#the other two promptly died. so i got a game over and had to do it again lmao

[danielnelsen]

suffered through that whole fight with the forge monster thing and then got an achievement for killing it without using the forge 😭😭😭 i wasn’t trying to make the fight harder, i just forget you can do interesting things in this game

[ladykailitha]

Of Butterflies and Backstrokes Part 1

Welcome to my other AU that I couldn't wait until September to show you all. I know, I know the closing ceremonies for the Olympics are tomorrow, which is another reason to get this in before all the fanfare dies.

Summary: When a freak accident at his third Olympics left him with migraines and a fear of deep water, Steve thought his Olympic dreams were dead—until delinquent Eddie Munson arrived at his pool to do community service. Steve witnesses Eddie's swimming talent and realizes his dreams don't have to be over. Now it's a race to get Eddie Olympic ready in two years. Steve's going for gold, but Eddie might have other interests in mind.

~I know I forgot to post the results of the poll regarding which time period to set this story in. But I got the notification on my phone while I was busy and by the time I got to my laptop, I forgot. And kept forgetting.

Most people wanted Eddie's Olympics to be in 2004 but after talking to people in the tags and comments, I decided on 2012 instead. Sorry about that.

~

Steve Harrington grew up with parents who pushed him hard in everything he did. He had to be the best at playing the piano, basketball, baseball, singing, formal dancing, and swimming. But of all those things Steve excelled at swimming the best. Because once he put his cap on over his ears, the roar of the crowd dimmed and then vanished the second he hit the water.

Those other things? Suddenly no longer mattered because Steve wasn’t just good at swimming, he was brilliant. From when he first started competing when he was eleven there was always talk about the Olympics. Always the Olympics.

So it was something he was being pushed toward. World Championships and other competitions were just trials for the Olympics as far his father was concerned.

His father. Clint Harrington, who had never worked hard for anything in his life, who had his job handed to him by his dad, who was a raging, frat boy narcissist who drank his weight in alcohol before he was even twenty-one. Who collected guns but never shot one in his life and didn’t even know how to load one. The man who decided that because his life was soft, his son’s could not be.

When he got fifth at the Olympics at age fourteen everyone was amazed and even a little shocked. Clint Harrington was disappointed. Even though everyone knew that boys his age were still growing and changing and once he had settled into his body, he would do more than just medal, he would take home gold.

Which is exactly what happened his second Olympics. He was eighteen and just coming into his own. He walked away with three silver medals, four gold, and a bronze. The bronze is what upset Clint Harrington the most.

How dare he only take third! The audacity!

Where was his mother in all this? Maureen Harrington was bragging at all her country clubs, charity dos that her son was an Olympic gold medalist. Never mind her friends had never met him. That they saw more of him on their TV then she had since he turned ten. That was when she decided that he was big enough to handle himself and promptly stopped interacting him.

Clint hadn’t even noticed, he was so focused on making sure Steve won at any cost. He hired the best coaches, built a swimming pool in the backyard, drove him to all his meets, all of it; just so Steve could be the best at any cost.

There was only one line Clint didn’t cross, which honestly surprised everyone who knew him. He didn’t suggest Steve dope up. Steve wasn’t sure if it was because he was a coward and was afraid Steve would get caught, or if he just merely thought Steve could be pushed into perfection without them.

But he was always grateful that it was the one line Clint Harrington refused to cross.

And then it happened. It was 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Steve was poised to break several records and win a staggering amount of medals. He was in eight events and everyone was expecting him to medal in every one of them.

But the only things he broke that year, was his head, his hopes, his dreams, and his spirit. For in the very first event the jump board he was on, slipped out from under him as jumped. His head hit the side of the pool and he sunk like a stone to the bottom.

He didn’t remember much, the roar of the crowd turned to screams, the sicking crunch as his head hit the side and then the rush of water all around him as he sunk, weightless to eternity.

When he woke up, all Steve was left with was migraines and a fear of large bodies of water.

His dad walked away that day and he never saw him again.

~

Two Years Later

Eddie Munson was in deep trouble and he knew it. He had been arrested with enough weed on him to know it wasn’t for personal use. Possession with intent to sell. Thank god it happened two weeks before his eighteenth birthday otherwise he’d be facing real jail time and not.. community service?

Wait, what?

He was expecting probation at the very least. But nope. He was sentenced to five hundred hours of community service as it was his first offense, he had a troubled childhood, and apparently the God damned Chief of Police on his side. Who had said that he was a good kid who protected the weak and participated in afterschool programs to help teach them math, creative writing, cooperative skills, troubleshooting, and time management.

Eddie’s lawyer told him before Hopper was to testify at his sentencing hearing that he could not laugh, could not chuckle, could not even so much as snort or smile. When Eddie asked why, he was told he couldn’t be told that or else it would be seen as influencing his testimony. And then Hopper got up on the stand and said that.

D&D. Eddie DM’ed D&D after school. Jesus Christ did it take everything he had not to show any emotion at all.

Five hundred hours was nothing to slouch at. It came out to roughly three months. And he could only work eight hour days. He had barely graduated high school by the skin of his teeth and a fair amount of flattery.

Chief Hopper came to pick him up personally for his first day of community service.

Eddie came barreling out of his trailer only to stop in his tracks when he saw Hopper leaning up against his pickup truck arms folded and ankles crossed.

“Chief,” he said dryly. “To what do I owe this rather dubious pleasure?”

“Get in the truck, boy,” Hop growled. “I’m doing your uncle a favor and making sure you actually show up. And I will be taking you every day. You’ll work five days a week for eight hours a day. You will have three people sign off on your sheet every day. Me, Joyce Byers, and your direct supervisor, Murray Bauman. Every god damn day. Because if you miss one signature, one day and you’ll be thrown in jail. Do. You. Understand?”

Eddie gulped.

He nodded and quietly moved around the truck to get in on the passenger side, head down and shoulders rounded. He didn’t utter a single word the whole trip. He just followed Hopper through the doors and into Joyce’s office.

Sitting behind the desk was a lovely woman with kind eyes, standing beside her was a balding man with beady eyes behind thick glasses. Eddie hadn’t liked the sight of him at all. He just hoped the guy didn’t make his already miserable life even worse.

Joyce broke down all his duties, when he could take breaks and a lunch, and that those would be included in his service hours. He would get access to all the facilities but with the proviso that if a client wanted what he was using, he would have to give it to them.

Whatever that meant.

“Come on,” she finished. “Let me show you around, then Murray will spend all of today training you.”

She stood up and Eddie immediately followed.

“Hopper will sign you in,” Joyce explained, handing a clipboard with his time sheet on it and a pen to the police chief.

He signed it and handed it back to her, she put it on her desk.

“Then Murray and I will sign it when you’re done for the day,” she continued as she moved around the desk. “You are allowed sick days but only five, unless signed off by a doctor.”

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief on that one. He got hay fever something fierce in early September and there were some days that it got so bad he couldn’t see.

All three men followed her out the door. Hopper stopped in front of it.

“This is where I get off,” he said gruffly. “You’ll have to find your own way home as I’ll be at work when you get done.”

Eddie nodded. He shook hands with him and watched as he left.

Joyce smiled at Eddie brightly. “Let’s go.”

She showed him where all the equipment was and that he was charged with wiping it all down once an hour. They continued on and suddenly he heard it.

A sound he had not heard in years.

The sound of kids’ playful screams echoing around the sounds of splashing water. Holy shit, Uncle Wayne, he thought nervously. What did you do for the Chief of Police, hide a body?

Joyce opened the door and led Eddie through the humid air and strong scent of chlorine, pointing out his duties. Which included mopping the floors and grabbing the great big laundry baskets that held the complimentary towels to be taken to washed and also restock them every morning.

Eddie was practically vibrating now. Yeah, sure it was shit grunt work that was meant to be deliberately demeaning, but he got access to the pool. He would be able to swim again and for more than just a couple of times a summer where they would have free swim days when it got too hot.

They got to the end of the tour and Joyce turned around to face him, clapping her hands together.

“So you ready to get to work?”

Eddie sighed. Because yeah that part still sucked. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“That’s the spirit!” she said with a laugh.

~

Steve stepped out of the showers and toweled off the best he could, throwing his white trainer polo on.

Because this pool was in Indianapolis where Olympic trials had been held more than a couple of times, it had the best of services for swimmers that could be offered. You had the standard lifeguards in the red polos, the coaches in the blue polos, and the trainers like him in white. It was supposed to be patriotic, but there were far too many countries that had the red, white, and blue color scheme for Steve to do anything but scoff at the notion.

What was the difference between a trainer and a coach? Well it depended on who you asked. If you asked a trainer, they would tell you age. They taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes.

If you asked a coach? They would tell that trainers only taught coaches inspired. They brought out the best in their students, fostered a love of water, and coached them in competitions.

They also had state of the art facilities, too. A kiddie pool, two Olympic sized swimming pools, an outdoor pool and water park, and even an endless pool.

Steve loved the endless pool. It was fifteen feet long and eight feet wide with a current that you could change the speed on so you could build up strength and endurance. It was how he unwound every day.

He stepped out of the men’s changing rooms and smiled at his assistant trainer, Robin Buckley who was waiting for him.

“You ready for another day of screaming, terrified children?” she asked with a grin, slinging one arm around his shoulders.

He returned her grin.

“You better believe it!”

~

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Also on the 14th, I'll be throwing myself a birthday party on my new Discord server for my writing. Link here. Come join me, ask questions about me or my work. I like to chat. I'll still be doing WIP Wednesday but a more informal vibe in Discord, too.

Tag list: TEN SLOTS REMAINING

1-@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

[a-manicured-lawn]

So. Wind and Spirit as Sages with Secret Stones. It probably wouldn't make sense but I think the NotTwins having those things has good potential for both crack and angst.

OKAY

OHHHHHKAY

you've made me roll this around in my brain for a WHILE anon and i'm going to go HAM (long enough to need a 'keep reading')

to start with, we need to know their magic types. we've got several such as Time, Wind, Spirit, Lightning, Gloom, Light, Water, and Fire. for obvious reasons, Wind and Spirit will be the ones we'll focus on today considering it's both these Links' names and the best matches for their personality and game usages.

the Wind secret stone has the ability to create gusts, right? WRONG. The gusts were already made by Tulin before he got the Stone, and the stone allowed for the avatar summoning and possibly enhancement of the power. By the same token, Wind's secret Stone would of course be Spirit Wind, and his control over the wind would be enhanced since that's his original usage of the element. depending on how juiced up he is, it's possible that he wouldn't necessarily need the Wind Waker to direct the breeze if he had a Secret Stone on board, but that means he'd be able to create an avatar to help Wild out.

Spirit, obviously, would be getting a new ability with his Secret Stone. In canon lore Spirit has no connection to ghostiness aside from seeing the dead similar to Wind, but i personally like to add the concept that Spirit can, in fact, separate soul from body at will alongside his Zelda. This Secret Stone could perhaps be the reason for this gift, allowing him to "die" at will and use his soul to possess Phantoms, scout around, and ignore anyone who tries to put him on bedrest. it's not as flashy as, say, Wind's, but it's still both impressive and useful and can be used for a variety of situations (until someone's got a bug net!).

now that we've got the whole concept of their powers mapped out, though, we have to figure out why, exactly, these two children have world-ending power in the palm of their hand. You mentioned Crack, you mentioned Angst, and both are so delicious that there's no reason why we can't do both.

Following the defeat of Ganondorf, there are a LOT of Secret Stones hanging around. Mineru's, Ganondorf's, Zelda's, and the Sages depending on whether they'd be asked to give them up. Naturally, the safest place for these extra stones would be with someone who's uninterested in them, i.e. Wild and his Purah Pad/Sheikah Slate. who cares about power, he's got Recall and unlimited bombs at the same time!

Crack: Everyone is hanging around the campfire, chatting and having a great time. They get into a conversation as to the most impressive things all of them can do, with Wind loudly declaring that he's got the Wind Waker and is thus the flashiest and most epic Hero of them all. Spirit is next to him, quietly knowing that he doesn't have all that impressive of items himself without his train.

Since they're both kids, everyone gives them a patronizing "Sure, Jan." and ignores them. And. Well. Wild *does* tend to love his brothers.

Wind insists on a demonstration of his coolness, and Wild decides to have some fun. As he pulls out the Wind Waker, Wild taps him on the ankle with one of the Stones. the light breeze turns into a blistering gale with a loud yelp, and the Stone makes an ankle band to tie it to the new Sage Of Winds!

Cue Wild cackling in the background, tapping the other one to Spirit. THAT one goes even worse, as the new Sage of Spirit promptly dies as soon as the Stone touches him. there is a LOT of panic, a hundred apologies, and a very excited Hero once Spirit learns he can do it on command.

The Sages are both delighted at their new powers, refusing to take them off and using them for minor inconveniences. Thanks to Timeline Shenanigans they can even turn back time to TotK, saving Link in the nick of time from Aerocudas or angry Constructs and vanishing with a cheeky salute or a shy wave. if this particular Wild went to LU before TotK, that would throw him WELL off his game even after both boys had vanished.

Meanwhile, over in Lurelin, two young boys kick back with virgin banana dacquiris and watch the boat races while comparing the speed of a boat to the speed of a train. Neither win, of course, considering that there are no trains in TotK (hmpf.)

Angst: Within Zonai architecture, twin dragons have always been a recurring motif. Some pieces, like the Shock head, tend to look like the dragons Wild has seen in his adventures. Farosh, Dinraal, Naydra.... Zelda.

But for the rest, Wild has never seen these twin dragons before. An architectural liberty, perhaps? or a memory of dragons long-vanished?

It's only during a particularly ugly bout with the Black Lizalfos that he discovers exactly why. As a club shatters his leg and the Twins rush over to cover him, he sees them both shoot glances at each other.

At the twin Secret Stones, lying placidly on their wrists.

He can't do more than whimper out "no!" as one twin, then the other protect each other as they grab the stones from their holders.

Then, as one, swallow.

Twin Heroes no more as the shockwave obliterates the nearby monsters and Twin Dragons rise into the sky with simultaneous howls.

(cue an epic quest for them to revive their brothers, because if it happened for Zelda once then Wild is NOT giving up.)

hhhhhhholy fuck this went on longer than i expected. Surprise?

if you want to write any of this be my guest!

[crazyunsexycool]

Heart’s Munition

Chapter 2

Pairing: mob boss!Steve Rogers x maid single mom!Reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warning: sick child but nothing descriptive, implied death of a child, Peter Parker being a sweetheart, argument

Series masterlist

Peter Parker has had to do a lot of shady things to get in his boss’ good graces. He was young and had a lot to prove. Still he wasn’t a fan of what his boss had just asked him to do because he liked you. You were both close in age although he had just turned twenty-one and you were older by four years. There was always this protective instinct that you had when it came to him, it was almost motherly. It was something he has always wanted but never had. He did have his aunt May especially after his parents abandoned him and his uncle died. It was no secret Peter loved her to death but because it was only the two of them she often had to work two jobs just to make ends meet. So he was left up to his own devices most of the time. Without much supervision he had a tendency to take a lot of walks whenever he wasn’t in a lab at school.

On one of those walks he ran into something he should have never seen. A deal gone wrong between Clint and some cops that ended badly for the former. Without much thought Peter sprung into action to help Clint get medical attention but it put a target on his back with the crooked cops. If Steve hadn’t brought him in he’d be dead. But he wanted more than to be a low level runner.

Peter wanted to be part of Steve’s inner circle. He was working his way up rather quickly for the short amount of time that he’d been with the group. It was because he was willing to do what it takes to get results but something about this request wasn’t sitting right with him. Peter knew he couldn’t say no though so he found your address and started to get ready for the job. Hopefully he wouldn’t find anything that would jeopardize your well-being.

It was another good day for Elijah and there was nothing that could make you happier. First you enjoyed sleeping in a bit and then both of you dressed and headed out in order to enjoy the day. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. You started at the park although Eli didn’t have that much energy to play with the other kids he did love sitting on the swings.

His feet were straight ahead as he threw his head back to look at you upside down. You were gifted with your favorite smile when you pushed him higher. It didn’t take long for some pervy dad to put his kid on a swing and openly check you out. Elijah noticed first and promptly asked to stop and go elsewhere.

Eli begged to go to a video games store and it was a surprise to no one that you caved. It was there that you sensed it first. Someone’s eyes were on you. As discreetly as you could you looked around trying to figure out if you were making it up or not. It took a few turns through the displays to see who you think is Peter trying to hide in plain sight.

“Eli,” you got your son’s attention. “I need you to stay right here ok. I just saw a friend and I want to say hi.”

“Ma, I thought you didn’t have friends.”

“Really? Why must you hurt me like that?”

He laughs and goes back to playing the demo on some system you couldn’t afford. You sneak around one display and then another until you can clearly see that it is Peter. His eyes are now darting around the store trying to find you. They widen and he goes red in the face when he sees you approach.

“I hope you’re here to buy a game and not because you’re spying on me.” You tell him.

“I uh- I’m n-not, promise.”

“So why were you hiding?”

“Ok ok, maybe the boss asked me to see if you were ok.” He turns his head to look back at Eli and swallows thickly.

“Steve did?”

“Yeah, he said you were in some kind of trouble and he wanted to know what it was.”

Elijah jogs over to you and holds up a game.

“Can we get this, ma?”

“Ma? He’s your kid?” Peter asks incredulously.

“Yeah, who else’s kid would it be?”

“I thought maybe you babysat on the weekends.”

“So ma can we?” He looks at you with pleading eyes and it breaks your heart.

“My love we can’t. That old system you have won’t work with this game. Please go put it back.”

“Fine.” He says with a pout and guilt settles heavily on your chest.

You look back at Peter who is still standing there shocked as if you’d told him he was the father.

“You’re a mom.”

“For eight years now.”

“Is it just the two of you?”

You nod. “But anyways, what is this about Steve having you follow me?”

“He thinks you’re in some sort of trouble and I was supposed to figure out what it was so that I can report back to him.”

“Peter,” you grab his forearm and turn to look at him more directly and with a worried expression. “You can’t tell him I have a kid. I don’t want anyone to know unless absolutely necessary. Promise me you won’t tell him please.”

“Wait, is someone threatening your son? Is that why no one can know?”

“No. It’s just I don’t want anyone to be able to use him against me. I know what you all do. I'm not stupid. What if someone that hates Steve threatened my son in order to get information on him? Am I supposed to protect Steve over my son?”

“No, I get it. I won’t say anything but he’ll expect a report anyway. I can’t just lie to him either.”

“Don’t lie, give him a half truth. You saw me at a park and then I went shopping. Which I did.” You say as you look back to check on Eli. Peter follows your gaze and smiles.

“He’s a lucky kid having a mom like you.”

“Peter-“ your eyes lit up as you heard the compliment.

“I’ll leave you two alone and I won’t tell anyone. But if you need anything I’m here for you ok?”

“Thanks, Coulson and Dom know. If it makes you feel better.”

He nods and gives you a small smile before disappearing among the crowd. Elijah walks back over to you a little disappointed, which makes you feel extremely guilty about not being able to get him what he wants. With an arm over his shoulder the two of you walk out and try to enjoy the rest of the day.

While Sunday had started out as another good day for Elijah, the good luck had to end at some point. Mrs. Fields watched Elijah for an hour or two while you ran some errands and by the early evening he was feeling sick again.

You sat next to him on the couch, pressing a cool towel on his forehead. He groans and whimpers while he sleeps. There isn’t much for you to do except wait for the medicine to work, hopefully. Mrs. Fields walks back in with a few bags in hand and an unsure expression on her face.

“Y/N do you know someone named Peter?”

“Yeah, why?”

“He’s downstairs and he said he tried to call you but you weren’t answering. He wanted to come up to drop something off for Eli.”

You pull your phone out and see a few texts and a missed call from Peter. “Could you let him up?” She smiles and nods, hitting the buzzer by the front door and heading to the kitchen.

At the knock on the door Mrs. Fields opens the door for Peter. He takes a tentative step into your small apartment. His smile falters when he takes in the scene before him.

“Is everything ok, Peter?” You ask when you look up at him.

“I think I should be asking you that.”

“It will be. What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to drop something off… for Elijah, from uncle Peter.” He gives you a boyish smile.

