#there is a custody battle over Hunter because he is the wanted child

[wendynoire]

Abomination Jail (part 1)

"It's over." Amity laughed as she whispered to Luz.

This was the first time Luz had been the one who was lifted into the air. Luz always got there first, picking Amity up and twirling her. It was a little odd that Luz didn't get their first again, but Amity didn't have much time to think about it before Luz had been taken by Camilla.

Clearly that's where Luz got her habit of twirling Amity from. Camilla made it look easy to pick up Luz.

It was obvious that Eda was unsure of the kind of welcoming she would get from Camilla as she and King held their hands out to greet the woman. It was a fair worry. While they had taken Luz in, cared for her, and protected her while she lived in the Boiling Isles, but they could hardly be called good influences.

"It's crazy to think Luz died, right?" King's voice was loud as silence fell over the room, Luz disappearing from Camilla's arms.

"What?" Camilla asked, blinking rapidly.

"Uh, I probably shouldn't have said anything." King noticed the sudden tenseness in the room.

"Luz Noceda." Camilla turned to the teen who was trying to sneak her way outside.

"Luz, what the hell!?" Amity yelled.

"Oh, uh, hi Mama, Amity... Sweet potato? Batata?" Luz jumped as she was caught taking a step back with each failed attempt to get the two women to calm down.

Seeing that it wasn't working, Luz let out a small, awkward laugh, before running for the door, having to stop when Collector blocked it, hands behind their back.

"What's... Going on?" Collector asked as Luz was enclosed in an abomination shaped like a cage.

The cage had a thick base and legs, which were used to walk the caged Luz back to Camilla and Amity. Inside the cage Luz was sat on an armchair that looked very soft, both the chair and floor sinking a little under her.

"Luz is in trouble because she died." Lilith didn't necessarily agree with placing Luz in abomination jail, but if that was the way to stop her from running away from the conversation then that's what it took.

"Is that something you usually get in trouble for?" Collector walked over to Lilith and giving her Hooty, who had decided to grow eyelashes during his time as a doll.

"It is when you promised to be safe." Camilla looked down at Luz sternly.

"And when you don't even say anything." Amity added, her own glare angry.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to die, but we were explaining the importance of kindness and forgiveness, so he was trying to befriend Belos after he had started taking over the Titan. Then I met King's dad and he brought me back with his power." Luz got off the arm chair and knelt at the edge in front of her mother and awesome girlfriend.

"She did look great as a part Titan." Eda nodded, titan Luz was reminiscent of her own harpy form.

"You were part titan!?" Camilla and Amity demanded of Luz in unison.

"Are you okay? Are there permanent side effects? Are there any non-permanent side effects? Are you in any pain? Is this going to affect anything?" Camilla showered Luz with questions.

"I... Don't know?" Luz shrugged. "If I didn't accept the powers then I wouldn't have been able to defeat Belos and we'd all be dead."

"Sit. Down." Camilla was not someone to be tried when she used that tone.

Luz quietly sat back down in the armchair.

"What did you even look like in Titan form?" Amity crossed her arms, though it was obvious that she was trying to hide her excitement.

"Oh!" Collector raised his hand excitedly. "I can show you! I can make the photos like Luz had of her adventures before!"

With a click of their fingers the Collector was holding many different pictures of Luz in her titan form. Unlike the pictures Luz had, these were 3d models in the 2d picture, allowing the person looking at it to see many different angles.

Amity's face went very pink as she saw the picture, quickly stashing it away to keep forever. How had she managed to get the Luz as a girlfriend?

"Can I see?" Luz asked meekly from inside the cage.

"No, take it as an extra punishment." Camilla said, also putting it away. It was a very good quality, and she knew Luz should eventually see it.

"Aren't we not supposed to force people to do things?" Collector leaned in to Luz, somehow in the cage with her.

"Yeah, but Mama can tell me what to do because she's my mother. Amity can tell me what to do a little because she's my girlfriend." Luz yawned, dying then removing an overly old white guy from the heart of the Titan was tiring.

"So parents don't have to show kindness and forgiveness?" Collector was trying to understand. "And girlfriends need to only sometimes?"

"No, but they're not going to keep me here for long enough to be harmful, and Mama has a duty to look after me, which means she makes some decisions for me." Luz rubbed between her eyes, she was really tired.

"Why is Luz in abomination jail?" Willow peered in to the Owl House, Eda having backed off from the situation with Luz to lie back down with Raine.

"Because she died." Amity was looking angrily at Luz as the Collector left the cage.

"Luz is dead!?" Gus pushed between Willow and Hunter to get in, stopping when he saw Luz in the cage.

"Nope, I am alive. Belos killed me, but King's dad gave me his power and I came back. Almost actually died twice before I came back though." Luz tried to reassure her friends.

"Hold up, kid." Eda got up again, hand on her hip as she too looked down at the teen. "I didn't know about that."

"I don't really understand what happened, just that it did. Look, I'm really tired, can we do this tomorrow?" Luz shook her head.

It was the portal realm that she was in, she was sure of it, she had seen King's dad when they were coming back to the Boiling Isles, and the same floating cubes she used to save Vee and talk to her mum were there. If she was asked to explain how that realm worked, why sometimes she sank and other times there was something solid to stand on she really wouldn't be able to.

"Alright, who's mine? Luz, Hunter, with me." Camilla called for Hunter to come, Luz obviously very limited in her ability to control where she went.

"Do we have a way home?" Luz was the one who had destroyed the original portal, the one they used to go home was falling apart when they used it, and the one they used to get to the Boiling Isles this time was closed.

"I'll make you one!" The Collector gleefully announced, Hunter walking over to Luz. He didn't look great.

"Please don't die." Hunter honestly sounded weak as he asked. "I already lost Flapjack, I don't want to lose you too."

"Hey," Luz grinned, reaching a hand out to take his. "I'm not planning on going anywhere, you're stuck with me."

"We'll be holding you to that." Gus grinned at her.

"When are you planning to let her out?" Willow nudged Amity with her shoulder, pointing to the cage.

"I'll change it tomorrow, but she'll stay in there and let us do everything until she has to go back to class. She died, she's not going to get hurt again any time soon." Amity looked away from Luz, blinking rather intensely.

"She's your girlfriend, you're allowed to cry." Willow moved a little closer. "But you are going to have to let her out alone eventually."

"She died Willow! Let me protect her, at least for a month." Amity furiously wiped away her tears.

"As long as Luz is okay with your protection." Willow walked back over to Hunter.

"Hunter, you lot are exhausted and, respectfully, you look like shit. We're going home, and you're going to sleep." Darius walked into the Owl House like he owned the place. It was obvious he had spent the whole time as a doll as his cloak was still perfect, not having been involved in any battle.

"Who are you?" Camilla looked the witch up and down.

"Camilla, this is Darius. He is, uh, was the head of the abomination coven. Camilla is Luz's mother, we stayed with her in the human realm." Hunter introduced the two with a shaky smile.

"That's nice," Camilla didn't seem to care who Darius was. "Come along Hunter, we're going home. Amity, do you want to come?"

"I'll just drop off Luz, I haven't seen dad, Ed, or Em much." Amity brushed under her eyes as she smiled at Camilla.

"Why would Hunter come with you?" Darius put a hand on Hunter's shoulders.

"Because he's my child now." Camilla pulled Hunter towards her.

"And who decided that?" Darius pulled Hunter back towards him.

"How about we don't play tug of war with Hunter?" Luz called from the cage, Willow gently pulling Hunter out of the grip of the two adults.

"Tell me," Camilla scoffed, "has Hunter ever even been to your house?"

"We all live in the Emperor's castle, so-"

"Oh, you mean the place that's been completely destroyed? Even more reason for him not to stay with you." Camilla grabbed the handle of Collector's door.

"So why aren't you offering your house for anyone else?" Darius asked.

"The others are welcome to come, but they miss their families. Hunter is our family." Camilla opened the door to reveal the inside of the house the teens hung out in while in the human realm.

[feruslands]

My list of fanfics ideas for ship "Vader/Ferus"

For @la-sopa and for everyone who likes to write/read fanfics )

Idea 1 "Daddy Feri", part 1

Time: 2-3 years after the order 66

Pairing: Vader/Ferus (Warnings: cruelty)

The sketch of the storyline:

Darth Vader is informed that Bail Organa's young daughter has a connection with the Force. Vader ordered the Inquisitors to take this child from Alderaan. Bail realized that Leia would be forcibly taken away from him and given to the Emperor. To prevent this, he hands over his adopted daughter to former Jedi Ferus Olin and arranges for them to escape from Alderan. Bail only told Ferus that Leia was the daughter of one of the Jedi. After the Inquisitors report to Vader that a little girl has disappeared from Alderaan, Vader orders the capture of Bail. He was arrested and transported to a prison cell on Vader’s ship. Under torture, Bail confesses that Leia is the daughter of Padme and Anakin. Vader discovers that the Jedi to whom Organa entrusted his daughter is Ferus Olin. And before handing Leia over to Ferus for protection and custody, Bail told the girl that Ferus Olin was her own father, and that he would never be able to admit this to her because the Jedi were forbidden to create families and raise children.

That's why Leia is his secret daughter. This information causes Vader to have a fit of rage, and he kills Bail unable to restrain himself.

When the Sith regains consciousness, he realizes that he himself cut the thread that could lead him to the trail of Obi-Wan. Now he won't be able to find out the details about Padme death, and he realized that Palpatine lied to him.

In secret from the Emperor, Vader sends bounty hunters to track down Ferus, but the Jedi cannot be found for a long time. Ferus considers it his duty to protect Leia from the Sith and the Empire. He and the baby have been wandering for several years. Ferus takes care of Leia. He doesn't understand why she's sure he's her dad. He tells her that he is not her father, but she always calls him "Daddy Feri"

Vader sends the best team of bounty hunters led by Boba Fett on Ferus's trail. Ferus was tracked down. He manages to send a signal for help through a secret channel for the Jedi, which was used during his youth. A group of rebels comes to his aid, but they are all destroyed by bounty hunters. During a fierce battle, Ferus protects Leia and he gets seriously injured.

The hunters secretly bring Ferus and Leia to Vader's fortress. Vader sees Ferus barely alive and unconscious. And his daughter screams wildly and tries to escape from the hunter's arms. Vader kills Fett and all the hunters so that no one can sell information about his child to the side.

The Sith wants Ferus to wake up. Vader plans to interrogate and destroy him. He is furious and confused that this filthy bastard has been pretending to be his girl's father for several years.

He orders his maintenance droids to eliminate the corpses of the hunters and their ship.

He notices that little Leia is sobbing on Ferus's chest, calling "Daddy Feri" and asking him to wake up. Vader realized that Ferus Olin would never wake up without medical help. He orders Ferus to be sent to the medical unit, and he pulls the resisting baby off Olin's body.

Ferus hasn't regained consciousness in months.

A lot of medical tests and examinations report that Leia is physically healthy, but she has a deep psychological trauma because she saw her dad captured and injured.

Vader tries to start a conversation with the baby, but she rejects all his attempts. She refuses to eat, talk, and cries all day and says she needs to go to her daddy.

Vader feels fierce anger, envy, and self-loathing because he cannot tell his daughter that he is her father and show his mutilated body. He tries to convince Leia that Jedi stole her. He wasn't her father, he was just a vile thief who kidnapped her and made her think he was her father. But Leia doesn't believe him.

Do you think this story has a right to life? Should I continue?

[generic-ghost-ghoul]

The Younger Brother

I’ve spent too long editing and being nervous about publishing this little fic, so here I am posting it on Sniper Sunday!

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Angst

Pairing: None

Summary: Omega needs an older brother, but all she has is Crosshair.

Crosshair hadn’t had a childhood. Not a proper one, at any rate. He doesn’t have the firsthand experience to know how children are supposed to be treated. How they’re meant to be handled during times of hardship and anguish. Crosshair doesn’t know because he was never treated as anything other than a tool to be sharpened and used.

But he does have an innate sense that what is happening in this moment is wrong. A child should not be in the position that she is in. He knows, on some very adult level, that he needs to be the mature grown up here; that Omega needs an older brother to provide support and stability in this untenable situation they’ve both found themselves in.

Crosshair is the adult. He is the older brother.

But he is also the child that he was six years ago on Kamino. He is the child who, along with his unit, was ostracized by other clones and ruthlessly experimented on by the Kaminoans. He is the child who sat up late into the night and watched the door while his batch mates slept, waiting to alert them to any approaching scientists or trainers. He is the child who desperately craved affection from his squad, but never knew how to ask for it.  

Crosshair should be the adult. Instead he is the disbelieving child who asks Omega to say it again.

“Tech is dead.”

He knows it’s cruel to make her repeat herself. He knows he’s young, in spite of the accelerated aging, but as small as he feels, he knows Omega really is a child. She is a child who has lost a brother.

Then again, so is he.

“What happened?”

He watches as Omega’s eyes gleam from unshed tears and her lip wobbles. He shouldn’t ask her. It’s not fair to her. He waits for her answer anyway.

“Tech found out you’d been taken into the Empire’s custody and Echo found a lead on Hemlock, so we followed it so we could find you.” She catches a small sob in her throat. “Tech wanted to find you. You’re his brother.”

Crosshair’s brain buzzes loudly and everything stops for a moment.

Understanding you does not mean that I agree with you.

“The mission went sideways and we got caught on a railcar in the mountains of Eriadu. There was no power. Tech got it working again, but there were Imperial ships. They shot at us. Tech sacrificed himself to get the rest of us to safety.”

Tears were falling freely down Omega’s cheeks. Crosshair knows, on some level, that he should comfort her, but he doesn’t even know where to begin. He stares wide eyed, not really seeing her. She’s a child. He should comfort her. He’s the adult.

But he is also the child he was six years ago on Kamino. He is the child who has been desperately missing his batch since the Clone War ended and they left him behind. He is the child who has lashed out at his former team in a poor attempt at making them see his side. He is the child who has sat, alone, with his fury and hurt for months. He is the child who just lost his brother.

Crosshair looks away from Omega and squeezes his eyes shut, fighting back the rising nausea. He’d never had a childhood, not a proper one. But he was a child once. He takes his time, remembering the moments from Kamino with his brothers. He remembers sitting up late into the night, keeping watch over his exhausted brothers. He remembers keeping his distance from them, because he could protect them better if he had the whole picture. He remembers their backs in front of him in training, on the field of battle. He remembers being so far away from them.

But he also remembers Wrecker loudly announcing that he was going to compete with Crosshair to see which of them could take out more droids, keeping Crosshair involved in the games the largest of the Bad Batch loved to play. He remembers Hunter waking and quietly talking with him through those long nights as he watched the doors of their quarters, making sure Crosshair wasn’t alone through the lonely nights on Kamino. He remembers Tech seeking him out, datapad in hand, to share newly acquired knowledge, ensuring that Crosshair felt included in his interests and stayed informed of any mission relevant information.

He takes his time to remember when he was a child. He takes a steadying breath and, when his eyes open, the child he was is gone. In his place is the adult with all the strength and resilience needed to survive the loss of his older brother.

The child Crosshair was is gone. In his place is the older brother Omega needs him to be.

[contrasting-realities]

A child who has grown up in a nightmarish dungeon and her godly mom board with a wrinkly puritan and his anxious nephew

AU: A portal opens in the girl's cage and she falls into a random forest, her mother, Nilvan follows initially to bring her back but winds up investigating this alternate dimension out of curiosity.

Nilvan gets arrested for public indecency (Funger fans, you know what I'm talking about) and both are locked up, the girl because they didn't know where else to put her.

Nilvan isn't bothered because she can just leave at any time, this is for her own curiosity and amusement.

Once Emperor Belos, a witch hunter who has taken over the boiling isles for his own plans of genocide, hears about the seemingly human woman who walked into town without a shirt on with her child daughter and whom was arrested for it, he has them transferred to the castle and explains his whole thing to them.

Belos takes great interest in the girl, whom he wants to protect from the "evil" demons and witches, while being a bit annoyed by her mother acting like an airhead even when it's obvious that she is just trying to shirk responsibility.

The girl likes Belos, because he is actually nice to her and didn't leave her in a dungeon. Weirdly, he becomes the parent she always wanted and she stays away from Nilvan whenever possible.

They eventually meet the golden guard, Hunter who is supposedly Belos's nephew, and he is in a messed up way jealous of the girl for having his uncle really care about her. He is aware of how fucked up this is and keeps it to himself.

Eventually Nilvan tries to take her daughter back to the human realm, thinking that Belos wouldn't know about what she had done since her child is mute and illiterate. But the girl did tell Belos about what her 'home' through various drawings and especially after he taught her how to write.

Since Belos still cares about humans, and knows that Nilvan somehow turned herself into a god using magic, a huge religious no-no practically everywhere. He objects to her doing this and actually came prepared, leading to a massive fight over the boiling isles that was basically a very violent custody battle. Belos wins, has Nilvan either petrified or locked away somewhere very secure, and puts the portal to the human realm under 'special surveillance'.

