#oh our deaths affect all of us the winners have it easy

[life-winners-liveblog]

Do the people in black void (feels too mean to say the losers) also have injuries or is it just the winner that are stuck mid death¿

-15

****

[johannstutt413]

TOURNAMENT ARC 1: CH’EN vs SWIRE

“Now, Miss Ch’en, I can understand wanting to be sure the bracket is fair for yourself and your opponent,” Jessica was explaining to the Lung who’d made a beeline for the Doctor’s office not too long after the announcement was made, “but the Doctor and I aren’t in charge of the bracket-”

“You know who is, though. Give me a fight with that bag-stealing money-grubbing fat-cat layabout Round 1.”

Normally, this would be enough to cow the Feline, but the Doctor was with her and this big-shot was being unreasonable, so she felt a certain amount of power she wasn’t used to having. “Miss Ch’en, you may be one of Rhodes Island’s highest-promoted Operators, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to talk like-”

“Hey, Jess?” The Doctor showed them both the bracket. “It says ‘Swire vs Ch’en’ is Fight 1.”

“O-oh!...That’s convenient.” The Sniper turned back to the Guard with a nervous smile.

In exchange, she received a curt nod. “Good. I hope the audience will appreciate a good thrashing.”

“...I think the best part,” the Doctor continued when the Lung had left, “is that out of the people we could put her against, Swire’s actually got one of the best chances of making the fight interesting. Maybe not long, but interesting.”

“W-why’s that, Doctor?” Still a little shaken after that encounter, the nervous Feline retreated into her brave boss’s arms.

He kissed her forehead with a smile. “Well, my courageous kitty-kat, it’s about their relationship. See, a lot of people - Miss Ch’en included - think that Miss Hoshiguma is a tough woman who likes her women tough, and maybe at some level that’s true. From what I’ve seen, though, she’s more of a case of ‘opposites attract,’ and Miss Swire seems to have figured that out, too. What Miss Ch’en wants this to be is a battle for Miss Hoshi’s affections, but if I’m honest? I think she’s already lost that fight. Not that she won’t use everything within her power to beat Miss Swire, of course.”

“That m-makes sense.” Jessica looked up at him. “So Miss Swire isn’t tough?”

“I wouldn’t say that-”

At the moment, the Feline in question stormed into the office. “Doctor!”

“You’re fighting her Round 1,” he replied. She immediately turned around and left. “Like I said, it’s not that she’s not tough. People just overlook it because she’s a fluffy girl’s girl, but she swings that crescent hammer like a truck when she wants to.”

“Her hair is really fluffy...Do you think I’d look good with hair like that, Doctor?” She pressed lightly against her ponytail.

The Doctor chuckled, squeezing her just a little closer. “I think you’re perfect juuuuuust the way you are, but you’d look good with fluffy hair, too. Although, if you get much cuter...”

-------

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Operators, Staff, and Esteemed Guests! Welcome one and all to the Top Operator Tourney!!! *crowd cheers*

“Thanks, Hung. Ladies and gentlemen, for anyone out there who doesn’t recognize my voice, I’m Click, and joining me in the booth today is the Iron Fist herself, FEater!”

“That’s right, Click, and today we’ll be giving you folks watching at home or in the office the blow-by-blow breakdown of what promises to be a real battle of wills! On the north side, with over 4 years of experience cleaning up the streets of Lungmen with her trusty blade, it’s Madame Ch’en!” *cheers* “And on the south side- hey, Click, babe, calm down, she’s in the ring, not us - it’s Miss Swire!” *more cheers, including one very loud Oni*

“Sorry about that! Let’s look at the numbers, shall we? According to the objective measurements of our Medical Department and the Operator Training Team, Ch’en has a commanding lead in terms of both raw power and experience, especially if she can manage to convince that blade of hers to unleash its full potential for this fight, but despite the disparity, Miss Sw-Swire has one thing going for her: the reach on that ball of pain she’s got in her hands! It’s kind of hard to imagine someone so scrawny throwing that around with enough force to knock a person on their ass, but as everyone knows, Felines don’t care what you think about physics, so she finds a way somehow even so!”

“Uh, right! Thanks for that breakdown, Click. Alright, so back down in the arena proper, the Doctor has taken his position in the umpire’s stand, surrounded by an even crazier number of camera feeds than normal. Seriously, he’s around more cameras than me and Click combined! It’s crazy! He’s counting down now - chant along, guys! 3! 2!1! And here we go!!!!”

“Now, one problem we’re likely to see for Ch’en early is actually getting to Swire-Sama in the first place, as her Feline instinct and predatory cunning in conjunction with her death-ball are going to make closing the gap pretty diffi- Just like that! A solid hit from Swire-Sama into Ch’en chest!”

“I hope her Lungs are strong enough to withstand that kind of hit, Click...Aww, come on, you know you still love me~ The follow-up isn’t entirely there, though, as Swire struggles to swing back around in time to hit her while she’s down. Oh, and Ch’en now running her down in a clockwise spiral, following the crescent hammer’s trajectory and actually closing in! Oof, that’s gonna leave a nasty scar - or at least it would,” “One, two, three” “-if our sponsors in the Medical Department weren’t totally going to fix that once they’re done here!”

“-Seven, eight, nine slashes, and she’s still standing?! Hang on, what is...Is she even hitting with those?”

“Looks like she’s just tormenting her, Click.”

“I know Felines will play with their food, but this is something else! Oh, and the Doctor is calling for the bout to e- OH MY GOD!”

“Swire just punched her in the face! No claws, no knuckledusters, just a single punch to the face in an infinitesimal break in the wall of sword strokes being put up by Lungmen’s former Chief Inspector! That wasn’t nearly enough to knock the breath out of the Lung, of course- hey, I thought that one was pretty good! - but it’s enough to give Swire some time to think through her next move.”

“And it’s looking like she’ll...wait, when did she get a drone out there?”

“She’s using it to blast Lungmen rap songs?! Shit, we might get demonetized if she keeps this up, right?”

“Nah, we’re hosting it on our private network, and our only sponsors are us any- And Ch’en just vanished!”

“No, she’s still on the field, just moving too fast to see with our eyes! There’s a cloud of blood forming around the pair now th- OH MY GAAAAAAA-”

“Holy shit. Medics! The Doctor’s hurriedly calling an end to this fight to try and determine a winner before one of these two actually finishes the job on the other!”

“If this is the level of action we’re gonna be seeing in these fights, ladies and gentlemen, then the front few rows miiiiight wanna invest in some kind of rain gear - like, say, the splash guards currently on sale at Closure’s for over 40% off!”

“And as the dust settles, Madame Ch’en is walking off the field with an easy victory. Wowza, that’s looking...that’s looking pretty bag. Oh, hey, that’s Hoshiguma coming down into the arena, I wonder if- whoa! Babe, she just punched Ch’en in the face! Maaaan, it’s a shame we won’t ever get to see that fight, huh?”

-------

Hoshiguma flicked the blood from Ch’en’s nose off her fist as she approached where the Medics were tending to Swire. “How’s she doing?”

“We’ve got her stable,” Warfarin reported, “and between the emergency coagulants and regeneration stimulants, she should be able to stand on her own power before the end of the night...Nothing too heavy until at least 48 hours have passed, though.”

“Thanks for the heads up. Can I talk to her?”

The Sarkaz sighed. “There’s no way she’s still con-”

“Hoshiiii?” Swire’s voice wheezed from some other dimension; within seconds, the Oni was at her side. “Hoshi...Sorry.”

“Sorry? Why are you apologizing? You did great out there.” The Defender took her hand gently in both of hers, letting a tear fall from her face at the sight of her girlfriend in such pain.

The Feline shook her head, which Aak grimaced at and set to work immobilizing her further. “I lost...I can’t see you anymore.”

“What? Why not?” Hoshi kissed her head, causing even more distress to the Medics in the process. “I don’t like her; I love you.”

“...Oh, Hoshi~”

Warfarin tapped the Oni on her shoulder. “I’m afraid visitor hours are closing; we need to move her somewhere not covered in her own blood.”

“I’ll go with you.” She waited for the folks carrying her girlfriend out to have her situated before following them out. ‘Thinking she could beat my Fluffy Cuddles in a fight and claim me like a trophy wife...I’m no one’s prize, damnit, I’m a prize fighter. I hope she wins her bracket, so I can give her a proper beating when I win mine.’

“...You know, if it was that easy, she probably wouldn’t have waited for the tournament,” a shadowy figure observed aloud as they walked past her in the opposite direction. Hoshi turned to confront them-

-but it was like they were never there...nothing but a Phantom of her imagination...

[narutowtfareyoudoing]

Okay so it's totally understandable if you don't want to do this. Love your blog either way! ❤ but I'd love to see headcanons or scenarios about Kakashi, Itachi and whoever else you want smoking weed with the reader! I think it'd be hilarious!!! Again totally cool if it's a no if you don't smoke or are against it.. love you!

Glad to hear you love the blog!💚💚  LMAO I’M SO DOWN WITH THIS 😂💚 I’ve been around marijuana most of my life in different aspects so I’m excited to write this! 💚💚 I also assumed the reader was their S/O. ---

Kakashi Hatake:

Kakashi’s been smoking weed since he left the ANBU. After being in desperate need of an escape and generally needing to calm down. Now it’s a daily ritual.

Though he generally sleeps better now that he gets to crawl into bed with you he usually smokes before bed.

He’ll always share with you, he’s not possessive over his stash at all. Help yourself if he’s not around S/O.

Why is he so lax about it? He’s never had to pay for it. 

That’s right, years ago Kakashi helped out an elderly couple and turns out they ran a weed farm. As a show of their thankfulness anytime Kakashi comes around he gets a handsome baggy for free.

You went with him once and they think you’re lovely, they’re vert happy someone’s loving and taking care of their broody hero. You get a cute little baggy of your own for free too.

Having the nose of a trained Ninken means he knows the good stuff when he smells it.

So the stash you two share is some potent stuff. It’s that good stinky shit my dude.

Kakashi has got a large double percolator bong covered in dog stickers you’ve put onto it that he hides beside his dresser in case anyone decides to drop by unexpectedly. Guy came by once and Kakashi swears he was lectured about it for three days straight. 

Watching Kakashi take hits with his mask still on always makes you laugh, the way the smoke comes up from the inside of his mask should look really cool but it just makes you burst into a fit of giggles. Which is why he still does it sometimes. He thinks your laugh is cute and nothing makes him laugh more than your own laugh.

You two usually smoke in bed, the plan is always just to get a little stoned and get some good sleep. Oh, how you two rarely follow the plan.

You two can stay up for hours talking. Sometimes it strays into serious and philosophical topics and other times it’s a giggles fest of lame excuses he’ll use on his students later.

You two even have little smoking games. One of his favourite is where you two read Icha Icha and whoever finishes the page last has to take a hit, the more you lose the harder it gets to read. But as the room gets filled with more and more smoke it gets harder for the winner to keep focus too. Kakashi usually wins this game never the less though.

To spite what his reputation as a Shinobi is and how he can come across Kakashi is in fact a gigantic nerd and it comes out full force when you two are stoned. His comfort with you paired with the weed is enough to have him drop down any barriers and he tells you all this fan theories about the next Icha Icha books, how he came up with the names for his Ninken. Come on one of their names is Biscuit! 

Speaking of biscuits. Kakashi doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth but that man can pack it away. You two have definitely walked down to Ichiraku’s for a late night second dinner. You’ve run into Shikamaru and Asuma there too along with a number of other faces. There’s a good reason Ichiraku’s is open late, he knows his clientele. 

You two eventually make it to bed so late that it’s early. Both your heads light and bodies heavy as you cuddle up, conversation slowly turning into snores.

Itachi Uchiha:

Itachi’s been familiar with marijuana for medical use for quite some time.

It’s what’s most easily accessible on the road, not every Village has well trained Medical Nin but there’s always at least one person in every Village that sells pot. 

At first he only took medical marijuana oil that had a low THC to avoid effects of grogginess on missions.

But when you came into the picture with your gummies and potent oils things changed. 

He still rarely uses anything with THC on missions but when he’s off his missions he enjoys it more than he thought he would. 

Edibles are something he enjoys, he has a sweet tooth no matter what he says. You made edible Dango once and he adored it.

He can’t take any hits from bongs or blunts but with you he’s become very fond of shotguns and hotboxings. Shotguns usually end in a kiss and it gives him all the more reason to smile. The lightheadedness from the weed and your lips leaves him with what could be considered a dorky smile by Uchiha standards.

Then of course you introduced him to the world of THC body oils. Heaven you introduced him to Heaven.

When he comes back from missions physically sore you break out the oil and give him a massage. Itachi was a little hesitant at first, brushing you off politely but with some insistence from your end he agreed.

It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy the thought of you giving him a massage, it’s that he worries sometimes the relationship you two have is skewed too much in his favour. You often have to remind him you love him and you do this not because you feel like you have too but because you want too. Plus you often jokingly tease him by grabbing his butt and that’s your Heaven so it’s worth it.

His body is usually sick an uncooperative when it comes to physical forms of love with you but sometimes just the right combinations of medical grade oils and high THC can have his body feeling well enough to try. And if you’re receptive at all he doesn’t miss a chance to try.

Buzzing high on THC and blissful orgasmic relief is enough to knock you and Itachi into sleeping the next week away. 

He never would have thought being high would give him such a semblance of a normal life. Laying, cuddled up to the person he loved so dearly, body and mind relaxed, death far from his thoughts. It all gave him a moment of maybe what his life could have been and he relishes in it. 

When he’s stone he smiles more, breathy chuckles make their way our of him not many but more than you’d normally get. He already smile around you more but when he’d stoned it’s more constant. 

He chooses not to get philosophical when he’s high with you, all his philosophical’s have to do with death and he wants that as far as possible from the conversation when he’s trying to be present in the moment with you. It’s something you two have talked about, you already knew the reality that Itachi was going to die and it was going to be bloody...he didn’t need to remind you of it every second so instead he just lets himself enjoy the hazy moments he has with you.

Itachi’s nerves are shot from dangerous Jutsu he’s used over the years but being high feels to heighten his sensitivity and your little touches of affection are something he wishes he could bottle up and take with him on long missions. 

Kisame is aware of almost everything you are when it comes to Itachi and he’s got no problem with it and he’s gone so far as to remember the strains you told him help Itachi the most and will pick them up if he sees them. Kisame doesn’t see the appeal himself since he’s highly resilient. Seriously check it out fish aren’t susceptible to THC 

Some of Itachi’s best days are spent with you stoned out of your brilliant minds. 

Yamato:

Can you guess who was a bad influence and is to blame for this? I’ll give you two guesses but you’re only gonna need one. That’s right, say it with me: Kakashi.

What started as a way to appear cool and bond with his Senpai has over the years become a personal hobby.

Yamato is absolutely paranoid at times that someone will catch him smoking. It’s not illegal but it once was and sometimes he still gets worried he’ll get in trouble or worse get shamed for it.

So he only exclusively smokes at home by himself, with you or guiltily sometimes with Kakashi to spite the fact Kakashi teases the living Hell outta your poor boyfriend.

You do too a little. You can’t help it. You’d think he’s a teenager hiding it from his mom instead of a grown man who lives with you, his adult partner by the way he acts.

He locks all the doors, puts towels at the bottom of every single one, closes every window and latches them shut, he lights candles to stop the smell, he got so worried once he even used his wood Jutsu to seal the door and windows tight. Which caused the most incredibly intense hotbox of your life.

To spite the fact he’s been smoking much longer than you have you typically have to light up first to help him feel more comfortable about it. He still has a worry in the back of his head you’ll judge him for what he was raised with is a nasty habit.

But as he take a few deep breaths he calms down. One of the root reasons why he smokes is to calm himself down and to unravel the tight spiral he spins himself into.

He mainly smokes joints, they’re easy to hide and if he’s positive if he ever needed too he could convince someone they were just hand rolled cigarettes.

He’s a talker. Going over imaginary scenarios that get more and more ridiculous the higher he gets and he used to be able to talk himself into a panic but when you laugh at the insane lengths he goes too it calms him down and make him realize that he is being a little silly...but just a little.

You sometimes have to steer the conversation a little, telling funny stories of when you were in school and someone dared you to eat a roach claiming it would get you high. It didn’t. 

If you can get him going he’ll absolutely in be stitches as he laughs away. And it’s adorable to see Yamato cut loose like that.

Sometimes he’ll tell his famed ghost stories but instead of his Dead Eyed Ghoulish Stare having it’s usual chilling effect it makes you lose your mind and laugh. It should be terrifying with his pupils enlarged, red blood vessels brimming his big eyes as they stare at you but there’s just something so funny about it when you’re high. And eventually after he has a brief moment of bruised ego he laughs along with you.

About two shared joints in the best way to describe him is dopey. 

Dopey eyes, dopey grin, dopey compliments on how he’s so thankful for you and that you’re here with him, years ago he never would’ve imagined he’d get to come home to someone, especially someone as pretty and wonderful as you.

When he gets this dopey he just wants to be held, so much of his life has been starved of touch and it feels so wonderful with the way his nerves and buzzing. If you run your nails through his hair he’s an absolute goner.

He likes to wait for all the hotbox smoke to dissipate into nothingness before he dares to open a window or a door. So this usually means you two spend hours together like this. 

He greatly prefers smoking now that he can do it with you. He however to prefer or approve of your pranks like the time you snuck a joint into his flak jacket pocket. He freaked out desperately trying to hide it and you were in so much trouble when he got home.

~Admin Coral. 

Buy Me A Coffee?

[kewltie]

Bakugou Tatsuya was born three minutes earlier than his twin and Katsuki had never let that go. They'd competed over everything – their parents’ attention, in sport and the school rankings. It was but a simple sibling rivalry, until it isn't anymore. Not when the heart is out on the frontline and neither of them is known for their mercy.

"Four hundred and eighty-eighty, huh," Tatsuya muses, looking at the scoreboard that was just posted for the first term finals. "We tied up." Not a first for either of them, but considering the prize of their wager. The results are startlingly revealing. "I thought you didn't care."

The weeks leading up to the finals, he'd locked himself in his room and crammed harder than he even did for the entrance exam for U.A., while Katsuki was out with his friends nearly everyday. To play, Tatsuya had thought, but clearly that wasn't the case at all.

He should have known. Identical twins. No matter how many people say that their similarity ended at their appearance, the level-headed Tatsuya and the firebrand that is Katsuki, they're two halves of a whole. It seems falling for the same person is written into the code of their DNA, the fabric of their very being. And neither of them is up for sharing, because for there to be a winner there must be always be a loser. It wasn't always like that though. Tatsuya would cripple his pride for Katsuki, his only and most precious brother, if it comes down to it.

He could take a loss. Or two.

But for the first time in a long time he doesn't want to let go of the hand holding his. Not even for Katsuki. And so the battle line is drawn around Izuku. He just didn't know how serious Katsuki would take it. Unlike Tatsuya, Katsuki had always kept his true feelings locked away and buried it under layers and layers of gruffness and rough exteriors.

He'd guarded it so zealously that it'd fooled Tatsuya. Once.

"I don't." Katsuki sneers beside him. "The bet was who would get a better rank in the finals and I just wanted to kick your ass. It has nothing to do with Deku.”

"Is that right?" He raises a brow.

"Yea," Katsuki says with a dismissive snort.

"So you won't mind me taking Izuku out on a date either way?" Tatsuya says, low and pointed. He'd never need to use his fist to hit where it hurt the most. His words are weapon themselves. "It doesn't bother you at all?"

At his words, Katsuki's jaw clenches as his hands balls into a fist at his side and his body tenses up like a dynamite ready to explode and all his triggers are named Deku. It's hysterically easy to read him like this.

Why couldn't Tatsuya have seen this all earlier?

Before the seed of this searing love toward Izuku took root and grew within him till it became this unmanageable thing, spilling out of him in droves. He doesn't know how Katsuki was able to hide it that long, when it's feels like an impossible millions things stuffed in him and he’s overflowing from it.

"You didn't fucking beat me," Katsuki finally answers, and his voice is unexpectedly cool against the violent storm brewing in his red eyes. "We’re tied up, so Deku isn't yours to take."

"Who you think deserve it then?" Tatsuya presses, pinning Katsuki with a glare of his own. "You, who made him cried countless times in the past?"

A thick blanket of silence falls over them, it's suffocating. Stilted against the noise of the hallway, but expected. This is a familiar battleground. Revisit a hundred times before again and again under a different kind of light and setting. In class, the field, in their home.

It's always been a contest for them. An unending series of question: who's smarter? Who's stronger? Who is the best? Who—? Who—? The answer didn't better so much as the thrill of the chase and the battle leading up to it. But then, the question became, who does Izuku loves the most?

That was when it stopped being a game between them. It’s a full blown war now.

Katsuki flexes his hand, clenching and unclenching it at his side, as though quietly mulling over it. Over the idea whether if he should answer the hit from Tatsuya's words with a physical jab of his own.

Katsuki takes a deliberate step forward toward him, but Tatsuya holds his ground. He won't be move. Not even for Katsuki. If he was a kinder person, a better older brother maybe, he would have step aside for Katsuki, but Tatsuya is tired, so very tired, of being the 'good' one, the good twin as though he only exists to be Katsuki's foil; the approachability of his image to balance out Katsuki's prickliness.

His yang to Katsuki's yin. Opposing forces working in mutual harmony, but to never stand apart.

