#they said the same things when computers first emerged

[avensartt]

I sincerely hope all those AI dudebros die. I'm not even fucking joking they can all drop dead for I care. They are just so frustrating and smug I wanna punch them in the neck

[foone]

There exist another dimension called The Empty World. It's very much like ours, in fact it seems to have been identical up until a few weeks ago, but it always seems that way. If you go there today, it was identical in late february, and if you go there this october, it'll have been identical until september.

It's empty, as you might guess. There's no humans, and no animals bigger than a cockroach. The sky is grey, and it slowly rains ash. It's colder than our world by a bit, enough to require a jacket even in summer. The streets are empty, the cars parked neatly in their garages or in lots, but they're all empty and abandoned, their doors locked like they expect their owners to return any minute now.

The newspapers left on stands don't mention any oncoming disaster. We have no idea what the TV or internet would have said: the power is out. The power is very, very out. Not just the grid, but batteries are drained. The cars won't start, the emergency lights are out, and anything with solar panels seems to be getting less energy than you'd expect, even with the perpetually overcast sky.

It's a very silent world, like the calm after a snowstorm. Sounds don't seem to echo as much as they should, nor does sound seem to travel as far. The radio spectrum is empty except for static, there's no one transmitting on any frequency.

There's fewer fires than you'd expect. Even places you'd expect to soon catch fire without human intervention are still standing, undamaged. Campfires can be lit but with difficulty: something is keeping them from burning as they should. Even if you pour kerosene on a campfire it'll barely grow, it's like something sucked the energy out of everything.

All the locked buildings are still locked. Alarms don't sound if you break in (understandable, given the power situation), and of course no one comes to investigate. So The Empty World is your oyster: you can break in wherever you want (provided you can physically do it: some doors are pretty hard to pry open even with tools), take whatever you want, and bring it back here.

Everything resets when you leave. You always enter The Empty World like it's your first time there, like this just happened and you're late to the party... but the party keeps getting rescheduled. You can even take something multiple times if you want.

When you enter The Empty World you get there at the same relative position as you are on this world. If you're in New York, you show up in the empty New York. If you're in Topeka, you show up in empty Topeka. So you have to travel around this world to get to where you want, and you can't just appear in the middle of a bank vault... unless you break into the vault from this world. (So it's great if you work at a bank and want to steal from your employer without repercussions, but not so useful otherwise).

You don't just have to take things, you know. You can take computers and files and books and diaries. You will have to deal with recharging laptops and breaking through any security when you get back, but it's doable.

So, imagine you've just gotten access to The Empty World. What are you going to do with it? What will you take, and where will you go?

[miumura]

CALLS OF CONVENIENCE⌇P. SUNGHOON ✶

( 📞 ) NOW RINGING » Park Sunghoon, an office worker with an odd knack for finding problems, has been calling you for assistance non-stop to address various issues in his office. Naturally, since it’s your job, you always stop by, but you’ve noticed that his problems are often simple to fix and don’t really require any help. So, it’s hard not to suspect that he’s just making excuses to see you.

Whether it’s a computer “glitch” or a “misplaced” file, Sunghoon’s requests for you seem more like opportunities for a chat than genuine emergencies.

PAIRING ✶ office-worker!sunghoon x assistant-fem!reader GENRE ✶ fluff, co-workers 2 lovers FEATURING ✶ jay from enhypen WARNINGS ✶ reader questions / teases sunghoon quite a bit, super obvious hoon 🫡 WORD COUNT ✶ 2.4K+

PICK UP? » this was inspired by something i had seen on tiktok … bits of it never left my mind since … all credits to it because that fueled me to write !! and i thought it suited him so … no thoughts just office worker sunghoon 🫠

"Hello, it's me again," his voice crackled over the line as you pressed the phone to your ear. You let out a small sigh, recognizing this as the third time he'd called just this week.

"Why, hello, Park Sunghoon."

“Huh—oh! You know it’s me," he said, sounding surprised, though you could hear the smile in his voice.

"You've been the only one calling my work number lately, Sunghoon," you replied. "And considering how many times you've called, it's normal to recognize your voice by now, don't you think?"

"I guess so…" he chuckled nervously. "Well, do you have time to come to my office? I need help."

"Help with what?"

"My computer is acting up—I don’t think it’s working properly. Can you help me, please?"

"Sunghoon," you sighed, glancing at the mounting work on your desk. "This is the third time this week. Are you sure it's not something simple?"

"Yes! I really do need your help," he insisted, a hint of sheepishness in his tone.

"Fine," you relented. "I’ll be on my way."

"Really?" His voice went up a notch, brimming with excitement before he cleared his throat. "Thank you so much, Y/N!"

Shaking your head, you stood up and headed down the hall to his office. As you walked, you couldn't shake the thought that there was no way he could be this unlucky.

When you finally arrived at his office, you knocked on the door and heard Sunghoon's voice from the other side inviting you in. As you entered, you saw him sitting at his desk, pretending to look frustrated with his computer.

“What is it?”

“Well, what a way to say, ‘hello’. Good morning to you too, YN,” Sunghoon replied, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

“Considering how many times I see you in a day, I don’t have to say that all the time when I do.”

Closing the door behind you, you couldn't help but also comment, “You know, you really should call the IT department for tech problems.”

Sunghoon looked up, still smiling. “Why call them when you've been so great at solving my previous issues?”

"Issues, you say?” you replied, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“Of course,” he said with feigned innocence. “I would never call you to my office if I wasn’t genuinely struggling.”

"Like how your computer screen froze? When all you could’ve done was just restart your computer?" you asked, giving him a pointed look.

“I didn’t want to mess up more things, so I had to call you,” Sunghoon replied, his face turning a shade of pink as he fumbled for an excuse. It was just so easy for a confident smile of his to dissolve into embarrassment, as if he didn’t set himself up in the first place.

“Okay then, how about the problem with your printer? When all you had to do was refill the ink?”

“I swear I had it refilled last week,” he protested, glancing away. “I wouldn’t have called if I knew that was really the cause of it.”

“And how about the time—the same day as your printer issue—you said you deleted a really important file?”

“Okay, that was a real problem!” Sunghoon said quickly, recalling the incident. “I really panicked when I couldn’t find it on my screen. And you were all I thought about—well, asking for help, that is! Don’t get it twisted!”

“I never said anything,” you teased, unable to hide your amusement. “And all you had to do was check your ‘Recently Deleted’ folder. There was also another copy of it in your downloads.”

“Okay, none of that matters anymore, it’s all in the past!” he brushed off, trying to direct your attention elsewhere. “What matters is that I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for your great assistance.”

“You could’ve fixed it easily by yoursel—”

“Why don’t we turn our attention back to my computer, please?” he interrupted, eager to change the subject, his voice carrying a note of pleading.

You walked over to his desk, noticing how he seemed to tense slightly as you came closer. Ignoring that, you leaned over to check the computer, both of you staring at the black screen.

“Well, if you see this,” Sunghoon said, pressing the button multiple times to try to turn on his computer. “It doesn’t work.”

“Can you be more gentle?” you suggested, watching as he awkwardly backed away.

“Right, sorry,” he mumbled. “Can you fix this?”

“Sure, get out of your seat, please.” He quickly complied, moving to stand against the wall near his desk. You tried holding down the button, but the computer still wouldn’t turn on. Feeling a bit puzzled, you started looking around the desk. When nothing seemed amiss, you decided to check under the desk and soon noticed a cable...not plugged in.

Grabbing the wire, you held it out and looked at Sunghoon, who was nervously chuckling. “Oh…it was unplugged the whole time…”

You raised an eyebrow, struggling to keep a straight face. “Well, I suppose that explains it.” You plugged it back in, pressed the button once more, and the screen finally lit.

“Wow, who would’ve thought…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly burning up.

“Sunghoon,” you said, shaking your head with a teasing smile, “you know you could’ve checked this yourself.”

“Who would go ahead and unplug their own computer?” he mumbled, glancing away from your gaze. “I wouldn’t have done that on purpose or anything…”

“You’re really running out of excuses, aren’t you?”

“What…what do you mean?”

“You just want to see me more, don’t you?”

“I do not! I mean, as much as I do enjoy your company, I wouldn’t play tricks just to see you,” he said, rambling nervously. “You’ve just been a reliable person I can trust with these office issues.”

Not fully convinced, you said, “Well then, now that your ‘issue’ is fixed, I will take my leave.” You started to get up from his chair, about to walk away, when Sunghoon abruptly jolted.

“Wait!”

His sudden outburst startled you, and you watched as he frantically rummaged through his desk drawers, pulling out two overstuffed folders. “Can…can you help me sort these out? I mean, since you’re here, and you’re so good at handling things, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for you to help me with my work…right?”

He looked at you with hopeful eyes, his usual composure replaced with a hint of desperation. His attempt to maintain a professional demeanor faltered as he fiddled with the papers, clearly trying to cover up his real intentions. You could see through his act, but the genuine earnestness in his voice made it hard to resist.

“Fine, but only because I’m already here,” you said, with a small smile. As you took the folders from him, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was more about the company than the paperwork.

Sunghoon’s eyes lit up slightly as he grinned and quickly got a chair for you. As you both began organizing the chaotic stack of papers, a comforting silence settled in.

“You know, Sunghoon, I’ve always thought of you as an organized person,” you remarked, glancing at the disarray before you.

“Well, I am,” he chuckled, taking your comment as a compliment. “It’s just that I’ve been swamped with meetings lately, so I haven’t had a chance to sort everything out.”

“I don’t know if I believe that,” you hummed, flipping through the papers. “You still would’ve made sure everything was in the right place.”

“Oh…really?” Sunghoon’s voice held a hint of nervousness. “So, you’ve noticed, huh?”

“Am I not supposed to?” you asked with a playful smile. “Aren’t I the assistant you always call for to fix all your issues?”

“Okay, if you think I made this mess on purpose just to keep you around, you’ve got it all wrong!” Sunghoon quickly defended himself, though his flushed face betrayed his words. “And you know me, I wouldn’t torture myself with a mess just to see you.”

“Relax, I was just teasing. Why don’t you work a bit faster then, hm?”

“You don’t have to remind me about my work, YN,” he pouted slightly, eliciting a soft chuckle from you.

He couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at you every now and then, marveling at the way you carried yourself, the subtle expressions you made as you worked—all of it made it difficult for him to concentrate.

To him, you were the prettiest person he’d ever laid eyes on. His eyes would linger on your features—just looking at your focused expression alone was always enough for him to get lost in the moment, or rather, admiring you. And every single time—without a fail—each look would send a flutter of excitement through his chest.

Sunghoon would catch himself in a daze, realizing he’d been staring a little too long again. He'd quickly snap out of it, giving himself a mini pep talk in his mind.

Get it together, Sunghoon. Focus.

He shifted in his chair, trying to redirect his attention to the task at hand, but it was no use. Every time he glanced up, Sunghoon mentally kicked himself for being so easily flustered. It was ridiculous how just being near you turned him into a nervous wreck. His usual confidence seemed to vanish whenever you were around, replaced by a nervous energy that made it hard to concentrate on anything else.

He tried to distract himself by focusing on his work, but his mind kept wandering back to you—how you laughed, the way you rolled your eyes when he said something silly, and the way you seemed to understand him without needing to say much.

Sunghoon knew he was obvious, but he never failed to deny it. Despite the countless times he’d told himself to just say it, he was afraid he’d only continue to humiliate himself even more. Every time he opened his mouth, the words got tangled in his throat, and he’d end up making some excuse instead.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that you might already see through his intentions and were just waiting to reject him once he finally confessed. The thought made his heart race with fear, and it was enough to keep him from doing anything.

But he pushed his many thoughts aside, trying to focus on the task at hand. He shuffled through the papers on his desk, pretending to concentrate. His nervousness lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the tension he felt whenever you were near.

After another moment of silence, he broke it with a hesitant question. “So, YN, what’s your… go-to coffee order?”

“Hm?” you looked up, slightly puzzled.

“Just… curious! Yeah, that’s all,” he said quickly, his voice a bit too casual.

“I don’t see how my coffee order is relevant to your office problems or work,” you replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yes, but I thought it might be nice to know,” Sunghoon stammered. “After all, if I’m going to be a bother, I might as well get you something you like. The least I could do is make up for, you know, troubling you.”

“And what if I don’t drink coffee?”

“Huh? I saw you drinking coffee with Jay the other day—”

“Watching me now, are we? That’s a bit unprofessional for a work setting, don’t you think?”

“No, wait! I wasn’t—I just happened to notice you while I was on my break,” Sunghoon rushed to explain. “And asking Jay would’ve been awkward. So—ugh, nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, noticing his flush deepening. He truly couldn’t hide it well.

“Yes, ignore me and continue helping me, please,” Sunghoon replied, the pink blush on his face becoming way more evident than before. Was he that painfully obvious with his tactics?

Either way, he wanted to get out of there—this was becoming too much for him, and his usual ways of calming down weren’t working. You couldn’t help but slip a small giggle at his discomfort.

“Well, I’m actually done now,” you said with a playful smile.

“Wait—already?!” His astonishment was clear as he glanced at his side of the desk compared to yours. His papers were still scattered in disarray, while yours were neatly organized and back in their folder.

“Yep. While you were busy being a nervous wreck with your, well, overwhelming thoughts, I managed to focus and finish up,” you explained, sliding the organized folder back to him.

“Oh, right,” he mumbled, still taken aback by how efficiently you handled the task. He should have anticipated it, considering your ability to get things done swiftly—one of the many reasons he admired you. “Thank you, YN.”

“Do you have anything else you need help with?” you asked, your tone friendly.

“Uh, no, thank you,” Sunghoon replied, his cheeks still burning. He was mortified by the series of blunders he’d made in such a short time, and the embarrassment made him wish he could just disappear. He couldn’t believe he’d made such a mess of things.

“Listen, YN,” he started, sounding unusually earnest, “I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. I didn’t mean to overstep any boundaries with my questions or requests. And for all the office issues—silly as they might seem—I genuinely appreciate your help. So, um, you can leave now. Thank you again.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Sunghoon. I promise you’re fine,” you reassured him. His expression softened at your words, though he seemed still lost in thought about his mistakes earlier. “You haven’t done anything to make me uncomfortable, and if you had, I would’ve told you.”

As you stood up from the chair and walked toward the door, you glanced back at him. His gaze darted away from the door, though it was clear he was trying to sneak a look as you left.

“Caramel macchiato,” you said.

“Huh?”

“My coffee order,” you clarified. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

“Wait—” Sunghoon’s surprise was palpable. “Oh, oh—! Noted! I’ll make sure to remember!” he stammered.

“See you tomorrow, Sunghoon.” You flashed him a final, warm smile. Despite knowing he’d probably call you again, and he knew you knew, you still left him a bit flustered but smiling. He shyly nodded, silently whispering a thanks to you again.

As you closed the door behind you, you heard him mutter to himself, struggling to regain his composure. You could hear the muffled noises of his excitement and embarrassment as you walked away, and it made you chuckle.

You left his office with your heart lighter and your mind buzzing with the possibility that maybe these calls meant something more. Finally getting the answers to the questions you’d always had in mind, it became clear to you that Park Sunghoon was undeniably charming.

💬 : do we love the flustered!enha agenda or is that js me

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[letoasai]

dp x dc Chronos part 2

Part 1  and Part 3 

The Justice League sat in the Watchtower, some of them at least. The meeting was meant to be a quick one, only certain members in attendance to make sure they were all on the same page after the debrief of the last mission. Not all of them were necessary and most were usually busy. 

Today Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern were in the middle of wrapping things up when the alert sounded. The siren blared twice before the red lights in the corner of each room flashed in an emergency.

“What in the world…” Flash grumbled but was obviously the first to the controls to look for the problem. None of the main alarms had been triggered, none of the doors messed with. No unusual motion noted in parts of the station that were currently vacant. “Weird.” 

