#then he teleports into cell 2 when its closed again

[waterbearable]

took a little break to continue bg3 run 2 and delighted to report that although I gave up on the weird fuckin needle blight ambush (might return to it another time I was just barely at level+at a halfway point w spell slots and it was not worth a long rest) I DID get into moonrise and break out the prisoners without triggering a fight which I hadn't done before. (tried to talk warden into letting me speak w prisoners first, that didn't work, so I shut the door and killed her, then deceived the other guards into thinking I could talk w the prisoners, then careful sneaking meant I killed all the scrying eyes and didn't alert any other guards. Wahoo)

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Here to Misbehave (Pt. 23 | S.R.)

Series Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Finale |

Summary: Spencer’s birthday plans get interrupted by a case. Frustrated by Reader’s busy schedule, Spencer finds a unique way to spend time with her. Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader Category: Smut (NSFW, 18+) Content Warning: Mild exhibitionism, fingering, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, Dom/sub, light choking, degradation/praise, sub space Word Count: 7.3k

MASTERLIST

—————————————————

Waiting for Spencer Reid was an interesting position to be in. It was also, unfortunately, very, very common. You would think the IQ points would translate to efficiency, but you’d be very wrong. The only thing that boy does fast is read, and even that didn’t follow through to text messages, considering he’d read none of the six I’d sent him in the past hour.

So, naturally, as one does in an emergency, I called him. Unsurprisingly, the phone barely rang a second time before he picked up. Talking was, as we were both aware, his forte. Without even waiting for my greeting, his groggy voice came through the receiver with a song-like sound.

“Hello, little girl.”

But it wasn’t his turn to sing, and he knew damn well why I was calling. I could hear the smirk on his face so well that I could also envision exactly what he looked like in that moment, with his fluffy hair sticking up from constantly running his hands through it and his eyes only half-open as he tried to finish reading whatever horrible thing that he had in front of him.

It wasn’t how anyone should be spending their birthday. Especially not him. There wasn’t really anything I could do about it, though that didn’t make it any easier to hear the exhaustion and sadness behind that scratchy voice.

“What’re you doing up late? It’s past your bedtime, you know,” he chastised before I even had a chance to speak. He wasn’t wrong — It was 3AM where I was. But where he was, it’d just hit midnight.

“I just wanted to wish a happy birthday to my favorite old man,” I purred back once I’d managed to calm my fast-beating heart. I wondered if I’d ever get used to the brief rush of adrenaline and relief when I heard his voice for the first time after some time away.

I hoped not.

Spencer didn’t seem impressed by my reasoning, though. “You’re sweet. Go to sleep.”

“You’re up, too,” I whined, still picturing the way he would undoubtedly pull the phone further away to lessen the noise. I almost asked if he was also picturing me but stopped when I realized that whatever he had in mind was probably a lot more exciting than reality. Then again, he often told me that moments like this were his favorite. When we’re both too tired to keep our eyes open but too happy to be with each other to let them close all the way.

“Barely,” he corrected.

“Besides, I had to stay up. It’s your birthday.”

I’d meant to lift his spirits, but the long pause after I finished made it evident that my efforts were for naught. He almost seemed even more upset than when he’d answered, and I tried to convince myself that it had nothing to do with me. It wasn’t that hard, considering he was probably staring at images or words of dead people.

“Yeah, sure feels like it.”

His tone alone ensured me it was worse than my imagination.

“Put your work down and pay attention to me instead,” I suggested as softly as I could with the neediness bleeding through, “That’s the first part of your present.”

“You’re my present?” he asked through a gruff laugh that made my heart skip a beat, “I like that present.”

He was trying. I could feel it in his voice, and I wished more than anything that I could teleport to where he was and hold him until it was too difficult for his mouth to form a frown.

“You already have me. That’d be like regifting,” I pointed out with only a pinch of self-deprecation. It was still too much for Spencer, though, who swiftly shot back the ever cheesy, “Every day with you is a gift.”

“Gross, don’t get all sentimental with me,” I ordered playfully.

He returned the energy with all the sass I always knew he was capable of. Once his whining ceased, he mumbled, “Do you come with a gift receipt?”

“No returns or exchanges allowed, I’m afraid.”

Spencer just let out a strained sigh, and in my head, I imagined how it would feel to climb onto his lap as he leaned back in his chair. I could almost feel his arms wrapping around my waist and his lips peppering kisses wherever he could reach. I could feel his love for me flowing across the country, persisting past the cell tower obstacles to make its way back to me.

“I can’t wait to see you again,” he whispered, his first purely sincere statement of the night.

It was an unfortunate choice, too, because it also reminded me of the biggest bummer that I unfortunately had to share.

“Oh, I meant to tell you, it’s midterm season, so…”

He was, thankfully, not as bummed as I was expecting. He was almost certainly thrilled to have a chance to sleep spread out on his bed without having to satisfy the very needy girl beside him, but he still managed to come up with enough bratty energy to scoff, “Are you telling me that I don’t get my gift when I get home?”

“It’ll just be a few days. Promise,” I spoke through the biggest, cheesiest smile I’d had yet. “You’re very distracting, Dr. Reid.”

“When are your exams?” His enthusiasm gave away just how disappointed he was with the news, but any frustration was clearly aimed at my poor professors.

“My last one is on Wednesday.”

The gasp that left him was too funny not to laugh, followed by exasperated, blubbered nonsense that didn’t ever get much clearer. I barely managed to understand him when he cried, “Don’t they know Halloween should be a national holiday?!”

“You should call my professors and yell at them.”

He actually considered it for a moment, but then returned the same silly intonation, “Maybe I will.”  

“Do it. You’re probably more qualified than them to teach me, anyway.”

After a short silence that was filled with more sexual tension than I’d expected considering how the phone call started, I heard Spencer gruffly comment, “You’re a cocky little brat tonight.”

It was so familiar to me that I jumped on the opportunity, giggling through my sleep deprived delirium, “I’m in rare form for your birthday.”

The explanation earned me a chuckle, but not much else. At least, not that I could see. The static on the other end of the phone sounded a lot like the way it looked when Spencer leaned his face against his palm and tried to see something that wasn’t there.

But I was there. Sort of. We’d done a lot more with a lot less, after all. So, that’s what I offered him.

“You know… we could have a redo of the last time I called you late at night on a case.”

“That did not end well for me last time,” he droned. I tried not to laugh at the manufactured memory of Spencer holed up in a hotel bathroom because he just had to have me in whatever way he could.

“Only happy endings for your birthday. I promise.”

But then, as it always did, work got in the way. Filled with only the greatest sadness and regret, Spencer quietly but honestly replied, “As much as I would love to, I don’t think it’ll be possible on this case.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Unfortunately.”

I bit my lip because there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help Spencer with his work any more than I could fix the distance. All I could offer him was a safe home to return to. He would always find that with me.

“Well, in that case, I will be equipped with cartoons and kisses upon your return,” I offered with grace.

But I wasn’t the only one in rare form. Without skipping a beat, Spencer corrected with a smug sadness, “You mean your return. Considering you’re abandoning me on my birthday.” ��

“Oh my god, the drama!” I cried before remembering that it was, still, in fact, 3AM. The light grimace I gave after remembering would be the only apology my neighbors would get from me. I was too busy building a narrative happy enough to drown out the horrors in front of him. “You’d think I was the one who was away all the time.”

“I’m allowed to be selfish; it’s my birthday,” he sang, and I soaked in the sound, storing it away for any rainy days.

“Fine. What do you want, brat?” I asked in the worst attempt at an impression I’d ever given.

He was just waiting for the question. Drawing out the first couple of syllables, he laughed through the stupidest birthday wish of all time.

“I want… you to go to bed.”

“Ugh!” I yelled again, not even bothering to feel bad about it that time. My exasperation fell on deaf ears, both from a willful desire to ignore my suffering and a literal ringing from the constant yelling.

Still, that impossible man drummed up enough compassion to gloat with a simple, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, jerk,” I grumbled, only to be swiftly corrected with a playful, “Try that again.”

“I love you, too, old man.”

He was satisfied enough with that answer, despite the sarcasm dripping from it. He still knew that the words were true, and that was all that mattered. Any punishments that might be necessary for my broken promise to behave for his birthday could always be doled out later. When the distance between us was narrowed to inches and clothes could be removed like cheap wrapping paper.

“Thank you, little girl. Sweet dreams,” he whispered, reminding me once more of just how empty my bed felt without him. I stared at his pillow for just one second before I threw myself into it. He chuckled at the sound of rustling sheets over the receiver but said nothing else.  

“You get some sleep tonight, too, okay?” I asked, uncharacteristically and openly vulnerable in a way that used to scare me.

Spencer’s voice was filled with pride and love as he answered, “You can’t see it, but I am giving you a pinky promise.”

“Good.” Burying my face in his pillow again made it easier to remember that it wouldn’t be forever when I said, “Bye, Spencer.”

“Goodnight, little girl.”

—————————————————

Autumn on campus felt pretty similar to the rest of the year. I wished that it were different, a little more exciting, to reflect how I felt about the impending holiday. But no, it was just students stumbling into their usual classes and hectically scheduled midterms with hangovers and a total lack of holiday cheer.

It was, in a few words, a complete bummer. The only thing that kept me going through the last of my exams was the knowledge that I’d be seeing Spencer. Unfortunately, he was still doing that rather annoying thing where he refused to answer my text messages. It wasn’t until he ignored even my most ridiculous threats that I realized something was going on.

The ‘Read’ notification sat menacingly on my screen, and I was so fixated on it that I almost didn’t notice the familiar mop of brown curls visible in the front row of the auditorium. But once I saw it, the phone was forgotten faster than ever before. I ran down the steps at a ridiculously dangerous pace, dodging the others still grumbling from their previous exams.

I landed in front of him with only enough breath left to sneer, “You’re in my seat.”

“Surprise,” he said with my favorite smug, self-assured smile.

“Adorable. Now move,” I ordered with a wave of my hand. As much as I loved the guy, I wasn’t about to change my seating arrangement for him. It was beginning to make sense, though, why my friend told me that she wouldn’t be sitting with me today.

“Fine,” he sighed, taking his sweet time moving seats and watching me happily bounce on my feet in the meantime. I snuck behind him into the seat before he’d even fully stood up. That little amount of friction between our bodies seemed to be enough to cause the tension to mount. It’d only been seconds, but I was already seriously considering abandoning the class. To hell with the professor who’d already seen me.

But Spencer’s eyes locked on mine, and he leaned onto the armrest with that same silly smirk.  

“It’s a workday, Dr. Reid,” I whispered, forcing my arm next to his and watching the way his pupils grew as I came closer.

“I might have pulled a few strings,” he replied just as quietly, keeping the illusion of secrecy despite many prying eyes around us, “Might’ve told Hotch I was invited.”

“But you weren’t,” I snorted.

Spencer’s head hung in just a little bit of shame, but his wide smile never waned. It was still there, bright and pure in its simplicity as he softly admitted, “Yeah. I lied. But I’m here now.”

There were no complaints about that fact, either. His pinky reached out to mine, twining together in the dim light of the auditorium. Somehow, for a brief second, I forgot about everything else. The noisy chatter meant nothing to me, the two of us lost in some alternate pocket universe that felt safe and warm from the cold air outside.

But time resumed, and I watched as Spencer took his eyes off of me first, turning instead to the lecturer watching us with a knowing glint in his eyes.

“Good morning everyone! We have a special guest with us today.”

I wanted to pay attention to his little introduction, but I couldn’t. Every word that was said about him sounded so clinical. It felt so empty compared to the truth I knew about him. He was so much more than a collection of publications and PhDs.

He was… indescribable. Even as his mouth formed a flat line and his awkward handshake was granted to the crowds of disinterested students, all I saw was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Even if it was only from the shadows of his greatness. Then again, I don’t think he’d ever let me feel that way.

Speaking of…

"Dr. Reid, the only thing I ask is for you to give these wonderful students a chance to show you what they know,” my professor started with a laugh before he so kindly continued, “So go easy on them." 

In any other situation, I might have let it slide. I would have accepted the fact that Spencer was far beyond my intellect and not stand up for myself. But this time, Spencer was on my turf.

"All due respect to Dr. Reid, I don't think he needs to go easy on us,” I called from the front row, only audible to the other dutiful students that cared enough to sit up front. I heard Spencer laugh beside me, shaking his head just a little bit at the challenge. He didn’t say anything though, and I returned my eyes to the professor who was already familiar with my antics as I boasted, "At least not on me." 

While Spencer caught on to the fairly obvious double entendre, shifting his crossed legs closer, the professor just wrote it off as my usual academic pride.

“I did try to warn you that that one might get competitive,” he commented. At this point, everyone had definitely figured out my relation to the man next to me. It was kind of hard to hide a bullet wound from your school. But again, I was so caught up in the man beside me that I didn’t even feel a little shame at their playful teasing.

Spencer’s commentary was the only thing that mattered, and he gave it with a dreamy sigh. "I'm not offended at all. I'm sure she's very clever." 

The little bit of light left in the room started to fade, and once I was shrouded by the shadows, I felt confident enough in my plan to dig through the bag at my feet to pull out probably the nerdiest item in it.

A fucking back-up clicker. Which, I promptly handed to the man beside me.

“You’re in seat B4,” I whispered gruffly, earning yet another snarky chuckle from my boyfriend.

“Is that a challenge?”

I didn’t answer. Not him, anyway. What I did answer was the question that had appeared on the screen.

“Ms. (Y/n)?” My professor called, recognizing my seat number without even looking up.

Luckily for me, today was nothing but a review day of the midterm I’d already taken. While I knew all of the questions and, what I’d hoped were the right answers, Spencer had to read the questions from scratch. Really, it didn’t give me an edge. It just put us on equal playing ground.

As I gave my answer, I watched in my peripherals as Spencer’s eyes narrowed and tongue peeked out from lips that I still hadn’t gotten the chance to kiss today.

It was a bad thing to think about, because my brief reverie of the things that mouth was capable of reminded me of another one. I didn’t even notice another question had appeared on the screen, and when I heard the familiar buzz of an attempted answer, I shared my Professor’s temporary confusion.

“Ah, Dr. Reid,” he laughed, probably already regretting welcoming the bastard here, “Please explain the answer.”

But there was another thing working in my favor: My boyfriend’s giant fucking ego. Really, it should be impossible that someone who was normally super insecure could enjoy showing off as much as he did. My professor didn’t mind, because Spencer’s long-winded answer was a wonderful review of… basically the entire course, and I didn’t mind because it granted me the one thing I needed.

Time. Time to slowly remove my jacket and reveal the sweater underneath. Spencer’s eyes caught the motion, glancing over only a couple of times while he managed to give his answer. It wasn’t until I started to remove the sweater that he cut his answer short.

His throat clearing told me he wanted my attention, but I was still just too distracted for him. I fanned my chest that felt warm for reasons other than the temperature of the room, guaranteeing his eyes would stay there long enough for me to catch the next question before he had a chance.

Or so I thought. Because before the question appeared, I made the positively stupid mistake of meeting his gaze. As soon as I did, my mind was stuck there, drowning in molasses and honey and—

“Dr. Reid, please feel free to continue to do my job for me. Lord knows I would love a break,” the professor joked, and I almost felt guilty for just how genuine he sounded. Not like Spencer would have noticed passive aggression if it existed.

Not like either of us would have cared. Per usual, we were so lost in the space of B4 and B5 that we didn’t care about the rest of the alphabet. All we cared about was winning. It was growing more and more obvious to me, though, that I would have to become a little more ruthless if I wanted to bring down the bona fide genius.  

The sound of his voice rang through the auditorium loud, clear, and confident. He didn’t need to worry if he was right or not, because he knew he was. The smugness was grating to my ears. I knew I couldn’t trick him into making a mistake, but there was one thing I could do.

I’d learned one thing very well in my time with Spencer, and that was how to manipulate that pretty little voice of his.

For example, if I wanted to hear it catch in his throat and come out a few pitches higher, all I would have to do is touch him. The riskier the touch, the higher his voice would go. Which was why I spread out the jacket over my lap, making sure that our legs were close enough that it covered him, too. Then I waited, calmly and kindly listening to him drone along until there was a natural enough inflection to hide evidence of any nefarious actions. Just as his voice started to rise, I slid my hand over his knee.

Spencer barely stuttered, just enough for me to know he was affected, but not enough for anyone else to notice. He took the loss with grace, quickly ending his answer with a summary that contained only half as many words as he would have normally provided.

He kept a few for me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, shifting close enough to me that I could feel his breath on my ear.

“All’s fair in love and war,” I hummed. His breath caught again when I began stroking my thumb over his leg that had just started to bounce.

“This is wildly inappropriate.”

“How perceptive,” I returned with my own little smirk. The interaction caught us both, trapping us in the alternate dimension that existed when we held each other. His hand found its way to mine, and his thumb brushed over the back and sent goosebumps shooting over my skin.

I’d practically abandoned our pursuits altogether when I heard my friend’s voice as she took the question that we’d both missed. I should’ve been upset for losing after all that I’d gone through for my strategy to succeed, but it was hard to feel anything other than butterflies when Spencer was still looking at me like that.  

Even when I looked away, he stayed, patiently waiting for me to take the final question in the review. I granted him a chance to take it, but he just shook his head, implicitly asking me to take the win for the both of us. Even when we were competing, we were always on the same team.

There were no more distractions as I explained the answer as simply as I could. I was positive the rest of the class was tired of hearing our voices, but Spencer never stopped smiling. I could feel the pride rolling off of him, his hand growing tighter around mine as he took in a deep breath.

“Very good, (y/n),” my professor announced, signaling the end and initiating a large sigh of relief from everyone else.

Spencer sighed too, although his was with a different kind of relief; a dreamy, soft sound as he muttered under his breath, “Just like I said. Very clever.”

The air felt positively electric, and I never hated my class more than I did in that moment. The rest of the period ticked by so slowly that I almost swore the clocks were broken. Once we were allowed to leave, Spencer insisted on sticking around to thank the professor for his hospitality.

I knew it was necessary, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I tried to be as patient as possible, even though it seemed pointless. Spencer’s little grin told me he knew very well what he was doing. The conversation had dragged on for practically five minutes of agony while I idled by the door.

But then my professor passed, and I felt the adrenaline course through my veins in seconds. As anticipated, we didn’t even make it out of the building before the tension broke. We’d barely even made it down the goddamn hallway before I shoved his scrawny ass into the first empty classroom I found. Once the door clicked shut behind us, the roles were quickly reversed.

I hadn’t seen him that excited in so long that I’d almost forgotten how easy it was to get swept up in his undertow. I couldn’t keep track of his hands or his mouth as they marked any bare skin they could find. But no matter how frantic and uncoordinated the movements were, they never ceased to send chills down my spine.

“This is wildly inappropriate, Dr. Reid,” I managed to slur between sloppy, heated kisses. It was barely comprehensible through the pent-up lust that had driven us there in the first place, but it still felt worth saying.

Spencer, however, made his feelings very clear with a gruff, forceful, “I don’t care.”

His hands were already roaming over my hips, pulling me so close to the edge that I nearly fell off the counter entirely. While I was laughing at his haste, he was busy leaving angry marks on my collarbone, pulling the top of my shirt down to grant him more access. And despite how badly my body burned with desire and need, I drummed up just enough self-preservation to force out a few, regrettable words.

“Take me home.”

Even though I tried to make it sound more seductive than a normal request to stop, it brought the momentum to a halt. Spencer immediately stopped his kisses, but let his hands continue to stroke loving patterns over the sides of my thighs.

“Don’t you have other classes?” he asked. The feeling of his breath against my ears making me second-guess my already voiced decision. But as enticing as the idea was of having him now, having already waited over a week, I knew we could have so much more fun with a little bit of privacy.

“Don’t you have work?” I teased, hoping that it would spur him to take the action we both knew was safer. At the same time, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to poke fun at the academic in him.

“Unless this is your way of telling me you've always wanted to fuck a girl in a lab because, I must admit I'd be more than happy to oblige." 

Spencer’s whole body tensed as he imagined just what it would feel like to take me in such a public place. After a couple seconds that I can only imagine were filled with fantasies and a reasonable fear, he pulled me from my seat on the counter and placed me back on the ground.

“Let’s go,” he said, pulling me by my wrist towards the door.

I only barely managed to stop him with both hands on his arm. He turned back to look at me like I’d done some horrible thing, but I was too busy trying to stop the laughter that was spilling from my chest.

“You’re uh—” I cleared my throat, pointing to the very noticeable tent in his slacks before I keened through the giggles, “You’re gonna have to do something about that.”

With a quick glance down, Spencer remembered the very unfortunately obvious trait of the male anatomy. “Fuck,” he stated plainly.

I couldn’t resist.

“I mean, I’m down,” I joked one final time.  

“Shut up!” Spencer laughed, too, trying and failing to adjust himself in his pants while I just enjoyed the show.

After all, we both knew that once we were alone, he would get a reprieve from my ridicule. He would get whatever he wanted.

—————————————————

The chaotic clashing of hands and mouths continued seconds after we’d reached our destination. The empty apartment had all of the sounds of our desperation echoing back to us, and after soaking in the melodious noise for a few seconds, I snapped back to reality.

“Okay, she doesn’t get home for another 30 minutes at the earliest so, we’d better hurry,” I urged, trying to shove Spencer off of me to convince him to move. It barely worked, with his arms clutching tighter the harder I struggled to get away.

Wrapped together just like that, the two of us barely made it a few feet before we almost tumbled to the ground. That was just enough of a reminder of our lack of coordination for Spencer to finally, begrudgingly, release me. Kind of. His hand still held tight to mine, and our laughter still combined the whole way to our bed.

From there, Spencer felt confident in our privacy to answer, “That’s fine. I usually tear open my gifts pretty quickly.”

It was a very good metaphor for the way his hands worked over my clothes. I didn’t even try to pinpoint the moment where being naked no longer made me feel nervous. I let the scar tissue show because neither of us were going to look at it, anyway. We were too caught up in the slight shifts and nuances of our faces as we rushed towards our one mutual goal.

“I missed you,” I mumbled, the words feeling as natural as breathing itself.

“I missed you, too,” he returned, and I felt the raw emotion, the sincerity and desire in every syllable. But once it was over and he had finally managed to remove everything but my underwear, all that was left was an all-encompassing, mind-altering level of lust.

“God, watching you in class was so fucking frustrating,” he strained, his upper lip curling with disdain as he watched my body squirm against the sheets.

“Why’s that?”

“I wanted you so badly.”

There was no denying that it was the honest truth, and I didn’t even want to try. I wanted to gloat and bask in the confirmation that his presence was dangerous for my academic career. Not to mention my sanity.  

“Like I said. You’re very distracting.”

