#those fuckin ARMS im going to do something feral.

[bklily]

HOW ARE WE FEELING TWST ROOK FANS

[bakugoulvr420]

horror movies w bakugou

aaa this is so romantic- I ALSO WANT HIM TO PROTECT ME

there was no way in hell bakugou would agree to watch a movie with those nerds because he knew that it was going to be an obnoxious and boring experience

they noticed that he was slightly less aggressive towards you which they correlated with bakugou having a thing for you

“guys, dont you think that bakugou is a lot quieter around y/n?”

“yeah! he is always yelling at the top of his lungs around me!”

“same omg. one time he screamed so loud at me that i swear his whole body turned red”

“he must like y/n huh 😏”

so obviously when bakugou kept refusing to watch a movie with them, they begged you to convince him, which you did under the condition of you choosing the movie !

he agreed to watching a movie but refused to make it obvious that his point of interest was the fact that you were joining him

“hell no! im not watching damn movies with those weirdos”

“well you can leave if you find the movie boring”

“theyll go fuckin feral if i leave!”

“ill cover for you”

*he realizes that youre also joining in*

“if you dont im killing you”

ofc the bakusquad goes crazy when they realized that their masterplan worked and their theory was indeed correct

he sits somewhere around the room and you coincidentally decide to sit next to him

you werent great with horror movies but thats what amplified the experience for you

*jumpsquare*

“AHHHH”

*you were the only one who screamed*

“didnt you pick this movie...? for fucks sake...”

was bakugou even watching at all?? you never once caught him creating any kind of noise (mans was focused on something much more important than the movie 😏)

there was this one scene in the movie that ended up scaring EVERYBODY except bakugou

it was so scary that you jumped and didnt realize that your arms were literally wrapped around his

just like always he froze and didnt know what to do. he wouldnt swat you away or anything

“s-sorry”

*goes tch and returns to acting like he is watching the movie*

thankfully the bakusquad had also gotten super frightened that they didnt catch you clinging holding onto him (bakugou wouldve incinerated them anyway and do everything possible to prove that somehow their eyes were all lying to them)

after watching the movie, he’ll be the one to head to his dorm first (keyword: “after watching the movie” HE REALLY WATCHED THE WHOLE MOVIE NEXT TO YOU BECAUSE OF YOU 😭)

he’ll act like that night never happened but in reality he wont be able to stop thinking about how you wrapped your arms around his arm

[faepunkprince]

*Gets out the popcorn*

Tell us about Valentine's revenge streak, what'd he do to the people who hurt him? As many gory details as you want 🙂

Oop ok so I dunno how much detail I'm gonna put in but im stickin this under a readmore

This got long and is dark, this is your warning. Heavy topics ahead.

Now, recovery for him took quite a while, but the hatred and rage he felt at what they put him through stayed so fresh. He almost considered not going back for revenge, but something in him had snapped going through all of that. They'd taken any bit of innocence he'd had left, had left him broken and mostly dead and the repeated, constant abuse was enough to fully break something inside.

He tracks down some of the ones loosely connected at first. Those ones are quick, but the feeling of their blood on his hands is exhilarating, it makes him crave more. He's not an experienced killer yet but by the time he'll make it to the ones higher up he will be. Valentine's goddamn near feral, tracking them down one by one and getting increasingly more twisted in how he kills them.

Getting to the more memorable ones, he starts taking his time with them. Catches them off guard, keeps them in filthy conditions, locked up tight. He hadn't bothered replacing his eye yet, hadn't had the money, but that's fine, he uses that to his advantage.

Gets in the first ones face, an off-kilter grin on his lips, and the terror that inspires fuels such a lovely reaction, his tone taunting he states " haven't even touched you and you're already screamin. Best save your breath, gonna be here a minute!"

Valentine only keeps him as long as it takes to get information on the ones in charge, truly in charge, and while he does still kill him, it's still fairly quick. He's on to the next, more and more frenzied the closer he gets, more and more vicious and brutal. Breaking bones, fueled by them screaming and begging for mercy. Every time one of them begs it sets him off, and where the Valentine yall know might just get it over with quick (if he needed to kill) dark au Valentine only gets more vicious when they beg, cuts into them harsher, kicks and punches or beating them with a weapon, unable to keep from asking them if they'd ever bothered to give him any mercy.

"Mercy?! Mercy?! Did you bother to give that chained up kid any mercy?! Did you think for a second while you beat me that it might bite you in the ass? For a fuckin instant did you feel sick when you heard me scream? You got off on hearing me beg and plead! But I get it now! Oh, don't you beg so fuckin pretty, go ahead, give me more!"

That one dies as he's in that rage and he's so pissed afterward he breaks his hand punching the wall, and quickly its on to the next. Valentine considers briefly going after everyone they'd sold his body to, but he's got no real way of figuring out everyone, so he let's that go. But, he's running out of men. It had only been three or four people directly in charge of keeping him there and hurting him, one man in particular called the shots. Going through contact info, he sends the man a grisly gift, a promise. A piece of his friend, an anonymously sent clip of his begging. He delights in the panic he gets in response.

Second to last man he lures in, but it's harder for him this time. He struggles, despite all the anger, this one fights back, pins him down and has him frantic, in his head. The man taunts and teases him, pins his arm behind him, wrenching it painfully, and the way he handles him had Valentine completely outside himself. He doesn't remember what happened or how after that, but he comes to with blood and flesh in his teeth, new marks on his own body, but absolutely covered in blood that isn't his. The corpse is in pieces, mangled, like a wild animal had gotten ahold of it. There's no way to identify who it was, and the sheer amount of gore and viscera gets to him, shakes him to his core.

He knew going after revenge like this is fucked up, he knew he was doing horrible things but he never thought he could do something like that. He almost goes home, shaken, but that night he has another horrible night terror about what they did to him and he knows he isn't their first victim.

For them, for the kids that didn't make it, he'll continue on. He settles right back into that terrifyingly comfortable headspace, that urge to hurt coming back at the thought of another person being forced to live through the things he went through those years. He's making the world safer. He's doing the right thing. He spends time agonizing all while still tracking him, spends time healing, spiraling deeper and deeper. He wants this. He wants to lash out.

He likes it.

Finally, the one responsible for luring him in- Duc Angevin, the only one he knew by name. By the time he gets to Angevin he's completely spiraled, fully within the grips of paranoia and rage with the misplaced belief that ridding the world of Duc Angevin would make everything better- would make him better, he takes Duc back to the scene of the crime, ignores the itching under his skin at the sight, ignores the stains still there on the concrete. The way his skin crawls, and he feels the familiar haze over him just at the sight, it makes him sick to his stomach, but this is all part of the ritual to make him better, he just has to tough it out a few days, thats all.

Duc naturally pleads for him not to do this, trips over himself trying to tell him it wasn't his idea, to which Valentine snaps and says he doesn't want to hear it.

It starts slow, this time its intimate, at one point Valentine's even sitting on Duc's lap in a mockery of how Duc had used him before, hands so gently on his face, thumb through the blood already there, a soft laugh bubbling up, right up until he digs his thumb into Angevin's eye, that laugh taking on a crazed edge. The way Duc screams thrills him- he remembers the pain, remembers how he'd screamed, and a scarily large part of him loves hearing it.

He keeps Duc alive for days, talks to him, makes him think he has a chance before he ultimately ends it, hesitating only a second before pulling the trigger. Yet instead of vindication he just feels.... empty.

A string of corpses and yet every shadow or loud sound still makes him jump. All these bodies and still he's sure every face on the street is someone who'd fucked himself while he was strung out. Taken advantage of him

Why didn't he feel better?

Valentine looks at Duc's corpse and wonders how many times he almost died. Why he's still alive now. Why was he saved? He flies into a rage again, mutilating the corpse as if it'll give him more answers. Faced with nothing, he nearly ends himself, but something in him resists.

He walks away further damaged than he was before and with much more blood on his hands, but he knows he doesn't have to check over his shoulder at every second. He returns to the city, deep in the grips of his drug and alcohol habit, and expects to die any day, his busy taken care of.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Concept: RED Spy is down, his watch damaged and the knife blasted from his hand by a clever strike from a BLU. His ribs ache from the force of being hurled bodily into the unforgiving soil of Teufort’s rocky ground, and he grits his teeth into a snarl. 

He can fight without his knife, he lived this long as a Spy prior to this whole mess of a contract... but it would not be easy. His ankle feels damaged, twisting as he rolled and Spy curses at the misfortune; still, his arms were hale enough to enact a chokehold when the opportunity arose. 

The sun disappears as looming shadows block the light, and hearty chuckles linger in the air, the malice behind the sound sending a shudder through the espionage agent. He understood, this was... well, it was personal to a degree, if he had a downed BLU then of course he would think nothing of enacting some quick revenge for a past death/insult.

But it was also their job. He hoped to take at least one down with him, if possible... but it would not be the end of the world to die here and now, later he could hunt them down and delight in the gurgled screams as his butterfly knife pierced their spinal columns. 

Blood dribbled slowly from the shallow indentations in his bottom lip wheren a few teeth had pierced accidentally during the heavy impact. Spy’s tongue darted out automatically to catch it, equally thrilled and revolted by the taste of the coppery substance... 

He grunts as a heavy Texan boot digs into his side, and two voices laugh uproariously as if the world’s wittiest joke had just been exchanged. They would pay for tha-...

His vision flashes sharply a second later, pain radiating through his face like an explosion as a steel-capped boot makes contact; without even consciously registering it, Spy knows his nose is broken. That was a sensation he had become all too familiar with in the past. 

He cries out as something heavy crunches down on his legs, efectively trapping him. 

“Aw, don’t be such a wuss Spah, I manage to carry that around when it’s full all’a the time!” the BLU engineer coos, his expression worryingly unhinged, though not unfamiliar... the RED Engineer had made the same face a truly disconcerting number of times in the past. 

Indeed, the toolbox weighed more than one would suspect, and if his ankle had not been shattered before, it certainly was now. There was only one solution, if he could but find it... where was his-...? 

“Oh laddie, don’t go looking for your pretty little pistol... our spook went and knicked that when ye blacked out for a second, like the delicate little crossaint ye are.” BLU Demo taunted, crouching down over the RED. 

Spy did not recall blacking out, but that’s not generally a good sign...

“You are, as ever, outclassed here, mon frier.” came a smug voice so like his own that it irritated to no end, as the BLU Spy faded into visibility.

If this had been the first death of the day, or even the twelfth, then perhaps he would not have stopped trying to find a solution. Beady blue eyes darting subtly around until some ingenious escape plan came to light and he could be freed from this mess...

But it wasn’t, and he was so, so very tired. Between the Pyro, Sniper and a number of rather lucky swipes from the BLU Medic, Spy had been dying all day long. He would love for this to end quickly... but given the location, and the unlikelihood of help arriving in time to curb the enthusiasm of the currently losing team surrounding him... Spy felt that things were not in his favour this day.

Hovering gently across the room, the intel gleamed innocuously, cruelly. A beacon that lured them all to their deaths day in, day out on these damn capture the flag campaigns; a beloved sight for both the teams’ benefactors. 

And so they died, day after day, for nothing more than a glowing briefcase with an ever-changing array of useless paper inside. Why, last week there had been a recipe for some fried chicken with eleven herbs and spices... useless, though Engineer had been eager to try it, as had another fried chicken afficiando on the team. 

The week before? A number of magazines, a short story about some science fiction show he was certain may have been written by one of the Pyros, and a crudely drawn map to different households that Spy could not make heads or tails of...

A slap snapped him back to reality, sending fresh waves of sizzling pain through his face as the damage to his nose once again took his full focus. 

“Looks as if he’s back with us again.” BLU Spy said, radiating smugness from every pore as he flicked out his knife with unnecessary flourishes. “Good evening Monsieur, seeing as you will be staying with us for some time, I would hope you will be an obbliging guest... and not miss out on the festivities. Such as,” he said, pointing the blade directly at a blue pupil, “when I remove your eye from its socket, hmmm?”

“Hey, I called dibs on ‘im first boyo.” BLU Demo exclaims, swatting at the blade-wielding hand, and trying not to look too pleased as it scored a deep groove across Spy’s face. Spy hisses at him through clenched teeth, loathing the man. “He needs those eyes to see what ol’ eyelander and I are gonna do tae him, aye?” 

“Just don’t go hogging him, I’ve had to rebuild a dozen sentries today because of him. Not to mention my back’s achin’ somethin’ fierce from all the damn backstabbing the little red weasel’s gotten away with.” BLU Engie interjected, groaning as he stretched, fingers and spine making awful audible pops. The man flexed his gloved hand and the mechanical whirring sent chill straight down the Spy’s spine. “Now see, I’m thinkin’ that fair’s fair only if’n I get to pull yours right on out of that body of yours. Whatcha think about that, you filthy RED?”

It would technically fall under ‘fair’, but not anything Spy particularly wanted to experience. Before he could open his mouth in his own defence, with a smooth ‘Gentlemen, please...’ the mechanical fist slammed in from the side. Bile rose automatically in his throat at the sensation of a tooth dislodging and blood filling his mouth. The BLUs seemed wildly unhinged today, beyond their normal bloodlust... but they had lost all week long, so they may be getting sanctions and penalties from the Administrator.

His head whirled. When was the last time he’d had more than a few hours sleep this week? The last time he drank some actual water or ate something substantial? Maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess if he’d not insisted on skipping the team lunch during ceasefire, in order to do some covert surveillance in the enemy intel. 

Consciousness flickered. 

There were delighted but angry voices jabbering back and forth about ‘waiting their turn’, and ‘going a little easy to start because the french fry had to last’...

And then, there was screaming.

It was almost like a bad horror movie, with the sounds of screaming, crunching and swearing flickering in and out. Little snippets of a full scene that he could not comprehend as his battered head swam...

In the sudden silence, loud and grotesque for the heaviness of it, all that could be heard was a sharp, angry series of breaths.

Spy blinked frantically, trying to ascertain what had happened, trying to cling to the here and now when all his body & mind wished for was to give in to the swirling darkness. 

A figure coalesced before him, eyes seeming to glow with a feral light, body and bat completely splattered with blood and gore, expression half in shadow. 

“S-Sco-...?” Spy tried to get the word out around damaged molars and a outhful of blood. Everything throbbed, but the silence was a symphony of hope to his ears.

“Don’t worry, they won’t fuckin’ touch you again, Spy. I got ‘em.” growled an unusually serious Scout, his fist shaking around the bat’s handle. He seemed frozen, a figure in a portrait surrounded by the broken corpses of the BLUs, uncertain what to do next.

A wheezey exhalation from Spy seemed to snap the runner out of it, and he knelt to shove against the toolbox pinioning the espionage agent to the ground. It clunked to the ground with a heavy metallic finality, and Spy sighed at the sudden freedom. 

“Ya look like shit, Spook, so we gotta get ya out of here before those guys fall outta respawn lookin’ for revenge.”Scout says, mouth running while his eyes dart over the mess that the normally immaculate espionage agent made. He slips an arm under Spy and they slowly work the man into a sititng position.

Ankle’s definitely shattered, Spy notes with a true lack of enthusiasm.

“Scout... just prop me against the wall there and take the intel. Once it is secured, they cannot touch me anyway, as the humiliation round will keep me safe.” 

“And just who the fuck do you think you are ordering me about like that?” Scout objects, eyes never once leaving Spy’s face. 

“Someone who wants to win as much as I do?” Spy hazards.

Scout leans back on his haunces, crouched by Spy. He tilts his head, “Ya a real bastard, ya know that? I don’t care about the intel, we gotta get you outta here. But if it means that much to ya...”

In a frankly ridiculously fluid movement, Scout is up, across the room and back again before Spy could blink. The intel snapped to his back like a magnet.

Spy is hauled to his feet with minimal protestations, an arm over Scout’s shoulders and the runner’s other one about his waist. The majority of his bodyweight was resting on the runner, and Spy felt rather despondent about their chances of surviving like this.

He said so.

“The others are coming, don’t worry about it.” Scout grinned. 

Heavy machinegun fire could be heard above near the BLU spawn, along with delighted maniacal laughter. The REDs were here, and judging by the beeping of a sentry, they were spawncamping like no tomorrow.

“See? We got this. So don’t worry about it.” Scout shrugs as they begin the slow ascent up the corridor and hiopefully towards a dispenser. Spy lurching along and trying to think of other things as each jostling movement created little discomforts. 

In a momentary pause, he looks to the runner. “Merci, mon... fils.” 

The words felt too big for such a narrow corridor to hold all at once.

Scout laughed, half in delight and half from awkward nervousness. “Yeah, yeah, you better thank me. I saved ya butt in there!”

They continued hobbling towards the rest of RED for a long moment, before Scout said, looking anywhere but at Spy. “Don’t worry about it... Dad... I got ya.”

Spy could not help but smile through a mouth of bloody, broken teeth. Suddenly, the world felt a little brighter... 

The End

[deniigi]

I WOULD LOVE A DAVE FIC !!!

Excellent. Here’s for you and  @dudewhereismy-tardis

I am putting most of it under the cut because it is LONG

Dave (Daredevil copycat from Inimitable Verse) POV. Reminder that Dave is not his real name, but one given to him disdainfully by Wade in this verse.

Title: rises in the east

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

“Dad.”

What?

“Dad.”

What time was it?

“Your phone’s ringing,” Charlie said. “It’s the boss.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Give it here,” Dave rasped, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“Mom said you’re gonna hurt your back sleepin’ on the couch,” Charlie reported as she shoved his phone into his palm.

“My couch, my rules,” Dave said. He crammed the phone to his ear. “Ansel here,” he said.

Charlie wanted to stay home and if she was a year older, Dave would have let her. But alas. The last time he’d let her stay home, she’d texted her friend Jesse who had become unspeakably jealous and had appealed to her own parents for such freedoms, and now the whole block thought that Dave recklessly abandoned his daughter when he went to the goddamn grocery store.

All that for a can of Sprite, man.

This neighborhood was off the fuckin’ charts sometimes.

Case in point: Dani standing in front of him in the lobby with her hands on her hips, telling him that he needed to wear a tighter t-shirt or to start flexing because they were losing business.

“Dani, I’m an instructor,” he reminded her. “I’m hired to do classes.”

“It’s two hours,” Dani said. “Take the damn fliers.”

But he didn’t want to?

Dani blinked at him slowly from under her headband.

 --

 Charlie was having a great time and Dave was glad for that because he was not. He was being stared at by every person in the street as if they’d never seen a dude with muscles before.

It was the shirt.

He knew it was the shirt.

And possibly his nipples. Smashing the brochures high enough against his chest to cover them wasn’t going well and the highlighter teal underarmor Dani had forced upon him left very little to the imagination here.

There wasn’t anything else to do but let the poor things live their best lives.

“Dad, gimme more,” Charlie said.

She tugged at the brochures covering what was left of his dignity.

Blessed child, who hurt you?

“Where did the others go?” he asked her.

Charlie pointed across the road to a gaggle of ladies leaning out from their stoop, smiling.

Ah.

Yes.

Them.

“Let’s try for someone who looks more like a bro,” he told his offspring.

Charlie blinked up at him.

“Why?” she asked.

Oh, baby.

“Because they’re an easy mark,” he said. “Go up and say ‘my dad can take you’ and send ‘em my way, okay?”

Charlie’s face went from confused to ready to kill instantly.

This was her game face. This was her ‘I’m gonna wreck this goalee’s teeth’ face.

Dave shouldn’t have been proud of her, really; her teachers said that she was becoming argumentative and obstinate in the classroom. But there was just something there in the fact that his kid sure as shit wasn’t no sheep that made his chest feel big, wide, and full of hot air.

“I’m on it,” Charlie said.

He gave her three brochures and let her scramble off to the other side of the sidewalk and then turned to meet the eye of a family with a father with neat hair and the beginnings of triceps peeking out from under his sleeves.

“You lookin’ for a gym, sir?” he asked.

The guy looked his way and eyed him up.

He took a flier on his way past.

 --

 “Excuse me?”

“One second, man,” Dave said, doing the rock-shuffle to keep all the fliers on the table from blowing away.

“Excuse me.”

“Hey, I said just a sec,” Dave snapped.

He turned back and found himself staring into the dark eyes of a bald man with olive skin and deep wrinkles in his forehead.

And Dave knew him.

Holy shit.

Dave knew him.

Fuck.

God.

Jesus, Lord.

“I am so sorry,” he started.

“DAD.”

Ch—Charlie?

He looked down and sure enough, holding Rudolph ‘Diamond’ De Luca’s massive bearpaw was his very own daughter. De Luca made her wiry, suntanned limbs seem like unbaked pretzels.

He was so much bigger than he’d seemed on TV all those years ago.

“This your kid?” De Luca asked.

Jesus.

“She is. I’m so sorry,” Dave said, “Did she—she didn’t bite you or anything, did she?”

“Dad,” Charlie whined. “Don’t tell ‘im that.”

“I’ll pay for whatever damage—” Dave continued.

De Luca blinked at him impossibly slowly with long dark eye lashes. He turned his face slowly back down towards Charlie.

“You sure this is your old man?” he asked.

Wh—

Wait.

What the hell did that mean?

“That’s him,” Charlie moaned. “He’s just bein’ dumb. Dad. Stop bein’ dumb. This dude’s the real deal. He’ll fight you in a heartbeat.”