"Tatchan is Tatchan and Kacchan is Kacchan," Izuku had once said, consoling him after another physical altercation with Katsuki. "I think it's amazing to have a twin." He'd smiled wistfully. "You guys share the same womb for ten months and that bond is stronger than anything, but you're also your own person with your own goals and desires. It doesn't always have to be an and/or thing."

While Katsuki and Tatsuya clashed over everything because they're dumb boys with an over competitive streak a mile wide, Izuku was playing the peacemaker between them. He probably doesn't expect that he would be something the twins would ferociously fight over too one day.

"Are you going to punch me now?" Tatsuya challenges.

Katsuki stops just shy of him, arms still at his side. "I should," he answers with a sharp grin of his own; the spread of his teeth is menacing and purposeful. "I really fucking should, just to shut up your arrogant mouth, but then I would be playing right into your hand."

 Tatsuya's eyes narrow minutely. It's easy to forget for all of Katsuki's violence and foul mouth, he's as keenly intelligence as Tatsuya. His score on the board speaks for itself.

"You—" he starts, but the rest of his words are swallowed by a familiar voice calling their name.

"Tatchan, Kacchan!" They both turn toward the noise and catches sight of Izuku running up to them with a breathless joy. "I heard!" He draws to a stop in front of them, breathing heavily and a face flushed with delight. "Congratulation for making it to the top ten out of our entire grade! You guys are amazing to tie for 2nd place." His grin is infectious and exuberance, dolling out affections and admirations like he got an untapped well of it.

Katsuki's face twists in annoyance. "Fuck 2nd place and the rest of the plebs. Should have taken first instead."

Tatsuya hums in agreement. They really should have.

Izuku pouts. "Hey, I got eight place and I'm happy."

"Because you're dumb and don't know how to not settle for what you rightfully deserve," Katsuki snaps, looking pointedly at him. Not that Izuku even catch any of his underlining meaning as he only looks sheepish in answer.

"You did great too, Izuku. I know how hard you study for that," Tatsuya says instead, much to the resentful glare of Katsuki aiming toward the side of his head. Not his fault that Katsuki's clumsy and inefficient way with words get his foot stuck in his mouth often.

His ineptitude is Tatsuya's advantage.

Izuku perks up with a shy and sweet smile. "T-Thank you, Tatchan!" he says. "It's all due to our study sessions. You’d helped a lot!"

Katsuki's miffed scoff can be heard loud and clear, but Tatsuya wisely ignore it to push for his end goal. "Then how about we go out this Saturday to celebrate finishing our finals and making it to the top ten?" he asks with careful deliberateness as he avoids meeting inevitable explosion beside him. He knows what to come after, but Katsuki only goes deathly still and quiet against his provocation.

Izuku's audible gasp is the only thing that can be heard. "Oh," he breathes, eyes widen in surprise. "Um," he scratches his cheek, looking anywhere but at them, "the three of us then?"

Tatsuya shakes his head. "No, just you and me." He pauses. "Will that be a problem?"

Green eyes flash toward him. "N-No, of course not!" he insists, an attractive blush rises to his cheeks. "I would love to join you on Saturday!" He casts a furtive glance at Katsuki. "But, um—"

"We have a track meet this Saturday," Katsuki cuts in, severe and low. The fact that he has been quiet all this time and hasn’t raise his voice since Izuku had joined them is startlingly enough; it's the calm before the storm. Katsuki's ire had been simmering under the surface; Tatsuya doesn't have to see it. He can feel the animosity seeping out in waves.

Izuku scrunches up nose in realization. "Oh, yes I forgot about that. Sorry!"

"It's a practice game against Tohei High, right?" Tatsuya counters, not even considering for a moment to give Katsuki an inch. "Izuku doesn't have to be there. And he's not even an official manager of the club so why do you drag him to these things?"

Katsuki bristles, anger finally getting the better of him. "The little shit begged to join us! I didn't fucking invite his ass," he hisses. "He's such a pest—" his brain catches up to his thoughtless mouth at last and the rest of his sentence died an awful, regretful death.

Izuku flushes, gaze dropping to the floor as his shoulders droop. "I see," he says quietly. "Then it wouldn't be a problem if I go with Tatchan instead."

With only Tatsuya's eyes on him, Katsuki's face goes through a gauntlet self-hatred, guilt and hurt before settling for resentment. "Fine. Do whatever the fuck you want," he snarls, voice twisted in such open derision and disgust that it's a marred of feelings. At himself, Izuku, or Tatsuya, nobody knows, but his anger is palpable enough that Izuku jerks his head up to look at him.

But Katsuki already has his back to them and is making his way out of the quagmire of a situation before anyone can get another word in.

Concern and anxiety etches across Izuku's face as he stares hauntingly at Katsuki's retreating back. It's wrought with worry over Katsuki.

Tatsuya desperately wants to reach out and ease his anxiety, but Izuku made the decision for him. "Kacchan, wait!" he cries out, running after him. He stops momentarily to look back apologetically at Tatsuya. "Sorry, I'll see you this Saturday then!"

And then he's gone. Just like that. After Katsuki.

While Tatsuya is left alone all by himself when there used to be three. He got a date out of Izuku. It's a victory in the most basic definition of it, but it feels hollow. Why is it that Katsuki is the one who ran away, but all Tatsuya sees is defeat in the vacant spaces they had left?

Because, he knows, it's an empty victory. He may have won this battle, but the war isn’t over. Far from it. Izuku has yet to choose his side and Katsuki may have retreated right now, but he hasn't thrown in his towel yet. After all, the best things are always worth the fight.

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, secretphilosopherwitch!

For @secretphilosopherwitch, who said they loved fantasy, BAMF characters being soft outside of battle, and found family. I hope you enjoy! :D 

Rating: General Tags: Adventure, BAMF Alec, Found Family, Fluff, Canon Typical Violence Summary: Alec faces his most difficult challenge yet; defeating a demon and winning the tournament. With fortune and glory on the line, he'll do everything he can to win. Thankfully, he doesn't have to do it alone.

Read On AO3

*****

When Inspiration Hits

A great, shaking roar rings through the air, vibrating through Alec’s entire body. He hunkers down behind a large pillar, just trying to get his bearings, trying to keep his breathing under control. His bow is in his hands, an arrow at the ready.

Alec’s eyes scan his surroundings, looking at the crowd that’s gathered all around, chanting and cheering and being merry. Easy for them, Alec thinks, as they’re not the ones fighting for their very lives. Only the promise of riches and fame is keeping Alec going. And the compulsion to keep his companions alive, of course.

They were once a group of strangers who’d met at a lowly tavern in the middle of nowhere grouped together for a single mission. Now? Alec would consider them his closest companions, maybe even friends. Not that he would admit that out loud .

Alec has never come face to face with a barlgura before, and yet, the runners of this dueling tournament have acquired one and set it against Alec and his comrades. The monkey looking demon is large, towering over them all, his fur an orange color. He pounds his chest and lets out another roar, his fangs dripping with spit. Alec stays where he is, giving himself the slightest bit of cover behind the pillar. Across from him, hiding against another pillar is Magnus.

“You monkey son of a bitch!” Clary yells before running straight for the demon, her warhammer over her head. Her eyes are bright with rage and despite the fact that she’s the smallest in their party, Alec has no doubt she can keep her own even against this barlgura.

Clary strikes the demon twice, making it all the more angry. Alec uses that to his advantage, leaning away from the pillar and getting the demon in his sights. He lets two arrows fly in quick succession, cursing himself when only the first hits its mark.

Simon moves to another pillar. As he goes he calls out to Clary. “ Risin' up, straight to the top. Had the guts, got the glory. Went the distance, now you’re not gonna stop. Just a barbarian and her will to survive!”

“Thanks, Simon!” Clary calls back, gripping her warhammer a little tighter, preparing for her next move.

Jace, not one to sit back and watch a fight, jumps into the fray. He goes to the barlgura’s backside so he and Clary are flanking. He pulls out two blades, surging forward and striking the demon, leaving two deep cuts in the demon’s back. The demon falls forward on his fists, letting out a roar that leaves a cold shiver sliding down Alec’s spine.

The barlgura swings it’s fists around, the size of them bigger than Alec himself. He swings down at Jace but Jace is quicker, just barely diving out of the way. Then it swings at Clary. This fist hits. Alec has a moment of worry where he can’t see Clary at all, completely buried under the demon’s fist before she’s standing back up and shoving it away.

At that, Magnus runs towards Alec’s pillar. His hands both light up with bright blue as his magic comes to the surface and, the show off, he casts a spell mid step. Big blue orbs shoot from Magnus’ palms, slamming into the barlgura’s chest, singeing its fur.

Alec catches Magnus around the waist, pulling him to safety. “What the hell was that? You were safe over there!”

“But you weren’t over there, darling!”

Alec feels his face heat up. “Is right here and now really the place? We’re in the fight of our lives!”

All the way across the field, Izzy makes herself known. She holds her holy symbol in her palm, summoning her spiritual weapon, a large snake-like whip, just above the barlgura’s head. She brings her hand down, striking with the weapon and a loud crack rings through the air.

The demon cries out, his eyes turning towards Izzy. But Clary is in his face once more, hitting it in the knee with her warhammer and making him fall forward off balance. She strikes again, her eyes glazed over with bloodlust the only way they do when she’s in a fight like this.

It’s Alec’s turn, but before he can peek around the pillar and shoot the demon, Magnus is grabbing the front of his armour. “Alexander.” Alec pauses. “If anything were to happen. I just. I need you to know.”

“Know what Magnus?”

“Alec, I’m in love with you.” And then Magnus tugs him forward, kissing his lips. In the middle of chaos and sweat and blood, Alec feels his chest surge with love and affection. His overdramatic warlock.

When Alec looks around the corner, aiming his arrow, he’s filled with an extra bout of inspiration, wanting to do his best in Magnus’ eyes. He takes aim and hits the demon, an arrow sticking out of each of the demon’s shoulders.

“Nice shot, Alexander,” Magnus says with a wink, leaving Alec feeling all out of sorts and flustered. He needs to focus, damn it!

Simon calls out from behind his pillar. “Jace, the great and fierce fighter, somehow stays so sweet! As long as I have a face, you’ll always have a seat!”

“ Simon!” Alec, Magnus, Clary, and Izzy all groan at once.

Jace lifts his blades, smirking over at Simon before focusing back on the demon. “That poem was inspiring , I’m a simple half-orc,” he yells before striking the demon twice.

At this point, the demon is looking ragged and worn down, bleeding from his wounds and stumbling as he tries to move. But he’s not dead. He turns around, screaming at the tops of his lungs as it pounds his fists down at Jace. He brings his fists together, clapping Jace between them. Jace is looking rough, falling on his ass and bleeding from his mouth and nose.

“Jace!” Alec cries out, wishing he could get to his friend and help. But he can’t, needing to trust his comrades to do their part.

“Hey, fur face!” Magnus calls from across the field, getting the barlgura’s attention. “What kind of shoes does a rogue wear?” After a moment, Magnus finished the joke. “Sneakers!” Alec lets out a groan despite the way his lips are curled up in amusement. That same blue magic lights up Magnus’ eyes before the barlgura is making the most hideous laughing noise as he falls to the ground, unable to stand from laughing so hard.

Izzy grabs her holy symbol, praying a few soft words under her breath, using her magic to heal Jace. Within a blink of an eye he’s standing up on strong legs, wiping his bloody nose with the back of his hand and crying out that he’s ready for more.

It’s back to the top and Clary is ready to go. With the demon on the ground, she has quite the advantage, swinging down hard. The demon is looking bad, barely holding on.

“I have an idea,” Alec says, looking up at the pillar. “Boost me up!” Magnus puts his hands together, shoving Alec up so he can crawl to the top of the pillar. Alec pulls his arrow back, putting his lips against the string. He whispers a few words, feeling his arrow light up with magic. Before his very eyes, his arrow shatters and splinters into many arrow heads. He lets the string go, watching as they all break apart, becoming a hail storm of arrows instead of a single strike. The arrows rain down onto the demon. Just before they hit, an ominous voice calls out.

“How do you wanna do this?”

Alec stands up in his seat, excitement making him giddy. Raphael smiles, shifting the barlgura mini figurine on the board, waiting for Alec’s death blow.

“Oh my god, yes!” Simon calls out. “I was all out of spell slots, dude. I was not ready for this fight to keep going.”

“Alec, do something really dramatic,” Clary says, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

Alec sits back down, taking a deep breath. A warm, solid hand touches his thigh and he turns towards Magnus, giving him a wide smile. When Magnus had suggested they try Dungeons and Dragons for game night, Alec wasn’t sure. He’s not mundane. But he’d instantly gotten into it, getting attached to his elven archer character and their group of rag tag friends. Raphael is the best dungeon master, helping them all understand the rules and keeping the story exciting and gripping.

He takes a moment to look at their map, always impressed with the time and effort Raphael puts into building these. His elven archer is on top of a pillar with Magnus’ human warlock just below. Jace’s half orc fighter is behind the barlgura while Clary’s dwarven barbarian is on the other side. Izzy’s gnome cleric is hiding, same as Simon’s half orc bard. They’re such a random bunch who shouldn’t get along but somehow found a common goal and stuck together through thick and thin. Alec’s character might go so far as to call them his family at this point in the campaign.

Raphael raises his brow. “The crowd all begins stomping their feet, crying out in unison, ‘ Shadow squad shadow squad shadow squad’.” You feel a calmness come over you as you stand on top of the pillar, the crowd and the noise and the chaos all slipping away as you pull back your string.”

“I stand up on the pillar, casting the spell on my arrow and letting it go. It turns into an entire shower of arrows. They come down and pin the demon onto the ground by his hands and feet and legs and shoulders. He tries to move but just then the final arrow comes down, straight between his eyes.”

“Shit, that’s awesome,” Jace murmurs from his spot beside Simon.

“With that,” Raphael says, “the barlgura stops moving. The crowd goes insane and from the floating platform comes the voice of Noxx, the owner of this fine tournament.” Raphael’s voice changes as he becomes Noxx. “I present to you, our winners! The Shadow Squad!”

As everyone talks about what they plan to do with all the gold they’re getting, Magnus leans over and kisses Alec’s cheek. “Was all the dramatics really necessary?”

Magnus shrugs. “I was trying to inspire you since your dice were being so mean earlier today. I told you to keep the blue one in dice jail!”

“Well thanks,” Alec whispers with a smile. “Now I think it’ll be our jobs to try to push our Cleric and Barbarian together already.”

Magnus’ eyes sparkle. “As if I’m not already planning that.”

They came together as a team like never before, defeated the monsters, won the tournament, and got a ton of gold to boot. And his archer finally got to kiss the pretty warlock he’s been pining after since they first met in that tavern. All in all, Alec would say tonight was a successful game night.

[cecilspeaks]

158 - The Battle for Time

Kasper Rhodes: 

The future wants you. The future needs you. The future will have you, whether you want to or not. Welcome to Night Vale.

Kasper Rhodes here, hello. There’s a lot of talk generally and in particular about the future. Everyone’s going on about this or that, rocketships and spires, eternal life and AI, but the future is also soil and leaves. It’s a hand holding a hand, it’s clouds and it’s water and it’s salt. The future is organic as anything. There is still sweat in the future, [chuckles] I’m sweating right now! It’s hot where I am. And I am Kasper Rhodes, president of the Quality Cyborg Corporation, and I can take you away from all this, in the name of the Smiling God. The God that grins down at us all, grinning through our pain and grinning through our joy, just always grinning, just always the smile.

Do any of you believe in anything? I do. I believe in anything at all, I just believe. What a powerful thing it is to believe, to let doubt (--) [0:02:27] off you, [chuckles] just like the sweat.

I have a proposition and it’s also a promise. I will take your brain, and how much were you using it anyway, and I will put it in a robot. And that robot will do wonderful things. That is my promise. And it’s also a proposition. [chuckles] Anyway, we’ll talk more in person, I’m on my way. I’ll see you soon.

[whoosh]

Cecil: (-) am I through? Am I, am I on the air? Am I on the air? I come to you in a time of emergency and panic. We thought we could cheat death. Kasper Rhodes promised to take our brains and freeze them into the future where we could be reawakened into life eternal. But it was all a lie. Kasper is a time traveler here to collect the brains of the past, to power robots of servitude in the future. We were being tricked into an eternal life of manual labor, and now we know the truth and stand against them.

Unfortunately, he has called in reinforcements from the future, and they are those very robots with our brains inside of them. They cannot fight against their programming, and they weep as they crush us, but still they crush us. There are robots patrolling outside of the abandoned grain silo and every other spot in town where the Quality Cryogenics Corporation is storing brains, so we cannot save our fellow citizens from the terror of the future.

(-) [0:04:01]. Kasper worships a Smiling God. I thought we had escaped that cosmic terror but it has returned, and it has come for our minds. Night Vale, I call for resistance. I call for a stand against the future. I muster the present to destroy every moment that comes after. We will never stop fighting, we will never surrender.

Oh, um, ahem, but first. Tickets are going on sale for the Lions Club charity raffle. All proceeds from the raffle will be going of weapons and barricades to be used against the endless onslaught of the future robots piloted by our own brains. So that’s just a great cause. Let’s have a look at the prizes. There’s a package tour to somewhere called Nash-vile. That’s exciting. Uh, the package includes a map showing where Nash-vile is, and a pad of paper on which is scrolled: “You should probably get a hotel room when you get there.” Everything you need for a fun vacation. There are ten free piano lessons from Louie Blasko. He says that piano is a great way to exercise your mind and your creativity, and he promises much fewer injuries this time around. There’s a free haircut and style consultation from Telly the Barber. Uuuuuuuuuugh! Ugh, that vile Telly! Meh, I shouldn’t say that. Carlos has forgiven Telly for cutting his – beautiful hair all those years ago, and so I should too. There are lots of things I should do, and I’m sure I’ll get to them eventually. In the meantime, though: ugh! Vile Telly! Finally, there is the grand prize, which is an all expenses paid trip into the bottomless hole betwixt the dunes, that inexplicable dark pit that appeared a few years ago out in the Sand Wastes. We’re not sure who donated this prize, it just showed up at the Lions Club in a basket that smelled of mud and wet dog. But the winners will have the opportunity, in fact they will be compelled whether they want to or not, to leap into the bottomless hole betwixt the dunes. This is all expenses paid. I’m not sure what expenses there are to jumping into a bottomless hole but in any case, they’re covered. Raffle tickets are only 5 dollars and can be purchased at the Lions Club or by whispering into any crack in any wall. And again, proceeds go to saving us from the robot army, so please do buy a few.

[whoosh]

Kasper Rhodes: There’s a lot of talk generally an in particular about pain. “Oh, I’m in pain,” many say, “Oh, this pain is the worst I’ve ever felt,” many say. Many just scream and that’s understandable, I’d scream too if I could, but you can’t scream with a smile. That’s one of the laws of the Smiling God. I believe in laws. But then, I believe in anything.

Have you ever had rock candy? Who even thought up something so useless as these crystalline sugar lumps? What point is there to any of this, when rock candy is the kind of thing that we as humans apparently are up to? Generally, also in particular. But what I’m talking about is, what point is there to rock candy? And what I’m also asking is, what point is there to you? But I can provide a point, at you anyway. Wouldn’t that be nice for once? And don’t we want it to be nice for once, just once before we go? I’m talking here about purpose, and I have more purpose than I need. You have less purpose than you want. Let’s meet in the middle, and there in the middle, I will take your brain. Believe in the Smiling God and why not? I do.

[whoosh, high-pitched noises]

Cecil: [distorted] Night Vale, we will fight! [normal] Night Vale, we will win! The night may be long, but inevitably comes the dawn. Especially now that time works correctly here. Tamika Flynn has gathered her militia, who have aged to the point where they are no longer teenagers. It was kind of cute, a local friendly teenage militia, but now they’re just a militia, which is less cute. But definitely good to have on our side in this struggle. They are currently pelting the robots with stones but – ah, the robots’ metal frames are impervious to such attacks. Oh, this is so worrying! Josh Crayton, local shapeshifter, has resumed the form of a waterfall in an attempt to short out the electronics of the robot army. Unfortunately it appears that their bodies are water resistant and perhaps even waterproof, and so they are simply walking past him like he isn’t there. Josh, maybe some other form? Oh, OK, OK, Josh has panicked and accidentally taken the form of a 1970’s style avocado green galley kitchen. Oh, Josh, this will not be helpful at all.

“We’re going about this fight all wrong!” said Lenny Butler, who has no official bona fides on military tactics, but considered himself an aficionado of rowdy boys really taking it to each other on the battlefield. Lenny continued: “What we want to do is fight them!” When asked what that meant, he shrugged and (-) [0:09:47] irritably. “I know what it means!” he said. “I’m not gonna waste time explaining it to you, just like, flank them!”

Other towns have been forced to join the fight, as the robots are sweeping through the entire area. The ghosts of Pine Cliff have enthusiastically entered the fray. Unfortunately, of course, ghosts cannot physically affect our world, and so they are just hovering back and forth through the robots. But good hussle out there!