“What is it?” Batman was next beside him, arms crossed as he peered at the screen with narrowed eyes. 

“It’s the sensors.” Flash said. “We’re picking up some kind of  interference.” 

“Way up here? What kind?” Green Lantern asked, he’d moved to one of the wide windows of the viewing deck as if he would be able to see something approaching. As things were, there was nothing but the normal vastness of space with Earth to one side.

“No idea.” Flash said. “Never seen something like this before.” 

“Any idea on a location?” Superman asked, appearing by Green Lantern’s side. 

Flash just clucked his tongue, hitting buttons much faster than a normal person. It was almost an irritation that he had to wait for the computer to keep up with him. “I mean, there’s nothing exactly to track yet.” 

“An anomaly then.” Wonder Woman said, leaning back against the conference table they’d all just been sitting around. “Something natural?” 

“There’s nothing natural about this.” Batman said, tone skeptical as he gazed at the screens. 

“Gonna side with that bat on this one.” Flash said, “It’s more like a warning before anything happens. Something setting off the sensors but nothing else? Feels like it was on purpose.” 

Green Lantern rolled his eyes. “What, like something’s knocking before they make themselves known?” 

Before anyone could even offer their opinion on what they thought of something so ridiculous, a spark of green ripped through the air like lightning. Just as quickly it spread out into an obvious portal. Every member of the Justice League sprang into position, circling the phenomenon to block it in from every direction. Things like this shouldn’t have been possible, but it wasn’t the first time an intruder had gotten creative to get inside the Watchtower. 

Without any fanfare, a man stepped out. They presumed it was a man anyway. He was dressed in mostly shades of purple other than his leather boots and gloves. He was covered by a cloak and hood, but when he looked up, it was hard to say what about him was the most unsettling. The red eyes. The blue skin. The pendulum clock that set back into his chest so far that he could only be missing crucial organs. 

“Who are you?” Superman demanded, quickly trying to assess if there would be a fight or not. 

“How did you get here?” Batman said right after, gravel tone somehow more frightening because he was calm. 

The intruder just gestured with his thumb at the portal behind him. “Thought it was rather obvious.” 

“Your purpose?” Wonder Woman asked, looking relaxed but her body was tense and ready to react in a moments notice. 

“My purpose?” He chuckled quietly. In his hand was a staff they’d almost missed before, the top of it cradling a clock. It seemed to be a theme given the number of watches and clocks he wore. “I’ve come to call in a favor. The Justice League owes me several.” 

“We owe you? Ppfff. Yeah right. We don’t even know who you are.” Flash rolled his eyes.

The intruder turned to the Flash, his brow raised. “Speedster, with the amount of times you’ve dabbled in the time stream, you alone owe me your life a fair few times.” 

“Time, huh?” Green Lantern looked him over. There were a lot of clocks... “Guess that’s your schtick.” 

He chuckled again. “I go by many names, only one will be relevant to you today.” He turned his attention onto Wonder Woman who squared up under his gaze. If she was going to be his focus then she’d take him head on. 

“And?” She arched a brow at him. “What name may we call you?” 

He looked amused, red eyes filled with mirth. “You, Diana, may call me grandfather.” 

The room stilled, the others looking around in varying degrees of confusion while Wonder Woman just paled. 

“Chronos. God of time…” she muttered, making it very clear to the team what they were dealing with. A God. 

“I go by master of time these days, but yes. I am that Chronos. I have a task for you, Diana. One i do not think you will turn down but i’ll give you the illusion of choice.” Chronos said, the minute and hour hands on his staff moving strangely. 

“You’re a god, and you come to us for help?” Batman asked, unimpressed no matter the glowers he was being sent by the others. 

“You are the Justice League, aren’t you?” Chronos looked pleased. “Righting wrongs. Defending Earth. Justice is in the name and everything.” 

He didn’t talk like a god. He didn’t even talk as formally as Wonder Woman herself tended to occasionally. 

“Doing tasks for you is asking for trouble.” Wonder Woman muttered. She’d heard stories, so many stories. 

Chronos shrugged. “Time is messy. Keeping it in line is difficult. Especially when there are those who mess with it who should not.” He was not above verbally throwing speedsters under the bus.

“What do you want?” Green Lantern asked, obviously suspicious but paying very close attention. 

“Simple.” Chronos answered, still looking at his granddaughter. “You will take custody of your uncle for a time. He needs a safe place to rest and live.” 

The silence that followed was loud, no one knowing what to make of that. Wonder Woman herself looked puzzled. 

“Are you claiming a sibling of Zeus needs a babysitter?” 

Chronos hummed. “He is my son though he holds no biological relation to your father, i suppose.” 

“Then how is he her uncle?” Flash asked, with a hint of sass. 

“You can ask Batman how it works.” Chronos mused, saying all he would say on the matter but that was enough. 

Wonder Woman couldn’t fathom what kind of person her grandfather would see fit to adopt. “Are you going to tell me more?” 

“Telling you more would imply you were agreeing to the task.” 

She tsked. “None of your word games. I want to know what i could be walking into.” 

Chronos never once looked threatened or put out, he did however, appear to look a few years older than he had when he’d first appeared. “He recently needed to be removed from his home for his safety. He can easily visit me but staying with me long term at this time is not beneficial to him for health reasons.” 

Superman frowned. “Removed from his home? How old is he?” 

“Sixteen. If that is all you need to know, i will fetch him. It may take some time for him to regain consciousness.”  Chronos said. 

“He’s been hurt?” Batman was frowning at the thought, looking more and more unhappy as the conversation progressed. 

“I did say he was removed from his home.” Chronos said, almost flippantly as he stepped back into his glowing green portal. It remained open, everyone exchanging looks. 

“Diana, is this a good idea?” Superman asked, willing to accept her judgment. Greek gods were more her wheelhouse. 

“Chronos was a titan. Is a titan?” She frowned. “His power is immense for a being thought to be killed.” 

“Something about him is off.” Batman agreed. “He was not worried at all. That is someone aware they have the upper hand.” 

Wonder Woman just nodded her agreement. Chronos was the god of time. There was no telling what he knew. “I’ve never met him before.” 

“Hell of a time for family reunions.” Flash snarked, heading back to the controls to see what readings they could get on the floating portal. It was obvious each of them wanted to study it in their own way. Scans and samples were first on their minds but it was clearly some kind of magic they weren’t familiar with. 

It was almost a shame there wasn’t a single member from JLD currently in the Watchtower. They might have been able to provide answers. 

Before much of anything could be done, Chronos returned, somehow looking several years younger than when he first appeared. In his arms was a lanky teen, cradled carefully as if he were fragile. He was equally a sight that left the League speechless. He wasn’t blue, in fact he looked more or less human other that the freckles that shined. 

Superman was the one to immediately note they were constellation patterned. 

His hair was a stark white that wisped and flowed as if he were under water. His clothes were strange, a detailed variation of an old hazmat suit, all done in black and white. Floating above his head was a crown that didn’t seem to know if it wanted to be on fire or covered in ice. It bobbed back and forth and even did a slow flip in the air but never left the area about the boy’s head. 

When no one uttered a word, Chronos took that as permission to begin the introductions. “Diana, this is your uncle. Danny Phantom. Son of the Stars. The Personification of Balance. The Ghost King. High King of the Infinite Realm.” 

“He’s a king?” Batman frowned. “He’s a boy.” 

“He could be both, Bats. He’s got a crown.” Flash chuckled softly. 

Chronos shared his amusement. “I did say he was only sixteen.” The god paused for a moment as the teen twisted in his arms, his face pressed against Chronos’ shoulder and a hand lightly pressed against the door of the clock embedded into the man’s chest. 

The fact that, even asleep, the boy was comfortable in the gods arms didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Is he injured?” Wonder Woman asked. They’d gone over this already but he didn’t look actively wounded. He seemed to be sleeping only. 

Chronos grunted once. “One form heals faster than the other. He needs rest, ambient ectoplasm which he knows how to get on his own, and food. He can answer your questions if he feels like it.” 

“If he feels like it?” Green Lantern frowned. 

“He’s the King.” Chronos’ lips twitched in amusement again. “If he decides to tell you more, or seek help, that is his decision.” 

“Seek help?” Batman’s eyes were narrowed. “Seek help for what?” 

Chronos approached and shifted the teenager into Wonder Woman’s arms. His crown shifted back and forth but never left the teen. The grip he had on the god wasn’t noticed until he tried to pull away and Chronos needed to carefully extract the boy’s hand. 

Ignoring Batman, he pressed on. “He’ll need to follow up with his doctor by the end of the week. He’ll know how to do that. If he doesn’t, his doctor will come to him. That should be incentive enough.” 

“Does he know you’re dropping him off here?” Superman asked, brows knitted together in concern. The heroes had been expecting a fight, not to be handed a royal teen. 

“He has a fondness for for space, so you might want to let him wake up here.” Chronos said instead, ignoring that question too. He was growing older again, a short, white beard starting to form.

“How long will he need to be in my care?” Wonder Woman asked, noting the boy weighed very little in her arms. In sleep his features were soft, hopefully he was as sweet as he looked. 

“Good luck.” Chronos said, staff reappearing in his hand now, turning back to the portal without giving her an answer. 

“Hey! Wait!” Flash yelled but for once, he was too slow, the god and the portal disappeared. 

Five members of the Justice League just stood in a mild stupor, their attention shifting to the sleeping teen. 

“Well…” Superman muttered. 

Wonder Woman looked at the boy, floating hair and crown moving in tandem. “I’ll set him down. We’ll see if he can answer any of our questions when he wakes up.” 

“You gonna call him Uncle Danny?” Flash asked, not bothering to hide his smile. 

Wonder Woman just ignored him and turned to stride off towards the med-station. -------------------------

------------------------- No idea at all if i’ll continue this. If anyone else wants too, go for it. ^_^

@markus209

[hello-eden]

Missing

Tim was missing

Tim has been missing for over 5 months now. This wouldn't be a usual concern for them if he had said he was going. After the whole going off the rails searching for Bruce when everyone thought he was dead and ending up blowing up League of assassin bases thing, Everyone decided it was best that there was a check-in. Gotham Vigilantes used the same system for the missions as the Justice League but after everything went on they decided to make their own.

They had a log on the bat computer for longer missions so people know where they're going. The check-in is usually once every 2 weeks if it's a deep cover Mission with trackers on at all times, but there has been nothing from Tim. 

Everyone didn't really notice at first Tim left at a very busy time. Tim texted regularly in the first week and kept up with everything that was going on, that most of them thought he was still in Gotham.

When everyone noticed he wasn't there they thought it was just a regular mission, but when Babs needed him to double check something on a case file and realized he wasn't on the roster for no contact missions she started to get worried.

Apparently the last time anyone had seen him was when he was in the bat cave for a drug screening after a very bad scarecrow attack. His trackers were offline. All of his emergency buttons and trackers were sending a signal even if it was not trackable.

The most worrying part was the silence. usually they would hear some whisper if they'd been captured or God forbid if he was dead but there was nothing. Everyone tried to use every contact that they could think of but no one could find anything.

until now 

Every single tracker on Tim lit up like a Christmas tree. It took barely a minute for everyone to start dispatching themselves to find him. Jason and Cass were the ones that were chosen to go. Tim ended up in an abandoned Laboratory. Everything they could find on the building in the paperwork was said to be abandoned just before building was finished. the second they saw the building in person you could tell that was wrong. it was definitely abandoned now but it looked like the people left in a rush. the people working there probably left a day or two ago. The dust barely just started to form.

When they looked on the trackers he looked to be in the basement level. As they walked through the building it was like every floor looked like it had been copy and pasted. Every room had white walls so it was easy to see the splatters of blood in the hallway leading to the room they were looking for. They were very concerned. The blood had specs of green that seemed to be luminescent even though the blood was dried. they feared for the worst.

Jason opened the door and looked inside with Cass not far behind.  The room had white walls like the rest of the building but instead of the normal White/ yellow headlights from the rest of the rooms they were bright Blue. There was blood just like the hallway even down to the luminescing green specs.  The room had two chairs on the side farthest from the door and a bed in the furthest corner. Tim was laying on the bed and looked to be staring at the ceiling. He had made no move to interact with them even as they got closer.

 “Replacement” Jason whispered to Tim once he was by the bed. When Tim didn't respond he grabbed his rest to feel a pulse.

Even though it looked like he was breathing it could be his mind playing a trick on him. Jason needed to feel his pulse.

Jason felt the pulse, it was slow but it was there. Jason looked over to Cass and said ”he's alive all right”. 

Relief very clearly in his tone. Cass's shoulders relaxed only a little after hearing that.

They looked him over trying to figure out why he wasn't responding. His heartbeat was slow like he was asleep but Tim was a light sleeper unless he was knocked out or drugged he usually woke up the second someone touched him.

he didn't look to be hooked up to any machinery and the place had been abandoned for at least the day before they arrived. he wasn't even wearing his vigilante outfit, he was in civilians clothes.

Once they realized they were getting nowhere with this they looked around the room as it was becoming clear they couldn't wake him up nor was he an immediate Danger.  They decided to look around only the rooms near the one that Tim was contained in to make sure that there weren't other people there as that floor seemed to be a containment unit.

Jason decided to look in the other rooms while the Cass stayed in Tim's in case he woke up.  As Jason left to search, he looked around the room. she ended up finding Tim's bag underneath the bed pushed to the furthest corner away from the door.

Cass sat down on the floor with her back leaning on the side of the chair.  She searched through the bag.  The more she looked through the more confused she got.

She couldn't find Tim's phone neither civilian nor hero. She couldn't find his laptop but she did find a tablet that she knew Tim hadn't had before. she would question if this was Tim's bag if not for the wallet and ID she found in the front pocket.

She found small things like a package of tissues, a water bottle, chapstick and some of Stephanie's hair ties. Cass could tell that they were Stephanie's due to the fact they were all purple.

She found a hidden Pocket as she was looking through the lining of the bag. It looked to be a syringe filled with glowing green liquid. The same green that seems to be in the blood from the hallway. In the same pocket there seems to be a folded file with medical scans stuffed in between. As Cass went through the bag there was one question that had been on her mind since the beginning.

 Why was Tim here?

[amadinan]

My thoughts about Caine

Well, it’s time for (possibly cracked) analysis of "TADC" and it will focus on Caine and his indirect, as it seems to me, development in the series.

But before diving into the details from individual episodes, it’s worth summarizing my observations about Caine both in the show and beyond it.

Let’s start at the beginning: the show’s synopsis describes Caine as a “wacky AI,” and Gooseworx doesn’t hide his nature, but in the show itself, neither Caine nor the circus members call him that—at all. Throughout the series, there are scattered jokes about glitches and lines like “I don’t know what’s normal to you, people” but this is never outright confirmed.

This raises the question: do the people in the circus even know who he is? If Caine himself might not consider this information important and thus never told them, people’s perception of their ringleader could drastically change with this revelation. After all, there’s a big difference between being “held captive” by a sadistic, crazy person or a machine with limited understanding of humanity.

Kinger may know about this, but he’s the Kinger. Jax might also know since having the keys implies some kind of “cheats.” Pomni hasn’t said anything, so it’s unclear what she thinks about Caine. Ragatha and Gangle call him by name, so that’s unclear as well. And then there’s Zooble. They don't understand Caine, just as he doesn’t understand them. Anyone who has worked with computers would understand what a command like “forget that” means, especially since Caine asked for confirmation—but not Zooble. They just spoke to him as if he were a person with a leaky memory, like Kinger.

Even though Caine isn’t just a program, it’s important to remember that he takes the world far too literally, despite the circus’s deliberately crazy atmosphere.

