#I forgot what I tagged the giant rat before

[ultimate-rat-bracket]

Okay everyone I have some Giant Rat propaganda on behalf of my friend (who has been rooting for him since the very moment i started this blog) so LISTEN UP:

The Giant Rat Who Makes All Of Da Rules is not getting enough love. My friend, the self proclaimed rat pope (10000x cooler than the human pope) is spreading the word of Giant Rat and implores you all to vote for the giant fuzzy war criminal himself. Perhaps this may help sway you?

With hits such as We’re the Rats and Michael’s Birthday Mixtape, the Giant Rat could definitely fit in a band like Ghost

The bangers themselves can be heard here!

[remmushound]

Beyond the Bay chapter 7: Mutant Town

Tags: @brightlotusmoon @digitl-art-monstr @scentedcandlecryptid @selfindulgenz @ilo-artistry

Mikey fell, and he screamed all the way down. A large pile of garbage softened his fall— in fact, it was more like a mountain than a pile. A mountain that he tumbled down like a tossed rock, and once he pulled himself into his shell to escape the tumbling whiplash, he even resembled a rock. The slope of his shell ensured that he landed on his plastron, and only once he was still for several moments did he crawl back out of his shell and look around the environment.

The first thing he noticed, with a wave of relief, was that it was night. The next thing he noticed was the wall; a great, big wall of wire and metal sheets around the perimeter that stretched several feet taller than the highest trash peak, and along the top of it were tangles of barbed wire that made the place look almost like a prison yard. No, not a prison yard— a junkyard! And a pretty big one at that! Mikey couldn’t see much from where he was, expansive walls of junk blocking his view and giving him the sensation of almost being in a giant maze.

Mikey struggled to his feet. He was unstable but, as long as he had the wall to lean on, he was sure he could find his way. The cold, tickling tingle washed over him, but he forced his way through the cloud of misery. He tested the steadiness of the wall before he dared to lean his whole weight into it; at his size, even the most sturdy of things were at constant risk of collapse. The wall supported him just fine, and he was thankful as he used it to guide his way while his other hand cupped around his stomach. Mikey made his way down the first walkway. Trash, trash, and more trash was all he saw, packed together so tightly together that their integrity surpassed even some of the houses back in Mikey’s city.

“Man, and I thought my New York was dirty!” Mikey whistled. He was sure this wasn’t actually a part of his counterpart’s city, but the joke helped him to not completely shut down. “Raph? Leo? Dee?”

No response came. To the left of Mikey’s path was a disturbance that made him yelp and grab his nunchaku expecting a threat; the perceived threat was, in fact, a giant rat running down the side of one of the closer hills. The rat ran over Mikey’s feet, bolting down the path while its pursuers, three very fat cats, were hot on its tail and seemed to take no interest in Mikey.

Mikey practically squealed. “Kitties!”

Mikey hurried after them as fast as his still-stiff body could carry him. For as long as he could remember, he had always wanted a cat! The ones back in his world always seemed to run from him, but maybe these ones could be different! If he was extra quiet, maybe he could even pet one!

“Here kitty kitty. Pspspspspsp…” He fell to his knees when he caught up to the cats; they were all crowded around a small hole in the trash, too small for them to fit through, batting through the opening with sad mewls. “Aw… hey kitty kitties…”

One of the cats almost immediately responded to Mikey’s calls, the other two still too focused on trying to get the rat to care about the mutant. The cream tabby, tail held high, trotted over to Mikey with all the confidence in the world and pressed his face against the mutant’s finger, immediately starting to purr as he danced around Mikey’s hand. Mikey gasped out a sob and started to cry as carefully deft fingers began to massage the tom cats cheeks and head, and in response the cat squinted his eyes closed and started to knead his claws into the dirt; he was even drooling a bit!

“Oh my god…” Mikey sniffled and, on impulse, slowly scooped the fat cat into his hands. The cat didn't seem to mind, so Mikey picked him up and held the cat securely to his chest. “I never wanna leave…”

“Babies!” A voice echoed through the junkard and immediately both Mikey and the cats were at alert. “Babies babies babies!”

The cat kicked himself free of Mikey’s grasp and took off running toward the voice; the other two cats snapped out of their trance and ran just as fast. That voice had been close, really close, and Mikey certainly didn't want to stick around and see the human that it belonged to. In his mind, he still saw the hate in the eyes of the officers that had cornered him and his brothers. He saw it so clearly, and he felt that same fear, and that same sense of smallness like the humans were growing and he was shrinking and he was alone and—

Mikey had to hide. The footsteps were approaching, and the only place to escape to was behind an old, rusted car, and that was exactly where Mikey went. He covered his mouth to hopefully hide the fact that he was breathing so heavy, and he saw the shadow of the stranger as they passed by on the other side of the car. Mikey held his breath. The shadow paused. Surely they didn't know Mikey was? How could they know?

The car gave a groan and Mikey soon realized that it was being moved. Lifted, as if it was nothing more than cardboard, and to Mikey’s horror he looked up to something tall and definitely not human. White eyes were the only part of the creature that wasn’t cast into shadow, two massive claws clicking together in a threat. The stranger was completely covered in thorn-like spikes, and when his eyes focused on Mikey, his lips curled into a sneer.

“Whatchu doin’ crawling around down there?”

Mikey screamed. It wasn’t a very long scream, more like a high-pitched yelp, but it was enough for color to flood back into the other mutant's eyes as he kneeled, looking far less threatening now he was at Mikey’s height.

“Hey hey, it’s okay.” The mutant waved a claw in what was intended to be a deescalating manner, “Don’t scream, kid, I ain’t gonna hurt you.”

Mikey was able to see more of the mutant now that they were closer. His skin was purple and he had dark hair with streaks of aging gray. His outfit was simple, a stained white t-shirt and a leather jacket, both torn by the jagged spikes that littered his body. Around his waist was a belt that looked like it could have once been the collar of a junkyard dog, black with silver spikes, though it wasn’t holding anything up because the mutant was without pants.

“Didn't mean ta scare ya kid…” The mutant offered a claw and Mikey slowly accepted it, standing with the help of what he now recognized as a praying mantis around the same height as Donnie. “Jus’ wonderin’ why you’s pokin’ around is all.”

Mikey swallowed what little spit was left in his mostly dry mouth. “Hey… you’re a mutant!”

“And uh… so’s is you.” The mantis smiled and pointed at Mikey.

“I didn't know there were other mutants here!” Mikey’s voice did that thing where it went loud without intention, but he didn't care. “Oh my god that is so cool!”

The mantis laughed jovially. “Man, where have you been that you don’t know about other muties?”

He swung his arm around Mikey’s shoulders and prodded the tip of his claw against the turtle’s plastron with nothing but friendly intention. He started to guide Mikey down the path and Mikey was more than willing to go with him.

“Uh…” Mikey rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m… pretty new in town.”

The narrow path they had taken opened up to show a wide, mostly-clear area in the heart of the junkyard. The first thing Mikey saw, much to his delight, was a congregation of fat, happy cats feasting on a large assortment of food laid out for them

“Well, let me be the first to introduce you, then. I’m Repo Mantis...” Repo motioned to the area beyond the cats, “Welcome to Mutant Town.”

“Wha…?” Mikey’s mouth fell open. The longer he stared, the less he could believe what he was looking at.

What was once junkyard opened up into what could almost be mistaken for a town or, more accurately, a village. The space wasn’t particularly big. And from what Mikey could see of the layout there was only one road, but to him it was the most beautiful thing. Mutants— lots of them! Mammals and reptiles and birds too; Mikey could have almost mistaken it for an actual street if not for the colorful creatures that called it home instead of humans. Then Mikey realized that the structures that filled the area were meant to be houses! Some of them were cars, hollowed out and filled instead with personal items and sleeping spaces, while others were more innovated; ramshackle sheds out built of scrap metal acting as small houses. There were tarp canopies that covered outdoor sleeping spots, and there were tents, and there was random furniture scattered around for shared comfort space. He even spotted a few shipping containers that had been renovated into small hotels with four or five rooms side by side.

“Woah…” Mikey almost forgot to breathe.

“Cool, innit?” Repo smiled, laughing once more as he gave Mikey a playful shake. “Come on! I’ll show you around!”

The mantis led Mikey deeper into the compound. For the first time in his life, Mikey was able to walk down a road, in front of people (more or less) without being stared at! It was him who was doing the staring, his awe getting the better of him the more he witnessed of the small town and its occupants. Mutants of all shapes and colors and species—young and old and skinny and fat and small and big! There were some so large he had to crane his neck to actually look at them.

“This is incredible…” Mikey breathed.

“This is everyday in this city.” Repo snickered, beak wrinkling, “Seriously kid, no worries! You’re among your own kind here!”

“Wow…”

A sudden and unsteady klunk klunk klunk caught the attention of both mutants. They looked further down the trail to see what looked like a tin can running after them! No, not a tin can, Mikey quickly realized, but a tiny cream kitten with a tin can stuck on his head. With every step the little kitten took, he wobbled and stumbled and fell, making very little progress in his search for help. It was like he had four left feet!

Repo clicked his tongue and calmly shook his head, helping Mikey to rest on a couch before heading over to gather the kitten up in his claws.

“Aw, sweetie.” Carefully, his claws started to work the can off of the kittens head until the young cat was free. “How do you keep doing that, sweet thing? Aww…”

The kitten reared its head up to encourage the gentle petting of Repo’s sloped claw, tiny paws dancing in the air while purrs sounded off in quick succession, more than loud enough for Mikey to hear.

“Awww kitty!” Mikey stuck out his bottom lip as he made desperate grabby hands.

Repo gave an amused smile at the turtle’s antics and made his way over, guiding Mikey’s grabbing hands into more of a cradle before carefully placing the kitten in Mikey’s arms. Mikey melted under the warmth and the pleasant vibrations. It was as if his entire body was jello and the only thing keeping him in one piece was the solid mass of happy energy in his arms. He was terrified to move, so went as stiff as a statue, not daring even to blink.

“Oh my god I love him…” The kitten pressed against Mikey’s hand and gave him no choice but to massage the fluffy face with a delicate touch; all the while the kitten was still wobbling unsteadily back and forth as if some invisible force was jerking him along. “Why is he so wobbly?”

“Wobbly kitten syndrome.” Repo said with a sigh and shake of his head, “Normally they’re euthanized but eh… he seems to be handling himself alright for now.

Mikey sucked in a shaky, sobbing breath, “He’s the most beautiful baby boooooooyyy…”

***

“Incredible…” Donnie said breathlessly, adjusting his goggles once more to get an even closer look inside the compound, “It’s like a whole town of mutants down there!”

“It’s not called Mutant Town for nothing.” Leonardo smirked, leaning against the taller turtle like he was a fence post.

“There must be dozens of them!”

“Thirty-four currently, to be exact.” Donatello said proudly, “And we just so happen to know the guy who runs the place, so let us do the talking, kay?”

“Kay.” Leo entertained with a slight nod.

“But you talkin’ us back for a tour the second we get the time to spare.” Raph rumbled, flashing teeth to show his joke.

Donatello took the lead of the group as they descended upon the compound, to a grand door just below a sign reading ‘Beware the Repo-Mantis’ with the ‘tis’ added on with spray paint. Leo felt incredibly small under the sharp watch of the guards on point, two large and particularly nasty looking mutants hidden among the wires, but he stayed quiet as had been requested of him. Quiet, but alert. Donatello rang the bell that said “Ring For Service” and it wasn’t very long at all before the gates were opening, and out from the community stepped a seven foot praying mantis with a sneer on his face; a sneer that faded quickly when he saw Donatello.

“Donnie!” Repo Mantis wrapped his arms around Donatello and heaved him up in a powerful grip, “Shit, man, how the hell are ya?!”

“I can’t complain!” Donatello mused, slipping out of Repo’s grasp faster than the laughing mutant could catch him again, “Pizza’s still a’flowing, and Foot’s still a’kicking, so you know…”

“Business as usual?” Repo offered.

“Exactly!” Donatello clicked his tongue and winked, whisking Repo away for a private chat, “But there is a minor issue.” He gave the mantis man a quick rundown of the days affairs.

Repo considered, and then nodded. “Ah. Sounds like you got’s your hands full. Well, glad to say I can help ya wit’ at least one of your problems. Wait here.”

Repo disappeared back into the compound. Donnie leaned over to whisper in Donatello’s ear.

“How do you know him again?”

“He tricked me, I bug zapped him, he nearly trashed my tank in a Demolition Derby, you know how it is.”

Donnie really didn't know how it was, but he didn't want to ask. Repo returned soon, this time with a six foot tall box turtle in tow.

“Mikey!” Three brothers swarmed the youngest.

“My son.” Splinter raised a hand to touch Mikey’s face, then hesitated when he saw a tiny bundle of orange in his sons arms. “Oh…”

Mikey sniffled as he held the tiny, ginger kitten in the palm of his hand, petting his fingers through the happy tom cats fur. “Repo said I could keep him. I named him Klunk. With a K!”

Michelangelo gasped. “CUUUUUTE! Also, hugs!”

Michelangelo penetrated the wall of muscle to give Mikey a hug, which Mikey returned with a weak arm.

“Mikey, we can’t…” Leo started, but a sharp glare from Donnie made him hold his tongue.

The family started to usher Mikey away, now acutely aware of just how exposed they were out here; the rapidly rising Sun was doing them no favors. Mikey showed no resistance in following, and the rest of the turtles joined the congregation as they passed.

“I’m gonna give him so much cheese…” Mikey sniffled, not bothering to wipe his tears.

“Weee have cheese.” Donatello commented with a nod.

Leonardo laughed and gave Mikey a firm pat on the carapace. “Welcome to paradise, hermano. It’s great to have you back.”

[imaginesbymk]

PINK + WHITE.

— chapter ten ; stained glass window.

summary: teresa’s permanent resignation from the peaky blinders leads her to a whole new chapter of working in an art museum. but little did she know her best life would be butchered some time later when her former lover tommy shelby gives her no choice but to return to the peaky blinders after they make new enemies, with the leader, of all people, being the man teresa fell in love with one night after a wedding reception back in post world war; luca changretta.

pairing: luca changretta x OC x tommy shelby

tags in this chapter: swearing + smoking

[ chapter index ]

A/N: I am sooooo sorry for the long hiatus! </3

This story is getting more views on Wattpad than here on Tumblr. I still love the show and Luca's my favourite villain, but as much as I want to discontinue this story, I want to get it out of the way because I have drafted a timeline of this story, including Teresa's and Luca's closure on their relationship. So I'm stuck in the middle on what to do???

BTW, I've come up with a headcanon for Luca's full name as Luca LaPaglia Changretta! His middle name is never revealed in the show, I just did this for the fic.

RIP Helen McCrory. You were one of my favourite stars of the show. Fly high <3. The Peaky fandom will miss you so much.

///

TERESA wasn't as religious as the next person, but she kept her respect as her heels echoed down the aisle, immediately spotting the tall man kneeling on one of the pues. His hands were folded in prayer, and he murmured what the Welsh could make out to be Italian tongue.

"Do you want to be alone?" she asks.

Luca pauses, his eyes still shut and hands still in folds. "No. I want you here."

Teresa slides over and sits next to her lover, staring at the giant crucifix behind the front podium. "How often do you pray, amore?"

Luca pauses his prayer again. "Almost every day. God and I keep in touch, y'know."

"What does he say to you?"

"He tells me to tell you to quit interrupting until I'm done talking to Him." Teresa chuckles, prompting her to let him finish. As it took another good minute for Luca to conclude his prayer, Teresa gazed at the stained glass windows on each side, casting a good light from the clouds that allowed a bit of sun for England, some of it casted its light onto Luca, like an angel on an opera stage.

Luca makes a sign of the cross, sitting back on the pue and grunting a bit from kneeling for a while. "How was lunch with Mamma?"

Teresa nodded. "It was lovely."

"Just lovely?"

"Mhm." She holds his hand. "She says your middle name is LaPaglia."

Luca hums, kissing her hand that curled with his. "C'mon, I wanna take you out with me for wine."

"Hmm... Luca LaPaglia Changretta," She said out loud, admiring the beauty of his full name slipping from her lips. "And I had wine with your mother."

"I meant wine shopping. I'm doing most of the taste tests, it's my cousin's birthday soon."

"Then shouldn't he be the one shopping for wine?" she asks.

The Italian pulls the heavy door, escorting Teresa out of the church and into the chauffeur. "He counts on me, I'm better at choosing wine and gin these days."

"ARTHUR, quit pacing. You'll burn your legs out."

"Where the fuck is she?" Arthur grunts. "Eh? Tom, you're really in it for this one. The fuckin' Welsh is not gonna live up to a fuckin' promise."

"You stop that, she's on her way," Tommy takes a sip of his drink.

A split-second passes as the maid knocks on the heavy office door. "Mr. Shelby?" the feminine voice calls softly. "Miss Griffith is here to see you."

Tommy gives a smug look to Arthur and Polly. "Yes. Send her in," he says. They waited for the woman to walk in, kind of wishing for Tommy to immediately scold her once she stepped foot into his office, but Tommy wasn't up to waste that much energy.

Arthur was the one to step in and do so, otherwise. "What? Did you stroll around Manchester or something?"

"Sorry," Teresa frowns, her face reading she wasn't holding any joy from her day so far. "I was with Luca."

"We're all ears," Polly walked around Tommy's desk. "What's happened? Did he fuck you until you forgot how to tell time?"

"I'm assuming Finn told you?" she asks.

"That's Finn for you, Teresa," Arthur points out.

Teresa rolls her eyes. No point of getting back at him this time. Rat or not, he would never hold back a word from the family. She remembered seeing him appear at the gallery, and he wasn't going to keep a secret from Tommy.

"I invited him for a meeting at a bar...then he took me to the theatre..." Teresa trails off.

Tommy opens his cigarette pack. "Go on."

"That's all, Mr. Shelby."

"You slept with Luca Changretta, just say it."

Teresa folded her arms. "Actually, yes. But earlier events prove what I'm about to propose; I'm in."

The members of the Peaky Blinders all raised a brow, mostly Tommy's.

"You slept with Luca Changretta, I didn't expect you to actually follow up with that, I don't recall telling you to do so, either."

"I wanted to discuss his plans on taking the Penarth gallery. It's not for his dirty hands to touch."

"You wish to join because your heart was too broken to hold back?" Polly says. "Is that where we're getting at, Teresa?" The Welsh woman stared at her. This was probably the first time they had seen each other after all those years that followed from her resignation. Since the last time they spoke, Polly didn't have anything held against her, and here she is, quite disappointed that Teresa shared her heart with a man like Luca. She did quite enjoy her company and her contribution to the Peaky Blinders, even when she chose to depart from Tommy and their relationship, then came Grace Burgess. Polly just didn't want to deal with another afterwards unless it was Lizzie.

"You're doing this just to get even? Luca could care less about your feelings now."

"Teresa," Tommy sighs, nodding at his old friend. "Come back here tomorrow."

Teresa nodded and made her exit out the foot of her door.

"And come on time, please." Teresa wished she could slam the door on him, but Arthur shut it as soon as Teresa's foot took a centimeter away. She presses her ear against the wood to hear them muffling.

"Tom?" She hears Arthur speak. "We can't trust her."

Tommy clears his throat, setting down a scrap of an article he read on his desk. "She'll go back to Penarth, but we can't let her stay there. I know what's going to happen."

"What do you know?"

"Italian men will show up to the gallery."

"It's certain Teresa Griffith keeps a firearm in her drawers," Polly says.

"No," Tommy shook his head. "Not enough to take down at least five men. Luca keeps count of who he orders - who he sends. We're more careful of that, we know of that."

"We're not morons, Tommy. Now we hear from Finn that Luca and Teresa were together?"

"Teresa should give us what we need to know from Luca Changretta. She knows too much about him."

"And Luca knows too much about us," Polly slowly walks over to Tommy. "If Teresa forms an alliance, what will she do? She's already slept with him, but I doubt she got anything out of it. She's not here for the sake of helping. She wants in because she's a woman with a broken heart."

Teresa detaches herself from the door, having heard enough. One of the maids returns, noticing the guest hadn't left yet and was suspiciously eavesdropping their boss. Teresa was pulled back by the shoulder like a child, escorting her out of the foyer.

SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER, Teresa woke from the blinding sun. The silky bed sheets that covered hers and Luca's nude bodies were unmade - ruffled around. If you left the curtains open, you're more alerted. Luca never intended on waking Teresa up that way. In fact, he wasn't even lying next to her in the bed.

Luca's white dress shirt casted more brightness but his trousers were half done. He stared outside, holding his China cup of tea in one hand before looking back down at the papers sprawled across his desk.

Teresa sat up to clip on her brassiere, her accent thinned to greet in basic Italian. "Buongiorno."

He didn't respond.

She slides out of bed and approaches the desk. "Do you need me to leave soon? Though, you don't look like you're in a rush for an important meeting."

Still nothing.

"What, Luca?" This wasn't new for Luca to strangely switch up his mood. He wasn't an easy man, it's hard to impress him or to even study his emotions at times. Teresa had the feeling that Luca didn't enjoy what they had done. "Was this a mistake?"

"This was unprofessional." Luca sets his cup and coaster on his desk. "If you think something will come from this, then think again. I never should have taken you to the theatre. You were trying to let my guard down, were you?"

"No," Teresa shook her head. "I wasn't surprised that this was going to happen."

"Such a mind you carry in that blonde head of yours."

"Seeing you again felt good, Luca. I seized the opportunity to share another moment with you. I was thinking you were going to plan on coming back to Penarth indefinitely."

"Miss Griffith, did it ever occur to you that I wasn't supposed to stay here?" Luca frowns. "I'm no citizen here. America is where my heart belongs, if not America; Sicily."

"You fled to America. That was your last ditch effort to get away from the police," Teresa murmured. She folds her arms. "I understand why you had to do it."

"Then why do you hold it against me?" he asks, exhausted.

"Because I never heard from you ever since."

"I was fairly active in New York, you know?"

"I didn't know."

Luca stared at her. "That's your own problem, Miss Griffith."

"Christ, Luca. Enough with the formalities!" Teresa snaps. "I'm standing at your desk, half nude. We fucked in that bed right there!"

"Which was something we shouldn't have done," Luca began rubbing his temples. "I didn't come back here for you, all right? Porca miseria-" he cuts himself off to heave in a deep sigh. "I have to ask. All this time... you're still hung up on me?"

"Yes," Teresa says, her face paling. "Because I missed you, you bloody bastard. I couldn't reach out to you or your mother, not even the American press, to see how you were doing, or if you were kissing another woman's lips."