[childlikegoblinqueen]

Writing Notes and 10,000 hits?!?

I know it's not CRAZY much by some people's Ao3 standards, but the fact that over 10,000 people have accessed Sweet Child is MAD crazy to me. Especially since I began writing fanfiction as a way to process grief. I haven't written in a long time and this has been an awesome outlet. To everyone who has read, shared with friends, commented, asked Q&A, and created things from Sweet Child? THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ANYWAY. Writing notes below with some spoilers from the last few chapters, so beware if you aren't up to date. This is a VERY long post. Sorry.

So we had two very different chapters before we finally get to check in with Vee.

First off, it has been mentioned that Vee has been living as a human in Gravesfield and is in a relationship with Masha (though Vee gets nervous and had a tendency to break up with them in the fear that Masha wanted to break up with Vee first. Unfounded, but it was how she handled her relationship anxiety. I imagine Hunter had similar anxiety about being with Willow and handled it differently, but that's something to examine in a future flashback or offhand comment in the story.

So I wanted to talk a bit about the outcome of the custody battle.

As I mentioned, I am not a Darius hater by any means, but I do feel that his relationship with Hunter is complicated. I know we got a shortened third season, and we haven't gotten much time to feel out their relationship or see anything from his past. I think Darius does grow to care about Hunter, but he was originally also pretty damn cold and dismissive of him, knowing that this was a child forced to take on the mantle of someone else. I imagine that in living with Darius, Hunter would still feel the need to prove himself, thus falling into old habits and militaristic thinking.

Darius in the story also as a few other things going on, but seems to realize too late that he had been misreading Hunter's desire to please and prove himself by acting okay with the things Darius was asking of him while he spiraled in private. Except it wasn't exactly in private, because nearly everyone else noticed something was not right.

The few moments Hunter and Camila had in TTT and FTF sold me on her adopting him as her son. Camila knows what it's like to fail a child (Luz) she's not perfect. She’s willing to learn from her mistakes. She’s tender and gentle with Hunter and Vee.

For Hunter, Camila treats him like a child who needs love and she has no preconceptions about who he had been in the past, because all she knows is the traumatized boy who showed up on her doorstep. She also risked her own life to save his and called him "baby."

I love the Sasha Waybright is Hunter's therapist meme. That's a character who gets self loathing and as someone who had admittedly been manipulative in the past, she probably has a good insight into the mind of someone who would twist the mind of someone else for their own needs. Sasha knows she's not perfect and she's done things she regrets. Hunter is the same. But for Sasha, she was the manipulator and wants to help others who have suffered.

One thing Sasha wanted to establish was that Hunter deserved a say in his own living situation. He owed nothing to Darius, or even Camila. The words she used what that she didn't care what they wanted. She cared what Hunter wanted. This is in direct contrast to Belos' cruel and dismissive, "I don't care what you want." during the possession scene.

Custody was not about what others want from him. It was about what he wanted and needed while helping him get to a place where he can eventually advocate for his own needs. Something he will need to learn and understand as he becomes an adult and eventually has to advocate for his own family's safety.

He's got A LOT of therapy to go, and I hope it didn't read as Hunter and Willow kissing on NYE solved the selective mutism : non verbal problem. It was more just having some time, therapy (and music therapy with Raine), along with supportive family and friends, before getting to that point.

For the morning after, it was doing simple things such as preparing breakfast with Camila and singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody (with lines like"Mama, I don't want to die. I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all...") that were therapeutic in their own way.

I was also trying to establish during flashbacks that mutual consent was really important in Hunter's developing relationship with Willow. In many ways, yeah, he's touch starved, but touch is also a tricky thing that has been associated with pain in the past. I imagine even just affectionate non romantic touch would be invited or declined depending on how safe he feels in the moment. Romantic affection is another ballgame all together. Plus, he was raised in a cult by a Puritan despot. So there is that.

Next chapter Vee returns! I mentioned earlier in the story that Vee traveled with Masha, her Cabin 7 friends "Josh and Ryan" and the Blight twins. I am re-using Josh and Ryan's personalities from my previous fic, because I had fun writing them. Josh is the darker skinned skater boy, who is gay and a notorious flirt. Ryan is an enby, they are the friend with short hair and glasses.

Also, Odalia is still terrible. She has now acquired her lead competitor's company ... because he (Tibbles) is now running for a place in government in the name of capitalism. Yay.

Hope to have another chapter out by tomorrow morning, but some personal life stuff might hold me up until Monday. Hopefully not.

[nephiliminality]

Judgment

I did a silly thing! It’s a Supernatural-Good Omens fusion, by which I mean it’s a SPN fic which heavily and lovingly references the book version of Good Omens. The S5 episode where the boys meet the Antichrist is very obviously inspired by Good Omens, but with a rather different message and tone, and I couldn’t help but ask myself: “How would that have gone down if Jesse was more like Adam Young?”

It works best if you know both the episode and the book - it should still make sense if you’re unfamiliar with one or both of them, but it’ll be pretty weird :)

4701 words, G-rated, CW non-sexual consent issues (mainly mind reading).

[AO3]

Excerpt

Jesse Turner stood by the fireplace in his living room, a kid surrounded by grown-ups. One of them wanted him to die, one of them wanted him to kill, and the other two just wanted him alive and not causing any trouble. It was a lot for a nine-year-old to handle. But Jesse Turner wasn't a regular nine-year-old.

Dean stood to one side of the fireplace, facing Jesse, with Sam on his right. The demon wearing Julia Wright was standing behind Jesse on the other side, attorney for the douchebags in the world's worst custody battle. Though if Dean was supposed to represent the non-douchebags, he thought, the world was probably screwed.

To Dean's left and a little further away, blocking the gap between the couch and the kitchen and boxing Jesse in, was Cas. The angel was definitely not winning any non-douchebag points tonight. He hadn't drawn a weapon, but probably only because there was little point doing so while Jesse was paying attention. He would probably get turned into a frog or something.

It looked like a stand-off, but it wasn't: Jesse didn't want them to fight, and whatever Jesse wanted, Jesse got. According to Cas, this scrawny little kid could end Heaven if he wanted to. Dean thought to himself that as long as he ended Hell as well, he could go right ahead, and Dean could go back to being a regular hunter and forget all this Apocalypse bullshit.

As soon as Dean thought that, Jesse turned to face him and stared at him intently. A cold, clammy self-awareness clambered up Dean's spine and set up camp in his brain, sending scouting parties of unease everywhere else. Oh crap. He definitely hadn't said anything out loud, but Jesse had heard him anyway. Dean tried to clear his thoughts, to think about nothing but the song that had been stuck in his head since yesterday, or ham sandwiches, or invocations for exorcising demons. It wasn't working.

"Why didn't your dad let you do kid stuff? Why did he make you fight?" Jesse asked, with the simple directness of a child and the impact of a speeding truck.

"Uh," Dean replied coherently.

"I don't like your dad," Jesse declared. "My dad's much better. He plays catch with me and reads me bedtime stories. That's what dads should do. Not give you guns and stuff and teach you how to kill things. That's rubbish. Kids are supposed to have toys not guns."

Dean blinked. Jesse didn't. The uneasy feeling got worse. Distraction wasn't enough, could never be enough, because Jesse was no run-of-the-mill psychic. The kid was rooting around in his head like it was a journal, flipping curiously through pages holding not just what he was thinking now, but maybe everything he'd ever thought. Jesse probably knew things about Dean that Dean didn't even know about himself. Was he just going to open that messed-up toy box and throw the contents all over the floor for everyone to see?

Thankfully, before Jesse could say anything else, the Julia demon interrupted. "That man isn't your father, Jesse. Those people aren't your parents. They lied to you." The demon smiled confidently, beginning a sales pitch that had probably cost a few gullible assholes their souls before today. "You're special, Jesse. You can do anything you want. Have anything you want."

Jesse spun round and locked eyes with the demon. The horrible feeling disappeared from Dean's head. The demon's confidence evaporated instantly; Dean had a pretty good idea why.

"Why are you two people?" Jesse said, sounding confused and curious.

The demon tried to leer at him, but it was clearly shaken and not hiding it well. "I'm not a person, kid. I'm a demon in a meatsuit."

Jesse must have dialed up the Scanners shit, because the demon was squirming so much it could barely stand. Dean wondered what soul-reading superpowers could show you in a demon. Maybe Jesse would see enough of Hell to turn against it. Or, he thought grimly, maybe the Antichrist would like what he saw.

After several intense seconds, Jesse dropped the gaze, and the demon relaxed a little. It shuffled Julia's feet and tried to resume its speech, but Jesse cut it off. "You used to be a person."

The demon laughed nervously. "So what?" it said.

Jesse thought for a moment more. "You can't take a person and make them not a person any more," he declared. "That's not right. I think you should go back to being a person again."

The demon's stolen eyes widened in terror, then before it could even begin to scream, it was gone - no black smoke, no dying demon fireworks, just gone. As if Jesse had decided it shouldn't exist, so it didn't. Julia collapsed into the chair behind her, fast asleep.

Dean exchanged a silent 'what the hell?' glance with Sam, who looked as scared as Dean felt, before Jesse turned his attention back to them. He pointed his x-ray stare at Sam instead, and Sam actually whimpered. Dean didn't even want to mock him for it.

"I'd want to run away too if I had your dad," Jesse said immediately. He glanced back at Dean for a single horrible moment, then turned back to Sam. "Why do you fight each other? Aren't you s'posed to like each other?"

"Uh," Sam mumbled, like a third grader who'd been caught skipping school. By Miss Trunchbull. "Brothers don't always get along."

Jesse's face scrunched up in disappointment for a moment, giving Sam a brief reprieve. "I wish I had a brother. I asked once. Mum got sad and said the stork only brought me." That must have been interesting for any new parents in the area, Dean thought. "It's okay though," Jesse continued, brightening. "My friends are nice. We don't fight much."

"Uh. Good for you, kid," Sam managed.

Jesse returned to pinning Sam to the wall with the power of extreme telepathy. After a few more seconds of making him sweat, the boy continued. "I don't think you're really a monster. You didn't want to hurt me. I think if you were really a monster, you would." Finally he left Sam alone as well, and Sam slumped against the wall, shaking.

Jesse turned to Cas, who was expressionless. He hadn't said or done a thing during Jesse's creepy interrogations and whatever he'd done to the demon, and he didn't seem at all worried that it was his turn. Dean had a bad feeling about this.

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Fifteen: The One Where There Might be a Future

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 3247

Lily didn't like the effect Bucky had on her sometimes. She wasn't sure if it was the way he was so good with Hunter, or how he was always so gentle with her. Or maybe it's whenever the two were alone he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world. Or perhaps it was the way his hands always lingered places for a second too long to go unnoticed. She couldn't place it. But if anyone asked how she felt about the boy, she brushed it off. They were simply friends. Nothing more. The kiss they shared in the kitchen didn't get spoken about, and the two never felt a shred of awkwardness over the following few weeks.

But it didn't help that his lingering looks and her soft touches didn't go unnoticed by those around them for very long. Lily had found herself living every teenage girl’s dream. She became friends with the freaking Avengers. It didn't help that her sister had begun to get all friendly with Mr. Sam Wilson, either. She wasn't sure if it was because of her lack of love from her ex, or the need for a rebound. But Lily would be there to support her along the way, no matter what form her heartbreak and hormones took.

And although things were great in Lily's social department, the legality of her divorce had become messy. It had been a month since the incident where Cedar supposedly attempted to break into her ex-husband’s house, leaving Lily with the entire month of October being filled with legal battles and a complete rewrite of the separation agreement. All while the police continued to question her younger brother. She wanted to keep that part of the issue secret from Hunter, for the little boy looked up to his uncle as though he were one of the superheroes on the boy’s wall. And Lily did truly believe her brother was not behind this, that something must have happened to him. She knew Cedar, he wouldn't have done this.

However, to distract herself, Lily decided to hand-make her and Hunter's costume for the holiday quickly approaching. As well as busying herself with shopping for Hunter's birthday, which was just a week after Halloween. however, in proper Rose and Gen fashion, they had other plans for the candy-filled day.

"I am not going to a Halloween party with the Avengers!" Lily exclaimed as she spun around from her sewing machine, arms crossed, "And I am not matching with Bucky."

"Come on Lily!" Rose whined, grabbing her sister’s hand, "You've been stressed to the high heavens all month! With finally being granted full custody, as well as this Cedar thing? You deserve to go out and have some fun."

"And Bucky tells us he's had to make you dinner every night when he comes over. And don't act surprised that we know- you send Rose out every Thursday and Saturday. We're not stupid." Gen countered, raising her finger to Lily.

"He talks too much," Lily mumbled, "But I wouldn't be able to anyway! Hunter and I have traditions to keep up. We match costumes, then go out trick or treating, then come home, watch Halloweentown and then go to bed." she stated, stealing her hand back from her sister, "plus Rose, you're pregnant!"

Lily furrowed her eyebrows as she watched her sister and best friend share a look. One that the mother knew all too well. They had planned something. And what that was? Well, Lily didn't know. All she knew is that she wouldn't like it. She never enjoyed their plans. The last time she went through with one, she ended up racing home and having to take her husband to court because of the neglect of their child. Plus, she'd much prefer to stay home and spend time with her son. After the month she had, she just wanted a night in with the two of them.

"We figured you'd say no..." Rose began, flicking her hazel eyes to Gen.

"...So we came up with a backup plan. That was actually, Hunter's idea." Gen smiled softly, offering her hand to her best friend, "Come with us and he'll explain."

Lily cocked her eyebrow at the two of them. Standing, the blonde laced her hand into Gen's and was soon led out into her own living room where Hunter sat on the floor with Joey watching national geographic. Lily smiled softly at the boy before she was essentially forced into sitting on their sofa, with both Rose and Gen coaxing Hunter to explain whatever they had decided to try and convince Lily on.

"Mum, what if Mr. Barnes joined us for Halloween this year?" the boy commented, turning off the television and turning towards his mother.

Lily was taken aback by her son’s bold offer. Glancing back and forth at the two women on either side of her, only to be greeted with raised hands of innocence. Moving onto the floor, Lily took her son’s hands into her own, searching his face for any sort of blackmail being used by the two girls behind her. But he seemed genuine. She knew this because there was a rosy hue to his cheeks, meaning he was even embarrassed to ask her something like that.

"Are you sure, Hunt? It's always just been us on Halloween." Lily hummed, running a thumb across the boy’s cheek.

"Mum if I didn't want to I wouldn't have asked. I like Mr. Barnes. He's fun." Hunter stated simply, tilting his head into his mother’s touch.

"If that's what you want buddy, then sure. We can have Bucky here for Halloween." Lily agreed, ruffling the boy’s hair before standing up and turning towards her sister and best friend, "I'm guessing you already asked him?"

When the two gave energetic nods, the young mother shook her head with a laugh, making her way back out towards her office to finish the costumes.

-----

Lily still lived in the real world. And held a full-time job. As did Rose and Gen. Which meant, there was no one to watch Hunter on the actual day of Halloween while Lily worked. well, that's what she thought at first. But of course, who were Rose and Gen to let anything peaceful happen in the life of their best friend and sister. Though Lily was far from bold enough to make such a request, she didn't have much of a choice. Plus, he was already spending the evening with them. Lily still hadn't enough trust in babysitters, despite having a plethora of neighbours whom she did trust...she just trusted him a bit more.

"Thank you for coming on short notice." the blonde sighed softly as she opened up the door to her house, "Gen has a meeting today and Rose is in upper manhattan, so neither were available."

"It's no issue, Lily," Bucky's gruff morning tone cooed as he took a step into the house, "I like the kid, no stress. Sam and Steve may swing by around noon, mind if I bring Hunt with us out for some lunch?"

"That would be amazing, Buck." she hummed, not even giving the nickname a second thought, though her cheeks did subconsciously heat up, "Here." the blonde smiled, digging her hands into her purse, only to have his flesh hand rest on the arm of her thin white cardigan.

"No need. It's my treat." the man smiled, his hand lingering across her wrist before he pulled it away.

The way that he looked at her made Lily's heart skip a beat. His steel-blue eyes pouring into the mossy green of her own. All of the air in the foyer seemed to be sucked out, as though the world paused around her. Neither moved, and the world melted away. It was Hunter who had managed to snap the two out of it. The sound of a glass breaking against hardwood made Lily jump, her hand resting above the pale purple scrubs she wore, gripping her name tag.

Glancing at her watch, Lily sighed, dropping her bag, "I'll go clean that up then head to wo- "

"Let me." Bucky hummed, picking the woman's bag back up, "You head into work. I'll take care of the kid and the mess, I promise."