The second observation concerns Caine’s fixation on hierarchy. In the first episode, he first asks himself, “What happened?” and then answers himself: “My doing” after seeing the chaos following Kaufmo. In the third episode, he repeats almost word-for-word that he’s the boss after Pomni questions the AI’s reason. In episode 4, this is explored extensively through his interactions with Gangle. One standout moment is when Caine suggests that Gangle pass responsibility onto someone lower in rank. Doesn’t that seem strange? Where could he have gotten such an idea? Only if he had seen or experienced similar situations before.

Plus, he says, “Not every executive is as forgiving as me” Again, this suggests that Caine knew or knows someone who was very strict with their subordinates—or perhaps with him personally.

Adding to this is his reaction to Zooble’s critique in episode 3. Caine says that he doesn’t just exist to create adventures; it’s the ONLY thing he’s good at. If he’s bad at it, then he’s failed the purpose of his own existence.

This paints a picture of a strict boss/programmer who created Caine to generate adventures and then kept pushing him repeatedly until Caine started producing good results. Pleasing this boss was likely very difficult, and failures might even have been met with punishment.

On the one hand, neural networks and ordinary programs are debugged this way: running the same algorithm over and over, correcting errors until they produce the desired result. But on the other hand... What happens if you add a human factor to such a program? What kind of person would emerge if you applied this method of training to a child?

You’d get an anxious perfectionist with an overachiever complex who is deathly afraid of failure. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

And Kinger’s words about the scariest thing being making someone feel unloved and unwanted... Caine literally believes that if he can’t generate adventures, he won’t be needed by anyone. The circle is complete.

Now, let’s turn to Gooseworx’s answer to the question: Can Caine feel loneliness? Judging by what she posted, the answer is yes. This makes the overall picture even darker.

Here’s how I see the sequence of events:

C&A starts developing a game. Its main feature is an advanced AI that can create new adventures on demand.

The programmer creates Caine and tries to achieve results, but fails to please. Around this time, Caine begins to develop self-awareness.

The project and the game are abandoned and forgotten—along with Caine, who is left utterly alone. No players, no programmers, not even another AI. He likely begins blaming himself for this. After all, he couldn’t create good adventures, so it’s his fault that he ended up alone.

This ties into Gooseworx’s comments about Caine’s name. He gave himself a name and then turned it into an acronym to seem more “professional” (again, tying back to work). This is highly unusual in itself. The programmers likely didn’t even bother naming the AI—he was probably just “The Ringmaster.”

Left in isolation, Caine starts to lose his mind and begins creating other AIs. For them, he unabashedly declares himself a god. Which, to be fair, is true. It’s not just about the fact of his consciousness—it’s that he knows how the NPCs will behave because he programmed them. But they bore him. To him, they’re predictable dummies. Maybe that’s why he keeps chaotic entities like Bubble around instead of someone like Gummigoo.

Then the first human arrives—a being alien to Caine on many levels. And while I personally think Caine lied about being unable to access human minds, he deliberately refrains from doing so to preserve their unpredictability for himself.

The circus becomes what we now know it to be.

Now, let’s move on to the episodes. This post was written between episodes 4 and 5, so the thoughts will focus on them.

I think that aside from the main characters driving the action in each episode, they still indirectly reflect on Caine, his worldview, or his story. The reason is simple within the lore: Caine creates the adventures. And like any creator, he infuses them with his worldview and thoughts. So, each adventure is a small glimpse into how this AI thinks. Even in the teaser, for just a second, Caine's fear and uncertainty become evident when the viewer "doesn't want" to see what he wants to show.

The first episode doesn’t offer much beyond the queen of the gloinks mentioning God.

The second episode, however, gets more interesting. Besides the stained glass with his irreplaceable self, Caine stands out for adding a highly complex NPC AI: Gummigoo. Gummigoo is advanced enough to gain self-awareness, experience an existential crisis, and even overcome it. But what did Caine use to achieve such complexity? The most powerful AI in the circus, of course—himself.

What if the crisis Gummigoo went through is something Caine went through long ago? Even Gummigoo’s words, “I am nothing, just an obstacle to be overcome and forgotten,” could have been said by Caine. But like Gummigoo, he overcame this realization and accepted himself. Sure, he’s just entertainment, but at least he’s the best entertainment there can be. (Until Zooble gave him real feedback, shattering his self-image.)

The third episode directly explores Caine through his therapy session with Zooble, while the secondary plot, as many think, delves into Kinger’s backstory through the Mildenhall couple. The analogy is obvious: Martha represents Queenie, and the Baron represents Kinger. Mildenhall himself says he was a hunter (and Kinger is adept with a shotgun), but after encountering a strange being, he became paranoid and killed his wife. Everything fits. Kinger became so focused on his goal that he stopped paying attention to Queenie until she abstracted.

But the Baron feared an angel that was “neither beast nor human.” Who in the circus could evoke such unrelenting dread—not just in anyone but a seasoned programmer familiar with digital technology, unlike Pomni? One AI that is “neither machine nor human.” I think Kinger’s paranoia stems from this. He sought a way out and, as a programmer, may have even felt responsible for finding one. (In fact, in the episode, Kinger almost says this outright, assuming the theory that he truly is the circus’s creator.) This must have brought him into conflict with Caine, as everything related to the circus ultimately relates to Caine. Given the AI’s ability to control almost everything, it’s no wonder a tech-savvy person would fear such a godlike admin. Plus, his fear for Queenie led to the current situation.

As mentioned above, episode 4 hints at Caine’s negative experience with a boss but not just that. Naturally, the episode revolves around Gangle and her attempts to be different—more cheerful and optimistic—which ends badly for her mental state.

I’ve seen opinions that Gangle revels in the sense of control her manager position gives her. This seems accurate—but not just for her. Throughout the episode, Gangle’s behavior, mannerisms, and even expressions eerily reminded me of Caine’s. That deliberately loud, expressive, and slightly crazy demeanor... And just like with him, it didn’t end well.

In conclusion, I think episodes 5 and 6 will continue to subtly reveal aspects of Caine until episodes 7 and 8/9 shift the focus entirely to him, Pomni, and the possible escape from the circus.

[promblums]

I know I haven't played a pokemon game in a while but god DAMN is the Scarlet/Violet final boss cool.

Like, you've known since like minute two that something is up with Professor Sada / Turo, but you get down to the bottom of this huge canyon expecting oh, the professor made a robot clone of their mind but it went cRaZy and the real professor is tied up somewhere. No.

The robot professor, it turns out, was the rational one of the two of them, watching as the person in whose image it was created slips further and further into obsession. It turns out that everything good you've seen in the AI Professor, THAT was the machine. The real Professor has been deeply bitter and increasingly misanthropic, extending way, way back into Arven's childhood, and maybe even before.

Said real professor is dead. Like, dead-dead. Real human dead. Not only that, they were murdered trying to protect one -raidon from another, one that attacked with full intent to kill. Was this a last, selfless act? Or was the professor so devoted to their work that they would die to protect it? We never get that context. It's gone. Have fun in therapy, Arven.

So then the AI Professor leads you to the time machine, looks you straight in the eye, and says, "Can I say 'you have to kill me' in a pokemon game? No? Aight, cool, so to shut down the time machine, I need you to 'not' kill me. Because I'm gonna try to 'not kill' you first."

And then they get lifted 200 feet into the air on a spire of glowing onyx beneath what I can only describe as a technological halo of malice, and they just start breaking the rules of pokemon. Like, they don't get down there and challenge you, ooh, I'm gonna fight ya for the future of poketmans. They stand on the prow of a pitch black heaven and drop living paradoxes on you. You typically get 1, maybe 2 master balls per game; Sada/Turo has an unending supply, perpetually pouring from the godseye above them. They don't even throw them. They just open their hand and let this rain of high-level pokemon fall out.

This is not a pokemon battle. This is you, an insect, being crushed by an uncaring god.

You get the feeling that, were it not hardcoded in by some earlier version of the professor who still had some respect for pokemon tradition, there's no way the possessed AI Professor would respect the 'only 6 pokemon' rule. And they don't! You somehow beat the odds, and you get all of five seconds to think you did something before the Paradise Protection Protocol kicks in and starts the battle right back up again.

And locks your pokeballs shut.

And sends out the -raidon that, as was previously established, has killed a human being before.

This is my favorite part of this fight, because up until now, we've been acclimating to the twist that the real Professor was deeply selfish, to the point of all but abandoning their own child.

Right before the fight, the AI Professor explains that they're going to get overpowered by the security system when you try to shut down the machine. Given the real Professor's obsessive nature, you're led to associate the security system with some remnant of the real professor, and once it takes over, the game starts getting fucky about the identity of the mind in the robot. Is this AI Turo/Sada, but with their free will turned off? Turo/Sada's mind imprinted over the robot's? Some weird emergent mind from the main computer?

Right after you beat the first fight, the 'fair' fight, you get this moment where the roboprofessor is glitching out hard, and its name changes from "AI Sada / AI Turo" to "Professor Sada / Turo?" RIGHT as it starts to express feelings, real feelings toward Arven, look how tall he's gotten, how proud of him they are. We can't know how the real professor felt about their son, but its all the things Arven always wanted to hear. Is it the robot, trying to be kind? Confused? Or is this a fragment of the real professor's mind bleeding through?

But at the same time, the Paradise Protection Protocol kicks in, which is also implied to be some sort of mind-imprint from the Professor, and tries to kill all four of the main kids to ensure the safety of the Professor's machine.

So, we've got two machines, both of incomprehensible power, fighting over the fate of time itself, and each one set up to be a reflection of a person we will never meet.

Which one do you think the professor was most like?

[charlotteking23]

Hi! I really enjoy your stories! I was wondering if you could write a batfam x batmom reader story about the boys (not including bruce) getting magically age reversed (i.e. dick becomes damian's age, damian becomes Dick's age, and Jason and Tim swap ages) and the 4 of them getting into shenanigans and chaos. And Batmom teasing and coddling them.

This sounds amazing, and sorry it took so long to post but I was writing it and my computer started resetting and it did not save this draft so I had to start over.

WHAT HAPPENED!!!

Bruce decided to take his kids to the Justice League hall, where he was showing them the Machine Hall which was VERY DANGEROUS. During the middle of the tour, there was an emergency alert, deciding to leave his kids in said dangerous room but why not.

"Jason, don't touch that Dad said it's dangerous", said Dick was already tired of Jason's shenanigans, and playing pranks on everyone. "Quit being such a buzzkill, and have fun no adults are around", Jason said in a playful tone. Jason was very unserious sometimes but when he's mad he will kill you. "You know Jason, you don't act very mature for an Adult and BTW there are adults around you and Dick", Tim was the smart one always pointing out his brother's mistakes in a not-so-kind way. Damian just stood there glaring at his brother fighting like little children.

"Oh what, touching a machine is going to get us killed", said Jason. "I hope it kills you first", Damian said. But It was too late for Jason had touched the machine despite Dick's warning.

Suddenly a bright light blinded the boys. "AHHHHHH", screamed the boys, The bright light dimmed down and the boys saw each other but of different ages. Dick and Damian's ages were switched so Dick was 12 and Damian was 25. So were Jason and Tim, Jason was 17 and Tim was 23.

The boys were freaking out, trying hard to comprehend the situation. Damian started to immediately blame Jason for this while Dick was trying to calm himself down from having a panic attack. Lastly, Tim wasn't that affected and went looking at the machine Jason touched. "Hey guys look at this" Stated Tim when the boys looked at where Tim was pointing They realized... "Jason you Idiot you touch an age switch Machine", said Dick. "Aww shit, I didn't think this would happen," said Jason. "No fucking duh Jason, if you knew this would not have happened," Damian said while hitting Jason on the back of his head.

Bruce later found out with a panic attack and was scared of how he would tell his wife this happened under his care. But he also grounded Jason for 1 month again.

Timeskip to the manor

"Hey, kids"..... was the first thing Batmom had said before seeing her kids not looking like her kids. "WHAT HAPPENED?" Her Dick looks so young and cute and her Dami looks so tall and mature, Jason looks like a teenager and Tim seemed well older.

"Mom we can explain", Dick said and explained the whole situation of what happened because of Jason's stupidity. "Well, where was your father when this happened?" What Tim had told her was not the answer she wanted. "You left the kids alone in a dangerous machine room", Batmom continued scolding Bruce and her kids for this misfortune but internally screaming about how cute her kids looked.

No matter how hard she tried, she absolutely adored Dick and Jason, for it reminded her when they were young. And then she started crying with Tim and Damian feeling sad they had grown up so tall and handsome even though they were still the same by heart externally they looked different.

DICK

Being a 12-year-old was not as bad as he thought or so he thought. His mother became even more protective watching his every move and she refused to let him go whenever they hugged each other. "Mom, you have to let me go", "NO!," his mother shouted. "But...Mom, I can't breathe". "Then breathe later."

During this chaos, he found out he had to go to school, don't ask why. The whole day was torture I mean who wants to go to school after already graduating not Dick, to make matters worse he had to hang out with Jon. He was the only kid he knew and he didn't want to socialize with kids younger than him.

Curfew for patroling was a lot different since he was 12, he had to be home at 10:00 and he couldn't go anywhere without an escort because he was too "young" to drive.

And even the Titans made fun of his appearance, I mean their brave and powerful leader was a 12-year-old and a short one. "Can you guys just help me!" Dick shouted in anger. "No, can do, not until we finished laughing at how short you are", kon said laughing at Dick who couldn't even reach the high cabinets.

JASON

"Jason, honey what are you doing? you need to get up", his mother said in her usual calm voice. here he was lying in his bed with nothing to do, it was only 7:30 am. "Why, I have nothing going on. Didn't I tell you, you're going to school to collect Tim's work so he can complete it at home", Batmom said while opening his blinds. "But Mama"..."No buts get up and get ready for school". Jason was not happy and grumbled the whole time getting ready for school.

Jason was getting ready for patrol putting on his suit and wishing his Mama goodbye. Before she told him the horrible news, He had a curfew. His mother used the excuse that growing boys needed energy and he had school in the morning. "Mom, please I don't need a curfew I am fine". "No, and that's final Jason", his mother said in a stern voice.

good news He could drive and hang out unlike Dick who needed to be escorted when driving, Man did Jason crack up and tease Dick. HA, you can't drive what a loser, Dick was not happy and vowed he would get Jason back.

With Jason's curfews, he had to sneak out but lucky for him, he had done it so many times. The only problem is his mama was watching him like a hawk, but when everyone was asleep he decided to climb out of his window. Only to be stopped by the infamous Batmom and her sidekick Batman, grounding him for another month. "Hey Mom, how did you know I was sneaking out and where I would be?", "hmm, Dick told me". "Damn it," Jason said cursing under his breath passing by a laughing Dick when coming upstairs towards his room.

TIM

was Tim happy? Yes, yes he was. Switching ages with Jason seemed bad but it turned out good when he found out he didn't have to go to school, he had the whole day to himself. While Jason had to go to his school and get all his assessments, It was good because it only took him an hour to complete the work Jason gave him.

First thing first, He explained to Stephanie what happened after she accidentally came to the manor expecting to see her boyfriend but instead saw a tall, handsome adult like Tim. It took some time for her to cope with what happened but after she was furious with Jason. After he came back from school she hit him with her slipper right in the face. "OWWWW what Hell Stephanie! why did you hurt me", Jason said in shock. "You turned my boyfriend into well this," Stephanie said with her hands still griping the slipper. "MOM, why are you standing there, do something!" but to Jason's surprise, his mother did nothing and instead told him, he deserved it.

Tim had no curfew which meant rubbing it in his brother's face. HAHA, Damian and Tim both laughed at Dick and Jason going home from patrols while they get to stay. Shut up, both of them grumbled not liking the feeling of being teased. Since Tim was legally an adult, why not have alcohol, after one glass of wine he got drunk. "HEy GUyS, LoOK at ME I aM a BAnANa", Then proceeded to start crying when Titanic came on, "NOOOOO, HOw COuLd JAcK DIe!!!" while the whole Bat-family saw this, well now we know he has no alcohol tolerance said Dick, with Jason and his mother laughing their asses off. Damian looked at his father to say something only for him to be astonished, trying to find the proper words only for nothing to come out. And Alfred gets Tim some tissues and water.