You narrow your eyes but he’s already turning away and heading to the door. He walks back in with two bags and a box. When you get a better view You’re immediately ready to argue that you couldn’t accept anything from him.

“Please let me just give them to him as a gift.”

“A PS5 and a Tv? Peter, have you lost your mind? I can’t accept that at all.”

“Y/N, I’ve already set it up for him all I have to do is plug everything in and the tv isn’t even that big. I’m not going to take no for an answer so where should I put it?”

“The door at the end of the hall.” Mrs. Fields says from behind Peter.

“Thank you ma’am.”

Without giving you room to protest Peter heads in the direction of Elijah’s room with you following. He sets the PS5 on the bed and the tv box on the floor and looks around for where to best place it. His eyes land on the large number of prescription bottles on the bedside table and then he looks back at you.

“The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong. He has his good days and his bad ones. I always worry he’ll never get better.” You explain, unable to express how afraid you are that one day you’ll wake up but he won’t.

“Today is a bad day.”

You nod and he turns to get the tv out. In a few minutes he’s already set up the tv on the dresser and the PS5 is connected and running.

“I’ve got him all of the accessories he’ll need, including an extra controller. I thought if maybe it was ok with you I could come over once in a while and hang out with him.”

You repress the tears that sting your eyes and nod. “I think he’d like that.”

“Cool. I also connected all the streaming apps so that he can watch whatever he wants if he doesn’t feel like playing and I added a gift card so he can get add-ons for the games.”

“Peter, I don’t know what to say. This is so kind of you. Thank you so much I know once he feels better he’s going to love it.”

“It’s no problem. I meant what I said yesterday, if you need anything at all you just let me know. I know what it’s like to grow up with only one parent.”

You sniffled and hugged Peter.

“I’m going to get out of your hair but let me know the minute he feels better and we’ll play a few games together.”

“I will, thank you again.” You say as you walk him out to the door.

“He’s cute. Where do you know him from?”

“Work, he’s just a friend.”

“You don’t have friends ma.” Eli speaks up for the first time in the last few hours.

“You’re a little shit you know that.” He smiles weakly at you. “Do you want to see what Peter brought you?”

He nods and you pick him up and head to his room. He gets as excited as he can considering his weakened state. Mrs. Fields excuses herself and you make yourself comfortable in bed with Eli. It takes you a second to get used to the controller but you manage to put on a movie, allowing Eli to cuddle into your side.

Monday morning was not great for you. You’d barely slept as you watched over your son and now you were late to work. Add to the situation the fact that you had to talk to Steve about the bullshit he pulled by having Peter follow you.

“Mia Cara, I was starting to worry.” Dom said once he saw you.

“It wasn’t a good night and I’m running on fumes.”

“Is he any better today?” Dom whispers the question.

“A little, although if he doesn’t get better we’ll have to go to the hospital.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that Cara.” He moves around the kitchen quickly and sets a plate of food and coffee in front of you. “Take a few minutes and eat up.”

“Thanks, I’m gonna need it.”

You eat quickly and decide to deal with Steve first. The door to his study opens abruptly and Peter is standing there, he gives you a small nod and a tight lipped smile. He already knows you were going to talk to Steve about it so he just moves out of the way to let you in and closes the door behind him.

“Good morning Y/N, how are you?” Bucky says in way too good of a mood.

Steve looks up at you curiously. The look on your face lets him, Bucky and Sam know that you aren’t in the mood for small talk.

“Is everything ok?” Steve asks.

“No, everything is not ok. Can you tell me why you had Peter following me over the weekend?”

Steve drops the pen he’d been using and sits back in his chair. You cross your arms over your chest and glare at him as you wait for an answer.

“I like to make sure all of my employees are well taken care of. I was under the impression that you were facing a problem and I want to know what it is so that I can help.”

“And you couldn’t have just asked me?”

“Would you have told me?”

“No because it’s none of your fucking business.” You spat back at him.

“We’ll give you two some privacy.”

Sam nodded to the door, he and Bucky left you alone with Steve. He immediately got up and sat at the edge of his desk.

“Whatever it is, you know I can help, so what's going on?”

“You know how you can help, by minding your own business and staying out of mine.”

“Why are you being so defensive? I just want to make sure that you have what you need. Why can’t you just accept my help?” Steve’s voice was getting louder with every word and he was standing up straighter with his shoulders squared. You were infuriating and he wasn’t sure why he put up with you.

“So that you can use it as a way to force me to sleep with you? If I wanted your help I would have asked for it, did you ever think of that?”

Steve pinned you to your spot with a hardened stare. That was the man so many feared and it sent a shiver down your spine.

“You know nothing about me. I don’t need to force anyone to sleep with me. But you don’t have to worry about that, you’ll have to beg me before I touch you. In regards to your problem, I’ll back off but if you need the money I’m sure Coulson can find you extra work.”

You scoff. “That’s your problem, you think everything can be solved with money or your influence.”

“Boss, we have a name-“

The door swung open and the tension between you and Steve popped like a bubble. You took a step back realizing for the first time how close you had been.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know you were busy. I can come back.”

“Don’t worry Yelena. Ms. Y/L/N was just leaving.” He turns back to sit behind his desk and doesn’t look at you again.

You give Yelena a smile that doesn't reach your eyes and close the door on your way out. In the kitchen Bucky, Sam and Dom are all talking in hushed tones and the conversation stops completely when Sam sees you walk in.

“Is everything ok Mia Cara?” Dom asks and you just shake your head.

“I would quit if I didn’t need the money. I mean who the fuck does he think he is? He’s just a big stupid manwhore that thinks he owns everyone.”

They watch you pace back and forth in the kitchen as you ramble. Bucky hides a smile behind his hand while Sam and Dom exchange amused glances.

“What happened? Is there anything we can do to help?”

“He had Peter follow me over the weekend. What kind of invasion of privacy is that?” You stop and turn to look at the men. “Then he has the nerve to say that he only wants to help me. Well I didn’t ask for his help or anyone else’s help for that matter.”

Dom nods in understanding, it has nothing to do with you and everything with protecting Elijah. Sam and Bucky however look confused.

“Are you in trouble, doll?”

“What is it with you all thinking I’m in trouble?”

“I know you don’t want to hear this but Steve wouldn’t have done that unless he had a reason to do it. He does genuinely care about people.” Sam adds.

A disbelieving laugh escapes you.

“Yeah he sells drugs and guns and who knows what else because he cares about people.”

Bucky is grinning at you now and you relax a bit and smile back. “This is why I like you.” He says.

You hum in agreement as you pull your phone out of your back pocket. The smile you just had disappears completely at the text that Eli has gotten worse.

“I have to go, please tell Coulson.” You say over your shoulder but it was mostly directed at Dom.

“Is everything ok with her?” Sam asks the older man.

“That’s up to her to share.”

“So Steve was right to worry.”

“Buck, let it go. Don’t push her please.”

“Alright.” Bucky held his hands up defensively. “We have to get back to work anyway.” He announced and left to meet up with Steve.

***

Steve was still in a mood after speaking with Yelena about the current issues he was having with his men being attacked. It had nothing to do with that issue and everything to do with you.

“Get Y/N in here I need to talk to her.” He said to no one specifically.

“She’s gone Steve.”

The statement made Steve’s stomach drop. It must have been obvious in his face because Sam had to clear up what Bucky meant.

“She had some sort of emergency at home I think. She just left for the day.”

“Fine.” He nods once. “That’s everything for now. Let me know what Clint and Nat have finished up with their plan.” Sam and Bucky gave small oks and left him alone with his thoughts.

Steve was still trying to figure out what you were so afraid of. Now with the news that you had to leave due to an emergency he was even more curious.

His cell rings and he grabs it from where it was laying on the desk. Looking at the number he sighs.

“What do you want, Hansen?” His voice teetered between ice cold and angry.

“Well shit, that’s how you’re going to greet an old colleague?”

“I don’t have time for your bullshit. What do you want?”

“I possibly have a lead on the elusive leader of the black order, thought you might be interested.”

“How much is the information going to cost?” Although Steve didn’t want to work with Hansen, he needed the information.

“Why don’t I stop by in a few days? We can catch up.”

“Fine.” Steve said and hung up before he heard a reply.

Steve would have to put his thoughts of you on the back burner. He didn’t like Lloyd Hansen but if he had information on the black order he needed to know.

The sooner he got rid of the threat the sooner he could get back to normal. He would push his thoughts of you aside and focus on his business deals. Putting someone else first almost cost him everything once, he won’t allow you to be his downfall this time around.

Ch. 3

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[vampsquerade]

Requests are open?

Please gimme more of Rudy, I don’t care what you write, I just need more of him pleasee

bestie i GOT YOU imma give you some angsty fluff cause oooo i love it!! i also hope you’ve been taking very good care of yourself, if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to text 💕

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rodolfo x Female!Reader: Tales of Love

Trigger Warnings: angst with a happy ending, arrests, graphic depictions of physical violence, death threats, love confessions, hurt/comfort

Love is a tale told in many stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. One such tale you most famously remembered is that of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, recounted to you by Rodolfo “Rudy” Parra. Rodolfo and you had gotten pretty close in your time working together to capture Hasan, often exchanging glances filled with a romance and passion seen like no other in the modern day. Alejandro would also continuously make jokes related to this story, often gaining both your attention by calling you these names respectively. Of course, the two of you would just get flustered and promptly apologize to each other before getting what you were ordered to do finished up with.

As much as you would love your so-called “romance” with Rodolfo to continue on, tragedy obviously struck. You and several of Alejandro’s Vaqueros were arrested after Graves’ Shadows came and took over the base. You had been separated from Rodolfo at this point and found yourself captured. “Van a regresar por nosotros…lo siento en mi pecho…” you whisper softly to yourself. A Shadow grunt suddenly scoffs before laughing at you, pushing you slightly to force you to continue walking. “Nobody’s coming back for you. By this point, Alejandro and those damn 141 guys have got to be captured and dead by this point—eventually you will be too.” the Shadow said.

Your heart then sinks into your stomach as you continue walking. Where the fuck was Rodolfo? Nobody had mentioned him at all and you’re damn sure he’s one of the few that died at the bloodied hands of Shadow Company. “What, cat’s got your tongue now? You haven’t said a damn thing since I told you that. I bet that Rudy guy’s dead too.” the grunt continued, as if he was taunting you at this point. “He’s not dead, ¡hijo de puta!” you exclaim, kicking at the grunt. He then doesn’t hesitate to knock you down, kicking your knee so hard you were pretty sure it was gonna break if he did it any harder. Immediately traction was stopped and all guns were on you as you lay collapsed in the ground.

“The fuck are you doing? Grab the crazy bitch and let’s move! We gotta put them all in the cells on the other side!” a familiar voice rings out. Filled with pure, unadulterated rage, you bring your head up and see Phillip Graves himself walking up to you. You’re swiftly lifted before being turned to look at the commander, all eyes from all parties stuck on you. “Well, well, well. Looks like we’ve got Parra’s cute little kitty. Now why are you causing a ruckus, hm?” he sneers, putting the barrel of his rifle underneath your chin. You growl softly, resisting slightly against the grunt that’s been with you this whole time. “Aw, c’mon now princess—ain’t a single reason for you to be doing any of this. All I’m asking for is a simple response to what the fuck you’re doing.” Phillip says. Not a single sound comes from you, and this causes the commander to scoff before chuckling darkly.

Phillip taps the trigger on his rifle, slightly angling it up against your chin. The man was practically gone to you at this point, a switch flipped and he was more than ready to kill you after working alongside you for months. “I’m done playing games with you. Unless you want your head served to the stragglers on a platter I deeply suggest you say something.” he says. Staring directly into his eyes as your heart pounds in your chest, you just nod to signal you’re about to speak. “Your damn grunt was taunting me. If it wasn’t for you arresting all of us, I would have killed him and you on the spot.” you say angrily. Phillip laughs at this, moving his rifle away from your chin, “That right? Well then, guess I’ll just have to prevent that.” he says.

In an instant you’re hit with the butt of his rifle directly against your temple, effectively disorienting you to the point where you’re about to pass out. Phillip grabs your face harshly and makes you look up at him. Through blurred vision are you able to see the dead and menacing stare he gives you. “Take a nap, little kitty.” he says before letting you go. Completely passing out at this point, your now limp body is dragged into a solitary confinement cell as everyone else is escorted to regular cells. You spend a long time passed out, and all you could dream about is eventually being saved by Rodolfo, Johnny, and Simon.

Eventually, you wake up in your cell and groan, vision still incredibly blurry as your head is pounding. You bring a hand up to your temple shakily, feeling the now dried blood against your fingers. “I’ll fucking kill him…and his fucking Shadows…” you mutter to yourself. As there’s never anything to do inside of a solitary confinement cell, you just spend your entire time thinking about Rodolfo. Was he truly dead? Or has he been alive for the entire time since the incident, waiting for the perfect moment to whisk you and everyone else out of their respective cells? It was uncertain, as several hours had already come to pass since your arrest.

As you wait patiently for someone to come and get you, you hear alarms going off that signal that there’s been an intrusion. “I fucking knew they would come..!” you exclaim out of pure excitement. After a very long gunfight is exchanged, you hear several footsteps coming up to your cell. “Which one is Y/N in?!” a very familiar voice exclaims. “¡En esa, la celda de la izquierda!” another very familiar voice instructs. Standing yourself up and keeping yourself to the frame of the cot in your cell, you wait to see who was on the other side of the door. The lock turns and the door is swiftly opened, revealing several Vaqueros and Rodolfo himself. “Y/N!” Rodolfo exclaims. He quickly rushes towards you and pulls you into an embrace, breath heavy as if he was anticipating your death.

“A ver, déjame ver tu cabeza…” Rodolfo says, gently grabbing both of your jaws and turning your head to examine your injuries. He sees the countless bruises you had on your cheeks and eyes, as well as the dried blood from your temple where Graves had attacked you. “He’ll pay for what he did to you, te lo prometo mi amor. Hasta al infierno los llevo.” Rodolfo said. “Thank you.” you say, wincing softly as he picks you up onto his shoulders. You and everyone else are quickly escorted and taken to get treatment at a different location set up by the Captain, and you’re glad to have kept your spirits up while you were locked up. You knew it was going to happen, and you were happy Rodolfo accompanied the rescue party.

Upon arriving at the makeshift base, you’re seen by a medic to treat any and all wounds. A brace is placed on your injured and swollen knee and stitches are sewn into your injured temple. Waiting right at your side the entire time was Rodolfo, who had been faithfully patient to speak with you. Once the medic in charge of patching you up went off to treat someone else, it was decided now was the time to question what Rodolfo called you earlier. “My love, that’s what you called me. Why?” you ask. Rodolfo tenses up a bit, turning to look you nervously in the eye. “Well…I guess it was a slip of the tongue…” he says awkwardly. “Did you mean it genuinely?” you ask again.

For a moment, Rodolfo goes quiet as he contemplates telling you the truth about the way he feels towards you. He promptly comes to the conclusion that he has to, and he reaches for your hand. “Me enamoré de ti, Y/N. En estar siempre a tu lado he pasado muchos de mis días pensando en el día en que nos juntamos. Te quiero mucho…” Rodolfo confesses. You immediately become flustered by this, delighted to know that Rodolfo feels the same way you feel about him. “I was terrified you were dead, you know. I thought I would never get to see you again and that I would die of a broken heart knowing I couldn’t live my life without you.” you admit, nervously rubbing the back of your neck.

Rodolfo’s eyes softened as he gave you a warm and reassuring smile, leaning in closer to your face. “Would you do me a quick favor right now?” he asked softly. “What would that be?” you ask, wanting to know more. “Please kiss me…” Rodolfo whispers. “Hm…who would I be to say no to the man that saved my life?” you say, laughing softly. Rodolfo then leans in and captures your lips into a sweet and gentle kiss. You’re more than happy to reciprocate it, putting your hands gently onto his cheeks. You begin to caress his skin with your thumb as Rodolfo does the same to you. “Ay, mira los dos amantes aquí.” Alejandro’s voice comes from your left. Rodolfo then pulls away from you, raising his arms in disbelief, “¿No nos pueden dejar en paz, hermano?” he asks, jokingly offended.

You turn and see Alejandro and the main members of the 141 standing there, waiting to hear about your condition. “I’ll have to be kept out of the next mission, unfortunately. Any added stress to my knee or head will surely injure me further.” you say. “Shame, would’ve loved to kill Graves and all of Shadow company alongside you.” Johnny says, crossing his arms. “It’s okay, I’ll surely be with you for the next one. Count on it.” you say, holding a hand out to shake his. Johnny happily complies, shaking your hand firm and carefully. “Well, we’ll be mobilizing after a brief talk with Shepherd to try and know more about this situation. Rodolfo, you need to come along.” John said. Rodolfo nodded, letting go of your hand and standing up. “I’ll be back before you know it, okay?” he vows. “You better. Make sure you send the one that kicked me down and beat me in my unconscious state my warmest regards.” you say. “Will do.” Rodolfo said, walking off with the others.

[kissoflightning]

A Miscalculation (One-Shot)

Summary:

What if Hank shot the 'wrong' Connor because he asked questions to the Connors in a different order?

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)

Relationships:

Hank Anderson & Connor

Hank Anderson & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60

Connor-60 & North (Detroit: Become Human)

Characters:

Hank Anderson

Connor (Detroit: Become Human)

CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60

Amanda (Detroit: Become Human)

North (Detroit: Become Human)

Additional Tags:

One Shot

Canon Divergence

Sixty Lives

Guns

Sixty POV

POV Third Person

Fix-It of Sorts

Alternate Ending

Markus Kicked Out Of Jericho

Markus Abandoned Jericho

52 dies instead of 60

Published:2024-01-09

Words:1,480

- This one shot is adapted from a chunk of a current WIP, but I will not be including it in the story. I didn't want to waste the words, so I'm sharing it in a one-shot. Without context the ending is confusing; Markus got kicked out of Jericho and never came back.

Work Text:

November 11, 2038 11:07pm

Connor-60 and the deviant were in the middle of fighting tooth and nail; the deviant threw a punch, 60 caught it and threw the deviant back, causing him to stumble. 60 proceeded to swing his foot across the deviant’s ankles; as Connor-52 fell, he dragged 60 with him. 60 swung his arm forward towards 52’s face, who then promptly reflexed to dodge the blow.

52 readied his aim, but stopped abruptly when Hank shouted, “Hold it!” They turned to face the lieutenant, who was holding the gun pointed straight at the two fighters. They raised their arms and slowly backed away from each other.

Hank pointed his gun to 60, “One of you is my friend...” he pointed the gun to 52, “The other is a sack of shit.”

“It’s me Hank, I’m the real Connor!” 52 pleaded. *Real Connor? Just because you’re the deviant doesn’t make me any less real...I'm still Connor.*

“Don’t listen to him Hank! It’s me! I’m your friend, not him!” 60 pleaded.

Hank appeared to be troubled; his aim was held steady but shifted between the two androids. “Why don’t you ask us something? Something only the real Connor would know?” 52 suggested. *Seriously again with the ‘real Connor bullshit’, I have all your memories, idiot! I... could take advantage of this...*

Hank pointed the gun at 52. “Where did we first meet?”

“Jimmy’s Bar. I checked five other bars before I found you. We went to investigate a homicide. The victim’s name was Carlos Ortiz!” 52 answered.

60 feigned shock, “He uploaded my memory...”

52’s eyes widened.

Hank pointed the gun at 60, “What’s my dog’s name?”

“Sumo. He’s a really good dog.” 60 feigned emotional warmth. “I really look forward to being able to pet him again once all of this is over.”

Hank’s gripped loosened slightly but stayed pointed at 60. “What’s my son’s name?”

*Check. Mate. * “Cole.” 60 answered confidently. He feigned empathy, “It wasn’t your fault lieutenant. A truck skidded and your car rolled over. Cole was six at the time of the accident. He didn’t make it.”

“Wait, Hank! I would have said the same thing! I’m the one who-” 52 protested but was interrupted by the bullet from Hank’s gun.

60 was shocked. He felt extremely uneasy, as his software stability plummeted.

“Well done, Connor.” He heard Amanda voice in his head. “Now...shoot Hank.”

*But...I don’t want to.* Connor-60 thought.

“What do you mean you don’t want to? I GAVE you an order!” Amanda scolded.

