#He runs into a reporter Wes at some point & okay the fact he looks like the lady doing math meme when seeing Dan?

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 168

So. Apparently halfas are like phoenixes or something, which Danny would’ve really liked to know. 

See, usually with ghosts if they’re forced to retreat to their cores they reform as was, but apparently, since they’re still partially living, schrodinger's people and all that, halfas have to regrow their body from scratch. At least that’s what he’s understanding from Frostbite. 

But how come he has to deal with it? It’s Dan’s fault for trying to pull such a stunt! Oh, it’s either him or Vlad? Well fuck, he might have calmed down and is going to therapy in both the living realm and the Zone, but he’s waaay not equipped to raise a child except for like, monetarily wise. 

Well dammit, how long will this core incubation thing last, he has his new job in… let him check which offer he accepted again… He has his new job in Coast City that he needs to finish packing for and then all the rest of the stuff to do. 

What do you mean it’ll take months?! He doesn’t have months?! Urgh, fine. At least being a mortician isn’t that exciting, nor dangerous. Just hand him Dan’s core and he’ll figure things out for the living side of things. He’s sure Tucker and Sam wouldn’t be against helping, if only to try and claim favorite aunt or uncle spots. 

[ggomos-maribat]

Secrets, Masks, and Family Gatherings

Cross posted from AO3

It had been nearly a year since she moved to Gotham City, but the skyline seemed new each time she went out for night patrol. Ladybug zipped to another building with Red Hood to gain a higher vantage point. Her wings fluttered slightly with the breeze behind her.

"All clear here." Red Hood pressed on his comms.

"Okay. We'll wait for an update from Robin and Spoiler then we're finished for tonight if there aren't any problems," Batman replied.

"Yeah, it's a miracle we get to finish up early." The vigilante rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms. "So LB . . ."

"This small talk again?" Ladybug groaned.

Red Hood put his arms up. "Hey, I'm just curious."

"What is it now?"

"I was just wondering what made you transfer to Gotham." He perched on the ledge right beside her. "You defeated your city's villain, right? You had nothing to do anymore."

He's not wrong. She often thought about it herself. Her past and responsibilities clung to her like unshakeable nightmares. Ladybug knew the moment she gained guardianship that her life had no chance of reverting back to 'normal'.

"I think you know how it feels," she said.

"How what feels?"

Ladybug sighed, slumping. "When we defeated Hawkmoth, I thought we could finally rest easy. But I couldn't. I was restless, and between that and taking care of the aftermath, I realized I was missing the superhero life." She shrugged. "That's why I'm here now---it's inescapable. As the guardian, I decided it was better for the Miraculi to be used for good instead of sitting unused."

"Ah, classic PTSD like all the Bats." Red Hood nodded.

She snorted. "But that doesn't mean I still live a restless life. In fact, I've gotten used to life in Gotham."

"But why Gotham of all places?"

"The Miracle Box told me something. I can't divulge anything more."

"Just like you don't divulge anything about your civvy life."

She rolled her eyes, elbowing him on the side, which caused him to flinch dramatically. Bats and their nosiness. "Hey, we're not that close yet for me to reveal my identity. And it's a fair game. I don't know any of you either."

"I'm surprised B hasn't dug up anything on you. And he has contingency plans for all the JL members."

"I told you, the glamor protects us."

At first, she'd been hesitant to work with the vigilantes and at the same time, Batman had been wary around her especially when she was entering their territory. But she had gotten to know them well over time, despite not knowing who were behind the masks. She could also tell they'd grown to trust her like one of theirs.

"All clear near Crime Alley," Spoiler reported over the line.

"Good. Thank you for your help tonight, Ladybug. Everyone else, back to the cave."

Ladybug stood up abruptly. "Thank you too. I'll join the Signal during the weekend. He mentioned he might need some help."

"Oooh, you seem in a hurry to get back home." Red Hood tilted his head.

"No, I'm not spilling anything about my plans for the night," she huffed. "And I need to go because I'm hungry and my timer's running because you forced me to use my Lucky Charm to win that bet with Red Robin."

"The look on his face was priceless."

Ladybug threw her yoyo. "Good night, Hood."

After double checking that none of the others had followed or tracked her, Ladybug detransformed and walked back to her apartment building. She could practically hear the coffee calling to her; she'd drown in it endlessly whenever patrol nights ran late and she needed commissions to finish afterwards.

In the empty elevator, Tikki hovered up to her shoulder. "It's a good thing patrol ended early, Marinette."

"It's not a good sign, Tikki." She smiled grimly. "I think something big's going to happen. A massive breakout or a big plan by the Rogues."

The kwami hummed. "You can try to get plenty of rest before that happens."

"No promises. I have twelve designs I have to submit to Audrey by next week."

Just as she headed to her apartment door, her phone rang a familiar customized ringtone. Tikki also gasped in excitement upon seeing the caller's name.

Marinette tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder while jamming her keys through the doorknob. "Hey, Adrien. What's up?"

"Hey Nette. Done with patrol?"

"We finished early tonight. The Rogues are suspiciously silent. How are you? How's Plagg?" Marinette stepped into the room and Tikki turned on the lights.

"Currently pigging out on cheese. As always." She could almost see her best friend's eye-roll. "Anyway, I called to tell you that I'll be visiting Gotham on Friday. Wayne Tech is partnering up with our brand and Chloe and Kagami are coming with me."

"That's great news, Adrien! I'll bake something special---or should I take you out to a restaurant? I know some good ones near my place."

Adrien chuckled. "Pick anything you want. I'll tell Chloe to send you our schedule so we can reserve lunch or dinner with you and----no, Plagg! I'm not telling her to buy extra cheese!" He heaved out a breath. "At night we can have a short . . . run. You can introduce me to your new partners."

"They're not my partners. It's just you, kitty cat," Marinette said pointedly. "We're just allies."

"You gush about winning prank wars against them."

"It's fun being around them but that's it!"

He laughed. "It's okay. I'm glad you're enjoying your time over there. Send my regards to Damian."

A knock suddenly sounded on the door.

"Speaking of Damian, I think he's here. Gotta go, and say hi to Plagg and the others for me!"

"Pfft, you keep stroking his ego."

With one last goodbye, Marinette threw her phone on the couch and ran to the door. She hadn't expected her boyfriend to drop by, but she was glad he could make time for her. She knew Damian was as busy as her and she was worried he'd end up not taking care of himself like she always did.

"Dames, I thought you had work at the company for the whole night." She gave him a tight hug and a light kiss as soon as she opened the door.

Damian pecked her cheek, winding his arms around her waist. "They let us go early and I thought I should surprise you."

"Good, because I'm surprised," she beamed. "Are you staying the night?"

"Of course, habibti."

Damian Wayne had been an unexpected addition to her Gotham life. They had met in the park while they were working on their sketches---him, a portrait drawing and her, an inspired dress design. Before she knew it, she was with someone who she believed she could spend the rest of her life with. Damian was her support, her confidant in all aspects except her secret identity (though the thought of finally telling him had crossed her mind too many times).

"Are you hungry? I haven't had dinner yet and I was just thinking of cooking instant ramen . . ."

"We can have dinner together, but . . . there is something I need to talk to you about." Damian rubbed her arms, gazing at her intently.

Marinette's heart quickened as she subconsciously thought about all types of bad news. Did he get hurt? Did I do something? Is he going to break up with me?

"Habibti, love, I can already read your thoughts." He kissed the tip of her nose. "It's not anything terrible."

"What is it?"

Damian took a deep breath. "I think it's time for you to meet my family."

Marinette felt her jaw drop. "Your . . . your family? Are you sure about this?"

For the longest time, Damian had expressed his distaste at the thought of her meeting the Waynes. At first, she'd thought that it was the status difference, but he seemed more worried about his father and brothers doing something crazy.

On the other hand, they had both flown to Paris four months ago for Damian to officially meet her parents and friends. It had gone smoothly, and Damian was convinced that the opposite would happen if she met his family.

"Yes. I've thought about it." He sat down with her as she ran her thumb over the back of his hand. "They're already asking about you and if I stall for any longer, I know they will start prying into your life."

"Oh . . ."

Damian had talked about his brothers before, and Marinette saw them sometimes in news and tabloids. In her impression, they didn't seem too bad.

"But don't worry," he assured her, "I will be with you the whole time. We'll have lunch at the manor tomorrow---"

"Wait, tomorrow?"

"Is it too sudden? I worked with your free schedule and---"

"No, no, I'm definitely free tomorrow." Her eyes widened. "Let's meet them tomorrow. It just caught me off guard. I have to prepare my outfit and buy a gift and----oh no, what would your brothers like? What about your father and Alfred?"

Damian smiled gently. "You don't have to concern yourself with that. You’ll make a wonderful first impression."

"But---"

"I have to warn you about my brothers instead." His lip curled. "They will be a handful."

She laughed a little. "You already warned me a million times."

"Because I can't overstate how troublesome they'll be."

Instead of her reply, Marinette's growling stomach echoed in the room. She blushed as Damian pulled her from her seat, kissing her cheek. "It seems that we have an emergency to take care of first. I'll help you cook."

---

Marinette smoothed down the remnant wrinkles on her skirt. She'd chosen a simple pleated dress to wear to her first family lunch with the Waynes. At the same time, the car pulled up in front of the Wayne Manor. It was just as intimidating as she remembered---she'd only ever been to the manor once, to wait for Damian.

"Nervous?" Damian touched her hand.

"Should I be?"

"Never," he replied firmly. "If anything, I should apologize ahead of time. Also, there is no reason to be nervous. If they aren't busy acting insufferable, they'll be impressed by you."

Though the words were warm, they did little to calm her heart. These were the Waynes, royalty of Gotham. She even found it hard to believe that she was with Damian in the first place.

"Come on." Damian helped her out of the car and guided her to the front steps. He pushed through the large wooden doors and they were both met with a broad-shouldered man rushing down the main hallway.

"Todd," Damian called out. "Where on earth are you going?"

The man---Jason, she assumed---stopped, glanced at them, and gave her a quick once-over. Marinette noticed the motorcycle helmet he held on one hand.

"Demon brat." Jason tilted his head. "I have work to do."

"But lunch---"

"I promised to drop by. I didn't say I'll stay." He gave Marinette a single nod and went off.

"I bet he had another fight with Father," Damian muttered under his breath. Marinette squeezed his hand.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Don't apologize. Let's go," she told him softly.

Damian led her to the dining hall where the others were already sat around the table. Curious stares burned through Marinette, making her duck her head away. Damian himself was unfazed, wearing a half-scowl as he helped her to her seat.

"Master Damian, Miss Marinette, welcome." Just in time, Alfred strolled in with the food. She gave the butler a meek smile.

Then, she took a look at the Waynes one by one. The poised Bruce Wayne was at the head of the table, his presence the most prominent  in the room. Across from her was Dick Grayson, who looked like he was studying her. Positioned beside him were Tim and Stephanie, both whispering to each other. Finally, Barbara was at her other side, offering her a small smile of comfort.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Marinette," Bruce greeted. "Damian talks a lot about you."

Marinette momentarily eyed the array of silverware near her plate which she did not know how to use. "The pleasure is all mine . . . sir."

"Please call me Bruce." He gestured to the food at the center. "Go ahead and help yourself. Alfred cooked a feast for us."

She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Bruce."

"How did you both meet?" Tim questioned.

"In the park, Drake. We were both drawing. I already told you," Damian butted in.

Tim waved him off. "I want to hear it from her, not you."

"I---"

"It's okay, Damian." Marinette nudged him a little. "I was sketching in the park when Titus came to me. Damian was drawing a picture of me while I was absorbed in my designs and accidentally let go of his leash. Titus led me to him and it all started there."

"You design?" Barbara asked.

Warmth crept to her cheeks. "It's my dream to become a fashion designer. I just do a few commission pieces here and there. I'm trying to take small steps to reach my goal."

A quick glimpse at her boyfriend told her that he was radiating all the pride in the world.

"Little D mentioned you came from Paris?" Dick sipped on his drink. "Why did you decide to leave?"

"Oh, please don't get it all wrong. I know Paris earned a bad rep after the Hawkmoth fiasco but that was years ago. I just decided to move here to find more opportunities for myself," Marinette answered smoothly.

"Why Gotham of all places, if I may ask?" Bruce chimed in. "Admittedly, this isn't the friendliest city in the country."

"Father, stop with the interrogation," said Damian.

"It's okay, Dames, I don't mind. Promise." She squeezed his hand under the table.

"Fine. But do not answer anything if you're not comfortable."

Marinette looked at Bruce. "One of my friend's parents who works in fashion suggested Gotham. There's a low competition among the designers here so it might be easier for me to make a name for myself."

"That's not a bad move actually," Tim remarked.

"So back in Paris, did you get to meet any of the heroes?" Dick leaned in.

"Grayson," Damian warned.

"That's---"

A sharp ring blasted out, cutting off her statement. Bruce fished out his phone, a muscle on his face twitched, and he abruptly stood up. "There's an emergency at WE."

"Emergency?" Tim peered at his phone as well.

"Yes, Tim. You're needed. Also Stephanie." The eldest Wayne looked around the table and uttered monotonously. "I apologize for cutting this short. We have an urgent matter at the company---"

"Father."

Bruce shook his head. "This absolutely cannot wait, Damian."

The three filed out of the room in a flash. Marinette, stunned at the sudden interruption, saw Dick also checking the emergency.

"Sorry, Babs and I need to go." He stood up and picked up his coat, going around the table to help Barbara. "It's nice to meet you, Marinette."

"Let's go out for drinks sometime, okay?" Barbara reached over and patted her shoulder before they left.

The disappearance of the Waynes left her fidgeting with her fingers and wondering what the big emergency could be. She peeked at Damian hesitantly. "Do you need to go too?"

His jaw clenched. "I think so."

"You can go." She cupped his cheek, pecking the other.

"I can't tell you---"

"I know. I won't ask, I promise," she assured softly. He didn't have to explain anything to her; she'd gladly wait for him to open up. "Go."

"I'm sorry."

"Damian."

He pressed a firm kiss on her forehead. "Alfred will drive you to your apartment. I'll come to you later, alright?"

"Okay."

She could hear Alfred offering her food to take home and guiding her to the car, but it was all a blur. Marinette knew she had nothing to do with what happened yet she was afraid that it would sour Damian's relationship with his family. Her fists clenched around her skirt as she looked down, feeling Alfred's keen eyes checking on her through the rearview mirror.

"Please do not take it personally, Miss," Alfred said softly.

"Yes. Thank you," she whispered.

Finding nothing better to do than to check her phone, Marinette noticed the numerous alerts plastered all over her screen. Arkham breakout. Fuck. No wonder it was so quiet last night. There were a number of messages from Red Hood (which was directed from her burner phone), asking her if she could help.

Marinette looked out the window. Sure enough, there seemed to be a racket coming from the other streets.

"Umm, excuse me Alfred?" She searched for a safe alley to transform. "Can---can you drop me off at the cafe over there?"

"Are you certain? There are Rogues running around the city at this time."

"I'll stay inside. Don't worry."

Fortunately, the butler did what she asked and she made a beeline to the cafe as soon as she stepped foot out the car. Transform. Connect comms. Head to the upper east side. The same words ran through her head.

Her phone rang suddenly right before she could say her transformation words.

"Adrien! Can't talk right now. Arkham breakout. Big emergency," she said hurriedly into the phone.

"Oops. Need backup?" He asked.

"Maybe not. I don't know." She massaged her temple. "Can I ask you guys to standby? You can take your power-ups just in case."

"That's fine. Stay safe," Adrien said, "How did lunch go by the way?"

"Gah! Not now, kitty!"

"Right, right, right. Emergency in Gotham. I'll hang up now."

Marinette sighed. "It was a disaster, by the way. I'll text the details later."

"Aaaand Chloe's yelling at me to spill right now. You should go."

---

Ladybug swiftly landed beside Nightwing when she arrived and the Bats had just finished capturing Penguin and his men. On the next rooftop over, she could see Robin with Batman---they were loud enough for her to deduce that they were having an argument but she couldn't make out the exact words.

"What's up with them?" Ladybug frowned. She had always known Robin as the cold, closed-off one in the group but it was her first time encountering a complete outburst.

"Personal stuff. Happened earlier," Nightwing replied briefly. "I'm surprised you came. I thought you had an appointment today."

She bit her tongue. "Uhh, it got cancelled."

Batman told Robin something which had him storming off, grappling away to another direction. Their comms buzzed to life.

"Ladybug, team up with Robin. The Riddler's in the next avenue," Batman ordered curtly.

Ladybug turned to Nightwing with wide eyes. The stress was obvious in the sag of his shoulders and tight grip on his escrima sticks.

"He's mad at all of us," he explained. "It's better if it's you who joins him."

Ladybug only nodded, throwing her yoyo to follow Robin. Her curiosity was growing by the minute, but she focused on thinking of ways to calm down her fellow vigilante. If he became too riled up, he could lose focus and get injured.

She followed him close enough for him to hear her. "Robin, you have to slow down."

"No, I have to get back as soon as possible."

"Get back to where?"

She only received silence.

Frustrated Robin equals not a good Robin. Ladybug leapt to match his pace and blocked his way. He glared at her. "Move."

"Look, this is the Riddler we're facing. He's still dangerous and if we're not careful, we'll get caught in his traps."

"I don't care. I just need to get this over with. Stay out of my way."

When he pushed past her, she had half the mind to wrap him in her yoyo and deliver him back to Batman for a time-out. She huffed as she followed him. You're not the only one having a bad day, grumpy boy. Robin anchored his grappling gun to a faraway building and at the second he jumped off, he careened to the side, swept away by an elaborate trap by the Riddler.

Before she knew it, Ladybug was after him. Her teeth gritted and her legs ran a mile as she groaned out loud. "This is exactly what I was just talking about!"

They were trapped in an empty little box with a puzzle lock on its door.

Ladybug released a shaky breath.

The worst argument I've had with one of the Gotham vigilantes was when I interfered with Red Hood's mission and he got overprotective. She stared at Robin, who was relentlessly kicking the metal walls. But that might change today.

