#the guy probably had SOOO much headache medication

[icarusredwings]

Ex-act-ly.

If you look at all the stuff he pulled you start to realize...the master wasnt the weird kid. The DOCTOR was. That kid did some weird shit. Like even in academy days and childhood he was kinda weird. Its clear that he's overly emotional compared to the other children and-

You know what? I'll just tell you.

Spoilers and general trigger warning for uncomfortable topics-

According to Lungbarrow he got teased a bunch for the shape of his belly button (ik right)

But the master wasnt the one who saw some one shoot a 'flutter wing' and decided to IMMEDIATELY STAB HIMSELF IN THE HAND.

The master didnt spend MULTIPLE DAYS with some random hermit dude as a literal child (he got screamed at by his older cusion, who he apprently has 44 of).

Its not the master who thinks dead souls live in the ocean.

The master didnt skinny dip with his female cusion at 10 years old (I guess watching 45 children would be hard but DANG Where is the caretakers???)

"The Doctor later liked to think of the universe as his foster family, as it took him in "when I was young". The universe taught him about life when his own parents opted out of their responsibilities."

This ones pretty normal for a kid but I dont think the master hid in barns and sobbed to hismelf because he didnt want the other boys to be mean to him (me too man me too)

Age is always such a weird concept for the Doctor because he was "a spotty teenager for fifty years" (The Time Witch, DWM #38). I know time lords dont age like humans but can you imagine if 50 years old was considered young? So now I cant help but to imagine a 50 year old in a frat house.

This being said, its not weird however that he became friends with Koschei the very first day.

It wasn't the master who hid an in-heat animal under his bed just so he has someone to talk too.

"The adults (including the Doctor's father) discussed astronomy and the Doctor showed his knowledge of the Chandrasekhar Limit, as he had been studying black holes just that morning." HA! Neerrdd (he is such a nerd <3)

"The Doctor and Koschei are best friends at school and are being tormented by a bully named Torvic. One day Torvic pushes Koschei’s head under the water and holds it there-"

The doctor also cries a lot compared to the other kids, "The Time Lord Savar knew the Doctor when he was young. They played chess, and the Doctor almost cried because Savar was the first person who had ever beaten him."

So like... maybe he just snapped from all the bullying because it wasn't the master who stoned a kid to death.

I like to think he's like this because he's half human and humans are driven far more by emotions than time lords are in the sense of wonderlust and nonsense creativity. Sorry not sorry but if someone was drowning my friend id probably commit a crime too.

The Doctor was lead in a band. Perigosto stick to be exact. (Which is really confusing. Some say its an instrument, some say its a multi dimensional juggling game, some say it was the writers way of making dick jokes. He also once electrocuted someone elses stick)

.... with Koschei... On the drums... (ofc)

The dude was a rebellious little thing. Sneaking off with his boyf- ER I MEAN best friend to drink with Shobogans. Tsk tsk tsk.

Even in the academy days he was sneaking off to go see that weird hermit guy who kept telling him ghost stories.

"The Doctor and his friends ride vortisaurs bareback at the Academy" look im going to be so for real. Im not sure if this was part of the class or not but it's SO on brand for him to just ride a flying dinosaur through the halls unauthorized.

This kid is so weird he has a "Debating forum" Membership. What ever the hell that means.

The Doctor is in his early 90s (Apprently thats the equivalent to like 18-19 i guess??) finally admits that he "still likes to play with his perigosto stick. The other students rib him mercilessly for at least a half-century."

This is very confusing for me. If this is a dick joke im confused why he would admit that at all. If its an instrument, is there such thing as child only instruments??

The master wasnt even his first bad influence. Some girl named Ruath was. They broke into time capsules, intoduced cats to Gallifrey, altered gravity so graduation took place mid air, and you remember that kids stick they electrocuted? Yeah that was with her.

This kid regularly played a game where they would ATTEMPT TO KILL THEMSLEVES to "see their future incarnations" apprently he saw his seventh incarnation and HELD THE RECORD.

The guy was so "weird" that he got KICKED out of his house because he wanted to be a regular doctor not a time lord. (Did I mention this kid studies thermodynamics for fun??)

By the way he STILL is seeing that hermit guy and fasted for an entire 3 days and 3 nights straight? Apprently it gave him "supplication to certian powers)

Oh and did I mention that Torvic was NOT the only one he killed during this time? He got suspended from the Academy (This makes him the first student EVER to be expelled from the Academy) so he stole a TARDIS (shocker) and took it to see the celestial toymaker.

Rallon dies and Millennia is trapped as one of the Toymaker's dolls. Upon returning they slap him with 500 years of traffic duty. LMAO

"I know you killed 2 people so spend the next 500 years doing traffic duty." How did he get out of going to prison?

And that's all JUST academy era.

So yeah- he was a maniac.

I also keep thinking about how even WITH the drums the Master was still pretty decent? If you look at Delgado, you can clearly see he has an OUNCE of sanity left. With his gentlemen behaviour, his posh way of dressing, his begging for his friend to rule the stars with him because he knows the Doctor left to explore, he just dosnt understand why if not to take over. He wants to explore with him, he's kind to (some of) his companions, his wording is much more gentle and kind. He's not as insane as simm is at all. This man is a man who sees his maniac friend and is like, "Im gonna match that freak."

Sources, Won't let me link them for some reason but:

AND THEN THERES 1 WHO SHOT A GIRL, WAS ARRESTED, AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE BECAUSE HIS FUTURE SELVES RIGGED THE JURY

So YEAH! Dudes a little UNHINGED

https://www.whoniverse.net/biography/childhood

And

https://www.whoniverse.net/biography/academy

(Not gonna lie if Ive learned anything its that the doctor has ALWAYS gotten along with girls better then boys. Dude was- and is- a ladies man.)

I already made a post about this but like after witnessing the First Doctor in action, I completely understand how the Doctor and the Master became friends. For a long time I thought the Doctor looked at the Master and thought “I can fix him�� and when Missy said “I need you to know we’re not so different” I thought it was hinting towards the Oncoming Storm and the Doctor’s inner darkness… nah, the First Doctor just has incredibly manic energy. They probably met in Time Lord detention after the Master committed arson and the Doctor knocked someone unconscious with a table leg (definitely something that would happen). I’m now pretty sure that the Master was the calm, levelheaded friend whilst the Doctor was just completely off his rocker and frequently had to be begged to calm down. I’ve accepted this head canon as fact because it’s all making so much more sense.

[hesgunnalovethis]

Dark Circles

Summary: You’re cramming for a big exam. Until Leonard McCoy finds out you haven’t slept in 3 days.

Bones x Reader

Masterlist!  (thank you for all the love you guys are the best <3)

 TW: bit of sleep deprivation init, strong language, passing mention of death (satirically)

 Word Count: 1514

  You had been working on the Enterprise as a student medic for some time now. With a busy five year mission, an unspoken fling with the Chief Medical Officer and a crew who couldn’t seem to keep themselves in one piece, you’d began to believe you’d never make it that final step to officially become Doctor Y/L/N. So, when The Academy offered for you to take your final exams online, you jumped at the chance. 

The exam was in three days. You’d somehow managed to nab yourself a week clear of shifts. Whoever made up the rotas must have it sweet for you you’d joked to Leonard who was now working a doubly busy week. He didn’t mind, he knew how important this was to you. 

 You were ready to be free from the constant watchful eye of people only as skilled as you and you knew it. But having neglected textbook terminology for three years you panicked wondering if you’d be able to convince Starfleet the same. You’d been hitting the books hard for the last few days. Really, you’d been doing little else. So much so that the words were beginning to jumble before your eyes. 

Your comm rang. You answered to Jim’s shrill voice like you were teenagers on a landline. Jim had been a good few years above you at The Academy but you had always been close. Jim initially approached you as a night out trophy and when you’d firmly put him in his place, even through six vodka blackcurrants, he knew he’d found a good drinking buddy. 

 “Sooo how you feeling!” Jim asked as if your final medical exam was a first date. 

 “Honestly? Nauseous. Although I don’t know if that’s the nerves or the tiredness.” The first time you’d spoken in days, you remembered. 

 “Jeez how long have you been up?” 

 “Long enough to be two and half notebooks down.” You eyed the strewn pads filled with messy words and diagrams. You definitely passed the doctors handwriting stereotype. 

 “Maybe I’ll stop by with another one for you. And maybe some crushed up pills.” He wasn’t joking but you laughed anyway. 

 “And how is... the ship?” You said, head scrabbled but feeling rude not asking about him. 

 “Still in space.” 

 “That is good to hear.” 

 “For real, Y/N, are you alright? Do you need anything? Water? Food? A certain doctor?”

 “I need everyone on this ship to stand still for three days so I’m ready to sit this.” Jim was silent knowing that he couldn’t promise that and that he’d probably be first injured. “Currently skim reading the dermal regenerator chapter. If another ensign gets stabbed that’s on them.” 

 “As your Captain I can’t laugh at that.” 

 “’As your captain,’” you mimicked “shut the fuck up, Jim.”

 “Fair.” Jim said in defeat after a long silence. “I’ll get Bones up to see you in a bit” 

 “Don’t bother him, he’s working all his own shifts and all of mine, he’ll be more of a corpse than me.” 

 “I have never seen that man in any state other than grumpy. I’ll check up on you in a few.” 

 “Catch.” You said hanging up the comm.

 A few hours past and you’d filled up your third notebook throwing it on the pile and picking up a fresh one, like clockwork. 

 Another hour passed and Jim had rang your comm, again. You ignored it. Another hour. Another ring. Another comm ignored. You only had six textbooks left and you weren’t going to let anything distract you. Almost. 

 The door to your quarter opened as you finished notepad four. You didn’t fully register it until you noticed the room become significantly brighter. You’d really been sitting there for long enough for the room to assume you’d died. Interesting. 

 You looked up to silently thank the ceiling and were greeted by two cold hands against your skin planting a kiss on top of your head. You’d recognise those hands in death. Hands that didn’t need to sit this exam. You were jealous of them. 

 You felt him squat behind you hugging you from behind his cheek brushing against yours. 

 “How’s it been?” You asked instinctively about the sickbay. 

 “Y’know,” he began, spinning your chair away from the desk to face him, “It’s been-“ he stopped brief worry passing over his face. Brief but not unnoticed. 

 “What?” 

 “Darlin’ you are so pretty, you know that, but right now you have two friends I don’t know called ‘extremely dark’ and ‘evidently from sleep deprivation circles’ under your eyes.” He said it delicately, you scoffed. 

 “You’re not looking so hot yourself Mr Five O’clock Shadow.” Leonard’s mouth peaked at the corners suppressing a laugh. 

 In that moment you felt silently sorry for Jim who’d claimed never to see Leonard’s softness. ‘Jim’ you thought. 

 “Jim sent you?” You questioned spinning your chair back towards the desk but finding it halted by Leonard’s foot. He shook his head. 

 “He mentioned a few missed comms but I was already on my way here. I assumed you’d be sleeping. It is 4am.” 

 You looked at the time to verify. You swore the last time you checked it had been 5am. 

 “How long have you been awake?” Leonard asked assessing the desk space. 

 “A few nights.” 

 “Nights?” He cocked his eyebrow at you. “Nights are for sleeping.”

 “It’s the same as working a few nights.” You stated. 

 He smiled softly at you, reaching forward to knock your glasses from your hair to your eyes. You could see again. He’d actually gifted you sight. 

 “When we work a few shifts in a row, we take breaks. How many breaks have you taken?” 

 “A few.” 

 “Bullshit.” He was right so you didn’t argue. 

 “I just have a few things left to cover before I can start doing practice exams. I’ll take a break then.” 

