#when the bus tracker goes THE BUS IS HERE IT'S HERE RIGHT NOW

[kirigear]

little beepo's misery is increasing (two Invisible Buses in a row and now i'm too late to go to the movies) 8(

[brucewaynehater101]

hii i just wanted to ask about the accuracy of the statement of "Talia abducted Jason during when he was arguably at his most vulnerable cuz catatonic and took advantage of his state (+no Bats knowing Jason came back to life) to indebt him to her and a cult + groom him to be a tool for whatever goal she had in mind" or if it's fanon and your opinions on this idea (+ actual canon if this statement is in fact fanon)

but just like how we play with the scale of good parent, bad parent Bruce we could also fuck around and do so much with this concept (fanon or not)

Hi! I'm not as familiar with this, so let's do the research together ^^ It's gonna be a long post!

I've heard many many many people curse out a few writers (I'm shitty at remembering names) for being a racist pieces of shit. I've also heard of Talia being thrown under the bus by a lot of writers. Here's a link to a wonderful Tumblr post that goes into Talia and how writers fucked over her character.

There's other posts, but this one quickly summaries what they did to Talia and briefly mentions the assassination of Ra's character as well.

Here's a post that goes further into Ra's character.

On that note, I have seen a few fics play around with two ideas that were (as far as I'm aware) retconned: Damian's conception being unconsensual and Talia having sexual relations with Jason.

As long as you keep in mind that these were retconned and come from racist, sexist, or both connotations, it's okay to explore the impact these actions would have on all characters involved (especially if we're utilizing the reasoning that Talia wasn't in her right mind during those actions).

That's a basic summary of why there's heavy debate around Talia and the al Ghuls as a whole.

Now! Let's get into Talia and Jason specifically!!!!

The comic run we want to look into is Red Hood - The Lost Days. I am unsure if there are any other comics that cover post-death Jason but pre-Red Hood. If anyone has any other canon material that covers or mentions this time period, feel free to comment, reblog, etc.

This is Talia's initial reaction to hearing about Jason:

She expresses concern, worry, and grief for Bruce

She then has spies give her updates on Bruce's situation. Everyone else states Bruce is "stepping up his game." She calls them fools (since Bruce is obviously just hurting)

Very quickly, we get into her discovery of Jason Todd:

So. Jason's catatonic and Talia was ordered not to inform Bruce. Regardless of if she wanted to, she would be betraying her father if she told Bruce

Then I'm just going to drop all of these panels:

This shows she somewhat cares about him. Whether that's for Jason or because of Bruce, that's irrelevant. She still cares and wants him to get better. She wants him to go home.

Talia only pushes Jason into the Lazarus Pits because she's run out of time

Now... she may be an unreliable narrator. She states she's doing this for Jason's sake, but it does seem like it's more for her own. Regardless, she doesn't have ill intentions.

Talia dips Jason in the Pits and then tosses him out

That line of hers seems suspicious, but I see it more as her trying to hide the fact she had Jason for so long. It's less "go be mad at Bruce" and more "gods, what is Bruce gonna think of me if Jason shows up on his doorstep?"" Selfish, but not in the way fanon characterizes it.

She had trackers on the bag, though. She just needed him away from Ra's

Ra's tells Talia she fucked up, Jason tries to blow up the batmobile, and then tries to tell Talia he didn't lose his nerve for revenge against Bruce

Talia realizes that reviving Jason with the Pit might have fucked Jason up

Jason asks Talia for her help with revenge against Bruce. Talia did not set that up. Jason was the one to suggest it without influence

Talia obviously does not want to be helping Jason right now. She still agrees, though

Let me just toss this here too:

So... She's not doing this completely because she cares about Jason or that it's the right thing, but she also sure as hell does not want Jason to be going down this revenge path

Despite all of this, there's this:

They then proceed to fuck.

Which is gross as hell, and how some people can say that she took advantage of him

I think them fucking got retconned, though....

So, it's slightly complicated?

In my personal opinion, the final answer is: "It is fanon!"

There may be some truth or canon behind it, but that most likely comes from more racist characterizations of her character. However, the canon material that explicitly covers this topic makes it clear:

"Talia was selfish with her help to Jason. She wants Bruce to love her. She thus ends up hiding Jason's existence out of fear of Bruce's reaction. She does not want Jason to be mad at Bruce or fight his dad."

This also matches the other characterization I've seen of this: "Talia uses the distraction technique to try to hold Jason back from murdering his own father. 'You can't murder Bruce without training, Jason.'"

To continue, whether Talia should've told Bruce or not is an entirely different matter. Sometimes, I've avoided telling people shit out of fear, which made the situations worse. It wasn't great of her to do that, but in no way should this villainze her. I also 100% love that this gives her a flaw. People make mistakes. She's trying. She may have gone about it poorly, but she did what she thought she could. It was selfish, but I don't blame her.

She could've also convinced Jason to give up his mission entirely right before they fucked. That's where it gets murky.

You are absolutely correct that we can use the fanon idea of the al Ghuls manipulating Jason. On the other hand, I haven't seen enough fics where Talia treats Jason like an unruly toddler instead.

"No, Jason. We can't murder Bruce. Obviously, you need training first." Her visible reaction is a motherly rolling eyes. Internally, she's just panicking ("fuck fuck fuck fuck. How do I curb bloodlust? How do I stop patricide? Procrastination!!!")

Anyways, thanks for bringing the question up! It allowed me to look into it and put my thoughts in order ^^

Feel free to read the rest of the run!

[monty-glasses-roxy]

What if all of the animatronics were suddenly allowed to leave the Pizzaplex during certain times and on certain days but they had to take like a tracker with them in case something happened

They've conveniently 'forgotten' that tracker so many fucking times they're driving management up the wall.

More importantly, this lines up with a few AUs I got lying around so I got some ideas for this!

They ride DJ Music Man into town like a giant fucking horse. He's their mode of transport and it's amazing. They all show up in town with their giant enemy spider steed to go explore the local areas. He tips his hat as they pass the little old ladies in greeting and waves to the kids staring on in wonder as he follows Bonnie and Roxy around the town and they all share opinions loudly on what they see in shop windows.

They can all hangout in town centres, get a bus or a train and go on seaside visits and see the sights. Foxy and Monty would drag everyone to an aquarium on a monthly basis, and have to keep Freddy and Chica on leads so they don't disappear and try to eat the fish. Roxy can go racing on bigger and better tracks now, if she saves up any allowance she gets for these trips out, maybe she buys herself a dirtbike to drive around on in any nearby outdoor tracks. Freddy likes taking them to space museums and planetariums or just out to fields at night to stargaze. The night time things are only really possible in the winter when it gets real dark out real early so the entirety of winter, whenever there's a clear sky, he's dragging everyone outside for stargazing. Bonnie loves going out and getting silly outfits. Like, he has a squid hat, a whole box of funny bowties and at least three different pairs of joke glasses. Monty and Foxy hang out at the local pool and Foxy likes taking any floaty he can fit on and calling it his ship while Monty plays the sea monster and tries to sink him. Chica goes with anyone and everyone but she adores the petting zoos, climbing trees and the seaside trips. Sunny loves the seaside too and Moon loves the stargazing, both of them will tag along with almost anything though. DJ loves carrying everyone around and walking them to the seaside so he can play in the water with them. The minis don't like the ocean because it carries them away really easily but they do like when DJ gives them boat rides through it and they have fun acting as the tiny marching band for Roxy, Foxy or Freddy.

If they aren't given any money to work with - which is more likely - I can see all of them taking on odd jobs under Faz Ents nose in order to pay for stuff they want. Like, Roxy goes and fixes cars and stuff for people, Foxy, Monty and Chica give swimming lessons at the local pool, Sunny and Moon teach sign language - mostly for free but sometimes for a price - Bonnie steals merch from the Plex and sells it and any jackets or quilts he's made off. They all go around and do odd jobs for people for small money that they save up for seaside trips, trinkets, gifts, etc. It's difficult to get money when you're a robot but where there's a will there's a way, right? They want nice things too!

They can't do any of that stuff with the trackers though. If they're tracked making money, they may lose those privileges and that's not good. Not only that, but there's probably a shit ton of rules they have to follow whilst outside otherwise someone goes and gets them. The consequences for offences could be huge.

Got a lot of ideas for stuff they'd all get up to outside though. The sky's the limit here!

[ashiemochi]

pussidon - ACT II | v

✠ Pussidon ↳ sounds like trouble ↳↳ can we eat it?

➶ pairing: OC x Leon S(exy) Kennedy. ➶ genre: fluff, angst, gore, smut/suggestive themes ➶ word count: no

NOTE: ✠ = time skip ✠✠ = switching povs/characters

prev -> next

“... 90% of the population in Tall Oaks has been infected with the virus. That rounds up to 70,000 hostiles…”

The bus ride wasn’t as relaxing as So Ah thought it would be – not like she thought it’d be any different from fighting two humongous zombies back at the gunshop. The shopkeeper along with his assistant had both died leaving the area, leaving Minji trying to console the crying Nancy and Jiwoo. 

Right. 

Minji and Jiwoo.

So Ah had her arms crossed, having put her device back in her pocket, she could hear the very subtle beeping of her tracker beneath her skin. Her ears strained for Hunnigan’s update and she peaked from behind Leon’s and Helena’s shoulders. Hunnigan stopped abruptly, seeing So Ah’s face on her screen and she blinked. 

“Oh! So Ah – I see you got caught up with Helena and Leon.” 

So Ah pressed her lips into a thin line faintly when Leon took a side step for her to be more visible in front of Hunnigan. 

“It’s not by choice, also hey,” So Ah pouted a little, feigning offense and pointing to Leon’s earpiece, “How come they can communicate with you but I can’t? I thought we had something special.” 

Hunnigan chuckled lightly at her pout before shaking her head, “You're still my favourite agent, So Ah. Your earpiece is attached to the back of your radio – been there from the start.”

Leon raised an eyebrow at his fiancee as she took out her device and then flipped it over, finding her earpiece. It was similar to Leon’s and Helena’s and she blinked, sheepishly smiling as she took it out. 

“Happy?”

“Thank you, Innie.”

Helena’s nose scrunched up and looked at Leon, confused, “Innie?”

“It’s Ingrid,” Hunnigan sighed with a subtle smile before seriousness filled her tone, “No time to talk – we’ve also received word that an organization named ‘Neo-Umbrella’ just claimed responsibility for the attack.”

Neo what now?

Leon and So Ah shared a knowing look, both shocked at the revelation. The same organization that assisted in the viral attack – the same one that caused the H-Outbreak.

The girl trailed her eyes back to Hunnigan who read her fallen expression. Every moment of that night was rushing to her head. She could honestly empty her guts now if she hadn’t burned her entire meal running left and right and shooting here and there for her life. 

“Neo-Umbrella…?” So Ah whispered in disbelief and Leon scoffed to himself, looking back at Hunnigan. 

“It’s like that outbreak all over again.”

Leon was never much of a supporter of how the people named that night – The Han’s Outbreak. And it showed. He never called it by that name, always opting for just ‘that outbreak’ and if they need more specification, he’d mention California and that would be that. So Ah knew about his resentment toward anyone who goes for the term and she deeply appreciates his stance. 

Yet, she too uses the term. The Han family never moved on from what happened, similar to its victims. She still gets nightmares each time she hits the hay and the name of her late family doctor or even the mention of him would change her entire mood. She can be happy or content all she wants, but the moment someone at the DSO brings up that traumatic night, she’d want out of the room in an instant.

But she always stayed, she never left. She sucked it up, believing the blame was on her, and continued training day and night. The guilt fueled her to push her body to the limit, to take each check-up and threat and throw them into the dark abyss she calls the ‘I’ll get to it later’ box. The tracker could potentially send an electrifying surge that would destroy her spinal cord in a blink of an eye – as long as she doesn’t defy those medics that is. 

She won’t get to it. 

Not after what happened. 

Not a night goes by where Frederic Sonny doesn’t cross her mind, chastising her as he confesses his sickening infatuation with her virus; the plaga. 

But hey, that’s what therapy’s for – which she had been missing lately.

Just like she had been missing Leon.

“That’s all the news I’ve got. Now it’s your turn to help me.” Hunnigan continued, giving the Han girl a sympathetic look, “I need to know what’s in that cathedral. I’ve got suits breathing down my neck for info.”

Leon furrowed his brows, tilting his head to the side as his voice dropped an octave, “Suits?”

“Specifically, Derek C. Simmons – National security advisor.” 

That caught Helena’s attention and So Ah noticed the sour expression on her face but stayed quiet. Knowing Helena for a few hours, So Ah more so expected to be dragged around more like some dog before she’d reveal anything. Instead, she looked up when the bus seemed to slow down and saw a bright beam of light shining on them. 

“What the hell –” The driver spoke but was cut off, the helicopter talking back; demanding. 

“STOP THE BUS. I REPEAT. STOP THE BUS.” 

Leon and Helena shared a confused look as the survivors began getting antsy and Minji perked up at the sound and then looked at So Ah, eyes narrowing at the back of her head. So Ah had this habit of doing something stupid and avoiding eye contact like Hell. 

Minji knew that. She was her big sister – she knew almost everything. 

“A helicopter?” Nancy whimpered, removing her teary face from her hands, sniffling, “Are we being saved?”

“Ah, hell.” The driver cursed and then slowed the bus down when the man in the helicopter ordered again. 

The helicopter lowered itself down to the ground in front of them and Leon squinted his eyes at the emblem carved onto the side as So Ah moved silently to the bus’s door. 

“The BSAA…?” Leon muttered as Helena was just as confused.

“What are they doing here?” She muttered back then a rush of cool wind hit them from the side. 

Leon watched as his fiancee jogged up to the soldiers leaving the helicopter with their rifles up but one had his gun down when So Ah approached them. Leon was puzzled at this. Sure, he knew she was still under the BSAA’s protection but how did they know where she was?

Why was she gesturing to the bus?

And why when their eyes met did she look pensive and scared?

Then Minji stood up from her spot, picked up Jiwoo and made her way to the door. Helena called out for her yet Minji seemed apprehensive. Minji had been quiet ever since she accidentally grazed Leon’s shoulder and she was very hard to read since then. God knows what she was thinking in that head of hers. 

“Hey,” Helena’s voice stopped the eldest Han right at the door who had her eyes on her sister, “What’s going on?”

“We’ll see…” That was all she had said before leaving the bus and joining her sister. 

For a second, Helena knew what it felt like to be ‘strung along’. 

“Any updates on Chris?” So Ah asked the soldier as Minji was running up behind her and the soldier shook his head. 

“None so far, Han…” His frown mimicked the girl’s and he set his hand on her shoulder, patting it once, “Hey, our captain’s fine. Alright? Piers is working hard in trying to find him.”

So Ah huffed lightly, casting her cinnamons to the side as if helpless, “Yeah… I guess so…”

The soldier’s frown deepened and he opened his mouth but Minji caught up with them, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“We’re here to get you two somewhere safe, Miss Han.” The man said and Minji glanced at her sister then at him. 

“Us… Two?” She pointed at herself and her sister who shook her head, crossing her arms. 

“You two.” So Ah corrected, gesturing to the shivering but sleepy Jiwoo and Minji. 

Minji went quiet at this, staring at her sister who returned the gaze but dryer. Minji seemed to be contemplating something, glancing at the helicopter and then back at So Ah. 

If only So Ah was the confronter type – but alas, she was still her sister. Minji wanted her safe and fully assumed both her and her sister would be taken by the BSAA to be protected. That’s why she triggered her tracker, right?

To get them someplace safe… Unless she meant them as in Jiwoo instead of herself. 

Minji was the observant type when it came to her little sister. She had seen So Ah in action today and while she was nimble, she was also susceptible to letting her emotions take control of her. The jealousy, the waste of ammo to dull out the voices of Helena and Leon when they’d interact, and the constant habit of letting herself get hit just to heal up and save the survivor; all were noticed. 

Ultimately, she doesn’t think So Ah was fit to be on her own unofficial mission just yet. All her operations at the BSAA were team-based – she had a squad on her back and she was the marksman, meaning she rarely ever was up close with an enemy. Even Chris made sure of that – as per her family’s request. 

Minji gave her son to the soldier inside the helicopter to help put him in the seat and buckle him up then she turned to face her sister. So Ah stood there, seemingly confused as to why she wasn’t getting on the ride and gave her a look. 

“What?”

“I’m coming with.”

So Ah blinked, brows furrowing at her in disbelief, “What – no, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.” Minji stood her stance, chin subtly up for confidence as she spoke, “I can help.”

“Minji, no –” So Ah shook her head and tried to speak but Minji cut her off, knowing she was hesitating because of that accident in the gunshop.

“It was one time, but I swear I can be useful!” Minji took a step closer with such sureness in her colourful hues, “I took that creature down and I can do it again!”

“You’re not qualified for this!” So Ah’s voice rose, heart beginning to pound uncomfortably at even the thought of having her sister around. If she were to get hurt – just a small scratch – So Ah would never ever be able to forgive herself. 

Minji’s eyes shifted, straightening up with crossed arms against her chest in defiance, “And you are?”

Silence filled the air, the wind rushing like crazy with the rain pattering against their bodies. The white shirt So Ah wore felt cold against her skin as her brows furrowed again at Minji’s words. She broke eye contact with an incredulous scoff and then peaked at her through narrowed slit eyes. 

After years and years of training, she wasn’t qualified?

It hurt her more than ever to see her own family thinking she was still not ready; still weak.

“... What is that supposed to mean?”

Minji sighed at the offended tone coming from her little sister then gave her a sombre look, “Soo, I don’t think you’re fit for this yet.”

Before So Ah could even defend herself, Minji continued. 

“Your position in missions has always been far – not up close like this. You keep throwing yourself out there, taking hits left and right and you’re letting your jealousy get the best of you.”

So Ah was taken aback by this, blinking in shock at the words coming out of her mouth so straight-forwardly. It’s like she had been thinking – no, believing – it from the start. Minji’s gaze was sympathetic but firm, reminding her of her mother. Her feet took a defensive step back as her arms dropped, cheeks heating up in embarrassment at that word. 

“What jealousy?” 

He was her sunshine – he promised so. Vowed even. Leon only wants to help and figure this situation out, nothing else. Helena is just an agent and nothing more…

… Right?

Minji huffed at her feeble way of deflecting, shaking her head as she nearly scolded pointedly, “Don’t play stupid with me – I’m surprised Leon didn’t notice it.”

Anger bubbled up inside the younger Han just like the unfallen tears as she glared at her eldest sister. Tremors ran down her arms, reaching her hands as she clenched them next to her side and her sad cinnamons squinted at her hurtfully. 

She thanked the gods for the rain because at least no one will see her fall – unless they’ve got a pair of sharp perceptive azuls, then they won’t even know.

With a trembling breath, she pointed at the helicopter and she ordered, voice stern but pained, “... Get inside, Minji.”

Minji unfolded her arms, sighing exasperatedly as she took a step close, nearly pleading, “Soo, let me help –”

Like the distant thunder, So Ah cracked.

“I DON’T WANT YOUR HELP.” So Ah’s shout silenced her eldest sister as she tilted her head to the side, lips curling down in mockery, “I’m unfit for this?! I was trained for this, whether you believe it or not!”

Heaving in air, she didn’t stop – even when her inner voice was telling her to before it was too late. 

“Unfit my ass…” She scoffed, “I’m not the one who was careless and shot Leon’s shoulder. I’ve been doing everything to keep you and Jiwoo safe; this is how you repay me?!”

Minji tried to diffuse her sister’s anger by trying to hold her hands with a frown, “I care about you, Soo! You’re my little sister so, of course, I’d want you to be protected! And –”

“I’m not your little sister anymore – so stop treating me like one!”

Shut up.

“I was the one running in that god damn facility while you and our brother were safe! I’ve been through this before – not you!”

Stop it.

“And I can’t focus on keeping everyone safe when you have the knack to wander off the moment I take my fucking eyes off of you! I need you to leave, Minji!”

Please.

“Take Jiwoo and go!”

Minji’s lips parted at So Ah with dull chocolate orbs that seemed to glisten under the car lights of the bus and she narrowed them as her chest seemed to tremble when she inhaled. 

“... You think I’m a liability then… Right?”

So Ah never seemed so small before and so… Defiant. 

So scared and hurt – yet prideful.

It was a horrible mix of emotions and beliefs as it would only lead her to self-sabotage. She’d push everyone away, believing she can do things on her own without anyone’s help. It’d hurt and terrify her as she was truly convinced everyone’s eyes were on her. 

The public has never really gotten over the H-Outbreak. Everywhere she went, she’d feel the burning stares into the back of her head. Some would even have the audacity to throw a comment or two. 

“Heard she joined the military or something.”

“What a joke. She couldn’t stop her doctor in time – what makes her think she’ll be able to take on an army?”

“My son still cries whenever my late daughter is brought up… She would've been sixteen by now if it weren’t for the Hans…”

“I can’t believe she’s got the guts to even show her face around here after what she caused – does she even feel bad?”

“Her and the entire low-cause of a family should just pack their shit and go back to their country – less fucking terrorists to worry about.”

With their words running in circles around her head and Minji’s point of view, shame tugged her head down, lowering it as she whispered, voice cracking and raw, “Please… Just go with them…”

Minji went quiet, nose flaring as a tear rolled down her cheek silently, jaw locking as she spoke firmly, “... Fine. I’ll go.” 

Then she pointed at her sister with a shaking finger as disappointment oozed in her voice, “You might think you’re not my little sister anymore but,” She pointed at herself, “I’m still your big sister – whether you like it or not.”

Minji turned around and got into the helicopter where she pulled Jiwoo into her arms, all whilst refusing to look at her sister. The soldiers piled in one by one and the one in front of So Ah spared her a glance but she broke it off, shaking her head. Turning around to leave, she barely looked at him from over her shoulder. 

“Keep her safe for me…”

The soldier nodded quietly before getting in then the helicopter began rising into the air. The rushing wind practically pushed her caged tears down her cheeks and she sniffled as she got to the bus. Through her blurred vision, she watched the helicopter move further up and away and a tight sigh left her lips. 

The atmosphere of the bus was quiet and she wondered if they heard the argument because, in all honesty, her dignity wouldn’t let her live it down. She took pride in her training and getting a pat on the back with a proud smile from her captain – and whilst she was great at what she does, she assumed it was all up to her to clear the Han’s name. 

Yet something nagged in the back of her head, reminding her of her promise to keep her sister and nephew safe. And that she fulfilled. 

But why does she feel so guilty?

“Hey…”

Leon had picked up on her current state, walking toward her. Her cinnamons were red and distant as she moved to her previous spot but Leon grabbed her arm gently to both catch her attention and hold her from losing her balance when the bus began moving once more. 

Leon called for her, his other hand coming up to her other arm, “Hey, So Ah.”

She blinked at this, shaking her head a bit as she looked up at him, “Huh?”

He could recognize that familiar remorse in her teary eyes and he deeply frowned, concerned, “What was that about? Are you alright?”

My god, if he was any gentler, she could’ve sworn she’d crumble into his arms right then and there. Pride refused so. Instead, So Ah avoided his azures in shame, finding the ring on his finger more interesting to stare at. Helena looked at the couple, an unreadable frown on her lips at the sight of watching the sisters arguing with one another. 