Citizens of the Whispering Forest muttered warm compliments to the robots in an attempt to simulate them into their tree forms, but robots are immune to compliments, as they’re only able to think as highly of themselves as they are programmed to do. Oh no, nothing is working! Ugh. Well, this seems like as good a time as any to talk about survival tips. The first thing to consider is your water source. Now, your body is 60 per cent water, so that seems like enough, let’s move on. Next, you will want to consider food. Stuck up on essentials like canned peas, easily stored grains, and those little bags of baby carrots which are just big carrots carved into small spaces and called babies. Which his not how babies are made. This is not what the word “baby” means. Anyway, if you find yourself in an emergency situation without enough food, consider expanding your definition of the word “food”. For instance, theoretically, you could eat a desk if you tried hard enough. Maybe the problem isn’t a lack of food, but  lack of motivation on your part. Finally ,look for shelter. This one is easy, there are houses and buildings everywhere and you can just go into them. Some of them will be locked, they might even have people inside who say things like: “What are you doing in my house?” and: “You can’t be in here, this is the stock room of an Arby’s!” But don’t let naysayers like that get you down. This has been, survival tips.

[whoosh]

Kasper: There is a lot of talk generally and in particular about triumph. “We are winning,” a person might say. “We will defeat you,” a person might crow as the town falls in supplication around him. “You will all be taken to the future!” that person might continue. “You will be made useful.” And isn’t that wonderful? To be made useful? Isn’t that the best thing a person can be? I think so. It doesn’t matter what you think, [chuckles] it turns out you never did. It’s so impersonal chatting over the phone, es-especially since you haven’t been picking up. It seems rude, your refusal to listen to me, but-but I don’t mind. After all, it’s hard to begrudge you your last minutes of human freedom. Tell you what, tell you what, I’ll head over and collect you myself. Wouldn’t that be nice? For me, I mean, again it doesn’t matter what it is for you, it turns out it never did. OK, [distorted] see you soon, bye bye!

[whoosh]

Cecil: Give me back my radio frequency! Oh, I… Am I, I think I’m back on. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Well, I’ll talk whether you can hear me or not. More robots are pouring out of the time vortexes. The vorteces, vortes.. vorces.. vort-vortex-eses. Whatever they are. Thousands of robots are coming out and this is too much, we can never defeat all of them! The robots are marching to Kasper Rhodes’ army that was already here and they are… Listeners, they are fighting them. These new robots are fighting on our side. At their head is the one I recognize as containing the brain of Charlie Bair, the dayshift manager at the Ralphs, and he’s [huffing] he is announcing that some of the robots have broken free of their programming, that they have found a way to manipulate the metal body they were trapped in, and they have come back to help us prevent this all from happening. And the present day human Charlie Bair is running up to join his future metal counterpart. Night Vale, out on that battlefield is a robot which contains your brain! Find that robot and help it fight, or fight it, depending o n which side it’s on. Together, with ourselves, we can win this. There is still hope. There is always hope. There is also always The weather.

[“Sugar Neighbors” by Dane Terry https://www.thedaneterry.com]

Together, us and us, our own selves and our robot selves, we rushed against Kasper Rhodes, more and more of his robots broke free of their programming and joined us. Tamika and her militia were now Tamikas and their militias, and the intimidation factor was through the roof. This whole time, we just had to trust ourselves. [chuckles] And also have versions of ourselves that were embedded in super strong metal bodies. That was all it took this whole time to be victorious. Charlie Bair the human stood shoulder to shoulder with Charlie Bair the robot, and both fought valiantly. Josh Crayton took the form of a chainsaw, which was then wielded by Josh Crayton’s brain in a robot body to glorious and gory effect. It did not take long for the tides to turn. Sometimes, once the balance shifts, it shifts as quickly and definitively as a broken elevator plunging down a shaft. And then, Kasper Rhodes himself finally fell. Whether it was the stones cast by the Tamikas, or the fists of the Charlies, or Josh the chainsaw wielded by Josh the robot, I cannot say. In the chaos of battle, individual human action becomes indistinct, but the fact of Kasper’s death is indisputable. And in that moment he fell, every robot slumped into stillness, because time had changed. Kasper never took our brains when we died and used them in robots of the future, and because of that, every one of those robots no longer had a brain in them. They were empty shells. We carried those empty shelves with affection and care to Grove Park, where they would be sorted for parts and the resulting scrap metal used to fix the massive amount of damage done to town by this battle.

We kept one robot, though, just one. The scrawniest one with the most rusted joints and Pamela Winchell, who has been reading books on hobbyist surgery, removed Kasper’s brain from his still warm body and placed it in that robot, and the robot came to life in a panic. “Don’t worry,” we told Kasper the robot, “we’re not going to hurt you! We’re just putting you to work for the Miriam McDonald memorial fund. You will clean up the sand from the Sand Wastes until all the sand is gone. We don’t know how long that will take, it may take forever. Good luck!” And even now, a lone robot with a broom sweeps sand out of the desert. Hm. A fitting end for an unfit man.

[sighs in relief] Now there is only us, and the returned reality of our aging. And our death. I have come to think that Carlos was right. There is nothing more scientific than death. We fear it, reasonably, because it is a thing we can never know, perhaps not even when we experience it. But it is not worth perverting our lives, changing everything about ourselves just to avoid our natural ends. New generations will come. New people will live. And like everyone before us, we will gracefully exit to make room for those coming after. As the old saying goes: “Death is only the end if you assume the story is about you.” [laughs] This is not a story about you! And you were glad, because it would be boring if every story was.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Every friend group has a joyful chasm. If you do not know who the joyful chasm is, then I have news for you: you are the joyful chasm.

[post credits segment]

Kasper: There’s a lot of talk generally and in particular. So many words. Oh man. Oooh maannn. Ugh, oh! [chuckles] This is not how. It isn’t. Was it? But it’s what’s left of me. Oh, it’s quiet in here at least. I can’t feel the smile anymore. (--) [0:25:49] that smile. In here, it is quiet and dark. My metal body moves, but my brain is still. I like it in here. [shivers] Nooo-oooo! That smile!  The- the smile has appeared. Oh, oh God, y- you don’t understand! The smile is in here with me. [distorted noise, discordant music rises, then fades out]

[apveng]

Kara Oh Kara

Here is the fourth part of my story. The first part, Khao-Shuh, is here. Second part, Why Do You Need Supergirl, Anyways?, is here. The third, She Is Not Kara, Damn It, is here.

*********************************************************************************

“That was so much fun. I had missed this.” She heard Barry say before pausing and adding. “Ugh! I mean, of course you are not… you know…”.

“It is okay.” S’lynn assured him, her voice full of sympathy. “It happens.”

Alex sighed and shook her head. They are not supposed to be talking so openly about

that which shall not be voiced

. A good thing they were in the lab and she had made sure it was completely bug proof.

Barry didn’t wait around for long before he left. It must be hard for all of them-- Barry, Kate and everyone else--to work with S’lynn and realise how good she is at imitating their friend.

She was working day and night—at least whatever time she could steal from Hope—on SK to spare them as much pain as she could. She was already halfway through. She had tested her solution on a few of M’gann’s troops and so far, the failure rate was 30%. Some aspects of the test’s criteria are working. She just needed to finetune the others.

If only M’gann, for reasons beyond Alex’s comprehension, hadn’t pulled S’lynn from the project a couple of days back. M’gann had said that S’lynn’s involvement as a test subject would be a drag on the league’s activities as well as on SK. Yet, strangely enough, there didn’t seem to be any reduction in the time S’lynn spent with her.

No, not with her. But in the lab.

Alex let out a long breath.

Whatever.

She had gone through two weeks of this and she would be able to do a few more. And, since her revelation last week, it had been easy for her to just tune out S’lynn unless she was getting some data from her. Even when working closely together, it was easy now to see her as just another colleague.

“Ouch!”

“Alex, what happened?” S’lynn was by her side in an instant, looking at her bleeding palm in alarm.

The expression tugged at her heart.

She is not Kara, Danvers. Focus.

“It is just a small cut.” She answered. “And, it is my fault. I had brought that knife to check for something and forgot to put it back.”

“It is okay. You are working so hard.” S’lynn said in that soothing voice Kara employed all the times Alex had been hurt.

Oh, Rao! Not again.

“Do you want me to call Brainy? I mean, Director Dox?”

“What? No. I can take care of this.” Alex replied absently as she examined her palm. “Just do as I direct.”

“Okay.”

To her surprise, S’lynn pulled on a pair of gloves—no, not one pair, but two—before helping her with the cut. She hadn’t known her new colleague was a germaphobe. And, when did she get the first aid kit?

Alex eyed S’lynn as she tied up the bleeding palm.

What was with the look on her face?

That concerned expression was so Kara, it hurt. And, not the concern Kara had for other people either. No, this was the look Kara reserved for Alex.

How had she figured that out?

S’lynn was wearing gloves, so Alex couldn’t even touch the bare skin to ground herself. Thankfully, after her revelation last week, there had been only a couple of times when she had needed that. Not any in the past couple of days. Now, her winning streak seemed to be over.

S’lynn stepped back from her. “How does it feel?”

Alex looked at her hand. “Well, I am okay, now.” She examined her colleague with something akin to admiration. “I didn’t know you were a medic as well.” The first aid had been administered with the expert hands of a physician or a nurse. Surprising given S’lynn’s obvious discomfort with touching a bloody hand.

S’lynn coloured and murmured. “I learnt quite a lot of things on the field.” She moved away to fiddle at a microscope at the other end of the lab.

Great! Now, how am I going to touch her?

With a sigh, Alex returned to her work. She would just have to find some other way to deal with her unease. May be, this was for the best. She was getting too used to having a real-time temperature (and heart if she was honest) check. It was time she got over it.

Hopefully, there won’t be many more of these episodes in the next couple of weeks. By then, they would be ready to root out infiltrators and from there, it should be a short path to freedom.

**********************************************************************************

“She is so like Kara, it is unbelievable.”

Alex looked over at where S’lynn was playing with Hope, Nia, Brainy and Maeve’s five-year old, Aram. They were all at Kelly and Jaya’s for a game night. J’onn and M’gann had insisted and ignored all of Alex’s protests. Apparently, it was necessary for their cover.

“Yeah?” She poured herself a glass of coke and, for the first time in years, wished that it was something stronger. “Well, I find it very easy to tell them apart. I told you Kel.”

She couldn’t keep her eyes on her daughter playing with the stranger. It hurt too much. If she had been sensible, it might have been Kara.

Because of her, Kara will never see Hope; Hope will never get to grow up in the comforting arms of one of the best people in the universe.

Kelly reached over and took the glass Jaya poured her. “Yes, Alex. You told me. She doesn’t look at you the way Kara looks at you.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I have seen the way Kara looks at you.” She shrugged. “And, I didn’t see a difference tonight.”

Alex grimaced. “I am sorry, Kel.”

“Come on.” Kelly said squeezing her shoulder. “Water under the bridge. That is not my point. The point is, I can’t tell them apart.”

Alex laughed. “She has been training, that is why. Besides, who knows Kara best, you or I?”

Jaya touched Kelly. “If you guys were hoping to fool anyone, you aren’t doing a great job of it. Discussing confidential details so openly, really honey?” She rubbed Kelly’s shoulder and murmured something into her ear.

Whatever she said, Kelly changed the subject. Thank God!

Alex’s eyes moved to observe J’onn and M’gann. They were sitting with Will and Andrea, chatting and talking; occasionally calling out a word to the others. It gladdened Alex’s heart to see them so happy in each other’s company. At least, something good came out of this fiasco.

As she watched, J’onn called over something to Nia and then stood up. “Alright everyone. We are here for game night, so let us start.” He smiled down first at S’lynn—who looked a bit too excited for Alex’s taste—and then at the kids. “The kids are waiting.”

Alex wondered at his obvious affection for S’lynn. It wasn’t pretense. She could see that.

They must have known each other from Mars.

“I pick Querl.” Nia said before anybody could say anything. “And Jaya.”

“Will and I are a team. And pick Aram as our third.” Andrea declared. Before Alex could get a word in edgewise, M’gann had picked J’onn and Kelly. She was left with S’lynn and Hope. How had that happened?

“Why are we teaming up as couples?” She protested. “That is not fair, and it is not fun.”

“We are not all couples, Alex.” Andrea pointed out. “You and Kara…”, she barely stumbled at the name, “are not a couple. Neither are J’onn and M’gann.”

S’lynn came over to her and nudged her shoulders. “Come on. It will be fun. I am not a bad partner.”

Alex rolled her eyes. They barely knew each other. What kind of partners would they be?

Hope tugged at her hands. And smiled at her with all the light in the world reflected in her grey eyes. “Kara is wonderful, Mommie. We will win, I am sure. Don’t worry.”

She gave in. “Okay.”

Soon they were seated around the table in the living room, Hope in S’lynn’s lap—refusing Alex’s offer of her own arms (the girl would surely be the death of her)—S’lynn by Alex’s side and everyone else arranged as per their teams.

The first round was going to be a jeopardy style quiz. Each team had to select a member and they had to provide the answer on something related to other members of the team.

Used to the insanity—despite her reticence, she was dragged to one of these nights every few months—Alex tuned out.

Mostly.

She only paid attention when she heard Kelly ask S’lynn, “Alex’s favourite movie.” A lost point, that. She would have to console Hope.

“Terminator III.” S’lynn answered instantly. Alex’s head jerked up at the answer. “How did you know that?”

“What?” S’lynn looked confused, then to Alex’s surprise, fearful.

“How did you know the name of my favourite movie?” Alex asked coolly. She didn’t like her privacy invaded.

“I must have heard it somewhere.” Was the vague answer. Before she could pursue the matter further, J’onn provided the explanation. “I told her Alex. It was best to give her some personal details.”

“Right.” S’lynn bobbed her head vigorously. “J’onn told me.”

Alex threw a glare at J’onn. Hope reached over and pulled at her arm. “Mommie, what is wrong? We won.”

Pushing away her irritation, she smiled at her child. “Yes, precious. We did.”

Alex watched like a hawk as the round went on. S’lynn answered most other answers incorrectly. As did she.

Naturally.

Even J’onn didn’t know everything about her. And, she barely knew S’lynn—Alex had glared every time S’lynn had acted as if Kara’s fact was her fact, so she had wised up and stopped doing that.

By the end, they were trailing others by a hundred points. Hope looked at the verge of tears, though she was valiantly trying to hold them back and comfort S’lynn for her missteps. And cheer Aram whose team had won.

Alex was proud of her daughter.

Eyeing their daughter, Jaya spoke up, smiling. “How about a last question? Aram’s team is of course the winner but may be our team and Hope’s can have a fight for the runner’s up, yes?” She rubbed her palms together. “Let us make the game exciting.”

This was why she liked Jaya. Despite coming into Hope’s life only two years back, Jaya could read Hope just as well as her and Kelly. And had an eye to Hope’s happiness as much as either of them. She couldn’t have wished for a better third mother for Hope.

Of course, that may not help this time, as it was Hope’s turn. And, how much could a five-year old know about her mother? Or, a stranger she has never met before. She prayed for an easy question. Something about her favourite colour, maybe.

Aram looking important, as only a five-year old could, stood up to ask his question. “What was Aunt Alex’s first school project?”

Damn!

Hope looked so sad, S’lynn spoke up. To what end, Alex had no idea. “You know, Aram. That was a great question. Wow!” she smiled at Aram. “Since it is so tough, could you allow Hope a helpful hint?”

“I don’t want a hint.” Hope said her voice determined. “It is not fair.”

The adults didn’t offer an out. Aram, after thinking about it, nodded, his little face full of a child’s generosity. “I am okay with that.” He looked at Hope. “It is only fair, Hope. You helped me last Thursday, remember?”

Bless the kids.

“However, Aunt Alex can’t help.” He added. “You can take help from Kara.” Nia reached over and patted her nephew’s hair. The kid did have a decent sense of justice and fair play.

The trouble though was that, they didn’t have a solution to the problem. Her daughter’s team would still be the loser.

Eh! Nothing to be done about it.

The kid and S’lynn moved away to discuss the answer. Alex couldn’t help an inward grimace at her daughter’s hopeful look. She prepared to comfort the kid, and then sat back stunned as she answered.

“A specimen of Mommie’s cat’s blood that she said was an alien species. Don’t worry Aram.” Hope added seriously. “She didn’t hurt the cat. Just took a few drops of blood from him using a needle and then gave him a sausage afterwards. She also, gave, what is that Kara? Some report.” The kid’s face brightened. “Blood group report. Grandma helped her.”

Alex didn’t catch the rest of what happened. She could only nod, dumbstruck, as Aram looked over at her to verify the answer was correct. The people were talking around her, but she didn’t hear anything.

How did S’lynn know that? J’onn couldn’t have told her. He couldn’t have known that little bit of her history himself.

She felt J’onn’s arm on her shoulder. “Your mother told me once long ago.” He nodded at S’lynn who was swinging an excited hope. “And, I projected the answer to S’lynn just now. I was touching her, remember?”

Breath, and life, returned to Alex. “J’onn, you shouldn’t have. That is cheating. Poor Aram.”

“Aram’s team still wins.” J’onn smiled. “I just didn’t want Hope’s evening ruined. It is just a game Alex. Let them enjoy.” He nodded at the kids. S’lynn was taking them on a triumphant progress around the living room; each seated on one of her shoulders. A feat none of her friends but the Martians could have managed.

The expression on her daughter’s face pulled at Alex’s heart.

It was so full of joy.

What would she tell her after a month when S’lynn returned to Mars?

How would she manage Hope’s disappointment?

*********************************************************************************

“What do you mean, I shouldn’t meet Hope again?” S’lynn exclaimed, her voice—Kara’s voice—full of indignation. It only irritated Alex.

“I meant that you shouldn’t.” She emphasized “shouldn’t” for good measure. “meet Hope.”

“Alex!” S’lynn seemed to be scrambling for a decent counter. At least, that is how it seemed to Alex though who knows, given that she was wearing Kara’s skin. Her own expressions might be different.

She pulled her thought back from that direction. It was a rabbit hole of suspicion and resentment. And for what? Only because her kid had taken to this woman as if she was her long-lost mother. In any case, that had nothing to do with her decision.

“Hope loves you. If you keep meeting her, she will get too attached. And, it will hurt her badly when you leave for Mars. I can’t have that. Besides, it is not like we hang out off work anyways.”

S’lynn’s face brightened. “Hope loves me?”

Alex frowned at her colleague. What has gotten into S’lynn? Where was the soldier she had met the first day? “Did you hear the part where I don’t want her to get hurt?” She turned away, unable to see the disappointment on that beloved face. “And, I didn’t mean she really loves you, loves you. She just met you.” She grimaced and allowed a concession. “But, she does seem to like you.”

“I won’t hurt her Alex.” S’lynn came back into her field of vision. “I promise.”

“It is not up to you.” Alex pointed out, this time meeting the sincere blue eyes. “When you leave, she will be hurt. And, I, and not just I, but Kelly and Jaya as well, can’t bear to see our kid hurt.”

As expected, S’lynn’s face fell. And, it hurt.

Alex asked, curiously. “What is it to you, anyways? She is just a strange kid to you.”

“She is such a lovely kid. She reminds me so much of myself, Alex.” Was the baffling answer.

“How could she remind you of yourself?”

“The way she struggles being part human and part alien. The way she needs to remember to not use superpowers in strange company…” S’lynn’s voice took on a distant tone. As if she were somewhere else. Or, lost in memories. “It is all so familiar.”

“I didn’t know you had noticed.” Bringing up a five-year old half alien, especially a half Kryptonian with such a wide range of powers, was tough; especially on the kid. Alex did have regular training sessions, as did Clark and his sons. Still, she knew that sometimes Hope messed up. Thankfully, never with any significant or visible consequences, even in school. But, keeping her powers to herself among people, even people that knew about her, was a strict rule Alex and her other mothers had impressed on her.

How had S’lynn noticed?

She pushed the question away. Five-year-olds make mistakes. It must be obvious to soldiers.

She didn’t know whether to feel gratified or bothered by S’lynn’s obvious affection and concern for Hope. She felt a bit of both. And, none of that really changed her mind. But, before that, “Why is being a halfling familiar to you?”

S’lynn appeared startled. It took her a while to answer. May be bringing up unwanted memories? “I had met a few halfling kids when I was younger.” The way S’lynn couldn’t meet her eyes told her all she needed to know about the pain the memories induced. “I had some friends who struggled growing up.”

Was she talking about kids with Green and White Martian parents? Must be when she knew J’onn.

“I am sorry.” She said after a small silence. “I am sorry for what your planet is going through. I really am. And, if I could help, I would. But, please. I cannot risk Hope’s happiness.”

S’lynn looked as if she was searching for an answer. She did find it, eventually. “It is necessary for Earth’s survival, Alex. You heard J’onn. We need to behave as if we are Alex and Kara, super team.”

“I am not convinced anyone would be checking such minutiae.” Alex countered.

S’lynn met her eyes steadily. “Can you be sure of that? Would you be willing to risk the planet—Hope’s life along with that—on that?”

Damn it!

“What am I going to tell her about you? I can’t tell her you are my colleague. I have never had her meet my colleagues. How will I explain your leaving to her if I tell her you are a friend?” Alex shook her head. “It is just too complicated.”

S’lynn gave a small smile. “Just tell her I am your girlfriend.” A curious expression flitted across her face. “If you tell her we broke up, she will understand the cultural connotations. Even kids pick that stuff up.”

Alex stared at S’lynn flabbergasted. “What? No. Pretend girlfriends, is that what we have come to?” She paced, with difficulty, in Kelly and Jaya’s small kitchen. “Besides, how will it even fool the enemies? Didn’t you say they know all about me and Kara? Kara is my sister.”