 Leonard was already at your desk closing textbooks and tidying flashcards. You tried to interfere but he simply moved your hands and stroked your hair. 

 “You get changed, I’ll get you some water.” 

 You were suddenly thankful someone had pried you away. You didn’t realise how awful you felt. Head pounding, nauseous, eyes failing. 

 “Test me?” You asked. Leonard turned eyeballing you. His facial expressions having a silent conversation. 

 ‘Really?’ His face said. 

 ‘Please?’ Your face said back. 

 “Your patient is paralysed. First point of call?”

 “Neutral transducer.” You shouted from the bathroom not missing a beat. 

 “And how does that work?”

 “By picking up neural signals from the brain to mimic and stimulate appropriate muscles.” You were right. Leonard was silent for a few minutes allowing you to brush your teeth and change. “Keep going.” You shouted back. 

 “It’s pointless you know everything.” He stated. You walked back into the room giving him a sad face. He rolled his eyes he couldn’t say no to you. 

 “What are the symptoms of fatigue?” Leonard said handing you a glass of water. You shot him an annoyed look, his face was pure innocence. 

 “Chronic tiredness.” You said. He urged you to continue, “Dizziness, headache, impaired vision, slow reflexes, muscle weakness, appetite loss.”

 “I think you’re missing a few.” He said. You sighed at him knowing the point he was trying to make. 

 “Poor concentration, short term memory problems, impaired judgement.” 

 “Heck… sound familiar?” He said as you both climbed onto the bed. 

 Leonard pulled you towards him, taking your entire body in his kissing your under eye repeatedly. 

 “It’s been fun ‘evidently from sleep deprivation circles’ but you’ve gotta go. It’s not personal I just love your host too much to keep you around.” Leonard joked and rearranged your pillows to make you both more comfortable. 

 “One more.” You whispered almost completely asleep. Leonard sighed heavily. 

 “Where’s a Vulcans heart.” You laughed at the easiness of the question. 

 “Right side. Between ribs and pelvis.”

 “Oooo, wrong.” He said pulling you closer. 

 “What! No I’m not?!” 

 “Vulcans don’t have hearts. Have you met the one we work with?” 

 You laughed, softly elbowing him in his own ribs for being horrible. 

 “You do this every time you have something big. You work yourself into the ground. It’s not good for you darlin’. Not good for my blood pressure either.” Leonard softly said removing the glasses from your face. 

 “I’m just scared. God knows how long I’ll need to wait to resit it.” You mumbled. 

 “Y/N, you don’t have to scrounge through textbooks for these answers. You’ve lived these answers. Hell I’ve watched you take over from doctors well above your rank when they’ve started feeling the heat. You’re exceptional. Being a doctor is in your damn blood.” You could tell by his tone he was sincere. Your heart sung but your head retorted. 

 “What if I fail?”

 “Then I guess you’ll have no choice but to have me watching over you for another two years.” Leonard rested his head on top of yours allowing your own to fall onto his chest. 

 “I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.” ‘And hopefully a lot longer’ you thought as you finally drifted off to sleep.

[gumnut-logic]

Callisto (Part 9 - Retreat)

Prologue 1. Incident - Bit 1 | Bit 2 2. Fallout - Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 3. Voyage - Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 4. Arrival - Bit 1 | Bit 2 5. Orientation 6. Rescue Site 7. Investigation 8. Recovery 9. Retreat

And I clocked over 5000 words on this chapter, too. Oops. Lots of John one-on-one with both Virgil and Scott. Including a bit of mild whump which I quite enjoyed :D

As always, many thanks to @janetm74​ @tsarinatorment​ @vegetacide​ @scribbles97​ and @onereyofstarlight​ for all their amazing help and support. you guys rock :D

And thank you to all of you who commented and liked last week’s chapter. It all means so much to me. Thank you sooo much for your support with this crazy endeavour ::hugs::

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

-o-o-o-

They dug the pod out of the ice, Lee and Alan tackling it while Virgil assessed Four.

Virgil was exhausted and worried. And shaky if he wanted to admit it, which he didn’t.

Ice echoed in the back of his mind where he refused to acknowledge it.

Eos kept them updated on the now quiescent water levels. There were no more reported seismic incidents. Everything was as quiet as it was before.

Except now the sparkle of crystal was far more sinister.

Virgil would be so much happier being not here.

He managed to activate the functional hoverjets on Four and with some heavy lifter muscles on the end of the appropriate toolset, he was able to relocate some of them to areas on Four’s hull that needed the support. He unwedged her roof from the rock wall, tipped her onto her belly, and, climbing inside, managed to get her moving in a stuttering echo of her usual smooth and darting operation.

The cockpit was partially crumpled on one side. Some hasty oxygen-assisted welding secured part of Gordon’s pilot’s chair back into place. Not perfect but it would do the job for now. It would not be the most comfortable ride.

“Virgil, what are you doing?” John’s voice was exasperated.

“What does it look like?” He had zero patience and just wanted to get his brother’s ‘bird back to Three so she could ultimately be taken home. There was no way he was leaving her here any more than he would have left her at the bottom of the ocean.

“Virgil, you shouldn’t be flying. I’ll take her.”

“I’m fine. Let’s just get this done.” Then he could check on his brothers.

The cave glittered at him through mangled viewports. It was still beautiful, but he no longer trusted it. He wanted out. “Have you recovered the pod yet?”

“Clearing the last of it now.” An indrawn breath. “Virgil-“

“Is it functional?”

An abrupt silence at the other end of his comms sketched out the thinned lips and frown John was no doubt sporting. “There appears to be minimal damage.”

“I’ll meet you in the Dry Cavern. I’ll need help to get Four out.”

Ignoring John’s protests, Virgil pushed the injured sub past the still partially iced in dragonfly and down the kilometre long tunnel to the exit cave.

Reaching the floor of the dry expanse ahead of his brother and uncle gave him a moment to himself. He sat back in the remains of Gordon’s pilot’s chair and closed his eyes.

It was so tempting to just let go, to give in to the phantoms teasing at the edge of his mind. But he couldn’t afford a breakdown right now. Scott was injured and their brothers were depending on him.

He had to keep control.

If only his head would stop hurting.

His eyes did not want to open again.

Consequently, it took John calling his name to ‘wake’ him.

Virgil startled to find both his astronaut brother and Uncle Lee glaring at him through the remains of the marine acrylic in Four’s viewports.

“Virgil?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

“I was just resting my eyes.”

John’s lips now appeared to be permanently thinned...and about to call him on his bullshit.

Virgil didn’t let him. “Hook up a tow line. We need to get Four above ground.”

His space brother did not stop glaring, but at least he decided that towing Virgil was better than arguing further.

They could meet half way.

Uncle Lee, sparing Virgil a worried glance or two, secured the line as Virgil sat and watched - an odd sensation since usually he would be the one out there doing what needed to be done. Perhaps it was a sign of exactly how gone he actually was.

Get Four to Three.

Get his brother and Uncle back to the Base.

Check on Scott and Gordon.

He was clinging to his list of goals and he knew it, but the alternative was very unproductive.

He startled again as John signalled his readiness. The dragonfly gently tugged on the line as it lifted smoothly off the ground.

Virgil shook himself and activated the hoverjets best to assist with the tow and then he was airborne. They coasted the long mole-made tunnel, took a sharp turn and climbing the vertical drop made by Three, shot into the open.

Jupiter glared balefully out of the darkness.

From there it was a blur of ‘Virgil, stay there’ and Four being hoisted into the huge, red spacecraft, the close of her hatch and the blessed familiarity of Alan’s ‘bird.

Virgil climbed slowly out of Four as John and Uncle Lee stowed the dragonfly, and clambered to the ladder that would take him to her cockpit. It was likely a further sign of his exhaustion that he had to think which way Three was currently situated. She was nose down, which meant he had to climb down.

The ladder looked like it stretched on forever and a rogue part of his mind pondered exactly how hard he would hit bottom if he just jumped.

He was ever so tired, but he couldn’t stay here, so he forced one foot after the other and began the descent.

Halfway down dizziness hit him again.

It was all he could do to cling to the ladder to prevent himself from falling.

And this time it didn’t go away.

“Virgil!” John’s voice was like a beacon in the darkness of a roiling stomach and a pounding head. Virgil had his eyes clenched shut.

The clatter of boots on rungs, hands caught him under his arms and he was being urged to continue down. “C’mon, not far to go.” John’s voice was ever so soft in his helmet. Gentle. Reassuring.

Virgil took that first crucial step and let himself drop another controlled step while mentally clinging to his stomach.

The dizziness disappeared.

Oh god.

The relief almost had him letting go of the ladder, but strong arms held him and continued to guide him down step by step. His stomach protested the entire way as if this bout of dizziness was the last straw.

John helped him through the main hatch and, from there, Virgil flung off his helmet and stumbled to the facilities.

Fortunately, there was very little in his stomach to expel, but that didn’t stop it from spasming repeatedly.

Low gravity environments sucked.

This would have been the perfect opportunity to curl up in a ball of misery on the bathroom floor, but space bathrooms sucked as much as space itself.

It became very clear that his head and body had had enough and if it wasn’t for John he probably would have fallen to that floor anyway.

“Virgil.” His brother caught him gently, drawing his head to his shoulder. Virgil didn’t have the energy to resist. “You are going to the infirmary.”

“John-“ But his head throbbed and he clenched his eyes shut in pain.

“No arguments.” In the light gravity, John lifted Virgil up and, leaving the bathroom, carried him down the corridor towards Three’s tiny infirmary.

“John-“ This was a first. Virgil usually did the carrying. The thought bounced through his aching head. But before he knew it, he was being strapped into a soft bed.

Opening his eyes would involve more than he had.

Yellow light flickered over his eyelids. Machinery beeped as John mumbled something, possibly into his comms, but Virgil had nothing left. The phantoms swooped in and the ice swallowed him whole.

-o-o-o-

John was used to worrying about his brothers. So often he was so far away when they were in peril. But as Virgil’s hand fell limp in his, John’s heart clenched.

Both of them had been running on adrenalin. He had watched as Virgil performed as he always did when needed despite being ill.

Many times John had listened to his brothers over comms, their voices strained by what they had seen and experienced. Hell, this wasn’t John’s first rodeo, he knew what it sometimes took on a rescue.

He’d done it himself.

That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when it happened again.

The medscanner flickered over his brother casting his pale skin in an even sicklier shade.

Stress factors were flagged. Virgil’s heartrate was up and his blood pressure was far from happy. But there was no injury.

John frowned. Virgil had been unconscious at least part of the time he was buried in the ice. He was obviously unwell and was showing all the signs of a head injury.

But there was none.

He poked the scanner as if he could drag further information out of it.

But no, it reported Virgil as stressed, tired, possibly exhausted, but there was no explanation for the symptoms he was displaying apart from some tightening of the blood vessels in his brother’s brain. Classic sign of a headache.

“John, all vehicles are stowed. You wanna drive?” Uncle Lee’s voice over comms snapped him out of staring at his brother’s medical readouts.

Virgil was asleep, restless, but asleep. He was safe for the moment. Perhaps it was just exhaustion. His brothers were well known for pushing it too far.

Perhaps it was psychological. It would be fair considering his history with ice.

But it still didn’t quite add up and it gnawed at him. He had seen his big brother tackle this issue before. It still didn’t quite sit right.

But now the priority was to get Virgil back to his brothers, and reunite with Scott, Gordon, Alan and their father.

John double-checked the patient was secure and deployed the bed pivot that would support him when the ship flipped in flight.

“FAB, Uncle Lee.” He said the words at almost the same time he entered the cockpit.