Then, to prove my point, that brilliant bastard shoved his hand under the band of my underwear. He only held me softly for one second before he slid his fingers through the slickness and thrust them roughly into me. It hadn’t been that long, but the emptiness I felt before was even more apparent now that I had any part of him inside of me again.

“Am I?” he chimed with a smile.

I wanted to be bratty, to fight the tension that was building and appear unfazed by his ministrations, but there was simply no pretending. Not when my body was already on the verge of spasming around his fingers that seemed to stroke the perfect place within me with every movement.

“Jesus Christ,” I sighed. I should’ve known better than to give him ammunition.

“You’ve resorted to blasphemy already?”

Spencer partnered the tease with a ruthless thrust, burying his fingers to the knuckle inside of me and holding them there. He waited until I ran out of breath and struggled to take another while also trying not to scream in a mixture of frustration and devastating need for more.

“I thought I told you we had to hurry?”

“We’ve got time,” he shot back without pause, “You’re just being a needy little brat.”

“Yes, I am,” I whined just as quickly, “I’m a fucking brat and I need you.”

He almost seemed disappointed in my compliance. His fingers began moving again, eliciting noises that were louder, higher, and sweeter after the anticipation. He tried to draw the attitude out of me by stopping again, waiting for a quip that didn’t come.

“Awww, no fight?” he cooed.

“I can’t. It’s your birthday,” I grumbled before biting my tongue. The pressure was becoming so unbearable I thought I might honestly draw blood. But after another few seconds of torture that felt like a lifetime, Spencer withdrew his hand completely.

He was testing the limits, watching how far I would let him go before begging. But even when he took the same soaked fingers and began rubbing me from the outside of my underwear, I only opened my mouth to steal quick, soft breaths and give pitiful whines.

“Oh, I like this…” he laughed, apparently having gotten past his concern about my sudden compliance, “I could get used to you behaving.”

The song-like cadence got to me, threatening to spark and ignite everything I was holding back. I almost bit back. I almost let the desire scorch my throat with a few choice words for the very rude genius, but I didn’t. The only thing that stopped me was the feel of cotton sliding down my thighs as he removed the final barrier between us.

“You’d miss my misbehaving,” I said with a chuckle. The sound mixed with another, a deep moan that filled my chest when I felt him press himself against my entrance. My back arched, causing him to slip inside of me just enough for us to both lose our words.

“I don’t know…”

If I’d wanted to say anything, my mouth wouldn’t have let me. It was too busy singing his praise while simultaneously begging him to silence it. My lips floundered for a kiss that he hung just far enough away from me to deny. Satisfaction was painted over every feature as he started to enter me, brushing his lips against my mouth every few seconds just to pull away before I was granted the intimacy I sought.

“You do look rather cute when you’re begging.”

It was strange, the way my body started to predict his movements. I met him in the middle of every motion, and I swore even our breath became synchronized in its rapid firing. It wasn’t until his hand rested over my throat we broke the rhythm. I wasn’t going to complain, letting the energy flow down my spine that arched towards him on instinct. His hips never stopped, and I could tell by the way his breath hitched and his fingers grew tighter around my neck that the new angle was as wonderful for him as it was for me.

“You look so sweet when you let go of every ounce of self-preservation and dignity you have and put your life in my hands,” he whispered with an affection that almost seemed odd considering the context. But then there was something else in his moans, a genuine gentleness that made my already arrhythmic heart beat faster.

“You know I’ll take care of you, don’t you?” he asked as his movements stayed calm and careful. Loving and safe.  

I didn’t even notice my eyes had closed, but it ultimately didn’t matter. Because when I opened them, I saw the same man that existed in every image behind my eyelids. The only indication he got that I was still capable of communication was the gentle curve of my lips that dropped open in a pleased sigh as his hips continued a slow, tender pace.

It still felt like too much, but not in a bad way. It was too much in the sense that I was reminded once again just how ruined he’d made me. And the smug little shit knew it, too.

“You don’t have a single thought in that pretty little head, do you?” he cooed, dragging his hand up the column of my throat to force his fingers against my tongue. True to my word, I didn’t try to fight back. I soaked the digits that still tasted like me with my jaw left open. His pupils dilated as he watched the spit pool in my mouth that awaited his instruction.

“You just want to be used. Like the perfect little doll you are.”

Unlike my own, his smile was more of a smirk. A crooked, ever so slightly wicked quirk that made my muscles tense around him in their own version of an affirmative answer. He took it, happily. His body crashed into mine, but it merely felt like an extension of myself returning home like the waves meeting the shore. I could feel him claiming his rightful place at the deepest parts of me, making his home with every powerful motion of his hips.

I could hardly breathe, let alone think. I didn’t want to. It felt unnecessary.

“My sweet little girl,” he muttered with an unbelievably chaste kiss in the center of my forehead, “You’d do anything to make your daddy happy.”

I felt detached from myself in a way that didn’t feel me with fear or pain. I could feel myself through his hands, strong and working the pliable flesh of my thighs as he held them up so that he could drive into me harder.

His eyes, also only half open, burned with intensity. I could feel the determination, the undying desire to grant me a serenity that no one else could. His need for me to feel safe and loved with the seemingly contradictory brutality.

But it wasn’t contradictory. The power behind every movement, the insistence on being as close to me as he possibly could, might have caused some physical pain, but it was nothing compared to the pleasure of sharing this space with him. Of sharing my body with him just to see what he would do with it. I already knew, but I wanted to feel it again and again. Because with each stroke of his hand and thrust of his hips, I felt it.

Spencer had free rein to do whatever he wanted, and he chose to love me.

“I’m so close. You know what I want,” he pleaded despite holding all of the power. He handed it to me with a low groan, trying to kiss my lips while he commanded, “Do it. Come for me.”

My body obeyed his command, falling to pieces around him with shockwaves breaking over every inch of me. My vision went white, crafting a halo of light around him as he also found himself reaching a peak that seemed different than the times we’d shared before.

I tried to figure out what had changed, what about this time made it unique. But as the euphoria faded, all I saw staring back at me was the same face as always, radiating a joy and understanding that warmed damp, chilly skin. Spencer’s release provided a similar warmth within me, and my body clung to him even tighter despite the exhaustion.

My breathing took its time to even out, but I was in no rush to leave him. I would have stayed like that forever, with Spencer covering me like the silliest, boniest blanket. If it wasn’t for the dead weight he eventually dropped on me, we probably would’ve spent the whole day lost in the covers. But he could thank the scars for me being a little less forgiving.

Of course, thankful is not the word to describe him at all. Whiny was more like it. Even as I turned our bodies together so that I would still be sitting on his lap, he did nothing but groan and bitch about it. That is, until I silenced him with a kiss that barely brushed over his lips.

That was enough to turn his frown back to the dopey smile I loved so much.

“Happy birthday, old man,” I purred, enjoying the way his hands grabbed me tighter at the loving nickname. But age wasn’t what was on his mind. I could see it in the way his eyes tore past my defenses and he held me closer like we could actually become one if he tried hard enough.

“I’m so in love with you, it’s infuriating,” he whispered.

“I’ve heard that one before.”

Spencer wasn’t in a joking mood, though. All of his humor seemed to be expended earlier in the day, and now he was just left with all the mushy, romantic innards that I normally kept at bay.

It wasn’t that bad, though, I thought as his hands framed my face so our foreheads would touch. There were worse things to be trapped with.

“It’s true,” he mumbled with his voice still high and slurred together, “I look at you and there is just… nothing that can be said that would ever explain the way it feels.”

“Gross,” I joked.

“Get used to it,” he returned. And if that wasn’t enough to make me laugh, he stuck his tongue out in the most childish display I’d seen from him since he’d fucking licked my hand on our picnic. It was also just charming enough that I was willing to let the sappy stuff slide.

“I’ll be nice to you this time,” I grumbled. “But also, speaking of time, you’d better hurry up if you don’t want to do the walk of shame with an audience.”

Spencer’s arms fell limp with a dramatic cry before he used them to cover his face once more.

“Ugh. Go,” he ordered. Despite his words, he still made me fight against greedy hands to wrestle my way out of bed. It would have been smarter to let me go quickly. I really don’t know what he was thinking, but he would learn his mistake soon enough. Because as I was finishing up in the bathroom, I heard a very amused voice chiming down the hall on the other side of the door.

“Good afternoon, Spencer.”

I debated not opening the door and freeing Spencer from the unbelievably uncomfortable position he’d just found himself in, but ultimately decided it was too cruel. Still, the stalling had taken up enough time that the poor guy felt compelled to reply.

And, of course, the only thing he could think to say was a pathetic, high pitched, “Hi.”

Somehow managing to contain the absolutely riotous laughter I felt in my gut, I opened the door with the straightest face I could muster.

It wasn’t enough. Spencer saw the pleasure I took in his humiliation and practically shoved me out of the bathroom to take my place behind the doors. While I found the action endearing in the most awkward way, my roommate was mostly just confused about how the fuck I’d managed to find someone as stupid as me.

“I didn’t know he was coming,” she said once she managed to smile at the silly situation.  

Clearing my throat, I tried to sound sincere in my bullshit apology. “Me either, sorry.”

In a way, I think the fact I couldn’t pull myself together worked in my favor. Normally, she would have scolded me (albeit playfully) for not alerting her of what she might be walking in on, but this time, she just tried to withhold the smile that still stretched over her cheeks despite her best efforts.

“You’re fine,” she sighed, giving in to the desire to go against her usual grumpy demeanor before retreating to her own room. “Have fun, you hooligans.”

Once her door clicked shut, I heard shuffling on the other side of the door next to me. Spencer’s shadow was visible from the light peeking out underneath, and I waited a few more restless seconds before I announced, “You can come out now, Spencer.”

Cautiously, the door creaked open just enough for his head to poke out and confirm that I wasn’t trying to trick him.

“I’ve never been a hooligan before,” he said with a bounce in his step and his eyebrows halfway up his face. To think that he was the same man who threatened to arrest me for existing at a nightclub was, in a word, hilarious.

“Well, good news for you,” I purred, and the sound must have reminded him of my more devilish nature, because his jubilance quickly shifted back to an obvious anxiety. I wrapped my arms around him even when it meant that his muscles tensed, dragging him down so I could whisper in his ear, “I was just about to ask if you wanted to help me play hooky.”

“And do what?”

It felt strange to say that I hadn’t really thought about it. That the second I’d seen him I knew that the day would be good and free and fun. That everything felt so perfectly fine that I didn’t even want to challenge it with a schedule.

Spencer looked at me, his answer apparent in the way he started to relax the longer we stayed wrapped up in a shitty apartment hallway. It didn’t matter what I said. Spencer would have followed me, just like I would have done for him.

And without the angst or uncertainty of what could go wrong, there was only one thing left for us to do. With a shrug and pout, I proposed the riskiest plan we’d had yet.

“Whatever we want.”

—————————————————

| Finale |

[hey-hamlet]

The SCP AU has only been mentioned ONCE but I’m already thinking about it! AU where sometimes, children have anomalous abilities and attributes. They may be showing it of to their classmates. They may be desperately hiding. They may not be of this world. They might not even notice it. But there is a foundation that calls them SCPs, and it wants to steal them away to a place of cold cells, calculating researchers, and containment. Where they will never see the light of day again. That is, if they don’t succumb to their own powers or get killed by some other SCP. But if they are careful, and brave, and in need… a door will open.

those doors lead to UA! And UA isn’t just a high school. It’s also a research center, a college, a middle school, an elementary, AND a preschool. Anything a lost child could need while they learn who (what) they are and what they can do. SCPs get a basic curriculum for whatever dimension they plan to live in, plus the skills (if possible) needed to blend in- the courses offered are varied. Most move to a more accepting place (three Portlands is a popular destination). They can also choose to live permanently in UA, as staff. Adults… can SOMETIMES get in. If they’re lucky. And Nedzu is looking for new employees. (parents of young anomalies might get an exception)

UA is… if a place could be the definition of “reinforced”, that would be it. The main building gets, well, destroyed or blown up every now and then, but it always puts itself back together by sundown. Reality benders find the locally reality to be unusually… stiff. Unbendable. It has separate buildings for each school level, student dorms, staff apartments, Several massive underground bunkers, all the regular stuff. A few gyms open up into seemingly indefinite planes of grass, for especially dangerous SCPs to practice.

As for where UA is… nobody can tell if it’s a pocket dimension or a parallel world, but across the wall is a view of regular Japan. Getting close to the walls is impossible- you simply find yourself on the other side of the property, or right where you started. Students have attempted to cross reference the view of “regular” Japan to events happening in REAL Japan, and things don’t quite match up! Some swear they’ve seen Nedzu exit the front gates and return with a little bag of groceries, but he’s probably just messing with them. Maybe.

As for the price… Nedzu is a little fey-like when it comes to the price. A student can pay back tuition as a no-interest loan, but most are encouraged to instead become alumni- basically pledging to protect UA and its students in any time of need. Protecting can mean many things, from obtaining critical resources to infiltrating oppositional groups to straight up serving as Nedzus own private (hero!) army. (1/3)

Random character backstories:

Eraserhead has the ability to drag halt abnormal things. But if he stares for long enough, he will bring ALL things back to normalcy- a grimoire becomes a book. a teleporter is forced to walk. A god becomes a man.

Of course, living in normal society, he had no idea. But one day his friend came to school nervous and excited and pulled off his hat and his hair was made of mist!! And he could make little clouds!!! And Shouta thought it was some crazy prank, but he went along with it. Until lunch time when a bunch of strange men in black robes with guns and tattoos all over their faces broke into school! They demanded to have “the missing link”, and then they blew up a hallway and people were screaming, and then black ooze was dripping from the walls and blood was dripping out of their eyes and they killed someone. and then helicopters were landing outside and different men in white were running in and shooting back and the cafeteria ceiling collapsed and the sky was RED and someone grabbed Shirakumo and tried to drag him away but Yamada started yelling except he was SCREAMING and the ground was shaking with his voice and his mouth was too wide and the building started to collapse and this is all TOO MUCH and this is ILLOGICAL and WRONG and Shouta grabbed his friends and ran for an exit but Shirakumo turned around to throw a cloud over a kid under a falling wall and Shouta and Yamada fell forward and the door shut and there was a little white mouse in a tuxedo and Shouta.

Blacked out.

Tokoyami bought a fake grimoire on eBay and accidentally summoned a real demon to his soul

Recovery girl wasn’t hired by Nedzu, she just showed up one day on UA grounds to heal. Sometimes she mentions ancient history like it was yesterday.

Ectoplasm is a ghost. Like, a dead guy. Nedzu had his grave, dirt and all, moved to one of the apartments so he could “haunt” (teach) at UA.

Shoto is the son of a high ranking manager in the SCP foundation. Endeavor very much does not believe in sympathy for SCPs, and he made that clear when Shoto was locked up.

Hawks is a first responder to attacks on UA, due to his ability to “fly” between dimensions. He is also somewhat overworked.

Iida didn’t need rescuing- his parents are well respected alumni so he and his brother got in free. Having practically grown up there, he is among the few who NEVER get lost no matter how many times the school rearranges itself. Some kids joke that he is one of the many robots that keep UA functional.

Ashido ate an entire packet of Wondertainment® ExTrA sOuR gummy worms.

(2/3)

A bonus Crack backstory- the SCP UA is situated right in the regular BNHA world. Nedzu grew up in a lab like normal, but he never escaped. He just… popped out of existence one day. Twenty years later he returned, older, wiser, impossibly powerful. He sniffed the air, wandered Japan like a little cryptid, and finally found a nice hill in the woods. The next day… UA sprouted like a sunflower fell from the sky unfolded from the wrong dimension materialized from nothing APPEARED, and everyone aptly freaked out. Heroes stood guard as scientists and researchers poked and prodded at the walls, but nobody could get through the barrier. The people inside are weird and wrong but don’t seem to notice them, or even the occasional nearby villain battle. Even all might tried to break through, decades later, when he spotted a little girl get decapitated (she’s fine), but UA simply isn’t of this world. The main cast goes to Ketsubutsu, I guess. And if there are rumors of doppelgängers, of heroes swearing up and down that they saw themselves (but WRONG) inside The School, well. Those are just rumors.

!! Everyone read this this is so good!!

[mylittlegemlins]

Hello tumblr, during my childhood I was really obsessed with smurfs and since I found out that they released a reboot, which unfortunately I haven´t yet been able to see, I think I had some inspiration and ended up writing this.

I don't usually post this kind of blog about series unless I'm too immersed in it because I feel like it's too childish but to hell, blogging about-analyzing series for kids is my entertainment method and if I can't post about my likes on Tumblr I don't know why have an account.

So I present:

How to catch the Smurfs

This is the definitive tutorial on everything Gargamel ever did to catch the little blue critters.

It is based mainly on the animated series from the 80s and the 3 films that were produced between 2011-2017, I watched several episodes again to write this, but I still hope I don't forget some important information.

Following these steps:

1. Why catch the Smurfs?

During the comics, the series and the recent movies there were many reasons why Gargamel and other humans wanted to capture the Smurfs that change over time, among its main uses we have:

- They are ingredients for exotic dishes.

-Turn them into gold

- Ingredient for the Philosopher's Stone

- Use its essence to obtain magic

- Their tears serve as an ingredient for spells

-Their skin serves as a treatment to cure diseases

2. Points to consider:

This is a set of rules that fall between the lines when using a Smurf for any of the recipes mentioned above.

2.1 How many are needed:

In some episodes Gargamel was about to cook a single Smurf, so 1 is enough to eat them.

To turn them into gold you need at least half a kilo, about 6 smurfs.

2.2. They don't need to be alive

I didn't remenber any place where it said that Smurfs must be alive to use them in recipes.

2.3. Smurfette doesn't always count

She has to be a real smurf or else it won't work, during her first appearance before the papa smurf spell and the episode "smurfette unmade" where she reverts to her original form she is not a real smurf, so it wouldn't work unless that is in its blonde form.

2.4. Fake Smurfs:

The reason Gargamel can't just create another Smurf and use it in his recipes is because his creations are blue clay with a conscience, to turn them into real Smurfs you need the “true blue”spell

2.5. Artificial Smurfs:

Smurfette, Sassete, Kactus, Vicky and any other Smurf they come up with in the future, count as real Smurfs only after their transformation.

To clarify the points, these are the steps:

3.Locate them

The Smurfs are in a village protected by a magical force that makes it invisible or unreachable, it is only possible to find the village if a Smurf guides you to it, even after finding the exact location it will have disappeared if you try to return, so the best It is marks the surroundings of the village and look for them in the places that the Smurfs frequent.

It is possible to capture them when they leave the village, force them to guide you, enter the village using teleportation spells or hoaxes.

4.Traps

Catching smurfs is relatively easy, you can chase them with butterfly nets, catch them with your bare hands, using a cat or any other hunting animal, now that I think about it a hound would be very useful to track their scent.

Using some classic traps to hunt animals also works with Smurfs, traps with cages or hidden holes in the ground, or camouflage in a bush until a Smurf is close enough to catch it, you can't use traps like an obvious cage with food in it, they are too smart to fall for that.

It is more effective if they are placed in strategic places such as a field of smurfberries which is outside the village.

Small female creatures are also used as decoys, such as female smurfs, little mermaids and lymph to make a smurf fall in love and thus leave the village to a point where they can be captured.

5.Which Smurfs to capture

Personally I think there are Smurfs that are easier to catch, although Gargamel could not have a list of all with so many times that they have passed by his house, he should already recognize one or another Smurf and I remember that there is a episode where he knows some of his names.

The main cast, Smurfette, Hefty, Brainy, Clumsy, Greedy, Grouchy, Jokey and Handy as far as i can remember, they´re the ones that have been captured the most times and also the ones that have escaped the most, since they're easy to capture, it would be convenient to take advantage of this, but since they know how to get out, they should change the cages with them, put the cages in another place, move the objects that previously used to get out, and above all not to fall the same tricks again.

Papa smurf has been captured many times, he is the one who most leaves the village and if in one of his trips they capture him, maybe the others would not notice his absence, it is something difficult because he already knows how to escape and he can use spells against you, but if you manage to kill him the others would be lost without their leader, and with the disaster they would be easier to capture.

Lazy smurf takes naps during his work outside the village so it's a good chance to catch him, hopefully he might still be asleep while preparing the recipe and he won't try to escape.

According to his debut episode sickly smurf was never able to escape from Gargamel and Azrael; it is so easy that he catches him with his bare hands in 20 seconds.

Baby Smurf is more vulnerable for obvious reasons, the negative side is that there is always a Smurf looking after him, but if they manage to separate the baby it would be easy to cook , considering the life expectancy of the Smurfs is more than 500 years, it may remain a baby for the next 10 years so there is time to execute your plan.

Nat, Snapy, Sassete and Slouchy, the 4 children Smurfs that appear in season 5 are in almost the same circumstances as Baby Smurf.

In Wild Smurf's first appearance he kicked Gargamel in the face and easily made Azrael afraid of him so it might not be a good idea to mess with him.

I guess Smurfs like scaredy would never leave the village unless they forced it so the only times he gets caught is when they capture all 100 together.

6.Don't let them escape

In many occasions the Smurfs escape when they have already been captured by Gargamel, either from his hands, cages and in their closest attempts they escape from the pot.

These are the points to keep in mind:

6.1 Capture only one

If you capture a single Smurf than two or more as it will take a while for them to realize that one is missing and they will not come to their rescue, the more they are, the more likely they will find a plan to escape, so keep them in mind. separate cages.

6.2 The others will come

Once Gargamel has one or more Smurfs, it is 100% certain that the others will come to rescue him at his house, so it would be convenient to go to another place away from the forest where he can cook the Smurfs without others being able to find them. Gargamel has a basement with a secret door, he was able to hide there and pretend he didn't have them until the rescuers leave.

6.3 catch rescuers

Knowing that more Smurfs could come, you could use it to your advantage by placing traps on the doors and windows, or on the contrary, closing everything so that it is impossible to enter without having a key.

6.4 They will leave him for dead

In the episode "the tear of a Smurf ", it seems that if they don't find a missing Smurf it only takes a week for them to surrender and prepare for his funeral. You can hide the smurfs with their mouths tied up in a drawer and pretend you don't know what they are talking about until they give up, then it will be time to execute the recipes. If Gargamel had enough brain cells to keep the secret, he could eat the Smurfs and the rest would think they were eaten by birds or something and would not take revenge.

6.5. Do not look any further

If you already have 99 it is enough, even if you have only one, it is not worth risking it to find one more, it is a trap.

6.6. Don't open jokey surprises.

The characters always forget that gift.

6.7. Don't listen to them

On several occasions they try to make conversation to buy time, they trick him into thinking that he will bring more Smurfs or that he cannot eat him, everything is a trap.