"Robin," she called out. "I understand that you're mad at the others but it doesn't mean you can act reckless while you're in that suit."

"No. You don't understand." He raked a hand through his hair. "I told them. I already told them and they still . . .Do you know what they did?"

She opened her mouth to reason with him again but he beat her to it. "I only wanted at least an hour. No interruptions." Robin clicked his tongue. "For them, there is nothing more important than capturing these criminals even if there are other heroes who will help. And Father had to be the first to run out."

Ladybug gaped. She knew the Bats were somewhat of a family but it was Robin's first time referring to Batman as a father. "Are you sure you should be telling me---"

"Yes, so you know how unfair they acted earlier." He twirled his katanas, looking for a simple way out. "I only wanted them to meet my girlfriend. I brought her home. And they all left for this. Father didn't give a sincere apology and my brothers either don't care or are suspicious of her."

Wait . . .

She thought she'd stumble back, but her feet were surprisingly still planted on the ground. Lunch. Earlier. Girlfriend. Shit. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as she processed Robin's words.

Damian's words.

She wanted to laugh. All this time, she'd been anxious about telling him the truth when he was already living the same life as her. The Waynes, the sudden emergencies, staying out late. Merde, it all makes sense now. It was ridiculous how she didn't recognize her own boyfriend.

"It was a mistake after all. I shouldn't have invited her to come," Robin sighed. "They're wary because she's a civilian---she'll be my weakness if anyone finds out about our connection. They know that, which is why they don't approve."

Her first instinct was to tell him that it wasn't true, but an identity reveal would be too much given their current situation. Ladybug pieced her words with care. "I'm sure they'll listen if you tell them how you feel. Your girlfriend will understand too."

"We don't communicate healthily, in case you haven't figured that out."

Her heart was still drumming against her ribcage. Damn it. Marinette would work better in consoling him. Ladybug's just a colleague. "I know. But a few words can go a long way. Tell them you'll be careful. Ask them to help protect your girlfriend if anything ever goes wrong."

As Robin lowered his gaze, an urge to come up to him and hold his hands washed over her. She counted the seconds of silence that passed. It looked like he was thinking deeply about it.

"I apologize for getting you involved," he said. "And for mindlessly telling you about my personal life."

She laughed nervously. "Ah . . . it's okay to vent out sometimes."

Yeah, and your story definitely did not reveal your whole identity.

Robin turned towards the puzzle lock. "Should we attempt to crack the code in his puzzle?"

It wasn't a simple coded lock---it was a six-wheeled puzzle that was embedded onto the door. "By the looks of it, it will take us hours if we go through that route. I think I have a better idea. Are there any cameras here?"

He surveyed the small enclosure. "I see two by the corners."

"Good. Break them and cover the lens." Ladybug touched her earrings while he did what she said. I have spare cookies in my purse. That should do. "We can't unlock the door by ourselves, but Tikki can phase through and let us out."

"The tiny god-being in your Miraculous."

"Yeah, that's Tikki." She smiled. I'll have to introduce them sometime. "Close your eyes?"

After making sure that the cameras weren't functioning and he couldn't see her, she detransformed, motioned to the puzzle lock and sent Tikki out.

"Before we were trapped, I saw other civilians captured in similar boxes," said Robin. "Riddler should be camped east."

Marinette crossed the gap between them and tapped on the back of his hand. GOOD. RIDDLER FIRST THEN FREE OTHERS.

"Morse?" Robin scrunched his nose. "Are you also cautious about revealing your voice?"

YES.

"Tt. That is too much. Most of us don't even use a modulator." He shifted. "I doubt that I will be able to recognize your voice."

She pursed her lips. We'll see about that.

---

Ladybug was lounging on the top of Wayne Tower as the vigilantes finished up catching the remaining inmates. She used the time to fully wrap her head around her discovery. Damian. Robin. One by one, she also pieced together the identities of the others. It was so stupidly obvious all this time.

She heard a familiar zip of the grappling gun. It wasn't Red Hood who she expected to check on her but it was Robin.

"The Rogues are secured. There are rumors that the Joker orchestrated the entire thing but he wasn't around during the attacks," Robin reported. "The injured civilians are being rushed to the hospitals. No deaths."

Ladybug didn't break her gaze at the horizon. "That's good."

". . . Ladybug?"

"Yeah?"

He sat next to her. "The people in Paris . . . did they get used to these kinds of incidents as well? When Hawkmoth was active?"

"With an akuma attack nearly every week, yes you can say we had no choice but to get used to it."

"Was there a lot of animosity towards Parisians after the truth got out?"

"Only a little." She looked down at her hands. "Mostly we receive pity. The press made it clear how the akumas affected everyone's lives."

"My girlfriend . . . came from Paris too. I always wonder what it was like but I never wanted to pry."

Damian . . . She bit her lip. She had been dodgy about the topic, but she should know better than to withhold her feelings about it. Damn it, this will be so awkward when he finally finds out.

"You're worried about her safety," she said.

Robin nodded. "I wonder if she feels afraid during Rogue attacks. Or just living in Gotham. I never want to find out that she was in a dangerous situation and I wasn't there to . . ."

"You don't have to worry. If she's from Paris, then she's strong. Everyone in my city had been on the edge of death one way or another. Our instincts were sharpened. We can block out our fears and emotions." Ladybug looked up at him. "I'm sure she can handle danger."

"But it's different here. There's no magic to bring things back to normal. It's permanent." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I won't know what to do if something happens to her because of me."

"I think . . . you should ask her first---"

"I should break it off with her."

"What?!"

Ladybug nearly slapped a hand over her mouth. I said that too quickly. Thankfully, Robin didn't seem to notice anything.

"I've been thinking a lot," he continued. "I can't bring myself to tell her about this. About me. The mere fact of her knowing puts a target on her back."

Dear kwamis, please keep me from pushing my boyfriend off this rooftop before gets the chance to find out about me.

"Wait." She began slowly. "Don't you think she deserves to know before you try to make that decision for her?"

"What am I supposed to do?" His eyebrows furrowed. "I . . . I expect her to react badly. I've learned from today that I should keep her from getting involved any further. It's either I drag her into this dangerous life or I keep hurting her with my lies."

"You shouldn't start assuming things without trying first. I'm sure she trusts you and she'll come to understand everything in time. There's always a compromise." Her lips spoke the words before she could think. "You're not doing any good by cutting yourself off all of a sudden."

"If I end it now, she can eventually move on and stay safe. Nevermind how I feel," he argued, "I can let her go and she'll be safe."

"When I told you about how Parisians are strong, that's not what I meant." Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she raised her voice. "She can stay in a relationship with you and keep herself safe because she's strong. Can't you trust her as much as she trusts you?"

"I can't risk it. She's important to me."

"If she is, then talk to her. If you don't give her a chance to decide, you're not any better than your father or brothers."

"How would you even know how she feels?"

Ladybug's face contorted into a sharp glare. "I just know. I know better than anyone, Damian."

Anger morphed into shock as he stared at her. ". . . What did you just call me?"

She made a quick sweep of the area to make sure that they were in a blind spot. Then, she wasted no time standing up on the ledge, shuffling until the balls of her foot touched the edge. Then,  "I'm not defenseless, merde. And I really wanted to wait until the end of the day but . . . Tikki, détransformation."

Marinette watched Robin's face go through a storm of emotions. His jaw hung slack and his fists uncurled while he stood up to look at her.

". . . Marinette?" he breathed out.

She gently touched his cheeks with both hands, peeling off his mask to reveal his glistening eyes. "I can't believe you wanted to break up with me."

"Marinette . . ." He pulled them both away from the ledge and held her, mumbling 'I'm sorry' over and over again. His head was buried on her neck, with his hands pressed against her back.

"You. It's you," said Damian. "Of course it's you."

"It's me." She rubbed down his back. "For record, I only found out because---"

"Because I told you what happened."

She chuckled. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, habibti." He pulled away a little to touch her cheek. "I was going to make a stupid decision."

"Are you upset that I kept this from you?"

He shook his head, kissing her head. "I can't and I don't have the right to be. I was keeping my secret from you as well."

"Come on, let's go home first. Then we can talk about . . . everything."

---

Ladybug swung into the night with a weight lifted off her chest. She and Damian had a long talk about their identities and relationship. They'd both agreed not to tell the other heroes until they were ready to. For her, it was better that they kept their secrets between themselves first and slowly ease into revealing the truth to her friends and his family.

She breathed in the breeze. Robin wasn't anywhere to be seen, but a group of vigilantes were. Nightwing. Hood. RR. What are they doing there?

The three immediately fell into a hush when she landed next to them.

"Hey, LB," Red Robin greeted.

She put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"

The brothers shared a look before Red Hood spoke. "Robin told you about his girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah . . ." she trailed off, dragging the syllable.

"We think something's up with her," said Nightwing.

"I'm sorry?"

"Sketchy stuff," Red Robin explained, shifting on his feet. "Well, we can't tell you who she is---secret identities and all---but she's from Paris. She's friends with Hawkmoth's kid."

Ladybug scoffed. "Adrien? He's not like Hawkmoth. I know him personally and he had nothing to do with that man's crimes. Trust me."

"Hmm, yeah but she's also close with the mayor's daughter. That one who also sided with Hawkmoth."

"You mean Chloe Bourgeois? She's proven that she's changed." And unbeknownst to the public, she was a hero again, this time under another alias.

"But she's so secretive. There's definitely something going on with her." Nightwing rubbed his chin. Ladybug wanted to bang her head in the nearest wall or groan to the heavens.

"What's wrong with being secretive? Aren't you guys the same?" she narrowed her eyes.

"That's not the main cause of our suspicion," said Red Hood.

"We weren't convinced about her reason for moving to Gotham, so we dug around," Red Robin continued, "She said something about more career opportunities but that's just a cover. We found classified files on superheroes in her apartment, including info on Justice League members. I bet she already knows about Robin's identity."

"You snooped in her apartment?!"

"It was an investigation," Nightwing snorted.

Her eye twitched. A secret had never felt so difficult to conceal. "I can't believe you'd break the privacy of a civilian just because you had baseless assumptions."

Red Robin winced. "Uhh . . . if you put it that way . . ."

She crossed her arms. "No, I know what this is really about. You're being overprotective of Robin; you can't accept that he now has a significant other and you think he's being naive about his choices. You think he's going to get hurt badly." She paused for effect. "Because you don't want him to repeat the same mistakes as you all did."

The look on their masked faces told her that she had hit the target better than any therapist they might have encountered.

Red Hood was first to deny. "We're not protective of the brat. We're trying to eliminate a potential danger."

"His harmless civilian girlfriend?"

"Think about it, LB. Why would she have sensitive files on the heroes?" Red Robin asked. "You can't deny that that's suspicious."

I don't know, maybe because she's a hero herself?!

Ladybug sighed heavily. Damian is really going to kill them when he finds out. "Does Batman know about this?"

"Nope, but we'll tell him when we gather enough evidence," Nightwing answered. "We're just trying to get Oracle to crack into her laptop. The security on it  is so heavy, it's insane."

Why is it a curse that I asked Max to protect my laptop? There are files on the Miraculi in there!

She discreetly took her yoyo and put it on the recording function. "Let me get this straight. So you're all investigating and prying into the life of Robin's girlfriend without the knowledge of Batman even at the cost of your identities and everyone's safety?"

"We're not risking anyone's safety---"

"It's more of research but---"

She pursed her lips. "And you broke into her apartment, went through her things and currently you're trying to hack into her personal computer?"

"Regular vigilante work---"

"Good, we're on the same page then." She smiled widely. Sinisterly. "Tikki, détransformation."

Pale. Pale faces were all she could see as the three vigilantes were engulfed in utter shock. Marinette held her smile, clasping her hands together behind her back. I can't wait to see how they try to make it up to me. Mon dieu! I'm going to mess with them. 

And as a cherry on top, Robin arrived at the scene, immediately putting her behind him when he saw that she was in civilian form. He directed an accusatory glare at his brothers. "What is going on here?!"

[xan-izme]

Platonic! slightYandere Miguel x teen reader

(Was literally watching the movie while making this)

Okay, lets run this one last time.

My name is Y/n L/n, I got bit by a radioactive spider. And for the past two years I have been the one and only friendly neighborhood Spider-woman. You probably know the rest.

Beat a few bad guys, got hit by a few cars- don't ask. Go through my daily routine, take care of my family. Saved my brother. I . . . couldn't save my best friend, Miles Morals.

Beat up more bad guys. Me and Miles kind of, stopped being friends. Yeah, things kind of went downhill for me. One day, I was just doing my usual save the city thing. When some portal sucked me in!

I back home, but it wasn't my home. Fast forward, I was in a universe where Miles is the Spidey, me and other Spiders help him save the multiverse and we get back home.

But a year after I got back home. A villain showed up, one I couldn't defeat. My pops died saving me. My whole family found out about me being spider-woman.

After that I had to leave them. It was for their own safety. Mine as well

And I guess that is how I ended up in the Spider society.

-You were recruited into the Spider society by Jessica Drew. You were still hung up about your father and leaving the rest of your family. So, you stayed silent. Stuck with Jessica most of the time.

-When you and Meguel first met, there was a little tension between the two of you.

-But the more you stuck around. The more you and Meguel got close with each other, you two didn't have a chatty relationship. Just silent. No words were needed with you two.

-Miguel had strong feelings to keep you close. You were so broken. Your canon was to lose your brother, making you feel the need to protect the people. Your father's death was to make you stronger. Of course, it was to take time. Meguel never saw your progress of healing, but he sees you almost every day. And every time, your face is battered up.

-You do certain things to cope with your father's death, things kid's your age should be doing. So, when Meguel found out (#lyla a snitch) he was pissed.

You were sitting in the lounge, laying on the couch as Jessica was giving you a report on how your family was doing. Suddenly, Miguel came marching in the room, your small stash bag in hand.

"Miguel?" You spoke up. When you noticed your stash bag, you quickly got out your couch and followed him.

"Yo, Miguel. That's my bag!" You were speed walking at this point. Miguel opened the door to the bathrooms.

He opened the trash can. He looked at you with a stern expression.

"This-" he held up the bag in the air "-- Is unexpectable. You understand me!?" You stood by the doors, slowly approaching Miguel "Just put the bag down, and let me explain."

"Explain? no querio tus malditas excusa. No more."

Miguel was about to throw the bag in the trash

"No- Shit. Miguel! the fuck is your problem!"

"oop-" Lyla could be heard from behind. Meguel stayed silent. He kicked open a stall and dumped everything in the toilet.

"Oh my- No! no no no!" You ran towards the toilet, only to be held back by Meguel and pushed away.

"Look mi hija. I don't care if that, was your way to cope. I don't want to see this shit anymore. Understand?" Meguel reached out to you. But you slapped his hand away and scowled.

"Don't fucking touch me." You turned around and stormed off.

-It hurt Miguel when you refused to talk or even look at him. You were mad, but he wanted you to know that this wasn't okay. He blamed the fact that you would be with Hobbie all the damn time.

-It took a few months, but you eventually forgave him. Knowing that he was just doing what any other parent would do. You know what happened with Miguel and his daughter. You felt that the two of you had somewhat familiar wounds.

-You would stick with Miguel more often. He would be working as you were crouching down on the ground, playing with toys Jessica gave you.

-Miguel enjoyed watching you act like a baby when you played with the toys silently. He made sure to keep you close. He has been saying words of manipulation to make sure you never do anything bad like before or keep any secretes. He knows you're not going to tell him everything, but he wants to know every detail. To keep you safe.

-What makes you feel more guilty about doing anything or saying anything that could hurt Miguels feelings, is when he does practically anything you ask. Want something homemade? he'll do it. Want to go to your world or a different universe just to go to the mall or theaters? he'll let you, as long as you are assisted by either him or Jessica.

-So now if he does something you don't really agree with, you just complain a little and just wait it out. Because you feel bad if you actively go against him. After everything Miguel has done for you.

-And that is exactly how Miguel wanted things to be. For you to obey and stay out of trouble. Then Miles came to the spider society. Miguel made sure to keep you occupied with a mission back on your earth. So, he can finally deal with Miles.

-You have spoken about Miles Morales multiple times before. Both the Miles from your earth and the one from earth 1610. You clearly care for both of them. And Miguel knows how you get when people you care about are in a situation, you're not fully fond of.

-Miguel also hopped deep down, you would side with him. Hoping all of his hard work to wiggle his way into your trust will pay off.

You sighed as you slipped off your mask. You had a long day. Your earth was safe for the time being from any other anomaly. When you entered the portal. Your Spidey senses were tingling. You were quick to search around you. You were in the lounge. Shrugging, you made your way to where Miguel should be.

"Yo! I'm back." You entered the room holding some drinks for you and Miguel, and a little something for Jessica. But your eyes are met with an awkward scean.

Miles was there. Why weren't you told about this? your usually talked about incoming visitors or guest who are in already.

"Y/n!" Miles jogged to you with a smile. He was happy to see another familiar face. You chuckled as you and Miles gave each other a quick hug before your hand rested on his head.

"Hey. . . . Que haces aqui. " You looked up to scan the room once more. Miguel stared the two of you down, Gwen glanced at you before slowly avoiding eye contact.

As Miles went on and on about his little adventure here. You took his hand into yours and walked with him back towards Gwen.

"A-and I was just wondering. You know Spot. I got some ideas-"

Suddenly, Miguel threw a desk along with the empanada on the groaned towards Miles. You were unphased as it passed you, Gwen and Miles ducking down to not get hit.

"He's worried about Spot- I'll worry about Spot!" Miguel was in a burst of anger. You groan and roll your eyes. "W-what did I do?" Miles asked quickly. He was nervous, and you felt bad. This was why you didn't want Miles to be here.

"Ay, calmate, esto no es su culpa." You covered Miles with your body.

"He blew another hole in the multiverse!" Miguel shouted again.

You sighed as Gwen defended Miles. Miguel scolded Gwen about her knowing better. He moved on to Hobbie who he just got frustrated at by looking at him and ignored him. Peter B showed up.