Dave grabbed his child before she could cause any more damage. She made a fuss, but let go of De Luca’s mitt. Dave shoved her behind him, just in case this situation got any more tense than it needed to be.

De Luca lifted an eyebrow at that and then brought his face back up to Dave’s.

“Who’s gym?” he asked.

What?

Oh.

“Spitfire,” Dave said. “We’re, uh, just about there, on the—”

“I know where you’re about,” De Luca said.

Dave didn’t know what to say. De Luca held his eye.

Oh, god.

This wasn’t going well.

“How old are you, son?” De Luca asked.

FFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffuck.

“38,” Dave said.

“And your baby girl?” De Luca asked, gesturing with his chin down at Charlie.

“I’m 12,” Charlie told him brightly.

“Hm,” De Luca said.

He shifted his weight back and wrapped a few fingers around his chin, surveying Dave’s whole body like he was the statue of David with a knee injury.

Dave became intimately aware of his nipples again.

“Not bad,” De Luca said.

Oh, thank god.

“Thank you, sir,” Dave said. “Is there, uh, somethin’ I could help you with?”

“You got an accent,” De Luca noted.

Uh?

“A good accent,” De Luca said. “Whereabouts did you grow up?”

Oh.

Well.

Dave could actually just point to it from here. The condo was still standing, despite all building codes and actual alien invasions. At this point, the only thing that was gonna take it down were the rampant, rapidly mutating, borderline feral gangs of chickens that roamed its halls.

Not that anyone spoke about them.

No, that was inviting trouble to your doorstep.

“The chicken coop?” De Luca said.

The one and only.

“Bless you, you poor fuck.”

Yeah, that tended to be the usual reaction.

De Luca laughed.

“You’re a funny guy, uh,” he squinted at Dave’s nametag, “Ansel?”

How could a word sound so wrong in someone’s mouth?

Where had Dave’s life gone wrong that his own name sounded so foreign and distant to his ears?

“Actually,” he said, swallowing, “My uh, my friends call me ‘Dave.’”

De Luca’s head snapped right up and slowly, a grin spread across his face.

“Oh, now, that’s a good name for ya,” he said. “You look like a Davy.”

Hng.

Diamond De Luca thought he looked like a ‘Davy.’

Diamond De Luca thought he looked like a ‘Davy.’

Welp.

Time to get that birth certificate changed.

“Listen, Davy,” De Luca said casually, “Your baby girl there was tellin’ me that your boss has you out here like dancin’ monkey; is that true?”

Fffffffffff.

Technically yes?

“It’s even his day off,” Charlie whispered.

Dave wrapped a hand over her face.

“It’s fine,” he said. “It happens. Folks’ve been sick lately. I don’t normally do this kinda thing.”

De Luca’s face said that that was real cute. Real, real cute, honey.

“Well,” he said, “Let’s just say it like this. Where you work don’t gotta be where you train.”

Oh.

Was he offering--?

“If you decide to drop by, tell the guy at the desk Rudy sent you,” De Luca said. “Your kid’s real sweet, Davy. She can come too, lord knows the damn place is a daycare at this point.”

“Thank? You?” Dave stuttered.

“Don’t mention it,” De Luca said.

He left. Dave watched him waltz down the block and wave at the gals collected on the stoop at the end of it and felt a little lightheaded.

“Dad?”

Not right now, champ.

“Dad? Is he famous or somethin’?”

HHHHHHHHHHNG.

 --

 Back when Dave had been 14 and scraping the tips of his fingers into callouses on the old guitar he’d found tossed into a dumpster in the Upper West Side, he’d had to compete with the sound of the couple fighting in the apartment next door and with the radio the old man downstairs always had playing on his fire-escape window.

The old man downstairs was a real hard-ass. Always slammed a broom into the ceiling, scaring the shit out of Mom and Dad and sister and auntie. Dave had never seen him not smoking, nor had he ever seen him without suspenders.

The man was a retired plumber, apparently. And while Jim Beam was his main vice, his passion was boxing.

To the tune of chords picked out of an out-of-tune guitar, Dave had listened to tinny commentators oohing and awing over match after match, until finally, when sleep wouldn’t come one night, Dave had snuck out of the room he’d shared with Flora. He’d settled down on the living room couch, next to his old man splayed out in the recliner.

Dad had lifted his eyes slowly his way and told him that he should have been in bed.

Dave had told him that he couldn’t sleep because the couple next door was makin’ up from their daily afternoon argument and Dad had just sighed.

He’d let Dave stay up with him and the TV in the living room had fuzzed and rattled away, making sounds really familiar to Dave at that point.

Boxing was a sport that he had, up until that night, left to his father. But for the lack of anything else to talk about that wouldn’t make his dad look at him with disappointment in his eyes for all that damn music-playin’ and eyeliner, he’d asked who the guy on the screen was.

And that was how he’d learned about Diamond De Luca.

About Kenny Varga. Bert ‘The Albatross’ Kleinfeld.

But there was one guy who Dad had mentioned was his favorite rookie and, now it felt both kind of silly and surreal that the name had been spoken so casually in Dave’s home growing up.

Dad had been puttin’ money on Battlin’ Jack Murdock back when Dave had been a little kid.

He told Dave, disappointedly, after a few weeks of Dave getting up at 12:30 to come out and watch boxing with him that he’d really thought that Murdock was gonna be the next big thing.

Guy was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Dad had said, shaking his head. But wolves that got too wily got put down and Battlin’ Jack had been found in an alley, bled out in the arms of his reason for fighting.

Dad said it was a fuckin’ shame that Murdock had gone out with a slug in his head.

A fuckin’ shame, he said.

Dave didn’t remember him every saying that Murdock’s reason for fighting was a blind ten-year-old, but the thought was now merged with that memory.

That, in itself, was merged with the memory of Dave’s phone ringing one night was Addie’s name on the Caller ID. Her voice was shaking when she told Dave that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen had just called her from an unknown number.

He had their baby.

He’d snatched her and Jesse out of the arms of two men looking for girls to be used in businesses Dave didn’t want to think about.

He’d saved them.

The devil had heard their screams when no one else had and he’d come flying out of the dark.

He’d held the girls in the light of a bodega and he’d coached Charlie through typing Addie’s number into his phone and then he’d taken it from there.

Addie was too scared to go meet the devil on her own. Mason hadn’t been around yet and so Dave had thrown on his shoes and had meet her on 46th.

The devil was on 48th, swinging his boots with both girls in his lap.

They were all singing. The devil had pretended like he didn’t know the words to Britney Spears’s ‘Toxic.’

Matt Murdock was under that mask.

Knowing that this whole time, he’d been the one dragging a stick against the fences and bricks of Hell’s Kitchen was almost impossible to digest.

And Dave had worked with him now.

He’d seen that smirk and that notorious jaw unwrapped from its red armor and that didn’t make reconciling the murdered boxer’s son with the man who’d saved his daughter any easier.

Charlie hadn’t remembered him.

She thought that Matt Murdock was a weird fuckin’ dude, and granted, he was a weird fuckin’ dude, but Dave had to say: he was grateful.

Matt Murdock not only brought home his baby, but he’d given Dave purpose in a life that had become consumed by the daily grind.

Matt Murdock had smiled in his direction, never quite into his eyes, and he’d passed along the baton with next to no fight.

Dave wasn’t him.

Dave would never be him.

Matt Murdock wasn’t just some poor murdered boxer’s blind son. He was the product of some serious poverty. Some serious violence. A whole fuckin’ cult induction, if he was to be believed. And Dave wasn’t so sure if he was always to be believed.

But he still appreciated Matt Murdock for what he’d done and what he’d made for this part of the city.

He’d made Daredevil.

And he shared that with Dave.

Dave’s own dad’s approval hadn’t felt like the honor that had come with Matt Murdock’s covered eyes and curled lip slowly relaxing as he’d lifted his face up from Dave’s knees.

He hadn’t been inspecting.

He’d been listening. Dipping his fingers into the blood in Dave’s heart and deciding if he was worth his salt.

Matt Murdock, son of Battlin’ Jack Murdock, was a product of Fogwell’s Gym in the Kitchen.

Diamond De Luca, retired heavyweight, was a product of Fogwell’s Gym.

The stars had aligned. And Dave had stood in their path.

And he wasn’t wasting the chance that they offered him.

--

Charlie was stoked to be allowed to come to the gym with him. She usually went to Jesse’s house, where Rubes would look after both girls for a few hours.

But De Luca had said that it was okay for her to come along, and so he figured, why not?

Fogwell’s was an institution in the Kitchen. All kids deserved to know their own history.

“I’m gonna fight Fogwell himself,” Charlie announced halfway down the block.

“You will not,” Dave told her. “Because I’m not tryin’ to get thrown out before we even get started here, alright?”

Charlie whined.

He ignored it.

 --

 This wasn’t the first time he’d been to the gym. Matt Murdock slipped in and out of it when he was in the city and he’d taken the whole team there once or twice. But it was different to be there in the presence of the daytime crew.

Dave felt very small in their presence.

The whole place was full of people pounding bags and swearing and shouting at kids who were tumbling all over the rows of benches set off to the side of the bags.

It was not what Dave had been expecting.

He told the guy at the front that ‘Rudy’ had recommended that he stop by and got a nod and a wave.

“He’s probably upstairs,” the receptionist said. “Go pick a bag, I’ll give him a buzz.”

 --

 Charlie refused to join the kids on the benches because apparently that was ‘only for babies, Dad.’ She wanted to hold the bag.

She was not, in one thousand years, holding the bag.

Dave wrapped her hands and let her go at it first to ‘soften it up’ for him.

De Luca caught him adjusting the demon-child’s thumbs before they ended up at the hospital again and laughed.

“Davy-boy, you made it,” he said.

Dave snapped up straight to attention.

“I did,” he said.

De Luca laughed again.

“Relax, kid,” he said. “Damn, you’re tight wound. Don’t worry, we won’t tell no one you’re sleepin’ with the enemy.”

Ahahahaha.

Please don’t.

These people were jacked. Dave was but a kickboxing instructor.

“Here, bub, lemme see what your pops has got,” De Luca said, shooing Charlie out of the way.

And this was the moment of truth.

 --

 De Luca seemed surprised when Dave finally laid off the bag. And Dave couldn’t read his expression for a million bucks.

“Uh?” he tried. “Not good?”

De Luca blinked himself back to earth.

“Oh, no,” he said. “It’s just uh, you fight a little like someone I know.”

Please don’t say a mobster.

Please don’t say a mobster.

“Kid used to live around here; name’s Matt Murdock,” De Luca said. “You know him?”

Did—

Did he know him?

QUICK. Answer the question.

You’re takin’ too long.

He’s gonna—

“S’alright if you don’t,” De Luca said. “I was just sayin’. Kid was like one of my own.”

He—

What?

“Yeah, boy fought like the devil like his daddy before ‘im,” De Luca said. “He’s the only one Fogwell lets call him ‘Grandpa.’ He’s about your age, actually. God, I’m old.”

AHAHAHAHAHA.

Please change the subject.

“You’re not that old,” Dave said. “I think I might have heard the name.”

Charlie looked up at him, baffled at the hedging.

He pleaded with her with his eyes not to say a damn word.

“Yeah, he’s somethin’, left here for San Francisco. Didn’t even say good-bye, the little shit,” De Luca sniffed. “Came back last year all ‘I’m gettin’ married’ and I swear to god, he’s picked up some kid. Just between you and me, pal, the old guard here have been talkin’, and we think that someone missed out on the sex ed talk, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

Oh.

Poor Sam.

He wasn’t even there to scream from the mountaintops that Red was a last resort for him at best.

“I’m just sayin’,” De Luca said with a shrug that spoke far more of supreme irritation than nonchalance, “He coulda just told us. I’m just sayin’.”

Any more ‘just sayin’s’ and Diamond De Luca was gonna go find a wall to bury them in.

“Did you, uh, have any feedback?” Dave blurted out as the guy started mumbling.

“Hm?”

“Feedback,” Dave repeated, waving a gloved hand at the bag.

“Oh. Yeah, loads, kid. You got all the muscles and not a damn lick of memory, here, lemme show you.”

Crisis averted.

Thank god.

 --

 D2: hey uh, DD?

SM: DAVE

S2: DAVEEEE

S3: DAVE

SM: what’s up man?

D2: nothing I was just trying to get ahold of DD?

BT: He’s trying to get Kirsten to give up her dreams of an indoor office pond rn. Can I help?

SM: I want an indoor office pond

S3: omg same

D2: uh yeah actually could you just tell him I met a guy named De Luca the other day and he might want to give him a call?

BT: de Luca?

D2: yeah

BT: okay sure thing

D2: thanks

BT: I’ll go see if I can get a word in edgewise.

SM: good fucking luck

S2: I hate fish

S3: leave this place and never return

S2: I HATE FISH

DD: WHAT

SM: oh shit that was quick

D2: oh. I was just saying that I met Diamond De Luca the other day?

SM: ?? Who’s that?

DD: oh no

S2: ??????????????

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): who the fuck is that?

DD: are you still with him?

D2: no?

D2: he caught me out fliering and invited me to Fogwell’s

D2: and when I got there he mentioned my stance was like yours and he uh

D2: got a little distracted

DD: what kind of distracted?

D2: He thinks Sam’s your bastard kid

BT: GODDAMNIT

DD: FOR FUCKS SAKE

BT: First Mrs. Jones, now this guy?? TEACH.

DD: These people have zero faith in me I swear to god.

DD: like come ON man. I did sex ed in the same class as Angie he knows I’m too catholic for that shit

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): I looked this man up and he looks like an Italian nate with less hair

SM: wh

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): okay you’re right he looks nothing like nate

SM: that

SM: that’s not even slightly helpful, wade, thanks not at all. Hey who’s angie?

DD: long story. Rudy’s daughter

S2: RED YOU FUCKED A BOXERS DAUGHTER?? That’s a million dollar baby man

DD: I

DD: what?

DD: no? Why would I fuck angie she’s like my sister?

S2: oh nvm

SM: 😬😬😬

S3: I am confused ❤

D2: you should probably call him, friend

DD: on it. thanks for the notice

DD: hey what’s your fuckin name again?

S2: f

S3: f

SM: f

D2: It’s Ansel

DD: Adams?

D2: not the photographer. Ansel West.

SM: WEST

S2: OMG

S3: guys don’t

SM: I BET YOURE A SUNSET DAVE

S2: YOU EVER FEEL CALLED TO THE PRAIRIE DAVE???

SM: YOU’RE A&W, DAVE!!

S2: ROOT BEER ROOT BEER

D2: ah yes. Middle school. I remember this feeling.

--

Dave laid his phone on his chest and stared back up at the ceiling.

It was never dull, this new life he’d settled into.

He said a prayer for Murdock and rolled onto his side.

It was still his goddamn couch.

 --

[you-need-a-jello-shot]

a really really long post about Vicki’s final show (seriously its so long)

It’s like everything that I can remember from the performance - not really focused on vicki btw but she is in there a lot dw

In megasix Danielle winked at the audience and I don't think I've ever been so suddenly attracted to someone

Also Danielle!Parr walks like a fucking gazelle she puts so much grace and power into every step I am ASTOUNDED

Also if the whole cast would please stop smirking like that at the audience throughout the whole of Ex wives thatd be great cos I would like to leave the theatre with some of my being in tact

They kept giving eachother cute little eye contact and doing cute little things with Vicki (mostly Vicki + Collette)

Ngl I could not look away from Collette the whole time she plays Aragon like that one popular girl at school who knows they’re better than you and you agree - she is SUCH a queen bee. Like she doesn't smile she smirks at you. her eyebrow just flicks UP and my heart explodes

Also genuinely just seems more relaxed in that role compared to the first time I saw her

I JUST REMEMBERED THAT DURING NO WAY SHE WENT "MEOW" AT THE AUDIENCE I AM SO FUCKIN GAY idk how to explain which bit was at but basically at 1:17 in the recorded version when Renée says like "woo!" Collette does the meow instead and oof

After every song the audience literally would not stop clapping for like a solid 10-15 seconds

Courtney omfg she is so perfect as Boleyn she has this little shit grin on her face throughout like she just roasted the fuck outta you and I love it she sells it sO well

"he must have really liked my head...." aND THEN SHE DOES THE THING WITH THE MICROPHONE IT WAS SO FUNNY

Not exactly feral but has so much energy like idk how she does it in that costume with those lights on she must get so fuckin hot like I was hot and I was wearing a crop top (yes I know it's cold out but I'm hardcore so it's fine)

Also I don’t remember when it was but I think Boleyn said something sassy about getting her head chopped off again and she and vicki did a little fistbump in the back it was c u t e. I think court and vic really try to remind everyone boleyn and howard were actually cousins

Hana Seymour is Adorable

Like she just seems like a young version of Natalie's Seymour, which is appropriate cos she is one of the younger queen's . When she said "really, really old school" she dragged out the laughter after and looked so proud of herself

When giving her speech about how she had it easy, Nat!Seymour seems genuinely hurt by what the queen's say about her. Like she constantly has the pain of it on her mind. Whilst Hana!Seymour seems to just laugh a long a bit, rolling her eyes and stuff like it doesn't really affect her that much. Maybe her version is just more at peace with it.

Anyway we've decided to Stan because her heart of stone was so fuckin perfect like she kept looking like she was going to break down and start crying I genuinely thought she was going to but then she sang the next line with such ferocity and it totally went with the theme of the song

As always Haus of Holbein was chaotic as shit. At one point one of them started doing the Criss cross thing with their knees and then literally all of them started doing it it was great. also Danielle does fingerguns as she goes across the stage and then leaps like a ballet dance its fuckin great.

Cherelle was actually so frickin good as well!!! I didn't really know what to expect from her but I she actually puts so much thought into her performance. She has so many little mannerisms that are so funny

Can't think of many but she keeps going back to the same person on the right side of the stage "oh. You again."

Actually made me realise how little speaking lines Cleves has outside of her song I think

ALSO when Parr and Aragon are pretending to be dudes in a club going up to Cleves tHEY HAVE A HAND SHAKE AND COLLETTE HAD HER TONGUE IN HER CHEEK AND IM LIKE WHY AM I ATTRACTED TO THAT WTF

Vicki's Howard is was literally so perfect. I wasn't sure what to expect cos I've only ever seen her as Boleyn so I've seen her at peak chaos. But omg she literally made me forget she was Vicki she just seemed so SmOl. But she was also definitely a Brat Kat.

When Parr pushed her forward the audience cheered she was like "aw thanks" and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

I think I might even do a separate post of just her performance cos omf I have a lot to say

OKAY SO THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE BIt

Idk if it's cos Vicki had just done AYWD for the last time or cos it was so close to the end or what but idk the chaos energy just seemed to be AMPed

When they're prompting Parr to start and theyre all posed with their arms outstretched they held that for SO long and it was so awkward and hilarious omfg cos Danielle went to sing and then didn't and it was great

And then she was like "nah I'm good" and then everyone just kind of deflated and then band kinda tapered off and it was ALSO long

And then Aragon was like ".... :D" and tries to rehold the position even though no one else is and Howard comes forward and is like "n..no" and puts her arms down it was so fuckin funny

Then Anne was just like "wot"

When Vicki said "oh I'm Catherine Parr I draw lines in arbitrary places" she mimicked Danielle's voice and made it really deep and breathy LMAO

And then when they were all in the group arguing on stage about Parr not singing and Danielle's just there looking at the audience like :/ Howard just yelled "I SANG FOR 7 MINUTES"

And then Aragon turned round and was like "I'm so sorry about this" to the audience

And Danielle really made it seem like Parr was fully just going off randomly and it wasn't planned like she was thinking about what to say before she said anything like "um... Okay... Uh... Okay well - bit of context - I've actually had my fair share of marriages"

Also DANIELLE STEERS' SINGING VOICE IS THE SEXIEST THING

It's so breathy and deep and I oop

Like damn she just seems like the softest parr

Idk how to explain it but she was soft and wholesome but also had so much power like ma'am..... her parr just seems like the chillest person

Anyway they just were having so much fucking FUN by the end they were just fully going for it it was great to watch

And then Danielle gave a really great speech and called Vicki a firecracker and Collette was like "if you ever wanna see her silly little face again catch her on tour" and I :)))

And then they gave her flowers and started doing the megasix and the fucking POWER CUT OUT AND EVERYONE WAS JUST LIKE ...