With one more glance towards the kitchen, Lily nodded slowly before bidding her goodbyes. When she got into the car in her driveway, the blonde let out a deep sigh. Her eyes glanced up to the door of the place she called home for a few years now. She spotted Bucky and Hunter standing in the doorframe, Hunter still in his pyjamas with a new cup of orange juice in his hand. Bucky's hand placed securely on the boy’s shoulder. The picture warmed Lily's heart, and she found her mind wandering ever so slightly.

The same scene, but with Lily standing there. A baby in her arms as Bucky placed a kiss on her temple. Hunter, aged up a few years with Joey by his side. But this image found itself framed, upon the wall of a different home.

Chiding herself, Lily shook her head, reversing from out front of the home. Away from the moment that made her heart swell.

-----

Another day, Another pay. Don't be mistaken, Lily loved her job. She adored being able to spend the day with children and make them feel better. But today was a rough one. Lily had a patient come in with severe symptoms. It broke Lily's heart. He looked around the same age as her son, and that was what she always found most difficult. Seeing the children that were experiencing the same sort of year as her son. Just turning twelve or not even quite there yet. It broke her heart, really.

Pushing the door open to her quaint home, Lily perked an eyebrow up at the smell of something sweet. That of a certain morning breakfast that seemed to be a reoccurring theme in the most recent months of Lily's life. A small smile spread across her lips as she placed her work bag down onto the front bench, kicking off her shoes before passing the stairs and through the hall back to the kitchen where she ducked around the corner, leaning on the wall.

"Well now what do we have here?" she chuckled, catching the two boy's attention.

Sliding her phone from her pocket, the blonde snapped a photo of the mess of a kitchen the two had made. Both had flour on their face, and the mother of the younger boy giggled. The number of blueberries that were on the floor, or should she say, making their way into Joey's stomach, was more than she saw in the bit of batter the two had made.

"We wanted to surprise you." Hunter grinned brightly, lifting his hands in a stance of innocence, "It was Bucky's idea!"

"Hey-! Way to through me under the bus buddy." the taller man laughed, hands dropping to tickle at the blonde boy's sides.

Lily shook her head with a hearty chuckle escaping her lips. Running a hand through her golden strands, the young mom sauntered forward and pressed a kiss to Hunter's head, before giving Bucky a soft glance. Shrugging off her cardigan, the doctor sent a teasing eyebrow raise to the two boys. Tossing the piece of fabric across one of the chairs at the table, the blonde shooed both away from the counter.

"Before you blow up my kitchen," she quipped, "Allow me to take over."

One brand new batch of batter and a new pack of blueberries later, Lily placed a large stack of fluffy pancakes atop the refurnished birch table that Bucky and Hunter sat at. Placing her hands on her waist, Lily merely smirked and shrugged the entire event off as though it were nothing. The main thing that made her happy on the inside, however, was watching the two dig into the golden brown delicacies she had made moments ago.

"Sit and eat, Lil. They're amazing," said Bucky, a mouthful of blueberry pancake muffling most of his words.

"Alright alright. Then we have to get ready to go out. don't want it to be too dark." Lily chuckled, pulling out a chair next to Bucky.

With dishes and the kitchen cleaned, the trio found themselves all dressed and ready to go for the Halloween festivities taking place outside of the home. Kids were already knocking on doors and stuffing their faces with candy. While Hunter was still trying to get the bandana we wore to properly stay on his head, or actually tie it. Hunter and Lily had already planned on taking on Halloween dressed as pirates, and Bucky just happened to have the proper rugged look for it.

Lily herself, well she wore quite the getup. The ripped fabric of white, burgundy, and plaid making up a skirt that hugged her waist. A white peasant blouse that hugged off of her shoulders sat underneath a black leather corset vest that dipped just below her chest. A pirate hat with gold trim and a peacock feather sat atop gentle blonde curls. Suede boots hit just below her knee with fishnet tights underneath. Bucky wore a fairly standard get-up, simple black pants with a loose cream-coloured top underneath a suede vest and taller boots.

"Mum I can't get my bandana tied!" Hunter sighed, dropping his hands against his own dark pants, "Can you do it?"

Lily grinned and made her way over to the boy, doing up the piece of fabric before handing him a pillowcase for the candy he'd be collecting. Turning to glance over her shoulder, the blonde caught the eyes of Bucky. His eyes were already glued to her, and the way they moved up and down her made a bright red flush fill the girl’s pale cheeks. She pursed her lips and let her hands fall to Hunter's shoulders, her eyes unwavering from those cool blue ones of Buckys.

"If you two are done staring into each other’s eyes," Hunter quipped, "I have candy to collect."

"Hunter!" Lily exclaimed, looking down at her boy.

"Yeah doll," Bucky winked, "Keep focused. The kid's gotta get his candy."

Lily watched in shock as the two walked out the door, leaving the blonde dumbfounded as she hooked Joey's leash onto his collar. Rolling her eyes, the blonde followed behind, shaking her head until she caught up to the two.

-----

"I didn't mean to make the kid freak out!" Bucky laughed as the three re-entered the house, "It's not like I'm in a mask! Plus the arm doesn't help give away who I am."

"Oh, please you totally knew he recognized you!" Lily retorted, unhooking Joey, "You kept rolling your sleeve up whenever we saw him!"

"I'm with mom on this one." Hunter commented, dumping the large stash of candy he had collected into the middle of the living room floor, "I think you liked seeing Kellin dressed as you, Bucky." he chuckled, sorting through the pile.

"Well obviously!" the man chuckled, sliding his vest off, "I think what shocked me most was the number of people dressed up like Sam. We can keep the information here. It'll only make his head inflate even more."

The trio continued the night, laughing, eating candy, and watching the iconic Halloweentown. At around ten-thirty, Lily put the young boy to bed, leaving her alone with the ex-assassin that was sitting in her living room. Which she didn't mind, she'd begun to see yet another new side to Bucky. One that made her realize just how much the man yearned for the security and domesticity of a family. And how Lily wished to give that to him. To lay that troubled mind of his to rest at last, and allow him the peace and tranquillity of a modern day family. And for a while, she believed the two had that. That night. He now changed into a t-shirt and sweats he had left at the house last time, Lily in a pair of baby blue plaid pyjama pants and an oversized white sweater. Both sipping lightly on coffee while they sat across from one another, legs touching.

"You've got something good going here, doll." the man hummed, eyes averting towards the fire at the other side of the room, "Back in the ‘40s this is something I believed I'd have one day."

Lily watched the man with a soft expression. The way his eyes seemed to cloud with troubles when he began talking. It broke her heart, knowing that this sweet and gentle man had been through more than Lily could ever fathom. He had murders attached to his name, yet he petted Joey like he would break the dog, and acted as though Hunter was the most precious thing in the world. And when he would touch Lily, her hand, her wrist, it was though she were made of glass. He was sensitive, and Lily's heart grew ten sizes whenever she saw him allow his guard down, even for a split second. Allowing her to peak into that complex mind of his.

"Why can't you have it now?" Lily questioned, "Find a nice girl. Settle down somewhere quiet. Have a family. Why is it so different now?"

The man turned his attention back to that of the woman sat beside him, "That wouldn't be fair to them. The kids...if I had them. The past I have would follow them everywhere, they'd learn about what I did in class. I was a monster, Lily."

Setting her mug to the side, Lily moved a bit closer to the taller man. She took his coffee from his hands and placed it to the side. She wasn't sure what came over her. Her mind believed it to be that of her having such a lovely night with him. Watching him with Hunter. Seeing the way he would look at her. She wasn't sure. She just knew he felt something back towards her. Maybe the kiss they shared was what drove her, but she just knew this was her window.

So she took his face in her hands, "Buck you had no choice. And now? You're one of the most loved heroes. You beat the darkness. I give stickers out of you at work now!" she chuckled, running a careful thumb across his jawline, "I know if I was the girl you settled with, there would be no fear of having a family."

Bucky looked at the girl with a tender look in his steel eyes. His hand reached up and tucked a stray hair of blonde hair behind her ear, moving forward. The air in the room grew thick and a sense of anxiety washed over Lily. She watched intently as he continued his advance forward. Before she could comprehend it, the two shared their second kiss. This one was different though. There was something new behind it. Lily couldn't put her finger on it. But they didn't break apart, no, they moulded together and paused for air every so often. Lily tangled her fingers in the man’s long brown hair, tugging gently.

But a knock at the door interrupted them.

"We'll talk about what you said tomorrow, okay doll?" Bucky cooed, running a thumb across the girl’s cheekbone, "You stay here. I'll grab the door."

Well, that was how Bucky Barnes met Lily Osborne's parents.

[tabloidtoc]

Globe, August 31

Cover: Prince William and Prince Harry seeking the truth about their mother Princess Diana’s death -- Diana exhumed again 

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Sylvester Stallone, pregnant Lea Michele, Jason Priestley wears a mask while picking up a package 

Page 3: Alessandra Ambrosio puts on shorts at the beach, Scott Baio riles up the crowd at a political rally in L.A., Sofia Richie strolls along the beach in Malibu with a wineglass in hand 

Page 4: Music diva Mariah Carey is turning her back on her sister Alison who’s caught in a raging battle over revelations charging shocking sex abuse and devil worship -- while Mariah is out promoting her new bio due in stores next month her troubled older sis Alison is suing their mom Patricia for damages claiming she was forced to perform sex acts with strangers when she was as young as 10 during satanic gatherings that included ritual sacrifice 

Page 5: Rachael Ray and her husband John Cusimano and their dog Bella narrowly escaped death when a huge blaze tore through her luxury upstate New York home, Lady Gaga’s sharp dance moves and killer manicure left fellow pop star Ariana Grande with a nasty scratch on her face as the pair rehearsed for a music video 

Page 6: Garth Brooks and wife Trisha Yearwood were terrified when their youngest child Allie was stricken with killer COVID-19 and the girl’s chilling brush with death turned their world upside down -- it hit them hard and reminded them about the importance of health and family and taking precautions plus how precious life is, Antonio Banderas has been laid low by COVID-19 -- he took to Twitter on his 60th birthday to reveal he tested positive for the deadly disease and is keeping himself quarantined 

Page 7: Nearly 4 years after her death Zsa Zsa Gabor is going on a farewell tour of Europe in a fancy dog carrier -- her last husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt plans to take the ashes of the icon to her favorite places in the Louis Vuitton pet case in which she carried her beloved dog Macho before burying her in her native Hungary -- Zsa Zsa’s former publicist Ed Lozzi slams her husband’s scheme saying she would have wanted to be buried beside her only child Francesca and sister Eva Gabor in Hollywood’s Westwood Cemetery 

Page 8: Fearing she’s losing ground in her continuing custody battle with Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie is demanding the judge deciding the dispute be booted from the case -- Angie insists that Judge John W. Ouderkirk be ousted claiming he’s a business crony of a lawyer working for Brad but Brad’s fighting to keep the judge on board and he thinks Angie’s desperate and willing to do anything to trip him up because she’s backed up against a wall, Alyssa Milano claims her brush with COVID-19 has left her losing her hair -- she was struck by the dangerous disease back in April and spent time in a hospital and recently in a Twitter video she brushed her wet locks and pulled a large clump of separated strands 

Page 9: Simon Cowell is facing a life of agonizing pain and possible paralysis after a horrific bike accident left him with a back broken in three places and a rod inserted in his spine -- he may be left with what’s known as failed back syndrome which is chronic back pain that remains even after successful surgery or even more chilling may lose control of his legs and arms if the rod doesn’t hold and the vertebrae collapse 

Page 10: Demons do exist swears exorcist Bishop Plato Angelakis who for the first time reveals his terrifying battle with an evil fiend that possessed a granny-aged woman and gave her the strength to overpower four grown men 

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Billy Dee Williams out and about in L.A. (picture), there was a backstage battle between The Office star John Krasinski and producer Greg Daniels in season three of the smash comedy Daniels wigged out when John who played scruffy-haired sales guy Jim Halpert begged for a haircut in an attempt to launch a big-screen career by starring alongside George Clooney and Renee Zellweger in Leatherheads but the boss said no -- determined to nab the juicy role John recruited the show’s hairstylist and paid for a human hair wig and fooled the cast and crew, no funny business involved when it comes to Amy Schumer making sex appointments with husband Chris Fischer because without them you’re just roommates, Paris Jackson broke off her two-year relationship with Gabriel Glenn because she just couldn’t figure out who he was, Melissa Joan Hart is starring in Dear Christmas an upcoming Lifetime romance with her real-life teenage crush Jason Priestley who is playing a handsome firefighter who warms Melissa’s heart for the holidays, no baby talk is the rule for Marie Osmond’s husband Steve Craig who hates it when she calls him cutesie names 

Page 13: Scruffy Jude Law in London (picture), Mindy Kaling out and about in a mask (picture), Goody Grace and Kate Beckinsale wear masks while shopping (picture), Heidi Klum is packing on the pounds during the COVID crisis confessing she can’t zip up her old clothes and doesn’t fit in her favorite jeans anymore 

Page 14: Tiffany Haddish has lost 20 pounds since hooking up with boyfriend Common, Jennifer Lawrence sold her NYC money-pit apartment for $9.9 million which she bought in 2016 for $15.6 million but at least now she can stop paying the ritzy building’s ridiculously steep $5700 monthly fees and the $100,000 cost for taxes and insurance and upkeep, Fashion Verdict -- Tina Fey 3/10, Sarah Paulson 7/10, Emily Blunt 1/10, Aubrey Plaza 8/10, Olivia Wilde 2/10 

Page 16: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has topped a list of Hollywood’s highest paid actor hauling in a hefty $87.5 million this year followed by Ryan Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel at $54 million, Lisa Marie Presley’s future looks grim as her liver problems have roared back and she faces death if the vital organ fails -- she’s been battling liver ailments and an abdominal muscle tear for some time forcing her to seek treatment in the days before the heartbreaking suicide of her son Ben Keough 

Page 17: The late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s daughter Bindi Irwin has made it official that she’s pregnant, scores more women have come forward to accuse porn star Ron Jeremy of rape and sexual assault dating as far back as two decades just a few weeks after he pled not guilty to sex offenses against for West Coast women 

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Alex Winter, for Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo the show is all about the Benjamins saying she made a decision to make money and not chase creative acting roles and for her a healthy home life was more important than career, thugs robbed Alanis Morissette at gunpoint and nearly grabbed all her work for her 1995 hit album Jagged Little Pill

Page 20: True Crime 

Page 23: Scandal-savaged Ellen DeGeneres wants to put her woes on pause and pamper herself with a morale-boosting plastic surgery blitz -- she’s been rocked by sinking ratings and allegations of a toxic work culture and the strain has made an ugly impact and it shows in the bags under her eyes and the saggy cheeks and jaw and she’s breaking out and her skin looks blotchy from all the stress she’s been under and even with makeup on she looks haggard, grieving mom Melissa Etheridge admits she steeled herself for the possible death of her drug-addled son Beckett 

Page 24: Cover Story -- new Princess Diana death probe -- Prince William and Prince Harry have secretly arranged for the body of their late mother to be exhumed for a second time and subjected to another autopsy in a desperate last-ditch bid to learn the truth about her death in Paris 23 years ago -- the brothers suspect Diana’s death may have been ordered by the same people who forced Harry’s wife Meghan Markle to flee Britain -- William is worried his wife Duchess Kate Middleton may be in danger too 

Page 26: Health Report -- miracle drug slams brakes on MS 

Page 33: Debra Messing dropped from a size eight to a twiggy two while filming Will & Grace and says the extreme slim-down harmed her health

Page 38: Real Life -- Victoria Price of WFLA in Tampa gushed with appreciation after an eagle-eyed viewer pointed out a bump on her neck that turned out to be a deadly thyroid cancer

Page 44: Straight Talk -- Earth to Luann de Lesseps: quit being a boozy floozy 

Page 45: Tiger Woods is set to marry Erica Herman if she signs an ironclad prenup to protect his $800 million fortune -- Tiger has agreed to wed Erica but he’s still gun-shy after shelling out a record $750 million to divorce first wife Elin Nordegren after he was caught in a sex addiction scandal 

Page 47: Hollywood Flashback -- Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic, Bizarre But True 

[shirokodomo]

[Hakudōshi Verses]

With my new blog theme I can’t provide a link to the verses page as before, therefor I will also post about them here. 

This is a rather long post, so you can find the verses under the cut! They will be divided in three categories: Main, AU and Canon Divergent.

More verses will be added to this post and to the blog itself as they are created.