You let the other three have their small reunion. You shot a web and swung up to where Miguel was having a stressful brake down.

"Miguel, por favor, Miles no sabe nada. Se amble con el." You put your hand on his arm. He put his own over yours and took a deep breath and fully turned towards you. You caught Mayday and held her in your arms. Miguel was visibly annoyed by Peter B as you just chuckled at how excited Peter is and proud of Mayday.

You felt a slight pain in your chest. Your mother used to do that all the time.

Things went to shit instantly. In a blink of an eye. It went from simply seeing all the canons then to Miles being surrounded by multiple spider-men.

". . . Miguel, Miles is right." That was all you had to say to break the older man's stoic expression. He gave you a look of utter confusion.

"Miles just wants to save his dad! He wants to save an innocent life. Isn't that what we do?" Miguel inhaled deeply.

"He could destroy everything! Mi hija, if you knew about your father's fate, knowing what it could do if you saved him." Miguel got into your face as you kept composer.

Your eyes glanced to Miles. Meeting his big eyes that shined with so much hope. No matter what. You know that this Miles with you at the moment was your Miles.

The Miles you failed to save, the son of the mother who you had to comfort at his funeral, the nephew of the man who hated you for killing him.

But you also know, you have the power to prevent any more pain come to him. To keep him save. And if that means going against the man that took you in, cared and even gave you fatherly love, then so be it.

"In a heartbeat."

[fatefulfaerie]

Tears

“Link!” Penn exclaimed, wings outstretched in excitement. “What a great sense for news you have! Here I am chasing a new lead on the Princess and my partner appears before my eyes!”

Link hadn’t seen Penn since they finished chasing all the leads they had on the Princess’ whereabouts. It was at least a month since they went from stable to stable, Link almost believing the Yiga’s tricks and getting barely a wink of sleep until all twelve were dead ends. He was left just as lost as when he started until he found Impa and sunk himself into the mysterious geoglyphs that dotted the land. Link hadn’t yet found the courage to admit to anyone the truth about Zelda, so he pretended the best he could to be the eager, young reporter Penn knew him as.

“I’ve heard that Zelda has a homestead here in Hateno,” he continued. “Villagers tell me it’s across this bridge, but I’m afraid I’m at a standstill. You see, investigating her home for clues seems to go against my morals as a journalist. This may have to be a story we leave be.”

It was public knowledge that Princess Zelda lived in Hateno. That was no news story.

“What’s the lead?” Link asked. “Was she seen here recently? S-since her disappearance I mean.”

“It may be hearsay but rumors have been circulating that the Princess is married,” Penn said. “The villagers here have no idea what I’m talking about, so I’m thinking it’s no more than gossip. Traysi wanted me to check it out nonetheless. I’m thinking we at least find the may–”

Link averted his tear-filled gaze.

“Link, are you all right?”

“I…I’m fine,” he stammered. “Just…allergies.”

“Where,” he began weakly, but forced his voice to be stronger. “Where does the lead come from?”

“An old Zora at the Domain,” Penn answered. “He’s losing his memory but tends to spout some random things about his long life in an effort to keep a grasp on it. His niece heard him talking about marrying the Princess to someone, but he didn’t specify who. She was so excited about the prospect that she sent word to Traysi.”

Link looked notably nervous as he hugged his arms close.

“Don’t…don’t run the story,” he said in a hushed voice, no longer meeting Penn’s gaze at all. 

Penn looked confused.

“Link…what do you mean? Do you know something?”

“It just…it paints her in a bad light.”

“Link, I know you care about the princess’ public reputation. Your work at the paper honors that gleamingly. Your search for the absolute truth is inspiring to the whole team. You service our kingdom and our princess well.”

Link steadied his nerves with a deep breath and a slow blink of his eyes.

“It was me,” he admitted, quietly at first.

Penn blinked, shocked. He assumed he heard wrong.

“What?”

“It was me!” Link finally burst out pointing at himself. “All of it, everything. The mysterious hero who came out of nowhere and saved Hyrule from the calamity, me. I brought Zelda here and we built a life, and it was a good life. I married her because I loved her. We didn’t tell anyone because goddesses the Yiga were trailing her everywhere and everyone was looking at her to rebuild but I guess it doesn’t matter anymore because she’s gone, okay? She’s gone! That’s it, that’s your story. She’s a magic, floating dragon in the skies because I failed her again. She sacrificed herself for this kingdom and no one will ever know because there’s no proof! Nothing! No one else sees the dragons but me, so that’s what I have for you, absolutely nothing! I have nothing!”

Link panted and Penn stared. He blinked his eyes once, twice. Link expected him to call him crazy. Instead, he pointed his white-feathered wing at the house across the bridge.

“That’s your house?”

Link’s disbelief was shown in his face.

“Yes.”

Penn looked at the house for a moment, letting the breeze sift through his feathers.

“Link I think in a time like this Hyrule would quite like to hear a story like this about their Princess,” Penn said. “I don’t think your story paints her in a bad light in the slightest. In fact, it may be the heartwarming tale people need right now.”

Link’s gaze angled down and pondered the suggestion.

“And no, they won’t believe that she’s turned into a dragon,” Penn continued. “But they will believe as I do how much you loved her, and how she must have loved you.”

Link nodded.

“If you don’t mind I’d like to interview you,” Penn admitted. “In the house you built together. You’ll get final approval of the story I send to Traysi.”

Link looked up and over at the house. It felt like he hadn't been there in ages, like it was a lifetime ago that he went in scouring for clues, hoping she'd just be around the next corner. Waiting for her was like waiting for a sunrise that would never come.

“No, I don’t mind.”

[oonajaeadira]

The Gordy Report

Gordy's been with us a little over a week now and he's really made himself at home (he's at the office with me today and sleeping on my feet).

I had to register for his pet license and was going through his medical file this week. Y'all. I did not like what I found there. Before I delve in, here's the pet tax:

A very good boy.

First of all, the rescue association I got him from messed up some info that had to be resent. They also told us he was 5 and he's actually about to turn 7 (this is not a problem, we love middle-aged and old dogs in this house, but still, misinformation). But the thing I'm the most frustrated with is the fact that he's had some trauma, and while I know some of it, there were some pretty big gaping holes in the information I was given when we took him in.

I won't go too far into it, but his OG owners gave him up to his foster because they were having a baby and couldn't deal with his high-strung nature. Then he was adopted by his former owners. (That's right, we're his 3rd household, 5th if you count both the times he went to a foster.)

What I read in his medical file was a tragedy. His formers had him for less than a year. They dropped his trainer (which he really needed) and took him running 5+ miles a day (which he loved), but also they let him roam off leash on a relative's farm that had animals. Gordy's a herding breed. Without proper training, that is a Bad Idea.

Within a month, he was in the hospital for a foot injury most likely acquired at the farm, that had him limping--a cut on his foot--and then vomiting--most likely infected from animal dung or some other farm junk. (How did he get the cut? They said they didn't know. Which means they either weren't watching him or they DID know and didn't want to say because they should have known better.)

Another month went by and he needed stitches on the cut because the formers didn't take the doctor's advice and went running with him every day, so it tore. Another month went by and they weren't paying enough attention and he chewed those stitches. They took him in for new stitches and something happened at the vet that traumatized him so much they had to sedate him. Upon coming out of sedation, he bit his former on the nose! (Hello, some common sense advice: Don't put your face an animal's face if they're disoriented and in pain!) After that, they took him to the groomer and neglected to tell the groomer about his injury and it got re-opened there. Gordy was too scared and riled to go to the vet so he had to have video vet appointments and the formers were told how to handle it.

Which, of course, involves instructions. Not their strong point apparently.

At this point in, we are 4 months of this dog dealing with a wound on his foot. And then they again don't listen to the doctor and take him out to the farm where he runs off leash and chases a running horse and bites it and then almost bites an 8-year old child. At 5 months, his paw is 90% healed. FIVE MONTHS. FOR WHAT WAS JUST A SIMPLE CUT THAT BECAME A LACERATION.

They then complained that he seemed high-strung and a little snippy with them and got the vet to put him on prozac....before taking him back to the foster a few months later.

Okay. This was all very distressing to read. And I'm angry that the agency didn't detail it. But I'm even angrier at the formers for taking care of him so badly. (There were other things in those records that I could see they weren't keeping up with either.) I mean, I would be cranky too if I spent 5 months with an open wound.

But. His foster is a dog trainer and I can see between looking at the vet reports and the dog that is currently sweetly sleeping at my feet that she has done wonders with him. She actually texts me from time to time to see how he is and gives me good advice to keep his training solid. And I listen, because I can tell she worked hard on him and doesn't want that to go to waste. And since training works to give dogs structure and help them feel secure, I don't want it to lapse either.

He's such a good boy, y'all, and so deserving of love. I'm still in the moony phase where I feel so lucky to have him every time I wake up and see him waiting for me or watch him twitching in his comfy sleep in the sunshine. I'm working on letting go of my anger towards his formers and just letting his past be his past. He's so happy here. And that's all I want for him.

[soulsforsales]

Professor Steven Grant x Reader

Warning: This is my first fic (Idk if that should be a warning but I am scared lol), fluff, age gap, no use of Y/N, sorry for any grammatical mistakes

Summary: You always had a weak spot for nerds but Steven Grant might just be the man of your dreams.

Pairing: Steven Grant x reader (yes, we do have Marc and Jake in the next chapters!)

Thankyou @ivystoryweaver for your ideas and support <3

Chapter 1

It is a warm Tuesday afternoon in October. You are browsing the books in the "classics" section at the bookstore. Usually, you come to the bookstore on weekends but you've decided to meet a friend this week, so here you are.

Your eyes roam the bookshelf along with your hand in a straight line until you hit something. Someone. You step back, an apology already on your lips until you turn and see the man beside you and suddenly you are at a loss for words. You stare at him.

Normally, if you run into someone at the bookstore you would just turn away and apologize, which happened a lot since you were always lost searching for your book but it wasn't a rom-com movie where anyone you accidentally stumble upon turns out to be your soulmate - but, god, right now you wish it were.

Honestly, you have seen your fair share of good-looking men, but this guy was, you dare say it, gorgeous.

He had a defined, sharp jawline with dark brown eyes, and his hair was a mess of curls. He was wearing baggy clothes but it suited him just fine and a messenger bag slung on his shoulder. 'I'm sorry,' you hear him say and he gives an apologetic smile. O.K. If you thought he was good-looking a moment ago, his smile was absolutely beaming - and it wasn't even a real smile. 'You okay?' He asks, his fingers grazing your forearm for the slightest second, bringing you back to life. He is looking down at you, confused. Really? Could he not see what he was doing to you or did he not know how good-looking he was?

You nod, saying, 'I am fine. Sorry about that.' He waves his hand in front of his face, 'No worries,' he replies with a smile. He looks a bit older than you, thirteen years or some.

You are staring at him again. You can feel yourself getting red. So embarrassing.

'That's a nice book you've got there,' he says, pointing to the book in your hands that was now wrapped around your chest. The blush on your cheeks deepens, he doesn't notice.

"Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte" you trace your fingers over the cover of the book.

'Yeah,' you say, pushing the book closer to yourself, 'you too.' Alright, you do not know why you said that, but he was holding a book and it only felt right to return the compliment.

Or maybe you are just really bad when it comes to conversations with someone who's got you fawning.

He shows the book to you, "The Ennead" it reads. Suddenly, you are intrigued. Yes, you work for a textile company but History, especially Egyptian, has always been interesting to you. And before you know it, you are both somehow in a long, elaborated conversation about the Ennead, Egyptian history, and the pyramids.

He knew so much that it left you speechless. You could only admire him as he kept spitting engrossing Egyptian facts as if it were the weather report. He talked animatedly, with his hands moving and his eyes gleaming. His hands, wow, his perfect, sleek hands were totally distracting you from his stories.

He stopped abruptly when his phone rang. He was telling you something about Ammit, the sinister goddess of the Underworld but he had to stop and pick up the call.

He held the phone close to his chest, saying, 'Looks like I'll have to leave.' He looked like he was in a hurry but he glanced at you once more before walking out the place, as if he wanted to say more.

He disappeared soon as if he'd never even been here.

Your heart is beating fast and it feels almost as if, you have never had a conversation like this one before. Maybe it was the person more than the conversation itself.

You didn't even ask for his name, you wince at the realization. You should've totally asked for his name.

Maybe you'll see him again.

For some reason, you are sure you'll see him again.

•------🌙

You are a few feet away from the coffee shop's door when you notice your friend. She's sitting at the table with someone, you can't really see who, and is typing aggressively into her laptop.

Your friend is in the last year of her University, she's a year younger than you. You always knew that University was not your thing but you'd attended it anyway because your parents wanted you to and being exceedingly wealthy, they had proposed to pay your study loans for you.

So now you have a full-time job, a good paycheck, and an apartment of your own without any piles of loans above your head. While your friend, still in Uni was drowning in projects and assignments and you knew she needed to loosen up a bit, hence, the reason you two were meeting today.

You enter the shop with a smile, but it drops the moment you notice who your friend is with. You freeze a few feet away from the table. You couldn't be sure if it was him but the resemblance was there.

Your friend looks up from her laptop, noticing you. She waves at you, grinning, which makes, whoever it is, sitting in front of her turn to you.

You almost trip. He looks even better than the last time you'd seen him. He was still wearing baggy clothes, his hair tousled and curly but it looked purposely done. And he was wearing glasses, red colored glasses perched on the top of his nose. Adorable.

You always had a weak spot for nerds but he might just be the man of your dreams.

Your friend asks you to come over and have a seat and you do. You can tell that he remembers you. He's been staring at you ever since you walked in and you can't breathe. What's happening to you?

Your friend, however, is oblivious, she introduces you to the man, telling him your name and he introduces himself, 'Steven Grant,' he says, shaking your hand clumsily. You nod. His hand, oh god, the handshake sent tingles all over your skin.

'He was just helping me with a few assignments, thank you so much for this,' your friend adds and after telling her that it's no big deal Steven leaves the table to get his order.

You watch him go. Steven Grant. You had met him at the bookstore almost a week ago and yet, you couldn't stop thinking about him. It felt foolish but you'd never, in your life, daydreamed about a guy the way you'd daydreamed about Steven Grant.

'Stop drooling,' your friend says interrupting your rail of thoughts. A blush spreads on your cheeks. You aren't drooling... are you?

'How do you know him?' You ask her

Your friend grins, 'he's my history professor.'

Your jaw drops, 'he's a professor?' You repeat, placing your hands on your chest dramatically, 'he's like everything I've ever wanted.'

She chuckles, 'You should ask him out. He's exactly your type and I am sure he's single.'

Your eyes turn to Steven who's now getting his coffee, 'how's he still single?'

'Because he's the most awkward person you'll ever meet and the only friend he has is a goldfish named 'Gus', it is one-finned or something. He loves talking about it,' your friend tells

You smile to yourself but your heart's hammering against your chest and you know you'd never have the courage to ask him out.

'I could never,' you say, biting your lower lip. Before your friend can reply Steven comes back with a flask that the barista had filled for him.

Your friend smirks as she closes her laptop and leaves the table the next moment. You silently beg her to stay but it's too late.

Steven looks at you and you can't stop blushing. You are praying that your complexion doesn't give it away. 'Correct me if I'm wrong,' he speaks sweetly, 'but... have we met before?'

Your cheeks redden, 'yeah,' you say, 'Yes actually, at the bookstore... that day, I - I had no idea that you were, would be - what a coincidence, right?' You give yourself an imaginary facepalm. Someone must remind you how to form a coherent sentence again.

'You're at University too?' He asks

You shake your head, 'Oh no, not anymore.'

Steven smiles in reply and you two fall into an awkward silence. You want to say something - you know you should say something but he hasn't stopped smiling since you arrived and you can't think straight when he's looking at you with those deep, soft, brown eyes.

Maybe you should ask him something about his job - anything would be better than staring at him like an idiot.

You open your mouth to speak but Steven cuts you off, 'that day when we met,' he says, taking his glasses off, 'I wanted to ask you something, actually...' he pauses to take a good look at your face, you can swear you are as red as a tomato by now. 'I was wondering if - if you would want to - maybe - uh, have dinner with me sometime? I was just thinking if...' You don't hear the rest of the sentence. Your breath hitches in your throat. Was he asking you out? Was Steven Grant, the man you had been reeling after - asking you out on a date? This felt unreal.

'I'm sorry,' his voice reaches your ear, interrupting your thoughts, 'I think I might be reading too much into it. I understand if you're not interested.'

Your eyes visibly widen at his words. It wasn't that at all.

'No.' You almost yell, 'I - I am interested. I want to, I mean. I would love to go on a date with you.' You are smiling hard and you can feel the butterflies rummaging in your stomach. 'If - if that's what you are implying.' You add.

This is bad.

Steven lets out a small laugh, his cheeks turning pink, 'Yes. Yes, th - that's what I meant.'

You grin, not because you want to but because you can't help it. He's so nice and so absolutely beautiful.

Steven fiddles with his sleeves nervously, saying, 'Well, there's this really nice restaurant down the street. They have all kinds of food options. I - I was thinking maybe we could, you know, check it out.'

You nod, still smiling. Still feeling the butterflies in your stomach. He looked ten times better when he smiled.

'Yeah,' you say, 'yeah, sounds great.'

'I'll see you tomorrow then? If - if that's okay with you. I get off work at 5'

'Tomorrow's good.'

'Yeah?' He's smiling with his eyes now, crinkles appearing around them and oh, you could just die.

Steven's expression softens as he starts to get up, 'I am terribly sorry, love,' he says, with a weak smile, 'I would really like to stay but I have to leave now - I have a meeting at work. I could, uh, text you the details, though?'

You tell him that it's alright and exchange phone numbers.

'See you tomorrow, then?' He asks, sliding his messenger bag down his shoulder, his curls toss as he fixes the strap and you fight the urge to push your fingers through them. You really wanted to.

'It's a date then,' you say, biting your lower lip. It was hard to contain your giddiness.