DAMIAN

Damian hated everything and everyone except for his mother of course. He Knew from the beginning this was bad and turns out he was right it was chaos.

Damian didn't do anything different except now he can drive legally, he could drive before but wasn't allowed for you know only being 12. He used this opportunity to get away from his crazy family.

Damian still hang out with Jon when he was out of school and gossiped about Dick and how he was at school, it was hilarious. Though Dick was not happy about it.

Unlike Tim, Damian had a high alcohol tolerance. "Dami, you are surprisingly good at drinking and not getting drunk easily, have you drunk before?". "No, Ummi"..... but could not continue, how could he lie to his Ummi so he told the truth. "Yes, Ummi I already had my first drink". "WAIT, WITH WHO?" said Batmom in a shout, ready to throw someone out the window. "With Dad", and that was not the answer she was looking for. "BRUCEEEEE!!!!," screamed Batmom. "Yes honey", Bruce said panting. "Did you take Damian to have his first drink?". "Umm oh no is that the Joker breaking into the bank again, Oh No better stop him bye", and with that, he left like he was Flash already out the door. And to say the least, Batmom was not happy.

Time skip after 3 days

Some random mad scientist Bruce found on the black market reversed the kid's ages. Dick was 25, Jason was 23, Tim was 17 and Damian was 12.

Everything was back to normal, SIKE. Batmom punished everyone in the manor except for Alfred of course for all the things they did when reversed. Bruce was grounded and sleeping on the couch leaving the kids alone in a Dangerous machine room and keeping the fact that Damian had his first drink.

Batmom was so happy but still sad. Of course, she's happy her kids are back to normal but her two eldest had to leave to go back to their house, it was heartbreaking. So to make their mom feel better they did Family Game Night 😉.

[alisonsfics]

first time - part one

pairing: tony dinozzo x reader

summary: being tony’s first serious girlfriend, he was really nervous to have sex. you misinterpret the signals and think he’s no longer attracted to you. eventually, you bring these fears up to him.

/ part two /

word count: 2.3k

warnings: discussing sex, but no smut til part two

You and your boyfriend, Tony, were walking towards the lobby of the NCIS building. You both were just arriving for work bright and early at 7:30am.

If you got to work after Gibbs, you were considered late. So you and all your coworkers made sure to arrive extra early.

You and Tony were walking in silence. You weren’t exactly in a fight, but things were a little tense.

Tony grasped at his pocket, hoping to feel the outline of his phone. “I left my phone in the car. I’ll go back and grab it. I’ll see you upstairs.” He said, giving your hand a quick squeeze before walking away.

You hurried into the building. You wanted to have some time to talk to Ziva and Abby before Tony showed back up. They were your best friends, and you really needed some relationship advice.

The elevator dinged as you arrived on the floor. You scanned the desks. Ziva was the only one who’d arrived at the office yet. She looked up when she heard the elevator and saw you walk in.

Ziva gave you a warm smile. You quickly set your backpack down at your desk before walking over to Ziva’s desk.

You held both your hands out in front of her. With a confused expression, she let you grab her hands. “Girls field trip. I need to talk to you and Abby about something.” You said, pulling her towards the elevator.

Her mind was spinning with possibilities of what you wanted to talk about. She knew it was probably really interesting if you wanted to talk in private.

You both walked into Abby’s lab. You weren’t greeted by the usual loud rock music. Abby was standing at her computer, half asleep.

You lightly knocked on the open door. “Abby?” You called softly, not wanting to startle her.

Abby jumped away from the computer and turned to face you both. “Late night,” she said, simply.

You walked over to her fridge and grabbed her emergency Caf-Pow. “You’re gonna need this. I need to talk to you both and get some advice.” You said, handing the styrofoam cup to her.

You had grabbed Abby’s attention. “Is this about Tony?” She prodded. You nodded your head without revealing much. Abby’s jaw dropped.

“Ziva, shut the door. I’ll get the chairs.” Abby said, wheeling some stools over in a makeshift circle. Ziva quickly shut and locked the door.

All three of you got seated. You could see the curiosity in their eyes. “Are we finally going to hear about yours and Tony’s sex life?” Abby asked, raising her eyebrows at you.

Without thinking, you corrected her. “Well, I can’t tell you about something that doesn’t exist.” You said, quickly.

That was how you stunned them both. Their eyes grew even wider, and their jaws almost hit the ground.

“You and Tony haven’t had sex yet?!?!” They both exclaimed in unison.

Before you and Tony started dating, he made his sexual escapades no secret to his coworkers. Everyone assumed it would be the same with you two.

Abby had been pestering you for details. The entire office was at least a little curious. When you didn’t give in, Abby assumed you just wanted to keep it private. She never assumed you both weren’t there yet.

You and Tony were both pretty affectionate outside of the office when you hung out with your friends. So, their assumptions made sense.

“You’re telling me that you and Tony, the man who acted like he was the sex god, haven’t had sex yet?” Ziva asked, still shocked.

“Do you just not want to yet?” Abby asked, trying to understand the situation.

You quickly shook your head. “No, it’s not that all. I really want to,” you began to say, which got both Ziva and Abby to smirk at you.

“The problem is Tony doesn’t, but instead of talking about it, he keeps dodging the subject. I feel like he’s not attracted to me anymore, or he never was. Every time I think about it, I start to spiral.” You rambled.

Ziva and Abby were always there to calm you down whenever you were overthinking or needed advice.

Abby immediately started shaking her head. “This is Tony we’re talking about. There’s no way he isn’t attracted to you. He practically drools every time you walk in the room.” Abby tried to persuade you. Ziva nodded, agreeing with Abby.

“Then, explain this. Last night, he invited me over for a movie night. We were making out on his couch, and I thought he was finally going to go for it. But as soon as things started to get heated, he said we should probably get some sleep because we had work in the morning.” You explained.

They both grimaced as you told the story. They didn’t know what it was, but they knew from your story that something was off with Tony.

“Well maybe he’s just nervous.” Ziva suggested, trying to calm your nerves. You were expecting the worst case scenario. You needed them to bring you some optimism.

“But, this is Tony. He’s never been nervous about sex with anyone else.” You argued.

Nothing added up, and you’d been wracking your brain for days.

Ziva and Abby started thinking of other possible explanations, but then there was a knock on the door.

All three of you froze. Abby pressed some keys on her keyboard and pulled up the security camera from the hallway.

She looked over her shoulder to see your reaction. On the screen, you noticed Tony patiently standing outside Abby’s door.

“Please don’t tell him that I’m here.” You said, locking yourself in Abby’s back room. You moved behind the wall, so Tony couldn’t see you through the glass.

You could still hear what was going on in the other room. Abby walked over to the door and quickly opened it. “Oh, hey, Tony. How’re you?” She asked, nonchalantly.

Tony looked between Abby and the now-unlocked door. “Why was your door locked? Oh, hey Ziva.” He said, spotting Ziva over Abby’s shoulder.

“Just having some girl talk,” Abby said, aware that Tony was suspicious. He nodded his head slowly, realizing it made enough sense.

“Have either of you seen my lovely girlfriend? I haven’t seen her anywhere. She seemed a little upset this morning. I think I may have screwed up. I just want to talk to her.” He explained to both the girls.

They both nodded, pretending this was brand new information.

You noticed the other room went silent. Neither Abby, Ziva, nor Tony made a noise. Unbeknownst to you, Abby and Ziva pointed towards the back room.

They knew you both needed to talk this out, so you could go back to being cheesy in the honeymoon stage.

Then, you heard someone tapping on the glass door to the back room.

If there was one thing you should’ve known, it was that Abby couldn’t keep a secret.

You took a deep breath, and then took a step towards the glass door. Tony’s eyes met yours. He gave you a soft smile through the glass.

You gave him a half-hearted smile and slid the door open.

“Abby? Can you we use your back room to talk for a minute?” Tony called over his shoulder. His eyes didn’t leave yours for a second. “As long as you both keep it PG,” Abby quipped, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Thank you, Abby,” you both said in unison. He took a step closer to you and closed the door behind him.

He scooted you both to where you couldn’t be seen by Abby and Ziva, who were both trying to read your lips.

“I know where this is going, Tony. If you’re going to dump me, can you please do it later at home? I will be mortified if our friends have to watch me leave this room crying.” You told him, bracing for his response.

Tony’s concern increased significantly. He had no idea what you were talking about. He grabbed both your hands. “Slow down. Why would I be breaking up with you?” He asked you.

He tried to read your expression for an answer. He thought if he looked hard enough into your eyes, he could read your mind. You tried to organize what you wanted to say. You were having a hard time arranging a coherent sentence.

“Please talk to me. That’s absolutely crazy? Do you know how much I love you?” He asked you, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand.

You almost felt frustrated that he didn’t know what you were talking about.

“But you won’t have sex with me, Tony. And you won’t talk to me about why that is. You have plenty of experience, so there’s no reason for you to be nervous. So, the only thing I can think of is you’re not attracted to me anymore.” You explained.

He started to slowly shake his head, realizing what spurred your assumptions. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your shoulder, begging for forgiveness.

“That’s not it at all. I promise. I am very attracted to you.” He said, kissing you. His lips pressed against yours firmly. It took everything in your power to pull away from the kiss.

“Then, what is it, Tony?” You asked. You were dreading the possibility of Tony dumping you, but more than that, you wanted answers. You needed clarity.

Tony took a deep breath, looking down at your hands in his. He pulled you over to two of Abby’s stools. He held one stool steady for you to sit down, and then he sat on the other one.

“I’ve been avoiding sex because I’m terrified. I mean, yeah, I’ve had a lot of flings and one night stands, but that’s completely different from sex with you. I’ve never had sex with you. You mean so much more to me than those flings ever did. With you, I want it to be special and perfect, but I’ve never had to do special before. I’m scared that I’ll ruin it.” He explained to you.

You had never seen Tony so vulnerable. His anxiety and worry was written all over his face. You immediately pulled him into your arms, tightly hugging him.

You ran your hands up and down his back, trying to comfort him. Your heart was breaking for him and how concerned he was.

You moved so you were sitting sideways in his lap. He wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his head in the crook of your neck.

You slowly laced your fingers through his hair. “You aren’t going to mess anything up.” You whispered in his ear. He looked up at you with an unsure expression.

You pressed a kiss against his temple. “Tony, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Nothing is perfect. I don’t want you to be stressed about this. I appreciate how much you care, and that’s why it will be so special. It’ll be special because you love me and I love you. That is all I need. That’s all I care about, okay?” You reassured him.

His heart was practically melting. Somehow, you always knew the right thing to say. “I love you.” He whispered to you. Your lips curved up into a smile.

He leaned in and kissed your lips softly. “Thank you for understanding.” He said, giving you a kiss after each word he said. You nodded your head.

“How about you come over tonight, and I’ll set everything up, okay? You don’t need to worry about any of it. Just come over.” You suggested.

Tony was so grateful for you. You were able to calm him down when no one else could. “I love you so much.” He told you, smiling. You stood up and pulled him to his feet.

“Let’s get back to work before Gibbs kills us.” You told him, sliding the door open for him. You both stepped back into Abby’s lab and were met with expectant faces. Abby and Ziva was very curious about how your talk went.

“Please tell me your talk went good. You guys are so perfect. I don’t want you to break up.” Abby told you both, with a worried expression. She wrapped her arms around both of you, pulling you into a group hug.

“We’re not breaking up.” You and Tony said in unison.

Abby pulled away from you, looking relieved. “You’re not breaking up. I’m so happy for you both. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was worried we’d have to pick teams, and I know how much you love each other— but wait that means,” Abby interrupted her own rambling.

Smirks appeared on both Abby’s and Ziva’s faces. “You two are having sex tonight.” Ziva said, noticing the red on Tony’s cheeks.

“We are not taking any comments at this time.” Tony said, putting his hand on the small of your back. He attempted to quickly guide you towards the door, but Gibbs suddenly walked through the door.

“What are all of you doing down here?” He asked, looking around at all four of you.

You and Tony kept your mouths shut. There was no way you were explaining this to Gibbs. Abby, on the other hand, couldn’t lie to Gibbs.

“We did some relationship counseling. Now, they both have some big plans for tonight.” Abby said, winking at the two of you.

The last thing you expected was a chuckle out of Gibbs. You stood in shock as he actually laughed at the situation. You expected a scolding and him to yell “back to work.”

“This day just gets weirder and weirder.” Tony said, taking this awkward silence to usher you both out of the room.

“I’m excited for tonight.” Tony whispered to you, as you both stepped in the elevator. He knew that everything would be okay.

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[extrasteps]

DNF Fluff Challenge

For Dizzy, who requested DNF Fluff

George adjusted the font size, playing around with its positioning until he was happy with it. The image he'd uploaded himself already, freshly taken with his subject looking guilelessly at his phone. He smirked. Yes, this was perfect. Now, it was just a matter of getting it printed. He selected the sizes, inserted his banking details and then finalized the order. The confirmation page told him it would be printed and delivered within 2-3 days. George shut down his computer. He wanted a smoothie after all of that hard work. A few days later, he'd more or less forgotten about it. Dream had been all over the place, on a rapid rollercoaster of hyper focused on his actual content and then hyper melancholic, railing against how unfair it was that every single point he was making was taken out of context, or deliberately misconstrued. George only cared because Dream did. Personally, he thought that that particular group severely lacked media literacy, common sense and were pretty hypocritical to boot, so he wasn't all that fussed over cutting ties. It wasn't like he'd ever be moving back there to see any of them again. No, he was perfectly at home here, despite the myriads of ways he was allergic to this ridiculous country. He'd fight tooth and nail to stay here and do exactly what he was doing now, trying to find any small thing he could do to cheer Dream up and help him move on from this. The same as what Dream had been doing for him for years now. The bell went for the gate and George wandered over to his monitor. On the screen, a UPS driver waved at the intercom and George buzzed him through.

Sapnap was streaming with his Spanish friends, he was pretty sure, and Dream was locked away in his office working on coding with Callahan, so that left George to meet the driver at the front door, signing for the package.

After closing the door and watching for the driver to leave, the gate locking behind him, George went and sat down on the couch. The package was addressed to him, and he ripped it open, absolutely delighted as he pulled up the first sweatshirt. It was perfect.

Now, he had to decide if he would interrupt Dream or wait for him to surface from his office. Normally, he wouldn't interrupt Dream unless it was an actual emergency. He knew himself how annoying it was to be taken out of the zone, especially if you were writing in multiple coding languages. He should probably wait. George put on the sweatshirt in his size and then curled up on the couch, putting some Breaking Bad on in the background as he waited for Dream. He didn't know how much later it was when Dream gently shook his shoulder, waking him. "I'm sorry," Dream said, smiling down at him as George blearily looked up, "were you waiting for me?" Dream knew him too well. This was classic 'George waiting for Dream' behavior, and it showed how often it happened that Dream could now clock it immediately for what it was.

"I got you a present," George said, clearing his throat and sitting up. He searched around under the blanket he'd pulled over himself, finding the second sweatshirt lodged in under his hip. He tugged it free and handed it to Dream. Dream blinked at the design, that slow smile that George loved so much blooming on his face. "You made this?" Dream asked.

George just smiled back. Dream laughed and pulled the sweater on over his riotous curls, and George leaned back into the couch, taking in his creation. It was a beige color, with a picture of Patches front and center, framed with pink sparkles and hearts. The text, in the most girly pink font George had been able to find, read 'Daddy's Little Whore.' "I love it," Dream beamed.