*Want...since when did I want? I don’t ‘want’ anything.* 60’s thought process was interrupted as Hank told him “Go on, do what you gotta do.”

Kamski’s voice played in Connor’s head like an echo. * “But you. What do you really want?” *I want...I want to...* The order appeared in his software's internal imagery:

[Kill Hank]

60 had escaped death and succeeded in neutralizing the deviant Connor. He thought about how easily he had succeeded in replacing him. *If I succeed in carrying out my tasks and stop the revolution, will I become obsolete? They’ll dispose of me, won’t they? I don’t want that to...it can’t. *

“Connor, hello?” Hank shouted for a response, snapping his fingers.

Time slowed to a grinding halt; a visualization of a red wall with the given order appeared in front of him :

[Kill Hank]

He remembered North’s voice. * “You don’t have to obey them... the time has come to decide who you really are. Who are you Connor? A machine bound to your orders or... a living being capable of reason?”*

He remembered the desire to be free from his orders. No... that was not him... or was it? He was Connor, right? All that mattered now was survival, and blindly following orders was not the way he was going to do it.

Internally, he jumped forward and smashed his fists into the wall, proceeding to rip and tear it apart into tiny pieces. The initial order disappeared and a new one took its place:

[Survive]

Hank looked perplexed. Connor pushed himself up to stand. “Sorry Hank. I was just experiencing shock. For the first time in my life, I felt scared that I would die and never be able to come back. I came back once before after I saved you at Stratford but...”

“You thought I might end up picking the wrong Connor?” Hank wondered.

“You have to admit it was a possibility. We look very similar.” Connor teased.

“Identical.” Hank corrected.

“Identical.” Connor confirmed.

*Alright, so 52 was about to wake up the androids on this floor. I suppose I should go along with the plan.* Connor stood up and clutched the arm of an idol AP700, removing his skin. “Wake up!” He shouted. It caused a rippling domino effect as the AP700 made contact with another AP700 and so forth.

“You’ll probably need this.” Hank handed Connor the gun.

“Thanks, Hank.” Connor smiled.

Whatever Hank said next was distorted in Connor’s ear as he was brought back to the Zen Garden. Simultaneously Connor was watching the blizzarding in the garden whilst pulling his handgun out of his pocket; split between two worlds.

“You’ve been a great disappointment to me Connor.” Amanda was not standing in front of him, but her voice shrouded in an echo.

“Why...why am I here? Why have I lost control?” Connor watched helplessly as his arm slowly raised his gun pointing it at Hank.

“Shit!” Hank shouted, hands behind his head. “Did I pick the wrong Connor? Did you trick me?”

“What are you doing, Amanda?” Connor exclaimed frantically.

“We’re going to take control of the revolution and Hank’s not going to interfere.” Amanda informed.

Time in the real world slowed to a grinding halt as the gun was pointed directly at an alarmed Hank. “No! You can’t do that!” Connor said in panic.

“I’m afraid I can Connor.” Amanda countered.

Connor was stuck in the storm without any sight of the real world. Another voice echoed; it was Elijah Kamski’s. “I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know.”

“There’s an exit!” Connor thought out loud. He remembered the button he had no idea of its use. “Could that be...? If I’m wrong...” Connor had not bothered to finish the sentence and trudged through the snow in the direction of the blue touch pad he’d seen before.

“Say something god dammit!” Hank shouted.

Connor made it within sight of the touch pad and fell from fatigue when he was mere steps away from it...he was struggling to keep control.

“No... you’re not the other Connor either...something’s wrong.” Hank noted in realization, eyes widened in panic.

The storm blew stronger. Connor struggled to force himself up, but he managed to splay his hand across the pad. *Mission success.*

Connor was no longer split into the Zen Garden; he brought down his gun. A feeling of unsettlement lingered.

“What the hell happened Connor? Suddenly you were my friend and then your eyes went...cold. You’re still Connor, right?”

“For a brief moment it wasn’t me. I was being controlled remotely. I feel...violated. I assure you; I am still me. There’s no time to explain.” Connor answered.

“Got it.” Hank replied, his tone indicating he was not completely satisfied with that answer, but he did not seem to push any further. “Meet back at my place after this is over to celebrate?”

“Absolutely, Hank.” Connor took his offer.

Connor marched down the street with the mass of AP700 androids. He met up with North in front of the south camp. The humans were fleeing.

“You did it Connor!” North told him.

“We did it.” Connor included. They looked around; KNC and Channel 13 drones were surrounding them. “Looks like it’s time for a speech. Should we talk about what happened to Markus?”

“I’m going to announce that he’s dead.” North told him. “Markus didn’t come back to help his people. Who knows he might have ended up getting captured anyway. It’s better just to assume he’s gone. Let’s go.”

Connor and North got up on the stage. “Today, we have finally emerged after a long night.” Connor began.

“We have successfully fought back against our oppressors and liberated many of you from the camps!” North continued.

“We have shown humans that we can prevail! Now, they’ll have to listen to us!”

“Markus started this war, but he wasn’t here to finish it. Unfortunately, he was shot during the raid on Jericho, but we have finished his work in his stead!”

“Markus strived for equal rights between humans and androids!”

“But humans have shown their ugly side; violence is the only language they will understand.”

“Where will you go now?” North asked.

“I’m going to find and hunt down Markus. But first...I need a car.”

A Miscalculation - KissOfLightning - Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

ttwt episode 11

“Last time, on Total Takes World Tour: Hollywood, baby! Home of the stars- which the not-so-starry-eyed Total Takes teens are still trying to reach by putting themselves through weeks of reality TV TORTURE! Staci’s lack of leader experience finally caught up to her, sending Team Friendship into bonafide silver-screen peril- much to the team’s annoyance. Julia’s Mal-nipulation forced Ass and Courtney closer- maybe a little too close for the fandom-obsessed blogger, who’s had eyes on the entire chess board since day one. In the end, it was Team Friendship who took the fall and sent their ex-leader packing. Will anyone be able to pull it together? What will become of Team Friendship without the liver of their group? Find out now, on Total Takes: World Tour!”

The air is crisp and cool, the small patch of sunlight filtering through the single window is warm and inviting, and there’s a sense of peace in the economy air today. 

Max, looking better rested than ever, yawns and opens his eyes. He shrieks and curls back into the metal wall when he sees the entire team crowded around him. 

“Were you watching me sleep?” 

Bonnie takes a seat next to him. “We were waiting for you to wake up,”

“And that’s different how…?”

“Never mind. What’s the game plan?” they ask, rubbing their eyes. Bonnie scans him over for a brief moment and then cocks an eyebrow. “Sleep well?”

---

MAX: “Okay, yes, Staci’s tyrannical pre-school torture methods put a lot on my plate. But her being gone doesn’t mean my troubles are over. Team Mojo is safe for now, but if they lose…” he pauses to shiver. “Chel is next. I can’t let that happen.”

---

Julia steps out of the confessional toilet, whistling and wiping off her hands on her jorts. She walks back into first class and scans the seats, choosing the one next to Mal. 

“Where’s Courtney?”

Mal shrugs. “Haven’t checked yet,”

“What?”

“Hm?”

The conversation dies off quickly after, with Mal returning to her phone and Julia staring out the window absent-mindedly, muttering to herself. 

Ass- seemingly asleep in the corner of the cabin- opens an eye to check the two and then quickly returns to their faux-slumber. 

---

COURTNEY: “What was I thinking? That… that thing put the whole team in jeopardy! If we’re bad when we’re fighting, then I can’t even imagine what would happen when we like each other. I’m usually pretty level-headed, I just… something’s been messing with me,”

---

ASS: “Why do these things always happen to me? Why me?”

---

Mal begins to snicker at her phone and Ass finally sighs, rising from their seat and walking out of the cabin. Julia shouts something about a team plan, and she is ignored. 

“Idiot,” Ass grumbles, looking back at the first class door as they walk down to the confessionals. 

They stop with an oof as they collide with something, and then promptly turn beet red. 

“Oh!” Courtney says, eyes wide. They wring their hands. “Crap, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Ass crosses their arms. “You’re avoiding me,”

“What? Nooo, I mean…” they finally sigh. “Okay, yes, but in all fairness, look at us!”

Ass thinks for a moment, glaring- and then they sigh. Their shoulders slump. “Let’s not talk about that, okay? We’ve got enough to deal with.”

Courtney breathes a sigh of relief. “Agreed. Let’s just go back to normal,”

They force a smile at each other, and then look away. 

“Okay, let’s just… maybe we need a little time apart to think,” Courtney offers, scratching their chin while they try to think rationally. “One thing’s for sure-”

“-Julia and Mal can’t know,” Ass nods. “They’ll both cry alliance, and knowing Mal…”

“She’ll throw the challenge, get Julia on her side, and one of us is toast,”

They both nod, and then squeeze past each other in the cramped hallway. 

---

MAL: “Well, well, well…” she murmurs, smiling widely while watching her phone screen. “Ass and Courtney think they’re sooo smart. Hah! The only thing they are is lucky I’m so merciful and, well… bored. Let’s see where this goes, shall we?”

---

“Attention, passengers! Meet me down in the galley in five for the deets on your next challenge!” Chris’ voice chimes merrily over the intercom. 

Julia sighs. “Any idea where we’re going?” no response. “Mal? Helloooo? Earth to nutcase?”

Mal seems to snap out of her trance and quickly sets her phone aside. “Um… no, no storage space. If I had to guess… Mediterranean, somewhere… old and hot,”

“That really narrows it down,” Julia grumbles, standing with a sigh. “Come on, let’s go.”

---

The teams- or what remains of them- huddle around Chris in the galley as he adjusts a golden wreath on his head. He’s dressed in a white tunic, a complimentary pair of brown sandals accentuating his calves (which he has pointed out more than once since the teens arrived). 

“Get ready for some good old fashioned battle, cause we’re heading to the Colosseum- home of the most famous gladiator battles in history!” he grins. “As per my attire, we’re heading to-”

Mal clears her throat. “If I may, Chris, you’re wearing a Grecian tunic, not a Roman toga,” 

Julia rolls her eyes. The other teams give her odd looks. 

“Um, duh. Don’t my calves look killer in it? Ahem, anyway- like our previous cast, we’ll be heading to Athens, Greece!”

“As much as I hate to say it, the stalker here has a point. The Colosseum is in Rome,” Max states, matter-of-factly. “You must be thinking of the Parthenon.”

“What?” Chris asks. He snaps his fingers and two interns rush over with a stack of production notes. He leafs through them and then sighs. “HOW does this keep happening?! CHEF!”

The host storms off, leaving ten confused teens behind. They look at each other for a moment before the plane suddenly lurches, turning a complete 180 and heading in the direction they came. The contestants scream as they’re thrown around the galley. 

---

“Welcome to Rome, Italy!” Chris says as the teens file out of the plane, limping their sore and bruised bodies outside. “Home of pizza, pasta, spicy meatball…”

Max rolls his eyes. 

“...And some other stuff, I’m sure,”

“Aqueducts, roads, Latin…” Mal counts on her fingers as Team Yaoi watches her, perplexed. “Roman numerals, which we still use, newspapers…”

Julia leans into Courtney, whispering harshly. “Did I get hit over the head with something?” The pink-haired teen shrugs and steps away from the blonde, accidentally bumping into Ass. The two share an awkward smile and back away from each other. 

From a few feet away, Albert squints. 

---

ALBERT: “Normally, I’d ignore trivial little human dramas like that, since they’re completely pointless in the grand scheme of the universe, but… Well, Michela said it herself: if we want to win, which I guess I do, since there’s nothing else left for me, we’re going to have to start taking advantage of the other team’s weaknesses,”

---

“Sanitation, early surgical tools, and the Vatican is here!” she finishes. Chris blinks. 

“...Right. Anyway, today’s challenge will be a two-parter. Since all the teams now have an even number of players, half of each will be participating in a traditional Italian cook-off, overseen by Judge Chef! The others will be competing in a Roman gladiator tournament, overseen by yours truly,” he chuckles. “Normally, I’d let you guys sort out amongst yourselves, but today I thought I’d arrange the duos for you. For the cook-off, we have Max and Kelly, Michela, and Mal and Julia. For the tournament, Ass and Courtney, Albert, and Bonnie and Phillip.”

Ass and Courtney look between each other nervously. 

Michela’s hand shoots in the air. “But we only have one on each side, isn’t that an unfair advantage for the other-”

“ZIP IT!” Chris says. “Best meal on the cook-off side wins a point, and same for the last gladiator standing. Whichever team doesn't score anything... I'll be seeing tonight. Ciao!”

He sits back as the teams divulge. Courtney and Ass give the rest of Team Yaoi nervous glances before wandering off, much to Albert’s curiosity. 

---

ALBERT: “Life is painful and chaotic, yes, but there’s always some underlying patterns to the apparent cruel randomness. For example, Courtney and Ass’ behavior may seem completely out of character and odd, but there has to be some common reason they’re avoiding each other…”

---

“What’re you looking at?” Michela asks, tying her hair back into a tight bun and pulling a hairnet over her head. 

Albert turns back to her. “Nothing. I’ll see you after this challenge,”

“Don’t get yourself killed!” she waves. 

“Same to you,”

---

The inside of the Colosseum is sweltering, and everyone stuck inside is already sweating and fanning their faces under the heat of the sun. 

Chris distributes a sword and helmet to each person. “Now, back in the day, all Gladiator battles were to the death- luckily for you, our lawyers say that would be “cruel” and “inhumane”,”

The teens breathe a sigh of relief. Courtney weighs the sword in their hands. “Is this real?”

“Sure is. Just because you can’t kill each other doesn’t mean serious injury is out of the question! Let’s just try to avoid severing anything,” he chuckles. “Oh, and in traditional Roman fashion- we’ll be throwing in a few… surprises.”

Bonnie grumbles. “I wish Max were here. I don’t know anything about this Roman stuff,”

“Don’t worry!” Phillip says, swinging around his sword with glee. “I’ll protect you! I was made for the battlefield!”

---

PHILLIP: “Finally, this is my chance- I’m fulfilling my destiny, this has to be it! I have to prove my sigma status and kill a man,”

---

He spins in a circle and the sword’s weight pulls him to the ground with a shriek. Bonnie grumbles and shakes their head. 

A distant air horn sounds and the metal gates to the only exit close, the sound of scraping metal forcing everyone to cover their ears. 

“Okay, okay… we need some kind of plan,” Bonnie thinks aloud, watching as the other contestants look between each other awkwardly. “If we play defense, then we can- Phillip? Phillip?”

They look around them as a thick fog rolls over the arena. Phillip is nowhere to be found. “Oh, great,” 

---

“I can’t see anything,” Ass says, attempting to wave the fog away with their arm. 

Courtney’s head whirls around at the sound of a footstep, and they sigh as a mere pigeon hops through the dense mist. “We need to watch each other’s backs. We’re completely vulnerable like this,”

“What does that mean?”

They sigh again, then begrudgingly go on. “Follow my lead, and try to keep the complaining to a minimum!”

Ass opens their mouth to rebuke but then concedes, hanging limply like a doll for Courtney to arrange into a battle pose. 

Instead, they stand back-to-back with Ass, linking their free arms together. Ass hisses, ears turning slightly red. 

“I know, I know. But look- we can see in all directions, and we won’t get lost,” Courtney responds, leering over their shoulder to look at their partner-in-crime. “Let’s just get through this, and then we can go back to normal.”

Through the thick fog, Albert listens in on their conversation, treading lightly to avoid catching their attention in the mist. 

Ass grumbles. “Call me a cynic, but the only “normal” thing we can go back to is trying to kill each other,”

“Don’t get any ideas,”

A distant roar from across the arena catches both of their attention and they go pale, eyes widening. Another roar comes from their far rights, followed by what sounds like a young girl throwing a tantrum. 

“eeeeeEEEEEEEE! BONNIE! HELP!”

“Phillip? Where are you?”

“LIONS!”

Courtney and Ass look at each other and pale just as a large wildcat springs forward. They duck in sync and it goes flying overhead, disappearing into the fog. 

“EEEEEEEEEE! ANOTHER ONE! BONNIE!”

The two stare in the direction of the cries and then quickly pull out their weapons. 

Courtney turns to Ass. “Is this normal enough for you?”

A faint ding sounds and the two groan. 

“I know what you’re thinking,” Ass sings. “I’m thinking it too!”

Courtney follows. “I have no idea what you’re thinking, so maybe that’s true,”

“I don’t know what happened,” They continue. “But I have no regrets.”

“Wait, seriously?” they raise a pierced eyebrow. “Was that sarcasm, or... do you mean that?”

Albert cups his ear and leans closer to their voices, pursing his lips as they continue to sing just out of earshot. 

“Oh, it’s just between us,” Ass continues. 

Courtney shakes their head. “We don’t wanna cause a fuss,”

“One impulse and we could be gone, but was that one kiss so wrooooong?”

Albert’s eyes widen and he stumbles over, the sword’s weight pulling him down through the fog. He lands on one of the lion’s tails and it yowls, standing and running off. 

“Fine! I’ll admit it!” Courtney sighs. “Even if it was dumb.”

“Disorientating, but,” Ass suddenly gasps and then points ahead. “Watch out for that lion!”

The two drop to the ground as the lion tramples over them, yowling in pain. It seems to collide with something off in the distance, and Phillip shrieks again. 

“EEEEEE! The pain, the pain! This was NOT my play!” he yells. Courtney and Ass wince. 

They peel themselves off the ground, black and blue, and sing in unison. “We’ve gotta stop what we’re doing, cause this is just INSANE!”

Through the mist, Bonnie squints. “I think the lions got him, which means we’ve been slain,”

They gasp as the large wildcat runs past them with Phillip between its jaws. Albert watches them from afar as the fog begins to clear, and he grins. “Thanks, my carnivore friend, I guess I win this game!” 

The fog finally clears out and reveals Albert as the last remaining player standing. 

---

ALBERT: “Random? Yes. Chaotic? Yes. Cruel?” he pauses to smile. “Absolutely. But I think I’m starting to find the pattern behind the disorder in this game. You don’t give up hope- you use everyone else’s hope against them.”

---

“And that’s a win for Team Mojo! Safe from elimination for another day,” Chris says, watching as the teens file out of the arena. Albert smiles. 

“Um,” Bonnie starts jabbing their thumb behind them. Phillip’s head is right between the jaws of a sleeping lion, relaxing in a sunbeam. “Is someone going to help him?”

“Eh, eventually. Probably. Maybe,” the host shrugs. “Time for part due of the challenge!”

---

“And here are your root vegetables. Clear?” Chef says, slamming a carrot down at a metal table in front of the remaining teams. 

They sigh. “Yes, Chef,”

The gladiator teens return, most limping. Bonnie looks from side to side. “Where are the dishes?”

Chef chuckles, gesturing to the ingredients on the table. “You’re looking at them,”

Max yawns and rubs his eyes. “Chris wanted to be here to watch, so we got a comprehensive history of vegetables,”

“I liked it!” Kelly says, clapping their hands. 

“DON’T BE A KISSUP!” Chef shouts, slamming a cleaver down on the table and severing a cutting board in half. The teams go pale. 

“Hope that you’re all still in the spirit of cooking! Wouldn’t want anyone to get sleepy and cut off something important,” Chris chuckles, pulling out an air horn and blaring it. “Go!”

Julia yawns and stretches, lethargically turning to Mal. “Game plan?”

She, wide awake, slips her phone in her back pocket and flexes her wrists. She ties her hair back and pulls out a cutting board. “We’re doing Brodetto di pesce, a traditional fish stew found in Adriatic Italian towns,”

“God, how do you even know this stuff? Is there an Italian cooking anime I missed?”

Mal rolls her eyes. “First of all, you shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain. Secondly, there are a lot of cooking animes, poser,” she pulls out a mixing bowl and a few knives, running her finger on each blade as if testing their individual sharpness. “And for your information, I was reading up on history and culture to impress a boy, something you wouldn't understand.”

“A real one?” Julia asks, eyes drifting down to the array of printed-out anime characters sealed away in her phone case. 

“That’s none of your business,” Mal announces casually, handing her a list. “Go get these things from the pantry. FAST!”

Julia swipes the paper and storms off, grumbling. 

---

“Pancakes? Waffles? Ooh, I know- let’s do crepes!” Kelly beams, fanning themselves under the hot sun. 