'I'll call you.' He says, passing you a little smile before finally walking out the shop.

Oh my god. It happened! You are going out on a date with Steven Grant. You are acting like a teenager getting asked out for the first time but you're too happy to care. You are happy - excited even - for a date, you haven't felt this like this in a long time.

Your friend finally comes back to the table, holding a sandwich in one hand and a coffee cup in another.

'You were ages.' You say, adding Steven's phone number into your contacts

'Was I?' Your friend replies, slurping her drink, 'well, the barista was super cute - not really my fault, besides, what were you chatting with Mr. Grant about?'

You smile. Your cheeks hurt from smiling now but you can't help it, 'I am going on a date.' You tell her, 'With your professor.'

Tagging: @wittyjasontodd (I didn't know if you'd wanted to be tagged since this is not DC related but here it is!), @fandxmslxt69 (bcs I was inspired by your math professor lol >.<)

Anyone who wants to be tagged, just lmk!

[asherisawkward]

What did you think of Season 3 and its episodes? Also, do you think fans who weren't satisfied with Belos, Caleb, or Wittewife being ungrateful? I saw on Twitter that people who are upset are because Philip, Caleb, and Wittewife got more compared to other characters. Also that we didn't need to see a flashback because we already know from the Hollow Mind portraits what happened. Finally, what do you think of the Wittewife interpretations? How do you interpret her?

Get ready, because you’re in for a doozy of a rant, because Season Three was full of mixed feelings for me.

Thanks To Them:

I loved TTT because it felt incredibly suspenseful and horrifying to watch Luz and Hunter search for Philip. The exploration of Hunter’s personality and interests are heartwarming, and I can completely relate to him about wolves. It’s also interesting to see the ways Hunter grows and reacts to his Grimwalker situation and the similarities between him and Caleb.

Masha was obviously amazing, and I loved their depiction of the Wittebane Brothers’ Tale. I did notice that the local legend supposedly took place about twenty years before Gravesfield was reported to have been founded on the sign. That may be a sign that their story was incorrect, but who knows.

What really interested me was the implications of the story. Philip was an orphan with very little connection to his parents due to losing them when he was very young. Clearly, he was heavily dependent upon Caleb for his sense of safety and security, as well as his stable point to interact with the world. With Caleb leaving with Evelyn, Philip must have been left traumatized and terrified.

And Caleb…If Evelyn truly wasn’t evil, then he abandoned his brother by choice. It doesn’t really matter if he thought he’d be better off. His brother needed him, and he left.

Evelyn shares less of the blame, in my opinion, because Caleb might not have mentioned that he was an older brother or spoken of Philip. I tend to imagine her as a kind but spirited person who likely made Caleb realize there was more to life than the strict rules of Puritan society. She would likely have been a friend before they became lovers.

With that analysis done, I’ll get back to TTT.

During the possession scene, I was pretty conflicted. The animation was beautiful, and the voice acting was amazing. But I feel like it was needlessly cruel to Hunter to possess him, scar him for life, kill his therapy animal, and re-grow his hair so that he looked like his Ortet when his whole arc was about becoming his own person and learning he is not Caleb. Additionally, I’m mildly bothered by the writers making him want to carve palismen like Caleb when he had already demonstrated interest in sewing.

For The Future:

Philip’s travels were so interesting. It was horrific to watch him slowly fall apart as he desperately searched for a new body, even possessing an unfinished grimwalker to try to do the job. Some story boards and behind the scenes content revealed that Caleb and the Golden Guard ghosts were, in fact, hallucinations.

This was extremely impactful to me because it indicates that Philip had some inkling that what he’s doing is wrong, but he has fallen into the sink cost fallacy: the idea that something can’t be wrong because you invested so much time, energy, and resources into it. To put it simply, his guilt is driving him mad, but he has to continue because he knows there is no redemption for him.

New Hexside was okay. It was mildly annoying due to the change in tone feeling forced and disrupting compared to the extremely serious tone of Philip’s section. It was cool to see the way society had turned out for those who survived. I adore that it was an absolute mess, because it’s incredibly accurate for something run by teenagers.

I disliked the bit with Kikimora because it felt like a retcon of her arc in Kings Tide. She had been so obsessed with pleasing and serving someone in the pursuit of approval and greater power that she forgot she was also in danger from her hero’s plans. To restate it a way I’ve heard, “she was so focused on the boot she had on others’ necks that she didn’t notice the one on her own.” It was very gratifying to see her get retribution against Philip and play a part in saving the Isles. So FTF felt like a backslide to her.

Boscha was an interesting parallel to Philip in feeling abandoned by someone she cared about. So she attempted to force that person to stay. However, she is able to move on and accept that things have changed. It’s what would have happened if Philip had been able to let go, and I like that.

Willow’s breakdown was understandable, but not handled the best, and I dislike that she was “saved” when she doesn’t really like that sort of thing. It would have been better if Hunter and Gus had talked to her and let her slowly unload her feelings instead of being “saved” by Hunter.

I also dislike where their arcs end with them holding pinkies. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Huntlow is adorable and has a lot of potential. I just think that should be dealt with after they are more emotionally stable.

King and the Collector’s story was the least interesting to me, though I think the “new” Collector is adorable. I loved the dynamic they had as a somewhat malicious and irreverent being that will poke and prod at anything for some amusement. It really made him feel like a threat, and I liked that.

The new interpretation revealed by the interactions with King was sweet but less compelling to follow. I would have found it much more interesting for King to help him slowly come to understand human/demon/witch morals and the way what they did was wrong.

Philip’s tricking of the Collector felt like a little bit of a stress, but potentially in character as someone who was desperate to regain the power he had likely lost due to Vee. King’s dialogue for that bit felt kind of forced, but I can excuse it.

Watching and Dreaming:

Oh crud, here’s the real doozy. Watching and Dreaming was the biggest let down for me. It was stunning visually, and the animation was fluid as a whole. It looked amazing, and I was thrilled with the episode the first time I watched it. But the more I thought on it, the more issues I’ve found.

I thought the nightmare sequence was going to be far more significant than it was. I was hoping for a deep analysis on the ways that Luz and Philip mimicked each other in their desire to be the hero, protect the people they care about, and escape the unsatisfactory reality that they had previously lived in.

I thought we would see Eda face and potentially live out some of her greatest fears. Maybe she would accidentally hurt King or Luz. It would have been interesting to see her grapple this during an intense battle that would decide the fate of the Isles! It was disappointing for that to be over in fewer than ten minutes without any of the depth. I don’t really have much to say for King’s nightmare sequence.

On a far more minor note, I disliked Philip’s design during this episode. Yeah, Kaiju Philip was interesting looking, but he doesn’t carry any of the same weight or fear that he used to. The lack of detail and speech from him felt off, because he is a character who puts so much weight into words and manipulation, and we never really get to see him.

I also dislike the way that his color scheme changed. I really liked the dark green and glowing blue thing he had going on. It felt like ooze and rot, like the decay and destruction of a person’s very soul until it’s so twisted it’s no longer human. The lighter green feels sickly, and it gives me the same feeling I get when I touch a grainy eraser. I shudder, and I don’t know why. However, that’s about all on Philip’s design, now to the more major concerns and thoughts.

Luz’s death would have been far more effective if she had died more slowly and if people had noticed she was dead. Without anyone else acknowledging it, I just felt kind of hollow for the whole thing.

I thought that Papa Titan was cool, but I really dislike what he did to the narrative. This fight was set up to be horrific and challenging, that it would take every ounce of the characters’ strength. And King’s parent just kind of took that away.

Additionally, she denied all the buildup that was put into Philip’s character. Philip was set up to be tragic and sympathetic. It implied that anyone could become an extremist and hurt others because they got in too deep, and I related to Philip a lot as a character, as well as Hunter. To see him called just plain evil was disrespectful to the rest of the work put in and everything Wittebro fans hoped to see.

Some people believe that the backstory we got was sufficient for Philip’s character. Respectfully, I disagree. The pictures that were in the background of Hollow Mind were exactly that—background. It implied a tragic character that went off the deep end when he lost the only person he loved.

It suggests that, in a better world, Philip could have moved past his biases and the manipulation he experienced the way Boscha and Caleb did. He could have had a happy ending and been the person that Luz thought he was. By saying he was just evil and ignoring his backstory, Papa Titan and Luz do the exact same thing that Philip does: dehumanize the enemy and say that the group/person should be killed without remorse. It also dehumanizes or hurts those that connect with him due to religious trauma or other reasons.

It feels wrong when only a scene ago, Luz was telling the Collector that things weren’t that simple. But now, they magically are.

Papa Titan also breaks all of the themes that were set up earlier: the idea that you have to choose yourself, that there is no divine being that is going to make you special, and that Luz got where she did because she was open minded and hard working. By making the Titan gift her the runes, it discredits all the hard work she did and supports Philip’s comment that the reason he couldn’t get glyphs easily was because the Titan was making it difficult (as opposed to him being a closed minded individual who couldn’t connect to the Isles).

Luz didn’t really have a choice, and it’s never really addressed the way that the found family theme is ignored as a result of her being chosen. It also implied that all the growth she did over the previous two seasons was pointless, because she was the chosen one.

After that, the tone is distinctly more action based and exciting as opposed to the horrific and stressful encounter I was expecting. It felt like the fight wasn’t being taken seriously by the characters or the writers, and it made it hard to stay invested or take the stakes seriously.

The fight could have been the whistle Hexsquad taking on Philip and supporting each other. Hunter could have helped get people out of the way when they were being attacked. Gus could have distracted Philip and help people escape or even left him open to attack. Willow and Amity could have grappled him and harmed him. Camila could have given it her all with the bat. It could have really pushed the theme of community and connection and the way they impact people.

Finally, I want to talk about one last thing: Philip’s death. I laughed at it the first time I saw it. It was amusing and more than a touch satisfying, but it’s not what Philip deserved.

Philip was a tragic, hurt character who sacrificed his health, his morals, and everything about himself in the pursuit of protecting humanity from witches. He was evil and irredeemable, and I do not want him to be redeemed.

I wanted him to learn that it was all for nothing and that his guilt was justified, that he was fed lies by the people he admired and told what he did was right when it wasn’t. I wanted to see him break down at the knowledge of his actions and their consequences, the sins he committed. Then, I wanted him to die.

In later watching, the scene where Raine, Eda, and King stomp him to death feels cruel. I agree that he needed to die, but Philip couldn’t fight back. It doesn’t feel like something that good guys would do. And Luz just watching them do that felt wrong.

Epilogue:

I liked the epilogue as a whole, except for a bit on Hunter. The thing with him and Willow was cute, but he didn’t cut his hair again, and he went on to carve palisman. I feel as if it violates everything previously set up about him choosing to be himself, and that makes me a bit sad.

In Conclusion:

I think that the people who weee unsatisfied with the Wittebane lore have every right to be. It was the most impactful series of events for the future of the Isles. It was built up for ages and never carried through. Obviously, my opinion would change if there was a series or movie on them.

Evelyn was “spring” to Caleb, as she introduced him the first life and light that allowed him to be who he wanted to be.

Season Three had amazing animation and visual depiction, but it fumbled on the themes it had previously established and some of the character development.

I am so sorry for rambling/ranting so much on this. I hope I haven’t scared or upset you. Have a great day!

[idealisticrealism]

TCL 3x06 thoughts (and many feelings)

Well, as expected, this ep basically broke my heart into a million tiny pieces- but still, they really did give Arman the best send-off that they could given the circumstances, and I’m so, so grateful for it.

Breaking the recap up a bit differently this week because I have a lot to say about everyone lol

But of course, I have to start with my beloved boy Arman, and Armony. I always knew that this ep was going to break me, and man, they didn’t waste any time doing it… less than 4 mins in and the tears were already flowing from hearing him saying the Reloj line, because seriously, knowing that this was his one chance to pass on a message to the people in his life, and that he chose that??? God it was powerful seeing Nadia and the others incorrectly assuming the message simply meant that he was running out of time, vs seeing Thony's jaw clench on hearing it because she knew the truth, knew that it was meant for her alone. In some ways, it was a “I think my time is up and I'm the one leaving forever in the morning, and that's okay” kind of message, but it was also a “this is me telling you I love you, because I never got the chance before”, and a “no matter what they do to me, in my mind I'm there, dancing with you by the fire.” No wonder she reaches for a beer the moment she gets home, knowing that there’s the chance she will be able to hold him in her arms again in only a matter of hours, but not being able to do anything to make it happen except just sit and wait for news. Well, at least until the moment she sees the report and understands Dante’s involvement, and then there’s no holding back anymore, no more trusting others to save him. Her blind determination to go find him and bring him home is exactly like how she acted when Luca was dying or when Fi was deported; it’s the way she always responds when someone she loves desperately needs her, and I love that Arman is so clearly in that category. (Okay gotta break this up bc of Tumblr's character limit lol)

Anyway ugh the entire time she was at the apartments I could feel my heart in my throat, because god, she got so close. (Oh and the way she instantly recognised the jacket and then knew with a single sniff that it was his?? Help???). But anyway ugh when the kid pointed them to the apartment, and she saw him right there through the window, only for him to be stolen away again in the mere couple of minutes it took her to get back around to the apartment’s front door.... Ughhh these two have been star-crossed from the start, but it was so hard to watch the final acts of their tragedy unfolding. I'll never be over the fact that for days, he was kept in a haze of drugs and pain, and yet we (and Thony!) know from his message that he spent that time thinking of her, escaping his reality by living in the moments they’d shared. And her own drug-induced hallucination of him was equally heartbreaking… god, to see her be so honest and unreserved in the way she looked at him and held him and spoke to him ("I’m gonna take you home, I'm never gonna let you go again”)... like damn, in that moment we really got to see the unfiltered, uninhibited truth of her feelings for him, the truth she never got to tell him and that he never got to hear.

But still, I’d like to think that he knew it anyway, especially when he saw her there in that car– saw that she had come for him, that she was trying so hard to save him, even at risk to herself. (Naturally I wish that we could have had his real face for that heart-wrenching moment of goodbye, but it was close enough, and when it comes down to it, that moment was still truly Arman and Thony no matter what). And while I’m sure Arman would have wished that he could live, that he could have stayed and built a life with her, we also saw multiple indications in the past 2 seasons that Arman knew and accepted that an early death was likely for him, if not practically inevitable, just like it had been for Mateo and Carlos and Bosco. And so for him to get to go out on his own terms, and in the act of saving Thony? It was exactly the death that he would have wanted. (On first watch I was sobbing too hard to notice that he didn't just knock the gun away and cause chaos in the car, he actually also grabbed the wheel and deliberately drove them off the cliff, meaning he truly chose for himself how he met his death). Honestly, it was literally the exact kind of ending I'd been predicting for him ever since s1– both the culmination of his hero arc, and also the ultimate fulfillment of his vow to protect her.  I'm so, so thankful that he got to have that, got to go out fast and painlessly and like the hero he was, rather than dying in the hangar or alone in that grungy apartment, and I’m even more thankful that he got to see her one last time, got to have that final goodbye with her. He died knowing she loved him and never gave up on him, and knowing that his death would ensure she got to live on; and for him, that would have been everything. And as devastating as it was to see Thony on her knees on the cliff, staring up into the sky as everything faded into white and El Reloj began to play... it was also heartbreakingly beautiful- seeing them dancing together again truly felt like getting a glimpse into his heaven, like it was telling us 'This is where he is now. This is where he'll always be"- and though it'll still always hurt to have lost him, I can be at peace with that.

(Though ngl, this ep was full of 'if onlys' that are going to haunt both us and Thony forever... If only Chris hadn't blocked the toilet today of all days. If only Thony had called a different plumber. If only JD's friend hadn't gotten him the arrest report. If only Ramona hadn't put a tail on Thony that caused her and Fi to have to rely on Jeremy for a ride rather than going on their own. If only Thony had been able to trust that Jorge wasn't involved and had called him instead. If only Nadia hadn't sent her the address for the meet location. If only if only if only. The show has always centred around this theme (all the way back to 1x01 and ‘if only Thony hadn’t encouraged the underground fighter to make her own choices, then the fighter may have done what Theo ordered her to and deliberately lost the fight, and then Tarik wouldn’t have killed Theo and Thony wouldn't have witnessed it, and none of this would have happened’), and it's a vital aspect of both the storytelling (because if none of that had happened, then there's no story at all) and also of Thony's character development. But obviously in this instance we all know that the writers had no other choice, and that there was no way this ep could have gone differently anyway, not after the loss of Adan. We know that, but Thony doesn't, and so it's going to be devastating to see Thony blame herself for yet another death, especially the death of someone she loved so deeply.)

But alright let’s talk about who is actually responsible for Arman’s death, because while Thony inadvertently contributed to it, she absolutely wasn’t the one who directly led to them being in that situation! Let’s start with Dante: firstly, I knew it was very suss that he ‘accidentally’ killed that guy in the last ep! And then when I saw the BTS pics for 3x06 last week and saw that Thony and Fi were going to go to the same apartment buildings that Dante got arrested at, it was clear that he was definitely involved in Arman’s abduction somehow. So either it’s option 1, and that giant bastard knew just how deeply Ramona wanted Arman back in their lives and figured he could not only give her what she wanted, but could also use the opportunity to score a fuck-ton of money without Ramona ever knowing of his involvement; or it’s option 2, and he abducted Arman on Ramona’s orders so that she could a) get her hands on a bunch of Nadia's money, and b) receive Arman's gratitude for saving him, which would then lead to his return into the family. Personally I think that option 1/Dante working alone is much more likely, and I'd also prefer it to option 2, because if Ramona was involved it would completely ruin the enjoyment I’ve been getting out of her character and her sibling relationship with Jorge. So I'm really hoping that it was all just Dante’s plan, and that Ramona and Jorge believe Thony when she tells them about Dante’s role in Arman's kidnapping (and therefore his death) and then they fucking murder him for it. 