Helena had someone waiting for her inside that cathedral to care too much about some stranger’s family relationship – but seeing that uneasy look on the youngest Han; it stirred her up the wrong way. 

Just what did she tell Minji to get her this mortified?

“I…” So Ah whispered, voice coming out tight, “I think I said something bad…”

Leon’s brows furrowed at her, tilting his head down a little to catch her eye and hear her weak voice, “What?”

“Hang on!” The bus driver ordered, breaking the atmosphere and they looked out the front window. The lights shone on a rotten zombie just dragging around and it snarled before the bus driver slammed the gas. 

Did he run over the zombie? Yeah.

But did it work out in their favour? Hell, no. 

The rain made the muddy road slippery, sliding the bus around as the driver lost control of the vehicle. The ruckus sent all survivors, including the agents, down to the ground. It knocked the agents out, emitting a yelp from So Ah when Leon had pulled her close to him to keep her safe. 

Despite him knowing about her regenerative abilities, Leon would still put his life on the line for her. 

She groaned when the bus halted, half of it nearly tipping over a hill leading to a cemetery. Lifting her head a little, her vision was swaying at the fall but she could make out Leon’s unconsciousness, similar to Helena’s.

Then the familiar cries and screams from Nancy got her attention. She was being tugged on and grabbed by the zombies coming from the windows whilst the cop was shouting out for help, more zombies from the top dragging him up. 

So Ah yelped when the bus shook again and she tumbled to the ground next to Leon who began waking up. 

And despite her regenerative abilities, she still felt the pain within her limbs and her heavy heart. 

But alas, in Helena’s words, it wasn’t the right time. 

✠

“Leon! Helena! So Ah! Are you guys alright!?” Hunnigan’s voice echoed in So Ah’s head as she observed the cemetery from her spot, leaning against the lone lamppost. 

Tired eyes looked into the graves and tombstones from her distance; well, fuck. Zombies and graveyards don’t really mix well together.

“Yeah,” Leon answered, slowly regaining his energy from the fall, “For whatever reason, we’re still alive.”

“We’re cutting through the cemetery to reach the cathedral,” Helena spoke, voice straining with her hand clutched to her side; probably growing a bruise or two.

“So Ah, do you copy?” Hunnigan asked, having not heard So Ah’s reply and she grumbled out an ‘mhm’ when Leon and Helena caught up with her. 

Leon found her leaning against the lamppost with her hand gripping onto her shoulder which was positioned awkwardly. Her damp bangs dangled in front of her face as she gazed exhaustedly at the ground. Even under the pale light, her reddening cheeks of embarrassment didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Is it… Is it broken?” Helena was understandably confused about this strange ability of the Han girl. And a bit worried but we won’t talk about that. 

“Just dislocated…” So Ah muttered before looking at them, sparing them both a glance but lingered more at her fiance, “Are you two okay?”

Leon gently held her forearm, lifting it up before pressing his other hand flat on her shoulder, picking up on her winces and muffled whines, “Yeah, nothing broken at least.”

Her brows furrowed at his little comment and he flashed her a quick smile then a dull pop reached her ears along with the pain. Her cuss died up in her throat as she keeled over, hand going to her shoulder. Helena kept her eyes out for any zombies but they would dart toward the girl from time to time. 

Leon set his hand on her nape, thumb caressing her skin there as So Ah gathered her breath, feeling the pain subside. 

“Did… Did anyone else make it?” She muttered, glancing over her aching shoulder, feebly hoping anyone would be walking – or stumbling – just fine and Leon silently shook his head with frustration in his eyes. 

She knew how much he hated it when survivors never make it out. 

‘Good thing you left your sister to be taken then,’ the voice in her head chimed annoyingly, ‘Knowing her and Jiwoo, they wouldn’t have walked out of that alive. At least not without a limb miss –’

“Come on,” Leon’s honeyed voice took her away from her inner-bullying session moment, nudging his chin ahead, “The cathedral is just past this cemetery.”

So Ah nodded lightly before giving Helena a dry look with thinned lips, “Lead the way, Harper.”

‘Jealousy isn’t a good colour on you,’

‘Shut up.’

[rhysismydaddy]

Casual Ruin Pt. 3 (Elriel)

Elain’s part of the Damnation Series.

Part 1 | Part 2

God help yall this shit was a rollercoaster to write

________________________________________________

~Elain~

For a second, no one breathes, let alone moves.

Azriel’s hands are steady as he grips the gun, body lined with tension, eyes so cold I shiver. The barrel’s close enough that if I leaned forward an inch, it’d brush my forehead.

The man next to him holds a cigarette halfway to his mouth, looking at me like he’s never seen a woman before and has absolutely no idea what to do. 

And me? I’m frozen in place, horror rushing through my veins and mixing with the shock to create a nauseating cocktail I’m not sure I’ll survive.

It’s the brutalized man in the chair slumping over and hitting the floor with a loud thud that finally snaps us out of our momentary haze.

Azriel blinks and throws the gun to the side so hard it makes a dent in the wall, the stranger drops his cigarette and reaches for me, and I sprint like my fucking life depends on it. Because at this point, I’m pretty sure it might.

What the hell did I walk into? 

I race up the stairs toward the garage, where less than a minute ago, I’d heard Azriel’s voice and gone to surprise him. By the look on his face when he turned around, I’d at least succeeded in that.

I can practically feel the man behind me, can tell he’s reaching a hand out to grab me.

I’ve never been a violent person in my life, but with the amount of adrenaline coursing through me, I don’t even question the urge to use the wine bottle in my hands as a weapon.

It breaks over the man’s head, but unlike in the movies, he doesn’t go down immediately. However, he does lose his balance enough that with a firm shove to his chest, he goes crashing back down to the hellhole I’m running from.

I make it to the garage and slam the door to the basement closed, locking it for good measure. Then I drag the heavy workbench next to the line of pristine cars over in front of it for even better measure. 

I refuse to let myself stop and think, because I’m pretty sure if I do, I’ll break down into a pool of tears and never get up. I’m running on nothing but adrenaline, and I know I’ll crash soon, but I force myself to keep going.

For a moment, I’m tempted to steal one of the cars to get away, but the sound of angry Italian shouts behind the locked door makes me hesitant to waste any more time.

I also definitely don’t have time to call the cab driver that dropped me off and beg him to come back.

The fear and terror don’t give me time to doubt myself as I take my heels off, take off up the driveway, and pray I’m fast enough to escape the devil on my trail.

~Azriel~

“Get that goddamn door open,” I shout at Luca, who’s dripping wine all over the place and has a gash on his forehead from where little Elain Archeron shoved him down the stairs.

I almost fucking shot her in the head. Her. 

Dolcezza mia. The girl I’m stupidly obsessed with. The one who’s always quick to smile--the same one who sighs when I kiss her and lights up when I walk into the room.

I almost shot her between those beautiful brown eyes, almost snuffed them out forever.

I run a hand over my face, listening to the sound of Luca throwing himself into the door repeatedly. “I’m trying, boss, but I think she pulled something in front of the door.”

Smart.

Fucking annoying as hell, but smart.

If I wasn’t so damn pissed at myself for not locking the basement door behind me and allowing her to find us down here, I’d be mildly impressed. 

Two of the most dangerous men in Italy, trapped in the basement like idiots. 

I pull up the app to track her phone--which was originally for her safety, not because I’m a complete stalker--and see that she’s on foot, going behind the houses instead of down the road. She probably thinks I’ll drive by her while she gets away right under my nose.

“Fuck,” I mutter, sending out a text to all my neighbors to tell them not to shoot the beautiful young woman trespassing through their properties. She has no idea the people around us have security systems better than the President’s. “Luca!”

“Working on it,” he grunts back.

“If that shit isn’t open in the next twenty seconds, you’re going in the incinerator after this asshole,” I warn, nudging the dead body on the floor with a boot.

The threat must work, because a second later, there’s a loud bang and the telltale sound of the workbench from my garage toppling over. “Got it!”

I storm up the stairs and tell him, “Run interference with the neighbors and local police. Anyone talks-”

“Got it,” he interrupts, grabbing his phone to start threatening people.

Pulling up the app again, I track the path she’s on, curse when I see she’s headed to the bus station about a mile from here, and take off after her.

Technically, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if she got away. She’d probably go to the police and tell them what she saw, not knowing that Marco, the deputy on duty, has been on my payroll since the day he passed the police entrance exam.

Having done her civic duty, she’d probably try to recover from the trauma of what she saw, eventually finish her classes and move on, and leave. Forgetting all about me in the process.

Technically, for her, this option would not be the worst thing in the world.

But in my head, it feels worse than being stabbed. In my head, there isn’t a question about it. 

I’m going after her. 

There’s this weird, itchy feeling in my chest I’ve never felt before as I run and run and try not to think about the look on her face as she saw the body fall to the floor.

I realize the feeling in my chest as panic, something I haven’t felt since I was a teenager getting booked for stealing my first car.

She knows.

She knows, and the look on her face... she looked at me like I’m a monster. 

And fuck, maybe that’s true. Maybe I am beyond saving.

But having her look at me, and having her take away the easy smiles and bright eyes I’d grown strangely accustomed to... it feels like being robbed.

And it makes me panic.

So I’ll chase her, and catch her, and do whatever I have to do to get her back. 

Because I need her, and damn if I’m going at this alone. 

After a surprising amount of time, I see the thin outline of her off in the distance, sprinting like the devil himself is chasing her. 

I take a deep breath and try to stay quiet, but it’s hopeless. Like she’s the one with the tracker on me, she can tell the second I’m close. I can see it from the way her shoulders go stiff and her pace increases.

“Elain!” 

I call out again for her to stop, because I don’t want to tackle her and risk hurting her. She ignores me and keeps running, turning behind the coroner of one of my dealer’s house. 

That sticky, awful, panicky feeling in my chest grows as she disappears from sight, and without thinking, I follow.

Which, if I had been thinking, I never would’ve done, because shit like this leaves you open to attack. 

Which reminds me: I’ve now broken all three rules for this woman, because I don’t have a single weapon on me to defend us if something happens.

I hit the ground hard enough the wind rushes out of me and my stupid brain rattles around in my stupid skull. 

Blinking through the blur, I look up to find Elain standing over me with an empty metal trashcan raised like a bat, ready to strike again. 

I need to explain, need to talk to her, but all I can seem to say is her name.

“Elain,” I croak, trying to force air down my lungs.

As my vision clears, I notice she’s crying, beautiful face streaked with tears and dirt. 

She pauses and looks at me, like the sight of me knocked on my ass hurts her just as much as it does me, then shakes her head to clear it. 

She throws the trash can at me and turns to flee, but I know I can’t let her go, at least not like this. Grabbing her ankle, I yank her down to me, making sure she lands on me instead of the ground. 

She screams, the sound scraping away another layer of the trust we’d built, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so desperate in my life. Elain flails around, but I use my weight to pin her, trying not to hurt her. 

She has to let me explain. She has to.

I hate what I’m about to do, but the only other option I have is making her pass out the old fashion way, which I know I could never bring myself to do.

The second the needle goes into her neck, she goes stiff underneath me, looking at me with wide, panicked eyes. 

“You drugged me,” she sobs, the betrayal in her voice making my chest hurt.

I brush the hair off her face, press my forehead to hers, and start telling her things I haven’t told another living soul.

I’ll never hurt you.

I’m sorry.

~Elain~

Am I dead?

Why does it feel like I got hit by a bus?

Where am I? 

These three questions rattle around in my brain at the same time, all demanding answers, as soon as I open my eyes. 

And the weird part is... I don’t have any.

I have no idea if I’m alive or dead, but the headache I have that seems permanently settled behind my eyes points to the latter.

I blink the haze in my brain away and realize I’m at my house in bed, but my extend of knowledge seems to stop there. 

There’s a voice in my head whispering something, but it’s too quiet for me to understand what she’s saying. All I know is that I feel like I need to do something, need to get out of here. 

I rub my sore eyes and see there’s a note on the bedside table, written in precise, calm handwriting I recognize better than my own. 

Come downstairs. 

He’s here? I thought I went to his house, not the other way around.

The blinds are closed, but when I make my way to the window and peak out, I see a dark night sky, the moon reflecting off the water and making everything seen calm.  

What the hell happened to me?

I start to leave the room, intent on going downstairs and asking Azriel that very question. 

Except as I’m passing by my closet, I see something. 

Something small and so inconsequential, I almost don’t think anything about it.

Like I’m in a dream, I feel myself walk over to the corner of the room. I feel my knees hit the floor, see my finger extend to the floor and touch the tiny drop of liquid that caught my eye.

I pull back and look, and somehow, I’m not surprised to see that it’s blood.

The floors are dark enough I shouldn’t have been able to see it from so far away, but it’s like a part of me was looking for it. 

And that’s when it comes back to me.

Coming to surprise him, seeing the door in his garage, going downstairs... I press a hand to my mouth and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to fight the tidal wave of nausea washing over me. 

I remember seeing the blood first and wondering if someone was hurt, then coming further into the room to find myself in the middle of a nightmare. If I wasn’t so strangely sure it had been real, I would think it was a horror movie.

The man strapped down had been so brutalized, I doubt I would’ve recognized him even if I’d known him my whole life.

I remember running without a thought more, giving into the fight or flight impulse to get the hell out of there. 

I remember hitting Azriel, seeing him fall to the ground and looking up at me with those deep, wounded eyes that will haunt me more than the torture he inflicted on that poor man. 

Eyes that told me everything and nothing at the same time.

I remember looking into those eyes and crying at the pain in them that was surely reflected in my own. 

And then nothing. 

Why don’t I remember? How did I get back here?

I’m sorry. 

I finally recall that last whispered promise, and if I hadn’t already been sitting on the floor, I would’ve fallen to my knees as I realize what happened.

He drugged me.

Azriel, the same man who slow-danced with me in an empty restaurant and drove me along the coast and held me in his sleep, drugged me.

And he’s downstairs.

I start to hyperventilate, because I don’t know what to do or what he’s planning to do. Why is he still here?

What am I going to do? Should I call the cops?

I realize I don’t have my phone, probably a countermeasure on his part. 

I also realize there’s no way for me to run. I remember how fast he’d caught me, how easy it had been for him to render me useless. 

There’s no escaping him. Not if he’s already down there waiting, evil plan cooking in his mind.

I have no other option, unless I want to stay in this room for the rest of my life.

So with confidence I don’t feel, I walk downstairs. 

I find him sitting at my breakfast table, leaning back casually and sipping a cup of coffee despite the late hour. 

The moonlight clings to him like it loves him, playing off of his sharp cheekbones and illuminating his features. His face is carefully blank, but there’s a flicker of something as he looks at me, something that seems almost like relief. 

He’s calm and collected and everything I’m not, and it pisses me off. My world’s on fire, yet he’s sitting here like nothing’s wrong? And he’s drinking my coffee?

I stomp over to grab the stolen drink, then sit across from him and cross my arms. 

And wait.

Because I sure as hell am not talking first. 

He stayed because he has something to say. I don’t have anything to say to him. 

For a long time, we just stare at each other, because he’s apparently playing by the same rules. 

Then he accepts his defeat, sighs, and asks, “Why did you come to my house last night?”

I purse my lips, narrow my eyes, and try to stop myself from throwing the coffee in his face. 

Because he said that almost like an accusation. 

Like the problem is that I came over unannounced, not that he was torturing someone. 

“I’m not justifying that with a response,” I eventually tell him.

He gives me a hard look. “Answer the question.”

Something about the entirely male way he demanded that, like he expects a response immediately, makes me tilt my head and ask so sweetly I almost choke, “Why? Are you going to torture me if I don’t?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, showing the first sign of imperfection I’ve ever seen from him. “What you saw-”

“Was horrifying, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

He acts like I didn’t even speak. “-was something I meant to keep private from you.”

I don’t tell him that’s pretty fucking obvious at this point. 

Instead I ask, “Why?” 

I’m not sure why I want to know, but it suddenly feels important. 

He doesn’t takes his eyes off of me as he says, “Because you’re you. You shine so brightly it should be illegal, and you look at the world like it isn’t a terrible place. I didn’t want to take that from you.”

My throat feels uncomfortably tight all the sudden, but I clear it and say, “Well, you did.”

His jaw clenches, and he looks down. “I know. If I could go back and walk away, I would. Shit, I told myself I would more times than I can count. But I just... couldn’t. And I couldn’t tell you either. I wanted to, but I didn’t know how, Elain.”

The sound of my name on his lips makes my heart finally start beating again, but I still call him on his lie. “That isn’t why you never told me. You never told me because you knew I’d hate you the second you did.”

“Maybe,” he admits, looking back up at me. “But now you know, and I’m glad you do. You know everything now.”

It’s my turn to look down, because while I’d wanted to know the real him, I’d never imagined I’d find something like this. 

“No, I don’t. I don’t know anything, because you haven’t explained anything.”

He tilts his head. “What needs explaining?”

I ask the obvious question. “Who do you work for?”

“Myself.”

Once again, I don’t feel like justifying that with a response. He still isn’t saying anything that explains what I saw or why he’d do that to someone. 

If he isn’t going to say anything meaningful, I’m not having this conversation.

Eventually, he seems to realize this. Because he says, “I’m Capo of the Sicilian Outfit of the Cosa Nostra, Elain.”

I bite my lip so hard I taste blood, trying to keep my emotions in check. I don’t know how to feel, other than confused and angry.

“Any other questions?”

“Why did you drug me?”

If he just wanted to talk, he could’ve dragged me back to his place or maybe just say that. Not chase me down like a rapid animal.

“You were panicked, and I didn’t want to hurt you. I needed time to explain, needed to tell you this was never the plan.”

There’s something else there, and I narrow my eyes in a silent demand for him to continue.

Azriel sighs and admits, “My neighbors are business associates-” aka fellow criminals, “and I didn’t want them to hear you yelling and come to... investigate-” aka kill me, “or watch me get knocked unconscious by a twenty-four year old woman with a trash can.”

I give him a smug smile, more than ready to give him a repeat of that show, and try to decide what else to ask. 

But before I get the chance, he says, “I don’t see why this changes anything.”

My mouth falls open.

He doesn’t see- is he serious? “You’re joking.”

“I’m not known for my humor.”

I’m still stunned into silence, so he tilts his head and asks, “Why does it matter? Why does what I do make me a different person?”

When I don’t answer, he says, “It doesn’t. Nothing I do will ever come near you. You won’t ever have to see it again. I promise.” 

“It’s not about seeing it! It’s about knowing what you do when we’re not together. You kiss me goodbye, then go home and... there is absolutely no way I can go back to what we were doing before. You killed someone, Azriel.”

He straightens his cufflinks and shoots back, “He deserved it, Elain.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”

“First off, murder is illegal. So is torture, which from the way that man looked, you’d definitely been inflicting on him. Not only is it illegal, it’s wrong! He was an innocent human being-”

“He wasn’t innocent.”

I keep going. “You aren’t judge, jury, and executioner! You-”

He’s on me before I can finish, sliding a hand over my mouth and leaning over my chair. 

God, the man is fast. Has he always been that fast, or have I just never noticed?

“Let me explain something to you, Elain. On this island, I am. I decide who’s guilty, which he confessed to being. I decide the punishment, which was a bullet to the brain. I’m the executioner, and I pull the trigger myself, because I’m not a fucking coward.”

I fight his hold, trying to push him away, but he doesn’t even budge. 

“I play by different rules, bellissima. Just because you’ve never been exposed to them, or my world, doesn’t mean it hasn’t always existed. I’m the judge, jury, executioner, and the goddamn king.”

A shiver goes down my spine at his words. 

He pushes my head back, forcing me to meet his eyes. “And it doesn’t matter.”

I shake my head, bite his finger, push at his chest. But it doesn’t do any good.

“It doesn’t matter, because like I said, we live in two different worlds. I’d never let mine impact yours.”

I want to tell him that isn’t the problem, but his hand is still on my mouth. 

“Have you even asked yourself why you’re not afraid?” he asks out of the blue, surprising me. 

I stare blankly at him, no longer fighting, waiting for whatever he’s about to say.

“You’re scared of what I do, but you aren’t scared of me. Not really. If you were, you never would’ve come down those stairs.”

That’s why he looked relieved, I realize. He was worried I’d be scared of him.

Everything he’s saying makes sense, which makes no sense at all. 

Because if he’s right, and he certainly seems to think he is, it begs the question... why aren’t I scared of him?

He seems to see my ask myself that, because he answers it a second later.

Eyes growing softer, he murmurs, “It’s because you know I’d never hurt you, nor would I let anyone else.”

I remember him whispering that right before I passed out. I’ll never hurt you. 

He comes so close I can see the individual flecks of green in his dark hazel eyes. “I may do terrible things, and I’d do terrible things for you, Elain, but I’d never do them to you.”

“So you aren’t afraid. Just angry,” he concludes. Then he looks at me like he did the other day in the sea behind his house, right before he called me his. “Do you know why you’re angry, Elain?”

Currently, it’s because he’s explaining my emotions to me, which has to be the most male, obnoxious thing that’s ever happened in all of history.

But I have a feeling that isn’t what he’s talking about.

And I have another feeling that I’m not going to like what he’s about to say.

I take another glance at the look in his eyes and realize what he means, starting to fight again. I push at his chest and hands and try to get him to not say the words I know he’s going to. 

It doesn’t work. 

“You’re upset,” he says a moment later, slow and sure like always, “because I lied to you. You feel betrayed, like you don’t know me. But that isn’t why you’re angry.”

One hand on my face, the other in my hair, he holds me perfectly still as he whispers, “You’re angry because you were falling for me.”

I press my eyes closed, trying not to hear the words he’s saying as if that’ll make them any less true. 

But it doesn’t, because they are true. 

Every easy smile, midnight whisper, and lingering kiss he’s given me in the past month has given him a permanent place in my heart, and it hurts to have that all feel like a lie.

It hurts to look at him and not know if I recognize the person holding me.

A sob escapes me, which seems to confirm what he said, and he takes his hand off my mouth to wipe away a tear. 

His brow comes to rest against mine, and I breathe him in, unable to stop myself. 

There’s a war happening inside me, and it distracts me enough I don’t stop him from pulling me closer.

My heart plays me a montage of the past month, showing me countless moments where I’d been so positive I’d found paradise, so positive I’d found someone I could trust completely. It tells me Azriel has always felt like home, like something so inexplicably right I don’t even know how to describe it.

But my brain reminds me the hands cupping my cheeks softly are covered in blood and gunsmoke and victims’ tears. It tells me I’ve never really known the man I’m currently begging myself not to have feelings for. 

The battle inside of me rages on, and I cry harder, not even knowing who I want to win.

It only gets harder to choose as he murmurs, “Ance io mi sto innamorando di te.”

I’m falling for you, too.

I don’t know what to do or feel or think, and I’m so helplessly confused it makes me want to scream. 

Yet even though I’m confused, something about this makes sense. Something about knowing what he really does for a living makes everything in my head just click.

The way he’d redirect the conversation whenever I asked about his job. The way I’d always suspected him of hiding something about himself from me. The way every movement he’s ever made with me has been lined with restraint.

He could hurt me, has had the opportunity for months, but he never has. He’s always been careful with me, has always held and looked at me like I’m something precious to him.