MAIN

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Canon Universe POSITION: Naraku's servant / Plotting to overthrow Naraku The canon verse everyone is familiar with, in here Hakudōshi was originally Naraku’s human heart, the Infant, before being split in half by a dying priest, from which the right half of it grew into Hakudōshi. He is a deceiving, manipulating little devil that doesn’t hesitate to kill his preys but also enjoys to play games and torture them, he often gets his hands dirty and doesn’t mind it and appears to be an incarnation who is almost as loyal to Naraku as Kanna is. He is also very clever and usually is several steps ahead from his enemies. He has, however, his own agenda and eventually plots with his other half to overthrow his creator and take his place. Interactions with this verse will vary between the Hakudōshi that is a loyal servant to Naraku and the Hakudōshi that is already plotting the betrayal with his other half, it will all depend on the plot of the thread. I am fine with the interactions between our Muses being hostile and harsh, Hakudōshi is a villain after all! Since the canon material with him isn’t much, a lot of things will be headcanon based, especially when it comes to his betrayal towards Naraku as personally I think the reasons for his betrayal were a bit bland and empty.

AU

AGE: 11-12 TIMELINE: Early 2000's POSITION: Heir of the Makai Company, one of the most wealthy families in Japan. An AU where the series characters are all humans and no demons exist. Hakudōshi Makai is the 11 year old son of Naraku Makai and Kikyō; the couple went through a complicated and harsh divorce but through the corrupt system, Naraku gained the full custody of his son and made it so his now ex-wife could never see their son ever again. Prior to these events, Hakudōshi was extremely close to his mother and thus her leaving left an empty feeling on the boy. This and Naraku's manipulation over him lead to Hakudōshi believing that every relationship is meant to be doomed sooner or later and that the concept of a happy family does not exist. The Hakudōshi of this verse does not possess the same manipulative and cruel nature of his canon counterpart, however, he can be cold and even distant sometimes. He eventually opens up to others but it takes time. During free time, between Junior High School lessons and education regarding the family's business, Hakudōshi practices kendo and also horse riding lessons, he has a horse of his own a white mustang named Entei, he has owned it ever since it was a foal, and it was a gift from his mother. It is a gift he treasures dearly.

Variations of this verse may be created.

AGE: 19 (Biologically) | 12-13 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: x784 POSITION: Half-Demon | Former slave of the Tower of Heaven | Independent Mage An AU created for interactions within the Fairy Tail universe. Hakudōshi is a half-demon who during his early childhood was captured and taken by a Zeref following cult, for the same purpose as the other kidnapped children by them: build the Tower of Heaven to resurrect Zeref. During the rebellion led by Erza Scarlet, Hakudōshi escaped by using one of his abilities: Teleportation, once he was freed from the Magic Stealing Stones, instead of joining the rebels. After escaping, Hakudōshi set on to his main goal: find his twin brother, Akago, whom he had protected and prevented from also being captured by the cult. Due to his half-demon genes, Hakudōshi's body grows “slower” than the average human or demon, although his age keeps up with that of a human, his current appearance is of a child. This often leads to other people, wrongly, looking down on him when he takes up job offers. Although he possesses other abilities, his main magic is named Reversal Magic which is essentially a magic that allows Hakudōshi to absorb Caster type Magic into a barrier and then redirect it back to his opponent. It doesn’t work with Holder type Magic. With training, Hakudōshi develops other minor abilities which are connected to his demon side.

AGE: 19 TIMELINE: 2010 onward POSITION: Vampire turned by Naraku | College student An AU verse in which the main focus is supernatural stuff, this means, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, etc. It is loosely based on The Vampire Diaries/The Originals series. Hakudōshi is an adult in this verse and his features remain the same as his canon counterpart: white hair, pale skin, violet eyes. Hakudōshi prior to his transformation was a normal boy, 19 years old, who had just entered college. Distant, not very social, generally quiet but quite intelligent those were the words that described him. His life turned completely upside down when one day he stayed till late at the school’s library, studying, and at some point heard noises, moans and what appeared to be screams coming from one of the classes. Upon investigating, he caught one of his teachers feeding on a student, literally feeding. The teacher, Naraku, realized the extra company at the room and decided to silence the boy. But Naraku realized who it was, one of his favorite students and instead of simply killing him, he decided to toy with him. Feeding him his blood and then snapping his neck, the vampire left Hakudōshi alone at the school along with his now dead victim, blood dripping to the floor. When he woke up from his temporary death, it was night and Hakudōshi felt an inexplicable thirst, not for water but for blood. He saw the dead student and without being able to control himself drank the remaining blood but it was not enough, it only made him more thirsty. This lead to him going to his house and murdering his family, only coming to his senses when it was already too late. Naraku watched him the whole time in delight and attempted to approach his most recent creation, to gain control over him, but Hakudōshi rejected his control and escaped, using and discovering his new inhuman abilities. With his emotions extremely amplified and still not understanding what had happened to him, he soon discovered he could no longer walk in the sun, it burned him and so he had to hide during the day and hunt at night, to quench his thirst. His path eventually crosses with that of Kohaku, a supernatural hunter trained from a young age to kill especially vampires like him. Despite having been taught to hate and kill these bloodthirsty monsters, Kohaku noticed the despair of the vampire and choose to help him control himself, teaching him a new diet not human based and eventually provided him a ring which allowed Hakudōshi to walk in the sun. Hakudōshi, after turning into a vampire, becomes extremely sardonic and doesn’t easily trust anyone. Being ironic is what he does best, he berates others, mocks them. This was his way to protect himself and the only one who succeeded so far in breaking that shell was Kohaku, although that only happened because he spared his life.

CANON DIVERGENT

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Post Ep.1 of Inuyasha: The Final Act / Chap.370 POSITION: Escaping from Naraku and The Infant This verse starts with a twist on the first episode of Inuyasha: The Final / on chapter 370, in this verse Hakudōshi doesn't die at the hand of Miroku's Wind Tunnel. Instead of losing his mind and trying to kill Kagura at any cost, Hakudōshi uses his miasma in order to escape from his enemies while his body keeps regenerating to its normal state; later he reunites with the Infant and Mōryōmaru in order to set up a new plan to get their hands on Kohaku's shard, the wicked Infant however has other plans for his "brother". With Naraku now being aware of their betrayal, the Infant states that he no longer needs Hakudōshi's help and that it is time for them to become one once again by having Mōryōmaru absorb him into his body, just like he had intended to do with Kagura. Hakudōshi refuses and they engage in a battle which ends with him barely escaping but successfully retrieves the jewel shard in Mōryōmaru's belly. The demon child is now completely alone, no allies and a lot of enemies with two of them constantly trying to capture him and kill him (Naraku and the Infant); this leads to Hakudōshi not trusting anyone he crosses paths with and being even slightly paranoid especially after he realizes the Infant is trying to enter inside his mind, to take over his body as well, and that he also has some sort of control over his regenerating abilities, slowing it down and making it far more painful. Hakudōshi eventually sets on a goal to find a way to create his own heart so that he can sever his connection to the Infant and eventually kill both his other half and Naraku.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: konosesshomaru AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Between the events of the Devil’s Crag and Kagura’s death. POSITION: Traveling with Sesshōmaru's group A variant verse of "Abandoned". Naraku discovers earlier Hakudōshi’s and the Infant's plans to overthrow him; he absorbs the Infant back inside him and to make his former right hand man physically suffer, gives him a heart of his own so that real wounds -that actually take a long time to heal- can be inflicted on the child. Hakudōshi has no choice but to flee for his life as Naraku's demons chase him and he ends up being rescued by Sesshōmaru, who then makes the decision to take him under his wing at least until the boy's wounds are healed. Afterwards, he leaves it up to Hakudōshi to decide if he wants to stay with them or not. With Naraku now constantly chasing after him, Hakudōshi chooses to stay and travel together with Sesshōmaru and his group.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: thecursedpriestess AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After Hakudōshi was pierced by Kikyō's arrow POSITION: Loyal to Kikyō | Travels with her After being pierced by Kikyō's arrow, shot by Kagome back in the Underworld, Hakudōshi is sired to the priestess due to her spiritual power having made some sort of connection with 'the Onigumo in him' instead of killing him -since his heart was somewhere else-. Afterwards Hakudōshi begins to feel strange whenever Kikyō is mentioned and no matter how hard he tries, he can't hurt her neither physically or emotionally. He eventually realizes what happened and though initially he hates the idea of being sired to the woman he was supposed to hate, the more times his path crosses with that of Kikyō's, the more loyal he seems to become to her. Hakudōshi, at some point, stops resisting and chooses to stay by the priestess's side. The bond becomes so strong to the point the child is willing to die for her; however what he doesn't understand is that the bond stopped being a 'sired bond' and has become one of a mother and her child.

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After Kagome's permanent return to the Feudal Era POSITION: Brought back to life by a demon named Kirimi Not long after Kagome’s permanent return to the Feudal Era, a demon going by the name Kirimi (切り身, ‘Cutting Flesh’) begins an attempt to revive once powerful demons. They pretend to follow the steps of the deceased Urasue and even surpass them by improving the technique. Kirimi starts by reviving minor demons, at first to merely appreciate their work from afar and even see the need of improvements. Then they move on the next step: start reviving the deceased incarnations of Naraku. Unlike Urasue’s creations, Kirimi doesn’t use ashes and clay instead they use: an object that once belonged to the demon intended to be revived and that retains said demon’s “essence”, Kirimi’s own blood to create the connection between them and the revived demon and the heart of a sacrificed human. To revive Hakudōshi, Kirimi used the blanket that once belonged to the Infant’s right half, the one who later regrew into the child incarnation, and the heart of a human child. Thus instead of being a body made of clay like Urasue’s creations, Kirimi’s revived demons have a body made of flesh but only possess one organ inside them: the heart of the sacrificed human. Hakudōshi is then revived but he doesn’t appear to possess any memories of his life before his first death. He only reacts to his name and the reason seems to be that because Kirimi used the Infant’s blanket, an object worn by Hakudōshi only prior to be being cut in half and shortly after his body regrowing, therefore the “essence” within the blanket doesn’t “possess” Hakudōshi’s memories in the child-like body. Kirimi allows him to go so that he can retrieve his memories, once that is done they would be able to control Hakudōshi as their personal weapon along with the remaining incarnations they intended to revive. Hakudōshi then wanders through the lands, vaguely remembering the face of a woman carrying an Infant (Kagura) and the killing of monks. Believing that is how he will recover his memories, the newly reborn incarnation begins killing monks in the same way him and Kagura did in the past.

AGE: 20+ | 8-11 (Permanent Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Hanyou no Yashahime & onwards POSITION: Lives isolated in a mountain | Independent Demon Slayer After Kirimi’s death, Hakudōshi eventually recovers all of his memories, not just of the person he used to be but all the people he has hurt. Regret is a strong word for him, does he regret anything? He doesn’t, he did what he was born to do. Regret won’t bring back those who died at his hands or those who were hurt. He is capable, however, of apologizing despite knowing the most obvious answer is that he isn’t forgiven. That is fine by him. To his surprise, Kohaku asks him to come train for a while at the new Demon Slayer village. The boy hasn’t forgiven him but his kind nature doesn’t let the former incarnation simply go. He goes and after becoming a skilled Demon Slayer, Hakudōshi retires to a mountain and only leaves it when there is a dire need. He gains the title of The Demon That Slays Demons. This is where he will stay and watch as the new generations are born, grow and eventually surpass the old. The entire experience changes his personality to somewhat more calm, less brutal and cruel, the sadistic incarnation of Naraku is no more, but he is still Hakudōshi, the White Child.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: @adversitybloomed​

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After the Infant was split in half POSITION: Adopted by the Hua family | Doesn't know his connection to Naraku

After the Infant was split in two, the right half of it was supposed to remain dead while the left half regenerated back into its original form. In short, the right half was supposed to be nothing but dead meat. Given this, Naraku ordered Kanna to look after the left half and get rid of the right one. The incarnation did as she was told and abandoned the half on a river, allowing the strong stream to take it away. Something unexpected happened and the right half regenerated just like its left but it was completely alone. Although still a demon, the baby appeared to have lost its memories and even its previous speaking ability, therefore the only way to grab the attention of anyone passing by was of a normal baby: cry. And so he did and soon enough he was found by Hua Mulan. She knew he was a demon the moment she set her eyes on him and even so still took him. She took had demonic blood in her. Having lost its speaking abilities, at least for now, Hakudōshi spoke to Mulan through his mind ability but could only tell her his name as he didn’t remember anything else. Mulan decided there and then to officially adopt and raise the little baby as if he were her own son. Because of his demon origins, Hakudōshi grows and develops much faster than the average child; each month he grows more and more although at some point it should stabilize. He is happy, he loves his mother and has a big respect for the Hua family, never does he want to tarnish their name. But danger lurks around every corner and unknown to him, his life is still connected to that of Naraku’s and thus it is threatened to be taken should his infant counterpart meet his demise...

....

These are the current verses. I also have a verse for Crossovers but I am a bit selective regarding the fandoms I accept RPing with in this verse.

[witchofinterest]

tell me more about your ocs

Thank you so much! Okay so if I do all of my ocs it will take too long, so I’m gonna do a little summary of my most developed!

Willow Spencer (pysch) - basically it’s the secret baby plot! Shawn’s side never knew willow existed, and willow didn’t know she had other family. Willow is a psychology student in college, and joins her cousin in being a fake psychic detective, all though she joins at first just to get to know him.

Lorelai “Rory” burkhardt (Grimm) - she hunts wesen (animal-based monsters) and at the beginning is reconnecting with her brother, who’s just finding out about the world. It’s not technically a perfect example, but i generally consider Rory the nature to her brothers nurture.

John Jax (buffy the vampire slayer) - So he’s a character that shows up to help when he’s needed. A couple years ago he was a detective and his partner died by a vampire attack, so John became a hunter. He’s also in a fake custody battle with Giles over the kids.

Josette Jax (angel the series) - shes Johns daughter (though they don’t meet till ats season 2) but no one knows that. Jo and angel are teamed up by the powers that be to be partners, and neither are happy about it at first. And I love her but she makes the worst decisions.

Lynn Allen (the gifted) - Lynn is my empath child, and her story is pretty much about how no matter how what happens, even when she’s being prosecuted for existing, she remains a good person. Also the effect being an empath would have on a person, because that would not be easy.

The vampire diaries ocs -

Rylee O’Connell- basically I count on rye to be human voice of tvd.

Akira Ito - she really wants to hunt vampires, but the toll it ends up taking on her makes her second guess.

Evander Salvatore- time traveler. Poor boy is turned into a vamp in the past, immediately desiccated (vampire coma), and gets woken up to be used as a bargaining chip in the 21st century.

Legacies ocs (yes we’re skipping the originals, rye goes there and I haven’t made other ocs for it yet)

Cassandra Lockwood - the oldest of Rylee and Tyler’s adoptive (platonic) kids. She’s a witch, and loves it. Has like, 5 friends.

Emmett Lockwood- youngest adoptive kid, and a recently triggered werewolf, hates it. Loves his family, and actually has a lot of friends.

Eleanor (I’ll give her a last name when I find her a fc) - shes a hunter who ends up going to the Salvatore school after the death of her parents, and is eventually adopted by rye and ty. She’s pretty angry, and has a lot of energy.

Jordan - my recently turned vampire child, doesn’t really want to face up to what they are yet.

Charmed 1998

Poppy halliwell - adoptive halliwell sister, is definitely on board being a witch in the beginning. Isn’t really to concerned with having a normal life.

Sophie wicker - exists in a separate story from poppy. She’s a half demon half witch, and actually starts off as an antagonist trying to kill the charmed ones.

Charmed 2018

Max Vera - an adoptive Vera sister, she’s a secretive kid who loves her family, but doesn’t even know her biggest secret.

Cj (person of interest) - So my big thing with Cj is not saying anything about her, but I can give out that she used to be an assassin and is trying to atone for that in the story.

Bonus:

Dinah laurel Winchester- baby hunter, used to be a sociopath (it’s a magically given emotions thing), and I’ve only plotted 5/15 seasons for her.

Thank you for asking!

[heatherpayne]

Edgewood Challenge: Family Tree

From another perspective, the divorce was probably a long time coming, but for 7-year-old Heather, it was a complete shock that upended her world. After seeing how badly the divorce affected her, her parents decided to let Heather decide where she wanted to live rather than put her through a custody battle. Being only seven, Heather chose to leave the small town and move with her father to live near her family in Illinois, thinking about how Grandma Virginia Payne had a much bigger house than Mom and that she wouldn’t be from the weird family there.

This started a long trend of spending the school year with her father, and breaks and alternate holidays with her mother.

Imogene Morrison

Relationship: Mother

Species: Witch

Status: Deceased, DOD: June 17, 2016

Heather’s mother was as caring as any mother should be, and Heather was fairly close with her in her childhood. Heather could see how she was hardworking and serious, traits she admired and took after, but her mother also was always going on about magic. For a young child though, that was a fun and exciting world to explore, except that children at school made fun of her if she tried to share anything about it, and then she would be reminded that she came from one of the “weird” families in town. It could be hard to hide a coven in a town of 2,500 in the hills of Northeast Tennessee. But Imogene cared a lot about Heather keeping up the family tradition and embracing her birthright. This started as an annoyance, but became a point of contention between mother and daughter in her teenage years. 

