really cool how overwhelmingly strong he was compared to Dart probably. Lmao at Lavitz trying to drag Rose away so Dart could play games around the arena with Shana alone, but she punches him instead hahahha. Okay lmao, totally cannot do that obstacle course lolll. I'd rather do what's wrong with the room one, it's so easy after you do it a few times hahah, also helps if you cheat by taking a photo with your phone LOL. But otherwise, it's the same scene every time so it's pretty easy. The pink bird in the hat moving around is too hard with the pixels merging together imo lol! And the monkeys throwing balls at Dart is pretty hilarious hahahah.

Although I can understand why Dart is so adamant on continuing his journey looking for the Black Monster after the war, Lavitz is kinda right that maybe he should focus on the present instead of chasing after the past, otherwise he's going to lose his chance at happiness with Shana. Omgg, Albert offering up himself at Hellena Prison to protect the people of Bale from Imperial Sandora?? This is when Lavitz dies...isn't it?😭 Well, I obviously didn't farm enough to get Flower Storm for Lavitz and I honestly cbb, but I did Google to see it, and apparently when Lavitz does it, he says Rose Storm (because he likes roses the most apparently) and Albert says Blossom Storm because his favourite is cherry blossoms! The even cooler thing is that this is changed in their Dragoon forms! Lavitz's second magic skill is called Blossom Storm with cherry blossoms all around, and Albert's is Rose Storm so they kinda swap around in Dragoon form to show their love and camaraderie with each other, it's so cool! Honestly though, I nearly cried when Lavitz died. I feel like when I was a kid, I never really saw how cool, loyal and kind Lavitz was because the Additions were too fascinating lol, so now seeing how friendly he was, how considerate he was towards Shana's feelings for Dart, how he gave advice to Dart on what he should cherish most, and how we was always willing to give his life to his king and his country, it really broke my heart to see him die like that. Especially in Lloyd's hands, someone who we thought was an admirable swordsman turned out to be the guy who would kill Lavitz when they actually fought against each other. I'm not sure what kinda sword he has but it seemed really beam-y lol. And what is the Moon Gem that he needed from Albert's body? I think the pain really hit me when Lavitz entrusted everything to Dart, and then the Jade Dragoon Spirit flew out of him😭😭 Ohh, the reason why Lloyd could so easily pierce through Lavitz's Dragoon armour was because his sword was the Dragon Buster, a weapon from the old world made to kill Dragons! It's really nice of Haschel to have come along with them btw, especially since he's on a journey to find his daughter. Although I guess it's not much of a deterrence considering he's been looking for 20 years, but still. I guess he'll find her along the way... Hopefully. So, the Moon Gem was one of the magical artifacts scattered across the world made from the Winglies after their defeat, but only they can use them? It's been hidden in each crown heir every generation in fear of the powers of destruction it could bring when put in the wrong hands hmm, I'm kinda amazed they found a way to put it in the body like that though. I guess now that Albert's kingdom is "gone", he's got a reason to go along with us to end this war with the few people and Dragoons he has. I mean, if the Dragoons ended the Dragon Campaign, I'm sure they're better than an army anyway lol. It's kinda nice that the one who taught Albert his lance skills was Lavitz himself, so it's understandable that he would use the same moves. Anyway, onwards to the Black Castle where Emperor Doel resides! Straight to the end of the war hopefully!

Lmao at the guy registering to be a mercenary with Imperial Sandora trying to revoke it after his friend told him about the Dragon being defeated and Hellena Prison having fallen. Wow, I restarted because I accidentally sold something but omg when you say you want to register, the guy taking registrations advises you to not and even gives you money if you have money problems because he doesn't want you to risk your life! He's so nice... Aww the people at the inn! When the lady begged for us to stay and treat it like charity, I felt like I couldn't be stingy lol, it's only 20G anyway. LOL at the guy trying to con people for their money by claiming he killed Feyrbrand (Jade Dragon) and then he gets arrested hahahah. The variety of researchers in the Black Castle are hilarious, especially Mr Magi who turned himself into "Cerberus" but really turned into a dog lol. But the research of Dragons and magic? This sounds suspicious and bad... The battle against Kongol was so annoying! His skills take so long lol! Defeating Doel felt like...bringing someone back to their sanity? I wonder why he had to kill Albert's father back then, was it really just to be king? Anyway, it's not nice to be happy about someone's death, but honestly, with Emperor Doel's death, the 20 year war finally ends... But our journey has not, because as Dart said, this journey began because people captured Shana, and after that too many things have happened to just go home and live peacefully, we need to see what Lloyd wants and whether Emperor Diaz really is alive.