My brain starts shifting to his side of the argument, and I can feel my morality ripping to shreds under his hands.

Before I can think, I shove him away, getting to my feet to point at the door. “Get out. You lied to me. You’re a murderer. A monster.”

Feelings or not, I know I can’t do this. I can’t just ignore what I saw, what he’ll continue to do. So he needs to leave.

He doesn’t.

Azriel just leans against the kitchen island counter and pulls out a cigarette, lighting it as he watches me for a long moment. 

“Maybe I am,” he says eventually around a mouthful of smoke. “But just because I’m a monster, Elain, doesn’t mean I can’t give you what we both know you need. Nothing has to change.”

It already has.

“I don’t need anything from you.”

“No?”

“No.”

He prowls toward me, the intent shining so clear in his eyes I take a step back for every one he takes forward. My back hits a wall, and he traps me between it and himself, caging me in with strong arms.

The line between right and wrong, good and evil, seems to blur as he gets closer and closer, and by the time we’re sharing air, I don’t know which way is up. All I know is him.

He takes a deep inhale of his cigarette, tips my head back with his thumb, and then breathes the smoke into my mouth. 

It should be disgusting, considering I don’t smoke and make it a point to avoid cancer-causing products in general. 

It should be. But it isn’t.

It’s the opposite of disgusting. 

There’s a buzz in my veins that has nothing to do with the nicotine, and I realize too late that he’s the vice I can’t quit. 

I’m too far gone, too addicted already.

He pulls back slightly, tucking the still-burning cigarette behind his ear. His eyes burn with intensity, and his dark hair and shoulders are surrounded by the smoke clinging to his shoulders like a shadow. 

He looks like the villain of a movie I never even knew I wanted to watch, and it physically pains me to have him this close and not be touching him, so I put my hands on his chest, fingers fisting in the expensive material of his suit.

His are on the wall by my head, bracing himself as he leans in and slowly licks a line across my lower lip, like he’s tasting me. 

My want for him is a tangible thing, and I have to ask myself if he’s right. Does it matter what he does, when he makes me feel like no one else ever has? Do I care enough to stay away from him?

“You don’t need me?” he asks again, so close his lips brush against mine.

I shake my head, even though I know it isn’t the truth. I do need him, and that’s why this hurts so damn bad. Why this betrayal cuts so deep.

Even though we’re so close he’s nothing but a blur, I can feel his eyes on me, burning a hole through me. 

And then he says something that changes everything. 

“Well, I need you,” he whispers, so softly it breaks my heart.

I’m lost.

I’m so goddamn lost in him, I forget everything we were talking about, forget everything he’s done. 

My knees go weak, and I cling to him, pulling him into me as I slip down the wall.

His lips crash against mine, and I know instantly that this is him. This is all of him. I finally know exactly who he is, and he doesn’t have to hide anymore.

It’s probably our hundredth kiss, but it feels like the first, and I’m drunk on it, drunk on him.

Hands in my hair, he kisses me like he wasn’t lying--like he needs me. 

My hands pull tighter, until there’s not an inch between us, and he makes a low sound in his throat. His are on my waist, gripping me tightly and telling me he wants this just as much as I do.

The restraint from before is all but gone, and I tremble at how much power is in his grasp, how small and fragile it makes me feel in comparison. 

My willpower crumples further, like a napkin in his fist, as his tongue teases mine, making me chase him for more.

Azriel pulls my lower lip between his teeth, pulling it between us as he draws back. It’ll be bruised tomorrow, but a sick part of me likes that he’s leaving his mark on me.

“Say it,” he say roughly, voice deep and scratchy with lust.

I don’t get a change to say it, or anything else, before he’s kissing me again, running his hands up my back and into my hair.

“Say it,” he demands again.

Maybe I’m not as lost as I thought, because I know what he wants but stay silent, refusing to give it to him.

Because I can’t.

Everything he said tonight makes sense, but I just... can’t.

He kisses me again, a lingering kiss that makes my chest ache, and almost pleads, “Say it, Elain. Say it doesn’t matter. Say you need me.”

The air grows thick as I stay silent, because it’s response enough.

His eyes narrow, and even though everything inside me begs me to, I don’t stop him as he steps away. 

“Only two more months here, and you want to spend them lying to yourself?”

I hadn’t even thought about the fact that I’m leaving so soon, but I don’t let myself get distracted. “I’m not lying to anyone.”

Except it feels like I am.

A smile pulls on his lips, but it isn’t friendly. “You’re fucking lying, and you know it. You know it doesn’t matter, you just can’t admit it, because then you’d be like me.”

Heart pounding, I shake my head, but he keeps going. “Fucking a monster would be condoning the devil’s work, right?”

He takes a step in, catching my wrists as I try to push him back, pinning them above my head, and laughing. 

“You saying you don’t want me is the most pathetic lie I’ve ever heard, carro. ”

“Azriel-”

Mouth next to my ear, he growls, “You’re really telling me if I slip my hand between your pretty thighs, I won’t find you wet and ready for me?”

I push against his hands and look away, all the confirmation he needs. 

He tsks, feigning disappointment. 

I close my eyes and fight my response to him with everything I have. I try to tell myself it matters, that what he does disgusts me, but it doesn’t sound believable to even myself at this point.

“I could prove it to you, make you come right here and now, but I don’t think I will.”

I’m breathing heavily, two seconds from passing out at the intensity and violence in his voice. 

“I think the next time I fuck you, Elain, you’re going to have to tell me you need me just as much as I need you. You’re going to tell me you want me, and you’re going to beg me for more.” He licks up the side of my neck, and I press my lips together to hold in the moan that wants to escape. “You’re going to tell the goddamn truth, and you’re going to fucking apologize for lying to me in the first place.”

I glare at him, silently conveying that that will never happen. He lied to me. I’m not apologizing for shit.

He sees that and everything else in my gaze, and he shakes his head slowly. 

“I’ll get your confession, Elain,” he promises, going to the door and almost ripping it off its hinges as he opens it. “I always do.”

___________________________________________________

Part 4

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[lishielish]

A Stark Absence - Chapter 8

Pairings: Tony Stark x OFC

Summary:

Evelyn struggles to find a way home, to Tony.  Battling a demon was one thing, surviving plot points might be a different beast entirely…

Tony struggles to find Evelyn.  All of time and space had bent to bring her here–to him.  Now he needed all of time and space to help him bring her home–to him.

Will he be able to find her?  Or has Evelyn been lost to him forever…

Series Tags: Work In Progress, Slow To Update, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, characters listed in order of appearance, Additional Characters to be added, roughly edited, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Related, Isekai, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Dreams and Nightmares, Nightmares, Dreams, Drinking, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol, Alcoholic Tony Stark, Swearing, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Omniscient, Self-Indulgent, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, remnants of previous triangular configuration, Avengers Tower, Post-Iron Man 3, takes place during, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Fluff and Angst, Fluff, Angst, elements of kidnapping and all that goes with

A/N: Please see Masterpost for a note regarding this and upcoming chapters’ tags

Word Count: 3,007

Chapter 8 of ?

AO3

Shaky Ground

Agent May returned to the Bus from a rendezvous that had come down from Director Fury himself.  The small item handed to her was secure on her person, but she felt the pocket to triple check.  Utmost importance, he’d said.  It was of utmost importance that the item be delivered to Abel in as expedited a manner as humanly possible, or the team would not only have Stark looking for them, but Romanoff would be on the hunt.

May had expressed concerns that the item could be of use to Abel: a means of communication between her and Stark or any of the other Avengers, Stark tech that could help her escape, or any range of items that could put Coulson’s team in danger.  Fury had quelled her worries, reassuring her that while Romanoff might have been reluctant to report Abel, she’d still followed through, and could be counted on to do right by the agency.  An aside to assure her that he’d inspected the item personally and found nothing wrong with it, and had removed a well-placed tracker (likely planted by Stark), helped ease her mind about bringing the small box on board.

May disembarked the quinjet and made her way through the Bus to find Coulson.  She would place the box straight into his hand, ensuring her role had been completed without question.  Whatever was in that box, she wanted to be rid of it.  And Abel, too, if she was being honest.  Abel was strange, maybe a little unstable, and if Romanoff was spooked by her then there was definitely more to her than what they’d seen so far.

She found Coulson, along with the rest of the team, huddled around the monitor in the command center, an excited buzz passing around as they spoke.  She stood in the doorway for a long moment, surveying the situation.  Fitz had his sights glued to the screen, still watching Abel as closely as he had been when May left, but piping up when he had something to add to the conversation.  Ward was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, an agitated look darkening his features as he said something to Fitz, then to Coulson.  Skye was bent over her laptop, looking over at Fitz or Ward now and then with questions.  Simmons was tapping at her tablet and talking excitedly at Coulson, who was standing quite still and seemed to be doing the same thing May was: taking it all in.

“Sir, please!”  Simmons was in a tizzy.  “I need to examine her!  I need to check her reflexes, and her breathing, and see that her oxygen saturation hasn’t suffered, and-”

“No,” Coulson said calmly.  “If she sees anyone else, it will be me.”

The buzz in the room died, all eyes on him.  Even Fitz stole a look away from the screen.  May strode in, and stood beside Coulson.

“What’d she do?”

He looked at her in acknowledgement.  “It’s more about what she didn’t do: breathe.”

“What?”

“Or sleep a normal length of time before dreaming.”

“She finally went to sleep?”

“Not for long.  And she knew Fitz by name when she woke up.  We’re trying to figure out what happened.”  He met eyes with each person looking at him.  “I want everyone staying on task, and keeping out of that room.  Ward is still the only person I’m authorizing to interact with Abel.”  He turned to May.  “Debrief--my office.”

May followed him up the stairs.  She was eager to find out what the hell Coulson was thinking, considering giving in and talking to Abel, but also hell-bent on completing her mission.  Before he’d even turned around to face her, she had the box out of her pocket and held out towards him.

“That’s it?” he asked, surprised by the size of the box.

“That’s it,” she confirmed, raising her brows slightly.

He picked it up, holding it gingerly.  “Did he say what it was?”

“Only that he cleared it personally and he’s to be notified as soon as she gets it.  And Romanoff will be out for blood otherwise.”

“Hm.”  He placed it carefully in the pocket of his suit jacket.  “I’ll give it to her when I go in.”

May’s eyes narrowed.  “About that…”

He breathed in deeply.  “About that…”  He gave her a helpless look.  “I don’t have a choice, May.  Three days in and she won’t talk, she won’t sleep, and she just woke up from not breathing after a nightmare able to ID Fitz without having met him before.  Something’s up with her, and we need to find out what.  Before it happens again.”

“But Fury said keeping your resurrection secret was a top priority.”

“He also said Abel’s safety was priority number one.  We’re on shaky ground, stepping on the Avengers’ toes,” he held her gaze intently.  “If Fury thinks keeping me secret is important, that means he thinks there’s a chance we’ll be able to take her back to Avengers Tower.  But we can’t do that if she’s not in one piece.”  He started towards the door.

“But if she goes back and knows about you-”

He looked back over his shoulder.  “We’ll put that fire out once it’s lit.”

Steve had been surprised to find the workshop empty, and the lab, too.  Wondering if this was progress in the right direction or something to be concerned about, he set about searching other rooms he might be likely to find Tony, surprised even further to find him in the kitchen.

He was sitting at the island, head bent over a bowl of what had been cereal until it turned to mush, left too long sitting in milk.  He was talking on the phone--that was good.  Speaking of how he’d let Evelyn down, failed her completely, and would understand if she never wanted to see him again once he found a way to free her from SHIELD--that was bad.

He hadn’t seemed to have heard Steve enter the room and approach him, or he didn’t care, Steve couldn’t be sure of which.  Steve couldn’t find a natural opening to make his presence known, and felt increasingly more uncomfortable with the more he heard.  He cleared his throat.

Tony looked over at the sound, sitting up straight and eyes going wide when he saw Steve holding his phone.  “I gotta go.  Yeah, no--yeah I gotta go!  I need to keep this line free anyway, it’s the only number she’s ever had for me.  Ju--just in case, Rhodey, you never know.”  A longer pause in the conversation and then, “Ya.  Promise.  Texting.  Yes I really will.  I’m already texting you back right now.”

He ended the call and sent a one letter text as he spun in his seat to face Steve.  “What happened?  Is she ok?”

“As far as I know.  I just got word from Natasha that the package has been delivered to her location.  She’s just waiting for confirmation that it’s made it into Evelyn’s hands.”  He saw Tony’s body visibly relax.  “What about you?  You alright?”

Tony waved a hand in dismissal as he stood.  “Me?  I’m fine.”  He took the bowl of soggy cereal to the sink and began scraping it into the garbage disposal.  “Rhodey was just checking in, something about not texting him back.”

Steve looked on with worry as Tony ran the disposal and rinsed his bowl, then set it on the sideboard.  If he wasn’t responding to Rhodes, his best friend, how were Steve and Natasha supposed to keep in touch with him from DC?

When he was finished, Tony ran a hand over his face before turning around.  “Any minute now, right?”

“I sure hope so,” Steve responded truthfully.  “Let me fix ya somethina eat that won’t go belly-up on ya while we wait.”

Tony raised his brows, and stepped aside with his hands held out in an after-you manner.  “Who am I to stop you?”

Steve wanted to see this as a win.  He stepped past Tony, noting the strong scent of alcohol on his breath, and set about preparing something quick for them to eat.  Tony took up his seat at the island, and resumed sitting with his head bent low, listening carefully for the sound of Steve’s phone.

“Colonel Rhodes been busy lately?  Think he might have time to stop by sometime, maybe offer up some ideas for finding Evelyn?”

“Yeah, he ah… he’s been busy,” Tony answered, fully distracted.

“Did you tell him Natasha’s in DC already?  And I’m leaving soon?”

The pause that followed lasted long enough that Steve turned around to make sure Tony hadn’t left or passed out.  

Tony raised his eyes to Steve.  “No.  No, I uh, I didn’t.  I’ll shoot him a text later.”

“Right.  You know the only way we’ll be able to give you any updates we get will be by phone, right?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Tony said with a quick roll of his eyes.  “Answer phone, reply to texts; like I told Rhodey: promise.

“Are you gonna be alright here by yourself?  Is there someone we can ask to stop by and make sure…”  He didn’t know how to finish that sentence.  Make sure you eat?  Sleep?  Don’t drink yourself to death?  Make sure you’re here for Evelyn to come back to?

“I’m a big boy, Rogers, I can take care of myself,” Tony said as he rapped his fingers against the countertop.

“Just…  Just making sure,” Steve said with a nod.

A silence hung between them while Steve cooked.  When everything was finished, he prepared two plates, and handed one across the island to Tony.  He leaned over the island countertop across from Tony, and was about to take his first bite, when he was struck by how familiar this moment felt.  He set his fork down, looking at the space between them with a fond smile.

Tony swallowed down the first bite of food he’d had in a good while.  “What’d I miss?”

Steve breathed a gentle laughing sound through his nose.  “I was just remembering… That morning after we first met Evelyn, we ate just like this.  She was sitting where you are, I was standing here, and she almost choked when I told her you said she was from the future,” he recounted, his smile growing at the memory.

Tony couldn’t help himself.  He chuckled, picturing how her flabbergasted face must have looked.  “Did she turn into a stuttering mess or get all pensive?”

“Both,” Steve said with a laugh.

“What’s she gonna do when she runs out of future?”

“Hm?”

“When everything she knows has happened, what’s she gonna do with all that free time she’ll get back from staring into space?”

A humorless laugh passed between them.

Steve sized Tony up, still wearing his smile.  “I’m sure she’ll still have plenty to worry about.”

Tony nodded, catching his meaning easily.  “She will.”

They ate in companionable silence, their smiles lingering a bit before fading, each man in his own thoughts.  Tony sat back.  He looked at Steve, then at the coffee maker, and rested his gaze on the space in front of the sink with a sigh.

“That phone of yours working?”

Steve tapped his phone where it sat on the counter, the screen illuminating as it woke.  “Nothing yet.”

Tony made a frustrated sound.  “Jarvis, what’s the word?”

“Still nothing, sir,” Jarvis responded.

“Not the word I wanted to hear,” Tony sighed.

“Won’t he tell you if-”

“In a nanosecond,” Tony said, cutting him off.  “I’ve also got him searching text across the web for her name or any similarities.  But what the hell is taking so long with that delivery?”

Steve raised his brows and dipped his head to the side, seconding the thought.

Tony eyed Steve’s phone intensely.  “Thirty minutes or less or it’s free, right?”

Evelyn remained on the cot where Fitz had left her, though she had managed to settle with her back pressed up against the wall.  On occasion, she would turn her head and rest her face against it, letting the solid feeling of the honeycomb wall ground her before her mind could drift off to sleep again.  More than once, she reached a trembling hand down for Tony’s, her breath catching each time she felt the empty cot instead.

A sudden, hot breath on her ear made her head tilt to her shoulder on reflex.

“Beautiful, darling.”  The demon sounded as pleased as he’d ever been; she tried to ignore him.

When did it end?  Her mind felt like it was literally swimming around in her skull, but she was able to pick out a single, coherent thought: I can’t do this.  The demon, the nightmares, the isolation, the way her body felt like it wanted to melt into a puddle of goo and seep through the cracks of existence; it was all too much.

“Oh, that was simply beautiful.”

Tony had always been there for her after each nightmare he’d starred in.  Holding her, reassuring her, soothing her, guiding her through the experience and back to the present, his beating heart caged safely within his firm chest serving as a constant reminder that he was alive.  She’d relied on him--heavily--and was now discovering how traumatic the demon’s world could be without comforting arms welcoming her back upon her return.

She heard the door open, and pulled her heavy eyes to meet whoever it might be, blinking slowly.  Her jaw dropped before she could catch it.  Agent Phillip J Coulson stood before her, very much alive.  A slow, open-mouthed smile lit up her deeply shadowed features, and she blinked sluggishly at him.

“Miss Abel, I’m Agent Coulson.  But you already know that.”

She nodded her head up at him, just barely, the smile lingering on her face, mouth left agape.

He pulled a chair up alongside the cot, facing her, and leaned forward once he’d sat.  “I’d ask you to join me at the table, but, I think we’ll both be more comfortable like this.”

She gave him the same, slow nod.

“Miss Abel,” he said carefully, “I’m supposed to be dead.”

“I know,” she said in a whisper that barely left her breath.

“But I’m not.”

“I know.”

“And the Avengers can’t know that,” he said, searching her glazed-over eyes for understanding.

“I know.”

His eyebrows knitted quickly together and then fell back in place.  “How do you know?”

Her eyes blinked languidly, a small smile of indifference on her lips, and she shrugged the slightest shrug.

“Can I count on you to keep this from them?”

“Yes.”

“Why me?”  He asked, getting straight to the point.  “Why will you only talk with me?”

The small smile reappeared.  She tried to quickly figure out a way around the truth.  “Tony trusted you.”

Coulson looked quite unconvinced.  “You trust me because your boyfriend trusted me before I died?”

She tried to keep her eyes steady so he would see she was being serious.  “I trust you because you’re a good man with a strong moral compass.”

“And you won’t tell me how you know that.”  It was not a question.

“No.”

He held his hands out palm up, effectively showing his cards.  “Looks like you have an unfair advantage, Miss Abel.”

Evelyn’s eyes roamed lethargically around the room, then back to Coulson.  “Looks to me like we’re even.”

He smiled, acknowledging their alleged equal footing, then pulled the box out from his jacket pocket.  “Do you know what this is?”

She eyed the item carefully, wondering if it was a trick question.  “A box…?”

There was a low growl in her ear.  She slowly inclined her head to her shoulder, and wished the demon away as she momentarily squeezed her eyes shut.  She couldn’t contend with him now--not now that she finally had Coulson in front of her.  She needed to focus.

Coulson observed her with both concern and confusion, but carried on as he’d planned.  “Agent Romanoff made some very serious threats to make sure this got to you.”  He held out the box to her, knowing he’d angled himself properly, allowing May to see the movement and contact the Triskelion once the item had been handed off.

Evelyn reached out her hand, still shaking, and held it open, allowing Coulson to place the box in her palm.  She curled her fingers around it, grasping it tightly, and pulled it slowly closer.  Could this be…  Oh, if it was the item Stephen and Wong had been working so hard to imbue, the item meant to protect her from the demon indefinitely, she’d be able to sleep! 

Carefully, she opened the box.  Fit snugly inside was a velvet box.  She tipped the first box over to free the second, catching it in her other hand.  A ring box.  Her eyes darted to Coulson; he looked just as enthralled as she felt.  She pulled the top up slowly, revealing the prize within: a lovely, silver ring with simple filigree surrounding an oval, faceted, sparkling red gem.

This had to be it.

She beamed at Coulson.  “Thank you.”

“I,” he nodded, his expression a mix between confusion and satisfaction.  “You’re welcome.”

She held the small ring box close to her chest, a grateful smile on her face.  Then she gently pulled the ring from its seat.  She tried it first on her right ring finger, but found it a little loose.  Then she slid it easily over the middle finger; it was a perfect fit.

“I just,” she began as she stretched out over the cot.  “I’m just gonna lie down…”

Coulson watched, baffled, as her head hit the pillow, her eyelids dropped, and she appeared to fall asleep at once.  He stayed seated for several minutes, watching over her.  Sure enough, her breathing had slowed to deep, steady breaths.  He stood, returned the chair to its place at the table, then pulled the blanket up over her.  He watched her for another moment before leaving.  No nightmares.  Still breathing.  That was a start.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being a younger Avenger and mentoring Kamala

Kamala Khan x reader

warnings: avengers game spoilers, guns

a/n: so excited about this one; i made y/n just a bit older (and gn!) so that they’re in their mid-early teens during a-day! hope thats okie doke! reader has electrokinesis. this accidentally got really detailed

prompt: anonymous: “Hey there! Would you mind writing HCs for the Avengers Game about female reader being a young Avenger (around 17) and mentoring Kamala Khan?”

you were just a kid yourself when you joined the avengers

and you were an inspiration to kids around the world

“does SHIELD think nothing of child labor laws?” -bruce

the avengers became your family

and seeing what you could do...they knew you could handle yourself

and then a-day happened

the day started off so perfect

and the kids went ballistic over seeing you

“y/h/n! look, it’s y/h/n!”

“can i get a picture?”

“hi, guys! of course you can!”

but there was one kid who stuck out among the rest

kamala khan

“you’re the one who wrote about the sewers, right? i freaking loved it! may i just say your art is amazing?”

“r-really?”

“oh, yeah! and the part where you had thor spin mjölnir to push water towards the sewer lizards so i could shock them? genius!”

she could not wait to tell abu about what you had just said

you obviously took a selfie with her and handed her a little pin with your own “icon” on it

but your world got turned upside down that day

the battle was one you’d never forget

and the fighting with your own teammates afterwards would haunt you for years to come

“what do you know, y/n?! you’re just a kid!” -tony

“oh yeah? im one of the only functioning members of this team!”

“everybody calm down. y/n makes a good point, but—” -nat

“thank you”

“...but there’s some stuff you should leave up to us. you really shouldn’t have to take on so much responsibility” -nat

“she’s right, y/n. this was our fault” -bruce

“are you kidding me?! i’m just as guilty as the rest of you, i’m an equal member of this team! for years we’ve dealt with this together, taken the blame together! what’s changed?”