After the split, Heather only saw her mother on school holidays, but even that time dwindled as Heather settled into her new life. She was happier in Illinois than she had been in Tennessee, and had no plans of staying south for long periods of time. Sure, she missed her mother when away and did enjoy seeing her, but as she grew up she pushed her mother away, wanting to chart her own path.

Imogene was ecstatic when her daughter called her, saying that she had manifested an active power. Heather just wanted to know how to keep it under wraps, but it only incited her mom to push her more to join the coven and embrace her magical heritage. Heather only became more and more reluctant to practice magic, never really learning from her mother how to wield her power, just how to mostly stop it.

It sure didn’t help their relationship that a small part of Heather always blamed her mother and her obsession with magic on the divorce. Once Heather was grown, she came to realize that she had been placing too much of the blame on her mother. Now that she was an adult and free, she reached out more to her mother, calling once a month but not making efforts to meet in person.

Heather had an amicable but still somewhat distance relationship with her mother when she passed. Heather felt immensely guilty for how much of her childhood she had spent shunning her own mother. Her brutal realization that life and relationships could be cut so short helped push her to reconnect with the rest of her mother’s side of the family and learn about the magic she loved so much. 

Arthur Payne 

Relationship: Father 

Species: Human

Status: Alive 

Heather had always been a daddy’s girl, even before the split. Arthur Payne was as no-nonsense as his daughter, but he also shared her sense of humor and love for sarcasm. He was the one who taught her to swim--which became her passion in high school when she joined the swim team--as well as how to ride a bike. Arthur was very supportive of Heather’s academic pursuits, though he did push her towards a more medical career like he had as a doctor. Heather was glad she decided against med school, but her father had taught her some good lessons for her own first aid.

His influence helped dissuade Heather from magic. Arthur tried to not so obviously show his disdain for magic, knowing how important it was for his wife, but he just couldn’t handle that world. His dislike of magic became more outward once he and Heather moved away to northern Illinois, but eventually magic faded from the discussions of the household. Arthur liked having his daughter around, but he never meant to distance her from her own mother over magic. 

Arthur knows what Heather is doing now, seeking revenge for her mother and aunt, but he does not at all approve, both on a moral ground against revenge and out of worry for his daughter’s safety. He keeps begging her to return to school, saying that this has gone on long enough and even offering to pay for the rest of her degree. Heather refuses until she can finish her mission, but she does keep in touch with her father, making sure to call him every week. 

Maria Colt-Payne

Relationship:Stepmother

Species: Human

Status: Alive

Arthur Payne waited almost five years from the split with Imogene Morrison to move on to another relationship, and none got very serious until he met Maria Colt. She was a fairly successful paralegal and so very human--normal. 

Heather probably needed more mother figures in her life, but when Arthur married Maria she was already 17 and had one foot out the door. Maria was always nice to her, but she definitely was not looking for a daughter. The two talk at family gatherings, and Heather asks after her sometimes when talking to her father, but they aren’t close. 

Ingrid Morrison

Relationship: Aunt 

Species: Witch

Status: Deceased, DOD: December 2, 2016

Aunt Ingrid had always been a bit eccentric. Heather had fun with her as a kid, but she was always too free-spirited for Heather to take seriously.  Ingrid would spoil her niece and take her on little adventures camping and exploring the woods, but that contact dwindled once Heather moved away and started maturing. They still had a yearly camping trip up until Heather went to college, but Heather didn’t make a concerted effort to talk to her regularly even as she tried to talk to her mother Imogene a bit more. Ingrid had never been one for schedules anyways, which irked Heather. 

Ingrid wanted Heather to learn magic just as much as her mother did, but since she wasn’t her mother, Heather didn’t feel as pressured by it. Ingrid came at magic from a much more emotional angle than Heather did, but she understood that difference and was the one who showed Heather how potion making could be approached more precisely like the chemistry she loved. 

Heather came back to her aunt after her mother died. After learning about the hunter and the threat still posed to the coven and herself, Heather allowed her aunt to take her under her wing and learn magic again, this time with full concentration. Ingrid and the coven helped her learn how to fully harness her active power and be a witch to the fullest. In spite of the pain from her mother’s death, Heather was feeling happier and more whole from reconnecting with her sister, but that tie was soon to be violently cut as well. 

Sorrel Morrison 

Relationship: Maternal Cousin

Species: Witch

Status: Deceased , DOD: December 2, 2016

There was too big of an age gap for Heather to be close with either of her cousins on her mom’s side, so she mostly saw them from babysitting or when they came on the camping trips with Ingrid and Heather. To Heather, they were just little annoyances who were in the way, but once they all grew older she stopped being so passive-aggressive towards them. Sorrel is 6 years younger than Heather, and Rosemary is 8. Neither of them know who their father is.  

Sorrel inherited his mother’s active power of premonitions, so he has always bonded with her over that. Sorrel was a natural at witchcraft and took his heritage very seriously. The witches of the coven doted on him even when he reached adulthood. He often taunted Heather that he was better at magic, which irked her not because she cared about magic but because she had to be the best at everything. 

Sorrel was in the house with his mother and the other coven members during the fire and he did not make it. 

Rosemary Whitlock née Morrison

Relationship: Maternal Cousin

Species: Witch

Status: Alive

Heather really feels like she won out in the naming department, even if she did get stuck in the herb naming theme like her cousins and had an old-fashioned middle name. She could not have survived with such a girly-girl name as Rosemary, but her cousin fits it well. 

Rosemary never had any intersecting interests or values as Heather, so she mostly ignored her cousin once she no longer needed to be babysat. She also ditched the camping trips any time the opportunity arose. Rosemary wanted to be more involved in magic, but she never manifested an active power and always sat in her brother’s shadow. She held resentment towards Heather for having an active power but never using it. Rosemary still worked hard at magic and went to coven events out of a sense of duty to her family. 

Rosemary was off at East Tennessee State University when the incident occurred. She was understandably devastated by the loss of her family. The last time that Heather saw her was at the funeral, where Rosemary yelled at her that this was her fault and she wished that Heather had died instead. Heather feels that guilt very strongly. 

Heather only knows from Facebook that Rosemary married her college boyfriend and moved a few counties over. She has a young son named Sorrel.

Emma Harris

Relationship: Paternal Cousin 

Species: Human

Status: Alive

Heather’s father came from a big family, being one of 5 kids, so she also has lots of cousins on his side to boot--a grand total of twelve, ranging greatly in age from 21 to 43 with Heather pretty much stuck in the middle. Jenna and Lewis babysat Heather some when she was younger, and she had had some fun times playing with little Tommy and Jackson. Darius and Katy were always a little mean to Heather to be honest. But Emma was always the one she was closest to. 

Emma went to the same school as Heather and was a grade above her, so they never had classes together and didn’t share all of the same friends. Still, they hung out a lot and considered each other good friends. Heather told Emma things that she didn’t tell many others, and Emma supported her like a sister. Heather did try to tell her once in middle school about magic, but Emma just laughed it off so Heather never brought it up again. 

They still keep in contact, while Heather only talks to any other cousins at family gatherings or to wish Happy Birthday on Facebook. All of Heather’s extended family thinks she is in Wisconsin for the university or a job, knowing how career driven she is. Now that she is only a state over, her uncles and grandparents have been bugging her to come visit more, but last year she missed Thanksgiving from hunting down a lead. 

[incendiaglacies]

Fic: Truth Comes Out

Title: Truth Comes Out

A future fic set in the Roommates verse I have with @agentmarymargaretskitz​. At some point we might just make a Raising Jemma series!

Summary: Jemma just wants to know why Jonas doesn’t call their Mommy as such. Oh the joys of babysitting! 

Word Count: 1K

Jemma picked at her grilled cheese and looked up at her brother. “Jonas, why don’t you call Mommy, Mommy? Don’t you like her?”

Jonas placed his own lunch down and leaned back in his chair. Well, seeing as his dad and Gideon were out it seemed it had fallen on him to break the news to his sister. “Well, Jemma, I guess you’re old enough now. The truth is, you were adopted.”

“Was not!” the six year old cried.

“Oh, no, it’s true.” Jonas nodded his head emphatically. “Adopted. In fact, truth is, Dad just found you on the side of the road. In a cornfield. Brought you home for Gideon. They thought you were an alien so they kept you for scientific discovery.”

“Jonas! You big meanie!” She curled her hand into a fist and hit his arm, ignoring his cries of pain. “I’m not! I’m not!” Her face puckered up, turning red as she started screaming and tears streaked down her face. 

“Ow! Jemma? Jemma, okay, okay, I’m sorry, Jems!” He pulled his little sister into his lap and tried to console her sobbing. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You’re not adopted. You are the daughter of Rip and Gideon Hunter. But I’m not.”

“You’re adopted?” Jemma pulled back and looked at him with big eyes.

Jonas chuckled and shook his head. “No, but Gideon isn’t my mother. That’s why I call her Gideon. Dad was married to my mommy before your mommy, understand?”

“But that means you’re not my brother!” Jemma started another round of tears. Even more desperate than the time they tried to explain to her that Jonas had to go to college and no, she couldn’t stowaway into his suitcase. He rubbed her back and shushed her.

“I am your brother. Always, Jemma.” The big brother badge was one he wore with pride. Sure, a cat or dog would have been nice too, but he made do with a little sister. “I’m your half brother, because we share a dad, but not a mom.”

“But then you’re not my real brother!”

“Yes, I am,” he said strictly, leaving no room for argument.

“So you don’t love Mommy?”

“I love Gideon very much, I’ve known her since I was about your age. Her and all the Aunties and Uncles,” Jonas explained. “But she’s my step mother. I can’t replace my mom, Jemma. Could you replace yours?” Jemma shook her head at him. “Well, there you go.”

“What happened to your Mommy?”

“My Mommy and Daddy got divorced when I was very little. Younger than you even.”

“What’s divorce?”

“Well, that’s when two parents decide they don’t love each other as much anymore. Or rather, they love each other still very much, and their child even more, but they just can’t get along and live together anymore,” Jonas explained, using the same tactics his own parents had used when they sat him down to tell him the truth. Not that it had helped much at the time. “It means that I had to live with my Dad and visit my Mom maybe once a month. That I was basically like a toy for them to fight over in custody battles. That they could never decide how to spend my birthday. And holidays were just a mess,” Jonas remembered bitterly. Growing up had apparently taken more of a toll on him then he realized. Or maybe he just became cynical like his dad. “But, it also meant I got twice as many presents and cookies when my Mom visited and she took me to lots of cool places.”

Jemma nodded along. “Are my Mommy and Daddy going to get divorced?” she whispered in a scared voice.

Jonas’ eyes widened. Why was he left to answer all the existential questions? He wasn’t the parent! “I don’t know Jemma,” he said honestly. “I wish I could tell you yes or no, but I never thought my Mom and Dad would get divorced.” Even if he could barely remember a time when they were together. “But I do know they love each other very, very much and and love you even more. They would do anything to keep you safe and happy. So would I. Is that good enough for you?”

Jemma nodded. “Jonas, who’s your Mommy?”

He laughed softly. “You’ve met her, Jemma. She’s Aunt Mandy.” She had been given the moniker because Jemma, like Jonas, found Miranda to be a mouthful to say.

“Aunt Mandy’s your Mommy?” Jemma asked, wide-eyed. “I thought she was Mommy’s friend.”

“They are friends now. But a very, very long time ago, she and Daddy were married.”

“Oooooh.” Jemma pulled out the vowel as she nodded in understanding. Jonas smiled at her adorableness. Maybe little sisters were better than a pet.

“Any other questions?”

“You’re still my brother?”

“Always and forever,” he promised.

“No, then.” She didn’t care as long as Jonas was still her brother. That was all that mattered to her.

“Okay. Then why don’t you go on and finish your grilled cheese, okay?”

“Okay.” Jemma happily scooted off his lap and back to her chair to munch on her grilled cheese. Jonas sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back in his own chair. He really had to start charging for babysitting if she kept this up. Honestly, this was worse than the time Jonas had wanted to know where babies came from!

[qqueenofhades]

alone, i fight these animals [alone, until i get home]: ii

I.... have no clue if this qualifies as a proper multichapter, but I discovered myself wanting to do a second part to this, so that is what I did. It was mostly an excuse to write some Frank/Madani and Frank/Matt frenemy BROTP, because I have a need for that.

If this turns into a real fic, I will post it on AO3. I have no idea at this point, and have not actually done something sensible like plotting it out, but yes.

The engine dies with a rumble, as Frank switches it off and leans back in the driver’s seat, watching the docklands with a wary eye. The car is an old beater of a Chevy, outwardly indistinguishable from any other low-slung growler that might be cruising around here, but he doesn’t go to meetings like this without enough horsepower to make a fast getaway. Frank modified it himself and keeps it in the garage with the battle van, which luckily he hasn’t had to bust out for a while, and it’s a little less eye-catching than that big black beast. Serves the same purpose, though. He tends to change up the paint job, add or remove accessories. Doesn’t want to get distinctive, identifiable.

He’s said that he’ll be here for ten minutes exactly and then he’ll leave, so Madani, if she’s coming, better be fuckin’ punctual. He doesn’t know that he trusts her to look like anything other than a federal agent rolling up to a clandestine meet with a confidential informant, but she must have climbed the ladder by not being an idiot. There’s still the chance that she’s going to spring handcuffs on him for that scene the other night, but Frank doesn’t think so. She needs his help with catching the rest of the ring, whether or not she’ll admit it. That’s the reason for this. Everything else is brass tacks and haggling.

It’s minute seven and forty-three seconds when Madani, having apparently decided that she doesn’t want to time their arrivals to coincide exactly, but conscious of the deadline, turns in. Frank can’t tell it’s her at first, which is a good sign, but does make him reach momentarily for his gun. Then the other car parks with a crunch of gravel, a slight figure in a jacket, hooded grey sweatshirt, and jeans gets out, and strolls across the icy pavement to his. He clicks the door to unlock it, and Madani ducks into the passenger seat, wrinkling her nose. “You ever heard of Febreze, Castle?”

“Don’t think you came here to complain that my shit stinks, huh?” Frank glances at her, trying to judge her temperament for being difficult. Her dark curls wave out of the hood, she probably has her badge clipped right under her sweatshirt, and he can just feel her longing to brandish it in his face. “Or if that’s your opening line, you already know you’re backed into a corner, and you need to act like you can throw your weight around before you ask for a favor.”

Madani gives him a searing look. “I have no idea why I came here.”

“You asked for it.” Frank leans back in the seat, hands behind his head. “And I think we’re past you pullin’ rank on me, acting all fuckin’ superior, aren’t we?”

Madani chews that over for several moments, which means she can’t dispute it. “Fine,” she says at last. “I still don’t necessarily think you’re a good man, Frank, but you don’t give a rat’s ass whether I think that or not, and in this job, you don’t get the luxury of working with Mother Teresa all the time. You were, admittedly, effective with breaking the pedophile ring. We did run some diagnostics on their computers, and we have more names.”

Frank snorts – breaking the pedophile ring is the most goddamn government-jargony way he has ever heard to say blew their fucking brains out, and he used to work for an actual black-ops hit squad. “You’re welcome,” he says, since she’d probably choke on it. “Told you.”

“Yeah, all right, fine.” Madani waves an irritated hand. “Anyway, there has been a lot of red tape in the office recently, bullshit with the budget, obsession with going after softer targets. You know this administration and the kind of people it thinks are a threat. So – ”

“And you, as Special Agent in Charge, don’t always agree with the strings they pull to make you dance?” Frank could gloat over this a little more, but there will be time for that later. “Going rogue? You want to talk to me because you know I get results, when those dickheads just sit there with their thumbs up their ass and do jackshit to actually help?”

“Something like that.” It’s clear that Madani has plenty of frustrations, whether or not she’s going to let on to him. “I still believe in our institutions, no matter who’s running them, but it’s true that things are taking a… turn right now, and I’m under a lot of scrutiny. If I can’t even push through an operation to take a bunch of child abusers off the street, then…” She trails off. “I still don’t know whether to thank you for that or not, by the way. They’re dead, but it looks like I blew it and once again, a vigilante had to wipe the U.S. government’s ass. They want an excuse to fire me, Frank. I’m asking you to help not give them one.”

Frank takes that in without answering, He can guess that Madani is too female and too ethnic to make the douchebags of record very comfortable; as the daughter of Iranian immigrants, even a thoroughly Americanized one, these chickenshits are constantly going to be looking for an excuse to pull the trigger, so to speak. And if Madani goes, whatever tenuous protection he has from DHS reopening his case goes as well. There are plenty of assholes jockeying to take over her chair, and all of them would love to make a big splash by catching the Punisher. Normally, Frank thinks, they bend over fuckin’ backwards to defend white men with guns, but not when he won’t play ball with you. That’s different.

“Fine,” he says. “And to save your ass, you’re the one here asking for more help from me. What do you think I’m going to do?”

