#The worm in my brain went crazy with information

[ithinkhemeows]

help

[crushed-oranged-angered]

Teen Wolf Motel California

So many thoughts about Teen Wolf Motel California

[send-noodles-not-nudes]

ok but since my "carlton lassiter/cain is stupidly pretty" post got way more likes than i was expecting it to (i expected exactly one from the one person on here that i know has seen psych and seen me ramble about my fic) i need to curse you all with my brainrot about spenser olivia spencer

and YES i seriously named my oc spenser spencer. and it comes up a lot. and her initials are sos bc honestly the entirety of psych is kind of a crack fic and i just wanted to match that energy

SO: ONTO THE BRAIN WORMS....

the fic is called "i know, you know, but he doesnt"

ikykbhd started out as a joke bc when i watched psych a few years ago i made a post about "haha it would be so funny if shawn had a sister that was ACTUALLY psychic" and it all went downhill (in a good way) from there

i have so many notes for it that i planned out literally an entire calendar year and broke the notes app on my phone bc the file is so large that it takes a solid 45 seconds for my phone just to load the damn thing (and thats only half the notes bc i started using a different note instead after it started taking a small eternity to load)

before i got the loki brainrot, my psych fic was the one i would write a little of every night before bed and i should get back to it but the worms have moved to marvel and spn and id like to finish something before bouncing to yet another fic

but anyway.

insert my lil rant here about how james roday rodriguez is actually mexican on his dads side and when i found that out it made me really mad bc both of his stage parents in psych were white and they call shawn white on multiple occasions for literally no reason bc they could have easily just let him be latino like irl but thats beside the point

so i mentally recast his mom as salma hayek after watching the hitmans bodyguard bc honestly i feel like shawn had to get his crazy from somewhere and it just fits ok? ok. she can still be a police psychologist with an eidetic memory but i refuse to accept that shawn in all of his adhd glory pulled his hyperactivity out of thin air

and then i gave him a sister

bc that was the whole plotline

and i was not expecting to love her as much as i did

shes shawns older sister and it definitely shows in their dynamic, especially with backstory elements i ended up throwing in later, but theyre very close and i decided that her being psychic is what inspired him to lie in the first place to get psych started bc hey, hes seen it play out before and he knows exactly how to make it work, so why not?

spenser, an army nurse who has a bad relationship with her powers, does not appreciate this. but she doesnt want his dumb ass to get in trouble by outing him, so she shuts her mouth and watches him make a mockery of the things she stuggles with on a daily basis

but that doesnt mean she cant mock him back

for context, she has a bunch of different psychic abilities, but the main one is actually one she cant control that well. she has psychometry, the ability to gain information just from touching things. unfortunately for her, this happens every single time she touches anything, ever. the only way around it is wearing gloves or using something as a barrier between her and whatever she touches. and yes, it works on people.

her introduction to the sbpd is her and shawn coming into the station on their motorcycles racing each other very loudly (and ofc she lets him win, but she'd never admit) and getting the attention of all the major characters, including spensers eventual (begrudging) love interest

vick just lectures them both about "why are you racing it's the middle of the night youre gonna hurt yourself" gus lets out a girly squeal bc spenser is a good friend and it's been 15 whole years since hes seen her so hes a little excited lassiter (the begrudging love interest, if you couldnt tell from my liveposts about cain) is initially into it bc hey shes really pretty ! 10/10 would date... and then he sees the pineapple sticker on her bike and realizes who she must be and decides that they must be mortal enemies (it doesnt work out well for him) jules is mostly just amused by the fact shawn apparently has a sister hes never said anything about and she can tell almost immediately that her partner is into spenser and she cannot wait to see how it pans out

her introduction is my favorite just bc of the dialogue bc it sets the tone for the relationships for the entire rest of the fic and the more of it i write, the more i love coming back to that first scene bc i had no idea it was so perfect when i wrote it

im not gonna repost the whole thing (i'll be editing and reposting it here at some point in time when i get the brain worms for it again) but i do wanna throw in the initial dialogue

it all starts off with vick asking shawn, "is there a reason you've invited a stranger to our murder investigation, spencer?" then seeing the pineapple sticker and going "please dont tell me thats-"

"my sister! 😁" hes so happy.

"oh, God, there's two of them?" from a lassiter whos now trying so hard to ignore that shes kinda hot and he was totally gonna ask her out but uhhhhhhh,,, not anymore

"just wait; it gets better. trust me. im spenser olivia spencer." (she uses her full name when she introduces herself bc some people get weirded out by it and call her olivia instead of spens/cer)

"carlton lassiter. it's... good to meet you, olivia." "that was only one sentence. and are you really afraid of snow globes?" "*visible confusion and fax machine noises*" "i'll wait."

"how did you do that? and is your name really spenser spencer?" "yeah. one with an s and one with a c. dont wear it out." "so your initials are sos? seriously?" hes waiting for them to say it's all a prank. "mhmm. my parents had a very... unique sense of humor." "no kidding. and they didnt think to at least even the score and give your brother the same, uh... uniqueness?"

"oh, his middle name is octavius. i, for one, find that much worse than being spencer squared." "hey-!" from a huffy shawn, "youre the one who came up with that, anyways! it's not like i asked to be named that." aka i googled if his middle name was ever revealed and took advantage of the fact that it wasnt

"my name is at least normal, compared to his. oh! to answer your question from earlier, i know all about your daddy issues and your little war reenactments and your figure skating-" "lassie, you do figure skating?" "-because im a psychic. didnt i tell you it gets better?"

and she leaves lassie there to just be confused about what the fuck just happened so she can meet jules next, who just says "ooh, me next!" bc shes excited about the psychometry and that shawn has a sister and it just kinda goes from there

but yeah it was my first ever enemies to lovers fic and i love it way too much

one of the things that came later that i love is shawn seeing that lassiter has Feelings™️ for spenser and being so overprotective of her that youd almost think he was the older sibling if you didnt know and it backfires on him so badly

also lassiter was one of my first autistic hc characters and i love writing him sm

this is long enough so the last thing i'll say is that this fic also accidentally brought me some of my favorite writing, including my tradition of using humor to break up angst scenes that are a little too angsty for a little too long, and shawns continual butchery of phrases like saying "destruction of justice" instead of "obstruction of justice" and my personal favorite, "look me in the ass and tell me-" "it's 'look me in the EYES', shawn" "ive heard it both ways." which i still think about on a daily basis

[anatolypilled]

What exactly happened between Rooster and Hangman? (The Exes, explained)

(or, I deliriously try to explain what the fuck went on between Hangman and Rooster because why the fuck were their scenes like that. why the fuck did they act like that. why the fuck did they say that.)

Top Gun: Maverick has taken over my brain. I have so many brain worms from this movie. I have this weird connection to the Top Gun movies… but that’s too long and this post isn’t for it. 

To answer the essential question: we’ll never know. But, by piecing together information, and of course, over-analyzing their interactions to the death, we can figure out some of it. Obviously, through a shipping lens because… Sereshaw / Hangster / whatever you wanna call them, have taken over my mind. 

I like to believe that they were exes — exes who had something really good, until it all crashed and burned and became unsalvageable in the end. Everything I say here happened in the movie; my analysis is just different and obviously I’m stretching and reaching LMFAO but you know what! It’s fun. I had fun. I giggled, I chortled, so… let’s unpack. 

— 

For ease, I’ll go through everything chronologically. Amazingly enough, their first scene provides plenty of evidence towards the fact that they could be exes. It’s crazy 😭 

We’re introduced to Hangman first through Phoenix. (OKAY gonna go on a tangent here, but just for fun: we can conclude that Phoenix and Hangman already knew each other — whether through the academy or flight school, and also a cool part of canon: the squadrons they’re canonically assigned to (Phoenix - Black Aces, Hangman - Vigilantes) are part of the same Air Wing (CVW-9). This means they’re also on the same aircraft carrier, have the same base, and home port. I don’t exactly know how much time they would spend with each other, but I still think they knew each other even before this! (She talks about how Hangman got his callsign and she was part of it, this most likely would have happened before they were assigned to their respective fleet squadrons.)) 

He’s… a douchebag! He’s annoying! He’s cocky! A stereotypical jock. 

After a while, Rooster makes an appearance and greets Phoenix first. Through their interactions… it’s safe to assume that he’s friends with her, OR also has a bit of history with her, too. They’re close, and he doesn’t seem to do the same with everyone else. (During GBOF, Phoenix is the only one who notices Rooster at the piano — like she knows what he’s about to do.) They have their talk, then we hear Slow Ride, courtesy of Hangman. 

The camera cuts to Rooster looking at Hangman like this… for what 😭. It’s not a look of smugness, no smirking, no smiling… he looks shy? He’s looking up at him like he’s holding something back. Like he’s remembering something and we just don’t know what. Why does he look so apologetic? What happened? 

Then, we get to: “Bradshaw, as I live and breathe.” 

No callsigns here… just… Bradshaw. And Hangman is looking at him with a smug look, smirking — all with the music playing? The music he picked out because he saw Rooster walking into the bar? 

And… we’re here! 

“Hangman, you look… good.” 

“Well, I am good, Rooster.”  

“I’m very good.” 

(Rooster looks at Phoenix right after this. She knows, too.) 

“In fact, I am too good to be true.” 

I’m like being dead serious here 😭 what normal people… who DON’T have a deeper shared history with each other, after seeing each other after a long time apart, greet each other with, “You look good. / I am good.” WHAT. 

This is something that’s echoed between them throughout the movie, TWO times, exactly, at very important parts during their interactions. The first one is this, the last time is after Hangman saves his and Maverick’s life… that’s for later. 

