#two hours are me leading three are me assisting and they're back to back

[quicksilversquared]

I need the rest of the week to calm down because it's only Tuesday and I am already tired enough to just want to walk straight into a wall and give up for the week.

[facefullofsadness]

The world needs guitarist winter!! 🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥 (i die a little each time i see her with a guitar)

AGREE!!! everyday that has passed since 230225 winter playing guitar at synk hyper line in seoul for the first time has just been me trying to recover and seek guidance bc damn, she ruined my life and it's all I've been able to think about

content - rockstar guitarist!winter, best friend's sister!winter, dom!winter, includes txt members (beomgyu and yeonjun) and giselle, song references, smut (messy and wild sex, slight degradation, fingering, cunnilingus, strap-on usage, choking, breeding kink, quickies, squirting, vibrator usage, semi-public sex/voyeurism)

wc - 3122

a/n - a loaded one since it's been a while. I had sm fun writing this in general, but especially a certain part (I think u'll be able to tell when u get there), I was laughing my ass off so fking hard. also I just got a haircut that's very wolf-cut-y so it helped a whole bunch to get into writing this lol, committed to the bit!

winter's a damn good guitarist.

she's fuckinggg hotttt too when she plays and she knows it. watched a vid of her recently doing her guitar solo during girls and after the final riff she smirked at the camera and I LITERALLY COMBUSTED DEAR LORD.

anyway, I imagine her in a rock band, one with beomgyu, and they're both just the hot, wolf-cut, dark emo guitarists. you're the lead singer and front man of the band and were the reason the band formed in the first place. you were besties with beomgyu and you two wrote and composed music from time to time, always having the idea of a band as a passion project at the back of your minds.

eventually, gyu recruited his sister, minjeong. the three of you worked together diligently, recruiting yeonjun as a drummer who knew and dragged along aeri as a bassist. it was truly a dream come true, getting to pursue what you're passionate about the most with your best friend and a group of people just as enthusiastic as you were.

though, it was hard to focus with such a pretty girl like kim minjeong breathing down your neck at all times. you, beomgyu, and minjeong would primarily work together on music, usually going from the afternoon until after midnight hours. while minjeong was only a few months older than your best friend, she'd boss him around and push him to go home, saying it was late and that their mom needed to see at least one of them to know they were okay. he'd groan and complain about it, especially since you and him were the main collaborators for songs and were the best when you were together, but she'd always promise to take good care of you, whatever that meant (huehuehue).

beomgyu cares more about you as a little sister than he does his own sister so when he gets confirmation that she'll take care of you, he accepts it and goes home early, leaving you and minjeong in the studio alone. you bite your lip as you watch the door close, your friend leaving you behind with her.

"just you and me now, huh pretty?" the girl leans into you on the couch.

you shift uncomfortably at the close proximity and try to subtly scooch away, "uh yeah, I guess so... we should try to finish this arrangement before we get out of here."

you try your best to compose yourself and act professional, hearing minjeong's deep chuckle next to you, "alright then."

actually getting work done and writing some lyrics alongside figuring out the instrumental arrangement with minjeong since she's the other guitarist, besides beomgyu (also bc he left). you tell her that you get frustrated with the fact you're not that good at playing, her having asked why you don't just make the arrangements yourself. and so, she decides to teach you! well, "teach you."

placing her acoustic Silvertone on your lap and crawling up slowly behind you, her warm body pressed up against your back, the brush of her lips against your ear making you shiver. she brings her arms over and places her hands over yours, guiding them around the strings and assisting with the chords.

she whispers deep and raspy into your ear various instructions, "if you cover this entire fret and press down on these strings, you'll get the F Barre chord. it's a little difficult but nothing you can't manage, right princess?"

"the placement kinda hurts..." you complain, feeling the burn of the metal strings against your skin.

"it'll be a little painful when you start, but with practice you'll get better. you have to press down harder than that though," her pressing your fingers down harder against the nylon strings.

whining softly at the pain, making her lips come closer to your ear, "come on baby, you can do it, a little pain goes a long way. I know you can handle it."

a chill runs down your spine at her words, proceeding to repeatedly attempt to strum the chord correctly until the sound was full.

"good girl, it wasn't that bad right?" you turn to face her, her lips just centimeters away from yours.

your breath picks up at her proximity and a smirk tugs at her lips, moving her face into your neck and hotly sighing against it.

"how badly do you want it, hm? how badly do you want me to fuck you like a rockstar?"

your grip on her guitar tightens as her mouth trails around your neck, gasping when you feel her tongue drag across slowly.

"what do you think you're doing?"

"nothing you don't want me to already, sweetheart."

you lean into her touch, moving your hand away from the body of the guitar to lace your fingers through her soft wolf-cut hair, pulling her head in further into your neck, now placing wet kisses against the skin.

you suddenly shoot your eyes open at the realization of what you two are doing and stutter, "I-I don't think we should be doing th-this... we need to finish the arrangement... and also, y-your brother, what will h-he think?"

you stumble over your words as minjeong just hums in response to, continuing to leave sloppy marks across your neck, feeling her make hickeys on parts of your skin that wouldn't be noticeable.

"we have all the time in the world to finish the song. but what about gyu? did you want him instead then?" she asks, almost threateningly, challenging you to say yes.

in response, you whimper and pull her head in further towards your neck, practically begging her not to go away.

"don't you feel ashamed letting your best friend's sister do this to you? or are you just a slut?"

you don't answer, only shut your eyes and bite your lip. minjeong doesn't like that, resulting in her hand to pull you by the hair backwards, head facing the ceiling. your eyes shot open at the contact and you see her blown pupils staring into yours.

her voice comes out low and dark, "answer me whore. tell me what you are, I wanna hear you say it."

you gulp down a lump in your throat, debating if you should listen to her or to your morals. all sense jumps out the window when she sexily raises her eyebrow at you, an expectant expression sitting on her aroused face.

fuck it whatever, she's too fucking hot, "I'm your slut, minjeong, all yours."

finishing the arrangement? what a joke! she has your legs spread wide open on the soundboard, skillful fingers pumping in and out of your squelching cunt, your head thrown back, moaning into the hot air of the studio. her one hand plunging deep into your pussy while the other one is wrapped around your waist, holding you close, keeping your thighs propped open with her body. and she's just watching you, her mouth slightly open and lips a deep dark plump red, her messy hair tousled, bangs sticking to her sweaty forehead. she loves watching how your face contorts in response to her digits curling to hit that delicious spot in your hole, hitting it repeatedly, her palm slapping against your clit with every quick thrust of her hand. the sounds of your croaky moans, wet and clenching pussy, and her heavy breathing fill the sound-proof room, the thought of productivity not even grazing either of your minds.

the pleasure built so much, you felt that knot in your stomach tighten. minjeong quickened her pace as she felt your legs start to shake around her, sensing how close you were to cumming. it was all too much and you suddenly orgasmed, crying out moans with every wave of delight that surged through your body, thighs trembling, eyes rolled back and mouth hung open, your hands gripping her shoulders for dear life. she intently watched with a lustful stare at every expression your face made while you came, memorizing how good you looked when she fucked you. pulling her fingers out and collecting every drop of cum you leaked onto her hand and wrist, licking it clean until a thin sheet of her saliva remained.

"open your fucking mouth and stick your tongue out," she demanded with a deep voice.

you obeyed and gagged, feeling her tongue shove itself down your throat, forcefully swallowing her saliva and your cum. drool seeped out the sides of your lips as she continued her onslaught in your mouth, feeling her clothed hips grind against your sensitive clit, moans slipping out of your throat in the form of gags.

she'd pull away suddenly, tongue exiting your mouth with a wet slurping noise, making you cough. "you. are. mine. remember that."

she'd remind you, running her damp fingers through her hair.

these late night escapades continued to occur with every single long session held in the studio (she definitely recorded some audios of you guys fucking for sureeee). the creative part of you wanted beomgyu to stay and help with the music, but the sinful part of you so desperately wanted him to leave as soon as possible to have his sister all to yourself. your best friend never caught on to you and minjeong, but oh, yeonjun and aeri caught on like THAT. the tension between you two was so palpable, the two older members would side eye you during practices and giggle to each other, watching the two of you eye fuck from across the room.

eventually, the band's popularity would build and proceed to skyrocket, leading to your guys' first tour. tour meant performing together, traveling together, being with each other, and ultimately, tour meant being with minjeong. and so when management would get 3 hotel rooms for you all, 1 for the boys, 1 for the girls, and well, 1 for aeri being the sleeping beauty she is, rooming with minjeong meant a few things. practicing together, writing and composing together, and sleeping together (for the girls in the back, SEX).

throwing you onto the bed as soon as you reach your hotel room, tearing your clothes off and pinning you down, sloppily kissing each other. she'd prep you by eating you out, sticking her wet muscle inside of your leaking core, caressing your walls and flicking against your g-spot. you bit down hard on the pillow, muffling your moans as her thumb covered in her saliva rubbed against your throbbing clit. her pulling away right before you came and putting on a strap-on she brought on tour (for you of course!), wasting no time in thrusting it into you.

the pillow probably did nothing to silence your screams as she mercilessly fucked you into the mattress, hand pressing down on your lower stomach to feel her cock pumping in and out of you, the tip of her dick hitting your cervix again and again, her thumb still stimulating your clit. minjeong had your back arching, your hands flew everywhere, trying to grip onto anything to ground yourself, but nothing was enough, even as you screamed and bit down on your pillow. your eyes watered and your vision blurred as she rammed into you, the dark-haired girl moving her hands to wrap around your neck, choking you, gradually adding pressure with every rough thrust. her pants eventually became moans too, loving the feeling of the side of her strap hitting that delicious spot inside of her too, slapping her clit against yours as she bottomed out in you.

"I'm gonna fucking cum in you y/n, I'm gonna knock you up, fill you up until you're leaking both of us," minjeong growls above you, lowering her face to level with yours.

you feel tears fall down the sides of your face and your throat sore from another scream ripped out of you as well as her hands around your neck as she throws the pillow in your mouth onto the floor, attaching her mouth to yours instead. you cry onto her tongue as you orgasm against her strap, toes curling and legs wrapped around her waist, nails digging into minjeong's shoulders, cum gushing out of you as you feel her cock shoot fake ropes of white liquid into you, filling you up. you feel her shake in your arms too as she cums, her pleasure leaking out onto your thighs, soaking the bedsheets. she collapses on top of you, both of you desperately gasping for air, her dick still inside of you, keeping the fake cum from leaking out.

"good thing we have another bed."

of course being on tour also meant fucking in the green room before a performance. having done interviews all morning, having a concert for the tour tonight, minjeong was so mean! she had you wear a vibrator the entire day! it would be on the lowest setting up until the interviewer would ask you a question. she would turn up the intensity and you would squirm as you tried to answer, gripping your ripped jeans, almost causing another tear. and so when you two were left alone in the green room for just a minute, she took you right then and there, your legs wide open on the sofa, her mouth stimulating your clit while she increased the vibrator's setting to max, thrusting it in and out of you.

you were screaming in pleasure, all the built up tension in your stomach finally being relieved with each pump of the sex toy in your pussy. you clutched onto her leather jacket for dear life as you came all over her face, squirting everywhere. she licked as much as she could and you both worked quickly to clean before anyone came back. your members, staff, and the fans would notice you limping around on stage that night, winter with an especially evil smirk resting on her face.

being on tour also meant getting fingered in the bathroom backstage. it's literally 10 minutes to showtime, but minjeong NEEDED to fuck you now! her calloused fingers pumping in and out of you while you reciprocated fingering her too. both of your skirts hiked up and panties pushed to the side (no safety shorts? idk this is fiction, ignore it!), moaning desperately into each others mouths as you messily and sloppily made out against the bathroom stall door. curling your fingers at the same time, biting down on her lip while her fingernails dug into your thigh at the feeling. rolling your hips against her palm to stimulate your clit, her repeating the motion and pinning you harder to the door so that your bodies were flush against one another.

screaming into each other's mouths as you came at the same time, cum dripping down your wrist. quickly cleaning one another up (with your tongues, yup) and running to your places since there was literally THIRTY SECONDS to showtime! beomgyu confusedly looking at you two in frustration, asking where you guys had been, yeonjun and aeri rolling their eyes laughing, still lowkey irritated that you guys were LITERALLY FUCKING instead of getting ready to perform smh. everyone definitely noticed the redness in both of your cheeks. winter had fingered you with her calloused hand, the dampness making it more difficult to play the chords during that show, the band noticing the change in effectivity too (how technical!).

at some point, the fans would notice the tension between you two. who wouldn't ship the lead singer with the guitarist in a band anyway right? especially when it's the hot dark wolf-cut emo guitarist winter and the stunning pretty charismatic lead singer. but of course that wasn't the only reason, you guys were soooo obvious. you're singing the flirty and seductive lyrics towards her, minjeong returning a smirk back at you and sticking her tongue out while she fingerpicks her guitar, raising her eyebrows when she does. trailing your fingertips over her bare skin in skimpy outfits they'd put her in onstage, singing the lyrics into her ears.

or literally just flat out fucking saying it. like having those soundcheck Q&As where fans would ask you questions like "if you were to date one of the members, who would you date?"

answering each other's names at the same time, causing everyone to laugh in the audience, beomgyu gagging, and yeonjun and aeri holding back laughter. minjeong following up by saying something like "I mean, it's not like it hasn't happened before." LIKE WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

or when you and winter are in an interview and they ask what the inspiration was behind a particular song, let's say a more sexy song, and she responds first, "well, every song that we've written has influences from our own personal experiences."

the interviewer would be like, "so then is it true when you sing quote 'I might fuck your friend, I made my mind up'?"

you blush profusely and winter just dies laughing, "I'll let you guys decide that one."

"y/n, you wrote "we go for hours and it's still good" correct?" the interviewer continues.

"yes yes but the details don't really matter do they?" you nervously laugh while minjeong drills holes into the side of your head, staring at you with a playful and sinister smirk on the side.

my favorite headcanon to think about is online discourse regarding you and minjeong. your guys' new mv dropped for your latest single and there are a bunch of scenes with you and winter acting like an angsty couple in the rain, making up in the end by having an alluded to sex scene (lmao, wild if this actually would ever happen).

I just imagine twt going INSANEEE.

slut4winter: DID Y/N AND WINTER FUCK AT THE END OF THE VIDEO?!?!?

y/nonechancepls: i literally cannot defend minjeong and y/n anymore...

beomgyuswolfcut: bro, winter fr cucked her brother from y/n 😭😭

aerifuckinguchinaga: win-y/n's chemistry is a lil too real yall 💀

drumjunyeonjun: not them saying it was their fav scene to film, the closet is made out of AIR, IM SICK OF U F WORDS !!!

and of course, despite all of this, your dear bestie and minjeong's brother doesn't catch on. at times, beomgyu will be all what the fuck is going on when you two say something that has double entendre or has some sort of underlying meaning.

yeonjun usually just pats him on the back while laughing, "oh my friend, never change, never change."

aeri being such a nosy friend LOVES hearing you rant about it, chin propped up on her fist, leaning forward against the table, a cheeky grin on her face. with every spicy detail, she's always just like, "girllll, you're insane and wild, but good for you!"

a/n - like rq, through a guitarist pov, winter is so attractively good at guitar it pisses me off. also headcanon songs this band would make are like wdywfm by the neighbourhood, sex by the 1975, do I wanna know by arctic monkeys, and slow down by chase atlantic. incredibly self indulgent hc and WHAT ABOUT IT!!

[silverynight]

Welcome home

<---Previous

Chapter 4

Izuku steps out of his cubicle and stretches for a couple of seconds before sitting back.

It has been a really productive morning, but also a difficult one; a couple of pro heroes have finished three out of ten missions on his list, a few cases have been successfully closed and now Izuku has to deal with the paperwork.

Pro heroes usually send him the reports, but he has to make sure they're in order and save them in the correct file.

Also, Aizawa told him they were going to start searching for the missing students in a new area; Todoroki and Hagakure are going to be in charge of it.

Since they have just one lead, a young girl who saw a "suspicious" person walking outside her school a few days ago, the situation hasn't been classified as a rescue mission. The pro heroes will be sent to locate and assess the situation first.

However, since they have to be ready for anything, Izuku has to be online the whole time, prepared to send more pro heroes if necessary.

At least he'll have time to eat something because the operation will start in a couple of hours.

As soon as he listens a couple of his coworkers sigh and start whispering among themselves he looks up, momentarily distracted.

"It's good to see you again, Midoriya."

"Good morning, Todoroki!"

The pro hero smiles softly at him before leaning over the cubicle a bit to see him better.

"Aizawa told me I can be in contact with you if I need anything during today's mission," he says, prompting Izuku to nod.

"Yes, I think you'll have to pay a visit to the support department so they give you what you need," he explains. "They'll provide you with an earpiece, but that's only in case things don't go as planned."

Izuku is not usually in constant communication with heroes unless the place is completely unknown to them and Izuku has to gide them through it with a blueprint. Sometimes, they need quick information on the villain's quirk and others he has to send assistance.