“Foster sister, adopted in your teens, isn’t that so?” The pointed nature of the question unsettled her. She had come to terms with her feelings long back. But, how could a stranger know?

S’lynn though wasn’t finished. “I am sorry.” Her expression sobered. “It is just that for my preparation, J’onn gave me a lot of details. He implied that you had feelings for Kara.” She paused and then added. “And, Kara for you.”

J’onn!!! When this was over, she and J’onn were going to have a long talk.

“Yes, I did have feelings for her.” Alex gritted out.

S’lynn looked into her eyes intently, moving with her when she tried to turn away. “Did or do? Do you still love…” She paused and then asked softly. “Do you still love Kara, Alex? Or, is it all in the past?” The blue eyes were full of an intensity that compelled Alex to confess the truth.

“Yes. I do love Kara.” She exclaimed. “Are you satisfied? What is it to you anyways? I don’t think Kara loves me. Not…” Her voice trembled. “That way.”

She took deep breaths to steady herself. God, this woman. She had just regained her equanimity, and now, it was gone again.

So much for the touch therapy. The intimacy of the question meant she couldn’t even bear to touch S’lynn now. She didn’t know what kind of signals it’d sent. How much it’d open her to ridicule.

“I am sorry.” S’lynn said softly, crouching to meet her eyes as she bent in half to find her bearings. “I know you are in pain. And, if I could…” She broke off, looked away for a moment, and then continued. “Alex, hold on for just a little while longer. Please.” Was that tenderness in the blue eyes? Surely, not.

“Why a little while longer?” She asked to buy time.

S’lynn looked hesitant, but then explained. “We—that is M’gann and I—think there is an infiltrator among the rebels. If our suspicions are correct, it could be bad Alex. That is the reason why we are risking Hope getting hurt and…well, a lot of other things.” She finished vaguely.

Infiltrator.

Alex looked at S’lynn suspiciously. Her behaviour had been pretty different this past week. In fact, ever since M’gann announced that she would not be a part of testing any more. Could she be?

“No, Alex! I can’t believe this.” S’lynn looked startled. “How can you think I am the infiltrator?”

Am I so easy to read?

Alex focused on the question at hand. “Well, your behaviour has changed since last week.” She opened her first finger. “You no longer allow me to touch you.” She circled S’lynn. “You have turned germ-phobic. Or, blood phobic.” Her third finger opened. “You were a professional soldier when I met you. Now, you act like one of the worst undercover agents ever.”

“What?” The voice was full of righteous indignation. “I can do undercover.”

Perhaps it was the familiar expression and voice, but that brought back memories.

Alex glared at her colleague. Or, was she the infiltrator? “You are different. I am not convinced you are the same S’lynn I met three weeks ago. What have you done with her?”

Her hands went to her hips.

Damn! She didn’t have her gun at the ready. She should have kept it. Now, her friends and her daughter might be in danger, and she could do nothing. She moved to the knife rack.

“There is no reason to panic.” S’lynn paused. “Alex. Please. I can prove to you that I am not an infiltrator.”

“How?” Alex kept a few feet between them and tensed her stance to move at a moment’s notice. She should have covered the door to the living room, but her position made it difficult.

“J’onn!” S’lynn exclaimed. “J’onn can prove it. You know that there is no pretense in mind meld. He can join with me and show you I am no infiltrator.” She raised her arms as if to prevent Alex from doing something stupid. “Just stay away from the knife. I know that you have figured out a way to join with J’onn too, so you could tell if J’onn is J’onn. May I call J’onn please?”

She had chanced up on the way to mind meld with J’onn when she had been searching for a mental block that kept empaths out. Thank God she had because in these times, it was her sanity.

She nodded.

It didn’t take long for J’onn to confirm that S’lynn was S’lynn and had no ill intent towards Alex, Hope, or her friends and family.

Finally, after he had gone back to the living room—raising his eyebrows at their lengthy hold out in the kitchen—S’lynn looked at Alex.

“So? Girlfriends?” S’lynn nudged her shoulder. “Come on. I could be fun.”

She could never say no to that hopeful expression. No matter how much she told herself it was not the real Kara.

“Pretend girlfriends.” She corrected. And, tried to ignore the little jig her heart did when S’lynn, in Kara’s form and voice, let out a little whoop.

“You know, I have to talk to Kelly and Jaya.” Alex said trying to curb her colleague’s baffling, if gratifying, enthusiasm.

S’lynn sobered. “Tell them it is very important for the planet.”

Alex snorted. Right. Kel will believe that. But, she knew S’lynn would bring in J’onn and M’gann to convince them. It was pretty much a done deal at this point.

She couldn’t wait for this trial—this pain as S’lynn called it—to be over.

**********************************************************************************

Notes: Hey! I took artistic liberty—in a fanfiction—and made Hope Half Kryptonian. 😊It was just easier and finding some other alien with heat vision.

[spiltscribbles]

Notes: I am a soft ball of fluff who also loves these two to bits! 

A reblog saves a life<3

~*~

.-

“Hurry up, hurry up,” Stiles bucks up his hips, sliding greedy hands under the waistband of Derek’s briefs.

“You ever wonder if the romance in our relationship is lost?” Derek snorts, nibbling on Stiles’s collar bone, across his jaw and finally landing with a searing kiss onto his lips.

“Mmm,” Stiles flips him over so that Derek’s writhing underneath him. “Dude we have four kids under five! No time for romance between frantic hand jobs.”

“Freya’ll be six next month,” Derek points out, peppering kisses all over Stiles’s face.

“Fine, we’ll have a really romantical, slow bone session right after we clean up all the cake and ice-cream from her party. But right now, I can barely remember the last time our dicks touched.”

“Two weeks, nine days, and three hours ago.”

Stiles leers, “Bro I don’t know whether to be flattered that you’re counting down the hours till we fuck, or be concerned the my man is obviously thinking about me every second of the day instead of focusing on  his actual, very dangerous job.”

“One,” Derek pulls Stiles back underneath him—always having enjoyed the push and pull of their relationship, the way neither of them let the other have anything easy. Always poking and prodding and forcing each other to do better. To be better. “I’m your husband, not your dude, or bro or any of the other colorful nicknames you like to use, pretending you’re some douchey, snapback wearing frat kid getting drunk off his ass in some lame  party.”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t have been that douche in another life…You know one vacant of wolves and hunters and all that shit.”

“Two,” Derek continues as if Stiles hadn’t even spoken, grinding down into him and reveling in the little, gasps of groans that he lets out at the contact. “We’re doing much more than fucking, don’t ya think?”

“Oo, ah ah yeah, yeah definitely,” Stiles almost squeaks out. “But we’re not going to be doing anything if you don’t shut the hell up.”

“My have the tables turned.”

“Ass face,” Stiles latches their lips together with a fervor that Derek feels in his bones—making his toes curl and his dick shoot up in excitement. “Hello my old friend,” Stiles simpers before wrapping it with one of is large hands.

“It—huh—It hasn’t been that long.”

“Says the guy who’s been counting down the hours,” Stiles gifs another savage tug—using some of Derek’s pre-cum to rub up and down his shaft. Derek swears he sees light while he’s frantically smacking down on their night table, in search of some proper lube. That is until…

A bloodcurdling  screech bursts through their baby monitor.

Derek collapses onto Stiles’s shoulder in defeat.

“Jesus Christ!”  

“God fucking damn it!”

They freeze there for a moment more, Matty’s cries growing ever louder.

“One of us must’ve been a mass murderer in past life and that’s why Karma’s being such a bitch,” Stiles says, slowly pealing himself off of Derek and throwing on the nearest pair of boxers he could find.

“Oh I’m sure,” Derek reasons.  “Though I put my money on it being  you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say sour wolf.”

“Touché, you want baby duty or going down stairs to make the bottle?”

“Fuck, we didn’t bring one up?”

“Ah no, we were—erm, otherwise compromised.” Derek suddenly remembers much of the same actions taking place last night, but rather than a fitful baby that haunted their plans, it was a very fear ridden Freya, who had watched a scary clip on Youtube with some school friends earlier that day. And then him and Stiles had another argument over not sending her to a private  school and were angry at each other until this morning, when Derek agreed that he was acting a bit hot headed, and Stiles offered to talk with her teacher—which then lead to heated kisses and the bright prospect of finally getting off.

A prospect which never came into fruition.

“Right, well I’ll grab Matty,—he always likes your bottles more, for some reason.”

“What can I say,” Stiles sniffs. “I have magical hands.”

Derek licks his lips on a swallow. “Don’t remind me.”

.-

“Shhh baby, c’mon Matthew. c’mon you’re okay,” Derek croons, rocking him into his arms. “You wanna hear a lullaby? Huh? Yeah kiddo?”

“Derek! Derek!” Stiles clammers into the nursery, hair askew and shirt boxers slung dangerously  low on his narrow hips. “”s broken! His bottle! ‘s broke!”

Half dazed from a serious lack of sleep, not enough coffee, and the worst tease of his fucking life, Derek plucks out the  aforementioned bottle right from Stiles’s death grip.

“Ah Stiles—You didn’t even screw on the nipple?” Derek points out, rattling it in his face.

“Is it bad if you saying the word nipple is really making my pants tight?” Stiles ponders out loud,  biting into the nail of his thumb.

“Well considering your referring to the utensil our child needs to use to eat with, and that your not even wearing pants right now-“

“Does it take effort being such a dry witted ass hole so early in the morning?”

“You forgot functional. I’m a functional  dry witted asshole. Unlike you evidently.”

“Hey! I’m functional!” Stiles argues, to which Derek just gives a pointed look to his disheveled mop of hair, and bare chest speckled with dried milk that spilled out when he must’ve been shaking the bottle without properly sealing it’s lid. Stiles’s face goes a very fetching scarlet, and Derek very much feels the ache of their lack of, well…erm, private time, yet again. With Carson and Freya starting the school year, and the twins beginning teething—well it’s all been way too hectic, and something had to give way eventually…Derek just mourns that it had to be their sex life. “Hey! Don’t you dare use those judgmental eyebrows on me pretty boy!”

Derek’s eyes go owlish before meeting Stiles’s glower. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Yuh huh,” Stiles snorts unconvinced, taking Matthew out of Derek’s embrace, and tucking him into his own chest. “Well I’ll have ya know big guy that back in college,  I spent many a days fueled purely on Starbucks refills and sugar highs that these munchkins would salivate over.”

“Is that right,” Derek drawls, eyes flickering to the mural Isaac had painted on the wall of the twin’s room—a family tree where each branch has an emblem dangling off it’s tip—symbolizing the most important people in their lives.. Derek feels a rush of pure elation when spotting the Hale triskelion up on top. It’s so right and perfect, and never in a million years did Derek think he could have this. A set of friends and family who truly loves him, and who he trusts and adores implicitly. A partner that snarks at him at every turn, but also makes Derek’s knees go weak, and his heart swell with affection. Hell, never did Derek ever think of himself as being the fathering type—but with Stiles, it all just feels natural, definitely not easy (Especially when Carson’s favorite blanket is in the wash and he refuses to go anywhere without it, or when Freya brings in some new critter she’s caught outside in a sudden save every animal and bring it back home with me kick.) but it all feels right. Like Derek’s not screwing up completely.

“Yeah, well that and your vigorous love making of course,” Stiles clutches a hand over his heart, and flutters his lashes like he’s in a fucking mascara advert.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I know,” Stiles straightens up, hitching a now fast asleep Matthew into a more comfortable position. “But I’m also right. I use to be the king of doing shit without even a blink of sleep.”

“You know Stiles, it doesn’t bother me that you’ve become less spry in your old age.”

“Fucker.”

“Not in front of the children, they’ll be up soon for school.”

Stiles’s face lights up at that, n almost kitty gleam pixilated in his eyes. “They are, aren’t they?”

“ah, yuh…That’s what I just said?”

“M’kay! Me and you got bout the same amount of sleep last night, right?”  

“Sure, I think?”

“Well I know for da both of us. So let’s prove who’s actually the spry one in this little  relationship of ours”

“Oh?” Derek perks up at the sound of that, moving up to settle a hand on Stiles’s hip—his eyes going dark. “And how do you suppose we do that?”

“Definitely not in the way you’re thinking,” Stiles sucks in a breath   when  Derek begins to  ravish his neck with a fresh batch of kisses.

Derek deflates at the clarification. “I don’t think anything else really interests me.”

“Don’t be such a sour wolf.” Stiles chides, cuffing Derek on the back of the head. “Me and you should have a competition.”

Derek kinks up one of his brows. “See who can get Carson or Freya ready for school first?”

Stiles’s grin goes devious. “Winner gets head.”

“Loser?”

“Oh Derek, babe there are no losers in this game.”

“I’ve got Freya,” Derek calls, striding to her room, knowing full and well how difficult Carson could be in the mornings—probably because he stays up way past his bedtime without ever being caught.

“Succor, her favorite dress ’s in the laundry.”

“Fuck.”

.

-

“C’mon princess,” Derek coaxes with a slight jostle  to the frilly dress, trying to make its sparkles catch in the light. “This one ’s just as good as the red one.”

“No ’s not,” Freya sniffs with an imperious tilt of her little head, arms crossed and weight slung onto her left hip. (If Derek is being at all honest, he thinks she might turn out being an exact replica of Erica, and that scares him shitless— his best friend is a force that Derek hasn’t the slightest clue how to restrain.) “I want the red won!”

“I know you do baby girl,” Derek squats down to level her with a look. “But sometimes we don’t always get what we want.”

“”m the star of the week! I’m s’pose to be  the bestest dresser in the class! “s the rules.”

Somehow, Derek seriously doubts that the teacher had ever referred to the student’s way of dress being at all related to being line leader and snack maker, but he plays along anyhow, because damn it straight to hell,  if his girl wants to look the bestest, she damn will.

“Baby girl, I promise this dress’ll still make you the bestest dressed in the class.”

“Aunty Lydia picked the red won out for me,” Freya sniffs, beginning to eye the pink one in Derek’s grasp—much in the same way that Stiles always assesses something right before giving in.

Speak of the devil…

The door to Freya’s room pops open, a beaming Stiles swaggering in. “Morning buttercup,” he crows with a kiss to her forehead.

“Papa I don’t have my red dress,” Freya explains to him the dilemma at hand, her big, pale eyes peering up at him mirthlessly.

“Oh shoot sunflower, ’s in the laundry, isn’t it?”

Freya nods solemnly, which is about the time Stiles’s facade breaks, and he looks like he’d do anything to salvage her hopes of wearing that particular dress to class today.

“Freya, gorgeous, what bout while I go downstairs and start frosting the cupcakes you and daddy made last night, you could face time Aunty Lyds and pick out a brand new dress. You know, with her sealed approval?”

Freya’s whole face lights up, and Derek is left marveling at how collected Stiles could be under such a crisis—one with a lot less blood and gore than back in their heyday—but still, a crisis all the same.

.-

“You’re kinda smart, you know that?” Derek lightly  hip checks him as the pair cross the threshold from Freya’s room, the sound of her and Lydia joyously speaking in rapid tongue French over Freya’s new dress dilemma, left in their wake.

“I felt guilty,” Stiles shrugs. “You know that bitch Caitlin Snow would’ve teased her mercilessly if our baby girl was looking all upset over such a little thing.”

“Isn’t Caitlin like five?”

“Yeah, and her mom ’s the piranha who was trying to flirt you up last week when you had to pick the kids up cause I was running late at the paper…Your point?”

Derek shakes his head with a chuckle. “I take it that things are going smoothly with Carse if you had time to come peak us a visit.”

“Oh totally,” Stiles preens. “Carson is like basically ready.”

Queue a very lively Carson bounding through the hall—pantsless and a fresh pair of underwear proudly perched on his head.

Derek kinks up  a brow at Stiles.

“Okay…So I may’ve exasperated a tad,” he shrugs.

“Papa! Daddy! Look! I’m Captain of the world! I kill monsters just like you guys!”

“C’mon Carse,” Stiles calls out, his face going pained. “I said only five more minutes of play before you have to start actually getting dressed.”

“Die you  flesh eating alien!”

“A little bit?” Derek snorts, to which Stiles just waves a hand over his face and mouths, “It’s the eyebrows of doom.”

“You’re impossible.”

“But you’ll still Finnish up with him while I go frost the cupcakes for Freya like I promised? Thanks beautiful, Imma love you up real good later.” Like the whirlwind he is, Stiles pecks a chased kiss onto Derek’s lips and leaps downstairs to their kitchen— because they’re full grown adults now, who have a house with multiple floors and children, and a fucking breakfast nook— before Derek could even comprehend what he had just said.

“Papa’s got u whipped daddy,” Carson laughs maniacally, all the more insane looking with the conspicuous  vacancy  of his two front teeth.

“I’m monitoring anything you watch from here on out,” is all Derek remarks, a long suffering sigh and knowing full and well that Carson hit the nail on the head.

“Do I still have to go to school then?” Carson’s eyes go owlish, and Derek swears by the Angel that Stiles’s been teaching him the art of wrapping Derek around his littlest finger, on the sly. (Well that, or Derek is just a big old succor for his family.)

“Sorry kiddo, but all signs point to yes.”

Carson deflates. “Can I still keep on my Captain of the World suit?”

Derek’s eyes flicker up to the underwear on his son’s head. “Are they clean?”

“Yes, yes I double checked!” Carson squawks gleefully.

“Well then, I see no problem  with that, as long as you got on a fresh pair underneath your pants too.”

“Yes! Thanks daddy!”

Just as soon as the door to Carson’s room clacks shut, a fresh looking Freya steps out of the bathroom—Mouth smelling minty, and her long curls still damp from the night before.

“Daddy?”

“Hey there princess,” Derek hoists her up into his arms, brushing away a stray lock from her heart shaped face. “You had a good talk with aunt Lydia?”

“Yeah, she picked out  anew dress and even shoes, and Uncle Jackson told me how ta put on one of the pretty tattoos he bought me for my birthday.”

“That’s great baby girl!”

“But there’s only one thing daddy.”

“What’s that?”

A moment passes before Freya pulls out a bright brush from her nightgown’s pocket. “Can you give me a princess braid?”

.-

Fifteen minutes, a pair of dressed kids, a very deformed french braid, and a set of permanently woken up twins for the day, later, and the whole family has congregated around their kitchen table.

“Derek we got anymore apple juice?” Stiles shouts from where he’s making his patent, pancake and egg to go sandwiches. Freya’s biting into a cherry tomato before setting it on Marie’s fork, who in turn just pounds her tiny fists into her yogurt in delight, Matty’s munching on his bottle, probably going to be the only one to adopt Derek’s calm demeanor in the whole bunch, but that doesn’t really bother him considering that Stiles’s nonstop chatter is one of the things he finds most endearing about him.

“We’ll need to go to the market this afternoon,” Derek notes before pouring Carson a glass in his favorite, sparkling Ninja Turtle cup, and recycling the emptied bottle afterwards.

“dad, dad! Look!” Carson tugs on Derek’s hand, flailing around an obviously hand drawn picture.

“What’s that little man?”

“’s a chinchilla! Did you know that they sleep in the day time, just like uncle Isaac says he’s gotta do because he’s an artist.”

“is that right?” Derek silently hands Stiles a couple of apples to put in the kids’ lunch bags.

“Yuh! And they only eat grass and can shed their skin like snakes and have huge families just like ours!”

“That’s insane. You think they have brothers and sisters  too?”

“Definitely!” Carson crows, practically jumping up and down. “And this one even has a Uncle Boyd who shows him neat card tricks and an an Aunty Allison who shows’m how to shoot a bow and arrow real good!” Derek idly wonders if Carson’s teacher just thinks he has a hyperactive imagination, or if she just thinks his kid is completely insane. “Do you like it daddy!”

“Yeah Carse,” Derek gives him a blinding grin, genuine to a fault. “I love it.”

“Really?” Carson preens.

“Of course sport.”

“You think Grandpa and Grandma Hale would’ve been proud of  it?”

For a second, Derek’s heart clenches, and he’s back to lonely days and fear ridden nights and the smell of smoke clung onto his very skin. He’s back to thinking he’d never be able to be good enough to ever deserve a family, not after what he’d done. Not after his world crumbled to ash and his heart sunk into itself.

But no.

Derek knows that it wasn’t his fault. Knows that he was a fifteen year old kid who’d fallen right into the trap a woman twice his age had set. He knows now that he never deserved the way he once upon a time use to shelter himself from all the world had to offer because of his fear and guilt and despair. Derek knows that now after years of therapy and assurances from his pack— his family— and especially subsequent countless late night talks with Stiles before they had adopted Freya from a teenage werewolf who wasn’t ready to be a mother.

Derek knows that Carson didn’t mean anything behind the statement, that he and all his siblings know just how much Derek and Stiles and all of their family adores them to bits and pieces, but that doesn’t stop Derek from swinging Carson into his arms, an giving him a slobbering kiss on his cheek.

“ew, gross daddy.”

“I know Grandma and Grandpa Hale would’ve loved this kiddo,”,” he speaks with conviction. “C’mon, help me hang this up on  the fridge with Freya’s spelling test.”

.-

“You sure you can drop’m off to my dad’s  on your way to the precinct?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine if I’m a little late this morning.” Derek chastises, buckling Marie into her carseat, who just gives a little huff of annoyance when his hair is replaced with one of her rattles.