Anyway, that's the end of chapter 1! Kinda crazy that it was only one chapter tbh, I felt like I finished a story but really, it's just the beginning. So many things happened... Especially Lavitz's death. Anyway, I'm hyped to continue the journey! Btw the battle against Emperor Doel was pretty hard, he deals so much damage lol! But then again, I'm always cheap with my healing potions hahaha. Didn't think he'd be a Dragoon though, but I guess it was to be expected lol. Yay for everyone having a Dragoon Spirit now though lol. Honestly though, I really enjoy the variety of battles and how engaging the story and characters are. I really like how there are battles that are more as a symbolism than an actual battle such as Shirley’s where you’re supposed to give her the correct answers rather than defeating her, I think it really makes you think about everyone’s motivations and how they deal with it all in order to continue on their path. I just love it. The towns are also so different and fun! Like, Lohan is just a bumble of shops and everything, gotta love the guy that shouts at you for running around the rooftop lol, and Bale is just so Albert and Lavitz centred that it has such a warm feeling when you’re there. Tournaments are always my thing, so I’m glad this game has it too haha~ I can’t wait to see the rest!

[tjswritingstuff]

Before the Wolf Moon

Chapter 6

Annabelle was standing in the middle of the polices station lobby. She was smiling but her eyes were red rimmed. She looked as tired as Stephanie felt. They’d been stuck there for hours giving statements about how they found the girl and what happened.

Stephanie wasn't sure what kind of greeting the other woman expected. She was saved from the dilemma when Annabelle hugged her tightly and whispered, “thank you.”

“You're welcome,” she responded with relief.

“I’ll take you home,” Annabelle offered.

Stephanie was surprised that whatever she’d been hit with in the house had already worn off.

She gratefully accepted the ride.

Stephanie glanced in the backseat. Amy was bundled up against the cold, she looked out the window something beyond the scenery. Something that she could only see in her imagination.

“How is she?”

“Quiet, she doesn't want to talk about what happened,” Annabelle glanced from Amy to Stephanie, “what did happen?”

Stephanie said softly, “she did what she had to do.”

“It wasn't you that pulled the trigger?” Annabelle asked.

“No, I wish it had been.”

She nodded her eyes drifting back to her daughter, before settling on the road in front of them, “I'm not sure how to help her.”

“You'll figure it out. You're a good mother.” She reassured her.

She saw the store looming ahead of them and as much as she just wanted to get home and take a shower and cleanse the entire day from her skin she also didn't want to be alone. “Thanks for bringing me home.”

“You save my daughter. A ride’s the least I could do,” Annabelle looked like she wanted to ask something else.

“Do you two want to come in for a while?” Stephanie suggested hoping they'd take up the offer.

“Please,” relief was painted across Annabelle’s face, “she was taken from the house. I know we should be fine there, but it doesn't feel safe.”

Stephanie didn't tell Annabelle the dagger was stolen from under her bed. It wouldn't make her feel safer. With the man in the morgue they should be safe.

The problem with safety is once the illusion is broken it's hard to get back.

As soon as they were in the apartment Stephanie started making tea without asking if they wanted any.

There were peanut butter cookies she had almost forgotten about in the cabinet. She offered them to Amy with milk.

Amy looked at them disdainfully before pushing them away.

Stephanie saw Annabelle start to say something to her about her attitude, “it's okay. She's had a rough week.”

“Still, she knows better.”

“It's understandable,” Stephanie said, “Do you two want to spend the night here?”

“We wouldn't want to impose,” Annabelle said quietly.

“Honestly after today, I'd rather not be alone, I just don't want to sound selfish asking you to stay.”

“I don't want to be alone either,” Annabelle admitted, “I feel like I'm letting him chase us out of our home.”

“There's a guest room,” Stephanie said softly, “I know it's still early, but if you guys want to stay here I can show you where it is.”

“Thank you,” Annabelle said then looked at Amy, “Baby you want to lay down for a while?”

The girl nodded picking at her jacket. Stephanie showed them to the room the excused herself.

 The clock above the stove told Stephanie it was a little before midnight. The house was quiet. She had careful padded through the hall, her socks made her footsteps almost silent.

She wanted something, but she wasn't sure what. She was looking through the cabinets when there was movement behind her.

She turned to see Annabelle standing in the corner by the table. She was still wearing the same clothes that she'd been wearing right down to her shoes.