Luca slid his hand over to pick up the dress and shawl he placed on the side of the desk. "You need to leave now."

There was no point of convincing him anymore. All was said. Teresa knew not to vex a mafioso unarmed. If she had her handgun with her, she would have tried to pull something in a spite of anger. Would that do her a favour? Probably not. The rest of whoever's left of the Changretta family would go after her without question.

There was Tommy, though, and he's still waiting for her response back in Small Heath.

Grabbing her clothes, Teresa marches back to the bed, gets dressed and leaves the hotel room without saying a word to her former lover. Not even a curse.

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

JiMitri

I know Hiccup x Jack is the main pairing in that Fairy AU fic of mine, but I cannot stop drawing these two more.

There’s just not many Jim x Dimitri fanart as oppose to HiJack too, so it compels me all the more to draw them more often despite them not being the main pairing focus in the story.

More Headcanons for this AU

Before meeting Dimitri, Jim was known for being indifferent to a lot of things outside fast flying.

In chapter 8, of Written in the Wings, the reputation Dimitri pertained to was that.

Jim let’s Dimitri think that he’s being all “Tsundere” is due to that reputation issue. In truth, he really likes Dimitri enough that he wants to scream it to the whole Hollow. But he finds that too embarrassing and just ridiculous, so he lets that frustration out by snapping at Dimitri being romantic or sappy every chance he gets.

Order of creation for the main peeps from oldest to newest

Honeymaren and Ryder (same time just different time of day, morning and evening) [They’re siblings in canon, but just closed friends in this fic]

Jamie

Astrid

Dimitri

Jim

Jack and Hiccup

Jim and Hiccup became friends when Snotlout was messing with Hiccup’s self esteem. Jim butts in, interrupting Snotlout by challenging him in a race, which he won. Hiccup made him his special chamomile tea as thanks and they’ve been friends ever since.

Jamie was assigned to help Jack settle in when he was a newborn fairy. He was supposed to show him the ropes, but was surprised to find that Jack was well capable already, especially when he somehow managed to summon a staff that enhances his frost magic.

This caused a period of resentment from the other frost fairies for a while due to envy and saw Jack as some upstart newcomer.

Jack lashed out by playing pranks.

Jamie was the first to notice that Jack’s pranks were always careful not to cause actual harm, but somehow to have the other fairies see him in a good, playful light.

Jamie always kept Jack company and expressed his awe with Jack’s extraordinary talent in Frost magic. Usually, only the Special Winters were able to summon their weapon from thin air. The difference being, Jack’s staff is concrete so he can’t summon and re-summon it from thin air.

Jack still continued his pranks even when he no longer had hard feelings with his fellow fairies, and they no longer felt too envious of him. Just because he got used to them and they were fun.

Jamie tags along sometimes. He agreed that they were fun.

Parallels to the Tinkerbell Movies

Hiccup attempted to change his talent because of Snotlout’s constant digs on his expense. It’s Jim who talks him out of it. (Similarly to how Terence did it to Tink)

Hiccup gets assigned to make the Autumn scepter. Jim loses a bet so he gets rope into helping him, and he tags Dimitri along who was more than willing to lend his expertise in regards to Dustology.

The Moonstone shatters when Hiccup forgot to lock his hut when he went to get some food of Jim and Dimitri. A strong wind breezes in as two Fast flying fairies were racing across the hollow (Eugene and Snotlout)

Hiccup gets back while Jim went to report to Gogo about something, and Dimitri was doing his stock rounds.  

Hiccup and Jim ends up arguing because Hiccup needed more Pixie Dust to attempt to restore the Moonstone with the Mirror of Encantra, like what Musical Talent Fairy Miguel sang about in Theater night at Mess Hall. Jim wouldn’t have minded lending if Hiccup told him why, but Hiccup didn’t want to let Jim know,

Jim was upset because it seemed like Hiccup didn’t trust him enough to tell him, and they’ve been best friends for a while now.

Dimitri talks Jim into trying to fix things with Hiccup, that maybe the TInker fairy was under stress or something. Jim relented. They visited Hiccup’s hut, only to find him gone, with a schematic plans of some airship plus pieces from the shattered Moonstone.

 Jim and Dimitri managed to find Hiccup in time as he was being attacked by rats and a giant lizard.

False alarm, just rats. The giant lizard was a creature Hiccup befriended and had been helping him all this time.

Hiccup named him Toothless and they brought him back with them to Pixie Hollow.

Shortly after returning with the restored Autumn Scepter and somewhat fixed Moonstone, Dimitri took Jim aside and officially asks him out. Near brushes of death makes one realize not to take precious moments for granted.

The one with Pirate events and Pixie Dust Alchemy switch didn’t happen. But Dimitri is the one who discovered it’s potential when he and Jim were making out deep into the Pixie Dust tree.

In the movie about the Neverbeast, it happens in Winter woods. Ryder is the one who ends up finding the creature, and he asks Jack and Jamie to help him keep it a secret. You know, until they get found out by the Special Winter scouts.

The Neverbeast became Ryder’s favorite animal friend, but reindeers are still his favorite animal. Nothing can really beat Reindeers for him.

[magpiemorality]

Remus vs. His Birthday

Long post is long, keep reading isn’t working sorry all!

Warnings: mentions of death, blood, gore, murder, nsfw things; unfriendly Remus (he’s just antagonistic not unsympathetic); Remus being rude about the nsfs tag (not an opinion the author holds).

AO3

***

What exactly was the point, Remus wondered, of a birthday? Was it a celebration of cheating death? A consolation prize for getting through another solar rotation of mundane life? An apology to everyone in your life for existing? 

Yeah Remus wasn’t sold. Why would you bother? If it was a celebration why celebrate only once a year, when society told you you could, rather than whenever life was actually worth celebrating? Why not impose yourself on all days, or better yet forget days were a thing at all? 

(That last part sounded like Janus when he was on one of his society-is-a-con rants but Remus liked the idea. And the rants. They were pretty fun to listen to.)

Today was, apparently, Remus’ birthday, for all that meant to him. The real issue was that, irritatingly, it meant something to everyone else. And before this year, specifically this year, that would have meant squat. But this damn year it meant plans. 

Plans were another thing Remus didn’t see the point of. Why think about future things when you could think about now things and just do them? He was all impulse, by design, and sticking to a plan was incomprehensible and pretty revolting to think about, torture plain and simple for a creature like him. 

Remus seethed at the very concept, staring daggers at the envelope that had dropped into his home in the subconscious. Literal daggers, shredding the cheerful mint green paper of it with vicious pleasure, until the daggers were just thudding into the floor underneath and he got distracted playing target practice with various shadows of particularly nasty thoughts that crept through the dark corners down where he lived. 

Daggers exhausted and eyes back to normal, he collapsed into the blow up armchair he so adored (mostly because it made brilliant fart-like noises whenever he shifted around) and wondering if plotting went against his moral stance on plans. He felt like plotting. He felt like not celebrating his birthday thank you very much. 

Unfortunately the next thing to drop in was much more Thomas-shaped, and it dusted itself off nonchalantly while he considered a return to the dagger-eyes. 

“J-anus.”

“Remus. Must we be like that?” Janus asked with his very carefully crafted snobbish distaste. “I come in peace.”

“Wish you’d come in pieces. That would’ve been much more fun,” Remus muttered, and as he blinked at the other side body parts started to drop piece by piece around his intruder. Janus glanced down at the first and hid a delicate shudder, returning his gaze to Remus’ face and steadfastly holding it there. Remus dropped a nose on his shoulder just to spite him. He could appreciate a good pun as well as the next side. 

Janus cleared his throat. “We would like to celebrate your birthday. It’s not entirely, ah, a birthday party, per se? But Logan predicts the fans might celebrate for you, and Thomas will naturally be unable not to think of you much. The invitation was more of a heads up.”

“Attention? On moi? I’ll have to dress appropriately. Birthday suit is only right!”

“Remus-”

“What? Don’t approve? It’s not even my birthday, Snake Bell. They’re just something Daddy latched onto to make his dreams of normality come true. Besides, it’s not like anyone wants me front of mind- where worse to have your darkest thoughts after all?” 

“That’s not the point.”

“Ah, points. I was thinking about those. I think the more the better-” he grinned, twirling his hand and summoning his morning star into it “-but this has precisely none. I don’t want to celebrate it. No one else wants to celebrate it. Drop it there, or I’ll drop you all one by one off a tall building. Or maybe the plank. Now pirates, there’s a fun aesthetic...”

Clearly the conversation wasn’t going the way Janus wanted because he looked visibly frustrated, pulling his hat off to rake a hand through his hair with a little scowl marring his- well, half of his face. If Remus took a meat-cleaver down the centre of his skull he wouldn’t have matching halves. Ooh, Heathers. Now there was another fun aesthetic. Imagine turning up to the joke of a celebration in a cutesy prep school outfit complete with croquet mallet. Hammer. Thing. Remus wasn’t sure of the name, but it didn’t have any points so meh. Maybe it could be a fun experiment, like the Riverdale Heathers episode, which Remus had only experienced through the triple layer disconnect of Thomas watching it and unwittingly handing it over to Janus to hide down in the subconscious where all the other undesirable memories, experiences and miscellaneous things lived. Like Remus! 

But he was losing focus, and Janus was still there. Ugh.

“Just be prepared, alright? It would be highly appreciated if you didn’t just show up and antagonise Thomas on the one day he’s allowing you up front. I know it’s hard but just... ix-nay on the eath-day, ex-say and ore-gay?”

“Ooh, ore-gay, or orgy? Did you mean to say orgy?” Remus grinned sharply and Janus’ remaining composure dribbled away. 

He muffled a scream into his gloved hands before glaring once more at Remus. “Just behave. Or I will put you back here, and you will stay here until even the memory of you has faded, understood?”

Remus’ mouth clicked shut and he nodded, eyes narrowed balefully under the scorching threat. “Understood. But next time you feel the need to threaten me with hiding again, maybe don’t do it in my own home, hm?”

“Wha-”

“Bye Felicia.” The sound of Janus’ screech as he was shot upwards by a giant tentacle and shoved back through the ceiling to where he belonged was like music to Remus’ ears. Scream music. Oh, how interesting, what if he took screamo music and put it to actual screams?! 

~

It was such a good idea that he forgot about his ‘birthday’ entirely while focused on his project until the next day, when the tugging started. It was gentle at first, just the odd prod, like a big finger was occasionally checking his responses. Like he was a tiny lab rat in a giant world, and boy did that one hit a little too close to home. Home here being allofhisgreatestfearsatonce. 

He didn’t want to answer the call, he really didn’t, but... Remus was curious, and impulse won out as always. Because why not go look? Why not go see? Who cared how it turned out- the fun was in the spontaneity, in the doing. 

Thomas standing with a faintly amused smile was not what he’d have expected had he expected anything at all. But Thomas standing with a faintly amused smile was what awaited Remus topside, out in the full force of consciousness. It burned, being here, and Remus was reminded once more that in many ways he’d not been imprisoned down below for everyone else’s safety but also his own. Damn the snake for his constant self-preservation. Remus wanted to be mad at him for leaving for once!

“Hi Remus,” Thomas greeted, that same amusement on his tone. And oh, yeah, he’d gone with the Heathers look after all. It was a warm summer day and skirts were nice and breezy, sue him. Remus struck a pose with the croquet... thing, and bared his sharp teeth. 

“Did you miss me? Oh you did miss me didn’t you. I can tell! You’re just so curious about me! Well-”

“Settle down,” Logan warned, and oh. Yuck, other sides. 

“Yeah why don’t you-” Remus screamed, high pitched and piercing, as his supposed twin’s voice came from right behind him, spinning and swinging and almost catching Roman in the face with the blunt weapon. Only Virgil’s quick reflexes managed to save him, leaping into the way to catch the head of the mallet like a baseball. Now baseball, there was an impulsive and dangerous sport. Why had they never taken up baseball? 

Oh that was right... 

“Well done Virgil!” Janus smiled. Because the snake said no. And Virgil said no. And when the two of them agreed even Dream Daddy had to comply. Whatever, it was never too late. The croquet mallet turned into a baseball bat as his thoughts flickered, but it was boring and not pointy enough, until he added the nails. 

Everyone flinched back slightly, even Thomas, and Remus hefted the weapon onto his shoulder with a proud jut to his chin. Good. 

Thomas looked uncertain but he tried again. “Um, that’s cool. Like from the Walking Dead?”

“Just like that! Who volunteers as zombie?!”

“Actually we had something else in mind!” Thomas interjected quickly, turning his phone around to show the screen. “Look, cool art!” 

Remus didn’t miss the glance Thomas sent around the other sides for approval, but he was soon distracted by the contents of the screen. He scrolled, and scrolled, and kept scrolling. Huh. This was, actually pretty cool stuff. Plenty of blood, gore, some sexy things. And all not just about him but for him. Interesting. 

Also this tumble thing was dreadfully good. He’d have to get one. Endlessly scrolling on a sea of blue was the perfect- aka worst- kind of instant gratification mixed with cybergothic horror that he’d always wanted to explore creatively not that Thomas would let him if he only understood more about it. 

Around the room the other sides and Thomas stood, waiting with bated breath to see what might happen. It had been a few minutes of silence, which had Janus’ jaw dropping open and Virgil shifting nervously on his feet. Roman busied himself looking over Remus’ shoulder and trying not to wince at the gross stuff as he appreciated the art himself. Finally it grew too much and Thomas had to know. He had to!

“Is it good? Do you like it? I think there’s a lot of cool stuff there but-”

“Did you know there was an explicit tag specifically for us?” Remus gasped in delight, before frowning. “Jeez, we get our own tag. How prudish are your audience Thomas?”

“And that’s enough of that!” The phone was neatly plucked from Remus’ fingers and tossed over by Roman, shrugging when Remus glared at him. “So what do you think, Remus? They all made that stuff because they wanted to celebrate you. Janus mentioned you don’t like birthdays, but-”

Remus held a hand up to shut him up. “Okay look, it’s not my birthday. But that stuff was pretty cool. Especially the naughty bits. So, uh, thanks I guess. Don’t get used to it but thanks. And now bye! I have zombies to kill. I need to perfect my Hollywood zombie strike for maximum blood spray and noise.” He blew a kiss and vanished in a pop of noxious gas, leaving poor Roman to gag and leap away before it could get on his clothes. 

Beneath them (figuratively) in the subconscious, Remus landed on a trampoline that instantly snapped to dump him on the floor with a thump, where he lay, stunned not from the fall but mostly from all the thoughtful and cool tributes to him he’d seen. Maybe birthdays weren’t so bad. Maybe the point was to feel a little proud of yourself and who you were, and where you were in life. He was, maybe not entirely but certainly almost, a real functioning side in Thomas’ mind, not reduced to intrusive thoughts from time to time when the barriers wore thin. 

Also he had a nail-bat now. And a whole bunch of new ideas from the art he’d seen to try out too... Where to start?

Well, apparently he had a whole year to figure that out. 

-

Masterlist | Buymeacoffee

[jinmukangwrites]

Whumptober Day 28

Mugged

Ao3

Summary: It's a simple get together, and for once everything was fine.

Warnings: GRAPHIC MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH AND GRAPHIC INJURY. DO NOT READ IF THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE BOTHERS YOU, WHETHER ITS DIRECTED TO A CHILD OR AN ADULT. SPOILERS FOR DEATH IS IN TAGS.

-o-o-o-o-

 "You have something on your face," Dick teases, smiling and leaning his elbows forward onto the 24 hour diner table. In the booth across from him, Damian scowls and wipes a smidge of strawberry ice cream from his cheek then elbows to his side to hit the laughing Tim straight into his gut. 

Jason snorts and takes a spoonful of his own ice cream, which is raspberry flavored with little chocolate chips. 

The time outside is very late. So late that when the four of them walked inside the diner after a long, team up for patrol, one of the workers actually glared at them. Which is valid. If Jason worked at one of these places when it was reaching the buttcrack of dawn, then watched as four annoyingly loud and too awake people barged in, he'd probably glare too. 

Maybe they should have came inside in their costumes instead of getting dressed first into their normal clothes. One of the waitresses literally has a Nightwing pin on her vest. They could have probably gotten the ice cream and fries for free. 

Oh well. The ice cream here is worth a little glaring and a few bucks. 

"So I was thinking-" Dick says through a mouthful of ice cream. He's already dipping another fry into his chocolate mint shake, so Jason gets the feeling that whatever Dick says for the next twenty minutes will be through food- "that after this, we can go to a Redbox and pick up a movie."

"What movie?" Tim asks.

Dick hums. "One that Cass hasn't seen yet."

Jason scoffs. "She hasn't seen a lot of movies. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Then what about a movie Duke hasn't seen," Tim asks, scraping the bottom of his shake with his spoon. "That way we can kill two birds with one stone."

"I hate that metaphor," Jason stands up from the booth with his empty shake cup and equally empty bag of fries. 

Dick glares at him with a face that says yes Jason, we all know you died. 

Jason smirks and throws his trash away. 

As they all walk out of the diner, Jason hears one of the workers mumble finally, and he's not even that mad about it. He hopes their shifts end soon and they can go home and watch anime or something. Working night shifts like that in Gotham isn't something to scoff at.

Dick pulls out his phone while Tim runs ahead to take the lead. Jason walks behind the group as Damian falls into step besides Dick and looks over at his phone screen to see what he's typing. "Where's the closest Redbox?" Dick mumbles to himself and Jason rolls his eyes. 

He's serious about the Redbox thing? "You do know we can just buy whatever movie we want with B's card. We don't need a Redbox."

"It's for the experience, Jay," Dick argues back, scrolling on his phone through Google. "Everyone goes to Redbox to get random movies they don't actually want to own."

"Alright, alright," Jason huffs, smirking a little. 

And okay, he'll admit it. Tonight has actually been… a little fun. Even if Dick had to threaten to go skiing without him next winter if he didn't join them for patrol. And while yes, Jason could just go skiing alone or force Roy to come along… and while yes, Dick would have gone skiing with him regardless of the threat and if Jason went through with it… he still found it enjoyable to just pretend to be a family with these idiots for the night. He almost wishes the others could have joined, but with Duke and Cass being busy on their own sibling bonding mission for the night where no one else were allowed they were forced to be just the four of them tonight. 

Dick will have to work with Cass to better schedule sibling get togethers'. Just imagining the shenanigans and trash taking about Bruce they could be doing if it were all six of them has him staunching down a grin. 

Even better if Steph joined as well. 

Jason follows along as Dick picks up speed to pass Tim—whos balancing on the curb of the street like an actual five year old—and lead them towards the nearest Redbox. 

"We should get Princess Bride," Tim suggests as they walk past an alleyway. "I don't think Duke's seen that."

"He has no excuse to have not seen Princess Bride," Damian huffs. "It was one of the first movies Richard showed me."

"And one of the first I showed Cass, too," Dick adds, turning to flash a lopsided grin. "So we need to think of another one."

"What about that new movie?" Tim suggests. 

Jason lifts an eyebrow. "What new movie?"

"You know," Tim replies, "the- the new movie. With that guy from Voltron. Where they go on the bridges and fight the monkeys?" 

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"It's-" Tim growls, sounding frustrated with himself. Jason finds him amusing. "You know. That one movie."

"Timothy has no idea what he's talking about."

"I'm sorry I don't spend all day watching movies all the time. Oh! Dwayne the Rock Johnson was there!"

"… Are you talking about Jumanji 2?" Dick asks and Tim snaps his fingers. 

"Jumanji 2!" 

They turn a corner, then immediately all stop when they spot the entire road blocked off by orange coned and giant signs telling you to detour. In the middle of the blocked off road is a giant, dangerous looking hole in the ground leading towards the sewers. 

Huh. Jason's almost forgotten one of Two-Face's thugs had thrown a very powerful grenade of some sort last night. 

"Damn. Google hasn't updated this?" Dick sighs and begins tapping on his phone. 

"Crap like this happens all the time in Gotham," Tim sighs while stuffing his hands in his pockets, "you really think they're gonna catch everything?"

Dick's mouth turns into a frown, then he looks up at the building rooftops around them as if wondering how difficult it would be to climb up and parkour towards the nearest Redbox in civilian attire. He sighs, probably settling on it not being difficult, but potentially compromising of their identities ifanyone saw. 

He looks back at the phone. Then turns towards the alleyway they have just passed. 

"… We can cut through the alley," he suggests. 

Jason immediately scoffs while Tim walks towards them, shaking his head. 

"Um no? We shouldn't? Have you forgot what city we're in?" 

Dick gives an unimpressed look at Tim before sighing. "We'll have to go all the way around the block to get to the Redbox. That's like, another twenty minutes. Besides, we just finished patrol. Gotham's at its safest around now."

"We're going to get in there and then get shanked by some rando," Tim argues. 

Damian watches the two of them argue with narrowed eyes. When Damian opens his mouth, Jason decides it's his turn to step in. He grabs Dick by the back of his jacket and then behind to walk towards the mouth of the alleyway. He has his guns on him still, concealed under the belt of his jeans. If anyone is stupid enough to try and try to assult them in the alleyway, all Jason needs to do is pull out his guns and they'll go running for the hills. 

Gotham isn't filled with fighters. Gotham is filled with rats that only prey on those with smaller claws than them. 

"I'm not spendin' another hour out here to get a monkey bridge movie," Jason huffs, stopping in front of the mouth of the alleyway. "Now let's go."

"Fine," Tim mumbles, following behind as Dick takes the lead inside the alley. "But if we all get killed don't blame me."

"Dying isn't that bad, actually," Jason says, and Dick turns around and shoots that glare again. 

Damian huffs and trails behind Dick, but he watches the shadows like how a kid shouldn't. Thirteen years old and he's already seen the worst the world has to offer. Jason, once again, takes the back, fully aware of the weight hanging off his hip. The alleyway is long, and dark, and definitely not as surveillanced as it should be, but they continue anyways. So far, all there is to see is closed doors here and there that would lead into various shops and such if they weren't boarded up. Trash cans, litter, bags, and boxes of various contents dot the entirety of the alleyway. 

Otherwise, it looks pretty empty. 

Jason sighs. It should be fine. Gotham is always quiet around these early morning hours after Batman and his army of sidekicks have just combed through its streets. Criminals are back in there nests, shivering and praying they're not found tonight. Hours like these are usually the safest to go out for a after midnight stroll, or a very early morning jog. It's like a limbo. Where Gotham can actually feel like a normal city for once.

Of course, it's right when Jason let's his guard down that something goes wrong. 

Because something always goes wrong. 

Because some criminals are rats. But there's others who are like moths, too dumb to go back inside and persistent enough to jump at anything shiny enough to catch their attention.