6.8. Just kill them

He never did that but it's a very obvious choice, I don't remember somewhere saying that smurfs have to be alive for recipes, Gargamel has repeatedly expressed his desire to destroy them. Wouldn't it be easier to kill them before throwing them into the pot? if you can't, they don't even have to be dead, just unconscious or asleep. Gargamel has drops of lava in his lab for some reason, how come he doesn't have substances to knock them unconscious? In case he have many captured you could use classic techniques such as placing the cage in a tub of water until they drown, even stepping on them would be enough since they are very small.

6.9. Papa Smurf's books

If Gargamel tries to kill them with an epidemic, papa will have the cure, if he casts a spell, papa has the antidote, since he has been in the village on several occasions, he should take the opportunity to steal or destroy their books, he could look for the true blue spell and perhaps find another useful spell.

7.Enjoy your smurf soup

If that's all i came up with, you can already eat or become a millionaire at the cost of a smurf's life, hopefully you'll have to face a horrible revenge from papa smurf, but i'm not responsible for that.

8.Other methods to get smurfs:

This is a set of theories for alternative ways to get smurfs without capturing one from the village.

8.1. create smurfs:

In the second live action movie gargamel gets the formula for the true blue spell, so from here technically he could create smurfs, then transform them into real smurfs and do whatever he wants with them, during the series he had to look for the formula instead to look for smurfs.

8.2. Clone Smurfs:

In the episode "the hundredth smurf" Vanity creates a clone of himself that eventually integrates into the village, it is a genetically exact clone so there is no doubt that it is a real smurf. He just needs to place a mirror in front of a smurf and get it struck by lightning, Gargamel could capture a smurf and make clones that will work, he wouldn't even have to keep the original and he would have an infinite smurf machine.

8.3. Kidnap Baby Smurfs:

During the blue moon it is possible that a zork came to the village bringing a baby smurf, it can take up to 200 years without bringing one but if you are alive when that happens, you can try to hunt the zork and capture the defenseless baby.

8.4. Repeat the fake smurf technique:

If it is possible to create fake Smurfs like Smurfette, it might work on a second try, Smurfs are not very cautious around strangers, once Smurfette arrives in the village no one wonders where she came from or why she was in the forest, but rather Immediately they offer him a house, Gargamel could create a smurf and this time instruct him to lead all the smurfs in the village into a trap and make sure he does not turn good, he can also turn himself into a life-size smurf costume, Nobody will notice that there is an extra Smurf and he can repeat the same trap,third time’s a charm

9.Conclusion:

Surely there are many other methods to catch Smurfs but I can't see the whole series again even if I wanted to, because it is a series for children Gargamel never learns from his mistakes I think that catching Smurfs is not that exaggeratedly difficult, especially for someone who has access to magic may be as difficult as capturing a talking rabbit, Gargamel is just stupid.

The end.

[sweetescapeartist]

DBS COLORING BOOK CHAPTER 73 REVIEW

Alright... let's do this.

The first 4 pages are good. Good flow, not too many pages, no dialogue (thank God). Page 5 is where the paneling gets unnecessary. The last 2 panels aren't needed.

Page 6 is absolutely stupid. Goku & Granolah are flying at extremely high speeds, Goku is firing ki blasts that are moving at a higher velocity than he is currently moving, Granolah moves even faster in order to dodge Goku's ki blasts, then Granolah is using his scarf that is wrapped around a tree to swing around the tree & get behind Goku... A SCARF.

The scarf would tear apart instantly if Granolah tried to use it to catapult/swing himself around faster than Goku can perceive.

YOU: "The scarf is probably really strong tho!"

Sure let's assume that. In that case, the tree would be uprooted from the velocity Granolah is moving. Either way, it doesn't make sense. If this was early Dragon Ball and Yamcha did something like this when fighting Goku, then yeah it would be reasonable and look cool. With the power these characters are at now, it just looks ridiculous and inconvenient. It doesn't work here. Granolah could've easily dodged on his own and much faster that wraping his scarf around the tree.

So Granolah swings around and kicks Goku through tons of trees. (Saiyans killed his ppl but Granolah is killing his planet. Ironic)

Hey look! Another stupid page 😒

Page 7. Goku got sent flying back at a speed capable of easily cutting through tons of trees, but he slows himself down by grabbing a branch & swinging around it? Why? Again, at that speed, Goku would yank the limb of the tree clean off or uproot the entire tree. That wouldn't slow down his speed. He would be better off just stopping in the air on his own as if he applied the emergency breaks. Characters have done that plenty of times. Again, stuff like swinging around trees and tree branches is stuff they would had done in OG Dragon Ball.

Why is Goku blocking like that?? He isn't reinforcing his arm, he's holding his wrist whole his forearm gets punched. That would damage his arm and/or wrist.

*Boom boom! Bam bam!* They hit each other some. But are you ready for this? Pages 11-12...!

Why did Goku yell as if he is transforming? He is using Ultra Instinct, right? You don't yell to power that up. Remember the Moro arc? He calmly breathes to go into the state. Remember the chapter before? He calmly closes his eyes to focus. Why is he yelling then tapping into UI? Because Toyotaro can't write consistently. This page was...! just dumb...

Also... What is this SSB with Ultra Instinct then? You remember the SSB aura around UI Omen in the Moro arc? What's the difference between "Blue plus Ultra Instinct" & "Ultra Instinct plus Blue?"

Granolah says he can read Goku's blood flow and cell movements. That should come in handy later when he could potentially find a weakeness in Goku using UI. Hopefully Goku doesn't tell him he can't stay in the form too long. 🤞

SSB with UI is more focused that lower forms in combination with UI. Goku should be nearly untouchable. Pages 13 - 14 show how well Goku can dodge. Looks like ballet in a way, like Goku us dancing around him. I like that. Then he uses a point blank Kamehameha. Looks cool. But it turns out that Granolah simultaneously hit Goku somehow. Not a complaint here.

Pointless panels of Oil being blown back by the force. Pointless panels of Vegeta not paying attention to the fight and looking around. Pointless 2 panels of smoke clearing away. The entire page doesn't add anything at all. Page 17 could be omitted & it would flow better.

Goku is on the ground for the... 3rd time in this battle? I wish it would at least have Granolah say he didn't realize how difficult UI with SSB would be for him, but he barely saw an opening. That would be some sort of respect for Goku and did some clever foreshadowing. But we get Granolah insulting Goku instead. Whatever.

This "vital points" nonsense is so stupid. Everyone in DB has nearly identical vital points. Majin Vegeta knocked Trunks out by chopping at his vital point. These characters know what vital points are and know them well as we have seen when they were in combat since early DB. Granolah should be saying "My right eye will always find an opening." But maybe its a translation error or something. I won't be too harsh about this one.

Wait wait wait. Lemme get this straight...

Whis trained Goku, then Goku is able to use UI in the ToP.

Merus trains Goku to use UI Omen at will.

Goku later masters UI with silver hair.

Whis points out new flaws that didn't exist then trains Goku even further.

Goku has been trained by 2 Angels to the point of being able to go into Mastered UI at will and recieved further training after mastering the Angelic power. How is it that Goku has the gull to say "No, Ultra Instinct should have no weaknesses. If anything's lacking, it's gotta be my training."

And he's telling Granolah that he is vulnerable for some reason...? He's just foreshadowing for the reader that he will lose. The last 4 or 5 panels of page 19 isn't needed.

Whatever. Let's move on. So on page 20, for some reason, Goku has a confused look & a question mark in his speech bubble after Granolah blames Saiyans for killing his ppl. Maybe Goku doesn't understamd why Granolah is repeating himself for the 3rd or 4th time? Or he wasn't listening the earlier times. Can't blame him. Granolah's speeches bored me too.

Granolah copies Moro & makes lava rise from the core of his beloved home planet in order ro hurt Goku. Poor Sugarians. I wonder if there will be a "You're becoming the bad guy now, Granolah." type of story. Dont really care though. Goku escapes by teleporting. He mentions how Granolah has Moro's move. I guess Granolah is supposed to be like Cell and have others techniques... like Moro before him... They are both altered copies of Cell who is much cooler than both of them combined...

Well, here they are making Vegeta look capable (somehow?). Also its interesting that the bloodthirsty Granolah is allowing Goku & Vegeta to chat about their discovery of who his ppl are. The the ex-detective Vegeta quickly figures out that Maki & Oil fooled them. That was rushed. "But Vegeta was suspicious of them before." Yes, but there was no reason or anything we heard that would make Vegeta suspicious. The writing is bad. Also it's convenient that Oil has a drone all of the sudden to eavesdrop. The last 4 panels of page 24 are pointless.

GOKU: "Hey let's talk to him and clear things up."

VEGETA: "Nah. He's probably too stubborn. Just fight to move the story along instead."

Goku says he hasn't used his full power yet & Vegeta is surprised. How does Vegeta not realize Goku hasn't used his full power, Mastred UI? Then Vegeta says "Tch... Gotta resort to that in the end, huh?" Toyotaro is having Vegeta downplay UI in order to hype up Vegeta's fight next chapter. Bad writing. There's better ways to hype Vegeta up. Toyo chose one of the worst ways to do so.

Granolah... Just standing and waiting for Goku to come back. What a patient revenge fueled man.

UI Goku through the fog looked cool. (And his wounds heal? Ok...) But, seeing that made me realize something else. It would be much cooler if it went from page 22 then skip to page 26!

We don't need Goku & Vegeta chatting. The reveal of UI would not have had a pace breaker. It just happens & you see that Goku is serious now. Show don't tell.

GRANOLAH: "I can't perceive... any vital points?!"

That sounds stupid, so I do think it is a translation error.

GRANOLAH: "I can't perceive... any openings?!"

Now that reads much better! (I also edited the dialogue to "openings" in the pic above.)

Great... Goku conveniently exposed a weakness in UI that Whis had conveniently made up in CH 71. Although, in CH 59 Whis said that Mastered UI doesnt have the stamina issue that UI Omen has. Then in CH 64 it shows that the stamina issue is gone with Mastered UI during the 3 chapter battle with Moro. Goku never looked fatigued or weak in this form. Only time the form went away is when "planet" Moro drained Goku of his energy.

But now Goku & Whis say otherwise. How suddenly contradictory. Page 26 of this current chapter (CH 73) would be better if the last 2 panels were omitted.

Mastsred UI Goku easily takes down Moro- I mean Granolah. Also Goku tries to chat now after attacking Granolah. Should've said something before you start kicking ppl in the face. But this is shown to prove Vegeta is right about not being able to reason with Granolah. Even if it makes no sense.

Cool dodging & aikido type movement from Goku.

Goku using "the force" & stopping Granolah's movements was cool. Reminded me of Goku doing something similar to Broly in the DBS movie. Or more similarly, like Zamasu did in the manga.

I guess Toyotaro is suggesting that the quick flurry of punches is a Master UI kind of move. (Although it originated in the anime when UI Omen Goku was punching back against Jiren & when he did so to block attacks from Jiren in EP 129.) I hope this move isn't over used that it ends up losing its flare.

Vegeta pretends to be upset that Goku defeated Granolah while in the previous chapter, Vegeta told Goku to fight first.

Somehow Vegeta is able to sense that there are 2 Granolahs. You can say because he has spirit control, but Goku has been through that kind of training with Roshi, Kami, & King Kai (possibly some with the Yardrats too which helped him control Super Saiyan at the level he could). And with Instant Transmission, Goku must be an expert in detecting ki. He can feel ki in different realms and locate ppl from far across the galaxy Goku should sense this too. All this writing is doing is trying to make Vegeta appear as the more capable fighter & get Vegeta fans hype for his next battle. That's all.

The switcheroo (I think I used that wrong) of a fake Granolah was a kinda clever idea. But Goku not knowing what "split" means is asinine.

Goku literally says "Split...? What's that mean?"

Goku has seen firsthand when Tien split into multiple Tiens, Goku knows the Yardrats can split themselves into many ppl, he saw merged Zamasu split himself, & he saw Moro split himself. Why is he written so stupid? I need answers Toyo.

Page 40....

HOW IN THE HECK did Mastered UI get caught off guard?! Ain't it supposed to automatically grow sturdier as necessary?! Boy oh boy, this writing... A positive is that the punch looks like the 1 inch punch Goku did to Golden Freeza (inspired by the legendary Bruce Lee).

So if actual Granolah is twice as strong and can one shots UI Goku... Vegeta doesn't stand a chance. But the bad writing will make a way for Vegeta to look somewhat capable.

Granolah says UI becomes less sharp over time. Only problem is that Goku fought longer against Moro. This fight of UI Goku should have been longer. If the fight was longer when in the UI "transformation" then I would be more generous about Granolah finding an opening. Speaking of openings, Granolah says "opening" instead of "vital point." Must be a translation error.

Goku is in a near death-like state and Vegeta is like

VEGETA: "Leave that fool alone. Fight me instead."

Vegeta threatening Granolah is either stupid or smart. Smart = Vegeta provoking Granolah to get an advantage mentally. Dumb = Vegeta reverting to his Cell saga overconfidence that Toyo always does.

IN CONCLUSION:

STILL NO IMAGE OF FREEZA... I guess he isnt that important to the story after all. And this storytelling is so bad because Toyo can't stay consistent at all, he doesn't understand the characters, & he can't come up with anything besides "this form also drains stamina." You can say he & Toriyama write this together but I doubt it. Toriyama corrects his art & just gives the story a pass.

Recently it seems that Toriyama is more interested in the DBS movies being produced. Toriyama just writes an outline, Toyotaro & Toei write their versions of the story around that, Toriyama corrects Toyotaro's art & Toriyama also corrects or adds to what Toei thinks up. Example being when Toei created Kale & Toriyama created Caulifla in response.

I'm not excited for the next chapter. I don't care what Vegeta does. How is Vegeta going to win against someone who one shotted Goku in UI. Either the writing will be kinda smart or just plain stupid. I'm expecting stupid.

Idk if I'll review the next chapters. The bad writing was too much for me. I wrote this review last month right 1 day after the chapter came out, but I didnt want to read the manga again to get the images I need for this review. So I put it off for almost 1 month.

I wanna take a break from this bad manga...

[ask-chaos-kin]

Slender Freaks Ch.1

Fortress Beyond Our Belief

“Keep going! We’re almost there!” A girl cried, shoving her brother forward through the leaden halls. 

“We’re not going to make it!” The boy shouted, jumping as a creature tried to snag at his heels.

“We will make it! Just keep going!” The girl gasped, fighting to stay ahead of the monster that chased them down through the corridors. She and her brother turned a sharp corner, and they both gasped in shock. “There! There’s the exit! Come on, we’re so close!”

“We might make it! We actually might escape this!” The brother chuckled as the two rushed towards a portal upon a mighty altar.  

But as they advanced, the altar began to grow faded and blurry, and a distinct ringing noise filled the ears of the two would be escapees. They skidded to a halt and backed away from the altar in terror as a tall, slender figure emerged from the static surrounding the portal. He bore no face, and wore a black suit with a red tie. His skin was as pale as death, and shadows gathered at his back. 

“Slenderman!” The two runaways gasped, recoiling away from the imposing figure. But stepping back, the two were aggressively reminded of their pursuer. A shriek made them turn on their heels, and the color drained from their faces at the realization that they were caught between two of the most infamous monsters in this nightmarish world; The Rake, and the feared Slenderman.

“Oh shit,” The brother swore, frantically looking around for an escape. “There goes our chance.”

The sister looked past her brother and saw an open vent shaft in the wall. With their escape attempt thwarted again, their only recourse left was to get out of the monster’s territory, and that shaft would at the very least give them reprieve from Slenderman and the Rake.

“Come on, we can try again later!” The sister shouted, shoving her brother towards the vent, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them as the Rake barreled towards them. 

The two soon to be escapees managed to climb into the vents just in the nick of time to avoid the emaciated monster behind them, and the sister pulled the vent covering up to hold it off from following them. 

“Move! Move! This thing won't hold for very long!” She barked, pushing her brother through the shaft until the two of them were out of sight from the monsters.

However, as they fled, they deprived themselves of bearing witness to a truly inhuman display, even for a monster as infamous as the Slenderman. The tall figure watched the escapees flee, and stared blankly as the Rake gave up its mindless chase and stalked away from the vent. Slenderman tilted his head to the emaciated monster, as if to ask it a question, but the infamous creature just continued on its way.

Slenderman glowered for but a moment, then turned his attention to the portal the two siblings had attempted to escape from. A portal out of this nightmarish realm and out into the real world.

Slenderman extended a pale hand out to the portal. What a strange realm, this world was. Monsters like and unlike himself roamed, but not freely and not without consequence. This was not a world of hunting and surviving. It was organized and relatively stable. There were so many people out in this world, people who were fully unaware of this realm's existence. People who would make the perfect victims of this neverending nightmare.

Extending his tendrils into the portal, Slenderman altered the state of this rift between realms. He forced open tears into the real world, opening up the promise of more victims to hunt. Who would be the first to fall victim to these portals? Who would be the first of the unfortunate souls to be trapped here? Who would join the hordes of runaways in their futile attempts to escape this dangerous game?

***

“One paddle, paddle, paddle, two paddle, paddle, paddle…” Spyper yawned listlessly, watching as the ball repeatedly hit the paddleboard. He was lounged back lazily on a couch, sitting across from Intelligent Heavy as he deconstructed an N64 console that Jester had given them. 

The two Freaks were four months into their house arrest, only a few days away from finally being let off the hook. Both Freaks wore heavy bands around their ankles, anchors to keep them inside at all times that would alert HECU if either of them so much as stepped foot out the door.

“I’m bored,” Spyper sighed heavily, finally letting his paddle streak end as his arms fell to his sides. “I never knew how boring it could be just staying home, but now I do, and I want it to be over!”

“It’ll be over in a few days,” Intelligent assured, smiling at his friend.

“Why can’t it be over now?” Spyper groaned, slouching further into the sofa. He sighed and slid off the couch. “I’m getting a drink.”

“Bring me the leftover pizza while you’re in there,” Intelligent called. Spyper nodded and gave the Heavy a thumbs up as he headed for the kitchen.

A knock at the door suddenly drew the attention of the two Freaks. Intelligent set aside the dismantled N64 and headed for the door. 

“Who is it?”

“It’s us!” Jester's cheery voice called out. “We brought cake!”

“They dragged me along since I really had nothing better to do,” Pancakes called out.

Intelligent opened the door to see Jester, Pancakes, and Chaos standing at the door. He smiled and let the three inside.

“So, how’s house arrest working for ya guys?” Jester asked, setting the cake they were carrying on a nearby table.

Spyper let out a loud groan and hung his head back.

“That bad?” Chaos questioned as she walked into the kitchen.

“I got lucky. I mean, it sucked being restricted to my can in RED Spawn for a month. But on the bright side, Painis doesn’t really bother with the can unless meals are scarce.” Pancakes stretched.

“Hey, at least you guys are off the hook in a few days, right?” Jester asked, hacking off a slice of the cake and handing it to Intelligent.

“Mhm. One more week of this, and we’ll be free to go.”

“That’s good to hear!” Jester smiled. “Did you guys like the console I sent you?”

“Well…” Intelligent glanced over to the deconstructed N64. “In a way: Yes.”

While the rest of the group was talking, Pancakes let his eyes wander for a moment before noticing a small light in the house.

“Yo intelligent, when did you make a teleporter like that?” Pancakes pointed it out.

“Huh? I didn’t…” Intelligent looked at the glowing orb.

“Than… what is it doing here?” Chaos started to approach the ball of light.

“What even is it?” Jester quizzed, floating after Chaos. 

“Do I look like an expert on random glowing objects?” Chaos bit. 

“I don’t think you three should be getting that close to it,” Intelligent warned.

“It’s not like some-” Before Pancakes could finish his sentence a large black tendril shot out from the ball of light and wrapped around his arm.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” He screamed. He grabbed the tendril and tried to pry it off to no avail. “GET IT OFF!”

Before Chaos and Jester could jump in to help, two more tendrils burst from the light, grabbing the two Freaks.

“What the hell!?” Chaos gasped with strain. 

“Intelligent! Spyper! Help!” Jester cried, struggling in the tendrils grip.

The three Freaks screamed as the tendrils lifted them into the air, and the ball of light they came from expanded outward rapidly. In a blinding flash of light, it engulfed the Freaks and snapped out of existence with a sharp cry, taking the Freaks with it.

As the light faded, panic filled the two Freaks left standing there to witness their friends being dragged away by another force.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh FUCK!” Spyper screamed, staring and gesticulating wildly at where the Freaks had just been. “What the fuck just happened - Intelligent!?”

“Don’t look at me!” Intelligent explained, just as baffled as Spyper. 

“Oh god, what do we do!? They just got nabbed by tentacles from another dimension!” Spyper cried, throwing up in hands in panic. 

“We need help for this,” Intelligent gulped. He threw aside his cake and ran for the door, causing Spyper to stumble after him. 

“Woah - WOAH! What are you doing!?”

“Getting HECU’s attention! Now move!” Intelligent grunted. He pushed his friend outside and marched out the door. He flinched as soon as he was out the door, as the band around his ankle began beeping loudly and flashing, alerting HECU that the detained Freaks were breaking their house arrest.

“This can only end badly,” Spyper fretted, staring at his friend in shock and alarm.

“I really hope HECU knows how to help us,” Intelligent gulped, watching for HECU vehicles to start coming down the road.

“And what if they can’t?” Spyper implored earnestly.

“Let's hope they do.”

“Yeah, cause that’s reassuring.” He glanced down at his own band and sighed. “Oh well. We’ve already broken the law. What’s one more?” He muttered, joining his friend outside.

***

“Only a couple more months… If only those months came faster.” RED groaned laying on his back looking up in his prison cell.

“We’ll get through it, RED,” Pure assured, sitting in a cell across from RED. “We’ve made it this far.”

“I know. At least the food here is good, just really boring.”

“It’s better than whatever Brutal cooks,” Pure shrugged.

“I honestly thought this place would be a million times worse. Who knew that prison for Freaks was just Rehab level 2.”

“Yeah, I really wasn’t expecting the rehab part,” Pure said, looking down the hall. 

“Better than normal prison at least.”

“How do you think the others are fairing?” Pure asked, leaning forward on his bed. “I hope none of them have gotten into trouble since we were arrested.”

“Well, Brutal and Gentle are in Rehab 1.0, So there’s the two trouble makers out of the picture.”

“And I’m sure Polite, Spyper, and Intelligent are abiding by their house arrest. Pancakes...I’m holding out hope for him, but I’m not entirely convinced he’s stayed in his can for that long.”

“And we don’t have to worry about Jester and Chaos,” RED grunted as he stretched. “At least, I hope we don’t.”

“Chaos just found out that she still has a living family and the remainder of her team is still alive. I’m sure that someone is looking after her,” Pure remarked pointedly, pressing his hands together.

“I’m not too worried about Jester. They’re too busy with piecing together their past,” RED yawned, reclining on his bed. “And they’ve learned a lot in the time since being released. They and Chaos will be fine.”