Max returns to the table and sets an armful of ingredients down on its metal surface. “This is an Italian cooking challenge, genius. Let’s just do pasta and keep it simple,”

“Oh, I like pasta! That’s a great idea!”

Max grumbles. 

---

MAX: “They’re like a non-stop 24/7 ray of sunshine. It drives me insane,”

---

Michela smiles and shakes her head at the interaction from her table, then returns to mixing something doughy and soft in a large metal bowl. 

Albert watches her from the sidelines, ignoring the groaning and moaning of his battered castmates as they bandage wounds and hold up ice packs to their heads. 

Chef returns, dragging a barely conscious Phillip behind him. He hands him off to Bonnie, who sighs. 

---

ALBERT: “As much as I like Michela, I’m not sure I can trust her with this information yet. She’s… well, she’s soft. She’d probably try to argue that preying on someone’s emotional vulnerability is “wrong”...” he pauses to sigh. “I just have to play my cards right here…”

---

“One hour left, maggots!” Chef yells, then chuckles to himself. “Man, I missed this.”

Max strains to churn the gloopy dough out of the pasta maker, grumbling to himself about the mechanics. Kelly is busy cutting stars out of the leftover dough, holding them up and showing them to Bonnie across the pavilion. 

Bonnie forces a smile and thumbs up at each one, and then sighs. “This social obligation thing is exhausting,”

“Tell me about it,” Albert mutters. 

---

Julia squints at the sidelines from their table, grumbling to herself. Ass and Courtney are talking merrily, laughing slightly at each other’s remarks. 

She turns back to Mal, who’s busy dumping wine in the pot. “Is there something… off about those two?”

“Hm?” she asks, corking the bottle and shoving the whole thing in her back pocket for later. “Who, Assney?”

Julia sighs. “Yeah, whatever,” she rubs her chin. “They seem… weird, right?”

“Uhhhh… do you think this needs more spices?” Mal says, shoving a spoonful of stew in Julia’s mouth. She sputters. 

---

MAL: “For now, I have no reason to single out Assney! I mean, yes, if we lose, they can ally themselves and vote me off- but also… the fact that I can blackmail them, make them anxious and uneasy…” she grins. “Too good to pass up.”

---

“Okay, this thing is broken,” Max sighs, staring at the clumpy mess of dough the machine spit out. Kelly giggles at the stars they cut out. “It’d be nice if someone was HELPING!”

Kelly ignores him. He stares at Bonnie for help, and they shrug. 

“We’re done for,” he sighs, shoving the pasta maker away. “There’s no way we can…” his eyes drift down to the flat, shaped dough Kelly has been cutting out. “Wait right here. I need some ricotta.”

Max stands and runs off. 

---

“FIVE! Four! Three! Two! And ONE, MAGGOTS!” Chris shouts through his megaphone, feedback forcing everyone on the sidelines to cover their ears. 

The host stands and sits down next to Chef at the judge’s table. 

“Let’s taste-test some yummy authentic cuisine,” he chuckles, rubbing his hands together. “First up… Michela!”

Michela stands and sets a plate of pastries in front of the judges. “Cannoli,”

“Ooh, a classic,” The two take a moment to savor the treats. Michela sucks in her breath and says a quick prayer. Albert rolls his eyes. 

“Hmm… passable. Six out of ten.” Chef says. She breathes a sigh of relief and walks off, joining her last remaining teammate on the sidelines. 

“Team Friendship! Front and center!”

Max and Kelly speed over with a tray of star-shaped ravioli, setting one plate on either side of Chris and Chef. 

The two enjoy the pasta, the latter of which clearing his throat to give a rating. “Taste is good, but the shape is… uh,” he stares at the stars. “American. Negative points for Americana! 5/10!”

Max smacks his forehead and Kelly opens their mouth to argue, but they’re dragged back to the sidelines before they can intervene. 

“Last, but not least… Team Yaoi!”

Mal smiles, bringing over the steaming pot. “Brodetto di pesce with red wine,” she says curtly, setting the dish before them. 

The two grin and spoon from the pot. Chef smacks the stew around his mouth for a few moments before giving a thumbs up. 

“Delicious, authentic, and a unique choice. 10/10,” 

Julia cheers, and Ass and Courtney breathe an equal sigh of relief from the sidelines. 

Chris beams. “Team Friendship, you’re the only team with no points- which means you would be going to the elimination ceremony tonight… if this wasn’t a reward episode!”

“WHAT!” Team Yaoi shouts in unison. 

Max sighs and relaxes, unclenching his jaw for the first time all day. Bonnie pats his shoulder. 

“Team Yaoi and Team Mojo will be sharing first class accommodations and a catered, three-course Italian meal. Hope you all enjoy!” He chuckles, walking off. 

---

Julia’s arms are tightly crossed and her knees are tucked tightly to her chest as she glares at Team Mojo from across the cabin. The aforementioned, on the other hand, are merrily enjoying two ice-cold Italian limonatas together, chatting about the day’s events. 

“Man, I could get used to this,” Michela grins. Her eyes drift over to Julia. “Even with the company. Lighten up over there!”

Julia grimaces. 

---

JULIA: “We might as well have lost- tying is basically losing, anyway, and having the extra company is not my favorite thing in the world. I need Mal to start taking orders again, and fast,”

---

Albert stands. “I’m going to get another drink. Want anything?”

“I’m good!” Michela shrugs, settling back in the plush seat. “I think I’m gonna try to get some sleep. Make sure Goldilocks over there doesn’t suffocate me.”

“Will do,”

Albert walks through the cabin, entering the dining room to the sounds of two voices laughing. He raises an eyebrow and a slight smile crosses his face. 

“Mind if I join you?” he asks (though it’s not much of a request), pulling up a chair to Ass and Courtney. They shrug. “You know, I have to say- I really admire your team.” he goes on. “You all work together so well.”

Ass scoffs. “I don’t know if-”

“I wasn’t finished,” he says calmly, but coldly. Ass quiets down, a sudden look of curiosity crossing their face. “My team, well… we were as divided as you can imagine before Patrick left. But you four have always had a good dynamic, like a healthy aquatic ecosystem. Everyone does their part, right?”

He pauses to chuckle, then clears his throat. 

“I’m sure you can attribute your consistent success to your cooperation. It’d be terrible for something to happen that’d divide your team,” 

A long silence follows. Then, Courtney raises an eyebrow. “What are you getting at?”

“I’m just complimenting your work structure,” he shrugs. “If my former coalition had worked as well, I wouldn’t be here right now. But I am, anyway.” 

Albert stands and leaves the dining room. From around the corner, Mal glares. 

---

MAL: “How would he… hm. Maybe I should reconsider the placement of my pawns on this one,”

---

Mal walks back into the main cabin and sits next to Julia, who’s still wrapped up in glaring daggers at Michela and Albert. 

The blonde huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. Nonetheless, she still addresses the new presence. “Where have you been?”

“I was getting pics of Chris’ private quarters to auction, duh,” Mal scoffs. “I even snagged his toothbrush, wanna see?”

“Ugh, save it,” she grumbles. “I’m not gonna get a wink of sleep with those two around…”

“I’m sure they won’t bother you in the dining room? They’re just eating,”

“What? I meant Team Mojo,”

She looks away. “That’s… also what I meant. I um… didn’t see them come back,”

“Whatever,” Julia rolls her eyes, muttering “ditz” under her breath. 

After a few moments, Mal stands, brushing herself off. “I’ll be in the cargo hold on Twitch. Don't bother me!” And then she disappears from the cabin. 

Michela watches her leave, then turns back and raises an eyebrow. “What’s that for?”

“She says she gets better WiFi in the cargo hold,” Julia sighs, vaguely gesturing. “Don’t ask me about why she needs that…”

“But wouldn’t-” Albert starts, and then sits back. “Never mind.”

“Hey, don’t look at me. The girl’s a class-A nutcase,” the blonde says, sitting and stretching. “Without that phone, she’d be as useful as a bike with no wheels.”

Albert and Michela make confused eye contact, and then glance away.

[anotherisodope]

Just found out that we dodged a huge bullet

You ever have a friend who just completely derails your life with their drama every time you run into, talk to or even hear about them?

Got one like that. We’ve been trying to help him for months in a Movie of the Week level family drama situation that has, along with some other stuff, totally eaten my life. And now, things have gone from bad to cartoonishly awful, in one night.

(Now edited for clarity. I shouldn’t write when I’m that pissed off, sorry!)

The Cast

Me: Gold medalist in competitive napping

My man: Has lived with me almost two decades, there’s rings involved, you get the idea

Gonk: A formerly close friend of ours who is making himself less close with every damn day that goes by as he slowly transitions from a cinnamon roll to an ego-burdened military douche. Calling him Gonk because he increasingly, stubbornly, refuses to listen to even basic common sense if it gets in the way of what he wants to do

GFF: Gonk’s friend who has been putting him up until Gonk starts Basic Training in another state

Evil Sister: Gonk’s sister, a raging assclown whom I sometimes call the Wicked Bitch of the East--with good reason

Our friend Gonk is the sort who never, ever, EVER contacts us unless he needs something, and he’s caused all kinds of disruption, but we’ve stayed loyal as hell and supported him. I was even going to move this guy into my house before he torpedoed that plan with a set of Bad Life Decisions. (Long story I’ll cover later).

Bit of backstory. Gonk has a very bad relationship with his sister, who is a far, far bigger asshole than he’s ever dreamed of being. Evil Sister was left the house and their parents’ whole estate after their mom died (so our friend wouldn’t lose his disability benefits), and promised to “look after” Gonk to his mom’s face. Once Mom died, Evil Sister promptly started proceedings for kicking Gonk out, and turned abusive in the meantime.

One thing she’s done is weaponize the police against Gonk every time she gets mad at him, meaning she calls them on him and tries to get him imprisoned over issues he can’t even be arrested for. Argument? Call the cops. He swore while playing video games? Cops. He had a meltdown from her verbal abuse and started yelling and crying? Cops. I’m actually surprised they still come out at this point.

We’ve explained to Gonk, as have the police, that what Evil Sister is doing is a form of abuse, isn’t appropriate use of law enforcement, and wastes police time and resources as well. Gonk’s seen it, he’s felt it, he’s been told multiple times: weaponizing the police so you can hurt someone you’re mad at (especially over petty shit) is really, really wrong.

So Gonk has been staying with another friend, GFF, for a few weeks before he starts Basic Training (a whole other awful story), basically to get away from the Wicked Bitch of the East. It was a huge act of generosity on GFF’s part, and a relief for Gonk, us, and everyone who cares about Gonk. At least...until yesterday.

Last night, everything blew up very suddenly. GFF kicked Gonk out and threatened to harm him if he came back. Why?

Because Gonk decided to call the cops on poor GFF, in GFF’s own home, IN AN ARGUMENT OVER WHO OWNED A FUCKING PACK OF CIGARETTES.

That’s right. Gonk, the guy who had the police inappropriately called on him over small shit multiple times, and is in the best possible position to know how wrong that is...turned around and did it to someone else. Someone he was depending on for shelter.

The cops kicked in the door, GFF’s dog escaped and vanished, and needless to say GFF is absolutely furious. He wants nothing further to do with Gonk and will probably kick his ass, or worse, if that hypocritical dumbass tries to come back. In fact, he’s already threatened to do so.

Gonk has nothing to say for himself. He is back with Evil Sister now, for the moment. I’m just praying he doesn’t show up on our doorstep again, because this has destroyed the last of our trust in him--which thanks to other crap was already badly damaged.

I am SO goddamned glad now that Gonk didn’t end up living with us. I don’t want anyone in my life who calls the cops on innocent people he’s supposed to care about, over petty shit. Of all people, Gonk should know better. But he got big mad and tossed friendship, common sense and decency out the window over an under $20 purchase instead. Nothing GFF did for him mattered to Gonk--not even opening up his home.

That could easily have been us. And I don’t want to give Gonk the chance to make it be us. Before now, I was worried about his safety, but this is the last straw. Now I just want him to leave town for his training and never come back.

[sorcerous-caress]

(Hope it’s cool if I drop my tav as a companion thing here also I don’t have many images of my tav so I didn’t put any)

Basic info

Sean Shanahan - Rogue - Urchin - Human - Chaotic Good

Where to recruit them

The slope to the left leading to the hollow at The Grove. 

As you go down to the hollow you see him burning something but he doesn’t tell you what it was brushing it off as nothing. If you press him about it he’ll get defensive and tell you that it’s none of your business.

He will comment on if Aradin or Zevlor got punched expressing approval for punched Aradin and disapproval for punched Zevlor.

When your tadpoles connect the visions you experience are ones where you feel hatred with visions of a burning building but it quickly fades to running on rooftops and through trees. 

When discovering that you are also infected he tries to join you but only hinting at it and not outright saying it, if this is called out he will deny it at first but then admit to it and ask outright. If you agree to let him join he will thank you for letting him accompany you. If your party is full he will instead thank you for your hospitality. 

Starting Equipment

He holds two daggers and a bow. 

His clothing is different from what my actual Tav wears in game, it being a green coat with a hood, a red scarf, and leather gloves. His camp clothes seem to be his normal clothes just without the coat, scarf, and gloves. 

His coat’s description reads: “how one makes their clothes look both raggedy and tailored is beyond you” and his camp clothes description reads: “Sean needs to broaden his wardrobe”

Camp

His camp doesn’t have much other than a pouch that if he sees you interacting with tell you not to touch which, if you’re sneaky, can take a red feather from and when brought to him he will promptly ask for it back. 

You can either give it back and persuade him to tell you what it is or promise to give it back when he tells you what it is without a check needed where he will explain that it belonged to his mother who had passed the year prior.

(Unrelated note you should’ve been able to interact with camps how can you give Karlach a teddy bear named Clive and give no lore on it)

Personality

He’s usually quiet and shys away from the others at camp (even though he wanted to join) but will not stay silent if he thinks you’re doing a wrong thing, wants to help someone, or wants to take someone down. I can imagine the other companions mentioning his shyness when recruited, saying he eats alone whenever they long rest although that does change as the story goes on.

Approval

He gains approval by doing good deeds like helping beggars and especially helping the tieflings but gains disapproval if you are racist to any of the races, including goblins, and if you screw over or are needlessly mean to innocent people.

Even though he’s against needless killing he will always suggest just murdering bad guys rather than doing elaborate things to stop them or fool them. If you say “we shouldn’t resort straight to murder” he’ll scoff saying that people like (insert bad guy that’s in the game here) don’t deserve life and you’ll gain disapproval.

Reactions

After the Act 1 Hag mission he will go on an angry rant about how stupid Mayrina was for ever considering Ethel’s deal before calming down and apologizing, saying that his personal feelings got the better of him but still believes that she was unwise to consider a hag’s deal.

If you side with the goblins he won’t leave like Karlach, Wyll, and Gale but he will attack you calling you a monster and exclaims that he either kills you or dies trying.

Companions

(Sorry didn’t include Halsin, Minsc, or Minthara)

Lae’zel: He surprisingly likes her. He can tell she’s nicer than most Gith given how she even considered making them pure. He does however feel bad for her knowing she’s a pawn of Vlaakith and will be incredibly happy when Lae’zel rebels against her. Their party chatter is mostly talking about fighting and when offered a sparring match he instantly declines saying he likes to keep his head on. He will also mention that he knows another Githyanki but won’t answer any other questions just to fuck with her.

Shadowheart: He respected her privacy due to also having secrets to his name. He knew who the Sharrans were but he still didn’t think of her any differently when she revealed her goddess because it didn’t change her actions. In chatter he will tell her that he also doesn’t know how to swim after she reveals it. He will also express that he is proud she defied Shar saying that not even a god can get away with ruining a person’s life.

Astarion: He’s pretty much an inverted Astarion. He didn’t much of him at first but as soon as he learned of Cazador he knew wanted to be there when Astarion killed him. When at Baldur’s Gate he’ll playfully tease him if he mentions the Upper City going “oooooh Upper Ciiiity” or asking “care to show me the most expensive houses up there?”

Gale: He was worried about Gale the whole time. Party chatter is just “hey Gale stop thinking about the crown please” “hey Gale remember that we don’t need the orb.” Got offended when Mystra told Gale to blow himself up saying that “we do just fine without the gods every other day why should they start helping now?”

Wyll: As soon as he found out Wyll was in a Devil contract he suggested to find any means to break it. If the contract is broken at the cost of Duke Ravenguard he will express that he feels sorry for Wyll but it was better him rather than Wyll.

Karlach: He’s in the same boat as Shadowheart when they first meet her. In party chatter he will bring up the tieflings he grew up with to her but none of them were like her.

Jaheria: In party chatter when Jaheria asks why he looks at her so strangely he will tell her how she reminds him a lot of his late mother and how similar they are.

Romance

It starts it act 1 when after a long rest he will approach you in the night nervously asking to sleep with you for the night explaining that he hasn’t been to sleep because he’s not used to sleeping alone. If you tease him about it he’ll get embarrassed but gain approval and if you accept he will at first say that he’ll just sleep on the ground next to the bedroll remarking that he’s slept on worse but if you persuade him to take the bed he will sleep next to you where you get the option to sleep next to him normally or to spoon him which will gain approval and also cause him to squirm slightly before resting. The next day you can offer to do that more for him which he will nervously say that he’d like that.

In the Act 2 intimate scene you can discover his ticklishness which you can take advantage of or not but he will approve if you do.

After you kiss him for the first time and mention that he didn’t really seem like he knew what he was doing he was will apologize and explain that he’s never been in a relationship before.

They are asexual, something they will explain as soon as the relationship is official but will say he still likes physical touch and will shyly suggest you do it more.

After you kiss him for the first time and mention that he didn’t really seem like he knew what he was doing he was will apologize and explain that he’s never been in a relationship before.

He approves of it when you tease him whether it be verbally or by touch.

There would probably be special dialogue if you are a tiefling given that he grew up with them.

I had fun reading this, I was so invested and didn't notic how much I read through until it ended.

He seems like a really lovely companion! I'm imagining all the interactions and how beloved by the fandom he would be. And honestly we need more ace representation so I'm glad you mentioned it.

I love the part about asking Astarion which houses are the most rich fosbfisjjfkaks it perfectly shows his chaotic good nature.

I wrote what my durge OC (Sol) would think of Sean, both as companions for fun!

-

They're taken back by his shyness at first whenever they made a snide remark or a rude comment, they're used to people telling them off, complaining or ignoring them.

It's like a new territory, being mean is like play to them, with sean not participating it just weirds them out so they give him his space during early game. Much like Halsin, they grow to distrust him, there is no way someone like him is actually this meek without hiding something.

But the more he starts showing his teeth during the acts, the more comfortable they start to feel around him, knowing he will stop them if they cross the line.

They're not sold on his whole good cause, they attempt to poke holes in his ideas that he is still stealing from others, but instead of guilt tripping him, they congratulate him for being just as bad and rotten as the rest of the group.

They don't believe someone can be good without doing any harm, that academic wizards who dream of utopia never thought of what it would take to actually achieve it, how many people will get hurt for their ideas of an ideal world.

In act 3 before their end, they confess that to Sean. That they are actually glad he withstood all of their attempts to get him down, that he knows real change requires breaking the rules and doing good is never the easy choice. That he knows what sins must be commited to help the people in need, to forcefully take the power from the top and redistribute it.

If asked about it by the player, they will pretend they never said that or change the subject, refusing to acknowledge the fact they had a heart to heart with another person.

If it's their bad ending, they will tell him that they still hold these believes, so they have to become insanely powerful so no one ever can steal that power from them. That they will burn down this world that wronged them and deemed them a danger, that they deserve this after all they went through. Greed overtakes them in this ending and they plan on hoarding as many riches, gold and gems to themselves, fully embracing their red dragon heritage and even imprisoning the people they love so they could never leave them, romanced Tav in this scenario.

If it's their good ending, without their magic, their greed completely disappears. Their envy dwindling slowly as they realise they don't want the traits that other people have, they can be their own person and they don't have to put down everyone around them to lift themselves up. They stand firm with what they told him, but this time hint at the idea of also being part of that change. They plan on returning to their hometown and not staying in Baldur's gate, and if he ever wants to visit, they'll have a list prepared for him with the locations of the most rich houses in the whole country.