However, most of the time Izuku remains quiet while working on other cases because pro heroes take care of everything most days.

"Alright, thank you," Todoroki's lips quirk up a little again. Izuku doesn't usually see him smiling in interviews, so he's glad to know he does like to smile every now and then.

Perhaps it's because of what he knows about his family life (two years ago, a reporter found out serious and concerning stuff about Endeavor's behavior towards his wife and children) but sometimes Izuku feels the need to give Todoroki a hug. They're not friends so he knows he can't offer that kind of comfort, but he hopes one day he can.

Todoroki seems like a good person.

"Good luck on your mission!" Izuku beams.

"Thank you," the pro hero nods, looking slightly flustered. "I have to go see Aizawa now."

"I thought you already did!" Izuku mumbles, feeling a little bit mortified. He hopes his boss doesn't scold him for distracting a pro hero. "Sorry for keeping you!"

Todoroki's smile gets slightly wider; he looks amused.

"No, it's fine. I wanted to say 'Hi' to you first. Have a good day, Midoriya!"

"You too!"

***

He logs off before getting his bento box; he just needs to buy something to drink and then head to the break room.

"Great!" Ashido grins, startling him. "We arrived right on time!"

Behind her, Uraraka shows him her own lunch box before both pro heroes take him by the arms and drag him towards the elevator.

Pro heroes have their own break room; Izuku shouldn't be there, but his two friends are very persistent that day.

The room is almost empty anyway, due to their complicated schedules, pro heroes' breaks aren't usually at the same time as their coworkers'.

Ashido and Uraraka got lucky that day.

"Here, we got you something!" Uraraka hands him a can of green tea.

"Thank you!" Izuku beams, happily opening his bento; he's starving.

"Is that Tamagoyaki?" Ashido looks at his lunch with envy. "It looks delicious!"

"Yeah, you have gotten a lot better at cooking lately! I'm so proud!"

"Actually..." Izuku mumbles, scratching his cheek nervously as he looks at the eggs, the perfect cut vegetables and the sausage. His lunch really looks mouthwatering. "Kacchan made it for me. He picked me up this morning and gave me this before dropping me at work."

Ashido's smile morphs into something almost mischievous.

"Interesting."

"Wow," Uraraka blurts out. "Honestly, it's wild to see Bakugo acting like this. I never thought he'd be one of those besotted boyfriends when I was in high-school, in fact, I wasn't sure he was going to get himself a significant other and yet here we are."

Izuku chokes on his tea before staring at the two women sitting in front of him. They look too amused for his liking.

"You're right. I mean, we weren't even sure he was into... anything really because he never showed interest in anyone, but I guess his type is green haired cute beans!" Ashido chuckles, pinching Izuku's cheek affectionately.

"Please, stop," he pouts, turning completely red. "You know we're not dating! We're friends!"

"Of course you are, darling," the pink pro hero pats him on the head, like he's a stubborn kid.

"What's the meaning of this then? I can smell the love from here!" The brown haired woman asks, pointing at Izuku's beautiful bento box.

"He... Kacchan worries about me a lot," Izuku tries to explain. "He did this because he was mad I had noodles for dinner the other day. He says it's trash food."

"Well... Blasty is kinda right, they are certainly not good for you. Although he tends to overreact too," Ashido comments, resting her chin on her palm as she keeps looking at Izuku with amusement.

Flustered, he looks down at his lunch and keeps eating in silence for a while. He wonders why everyone seems to think he's dating Katsuki lately.

"Anyway..." Yellow eyes meet his as she sighs. "I think you should know that you make him really happy."

"He makes me happy too!"

They fall into a comfortable silence for a while, until Uraraka asks:

"Do you know if Todoroki is coming today? It's been a long time since I last saw him and I wanted to talk to him."

"So you were in the same class!" He says, glad to have guessed correctly as he watches both pro heroes nod. "Well, I think he's still in Aizawa's office, although he must be preparing for his mission."

"Have you met him?"

"Yes, he's really nice," he mumbles, after finally leaving his box empty. He needs to thank Katsuki for it again.

Both women nod, Izuku can see in their eyes they're having flashbacks of their time in high-school.

"He was a bit cold at first," Ashido says after a while. "Claiming he wasn't there to make friends, but he eventually warmed up to us!"

"Yeah, he doesn't trust people easily," the other pro hero nods after taking a bite of her mochi. "But he's really kind to those he decides to trust."

He wants to say something about his first meeting with Todoroki, but his phone vibrates then.

"Oh, it's Aizawa!" Izuku jumps from his seat after looking at his notifications. "Sorry, I have to go!"

Todoroki and Hagakure will be heading towards the place earlier than expected.

He needs to be ready.

***

It's been a couple of hours without news; Izuku's leg is bouncing under his desk, but he tries to focus on Kirishima's report.

The truth is, like probably everyone there, he can't stop thinking about those students. It's even worse when a new plan makes them hopeful.

He almost drops his black tea, the one he made before logging back in, when his earpiece makes a sound.

"Hagakure?"

"He keeps them here, Midoriya," the pro hero whispers. "But I think the villain is not alone so we'll probably need back up before proceeding."

"Let me transfer you to Aizawa," he says before checking the other pro heroes profiles. There are two of them on patrol, but they don't have any missions at the moment.

"How many?" Aizawa asks as soon as Izuku answers the call.

"Two available right now."

"Who?"

"Uravity and Dynamight."

"Alright. Send them the location and explain the situation to them briefly. Remember that our priority is to rescue the students."

"Yes, sir."

He decides to send them texts so they can focus better, well... he also does it not to fall into the temptation of wishing Katsuki good luck or ask him to be careful.

Izuku has to be professional.

Now comes the worst part of it: waiting. He knows a couple of his coworkers are monitoring them thanks to the tracker in their hero suits, but Izuku forces himself to stay in his station.

If things get... noisy the reporters will find out, and it'll be on the news in minutes. But Aizawa forbids them to look at the news while they're working because sometimes the reporters don't have all the information on what's going and can lead the people in Izuku's department to give the pro heroes wrong instructions.

They must act based on the data they have and the details the pro heroes themselves provide when they're dealing with the villains.

But it's difficult to stay there without doing anything and not knowing what's going on.

After almost an hour, he gets another call, this time from pro hero Shoto.

"Midoriya?"

"Yes?"

"We have five teenagers here. Can you send us the information on the missing students to make sure they all are here?"

"Of course. Are they alright?"

"Yes, I think they have a few scratches and some of them haven't eaten in hours, but they'll be fine."

As he says that, Izuku can hear a few explosions in the background and a familiar voice cursing at the top of his lungs.

He sighs in relief.

After sending the information to the four pro heroes in the scene, Uraraka texts him back that they are, in fact, the missing students.

***

By the time he has to leave, Izuku is desperate to see Katsuki. His coworkers told him that they took the students to the hospital and they are with their families at the moment.

Also, the villains have been taken into custody and are currently waiting for trial.

Perhaps he can ask Katsuki exactly what happened while they have dinner together.

"Izuku!"

"Kacchan!"

"Come here, I deserve one," the pro hero says with a smirk, spreading his arms in front of him as he steps out of the elevator.

Izuku doesn't know how their little routine started, but he gives Katsuki a hug after a successful mission; what he doesn't tell him is that he does it mostly because he's happy he didn't get hurt.

Since they're still in the building, Izuku is determined to give him just a quick hug, but Katsuki lifts him off his feet easily, prompting Izuku to giggle.

"I want a hug too."

"What the fuck are you doing here, half and half?"

"I came to see Midoriya and thank him for his assistance during the mission."

Izuku tries to get back on his feet, but Katsuki refuses to let him go and even moves him away from Todoroki's reach.

"Can I get a hug?"

"Of course, Todoroki!"

"Fuck off, half and half!"

"Kacchan, be nice!"

In the end Izuku does give the other pro hero a hug, although Katsuki pulls him away by the hood of his jacket rather quickly.

They're in the hallway, but he can see his coworkers trying to get a glimpse of what's going on from the office.

"Do you want to go celebrate with us, Midoriya? Uraraka says we should go out."

"Sure!" Izuku is tired, but Todoroki looks happy about the perspective of hanging out with friends that he can't say no. He has the feeling he doesn't do that often.

Katsuki growls before pulling Izuku aside.

"But I thought we were having dinner at my place! I was going to cook Italian for you!"

"We can do that tomorrow, Kacchan. Let's hang out with our friends!"

He pouts, but Izuku knows he will go anyway.

"Tch! Fine!"

Izuku puts both hands at each side of the pro hero's face and grins at him; the fact that Katsuki has to bend over a little so Izuku can reach him makes him feel warm inside.

Then, Katsuki pulls him into another hug as he flips Todoroki off.

"Kacchan!"

***

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[snootlestheangel]

@stuffireadandenjoy the snow has given me ideas

It's most prominent when they experience a snow heavy winter. Bailey is excited out of her mind because of it. Just her childish joy of snow is something that the boys can't help but fall for.

Next thing any of them know, they're at an all out snow war in Price's yard. Gaz and Nik have teamed up against Bailey and Price (albeit its mostly just the captain they're targeting) and it's chaos. Nik keeps tackling Price into big piles of snow while Gaz makes massive snow balls to toss at Bailey. The snowballs don't stay very solid so she ends up just getting showered with snow more often than actually getting hit.

Meanwhile, Soap and Ghost are having the time of their lives sabotaging everyone else. Price finally gets the upper hand on Nik? Ghost is charging him back into the snow and simultaneously throwing snow in Nik's face.

Gaz has the massive snow ball ready and Bailey is squealing with laughter trying to get away from him? Soap is running up behind Gaz and slapping the snowball so it explodes in Gaz's face and then scooping Bailey up to playfully toss her into the snow.

This all happens only for Soap to get pelted with snowballs from Ghost and Nik while Price continues to lay in the snow questioning his life decisions. Bailey is laughing so hard as Gaz joins in on pelting Soap with snow, but he ends up missing and hits Ghost.

It's an all out scuffle between the two sergeants and Ghost after that. They're wrestling in the snow, shoving snow in each other's faces, and just shouting at each other. Nik has since joined Price in laying on the ground, and Bailey is secretly building a stash of snow balls.

She ends up convincing her dads to assist in throwing the horde of snowballs at the three, and it's what leads to the end of their little war.

She's laughing so hard the entire time, and it's genuinely one of the greatest days of their lives. The boys all getting to experience a good, genuine snowball fight for once in their lives. Them getting to let loose and be silly and unserious for even just an hour.

Of course, once they all go inside, they end up watching movies while sharing blankets. Bailey, Soap, and Gaz fall asleep like halfway through the first movie, and it's honestly so precious the way all three are cuddled up together on the couch.

[mariana-oconnor]

The Red-Headed League Pt 2

until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter.

Professional people being professional. Mmhm. You'd think a doctor would be better at keeping a straight face, I'm pretty sure humans have been sticking inappropriate things in inappropriate places since time immemorial. But these two are giggling like school boys. A lovely image, but I'd be a bit mad if they did it to me. I can't blame Mr Wilson for being mad at them.

Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant living on the ground-floor, and I asked him if he could tell me what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him.

Surprising no one at all. I said it in my comments about the first part, but I love how this whole scam has been echoed in heist shows/films right up to modern day. Acquire offices under false pretences, create hype around fake business, use office to make business look legit, pack up shop and leave an empty office behind and no one with any clue what the mark is talking about.

"I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say that if I waited I should hear by post.

I mean, honestly, for someone who is supposedly unassociated with the league in question, that's more than he should be able to say. A more normal response would be 'That's fucking weird, boss. I think it might be a scam.' But clearly Victor is entirely trustworthy, so I shouldn't question him. Totally trustworthy.

On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some 30 pounds, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A.

I expect that pub quizzes weren't around in 1890, but if they were, Mr Wilson would be an excellent addition to your team.

The internet tells me pub quizzes only date back to the 70s. Which seems late, as I swear my Mum's dad and brothers used to go religiously to their local league when she was young, but maybe I got the timeline on that wrong.

Further investigation has found me to be correct as the very league my family used to frequent is apparently referenced in an article from the early 60s. In fact it quotes someone who absolutely must have known my grandad and might even be in the picture of the quiz team on top of our bookcase.

This tangent has been brought to you by my love of trivia... Pun intended.

Back to the 1890s

"Why did you pick him?"

"Because he was handy and would come cheap."

"At half-wages, in fact."

"Yes."

A lesson that stands to this day: if something seems impossibly good value, it probably is. And if someone is willing to work for less than they're worth, one of you is the bad guy.

"As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter."

This reads like a contradiction, but I'm pretty sure it's true. It's the weird things that make crimes stand out and lead to the people committing them. The crimes that are completely run of the mill, like house burglaries, are one of a thousand almost identical crimes. But if a juggling clown robbed a shoe shop and rode off on a unicycle, that would cut down the suspects drastically.

"To smoke," he answered. "It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes."

Infamous line is infamous. All problems may be measured by how many pipes it takes to solve them. The standard SI unit of mysteriousness, I believe.

"Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare you for a few hours?"

"I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very absorbing."

Let's hope no one has stuck a candlestick anywhere unmentionable... But seriously, you can just ditch your patients for the day? And I complain about waiting times for the NHS!

Watson is just: 'My bff asked me to play hooky. Lol. Byeee!' and these people are paying him.

"Smart fellow, that," observed Holmes as we walked away. "He is, in my judgment. the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known something of him before."

Holmes, the man is a terrible con artist. He's the most suspicious and he was so obvious it was embarrassing. And you're putting him right behind you in the list? (I assume Mycroft is number 1)

I guess that being intelligent doesn't mean you have to be good at conning people, but really, he's terrible at it. He couldn't have been more obviously involved if he had a sandwich board on saying 'The red-headed league is a con. Ask me how!'

I know Mr Wilson didn't work it out, but literally everyone else did. I bet that 14 year old child labour maid Mr Wilson hires knows he's a con man and just doesn't care because she's not paid enough to.

"Not him."

"What then?"

"The knees of his trousers."

I have been on this website too long, because my mind absolutely went into the gutter here. Which, incidentally, was also one of the places I thought of his knees being.

"Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it."

Is it a bank? Please be a bank. I honestly can't remember. But I want it to be a bank. Just for that good, old-fashioned bank robbery shenanigans. Although I will accept jewellery shop.

"There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building depot."

Oh yeah. Got to love a bank robbery. Classic.

This has been copied so many times in media it's difficult to tell whether contemporary audiences would have been as able to work it out as modern readers. But it's a classic for a reason.

Also worth noticing that there's a Vegetarian restaurant in London in 1890. You'd have been hard pressed to find a vegetarian restaurant in most parts of England in 1990, so that's ahead of its time.

My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes, the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive.

Watson's crush is showing again. 😆

This description keeps going in a further totally heterosexual way. Look, I'm not saying straight guys can't appreciate their bff's 'languid, dreamy eyes', but when directly compared to his descriptions of other characters... This is exceptionally effusive is all I'm saying.

And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.

Must. Not. Make. Joke.

[theangrypokemaniac]

Thank you for your kind words, @iloitse, and your thoughts, with which I agree.

I also see Brock with Suzie. When I used to plan out my own region, it finished with them together.

To me she's the one girl receptive to his attention, perhaps not in a loving sense, at least not yet, but no other lady ever treated him so well.

Vulpix will always connect them, meaning Brock has a lasting relationship with Suzie, and a reason to find her again.

If Suzie handed Vulpix over within hours of meeting Brock, in that short period she'd recognized him as a kind, caring young man worthy of her trust, someone to keep Vulpix safe, and he did, repaying her faith in him.

That's the sort of lad any girl wants to marry, and, as Vulpix is one of my favourite Pokémon, both can own it if they're together, which is my main motivation.

Vulpix for everyone!

I understand Tracey's true dream being to meet Professor Oak, but that's almost more useless than aiming to be an artist.

Drawing is dull viewing, but it keeps him occupied, and may lead to a career, but what did he want from Oak?

Yes, you've seen him. Very nice. And what are you intending to do now?

If I think of it too much, it gives me the idea Tracey naturally assumed Oak would be so impressed he'd take him on immediately, and so he needn't plan further into future than that, which brings me back to his arrogance.

As for getting there, the only direct progress he makes is in three epidodes:

• The Lost Lapras, his introduction, by encountering Ash and Misty.

• A Tents Situation, his penultimate appearance, when he meets Oak.

• The Rivalry Revival, his exit, when he becomes an assistant.

Between the first and final two, there's a hole of nothingness.

I suppose each step he takes puts him closer, but plot-wise, it's an abstact quest of no use at this exact moment.

This wish of his won't motivate him into any action in individual episodes, nor does it affect how he behaves throughout.

He should've had a task in the meantime that combined both interests, if say Oak directly asked him to make detailed illustrations of all the tropical Pokémon varieties.

As in, he must purposely go out and find them, not just the few he sees passing through.