“I can transmit the intelligence to you,” Madani says. “Names, aliases, assets, last known whereabouts, everything the analysts have managed to piece together. These guys are nasty, Frank, they aren’t just making kiddie videos on the Deep Web. They’ve got a lot of other interests, and all of them are equally bad. I need you to track them down.”

“And?” Frank stares at her, one eyebrow cocked. “What do you think I’m gonna do next? Give them fuckin’ milk and cookies?”

“Of course not.” Madani sounds exasperated. “You really think I don’t know what you do, Frank? But as it happens, yes, I’m asking you not to kill them. Track them down, capture them, hurt them if you have to, but don’t kill them. I need them, I need them physically to show the brass and to prove that I succeeded. After that, all the stuff they’re in, the prosecutors can probably push for the death penalty. They’ll die one way or another, if that’s what you want. But if I don’t get them alive, it all falls apart.”

“I’m not a goddamn bounty hunter,” Frank snaps. “I’m a killer. I don’t take prisoners, Madani. I’m supposed to – what, get on a plane with these assholes tied up in a line behind me? If you’re asking me to go outside the rules and get them, you want them dead.”

“It’s not like I’m defending them!” Madani barks back. “I know they’re terrible! But if they just die mysteriously, I have pretty much no shot at keeping my job, and then there are going to be people looking for you, Frank. Looking for you and Karen. How much do you want to risk that? It seems like you’re a little more settled these days. Have something to lose.”

“You threatening me?” Frank whirls on her. “You threatening me, huh?”

“No.” Madani, to her credit, keeps her composure, though her nostrils flare. “I’m warning you. If I’m not in charge of DHS, it’ll look for you. Whoever you’re with is going to come into the firing line too. I’m sure you don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Frank doesn’t answer, though his finger twitches so violently that his entire hand jumps on his thigh. Goddamn it, Madani. She has his balls in a fuckin’ vise, has him bent over a barrel, and the worst thing is that she probably knows it. He can’t play games with Karen’s safety, even if every one of his natural instincts is to just cap the bastards in the head and call it a day. Madani needs them alive for her little stage play, and Frank – whether or not he wants to admit it – needs Madani where she is right now. It’s at least in some part due to her that he can walk around New York as a free man, even one ostensibly called Pete Castiglione. That’s a flimsy alias, and any digging, or anyone even looking too long at his face and a newspaper front page, would be able to piece it together. If he wants to keep this life, whatever it is, he can’t just charge in, blow shit up, and charge out. He needs to be strategic about this. Long-term. Fuck.

“So what?” he growls at last. “You give me the intel, I track down these bastards, I give them to you for a Christmas present? You do Christmas?”

“Yeah.” Madani rubs under her eyes with both fingers. “My parents thought it was an important part of an American upbringing. Any other questions?”

“And after you show them to the bosses, you check whatever godforsaken boxes you have to check, you prove you’ve run the operation, they die.” Frank is willing to help her, if it contributes to keeping Karen safe, but he isn’t going to budge on that point. “They don’t get some cushy life in protected custody. You’re going to arrange it somehow that they die, and I don’t mean waiting ten years on death row. Got it?”

Madani’s cheeks flush a dull red. “I really don’t want to be an accomplice to extrajudicial murder, Frank. No matter how terrible they are.”

“Well, that’s what makes you and me different.” Frank grins mirthlessly. “Besides, you play your cards right, it doesn’t stick to you. You know you’re taking a hell of a chance here, don’t you? All these under-the-table arrangements with me come out, you’re finished one way or the other. But you think you can do it on your own, you’re welcome to run back to your department and sign all your paperwork and follow procedure. Have fun.”

The silence is briefly and overpoweringly enormous. Then Madani says, “Fuck you, Frank.”

“Take that as a no?” It’s starting to get chilly in the car, with the engine off and the temperature below freezing, and Frank blows on his hands. “No, you can’t do it alone?”

“I obviously would not be here if I thought things were going well on my end.” Madani sounds like she would prefer to have her fingernails ripped out rather than admit it, but she doesn’t have a lot to lose now. “Obviously, I’m sure I can trust you to total discretion. If you need money or something else, I can arrange it. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I can handle money.” They’re obviously not living on Karen’s newspaper/paralegal salary alone, and David gave him a nice chunk of change a while ago, which is kept in a bank in the Caymans. “But last time one of us sent the other some kind of sensitive information – when David sent you the Zubair video – we know what fuckin’ happened next. If anything, if any bit of this, catches up to Karen in any way, we’re done, Madani. We’re done. I will rip anyone who comes after her to fucking pieces, and I don’t give a shit if they’ve got a government badge or not. I’ll help you stay in DHS if DHS is going to mind its goddamn business. But if you get some other kind of conspiracy going, anything like Rollins, I’m warning you right now. I will kill all of you. I am not fucking joking.”

Madani takes that without answering, though her lips tighten. “I’m aware,” she says at last. “You’re a loose cannon, Frank, but we want the same things, the same people taken down. Let’s start there. You let me handle my end of the BS, I let you handle yours. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Frank grumbles, even though he still has plenty of misgivings. Maybe he should leave, should move out and get his own place somewhere, even if he doesn’t want to move back into that goddamn basement with David again. It feels like it’s too unforgivably dangerous to keep living with Karen, but letting her alone is even worse. Jesus. “Send me the information and be careful with it. I’ll maybe talk to Lieberman, see if he wants to help, but he’s got his family back. I’m also telling you now, nothing happens to Sarah and those kids. They’ve been through enough. See to it.”

Madani pauses, then nods. They reach out, shake hard enough as if trying to break each other’s fingers, and then she jerks the door open and climbs out, striding back to her car. Frank scans to see if anyone’s parked on a rooftop or has been loitering too long by the underpass, but their meeting looks to have been unobserved. He swears again under his breath and switches back on the engine, firing up the heater, and waits until Madani’s car has vanished down the alley before he throws the Chevy into reverse and peels out in the other direction. Well, that was a whole bunch of shit, and he doesn’t even know how far he’s already dug himself into it. Maybe if he had just left it alone to start with and never went after the ring, but that’s more than he was prepared to countenance. Makes him see red every time he thinks about it. Frank doesn’t see himself as some kind of sainted protector of the city. Far from it. But he was born in Long Island, he grew up here, he left for the first time at age eighteen on his first deployment, and while he’s been plenty of places since, there’s still something about New York that has a hold on him, broken and blackened and painful as it’s become. He loves this place, even if it hates him. He wasn’t letting them live in it.

Frank guns it down the service road back to the main thoroughfare, turns out, and drives back to the out-of-the-way garage where he keeps this car and the battle van. He pulls in, unlocks the chain link fence, rolls through, and parks, then can’t help searching for any signs of intrusion or forced entry. He has no idea who he would expect to be here, if anyone, but that long-ingrained urge to look over your shoulder, to check your six, that never goes away. Madani said the pedos had plenty more nasty friends. Could be any one of them.

Everything, however, looks ordinary. Frank makes a note to ask David for some more cameras, keep more of an eye on this place from afar, and wonders if he can really ask him to strap back on and wade into the shit again. David isn’t a soldier, and he got involved in this to start with to clear his name and be reunited with his family. He got that. Not much incentive to risk them all over again, much as he might personally want to help Frank out or feel indebted to him. Frank has some tech know-how, but he’s probably overall comparable to David trying to fire an AK-47. In other words, totally fucked.

Frank thinks that the lack of a partner has never bothered him before, the fewer people he can involve in this low-level shitstorm the better, and he’ll work out what he needs to. Having finished his sweep, he locks up, battens down, and catches a bus into midtown, briefly tempted to stop by Nelson, Murdock, and Page just to make Foggy choke on his tongue. Stroll in and bring Karen lunch, just because. But now, he wants to be cautious about going straight from a meetup with Madani to the office. He hasn’t told Karen about this new wrinkle yet, and he still doesn’t know whether he should. Probably. They just had a fight about it, and he can’t just disappear for days or weeks without an explanation. It’s always easier to do this work when you have no one to account yourself to, but he can’t lose her.

Still coming up with no apparent solution to his dilemma, Frank buys a hot dog from a sidewalk cart and sits on a park bench to eat it, scattering the remains of his bun to a flock of ravenous pigeons when he’s done. It’s cold but clear, New York running around and getting ready for Christmas, and he once more feels that impulse, that wish that he could kick back and enjoy it. But who knows. Who fuckin’ knows.

Frank sits there a moment more, then growls, “Shit.” This doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t even really make him feel better, but it’s an acceptable reaction to what he has to do. David is a glib son of a bitch who’s great with a keyboard – and has admittedly saved Frank’s ass a couple times – but if this is going to come down to brass-knuckle diplomacy, which it almost assuredly will, Frank needs someone who can fight, who is just as annoyingly dedicated to getting bad guys off the street and out of New York, and is equally insane enough to keep running full speed into punches. Yeah, they have some pretty major philosophical oppositions, but still. This looks like a two-vigilante job, at fuckin’ least, and besides. Maybe they should be, you know. Friends. For Karen’s sake.

Frank swears again, then pulls out his phone, scrolls through it to “R,” and hits the number. He swiped it from Karen’s, and the recipient doesn’t know he has it, so this is going to be a surprise, and could of course horribly backfire. But he waits a few more moments until it’s answered. “Murdock.”

“Uh.” Frank blows out a breath. “Hey, Red.”

There is a very long silence on the other end, as Frank realizes that they’ve never had an actual conversation where he’s made it clear he knows the deal. But come on. He ain’t fuckin’ stupid. (Plenty of people would disagree, but nearly all of them are dead.) He sat up there on that rooftop with Red yammering at him, then he sat in court with Murdock going on just as annoyingly, he put two and two together. He’s always acted like he didn’t know, just because Red has a bug up his ass about the secret identity shit, and besides, Karen knows, Karen told him anyway. Not that Frank would say that, because he figured it out himself, and he’s not gonna throw her under the bus if Murdock gets pissy. Well, this is already fun.

“Frank,” Matt says at last, sounding… well, let’s just say, not goddamn thrilled. “Why are you calling me?”

This is a fair question, and Frank hunts for some kind of explanation that won’t immediately make him hang up. “Karen’s fine, Karen’s fine,” he says, in case that’s what Matt thinks would be the only reason to make him get in touch. “Not any of that. I actually had a suggestion. For some work. If you were interested.”

“Work?” Matt sounds leery. “What the hell kind of work, exactly?”

“The kind you and me both do, Red. Take some bad people off the streets.”

“I didn’t realize you – ” Matt starts, then stops. “I didn’t know you… knew.”

“Yeah, well, we already established you were a dense motherfucker.” Frank switches the phone to the other shoulder, even as it belatedly occurs to him that maybe he shouldn’t be insulting the guy whose help he is, regrettably, asking for. “You were my goddamn lawyer, think I don’t know how you talk?”

There is another mulish silence as he can hear Matt chewing over that, wanting to ask how long he’s known, if he’s told anyone else, all that. Murdock might be tangentially aware that Frank and Karen are knocking boots, but does not want to have to actually refer to it in any capacity, and Frank is tempted to make a smart remark on that topic, just cuz. But he’s not going to be a dick to Karen, even in absentia, to score a couple cheap macho asshole points on a blind lawyer in a Halloween costume. Instead he says, “You want to know more or not?”

“Does this involve murdering the bad people? Because if so, you know I can’t agree to that.”

“Jesus, Red. They’re about as bad as you can get, even you don’t want to hand-hold these bastards and take them to Sunday school. I can send you the details once I get ‘em, but either way, they need to be stopped. Doing some fucked-up shit, a lot of fucked-up shit, actually. So?”

“Fine,” Matt growls, as Frank figured he eventually would. “Let me know the intel whenever you get it.”

“You need some Braille shit or something?” Frank asks. “Or you have something that reads your email for you?”

“I got through Columbia Law, you know I’m not actually an idiot. Just send it, I’ll work on it from there.” Matt pauses. “You told Karen about this?”

Frank feels like Matt Murdock is the least qualified individual to give anyone advice on this subject whatsoever, especially about this woman, and it’s only with difficulty that he bites himself back from something designed to cut. “No,” he says. “Not yet.”

It’s hard to tell what Matt thinks of that, especially over the phone. Then he says, “Obviously, I think the one thing we can agree on is that we don’t want this to spill over onto her. So whatever we’re chasing here, we need to keep her safe.”

Frank knows that wanting to keep Karen out of this has worked exactly like jackshit in the past, and he knows too that she’s strong and capable and no wilting hothouse flower, would probably shoot some of the dicks herself if she had half a chance. But he understands what Matt’s saying, given that he just outright threatened Madani to be sure none of this touched Karen, and doesn’t want to torpedo their alliance at this preliminary stage. “Yeah,” he grunts. “She stays out of it, much as we can. That’s not a problem. Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Matt says. “You’re still a total asshole.”

“Get that a lot.” It is not, Frank feels, entirely inaccurate, even as he rolls his eyes, because Christ, it’s rich coming from this prick. “Talk to you later, Red.”

With that, feeling as if it’s better to get out of there before things go any more south, he hangs up and stares at the phone, not sure he feels a whole lot better. He’ll go to the safe house tonight, where David still keeps his computers and surveillance setups, since that’s where Madani will be transmitting the information, and Frank likes to periodically check for signs of interference anyway. He gets up, chucks the hot dog paper tray away, and heads out. Takes a different route than he did in. Gets off a stop too early, and doubles back a few times. Once he’s finally satisfied that nobody followed him, he reaches the safe house, unlocks the chains, and heads inside. They’re not actually living in this shithole anymore, thank God, but it still gives him a momentary shudder.

Frank switches on the monitors, scans his retina, and waits until everything has booted up. There are about five passwords he has to enter before he can access the message that there’s a new file waiting for him, and he approves; Micro doesn’t fuck around with cyber security, especially given that there’s gotta be a lot of fishing for this. It’s a plaintext ASCII file, scrubbed of all identifiable electronic traces, and Frank pauses, then clicks to open it. It’s a list of names, social security numbers, addresses, email and phone numbers, known aliases and associations, everything that DHS has pulled from the servers on the remaining members of the pedophile ring. A separate file contains any mugshots on record, grainy jpegs, or driver’s license photos or anything else on public record.

Frank plugs in an encrypted flash drive, types more passwords to unlock it, and transfers everything onto it. He considers sending some kind of acknowledgement back to Madani that he got the information, but she can probably fuckin’ guess, and he doesn’t want to leave too many digital fingerprints. He checks that the files have copied over correctly and haven’t glitched, then deletes all the originals and clears every kind of cache he can think of. Obviously, he doesn’t think anyone is going to be in here working over these machines, and good luck getting through David’s firewalls, but better safe than sorry.

Having finished the retrieval, Frank figures the best way to hand the information over to Matt is probably in person – maybe he can drop by tonight after dark, see if Red wants to slap on that stupid fuckin’ horned helmet and they can go right away. Some of these bastards still have to be in town, right? They can’t all have made it out of New York. They’ll have guessed it’s too dangerous to travel under their real names, with an APB out for them, and fake identities take at least a little time to process, even if they have a good hookup. Try to stay hidden and wait for the smoke to blow over, feel like moving’s more dangerous. Frank’s counting on that, anyway, but if they’re backed into a corner, this won’t be pretty.

Frank pauses, then ejects the flash drive, puts it into a zippered pocket on his jacket, and powers everything down. He locks up, leaves everything as he found it, and heads out. It’s getting on in the afternoon by now, the day short and chill, and he wonders if Karen’s heading back to the Liebermans’ place tonight. At least it will keep her distracted from wondering where he is, but it admittedly feels a little like cheating. He should tell her, right? They’re trying to do that now. Not everything, maybe, but more.

Dusk is falling over the city by the time Frank makes it back to central Manhattan, a few stops more on the subway, and steps out into Hell’s Kitchen, which looks beautiful at this hour, all the lights coming on and Christmas trees glowing in windows and people hurrying by eager to be somewhere warm. Frank’s breath steams in the chill as he walks up to the apartment, lets himself in, and heads upstairs. Karen should be home by now. He’ll do it, he promises, he will maybe even ask her help. She’s a goddamn good journalist, she’s like a dog with a fuckin’ bone. She’ll gnaw and gnaw until she finds out whatever she needs to. But if he does that, he makes her a legitimate target, and when he’s promised himself this is the last one, the last mission, before he really settles down and tries to make a new life with her, he can’t quite shake the fear. Everyone knows what happens to the cop who takes this one last job before he’s supposed to retire, or whatever. He always gets killed.

The apartment, however, is dark and quiet, and it doesn’t look like Karen’s there. Frank wonders if he should call, just in case, but he doesn’t want to act like her goddamn babysitter; she’s a grown woman, she can look out for herself. Still, the ever-present prickle of anxiety whenever he doesn’t 100% know that she’s safe is difficult to dispel, he has often had reason to pay attention to this instinct, and he groans, pulls out his phone, and hits her number. Just pick up, Karen, Jesus Christ. Don’t give me a fuckin’ heart attack.