As RED reclined, Pure happened to notice a ball of light appear next to the bed.

“What in the world?”

“Huh?” RED lifted his head. “What is it?”

“There’s this...Light next to your bed,” Pure said hesitantly, squinting at the shimmer. “Don’t get close to it. I don’t know what that thing is-”

A shrill scream tore through the relative silence of the cells and Pure leapt from his bed in shock, a pale dread overtaking his face as he watched black tendrils erupt from RED’s bed and ensnare him, locking him tightly in place as it slowly dragged him down.

Muffled screams escaped from the tendrils as they engulfed him and dragged him into the small light, terror filling the very air around them. 

“RED!” Pure screamed, throwing himself against the glass screen of his cell. “Guards! GUARDS! HELP! Something’s happened to RED!” He cried desperately. He frantically looked about his cell for anything to use to get himself out, but he barely had time to search his nightstand when another set of tendrils burst from the ground beneath him and wrapped around his legs, immobilizing him. Pure gasped in terror as the tendrils dragged him downward, and his terrified cries for help echoed through the halls as he was violently pulled into a small light.

As the light disappeared, a small camera focused on the spot where the two spies were taken. On the other side of the lens, on a monitor in HECU, a young intern sat baffled and mortified by the events her bright green eyes had just seen. She swallowed hard and leaned back in her chair, stricken pale. She brushed a strand of her brown, curling locks aside, a strand of purple bleeding into her natural hair color. Then she frantically snatched up her pager and started running for the door, quickly turning the channel on the pager to that of Commander Rudra. 

“Commander! Commander, come in! We have a security breach, I repeat we have a security breach! Christian Pure Spy and RED Spy have just disappeared into thin air! We need backup here!” She gasped, fumbling with the doorknob. “Black tendrils just came out of nowhere and grabbed them, then dragged them to who knows where! Please, Rudra, we need some help here! We’re dealing with something supernatural here!”

The intern flew out of the security room and started sprinting through the halls, weaving between guards and officers in her panicked sprint to Rudra’s office. 

However, she didn’t have to run far before she collided with the commander herself, receiving a facefull of metal plating from Rudra’s heavy armor before staggering back, nearly falling squarely on her rear end and no doubt receiving a bruise or two from the collision.

“Now what’s going on?” Rudra asked sternly, lowering her pager. “What’s this about a security breach?”

“There were these long black tendrils that emerged from this ball of light in their cell that dragged RED and Pure into it! It was like something from a horror game!” The intern exclaimed, tripping over her own words in her frantic retelling of the events.

“Slow down, Ash,” Rudra said cooly, raising a hand to Ashley. “Did anyone else see this?”

“Everyone else is out on break,” She wheezed, her breaths still forced and panicked.

“The one time we don’t need them on break,” Rudra whispered under her breath. “And you managed to get it on camera?”

“Yeah, everything’s been recorded,” Ashley gulped.

“Good. We can look over the footage and see what happened. We could be dealing with something interdimensional here. I’ll give Jester a call if that’s the case.”

Before Rudra could get her phone out to call Jester, Ash screamed as something grabbed her. The black tendrils she had described suddenly wrapped around her legs and chest, immobilizing her and rooting her to the spot.

“AH! Rudra, HELP!” Ash screamed, thrashing to free herself from their grip.

“Hold still!” Rudra barked. She drew her flaming sword and grabbed ahold of the thick tendrils around Ash’s abdomen and began slicing, fighting to keep the lashing appendages still as she cut them down.

Ash’s screaming and the hiss of Rudra’s sword drew the attention of nearby officers and like clockwork, several guards jumped to tear Ash free of the lashing vines. 

“Come on, come on! What are these things made out of!?” Rudra hissed through gritted teeth, struggling to tear the tendrils away from Ash.

One of the tendrils grabbed a Soldier and dragged them forwards and into a much larger light. Many of the officers swiftly jumped to keep the Soldier from being dragged into the light, but the tendrils were far too strong to overcome, and the Soldier was swiftly swallowed whole by the orb. 

This set off a chain reaction of several of the officers, soldiers, guards, and interns around being dragged screaming into the light, all the while Rudra held fast to Ash, tearing and slicing at the tendrils in her attempts to keep the woman out of the lights grasp. 

“What’s going on!?” Ash screamed, thrashing about in her binds.

“I don’t know!” Rudra exclaimed. “Just don’t let go of me!”

“I can’t! I’m slipping!” Ash gasped, trying to dig her heels into the floor to no avail.

Around the corner, Noir has finally made it to the scene when Ash fully lost her footing, only being held back by Rudra’s strength alone.

“Noir! Help me here!” Rudra shouted, holding tight to Ash.

“Hang in there, I’m coming!” Noir cried, sprinting over to the two and grabbing a hold of Ash. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get you out of this!” She strained, digging her heels into the floor. “Jesus, what is this thing!?”

“We don’t know! Whatever it is, it's not going to give up easily!”

“No shit it’s not giving up!” Noir wrapped an arm around Ash and tried to strong arm her out of the monster's grip.

“I can’t hold on for much longer!” Ash screamed, digging her nails into Rudra’s armor. 

“Don’t you dare let go!” Noir barked, straining her entire body to keep Ash afloat. 

“Come on, come on!” Rudra hissed through gritted teeth. Her metal sollerets screeched across the floor as she and Ash were slowly dragged towards the light, leaving noticeable white scars in the ground.

As the three women fought against the otherworldly force that threatened to drag them all into its clutches, two stray tendrils emerged from the light and snaked along the floor, wrapping themselves like spiders around Rudra’s legs. With one powerful tug, the tendrils threw the angel off balance. Noir was sent collapsing to the floor as Ash and Rudra were yanked out of her grasp, and a deafening scream tore through her throat as the small light engulfed the intern and her wife in the blink of an eye.

“NO! RUDRA!” Noir shrieked. She leapt to her feet and scrambled to where the light had been, frantically searching for that shimmering rift between worlds. However, just like Rudra and Ash, the light had vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind but the white streaks in the tile floor.

“Oh god, oh god. Tyson! TYSON! SOUND THE ALARM! RUDRA’S GONE! SHE’S BEEN TAKEN! SHE’S GONE!” She cried in blind and hysterical panic, sprinting down the hall in terror. 

Within minutes, all of HECU had been sent into chaos. A commander had been dragged into some kind of interdimensional rift, along with countless HECU employees. Alarms were sounded as news of the disappearance spread, and the news that Freaks had vanished thanks to this same anomaly only furthered the madness HECU was spiralling in.

However, things only got worse when two of the most infamous Freaks vanished from HECU’s containment facility.

***

Deep below ground, in a heavily fortified cell, Gentlespy and Christian Brutal Sniper sat in their respective lounging chairs, cables and wires hooked up to every part of them like some kind of battery. These cables and wires kept them in their seats, restricting their movement and ensuring the safety of all who stepped into their chambers. A small white table and chair were sat across from them, along with a straightlaced doctor who calmly tapped a pen against his clipboard.

This doctor had been assigned to the two Freaks when they had first been sent in for institutionalization, and it was this man's job to shape Brutal and Gentle into law-abiding Freaks like Madic. However, for all this man's training, he had hit several brick walls in regards to the Freaks in front of him. Brutal and Gentle clearly wanted nothing to do with institutionalization and stubbornly resisted the doctors attempts at changing their perspective or altering their homicidal tendencies, and had driven this doctor to the point of exhaustion with their bullheaded resistance.

“Take number 273, You two have murdered hundreds of mercenary and non-mercenaries alike. We at HECU would like to offer you an alternative to your murderous ways,” The doctor started, already seeing the bored and annoyed expressions on their faces.

“You aren’t leaving this room until you comply or the higher ups agree to let you go. So are you going to rot down here or actually have a chance of leaving here?”

“I’d prefer to break down that door and get back to my old life,” Brutal scowled, tugging on the cables around him to make a point.

“You go back to your old life, and you’ll be sent straight to prison. Would you rather at least try to be better, or would you rather be locked up somewhere?”

“Oh gee, lets see....Eenie meenie miney…Neither. You aren’t gonna magically change us. You haven’t been able to change our minds the last 272 times, what makes you think we’ll listen this time?”

“I was hoping you would have changed your perspective-”

Brutal interrupted him with a hearty laugh. “You’re fun. Annoying, but fun.”

“This isn’t a game, you two,” The doctor groaned incredulously.

“It is. A game of endurance,” Gentle chuckled, examining the quicks of his nails. 

“If I were not here to try and help you two, I’d smack you both,” The doctor bit.

“Can’t help people who don’t want it,” Gentle cajoled jeeringly.

“Then what’s the point of me trying to help you?”

“That’s what we’ve been asking since we got here,” Brutal grumbled, shuffling in his seat. “Got a smoke?”

“We don’t bring cigars in here,” The doctor scowled, rubbing his eyes.

“Figures,” Brutal sighed.

The three swiftly turned their attention to the blaring alarm outside, and the Institution Center was filled with bright, flashing red lights as the intercom flared to life.

Warning: Interdimensional rifts discovered in HECU Headquarters and Evo City. Several Freaks and personnel have vanished into these rifts. All non militant employees are to gather in the courtyard. Everyone else: Please make your way to the Engineering Department.

“Well...Shit,” Brutal groaned. “Interdimensional rifts that are stealing people. This is what, only four months after Grave?”

“We have a habit of getting the short end of the stick,” Gentle sighed, rubbing his temples.

The doctor stood and headed for the door. “You two stay here. I need to find Dr. Liss.”

“Don’t worry, it's not like we can go anywhere,” Brutal jeered incredulously, holding up all the cables that held him back and shaking them around.

While the two sat there, a light appeared behind Gentle. It was dull and small, hardly noticeable even if the two Freaks could look back to see it. 

“Hey, Gentle, you have a smoke?” Brutal asked listlessly, cracking his neck.

“For the last time; They took my cigar case,” Gentle groused, rolling his eyes.

“Would have thought you’d have stolen it back by now.”

“It’s hard to steal anything when I’m wrapped up in these - WHAT THE FUCK!?” Gentles jeer warped into a shrill scream as writhing tendrils of shadow erupted from behind his chair and ensnared him, tangling around the cables and wires that held him in place. Brutal jumped to his friends aid, but another set of twitching vines reached out and grabbed him, too.

“What the fuck is this!?” Brutal gasped with strangled breath, the tendrils wrapping around his chest and neck and violently pulling him back against his chair.

Gentle tried to struggle out of the grasp, only to be pulled into the light as the wires were ripped off the machines. Brutal followed behind him, dragged into the gaping maw that the tendrils had emerged from. It was like hell itself was pulling them in.

And when the doctor returned upon hearing their screams, the alarm that Christian Brutal Sniper and Gentlespy were gone sounded, joining the panic that had engulfed HECU.

[coralcane]

(Random ideas and questions) DreamSmp spoilers for 4/03/2021 Tommys stream

This is less like a theory and more of just random Ideas.

Firstly, I noticed that before Tommy was killed. Dream had no intention of wanting to revive Wilbur. After Tommy came back alive and was stressed over Wilbur then Dream suddenly really wanted to bring back Wilbur. 

Second, if I did the math right then Wilbur has been dead for 15 years (dead for 6 months irl) As Tommy has been dead for 2 months (2 days irl) Tommy also said that Schlatt was asleep for 3 months but also says that he spoke with Schlatt at some point...so its possible Tommy was in there for longer and is just disoriented or that he was talking about talking to Schlatt who was asleep.

Anyway. People were talking about how Dream only killed Tommy to prove a point but what if it was because of Sam as well. Since Sam checks on the cells ONLY if there is a visitor there. Tommy asked Dream to revive Wilbur as proof of the revival book and Dream refused to do this, maybe he didn't want to do it because Sam would see and then Sam would lock up Wilbur in another cell or something. So maybe Dream killed Tommy, had Sam see the body, so then Sam would be distracted and not check the prison for a while, fearing Dream and having no need to as the visitor is not there anymore... then during that time Dream can easily revive Tommy and then revive Wilbur. 

However this contradicts with the idea that Dream said that he would get Tommy free by calling for Sam....So when Sam comes to let out Tommy, Tommy will definitely tell him about the revival book and may tell him about Wilbur being revived which is just going to ruin Dreams plan. Tommy may get freed in another way.

Now moving on for a sec (holy shit that was a mess I just can't think properly lol) We know that Dream wants to revive Wilbur and will probably do that asap, but is it going to revive Wilbur with him respawning inside the prison in front of Dream, or is he going to respawn outside where he died.  Now since I don't know what happened with Tommys dead body, I can only assume that Wilbur is going to be revived in front of Dream, but then how is he going to help Dream escape exactly? ...maybe Technoblade might jump in and help or Ranboo.

My questions, theories and ideas are...

- Dream said that Wilbur is going to help him escape. But how..is Ranboo going to tnt the place again, is Technoblade going to come in with the favour. Will the Egg do something? Will dead people brought back to life have some ability to teleport. Will Wilbur spawn outside of the prison, crawl out from his grave and help Dream break out from the outside?

- Dream said that he is going to let Tommy free, otherwise Sam will limit visitors and food supply. Dream wants visitors..probably he wants Techno to visit or Ranboo or Sap..ect..  How is Dream going to let Tommy free. His going to call Sam over, Sam is going to know that the revival spell is real and that Dream wasn't lying. Sam may punish Dream or may not. But won't Tommy just tell Sam what Dream is planning to do, won't Tommy tell Dream that Wilbur is going to be revived and then Sam would keep a close eye on Dream. Maybe Tommy gets knocked out and during this Dream gets Sam to get Tommy out of the prison

- Maybe Tommy was lying about how dangerous Wilbur was because if he didn't wish the void on Dream, then why would he wish it on a close friend of his..even if the close friend is insane? is this the start of Tommy becoming as evil as dream..by knowing how to manipulate. Maybe?

 - Maybe Techno or Ranboo tnts the prison..just as Tommy is about to explain to Sam what happened

- Maybe Wilbur gets revived as Sam comes to see that Tommy is alive again

- Maybe Dream plans to revive Wilbur really later on but still Tommy is just going to tell Sam the future plan anyway

 - Tommy could potentially be threatened into not telling anyone but we already know that Dream doesn't really care.

- Tommy maybe in too much trauma to really say anything of what Dream is planning to do?

- When Wilbur gets revived, wouldn't Sam just put him in another cell

- Wilbur will struggle on being a good or bad guy... Wilbur didn't even want to live again but I don't think he wants to be dead either. Maybe he gets controlled by Dream, maybe he teams up with Dream. Maybe not.

- Dream may also bring back Schlatt then you would have two gods oof

- Dream may die in the finale or be redeemed. The egg will probably die with help from Tommy.

- Ranboo will probably be controlled into killing Tubbo by Dream. Tommy would then go to Dream for help and Dream wouldn't revive Tubbo unless Tommy sided with Dream and maybe Wilbur or something

- The whole server just fucking blows up and everyone dies and that's the end

 - Despite Dream saying he will let Tommy escape the prison, he may just hurt him again by killing and reviving him constantly. Dream will probably do this to others maybe..he might do it to Wilbur

.- Dream says fk all and revives mexican dream as a twist

I'm trying to think of every possibility ever in this dream smp roleplay..even the dumb possibilities

[aboyandhisstarship]

Spirit of Fire Vs Borg

so I was inspired by an ask @office-of-naval-intelligence got and I wanted to write this small thing. 

couple of things this is AU post Halo wars 2, couple of things. 

Anders did not ride the Ring back to UNSC space why? It did not work IDK take your pick but for one reason or another she is still on the Spirit. 

They managed to scavenge a Slip space drive from the wreckage above the Arc and are making there way back to UNSC space,  the drive is inefficient so they can only go so far before they have to recharge, so the trip back is a long one, at least a couple years (not Voyager long, but that is not important.) 

Also I’m not sure what the UNSC ship alert system is like (there version of Red Alert or Yellow alert) so I Made one up WatchCon being there version of Yellow Alert.

Also I’m assuming the Borg are in no way ready for Kinetic weapon’s which i think makes sense in cannon for them 

that should cover everything, so enjoy!

Isabelle’s voice rung out over the ships intercom “Captain Cutter to the bridge.”

Cutter moved to the Bridge his hat in his hand he stated “report.”

A crewman called “unknown vessel on an intercept course sir.”

Cutter sat in the Captain’s chair “Covenant Ship?”

Isabelle stated “Matches no designs known to the UNSC sir.”

Cutter stated “go to WatchCon 1, open a hailing frequency.”

A Crewman said “frequency open sir.”

Cutter nodded “Unknown Vessel this is Captain James Cutter of the United Nations Space Command Vessel Spirit of Fire.”

What sounded like hundreds of voices responded “We are the Borg, Surrender your Ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile.”

Cutter made the cut coms motion with his right hand calling out “BATTLE STATIONS!”

Alarms started going off all over the ship as Cutter said “arm all weapons and stand by to fire, Isabelle how strong are they?”

The AI appeared “I’m not sure captain, there vessel is a cube…a big one, but I’m seeing No shielding no armor…it’s like an ant colony.”

Cutter asked “no shielding, no armor?”

The AI answered “yes sir.”

Cutter looked over the figures “one MAC round would do it.”

Anders stormed onto the bridge “sorry for taking so long Captain, is it true…an Alien Hivemind.”

Cutter glanced at her “Doctor?”

Anders sighed “they intend to try and assimilate us Captain that is the only logical idea.”

Cutter answered “well in a minute they only thing they will be assimilating is the cold vacuum of space, stand by MAC!”

Anders said “Captain, this could be our chance…imagine what we could learn!”

Cutter responded “my only concern is the safety of this vessel, if there anything left to recover then you can study it then, Isabelle do you have the firing sequence?”

Isabelle answered “MAC is ready Captain.”

Cutter answered “fire at will.”

The tip of the weapon glowed for a Second before a Sliver streak fired into the cube, there was Large explosion as the Round easily blasted through the cubes haul.

Isabelle reported “Borg Vessel heavily damaged Sir.”

Cutter said “Follow up with Second MAC kill shot.”

Anders said “captain, the vessel is disabled, let me investigate it.”

Cutter exhaled before saying “Cutter to Jerome.”

Jerome answered “go ahead Captain.”

Cutter said “Anders wants some data from our visitors, put together a recon team to board the vessel, Bring back anything of Value, be careful this could be a false flag.”

Jerome answered “we will be careful sir.”

Cutter nodded “saying to the bridge, stand by MAC’s and Archer pods.”

Anders smiled “thank you Captain.”

 The a pelican flew towards the cube escorted by 2  Long Swords,  the long swords peeled away but stayed close in case the pelican needed a hot Evac as it landed,  the doors opened a Jerome Quickly cleared the area with his battle rifle before advancing in an arrow head formation with Alice and Douglas to his left and right respectively, After then Came Anders wearing a clumsy, vacuum tight suit flanked by a team of ODST’s.

Jerome said “ODST’s stay here and hold the exit, if we are back in 30 mikes, pull out and tell the captain to nuke this place to high heaven understood?”

The ODST Leader said “yes sir.”

Alice said “liking the vote of confidence boss.”

Jerome said “just being Prudent Alice, Professor Stay close, if we say go, you go got it.”

Anders nodded “of course.”

Jerome nodded “good, Jerome to Spirit of Fire actual, we have started the Operation.”

He gestured forward and the Spartans advanced in synch.  As soon they stepped out the opening they landed in to see what looks like miles of emptiness and Bipedal humanoid’s walking past most ignoring the tense Spartans as Jerome said “hold fire unless they make a move.”

Anders snapped her fingers in front of one drone who simply walked around her she said “it’s like they are ignoring us.”

There was a green effect and then 3 drones appeared out thin air behind the Spartans, Anders heard the sound of 3 safeties’ clicking off at once, but the drones just walked past the humans seemingly uninterested.

Anders said “easy, I don’t think they care about us.”

Douglas said “why, I mean we are here and we are armed…is it stupidity or overconfidence?”

Alice added “they did pick a fight with us with no shields or armor, so the former is possible.”

Jerome said “cut it out, Professor any ideas?”

Anders sighed “if I’m right, they not notice it the same way you don’t notice the cells in your body…whoa.”

Jerome asked “What is it?”

Anders pointed “the ship is fixing itself.”

Alice asked “how?”

Anders shrugged “I’m not seeing any terminals, anything that indicates a bridge engineering…anything…because it is everywhere.”

Anders stepped toward an Alcove on the wall saying, “the ship seems to be run through some kind of neural network. They are fixing the ship through sheer will power.”

Alice blinked “this place is starting to give me the Heebie-jeebies.”

Jerome agreed “I’m with Alice on this one Professor; I’m thinking it’s time we blew this ship to kingdom come.”

Anders said “wait, if we can get our hands on the teleportation tech, just think of what benefit that would be when we get back to the UNSC.”

Jerome looked at the others before saying “fine Professor let’s do this.” He handed Anders a side arm saying “you will need this.”

Anders took the pistol quizzically Jerome answered the question she didn’t ask “why they see us messing with the ship systems, I got a feeling they will not be friendly.”

The group moved before Andres said “here we go, the teleporter,” Lowering her scanner.

Jerome said “defensive positions, shoot to kill.”

As soon as Anders touched the teleporter, The drones started swarming and were answered by swift gunfire, and they dropped inhumanely and very quickly but kept coming.

The ODST’s radioed “Hostile’s are moving sir, they are still ignoring us but they are on their way to you.”

Jerome answered “we noticed thank you Sargent.”

Anders said “got it!”

Alice said “great, let’s be somewhere else!”

Douglas asked “professor any chance we can teleport out of here.” 

Anders answered “even if I knew how to use it, if we were in range they would have used it against us.” 

Alice fired saying “alright so we shoulder through these guys then.” 

Jerome shook his head “no go, there are hundreds of them between us and the pelican, and nowhere near enough ammo.”

He turned on his radio “Pelican take off and get ready for a scoop.”

The ODST answered “Yes sir.”

Anders asked “a scoop? Do I want to know?”

Douglas said “just take a deep breath and wish very hard.”

Jerome said “Long swords requesting fire on our position.”

The long sword pilot answered “roger sir, firing for effect.”

Anders yelped as the missiles impacted the haul, blasting them and a few drones into space, Jerome flipped through space saying “Jerome to Spirt of Fire actual, take out that cube maximum prejudice.”

Cutter answered “roger that fire all MAC’s.”

Anders watched all 3 of the weapons light up before three streaks lit up the space hitting the cube, which exploded into millions of tiny pieces. There she was floating in space lost forever, she started to wonder how exactly she was going to die.

Anders felt herself get grabbed by Douglas a second later Alice grabbed Doulas, and she was grabbed by Jerome, who grabbed a small winch hanging from the Pelican’s doors that pulled them into the vehicle.

 Anders was still clenching the teleporter when she sat down in the ship, she looked rather green. 