There'd then be scenes when Tracey led the team, racing off into the woods as he's heard rumours of oddly-coloured Pokémon on the island, having to traverse caves and cliffs to find it, and maybe the Pokémon wants a favour before it complies, leading to another search.

It might encourage him to colour the sketches in for a change.

As a trope, 'The Quiet One' works, but not so much in a trio. There's too few members for it to be a recognizable role.

It looks more like you're not doing enough.

I'm not certain it's what Tracey's supposed to be either, because he speaks often, but just doesn't say anything memorable.

Usually 'The Quiet One' is portrayed as sensitive, emotionally intelligent and highly perceptive, spotting the tiny details the loud mouths miss.

They'll sit on their own, or stare silently out to sea, in picturesque scenes absorbing their surroundings.

Whilst watching Pokémon encompasses this, I doubt he was deliberately designed to fill the spiritual or philosophical model, but that's the best interpretation of a flat, undeveloped personality.

He certainly doesn't behave as The Quiet One when he has the major part in the story, so given the show credit for making a calm, laidback yet deep character, isn't something I can do.

It's so ridiculous. These writers put effort into creating Tracey, and cared enough to include him in the series, and then never took it further.

As soon as he was in, they gave up!

If however I accepted him as intentionally reserved, perhaps to counter the wilder edges of Ash and Misty, we still come back to Brock.

Tracey as The Quiet One would only ever be well-received had he been there from the outset, his relaxed, or withdrawn attitude given greater focus and serving as integrel to its beginnings.

By coming in late, no one will ever judge him on his own terms, or for himself.

He'll be held up beside Brock, and found to be not as interesting, and the longer the comparison persists, the less consideration he'll get, until fans lock him out of their minds and feel nothing but resentment.

With regards to Pokéshipping, Tracey was seen as an obstacle to any theoretical romantic moments simply by being there.

When Pokémon started, shipping as a concept, plus the surrounding fandom 'culture' didn't yet exist, as least not fully, and the only fellow fans available for discussion were those you knew in real life, which limited the sharing of ideas.

Therefore, children watching the very first episode weren't conditioned to see everything in terms of pairings, obsessively analysing each scene for clues etc.

By the time Pokéshipping began, Brock was already there, so part of it, in a sense, and the ship fitted around him.

Whilst Tracey is also the 'third wheel', and technically, any allowances shippers made for Brock could also work for him, it will always come back to the ill-feeling Tracey provoked.

What people overlook or ignore in their friends they will hate in their enemies.

It's not particularly rational, but then human nature isn't rational.

Some fans take against Ash and Misty. Some dislike Team Rocket. But no one hates Brock. He holds both sides of the divide together.

Therefore, Pokéshippers will accept him, as he was there almost from day one, but not Tracey, as he's not built into the foundations, neither of the anime nor the ship.

The writers didn't help matters by hinting at what might have been, fully knowing they'd never deliver.

At the close of Pokéball Peril, as soon as Brock's gone, Team Rocket tease Ash and Misty as 'lovebirds', as if that's the obvious conclusion to them being alone.

A lot of shippers at home, still smarting at losing Brock, might've got over it had this continued, in that, whilst missed, Brock's absence is tolerable if it leads to more focus on Ash and Misty as characters, and greater detail on their emotions and thoughts, especially for each other.

Then Brock leaving means something, and can be justified as crucial to the coming story arc, but adding a replacement erases all that potential.

Removing Brock is pointless if we 'need' three Twerps, thus the writers squandered the opportunity to go in a new direction, which is, frustratingly, straight after they implied the opposite.

I forgot to say before that Tracey is also hindered by his and the Orange League's perceived lack of legitimacy.

Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, Delia, Oak, Joy and Jenny all come from the games.

Jessie and James, whilst not specifically featured, represent the villains of Red and Blue, which is a necessary invention as there were no named Team Rocket members besides Giovanni.

Pokémon Yellow had also come out by then, retroactively adding them to the game world, so that's alright.

Tracey however was the first main character to exist inside the anime alone, so not someone we were eager to see onscreen.

Back then, the branches of Pokémon: games, cartoon, cards, manga and merchandise, were much more connected and cross-referenced than they are now, and for the anime to adapt the game was considered very important.

When Tracey, with no roots in Red and Blue, comes in, and takes the place of Brock, who does, there was a feeling he hadn't 'earnt' his right to be there.

Who do you think you are, coming over here and acting like you belong?

The Orange Islands aren't a bad series compared to what follows, but when judged only by Kanto, it marked a step away from the original purpose of animating the game, and that wasn't a popular move.

We 'knew' the Indigo League as players. We'd walked through the towns, battled there, and been the hero, but this place, this brand-new, never-before-mentioned archipelago, with little relevance to the mainland, held no such significance.

It's a bonus round before Johto, as if not worthy in itself, merely a stop-gap edition, just to have something, anything even, to keep the kids occupied until the real stuff arrives.

It didn't seem to matter as much because of all of the above, and the sleepy, drifting tone of wandering the seas, sailing wherever the currents go, amplified that.

If it doesn't care, why should we?

Brock experienced blizzards, deserts, shipwrecks and eruptions like a proper adventurer.

He'd been through it all with Ash and Misty as a true companion.

Tracey meanwhile, had really nothing but blue seas, clean beaches and fruit groves to worry about.

Overall, and visually, it's just one long summer holiday for him, with no hardship to test his mettle.

How could we even tell if he was worth our investment, when we never saw him deal with serious situations?

It's another circle: no one likes Tracey, because they associate him with the 'false' Orange League, and no one likes the Orange League, as that's the one with Tracey.

Hating him is a very time-specific reaction.

You need to have been a child then, watching Pokémon in order, with no knowledge of what's to come, to feel it.

I wouldn't expect any fan outside that to join in if it's not part of their experience.

My younger self would never forgive me for mellowing with age, but then, when innocent enough to think Tracey was the worst thing that could ever happen to Pokémon, I didn't realise how lucky I was.

Because he most certainly isn't.

[freckledboss]

The dissociation terrifies her far more than she's leading on. Pepper remains composed on the exterror, but inside she's breaking down. She feels her heart being torn apart. Of course, she realizes he's not himself, that the suit has perhaps reached beyond his physical makeup and penetrated deep within his mind. It's no longer an addiction or obsession, but an invasion. Still, it doesn't lessen the blow to have confessed something so delicate and not have those emotions reciprocated. She just hopes they're able to reverse what's been done. Otherwise, the alternative won't be pleasant.

How am I going to manage without you, Tony?

Preparing for the worst, because she knows--she doesn't want to admit--but she knows this will either end in her favor or complete catastrophe. And no one wins.

"I'll see what I can do... Your secret is safe with me." Always.

She turns to Jarvis before stepping out, "Keep a close eye on him, please? Alert me if anything changes. I won't be long."

Pepper leaves without looking back, her eyes welling with tears. She wants to believe Tony is in that suit somewhere, but it's becoming harder and harder to convince herself. Deep breaths... she can't afford to have a mental breakdown now. She'll shake the negativity from her head and get to business. First, Reed Richards.

-----

It's an hour... two maybe? Three? Since she's been making various phone calls. Honestly, she's lost track of time. Attempting to seek help from anyone willing to give it, but alas none answer her call. Dead ends. She can't say she's disappointed, she didn't expect every name on the list to be able to come at a moments notice to assist Iron Man with this issue. But it does hinder progress. The redhead glances at the clock and decides to check in on Tony. It's possible he may have gotten somewhere in her absence... she's been gone longer than anticipated.

It's quiet, almost sinisterly silent. No noise of classical rock music playing or metal clanking. No sign of the mechanic at work. As she nears, she ignores the prick of intuition at the nape of her neck. The sense of unease, and stops at a computer screen with the readouts on his condition. Her heart ceases to beat, complexion growing pale, eyes widening at the results. "Tony... your... whatever is happening, it's accelerating!" There are wires within the suit attaching far into his brain. "Your skull is gone... You'll never be able to leave the suit again!" Most of what she sees is undifferentiated meat.

"Tony! Are you listening!" a look of horror, fear thick within her voice. Pepper is trembling, every bit of hope she had vanishes. He's too far gone.

@mr-tony-stark

Tony's barely even listening to Pepper. His mind is going in several different directions. He's typing into his computer, both working on solving this problem and locking Pepper out of the lab at the same time. His mind keeps ticking over how he's not in pain anymore and how Jarvis must be in pain.

He doesn't feel Pepper touch him but there's an alert on his sensors and he looks up.

I love you.

The words seem alien to him. He's vaguely aware that if he'd heard them earlier, he'd have had a reaction. It might not have been the positive one that his mind says you're supposed to have when someone says that to you. Those words aren't ones that are spoken to Tony with any kind of regularity. Hearing them might have made him scared, or panic, or feel completely unworthy of it.

Tony was aware that in the past he might have felt like this, but he was disconnected to that completely, and he heard the words and all he felt was completely disconnected.

The suit was starting to interfere with all his feelings and he was more dangerous than he'd even realized. He had to get Pepper out of here.

He patted her arm with his gauntleted hand, and nodded. "Right. Yes. More help would be good. Why don't we do that? Hey? Maybe Bruce Banner if he'll help. Reed Richards. Hank Pym. Whoever. Can you call them, Pepper? I'll keep working. Reed might be the best to go to first, but you should go to the Baxter Building. He gets more distracted than I do. But - but, Pepps. He doesn't know who Iron Man is. Just say it's the pilot okay and that Tony Stark is out of town."

@freckledboss

[my-timing-is-digital]

someone’s been stalking me . (okay but maybe in the context of them during the synth ban?? and they're on the adventure together)

An abandoned, dilapidated building on the outskirts of a Federation colony had been his temporary residence — hideout would be a more appropriate epithet to ascribe to this former domicile — for less than a week. The partially disintegrated walls were permanently damp, and draughts wailed lugubriously and at irregular intervals. The sonic phenomenon was, regrettably, an accurate rendition of his present disposition, but to him this was a consolidation rather than an undesirable disturbance; despite his ineptitude to express the state of his emotion, it fascinated him that an element, such as air, could articulate it immaculately. He had deliberately opted to deactivate the chip indefinitely, for he had anticipated the possibility that a frenzy of unquenchable rage could corrupt every last particle of his programming if it remained operative, and thus would provide the Federation with a legitimate reason to apprehend, decommission, and dismantle him should a subsequent conflict lead to casualties. His error would be the pinnacle of their evidence against all synthetic lifeforms; it would corroborate the falsifications the Federation had been spewing at everyone who cared to listen, that androids are compromised and dangerous. Fortunately for him, not everyone believed this preposterous malarkey.

    Someone has been stalking me. The words enunciated by his young associate lacerated through the silence that had engulfed him for over two hours. His ponderous frown levelled out as he turned to face the boy; a youthful countenance staring back at an ageless one. Pavel Chekov was a promising Starfleet officer who had discontinued his career to become a benefactor for a fugitive android who was in desperate need of assistance. Admittedly, Data had increased his vigilance the first three days they spent together, but over the course of 7 weeks, his mental pathways had grown accustomed to Pavel’s sensory input patterns — much quicker than he had initially anticipated. He was fond of the boy, and if they had met under different circumstances he would have gladly introduced him to his old friends and invited him to attend one of Riker’s renowned poker nights. Perhaps some day, in the distant future...

    ‘Ah, I see. Did you manage to shake them off?’ he enquired placidly.

    Chekov’s active affiliation with an individual the Federation deemed highly volatile and extremely dangerous had automatically turned him into a menace to society as well. Perhaps one of the locals, or one of the law enforcers had recognised his face from the news flashes that frequently littered the many screens in people’s abodes, and consequently decided to pursue him to locate the android’s sanctuary.

    ‘Did you procure the supplies you required?’ Data asked curiously; although he could go months without nourishments, which came in the form of his bio-lubricants, Pavel could not.

[yougobunny]

How DARE you post about a Zombie Island AU and not elaborate /jk /jkbutpleasetellusmore (Do they still have powers? HOW do they end up there??)

I felt ever so slightly threatened by this until I got halfway through sdhfos

Ok so!! The Zombie Island storyline is mostly Vibes and certain scenes that I definitely want but nothing too concrete. Depends on how I'm feeling that day.

1. They still have powers. I imagine that the set-up to this episode is that the team gets a distress signal from Moonscar Island, a location so completely off the grid that it's inaccessible even to the government a lot of times. Always foggy and sometimes it feels like the island itself is moving. Spooky Stuff.

2. The team don't think too much of it. It's an island. The distress signal wasn't too urgent, just said that they needed some assistance. They're expecting maybe bandits. Maybe pirates or looters. Anywhere between an hour to a day at the most on the island.

3. Rip and Sapphire tag along because they were at the tower so Ace lets them come with Instructions to STAY IN THE VEHICLE (spoiler alert they Do Not Stay).

4. Overall, the episode follows most of Zombie Island's beats. Lots of cats on the island when they appear, they don't respond well to Tech and their owner calls him a 'dog' and Lexi almost gets into a fist fight with her but Slam holds her back.

5. The owner tells them about the zombies on the island. Tech tries to hold back a snort but fails.

6. This interaction

Lexi: Why is she so mean to Tech? Rip: Idk she seems like a racist and a homophobe. Rev: RIP GET BACK IN THE SHIP. Rip: You can't tell me what to do. Sapphire: Rip's right, she does seem like a racist and a homophobe. Ace: Why are you two out of the ship?? Sapphire: I saw the sun. I'm on rotation and haven't seen the sun for three weeks Ace. Rip: I followed her.

7. The owner has dinner prepared for them but I imagine that in this version the food is tempered with a mild poison/chemical that inhibits their powers. Lexi and Rev are the first to realise it because Lexi stops hearing and Rev slows down. They run out to the ship to do some diagnostics but the ship has been sabotaged. There's no getting off the island.

8. Night falls. Zombies come out.

9. They capture one and it's the same beat as the movie. Tech Will Not Believe in zombies or some curse that turns people into zombies. He keeps pointing out how they've been poisoned and how there's an explanation for this. The meteor gave them their powers. A chemical compound inhibits them. Science!!! Rev and Lexi disagree. Duck joins in because yeah this is a Serious moment but when else does he get to dunk on Tech?

10. The zombie breaks free and grabs at Ace, who roundhouse kicks him in the face. His head falls off.

11. Everyone starts screaming.

12. They realise they're surrounded and run, splitting up into groups of 2 - 3.

13. *cue Terror Time Again*

14. Halfway through the song it becomes a montage of the team finding different ways to take out zombies. A few of them come across a shed with a bunch of gardening tools and go absolutely Ham. Sapphire gets a chainsaw it unlocks some absolutely FERAL energy in her.

15. The chainsaw comes into play again at the climax of the episode when they're facing down the owners who have been turning innocent people into zombies. All hope seems lost, our heroes are down, trapped, and about to be turned into zombies themselves. But who's that??? A zombie comes in holding the chainsaw and it gets passed around (leading to some extremely cinematic escapes with the chainsaw), before it arrives at Ace who deals the final blow.

16. That's all I have but in an end-credit scene I imagine the team flying back in the fixed ship, (and for some backstory a running gag in the show is Sapphire wanting to get a gun and Tech and Ace saying No) and Tech makes a joke about how this would be a good time as many for Sapphire to have a gun, right? And Sapphire goes "oh I had one with me the whole time" and brings out a hand pistol. Ace and Tech lose their minds. Why did she not use it?? She goes "First of all I'm not a monster and Acmetropolis regulations require the firearm to have no ammunition for carry. So I left them at the tower. And secondly, even if I had bullets what was I going to do?? Shoot them?? You want me to shoot zombies??"

[aquagirl1978]

Welcome back for week three of our review of Antares Fairchild. This set was a hot one, certainly the steamiest one so far. Let's get started!

#1 - Favorite line in set

aliboo: Sometimes, you hit a point in your life where you realize the only explanation for your choices is "it seemed like a good idea at the time." - Relatable, MC.

aqua: "I was planning on seducing you, actually." - I don't think anyone was expecting *that*!

violet: "If you value your life, be somewhere else."

#2 - Favorite scene/moment

aliboo: Let Antares seduce you (first heart scene in the set). How very dare he do THAT! Very Hot scene piling on the sexual tension, and was just.. unexpected. But with his ego, it wasn't out of place either!

aqua: MC telling Antares she was in his room to seduce him, his reaction and everything after - so hot! He doesn't even touch her - I can't wait to see the sparks fly when he finally does touch her.

violet: When she ran back into the building to see if he was ok. Putting all their banter and one-up manship aside, her immediate instinct was to check on him. I loved that as it speaks to so much of what is going on underneath the surface.

#3 - Did you buy hearts? Which scene(s)? Worth it?

aliboo: I got all of them. As always, they were all worth it. I have to say the first heart scene was my fav for obvious reasons, which is that no one is immune to Antares' seduction.

aqua: Of course I bought all of them! The cg is paywalled behind the last heart scene, so if you collect the cgs, that's the one to get. They're all really great though. *whispers* The first one tho....

violet: I got all of them and they were truly worth it, but the first one is a masterclass in how to make a scene sexy without the characters even touching.