I don’t know if I have to explain the looks… but seriously, why do they look at each other like that? Sure, Hangman is smirking and everything, but the two of them have these looks on their faces — like they’re remembering something that happened in the past. A… breakup? A relationship? Hangman acts like someone who got absolutely fucking jilted, and he’s putting this facade up to show that it never affected him. And it fits with his character too — with his pride and his arrogance. Rooster doesn’t act this way. It’s like he knows he did something to him, he just doesn’t want to bring it up. Not now, anyway. 

What they say here is important, too. Hangman’s “I am too good to be true.” is just… odd. I firmly believe that no one would ever say this…? No matter how arrogant they are? It’s like it's an inside joke, something that only he and Rooster would no. (And why? Did Bradley call him that? Did he confess that? And he’s bringing that back, just to hurt him?) It’s also punctuated by the fact that as he’s saying this, it cuts to Phoenix and Payback, who are both looking at Rooster like they’re in on whatever is happening. 

What can I even say about this like I feel like this moment is so self-explanatory 😭😭😭 WHY are they doing that? Why is Hangman so close? Why is Rooster looking at his lips? WHAT IS HAPPENING? What is Hangman saying? Why? 

Those are just a few questions I have that I know will never be answered. If you like to think within the Sereshaw Exes Canon, though, all of what Hangman says could not only apply to Rooster’s flying, but to a previous relationship. 

Through Hangman, we can learn about Rooster’s flying style. He’s more conservative, by the book (similar to the way Ice flies!), versus Hangman’s more Maverick flying style. He’s fast and quick and dangerous. Rooster punctuates that when he claims that following Hangman would just lead someone to an early grave. 

Could this be… the remnants of a breakup gone badly? Hangman says that Rooster prefers to wait on his perch, waiting for a moment that’ll never come. That if you follow him, you’ll run out of fuel. Throughout this, Slow Ride is playing (Hangman loves this song…), with some of the lyrics to the song being, “Slow ride, take it easy / Slow ridin’ woman you’re so fine.” Putting the pieces together… Did Hangman just go too fast for Rooster? Or was Rooster, who was slow to love and very scared to, just never truly go for it? Did Hangman put all his chips in? Did Rooster hang back and wait for the right moment for it all to happen? Were they together, then separated, and Rooster never did anything about it (in canon: Rooster’s squadron is the Golden Warriors. He’s stationed at NAS Oceana — on the opposite side of the country, Virginia.)? There’s so much you can headcanon about this interaction right here. All I can say is that something definitely went on between the two of them — and Hangman just never got over it. 

Finally, it ends with Phoenix and Rooster saying that he hasn’t changed. She knows, too. 

(Also, it’s fun to headcanon that maybe… Slow Ride was their song. Maybe it had a special meaning for the two of them.) 

And that’s just… their opening scene. To be honest, the next parts are a lot about the looks they share. They’re sitting, listening to their assignments and constantly looking back at each other — similar to the way Ice and Mav did. Nothing that really adds to The Exes backstory, so I won’t go into it here. Crazy looks though tbh 😭 

Their next “semi” big scene is when they’re first flying with Maverick. Just the two of them. What’s important here, that we learn about the two of them, is that Hangman doesn’t know about Maverick and his relationship with Rooster. I guess, you could say, if Hangman doesn’t know about Maverick, then how close could he be with Rooster? To that, I say, I don’t think Rooster would’ve readily provided that information. He seems to be struggling to come to terms with it the entire movie, holding onto it too tightly. The only person he ends up telling about the papers is Phoenix. 

Then… we get to their fight. (Which I can’t provide pictures of because I don’t have them… sorry go watch the movie. The visuals aren’t even that important anyway, but they’re looking at each other like they always do. 😭) 

Hangman starts talking about the past. He tells Rooster that he needs to let go of the past. And Rooster… it’s like he already knows. Hangman brings Goose and Maverick up, and Rooster pushes him and they fight. He’s mean, he’s hurtful. It’s something that cuts deeper. It all happens so fast, like the two of them are so wound up from just being in the same room that they can’t take it anymore. This is like… their saddest interaction but it’s still important. (Because even if Hangman did this, it’s never brought up again.) 

After that, there isn’t really anything until the mission. We get this: 

AGAIN why are they looking at each other like this WHY. 

Hangman is pretty much the last person Rooster sees before getting on the plane. And they stare at each other for a bit, and Rooster is moving around a little and it looks like he has so much to say to him. It’s like they have so much to say to each other… but how can you say it? Hangman doesn’t even know if Rooster will come back. And so, it’s silent. It’s quiet, which is different from all their interactions in the movie. They were explosive, always at each other’s necks — never being able to heal from a thing that broke the two of them. 

In the end, Hangman tells him to give them hell. That’s it. And Rooster doesn’t respond. Then they part — is this when they realize that they should’ve done more? Should’ve worked harder at something they cherished? I don’t know. All I know is that they look like they had more to say. 

As the mission continues on, the biggest part between them is that when Rooster’s plane goes down, they immediately cut to Hangman in his plane. It mirrors the exact same way couples are framed in movies — their loved one gets hurt, and the camera moves to the other one, showcasing their reaction. Even if it isn’t a loved one — it’s someone extremely important to the person who just got hurt. While they could’ve shown, say, Phoenix — they chose Hangman. Why? 

He just looks… so concerned. Did he lose Rooster forever? No more chances for closure, no more time spent with him — he’s just gone. And at this point, there’s nothing that Hangman can do about it. (And I’ll ask it again… why else would they cut to him?) 

So, the movie goes on… and Hangman saves Rooster and Mav. He goes on his spiel about tray tables, etc. etc… and then, Rooster uses their callback again: (Hangman, you look good. / I am good, Rooster. I’m very good.) But it’s different this time! 

Obviously lmfao Rooster is happier. He’s smiling and he’s laughing at Hangman, and he uses their callback in a lighthearted way. It doesn’t hold the same weight as it did before. Mostly because… well he’s alive, but the line reprising itself towards the end is… good. It marks a before, and after. The first time — it marked the beginning of something that was happening between them. Exes meeting for the first time since the breakup that went wrong — weird and angry and hurtful towards each other. The second time, it's a relief — because Bradley’s life was just saved and of course, of course, Jake saved him. It ends their animosity towards each other. It’s something new that they can both start. 

Bradley was just so close, and Jake was there at the best time — waiting for the right moment. Maybe, it’s how they decide to start it again. Properly. It’s different because they’re both older, maybe more mature, but it’s something familiar nonetheless. 

They meet back on the carrier (where Hold my Hand is playing in the background… HELLO?) and they have their little handshake! (Which, if I digress for a second… should’ve been a hug. A hug not only would’ve been such a cool thing to compare to Ice and Mav’s, but it would’ve capped Rooster’s arc perfectly. Him making peace with his past and the people around him, letting go of his anger and trying to move on. I don’t care if Hangman/Rooster is a thing, they still should’ve hugged. A handshake doesn’t get that message across. Unless… maybe their story isn’t over? There’s something more? They’re building up to that hug?) 

They share a look — and Rooster and Hangman look so happy. Hangman is genuinely so happy that Rooster’s alive, and he even taps him on his chest (his heart). It’s like, affirming to himself that yeah, Bradley is here and alive and breathing and he saved him. This time, they’ll get a second chance. Whatever the fuck happened back then — he would make sure it’d never happen again. And Bradley — who is now learning that it’s okay to just do, just do what he wants and learn from his consequences, will be different. Maybe he’ll go all in this time. Who the fuck knows. 

— 

And… that’s the end. I just wanna say that this is all headcanon minus the actual things said from the movie 😭😭😭… No, Hangman and Rooster are never confirmed exes NOR will they ever will be. It’s just very impossible for that to happen I fear... the world wouldn't be able to handle it 😭. Which is fine! Things don’t need to be canon to be enjoyed! This “story” that you can create from this is just one of the many things that y’all could take away from their interactions… I just love the strangers to friends friends into lovers then strangers again trope Very Very much. 

Go watch the movie. It gave me brain worms. And I’ll probably write Actual Sereshaw / Hangster in the future lol. 

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

Baby Nolan - goldfish

Summary: It's here, nolan arrives!

Genre: fluff

Warnings: child birth but not explicit, crying, Nora meeting her little brother

Word count: 1.6 k

Blog appropriate for all ages

Please don't post any of my content anywhere else without my permission!

--

Chris hands were laced with yours as you both sat in the hospital. You were in labor and have been for about 2 hours. As excited as you were to meet your little boy, you were very nervous. It's been a while since you've had a baby of course, and it terrified you.

But with Chris by your side you were perfect.

He was the best husband ever. Getting you ice chips, getting you cold and hot rags when needed, said the sweetest things to you when you needed it, he was definitely a great help, you definitely wouldn't be able to do this without him.

"do you need some more ice baby?" Chris asked as he ran his thumb over your hand. You shook your head, weakly smiling, "no, I'm okay now."

Chris mumbled out 'ok' before sitting back in his chair. You let a very loud groan fall from your lips as a contraction took over your body. Chris quickly sat up and coached you through it.

Just like you, he was terrified as well. He was ready for his bub to get here but seeing you in pain was very hard for him.

Dispite being scared, he knew he needed to be tough for you. When this was all over he knew he would be a sobbing mess and frankly he was ready for it.

-

"okay, it passed." You said as your chest rose and fell. Chris looked up at you with a smile, "you're doing a great job honey, keep it."

You smiled at him, "thanks."

Right after you said that the doctor Walked in. He checked everything out to see if you were doing okay. When he noticed everything was, he walked out of the room and back on to his business.

"god, I want this to be over." You said feeling yourself ready to cry. Chris quickly got up and calmed you.

"hey, hey it's okay. It'll be over soon, I promise baby."

You sniffed, "can we call Nora and see how she's doing? I miss my crazy monkey."