It was strange to be here without Alan. It had been a long time since Three had been his ‘bird. Even then it hadn’t really been his. It had been Dad’s and then Alan’s. John had only been her pilot out of necessity.

Sliding into the pilot’s seat, all his reflexes shifted to the needs of the Thunderbird. Pre-flight was worked through at speed, Uncle Lee providing the input needed.

Eos chimed in with clearance for their flightpath.

Callisto Base acknowledged they would be arriving in minutes.

John fired her thrusters and launched Three into the thin atmosphere of Callisto, pivoting her mid-air and taking off in a southerly direction.

The trip was very short, barely worth igniting her engines, but honestly, John was grateful.

Three hovered in the massive airlock once again and it grated on John’s need for speed. The equations that listed the reasons why those doors were so ponderous gave him plenty of explanation, but he had no patience for physics at the moment.

Landing Three was like exhaling in relief.

Their father met them on the gantry. John towed Virgil out of Three on the bed he was still sleeping on, hoverjets keeping him level and secure. The fact he had not woken despite launch and landing was just a further sign of his brother’s exhaustion.

Uncle Lee followed them out without a word.

If John was irrationally grateful for his father’s hand landing on his shoulder, he wasn’t going to examine it too closely.

Concerned grey eyes stared down at Virgil...

“He’s sleeping, Dad. Exhaustion appears to be the culprit.” His father looked up at him and John swallowed. “That’s all I could find.”

A nod and they hurried Virgil off to the Base medical centre.

Grae had set aside a part of the small facility with enough beds to support the injured Tracy brothers. John, Virgil and their father entered in the middle of an argument.

“I’m not going up to Five! It’s a broken arm, Scott, that’s all.” Gordon’s expression was furious. He was sitting up in bed, his arm in a plastic cast. It was obvious Gordon wasn’t well. There was no spark about him. The impression was grey where there was usually sun.

Scott’s response was appropriate. “It’s enough! You are off rescues until it is healed. You know that is the rule. Health first!” Their eldest brother was sitting in a chair beside the Fish’s bed. A bed behind him had mussed covers and was obviously where he was supposed to be.

It was ever so typical that he wasn’t.

Either way, John took some comfort in finding both brothers conscious despite their injuries.

Of course, that meant yelling.

“We’re in space!”

“You’re not crucial to this mission!”

“It’s underwater! I call that crucial!”

“Gordon-“

“Scott-“

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!”

Their father’s voice cut across the yelling enough to disturb Virgil who groaned in his sleep and attempted to roll over. The groan turned into a whimper and his brow crumpled.

That shut everyone up.

Scott tried to stand and move to his prone brother’s side, but wavered. Alan who had been sitting wide-eyed next to him, hurried to steady his big brother.

John touched a finger to Virgil’s cheek and murmured soft words of reassurance. The unconscious engineer leant into his hand, eyes still closed, and settled back into his uneasy sleep.

Alan was trying to wrestle Scott back to bed with little success, until their father strode over and made some silent but very firm gestures in the direction of the empty bed.

Scott wilted in Alan’s grip and did as he was told.

But his eyes did not leave Virgil or Gordon alone, darting worriedly between them.

John docked the hover stretcher into place beside Gordon. His positioning was purposeful, giving Scott both brothers at one glance and no doubt allowing his eldest brother the chance to at least relax a little with both of them in sight.

Gordon’s eyes tracked Virgil as John draped a blanket over his sleeping brother.

“What happened?” Gordon’s voice was ever so quiet.

“Ice and exhaustion. He needs rest.” A pointed eyebrow. “You all do.”

John did, too, weariness suddenly hitting him. Such a mad scramble to get to his brothers, get them out of the ice.

“I think perhaps you should sit down, space bro.” Gordon never missed a thing. Those carnelian eyes saw everything. It was what he did with the information that mattered, though.

“John?” A worried pair of foggy blue eyes had targeted him now. Well, that sealed it.

Sure enough, their father turned around and wordlessly led him to a chair. “Sit down, son. They’re all safe now.”

There was a hitch in the man’s voice that had John questioning if he was saying it to reassure himself as much as others.

Regardless, the words had the tension in John’s muscles suddenly relaxing and he found himself shaking just a little.

The mechanics of mild shock sprang to mind and he was disgusted with himself.

A blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his father’s hands squeezed his arm gently.

There was silence in the room for a while. Dad found Uncle Lee a seat and John was ashamed to realise he had forgotten the man existed for a moment there. Perhaps he was as tired as Virgil. Sleep was a long time ago.

A Base doctor came in and confirmed John’s analysis of Virgil’s condition and quietly updated them on both Scott’s and Gordon’s status - all of which IR equipment had already revealed. Perhaps with the exception of Scott’s concussion that while still had him a little wobbly, seemed to have found some healing in whatever sleep his big brother had managed since being yanked out of the ice.

And there was the source of John’s heartrate. Pulling brothers out of the ice had been terrifying. Flashbacks to images sprouted by the news reports all those years ago regarding their mother. Scott’s desperate attempt to hide the reality from his younger siblings, but failing due to the determination of irresponsible media.

John closed his eyes.

-o-o-o-

“What do we do now?” Grae’s eyes were pleading and Jeff wished he had a good answer for him.

He had left the infirmary knowing his friend would be frantic.

Hell, Jeff was a little frantic himself. Berry and Ju were still missing. They only had readings on two out of five missing life signs. They didn’t even know who those life signs belonged to.

“We wait.”

“Jeff, they could be dying!”

“Both life signs are strong. I know it is not the best, but we don’t have a choice. We have to wait.”

“Why? You have the equipment. You, Lee, two of your boys are fine. Hell, I’ll come with you. This is Ju we are talking about!”

Jeff straightened. “I know who we are talking about, Graeme. But the first rule of a rescue is to make sure the rescuers are safe enough to do their jobs and for the moment, I am not willing to send anyone into that cave until we work out what the hell happened!”

“Seismic anomaly. You told me yourself.”

“John is not satisfied with that assessment.”

“Why not?”

“He needs further information.”

“Then let’s go down there and get it.”

“John is working on it.”

“John is sleeping!”

Jeff’s lips tightened and he took a step closer to his old friend. “My sons were nearly killed. I am aware that this is an urgent situation, Graeme. I know what is at stake. But there will be no gain in putting anyone in further danger until we know what we are dealing with.”

A silent hand wrapped around Jeff’s arm and tugged him backwards gently.

Lee.

Jeff had known he was there and old patterns were obviously still in place.

It was reassuring.

He understood Grae’s feelings. Hell, he shared them. But his boys were hurting and, if he was honest, they had terrified him. Seeing first Scott and then Virgil entombed in ice had ripped scabs off memories from so long ago as much as tempting new horrors.

But above and beyond it all, there was something very strange about this situation. Something was off. Everything that made him the astronaut he was, was screaming alarm bells. So, while he could gather Lee, John and Alan and go down there himself, he wasn’t.

Because he trusted his sons and John said no.

Jeff couldn’t help but agree with him.

They needed further information and Eos was working hard to deploy enough probes and up the sensory reach to delve underground and veto that interference. And while John had protested - all of them had protested, except Virgil who had already been asleep - this had been an opportunity to try and get some rest.

Grae sagged where he stood, all signs of the Base commander falling away. “She’s my wife, Jeff.”

Voice ever so quiet. “Believe me, I understand.” He caught his friend’s eyes with his own. “I do.”

Grae stared at him a moment before uttering a wounded sound and turning away. Jeff watched his back as he strode out of the infirmary.

Lee’s hand squeezed gently, but Jeff still stared at the door.

-o-o-o-

John wasn’t sleep. Honestly, he tried. Their father had corralled two more beds into the room with his injured brothers and both Alan and John had been sequestered there. He appreciated it, he did.

But he couldn’t sleep.

And it wasn’t Virgil’s snoring.

He kept running scenarios over in his head. Building and dismissing equations that could explain the liquid water in the cavern and coming up with nothing.

Liquid water demanded the existence of energy to keep it that way, likely with a heat source. Gordon had mentioned a temperature increase before the wave hit.

John’s fingers itched for his information sources on Five.

He was still wearing his suit. He had slept in it often enough not to care. But he had removed his helmet. The infirmary had its own air circulation system separate from the rest of the Base and, really, with his brother’s injuries, they hadn’t had a choice but to break the seals on their suits.

The upside was that he could squirrel under his covers and access his wrist comm and Eos.

His daughter was sending perplexed emojis at him because he had requested text only.

Her use of repeating gifs had the effect he had no doubt she desired, enough to curl up the corners of his lips at least.

His fingers darted across his virtual keyboard with a speed almost as fast as the voice he couldn’t use.

The probe net was in its final dispersal phase and the first of the reports were coming in. Eos had focussed the deployment in a spiralling pattern using the Crystal Cave as the central point and consequently, the information was more detailed in that area. In fact, Eos had doubled up the probe above Burr Crater and the cave beneath it.

His daughter highlighted three other craters, an attention icon flashing on the map. John zoomed in and frowned. There were more lakes.

His fingers darted over the map, repeatedly hitting attention icons flagged by the AI. Lake after lake showed up on sensors. A quick cross-correlation and his suspicions were confirmed. The lakes lay under the younger craters on the moon’s surface. The ones still shining from impacts of recent millennia.

John manipulated one of the probes pulling it from the net and drawing it closer to the surface. Eos threw up a warning that he was causing a brief blindspot, but he didn’t care, he needed confirmation.

Tornarsuk Crater was slightly smaller, but it was fairly equidistant from Callisto Base as Burr and almost as young. The lake registered as similar to the one in Crystal Cave and a network of tunnels branched off from it merging with the network.

Because it was a network. Initial readings tracked tunnels riddled beneath the entire Callistan surface. He couldn’t tell with these readings, but he would bet a lifetimes worth of savings that all the tunnels were made by water. Despite liquid water not being physically possible in these environs.

Not physically possible, but the lakes did exist.

Of course, that led to the question of why the water hadn’t stayed water once it left the cavern. It had behaved exactly how it should when it entered the tunnel. It froze.

Trapping his brothers.

He closed his eyes a moment as images he hadn’t fully processed yet flashed up in his mind.

He let out a sigh.

Focus.

Science was a saviour.

He returned to glaring at the holograms hidden under the blanket. It grew stuffy and he was reminded of many a late night when he was a child, shoving his tablet under the covers in order to read that little bit more despite being told to go to bed.

Memories.

He requested a planetary body analysis and the probe network boosted Five’s scan of the moon, giving him an indepth gravity and mass analysis. The readings confirmed what the Callisto Expedition had reported, that yes, there was an ocean deep under the Callistan crust, and that unlike most of the planetary bodies in the solar system, Callisto was undifferentiated. It had no core, no mantle, just a shallow ocean a couple hundred of kilometres below, sitting on a mix of rock and ice, sealed in by a crust of similar material.

So there was water in the moon. That was no surprise. Europa had proven something similar, but these subterranean oceans followed the laws of physics. They had the pressures required to stay liquid. The lakes did not.

There had to be another reason.

The next step was research. He knew what he knew, but that didn’t mean he knew everything. There must be something to explain the water.

Accessing Five’s library, he initiated a connection back to Tracy Island via the chain of buoys stretching back to Earth.

The covers over his head were suddenly ripped off, the waft of cooler air startling him even more than the sudden appearance of a tall shadow leaning over him.

John’s whisper was cutting. “Scott, what the hell!”

Because it was Scott. It was always Scott.

Well, except when it was Virgil, but this shadow was too tall, had the wrong hair and Virgil was still snoring.

“You’re supposed to be resting.” His brother’s voice had an echo of commander.