#4 - Standout character

aliboo: Antares. Alongside 'the only scene I've talked about so far' ("If I set out to seduce you, Ms. Revati... you would be mine." - swoons), my other fav moments were basically anytime he behaved like a little shit, including (1) His antics when they reach Omia - technically not going back on his word, clever. (2) His annoyance and wounded pride at getting caught up in the blast and then whiplash as he waltzes off with Psyri. (3) "If you value your life, be somewhere else." to the spaceport worker. Brutal.

aqua: Antares, always Antares. He's such a dominant presence throughout these sets - he doesn't even need to touch MC to get certain reactions out of her. And he was so brutal this week for not just restraining MC and keeping her on his ship for "three galactic standard hours", but also later when he ran off with Psyri, leaving MC in the dust. I can just see that cape flapping in the wind during all these antics.

violet: Antares for me. When he listens to what MC has to say about her family and why she does the job she does, the respect he showed her in that moment, small as it may have been. I love seeing the cracks in his "Captain Fairchild" persona. Cracks created by the MC, however unwittingly.

#5 - Thoughts on the CG?

aliboo: I love it! I'm still pissed that I thought it was going to be something else though haha.

aqua: I didn't know what to think when I saw the preview, but was quite pleased with the cg. My only issue is - why only one eye? Why???

violet: It was a different angle of the backed up against the wall position we have seen in other CGs and I liked it. It really made you feel his presence.

#6 - Fave screenshot

aliboo:

aqua:

violet:

#7 - Secondary character shining moment.

aliboo: MC - "I was planning on seducing you, actually" - amazing! And her absolute boldness throughout (especially if you play the heart scenes!)

aqua: Let's be real - this is not a route filled with tons of secondary characters. It is very Antares x MC heavy. That said, my vote goes for Psyri for continuing to be a complete mystery to everyone. And for creating that special failsafe. it did lead to the great scene later between our two leads, but did ya have to drop an entire building on Antares?

violet: Keda. She's proven time and again what a good friend she is to MC. And holy hell is she tal.

#8 - Thought on the villain.

aliboo: The Union will be the common enemy and we haven't seen too much of them YET. It was no surprise that they cancelled MCs contract though.

aqua: Becoming clear that the Union will be the villain. Really did not like that officer ending MC's contract like that. Tho now she has no reason not to side with Antares.

violet: The UNION. I happen to agree with a certain grumpy pilot when he says the Union sucks.

#9 - Most OMG scene?

aliboo: Just one? I'll choose the moment they reach Omia and Antares follows his agreement with MC to the letter, meaning that as soon as they were no longer working together, he could do what he wanted - ie. detain her. It was another moment I hadn't predicted, but the OMG scenes after that were less of a shock as I was starting to expect his Little Shit behaviours.

aqua: When Psyri activated her failsafe, and dropped an entire building on Antares. His poor cape didn't quite survive that moment. Rip billowing cape.

violet: When MC says "I was trying to seduce you." I think we all went...wait, WHAT? Girl of all the things you could have said. Although it did lead into that heart scene so I'm not mad at all.

#10 - Any predictions for next week?

aliboo: Urgh, I'm terrible at this! Antares to the rescue! He will rescue MC from her current pickle and find out that she is in much debt, has no contract and no credits to send to her parents. And then he will Hire her.. to be his prisoner / assistant / whatever his latest kink is.

aqua: Whatever his latest kink is? 😂 Hmm...I'm kinda terrible at this too, so I'm sure this is all wrong. The Union figured out MC was still tracking Psyri and have come directly for her. So it's their gunshots aiming at MC. Of course, it would be really amazing if it was the Starship Promise crew popping up - or even just Orion. Speaking of Orion....no direct mention of him this season so far.

violet: She and Antares will join forced against the Union and work together to find the downed ship. And I HOPE there will be more banter. And more shirtless Antares. And more mini CGs of other Antares body parts cause Voltage is feeling generous towards us right now.

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

It's Task Force 141's first mission after gathering intel about the whereabouts of Samantha Coleman. Gary and the rest of the team proceed to briefing and would probably head straight to their rescue mission. Do these mini summaries even make sense? Find out soon.

Chapter 3 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Soap - F.N.G.

"Run Through the Jungle"

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Task Force 141

Task Force 141 - Mess Hall

Gary was almost done with his raccoon story when the PA system alerted them of an immediate briefing. Simon nodded to him and got up making his way to the briefing room. Gary also noticed the rest of his squad from earlier walk to the door, and was France crying on Alex? Much to his curiosity, he went to John who was still sitting by the chair.

"Anything you want to tell me, Soap?" he asked, patting his comrade's shoulder. 

"Bugger off, mate. Let's just go to the meeting." he replied, Roach couldn't tell if he was sad or disappointed or mad, but it may have something to deal with France crying.

"Whatever mate. I'm always here if you want to talk it out." he assured, and he was in fact true. It's been a month since the Task Force was created and Gary was the team's therapist, everybody's friend and ally no matter what. He always felt that he could feel everyone's emotions and believes he could be a sponge for someone who's unable to deal with the trauma. Ghost was one of his customers, he had a lot to deal with and Gary was always there for him.

"Few hours ago, our informants intercepted with a group of armed men on a safehouse near the borders of Germany. They told us that there was a man named Augustus who happens to be our step closer to Nero." Gary took note of the information General Shepherd relayed, his scribbles became faster as the General continued.

"We also received word that our hostage, Samantha Coleman is with them in one of these houses. We have to proceed with caution as this area may be rigged with traps or surrounded with tangos." he added.

"As for rules of engagement, fire only when fired upon. This is a local settlement and civilians may be anywhere. We don't want to create unnecessary civilian casualties just to retrieve a single person." he instructed. Gary took a quick survey of the room, everyone looked at the screen intently, he could see MacTavish's eyebrows furrowed in anger, France's eyes were downright sad and Alex, despite being a CIA agent, actually looked worried.

"As for assignments, I'll let your captain take the floor." Shepherd concluded and exited the area, Price then stepped forward and began briefing.

~

The silent chirping of the crickets echoed from the nearby forest. Gary took a cold exhale and leaned on the railings just outside their quarters. 

"Big day tomorrow, huh?" Ghost surprised Roach as he spoke.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I spotted, but I still know the basics." Gary answered. He and Ghost were assigned for sniper support a few clicks away from the Alpha Team lead by Alex and the Bravo Team lead by Captain Price.

"Your math is good and fast?" Ghost asked, chuckling at the question. Gary inhaled before he answered the question.

"Yeah. Try me." he dared, glancing at the masked man.

"Suppose there's a target about 516 meters far, the wind is one half value." Ghost planned out the situation. Gary's gears started turning as he scratched his freshly shaven chin.

"Five degrees. Descending." he muttered. Ghost thought about it and agreed.

"Yeah. Your math is still on point." he mused laughing at him.

"What do you think Nero is up to? I mean it all doesn't add up. And what's with erasing memories?" Gary flooded the man with questions. Simon just pondered without saying any words.

"I dunno mate. I'm as baffled as you are." he replied, waving to Alex and France who were out on a late night walk.

"Say Gary, what's the deal with the new girl? One minute she looks tough as nuts then the second Soap comes in she's fucking crying?" Ghost rambled. Gary could feel a hint of jealousy but not entirely. It's as if he's mad and jealous at the same time.

"Well, we were too far from their table and I couldn't hear anything. Maybe they had an argument while Soap was out with her on the training room?" Gary speculated, he saw Simon's fists clench as he left his side.

"Eh. Not that I care anyway. Get some rest, spotter. Big day tomorrow." he remarked and went to his room.

"Yeah yeah." he replied waving at the two walking around the oval. They both waved back and Gary yelled good night to them before entering the quarters himself.

Gary plopped on his bed and closed his eyes. He was actually nervous enough that he could hear his own heartbeat, he took deep breaths and lulled himself to sleep. He wanted to see to it that they save the hostage tomorrow and a perfect sleep is what he could contribute right now.

GERMANY

0458H

Gary hated the ghillie suits. It was heavy, uncomfortable and animals sometimes land on you, but it does the job well. Treading the dense forestry just above the safehouse, Gary and Simon head out to look for a perfect spot.

"This one's got a view of the houses." Ghost whispered, signaling Roach to move forward.

"This is Echo Three One, we've cleared the two houses on the right, all empty. Over." Alex reported over their comms.

"Bravo Six copies that and the two houses here are also clear." Price reported.

"Looks like it's going to be the one on the far side." Soap concluded.

"I've got eyes on the safehouse. There's no activity on all windows. Proceed with caution." Ghost reported.

"Rog." Price replied.

"Copy that, eye in the sky." Alex replied.

Gary put out his spotting scope and placed his eye behind the lens.

"I've got my eyes on them, Ghosty. Alpha Team is on its way." he whispered.

Ghost rolled some knobs on his sniper making a soft clicking sound as he spins it.

"Don't call me that, Bug. I have eyes on Bravo Team. Still no movement from the safehouse." 

"This is Alpha Team, approaching the left side of the safehouse."

"Bravo Team is Oscar Mike as well."

"Roach, did you see that?" Ghost whispered.

"Yeah. The winds are shifting." Gary noted, sticking out a tool that detects wind speed.

"Three Fourths value at 400 meters. 15 miles per hour. Adjust to 15.3" he informed, calculating on Ghosts still shoulder with a pen. Decimals are too dangerous to calculate mentally. Ghost's sniper clicked once again to adjust with the wind, he took a deep breath and his targets stabilized once again.

Leaves rustled behind them, Roach quickly held on his rifle and slowly turned back to check if it was an animal. Nothing, but before turning back on his scope, he saw a black figure from the corner of his eye.

"Bollocks. We've got movement on our Six." Roach reported. 

"Remember our ROE, Roach. Fire only when fired upon." Price reminded.

"I'll take care of it from here. You go check on that." Ghost said as he turned back to his scope.

"Roger that. Be safe." Roach quickly ran to the direction if the rustling.

He couldn't make out much of the figure, but he was sure enough it was human. He tried to look for areas where the leaves were disturbed but with the wind picking up, he was clueless. Then there it was again, movement. He quickly dashed to it's direction, not wanting to get lost again. His boots slapped the fresh soil as he made his wauy to a clearing.

'Left, right then left by the rocks.' Gary mentally noted his each turn so he could easily remember but when he's chasing someone whom he felt like it doesn't know where it goes, then it's a whole different story.  

Gary was alone in the windy forest, in pursuit of a person who's out on the woods at five in the morning. He wanted to go back but there's something that bothered him and convinced him to keep chasing it.

"Roach, you okay? They're almost in the safehouse." Ghost pointed out.

"Yeah haaaah… I'm still haaaah… hot on its trail." Gary panted. He suddenly turned when he heard a yelp.

"It's a girl. It might be our hostage." he radioed and followed the direction of the sound.

Soft sobs and English curse words could be heard from where Gary emerged. This alerted the injured female and she plead at the British solider.

"Please. I'm not an enemy. I'm I'm- I don't know who I am or where I am… Please. Don't hurt me." She was an American girl, possibly around 20-30 years old and had blonde hair wearing a black tank top and grey sweatpants, there were a few bruises on her arms and she was threatening him with a stick.

"Maam, put down your weapon and calm down. I will not hurt you." he dropped his weapon slowly on the ground stepped forward, his hands both raised.

"Good good. I need help." she whimpered, looking at her sprained ankle.

Gary immediately took his ghillie off and ripped a piece of his sleeves to wrap around the sprain, treating it with something from his medical kit.

"There you go… You're feeling better now? Maam?" Gary accommodated. The unknown blonde nodded in agreement.

"So.. you don't know who you are?" Gary asked.

"All I know is that I'm with another girl, Brunette." she added.

"I located the one out on the woods. She's American but I can't ID her. She's about 20 - 30 years old, short blonde hair." Gary informed.

"Is that Maxine?" Alex and France simultaneously replied over comms.

"Excuse me. Do you go by Maxine?" Gary asked politely. The girl quickly covered her ears and screamed.

"Aaaaaah! My head hurts!" She yelled. Gary was quick enough to cover her mouth as soon as she opened it as to not give away their presence.

"I don't know if that's a yes or a no guys. But that definitely is a reaction." Gary said over the comms. He assisted "Maxine" and lifted her up as he tries to get back to Ghost.

"Thick trees everywhere. Any Idea where you are Ghost?" he asked over the secure radio.

"I'm at the same spot I've been since we got here. Can't you retrace your steps?" he replied.

"I could try." he muttered, carrying an unconscious woman on his shoulders across the jungle.

Next Chapter : Déjà vu

[just-like-playing-tag]

A Letter from Norman reactions

Tonight I was feeling like reorganizing the notes I took after reading the novel for the first time. Just some random personal reactions I had after reading it; if anything catches your attention and you'd like to know more about a particular event from the novel, please feel free to ask and I'll be happy to help!!!

Under the cut because it's l o n g. That is, if Tumblr allows me to add a "read more", which has never happened before, but I'll keep hoping in it.

• Disclaimer: I'm suing anyone who ever said that the novel is all about NorEmma. I've literally put off reading it because I didn't want to get into something overly romantic while there's??? Nearly nothing about it that is romantic??????? Just a slight mention in that last chapter and that's it???????? Why are y'all like this

Prologue

• I need you all to know that the important letter™ through which Norman informed Emma about his plan starts with him describing the weather. I just think it's a relevant information.

• Ok I'm at freaking page 1 of “A letter from Norman” and. NORMAN IT'S A FREAKING LETTER TO EMMA NOT A SHAKESPEAREAN PLAY THERE'S LITERALLY NO REASON TO BE THIS POETIC

Maybe, I would get it if it was directed to Ray, but to Emma?????

Chapter 1

• Emma in 2038: Let's befriend ghosts

Emma in 2047: let's befriend demons

Seems like a logic consecution to me

• Ok but why has nobody ever mentioned the extremely precious Emma / Gilda moments in the novel???? My heart was completely melting that was the most adorable thing I've ever read??????

• The way Norman is constantly in awe of Ray is so adorable... Baby is so sweet I swear, he deserves the world

Chapter 2

• OK BUT THE SWEET EXCHANGE between Ray and Isabella before him and Emma go out at night?????? Ray is so pure is swear... He's a precious baby who didn't deserve all the shit he went through.

Reporting it in case anyone's curious; for context, Norman is sick, and Emma wants to go out look for a flower that she's read is going to help him feel better. Emma and Ray are convinced that Norman is going to die because babies are just that dramatic, and easily impressionable as well. They're seven here.

“ «Ray, I'm counting on you!»

Isabella pressed an hand on the boy's shoulder, who turned his face to her and diligently nodded, before continuing: «Differently from Emma, I don't think the flower is going to help Norman heal».

«What do you mean?»

«However, it's better than having to sit back and watch without doing anything. I too, like her, want him to heal as soon as possible.»

«Sure, I understand...» ”

NOW that hits so hard. You have to understand, this is after Ray had made the deal with Isabella. He had already started to plan the escape. In this occasion, he was on a very thin line: alone at night with Emma, outside the House, a child who knew the truth. Isabella knew those were the right conditions for him to attempt an escape, so she decided to test his loyalty; one misstep, and their deal - which was fundamental for the escape Ray was planning - would have ended.

But at the same time, Ray needed to go. Because, just like Emma, he just couldn't stand to lose Norman. And to see these three children caring so deeply about each other even at such a young age makes me honestly bawl. This is quite certainly my favorite thing from this series. And Ray deserves the world.

• Ray was so determined to save his two friends, he even considered for a moment, in the woods, to tell Emma the truth about the orphanage. I find it very nice how the novel hinted of all these times Ray almost revealed the truth, it really puts emphasis on how he was trying to find the best moment for the escape- but it also hints to how desperate he was to share this grievous burden he was forced to carry for the longest time.

• “ Ray, you must keep on living, Norman whispered to himself like a prayer. ”

I'm... I'M 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Doesn't help the fact that this bit was literally at the end of pages of Norman praising Ray and how brave he had been for so long.

• “ Nobody in the House would have wanted for Ray to pay with his life to amend the silence of all those years. ”

I love this bit. Nobody between the children ever hated Ray for speechlessly assisting to dozens of his siblings being lead to death, because they all immediately understood how much he was suffering, how powerless he must had felt, and also, even though it only led to him being even more hurt, how deeply he loved them all. It's really nice to realize that no children ever hated Ray- no one besides from himself. His siblings love him unconditionally, and that's precisely what he deserves 🤧🤧💕💕💕

• Norman: *adventures in a detailed description of Ray's features and gestures for no other apparent reason than the fact that he finds him pretty*

Chapter 3

• Ok I know people use to see Ray and Susan's interactions under the light of Ray having a crush on her but honestly? I think they make the cutest brotp. I never knew how much I needed Ray-having-an-older-sister content untill now.