A man, practically rags, skin, and bones jumps our from behind a dumpster, his hands already lifted in front of him with a gun in his grasp. Immediately, everyone pauses in their tracks. Jason goes to grab his own gun like he planned, but the man points his weapon at Jason with shaking, obviously trigger happy hands. 

"No one move!" The man shouts, trembling like a nervous mut. Jason holds off grabbing his guns for the moment, knowing that if he makes any sudden or threatening moves the man will fire. 

Dick, like the idiot he is, immediately steps in front of Damian. Damian growls, but doesn't make a move to fight that show of protection yet. Dick slowly raises his hands in surrender. "Take whatever you want," he says slowly. Evenly. 

Tim shifts behind Dick and glances at Jason, questioning in his eyes. 

"Give me your money- all of it," the man demands, and Jason can practically hear the body of his weapon tremble in his shaking hands. "No one will get hurt if ya give me all your money."

"Okay, okay," Dick says gently. Like he's soothing the mugger. Dick carefully lowers his arms to his pockets and uses smooth motions to bring out his wallet, which is probably only filled a debit card he can easily cancel, his driver's license which is definitely expired, and not even four dollars of cash. Jason only knows what's in Dick's wallet because Dick's his main victim for him to practice pickpocketing on. He holds out his Superman patterned wallet but the man keep his gun up and trained. 

"All of you," he wheezes. "All of you, give me your fuckin' money."

Tim snaps into movement with shaking hands, pulling out his wallet while Damian makes to do the same. Why the kid has a wallet with actual cash, Jason will never know. Something about Bruce wanting Damian to feel independent… like how he bought a lock for Jason's bedroom door that only Jason had the key for, just to make him feel like he had control while small and scared and barely eleven years old. 

The gun moves back to Jason, and Jason realizes he's been focusing too much on the wrong things. He lifts his hands and clears his throat. 

"I don't have anything," he says, because it's true. He doesn't carry his wallet while on patrol, nor does he stash personal belongings with his changes of clothes after patrol. Then, there's also the added fact that this guy is definitely one more nerve shot from firing his weapon. Him seeing a glock on Jason's belt might be the thing that pushes him over the edge. 

"I don't believe you," the man growls, taking a step forward and aiming directly at Jason now. 

And of course this is happening. Of course Jason's being mugged when he doesn't have any change on him. 

"Jason…" Tim hissed and Jason throws him a sideways glare. 

"I'm telling you, man, I don't have anything."

"Show me," the man snarls, jerking his pistol dangerously. "Show me your pockets."

And shit. This is what Jason was worried about. 

"Okay," he says, softening his voice, "alright. Just... I'm carrying okay? But I'm not gonna-"

"YOU HAVE A GUN?!" The man screeches, and Jason winces. Great. He was trying to warn the guy. There's no way Jason can show all of his pockets and his gun go unnoticed. It's grip is hanging out of his jeans waistband, black as night and clear as day. 

Jason lifts his hands immediately in surrender, watching the man wearily as his already panicked breaths become more labored. The tendons in his paper thin wrists are twitching. 

Jason's record for drawing and shooting a gun with accuracy is a little less than two seconds. Even with his hands up like this. 

But this man already has the gun aimed and finger on the trigger. 

"Let's calm down," Dick tries, "we have money, just take it and we can all-"

"You have a gun-" the man practically froths. 

And that is when Jason knew the sound of gunfire will be heard in this alleyway tonight. Jason can see the resolution in the man's eyes to shoot a moment before it happens. Jason doesn't have time to dodge or pull his own weapons. He will try to anyway. 

He goes to dodge, drops his hands to his waistline, and the enemies gun explodes. 

There's normally a moment of nothing between the time you've been shot and the time you realize you've been shot. But it doesn't happen this time. 

What happens is that Jason suddenly blinks on the grimy floor, his gun having skid across the cement from the force of his fall. 

He… he was pushed. 

"RICHARD!"

Jason looks up just in time to watch Damian run for the collapsing Dick Grayson… just to be violently knocked to the side by the sound of another bullet launching from the chamber. 

Jason doesn't watch or look anymore. He just scrambles to his gun, turns, aims, and fires.

The man chokes on blood as the bullet rips through his chest. 

And Jason thinks that this should be the end of it. This should be when he can get to his feet and look his brother's all in the eye one at a time. And- and he doesn't know. Go home? Call Gordon? Plead self defense?

However, when he stands up, he finds only Tim standing, his hands leaving his face from protecting himself moments before. 

Dick's on the ground writhing from pooling red in the center of his gut. 

Damian… Damian…

Jason thinks he's going to get sick. 

The damage a 9mil can do to a head at this close of range…

He doesn't look. He can't look. Not yet. He rushes towards Dick and ignored Damian's b- he-

He ignores Damian. He ignores Damian and slams his hands down onto Dick's stomach. 

Guilt twists in his gut like something he's never felt before. Rage. Helplessness. Disbelief. It's all he can do to force his limbs to press down as Dick jolts from agony beneath him. "Stay- stay still-" Jason snarls. His chest hurts so badly. His ears are ringing. 

His fault his fault his fault his fault-

"D-" Dick babbles, blood coating his teeth and dripping from the corners of his mouth. "No- n-"

Dick's not paying attention to anything. It's then, Jason realizes he's not struggling because of his own pain.

He's struggling because his kid is laying across from him in a puddle of blood, a hole in his skull. 

"No-" Dick twitches. Practically sobs. "M'suh- sorry- D'mi…"

"It's okay, just-" it's not okay, but Jason continues- "just focus on me, kay? Just- Tim, hospital?"

"Working on it."

Jason presses harder onto Dick's stomach. Dick sobs and his eyelashes flutter. 

He almost wants to tell Tim to stop. 

The ambulance isn't going to make it in time.

He knows this because he can hear Dick's protests begin to die down. He knows because he can see Dick's hand twitching towards Damian's limp one. He knows because he can feel the final shudder through his frame before his normally clear blue eyes cloud over. 

Jason… doesn't know what to do now. It's like his entire world just… stops. 

And he wants to scream. He wants to throw something. He wants to go back in time and shake Dick by the shoulders until he fixes this. 

He can't... he can't go back to a world where Dick and Damian aren't apart of it. 

Especially not if it's all. His. Fucking. Fault. 

"-we need help- my brother's been shot-"

And Jason clutches his fists in Dick's sopping wet, blood-soaked shirt and turns to find Tim kneeling against Damian, blood painting his fingertips. 

He wants to scream that there's no use of an ambulance. There's no point. 

But then Tim meets his eyes, tears trailing down in tracks, then looks down at Damian. 

It takes a second for Jason to see it. But Damian's chest moves. 

Damian's still alive. 

He's still alive. 

Jason forces himself to leave Dick so he can scramble over to Damian and get a closer, desperate look. Tim rattles off the details of their location the the details of the mugging while Jason just... Hovers. Holding his red stained hands above his- his baby brother. 

He doesn't want to touch Damian. He doesn't want to break him more.

So he sits there and counts every breath the kid stubbornly makes even with a bullet in his skull. 

He sits there until Tim hangs up the call and sits besides him. He sits there until a loud ambulance accompanied by at least three cop cars pull up and then a shock blanket is wrapped around his shoulders. He stays there until Damian is loaded into a gurney. Until he's left there, kneeling, not even realizing he's holding Tim's hand, until a female cop with sad brown eyes kneels down in front of him and tells him Bruce is on his way with Cass and Duke. 

He nods, and stands up, keeping Tim besides him even though he's caused this. 

He looks to his side to see Dick already covered by by a tarp. He can see red bleeding out from under it. 

Slender arms wrap around his waste, and it takes him a moment to realize Tim is clutching to him. 

Jason's... The big brother again. The big brother. 

He- he should…

He wraps his arms around Tim and let's his own tears finally fall.

[tragedy-for-sale]

I Forgive You

Oo- kinda an angsty title there, but is it angsty? I don't know, I'm writing this before I've written the actually fic. it's not.

I can say it's about Wrecker though- a young Wrecker.

Jk/ it's not angsty. Well, not overly. I think it's kinda soft? Big proud of this.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Come on! You know I'm not allowed to get up there!" A young Wrecker called to his younger brother, Crosshair.

The two had been playing tag around their room. Crosshair had gotten tired, so he climbed to one of the top bunks, Wrecker wasn't allowed to go on them cause he's broken one before.

"That's the point!" Crosshair called back with the tiniest of smiles. Wrecker frowned and walked to the edge of the bed, resting his head on the mattress. Crosshair pat his brother's head. "I'm tired," he said softly, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head in his arms.

"But.... Come on! I'm bored!" Wrecker whined as he stood on his tip toes. Crosshair watched him in silence and gave a small shrug. They enjoyed each other's company in silence for a few minutes. "Wanna go visit Tech?" Wrecker finally spoke. He didn't want to work on training things right now.

Crosshair's head perked up and nodded. A giant smile filled Wrecker's face, he grabbed Crosshair's upperarm and pulled him, not thinking. With that pull, Crosshair hit the ground, hard, letting out a scream. "WRECKER!" He cried as he started shaking in pain.

Wrecker jumped, instantly going to pick up his brother, who snapped away, "STOP! Don't touch me!" Crosshair cried as his left arm went to hold his right shoulder. He sniffled as he stumbled to his feet, his arm flooding with pain.

"You- you're arm.." Wrecker pointed out, his voice small and weak. His brother let out a squeak as he looked at his dislocated arm.

"Gah, why are you so careless?" He hissed as hot tears streamed down his face. Wrecker shook his head as his own eyes started to water

"I- I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking-"

"I know!" Crosshair screamed, "You never do!" Wrecker's eyes grew wider, not bothering to hide his tears. He looked to his hands, his hands that had hurt his brother.

"Hey! What's all the ruckus- what happened?" A young Hunter inturrupted. His smile had disappeared when he saw their tear filled faces. "You gotta go to med bay." He mumbled as he walked over to his injured brother.

"We were messin' around, I fell. Wrecker was gonna walk me to the med bay, ain't that right?" Crosshair gritted through his teeth as he turned to Wrecker.

Who instantly wiped his tears, trying to play cool, "Uh, uh, yeah... I was gonna do that." He mumbled, not making eye contact with Hunter.

"You wanna come?" Crosshair asked as he prepared to leave with Wrecker.

"Nah, gotta physical soon, tell Tech I said 'hi' though" Hunter replied, not entirely believing their story. But he let the leave without another question.

As Crosshair walked, Wrecker followed, afraid to speak. He didn't get to close. "W-why did you lie to him?" He finally asked, it was the question that had plagued his mind for the last few minutes.

Crosshair looked up, his breathing heavy but controlled. "I didn't, I told him the truth." He exasperated, "What happened is I fell because I was being careless and you tried to catch me but you missed me by an inch." He explained before stopping Wrecker and looking him right in the eye, "I fell," he spoke on a whisper, trying to hammer his thoughts into his distraught brother, "You're too good of a brother to have ever hurt me. So, I fell. End of story." He then turned and continued to hurry to the med bay.

Wrecker didn't move for a moment, trying to process why Crosshair would lie for him. Why didn't he rat on him? He's hurt other brothers before, they always cried to the kamionions. He had been lost in thought that when he finally looked up, he had to run to catch up to his brother.

"Crosshair, I hurt you" Wrecker said, stopping him. His brother gritted his teeth, looking up at his brother. "Why would you want to protect me from a punishment?"

Crosshair let out a heavy sigh, "Cause, why wouldn't I?" He mumbled, "You're my brother. Now stop talking about it. I'm fine aren't I?"

Wrecker frowned, not convinced at all. Crosshair was losing patience, along with blood flow. But he knew what his brother needed. He pulled Wrecker into a hug, who almost tried to pull away, but Crosshair wouldn't let him. "I love you, Wrecker. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but if you don't let me get to the medbay, I'm going to scream." He said, pulling away.

Wrecker nodded and trailed cautiously after Crosshair. "I'm your brother" he thought. Yes, all clones were brothers, but they weren't all brothers. Wrecker and the group of misfits were all their own family of brothers. "Like that one blond with the popular one."

All clones had a certain group of brothers they'd follow til the end. He forgot, he forgot he was actually loved by his three best friends.

And that they'd always forgive him

[kunoichi-ume]

Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad

Characters: Torian Cadera, Noara Starspark, Balic Cormac and Elara Dorne-Cormac (I have no idea if she will ever take his name, but they are totally married so that’s how I am writing it haha) Story: Jedi Sitters Word Count: 3458

Note: This fic was inspired by this piece of art by @jemichiart, and the name for the little Rishii baby totally taken from @outcastcommander’s suggestion. This also ended up much longer than I expected, but I enjoyed writing this so I am not sorry. EDIT: I am however sorry I forgot to add the tags and link to the picture. Oops.

The sharp tang of blood filled the air as Torian made his way through the Rishi jungle, rifle held ready in case he needed it. He had set off that morning to go hunting but, apparently, he wasn’t the only being on the prowl for a challenge. Whatever had spilled the blood tainting the air had apparently already found it’s prey. He followed the scent, giving in to his curiosity that soon turned into alarm when he identified where the smell of blood came from. Not further into the forest, where wild beasts were known to roam, but into a small clearing he was familiar with. A clearing that housed several huts belonging to a small tribe of locals.

Blood spilled there couldn’t bode well at all.

They were a peaceful sort, the Rishii, despite being natural born predators. Despite their sharp claws and beaks, and ever sharper eyes, Torian ahd always found them to be a kind and welcoming bunch every time he visited their home world. Now that he called the tropical world home as well, Torian had hopes of befriending one or two of them. While he had never heard of a Rishii Mandalorian, the idea of one excited him and he’d welcome any of their number into his hunting party.

Stopped at the edge of the clearing, Torian observed the carnage with a keen eye. Several structures were only partially standing, walls and roofs caved in. Not a single dwelling was left as adequate shelter from the elements. Bodies, all belonging to the feathered locals, laid out across the ground. Claws, far larger than any he had ever seen a Rishii possess, had carved up the bodies the same way they had destroyed the buildings, gouging the ground to leave long, deep grooves in the packed dirt.

Torian sighed heavily, he was no stranger to death but there was always something tragic about the loss of innocent lives. These people were not warriors, not soldiers. They were families, with elderly and young among them. Now he was grateful Noara had not joined him this morning, she was not a hunter but enjoyed exploring the wilds at his side. Death, especially senseless deaths like these, always weighed heavily on her. Where Torian observed the carnage with a sense of sadness at the loss of life she would feel the full weight of grief bearing down on her chest. He loved the former Jedi with all his heart, but her upbringing in the Order still influenced her to behave in ways he didn’t always understand. It kept life interesting.

The sound of something hitting the ground pulled Torian's attention away from the bodies laid out across the clearing. Keeping very still, he strained to hear any other signs of life. Perhaps something in the damaged huts had shifted he wondered. But then a second, clearer sound filled the air. Cracking.

Moving quietly, careful to step around the bodies and blood, Torian entered the clearing and looked for the source of the sound. Nothing was out of place in the first partially standing hut he investigated, nor the second.

At the threshold of the third Torian froze in place, shocked still by what he found as his heart pounded loudly in his ears.

Sprawled out on the dusty floor was a small creature and, though he had never seen one before, it was obvious to Torian it was a newborn Rishii ik'aad. A baby. Something thick and shiny soaked the ik'aad's feathers, pieces of shell caught in the viscous liquid and littering the area almost like shrapnel from an explosion. It looked as though the egg that little thing once resided in had been stashed into the cabinet above where it sat, the door hanging open on a crooked hinge.

It wasn't hard to make the assumption that someone, possibly one of the child's parents, had stashed the egg away in hopes of safety. Luckily the door had held after the damage to the walls had displaced it until the danger had passed. And, equally lucky, was that the ik'aad had been ready to hatch.

Stepping into the destroyed hut, eyes far too large for the small ik'aad's face, lit up in delight when he came into view. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Torian couldn't resist carefully scooping the ik'aad up into his arms. The little thing barely weighed anything at all and his chest tightened at the idea that it was made an orphan the same day it was born. Torian was still a baby when he lost his parents, but at least it hadn’t been the exact same day. A foundling before even getting a name. Brushing some of the shell pieces off soggy feathers, he did his best to check if the child was healthy but truthfully didn't know what he was looking for.

The question of what to do never entered Torian’s mind, there was no debate to be had. Until he could find the ik’aad’s family, if any lived, the foundling was his responsibility. First thing first, he needed to make sure the newborn was healthy. Glancing around the hut, Torian grabbed a large red cloth and shook the dust off before wrapping it around the child. It was a warm day, as was the usual on Rishi, but he didn't want to chance the child catching a chill from it's soaked feathers. Once satisfied that the makeshift birikad would hold the ik'aad securely against his chest, he was quick to leave the destroyed village behind and head back into the forest.

Head turning all around so much Torian was concerned the ik'aad would injure it, the infant cooed excitedly while taking in the world for the first time. It was all Torian could do to keep from laughing, the pure joy of seeing the world with new eyes was infectious. When he reached the rough path he had taken into the jungle, no longer having to duck under branches, Torian switched from a quick pace to a jog. He wanted to get the ik'aad home as soon as possible, not only did the newborn need to be examined by a trained medic but he also had no idea what kind of food to provide. Luckily, when he had left, Noara had said she expected her brother and his wife to come by soon.

Balic Cormac, a giant of a man, wasn't Noara’s sibling by blood, but by choice which meant more to Torian in the long run. He had grown up without his blood around and Noara's had given her away. Better to rely on the family that chose to love you when you needed someone. As luck would have it, Balic's wife Elara was one of the most widely versed medics Torian had ever met. She should be more than capable of giving the little Rishii a proper checkup.

The ik'aad made an odd huffy noise, one that sounded almost put out and made Torian grin widely. "Don't worry ad'ika, you'll get a better look later," he said, smoothing his hand over the ruffled feathers slowly drying on the child's head. He'd make sure the kid got an eyeful before they decided what to do with him.

Walking into the Clan Compound Torian was struck with the still unfamiliar feeling of being home, a warm sense of contentment and belonging that he savored. It wasn't something he had experienced often in his life, having an actual home instead of just a temporary accommodation. When Noara had started talking about wanting to settle down, leaving the saving of the galaxy to others while they moved on with their lives, he hadn't been too particular about where they ended up. As long as he could hunt, house his clan and be with his wife he was happy.

Settling on a tropical world, one with plenty of beaches and ocean to keep Noara happy and thick forests and plentiful fauna for hunting had turned out perfect. Even the base they found was exactly what they needed, large enough to house everyone and any new members the clan might welcome in the years to come and all the animals Noara had taken to rescuing, while being secure enough to defend if they ever needed to.

They even had enough space to put in their own little medical center, which was where Torian headed first. With the Cormac's visiting, it was fairly likely they would either be checking the set up of the new infirmary equipment as Elara had been their main consultant on what they needed, or up in the cliff-side apartment he shared with Noara. Elara was a very driven, serious woman and he would be surprised if she didn’t want to get straight to work. Also the infirmary was closer to where he exited the jungle.

Barely inside the door Torian knew he had made the right choice. The murmur of voices drifted down the corridor toward him and he smiled. He had no idea how Noara would react to him coming home with an ik'aad strapped to his chest and, honestly, he was looking forward to finding out. She found far too much amusement in surprising him with the newest beastie she had decided to take into their home, it was only fair to turn the tables on her.

Several people were gathered inside the infirmary. Balic was leaning against the wall, not far from where his wife worked and even slumped down slightly he was still head and shoulders over everyone else. Several of the younger clan members, all in varying colors of armor, watched the blonde woman with rapt attention as she gave them a rundown of how to use a new scanning device. Noara was lying on the hospital table, obviously playing the lab wamp rat, and doing a good impression of an injured patient until she looked toward the door.

Sneaking up on Noara was almost impossible for Torian, she claimed to be able to feel him with the Force. He believed her, but it was still a hard sell. She claimed it wasn’t the same as how she felt another Force user, but something special because of their connection. She could feel him when he was near, even sense a bit of his moods if she tried.

Of course that didn’t mean he wasn’t determined to try, and someday he was going to manage it.

Instead of pretending to be hurt, Noara smiled brightly when he stepped into view and he could see the moment she noticed the ik'aad. Her eyes widened in surprise and she jolted up off the medical bed, head almost colliding with Elara's who had leaned over during her lecture. Only Balic's large hand yanking his wife backward saved them both from having their bells rung.

"Cyare," Noara said, pushing off the bed and hurrying toward him. "Meg vaar gar ganar?"

Muffled laughter broke out among the younger vod in the room. Noara had been working on learning Mando'a for a few years now, but like now still managed to get some words mixed up much to the younger generation's amusement. Instead of asking what he had, she instead spoke a gibberish phrase about what he had undeveloped. Or half grown, vaar, could mean either.

Cheeks flushing, Noara knew what the laughter meant but instead of reacting further she peered curiously at the ik'aad. "Who is this?"

Torian leaned his head down to brush his lips against her forehead, eyes fixed on the vod still smiling about her slip up. It was of course a message, to remind them she was their alor's riduur. Noara was more Mando than he could have ever imagined a Jedi turning, but part of him still worried about her being accepted by his peers. He knew first hand that it was possible to be Mando and still be treated like an aruetii. He'd be damned if he would let anyone make Noara feel like she wasn't enough.

Turning their head, the ik'aad looked up at Noara with wide yellow eyes. Noara returned the interested stare, reaching out to run her fingers through the matted feathers. "Poor little guy needs a bath," she said, raising her eyes to frown at him. "Are you babysitting or something?"

"Or something," Torian laughed before giving a quick explanation of his day. His story had the attention of everyone in the room and Elara was at his side before he had even finished.

"You should have said it was a newborn sooner," Elara chided him, holding her hands out. "Let me take a look."

Nodding, Torian braced one hand on the ik'aad's bottom before untying the birikad. Once it was loose Elara had the little one in her arms and was making her way back to the exam table.

There was perhaps a split second between her stepping away from him and the loudest shrieking he had ever heard come from a sentient being's lungs. Noara gasped as Torian darted around her, beelining for the table.

"What did you do?" he demanded, leaning over the table to see the small Rishii ik'aad lying on the bed and looking completely fine. Even the squalling had stopped, the moment he leaned over the table. Confused, he looked at the former Havoc Squad medic.

Humming thoughtfully, Elara shifted to block Torian from view. Again the ik'aad started crying loudly. Moving back, the cries stopped the moment golden eyes met Torian's. "Stay right there, where the child can see you."

Noara stepped up beside Torian, pulling a stool over for him to sit on and stayed by his side as Elara examined her new patient. This time the instruction she gave the watching vod was more hands on than the lecture she had given over Noara's 'pretend' ailment. Torian didn't pay much attention to the words she was saying, explaining everything she did, instead he was drawn to the small Rishii's eyes that seemed glued to his face.