“You more than me!” John grabbed at the covers and pulled them back up to his chest. Why, he didn’t know, but there had to be a principle there somewhere.

The shadow of his big brother pulled up a chair and literally fell into it. Elbows dented the side of John’s bed and Scott’s head dipped out of silhouette as he dropped it into his hands.

John’s heart softened. A gentler whisper. “You really should rest. Get some sleep.”

“I did. Virgil is making a racket.” It was muffled as his brother was looking down at his feet, but John knew it was a load of bullshit. They had all been putting up with Virgil’s snoring since the man was born. If anything, it was a sound of comfort and was missed if it wasn’t there when they were together like this.

It was a running joke that their brother’s snoring was a great wildlife deterrent when camping.

John persisted. Scott was notorious for ignoring his health when focussed on an objective. “How’s your head?”

“Fine.”

“If you’ve come over here just to lie to me, I’m not sure I want to listen.”

“Whatever.” Scott ran his hands through his hair, messing up what was usually meticulously neat. “What happened, John?”

John sighed and pushed himself up on the bed until he was sitting upright, covers still on his legs. “You should be in bed.”

“Bed is a waste of time.” Blue eyes caught what little light was in the room and flashed it at John. “I need information.”

And John was the source of that information.

He held back another sigh and instead pulled up a virtual representation of the Crystal Cave and associated tunnel network. “The sensor readings are marred with static, but as far as we can tell water appeared to enter the lake from this tunnel.” John pointed at one of the entrances on the north-east side of the lake. “With the probe network we now have, the closest source of water I can find is under Tornarsuk Crater to the south-east.” He rotated the image until the star-rayed splash of brightness appeared. A flick of a finger and the hologram delved under the crater, bringing up another lake. John focussed the probe, switching to mineralogical detail and many spikes of crystal appeared in the cave. Eos threw up likely chemical formulae that could only be proven with samples, but had an accuracy somewhere near ninety-five percent.

He could not delve under that lake any more than he could under the lake in the Crystal Cavern.

“There’s another one?” Scott’s whisper spoke of widened eyes. “Are they connected?”

John answered by zooming out and tracing the connection via the maze of tunnels between them.

“How?”

This time John did let out the sigh. “I don’t know.”

“Is it a natural phenomenon?”

John stared at his brother. “Nothing about this is natural. That water shouldn’t exist in that state. If water came from the other lake, then how did it get to the Crystal Cavern so fast? Seismic readings epicentre the activity to the north-east of the Cavern, yet the closest source of water is to the south.”

“Can you get any further life sign readings?”

“No.” It was a defeated quiet. “And no further information on the two under the lake. All I can say is that they are there. Interference is almost complete otherwise. We cannot see below the surface, yet I can see all the way to the moon’s lack of a core.” He threw up his hands and the hologram flickered at the rough handling. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Scott was lit up by the light of the hologram. A ghostly echo of his brother’s usual vibrant self. “Is this humanly possible?”

John stared at him. “You think someone is orchestrating this?”

“Could they?”

He threw the concept back and forth in his head. “Possibly. At great expense and difficulty. There would have to be some serious science involved and I would want to know how that water is liquid in this environment. But the ultimate question would be ‘why?’”

Scott let his head drop into his hands again. “Hell if I know.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time something massively expensive and ridiculous had been deployed against us.” Gordon’s voice was sharp in the sudden silence.

And silence it was because John suddenly realised there was a serious lack of snoring in the room.

Sure enough, beside their fish brother the shape of Virgil was moving slowly to sit up. His throat cleared as he settled sitting on the edge of the bed. “So what is the plan?”

Scott straightened where he sat. “The plan is to get some rest.”

“Done that. Feeling better. There are some lives waiting to be saved.”

No pressure.

Gordon’s eyes were catching the light and aimed right at John. “You think this is planned?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you think it is a possibility.”

“At this point, everything is a possibility, Gordon. I don’t have enough explanation to make any conclusions.”

“I vote aliens.” And yes, Alan was awake as well, his tousled hair reflecting holographic light.

“You are all supposed to be asleep.” Commander Tracy glared at them.

“Speak for yourself, Scott. I bet you’re sporting a doozy of a headache.”

Scott didn’t answer, but John was pretty sure Gordon had hit a nail right on the aching head.

“John?” Eos’ voice cut through the glares and grumbles bouncing around the room.

“Yes, Eos.”

“Callisto Base is receiving a distress call from Kate Berrenger.”

“What? Relay!”

A terrified female voice cut the air in the room. “Base, do you read? I need help. Uh-“ The voice fell silent a moment, but every body in the room was already moving.

One of the life signs had changed position. It was now located on the same beach where Four had lain crumpled several hours earlier.

John switched to transmit. “Eos, relay! This is Thunderbird Five, Director Berrenger. Help is on the way.”

“Somebody, please help me.” It ended in a whimper.

He leapt off the bed as Scott dashed out the door. “Help is on the way.”

-o-o-o-

Next

[sallyface-incorrect]

The Struggles of Having ADHD

- Only Being able to sleep either 2 hours or 16, there’s no in between. I am legit typing this at 3:02 am because I can’t sleep and I haven’t slept that much and it sucks. Summer is for sleeping, not for stress.

- Not being able to remember basic information about someone like their name, but being able to remember that they once told you that their great great aunt had a mole on her foot the shape of Texas. True story btw, sorry Amber.

- Feeling like your being rejected if your friend can’t make it to hang out with you because of family reasons. RSD is a bitch. Like the tiniest thing can make you feel rejected. Ie, your mom telling you not to be so loud, someone asking why your sneezes are so loud, someone asking you to return their pen, etc.

- Having your medication ware off/forgetting to take it and being the most annoying bitch in the galaxy. I once went on a school trip and my meds wore off and I ended up spending the 2 hour bus ride back annoying the guy who was trying to sleep in front of me, again, I am so sorry Max.

- IDK if it’s just me but, chewing on literally everything. Bottle caps, paper, fabric, rubber (my favorite), and much more. I used to get punished all the time for chewing on things I wasn’t supposed to. Nail biting is also a big thing. And so is hair chewing.

- Being told “You’re too smart to have ADHD”. Well Susan, I have a neurological devolpmental disorder, I’m not retarded.

- Either giving too much information or not enough when in conversation, and also bringing up really irrelevant things in the conversation like, I know we’re talking about the Louisiana Perchance but can I tell you about this one time it rained and I saw a snail?

- Being botherd by loud and/or repetitive noises. Pen clicking and high pitched sirens make me want to scream. They suckkk harder then Travis wants to suck Sal’s dick. And the worse is when people think you’re weird or that you have a problem with them for asking. I understand you like to click your pen and I’m so sorry it’s just so loud...

- Being afraid of your friends rejecting you. Again, RSD is a bitch. Like you’re afraid that one day your bestie will get up and leave and never come back and it’s all your fault and you suck and ughhhhhh. You’re also afraid their s/o / parents hate you and one day they’ll convince them to just leave you.

- Medication is a godsend but it’s also problematic. The stuff that I take fucks up my sleep schedule, my appetite, and make me tired and nauseous. It also gives me headaches and belly aches :(

- Either being so hungry that you also eat everything in your fridge or being so not hungry that even the concept of food disgust you. And sometimes, you even throw up because food is so gross and you’re gross and all that gross is inside you and eww.

- Intense, powerful migraines. They get worse in the winter months. Last year I took almost a week off of school because my migraines got worse and worse and worse and I couldn’t do it.

- Having no measurement of personal space or how to physically interact with someone. I just said hi, do I hug you, do I high five you, idk? Like idk how many potential friendships I’ve fucked up because I was too handsey.

- Being really particular about the type of clothing I wear. I love LOVE long sleeve shirts/ sweatshirts/ sweaters/ hoodies and shorts. I also love to wear socks around the house. I hate HATE wearing socks with shoes though, it makes me anxious. I also hate wearing certain types of pants. I literally only have 2 - 3 pairs of pants I’ll wear because pants sometimes feel like a tent and I hate that.

- Not being able to loose weight. I’m not fat, or chubby, I mean I have abs for God’s sake! It’s just that I have thick ass thigh I h a t e and I wish I could just get rid of them but my medication prevents me from loosing all that weight. On the bright side, I can eat a lot and not gain weight either.

- Having certain little routines you can’t skip. For example, every morning I must shave my legs and brush my hair or the world will end. I also must have all the doors and windows closed or else I’m gonna scream.

- Also idk if this is a problem for anyone else but doors and windows being open. I can’t stand it, I mean please, I don’t care that you’re just coming up for 1 thing but p l e a s e for the love of g o d, close the door that leads to upstairs. Having it open just isn’t right.

- Hyperfixiating on something for soo long that you forget to do basic hygiene like shower, use the bathroom, brush your hair, brush your teeth. It can get you in really big trouble but at least the job is done.

- Having a comfort item. Like I have this stuffed lamb whose name is “Lambchop” but I call “Lambie” and I sleep with them each and every night and carry them around the house with me when I’m home and if I’m upset I NEED to cuddle them bacuse it’s the only thing that will make the world go away.

- Being insanely good at certain academics and shitty at others. For example, when I was in 5th grade I was reading at an undergrad level and had the ability to understand science concepts a senior would be learning but my math was at the level of a second graders.

- Idk how to describe it but like, doing movements half way and the forgetting about them. Like this one time I was at a piano recital and I went to reach for something and forgot what I was reaching for so I just kinda held my hand up in a grabbing motion for half a song and then forgot about it until my mom reminded me to put it down.

- Not being able to understand that people don’t want to hear about your hyperfixiation. I’ve had 2 cases of this in my life, my “ghosts are definitely really and now this is my only personality triat” and my “I’m not a weeb but Tokyo Ghoul is so good now let me tell you all about the plot.” (Tokyo Ghoul gang REPRESENT)

- Having 3 different moods, hyperactive, normal, and cold. Like you’re normal most of the time but sometimes you’re sooo hyper that your an entirely different person, or sometimes you’re sooo distant you’re a different person too.

- Not being able to identify your emotions very well. Like, this guy just told me that my dad and my bestie are asshole who deserve to die in a fire, what am I feeling? Am I sad? Angry? Scared? Do I think this is funny? Am I gonna laugh? Cry? Idk, throw hands? Or the dreaded crush. Do I have feelings for this person or do I just want to be really good friends? Do I hate them? Love them? Am I gonna cry the next time I see them? Last time we hung out was fun but idk???

- Also like I mentioned, romance/sexuality is hard. Last time I dated I dated this guy I really liked, or at least I thought I did. We dated for three months before I blew it off because he asked to put his arm around me and it was weird when I said yes. Also sexuality. Idk if this is a problem for anyone else or just my bisexual ass. Like it’s so hard and I really like guys but hey, girls are hot. And like I like guys more than girls?? Sometime it makes me feel really fake.

- Really enhanced weird hearing. I know at least 80% of my classes drama because I have superhearing and I’m a literal hearing god bow down, bitch. I can hear the smallest of sounds and such, but for some goddamn reason I can’t understand how loud I’m being.

- Extestensial nihilism and just being cool about it. Like, dude, idk if there’s a god out there? I’d like to think there’s some sort of Devine power and we have a purpose but idk, we probably don’t have a purpose. I mean, we’ll be forgotten after we die anyway unless we’re Tom Holland. And love probably doesn’t exist either and it’s only stigmatized by movies and books and media and we’re all gonna get married and be miserable for ever and such. But like does it really even matter? In the end we’re all alone so go off I guess.