“Alright, alright, I’ll see ya tonight then,” a dopey kind of smile melts into Stiles’s face, right before kissing Derek—one a little more languid that the last, and Derek is appreciative for it. “Your parents would’ve been so proud  of the man you’ve become, just so you know,” Stiles gingerly sweeps a thumb over Derek’s cheek, a small smile tugging on the ends of his lips.

Derek has no idea how to adequately reply, so opts to just kiss him again—hoping it comes across just how much it means to him that Stiles always knows what to say, and how much Derek loves him—that is  until the kids start pounding against the windows to hurry them up.

“Hey wait!” Derek calls out to Stiles, who’s about to swing into the Volvo. “Who lost?”

“Like I said hot stuff,” Stiles leers. “There are no losers in this game!”

Derek thinks he’s a lot a bit in love with him.

.-

Scott and Allison offer to babysit that entire weekend, and Derek is sure  he’s never been so thankful when a very cocky, and very naked Stiles gets down on his knees for Derek the first time in months, and thinks that Stiles feels very much the same if his yells and commands for Derek to go faster already are anything to go by.

[tinycatlady]

Winner Gets All (Skyromeitch Drabble)

Sky was never that good at fighting. Which is why he was really surprised when he began dating Mitch and Jerome. They were the best  team at the hunger games tournaments every month. They practiced three times a week and always said they had fun while in combat.

Usually, Sky would stay behind while they practiced. But this week, they wanted him to come along. Of course he said yes. 

So now the three of them were walking through a path behind Jerome’s house in the forest trying to get to the clearing they had set up.

“Alright! So last week we set up a viewing platform in that tree!” Jerome pointed to one in the far right corner of the field.  

Mitch patted his back. “Don’t worry, I made sure to put a ladder. Not all of us can climb as well as a Bacca.

Sky smiled. “Aw, you guys shouldn't have! I would’ve been alright sitting in the grass.”

They looked at each other and chuckled. “No you wouldn’t.”

Sky looked at them, confused.

“You’ll see what we mean when we start battling.” Mitch explained.

“Now get up there so we can show you how we fight!” Jerome added. Sky nodded and walked to the tree, climbing up the latter and sitting on the platform. 

The other two got their weapons and shields out. Mitch had a diamond sword and Jerome had his prized diamond axe. Sky thinks he remembers him calling it ‘Betty’? He didn’t know for sure, but he knew it meant a lot to him. 

They were already wearing leather armor. They didn’t want to actually hurt each other. While respawning was usually quick, it still took a toll on your body. 

“First one to half-a-heart surrenders?” Mitch called out.

Jerome nodded. “Yeah!” He smiled up at Sky sitting in the tree, “And the last one standing gets a kiss from Sky!”

His golden-colored eyes went wide, but he found himself nodding when Jerome looked at him for approval. 

Mitch laughed. “Oh you’re on! Count us in Sky!”

He nodded, a blush spread on his cheeks. “Alright! Uh, 3... 2… 1… Go!!”

And they were off. At first they charged at each other. Landing direct hits onto each other’s shields. Sky sat in the tree, watching as they kept dodging blows and swinging with full force. They did this for a while until Mitch actually hit Jerome. He winced, and Sky gasped. 

Jerome shook off the pain and began to run away, gulping down a potion while doing so. He smiled as he gripped his axe. “Oh, you’re in for it now Mitch!”

They charged at each other once again, Jerome landing a couple of hits this time. Half the time, Sky had to cover his eyes half the time because even if they weren’t actually fighting to the death- it still hurt to see them hurt. 

He uncovered his eyes as Mitch pulled out a bow and arrow and fired a couple of shots. 

Jerome pulled up his shield, but it was too late. An arrow hit him in the arm. 

“Aw that’s gonna be a pain to get out!” he yelled. He ran again. Sky wondered if this is how the actual games were, or if they were going easy on each other for his sake.

Mitch chuckled and kept shooting arrows. “Haha! You can’t touch me while i have this!” He boasted. 

“I’ll get you when you run outta arrows!” Jerome yelled as he slid in the dirt to avoid getting hit again.

“That won’t happe- oh.” Mitch said just as he used his last one. 

Jerome took this as his chance and ran at him swinging. He got a few hits on him before he pulled out his sword and attacked back. 

Sky watched, now cheering for both of them. “Go Mitch! Go Jerome! Don’t die! How many hearts do you have left??”

They smiled as they heard the cheers and kept hitting each other at full force. It was starting to get a bit scary.

then both jumped away from each other at the same time. 

“What happened?” Sky asked worriedly.

They both looked down in defeat. 

“I only have half a heart left…” Jerome admitted.

Mitch looked up, “What? No way, so did I.”

They looked at each other, then at Sky.

“You know, if you didn’t tell us to check our health we probably would’ve died.” Mitch laughed.

Jerome nodded, “Yeah. Guess we got a bit carried away there.” 

Sky climbed down the ladder and went to both of them. 

“You two went wild at the end! I was starting to get worried!” He stretched out his arms for a hug. 

Mitch and Jerome leaned into him. 

“Yeah. Honestly? When you started cheering it reminded me of what was on the line.” Mitch mumbled.

“Same here.” Jerome laughed softly. “Guess we both wanted that kiss a lot.”

The blush came back. They fought that hard for a kiss? From him?

Both of them were still breathing hard. The arrow was still sticking out of Jerome’s arm. Sky smiled at how dumb they were willing to be to get his affection.

“Hey, it was a tie, right?” Sky said out loud.

“Yeah, why do you-” Mitch began to ask before he was cut off with a kiss. Then Sky turned to Jerome and smooched him too. 

“Well since you both won you each get the reward!” he laughed. The other two smiled and didn’t say anything. Sky grabbed both their hands and started walking back the way they came.

“Now come on! Let’s get you two back to the house for some healing potions.”

[wilhelmjfink]

The Great Divide - Chapter 13

Riley had returned to her barracks, beaten, exhausted and filthy, greeted by Lidia who was on her way out the door to head to her own miserable job.

She’d gasped at the sight of Riley and when she’d asked what they’d done to her, she responded by bursting into tears that she simply couldn’t contain anymore.

The stress, both physical and mental, hovered over her ruthlessly as she slowly made her way back to her cot, limping against the destroyed skin on her feet but ignoring the torn flesh on her shin that stood out drastically against the dull aching she felt over every single inch of her body. She’d been told she could go back to her cot and rest until the following morning, when” The Reaping” required all of the slaves to gather in the town square. But until then, she would crawl under the stiff sheet and cradle herself for warmth and affection and comfort, and cry about everything that had happened to her over the course of the last week. How much she missed Daryl, mostly. The rest of her friends and family weighed heavily on her mind and heart. And the events of that day held her tightly as well in the form of hot, itchy skin and throbbing wounds and horrible memories she tried to forget.

Lidia hadn’t pried anymore as she tended to Riley’s wounds, washing the reddened skin on her leg gently with a worn cloth and dirty drinking water, and even cleaning her feet before wrapping them both in thick adhesive ace bandages, shielding them from anymore harm, at least for a little while. And Riley had lay still as she scrubbed the warm water against her flushed skin, removing the layer of dirt and smog that had clung to her and made her feel more than disgusting and filthy. The sensation had her slowly succumbing to the lingering exhaustion, her eyelids heavy as lead and fluttering shut peacefully.

“You’re strong, Riley.”

She barely heard the words, eyes closed in a half slumber happily being taken over by unconsciousness. “I believe in you, honey, and... I’m so very, very sorry.”

Riley was far too tired to question what she was apologizing for.

When she awoke next it was to bells ringing loudly, the high pitched vibrations feeling close enough to be inside her head. She thought she’d dreamt them, picturing the bronze bell at the top of her school that rung out every hour and a half between periods and finally once more at the end of the day, signaling her time to leave. But the visions didn’t feel real and Riley knew she was only dreaming -- she’d gotten very accustomed to the foggy world between her unconscious and reality.

So she pried her eyes open, lids stuck together from a lack of sleep. The few hours she’d been able to doze off let her bones rest so then her entire body ached with every minuscule movement, from cracking her toes to forcing herself upright and trying to stretch with a pained whimper.

The others around her were already bustling, throwing their clothing on and heading out the door rapidly and Riley assumed that she should probably follow them.

Her feet were still bandaged, thanks to Lidia, and she silently shared her gratitude again for the help, even though the older lady was nowhere in sight.

It was never easy to tell what time of day it was at The Divide on account of the perpetual layer of smog and smoke that lingered and turned the atmosphere far too dark to tell where the sun was shining. Following the line of workers in front of her she wrapped her arms around herself for  at least some sense of security, feeling exceptionally vulnerable and unsafe out in the crowd of hectic people running all around her. Women, children, and eventually as she wandered deeper into town, the men trickled in. People were everywhere, whispers and hushes all around her mixed with averted gazes and wide, scared eyes.

The crowd stopped around an old fountain, the concrete bone dry and splotches of it stained a dark red from either running rust or blood or a combination of both. Cracks ran up the side and she found her way over to one solid spot, leaning against it to get off of her aching feet.

“Well, well, well, it’s already that time again!”

A voice came through a megaphone or speakers somewhere and Riley craned her neck to see over the sea of heads in front of her. She could hardly make out a man up on the balcony of what looked like an old hotel, almost like he was a pope addressing his fucking disciples. It disgusted her at first, but she quickly curbed her attitude to match the fear and silence around her as every single worker in her sight dropped down to one knee and bowed to him.

It had to be ‘Asher’; the feared dictator that everyone had whispered about.

Trying to remain invisible she joined the crowd in their bows, wincing as her bones cracked and her injured knee stung against the asphalt beneath her.

“Productivity has been at an all time high. And I am...  pleased with the way things are going right now. Very pleased, indeed, to say the least”

His words were drawn out and accentuated and she could almost guarantee that he was some sort of actor or historical reinactor before the world turned, his dramatic complex irritating her instantly. But she supposed that was how he got to the top in the first place -- a smooth talking, charismatic, deceiving asshole that stepped on every single person he came across until he was in control. Mussolini, Adolf Hitler -- fuck, that all seemed like it was millenniums ago.

She wondered if they would be reading about Asher in a history book a hundred years from that moment.

“Morale needs a little improvement,” he chuckled dryly. “But, we’re working on that. And so brings us to today -- the day of our twenty-forth Reaping.”

That’s right -- Riley was told that they were due for a ‘Reaping’ at any day. One of the workers would be chosen to fight one of Asher’s toughest soldiers for a chance at leaving behind the shitty worker life and becoming a soldier themself. It reminded her of The Hunger Games, her favorite series when she was a freshman in high school. She’d always been able to see the world turning into a cruel, sick game just like that story, but never in her lifetime. It had her feeling like she was living a nightmare, watching life go by while she stood idly by unable to do anything about it.

“Each month, one brave worker chosen by their peers will go into the Pit with one of The Divide’s strongest fighters, battling each other in a unarmed brawl, one-on-one, until one of them goes down or forfeits, to determine the stronger of the two, and bring forth our bravest and toughest fighters to The Divide Army, and prepare generations to come to be valuable soldiers as we rebuild society.”

Earlier she’d been told that it was a volunteer that went up. Did that mean they would remain there until somebody eventually offered themselves up? Or did the slaves really choose them? She couldn’t help but feel as though that was a lie made up as a scare tactic, but she had no idea.

“The last six that went up against Raul failed miserably,” he continued. Well, at least there were winners in the relatively recent past, so it couldn’t be that bad. Right? “Hopefully this month’s fighter won’t disappoint. Lidia, the stage, please.”

Riley’s heart dropped and her head snapped up -- Lidia? Christ, she wasn’t the one having to fight, was she? If she was, Riley would have to volunteer in her spot -- she would literally have to. She simply could not let that woman subject herself to all of that, not at her age and condition, and by the looks of Raul who stood boldly beside Asher... fuck, he was a big dude.

Lidia stepped quietly up to the microphone, clearing her throat, but holding her head up high as if she’d done this a hundred times before. Was she announcing the lucky worker who got chosen? It was cruel to make her call them; the workers all thought so highly of her.

“On behalf of The Divide workers, for the twenty fourth Reaping,” she was reading from a little note card and though she stood strong, her voice was wavering just enough for Riley to tell she was at least a little bit nervous. “We offer Riley Herrington to fight Sir Asher’s soldier.”

Wait. She didn’t understand at first. Offer? Wasn't it supposed to be a volunteer basis? Riley didn’t remember agreeing to anything. How did she get picked out of everybody? It had to be rigged. There was no other explanation.

Unless...

“Oh, dear Lidia, always offering us the newbies,” she could hear the smile in Asher’s voice. “Miss Herrington? Come forth, please!”

But her feet were rooted to the ground, cinder blocks tied to her legs. She didn’t even get a chance to stand herself upright before hands came from all around to pull her up and before she knew it she was being dragged before she could even register what was going on.

The crowd of workers that surrounded her seemed oddly comfortable making eye contact with her then, all of them watching her as she was pulled by two Slavemasters up front, some looking sorry for her, others looking relaxed and calm, and relieved that they weren’t in her shoes -- shit, she didn’t even have any fucking shoes on.

“W...What?” She finally stammered something out, her brain lagging slowly behind reality as it slowly caught up with the situation at hand. “Wait...”

...always offering us the newbies...

No... There was no fucking way.

But Asher, seemingly reading her mind, continued his spiel. “Thank you, Lidia! Hopefully your choice will not disappoint this time...”

Riley knew then what had happened. It was in the back of her mind, deep down, and the realization was heavy, settling like a rock in her gut. Lidia had offered her up. The one woman that shown her any hint of kindness and warmth from the moment she’d gotten there days ago, had offered her up to fight to the death against a man that was easily twice her size and strength and she hardly seemed bothered that she had to do so.

“You fucking bitch!” Riley finally snapped, shooting daggers at Lidia who stared blankly at her as she was drug by. “You miserable fucking cunt -- you...”

“Ooh, this one is feisty!” Asher’s voice interrupted her tantrum and Riley fought the urge to start screaming at him, too, “I have a good feeling about this one!”

No wonder Lidia was so unfazed by anything. No wonder she coped with the misery The Divide held for her so well. There was some sort of agreement, some secret plan that Riley had clearly not been in on. And now she was fucked. She’d tried so fucking hard -- so hard! She’d worked so hard the day before, she’d confided in Lidia and heeded her advice and her warnings -- were those even legitimate? Or had it been part of her elaborate plan all along?

Riley was livid, tears of frustration burning in her eyes as she was dragged through the double doors of the old hotel, away from the crowd and away from Lidia. She didn’t even know what exactly it was she was shouting at her, but none of the curses or screams seemed to quell the anger and betrayal she was feeling.

Once again, she had to pay the price for trusting so fucking easily.

Riley was still screaming at Lidia when they’d shut the doors behind her, closing off the outside world and locking her into what she was certain was not going to be good.

“Quit yer bitchin’!” The guy that held onto her twisted his grip on her arm, shutting almost her up while she fell backward into him just to prevent him from snapping her arm in half. “Fuck’s sake, lady! Jeez...”

Now that Riley had accepted her fate, she decided that there was nothing left that was preventing her from at least trying to escape, right?

She smashed her head backwards into his with another yell; the sound of crunching bone and cartilage churned her stomach, but she still managed successfully broke herself free from his grasp.

After she shook him off she got maybe four or five steps before there were two other guards on her before she could even blink and they harshly tackled her down to the ground.

She hit the ground hard, grunting as it knocked the wind out of her, and struggled against the two men that wrestled with her, her arms flailing and legs trashing as she tried to escape. Her tired muscles screamed underneath the two men and they quickly overpowered her, and she known it was pointless; she’d lasted just a few seconds before they had her face down with strong hands holding her feet and her head, crushing her face into the dirty old carpet. Then they handcuffed her, like she was being detained.

She was so mad, so furious, felt so betrayed and so wronged. So hurt.

“Quit your fucking squirming!” The authoritative, booming voice had her stilled in half of a second, suddenly more terrified of the people around her than she’d been before. It was not a doped-up raider like the others out there were. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was, but she knew that she didn’t want to fuck with him. And apparently, she needed to learn to start trusting her gut better.

“Pick her up.”

She was pulled roughly to her feet and faced a broad man, tall and strong, standing before her. Wearing the standard armor she’d seen of most of the Slavemasters but decorated with what she assumed were some sort of military-esque ribbons and medals he oozed confidence — too much of if, she thought immediately though it looked to be well deserved. He reminded her of a drill sergeant or an army general by the way he carried himself. He was definitely in charge... and pretty ruggedly handsome, she had to admit.

Though his sculpted jaw line and dark olive skin did little to alleviate the fear she had brewing inside of her at that moment, having regretted her precious decisions to lash out.

He had a bronze name plate on his chest: ASHER.

He continued to stare at her in a painful silence, eyeing her up and down in consideration as if he was purchasing a vehicle. Or better yet, cattle, as she so often felt herself being treated as.

“Tonight will be very interesting,” he finally said, not taking his dark hazel eyes off of her body. She felt incredibly vulnerable underneath his gaze, naked almost, and when he smiled, she quickly knew how he’d worked his way to the top. The type of sinister, maniacal person that he was, it was written all over his character.

She lip quirked up into a snarl, like a cornered feral dog, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end with a chill that went down her spine.

He merely chuckled at her demeanor. “If I were you, I would save that energy for this evening. You’re going to need it.”

[the-royal-courier]

October Writing Contest: Second Place Winner

Happy Hallow’s End, Dear Readers! This month we challenged you to send in your stories in the spirit of the holiday. We received 11 entries by the deadline and today we present to you the winners!

It was a tough decision. The staff enjoyed every entry they read. I gave them each entry blind (meaning I took out the submitting name and presented only the story) and they voted individually on which should place in each spot.

Our second place winner, chose to go into the dark and bring us a story more fitting with the spookier side of Hallow’s End. 

The Royal Courier is proud to present an original work by General Ogrimskar Ironhands.

Dancing in Moonlight

By Ogrimskar Ironhands ( @ogrimskar)

The song was barely perceptible at first, a distant and ethereal string of notes and sounds, which seemed beyond mortal hearing. It rose slowly, moment after moment, in volume. Yet the pitch remained the same, the intonation mechanical. It seemed as if the sound was made by the striking of glass or a xylophone, though the tones went deeper than that. There was something beneath and beyond the simple striking of a note, carrying the notes along with it as it went.

The sound seemed to only affect a few of the many inhabitants of the dusty metropolis. Held tight in the clutches of night, the streets were almost bare of people, the packed trails which slithered to and fro within the canyons kept lit only by flickering torches. The music seemed to tug at those who heard it, urging them to their feet from beds or to leave their homes for the empty streets. By ones and by twos they left their homes and their duties, not enough to draw curiosity and not animated enough to seem beyond anything normal.

They followed the sound of the music in near silence, touched by the eerie melody. They moved in unerring step towards a dark and almost forgotten corner of mighty Orgrimmar. Here the torches were a little less bright, the buildings a little less occupied. Like moths to flame they slipped from the main street to a back alley, half hidden by piles of junk.

Here they found the source of the strange music, and he who had begun the playing of it. On the ground in the alley, lay a music box. It was large, the size of a chest, made of heavy iron and other metals. Strange adornments and grooves in its surface seemed to emanate a green necrotic glow, giving the device a sinister visage. Yet none of those gathered paid mind to the box, instead their eyes were drawn to the open top. Bathed in that same green light was a figurine, slowly twirling and dancing with the haunting tune.

It was unmistakably a replica of Sylvanas Windrunner, Queen of the Forsaken.

Around the box, bathed in the rising glow, was a figure swathed in clothes of darkest weave. Face hooded and hidden, his hands lost in voluminous sleeves, it was impossible to tell his race. Yet he moved with a slow and enchanting grace, performing what seemed a waltz all by himself. His feet moved in slow rhythm with the music, his body spinning in lazy arcs, his hands seeming to hold a phantom. As the people gathered at the mouth of the alley, he slowed his pace and finally came to a halt facing them.

“You have been chosen, oh gentle children.” His voice was difficult to describe, possessing a haunting chill mixed liberally with an intonation that indicated a smile on his hidden lips.

And his words were truth. Several children were among the crowd, though adults were in just as much attendance. He shifted his sleeves back to reveal claw-like thin hands, and waxen pale flesh. Truly this man could have only been a Forsaken as well, for no race could match the ashy pale of death.

“You have heard the Queen’s song. Inside you there is a spark. A spark that needs but little fanning to be a great inferno. My name is Sebastian Cain, and I wish to bask in your radiance.” His skeletal hands indicated to the crowd, and then went wide as if he intended to embrace the entire room. The people stood in mute wonder, unable to resist the song which continued to play unabated. His hands rose to the heavens and were tinged with the same green glow that the box emanated.

“Oh sweet children. I give you now an offering of my undying love and respect. Dance with the Queen and be taken away. Away from this terrible world of pain and horror. Be taken to a place of quiet and calm. A place where your every desire will be met.”

The man who called himself Cain, stepped forward, his hands still raised in seeming benediction. The power of the song was strong, but not enough to fully take away the free will of the people. Many stepped back as he stepped forward, afraid of what was happening. Many more maintained their ground, eyes wide in awe and shock.

“For the warrior there will be glory and honor. For the merchant there will be gold. In the realm I will take you to, there will be no want. There will be no pain. Dance with the Queen, and we shall take you away from this. I know your hearts my children. Please….join me.”

Now his hands lowered and were beckoning, his voice a quiet pleading. No one moved for several moments, fear holding them in place. From the crowd moved forward a very small figure. It was an orcish youth, still too young to show the wide shoulders he would inherit. He set his tusked jaw and stomped forward towards Cain, though he quavered just a bit as he did it.