• For real though!! What hits you really hard is to find out, even though he would had never ever showed it, how desperate he was to have somebody care about him, and to be loved. He literally grieves for losing someone that looks after him and is there to check on him in his lowest days- we know it's the thing Isabella never gave him. Man, this boy didn't deserve all the shit that happened to him. Tpn may have become an old known story for me, but Ray's sufferings in his early age will never stop tearing my heart apart.

• Ok, I wasn't ready for all this angst on Ray's part. I mean, I obviously know GF were hard times for him, but I didn't expect for him to take over the pov. Sis, how wrong I was. Now I'm crying.

• Coming to the realization that Ray's initial plan actually was to bring everyone in the escape, but he clearly had to give up on it after having realized it would have been impossible to save them 🥺🥺🥺

(I mean it was not impossible. He believed it was. But it wasn't.)

• Ok but. The last part of the Ner chapter. I really don't want to spoil it for anyone because it really was a beautiful chapter but I really need to say: Emma and Norman. The way it wasn't just Ray always being there for them, protecting them from afar; no matter their blissful ignorance, they have always been there for him too. They never abandoned that lonely boy, and they made it so that he could have a last reason not to give up. A single, dim light of hope in that pitch black, devastating world he was born in. I may or may not be crying my eyes out.

(Btw I had written this before the Ray special chapter came out, and it's kinda funny to look back at it now)

• The thing with the Ner chapter is: you enter in it after reading two chapters of normal, wholesome children's stories. There's a dark undertune in it, but it's very subtle and it doesn't interfere with the happy, cheerful atmosphere of these children facing adventures together with each other. But then the Ner chapter strikes, and the Ray pov arrives, and it's like being beaten with a bat in the stomach several times. Deep down, you had always known it; but you suddenly realize that all these children are going to die. And, even worse, there's one child who knows. There's one child who has to assist to everything powerlessly. There's one child, one freaking-nine-years-old who knows that all his siblings are going to die, and there's nothing he can do. That a single mistake could ruin the chances of making just two of his siblings survive, which is everything he's hanging to right now. One child who only needs to be loved. Well that... That hits hard.

Me expressing my thoughts: girl this form is shit you can't write something that is understandable to save your life can you

• Also can we please appreciate Norman taking so long to get out of the forest as it's a recurrent characterizzation of his character to be desperately willing to live just *French chef kiss*

• I really like how the novel underlined how Norman's choice of sacrificing himself corresponded to a betrayal toward his friends (when you think about it, Emma definitely felt betrayed). It's almost like in his last moments Norman chose to switch roles with Ray, taking on his shoulders the burden of being both the traitor and the sacrifice.

Chapter 4

• Norman: * “ He instinctively closed his eyes and abandoned himself to the sweet memory of that time he understood how deeply loved he was. ” *

Somewhere, Ray: Can't relate

• Emma: Norman, what you want to do when you grow up?

Norman: It's a secret.

Me:

• “ Ray woke up before everyone, as usual. ”

A remarkable detail. You'd think Ray, as a good depressed person as he is, would sleep more than the average. The truth is: he doesn't sleep at all.

• Norman: There's... Another person I like

Me:

• OK NOW WHY did none tell me about the nine (9) lines of Norman / Don interacting it was worth reading the novel solely for that.

• WHY DID NONE TELL ME ABOUT DON ALMOST STRANGLING NORMAN AND MAKING HIM LITERALLY PASS AWAY IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH READING THE NOVEL SOLELY FOR THAT

• Reading about Conny being there hurts a lot but reading about Sadie and Hao brings up a totally different kind of pain. Also who the hell is Cindy?

• Norman: Oh yes, Emma and Ray, my most dear friends, my closest siblings, the reason I wake up in the morning, my only reason to live, the ones I'd entrust my life with,

Also Norman: Dunnot in the last thirteen hours and six minutes they have been acting pretty sus, I'm kinda sure they're betraying me somehow ://

• “ «I agree, but it feels like you've fallen down a rabbit hole. You're restless, you constantly look off...» said the raven haired boy, distorting his mouth in an hardly intelligible grimace and giving his friend a meaningful look.

«Norman, about that mysterious girl...»

«No, you're mistaken! I...»

Norman, filled with frustration, raised up his voice, starting to lose the coolness that was usually characteristic of him.

«But I haven't said anything yet!»

That being said Ray, with slightly mocking doing, turned on his feet and went away, leaving Norman like that. ”

I LOVE THIS BIT SO INEXPLICABLY MUCH I'm always *so* in for Oreo finishing each other sentences / reading each other's thoughts. Here, Norman answered Ray's question before he could even expose it, because he already knew what it would have been. Equally, Ray knew what Norman was going to say even though he cut his answer halfway through.

I love how much on the same page they are, they really... Totally and fully understand each other even without words, and I find it so sweet. Seriously, their dynamic is so wholesome

• Norman's last birthday gift: the thing that matters the most to him: his family's happiness

Emma's reward: the thing that matters the most to her: her family's happiness

Some things hit harder than others.

• I don't know like. When you read the novel after the series has ended, everything hurts so much more, because you know these are all memories Emma has lost forever.

• So you made colorful clothing by "coloring old clothes"? Have fun realizing y'all have celebrated Norman's birthday wearing your dead siblings' clothes

Bonus this epic note I randomly took I completely forgot the context of:

• Isabella is a bitch. I don't give a fuck about your dramatic past woman, leave that boy alone

(When the protect Ray mood hits™)

[joezworld]

Fools in Love (8/10)

Double Date, Quadruple Header

1980

"And the last item on the agenda..." said the inspector as he assigned locomotives to trains. "There is a series of special trains going to Suddery from the mainland on this coming Sunday. 46 040, you and 35 102 will take the morning arrivals, and more engines will be assigned at a later time."

"Wow," said Delta with a healthy dose of sarcasm and faux cheer - she didn’t like this inspector and his clear bias towards steam engines. A special train from him could easily be carrying garbage. "A special! Is it a special special, or is it a really special special?"

"I hope it's a special special special, with special carriages." Bear said with equal sarcasm. "Then everything will be specially special!"

"Special has ceased to be a real word now." Duck said in a small voice while the inspector glared over the top of his spectacles.

"You will find out on Sunday." He said firmly. "Now get to work."

Bear and Delta arrived at Barrow on the front of separate trains - the Limited and the Express, to find the yard in disarray.

A seething Class 08 was shuttling back and forth while the trucks laughed at him. Bear, who had arrived second, watched as Delta didn't even try to help, and instead was mocking the 08 as he hurled insults at her, the trucks and the coaches.

This didn’t make the shunter any happier, and he began bumping and banging coaches until a particularly bold rake of third class carriages slipped their brakes on and refused to move an inch, trapping the disagreeable shunter deep inside a siding.

To make matters worse, none of the cars for the "incredibly special specials" had arrived yet. The trains were late arriving in Barrow, and the Yard Master was tearing out what little of his hair remained.

Noon arrived, and so did Edward, bringing a train of ballast wagons from Arlesburgh. "Oliver failed." He gasped, not having been remotely ready for a cross-island jaunt on a heavy train. "So this missed Bear's goods and- oh, hello Bear."

Bear grimaced. "There hasn't been a goods train yet - I'm still waiting on my special."

"Oh." Edward paled. "Well that would explain why BoCo was so frantic."

Bear and Delta winced. If a freight train was canceled it was usually folded into the next pick-up goods; BoCo was probably having to flat-shunt a quarter mile long train at each station, the poor engine.

After having a drink, Edward was drafted into helping out in the yard, and was soon sorting out the mess, although he did leave the 08 in the yards until last - the third class coaches had some choice words for him, and they were not brief!

At this point, BoCo finally arrived, or rather, his train did - Toad the brakevan was on the leading end, while a plume of steam wafted into the air from near the back.

"Mister BoCo had engine troubles." Toad explained. "So we left him at the works and Mister Henry had to push. His passengers aren’t pleased about that!"

They weren't. As Edward and the 08 sorted the massive train, the passengers swarmed out of the coaches, unsure of who to be upset at but hopping mad nonetheless.

"We've surely missed our connection!" They shouted at the stationmaster, who wrung his hands before telling them that the connection hadn't even arrived yet!

"There’s been a signal failure further up the line, " he said nervously. "So no train has been able to get through."

Strangely, this didn’t make the passengers any calmer, and Henry was forced to retreat to the sheds to escape their ire.

"Well, I suppose that this day can only get worse..." he muttered darkly as he looked out onto the empty BR line leading inland.

"What makes you say that?" Delta asked, not particularly upset that her "special" was late.

"The concert will be delayed!" Henry cried. "And I was rather looking forward to it - it isn't every day that you get to be tour support for Led Zeppelin!"

"What?" Bear was shocked. "Led Zeppelin is coming to Sodor?"

"Yes," Henry explained. "They're going to the Suddery fairgrounds. They did a show in Germany a few days ago, and they're coming here by train. I’m taking them."

"Really? The Suddery fairgrounds?" Edward asked as he shunted the last of the coaches into place. "But there's barely a gazebo there. How will they perform? It's all muddy!"

"I don't know how they plan on doing it, but my driver is certainly quite eager." Henry looked over at his driver, who was wearing an old band t-shirt over his normal work clothes.

"Make fun all you want, but I will get an autograph!" He yelled at Henry, who rolled his eyes.

"He's been like that all day."

---------

Several hours later, and the special trains still hadn't made an appearance. The stationmaster had attempted to quell the now-riotous passengers by showing a list of delayed trains to them, which did nothing but scare away Edward, who took one look at the large list of delayed goods trains and realized that the lazy 08 would try and make him shunt all of them. When nobody was looking, his crew connected him to an empty stock train and left for Peel Godred, leaving the 08 to have to work for a change.

And not a moment too soon. Edward has just barely disappeared into the distance when the BR home signal dropped, and a pair of furious Class 37s roared into the yard. Too angry for words or help, they banged and slammed their train into a siding by themselves, growled at the 08 as he brought their next train up, and seethed into the distance as fast as their wheels would carry them.

"That was ominous..." Henry said as the home signal dropped again to allow the next train into the yard.

It was... For the next 45 minutes, the yard was practically besieged by train after angry BR train - some over 4 hours late - who raced into the yard, dropped their wagons or disembarked their passengers, picked up new ones, and raced away again. The poor 08 was losing his mind as goods wagons built up around him. The three Sudrians couldn't even help - their shed was on the opposite side of the main line from the yard, and there was no time in between trains for them to wade into the fray and assist. Eventually, as a harried looking DMU rattled across the bridge to Sodor on a through train to Norramby, Bear and Delta were allowed across the main line to pick up their specials from the yard.

Bear had been given a short line of funny-looking vans, while Delta had a longer string of flatcars carrying lumpy shapes covered in tarpaulins.

Problems emerged before they were even coupled up.

"These hoses don't fit." Said one of the men as he tried to connect the brake pipes on Bear's wagons.

Several more attempts were made before the problem was found: the vans were from Germany, and used air brakes, while the two diesels used British vacuum brakes. Neither system was compatible with the other, which meant that this train would have to go without brakes.

An inspection of Delta's wagons revealed that they were also German, and had similar brake lines.

-

"How are there two separate trains from Germany?" Delta asked. "Why didn't they keep them together when they got off the ferry?"

"Ve took two different ferries." Snapped the lead flatcar. "Und ve vere suppozed to be hier three hourz ago!"

-

Hauling an unbraked train was not a huge issue - it merely required more care and a brake van - but a much bigger issue arose when a search for brake vans found only Toad.

"Well that’s torn it," Bear said. "We can't share a brakevan unless we double head our train, and I don’t know where we're even going with these."

"Actually, Mister Bear," Toad interjected as the yardmaster frantically flipped through his train orders to see if the situation could be salvaged. "If you are double-heading two normal length trains, you would need two brake vans then, to counter-act the increased weight. Standard practices." He paused to inspect the train.

"And that's enough wagons that I would recommend a second van and a second engine in the name of safety."

The yardmaster cursed and threw his clipboard to the ground - all of these special trains were going to the same station and he still didn’t have enough vans!?

"Toad, does it have to be brakevans?" Henry called from the platform. His special train had arrived on the back of the most recent passenger train, and unlike the other specials, it was fully braked. "Could we just put it on the back of my train?"

Toad inspected the train - three Pullman carriages and a baggage car. "It's very unusual Mister Henry, but it should just work!"

-

The unusual cavalcade was quickly assembled - Henry and his coaches, then Bear, his wagons, Delta's wagons, Delta herself, and then Toad. This ensured that the unbraked wagons wouldn't slam together and cause trouble, while also providing enough braking power for the entire train.

The unusual makeup of the train attracted the attention of its passengers as well, and the members of Led Zeppelin came out to look at what was going on.

"You know that Rod is going to lose it when he hears about this?" One of them remarked.

"Oh yeah he will. That paint's not prototypical, oh no!" Another man with long blond hair said mockingly as he snapped pictures of Delta and Toad.

"Hey!" Said Delta. "My paint looks amazing!"

The rocker held his hands up. "I mean no disrespect, it's just that one of our friends is into really accurate model trains, and he's going to flip when he sees these pictures!"

"Oh," Delta blushed a little. "Well make sure to get my good side, which is all of my sides!"

The man laughed as he went down the platform to get more pictures.

"Excuse me, Mister Plant?" Toad asked as he came near. "Will you be performing Stairway at tonight's show?"

Robert Plant blinked. "Why yes we are! Are you a fan?" He asked the brake van.

"A little bit sir."

"Well I'll be! We have fans everywhere!"

---

Eventually, the strange train rumbled out of Barrow yard and across the bridge into Sodor.

It was slow going - they were using the path cleared for Henry's train, and it had been timetabled for a much faster speed than the unbraked wagons were allowed to travel at.

By the time they had arrived at Kildane, they were running quite behind even the most generous schedule, and had to wait for other trains to pass.

The electric branch had just received new electric locomotives, but they were nowhere to be seen. Edward was there however, sitting in the yard with a dazed look on his face.

"They're very chatty." He said, sounding quite overwhelmed.

After waiting at the station for about ten minutes, the station master came out and spoke to Henry's driver.

"We need this train taken to Suddery." he said, pointing to a line of ten wagons loaded with aluminum.

"You do know this is a special, right?" Henry’s driver protested. "We can't stop to pick up more cars at every station! Have Edward do it!"

"He can't. Whatever foul-up the mainland is doing has thrown off the schedule for the entire region. There isn't another path until nightfall.” He paused. “You'd probably need to take Edward with you as well, considering that he needs to be in Wellsworth by four."

The stationmaster had phrased this like a request, but it was actually a demand, and so the unusual train got even longer, with Edward and the (thankfully braked) wagons now in front of Henry. On the platform, the members of Led Zeppelin were taking a huge number of photographs, and one - Henry thought his driver had said his name was Jimmy - was at a payphone on the platform, describing the train to a friend. From the sounds of it, the friend was very displeased at the amount of work it would take to recreate this scene on his model railway.

-

After leaving Kildane, there were mercifully no more stops until Wellsworth, where Edward was uncoupled from the train.

Henry quickly realized that there was a problem as he tried to move the train out of the yard. "I can't see anything!" He called back to his driver.

It was true. The wagons stretched so far in front of Henry that it made seeing the rails ahead almost impossible.

Considering that all the aluminum wagons and the Pullman coaches were vacuum braked, it was decided to uncouple Henry and put him in front of the wagons.

This plan was working well, until:

"The coupling is stuck!" Shouted Sean the driver from between Henry and the lead coach.

The coupling links had jammed together at some point, and it would take heavy tools to separate them - heavy tools that weren't on hand, and more importantly, would have broken the links on the chain, meaning that they wouldn’t be able to couple the train back up again!

To make matters worse, neither of the diesels could be attached, as the station at Wellsworth had a single track leading onto the branch from the main line, with the yard beyond it. There was no way for either diesel to reach the front of the train.

Henry, having accepted that this day was going to be one of the longest ones in his life, sighed. "Am I just going to have to go very slow then? Will Led Zeppelin still be popular by the time we get to Suddery?"

"Very funny." His driver said as he tried to think of another way. "We can't even do that - we'd end up delaying Edward's commuter train, and that's about the only thing that hasn't been late tod-"

He was cut off as James clattered into the yard tender-first. "Those menaces at the docks blocked the turntable!" He growled as he was uncoupled from a rake of China Clay wagons, leaving little doubt as to the identity of the menaces.

"Good to see you too James." Henry chuckled at his friend's distress.

"Gah! Henry? What are you doing here!" James yelped. He hadn’t seen Henry.

"Oh you know, just being incredibly late."

"Well don't let me stop you, Old Square Wheels."

"Oh you won't be a bother," Henry said as an idea flew into his smokebox. "Actually, you might be able to help us..."

-

James had no idea who Led Zeppelin was, and quite frankly didn't care, but once Delta shouted at him to show a wheel, he quickly agreed to pilot the train, and they were soon underway.

Suddery fairgrounds had its own sidings and platforms, used for when the annual livestock show takes place, and the train was unloaded in short order. James quickly shunted the aluminum wagons to the goods depot, and then he, Toad and the other engines watched as the lumps under the tarpaulins were revealed to be parts of a massive stage that was rapidly assembled by men who came pouring out of the coaches. Then massive speakers were pulled out of the enclosed wagons, while a number of wheeled cases were removed from the baggage car.