“y/n...you saw what we did out there. that changed everything...” -bruce

you technically were an inhuman, just not terrigen-based

didnt matter to AIM, they took dr. pym for god’s sake

so you had to run, you were on your own for a while

a long while

you laid low for five years, most boring five years of your life

at least you still had your life, though. it just wasn’t what it used to be

but you got a message one day

“‘tiny dancer,’ huh? my moneys on either nat or tony. nah, tony would have chosen ‘rocket man.’”

you couldn’t be sure, maybe it was just a random shield agent...maybe hank pym? god, this was crazy

the message brought you to, uh, cap’s memorial statue

and there was a young girl arguing with a couple of boys...an inhuman!

you hopped in and saved her, she seemed scared

“hey, kid, you alright?”

“y/h/n? is it really you?”

she seemed vaguely familiar

“are you tiny dancer?”

“no, i thought you might be? they sent you here, too?”

there wasn’t much time to chat, AIM was onto you

you two unfortunately got split up for a minute, but you were practically raised by the notorious clint barton and natasha romanoff, and various other spies

yes, you planted a tracker on her

and met her at the bus stop!

“you found me?”

“that i did, kamala. see, i do remember you”

“that is so cool! i mean—not almost getting killed, or the guy with the big head...”

“what guy? you need to tell me everything”

the whole busride was a bit overwhelming. kamala explained the resistance clues, her powers, her undying admiration for the avengers, you name it

but it made you feel good to know that there were people out there that didn’t hate you

“so what was it like? being the teenage avenger?”

“uh, it was...it was really cool. i felt like i was one-of-a-kind. but sometimes people didn’t take me seriously, it was kind of aggravating”

“yeah, no one takes me seriously either...”

“you know, depending on how this all goes, i might be able to give you a few pointers”

“really?! that’d be great!”

once you got to utah...you saw the chimera

it brought back some bad memories, kamala could tell

“you okay?”

“me? yeah, im good. just thinking...okay, well, do you have a plan on how to get yourself across all of this?”

“actually, i do!”

it was kind of creepy in there, but when you laid your eyes on caps shield, you kind of broke

“do you hear something, what it that?”

“...hulk. kamala, you need to get out of here, i’ll catch up to you, i swear”

she didn’t leave in time, so she got to see the greener side of bruce. you chased him back and tried to get bruce back

meanwhile, kamala found AIM troops...oops

bruce cooled off and man was he doing rough

“y/n, is that really you?”

“yeah, its me. surprise. how long have you been the big guy?”

“too long...a few years”

“jesus, im sorry. i’ll be right back, though. some kid brought me here, i gotta go get her. you kinda scared her off”

she was passed out when you got to her

but bruce is a doctor, he’d figure it out

“i could give her a little shock to wake her up, you know?”

“oh, i know. just let her rest for a minute. she needs it”

“right...well im gonna take a look around, maybe go see what i left behind. i could power the place up, but we’re missing some parts to actually get this thing running. best i can do is lights and doors”

you turned the little things on and turns out did leave a decent amount of stuff in here

your first pair of pistols that nat gave you, the gigantic stein that thor gifted you for your 13th birthday, gadgets tony needed an “extra boost” for *bzzt*, a note from cap that just said “good luck, y/n, you’re going to do great!” you cant even remember what it was he was referring to. you just missed him

kamala walked in while you were shuffling around and cleaning the place up

“hey, dr. banner wanted me to come get you. is this your room?”

“that it is, and it’s a huge mess. this is literally all my belongings ever”

bruce had his plan and you just went along, helping kamala out as you go

“baby steps, kam, don’t want you to pass out. but don’t worry, happens to the best of us” -you

“really? you pass out too?” -kamala

“oh yeah, for sure. tell her bruce, remember that time we had thor overcharge me to literally make me an EMP? and tony was busy listening to music so he wouldn’t get out of the blast radius and his armor shut down? so he was out of commission and i had just collapsed from it all? good times”

“y/n, we thought you died” -bruce

this hc is so long omg — anyways you guys ended up finding tony and it was sort of entertaining but he kinda punched bruce and then hugged you

“you got so big”

“shut up, tony”

you kinda harbored some bad feelings since none of the avengers did anything to help you once they started rounding up inhumans (but you still missed them)

getting attacked again

“okay, kamala, remember what i said about baby steps. dont overdo it. i trust you with this!”

“thank you, y/n! uh—oh my god!”

aaaanyways you went to the ant hill to see hank and pick up some supplies, boy was it great to see some familiar faces, then back the the chimera you went to fix it all up

“can you hold that right there for me, kamala? thanks. i think that just about does it. now i have a surprise for you...your own room!”

you helped kamala get it nice and tidy while talking about each other’s lives, she really did remind you of yourself when you became an avenger. excited, scared, underestimated, all of that. and she begged you to share some mission stories, so you obviously did

“you know, if you stick around for a while, you’re gonna have some cool stories, too. maybe even a kickass costume.”

“oh! a costume, ive got that sorta covered. check it out. a burkini, muslim women wear it for swimming and stuff. my mom got it for me”

“love it. soon we’ll find you a fitting name and update the suit, but seriously, this was the perfect way to go. you look great”

“you think so? i don’t know if i feel that cool. maybe i should try something else?”

“if that’s how you feel, you don’t have to stick to it. you can experiment all you want! but i really think you did awesome on this. come on, pose with me! and hey, i like your pins.”

at this point, you’d do anything for kamala, she reminded you so much of yourself. you would have killed for a mentor your age back in the day.

natasha was in fact tiny dancer...called it

“oh, god, y/n. you’re all grown up...im sorry we left you alone. but if it makes you feel better, i always kept an eye on you”

“well, i kind of took on a protégé...she’s like your grand-protégé. kam, c’mere”

after thor finally came back, everyone started fighting again and ditched, it felt so familiar. but you couldn’t leave kamala behind, you swore to yourself that you couldn’t do that.

she was so good for this team

MODOK was defeated (by kamala herself) but there was so much left to do, tons of threats to extinguish, training to accomplish

“y/n, tony won’t turn his dad rock off! he overrode the speakers in my room”

“oh, it’s on. get chastity’s fabric dye and bleach pens. we’re gonna start some trouble”

she gave you a high five one time and nearly broke your arm

sending each other tiny hand memes

“hey, ms. m, how’re your parents? doing okay without their favorite super-daughter?”

“my abu doesn’t stop texting me actually, says my family is super proud of me. it’s a nice change of pace”

you take her on covert missions for field training, it was Educational(tm)

*elevator music playing* “so...what do you want for dinner? i was thinking we could ask thor to barbecue”

sleepovers in her room that just turn into her showing you her superhero merch, listening to music, prank lists, sneaking off to the HARM room for hand-to-hand combat training and power experiments, thinking up new costume designs

“tip: you always need backup suits, you never know what you’re gonna run into out there. one time tony pushed me into a tower of paint cans and they spilled all over me. steve yelled at him for two hours afterwards. worst mission ever, except steve said ‘motherfucker’ and i have never recovered from the emotions of that day”

“wow, i wish i could have been there for that”

“don’t worry, kami, you’ll see some crazy ‘team bonding’ along the way”

she geeks out about captain marvel sometimes

“hey, i’ve got a book carol gave to me about ‘teens taking responsibility.’ you wanna read it?”

“is it any good?”

“i don’t know, i only read the first two pages”

you ended up having a true heart-to-heart with her after one mission when she made a mistake that nearly cost you guys the mission. you told her that not every mission is going to go perfect, each avenger had slipped up in the field, and she had just started, shes not going to be perfect

“i am literally always here if you need anything. i know what it feels like to be a teenager among legends, but trust me, you’ve made it this far and you’ve proven how much of a badass you are. i know you can take anything that gets thrown at you”

kamala said she makes vegan nachos and yeah she makes vegan nachos

you guys have to hide from the rest of the team when she makes them bc they eat ALL OF THEM

gaff (the SHEILD vendor) has you test his gear, you recommend gear to kamala

you were so excited to guide kamala on her journey of heroism

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @purpleskiesstorm //

[a-wayne-at-heart-too]

The Robins as...

DICK:

Glam rock / Heartland rock ; goes by the pseudonym “Azul”; the Artist Formerly Known as Nightsing

He’s an incredible all-around performer, so it should come as no surprise that he’s a natural frontman (or solo act).

He’s constantly reinventing his look (short, long, mullet - you name it, he’s probably sported the hairstyle). And Discowing’s got nothing on the outfits he wears onstage.

People love booking or working with him because he’s very professional (but does have a volatile temper from time to time). 

The only thing that he requests for in his hotel room or trailer? A poster of The Flying Graysons. Oh, and cereal. Lots of it.

He actually uses the Cirque-du-Soleil-ish set design, blowing minds all over the world.

He likes calling audience members onto the stage, and never forgets to introduce his bandmates and give credit to those who made the concert possible.

His bodyguards don’t get paid enough for the number (and level of aggression) of fans who throw themselves at him.

He actually responds to fan mail, loves visiting sick fans in the hospitals, and gives warm hugs during meet-and-greets.

A substantial part of the proceeds from all his concerts go to the Martha Wayne Foundation, which supports many schools and orphanages.

His “entourage”? His long-term girlfriend, Kory Anders ( “Azul! Over here! Gotham Gazette! Why haven’t you proposed yet?”), and his childhood best friend, Wally West. 

For all his showmanship, he’s notoriously private about his personal life. And, honestly? The spotlight does make him tired.

JASON:

Folk rock / Grunge rock ; goes by the pseudonym “Rason Rodd”

He sings and plays rhythm guitar, while Roy Harper’s on either bass or drums and Lady Artemis slays on lead guitar. Together they’re known as The Outlaws, managed by Mr. Am Not Bizarro.

He sounds so much like Eddie Vedder that it’s eerie. Eerily beautiful.

His debut solo album “I Ain’t No Joker” went straight to #1 on the world charts.

He’s found that music can be an effective political tool, so expect to find him lending his talents, free of charge, to various charities and advocacies. (On that note, he’s already done jail time for his blatantly subversive lyrics.) 

He’s on the road so much that he practically lives on the tour bus (that’s always stocked with beer and cigarettes). At this point, he’s... trying not to mind. He’s been away from what he used to consider “home” for so long that he’s not sure where to go.

With The Outlaws and their connections, he holds free music workshops and provides informal foster care for Gotham’s street children, who often don’t have proper adult supervision.

During his downtime, he visits prisons in Gotham City to perform for the inmates, hoping to encourage them. Then he’ll anonymously send their low-income families some groceries every now and then.

It’s either you’ll barely recognize him on the streets because he’s so low-key or know it’s him because he’s wearing something outrageous, like a tinted gas mask or a plague doctor getup, on a grocery run.

TIM:

Rap rock / Electronic rock ; goes simply by his last name, “Drake” (not to be confused with other famous artist Drake or Gotham vigilante Drake or male fowl -- "I'm not any of them, alright!")

He’s moved on from his punk rock roots and has been experimenting with fusion subgenres.

Once in a while, he’ll do reunion performances with former bandmates Bart Allen and Cassandra Sandsmark.

Nowadays, he frequently collaborates with other artists with different musical backgrounds, such as rapper D.u.k.e. T and country crooner Conner “Kon” Kent. 

He’s notoriously hardworking (and his PA’s got some toned legs from all those coffee runs). 

His albums are a hit among the younger demographic, but his famous adoptive father says that he “is extremely proud of my son, but I... I don’t really understand his music.” (Hmm. Makes you wonder if billionaire Bruce Wayne’s got a closet full of Drake’s “Sedimentary / Metamorphic / Igneous - The Anthology”.)

He’s developed his own state-of-the-art software for composing music and even performs live as a hologram (through the help of information technology magnate Barbara Gordon’s company, Oracle).

He’s made the said software, which makes it possible to produce professional-quality music using little to no equipment other than a mobile phone, free and accessible so that aspiring musicians who can’t afford to work in studios can pursue their dreams.

He enjoys discovering new talent, especially among young people who haven’t had as many opportunities as he’s had, and offers to manage them for free.

His on-again-off-again relationship with pop star Stephy Brown has made him a tabloid staple.

When asked by a reporter what he likes to do for fun, he answered, “Sleep” while slowly sinking into the couch. 

DAMIAN:

Heavy metal meets orchestra music (think Metallica’s “S&M”concert) ; goes by the pseudonym “Habibi”

He’s a musical prodigy who can play practically any instrument from percussion to wind, but the need for control led him to being a conductor.

Like Timothy, he likes to experiment. His latest project, which he’s very secretive to the media about, has to do with oriental influences. He’s called upon the help of his sister, a musical prodigy like him, Cassandra Cain.  

He’s notoriously a perfectionist, which makes it challenging to work with him. (But no one argues that he’s a musical genius, so they put up with it.)

He owns the Wayne Conservatory of Music, which offers full educational scholarships and training programs to the poor youth in Gotham who are musically gifted. 

He once told a news reporter that his greatest dream is to conduct the ultimate performance -- his obra maestra --  starring Azul, Rason Rodd, and Drake.

When he’s not busy in the studio or mentoring budding musicians, he’s just in his mahal (palace), hanging out with his best friend Jon Kent, practicing martial arts, or enjoying the company of his pets. 

And in the quiet moments of their famous lives, they dial one number that always brings them back down to earth...

Alfred: *picks up* Hello? I’ve missed you, too, Master -- What’s the matter? Why are you crying? Oh, bullocks, don’t listen to what they’re saying... In which part of the world are you right no-- Ah, never mind. I’ll just follow the tracker Master Bruce has put on you. I’ll see you in a bit.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  ~ 

For you, @xellexavierxau.

[girls-scenarios]

With The Rain

Idol: Yoohyeon (Dreamcatcher)

Prompt: Hi! I'm so excited to see Dreamcatcher getting so many reactions and oneshots! They deserve so much love! No pressure, but if possible could I request a Yoohyeon scenario where: Yoohyeon and the fem Reader are both superheroes guarding different towns, and they send penpal notes to each other because they have a crush on each other. And one day Reader doesn't respond and Yoohyeon goes to her town to make sure she's okay and finds that her nemesis has finally captured her! Cue an angry rescue!

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: Ugh I suck at titles. Also, this took me forever to write because I kind of forgot how to write an action sequence. And it’s LONG. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this scenario!

Warnings: Weapons (guns), fighting, violence but nothing too graphic, cursing.

♡ Tip Jar♡

Now, under normal circumstances, Yoohyeon wouldn’t have been worried over your silence. She would have just figured that you out saving your city again and that you’d write her back when you could. After all, being a super hero was a busy job that didn’t save a ton of time for writing letters, and you could take care of yourself if anything came up. There had been plenty of times when the two of you had taken short breaks from letter writing to fight some crime. But this time, it was different. This time you weren’t answering her texts either.

Yoohyeon bit her lip as she stared down at her phone, stalling in the long hallway leading to the kitchen. You hadn’t even read the messages she’d sent to you over the course of the past four days and that wasn’t like you. The nagging feeling of unease at the back of her brain was now turning into worry as she sent another text and sighed, running her hand through her hair. What could be happening to keep you away for this long?

“They’re probably fine,” Siyeon said from behind her, making her jump and spin around, letting out a groan.

“Tell me when you’re going to teleport behind me, please,” Yoohyeon grumbled at the older woman, shoving her phone down into her back pocket despite the growing anxiety in her chest. The familiar hallway walls, covered in photos of the team, suddenly felt closer together.

“That would ruin the surprise.” Siyeon shrugged, then raised her eyebrows. “Why are you so worried about (Y/N) anyway? They can handle themselves just fine.”

“I know that.” Yoohyeon sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. “But it’s not like them to just disappear on me, you know? I have this weird feeling....”

“Weirder than sending letters to each other like my grandparents?”

“We’re pen pals and it’s cute, Siyeon. And I’m being serious, I just feel uneasy. I can’t stop worrying about them. About us.”

The older woman seemed to consider this for a moment. “Well, we don’t have anything going on over here. Why don’t you go to their town and see what’s up? Maybe they need some help.”

“That wouldn’t be weird?”

“I mean, if you’re really worried and this isn’t like them, then it would probably make you feel better to go check on them, right? I bet they’re just sick. And if they are okay and they’re just ignoring you on purpose, then tell them off because that’s a dick thing to do.”

She was right. Yoohyeon couldn’t help being a bit nervous that maybe you were ghosting her and didn’t want to see her, but she knew that wasn’t something you would do. Maybe you were sick. So she took out her phone again and checked the time. “Alright. I’ll go over there. Make sure Jiu knows that I’m heading out. I should be home in an hour if nothing goes wrong.”

“And if you aren’t?”

“I’ll send you some sort of signal if I get into trouble.” She slipped past Siyeon and gave her a smile as she walked back to her room. “Thanks for the advice.”

Waving her hand, Siyeon smiled and shrugged again. “No problem,” she said, giving the younger woman a mock salute before disappearing into a cloud of smoke, probably on her way back to the kitchen.

In her room, Yoohyeon quickly grabbed her suit and stuffed it into her bag, along with the long distance Bluetooth earpiece that doubled as a tracker that Handong, the technical brain of the team, had given all of them for emergencies. Then, with a stop in the bathroom to make sure she looked acceptable, she was out the door on her way to your town, her heart beating heavy in her chest. Above her head, clouds began to gather, slowly blocking out the sun.

-

As soon as she arrived in your town, she knew something was wrong. The smell of smoke hung in the air and the streets were deserted. Even the usually busy town hall outside the union station was empty except for the workers, and she frowned, furrowing her brow as she slipped into the bathroom and pulled out her phone. With her heart beginning to pound in her chest, she checked the news for your town, cursing herself for not doing so earlier. The first thing that popped up was a warning for citizens to stay home, and her stomach fell.

The terrorist group known as the Earth Order has returned from hiding after breaking their leader Hornet from prison. This weekend, they stormed the city bank and took everyone inside hostage. Superhero (Y/N) arrived on the scene but has not been seen again since the incident. Law enforcement have warned citizens to stay inside as they are trying to negotiate and have been working with other local heroes, but the public has started to fear the worst.

Yoohyeon swore at herself under her breath and grabbed her suit, internally kicking herself. Of course it was Hornet! You’d told her that he’d been broken out of prison only days before you stopped responding. Why hadn’t she checked the news earlier? Because she was scared that you’d lost interest in her? Because she’d been distracted by her feelings for you? If only she’d known, she could have come earlier. She could have helped you. She could have stopped you from being hurt.

Fear mixed with rage as she slid her mask over her face, concealing her true identity. She wasn’t sure what was going on with the other heroes and law enforcement, but she had to get in there and help you, no matter what she did. As she stuffed her civilian clothes back into her bag, her phone rang and she glanced at the caller. Jiu.

“Something happened,” the older woman said as soon as Yoohyeon answered the phone. “What’s wrong.”

“How did you know?” Yoohyeon asked, slipping her bag over her shoulder as she prepared to leave.

“The weather doesn’t usually go from sunny to a downpour unless you have something to do with it.”

“Oh.” Sure enough, when she stepped out of the bathroom, rain was pouring from the now grey skies, pounding against the ground. Sheepishly, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Yep, that’s me. Sorry, I thought I had more control over my powers now.”

“It’s only when you get really upset. So I know something happened.”

“(Y/N) was captured by Hornet, their nemesis. They went into the bank building after them a few days ago and they haven’t been seen since.”

“That is bad,” Jiu said, and Yoohyeon could hear her leader typing on the other side of the line. “Do you want us to come as backup? I can get the rest of the girls suited up in no time.”

“No, not right now.” Yoohyeon narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. This was something she had to do. “I’ll send a panic alert through the tracker if I run into trouble. There are heroes here on the ground. I’ll think something up.”

“Well, if you’re sure. Good luck.”

“Thanks, Jiu.” Yoohyeon ended the call and slipped her phone into her bag, attached the Bluetooth to her ear, and turned on the tracker. With that, she stowed her bag in one of the lockers at the nearby bus station and took off through the rain, headed straight for the bank.

-

It didn’t take long for her to find it. She didn’t know the layout of your town all that well, but all she had to do was follow the smoke and, soon, the sound of sirens. Squad cars, firetrucks, and ambulances crowded and blocked the road as she reached the scene, and she immediately spotted the team of heroes you worked with gathered behind one of the trucks, speaking to local law enforcement. The bank doors were closed, but the windows were broken and smoking, and blackened, burnt-out cars cluttered the surrounding streets. Frowning, she stayed out of sight from the bank’s many windows, looking the tall building up and down from behind one of the cars. For the first time, she wished she had Siyeon’s power of teleportation. The place looked impenetrable.

After surveying the scene, she stayed low and approached the large truck, trying her best to stay out of sight. At the sound of her footsteps, one of your teammates turned around and gasped.

“Rain? What are you doing here?” At the sound of his voice the rest of the team turned around and she pressed a finger to her lips, joining them in their hiding spot.

“I’m here because I heard what happened to (Y/N).”

“Oh.” Another one of your teammates, Dazzler, twisted her hands, throwing a worried glance up at the building. “Were you worried too?”

“Of course, we’re close.” That was all they needed to know for now. “What’s the situation?”

“It’s not good.” Your team leader Miniaturist stepped up, shaking her head. “We arrived as backup as soon as communication from (Y/N) cut out inside the bank, but Hornet called in reinforcements and he knows we’re here. We can’t just run inside because we don’t know where his hostages are and we don’t need any more civilians getting hurt. Any time we get close, members of the terrorist group come pouring out. We’ve gone through so many, but they just keep coming. We have no idea how many people are inside.”

“That is a rough situation.” Yoohyeon crossed her arms, trying to think. “Does he know all of your powers?”

“Sort of. I was able to shrink myself down and slip in one of the first floor windows without anyone noticing, but they’ve locked and sealed the doors to the stairs so that I couldn’t climb in and unlock it, and I can’t just use the elevator. They’re using the bank cameras to track our every move.”

“I could short circuit the cameras,” added your other teammate Shocker, “but I can’t get close enough without getting shot at or attacked. They always see us coming.”

Hornet had really covered every one of his bases this time. Yoohyeon glanced around the team, then back at the building. Any rescue attempt would be risky at this point, but she had to get in there. They couldn’t let this go on any longer. Using Shocker was their best bet, but how could they get him close enough?

An idea hit her and she brought her hand up to her Bluetooth. “Shocker, do you think you’d have enough time to short circuit the cameras if we teleported you in close enough?”

“I can do it in seconds, but we don’t have anyone like that on our team.”

“I do.” She pressed the button and waited until Jiu’s voice cut through the static.

“Yoohyeon, what’s up?”

“Can you have Vanisher teleport to my location?”

“In her suit?”

“Yes please.”

“I’m on it.”

The Bluetooth cut out and Yoohyeon brought her hand down. “She should be here any minute.”

“Teleportation is exactly what we need,” Miniaturist said, perking up for the first time. “Once the cameras are down, they can only see us from the windows. There are plenty of blind spots in the back of the building. I’ll go through the back door and see if I can scope out the place. Once we have an idea of what we’re dealing with, we can send a team to the front of the building to distract Hornet. He doesn’t know you or Vanisher are here, and that gives us an advantage. You guys can go around the back and take him by surprise while we draw his backup away from you.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” A little poof of smoke revealed a grinning Siyeon and everyone jumped upon her arrival, spinning around to look at her.