“Precious Char, I thought you might be the first. So brave and true. The Queen would be honored to dance with one so worthy.” Cain offered his hand, palm up to the youth.

“You know my name?” The young orphan Char asked in a voice that seemed so small.

“I know all your names. The Queen only calls to the worthy. There is nothing to fear my child.” Cain gently led the young orc forward towards the box, and its figurine Queen which danced on.

“Will there be chocolate there?” Char gazed up at the hooded figure who held his hand.

“More than you could ever dream.” He released the child’s hand, and his claw like fingers traced across Char’s cheek for a moment. “Now show the rest your bravery.”

Char turned to the glowing music box, afraid and unsure. But after a moment, his feet began to move. Mimicking the waltz that Cain had just finished, Char began to circle the box in a slow and easy manner. A smile lit his features, a rapturous look that lasted for as long as he danced. Then in a flash of light he vanished, leaving only the stunned crowd of the enchanted, the box, and Cain.

“Come now, and know joy children. Everyone is welcome.”

Hours later, Cain finished the last touches on his work. Within the bowels of the earth he toiled, his entire undying being focused on the work at hand. The chamber was half crypt, half laboratory, yet lacked a homey charm that indicated it was frequented often. Instead it seemed hollow and empty save for the tables of alchemical errata.

His fingers had a habit of caressing things, as if he craved them. There was a hunger in his every touch, a sort of NEED for the tactile sensation. They now caressed the inlaid wood that lay before him, traveling down the lacquered surface. He was so proud, welling up with all the emotions he usually denied himself. This was what it felt like to do great things. This is what it felt like to know you are doing the work of angels.

He hammered the last nail into the edge of the tiny ornate coffin. Every movement was reverent, ever drop of the hammer a sacrament. He let his fingers once more travel along the ornate scrawling pictographs and ancient script, lovingly carved by his own hand. Then, setting aside his tools, he lifted the coffin up. He carried it as if it had no weight at all, his magic infused limbs needing no concern for the limits he pushed them past. And he set the coffin into an alcove of the wall, chiseled only recently into the stone.

His fingers traced along the side one last time before he ensured its placement within the bier. His fingers continued down to trace of the name etched into the stone itself. His fingertips traced each letter fondly.

C-H-A-R

“Sleep well my child. Welcome to my Garden.” Cain turned his back on the wall, and its hundreds of different sized coffins. He lifted the ornate metal box from its altar and made the slow climb up the hidden steps that led out of his lair, a smile ever on his lips.

(Thank you Ogrimskar for your submission! Your Prize: Your story published as the 2nd place winner, your picture with the story and 10,000 gold to be mailed to you today!)

[thespinningworldaroundus]

A day in the life of a business executive with his life turned upside down by one thing....

I am a VP of Operations. I have twenty years of experience under my belt in my industry, and people use me as a resource at my company. I have an earned reputation and my voice is taken seriously at meetings. I go to them and usually command respect with my colleagues.

I have a meeting today. I’m pitching an idea that my colleagues have praised privately. It’s well-researched and I expect it to be given a fair shake.

I walk in and lay everything out. I begin to.

During my introduction, I’m interrupted. During my introduction, for a presentation only being given by me. During the introduction. I was barely even there! They didn’t even let me make my case before giving their own comments, before they even know what the blessed message of the presentation is. Why interrupt when you don’t even understand the proposal yet?

I politely told the interrupter that I would get to his question once the presentation is over.

Midway through the proposal, I’m interrupted again. Again, I wasn’t even done. This time, it was to make a trivial correction.

I had said that the population of Puerto Rico was roughly 3 million people. My colleague, a Puerto Rican native himself, pointed out that the population was actually about 3.4 million. I didn’t find that very important, and it was a minor fact anyway. I had said roughly, anyway. Did he really have to interrupt me and make me look incompetent over a trivial misstatement? Do we have to be so perfectionistic?

As general etiquette, you don’t interrupt someone’s proposal because it takes away from their message and disrupts their train of thought. You generally save comments for the end, unless there is some urgent matter, like a safety hazard. I had never been interrupted before during a proposal for anything like this. Yet it one day it happened to me twice.

Now. For the end. I humbly expected some decent praise at the least. My colleagues had been privately cheering this proposal on for a while.

Yet. The first things I got were nitpicky questions and skepticism. A lot of what-if scenarios that supposedly might ruin the project, even some easily resolved. Some additional corrections on small facts (similar in triviality to a small difference in the population of Puerto Rico) and small misspoken statements I made.

I got modest praise. My colleagues told me they liked some aspects, but some they were unsure on. I also met a good deal of apathy. Yet these were the exact same people who had told me a few days before that the proposal was close to perfect, a gem. How had they had a night and day response today? Were they cranky from the early morning start? Was there bad news last night?

This was an internal meeting, so we all had rapport. I could speak directly in front of my colleagues. Or so I thought.

“Just a few days ago, I told many of you these same ideas and you seemed assured. Yet today some of you seem skeptical on some of this. I’m only curious. Has anything changed in our company? In our industry?”

“No.”

“Then why do you seem to have new-founded skepticism? I can accept skepticism, I just wonder why you seem to view this differently.” I was starting to get impatient.

“This is how we feel.”

I was dumbfounded. The same proposal got fairly different responses.

At the end of the meeting, I was spoken to privately by my colleagues. I was reprimanded harshly for my tone. I didn’t know why.

“Just a few days ago, I told many of you these same ideas and you seemed assured. Yet today some of you seem skeptical on some of this. I’m only curious. Has anything changed in our company? In our industry?”

That was what I said. I wasn’t trying to be defensive. I was trying to be honest. I accept constructive criticism. I don’t expect ego-gratification or acceptance of all my ideas. I understand that every business proposal will have some flaws to be smoothed over. I thought that maybe something really had changed, since I heard criticism I didn’t hear before and much less of the praise I did hear before.

My colleague said my response seemed very defensive and even sarcastic. He also said that I had been brusque or impatient at times during the presentation. He said it was an overall pattern in the way I talked and not something I did occasionally. He told me I should never show anger, even in internal meetings where I knew everyone well.

This time and I genuinely got angry. I think showing rightful anger at the right times shouldn’t just be allowed, it should be encouraged. Anger shows you care. Anger shows you are passionate. Anger shows you are righting a wrong. If my anger is justified, I’ll show enough of it.

How can you tell me I’m not allowed to show people my anger when I’m truly upset and need to make my message clear? Why was I being spoken down to and told what to do? How dare you take away my right to express myself? I was an adult.

At the end of the day. I found out that my proposal was turned down. The team told me it was pretty good, but not worth the budgeted amount it would need, which was modest anyway. I was flabbergasted and heartbroken because just a few days ago I was told it was an almost certain winner and that our company could afford things that were cost-savers in the long run (mine was pitched as such).

Something was deeply wrong. What was it? Was our industry changing? Was our company hit with bad news I never heard?

Or did it have to do with me? That would seem more logical. Did someone spread a nasty rumor about me?

I went home, crying. I looked in the mirror.

Something had changed. I had long hair. I had thick eyelashes. I had high cheekbones. I had no facial hair. I had a very different body shape and was much more petite.

I was a woman.

It hurt, but at least it all made sense. Something had changed, and it had everything to do with me.

I thought about my wife. She was an avid supporter of women’s equality. I always supported her cause in theory but thought it was silly and exaggerated.

Women were allowed to work, vote, drive, and speak their minds. We were in a very different decade. It’s illegal to discriminate based on gender, and you’ll get sued for a lot of money if you get caught doing it. Women have been CEOs, and they serve as Prime Ministers in some nations. Why do we need some silly women’s equality movement when we’re fighting in wars and we have poverty in the developing world? Isn’t it kind of trivial to spend so much time on a small issue?

Oh, how painfully wrong I was. No, we shouldn’t devote too many resources to any small issue. This was an enormous issue. It keeps women from earning money, reputation, and success. It keeps them from speaking their minds and even sometimes being treated with decency and respect. All things that you need to be happy and will suffer from depression if you don’t get enough of.

Yet I blew this issue away for years. Even though my wife, mother, sister, and female colleagues talked about these issues. I gullibly believed these issues were minor. How painfully wrong I was. Why didn’t I see it sooner?

I was in denial. An easy answer to a painful reality is to truly convince yourself it doesn’t exist. People used to do that with smoking. People truly believed it had no health hazards. No one debates anymore (although some people still smoke anyway).

I had privilege I never lost until today. When you have the privilege of not suffering something because it will never affect you personally, it���s very issue to be in denial and do nothing because you personally have no price to pay for it.

This prejudice was also subtle. No one would outright say that women should be treated differently or be discriminated against. Almost no one would say that they don’t belong in the workplace, unless maybe they have young children who need to be taken care of at home. People don’t mind 45-year old women working.

It’s still powerfully, painfully real. People have strong prejudice that is been absolutely proven through research.

Once a male resume editor switched emails with a female colleague with the same job and was suddenly questioned by his clients (the people seeking advice from him mind you. As an editor he was supposed to give them advice and critiquing, generally not the other way around). Look up Martin Schneider and Nicole Hallberg.

You know the last thing keeping me from confronting this hard truth? It was a myth in our culture.

This myth I call the three bigs. “Hard work, talent, and opportunity will earn you whatever you want. You can be President if most qualified”

We instinctively believe this. We’re told you can achieve anything you dream if you want it badly enough. Sorry, sir, or ma’am, you can’t with only that.

It needs the four bigs. “Hard work, talent, opportunity, and recognition of others”

The frustrating thing is that there is nothing you can do about how people react to you. You cannot force them to give you recognition. We are 100% dependent on other people for this.

1) A trial prosecutor can have a guilty defendant and absolute proof, yet if the jury does not take the delivery seriously, the prosecution will lose.

2) Even worse, an innocent defendant can be accused of murder and have little evidence against oneself, yet be condemned of murder and executed anyway. This will happen if the jury has severe prejudice-which has happened.

3) A business executive can give a near-perfect proposal and have it turned down, if the presenter does not have the audiences respect.

Sad? Pretty hard luck, huh? That’s the world we live in.

Trial lawyers have lost cases they should have won on based on case merit. People have been given the death penalty wrongfully because of societal prejudice (this happened to African Americans in the Deep South). Business executives have lost good deals because of audience bias.

That’s probably why we are often in denial of these difficult truths. We avoid them because they are difficult to think about! This is especially true of men, since they do not carry the burden of most sexism and do not pay a personal price for ignoring it. If you Google the polls taken of whether sexism is a serious issue and how often sexual harassment happens, you get pretty different responses from men and women.

The very good news is that we can actually-surprisingly-achieve real equality. I think we can in a generation. We need the willpower.

How? Once people are consciously aware of unconscious bias, it mostly goes away. Know your own self.

I know this from my own experience. I used to have a prejudice I’m not proud of against working class people.

I realized I often didn’t treat cashiers, receptionists, and shelf stockers at stores with a lot of respect. It was an unfortunate product of being taught that such jobs were only for young people and that working hard always led to middle class jobs. So sometimes I was brusque and impatient with people in these jobs. I didn’t really engage them when they tried to speak with me and would often talk at them not to them.

Yet one day I realized I was when I read Nickel and Dimed, a book about a woman who lived working class and discovered the treatment she never got as a respected journalist.

I stopped talking to people in retail and other working class jobs the way I used to. I was courteous to them and answered questions when they asked me them. I always listened to them instead of sometimes talking over them. I noticed that store staff suddenly warmed up to me and gave me better service! It was incredible. It proves I could do it. It only took willpower.

All I had to do was confront a difficult and sometimes ugly truth.

We can all do this.

[nottodaychacha]

Riverdale Chapter 19: Death Proof

 In which Betty continues to be the #1 best at everything, Jughead leans hard into the gang #aesthetic, Archie doesn’t screw everything up for once, Veronica finally starts acting like the badass she is, and all the parents are terrible except, shockingly, the Lodges (sort of).

Initial Thoughts

K: I like Toni and am glad she turned down Jughead and said she prefers girls. Now I can like her without complication. And I’m so glad they kept her bisexuality.  One of the great things about the new comics are how much more diverse they’ve become and it’s good to see the show at least attempting that (even if they could definitely do better), rather than white washing and straight washing everyone.

K: And I don't think Toni was trying to steal him away or anything. I think her issues with Betty were more what she represents (the Northside vs. Southside, affluence, oppression, race) than it was about wanting to steal her boyfriend.

K: I'm torn on them getting back together. Like, I knew they would and wanted them to, but that was fast and we didn't get to see the scene where she explains what actually happened. I wanted more exploration of their emotional states while apart. I do hope they at least go into how all of this is going to affect their relationship.  I miss the Betty/Jughead emotional I'll support you no matter what scenes from the first season. I am glad they are back together for mystery solving sake, too. They are better detectives together than apart.

K: Though I do love the Betty and Veronica mystery solving duo we got briefly. Yes, let's just follow a drug dealer into his den in our cutest high heels.

R: While I severely questioned Jughead and Archie's drag racing abilities, I never once (because she is a goddamn dark angel with a ponytail of gold) questioned Betty's ability to fix a muscle car.  Because she's amazing. 

R: Let Ronnie and Archiekins hang out in bed together in the middle of the day because nobody's parents give a shit, and be like, "Oh, no, your dad was shot, we better screw in the shower."  Bughead needs to be the, "You have to win a race that your dad goaded you into to save his gang?  I'll Rosie the Riveter myself and fix up this muscle car for you."

R: So, the Mayor is the worst.  She's like, "I'm not going to unite this town.  Also, fuck these students, who cares about them.  What's that?  My daughter did some drugs?  BURN THE SOUTHSIDE TO THE GROUND!  Why?  Because I'm the mayor, that's why." 

K: Who cares about arrest laws?  Like, they just rounded up people for, like, being in school and wearing flannel? Flannel and 80s denim being the official uniform of the Serpents  .

R:Open shirts and greasy hair being the official uniform of the Ghoulies.

The Big Bad

Theory: Maybe there's the real killer and then random dude (Hal?  Hal's secret twin? Sheriff Keller, Rosewood's rival for worst police ever?) who just took the opportunity to screw with Betty/use her superior intellect and detective skills.

1. The handwriting on the two letters didn’t match.  2. Whoever it is has to know Betty pretty well to know about the Nancy Drew book. 3. Other than the Sugar Man, the people he’s going after make no sense if his aim is genuinely to “clean up Riverdale” like he told Betty.

We would like for Sheriff Keller to be like, "Oh, yes.  I know exactly what's going on!  Just let me go to my secret Sheriff only room to get my thoughts together." Then he runs to the restroom at Pop's and calls Betty on a burner phone.

Side Quest

So Dangerous Minds was the Sugar Man all along. Sure, we guess that makes sense?  Like A) if he's Stand and Delivering these kids, no one would suspect him and B) easy access to his network of dealers. Plus, like, it's a shitty school so he probably doesn't have to do too much actual work.

Is Tall Boy evil or stupid? Why did he have to get Jughead on his side? He's like, "As the son of FP, you hold a lot of weight with the teenagers."  Like all 10 of them?  What about the pool hall full of adults?  Is that not enough of a quroum to vote in a joint venture with the Ghoulies?

The dynamics of this gang continue to confuse us. Like, Tall Boy appears to be the only active adult member now and Toni is I guess the only girl, so is this just a gang of like 16 year old boys? 16 year old boys who think taking care of dogs is a good gang initiation and solve their problems via Grease themed drag races and yet are also somehow the most feared and reviled people in Riverdale?

WTF Riverdale

Jingle Jangle.  JINGLE JANGLE. We continue to be expected to believe that any self-respecting drug dealer would name his product Jingle Jangle.  We refuse to take that seriously.

Yeah, it's bad or whatever.  But it's not meth.  It's like the kids did ecstasy with a stupid name and shoved into a pixy stix, and the parents are losing their minds about it.

Moms and Pops

So the Lodges were almost not terrible! Sure, they were fine with working with the people whose son would have most definitely raped Cheryl had he not been stopped, but they didn’t hesitate to throw them under the bus (possibly literally) when they found out he tried to do the same to Veronica.  So...progress?

Penelope is a monster.  She is just the worst, all of the time, end of story. Throwing the check in the fire at the end was not enough to make up for blaming her own daughter for her assault. Just an awful human being.

Homage of the Week

I mean, Grease obvi. Just look at this.

Cha Cha just wishes she could be Cheryl.

Most Riverdale of the Week Award

Despite us being total Betty stans, the winner is Cheryl!  She totally rocked the drag race.  Her conversation with Betty in the garden was hilarious.  She confronted her mom about her abuse and she pressed charges against Nick St. Clair, both very brave moves. She found out who the Sugar Man was.  Also, this.

A little insight into Cheryl and Betty from R because it was too good to not share:

I like that both Betty and Cheryl get stuff done and get answers, but in totally different ways.  Betty is journalistic, and a go getter who will walk into a creepy abandoned house that a killer told her to go to alone, or who will "innocently" ask the Sheriff questions under the guise of writing a school article.  Whereas Cheryl is just 100% about being super snarky and acting like she doesn't care, only to later put on her flashy red duds and some ballin' lipstick, and hold her mom's breathing tube closed or threaten to destroy the hush money.  Betty is about finding her answers, but Cheryl is all about forcing them into the open, whatever it takes.

Best Lines

“Not the kind of drag race I ever imagined myself going to, but at least the guys are hot.” - Kevin is all of us.

“I beg your misogynistic pardon?” - Veronica, defending women always

“I'm a school-newspaper reporter!” - Betty, the highschool newspaper reporter who is smarter than every adult in town.

“You catch my Riverdale drift, boys?” - FP, king of the puns.

“You are an enigma, Cooper.” - Jughead “heart eyes” Jones

“Oh well. Karma’s a bitch.” Veronica, stone cold and speaking the truth

“I found out who killed Jason Blossom. I found out who the Sugarman was. You're next, Black Hood. I'm breathing down your neck. Can you feel it? Can you feel me?” - Betty, the ultimate badass

-K & R

[ts-seychelles]

EP. 3 - “I Want To Work With Someone Who I Don’t Have To Push A Narrative Toward” - ALEX

So to recap what in the fuck just happened. I was able to get Frankie out because no one had the balls to throw a name out, so I was like Fuck it throw the person that hasn't talked to me much under the bus. Turns out it was the right choice because like Alison he was stuck in a palm tree and couldn't vote. Then as my Low key alliance predicted, we would have a swap at 18, way to be original hosts you did this on another season you hosted. However I didn't get swapped fucked as I originally thought, since I thought it was just me and JG however Jared popped up and now our tribe is 3-3. Now Operation Kiss Ass is ago because I have three brand new tribe members to suck up to so we can have a majority vote, or at least I can have a majority if they want to pull cross tribal thing. But on the bright side I wasn't voted out 18th, I wasn't second voted out on my original tribe, and I made a swap so I improved so much already compared to flops yay!

So the first round we voted out a inactive and then I got sent to ghost island. I am really close to Drake and Jared and with this swap we have now solidified and have a split majority where all we might need is just 1 ... I know of Aysa and I know alex pretty well so we shall see what will happen

Getting swap fucked is my kink. It happens in almost every game I play. It’s such a cute look. 

My tribe seems...nice? I know Roxy, Johnny, and Vi from previous games, so I’m hoping we can make something work. I’m terrified being the only one from the old Malabar tribe here, but that just means we’re gonna have to try our hardest to win. I’m just gonna put in my all and hope for the best.

This swap couldn't have gone better. We swapped 5-1 AND I'm in an 4 person alliance with the 5 we had from before the swap. The next couple of rounds should be nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PF0vMamDY4

Alex is a sneaky one all right, he's trying to get information from me about the tribe dynamics but I'm just going to reflect it back onto him to get more info out of him than he is me. I ain't stupid, I know when it comes down to tribe swaps, espicially in a 3-3 situation the goal is to find that one crack to flip it to your favor. Im loyal to Jared and JG at this very moment so I ain't about to reveal shit to him

oh geez. so tribe swap happened and i think me, augusto, sam, and reagan lucked out. (rip dan because he is by himself) i feel bad for voting out frankie. but we didn’t really have a choice... other than that nicole and vilma seem really nice!

they reuploaded my spam video wig https://youtu.be/mpgD-uqZknI

(A BIT LATER)

https://youtu.be/d1wYk2Hkj48

HOLY SHIT WAIT NICOLE AND JARED ARE DATING WHAT KINDA PLOT TWIST REHASH OF RUBEN/LEXI BULLSHIT IS GOING ON HERE

(A BIT LATER AFTER SCREAMING UNDER WATER)

OKAY APPARENTLY EVERYONE ELSE KNEW BUT ME WHAT ELSE IS NEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oTbmew7Fa0&feature=youtu.be

Honestly hosts? This challenge that I going to force me out of my comfort zone? Negative. I’m already literally so fucking self conscious and anxiety filled. I’ll probably try to do my best but these are CRUEL. If I die from fucking salmonella poisoning from eating a raw egg imma haunt all your asses for the rest of eternity. Mark my words.