Speaking of murdering, that brings me to Jeremy Fucking Dolan. (Yes, I literally looked up his last name on IMDB purely bc I felt the need to put a curse word in it). It’s funny, but from the very first moment his character was announced and it was mentioned in his bio that he would befriend Thony while hiding a dark secret, I had an almost irrational level of hatred for him, even more than I had for Jorge’s character, which was definitely odd and inexplicable given that Jorge’s bio made him sound like he was purely meant to be an unwanted ‘Arman 2.0’/potential love interest, which I obviously did not want in the slightest. But if I’d been given the option to get rid of one of them before S3 even started, it would have been Jeremy with no hesitation. The moment he made his appearance, I called it that he was actually an undercover FBI agent who was using Thony to get to Arman, which was maddening enough because she just didn’t deserve to be manipulated in that way, or to be betrayed by someone whom she had been isolated and vulnerable enough to risk trusting. And then that undercover bastard not only uses her, but ends up being the very reason that the FBI shows up right at the worst moment– not only preventing the exchange, but also causing the chase that kills Arman??? I don't care if he was only doing his job and trying to catch criminals, goddammit, I still hate him so much, and it's going to destroy Thony (even more than she already has been destroyed after losing Arman) when she eventually puts it together and realises that her trusting Jeremy directly contributed to Arman’s death. Which is why I’m over here violently daydreaming of a moment sometime late in the season where Jorge and Ramona finally manage to capture Jeremy, and then they bring Thony in and let her pull the fucking trigger and end him. (I mean, is it at all likely that she would go that dark, even to avenge Arman? Well, no. But thinking about it certainly gives me great satisfaction so I’m sticking with it lol)

Anyway, moving onto something more positive– if you wanna find the MVP of this ep, you only have to look at Fi!!! I loved her for the kind and understanding way she addressed Thony's connection to Arman, and the way she almost got Thony to acknowledge her feelings for him. Though I guess in that moment she could see that Thony still wasn’t ready to talk about it, and so she tried to ease Thony's mental discomfort by shifting focus to jokes about Jeremy (gross). Still, throughout the ep she was just so completely ride or die for Thony, like she has always been, and honestly Thony needs that, needs her. And not just for her badass lock-picking skills haha (taught to her by Paolo maybe??). Basically, Thony is like the Frodo of this series, carrying a huge burden and going through unimaginable things, but Fi is like her Sam, and it’s only with Fi’s support that Thony is able to keep pushing forward through everything. Obviously the loss of Arman, the other vital person in her life (does that make him Gandalf??) is going to be absolutely crushing for her, and I think Fi is going to be even more incredible in the coming episodes as she supports Thony through her grief and devastation. Ngl, I already had a fic idea about Fi going and getting Arman's jacket back for Thony, and it makes me cry just thinking about it ugh

In addition to Fi and Thony, I did love the whole De La Rosa fam vibe early in the episode, with Chris and Jaz bickering, and Thony and Fi making a fuss of Luca, and then Chris gently telling them to ease off when Luca got overwhelmed– it felt so nice to have them all reunited again and just getting to be a ‘normal’ family getting ready for school in the morning, and for Fi and Thony to be dealing with problems like blocked toilets and wet clothes rather than threats of deportation or dangerous cartels or the FBI. Chris worrying over missing Camila’s call was super cute too; I’m glad we got to have another mention of her and I hope we get to see her again soon. As for Luca, I’m really happy he’s started school, mostly bc it frees up Thony’s schedule haha, but also because it’s an important step for both him and Thony in moving forward with their lives. Thony has lived in an endless loop of ~My Child Is Dying~ for 6 years, and finally (thanks to her and Fi and Arman, like she said in the ep) that cycle has finally been broken. Luca will always need careful monitoring of his health, of course, but Thony isn’t trapped by his illness anymore, and I’m excited to see what potential  paths that will open up for her. I will always wish that one of those paths could have been a relationship with Arman, and I'm sure she does too, but as long as she finds happiness and purpose, I'll be satisfied.

Okay, so Jorge showing up at the school was pretty great honestly; like he says, it kind of is their thing to just show up uninvited into each other's spaces, and plus I think he actually truly did want to help make the moment a little easier on her by being there and distracting her/reassuring her as a fellow parent. I also loved the sweatshirt mention lol, it was a good throwback and I enjoy that he’s comfortable enough with her to tease her. Just shows how much their relationship has changed in the week or so since he first tossed that sweatshirt at her in a different school parking lot!! And he definitely won points with me here by going out of his way to get the info for her about the legal/CPS stuff without being asked, and though he explained it away as basically just him buying her influence over Arman in regards to the Sin Cara business, again I think he just genuinely wanted to help. Like Arman, he doesn’t get the opportunity to do many things that are purely good and noble, and so the feeling of getting to help her and Luca clearly has somewhat of an intoxicating effect on both men haha. Even with the loss of Arman (and so the loss of his supposed reason for helping Thony with the CPS stuff) I don’t doubt that Jorge will still help her with it once he’s satisfied that she had nothing to do with Arman’s death. But ugh speaking of Arman, the way Jorge questioned her about her connection to Arman… he already knows that Thony’s husband only died a few months ago, and as far as he knows from Nadia's behaviour, her and Arman’s marriage was solid, so it’s understandable that the intensity of Thony’s loyalty to/concern about Arman is a bit confusing to him. And because he doesn’t understand it, he’s always going to view her with at least a trace of suspicion until he learns the truth. Which may even be as soon as next ep– it looks like Jorge and Ramona are going to be demanding answers from Thony about how Arman died/ whether she betrayed him to the Feds/ how she was even there in the first place etc etc, and honestly I'm desperately hoping we'll get some kind of "I would never betray Arman! I LOVED him!" outburst from her that makes both Jorge and Ramona stop in their tracks because of how clearly heartfelt and honest it is. And ngl, while we’ve seen Thony indirectly state or demonstrate her love for Arman multiple times now, it would really mean a lot to me to hear her just say it openly without holding back. Not to mention that I think it would also really help pave the way for her to be accepted into the Sin Cara/Sanchez family, which would make for interesting viewing for the rest of the season.  

Speaking of the Sanchez family, I enjoyed the flashback and getting the backstory about the caddy, and seeing more of the Eduardo/Ramona/Jorge dynamic. (I’m trying so hard not to be nitpicky about the fact that young Arman's hair was straight and young Jorge's was curly, when it should have been the opposite, lol). But I’ve been thinking a lot about what Eduardo says to young Arman in that moment about how the only way to be a good man is to work hard and make an honest living, and I think that before we meet him in S1 Arman had really internalised that, and didn’t see himself as being a good man even though he wanted to be, which is why it hurt him so much to have Thony reinforce that belief during their argument at the wedding in 1x03. But then through helping her and forming a connection with her, he sees that even though she’s witnessed him at his worst, she genuinely does believe he is a good man, and it allows him to start believing it of himself for the first time. The flashback also definitely gave us more of a sense of Arman’s relationship with Ramona and Jorge, and really added another layer to him not selling off his caddy despite the direness of his debt to RK. What Nadia said to Ramona about the caddy being Arman’s dream car seemed to prove to Ramona that Arman still loved her and Jorge, and never truly turned his back on them… and so hopefully her sense of family and honour will mean that she will now consider Nadia and Thony– Arman’s family– to be her family as well. I also really enjoyed the scene of Jorge and Ramona sitting together in the caddy, discussing their business choices/differences in their life plans, and also talking about Arman and his good heart… they’ve definitely both grown on me, partly because they’re well written, but mostly because they've helped Thony and they genuinely care about my boy Arman. I’m sad we'll never get to see an Arman and Jorge brotherly reunion, because that could have been truly great. But tbh what I’m really wondering is what will happen to my beloved caddy now that Arman's gone... will Nadia want to get rid of it because seeing it is too painful?? Will Jorge offer to take it? Will I get my dream of Thony being the one to keep it lol? Doubtful, but one can always hope.... (and I guess there’s always that fic I’ve been planning to write about it for like 3 weeks lol)

Sigh, poor Nadia gave me a lot of feels in this ep. She is working so hard to get Arman back, and handling herself amazingly well under incredibly stressful circumstances. She dealt calmly with the kidnappers (which Ramona was clearly very impressed by... a potential protege there, perhaps?). Nadia also politely yet firmly declined Ramona’s plan for Arman to be basically kept in their home, despite knowing how powerful Ramona is and how risky it would be to piss her off.  She also insisted on being at the exchange to get him back despite the risk to herself (and possibly partly because she still doesn’t trust Ramona’s intentions). She trusted Thony with the meet location, despite their complex history, despite knowing that it meant that she would have to share her reunion with her husband with the other woman he loves. Even if she only gave Thony the address because it meant getting to have a highly-trained doctor there who could be trusted completely with Arman’s life, it still means she put Arman’s wellbeing above her own wants. Honestly I respect the hell out of Nadia, and literally the only consolation I have about losing Arman is that at least I'll never have to watch her go through the heartbreak of Arman still choosing Thony over her despite all their history and everything she’d done for him. Of course, we still have to watch her going through an absolutely horrific heartbreak of a different kind, but at least instead of being alone in it, she has Thony to share that pain with. (Or at least, she will, when she gets past her initial anger and blame towards Thony). It's almost a certainty that Thony and Nadia's connection will continue and even strengthen throughout the rest of the season, and I strongly believe that Thony is going to do everything she can to support and protect Nadia now, not only because she genuinely does care about her, but also because it’s the only thing she can do now to honour Arman and give thanks for all he did for her.

Okay, last couple of things: I loved that even despite her desperate search for Arman and the ticking clock that was hanging over their heads, Thony still stopped and helped the kid’s grandfather. It was very true to who she is, and how she can’t not help the people in front of her that need her. And tbh in terms of TV medicine, this instance actually wasn’t too bad haha, even if her Epley manoeuvre was a bit off. The fact that the man turning to look at the clock helped her diagnose the vertigo was also a cool reference to the ep’s title/theme as well. But anyway the reference that I can’t quite figure out yet is the word Thony saw written in the dust on that mirrored platter thing; I’m assuming Arman wrote it as a clue in case someone found the apartment? It seems to say something like ‘Marin’ which means nothing to me rn, but they very intentionally included a shot of Thony seeing it, so I guess its meaning will become clear in the next ep or two? 

Anyway, this has been many many words and feelings, so I’m just gonna end it with this, the prayer that Thony spoke as Arman walked out of prison in 2x02, because it feels even more tragically fitting now:

Now he is freed Through your blood on the cross Through the blows to your face And through the crown of your thorns that pierced your head Deliver him from all evil From the rigor of injustice From the torment of conscience And from all darkness Welcome him into Paradise Where there will be no more sorrow No more weeping or pain Give him the blessings of the life to come As he enters into the kingdom of peace and light.

[gayuu-the-necromancer]

Chapter 4

The Grim Reaper Waits At The Palace Of Death...

(I can't escape....)

These 8 mysterious men, put me inside a carriage, which gracefully rode through the night town.

Beyond the window, I see the cityscape of London.

The palatial palace flew away.

And before I knew it, the carriage is pushing forward into the dense forest.

(Where are we going? And.....what's going to happen to me?)

I left my delivery at the mansion, but I don't know if I'll get paid for it...

On top of that, I'm actually worried if I can return home alive.

(The fact that they are all working in a group and heading to the same place must mean that they are some kind of an organization)

(Then if I have to guess....they must be taking me to their leader)

The Grim Reaper of the Palace of Death...that's what the red-eyed man, William said.

(If that's true then, I....)

The flashbacks of the bright red scene comes back to my mind and a shiver ran down my spine.

Gentlemanly man: "Miss Kate."

Kate: "Yes....!?"

I looked up quickly and saw a gentleman with a mysterious smile pointing out the window.

Looking out the window, the carriage is before I know it, already passed through the forest and crossed a drawbridge over the water.

Gentlemanly man: "We're here. This is the stronghold of evil that could be the end of your life...not our base."

Kate: "Mm...."

(What is this place?)

As soon as I get out of the carriage, the gothic castle that appears before me takes my breath away.

Surrounded on all sides by forests, and ponds to avoid being seen, the bright and brilliant pagoda piercing the night sky radiates an overwhelming presence.

It is so majestic that it makes me want to prostrate myself.

(Never thought there would be a castle like this in London....)

Kate: "Is this...real life...."

Gentlemanly man: "Yes, unfortunately. It is neither a dream nor an illusion. It is a painful reality from which there is no escape."

(Reality....or didn't this guy just say something outrageous?)

(The end of life or the root of evil...oh god, my head)

Feeling dizzy, I became unsteady on my feet.

Then accidentally, I bumped into someone and turned around in a hurry.

Kate: "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Man with blond hair and blue eyes: ".....I don't mind....are you okay?"

(He's so close...)

The man who held me by the shoulders peered at me. His delicate-looking golden hair just close enough to touch.

(This guy....is so beautiful, that it's scary. He looks like a bisque doll)

Among the art-like forms, only the dark eyes, barely perceptible stare at me with a creaturely temperature.

Kate: "I'm fine. Thank you."

Man with blond hair and blue eyes: ".....I see."

(U-Umm....)

Man with blond hair and blue eyes: "..........."

(Please let go of me sir....)

As I was puzzled, a hand reached out from the side and poked the blond man's hand.

Man that looks like a cat: "Master El, no running away."

Man that looks like a cat: "Miss Kate, you can talk to me. I'd like to get to know you better."

(Huh....)

My other hand was entwined by a cat's tail and I was flabbergasted because I was sandwiched between two men from both sides.

Man with a gun: "Now you guys. You two can save that for later. Right now your priority should be reporting to Victor, okay?"

Man with a gun: "After deciding what to do with her, we all will have enough time to get to know her."

The man who offered to help was a great man with intelligent appearance.

The rational eyes behind the glasses and the calm appearance of the person, eases me a little bit.

(Maybe this guy is easy to talk to)

Kate: "....What's going to happen to me?"

What I had wanted to ask for a long time came out of my mouth without thinking.

Man with a gun: "You will know. Because we're the ones deciding that."

The egoistic grin on his face made me erase the sentence 'Maybe this guy is easy to talk to' from my mind.

William: "Kate. Come here, follow me."

Kate: "....Yes, Master Rex."

William: "Ahahaha! You don't have to be so formal. Just call me William."

Kate: "Okay....Master William."

..........

(Wow...amazing)

Stepping into the castle, it was as if the world had changed for me.

(I never thought I'd set foot in a place like this, even once in my life....)

The castle is as magnificent as its exterior, and it is no wonder that it is said to be owned by the British Royal family.

A dangerous, mysterious and beautiful unknown world spread out before my eyes.

(Only the bastions of those who might be criminals....)

(....So beautiful)

William: "I see you liked it."

Kate: "!?"

A shiver runs down my spine as I hear whisper in my ear.

I quickly turned around to see a giggling and amused Master William.

William: "Let's go now. The Grim Reaper is waiting impatiently."

Chapter 5 - Grave Secret

[lutawolf]

Kinnporsche Notes and thoughts Episode 12

This started out as a way for me to keep notes. Something to look back on when writing my posts. One day I was going to skip writing them and I got messages. I realized that this was something personal and special that we bonded over. Thank you for your friendship and support 💜💜💜

We start off with Porsche dropping Chay off at school. It's a beautiful moment. I am surprised that Porsche is missing something is wrong. Though likely putting it down to a new school.

Chay is every break up MOOD. Have we not all been there at least once. Okay maybe not all of us but a majority. Emotional over load, run away, and change hair. There is a check list I'm sure.

I love how Pol still treats Porsche like Porsche but the new guy treats him like he is the boss.

Where is Kinn? Kinn didn't take bodyguards? Then he is up to something he doesn't want the to know about. I do think some of this is motivated by concern.

"Arm, code red" Arm immediately stands up and goes away. Remember when I said that the main bodyguards started treating Porsche more as a boss long ago. They are completely loyal to him. Kinn knows it too. That's why he trusts these guards the most too.

"Kinn, Are you cheating on me" Kinn would cut a nut before he cheated on Porsche. It's sad that Tawan has caused these insecurities. Though, I truly believe the big motivation is more concern.

His button has a mic. Hahaha. I put money on that being Porsche's doing.

Look at the dude flirting with Kinn. Kinn immediately looks uncomfortable and his eyes shift quickly. He knows either Porsche is listening or that someone who will report to Porsche is!

Smart man Kinn. He's like, we just not gonna say shit.

I love the coconuts. They have codes and their not afraid to use them!

Look at Kinn's face when Porsche is brought up. He has made sure its blank, with only a little anger showing through.

But then he inhales through his nose and swallows. This is the moment he has to deal with this and book it home.

Kinn made a half ass excuse backed with authority and booked it.

First thing to notice is that Pete searched the room to find that book. So he had to see those bolt cutters right? I sent the picture to the electrician who verified that it does in fact look like a bolt cutter.. The only reason he gave me for why Pete wouldn't use them "hell, he is a glutton for punishment, clearly"

We are about to deep dive into some multi-layers. "Where did you get that" and Pete replies with sass "I went to buy it." Once Vegas lost his anger, Pete once again became himself. What's more Vegas is amused and plays back "That book doesn't suit an idiot like you"

Look at Pete though, he is not appreciative of this comment at all. "Idiot, that's you" Again Pete is just being himself with Vegas. Back to their normal selves.

I am not going to go too deep into the blood types here. As @biochemjess has pointed out here. It's just sugar on the blood. I do think what's important to the conversation to know that Pete is O and Vegas is AB. One can give and the other can receive. The other can't receive what the other can give.

Vegas is staring at the hedgehog. When Pete calls his name, Vegas immediately shifts his body to face Pete. "What's your blood type" "AB" and Pete smiles and goes, "that's so cool, I wish I were AB" why? He hasn't yet read about AB but he wants to be it? Because he wished that could be the same? That they could equally give and receive?

Vegas finds Pete amusing because he doesn't get it yet. Then he asks Pete what his blood type is and it's O.

We find out that AB is peculiar, he looks open on the outside but is actually closed on the inside. Also difficult to understand emotionally. Volatile. And Pete says "this is so accurate" which amuses Vegas.

Pete knows Vegas. Do you really think he would know him so well, in such a short period of time, if not paying attention?