And Courtney literally started pissing herself and started singing the song like a rugby lad and everyone joined in it was peak culture

Anyway yea that was that

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

GEARBOX THIS IS EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED THAAAAHAHAHAANK YOUUUUU

FUCK OKAY TRAILER BREAKDOWN BECAUSE I AM LOOOOOOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS TRAILER HOOOOOLY SHIT

POSSIBLE PSOILERS??? MAYBE? GOD DDDDDAYMN WHAT A WAY TO GET BACK INTO THE THEORY SCENE LMAO

SO FIRST OF ALL I’M NOT CERTAIN THIS IS RELATED TO THE BARMAN/SECOND STARS CULT QUEST I FOUND IN THE FILES AS SOME PEOPLE SUGGESTED, BUT I WILL ADMIT IT IS SUSPICIOUSLY SPECIFIC. MAINLY ABOUT A CULT AND THE FACT WE SEE A BAR HANGING OUT IN THE TRAILER, BUT HEY, I AM NOT GOING TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS RIGHT NOW I AM JUST GOING TO ENJOY THIS WHILE I CAN

ANd breathe in

breathe okay

okay

im okay.

i’ve watched this trailer like 15 times already oh my god it’s so good. i wasnt so hyped about the casino dlc bc, like, i already spoiled myself on it BUT THIS IS (AS FAR AS WE KNOW) UNCHARTED TERRITORY AND

IT’S TECHNICALLY A WATER PLANET

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

okay

okay

i will stop using caps

for the most part

hhhhhhh

okay.

let’s just be calm. i got this

BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THOUGH????

oh ym goD

the fucking lighthouse sent me. i just. i went feral for a solid hour and a half. just wheezing on my test. i fell onto the floor at one point, don’t remember when. it was so fucking good, i couldn’t feel my goddamn hands

;-; its so beautiful i could stare at this all day hhhhhhh

i just

hhhhhhhhhhhh

oh ym godddd ;-;-;-;-;-;-;

it’s so fucking beautiful

i can’t

okay

we see the gun/health station under the lighthouse so it’s not really THAT big, and we can see a town in the distance. running across the ice sheets is giving me HUGE southern shelf vibes which i am in love with. this whole aesthetic is just ;w; so good

there’s a catch a ride in that town as well so we know this area is fairly big (which is confirmed in a later shot)

and oh my GOD can you imagine seeing some big ol beast lurking beneath the surface of the ice sheets hohhhh

MAN

okay sorry im still not oevr this its just so fckign good

inside the belly of the beast rotting Monster and OHHHHHHHHHHH THE IMPLICATION-s of that. of that. im calm.

we get a look at 2 new enemies and mmmmmm we get a better look at them later on so just look how fuckig beautiful thsi area is with its acid that’s probably rotting stomach acid and AAAAAAAA

first close up of the town, giving me really big uhhhh we happy few vibes? which im not complaining about

TENTACLES asdfghj

anywway more toen, bridge looks like like athenas which is DOPE im hype for more athenas-esque architecture

the TOWNss oh my god im so im love with this aesthetic god. damn.it i need this injected directly into my veins like right N O W

also the bridge is going over another pool of acid, which the tentacle is coming out of. i imagine this monster was sorta acid based, which is funny. since. frozen water planet. and it’s OOZY too. oozy boy means the eridians didn’t make this one! ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

hm who’s ready to face the unintended consequences of our actions?! NOT THE ERIDIANS WHOOO BOY (you cannot tlel me that there are mantakores on this planet and not say there was eridian fuckering going on nooOOPE)

also, side note, DIGGING the spike pit under the house on the bottom right. hope we get to explore that bad boy

ALSO

who are you mysterious figure whose cape billows in the wind? are you just part of the environment?? MAYBE

more town

first look at that BEAUITUFL red barrier which OOOOH I WANNA TOUCH SO BADLY

look at it

LOOK AT IT

NOODLE BOWL

EATS??? food place?? im not sure i can’t read, Jared, 19

see s-ar(?)ed??

THAT

THAT IS BEAUTIFUL

doesn’t look like a corporation shield (no corporation gunk lying around either) and we do know red glowy shit is the New Eridian Aesthetic, so im just saying.

it could be a corporation tho, mostly because uhhh later shots

hold up

that’s not uhhhhhhhhhhh

yeah it CAN’T BE lol

cursetown - something something

these red thingies are probably just rotting monster flesh but it does look very similar to the vines on nekrotefeyo

given how worried wainwright looks i imagine him and hammylocks are being coerced into the whole marriage thing in order to complete a ritual

i mean no judgement but that red background is absolutely garrish for a wedding

1. pirate ship??? please??? look at all the mist outside and the wooden bars

god PLEASE can i get a pirate ship.  CNA I PLEASE GET A PIRATE SHIP

Captain scarlett wsan’t enoughhhh

2. why the fuck does she have a tail

3.

DJ Midnight performing Saturday: The Dark Mix Deep W???? Hear The Voices (hmmm) and Let The Music Enter You

gee i wonder if this is cultist propaganda

I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU PEOPLE ARE

BUT YOUR TIMING

SUCKS

IIIII AM HERMEAUS MORAAA

no wait wrong game

BUT BRO TENTACLES COMING OUT OF THE MAGIC PORTALS???? UFCKF UEYS THIS FITS PERFECTLY INTO H2O A- i mean, damn haven’t we got enough tentacles from the destroyer?? wow gearbox... heh. hm.

SO I AM WONDERING IF MAYBE THE GREEN UNDER THE BRIDGE AND SUCH ISN’T LIKE CORROSIVE ACID BUT MAYHAPS SOME SORT OF MAGIC SLUDGE COMING OFF THE BIG OL MONSTER BOY THAT THESE CULTISTS ARE HARNESSING TO TAP INTO something. i lost steam. but i mean MAGIC PORTALS

and we all know where teleportation takes us

MANTAKORES!!! WHICH MEANS ERIDIAN INTERVENTION SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE

they seem like fire/ice boys which i absolutely adore

THIS SHOT IS SO COOL OH MY GOD

LIKE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN IT JUST LOOKS D O P E

WHAT IS THIS??

WHAT IS THIIIS??

CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR JACKET

OH ALSO

I MENTIONED IT IN ANOTHER POST BUT THIS

REMINDS ME A LOT OF THIS

IM SURE THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO CORRELATION BUT I THOUGHTIT WAS FUNNY

ALSO REMEMBER THE BLACK EYES THING I HAVE A WHOLE THINGIE THING IMMA BRING BACK OT IT JUST HOLD TIGHT

THIS SHOT?? OH MY GOD? IT’S LIKE A MOVIE????????? I LOV EI LOVE IT LIV E OT

nND THE WOLFIE BOYS THATTHE ARTICLE MENTIONS

UCKING TENTACLES HFDGDHFGJKH THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL OH MY GOD

HE’ SGOT TENTACLE ARMS LIKE MOTHERFUCKING CHADAM

BRO IM

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AND A GUN THIS MOTHERFUCKER STILL HAS A GUN

WHAT A MAN

MORE TECHONOLOG Y THAT IM SURE PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS SOMEHOW

BEAUTIFUL

WE SLAM THIS DUDE UP AGAINST A WALL SO HARD SHE/HE/THEY (I ASSUME SHE BC WE CAN’T SEE HER FACE AS A COMMON TROPE) 

BREAKS THE WINDOW WHICH LOOKS SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE A WINDOW ON SANC-III BUT IM NOT MAKING ANY ASSUMPTIONS

also red SPARKS WHICH REMIND ME OF ERIDIANS AGAIN

also her whole helmet thingie??? very Guardian-like

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE IS GIVING ME HUGE HECTOR/KEY/PLANT/ERIDIANBULLSHITTERY VIBES THEY EVEN HAVE THE GLOWING SACS OF OOOOOOOZE

which is another point to the “green sludge is magic/connected to their powers somehow” theory. hmmm i hope we mix neon green and eridium purple. purple/green is my favorite color combo. and ugh with the lovecraftian vibes? be still my beating heart!

WINNIE SHOOTING SOMOHE

i fucking LOVE the laces on this shotgun. so fucking pretty omfg

magic circle MAGIC CIRCLE MAGIC CIRCLE

also new chest it looks like

BROO??? HOLY SHIT?????????

JABBER WOLF!! SO FUCKING COOL

THAT SKULL MOUTH IS SO FUCKING DOPE IT LOOKS LIKE TROY’S TATTOO

ohhhhhhHHHHHH THE MOON IS GREEN TOO DON’T DO THI GEARBOX IM GONNA SCREAM IF THERE’S ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE ERIDIUM

THIS SHOT OHHHH

THE BAR LOOKS FUCKING FANTASTIC OH MY GOD

shots SHOT SHOTS SHOT SHOTS HTOSHSTOHSOHTS

dND the MERFOLK TAIL ON THE FAR RIGHT I DON’T GIVE A FUUUCK WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS THAT’S MER TAIL THAT’S A TAIL FUCK U

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YSEY SEYSEYSE BIGGG

THE BARTENDER OHOH

HAVE I MENTIONED THE GIANT FUCKING MUSHROOMS BTW

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM GETTTING SUCH DRAGONBORN DLC VIBES I LOVE IT

SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BTW THAT’S IMPORTANT

YOU ALLL LOOK SO FUCKING AMAZING OH MY GOD

the bartender!!!! his glasses!! AND THE VOICE MODULATOR???

the netch looking boys are called

slithercresses btw and THEY LOOK STUNNING

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NEW RED CHESTS??? LOOK ERIDIAN TO ME

WHICH MIGHT MEAN------

ALSO THE DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER PROGRAM ON SANC-III WHERE BBY BOY MAUREICE MAKES US A PORTAL TO HELL??? WHICH GREEN OOZE WHICH IS “HECKTOPLASM” BUT MAYBE ACTUALLY N O T

THE STAR OF THE SHOW BABY GIRL GAIGE WHO’SACTUALLY OLDER THAN ME NOW FUUUUUUUUCK

YOU’RE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL II LOVE YOUR NEW GOGGLES

H??????????????

POSSIBLE NEW PSYCHOMASK UNLESS HE’S JUST GROWING THOSE BONE HORNS IN WHICH CASE YOU GO MAN IM PROUD OF YOU

TENTACLE GUNNNNNN WHICH BETTER LPAY A PART ERIRDIANS YOU FUCKS

THIS PLACE IS WHY I THINK THIS MIGHT BE RELATED TO S O M E CORPORAITON? BUT THEN AGAIN IT MAY JSUT BE THE CULT HEADQUARTERS OR WHATEVER, THAT RED BUBBLED MANSION LOOKS P HQ

FOOD CARTS AND ALSO WHATEVERS IN THAT SWINGING BAG LOOKS LIKE BONES HELL YEAH

this this THIS THIS THIS THIS WHAT IS THIS A NEW CIRCL  E OF SLAUGHTEr? ERIDIAN???

THEYRE PUMPING SOMETHING INTO/OUT OF THE CORPSE!!!!!!! ALSO

mutaTED FEET

[something] world! with a skull symbol on the side

both green btw

god YES I LOVE GREEN AND PURPLE IM SO HAPPY

SAILOF HOLE

hammylocks helping us with a fight by some bones and more wolfie boys!!!! i love these little dudes

FIRE MUTATED SLUGS AAAAAAAAA THEYRE SO COOL

ns tHEY CUR L UP INTO BALLS AND ROLL AT YOU LIKE KRAGGONS

AND I WONDER HOW THE SLUGS MUTATED IS IT POSSIBLY THE G R E E EN?

AND THEIR SHELLS LIKE SUCC UP LAVA?????????????

THESE BRAIN-Y BOYS 

SO BLUE I LOVE THEM

AND MORE GREEN MIST BY THE WAY OWOWOWOWOWO

another look at a baddie with STUDS THIS TIME

A MAGIC WARLOCK TYPE BADDIE THIS TIME AND HE SUMMONS A STAFF AND ALSO I THINK THAT’S ERIDIUM CANNISTER BEHIND HIM

AND IT HAS SIMMILAR TENTACLESTO THE GUNS DO YOU THINK WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO GET ANA NSWER ASA TO WHY OUR GUNS ARE A L I V E

MORE SNAIL DUDES AND THE GREEN STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND M A N I LOVE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA SNAILS

OOOOOZE

BACK AT IT AGAIN IN MY CYCLONES

GREEN FUCKING PUDDLES

B O N E S FUCKING I HOPE THIS EXPLAINS HOW THE SKAGS ON PANDORA GOT SO FUCKIN LARGGO OUTSIDE OF JUST ‘YEAH THE SEASONS’

MORE

this

THIS

ONE

THIS LOOKS LIKE A SAURIAN THE ARMORED ONES THE BASHY ARMORED ONES THAT START WITH ‘C’

TWO THAT GUN IS KICKASS

IT’S GLOWING G R E E N AND IT HAS ***THE TENTACLE BARREL***

OHHHH IM SO READY FOR AN EXPLANATION GEARBO X PL E ASE

GIVE IT TO ME

ALSO THIS

IM EXCITED ABOUT

PROBABLY RELATED TO SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BC THE MUSHROOMS MAYBE THEY USE IT TO MAKE BOOZE MUSHROOM BOOZE EW

WHY IS HE GRAY?????? HE’S NOT WEARING A JACKET MAYBE HES CRYO-FLAVORED

more sluggus THESE ARE GREEN FLAVORED :O

also, side note

PLEASE TLEL ME THIS WAS INTENTIONAL GEARBOX

LEMME SLAP BLANE’S ASS

YOU *GUYS* PLEASE

BUBBLE MANSION??? GREEN OOZY VILLAIN THAT GOT SLMAMED INTO A WALL??? BABY BABY GIRL

THE R E D

and she’s USING A TENTACLE GUN TOO

THAT’S GOTTA MEAN SOMETHING RIGHT

hhhhhhHHHHH

also ther’e sa fridge on the left lol

also the consoles look similar to that one shot with zane which is why i believe this is part of that bubbled-y mansion.

YES ES YES YES YES YESY SYEYSE 

I WANNA RIDE THE SKY TRAM SO BAD PLEASE

I WANNA REENACT UNTIL DAWN

I HAVE A MIGHTY NEEEEEEED

ALSO NOTE THE EYES

AND THE PURPLE HOW IT LOOKS LIKE AN ERIDIUM PURPLE

ANYWAY I HA[VE TO GO EAT FOOD NOW BUT GO LOOK AT THIS LINKN

I LOOKED UP THE NAME OF THE PLANET AND MYTHOLOGY AND NOTHING CAME UP, BUT GOOGLE RECOMMENDED ME 

T H I S

https://pantheon.org/articles/l/lycurgus.html

AND MAN OH MAN

“FAMOUS FOR HIS PERSECUTION OF DIONYSUS” THE GOD OF P A R T I E S LIKE IDK A WEDDING PARTY, WHICH FORCED YA MAIN MAN DIONYSUS TO <JUMP INTO THE OCEAN> WHICH COULD HAVE SOME RELATION TO THE TENTACLES

OH AND ALSO LYCURGUS WAS THEN <<<BLINDED>>>  WHICH COULD PLAY A PART IN THE BLACK OOZY EYES EVERYONE HAS

DIONYSUS ALSO ENDS UP PUNISHING LYCURGUS WITH MADASS AND WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT RELATES

OKAY BYE 

[dredreadsdrawing]

Oc-tober Day 22: Good/Evil

Hooray for more old ideas! This one is one of the very beginnings of me thinking bigger stories. Believe this time when I say there's not much plot-wise for these two chars. I just haven't come around to actually fleshing out the story; instead I always just zero in on these two's personalities and chemistry.

So let's call the first character you see Baddie, and the gal offering to buy tacos Scruffy. They meet just like my comic details but I'll backtrack and give them context.

Baddie is an alien test tube baby, experimented on his whole life to become a weapon. He's basically feral with how little human interaction he's had, and after his van crashes and his chains break, he goes on a rampage hurting people.

Then comes Scruffy.

Scruffy is a kid from the streets, a pro at minding her own business and forcing others to do the same with her. But when she finds this kid that can lift a man up whilst only growling as he tries to bargain, her interest is piqued. He puts the man down but goes after her, and after running around for a bit, dodging his lunges, she manages to pin him, all the while poking fun at him by calling him "Bad dog!" She manages to calm him down, and treats him all night to food, fun and good company. He's smitten.

While out, some cute stuff happens, but here's something in particular. The whole night, people would scream slurs at her as she passes by, but she ignores them. When someone throws trash at her, Baddie responds. She holds him back by his shirt collar and drags him away. Once they sit down in a park she lays over his lap and explains her situation somewhat. Some people will just never like her. But it's alright by the end because she's living for herself. As a girl. Feral alien boy doesn't understand her dilemma at all, but he listens. To him, she's made it clear she's a girl. Why is everyone treating her like she's not?

Nearing dawn, just as she settles on the idea of bringing him into her broken household, he's swept away from her watch in just a millisecond, carried away by another unmarked van. And not seen again until years later.

He's finally been civilized. He can speak and he knows social norms. But he prefers to stay quiet and doesn't get close to anyone. He's been transported job to job, used as a mercenary to the highest bidder. The next big job takes him back to the familiar town he misses... Realizing this, he runs from the car into the streets. He visits all the places he remembers. They've all changed. He doesn't find her. He's devastated. He returns to his job's office by himself, where his new partner, a girl with eyes on him, is already being breifed. They are to take down anarchists with a peculiar set of powers. Among the photographs of their victims is hers.

In all those years, Scruffy missed the bugger, but she's also been busy surviving. She made a name for herself helping others. One day, she helped a weird-looking dog. It was dying in her kitchen, and with its final breaths it spoke to her. She must be the next defender of the earth...

With the dog's final word, it dissolves into sparkles, and they crowd around Scruffy. That's right. This is a magical girl story XD Though a less flashy one, so the sparkles and colors are a bit toned down.

Can't give too much details because I always gloss over this, but she gets a team (though I can only remember two lol, my very first fuckin lesbian couple!!!) and she starts fucking shit up for the big bad companies trying to take over the world for a bad alien's gain.

Needless to say she will run into Baddie in the field, but while he knows its her, she won't know it's him (cuz he fully transforms).

He'll still secretly help her sometimes, and she'll start to notice. She has hope he's not a bad guy.

He gets annoyed by his partner in crime's infatuation with him, doubly so when she makes fun of Scruffy. Needless to say, her fear of him outweighs her big mouth. She learns to shut up, though she still doesn't like Scruffy.

On an off-night, Scruffy will go to her favorite taco truck that's switched locations. That same hour, Baddie will be 'patrolling the streets' only for his nose to catch a whiff of the food he ate that faithful night. And wouldn't ya know it, they go to order at the same time.

Cue fireworks huehehue.

She's overwhelmed with joy at seeing him, she was always worried she failed him that day. He, who finally learned words and even traversed into multiple foreign languages, has his heart stuck in his throat. After getting their food, she drags him along just like the night they met, and they have a great time visiting the same spots. He already knows how much they've changed, but he loves hearing her talk about all the renovations and history of the spots. He stays mute the entire time. They end the night on that bench where she lays down at his lap again, and laughs at the end of a story of hers. He can't stop looking at her, and as she runs out of talk, she's beginning to notice. She smirks at him and lightly punches his cheek.

"What's so funny, punk?"

His first words to her.

"You're still as gorgeous as when I first saw you."

Ahaha, that sends her smile back and her face aflame.

So this guy can talk now.

And such a nice voice.

And not to mention..... He's hitting on her?

She hides her face and gets up. She's not used to this. That came out of nowhere!

He's terrified at her sudden movement, and grabs her arm.

"I-Im sorry, please don't leave! That night..."

She turns around and peeks through her fingers to see the same shy boy stuttering over his words.

"Means the world to me..."

Ah, well. He's fucking cute.

She stays and they talk some more before she has to leave. But they get eachother's numbers and promise to hangout more... Which they will.

They'll continue meeting in the battlefield and they'll make lame excuses the next day over brunch on why they have bruises.

He knows the truth, but he's afraid to come out. The best he can do is keep her safe in the fights.

Until the day she figures it all out.

[snarkwrites]

Abandoned amusement part for spooky locale prompt

Oooh, thank you for sending this. I love this idea, by the way. One thing came to mind when I got this and that was that I wonder how this would play out in the Walking Dead universe . So, hope you don’t mind! I hope you like this. I also hope it’s actually worth a shit. The idea came to me like this so I went all in with it. And I really, really enjoyed doing it. FYI, I almost went with AHS:Freak Show, but yeah..

I enjoyed doing this, again. Thank you for sending it.

[ send a character name / spooky scenario and location and I’ll write a drabble about it ]

WARNINGS:

uhh.. An OC of mine, Evie Grimes has been revamped. And she may or may not be a little out there in some ways... Like.. Too much. Idk. Lots of swearing. Mentions of gunshots. Me, dicking around with my own alternate universes and what actually took place on the series.... Again, lol.

TAGGING:

@chasingeverybreakingwave 

@kyleoreillysknee 

@rampagewriting 

@missjenniferb 

** off the top of my head, these are the only people I could think might even want a tag.. If you wanna be tagged in my writing on this blog pls see the tag doc link below. Or tell me.]

OTHER STUFF:

[ masterlist - about page - tag doc ] 

My lungs burned but I didn’t dare stop. A chain link fence stood between me and my doom and without thinking, I scaled the fence right as a decayed hand raised and very nearly got hold of the heel of my biker boot. I kicked free and tumbled down onto the other side.

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t turn back. Give the finger to the horde of zombies I’d been outrunning. Probably wasn’t the smartest idea I’ve ever had, but... I did it. After turning away from the horde and moving quickly past a tattered and worn red and white striped tent close to me, I crouched down and started to work on reloading my gun. Once I got that reloaded, I reached behind me and produced my bow, making sure I still had a few arrows left in my quiver. Satisfied that I had my gun loaded and I hadn’t used all my arrows yet, I took a second or two to catch my breath.

The smell of smoke hung heavily in the air and I noticed it then... The flickering light over by an older model pop up camper. “What the hell?” the words came in a quiet gasp because I still hadn’t gotten my breath back completely yet, but curious as to who else might have taken cover in this empty amusement park, I made my way over to the source of light.