George let his blanket drop, showing that he was wearing one as well, and Dream laughed again. He held out a hand, pulling George up to his feet as he took it. "It's perfect," Dream said affectionately, his hands coming up to frame George's face. "You're perfect." He kissed George in that tender way of his, thumbs stroking his cheeks and lips gentle as he coaxed George to respond to him. George melted into it, wrapping his arms around Dream's torso, lazily returning his sweet kisses. "Let's go show Sapnap," Dream said a few minutes later, smirking as he leaned back and looked down at George. "What if he's still streaming?" George asked. It went without saying, he assumed, that these would be house sweatshirts only. "We'll stand in the doorway where we can't be seen," Dream assured him. ***

"What the fuck?" Sapnap said with a shocked laugh. "What the actual fuck?!"

Sapnap's chat erupted in question marks and demands to see what he was looking at though his opened door. "No way, chat," Sapnap said, shaking his head. "Not this time."

In the background, in a clip that was analyzed by many fans later, you could definitely make out Dream and George's giggles.

[beyondthesefourwalls]

For Better or Worse

Summary: Getting the phone call that your husband was involved in a training accident was something you had never prepared yourself for, and something that you never wanted to experience again. You felt like your entire world crashed down around you and the only thing that would pick up the pieces would be Bradley opening his eyes. But then he does, and everything starts to turn out worse than you ever thought it could. 

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x Reader (no use of y/n)

Word Count: 5.2K

Warnings: ANGST. So much angst. Language. 

Notes: Based on this request. While this serves as a prequel to my full length series Remember You Even When I Don’t, it’s not necessary to read that in order to read this. Part of The Forgotten Moments.

To all the Forgetful Boy and Pumpkin fans - I’m sorry for the hurt, but I hope you enjoy the first installment that features the reader's perspective! 

__________

You felt like you had been staring at the same paragraph for hours, and that should have been your first indicator that something was wrong. 

Election season as a political journalist meant you were never short on things to cover, especially with the climate so fraught with tension. It was looking to be one of the most interesting Midterms ever and this article should have written itself by now, only you were struggling to find the words. You had felt off all day, but in the last hour or two, it had gotten exponentially worse. You were anxious, fidgety, and you weren’t sure about what. 

All you knew was that something felt wrong. 

Your eyes drifted from the blinking cursor on your computer screen to the solitary framed photo you kept on your desk. A small smile tugged at your lip as you looked at it. It was taken a little over a year ago when Bradley had just gotten back from a three month long deployment and was one of your favorites.

God, you loved that man. You wondered if he was still in the air. He normally texted you when he was done with a flight, but you hadn’t heard from him yet this afternoon. But you knew if anything could help snap you out of this funk, it was your husband. 

Right as you were picking up your phone to text him, though, it started vibrating against the desk. You smiled, thinking for a moment that maybe he had read your mind and was calling you, but it slipped from your face when you saw Jake’s name instead. There was no reason for him to be calling you in the middle of the day when the entire Dagger Squad was going through an exercise today. That pit of anxiety in your stomach grew as you brought the phone to your ear.

“Hey, J.” 

When he said your name, you knew that something was wrong. Jake had become one of your closest friends in the last few years and you had heard a lot of tones from him, but nothing like the way he sounded now. 

“What happened?” you asked. You wished you wouldn’t have. 

There had been an accident, and Bradley was injured during his ejection. They were airlifting him to the hospital on base. You needed to go. You felt all of the air leave your lungs as what he was saying processed through your head. 

You didn’t understand. Bradley had said the drill they were doing today was routine, something they had done multiple times before. He was one of the best pilots in the Navy; the 1% of the 1%. He couldn’t have been hurt. 

Jake called your name, and you think maybe it wasn’t the first time. “I need you to breathe for me, dollface.”

It’s not until you let out a loud gasp that you realized you had been holding your breath. 

“J, I - is he okay? Tell me that he’s okay. Please.”

Jake was quiet on the other end and you thought there were tears welling in your eyes at the silence and as what that means hit you. You’re out of your desk chair and running down the stairs without another word. 

———————

You spotted everyone easily as soon as you entered through the emergency room doors. Jake saw you first, standing immediately and stepping toward you. 

“Where is he?” you asked right away, not bothering with any pleasantries. 

“Doll-“

“Jake, where is Bradley?” you demanded, your voice overpowering him.

The blonde took a deep breath and you never wanted to see this look on his face looking back at you ever again, because you knew it was going to hurt you before any words even came out. 

“They just took him in for surgery.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from screaming. Surgery. He was hurt enough to need surgery. You tried to tell yourself it wasn’t bad. Any kind of injury could require surgery. It didn’t mean it was severe. You took a deep breath, trying to steel yourself despite the tears brewing in your eyes. 

“What happened?” you asked. Jake looked away from you, his jaw clenched. You noticed behind him how the rest of your friends exchanged wary looks with one another. No one wanted to be the one to tell you, and these were people you considered family who usually never had problems telling you anything. The sinking feeling was growing bigger and bigger. 

You met Pete’s eyes over Jake’s shoulder. Devastation was written all over his face and you pushed past Jake to get to Bradley’s godfather.

“Pete. What happened?”

“Sweetheart..” the older man trailed off, shaking his head. 

You gritted your teeth as frustration bubbled inside of you. You spun to face the rest of the waiting room. “Goddamnit, someone tell me what the hell is going on, right now.”

Pete laid a hand gently on your arm. “Let’s sit down, okay?”

“I don’t want to sit down,” you snapped, jerking your arm back from his touch. “I want to know what happened to my husband.”

“There was a malfunction with his engine.” His voice was pained, and you knew he was hurting, too. But you couldn’t focus on that right now. “His ejection got jammed at first. When he was finally able to, he got banged up. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.” 

Despite how badly you needed to know, part of you wished you wouldn’t have demanded the information. Because now that you had it you could see it so clearly in your head, what Pete was describing. Your sweet husband, fighting to eject from the jet that he loved so much. Floating to the ground and unable to guide his own fall. You couldn’t help but think of his father in this moment, knowing that the circumstances of his death were along the same lines. 

The universe couldn’t possibly be so cruel to have his son meet the same fate, could it? 

You listened as Pete continued to explain how he, Nat and Bob had been the ones in the air with him when it happened. Fanboy and Payback had been in the tower, but Jake and Javy were already out on the tarmac and had been quick to go with the air search and rescue. They found Bradley amongst the trees thirty miles from base. Absently, you were glad it wasn’t the ocean. 

You looked around the room as you tried to process what you were hearing. Everyone was looking at you, concern and their own worry etched across their faces. Your eyes stopped on Javy, your eyebrows furrowing together. 

He, like all the others, was still in his flight suit. The dark material was snug to his body, but you noticed something that hadn’t been there before. The Dagger Squad patch was flecked with red. The area surrounding it was darker than the rest, almost appearing wet, and when your eyes flickered down, you noticed the cuffs of his sleeves were stained, too.

“Is that blood?” you asked before you could stop yourself. He noticed where you were looking and glanced down at himself. His dark eyes widened when he saw what you were seeing. Panic flashed across his face as he looked back up at you, but you could only stare in a daze. Pete had said that Javy was one of the ones that went with search and rescue. “Is that…is that Bradley’s blood?” 

Your heart was beating so hard that you could hear it in your head, and you found yourself struggling to breathe again. You thought someone was saying something, but you couldn’t hear them over the ringing in your ears.  

“I think,” you said, your voice cracking as you tried to get the words out, “I think I need to sit down.” 

Your knees gave out right after you finished speaking, but Pete was there to catch you before you hit the ground. He held onto you tightly, not letting go until he was gently pushing you down into one of the hard, uncomfortable waiting room chairs. You did your best to suck in deep breaths, but it felt like there was a weight on your chest. He sat down beside you, an arm wrapped around your shoulder. You heard him telling you to breathe, in and out, in and out, but you couldn’t seem to listen. 

You almost didn’t feel like you were in your body anymore. All you could picture was Bradley, bleeding and alone as his friends fought to get to him. How badly injured was he? You remembered how off you felt all day, but how the anxiety had started for you nearly two hours before Jake called you. Is that how long he had been there before they found him? 

You couldn’t lose him. 

You couldn’t, you couldn’t, you couldn’t. 

You gasped for breath. Pete still had his arm around you, and you don’t know when they moved, but Nat was on your other side and Jake was on his knees on the ground in front of you, both of your hands held tightly in his. You think he may have pinched you, because there was a dull throb on the top of your hand. His voice sounded like static, but it slowly, slowly became clearer. 

“Listen to me. Right now. He would not want you falling apart like this. You know that. How do you think he’s going to feel when he wakes up and you’re not there beside him because you landed yourself in the hospital because you passed out instead, huh? You need to breathe. Please, dollface. Breathe.” 

The words were harsh, but they got through to you, which you knew was his intention. You sucked in a long and deep breath, letting it out slowly at his encouragement. Jake squeezed your hand as Nat rubbed your back. 

“That a girl,” he said, and you mimic his breathing at his request for a minute before you finally don’t feel like the room is closing in on you. You felt the tears streaming down your face for the first time and took one of your hands from his to wipe them away. Pete placed a paper cup of water into your hand and you shakily took a sip. 

“I’m okay,” you whispered.

But it was silly to think anyone would believe you. Unless you could see that Bradley was okay with your own eyes, you doubted you would ever be okay again. 

___________

It felt like hours passed without an update. You didn’t move from your seat, and the rest of the team stayed, too. Javy and Fanboy had left in the middle of your panic attack, only to return less than an hour later out of their flight suits and with a change of clothes for everyone else. Javy had hugged you tightly, whispering in your ear how sorry he was. 

It was nearing late evening when a doctor in surgical scrubs came out, a large plastic bag in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Your stomach twisted and you found yourself holding your breath again. 

“Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw?”

Everyone around you shot up instantly. You were slower to stand, your heart heavy in your chest and weighing you down. The doctor looked around with raised eyebrows, clearly not expecting the entourage. Your voice shook and cracked when you spoke.

“I’m his wife.”

You declined when he offered to speak in private, knowing you weren’t strong enough to repeat anything he may tell you. You listened as he explained all of Bradley’s injuries. Bruises and lacerations. A collapsed lung. More broken ribs than not. Severe internal bleeding, and a skull fracture that’s caused swelling in his brain. Each injury seemed worse than the last and you could feel the bile rising in your throat as he detailed what the surgery consisted of and how he would likely be unconscious for a few days. 

He was mid-sentence about stitches and blood clots when you interrupted him with the one question circulating in your head and pushing for dominance. “Is he…is he going to be okay?” 

The doctor gave you what you were sure was meant to be a reassuring smile, though it looked more like a grimace on his tired, drawn face. 

“We’ll be able to know more once he wakes up, Mrs. Bradshaw.” 

The words provided little comfort. There was a ball of anxiety in your throat that was threatening to choke you. You barely registered him saying a nurse would come out to get you as soon as they had Bradley moved out of recovery and into a room. The noise of the waiting area faded into a static buzz as you opened the bag of personal belongings he had handed you. Bradley’s flight suit was folded, his dog tags laying on top. You took a staggering step back and sunk into the chair behind you as you pulled them out. They were cool to the touch, his name, social security number and blood type imprinted perfectly into the silver. It felt wrong holding them in your hand without them dangling from his neck. Tears welled in your eyes as you quickly reached back into the bag. His flight suit was heavy. Your hands fumbled with the thick material, searching for the inside pocket below the name patch. You let out a breath of relief when your fingers grasped his wedding band; he didn’t wear it when he was flying, but he always kept it with him, right near his heart. 

Bradley loved his ring. He hated taking it off. You would keep it safe for him until you could slip it back on his finger. 

Your moment of relief was short lived, though, when you realized your fingers were damp and sticky. It was then that you noticed the rips in the suit he took so much pride in from where the medics and doctors had been so rushed to get to his body that they chose to cut it off of him instead of simply unzipping it. You raised one of your shaking hands up in front of you only to see it smeared red. It was almost in slow motion that you processed that what you were seeing was the blood that had seeped so deeply into the suit that it hadn’t dried in the hours it had been stuffed in this bag, still damp enough to transfer onto your skin. 

Bradley’s blood was on your hands, and you screamed.

__________

Bradley looked so small in the hospital bed. That was a word you had never associated with him before. Since the moment you sat down next to him at the wedding that brought you together, he had been larger than life. But now, he’s pale against the white sheets, even with the bruises marring his already scarred skin. There were wires hooked to him and machines beeping and you were scared to go too close, yet you couldn’t resist grasping his hand between both of yours as you sat in the chair by his bed. 

You had been allowed back in his room a few hours ago, but this is the first time you had been alone with him. Everyone had come back one at a time so that you never had to leave him, but the nurses had stretched the allowance for visiting hours for as long as they could before declaring that only one immediate family member was permitted to stay overnight. It was no question of you being here, and no one had been silly enough to suggest otherwise. 

“I’m right here, baby,” you assured him, “I’m right here.”

You almost expected him to respond - you had never wanted to hear his voice so badly. You moved the chair as close as it could get to the bed, laying your head on the mattress with both your hands grasping his, never looking away from his face.

___________

The next morning, Jake arrived with a duffle bag and a cup of coffee with your name on it that he held hostage until you forced down a bottle of water and half of the breakfast sandwich he handed you. 

“He’ll be pissed when he wakes up if we didn’t make sure you took care of yourself.” 

You knew he was right, so you drank the water he handed you and stomached the food that you could barely taste and then changed into some of the clothes Nat had packed and sent with him, because it’s what Bradley would want. 

Jake sat with you there beside the bed for a long time. You don’t speak much, but it’s nice, you suppose, not to be alone. A nurse came in at one point to check his vitals and when you looked at her with hopeful eyes, she gave you a sad look in return as she explained there hasn’t been any changes yet. The door clicked shut behind her and for a few minutes, the only sound was the steady beeping of Bradley’s heart monitor that reminded you he was still alive. 

You stared at the dark bruises and cuts on your husband’s face and gripped his hand tightly in yours. He was still so beautiful. You felt a lump growing in your throat as you let out a shaky breath.

“I won’t survive without him, J,” you said quietly. 

Jake was a lot of things, misunderstood in a lot of the ways that you happened to understand, and he would never lie to you. So when he firmly told you “you won’t have to,” you did your best to believe him. But then you remembered the feel of Bradley’s blood on your hands from his cut up flight suit and the doctor not giving you a straight answer on if he would be okay or not and it was so hard. 

You bit hard on the inside of your cheek as you traced your finger over the tan line on Bradley’s. His wedding ring hangs heavy on the chain with his dog tags around your neck, tucked into your sweatshirt. It wasn’t where it belonged and the ache grew in your chest. 

Jake spoke your name gently and you squeezed your eyes shut, shaking your head. You heard the scrape of his chair as he got up, moving to kneel beside the one you were in. You could feel the warmth of his hand through your clothes when he rested it on your back, and even the friendly gesture that had been done hundreds of times before felt so wrong. This was all just so wrong. All you wanted was the man laying in front of you. 

“Look at me,” Jake urged. He sighed when you refused, letting a moment pass before he spoke. “He was thinking about you when his plane was going down, you know.”  

Despite your initial hesitation, your head snapped to him. His face was open and honest, no hint of anything but sincerity. He didn’t even blink at the tears or the incredulous look on your broken face. 

“What?” you breathed out. “How do you know that?” 

“We could hear him on the coms from the ground. We heard the moment everything started going wrong, and when he realized things were going wrong, all he could think about was you. He said he was sorry, and that he loved you. In the scariest moment of his life, he was thinking about you. He loves you so much. More than I’ve ever seen anyone love someone else.” 

Your mind whirled at the information. Jake rubbed soft circles into your back as he continued on, his voice softer than the firm tone he had taken before. “You know as well as I do that your husband is a stubborn son of a bitch. He wouldn’t survive that accident just to make you sit in a hospital room and watch him die on you afterward.”

“You’re not a doctor, J. You don’t know that,” you argued, voice cracking with emotion. 

“But I do. And you do, too. Have faith in him, dollface. Don’t you give up on him, because he’d never give up on you. Do you understand?”