After Pete points out the book is Vegas' we see Vegas staring at the hedgehog. This is when we can see a change in his body language.

He leans forward to look closer in the cage. Vegas gets pissed at sensitive. Why? He has been calm and humorous up to this point. He says "whose weak" He is worried about his pet and is afraid to show it. Pete says "sensitive not weak, you are in need of love"

Vegas says "fucking leave it alone" and kicks the book. Why the mood change? Several reasons. His pet, one of only a few things he loves is not well. The other is Pete and Pete is simply on vacation.

Vegas has left bolt cutters you guys. He is simultaneously waiting 9n Pete's escape at the same time he is dreading it.

Pete is confused. He's looking around to see where the change is coming from. We see Vegas looking at the hedgehog. Pete looks at Vegas then the hedgehog, narrows his eyes and tilts his head as if thinking.

Porsche waiting at the window in his bodyguard uniform. Kinn is approaching hesitantly. His face already showing concern. He is unsurprised to be pushed away. He is clearly upset when he asks what's wrong. He already knows. Otherwise he would react with confusion and anger but instead he is trying to give off calm.

He's a man walking a tight rope and knows it. "Do I look like a fool" "What are you thinking" are you seeing it. He's being calm and soothing cause Porsche is a ticking Bomb he can't let go off.

Let me just say that Kinn IS nailing the Dominant right here. He is in the wrong and he is owning it. He is letting Porsche vent and communicate but he is walking him back, enclosing him. While keeping his tone controlled and moderate. It says, I am confident. I fucked up but I'm still here, I still have you, and I'm confident I can fix this.

Chan only addresses Mr. Kinn. And blocks Porsche. This makes me nervous guys. Something about this seems not right.

Tricking Porsche to work there and he knows about the car crash. Kinn is nervous.

The story doesn't add up. You put Porsche in a dangerous job to care for him and his brother? He might make more money but how are they having a better life... Doesn't add up daddy.

Kinn puts a hand on Porsche to remind him who he is talking to. Porsche pushes back, saying he knows but he will say his peace.

Kin sees how angry Porsche is. "I think you went to far" also reminder I'm on your side Porsche. Korn "Yes, I think so too" code for I didn't know my son's would get so attached.

Porsche tells daddy to shove it. Kinn tries to stop him. Daddy tells Kinn to go.

Once again when hurting Vegas heads to Pete. Pete though hurt doesn't hesitate to sit up and help. He isn't surprised the hedgehog is sick.

There have been so many guards but now there are none? Why? Vegas could be lying but he hasn't been lying to Pete since everything changed.

Now follow me. Last time Vegas was really upset he left a belt but he was waiting for Pete because he realized he left the belt. So do you really think he doesn't know he left a key. He also told Pete there are no guards. Who he probably sent somewhere so that Pete could escape. He's familiar with Hedgehogs and knows a vet isn't going to help at this point. Probably realized it earlier in the day. He is giving Pete the opportunity to escape. Maybe he thought he hadn't used the cutters because of the guards?

And maybe he was right because why else has Pete not used the cutters but now uses the keys?

Reminder. Again. Pete is not a super sweet nice guy. He only gives a shit about the select people he cares about. If you keep making him sweet, you are going to miss the real significance if Pete. He loves Vegas.

Vegas is not surprised that Pete is free. Only that Pete is coming to his side. "He is dead"

Pete inches closer and then puts his hand on Vegas' leg. Offering support and it breaks Vegas. I swear that I think that night when Vegas removed his last mask , that he well and truly removed them. Vegas is just him with Pete. Again, being vulnerable does not strip Vegas of his Dom status. I am vulnerable with my subs and none of them have ever thought less of me. That is not what makes me a Dom.

I love that when Vegas cries, Pete tears up. Their pain is shared. Then Vegas looks at Pete, really soul deep looks. For a moment everything is quiet like the pain is forgotten and then suddenly Vegas' face is etched with intense pain. Like he just realized something.

When Pete hands Vegas the flower. We can see they are sitting much closer together.

Vegas stands and waits on Pete. When he walks away, he has no doubt Pete will follow... Pete is on vacation. He isn't here forever but in this moment he chose to be there.

"Why didn't you run away" and Pete lies "I don't even know"

My dad had me take care of the Hedgehogs since little. One by one they all died until one left. "He still left me too" "I didn't even get to name him" why? He should have had time. This is a statement of regret. He thought by not naming him he would be less attached and he realizes he was wrong. He tried not to get close but he did anyway. Are you guys catching the double meanings here???

Pete says "If you're feeling sad, that means it's important" Vegas cries more and then says, "Everything I've loved, leaves me"

There is a very fine line between sadomastic and self harm. The difference should be the pursuit of endorphins versus a desire to be punished. For us though; feelings, emotions, and pain are all tied together. And a break the camels back situation can lead to blurred lines. Usually there is a support system to guide you back. Or lead you to safer, saner ways. What support system does Vegas have though?

Vegas proves that he sees Pete too. "But you like me like this, when I'm moody" you see the real me and it excites you. Just admit it.

Vegas "I know exactly what I want" he's had regrets. He knows hiding from it won't fix it. "How about you, Pete" "How do you like it" admit you want me as badly as I want you. "You're Psycho" to which Vegas only smiles and doesn't deny.

"But a guy like you, it's no fun if you don't give in" It isn't worth it if you don't choose me. This is honestly explained so well by my dear friend @ellaspore here

And Pete realizes what Vegas is saying and takes this moment for himself. Vegas surprised quickly slides into so fucking happy.

I love the fucking hair grab. Pete started it but Vegas has control.

Pete licking his own arm. Is a classic sign of being gone gone. You're so high in the endorphins that everything is pinging and instinct is telling you to savor it all. Everything is heightened. Smell, taste, sound and it's just driving you higher.

Fuckkkkkkk. Vegas and that ass.

Make know bones about what Pete is saying by handing over the rope. He is absolutely and unquvically submitting.

Okay that knot is gorgeous. You are seeing the tighten but that type of not has you initially tye with two fingers within the rope then you tighten after lapping. It's secure enough to not have touch give for too much wiggle but lax enough to have longer before nerve concerns. That particular rope is damn good rope, it's not rough and it's thick which will distribute better.

The kiss of the hands. He is recognizing and appreciating the submission.

Honestly I'm more worried about how his ankles are bound. That could cut off circulation. You got about twenty minutes give or take before we have issues.

Omg.. how passive Pete is. Sgfggfh

Vegas is treating him good. Damnn. Those little kiss. This is love making not fucking.

This is the real Pete. That smile. Their smile.

Sweet brother moment.

Bread product placement.

I love how we've come full circle of you live is mine to your life means the most.

I love this talk. Omg. How much they love each other. Kinn just wants Porsche. And Porsche just wants Kinn happy.

So domestic. How comfortable are we saying that Kinn knows he walked away from the life???

Daddy Dearest. I don't trust you. What are you trying to cover up by giving that picture.

Mafia boyfriends. I'll support you if you want to kill him. Do you want me to help you kill him. I'm glad you didn't kill him because it would have hurt you.

I l9ve how Porsche doesn't hesitate to ask for support. He just pulls him in.

Back where it started! Refresh and renew! I love yous!

All that green around the uncle. The question is who sent him?? Otherwise how did he know shit.

And what is daddy trying to cover up?

There you have it. My thoughts. You don't have to agree with me, but know this took hours not minutes. I don't watch the whole thing and give my opinion. I freeze frame and detail. I rewind over and over. Which is a labor of love for myself and my friends. I hope you enjoy 💜💜💜

Before you reblog my post or send an ASK talking about Stockholm Syndrome. Please take the time to read this by someone who actually knows what the fuck they are talking about. Thank you @akitbeast

[mochiwrites]

Do you have any pearl headcanons for the crime au? I'd love to hear more about her staying with impulse.. (/nf ofc) Otherwise, I'm honestly interested in all of it!

-🍂

oh absolutely >:3c

so to get Specific on pearl, she escaped the watchers when she was 15 (grian was 17 at the time). impulse found her bleeding out in an alleyway and was like “well I can’t just leave a child out here to die” so he brought her to a nearby hospital for help

and when the doctor’s didn’t find any birth records for her impulse was…. Very Concerned. he would come to visit her in the hospital quite often, and got mistaken as her father a few times. to the point that he just kind of rolled with it because it made things easier for visiting her.

and when pearl finally woke up the first thing she did was cry. she was free. she finally escaped. she nearly died but she didn’t and now she’s free.

ofc impulse is Right There when she wakes up and he’s panicking the minute she starts crying and “oh gosh, are you okay?! does something hurt?! should I get the doctor? I probably should hold on—”

long story short pearl stays at the hospital until she’s given the all clear. they Want to call the cops because yk. random girl with stab wound shows up and there’s no news of it on tv, but pearl begs and pleads. it takes impulse swearing to bring her down to the station that lets them ease up.

impulse and pearl Officially meet and pearl doesn’t fully trust him at first. there’s that slight paranoia of “is he with them? is this a trick? what if he finishes the job the minute I lower my guard?”

and yet impulse visits her every day. he tells her stories about his shop and his best friends and brings her lil candies and she starts to warm up to him little by little. he still doesn’t know a thing about her besides the fact that someone hurt her. that she’s running away from someone. and they still have her brother.

(at best, impulse assumes that she’s a runaway from an abusive home.)

so the day pearl is finally discharged and she’s gotten comfortable with impulse (she had a rough nightmare one night, and impulse was called by the nurses. they said she had been calling out for him and wouldn’t relax) sits pearl down and offers his home to her.

“you don’t have to accept. if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable we can find some alternative. but you can’t go back home. please pearl, I don’t care if you don’t accept my offer but please don’t back to a home that hurt you.”

pearl cries. impulse cries. she goes home with him.

the truth doesn’t come out for… a long while. impulse homeschools her for a bit, having skizz help him out with the candy shop. impulse doesn’t push for pearl’s past, and tries to provide her with the best life he can. and when pearl feels comfortable enough, she tells him. she gets it out in little chunks, and impulse’s heart breaks for her and her brother.

he tries to look for him. one night while pearl is asleep, he dives into research. he even asks skizz for his help. neither of them find anything besides a missing person’s report and a trail that went cold years ago. he’s crushed. he doesn’t want to give up.

and eventually, pearl adjusts to a Real life. she goes to high school, gets into college. she Does look for grian. she never stops. she meets gem and they become a dynamic duo. she starts referring to impulse as her dad and is so so grateful to him for everything he’s done.

[a-guy-named-e]

the states as weird things my directors have said

alabama: you have so much school spirit i almost forgot you don't know how football works

alaska: why can't you all shut the hell up every once in a while

arizona: you're the only person i'll let complain at this point. i don't think you're right, but i do think it's funny.

arkansas: you're still here? i thought you graduated. leave already, dammit.

california: i thought i was ready for the pronoun question but clearly i was not.

colorado: i don't know why he hangs out with you, all you do is smoke weed! [turns to me] you haven't started smoking weed have you?

connecticut: i will pay you seven dollars if you can get the tenors to stop giving me stupid nicknames.

delaware: yes. i know you were the first to reset. that's because you don't move.

georgia: do you know where the disembodied cougar head is? no? well then i don't know what to tell you.

florida: i never thought i'd have to say this but please do not pick up any more squirrels.

hawai'i: your disregard for authority is only funny when it's [band director], not when it's me.

idaho: i don't care what you call it, i want to know why you were arranging a marriage on the back of the bus.

illinois: i need you to do me a favor and make sure [friend] never wears that packers jersey again because next time i might strangle him.

indiana: why is it so hard for you to march slides? just turn and look at the damn cornfield!

iowa: alumni, i appreciate you coming out to watch, but please do not turn our rehearsal into a field of dreams moment.

kansas: if you make one more comment about the scenery i'm kicking you off the bus.

kentucky: you were a horse girl in a past life, weren't you?

louisiana: i know you can't dance worth shit but i need you to play like you're trying to convince someone that you can.

maine: i can't tell if you're agreeing with me or just acknowledging me but i like being agreed with so i'm going with that.

maryland: i don't trust anyone whose only experience with crab is imitation crab meat

massachusetts: i'm not technically allowed to swear around you but that was fucking terrible.

michigan: so are you just emotionally invested in awful sports teams or what?

minnesota: i know this is the midwest but can someone please bring anything other than a casserole to the pitch-in?

mississippi: i don't care who was talking, i'm telling all of you to shut up so i know i get the right one.

missouri: i know dark humor is in and all but i feel obligated to tell you that i'm a mandated reporter, so can you please make your jokes about jumping off the arch where i can't hear them?

montana: no, you may not run laps in the enchanted forest.

nebraska: it's almost the 4th, right? okay, if you can play three notes better this rep i'll run to the cornfield and check if it's knee-high for you guys.

nevada: oh my god you did not just start a poker game.

new hampshire: i don't care that it's 101°, i'm not allowed to let you be shirtless.

new jersey: the way some of you march makes me so scared of you becoming drivers.

new mexico: this should be sultry! be sultry!

new york: i don't pay $5 for my coffee. i like it black. like my soul.

north carolina: you're acting like a whiney little brother. i should know. i am the whiney little brother.

north dakota: all things being equal i'd love to agree to disagree. however all things are not equal. i'm smarter than you.

ohio: buckle up kids, this is going to be the only interesting thing you see for the next several hours.

oklahoma: trumpets i am begging you to get a personality other than metaphorical dick measuring contests with the tubas

oregon: i don't care that we used the bridge last year, we're using it again. it's our thing now.

pennsylvania: i often get sad about the fact that we border ohio but then i remember that ohio also borders us

rhode island: one more wrong note and i'm putting the piccolo on a high shelf where you can't reach it.

south carolina: i want you to play like $40 peach sweet tea.

south dakota: i wish i were an only child too, but not all of us can be that lucky

tennessee: if you hear me blasting dolly parton in my office shut up and mind your business.

texas: we don't have much going for us, but i can guarantee no one else is dumb enough to cram 90 horn players on a gym floor and make them march.

utah: i don't know why you have seven pictures of jesus taped to your face and honestly i'm a little scared to ask.

vermont: alright folks, practice is starting late today. someone put seventy two bottles of cracker barrel maple syrup in my office. yes, i counted.

virginia: i hate to be a buzzkill but unfortunately murder is still very illegal.

washington: i'm sorry, you're now legally required to get starbucks before all of our competitions. i will buy it for you if that's what it takes.

west virginia: you may have noticed country roads is in our pep band binder. please note that i will be using this as leverage for the rest of the season. if you cross the line, it gets cut. consider yourself warned.

wisconsin: i have a lot of questions honestly, but i think the two most pressing are "why are you eating a whole block of cheese" and "aren't you lactose intolerant"

wyoming: you know what? i think i'm with you on this one, i would've preferred sexy cowboys to sexy firemen too.

[prinnamon]

arlen's mind notes! mostly ground that was already covered by @spiderh0rse's arlen's mind notes, but i'm enjoying documenting my mindverse journey too.

EPISODE 1

unlike barney, Arlen relies on An Actual Alarm Clock instead of trusting his roommates to wake him

barney snores loud as fuck and is an extremely heavy sleeper (arlen tries and fails to wake him. in Mind of Ryan, Ryan claims to have done the same.)

arlen doesn't remember what he did last night, but his back hurts

says he doesn't give a fuck about barney

arlen wonders if he's the person who hates mornings the most in the world. sure, i believe it. maybe he really is the specialest boy in the universe.

"washes" his hands in the backed-up flooded sink water. thinks this is acceptable. disgusteng.

the vending machines eat his money. he is very upset that his snack and soda are gone (stolem). at least he tried to eat something for breakfast, but as a mindverse character, he is simply not allowed.

KATE! WE GET TO SEE KATE! i hadn't realized she'd be physically present. i'd assumed she was a Phantom Girlfriend like Lauren from Barney's Mind who we'd never actually get to meet.

is a little groggy and dismissive of Kate. immediately starts worrying that he sounded like an asshole.

"why do we need… a ramp… and stairs here?" arlen. buddy. c'mon.

"what the hell's going on here? what are they gonna do when they come to these stairs?" ok, he has a point about this one actually. why is there only a ramp in one spot

also, though, why does he find this worth remarking upon? he's not new here. that's first day/week talk.

jokingly predicts the alien invasion pretty accurately. expects to be the sole survivor. is looking forward to that outcome.

hates work. me too bud

walks into work, sees people having tech problems, and tells them "try a reboot if you have not." if i was one of his coworkers i would strangle him for that. you get here late and you honestly think we haven't tried turning it off and on again? perish at my hands loser

"i'm not a computer expert. i just press keys and then it works." ipad baby 🫵

sees Gordon driving in. does not recognize him but immediately clocks him as someone who "thinks he owns the place"

falls asleep on the job. maaaybe talks in his sleep, but it's always unclear in these series whether the dialogue is meant to be seen as spoken or internal.

wakes up with a headache.

shoots the vortigaunts reflexively before they even move to attack him.

extended string of "that did not just happen. did that happen—? that never happened."

his name is TJ. his dead coworker's name is CJ. i want all of the guards he encounters to be named something along these lines. PJ. DJ. AJ. it would be so funny

he has a radio that actually lets him communicate with sector G's management, holy shit. only character with functioning radio equipment???

hears that Sector F has sent in similar reports to what he just encountered and immediately starts running to see if Kate's okay. so for all that talk about how everyone aggravates him, he does really care, at least about her.