- Being really sensitive to smell. Certain smells drive me through the roof. For example, I have an extreme fish allergy and even smelling the slightest hint a salmon can give me a migraine so intense I think I’m dying. Or essential oils. Ughh I hate those. They send me through the roof.

- Being able to remember something you heard in a YouTube video you watched back when you were nine but not being able to remember when you birthday is some days because it really be like that.

- Being really good with little kids. Idk if everyone is like this but I am very childish myself and little kids love me. I have at least 3 little boys in 1st - 3rd grade who think I’m their girlfriend and 8 little girls in kindergarten - 5th grade who think I’m their big sister, it’s really sweet.

- Always apologizing is a big thing for me. When I was a child I used to get in trouble for saying sorry when I did anything and that carried to teen hood. Last year at my dance class my teacher noticed this and tried to help me break my habit god bless you Christine.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk bois. ADHD sucks but I know you can do it👌🏻

[mrs-mystica]

Illogical Solution [Analogical]

Pairing : Logan and Virgil

Masterlink

Third Person POV

Thomas slammed the door behind him. He was furious. He had a bad evening, and he knew who to blame for it. As soon as he was safe and alone in his apartment, he tried to summon his anxious side. He was surprised to see the purple dressed man appear at his call, him who usually appeared whenever he liked and not when called.

- Why the hell did you act like that?! I couldn’t talk to anybody because of you!

Virgil looked tired. His eyeshadow wasn’t covering the deep bangs under his eyes anymore. His whole body was leaning forward and he had his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie.

- I’m SOOO sorry, mister Sanders. I shouldn’t try to look out for you, it’s not like I’m here to protect you or anything.

Thomas was on edge, and the sarcastic tone in Virgil’s voice triggered his anger.

- I thought we were cool since Accepting Anxiety! And now, you’re acting like a jerk again!

- A jerk? A JERK? Really Thomas?!

- When will you get that other people aren’t dangerous?! I’d love to socialize without having SOCIAL ANXIETY!

Virgil’s hands were now in the air instead of in his pocket. He was visibly triggered and offended.

- Dude! One wrong little word could destroy your reputation! FOREVER! You’re a youtuber! Everyone’s eyes are on you ALL THE TIME!

Thomas puts both of his hands on his head. This confrontation was giving him a headache.

- Ugh! I wish you could just shut up sometimes!

- Oh? So I don’t have the right to give my opinion anymore? When did I lose this universal human right again?

- GO AWAY! I need a freaking break!

Thomas almost screamed these lines. His voice was shaky, but loud. Virgil felt something hurt in his chest.

- If I am not even a person in your eyes anymore, that I’m just your goddamn problem, then just get RIDE OF ME!

The pain was growing rapidly. Virgil couldn’t think straight anymore.

- Nothing is stopping you! GO AHEAD! Take those stupid pills the doctor gave you!

Before Thomas could answer anything, Virgil sank out.

When he arrived in the Mindscape, he was raging with frustration. He felt like a pot with boiling water in it with the cap on. Anything could make him explode. Poor Logan crossed his path as he was heading to his room. He wasn’t the best with emotions, but even he could feel that something was wrong with the anxious trait.

- Virgil? Is everything under control?

The man didn’t answer. He barely looked at the other side and continued his path, heading to his room. Logan felt a strange sensation. He didn’t know what it was. He was worried. Worried for the other side. It was strange. He was not used to feel emotions like these, or even emotions in general. As the other side tried to get around him, the logical trait called his name and caught his arm, trying to know what was wrong. Virgil flinched violently at the sudden touch.

- NOT NOW LOGAN.

He released himself from Logan’s grip with a sudden movement and then ran to his room, slamming the door behind him. Logan couldn’t help but stare at the purple door, with this burning sensation in his chest.

On the other side of the door, Virgil was still trying to contain his emotions. In his head, his thoughts were out of control. How could he refutes his help like this?! He did all he could to protect his host! He always does his job the best he can, and what did Thomas had to say in return? Not even an ounce of gratitude! He threw himself on his bed, making the springs of bed scream. In an attempt to release his frustrations, he threw one of his pillow across his room. Now lay down on his bed, he looked at his ceiling, tears growing in the corners of his eyes. He knew Thomas was going to listen to him. He didn’t truly want to disappear, but he did what he had to do. And now, all he had to do was to wait.

***

Later that day, Patton, Logan and Roman were hanging out in the living room. They were having a Disney marathon. They had invited the anxious trait to join them, but he didn’t answer when they knocked on his door. Patton wanted to insist, but Logan, after his previous encounter with the side, thought it would be wiser to leave him alone a little bit. He probably didn’t want to be bothered after the evening he had. So there they were, listening to good old classics. Roman, for some reason, really wanted to watch Sleeping Beauty. He insisted to watch the movie, and there he was, talking continually while it was playing.

- Did you guys know that the princess name is Aurora?

- Yes Roman, we all know. Because Thomas knows.

- I just love her! She looks great with her pink gown and all that! I’m sure if Thomas wasn’t gay, she wou–

Roman was interrupted by a scream. They all jumped in unison. Patton didn’t waste a minute and ran toward the source of the sound, Roman and Logan following him closely. It was coming from Virgil’s room. Patton tried to open the door, but it was locked. He insisted, but the door wouldn’t move an inch. Noises were still coming from the room, but they were decreasing in volume. What started with loud screams were now groans of pain. Logan told Patton to move away from the door and then told Roman to break the door. Roman charged the door, his shoulder in front of him. It took three tries before the door finally broke.

When they entered the room, they saw the anxious trait lay on his bed. His sheet and pillows were all over the place. Patton rushed to his side. Contrarily to what they expected, there wasn’t an ounce of pain on Virgil’s face. However, he was dangerously pale, even more than usual. His eyeshadow had increased, now covering half of his cheeks. It was hard to distinguish if he was dead or asleep just by looking at him. Logan looked for vital signs, and fortunately, Virgil’s heart was still beating. Patton was panicking at his son’s sight. He didn’t know what to do, all he could do was to look at Logan, with the hope he would know what to do. Logan’s mind was rushing. He had to make a plan quickly. He wondered what could’ve affected the anxious trait like this. More importantly, what would affect only him and not also them. Then, Logan had a flash.

- Patton. I want you to go see Thomas and ask him if he took some medication or something else in particular today.

The moral trait didn’t waste a minute and sank to appear in Thomas’ living room. Five minutes later, he came back with a little bottle of pills. Patton informed them immediately of Thomas’ condition.

- Thomas is on the floor, suffering, his hands on his head. He screamed to me to go away when I tried to approach him… I found this bottle of pills next to him, I think it may be the culprit…

Logan recognized the package immediately. He took it from Patton’s hands and read the description to confirm his thoughts. Roman was trying to read over his shoulder.

- Are those… the anxiety pills that Thomas’ doctor prescribed him? I thought he had decided to not take them because he was too afraid it would affect Virgil badly?!

- It seems that something made him change his mind…

Logan’s mouth was dry as he continued to read the bottle.

- The pills are too strong. The quantity isn’t adequate for Thomas’ body size. It isn’t working properly. Instead of calming Thomas’ anxiety, it’s destroying it, harming Thomas in the process.

Patton couldn’t retain his tears anymore. His panic only grew at Logan’s words.

- Logan, what do we do?! How can we help them?!

Logan was staring at Virgil, helplessly.

- I don’t… know what to do. The damage had been done, Thomas took the pills. Virgil may be scarred permanently.

Patton had his hands in his hair, almost pulling them out. He refused to accept this as reality. Next to him, Logan didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. It was stronger than what he felt earlier that day. Not knowing if the anxious trait would ever wake up was tearing him apart. Not knowing was scary.

Suddenly, Roman screamed that he knew what to do. The two men were now looking at him, interested and desperate.

- A kiss from a prince! It always works in Disney movies!

And before anyone could say anything, Roman kissed Virgil on the lips.

Nothing happened. Virgil was still on his bed unconscious. Patton quickly went next to Roman and slapped the back of his head.

- THE HELL ROMAN?! You can’t just go around and kiss unconscious people like that?!

- I JUST WANTED TO HELP!

- WHAT IS UP WITH PRINCES AND LACK OF CONSENT?! BESIDES, it ONLY works in Disney movies because of TRUE LOVE kiss! Have you forgotten that part?!

Patton and Roman continued to argue, but Logan didn’t listen to them. He was staring at Virgil, his mind still trying to figure out a solution. Something had withheld his attention in Roman’s words. Love? Was it the name of the sensation he felt every time he saw Virgil? But it was illogical. Why would he feel such emotion? He was Thomas’ logical side. He wasn’t suppose to feel emotions, even less love? He remembered Patton telling him one day that emotions weren’t always logical, especially love. He didn’t understand then, and he still felt like he didn’t understand. But the burning sensation in his chest was very much real. And as the second passed, it only seemed to grow. His eyes were now staring at his lips. True love kiss, eh? It wasn’t like he had other ideas.

He leaned forward and hesitated a second has he approached Virgil’s face. But then he did. He kissed the anxious trait. He had never kissed anyone before, so his kiss was clumsy and shy, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was like the sensation in his chest was exploding. He felt like his whole body temperature had raised.

But then, Virgil kissed back. Surprised, Logan opened his eyes widely. He saw that the anxious trait’s face had regained his colors. He was back. Tears fell from Logan’s eyes and he closed them again, enjoying their moment. Virgil had raised his hand and put it on Logan’s cheek. They were kissing passionately. When they broke apart to regain their breath, they kept their faces close, feeling the other’s breath on their lips. They slowly opened their eyes and gaze into each other eyes. Logan had never felt anything so intense, it was a little overwhelming, but he didn’t want it to stop. Virgil was looking at him, like he was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He smiled, thinking he was looking ridiculous. He wasn’t in pain anymore. He felt lightweight. Logan smiled back, and he could only think of how cute Virgil was looking. He whispered that he should smile more often, making the purple dressed man blush.

It was at this moment that the two other sides noticed them. Patton was squeaking with joy, both because Virgil was moving again and because they were adorable together. Roman, on the other hand, was making offended noises. He was grumbling that it was his idea. Patton then puts his hand on his mouth to make him shut up, not wanting him to ruin Logan and Virgil’s moment.

The logical trait and the anxious one then hug. Virgil took the opportunity to whisper in Logan’s ear.

- I’m sorry if I worried you…

- It doesn’t matter anymore. Besides, it wasn’t your fault.

- It kinda was… I… pushed Thomas to take the pills…

- And why’s that, my stormcloud?

Virgil couldn’t help but blush harder at the nickname. He also didn’t answer the question. He didn’t know if he was ready to speak to someone else about his self destructive issues. Logan understood by his silence and broke their embrace. He looked at him in his eyes, their faces still close to each other.

- It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it yet. Right now, I’m just glad to have you back.

Virgil thanked him with a shy smile and he whispered something that made Logan blush deeply.

- Thank you Logan… For bringing me back… I love you…

After his initial shock, Logan smiled, tears of joy that he didn’t understand menacing to fall.

- I love you too Virgil.

2134 words

[peculiarbob]

Desolate Souls and Broken Minds

Chapter 3: Good as Dead

Chapter 2: The Dream

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Side note: The next chapter won’t come out for a little while because I can only write on the weekends (School started up again) But I’ll try to work quick.

Word count: 2130

Summary: Tim is even more stressed now that Cas brought Jessica to the bunker to help out. Despite him not wanting her to stay she objects. Things don’t get better when Jack goes missing only to return with disturbing news.