I didn't want to put too much effort into the reward challenge because I don't want to be seen as a threat, and luckily, the immunity challenge is a scavenger hunt that is at the beginning of a work week, otherwise, I'd knock it out of the park immediately. With work, I won't be able to, but I still shared the resources that I have so that they can work on as a group

https://youtu.be/mZ9MVVL_PP4

Okay so I was doing really well until you put me on this shit ass tribe. As people? Lovely. As players? The worst. How am I supposed to do anything with these people? Like literally how am I supposed to do anything. I’m so mad because I actually want to play this game and they are giving literally zero effort, being the absolute worst, all they do is complain and cry....I’m so over it. I haven’t eaten today so maybe just maybe it’s like that I’m hungry but on the other hand, I hate being with losers. Like I was in a tribe of winners who 90% wanted to give their all. Don’t sign up for the damn game if you aren’t willing to eat a raw egg or whatever we are being told to do this round. Why am I going to put in ALL my efforts for these idiots to just vote me out anyway? I’m so annoyed. They’re literally so fucking annoying. And I know the other tribes are actually doing well because they actually want to be here! And when we lose I’m gonna have to kiss more ass with these people because I’m in the minority. It’s just a fucked end of the stick that I got here when everyone else in my old tribe has it so easy. I got stuck with Vilma of all people and then a group of people who won’t ever vote each other out. It’s just like we are never going to win, I ate a fucking egg for these loser asses the best they can do is read some Harry Potter erotica, like get a fucking grip.

Vi doing nothing for this challenge? Expected.

Okay so, I've been on this new tribe for a few days now. I have really been thinking through every strategic situation. There is another layer to my game though, because I have to run through every scenario like I normally would- and then run through them all again, but account for Nicole being present. Not that I don't want to do well if it isn't with her, because that is just not the case. I just have to think about it... everyone else sure will be. Since there is still a long way to go til the merge- this is like a rough outline in different scenarios of getting there. 1- I want to win immunities. Pretty simple. They create a sense of cameraderie, and even though we are in essence 3-3, the longer we are socializing without discourse, the easier it will be for me to maneuver through this in the event that we must attend tribal. --- It's tough to try to account for Nicole's game and my tribe wins affecting how things go for her. I love her but I can't try to speculate what decisions would be the best for both of us mutually, because I could end up destroying us both. She's a smart cookie. She don't need me to get through. 2A- We win 1st place immunity. New Lazare loses. --- Here I don't know if I should make an effort to get Nicole sent to Ghost Island. I'm hoping my conversations with Augusto, her relationship with Regan from prior to this, and her social game outweigh any counter-offence that Vilma could mount. I think a good compromise would be to send Ashen or Sam, someone who is not an enemy of myself. 2B- We win 1st place immunity. Takamaka loses. --- I don't see a situation in where this tribe unanimously agrees to send Dan to Ghost Island. I would not really push the envelope in this spot, but rather see what everyone has to say and give input based off of that. Only person I would be hesitant to send is Johnny. 3A- We lose immunity. JG/Drake is sent to Ghost Island. --- Tough spot. I don't necessarily think that I would be in trouble, but the question is- Do I quietly send off my alliance mate? Do I hard sell Alex under the bus to Ricky and Asya? I think the latter has a higher ceiling outcome, and the lowest floor outcome. (Me getting evicted.) It would all be based on how far I get in conversations with Ricky/Asya without revealing my intentions. There is another option, and that is trying to get Alex to vote off Ricky or Asya. Close to 0% chance of pulling that off, and I don't think I would like the lay of the land coming back from that tribal. 3B- We lose immunity. Alex is sent to Ghost Island. --- Whatever Drake and JG want to do. Not a big discrepancy between Ricky and Asya here for me. I do like Asya a bit more. 3C- We lose immunity. Ricky/Asya is sent to Ghost Island. --- Do I persuade my counterparts to get Alex out in this spot? I do, I do! Why? Because Alex is nowhere on that venn diagram of people that will protect Nicole and myself at the merge. ---------- I had a call with Alex last night and got a lot of information from it. Lots and lots of ammunition that I will hold onto until the time is right. I think he likes me, or at least wants me to think that.

https://youtu.be/xlskto5cgVM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlpWEnCbpD0

(A BIT LATER)

These fucking animals will be the death of me. First Zumba with Tortoises & now  I'm covered in bat shit and carrying rabies. WTF who knew idol hunting would be so damn hard!!!

Had a call with Ruben last night, where he said he trusts Zach and I the most, and that Roxy has gotten kind of boring to him. I slipped it in there that Roxy is a pretty dangerous player (which she is), and those seeds just give me even more confidence that I can get her out sooner rather than later. Even thinking about making a power move to just have Zach, Ruben and I vote for Roxy, and then Roxy and Vi would vote for Dan, while Dan would likely vote for Vi, so idk...... When I was talking to Ruben, he clarified I'm his #1 and I'm going to start treating him like he's my number one. I don't wanna tell him about my idol yet obviously, but I think I can trust Ruben a lot. I know I've got that same kind of relationship going with Zach AND Crooks, so I'm spreading myself thin, but not trying too hard socially. Still can't find that Takamaka idol. I only got to search once, but I doubt I'm getting as lucky as I did on Lazare. I'm shook we won immunity when Vi didn't do anything.... it's kind of why I would feel bad voting out Roxy or Dan before Vi goes home..... she just doesn't continue to stay here. Ruben and I said we're going to see who goes home from the tribe that's going to tribal this round, and after we strong armed sending JG to Ghost Island, it gives Alex, Ricky and Asya numbers..... IF they stick together. I can see them not sticking together because I know those are the two people that Alex has spoken to roughly the least? So I could see Alex trying to work with Jared and Drake. I won't really be sad either way, but if someone from OG Lazare goes home, then Dan's fate might be sealed, which is kind of what Crooks wants anyways, so I guess good for him. I've never felt in such a secure spot in a tribe before, just because I feel our tribe is so strong, and we're just thinking about winning, and there are two easy outs, with a lowkey third person coming up on the horizons (Roxy). We'll see if I can get what I want this early in the game :P I will try to make this tribe interesting somehow. I promise!

You want the tea huh? We fuckin won binnnnnch. I’m shook honestly haha. Vi was as useful as soup on a hot summer day and we still literally got first place. So I’m liking that my tribe seems motivated to do our best in things, I was so worried I would be boned by the swap, but I seem to be acclimating well. The one thing that scares me is that Jared is vulnerable this week. I was hoping to push for him to go to Ghost Island but my gay ass was asleep of course. JG going is whatever, it’s just gonna give a fucking floater more power. It also puts the old Lizard (or whatever their name is) tribe at a 3-2 advantage over my cute old Malabar’s but whatever my ass is safe and that’s the only ass I care about.

Ugh I hate being in a 5 person tribal, my 3rd tribal in a row, and one where the tribal lines leave me in the minority. I'm trying to vote out someone I just am very cautious when throwing out a name since I am in the minority and Ricky, Alex, and Asya could easily team up and vote me out. I may just go and try throwing out Asya because she's the one I talked least to.  It's ugh im going to have a panic attack rip

Its really hard protecting vi tbh but shes loyal only to me so shes good for me

I did say every one on my tribe was great right? Totally carried me through this as I died physically and mentally. Maybe I can finally get some sleep and then tackle tonight’s thingy ;-;

https://youtu.be/rxYjBRg9u1g

I thought I liked Jared but he’s a little bit of a weasel. Jared’s like Kraft Mac and Cheese. It’s not your favorite food, it’s pretty mediocre. But it’s still good? Like if nothing else we’re there it’d be great. But I’ve got like a sundae with Asya and a Rueben Sandwich with Ricky. He’s smart. But I don’t like that he is. I wanna work with someone who I don’t have to push a narrative towards. However I feel great about Asya and Ricky. But we lost and if I get voted out the day after my three year anniversary I’ll cry.

I'm liking my new tribe so far. Nicole did most of the work last challenge and I am so grateful for that. Vilma is also sweet and funny, love her. Yesterday stressed me the fuck out though. I can handle the workload. Pippa is hosting this game, is in like 5 theatre shows, and school. So, I think i can do this. (PIPPA REALLY APPRECIATED THIS) MY INTERNET is what is fucking me up though. I could have done so many more of the video dares if my internet would just do what it supposed to do. It's so stressful. GOD. I just hope this shit doesn't ruin the game for me.

Smooth sailing as far as last tribal goes, which is surprising since I expected Frankie to come online and for it to be a bloody mess but guess not! Speaking of a bloody mess, I’m avoiding one! With a tribe swap happening, I get to avoid picking any sides as Malabar was about to turn into a Ashen/Drake vs Dan/Regan/Jared with Samantha and I in the middle -type of sticky situation really quick SO now I get to save face. Tbh, I am not really sure what side I would’ve chosen if it was a battle of the Malabar titans since a lot would’ve had to factor into the vote. With this new swap, I want to continue to build connections but do so at a slower pace (unless I end up swap fucked and then I’m kicking my charm into high gear) so I can once again have options. We’ll see what happens!

(A BIT LATER)

The results are in…. And I’m lucky for once? The swap actually worked out almost perfectly and the only instance where that has happened is Flops when I got to choose my new tribe. On New Lazare, Malabar has the numbers with 4 original members (Ashen, myself, Regan, Samantha) and we have Nicole and Vilma from original Lazare. Here, I have the option of sticking to my alliance with Ashen and Samantha, trying to stick it out with Regan as a newfound duo, or try to get super close to Nicole and/or Vilma somehow for options. Fluidity and adaptability is what the game is all about, so I’ll try to make that my mantra per se during this new phase of the game. As far as my other OG tribemates go, they are in shitty positions and I feel awful. My partner in crime Jared is in a 3-3 situation alongside Drake and JG and then Dan is by himself on the newly formed Takamaka. I relate so much to Dan in this moment just because I was all by myself during Socotra and had to face those giants all on my own, so I hope they at least give him an opportunity cause he does not deserve that. This swap is gonna be interesting for sure, though. I’m excited!

(EVEN LATER)

Can I just say I love Nicole? Okay so, her and I had a really good heart to heart both personally and strategically which makes me really excited. Before I swapped onto Lazare, Jared and I had a conversation about him and her and what their relationship entails as far as the game goes. He told me that he would never want to vote her out, which I totally understand and would never expect him to do because that’s a REAL relationship. I’m selfish but not selfish enough to ask him to pick between her or myself and I reiterated that to him. Anyway, I ended up telling Nicole that Jared and I were the best of buddies on OG Malabar to connect better with her as a person and as a gameplayer. I also told her about my conversation with Jared and how he really cares for her, etc. By doing that, Nicole and I really got to bond and had a conversation about this whole Malabar versus Lazare mentality that is likely to plague the swap as it did the first two rounds of the game. She also let me know that Alex was very much assertive in the fact that he wanted to decimate Malabar completely and how people such as Ricky and Asya were not very about it, etc. We also brought up the possibility of us working together in the future, which I am super about because it allows me to be close to someone from Lazare and gives me the bridge I need to those players, plus it helps me get even closer to Jared. Also in a sense, their relationship can be a shield for me in the future as a couple would be more likely to be targeted than a third wheel. Overall, I am feeling really good!

So......we won immunity 😬 I was really thinking my tribe was gonna be lazy because they wasted a full 36 hours. At the last moment they came through and fucked over my boyfriend, a sentiment I’m sad about but...also we won immunity. I’m kind of worried for him but Ricky seemed genuinely on board with me and I don’t think he’d want to make an enemy of me. He knows I can be a villain if he calls for one.

So the challenge is not really over, but I do think we’re doing okay? I am just thinking about a future tribal scenario and I think my game plan for this stage of the swap is to maybe get rid of Vilma and then Ashen so I can stay working with Regan, Nicole, and Samantha. Vilma is a good asset in challenges and overall an amazing person, but I do think it’d be smart to get rid of at least one Lazare person. As far as Ashen goes, I do find her to be a threat only because she seems somewhat social and she is the one that started the alliance between myself, Drake, her, and Samantha. The only thing is that she had no real agency/pull when she tried to get rid of Regan instead of Frankie so who knows. At least I could potentially use the fact that Ashen wanted to axe Regan against her in the future, but we’ll see… maybe I’m moving too fast haha. Let’s just get this bread first and I’ll act crazy later.

wish i didnt have to go to tribal xoxo

I knew this iconic color would produce iconic results… I’m…. WE WON?! This is my first challenge win this season and it’s been long overdue, so I’m super happy about that! Not only that, but this tribe is seriously awesome. I love the girl power, the legendary status of these people, and overall our vibe because we came together pretty well. I am nervous for Drake and Jared just because I KNEW that JG would be sent to Ghost Island since he is not social or very much active, so I will likely lose an alliance member this round and I’m sad about it. If I had to guess, I’d say Drake is the boot since Jared is more social and the Lazare on that tribe probably don’t want to piss off Nicole this early on. If Jared does leave, I’ll be really sad because our duo never got its time to shine, but let’s hope the show can continue whatever the circumstance.

Okay so I like Nicole I like Augusto Vilma kinda hasn't talked to me. I forget who else exists tbh. Sam barely does. Ashen barely does. Me augusto and Nicole pulling the weight on this tribe fr

AGAIN SORRY FOR THE LACK OF CONFESSIONALS, it takes a while to write them and I'm constantly staying up till 5am or even later for this game, so I'm pretty much exhausted during the day. It's tough honestly! Thankfully I haven't had to go to tribal so far in this game so there's not that much tea to spill. Here's my game so far, summarized: I had already forgotten how much my social game sucks. I hate the start of orgs, it's super overwhelming trying to socialize and get to know so many knew people. I get social anxiety every time I see a message pop up on my screen and pretend it didn't ever happen lmao. Thankfully I got put on Lazare which turned out to be a really active tribe and everyone was really nice to me despite the fact that they all seemed to pretty much know each other and I was kind of the odd one out. I think there's a good chance I would have gotten voted out if I ever went to tribal with them, but thankfully we were BEASTS at challenges so we didn't have to vote anyone out. The 99 bottles challenge was a nice bonding moment between Johnny, Zach and I despite me being super awkward as always. And I FINALLY got to compete on the music video challenge for the first time which was an absolute highlight. <<33333 I can pretty much go home happy now, I got what I wanted LMAO. Don't worry I'm not quitting though. Just as the tribe swap was happening Roxy told me that her idol clue said the idol's not in the volcano. I appreciated the info! All in all, I didn't talk much game with anyone on Lazare, which made me think I was on the outs but on the other hand we never went to tribal so there wasn't really any real reason to talk about strategy. Besides, I was horrendous at answering messages so it's partially my own fault. Then I got swapfucked. Haha okay that might be a slight exaggeration, but clearly numbers weren't on my side at the swap as I went from a 10 to 8 advantage to a 4 to 2 disadvantage. The only person from og Lazare that swapped with me was Nicole. We made a promise to have each others backs and she convinced me that she had a good relationship with some of our new tribe mates, so there's chance she could convince them to flip. I hope that's true, but it could very well be the end for me if end up to tribal. It's pretty difficult trying to understand all the game dynamics since so many players already know each other! I'm just trying to observe as many conversations as possible to figure out who's close with who, and who's against who. Even though my new tribe lost the reward challenge by a pretty big margin, we were able to come together in the last minute at immunity and placed 2nd, so we didn't have to go to tribal. WOOOOOOO I live to see yet another day in this game!!!! Awesome. I really don't think I have any chance to win this, so my plan at this point is just to hang in there as long as possible. So far I've done pretty good at that if I say so myself. I'm gonna try and continue to be a challenge beast for now, just so that my tribe would think they need me if we end up having to go to tribal. Summary: Loving the challenges, failing hard at the social game, but most importantly HAVING GREAT FUN THANKS

Omg I feel so bad for not contributing much to the comp but like also I’m super busy so I guess it’s fine?? We won by 15 points and I only sent in 12 points hahaha at least I did something! I really like Nicole and Vilma, and I’m happy that my old tribe has majority here, so I don’t want to lose because I don’t know how that vote would go! Oh well :(

[kalon-confessions-blog]

Community PSA [since the other blog was too chickenshit]

Dear Community, I have a PSA for you.  It has been said previously that myself (Cryogenic/Wicced!Witch), Sammish (aka Sydney), and Mintiature (aka Bella) are a “trio” meaning a group of people so close and tight knit that we were considered intimidating and almost tyrannical when we agreed upon things. I am here to dispel that idea for there are a lot of things that go on behind closed doors that you do not see. Recently there has been a falling out between the three of us, you see, as we have learned, Bella is not the sweet innocent loving little thing that so many people try to make her out to be. I know, I know, I once thought the same and I have come to her aid and defended her until I was blue in the face. Now, I would like you to know before you read further that I have no feeling towards Bella anymore, I do not hate her, I do not like her. Bella is not worth any sort of emotion or reaction from me.  So to start us off, lets all start with Sammi and her leaving the community. This was completely unnecessary and easy to avoid. However there was a bit of discourse between some staff over the idea for 1,000. Myself and Sammi proposed the idea to the staff in the beginning that 1,000 would actually be two Kals themed Nightmare and Daydream and would have separate competitions. Now you could have tried out for both designs as one Kalon, could have tried out for one or the other, tried out for both as separate characters, or even tried out with a partner!! A lot of this was to be left up to the community and the eventual winner(s) to give an added oomphf to such a massive milestone. When it was made known that there had been a mix up with the idea and that staff were taking it in a way that it was not intended (though there had been a very clear vote that ended in our idea winning out) we (me and Sammi) went to Bella to try and sort it out before causing a scene or anything in the staff. Bella then told us that she could not help us and that she didn’t agree with our idea and so instead of letting us bring it up to staff to have a discussion, like staff is suppose to do, she went to staff and just told them that they would not be using the idea that had been developed as myself and Sammi had thrown a fit and didn’t want it used. While it was true that we didn’t want the original idea used if not the way it was suppose to we were open for discussion and debate, just like anyone is. However that is not what happened. Instead we were attacked by several members of staff and told that we were stupid for having any sort of feeling over an idea that we had no copy-right on and that we needed to get over ourselves. Now this is not so life shattering as not everyone gets their way, the issue arose when Bella then started treating Sammi and me like we were nothing to her, not friends, not acquaintances, not even normal community members. Some would say that it was very obvious that Bella was “biased” toward myself and Sammi but I would like to propose that she was just as, if not more, biased /against/ us. There were several times where we would all argue and debate about things behind closed doors before going public with a unified idea or thought. After a few days of this action I confronted Bella about how she was treating the woman who was suppose to be her best friend. The woman that moved across state and dropped everything to be by her. I was met with an argument of how she had done no such thing and had not hurt Sammi in any way despite the fact I knew better as I had actually taken the time to speak to and understand Sammi’s feelings. The day after said agreement over Sammi I was removed from staff. Now when I asked what I had done to warrant it I was told I had caused too much tension in the staff to be able to fit into a group of people that were suppose to cooperate. I feel it should be known that even after the discourse about 1k myself and staff continued to talk and plan like normal, no hard feelings or tension present. If I was fired for said reason then there are several other staff members that should be fired on the spot for the same reason. In all reality I was fired for a personal conversation that happened between myself and Bella that had nothing to do with staff or my duties as staff or how i got along with staff. The conversation was not even a bad one where I did anything wrong but try to get her to talk about feelings. It has also come to my attention today that Bella either has been actively spreading or allowing others to spread a very nasty rumor about me that has no foundation at all. I have now, by someone I used to think of as my best friend and object of affection, been labeled an animal abuser. Now for many of you who know me this is absolutely absurd, but please, allow me to explain the situation. There are two complaints that I have heard that apparently supports her claim that I am an animal abuser. 1) The only food my animals eat is dog food. Keep in mind I have dogs, cats, and a ferret that eat said food. 2) I have taken kittens away from their mother too early and caused harm to the mother cat. Lets take this one at a time. 1) Yes, it is true, all the animals in my house do indeed eat dog food. However, the lie and fault in this lies in the fact that that is not the only food available to said animals. My cats have a stack of food kept in an open cabinet above their litter box that is out of reach of my dogs and ferret and the ferret has a stash of food kept in a little cubby in the laundry room or in the room that is specifically designated for her so that the dogs and cats can not get to it. The idea behind these is that the right species of pet is able to access the food that meets their nutritional needs without having it all eaten by the other animals. Now I can understand where perhaps Bella may have gotten the idea otherwise as she has been over to my house a few times and only ever seen the dog food, as it is the only one that is out in the open and easy for every one to see. However she has not asked me if there are other sources of food or what I do for the other two species. 2) Yes, it is true, I now have three six week old kittens in my custody. But once again Bella does not know the entire situation. These kittens were birthed by my aunt’s cat and as such I have known the mother cat all her life. Because of this I also know she is notorious for either weaning her kittens super early or just letting the kittens starve to death as she no longer wishes to nurse. But oh!! if that’s the case why didn’t I just let my aunt care for the kittens and not take them away? Well the simple answer is my aunt has three kids, one of which is just a few months old, and can not afford the expense of kitten milk replacer or the time it takes to feed them and potty them. So yes, I offered to take the kittens. Now originally we had planned for the kittens to be taken when they were fully weaned or once the mother stopped nursing. However at four weeks of age my aunt contacted me with the concern that the mother cat was moving the kittens around and had nested them under the neighbors porch. Now for those of you that don’t know me I live in Georgia, a place known for their rednecks that aren’t always the most animal friendly. after the second time of having the kittens under his porch the neighbor threatened to kill the kittens and the mother cat if it happened again. So yes, for the safety and well being of the kittens I took them home. This is not the first time I have fostered weaning kittens and so am very knowledgable in their care needs as well as having several months of Vet tech training under my belt. These kittens are happy, healthy, fat and loved and even have a vet appointment set up next week! Any of the you in the community Skype chat you have even seen them a few times! Do those kittens look abused to you ?? in conclusion, as an ex staff member and an ex friend I would like to warn everyone about Bella. She is a beautiful person sometimes and deserves all the best in the world, so long as it is done far away from me. She is smart, talented, and very kind when she wishes! However, please be careful as she is also very disloyal, amazing at lying to your face, and will turn on you at the flip of a dime. She has no compass of morals or judgement on those she should actually keep close, those she should trust, or those she should have nothing to do with. She uses others around her just as much as she allows herself to be used. With love for you all, Cryo/Wicced

[behindheremeraldeyes]

SasuSaku Month 2016 Day 26- Us Against the World . Title: The People who Love You. . Summary: The Konoha council is discussing Sasuke’s sentence and the death penalty is the one thing the elders want the most. He needs to pay for his crimes, but killing the Uchiha won’t be that easy. Not while she’s around. . A/N: Ahh! I’ve finally finished this one! I was so excited to write this idea, and since I was traveling, I thought I wouldn’t have time to do so… BUT thanks to the dawn, I’ve managed to finish this theme XD I’ve tried making it more direct again, but this one ended up really long. I’ve added the details I wanted, and I’m reallyy happy with the results! I hope you also enjoy it, and please, leave me a comment! Tell me what you’re thinking about the themes so far! . . . “ You’re not touching Uchiha Sasuke.”