The band, feeling somewhat superfluous, waited near the engines. Bear and Henry felt bad that they weren't bigger Led Zeppelin fans, but were comforted in the fact that they at least knew something about the band, unlike some engines they knew.

Toad, meanwhile, had proved that he was a blatant liar - there was nothing 'little' about his fan status, and he knew more about some songs than the band themselves!

-

Eventually, the stage was built, and the band retreated from the platform to go do a sound test.

The stage was quite close to the platforms, and nobody had been allowed into the venue yet, meaning that:

"Do you lot have any requests?" Shouted Robert Plant over the speaker system.

"IMMIGRANT SONG!" Toad roared before any of the engines could even open their mouths.

-

Night fell over the fairground, and Bear was thankful that none of them were needed for other duties - the fairground was charged with an almost electric atmosphere, and it felt like something special was going to happen.

He looked to Henry at his right, and James and Delta at his left, and realized something else.

"I think," He said slowly. "That this is technically our first date."

"You're right." Henry said with shock. "It's taken us three years, but you're right."

"And ours too..." said Delta quietly. "Jamie, isn't that great? We managed to go on a date!"

James blinked slowly. "Yes we did. And it's a double date at that. By accident no less. We certainly don't do things by half measures!"

He grinned. "If this concert is half as good as that last song, it might be the best first date ever."

"Oh it will be Mister James!" Shouted Toad, who was choosing to ignore whatever the engines were talking about in favor of watching the band tune their instruments.

-

The concert began shortly after 9:30, only slightly behind its posted start time.

The band came out to thunderous applause, and Jimmy Page made the introductions to the audience.

"I just want to thank you all for coming out here tonight - back in 1972, we said that we'd come out here and do a show during our last tour of the United Kingdom, but things happened, and we never made it out here. We said we'd come back, and we never go back on our promises! Even if it takes eight years!"

He paused as the audience applauded once again. "And I also want to give a special thanks to some of our audience tonight. We almost didn't make it here tonight because of some trouble with the train, but those engines back there," he pointed to Henry, Bear, Delta, and James. "Worked like mad to get us here safely and on time, so this first song is dedicated to you!"

The band immediately began playing a hard and heavy rock song. It was an incredibly powerful piece, and the engines looked at each other with glee - this was going to be a hell of a night.

-

Later

As Since I've Been Loving You echoed over the fairgrounds, James quietly whispered to Bear.

"Is this what it feels like for you?"

Bear looked over at James. Even while he directly speaking to another engine, his eyes were glued to Delta, who was enraptured by the music.

"Yes." Bear whispered back. He knew what James meant.

-

The end of the concert was approaching - or so the engines hoped, considering it was almost midnight. Kashmir had taken quite a long time, and while Toad may have been having the time of his life, the engines were feeling the late hour a bit more.

"And this song I want to dedicate - dedicate to a little brake van out there in the train yard," Robert Plant said into the microphone. "Cause he asked for it by name, which means that we've officially got fans everywhere!"

A very recognizable guitar riff began while Toad squeaked in delight.

Henry and Bear looked at each other, and then looked over at James and Delta.  The night could go on for a little bit longer - it wasn’t often you got to see someone hear Stairway to Heaven for the first time. 

[somersetmummy]

(A/N) This chapter takes place right at the beginning of the story, prior to TNA Chapter 1. Some characters property of Pixelberry.

Original characters: Katie Hide (MC), Jenny Blake

New characters: Lucinda Hansen

Rating/Content Warning: Mild adult language

Word count: 2005

Summary: MC Katie Hide is an English rose, living in New York. She’s down on her luck and desperately needs a job before her visa expires and she’s sent back to London. A chance conversation with a friend leads to an unlikely opportunity. Little did she know that one little interview would change the course of her life forever.

- Bonus social edits at the end -

Just like any other Thursday morning of recent weeks, Katie and Jenny were killing time together in their favourite coffee shop just down the street from their shared apartment. It had become Katie's haven and her go-to place when she wanted to lose herself for a few hours people watching, letting the stories of their lives unfold around her.

She'd always had a knack for paying attention to the details, noticing things which passed by most others. It was a skill she'd relied on heavily in her work, always giving her the edge, at least it had until the time it led to her downfall at Panacea Labs.

Katie had recently walked out of her job after piecing together a scheme under the radar to roll out a costly new drug for treating MS, despite there being multiple warning signs that it was ultimately ineffective but instead just masked the symptoms. Anyone else would've just glossed over the signs, not even noticing, but to Katie, the anomalies jumped off the page unmistakably. It was when she tried to escalate her concerns that she was shut down and her life in the lab made a misery by the VP, Declan Nash.

It hadn't taken long for her to realise that the company was more concerned about profits than actually helping people and she knew that the battle to fall in line and keep her job wasn't worth it. After calmly and quietly sending a company wide report on her findings, she gathered her things and walked out before she could be accosted by security. Little did she know that Nash had already been keeping tabs on her communications, in his eyes she was a trouble maker, and the report never saw the light of day.

Unfortunately for Katie, the current opportunities for young women in the biotech and pharmaceutical world just weren't what they should have been and she spent the next few weeks furiously searching for something else to avoid her work visa being revoked. 

Having moved from London to attend the New York Institute of Technology and graduating with a Masters in Chemistry & Bio Engineering three years ago, she'd fallen in love with the city and the life she'd built. She didn't know exactly what the future held and couldn't put her finger on why, but she had a very strong feeling that she needed to stay in New York.  

Today, Katie had planned to work through all the job adverts remotely relating to her experience and qualifications, with Jenny on hand to offer moral support. Tiring quickly of hitting one brick wall after another, they'd long forgotten the laptop and instead had spent the last 30 minutes idly chatting about Jenny’s upcoming gallery event when Lucinda arrived, phone to her ear, her body tense and voice sharp as she wrapped up a call with her boss.

"Of course I've got someone Angela, I wouldn't put my name in the mix if I didn't. My candidate is going to blow the others out of the water, I just know Mr Dalton will be impressed....no not just impressed, he'll be awestruck..."

While waiting for her to wrap up her call, Katie heads to the counter to order Lucinda a much needed coffee and returns to place it down in front of her just as she hangs up. She tosses her phone onto the table and slumps back in her chair, defeated.

Jenny stares her down waiting for an explanation which she and Katie both know Lucinda desperately wants to give but is holding off for dramatic effect.

After a long sip of coffee and a moment of holding her head in her hands she finally exhales.

"I am so SO SCREWED."

Katie and Jenny share a look before returning their attention to Lucinda.

"I've just promised my boss that I have the perfect candidate for some billionaire business man's nanny position....." She glares at them both as if they should understand why that's a problem. "I never touch these sorts of jobs, I only ever look for candidates in finance, nannying isn't worth my time."

Katie chooses her words carefully, knowing how Lucinda can bite back pretty quickly when she's stressed. Speaking softly, cautious not to poke the bear, she looks Lucinda in the eye and internally braces herself for whatever might come next.

"So what made this one so different?"

Fortunately Lucinda seems to finally be relaxing, she replies more quietly.

"Filling this position will put me on the map, nobody in the firm has been able to secure someone for this guy, they only seem to last a few weeks before they quit so the sign on bonus never kicks in. If I could find the perfect person I wouldn't only get a great bonus, I'd be next in line for promotion to Senior Head-hunter."

Her demanding demeanour melts away and she's left looking almost vulnerable. Something Katie knows Lucinda doesn't find at all comfortable.

"Anyway, I'll figure it out, I always do."

She gives Katie and Jenny a soft smile, allowing herself to momentarily forget about her woes so she can refocus the attention back to them.

"So what were you guys talking about before I came in?"

As Katie opens her mouth to speak Jenny cuts in on her behalf.

"Oh Katie's just been trying to work out how to get a job before her visa renewal date comes up in a couple of weeks."

Katie lets out a sigh of her own, suddenly remembering how dire her employment prospects are and feeling equally as defeated as Lucinda.

"I can't believe I've worked so hard for my degree, I found the perfect job in the perfect city but now it's all gone down the drain and I'm going to have to go back home and never see you all again."

Jenny wraps her arm around Katie's shoulders, pulling her close. "Oh come on, like you'd be able to shake us off. Even if you are in another country!"

As suddenly as Lucinda dramatically entered the coffee shop she slams her hand onto the table making the others jump.

"THAT'S IT!" She cries, her idea almost exploding out of her. "This is just too perfect...."

Katie and Jenny share a confused look before turning back to Lucinda who is practically foaming at the mouth, clearly onto something, though they're not quite sure what.

"You need a job, I need a candidate." She says in her signature matter of fact style.

Katie still has no idea where Lucinda's going with this.

"It's win win. I'll put you forward for the nanny position, you'll get a great job which means you get to stay in New York, I'll get my bonus. Not to mention I'll look like a damn superhero at work!"

The cogs start to turn in Katie's brain as she begins to digest what Lucinda is proposing.

"But I'm not a nanny....and what about my visa, it's only valid for work in relation to my degree."

Lucinda waves her hand at her, dismissing her concerns. "No problem there then. This guy's family owns one of the biggest Biotech companies in the country, surely that's related to your degree? He's so desperate for a successful match I'll make sure the visa thing is part of the contract."

She cuts back in quickly just as Katie opens her mouth to object.

"And as for you not being a nanny, what about all those times in the lab when you had to pull rank and sort out the shit that went down between your useless colleagues? You've done more nannying of adults in the last two years than most actual nanny's do in their whole career with children."

Jenny suddenly chimes in "OH MY GOD, this is genius!"

Defeated, Katie turns to look at Jenny in disbelief. She may have had a chance saying no to just Lucinda but with Jenny on board with this idea as well she may as well give up now.

"This will solve both your problems, I mean come on, who wouldn't want to work for this guy..."

Jenny turns her phone to Katie, clearly having been searching while she and Lucinda were talking. On the screen Katie sees the most devastatingly handsome man she's ever come across. He's nothing like the guys she'd known before, this person, was a real man and the sight of him caused her stomach to flip.

While undeniably handsome, it's not just the physical attraction that she's drawn to. Her eyes move to the company bio underneath his headshot and in true Katie style, she scans all of the accolades and achievements the company has to boast about. Her mind races at the possibilities. There's no mistaking that working for this man could open the door to so many opportunities and experiences in the future.

With a sigh she resigns herself to the fact that Lucinda might actually be on to something, this could be the break Katie had been waiting for and would certainly solve her imminent visa problems if she could get it taken care of as part of the contract negotiations.

With a silent nod and slight shrug of the shoulders, she begrudgingly agrees, much to the delight of her friends who squeal at each other in delight. Lucinda immediately pushes her shoulders back, standing to attention, furiously beginning to type on her phone.

"You TA'd for your old professor right?"

"Yes, I did a year as their assistant after graduating. Mainly doing research and going to conferences with her."

Lucinda's eyes never leave her phone as she works her magic, spinning Katie's words into an impressive resume. After a moment she raises her eyebrows and flits her eyes over to Katie, a small gesture which Katie realises is an invitation to elaborate.

"Oh, yeah so that's actually how I got into Panacea Labs, I met a rep at one of those conferences."

Jenny rolls her eyes at the mention of Katie's old company, now affectionately known by them both as Pariah Labs. Despite what she felt about Katie's previous employer, she was immensely proud of Katie's achievements and wanted to make sure they were included.

"Weren't you the youngest lab boss thingy they'd ever had?"

"Senior lab technician." Katie corrects, knowing full well that Jenny hasn't got a clue about the finer details of her work. "Well, yeah eventually, after two years of working my butt off. But I hardly think they'd rave about that in any reference they give me. If they even give one to begin with..."

Lucinda waves a dismissive hand at her.

"With this resume, you won't need any reference from those bastards. Trust me."

Katie had no idea what Lucinda had written or how she'd managed to spin her experience to be more favourable for a nanny position but it must've worked because half an hour later Lucinda slammed her hand down on the table once again, causing everyone around them to jump out of their skin.

"YES! It worked...he wants to see you, you've got an interview tomorrow at the Dalton Enterprises headquarters".

She turns her phone to Jenny to show off the email and they fall into an animated conversation, no doubt planning how they're all going to celebrate once Katie inevitably gets offered the job. As they fall into a blur in the background, Katie looks back over the picture of Sam Dalton on Jenny's phone, not quite sure how she can be so hypnotised by someone through a photograph.

There's something about him which feels familiar, something drawing her in. It's almost as if they're viewing each other through a looking glass and she wonders whether in this exact moment he is feeling the same magnetic pull towards her, a stranger whom he hasn't even met yet. Tearing her eyes away from the phone, Katie's tries to steady the stream of unanswered questions flooding her mind and focus on how she's going to win this man over.

"Here goes nothing."

TAG List: @shewillreadyou @chemist-ana @txemrn @silma-words @thefrenchiemama @secretaryunpaid @sfb123

- Bonus - pre-interview pep talk with the girls -

[houseisekai]

House Isekai: A Realm Reborn - Part 3, Thunder Rolls (1 of ???)

House Isekai ARR Masterlist Here

—

Client: Marianne Von Edmund

After Duvalie, Fireteam Alpha-Nine, and Raelyn set off to Goneril territory, the newly reformed House Isekai are sent to assist the head of House Edmund, Marianne.

Although, things do not go as smoothly as Sitri hopes...

[Out of Time - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

The room displayed massive crystals that showed reflections of the group.

Although it was heavily distorted and any normal person would be barely able to hear what was being said, the figure watching had no such difficulty.

(Buck) “Alright everyone, stand down. How about this? You just tell us what we need to know about these guys, and we’ll go put a few bullets in their heads.”

(Mickey) “If bullets even work on them-”

(Raelyn) “From the one I encountered, a single Bolter round will do just fine.”

(Lisa) “If it means less fighting, then there’s no harm. Duvalie dear, do be careful at least?”

(Duvalie) “O-Of course, Miss Lisa!”

(Aigis) “That was a very fast change in attitude-”

(Rean) “You get used to it.”

(Towa) “I suppose we’ll just meet and explain everything more in detail later?”

The figure raised its hand, engines whirring and steam coming out as it did.

A portal opened in front of the group to their first destination.

The one they called Duvalie was the first one to step through the portal, followed by the soldiers.

"FIRST TELEPORTATION SUCCESSFUL."

The figure slowly turned and a screen appeared in front of it, lines of text and numbers turning green.

(Kazuma) “…Wait a second, none of them knows anything about Fodlan. Why did we let them go anywhere alone?”

(Sitri) “…That’s a good question.”

When the text finished, a crystal behind it displaying a four legged being suddenly flashed off, the light dimming and turning dull.

"SECOND TELEPORTATION INITATING."

The figure opened another portal behind the other group and patiently waited for everyone to step through. As soon as they did, the portal closed behind them.

"OBSERVING."

The crystals picture suddenly split showing two sides, one of Duvalie's group, and one of House Isekai.

It said nothing else as it quietly watched.

===

House Isekai: A Realm Reborn - Part 3

Thunder Rolls

[Raise Your Flag - MAN WITH A MISSION]

Raise your flag

With all your voice

With all your voice

Shout it out loud with all your voice

One day

Someday somewhere

Dream on as we wander

Under pressure, you are waiting for direction

Going on the road without your mind

All misleads they give ignoring our decisions

Killing yourself your soul we have inside

Continue the struggle and feel like you’re discouraged

Rise up again to run to the end

In between the never-ending dream

We can struggle and muzzle the world before it fades away

Raise your flag

With all your voice

With all your voice

Shout it out loud with all your voice

One day

Someday somewhere

Believing that we will reach that goal

Come on and Raise your flag

So just Raise your flag

No matter how many times we feel defeated or lost

As long as we breathe

As long as we carry on

Dream on as we wander

===

…

Everyone was confused on why the portal closed.

Sitri made sure no one was looking at her as she whispered.

(Sitri) “Sothis?”

(Sothis) “Uh, don’t look at me. I wasn’t even the one who opened it.”

(Sitri) “Wait, then where did…?”

(Rean) "If I know anything about her, she'll be fine. I hope the others with her don't have to put up with too much..."

(Aigis) "In any case, we should get going as well, correct?"

(Kazuma) "Yeah, we've wasted enough time standing around as it is."

(Kurt) "I am quite interested in seeing what this world is like."

(Venti) "Indeed, perhaps it'll give me inspiration for new tales to tell at the tavern!"

(Jean) "Well, we shall defer leadership to you then."

Sitri realized Jean was looking at her, which was quickly followed by everyone else.

(Towa) "I guess you technically are the boss!"

(Elizabeth) "Well, Lady Sitri?"

Sitri cleared her throat and nodded.

(Sitri) "Right. Let's move out now then."

Right on cue, a portal opened in front of them, and all stepped through it, being teleported to forest with a beaten path.

As quickly as it appeared, it closed behind them.

Once again checking that no one was looking at her, she turned again.