“Woah, you really can teleport,” commented Shocker, holding his hand to his chest in shock, and she laughed.

“Of course I can! Now, who am I taking to stop the cameras?” She was as nonchalant as ever when faced with danger and Yoohyeon felt a bit better now that she was there. The situation felt a bit more familiar.

“It’s me,” Shocker said, raising his hand, and Siyeon grabbed him by his shoulders, still grinning.

“I’ll try to hold you still so that you don’t get sick. Just ready yourself, okay?” She didn’t give him enough time to resist, disappearing with him in her arms. After a moment, Yoohyeon heard electricity popping and then the fire of automatic guns. Dazzler’s face with white, but with a poof of smoke, Siyeon and Shocker appeared again behind the truck, unharmed.

“Oh thank goodness,” Dazzler said, putting a hand to her chest and letting out a sigh of relief, and Shocker gave her a thumbs up despite looking a bit sick.

“Cameras are all down. I accidentally turned out all their electricity for a minute too but it’s hard to control your power after your entire body is transported through space and time somehow.”

“That’s being dramatic,” Siyeon said, dusting off her suit and looking around. “What’s the plan now?”

“It’s my turn.” Miniaturist disappeared from her spot and Siyeon blinked.

“Wait, I thought they didn’t have a teleporter.”

“We don’t.” A faint voice came from the ground and both Siyeon and Yoohyeon looked down to see a tiny woman waving at them. “I’m going to run around the back and scope out the area. I’ll communicate with my team and have them rely information to you.” With that, Miniaturist jumped up to the top of the truck, leaving Siyeon and Yoohyeon to stare in surprise.

“Man, that’s one weird power. How did she do that?” Siyeon asked, and Dazzler grinned.

“Something about keeping the power she has at normal size when she’s miniature. Isn’t it cool?”

“It really is. It’s useful during times like this too.”

“Yep.” Shocker sat down, rubbing his hands together to recharge his powers. “Now we just sit here and wait.”

-

“She was able to get into the back stairwell.” Dazzler reported, “They’re holding the civilian hostages on the second floor with ten guards. There are terrorist goons on every floor and there’s someone with a gun at every window. The third floor is full of them, it seems like that’s where the reinforcements are. They’re using the back stairwell. She was able to get to each floor other than the sixth, because there’s a blockade there. She thinks that’s where Hornet and (Y/N) are.” Pulling her hand away from her ear, Dazzler peeked out to look at the building and sighed. “We’re way outnumbered. Even if these guys don’t have powers, they have weapons and there’s a lot of them.”

“We have a member who can control metal.” At Yoohyeon’s words, everyone turned to look at her and Dazzler raised her eyebrows.

“That would help. Could you get her here?”

“I can.” The words barely left Siyeon’s mouth before she disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

When she reappeared, it was with two women instead of one. “I brought our leader too. She controls fire and can make explosions.”

“Hi,” Jiu said, waving a hand as she stepped forward. “I’m Firefly, but you guys can call me Jiu.”

“And I’m Handong. You might also know me as Silver.” Handong waved her gloved hand as well, glancing around the team. “We got the rundown from Siyeon. When are we going in?”

Shocker smiled and waved back at them, even though he looked a bit queasy when he saw them teleport. “Whenever our leader gets back from scoping the place out.”

“I’m back.” The voice made them all jump, then Miniaturist’s sudden appearance made them jump again. She was slightly dusty and she frowned as she brushed off her suit.

“I thought they didn’t have a teleporter?” Jiu asked, and Miniaturist laughed.

“I don’t teleport, I get really tiny. Hence my name, Miniaturist.”

“That makes a lot of sense. I’m Firefly, nice to meet you. This beside me is Silver. We’re here to help. I control fire and she controls metal.”

“This is good.” Miniaturist crossed her arms. “Here’s what we’ll do. Silver, we need you here. Shocker, Dazzler, and I will charge in from the front as a distraction, but there are snipers in every window. We need your cover long enough for the others to wipe out the snipers. Vanisher, Rain, and Firefly will go around the back to wipe out the snipers and rescue the hostages, including (Y/N). Does that all sound good?” The team looked at each other and nodded, and Miniaturist put her hand into the middle of the circle. “Then let’s do this. For the hostages, and for (Y/N).”

Yoohyeon’s heart began to beat a bit faster as she put her hand into the circle and cheered with the rest of them. Miniaturist hadn’t been able to find you, were you really inside? Were you okay? Where could Hornet be hiding you? Were you...? She didn’t let herself finish the question, instead clenching her teeth together and holding onto Siyeon. She couldn’t let herself get upset before the mission even started.

“Now!” Miniaturist yelled, and a blast of blinding light from Dazzler signaled the charge. With that, Yoohyeon’s world went momentarily black.

When she came back, she was dizzy and standing in front of the back door. No matter how many times she teleported, she always ended up feeling strange. As she got her balance back, she watched Jiu try the doorknob.

“She must have unlocked it,” the oldest girl said as she swung the door open. “Let’s go.”

“Do we have a plan?” Siyeon asked as the three of them slipped inside, and Jiu scanned the ceiling.

“I do. I’m going to set of the smoke alarms and the sprinklers. That way Yoohyeon will never run out of water to manipulate and the terrorists will be confused. We need to hit the second floor with the hostages first after we shock them so we catch them by surprise and there’s less chance for people to get hurt.”

“That’s a good idea.” Yoohyeon stopped, tried another door, and nodded for the other girls to come over. “Here are the stairs. We should be able to find a smoke detector in here somewhere.” Outside, the sounds of fighting were loud, and she shuddered at the constant firing of the guns. She knew Handong was good, but they had never faced off against this many enemies before. She could only hope that the other woman could handle it.

“Here’s one! And on the third floor, great.” Jiu stopped and opened her palm. After a second, a fire popped to life above her skin and she held it up to the detector, stretching her arms to reach. At first, nothing happened. Then a piercing siren echoed throughout the building and sprinklers sputtered to life, drenching the floor in seconds.

“Shit, what the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know, but now the elevators won’t work!”

Inside the door that Yoohyeon guessed led to the room where the hostages were being held, she could hear confused yelling. Quickly, the three women moved behind the door and listened to the thud of booted feet rumbling towards the stairwell door.

As soon as the door opened and two men stepped out, Siyeon slammed the door behind them and Yoohyeon manipulated the water, turning the downpour into a whip and sending the two flying down the stairs. There was a crack when their heads landed, and the didn’t move again. Satisfied, the girls turned again to the door.

“Why did you slam the door?” Three more men walked through and Yoohyeon gave them the same treatment, using her water to ram them against the wall. They would be fine, but they wouldn’t wake up for a while.

“That’s five,” Jiu whispered, “five left.”

“Hey, what’s going on out there?” Another voice sounded from behind the door, and they looked at each other. Was this really going to be this easy?

“You goddamn fool! Don’t go through that door, there has to be someone out there!” The next fool foiled their hope for an easy take down. Hearing this, Yoohyeon turned her body to water and slipped underneath the door to look. Five more armed men stood inside, and the biggest one was blocking the rest of the men from the door, glaring at them with his weapon in his hands.

“But who? The whole team is-.”

“They must have called reinforcements. We have to warn Hornet.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Just as quick as she’d turned to water, she returned to her solid form, landing a solid kick against the man’s throat. He choked and went down, and the rest of the men raised their guns, only for them to melt in their hands, making them gasp and scream as it burnt their skin.

“Awe, is it too hot in here for you boys?” Jiu stood in the doorway, her hands and eyes aflame. “Why don’t I make it a bit hotter?” She aimed her arm at one of the big guns at the broken-out window and the goon in her way screamed and dove out of the way just in time to avoid the wave of fire that melted the gun and exploded some of the glass. “Oh, I see you have a survival instinct.”

A few of the men had made a run for the door, but Siyeon was quick and well trained. She kicked one of them, sending him tumbling back against the man running behind him, then jumped onto the back of another, wrapping her legs around his neck and sending him down. With a poof of smoke, she was gone and back again with rope, and soon, all the goons were sat in the corner, their hands and legs tied and their weapons melted or disintegrated.

The scared hostages, mostly bank workers, stared at them with wide eyes as they approached, as if they couldn’t believe they were really there.

“You came to save us?” One woman asked, and Jiu nodded, bending down with a soft smile to burn through the ropes binding them, setting them free.

“We came to save you. Come on, we’ll take you down the back stairs, but we have to be fast. Since the elevators are off, reinforcements might come down the stairs.

The hostages were weak after sitting bound on the floor for so long and most of them stumbled and fell, but with Siyeon’s help for the weakest ones, they were able to get every one of them to the ambulances waiting outside. Still, Yoohyeon couldn’t rest. She was anxious to get back inside.

As the three of them once again entered the stairwell, Jiu turned to Yoohyeon. “I know you want to go find (Y/N), so you should. Siyeon and I can handle the rest of them.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’re sure.” Siyeon patted her shoulder. “If you can’t get around the blockage, call me. And good luck.”

Setting her jaw, Yoohyeon nodded at her teammates, thankful that they understood. “Good luck.” With that, she turned and headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time in her rush. She could still hear gunfire, but she focused on her mission: she had to get to you and trust in the others to be able to handle the rest of the situation. So up she went, running as fast as she could to get to the top.

Just as she was about to round the last set of stairs to get to the blockade, an explosion from above rocked the building and she threw herself onto the floor, covering her head as rubble showered down around her. When the dust settled around her, she slowly stood up and crept up the rest of the stairs to the next landing, every sense on high alert. The air was still cloudy and she had to resist the urge to cough just in case someone was close by. Thankfully, the landing was still intact, but as she looked up at the next set of stairs, she realized what the explosion had been.

The bottom half of the stairs where the blockade had been had been reduced to rubble that cluttered the stairs below, leaving a gaping hole impossible to jump over. At least, for a regular person. Yoohyeon furrowed her eyebrow and looked up. The next landing was still intact was well, although obviously shaken and unsafe. Did this mean Hornet knew they were in the building? He had destroyed his one escape route outside the elevator. He was desperate.

Yoohyeon stepped back until she hit the wall and studied the gap. Going back now was no option. She’d have to jump it.

She closed her eyes and breathed slow and deep, feeling the water all around her and connecting it with her body. Then she readied herself to run in the small space, placing one foot in front of the other and outstretching her hands behind her. It was a technique she’d seen Jiu use, and even though she’d never tried with water before, it had to work.

When she opened her eyes, she started to run, going as fast as she possibly could. Then, at the very last moment as her foot hit the edge of the gap, she jumped and released a jet of water from her hands, propelling her up and forwards at high speed. Her feet landed on the remaining steps and she almost felt relief until the unstable concrete gave out beneath her and she threw herself forward, grabbing onto the corner of the landing to catch herself. The sharp end cut into her hand but she held on, getting her knees onto another more stable step before again throwing her body forward, landing mostly on the ledge. The rest of the stairs crumbled behind her and she gasped for air and carefully crawled forward, not looking back.

The ledge was full of growing cracks, but she spread out her body weight and moved slow and purposeful until she was on the last set of ten stairs, leading to the final floor. Somehow, they were still standing, but not for long. Still careful, Yoohyeon stood to her feet and took them two at a time once again, desperate to get onto solid flooring again. They held her weight and, as she reached the landing and, subsequently, the last doorway, she took a deep breath.

If you weren’t beyond this door....

No, she couldn’t think of that now. Instead of opening the door, she turned her body to water again and slipped silently underneath the door before slithering further into the room. The sprinklers were still going and the water on the floor helped disguise her form, as even in the water she still had a face. The last floor was severely damaged, desks and chairs mangled and holes through the walls. Sparks from broken lights fell into the water and the further through the labyrinth of hallways and offices on the last floor she went, the destruction got worse, until she reached a large meeting room with the door ripped to shreds.

Inside, she heard a voice and her heart stopped. It was you. You were alive.

“Just admit that you’re beaten. They’ve taken out most of your snipers, they took your hostages, and they’re beating the shit out of your guys on the ground. There’s no way you can win this.” Your voice was rough and raspy as you spat at the words, and she could hear chains clanking together and scraping against the floor.

“I think you’re forgetting something,” a man’s voice hissed in return, and anger boiled in Yoohyeon’s chest. Hornet. “I still have you. What do you think your teammates will do if I threaten to kill you?”

“You won’t get away with it. You won’t get away with any of this.”

Yoohyeon followed the sound of your voice, slowly pulling herself from the water so that she could see. In one corner of the meeting room, you were chained to a chair, your legs strapped to the legs and your arms chained so tight behind your back that your arms were streaked with red cuts. You were holding your head high despite the cuts and bruises on your face and the dark circles under your eyes, staring Hornet right in the eyes as he walked over to glare down at you. He was a lean man, not traditionally intimidating, but he towered over you and his eyes were wide, yellow, and crazy. The long fingernails he used to sting and paralyze dug into your skin as he grabbed your face, and Yoohyeon belated realized, to her horror, that you were hooked up to an IV at the back of your neck.

That was how he had captured you. He was continuously paralyzing you through the IV, using the same poison from his nails.

“You sure are brave today. How about I give you another round of electricity and see how brave you are then? With all this water around I can’t guarantee it won’t kill you.”

“But I can.” Yoohyeon stood to her full height, revealing herself as she slashed her hand through the air, sending blades of water to cut through the IV. At the sound of her voice you jerked your head back and Hornet dropped you to spin around, his wild eyes darting around the room until they landed on her.

“Y-Yoohyeon?”

“Who are you?” He demanded, and Yoohyeon glared, the water around her beginning to boil with the intensity of her anger.

“Your worst nightmare.” She pulled her arms back, then pushed them forward, sending a wave of boiling water straight into his core. He let out a cry of pain as he was thrown back into the wall, and she turned her attention to you, slashing at your restraints. The metal of your chain didn’t break as easily as the IV, and he was back on his feet before she could break through, his eyes flashing yellow.

“I won’t let you ruin this! Not after I came so far!” He was faster than she’d thought he would be, and she narrowly missed his charge, jumping to the side just in time to avoid his nails. As he slid to a stop and turned around, she turned her palms upward and pulled up before making a fist, turning the water around her into sharp frozen knives that she then threw towards him with all the force in her body.

They missed his skin but caught on his clothing and dragged him back up against the wall, digging deep into the cheap dry wood. Once again, she had bought herself time and she turned her attention back to you, sharpening her water blade this time through pure anger as she slashed and hacked against your chains.

Just as they fell away and you slumped forward, barely able to catch yourself after the affects of the poison, Hornet roared and broke free, once again charging at Yoohyeon. This time, she was ready, turning her entire body to water and letting him charge right through her before she spun around and grabbed him by the shoulders. Water flowed through her body and up from the ground in a boiling fountain, enveloping him as he screamed. He dragged his body forward and twisted back, trying to escape, but she stared him in the eye, twisted and flexed her fingers, and drew in a purposeful breath, watching with pleasure as the boiling water turned to ice, trapping him inside. Satisfied, she breathed out, freed her hands and pulled away, then immediately refroze the space her hands had made at his shoulders. From inside, he stared at her with his crazy eyes, mid-scream, unable to move but obviously furious.

With Hornet defeated, she turned and ran to your side, helping you sit back up and sucking in a breath when she saw your wounds up close. “Oh my god, (Y/N), are you okay? What did he do to you? I’ll get you down to the ambulance right away.”

Tears were running down your face as you looked up at her, your body shaking as you did your best to move. “You came for me,” you whispered, and she nodded, trying not to cry herself as she dropped to her knees and pulled you gently into her arms.

“I did. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here earlier.”

“It’s not your fault.” You let your forehead fall against her shoulder, your body exhausted. “I should have been stronger. I shouldn’t have let him draw me into this small room. He had the advantage.” A sob shuddered through your body. “I let everyone down. I let you down.”

“You didn’t let anyone down,” she assured you, “especially not me. We all came together to get you out of this. I’m just glad you’re alive. I-I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t save you.”

“I feel cold.” Your voice was brittle and she quickly scooped you into her arms and stood up, terror rushing through her veins. Your body was cold and your breathing uneven and labored, and your eyes slowly began to close.

“No,” she said, letting the tears flow from her eyes as she ran towards the elevators, using the water to raise her own temperature. She had come this far. She couldn’t lose you like this. “Hand in there, (Y/N). I’ll get you help. Please.” Her voice broke as she stopped in front of the elevator, desperately trying to force it open. Nothing would work and she stomped her foot in frustration, turning the water settled on the floor to steam. “I can’t lose you. I love you! Please don’t leave me.”

Slumping to the floor, she cradled you, sobbing as she pressed her forehead to yours. “Please, (Y/N), wake up.”

At that moment, her Bluetooth crackled to life and Jiu’s voice came through, loud and clear. “Yoohyeon, is everything okay on your side?”

Reluctantly, she pulled an arm away from you to touch her ear, unable to stop sobbing. “No, it’s (Y/N). I got here, but I might be too late. The stairs and destroyed and the elevator isn’t working, I can’t do anything-.”

“I’m sending Siyeon to your location now!” Jiu’s voice was stern. “Stay by their side and do everything you can. She’s coming to help you.”

“Help is coming, (Y/N),” she whispered, cradling you once again. “So please. Just hang in there a little longer.”

-

The world was a blur. Yoohyeon couldn’t control her powers, her body wavering and turning to and from water as the skies poured rain like the city had never seen. The ambulance and police lights all blended together and the sounds around her sounded far away and jumbled. The ambulance with you in it sped away and Miniaturist said something, but Yoohyeon couldn’t hear. She could just watch the lights get smaller and smaller as her body phased in and out, becoming one with the rain.

-

The dry white halls of the hospital were suffocating, yet Yoohyeon found herself walking through them with flowers in her hand, just like she had every day since she rescued you. How long had it been? Four days? Five? They all seemed to blend together now, even if Yoohyeon was doing better. She no longer turned into water without realizing it, but the rain hadn’t stopped.

Her feet stalled in front of your door and she glanced around before stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind her. Flowers, cards, and gifts cluttered the room now, and she added the new ones she’d brought to an old bouquet before approaching your bed.

Your color was better now, and you were no longer cold to the touch. Your limbs twitched and even moved, once. But you were still asleep.

“Hey (Y/N). I’m here again today. Are you feeling better?” She wasn’t expecting an answer. Still, she sighed at the silence and sat down in the chair beside your bed, reaching out to gently touch your arm. “You know, this room is full of gifts for you. Flowers, cards, teddy bears, chocolates.... Everyone is worried about you, and thankful that you risked so much to try and protect them. We all want you to wake up.” After a moment of silence, she took a breath and shook her head. “I need you to wake up. I really don’t know what I’ll do without you, (Y/N). I can hardly breathe without you here.”

The room stayed silent aside from the beeping of machines, and after sitting a while, she stood up with another sigh, her heart heavy. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. You were usually so vibrant and strong. It was unsettling to see you like this.

“Well,” she said, “I’ll come and see you again tomorrow.” She lingered for another moment, just in case, before turning and walking towards the door. Just as her hand was about to turn the knob, the sheets on your bed shifted and she froze.

“Yoohyeon?” Your voice was hoarse and almost unfamiliar, but relief surged through her body anyway as she spun around to look. You were still laying down, but your head was turned towards her, and your eyes were open.

“(Y/N)?” She let out a half laugh, half sob as she ran over to your bed. “(Y/N), you’re awake!”

Your eyes were wide and confused as you looked up at her, then around the room, blinking slowly. “W-where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital. You collapsed at the bank and we rushed you here.” She took your hand, holding in her tears as she smiled and brushed your hair away from your face. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

You opened your mouth as if you were about to say something, but the door opened and nurses ran in, followed by the doctor. “They’re awake, just like we heard! We need to check vital signs.”

They milled in and out and the silent room suddenly became alive with activity. Yoohyeon watched in awe until you squeezed her hand, pulling her attention back to you. “I’m scared,” you whispered, “can you stay with me?”

Squeezing your hand back, she nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

-

The next day, the halls didn’t seem nearly as suffocating as they had before, and Yoohyeon walked through with a smile, another bunch of flowers in hand. When she opened the door, you were awake to greet her, and once again relief and happiness surged through her as she closed the door behind her.

“Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

“A lot better. Still a bit queasy, but the doctors said I’d feel like that for a while. At least I can move all my limbs again. And I can eat. I was starving, quite literally.”

“That is good.” She walked over to fill the vase next to your bed with the new flowers, her smile never leaving her lips. “I brought you tulips today. Aren’t they pretty?”

“They are,” you agreed. “Thank you for coming. The nurses said you came by every day.”

“I did. I couldn’t just leave you alone here. Especially not when you being sick is my fault.”

You raised your eyebrows, your face falling a bit. “Your fault?”

Now her smile disappeared and she twisted her hands together, sitting in the chair beside your bed. “Yes, my fault. Your team needed backup. Had I checked on you sooner, you might not be in the hospital. Had I just checked the news, I would have known. But instead I was scared that you were ghosting me, or that you had gotten annoyed with me. Because of that, I let you suffer for longer.”

“Yoohyeon, you saved me,” you said, sounding confused. “I don’t blame you for any of this. There was no way you could have known that I was in trouble. And it was my own fault for going in without waiting for backup. I let my pride and determination get ahead of me and I ended up causing a lot of trouble for everyone else. I don’t blame you at all. Instead, I’m really thankful that you came to help me.”

“But I could have done it sooner.”

“Hey, listen to me.” You reached over to touch her arm, just like she’d done with you the day before, and she looked up at you. “The past is the past. All of us made mistakes. But everything turned out okay. I don’t blame you. And even if it was somehow your fault, I think you literally saving my life makes up for it. You were incredible in there.”

Your words made her feel a bit better and she nodded a bit, giving you a weak smile. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Honestly, the memories are a bit fuzzy,” you admitted. “But I remember when you burst in. I was trying to be tough, but I was terrified. Then you burst in and I finally felt some hope that I would get out of there. I remember that you froze Hornet. And I remember feeling really, really cold and not being able to move.”

“That was terrifying. I was just holding you and I couldn’t do anything.”

“It’s really foggy after that, but.... I remember you begging me to wake up and stay with you, and saying... that you, um, loved me.” As you spoke, your cheeks grew red and Yoohyeon felt herself flush, clearing her throat and glancing away. Of all things for you to remember!

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” After a moment of awkward silence, you spoke again, your voice tentative. “Did you mean it?”

“What?” She jerked up, looking back at you. You looked... hopeful, almost.

“Did you mean it when you said that you loved me, or were you just saying it in the heat of the moment?”

Well, she couldn’t lie to you now. Not after everything the two of you had gone through. Almost losing you was the scariest thing that had ever happened to her and when you were laying there in her arms, she’d regretted never telling you her feelings. So she took a deep breath and nodded, giving you a small smile. “I meant it. And I regretted not telling you sooner.”

“Sooner?”

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time, (Y/N).”

Your smile widened and you laughed, immediately brightening up as you reached for her hand instead. “Good. Because I’m in love with you too.”

“Really? This isn’t just because I saved you, right?”

“I mean, that’s part of it.” You squeezed her hand. “But I was drawn to you from the moment we met, and I only started to like you more after we got closer and became pen pals and met up all the time. Long story short, I’ve loved you for a long time too, Yoohyeon.”