Her voice echoed around the room, crossing the entire wooden table until it reached the ears of the old woman standing some chairs away from her. Emerald eyes were burning in pure anger, as an uncomfortably dangerous silence was set. Tsunade was there, with her arms crossed and eyes closed, simply waiting for her student to solve things up.

People were looking at her. People were judging her words.

But Haruno Sakura couldn’t care less for all those things.

“ Excuse me…? Perhaps I didn’t quite understand your words, Ms. Haruno.”

Trembling were the words that left Koharu’s lips, as she looked shocked at the medic, who was simply sitting in that chair, with her hands forming a bridge in front of her lips. The elders who formed the Konoha Council were equally surprised- and equally annoyed at the pinkette's words, but not a single one of them dared raise their voices against the girl. They were more afraid of her than they were of her master, and thanks to previous experiences, the entire council remained quiet, leaving all the talking to the old woman in front of them.

That was exactly why they didn’t want that girl there.

Not when the matter was none other than Uchiha Sasuke’s judgement.

Even if the elders did their best to keep that meeting a secret from the ones close to the raven haired boy, there was no way to force the slug princess to stay quiet. They had successfully prevented the loud Uzumaki from joining, and even the future Hokage was left out of that assembly due to personal connections with the culprit. It was evident and infuriating to see that the council was blocking all their efforts on trying to have any say in the final decision, but in the end, there was nothing neither of them could do.

They were left out, but she was definitely in.

For being the pupil of the Godaime, Haruno Sakura has always had free access to many things around the village. From special books to some of the deepest secrets of the village, the girl knew it all, and even if her access to the judgement was also threatened, Tsunade herself- as the Hokage in charge of that trial- brought her pupil along as her right-hand-woman. There was no arguing with the blonde, and if it was already difficult for the elders to get their ideas approved with just the Hokage, with her miniature-self around, such thing would just be impossible.

Especially when the main idea was the execution of Uchiha Sasuke.

Her green eyes closed for a moment, as she breathed in calmly. “ Oh, I’m sure you did, though I don’t mind repeating myself…” She opened her eyes once more, the fire still burning inside them. “ You are not hurting Uchiha Sasuke.”

“ Hmph, don’t be such a fool, young lady. He needs to pay for his crimes, and I won’t allow you, a simple chunin, to do as you please with this judgment.”

Though it was possible to see that the old woman was carefully measuring her words, Sakura just couldn’t accept such sentence. She was not going to let him die by the hands of the village, and even if she was there just to keep her master some company, the girl was not going to hold back her actions.

She was ready to face them all from the start, and nothing would stop her from doing the right thing.

“ I understand that he deserves to pay for his crimes, however, such thing won’t be done by the means of taking his life. Be sure of that.”

“ You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her tired eyes were now glaring at Sakura, as the girl was still in the same place. The girl’s expression remained as cold as before, as if nothing that came out from that woman’s mouth affected her. And it didn’t, to be honest. "His actions are known all around, and he has broken several rules of our village. He has threatened to kill us all, and he even tried to kill you, Ms. Haruno. I will not allow you to put the village in danger because of your childish infatuation.”

At such words, Haruno Sakura remained in silence for a moment.

Childish infatuation, uh? So that was what that old lady thought of her love for the Uchiha.

The love that has consumed her soul and caused her to cry herself to sleep for several nights during the time he was away. The love that has made her who she is today and made her want to be so much more for both of them and for the village. Such love certainly made her wake up to the reality of the shinobi world, and for that, she will forever be grateful.

Her childish infatuation saved her, and it was also going to save him.

She was going to save him.

Not caring about the attention she was dragging towards herself, Sakura stood up from the chair, clenching her fists. The messy ponytail that was holding up her short, pink hair was already falling apart, as some locks were falling over her face. She looked tired and a little pissed, and at that moment, she didn’t feel like separating those things from her argumentation.

“ As a member of the Konoha council, I expected more from you, Koharu-baasama. Trying to use my own feelings against me won’t give you any kind of advantage, in fact…” Her eyes were now holding a deadly glare- quite similar to the Godaime's one- and it was almost possible to listen to all those hearts around her skipping a beat. “ You’ve just left me more pissed at this whole bullshit.”

“ Ms. Haruno, put yourself in your place. You’re just a ch-“

“ Just a chunin, I know. I’m still a chunin, who has helped save the world by punching a goddess in the face. I’m also the chunin who has mastered Senju Tsunade’s supreme technique, and the one chunin who fought side by side with Uchiha Sasuke and the entire ninja alliance to protect the world… But that’s not important, right?”

A smirk grew on both master and student’s lips, causing Koharu to grit her teeth in annoyance. The old woman remained in silence, allowing the pinkette to continue her speech. “ You see, I’m not denying any of his crimes, and we all agree he should pay for his choices. However, Sasuke is still a ninja from Konoha. He’s the last member of the Uchiha clan, which was one of the clans responsible for the village’s foundation. You won’t erase the sharingan from the world, and you will certainly not erase Uchiha Sasuke from this life.”

“ I couldn’t care less if he’s the last Uchiha! He will not put our villagers in danger! It’s our duty to keep them all safe!”

“ Oh, just like you did to the Uchiha clan?”

“ You insolent brat…”

“ Hn, the village went further than Sasuke ever will when you elders agreed that killing all those people would be a solution. You’ve destroyed his life and-“

“ It had to be done!”

“ It could’ve been different!” She raised her voice for the first time in order to match the old lady’s, making Koharu take one step back in retreat, as the distance created by that table suddenly felt too short in between them. Just like the Third, Haruno Sakura was showing herself to be a headstrong ninja. She simply wouldn’t accept orders, and that was exactly why she was in that room at that exact time. She was ready to find a new solution that didn't end up in a sea of blood like before.

Just like the Third, she wanted to protect the legacy of the Uchihas.

And just like the Fifth, she wouldn’t mind using her monstrous strength to get what she wanted.

“ You’re too young to understand this things, child.You shouldn’t even be here.”

“ Yes, you are right. I don’t and never will understand how the council actually allowed such thing. However, I do understand a few things regarding the new era of the shinobi world and Uchiha Sasuke. He’s not a threat, and I can say that if he wanted to do anything, he would have already done it by now. Also, don’t think that your decision of executing one of the strongest ninjas in the world won’t affect the other nations. We’re all connected by the alliance now, and I guarantee you that, as soon as the news spread, Konoha will be threatened.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! There will be no such thing as a threat because of his head! Konoha will be safer than ever without him around!”

“ Oh, are you sure?”

The two females exchanged challenging glares for a couple of moments, and the Haruno girl could clearly see the insecurity creeping over the elder’s features. Her lips were twitching, her hands were restlessly moving, and a drop of sweat was rolling down the side of her grizzled head. Koharu had no conviction in her words anymore, and the possibility of them being threatened never really crossed her mind.

The Uchiha and his kekkei genkai are certainly a valuable things for the world, and thanks to the alliance, killing the hero who saved the war- aka Uzumaki Naruto’s best friend, would be simply the biggest mistake anyone could ever make. Chaos would be spread around once more, a new war would start, and the Leaf would be completely unprotected, for all their most experienced ninjas, just like the girl herself, would team up with the Uchiha.

Konoha would be left alone, and as soon as the other elders that were gathered around the table realize such thing, they all knew the discussion was already over. And it was clear which of the girls was the winner.

Perhaps she would just need to make herself clearer with her last words.

“ If you don't want to believe a threat might befall on the village, I’ll give you one right now.” Her eyes turned cold and it was as if they were yearning for the old lady’s blood. Never before had those eyes showed so much hatred before. “ I, Haruno Sakura, in front of all of you, declare that if something happens to Uchiha Sasuke, you will regret it. If he’s hurt, I’ll go after you, Koharu-obaasama. If you kill him, I will crush Konoha with my own hands. “ She said, placing her index slowly over the wooden table, tapping once as if to emphasize her words.

A sadistic smile decorated her lips, and there was no hesitation coming from her at all. Her body language wasn’t lying, and her eyes were definitely telling the truth. Haaruno Sakura was really threatening Konoha because of Uchiha Sasuke, and never before had she felt so alive. She was defending her special person, and if she really had to, she would destroy her home with her own hands.

It was not like she didn’t have the power for that, right?

Worried expressions decorated almost all the faces around that room, and the drop of sweat rolling down Koharu’s head was enough to tell the Haruno girl the answer she needed after officially threatening her own village. The pinkette, then, simply left the table, walking towards the door as the click of her heels was the only sound resonating around that office. The elders’ hearts were apprehensive, and it was almost as if she could hear the old lady’s screaming internally, probably wanting to murder the petite pink haired girl.

Sakura would definitely not escape from the consequences that her supposed treason would bring upon her, but it was not as if she was worried about such trivial things at that moment, after all, her patients are waiting for her at the hospital.

“ H-Haruno Sakura!” She stopped one last time, not turning around. "L-Leave this room and your threat against the village will be registered in your records!" Koharu’s voice held a tint of despair, as she seemed to be trying her last resort to tame the girl.

Such thing in which no one will ever succeed.

Not bothering about giving the elder her attention, Sakura resumed her walk. Koharu just got even angrier, and it was possible to tell so just by the way her voice rose. “ You’re going to regret it! I wi-“

Much to everyone’s surprise, the big, mahogany table around which they were all gathered suddenly parted, each half falling on a side. The members of the council stood up in awe, as the Godaime was the only one who remained in her seat, proudly smirking due to her student’s actions.

In her eyes, Sakura had just grown a little more. Her student is a strong, mature and confident woman, who doesn’t close her eyes to the dangers in front of her anymore. She’s a beautiful flower, ready to heal and to fight, and the things she did in that conference room just showed how passionate she is about her friends. It’s true that the Uchiha has always held a special place in her heart, but she didn’t just threaten the village because it was him, no.

Sakura threatened her village because of her beliefs in justice and peace, and if her ideals were to be disrespected again, she would stand up against whoever stood in front of her. And for that, Tsunade is really proud of the girl who had just exited the room.

“ She’s just like you, Tsunade-hime.” Koharu said, trying to regain her breath.

“ I’ve trained her well.”

Her conscious couldn’t be clearer when she finally left the council room. Her legs weren't trembling, her heart wasn’t beating faster and she didn’t feel nervous at all as she walked down the hallways of the Hokage’s building.

That is, until she saw him.

His hand was hidden inside the pocket of his dark trousers, and his left foot was lifted, resting against the wall. His head was lowered, causing his dark locks to fall forward, as his eyes remained closed. Uchiha Sasuke was calm and focused, as he clearly seemed to be waiting for someone. And when he opened his eyes to glare at her, Sakura already knew she was the one for whom he had been waiting for.

And you bet she already knew what he was about to say.

As soon as he adjusted his posture to stand almost in the middle of the hallway, the pinkette already prepared herself for what he was about to throw at her. He would call her irresponsible and he would definitely shout at her for the words she had said, which, she knew, he had obviously heard.

Sasuke was going to scold her, for sure.

But she wouldn’t go back on her decision. Naruto would be mad at her if she did.

“ Sakura.” Her name sounded like poison coming out of his lips, as his dark pearls were connected to her emeralds. She had stopped about two meters away from him, and her hands were also clothed by her pockets. Sakura was trying to seem indifferent to his presence, but he could see perfectly through her. “ What the hell do you think you’re doing? Threatening Konoha is by far the stupidest thing you have ever done.”

“ It’s good to see you too, Sasuke-kun!" She started, a mocking tone in her voice. "And by the way, you’re welcome for what I just did to save your life.”

“ Don’t play dumb, Sakura! You shouldn’t have done that. They will go after you now, and you can bet they will make you pay for the things you’ve said.”

“ Well, I’m glad I won’t have to pay for the table, too, then.”

“ I’m serious here! You-“

“ And don’t you think I am?!” She glared at him, turning both of her hands into fists. Haruno Sakura was definitely not joking at that moment. “ I’m aware of everything I’ve said and done, and you’re not going to make me change my mind!”

The burning color of her eyes set on him made the Uchiha swallow dry for a moment. The girl was definitely serious about everything, and she was certainly not afraid of anything that could happen to her because of her actions. Sasuke knew she was more than simply capable of making her own choices, and more than anyone, he respected them. She chose to become a medic and save people, and she also chose to go through the chunin exam in the past so they could all participate as a team.

She chose to be a ninja, and he couldn’t tell how much the world has gained because of that.

But up until now, none of the consequences of her choices had threatened her life as a kunoichi.

None except for one: Falling in Love with him.

Even if she says that loving him was not a choice, the things she brought herself to do were definitely the consequences of her curse. She tried to run away with him, she knocked down her teammates, she lied to Naruto and right now she was threatening the entire village because of him. Sakura was going to pay for his mistakes, and that was the last thing he wanted from her.

She has nothing to do with his sins. In fact, she’s probably the only part of his life that isn’t corrupted by his blinding revenge.

Haruno Sakura was the only one who tried to bring him back by the means of love, therefore, he couldn’t let her fall into that hatred trap against the place she has always called home. He knew she would complain and she would definitely refuse his words, but he had already made up his mind.

Sakura was not getting involved in this. He would make sure she didn’t.

But it was already too late for that.

“ Tch, your stubbornness has taken you too far this time.” A sigh escaped his lips, as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “ You still have time to go back and apologize, Sakura. You don’t have to do this.”

“ Oh, I know I don’t. I’m doing this because I want to, and there’s just no way I’m apologizing to that old lady-shannarou.”

“ Stop trying to act so tough! Go back and apologize, now.”

The ordering tone in his voice annoyed her more than she thought it would. It felt as if he was underestimating her power, and as if he didn’t believe her words could make any difference. Sakura knew that she was probably overreacting, but at that exact moment, the pinkette didn’t want to hear him anymore.

Her calm expression changed abruptly, as anger could be found in her features. She walked up to him, standing close enough for their hot breaths to tickle their skins. For he’s taller than her, Sakura had to keep her head up. Her arms were placed on her hips, she was looking deep into his dark orbs, and the boy could tell she didn’t show any sign of retreating.

She took one last breath, and with a confident voice, she gave him a solid answer. “No. I’m not apologizing for what I’ve said, and there’s nothing you or anyone can do to convince me otherwise.” She blinked slowly, hiding her blazing emeralds for a couple of seconds just so they could return with even more intensity. “ Now, if that’s all you have to tell me, Uchiha Sasuke, then I’ll be taking my leave. If you'll excuse me.”

For as much as he wanted to admit how beautiful and how much she had just turned him on at that moment, Sasuke couldn’t simply allow her to do as she pleased. Sakura could be known as the princess of Konoha, and her temper could even be compared to her master’s, but there was just no way he would let her walk away like that. She was not going to do as she pleased, not while he was there.

Sasuke was not going to let her destroy her life for him. Even if he had to do it by force.

When the stubborn medic finally passed through him, her scent was the only thing that managed to continue the way down the hallway. With all his strength, the Uchiha pushed her against the wall, holding her in place with his forearm across her collarbone. His eyes were locked with hers, as their faces were mere inches away from one another. He was sending her a deadly glare, but as expected from the new Haruno Sakura standing in front of him; she didn’t flinch. Instead, she remained looking at him, waiting for the boy to try changing her mind once again.

She kept glaring at him, waiting for his next, unsuccessful try.

“ Why can't you just obey for once, Sakura?”

“ I could say the same. Why can’t you just accept that I’m trying to save your life!?”

“ The price is too high! If they go after you, what will be the point? Don’t throw it all away for a stupid reason!”

“ Stupid reason…? Do you even know why I’m doing this?”

“ Hn, I don’t, and I don’t care. I just want you not to get involved into more trouble. You deserve to be successful ninja, and I won’t let you throw your life away.”

Her head lowered down for the first time ever since they had met at the corridor. Slowly, her body stopped resisting his strength, and he watched as she bit her lower lip. Due to the proximity, he saw as her rosy lip turned white before regaining its color.

Apparently, his words had hit a delicate spot, for he could feel as she trembled under his gaze. Sakura was mad, and if she were a twelve year old girl, her eyes would be in tears at that exact moment. She just couldn’t accept his words, as he took his own life for granted. It was infuriating to see how he didn’t consider his own importance in her life, as he simply called her reasons stupid.

How much of an idiot could that boy be?

Didn’t he know how she cared for him? How she has always cared?

The pinkette couldn’t simply accept his way of thinking, and as her blood boiled inside her veins, all the words that had been stuck in her throat for the past years managed to find their way out. “ You idiot…” Her voice was low at first, but as she looked at him again, the Uchiha could see that the girl was on fire. “ Can't you see how important you are to me?! I don’t want you to die! Naruto, Kakashi-sensei… Don’t you think about them?”

“ Hn, you’ll be better off without me.”

“ Better off?!” She screamed in indignation, punching the wall behind them. Had she used chakra, the entire building would’ve fallen behind them. At that moment, the boy took a step back, but their distance remained almost the same thanks to the step she took forward. “ We care about you, Sasuke! Or do you think we would’ve chased you for all these years for nothing!?”

Her voice was louder than before, and her cheeks were growing hotter in anger. The girl was losing control over herself, and he knew he shouldn’t keep on pushing her like that.

He should’ve never pushed her that far.

And she would teach him exactly why.

“ Oi, Sakura… You don’t have to scream.”

“ You jerk!” Her fingers gripped firmly on his shirt, as he was trying to calm her down.

“ Hey, wait. Yo-“

Before he could even finish his sentence, his eyes widened and his mind went blank. The pinkette had boldly pulled him closer, and without hesitating, pressed her lips against his in order to shut his mouth. Her eyes were closed shut, and he could see how she just didn’t want to let go. Her expression grew longing, and for the first time, Uchiha Sasuke truly understood how people not related by blood could feel so deeply for one another.

With that kiss, she showed him how fury was consuming her soul, and how he was the target of such feeling. In the same way he could understand Naruto’s feelings simply by exchanging punches, Haruno Sakura was an open book when her emotions overflowed her. During these times, she doesn't think straight and he doubts she even listens to anyone who tries talking to her. The girl simply lets it all out in the most sincere, pure and intense way she knows.

Oh, and how beautiful she is like that.

After some good 40 seconds and after both of them had adjusted their bodies to a comfortable position, the girl finally pulled away. She kept on holding his shirt, and her forehead was now resting on his chest. Her cheeks were flushed, as they both regained their breath. They fell in a delicate silence for some moments, but her low voice was the first to break it.

“ Can't you see that… I-I can’t lose you…? Not again… Not again.”

“ Sakura…”

“ It’s been so long… Please, Sasuke-kun… don’t ask me to apologize for fighting for your life. As long as you survive, I-I know I can take it all. S-So please… Let me do this.”

Listening to her pleading made his heart skip a beat instantly. The woman who was all so strong and confident just minutes before was now almost begging him not to interfere with her plans. She was pouring her heart out for him, and after everything that happened in between them, there was just no way he could ignore her feelings.

Not anymore.

Not when that kiss managed to drive him insane by how strong their hearts were connected.

And so, for the second time that day, Haruno Sakura won an argument. And never before had he been so happy and thankful to lose.

“ Tch, you’re still as annoying as before, aren’t you?”

“ Eh? But I-”

“ I just hope you have a plan against the village, Sakura. Just the two of us won’t be enough against Konoha. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

As soon as his words left his mouth, Uchiha Sasuke turned his face away from her so he could hide the soft smile that was playing on his lips. She could feel how lighter the atmosphere around them felt, and even if they were basically agreeing on attacking their hometown, Haruno Sakura couldn’t be happier. In fact, she was so happy that the fact she had just kissed the raven hired boy didn’t even crossed her mind yet.

Sakura was relieved to have him fighting by her side, and she was thankful for his choice.

Together, they will, indeed, defeat the village.

But they won’t be alone. They will never be.

“ I’m sure they’re already thinking of something right now.”

“ They? Who are you talking about?”

“ Do you really think Naruto and the others would be out of this?” She smirked, feeling proud of herself and of her friends.

“ Tch, that dobe…”

“ Hn, It’s us against the world.”