Jerome patted her back “first time being thrown out of a ship in deep space?”

Anders nodded “if we could not do that again, I would appreciate it.”

Jerome simply nodded behind his helmet as the pelican flew back towards the Spirt of Fire.

its drive recharged the vessel jumped into Slip space carrying on its journey back home.

[blackypanther9]

Part 19 - Wrong Move...

Your POV....

I went outside and back into the room, where Loki was in the glass. As I was there....he wasn't in the cell anymore. I panicked.

"Loki ?", I asked into the room....nothing.

"Loki...this isn't funny.", I told the room.

Suddenly the door opens and I turned around. I saw Fury enter, he looked at me.

"Loki is in my office. He is waiting for you and wants to know where the scepter is.", he told me.

I nodded and ran out of the room to the office. As I got in I saw Loki sitting on a chair, waiting.

"Hey...Lucie. Do you know where the scepter is ?", he said.

"It's in the lab... The boys are investigating it."

"Can I look at it ?"

"Why ? It's the reason you killed people. It controlled you."

"I just want to see it."

I got closer and stared into his eyes...still green. Nah ! Fine.

"Alright...fine...", I gave in.

He smiled at me and got up. I went with him into the lab and he saw the scepter immediately. He went closer and....no....no !

"DON'T TOUCH IT !!!"

.....too late....he drew his finger over it and he shivered.

'No....What have I done ?'

He took it in his hand, turned around and had blue eyes again. I stared at him.

"I wanted to see if it was the scepter...Guess it was.", he said, smiling.

I got in fighting position. He attacked me and wanted to hit my head with the scepter. I dodged. I ran out of the room and into the room, where his cell was. I opened the doors and made an illusion on it. It was looking like it is still closed. He came inside. He still smiled, then grimaced.

"Is the power not working ? Oh you poor mortal.", he said sarcastically.

He went to me and was going to touch me with the scepter. I took a hold of it, lifted it with Loki up and threw him in his cell. I had the scepter in my hand and Loki was in the cell again. I made a move with my hand and the door closed. He tried to run out, but he was too slow and ran against the glas.

"Why did you idiot do that ?! Look at you !! Odin will kill you for that ! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT ?!", I screamed at him.

"I do. And I honestly don't care.", he said smiling at me.

I shook my head, turned on my heel and went to the door outside. He chuckled, before I was on the door. I stopped in my tracks and turned around, to face him.

"What are you laughing at ?", I asked.

"Look at you and your great friends. You won't be having this kind of freedom forever.", he said amused.

'So much for he is finally free and trusting him and all...'

I rolled my eyes, turned around and left. I heard Thor calling me and running to me. I stopped, turned around and looked at him annoyed.

"What, Thor ?"

"Why is Loki in his cell again and you have the scepter ?", he asked.

"Loki touched the scepter, to know if the scepter was the reason of his sudden change. And it is. He is again under the control of it. And no, I won't ask Banner again, to knock the shit out of him. I am sick of it."

Thor's eyes widen in shock. I turned around and went into my room, locking the door behind me. I fell into my bed and hugged Loki's blanket....again. I hit the wall, I was facing and I broke my hand. ....Right....I put my wristbands on, in case I do something like that...

"Lady Lucie ? Please open the door...", I heard Thor knocking.

I hid my face in Loki's blanket and screamed.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Thor !"

"Why ? You are sad. I want to change it."

"Then go away !"

There was silence. After a moment of silence I heard footsteps, getting further away. A few minutes later I fell asleep, still tightly hugging Loki's beloved blanket.

In my dream....

I was standing in Loki's room and looked outside the window. I looked down at a book. I didn't saw any writing on the cover. I sat down on Loki's bed and opened the book. The first pages, I saw nothing. Then I turned a page again and gasped in shock. There was a drawing. Not just any drawing... It was Loki killing Odin, Thor and Frigga. I let the book fall to the ground and wanted to stand up. But I couldn't. Out of nowhere, came out of the book blood. I lifted my legs and laid on Loki's bed. Suddenly the door opened. I turned my head, slowly, afraid of seeing Loki in blood or any dead person in the doorway. But instead I saw Loki, clean and well. He came to me in a rush as he saw my face in shock.

"Dest, what's wrong ?", he asked worried.

"The book....please tell me it was a prank of yours.", I said pointing to the book on the floor.

He looked at it and then at me. He picked it up and opened it.

"I don't know what you are talking about...The book is fully normal. I swore that I won't play mean tricks on you...and I stand to this promise. What did you see, dear ?", he asked worried.

"I saw a scary painting of you killing Thor, Frigga and Odin. I dropped it and suddenly, out of nowhere, came out blood of it. Please tell me you pranked me !"

He stared at you as you stared at him.

"Darling...don't you know anymore ?", he asked.

"W-what do you mean ?!"

"You drew this picture and burned it after that. It was 5 years ago. And......I am....dead.", he answered.

I stared at him.

"But you ARE here !!", I screamed.

He turned away from me, his back facing me and as he turned back to me, I saw his eyes were white like snow, no green orbs and no black pupils... I screamed and jumped from the bed.

"WHAT HAPPENED ?! WHO DID THIS TO YOU ?!", I screamed in panic.

"Don't you remember ? He did this to me."

He pulled his collar down and I saw his neck blue and purple as if he got strangled to death. Suddenly his head fell to his right, with a sick cracking noise. I screamed in shock again. His neck was definitely broken.

"LOKI ! YOUR NECK !!!"

"I know. He killed me, 5 years ago..."

"W-WHAT ?!"

He stood up, walked to me, took my hand and kissed it. He used his right hand to move his head to its actual position and pulled his collar up again. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. Then he let go.

"When will that happen ?", I asked.

"You have 4 - 6 years left.", Loki answered.

I was frozen in shock.

"You need to wake up. You don't belong here. Wake up... I will see you."

I shook my head. He sighed.

"I am sorry.", he said.

Before I could ask him he was a dark creature and jumpscared me.

End of dream....

I startled awake and sat up. As I woke up it was 2PM. I fell asleep at 2 AM today. I sighed in relief, but couldn't forget the nightmare... I stood up, grabbed a poetry book, not caring how I looked like right now and went into the room with Loki in his cell. He looked at me and I teleported the book into his cell. I was relieved that he wasn't dead. He took the book and smiled at me, after he read the title.

"Thank you, Lucie.", he said.

"No problem........Could you stand right in front of me as close as the glass allows you ?"

He looked at me confused.

"And why should I do that ?", he asked.

"Please ? I just wanna check something."

He hesitated but did as I asked him. I got as close as I could and looked at his throat. Nothing. Good. I stepped back.

"Okay thanks. I need to go now, I am busy... Goodnight Frosty."

He then stepped back too. Looking at me still confused.

"Goodnight...", he replied.

I walked outside and back into my room. After 20 minutes the ship, or whatever it is, rattled and I felt like we were falling and my feeling didn't trick me. Because I fell from my bed onto the wall to my left. Hard. It almost knocked the air out of me. I stood up and ran outside. Luna was with Tony the whole time, I was worried for her and what happened. Tony ran as fast as he could with Luna in his arms, as soon as he spotted me.

"Take her !", he screamed.

"What happened ?!"

"We got attacked ! I have to go !", he answered and ran away.

"TONY !"

He stopped and turned around to look at me.

"BE CAREFUL AND GOOD LUCK !!", I shouted to him.

He smiled, nodded and then ran off again. Luna pulled out her claws and clung onto me. I ran into my room and stayed there for good 12 minutes. I then pulled out a collar for Luna, put it on her and pressed a button. She now will stand like that even if she is upside down. Yes a gravity collar for animals... I am clever. Then I ran out and heard a gunshot in Loki's cellroom. I opened the door, to see Agent Phil Coulson laying there with a weird weapon in his lap. His body and suit had his own blood everywhere.

I ran back out, I searched for an first aid kit. As I found one and returned, Director Fury was already there and Phil was dead. I stopped dead in my tracks. I let the aid kit fall and Fury looked me in the eyes. He was mad.

"He and on our side now...huh ?", he asked angry.

"Mister Fury...I can explain myself. I swear ! He-"

"NO. You lied to us. You said he was good now. Bruce said he can be trusted again. Why did you lie ? Huh ?! Answer me damn it !!"

I flinched everytime he yelled at me. It wasn't me who let him out. But it was my fault of being too late, of him touching the scepter again.

"Thanks to you, he escaped ! Thanks to you, Agents died ! Thanks to you, we almost all died !", he yelled at me.

I got angry and looked at him. Now it was my turn.

"YOU THINK I DID IT ON PURPOSE ?! LISTEN HERE ODIN NUMBER TWO, HE WANTED TO SEE WHERE THE FUCKING SCEPTER WAS AND I SHOWED HIM !! HE RAN HIS FINGER OVER IT AND IT PUT HIM UNDER CONTROL AGAIN !!! HE WANTED TO TEST THAT ! BEFORE I REALIZED WHAT HIS DAMN PLAN WAS IT WAS TOO LATE AND I LURED HIM INTO A TRAP AGAIN !! I LOCKED HIM UP AGAIN !! I WASN'T THE ONE WHO FREED HIM !! I WASN'T IT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND IN THE SECOND PLACE ALSO !! INSTEAD OF ALWAYS JUDGING ME, YOU SHOULD HEAR THE PEOPLE OUT FIRST INSTEAD OF JUST BLAMING THEM !! YOU GOD DAMN MORONS !!!"

He stared at me in shock and respect, but I was too angry to see it. I turned on my heel and ran out into my room, locked the door and packed my stuff. I am going to leave now ! I knew it was a big mistake in the first place. Why didn't I listen to my feeling ?!

Part 20

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: The Hollow (Season 2 Episode 3)

Episode Title: The Return

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or aren’t bothered about spoilers.

1. Adam and Kai aka Kaidam exit the portal but didn’t make a soft landing. It appears they have returned to the main game setting of ‘The Hollow’, but most likely on another level with different rules. Adam tries calling for the Weird Guy, otherwise known as Weirdy but he still is a no-show.

2. They head inside a castle (not Colrath, the dragon’s castle from last season) to try to find Mira. I wonder if they’ve tried contacting her on her cell phone? Hey, it’s worth a shot? The castle is pitch dark inside but lucky for them, Kai can use his fire powers to light the place up. However, there are a couple of distractions that are in their way; Creepy-crawly ones. Eww...

3. As they’re trying to navigate themselves through the castle, we spot an elf or gnome spying on them. And it’s really agile and keeps swooping over and around them. The elf, who appears to be a she, attacks Adam and Kai with her large fish hook (?) because she thinks that they’re invading her castle home. 

4. She swings her knife-hook thingy at Kai and it leaves a small wound on Kai’s finger. It’s actually bleeding a little; Oh my poor baby! So, bleeding is possible in this game...well, if this is all still a game that is. Kai freaks out and randomly faints into Adam’s arms. How cute! But how dramatic lol. Nonetheless, I stan how much of a disaster gay he is. 

5. We find out that she needs to fill her cap with blood in order to survive despite not being able to tolerate the sight of blood. Kai hesitates at first but Adam reminds him that if they are still playing the game, they need to cooperate with her. 

6. As a return, the gnome gives the boys a riddle to help them find Mira, before suddenly disappearing. The riddle goes like this, “To find others of your kind, you must leave this world behind. Here’s a clue if you wish, look for water without fish.” At times like this, they really need Mira to help them decipher that riddle quickly. 

7. Kai theorizes that the “water without fish” is referring to a puddle and he begins jumping into various puddles in the castle, much to Adam’s dismay. Why are there random puddles all over? I haven’t a clue. Here is when we get some tea about Reeve; Apparently, Adam and Mira couldn’t get along with him and he decided to quit the team. Yea, but why couldn’t they get along with him? From my deduction, Reeve seems like the kind of person who has a short temper and likes to march to the beat of his own drum. 

8. Kai spots a wishing well, which most probably is the solution to the riddle. And it actually is! They descend down the well but they are caught off-guard by a stream of rapid water at the bottom, which washes them out of a waterfall. They survive but are totally exhausted.

9. They wash ashore and are then dragged and taken by a group of parrot-people I’m assuming. Adam and Kai wake up and are startled by what they’re seeing. These cockatoo/parrot people are able to communicate with them but it’s very....parrot-like I guess. Meaning, they speak in very broken sentences and like to repeat themselves. 

10. The leader of the group mentions about Cherufe, the leader of their island and how they wanted to sacrifice them to him so that he doesn’t destroy the island. Luckily for them, they are not the ones being sacrificed but the leader mentions about another one of their kind who is about to be sacrificed instead. And that person is Mira probably?

11. They think that Mira is the person under that mask. I don’t think it is; That’s too straightforward. It has to be Reeve or Vanessa or something. Let’s see if I’m right. 

12. All of a sudden, a nearby volcano starts erupting and the parrot-people start chanting for Cherufe’s name, signalling that he is on his way. Adam jumps onto the platform to rescue the masked person and it turns out to be Skeet! Okay, so I was wrong. But if Skeet’s there, where’s Mira? Didn’t she trail behind him last episode. 

13. Adam tries to get him out of there but the parrot-people stop him because they don’t want to make Cherufe angry. Speaking of Cherufe, it makes a grand entrance by emerging out of the volcano after a spout of lava was released. Everybody is freaking out.

14. Adam again tries to free Skeet from his restraints but the knots are tied really tight. Kai distracts Cherufe with his flamethrower but it’s not having much of an effect. After putting a little more vigor into it, Adam manages to set Skeet loose and the three of them start running away from the monster. 

15. Skeet tries to use his super-speed to quickly run away but he forgets that they’re on an island. Fortunately, Kai manages to spot a boat and they are able to escape from Cherufe’s wrath. 

16. It also helps a lot when the monster is a volcano monster that turns into stone once it comes into contact with seawater. 

17. As Skeet is telling Adam and Kai about how he ended up in such a predicament, his recollection is pretty much aligned to what Adam, Kai and Mira had went through. He says he got split up from Reeve and Vanessa. Also, Skeet is aware about Reeve being Adam and Mira’s former teammate. 

18. As day turns into night, they are still stuck on the boat, paddling to who knows where. Skeet tells them he just wants the game to be over so that he can go home but Adam is adamant (lol that rhymes) that they find Mira first. 

19. It’s great that Skeet reminds all of us the rules of ‘The Hollow’, that is if one team player dies, it’s game over for the rest. This means that Mira, Reeve and Vanessa are all still alive. 

20. The scene cuts to...OMG finally we see Mira and she’s running from something or someone firing green lasers at her. Where could she be? Will she bump into Reeve or Vanessa or maybe other players of The Hollow? (like the ones we’ve seen in the trailer). 

21. Yay! More backstory! Mira and Skeet knew each other since preschool and based on his body language and expression, it seems to me that Skeet has a crush on her. Cute! I would ship these two hard but I need to see how Skeet would interact with Mira first.

22. Adam notices that something is pulling the boat fast and he tries to paddle the boat in the opposite direction but the force is too strong. Since Skeet has super speed, I think he could pull a Dash Parr from the Incredibles and use his legs as propellers for the boat. Let’s see if he does that. 

23. Kai, with his super intelligence figures out that the boat is being pulled in by a cluster of nuclear plants that have cooling pumps that suck in massive amounts of water. All of Adam’s efforts aren’t really working and they need to think of something fast or they’ll be toast. C’mon Skeet, use your powers!

24. Suddenly, a spacecraft/hovercraft flies over them and begins firing red lasers at the nuclear power site, where there appears to be ANOTHER TEAM! And the ship seems to be targeting this other team. Their powers are as follow: One guys is able to teleport, the other guy is able to shoot lightning bolts and the girl has Black Canary’s power of sonic screams. And with their combined effort, they are able to overwhelm the ship at first but it suddenly comes back and shoots another round of lasers and hits the girl and she disintegrates into digital dust! OMG Did she just die?

25. Adam, Kai and Skeet witness the entire thing and they also catch glimpse of Weirdy casually walking towards the other team. They try to get his attention but they’re too far away.

26. Weirdy inform the remaining two members of the team that it’s game over for them and they also end up pixelating (Is that a real word?). I wonder where they went or if they’ve woken up from the game? I hope that they’re not gone GONE. Weirdy then disappears soon after. So, is he supposed to be one of the bad guys of this show or what? It’s hard to tell. 

27. Adam, Kai and Skeet manage to get themselves off the boat before getting sliced into pieces by the pumps. Adam spots a satchel that was left by one of the guys who disintegrated and he goes through its contents. He finds a map but it’s not the same one from before. It first shows the three regions Adam and Kai have been in: the castle, the volcano island and the nuclear power plant. But within a split second, the maps starts closing in and the locations start disappearing. It could be that the map is resetting itself once another team takes its possession. 

28. I can’t tell if either all the locations have been erased or only the nuclear power plants is the only remaining location on the map. Skeet tells them about an idea he has on how to escape the game, which is to lose the game on purpose. I understand his plan but I don’t think they should risk themselves like that. 

29. The flying spacecraft returns and begins firing at them. Skeet attempts to test out his idea but Adam saves him in the nick of time. Adam is such an amazing hero. He be saving everybody, even those who weren’t on his side. The three of them hide behind a corner as the ship lands and a bunch of soldiers emerge out of it. I’m getting such Star Wars vibes here. 

30. Skeet still believes that losing the game will work and calls for the soldiers to come to him. This obviously annoys Adam to no end and they start running away. They reach a dead end and as the soldiers are about to corner them, Mira calls for their attention from inside one of the nearby buildings.

31. The episode ends on a cliffhanger where the soldiers start firing at them. They’re obviously gonna make it alive. Duh! Stay tuned for my reaction to episode 4, which will be out very soon.

[sylvari-bouquet]

Shadows remain: Chapter 2 - Reflections

Previous chapter: [click here] Next chapter: [to be updated]

Nettle’s visit to Papaver’s does not go as planned, as ze witnesses a tense meeting with Papaver and another sylvari, Dinadan. However, Nettle is discovered, and abducted by Dinadan and his allies. Papaver reaches out to the allies they know they can trust, while Nettle wakes up in an unknown location...

"So, to recap the situation, you were forced to work for this sylvari, Nettle found out about it and followed you, and got kidnapped by them?"

Marjory paced across the workshop in a true detective fashion. The room felt smaller and smaller each round she walked, but she kept going. Kasmeer stood still, she had placed herself next to Papaver.

"Yes, that's the gist of it", Papaver replied, leaning to their workdesk and looking more miserable than either of the duo had seen them before, "I'm...not in control of myself or my actions around him. It's not like possession or freezing. I get taken off from the wheel of the ship and it's outside of my control, but I can still witness that I'm heading straight into the storm."

"Let me see", Kasmeer said and placed her hand gently upon Papaver, and looked into their eyes, like she was peering deep into them. "Breathe with me", she instructed, and Papaver followed her lead. After an exhale, inhale and an exhale, she took her hand away, and said: " I do sense a mesmer curse, an old, but still active one. That would explain the mind control."

"Can you get rid of it?" Papaver asked her.

Kasmeer shook her head and answered: "Sorry boss, I can't. Since it has been in you so long, the removal could have terrible after-effects. Plus, you'd need a mesmer as powerful as the queen..."

"Why didn't you come  to us earlier?" Marjory jumped in. Although she was few steps away from being furious, not all of that ire were towards the boss.

"I don't know, I thought it was something I could deal on my own. We've won against dragons and terrible creatures plenty of times now, one ex shouldn't have been this much", Papaver answered with a sigh.

"It changes things when the ex is also part of nightmare court", Marjory remarked, scoring a "not helping" look from Kasmeer, who continued to ask: "Did he tell you what he was planning?"

"I don't have the details, I only know what he asked me to do", Papaver told, motioning towards their worktable.

"And that was?" Kasmeer continued.

Papaver hesitated for a moment, and then told: "He wanted me to make a sword that could pierce the Dream."

** ** ** Nettle

The poison must have made me lose consciousness, since as I came to, I found myself alone in an unfamiliar room. I could feel the dull ache of the wound, and I had my hands tied in front of me with magical bindings, but otherwise I seemed unharmed. I surveyed my surroundings. For a prison cell, the room was nicer than whatever Tree-forsaken pits I imagined Nightmare cells were usually like, as the few furniture did fill up the small space. Quickly enough I also realized how the room controlled its prisoners - I couldn't access my magical abilities. No teleport, illusions, or even healing, evident by the throbbing of the stab wound. However, I did not have time to muse on about my surroundings, as the door parted its vines and the pink sylvari stepped in.

"Greetings, commander. I hope you find your room suitable for your needs. You are not here as a prisoner, but we cannot let you leave."

His voice was pleasant, but that was like how a snake's hiss was pleasant before a strike.

"You say that, yet I am kidnapped, bound and held against my will", I replied, "isn't that the definition of a prisoner?"

"Oh, believe me, your fate would be lot worse if you were one. But let's not dwell on the unpleasant manners, yes?"

With a flick of Dinadan's hand, the magical bindings around my wrists shimmered and vanished. It did ease my discomfort , but such a simply gesture didn't sway me. I decided to push for some answers, as I had little else I could do in my state.

"Who are you and what do you want with Papaver?" I began to investigate him.

"They never talked about me? And here I thought I'd left a lasting impression." Dinadan replied, and I tried to gauge his personality and intentions as he spoke. There was an undercurrent of danger about him, that he masked with shallow pleasantries and niceties, that much was clear to me. But he did not seem like the members of the court I had seen and fought before, either, many of them were devoted to causing pain and grief for the sake of it, yet he seemed to have a goal above that.

"We were lovers, dearhearts even. However, when they realized that the various ties I had to the court and the errands I run, they accused me of lying to them. This saddened me, as I had not been technically lying, just leaving unpleasant things out, and so, I sought comfort deeper in the nightmare. Invited them too, but they did not stay. But I must say, that worked well enough for me, at least until the court became...fragmented due to Mordemoth and the unsightly defeat of our dear Grand Duchess", Dinadan told, "but that's water under the Pale Tree's roots, as you dreamers tend to say, hmm?"

"So, is this all about revenge?" I asked, "since I was the one who finished her in her corrupted form."

Dinadan shook his head, and replied: "Far more than something simple as that. In fact, it was indeed a catalyst that you removed the Queen from the chessboard. You see, my plan is a revolution, and monarchs, they don't tend to take those well."

Seeing my apparent confusion, he continued: "I plan to show every fool in the Grove that there is no hierarchy between us, the Dreamers and Nightmares. We are the one and the same, and our Mother won't be able to cover this truth any longer."

"And what exactly you plan to do with me?" A note of frustation slipped in my question, as I was getting tired of his games.

"Ooh, you're intriqued! I like that!" Dinadan clapped his hands together as if he was excited, but continued: "I can't reveal it all just yet, my apologies. Rest assured, I do mean no harm. As long as I have your cooperation, that is, when it's time."