This was probably my first -and biggest, mistake. Before I even got halfway across the amusement park, I felt the cold metal of a gun barrel against the back of my skull.

“Where th’ hell you think yer goin, huh? You the reason them damn Walkers are lingerin outside the gate right now?” - that voice.. There was something so familiar about it. Take away the coldness and the anger in the tone and I’d almost swear on my life I’d heard the man currently speaking before. On numerous occasions.

“First of all, lower your fucking weapon.” I tried to stay calm as I said it. The man standing behind me chuckled. “You’re dumb if ya think I’m gon just put down my weapon. How do I know you ain’t with Rick’s group... Or that other sumbitch, Negan?”

And then, it clicked. Shane Walsh. My former childhood crush. My brother’s best friend and former partner at King County PD. ,, it can’t be. he died. Rick told you exactly what happened that night before you got separated...”

“I said... Lower your goddamn gun.” I repeated myself. “If you’d just let me turn around, you fucking idiot, you’d know exactly why I’m not the enemy. Now you on the other hand... You’re supposed to fucking be dead.”

I could hear him shuffle his feet. Clearing his throat. I didn’t have to be looking at him to know that my assessment shocked him. And yeah, parts of me were wondering if he’d put two and two together on his end of it all yet. Given what I remember about Shane, it’s highly doubtful. Man was kind of a meathead like that.

So it shocked me when he muttered in a quiet and shocked tone, “Evie? ‘At you?”

“Lower your gun and let me turn around and you’ll find out, meathead.” I retorted, tapping a heavy sole against the pavement and shivering at the chill in the air. He lowered the gun as I asked and I turned around, coming face to face with him.

Given what my brother told me before I went my seperate way from his little group, I had a lot of understandable concerns. So the first thing I did was to pull out my Bowie knife and hold it at his throat. He swallowed hard, eyeing me in confusion. “What th’ fuck?”

“Well, you’re alive when Rick saw you die with his own two eyes. Carl told me he shot you to make sure you didn’t come back. So... Until I know you’re not going batshit feral on me and attempting to eat my brains, I’m gonna have to keep this right here. You understand, yeah?”

“Evie, put the goddamn knife down. Carl didn’t finish me off, first of all. He tried but he couldn’t. I told ‘im to tell everybody that. Left and went my own way. Been stayin here, “ he swept his arm towards a particularly creepy clown mouth shaped entrance to a nearby funhouse and met my gaze to continue, “Since. Thangs were goin swell. Til you bought the fuckin Walkers right to my gate.”

He rolled his eyes in irritation and I fumed at him angrily. As I considered the story he presented, I held the knife exactly where I’d put it. A smirk formed as he suggested with a smug tone, “What, you want me to strip down and show ya I ain’t one of ‘em? Because darlin, I wouldn’t mind that one bit.”

“Oh I bet you wouldn’t, you colossal ass... But we have bigger problems right now. I wasn’t just running from those undead shitbags outside... I may or may not have pissed off that Negan guy you mentioned. I may or may not have set fire to some shit... Stolen some things. And he may or may not have been chasin me.”

“Woman, what the everlovin fuck?”

“Look. I went there, determined to get my goddamn revenge, okay? He... He killed someone I... I really cared about them. Then all that shit with my brother and his people and Negan.”

Headlights cut through the darkened night and I grumbled. I could hear Negan’s boys whooping and hollering and I gulped, taking a deep breath. “I’m gonna lower the knife. But if I even think you’re one of those zombies, Walsh, I swear to God. I’ll kill you in your sleep and I won’t think twice.”

“Fair enough... Guessin this ain’t because you’re feelin generous.”

“No. We’re about to be up to our asses in hillbilly dumb fucks. I can’t take ‘em alone.” I hated admitting I needed his help for anything, it left a sour taste in my mouth. 

And his smug smirk didn’t help at all, either.

“First ‘f all, let’s get to higher ground. There’s a control tower back around where you came crashin over the fence at. If we get higher, we can see ‘em. And all my guns and shit are up top.”

I nodded and I didn’t waste any time, crouching amongst the tents. I passed the battered bumper cars attraction and I froze in place when I heard the shuffle-groan-shuffle heading our way. My heart started to race and my stomach jumped clear into my throat. I couldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself it was move or get my ass eaten alive. I could hear the trucks getting closer too and that didn’t help. Gunfire was starting to fill the night. This was not a good situation, not by any stretch.

Shane ran up, grabbing me up by my hips, hauling me over his shoulders just as Negan’s vehicle came crashing through the back gate.

“Woman, you brought more trouble than y’ might be worth, y’ know that?”

“Less bitching, Walsh.. More getting us to higher ground.” I muttered as Shane stood me on my own feet and I scrambled up the stairs leading to a control tower. Once we were inside, Shane threw a heavy machine in front of the door and knelt down, loading up his Mossberg.

And outside, the shuffling and groaning got closer. The sounds of revving engines and the sound of bullets echoed through the night.

All I know is I’m not getting a good feeling about tonight, not even slightly.....

[fightevilandthengetblownup]

Red Right Hand III

—

It had been a quiet afternoon thus far, with only a few off-shift workers passing through for a pint. A few even stayed for a laugh if they needed their spirits lifted or a bit of banter if they’d already lifted their own.

Joanna found the fortnight since she had taken the position had fallen into a similar routine. Quiet days where by sometimes the front room would be empty and others filled with a rotating shift of Visyak’s and accomplices, followed by long nights that would either be spent singing when there were no Shadows in sight or pouring heady beers and adding new bottles to the cubby hole when there were.

She found that if she tilted her head just right, she could hear the quiet conversations she shouldn’t be listening in on during the daytime hours. She could recognise the cool, commanding tones of the eldest, the crude, cocky remarks of the middle and the soft, raspy comments of the youngest. She could hear who knew what, and who knew nothing, and who knew what others knew. She could hear everything just right, and often had found herself ducking quickly below the bar’s surface or taking several fast steps to avoid being caught in her observations as the sound of footsteps approached the door, cubby or the front breeze doors of the pub would push open.

That morning she’d been leaning near the cubby hole, head tilted as she listened in on the talk about her beautiful horses performance that last weekend, winning by a length again. Aisling Fhiáin had been her favourite of the latest breeding, the animals spirit and desire to break free had spoken to her so clearly; but sacrifices had to be made, and her beast had to be sacrificed for the greater good. However it had smarted to hear the horrible name the gangsters had come up with for her darling. And the seemingly dreadful rider restricting the horse’s own passion, she bit down a snort at the thought that left to it’s own devices it could out pace the rest of the pack without being held back by some second-rate jockey.

As she polished the glass in her hand, she heard the front breeze doors push open roughly and jerking away from the cubby she practically flung herself towards the other end of the bar as the internal doors were shoved open with just as much force; followed immediately by the same again.

“Get ‘im boys!” “Sneaking, feral bastard!-” “Where are those fucking Shadow ponces-” “-We’re goin’ to rip your throat out you snivelling, worthless little dog!” “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

The scream from the first person through the door, dark brown curls on his head drenched and blood from his lip clinging to his scruff sent a chill along her spine, as Joanna turned to view the group of men before her. The first was scrambling along the floor as if trying to put as much distance between them and him; while the four others called venomously out.

“Stad láithreach! Get away from him and get out of my bar, ‘fore I fuckin’ throw ya out meself!” Joanna barely recognised her own voice, shouting loudly as she made her way out from behind the bar’s far end, cloth and glass still in hand. She couldn’t explain how she found herself standing infront of the downed man, feet planted firmly and hand holding the cloth fisted at her side ready to throw a fist at the next man to step forward, she couldn’t explain why she was there, why she was interfereing other than it was the right thing to do.

“Oh look, the pup’s got a defender -” “See here, missy, you best be steppin’ aside and not gettin’ involved in stuff above your pay grade.” “- Maybe we see if she can actually make us move, boys.” “Sounds like a good plan, Alastair - you going to cramp our fun, Crowley?”

The three men - she surpressed a shudder at the dark grin on the tallest identified as Alastair as he seemed to loom forward a little over the other two; a shorter dark haired Scot called Crowley by the third, who merely gave an almost as disturbing grin at her - paused momentarially in their pursuit as they surveyed her. Whoever they were, they hadn’t entered The Fort in the last two weeks. She’d heard the name Crowley once or twice in her eavesdropping when the talk had turned to the Black Eyes Gang, and that she’d thrown herself between yet another gang of angry men and their quarry would have made her knees shake if she was little Beth Murphy and not Joanna Harvelle.

The tallest of the three, Alastair, took a step forward towards her, arm reaching for her’s, with that horrifying grin still upon his face. “Come on, daisy girl, lets get you out of the way before you do something stupid to get yourself hurt.” Next second, the grin was off of his face as the glass from her hand smashed into shoulder, and the world seemed to tilt for her. 

Off balance, Joanna struggled to tug herself from the grip on her arm with a shout and kick before the hard lip of the bar crushed against her ribs. There was a hand on the back of her head, caught in her hair, and another pressing her chest into the top of the bar that she couldn’t shake off.

“You filthy, little whore! You’ll pay for that.” The words were hissed near her ear as she was pulled backwards before being shoved into the bar again, the pain of her teeth catching and splitting her lip where it had only barely healed from the impact into the ground from being thrown by her beautiful horse three weeks ago. “I’ll make you scream so loud you’ll forget what silence is for this.”

“Alastair, leave it be. We’ve got other fish to fry.” “Exactly. Azazel, get that mutt off the floor.”

The sound of the other men talking, the third finally being given a name - one that she would store away beside that of the man digging his fingers into her back for revenge one day - distracted her momentarially from the pain, long enough to kick back at the knees of her captor and wrench away with a swirl of skirts. Clothed fist back up, Joanna had trouble projecting the confidence she had originally as she shuffled backwards towards the whimpering dark haired man on the floor.

“Oi! What’re you bastards up to out here? This is our turf, and you’re overstepping the rules, boys.”

At the sound of Michael Visyak’s voice, she felt a wave of relief pour over her panicked anger like water over a fire. She could just see over the hulking shoulder of Alastair the trio of brothers as well as her employer Harry had emerged from the front room at the noise.

“We just chased your lil’ puppy dog back to the kennel is all, Michael. Thought you’d appreciate getting him back mostly in one piece.” The sneer from the shortest of the Black Eyes Gang group, alongside his cocky tone, flickered at Joanna’s temper. 

However his words reminded her of the man below her feet, and rather than try to interfere further, she moved down to help him now that the situation seemed to be under control. His hands were pressed to either side of his head, squeezing tightly as if to trap something in or stop something from entering she couldn’t tell. The shake of his shoulders and murmuring about noise reminded her of the few gypsy boys who had returned from the war with nothing but the dropping shells in their ears.

“You’ve seen to it, and now you can leave now.” “What about his entering our turf? What of his stabbing one of our boys down on Clarey Lane? What of that?” “If that’s true, we’ll see to it. You tell Lilith to keep your boys in line, we’ll keep ours in line.”

Joanna paid no mind to the bartering back and forth between sides as she knelt beside the shaking man. She pressed her polishing cloth against his still bleeding mouth and tried to sound as soothing as possible, as if he were a scared filly about to go to the breeding stocks for the first time or one of the drovers when they’d twist their foot in a rabbit hole and were due to face down a barrel soon enough. Soothing noises, gentle touches and calming tones.

“What about the barmaid?” “What the fuck of the barmaid?” “She fuckin’ attacked one of my men.” “That little thing attacked one of you, huh? And you want to prove your boys are weaker than a little girl by doing something about it?”

The sound of feet approaching didn’t distract her, neither did the topic of conversation. Thankfully no other patrons had been in the bar but the brothers at the time, and the blonde couldn’t help but wonder what the shaking man before her had done to get in such shape. Nor to instill enough rage for three rival gangsters to enter the almost sacred location of The Fort in the Shadows territory. She didn’t hear the discussion change to her, before trailing off and the three other men leaving with furious remarks that this wouldn’t be the end of the discussion. That ‘mark their words’. That ‘they better never see that mutt again’. That ‘or that whore barmaid’.

“Beth… Beth… Beth?” “Beth!”

It took the hand on her shoulder to shake her focus, brown eyes looking up into blue far closer than they should have been. She should have heard the younger brother approaching, she should have hear Harry squat down on her other side to help the weeping man. She should have heard her supposed name - though at least she thought she could play off not recognising the name for shock, as she blinked rapidly back at the vaguely nonplussed face.

“Uh… They… They chased ‘im in. I… I couldn’t..” She stumbled over the words as Jackson held onto her empty hand, the one that she’d used to shatter a glass into a rival of his, and helped her to her feet. Joanna blinked in surprise at the looks she was receiving before dropping her gaze to the floor and swiping at the blood on her mouth and chin. “Bloody gan chnámh droma cowards, the lot of ‘em. Pickin’ on someun all alone! Couldn’t even do a fair fight, hadda go three to one! If I coulda fuckin’ reached his bloody face wit’ that glass I would! Oh what horrible people! Stupid tall fuck!” The blonde managed to work herself up more and more, reflecting upon the brief tussle and mentally berating herself for letting the foul man get a hold of her, as she looked around at the surprised faces of the assembled men.

“Well, that was an impressive tirade there, barmaid. Very impressive response too.” “You sure you’re not carrying a cock under those skirts?” “Jeffrey. Not appropriate.” “Just appreciating the fight. Could have done throwing a few fists myself.” “Not now, Jeffrey, until we get to the bottom of this with Amon.”

The other two brothers talked back and forth ignoring her once she finished, moving forwards to help the struggling man to his feet. Richard “The Wolf” Amon had once been a strong and fierce fighter almost on par with the ferocity of Jeffrey Visyak, and a strong enforcer for the Shadows as well as being the best of friends with the youngest Visyak. However, after the war, his brain had muddled with the sound of shells and horrors of the mindless death and killing that he’d barely returned to society as a man than a crying babe. However his loyalty in his lucid moments was as unwavering to Jackson and his brothers as it had ever been. 

That he’d been caught in the Black Eyes territory and possibly entered one of his fugue states of terror and blood was not a comforting thought to their plans of taking on the group soon enough. Neither was the requirement for repayment likely to be anything other than the with the blood of the shorter curly haired man-child. The Wolf had returned from the war a pup, and the shaking of his shoulders as the adrenaline died down left him looking like a hollow shell of what he could have been.

As Harry busied himself with getting a cloth for the other men, Joanna raised a brow at the shivering man before her attention was drawn back to the one in front of her with a hiss. Jackson’s thumb was stroking her lip, and if she hadn’t covered her cheeks with powder that morning she was sure she’d be as red as her tacky blood on his digit. “Oww, don’t… don’t touch it.”

“Just checking that nothings damaged. Wouldn’t do to have a broken barmaid. Wouldn’t look respectable.” “Its fine.” “What, no quick come backs now, Beth?” “Sorry ta disappoint.” “If you’d managed to get that bastard’s face, I’d have said well done.” “Maybe next time I’ll get ‘im straight in it then.” “Next time you won’t have to.”

The conversation flowed quickly as Joanna breathed out sharply as the other held the cleanest corner of her cloth to her lip, trying to fight off the flush at being able to be a little bit of her own self again. It was hard to stay Beth sometimes around the pushing and combative snark of the man in front of her. The last week had found her trying to push at him to see the dullness leave his eyes for the slight sparkle of amusement she saw now; though she didn’t know what to make of the concerned look on his face as he wiped at her lip.

“If you two are done,” The voice behind the bar made her jerk, turning her head from the other to see her employer giving the pair of them a peculiar look, “Beth, the brooms out the back for the glass.”

“Yessir!” Joanna bit back a groan at the interruption before rushing out the back to collect the broom. Leaning against the door to catch her breath, she let out a silent hiss again at her stupidity, at getting involved, at getting too close. At the relief that had flooded her hearing her gangster’s voices, and then again at thinking of them as such. She thumped her head back with a sigh, eyes closing as she focussed again on why she was there and not on the feel of fingerpad on lip. By the time she had returned to the main room, all four Shadows had sequestered themselves away again and Harry was flitting about, keeping a firm eye on her. No more chances to listen in for the day.

—

“What in the name of the Holy Mother happened yesterday?” The unusually colourful cry from their mother when they arrived for the family meeting that morning greeted the brothers unexpectedly. Clearly someone had already mentioned the events of the previous day to her, and the old dame’s temper was much harder to calm when woken up. “Is this what you

children

plan to bring upon us all?!”

“No Ma-” “Course not. This wasn’t planned.” “-We’ve got a handle on it now.”

“A handle on it?” Green eyes flashed as she took each of her boys faces. Jeffrey speaking up first seemed frustrated as he poured his drink that morning, most likely smarting at not having gotten in on the action. Michael, her calm, responsible clear headed son seemed unimpressed with the turn of events - clearly he had intended to clean up the issue without her involvement nor awareness. Jackson seemed the only one truly impacted by the attack. Though that may have been his closeness with the Amon boy, or possibly the guilt at failing the boy back in the war, she couldn’t rightly tell but at least he kept his eyes down and mouth shut at her questions. “If you boys have forgotten, I built this company in four years into its place without the level of destruction you’ve achieved in just two!”

“Nobody has forgotten, Ma. You and your copper connections cleaning up the streets. Chasing those Black Eyes back to the west with their tails betwixt their legs.” “Then how is it those Black Eyes dared to step foot in our Fort?” “Amon had a slip supposedly. Something over in the west end, you know he ain’t well.” “If he ain’t well, why is he still with you boys? Why do you insist on dragging this family into the darkness you brought back?” “That’s uncalled for.” “Really? I heard they roughed up that girl too. What if that’d been your sister, huh?” “Shads wouldn’t-” “What if it was her? What if your sister had been there!”

Eleanor and Michael fired back and forth, neither having touched the breakfast on the table between them all. This might have been a family meeting with all the traditions of tea and toast and bacon in the good times, but without the youngest two Visyak’s in attendance it was clear this was not a typical family breakfast. Eleanor found herself growing hoarse and shrill trying to drive her point home, to see some show of respect, understanding or remorse from the other.

“Shada’d never have stepped between them and Amon.” Her youngest spoke for the first time, eyes still closed and fists tight on the table before he stood sharply to stare her back down. Eleanor had always thought that while her eldest had height to intimidate, her middle with a psychotic glee at pain, that her youngest was the loose cannon with darkness behind the eyes. And staring him down she found herself sinking down into her seat. “She’s not brave or stupid enough. Shada would have hid behind that bar and done nothing while those bimbos would have torn my friend apart, because in the end she’s your daughter and lacks the vision and balls to drive this organisation where it needs to go.”

A tense silence filled the room as neither brother moved to discredit the younger or defend their mother from the diatribe. As much loathing as there was between most of them, there was nothing to be said.

“I’ve got to go check on Amon’s end to the story. Jeffrey, you’ve got rounds tonight, and Michael… Talk some sense into her.” It wasn’t often that Jackson delivered the directives of the morning, typically that would be Michael or Eleanor herself, but without waiting for a either to correct him, he swept out of the house with a slam of the door through to the business side of the house.

There was a second before the remaining dark haired son stood up, tossing back the last of his tea and whisky combo before giving a sardonic salute to the others, heading out after his brother.

“A handle on it, aye Michael? Got it all under control? Is that what you call under control?”

“It’s his mate, Ma-”

“True, but this is just the start of what his grand ideas and your blind ambition is going to rue on this family!”

“Perhaps. But we

are

ready for this.”

—

The sound of horses feet thundering along the stretch as the crowd gasped ad hollered covered the sound of boots in mud behind the stands. The rush of men swarming through the back of the viewing stands towards the bookies tents, hands gripping tightly on various blunt weapons or knives. Matching dark coats billowed behind the twenty gangsters that moved towards their targets.

The fall boys with their bookie stamps and bags of coin slung over their shoulders were already counting out the takings and the winnings for the punters outside; the outcome already known even as the race had yet to finish. The Shadows had ensured their white beauty would be back in fine form that day after the shattering loss the previous week - and those inside knew better than to question them since their interference began. That and the three Shadows men standing together at the back of the tent, cigarettes lit, the protection ring still well in place.

At the tick of the hour, striking the midday hour the gang of men moved as one. With a deep cry, the twenty men swarmed the space, batons slipped into hands and hit carelessly into the closest few workers from the front line while the remaining poured in giving the odd slash of a blade or bash of a cane. The three Shadows jerked from their positions against the tentside, guns drawn and knives held in the off hand as they faced down the other gangsters with grim determination.

It was a quick and bloody few minutes, knives cutting through cloth and flesh alike, gun shots hitting into arms, torsos and heads. There were cries and shouts, in fear and in anger. Blood splattered onto bank notes and betting tickets alike, as those without weapons cowered or stood firm; and those with their hands filled moved hard and fast to take on each side. And then as quick as they’d arrived, the handful of remaining black coated men swarmed back out of the tent, leaving behind three unconcious Shadows and several injured bet takers.

Across the city, men in black cloaks swept through the lower end of the city dispatching ‘justice’ as they went. Every odd warehouse, whorehouse, Chinese laundry and business that paid the Faceless Shadows for protection found their doors bashed in, their papers burnt and products destroyed. Their staff roughed up and bloodied. Their carefully paid for safety torn to pieces before the hour was done.