“Wow.” This was real. She almost felt like fainting from relief and happiness, but she didn’t, grinning and scooting closer to you instead. Her heart felt like it was too big for her chest as it pounded and, for the first time, she felt butterflies in her stomach. You loved her too. You didn’t blame her. You were okay and you loved her too. The emotions were almost overwhelming, and she had to make a joke to keep herself from crying. Had she ever cried this much before? “I can’t believe it took you being taken hostage for us to confess.”

You laughed, once again looking like your usual self. Like the you she loved so much. “At least something good came out of it, I guess. You know, since you saved me, I should do something to pay you back.”

She flushed and quickly shook her head. “You don’t have to do that, I-.”

“No, I insist.” You smiled affectionately. “What about a kiss for my hero?”

She hadn’t been expecting that. Well, it was certainly a good offer. As embarrassed as she felt, Yoohyeon couldn’t stop herself from smiling like a fool as she leaned in closer to you, all the worry and anger she’d felt over the week washing away. Outside, the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds.

“You know, I think I could get behind that.”

[sparkie96]

Age difference au, Leon wearing kimono since Simmons kidnap him

A groan escaped him as Leon woke up, holding his head in pain. After blinking a couple of times to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room, he sat up, looking down at his current state of dress, wondering why the hell it was so damn drafty. Why the hell was he in a kimono? Or was there another name for it? Considering it wasn’t the full get-up? He couldn’t think of the right word for it right now. Why pink, though? 

 Bright blue eyes looked around and took in his surroundings. This was neither his dorm nor Chris’s home...nor anywhere he had ever been before. Where the hell was he? What the hell had happened? The last thing he remembered was...he really needed to stop walking to and from places. Especially if he didn’t have someone with him. Christ, if his mother or Chris found out about this one this time, they were gonna put a GPS Tracker on him. 

 Though, if he was being honest, his mother probably would pull him from college and have him take online courses full-time and have Uncle Marvin and Uncle Kevin escort him everywhere. Or ask Chris to take him with him everywhere he goes or get him a job with the BSAA. 

 ...that last one didn’t sound too bad. Piers and Finn said that there was never a dull moment in the BSAA. And he would be working with Chris, so that would be even better. 

 But, he would have to worry about that later. Right now, he had to figure out just what the fuck was going on. Okay, so, step one in investigating; assess the “Crime Scene” or situation. Leon looked around at the unfamiliar room. 

It had white walls, there was an alcove in the left wall with a bronze statue of some sort. An angel? It was definitely a guy, but he wasn’t sure what the statue was due to the shadows. There was a fireplace in the wall across from him, with a large, ornate mantle and a marble looking hearth. On top of the mantle was a very expensive looking painting of a serpent devouring a lion. Odd...but maybe a clue? There was a table next to it, two wine glasses sat on top of it, as well as a set of fine china. There were also two chairs. Okay...not weird at all. On the other side of the fireplace, there was a desk underneath one of the windows. He noted that it was also snowing...which meant that he was still in DC...hopefully.

He then looked down at the floor, noticing that it was also marble, like the hearth in front of the fireplace. Above him was a very large chandelier, much like the ones one would see in a movie or a stereotypical rich person’s house. The lights were dimmed though. Leon woke up in a bed adorned with silk blankets and soft sheets. The pillows were soft and smelled odd, but not gross. More flowery or sweet. Perfume? Drugs? He hoped for the first one and not the latter. 

Overall, everything looked very expensive, so he was in the home of either a rich person, or someone with expensive taste, but who? 

What did he remember last? Leon recalled walking home from campus, having missed the bus. His jeep was in the shop because someone slashed his tires. Chris couldn’t drive him home because he had to stay late at work and do some extra paperwork and get it out of the way so they could spend the weekend at this “Magical Mountain House” Mr. Burton owned. 

 “Oh, you’re awake.” a voice said, a man standing in the doorway. 

Leon looked him over, not recognizing him. He took in his appearance and started making a profile; white male, late fifties, early sixties, black or dark brown hair slicked back. He couldn’t tell what color his eyes were, but he had a mustache and a beard, the same color as the hair on his head. He was wearing a pristine looking white suit, a bolo tie, dress shoes, and wore a large, gold ring on his left thumb. He looked about six feet tall, maybe a bit taller than that. He had a slim build, but no distinct markings that Leon could see. 

“You must be very confused...I can’t blame you.” The man said, approaching the bed as maids fluttered in with trays of food and a bottle of wine, setting up the table by the fireplace, “ I would be too if I were in your position...but you can thank your father for you being here. He’s the one that made me very angry.”

Okay, so, clearly, this man knew his father...but how? His father had been dead for some time...at least he thought so. There had been that one time where he thought he saw him when he went with Chris to that one gala, but it must have been in his head. Old friend? Couldn’t have been if Dad made them angry. Someone that played a part in his death? Possibly. 

Leon stayed quiet, deciding not to play along just in case the man was not in a “friendly” mood. 

 “No need to be shy, Leon.” The man said, “I have no intention of hurting you...unless you or your father force me to do so. Let me introduce myself, my name is Derek Simmons.” The man offered a hand in greeting, holding it out for Leon to shake. 

The college student looked from it to the man’s face, “...My father is dead.” 

The sound of the man’s laughter made Leon jump slightly, not anticipating the abrupt sound, “Oh, of course you don’t know what’s really going on...Lucas is alive.” 

Leon furrowed his brows as Simmons picked up a remote from inside of his coat pocket, aiming it at the ugly portrait above the fireplace. Leon watched in fascination as the picture split down the middle, opening up and revealing a screen of sorts behind it. Said screen flickered to life, showing Leon a video of a lab, or maybe a bunker, or some kind of warehouse. The date at the corner of the screen indicated that the video was from a couple months ago, right around when Chris had first seen Leon and Ark’s livestream on YouTube. 

He watched as a figure moved on screen, running away from these giant, skinless frog looking creatures. The figure, a man, turned and began opening fire on the creatures, successfully gunning a couple down before running once more. The camera angles switched, the man fleeing through what looked like shipment containers, weaving through them like a maze. The camera zoomed in on the man’s face as he made it to one of the elevators, Leon’s eyes wide in shock. 

“No way…” He whispered, looking as though he had seen a ghost. 

That man...the one on the screen...it was his father. He was...alive? How? Where had he been all this time? No...Leon shook his head in disbelief, not believing what he was seeing as Simmons narrated what was happening. 

“There’s no way.” Leon protested, “My dad is dead.” 

Simmons chuckled, “But you saw him, remember?” He asked, pressing another button on the remote control, the screen switching to just last month, Leon now looking at the ballroom from that one gala he attended with Chris. He saw himself, the one camera positioned on him and the other camera was positioned on the Lucas look-alike. The two had made brief eye-contact, but the Lucas look-alike quickly bolted before Leon could fully process what he had seen. Simmons laughed as Leon’s jaw fell open, tears burning in his eyes. 

“You see now, don’t you?” Simmons asked, “Your father is very much alive, Leon. He abandoned you and your mother so he could go play James Bond around the world.” 

“He wouldn’t…no!” Leon shook his head fervently, “He’s dead! This is some fucked up game! If he was really alive, he would never abandon us!” 

“Then why did he?” Simmons asked in amusement, pausing the camera on Lucas, “If Daddy truly loved you...why did he abandon you? Or...do you really know and feel like he did...and that’s why you feel such a strong connection with Chris? Why do you admire him and seek his approval? Do you secretly have “Daddy Issues” Leon? Because your own father abandoned you? Or are you afraid that Chris will abandon you too?” 

Leon growled and lashed out, aiming a punch at the man’s face. The man caught it, so Leon threw another punch with his other hand, but Simmons caught that too, shoving him down onto the bed. The bastard was laughing at him, holding him down.

“Don’t worry, Leon.” Simmons said, holding the younger’s wrists down with his one hand while the other brushed brown locks out of his eyes, angry tear-filled blue eyes glaring up at him, “I won’t abandon you.”

[jq37]

The Report Card -- Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 1

Sophomores and Spring Break 

Note: Hey guys! I decided to try something a little bit different and slightly more structured than my usual recaps for FH: Sophomore Year. I’m hoping this will be a little easier for me and a more useful tool for keeping up to date since there will be a lot more eps to keep track of and they’ll be easier to miss. Lemme know what you think and if you want raw, unfiltered opinions on anything specific, feel free to send me an ask. I’m always down to go off about literally whatever. 

We’re back, baby! It is Sophomore Year at Aguefort and the gang is on Spring Break. A lot is going down so lemme break it down. The Bad Kids, having defeated Kalvaxus last year, are all entitled to a share of his hoard and all the red tape is finally cleared so they all get 20k gold each (which is an insane amount of money converted to USD if you use the WOTC conversion rate of a gold coin being around $145 (circa 2006 when they answered the question)--which would be close to $330 with inflation). Jawbone and Sandra-Lynn are moving in after less than a year into a profoundly haunted house and it’s kind of a Full House situation because Adaine, Fig, Kristen, and Tracker all officially live there (plus it seems that Zayn has also anchored himself to Adaine’s tower--btw, Adaine took the tower that the haunted house obviously has) and you know all the other Bad Kids are gonna be there on the regular. 

More importantly, Aguefort gives the gang their big project for the year--finding the crown of the Nightmare King which was stolen at the end of last season--which is worth 60% of their grade (Adaine does a full Hermione at this information). Each of the gang has info about the NK but the trail has mostly gone cold. Luckily, Fabian just got a hot tip about where Falinel is keeping Aelwyn and she seems like a pretty good lead to start with since she was super tied up in the bad side of all the messiness of last year. Adaine is displeased to say the least. 

Going off to find the crown is super exciting story-wise for two reasons. First of all, it means the gang gets to hire, well, hirelings to help them and temporarily join the party! They ping basically every cool NPC they can think of (except for Tracker for some reason which is BONKERS because (1) she probably would have done it for free and cutting her in would still be keeping the money in the family, (2) she’s dope as hell, (3) she’s a cleric and the party can always use more healers, (4) she’s a werewolf so presumably she has skills that would help in the woods, and (5) they’re t r a c k i n g down a crown and the girl’s name is literally T R A C K E R, but I will not backseat D&D) and eventually end up with Ragh (who has been without an adventuring party all year, poor guy), Sandra-Lynn (swayed by a nat 20 rolled by Fig), Cathilda (!?) ,and, for some reason, Gilear (which Fabian is happy about, mainly for the opportunity to maybe bump him off on the way). Second of all, if you recall, Elmville is a pretty modern town but the rest of the continent is less fantasy high, more high fantasy. Horses and lanterns and all that pseudo-medieval goodness. They are gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I am very here for it. 

Everyone goes home to rest up but, after some ominous dreams, only four of them wake up. Riz and Fig are left asleep and then Brennan mic drops and ends the episode which is a power move and I am extremely upset about it but also, respect. Right for the jugular immediately. I heard Murph and Emily are on tour in the UK next week which probably has something to do with this but, in the moment, I did not know that and I really felt the hammer drop in my heart. It was wild. Cannot wait to see where we go from here. Plus, who doesn’t love watching characters freak out because their friends are in danger?

Random Thoughts

I have no idea what the title of this episode is or if it’ll even have one and not a number but I gave it a placeholder one for now. I also don’t have access to the stream yet so I didn’t get to include some info I wanted to (like a record of nat 20s, and nat 1s so I can track their stats for the school year) and I probably missed some stuff because my brain can only hold so much info guys. I’m not Brennan. 

I mentioned this yesterday during the stream, but there will never be anything better than the pure D&D joy of everyone, in character, talking over each other to clown on each other. They get the friend-group banter that’s a hair breadth’s away from bullying so true to life and it’s so fun to watch. On the flip side, the opening scene with everyone introducing themselves and affirmatively claiming each other as their best friends was also peak D&D. Found family= best trope. 

Fig and Adaine burn spell-slots at basically the same time to try and beat each other to the best room in the (Scooby-Doo ass) house--which is exactly the kind of thing that would happen in this world. It’s such an intuitive setting. I love it so much. (BTW, Fig ends up staying in the false space under the revolving grand piano because, of course).

Fabian and Gorgug went to recruit Ragh, who assumed they were propositioning him for a three-way. In his defense, they did do it in a super proposition-y way and they were in the middle of the LGBTQ student union.

Also, Gorgug gives Ragh an inspiring speech about thinking you’re your own dad which makes him burst into tears. 

Speaking of, Jawbone offhandedly says he’s poly but, like, based on some of the stuff he’s said, I feel like that’s not really a reveal. He also gets along well with Gorthalax and would be down w/ a three-way if Sandra-Lynn wanted to which, again, totally checks out. 

Arthur Aguefort uses Chronomancy to rewind time and catch a snide comment Adaine made under her breath, which is exactly the kind of frivolous use of God-like power I’d expect from him.  

I really love Adaine’s energy coming into this season. She’s in therapy. She’s in a good home environment. She’s comfortable enough with her friend group to do stuff like prank Fig (love that they’re gonna be living together now). And she’s good friends with Zayn now which I want to see more of based on their one interaction in this ep which was very cute. I am already on record as saying I would be down with her getting a ghost boyfriend--I mean, for the aesthetic alone--but I’d be happy with just more friendship. 

Fabian is also hilarious this season because you can tell he’s gone a bit soft from having friends and leaning into that (the friendship necklace with Riz) but also he’s fully aware that it’s happening so he’s, like, ping-ponging back and forth like, “These are my friends,” and, “What am I saying? I used to be cool,” and it’s very funny. Very happy the Aelwyn storyline is happening right out of the gate, both because I think Aelwyn is a very interesting character with a lot of potential for nuance but also because Fabian reacting to her and Adaine reacting to Fabian reacting to her is always gold. 

Prompted by an offhand conversation from Fig about rock and roll, Brennan--earning another feather for his Cap of God Tier DMing--goes on an impromptu five minute long improved diatribe about a bard who played such a good concert that it instantly impregnated everyone in attendance (dudes too) who gave birth to kids with sick rocker hair and denim jackets and ascended to Rock Heaven on their 18th Birthday. You truly have to watch it to believe it. At a certain point I thought he was gonna drop it but that was the moment he doubled down and kept going. Amazing. 

Watching Murph, in real time, make up a girl/boy/whateverfriend in Fantasy Canada was a gift. 

I don’t have access to the stream yet but best quote of the night that I can remember is Kristen choosing her room: This is triggering and I’ll take it. (Her line about her lesbian starter kit and the one about wanting a horse were also bangers). 

The group talks about what they’re going to do for transportation outside of Elmsville since they don’t really use cars out there and they somehow get from “disguise Fig’s tour bus” to “commission Aguefort to create a brand new animal that can hold six people plus hirelings, one of which is Fabian who is also riding his motorbike”.

I love that Sandra-Lynn’s Mom Powers work on Tracker. 

Basrar doesn’t accept the invitation to come with on the quest, but he does give Kristen a bag of infinite ice cream sandwiches, which is basically just as good, IMO. 

Oh Gilear. The man is sleeping in the Seacaster garage, being bullied by skater kids, and now he’s stuck on this quest with his ex and Fabian who actively wants him dead.  

Speaking of, I’m psyched to see more of Sandra-Lynn. She was kind of a sleeper badass at the end of last season. 

Ragh is keeping secrets which I hope the cast doesn’t forget because it could be nothing serious (like the high school drama happening with Skrank and the 7 maidens--maybe he’s just crushing on Gorgug who did full kiss him during Promocalypse) or it could be Serious Business that will blow up if the don’t stay on top of it. We’ll see. 

Oh, almost forgot. Adaine wants an emotional support frog. Every time I think I can’t love her more.   

Detention

Fig for Not Respecting Personal Boundaries

Fig goes full Emily right out the gate and, after finding out that Skrank (nerdy bird dude who apparently can get it) was not only dating Ostentasia (rich, popular dwarf) but also dumped her in pursuit of Danielle Barkstock (one of Ostentasia’s party members, the scandal), disguises herself as him with Danielle to figure out what’s going on. And, wouldn't you know it, when she gives herself away, Danielle immediately is shocked and appalled, as you would be, obviously. We also learn that she’s still catfishing Dr. Asha which is, how you say, for sure a crime. Fig, please, I’m begging you. Cease. 

Honor Roll

Fig, Riz, and Adaine for Researching the Nightmare King

Fig made both lists, look at that. Wasn’t my plan for this to be a three-way tie (also didn’t expect to use the word “three-way” this many times in this writeup) but I think their contributions were pretty much equally valuable. Rainsolo on the Discord wrote up this summary of the lore dump Brennan gave them.

[thebibliomancer]

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics liveblog pt 13

Okay! Time to check out the Sifa!

Y'know, I think that the Sifa get the least exploration in the show. You've got several Vapra main characters, several Stonewood main or focus characters, couple Drenchen, a very main Grottan character, best boy Kylan the Spriton, whole bit of the show with the Dousan. And the Sifa have... I think... that time Brea visited them?

Probably why Alyadon was made a Sifa, so they have some presence.

Mission: Deep Trouble - Hidden Grotto

"A curious, young Sifa is under attack by darkened creatures. Save him from a grisly fate."

Ah, darkened creatures. The gift that keeps giving. So we don't have to always be fighting other Gelfling or Arathim.

Hey, wait a minute. Why DID I fight Arathim in the Vapra missions? You don't unlock those without going through the Grottan missions where the Arathim become your good pals. Dangit, the game!

Wow, five party members. Also Ivo, the Gelfling.

Party: Alyadon, Kylan, Boggi, Breg, and Hup. For being the lowest leveled. That's kind of over doing it on menders but Mender is a required step on a lot of characters' personal journeys so I have too many of them.

The level starts with Ivo corned by a nurloc and a windsifter. If he dies, I lose. If everyone else but him dies, that's fine.

He's also a lvl 25 tracker, which makes him the highest leveled person on my team.

Oh, the tide rises. None of my peeps were anywhere close to it but it apparently will just straight up kill a Gelfling because they're too dumb to move out of the water when its not their turn.

Ivo was apparently researching ancient symbols or something. He weirdly has non text box text explaining this so I missed the first thing he said.

Ok Ivo is definitely going to die. He's corned and a nurloc is attacking him.

He asked me to get him higher because the tide is rising but Ivo, my pal, you're on the highest part of the island...

AH THE TIDE ROSE AND HUP IS IN THE WATER GET OUT OF THE WATER HUP

Wow that tide rising thing is no joke. I think Alyadon just vanished underwater. Eesh. I wish there were tide lines showing you where its going to happen. Or when.

And my non dead units are mostly all trapped on the other side of the island and can't cross the now deep water. Not loving this new mechanic but it is a new mechanic.

BUT BOGGI SAVED THE DAY GOOD DOG BEST FRIEND

With his rolling, he was able to get across the map before the tide rose and with his healing he was able to heal Ivo until Ivo could save himself by knifing the nurloc a lot.

And he was looking for ancient symbols that may go back a thousand trine hidden across the coast.

So final count was Kylan and Alyadon horribly drowned but also leveled. Everyone else leveled and learned. Boggi learned Insistent Bark (revive an ally by barking insistently! Good dog!), Breg learned Borrow Time 2 (slow enemy for two turns, self haste for two turns), and Hup learned Well Done (hit a spiced enemy but really hard).

That's also the last ability Boggi can learn. From now on he is but as you see him. No more, no less.

---

Mission: Against the Tide - Sinking Isles

"Ivo's search for ancient symbols is met with some resistance."

I don't love how the island is going to sink.

I get five people and Ivo again. Hi Ivo! There are two glowy spots that I assume I have to get him to. Also I assume he can't die.

A Gelfling elder has shown up to tsk because this area is forbidden.

Ivo: "Bu-but, my research was approved by Elder Cadia himself!"

Elder: 'Its been revoked!'

Ha. But no.

Elder: "That fool lost his memory to nulroot. He knows not what he is doing. Guards, seize them!"

Oh, right. Brea wiped his mind. He'll approve any research project now. Geez, Ivo.

Yup, Ivo has to investigate the symbols. And bad news but one is in the water.

Oh, the tide fell instead of rising. And I only just noticed that the tide is in the turn order. Duh.

Oops Ivo drowned. I thought about going up the back instead of back the way I came and then an enemy unit blocked it and by the time I decided it was a bad idea, well, he didn't have enough turns to get back to dry land.

So second attempt is going better now that I have a better idea of how the tide works. The level is fairly open but there's a lot of chokepoints which makes it nerve wracking until you realize that the water doesn't reach the upper elevations of the map.

Also Wukki died =(

But I got Ivo to all the ancient symbols and they've revealed a stunning secret! The next level!

Seriously: "These carvings tell of a secret location: a cave hidden among the rocks on the coast"

If Ivo is one of the two remaining characters I have yet to unlock, I'm going to lose my mind.

BUT: levels up! Wukki leveled up but didn't learn anything. Like Boggi, he may have learned all he can. You can't teach a lvl 24 dog new tricks. (Checking, he apparently keeps learning up until lvl 28). Hup learns Cauldron, which lets him place a healing cauldron on the map. Its a summon so its either that or the worm. Alyadon learned Soothe 2, cooler than Soothe 1. Naia learned Edged Slice 2, cooler than etc. And Kylan learned Awaken but also unlocks Bramble Sage and Adept, meaning he's on his way to Song-Teller!

--

Mission: Sunken Treasure - Coastal Caves

"A submerged sea cave holds the knowledge Ivo has been looking for."

Oh god most of this cave is flooded. The shiny square is way on the other end under a lot of water. I hope the water just goes down and not up.

Bringing Rian, Deet, Brea and Gurjin. Also Ivo is here.

Gelfling Mage: "Ivo this is your final warning. These etchings have been forbidden by Skeksis law."

That just makes me want to see them more! I WAS wondering whether any of this was relevant.

Ivo: "Why would the skeksis make our own history forbidden? They must be hiding something!"

Follow that train of thought, Ivo!

Yup, the tide is falling, revealing more of the cave. This is a neat mechanic which gives me anxiety.

AAAAAH TWO GUYS SPAWNED RIGHT BEHIND ME! Not cool, the game!

Ok this isn't going well. I'm down to Gurjin at very low health and Ivo at very low health. Thankfully, I just need to get Ivo to the shiny. As long as nobody spawns near his end of the cave, I'm golden.

A darkened hollerbat just spawned on his side of the cave.

But I ran like heckle to the last symbol and made it before any of the hollerbats could even take a turn. Phew.

Despite everything, everyone got level ups. Brea learned Geyser 2, Gurjin learned Bandage 2, Deet learned Cascade, Rian unlocked the Adept/Bramble Sage jobs meaning he's another step towards Strategist!

Son of a gun, I unlocked Ivo as a character! Not what I was expecting when I started this quest chain and not entirely what I wanted! I also got the Driftwood Cane!

So whats the scoop, Ivo. What do the symbols mean? WHY ITS THE GREAT CONJUNCTION!

There's actually a little cutscene.

Wait, did the Gelflings not know about the Great Conjunction? It only happens every thousand trine but still? Then again, the Skeksis were trying to suppress knowledge of it for some reason.

Geez, Ivo has ten levels in Scout, ten in Mender, and ten in Tracker. I have no idea what I'm going to do with him. I'll keep him in Tracker. And give him a spear. And some clothes.