Chris chuckled, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Of course."

Chris dialed his mom's number, watched it ring a couple of times before she picked up. "Hi ma."

Lisa said hi back and asked you how you were doing. "I'm doing okay."

Chris sighed softly, "we just want to check on Nora, how she?"

Lisa brought the camera to Nora who was beside her. She was confused at first but quickly recognize her daddy and mommy.

"daddy, mommy!"

Her little voice made you so happy. "Hi Nora, how are you pumpkin?"

Nora giggle, "I great. Is brother here?"

Chris shook his head, "no, not yet. He'll be here soon though." Nora nodded, "oh okay."

You and Chris smiled At your daughter, "well, we're going to go now. You be good for grandma okay?"

Nora snickered, "yeah, okay." You and Chris said goodbye to Nora and Lisa before hanging up the phone. "Uhh, I miss her already."

Chris smiled, "me too."

--

You and Chris held off for another hour or so before the contractions grew closer to each other. In other words, it was time for Nolan to arrive.

Chris held onto your hand ready for this moment so pass. Your heart was thumping in your chest as you watched the doctor position herself in between your legs.

"okay mama, I'm going to need you to push as hard as you can on 3." You nodded, "alright.

The doctor started the count down as you exhaled. "1,2,3, push."

You pushed with all your might. It was extremely painful and judging by the way Chris whined, you were gripping his hand extremely hard.

After a count to 10 you took a deep breath and wiped away your tears. "You're doing amazing honey." Chris said as he looked down at you. You couldn't respond because your brain wasn't couldn't make words in the moment.

You soon returned back to pushing all. You were sweating, exhaled, and out of breath. You soon released your breath and relaxed a little.

"he's almost out. Just one more big push okay." You nodded, "alright."

She counted to three and you pushed really hard, as hard as you could. You felt a very sharp pain before you heard a lot wail.

You opened your eyes and saw your baby boy. You let out a cry as the nurse brought him to your chest. You let go of chris' hand and placed it on his little back.

"here's here." You said softly. You looked up at at Chris. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at you both. "Our little boy."

You chuckled and placed a kiss on the now calm babies head.

--

After your long labor, Nolan Leo Evans was here. Chris was of course instantly attached to him. He went with him to get a eye sight and hearing check which he passed and he also changed his first diaper.

Now here you three were sitting in the hospital room. While you feed nolan Chris informed the family on nolans arrival.

He had a smile on his face that couldn't disappear. You were sure his cheeks hurt. He told Nora lastly and judging by the babbling And squealing on the other end of the phone, she was ecstatic.

He promised her she'll be able to meet him the next day; that was enough for her to go straight to bed which she never wants to do.

After saying goodbye Chris hung up the phone and walked over to the hospital bed. "Ah gosh, I can't believe he's here."

Chris ran his hands over Nolan small batch of curls, he cooed.

"I can't either. He looks just like Nora." You said with a chuckle looking down at the sleeping baby.

"he does. Nora is very excited to meet him tomorrow. She went straight to bed while we were still on the phone."

"that's a first." Chris nodded, "oh yeah."

You smiled, "we should get some sleep. I can't wait to see my princess tomorrow and for her to meet her baby brother." You placed a gentle kiss on nolans head before Chris took him from your chest and placed him in his bassinet.

You fell asleep to his low voice talking to Nolan, telling him about the full life he has ahead of him.

--

The next day you woke up early and took a shower. You got yourself in some proper clothes and spent some time with nolan.

Chris made a run to go get Nora and some real food for you. The whole ride over Nora was talking like crazy. She kept asking Chris when they would be at the hospital and how excited she was. Chris was smiling like crazy as he listened to her.

After grabbing the food, Chris made his way back to the hospital. He took Nora's hand and guided her to the room where you were staying.

He opened the door quietly letting Nora walk in first. Nora instantly smiled when she saw you. "Mommy."

She walked over to you and climbed onto the bed. You laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She looked down at her brother and smiled. "Brother?"

You nodded, "yeah, it is your brother. His name is Nolan, can you say Nolan."

"nowan." She tried to say. You and Chris Chuckled at her attempt.

"how about we get a picture of you 3 together." Chris said as he took his phone out of his pocket. You and Nora got situated for the picture. Nora of course being the wiggle worm she is couldn't resist giving her little brother a kiss. Chris snapped the picture just as she did that and it came out perfectly.

He slid his phone back into his pocket deciding to share it later. Right now all he wanted was to enjoy time as a family of 4.

Family of 4 had a really nice ring to it, lucky he'll be using that for a while.

--

Ahh okay. I'm so happy with this. Tell me what you think

@chris-butt @patzammit @bval-1 @@raveviolet @mrsbbarnesrogers-reading @enn-j @london-dreamer71 @harrysthiccthighss @captainamerica-is-bae @la-cey @weirdowithnobeardo @lovepeacefood @baby-i-am-fireproof @denisemarieangelina @evans713 @smyfmj @thereisa8ella @rororo06 @keiva1000 @ughitsnic @adriannajackson123 @marvelnaturalock @notyourtypicalrose @dummiesshort @onetwo3000 @hhiggs @katiew1973 @andreasworlsboring101 @skepticnovak @funfickgirl22 @hxnesthxneybee @henrythickcavill @melchills-j @franchesca-791 @moonlacebeam @hagarsays

[stxleslyds]

Red Hood and the lost art of telling Joker to shup up.  

Okay, I know that I talked about Jason and Joker in a recent post but this is something different, I promise.

I really want to talk about how different Jason has been written since UtRH when it comes to him confronting Joker. Jason hasn’t been put in that position a lot but the times that he has, he lets Joker talk for far too long and actually pays attention to whatever he has to say.

The Jason vs Joker thing is basic in on itself and letting Joker talk isn’t exactly the problem here, the real problem is Jason letting Joker’s thoughts shape his future thoughts and decisions, I do understand that that’s exactly what writers want though, they want to build the problematic of: “Jason is just like Joker and the fact that he uses the name Red Hood only proves that Joker made who Jason is now”.

But the thing is that THAT problem is overdone at this point and the only time it worked was the first time it was brought up and it worked because Jason shut the Joker down.

Let’s see all the times (that I remember) the Joker and Jason have had a little chat and/or the times Joker’s words actually influence Jason’s thinking and decision making.

 Under the Red Hood – Batman (1940) #649

This is the first real confrontation we get to see between Jason and Joker after Jason’s death and it is beautiful. It's absolutely amazingly written, Joker goes on and on forever about how he killed Jason about how Jason is just as bad as him but that he is also just like Batman because he hasn’t killed him yet.

“You let me live after everything I did, you couldn’t pop my balloon. You just couldn’t. The apple doesn’t tumble too far from the paterfamilias. You are just like daddy-kins”

Jason lets him talk, yes. But he absolutely destroys Joker with what he tells him next.

“You couldn’t be more wrong about me. If right were a country on earth you’d be circling on the edge of the milky way. Yeah, I let you live but like always, every damned minute of your addled, posturing, psychopathic life, you think this is about you. You’re a worm. I’ve pitched you on a hook and dropped you into the brine. And I will beat the hell out of you Pagliacci because it was too much fun not to.”

“Listen to me Joker, I’m not you. I´m nothing like you. I know what I do and I know why I do it. You, you are, clinically speaking, a whack-job. But I know a secret, a good one.”

“You are not nearly as crazy as you would like us all to believe or even as crazy as you would like to believe. It just makes it easier to justify every sick monstrous thing you’ve ever done when you play the part of the mad clown. You are crazy, bubba, but you ain’t that crazy. Look at that. I wiped a smile off of Joker’s face. I have been waiting a long time for that.”

Everything about this is perfect, Jason gives Joker no room to mess with him. Whatever the Joker had planned on saying he had to eat because Jason wasn’t playing games and he was ready for any kind of lie the Joker had ready to tell. This is Jason Todd. He won’t let the Joker get under his skin because he knows the Joker and he, also, knows better. 

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #15

Here Jason comes across Joker during the “Death of the Family” event. In this issue the Joker has information about all of the members of the “Batfamily” and he uses that to mess around with each one of them, in Jason’s case he insinuates that he was present in very specific moments of his life when Jason’s father got shot, when his mother overdosed and when he was on his own before joining Batman.

Jason doesn’t quite believe that Joker was there but as the reader, we can see this sort of sense of doubt in Jason. He hesitates a few times before resolving that the Joker is playing with him.

But as far as this issue goes let’s just say that what the Joker says doesn’t get to Jason, this changes though in the issue that follows up this story.

Teen Titans (2011) #16

This is where that story continues and where Jason starts to buy the story that Joker is selling.

Joker convinces Jason that he has his father and Tim’s father and that the only way for Jason (or Tim) to save their dads is by killing the other (Jason or Tim). Tim doesn’t believe it but Jason is ready to shoot Tim almost immediately.

However, Jason changes his mind about killing Tim just as Tim comes up with a plan for them to not actually have to kill each other. Here is where Lobdell’s writing shows all of its flaws, Lobdell is so desperate to show that Jason and Tim are besties that he forgets that Jason had no reason to stop trying to kill Tim to save his shit father because it is later revealed that Jason truly believed that Joker had found his father and had him captive. It wasn’t until Tim explained his thought process as to why those men weren’t their dads that Jason just goes “you realize, of course, the only reason I didn’t kill you right off is that I knew your big brain will figure out some way out of this” HA, nice save Lobdell but I see right through your bullshit.

Jason bought what the Joker was selling and that is the beginning of Jason’s downgrade when it comes to not playing Joker’s games.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #17

Well, in this issue Lobdell goes back to Jason kinda not believing what Joker told him, and Jason asks Bruce of all people if he thinks the Joker truly “made him or not”. Bruce says that he doesn’t believe that and that he didn’t have anything to do with the man that Jason has become either. For some reason, Jason is actually happy with what Bruce said and for a couple of moments, Jason goes back to being sure that the Joker knows nothing and that he is his own man.