I go to the bathroom and lock the door behind me. The icy cold water washes over my face as a relieving sense of reality finally hits me. This wasn’t part of the dream. I look at my tired face in the mirror. My eyes now have dark bags beneath them, my unkempt dark brown hair was now stuck to my soaked face. My once clean shaven face with sideburns, now sported a messy beard and mustache. I wash my face once more before heading out to confront Jessica and Castiel. I put on my best “I don’t want to cry, I’m emotionally stable” face and walk out.

“Look, Jessica, you probably have some questions.” she nods in response.

“Where are we, who are all these people, what’s going on?”

“This is the bunker, it’s their home, it’s somewhere in Kansas. I’m not sure where exactly, I was kidnapped.” she looked concerned at the last statement, “This is Castiel, he’s an angel of the lord. There’s three more people, the short one is Jack, he’s a half angel or something, the taller one is Dean, and the tallest one is Same. They hunt monsters, yup, those exist. And, um- the creature that made all our friends go crazy, it’s back and stalking Jack. There’s also two hooded men, and one of them was spying on you. Also I became, not myself, again. Sooo, yeah.”

We all sit in silence for a little while. Jessica was obviously trying to make sense of everything I just said. I’m still trying to figure everything out.

After a little bit, she cautiously says, “Okay? Umm…. Have you taken your medications?” when I nod she says, “Are you sure?” I tell her that I did and swallow a pill in front of her to prove myself. We all sit in silence again.

“Sooo.” I say, “How’re you doing?”

“Fine. Not normal, but fine.”

With an eye roll Cas finally says, “Okay, so you’re caught up now. Are you two are the only ones who’ve encountered the creature?” Jessica bites her lip then looks at me. I lie and say yes.

“Then you need to help us. There is no lore about this thing, I’ve never even heard about it in heaven, and Jack is miserable-”

“He doesn’t know what being miserable is like.” I snap, “I’ll help, but spare me the pitiful details. Take Jessica home, she doesn’t need to get back into this mess.”

I try to regain my calm but Jessica argues with me for a while. We come to the agreement that she gets to stay in the bunker, to support Jack, but she doesn’t get involved with the actual work. Cas takes her back home to pack up then will return so she can temporarily move in. I go back to sleep, well, more like lie on my back while having the covers up to my chin out of paranoia. I don’t get any more rest for the night.

It’s now five thirty in the morning. I get up, change, take my pills, then head to the kitchen. I’m surprised to see that Jessica’s already up, she’s eating french toast covered in syrup and a large glass of milk. I head to the fridge to grab some eggs to make for breakfast.

“Morning.” Jessica calls in a soothing voice, “Got any sleep?”

“Not really. You?”

“No.”

I make scrambled eggs with bacon and a glass of milk. We eat together and catch up. Jessica has a job as a delivery driver for “Ship Cut”, nothing significant has really happened since I left, sleep still doesn’t come easily though. I then tell her most of the major events leading up to now, I left out the dream and the couple times I had a breakdown. No one needs to know those things. I try to lighten the mood but, surprise surprise, I can’t remember any good times we had together. We ended up talking about when our friends were alive.

“I’m not sure if you’ve ever met Brian. H-he was the hooded man.”

“I remember him, shame that I never got to meet him before he became that guy.”

“Yeah, he was a great guy, and the best friend I could ask for.” Neither of us said anything for a moment.

“Shame I didn’t really get to meet any of them before everything went crazy.” I nod in agreement. “What were they like?” I think back to when my life was “normal”.

“Jay was kind, an idiot don’t get me wrong, but he was always so nice to everyone. You were either a friend of Brian or you were his family.” I can feel a smile spread across my face remembering such amazing people, “Even Alex was a good guy, he put so much pride into everything he did.”

We stop the conversation when Dean walks into the room. It’s almost seven now, time sure does fly. The rest of the guys eat, Jessica heads back to her room, then we start work. We don’t have much to go off of, who am I kidding? I was the only one besides Jessica who could even try to help. If the guys who built this place were such good hunters, then why was there no information on this creature. Maybe it was all destroyed, I doubt it though. They pretty much only wanted to know what it is, what it wants, and how to kill it. I couldn’t answer any of those questions, I could give advice though.

“It seems like this place has a weird protection from the creature. For now it would be best if Jack stayed inside at all times. NEVER get close to it, don’t try to interact with it. Where is Jack anyways?” They all look around while Dean calls his name, no one answers. I’m surrounded by morons. We have to quickly pack some things, a pocket knife, a first aid kit, and my pills, then head out. It’s the middle of the day so I hope it’ll be easy to spot the kid.

It’s been about two hours! How far could he have gone?! We were only talking for about what, ten minutes? We’ve been calling his name, going down the paths he mostly goes on, walked along the road, and he doesn’t seem the type to idiotically head into danger. I can’t say the same for these three. We’re now five miles into the woods and there’s no signs of Jack. We could split up to cover more grounds like Dean suggested, but that’s obviously not a good idea. There’s strength in numbers, especially when it comes to this creature. I didn’t want to tell them the full story of what happened to me in the past, it probably would’ve helped them understand but it’s painful just thinking about it.

It’s now about three thirty and we’ve already covered a lot of the place. Sam suggested we call the someone because he’s technically a missing person. I only said no because anyone who gets involved ends up dead or missing. We start to head back with the hope that we’ll see him on the way to the bunker. By the time we got back our hopes were gone. Jessica was drinking a cup of coffee at the table while reading some of the Men of Letters’ books. When she saw that there were only four of us her expression saddened and I can see her say to herself, “Oh no.”

We were about to sit down when a knock came from the front door, I got up to open it. It was Jack. I was genuinely surprised, but nevertheless happy. But happiness soon turned to worry, his once neatly styled hair was now disheveled, he was bruised, scratched, and slightly bloodied. Everyone got up to welcome him and they looked concerned as well. Cas healed the boy then we started asking him questions.

“Where did you go? Why did you wander off like that?!” Dean asked loudly.

“Why did you look like you got into a fight?” Sam said in a concerned tone.

“Were you kidnapped?!” Cas says while handing him a cup of ice water.

He was getting visually overwhelmed. When the rest of them noticed this they stopped asking questions. Jack was rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, he looked tired as well. He drank an entire glass of water before slowly speaking.

“After breakfast I went out for a walk, I don’t know why. When I was about two miles into the woods I thought I saw something. I know you don’t like it here, Tim, so I thought I could kill it with my powers. But….” he paused for a moment, “But then someone punched me, they were strong. I couldn’t see who because my vision was blurred, but then another person started dragging me by the wrist. I could barely stay on my feet. I kept tripping over things so I couldn’t see them either. I’m sorry, I failed at this too.” He continued to tell us that the thing was getting closer and he was feeling sick, then he had to use his powers to get the two people away from him. He only ran for what felt like ten minutes but by the time he got back to the bunker hours had past.

Jessica gave him a one armed hug but while doing so, she looked at me with a concerned face. We were both asking ourselves the same thing, “Who are these people?” To be honest, Jack, Sam, Dean, and Cas are as good dead. They’re marked and we have no idea how to save them. There’s nothing we can do, I’ve decided it’s my time to leave. It’s not easy but there was no point staying an seeing them die slowly or go insane. I go to my room to start packing up.

“So you’re just gonna walk away?” I turn around to see Jessica, “You more than anyone knows that in times like these it’s best to have someone with you.”

“They have each other, they’ll be…. Well I wouldn’t say ‘fine’ but you get what I’m saying.”

“If we go the creature won’t be around them ALL of the time. Maybe it’s best we leave, I’ll get packed.” Without another word she turns around and heads to her room. When we finish packing we decide to stay one last night. Dinner was silent and awkward, and apparently Cas doesn’t eat. I can’t sleep, too many thoughts running through my mind.

Maybe Brian is one of the hooded people, but I saw his dead body. But he could’ve been acting, he was pretty good at it. What if Alex is alive and now stalking people while wearing a hoodie? Could Jay be alive? Did I take my medications? Yup I did, why am I thinking about these things? Maybe I miss my friends. If angels are real, then there’s a possibility that God and heaven exists. I hope they’re happy if they’re up there. But that’s if it does exist. I wonder if Jessica ever thinks about them? She never really got to know them though. I’m just so tired.

It’s now the morning, three thirty two to be exact. We left a note saying, “We decided to leave. The creature can’t stalk both of us all the time if we’re not in the same place. Stay safe and remember our advice. -Tim and Jessica”

It’s still dark out and our surroundings are surprisingly eerie. We quickly put our belongings in the car and start driving. We drove for about five hours before we stopped at a gas station. We both went inside to use the restroom and grab some supplies. When we got back to the car it wouldn’t move. We got out to look when I noticed something.

“Uhhh, Jessica? All the tires are slashed.”

“What? We were in there for what, five minutes?”

I notice something on the ground. I picked it up and saw, in sharpie, that oh so famous symbol, a circle with an X going through it. There was also a word written above the symbol in a scratchy font, “Skully”. I’m not sure what it means but I’m keeping it, for now I’m not going to tell Jessica. I hope Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack are alright. I stuck a post-it note on my bed with my phone number, so we can stay in contact. We have to call someone to help us out, they said it would take them about an hour before they can get to us. I swear I can see something moving along the tree line, but it’s probably my imagination.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “No Names” Part 3

When The Joker told you he found somebody else, your world shattered to pieces. But what hurt the most was the fact that he didn’t even bother to come around and see his little girls; very hard to find excuses on why their father is missing, especially when the triplets adore him. And extremely hard to cope with the gloomy future after you found out some details that might explain his estrangement.

Part 1: http://diyunho.tumblr.com/post/164355559106/the-joker-x-reader-no-names-part-1

Part 2:http://diyunho.tumblr.com/post/164854110621/the-joker-x-reader-no-names-part-2

“Mommy’s going to have another baby,” Evie whispers in Frost’s ear. He’s on the couch, waiting to drive all of you to the beach house.

“Really?” he pretends not to know, even if the triplets keep on repeating the old news every time they see him.

“Yes, it’s a girl,” Mia giggles, climbing in his lap. Emma abandons her toys and gets on the couch, starting to play with Jonny’s hair. “Daddy says he’ll have another pretty doll added to his collection,” she continues to stoke Frosts’ hair and the other two agree.

“U-hum, Daddy said she’ll be cute like us,” Mia’s eyes get big with anticipation. “I can’t wait to see her; I’ll take care of my little sister,” she decides.

“That’s great!” Jonny praises, helping Mia mount his other knee. “You will be an awesome babysitter.”

“No, I’ll take care of her!” Emma sulks while Evie whimpers, unhappy:

“No, I will!”

The inevitable bickering begins while Frost attempts to calm down the spirited little girls.

“I’m telling mommy,” Mia pushes Evie’s head.

“I’m telling daddy!” she fights back, trying to slap her sister.

“I’m telling both!” Emma pouts and you enter the living room, followed by The Joker.

“Hey, what’s going on? Why are you shouting?” you crinkle your nose and the siblings abandon their current preoccupation and run to both parents, explaining why they should take of the little one after she’s born.

“You can all take care of her, OK?” J replies, grumpy from the terrible headache he woke up with this morning. He took some pills to help out with that but no relief so far. Of course the migraine is a side effect due to all the medications he’s on; never ending issues: one thing leading to another.

There’s protesting, ponytails are being pulled, plus some more pushing around and eventually the turmoil fades once everybody steps in the elevator. The excitement of playing in the sand makes things better no matter what.

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

The girls are having fun on the beach and you joined your boyfriend on the terrace, relaxing in the huge hammock under the canopy. His head is resting in your lap, waiting for the remedy to work: you had to give him an extra dose for the migraine since the pain didn’t go away with the usual fix.

“How come there’s only one Princess in here?” J grumbles, caressing your tummy; not too big for now since you are just 5 months pregnant.