I'll give the Driftwood Cane to Alyadon. It is the Sifa Clan staff.

---

Mission: Washed Up - Littered Shores

"A pair of shipwrecked Sifan sailors have washed up on shore. Help them deal with a pack of pursuing pirates."

I'm belatedly realizing that each Gelfling area has its own gimmick. The Sifa missions have the rising and falling tides, of course. The Vapra have the random power ups scattered in the levels. The Caves of Grot have the random buff squares. The Drenchen lands have the poison swamp water. And the Dousan have the sandstorms. Wonder what the Spriton will be when I get there. And I guess the Stonewood didn't have a gimmick?

Ok so I have to protect shipwrecked sailors Van and Jilly. They will probably not end up in my party. I'm still reeling over Ivo being unlocked but it makes sense to give you a Sifa party member that isn't Alyadon. Probably hence why Ivo, despite being a researcher, is very swashbuckly. Compared to Alyadon who is a huge nerd.

The level looks like a rising tide horror show. Most of the level is low lying except for a ridge that the enemy units are all already perched on.

Party: Boggi, Deet, Kylan. They need some love. And levels.

APPARENTLY, Maudra Seethi asked us to save the sailors. Which puts me in mind that the resistance showed up and was like 'hey maybe join us in opposing the Skeksis' and instead of going 'how dare, the Skeksis are beautiful angels' the Maudra went 'huh? That's nice. Go find some sailors'

And the level starts with Jilly and Van bickering over whose fault the shipwreck was. Jilly is mad that Van steered them into some rocks and Van is mad that JILLY STOLE A BUNCH OF TREASURE FROM PIRATES AND THATS WHY THEY WERE IN A HURRY

These two are fun.

I assume this is what happens when a paladin and a thief are friends because Jilly is a thief and Van is a paladin.

Rian tries to interupt but Van is like AND YOU GOT THESE NICE BYSTANDERS STUCK IN OUR DRAMA GEEZ JILLY

THEY KILLED MY DOGGO

The pirates did I mean. I don't think Jilly or Van would.

Aside from the poor, sweet, innocent doggo, the level went pretty smoothly. The only problem is that one of the enemies cast Guardian's blessing and rather than kill a person twice, I decided to wait it out for some reason.

And then he died of poison and respawned anyway.

I'm good at tactics.

Its fine, he ded now.

At the end of the level, Deet is like ok so can we take you home now and Jilly is like NOT SO FAST THE PIRATES WILL KEEP PURSUING US UNTIL THEY GET THEIR TREASURE BACK.

Jilly: "Our village won't last another trine without it! The Skeksis took everything during the Tithing Ceremony!"

It was kind of lost when the Skeksis went full supervillain and started drinking people, but yeah, lets not forget the multiple ways that the Skeksis were exploiting the Gelfling and the whole dang world. They're drainers in many senses. I love a ridiculous fantasy metaphor that works on multiple levels.

And I'm pretty sure it was intended to be that way since the movie. I remember the novelization being like 'yeah this used to be a nice place and then the Skeksis drained the life out of the planet' or something.

If I'm overfocusing on this its because its only as an adult that I realize how timely Dark Crystal has stayed all this... uh, time.

Anyway Deet is like sure we'll help you beat up the pirates. Its cool.

Deet leveled and learned nothing. Kylan leveled and learned Purge Rot.

---

Mission: Sneak Attack - Tidal Wall

"The heroes follow the quarreling sailors back to the pirate's den, but encounter resistance along the way."

Is this going to be a real sneaking mission or what, game?

The gimmick for this mission chain is that Jilly and Van are tagging along so you only get to bring three peeps. Because I only get to bring three peeps. Luckily, I have three peeps that are all lvl 23 instead of lvl higher than that.

Oh, this is cool. This is a pirate fortress so there's a wall that we have to fight our way into. Except its less of a wall and more of steps but its wall like. It feels like we're breaking in, anyway.

Look, as I've said, FFTA is my main other experience for trpg games and it was way lazier with its levels.

Party: Boggi, Breg, Alyadon. Boggi wants to redeem himself. I assume. He started yelling but that may have been because of general fizzgig anxiety.

Enemy: "You've walked right into our trap-"

Jilly and Van: -immediately start bickering and interrupt the pirate-

I like that the lack of many Sifa characters from the show means they had to create some for this set of missions. The writing is entertaining enough that I wish there had been more of this for the other clan mission sets.

Nothing to really report about this one, it went swimmingly. Nobody even drowned!

Jilly and Van are decently powerful so I don't regret having them instead of two of my peeps in terms of their efficacy in battle.

I was worried about getting to higher ground with the rising tide but the battle went so quickly that I wasn't ever in real danger of that.

Jilly: -after beating up several pirates- "Well, we've clearly lost the element of surprise."

My favorite part of this is that this does and doesn't have anything to do with having the Sifa join the resistance. I'm pretty sure that we sealed the deal when we saved these two chuckleheads to begin with.

We're going to come back to Maudra Seethi and be like 'we saved Jilly and Van' and she's going to be like 'Ah, well done! The Sifa will be glad to join-' and then we'll be like 'also we beat up a pirate fortress and redistributed the wealth to a destitute village' and she'll be like 'oh.'

Holy crap, Boggi leveled twice! Good dog! I mean, he did a pretty good job. Doggo redeemed. Breg and Alyadon also leveled but learned nothing.

I should check at what point jobs stop paying out in terms of abilities.

I got seven more levels for Breg and six for Alyadon before they've learned all they can.

---

The pirate fortress is actually a ways away from the Tidal Wall. I guess maybe it was a pirate outpost. Pirate watch station? Anyway.

Mission: Finders, Keepers - Flooded Ruins

"The heroes confront the pirate leader."

Ok this map looks a lot less like a pirate fortress than the last one did. I know that they've got to keep the tide gimmick so the levels have to look a way - with a low part and a higher part - but this is a random sandbar with some rocky bits. The other place had a wall! Why you hanging out here, the pirate king?

Party: Brea, Wukki, Rek'yr.

The pirate leader is this random Sifa caster. They coulda given him a name.

The pirate leader caster says no one gets to steal from him and live

Van: "Hey! I'm the only one that gets to threaten her! We're taking you down!"

Jilly: "Yeah, you don't scare us! Together we're unstoppable!"

Heh, these quest characters are alright.

... ok Brea gets killed without ever taking a move because the enemy placement can just up and kill her turn 1. That's... great.

Ok, Jilly died. Good thing Jilly and Van need to survive isn't a condition on this level. And Wukki died =(

Ok, it was a bloodbath like some of the end missions of mission chains are for some reason. Everyone died except Rek'yr and Van. Then again, whats to be expected of a mission where one of my units died first turn because of enemy placement.

Still, the pirates are defeated and their treasure will save an overly taxed village. Hooray!

Van: "We will tell Maudra Seethi of the good you've done this day."

Ok, alright, yes, so thats how the Sifa join the resistance.

Brea levels and learns nothing! Rek'yr levels and learns Edged Slice! I should check to see where he is vis a vis able to go into Grave Dancer (two more levels)! I get the Seafarer's Harpoon! Spears are really common as important clan weapons, I've noticed! This is probably going right on Ivo!

Except the Unite the Clans meter doesn't go up. Which means that you only have to do one of the mission chains to actually get the clan on your side and it doesn't matter which. I thought it was a weird coincidence that I kept doing the one that got you clan allegiance first but nah. In my heart though, it was helping Jilly and Van that did it.

That just leaves the Stonewood and Spriton, I think. Weird that I don't already have the Stonewood on my side but then again, they were all kidnapped by spiders.

[teatimewithlennon]

I Know The Way There [John Lennon] - Part 5

~~I don’t know. This one is just happening. It’s mostly dialogue~~

Part 1 l Part 2  l Part 3 l Part 4

Song of the day lol

Word Count: 1279

{I am currently out of school due to the coronavirus and the fact that I am in the town it came to America in. So I’ll probably write more because I am out for 6 weeks minimum. Anyway, enjoy my quarantine writing}

My mind is in such a haze, that when I appear in my old bedroom, my legs collapse under me. I pull them into my chest, hyperventilating. The breaths coming out are hot and short. My lungs feel as though they are filled with lead. Tears are still welled in my eyes. There are images flowing through my head, but I can’t quite make any of them out. Not fully at least. I try to find my body in the overflowing sea of feelings rushing all over my body. 

I run my hands from my shoulders all the way down my dress, past my knees, and to my feet; puling off my heels. Trying my hardest to ground myself, I lift my head to stare at the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan spin slowly. My tears have stopped, but the colourful images continue to cross my vision. It feels like I’m tripping on acid. My brain feels like it might burst as a migraine builds in my head.

“What the hell is happening,” I mutter to myself.

It’s as if I’m seeing the future all at once. It’s nothing like it’s ever been before. And it’s really not doing me any good at the moment.

I sit on the floor for so long I lost track of time. And space. The colourful images are so brilliant. There are faceless people dancing and singing and being happy. There are crowds of people. There are smiles and love. I smile lazily watching the flashes of light, but they’re not all joyous. A pit begins to build in my stomach as I watch a man yell and fight. I feel the tension rise as there are divides put up between people. There’s cheating and heartbreak. And it all builds to a violent end as the visions suddenly stop and I’m brought back to reality.

Something about this feels familiar and my heart aches for the man who I just saw. I can’t place my feelings or these images I have spent…

“Shit!” I curse myself as I look at the clock, “Cole’s gonna kill me.”

I push myself off the floor, wobbling as I do. When I check my phone, I have six missed calls from Cole. As well as several texts from the others. 

I do my best to change into something appropriate to perform in, but seeing as I’m picking from my old wardrobe, it’s not very helpful. Somehow, I manage to find something decent to wear, simple shorts and cardigan look, but I have no time to change my hair or makeup, so I guess we’re keeping the 50s look.

When I rush downstairs, my dad tries to call me as I storm through his cafe. All he can do is smile and shake his head.

“So much for getting help,” he sighs to himself.

Everything passes in a blur as I do my best to make it to the bus stop. But. alas, my dumb ass was just too slow. So now I’m stood with twenty minutes to get to a venue that’s halfway across town…

I could jump...But that’s what? Four times in a day… 

                                                         ✱✱✱

Cole paces back and forth in the dressing room. The blonde twins, James and Lexi look unbothered by the situation they are in. While their manager is a worry wort, the band themselves, know that no matter what, Lydia always makes it, even if it’s in the nick of time. 

“She’s gonna be late,” Cole throws his hands up, “I know it.”

“She’s only six missed calls in,” Lexi hums out. “Sam isn’t even here yet.”

“And he’s late more than Lydia,” James adds.

The older man dials again, hoping she will pick up. As he does there’s a knock at the door. The person does not wait for a response, pulling the three’s attention to the door.

“Thank god you-” Cole starts. “You’re not Lydia.”

A lanky brunet man stands in the door holding a guitar case. 

“Last time I checked,” he laughs out, “why? Is she not here yet?”

“Nope,” James says nonchalantly grabbing a beer from the counter.

Sam walks himself over to the couch“I give it five minutes maximum,”

“We need to start sound check in eight!” Cole exclaims.

“Then we have plenty of time,” He kicks his feet up earning a chuckle from Lexi.

The four wait patiently, well the musicians do, Cole looks more stressed than usual. He leaves to smoke, he expects the singer to be in the room when he does, but she is not. And his panic gets worse when the stage manager comes to call them on stage for soundcheck.

“I swear we need to get that girl a tracker,” Cole groans.

The band begins to set up on stage. Lexi sets herself up behind the drumset, fiddling around and trying to find her brushes. James begins to tune up his bass and Sam gets up next to the pedalboard, tapping around a bit. The man in the booth gives the thumbs up as Cole hops off the stage into where the pit will be.

“Should we do Anywhere but Here?” Sam asks.

“No, we should do Places Between Us,” chimes James.

“We always do that one,” moans Lexi leaning over her drum kit.

Cole puts his head in his hand, “Please just pick something.”

“Too Young To Die,” I say running up from backstage, guitar in hand.

“Oh thank God,” Cole looks as though he might fall over from relief.

“Sound good to me,” Sam smiles at me. The others nod

Lexi counts us off and soundcheck goes off without a hitch. 

“I can’t believe you,” Cole has been going off on me since we finished soundcheck. He didn’t even wait for us to get to the green room before scolding me like a child as I sit on the couch. “I trusted you to be here, you’re never late! What the hell happened?”

I sat there for a second, debating what to say. I didn’t know what to say.

“I was on a date,” I said finally.

Everyone stared at me in stunned silence. Cole’s face softened, he seemed to back into himself a bit.

I continued, “I was on a date and I lost track of time.”

“You went on a date?” James asked.

“Jesus, how many times do I have to say it. Yes, I went on a date,” I now regret my decision, “It’s not a big deal.”

Sam looked the most stunned, “Like, a real date?”

“Well, not a REAL date. But I met someone and we kinda hit it off, I guess.” It comes out way more awkward than I meant it to.

“This isn’t one of your one night stands right?” James questions.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I just meant that you tend to cycle pretty fast,” his eyes widen, “not that you’re a slut or anything…” he realizes he’s digging himself into a hole.

Sam puts his hand on the other boy’s shoulder, “He just means that we know you’ve had trouble with romance in the past,” he looks around, “and we don’t want you getting hurt.”

“A little late for that,” I whisper to myself.

“Why?” Cole jumps into mama bird mode, “What did he do?”

“It’s what I did to myself,” I look down into my lap, “I know that he’s a ladies man and I let myself fall for it. But I realized as I was leaving, that it was more. I felt more, and I think he did too.” I trail off.

“How do you know?” Lexi asked softly.

“He chased me…”

[bonnieisaway]

i got so brave, drink in hand

sneeze i’m sorry this is so late i- i just couldn’t work on this chapter. i promise the next one will be better..

chapter 1 | chapter 2 | wattpad link

Aiura knew that red strings were common in people.

Sure, a little pointless since, as far as she knew, she was the only one who could see them, but common. The problem was out of the eternity of PK Academy she'd only seen three.

And she saw the third on the day (L/n) transferred to her class.

°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.

Saiki and (L/n) both sigh as they set their bags next to their desks and sit down. Saiki turns to see (L/n) yawning before turning to Saiki. Bags lined the underneath of her (e/c) eyes.

"Oh...hey Saiki.." She smiles drowsily. Saiki feels his face heat up at the cute action but is eliciting to ignore it. Nope. Not happening at all. He's not sure what you're talking about.

"How late did you get home last night?" He asks.

"Around 10.." (L/n) shrugs. "I stopped at a store on my way home and then I was up doing homework for while... But it's alright! I had some...caffeine earlier.."

"I'm sorry." Saiki apologizes. He wasn't even sure why he was apologizing. For keeping her out late? For making her take care of him?

"Nah, don't apologize. It's alright." She gives a heartwarming smile and Saiki- for once- thanks god that Teruhashi has joined the two to interrupt the conversation.

"(Y/n), are you okay?" Teruhashi asks worriedly. "You seem tired."

"Yeah." (L/n) nods. "I just..got to sleep a bit late.."

"How late?" Teruhashi asks.

"Ehehehe.... 4am...?" (L/n) laughs awkwardly. Teruhashi looks unamused.

"(Y/n)..!" She begins to reprimand.

"Kokomi!" (L/n) mocks her tone. "I had a lot of homework."

Teruhashi sighs and shakes her head. "You need better time management. How much of that did you spend playing on your phone?"

"..Ehheheh.." (L/n) begins to awkwardly laugh again. The poor girl obviously needed sleep. School started at 7am, she probably barely got 2 or 3 hours of sleep.

Before anyone else can reprimand the poor, sleep deprived girl, the teacher walks in the room, settling the students as they return to their seats.

"Good morning, class." The teacher begins.

"Good morning.." The class responds. Saiki only gives partial attention as she begins her lesson. He turns and sees (L/n) with her head in her hand and eyes half lidded as she drifts off. Saiki sighs as he nudges the girl under the desks with his foot. She snaps awake confused.

"Stay awake, idiot." Saiki reprimands, but there's a small grin on his face. (L/n) squints her eyes at him.

"Fine. Because you asked so nicely, Strawberry." She mutters under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear.

"...with that, you and your partner will choose a book from PK's library to report on.." The teacher continues to speak, as she writes on the chalkboard. "..due within two weeks from now. I have assigned your partners." Saiki feels the dread in his very soul. Ever since (L/n) showed up it felt like there were a lot of fanfiction cliches showing up and he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

The teacher begins listing partner pairs. "Kuboyasu and Kaido. Teruhashi and Yumerhara." She goes down the list of convenient pairs. "Mera and Hairo. Saiki and (L/n)." Ah, there's the cliche money maker. The teacher continues listing the names of background characters. Like Takahashi and Saiko. We don't care about Saiko in this fanfiction.

Anyway, (L/n) sleepily turns to Saiki as the teacher finishes her list and lets the partner pairs discuss. "So...what book are we doing?"

Saiki shrugs. "What kind of books do you read?" He asks. He's only doing this because its a normal conversation. With a normal girl. Who he is not growing fond of what so ever. Stop jumping to conclusions, reader.

(L/n) shrugs. "Any, really.." She hums for a second. "What was that one book..."

"Hm?" Saiki hums curiously.

"I don't remember the title.." (L/n) leans her head in her hand. "But I remember a quote. It was something like.. "'I see two lovers looking over the cauldron of hell. Are they contemplating a double suicide? This means their love will end in hell." I couldn't stop laughing.'"

Saiki thinks for a moment. He'd probably heard the line before due to telepathy.

"It's Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto." Saiki responds after a minute.

"Yeah, that one!" (L/n) snaps her fingers. "Have you read it before?" She asks.

"No. I just.. I've heard of it, before." Saiki lies. No, he has not read it, he just used his powers to find the book for the poor girl.

"It's probably in the library, wanna do that book?" (L/n) asks. Saiki nods. "Cool..cool.."

𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕡

The homeroom bell rang and Saiki had no chance to go anywhere else before (L/n) starts dragging him by the sleeve to the library. "Come on! Better to start this now." (L/n) weakly beckons as they walk into the library. "Now where the hell is that book."

Saiki shrugs as (L/n) walks off to look for it. He could use clairvoyance and- yep, already found the book. Saiki walks over and grabs two copies of the book- one for him and one for (L/n).

"Alright, let's go." Saiki sighs. (L/n) snaps around with a 'are you fucking kidding me' face.

"I- oh what the hell. Let's go, Strawberry." (L/n) yawns, because clearly sleeping through the entirety of mathematics class was not enough for the poor girl. Saiki can't help but feel a small grin come across his face as the shorter girl takes a copy from his hand and begins walking to the librarian.

After the very rushed library trip begins a trek home with Nendo, Kaido, and Kuboyasu trailing along. Three annoyances and one tolerable girl.

"Hey, we should go get some ramen!" Nendo offers, as he does every day.

"Nah..I'm exhausted.. plus, I don't have money on me." (L/n) smiles.

"You want to get ramen every day, Nendo. Plus, I have homework and cram school." Kaido rolls his eyes.

"I've got to go...meet with someone." Kuboyasu excuses, which is code for "something that's entirely delinquent related that the author does not want to write."

"Damn.. okay. What about you, partner?" Nendo asks. Crap, he didn't have an excuse.

"I-"

"Actually, Saiki was gonna head over to my place so we could work on that book project." (L/n) excuses him, setting a hand on his shoulder as she looks up at Nendo. Saiki looks at her with adoration for a second- thank whatever God sent this girl to be the saint she is.

"That's not due for like, two weeks." Kuboyasu points out.

"We're not going to college for another year and Shun's still got his applications filled out." (L/n) comments.

"H-Hey! You know that's cause of my mom!" Kaido argues, face bright red. Saiki found the usual bickering to be quiet boring.. he figured he should entertain himself.

Hm.. maybe..

"Yeah, I know, I know." (L/n) grins. "Still funny."

Saiki looks at Kuboyasu. With boredom he's decided to see everyone's likability for (L/n). ..Huh. Solid 54. Not bad. He turns to Nendo next.

"Haha! Tell me, what college are you going to, runt?" Nendo asks. ..Hm. 58. Not too far off. He turns to Kaido.

"Shut up!" Kaido tries to elbow Nendo yet it does absolutely nothing. As per usual. ..94. Jesus. Saiki knew the two were close by some miracle but jeez. Only person left in the group was him, and he was confident in his emotions...

"Hey, this is where Saiki and I gotta split. See you guys!" (L/n) waves as they turn a corner.

"See you around."

"See you, partner!!! See you, friend!!!"

"Bye Saiki, (Y/n)!"

Saiki turns to the girl who stares off into space as they now walk quietly. Her (e/c) eyes were half lidded with exhaustion and she was beginning to fall asleep while walking she was so tired.

"Hey, Strawberry..." (L/n) starts, dragging out his nickname.

"What is it, (L/n)?" Saiki sighs.

"I'm tired... wanna carry me..?" She grins half-assedly. Saiki rolls his eyes.

"No."

"Come oooon."

"Absolutely not." Saiki refuses. (L/n) pouts cutely and crosses her arms for a second, deep in thought. 'Well, I could just..' Oh no. (L/n) falls out of Saiki's line of vision for a second but he isn't necessarily surprised when the girl just jumps on his back without warning. He sigh heavily as he stops walking.

"Hah, can't avoid it now, Strawberry!" (L/n) grins over his shoulder.

"I could just drop you." He sighs.

"Please don't."

Saiki rolls his eyes into oblivion and continues walking with the sleepy girl on his back. She's quiet but her thoughts roll on. 'Hm..his hair is soft. And he smells like vanilla."

Saiki's face warms up. For some odd, unrelated reason. No sir, not related to that at all. Not sure what you're talking about. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a..number..?

Ah, that's right, he was using the likability to see how everyone felt about (L/n). The tracker floated in the corner of his vision, a solid "70" written on the board of it. Weird. The last person around (L/n) was only Saiki.

It must've just glitched out. Don't get happy here. His powers have just been.. wonky lately. That's it. As he continues to walk, dismissing the totally glitchy meter, the girl on his back slowly begins to drift off.

𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕡

When you woke from your sleep, not even realizing how comfortably you dozed off on the poor boy, he was standing in front of your apartment building. "Will you get off now?" He asks impatiently. You giggle and slide off his back, landing hard on your feet.

"Thank you for the Uber." You grin. He gives you a less then amused look and you can't help but laugh at the unamused face t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶a̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶d̶o̶r̶e̶.̶ "Sorry, sorry. But really. Thanks for tolerating that."

Saiki thinks to himself for a second. "It's...alright. There's more annoying people I know." He sighs. You look at him for a second- did he just compliment you? Did Saiki Kusuo, the ever done-with-your-shit tsundere, just give you a backwards ass compliment?

No.

Don't lie to us, Saiki.

You smile at him after a second. "Well- I have to tend to..something. I don't know. I probably have work to do, so.. bye!" You smile, waving as you walk into the building. He waves slightly before walking away. You climb the stairs up to the second floor, and unlock your door, popping in and kicking off your shoes. You drop your bag at the door.

"OH my god FINALLY." You scream to yourself. Yes, you lived alone, parents...parents and siblings long gone. You shook the thought of them from your head as you wandered through your apartment to your kitchen as you hummed some American song from the 2000s to yourself. Opening the kitchen cabinets revealed..