I was about to ask again what he meant with his cryptid speech, but before I could begin, he stepped outside of room, and the vines closed in front of him. Last thing I could see was the smile on his face, a smile that hold no

With that, I was left alone in my cell-room with even more questions than I had had before, and very few answers.

** ** **

"Pierce the Dream? Is that even possible?" Marjory asked.

Papaver gave a small shrug, saying: "I honestly don't know. To him, it will be."

"I don't know how familiar you two are with the Dream, but.. to us sylvari, it's the place where we begin and end.  Most of us have a connection to it that lasts our lifetime. The experiences and memories we have, they are recorded in to the Dream as well. It's like a huge library of experiences. Both the ones that are joyous, and the ones that are terrible. They all exist in the Dream in some form, and that's how sylvari who have not yet woken learn about our world, drawing information from the experiences who awoke before them.  It also gives us our ability to use magic, and grants us what you humans might call a sixth sense, but only towards others connected to the Dream. It's like, reading others emotions? I don't know a lot about it myself, truth to be told."

"Do you have that connection too?" Kasmeer asked.

Papaver shook their head, saying: "No, I...I awoke without that connection, and I couldn't recall my Dream, even though I did know things. The menders said it must have been some sort of accident, a strange and rare mutation or something. As you know, I don't use magic - simply because I cannot use it, at all."

"If this Dinadan gets his hands on this sword and does succeed piercing the Dream, what would happen?" Marjory continued asking.

"The dream will collapse." A new voice joined in by the door, and the three were greeted by a strange pair: Caithe, who had just spoken, and next to her, a sylvari warden the humans we unfamiliar with, but whom Papaver had seen before.

"Found her trying to get a peek inside. She says she has information about this Dinadan", Caithe replied.

"That doesn't answer the question of what you are doing here, Caithe", Marjory had her hand on the grip of her sword, eyes fixed on Caithe. She had not yet forgiven or forgotten the events of the jungle.

"I'm here to protect the Dream. And to help Nettle, I owe hir that", while Caithe kept her arms crossed, Marjory knew that she could pull out those daggers faster than she could blink.

"Stop it, both of you. We have enough to deal with without turning in to each other", Papaver halted the bubbling tension. They turn to address the warden: "I remember you. You're the one that was working for Dinadan, right?"

"Yes, but no more. I thought that if I did what he told me to, he'd eventually leave me alone. But at what happened last night, I simply cannot ignore him anymore. I want to make things right", the emerald-green warden with pale skin spoke up, "I'm Sylvia, and I want to do anything I can to help."

[evqnbuckley]

Chapter 2: A Price

7.2k words..........Okay this is taking on a life of it’s own but I promise, I promise there is a resolution. There is a happy ending. I’m just a sucker for pain and angst.... the rest is on ao3 @princesscas​

Two weeks go by in a daze. Sam has searched almost every book on the left side of the library. Eileen keeps the brothers hydrated and fed. Sam tells her not to worry about that, but she does. She bakes cookies occasionally, and brings home pie to cheer Dean up. He nods and half-heartedly grins in appreciation. Miracle cuddles Dean at night and licks his hand until he falls asleep. His presence is warm and comforting. Sam and Eileen both see Dean withdraw more and more everyday. They worry.

Dean is scanning through the online archives, with Miracle on the floor next to him fast asleep. He clicks on the topic NECROMANCY RITUALS. He knows it is a long shot but everything else is coming up dry. He scrolls down swiftly reading the pages, when something piques his interest. Upon first glance, most believe necromancy to be the darkest magick. Through further research it has been discovered that it’s only the first layer of what one can accomplish when tapping into that amount of power, darkness. Many rituals have culminated over time and within different cultures. However, one thing remains the same with Necromancy. A life for a life. Dean slowly sits up, removing his feet from the table. He swallows, and glances around the room. Eileen and Sam are giggling quietly. She shoves his arm in response to Sam’s remark. Dean pulls the laptop closer to him, and continues to read. Necromancy takes upon a life of its own. If one does not correctly perform the ritual, consequences may ensue. Those desperate to bring back a loved one should heed warning. Never perform the ritual on the second full moon during the harvest. Magick is unpredictable, but especially during the harvest the complications of Necromancy increase tremendously. Also, if you are to perform the ritual alone, it is to be exact. One mishap could lead to immediate death.  The ingredients vary slightly from ritual to ritual. It is appropriate to be diligent and perform with the correct offerings. Dean clicks the arrow for the next page, and it shows an error message. His brow creases  in confusion. He clicks the refresh button and the message appears again. He clicks four more times. The message remains on the page. Dean grows frustrated. He slams the laptop shut and stands.

“I’m going out.”

Sam and Eileen turn toward the noise, confused and shocked. “What? Why?” Sam questions.

Dean sighs, pulling on his jacket. “We’re getting nowhere. I feel claustrophobic and cooped up in this damn place. I haven’t left in two weeks. I need to stretch my legs. Get some air. I promise I’ll be back before curfew, Mom,” he adds, rolling his eyes.

“Dean-” Sam starts.

“I won’t do anything stupid, Sam.” He walks up the staircase and the bunker door slams.

Dean drives and drives and drives. He has no destination, but right now the road is welcoming. He runs his hand across the Impala’s steering wheel, slick, smooth and familiar. He almost forgets the feeling of driving his Baby. The trees and asphalt blur in his vision. The only thing Dean focuses on are the yellow lines on the road, but even those begin to blur as well. Dean squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and azure eyes stare back at him. Fuck. 

He slows the car and pulls over. It's quiet. The Impala's headlights shine ahead, revealing an empty road. A bit of fog hangs loose above the ground. Dean sighs. He needs to get out of his head. There are too many thoughts and he feels like he wants to scream. Dean picks up his cell phone and pulls up Castiel's contact. His finger idles over the call button. Click. The line rings. And rings. And rings. And rings. There's a pause before the recorded voicemail answers. 

"This is my voicemail. Make your voice...a mail." Dean closes his eyes at the sound of Castiel’s voice. He only speaks for two seconds but Dean hears every syllable. His brow creases and he clenches his jaw to bury the pain. Dean hangs up. He calls again. 

"This is my voicemail. Make your voice...a mail." A tear falls down Dean's cheek. He needs to hear Castiel's real voice. He needs to see him again. Touch him. But he's gone. Wiping his nose with his sleeve, Dean notices a few tear stains on his shirt. 

Once again, he calls Castiel. Even though it's pointless. Even though he looks like a widower who can't let go. He calls Cas. The voicemail picks up again and Dean listens but he decides to not hang up. Not yet. The dial beeps, waiting for a voicemail to be recorded and Dean is still. He breathes in, motioning to speak, but stops. He hangs up. Anger rises in his chest. Why can't I leave a damn voicemail? He's angry at Castiel for leaving him. He's angry at Jack for leaving him. But most of all, he's angry at himself. At how he's failed to bring Castiel back. At how his best friend died and he didn't even say goodbye. At how he's known for a while his feelings about Castiel but never has the guts to admit it. 

Each thought churns his stomach more and more. The anger boils higher within him until he slams his palm against the steering wheel repeatedly. He cries out and covers his face with both hands, dropping the phone in his lap. Dean breathes in and picks the phone back up, hits redial and listens to the voicemail. I'm going to leave a fucking message. 

The dial beeps. Dean hesitates again but says quietly, "Hey it's me. Just wanted to hear your voice. The way you left- it's got me pretty messed up, man. I have to admit I never thought an angel was capable of emotions. You once told me I'm different. Well so are you. So I suppose my assumptions just make me an ass, huh?" He chuckles. "I'm sorry, Cas. I need you to know that. I need you to know th-that," he trails off. "Me too, Cas. I just need you to hear me, man." Dean pauses and rubs his brow with his index finger. "This is so stupid." He hangs up, and with a clench of his jaw, he pulls back onto the road.

On his aimless drive, Dean passes through a four way dirt road intersection. His memory of the deal with a crossroads demon to save Sam pops up. He considers trying to do the same for Castiel, but who knows if deals like that have much power in the Empty. 

Dean weighs the option before slamming on the brakes and makes a dangerous U-turn. He parks to the side and buries a small metal box with his picture along with other trinkets inside. Dean barely slides a layer of gravel over the box when he feels a presence.

“What have we here?” The demon peers around to face Dean. “A Winchester. Well, I feel honored.” The demon is possessing some young twenty year old kid, most likely a college student. He was probably Sam’s age when I pulled him from law school, Dean thinks. The demon straightens his dark suit jacket as Dean eyes him carefully. “So, are we just going to have a staring contest or do you have an offer to make?”

“I want to talk to Rowena," he demands. 

The demon stops, tilting his head. “She doesn’t take house calls.”

“We go way back. It’s important. Take me to her.” He states plainly.

“Uh, no.”

Dean stares down the demon. His green eyes flashing a dark olive with anger. His jaw clenches and he tightens his fists. Dean lunges forward, gripping at the demon’s collar and slams him against the Impala. He leans in, almost nose to nose as the demon smirks.

“Careful now, Dean I like it rough," the demon taunts. 

“Shut the fuck up. Why won’t Rowena answer my calls? Why won’t she see me?” His questions increase in volume with intensity. “Huh?”

The demon remains unprovoked. Dean pulls out the demon knife, threatening him. Eyeing the blade, the demon answers. “Alright, alright. I don’t know this for certain. I have just heard rumors, okay. Demons talking. But apparently Rowena was visited by the new God.”

Dean releases the demon, slowly in bewilderment. “What?” He says more to himself.

“Yea. They had this long ass meeting. Some demons are saying they came to an ‘understanding.’” The demon emphasizes with air quotes. He smooths out his jacket again and eyes Dean.

Dean’s eyes flick back and forth between the demon’s, searching for a hint of deceit. “The fuck does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I only know what I heard.” The demon walks away from Dean and turns back, facing him. “Listen, if you don’t want to make a deal I am just wasting my time. There are other losers out there desperate and willing to sell me their soul. It's kinda my job, so…" Dean is silent, staring at a large rock in the gravel. It’s much larger than the others, out of place really. 

The demon dramatically turns, as if he needs to walk away when he can just teleport. “Wait,” whispers Dean.

“I’m sorry what was that?”

“I said wait,” he raises his voice, normal volume. Dean sighs before continuing. He knows he told Sam he wouldn’t do anything stupid, but he has to know. “There is one thing I need to know. If I am to make any kind of deal right now, I need to know something first.”

“Yes?” The demon drags on the ‘s’ like a snake.

“Do you have access to the Empty? Can you make deals that involve it?”

The demon saunters toward Dean with a smirk. “Hm, maybe.” Dean’s face lightens up.

“Take me. Take me instead. Please man, I have tried everything. If you can trade me and Castiel-”

“Oh yes, Castiel. Castiel, the angel who defied Heaven and lost everything. The angel so love-sick with humanity he couldn't be a good soldier anymore. The angel so broken he wasn’t truly an angel anymore,” interrupts the demon. He smirks at Dean, digging into his emotions and adds, “Thanks to you.” Dean squints his eyes. He’s right. 

“Take me,” Dean steps forward.

The demon chuckles at the sight before him. A Winchester so distraught he’s almost on his knees begging for a kiss. “Truthfully, I can give you what you want. Death. Another eternity in Hell. I’ll even give you 6 months instead of 10 since you look so damn miserable. But it won’t save your precious angel. He’s stuck there.”

Dean’s expression falters. He gasps as the new sliver of hope rips his heart out, shattering it. The demon, chuckling, closes in on Dean, whispers in his ear. His breath is hot and moist against Dean's neck. He shivers in disgust. “You must have known I was lying. But why don’t you say we kiss and make up?”

With that, Dean slams the demon knife into his stomach and twists the handle. The demon yelps in surprise and then falls to the ground. The night air ruffles the neck of Dean’s jacket. Even with the long sleeves, he still grows goose bumps on his arms. An owl sounds from across the street, in a tall bare oak tree. Dean feels like he’s in a warped moment of time. The midnight sky, the sound of the owl, silence from the road, and a dead body before him. He continues to stare down at the body for quite some time. His head becomes numb, but in the sense he doesn’t feel real. He hates this feeling. It’s how he felt when Chuck told Sam and Dean they have no free will. He writes their stories. None of it is real. But now Chuck is gone, so this is real. 

Dean gets rid of the dead body, gathers the small metal box, and drives again. He drives for an hour until he comes across a small bar that resembles The Roadhouse. Dean softly smiles. The Impala driver door groans as Dean closes it. Music to my ears. Dean’s phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and the caller reads, “Sam.” He doesn’t want to deal with his brother’s concern or speech about self-destruction, so he declines the call. A notification for a voicemail pops up. Of course. Dean swings the door to the bar open and takes a seat in the middle. The stool is a bit worn down and the plastic is ripped, but the atmosphere is familiar and he appreciates the song "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival filling the room. 

“What can I get for ya?” A petite, dark headed woman with bright, blue eyes asks from behind the bar. She actually resembles Pamela Barnes in some aspects. That makes Dean smile earnestly. 

“Double shot of whiskey, your strongest.”

“Coming right up,” she taps the counter and winks at Dean. He knows she is just flirting for a nice tip, but the gesture seems nice. After a few moments, the bartender comes around with a short glass full of dark, honey like colored liquid and slides it in front of Dean.

“Our strongest whiskey.”

“Thanks,” he lifts his glass up in appreciation and then takes a drink. The liquid burns as it flows down. He sucks a breath between his teeth and releases it slowly. “Damn.”

A few girls, confidently and bravely, approach Dean periodically throughout the night. Each one, he easily lets down. His younger self would be kicking him right now. In fact, twenty-seven year old Dean would jump at any chance to have sex with all of these women. Now, though, everything is different. The last girl, she has a few too many, becomes a bit too touchy with Dean. He has to continuously remove her hands, but when he glances away in embarrassment, she moves in to kiss him. He doesn’t reciprocate, and the woman pulls back, spilling with apologies. Dean assures her it’s fine and “we’ve all been there.” She nods in acceptance and shuffles away. No more women approach him after that.

Dean downs the remainder of his whiskey and orders another glass. “Damn, you’re pretty popular tonight with the ladies. Though, I can’t say I don’t blame them,” the bartender says.

Dean huffs in embarrassment. “Uh yea, right.”

She slides his second glass of whiskey across the counter and eyes him. He has dark circles under his eyes, a pretty thick five o’clock shadow, and he's staring at his left hand. “So, why are you here by yourself? Where’s your lucky lady?” She inquires.

Dean looks up, confused. “Huh?” She smiles at him, knowingly.

“You’ve been rejecting all these women all night. You’ve gotta be tied down to someone. There ain’t no other explanation.”

“Oh, uh, no lucky lady.”

“Lucky lad?” She implies.

Dean’s eyes widen and his expression falters. “No, no. No, it’s just me.” He sighs. The sound of Castiel’s voice saying, “I love you” replays in Dean’s head. “Why?”

“I just like to get to know my patrons while they visit me. In case they become regulars,” she says as she pours a light beer from the tap for another man at the bar.

“Hm,” he replies. I did have someone in my life, but I was the lucky one. The song overhead changes from “Renegade” by Styx to “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner. Around the edges of the room, couples slow dance to the song. 

“I love this song,” the dark-haired bartender says as she pours four shots of vodka.

Dean smirks. There was a time when he would never admit to liking this song, but not anymore. “I love this song too,” he agrees. 

Dean’s phone vibrates against his leg. The music drowns out his ring tone. The caller ID reads “Sam” again. He declines the call. A part of him feels bad, dodging Sam like this but he wants to be alone right now. This whiskey is warm and numbing but his mind is clear. The fuzziness has not consumed him yet. He needs something stronger. He can continue drinking whiskey, but he needs at least a full bottle. 

“Hey, sweetheart do you have anything stronger?”

The bartender leans across the counter, and points to her name tag. “My name is Riley, not sweetheart. And that is our strongest whiskey. We can try a different liquor? I have vodka.” She offers, holding up the bottle.

Dean shakes his head. “No, no. Doesn’t work.” He mutters to himself. Dean runs his fingers up and down the glass, mindlessly.

Riley eyes him. “You’re not a cop, are you?" She asks, carefully. Dean looks at her questioning the sudden inquiry and shakes his head. 

"Why?"

"No offense or anything, you are cute, but you look like shit. I see a lot of people, everyday, and I’m pretty good at reading people - comes with the job. I can tell you’re hurting. I won’t begin to guess who hurt you or what, but,” she trails off. “To be honest, it looks like you've been to Hell and back. I am just asking because you look like you could use a pick me up." She leans forward, speaking softly, "I can get you something stronger than whiskey. Not me personally, but I know a guy.”

“What do you mean you know a guy? Like drugs?”

She shushes him. “Yes, like drugs. Jesus, you don’t have to announce it. Cops come in here all the time.” Dean swallows the last of his whiskey.

“Hm. I don’t do drugs. Weed doesn’t count.” He pulls out his wallet and lays down a fifty dollar bill. Replacing the leather, he turns to Riley and salutes. “Thanks for the whiskey.”

“Hold on." She reaches for a napkin and pulls out a pen. On it, she writes an address and holds it out to Dean. “This is the last location I know of where the dealer hides out. It’s kind of shady looking. Strange people visit and some disappear. I know someone who kind of got wrapped up in all this and she,” Riley trails off. “Anyway, I just prefer not to involve the police anymore. They don’t believe in this kind of stuff.”

This whole situation seems off. He watches her, puzzled. Dean takes the napkin and reads the address. He recognizes the street but he’s never been around that area personally. “What did you mean by the police don’t believe in this stuff? Cops bust drug deals all the time.”

“It’s hard to explain. Just see for yourself, if you’re interested,” she trails off.

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

We need to talk about Project AHO

Project AHO is a DLC sized quest mod for Skyrim. It has 6500+ endorsement, and almost 118K unique downloads, and promises to add a hidden Telvanni settlement, 40+ new locations, 20+ fully voiced NPCs, new perks, new weapons, a new house, all dwemer or telvanni themed, and a non linear main quest with more than 12 side quests added in.

It's also, to use a particularly abused word as of late, fucking problematic.

The Mod Page doesn't mention many details about the mod, but it sure loves to point out how complex and varied the NPCs AI is, almost like real people with real moralities and real routines.

Anyway, Due to probably a bug (Mod is not supposed to not start till level 15) and the fact the abandoned prison is close to the place where you can trigger the mod, I barelly started a new Skyrim game and gotten Kaidan as we got out of prison together, before I was REMINDED FORCIBLY just why I couldn't stand this mod in the first place back in 2018.

So, small nitpick first: the game (should) suggest you at level 15 to free your followers before going to Mixwater Mill since they may cause bugs if they are mixed in the mod. This is bad for roleplaying reason since why would you logically decide to go there alone (want to buy some wood for your new house and you want to surprise them, so they wait you home?), but I would get beyond it if the rest of the Mod hadn't been... about that.

That being said, here's the meat of the issue:

If you reach the Mill after level 15, possibly with no follower, a Orc will approach you. Exiting his dialogue will only trigger the end of the scene early, he's essential, and whatever you do, whatever happens, whatever you say to him about his quest, what happens next is unavoidable.

He starts to hype you up with Trinimac and Daggerfall lore, which got me pretty excited at first when I played the mod for the first time, since, again, they only mentioned this being about a Hidden Telvanni settlement built over a Dwemer Ruin in the rift, so I thought the mod was going to be about the Boethia - Triminac Vore and Scat party that gave us the Dunmer and the Orcs, at least tangentially, so I go for the excited, eager to help dialogue route with him as he talks about epic quests and shit, except after we reach the last line, he goes something like "actually, this was all a diversion for having my mates sneak behind you and knock you out."

You are knocked out. No one can help you, you can do nothing to stop it, you can't even fight or talk or teleport your way out of it. It's scripted and it's unavoidable.

Next thing you know, you wake up in a cramped cell in prisoners rags, a mind control amulet at your neck, and 4 other prisoners.

Which is when the slave auction starts.

Project AHO is a mod about slavery. Is a mod about the Last Dragonborn, away from their loved ones, is tricked, ambushed and captured by a secret settlement of Telvanni wizards, before getting sold at a fucking slave auction.

And then, after all is said and done, after you’ve literally getting enslaved by Neloth 2.0, forced to fulfill tasks for him as the game, very pointedly, tries to make you empathize with this FUCKING SLAVERS via side quests (Oh, the daughter of the local hunter wants to travel the world and have adventures, and you can have a nice and friendly pint of beer with the fucking SLAVE CATCHER that captured you, and you meet another slave who didn’t get his tongue cut out, unlike most of the other ones in the bloody place, how nice, how fucking human of them), the game has the fucking AUDACITY to have the fucking leader of the settlement free you (not out of anything, but because your master is doing shady shit on the side and has kicked you out of his mansion after the last task), and then go, after you understandably ask why the FUCK shouldn’t you burn the place to the ground: “Oh, but slavery is such an important and integral part of our culture and economy, we dunmer will never change and will always have slaves so why should you bother, you are free now!”

This mod. In a escapist fucking game such as Skyrim. Is bad. Is REALLY bad.

Even putting aside the obvious lore reasons (Morrowind abolished slavery 200+ years ago under House Hlaalu, and even if they lynched them for it they are STILL not having slavery today), or the whole “Ah, the empire and the thalmor and the stormcloak know about this and they support us behind the scenes, in fact some of them partecipated at the auction you were on, there is a prosperous slave trade all over Tamriel!” bullshit, the whole thing is:

1) IN POOR FUCKING TASTE.

2) SERIOUSLY, WHO THE FUCK WANTS TO PLAY THIS? SLAVE SIMULATOR FOR HALF THE QUEST MOD, GO DO MINDLESS FETCH QUESTS FOR YOU MASTER, YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING BY YOURSELF, YOU HAVE TO CLEAN THE CELL OF ANOTHER SLAVE THAT COULDN’T SURVIVE HIS EXPERIMENTS, THIS IS FUCKING BAD.

3) THE FUCKING... MIND CONTROL AMULET ROBBING YOU OF ANY AGENCY? YOU CANNOT KILL NOR ATTACK NOR DO ANYTHING TILL YOU REMOVE IT AND YOU CAN’T REMOVE IT TILL HALF THE GAME SO WHAT WAS PRESENTED AS A “NON LINEAR MAIN QUEST” IS ACTUALLY A RAILROADED BULLSHIT TOWARD A MAJOR CHOICE BETWEEN RAZING THE SETTLEMENT TO THE GROUND WITH A SPACESHIP OR LETTING THE SETTLEMENT BE (YOU KNOW, CLASSIC BETHESDA MORAL DILEMMA, EXCEPT THE SETTLEMENT IS FILLED WITH SLAVERS AND SLAVES)

Which is sad because the aesthetic and some of the shit added to this are pretty cool overall, there is a “Dwemer Chess Board” thing that is missing some pieces that you can collect through the settlement and after you get them all and place them on the board you get a perk on team fighting, which would be a nice thing to have in a mod if it wasn’t for, again, the FUCKING SLAVERY!