“I don’t know, but it’s exciting, isn’t it?” you cheerfully ask, knowing he’s in a bad mood.

“Yeah, it is, but only one?! I think I’m losing my touch…” he sighs and it makes you laugh:

“I doubt that’s the reason.”

He’s still frowning so you want to distract him somehow.

“You know what J ?”

“What?”

“I wanted to ask you to marry me so many times,” you smile, confessing to the actual truth.

“Why didn’t you?” The Joker looks at you, suddenly interested at your revelation.

“Well, I figured that if you wanted to marry me, you would have asked.”

“True,” he admits and you punch his shoulder.

“Not the answer I was expecting, can’t you be sweet for once?!” “I’m always sweet; the sweetest guy ever!”

“No… you’re not,” you take a deep breath and he agrees:

“Yeah…I’m not…”

You watch the children playing for a little bit and he realizes you’re still upset.

“Pumpkin?”

“Yes?” you twirl the green strands of hair around your fingers, absent minded.

“After I die and I get to the gates of hell, you know what I’m gonna say?”

You immediately want to protest against his statement but J continues.

“I’ll tell them my woman did a lot of bad things, but she should go to a better place: she put up with me and had my children so she shouldn’t follow me there. Umm…why are you crying? It’s supposed to make you laugh,” The Joker bites on his lip, confused, oblivious at your emotions. “Is it the hormones?”

“N-no…” you sniffle, struggling to bend over to kiss his forehead. “This is probably the sweetest thing that ever came out of your mouth.”

“Told you I’m a sweet guy, “ J smirks, victorious. “Are you gonna miss me?” he kisses your wrist and it makes you sadder.

“Not even for a second,” the shaky voice announces.

“Good, you shouldn’t,” he mumbles, closing his eyes and enjoying the cool breeze on his face. “But at least you’ll be left behind with my heart. Umm…can you stop crying? I’m referring to the tattoo, Kitten, all right?” J slides up your body, getting comfortable by your side. “Why are you so hormonal?” he glances at the design he was referring to, pretending not to understand your feelings.

The Joker has playing cards symbols tattooed on his fingers: spades, diamonds and clubs, but he’s missing the heart—you are the one that has the missing symbol inked on your skin, right on top of where your heart is, with the writing under it: “Mister J’s.”

“You always misunderstand what I’m saying, Y/N,” he grumbles, kind of uneasy at your tears. “Cut it out…” but his threat doesn’t even sound harsh. “What am I going to do with you, hm?... “ he wonders and wipes your cheeks which prompts more tears coming out and you cuddling to his chest.

“If you leave me I’ll never talk to you again,” the rant starts without any warning.

“Oh my God, you promise?” and you giggle through tears while the top of your head is getting covered in soft kisses. “Hey,” he gets your attention, “I don’t want you to sleep with anybody else after I die; I really think you should consider becoming a nun.”

You elbow him, laughing and crying in the same time:

“You’re an idiot,” you kiss him and J has some words for you:

“Nobody calls me that, Pumpkin! Except Godzilla,” he’s fast to add, knowing how much you hate the nickname. “Not a single soul dares fucking with the big creature.”

“Such a horrible man,” you whimper, distracted by his antiques.

“Thank you, I was hoping you’ll notice,” and he’s so satisfied with himself that he finally realizes the headache is gone. “Wanna make out?” the proposition follows and it earns criticism.

“I thought we already kind of were…”

“I was working on it, you just keep on crying! But anyway, fair warning: I don’t think I can do more than that. To my eternal shame, I’m pretty drained from my meds and I doubt more will happen,” he snarls in your ear, self-conscious about the problem.

“I just want to kiss you and hold you, honey,”  you imitate his voice and J rolls his eyes and yanks at your almost inexistent waist. “Are you using my own line?! It’s mine, find your own! And I wouldn’t be so quick to mock: you fell for it every single time; that’s how we got the kids, “ J  snickers, reminding you about the truth. “Sooo easy to trick,” he keeps on going, excited he can tease.

“Are you going to talk all day ?!” you inquire because he won’t shut up.

“I can talk for weeks,” the cocky remark bluntly comes to an end when The Joker gulps, his fingers clinging to your dress. “Shit…muscle spasms,” he groans, the pain taking over.

“Hold on!” you jump off the hammock, running inside for the treatment.

“You’re pretty fast for a pregnant woman!” J yells, trying to contain the agonizing ache taking over every inch of his being. You get back to him in a flash, worried about his condition.

“Here, take the pills,” you hand him over 3 of them with a glass of water, hoping they will work soon. J pulls you back next to him; it makes him feel better. He shivers under the pressure of his muscles involuntary contracting and digs his fingers in your back. It hurts so badly because he doesn’t realize how strong his hold is but you don’t make a sound. You’ll probably end up with bruises again, yet The Joker doesn’t do it intentionally.

His shrieky breath worries you even if this happens often.

“Do you want to go inside? It’s getting dark out here. The kids played all day, time to eat and get them ready for bed. You think you can move?”

“No, not yet,” J admits, moaning from discomfort as soon as he attempts to lift his head up.

“That’s ok, we’ll wait for a little bit then,” and you peck his temple, wishing you could take the pain away.

“What are you still doing here?” he interrupts, struggling to speak.

“Well, I’m not going inside either until you can move.”

“No, why are you still here?”

You faked not understanding what he meant but now you can’t go around the answer.

“Where else I am supposed to be? I belong here.”

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

The triplets whined until they were allowed to sleep in the master bedroom with you two. They all passed out in a matter of minutes, the small bodies curled up against yours. J is better because the meds worked, but he wasn’t able to eat anything and you hate it: he is skinnier as it is, doesn’t need to lose more weight.

“Read to me, Princess,” he stretches and repositions himself closer to you, this way he can play with your long hair.

“Let’s see what we have here,” you reach for the two books on the night stand. “We have Shelley and his love poems plus Poe and his morbid stuff,” you whisper since the girls are asleep.

“Morbid!” J is quick to choose.

“We’ll go with love,” you wink and he puffs, annoyed:

“Yuck!”

You ignore him and search for some of your favorites when he unexpectedly turns your face towards him. The Joker stares at you, debating on what he is about to utter.

“I have a list… a secret list in my mind with people I don’t hate…”

“You do?” you smile, shifting his way since it seems important; you can tell.

“Yes, and…umm… stop smiling! You and the girls didn’t make the cut!” J puckers his lips, irritated at his own disclosure.

“Oohh, that’s sad… Who’s on the list then?” you nuzzle in his neck, kissing it.

“Just Godzilla and some loud brats,” he spits out in a hurry and you giggle.

“Do they have names?” you curiously check.

“No, no names…”

“Lucky them,” you exhale, cupping his face. “Too bad me and our children are not on the list.”

J doesn’t reply and you let go, returning to your book and starting to read with such a soothing voice he relaxes right away. By the fourth poem he’s out cold and you spend another hour gazing at him, thinking how much you wish he could live forever.

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

“Morning, baby,” you yawn and touch his shoulder. “The girls have been up for a while, I’ll make coffee and breakfast should arrive soon. OK?... … …Hey, did you hear me?” you ask, panicking when he doesn’t open his eyes after you shake him. “Baby, wake up!”

But he didn’t wake up, not even after you gave him the emergency adrenaline shot. His doctors arrived at your hideout in a hurry, confirming your worst fear: The Joker slipped into a coma and there is no way to know if/when he will come out of it. The news broke your heart and it was very difficult to explain to the triplets:

“Daddy…won’t wake up anymore,” and you try so hard not to cry. “But he might at one point and in the meantime we’ll pretend he’s awake and continue to speak to him, allright?”

The kids looked at each other, then at you, then at him, not comprehending the severity of what was announced to them.

“Is daddy very tired?” Evie asks, puzzled.

“Yes, honey, he is, that’s why he’s resting,” you sadly smile, checking his IV line. Since J can’t take oral medications anymore, everything was converted to liquids, including the nutrients he needs. You decided to stay at the beach because he loves the ocean and maybe hearing the waves crashing on the beach might help.

“What is this?” Emma walks in the front of the heart monitor that keeps on beeping, which prompts the other two siblings to do the same.

“That’s daddy’s heart,” you explain so they can understand.

“Waaahhh,” Mia is amazed and gets on her toes to see better. She kisses the screen, snickering, followed by her sisters.

Such innocence, you think, wiping a rebel tear.

“Who wants to give daddy a massage?” the offer gets their attention and they all jump on the bed, fighting. “Me!”

“No, me!”

“Your nurses will oblige your every whim,” you peck his forehead. “If they are too loud, you just have to wake up and say so… … …No? Well then, I guess you’ll have to deal with your daughters chewing your ears off. Enjoy!”

-- “Oh my God, she’s kicking so hard! I think she may have a party going on in here,” you keep his right hand on your bump since the other one is hooked to the IV pole. “I am pretty big now, almost there with the pregnancy. You’re missing on the fun…” you keep on yapping like you always do. Sometimes you even answer for him.

“Don’t you wanna ask me if I’m auditioning for Godzilla’s part in the next movie?...No…? It’s your opportunity to tease me again, I know you want to…Wow, that’s a first! How come you’re so mellow? Rawwrrr!” you roar, even if you know it’s no use. “Hey, that was pretty funny, you can at least laugh… Uhhhh…” you give up, glaring at the spinning fan on the ceiling. “You’ve been like this for almost 4 months, aren’t’ you bored? You get bored easily… … … Anyway, I’m gonna read you something now. Morbid or love?”

After no reaction from his side, you decide.

“We’ll go with morbid, your favorite. Stephen King or Poe?... … … Poe you say? Your wish is my command,” and you start reading to him, being so tired you can barely see the words.

-- “I think I’ll have to find me another boyfriend,” you huff, injecting his weekly shot in his arm. “I am not becoming a nun so I will have to sleep with somebody else. If you don’t agree, you just have to wake up and say so… … … No? I thought you cared. Oh, well, your loss,” and then the remorse takes over.

“I’m not going to find another boyfriend, ok? You’re lucky I like you…” and looking at his face makes you aware of how much you miss him. “If you want to let go…you can…” you bite your cheek, sniffling but you change your mind in an instant. “If you dare doing this to me and the girls, I’ll hate you forever! I’m not joking!!” 

-- You are so worn out you fell asleep at the dinner table. Your people brought over food and you took a few bites, then just dozed off. The girls didn’t notice but Frost did since he was there. He had to carry you in the bedroom and tucked you in. That’s when he decided he should speak up. The next day you heard about it:

“Y/N, you need help.”

“With what?”

“You’re exhausted: you’ll have your baby soon, you’re taking care of the girls and Mister J. There are so many of us, we can help you.”

“This is my family, my responsibility, got it?” you raise your voice, irked.

“I wasn’t suggesting otherwise,” Jonny pacifies your outburst. “But if you get sick, Mister J will kill us all.”

You bite on your nails and he has a suggestion:

“Would you prefer…just me to help with Mister J?”

You softly sigh, indirectly answering his question:

“It’s…it’s hard for me to turn him.” “I can do that,” he nods and you agree by not replying.

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

“Here’s your new Princess,” you place the newborn on his chest, wrapping his arm around her and holding it in place since he can’t do it himself. “ She is absolutely adorable, don’t you want to see her?... … … Open your eyes and look at your daughter…No? Hm, that’s pretty heartless, even for you. Oh, wait, never mind, I have your heart, I forgot,” you look down the cleavage at your tattoo. “Still, this is no excuse…I decided on the name Amelia and we can go with Amy from there. If you don’t like the name, all you have to do is wake up and tell me so… … Going once, going twice….Amelia it is then,” you kiss the little head then his lips.