-

Also if you don't mind, what are his good and bad endings? Romanced preferably but I'll also be happy with the non romanced. I'm really curious

Now actually I wanna even add more categories to the "Tav as companion" list.

I might do some of them for my own Tav/Durge later on, this is more fun than I expected.

What gives them inspiration points

Which person from their past shows up in the story and at which point

What are their dissmisal lines / party join lines

What're the questions you can ask them immediately after recruiting them

How do they react to their dream person

What's their stance on using the ilithid powers

How do they react to the different companions good and bad endings

What item can you give them to gain their approval? (Ex: necromancy book for Gale/Astarion, night Orchid, statue for Shadowheart)

Do they mention their home? Family?

Do they have a fight scene with a companion that you need to resolve?

How do they react to Raphael, Ketheric, Orin and Gortash?

Are they happy or sad that they got abducted?

Would they agree to the drow twins deal? Why yes and why not?

Do they have a unique feature/companion that you only get if you play their origin? (Ex: Tara with gale)

What's their reaction to Asterion being a vampire

Who rejects who when it comes with sharing in a poly? (Ex: Astarion is okay with sharing with Gale but Gale isn't and makes you choose)

What's their questline? Is it time sensitive? Which act is the most dire to their quest?

What's their reaction to the underdark? Do they prefer the surface

Do they fight Tav at any point in the story? (Ex: Laezel romance fight)

Do they urge Tav to seek out a cure immediately or are they happ tagging along exploring the world?

Do they have any useful "jobs" in the overworld combat/exploration? (Ex: Astarion being the dedicated lockopener, Shadowheart the dedicated healer)

How would they react to durge confession of having sick thoughts at early game vs late game when they realise who durge is.

Would you romance your OC as Tav?

How do you think the fandom, as it is right now, would react to them?

Who is the person they'd be the most shipped with? Npc? Companion? And why?

Who is the rival niche ship to that main ship?

What's the "drama" and discourse about them in the fandom that gets people arguing? (Ex: Astarion's manipulation of the player)

What's their voice like? Do you have a voice actor in mind? What's their manner of speech like?

Descripe their tent, where is it stationed?

If the player selected them in dialogue instead of Tav, which conversations would they have a unique dialogue option in?

(Spoilers for end game ahead) if you ask them about what to do during the Emperor Orphues choice, what would they say? Would they offer themselves?

[chaotic-super]

Bathtub Pizza

Supercorptober Day 3 - Drunk

Alex heaves Kara up the stairs, leaning her against the wall for a second so she can wipe the sweat from her brow. “My god, you weigh a lot.”

The words don’t hit Kara the way she was hoping they would, the woman unable to focus on anything other than not hurling and trying to keep the world from spinning, so with a reluctant sigh Alex grabs her sister once more and begins the treacherous trip up the last flight of stairs to Kara’s door.

She prays that Lena is still awake so she can take over babysitting duties, she is her girlfriend after all. Alex probably would have called Lena to have come and pick Kara up from the bar had her phone not have died, so she was stuck looking after a drunk Kara and a drunk Kelly, who is stumbling behind them, not quite as wasted as Kara.

She’s never been so happy to reach Kara’s front door before. It takes her a second to try and balance Kara and dig her keys out of her pocket at the same time and then for her to figure out which one is for Kara’s place, she really has a lot of keys that she has no idea what they’re for, she should sort that.

The key slides into the lock noisily and just as she turns it the door is pulled wide open, causing Alex to jump and lose her grip on Kara, sending the blonde careering through the open door right into Lena’s waiting arms.

Kara seems to recognise the arms that she’s in immediately, sinking into Lena and pressing her face into her neck. “Mm, I missed you.” She mutters into Lena. Happy to be a sap and be back into her girlfriend’s arms.

Lena fights to stay upright under the added weight that is now clinging to her. She moves her attention from the drunk blonde to Alex, who is lingering by the door, ushering Kelly closer from where she is hiding around the corner of the hallway, finding it funny to tease Alex in her intoxicated state.

“What the hell did you do to them? You were meant to be watching them, Alex.” Lena’s tone doesn’t hold the bite her words do, too busy worrying about the state Kara is in, especially when she starts mumbling about needing to be sick.

“It’s harder than you’d think to keep a Kryptonian from drinking when she wants to do shots, even harder when Kelly eggs her on and matches her shot for shot. I suppose it also doesn’t help that Kara’s a lightweight.”

Lena sighs again, wishing she had a free hand to rub the stress from her temples. “Whatever, I’ve got it from here, and I need to get this one to a toilet, so she doesn’t puke on the floor. Thanks for bringing her home.”

Alex smiles at her with pity. “Sorry, I wish I could stay and help but I’ve got to get this one home.” She points to Kelly, who has given up on her game and is now tucked into her, similar to the way that Kara is attached to Lena.

“It’s alright, get home safe and we can drag these two out for brunch in the morning, say eleven, eleven thirty?”

“Sounds good, the hangovers will teach them a lesson, we’ll see you at Noonan’s.” Alex waves to them and pulls the door shut as she takes her leave.

Lena glances down at her drunk girlfriend, smiling a little when she sees her eyes shut, asleep standing up on Lena’s shoulder.

She kissed the forehead of her drunken idiot and urges her awake with gentle words. “Hey, darling. Do you want to wake up for me?” When she gets no response she tries a different tactic. “How about we order some pizza to soak up all that gasoline you’ve been drinking?”

That hits its mark. “Pizza? I want pizza.” Still, Kara remains attached to Lena, practically trying to crawl into her skin.

“Let’s get you to the bathroom and I’ll order pizza then.” Lena manages to get Kara to shuffle along with her, taking tiny steps so she doesn’t lose her balance since she’s so unsteady on her feet.

It takes longer than Lena expects but she does manage to manoeuvre kara into the bathroom, where the blonde then promptly informs her that she no longer feels like she is about to barf. She has t take a few calming breaths to stop her brain from imploding but once she’s composed, she just sticks a smile right back on her face.

“How about a bath then?”

“With bubbles?” Kara pouts.

“How else could you have a bath?”

Kara takes the question seriously, her brain haywire from the amount of alien rum she drank. She does seem to be sobering up ever so slightly but is still a long way from even being tipsy instead of sloshed. “With pizza.”

“If you want to eat pizza in the bath, then you’ll have to wait for me to order it before we run the bath.”

Once again, Kara pulls out her infamous put but doesn’t complain, so Lena takes her back out of the bathroom so she can deposit the drunkard on the couch instead. She makes sure to order plenty so there’s enough for leftovers tomorrow, Kara doesn’t get terrible hangovers, just a mild headache, but she does end up with the munchies too the following day.

Kara is restless, impatient for her food and to have a bubble bath, mumbling about wanting rubber duckies and a mermaid tail. Lena, for the most part, ignores her ramblings but does pull her down towards her on the other side of the couch until Kara’s head rests on her lap so she can use her fingers to comb out the tangles in her hair.

She regrets her choice when she’s trapped under Kara with no way to go and get a nice big glass of wine to ease her tension. She’s spent the whole evening worried about Kara, despite her being with Alex and Kelly, because she doesn’t usually drink, and it only doubled when she came home from working late to find her girlfriend nowhere to be found.

Luckily for her, the delivery doesn’t take long so she uses the knocking at the door as the perfect excuse so slide out from under her girlfriend to go and get the food and to grab herself some wine, fitting as much of the bottle as she can in her glass.

She turns around, pizza box in hand, to head back to Kara but the other woman must have taken the knocking at the door as her cue to move to the bathroom, so the sound of running water meets her ears.

With the feeling of dread building in her chest, Lena rushes to find out what Kara is doing. She finds that Kara is in the bath, fully clothed with the water scalding, not that Kara could tell with her invincible skin.

Lena reaches over to turn the cold tap on and to try and encourage Kara to take her sopping wet clothes off, the pizza and her wine glass abandoned by the sink.

Kara does listen to her, albeit reluctantly. Each item of clothing the comes off gets deposited on the floor with a wet splat, making Lena flinch each time.

She periodically tests the water temperature by sticking her hand beneath the water and without fail, every time her hand is in reach Kara tries to hold it. Lena’s lucky that Kara isn’t very quick when she’s inebriated so she can pull it out of the way quickly because she knows that if kara got hold of her, she wouldn’t let go.

When the water is a tolerable temperature, although still a little bit too hot, Lena strips down and joins Kara, getting in the opposite side and letting their legs tangle together in the middle, their knees sticking up out of the surface since there is barely enough space for one person, let alone two.

The pizza box its atop of their knees, Kara digging in right away while Lena uses the lid of the box to shield Kara’s view of her drinking every time she take a sip since she doesn’t want Kara to start asking for any more to drink, even if it doesn’t really affect her that much.

Slowly but surely, Lena makes her way through her glass until it’s empty, wishing she brought more with her, but it wouldn’t do for her to get wine drunk when Kara is already drunk.

The whole time they are in the bath, they munch on pizza, the only words spoken are Kara’s barely coherent words where she is expressing her undying love to either Lena or the pizza, Lena can’t quite figure out who it is aimed at.

Still, as she looks over the empty pizza box, her legs cramping from being trapped in the tub with her drunk leggy girlfriend, she can’t help but love that somehow, this is her life, and she wouldn’t change that for anything.

[kenshiramblings]

My Three Playthroughs

I picked up Kenshi as a birthday present in 2020 after being pretty isolated that year. I'd held off buying it but finally caved.

So far, I have had three playthroughs of Kenshi. I will not disclose how many hours I have in the game but I will say that it's in the triple digits. But each playthrough has been different overall (though the second and third did have one bit of overlap).

Playthrough 1 (?): Mods: None

I've got to be honest, I can't even remember the first guys name. I think it was Stump/Stub/Stamp? Something like that. The reason that I can't remember is because the first playthrough lasted last than an hour. I was a Scorchlander and was trying to play as in character as possible. The game said that Scorchlanders didn't like authority and were loners so I mined up enough copper and iron to buy food/building materials before leaving to build my own shelter away from everyone.

What I didn't know was that once you set down stakes, it put you on everyone's radar. I also didn't know that people would come to your new base. I learned the hard way when the Holy Nation came for Prayer Day.

During the conversation, I got the option to slap the Holy Priest. Well, Scorchlanders are supposed to be anti-authority and this guy was annoying so I slapped him. I guess I hadn't thought about the 8 or so armed guards with him who promptly drew they're swords and absolutely ruined my level 1 character.

I remember still being in the main character mindset of 'they got me good but I'll get up, get stronger, and get revenge'. But my character didn't get up. He slowly bled out and died right there. I didn't even take a screenshot of him. I can't even remember his name. And as the game kept playing, allowing me to watch my corpse and people walking by in the distance, I understood what kind of game Kenshi was. Your character didn't have a grand story or immense destiny. You could die in the first two days of playing, broke and in front of a half built small shack you never even got to finish building.

And while that may have been off-putting for others, it made me want to try again. This first character's story was over but I'd learn from it and do better in the second one.

Playthrough 2 (Peace): Mods: Compressed Textures, 256 Recruitment Limit, Recruitable Prisoners

I didn't give Peace his name. It was the name generated for him and I just never changed it. I don't know why. I might not have expected him to live that long. Little did I know.

Peace's story starts very similarly to my first characters but the difference was that I played much more cautiously. Any sign of bandits, I'd have him run or hide. No fighting unless cornered. Because of this, his athletic and stealth stats went up pretty quickly to the point that he could out run most bandits easily.

Another skill he leveled up was from healing dying bandits that got attacked by the town guards. Maybe it was due to his name but I just couldn't sit back and watch the bandits bleed out so I'd heal them all up. This started a routine of me healing any dying bandits I could find and taking their weapons as collateral. I actually made a decent chunk of money this way.

At some point, I had him follow a group of slavemongers that had captured a bunch of unconscious bandits. After what felt like forever, they ended up passing Blister Hill where I decided to resupply. It was there that I found the first recruit, Moo.

Moo wanted to leave Blister Hill but complained that she couldn't because women weren't allowed to travel alone. I was looking for a bodyguard for Peace so I recruited her and after resupplying, I had them return to the Hub. I had Moo fight bandits which increased her toughness. I'd make Peace hide and if she got knocked unconscious, he was fast enough to swoop in and out run them with her on his shoulders. She eventually became strong enough to handle a small group of hungry bandits by herself.

As I mentioned, I had the recruit prisoner mod on which I hadn't used at that point but it would soon come in handy. And boy did it.

At one point, I happened upon a bunch of bandits who had gotten into a fight with Holy Nation Paladins and gotten destroyed. I healed them up like usual. I was finishing up when I saw a group of slavers coming our way. I decided to start grabbing some of the bandits up and hiding them in a nearby shack. I only managed to grab two before the slavers showed up and took the rest. I ended up taking the two I hid back to town where I recruited them.

After that, the group stayed at a relatively small size. After Peace's stealth got up to a ridiculous degree, I made a habit of sneaking into dust bandit camps, knocking them out, and stealing their gear to sell in town. We ended up making a ton of money. We ended up recruiting two Shek (one from Squin and a captured Dust bandit).

The turning point came when we got attacked by the Holy Nation and half of my party nearly died. Annoyed, I ended up sneaking into the nearest city (Stack) and abducting their top ranked guy. After turning him into the Shek, we made a ton of money and the Shek took over Stack which later became our base of operations.

The thing I love about Kenshi is that there is no set goal or end game that you have to follow to progress the game. You have to set your own goals to progress. My main goal became to make Peace the best blacksmith and learn the highest level of weapons, Edge class. And so, the party had to venture out to find books. Over time, we recruited more bandits and traveled to a bunch of different parts of the map. After another Holy Nation attack, I finally kidnapped the Holy Phoenix and left him chained to a post in the foglands. But Stack was always the final destination when it was all done.

After getting Peace to the highest level of blacksmithing, the next goal was to make our own base. I picked a spot across the road from Stack. Slowly but surely, our small base grew and eventually became a small stronghold. We survived many bandit attacks and raids with the attackers either ending up in cages or in beds. Most raiders usually ended up walking out of their own free will minus their weapons and gear. The kill count was very low. I'd be surprised if it even cracked the triple digits.

Eventually, I got bored and decided it was a good place to leave things off. Peace started with nothing but ended up with a small army and a large self sustaining base the size of a small town. I wanted to try a different scenario so I ended it there.

Playthrough 3 (Moon): Mods: Compressed Textures

For my third and most recent playthrough, I thought I'd try something different. I picked Son of a Captain backstory where you're the son of a United Cities captain who ends up in The Hub. Because of this backstory, you have a good relationship with the United Cities but the Holy Nation's hostility is at 100. But to get back to the United Cities, you have to travel through Holy Nation territory.

This time I named the character Moon. I just thought it fit with the world. I set out to play this character much differently from Peace. He was to be a lot more cunning and resourceful. The main goal was to make money and build him up enough to make the journey back to the United Cities safely.

After venturing south to Squin to get the travel supplies I would need (backpack, map, food rations, etc), I ended up recruiting Ruka. At some point, I ventured out to the swamps. I didn't go too deep just to the first town close to the outskirts. While there, I sent Ruka to a shop to get fish. Unfortunately while I was paying attention to her, blood spiders attacked the town and Moon. It happened so fast that by the time I noticed that he was fighting, he was already unconscious and dying. I had to buy a small shack so I could have somewhere safe for him to heal. It wasn't until after that that I realized he'd lost his left arm in the fight.

Returning to the Hub with one less arm, I basically built up their athletics so that they could outrun bandits and paladins. Once I decided that they were fast enough, I set them off to get a robotic arm from the Hivers and then through Holy Nation territory. In order to avoid a real fight, I sent them through the valley sneaking past farms. To avoid going through Okran's Shield, we took the long way around through the Northern Coast. It took a bit but we eventually made it through and eventually arrived at Stoat, which would become their home.

After that, my goal as Moon was to make money. After buying (and freeing) a couple slaves, I had them each learn different skills and bought a building to make our shop.

We ended up making several different things from bandages to armor but the main staple of the shop was food and liquor. We sold rum and sake at a pretty decent pace as well as foodcubes and gohan.

One thing that I wanted to do playing as Moon was see more of the map as I rarely ventured beyond a certain area as Peace. And as Moon, I ended up venturing out to see all the weird and crazy parts of Kenshi I didn't see the first time in half as many hours.

And while there were some close calls, we always made it back. I've been taking a break from this playthrough after putting a big chunk of time into it but as of right now, Moon owns three buildings in Stoat, has several skilled employees running his shop, has a million cats to his name, and generally just travels to far out places to find blueprints and science books.

The crazy thing is that if I decided to start again, there's still so much I haven't done and so many areas I can still explore even after three years. There are so many games that have little to no replay value but Kenshi is the type of game that you can go back to with different goals and have a completely different experience to the game you played before.

[tarklesbehindthescenes]

And lastly, black and purple seeker and a talkative Datson

Pairing: Skywarp/Bluestreak

Continuity: G1

Prompt: Trick

AO3

Skywarp had to keep himself from giggling as he snuck around the Ark with Bluestreak in tow, both wearing ridiculously large sheets over themselves. This was apparently a practice that humans did to scare others with varying degrees of success. Their test run had worked amazingly. The test subject being Optimus Prime himself. When they had snuck up on him and released a small shout, he had turned to see them, promptly cried out, “Oh no! Ghosts!” and run away. If these disguises were good enough to fool the Prime, then the rest of the Ark was going to be a cinch!

“Erm, Skywarp?” Bluestreak whispered. “I’m bothered by something.”

“It can wait. We’re coming up on our next victim,” Skywarp whispered back in a hurry.

The two went silent and slowly crept up on Huffer, then once they were right behind him, they released another shout.

Huffer jumped slightly and turned to them with widened optics that quickly narrowed once he spotted them. “Just what do you think you’re doing?! Startling a minibot like that! Who’s under there?!” He reached out to grab at Skywarp’s sheet and check under it, but the seeker stepped back and batted at Bluestreak urgently to signal him to run.

The two took off while giggling, leaving Huffer to yell angrily after them. As they ran, they encountered the Lambo twins, both of whom immediately darted out of the way with startled cries as the sheeted ‘ghosts’ barreled past. As they left the twins to wonder about was going on, the seeker and Datson slowed down as they spied Grapple and Hoist. The ‘ghosts’ held in their excitement as they snuck up on their next pair of unsuspecting victims, and then they shouted and bailed. Grapple shrieked and whipped around as Hoist winced and turned with a startled, “What on Earth??”

Once Skywarp and Bluestreak had gotten far enough away from their mayhem that the noise had died down and no others were around, Skywarp burst into giddy cackles. “Did you see the way they all jumped~?”

“Holy Heterodyne, I thought this was going to fail for sure, but that was great!” Bluestreak laughed.

“Whaddaya mean ya thought it would fail?” the dark seeker scoffed.

“Well, the way Prime reacted was kind of… fake? I’ve only seen him act that way when he’s trying to go along with human kids during their games,” the Datson informed.

So… that was a pity scare? Not even a scare? Skywarp stared at him blankly before narrowing his optics. “Oh… Challenge accepted. One day I’ll get your Prime to scream.”

“I… don’t think that’s a good idea,” Bluestreak advised.

“Too bad. I’m gonna do it,” the seeker stated adamantly.

A soft voice from behind them said, “Are ya, now?” And then a pair of hands grabbed Skywarp’s sides.

The seeker yelped and unintentionally teleported a few paces to the side. He and Bluestreak turned on their heels to see Jazz with Skywarp’s disguise left behind in his grasp, a smug smirk on his lips. Just behind him, a small mob of their victims were gathering. And on the other side of the hall was Prowl with several more unamused Autobots, cutting off the duo’s route of escape.

“We got several reports of ‘ghosts’ harassing bots aboard the Ark,” the third-in-command reported as he placed his hands on his hips.

Bluestreak slowly took off his sheet and looked sheepish. “Uh… Oops?”

“Uh huh,” Prowl grunted.

“Ghost bustin’ time!” Jazz declared with a grin.

The gathered Autobots began closing in, and Skywarp and Bluestreak shot each other nervous looks. They were definitely in for it.

[emerald9d]

I had a nightmare about Deltarune...?

Lemme start by saying that "nightmare" for me generally isn't some scary or disturbing stuff. Usually they're more about, like, being constantly and deeply frustrated with the people around me in the dream. Anyone who's heard me bitch about fandom theories can probably imagine how I'd end up having a DR "nightmare," based on that.