(Sitri) "Sothis, who's opening these?"

(Sothis) "I'm not sure...We need to look into it once we're done here."

Venti and a few of the other Knights noticed Sitri and Sothis speaking quietly, though it appeared no one else did.

(Venti) "Hey, you see that floating green thing next to Sitri, right?"

(Amber) "Y-Yeah, it popped up earlier!"

(Diluc) "It's most likely similar to Paimon. We shouldn't bother her about this when we got more important matters."

(Lisa) "So, where are we?"

(Kairos) "This would be Alliance territory. Specifically House Edmund's, I've travelled these roads with my family for merchant related business."

(Rean) "Well then, do you mind leading the way?"

(Kairos) "...Of course."

Kairos walked along the path, guiding everyone else. Everyone travelled in their own smaller groups. Sitri was with the Garreg Mach Students, Rean and Towa were with Class VII, and Kazuma and Aigis were with the Knights of Favonius.

(Elizabeth) "I am not sure how I feel about this."

(Sitri) "About what?"

(Helena) "Pretty sure she means House Isekai."

(Elizabeth) "Well, it's not just THAT but...-"

(Kairos) "She means that we don't know how we feel about working with these offworlders."

(Astrid) "Hey come on, I'm sure we all have our doubts but at least give them a fair shot."

(Stefan) "Yeah, if Lady Sitri and our leaders trust them, its for a reason."

(Helena) "If nothing else, they know how to fight what we're up against better."

(Sitri) "You all were chosen for a reason. Your skills are the most exceptional of the three houses, and they will be a core part of this house in the days coming.

(Elizabeth) "Y-Yes, Lady Sitri."

(Kairos) "...Understood."

Aigis looked uneasy as she turned to the others.

(Aigis) "If this is how the current houses feel about House Isekai, I am concerned to think on how the rest of Fodlan thinks."

(Kazuma) "Yeah, people like Ainz and Slayer didn't really help our reputation much either.

(Amber) "But your old group saved this world, I thought everyone would adore you guys."

(Aigis) "It is not as simple as that, I'm afraid."

(Kazuma) "Long story, we'll tell you guys when we get back."

Kurt and Juna couldn't help but listen in on the conversation in front of them.

(Kurt) "Hmph. Were it so easy."

(Juna) "Instructor Rean, Towa?"

(Rean) "Huh? What is it?"

(Towa) "Yes?"

(Juna) "Just how bad were things when you guys interfered to be treated like this?"

(Rean) "..."

(Towa) "...Let's put it this way, none of us would be talking to each other right now."

Juna and the other Class VII members shrugged and continued walking. It'd probably be better to just focus on the mission right now.

A few hours later, they began to approach upon castle gates. They were stopped by Alliance soldiers, who shot a look at the ones obviously not from Fodlan.

(Sitri) "My name is Sitri Eisner of Garreg Mach. We have come here at the request of Lady Edmund."

(Alliance Soldier) "We appreciate the aid. Let them through."

Kairos was still in front while everyone else tagged along behind him. He slowed his walk to look around the estate.

The path to the main castle was well treaded, just as Kairos remembered. The dirt path was still a clean brown, and the grass and trees well maintained, with few servants attending them.

The path was not anything fancy, it was just a straight path to the estate, fitting Marianne's personality.

(Kairos) "It's been years since I've last been here."

(Helena) "Can't say my old team got anywhere close to here. Too much security."

(Astrid) "Your parents were merchants, right?"

(Kairos) "Yes. The noble families that didn't shun us for being commoners were few, and Lady Edmund was one of them, and we constantly made runs to sell our wares here."

(Kazuma) "Sounds like something Marianne wouldn't care about. She was probably one of the few people who wasn't a complete asshole."

(Aigis) "There were plenty of people who were not...rude. Do you think you are misremembering?

(Kaeya) "Or perhaps were you the one, mister Kazuma?"

(Kazuma) "Hey, I didn't start most of the shit here!"

Kazuma spun around to Kaeya.

(Kazuma) "AND YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA START SHIT WITH ME!"

Everyone except Diluc and Jean was fighting back a snicker. Venti failed to.

(Venti) "...Ehe."

(Kazuma) "SCUSE YOU, THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'EHE'?!"

(Musse) "He is quite loud isn't he?"

(Rean) "You kinda get used to it."

(Ash) "Really now?"

(Towa) "Believe us, there was much worse people to hold a normal conversation with."

At the doors, a familiar face was waiting to greet them.

Rean Towa, Aigis, and Kazuma smiled as they walked up together with Sitri and the Garreg Mach students.

[Musica Universalis - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

(Kairos) "Lady Edmund."

Kairos, Elizabeth and Stefan bowed.

(Helena) "Huh. Much younger than I thought."

(Astrid) "Hey...Oh crap you're a lord, u-um good evening my...lady?"

(Marianne) "Hah, there is no need to be so formal everyone. Especially since old friends are here."

Kairos raised an eyebrow until he realized who she was speaking to.

Marianne smiled at the former members of House Isekai.

(Rean) "Marianne!"

(Towa) "Hello, its so good to see you again!"

(Kazuma) "Yo. Been a bit."

(Aigis) "It is always a pleasure seeing an old member of the Golden Deer."

(Marianne) "The same can be said to you all. You are quite the sight for sore eyes."

Marianne turned to Sitri and the Garreg Mach students.

(Marianne) "I take it these are your new students, Sitri?"

(Sitri) "They are. They're quite...interesting to say the least."

(Marianne) "When you're dealing with House Isekai at all, it's going to be."

Marianne chuckled softly and stepped to the side, an arm extended to her door while the guards stepped aside.

(Marianne) "Please, come in. We have much to discuss."

Everyone walked inside, following Marianne deeper into her estate.

The Knights opened the doors to the dining hall, where everyone took a seat.

(Kazuma) "Huh, didn't think you'd have a place like this."

(Marianne) "Neither did I, if I am to be honest. At the very least, this oversized dining hall is seeing proper use."

(Rean) "Yeah, it does seem quite excessive, doesn't it?"

The former members continued to have a leisurely discussion, annoying Kairos and Elizabeth.

(Elizabeth) "Don't they realize who they're talking to? Why in the world are they so...casual?!"

(Kairos) "They ought to show some form of respect for her title!"

(Stefan) "Well, they knew her back when they were in the academy right? Makes sense why they're so informal."

(Helena) "That and Edmund said for you guys to pull the sticks out your asses anyway.

(Astrid) "Eloquent as always, Helena..."

The conversation finally ended when some glasses of water was brought out for everyone by the servants, in which Marianne cleared her throat.

[End Song]

(Marianne) "Sitri, I believe Claude told you what was troubling us."

Sitri nodded.

(Sitri) "Yes. I believe he said it was something about an unidentified object in the woods?"

(Marianne) "Yes. We have never gotten close enough to properly identify this threat, it has always turned hostile the moment we attempt and approach."

(Rean) "Has anyone been injured from these investigations?"

(Marianne) "Plenty of injuries, though thankfully none of them were lethal. They appeared to be warning shots more than anything."

(Aigis) "That rules out Shadows at least, they do not hesitate when it comes to killing humans..."

(Towa) "We don't have enough information, I guess we have to see it ourselves."

(Marianne) "I'll give you a map before you leave then."

(Kazuma) "Has there been any other strange incidents?"

(Marianne) "Hm...Other than reports of Separatist movements, there hasn't been too much."

(Kairos) "Separatists have been spotted all the way out here?!"

The offworlders turned to Kairos, looking confused.

(Rean) "Separatists?"

(Kairos) "Yes, thanks to your actions, you've all but ensured a second civil war will occur!"

The original four members eyes widened, then turned to Marianne.

(Marianne) "I'm...afraid that is not entirely off basis, but that being said-"

She furrowed her brows as her fist gently hit the table.

(Marianne) "Kairos, on what grounds do you think you can speak that way to the very people who saved all of us?!"

(Kairos) !!! "I-...I apologize. That was out of line."

(Marianne) "...No matter. I will gather the necessary supplies for your investigation. Just a moment."

Marianne bowed and left the room, leaving just House Isekai in the room.

Sitri turned to Kairos and the other Garreg Mach students, clenching her fist.

(Sitri) "I am quite aware of your stance on House Isekai, but I will not tolerate another outburst again. Am I clear?"

(Kairos) "Y-Yes Ma'am..."

Helena, Astrid, and Stefan shrugged while Elizabeth felt a slight tang of guilt as well. While she had enough tact to not say that out loud, it was very close to how she felt about them as well.

The Knights of Favonius and Class VII shifted uncomfortably watching this exchange happen. It was obvious that their involvement here went beyond their comprehension...

...

[Suspicion - Persona 5 OST]

Shibuya, Central Street...

Ryuji scrolled through his phone over and over again. He looked up from it and his eyes searched for any familiar faces. So far, no one had shown up.

(Ryuji) "Come on, what's takin' them so long?"

He looked down at the phone again and reread the messages, losing count of how many times he's done so.

==

GROUP CHAT: Akira Kurusu, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Sumire Yoshizawa

Akira: Hey, did anyone else get that message?

You: What message?

Futaba: You mean the one from Sitri?

Ann: So that wasn't just me!

Haru: I could only hear a little bit of the message, I was in the middle of something.

Haru: What's strange is that I cannot get it to replay.

Makoto: Same here. Was anyone able to?

Yusuke: Fortunately I was. The message is as follows:

Yusuke: “This is Sitri Eisner of Garreg Mach Monastery. House Isekai, we are requesting immediate assistance from anyone that can hear this. If you are able, please arrive at Garreg Mach. This message will now repeat.”

You: Holy shit, did something happen?!

Sumire: I wasn't able to hear it either, I'm afraid. What was the tone of her voice?

Futaba: Pretty calm, actually. Still though if she's calling for aid, that's not good.

Akira: Pretty bad timing too. Morgana and I can't exactly leave to meet up in Tokyo.

Makoto: And college is currently taking my attention.

Makoto: Who knows how long we'd be gone for if we went in now?

Yusuke: Is there anyone who can respond, then?

You: I'll be the vanguard then! Leave it to me!

Ann: Thankfully I'm available as well, so I'll go with Ryuji.

Haru: That's relieving to hear. I have company business I must attend personally.

Haru: But, I am not comfortable with only two of our members being able to answer the call.

Akira: I think the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S left us their numbers before we left Fodlan. You guys should give them a call.

Ann: Good idea!

Ann: I wonder if anyone else in House Isekai's answered already...

Ryuji: They better have, it'd be pretty awkward if it was only us!

Sumire: Then we shall leave this in your hands for now. We'll try to show up as fast as we can!

Akira: We're counting on you guys. Stay safe.

You: You bet!

Ann: We won't let you down!

==

The messages finished two days ago, and apparently the distress signal was sent four days before that. Meaning 6 days had passed now.

He and Ann were able to contact Naoto of the Investigation Team and Mitsuru of S.E.E.S. They all planned to meet in Central Street at 12 today.

It was 11:50 PM, while no one was late, Ryuji still felt anxious. It had been two years since they all had left Fodlan, and he still wasn't used to the idea of jumping dimensions, ironically.

(Ann's Voice) "Ryuji!"

He put away his phone and waved a hand.

(Ryuji) "Yo, good to see ya!"

Ann nodded as she leaned on the wall next to Ryuji.

(Ann) "I'm so glad someone else was able to respond. To be honest, I'm kind of terrified right now."

(Ryuji) "Dude, holy shit same! Like what's so bad that they need ALL of us there?"

(Ann) "I'm not sure I wanna think about it, but we have to...ugh, why did Sitri have to call at such a bad time? The fact only a few of us can respond is pretty scary."

(Naoto's voice) "Hopefully, that is all we need."

The two turned as Naoto tipped her hat to them, adjusting her coat.

(Naoto) "I see we all arrived early, today."

(Ryuji) "Well, considering what the situation is, it's better that we get here faster than usual."

(Naoto) "Indeed. Unfortunately, I contacted my group and I am the only one from the Investigation Team responding."

(Ann) "Oh, there's Mitsuru! Hey, over here!"

Ann waved wildly to catch her attention, Mitsuru slowly wading her way through the afternoon crowd of Shibuya.

(Mitsuru) "Hello everyone...So, this is all that can make it right now?"

(Ryuji) "Yeah, it sucks pretty effin' bad that it's just the four of us, but I think we can handle it!...God I hope we can."

(Mitsuru) "Hm. Well, anyways I have at least some news to share regarding House Isekai's situation. Aigis was the first person to respond to Sitri's call."

(Ann) "...And?"

(Mitsuru) "Concerningly, that's all I heard from Aigis before she went in. It's been dead silent otherwise. Although it has only been 6 days, I'd still have preferred to hear something at least."

(Naoto) "Have we heard anything from our former classmates?"

(Ryuji) "We haven't heard nothin' anyone else..."

(Ann) "What about Slayer? He set up our whole communication system to begin with, right?"

(Mitsuru) "That seems to be our only lead that can have us safely arrive back to our world, so I think that may be our best course of action."

(Ryuji) "Right, so we should get going...Er, how exactly are we going to do that?"

(Naoto) "I believe-"

KABOOOOOOOOM!

[Tension - Persona 5 OST]

The buildings shook violently as an explosion rocked the entire city.

People's screams and confused muttering filled the streets as they looked towards the source.

The four Persona Users regained their footing and looked at what everyone else was staring at.

It was a massive cloud of smoke off in the distance near the Subway stations.

(Ann) "What the heck was that?!"

(Mitsuru) "We must put our plans on hold for now!"

(Naoto) "Agreed, let us investigate the cause!"

Mitsuru and Naoto rushed ahead without hesitation, leaving Ryuji and Ann alone for the moment.

(Ann) "S-So confident...!"

(Ryuji) "Man, I dunno if I'm glad or disappointed in myself that I'm not able to react THAT normally to explosions..."

Shrugging, the two sprinted to catch up with Mitsuru and Naoto.

A few minutes later, the four managed to get near the source of the explosion. It was in the middle of station square where a number of officers had gathered to block people from getting past them.

(Officer) "Stand back people, don't get too close!"

(Officer 2) "Hey, no pictures, everyone get back!"

Naoto shoved people aside while the other three tagged closely behind her.

(Officer 3) "You people deaf?! I said-Hey wait a second, you're that Detective Prince!"

(Naoto) "Naoto Shirogane, yes. What's going on here?"

(Officer 3) "Man, we have no idea. One second everything was normal then this big explosion happened outta nowhere!"

(Mitsuru) "Any injuries?"

(Officer 3) "A lot of people injured, but no ones dead, by some miracle."

(Naoto) "May we see the scene, for a moment at least?"

The officer looked at Naoto then sighed.

(Officer 3) "Make it fast, we have no idea if this was a terrorist attack or not."

Naoto nodded and the four moved past the guards and investigated the site.

In the middle of the street, there was a massive crater with a rock in the center of it.

(Naoto) "What in the world...?!"

(Ann) "Hey, doesn't that rock look kinda-?"

The rock upon closer examination appeared to be made of some sort of crystal.

And in the crystal appeared to be a mixture of some form of red minerals into it.

(Ryuji) "Wait a sec, don't that look like?!-"

(Mitsuru) "The Crystal Tower from Zanado? It looks like only a fragment has appeared, and thankfully not even close to its original size. How on earth did it-"

[Blood of Villain - Persona 5 OST]

A hatch opened up making everyone flinch, a puff of smoke slowly emerging from the door.

(Naoto) "Everyone, stand behind me!"

Naoto pulled out a revolver from her coat, officers quickly escorting the bystanders watching away from whatever was about to happen.

The hatch was violently flung off from the fragment, the door almost hitting several people in the process.

And from that hatch, a large foot was sticking out, slowly landing onto the ground.

The figure that landed in front of them was an absolutely massive creature, decked out in metal plating, broken leather and green skin.

It raised its head, cackling at first, but the laughter stopped when it got a good look at its environment.

(Green Creature) "Wot 'da zog iz dis?! Dis ain't da boss's ship! It's full uv 'umiez!"

(Ryuji) "WHAT THE 'EFF IS THAT?!"

Multiple similar looking creatures stepped out with the one in front, looking just as angry. Naoto lost count after the 15th one dropped out.

In total, from what she could guess, it looked like there was about thirty of them.

(Green Creature 2) "Dose lanky Boyz lied ta us! Dey said dey were gunna tellyport us right'n 'der!"

(Naoto) "STOP RIGHT THERE! DON'T MOVE ANY FURTHER!"

The green creatures stared at Naoto, and its disgusting smile grew back again, the cackling returning twofold.

(Green Creature) "Look at 'dat puny shoota 'dat 'umie's got!"

The creature pulled out its own gun and aimed it straight at her.

Naoto's eyes went wide, as the gun it pulled out was as big as her torso.

(Green Creature) "Now DIS?! DIS IZ A SHOOTA!"

(Ann) "HOLY CRAP!"

(Mitsuru) "What are these...Things?!"

(Green Creature 2) "Yer hear 'dat? Dey ain't neva heard uv us orkz before!"