It doesn’t last long though. At the very end of the issue, the trap that Joker had set up in Jason’s helmet triggers and Jason gets his face fucked up with acid or something.

But that’s not all because a hologram of Joker has something to say: “you were supposed to be my masterpiece from start to finish. But you were too stubborn to stay dead. So here is what we are going to do… You’re so determined to be your own man? Fine, let’s start with a clean slate”.

Basically, the Joker insinuates once more that he had something to do with who Jason was supposed to become and that Jason isn’t truly “his own man”, This is all a setup for a very dense storyline that will be continued in this run later.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #18

In this issue, Jason is in a coma after he is dosed with that gas in the previous issue. The Joker isn’t really present in this issue but he does make an appearance as part of Jason’s “nightmare” while he is unconscious.

That’s not all though, Jason has an illusion of Ducra (someone that he appreciates a lot), telling him that “after you left the All-Castle after you went back to the world you continued to let your life be defined by the actions of that man. You became a killer, lashing out at people who may or may not have deserved it. Eventually, you will hurt all those you have cared for. In that way, how are you any different from the Joker?”.

In this statement, there is a lot of wrongs that can come from two places, either bad writing on Lobdell’s part or just Ducra telling lies as a plot point.

“Let your life be defined by the actions of that man” is a sentence that horribly simplifies Jason’s thinking during the events of UtRH, because while he did resent the Joker, his real problem was with Bruce who had not avenged his death by killing the Joker himself. Also, Jason was doing other things back then, like being a pain in the ass for Black Mask and disrupting the drug trade in Gotham as well as trying to control the drug dealing to children. So that little sentence is just a gross misinterpretation of the true events which means that Ducra was wrong, and “she” continues to be wrong when she says that there might be no difference between Jason and Joker.

Luckily Jason thinks the same because he tells “Ducra”: “…don’t you dare compare me to that monster Ducra. I am nothing like the Joker! Nothing!”

Once again please don’t be fooled by Jason’s thinking because in the next issue it turns around really fast and really bad.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #19

Just a heads up this issue has a change of writer, Lobdell isn’t writing this arc, the writer that gives us this hellish story arc is James Tynion IV.

All that talk about Jason not being affected or not believing what the Joker told him is yeeted out of the window and it’s not a fun ride.

In this issue, Roy and Kory find a Jason that doesn’t know who they are or who he, himself, is. This is because S’aru that little floaty little shit took his memories away after Jason asked him to do so, well Jason asked S’aru to erase every memory that darkness has touched (Joker) and he does that. But him doing that is apparently erasing everything which, holy shit, how messed up is that?

But let’s take a look at what Jason says before he gets his memories taken away: “Not only did the Joker almost take my face, but he tells me he might have manipulated my entire life from the beginning! Even the good is tainted by him now. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t have that kind of doubt. If you take it away, I can go on living. I can keep fighting”. So, yeah that was a pretty emo speech. But the thing here is that if Jason is asking this dude to erase every memory that has been tainted by the Joker and he erases all of them then we might be facing one of two situations, either Joker has been messing up with Jason’s life from the beginning or S’aru is just a little bitch.

We will later find out in #20 that S’aru and Ducra planned the whole thing, meaning that they took all of his memories for ulterior motives not because the Joker had actually tainted all of them.

For many issues Jason has no memories and now that I am revisiting these issues, I now remember the twisted and completely insane plot they came up with for the “League of Assassins” and Jason being the “Chosen One”, everything was happening in this run, my god, it's like they wanted Jason to be the center of every single trope in writing history.

It’s in issue #26 that Jason asks for his memories back but the Joker having tainted his memories or not isn’t important anymore to anyone, including the writer (because he is too focused on telling this messy story), Jason (because he has enough problems at the moment) and the reader (because this book makes zero sense and it changes the story and motivations every single issue).

But there is another truth to be revealed in the next issue.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #27

Jason has planned along Ducra and S’aru to give up all of his memories to be cleansed so he could defeat Ra’s Al Ghul. But (there is always a but) Ducra says this: “Your greatest enemy returned and nearly took your face away from you. And in the process, shook your sense of identity to the core” “The final battle here will take place in the Well of Sins, and with all the doubt and fear clouding your mind, it would eat you whole”.

So yeah, now we have confirmation from Ducra that Jason had indeed let what the Joker told him cloud his sense of self and made him doubt who he was and if he really was in control.

All that back and forth for these many issues just to say, yes, Jason let Joker’s words affect him.

So here it is, let Joker get in Jason’s head to build the plot of a story, fantastic, the story was a mess because it had so much information, the mischaracterizations of Roy and Kory were at their maximum potential, and in this particular story arc not only are the events of Red Hood: The Lost Days officially erased from Jason’s canon but something quite out there is added to Jason’s canon from before he was even Robin (that’s a whole different story that I won’t be talking about here).

What an insane ride this arc was. Definitely not the kind of story I enjoy in a Red Hood book but that’s just my preference.

*This whole arc was written by James Tynion IV.

Red Hood/Arsenal #11

Joker is dead during the events of this run but the person who has something to say to Jason about how the Joker made the person that he is now is Duela Dent (“Joker’s daughter”, she isn’t his daughter she just found Joker’s face somewhere and she puts it on and “becomes” crazy, she is an incredibly weird character).

She says this, “You’re a lot like dad in that way” to which Jason says “He is not my father. He’s not even your father” but Duela continues by saying. “You’re kidding yourself if you genuinely believe that. Yeah, he took your life but look what you got in its place, you ingrate. You got your freedom. You were reborn.” 

Jason doesn’t fall for it or anything of the sort but once again writers are bringing up the Joker as the maker of the Red Hood and “suggesting” that what Jason has been doing and who he has become is all thanks to Joker. The idea of Jason having no free will is still present in this narrative, even when Jason doesn’t believe it.

Red Hood/Arsenal #12

I talked too soon because in this issue Jason is having some weird thoughts.

“Funny, isn’t it, so easy to call Duela “crazy” because she wears a dead man’s face. Because isn’t that what I’m doing? Before he was the Joker, he was the Red Hood. So maybe the line between men and the Joker’s daughter is a lot thinner than I’d like to admit.”

Here he is comparing himself to Duela and to the Joker to an extent, writers often bring up the fact that Jason uses the code name that his killer once had and they have people or Jason himself questioning why he uses that name.

Personally, I don’t think there is much to build from it (at least not from the perspective of Lost Days and UtRH), it was just a joke, a morbid one if you will. He wears the mantle of the person that destroys Gotham and fills its people with fear while he is trying to control the city’s drug trade and trying to keep the people safe in his own way. And the way he wanted to do it is almost the complete opposite of the way that Batman does things.

I just think that he is being ironic and acidic about the whole thing. He has obviously moved on from the fact that Joker killed him but he has issues with the fact that Batman has yet another child working with him while the Joker is still alive. And Jason really wanted to make Bruce suffer, so him taking the name and a similar appearance to how the joker used to look is also done to get a reaction from Bruce.

I really don’t think there is any sort of connection to make between Jason and Joker beyond that, much like there is no connection between the name Nightwing and the Court of Owls. Even though Lincoln March tried to convince Dick Grayson that he chose the name Nightwing because Owls fly at night and that meant that he was supposed to become a Talon and all that Dick still didn’t believe it because he knew why he chose that name and no one can twist his reason.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #10

Finally, I can stop re-reading New 52 books, I don’t enjoy it but I have to do it if I want to talk/complain about stuff.

This one is a little different because while Jason does talk with the Joker, the Joker isn’t really there he is just part of Jason’s imagination just like the Robin Jason that he is also seeing.

In this story, Jason is helping Artemis discover who she is but he gets captured in Qurac, yup that place, and worst of all from where he is being held, he can see the place where he died. All of that is helping Jason have some very vivid memories/illusions. He does actively hold a conversation with the imaginary Joker and Robin Jason though, and he is also having a lot of thoughts that let us know how the Joker affects Jason.

“This is why it was stupid of me to come back to Qurac. Even to help Artemis, even if I thought I could handle it. Physically, I am alone, but in my head? I’m drowning in memories of the worst day of what was my very short life. The day I was murdered.”

That’s what Jason is thinking but what I write next is what Jason’s saying as he talks to the imaginary Joker.

“Not interested in replaying this over again, like I have every night of my life since it happened Joker”

So, we are told that Jason thinks about that day very often, the Joker might not be involved much in Jason’s books but he definitely has a bigger role inside of Jason’s head. They chat for a bit up until Jason decides to “kill” the Joker, he knows, of course, that it is not real but it does give him satisfaction. (If only they would have let Jason actually kill the clown for real, or at the very least chase him just to show the reader that Jason does actually want to finish the job since the Bat won’t do it himself).

Having said all that, Joker’s imaginary death doesn’t last long because Jason is trapped in his mind and the Joker is basically functioning on a loop inside of it.

That is where the problem lies in this issue because Jason is letting us know that he is still heavily influenced by what happened that day and that he hasn’t been able to walk away from it. But once more that’s not the worst thing, because all of these thoughts have led Jason to think that he (in the present and as a fifteen-year-old) is the one to blame for having ended up dead. Yeah, it is messed up.

This is what Jason says to imaginary Robin Jason, “He is never going to die, Jason. Not here. Not in my mind, not if at some point I don’t stand up and walk away from my memories. From you.”

This is a major downgrade, from the Jason that we had in UtRH because that Jason had moved on from the fact that he had been killed what he was looking for was for Batman to avenge his death. He had other things in mind as well, like I said before in this post Jason had a lot of things going on, killing Joker wasn’t his only plan.