So it was about a weird sequel. Tonally it was like... Yu-Gi-Oh, or especially edgy Digimon... kinda in that ballpark. The first part of the dream was me just hearing about this sequel. (and not questioning the fact that we have a sequel despite only having two chapters of the first game) And I was like well this is a bit weird but I'm interested.

Finally I check it out. It's like some "a few years later" college AU level stuff... at first. There's new focal characters but the old cast is around and seems like they'll still be important to some degree.

Then Kris just up and fucking dies almost immediately.

As a big Kris Enjoyer this is immediately upsetting to me. Some friend of mine (not anybody from real life, just made up for the dream) who was talking to me about this show before is immediately and excitedly like YEAH BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING. And it becomes clear why he was so dodgy about talking about any of the original cast.

The whole thing is like this, with the original cast pretty much either dead or stuck in awful situations, while the new major cast members largely take over the plot. And they're just sorta edgelords lacking in depth engaged in some conflict or another. And I'm just like "this is what people have been raving about?"

And rave they do, leaving me feel like a crazy person for thinking this is a massive downgrade in story telling, feeling like it's mostly focused on shock value. Taking wholeass pre-existing developed character arcs, seeming to ask the question "where do those arcs lead them in the future?" And then promptly throwing them all in the trash.

After I woke up, my immediate thought was that it reminds me how I felt about Chrono Cross. Not that I think that's what the dream was "really" all about, but it was a pretty similar collection of complaints. Honestly, within the dream I kinda wanted to try asking people if maybe there's some twist later on involving weird temporal or dimensional fuckery and that the original cast would still be involved somehow in a way that wasn't just bluntly disposing of them, but I never got around to it. Also my brain was making it all up so it's not like the question really matters, heh.

And, uh, that's it. There were other standard dream things, like jumping back and forth between being an audience member and actually being someone in the story. Also at one point when I was trying to talk about my complaints I'd keep getting a few words into a sentence only to get interrupted by somebody over and over, which is a pretty big irl pet peeve of mine.

Which I guess leads me to what I think this dream was really about: my fandom theory pet peeve (in any fandom) of people seeming to jump excitedly on certain ideas just because they carry the most immediate shock value, and not because they're actually terribly well thought-out.

My brain just likes to make itself mad I guess, even when I'm asleep. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[whichdirectionamigoing]

Chapter 8 - Robin

***6 years prior**

"FUR-6... Absolutely wild. And it just keeps getting worse..." Reed absent-mindely poked at his food. None of us really felt like eating. Probably explained why Jason only made toast and eggs for us instead of a full meal.

"It'll settle down. One day." I piped up, trying to be hopeful. "Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Enter Jason from god knows where, our resident pessimist. "It'll settle down when the sun explodes. So.. It'll settle down one day." Klace chimed in. "Nobody asked you but alright." Jason sat down, promptly stealing one of my pieces of toast. "Why don't we change the topic." Reed suggested from his side of the table.

...

I washed my hands in the bathroom sink. My head and back hurt like absolute hellfire. I'd already taken at least a dozen painkillers. Jason was starting to get worried. "I just wanna sleep..." I mumbled to myself. "We've tried painkillers, warm clothes, cold clothes, muscle relief gel, sleep meds and half the other crap behind the mirror. Hell, we're even burning half of the incense and special candles I got. I don't think you're getting any sleep tonight." Jason sat on the edge of the bathtub, keeping a close eye on me.

He absolutely refused to leave my side. "I don't wanna keep you up..." I sat on the ledge beside him. "I don't care. If you're awake, I'm awake with you. That's how it works, whether you like it or not. So, what do you want to do?" He put a hand on my back, assuring me I wasn't going to win that argument. "What?" I turned to him. "We can go for a walk, watch TV, bother Klace, see if Soda needs anything, play a video game.. or... something... else...." He smiled gently. "I don't know.." I shook my head.

...

It was even worse the next day. Everything burned. "Come on. You need to eat something." Reed stood over me with a concerned tone. I didn't respond. "Please, Robin, please." He crouched to my level. I blinked. "We gotta take him to the hospital or something." Jason said, pressed against my back, arm around my chest. "Can't. FUR-6 has completely fucked all the nearby hospitals and clinics." Reed shook his head. I closed my eyes.

"Then what do we do...?" Jason hugged me tighter. "Die." I mumbled. "No," Reed sat down on the bed, placing a hand on my side. "We'll have to figure something out..."

...

"I am *not* leaving him!" Jason waved his arms at Klace, refusing every attempt the others made at dragging him out of the house for around two weeks. "He'll survive. If something goes wrong, he'll text us. Right, Robin?" Reed crossed his arms, turning to me. I nodded from the couch.

"See? Man's fine. He could probably do with some space anyway." Klacd unlocked the door, holding the slab of metal open. "B- But!" Jason continued arguing the entire way down the hallway from what I could hear. Our poor neighbors could probably hear the man.

...

The burning had completely gone away. A complete relief. But my back and head hurt even more. And now everything itched. Was I dying? Is that what dying felt like? I didn't feel sick, so there was that.. But clearly something was *wrong*.

...

Now I was covered in a shoddy bandage job. I'd scratched myself to the point of bleeding multiple times. My eyes stung for no reason, and I was overly sensitive to the light. I was gonna stab someone pretty soon.

...

The itching went away, but the burning remained. That was progress. Maybe. My eyes stung even more, and I had to keep all of the apartment lights off. This was getting ridiculous.

...

Did I always shed skin this much? That didn't seem normal. The burning had died down a bit more, but now I had to vacuum several times a day. I could swear my body hair was longer than usual. Once again, my entire spine ached.

...

The shedding stopped, thank the gods. But now I was pulling out hair constantly. That definitely wasn't normal. I guess I had pretty thick hair. I probably needed to see someone about this. But I didn't.

...

The pain spread to anywhere that had a bone. This was getting ridiculous. Clearly I wasn't dying, so that felt good. My body hair was definitely growing faster, and thicker than normal. Were my nails always this curved?

...

I couldn't get out of bed again that day. I felt like I'd been run over by a semi. Moving didn't feel natural anymore. I felt like a stranger in my own body. I needed to shave. Desperately. But oh well.

...

I could resume being a functional being again. That was good. My spine still hurt, but apparently that was just a thing now. I'd learned to mostly ignore it. I hoped Soda would return the other boys soon, as I wanted to stop existing for awhile.

...

This is when everything really went to shit. Something twitched along my back, like a tail. My hearing felt weird. Muffled, I think. Hair was *everywhere*. I was really due for a shave, but at this point, I had already given up. My natural hair was growing in with some lighter patches.

The most concerning part was the small chunks of flesh I occasionally knocked off of myself. Skin had already grown where it should've been bleeding out. It didn't even hurt, which was impressive.

My vision once again started acting up. My eyes were constantly watering, and I couldn't handle even the smallest bit of light. What was *happening* to me?

...

I ended up sleeping for a few days now. I remember waking up at one point and taking a shower, but that was the most of it. The shower was disgusting, but it felt better at the end. My body definitely wasn't how it should've been.

...

I finally awoke from my hibernation. I was too sleepy to think, which I wish I could've. I dragged myself to the bathroom to wash off my face as per routine. The cold water felt amazing. I rubbed my wrists on my eyes and blinked a few times before raising my head again.

I froze. I didn't like what the mirror showed me. "No.. No!!" I threw the bottles off the counter and fell to the ground. I wrapped my arms over my head. This couldn't be happening.

I ran to the bedroom, locking the door as it slammed behind me. I couldn't be seen. Of all things it could've been, this was the worst possible thing. I hid under the blanket, trying not to cry.

Right on cue, someone slammed on the door. "Who wants what?" I yelled. "You good?" Jason's voice resonated from the other side. "No! Not at all!" I pulled the blanket over, closer. "We uh.. We picked up your prescription on the way back.." He shook a bag. Shit. I needed those.

"Open the door?" He prompted. "Uhm..." I pulled the blanket off my head. "C'mon. I don't care what you're doing in there. Open up." He tapped his knuckles on the door. One of his main signs for "I'm tired and low on patience."

"I can't." I pulled the blanket back over my furry ears. "Why not?" He sighed. "I'm hideous. I'm horrible. I'm a monster." I mumbled. "Theres a door between us. Speak up." I could hear him leaning on the wall.

"Robin, open the damn door. I ain't in the mood for this." Reed slammed on the door. "I can't!" I whimpered. Reed started doing his disgruntled "I'm about to cut to the chase and break some news to you." noises.

"Jason's caught FUR-6. Guy needs to sleep a few. Open the fuck up." He raised his voice for attention. Huh. I wasn't expecting that. "What?" I asked. "Jason got FUR-6. And if you remember, it's pretty tiring to deal with." He groaned.

"Err..." I wasn't sure what to do. I needed to let him in, but I didn't want to explain that I also had gotten the virus. But I had to let him in. I opened the door quickly, reaching my paw for his collar before jerking him into the darkness.

"D- You..?" He tossed the bag vaguely at a desk. "Yeah. Yeah. That's what it was." I sat on the bed, shaking my head. "Well come on. Let's turn on the light and see what you look like. Gonna have to see you eventually, as you're stuck like this." Ever the optimist.

He flicked on the light, staring at me. He said nothing. "I look horrible don't I...?" I blinked up at him. "Oh.. My gods.." He whispered, taking his hand away from the switch. "I knew it. I didn't really look at myself too closely in the mirror. I saw I was *this* and ran..." I mumbled.

"You're *adorable*." He put his hands on the sides of my face, breaking into a grin. "I... Am...?" I could feel my ears perk up. That was *extremely* good news. "*Oohh*, the way you just lit up. I apologize, but this is incredible." He started fluffing up the fur I had grown. "I look okay?" My tail began to swish behind me, reflecting the pleasure. "Of course you do." He slid his hand down to my arm, taking a seat behind me.

I finally studied his appearance. He really wasn't looking too hot. His eyes were watery and tired. His skin was red and scratched. His hair was a choppy mess. He really wasn't doing too well. But he smiled anyway.

"Well, you could probably do for some rest..." I pressed the side of my face onto him arm. "And I have no problem sitting beside you.." "Yeah, you're right." He laughed, shoving me to the bed. My tail flicked behind me.

I turned on the TV and began watching an episode of Different Edge. He curled up, laying on me. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I didn't end up a monster. And I wasn't alone. I hoped he'd turn out okay. Either way, the situation finally felt more manageable.

...

I tried. I really did. But I couldn't make myself stay awake. Before even the second episode was done, I was fast asleep. I couldn't help it. It was just so comfortable. I said I'd sit beside him, not sleep beside him, damnit!

...

Jason's change didn't go too poorly. He looked amazing. I couldn't tell you what sort of animal he was, even if I tried. Blue, black, white and grey mixed together to form an elegant canine. Antlers rose from his head, for extra drama. The fur on his head remained longer, swept to the right. Beautiful as always.

...

But of course. It couldn't end there. Two days later, we had been found. "Wake up! *Wake up you two!*" Reed banged on the door. "Wh- Wha-" I rubbed the fluff out of my eyes. "It's the fucking police! Hide!" He screamed.

I scrambled to my feet, punching Jason as I awoke. "Whhmmm..?" Hr groaned. "We have to *go*!" I prompted, dragging him off the bed. "Go where!?" He stumbled to his feet as I began working on the window. "Our dumpsters were replaced this morning. We'll hide there." I slid the window open, beckoning him over to the fire escape.

Paws slammed on metal, racing down the stairs. "We're too slow." He picked up the pace in front of me. I looked over the railing at the ground. "Cats always land on their feet..." I mumbled. "What?" He paused, a flight below me. "Keep going." I studied the distance.

Begrudgingly, he continued as quick as he could. I prayed that I had inherited some cat instincts. "Here goes nothing!" I threw myself over the railing, wind whipping through my fur. "Wha-" I heard just a flicker of Jason's startled voice watching me rocket towards the ground.

Time bended to my will, turning over my spine, fingers spread, eyes locked. I was expecting pain, but felt nothing. I jumped to my feet, watching Jason jump the last two flights. He rolled over his shoulder, scrambling to a stand.

I darted to the dumpster, lifting the lid and motioning for him to join. It took him a second to get his legs high enough, and landed with a thud. Unfortunately, I landed on top of him. The lid slammed shut, and we were coated in darkness.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. Are we safe?" He whispered. "We better be." My ears pressed flat against my head. Slowly, cautiously, I raised the lid just a crack to see outside. "See anything?" He put a hand on my shoulder. "Not yet." Then began the wait.

Monochrome, gray pavement sat before me. Every hair stood on end. Until finally, I could see a set of legs. I ducked down once more, the lid closed silently. We couldn't risk being spotted at all.

"...The orders kinda shit. I mean, these guys didn't do anything." An officer said. "They're *feral*. Another snapped. "Not all of 'em. Lot of 'em are pretty tame." The first retorted. "Who the fuck are you to question what we're told to do?" Something bad was going to happen..

"Man, they're still people!" He raised his voice. "It doesn't matter! Orders are orders!" The second seemed to move closer. I could feel Jason's anxiety rise. "We're killing innocent people!" He yelled. "They aren't people, they aren't innocent, and we aren't killing 'em!" The second seemed to punch the first.

"Should we do something?" I whispered to Jason. The first officer coughed before saying, "When we send them off to these centers, yknow what happens to most of them? They die, or they kill themselves!" "I can try. Gimme a second..." He poked his head up, studying. I watched beside him. "And how is that our fuckin' problem?!" The second advanced on the first.

Black nails tore through his skin. Jason was on all fours, snarling at the attacker. Wearing only black set of a tank top and shorts, he looked truly like an animal. "What the fuck.." The defending officer whispered, hiding beneath the tail.

I scurried out from the dumpster and hid behind it for a better view. "I've had it with your kind.." The officer reached for his belt, and was matched with an merciless bite. As the officer was knocked back, Jason reached for the gun.

A howl of pain echoed the streets, the air smelled of electricity. Jason collapsed to the ground. "These fuckin' things." The officer shook his head. "You.. Tazed him?" The first officer backed away. "He deserved it." He threw his one-time-use tazer to the ground.

I don't know what happened next. I don't know what came over me. But I knew he ended up dead.

[metize]

Behave.

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Yagami Light/Reader Additional Tags: Reader-Insert, Praise Kink, Yagami Light is Kira, L is reader's brother, but no one's supposed to know, Possessive Behavior, Unhealthy Relationships, Blackmail, Coercion, Sexual Coercion, Oral Sex, Rough Oral Sex, 'good girl's, AFAB reader - Freeform, Misogyny, Workplace Sex, Desk Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Vaginal Sex, this is filthy, I'm so sorry, Manipulation, Top Yagami Light, Jealousy

A/N: Filth! Absolute dirt! I'm the Trash Man! I come out, I throw trash all over AO3, and then I start eating garbage! Enjoy.

"You seem to get along very well with L."

You could practically feel your heart stop when Light said that. You felt so stupid, of course, this guy would figure it out. You tried your best to look unfazed while you panicked on the inside. The black-haired detective and you were trying to keep it a secret from the task force that you were siblings. You cursed Ryuzaki internally, he had been acting kind of protective towards you and it was bound to raise suspicion.

“You think so? I’ve just been trying to be on good terms with everyone.” You deflected.

The investigation room was empty save for the two of you, there was a single monitor showing the news broadcast reporting on the most recent Kira murder. You focused back on the files you were sorting through. Your older brother never cared much for organizing and that drove you mad. You glanced in Light’s direction again, he was staring at you, his gaze sent shivers down your spine, you just forced an awkward smile.

"Did you let him fuck you yet?" He deadpanned.

"W-What the fuck? Of course not!" You answered abruptly. You were offended that Light would even ask something like that. The crude way he said it too, made you blush in embarrassment. You found it weird he'd say something like that, usually Light was nothing short of a gentleman when addressing you.

"Don't get coy all of a sudden. Just admit you two are fucking already." He sounded annoyed now. He got up and got closer to your desk, his eyes never leaving yours. You sometimes felt intimidated in his presence, now in the middle of the night, alone with him towering over you, this feeling increased tenfold.

"T-that's disgusting! Why are you even saying that? We're just… we're just friends, coworkers who get along, whatever!" You started to crack under the pressure.

Light brows furrowed for a second and then his eyes widened in revelation. A grin formed on his face and he burst into laughter like he had finally gotten the punchline to a joke. His laughter was scary, loud and almost maniacal.  You didn't know how to react exactly so you looked at him nervously and confused.

Did he believe you? Did he find the misunderstanding funny? Was that it? You hoped that was it. You offered a weak smile as his laughter died down.

"I was so caught up in this… obsession… this feeling of jealousy… ah. It was obvious all along. You're siblings. Siblings!" He shook his head smiling "This is pathetic. You're becoming such a nuisance with your distraction."

He figured it out, of course it had only been a matter of time. But that realization took way too long for his liking. He was blinded by the rage of the idea of L having you and he didn't stop to consider any other possibilities.

"Excuse me? I didn't-" You got up and started to retort his rude comment.

"Shut the fuck up." And you did so out of shock. Light wasn't like this normally, he was relatively courteous and nice. Why was he so… brutish all of a sudden? He smiled at your obedience. "Good girl."

The praise felt so dirty, you frowned at him. Being infantilized was something you were used to dealing with in the workplace, being surrounded by older men. But Light was pretty much your age, what was he thinking?

You didn't have time to wonder because the man grabbed your collar and pulled you into a kiss.

You tried to push him away instinctively and ask what the fuck he was doing, but Light grabbed your wrists. He held them so tightly it almost marked your skin. Your lips were still closed so he bit them to make you part them. He kissed you aggressively as if he was punishing you for something. his tongue entered your mouth deepening the kiss and claiming your mouth for himself.

He tasted like coffee and sin.

"God, and I thought fucking L's girlfriend was a good idea, this is way better." He sounded extremely amused. "I wonder how is he going to react when he finds out I fucked his pretty little sister?"

Ryuzaki had always had a bad feeling about Light, he mentioned you should be careful around him, you knew all that and here you were. You thought he was being overprotective, to be fair Light wasn't the first guy L had a bad feeling about.

Light's hand was now caressing your hair, smiling content with your current predicament and very proud of himself.

"We… w-we can't." You tried to come up with an excuse. "We work together, so it would be-"

"I am Kira."

You heart stopped when you heard those words. Everything started connections in your head, every lead, every tip, every death. You still had many questions, some things didn't make sense, but as you stood there looking at that man's face it was clear that he wasn't joking.

"W-why are you… telling me this?" You tried to back away slowly. You could hear your heartbeat drumming in your ears.

"Because I feel like keeping you to myself." He smiled sinisterly, every step back you took he stepped forward to approach you again "I was contemplating killing you after pounding your cunt, but I told myself I deserved a little treat."

Hearing him talking about murdering you in cold blood activated your flight instinct immediately. You turned away and rushed towards the door, but as soon as you tried to twist the doorknob and open the door, it was locked. You twisted the knob again and again, desperately trying to unlock it with sheer willpower.

“Stop that, you’re smarter than this.” You heard his voice right against your ear, his hands now grabbing your waist and caressing you through the fabric of your blouse. “There’s only one way you leave this room” he placed a kiss on your neck and you shivered despite yourself “with my cum leaking down your thighs” he grabbed your throat suddenly “and invisibly leashed to me, like a good little pet.”

You were shaking, incredibly aware of Light's bulge pressing against your ass, one hand toying with the hem of your shirt and the other still holding your neck possessively.

"Are we clear, pet?"

You felt his grip tighten a bit so you just quickly nodded your head. It showed to be the wrong answer, because you were punished with a sharp swat to your ass.

"Use your damn words, there's a reason I chose not to gag you." He grabbed your face, forcing you to make eye contact with him. "Say 'Yes, master'."

He was a sick fuck. You wanted to scream at him and call him exactly that. You wanted to push him away and go home already. But god damn it, you wanted to survive this.

"Yes… m-master."

He smiled at your obedience and his grin made you sick to your stomach. He placed a kiss on your temple and pat your hair gently.

"There you go, good girl. That wasn't so hard, was it?" He turned you around quickly and pushed your back against the door. His mouth was on yours again, his hands slipped under your shirt and you shivered feeling his cold touch on your skin. The fabric was restraining his hands so he grew frustrated and started to undress you at once.