Like, fuck, just imagine the slave auction:

Scripted scene, you can’t do anything, you are marched with the other slaves to a stage, the orc guy is the auction master, he sells:

1) The first slave, a vampire, to your future master.

2) Then an argonian young woman (”Plucked fresh from the windhelm docks” they say, and they sell her to some noble dude as his “new handmaiden,” which is SO FUCKING CREEPY ON SO MANY LEVELS LIKE... Even if you put aside the prospect of knowing her from the docks both in and out of universe (There is a potential Argonian spouse at the windhelm docks after all), this is bad? SO SO FUCKING BAD? BY ALL POSSIBLE ANGLES?)

3) Then they can’t sell a 50 year old argonian dude so they go “remove lot number 3 from the auction blog) and they gut him right in front of me??? By then going “he’ll make a good purse” because HOLY FUCK?????

4) Then you get sold in a auction battle between Neloth 2.0 but shittier and the local blacksmith, both locals (this, again, after mentioning that if you get sold to a local they’ll cut your tongue out), and you then get sold to Neloth 2.0 but shittier...

You can’t fucking stop any of this. You can’t do a “destroy the dark brotherhood” questline, you can’t prevent the kidnapping, even if you go out the city, some dumb magic will stop you from revealing its location to the competent authorities, who, again, are actually in cahoots with the slavers, so it’s not like they’d help!

And the mod clearly tries to make you, again, empathize and understand the fucking SLAVERS and their fucking position as SLAVERS like some BULLSHIT because fucking CENTRISM or some shit and REALLY?

So... to end this shit: Project AHO? Is some sort of weird, borderline feticistic mod about dunmers still being slavers and fucking rolling with it. It breaks canon and lore (after presenting itself as a mod that explores and faithfully depicts the lore), has a very railroady main quest after, again, mentioning its non linear path, and, agAIN, TRIES REALLY HARD TO MAKE YOU EMPATHIZE WITH THOSE BASTARDS.

So, I give it a 2 BB8s out of 10 for the dumb star wars reference companion, if you want to play it be fucking warned by its content.

[backtobackbakubabe]

Baby its Cold Outside (PART 9)

Bakugo x Reader 

Have you seen this man

**** Warning**** This chapter has a bit more graphic violence than the others. 

Words : 2810

PART 1 HERE, PART 2 HERE, PART 3 HERE PART 4 HERE PART 5 HERE , PART 6 HERE PART 7 HERE PART 8 HERE PART 9 HERE PART 10 HERE PART 11 HERE PART 12 HERE PART 13 HERE PART 14 HERE

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You actually got pulled to duty today, so naturally you just had to be feeling under the weather. Any other day of the week you could sit at your desk or hell just lay on one of the many couches in the break room, but nope. Not today. Today you need to go assist in a bank robbery. It was a simple call. They just needed you to pop in and get the hostages out. Piece of cake. From what you understood there was only four hostages and only two villains. Walk in the park.

But because you were already having a bad day it would only make sense if it got worse from there. So you arrive on scene and guess who’s already there? Bakugo. And guess who is yelling like the mad man he is that you don't need to go in there? Again Bakugo. 

“Nope. No. I don’t think so! This feels all too familiar. Nope. Cant do it. Go home. I think I can hear Zuko crying from here. You should probably go check on him. I can take care of this...” He probably didn't even know he was doing a full on Deku rant but you weren’t about to point that out to him right now. 

“Ground Zero... I appreciate your concern but I was called here specifically. I assume because they knew you’d blow up the building. I’ll have them out in five minutes. Now you can either help me or pout. That part is totally up to you.”

He narrowed his eyes at you, probably not appreciating be called Ground Zero. But you were in pubic and trying to be professional. “Okay Adsum..” He threw a little extra sarcasm on your name. “What do you want me to do?” 

You gave him a victorious smile, “I’m glad you asked. I can do this a lot faster if the villains are distracted. So do what you do best. Yell at them, blow things up, get their attention. And once I’ve got them all out you can go Lord Explosion Murder all over the place... Sound good?” 

He ground his teeth, “Yeah whatever just hurry...” 

Before the accident Bakugo wouldn't have bated an eyelash at you doing something like this. Now it was like pulling teeth. 

You ended up pulling everything off flawlessly. Only minor damages but that’s only to be expected when Bakugo’s involved. 

You endured the strobes of flashing cameras as the press yelled praise and questions. But neither you nor Bakugo paid them any attention. In fact you wanted to get as far away as possible. You started to feel light headed and you thought you were going to vomit any second now. Once you were far enough away you bolted towards a trash can and emptied your breakfast. 

Bakugo was at you in an instant holding your hair and rubbing your back, “Oi... you okay? You pushing yourself too hard again? I don’t care how small she is, I’ll fucking fight Dylan.” 

You pulled a tissue out of your pocket and wiped your mouth. “I dont think it’s Dylan. I think I’m just sick. I wasn't feeling too hot before I even came in today. But now that I think of it, We did have a harder day yesterday than we usually do. She had me pushing myself to see how many times I could teleport in under a minute.” You gave him a proud smile, “I got all the way up to 30. Thats once every two seconds.” 

He brushed a few hairs out of your face, “As proud as I am of you, you need to take better care of yourself. I know you say she knows your limits and everything but I still dont think there’s a chance in hell she knows your limits better than you do.” You went to protest but he gave you a pointed look, “Can you please take the rest of the day off? Just go home and get some rest. You clearly need it. ” 

“Ugh, fine... but only if you bring home some ice cream later...”

He laughed, “You and your damn ice cream. Yes I will bring you ice cream. Cookies and cream or chocolate chip cookie dough?” 

You gave him puppy dog eyes, “Both?” 

He smirked, “How could I say no to that. Alright you got yourself a deal. Now get out of here before I throw you over my shoulder and drag you home myself.” 

You wagged your eyebrows, “Oh yeah?” 

He thumped you between the eyes, “Oi! We are at work women! Contain yourself.... you also just threw up...soooo I will give you a professional hand shake goodbye.” 

He held his hand out and you just rolled you eyes. You held your hand out as well but before it met his you popped behind him and smacked his ass. “Report me to HR... I dare you.” And then you popped away in the direction of your apartment before he could scold you. You ended up ditching the costume and packing it away in your backpack. You called a cab because you really were not feeling well. 

You didn't know if the cab driver was staring at you periodically because he recognized you or if he thought you might throw up in his cab. Either way he didn't make any attempts at conversation which you were thankful for. 

You quickly took a half ass shower and brushed your teeth before going straight to bed. You passed out a soon as your head hit the pillow. 

You woke up hours later to the loud ringing of your cell phone. You checked the time before you answered. It’s a little past midnight, Katsuki should have been home by now. 

The caller ID said Kiri and your heart sank. With shaky hands you clicked answer, “He..” You cleared your throat, “Hey Kiri? What’s with the late night phone call? You wouldn't happen to know where Bakugo is would you?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling! I’m on my way to get you. I’ll explain everything when I get there. Just get dressed and get ready to go. Zuko too! Dont answer the door for anyone who isn't me!” 

He hung up before you could ask what was going on. Truly panicking now you jumped out of bed and started digging around for clothes. You were pulling on your shoes while simultaneously trying to locate Zuko’s leash when a loud bang came from the other side of the door. 

“Hey Bitch! Open up the damn door! We know you’re in there! Dont make me break this shit down!” 

Zuko started growling as you looked through the peephole. You gasped, it was the cab driver from earlier. He did recognize you. And he brought a friend. 

“Your little boyfriend aint here to protect you now is he! Not like he was the night he killed my brother! My brothers dead because of you!” 

You had no idea what the mad man was talking about but it was enough to send chills down your spine. You didn't want to risk having to fight them one on one. You still felt too sick for that. You knew Kiri was on the way so you could wait util he got there... *CRACK*

They had started kicking at the door now. “Shit...” 

“We’re going to make you pay for what you did you little bitch!” 

*CRACK*

“Then when we’re done, we’ll take out that that little shit stain Ground Zero!” 

*CRACK*

“Then we’ll track down every girl you saved that night!”

*CRACK*

You ran to the kitchen and took one of Bakugo’s really expensive knives. Surely he’d forgive you for fucking it up. You returned to the door that was only about one hard push from coming off the hinges. You focused really hard as you squeezed the knife in your hand. Then there was a slight pop and the knife was gone. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!” You looked through the peephole again but this time the cab drivers buddy had a knife... Bakugo’s knife, the one you were just holding, lodged in his chest. You did it.... You had teleported the knife through the door.

Before you had a chance to back away from the door, the cab driver threw his shoulder into it, effectively taking it off its hinges and throwing you to the ground. “Fuck!” You tried to scramble to your feet but he caught your ankle. 

You kicked him in the face twice before he let go. You had barley gotten to your feet when Zuko lunged for him. Bakugo spent a lot of time training him... so it didn't surprise you when he went straight for the throat. But watching as your dogs teeth sank into another man’s throat... it was hard to watch. 

The man cried out in alarm but Zuko just dug deeper and growled. You eyes went wide, “Zuko! No! Get back here!” 

Zuko let go and ran back to you. The man’s blood was pooling around him now as his eyes began to droop close. 

You sat down in shock staring at the scene before you. Two dead men. Blood. so much blood. Your breathing was starting to get shallow.

“Holy shit! What happened to don’t open the door for anyone but me?! Y/N! Are you okay?” 

Your eyes slowly met Kirishima's, “Where’s Bakugo?” 

He grabbed your hand and started pulling you out of the apartment and down the hallway. “I’ll tell you in the car... Come on Zuko!” 

You sped off with Kirishima checking his rearview mirror periodically. He didn't ease up until he was almost to the agency you worked at. “Okay so here's the deal. So as you just discovered some quirkless cabdriver found out where you and Bakugo live. He sent a threat along with some pictures of you walking into the building to Bakugo.” 

You gasped but Kirishima wasn't done, “Yeah but what's worse is he also sent it to the league of villains. Told them you were the one who messed up their human trafficking deal and Bakugo was the one who blew up some of their best men. You both have pretty big targets on your back right now. And Bakugo being Bakugo... he....” 

Your hands gripped the leather armrest, “Kiri don’t tell me he went off on his own... KIRISHIMA WHERE IS HE?!” 

He gave you a sad look, “We don’t know. He called me and told me to get you out of the apartment and then hung up... That was an hour ago.” 

Your eyes welled with tears. He’s so stupid. always yelling at you for not waiting for back up and now he thinks he can just show up alone to fight the League of villains of all people! 

“Where are you taking me?”

“Technically I’m supposed to bring you to the agency while we wait this out... but...” 

You leaned forward, “But what?”

“But we’re going to meet up with Deku, Todoroki, and Denki and where going to go get him.” 

“I thought you said you didn't know where he was?”

He gave you a shit eating grin, “I dont. But we happen to know where all the League of Villain hideouts are. All we need now is for you to teleport to each one. Find him and report back. They’re all within a few miles of each other. I know it’s kind of pushing it but Bakugo told me you once teleported 15 miles.” 

You nodded, “By accident sure, but my range has gone up! Its almost to three miles now... He’ll kill you for this you know? He won't want me involved in this at all.”

He rubbed his neck, “Well that's a risk I’m willing to take to get his dumb ass home.” 

Half an hour later you along with the others were huddled around a map with all possible locations circled. Todoroki pointed to a spot almost exactly in the middle if the others, “That’s where we are right now. This spot is about 5 to 10 miles from all possible locations. Y/n. We need you to teleport to each of them until you find them. When you do, do not engage. Teleport back to us. You’ll take me first, then Midoriya, them Kaminari, and lastly Kirishima. Do you understand?”

You nodded, “I’m going to be honest.. I don’t know how efficient Ill be. I’ve only been working on this kind of thing for a month or so. I’ll likely have to teleport two or three times to get to each location. Do you have pictures?” 

He shook his head, “No I apologize we do not. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

You cracked your knuckles, “Which one first?” 

You popped in and out. Running into trees, and ponds, and whatever else was in your way. You had to stop to throw up nice or twice, but you never did it in front of the other heros. They didn't need to see you were sick. You were on to the fourth location when you made a mental note to thank Dylan profusely when this is all over. Without her intense training you don’t know if you could have done any of this.

This stretch only took you two teleports to get there. You were breathing heavy with a sweat soaked shirt when you heard it, the familiar sound of an explosion. “Katsuki?” You were hiding in a couple of trees that surrounded a barn. You teleported to the top of the closest tree and look down. Sure enough there he was. You were itching to go to him. To drag him out by his ear. But you had a job to do. You took one last look at his blonde head. Hoping he would still be here when you got back. 

In one long stretch that made your muscles scream in protest you teleported back to your friends, “I found him now lets go. We need to hurry!” 

Shouto stepped up and you spat a quick, “Hold your breath.” And you were off. You dropped him by the same tree you had just stood under and pointed in Bakugo’s direction, “Hes that way. Just listen for the yelling and the explosions.” 

Without waiting for a response you went back to get Midoriya. When you dropped him off you started to feel dizzy. Not good. You leaned on a tree and gripped your head. Through gritted teach you made it back for Kaminari.

When you came for Kiri you couldn’t help it. You threw up. 

“Shit Y’n are you okay?” 

“Yeah I just have the flue or something. Just give me a minute.” 

A minute turned to twenty and you could still hardly pick your head up. Kiri came and knelt next to you. “Hey they made it out okay. They took him kicking and screaming, but they got out. I just got off the phone with Midoriya. What do you say we get you to a hotel room and get you something to eat huh? My treat. It’s the least I can do after I basically volunteered you for this.” 

You wanted to protest but your stomach gave you away. You hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and you had thrown that up a long time ago. “Yeah I could really use some food. I’m fucking starving.” 

You called ahead and ordered a room as well as enough food for a small family. Kirishima got the room next to yours and told you to let him know if you needed anything. 

You opened the door and the smell of pizza, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese hit you. You couldn't decide what you wanted so you had ordered it all. You needed a little comfort food. You deserved this. 

You had devoured the mac and cheese and was about to dig into the pizza when you heard the click of the door.

You grabbed your fork tightly as you stepped over to see who it was. 

“They didn't have cookie dough, so I could only get you cookies and cream.. I hope thats okay..”

You dropped your fork and flung yourself at him, “You’re so fucking stupid you know that! You cant do that to me. I was so scared!” 

He slowly wrapped his arms around you, nuzzling his nose through your hair, “I know. I’m sorry. I just.... I saw red. I couldn't let them get to you. The only thing on my mind was to protect you.  And then Kirishima told me they went to the apartment anyways. SHIT are you okay? I heard you stabbed a guy..?”

You flinched, “Well not exactly. I teleported the knife through the door... Zuko handled the other guy. Speaking of which he needs a bath... He has blood in his fur...”   

He cupped your face in his hands, “Later when were both not emotionally exhausted I’d like to talk about how badass and impressive you are. But nows not the time.” He looked to Zuko who was wagging his tail at his feet, “Thank you for looking out for our girl.” He gave him a quick pat on the head

You pulled away from his embrace and ran to the bathroom and threw up for probably the fifth time today. 

“Damn Y/n I’m sorry. I was the one who asked you to take the day off and then you had to go and work so fucking hard just so you guys could find me. I’m such a dumbass. I’m sorry.” 

You leaned against the tub, “You're not a complete dumbass. You still remembered the ice cream.” 

[theredconversegirl]

hi! i’m the anon that asked about blurbs and one shots!! i just thought of a blurb where sakura is bitten by a poisonous bug or something where the venom is slow moving (kinda like sasori’s where the victim dies within three days) but there are serious symptoms like major fatigue, graphic hallucinations and excruciating pain and while sakura is enduring those symptoms all sasuke can do is comfort her until they find a cure?? idk KSKSK im not talented enough to write this but ANGST

Hi there nonny! :) 

Thanks for sending me this prompt! I always liked the idea of Sakura or Sasuke taking care of each other in a situation like this. 

My first attempt to write this was terrible, so I took my time with the second. Also, I’m having computer issues and my writing time is limited because of that 😓

This is my first attempt of writing angst, so please forgive me if it’s not good enough 😬. I had to play a bit with what you suggested, since I think Sasuke wouldn’t wait three days to try to save her, he’d probably teleport to Tsunade asap! 😂

Hope you like it anyway! 💕

Title: “Bane” Rate: T Words: 3854 Warnings: Shinobi AU where Sasuke never left and has both arms.

📌 Read also here: Fanfiction | ao3

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bane | noun { 1. a cause of great distress or annoyance. 2. something, especially poison, which can cause death.

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This was supposed to be an easy mission.

A simple, easy, piece of cake mission – like any diplomatic mission is these days.

As the enemies surround them (not slightly concerned with stealth at all), Sasuke decides, with amusement glinting in his eyes, that nothing is really simple or easy when it comes to Team Seven – even though they are only two this time.

His hand unsheathes his kusanagi with a swift motion, and though it could help them, Sasuke doesn't bother to activate his Sharingan. He hears rather than sees the confidence his teammate has on them when Sakura turns her back to him and tugs at her combat gloves, the leather stretching around her fingers.

Despite the years apart, they both work surprisingly well together. The nearly impeccable teamwork flows like a river does towards the sea; merciless and inevitable.

There's only a moment of hesitancy where hundreds of sharp senbons rain towards him, and although he can probably move in time, Sakura uses her momentum after a kick to push him to the opposite direction.

After that, punches to the ground are synced with swipes of his sword. Right hooks with roundhouse kicks. And when it ends, hardly five minutes later, they are both panting, sharing complacent smiles.

Sasuke feels a warming feeling swirling inside him, a mix of post-battle excitement, the remnants of the adrenaline in his veins, and something else he can't really name. The light buzz accompanies him as he ties all the nukenins and sends a hawk to the Kazekage; they are still in Suna's territory after all.

The warmth dissipates, draining him instantly, when he sees Sakura swaying from foot to foot, a grimace twisting her dainty features.

"What's going on?"

She replies but whatever the answer is, it comes out as an intelligible slur. She tries again and the effort is futile. Her hands flicker green for a second, but the chakra flow cuts off, and that alarms Sasuke.

He might be wrong (and he hopes he is), but Sasuke thinks he knows what's happening to her. He has seen this reaction before – a few times in the Snake's lab, and once on the road – and every time, it was associated with the exposure of poisonous substances. It starts mostly with the inebriated state Sakura is in.

Quickly, Sasuke steps in her personal space and scans her face, neck, her bare arms, turning her around and moving her limbs like she's a ragdoll. He's looking for the point of contact, where most of the substance should still be. He doesn't find anything other than debris though, consequence of her powerful punches.

He exhales slowly, trying to concentrate on their next steps. If Sakura is indeed poisoned, he needs to act quickly. Konoha is about two days away by foot. He doesn't have enough chakra for a teleport. Naruto is Kami-knows-where. And they are still in the middle of the freaking desert.

As he runs the possibilities through his mind, Sasuke glances down, still holding her arm, and sees the moment where she struggles to move her red dress. Unconsciously, he extends his hand to help her, bunching up one side of the dress above her waist. He holds the fabric there, trying to avoid her eyes as she mumbles something close to a thank you.

There's an angry scratch above her hip, not larger than five inches, which is quickly swelling. Sakura tries to close the broken skin with her chakra, but it's useless; it flickers a few times feebly and then fades.

Whatever poison coated the weapon responsible for this wound, Sasuke thinks, it reacts slowly, with the intention to catch the opponent off guard, no doubt. It's eating her chakra cells, blocking its paths one by one.

He confirms that as he checks her with his Sharingan; her reserves are nearly empty, and he can distinctively see a few spots whirling inside of Sakura's chakra system. Sasuke tells her that, but the medic-nin is clearly struggling to process the information.

His time with Orochimaru taught him a lot about poisons – and he's even immune to a few thanks to that – but this one doesn't match the ones he personally knows. If it's anything like the one Sakura herself found the cure for all those years ago here in Suna, there's nothing much he can do; his limited knowledge in medical ninjutsu warrants that.

With the night approaching, and the risk of sandstorms, Sasuke decides to find shelter and wait in a safe place where he can replenish enough chakra to take them back home – by summon or whichever option he can use first.

He only has time to secure her arm around his neck when Sakura slumps against him. Cautiously, he guides them through the endless dunes until he sees the entrance of a small cave they spotted earlier that day.

Her smaller body is tucked in his arms by the time they get inside, her skin cold to the touch. Sasuke shrugs off his travel cloak and lays Sakura on top of it. He works quickly after that, making a fire to keep them warm, and returning to her side.

Disoriented, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, Sakura mumbles words every now and then. She whines and pants, and Sasuke knows the poison is spreading. He reaches for her medical pouch and unclasps it from her belt. Inside there are herbs, and syringes, first aid items, and other things Sasuke has no clue how to use.

In the light the small fire provides, Sasuke notices the changes in her; the ashen color of her face, the perspiration coating her skin, and her usually rosy lips turning blue.

A strangled cry forces him to move again, and he curses under his breath as he continues rummaging her things. She's dying and the realization bothers him more than he cares to admit; Sasuke knows he's on borrowed time.

Stupid, foolish woman, the words echoes in his head as he unrolls their travel blankets over her shivering body.

Before she's covered, Sasuke checks her pulse, brows furrowing in deep concern when he finds only a faint hint of her heartbeat. It's thready at best, and he needs to do something.

Anything.

He hears his name, he thinks, her voice is strained and the word broken on her lips, but the "kun" gives it away. He knows she's calling him.

His hand moves on its own, touching her cheek first, then her forehead, checking her temperature. Her skin is clammy and feverish, and he shouldn't be surprised with the fast development of her symptoms, but he still is.

"I'm here," he rasps, hopeful that she'll open her bright green eyes for him.

Sakura hums, and curls to his side, seeking his warmth even though she's warm enough for the both of them. She's crying, he notices; tracks of fresh tears run from one cheek down her neck.

He goes back to the pile of things he gathered from their backpacks and finds a piece of clean fabric. He folds the cloth and damps it with some water. When the cool compress is placed on her temple, Sakura sighs in relief, but her pained expression doesn't ease his mind. Not one bit.

Sasuke kneels beside her, pressing the cloth against her burning skin. His fingers brush her pink locks away, and he huffs, almost amused, when she blindly follows his touch. The Uchiha knows it's no use, but he calls her anyway, firm and louder this time. She doesn't respond.

He can't help but glare at her, because how dare she? She should have known better; she's scolded so many people about the dangers of battle wounds and enemies' weapons, him included.

The intensity of his gaze loses its strength when he considers everything again. Sakura is the last person that deserves such a fate; a painful, restless death. A death without a goodbye. A death that's not really hers.