Stephanie felt bad for not having offered her something more comfortable to sleep in. The day’s events had really addled her already scattered mind.

“Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up,” she said.

“You didn't,” Annabelle confirmed and dismissed her guilt, “I'm too wound up to sleep.”

“I understand the feeling,” Stephanie agreed, “you want tea? The lavender should help us sleep.”

She nodded, “if it might help, I'm willing to try anything at this point.”

Annabelle bit her lip, chewing on it like there were words behind it she was trying to find a way of saying.

“Will you read cards for me again?” she asked, “I'll pay you for it, I know that I should have offered that earlier I mean you’re doing your job.”

“This isn't part of the store,” Stephanie corrected. She finished steeping the tea and put the cups on the table, “let me get my cards.”

Annabelle seemed calmer now, she didn't have to guess at the reason.  She watched Stephanie shuffle the deck before telling her when to stop.

Stephanie laid the deck in front of her and let her cut it.

“Is there anything specific that you are wanting answers to?”

“I'm not sure,” Annabelle said, “I just want to know we're going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Stephanie put the stack of cards in front of her, “just like before.”

She was looking at Stephanie rather than the deck as she pulled the first card off.

“Your self is represented now by the Six of Swords. It's a good card. It's someone who has the skills and intuition to navigate dangerous waters. You have what you need inside you.”

Annabelle smiled slightly, “I'm not sure about that?”

“Amy has been through something traumatic, you've got your own traumatic history. Think about your experience, is there something that your parents did that you wish they hadn't? Was there something that could have helped you that they didn't know to do? You can use your history to help figure out how to help Amy with her present.”

She thought about it, “It's not the same.”

“No, but you'll know enough to know when something is out of your depth won't you?”

“I hope so,” Annabelle said reaching for the next card.

“Your situation is represented by The Fool.”

“What does that mean? That I'm stupid?”

“Kind of the opposite, it means to trust your intuition. The fool's downfall is a misstep. It's easy to make mistakes, especially when you're overthinking it.”

Annabelle looked like she wanted to argue.

“There's two cards so far that are both basically saying the same thing; trust your instincts. What are your instincts and intuition telling you?”

“That it's not over,” she said, “something bad is about to happen and I have no idea how to stop it, I don't even know what it is.” She closed her eyes, “I have no idea what I'm doing.”

“You're doing what you have to, to take care of your daughter.”

Annabelle reached for the next card.

Stephanie read it off, “challenges. Three of Wands. There's a lack of balance in your life and there are risks ahead of you.”

“No shit,” Annabelle muttered, “sorry.”

“I'm not arguing,” Stephanie smiled.

“I just don't know how that's supposed to help me?”

“Sometimes just knowing you're going to face challenges but come through them helps.”

“Don't be cryptic,” Annabelle laughed.

Stephanie was struck suddenly that the day before they'd been strangers. The warmth she felt toward the other woman was no longer a job, she was painfully close to considering her a friend.

It'd been a long time since she'd ever even considered trying to let anyone close enough to be called that.

The next card was the King of Coins. “Something in the recent past has been a burden of wealth,” she said.

“What does that mean?”

“I don't know,” Stephanie said, “The King of Coins was Midas. He wished to turn anything he touched into gold. It made him incompatibly rich, but one day he accidentally touched his daughter. The blessing became a curse when his daughter turned to gold.”

Annabelle turned white.

“What's wrong?” Stephanie asked.

“The police told me the man that they found.”

“Who was he?” Stephanie encouraged her gently suspecting she already knew.

“Biologically, he was Amy's father.”

“The ritual required the sacrifice of a family member,” Stephanie said, “he was planning on using her to create his own curse. She’s safe. He's not ever going to be able to hurt her again.”

Annabelle drank more of her tea in a loud gulp then sat it down delicately as if she were afraid she was going to crush the teacup.

“Do you want to keep going?” Stephanie asked.

“Yeah, this is the stuff we already know, it's just hard seeing it laid out like this.”

She smiled, “the Page of Cups, this card is in the higher power position. It represents someone innocent.”

“Amy,” Annabelle declared.

Stephanie wanted to caution her that the card wasn't necessarily a promise that innocence would remain. Annabelle was already reaching for the next card.

Stephanie pointed at its next spot, “your near future is represented by the Knight of Wands. A new journey is about to start.”

“Does it mean the abstract like road to recovery or are we going to go somewhere?”

“I don't know,” Stephanie admitted, “maybe both.”

“Probably both,” Annabelle said, “I tried to convince myself this town was safe, that I grew up here and its home, but it just keeps proving to me that it isn't. I think it's time we find somewhere else to settle down.” She flipped the next card.