Finally Elara set her instruments away, lifting the ik'aad and passing him over for Torian to hold. She delivered her prognosis with a bright smile. "That is one perfectly healthy Rishii baby boy you have there Torian."

"He is such a cutie," Noara said, perched on the edge of the table behind him and leaning over his shoulder to run her fingers through the boy's feathers again. "If his parents are dead, what do we do with him?"

Torian frowned, he hadn't thought that far and now that he was holding the small boy in his arms it just felt... right. Like he was meant to take in this foundling as his own, as his son. They had talked a little about children, though nothing in certain terms and had never discussed adoption. It was as much a part of Mandalorian culture as armor and fighting, they even had a set phrase for it.

How was he going to tell his wife he wanted to make them parents without even discussing it? Watching her smile as the boy gurgled happily at her touch, he had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard to convince her.

Before he could work up an idea of how to start that conversation, Elara cleared her throat to get their attention. "Actually, you should know that Rishii infants are known to imprint on the first person they see."

"Imprint?" Noara asked, frowning in confusion and the words sunk in for Torian. He knew what it meant, but never imagined a sentient species did it. By being the one to find the boy he had all but sealed the question of their future.

"It's a long lasting attachment to the first individual or object a creature sees after hatching. It's common in avian species," Elara explained in her serious manner before smiling. "Based on the child's reaction to being separated I can only assume he has imprinted on Torian."

"So that means..." Noara's voice trailed off as she looked between the boy and her husband. "Are you a dad now?"

Torian pulled his son closer at the hitch in her voice, "I guess, I mean I want to know how you feel about it before deciding anything."

Noara watched him carefully for a long moment before looking up at the crowded room. "Could we have some privacy please?"

"Of course Noara-doll," Balic said before pushing off the wall where he was leaning. He started herding the training medics out of the room before dropping a kiss on the top of Noara's head and leaving with his wife tucked tight against his side. On the way out the door Elara called back that she would arrange for some proper food to be up in their apartment for the boy.

Once they were finally alone Noara shifted closer on the bed to wrap her arms around Torian's shoulders, her chest pressed up against his back. She laid her hands on top of his, helping cradle the child against his chest. When she spoke her voice was steady, though little more than a whisper in his ear. "Are you ready to be a father Torian? I know we've talked a bit about it, but this would be starting now. No time to come to terms with it or get cold feet you know?"

"As sudden as it may feel, I think I am." Torian turned on his stool, dislodging her arms so he could watch her face carefully, "what about you? Are you ready to be a mother?"

"To be honest, no. I don't feel ready at all," Noara said, sighing sadly. "I still don't really know what a mother is? How to do it, you know?"

Holding the child with one hand, Torian cupped her cheek with his other one. "I don't know what being a father is like either but together I have no doubts we will figure it out."

"He'd need a name," she said after a tense moment, leaning her face into his cheek with a smile, "if we can't even manage that what kind of parents would we be?"

Torian laughed, the anxious worry he hadn’t really noticed in his chest relaxing at her smile. "Fair enough. Any ideas?"

“Not sure, never named anyone before.” Noara looked down at the boy tucked against his chest. "His eyes look like little suns don’t they? So bright and full of life."

"What about Tranyc?"

She frowned, "that's Mando'a right? Star... something?"

Torian nodded, impressed that she caught the unfamiliar word. "Star-burned, but that's the literal translation. 'Sunny' is a more true meaning."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I love you Torian," Noara said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders again and kissing him. "And loving this little guy will be no burden I’m sure."

“No I don’t imagine it will be,” Torian said, standing and taking one of Noara’s hands to draw her off the table to stand in front of him. Adjusting his hold on Tranyc, he situated them so Noara was helping hold his son between them. “We should make it official, well as official as Mandalorians ever are.”

“I take it there is a set way to do this?” Noara’s eyes had a teasing gleam in them as she smiled up at him, “so tell me, how do we make Tranyc our son?”

Torian’s heart felt like it could burst, gratitude and admiration for Noara’s easy acceptance of their son almost overwhelming him. He had to clear his throat before being able to speak the adoption vow. “Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad.”

“What does that mean?” she didn’t look up as she asked, her eyes fixed on Tranyc’s bright smile.

“I know your name as my child.”

“Very Mandalorian, direct and to the point. I like it.” Noara placed her hand on Tranyc;s head and repeated the vow. Like when they had spoken their marriage vows months before, it took her a few times so get the pronunciation exactly right. When she finished, she gathered their son in her arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek before laughing. “We really need to bathe our son,” she said, “and Elara should have an idea of what to feed him by now.”

Torian wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding Noara out of the infirmary. “Let’s take our son home,” he said, the words making him feel like he could fly. His entire life Torian had wanted a family, one that he could do right by. The way his father hadn’t. The way Noara’s parents hadn’t. They had both grown up without a family but together they had made one all their own. And, other than perhaps the day Noara agreed to marry him, Torian had never been happier than this moment.

Translations

Ik'aad - baby; child under 3 Birikad - baby carrying harness Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad - adoption vow - lit. I know your name as my child.

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[SYT] 5. the leading lamb

Show Your Teeth

Characters: Fiona, Winter, May, Robyn, Joanna Rating: Mature Tags: implied abuse, hurt/comfort, parental sibling, confessions, fluff Word Count: 7,219

Summary: Three Mantle Rats are invited to an Atlesian Party. What can go wrong?

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A/N: as a survive it’s very important for me to NEVER focus on the abuse itself. I try very hard to imply it and show the damage it can do but honestly I’m tired of reading stories where it’s just pain. So I try very hard to focus on the recovery and healing. I’d love feedback on this. Also check Ao3 for NSFW art lol. i forgot tumblr hates links so i think i’ll just edit it back in after a week or something to keep things organized.

Some how a shopping trip also turned into a raid on the local arcade. Fiona was winning despite what all the leaderboards was saying. Winter was cheating, she had to be. Robyn and Joanna was the better shot, they were the only ones that used range weapons a regular basis! Still Winter came in first. May should have won the batter’s game, her favorite weapon was a staff. Number One? Winter Schnee. The other three loudly cheered Fiona on as she adjusted her grip on the hammer.  

The last game was a the gold on ‘Test of the Strength.’ Sure, some of was actual strength but almost all of it was leverage. Fiona loved stealing… borrowing! Loved borrowing heavy weapons. Axes… Elm’s hammer. She almost got Marrow’s boomerang and still had two years to do it. A worker quickly stepped in as Joanna was some how about to convince the man they’ll settle the matter like adults.  

Several minutes later they had enough tickets to buy all the giant stuff animals on display. Like adults, everyone gave their tickets to the children nearby.  

Like an adult, Fiona slammed her fist on the counter and demanded the giant lion.  

“By the brothers, Fi…” Robyn mumbled a little embarrassed.

It was the fifth time she’d manage to surprise and fluster the women. Fiona wasn’t counting the smirk tugging at her lips and cute mole on her chin. The fluttering in her chest wasn’t getting worse and her hands didn’t feel cold and empty when she looked at Robyn. Fiona only hugged her stuff animal tighter.

“I won and Winter cheated! I deserve a trophy!” Fiona argued sticking her tongue out at them. In truth she just needed something to desperately keep her hands occupied. Joanna was the only one that smiled fondly at her and ruffled her hair. The other three acted disappointed.  

And to be extra annoying she refused to absorbed it and forced the group to return to Robyn’s apartment. Fiona dumped several bags of clothes onto the living room floor and then took the couch with her new best friend. May took the time to choose to pick out everyone’s outfit and will most likely buy a few more accessories when they head up to Atlas.  

“What should I name it?” Fiona asked with a grin, ears wiggling happily.  

“Childish,” Robyn said with a soft teasing bite. Fiona didn’t notice the way her eyes light up, all bright and unguarded. Or noticed Robyn’s habit of blowing her fringe out of her eyes.  

“Deviant,” May said slowly shifting through the bags. Eventually the others helped her but Fiona stayed on the couch.  

“Selfish,” Joanna added.  

“You all suck,” Fiona mumbled. She fell back, laying down on the couch and not even taking up all the space. She held up the stuff lion above her, playing with its tiny round ears as her own fluttered happily.  

Today was the most fun she had in years. And not because of the sex. A sudden shiver rolled through Fiona’s body, a flash of heat dried her mouth and warmed her cheeks. The sight of Robyn stretched out before her… The sweetness rolling off her tongue and down her chin and neck. Her ears fluttered, remembering how Robyn screamed Fiona’s name.  

Fiona buried her face against the muzzle. Trying not to groan at the memory. Robyn was her teammate, going to be her huntress partner. Not… Fiona tried to shelved her dancing heart. It was just… stress relief between friends. Casual hookups and friends with benefits weren’t unheard of when majority of Atlas’ population was asexual.  

Robyn will be her new partner. They’ll pass their combat final with flying colors and… and ideally Robyn will stay. Fiona swallowed her racing heart back down to her chest. She’d get to see those stupid eyes everyday.  

“I’ll name you… Spring.” Fiona said cuddling her trophy. Robyn glanced at her with a smirk and raised brow. “For new beginnings!” Fiona huffed and pouted at the women. Robyn’s smile eased the tension from her shoulders, looking… a lot how like Winter looks at May. Stupidly fond and earnest and Fiona had to look away with ears fluttering about.  

“You have competition now,” Joanna teased, elbowing her partner. Fiona saw a light blush on Robyn’s tanned cheeks for a second. They all turned back to the elites, noticing May holding up an outfit that wasn’t for any of them.  

“They won’t be able to do any compression for awhile,” Winter said. They, meaning the Thief. Fiona sat up, resting her chin on her trophy’s shoulder. The two elites picked out an outfit for the Thief on their last shopping trip. May shifted a little more, looking away uncomfortably.  

Fiona realized that she never saw May in anything that she didn’t want to wear. She switched between the boy’s and girl’s uniform according to her mood, wore makeup whenever she felt like it and never because it was required. Fiona always thought it was May being May, a rebellious brat tired of all the rules… the rules just never applied to her in the beginning.  

Fiona touched her ears, only being able to relate on a different level. “Scarf’s are good too,” Fiona said. Her teammates gave her a pointed look with a soft sneer. Fiona pouted at it back before Robyn playfully sat down next to her and tugged at the scarf around her neck.  

“Are you ever going to give it back?” May tried to be teasing but was still a little tense.  

“Maybe… not?” Fiona mumbled, an idea hitting her. She blushed and looked away. It was stupid and humans always got the wrong impression but it was true. “Maybe we should give it to the Thief-”  

“Glade,” May gently reminded.  

“We should give it to Glade,” Fiona corrected. “They responded pretty well to me and May so it might calm them down.” Joanna and Robyn glanced at each other a little confused. “Um… Faunus are wired differently,” Fiona answered, fidgeting a little in her seat. She never actually had to explain it to May and Winter. The pair picked up on it because they’re secretly super attentive and sweet. “We’re not hunting dogs, it works on a subconscious level and we don’t really notice it.” Fiona said. She was dancing around the subject a little because her nose was a little more sensitive than the average Faunus. Everyone had their own unique scent. Winter smelled of cool fresh air, like fresh dawn and a new beginning. May smelled of flowers, so soft it wrapped and cuddle Fiona from the inside.  

Robyn and Joanna smelled like the forest of Mistral. Deep and rich, the kind of ground you could really set roots in and grace with flowers. Every bit of them was different parts of a home Fiona would like some day. No wonder Glade snuck in earlier.  

Robyn and Joanna raised a brow. The slight movement helping Fiona realize she was quiet a little too long, “People just smell nice,” Fiona blurted out with a blush. “Familiar smells are calming while strangers are…”  

“Upsetting?” Robyn asked.  

“Kinda? It’s why May cuddles me when we need to sleep in hotels.”  

“And why they practically dragged you into Robyn’s room last night,” Joanna said with chuckled, “That’s adorable.” The three students blushed softly.  

The little lamb grumbled and shifted in her seat. Fiona didn’t tell them it was a sign of trust and acceptance in Faunus culture. So when they dropped off the clothes at the clinic and the Thief- Glade, walked into the clinic’s staff lounge with the scarf wrapped around their neck, Fiona smiled brightly, ears wiggling happily.  

They chose the grunge outfit her elites bought, subtly turtling into the scarf as they tucked their wavy pale green hair into beanie… Keeping their eyes closed until they slipped on the dark reflective shades. Was their Faunus trait their eyes? Where they nocturnal or did they have non-human eyes?  

“Thanks,” The Thief. said with a soft smile.  

“Yeah, of course,” May tried to act like Winter, stoic and aloof. It was an adorable failure that had Fiona and her group of mismatched friends snickering. She grumbled at the mismatch group and looked focused on Dr. Pietro, “Are you attending the Schnee recital tonight?”  

“Perhaps, Young Glade here has offered to help me finish my work but I will definitely attending Silvio’s birthday later this week,” Dr. Pietro said with a smile while the Thief frowned a little.  

“Glade? What am I a stray dog?”  

“We even got you a collar,” May taunted, pulling at collar of their flannel shirt. Glade only scoffed and quickly retreated back into the clinic, favoring one side over the other. Everyone noticed and gave Dr. Pietro a worried look.  

“A broken leg that never healed right. Completely unrelated to what happened this morning.” Dr. Pietro said. " We had a close call with Ms. Goodwitch and Silvio earlier but they’ll be safe. If they stay here," He stressed the last bit loudly and pointedly.  

“I promise I’ll keep you all out of trouble,” Glade yelled somewhere in the clinic.  

“Not reassuring!” Fiona yelled back as they left. She took a few dancing steps in front of the group, smiling up at her friends, “So we ready to head back to Atlas?”  

“Let’s see… Glade? Treated and recovering. Window. Fixed. Weapons?” Robyn asked.  

“Check!” Fiona smile with a flick of her wrist, a switchblade was suddenly in her hands and flicked open. The others seemed to falter a little, a quick blush appearing on everyones face and Robyn looking particularly… bothered. Fiona only brightly smiled at her until Winter cleared her throat.  

“Atlesian lesson 101?” The Schnee asked next.  

“They’re bitches,” May and Robyn answered at the same time. Fiona giggled as Winter lightly glared at them both. “Public opinion is everything,” Robyn answered. “And 102, deliver what they think they want.”  

What the Atlesians wanted from Robyn wasn’t far from who she actually was.  

Joanna cleared her throat, “An average civilian, rising to the occasion to save a brilliant mind during a sudden attack on Mantle, the charismatic hero who always gets the girl in the end,” she narrated the hard-light poster dramatically before throwing her head back and laughing.  

Thank god Winter had the foresight to drag them to Schnee Manor before the actual recital started. The only people around were servers, security, and fiends. It gave time for the Mantle Rats to get used to the environment, to the disgusting show of wealth. They had space for real trees in the city. Gated behind a wall with security cameras pointing out in every direction. Marble, chrome, rich dark oaks constructed the building and hard-light lamps advertised the Schnee emblem and tied it all with a soft blue glow.  

Then there was the hijacked hard-light poster.  

It was suppose to be displaying the poster May showed them earlier today, Weiss sinking on stage. Instead it was Robyn. Valiantly fighting Grimm in the foreground, fending off those creepy long fingers and giving Fiona time to grab Silvio as the ground erupted beneath them. Fiona tilted her head.  

It looked like a movie still.  

A very hot one Fiona would probably take for herself later but it didn’t feel right. “Is this what people see when they watch Huntsmen and Huntresses fight?” She asked softly. “Just action and adventure? Not, y’know… helping people?”  

“It always seems like saving people is the ultimate form of help. It gets rather tiresome.”  

The group turned around to see Goodwitch approaching. Her usual wear was formal enough, a lot more than the group’s casual suits and dresses. Robyn’s tie was purposely loose the top two buttons left open for that perfectly clean your-not-important-enough-for-me-to-care persona the group decided on. Just thinking about it made Fiona’s hand twitched. She wanted to pull at it for a while now. She enjoyed Robyn’s shock and flustered face and that tie… Robyn’s her teammate, not a casual fuck.  

Fiona took a slow breath and looked back up at Goodwitch who eye did bounce between the gold bird pin everyone wore on their body.  

“I’d like to formally apologize on Qrow’s behalf,” Goodwitch said a bit reluctantly. “Though I do not apologize for his absence. He’ll probably just puke all over the floor or hassle the servers.”  

"If you want to apologize stop bringing up that drunk," May said, her arm leaving the small dip of WInter’s back. Winter tried to stay relax but was glaring hard up at the Vale huntress.  

Goodwitch smile, “Best idea all day. Worse being people sneaking Grimm into the city,” She finished looking at Robyn and Fiona. The words made Fiona’s heartbeat leap into her throat. There… that was one explanation. The only reasonable. May did say something about a greater plan. Glade was the only one that acted- No. Fiona looked at Robyn, Glade was the only one that had the skill and resources to act. “James has told me you’ve looked into previous cases, Detective Hill?”  

Detect… Detective?! Fiona tried not to sputter at the title. She tried to relax her ears, stop them from sticking straight out from the sides of her head. Joanna chuckled softly beside her and ruffled her hear, unfreezing her muscles.  

“Fighting rings have started to bring in small non-Atlas Grimm to spice things up,” Robyn said. Fiona pulled her head out of the gutter, trying to focus on the conversation. Joanna set a hand on her partner’s shoulder, calming her down enough to continue civilly. “We’ve been trying to get the military involved for months.”  

“Do you think these events are related?” Goodwitch asked.  

“We put a dent in the major rings so I hope not,” Joanna whispered. “If Atlas gangs figure out how to turn Grimm into weapons…” Fiona didn’t want to think about those Imps agains.  

“We’re already seeing some bandit tribes in Anima use similar tactics,” Goodwitch informed. One reason why Atlas was so crowded and industrialized was that Solitas made living outside of proper settlements difficult. Normal citizens without a protective Aura can’t even leave the kingdom without expensive equipment. “Extort them for protection by leading the Grimm to them and leave them once the main horde arrives.”  

“They can’t all be connect,” Robyn said firmly shaking her head. “Twisted mines follow the same path every now and then.”  

Goodwitch stared at the group for a long while, then smiled sadly, “I don’t suppose I can steal you from Atlas, can I?” Goodwitch asked.  

“She’s mine,” Fiona blurted out, heart skipping a few beats as panic filled her for a second. She was so close to making things up to Winter and May. Just one last thing before they all continue with their training and studies, two years until they graduation. Robyn nudged her out of it a playful smirk comforting the little lamb. “She’s my partner for our combative final.”  

“Ridiculous,” Goodwitch said with a deep scowl, “With how you all fought, I’ll see ensure James pass the three of you and accept you two into the Academy,” She looked at the students then at the detectives. The group blinked stunned until Goodwitch raised a brow.  

“Thank you… ma’am,” Winter said softly. Even her eyes were wide.  

Goodwitch only nodded. She turned on those high heels and practically marched away, “I look forward to working with you ladies again.”  

“As long as that creepy as bird doesn’t break my shit!” Robyn called out after her. Robyn was practically bouncing, a large smile on her face as grabbed Joanna’s hands and practically bounced, “Heard that Joan! We’re Atlas students-”  

“Your an Atlas student.” Joanna said pulling her hands free and pushing them firm on Robyn’s shoulders to stop her small bounce. " We don’t have the money for both of us to attend."  

Fiona winced in sympathy, “I’m on almost five scholarships and it’s… not easy,” Fiona said softly. She needed to write essay’s attend tournaments, her workload was nearly tripped the average student’s. Another reason why she was so desperate to stay with Winter and May, another team would just hold her back. “I’m lucky i got teamed up with a perfectionist and a competitive idiot.” She nodded to Winter and May, both avoiding their gaze with an uncomfortable look. This wasn’t a conversation her elites usually hear.  

Robyn scowled, gritting her teeth. Joanna smiled and patted her head like a she was pouting puppy, “We’ll figure something out Rob… Today is still our day off, right?” She looked at May who nodded.  

“Would you two like a small tour of the manor?” Winter ask, already leading the group out of the foyer. They headed to the kitchen first, trying to walk past all the giant paintings of her family but Robyn stopped at the giant portrait. Winter tried to encourage the group to walk past but Joanna eyed the giant suit of armor and sword next to it. “My grandfather, Nicolas Schnee.”  

“I read about him,” Joanna said, “When Robyn first suggested we go to Atlas Academy I laughed at her.”  

“Yeah, I was so hurt I almost kicked you out,” Robyn mumbled. She turned towards Winter, “But you three know why we want to become Huntresses now.”  

Fiona looked at Winter who pressed her lips tight. She only turned and walked deeper into the manor, forcing the group to follow. May didn’t leave her side, pressing into her shoulder every time a server passed with a tray of empty wine glasses. Their hands brushed every so often but neither of them made a move to hold on.  

It was obvious why May joined. Winter was hung up on the fact that they only met their new friends yesterday.  

“Same as you but a little different,” Fiona said, wiggling her ears for effect. “To help everyone, Mantle is just the start-” Suddenly hear ears perked up, flicking in the direction of the private area of the manor. It sounded like glass breaking.  

“Damn it…” May mumbled. This time her hand finally slid into Winter’s, “I’ll check, you stay.”  

“No.” Winter said, voice brittle and body so taunt it was ready to snap. Fiona hung back, letting May try and calm her not-girlfriend teammate. She also stopped Robyn from springing into action.  

May stepped close, their heads leaned together to whisper as soft as possible. Fiona tried to ignore it but it was impossible with how quiet the hallways were. “You come, they come.” May said. Then her voice soften, “Please… Don’t put this all on me, Win.”  

Winter blinked. Blue eyes shinning and cracking. Fiona would never say tears were in her eyes. After another squeeze Winter finally relaxed and let go of May’s hand. “Alright… Let’s go-”  

“Stop! Please!” Silvio’s voice broke through the thick walls.  

Immediately the group broke into a sprint. Winter was the fastest and Fiona was trailing behind her after absorbing her heels. A Glyph light the hallway. Before Fiona could stop her, a Beowolf roared, crawling out of it and slashing the door opened. She could hear two kids scream and another glass breaking.  

Fiona only had a moment to take in the scene before the two kids ran towards them. Three adults and thanks to Fiona’s sensitive nose she could smell some alcohol on all their breaths. Weiss was in Winter’s arms in seconds and once Silvio stumbled out of Author Watt’s slacken grip, he was behind May.  

“Let’s go.” May shoved Winter out of the room. She fought it, eyes on her mother and father. The Beowolf slowly growling.  