The same type of men, matching black coats and dark grins, swarmed the empty pub at the same tick of the hour. The Fort was filled with darkness as bottles were smashed, chairs broken, mirrors cracked and message gouged into the copper bar surface - Blood for blood…

—

There were only eight mourners at the graveside that foggy morning. The burial had been completed and the rights read all in the cold early light, before the minister had left the crowd to their reflection.

Only three of those assembled truly felt any remorse or pain over the loss. The three friends, the tall blond who’d seperated from the group to follow a more respectable life yet still stayed on the families side and the shorter black haired barman, stood to the side with their friend who’s eyes blazed with the desire for vengence.

The other five were simply paying their respects as it was - father’s hand on son’s shoulder, mother’s arms wrapped about daughter’s. 

It had been a grey morning three days earlier when the curly-haired man had faced down Michael’s pistol.

The mists coming off of the water had swirled around the pair that morning. The younger man had sunk to his knees upon the realisation of what was to come, that shortly his brains would be as muddled on the outside as it was on the outside. Brown curly hair would be tacky with blood and grey matter, and the pain of the last six years would be over. His terror and despair would finally be at rest.

Michael had urged him to his feet again, to die standing like a man. And to hold onto his prayers when he was ready to face God.

The echo of the gunshot had rang out across the water.

When the body had dropped into a passing barge under the watchful eyes of Crowley and Alastair from the opposite bank. When the blood shed necessary to repay the debt of life had been concluded.

The three Visyak’s that knew of it in their little party understood why it had to be the way it was, but that didn't stop the pain of separation from the friend and ally any easier.

The two women held back tears that were as much for the puppy-faced boy the man had once been as it was for what the death symbolised. War was on the horizon again, and neither woman could be sure who would come out the other side of the trenches this time, nor what condition they would be.

—

[iphoenixrising]

Dr!Tim Drabble: Robin

Well, Babes. You both must have fucking read my mind and shit because really. I kind of started this to be such a teaser when BOOP I got this ask and my fucking heart here. You’re right on the same page when it comes to Dr!Tim getting the real Robin experience, yeah? Lol. So, just a note. B’s bad guy persona is Matches. The dude with the epic porn ‘stache. Dick’s persona is Robbie Malone, which is pretty obscure and I looked it up on a good wiki to make sure.

HOWEVER *ahem* An incredible artist @kaciart did a thing here: http://thingsfortwwings.tumblr.com/post/55338349568/kaciart-it-was-never-made-clear-whether-tim-knew. Which helped the muse.

So… so there’s that. XD Hope it's as good.

**

The Robin in Gotham that night is just a little bit taller. Not by much. He's hesitant, a newbie to the vigilante game, and even if he's got a grapple on his belt, he only uses it once. Only a drunk or two catch him strafing across rooftops, the flicker of yellow, red, and green against the lamplight.

The rest of the city is asleep. As luck would have it, he stumbles on some baddies with a leg up on him, tossing a pellet in the right spot with knockout gas to make carrying him through the night that much easier. When Robin comes to, the blurry residual clears and behind the whiteouts, his vision is sharp. Being handcuffed in a crummy warehouse in the Narrows is not really the way he'd hoped to spend his first real experience in the tunic.

(And if he embarrasses the name, a certain little demon will probably eviscerate him.

"I allow you one night–"

"To my credit, I really thought those ninjas would go down easier."

"May I remind you–"

"I know, I know. It's not one of my hobbies. No more almost getting killed under your name, I promise.")

But a single dim bulb hangs with enough away to reveal the long, lean line of muscle still half in shadows watching him from behind whiteouts.

"Been a real pain in my nut, Robin." Is more dangerous behind the synths, more casual when the Red Hood, notorious enforcer for the Black Mask, straightens up and starts to move forward. "Gettin' in my fucking business means I gotta make an example outta ya, so’s no one else thinks they can stop the trade, you feel me?" Robin's eyes narrow but his pulse is picking up, his muscles tighten against the ropes.

“Or,” he tries with a bravado he doesn’t necessarily feel, “you could cut this chase short and let me take you in so you don’t make it worse for yourself.”

The sound is probably a snort but the synths make it hard to decipher.

“Mmhm, an’ any other damn day, ya might be right. But since I know the Bat is outta town, and the rest a’ yer little cape n’ cowl crew are busy, n’ yer own yer own, little birdy. Even fucking better, I got me an old friend in Gotham t’night, and I gotta say–” the way Hood moves, hips swaying, something of a swagger, all indications the vigilante has a plan, makes Robin catch a breath with what the hell else?

“Ya might be in over yer head.”

And oh God.

He’s in for it.

(Teasing his boyfriends can have some interesting results, so even with the plan they’d had for him tonight, there were so many things they hadn’t told him.)

Because the shift in the shadows and the crimson slash is just what the bad guy ordered, and the man coming out of the shadows to stand beside Hood is nothing short of mouth-wateringly dangerous– all done in sharp black and red.

Something in Robin’s abdomen goes unbearably tight when Renegade puts the intense focus of those whiteouts right on him, folds his arms over his chest, and his tongue darts out to lick his lips.

Even while he might be melting into a puddle of oh God, please, please, I’ve been a bad Robin, he can maneuver his hands well enough to get into the green gloves for the small lockpick set he’d completely kyped out of B’s utility belt the last time they’d had a little snatch n’ stitch. Since he’s completely used to working with fine instruments wearing gloves, working the small end into the handcuffs is easier than he’d originally calculated.

(So much win going on right now.)

“So nice to know you’ve got friends in town, Hood. I hope you have an itinerary to show him the sights. Robinson Park is really nice this time of year.” He tries to keep the banter, give himself time he needs to work the cuffs.

(Still, watching them walk toward him like a fucking bad ass wet dream is really making the night look up regardless of how things are going to go from here.)

“Too much mouth on ya, Robin,” and the flex of hips and thighs, the glint off the gun in Hood’s hand, the feral-looking smirk on Renegade’s face make him take a pause to work his fingers into the back of the utility belt, bite down on his lower lip to try and get–

Yes.

“Looks like we need to shut him up, Hood,” is Renegade’s deep response, that tone rolling around in the abandoned warehouse, makes a shiver work up his spine.

Which causes him to drop the pellet he’d been holding, the little ball rolling right under his chair.

Fuck. That’s bad.

He tries to think fast, using his weight to throw his chair back, out of the way of the little blast and following plumes of smoke. It’s really nothing more than dumb luck that the chair is probably older than all of them and pretty much breaks into kindling on impact.

It’s even luckier that the small blast is inconsequential but the smoke screen gives him the opportunity to wiggle enough to get his cuffed wrists down far enough to get his feet over them so at least his hands are bound in the front.

Rolling to his feet, he tries to duck away from the chair in the thick smoke, cape hitting him in the back of the ankles, and fucking right, he didn’t even lose the lockpick.

(“Damn. Good one, Baby Bird. Didn’t see that shit coming.”

“This is going to be much better than we thought, Jay.”

“Fuck right, Dickie, now we gedda chase.”

And with that little revelation, Robin is thinking, looking around at the high windows, making plans.)

He flips one of the few bat-a-rangs in his utility belt, awkwardly holding it up to throw with his bound hands. He manages throw far enough to knock it into an empty crate further down than where he’s hiding, but it draws the attention of the “baddies” coming through the dissipating smoke after him.

It does the job and he sees the outline of Hood and Renegade change course, closer to the sound.

“You’re only making it harder on yourself, Robin,” Renegade purrs low, his footsteps not even making a sound when he shares a side-eye with Hood and moves around to take the back for the element of surprise.

“When we catch ya,” Hood is cooing through the synths, popping the clip out of his .45 to make sure again he’s toting blanks (the one in his boot has the rubber rounds should things get dicey and they need ta make with the real crime fighting) before he circles around the smoky pile of old pallets and crates laying in dusty ruin, “we ain’t gonna be nice ‘bout it, you feel me, Robin? Gonna make ya one sorry lil’ bird.”

(But he totally hears, “gonna fuck ya until ya scream for it, Baby. Gonna make ya come ‘til ya can’t even stand up no more.”)

The handcuffs finally pop as the two bad guys jump in their planned strike, coming down on a whole lotta empty pallets with only a bat-a-rang there for them to stare at.

“Little motherfucker,” is all he needs to hear, shoving the handcuffs in his belt (in case he needs to have a plan) and pulling the grapple while his pulse throbs in his mouth and his adrenaline kicks up a notch. He’s got to shoot and reel himself in before they get to him, got to get out the upper windows and climb to the roof, got to at least get a few buildings over before they catch him.

(And he completely has a new appreciation for the reinforced jocks they wear under the suits because the things is literally killing him right now.)

The bang makes him flinch regardless, and with that, the jig is completely up. Two heads swivel toward the sound, trace the line up to the window sill where the hook sinks deep, and the shadow of the cape flares out like wings as the grapple pulls Robin from the ground and away.

“Fuck this is gettin’ good,” Hood breathes out, already pulling his own, watching the flex of Timmy’s thighs in those fucking tights and his ass outlined in Robin Red.

The window breaks with his momentum, and Robin pauses on the broken sill long enough to grin widely down at them, “I really need to be on my way, but we should do this again sometime!”

The cap flaps around the green tights and black boots as Robin scales the ancient fire escape and disappears out of sight.

Renegade puts a hand on his wrist, stills Hood from raising the grapple for the ole’ point-n-shoot. “Let him get a little bit of distance, Jay. He’s putting a hell of a lot into this.”

“Big Wing,” and even with the whiteouts on both sides, he knows how dark Dickies eyes are, is pretty sure his are just as dark. “ we’re gonna destroy that ass, you feel me?”

“You know we are. Damn, he looks cute in that suit.”

“Cute? Nah, ain’t where I’m at right now, yeah? Motherfucking sexy is ‘bout what I’m feelin’.”

“Fuckable, sure, but wow, he wears it so well.”

“Don’t tell Demon. That little shit won’t never let this happen again.”

“Right. We play it out with our boyfriend, fuck him on a safe rooftop, then take him home for a soak in the tub and cuddle-palooza.”

“You better fuckin’ add pancakes ta that list, Dickie. I like seein’ ‘im all full n’ sleepy after we fucked ‘im but good.”

“Done and done.”

In a smooth move, Hood raises the grapple again and loops his free arm around Renegade’s waist, pulling his Baby Boy right into his body.

The two vigilantes pause in the moment, and Renegade raises both hands quick, hits the right spot on the back of the helmet to release the catch, pulls the damn thing off so they can have just a second–

And anyone looking in the dilapidated warehouse down by Dixon Docks in that exact moment would be scandalized to see the Red Hood and Renegade writhing against one another, caught up in the taste of one another, just a tease before the grapple starts to reel.

**

Robin is panting with the effort, tries not to get tangled in his cape, tries to keep his eyes open to everything around him with the sharp vision he gets behind the whiteouts.

Luckily for him, he’s shaking off the residual of the sedative and this area of the city is one so absolutely familiar, he already knows he’s got an edge.

The same spots from those days when he was a kid with a camera, hiding while he followed the flying vigilantes are obviously still there, could still give him a place to duck if he thinks his pursuers are getting too close. If Dick and Jay had really been paying those old photographs in the shoebox enough attention, they’d probably be able to pick out the majority of his hidey-holes and make this game come to a quick and abrupt end (he’s hoping they don’t because he’s really, really enjoying this).

But, he’s already evaded them three times and he’s still too damn far from his apartment to believe he’s anywhere near home free.

Which is why he’s wasting time ducked down between two massive air conditioning units on the Mylar building instead of in Renegade and Hood’s path. A few feet away is an old bridge the maintenance crew used to get up to the next roof, giving him an out to use the grapple for a swing and give himself away.

He waits until the shadows recede and he can’t see either of them before he darts out and takes the bridge at a run, making a leap that immediately gets his adrenaline back up.

His chest is heaving a little because the climb is about a bitch.

A hard jerk on the suspension bridge takes him by surprise as both “villains” land it on either side of him, effectively boxing him in.

Well, fuck.

He pulls the grapple since, you know, the jig is up, but an escrima stick knocks the damn thing from his hand, and no amount of time he’s spent in the gym or hard-core parkour is going to get him out of this little sitch.

(Dammit. Trapped.)

Renegade clicks his tongue, “tsk, tsk, Robin. Nice try, but you should have tried to stay ahead of us. That might have gotten you home free.” And the two start advancing on him, getting closer. Robin looks from one to the other, bites down on his lower lip–

Until the plan pops into his head.

“Gonna enjoy this, little bird,” Hood drawls out, “after the run ya gave us.”

Panting, Robin tries to make the move subtle enough to miss, back up just a step, tries to make it look like he’s searching for a way out when he looks over the bridge and all the way down.

The action works because both villains jump for him at the same time, trying to keep him from throwing himself over, and it gives Robin just enough of a chance to let his knees give out from under him and fake fall to the wobbly bridge so Renegade can careen over his head at the same time Hood smacks into him, landing the two in a heap right at Robin’s feet.

The knock of Hood’s helmet against Renegade’s forehead gives him a crucial moment to slam the handcuffs he’d kept down on the Red Hood’s left wrist and Renegade’s right one, pushing the sides closed to cuff the two together.

(Oh fuck is he winning here.)

He’s already moving back while they untangle themselves and stare at their cuffed wrists before slowly, ever so slowly, turning to him.

“Well, damn.” And if he didn’t know better, he’d say Hood was, well, impressed.

(I have other hobbies, asshole, remember?)

“The surprises keep coming,” Renegade already climbing to his feet is grinning widely, Hood following in a smooth motion. “Too bad it isn’t going to save you, you know.”

“I just need to keep you two on–”

When he would have finished off the banter portion with on your toes, what he gets is the terrible sighing sound breaking the night, followed right by a sharp twang that is all too fucking familiar.

(Why do bridges have a tendency to break while he’s on them? Seriously now?)

His whole body jerks up, head turning to the sight of the old bridge coming apart and falling from under him, making him gasp in hard enough to hurt, making his knees knock, making a hard reality of Oh God, not again.

But cuffed arms brace under his and the bang of grapples firing shakes him out of breath-stealing panic, Hood and Renegade working in tandem to send the three of them flying through the night while the bridge crumbles to Gotham’s dirty sidewalk below.

Effortlessly, the villains land them on the Mylar, setting the three of them down in the shadows where one side of the building keeps it absolutely hidden away.

“Holy shit,” Robin pants out, held up between Hood and Renegade, his chest heaving under the tunic. “That...was not part of the plan.”

“Good to know,” Renegade lays his forehead against the base of Robin’s neck, exhaling slowly, moving his free hand down to push the cape out from between their bodies, to twist it around his hand for the next step.

“I’ll fuckin’ say,” Hood deactivates the helmet and tosses it down, moves a step closer to sandwich Robin between the two of them. With just a dom, his eyes are dark blue without the flecks of jade which means he’s probably still riding a little bit of the adrenaline from the almost-oops.

Robin looks up and over when Hood holds up his cuffed hand and arches a brow. “Still, ya gonna have ta work on them plans, Rob, if ya wanna get the better of us, yeah? This ain’t bad, but that don’t mean–”

And Robin gasps when his gloves wrists are gathered up by the cuffed hands, pulled over his head to stretch his body taunt.

Renegade is leaning down to talk against his ear, growling low and so fucking dangerous, “–you’re going to get away this time. Sorry, little bird. Looks like we win.”

**

Apparently things like capes are weapons and should not be used against him.

Or...well, maybe he’s going to re-think that since his wrists are bound together tight before they even worked the tunic open.

Renegade is keeping Robin’s bound arms down with a knee and a gloved hand over his mouth to make sure the noises are nice and quiet, kept between just the three of them. Hood had picked the cuffs in approximately two seconds to give them both a chance to get to work on making sure the young vigilante knew he was fucking around with the real deal.

The utility belt came off, lying just out of reach and Robin’s thighs spread open with less fight than anticipated.

The struggling, the writhing against Hood’s crotch, the straining muscle and taunt hold is just this side of perfect. For a little show, Hood pulls out a wickedly sharp knife, the glint dull in the night, leans down over Robin’s body and slides the sharp end of the blade right over the base of his throat, bare now that his cape is gone.

(But even though Timmy’s is half-assed struggling, he ain’t scared. No fear in those eyes, yeah?)

“Better be a good little bird, Rob. I like ta keep m’ implements nice n’ sharp. Don’t wanna make me slip by accident.”

Renegade’s hand on the younger vigilante’s mouth pulls so the head tilts back, eyes looking up. “I’ve known Hood for a long time, kid. You don’t want to see the master at work.”

When the struggling stops and the only thing Robin is doing is panting against Renegade’s hand, the sharp edge eases up slightly, slides down his chest, the tip fitting right under the tunic’s laces.

“Atta boy. Make it easier on yerself. Ain’t nobody gonna find ya, so don’t gotta have it rough unless ya wanna.”

“He might like it that way, Hood.” The first lace gives without hesitation. “Maybe we should go a little hard on him to find out.”

The second lace.

“But lookit how cute he is, Baby Boy. Gonna show ‘im just how things gotta go down on our side a’ the law, ain’t we? That don’t mean we gotta get nasty ‘bout it long as he behaves himself.”

The third.

Finally, the two villains are finally getting a little skin, and a gloved hands runs down Robin’s collar bone, moves to thumb and tweak until the little nub under is tight.

The hand on Robin’s mouth tightens down when the moan cuts through the stillness.

“He needs to learn, Hood. He can’t mess with business and get away without paying the price.” The thumb on Robin’s face moves over the domino and the whiteouts slide down, showing half-mast eyes, darkening by degrees.

“Mmhm. That’s the thing ‘bout Gotham, ain’t it?” And the hands moving down, pull hard, rip the tunic until there’s nothing in his path except the tights and reinforced jock. “Always got consequences, Rob, and you? You ain’t any different.”

The telltale tremble in his thighs makes the Red Hood grin wide and white (don’t be breaking character yet, Baby Bird. We gotta whole lotta play still left), and he’s nothing but a nasty bastard when he runs both hands up the inside of those thighs, grips tight to make sure there’s gonna be bruises there tomorrow.

Since he and Dickie pretty much engineered this whole thing (and made a suit with strategized weaknesses), the tights give under his hands, ripping open from the waist to the knee. He hands a sizeable strip to Renegade and leans down over Robin’s body, giving a little bit of distraction while his partner in crime moves just long enough to tie the strip in their little vigilante’s mouth.

“Much better.” He palms the grapple in his freed hand, and pulls out the line, throws the hook to catch on the lip of the roof and wrap the other end to keep Robin from going anywhere. Renegade pulls off the head piece, is in just a domino so he can flick the catch of his suit and pull it down to bare a tantalizing v-ee of his chest.

With the suit ripped away, helpless to whatever they planned to do to him on a roof in the middle of Gotham, Robin is gagged and panting, his chest stuttering with it, going pink down his collarbone and upper chest.

(Fingers slide into one of his bound hand, and the metal ball gives a soft jingle. All he has to do is drop it if he needs to stop, all he has to do is give the signal. He’s in control, he’s in control, he’s in control–)

And the feel of Hood’s gloves on his hip bone, tearing the strap on the reinforced jock makes his hips twitch, makes him unconsciously arch into the touch even when his hard cock springs up into the cool Gotham air.

“That’s smart kid. This’ll go easier for you if you try to enjoy it.” Renegade palms the vial in his suit and holds it up where the can both see it, smirks at the muffled noise right beside his thigh.

Hood grins back at him and pops the lid, dribbles lube on his fingers and lifts one of Robin’s calves for Renegade to hold. He hoists the other, runs his slick fingers over Robin’s balls, tugs a little, slides his forefinger up the underside of the vigilante’s straining cock, just a tease.

Getting his suit down far enough with one hand, Renegade shakes Robin’s leg, palms the side of his face to turn him, gets a load of those eyes, “My partner here is going to give you the fuck of a lifetime. And you? Are going to suck me while he does it.”

The jock is gone, and Robin gasps in hard through his nose, those eyes rolling over the length, teeth biting down on the gag in his mouth. He watches, mesmerized, as the gloved hand strokes himself, makes himself harder, gives Robin a preview to what he’s about to get.

When Hood spreads him open wider, slick and blunt finger sliding in, moving fast and hard, making Robin’s spine arch while he watches Renegade jerk off right in front of his face, mouth watering for it, his cock aching, his body clenching when one finger becomes two, and the desperation for more is starting to take over.

Pulling against the zip line isn’t doing anything for him because he can’t move, is caught between them, is already making noises with his body anticipating Hood (Jay) making him utterly senseless while he sucks Renegade’s thick cock to the fucking base.

(This is the best thing to ever happen.)

A jerk of his hips and a third finger slides in, gives him only a few thrusts against his spot, just enough for Hood to smirk and finally pull out.

“Gonna keep ya nice n’ tight fer me, Robin,” and while he’s been prepping the vigilante, he’d pulled himself out, lubed himself up to press right against the prize waiting for him. “But don’t worry. Since yer being a good, little bird, we’ll make sure you get yers.”

And Robin throws his head back, body arching in a clean line as well as he can with his legs caught and hands restrained. His fist tightens on the bell, keening through his gag as Hood pushes in, gives a few slow back-and-forths until he’s balls deep with a long moan.