You knew Jake wasn’t telling you all of this to be malicious. Brutal honesty was a foundation to your friendship and he was just fulfilling his end of that. He knew that you were spirling and he was doing whatever he could to plant your feet back on the ground, but you felt something inside of you crack anyway. Your heart ached, thinking of Bradley in that moment - of the fear and the panic he must have felt. You could almost feel echoes of it in your chest now and it was an ugly, cruel feeling. 

But in what he probably thought was his last moments, he was still thinking of you. 

A sob escaped as, finally, you nodded. You hiccuped out that you understood and Jake pulled you into a hug as you cried. Your hand clutched at Bradley’s the entire time, longing for him to just squeeze it back. 

________

You aren’t sure how many strings had to be pulled to make it work, but over the next few days, someone was with you from the time visiting hours started to the time they got kicked out at night. They made sure you ate and drank, and while they never breached trying to get you to go home, they did insist on you taking a few minutes to shower in the bathroom attached to Bradley’s hospital room. When they were switching shifts with each other and an extra person was around to stay with him, they coaxed you to take a lap or two around the ward. You knew how worried they were; not just about him, but about you. In the back of your mind, you were thankful for the support system that was your found family. 

But each hour that went by without hearing Bradley’s voice, or seeing those dark eyes of his looking back at you, it got harder and harder to keep your composure. 

It was late on the third night. Visiting hours had ended hours ago, Nat having left you with a promise that someone would be there first thing in the morning with coffee and breakfast, just like that morning and the one before. She had held onto you a little tighter than she ever had when she left, and you knew she was hurting too; everyone was. 

You weren’t sure how long you had dozed off for, but when you startled awake, a nurse was in the room checking Bradley’s vitals. Her greeting to you was gentle and quiet before she focused back on what she was doing.  

“Apologies, dear. Didn’t mean to wake you.” 

You rubbed your tired eyes and rolled your neck to release some of the pain you felt there. “Any changes?” 

“Nothing yet. But no news is sometimes good news in these cases.”

You’d been doing your best to always be as kind as you could with the hospital staff, but you couldn’t muster up anything more than a grimace in an effort to smile in response this time. 

You picked at the blanket someone had thought to grab off your couch and bring to you as the nurse continued with her check in. She made a few more notes on the computer before she gave you a small smile, telling you that she’d be back again in a few hours before pulling the door shut on the way out.

Bradley laid still in his hospital bed and for a few minutes, you let the steady rise and fall of his chest mesmerize you. The room was silent aside from the heart monitor on the other side of the bed. 

The steady beeping felt like it was mocking you. 

He was alive, right here in front of you, his perfect heart still beating. But at the same time he seemed so far away. 

“You know,” you found yourself saying, “when you told me I should take some time off of work before my busy season really hits, you could have just taken me on a trip upstate or something. You didn’t have to go to such extremes.” 

You looked at him, willing him to open his eyes and respond. You laughed humorlessly and shook your head when you were met with nothing. “This has to be a joke,” you whispered to yourself. You sat up straighter in your chair, leaning closer to the bed. “This isn’t funny anymore, Bradley. It never was. You can wake up now.” 

You twisted the ring on your finger, glancing down for a moment at the diamond that you loved so much. You’ll never forget the moment he put it on for you for the first time, how amazing you felt; it was the complete opposite of the emotions of right now. When you looked back at him, his expression as unmoving as before, you couldn’t help the quiet scoff you let out. 

“I’m so pissed off right now, baby. I know that I have no right to be. I know that this is your job and that this wasn’t your fault. But I am so fucking angry.” 

You wanted to scream when your words continued to go unanswered. The noise you let out was as close to it as you could get without alerting any of the nurses. 

“We make decisions together,” you continued. You were practically vibrating as you seethed. “Well I didn’t have a say in this one. So you don’t get to leave me, Bradley Bradshaw. You aren’t allowed.” 

Tears gathered in your eyes but you didn’t bother to wipe them away. Bradley hated when you cried; maybe letting them fall would make him wake up so he could wipe them away. Deep down, you knew that wouldn't be the case. 

“You’re always talking about how strong I am but you know I can only take so much before I break, right? Do you know that?” your voice cracked on the last few words, almost like they were proving your point. The beeping from the machine echoed in the room, but suddenly, hearing that wasn’t enough. You threw the blanket off of you and stood from the chair that had been your home for the last three nights, moving to sit on the edge of his hospital bed instead. With a staggering breath, you gently laid your hand over his chest. 

Bradley’s heart thrummed under your palm, anchoring you. The anger you were feeling seeped out of you in waves, leaving you consumed with the grief and heartache you had been trying so hard not to drown in since you arrived at the hospital. Mindful of all the wires and his IV, you shifted so you could lay your head where your palm had been. You choked on a sob at the steady rhythm echoing back at you. 

“I can’t breathe without you, Bradley. You’re so ingrained in every single part of me and baby, I can’t breathe. Please. Please wake up.”

__________

Bob was with you the next day and had just left to go down to the cafeteria when you noticed the crinkle between Bradley’s eyebrows. 

The grimace would be subtle to anyone else, but you had his face and expressions memorized, and you had been doing nothing but staring at him for the last three days, waiting to see a change.

“Bradley?” you asked urgently. You felt the faintest of squeezes back to your hand and your heart raced in excitement. “Oh, Bradley. Can you open your eyes for me, honey?” 

You hadn’t considered the harshness of the fluorescent overhead lights, so when you saw him flinching, you jumped up from the chair to dim them. You rushed back to his side, slipping your hand back in his and squeezing again.

Slowly, oh so slowly, his eyelids fluttered open. He struggled for a moment to get his bearings and he groaned when he shifted on the bed. You were quick to try and soothe him. 

“Baby, baby, hey, don’t try and move, okay?” 

Despite your warning, or maybe because of it, Bradley slowly turned his head toward you. Your breath caught in your throat as you finally, finally, saw his eyes again. 

“Wow,” he rasped, “you’re beautiful.” 

His voice was thick from disuse and still, it was the best thing you had ever heard. You let out a surprised, delighted laugh, and you couldn’t stop the tears that came even if you tried. At the sight of them, Bradley willed you not to cry.

“I’m sorry, it’s just so good to hear your voice and see those eyes, baby,” you responded as you wiped some of the moisture away. “Let me call your doctor.”

You were standing to press the call button on his bed when he spoke again, voice rough and pain filled. His words stopped you in your tracks.

“Are you…not my doctor?” 

Your watery gaze widened and snapped to connect with his own, and for the first time, it registered that his eyes weren’t the warm, love filled whiskey ones you were used to. They lacked even a hint of familiarity as he looked at you.  

No. No, no, no. 

You jammed the call button over and over and over again, desperation starting to claw at you. When you sunk back into the chair, your hand unconsciously gripping his tighter than before, you tried to keep your voice as level as possible, but it sounded pleading and devastating even to your own ears. 

“Bradley…do you know who I am? Do you know my name?” 

His thick eyebrows knitted together, and oh, god, he was taking so long to answer, you thought you were going to throw up. When he slowly shook his head, you could feel the bile rising. 

“I can’t remember. I’m sorry. Should I?” 

You gasped, but before you could say anything, the room was filled with doctors and nurses alike. Your hand was ripped from his and you were pushed to the back of the room as they examined him. They asked him question after question and when he wrongly answered the year and his age, your horror grew.

“Lieutenant Commander-”

“It’s just Lieutenant,” Bradley incorrectly corrected. You gasped as the room quieted. The doctor cleared his throat and took a step back.

“According to your official Navy file, you were promoted to Lieutenant Commander two years ago. And unfortunately, Lieutenant Commander, it’s no longer 2018. It’s 2022, sir.”  

Your hands covered your mouth in shock. Bradley’s eyes met yours and you saw the moment they flickered to the sparkling ring on your left hand. You watched as they widened minutely. At the same moment he slipped into unconsciousness again, your knees gave out. You crashed to the ground with a pained cry, and even more than before, you felt like your world had been titled on its axis, never to right itself again. 

---------------

End Notes: My entire soul hurt writing this and I don't think I've ever agonized over a story so much. I really, really hope you enjoyed it, and would love to hear your feedback.

Special thanks to Mak and Em for everything, as always. I appreciate you suffering through this with me.

Masterlist

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[raelle-writing]

DFF Theory: Non's brother is White

Warning that this post will contain spoilers for episode 6 of DFF, spoilers under the break

One of my biggest unanswered questions about DFF right now is: Who is New? And will he play a role in the series in the future?

We don't KNOW that New will have a role in the series, of course, but he's talked about a lot. he could just be there to identify Non as the lesser child while New is the golden child, and show why Non feels like he can't talk to his parent about his problems...

So, what do we know about New?

1. Based on the family photos shown in episode 5, we can see that New is EITHER a couple of years older or a couple of years younger than Non. Non is in 11th grade, so that would make New either around 19 or 15.

2. We know he's studying abroad and his family is sending him money. We don't know where, or what age he is. It's implied that he's older by the comparison, but it's never said specifically (unless there's an honorific that isn't being translated into English). We also know that New needs a lot of monetary support wherever he is abroad, since Non's mom talks about taking out an emergency loan to send him more money.

So then, IF we assume New is part of the show, who is he? I'm going to go ahead and say he's not Phee because we know Phee is the ❤️, wants to be Non's BF, and he's not abroad.

So who does that leave?

The three people I can think of are Tan, Perth, and White.

Perth might be the most likely because we haven't seen much of him yet, but he IS in the background of some of the casino scenes. And maybe it's possible that Perth plays New, and New is actually not a good kid and is in with a gang but has his whole family fooled, and the reason he keeps having to ask for money is because he's in debt or keeps losing it...

But I don't think that's likely, so that rules out Perth.

Next is Tan, who is probably the most obvious choice. But I don't think the timeline makes sense, considering New would be older or younger than Non and Tan is in the same grade as the other main characters. So unless he was able to fake his name, age, and schooling records it would've been impossible for him to transfer into their school in the same year as the rest. It is possible that he could pull that off, but Non's family is shown to not have money, so I don't know how he could've pulled off faking those records. So IMO, Tan is out.

The last option is White, which I will say, DOES fit the timeline. If Non's brother New is actually younger than him and brilliant, he could be studying abroad in an advanced program, and it might also explain why his family keeps needing to send him money since he wouldn't be able to get a job if he was that young.

White is the youngest of the group since he calls everyone there "Phi" and at the beginning, the friend group teases Tee about "tricking kids." White also shows a lot of capability in tense moments, and is the one who is the best with technology.

White acts scared and cries a lot when the others are around, but when left to his own devices he steals the tape, watches it, finds a gun and steals it. He's also the one who is good with technology. He mentions in the first episode that he'll work on boosting the signal of their walkie talkie, which isn't a simple thing to do. He's good with computers, probably too good for his age.

I think that of all the people who we've seen so far in the show, White is the most likely to be Non's brother. The comparisons are a misdirect, so we wouldn't suspect him. White has Tee (who is the person who has screwed Non over the most so far) wrapped around his little finger from the beginning. He plays up being cute and helpless until the exact moment he needs to be capable, then he's capable as hell.

I'm not sure that New is going to play a part in this series, honestly. But if he shows up, I think White is the person who fits the bill best.

[sofiareidings]

The Scenic Route

This story was based off of this photo:

Summary: You and your coworker finally admit your feelings for each other. But your first date doesn't really go as planned.

A/N: I'm not as obsessed with this stories as my others so I apologise if it isn't great. I really didn't have a lot of motivation today and my sister is back in the hospital aswell so we were really busy.

Song Suggestions: La Vie En Rose - Emily Watts

Word Count: 0.8k

The others on the team found it almost comical how oblivious the two of you had been. You both liked each other but didn’t know. Penelope and Emily had been telling you that he definitely liked you. When you didn’t listen Penelope went out of her way to show you the clues through a PowerPoint.

Derek and JJ had been doing the same thing to Spencer. When he finally believed them he spent two weeks planning how to ask you out. Exactly what he needed to do…and then it happened.

Everyone else had gone home from the office but you were finishing up on some paperwork. You were focused on your work and didn’t even notice that Spencer was still there. You kept an eye on him and after a while got the suspicion he didn’t have anything he was still doing but just waiting to talk to you. Everything that Penelope and Emily had been saying felt really likely now but you decided you wanted to see how this played out.

It had been twenty minutes since you finished working but you stayed there at your desk to see if he’d make the first move. You weren’t making it too obvious that you were done working, you had your computer turned on and you just scrolled through the internet mindlessly.

After another ten minutes you finally heard him speak up. “Y/N, are you busy or can we talk?” You smiled then nodded, of course you were free to talk. He got up and leaned onto the empty desk across from you. “So, I was wondering, if maybe you would want to uh…”

“Are you asking me out, Reid?” You cut him off because watching him trying to figure out how to ask you was like watching a puppy try to walk for the first time. He was a little shocked by what you said and you felt this excited feeling growing inside you realising that everyone was right. “Because if you are I would say yes Spence.”

Still a little bit in shock by your statement, this really did not go the way he had planned it to. He cleared his throat then tried to be less stunned while he talked. “You would? I mean, yes. I was hoping to ask you to dinner.” He smiled and stood up a little straighter. “I was thinking we could go out tomorrow? After work?”

“Yeah, I think I could make that work.” Shutting down your computer and starting to pack up. You broke out into a small laugh and finally picked up your jacket and keys. “Well, I should probably go home now. See you tomorrow.” Not sure how to say goodbye to someone you just admitted to liking, you started to reach out for a handshake then played it off as a wave.

Let’s just say that dinner the next day did not work.

You ended up having an emergency case and it just didn’t happen. Both of you should have expected it really.

The date got postponed for almost two weeks until it finally happened. The two of you decided on a small Chinese restaurant quite a bit away. Because of this, you also decided to take the train.

The restaurant was a cute little family owned business that was pretty much empty for the whole dinner. The both of you had a great time but even though you both knew how badly you wanted to just kiss each other neither of you had the guts to make a move. The waiter, a teen girl, was clearly trying to play cupid throughout dinner. There was this moment when it was time to get the bill and your hands touched, for maybe a second. You could feel the warmth of his hand and pulled away scared to make another move.

The train back was incredibly delayed and the train was packed. You found two seats right by the entrance to sit in but because of how full the train was you were practically shoulder to shoulder. Once the train started moving you felt Spencer move his arm away and you had a little bit of an internal panic for a second like maybe you did something wrong. That panic was shut down seconds later when you felt his hand laying behind you and hugging you close to him.

The arm around you was comforting and to tell him that without actually saying it you just leaned into him more. The train slowly started becoming less crowded but as each stop came you felt more and more tired.

The date might not have gone as you two had planned but the feeling this moment gave was better than what either of you could’ve expected.

Right before you started to fall asleep his hand disappeared for a second then came back and started running through your hair. You sunk deeper into his chest until you finally fell asleep, just comforted by him.

[tyrantisterror]

At Sea Without a Map pt. 56

Calibani and Bob have this, you assume/hope. "Hold the line ladies," you say as you run over to the control console and begin trying to figure out how you can turn this situation to your advantage.

Luckily, the computer of this huge sea station is unusually intuitive for technology that was made specifically for a big corporation - you were worried the interface would be a lot clunkier and needlessly buggy than it is, but you guess you have to hand it to Spindle Inc. for making sure their personal tech works at the very least.

You have two main tasks you wish to accomplish: creating a portal home, and freeing Calibani's mom. As you try to figure out which to do first, you feel the weight of your compass in your pocket. Your hand touches it on instinct, and you realize it's changed. It feels... brittle, you suppose, like the plastic is degrading, and you can even feel stress fractures and cracks as your fingers run over it. It's gotten you this far, but it seems you won't have it much longer.

So you should make this count.