EPISODE 2

arlen is one of very few who actually takes a moment to really get close and examine the aliens he kills, trying to figure out what's up with them instead of running straight by.

he says "i know i just saw something" often.

extremely aware. has not given any aliens an opportunity to attack him yet. which isn't to say he's shooting them immediately for no reason; he has some pretty obvious clues to the fact that they are hostile, like the dead bodies and the headcrab zombies.

the extreme awareness continues even when there's nothing to be aware of. at this point, he's just on constant high alert.

calls things "gay" if they are of no use or interest to him

"i want a soda, and i have a gun." [shoots vending machine; it breaks and soda cans fall out] "and now i have a soda, too." probably most charming bit so far

Sprite drinker. excitedly tabs over to a spreadsheet called "mindverse character soda preferences"

shooting crates open in search of treasure chests. buddy. what???

forgot about Kate. feels bad for forgetting about Kate.

a couple times, he's taken a sort of "serves them right" position about people he's found dead. wonder if he really feels that way or if it just helps him cope.

doesn't shoot the houndeyes right away! waits for them to explode his ears with their psychic attack before he starts blastin'

thinks the soundwave made his kidney explode

Kate is his entire motivation for trying so hard. "i'm worried about her, and if i don't do this, i'll forever wonder if i could've helped her."

thinks it's incredibly unfair that aliens get to break the laws of physics and he doesn't!

would be pretty embarrassed if he survived an alien apocalypse and then died from a heart attack.

EPISODE 3

"calm. calm. calm. I'MGONNAKILLEVERYBODY. calm. calm." takes second place for my favorite line.

straight up that is an arcade and not a restroom. awesome but where do i piss.

"i'm not sure whether to be more upset that we're wasting money on something like this—an arcade—or that nobody ever told me about it." feels very left out and excluded.

has been trying to get the company to issue him a new gun for two months since his broke.

sees or possibly hallucinates a floating headcrab.

sees the barnacle ahead of time. guns down the nearby zombies before he can see what it does to them, but is curious enough that he gets close enough for it to wrap around his neck and choke him for a second. this stuns him, hurts really bad, and leaves him with headache #2.

says "i'm not evil! it's me! tj arlen!" as if the military would just hear that and be like ohhh okay! hey everybody, no worries, we got tj here!"

is so scared he mispronounces his own middle name

killed two people (out of necessity) and seems dead certain he's going to hell now

EPISODE 4

brands himself a "homicidal maniac" after, again, killing exactly 2 people in self-defense.

never before considered the idea that he might actually kill anyone.

slams his nose into the wall in his panic as he runs from more grunts shooting at him. gets more upset than i've heard him get in this entire series. thinks his nose is broken!

aware that he would die if he fell, but evidently not afraid of heights. just enjoys the view.

NOT having fun. does NOT like murdering people. …DOES like watching blood splatter against the wall (immediately feels bad and wrong for thinking that)

forgets how much the situation sucks for just a moment to be impressed with his own ability to shoot down a turret from a distance.

he says "god hold me" instead of "god help me." i have not heard that one before.

wishes kate was here… not that he was with her wherever she is but that she was with him where he is. would feel more comfortable and confident in his ability to get through this if he was with her. shows that he thinks of her as trustworthy and competent, probably more so than himself.

has played minecraft. associates exploding creatures with creepers

recognizes the gman even at a glance. wants NOTHING to do with him and will NOT ask for his help.

after his first encounter with a bullsquid, he gives up trying to make sense of anything that's happening to him.

says "back to my life as a mole" when he has to go back in the vents to progress

"explosions are fun! especially when they murder people." i think he's just saying words recreationally now because this is directly contradictory to the previous characterization in this same episode. i highly doubt the last four minutes were enough time for him to spiral into madness etc etc.

i will admit he is killing and quipping with a little more enthusiasm now and saying things like "i wonder if there's anybody down here to kill." concerning.

EPISODE 5

recognizes the tram, but has never learned how to operate one.

casually steps backwards off of the moving tram. is not hurt in the process. smooth moves

dismayed to realize he may now be a conspiracy theorist. quickly rationalizes his way out of it so he can go on feeling content that he's not One Of Them.

briefly entertains the idea that he's dreaming.

bullsquid spit RIGHT in his eye! horrible! he sounds like he's in more pain than when he broke(?) his nose, which is saying a lot, and there's a visual effect to show how badly it's messing up his vision.

broke his arm before. his eye hurts worse than that.

particularly terrified when he sees an alien grunt. probably in no small part due to having just watched it absolutely eviscerate another guard. reeeally wants to believe it doesn't exist.

creeped out when rachel, another guard, won't talk to him. she does just kinda stare at him and then follow him around. i'd be a little creeped out, too.

rachel gets killed, and he finds a blood-covered radio and a note among her things that. auuuugh. dumps a whole bunch of exposition which i found it really hard to focus on. he reads it while walking. okay i don't want to but i've gotta re-listen and try to parse that because it sounded plot-critical

arlen learns from this note that the marines and special forces are trying to apprehend gordon freeman, who needs to be warned. he learns that the marines were ordered to kill black mesa employees and that the special forces were ordered to do the same as well as kill the marines.

the radio he picked up allows him to communicate over a secret secure channel, since the special forces are monitoring the default channel.

somehow he knows the special forces "are like ninjas" despite not having encountered them yet

thinks he's as good as dead if the special forces are after him.

calls in over the radio and manages to reach his friend (jordan/jordon) from sector g. jordan asks after rachel. when he learns that she didn't make it, jordan tells arlen to take up her mission and warn gordon freeman.

yet again, he's fixing other people's fuck-ups! he feels this has been the story of his life since he started working at black mesa.

has absolutely no clue where he is in the facility until he lands in loading bay d, which he recognizes immediately

knows right away that it's freeman in the hev suit despite not having been told what he would look like. maybe this means he actually did know gordon beforehand? mneh. i will make my own canon about this since it feels inconsistent

EPISODE 6

HEV training flashback! …why does Arlen receive HEV training instead of guard training?

"door, why you no open?"

wonders how Black Mesa can "keep bitching about how they're underfunded" when they can afford training holograms.

his high school had a "positive parent" initiative with a $5 membership fee.

he considers his high school "the poor kids' school."

surprised and dismayed by the fact that there are scientists monitoring his training. would rather no one be watching. (arlen what do you think happens in that scenario if you hurt yourself)

"this isn't like i'm going to be training to be a black op." arlen? hello?? a black op???

says he's receiving this training in case they run out of scientists to do a certain job. and holy SHIT that's ominous to me. like the administration knew there might be a shortage of survey team members. like they knew that losing them was a possibility and were preparing backup survey team members. it's just. aaaaa it's so fucked up do you understand how fucked up it is. am i explaining it right

jokingly ponders whether they're invading an alien planet. is pretty correct except for the part about the purpose being so that they can cure cancer. nah i think they did it just to do it. but good on him for his miniscule amount of faith in the administration at least having benevolent intentions

you can't say that white baby.

"you know you're a sad case when you talk to yourself this much." AHA. so at least some of your dialogue IS spoken and not just internal.

says the long jump module goes around his arm. i don't… i don't like that. is that true? i thought it went around their torso somewhere. like a jetpack. does it go on their arm?? is he getting that from somewhere or just making it up??? i guess it looks a little small to go around your whole body, but i feel like you'd tear your arm out of its socket every time you used it if it was a thing on your arm. i've decided he's wrong about this. he's doing it wrong

he does like the long jump module a lot. wants to keep it. not above stealing it if he can get away with it.

tries and fails to step on the cockroaches he sees. hates them. manages later to smash one with a crowbar.

happy for the opportunity to break crates at work.

makes reference to slenderman. lists a number of things he think slenderman does. says he never found him scary.

extremely happy that he gets to do weapons training as part of this but wonders why the hell scientists need to be trained with weapons

tries for way too long to shoot through the glass that says "UNBREAKABLE" in big yellow letters.

he hates swimming because he does not like to be wet. actually thinks it's awesome as long as he's wearing a waterproof suit

UNDERWATER MUMBLING 🙌

INCOHERENT WHIMPERING 🙌

was sick the day they told people how to use the trams. gives up.

ponders kicking barney out of the dorm for the night since he can stay with lauren instead.

barney hates snakes. arlen would happily use this knowledge against him.

EPISODE 7

back to the present. he lives!!!

he wakes up somewhere completely different. looks like a wind tunnel. his radio, flashlight, and weapons have all been taken.

moving hurts. very bad.

seems to remember everything that has happened to him. upset to learn that the aliens weren't a dream.

his wound. isn't bleeding. at all. i guess

he was shot somewhere in the torso, because apparently his shirt is over the wound and tight enough to act like a bandage.

i'm gonna go ahead and say gman intervened to prevent him from dying. or, uh, gmind. cia guy. you know him. but anyway, the special forces had a clean shot at him. and there's no way they would have moved what they thought was his corpse to that random tunnel and left him alone without checking at any point to make sure he was dead. a certain somebody is definitely lookin out for him.

his priorities: get a gun, get a car, get Kate, get the fuck out.

lets out a little startled yell each time he fires the shotgun.

starting to like the adrenaline rush (of killing? of being in danger? i assume he means the former, but he kinda doesn't specify!)

would like to capture an alien and keep it as a pet. it would make him feel badass. that's his new back-burner priority.

still terrified of alien grunts but just says "holy pancake!" this time instead of letting out an extended scream like he did earlier.

houndeyes remind him of dogs. wonders if he can "train one to be a dog."

"they're like creepers in minecraft, only they don't self-destruct." so they're nothing like creepers then, man. why are you like this. why do you say the things that you do.

the pain had faded into the background. when he gets to a first aid station and gets some morphine, it finally registers with him again how much pain he was in.

i can barely hear him during this section over the music and gunfire, but he repeatedly shouts "evasive maneuvers!" which is very funny. it's like audibly going "stealth!" while trying to hide

the military is deliberately blocking the parking garage in an effort to prevent people from leaving. sucks!

dead survey team member? whuh huh?? what are you doing here???

has zero idea how to pick up women. no clue how he ended up with kate. seems like he earnestly Does Not Remember.

sees that the metal detectors didn't go off when bullets (metal) passed through them and naturally assumes they are inoperative. decides to step through to test this theory. they go off. nice going, dipshit <3

EPISODE 8

hit in the head with a brick. the turrets have been beeping nonstop for fifteen minutes, despite not thinking it'll work, he snaps and pops out of his hiding spot to shoot it.

admonishes the scientists for not taking the guns on the ground.

glass in his arm from when the houndeye soundwave shattered the window! not as bad as when he cut himself on dried shredded cheese. makes a "sharp cheddar" joke. awesome

shocked by the vortigaunts' ability to speak. ready to hear em out until it starts attacking. listens to the next one and argues/converses with it! does not kill em afterward!

starts wondering if the other aliens will talk to him. hesitant to kill them now.

bemoans the fact that the security guard team is a glorified IT department, fixing every problem around the facility.

"i did NOT go to engineering school! if your fucking elevator will not work, i can't help you."

has apparently had his pay reduced for not fixing things he doesn't know how to fix. awful hellworld stuff. not that people aren't justified in sleeping at all jobs, but i can especially see why he sleeps at this job.

balancing on a distressingly small ledge.

got called to the biology department to solve a computer issue. after three hours, he was finally able to determine that a power strip was plugged into itself instead of into the wall.

simmons and walter cameo!!! arlen calls simmons "simms." maybe they know each other decently well. neither walter nor simms has heard from kate, unfortunately. but they do have health goo! arlen loooves being injected with health goo <3

running still really hurts.

simms fucking DEAD! oh, false alarm. no body, so arlen assumes simms got kidnapped.

arlen fails his stealth check and gets kicked off a ledge instead of pushing the soldier off. oopsieeee. yknow gmind really has his work cut out for him protecting this guy because arlen really is the struggler

EPISODE 9

unfortunately growing accustomed to this cycle of fighting for his life for a while, being knocked unconscious, and waking up somewhere else with no weapons.

wonders how he's still alive! if he was the army, he'd have killed him by now for sure.

earlier, he thought he was meant to die. now he realizes he's so lucky not to have died by now, maybe he's meant to live. maybe even some alien overlord is looking out for him. …naaaah. probably not. :3

breezes past a human head and leg on the ground and says shortly thereafter he didn't see any bodies in that room. wow. blood splatters and human remains are really just blending right into the scenery for him, huh.

he has a headache again. and his side still hurts from where he was shot. and his legs hurt from falling. he's got a lot of problems right now.

"walk up in the club and be like. what up. i got a pet rock"

proud of having blown up a helicopter, but concerned that it makes him an even bigger target.

"i'd rather be freezing than burning!" me too, man. i miss cold.

"and i thought i needed medication before this." tj arlen you will always be famous

EPISODE 10

he's still amazed at the ease with which he guns down military grunts. concludes that they must be expecting him to be unarmed.

it is not 2016. i will bite you.

at some point, he had fingerless gloves. now he doesn't. anyway i thought that was interesting.

time is getting weeeird for him due to the duration he's spent unconscious.

he considers morphine his "drug of choice." was that true before everything, or did it become true during the events of the game?

"okay. i understand now. everything these past few days is just my interpretation of what happened. it's why all the clocks don't have hands." so much fucked-up and inexplicable shit has happened to him that he no longer has any faith in the accuracy of his perception of reality. awesome! 😁

"it feels like i've been here for years, but if i really think about it—GRRAAHHGH. …if i really think about it,"

regretting not having tried to hotwire the car he found earlier.

maybe he should give up trying to find kate.

maybe he's in hell. wonders if he could have avoided this by being more religious.

believes religious texts are written by governments.

"but really, i'm not enlightened or better than everyone else. i just like to think i am but pretend i'm down-to-earth and a good-hearted person. was that what i was supposed to realize? i guess not, 'cause i kind-of already knew that. i'd be lying to myself if i said i didn't." feels like much of his life before all this was sorta. operating under several layers of playing pretend. deep down, he knows he's not better than anyone else, but he tries to tell himself he is, but he tries to seem humble to others?

says Kate doesn't truly matter to him. feels he should have valued her more. i don't think i believe him. im clinging to what he said in episode 4, that he wished she was there. he's always talking about her! and someone who really didn't care, i dunno, i don't think they'd be so worried about whether they cared enough.

bad relationship with his dad. complicated relationship with his mom.

suddenly talking like he thinks he's the worst guy in the world—like he brought all these bad things upon himself by being a bad person, by acting wrong in other areas of his life.

ah. yeah. the morphine is likely not a new thing. had a drug problem before this. hurt friends and lost relationships he cared about because of it.

this whole self-awareness thing sucks. he wants to go back to lying to himself even harder.

ready to stop existing. how can he stop existing.

making fun of the vortigaunts. starts entertaining himself by rhyming random words, then by narrating his situation and rhyming as he does so.

disappears down a pipe. he went out like super mario. godspeed buddy o7

EPISODE 10 (POST-CREDITS)

HE'S IN A FUCKING TUBE?

WHAT IS THIS.

what the fuck happens in azure sheep

sick gurgles, though

they let him out of his tube

kate saves his ass!!!

different kate model. i like this one less. give her back her glasses how will she see. give her back her vest she needs that.

arlen says "where are we going now?" and kate very faintly responds "heaven :3". i'm in shambles. that one word is all the characterization i'll ever get for her beyond how much arlen wants to save her but tbh it's so cute. that's enough., That's enough. WHO VOICED HER THOUGH BECAUSE KATE'S VA WASN'T IN THE CREDITS. WHO SAID THAT!?!?!?

what a strange first thing to say upon reuniting with your partner. weirdgirl kate reigns supreme.

i realized the other day that, despite featuring arlen, mind of ryan directly contradicts the canon of arlen's mind. if barney was around for ryan, who drove into work from off-site, to try and wake up, barney couldn't have been sleeping in the dorm with arlen. so yeah, there's not just the "too few beds and too little space in the dorm for three people to sleep comfortably" issue, there's "ryan straight-up claims he slept last night at the same off-site location as barney which is not possible in the same world as the one in which arlen's mind takes place." and i know the real answer to all this is "dravenmario wanted to pay homage to the series that inspired him, not necessarily be fully canon-compliant with that series," but i still. i dunno. thought it was mildly interesting and worth noting.

next i'll probably watch shephard's mind or chell's mind (the one by CyhAnide, although i do eventually plan to check out the Rychotech one).

[skylarkking]

"One In The Same"

A TFA Blitzwing x Mech!Reader fanfic

Word Count: 1k

Chapter 4: Broken Memories

I ended up falling into recharge, not l9ng after laying down, my mind drifting to a place I've never been but seemed so familiar.

In the dream I was scavenging the ruins of some sort of city, corpses of all kinds were scattered about among the rubble. The air was filled with the sharp metallic scent of energon and oil that made my tanks churn.

I swallowed the nausea and shook my helm to clear it.

And that's when I heard her. The quiet sobs of a sparkling.

"Sir, there's something here." I reported over the comlink although I do not know who to. "I'm going in to investigate." I followed the sound and moved a piece of debris out of the way, exposing an Autobot sparkling no larger than a minicon. She looked up at me with wide and terrified optics, her small frame shaking and trembling like a leaf in a summer storm. I felt... sad for her, an emotion I've never felt before. As a matter of fact, this was the first time I felt any emotion at all. It was strange, but I knew I had to help her, although I did not know why since it went against my prime directives.

"Hey hey its okay." I said softly as I knelt down next to her. "I'm not going to hurt you." The little femmling shakily stood and waddled over to me, falling right into my arms and sobbing. "Shhh shhh. It's okay. You're safe now. I've got you. No one is going to hurt you."

"Enigma. Report." Starscream's voice barked over the comlink.

"Stand by, sir."

"What do you mean stand by?! I want a report NOW!" I rolled my optics and disconnected the comlink, the little femme looking up at me with wide and scared optics.

"Hey hey, it's okay. That was no one important." I said softly to her. "Do you know where your creators are?"

"G-gone." She sobbed. "I dunno where they went!"

"Shh, shhh. Don't worry, I'll help you find them, okay?" I said ever so gently. "Do you have a name, sweetspark?"

"O-Obsidia."

"Obsidia, that's a pretty name." I smiled softly at her. "Do you have any idea where your creators could have gone?"

"Th-the Magnus said th-that i-if we had to run t-to go to the tunnels." Obsidia sniffled.

"Do you remember where they are?"

"I think th-that way." Obsidia pointed towards what looked to be a collapsed mining facility with several entrances to the tunnel network that ran below.

"Just hang on to me, and I'll get you there." Obsidia nodded and clung tightly to my frame as I walked towards the mines.

"Enigma!" I heard Starscream barked overhead as he and a few other Decepticons landed not far from me. I held Obsidia closer to my chassis and glared at him.