“Lookit you taking all of his dick on the first go,” Renegade purrs down at him, and thumbs the gag out of his mouth, puts a finger over his lips. “Good for you, little bird. Now you’re going to give me mine. Don’t make me have to tell you to be very good.”

Renegade pulls with fingers on his jaw, and Robin opens up without a fight, taking the wide head in, moaning around it. Hood finally gets the point that he’s sure he isn’t going to come immediately when he moves, changing his hold to fit the bend of Robin’s knee and hoist his hips up higher, makes sure he’s in as far as he can possibly go (just the way Timmy likes it), then pulls back, starts up a few slow-n’-easies before he picks up the pace.

And Robin’s eyes are fluttering behind the domino, sliding his tongue around Renegade’s cock, leaning closer when he can take more, when he can take it deeper--

And suck.

“Holy–” and the villain’s hips twitch, a gloved hand threading into his hair, holds him still as hips twitch and fuck his mouth in shallow thrusts. “Fuck, know what you’re doing, don’t you Robin? Ah, you’re going to love my cock by the time we’re done with you.”

“Ya kiddin’ me, Baby Boy? Fuck him and you’ll be in love with his ass. Like a fucking vice.” And Hood leans over Robin’s body to get a better view of Renegade’s hips twitching, cock sliding in and out of his mouth, of Robin’s cheeks hollowing, of his jaw moving, of the tight nubs they’re both absently working.

In a calculated move, Renegade gives Hood a wink, and they both draw back, leave just the tip in him, gets a low noise for the effort, and fuck back into him with a vengeance.

“That’s right, little birdie. Found yer sweet spot, yeah?” And the strokes inside him are long and firm and fast, his spot abused by each one, making the pressure in his belly start to burn.

Renegade keeps up with a smooth, steady pace, sliding over his tongue, spilling pre-come in his throat, staring down as he pants, watching Robin take every fucking inch.

He’s moaning around the width in his mouth, in his throat, trying to suck, trying to scream while his cock throbs and the R still partly on his chest gleams in the night.

Hood’s balls slapping against his ass, and Renegade panting, groaning out above him, and a gloved hands fists him at the base, starts stroking him in time with the hits to his spot.

And the rhythm is driving, pound, rushing, his pulse racing in his ears, struggling to get a breath, but it’s all toomuchmoremoremore that he can’t think past the need to come, whimpering in his throat when he can, and trying to move his hips up into the fist pumping him and down into the pound thrusts driving him closer and closer to the edge.

“That’s right, give it up, Robin,” Renegade pants, groans down at him, working his hips, fucking into that throat, “you’re gonna take everything we give you, and when you go back to the Bat, you’ll remember just what you get when you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Hood draws back to fuck in hard, tightening his hand down and speed up. “We’re gonna make sure this lessons sticks, Baby Boy. Fill ‘im up good, make sure he knows what happens ta bad little birdies.”

Robin screams around Renegade’s cock when fingers tease the tip of him and hips ground into deep, trying to move but he’s helplessly caught.

When Renegade leans down over him, talks low and feral, fucking into his mouth with fast, hard jerks, getting harder against his tongue, when it’s those blue eyes with the haze of need and want, (when it’s Dick talking to him), when the words, “come for us, baby,” are breathed so soft and fond, his body lets go, the knot of tension exploding, sending tingling pleasure from his ass to his cock to his nipples and spreads out until his eyes are rolling back in his head and all he can do is suck Renegade’s come down his throat while the pleasure loops around and keeps him going.

“Fuck, baby,” (Is Jay instead of–) Hood yells to the night sky, Robin’s body milking him, tightening down so hard, so fast, so wet, that he comes with a jolt, burying himself deep to fill the vigilante up.

And while Gotham remains completely serene at this time of night, three (two, technically) caped crusaders are laying out on the roof of the Mylar building in a tangle of limbs, panting, and weak, and so amazingly sated.

Boneless and content not to move another inch in his life, Tim manages to slide a gloved hand out of the knot made from the cape, and wipe his mouth, absently keeping track of his heart rate.

Dick is curled around his upper body, idly running fingers through his hair, the Renegade costume zipped half-way up his chest so he doesn’t get a whole lot of roof rash. On his other side, Jay has a heavy arm over his bare hips, a leg thrown over his and the Kevlar feels just as good on bare skin as it always does.

“That? Was fucking amazing,” he murmers, drowsy, shivering slightly now that he realizes he’s pretty much naked on a roof in the middle of the city after being fucked out of his mind, and somehow--

This is his life.

So it’s good when his vigilante boyfriends recover enough to maybe get them the hell off this roof before people like, office staff start coming into the Mylar’s upper floors for work.

Dawn is riding the horizon when he’s pulled to his feet and wrapped in Robin’s cape, rocking a toga to cover the torn suit and tunic, and carried off by his vigilante boyfriends so he can be absolutely lazy and just let Dick then Jay take him flying.

He has to make his body work when maneuvering through the window with shaky legs. Jay gives the helmet a toss in pretty much the direction of the kitchen table before picking Tim up by the back of his thighs, and let their doctor squawk but still flops his upper body flops over Jay’s shoulder.

Dick has the Renegade suit hanging off his hips, moving around the kitchen bare-chested with a domino, making coffee that is desperately, desperately needed.

“I’ll be there in a sec! I was promised cuddles, Jay, and I expect you two to deliver.”

“Bath first, Big Wing. Gotta let Timmy take a soak. Getcha ass in here so’s we can wash ‘im but good.” The abrupt smack and corresponding yelp from the path down the hall toward the direction of the bathroom makes Dick smirk and quickly scoop the grounds in while trying to get a glove off with his teeth.

“‘Sides, we might need ta give Sweets one more go ‘round, you feel me here, Dickie?”

“Wh-what?! How do you even expect me to get hard right now?!”

The bath is running in Tim’s massive tub (the real benefit to the apartment after all), and the sounds of Kevlar and Nomac sliding off of skin a soft sight when Dick comes to join them.

“You know, Timmy,” is a followed up by a very Dick Grayson smile, all full of bedroom eyes and promise, “we do have our ways.”

So if the tub sloshes over, and the neighbors complain about the noise this time of day (again), if maybe there might be...another suit buried in the back of their closet a few days later, if maybe he takes more detours when his boys are on the job and he can have time to scout hiding places and perfectly sized niches, when he can calculate more routes and moves.

He’s going to say, it’s always good to have a plan because of things like bleeding vigilantes—you know, on my fire escape. But in reality, it’s because now that he’s worn the tunic, flown through Gotham, and he’s pretty damn sure he’s got enough skill to make them work a hell of a lot harder–

Next time.

[aphnatasha]

tengaku and inlove for whoever's on your mind rn 👀

aaayyy thank you for asking! imma answer for valerie since she took residence in my brain again djdj (im a little sleepy, so apologies if i make like, zero sense)

tengaku: what does your fo act like when theyre angry, no, enraged, no, absolutely fuckin feral and fuming?

i wanna preface this by saying that it takes a hell of a lot to get val to that level of rage. the only things that get her that pissed off is if someone or something is threatening those she cares about (liz, her family, friends, her students, her wife). if you do manage to get on her bad side, may god have mercy on your soul. she goes completely silent, not a single word. she'll clench her hands into fists, sometimes so hard that her hands'll start bleeding from her nails digging into them. she will stalk towards them, a look of pure rage boiling underneath the surface like an active volcano ready to blow, almost shaking with the amount of rage building up. and you know shes not scared of anything, like she could stare into the void and laugh y'know? valerie doesnt care what happens to her, as long as those she cares about are safe and sound. she wont back down from a fight should things get that far, and she would absolutely beat the everliving hell out of someone, possibly to the point of almost killing them. like, she'd never actually kill anyone, but she'd sure as hell make them wish she did. remember, shes incredibly intelligent, she knows everything about the human body, and how to seriously harm someone without killing them, or she could come dangerously close to actually going through with it, only stopping if someone manages to drag her away from said danger, or if the person who got her to that point "has a change of heart" (read: they saw their life flash before their eyes and really dont wanna die in a much more horrific way than val might be letting on)

inlove- how does it feel now to love your fo?

it still feels like the very first day that i met her! my heart races, i feel that fluttery feeling in my chest and stomach, like a million butterflies about to burst from me, and i get incredibly blushy and giggly whenever i see her. i could listen to her talk about anything and everything for hours on end and never tire of her voice. i love feeling her strong arms wrap around me when we hug and cuddle, the soft warmth of her lips pressing up against mine, the way her nose crinkles up whenever she laughs or thinks really hard about something, the freckles that cover every inch of her soft, peachy skin like millions of stars in the sky. i love how, when she laughs really hard she starts snorting, and how she closes her eyes when she laughs or smiles really big. the way her soft, curly, messy, flame orange hair feels when i run my fingers through it (and sometimes get stuck), or how gentle her hands are when shes gently stroking my hair whenever i cant sleep very well. how she holds me close whenever i feel bad or really anxious about something, reassuring me that everythings gonna be ok, that shes there and shes not gonna let anything hurt me.

i know i rambled on, and theres so many things that i love and adore about valerie. i think the best way i can sum it up is that not only is she my very best friend, shes my soulmate, my entire world. she means so, so much to me. shes been with me through so many things, and i honestly dont know where i'd be without her.

[marblesarelost]

Some Things You Have To Work For (don’t give up on the Dream)

(Author’s note: I honestly had no idea that changing my Tumblr name would make this disappear.  My humblest apologies.)

(Author’s Note: I love soulmate tropes. In this universe, there are two types of soulmates: platonic and romantic.  Platonic soulmates’ words are written in silver on one’s skin once activated. Romantic soulmates have golden words, once said.  This will be a serial, updated on the last week of the month.  Hope you enjoy!)

 The only sound  for miles around was that of the night birds and bugs, and Kurt’s soft humming as he did the supper dishes.  Logan settled a little better into his lawn chair, fishing pole in hand, beer between his legs.  Yep.  Things were good.

“Is this what you always do?”  Nightcrawler called through the screen door.  “When you go off on your rambles?”

“Not always,” Logan admitted after a minute.  “I like this best, though.”

“Ja.  I can see why.  It is beautiful here,” Kurt replied softly.  

“Peaceful.  It helps with…things.”  Logan shrugged, sitting up a little; the slouch was starting to hurt his back.  “Mind bringin’ me a fresh beer when you come back out?”

“Almost done,” came the promise, and Logan settled back again for a second before a new scent crossed his nostrils, bringing him up and out of the lawn chair in an instant, a low growl rising in his throat.

“Logan?”  He heard Nightcrawler say, but he didn’t respond, holding his hand up instead in the team sign for wait, quiet.  He sniffed again, tested the wind, judged the angles, then gave the sign for come, quiet, trusting that Kurt would sneak instead of teleport, since there wasn’t a way to dampen the noise.  A minute later, he felt the give of the dock behind him.

“Somebody’s down the shore,” Logan said quietly.  “I can smell their adrenaline, they’re trying to work themselves up into something, but they’re scared.  They’re real scared.”

“So you would frighten them more by having me come outside?”  Kurt whispered.

“You only look scary, Elf. You got a better way with folks than I do,” Logan replied.  “Come with me an’ do the talkin’.”

“Mein Gott.  How do I let you talk me into such things?”  Kurt grumbled, but he followed Logan down off the dock onto the path beside the lake, both of them well able to see in the dark.  They moved quickly and quietly, Logan leading them up into the patch of underbrush and Kurt careful to put his feet precisely where Logan had as they went.  Logan held up his hand again, and crept forward, a little further, little further…

The girl leapt at Logan like a wild thing, fists flying, kicking, biting, but the old brawler whirled her around, picking her up and holding her as she writhed and struggled. "Calm down, little bit, we ain’t gonna hurt ya,” Logan said, before that telltale sound rang through the forest.  

SNIKT.

“Logan, no!”  Kurt shouted, bursting through the underbrush as Logan dropped the girl, blocking -- “Mein GOTT!”  

Two blades gleamed in the half-moon’s light, swinging wildly at Logan, whose own claws rose to block hers. She stopped then, backing away, looking at Logan with a face neither man could read.  “Shiny, sharp,” she muttered.  “Shiny sharp.”

“Oh, hell,” Logan said, and dropped to a knee.  “No. No, I won’t kill another. No.”  He retracted his claws, watching the girl.  “Hey.  Hey there.”

“Hey,” she repeated. Kurt got a good look at her then; her cheekbones were  sharply accented, her cheeks sunken.  Her shirt was at least three sizes too large, and she held the waistband of the pants she wore tightly, the pant legs raggedly cut, and she was barefoot.  She was at least a teenager, he thought, but he wasn’t precisely sure.

“Hey.  You got -- you got writing on you, honey?  Words?  Written words?”  Logan asked softly.  “Can you tell me your name?”

“Words?”  She said, and Logan nodded, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on her.  

“Yeah.  Words.  Writing.” He reached down with one hand, tugged his shirt up over his belly, exposing the silver words written there. “See?  Like this?”  The girl dropped to her knees, crawling forward slowly, looking up at Logan with wary eyes every other second.  “I won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt me, baby girl,” he rumbled.  Tentatively, the girl reached out with one finger, tracing the words on his skin.  “You know what it says?  Can you read?”  She shook her head, sitting back on her haunches.  “It says, shiny, sharp, shiny, sharp,” Logan told her.  “Your first words to me.  Do you have words?”  In answer, she tugged up her left pant leg, showing Logan’s scrawling handwriting winding around her leg.  “Yep. Those are my first words to you. Silver, like mine,” he said. “Means we’re gonna be real good friends. You know what friends are?”

“Friends,” she repeated, still sitting there in a pistol squat position.  “Friends.  Not hurt.”

“Yep,” Logan agreed. “Can you tell me your name, little bit?”

“Name?”  She cocked her head to the left.

“What do people call you? I’m Logan,” he said, pressing one hand to his chest.  “Logan.”

“Not doctor.”

“No, baby,” Logan agreed, his lips curling back from his teeth in a feral snarl.  “No doctors.”

“Doctor talk.  Doctor talk, X-23 successful.  X-23 weapon.  Doctor talk X-23.”

“The doctors called you X-23?”  Logan asked in a low growl.  “They didn’t even give you a goddamn name?”

“X-23.”

“You ain’t a number. You’re a person,” Logan snarled. “Did you run?  From the doctor?”  She nodded fiercely.  “Did you get’em, baby girl?  Did you make’em bleed?”  A snarl to match his own crawled across her face as she nodded again.  “Oh, good job, dolly.”  Logan swallowed.  “Okay. So.  You want somethin’ to eat?”  

“Yes…” her voice trailed off as she looked to the side.  “Please?” She added uncertainly.

“Yep.  Come here, I’ll carry ya over these rocks, some of’em are sharp as hell.  You like fish?”

“Fish?”

“Swimmies.”  Logan pointed to the lake, made a side to side motion with his hand, and she smiled.  

“Swimmies, fish. Yes.”

“Okay.  Come here,” he held out his arms.  “Promise, we’ll get you some fish, let you take a bath with bubbles, get you some clean clothes, you can sleep in a nice soft bed.” Slowly, she crept forward, and Logan picked her up like a princess, leaving her hands free.  “Jesus, you’re too skinny, dolly.”  He turned to where Kurt stood at the edge of the forest. “Go get Chuck, Elf.  I think we’re gonna need him.”

“Jawohl,” Kurt agreed. “I think you are right.  Take her to the cabin, I do not wish to startle her with the noise and smell.”

“Good plan.  Come on, dollface.  Let’s get some food.  You like chocolate?  I think I got some Oreos, too,” Logan said, and began to make his way down the lake shore back to the cabin, its lights gleaming in the dark.  Kurt waited until he heard the screen door slam, then

BAMF!

Jumped

BAMF!

Back to

BAMF!

The mansion, appearing in Professor X’s study.  “Charles, there is -- we need you,” he said quickly to the man behind the desk.

“What is it, Kurt?” Charles asked.  “Should we rally the team?”

“No.  No, just you, look,” Kurt offered, and felt the slight tingle as Charles Xavier touched his mind telepathically.

“Oh my God,” the older man said softly.  “They did it again.”

“I think so.  And this time, they have made the gravest of mistakes; she is his soulmate, platonic, but --“

“Yes, I see.  Well, if you wouldn’t mind, Kurt?”  Charles asked with a wry, small smile, wheeling himself out from around his desk.  With a nod, Kurt picked up the older man from the chair, and

BAMF!

Jumped again

BAMF!

Back to

BAMF!

The cabin in Saskatchewan, arriving beside the lake.  “I would have jumped into the cabin, but I am afraid I will frighten her, the noise,” Kurt offered as he made his way up the shoreline path to the house.

“A very good idea. Yes, I can feel her.  She is…oh, the poor child,” Charles said softly as the back door opened, Logan stepping out.

“I’m fuckin’ glad ta see ya, Chuck,” Logan said, his eyes wet.  “I don’t…she’s…”

“Feral, or nearly so,” Charles agreed.  “I’m already picking up on her fear, and her pleasure?  She’s eating?”

“Fish, we had lots left over from dinner.  Won’t touch the goddamn green beans,” Logan said, a tiny grin pulling at his whiskered face.  “The hell did they do, Chuck?”

“I’m not sure yet, Logan, but I have a bad feeling,” Charles admitted as Kurt carried him in through the open door.  “Easy; easy, child,” Charles said as the girl looked up from the table, and in the light…

“Gott im Himmel,” Kurt murmured, taking Charles to the couch at his gesture.  She was filthy, long brown hair matted against her back, and she was desperately thin.  Logan hadn’t even tried giving her silverware, her plate containing half a piece of fish yet and a handful of fried potatoes, one slice still between her fingers, hovering over a puddle of catsup as she watched them come in, scowling.

“It’s easier here than to try to sit up at the table.  Thank you, Kurt.”  Charles sat up, staring at the young stranger, who stared back, one claw popped in defense for a long moment before it slid back into her fist, much -- no, exactly like Logan’s.  She looked around, then back at Charles, shook her head, put her fingers in her ears, took them out again.

“Most of her memories seem to be of a facility of sorts,” Charles murmured.  “White coats.  Metal tables. A collar around her throat, shackles on her feet.  She has claws on her feet, as well.  I’ll have to have Jean or Moira look at her to be sure, but I think she’s about sixteen. Perhaps a bit older.  She has no name.”  He winced suddenly, and shook his head before looking up at Logan.  “Happy Father’s Day, Logan.  She’s yours, or at least, a clone.  There are memories of men talking about the original Weapon X…and what she will be capable of, since she has been created and treated differently.”

Logan’s jaw worked for a moment before he gave a sharp nod.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I figured when I seen her claws.  And our scents are real similar.”

“Well.  And you’re soulmates, Kurt said.”

“Yep.”  Logan crossed his arms over his barrel chest.  “You find’em, Chuck.  You find’em.”

“You will not go on a suicide mission, Logan, no matter how good you think your reasons are,” Charles warned him.  “She seems to be highly intelligent; she planned her escape, and she’s been living on her own, scavenging, for at least a year.  I find two different sets of winter memories.”

“Jesus, tryin’ to make it on her own in the winter -- up here?”

“I’m not sure, though there is a great deal of snow.  The facility was, I believe, in the desert somewhere.  She escaped during a transfer.  It was…a common routine, that they would transfer her from one place to another, but she was always returned to the desert.”  

“Course she’s smart. She’s mine.”  Logan puffed up, the epitome of a proud papa, and Kurt burst into laughter, drawing the girl’s attention.

“Lo-gan.  Who?”  She pointed at Kurt, then Charles.  “Friend?”

“Friends, lil’ bit, even if one of’em’s a pain in the ass Elf,” Logan agreed, taking a seat at the table. “That’s Charles,” he pointed. “That’s Kurt.”

“Hello,” Charles said kindly, leaning forward as best he could.  “I’m very sorry to just poke around in your head without so much as a greeting, but we need to know what’s happened to you.  Tell me, would you like for us to give you a name?”

“No number, person. Lo-gan say,” she insisted, reaching and finding Logan’s big hand.

“No.  You are not a number.  You are a person, with a person’s rights.  Let’s see.  I will suggest names, and you tell me if you like them, hmm?”  He asked, and she nodded.  “Excellent.  Jane?” She shook her head. “Hannah.”  She wrinkled her nose.  “Maggie?  Megan? Laura?”  She nodded at the last.  “Laura?  You like that?”

“Yes.  Laura.  My name Laura.”

“It’s the first syllable,” Charles said, smiling.  “It sounds like --“

“Fuck,” Logan, said, shaking his head.  “Yep. I get it.”

“Yes.  You’re like her, and she recognizes that, and you’ve made her feel safe.  I don’t think she’s ever felt safe.”  Charles’ voice and face took a sympathetic tone.  “Poor child.”

“She’s safe now,” Logan growled.  

“So she is.  But she is not safe, herself, to bring to the school. She needs to be…gently acclimated to society.  Taught how to behave around others.  She is rather feral.”  Charles turned his attention to Kurt.  “Kurt. Would you be willing to stay here and help?  I may need to ask you to come and go between the mansion and here, bringing Moira or Jean out to help with checking her over, et cetera.”

“I would be glad to help,” Kurt agreed.  