And this situation (written by Lobdell) is also very different from what was going on in New 52 where Jason being influenced by the Joker was used to build a plot. This is just a writer letting us know that this “new version” of Jason hasn’t worked out his problems when it comes to his death and his killer. That means that we are going backward.

After he realizes that he was unconscious all that time and that he was being tortured he does get his shit together in order to get out of captivity and go help Artemis.

The Joker and that whole thing that happened in his mind aren’t mentioned again, it was just for the reader to know that Rebirth Jason has unsolved issues with his death.

Batman: Three Jokers #1

Oh yes, here we are, we have arrived to that dreaded book, awful writing gorgeous art. In this book, the “Joker made Jason as he is now” trope is at its full potential; Johns drives this hellish truck of a book at full speed into our homes and then ends it by giving us one of the worst takes on Jason Todd’s characterization ever.

But first, let’s talk about the Joker and Jason interaction in the first issue. As Jason and Barbara are left alone with the Joker that they came across moments ago the Joker begins talking because that’s what he does.

He says this, “I’m the loop-de-loop, the hamster-wheel-of-doom. The cycle of pain each one of you is trapped in. Take “Red Hood” here, for example. Have you ever wondered why he uses my former moniker? Who in their right mind would take on the identity of their killer? Am I right?”

He is obviously being a little shit on purpose and is waiting to see if somebody will take the bait. Jason is the first to talk and he says this: “I took it because I’m owning what you did to me. You made me into this. I will be your destruction”.

Congratulations Jason, you took the bait, and now Barbara will fight with you over it.

Jason raises his gun to “break the cycle” and Barbara is like “please don’t do it” and boy is Joker having the time of his life! Both of these idiots are playing his game, Johns really did both Jason and Barbara dirty with this.

Here is where THE problem with letting the Joker talk is. This Joker got under Jason’s skin in seconds and Barbara did nothing while it happened.

This is what the Joker had to say. “Let’s look at the facts here bat-people. I bashed this boy’s skull in. I killed this Robin” to which Jason says “You didn’t kill me, you only made me stronger” which is weird because the Joker did kill him so I don’t know what kinda comeback that was supposed to be but Joker wasn’t done because he continues by saying “Yes, you crawled from the shallow grave I left you in. You lived on to fight another day. Hurrah! You survived because of your tenacity! Or maybe… maybe I beat you to a bloody mess… I took you right to the edge… because I wanted to leave you alive.”

Great that’s where the clown is going, just fantastic, more of the “I made you” but that’s not all because the Joker tells Jason that him having hurt Jason wasn’t because he didn’t like Jason, it was all about Batman, Jason doesn’t matter.

But that’s not the worse thing that was written in this awful book, Geoff Johns seems to have felt that the trauma that Jason went through in the original “Death in the Family” story wasn’t enough because he decided to add something new.

That’s why the Joker says this next, “Do you recall what you said to me while I was breaking your head in with that crowbar? As your blood streamed into your eyes and your skull cracked? Because I cherish those words. I’ll always cherish them. ‘Please stop! Please! If you let me live, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll be your Robin’” “And look at you now my little “Red Hood” shooting up people and making Batman’s life miserable! You are my Robin!”

What a nightmare Johns decided to put Jason and Jason Nation through huh? I hate this, this is the worst thing that has ever been written in a Jason Todd story (although I can say that about many things that were written in this three-issue book).

Jason kills the Joker after he says all that, Barbara does (for some reason) try to stop him from doing it but luckily, she can’t stop Jason.

But here is the thing, Jason killing the Joker doesn’t make me feel as satisfied as I would have liked, and it doesn’t feel that way because Jason let Joker talk for far too long and what Joker said ended up getting in Jason’s head and messing with him.

Batman: Three Jokers #2

Yeah, there is no rest for us, Jason Nation, in this issue Jason goes looking for another Joker to kill and he finds one but he gets captured. Johns really had to get Jason naked for Joker to torture him mentally and physically? Johns is, himself, a major red flag but that’s not what I am here to talk about.

In this issue the Joker that captures Jason has the same things to say as the other one, DC writers really have no imagination when it comes to building conflict between Joker and Jason, huh?

Anyway, Joker says this, “tell me something. Why would you put on that helmet and call yourself Red Hood after what we did?” Jason of course replies “Come on, is every one of you copycats gonna ask me the same thing? It’s a joke” the answer isn’t enough for Joker (the two of them that are here with Jason) so he continues talking. “A joke? We left you with brain damage and permanent nerve pain. Physical and emotional trauma so severe that the only relief you ever find is when you inflict pain on others. You and me, boy, we’re more alike than you’d care to admit. But you know that already. You nearly died and you blame the Batman. You hate him for it. Me too. You hate him most of all don’t you?”

Now, here is the thing, that whole thing is bullshit, none of it makes sense. From Jason having permanent nerve pain to Jason hating Batman the most, everything is a lie. And my confusion here is that I don’t know if I have to feel like Joker is doing it on purpose to be a little bitch or if Geoff Johns was on crack when he wrote this and he had actually never heard of Jason Todd in his life before.

The whole thing is a mess, it feels like he is writing Jason from an origin and story that we never read. I don’t know how to explain it, but the whole thing feels cheap, it’s a cheap trope and it’s a cheap take on who Jason Todd is, was, and will be.

The nightmare doesn’t end Jason Nation because these two Jokers have something else in mind, you see, if they said that they made the Red Hood when they killed Jason the first time, maybe if they kill him this time then he could possibly come back as the Joker. Yeah, this book did nothing for Jason.

Let’s make something clear, Jason does NOT hate Batman/Bruce for not being able to save him, he hates the fact that Batman/Bruce didn’t kill the Joker to avenge him. That simple thing doesn’t exist in Three Jokers and that’s why things like the ones that happen next are allowed to happen in this story.

Bruce and Barbara find Jason and when Bruce asks if he is okay Jason just goes berserk, he says: “Am I all right? What do you think Bruce?! You did this to me. You put me on this path. And I do hate you for it. For leaving me in the dirt. Replacing me one Robin after another without a thought.”

This, everybody is what you get when you mix bad writing with Jason being mentally manipulated by the Joker.

It's a shame that Jason is being treated this way at this point in time, in a book that came out in 2020 when Jason was able to shut the clown up with a knife and a couple of words back in 2005. What a downgrade.

At the end of this issue, Jason is safe and recovering but he still is in the same mindset, he says, “What the Joker said about how I’ve been on the path to being like them for years… they are not wrong. I don’t want to be like them though. I really don’t.”

It’s like a never-ending wheel of pain with this book. Jason is talking to Barbara when he says that and he is trying to look for comfort in her. And here is where the Jason/Barbara subplot begins and I only bring this up because something that happens in the next issue is based on the kiss that Barbara gave Jason but then was like “that doesn’t mean anything, I was just trying to comfort you”. Johns shouldn’t be allowed to write Barbara and Jason ever again.

Batman: Three Jokers #3

It’s in this issue that we find out the big subplot that Johns has prepared for Jason, are you ready for it? Yup, Jason should stop being the Red Hood because if he keeps it up, he will eventually become the Joker.

I know, I know! Jason would never stop being Red Hood, he is not on a path to become the Joker, that’s crazy! Jason’s Red Hood is a character on its own and he is amazing and just because he has different morals from Batman doesn’t mean that he is a bad guy! Right?...

“I’ll give up being Red Hood for us. I can be something else. Or I can be just Jason.”

To this day I cannot believe that those words supposedly were written by Jason Todd to Barbara Gordon after Barbara rejected him three times. The level of “what the fuck is this” is incredibly high with this one…

This whole book was a mess and I am so glad that it didn’t last longer.

Anyway, that’s it. In conclusion, Jason didn’t let the Joker get under his skin the first time they interacted after he came back from the dead but later when DC decided that UtRH was just too good of a book they came up with stories where Joker does get under Jason’s skin and Jason becomes convinced that he has no free will (or at the very least he doubts his free will) when it comes to him becoming his own man.

As I have said before, that for Jason Todd is a major downgrade. And it's one of the many things that hurts Jason’s characterization in current comics.

[princecharmingwinks]

i cant believe you said you dont write for fandoms!! these are ending up AMAZING! have another fail date for you to make better: we went four-wheel driving over the dunes out bush, we took my car but he drove because he's done the route before. we were the second car in the convoy and because my car is a little smaller than the others it couldnt make it up the last dune! it nearly made it over before sliding back into the sand and ended up half buried! (1/2)

(2/2) the rest of the group had to drag and push us out with planks and chains etc while we were stuck inside because no way in hell i was opening the door to let the sand in! so three wheels in the sand, waiting on our rescue, irl it was a bit awkward but im hoping you'll rewrite a better ending <3

Awww concussed dragon, you are sooo sweet! Thank you! Your unique failed dates are great to work with. Alrighty, let's get into this one! So the pack got big in this one and while most don't have lines, I liked the idea of everyone being there (or almost for anyone I missed haha). I left some of the couple combos up to interpretation so feel free to ship at your leisure.

---

The pack, after much pestering from a certain human/spark, were finally going on their camping trip. The alpha had finally conceded when Stiles had shot him a pout and hopeful eyes. Derek had reluctantly agreed and ignored the snickering of his betas in the corner of the room.

On the morning of the trip, everyone was pairing up into groups of drivers and passengers so no one drove alone and there were less cars.

Derek and Stiles were the last members out of the rebuilt Hale House. Derek had been locking up and Stiles was finishing off some wards to ensure there were no unwanted visitors while they were away. He was still learning to harness his spark but small wards of protection were easy enough. Defensive magic was easier, offensive was another story.