“Please,” Weiss whispered. That finally broke Winter’s furious trance. She stepped back but left her Beowolf growling viciously it made Fiona’s ears twitch painfully low.  

May lead them back to kitchens, Fiona could tell by the delicious smell and the clanking pots. It was the only life in the manor, the staff singing loudly and enjoying their work until the rich snobs came in and they’d have to act pleasant. When the group came in they immediately froze, nervous. They took one look at the kids and quieted down. The singing wasn’t as loud but still lively and cheerful.  

Fiona watched some energy and return to the kids, a small weight lifting off their shoulders as Klein quickly appeared. His light brown eyes shifted from them to Winter, “Oh dear… what happened now-”  

“Nothing.” Weiss said softly.  

“Nothing new,” Silvio said with a scoff. He sat at the table, taking a dessert and stuffing it in his face before retreating into his Scroll. Klein sighed and replaced it with a fresh treat from the counter.  

Fiona looked at Winter and May who gave her a gentle pleading look. The little lamb grabbed both Joanna and Robyn’s hands, leading them out of the kitchen. “Come on, their garden has real flowers in them,” Fiona said, trying to sound cheerful for the sake of the kids. Weiss didn’t smile and Silvio didn’t look up from his Scroll.  

No one wanted to speak until they got the garden. Even then the heavy silence lingered, growing heavier as the trio watched the sunset on a bench. Finally Joanna sigh let out a loud sigh, leaning heavily into Fiona and pushing her into Robyn who easily bore the additional weight of two people.  

“Maybe we should take Goodwitch’s offer and go to Vale?” Joanna mused softly. “It’d be cheaper too. Warmer. Friendlier.”  

“But they don’t need us,” Fiona said softly.  

Robyn came back to reality. Fiona and Joanna had to right themselves as she leaned forward and rubbed her face. “That is so messed up… Not even the rich has it easy in this fucking kingdom,” She was trembling. Voice on the verge of breaking and so damn angry. When Fiona tried bending down Robyn harshly turned away.  

“I can smell you crying… sensitive nose remember?” Fiona whispered. She moved, taking Robyn’s other side so her and Joanna could sandwich Robyn in. Her hand hesitated, hovering above Robyn’s knee. Just as she was about to pull back Robyn uncurled and grabbed her hand. She held onto tightly as she leaned her head on Joanna’s shoulder and whipped away the tears with her other hand. “Now you know why they’re so protective of me… And why Winter wants to become a huntress.” Fiona said softly, rubbing comforting circles on Robyn’s skin with her thumb.  

“What’s good is being an officer if I can’t even arrest a drunk huntsmen, let alone those three,” Joanna growled. She took a deep breath. Her arm was long enough to rest heavily on Robyn and Fiona’s shoulder. It was like a loose hold, so Fiona snuggled into both of them. For a long moment they all just sat there, letting their brains turn off.  

Winter was the first to find them with a tray of food and drinks. She looked guilty but smiled seeing Fiona’s and Robyn’s hand tightly intertwine. Fiona haded how soft Winter’s voice came out, “I’m… I’m sorry you three had to see that.” She said. Fiona got up, passing the tray to Robyn and wrapping her arms tight around Winter.  

“I’m sorry we can’t do anything they deserve,” Joanna said back. The three Mantle Rats invited Winter to sit with them on the bench but Winter politely refused, withdrawing a little instead. But she was here… and May asked her not to put it all on her anymore.  

Fiona extruded a picnic blanket for them to sit on. Joanna and Robyn looked comfortable on the bench looked relaxed stretched out on the ground. After some thought, Robyn dropped her head onto Fiona’s lap. The little lamb smiled down at her, both enjoying and needing a sense of touch. Fiona selfishly let her heart beat faster, eyes wandering to Robyn lips and eyes as she played with the platinum strands of hair.  

The cowardly part of Fiona wished Robyn didn’t relax the way she did, closing her eyes and humming softly in approval. At same time she’d hope to see it more. No wonder her two elite always got grumpy whenever their morning routine was interrupted.  

“We’ve dealt with families with… similar situation,” Robyn explained, slowly turning her brain back on. “I can recommend some good therapist for your sister. Silvio too.”  

“That’d… that’d be much appreciated. You’d have to talk to May about Silvio, she’s already helping him with… other things.” Winter said softly. She hide half her face behind a drink, her eyes meeting Fiona’s for a moment then down to Robyn and Joanna. “Thank you,” She whispered into her drink.  

“Don’t thank me yet,” Robyn said with a small smile. She rolled onto her stomach and Fiona missed the warmth of her scalp and softness of her hair. “One more thing. Just pin May to the wall and fuck her already.” Winter blushed hard, coughing softly and trying to clear her throat. Joanna patted her back while Fiona giggled.  

“I… I can’t-”  

"Can’t? You practically fucking her through me," Robyn continued to press. Winter blushed harder, completely off balance and embarrassed by the topic. It was rare a sight, one that only May pulls off on a good day so Fiona jumped in.  

“Technically, I was fucking you,” Fiona corrected, lightly flicking Robyn’s nose. “Because Winter’s too sweet on May to actually fuck another person,” She leaned forward and grinning at the Schnee. Winter tried to get Fiona to submit with a hard look. When Fiona started wiggling her brows a little Winter was forced to set her drink down or risk spilling it all over their semi-formal clothes. She barely remembered they were here for an Atlesian party.  

“I don’t know if I should be upset that you two noticed before May did,” Winter grumbled softly. “But I didn’t think she liked me back until this morning.”  

Fiona tapped her chin thinking back on their years together. “Honestly… I didn’t either. You? You were so obvious! The morning routines with the hair, how protective you were over her!” The pair might have edged each other to the extremes but that also meant they were always softer and much more relaxed when together.  

“I have been hinting at it when since we were young,” Winter confessed. All the Mantle rats flinched. Joanna ran a hand through her hair, messing up the gel the Marigold styled it with.  

“Well of course May don’t realize it!” Joanna said with an annoyed sigh. “You’ve been giving her mix signals-”  

"How was this morning mixed signals?!" Winter hissed with a deepening blush.  

“Just tell her,” Robyn said waving her hand.  

“Tell who what?” May asked rounding the corner of bushes with another tray of food. “Klein wanted to make Fiona’s favorite since we haven’t snuck back in awhile.”  

“Yes!” Fiona cheered taking the tray of fruits and sweets, strawberries covered in chocolates to fluffy cream stuffed puff. After throwing one in her mouth she teasingly dangled one in front of Robyn’s face. The women rolled her eyes, taking a bite of the strawberry and watching as Fiona finished it off.  

May sneered, “Glad I haven’t missed much.”  

“They’re trying to convince me to tell you about my undying love for you,” Winter said, in her default tightly controlled and dry tone. Before anyone could act surprised May threw her head back and laughed so hard her face went a little red.  

“Yeah! Do it after Weiss’ performance.” May said with a bratty cute grin. Fiona tensed, a smile plastered to her face as she tried not to scream. Damn it May! “Announce our engagement so your father and my cousin can die of a heart attack!” She bent down, taking Winter’s hands and gently pulling her up, “Come on! Show’s starting soon and Silvio wouldn’t shut up about us grabbing front row seats.”  

Within a few minutes the the theater was full and the lights dimmed to darkness. Fiona looked around. Her eyes spotting most of the military in the booths above the crowd. Goodwitch sitting irritably next to General Ironwood. Across from them senior Clover Ebi was sitting next to the freshmen Marrow. The other Faunus was busy looking around the theater too, a determine look on his face.  

“There’s a lot of Atlas students here…” Fiona whispered a little uneasily.  

“We do have two Atlesian scientist and the one visiting from Vale with his family,” Robyn said. Fiona looked back up the balconies. Sure enough she spotted the Vale scientist with his Faunus wife and daughter.  

Unfortunately due to May and Robyn’s hassling each other, they didn’t get center seats, but from this angle Fiona was able to see just behind the curtains. At the side of the stage was a hooded figure in robs… Weiss next to them with Silvio a little ways off. Fiona strained her ears but it was too far.  

The hooded not-Schnee figure took the center of the stage and from his Scroll Silvo activated the music. A slow piano piece fitting for the rich audience. Slowly the stage lights turned on, letting Fiona’s sensitive eyes adjust while gradually getting brighter for the humans to see, piano growing louder, picking up tempo.  

“You are an ocean of waves, weaving a dream like thoughts, become a river stream,” the mysterious stranger sang. Her voice was lower than Weiss. A shock mummer spread across the crowd but the opening act wasn’t phased even as Fiona watched the military in the booths grow a little tense. They only relaxed when they realized another voice would join occasionally, Weiss standing beside Silvio, harmonizing into her mic. “Yet may the tide every change, flowing like time to the path, yours to climb.”  

Fiona turned back to the stage, ears flinching a little whenever the music was too high for her sensitive ears. Whoever the mysterious singer was, she knew how to entertain walking the stage, posing and gesturing to the audience until the easily swayed like Marrow was at the edge of his seat and the reserved ones like Vine was absolutely enthralled. Robyn looked amazed, beautiful lavender eyes wide.  

“Thou seek the light with an outstretched hand,” Slowly the opening act’s voice faded. Weiss’ voice growing louder but she hadn’t walked on stage yet, “A divine blade lies before you so command the wake of dreams, to restore the world, cut 'way the seams,”  

Then the tempo picked up yet again, a drum encouraging Fiona’s heart into a powerful and steady beat. The mysterious singer reached out the audience, “Join in our prayer, in our song of birthrights and love,” She sang loudly. Weiss’ voice slowly appeared again, matching harmonizing so perfectly it had Fiona’s ears shuttering in pleasure, “Come the sun, illuminate the sky. Pray that we may quell the dark. Light take the throne. Lost in thoughts, all alone.”  

Then the lights dimmed, the music slowed to pause. Fiona heard Robyn and Joanna catch their breath next to her. Fiona saw the mysterious singer rush to the side, encouraging Weiss onto the stage. She vigorously shook her head for a moment until Silvio whispered his own words of encouragement, gesturing to where Winter was sitting.  

With a huff and a stomp she rushed to her position, the opening act helping her on the left and then rushed to their own position on the right side. It was then she noticed the slight shaking in her hands. As Silvio increased the lighting, Fiona could see the redness in her eyes she missed before.  

Poor kid. Still having to preform after the bullshit three adults put her through. Fiona heard Robyn gasp softly, “This is all improved…” she muttered.  

The verse repeated but this time the music didn’t slow. The drums became louder, drums and violins filling Fiona with a rush as she listened to every word, “Thou seek the dark with an un-sheathed blade,” Weiss’ voice was beautiful, it sent chills down her spine and the haunting familiarity of her assistant pulled everyone in like it was story, “Now a white ivory throne beckons so obtain the fate you sow on this path be wary friend and foe.”  

The way they moved on stage, circling each other or stepping close and matching their steps was almost poetic. “May thy chosen path lead way, and grace you with virtue but surely balance awaits,” Slowly Weiss took the lead, the opening act smiling as Weiss’ hands stopped shaking. She looked directly at her sister in the front row, “So be it bliss or pain you gain beyond the route-way’s end. You’ll gain resilience and weakness. The trials, the thorn in your side becomes the greatest strength, in you.”  

The song was a message to her sister, Fiona realized with a happy smile. She looked at the older Schnee. Winter looked proud. She reached over to her partner, grabbing her hand giving it a thankful squeeze. Fiona glanced at Robyn her own hand feeling stupidly empty. Until she notice Silvio and the hooded singer nodding at each other.  

“Descend into the abyss thou see- Hey!” Weiss screamed as she was suddenly shoved into the orchestra pit. One of the musicians threw their instrument aside to catch her. The crowd gasped, all the military huntsmen and students shocked in their seats. The music changed, suddenly blaring through the speakers but the volume wasn’t enough to make Fiona flinch.  

“The future is bulletproof the after is secondary!” The opening act sang. Finally the hooded opening act ripped off their hood. Fiona’s mouth hung open as a familiar helmet and gold horns standing on stage. I promise I’ll keep you all out of trouble, Glade said before they left Mantle. “It’s time to do it now and do it loud!”  

“Are you serious!?” May screamed in the theater. Fiona looked at her elites. May was almost pulling her hair out and Winter jumped into the orchestra pit to check on her sister. Glade grinned, hard-light ears taking shape and floating above their helmet.  

They pointed at May, “Kill joys! Make some noise!”  

“Your fucking dead-”  

“Na, na, na, na, na!” Glade stomped their feet in time with the rock music. Fiona barely pushed May back into her seat as the military moved in. Thankfully it was the students first. Vine swinging in with his semblance and Elm’s massive thighs launched her off the balcony and towards the stage. But Glade only smiled, never missing a beat, “Drugs, gimme drugs, gimme drugs, I don’t need it but I’ll sell what you got,” The pair was only able to make an entrance. The Dust in Glade’s clothes glowed a bright purple. A low warping sound ran deep in the room. Vine gasp a sudden weight pulling him down with Elm. It was enough force for the pair to crash through the stage.  

The crowd sneered and laughed. “Bring what Rat in and they all come,” Someone said behind them. Fiona was pretty sure it was May’s cousin but she wasn’t about to ask the Marigold to check. Fiona only kept watching. Winter had snuck Weiss back behind the curtain and was now glaring at Silvio. It looked like she was trying to lecture them but the kids were smiling, busy watching Marrow clumsily climb onto the stage while Harriet appeared with a trail of lightning behind her.  

Fiona laughed at the nervous looking boy, “Come on Marrow!” She cheered. Glade has yet to attack anything sentient and alive so he won’t get his ass beat but humiliation can be just as painful.  

“You’re looking good for someone who almost died this morning,” Harriet taunted.  

Glade only smirked, “But I’ll take what I want form your heart and I’ll keep it in a bag, in a box, put an X on the floor!” They continued to sing. Glade bounced around, light on their feet and motioned for the pair to come at them, “Gimme more, gimme more, gimme more! Shut up and Sing it with me!”  

“Marrow…” Harriet ordered the kid.  

Marrow took a deep breath, tail straightening as he concentrated, "Stay!" He hasn’t perfected his semblance yet but Glade’s singing paused, body moving slowly but still moving.  

Harriet grinned cracking her knuckles before running forward. Just as she was about to reach them, the gravity Dust glowed bright. Harriet lost her footing but the momentum continued until she crashed into the wall. The audience laughed even harder. Robyn and Joanna roaring next to her.  

The poor freshmen couldn’t hold his semblance and dropped it, panting heavily. Just as Clover was about to step onto the stage the lights shut off. Glade reach over, throwing Clover at Marrow. With a sharp whistle a wall of ice rose up, blocking all of Ironwood’s favorite students on stage. Glade ran to the side, grabbing the blind Schnees and Watt and running out of the theater. Before they disappeared they gave Fiona a pointed look.  

The little lamb grabbed everyone and ran to the nearest side door. Klein gasped, semblance activating with a small scared sneeze and red eyes was looking at them. “Good, good, I was worried ya’ lot wouldn’t catch on,” Klein smirked, voice gruff and a little aggressive. Fiona giggled, she always like this one the best. “You… I can’t believe you’re in on this too!”  

“Don’t blame me lil’ miss,” Klein scowled and growled back up at May, “Originally we were just gonna turn off the lights and sneak Weiss out, but the lil cunt made a friend and well…” Klein gestured to the theater and the loud shouts and yells. Ironwood was demanding the lights be turned back on and the crowd was starting to panic a little, “Best get ya’ out of here, eh? Rides out back, hurry on, now.”  

Fiona new the manor well enough to get the group there. Robyn tried to stop laughing. It was a good thing Fiona was still holding her hand because she was sure Robyn would have been several halls behind them. There were other security guards around but they would see a server accidentally stumble into them or slow down the cart of food or equipment.  

“I’m glad Weiss is still being look after.” May muttered softly under her breath. That finally got Robyn to stop laughing a sobering smile aimed at her elite.  

A chauffeur waited patiently with the door opened for them. Winter didn’t jump, only gave them a small smile while the kids giggled to themselves. May was the only one still furious, “Where’s Glade?”  

“They ran off while I was lecturing Weiss and Silvio,” Winter explain. “Said something about, 'How they weren’t paid enough for that,” She finished looking pointedly at the young adopted Watts. “How long have you two been planning this?”  

“Sneaking out in the middle of the performance…” Weiss blushed and looked away. “A few… weeks?”  

“It was suppose to be during my party but… then… fuck my uncle,” Silvio huffed. The mood died a little but Silvio was still grinning. “It was so worth it.”  

“You two should have told me,” Winter said.  

“You should come around more often- Ow!” Silvio winced as both May and Weiss punched him.  

Winter took it in stride. She closed her eyes, as if concentrating to break the aloof and cool facade. She smiled, gently and earnestly leaning towards her sister and the young genius, “I guess you two will need to fill me. How exactly did two brilliant kids made a fool of the military? Hm?” They both grinned up at her.  

May acted like a grump rolling her eyes but leaning heavily into her partner side. Fiona grinned at the scene, ears fluttering happily. Robyn sneered and chuckled, fingers playing with the tips of her ears while Joanna had an arm slung around both their shoulders again.  

Fiona hadn’t realized she didn’t let go of Robyn’s hand until she was swinging their joined hands in the elevator. May set the kids up in another suite, talking a little more with the kids. Fiona and Robyn naturally gravitated to the balcony while Winter and Joanna collapsed onto the king sized bed with a deep sigh.  

“What a day…”  

“I’ll say. Fighting Grimm, sex in the changing room, a picnic and a show,” Joanna teased. The trio blushed hard and Robyn still made no move to pull their hands apart. This time she caught the women glancing at her lips. Fiona tighten her grip, fighting the urge to pull at the loose tie.  

“I’m going to live variously through you two again.” Winter said. Fiona nearly jumped and the pair looked at Winter, lounging like a cat next to a bear that was Joanna. The Schnee looked pointedly at their hands, “Just make out already.”  

“Yes, ma’am,” Robyn whispered, voice husky and slow. It sent a shiver down Fiona’s spine and she realized the women was quiet for awhile now. Fiona could almost feel just how long Robyn was holding herself back. At first the kiss was desperate and almost vicious. Fiona gasp softly when Robyn bit her lip and her tongue danced against hers. Both of Fiona’s hands was held in Robyn’s against the railing, as if this is how she wanted to take Fiona during their two rounds this morning.  

With a dazed heart Fiona followed whatever mood Robyn wanted to give. Meeting her energy as best as possible. The frenzy kiss slowed to a passionate one. Finally Robyn let her hands go and Fiona let them wrap around her neck. The kiss might have slowed but it didn’t die. Fiona only felt the warmth in her chest spread, the cold metal of the rail worth the feeling of Robyn pressed against her.  

“There’s no way you’d kiss May like that,” Joanna mumbled next to Winter. “It’d be a lot more sweet and chaste.”  

“Shut up,” Winter mumbled softly. Robyn and Fiona broke apart giggling at their banter and at each other. Fiona swallowed trying not to think too much about how she wanted to keep those lavender eyes for longer than their academic years. How Robyn’s sweetness reminded her for her elites or how that Mantle attitude reminded Fiona that she wasn’t alone in their fight.  

She didn’t want to fall but Robyn and the others were making it tempting.  

Robyn leaned in again but not for a kiss, her nose nuzzled Fiona’s cheek trying to push her head to the right but Fiona fought it for a second and took a deep breath. Lavender and a fresh spring fields filled her nose, clouding her mind in a happy daze and settling her heart into a slow dancing rhythm. When Fiona finally opened her eyes she saw May on the balcony next to them. Face red and gold eyes wide.  

“I want to do it right because…” Winter’s soft words floated through the open air. Robyn and Fiona giggled, watching May blush so hard it must have been painful but the smile on her face didn’t make her worry. Instead Fiona pulled gently pulled on that loose tie around Robyn’s neck and pull her down for a kiss.  

This kiss was slowest yet. A practiced and gentle dance as Winter continued to speak, “Because I’ve loved her since I can remember.”

[xiubaek-13]

Farewell Couch

Prompt: Chanyeol + “I have never been this comfortable in my life.” + “I’ve been looking for you.”

Setting/AU: Roommate AU

Warnings: None - this is just crack

Word Count: 1,270

“Yah! Roomie! I’ve been looking for you.” Chanyeol’s loud voice boomed across the courtyard. “Where have you been all day?”

You stopped walking and turned, waiting for him to catch up and be within range of normal speaking volume. Your roommate never has any problems embarrassing you in public, and holding a conversation from 20m away is up there with things that make you want to crawl into a hole and hide. “Chan, I’ve been at work all day.” He knew this, he was usually really good at remembering your schedule. A niggling feeling started to form, he only ever forgot schedules when something bad had happened or he’d done something stupid. “Chan, why have you been looking for me?” You asked, half not wanting to know the answer.

He took a deep breath and started. “Well you know how our couch is legit falling to pieces?”

You nodded. “Yeah. It was falling apart when you got it off Sehun.”

“It was a good deal! He was giving it away for free since he was moving in with that rich kid Suho.” You chuckled and shook your head. That fucking couch would haunt you forever. The first night it was in your house a rat ran out of it and Chanyeol refused to let you set traps to catch it. Instead he’d sat up all night and surrounded himself with morsels of food so that he could lure the rat to him and earn it’s trust. You ended up calling his sister when you realised that if his plan worked he’d try to keep it. She’d turned up and made him promise to set it free but gave him a deadline. If it wasn’t in his arms by the following day you were allowed to call an exterminator. He’d looked so crestfallen at the idea of the rat getting fumigated and he worked even harder to get it to trust him.

Chanyeol being Chanyeol, all animals loved him so naturally by the time you woke up he was cradling a rat in his arms. “If you’ve given it a name I’m kicking you out.” He’d kept his promise, but he made you drive him and the rat, who you were sure he’d named but he refused to admit it, out to the edge of the forest so that he could set it free. You didn’t have the heart to tell him it’d probably be dead by nightfall.

That couch marked several pivotal moments in your friendship. Your first movie marathon (where Chan forced you to watch like eight Disney movies and got super emotional in all of them - you never wanted to discuss Bambi or Fox & The Hound with him ever again), first fight (you’d threatened to throw out his music equipment if he didn’t replace his headphones so he’d barricaded his door with the couch so that you couldn’t get in… it actually soundproofed the room so you didn’t mind how stupid it looked), first drunken night of bonding (you both cried over just how good dogs were and how we as a race didn’t deserve them). There were countless more memories but that couch had been on its last legs for about 3 years now.

“What about the couch Chan?”

He took a deep breath. “It broke.”

“It’s broken before.”

“Ok fine, it didn’t survive surgery this time. Time of death was 1pm.”

“Wait so it’s finally beyond repair?”

He nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so.” He paused, as though thinking over his next words. You cut him off before he could say it though. Years of sharing a house with him had prepared you for what he was about to ask.

“We’re not having a funeral for the couch Chan.”

“But -”

“No.” You had to be firm about this or he’d find the one crack in your resolve and the next thing you knew you’d be giving a eulogy for a fucking couch.

“Fine. I’ll have Kai come and help me move it to the junkyard.” He turned to head off in the direction of your house. “Can you meet me at Old John’s at 6?”

“Yeah, why?”

He grinned. “Coz my dear roommate, we are getting a new couch!”

“Geez the old one isn’t even dead 3 hours before you’ve moved on.”

“I’m trying not to focus on Betty right now.” He replied.

“Betty?” You asked.

He feigned disgust. “The couch. Betty is the couch, you uncultured swine!”

“Fucking hell. Remind me why we’re roommates again?” You groaned.

“Because I enrich your life. Gotta go! Be there at 6!” With that he ran off into the distance, leaving you shaking your head because, of course he named the goddamn couch.

***

You were pretty sure you’d tried every couch in a 5 mile radius and like 70% of them were fine but Chanyeol was scrutinizing every single one. You didn’t get it. The last couch was lumpy and falling to pieces and he had no problems loving it but picking a new one seemed to be the most difficult thing in the universe.

“Chan come on! Most of these couches are great, what is your problem?” You whined.

“They lack personality.” He stated.

“It’ll develop personality once it lives with us, if it knows what’s good for it.” You muttered loud enough for Chanyeol to hear you. He chuckled at your remark.

“Ok fine. I’m gonna go sit in one of those beanbags while I make a decision ok?” He pointed over to the far corner of the store where beanbags of all sizes were sitting. “My butt hurts from sitting in all of these couches.” He complained.

“You don’t have a butt Chan.” You deadpanned.

“Rude.” He pointed at you disapprovingly.

“I speak truth roomie.” You narrowly avoided a flick from Chanyeol. “Just make your decision in the next 10 minutes. I want to go home already.” You ached from standing all day at the cafe and you really just wanted to get a couch and either go home and lie on it or lie in your bed, you really didn’t care but it had to be soon otherwise you’d start getting crabby with everyone.

Chanyeol walked off and launched himself into the biggest fabric bean bag he could find. It wasn’t really a bean bag though, it was more of a giant cloud encased in fabric. “Holy fuck, come here NOW.”

You ran over thinking he’d somehow injured himself or broken the beanbag. If you had to pick you’d choose the former since you really couldn’t afford it and a new couch at the same time.

When you reached Chanyeol he looked like he’d reached nirvana. His eyes found yours and he smiled. “Oh my god. Seriously you need to try this.” He didn’t give you a chance to respond before pulling you down to lie next to him in the giant not-beanbag.

You understood the look on his face now. It was what you imagined lying in a cloud would feel like. “I have never been this comfortable in my life.”

“We’re not buying it.”

“The tag says its a love sac” He tried to get the words out but he was laughing too hard so it took him three attempts before he managed to it out.

“Then we’re really not buying one.” You choked out.

“That would be cruel, we would have to buy a pair.” He broke down into a laughing fit and you couldn’t help but follow suit.

Ten minutes later you’d managed to come back to your senses long enough to poke him and get out. “Pick a fucking couch already.”

[phcking-detective]

1. Caught Dead with a Beretta

Fic Title: First Blood

Rating: E

Length: 1/33 chapters, ~128k

Tags: Slow Burn, Idiots to Lovers, Trans Character (gavin), Autistic / Asexual / Non-binary Character (nines), BDSM, learning to use good etiquette and safe words, Dom Nines / Sub Gavin, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter Tags: suicide, death / murder, verbal hazing

Link on AO3

***

Gavin's sick of working suicides—they're depressing as hell and aren't going to do anything for his promotion. He's just got to the crime scene already wants to go home. It's fucking ass'o'clock in the morning, and he hasn't slept worth shit, so of course Nines texted to let him know about the scene the second he'd finally dozed off. 

The elevator ride up to the two thousand square foot loft gives him enough time to get hit with shit, did I take my meds before I left home? Fuck. Maybe? 

Goddammit. Maybe he should switch to those patches and gels instead of a weekly injection. Taking his T is the one thing he never, ever forgets, so if he switched to something he could do daily and took his meds for the BPD and ADHD at the same time … 

The elevator doors ding open, ruining his train of thought. Nines is here already because he doesn't fucking sleep, apparently. That hot fuckboy he sucked off once—and the beat cop for this side of town—Brayden, is in there too, but Gavin's most recent bout of soul-crippling insomnia has actually worn him down too much to be horny. 

Well, too much to put forth the effort for flirting, at least. 

"—huh, Nine Thousand?" Brayden says as Gavin walks up. 

Nines doesn't respond. 

"He's RK nine hundred," Gavin says. "Not like the meme. Super disappointing." 

Brayden grins. "Yeah, but I mean like, the movie." 

"Nine thousand?" 

Gavin frowns, trying to force his stupid idiot brain to think. All he can come up with is 300. Maybe it's a movie based off of that one book? The like, underwater … and submarines. Something-number thousand leagues under the sea? No fuck, that's not nine thousand. 

"Two thousand," Brayden says. "And one." 

Shit, is that the number of leagues or the title of the movie? 

"Man, I am way too fucking tired." Gavin waves him off. "I'm not even into that film shit. I just like action movies." 

Brayden heaves a deep sigh. "I've seen your file, Gavin. You're too smart to willingly lump yourself in with the uneducated masses." 

"May we proceed with the crime scene, detective?" Nines asks before Gavin can reply. 

Brayden flinches a little. The only reason Gavin doesn't get scared himself is because he's gotten used to Nines not breathing or moving—until he suddenly does. Makes people jumpy as shit to realize they forgot about the giant fucking android just standing there.  

Not blinking. Or breathing. 

"Go ahead," Brayden says with a sweep of his hand, like he didn't just jump half a foot. 

"May we proceed with the crime scene, detective?" Nines asks instead of complying. 

"Yeah, sure," Gavin grants permission. 

Nines proceeds. Gavin tries to hold back a smirk. Brayden's the pretentious kind of asshole who loves explaining shit no one cares about, but he's pretty hot too, and Gavin's not quite ready to burn that bridge to Terra-dick-bia by pissing him off. No, that sounds terrible. The bridge to … mm, dick. 

Damn, he's tired. 

He follows after Nines, a little worried he might wander off in his sleep-deprived state and get lost in all this square footage of prime fucking real estate. Even saints would have to work to feel sorry for dead people as rich as this. 

Finally, he stumbles into a section of the open floor plan that seems to function as the living room. There's a flat screen tv nearly as big as the wall it's mounted on, a coffee table made from a whole chunk of mahogany with a half-full tumbler, and a dead guy sitting in a chair with a gun in his hand and a hole in his head. 

The TV still blares out the news, and the vic's own face flashes out at them. 

"This the Ponzi scheme guy?" Gavin asks. 

"Maverick Russell, age forty-seven." Nines shoves a finger inside the vic's mouth with no shame or preamble. "Blood alcohol level point-oh-nine-seven. The entry wound in his head appears to be consistent with a nine millimeter Beretta." 

He takes a small packet out of his Cyberlife jacket pocket and somehow has the coordination to open it one-handed. Gavin wrinkles his nose at the antiseptic smell as Nines sanitizes both hands with the wipe, even though he only touched the vic with one finger. Then he lifts that same finger to the victim's head. 

"Hey!" Gavin barks. "What have I told you about that shit?" 

Nines stares back at him with that unblinking, lizard-eye look. He touches his finger to the entry wound but doesn't push it in. Just brushes it back and forth, which is somehow way freakier. 

"The entry wound in his head is consistent with a nine millimeter Beretta," Nines says. 

"Great." 

Gavin walks a perimeter around the designated living room space. At first it's just to keep himself awake, but by the second circle, he's got one of those gut feelings. Something about this scene is off. Fuck if he can tell what though, 'cause the victim was drunk, watching his own demise on the news, and has a bullet in his head from the gun in his hand. 

"You feel that?" He asks. 

Nines cocks his head to the side. "The circulating air temperature is seventy--" 

"No." Gavin huffs and starts on another circle. "Do you like … you feel what I’m feeling?" 

"Your question is incomprehensible." 

Gavin sighs and grinds the heels of his palms against his eyes. He bites back a comment about this being why androids can't make good cops. Fuck knows why he's bothering to be nice now. He just wants to get this shit done and go home. 

When he opens his eyes, everything swirls with black spots in front of him. What's bugging him about this? The guy is dead, the gun is in his hand, the news says—

Gavin blinks the spots away and stands in front of the vic. Fake tan, but high enough quality that it'd look real if he didn't live in fucking Detroit. Decently fit, and the open kitchen on the other side of the room has one of those blenders that cost more than his car. The loft's decorated in masculine colors, all brown and navy and black leather. 

"Go check out the kitchen," Gavin tells Nines. "Tell me what's in the fridge." 

Nines does as he's told, but only after considering it. Gavin takes back the lizard comparisons. He's like a cat. One of those big jungle cats that's smart enough to eat the humans hunting them. 

"Dannon Oikos triple blended greek nonfat yogurt, coffee, four pack, five-point-three ounce cups," Nines says. "Dannon Oikos trippled blended greek nonfat yogurt, peanut butter banana, four—" 

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Just say yogurt. What else does he got?" 

"Yogurt. Eggs. Milk. Sparkling water. Chicken breast. Mayonnaise. Sliced ham. Apples. Protein shakes." Nines opens the freezer. "Chicken breast. Chicken breast. Chicken breast. Chi—" 

Gavin starts giggling. He can't help it. Nines turns around and glares at him, deliberately flashing his LED red for a second. 

"OK, fuck off, it's late," he says. "I'm like, super tired. Just analyze that shit or whatever and tell me if his food matches any of the latest high protein fad diets." 

"Yes," Nines replies so instantly Gavin wonders if he actually even looked it up at all. "The victim's food intake matches the Eight Step Enligh—" 

Gavin waves him off. "Yeah, yeah. Cool. Does the bar have gin, vodka, and vermouth?" 

Maverick Russell, definitely confirmed for one of those ultra-rich masculine gym types. Not like, an actual gym rat, just that generic rich person level of fitness achieved through liposuction, personal fitness trainers, and the latest fad diet. 

"Yes, along with seven other distinct liqueurs." Nines finishes checking the bar and returns to the living room. "How is this information relevant, detective?" 

"This drink and that gun don't match," Gavin says when Nines returns. 

Nines cocks his head again. "Match." 

"Yeah. I don't see any Bond memorabilia in here." Gavin takes another quick glance around, but the entertainment center doesn't display any vintage DVDs, and rich film buffs are not subtle about displaying their collections. "He ever purchased anything like that?" 

Nines's LED spins yellow for about half a second this time before he replies. "No. There are no significant purchases of memorabilia relating to the James Bond books or movies present in Maverick Russell's finances." 

"OK, then why the fuck does he have a Beretta?" Gavin asks. 

Nines looks at the victim, and then back at him. "That is what he shot himself with." 

"Yeah, but why," he stresses. "Would this guy—this self-obsessed, rich guy masc, desperate-to-be-cool motherfucker—have a Beretta?" 

"It is the tool he used to complete suicide." Nines frowns. "Is there a reason he would not have a Beretta?" 

"Because it's a ladies' handgun," Gavin says. "This guy's got three different TV remotes, a flat screen covering an entire wall, jesus, how old is that scotch?" 

Nines sticks his finger in it, because of course he does. "One hundred and twenty-three years old, consistent with—" 

"Shit, I would've thought this guy was trying too hard when I was twenty and desperate to be cis," Gavin mutters. "Look, I fucking promise you, this particular man literally wouldn't be caught dead with a Beretta—unless he's a James Bond fan. Even then … hey, Brayden!" 

"His input is unnecessary, detective." Nines cleans his hands with another sanitary wipe. "If you would be more clear—" 

His jaw shuts with a click as Brayden jogs over. 

"Hey, you like the Bond movies?" Gavin asks. 

Brayden heaves a tortured sigh. "I really prefer foreign movies, but for an American—" 

"All right, sure. Would you ever kick it with a Beretta?" 

Brayden bites the inside of his cheek, opens his mouth, then closes it with a frown as he thinks about it. 

"What if you were like, a super fan?" 

"Why?" Brayden glances around the loft with an interested look. "This guy have some collector's memorabilia?" 

Gavin shakes his head. "Nah. But why else he's got a fucking Beretta?" 

"Well that's not the drink for it," Brayden says immediately, then scoffs. "A scotch?" 

"Yeah, and he had the shit to make a martini too." 

"Weird. You thinking …" Brayden trails off, then winces. "Ah, shit. We uh, we got a guy a floor down. Said he heard the shot that, you know. But he said it was two bangs. And you know how shit witnesses are about getting anything right, and the TV was on and—" 

"That's shit I need to know," Gavin snaps. "Doesn't matter how stupid you think it is, you're the first officer on the scene, you report every-fucking-thing to the responding detective." 

"Yeah." Brayden clears his throat. "My bad." 

Gavin lets it slide only because now he has something to go on. "Whatever. Check me on the precon for this, RK." 

"Preconstruction running, detective." 

"So we got two shots." Gavin backs up so he's approaching the living room from twenty feet away. "So we should have two guns. The perp, coming in here, gets shot 'cause the vic's only got the one entry wound, but—" 

Nines touches the victim's hand, and then his cellphone buzzes. 

The distribution of gunshot residue on Maverick Russell's right hand is not consistent with a Beretta. The gun he fired has a longer muzzle and larger caliber. My preliminary preconstruction matches it to a .500 S&W Magnum. The victim has four registered in his name.

Gavin closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose. Would it fucking kill him to send that in five separate texts like a normal person? Now he's going to look dumb as fuck staring at the screen for five minutes trying to read one paragraph. 

OK, he’s got the fifty caliber Magnum, that's easy to read. Longer muzzle, larger caliber, right. 

"So the vic has a fifty caliber Magnum instead of a dinky Beretta, makes a lot more sense." 

Nines doesn't correct him, so that must have been the gist of the message. 

"The perp gets shot—" 

"Where's the blood though?" Brayden asks. 

Gavin glares at him. "Can you let me fucking work?" 

Shit, he's doing it again and this is why no one wants to work with him because they fuck up--everyone fucks up, he knows this, he fucking knows this--and then he just can't let it go but why the hell does Brayden think he's allowed to speak right now when—

He's not in trouble. He's not in trouble, it's just the loft, being in another rich empty room again. None of them are children and he's not in trouble. 

His cellphone buzzes. 

The floor has been scrubbed clean throughout the loft. I did not realize that was relevant information. I will give you full reports of my analysis moving forward.

That's not too bad to read, and concentrating on making the letters stay still actually helps him cool off a bit for once. Gives him something to look at other than Brayden's pretty, hurt face or the perfect fucking interior design that still feels like when he was thirteen and— 

Gavin shoves those memories aside and starts typing out a reply. 

just text me that shit

I'll prolly yell if u try telling me about the floors at every crime scene

"Am I dismissed then?" Brayden asks. 

Gavin looks up from his phone and can't force out any sort of apology. He never can. And anyway, fuck him. If Brayden wants to get pissy about getting snapped at twice after a legitimate fuck up and interrupting a senior detective mid-sentence, then sure. He can fuck right off. 

"Go get the maid," Gavin tells him. 

"The … android?" Brayden asks. 

"No, the roomba. Yes, the fucking android maid. Someone scrubbed the floors clean." 

And the side table.

Gavin doesn't bother with texting back this time. "That where the blood splatter would have hit?" 

"Yes, detective," Nines answers out loud. 

Gavin turns back to Brayden. "So there's your answer. Get the maid, 'cause I doubt the perp stuck around himself to clean the entire two-thousand square foot floor." 

Brayden hesitates. 

"She's still here," Gavin asks. "Right, Officer Burton?" 

Brayden gives a curt nod, but he breaks into a run as he leaves. 

AP700 #480 913 876 is located in the foyer of the building, along with Officers Miller and Abrahamson. I have sent alerts to their cellphones that the AP model is needed for questioning.

Gavin starts to ask how Nines knows that but … isn't this what he was literally designed to do? 

"She's not a suspect yet," he says instead. "So cool it, Terminator. And don't hack peoples' phones. That's what the officers have walkie talkies for." 

Nines makes a face like Gavin just suggested they all start using smoke signals. He's not exactly the type to go all buddy-buddy on witnesses himself, but they're definitely not going to get anywhere with Nines scaring the thirium out of their one lead. 

Gavin takes a moment to wallow in how much he hates this before he calls Hank. At least if he has to be up before dawn, so will that motherfucker. 

"We do not need assistance from Lieutenant Anderson," Nines says, his expression souring even further. "Or my predecessor. I recognize that I did not meet the necessary level of efficiency when I neglected to—" 

"Hey, this isn't a punishment," Gavin says, tilting the phone down away from his mouth. "I fucking hate Connor too, and when we have an android suspect, I get that's your thing. But right now we have an android witness, and that's his." 

"Ahh, fuck," Hank's voice comes out of the phone. "Sun's not even fucking—goddammit, Reed." 

"We will be at your location in twenty minutes, Detective Reed," Connor's voice says next. 

Gavin stares out into space as what's left of his soul collapses in on itself at the confirmation that those two really are fucking. Not even just fucking, they're sleeping together. In bed, for literal sleep. 

"Nines, tell them they're disgusting," Gavin orders. "You can put way more hate into it than me." 

 "Disgusting," Nines says with a sneer that would put Gavin's mother to shame. 

Gavin hangs up before Hank can reply. "I know you lack the capacity and all that shit, but if it makes you not-feel any better, I bet you five bucks the perp's android." 

"Based off of what evidence?" Nines asks. 

"Took a bullet and kept going." Gavin steps back into place where the perp probably walked in. "He's got the Beretta, but it's just a gun to him. He grabs the vic's gun, maybe disarms him, maybe doesn't even have to after the first shot." 

"The blood vessels on the victim's wrist have not been damaged." Nines starts cleaning his hands again even though he hasn't even touched anything this time. "Why would the human stop shooting?" 

"TV's on, he's drinking, has a gun out already." Gavin shrugs. "Might have been a suicide interrupted by a murder. Might've fired the first shot just being scared, y'know, gut instinct." 

Nines just looks at him. 

"Or you don't know, whatever." Gavin rolls his eyes. "But once he realizes what's happening—maybe he couldn't pull the trigger himself, but now here's someone gonna do it for him. Maybe he just sits back down. That still work with your preconstruction?" 

"Yes," Nines says. "Along with two thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight other scenarios." 

"Whatever. And just like, for the record, don't ask Hank about how this suicidal shit works," Gavin tells him. "Hank might not care, but those are fighting words with Connor." 

Nines doesn't move a single centimeter as he stares silently at him. 

"And don't fucking fight with Connor, we don't have time for it. Anyway, if anyone gets to pick a fight at a murder scene, it's me. So." Gavin walks up to the chair with his hand pointed like a gun. "The perp gets him back down, shoots him in the side of the head, then switches the guns so the ballistics will match." 

"He could have taken the victim's gun." Nines's LED spins a few yellow cycles. "It is registered in his name. The suicide would have looked more authentic." 

"And that's why I'm thinking our guy's an android," Gavin replies. "Someone who hasn't ever seen a movie before in his whole life. Thinks a gun is a gun is a gun. I mean, you didn't know why the Beretta was weird, and if you made A Plan to kill a guy with this gun, would you switch it up in the middle?" 

Nines's LED immediately hits blue, but it's that fake-blue that means he's really covering up a red. Gavin almost kind of … has a feeling about it? 

But then the elevator doors open with Brayden and the android maid inside. Gavin's got a burned bridge, a possible eye witness, and an a murder to deal with. Worrying about his partner's not-feelings will have to wait. 

***

***

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33

This fic is also available on my Patreon! $1 tier gets you each chapter a week early, so you could be reading chapter two right now~

$2 tier gets you deleted scenes and bonus content--this week, it’s extra scenes about how Nines was found at Cyberlife and how he gets his first apartment

$3 tier gets you access to the first chapters of two new AUs I’m currently writing--an A/B/O universe in which Gavin is a bitter omega and Nines is his android partner determined to help him during his heat; and a Reverse AU where GV200 “Gavin” is assigned as Detective Richard Stern’s sobriety companion

[theoddcatlady]

The Grunp

The Grunp was just something my cousins and I made up while at our grandparent’s place. We went up almost every summer for a week or two at a time when we were old enough, and I think we first started telling Grunp stories when I was nine.

The Grunp’s appearance and personality would evolve and change as we got older. The first time we told stories about the Grunp, he was a naked man with one giant eye in the middle of his head. The next year, he was covered in thick, white fur, with empty holes for eyes who walked on all fours and chewed on bones. 

The last year we told Grunp stories he’d finally evolved to his final state- a white, furry creature who walked on two legs, smelled like a dumpster, had two blazing orange eyes and a drooling mouth crammed full of dozens of yellowed and rotten teeth. He could climb up walls and had claws half a foot long. He hated the kids that tramped through his forests every summer and plotted to steal one away so he could skin it alive and spit roast it for a delicious meal.

One thing never changed about the Grunp though and that was that he lived in my grandparent’s old barn.

The barn was ridiculously creepy, I’ll admit. It didn’t have any light or electricity out there, hadn’t been used in years either so it was empty other than a few remaining piles of hay and a broken lawnmower. We weren’t allowed to climb into the lofts because Grandma was afraid that the old floor wouldn’t support our weight so we’d fall and break our necks. I climbed up only once because I thought I heard something.

I didn’t see anything other than a dead rat but there was a lot of unexplained sounds in that barn. That’s probably what planted the idea of the Grunp in our heads. Some unexplained monster that lurked just out of sight, full of hatred and salivating at the idea of ripping us to pieces.

Given all this, probably the shittiest thing we could do was send Sissy Sandy into the barn for a night. And that’s exactly what we did.

I was eleven at the time and most of the cousins were about that age too, except for Sandy. Sandy was only six. Unfortunately, she was the only cousin in that age group, but since the rest of us started going to grandma and grandpa’s around that age her parents sent her with us anyway. The closest cousin in age to her was Bobby and he was nine.

You can imagine how we all felt about Sandy. It didn’t help that Sandy was a crybaby. She didn’t like sleeping in the dark, so whoever had the poor luck of bunking with her had to deal with a nightlight. She didn’t like being alone. She hated bugs and if she saw one she’d start screaming like she was being murdered. And she was terrified of The Grunp.