She doesn’t; it goes over to voicemail.  Frank hangs up, reminds himself there are plenty of non-nefarious reasons for this, and struggles not to immediately jump to the conclusion that she’s been kidnapped by a lot of angry perverts and they’re holding her for ransom – or worse – against the death of their fellows. He rubs both hands over his face. It’s not that far to Red’s place from here. Ten-minute walk, less if he runs.

Frank gets together a decent selection of guns, throws them into his bag with extra boxes of ammo, straps a nine-millimeter to his ankle holster, and shoves his Ka-Bar into its sheath at his hip. Then, with a final look around, and wondering if he should just get David to install a tracking device on Karen’s phone (he did once tell David that Sarah would cut his nuts off if she discovered the Lieberman house spy cameras, but still), he heads back out. He jogs down the stairwell, and emerges into the chilly evening, glancing around once more just in case the subway was late or something and Karen’s getting home now. Jesus, this relationship shit is stressful. Can’t deal with his heart always walking around somewhere else again. Especially when that heart is as feisty and independent and fuckin’ reckless as Karen. He isn’t the right man to tell anyone to take a goddamn chill pill, but jeez.

It’s eight minutes later when Frank reaches Matt’s street, turns in, and leaps up the steps two or three at a time, reaching the hallway and banging on the door of his apartment. He better be in, or Frank’s really gonna have a problem, and indeed, Matt jerks it open a moment later.  “Frank? What the hell? I thought you were going to send an email.”

“Plans changed.” Frank shifts tensely from foot to foot. “Look, throw on your pajamas and your fuckin’ hat with the horns, huh, Red? Let’s go, yeah?”

Matt raises both eyebrows. After a moment he says, “Your heart rate’s off the charts. What’s wrong? Are you sure Karen’s okay? Frank, Jesus, you know I don’t like this, whatever it is, with you two, but if you can’t even look after her – ”

“Yeah, because what we really needed was your goddamn opinion.” Frank clenches both fists, reminds himself that he has no solid evidence that anything is awry at all, and takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. A soldier who runs into the middle of a fight frantic and haywire and not focused usually gets shot in the first few seconds, and he’s definitely not letting Matt see (or whatever, echolocate, he doesn’t know exactly how all that works) him at less than his best. “We can probably get to some of these assholes tonight, that’s all. Checked the addresses, a dozen of ‘em live in a ten-block radius in Queens. I take one half, you take the other, we could close the book. You up for it or no?”

Matt hesitates. It’s clear that his first instinct is also to rush in and take on the baddies, even if he is leery about doing it with Frank. At last he says, “If you’re putting Karen in danger, you know the right thing to do would be to walk away.”

Frank starts to say something, then stops. It’s worse that he’s had that idea himself, that he keeps having the impulse to bail out and disappear and never be seen again, but if that’s what Matt thinks he should do, well, it’s clearly wrong. Same guy who lied to Karen for months and months, keeps dropping out of her life and then reappearing and expecting that things will just be the goddamn same between them, jerking her around and causing her heartache and worry and still too unable to realize that there’s a cost to living this way, there’s a cost. Frank isn’t gonna judge Matt on the vigilante thing, though for goddamn sure he judges him on a lot of others. He knows that compulsion to do what you know is right, no matter if anyone else understands it that way or not. But he’s never been under any illusions that it’s compatible with a normal life, with keeping people in it, with thinking they’ll see it the same way and you can just split into two halves, two halves that will always stay separate from the other. He called Matt on it before. Was it you that did those things, or was it the mask?

“Yeah,” Frank says. “I didn’t come here for your bullshit romantic advice, Red. You can help me or not, but either way, I’m going.”

Matt once more starts to respond, then stops. “Still not sure when you worked out it was me.”

“Come on. First thing I ever said to you, when you walked into my hospital room, was that I knew who you were. You think I only meant your shitty fuckin’ law firm?”

Matt chews over that, and (wisely) decides not to rebut.  Finally he says, “Meet me in the alley. Five minutes.”

Frank rolls his eyes, guesses that there’s some mystique that has to be preserved, can’t see Murdock shimmying bare ass into his fancy long johns or whatever, and takes his leave. Five minutes later, he’s in the back alley as instructed, when Red leaps down in full devil glory and jerks his head. “Let’s go.”

They wend their way through the shadows, across some rooftops, then get a cab part of the way. Frank imagines that even this is not the weirdest thing the driver has seen in his life, waiting at a red light like everything’s normal with goddamn Daredevil and the Punisher sitting side by side in the backseat and determinedly not looking at each other, but it’s probably close. He does keep trying not to steal glances at them in the rearview mirror, though. Finally says, “You boys out for the evening?”

“Just drive,” Frank orders him. “Yeah?”

Wisely, the guy does so, reaches Queens in another fifteen minutes, and as they get out of the cab, Frank shucks out a big tip and hands it over with the fare. “Don’t need to tell you that you saw nothin’,” he reminds him. “So you keep your trap shut.”

“Yes, sir. Got it.” The driver takes the money and nods awkwardly. “Have a – good night.”

With that, he lays rubber getting out of there, Frank watches him go with a sardonic expression, and then hefts his bag of guns with a clunk. “This way,” he informs Matt. “Stay sharp. One of them had a .38 last time, and I’m guessing they’re waiting for someone to turn up and try to sic ‘em. Feds or otherwise.”

He can feel Matt wanting to say something about the guns, wanting to ask how they’re going to deal with this, exactly, or maybe sensing that if they’re going to split this half and half and make any success of it, they’re just going to have to turn a blind eye (literally) to what the other’s doing. Frank snaps the stock on his carbine into place, and glances ahead. There’s a light on, in the first floor of the somewhat seedy office park. That matches the intel, where they had another meet-up spot. If the pedos are in there now, Red better not get in his way.

He glances sidelong at his – for the moment – ally. Matt raises a hand, listens, then – whatever he hears, Frank can’t tell, but he’s deciding to trust it – nods once.

Time to go.

[robbiwrites717]

Master list of my Davekat fic recs. This is long so keep reading for the entire list. Also, unless a fic was explicit I included it on this list so be aware and still read the tags! I wanted to include my thoughts about each fic but it’s been well over a year since I read most of them and it would have been exhausting to read back through all of them so i just included the authors’ summaries instead. I have major respect for every fic and author on this list, seriously they’re amazing <3 Happy Reading 

A Bump in the Road - by leopharry - Daycare AU (teacher Karkat/gaurdian DAve/kid Dirk) - Ch 1/1 - 10260 words

After earning his Master's degree in education, Karkat can't find a teaching job, so Kanaya gets him a job as a toddler teacher at a daycare, much to his chagrin. Dirk is his quietest and most behaved student; in fact, Karkat has never heard him speak, and he's curious. What kind of person could raise such a child? And just how long will Karkat's patience last in a room full of two year olds?

Alpha Rats Nest - by sicklekind - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 9911 words

Dave and Karkat have a long overdue, late-night discussion about the upcoming final battle (and lots of other things, too). 

AMC Gremlin - by PeachBriseadh - Coffee Shop AU - Ch 1/1 - 2267 

A drive through window is probably not a good place to confess your feelings to the boy of your dreams, particularly when said dream boy is working it.

Apple Juice, Chips, and Bandages - by Weevilo707 - Humanstuck/Convenience Store AU- Ch 2/2 - 5338 words

Every time he comes in he gets the same three things. A bottle of apple juice, a bag of chips, and bandages.

Astronomy in Reverse - by PunkZucchini & sicklekind - Pen Pal AU - Ch 9/10 - 53857 words

Dave and Karkat are intergalactic pen pals, originally paired together for an extra credit school outreach project. Now, three years of correspondence later, they're best friends... and Karkat is finally immigrating to Earth.

Blood Dragon - by Corvid_Knight - Fantasy AU - Ch 8/8 - 11609 words

Fantasy-set homestuck AU in which Dave has a shit life, but he just managed to rescue a dragon...who also happens to be a nice guy. Now he's just got to keep his brother from finding out. Good luck with that, Dave.

Breathe - by Lilith_In_The_Garden - Highschool AU - Ch 31/? - 54700 words

Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools.Without your twin sister and best friend, you've been left socially crippled at school, and barely coping at home. You're nearly certain that your mental health has been slowly spiraling downhill. You have no clue how you'll last the year to high school graduation. In all this, there's just one single ray of light.Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools. Except for meeting Karkat Vantas.

Book Covers - by me ( cuz im an egotistical asshole) = College/Guardian AU- Ch 28/28 - 136611 words

Karkat has had a shitty life and has had to bust his ass for everything he has. He has no patience for spoiled, delusional, lazy people and this is exactly what he thinks Dave Strider is. They get paired up together for a project in their college English class and when Karkat accidently learns that Dave is fighting to keep custody of his younger brother Dirk, he learns that he may have been completely wrong about Dave and shouldn't have judged a book by it's cover. A story of two damaged boys coming to each others rescue and growing as people. <3

Broken - by Aurellyn - Pale Romance/Moirallegiance - Ch 1/1 - 18911 words

This has been an increasingly common occurrence recently. Maybe it’s because you’ve got so much time to just sit around and really think, maybe it’s because you don’t really have anyone to talk to, you don’t know, but you’ve been feeling literal oceans of insecure.It’s like someone ripped a bandaid off of an old wound, or broke the dam or some shit, because lately all you can think about are things you never wanted to think about literally ever again. You’ve been thinking about your Bro, your life before the game, and it was only yesterday that it really, truly dawned on you that you’re actually really scarred by it all. The strifing, the constant tiptoeing around the one place that you should feel safe, paranoia of being stalked by a God damn puppet.It haunts you, and it’s maybe had more of an impact on you than you want to admit.

Cold Desert - by gidgit - Neighbor AU - Ch 7/? - 48493 words

Curiosity killed the cat.It probably just wasn't as good at being nosy as Dave is.

countdown until the end of the world - by divingred - Alpha Session/Memories AU - Ch 6/6 - 17291 words

You’ve seen them before, in countless dreams like this, but this is the first time they’re so clear. They’re so big, they seem almost inhuman, not to mention their color. Deep black pupils against golden, almost glowing, sclera. Even though they’re nothing like a pair of human eyes, there’s a softness there. This is someone who cares about you. You don’t want to look away.Your name is Dave Strider and you feel like you’re forgetting something important.((au where alpha dave picks up a certain troll))

Demon Eyes - by Corvid_Knight - Demon/Hunter AU - Ch 28/28 - 84335 words

In which Dave goes in to kill a demon for his bro, and things...don't exactly go as planned. Really, absolutely nothing goes as planned, but that's...somehow okay. Mostly.

Don’t Forget the Sun - by Weevilo707 - stranded Alien AU - Ch 23/?(DISCONTINUED) - 204539 words

Karkat Vantas always accepted the fact that he was not going to live past nine sweeps. It was just a certainty of his sad, miserable life. At least, that was until his friends found out and decided to hatch a plan to get him out of the Alternian empire. A plan that actually worked.Now, he was stranded on an alien planet, at the mercy of some strange creature that was either trying to help him or going about some freaky ritual of flirting with your food before you eat it.Also, aliens have sunglasses.He was better off dying on Alternia, wasn't he?

falling in love's a struggle - by divingred - college AU - Ch 4/? - 7784 words

“What. The. Fuck,” You manage to spit out, “Kanaya, did Terezi just bring a human?”Who the fuck is this guy anyway!? You stare daggers at the guy. He’s tall… pale, with light hair, wearing an obnoxiously bright red jacket and black skinny jeans. He’s even wearing sunglasses at night, what a complete fucking douchebag. The complete opposite of you.--or alternatively titled; falling in love with your ex-girlfriend's new awful boyfriend

File It Down, Polish It Up - by introsquirrel - Ch 1/1 - 20713 words

Trolls have some weird priorities. They can’t bring themselves to invent conditioner, but they have automatic manicure kits and gossip about which blood caste produces the best in claw hygiene. Dave has never really given much thought to the state of his nails. His time is better spent memorizing lame movie quotes and actively *not* flirting with the grumpy troll version of the Second Coming.On an unrelated note, being a teenage boy is hard. Literally. (Insert dick joke here.) It’s hard and having a hot sister doesn’t help in the slightest. Not that Dave finds his sister attractive in any way.Nope, not going there.

Fortuitous - by Java_bean - meteorstuck - Ch 21/? - 111066 words

Dave and Karkat build a pillow fort and an unexpected chain of events occurs.

Hard To Stay And Watch You Walk Away - by LandofMistandSecrets - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 7502 words

I thought too hard about scenes that happened in the GO timeline that we never saw the retcon version of and then this came out. The "will we still be able to be best bros" conversation re-imagined for post-retcon. Somehow Karkat is even more insecure. Also I always wanted Rose and Karkat to talk in canon so hey have a bunch of them too, thanks.

hey there bright-eyed mister melancholy - by attentionmerrymakers - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1/ - 2338 words

This is why you are sitting in Can Town making your fifty-sixth scale replica of a sheep.

how...did you tell your friends - by sburbanite - post sburb/sgrub - Ch 4/4 - 7906 words

Unfortunately, you don't fancy your brother's suggestion on how to break the news to John...There's no other way out of it, you're going to have to just tell him.

If I Lose Everything In The Fire - by HexMeridan (myrainbowshoelaces) -  pacific rim AU - Ch 20/22 - 108975 words

The Kaiju - or Horrorterrors, as the trolls call them - first invaded Earth through a transdimensional rift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Serving the Condesce in her quest to add Earth to the Alternian Empire, these monsters have terrorized humanity for twelve years. With the help of rebel troll factions and the adaptation of Alternian mind integration technology - The Drift - the Interspecies Defense Program has fought back as the last line of defense between the Kaiju and Earth.Karkat Vantas was a Jaeger pilot, fought for freedom in the Assault on the Breach that brought trolls to Earth. The loss of his co-pilot left him bitter and full of rage, but desperate times have lead to him being recruited to join the fray once more.Dave Strider is the best and brightest the Interspec program has to offer. Jaeger Restoration Project Head, highest simulation score on record, and younger brother of the Deputy Marshal - except he's not allowed in a Jaeger.Nobody expects them to be Drift Compatible

Improvidence - by biodigitaljazz - Meteorstuck Series - Four separate multi chapter fics 

Part 1 - Your name is Karkat Vantas.Your life is unnecessarily complicated. Part 2 - Your name is Dave Strider.You’re the baddest MC this side of the meteor and damn do you know it. Part 3 - Your name is Karkat Vantas.And you are the most beautiful and superlative specimen of complete and total relationship failure in the history of everyone and everything. Part 4 - Your name is Dave Strider.You really wish you could remember everything.

Locked Up - Weevilo - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 9272 words

Dave had always been the one best prepared for the game. He was able to handle the shit it threw at them and push it down a lot better than everyone else could.It might have fucked up everything else about him, but that didn't matter.He was fine.He was always fucking fine.

Love in the Time of Juggalos - by sburbanite - Alpha timeline AU - Ch 37/37 -  80521 words

Alpha-Dave has everything anyone could want: fame, fortune, legions of adoring fans, and a shitty hatchback car.

But behind the shades is a man who knows the world is ending, and who wakes each morning expecting to see a lover who isn't there. Someone he's never even met. 

M.C. Escher that’s my favorite MC - by Unda - Soulmate AU - Ch 42/? - 587474 words

Dirk has a plan, when he's 18 he's going to take Dave and get him the fuck out of their terrible lives and start over. Until then being the barrier between Dave and Bro is his only job, his soulmate is just going to have to wait goddamnit. Dave has a plan, it involves getting internet famous and not going gay, easy right? Karkat also has a plan, to repeatedly track down his dumb as rocks soulmate and get him to actually talk to him for fuck's sake.

Palisades, Palisades - by magicites - Summer Camp AU - Ch 4/4 - 46,422 words

In your memories, you see Dave Strider, fourteen-years-old and made up of lean muscle and awkward limbs that he would still need a few years to grow into fully. Crows surround him, all cawing impatiently, vying for the chicken sandwich in his backpack. He swears loudly as he swings a stick at them, trying to get them to leave him the fuck alone.“Stupid feathery assholes,” he’d always complain once he finally shooed them away.You tear yourself out of the memory. You miss him, and you hate yourself for it.

Perspective - by MsGeekNerd - Meteorstuck - Ch 85/85 - 63833 words 

In which Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas are Bored as Hell and Eventually Grow Close to Each Other in Multiple WaysKarkat wants nothing more then to be entertained, Dave can supply that entertainment.A story of friendship turned crush between my favorite dorks

Purrbeast - by wittykitsune - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 1140 words

Dave takes a dare to pet the grumpiest troll on the meteor. Instead of violence he is met with a very different reaction.