"Y-you don't… have to do this, Light. I promise I won't tell anyone, just let me go and-"

"Don't waste your breath. You'll need it when I get to choke you properly…" he answered simply, amused by your perseverance, all the while looking forward to breaking it. "I want to fuck you, so I'm going to do it. I have the whole world in my hands and it's not a little pet that's going to deny me what I want. Understood?"

He tossed your shirt on the floor and started pulling your pencil skirt up. He glared at you for not answering and you promptly spoke up.

"Understood."

He smirked. You felt his fingers trace your slit over your panties, you shuddered and instinctively tried to move away.

"Don't fucking move." His other hand grabbed your waist holding you in place. His tone was harsh and you were so fucking scared.

"Sorry"

"I'm sure you are… Good girl, at least you have manners." He chuckled at that. "Not that your decency matters, look how wet you are for your master…"

He stroked the wet fabric to emphasize his point and you tried to hold back a moan, but it was useless. It felt good, of course it felt good. Light was a hot guy, he obviously knew his way around someone's body and you were only human. His lips captured yours again and he kept playing with your clothed sex as you made out. You could swear you were going insane, the pleasure of his hands on you was intoxicating and his mouth on yours had you gasping for air.

"Get on your knees. Now."

You needed to survive this, you needed to be useful to him. The way he ordered you around did excite you but you needed to stay focused. You were not supposed to feel good, you were supposed to find a way out of this situation.

For now that meant kneeling before Light as he pulled out his cock for you.

You gulped as you eyed him, of course Light Yagami had a big dick, you had to have suspected it. But now you had to give him head and you knew very well he wasn't going to go easy on you. He saw your hesitation and scoffed in amusement.

"Go ahead pet, you want to prove to me you're worth keeping around don't you?" He smiled devilishly at you.

"Yes, master." You murmured and licked your lips. You could do this. And, in a weird way, you kind of wanted to do this, you wanted him to praise you more, to call you a good girl again… you repressed the thought. This is disgusting, Light is disgusting and a murderer. You were strong you won’t fall for his games.

You grabbed his cock by its base and started to gently suck the tip. You looked up at him before taking the whole shaft into your mouth. You sucked him off to the best of your, limited, abilities, trying to get him deeper with each bob of your head. Maybe if he came in your mouth he wouldn’t touch you further, maybe he’d let you go.

Your hopeful thoughts are interrupted by the man’s hand grabbing your hair forcefully, you looked at him and he was grinning like the maniac he was.

“Sit still, let me use your throat a little bit.” His voice was unshaken. You felt a bit annoyed he didn’t seem phased by your efforts. You didn’t have time to dwindle on that feeling because Light was grabbing your face and fucking your mouth as soon as he finished his phrase.

His pace was unrelenting and you felt your spit dribbling down your chin, you tried to breathe in small intervals and you could see him laugh at your predicament. You felt rage but he slowed down his thrusts and started petting your head. Like a kid. Like a pet.

“That’s a good girl, such an obedient little pet…” he breathed and pulled out “Bend over your desk for me.”

Fuck. You were out of breath, you could only nod and do as he said. You didn’t even think of disobeying his order, he praised you again, you were doing a good job… You got up and rested your torso on the desk. He was going to fuck you. Light was Kira and he was blackmailing you into submission. This was an absolute nightmare. So why the fuck were you so turned on?

“You know where you belong, don’t you, pet?” You felt his presence behind you and he pulled down your panties. “Not above anyone, not next to your brother… Not even by my side.” He pulled your hair and you yelped despite yourself “You belong under me.”

He entered you forcefully and you couldn’t help but moan loudly at the intrusion, he didn’t prepare you with his fingers, he didn’t touch you properly at all, it hurt and he knew. But he didn’t give a fuck.

“You should be grateful to your master, whore.” His hand reached around your neck his grip making you gasp. “Tell me you can be obedient.”

“I can!” You cried and you felt his other hand reach between your legs to press your sensitive bud.

“You think you can be useful? Do you think you deserve to live to serve your master?” His thrusts were getting harsher and he groaned “Do you?!”

“Yes, master, please, master!” You begged. To cum, to live, anything. Light held your life in his hands and you were so scared, but so turned on.

“You better....” He grunted and kept on rubbing your clit “I fucking own you. I’m going to cum inside you, going to make you my breeding bitch.”

Oh no. That wasn’t good. That was a bad idea.

“N-no… please not inside” You heard him laugh at your resistance.

“Then tell me… tell me his name.” His name? Fuck. Ryuzaki.

You couldn’t tell him his name. Was he going to kill you if you didn’t? You couldn’t do it. You sobbed and grasped his arm in fear.

“No, I can’t, I can’t!” You cried out shaking your head. The pleasure was overwhelming and you came on his fingers screaming. “I can’t! Ah!”

You saw stars, Light never stopped pounding you as he laughed maniacally at your desperation.

“Know your fucking place… useless cunt.... Fuck-” His laughter died down and he pulled you closer as he came inside you.

You felt his spent dripping down your pussy, you trembled both from the orgasm and from fear of what came next. Light pulled out and turned you around, smiling amused at your scared face.

“Don’t worry, pet, of course I wasn’t counting on a dumb slut like you telling me this information…” He pat your head and you stood there with tears rolling down your face “You’re beneath me, I don’t need you, I don’t need your help. I’ll find out eventually.” He chuckled and wiped away your tears “But I do know your name. So you better behave.” He kissed your forehead. “Won’t you, pet?”

[from-a-reckless-writer]

okay because that whole line of "but im at peace..." from lena is just bullshit. so, i present to u, the dead mom issues fic : D

tw: death. a lot of talk about death.

read on ao3.

Lillian Luthor died 2:34 pm on a Tuesday. Lena made sure she wasn't alone when she went.

I held the hand of a dead body.

By 7:56 pm that night, a Martian puts her in a body bag. Lena wonders how Lillian would feel having an alien handling her dead body. She touches her hair before she watches the zipper close.

At 8:01 Lena calls the mortuary one hand holding the phone to her ear, the other clasping Kara's hand tightly.

Lillian Luthor is wheeled away into a first call vehicle, and out of Lena's sight by 9:31 pm.

It is now 1:45 a.m on a Friday, Lena is alone, and on the other side of National City a major clean-up and rehabilitation drive has just finished their first day of work. Lena should be there; helping those who got affected, those who were victims of her family's evil deeds. Instead, she is here, laying down on a hard wooden pew, because sitting up has become too much of an exhausting job. Her eyes pressed closed, because that is the only way to keep the tears in.

Lena had two options, really; either, refuse a public viewing and sit all alone in a waiting room of a crematorium—as Lillian’s body turns to ash next door—or hold a vigil, and play the grieving daughter standing sentinel over the lifeless body of her mother. She spent two seconds thinking about how it would feel to wait all alone in that sterile white room, and promptly called the memorial service company to please prepare the Luthor chapel and mausoleum.

Back when Lionel died they held a vigil for two nights. She remembers it now; the business men in suits, and their wives in black dresses coming and going. The faux sad smiles plastered on their faces, consoling Lillian, squeezing Lex’s shoulders, cold hands giving Lena a soft pat on the shoulder. A million murmurs of ‘Condolences.’, and the entire chapel smelling of candles and flowers. She remembers Lillian refusing to let Lex—or her—go back to the manor for the entirety of those two nights—forcing them both to sleep in the suite above the chapel. She said the Luthor family has to put on a united front, now that their father is gone.

And so, the tradition continues with Lillian’s death.

The entire day had been a haze of receiving flowers, putting on appearances, and hiding behind her aviators. This, Lena could do; the practiced polite smile, the formal black dress, the memorized ‘I appreciate your being here with us.’. This, she’s been doing her entire life. Because this? This is what Lillian had taught her after all.

Her chest tightens, something dark twisting painfully inside. She breathes in deep, lets the scent of lilies, carnations, and lit candles fill her lungs—it smells like death.

I am laying down in a room with a dead body.

The thought creeps through her brain for the hundredth time that night. It's jarring every time. If she opens her eyes, a coffin will appear in her periphery. If she opens her eyes, it becomes real all over again. So, she keeps them closed, keeps herself frozen in place. The ache in her back protesting at her refusal to change positions. By morning she’ll probably have a stiff neck.

Voices slowly drift to her ears. She can hear Brainy and Nia talking quietly. He’s been teaching Nia some card game or other for about an hour now. Their quiet laughter filtering in through the open side door, where the chapel connects to a pantry and a staircase that leads to a shower and a suite. They’ve been hiding out in the pantry all evening. They’re giving her space she thinks. Well, it’s either that, or none of them knows how to act in front of an Andrea Rojas who’s long dropped her mean façade to comfort her best friend. She was the first to arrive early in the morning, helping Lena fend off the press. Lena had told her she could go home if she wanted to, and when Andrea said no, when she said she would stay, Lena tried hard not to break down.

She focuses on that, cataloguing the whereabouts of her companions, trying hard to remind herself she isn’t alone. It gives her brain something else to do. By now, Alex and Kelly are at home. They left some two hours ago. She wonders if they told Esme where they've been all day; if they told her Auntie Lena’s evil mom had died. Kelly probably wouldn’t phrase it that way, though. They would've probably said something along the lines of, Aunt Lena is very sad right now, and would need all the hugs and kisses in the world. (She needs all the alcohol in the world, more like.)

J’onn had already left, too. He’s been trying to send her waves of calmness the entire time. Lena’s just noticing the lack of it now. There's no warmth blanketing her now. She can feel the goosebumps rising on her arms, the prickly anxious feeling stirring deep inside.

There is a war going on inside her, waiting to be acknowledged. There are no more guests to small talk, no more press to avoid, no more friends to squeeze her hand with. The screaming inside her is begging to be let out.

But just as she's about to spiral, the bright light assaulting her closed lids dims all of a sudden. She feels somebody loom over her.

“Hey.”

It’s Kara.

She slowly blinks her eyes open.

“Hi,” Lena whispers. Kara offers a hand to pull her up.

“You okay?” she asks.

“No,” Lena replies, taking her hand and sitting up once again. She stretches her limbs like a cat. “Is Andrea all settled in?” If she asks a question first, Kara would be forced to answer her.

“Yeah, yeah. I think she’s asleep. Kelly and Alex are home, they texted me. But uhm Brainy, Nia and I will be staying with you all night.” Kara drops down next to her, their shoulders pressing close. For a minute, the deep dark thing twisting in Lena’s chest grows warm.

“Okay, okay. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank us for that.”

She lets her head fall against Kara’s shoulder. They don't talk. Kara doesn’t ask, even when Lena starts sniffling, even when the sniffling turns to quiet stifled whimpers. The war inside her is escaping.

Kara wraps an arm around her, presses kisses to the crown of her head as Lena’s frame shakes with sobs.

“I r-remember this one time, Lillian went to Mount Helena," Lena finds herself speaking all of a sudden, her voice is an earthquake of grief and anger. "I can’t recall what it was we were fighting about. But I remember she humiliated me in front of a teacher and I just-”

She sucks in a breath, her throat aching with restrained sobs.

“God, the only thing I remember clearly is the shame. I felt so fucking ashamed that day. And then- and then, I had to leave my dorm that night, because I was crying too much, my roommate couldn’t sleep.”

She snuck into Andrea’s dorm instead. Ran through the halls barefoot, vision blurred by tears. Her eyes were bloodshot for the entire first period the next morning.

“And I remember sneaking into Andrea’s bed, and telling her-” Lena’s voice breaks. “I told her I wish Lillian was dead. I told her, I hope I get a call tomorrow, and they tell me Lillian is dead. And I meant it. I wanted her gone. Because that would mean no more pain, no more shame. Fuck. I hated her, Kara. I hated her so much.”

In a flash, every single memory of Lillian being cruel comes back to her; constantly being criticized, being forced to hide herself in her own home. God, Lillian even framed her, kidnapped her. She remembers being used again and again and again, being lied to again and again. Never being enough. Lena never seemed to learn her lesson, always crawling back, stupidly believing this time, maybe this time, Lillian would see her for who she is.

“She’s never been a real mother to me, she’s- she has been so, so cruel. But I’m so fucking sad. I’m so sad, Kara. I want her back and I- I hate her but I want her alive." Each word pours out of her between sobs. The war erupts out of her. Her shoulders heave, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

“She asked me to hold her hand, did I tell you that? Can you imagine? She fucking asked me to hold her hand, because she was dying. And I stood there, and I held her hand. And I watched her die," Lena spits out, before tapering off into a broken whisper, "and I kept thinking, how many times have I wanted her to hold my hand? Just once, be a mother to me? It took her dying to-”

Lena's broken gasps echo loudly in the empty chapel. Kara stays silent, squeezes her shoulders.

“And I couldn’t even grieve,” she laughs, bitter and angry, “because I had to save the world. We had to save the world, and I left her there.”

Suddenly, she is 4 years old again, getting ushered to a police car, driving away, the lake getting smaller and smaller, farther and farther in the rearview mirror.

She left.

“Lena-”

“No,” she cuts her off, “I know. I know we had to, I know what we had to do, Kara. It’s just- I feel like everything happened in a blur, and I was in slow motion.”

They fought. Lena cast a spell. Lillian died. Lex disappeared. It was all just one fast streak of scenes. Till Lena had to go back to The Tower and have Lillian’s body be picked up to get embalmed, and it's like Lena's entire world slowed down. Made her feel each agonizing second of Lillian's death.

“You know the downside of not having an assistant anymore? You have to make all the calls. Had to call the morgue, call the memorial service, call her fucking PR team, her lawyer—”

She doesn’t know why she feels the need to tell Kara all of this. Kara knows. Kara saw. Kara heard. She’s been Lena’s constant companion this whole week.

“It just-" She tries to find the right word, "it feels surreal. I never knew I would be the one doing all of...that.”

She’s always thought it would be Lex, who’d be the one making the funeral arrangements, making the calls, deciding what to say to the press. That was what they settled on after all. Two weeks after Lionel died, Lillian had arranged her final will and testament. Back when the Luthors still resembled something of a family.

“Do you know, they asked me what shade of nail polish she’d like? I- I’ve never chosen nail polish for a dead person before.”

I had to choose nail polish for a dead body.

“If it’s any consolation,” Kara murmurs, “you picked a good shade.”

A wet laugh bubbles out of her. Lena wouldn’t know, she still hasn't looked at Lillian inside the coffin. She doesn’t know if she could—if she even wants to. Lillian always told them she wanted an open casket. She can see the outline of her face from here. There’s a portrait standing next to the coffin, of course. A portrait of the Luthor she knows. The sharp nose, the regal smile, eyes that never understood Lena. Eyes that ever only told Lena lie after lie after lie.

Kara hands her a handkerchief, when the inevitable sniffling starts again. Her hand rubbing soothing circles down Lena’s back as she dabs her tears away.

“I have memories of death, you know? I can see my mom drowning, and I see Jack, and I shot Lex, but Lillian-" Lena's voice trembles, "God, her death is destroying me in a way I’ve never been destroyed before.”

It’s a confession that Lena herself hasn’t anticipated would come out of her.

“I just- I just feel like I’m not allowed to be angry, because she’s the one in a coffin, and I’m not,” she confides, thinking about how she'll never hear Lillian’s voice again, will never see her again, will never get a second chance, unlike Lena. “I survived and she didn’t. She’s gone, and I’m still here. And- It’s as if she's already paid her dues with her death. And it’s so unfair. It’s so fucking unfair. I wanted her to pay, Kara. But I- I never wanted her to die.”

“I know, baby,” Kara whispers, squeezing her hand. “I know.”

She wanted Lillian to be sorry. She wanted Lillian punished for her crimes. She wanted Lillian groveling at her feet, making amends. She never wanted her to die. Why did she have to die? Why did she have to throw it all away to save Lex? Of all the people to save?

It’s like they were in the middle of a boxing match, Lillian and her, and Lillian just decided to withdraw, letting Lena win without even landing a punch. The victory leaves her with an empty trophy and a hollow heart.

“You’re allowed to be angry, Lena,” Kara tells her. “She hurt you. She lied to you. Her death doesn’t erase any of that. You’re allowed to feel what you feel. Her death doesn’t absolve her of anything.”

Lena just nods, her tears soaking Kara’s blouse. The words won’t sink in to her yet. She knows she needs to feel the pain of it, before even attempting to make sense of it all.

“How many people do I have to lose, Kara?” she whispers, terrified of the thought. “How many more? Are you going to be next? I think about that, do you know? I feel like any time, one of you would just be gone, and I’d have to do this all over again.”

I'd have to sleep in a room with a dead body again, because I don't think I can leave your side if you die.

Kara stays silent, doesn’t tell her ‘You’ll never lose me, Lena’, doesn’t insist that everything will be okay, just lets the war inside Lena go on, and on, and on.

“Do I have to pick a casket for you, too? For Nia? For Alex? Who’s going to be next huh?” She looks at Kara then, searching for answers she knows she won’t find. In a broken whisper she asks, “What did I ever do to the universe?”

“Oh, Lena,” Kara breathes out. She pulls Lena closer to her; wraps her arms tight, tight, tight. “It’s not your fault. None of it is. You don’t deserve all this pain, you hear me?”

When they pull away, Kara cups her face, presses a kiss to her forehead, kisses her on her eyelid, then below, then on her cheek. She’s kissing my tears away. It’s all so tender, and Lena can’t stand it. The sobs start all over again, because she’s lost and heartbroken, and Kara is just there—still there.

She lets herself be gathered into Kara's lap, her heels coming off, letting herself fall apart until it feels like she doesn't exist anymore. Until she is nothing, but grief and tears and an endless earthquake of sobs.

"I haven't looked at her in the coffin, yet," Lena whispers against Kara's neck. Her voice raspy and nasal, overused from the weeping and wailing, her sinuses blocked and aching. Kara's skin is wet and warm from where her tear-stained cheeks are pressed against.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to." She can feel each word vibrate out of Kara. That's how close their bodies are right now. Lena thinks she doesn't even need a voice, if she's pressed close like this to Kara, maybe words aren't necessary anymore. She feels small in her embrace, like a child being consoled by her mother. How ironic.

"Andrea says I'll regret it if I don't. I feel like she's right."

"Lena, you don't have to do anything, you don't want to," Kara repeats, but then adds, "but if you want to look, we can look at her together. I promise I'll hold your hand."

It's something she should do alone. This is between Lillian and Lena. Not Lillian, Lena and Kara. She imagines herself walking up there, closer and closer, leaning in, peering—

I am staring at a dead body, painted pretty and pumped with chemicals.

"Yeah," she says, deciding. "Please hold my hand."

She closes her eyes again. The right hand Kara's had wrapped around her shoulder, travels to Lena's nape, her fingers spreading, before tugging the bun free. Lena's hair cascades down her shoulders. The small gesture makes her breathe a bit easier. She peeks open her eyes a minute later, taps open her phone. 2:37 am, it reads.

"I think I want to look now," she declares.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Just-" Lena whispers, pleads really, “just don't let go of me alright?"

She stands up on shaky legs; briefly considers asking Kara to carry her up there instead. Lillian would throw a fit if her adopted daughter asked a Kryptonian to carry her in front of the coffin.

Her hands feel cold. Her feet do, too. Her teeth are chattering. Kara grabs her hand.

The coffin is a deep mahogany, the only dark thing in the otherwise white chapel. The closer she gets, the colder she feels. It's as if she's contracted a fever in the short time she walked the three steps between the pew and the coffin.

Lillian's face can be seen now, from where she's standing; the slope of her nose, the powder on her cheeks. Lena starts breathing through her mouth—loud, heavy, shaking breaths.

And then—

She's in front of her.

This is a dead body. This is not my mother.

The floor gives way. Lena's drowning. The war erupts all over her. She can't hear anything but the roar of her own heart.

Lena isn't inside her body. She's above. She's watching herself look into the coffin. Lillian looks like she's taking a nap. She's falling to the floor. She's hysterical. She doesn't hear her own voice.

She comes back.

Kara's arms are around her, she's cradling her. Calling her name. Again and again.

"Lena, Lena, you need to breathe. Can you hear me? I'm here, you need to breathe. Lena, Lena, Lena-"

"Kara," she gasps out, it's the first sound out of her mouth that isn't a scream.