Most of the time we’d manage to ditch her with Grandma, who would play Go Fish and bake cookies with her. But when Grandma took a nap or we didn’t escape fast enough, we’d have to deal with Sandy tagging along. And oh boy, she’d complain about everything. She was too hot, she was too cold. She didn’t want to play near the barn. She didn’t want to play in the backyard. She was hungry. She was thirsty. She was bored.

I mean, typical six year old, but all of us were tired of it. We didn’t help the situation either by constantly teasing and picking on the poor kid. I think Jay was the one who started calling her Sissy Sandy, because well, she was scared of literally everything. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Sandy was probably scared of her own shadow.

It’s probably why we’d tell the most Grunp stories when she was hanging out with us. We’d get increasingly more morbid, talking about how the Grunp liked to peel off the fingernails of his victims and make them into earrings or that he’d use them to pick the flesh of his victims from his teeth. I think one time I even said that he would hang up his living victims in his cave and wait until he was hungry before chopping off their heads and chewing off their faces.

Sandy would go green and squirm, and then when she’d start crying we’d say that the Grunp was going to get her. That would make her run back to Grandma, saying that we were being mean, while we were all laughing our asses off.

Yeah, we were jerks. Poor Sandy. She just wanted someone to play with. And she really tried her best to keep up, she was just too little and we had no intention of playing with a ‘baby’.

I don’t know whose idea was it to play Truth or Dare, but I do remember it was my turn and that Sandy was my target. Sandy had been a pain in the ass all day, tagging along and complaining more than ever, and I’d had it. I asked if she wanted a truth or a dare, and I said if she’d pick dare, she’d get to play with us all she wanted tomorrow and we’d not tell any Grunp stories or call her Sissy Sandy.

Sandy’s eyes lit up as she proclaimed dare. We’d already had a dare where I did the chicken dance or where Jay called his best female friend to tell her he had a crush on her. Surely we’d not pick anything too bad for her, right?

I dared her to spend a whole hour in the barn. Without crying and without screaming. If she chickened out, then she had to spend the rest of the week with Grandma and that she couldn’t follow us.

I’m a monster. There was no worse dare I could’ve picked. The barn was already creepy in the day, I couldn’t have been paid to go out there at night. And if Sandy turned down the dare we really would have doubled down on calling her a sissy and she knew it.

So Sandy dragged her feet out to the barn. Grandma and Grandpa had already gone to bed so there was no one to catch onto our cruel joke. Jay highfived me, Bobby was bending over with laughter, and I was standing proud, thinking I was the most clever kid out there. Mary was already betting that she wouldn’t last five minutes out there as she set the egg timer.

Five minutes passed. Ten. Fifteen. By thirty minutes, we were all getting bored, we couldn’t hear Sandy crying and she’d yet to come out of the barn. We’d started playing Truth and Dare again and had almost completely forgot about her until the timer dinged.

I was impressed. I yelled out to Sandy that she could come out now, she wasn’t a sissy and that she could play with us tomorrow.

Sandy didn’t respond.

Figuring she’d fallen asleep, I ran out to the barn and poked my head in, calling after her again.

My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw that Sandy was nowhere to be seen. I knew she wouldn’t have climbed into the loft but I climbed up anyway to check. I came back out and everyone was starting to look a little nervous.

“Maybe she’d managed to get past us and went back to bed,” I said, attempting to reassure everyone as we headed back inside.

She wasn’t in bed. She wasn’t in the kitchen, or the basement… not like she’d go down there anyway, it was full of spiderwebs and she hated spiders most of all.

That’s when we realized something was wrong and that it was time to wake up our grandparents. We had to repeat it twice for Grandpa, he’d taken his hearing aids out before bed, but we didn’t tell the truth- we said that Sandy wanted to explore the barn and she’d not come back.

I already felt shitty for what I’d done. I felt even shittier for lying.

Cops swarmed the house, we were all counted up to make sure we were still accounted for, and we stuck to our story- Sandy went to explore the barn, she wanted to prove she wasn’t a sissy. We didn’t make her go out there.

Technically we didn’t, but I wanted to throw up every time I repeated our lie.

It’s when I overheard a conversation with one of the cops and our grandparents that I realized I had gotten my little cousin killed.

They didn’t know I was there. I was in the hall next to the kitchen, about to get a drink of water, and one of the cops was showing my Grandma a picture.

She narrowed her eyes for a few moments before she nodded. “Yes, I think I do know him! He came by a few days ago, asking for a meal, and I fixed him up with some leftovers from lunch and a slice of pie. Saw the kids p… playing… in the backyard...” Grandma went white in the face. “… Oh god, he pointed out Sandy. He… he said she looked like a real sweetie. Oh god, what have I done? What have I done?” Grandma clung onto Grandpa and began to weep.

I sunk to the floor as the cop shook his head. I found out many years later that the man in the picture was a man named Gene Hayes. A child sex offender with a preference of girls that looked like Sandy.

I didn’t know those details back then, but I knew that my little cousin had been kidnapped by a monster.

And he wouldn’t have had a chance if I hadn’t sent Sandy out to the barn alone.

I didn’t sleep that night. I just stared at the ceiling and thought about poor Sandy. How scared she would be and how I might never see her again, how it would be my fault if she never came home, how I’d never be able to face Uncle Ken and Aunt Barbara again. The next morning, before anyone was awake, I put together my next plan of action- I grabbed a baseball bat, made myself a few sandwiches, making sure to make one with grape jelly and to cut the crusts off. That way when I found Sandy she’d get something to eat.

I knew the nearby forests probably better than most of the searchers, I knew all the places people could hide. I knew I could find Sandy.

And I did… just not in the way I expected.

It was getting close to mid-afternoon when I stumbled across Hayes’ campsite. The place was a mess, beer cans piled near a burnt out firepit, muddy magazines scattered about, a small table turned over, sleeping bag crooked.

When I kicked over the sleeping bag, I realized it was soaked in blood and that there was five large slashes through it… and I saw one of Sandy’s pink hairties.

I stumbled back, falling on my ass and crawling back. My baseball bat rolled away. Had a bear gotten to Sandy’s kidnapper? Did it get Sandy?

I heard a twig snap behind me and I turned around to be face to face with The Grunp.

Our final description of him was actually pretty accurate. A bipedal, white furred creature with blood soaked claws and a drooling maw of hundreds of fangs, smelling like death and with hatred in his gaze. His eyes were a shade of yellow-green though- the color of dying grass.

And by his side was Sandy.

One of her pigtails had fallen out but the other was still tied in place. She looked pretty beat up, bruises and scratches on her arms and a busted lip and bloodied chin. She stared at me, almost as if she didn’t quite recognize me.

The Grunp carefully pushed Sandy behind him, shielding her from me. “Are you… his friend?” The Grunp asked.

Another thing that didn’t match our stories- The Grunp could talk. I shook my head no before I dug in my bag. “… Sandy? I brought you your favorite… made sure to cut off the crusts too.” I presented the sandwich, now a little squished from being in my bag all day.

Sandy blinked a few times before she smiled, revealing teeth stained bright red. “No thank you, I already ate.”

“Sandy, you don’t refuse food,” The Grunp patiently explained, taking the sandwich baggie between two of his claws and handing it to her, “You can eat it for dinner.”

Sandy nodded, clutching onto the bag. “Thank you,” She looked back up at the Grunp, “Can we go home now?”

The Grunp leaned down, carefully picking up Sandy as to not catch her on his claws, and set her on his shoulder. “Good day,” He said before he ambled off through the bushes.

And like that, he was gone.

I managed to get home by nightfall, where the search had turned into one for Sandy and me.

All I said before collapsing was, “She’s with The Grunp.”

We’ve never found Sandy. I try not to think about her, but I do, especially at night. I wonder if she’s doing okay. I wonder if she’s happy, if she’s not such a scaredy cat anymore.

And I wonder if she’s eating well.

[the-insomniac-cat]

ENDGAME BIG SPOILERS

Complete synopsis of the entire film below the cut.

If you want spoilers but not the whole shebang, scroll down to my other Spoiler post.

Why post this? Because some people want to know, either before they go, or instead of going, or to decide whether to or not.

Look, if you don’t want to know, then use the tag filter. In case you didn’t set it up, then I’ve put in the ‘keep reading’ cut. So you should be covered. So please, no more anon hate! (Haters are so brave when they go anon!)

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT MY SYNOPSIS. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM (and won’t) THIS IS FROM A REDDIT USER. BECAUSE LOTS OF SPOILERS OVER THERE ARE BEING TAKEN DOWN, I DECIDED TO CUT AND PASTE IT RATHER THAN JUST GIVE A LINK.

People who HAVE seen the film have been adding comments to this post on Reddit, saying it is ‘correct’, or ‘basically correct’.

CREDIT:  Reddit Posted byu/Wico90

12% credit to Brontcrab24 and others

First Scene is actually Hawkeye losing his family to the snap. He doesn’t actually see it happen as he is facing the other direction. We then get the Tony/Nebula sequence (paper football, etc). Tony records his message to Pepper. When he falls asleep, Nebula takes him to the front of the ship and sits him in the pilots seat. He wakes up and sees something glowing outside the window. Captain Marvel helps them return to Earth. Pepper, Rocket, Steve and Rhodey all come out to greet him. Tony is very shaken, particularly about losing Peter.

Movie starts with the Avengers trying to find Thanos. Steve wasn’t to know where Thanos is and asks Tony, but Tony says he doesn’t know, They argue. Nebula knows of Thanos’ garden he said he would once go to when he completed his goal. They found him because of the energy he released using the gauntlet. Thanos is alone, and tells them he used the gauntlet to destroy the gems. He is weak and Thor, angry, decapitates him.

Title Card and five years later.

Natasha is now basically in charge of what's left of the Avengers is talking to them via holograms. Basically the world is in ruins and they're trying to salvage it. Carol is there via hologram with a new haircut and uniform and tells them that she's covering thousands of planets and won't be able to come back to Earth for a "long time".

Steve and Nat talk about how the Avengers are family. Inside a storage shed is Luis’s van. A rat is crawling over the Quantum controls and activated the switch which brings Scott out. He’s now locked inside the cage but starts waving at the security cameras. A guard lets him out and he is walking the streets confused as to why everything is so overgrown and run down. He finds a memorial which lists the names of the ‘missing’ on large stones. He starts reading them panicking that Cassie might be listed on them. But she isn’t. He sees her at home, as an older version of herself. Scott drives to the Avengers facility and Nat and Steve let him in and he tells them about the Quantum realm and how they might be able to build a time machine to go back to the past before everything happened. They visit Tony, but he doesn’t want to help. He’s happy with the way that his life is, with Pepper and his daughter Morgan. They leave and to visit Bruce who is now Professor Hulk.

The plan becomes to start looking for the gems in the past. Initially Banner builds quantum time machine and sends Scott back to test but it is faulty, Tony refuses to help at this point, however, he returns Caps shield and they make up. He tweaks Banners Quantum Machine, The catch is that they need quantum particles for it to work.

Natasha goes to Japan to get Clint. He is mourning his family and is not certain of the plan. Rocket and Hulk go to get Thor who is drinking and playing video games with Korg and Meik. (Funny joke involving an online video game troll)

Finally the team then all suit up and discuss their plans to get the stones. They make it clear that they can not mess up because there is only enough Quantum particles for one trip for each of them.

Tony, Scott, Steve and Bruce go to the Battle of New York. Hulk meets the Ancient One at Dr Stranger's future home. Ancient One refuses to give the Time Stone to Bruce but relents when Bruce tells her that Dr Strange will give the stone to Thanos.

Cap, Iron Man and Scott tries to retrieve the Tessaract after Loki surrenders. SHIELD/Hydra agents Crossbones and that bald guy with glasses in Winter Soldier retrieve the brief case containing the Tessaract. Past Hulk funnily has to walk down lots of flights of stairs as he can't go on lift due to maximum capacity. Cap meets with Crossbones with the briefcase in elevator along with other Hydra agents. He convinces them to give him the briefcase containing the staff when he utters two words: Hail Hydra. Cap gets the briefcase. Tony in disguise as a SWAT soldier tells Scott to disable his past self's chest reactor to give him a minor seizure while his past self meets up with Alexander Pierce who demands the Mind Stone and Loki. Present Tony retrieves the briefcase but past Hulk accidentally knocks out Tony and Loki uses the confusion to teleport out with the Tessaract. Present Cap accidentally meets with his 2012 self, and 2012 self thinks he's Loki in disguise. They fought and 2012 has present self in chokehold when he tells his past self that Bucky is alive. He then taps his past self with staff to knock him out.

In Asgard, fat Thor and Rocket plans to retrieve the Aether out of Jane Foster's body. Thor's mother meets his 'son' and know he's from the future. Rocket retrieves the aether out of Jane by prodding her off screen and gets chased by guards. Before Thor leaves, he retrieves Mjolnir!

On Morag, War Machine and Nebula stays on Morag while Clint and Nat goes to Voromir via a ship that Rocket miniatures for Clint. Unknown to Nebula, her past self's nervous system and databanks are connected to each other and Thanos finds out where the stones are and how he meets his fate.

Cap and Tony transport back to 1970 at the SHIELD training site seen in Winter Soldier and goes underground to retrieve that era's Tessaract. Tony retrieves the Tesseract while meeting his dad. He calls himself Howard Potts. Cap makes a prank call to young Hank Pym and sneaks into his office to steal 4 vials of Pym Particles. Cap also sees Peggy. Cap and Tony teleport back to present.

WM and Nebula knocks out Quill during his dance in intro of GOTG. They got the stone and WM and Nebula was meant to teleport together but WM only succeeded. Present Nebula and past Nebula meets and fights and past Nebula takes her place to go back to present.

On Voromir, Clint and May meets the Red Skull as seen in Infinity War and is told how to retrieve the stone. Clint and Nat fought each other. Clint jumped off cliff but Nat catches him and held on by grappling rope. She falls off and dies like Gamora. Clint now has the Stone.

All members went back to present and everyone is devastated by Nat's death. Tony and Bruce constructs the Infinity Gauntlet and Thor wants to wield it but Hulk goes instead as he's the strongest one and the stones emit gamma radiation according to him. He wields it and snaps his fingers restoring all life lost. Clint's wife calls him on mobile. Hulk suffers extreme pain in his right arm due to IG. Past Nebula activates the Quantum teleporter and summons Thanos' warship and blasts the Avengers HQ to ruins with missiles.

Hulk lifting up rubble similar to Secret Wars cover where he lifts up a whole mountain except this is less in film lol.

Clint finds the gauntlet and is being chased by Outriders creatures in last film. He kills them and is met by past Nebula. Gamora and present Nebula meets up and Nebula kills her past self.

Cap, Tony and Thor teams up against Thanos. Thor is losing against Thanos even though he has Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. Thanos is about to kill Thor with SB when:

Cap lifts up Mjolnir and beats Thanos with hammer and shield.

Thanos uses his double blade weapon to break Cap's shield in half.

Thanos summons his whole army including the Black Order and some new creatures. Cap is all by himself against a whole army.

He hears Sam's voice and he turns around and see EVERYONE who has vanished PLUS huge armies of Wakandans, sorcerers and Asgardians (no signs of Warrior Three). Wong, Valkyrie, Wasp and Pepper Potts as Rescue turns up as well. Ant Man becomes Giant Man.

Clint plays American Football with IG and passes it to Black Panther then Spidey. Quill meets past Gamora and gets hit in the balls, not believing he is the one she loves lol. Scarlet Witch overpowers Thanos but Thanos orders missiles to hit everyone including his forces. Captain Marvel shows up to destroy Thanos' flagship and gets the IG and dashes towards the goal. There is a bit where Hope and Scott goes to the van with the Quantum teleporter in the middle of battlefield. Was lost in the moment so forgot why they doing that, sorry.

All female Marvel characters fight Thanos. Spidey's armoured suit goes autokill mode with the extra arms.

Thanos tries to take the gauntlet off Marvel by headbutting her but didn't phase her.

Thanos retrieves the gauntlet away from Stark and he snaps his fingers. Nothing happened. The stones went to Stark and before he snaps his fingers, he says 'I'm Iron Man'.

White flash of light.

All of Thanos' forces turn to dust including Thanos himself.

Tony dies from using the gauntlet. Everyone mourns.

The battle is won but at a cost.

Holographic Tony gives a message to everyone present including his daughter.

A wreath with Tony's chest reactor is laid to rest at the lake near Tony's hut.

Everyone is present including GOTG, Peter, Maria, Ross, Nick and Hank and Janet.

Thor, still fat designates Valkyrie as Queen of New Asgard in Tonnsberg. Thor is now travelling with GOTG to find Gamora and maybe more Asgardians. Quill and Thor are about to fight for leadership lol.

Scott, Cassie and Hope are together again. Wakanda is back with his King.

Cap goes on a mission to put back the stones and Mjolnir to their proper places. Hulk says to Sam and Buck that he should be back in 5 secs. He didn't. Sam sees a old man at a bench and it's Old Man Steve (who looks like Clint Eastwood now but less wrinkles and bit younger than he is lol). Steve has wedding ring and passes his shield to Sam. Sam is honoured.

Ending shows young Cap dancing with Peggy at their house. That's it.

Credits music is set to 1930s music then shows all cast members. The main cast is shown with their signatures on it.

There is NO post credit scenes which is a first for a MCU.

Stan Lee cameo is set in 1970s where he is shown in his 70s younger self driving a car with a woman, driving past a army base where Cap and Tony retrieves the Tesseract there.

[hetalia-themagicalmanac]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!!

On this day, Mary debuted in this comic 2 years ago, which marks her technical birthday. The ask box will be open for the first time ever! so you can send a nice, wholesome message that might appear in a future comic, as well as some asks that might be drawn up! Fic below, because I really don’t have a lot of time to draw a wonderful birthday comic for her :(

🎵 Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday dear Mary~! Happy birthday to you! 🎵

The little house filled with wondrous joy as Mary’s parents clapped to their beloved daughter’s big day; her birthday! In front of Mary was a little ice cream cake that her mother bought from the grocery story with “Happy Birthday Mary” written in gel frosting. 

“My beloved Mary,” her mother began, “You can blow out the candles now. Make a wish dear, but don’t tell us, or else your wish won’t come true.” 

Mary took a big, deep breath of air and blew out the candles on her tiny little cake. Her father took a perfect picture of Mary blowing out the candles on his phone, something he would be so proud to display on Facebook. 

“Did you make a wish, Mary?” her father asked,

“Yep!” Mary squeaked, “Mama said my wish won’t come true if I tell it.”

“She’s right, you know. Now then! Mary gets the first slice since it is her special day after all!”

As the family was enjoying their slices of ice cream cake and Mary opening up her presents, there was something unusual going on upstairs. In the child’s room emerged a man from the magic almanac, sneaking around to make sure he isn’t being heard. He took off his shoes so the wooden floor wouldn’t creak under his weight, attempting to be as stealthy as possible. 

“Rats!” he said under his breath, “Mary never told us it was her birthday?! What a silly girl she is! Might as well tell everyone else back in the manor.”

He began to stealthily sneak back into Mary’s room and into the Almanac, frantically running down the stairway into Friendship Manor. He grabbed onto the protective railing of the mezzanine that he first sees upon entering Friendship Manor and took the biggest breath he could hold in his lungs.

“DUDES!!! TODAY IS MARY’S BIRTHDAY!!” he bellowed, echoing throughout the entire manor, “GET YOUR ASSES READY IN CASE SHE GETS IN FRIENDSHIP MANOR!! CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP!!! GET THE MEETING ROOM ALL DECORATED!! GET HER SOME PRESENTS, DAMMIT!!!”

Germany knew that it was Mary’s birthday anyways as he deeply cares about her as a father figure, but forgot to make cake for her since the announcement was so sudden. 

“Scheiße! The cake!” He sprinted back to the door that leads to his lovely little cottage in the woods, since this was in fact the first time Mary gets to spend a birthday with her magical friends. 

“America!” England scolded as he hastily went up the spiral staircase to the mezzanine, ready to slap America if possible. “Couldn’t you announce this sooner?!” 

“Dude, I didn’t even know it was Mary’s birthday today!” He answered, “Like I was just sneaking around upstairs Mary’s house because I didn’t even see her today and was just making sure she was okay!”

“You know America, Mary did tell us her birthday was on this day. You just forgot because you spoil her rotten anyways. We’ve been setting up the meeting room for her and all of the nations that she never met are also invited.”

“Wow thanks dude! You’re a lifesaver!”

“Whatever. Just do your part. Just don’t spoil her so rotten like you already do. I’ll get her when she’s done celebrating with her mum and father.” 

Meanwhile, as Mary went in her room carrying all of the presents her mother and father got for her, England came out of the magic almanac to greet Mary. “Happy birthday, Mary!” he said as he gave her a warm hug, “I see you were having fun with your mum and father, hm? What kind of presents did you get?”

“I got lots of toys!” Mary squeaked, showing England some of the toys she got for her birthday, some of them also being books that would make a really good bedtime story. 

“Wow! Your parents really must be glad to be with you on your birthday, huh? Maybe one of these nights, i’ll read to you one of these stories when you’re going to bed, okay?” He then noticed that Mary still had frosting on her face from the ice cream cake she had with her parents. “Oh goodness me, Mary! You’ve got frosting on your face!” He knelt down to Mary’s height and grabbed a handkerchief out of one of his pockets. It was soft to the touch, and just gentle enough to get the frosting off Mary’s face. “There you go. You don’t want to look all messy, no? Come along now, we’re gonna go on an outing.” 

“An outing! Where are we going?”

“Well, maybe I can get you some toys for your birthday.”

Little did Mary know that this was actually something bigger, something she wouldn’t expect at all from her friends!

Inside Friendship Manor, it was seemingly emptier than usual. England was holding her hand as the two went down the staircase from the mezzanine. “Ah, Mary, I forgot to get something.” England said, “We just had a very important meeting today and I forgot to get some important papers.” 

“What kind of papers, Mr. England?”

“It’s very secret, Mary. Shhh~”

Mary really didn’t mind, thinking that England forgot to get some papers in the meeting room where the nations usually have their meetings. Once they got to the meeting room, the room was pitch black, but Mary had no clue how it got so pitch black in the first place. England turned on the lights when suddenly...

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY, BEARER OF THE ALMANAC!!!”

Mary’s eyes lit up at the sight of all of the nations in the room, surprising her on her birthday in a room that was considered forbidden for her to go in during the all-important world meetings. The entire room was decorated with streamers, balloons, and even a giant banner that read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY” spread across at one of the walls. There were even nations present that she never really fully met like Switzerland, and even nations that she never met before! Mary was nearly about to cry! 