He wishes he could take her place, and a little voice in his mind tells him that's how it was supposed to be. The Uchiha frowns, but it only lasts for a short moment as realization hits him; he's almost certain that she earned that scratch in that one moment he hesitated. That one moment where she pushed him out of the way. It was supposed to be him laying on this cold floor, withering away little by little. Not her.

"Idiot," he mutters, "why did you do that?"

"Sasu—"

Sakura's breathing becomes rattled, pain twisting her features, and for a brief moment he feels hope. If she can feel pain, it means she can still fight, right?

He abandons the cold compress on her forehead to move the covers aside. In the haste of getting her warm, he completely forgot about her wound. In a deliberate way, Sasuke removes her red dress, exposing the infected area. Blisters form close to the scratch, the flesh angry and swollen around the wound.

Sasuke snatches the first aid kit he found earlier in her pouch and prepares the ointment to clean the cut. He applies a little pressure as he works, covering the entire area with herbs once it looks sanitary enough. Sakura thrashes during the entire process, and the only way to avoid more damage and ensure that he can finish his work without hurting her more, is to straddle her small body, pinning her legs underneath him.

With his Sharingan, he keeps track of her progress, careful to not waste too much chakra. Now that he's taking a better look at it, he notices a concentration of the dark substance still close to the opened gash.

He doesn't even stop to think it through. Sasuke grabs a kunai and deepens the cut, pressing just right to push the poison out. She screams in response, shouting profanities, and jerking wildly in pain the entire time. But he can't stop now, even if the last thing he wants is to see her suffering, he can't stop; it's for her own good.

He snatches her wrists with one hand and presses her stomach with the other, his tomoes spinning and watching attentively as he removes as much of the malicious substance as he can. The dark, putrid liquid starts to ooze out of the wound, and Sasuke uses his knee to pin her to her side in an angle that helps the extraction process.

The moment that the last drop is removed, Sakura's chakra flares and she goes limp under him. He watches, Sharingan still taking in every detail, as her body starts to slowly give out and her nearly lifeless weight sinks to the ground.

No, no, no. She's supposed to get better...

When his gaze settles on her face, Sasuke notices how her breathing is shallow, a stark difference from a minute ago. Her features are slowly relaxing as if the pain is dissipating with each breath she takes.

Is this how it ends?

He's surprised when the thought crosses his mind. Sasuke's not one that contemplates the future; he's always thought he'd die young, after killing his brother. He's never expected to turn twenty. And he has never thought about rekindling the bonds he broke all those years ago when he left.

But here he is, a reinstated and pardoned Konoha shinobi, a war hero, a teammate, a friend, a brother. All things he wasn't two years ago. And now, before he even had the chance to really stop and think about his future, he can't.

This is not how we're supposed to end, he thinks, a hand running through his dark locks as he looks down at her with a myriad of emotions he's never associated with his name when looking at Sakura; pain, regret, remorse, sorrow, and pure, unadulterated sadness.

He releases her tiny wrists, sagging against her, defeated. The tiny hope he had gained leaves him as he continues to sink in his own storm, feeling as if he's being submerged under water, deprived of his air.

That obscure corner of his mind, the one that's full of self-loathing and doubt, whispers, "but did you even begin?''

On a whim, or maybe it's the bubbling rage inside of him, Sasuke growls like a wounded animal, releasing a burst of his chakra around them. His chest heaves and his shoulders shake, but he still feels numb. Empty.

He hears a whimper, even though his ears ring with the echo of his own anger. A choked gasp escapes him when he looks down.

It seems that the pulse of chakra he released has been absorbed by Sakura's body – somehow. His sharp eyes can clearly see her jugular pulsing, her eyes moving frantically underneath her lids, lashes fluttering against her lightly rosy cheeks.

There's… there is still a fighting chance.

As fast as he can, Sasuke scans his surroundings, noting every single resource available to him. He eliminates anything he can't use and lists possible steps; everything happens in a span of thirty seconds.

He considers summoning Garuda to take them home, but the amount of chakra is not enough. He considers Aoda – but that would require even more chakra – or any other smaller snake that could assist. But the solution, the best-case scenario, comes from a stupid idea that only Naruto could come up with. And maybe it's worth the shot, because all Naruto's ideas work in some way.

As blood runs from Sakura's wound towards the floor, a red path painting her fair skin, Sasuke transfers most of his chakra to her, calculating exactly how much he'll need to succeed. Then, he grabs her hands with his, swipes her thumb over her own blood, and guides her through the signs of Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

He pushes the last of his chakra to her hands, forcing the jutsu to drain the previously infused amount when he says the words. The smoke takes him by surprise (deep down he didn't have much faith in this plan), and when he sees a slime creature not bigger than his hand, he sighs in relief.

The tiny slug is very polite and right to the point. It pleases him greatly when she quickly understands the situation and gets to work. Katsuyu guides him, asking him to confirm where the rest of the venom is located, and with his bloodline once more he scans Sakura's body, pointing out the chakra path that is blocked and tainted by the poison.

The summon tells him he did a great job considering the limited resources and chakra available to him. Although she's being very helpful and sharing more than necessary, narrating her every move and findings, the slug's little voice trembles when she says that if the substance had reached Sakura's heart, things would have been different.

And suddenly, the severity of this predicament downs on him (again), because he has seen with his own eyes how the dark swirl is stuck a few inches short of that destination. His own heart constricts painfully, galloping against his ribcage as a life without pink flashes in the front of his mind.

"Sasuke-san?" Katsuyu calls, "ready?"

The question breaks him out of his stupor, and he nods quickly, pushing aside the plummeting feeling in order to get to more important matters. Sakura.

Together, they isolate the venom and the slug coerces it out of Sakura's main chakra path, pushing it towards the opened wound. It doesn't take long, and as the last drops leave Sakura's body, he notices how the color starts to return to her pale face.

"It's done," the slug says as she slides away from Sakura, taking the poison with her. "Sakura-sama is still weak and will need to break through the fever on her own."

"What do you mean?"

"My time here is ending, and you both need your rest. Her body will need to recover on its own until her chakra reserves are full again."

"I see. Thank you"

"No, thank you, Uchiha-san. Please take care of her!"

"Aa."

The summon disappears not long after, and Sasuke knows he'll be eternally grateful for its help.

For the first time in two hours, he allows himself to relax. Sasuke slouches backwards, leaning on the cave wall, head tipped up. He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs completely, and it's so invigorating that makes him think how a simple action that he does everyday – all the time – can feel so different, so good.

He reaches for the medical supplies and gets back to work. With a clinical eye, he carefully sterilizes her wound, cleans her skin, and then bandages it. He checks her temperature, tilts her head to give her some water, and repeats the routine like clockwork.

The silence, which usually is a comfort to the last Uchiha, is now a nuisance. It makes his mind overwork, inflicting painful thoughts, and aggravating his already guilty consciousness. The wind whispers angrily outside, though he hears it loud and clear.

She almost died.

In his place.

She's suffering.

Because of him.

Again.

A small whimper escapes her, and Sasuke thinks with mild exasperation, that's becoming one of his new favorite sounds. Maybe it comes second, losing only to her sickeningly sweet laughter.

She whispers and mumbles and Sasuke knows it's the remnants of the poison talking. And, between nonsense filled dreams, curses and random fits of rage, Sakura cries – a lot. It's not really a surprise when he stops to think about it, but it's not a pleasant sight, even though he knows it means she's getting better, naturally recovering.

She cries about the Dobe not realizing the Hyuuga girl is madly in love with him since Kami knows when, and how it pains her to see him being a fool every day, completely oblivious.

She cries about Tsunade going on a vacation and not inviting her.

She cries about her parents. Her mother's incessant inquiries about weddings and grand-babies, and her daddy's poor sense of humor that she secretly loves.

She cries about Ino. How the blonde keeps forgetting to return her things, and insists on pushing Sakura to date, because… she shouldn't wait forever.

He doesn't really know how to react to the last one. Sasuke is in a phase where emotions and feelings are still confusing, and there's also this new part of him that constantly fights between what's right versus what he wants. And as much as he wants her, he knows he's not right for her. It wouldn't be the right decision.

As the hallucinations go back and forth, there are more broken words than complete thoughts, but at a certain moment he knows he's there with her. The next words are proof enough and nobody can say otherwise.

"Please don't— don't go Sasu—hn."

Her voice is broken and exhausted, loaded with so much pain that he can almost touch it.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here." He says resolutely, because he's done running away.

Sasuke takes her hand on his, comforting her like she did once. He's not sure Sakura can hear him, and he squeezes her hand – a little harder than necessary – waiting for her to squeeze back.

She doesn't.

He watches as she struggles through painful memories, and as the masochist he is, Sasuke relives them along with her. Some words are welcome, and even missed, but others are venom and sting more than expected. He doesn't miss the irony of all, wondering if fate is messing with him – if such a thing exists, that is.

The torture session, as he calls it, lasts no longer than a few hours. Sakura's fever breaks sometime between her memories of the war and the events after. Her natural color is returning fully and even the tip of her nose is pink.

As her senses start to work again, Sakura tries to raise herself into a sitting position, and she huffs, frustrated, when she can't. Sasuke soothes her confusion by drawing little circles on her back.

"Why?" He asks, his voice lower than a whisper.

Although Sasuke's tried to contain his anger, frustration – or whatever this is – he can feel it coming off in waves as he finally sees her eyes again; as glassy and green as they were that morning. There was a moment, not long ago, he thought he wouldn't see them again.

When she doesn't reply, he tells her how careless she was. How they were supposed to work together as a team and not jump to save each other's lives like when they were kids. He scolds her like she's a petulant child that disobeyed her parent's orders and because of that she'd hurt herself.

Sakura doesn't say a word or look at him. She moves away with great effort, leaning on the wall of the cave beside him. When she's settled, she looks up at him. And this time, her eyes are blazing with anger.

She tilts her chin up in defiance and says, tone flat, "because I'm a medic."

They both scowl, hearing the statement as the lie it is; it's not only because of that.

"You are an idiot, that's what you are."

His words, his voice grows heated and Sasuke is not sure if they are directed to her or himself. And as expected, Sakura gives back as much as she gets, matching his tone and glare.

"Oh, excuse me for trying to save my teammate's life," she tells him like what she did was a normal occurrence. "I didn't know it was an idiotic idea."

"Tch. You shouldn't have done that, Sakura." He reproaches, nearly losing his strength when he continues, "I could—" have lost you.

"You don't tell me what to do, Uchiha."

"Tell me why you did that," he probes, despite the way she crosses her arms and throws him a menace look.

"I don't know!" Sakura yells, "my body just moved, okay?!"

A deafening silence follows then. The tension crackles explosively as they lock their eyes in a familiar stare-down. The weight and meaning of her statement are not lost on him.

He thinks of his day, how it was supposed to be just an easy return home. He thinks of how scared he was from the moment she fell until she opened her eyes again. He thinks of how infuriating this woman is. How she drives him crazy, pushing him to situations where he cannot do a thing.

Her chest heavens, but Sasuke knows it has nothing to do with the poison, not anymore. When he moves closer, lips parting to answer her, it's not like either of them expected.

He crushes his lips to hers, moving them effortlessly, showing her the severity of her actions and what they— she means to him.

It's messy, and desperate, and belated, but still full of emotions and meaning. Their first kiss tells her he won't risk losing her again. Maybe it's not right, but he knows it is what they both want.

And this is how they finally begin.

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

First lines meme thingie

I was tagged by @mcfiddlestan, and I rarely ever get tagged for things.  So here goes.  

Rules: Post the first lines of your last ten fics read or written and then tag others to do the same.

10. WIP: From Chapter 5 of Mission (Part 2, of Hemispheres): 

"Oh.  You're back, Stark."  

Tony stepped up to the cell just as Loki's honeyed voice greeted him from the darkness.  Behind him, Fandral continued to use what Frigga had given him – more daylily, it seemed – to keep the guards befuddled and forgetful about their presence.

"I am, Bambi.  And I see...well, hear...you're still awake.  Which is good.  I'd hate to think I was disturbing your sleep," Tony retorted, the corner of his mouth quirking into that smile that let anyone know he was amused, especially with himself.  

Tony had actually fallen asleep after navigating his way back to his room and crawling into the orgy-bed.  It was Fandral's voice hovering right over him, followed by a hand shaking him that had jolted him from sleep.  He couldn't be mad, though.  After all, here he was again, in Loki's presence.  

Even if he couldn't see him yet.  

As that thought entered Tony's mind, a candle silently illuminated the cell, and Loki sat on the edge of the narrow bed, dressed for sleep, his hair down around his face but not tousled yet to indicate any sleep.  Those stunning green eyes pierced through the glass to stare into Tony's.  

9. From Chapter 1 of Mission; “A spirit with a vision (Is a dream with a mission)”; (Part 2 of Hemispheres): 

"Tony, this is madness."

Tony finished his third cup of coffee and poured another for himself.  He turned to offer Thor a refill, but the God of Thunder covered the top of his ginormous mug with his hand to politely refuse.  Buzzing from the caffeine and distracted for length of a cicada's wing-flutter, Tony tried to remember which one of them had taught Thor to be polite about coffee.

"It's not madness, Thor.  I've just...had time to think about it, and...Loki should be here.  Not...wherever you put him," he hedged and tried to meet Thor's eyes.

"He threw you through the window of your own home.  He wrecked your city.  He killed..."

Setting the carafe back on its hot plate a little rougher than he'd intended, Tony took the three wide steps it took to land him right in Thor's space, and he glared up at him.

"And how many have you killed, Hammer Time?  You're the actual warrior, so how much blood do you have on your hands?  How much innocent blood, at that?"

Thor was taken aback by the acrimony in Tony's tone, the way those dark eyes flashed with a red-hot forge fire that burned the breath between them.  He lifted his cup between them, took a drink of what remained in it then set it down again.  He never took a step back or tried to push Tony away.

"That is not a discussion we're going to have, Tony.  You're upset with me, and I cannot fathom why," he told his friend, a hint of warning to his voice.  "The last I knew, you were glad to see my brother returned to Asgard for punishment.  You have nightmares..."

Tony stepped back of his own volition and waved a hand to dismiss the last thing Thor mentioned.

"You don't know anything about my nightmares.  They have nothing to do with your brother."  When Thor gave him a questioning eyebrow raise, Tony poked a finger into his chest.  "They don't.  Compared to what I saw in that wormhole, Loki was just a pissed off kitten."

8. From Part 1 of Hemispheres; Far away you were made in a sea just like me: 

It was the gray light that gently tugged him from sleep.

Tony squinted, and at first, he wanted to grouse and tell the cloudy morning to go fuck itself; he wasn't ready to wake up.  Especially when a warm body spooned against his, a creamy-skinned arm draped over his side, and the hand that belonged to it cupped his belly.  That was enough to make him smile and close his eyes again, his own hand slipping away from where it rested between his cheek and pillow to settle on that other hand.

This must not be one of his many flings that he picked up at a bar or conference because he felt no need to get out of bed and begin the Ritual of Escape.  He didn't have the urge to run and leave Pepper to 'take out the trash', as she so often explained it.

Wait.  Is that Pepper behind me?

Tony caressed the knuckles of the hand on his stomach, and while the hand was fine-boned and nimble, it was certainly not the hand of a woman.

Definitely not Pepper's.

Still, that body felt so good against his back; not bed-warm the way he would've expected.  It was cooler than most bodies, though not uncomfortably so, and Tony snuggled back against it all the same, feeling this lover's arm tighten against him.

He said fuck it to the outside world and responsibilities again, ready to drift off.  Ready to ignore the meetings lined up for him, the half a dozen projects in his lab, and the business luncheon he no doubtedly was supposed to attend that was Incredibly Important to Stark Industries.

"Mmm, if you keep squirming against me like that, ástin mín, you're not going to make that breakfast meeting you're supposed to be at in..."  Loki lifted his head to squint at the projected clock on Tony's nightstand.  "...an hour," he finished and took that moment to snuggle back down against Tony's back, rubbing his smooth cheek along that naked shoulder.

7. From Ghost of a Chance, a Steve/Bucky/Peggy prompt drabble.

December 1943; London, England

Scratchy tunes faded in and out from the radio in the training facility.  Bucky's eyes focused on the two men in the makeshift boxing ring, working in some training while the remains of the 107th continued to enjoy their break from combat.

Eventually, they'd have to get back in the fight.

Eventually, they'd follow the golden blond leader who barely matched the image Bucky went into combat with seared into his mind.

Eventually, he'd be chasing after Steve like he always did, but this time, they'd be equals against the mutual enemy.

Steve didn't even need him anymore, did he?

So, what the hell was Bucky supposed to do with himself anymore if Steve didn't need him?

"He's pretty amazing to watch, isn't he, Sargent Barnes?"

Bucky glanced over to see the pretty brunette whose heart Steve had managed to snag.  All on his own, too.  Bucky hadn't needed to set up a blind date or anything with this one.  He huffed and shrugged a shoulder.

6. From Behind Blue Eyes, Emma Frost/Loki.  With several twists.

Emma hissed as the cup burned her bottom lip, and she set it down with a scowl.  Yes, she’d wanted hot tea, but she hadn’t needed it to come out boiling or to bring back the moral condemnation that still echoed in her memories.  If Robert were here, she’d ask him to cool it down for her, but he wasn’t.  She knew what was in his thoughts, and she sincerely doubted that he would join her at a café for an afternoon drink.

Would any of them?

She almost laughed out loud to herself when she realized that one person who might was the one person who offered her some of the only comfort throughout the whole debacle.  Logan.  However, she was as aware as one of his claws punched through her chest that he was like the others, too busy wrapped up in a woman who could have prevented everything that had happened, if only she’d been thinking with her head and not jealous little heart of hers.

And everyone thought Emma was the ice queen.

5. From Supernaut; Eventual Loki/Tony but Loki + Nebula; Infinity War/Endgame Divergent.

Whatever pieces of Loki were left in the wreckage of The Statesman were intact enough that healing from death...again...took only as long as Thanos' snap that ended half of all life across the known universe.

Ironically, Loki didn't die in the snap.

He'd been cold after Thor's body floated to...wherever it had once his unconsciousness pried him from the Trickster's corpse.  Loki distinctly remembered that from his place at the gates of Valhalla; that alone told him that his death had come as an honorable sacrifice, and only after kissing his mother and father goodbye – for now – because he'd left unfinished business behind, did he wake up without Thor as his blanket.  

Through whatever grace of the Norns that still existed, Loki stood on that piece of the ship that had held his dead body.  He studied the stars, charted the constellations, found himself staring at Lokabrenna with a smile as it guided him.  It was difficult to breathe as if Thanos' hand was still around his throat, and it was good he didn't need to speak words right away to summon the pieces of the ship around him, soldering it together with what magic he could bring immediately to his fingertips.  His windpipe and voice box had been crushed, and it would take days to heal them unless he dug deep into the secret supply of golden apples he'd stored away ages ago in a dimensional pocket.  Or unless Eir could come to his rescue, but he didn't know where she was.  She and several chests of those apples had been on the escape ship with Brunnhilde, Korg, and half of the Asgardians.

Loki hoped they'd found a safe course and stayed out of Thanos' reach.

4. From We Were Never Boy Scouts; Loki/Steve Rogers.

*

A frost giant and a once-frozen centenarian walk into a bar...

*

That's where the joke ends.  That bar isn't really a bar.  It's the middle of nowhere in the North Siberian Lowland, and there isn't a structure or building or person in sight.

"Golly, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Loki's eyes twinkle with mischief as he turns to see if his companion is as impressed by his Midgardian cultural reference as he is.

"I don't think we're anywhere near Yatutsk," Steve says.  He's braced his hands on his hips.  His breath forms ghosts.  The air bites his cheeks, nose, and ear-tips until they're red.  Loki's reference hasn't been missed by Steve, but he's not in the mood for a joke.  "I thought you could teleport us anywhere."

He closes his eyes.  Takes Thor's advice regarding a Midgardian calming trick by counting to ten.  Several deep breaths keep him from yelling at the good Captain.

"I can teleport us anywhere.  I did teleport us 'anywhere'.  But I'm not from Russia nor am I from your planet, so I can't get you to exact locations when I haven't been to them, especially not when they seem to be in the middle of Frost-Etin wastelands."

3. From A Warrior’s Wounds, a Kurt/Logan (Nightcrawler/Wolverine) ficlet part of a 130 prompt list, and the only one I actually managed to write.

In the near-two centuries since he’d been alive, Logan had been stabbed, sliced, gutted, burned, shot, survived grenades, canons, arrows, magic, inter-dimensional weaponry, Dracula’s bite, Sabertooth’s claws, Hulk’s smash, Black Widow’s knives, Cyclops’ eye-blast, Jean’s mind-punches, Hank eating his leg, Remy’s flying sparky cards, Rogue’s touch, Emma’s diamond slaps, Reed’s rubbery choke-holds, S.H.I.E.L.D removing his head, Mystique’s...everything, and sometimes, his own clumsiness.  

He’d endured just about every painful thing a body could endure.

And survived.

2. From Hey Jealousy, a Thor: Ragnarok ‘deleted scene’ short-fic; Loki and Bruce have a ‘conversation’ about Tony’s pants.

(skipping ahead from the first lines, which are replaying the canon lines from Ragnarok)

Before they split up to take care of their escape plans, Bruce tugs at the crotch of the pants again.

“How the hell does Tony wear these so tight?”

None of them notice the narrowed glare from Loki that could shoot magic daggers.

Instead, Loki changes his expression and speaks quietly, gently to the man who could rage-shift at any moment.

“Banner.”

The chains are off at last, and Thor’s busy staring at how much liquor Valkyrie keeps consuming.  Loki corners Bruce but in a not-as-threatening-as-it-could-be way.

“Just what are you doing in Anthony Stark’s trousers?”

Bruce stares up...and up...at Loki, his mouth quirks.  Eyes squint.

“What?” he asks, watching as Loki sheds the chains as easily as a snake sheds its skin.  “What does that even have to do with...”

Loki stares down into Bruce’s face, and there’s something in the Trickster’s eyes that gives away his disappointment.  His jealousy.

“What are you doing in Stark’s trousers, Banner?  Are you two...together now?  A...couple?”

1. From Sunset, an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ficlet during the Framework season of the series when the Framework is being shut down.

Radcliffe breathes a sigh of relief when Mack and Yoyo disappear from the Framework to return to the Other Side.

“Right then,” he says to no one.  “Time tae go.”

But first, he returns to the Triskelion.  There’s something he wants from Madame Hydra’s office.  Something he knows from Hydra-Fitz she keeps in there.

*

Tagging: @scottxlogan, @majorenglishesquire, @kleenexwoman, @mistressofmuses, @elvenferretots, @iamanartichoke, @gaslightgallows, @mypaopu, @jcrewguy, @mayphoenix