(Ork Leader) "Dere faces are jus irritat'n me! KILL 'DA 'UMIEZ BOYZ! DEN WE GET DOSE LANKY BOYZ WHEN WE GET BACK!"

(Orks) "WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Ann and Ryuji's clothes suddenly shifted, making them look down in confusion.

(Ann) "Huh?!"

(Naoto) "Those clothes...then that means...!"

Mitsuru pulled out an evoker and pointed it at her head while Naoto quickly reached for her glasses, Ann and Ryuji grabbing their masks.

"PERSONA!"

[Invitation to Freedom - Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth OST]

Ryuji shot first with his Persona, aiming it directly at the group of orks.

(Ryuji) "CAPTAIN KIDD!"

His person's arm cannon burst into a flame and disappeared as another explosion rung out and hit the fragment behind them, blowing up three orks.

The orks ignored their fallen kin and screamed, shooting wildly with their crude guns and the bullets not going anywhere even close to hitting them.

Mitsuru nimbly dodged an ork swinging its axe at her, slamming onto the concrete as her Persona froze the ork in place.

(Mitsuru) "Artemisia!"

Mitsuru's Persona froze another two approaching her, and shattered them into pieces.

(Ryuji) "COME ON YOU BIG SON OF A BITCH!"

Ryuji's grin grew as he slammed his mace into an Ork's head, but his smile turned into shock when his weapon broke.

The ork Ryuji hit laughed as it raised its arm.

(Ork) "BAHAHAHA!"

The Ork's arms slammed into Ryuji, sending him flying past the police tape which was at least 10 feet from the fight.

(Ann) "SKULL!"

Ann ducked as bullets whizzed over her head, using her whip and swinging it at the one that attacked Ryuji.

Once again, their melee attacks appeared to do nothing.

(Ork) "YA HIT LIKE WUN UV IM TAU BOYZ, HA!"

(Ann) "GO TO HELL! CARMEN!"

Ann's hands reached her mask and a swift pull summoned her Persona in front, and at a snap of her fingers, the ork was set ablaze screaming and flailing wildly.

Spinning around Ann set a squad of five on fire, a similar effect being achieved as their bodies turned to ash.

Three orks charged Naoto with their axes about to chop her head off.

A tarot card floated above her as he revolver aimed upwards.

(Naoto) "Sukuna Hikona!"

Her Persona appeared in front of the orks, confusing them.

(Ork) "Eh, wot iz 'dat? It's so tiny!"

Naoto's Persona swung rapidly at them, her sword arm finishing behind them.

The orks looked at themselves before looking back at Naoto.

(Ork 2) "DAT WAS NOTHING! YA KAN'T KRUMP AN ORK LIKE DAT!"

Naoto ignored them and ran past them to help out the others.

The three moved to pursue her, until one of their legs came off, then arms, then slowly their head.

(Ork) "...OH ZOG-"

Was the last words of the third ork as they slid into chunks, their corpses falling and their pieces mixed together.

The leader of the group watched in mild excitement and curiosity, never seeing this type of fighting before.

(Ork) "Im 'umiez are krumping our boyz pretty gud."

(Ork Leader) "Dat dey are, dat dey are..."

Mitsuru helped Ryuji up off the ground, her Persona shielding them.

(Mitsuru) "Are you alright?"

(Ryuji) "Hooooly shit, ugh think that guy broke one of my 'effin ribs!"

(Mitsuru) "So direct fighting is out of the question for us then. Can you still fight?"

Another group of three approached them as Ryuji took off his mask, more pissed off than ever.

Captain Kidd rammed straight into them, knocking them all into the ground, then shooting its cannon arm into the air and a bolt of lightning raining down and smiting them, their bodies falling limp.

(Ryuji) "That answer your question?"

Ryuji's face moved to smile but started coughing and falling on one knee.

(Ryuji) "HOHO-OH, THAT HURTS! J-JUST GO I...NEED A SEC!"

Captain Kidd moved to the defensive while the ork's guns started firing at him, the bullets being barely deflected.

Four more orks started to run towards Mitsuru, their guns aiming right at her.

Mitsuru's Persona created an icy floor beneath them, making them slip over and fall flat on their backs.

At a split second, spikes of ice shot up and tore them to pieces, Mitsuru quickly examining where the next threat was.

Ann and Naoto were engaged in close combat with two orks each, Ann's agility was the only thing keeping her from being cleaved in half by their frightening strength.

Carmen's flames were lighting them ablaze, but they were still somehow fighting.

Naoto's Persona created shields that deflected their attacks as she tried to figure out how to get out of the defensive.

Any longer meant that those axes were splitting her head in two.

Naoto raised her revolver and shot one of them in the eye, making them recoil and shove the other ork back by accident.

Quickly seizing the chance, her Persona moved for their hands, then decapitating them at the blink of an eye.

Ann's Persona kicked up the intensity of her fires, to the point where the concrete itself was set on fire, reducing them to literally nothing.

The Ork's leader turned to the last three next two him and they jumped down, eager to get in the fight.

That fight was short lived as those two orks were quickly frozen, then smashed to pieces by Captain Kidd.

(Ork Leader) "HAH, YA KAN FIGHT, I LIKE 'DAT 'UMIE!"

(Ann) "Which one of you is the commander or whatever?!"

(Ork) "I AM!"

(Ork Leader) "WOT?!"

Ann's Persona burned the Ork Leader to Ash, leaving the singular one alive.

The ork struggled to conceal a smile. Now HE would be the boss.

...Assuming he'd live from these humies who look ready to kill him anyway.

(Naoto) "Is that all of them?"

(Ryuji) "Y-Yeah, looks like it."

[Wicked Plan - Persona 5 OST]

The Ork jumped down laughing.

(Ork) "Not bad, not bad at all!"

(Naoto) "Now, you'll answer our questions! What are you?!"

(Ork) "Why do yer 'umiez always sound 'da zoggin' same? We'z orkz! 'Da greenest an' bestest!"

(Ann) "...Uh, what is he saying?"

(Ryuji) "'Eff if I know..."

(Naoto) "Now, where did you come from?! And is that the Crystal Tower?!"

(Ork) "Krystal Tower...? OH! 'Da giant shiny spiky place, yea we kame from 'der. Stupid name ya gave it, dough."

Naoto was taken aback by how casual it sounded. They had just killed 29 of their...friends? Why did it sound like it didn't care?

(Mitsuru) "They're from Fodlan...? We never encountered anything like these Orks during our time there."

(Ork) "Actually we kame from da boss's ship. It gets konfusing, furst 'der was da weirdboyz 'ploding, den dose weird gits wit' da 'xtra arms attack'n us, den-"

(Mitsuru) "GET TO THE POINT."

(Ork) "We smash da zog outta some lanky boyz an' we have im lead'n us ta bigga an' betta loot! but dey backstabbed us, when we were gonna backstab our boss!"

(Ryuji) "Alright asshole, take us to Fodlan then!"

(Ork) "Wit' pleasure! i've got a mind ta teach ‘da lanky boyz a lesson! ‘da name's Gravestompah!"

(Ann) "Just shut up and get us there!"

(Gravestompah) "Psh, yer 'umiez neva know how ta have fun..."

The four followed the Ork inside cautiously into the Crystal fragment, and as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

...

===

GROUP CHAT: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Sumire Yoshizawa

Futaba: HOLY CRAP GUYS PUT ON THE NEWS!!!

Makoto: A giant rock crashed onto the street?

Haru: My goodness, is everyone alright?

Futaba: Yeah yeah people are fine, but watch this footage I'm sending!

VIDEO.mp4

Yusuke: So our group was on the scene...

Sumire: Where in the world did they go?

===

(Morgana) "Hey, didn't that look like the Crystal tower?"

(Akira) "Yeah...No way that's just a coincidence."

===

You: I think that was the Crystal Tower. The one from...what was it called?

Yusuke: Zanado, the Red Canyon. I agree, it looks to be a part of the Crystal Tower.

Futaba: Ann, Ryuji, you guys alive?!

...

Makoto: No response.

Haru: Leader, what's our course of action?

You: We meet ASAP. Boss's cafe. I'll message the others to meet up as well.

Futaba: Loud and clear!

Yusuke: Understood.

Makoto: See you there.

Haru: Stay safe, everyone!

Sumire: Got it, Senpai!

===

Akira put away his phone and looked to Morgana.

(Morgana) "So how are we gonna get to Shibuya? We don't have a means of transportation."

Akira reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crest of House Isekai's logo.

(Akira) "Think I got an idea..."

[TO BE CONTINUED]

[pink-peony-princess]

I'm your brother it's what I do!

"Willow, dinner!" Mum called up the stairs. I sighed slowly sitting up on my bed, trying to ignore the dull ache coming from my side and left wrist.

This was the part of the day that I was dreading the most- having to face my brother Shawn. I knew he'd freak out.

The bullying had been going on for months now, and I had been beaten up a few times, but nothing too serious, until today. I'd told Mum and she'd spoken to the school, but they were more concerned with protecting their reputation than their students, and while that made my parents furious they didn't exactly have the funds to just switch schools.

"How was your day?" I asked my brother as I sat down at the table across from him. This was a rare luxury, getting to see him for dinner at home. Shawn was a doctor at a 24hour clinic 30 minutes from here, having gone through an advanced med program in junior and senior year and then onto residency. Now he was moved out into his own place. He loved his place and his work more than anything and he could probably write a book with the stuff he saw on a daily basis. But I missed him, more than anything. We were 5 years apart, but we'd always been close and even now at 17, I relied heavily on him for support- he was my person the only one in the world that I felt like truly understood me.

"It was good. Had a kid with a bead up his nose," he shrugged, before shovelling food into his mouth clearly unfazed.

The rest of dinner was quiet, Mum and Dad discussing their plans for the weekend, Shawn continuing to shovel food down- he was always hungry, and me, pushing my own food around my plate, trying to ignore the throbbing pain of my side that was only getting worse.

"Are you okay Willow?" my mum asked, eyeing me carefully when she realised I still hadn't really taken a bite 20 minutes later.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired, I brushed her off, going she'd believe me. "Will you excuse me, I just need to go to the bathroom."

She nodded and I got up making my way to the bathroom. I pulled my shirt up and inspected my aching side. It was black in some places now, worse than this afternoon.

"What is that?" I jumped at the sound of Shawn's voice behind me, I dropped my shirt, spinning around to face him.

"Shawn what are you doing in here?" I spun, tugging my shirt down, panicked.

"I was coming to wash my hands," he answered. "Now stop obfuscating." He stepped forward, his hand coming to pull my shirt up again.

"I fell," I answered, hoping he would buy it, but knowing he wouldn't.

"You and i both know that's bullshit," he scoffed, his harsh tone taking me by surprise.

"You know what Shawn just leave me I can deal with it in my own!" I spat, "It's not like you can change it anyway." I turned away from the mirror, trying to hide my face.

"Wills, what happened?" he asked again, his tone, softer this time, as he reached to bring me into a soft hug.

"Girls at school," I chocked, trying to hold back tears. "It hurts so bad Shawnie," I whispered, the tears escaping.

"Oh princess," he sighed, pulling me into his side again.

"Owwww."

"Sorry hon, let me see," he spoke. As much as I didn't want to I knew I didn't have a choice.

"Holy shit," he let out a low whistle. "When did this happen?" he asked, taking in the swollen, red and bruised skin over my rib cage.

"Lunch," I sniffled.

"I'm taking you into the clinic." he turned from the room, pulling his phone out and dialling a number in a rush.

"Shawn," I whined.

"No Willow, this bruising is bad, and I can hear that you're breathing is laboured, it hurts to breathe doesn't it."

I whimpered, giving the answer away.

"F*ck!" he cursed out, rubbing his face.

"Please don't be mad," I cried.

"On no baby, I'm not mad at you, I promise," he soothed, guiding me from the room quickly, but carefully. "Mum did you know about this?" he asked, pulling my shirt up again to show my mum.

Her face dropped.

"Again Willow?" My shoulders shook as I cried only making the pain worse.

"I'm taking her to the clinic. She needs x-rays and pain relief, she could have punched a lung." It was clear from his tone that he was telling her out of courtesy, not out of nessesity.

"Mum?" I begged, pleading with her to step in, she knew how I hated going to the doctor's. Ironic considering my own brother was one.

"Go with your brother, baby, let him take care of you."

Half an hour and one silent car ride later we were pulling into Shawn's work.

"Easy Princess," he spoke, helping me out of the car, as I struggled to the ground.

"Are you mad?" I asked, not daring to look at him as we made our way slowly inside.

"Yes," he sighed, "But not at you," he squeezed my hand, leading me through the double doors.

"Dr. Mendes,". It still felt weird to hear people refer to my brother as that.

"I need a room now," he spoke urgently. "This is my sister." he added for emphasis.

"Oh my," the receptionist spoke rushing around the counter.

"Room three is free, " she told Shawn, he wasted no time hurrying me down the hallway.

"Hop up on the bed for me Willow?" he asked, as he went to wash his hands and pull on a pair of gloves.

"I'm scared Shawn," I mumbled as he came to stand in from of me.

"There's no need to be," he smiled reassuringly. "I'll tell you everything I'm doing, how about that."

I nodded greatful.

"I'm going to pull up your shirt and have a feel of your ribs okay, can you lie down for me?" he spoke, keeping his word.

"Does this hurt?" he asked, poking around. It was okay, until he hit a section in the middle of the bruise, a sharp ache, eminating from that spot immediately.

"Sorry, Willow, I'm sorry," he apologized as I instinctively recoiled from his touch, tears starting to form.

"S'okay," I mumbled, trying to relax again.

"So I'd like to get an x-ray, to check for breaks," he explained, helping me to sit up again. "But in the meantime how about we deal with your other injuries."

"I looked at him inquisitively, I hadn't mentioned anything about other injuries.

"Come on Willow, I'm a doctor, this isn't my first rodeo, besides, your hoodie sleeve fell down at dinner and a caught a glimpse of what looked like gravel rash. Plus, I highly doubt that if they hurt you enough to potentially crack your ribs, that that would be the only injury you'd sustain." he looked at me knowingly, waiting for me to response.

He had me pinned, I knew it and he knew it.

I sighed giving in and pushing back my left hoodie sleeve exposing the nasty gavel rash that stung when the air hit it.

"This has to be some of the worst I've seen," he admitted, turning my arm carefully to inspect it.

"You're not making me feel any better," I grumbled trying to pull my arm away, but he continued to inspect it, not releasing it.

"Willow, this still has pieces of dirt and gravel in it," he spoke shaking his head. He let me go finally heading over to one of the many cupboards the room had and pulling out several things including a kidney dish, a syringe, two small bottles of what looked like iodised water and antiseptic and some bandages.

"I'm going to have to get the gravel out and flush it, it'll get infected otherwise," he explained, bringing all the stuff over to sit it on the bed next to me.

"Will it hurt?" I asked worried as he sat down on a rolling stool on front of me and positioned my arm where he needed it.

"It might sting a bit," he allowed, "but if I don't do this you WILL end up with an inflection and trust me that will hurt more."

I bit my lip nervously. "Okay," I agreed finally, but my voice wavered giving me away.

"You don't have to be brave Willow," he murmured looking up at me from where he was working to pull the tiny bits of gravel from my arm, me hissing and jumping occasionally. "It's okay to cry." I knew he wasn't just talking about my fear, But everything that had happened to land me here.

"Would you like me to get Cami to come in and hold your hand?" he asked referring to his nurses assistant that I'd gotten to know really well over the last two years.

"Please," I sobbed finally cracking.

"Stay here," he told me, handing me a tissue and patting me on my good arm before leaving the room pulling the door to.

Moments later the door opened again and Shawn was back, Cami in tow.

"Oh Willow, honey," she rushed over to me, giving me a very gentle hug.

She sat with me as Shawn finished pulling bits out and irrigated the wound before wrapping it and pacing an ice-pack on it to help with the pain.

We only had to wait another 10 minutes before x-ray was free, a process that didn't take long.

"You're not going back to that school," he grumbled, returning to the room a short while later and sticking the films on the light board. "See here," he pointed to a barely visible line on two of my ribs. They're cracks. Those girls literally broke your ribs. So I don't care what mum says you're coming to stay with me and you'll finish up school at the local college. It's only a 5 minute walk from my place."

Once he'd finished everything he needed to do and we'd stopped by the pharmacy to get me some painkillers we got back into his jeep. I was so tired now, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep, unfortunately my ribs wouldn't let me.

"I've sent mum a text to let her now you're staying with me," Shawn murmured looking over at me as he drove.

"And my stuff?" I stiffled a yawn."

"We'll go back for it in a few days when you're more mobile. If you hit that leaver there the seat will recline so you can nap till we get home," he added as we stopped at a traffic light.

I did what he said and was instantly more comfortable.

"Thanks Shawn," I mumbled softly as I shut my eyes.

"I'm your brother, it's what I do," he smiled, holding his hand out for me to take. "I love you Willow."

"Love you too," I slurred already halfway to dreamland.