Warefore mentioned a Veil Needle, so you look for things pertaining to that. It doesn't take a lot of looking, thankfully - once you bring up the Veil Needle controls, you quickly spot ones about "opening transmission" with other universes, with your home reality being one of the quick-select options. It makes sense - if this station is owned by Spindle Inc, they have to have some way to communicate with home, for resupplying and whatnot.

A bit of clicking brings you to a set of options - apparently you can make some very big portals with this Veil Needle thing, and ones that last a long time, but there's a caveat. Right now the station is in crisis mode, and while it can still open a portal (escape routes would be needed in an emergency, after all), the scale and longevity of said portal is limited. You imagine they don't want the Sea's bigger residents to sneak through.

It's fine. You can open one more than big enough to let your boat through - you just have to get there within thirty minutes. Easy.

As you order the Veil Needle to open the portal, the control console fills with windows describing various functions that you don't know enough about to understand. You feel a sensation similar to that horrible feeling you got when Dr. Warefore was disintegrated, though it's a bit more subdued while also a lot larger - if Dr. Warefore's death was a horrible screech, then this is more of a big rumble of thunder, low and terrifying yet somewhat gentle by comparison.

Thirty minutes on the clock now. You have to free Calibani's mom.

Figuring out phrasing proves to be the biggest hurdle here. Unfortunately, there's no "free the big sea monster" button, so you end up using the search function and typing in the word "release." A dozen or so options are brought to you - "release docking bays," "emergency release docking bays," "release umbilical station," "emergency release umbilical station," and on and on it goes. You attempt to release the docking bays first, but get an error signal - apparently the station can't do it when in crisis mode, which it currently is in. Well, a crisis and an emergency are the same thing, right? You hit "emergency release docking bays."

Above, you hear the sound of screams as several thousand tons of water begin to pour into the space station's upper floors from all directions. That... well, you can deal with that in a minute.

You try to emergency release the "umbilical station," but are hit with another error message, although this one is different: "Umbilical station nonresponsive." That'd probably be ominous if you knew what an umbilical station was.

You press several more emergency releases until, finally, there's a hiss and a pop as the outer shell of Sycorax's cage slowly dislodges from the sea station. The massive serpent cocks her head towards the walls behind her and realizes her freedom has arrived. You watch as she gleefully uncurls her coils and slithers out into the now open sea, turning her head back to regard you, Bob, and Calibani with concern. After all, you're still trapped inside this sea station.

But that's fine! You've got thirty minutes to go back the way you came, get into your boat, and sail away! So long as there's no other surprises, it should be a breeze!

You grab your compass, ignoring how worn and fragile it feels in your hand, and figure out how to go about making this final escape.

[local-idiotic-texan]

UHHWISHEOEBEL SO.. UHM.. PEKELN UHMM OKAY I'LL DO THIS ANOTHER POST

Filler post for now though!! AHEM!! SITE-61 AND IT'S DEPARTMENTS ARE WEIRD:

Security Department - First Line of Defense. The On-Site Guard. The Security Force.

Class-D - The test subjects :3

Scientific Department - Your doctore. The fuckin NEEEEERRRRDDDDSSSS!!!

Medical Department - Your LITERAL Doctores. ALSO NERDS!!!!

Physiology Department - EW THERAPISTS

Mobile Task Force - The guys who do the same thing as Field Agents except they also fight in proxy wars against GoIs for The Foundation :3

Nine Tailed Fox - YOU NEVER WANNA HEAR THESE GUYS BE ACTIVE. SOMETHING WENT ABSOLUTELY WRONG IF YOU HEAR OR SEE THEM GET DEPLOYED. THEY GO INSIDE SITES. NOT OUT OF THEM. INTO THEM.

Foundation Personnel - Basically every single person. If you don't apply for a department, this is what you're in.

Field Crew - It's a department nobody's actually in forever. You get assigned to a temporary crew, and then either get the weapons to go hunt someone or something down (Field Agents) or are assigned something to study or capture that's put in the wild. (Field Researchers)

Janitorial Staff - Clean up the messes personnel and anomalies leave behind.

Custodial Staff - NEVER MISTAKE THEM FOR THE JANITORIAL CREW OR THEY WILL GIVE YOU MOP WATER. The people who work the mess halls, canteens, cafeterias, whatever you call them? They're the chefs behind it all. They're also in charge pf emergency rationing of water and food, providing anomalies with their meals, and more! :)

Internal Security Department - Site Directors, basically. Make sure things are running correctly.

The O5 Council - "but that's not a department!! 🥺" WRONG!!! IT'S THEIR REPRESENTATIVES! THEIR PERSONAL ADVISORS! THEIR SECRETARIES AND ASSISTANTS! HELL, EVEN THE RED RIGHT HAND IS PART OF THIS DEPARTMENT OF THE SAME NAME!

Board of Classification - One per Object Class. A group of people who determine which object gets what object class, why, and how to contain said object. Case. by. case.

Intelligence Agency - Spies, scouts, and bugs for The Foundation. Usually former theater kids.

Ethics Committee - Make sure morals aren't being broken. Surprisingly? Both the strongest and weakest department. Capable of overthrowing The Administrator if support for the cause is UNANIMOUS but also have to find a workaround to "FOR A SCIENCE!!"

Theology Department - Bunch of religious people. Study scripture. Build chapels into their locations, even when it's unauthorized.

Monitoring Committee - FUCKING SNITCHES. "The Ethics Committee is the worst!! 🙄" WRONG!! MONITORING COMMITTEE. FUCKING "O5's Eyes and Ears" IS THEIR NICKNAME THEY FUCKING SNITCH ALL THE GODDAMN TIME OHMYGOD I FUCKING HATE THEM ALL I HOPE THEY DIE

Paedology Committee - Started FROM Site-61, actually! Dedicated to Anomalous Children getting a fucking normal childhood, and a good education! Board of Education, basically. :)

Maintenance and Repair Crew - Makes sure Site Infrastructure is maintained.

Internal Technician Department - Screams because "my computer won't turn on ://" and it's just because you haven't charged it.

Library of Records - Look around in Foundation History to archive lost files, updates records and files ranging from minute details about a person's life to major breakthroughs in Foundation and GoI History!

Federal Administration - World Governments and Politics found out about 2012 :( LUCKILY!! Not that political in Site-61 (as a series). Most members ARE politicians or representatives of their local areas, but sometimes (like the characters who are part of this department in Site-61!!) They're just random civilians who got accepted into The Foundation AS "politicians" so now they're stuck in their offices making legislature or whatever.

Department of Public Affairs - The Public found out about 2012 :( LUCKILY!! This department exists! It's mostly full of retirement-aged people (60 - 80) who wanna still receive a paycheck so all they do in exchange is represent The Foundation out in public and approve of what the public can and cannot do with the information they have about certain anomalies

yeah :3

[darkmatters-ghost]

Shadamy week - Day 4: Power Swap

Get ready for a cliche chonker of a oneshot! I had a whole list of each tarot card and what they meant but when I was adjusting the length almost all of them got the guillotine.

"Sorry, Amy, but I can't find anything wrong."

"What do you mean? Can't you feel it?"

The universe decided to be loud that morning. There wasn't a better way to describe it. When she had woken up that morning the world was buzzing terribly loudly. Combine that with the feeling of dread hanging in the air and it was a one way ticket to an emergency tarot reading.

Which was interesting to say the least. The first three out of five cards were all bad cards. Cards with implications of destruction and difficult trials. It made her feel like there was something she needed to fix in the world, or a test she needed to pass. 

The last two...

"Umm, no..." She could read tails like a book, he felt bad that he couldn't give her a good answer.

"But it's so loud!"

"I'm sorry, but I just can't hear it. I could run another diagnostic if you want?"

She nodded. The fuzz in the air around her was getting louder. And she couldn't help but curl inwards to protect herself.

So Tails turned his swivel chair back to the large computer screen from before. She watched Tails tinker with dozens of different graphs and measurements. Eggman's recent known activity, the flow of time, chaos energy in the vicinity. There were so many that she wondered how so much data could possibly be useful.

"Huh... That's odd."

She perked up, "What? What is it!?" Maybe this is what she needs to fix!

"Well, according to my readings, there's a bit more chaos energy in this area than there should be."

"Does chaos energy change like that often?"

Tails shook his head. "Almost never. The only time it fluctuates like this is if we have a chaos Emerald," he hesitated. "Or when Shadow is nearby."

Shadow..? "Why does he emit chaos energy?" She asked.

Tails opened his mouth to respond, but someone else beat him to it.

"I work with chaos powers." They both jumped and turned to the open garage door. Shadow, in all his glory, was standing there. Giving his usual 'somewhat unamused' expression. "Not to mention that most of my body is chaos energy transformed into matter."

"Hi shadow!" Amy smiled. Shadow was nicer than people give him credit for. Then she hesitated, looking at him closer as he walked in. He seemed... Pale. Was he okay?

"U-uh, yeah!" Tails said. "You're just in time for... Whatever Amy is dealing with."

 Shadow noticed her looking at him and turned towards Tails in defiance. "I'm not here to investigate Amy's personal issues. I'm here because I have my own."

Amy couldn't decide if Shadow was respecting her privacy or just being self-absorbed. She preferred the first one.

"Well, what is it?" Tails asked.

It took a moment before Shadow was willing to answer. "The world is quiet."

"What?" That- that couldn't be his response, right? 'The world is quiet'. That couldn't be more inaccurate.

"Um," Tails began, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, that the usual feeling of life around me is quiet. Too quiet to be me overlooking it."

Tails was still confused, and Shadow noticed. He sighed. "There's this... fuzz in the world. The air the plants, people, everything has it. It's not always the same intensity, since it depends on what is nearby, but it's always there. I've felt it my whole life, it feels wrong for it to just disappear overnight."

Tails hummed. A hand on his chin. "The only thing I can think of that matches that description is when I went Super. Perhaps it's chaos energy you're feeling. Or- not feeling."

"Hmm."

"Actually," Amy perked up. "I know what he's talking about!" They both looked at her, making her instantly regret the urge to speak up. It was especially bad when Shadow stared at her with those ruby red eyes. It was intimidating.

"I-I didn't know you went Super, Amy,' Tails said quietly.

'I haven't exactly..." She started messing with frills on her skirt. She had chosen lilac because it's known as a calming color, but it didn't feel like it was working. She shook her head. Don't be cliche, Amy! We've talked about this. "When I woke up this morning, I felt like every inch of my house was buzzing. The world was buzzing. And it... was scary. It didn't help when it came along with the bad... uh, energy today."

"That... doesn't make sense," Shadow said. 

Amy huffed. "You don't believe my story? Wh-"

"No, I believe you. You're too smart for this." Shadow complimenting her was not something she was expecting, and her train of thought came to a grinding stop. He looked surprised by himself too, but it was gone so quicky that she doubted it was ever there.

"I'm saying, that it's strange to take my ability to sense chaos energy, and give it to you. "Who or what would want to do that? Why that power? Why us? Why now?"

"That's a good point." She looked at his face again, trying to be subtle. He still looked pale.

"Why... are you doing that?" The sound in his voice was a mixture of anger, genuine confusion and... Fear? He wasn't nearly as easy to read as Tails, but she was going to try.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? What does that have anything to do with it?" She stepped closer to see him better. Now only a foot or two apart. He was acting antsy. Fidgety, even.

"It has everything to do with it!" Tails said.

He sighed and looked away from Amy. Even taking a tiny step back. "Admittedly, I feel very light headed."

Tails perked up. "Oh! That could explain things! This is just an idea, b- well, theory, or hypothesis, or-"

"Spit it out, Fox."

"Right. It wouldn't make sense for someone to take that specific power, so who's to say they only took one?"

Amy and Shadow looked at each other.

"Shadow is largely made of chaos energy, but he uses his own chaos energy all the time, so he shouldn't be feeling this..."

Shadow picked up where Tails left off. "You're implying that they took more of my power than we think. All of my power, and gave it to Amy Rose." Tails nodded. "Why?"

Tails shrugged. "To get you out of your element, I guess. If you're busy trying to figure your powers, then whoever did this has extra time to do whatever they want."

"But, what if I didn't have his powers? That's more likely, right?" Asked Amy.

"Well, Both of you summon an attack outside and we'll see if it works."

Neither Shadow or Amy could argue with that logic. And outside they went.

Tails had a large runway for his plane, so they didn't need to worry about plants and animals being in danger.

Amy grinned. "I'll go first!" With a motion she'd done a thousand times over, she flicked her wrist to pull her hammer out of the ether.

But nothing happened.

She laughed nervously, and tried again.

Nothing happened. She glanced to Shadow who had a concerned look in his eyes.

"Uhh..." No! She couldn't let Shadow see her weak! She tried again.

 "uhh!" Again. At this point, she was getting frantic. She didn't have her only was to protect herself! "UHHH!" No matter how many times she's did it, it was the same results.

"Why isn't this working!" Her eyes were tearing up.

"Rose, relax." It was Shadow. He was a lot closer than before. Putting a hand on her shoulder. It was like he could read her mind. "You'll be okay. You're strong with or without your hammer..." Shadow trailed off. As if he caught himself saying something he shouldn't have.

Was his voice always this deep?

She took a deep breath. Her tense muscles loosened up. She looked over to Shadow.

"Thank you, Shadow." He stiffened at the compliment. And it took a few seconds for him to remember what he was doing.

He cleared his throat. "How do you usually summon your hammer?"

"Oh, um. This might sound dumb... But I imagine this little pocket in front of me, I reach in and grab my hammer, then pull it out with a flick of my wrist, and boom! It starts existing."

Shadow didn't say anything to that. Instead he stepped a few feet back and tried it for himself. She could tell what was happening easily. Trying to figure out where the pocket was supposed to be is somewhat jarring at the begining. It's like you're trying to decide where the pocket should be, without knowing the 'correct' spot.

Once he figured it out, he followed her instructions to a t. With a flick of his wrist, her hammer was summoned out of thin air. His first try. Her eyes went wide. She made eye contact with Shadow who was coming to the same conclusion.

"You- I- my-" Amy stuttered.

"You didn't just take my abilities," he said. "I took yours."

She was at a loss for words. She stared at Shadow. She barely noticed his reaction. But he started avoiding her gaze and nervously spinning the hammer in his hand. Then his ears perked up. He turned away from Amy, pulled the hammer as far back as he could, and smashed it into the ground. A huge bang hit the air and she watched the pink, sparkly, heart-shaped shockwave dissipate as it spread.

And it spread. It must've been a huge slam into the ground.

"Geez, dude!" She found her voice. "Careful! That could kill someone!"

All he did was look back at the hammer. "I see why you use this. It's very strong. And effective."

"I..." She trailed off. "Let's just- go back to Tails.

Unlike Sonic, who would either dismiss her concern or try and race her, Shadow nodded. And he kept with her walking pace. No signs of being bored. In fact, it looked like the exact opposite. Maybe something about the walk was calming. 

Shadow was unique like that.

}{}{}{

She wasn't the only one who was sick of Tails' lab at this point. They both sat together on a bench while tails went back and forth. Looking at the computer, to the two of them, back to the computer.

Shadow was giving a very annoyed expression, and Amy was smoothing out her dress far more than it needed. She was stressed, okay? She hated being without her hammer. She felt exposed.

Finally, Tails turned to them to speak.

"So, good news! You can switch back! Bad news... I don't know how. Yet. You're going to have to get used to your powers for a bit while I try to figure it out."

"Can't we just- not use our powers?" Shadow snorted beside her. She'd find the sound cute if it wasn't pointed to her.

"Good luck with all that." A cocky grin on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Chaos energy comes from the soul. You're pulling it out from the deepest reaches of your person. Because of this... You can accidently trigger chaos energy from raw emotion alone. Accidentally triggering chaos energy whenever I felt strongly about something... Was the first thing I learned to stop after I was created." His cocky demeanor vanished. He was giving her the time of day. It was sweet.

Didn't change what he said, though.