Stiles threw his bag into the back of the jeep and glanced around.

"So, who's joining Roscoe and me?"

Erica snickered, "Derek."

"What?" Stiles and Derek snapped in unison. Well at least Stiles had a punctuation mark, Derek's not so much.

"I'm with Danny, Lydia and Jacks." Kira spoke up. "Scott, Malia, and Isaac are with Allison."

"I'm obviously with my boy." Erica jumped onto Boyd's back, who was used to his girlfriend's antics and easily caught her. "And Theo is meeting us there after picking up Liam from work. Everyone's paired up so that just leaves you two."

Stiles felt his heart flutter but managed to keep his voice even as he spoke, "Alright Alpha My Alpha, let's get going."

Derek didn't say a word as he slid into the passenger seat of the jeep. Everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine. Stiles was definitely going through a quarter life crisis at the realisation most of the pack were in couples. How did he not realise that? When had it become a prerequisite to start dating a pack member? And now it was just Stiles and the alpha. The alpha he had been in love with for years. Great...

"What's wrong?"

Stiles was pulled out of his internal panic by said alpha's soothing voice. Derek had softened over the years, showing care and concern for each member of the pack. He now bought scent-free nail polish for Erica (so the acid smell didn't upset all the were's noses), stocked Isaac's favourite gummybears and even hugged Kira willingly at her university graduation. Derek Hale was a softie.

"I'm fine, nothing wrong here, no sir." Stiles prattled. Even he heard the blatant lies without supernatural healing. He glanced to his side and was greeted by raised eyebrows.

"Ok, so I may have just realised how paired up everyone in the pack really is."

"Except us."

"Yeah," Stiles sighed. "Except us. Do you ever think about that? Like, why you haven't dated anyone since..." He trailed off. Derek didn't have the best track record for his love interests but he hadn't even been on a date for more than 3 years.

Derek looked out the window at the scenary, they were driving into the sand dune part of the journey, and for a moment Stiles thought he wasn't going to answer.

"I've been waiting."

Stiles blinked. Huh?

"For someone so smart, you're really clueless sometimes." Derek huffed, glancing back at Stiles.

"What have you been waiting for?" Stiles dared to ask. They had paused to allow Allison's four-wheel-drive to roll up the last sand dune, waiting for their turn. Roscoe would be the last time to make the climb.

"I thought it was my imagination at first but then you kept coming around and..."

It was Roscoe's turn now and Stiles slowly prepared for the final climb of the dune. He tried to keep focused on the task at hand, allowing Derek to speak his thoughts. You never rushed the alpha when he was being vulnerable.

"I know you kind of like me?" Derek voiced it as a question but all Stiles heard was sirens in his brain. Derek knew? Stiles' foot slid off the peddle and they immediately started rolling backwards, fast.

"Shit! Shit, shit shit." Stiles acted quickly but it wasn't enough. Roscoe descended the sand dune and sank, refusing to move. Sand on either side of them blocked the bottom of their doors. They were officially stuck.

Stiles rested his head on the steering wheel and slowed his breathing. There were multiple crises going on but most had solutions.

The others would work out they hadn't made the climb soon enough or Theo and Liam would find them on their way through. So either way, Roscoe being stuck wasn't a massive deal. The real dilemma was Stiles' outed feelings for Derek.

The same Derek that was eyeing Stiles with concern as he called Kira to request some assist. Stiles heard him hang up before the sound of a door handle being jiggled. He snapped his head up.

"Whoa there sourwolf, there is to be no sand storm in this car, thankyouverymuch." He reached out and tugged the alpha's hand away from the door.

"I figured me getting out and pushing was the preferred option to sitting here with you in a state of panic at my assumption."

Stiles pulled his hand back. "What?"

"Look, we can just forget I ever said anything, alright? I get I'm not the most desirable crush to have. It's probably just familiarity and your sense of loyalty that's fueled your scent around me anyway. Don't worry about it."

Stiles shook his head, "Oh no you don't. You opened that can of worms and I'm no coward." The spark met Derek's gaze. Had he been planning on ignoring his feelings for the alpha? Sure. But was he going to run away from a moment like this? Nope. Stiles Stilinski was a lot of things but after running with wolves and other supernaturals for most of his life, he knew when he needed to tackle something head on.

"Now, before you go down your rabbit hole of I'm-not-good-enough crazy talk, I've got something to say."

Derek nodded like the soft alpha he was and turned to face Stiles more fully.

"You, Derek Alexander Hale, are amazing. A little on the martyr side but that's because you are so protective of your pack. I'd be crazy to not fall in love with you. That's right, love not like. I've been in love with you for years but how was a kid like me going to catch the alpha's eye? I didn't want to ruin our friendship. This," He gestured between them. "This is important to me. I don't want to ruin it."

Derek released a sigh of relief? Stiles couldn't read his eyebrows which was disappointing when he was the most expert at interpreting the alpha's facial expressions.

Then Derek was darting forward and claiming Stiles' lips in a searing kiss. Stiles went with it, almost unbelieving that any of this was happening.

Derek eventually pulled back and rested his forehead against Stiles'.

"Worth the wait." The alpha whispered, grinning, bunny teeth all on display.

"Two way street here. You could've said something too. How long have you liked me?"

Derek blushed and it was only because they were so close that Stiles saw the pink of his cheeks and ears.

"I've always liked you, even if I didn't always show it. But love? I think I've loved you since you woke me up on an elevator floor by punching me. You could have left without me but you didn't."

Stiles pouted, "Since then?"

Derek raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

Stiles pushed Derek back and clumsily crawled across the gear stick to straddle the alpha's lap.

"We could have been having the best sex of my life for years, Derek! Years! We've got a lot of making up to do." Stiles dove in to kiss Derek this time. The alpha happily drew Stiles in closer, curling his arms around the spark's slim waist.

A knock on the window, interrupted their make-out session. Boyd's face appeared with judging eyebrows to rival Derek's.

"Heard you needed a hand." Boyd spoke loudly with a smirk as Derek's hand moved away from Stiles' ass to rest safely on his back.

"What's Erica doing?" Stiles asked, leaning over Derek to squint at the blonde chatting wildly on the phone. Derek focused his hearing.

"Turns out I'm not the only one who was waiting." Derek grinned, "And everyone apparently owes Lydia money."

They did eventually get Roscoe out of the sand dune thanks to the advantages of going camping with multiple supernatural creatures. By the time everyone was settled in the camp and Erica had informed Theo and Liam on the events of the day, Lydia was a very rich woman.

Stiles couldn't complain though. Not when the alpha was snuggled between his legs as Stiles sat on the log and Derek roasted them marshmallows. Apparently no one trusted Stiles near an open flame following the incident with that vampire clan. Stiles combed his fingers through Derek's hair and looked around at the pack. This camping trip was the best idea ever.

--

Ok so I must confess I do not camp like...ever and have no idea how four-wheel-driving works so please forgive any major errors in that department. I tweaked things a bit from your prompt sorry. I just couldn't imagine Stiles letting anyone else drive Roscoe. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for popping in!

[justjerry]

Remembering Robin Williams Today

12/15/2022 

Missing Robin a lot today. Went down a worm hole, and just venting. I just gotta say... I still see so many comments online, stories, people's responses to Robin's passing; and a lot of them include comments referring to straight depression. Or statements insinuating that Robin took his life solely because he was depressed and apathetic. Comments like: "He was not perfect and he had his demons but he made this world so much better with him in it." or "It sucks to see one of the greatest hate his life, and want to end it" or even "I still can't believe he killed himself." But it's not that simple, and that is not what happened. It drives me crazy that, after all these years, after released information, and specials coming out about him (by his wife), explaining the dementia and disease Robin had - Lewy Body Dementia -- that after all that, people are still in the dark. People still refer to him by discussing the importance of getting help with depression. As if that was the issue, end of story....when it's not. Even after this huge announcement to the world, this explanation, some people still just don't know. I think it's because they don't understand, or maybe they just want to make it easer on themselves and categorize it as they see fit. Who knows. The disease consumes: increasing anxiety, causing sporadic behavior, causing uncontrollable body movements, sporadic thoughts, and causing delusions that have never been present in someone, and much much more. It's complex and horrible. *I'm not claiming to know what happened to him - end game. Facts are: he was privately in his home other than his wife, when this happened. So no one truly knows, no one could ever, but I'll take his Wife's word on it. Please, if you still haven't watched "Robin's Wish" - watch it. its on peacock. its very informative. Or, continue celebrating him and watch 'Come Inside My Mind' on HBO. I think, he used more parts of his brain and used his brain more often, and for longer periods, than the rest of the world. He was able to say things and perform in such a unique way, and construct jokes and thoughts instantaneously that were on a different level, and work magic. This is a gift, a part of the brain most don't access. And I think, consequently, that he over used it after a while. He used this talent for us, for everyone, for happiness. He was always selfless. He left us, but he gave use more than he could've ever truly known. I will say this: it is so nice to see the amount of love for Robin. To this day, you say his name, and almost always, instant appreciation. He helped a lot of people and did a lot for so many. Some may think it's weird when I post about Robin, or the extent of my admiration for him is weird. But what does weird mean?!  Who cares. I don't think I'm special or different in the way of admiring Robin, I never even met him; I know millions, billions, adore him. I am just one of the many, and I am an emotional person. We all watched his movies, his stand up, his performances, incessantly for years. Some of us while we grew from adolescence to adulthood, and allowed it to form us. i just miss his energy. I wish I saw him live. I wish I saw him on Broadway, I wish he was still with us, creating. Talk about GOATS. Here's a a segment from 60 minutes Australia on it as well for those who have shorter attention spans haha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBsEiZX5w8U

[shoichee]

Strawberry Jam

Part 2 of the Pun Fest collection!