"What?" I snarled.

"What do you have there?" Starscream asked coldly.

"An Autobot sparkling. She's scared." 

"I told you to leave no survivors!" Starscream snapped.

"Obsidia, close your optics and turn off your audials." I said to the femme as I drew a blaster and aimed it at Starscream. Obsidia whimpered and hid her face in my chassis while her servos covered her audials.

"You DARE point a weapon at ME?!" Starscream shrieked.

"I am programmed to kill soldiers." I snarled. "Not innocents."

"No one is innocent in war! Now kill the sparkling!"

"Unfortunately," I said as I powered up my blaster. "That isn't your choice to make." I shot the seeker and sent him flying onto his back while the other Decepticons backing away in horror.

"You... you shot commander Starscream." One of the Decepticons said in shock.

"And I'll take his spark and yours if you don't get out of my way!" I hissed angrily. The Decepticons did not stop me as I went to the mines and disappeared into the maze of tunnels and passageways.

After what felt like hours of wandering, I heard the sounds of hushed voices talking and lights glowing up ahead. I followed the lights and sounds until I came upon a large cavern filled with Autobots ranging from civilians to soldiers.  One pair of soldiers spotted me and immediately drew their weapons.

"Please, I mean no harm." I said, pulling the rest of the Autobots attention. "I believe you are missing one of your numbers." I gently nudged Obsidia, and she looked up from my chassis and waved.

"Obsidia?" A mech's voice said from the crowd, his frame pushing forward and his optics going wide

"Sire!" Obsidia calls to the mech. I placed the little femme on her pedes, and she instantly ran to the mech in question, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close to him.

"By the Allspark, you're okay!" He said with a massive sigh of relief. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No sire," Obsidia said. "He saved me and protected me from Starscream."

"Starscream?" The mech questioned as he looked up at me. "You... fought against Starscream?"

"I shot my commanding officer, yes." I said.

"You're a Decepticon!" Now all of the soldiers in the room had their blasters and weapons aimed at me, my expression remaining unchanged.

"Do not waste your ammunition on me." I said. "Megatron will no doubt terminate me as soon as Starscream reports back."

"Like we are going to let you leave here!" One of the soldiers snapped.

"I won't be." I said grimly. "It's only a matter of time before the end."

"What are you saying?"

"Megatron has the capability to stop my spark whenever and wherever he pleases. As soon as Starscream tells him that I attacked him, I.... i-i-i...." I gripped at my chassis as my spark thundered wildly, my vents becoming ragged and strained.

"Get a medic! Now!" A bot called.

But it was far too late. My frame siezed up, and quiet scream left my intake as the agony of a forced termination ripped through me. My knees buckled, and my frame fell to the ground, colors fading to gunmetal gray. And I was no more.

With that death, I felt myself jerk awake with rapid spark beats and coolant dripping down my face.

'What... what was that?' I thought to myself. 'What the frag is going on?!'

"Kid? You okay?" Ratchet asked as he poked his helm into my room.

"I... I need to clear my processor." Before Ratchet could stop me I took off running out of the base and into the pitch black skies.

--------

A/n this whole chapter is based on a drawing I did

Obsidia is just so adorable I can't

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Next Chapter: Click Here

[archive-of-note]

We are once again rubbing our gay hands all over Javier Peña, well not all over him, there’s some hand holding though.

Some vulnerability, some realizations, some newly moved boundaries. The upfront crassness of our insert character, along with some admiration for the Adonis belt (amazing name btw) of one Mr. Javier Peña.

READER IS A MAN!!! There is no sex here, and reader gets no real descriptors of any sort but I am stating this plainly up top, because it is a factor in how the whole dynamic works.

Not Beta read and posted at 4:24AM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You look like shit.”

Javier barely looks up from his files, “Thanks.”

“C’mon, you can’t catch any sicarros if you keel over.” Easily, you walk around his space, collecting papers and closing files, making neat stacks that don’t really have any system of organization.

The fact he doesn’t fight you is evidence enough that he needs to head home.

“Peña, when was the last time you slept?”

This close to him you can see the bags under his glazed eyes.

“When was the last time we fucked?” He has no concern for volume, just blurting out the question without any discretion, and you’re thankful that Steve has someone to drag him home at night.

“You’ve been running on coffee and cigarettes for three days?”

He shrugs, pointing to the opened bottle of whiskey on his desk.

“Adding whiskey to the list doesn’t make it any better.” Walking around you grab his chair and pull it back from his desk.

“Get up, we’re leaving.”

His continued lack of fighting just ratchets up your concern.

———

The taxi ride to the complex is quiet, and you tip the driver extra because he kept his opinions to himself.

“Gracias, buenas noches.”

The driver waves dismissively, more interested in the probably too large stack of bills you threw his way.

“You paid too much.”

Huffing, you begin walking to the complex proper, tugging Javier along.

“Probably, but you work too much.”

He just hums.

The trudge to his apartment is uneventful, but you keep your head low regardless.

“Bad for your back.”

“Hmm?”

You pat yourself down before remembering you handed him his keys, and instead of asking you just shove your hands in his pockets.

“Keeping your head down like that,” he lets out a small grunt as you manhandle him to reach his other pocket, “not good for your back.”

“You’re one to talk about chiropractic concerns.”

His keys jingle and you suddenly realize this is the first time you’re seeing Javier’s apartment.

Honestly you never expected to see it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Javier sounds genuinely confused, and you can’t help the small smile that comes to your face.

“Well,” you push him inside, following closely as you pull the door shut and turn the lock with a pair of clicks, “I doubt spending three days straight in an office chair is good for you, and the way you hunch over files doesn’t look all that comfortable either.”

He grumbles.

“And while I know the gossip mill exaggerates, I checked the report, and jumping from a second story can’t be good for anything.”

He doesn’t dignify that with a noise.

Shaking your head, you look for a clock.

“Fuck, it’s almost three.”

Sighing, you take a step back, “I gotta get some sleep-“

“You don’t work tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t work tomorrow.”

You don’t know what he’s getting at, “I don’t.”

“Murphy thinks I might be coming down with something.”

Looking at him, you have to agree, but that could just be the exhaustion.

“What does that have to do with me not working?”

He looks to you but doesn’t answer.

Flicking your eyes toward his bedroom, you give him a questioning look.

He nods.

“Okay, but you have to at least attempt a scrub down.”

Again he nods before shuffling to his bathroom.

His room is nice, has a decent view, more then just an odd corner of the parking lot where the main buildings meet like yours.

His bed’s made, and the ashtray on his bedside table is moderately filled with crushed cigarette butts, you scrunch up your nose at that.

It feels strange being here, like some sort of line has been crossed.

And your second major realization of the night hits you, you’ve never been inside the house of whatever guy you were sleeping with, they always came to you.

As the shower starts, you sit at the foot of the bed and keep looking around. There’s nothing really personal on the walls, no photos or apparent keepsakes. Nothing that tells you this is Javier’s apartment beyond the hint of cologne that comes through the smell of stale cigarettes.

You sit in silence and wait.

The shower cuts off, and soon after the door creaks open.

“Why are you still dressed?”

Turning your head to Javier, you let yourself take in his naked frame, letting your gaze linger on the damp curls above his cock. You’ve never met a man with down right downy pubes before, and the little bit of belly he has is just as enticing.

“I’ll give you a blowjob, or a rub n’ tug, but you need sleep more then I need a dick in my ass.”

Confusion takes over his face as he subtly shakes his head.

“I wasn’t asking you to stay for sex.”

That makes you sit up.

He rubs the towel against his hair, walking around blindly, but with obvious knowledge of the space.

He crouches and grabs a pair of boxers from his dresser.

“You just want my company?”

That’s weird for the two of you, spending time together with your clothes on.

Maybe you chat, then you definitely fuck, and maybe there’s some pillow talk afterwords, and eventually Javier leaves.

Rarely have the two of you just talked when not at the Embassy.

He slips between the sheets and pats the empty space next to him, “I’m calling out tomorrow.”

You begin unbuttoning your shirt, “I don’t see what that has to do with me staying the night.”

He doesn’t respond immediately, and your kicking your pants off when he finally gives you an answer.

“I haven’t been able to sleep.”

It’s a vulnerable admission for a man like Javier, that he’s incapable of doing something so simple.

“The cough syrup around here is pretty strong.”

He shakes his head, arm moving out of the way so you can join him beneath the covers.

“I can fall asleep just fine, it’s staying asleep that’s the problem.”

As you settle in the bed, you realize that’s how he’s always gone the next time you wake up. You had always assumed it was just his internal clock getting him up and out of your apartment.

A night of realizations for you it seems.

“Would talking help?”

It’s an offer you don’t expect him to take, and for several minutes he doesn’t. In fact he’s so quiet you think he fell asleep.

“Nightmares.”

You hum in understanding, the reports alone have had you waking up in a cold sweat, to actually see it? Well Javier is a stronger man then you.

Taking a deep breath you settle deeper into the he mattress, you took off your pants, you aren’t going anywhere unless you absolutely have to.

He shifts in response to your moving, and you can feel where he lays his hand between you.

He taps his fingers and you turn your head.

He looks lost. Scared and lost.

Slowly you shift again, placing your hand over his and giving it a gentle squeeze.

He looks to where your hands meet, his long fingers slotting themselves between yours before he squeezes back.

“I’m not going anywhere,”

It comes from nowhere, somewhere deep and not as jaded as the rest of you.

“Not unless you want me to.”

Javier breathes in and squeezes your hand tighter, seemingly scared by the prospect of you leaving.

It’s not love, you won’t let it be, but still.

He’s in too deep.

You’re in too deep.

You scoot a bit closer until you can feel the heat of his leg on your thigh.

He opens his mouth as if to say something, but you shake your head, cutting him off before you squeeze his hand again.

One, two, three.

A small pattern, completely benign, no intrinsic meaning to read into.

He repeats the pattern back in acknowledgment.

He closes his eyes.

You close yours.

You squeeze his hand.

“Get some sleep.”

He squeezes yours.

“Please don’t leave.”

That’s what you take it to mean at least. It’s easier to swallow, easier to handle, easier to live with, than what that small unjadded part of you wants it to mean.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

[selvie-blue]

Ghost Hunter Exposed

The camera crew is ready. Not a single lamp is on in the room to ensure that the only thing giving this room any kind of glow is the camera light. They’re actually waiting in the dark, right now while Kaster Prichard is “prepping himself.” Which he’s been doing for about fifteen minutes now. To say that his crew is getting restless is putting it mildly. All he’s doing is just making a series of sounds with his mouth. The stereotypical things you’d picture when an “actor” is getting ready for a scene.

He then says, “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Finally,” someone says under their breath.

“Tony, I know that was you!” Kaster says. He doesn’t say anything past that, but just makes his voice stern with the bitter curves of a tongue lashing out like a viper.

Tony sighs and then says, “Okay, ready in three, two….”

He whispers the word, “one,” while holding up his index finger. The camera and the light turn on and suddenly captures Kaster in this solitary and eerie glow that takes possession of the walls around him.

He snaps into character, leans in and says, “This is Kaster Prichard. Actually airing live, right here, in the Holland house.” He then says in a far more subtle voice, “No one’s been in this house for over ten years. Yet, still, here it stands. Even with plans for demolition four years ago, it never came to be after a series of accidents.”

He looks into the camera while making that point sink in. “Ten years ago, a group of people lived in this home. No one knew a lot about them. They were as mysterious as the house, itself. And then one day, they just… disappeared.”

A series of ghostly moans comes floating in from the dark beyond the doorway.

“That, ladies and gentleman, is what people have been reported to hearing. Especially when the hour strikes past midnight.”

One of his crew rolls his eyes. They don’t sigh. They just silently do so and shake their head. Not believing that they went to an ivy league school just to film some pompous asshole pretend to be a “psychic.”

“Now, let’s…”

Kaster’s voice trails off as the moans get louder. Not only that, but there is a wind that starts blowing through the room they’re in. All the windows are closed and there’s no fan on. Yet there’s still a strong breeze. One that almost seems to go right through Kaster’s bones.

Kaster sighs heavily and yells, “CUT!” while stomping his foot and thrashing his head forward in a fit of anger.

But the camera keeps rolling, the light’s still on.

“Are you def!” Kaster yells. “I said CUT!” He yells this even louder. His voice clawing out of his throat and practically shooting fire from his mouth.

But the camera still rolls. In fact, everyone is staying in the same position.

Kaster arches his eyebrow. A flinch snaps into his face as his eyes compress, tightly, as the door slams behind him.

There are now howls attaching themselves to this breeze that’s getting even stronger. Kaster’s hair is beginning to wisp back, as if he’s holding his head out of a moving car.

“Wha-what’s going on here?” Kaster says, his voice no longer boisterous. It’s shrinking back into his throat.

He looks around, trying to see where that’s coming from. That’s when he feels it. It’s this something that’s weight into him. It almost feels like a series of grasps that are tugging at him. It’s not pulling him in any direction, it’s just this invisible touch of hands that seem to almost be reaching inside of him.

“We didn’t pay for this. WHO PAID FOR___”

Kaster’s yelling is cut short as his words run back inside his mouth on the race marks of a gasp. A piece of his shirt has just been ripped right off. It’s on his upper shoulder. The flap of fabric is carried away into the dark.

He swallows as he looks around.

“Who-who’s doing this?” Kaster says.

He then feels his collar expand open from beneath his chin. Feeling like a button has been snapped off.

“Hello?”

That word sinks into his quivering tongue as the buttons on both his sleeves are snatched up from the stitching. One after the other. Kaster’s head turns from one sleeve to the other as he sees the ends suddenly pop open. He looks forward. He feels his left nipple. Feels this wind blowing past it. He looks down and sees that another small piece of his shirt has been ripped off. He hears another piece rip. The sudden tearing sound screaming in his ears as he jolts his head to his other nipple which is now also exposed.

He tries to walk backward. But realizes he can’t. His legs feel heavy. His feet feel like they’re apart of the floor.

The buckle of his belt jerks open. The clanking of the buckle dangling from the loosened belt. His breathing is getting rushed as he feels the button on his pants snapping off. The waist band where the button once was, quickly splits into two open flaps.

The entire right side of his collar lifts up and, moving diagonally, tears a half circle around his neck and flies off. His eyes expand. “Who is doing this?” His words quiver on a tone that crawls up through this throat.

The entire center of his shirt bursts open. In quick succession, the buttons are pulled and yanked. The stitching stretched into oblivion. The left side of his shirt opens up past his shoulder, showing the entire right side of his chest. His stomach and the meaty flap of skin his nipple is attached to quivers above his quickly beating heart. The right side of his shirt stays mostly tucked while the left side has been pulled all the way out.

This is followed by a small, little tear ripping off his shirt from the fluttering left side. Then another. Then another.

The entire back of his shirt is pulled in two, splitting open this quick-moving tear that speeds all the way up to his collar. Once it reaches his collar, the suddenly two separated pieces of his shirt rapidly slide of his shuddering shoulders and all the way down his arms until they are just pulled up through the air and are eaten by the dark, disappearing forever.

His eyes widen. He looks down as he feels a pulling. The head of his zipper is pulling forward. It’s being moved up and down as it’s expanding away from his pants. He’s trying to reach his hands towards it, but this wind is getting stronger, nearly prying his arms apart. He hears a ting as he sees the head snap off. The teeth of the zippier extend a quarter of the way down. His gray briefs escaping into the light. He has to strain himself just to reach his arms not even a third of the way.

His zipper moves down a little further as he hears that sound, the metallic vibrating sound of his descending zipper. It then reaches all the way down. The seams of his underwear peaking through the center of his pants. Then, a small patch of fabric is snatched away from his pants. On the right side, just underneath his underwear. Then the knee rips off.

His eyes go wide as his pants start to descend by themselves. Creases fold into deepening layers as, slowly, the pants are being dragged downward, sliding off the sides of his underwear. The pants go halfway down his legs.

He still can’t move his hands any further as the howling wind gets stronger. He’s standing there with his pants halfway down his legs, his gray underwear hugging his front pouch and firmly holding his buttocks into place.

He feels his pants pull from behind him. A ripping shudders through him. A ripping from somewhere, but he can’t tell where. All he knows is that it has to be his pants. The tearing and ripping continues as his trousers are feeling looser around his legs. Their grasp can’t hold on much more. He then sees where the tearing his occurring. It’s moving up the front center of both legs. The material flapping backward, brushed back by this mysterious wind. But the wind is now getting strong enough to where it carries that tearing the rest of the way and his pants quickly open up and fly off to the side.

His stomach and chest are trembling as the wind is blowing past him. A fleck of his underwear is snatched off. Directly underneath the left side of the waist band. He tries to move his hands forward, but still can’t. A bigger chunk is ripped open. This one close enough to where a fumbling shadow of his penis can be seen.

Then, a small hole forms at the tip of his underwear, exposing a small piece of red from the bulbous helmet of his circumcised dick. The flaps of his underwear pry themselves away in different directions. Seeming to purposely show the shape and contour of his shaft and how it extends from his testicles. They pry further, pulling harder, until the fabric is stretched thin, withering it down to a silhouette of gray. It tears as the threads are pulled away from each other. A tearing is occurring on either side of his briefs. Slowly moving up to his waistband.

Kaster’s eyes expand as the bursts open like a pilot light has just been turned on from inside his head. His underwear is feeling loose as the torn-open portions are quickly flapping against his inner thighs.

His breath is nearly stolen from him as he still tries to cover himself, but the wind, the howling, haunted wind is pushing him in this fury.

With one single swift motion, his briefs explode open on his right thigh. It’s pushing up against his penis, edging further and further away from it as the shape of his dick is falling through.

The bottom of his underwear rips in either direction, his penis falling down. The fleshy cylinder shape bobs back and forth. The wind then stops. He looks up to the camera. His left hand hugging his chest, the shape of his pectorals pressed underneath his hand. His right hand is holding his dick. It’s shaking and can’t even hold into it properly as the head shines from beneath the reflection of the camera light.

To read this story with the full, unedited picture, go here.