-- The triplets are mesmerized by the new addition to the family. They all want to hold her and be her favorite. They get in such fights and it drives you nuts, but in a good way.

“This is my sister!” Evie struggles to get in front of the line formed around the crib. (The crib is in the master bedroom because you want The Joker to hear his little girl.)

“No, she’s mine!” Mia slaps Evie’s hand, trying to climb inside.

“No-oooo, Amelia’s mine!” Emma takes over and the newborn fusses from the ruckus.

“Ssssttt, don’t wake her up!” you admonish the triplets and they listen, disappointed they can’t play with their new favorite toy.

-- When Amy cries at night, you gently kick J.

“It’s your turn, go!... … Don’t try to get out of it!... No?... You owe me big!” and you get out of bed, dragging your feet on the floor, wishing you could nap more than 2 hours at a time. “Your turn to be on diaper duty, Mister King of Gotham,” you point out, upset. “Don’t think I don’t know you are doing this on purpose to skip your turn! So rude…” you mutter, actually being upset because the new meds J is on don’t do too much so far and he’s still in a coma. Very frustrating. There is no cure for his disease, but at least you want him awake.

“You know what? I’m leaving you! I’m taking Amelia and the triplets and we’re out of here! See how you like to be alone!” you threaten, mad at everything, finishing up your task. You suddenly realize the heart monitor intensified its beeping and you freeze. You place her back in the crib and rush to his side. His chest is going up and down fast and you hold his hand, distressed.

“Did you hear me?... Baby, did you hear me?... We’re not leaving, I was just saying! Calm down, we’re not going anywhere…” you start kissing his face all over. It takes about 5 more minutes before the heartbeat goes back to normal.

The doctors couldn’t guarantee that his reaction was due to your ultimatum but they said it’s not impossible. That was the first feedback you ever got since the morning he didn’t wake up anymore.

-- You slide the wedding band on his ring finger, taking advantage of the state he’s in and you’re not even sorry.

“There, if you don’t want it, have the courage to say it to my face. If you don’t protest, I am thinking that you want it…Yes?... Well, then, you can keep it. Looks sexy on you, I must state the obvious here. … … Did you add Amelia to that list of yours? You should…unless she won’t make the cut either…I wish you would open your eyes to see how cute she is. Don’t you miss all of us? I assume you do but you are too stubborn to do something about it…” and you continue, briefing The Joker about the plans you’ve been working on for a while. “Tonight we raid “Excell” laboratories, they are experimenting on a medication I want for you… But the catalyst that it needs to be combined with it’s made in Japan; we’ll definitely get that one too as soon as possible. Don’t worry about a thing, I told you: you will live forever. Babysit the girls, ok? You’ll have help from our men, just in case…“

-- Your henchmen are scattered all over the building, scavenging everything they can get their hands on. You can’t be in there for too long; even if you took care of the alarm, you can’t risk lingering in the medical facility.

You broke into the lab alone and found what you needed; just stashed the vials in a suitcase when you realize you are being watched from the far corner of the room.

“Of course you would show up, you always know, don’t you?” you back out, pointing your gun at The Batman. He doesn’t say a word, but takes a few steps towards you.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” and that crazy grin on your face makes him halt. “We are getting out of here and I am taking this with me ! Don’t even dream about being a hero tonight!”

Suddenly, explosions are heard in the distance, and they are coming closer and closer until a big detonation shakes the building, making the windows crack.

“That was close,” you chuckle. “Across the street to be precise.”

Alarms start blaring in the background, turmoil and chaos fastly increasing on the streets.

“All the places were empty, consider it… a professional courtesy,” you growl, backing out more. “The next ones won’t be, I made sure of that. Do you want your precious Gotham citizens to die? If we don’t leave safe and unharmed, it all goes to shit!!!”

That mask hides any trace of emotion he might have but the distorted voice echoes in the lab.

“What you have it’s useless without the catalyst. Why bother?”

“I’ll get it somehow! Now stay there and don’t move or we blow up more!”

You exit the room, not turning your back on The Batman until he is out of sight.

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

A week passed by and the medication from Japan that needs to be combined with what you stole from “Excell” laboratories is still not in your possession. You are running out of patience.

“Y/N, our courier from East Gotham dropped this box about an hour ago. It has your name on it; were you waiting for a shipment?”

“No,” you signal him to come on the porch. Amelia is in a small crib outside, sleeping, and the girls are having fun digging a big hole in the sand. “What is this?”

“Not sure, but he said he was given to him by our West Gotham courier.”

“Weird, I wonder what…” and your heart stops when you open the sealed box and see the small typed note on top of a metal container. “Consider it a professional courtesy.”

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

J blinks a few times, wincing in pain, his mind cloudy and confused. He has no idea what’s going on and after being in a coma for months, he’s incapable of speaking or moving too much. He feels the weight on his chest and barely manages to look down, noticing his three month old daughter sleeping on him, sucking on her thumb. The Joker struggles to turn his head to his right to see you are sleeping also, still holding the book you read to him tonight, completely passed out with the triplets snuggled to your body.

His eyelids are so heavy that he gives in, having one single thought in mind before dozing off with the rest of his family:

I think I’m gonna live forever...

Also read: MASTERLIST

http://diyunho.tumblr.com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

[nanalikessurveys]

Do you plan on having children in the future?

Perhaps, i don’t like to think that far tho How big is your house? My apartment is pretty Small Do you believe that the world will actually end? Yes i do but i don’t want to think about it now Describe your handwriting: I write cursive but like neat cursive not like crazy cursive lol Can you speak any other languages than your first language? English and swedish. Swedish is kinda meh though, i wish i could speak and understand it better If you could speak another, which would it be? French What is one trend you think is stupid? 
I don’t really keep up with trends because none come to my mind Do you ever watch any soap operas? I used to watch that one finnish soap opera but i stopped watching it couple years ago, too much drama lol Do you ever get goodnight or good morning texts from people? Nope

What color are the pants you’re wearing? I have dark green undies, not wearing pants When did you last go to the doctor and what for? Couple months ago for my monthly “check-up” or whatever you call it. it’s because i have medication that needs to be monitored every now and then Are you socially awkward? Yep, it sucks Would you rather watch a comedy movie or horror movie? Horror movie, i usually don’t watch comedy movies Who is your favorite actor/actress? Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks etc. If you could choose one holiday to live over and over, which would it be? Christmas maybe Do you know where your family came from? My dad is from the northern part of Finland, my mom comes from the middle part of Finland If you could choose to be any mythical character, which would you choose? Idk, i don’t really know any great mythical characters

Where are both of your parents right at this moment? Both of them probably at home, at least my mom is Have you ever seen a movie so ridiculous you couldn’t watch the rest? V/H/S lol that movie was SO bad Does it make you angry when people text short messages back? 
Not if i’m not expecting a long answer How old are your siblings? 

26

What is your favorite animal and why? Cats because they are independent, smart and beautiful Do you find yourself on Youtube a lot? Pretty much everyday What was the last thing you scratched? Lol i don’t remember How many people can you fully rely on without fault? 
Two Are you satisfied with your gender? 
Yes Have you ever kept a successful diary before? Yes, i love writing to my diary/journal Which types of make up do you use? Primer, Foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, highlighter, eyebrow color, eyebrow gel, mascara, lashes aaaand sometimes eyeshadow, eyeliner and lipstick. Lol struggles of being ugly What was the last thing you drank? Apple juice that was way too sweet, never buying that again Are you good at admitting your problems? Sure Have you ever had a hangover? 
No What is something you’re looking for in the next three months? Ummm, i don’t know What time do you normally go to sleep on week days? 11pm to 2am What color are the shoes you’re wearing? 
I’m not wearing any shoes What’s something you normally cannot spell on your own? Lot of english words, when i do these surveys i have always another tab with google in it just to check if i’m spelling them correctly lol Looks or personality? Which is more important to you? 
Personality Do you know any strippers?  No

How many times have you dyed your hair? Plenty What is your biggest fear in life? Outer space is one of them Do you hate when movies are split into two parts? 
Not really What is something that reminds you of your childhood? Some smells weirdly remind me of my childhood Do you think you eat healthy? I try to at least When was the last time you kissed someone? Last year Would you say you’re a good cook? I wouldn’t If so, what is your favorite thing to cook?

When was the last time you took a shower? 
This morning Can you say your alphabet backward or not? Yes, easy If you have a Facebook, how long have you had it? I don’t anymore, i had it for a year or so and then i deleted my account Are you sick quite often or hardly at all? Really rarely If you had to choose, what color is your favorite? 
Pastel blue How many times have you dated the person you’re with now? I’m single Is there anything exciting happening tomorrow? Just gonna meet my mom downtown Are you an organized person? I wouldn’t call myself that Has anyone suspected you of being a different sexuality? I guess lot of people think i’m straight? i haven’t really told many people that i’m bi Do you like chocolate or vanilla cake more? 
Chocolate cake Do you tend to judge people before you get to know them? Not always, but sometimes. i’m a human being we all do that Do you fall asleep at school quite often? 
Never did that When was the last time you had blood drawn? A month ago Does it bother you to have blood drawn or not so much? No i’ve gotten used to it. but sometimes i get a little dizzy What show do you miss coming on television? H2O, lol What color is your toothbrush? Black and gold cos i’m fancy like that Who would you say is your best friend at the moment? I have one friend and she’s my best friend How long have you two been best friends? About 8 years What would you say is one word to describe your personality? Silly Do you have mood swings? Sometimes i guess When was the last time you cried? This week Are you an impatient person? Very Do you ever wish on 11:11 or do you think it’s a sham? No, i don’t really see the point because i don’t believe in any of that Are you the kind of person who has headaches a lot? 
No i rarely get headaches What color are your nails painted right now, if any? Maroon Do you like dressing up for Halloween and other festivities? I don’t Has your cell phone ever rung in class? Yes it has but it was always on silent Do you sometimes think you aren’t as fortunate as others? Sometimes, yes Do you think any of your friends are whores? No i would never call her that but she has done some things some people would consider as that Have you ever tried opening your eyes underwater? No but i’ve tried. I just get really scared and can’t do it How much do you text on your phone, on average? Alot, just alot Do you think you have a good relationship with your parents? Yes, especially with my mom. i have a good relationship with my dad as well but we see eachoter rarely sooo Would you rather have a cat or a dog? 
 Cat Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? Yes, once

Are you better at grammar or math? 
 Grammar Are you a paranoid person? I can be Look out the nearest window. What do you see? Just darkness and some lights Has someone betrayed you lately? No What would you say is your favorite type of flower? I don’t know, i’m not really into flowers. roses are fine Is there anyone who constantly compliments you? No Are you good at expressing your feelings? Hahaha nooo Is there anything you wish you could be doing right now? SLEEPING, i have to wake up early tomorrow and its 30minutes past midnight already What color are your bed sheets? Light blue What are you asking for, for Christmas this year? I don’t know yet When was the last time you went out to eat? Friday Do you normally fall asleep fast or slow? Fast and i love it, i hate just rolling in bed trying to get sleep Does the majority of your wardrobe consist of jeans or sweatpants? Neither, leggings How many times a day do you brush your teeth? 
1 to 2 Do you have a hint of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Nope Who do you text the most? My best friend What exactly was the last text you sent? I asked her where does these thoughts come from haha Do you ever feel like just laying down and giving up? Yes Have you ever lied about your age? Yes i have, when this creepy older guy once came to hit on me, i told him that i’m fourteen even tho i was eighteen so he could leave me alone. and guess what? he didn’t. he kept asking for my number and then i just jumped on the next bus that came by LOL Lied about your name? 
No