Reclassify - by notwest - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 2917 words

warning: this is a highly cliched, self indulgent first kiss meteorficyou know you love it though

Songs Made on the Meteor - by apocalypticTaco - Meteorstuck - Ch 3/6 - 11752 words

Once the train of aimless tree blabber has left the station, you remember why you agreed to meet up in the first place. Leaning forward to sit up properly, you turn to Dave.“So,” you say, “what did you want to show me?”“Oh! Yeah, I forgot about that, sorry. The topic just fucking strayed from me like some kind of toddler seeing a candy store and waddling away from mom. Chubby little bastard gets me this time. Here.” He plops out one of those music tables onto his lap, and motions for you to come closer.

(It's music, and along the way they fall in love.)

Sun - by mintboy - highschool Au - Ch 8/? - 14205 words

I’ll never be able to do what other teenagers get to do. When the world robs your health from you, robs your face from you, they rob from you everything else you’ve ever wanted. Because people are fucked up. And all they see is what’s on the outside.Inspired by the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio.

The Calm is Terrifying When the Storm is All You’ve Known - by happikatt- no-sburb AU - Ch 39/39 - 178722 words

There were two kinds of trolls who went to Earth: rich shitheads with too much money and free time, and desperate assholes who couldn’t survive on Alternia, even with the best efforts of the young Condesce. Karkat hated the planet almost immediately, but with his home planet too dangerous for mutants, he really didn’t have any choice but to hide out on this weird little diurnal planet. At least he’d be safe. Or so he thought, right before blundering his way into an accidental friendship with the son of an anti-troll terrorist.Slow burn, shifting perspectives; romance really isn't the focus here but it'll still play a significant part; extra content warnings will be posted with each relevant chapter

The Highlights of being a Split End - by Introsquirrel - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 7381 words

On the list of "Things Karkat Needs to Remember To Pack for Surviving This Fucking Game, In Order of Priority," hair styling utensils fell somewhere between "rubble that crushed my lusus" and "last sweep's decomposable trash, recently unburied from the back lawnring, along with all those bodies of the undead I had to kill." In other words, somebody needs to give that boy a brush.

The Lucky Ones - by daniomalley - Stowaway AU - Ch 10/10 - 51182 words

Lost and stranded on a ship millions of miles from Earth, Dave wants nothing more than to stay hidden from the crew until he can get somewhere safe. But then he runs into another fugitive and suddenly things become a lot more complicated.

the sun coming through - by astrogyaru - College AU - Ch 11/? - 98804 words

You're not sure what to expect when you go to college out of state, in a place that you've never been to before and where you only know one person. Awkwardness, definitely, and a little bit of homesickness, too. Falling in love with your internet buddy's best friend that you kind of hate, not so much, but somehow it happens anyway.Or: Dave and Karkat fall in love, from both of their perspectives.

Time Travel and Troll Grubs - by Corvid_Knight - Earth-C - Ch 16/? - 24723 words

AU in which Dave has An Idea and follows through with it, leading to him and Karkat raising a shitton of grubs.

“Truth or Truth?” - by assumare - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 4799 words

Dave and Karkat kill time on the meteor together and play a human party game to learn about each other's lives before the game and prepare for what may come after.The meteor was not a place you could spend time alone. At least, not out in the open.

Waffle House - by notwest - humanstuck - Ch 4/? - 15487 words

Dave Strider is almost 18 years old. His hobbies include avoiding Bro and eating at Waffle House.In the worst moments of his life, Dave finds comfort in a run down restaurant, the family he never knew he had, and in one particularly cranky waiter.

What To Do When Your Boyfriend Is Too Hot - by ayyyy(RosaAquafire) - Earth C - Ch 1/1 - 6846 words

Moving to a new universe and a new paradigm brings a lot of changes. And Dave kind of likes the way things were before, back on the Meteor, when he had Karkat all to himself and didn't spend sleepless nights waiting for the shoe to fall.

Within, Without - by reinkist - Meteorstuck - Ch 37/37 - 78311 words

Dave just wants to be left alone. What's the point of anything when what's broken can never be completely fixed?This is the story of Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas, on the longest journey of their lives.

Your Interpersonal, Intergalactic Relationship: A Beginner’s Guide - by sicklekind - meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 8342 words

A beginner's guide to playing hopscotch, overcoming internalized homophobia, and falling in love with your alien best friend.Disclaimer: results may take up to three (3) years to appear.

[hellhcundxtoon-blog]

About

//Please note that this AU is of my own making. I know there are many mob boss bendy aus and none of the fan characters from those aus will appear in this one unless Lucas interacts with them.//

Name: Lucas Hunter

Age: 12

Gender: Male

Height: 3′0″

Weight: 25 lbs

Appearance:

Personality:

Lucas in the beginning was very much a crybaby and mamma’s boy. Too bad his mother passed away when he was six. He’s a little shy around strangers, especially humans; some of who murdered his mother. He doesn’t like the police department due to their secret involvement in her death. He loves to sing however, much like his mother before him. His mother was a famous singer and performer who loved making others smile and enjoy life. 

Lucas is always practicing when he’s not doing other things. His relationship with his half sister Lucy is a complicated one though. She always worries about him, but she also works with the police department. Lucas doesn’t hate her for it, but she doesn’t seem to remember the police’s involvement in their mother’s death. Either she forgot or is willing to give them a second chance. They rarely see each other due to her working for the police, and Lucas himself doing illegal activities around toon town. Lucas is also very good at building and fixing machines, so he’s often hired by other mechanics or mad scientists to help them in the building process of their creations.

That’s not to say that Lucas isn’t nice. He’s built up a wall around his inner child and shows the front of an asshole to most others. Even his sister is not exempt from this treatment. Though he doesn’t act like a total jerk to younger kids. he feels that they don’t deserve that kind of treatment.

Lucas is also not completely sane. It’s easier to get him to snap and go on a rampage than most other toons, so he’s not always thinking sanely about things. But when he snaps, lord help you because you will most likely not survive. He has an ink demon form like his father, which causes serious concern from residents of toon town.

History:

Lucas was born to Abigail Hunter, a Wolf singer who loved life and making others happy. Until her death, Lucas was content to follow in her footsteps someday. He lived with his half sister Lucy in a decent sized mansion due to his mother’s successful singing career.

However, things would not always be this happy. Abigail was murdered by the police for having criminal involvement, even though Lucas had never seen anyone suspicious in the house with her before. The reason the police were there was to get answers about a toon she had contact with before. 

Bendy.

Abigail told the police the honest truth. She hadn’t see the criminal they were speaking of for years, and had not kept contact with him since their last encounter. Of course, the police thought they were right and decided to beat the ‘information’ out of her. Abigail wasn’t afraid for her life. But Lucas and Lucy who had been sleeping upstairs came down to see what the noise was about.

Things got a whole lot more complicated from there, as the police started asking questions about Lucas and who he was. Some even trying to grab the poor kid to examine him. Lucas wasn’t having any of it, and fled onto the chandelier. Lucy fled into a different section of the house, not coming out until it was over. But Lucas, who had no powers as of yet could only watch in horror as the life slowly left his mother’s eyes. 

This is when he first discovered he had powers to begin with. With all his anger and sadness, he transformed into a terrible ink monster and attacked the police. Who all ran off in terror, but Lucas had killed some of them in his attack. He had no idea what just happened, but he returned to his normal form and rushed over to his mother to get her help.

It was too late to save her, however. She was gone. 

Lucas cried harder than he ever had before, and both siblings were taken to an orphanage to be adopted. The agency stated that the two siblings came as a package deal. You couldn’t adopt one without the other. A rich family seemed to adhere to that rule and adopted them both, only to kick Lucas out onto the streets days later. They only wanted Lucy.

Lucas tried at first to get back into the house to visit his sister, but the family got more security to combat his attempts. Soon he gave up, and Lucy didn’t see him until he was about ten. 

Lucas had dabbled in criminal activity as a way to survive at first. Joining gangs and doing all sorts of illegal things at first was going to be temporary, but soon he found himself moving up in the ranks because of his ruthlessness and capability to follow orders without thinking about what he was doing. 

But the boss of the gang he had joined was worried that Lucas was after his seat when the kid had asked his boss what it was like to be on top. What was in fact a simple question ended up with Lucas getting attacked by the other gang members because his boss was paranoid as all hell.

Most of the gang members refused to fight Lucas due to his ruthlessness in battle. He showed no mercy to anyone, and they didn’t want to die. Soon it was just the boss and Lucas fighting. Lucas got so angry that he activated his ink demon form, brutally murdering his boss in cold blood.

From then on, he was the boss.

Things were normal for another few months. Lucas and Lucy met on accident when she was helping the police catch what Lucas called the butcher gang. His gang. Lucy couldn’t take them into custody with Lucas as their leader, and promptly tried to turn in her gun and badge. She would not hurt him. Even on accident.

The police wouldn’t let her turn in her badge and gun, but simply assigned her to another case. Then... Lucas vanished for another two years. Resurfacing under the contract of a mad scientist. He was without his gang members and refused to tell anyone what happened to them. 

Lucas was helping the scientist, named Devin Shoemaker to build something the crazy older human called the Ink Machine. Devin was going to activate it and use its power for evil, but he made sure that he could not use it. Only a toon could activate the machine, and since Lucas helped build it... It was only natural to give him the honors. 

Lucas was loosing more of his sanity by the day, going into sporadic giggling fits and arguing with anyone, even inanimate objects. It was around this time that the police department made a temporary truce with Bendy’s gang to stop the mad scientist and his even crazier assistant.

For now, Bendy and Lucas’s relationship as father and son is not know by anyone. Not even the two themselves know this secret, as only Abigail knew it. And she carried that secret to her grave.

Will Bendy and his friends stop the to scheming madmen, or will the ink machine be activated for toon town’s destruction? 

To be continued.

[thai-cannot-smell-anything-blog]

Happy Valentine’s Day! Super awesome Valentine’s Day exchange, so thank you to @karu-ck and @roses-to-roses.

Hello, Nye @dr-ooze. I’m your secret Valentine! I hope I did Nye justice. There was tons of to freedom, so I hope he isn’t too out of character. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Alright, this had to be just how Tsubaki described any date should be. Ab-so-lutel-y perfect, wonderful, and fun. Relaxing, maybe exciting? Thai was at the drawing board, having stared at it for maybe ten hours or so now. The war was now finally at an end and Nohr and Hoshido were in peace. Thai would have most likely disappeared off into who knows where if it weren't for Lady Sakura's close ties to the people in Nohr now. As one of the many diplomats, Lady Sakura worked to heal the damages in Hoshido and Nohr alike. As her retainer, along with the perfect Tsubaki and peppy Kazahana, Thai joined right along.

However, her usual attention that was typically towards her fellow retainers to stop some competition was now elsewhere. She had noticed him several times during the war. The bright ginger hair that stood out amongst the darker clashes of armor and magic of Nohr. It was absurd. Why did she notice him? Perhaps it was his looks. She always liked people with glasses. But then, perhaps it was how kind he really was. She remembered when she asked him to teach her how to use shurikens. She had recently learned to become a mechanist, thanks to Kagerou. However, she didn't want to fail her superior. Instead, she turned to someone else. In this case, it was Nye.

He was incredibly shy. Even more shy than Lady Sakura. He ran away, so Thai had to find a way to actually reach out to him. It was incredibly difficult, but they had finally found a way that she could train with him. And over time, she learned much about him. He was hopeful for the world, despite the war. And he was training as a ninja, yet was of Nohrian descent. As far as Thai knew, most ninja clans were of Hoshidan or tribal descent. And here he was, with a mop of hair that Thai swore would be the worst hairdo for ninja, and still being an amazing fighter in this terrible war.

However, now back to the main point, Thai had asked Tsubaki for his ideas of a date. While he laughed about her sudden question, he was all willing to create a a list of potential dates around Nohr: Give flowers, visit the market, go to a concert, bring to a special dinner, take a stroll underneath the stars, and then confess? Thai bit her lip, almost wanting to go with what Kazahana said when Thai asked her: Spar with him and then just say it outright. Thai groaned, feeling her headache worsen. She left her shared room with Kazahana and walked around the castle. It was a huge castle and Thai was hoping she could run into anyone at this point for pointers: Lady Sakura, maybe Flora, or even the despicable Niles if it had to come to that.

Just as Thai rounded the corner, she saw a gold and white blur out of the corner of the eye. She tensed, half-expecting it to be Lady Elise trying to learn magics. However, as the blur landed near her, Thai recognized it was Nye. Her heart jumped just recognizing that it was Nye. Oh no. Thai thought. She looked left and right for some obvious escape route. None came to mind.

As he looked at her, Thai make the split second decision. Call it hunter’s instinct or just plain panic. Thank maybe Lord Takumi for her sudden inspiration. Maybe this could work out well or badly. Whether or not, it had to be better than sitting in her room and screeching at the parchment board.

“Hello, Nye.” Thai said, pulling a smile. “Long time, no see.”

Nye nodded, returning the greeting. Even his smile was enough for Thai to lose her train of thought. She then bowed, looking at his feet.

“Well um, well I, I um. I just wondered if you have some free time today or for the rest of the day. I mean, it’s only noon, I’m sure nobody knows when one of our lords or ladies would call for us, but hey, who knows? There are tons of retainers who can do the same thing.” Thai continued.

Great, now she was just rambling too much. She had to end it quickly NOW.

“So, I was wondering if we could go together on a date for the day. Just you and me.” Thai finished, rather clumsily. Gosh, she felt completely different than her usual self.

She then stood straight and saw the lightest blush across his face. He looked surprised, almost like he couldn’t believe her. However, when he tilted his head and ask why, did Thai smile back and then rush forward to take his hand gently to lead him like an excited child.

Even his hand was so warm and nice. Even if he was a tad too careful during the war, as some would suggest he was “cowardly,” Thai knew there was another side to him. And she wanted to know every thing about this wonderful person.

“Because, well, I like you.” She finished.

The day went well, not as well as Thai could have anticipated.  She forgot that it was cloudy in Nohr, making it difficult to navigate through. She must have gotten lost at least five times with Nye leading the way to the market. When they finally reached it, they got involved in a couple of annoyingly rude bandits who were trying to make a mark to go against the authority. Evidently, there were still traces of people who had a grudge from the war.

While there were authorities, even Nye and Thai had to step in. By the time the battle was finished and the bandits were put into custody, the market was in such disarray and Thai realized she forgot to buy tickets for the concert that would take place that evening. And at this point, it was most likely sold out. Furthermore, Nye looked slightly out-of-sorts since the battle. While he was scared at first and didn’t want to fight, once they started facing the bandits, he was malicious and ruthless to the point that Thai swore that his battle self almost rivaled Pieri’s normal state of mind.

Now, he was back to his normal, quieter self, looking into the distance. Thai walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you had this for a date. I hope I can make this up to you.”

He turned his head toward her, the first moonlight glinting off his glasses. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.

Thai frowned slightly. “Why not? Because I want to know more about you. As I said, I like you!” she repeated, hoping to reach him. “You’re kind, supportive, and are a wonderful person. I know we rarely talked before, but ever since the training session when you first taught me how to use shurikens, my eyes were always on you. I want to be by your side, to support you. To share a laugh together, to cry together, to be there for you.”

She breathed out, realizing she was confessing all over again. This was hardly a date at this point. Thai covered her face, tears threatening to escape. She couldn’t cry now. What would Tsubaki or Kazahana do? What about Lady Sakura? She was running out of ideas. Then, she saw from the corner of her eye the crossroad signs. That’s it!

“Um, wait here.” Thai suddenly said and dashed off, leaving Nye next to the lamp.

Nye had no idea what just happened. He was just about to go train for the day when he ran into the Hoshidan archer, Thai. He knew well enough from his recon and past experience during the war that she was one of Lady Sakura’s retainers and was a tad slow when it came to learning new things. And today, she suddenly spoke to him and insisted that she liked him and took him on apparently a date.

While the day started out cheerfully with them going to the market and browsing through different stalls, it was quickly changed when bandits decided to make an appearance. Thanks to some guards and them being usually equipped, they were able to make a come-back. However, he felt himself slip away as his malicious side took over. After the battle, he was dazed. There was no way Thai could like him after that. She probably only thought he was a monster or something.

When she confessed her feelings, well, that was a surprise. As she dashed off, Nye stood at the lamp post, pondering what she could be up to now. Within several minutes and Nye beginning to wonder if she had just ran back to the castle to hide or tell all the royals that he was insane and needs to be put into some prison, she returned carrying what looked like a heavy picnic basket.

“There, now we can go!” Thai announced, looping one arm around his with a newfound confidence that was a welcome change to her usual indecisive, lost puppy look. But this time, Nye smiled and followed her. Maybe this date will be more fun than he expected.

And while he wasn’t sure how he felt about her, he could say that it was at least fun to spend time with her. He looked at the crossroad signs and saw she was taking him to the higher rings of the city, closer to the skies. As the moon cast silver light into the night, the road seemed brighter where they could walk together.