Stephanie said, “Seven of Cups, you have different paths that you could choose. You're not sure which one you should take.”

Annabelle didn't need any more explanation for that one already reaching for the next card. The one that would be in her allies’ position.

“Justice.” Stephanie smiled, “Karma is on your side.”

“I don't believe in Karma,” Annabelle said, “if Karma were real why does bad things happen to good people?”

“It's more complicated than that. It's not just your Karma. It's the way that other people around you interact. Sometimes something that happens isn't about your Karma as much as it is theirs. How you choose to react to the situation is yours.”

She shrugged, “if yours can be overrun by someone else's what's the point of worrying about it. If you're not a good person without a threat of something bad happening you're not really a good person.”

The next card was the Three of Coins. Stephanie didn’t feel it needed a repetition of the same thing again, “This just reinforces what the cards are telling you.”

Annabelle flipped the final card.  “Four of Cups. You’re unhappy with the way things have been. You need to find a way to heal some of the rifts in your past to move forward.”

Stephanie looked over the spread, “honestly this is just saying the same thing to me over and over. You know what you want to do. You're looking for someone to tell you to do it. Trust yourself. You know what's best for your daughter. Make whatever changes you feel like you need to confident that you're making the right choices for the two of you.”

“Thank you,” Annabelle said, “for everything.”

The little girl in the bedroom screamed.

Continue Reading

[beapositiveimpact]

Lights And Shadows (pt 4)

A few days later, Jimmy is in line at the Customer Service Department with lots of other store employees to cash their checks when he hears Blake calling to him from the back of the line. He turns and sees him in line with his partner Gary, who works part time in Men’s Suits.

“Jimmy, what are you doing for dinner?” I’m off at five and Gary here already has plans. Have you two met?“

"Hi Gary, nice to meet you. Blake, I’m off at five-thirty. Maybe meet at the Cafe and grab something in the neighborhood?” He gets his money and walks over to the couple.

“That sounds like a plan. Want to go up to Castro and have Thai food across from the movie theater? I love their curry.”

“Which place is this?”

“It’s the one above that Bear Bar. It looks like someone turned their apartment into a restaurant with the living room and front bedroom converted to dining space. It’s a little overdone but it’s cute and the food is great. Gary, are you sure you can’t join us?”

Gary is distracted checking out a skinny blonde guy walking away from the customer service window. “What? Oh no, I’m busy with work tonight. You guys have fun without me. Actually, I need to get going. I’ll see you late tonight at the house.” He gives Blake a quick kiss and rushes off in the general direction of the blonde.

“So that’s Gary. I didn’t know he had another job. What does he do?”

“Oh, let’s just say a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But, if he says he’s working, it usually means he won’t be home until tomorrow morning, if that.”

“Umm, okay. Well, I should get back to finish my shift. See you at the Cafe.”

“Great. We can start there and just let it go where it all goes.”

“Umm, okay.”

Later that evening, Blake sees Jimmy in line at the large vintage counter that takes up the length of one wall inside Cafe Flor. He quietly walks up behind him and gives his butt a light squeeze.

Jimmy rapidly turns around, ready to push someone away, “Hey! Oh shit, I should know it would be you. Don’t do that.”

Blake smiles, “Sorry, but your tushy is too irresistible to stay away from. Did you just get here too?”

“Yeah, the bus got stuck behind a fender bender between a cab and a pizza delivery. No one in this town knows how to drive in the rain. We were in the middle of the block so the driver refused to let anyone off and we had to wait for almost half an hour before it got going again. Our tax dollars at work.”

“That table in the corner just opened up. I’ll grab it. Could you get me a merlot?”

“Sure, no problem. Did you want anything to munch on? They have that marble cheesecake that you like.”

“Ooh yes. Thanks.”

About a mile away, the crowd is just showing up at the Loading Dock on 10th and Mission. Frank is getting off of his Harley at the curb in front of the growing line at the door. The crowd is made up of men, mostly in their 30s to 50s. Some of them are in tight Levi’s, motorcycle boots, and biker jackets. There are a few in chaps, leather harnesses, leather vests and Master caps. One short, slender redheaded guy is at the door in working boots, unbuttoned overalls, a backwards Giants baseball cap, a black tank top with the words SILENCE = DEATH painted on in neon blue and a backwards beat up baseball cap. He stops talking to the doorman to check out Frank.

“Hmm, my knight in shiny black leather has arrived,” Vince says to the doorman but loud enough for Frank to hear.