Murasakibara x f!Reader

Word count: 3992

Synopsis: The Yōsen’s basketball team is trying to help out a poor manager’s love life.

Note: I went a little too crazy with this;; it is definitely longer than Kise’s prompt (i’m so sorry my bb)

»»—————　☼　—————««

Everything about Yōsen was grand and lofty, from their buildings, their interiors, their tuition, and even their students… quite literally.

A huge downside of attending there, though, was the location of the campus itself: Akita. The biting winds were extremely harsh and unforgiving, particularly when temperatures dropped below negative numbers as snow continued to pile up even more imposing walls than the famed “Shield of Aegis.” Luckily, as the new manager of Yōsen High’s basketball team, you often got to accompany five towering starter players, where you gladly took advantage of their heights to protect yourself from the harsh weather. 

Still, if you had the choice to either confess to Murasakibara or to stand outside in an Akita blizzard for a few hours, you’d dash to the latter option with no hesitation.

You don’t even know why you fell for the purple-haired giant of all people.

Was it because his intimidating stature contradicted his laid back personality?

Was it because your heart panged for him when you witnessed, from your seat, him giving his all against his match with Seirin, only for him to leak tears of frustration at losing? 

Was it because shortly after, when you joined as a manager to get a head start training for next season (as per Coach Araki’s request), Murasakibara gently ruffled your hair before he went to get his umaibo sticks? 

You wanted to deny those pervasive thoughts that were taunting you recently for falling in love so easily, but you shook your head before you patted your cheeks to figuratively slap those inner gremlins away.

“Chibi-chin?” Murasakibara lazily turned his body at an angle towards your direction. “Did the snow fall on you too?” 

You could feel your cheeks flush even through under your mittened palms. Himuro flashed you a concerned gaze of his own. “I-I-I… sorry! I was just trying to warm my head?... up? uh—” You paused for a bit, trying to salvage your excuse. “T-there’s always so much a beanie and an earmuff could do to keep… warm?”

“Hnn, I guess so,” he said, giving a quick once over to your figure. “You’re so red, chibi-chin. You look like strawberry jam from this yummy bun I ate just now.”

“Atsushi,” Himuro turned to him exasperatedly. “You don’t compare people to food you just ate. It’s not polite.”

“Oh well, Muro-chin.” He walked on further out of the school gates. “See you too, Chibi-chin.”

“Mura-kun, you always call me that,” you pouted. “If you call me that just because I’m shorter than you, then you might as well start calling that to everybody.”

“But you’re Chibi-chin,” he insisted. “Muro-chin is Muro-chin…  Kuro-chin is Kuro-chin… Sa-chin is Sa-chin…” he continued to go off on a mumbling tangent as he chewed on his next pack of biscuit sticks, walking away to finally head for home. You and Himuro were left alone together.

“So, about Atsushi-kun… pardon for me asking but… do you—”

“H-H-Himu-kun, have the other members left home already?” you turned to him, having a premonition of where the conversation was heading to.

He blinked owlishly for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah… Coach didn’t want to risk everyone getting sick and missing out on drill days later.”

“Ah, I’m glad. Although… it’s a bit sad that our 3rd years are leaving so soon—”

“What’s this about 3rd years?” You whipped your head around to see Fukui and Okamura trekking through the soft snow in your direction.

“Fukui-san? Okamura-san? What are you two doing here?”

“Argh, studying in the library stinks,” Fukui groaned, cracking his neck. “Especially when the library’s heater broke earlier. We were all told to just go home.”

“Well, now that you two are here after you interrupted our conversation, let me ask our manager-san again,” Himuro turned to you with a genial smile, but you knew that face hid something truly unpleasant.

“Oh, manager-san,” he slowly started. The 3rd years were silently looking at each other in confusion. “Could it be that you fancy someone romantically?”

It took a few seconds for the question’s implications to heavily sink into everyone’s minds like heavy-duty boots on fresh blankets of snow.

“E-e-e-e-ehhhh??” All three of you screeched out in a dissonance of shouts of disbelief. 

“W-W-what??”

“Himuro, what the hell?”

“N-N-NO GIRL WILL EVER LIKE ME AFTER ALL!...”

“I just had a feeling is all,” Himuro reassured, but if anything, it panicked you even more. “If you didn’t like anyone, then maybe it was just my imagination.”

This was it. You could easily deny everything with a “that’s ridiculous!” or “I would never!” or something of the sorts, but when you were about to rebuke Himuro for being so preposterous out of nowhere, all those words dissipated at the tip of your tongue.

“I… you…” you started, mouth leaden with meekness as 3 pairs of eyes, all shining with anticipation, were on you. “Himuro… you, uh—ugh! You’re right… I guess I do… like someone…”

“HEEEEEEEEEE…!” Okamura bursted into tears again. “Why doesn’t anyone like me?”

“Oi, captain! Just get rid of your chin!” Fukui apathetically glanced at him before patting his back with mocking consolation, and Okamura only sobbed harder in response.

“So who do you like, if you don’t mind me asking?” Himuro gently interrogated further, leaning closer to your face to gauge your expressions. You knew that sly smirk meant that you weren’t going to be able to worm yourself out of this.

Damn it, why is he being so insistent about this?

You sighed. There was no turning back now… 

---------

“MURASAKIBARA???” everyone clamored around you. Chaos ensued once again when you timidly confessed your deepest secret, and as they all processed the new information in their own ways, you stared at your furred boots, praying for the snow to swallow you up whole and cleanly wipe away all traces of crimson hues from your face.

Okamura really lost it now, going into incoherent despair of never-ending questions of what Murasakibara had that he himself didn’t, while Fukui, for once, was not bullying the poor Yōsen captain but instead standing wide-eyed in shock at you. Himuro had been tilting his head with a finger to his temple, pondering about something that you knew, once again, was not going to turn out to be good news for you.

“Why don’t you confess to hi—”

“A-absolutely not!” At your outburst, Himuro furrowed his brows in utter confusion.

“Why not?”

“Himuro, are you crazy?” Fukui, barely recovering from his stupor, answered for you. “This guy has nothing but food in his brain!”

“Well… Atsushi could be like that most of the time, but—”

“Himu-kun,” you sighed. “Just forget about what I said a-alright?” Hearing them talk about how Murasakibara had nothing in his heart except for his snacks dashed your hopes in your prospective love life. “I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow.”

As you walked away from the boys, head down from either the cold or dejection (or perhaps both), they turned to each other with fierce glints in their eyes, almost reminiscent of the serious aura they gave before their Seirin match.

---------

“Okamura-san? You’re here alone?” You walked up to him before school after surveying that neither Fukui nor Himuro were in the near vicinity. “Well, I guess it’s still a bit too early for anyone to come.”

“Well, uh—” he stammered. “We all decided to individually help you in getting closer to the brat.”

“H-huh?”

“A-as captain, I must be the first one to offer advice from senior to underclass… man?”

You huffed in apprehension but you appreciated that your teammates cared enough to go out of their ways to help you in your love life. But you were afraid of what was in store for you. Very much afraid.

You really weren’t prepared for this unforeseen development.

“Um…”

“Uh, erm…” he stuttered. “R-right! I-if I had a girl who liked me, I’d hope for her to offer me a bento lunch, or maybe a love letter? Or ch-chocolates and a plushie if it was Valentine’s…”

“That… that’s cute and all Okamura-san, but…” you began, flustered. “But this is Mura-kun we’re talking about. He’d only be interested in the lunch and chocolates, but he wouldn’t think too much of a girl giving him free food.”

He instantly teared up, and from an outside perspective, he looked like he was being personally rejected by you.

“I-is that why I’m single?” he sniffed into his sleeve.

“N-no! That’s not it!” you comforted him. “Without a doubt, someone will come to love you one day! Be patient and keep pushing, Okamura-san!”

As you tried to pat his arms in consoling him, a certain looming purple-haired mop overshadowed you both.

“Chibi-chin? What are you doing?” He was munching on a bag of potato chips. “Oh?... Captain?” Both of you jumped out of your skins before leaping apart to provide distance from each other.

“Chibi-chin, I didn’t know you were close to him.”

“Th-that’s not!—” You stammered, but what were you going to say? 

Sorry, the captain and I were just talking about ways to fix my love life? 

Don’t worry, we’re just figuring out ways for me to get close to you? 

Sorry, but he, of all people, was helping me find out a plan to confess to you?

With every excuse you tried to concoct in your mind, your cheeks burned brighter and brighter.

Murasakibara didn’t miss the way you grew timid in his presence again and how you always seem to be so hesitant whenever you spoke with him. He sighed before shoving an non-frozen ice pop to your lips before walking past you.

“Better hurry up, Chibi-chin,” he drawled. “I’ll go look for Muro-chin.” With that he trudged away.

You held the mango-flavored pop in your hands. Wasn’t this his go-to flavor?

“Sorry I wasn’t able to help much,” he moped. He scratched the back of his head while looking at his feet.

“Okamura-san, I’ll be sure to keep your suggestion in mind!”

The warning bell echoed throughout the hallways. “I guess that’s the bell. Well, see you!” You both waved to each other before you went to your respective classes. You made sure to gulp down the pop before you went to your seat.

---------

“Himu-kun! Just what are you guys planning?”

“I don’t know what you’re implying, (l/n)-san,” he feigned, glancing at you glowering at your desk next to his.

“Mura-kun totally has the wrong idea! He probably has a horrible image of me now, and I’m never gonna make eye contact with him again—”

“Just because he saw you and Okamura together? Atsushi isn’t that dumb.” 

“But we never talked alone together until this morning!” 