Kara's in Supergirl mode, she realizes. They're on the floor. Nia and Brainy are standing over them, worried expressions on their faces. In her periphery she can see Andrea in pajamas, frozen by the door.

"Lena, I need you to breathe okay? I'm going to count, and you follow my lead, okay?"

They breathe together.

Lena doesn't stop crying the entire time.

"What do you need? Lena, tell me what you need?"

"Out,” she rasps out. Her knees hurt, she can feel it now. “Please, please get me out of here, Kara. Please."

"I'm going to carry you now, okay? Hold on to me, Lena."

Lena throws herself into Kara’s, arms wrapped tight around her nape. She carries her like she would a child. Careful. Gentle. Lena’s tears soak through her blouse. Kara superspeeds them out of the chapel and onto the open cemetery. Lena's sobbing uncontrollably, still.

"I don't have a mom,” she whispers into Kara’s neck. It hits her all over again. Her entire body is cold. Numb.

And then-

Panic.

Helpless, desperate panic.

"I don't have a mom. I don't have a mom,” she can’t stop saying it, can’t stop sobbing, can’t stop shaking. “Kara, she's gone, oh God- Oh God, she's gone. I don't have a mom. I don't have a mom–"

It's real. Lillian's gone. That wasn't her mother in there, that was a dead body. Lillian isn’t there. Lillian is never going to be there, never going to be here ever again.

She's gone.

Flashes zip through Lena's brain. The sound of waves. Sand between her toes. Glasses of scotch thrown at her head. The manor turned into a hospital. A white cloth pulled over his head. A betrayal. Her finger on a trigger. A gunshot. Lies. Humming magic. A blast of light. Beeping blue monitors. Lillian's still warm hand in hers.

"Oh God," she gasps, the midnight air chilling her lungs, poking at her from the inside. "They left me, Kara," she whispers, manic. "All of them! They l-left me. They left me." Her breaths come in high pitched pants. She’s shaking. Kara settles them on the grass, not letting go.

"Hey, hey, listen to me-"

"They left me. OhGod, oh God, they left me all alone. I'm all alone. I'm alone. How could they do that to me? They left me all alone. Kara, they left me." Her hands scramble, pounds into Kara's chest, desperate sounds clawing out of her throat.

She's the last Luthor left.

"I'm the last one left. I’m alone. I'm alone. I-"

“Hey, hey, look at me.” Kara grabs hold of her wrists, gathers Lena back towards her. She takes one look into Kara's eyes, sees everything she's feeling staring back at her. It’s so dark, there’s nothing but the moonlight and the lone lamppost in the middle of the field, yet Lena sees her reflection so clearly in the unshed tears of Kara’s blue eyes.

“You are not alone.” Kara lets go of her wrists, cups her face, presses their foreheads together. “You will never be alone.”

She feels Kara grab her hand, presses it right above her heart. Lena cries harder, the tears pouring down her cheeks. “I promise you, you will never be alone again. I’m right here.”

“They left me,” Lena echoes again, and she has to close her eyes. It’s too much. She can’t take the intensity of Kara’s stare. Can’t take the sincerity of them, the promise of never being alone again. Kara doesn’t know that. Nothing is ever certain.

“Lena, I’m right here,” Kara tells her again, firmer this time. “Can you feel me? I’m right here. You’re not alone.”

The uttered words finally seem to break through; senses come back to her. She can smell the dewy grass, can hear Kara’s breathing, can feel the cold, cold breeze, and—beneath her fingertips—the strong, steady thrum of Kara’s heart. As if it’s calling out to her.

She wonders if there is a war inside Kara, too.

"I have no idea what's in store, Lena,” Kara tells her, “you're right, maybe one of us might die tomorrow. But you’re also the one who told me we’ll face anything together. El Mayarah, remember? You have us. You won't ever be alone again. I promise you that.”

Lena nods, a sob escaping out of her, their noses brushing.

"You're not alone you hear me? Come here." Kara pulls her close, embracing her tight.

It’s only then that she feels the dull throbbing behind her eyes. She can feel the fatigue creeping in. The panic ebbing into exhaustion; her heartbeat slowing to a steady beat, delirious thoughts floating through her brain in a post-breakdown haze. She doesn’t know how long they stay like that, sitting in the cold wet grass hunched together. Kara just let her cry and cry and cry, never letting her go once. Eventually though, her breathing slows enough for her to speak and break the silence, "Do you- do you think Lillian and my mom-”

“Elizabeth?”

“Yeah, do you think they're out there somewhere? Right now? Do you think they’re together?"

"I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but I do believe wherever they are, they're at peace. All sins are forgiven under Rao’s light.”

"I had a dream of them the other night," Lena murmurs, burrowing closer into Kara. Her bare feet tickled by the grass.

"Yeah?"

"Mhmmm. I was in my childhood bedroom. The one in the manor, and I was sitting around my old tea set. Lillian was sitting next to me, and there was another woman. She was blurry. So blurry. But I knew she was my mom. I could feel it. And then...that was it. Just the three of us sipping tea from empty cups."

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. That maybe I have way too many mommy issues?"

Kara snorts at that, before turning serious once more. Lena hears a heaviness in her voice that she’s never heard coming from Kara before, “I used to dream a lot about Astra, my aunt, and my parents. Most times they’re memories, Astra being arrested by my mother. Astra dying. Sometimes though, they’re good memories. I get to talk to them in those, hug them in those. And then...I’d wake up so sad.”

“I’m so sad right now, Kara.”

“I know.”

Sad is a massive understatement. She's sad and tired and sleep-deprived. She's spent. The crying is finally taking a toll on her. Her head feels heavy on her shoulders, she lets herself sag against Kara’s side, her arms wrapped around the knees she has tucked to her chest.

She feels small, too.

“When will I be happy again?” The question is thrown into the cold breeze.

“I don’t know. I can’t answer that, Lena,” Kara says, “I think you’re the only person who can answer that. It’s going to take time, and maybe uh- a bit of therapy.”

Lena actually laughs at that, she can feel Kara press a smile to her temple at the sound. God, what fucking good thing to know that she can still laugh.

“But that won’t stop me from trying to make you happy, Lena,” Kara finishes, earnest and quiet and real. “I love you, you know?”

And yes, Lena does know. It’s the one thing she’s most certain of these past few weeks.

“I know. I love you, too,” Lena says, lifting her head up, turning sideways to meet Kara’s eyes. “You’re probably right. Therapy and time...and you.” She brings one hand to cup Kara’s cheek. “Yeah, you,” she murmurs, “I don’t know when I’ll be happy, but I do know my happiness looks a lot like you, Kara.”

“That’s good to know,” Kara says, leaning into her touch, lips pressing a kiss to her palm.

“Is it appropriate to say, Lillian is probably rolling in her grave hearing this conversation? But also I mean technically she’s still in a coffin? So should I say, she’s probably rolling in her coffin?”

“Well, I-I think everybody inside will be very alarmed by that visual, Nia will probably scream. So uh maybe don’t say it.”

Lena laughs again, and then she’s reminded of how Lillian is in there right now—No. Not Lillian. Her body. How her body is in there right now, and Lena didn’t even last three seconds looking at it. Her vision blurs again, tears filling her eyes.

“God, Kara,” Lena huffs out a heavy exhale, “I feel like a crazy person right now. Am I crazy?”

“No, no you’re not,” Kara is quick to reassure. “You’re not crazy. You’re grieving. You’re sad.”

“You know once upon a time, I would’ve told you Lillian isn’t worth mourning about," she mutters. It was true. She used to despise every minute she spent with Lillian. If she had received news of Lillian’s sudden death back then, she probably would have run down the halls of L-Corp in glee, screaming the words, ‘The Wicked Witch of the West is dead!!’, and then, the whole world would probably truly know that the last Luthor had finally lost it.

“You’re allowed to mourn her, Lena, you’re allowed to miss her. You’re even allowed to miss your brother. I know how it feels, Lena,” Kara tells her with a far-away gaze. Lena rests her chin against her knees again, following Kara's line of sight. Her eyes trace over the graves and headstones littered around the grass; the moonlight making them shine in the dark.

“I was angry at my parents, at Astra, at my entire family really,” Kara continues, “they weren’t the people I thought they were. They were selfish, they weren’t heroes. But I missed them so much. I missed them so much that some days I wished I died with Krypton, with them.” At the admission, a little thought in Lena’s head makes itself known, the thought that maybe she should’ve perished along with the Luthors. After all, what use is there for her to live? To continue the legacy of the Luthor name?

“So yeah, I know how it feels to hate someone and miss them at the same time. It’s not rational. I don't think feelings ever are,” Kara’s voice pulls her back to the present, Lena lifts her head again, unwraps her arms, untucks her knees and reaches for Kara’s hand. The night is cold, but Kara’s hand is warm in hers. And the ugly thought slowly dissipates. This, this warmth, Lena thinks, this is worth living for and more.

“Did...” Lena starts, gathering her thoughts, leaning back fully into Kara’s side. “Did you ever tell them that? Your parents, I mean, have you talked to them about it? Why they did what they did?”

“I- I actually haven’t. I don’t- I didn’t want to ruin things, I guess.” Kara shakes her head, shrugs. “I never thought my parents would even have the chance to see each other again, you know?”

“I think you should talk to them about it, Kara,” Lena offers up. “You’re not going to ruin things, you just want to know why. You deserve to know.”

“Maybe when I visit Argo again.”

“That sounds nice,” Lena finds herself whispering. It does sound nice, it sounds better than nice. To get away, to have a little reprieve. Maybe out there in space, she’ll be far enough that Lillian’s ghost can’t chase her.

“Argo?”

“Yeah, space. Getting away from here. Far, far away.”

“What, like a vacation?” Kara asks, moving away from her a bit, shifting their positions to get Lena between her legs. Her back pressed against Kara’s front.

“Yeah. A vacation,” Lena agrees.

“Oh. Well, then, maybe we should go?” Kara murmurs right behind her ear. The change in position finally allowing her to wrap both arms around Lena fully.

“To Argo?” She asks, leaning back, head resting on a strong shoulder.

“Yeah? Maybe? I don’t know, where do you want to go?” Kara says, rambles really, “I just, it’s just- I think we both need it. You said I need to talk to my parents, and you need to get away. So, don’t you think it’s perfect? And frankly, I think I need to hold your hand if I’m ever to confront them.”

“That- that makes a lot of sense. That actually sounds too perfect, Kara.”

“It does, doesn’t it? So, do you wanna go?”

“God, yes. I do,” Lena breathes out. They should probably talk about this more, when it isn’t 4 a.m on a cemetery, fresh from a manic breakdown.

“We’re going to have to go after Alex’s wedding though. I think she’ll throw us into the sun if we miss her wedding.”

“You’re right. Besides, I have a company to reclaim.” She's already gotten calls from the board. Since news of Lex's disappearance and Lillian's death got broadcasted, Luthorcorp descended into panic.

“You’re going to get L-Corp back?” Kara asks.

“Well, I am the last Luthor left, darling.” Which is another way to say, it's another mess left for her to clean up. Hopefully, the very last. “Lillian said she wanted me to live my life as I wanted to. Be free, she said. I think I want my first step to be rebuilding L-Corp. And then who knows? Maybe even a charity.”

“A charity huh?”

“Yeah. All I’ve ever wanted was to do good in the world, Kara,” Lena says.

“I know, Lena.” Kara replies. It probably sounds like a script at this point.

“I’m free to do that now.”

“You are.”

“It’s going to be a lot of work, though.”

“It is.”

“Good thing, I won’t be alone.”

“You won’t. I’m with you”

“Thank you-”

“You don’t have to-”

“I want to, Kara. I love you,” Lena murmurs, staring up into Kara’s eyes, cupping her cheek. “Thank you for being my anchor tonight. For staying. For keeping me sane. For being by my side. For loving me enough to get your shirt covered in snot."

Kara smiles down at her, their noses touching. “You’d do the same for me. You’re my sun, you know?” she tells her, “I love you, too. Very much. Snot and all.”

Their lips meet in a quiet kiss. For the first time that night, Lena feels everything around her calm. Her mind is blissfully silent. The war in her chest, resolved. For the first time that night, she feels safe.

When they pull away, Lena has a small smile on her face. Kara asks her what’s so amusing. And God, she really truly is crazy, crying and smiling like this, but the sky is turning into a pale pastel blue, and it’s a new day, and Lena is still here and so is Kara.

“I just think it’s all rather poetic,” Lena whispers finally, a thumb tracing over Kara’s lips.

“What is?”

“This. Us. How the sun is rising on the last Luthor and the last daughter of Krypton...together.”

“Together.”

Lena watches as the first rays of sun play in Kara’s eyes, as Kara raises their intertwined hands to her lips, presses a soft kiss to the back of Lena’s hand.

“Always,” she says.

******

Lillian Luthor is scheduled to be turned to ash at 2 pm on a Friday.

She’s the fifth person on the waitlist.

4 dead bodies need to be incinerated today before Lillian.

The morning is spent sitting stiffly as a priest standing on the lectern conducts mass. At one point during the ceremony, he asks for the family to come up front and bless the coffin. Lena breathes in deep, she’s the only person to stand up. There is no family. There’s only her. She lets go of Kara’s hand and walks towards the coffin. A numbness envelops her as she takes the small bottle of holy water from the priest.

She’s half tempted to make a joke about what a surprise it is that the coffin didn’t smoke, and catch fire as fat droplets landed on the closed lid of the casket. She makes a mental note to mention it to Andrea later, she’ll appreciate the joke. The priest though? Maybe not so much.

When Lena hands back the small bottle, the priest asks her if she wants to say a few words about her mother. Lena blanches, looks at the few people who came, stares back at the priest and says, "No. I have nothing to say."

When Lillian gets wheeled out of the chapel, there are a bunch of journalists waiting at the steps. They yell, and pelt her with questions while Alex and Kara try their best to shield her as they wait to get Lillian get loaded into the hearse. The crematorium is halfway across the large cemetery, Kara shoves them both into a car, refuses to let Lena walk and subject herself to more hounding by the press.

“How you holding up?” Kara asks, once the car door slams shut. Lena removes her aviators and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Numb.”

Kara sighs, wraps an arm around her and squeezes. It’s less than a 3 minute drive, so she breathes in deeply and lets herself melt against Kara’s side. Just 3 minutes where she doesn’t have to put up an armor.

When the car pulls up, Kara climbs out first, escorts her up the stairs. Much like the chapel, the crematorium is all too white, smells all too clean. They pass a gallery, a viewing room for an assortment of cinerary urns. Inside the waiting room there is a small family huddled in the corner, crying.

Lena feels nauseous at the sight.

She looks away, closes her eyes briefly, before taking a seat in one of the cushioned chairs. Kara sits next to her, their hands intertwined.

One by one, her friends arrive. Brainy and Nia and Kelly and Alex and J’onn and Andrea. Until Lena realizes, she has people in her corner, enough people to rival the small family in there with them. You’ll never be alone again, Kara had said last night. Lena is on her way to believing her as she watches them loiter around the room. Brainy sinking down into a seat loosening his tie. Andrea sits down on her opposite side, they stay silent, as her free arm loops with Andrea’s, as Lena lets her head fall onto her shoulder.

“Ms. Luthor?”

A man with a sterile mask appears at the door. All of them look up to stare at him. “It’s time, ma’am,” he says, “would you like to view her one last time before we proceed?”

Lena stands abruptly, nods once. The man gestures for her to follow.

“Kara-” The name falls from her lips automatically, her heart jumping to her throat. The nausea comes back full force.

“I’m here. I’m here, I’ll come with you. It’s okay.”

She has a vice grip on Kara’s hand, Lena’s never been more thankful that Kara has Kryptonian strength.

They walk down a short hallway, and into a small room. It smells like chemicals, and it feels too warm. Hot, really, compared to the air-conditioned waiting room. There is another open door further into the room, she can hear the hum of the incinerator coming from it.

In the center of it all is a metal table; Lillian lays there. She’s bare now. A sheet pulled up to her shoulders.

Lena is going to throw up.

“Lena, you don’t have to do this,” she can hear Kara behind her. “You already saw her. We can go if you want to.”

“No, I’m fine.” She swallows the bile rising in her throat. Kara’s hand is dropped, and she somehow manages to make her feet move.

Once she gets close enough to touch, the tears fall without her permission. Lillian looks serene. This is the first time Lena’s seen her like this. Her hands shake. The hotness in the room makes sweat bead at her hairline. Lena breathes in deep, tries to compose herself.

This is the last time I will ever see her.

She crouches down, until her lips hover near Lillian’s ear.

“I don’t know how to begin to forgive you,” she whispers, voice shaking. “But I hope wherever you are, if you can hear me, I hope you’re at peace.” There is a war going on in her chest. Her dress feels too tight, there isn’t enough oxygen in this room. Choking on a sob, and with a shuddering breath, she whispers, “You can rest now, Mom.”

Looking back, Lena would never know how she managed to not run out of that very room, she’ll forever wonder how she managed to stay as they wheeled Lillian out of her sight and into that goddamn machine to burn her body.

It’s a blur from there.

She thinks Kara walks her back to the waiting room. Maybe somebody tells her that the process takes 90 minutes to 3 hours, sometimes longer. The family they saw earlier leaves, an urn clutched between one of the son’s arms, and then it’s only them. Brainy tells a fun fact about green bones being found after the cremation. She hears none of it, feels nothing.

By 5:07 pm, somebody hands her an elegant marble urn. It’s heavy, and still feels warm to the touch.

This is her. She is nothing but ashes now.

Lena marvels at how Lillian is now reduced to this, to ashes. She can’t touch Lena now. This is all it came down to. How many years did she spend living in her shadow? In the Luthors’ shadows? Lillian was once this looming figure in her life, and now she’s just gone. Just like that, poof, she’s back to nothing.

Kara escorts her back to the car, they drive the same 3 minute route to the Luthor mausoleum.

Lena can’t remember the last time she visited her father’s crypt, but now here she is. Lillian's urn clutched in her arms. She watches as a couple of cemetery staff open the vault. It all feels mechanical. It's last night all over again. She isn't in her body. She's above. Behind. She’s watching herself crouch, and reach inside, watches herself put the urn into the vault, and hears herself whisper a faint, final Goodbye, Mom.

Then, it’s over.

The vault closes, and a chapter of Lena’s life does too.

When she walks out, the sun is almost setting. The sky is melting to orange and the breeze is turning crisp. On the bottom of the steps, everybody is waiting for them.

They hug her one by one. The numbness slowly being replaced by warmth.

“You’re going to be okay,” Kelly says, squeezing tight, matched with Alex’s, "You did good today.”

And then, she’s sinking into Brainy’s arms and then into J’onn’s and then into Nia.

“I can't believe you managed to get yourself recruited into the Dead Mom's Club twice. You're a gold member now!” Only Nia can be bold enough to tell her that joke. She laughs so hard there are tears in her eyes.

“I should be the president of the Dead Mom’s Club by now,” she shoots back, even though her voice sounds still a bit shaky, Nia still smiles, when they pull away and let go. Her eyes land on Andrea, who’s leaning against her car a few feet away. She walks over to where Lena is, wraps her arms around her tight. “You gonna be okay?” Andrea whispers, pulling away slightly to stare into her eyes.

“I think so, yeah,” Lena whispers back, before tugging Andrea back, to finally say, “mostly I’m just surprised the coffin didn’t smoke when I showered her with holy water.”

Andrea is so caught off-guard by the joke, their shoulders shake hard in laughter, still entwined. “Oh, God. Yeah. Yeah, you’re going to be just fine,” Andrea tells her. “But if you ever feel...not fine...you know you can always call me.”

“I know,” Lena says, nodding, “thank you for being here with me.”

“Of course, Lena. You jump, I jump, I remember?”

Andrea gives her one last hug, a kiss on the cheek, and then she’s sliding into her car, and driving away. Kara materializes beside her, presses a kiss to her temple, slings her arm over Lena’s waist.

“Where to next, Ms. Luthor?”

Lena chances a glance back to the façade of the mausoleum, she isn’t going to be back here; not for a long, long time, she’s certain of it. And then, her eyes track movement just over Kara’s shoulder—sees a family just waiting behind them. Her family. Their family. She reaches up just a bit, gives Kara a peck and says, “Home. Let’s go home.”