Lou rolls his eyes,“So that means everyone else can enjoy their night?”

“Maybe more. If they bring their own poppers.”

“Vinnie, I told you before, no poppers in the bar. Not even in the backroom.”

“That’s Vince and you know I’m just yanking on your chain.”

“And that’s all you’re yanking on me. Uh, hi Frank. How are you Sir?”

“Doing well, Lou. How’s it going tonight?”

“Actually it’s pretty busy for a rainy night. But sometimes I swear the queens in this town act as if they’ll melt if they ever got wet.”

“Some are wicked enough, they just might.” Then Frank turns to Vince and slowly sizes him up and down, “And who is this vision of mischief? Let’s hope he’s single and well trained.”

“Hi, I’m Vince. And I’m both, especially for handsome Daddies like yourself.”

“Sir.”

“I’m Vince, Sir.”

“Very good to meet you, sexy boy. I suppose Lou has already told you that I enjoy the company of the occasional redhead. But it’s grossly exaggerated. I enjoy all boys, as long as they know how to follow direction.”

Lou starts to laugh.

“Okay. I admit that red is my favorite color in a few ways. If you behave, maybe we can explore that later. But for now, come with me. I’ll buy the first round.”

As they start to walk in, Lou stops Vince and points at his tank top,“You know I am behind you 100% with what you do for the community but the manager doesn’t want any slogans or activism inside?”

Vince rolls his pale green eyes, takes off his baseball cap to reveal a full head of wild wavy red curls, removes his tank showing a pale back full of freckles, puts his cap back on, backwards, and follows Frank to the bar, stopping occasionally for Frank to hug and say hello to a number of friends or for Vince to hug someone and hand them a small flyer out of his back pocket for the next ACT-Up action.They get their drinks and make it towards the back of the narrow dark bar, past the rows of beat up lockers where other men are changing from work clothes into their leather or fetish gear or down to jockstraps and boots. Frank stops to chat briefly with another friend sitting on the pool table in the back of the bar before leading Vince up the narrow stairs.

They find a spot to sit between the little store full of sex toys, whips, floggers, handcuffs, various brands of poppers and the backroom behind the big black leather curtain which, by now, is full of men groping around, and each other, in the dark.

Vince starts up,“I don’t think I’ve seen it this crowded since last Folsom Fair. Is there something going on, Sir?”

“Nothing that I’ve heard of but maybe it’s just the full moon. Maybe it’s men blowing off steam after working another busy sale in their Union Square shops. Maybe they knew you’d be here.”

“Thank you Sir but I don’t think that I’m that good.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“It’ll be my pleasure, Sir.”

“What’s the flyer you’re passing out? Is it another AIDS rally?”

“Yes Sir,” as he hands one of the folded flyers to Frank. “It’s this coming Tuesday at City Hall. We are calling for the city officials of every city with a sizable Gay community to stand with us and demand that the Food and Drug Administration to give the okay to more than AZT. There’s at least half a dozen drugs that are being used outside of the US that are showing good results for people living with AIDS but the FDA won’t even acknowledge their existence or let the mainstream media report about them.”

“And when will this rally happen? Is it only ACT-UP or will other groups and non-affiliated concerned citizens like myself be welcome?”

“It’s for anyone that will stand up for our ailing brothers, Sir. And it starts at 11:30, so it can be filmed for the noontime news shows and should go until 1, when the supervisors go into their weekly meeting.”

“Good planning.”

“Well, if it isn’t captured by the news cameras, it may as well not happen.”

“Tuesday is a light day and I am sick of seeing approval of drug trials going at a snail’s pace while we lose hundreds of brothers and sisters, and babies, every day. I know that if this was cancer or another Legionnaires Disease, the government would’ve interceded immediately and thrown all money and resources at it to keep the death rate below 150.”

“Would you want to say that to the crowd or inside to the board of supervisors? We need more of your type speaking for the cause.”

“And what type is that? The suits? Older? The presumed dying generation?”

“Honestly, all of the above. Plus, more hot daddies like you would be great for the morale of a lot of us activist boys, Sir.”

“Haha, I never thought I’d be considered a hot Daddy for justice,”

“If the workboot fits, Sir. And I’ll be happy to lick it for you.”

Frank looks at Vince with a mischievous look, sets down his beer and stands up. Vince slams down the rest of his beer and jumps to his feet enthusiastically. Frank gives him a smile, tweaks his nipple and grabs Vince by one of the overall straps and walks him through the leather curtains into the backroom.