..well, not much. Shit. You sigh to yourself. You hadn't gone shopping in forever, which, was a given since you'd found yourself so busy. Life seemed to become hectic since you met Saiki but that was alright. You thought he was cool. You pause as you close your cabinets.

The thought of his eyes crossed your mind. They weren't special, if anything bland, but there's nights where the purple color is all you can see in your head. You weren't necessarily sure why. His eyes were just.. pretty. You should tell him some time. You shake the thought from your head as you walk to your bedroom, choosing to change out of your school uniform.  

After having chosen a comfortable outfit that fit your style, you grabbed your keys, wallet, phone and put on your shoes. It's shopping time, baby. There was a convenience store you usually went to about 20 minutes away from your apartment. So you went down the stairs, nearly falling on your face quiet a few times, and exited your apartment building and began the trek to the store.

As you walk, your thoughts begin to wander. You'd never think before that at 16 you'd be living alone in your own apartment. Thinking back to the events that lead you here...

Well, you didn't like to think of it much. The thought that truly, you were the last person in your family alive. In some fucked up way, it could remind you of that one game...What Remains of Edith Finch? You push the thought from your head, chosing to hum whatever song comes to mind first.

You didn't really like dwelling on the depressing things of it all. Of course, sometimes, it couldn't be helped, but if you had the choice..

You enter the store as you clear your thoughts, arriving at your destination finally, and hopefully avoiding the author's shitty monolouging. You walk through, grabbing the necessities, and by necessities I mean junk foods that would definitely disappoint Hairo if he saw this. But he is not here, so you are free to grab an extra package of coffee jelly and an extra box of pocky.

You check out with only a slight judgmental look from the cashier and begin your trek home. We're just speeding through this chapter! As you walk along you feel something soft brush against your leg. You look down and what do you see? A cute little cat!

The white cat has violet eyes that cant help but remind you of Saiki and a collar with the label 'Sai.' You bend down, setting down your two bags, and pick up the cat. "Why, hello there!" you smile.

Sai stared back deadpanned. "Well, you remind me of someone I know an awful lot." You snort, setting the cat back on the ground and petting its head before picking up your bags and continuing to walk. After about 5 minutes, you notice the cat is still following you. You stop to turn to it for a second as it stares back up at you.

"You're awfully persistent, huh?" You smile. "I'm sorry, kitty, my landlord doesn't allow cats." You continue walking.

..And so does this damn cat. He's persistent and every time you tried to lose him in a doorway he'd dart in seconds before the door shut and nearly scared the shit out of you every time. Which is why he is now sitting patiently on your living room couch.

°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.

Okay, look, first of all, Saiki has a PERFECTLY good explanation. And second of all, this is not his fault. At all. He wasted his precious time to turn into a cat because Amp was bothering him once he got home. Shenanigans happened, and Amp got mad at him and he lied that he was going home, and that he didn't live at his house, so that Amp would stop bothering him. Amp would not believe him so to sell the story he just followed (L/n) home because she wouldn't kick a cat to the curb. Thankfully, she didn't but now Saiki is here.

The problem is that (L/n) won't take her eyes off him so he can't just teleport and she's not opening the door any time soon. Which is an issue because Saiki would like to get home and play his game. But no. He gets stuck in this situation. Fuck you, Author.

(rude.)

(L/n) turns and picks up Saiki, or should I say Sai, and he can't help but sigh and curse Amp for leading him into this situation. He can't move much because he can't control his strength well like this and generally it'll just end badly. So he can't.. really do much as (L/n) sets what she assumes to be a normal cat in her lap and pets him gently. All he can think right now is 'please kill me.'

"Hm.. you've gotta belong to someone. I haven't seen you around before, kitty, are you lost?" She asks, as if the fucking cat would respond. Saiki is very bitter right now. And does not want to be pet. He squirms out of her grip and winds up across the couch. "Yikes, okay, I got it."

She sighs. "God, I can't go finding some cat owner.. I've got homework and shit.." (L/n) runs a hand through her hair as she turns around. Fuck it, that's all he needs.

°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.·°¯°·.¸.

You turn back around. "We- What the fuck?!" The cat was gone. You snapped your head around, he didn't even seem to be in the apartment before. What- what the actual fuck?? Were you hallucinating??

..Yeah.. We'll call it hallucinating. You sigh as you flop at your kitchen table. You had homework.. and commissions.. and you were supposed to reread Kitchen. You glance at the book tossed to the side on your table. You'd read it once but that was years ago, when you were practicing Japanese. You were, simply put, stressed and tired as hell. It'd be another late night for you and just..

You'd think that through later, you told yourself, as you pull some bullshit math worksheet from your bag, pencil tapping as your eyes scan the problems. You were stressed but life was good. It was odd...

This stretch of happiness couldn't last long.

__________________

tl;dr, go read kitchen. 

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time 1x15 “Red-Handed” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14

I loved this episode. We’ve seen Ruby and Granny in our peripheral vision all season and we finally get this amazing episode where all expectations are exceeded! Twists galore and heavy emotions all in one episode. It was a wild ride and so worth it!

Summary: David is questioned about Kathryn’s disappearance and Emma gives Ruby a job after she quits working at Granny’s. In the EF Red meets Snow and the residents are preparing for Wolfstime.

Opening: Red Riding Hood walking away.

New Characters:

Red/Ruby: Ok, technically not a new character, but this is the first time we’ve seen either character in their own storyline and not as a tertiary character. Red is a sweet, innocent girl who lives with her Granny in the woods. She has a boyfriend, Peter (and the Wolf, that was perfect), who was her best friend and they grew into more. Granny doesn’t like Peter and constantly warns Red to keep her red hood on (supposedly red repels wolves). It’s Wolfstime in the village, which means a big wolf comes and attacks sheep around the full moon.  Hmmm, full moon, wolf, I smell a werewolf storyline! Red and Granny lock up their house tight. Red meets Snow the next morning when gathering eggs from their chickens. Instead of turning her out, Red invites her to come with her to get water and they discover the hunting party massacred. Yikes! Red decides she needs to kill the wolf because Snow suggests that Granny is using the wolf as an excuse to keep Red in the house. If only she knew. Red decides to go hunt it while it is sleeping. Jeez, I bet no one thought of that before. Red shows Snow how to track the wolf and it’s really funny since we know Snow is a great tracker later on. I love how we’re getting origin stories within origin stories. Snow and Red find tracks that change from wolf to boot and figure out that the wolf becomes a man. Werewolf! I knew it!  The tracks lead to Red’s window so the women assume they must belong to Peter. Red sneaks out of the house and leaves Snow with her hood to trick Granny.  Bad idea! Red tells Peter she thinks he’s the wolf, and since he trusts Red, he lets her tie him up so he won’t hurt anyone. And she loves him so much, she wants to stay with him even when he transforms. Oh lord. We can all see where this is leading, right? Turns out Red is the wolf and she fucking eats him! Who else saw it coming that Red was the wolf? Not me. I love that they made Red the wolf. It’s one of the best twists. But poor Red. When Snow and Granny put her hood back on her and she realizes that not only was she the wolf and that she ate Peter, it makes me cry. Her expression just kills me. It’s so heartbreaking. The main theme here is that Red feels trapped, both literally and figuratively. She is trapped in her cottage because she is the wolf, the locks are not to keep the wolf out but to keep Red in. And before she knows she is the wolf she is trapped because she feels Granny is using the wolf as an excuse to keep her away from Peter. If only she had listened to Granny. 

Ruby also feels trapped. She is trapped in the diner. She wants to have adventures (with lemurs), but how can she when all she has is Granny and the diner. So she quits. Granny wants to give her more responsibility but Ruby isn’t having it. But she doesn’t have a plan. Mary Margaret and Emma run into her at the bus stop (how do they have a bus stop if buses can’t get in or out of Storybrooke), and Mary Margaret offers for Ruby to stay at their place while she figures things out. Ruby is hanging out at the sheriff’s office while Henry looks up jobs online for her and after answering the phones, Emma offers Ruby a job as basically her assistant. The one thing that really annoys me about Ruby in this episode is her lack of confidence. Ruby oozes confidence, in the way she acts and the way she dresses. And now, all of a sudden, because Granny apparently believes in her, she loses her confidence? I’m just not sure if I buy that. I know we haven’t seen much of Ruby besides some background acting, but she doesn’t seem like herself in this episode. So, Ruby goes to Granny’s to get lunch and lies to Granny that she’s now a deputy. Granny points out that she’s doing the same thing she’s always done (getting food for other people), Ruby’s face falls at that comment. Just some great facials here, and then she quickly recovers and makes it sound fabulous. Emma decides to bring Ruby along while looking for David, but she hears him, even though he’s passed out. Later, Emma sends Ruby to the toll bridge to see if there was any evidence of David being there. She finds a box in fresh mud and screams! We find out later it was a human heart. This prompts Ruby to go back to Granny’s. She’s much more subdued in this scene. The red streaks in her hair are faded, her hair is down, she’s wearing very little makeup, and she’s not showing off any skin with her clothes. She looks so beautiful! Ruby tells Granny she wants to work for her again. She wants to be like Granny but doesn’t know how to be. She wants to be somewhere that makes her happy. Granny tells her she wants to leave the diner to her when she retires. Ruby also has the trapped theme going on, but she breaks free in her way (quitting), only to realize she wasn’t trapped. She just needed a little adventure to remind her why she likes what she thought was a cage.

Granny (EF)/Granny (SB): Well Granny is kind of a badass isn’t she? That crossbow action was awesome! She did seem like your typical, overbearing Granny, but she definitely had good reasons for keeping Red locked away. The problem was that she kept Red being the wolf a secret and that ended with a worse result than if Red had known the truth. And speaking of truth, it seems odd that since Granny and her daughter were both wolves that she would keep it from Red. Did she do that because of the way Red’s mother died? What was Red going to do when Granny died? But Granny takes no guff. She immediately shoots Red when she attacks in wolf form so she and Snow can get the cloak over her (a cloak she paid a high price to a wizard for). I hope we will get to see more of Granny and Red because I really want to know how Red forgives her for not telling her the truth.

Granny in Storybrooke isn’t so badass. She runs a diner, and we’ve seen her give some quips here and there, but she is nothing like her EF counterpart. All she and Ruby do is argue because of how different they are. But she decides to give Ruby more responsibility and Ruby doesn’t like that at all, which leads to Ruby quitting. Granny isn’t the most supportive person. When Ruby comes in to grab lunch for Emma, Granny quips that she seems to be doing the same thing she always done. Harsh Granny. How about giving your granddaughter a little support in her newest endeavor instead of just shooting it down and making Ruby feel even worse about herself (sorry, I might be projecting some of my own childhood issues there). Eventually, Ruby does come back and once she tells Granny her fears of not living up to her, Granny reveals she wants to leave the diner to Ruby once she retires. No offense, but I don’t see Granny as the type of woman who would retire. She wouldn’t know what to do with herself. But that’s what brings Granny and Ruby closer.

Character Observations:

David: He has been brought in for questioning about Kathryn’s disappearance since he supposedly lied about the phone call. He wonders if Kathryn is warm wherever she is. Emma tells him to start worrying about himself because he could be in trouble. The next time we see David things are not looking good. Mary Margaret stumbles upon him in the woods and she tries to talk to him, letting him know she believes in him, but he’s not all there and keeps saying ‘I’m looking’, leaving a very confused Mary Margaret. Ruby later finds him in the woods with Emma but he doesn’t remember anything after leaving the sheriff’s station the night before. At the hospital Whale thinks the memory loss could be related to the coma and the same fugue state he was in after he originally woke up. Whale also said he could act perfectly normal. David and Mary Margaret are talking at the pet shelter later. David is scared he did something because he can’t remember anything. When Emma comes in to give them the results about the heart, David immediately thinks she is there to arrest him, but it’s not his fingerprints on the box, they’re Mary Margaret’s. Let’s see if David will be as supportive of Mary Margaret when she’s charged with murder as she has been of him.

Snow/Mary Margaret: We are seeing Snow pretty much right after she ran away from her kingdom when the Huntsman let her go. She has no idea how to survive in the world. Red discovers her stealing some eggs and just gives them back (Snow was so cute in this scene). So this is how Red and Snow meet (although she knows her as Mary at this point). They seem to click instantly. All Red knows is that Snow is running from something and she takes her in no problem. Of course, then she needs to explain that she pretty much came to a town that has a giant, killer wolf running loose every night. Snow doesn’t like how Granny uses the wolf as an excuse to keep Red in the house and away from Peter. Red decides to kill the wolf and shows Snow how to track it. Snow shows just how naive she is when she mistakes dog and rabbit tracks for wolf tracks. They finally do discover the wolf tracks and realize it is a wolf that turns into a man. Red thinks it’s Peter since the tracks go to her window (but no tracks go away, that should’ve been her first clue it wasn’t Peter). Snow thinks Red needs to tell Peter he’s the wolf. So Snow pretends to be Red by wearing her cloak, but Granny discovers it’s Snow pretty fast and how they thought they’d get away with this is beyond me because Red always helps Granny lock up the house. So Snow tries to explain to Granny why Red went to Peter, and again, so cute, the most real I’ve seen Snow up to this point, and finally tells Granny that they think Peter is the wolf. So they go off to find Red and Peter and Snow is pretty much laying into Granny for keeping this from Red. And yeah, somebody needs to. This is akin to parents who don’t tell their children they’re dying from a disease so they can be normal. Let them make up their own minds and then maybe Red wouldn’t have eaten her boyfriend. They finally find Red but it’s too late. At least Snow still cares for Red even after knowing what she is. She takes a distraught Red away from what’s left of Peter.

Mary Margaret in this episode seems like the past few episodes didn’t happen. When Emma tells her that Kathryn gave her a well-deserved slap and that’s what the other residents of town will also think, it’s like the whole TRAMP on the car and no one wanting to buy candles incidents never happened. I get that she’s kind of been forgiven for these things, but how can she not expect that now that Kathryn’s missing, people won’t begin to suspect her and David? Mary Margaret decides to, what, look for clues or see if she can find Kathryn? She just keeps butting into police business doesn’t she? She could be disturbing crucial evidence out there. Instead, she finds a dazed David who pretty much looks right through her and then runs off. She tells Emma he was almost like a different person, which does not look good for David. And even after all that, Mary Margaret goes to comfort David who is wigging out big time that he did something to Kathryn. And she continues to comfort him when Emma says they found a heart they think belongs to Kathryn. And we end with a cliffhanger when it’s discovered that the fingerprints on the lid of the box belong to none other than Mary Margaret! Who is just as in shock about it as David and Emma.

Emma: Poor Emma. I’m sure it’s days like these when it has to be tough being a) the only sheriff in a small town, and b) friends with everyone in a small town. Honestly, she gives up way too much information to David and Mary Margaret. Should she really be telling Mary Margaret details about what is happening? Should she be questioning David in the hospital without a warrant (yes, I’m agreeing with Regina on that point), should she be telling David and Mary Margaret that a heart was found without knowing that it definitely belonged to Kathryn. The answers to all these questions is no, she should not be telling them anything about the case until she has some concrete information. And she should not be saying anything to Mary Margaret until she has arrested her because right now she has the motive and the evidence is pretty stacked against her and anything said when not arrested can’t be used in court. Of course, Emma tends to lead with her heart rather than her head when it comes to her friends (not when it comes to love though). Emma is smart for hiring Ruby as her assistant/secretary, but bringing her out on official searches and having her look for clues is not professional. I get that Emma is trying to get her to see that she’s more than just a waitress, but talk about throwing Ruby to the wolves (ha!). I realize that Emma doesn’t have actual sheriff or law enforcement experience, being in bail bonds she didn’t necessarily have to work within the confines of the law, but she’s really not a good sheriff.

Questions:

How is Red getting out of the house? Granny seems to lock it up pretty tight. Is she keeping her window open at night? Is there another wolf out there?

How many days is Red the wolf, because there’s at least 3 days happening here? Is it like Buffy where it’s the day before, the day of, and the day after the full moon?

What is going on with David? Is this something related to the coma or did Regina do something to him?

How is Regina David’s emergency contact just because Kathryn is out of the picture? If Kathryn can’t be reached then David doesn’t have another emergency contact. It doesn’t just revert to the last person before he changed it.

Does Red not remember turning into a wolf as a 13-year-old? How did Granny manage to hide it from Red for so long?

Did Granny marry the man that killed her family? Or was she forced to be with him because he marked her? Either way, creepy.

Does Red know how her mother died? What did Granny tell Red since she isn’t supposed to know she is a werewolf.

How does Granny explain being at the place the wolf attacked Peter? How did she explain the footprints leading away, or are the townspeople stupid enough to not notice them?

Are there other wolves? Granny didn’t seem to think Red was to blame for the hunting party’s deaths or the attacks on the sheep.

Observations:

There’s a wolf howl when we see Granny’s diner for the first time.

August’s reaction to Ruby and Granny fighting is everything!

Granny references Liza (as in Minelli) when telling Ruby she dresses like a drag queen . Liza Minelli has a large drag following.

Ruby says that Granny dresses like Norman Bates did when he dressed like his mother, a reference to the movie Psycho.

The names Snow gives to Red are Frosty, Margaret, and Mary.

The jobs on the website we can see are: Inventory Control Specialist, Cashier, Bike Messenger, and Sales.

Being a werewolf is hereditary.

Red’s mother was killed by wolf hunters.

It’s nice that when Red turns from the wolf to human her clothes come back.

Werewolves stop transforming when they get older (like menopause?), but still keep some of their other traits.

Silver tipped arrows can take down a wolf.

Red’s injuries as a wolf don’t carry over in her human form.

Once Upon a Time Firsts:

Wolf having clothes on after it is turned

This was a great episode! Both storylines in the EF and SB kept me guessing what was going to happen. It’s always a plus when both storylines keep me invested.

Please leave comments and reblog!

@searchingwardrobes @thisonesatellite @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81

[canaryatlaw]

alright, well today was pretty good. I like, could not get my ass out of bed for the longest time, I think I ended up getting up around like, 1:30 which of course limited how much work I could get done which was aggravating, but oh well. I started working at 2 and went until 4:30 when I had to get ready for my chiropractor appointment at 5 (since they’re gonna be at 5 now). I finished up editing the statement of facts and started writing the argument, though I got kinda stuck on one point and ended up getting frustrated with that because I just didn’t know what to write, but as much as that plays into my writing anxiety I do know that I’ll figure it out and be able to write the rest of it without much of an issue, so I’m not letting myself freak out over it. Went to the chiropractor which was pretty good, they’re all always look “oh you’re making so much progress!!” but I’ve still been getting back pain that’s at like the same level for weeks now so I don’t *feel* like I’m improving, but I mean I’ll keep trying of course. I came back afterwards around 5:30, and I had calculated I should leave for soccer around 6:10 with my carefully curated plan to get there using public transit, so I laid on the floor with an ice pack on my back for a while lol then proceeded to get ready. my plan was to walk a few blocks south to the bus that goes most of the way east, and then walk the last little bit to the field. WELL. that didn’t happen. When I was ready to walk south the bus I take a lot that happens to go right to that spot happened to be pulling right up, so I said what the heck and took it down two stops to where I was supposed to catch the other bus, except now the bus I was supposed to catch had just up and disappeared from my bus tracker app and the next one wasn’t coming until like 6:36 and I was supposed to be there at 7 and wanted to be early since I didn’t know what the whole deal was, so that was a non-option. So I started walking east to hopefully catch another bus that took a slightly different route but required a like, 20 minute walk. but as I’m walking, the bus I was supposed to take suddenly shows up at the intersection I’m at, so I run over and beg the driver to let me on since they just closed the door, and thankfully they did, so I took that as far east as I could, and then walked the rest of the way to the field, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, it requires passing a major highway, but thankfully the highway is on an overpass and I can just go under it so I don’t have to cross a huge damn highway and risk getting hit by a car, lol. So I get to the field and identify two adults who looked like they might know what they’re doing, so I asked if they were with the group I was signed up for and they said yes, and to go to the field down a bit and wait for the ref. All of the fields were currently occupied by children playing. I must’ve misunderstood them somewhat because I ended up walking to the wrong place and then stood there like an idiot waiting for other people to show up and then when they didn’t I walked back to the original field and found the people I was supposed to be with. So the deal with signing up for the league was you could register as a team, or as an individual and they’ll put all the individuals on a team together, which is where I was, so we’re all a bunch of strangers thrown together and supposed to play as a team, with no designated person in charge, so like we kinda just figured out who wanted to play where and what we would do for subs and played from there. I was defense for most of the game, with a fair amount of switching in and out because my lungs suck and I can’t play for more than like 10 minutes at a time. So by the time we got to halftime I was like alright, we could clearly use some organization, which I kinda foresaw needing to happen and was prepared to make my pitch that I’ve coached before and I don’t need to be on the field that much so if they wanted I could be the unofficial captain or whatever, which they all seemed to agree to, obviously it was still a team effort figuring it all out, I’m definitely not calling all the shots or anything like that. The second half was decent, we ended up losing the game 3-0, though none of the goals were scored while I was on the field so that made me feel slightly better lol. I ended up getting moved up to forward from defense where I’d been playing at one point, and didn’t last very long there because there was too much running and trying to stay on sides when their defense was pushing up constantly, so I needed to get off the field rather quickly. But yeah, I was mostly okay with how it turned out, I knew we were gonna lose our first game against a team that’s been playing together for god knows how long and clearly has their shit together, and we still played a solid game so I was good with that. There was an incident where one of our guys fell and thought he may had re-injured his ACL which is no fun so hopefully he’ll be okay. I got everyone’s numbers into a group chat so we can at least stay in contact through the week and such. I headed home after that, walking to the bus stop that should take me back west, except the bus tracker app showed no buses coming at all, but google maps said there was one in like 20 minutes and I was too tired to walk it which was the only other option, so I tried to wait it out a bit but there was an unstable lady screaming inside the little bus stop thing, and I mean she was YELLING, so I left that and stood on the side, but the bus still wasn’t showing so I eventually said fuck it and called an uber because it’s still kinda a seedy area, not like bad, but just kinda a lot of vagrants around and people who look like they might be unstable and who knows where that could lead. So I ubered home and collapsed on the couch, watching more Anthony Bourdain while I went on amazon and found some instant ice packs to bring to the games from now on because I’ve injured myself playing enough times to be very uncomfortable with the idea of not having any ice packs on the sidelines. I ended up getting one of the little dry erase coach clipboard with the diagram of the field just because I knew it would be a lot easier to actually lay out who was playing where. I already have a super extensive first aid kit that I can bring with me (because I’m always Prepared™) so that’s taken care of. And yeah, I just watched the show and chilled for a bit before showering and starting to get ready for bed, and now I’m here. Tomorrow I need to put a grocery order in and I’ll try to get a solid number of hours in to hopefully get my total hours up a bit more, I’m hoping to get up to at least 30 a week, which is like 6 hours a day for 5 days, but depending on weekend plans I can sometimes get work done then too, so we’ll see. But yeah, that’s it for the day, it’s just past 1 am and I was very tired and worn out from running around, so I am going to end this here and go to bed now. Goodnight my peeps. Happy Friday.