“You did this...all for me?” Mary said, looking up at England with tears in her eyes. She suddenly ran over and hugged the Englishman tightly, crying on his side.

“Mary, why are you crying?” He said, kneeling down to her height and gently petting her soft, light brown hair. “Shhh...”

“I think she’s overwhelmed by happiness!” Italy chirped, approaching the crying child to calm her. “It’s okay, Maria! I know how it feels to be so happy that you just gotta cry! We made this as special and memorable as possible, especially since you’re the Bearer of the Almanac!”

England nodded as Mary looked up, tears in her eyes. He pulled out the handkerchief that he used to wipe the frosting off Mary’s lips and used a clean portion of it to wipe off her tears. “I can’t imagine how Horatio would have reacted if we were to celebrate his birthday here. I guess he wouldn’t have liked it well, but I promise you Mary, that there is no need for tears today. After all, we’re all so happy for you not only because it’s your birthday and you’re the Bearer of the Almanac, but you’re also such a wonderful friend!”  

America jumped in front of Mary and held her high into the air. “Now it’s time to party!” He declared, putting the child on his back. Mary smiled, now with all of her tears gone, she is now in the mood to celebrate happiness with her friends. 

For a time, Mary ran around to see the other nations socializing with each other and even played with some of them, such as playing tag with Sealand and some other micronations, or just climbing up on Russia and even playing with his somewhat sentient scarf. There was something Mary noticed though that someone and something was missing...

“Mr. France?” Mary tugged on his cloak, “Where’s Mr. Germany?”

“He’s bringing you something very special my dear~!” He said, “It’s so special that we all have to wait!”

“What is it?”

“I can’t really tell you, or else it would spoil the surprise!” 

That was when all of a sudden, the doors to the room swung open to see someone carrying a rather large cake that was neatly decorated and topped with candles. Mary couldn’t tell who it was carrying the cake from a distance until she ran up to the figure. 

“Mr. Germany!” Mary exclaimed, “You made a cake for me!”

“Ja, I did!” he said as he put the cake down and picked up Mary, smiling at her, “I wanted to give you the best cake you’ll ever have just for you. If I had to rush making the cake, it would have been a mess and we don’t want to have a sad birthday, no?” Mary giggled and hugged her father figure tightly. “This is the best birthday I could ever ask for!” She squeaked, probably not letting go any time soon. 

Eventually, all of the nations gathered around the cake to marvel at this masterful piece of art that many did not expect from possibly the manliest nation to ever exist. The cake was rather beautiful up close, covered in a sugary white fondant and decorated with frosting that had Mary’s favorite colors on it. There were also fondant stars around the sides of the two cake tiers, with yellow stars on the bottom tier and magenta stars on the top. Rainbow sprinkles also dotted the cake as well to pop out more. 

Mary sat down in front of the cake, wondering how she was going to blow all of these candles, yet admire how lovely the cake was that Germany made all from his hard work and love to make this day memorable for everyone. The German took out his phone and began to record Mary.

“Look, Mary! You’re on camera!” The child looked up to see Germany holding his phone at Mary and the cake he made, so he can capture this vital memory that cannot be lost. Soon enough, the nations began to sing in a harmonious chorus.

🎵  Happy Birthday to you~ Happy Birthday to you~ Happy Birthday dear Mary~! Happy Birthday to you~! 🎵

Mary took a deep breath and attempted to blow out all of the candles. She did have a little help from America, since some of the candles were in places she couldn’t reach with her tiny little lungs, as well as the problem of some of the candles appearing to be blown out when they were still lit. She looked up at America and giggled, seeing her brotherly figure helping her out. “Happy birthday, my lil’ dude.” America said, kneeling by the chair to hug her. 

Germany took out a large knife, the kind that was made to cut even the biggest of cakes open. “Mary, would you like to help me cut the cake?” He asked, “Hold the handle with me, okay? Then we’ll cut it!” Mary grabbed the handle of the knife with both of her hands, thinking she is helping Germany cut the cake open when he is doing most of the work. The inside of the cake was everything Mary could have ever wished for; a chocolate cake with a heavy cream inside, similar to a black forest cake. 

Of course, Mary got the first slice that she “helped” cut open, as everyone else were getting their pieces of cake. Even with everyone having their share of cake, there was still plenty left over, even though Mary couldn’t eat all of it. She ate her slice very quickly, as the sweetness and the love poured in this cake really reminded her of spending a day at Germany’s house, since he would bake for her quite often. It was a sweet rush of nostalgia and happiness, which almost brought the child to tears.

America approached Mary with a rather huge present, though Mary wasn’t surprised that he can hold it well due to his absurd strength. “Alright dude!” he said, “I got you this cool present I bought for you last minute! I didn’t know it was your birthday, so I’m real sorry about that.”

“You’re so silly, Mr. America!” Mary said, hugging his leg. “You’re the best big brother I could ever ask for!” 

America looked like his face was turning red, but he was smiling like the goofy idiot he is. “Come on, Mary! Open it up! I wanna see what it is!” 

She began to unwrap the wrapping paper surrounding the present, only to see a Mercedes-Benz, the one that can only fit herself and can only drive up to five miles per hour. (Giving Mary an actual car would be a really bad idea!) 

“My own car!” Mary squeaked as she jumped around, “Mr. America got me my own car!” Mary’s commotion attracted the other nations to see Mary sitting behind the visible wheel to this kiddy Mercedes, especially Germany, who was really surprised to see Mary in a tiny car. England didn’t seem too happy at the gift America gave to her, however.

“America, she’s going to become lazy and not actually play around!” England whispered rather crossly, “Why on earth did you even buy her a car?!”

“She’s going to sit around on that thing all day, and she always wants to climb on people!” China also added in, hearing that England does have a very good point. “She’s gonna get chubby!”

“Dudes, do you even realize how big Friendship Manor is?” America protested, “This is literally the perfect gift for her! She can drive around like a normal person all around Friendship Manor to get to places faster! Heck, she can pretend to be Germany if she wanted to!”

“Well, I guess, if you’re saying Germany is a petrolhead after all. I just don’t want her to be lazy like you.” England smirked, knowing that will give America a reaction.

“HEY!”

More presents piled up for Mary, with other such trinkets like some stuffed animals, some colorful birthday cards (some even had money in it!), clothes with unicorns on it, one of those easy bake ovens (You probably know who gave that to her), and even a little slide that looks like an elephant! To a normal person, it would seem that she was being spoiled silly, but this was seen more as utmost gratitude for not being someone like Horatio, who would have deliberately closed the Almanac on his birthday if he were still to keep it. After all, Mary was Bearer of the Almanac!

The festivities continued on, even when Mary opened up all of her presents. She drove around in her cool new car, honking at all of the nations who stood in her way. She did however, find that her cool new car would be very useful when going around Friendship Manor, since she can drive there instead of continuously getting lost and exhausted in the halls of the six continents. 

As the party dwindled down, Mary knew that she would have to get home soon. She grew exhausted from having too much fun with her friends and needed time to see her mother and father. She picked up as many balloons that fell on the ground, trying to help her friends clean up. Japan noticed her carrying all of these balloons that were still inflated and all sorts of streamers and confetti, which then he saw her fall over. Thankfully, the balloons cushioned Mary’s fall, but that didn’t stop Japan from making sure she’s okay. 

“Ah! Mary-chan, are you okay?” He said, checking to make sure she isn’t bruised. 

“I wanna help clean up too!” Mary squeaked as she got up from the ground, trying to collect all of the balloons that she let go of. 

“Ah, but it’s best to relax for now. We’ll clean up for you, and after all, it is your birthday.” 

Mary dropped all of the balloons that she collected and smiled at her friend, before she darted off back to her bedroom. “Thanks Mr. Japan!” 

It was late at night, and Mary knew that her bedtime was near. Her mother and father tucked her in bed and wished her a good night and another happy birthday before the clock struck twelve, which upon the twelfth strike would have ended her birthday. 

She still had one of the books that she showed to England earlier, just under the covers and not in the bookshelf along with her other books. It was a picture book with cute little woodland animals inside, telling an even cuter bedtime story. As the only light source was a soft light illuminating from the rabbit sitting on her bookshelf, she still couldn’t decipher what the book read. 

The magic almanac suddenly glistened, and Mary saw someone emerge from the book. He tried to stay as quiet as possible and to not let any more light reach her parent’s room. This gave Mary a good opportunity to ask him a question before she went to sleep.

“Mr. England, will you read me this bedtime story?” she whispered, trying to not awaken her parents. “I wanna see the cute little animals and its too dark for me to read.”

“Ah, that’s why I came to see you, Mary.” England whispered, “I was thinking of that bedtime story today, and it would be lovely to read it to you. Here, let me get your bunny so we can have a light.” He went over to the bookshelf and grabbed the rabbit that illuminated soft colors as a repellent for scary monsters that might be lurking under her bed. “Here’s your bunny friend, Mary. Now, this seems like a nice story, hm?”

Mary clutched onto the rabbit and got cozy under the warm covers as well as giving England light to read the book. The rabbit was set to illuminate one color, which was a nice, soft white.

He took a deep breath, making sure nobody else was around in case Mary’s parents walked in the child’s room and thought the Englishman was a burglar. 

“Once upon a time...” He began to read the story to Mary, a tale of friendship and love with a community of forest animals. It was obviously sugary-sweet, since the plot was rather simple and easily understandable for children like Mary. She fell asleep at the end of the story, dreaming of all sorts of woodland animals living together and spending time with her.

“Goodnight, Mary. May your birthday dreams be sweet.” One kiss on the forehead the Englishman gave to Mary, he returned back to the magic book, going off to bed as well. 

The End

[chokememrstark]

Requiem Of Memories // Part 8

Ship: Samifer (Sam Winchester / Lucifer)

Words: 2007 (Chapter 8 / 15)

Fic Summary: While waiting for Lucifer to return, Sam has a chat with the demon that interrupted them and finds out who she actually is. He's shocked by the discovery, but he can't help but like her somehow.

angst, hurt & comfort, alternative universe, au!lucifer, mourning, depression, blood and gore, nightmares, loneliness

Note: I highly recommend to read Nightmares Become Reality before this, otherwise the premise of the story and the setting might not make much sense.

Sorry for the delay again, I’m really not reliable ._.

Tagging: @shebahda @sassysupernaturalsweetheart  @spnyoucantkeepmedown   @brieflymaximumprincess  @kajuned @archingangel @this-darkness-light @secretlydaydreaminglifeaway @humongouscandycoffee

If you want off the tag list or want to be added, just drop me an ask or IM!

Read on AO3!

Sam waited and waited, but Lucifer didn’t return. Hours passed and Sam didn't know what to do with himself. He was worried sick, constantly torn between wanting to scream and cry. What if something happened to Lucifer? What if he couldn’t fight off whatever had attacked his people? Or what if he was captured and tortured and Sam had no way of finding and saving him? He didn’t know this world, didn’t know the rules or where the other side was hiding and what they were planning… he was basically a helpless child at the moment.

The demon on the bed - a short, young woman with wavy black hair and almost invisible horns - was still unconscious and covered with blood and dirt, so eventually, just to pass some time, Sam went to the bathroom and got a bowl of water and a few cloths and towels. He had no idea if she would wake up and kill him because he dared to touch her or not, after all Lucifer’s demons were not very keen about his presence, but he couldn't worry about that too now.

As careful as possible, Sam cleaned the blood off her face, then her arms. He was sure that there was more blood underneath her clothes, but he wouldn’t undress her for sure, that would only make her angry. Instead, he got one of his hair brushes and got rid of the dried blood in her hair before washing the rest away with clear water. When he was done almost an hour had passed and he managed to get rid of almost all the blood and dirt. Sam doubted that it changed anything, but it didn’t hurt at least.

After putting everything away, including the bloody towels and cloths, Sam continued his pacing through the room that he interrupted before. He took books out of their shelves and put them back without looking into them, stood by the window and searched for any sign of a fight or Lucifer, even tidied up what didn’t need to be tidied up at all. He was restless, worried and nauseous, and there was just nothing he could do about it. It was making him mad. His head ran wild with horrible scenarios of what might be happening right now and he wished for nothing more than to be able to shut all his thoughts off for even a minute.

While he stared out of the window once more, Sam suddenly heard a groan behind him and spun around. It was the demon, she had woken up and was pressing a hand against her head now while sitting up. Immediately, the hunter rushed towards the bed and knelt down.

“Hey, you woke up! Thank god.”

“Yeah, as if He had anything to do with that,” the demon scoffed and began checking herself for injuries. Sam ignored her sarcasm.

“Lucifer healed you, but he’s still gone,” he said quickly. “I cleaned all the blood I could see away while you were out, I hope that’s okay.”

“Sure, whatever,” she said and gave him an estimating glare.

Sam realized that she would not share his worries or even care for them. For a moment he forgot that Lucifer’s demons didn’t like him, he was too worried for that. But her reaction made it clear that she couldn’t have cared less about him or anything he did.

“Sorry, I’ll leave you alone,” Sam sighed and pushed himself back up. “Lucifer said he’ll be back soon, he didn’t want you to be alone for now.”

“Typical,” the demon huffed and rolled her eyes. “Still thinks I’m incapable of handling things myself.”

“Well, you were pretty battered when you came here, so…”

“You would be too if dozens of angels attacked you out of the blue,” she hissed and glared at him again. “I still don’t know what the hell happened, they shouldn’t have been able to even be there…”

“Angels attacked you?” Sam asked surprised.

“What did you expect, demons? Of course they were angels. Little winged bastards and their pets.”

“I thought…” Sam stopped, biting his tongue. What did he think anyways? His first instinct would have been demons, but she was right. After all, the demons were attacked, so that was stupid.

“I hope he will manage,” the demon suddenly interrupted Sam’s thoughts with a very worried voice. “They seemed to be very organized and knew where to hit us for the most damage, that’s unusual.”

“How did you manage to get out of there?”

“I fought one of their beasts off and ran, what else? The others were still fighting but I had to get help. We can defend ourselves, but they were just so many.”

Sam was even more worried than before now. What the demon said sounded very dangerous indeed. He knew Lucifer was strong, at least he assumed he was, given that he was an archangel, but that didn’t ease his worries at all. And why were they even attacked in the first place? What was the reason behind this? Apparently these things didn’t happen more often, or the demon wouldn’t be surprised.

“Hey, Giant!”

Sam shook his head and looked back at the demon, totally taken aback by the sudden interruption, especially with such a nickname.

“How about you make yourself useful and bring me some water?”

“Excuse me?” Sam blinked surprised. “Am I your butler and didn’t get the memo?”

“Ugh, sorry,” she rolled her eyes over-dramatically. “Would you please get me a glass of water?”

Sam huffed to hide his confusion, but did her the favor. He got a glass of fresh water from his own stash and brought it over to the bed, waiting for her to finish it. Apparently demons got thirsty too, who would have guessed?

“Thank you,” she said when the glass was empty and put it on the nightstand. “Sorry for being so rude, I’m not in a good mood right now.”

“Forget it,” Sam waved his hand. “You’ve just been attacked after all. And you seem worried too.”

“Of course I’m worried,” she sighed. “We just rebuilt our safe zone in Detroit a few months ago, we didn’t expect another attack so soon.”

“Do things like that happen often?” Sam asked and pulled a chair closer to the bed to sit down. “That they attack you, I mean.”

“They do it quite often, but this safe zone was unknown to them,” she narrowed her eyes in concentration. “The last one they attacked wasn’t as safe, it was just an old factory building we used for storage purposes while building up the actual safe zone.”

“And you have no idea how they found it?” Sam asked and she shook her head.

“Not a clue. We were warded against angels, hunters and everything else, but they still found us. Maybe we have a rat somewhere in our ranks.”

“Damn, that would suck,” Sam hissed. If they actually had a rat, no place was safe and he knew that. “I hope Lucifer comes back soon…”

“Me too,” she sighed. “I hate when we have to call him to help us, that’s what we are there for after all. To defend our zones. Lucifer has bigger things to do.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Sam tried to assure her, sadly without much cogency. “I’ve never seen him so serious before…”

“He can get pretty intimidating when he’s serious,” the demon laughed and shook her head. “You shouldn’t anger him, just a small warning. It’s not fun when he’s angry.”

“Yeah, I figured that much,” Sam huffed. “I’m Sam, by the way. But you probably know that already.”

“Of course, everyone does,” the demon said and rolled her eyes. “You’re famous amongst demons already. You can call me Megan, or Meg for short, I don’t care.”

Sam thought his jaw would fall off by how fast it dropped. Meg? Did she just say Meg? That couldn’t be, she didn’t look like Meg at all!

“Are you having a stroke?” Meg asked, poking Sam’s shoulder with her finger.

“No… no, I’m fine...” Sam mumbled, totally baffled. He couldn’t believe this was actually Meg, but now that he looked at her a bit closer, he realized that it could be. Her vessel was different, but kind of similar to the Meg he knew, or not? The same hair, the same height apparently and, if he’d squint his eyes, even her face could be the same, just… a bit younger maybe. And with horns, even if they were rather small and less intimidating than the ones he had seen on other demons so far.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost of something,” Meg scoffed.

“That’s one way to put it.” Sam cleared his throat and tried to act normal again. “I’m just surprised. I… I knew a demon named Meg in my world too.”

“Right, Lucifer mentioned something about you coming from a parallel world. So it’s true?”

“Yeah, kind of. It’s a bit complicated,” Sam scratched his head awkwardly. “This world is very different from mine.”

“What is your world like?” Meg asked curious, to which Sam couldn’t suppress a jerk of his lips.

“It’s… greener. I don’t know, but I guess that’s the best way to describe it. The apocalypse didn’t end like this there, we managed to stop it just in time.” Sam was surprised he could talk about this so easily, but it just happened.

“You stopped it, really? So, your world wasn’t destroyed like ours?”

“No,” Sam shook his head. “It’s pretty normal, I guess. We still fight demons and monsters of course, but most humans don’t even know any of them exist.”

“I knew it, you’re a hunter!” Meg exclaimed, but not in a good way. “You have these eyes, this look that all hunters have.”

“We have a look?”

“Oh yes,” she huffed. “You all have it, it comes with the job. It makes our skins crawl and be on edge as soon as you are close.”

“I didn’t know that,” Sam marveled. He wondered if this was a thing only in this world or if the demons he had met had seen the same things in his eyes.

“You don’t look like you’re about to kill me though, why not?”

“Why should I kill you?” Sam asked surprised. “You’re a demon, sure, but I don’t wanna kill you. I don’t want to kill anyone anymore to be honest. I’m tired of it.”

“Could you have a chat with our hunters so they feel the same?” Meg asked, to which both of them had to laugh a little. “I mean, if you have time and all.”

“I’ll check my calendar,” Sam grinned and Meg chuckled again.

“I like you, Sam,” Meg suddenly said, startling the hunter for a moment. “Don’t get me wrong, I hate hunters, but you’re not that bad actually. A bit wimpy looking, but I guess that’s because you’re human.”

“Says the one that looks like a little girl,” Sam scoffed with a smile. “Excuse me, okay? I’m double your size, I could break you in half.”

“I would love to see you try, Giant.”

“Sorry, but I don’t hit girls.”

Sam had expected Meg to be much more resentful towards him, but she didn’t seem to be like the other demons he had seen here so far. He wasn’t convinced that this wasn’t just an act, but for a few moments he found it nice to not be faced with hate from those who followed Lucifer.

“Do you think he’ll come back soon?” Meg suddenly asked, the concern back in her voice. “I know he is strong and all, but there were so many of them this time.”

“He promised he’d be back, so he will,” Sam said confidently. He was worried out of his mind, but Lucifer had promised to come back and he believed in his promise.

“I hope you’re right,” Meg sighed. “If he doesn’t come back we are screwed.”

“He’ll be back, you’ll see. He’ll be back.”

[ourlilangeluniverse]

Miraculous Ladybug FanFic: I Once Knew You.... Part 7

~Plagg~

With all this fuss about this girl, Adrien forgot to get me my cheese! So she can’t remember things, who cares! I need my cheese!

I flew over to Adrien who was already asleep, with a goofy smile on his face. Probably dreaming about Ladybug again….

“Adrien.” No response. “Adrien, Adrien, Adrien.” Nothing. This kid is a heavy sleeper!

“Adrien! Adrien! Adrien! ADRIEN!!” The only thing I got from that kid was a goofy smile and a hearty sight. “Argh! Forget it! I’ll get my cheese on my own!” As I headed out, I noticed something moving in the corner of the room…. I went closer to get a better look at it. When it moved again, I saw a flash of red! Where those red eyes?!

The creature shifted towards me some more. It was as big or bigger than me! Then! The clouds parted, shedding some light on the unsightly creature!

“AAAAAHH!! Help, it’s a giant bug! A rat… a bug-rat!”

“It’s okay, Plagg. It’s me.”

“AAAAAHH!! Bug-rat talks! And it knows my name!”

“No Plagg! It’s me, Tikki!”

“AAAAAAAAAHH!! It’s Tikki! The horror! The horror! Make it stop!”

“Plagg!!”

“What? You really scared me Tikki! What are you doing here anyway? I thought we weren’t supposed to meet.” Not like I care anyways.

“I know! But this is an emergency! Have you forgotten who Ladybug is?” Who Ladybug is? How am I supposed to…. Wait a minute….

“The girl with the lost memory!”

“Oh, Plagg. They both de-transformed while they were fighting Dark Owl!” Oh yeah… I forgot.

“Uh… right! So, does she remember that she’s Ladybug?”

“No, and without Ladybug, the Akumas can’t be capture!”

“Then, what are we supposed to do?” This hasn't happened before with any of the Ladybugs. With the Chat Noirs yeah, but never with a Ladybug.

“I’ll go and see Master Fu. Maybe he’ll know what to do. In the meantime, I need you to keep an I on her and make sure nothing happens to her.”

“What?! But that means work! I don’t want to do it!”

“Plagg!! Please… I need you… to do this….”

“Tikki? Are you okay? You look tire.” What happened to her?

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Do you think... that you can at least... keep an eye on her…?”

“Yeah….” She was out of breath, I opened the window and help her get outside.

“I’ll be back soon when Master Fu finds a way to solve this.”

“Okay. Take care Tikki.”

“I will….” As I watched her fly away into the night, the fear I had in my heart grew more and more intense. And for the first time in so long, I had lost my appetite for cheese….

What do you guys think? Will Tikki reach Master Fu alright? Will Marinette remember that she’s Ladybug? But most of all.... Will Plagg recover his appetite for cheese?! 

Please Like and comment what you think! If you would like to be tag for the next chapter in this, or in any of my stories, simply ask! And follow me on Twitter for a sneak peak of next week’s chapter!

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