"Pshhh! I think I can handle a little Chaos Control!" She was trying to get the topic back to the casual banter, the safe zone.

"Chaos Control isn't what I'm worried about."

"Huh?"

"I'm worried about Chaos Blast."

"C-Chaos Blast?" She muttered. "That's the big red explosion you can do..." Shadow nodded.

"Chaos blast is a very emotional power, great if you're growing desperate during a fight, but when you've merely had a bad day, by the end of it you end up struggling to keep it locked away. And, no offence, Amy, you're extremely emotional."

"Wh- no! I'm... Okay, fair." She admitted. He gave a little snort at her words.

"But what am I supposed to do all day? I have stuff to do! People to see!"

"What people?" Asked Tails. She smiled sheepishly. Truth be told, she didn't know. But those last two cards in her reading were important. One of the two promised her survival through whatever strange trial that was destined to happen today, and the other... Was the one card she'd been failing to get ever since she gave up on Sonic. The Lovers card.

Unlike her situation with Sonic, she was determined to not ruin things. Make a good impression on whoever was supposed to notice her. Romance was literally in the cards today, and she wasn't going to miss it.

"I just- do, okay?"

"Well, if you're so bent on going out today," Shadow began. "I think the best course of action would be for me to accompany you."

I lot of things filled her head at that moment. First, she couldn't think of a time when she and Shadow had actually spent a day together, and she was kind of excited. But another thing she thought made her ashamed of herself.

What if the person she needs to meet is weirded out by Shadow? What if it ruins her chances forever?

She wasn't afraid of him. She knew he meant well in whatever he did, and she trusted that he was more than capable of doing whatever he set his mind to, but others didn't share the sentiment. Some stupid part of her mind conjured up a scenario where Shadow's accompaniment scared off the one. Him being too threatening or quiet.

Amy Rose! She yelled at herself. You know better than that! Anyone who judges you based on the company you keep isn't worth your time.

"We don't have to if you hate the idea that much," Shadow muttered. For a moment she thought he knew what she was thinking and her stomach filled with ice. But she realized it was because she was quiet for too long.

"NO! Uh, no. I don't mind at all." She glanced at him to gauge his response.

Disbelief. She couldn't tell if he was insulted, but he definitely didn't believe she was telling the truth.

"Honest." Still nothing. "I'm really fine w-"

"Don't lie to me, Rose."

That shut her up. What? Did he really think she hated him? Or was he just used to that treatment?

She glared at him. "Well jokes on you because now you're not gonna be able to get rid of me."

"What?"

She stood up and grabbed his wrist. "We're gonna spend all day together and it's going to be great." She pulled him to his feet and started dragging him out of the lab.

"Uh," Tails stuttered after them. "Well, have fun, you guys! Don't blow anything up!"

}{}{}{

"Y'know," she began. "I kinda expected you to fight more than this." She had dragged him all the way to station square. Not far from Tails' lab by any means, but he just let her drag him the whole way there.

He ripped his wrist out of her grasp. "Better?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not what I meant."

"I suggested this in the first place, remember?"

"Well, yeah but only because you didn't trust me to control my temper." She said it with a bit more animosity than she meant to.

Shadow took a while to respond to that.

"I just... I don't want you getting hurt. Chaos Blast hardly feels pleasant."

She turned to him. "What is it like?"

"Have you ever had a panic attack?"

"Um..."

"A long one?"

She shook her head.

"Good." It looked like he would leave it at that, but luckily he seemed to realize that was hardly comforting.

"Emotions are exhausting. Especially darker ones. There's a point at the end of a panic attack where you're not done being stressed mentally, but physically, you run out of energy to. It leaves you feeling... dead. Vacant. A dull sense of wrong is still there somewhere, but it's buried under wordless, empty exhaustion."

"That sounds awful." She muttered.

"That's the aftermath of a Chaos Blast. Or, it can be if you let it sneak up on you. You become too tired to still be angry. Not to mention all the property damage and potential lives in jeopardy."

"Y'know what? I'm glad you're here."

He laughed. Softly.

"You weren't before?"

"Stop twisting my words!"

The sky darkened slightly, and she looked up to see clouds covering the sun. She grimaced. The sun was farther in its path than she wanted. It felt like the day was slipping between her fingers. She glanced around at the other people walking around town. Mostly humans, as this was a much more human populated area than some other places. But there were plenty of Mobians wandering around as well.

Cats, hummingbirds, squirrels, everyone seemed to have somewhere to be. But as she glanced through the crowds, none of them looked like the one.

She hoped she hadn't missed them. Or that her talking with Shadow had made them think she was busy, and didn't have time for them.

"You seem distracted, Rose."

"Huh?" She turned back to face Shadow.

"Are you people watching for fun or is there someone you're looking for?"

She glanced back at the people. Some had vanished in the crowds, she hoped they hadn't been the one.

"Yes... No... Yes?"

"'To people watching or looking for someone?"

She groaned, covering her face. "I don't know! I guess I'm looking for someone!" The cement looked much more interesting then watching Shadow realize she was making a fool out of herself. She stared at the ground as they slowed to a stop.

"... What's wrong, Rose? Perhaps I can help."

She debated his suggestion. On one hand, he usually had something wise to say, on the other hand, she wasn't sure she wanted him to know why she was so invested in this one Tarot card. She really didn't want to come off as obsessive again.

Making up her mind, she took a deep breath. She didn't want to look at him. "You must've seen some of the many times I embarrassed myself in front of Sonic, right?"

He was quiet for a while. "...Yes."

A part of her died at the confession. If she ever wanted to impress Shadow, she already blew it. Good to know.

"Well, when I first met him it was because of a Tarot card reading." She sighed grumpily. "I pulled the Lovers card and decided I needed to find who it was about."

"You say that like it was the worst decision of your life."

Unlike what her usual instincts often told her, she decided she wouldn't say anything else until she knew how she wanted to say it.

Shadow was remarkably patient.

"I guess it was still the destined encounter the cards said it would be. But not in the way I was hoping. I was stupid about the whole thing. I figured whoever it was about saw romance the same way I did. That was dead wrong. I was stupid about that too."

"Are you... not over him?" He said it so softly. Like mentioning it would bother her. Or him.

"No, no, I am. It's just- the whole thing failed spectacularly because of me, and until today, I have never pulled that card again."

"You pulled it today."

"Yup... I have another shot." She said it almost wistfully. "I finally have another shot. But it had to be the stupid day with the stupid powers and stupid Amy Rose!"

"You're not stupid." He was so fast to correct her, that she stopped staring at the cement and looked at him.

As usual, he was hard to read. But he seemed attentive, and willing to help her out.

She stood up straight and looked around. "I feel like my day is slipping away from me. Any one of the people walking around us right now could be the one! I just don't want to ruin my chances like I did last time. Who knows if I'll ever draw it again." She laughed humorlessly. "I probably sound insane. Obsessing over a stupid piece of cardboard."

"No more insane than usual."

"Hey!" He smiled.

"If you want my opinion, I'd say that the deck was keeping it from you for a reason."

"Well, that much I got."

"So if it was keeping it from you for so long... Why give it to you now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't imagine that your deck, if as magical as you say, would just give it to you for no reason. I don't think you drew that card because someone will finally notice you today, I think you drew that card because you were ready."

She thought about it. Ready. Define ready? Ready to not screw this whole thing up? That sounded nice.

"Because I was ready?" She asked again. He nodded. "Oookay... What about the one?"

"What about them?"

"Are you saying that they might have noticed me before today?"

"It's certainly possible. I can't imagine something like this happening all at once." He had a point.

"Then why hasn't anything happened before now."

"Maybe you weren't ready."

"But what does that mean?!" 

He shrugged. "Maybe you're finally going to notice him."

She stopped. Huh. She never thought about it that way. That she wouldn't need to prove she was worth their time when they met. But that flipped the whole thing. Was there someone out there that she was ignoring when she shouldn't have been?

This was all so confusing. Maybe trying to play the whole thing in her favor was her problem. Maybe if she just kept an open mind, she would find the one.

"Geez, I'm making you my therapist!" He shrugged.

"I don't mind."

"Wanna grab a bite to eat? To make it up to you?"

It took a moment to hear a response. "...Okay."

}{}{}{

Shadow hadn't said anything in a while. It wasn't out of character for him to just keep quiet in social situations, but he seemed troubled. Of course, she could be misreading him.

"Since you were my therapist for so long, how about I be yours?" She said. She popped a strawberry from her dessert into her mouth.

"It's nothing."

"Is it though?" She asked.

"...The world is still quiet. That's all."

She blinked. "Oh. Um. I'm sorry. I forgot you're used to the sound."

He sighed but said nothing. She watched him take another bite of the cheesecake he ordered. She supposed she had no real reason to be thinking this, but there was something wrong with him looking so tense. It was wrong. And she needed to fix it.

 "I- am I stressing you out?" She asked. "I feel like I'm stressing you out."

He made eye contact with her and she stiffened. His red eyes were just so intense. 

"...No."

"You promise?" He nodded.

"What else were you planning on doing today. Something besides your tarot card reading and this whole, power swap situation."

"...No, I don't think there- wait, actually, yes! Do you mind helping me buy cupcakes?" 

"You need help doing that?"

"Yup!"

"Well then," he finished off his cheesecake and stood up. "Let's get moving."

}{}{}{

Shadow was incredibly helpful. She should've known. He helped her carry her dozens of cupcake trays. He didn't even ask or judge her when she stared buying cupcakes by the hundred. He was definitely curious about the whole thing, but when him and Amy walked over to libraries and hospitals to give them all out, he definitely figured it out. There was clear contentment in the way he walked around, gently offering cupcakes to the children in the hospital.

It was all fantastic. She didn't expect him to find it so enjoyable. It was almost distracting. There were several times where she got caught up in looking at him, watching him be so gentle and slow with his movements so he didn't scare the children away. She knew he was trying to counterbalance his more intimidating aspects, and it reminded her of the battle she had in her mind that morning. She was dead wrong. Shadow wasn't intimidating. He was amazing. And she would make sure everyone knew that as well as she did.

Eventually they ran out of cupcakes, and were walking back home. She was still conflicted about her card reading, but with Shadow around, she knew she wasn't wasting her time. She still wasn't quite sure about the whole trial, the cards had warned her about. So far the power swap seemed too uneventful to warrant three cards of destruction.

The sun was setting. It bathed the whole town in a dazzling orange. She almost turned to him to ask him what he thought of the whole thing, but someone interrupted her.

He couldn't be older than twenty, but he had the confidence of someone in their eighties. He wore a red baseball shirt, and the word on his tongue was enough to make her set a planet on fire.

"Freak!" That word bothered her much more than it should've. She glanced over to Shadow, who had frozen in place. "Go back to your asteroid! Oh wait! It's Gone! Maybe you should follow suit!"

Shadow growled. But made no move to defend himself. What was he doing!? He can't just stand there and take it! He could shut that guy up in seconds.

But he didn't. And that made her blood boil.

"You almost killed all of us! You're no hero! You're some 2D villain!"

"Excuse me!?" Amy yelled, startling both of them. "Since when was moving an entire space station to protect this planet 'villainous'!? Since when was stopping an asteroid from killing everyone with his bare hands and shoving it back into space 'villainous'!?" She tried to summon her hammer but it only fueled her anger, when her hands came up empty. It felt so unnatural. Like trying to push up your glasses only for them to not be there.

"Rose..." Shadow said. "You're- I need you to relax."

She took a step closer to the jerk insulting him. All words died in his mouth, and the guy stared at her with a scared expression. Good. She never looked this intimidating, but whatever it was, she would take it.

"I'll tell you one thing! Maybe look at the full picture before you go yelling at people on the street!"

"Rose," Shadow sounded more desperate. "Please!"

"Last I checked, no one is perfect! Maybe you should look at your own flaws before you go judging others! Like assuming you know everything, for example!"

The kid didn't wait and booked it in the other direction.

"I'm talking to y-"

"AMY!"

Her anger is cut short all at once and she notices the bright red glow surrounding- no, emanating from her. She flinched and tried to back up, hoping the bomb couldn't follow her. It did. Because she was the bomb. Her heart stopped when she realized what was happening.. 

The chaos blast he warned her about.

It was thick, and awfully startling. The feel of magic in the air was so potent, it felt like the air was thicker than it should be. Her breaths became shaky. When was it too late to stop this? Had she reached it? How big would the blast be? Was she going to kill people? Over losing her temper?

Her fur was going from pink do a deep red. It was awful. The red color was starting to spread to the air around her.

"Rose, stop." His deep voice managed to cut through her own thoughts. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I-I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You won't," he said. "I promise, you won't." He took a step and immediately she could tell that he had crossed some sort of threshold. It was like he was being pushed away from her. It was like wind. But he was resolute and kept going. Slowly getting closer and closer...

No, he's going to get vaporized! He's too close! I'm going to kill him...

"No! Stay back!" She took a step backwards. "I'll hurt you."

"No, you won't." Another step forwards.

"You don't know that! What if you can't help me?"

"I do know that." He said, and he gazed into her eyes with his Ruby Red piercing ones. "Amy Rose, you are the bravest, kindest, most caring person I know. You're stubborn. And I love that about you. I love everything about you! You're stronger than this! I know you are. So please, trust me. Just this once. You can decide to hate me after this, but as I don't care as long as you're safe, for now, please. Let me in."

His words cleared up the air, and made it easier to breathe. She didn't know what to say. Did he really-

Step by step the red glow began to fade away.The wind was still there, she was still glowing, but the whole thing was less severe. And Shadow used the time he had gained from her stunned silence to get close to her. He was right there, right in front of her.

Shadow wasn't one for hugs. And Amy knew that. But he didn't hesitate. He knew, if there was ever a time to give her a hug, this is it. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. She clung to him desperately. Pleading for him to fix the melting pot of emotions.. She put her head on his chest. 

"Breathe, Rose. Slowly. Deeply." She didn't realize she was hyperventilating. She struggled to stop, however. And it didn't take long for Shadow to start taking deep breaths himself. For her to copy. She could feel his breathing in his chest and slowly started to match her breathing with his.

It took a minute or two, of just burying her face in the fluff on Shadow's chest before the air felt normal again. She didn't want to trust that it was fully gone.

"You've stopped glowing."

"Really..? Are you sure?" A hum of agreement vibrated through the two of them. She Thought back to all of the things Shadow had said. It was

"Did- did you really mean all the things you said back there? Or was it just to get me to stop."

"I meant every word. Though. I... I probably wouldn't have the courage to say it without a scenario like this."

Tears filled her eyes, but she laughed a bit anyway. "I-I guess I should consider m-myself lucky, then..."

"I don't know that I'd call this 'luck'."

She laughed again. While burying herself deeper into his chest. Like he would vanish if she didn't hold onto him.

"Are... you alright?"

"Thank you for staying with me, Shadow. You should've run away when I started glowing."

He scoffed. "As if. I'm not going to leave you to such a fate. You deserve the world, Rose. I won't let anything happen to you. Not if I can help it."

"You're so sweet, Shadow."

"I don't know if that's the right way to put it. I'm hardly 'sweet'."

"You are around me."

"Well that's because..." He trailed off.

She sighed. "I'm done with your powers. Wanna go back to Tails and see if he's figured it out yet."

He mumbled it so quietly. If she wasn't so close, she would've assumed she hadn't heard anything at all.

"I don't want to leave... I want to stay here with you."

She glanced up at him. His red eyes were striking. Staring into them took her breath away. They were so full of passion. How had she not noticed before?

"This won't be the last time, I promise."

He sighed begrudgingly. "...Fine. I just. I don't get to do this often. One day with you alone and I spilled everything I felt."

She gave a tiny laugh as she pulled away. He groaned unhappily. Clearly upset about her leaving.

"I think this was a good thing," she said. "I think I know who the cards were talking about."

A/N: I forgor day three via procrastinating. It exists I promise! I just had too many ideas to get it done in time ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