“Good.  I’ll begin making arrangements in the morning. Would you mind taking me home for now? It’s very late in New York.”

“Not at all.”

  When Kurt returned, he found Logan on the porch, beer in one hand, cigar in the other.  “Where is Laura?”

“Sleepin’.”  Logan took a long drink.  “I’m gonna find the bastards who did this.”

“I know you are,” Kurt agreed, crouching on the porch rail, wrapping his tail around it for balance. “And I will go with you.  Mein Gott.”

“Nope.  You’re gonna stay behind an’ make sure she’s okay,” Logan said, looking up at him from his chair.  “Done told her, Uncle Kurt, he’s an annoying brat, but he’s a good man.”

“Too kind,” Kurt chuckled. “How long do you think it will take to…” he searched for words, and Logan spoke up.

“Tame her? Dunno.  But she’s smart as hell.  Asked why you carried Chuck.  Why you’re blue, except she didn’t say blue.  She don’t even know colors, Kurt.”

“Then what did she say?”

“Asked why you were night sky man,” Logan said with a fond grin.  “An’ why yer fingers an’ toes are different.”

“It will be like having a larger, smarter, easily angered toddler,” Kurt sighed.  “But I am used to being around you, so it will not be so hard.”

“Ass,” Logan said, shaking his head and grinning.  “We gotta do somethin’ ‘bout her hair, that’s a mess.”

“Yes.  It might be easier to cut it very short, to begin with.”

“I was thinkin’ the same thing.  But all that’s for tomorra, I reckon.”  Logan sighed. “Fuck.  I’m a daddy.”

“So you are,” Kurt agreed softly.  “And you missed the diapers, yes?  She is toilet trained?”

“Yep.  Reckon they had one in her fuckin’ cell.”

“So.  You are a daddy.  And you will have the luxury of teaching her all the things about the world, Logan.  Think of it that way,” Kurt offered.  

“I don’t…” Logan looked down at his beer bottle.  “I don’t know if I can, Elf.  I ain’t exactly role model material.”

“Kitty and Jubilation would both disagree with that,” Kurt replied.  “And you know I am right.”

“Yeah, but --“ Logan began, and Kurt jumped down from the porch rail, coming to stand beside his friend, laying his hand on the bulkier man’s shoulder gently.

“Nein.  You are not alone in this; I am here, and I will help you. And we can and will get help from the others, as well.  She is no longer alone.  She has a family.  You have a family.  We will raise her properly and well, Logan, I know we will.”

“Yeah, well.  Say a couple prayers, if’n you would.  Who’s the patron saint of daddies?”

“Saint Joseph,” Kurt responded automatically.  “And I will.”

“Okay.”  Logan nodded with a sigh.  “Okay.  You’re right. We’ll…we’ll raise her right. Teach her how ta not just gut whoever pisses her off.”

“How to read, and write.”

“How ta track and hunt an’ fish.”

“How to draw?  Do you think we should get crayons?”

“How to lay a trap.”

“How to use silverware.”

“Hell.  We got a lot o’work ta do, Elf.”  Logan shook his head.  “Ain’t gonna be easy.”

“No.  But things that are worth having, are worth work.  And I can already tell that Laura will be worth it.” Kurt squeezed Logan’s shoulder. “You were.”

 Next month:  Laura’s first birthday party, and more soulmate shenanigans.

STAY TUNED, TRUE BELIEVERS!

[continuouscalamity]

CHAPTER 2 TRIAL TRANSCRIPT

Ding! Ding! Dong!

Monoboar clears his throat hoarsely to get everyone's attention directed towards the monitor.

"Oi! Yer all pretty gutshoed up for this investigation, wouldn't ya say? Now head to the foyer and to the elevator! Same procedure as last time!"

TRIAL 2 - BEGINNING

[4:00 PM] Monoboar!: As you all crowd into the elevator and the doors shut behind you, the noise of the elevator slowly descending down rings in your ears, the low, ominous hum of everything moving around you.

The more you descend, the more it dawns on you-- more people had died in such a short span of time... Akihiko... Aderyn... Akemi... and now Wallace was a victim of another murder, done by one of your hands.

It's another deadly class trial...!

....

The elevator finally stops to it's destination, revealing a large trial room, with stands all in a circle. Four stands now bear the mark of the fallen, four portraits pertaining to Akihiko, Aderyn, Akemi, and Wallace.

And... another person was missing? But she doesn't have a portrait... you wonder where she is.

@Alive (You may walk to your stands.) [4:01 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: Kubo walks to his stand. He doesn't wanna be here. [4:01 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko walks to her stand as if on autopilot. This sucks, man. [4:01 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy is at his stand. [4:01 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Atemis stiffly walks over to her stand. [4:02 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is not at her stand. [4:02 PM] Rayne Maelstrom 👹 Demon Time: Rayne is at their stand hello. [4:02 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "...Has anyone seen Hazeldine-san?" [4:02 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel headed to his stand, doll in arms. He didn't like this. [4:02 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: "W-wait! Where's Ms. Hazeldine?!" [4:02 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: Renzo walks in front of their stand, turns around, and hoists themselves up to sit on the edge. "Nope!" [4:02 PM] Eri [origami time]: Eri goes to her stand. [4:02 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "...That's... Not good..." [4:02 PM] Monoboar!: "Bah, don't worry 'bout it!" Monoboar snorts. [4:03 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: "No I WILL worry about it! Where is she?!" [4:03 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: Packie looks at the empty stand beside him.

"Uh, what do you mean, don't worry about it?" [4:03 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "What the fuck- Where is she you stupid tub of lard?!" [4:03 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar rolls his beady little eyes, resting a pudgy chin on his hoof. "It means ya don't gotta worry 'bout her!" [4:04 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: She pales once more. "I-is she...?”

[4:04 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: Kubo is ANGRY but he knows better. He just bears his fangs like a feral animal and hisses. [4:04 PM] Monoboar!: The boar shakes his head. "Not what yer thinkin'." [4:04 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Where. The fuck. Is she?" Wilma says softly, though her voice is laced with danger. "If she ain't hurt you ain't got no reason to be keeping her from us."

She stares real fucking hard at Monoboar. [4:06 PM] Monoboar!: "I got every reason, Missy! Now shut up and figure it out on yer own!"

Monoboar slams his familiar gavel down loudly, marking the beginning of a new class trial.

"Let the trial for Wallace Callaghan and missin' Hazel Hazeldine commence!"

[GIF LINK]

[4:06 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "I...we can't just start the trial without her, can we?" [4:06 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: W-what did you do to her? Kubo thinks, but stays quiet. [4:07 PM] Monoboar!: "Course ya can! That's why I started it!" [4:07 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "I'd love to find out where Princess is, but we have to focus on this first." [4:07 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: "Why not? We have the clues and things, so we can start now!" They say, kicking their feet. [4:08 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Alright...I suppose that's true." [4:09 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma grits her teeth.

"...I don't reckon Monoboar's gonna tell us shit til we figure it out ourselves, so...we might as well get started."

She is not happy about it. [4:10 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy glances around. "So... How about that note?" [4:10 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Alright, so...how're we gonna start this-Oh." Well, there we go. "What note?" [4:11 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: "You know, the note!" Yes Renzo. Shh. [4:12 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma gives them a Look. Elaborate, please. [4:12 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: :cluebullet: "The one that said 'meet me in the lounge to talk about the boar' or whatever. It was right next to the body." [4:12 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: "That note!" [4:13 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma blinks.

"Well...So that's what got 'im in the lounge then, I reckon?" Duh. [4:13 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: :consentbullet: "Ah yes...it seemed as if it was written in a very hasty manner..." [4:13 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Probably had to get it to someone fast, but why would it be by his body?" [4:13 PM] Rayne Maelstrom 👹 Demon Time: "Mhm mhm.... I saw that note too!" [4:13 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Maybe he was holding on to it?" Wilma suggests in response to Packie's question. [4:14 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: "Perhaps our friend Wallace brought it in with him, yes yes!" [4:14 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Thanks for backing her up, Renzo. [4:15 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Speaking of the body...

"Y'all saw those ugly bruises on his neck, right?" [4:17 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Th' file said he died of a sir-vee-cal fracture," She says, enlongating the unfamiliar word. "But it looked like a plain old broken neck to me." [4:18 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "Yeesh. What a way to go." } [4:19 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "So what you're saying is somebody got him where they wanted him then BAM, got him in one go!" [4:20 PM] 🔥 ZOZO! 🔥: { "OOoooo, so fast....!" } [4:20 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: :counterbullet: "Not quite...there were clear signs of a struggle all over the lounge. In fact, it was a complete wreck." [4:20 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: {"He's... not as smart as I thought, then."} [4:20 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar is tapping his hoof a bit impatiently. [4:21 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Ok, hog. Fuck off. [4:21 PM] Monoboar!: Kay. [4:21 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Oh. Huh." [4:22 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Why's he only got injuries on his neck then? That don't seem like much of a struggle." [4:22 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts in amusement. [4:22 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "I 'unno how this would help out, but.."

:cluebullet:  Packie takes out a nice, fancy fountain pen. "This was in his pocket."

"Don't ask how I got it from him." Sorry Wilma. [4:22 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "Stealing off a corpse? Really?" } [4:22 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: {"Hayai-san...you stole from Callaghan-san's corpse?!"} [4:23 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel gave Monoboar the best glare he could while still in tears. [4:23 PM] Monoboar!: "Oooh, gutsy! i like it!" [4:23 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma's frown deepens. [4:23 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "I won't fucking steal it, I'll return it to his room afterwards. Besides, it might help out or something." [4:24 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: {She's still frowning, but has no further comments on the subject.} [4:24 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Alright, he had a pen on him. Now what?" [4:24 PM] Monoboar!: {"Snrf..."} [4:25 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "I have...a theory I'd like to share. If no one objects." [4:25 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Huh? Go ahead."

[4:27 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: :testitheorybullet: "The state of the lounge suggests a large struggle took place there, but Callaghan-san's body is...well, you know. What if someone other than him took part in said struggle?" [4:27 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar's piggy ears perk up. [4:28 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Like, somebody besides the killer and Wallace?" [4:29 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Someone could've saw what happened and tried to interfere?" [4:29 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: :consentbullet: "Yes. I believe that might've been the case."

"Which brings me to another clue I found..." she clears her throat, regaining some of her composure, "There was a pale-blue ribbon crumpled on the ground in the library. Which gives me reason to think Hazeldine-san might've been attacked by someone." [4:30 PM] Monoboar!: {"Snrf, how spicy!"} [4:31 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: :consentbullet: "Yeah, yeah, I saw that ribbon too!"

"But something still ain't right..." [4:33 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "If Princess Peanut was caught up in it, why wouldn't she be here now?" He taps against hisstand. "I don't think she's dead or anything, but I don't get why she'd hide." [4:33 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar looks amused. [4:33 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "I was gonna say that..." } [4:33 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma looks even more agitated at the reminder that Hazel is still missing.

"I ain't sure she's hiding..." She says slowly. "Otherwise I think the hog over there woulda dragged her out." [4:34 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis glances to the portrait standing beside her. "Uh. Missing Hazels aside, anyone else notice lounge doors?" [4:35 PM] Rayne Maelstrom 👹 Demon Time: "Yeah!!! They were open yes?" [4:36 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "Mhm. Which is really fucking weird because the lounge is locked and off-limits during the night." [4:36 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Ain't that place sposed to be locked down at night?" [4:36 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: {"You guys sync up."} [4:36 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma doesn't look happy about that. [4:37 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "...Well, it wouldn't be the first time Callaghan-san has tried to test the nighttime rules." [4:37 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Was he fucking out of his mind?" [4:38 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "He got fuckin' cocky is what happened." [4:38 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts, speaking up. "Oh, gyeheheh, I helped out with that. Unlocked it m'self!" [4:38 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: {Keiko glares at Artemis. Please don't talk shit about the dead man.} [4:38 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "You helped? Is that allowed?" [4:39 PM] Monoboar!: "My damn  mansion, ain't it? My rules!" Monoboar cackles. [4:39 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy can't argue with that, as much as he wants to. [4:39 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "That's kinda unfair isn't it?!" [4:39 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "You knew what the killer was up to?" [4:40 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Well, then...maybe he wanted to investigate why the door was open?"

"Did anyone hear anything at night? Surely such a big struggle must've caused some noise."

[4:41 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "You did?" [4:41 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: {"You really gotta sleeve shot doves to get our attention?"} [4:41 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma's staring at Willy, waiting impatiently for the explanation. [4:42 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: :testitheorybullet: "At two in the morning I heard something go clink clink in the halls outside my room. I'm a light sleeper, so it was easy to hear." [4:43 PM] Monoboar!: {"Clink clink! Clinkin' and clackin' and..." The boar is making various sound effects in the background.} [4:43 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: {"Something go clink clink?" she's so confused.} [4:44 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "A kind of jingling, maybe." } [4:44 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: {"Glass? Maybe?"} [4:44 PM] Monoboar!: {"Stop yer damn whispering."} [4:44 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Shut the hell up, hog." Wilma says reproachfully. She looks closely at Willy. "Two in the mornin', huh...that's just a little bit before the time of death, ain't it?" [4:44 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "That's right!" [4:46 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar taps his hoof in anticipation. [4:47 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "That's...odd. And you didn't hear the struggle?" [4:47 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Nope." [4:47 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "It was on the second floor." Wilma points out. Second floor is different from in the hall. [4:48 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy points to his nose and a Wilma. [4:48 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "So someone left their room close to the time of death...and they made a jingling sound."

"What could possibly make a sound like that?" [4:48 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Clown hat." [4:48 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: No one here has one of those, I think. [4:49 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "...Do clowns wear hats?" } [4:49 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "...I meant what in here could've caused it, Ortega-san." [4:49 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar appears annoyed. [4:49 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Okay. Well, fuck you too. [4:50 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I ain't sure 'bout all that right now, but were there any other clues we ain't discussed yet?" [4:52 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Her eyes widen. "There is one thing I investigated that hasn't been spoken of yet."

"One of the books was put back in the wrong place in the library, and it seemed to be sticking out a bit." [4:52 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "If it was a heavy book, it could've been used as a weapon." [4:53 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma nods.

"Ah, yeah, I saw that too...you didn't happen to open it up, didja?" [4:53 PM] Eri [origami time]: "I also found some stuff that wasn't mentioned" [4:53 PM] Monoboar!: {Monoboar is beginning to clack his gavel on his throne. He looks bored, and waiting for juicy action.} [4:54 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "No...I should've probably done that, now that I think of it. I'm sorry, Ortega-san." [4:54 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I did." She says, shifting uncomfortably. "It were a book about cults 'n shit." [4:55 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis cringed lightly. "That's not creepy at all. Anyone into scult shit?" [4:55 PM] Eri [origami time]: Eri twirls around a strand of her hair. [4:55 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Not that I'm aware of...though I doubt anyone would admit to it now that it'd incriminate them." [4:56 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "There was also a paper fulla notes stuck in the book...like someone was studying er something." [4:57 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar is impatiently staring at the ice skater. [4:57 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko frowns. "That's even more odd."

"But...what about those things you mentioned, Eri-san? The ones we haven't spoken about?" [4:59 PM] Eri [origami time]: "The drawers in the kitchen were ransacked, someone was probably looking for something. And there was a slighty scuffed and damaged marble rolling pin in the lounge's trash can." [5:00 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Well, I think we know where the rolling pin came from then." [5:01 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "..."

"You think they were lookin' for knives?" [5:01 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "...Maybe that pin was used to hit someone? [5:02 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "And where would those knives be?" Willy glances at Artemis." } [5:03 PM] Eri [origami time]: "It was probably used to kill Wallace?" Eri shrugged. [5:03 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: {"Hey. I almost saved him from getting fucking murdered."} [5:03 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: :counterbullet: "He had a broken neck...can a rolling pin cause such damage?" [5:03 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "Almost." } [5:03 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Maybe with enough force behind it...?" [5:04 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma shakes her head. [5:04 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar seems doubtful about some of these hunches, but which ones? [5:04 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "You can break a neck with a lot less."

[5:04 PM] Eri [origami time]: "Marble is pretty heavy isn't it?" [5:04 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Wallace woulda had to be glued to the ground to create 'nough force to break his neck like that, I think." ...That's how physics works right? [5:04 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Probably." [5:05 PM] Monoboar!: "Glued t' tha ground? What kinda hypothesis is that?" Monoboar snorts in amusement. [5:05 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma would literally murder Monoboar right now if she could. [5:07 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis has a little lightbulb. "Uh... Hm. Say, do you all think he died on that couch?" [5:07 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko's eyes widen yet again.

"We have no way to confirm it. The couch was the only spotless thing about the lounge, after all." [5:08 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "I don't know enough about furniture to back this up, but I doubt it would be easy to snap a neck on a couch." [5:08 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "So what? Y'all suggesting he was placed there?" Wilma tilts her head. [5:09 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "If the boot fuckin' fits. Wallace kinda big and really fucking heacy. It'd take some strength to get him on the couch, right?" [5:10 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar looks intrigued. [5:12 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Y'know what's botherin' me..." Wilma speaks up, trying to ignore Monoboar, because she hates him and so do I. "That whole mess in the lounge looked pretty violent....but Walleye was barely touched. 'Cept for the uh, well, you know." [5:13 PM] Eri [origami time]: "Weird" [5:13 PM] Monoboar!: "Sure is!" Monoboar looks ecstatic. [5:13 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "It's got me wondering if Wallace was the intended target at all." [5:14 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar's snorts at that. [5:14 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "...That's a good point, actually... Maybe it's the culprit who was beaten up rather than Wallace-kun?" [5:14 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts again. [5:14 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma looks around the room.

"...Do any of yall got obvious injuries?" [5:15 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "I don't believe Callaghan-san could do something like this, but we must consider all possibilites, so..."

"It's possible that Callaghan-san tried to murder someone, and that person was defended by the culprit, who then went on to kill Callaghan-san himself." [5:16 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "...Welp I'm lost." } [5:17 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I ain't sure 'bout that..." Wilma says hesitantly. "Why the note addressing Wallace himself, then? It don't add up." [5:18 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma looks thoughtful again. [5:18 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Ah, you're right..." [5:19 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I didn't wanna mention it at first, 'cause it didn't appear to be used in this murder...I think. But my gun's been missing since last night." [5:19 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Is it possible that the note was forged? Is that the word?" [5:19 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "...Oh, no." [5:19 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: ...

"Ah." [5:19 PM] Eri [origami time]: "Geez" [5:19 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Where was it last?" [5:19 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "At least. You didn't have any bullets." [5:19 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Well..." [5:20 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "That ain't quite true." [5:20 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "There were bullets inside???"

[5:20 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy's eyes narrow. "Hm?" [5:20 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "..." [5:20 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "Oh my fucking god-" [5:20 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma shrugs. "Wouldn't be much of a gun if there wasn't." [5:21 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Y'all never had to worry anyways. The bullets weren't real, so anyone hopin' to use them wouldn't a got far." [5:21 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar cackles underneath his hooves. [5:21 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: She lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh...good." [5:21 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Hog gave me a nerf gun." [5:21 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Still, it's been missin'." [5:22 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "...What were we worrying about, then?!" [5:22 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "." [5:22 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: { "Could have started off with the 'fake gun, fake bullets' thing..." } [5:23 PM] Monoboar!: "Pshh, just look atcha, Sheriff, up n' down! Yer wieldin' a gun that can't even help ya. Sad." [5:23 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma doesn't look impressed. It takes more than that to rile her up. [5:24 PM] Monoboar!: "No wonder that catty lady died so young. I would'a thought it interesting to see you try pumpin' me full of lead over that ordeal, but nope." [5:24 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "Will you shut the fuck up?" [5:24 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts with laughter. [5:24 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Don't speak of Akemi-san like that!" [5:24 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Okay, now she's getting pissed. [5:24 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Calm down before this gets outta hand." [5:25 PM] Monoboar!: "Hazel, too! She's off missin' somewhere cuz you don't got the weaponry to threaten me! Ahhh, lovin' this power... just like back at the wild..." There is no wild. He's just an asshole. [5:26 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "You better shut the hell up." [5:26 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma is quickly losing her composure. [5:26 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Ortega-san, please. We can't afford to lose our composure right now." [5:26 PM] Monoboar!: "Ugh, and Wally. Got his head turned 360 all cuz your guys' little president ain't shit!" [5:26 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy silently makes a talking mouth motion with his hand whenever Monoboar speaks. [5:26 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "Block him out! Movin' the fuck on! What else hasn't been vleared up?" She's trying to difuse the ticking time-bomb that is Wilma. [5:26 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts once more. [5:27 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Ghhh...!!!" Lake clawed at her head in irritation before shaking it, trying to focus on the task at hand. [5:28 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar just huffs at everyone. [5:28 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: It's honestly just muscle memory. Nothing more than that. Monoboar reminded her of her failures, and well- She isn't having it. She doesn't need to hear this from him.

It's so quick it's barely even perceptible until she has it out.

Wilma pulls out her gun and points it at Monoboar. [5:29 PM] Monoboar!: "Oh?" [5:29 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "..." [5:29 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Ortega-san!! Please stop this instant!"

[5:29 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "I thought you didn't have your fucking gun, Wilma!" [5:29 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Wilma-san?! I thought you just said you didn't--" [5:29 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Guys, can we fucking not have an extra dead guy." [5:30 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "It doesn't have real bullets." Wilma reminds Packie quietly.

She's shaking with anger. [5:30 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "But...you said it was missing. Why did you lie, Ortega-san?" [5:30 PM] Monoboar!: "Yeah? What's a dirty little liar gonna do shootin' me with nerf bullets!? Gwahahahaahar!" [5:31 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "...Wait... Why did she lie about her gun?" [5:32 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma takes a few deep, shuddering breaths and lowers the gun.

She pulls the brim of her hat down. Her eyes aren't visible.

"...Had to." Is all she says. [5:32 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Why were you lying?" Willy repeat. [5:32 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "You had to?" [5:32 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Y'aint getting more of an answer than that til I know-" She cuts herself off and glares at Monoboar. [5:33 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis has a bigger light buld. "Wilma. Did you... try to stop Wallace from doing the shit he did before? Trying to bypass the rules?" [5:33 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar snorts in Wilma's general direction. [5:33 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "..." Wilma doesn't answer Artemis's question. [5:34 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: She's still staring at Monoboar, apparently waiting for something. [5:34 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "...Give her back." [5:35 PM] Monoboar!: ...and with a puff of smoke and a flash of sparkles, there's an explosion (not literally) where Hazel's stand is.

The smoke dissipates, and Hazel stands there, shaken, covered in glitter. The poet looks extremely unhappy, for good reason. [5:35 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Wh-" [5:35 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "U-Uuuuuu....!?" [5:35 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Hazeldine-san! Are you alright?!" [5:35 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "What the fuck-" [5:35 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma nearly collapses in relief.

"Oh thank the fuckin' stars." [5:35 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel squinted. [5:36 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "I-I'm, I..." Hazel regains her balance, clutching on the stand. "...." [5:36 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Hey, appearing in a puff of smoke is my thing! Stay in your lane, pig!" [5:36 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar sticks his tongue out at Willy. [5:36 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma, for a second, looks so painfully happy to see Hazel's okay...and then her expression shuts down completely. [5:37 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel looks around hastily at the others, and back at Wilma.

"I-I know...!" [5:37 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: Packie brushes some of the glitter off of him since he was near the blast. [5:37 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Lake did the same. [5:37 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "..." Keiko places both her hands on top of her cane.

"Can you both tell us what happened last night?" [5:37 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I reckon they know too, Miss Basil." Wilma says quietly. [5:37 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel clutches at her head, looking upset at the lack of her hair ribbon, before her mouth hangs open in shock, staring at Wilma.

"they know...? Truly?" [5:38 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "You wouldn't be back here if they don't got some sort of inklin'." [5:38 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: She bites her lip, tears welling in her eyes as she looks at everyone in fear.

"...tell me what you all know, then." [5:39 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko is so confused. "C-Callaghan-san died. And Ortega-san lied about her gun being stolen, for some reason..." [5:39 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "Th-That's not what I meant! Ugh!" Hazel stamps her foot. "I mean... do you know who did it all?" [5:40 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "It's...between you two, really." [5:42 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Were you held, like, as a hostage? If Ortega, if she really did it, didn't, y'know, then..? Or did you both work together." [5:43 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "I... was held as a hostage, yes." Hazel nods. [5:44 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma is silent. [5:44 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Also, Auz is afk for a second. Oops. [5:45 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "Wilma killed Wallace, you walked in," Willy is attempting to put it together. "Boar didn't want you to make it one sided and he took you out of the picture for a little bit? Something like that?" [5:45 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: There's a dry, humorless chuckle from Wilma.

"Knew you were one of the smarter candidates." She says, sighing. [5:45 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is wringing her hands together, and weakly nods. [5:46 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Since if you were here, it would've been too simple. And that damn boar doesn't like that." [5:46 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "..." [5:46 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "So... You were the one jingling." He glances at Wilma. [5:46 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "...Lady Wilma," She chokes out, but is unable to speak any further. She nods once more at Packie. [5:47 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "...So you're..." Shaking. Fists balled up, "You're saying Wilma-san is..." [5:48 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Am I 'llowed to speak now, your royal fuckhead?" Wilma hisses, glaring at Monoboar. "Or ain't I off the hook yet." [5:48 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar huffs, rolling his beady little eyes once more, and waves a hoof boredly. "Uhhhh, doy, they basically got it down, sheriff!" [5:49 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Fine." Wilma tips her hat back up, looking at everyone around the trial room. "Yeah, I did it. I killed Walleye." [5:50 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Why? Why did you do it, Ortega-san?"

"You said...you said you would protect us all!"

[5:51 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "She probabl ywas trying to protect us-" She gave Wilma a sideglance. She stands by her ealier question. [5:51 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "Was it because of what you said earlier?" He leans against his stand. "Where you were suspicious that Wallace would try to test the nighttime rules again." [5:51 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Her teeth were clenched along with her fists as she fought the temptation to yell at either Wilma or the boar in favor of letting Wilma speak. [5:52 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel's crying has started back up again. He covered his mouth to avoid making any noise to interrupt. [5:52 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is clutching her arms, holding herself as she attempts to maintain her composure.

"I had gotten into an argument the day he did that, and... well, he seemed completely unresponsive to my worries about that situation. I-I just didn't expect it to lead to... 'getting rid of him.'" She winces. [5:53 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Wallace didn't just try the nighttime rules again." Wilma states, sighing. "He outright broke 'em. Again." [5:54 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: "You still protected us, in a way." [5:54 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Fffffucking idiot..." Lake murmured through her teeth, "Idiots... Idiots... I...!" [5:55 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "No, that's not true. You didn't...you didn't protect us."

"Protecting us includes all of us, it included Callaghan-san too!! You didn't--You couldn't have just killed him!!" [5:55 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "So I was right. You tried to stop him so he wouldn't get us all killed." [5:55 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "Lady Wilma... wasn't justified in her murder, but... she had a reason, and she took it to the extreme." Hazel says nervously. [5:55 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel let out a shaky breath. "Mister Callaghan was a good friend. He didn't deserve that. It wasn't the right way to go." He hugged his doll tighter. [5:56 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy is just glancing around the room, taking all of the different opinions. "...Of course..." He whispers under his breath. [5:57 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel huffs, looking at everyone else.

"...what good does it do in the end? We'd either risked all our lives, or have two of them taken away, and... it's... horrid." [5:57 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Wallace didn't die in the lounge. He went to the library. I was on my nighttime watch as always, and I followed 'im, and I wasn't gonna take a chance that was gonna get all of us killed." She says this easily, but her expression is grim. "Two's better than all of us, I 'spose. Walleye was there...readin' that book," She looks very tired. "And I just came up behind him and..."

She does an odd hand movement which you realize is the way you can physically break someone's neck, just using your arms! Awesome. [5:57 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel flinches. [5:58 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma looks at her apologetically. [5:58 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I had no intention of hidin' it. Miss B-Hazel...wasn't 'sposed to be there, but either way, I wasn't gonna hide it." [5:58 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "But." [5:58 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko shakes her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No...it's not fair. You could've talked to him, you could've--!!"

"You didn't have to kill him!!" [5:59 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: He was trying very hard not to get mad, but that was his friend! Holy shit! "Miss Ortega, there's no justifying this. I think.. you're not going to become an angel." [5:59 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel scoffs, glaring at Cerviel. [6:00 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Monoboar didn't quite think that was interestin' enough," Wilma hisses, ignoring the people that are interrupting her motive speech. "So he took Hazel and told me I had to make it fun, or else..." [6:02 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Took a rollin' pin, fucked up the lounge a bit, then I moved 'im there so it'd be more confusin', I guess. Wrote that note, too. With his own pen." Wow, she really...truly...planned this horribly. Well, she didn't really plan it in the first place. "It all didn't add up real well 'cause I was just doing whatever it took to make it a case, I guess." [6:05 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "But y'all figured it out...I knew you would." Well, actually, Wilma just fucked up real bad, but let's not focus on that. "I know I failed y'all. I ain't fit to be a leader. Ain't sure I ever was."

She grabs the brim of her hat, pulling it down. "There ain't nothin' I can do to make up fer this. 'Cept dyin' I guess, but that ain't real useful in the long run."

She's...remarkably calm for someone who just admitted she's going to die. [6:06 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel whimpers, and feels like she's about to uproot the stand from the floor and destroy it with her bare hands. [6:06 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "This is...you could've talked to him!! You could've dragged him out of there, for God's sake! If you're strong enough to break his neck you could've done that instead!!"

"But...You didn't have to..." she trails off, looking down. [6:07 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: He looked away. "At least you've accepted your fate, Miss Ortega. I'm sorry you thought there was no better way, but this is probably for the best now." [6:07 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis pursed her lips, shaking her head. "Sometimes that's the only way you can deal with insubordination..." That's terrifying, thanks Artemis. [6:07 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Maybe." Wilma admits. "But he'd been talked to. I ain't sayin' that justifies it, but sometimes...sometimes the law's gotta take things into their own hands. At the time, I did what I thought would protect y'all. I hope it still does."

"...But that don't mean my soul's going to salvation 'er nothin'." [6:08 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: "I-IT'S NOT FOR THE BEST!" Hazel cries. "N-Not for Lady Aderyn, and not for Wilma either... it's horrid...!?" The poet looks hysterical, near tears. [6:08 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "Bullshit... I-It's all bullshit," Hot tears began to stream down Lake's cheeks as she shouted, banging her fists on her podium in anger, "It's BULLSHIT!! W-We... W-We shouldn't even be fucking doing all this stupid detective shit!! W-We should b-be in class or something, n-not f-fucking having all these m-moral dilemmas because some FREAK p-practically held us at gun point to fucking K-KILL our classmates!! F-Fuck it all!!! FUCK IT ALL!!!" [6:08 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Would you have done it if it was Hazeldine-san? Or any one of us besides Callaghan-san????" [6:08 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel agrees with Lake, and shows this by crying and stamping her foot. [6:09 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma nods in response to Keiko's question. "If it woulda been them, breaking rules multiple times and showin' no signs of stoppin'. But it wasn't." [6:09 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: He held onto that doll, shaking. "There isn't much salvation out there. Not outside of this place. Not even if you die. I truly am sorry, Miss Ortega." [6:09 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "SHUT THE FUCK UP, CERVIEL!!" [6:09 PM] Monoboar!: ....

"Yeeeeesh, you maggots done here? I grow tired of all the wailin' really fast! D'ya think it's votin' time?" [6:10 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: "YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP, TOO!!!" [6:10 PM] Monoboar!: "That a yes?" [6:10 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I'm mighty sorry ya had to be part of this, Miss Basil." Wilma says, taking her hat off as she looks towards the poet. "And that ya had to see that side of me. I'm glad I could make ya feel safe fer a little while, anyways." [6:10 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: ".... We should vote now." [6:10 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is clearly trying to hold back tears, and is only able to nod, lip quivering. [6:11 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Alright, go on 'n vote now." She says before Monoboar can, because fuck Monoboar, she will take every chance to steal his thunder.

[6:11 PM] Monoboar!: "Hmf ...Aaaaaalright, it's votin' time then!"

Same procedure as last trial, voting screens power on your stands, and there's a selection of students to choose from.

@Alive [6:11 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Haha beat you to it. [6:12 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma votes for herself. [6:12 PM] Eri [origami time]: Eri votes for Wilma. [6:12 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: Kubo votes for Wilma [6:12 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel quickly voted for Wilma. [6:12 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis votes for Wilma. "...I'm sorry, Woody. We fuckni' butted heads in the past but you were... an alright leader." [6:12 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Lake brought her fist down onto Wilma's (voting screen) face for her vote. [6:12 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko votes for Wilma. "I'm...truly sorry you felt like that was the only way, Ortega-san. Now we have lost not one, but two of us yet again..."

"I hope you're able to reflect on what you have done, wherever you go." [6:12 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy votes for Wilma. [6:13 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Kicking her podium in rage, Lake managed to leave a crack in the wood. [6:14 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar seems excited, and is close to pressing the complete button, but eyes Hazel impatiently. [6:15 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "...Who ain't voted yet?" Wilma looks confused. "It ain't real hard, folks." [6:15 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: Packie votes for Wilma. Sorry. [6:15 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: No need to 'pologize. [6:16 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is teary-eyed, hand hovering over the voting screen as she glances over at the sheriff.

"I-I'm sorry, Wilma." She dropped the 'Lady', just as she's done with Akihiko before. "I hadn't.. I... what you did is bad, but I truly looked up to you. Please rest easy..."

She votes for Wilma, teary-eyed. [6:18 PM] Monoboar!: "...Everyone done votin'? If that's the case, let's get this show on the rooooooad!"

After everyone had voted, the screens flicker black, and proceed to light up in anticipation for each profile.

"Well then, worms, who's it gonna be this time? I know I'm real damn excited!"

...

...

A victory tune chimes out as the light lands on Wilma Ortega.

"Looks like it's the truth, gwahaha! Wilma Ortega killed Wallace Callaghan!"

[6:20 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma nods.

"Alright then...that's it, I 'spose. I don't mind dyin'....Sure don't want to, but I wasn't 'sposed to live this long anyways. The whole world weren't." [6:20 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko sighs deeply. "We will remember you, Ortega-san." [6:21 PM] Monoboar!: Hazel feels ready to collapse. [6:21 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar is snorting. [6:22 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "HOLD UP-"\ [6:22 PM] Monoboar!: "Gyehehehe-- huh?" [6:22 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "What the fuck you mean you weren't supposed to?" [6:22 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel turned away completely, hugging that doll. He didn't even wanna look anymore. [6:22 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma shrugs.

"Just what I said."

"Why'd you think Wallace had that book out on cults, anyways?" [6:22 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel tilts her head, confused. [6:22 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: "...Huh?" [6:23 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "He was into goat sacrifice-?" [6:23 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Absolutely not." WAY off base. [6:23 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "...What do you mean, Ortega-san?" [6:26 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "Y'all don't really think I got good at shootin' just from a Wild West show, do ya?" She smiles, but it's bitter. "Callaghan figured out where I grew up. Little place called Solomon's Grove. Y'all mighta heard of 'em, mighta not. Crazy little cult preparin' for the end of the world. 'Sposed to happen when I was thirteen." She snorts. "When it didn't, I realized it all was a buncha baloney and left. Got myself a job, put my skills to use. I lived a lot longer than I thought I was gonna. I've been livin' on borrowed time."

The rueful smile fades from her face. "Maybe this was what they meant all 'long 'bout me meeting my end in the 'outside world.' They weren't wrong, in the end. But I got to meet y'all, so I think it's worth it anyways." [6:28 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel is curling her hands into her hair anxiously, staring apprehensively at Wilma as she attempts to process this information.

"So... a cult? A whole cult..." The poet isn't sure what to say... [6:28 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "Ortega-san...a-a cult??" [6:28 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma dismissively waves a hand. "It ain't that serious. No sacrifices 'er none of that weird shit. Just farms and no fuckin' tech anywhere. 'Cept for guns, 'course." [6:28 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: "...That's really cool, Ortega-san..." [6:29 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma doesn't respond to that. [6:29 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel glances at Kubo a bit oddly, but shrugs it off. [6:29 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: "Jesus... At least you didn't do fucked up shit." [6:29 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "I'm sorry you had to grow up in such a place, Ortega-san..." [6:30 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "...Anyways, none of that's the point. I'm just sayin'...I'm okay with my world ending like this." Her serious expression cracks a bit. "I'm okay 'long as y'all promise to do better than I could. No more leaders 'er any of that...work together. Keep each other in line. In a safe way." [6:31 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel was quiet as he listened, feeling the guilt start to seep in for having been mean. "I'm sorry about what I said, Miss Ortega. Maybe you will be an angel." [6:31 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: "We...we'll do better, Ortega-san. We won't let this happen again."

"Do you...do you have anything you want me to say to anyone outside? Anything you want to pass on?" she offers, just as she did with Aderyn. [6:34 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "...If y'all get to the Saco Wild West show, tell Leone I said hi." She says after a moment. "That's all. Tell 'im I'm doing fine, okay? And my parents..." She looks a bit pained. "They ain't too smart but they ain't bad people. Wouldn't recommend you go checkin' out Solomon's place, though. Maybe just send 'em a letter. Tell 'im I passed." She nods at Keiko, grateful. [6:34 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: She smiles sadly. "I will...I promise, Ortega-san."

"Please...tell Callaghan-san he will be missed as well, if you see him again." [6:35 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: "I got some 'pologies for him, and...everyone else that passed, so I'll be sure to." [6:35 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel disregards everything else and rushes over to give Wilma one last goodbye in the form of a hug.

"My apologies... Wilma..." Hazel says shakily. [6:36 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis gives Wilma a solem nod, she feels a very heavy pit of guilt in her gut. "I hope ya find peace.' [6:37 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko nods at Wilma's words. She hates Wilma's actions...but she doesn't deserve to die, either. [6:37 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Lake stomped off her podium and towards Wilma before she joined Hazel.

"God, fuck..." Lake sniffled as she tightened her grip, "You deserved so much fucking better than this hellhole, Wilma-san..." [6:39 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana was horrified. Absolutely, positively horrified. She could only hug Wilma one last time before she...well, ugh.

Hana slowly walked towards her, avoiding eye contact as she did. She didn't want Wilma to see her cry. She wrapped her arms around her tightly. She wanted to say something, anything to send Wilma off.

"Don't go...!" [6:42 PM] swiss cheese cowboy: Wilma looks surprised that anyone would get near her after that, let alone the girl who witnessed her murder. She blinks rapidly, as if trying to stop tears, and returns Hazel's hug. She flinches as two more people join the hug, and tries (and fails) to stop her body from shaking.

"I gotta go, Princess." She says softly. "I...No matter where I end up, I'm gonna be watchin' over y'all and protecting ya best I can anyways. I'll never stop."

She closes her eyes. The world is ending for her. She said she didn't mind, but...

"Thank y'all. I wanted to make y'all feel safe, but the truth is...I always felt like the world was on the verge of ending 'til I met y'all."

"Take care of yerselves now, okay? I'm countin' on yall."

"Goodbye." [6:42 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana sobbed loudly.

[6:43 PM] Monoboar!: "Oh... boohoo, I'm almost touched by the affection you've got! Too bad I gotta rip her away from ya!"

Monoboar slams a gavel onto a big red button, and Wilma is promptly whisked away from the others by a metal clamp attached to a chain snapping around her neck, and she's off...

Wilma Ortega has been found guilty. Time for the punishment.

[Done by @spiiderboiii]

[Done by @pitoumugis]

[6:44 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana stared at the execution for a moment before covering her eyes and dipping her head, hoping her hair would cover her face a little. [6:45 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko doesn't look. She can't do it. [6:45 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: Kubo watches intently. That was horrible... [6:45 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel didn't even watch. It didn't feel right even if it was the one who'd killed his friend. [6:45 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Keeping her eyes closed tight and her hands clamped down on her ears didn't stop the shots from giving her an idea of what happened. [6:46 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy frowns as he sees what unfolds. [6:46 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana flinched every time the shots happened. [6:46 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hana shrieks, unable to watch after the horses arrive, and clamps her hands over her ears. [6:47 PM] Monoboar!: Why i say hana :frowning: i tired. Anyways [6:47 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana hugs Hazel really hard. [6:48 PM] Monoboar!: Monoboar cackles once again.

"Well then! Another trial is off my hands, gwahahahar!" The boar laughs, and the elevator dings melodically, sliding open.

"Now scram, go cry in your rooms or somethin', ya grubs!"

The boar vanishes promptly, leaving you all to exit yourselves. [6:48 PM] Lake Kawaguchi | Fuck: Lake joined and wrapped her arms around Hazel and Hana both for a little while. [6:49 PM] Hazel Hazeldine | 🔖: Hazel does the same... but leads them in a small pack with shaky legs, into the elevator. Heh. Help. [6:49 PM] Hana Minami! | ART Room: Hana was still sobbing loudly. [6:50 PM] Monoboar!: @Alive Walk into the elevator. [6:50 PM] Keekoo Taisei | Terrible choices: Keiko leaves silently. It's not her place to try to comfort any of them. She can only hope Wilma can find peace, wherever she is. [6:50 PM] Kubo Tachibana | BLEHEHEH: Kubo walks into the elevator silently [6:50 PM] Willy Wonder | Room: Willy heads to the elevator. [6:50 PM] packie hayai 🌾 💤: Packie makes his way into the elevator, slumping against one of the walls. [6:51 PM] Cerviel Winter | Nest: Cerviel walked into the elevator with his doll, choking back more tears. He's a wreck. [6:51 PM] 🔫Artemis🔫| AAAAAAAAAAAAA: Artemis walks into the elevator, the pit in her stomach getting heavily. Shit's awful! [6:52 PM] Monoboar!: Once everyone is inside, whether you roleplayed that or not, the elevator shuts behind you and takes you back to the foyer...

Now Five people are gone, and it seems like your numbers are only going to continue dwindling...

TRIAL 2 - END.

[foxyfanz]

If you don't love me at my bonjour, then you don't deserve me at my howdy.

HOW ARE WE FEELING TWST ROOK FANS