You groaned as you opted to faceplant your desk and hoped for a catastrophe to hit Akita and take you out of your misery. At the very least, you hoped that the deities would spare you and fastforward time to the end of the school day, so you can scurry home with no further incident. With your chin still on the desk, you stared at the wall clock; it was still only morning break.

“If you can’t confess to him directly,” Himuro hummed. “Why not use pickup lines? They still get the point across.”

“The only reason why they work for you is because you’re popular yourself. All the girls fawn over you.” You then propped your head against your hand, nodding towards a close group of girls whispering and peeking at your—Himuro’s—desk seatings. “See?”

“They’re always like that, though. That doesn’t mean they’re interested in me like that.” You resisted the urge to groan again.

Himuro turned his attention to the back of the classroom (the action went unnoticed by a brooding you) to see an equally sulking Murasakibara, who had been staring holes at the back of your head ever since the start of class. A silent chuckle escaped his lips and his eyes twinkled with unabashed mischievousness.

“Himu-kun?” you looked out of the corner of your eyes.

“Hmm?” He turned to you before giving a smile that meant he was up to no good. You were about to question his motives before your mind went blank after he gently tousled your hair. “Don’t sweat about this so much, (l/n)-san.”

“Ah…” That was rather out of nowhere, but you figured he was trying to cheer you up. “T-thanks.” 

At that, you gave Himuro a tiny, genuine smile.

Himuro swore he sensed a drastic spike in hostility directed towards the back of his head.

---------

The gods must have really hated you, because today just felt like it was crawling by even slower than usual. 

It was barely lunchtime.

There was still a shower of drifting snowflakes outside, so everyone was still cramped up indoors filled with stuffy air of artificial heat.

You didn’t mind it that much; you were going to use the time to head over to the library to check out some books for your literature class. 

“Himu-kun, take care of my stuff until I get back, okay?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure.”

As soon as you stood up from your desk to leave, you noticed Murasakibara getting up from his own seat to head over towards you guys. In a panic, you made a bolt towards the door and slid it closed. 

Phew. You laid back against the door for a second to regain your composure before you strolled to your destination.

---------

“Atsushi,” Himuro greeted him.

“Hnnn.” He plopped onto the empty seat directly behind Himuro. 

“You’re making quite a harsh frown.”

“Che, I’m gonna crush you, Muro-chin,” he grumbled, furrowing his brows. Himuro lets out a soft chortle before reaching into his bag.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, Atsushi,” he replied. “But would you want some snacks? I brought extra.” His hand pulled out a pack of wafer cookies. Murasakibara immediately perked up.

“I’m gonna eat lots and lots~” he drawled, before taking a handful of cookies and throwing them haphazardly into his mouth.

---------

“(l/n)-san, I hast found thou.”

“Liu-san?” You turned your attention from the book to said person behind you. You were still idly thumbing the pages.

“I hast something to talk thee about.” 

When you found out a couple of weeks ago about why and how Liu started speaking like that, you honestly didn’t know whether to punch Fukui for pranking the poor 2nd year to speak old-fashioned Japanese or shake hands with said-prankster because that was a golden scheme.

“What is it?”

“Is it true that thou fancy Murasakibara?”

Okay, you’re definitely going to punch Fukui the next time you see him. No one else could’ve told Liu except him.

“H-h-huh? Not you too!” Your fingers halted on the held book.

“If thou like him, why don’t thou grant him dinner?” he inquired, tilting his head slightly.

Well, that’s not a terrible idea but… 

“I would, Liu-san, but I don’t think he’ll see that as a romantic action. Food is food to him.”

“That’s a shame,” he bowed his head. “Sorry that I canst not grant thou much help. I wish thou good luck on thy endeavors.”

“Thank you, Liu-san,” you gave him a smile and a returned bow. “I’ll keep your words in mind.”

He gave a chagrined smile of his own before he left you to your own devices.

---------

Finally, the dismissal bell echoed throughout campus. You were flouncing around with newfound determination to catch a certain snitch in one of the class-3 rooms. Sure enough, an ash-blonde haired student casually strolled out of his classroom before he bumped into a bloodthirsty you.

“Gah! You?—”

“Yeah, me,” you narrowed your eyes at him. You lowered your voice into a harsh whisper. “You told Liu about this ordeal? Who else did you gossip this to?”

“Ack—no one! I swear! I just told Liu because I figured he had some solid advice! He hasn’t told anyone, I made him swear to keep quiet!” He immediately begged for forgiveness, putting his hands up together in a plea with his head bowed. You sighed. 

“I guess it can’t be helped,” you muttered. “He said to take Mura-kun to dinner, but that just falls into the category of ‘food.’”

“But isn’t there a saying of ‘getting to the stomach to get to their heart?’ It definitely applies to him without a doubt.”

“So what’s your idea, Fukui-kun?” You huffed, crossing your arms. “Let’s get it over with. Everyone has been trying to give me some type of suggestion today and I figured that was your ‘plan’ from the get-go.”

“Alright, let’s walk out of the building to the gate while we talk and while the weather is still manageable.” 

---------

“I’m sorry, say that again?”

“Why don’t you say some jokes or puns to get a laugh out of him?”

“I know you’re a pranking type of guy, but you can’t be serious right now.”

“What? You wanted to get close to him, right? Friends get each other to crack up.”

“Ugh.” You slapped your mittened hands against your face and leaned your head back to stare at the dreary sky, a perfect portrayal of the inevitable doom you’re going to have to face. 

Gods, please don’t torture me any further like this.

---------

“Muro-chin? Is that Chibi-chin and Fuki-chin?” Murasakibara stops to stare at the pair.

“Huh, I didn’t know they were still here,” Himuro said, trailing closely behind the titan. 

“He’s bothering Chibi-chin, Muro-chin,” he scowled. “I’m gonna crush him.”

“Atsushi,” Himuro hurriedly interrupted. “We’re already taking a detour to the convenience store to get your umaibo sticks… If we stay here any longer, then we’ll be forced to walk straight home instead because of the weather.”

“Hmph.” Murasakibara reluctantly turned away from you two in favor of a prospect of having boxes of snacks in his arms.

Himuro gazed at the pair before he caught up with Murasakibara. 

He’ll be damned if he can’t get you and Mura to at least see heart to heart with each other.

---------

“Thanks Fukui-kun, but your suggestion sounds flimsy at best,” you sweatdropped. 

“There’s also the saying of ‘don’t knock it until you try it,’ (l/n)-san,” Fukui retorted. He had a sullen look from having his idea immediately shot down. The two of you continued to walk out of the school gates in awkward silence before you gave in.

“Fine, fine, sheesh,” you sighed. “I’ll… think about it… Happy?”

“Yes!” He whooped and pumped a fist to the air.

---------

Even though the snow let up today, there was still a frigid chill in the air, especially since it was still the morning, but you willed yourself to wake up earlier to prepare to finally confess and just get it over with before Murasakibara figured something was up. You could tell that he had already been suspicious of your behavior, after all.

Your school bag was beyond bulky to carry, drawing attention from other curious onlookers as you trudged yourself (and your cumbersome bag) to Yōsen.

7 a.m. should be early enough right?

All you have to do is wait until Murasakibara shows up, do your confession, and then book it. 

Easy. Very easy. So easy that even Fukui could do it. Very easy, quick, easy… easy… NOT easy, NOT EASY—

You took an exaggerated inhale to gulp in as much cold air as possible. You couldn’t back out now. Otherwise you’d look like a fool carrying around a big bundle for no reason. 

You glanced at the time. 7:39? Had time passed by so quickly? Why couldn’t the deities do this yesterday?

Before you drown yourself in your pitying thoughts and what-ifs, you noticed your grapehead crush waddling near you, lazily blinking away the last remnants of sleep.

“M-Mura-kun!”

“Ohh? Chibi-chin…” He turned towards you as you rushed to him, eyeing the huge bag on your shoulder. 

“I have something important to tell you!” Okay, here goes… 

He continued to stare down at you, curious to see you fumbling through your bag and muttering “you got this” and “it’s okay” to yourself. He tousled your hair, causing you to still your hand and short-circuit whatever cohesive plans you had in your head for this moment.

“I-i-i-i—what are you doing?”

“Yesterday you said that your head gets cold a lot, Chibi-chin.” Well, that, but he was trying to elicit the same smile you gave to Himuro after he comforted you the same way.

“A-ah, well, it’s not as cold today!... so…”

Ah, he only made you furrow your brows more. Did he make you even more upset?

His hand was still on your head before you gently pried it off. He frowned.

You took a huge breath and exhaled, leaving a warm, puffy trail of translucent mist behind. 

And he thought you looked prettier than usual like that, your hair slightly disheveled from his touch… and your scarf, earmuffs, and hat making you look fuzzy… with a veiled mist framing you like a picture… 

“Mura-kun,” you breathed out, once again letting a hazy cloud escape from your lips. You approached closer, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention.

“Hnn?” He really should be paying attention, considering the fact that this was the first time in a while that he got to speak alone with you.

“H-h-here!” you took his sleeve and shoved something soft (and fuzzy too, coincidentally?) into his arms and he gazed down to see a… large, fluffy plushie? He examined the bear with a childish wonder before he noticed a small card attached to it. 

His heart beating uncharacteristically fast, he gingerly opened the card:

Are you a doughnut, because I find you a-dough-able. ♡︎

A boyish smile creeped its way onto his face.

“W-w-wait, and…” you stuttered, already losing confidence. “While I think that you’re already a Mura-snacki-bara… I would still, um, take? you and me? out to eat… together?” At “you and me,” you lamely pointed at Murasakibara and yourself to make it really obvious. You’re cringing at your own ineptitude to be smooth about this.

You then embarrassingly took out a handful of coupons for different stores and fast food restaurants and waved it to his face frantically before you shoved them in his hands.

“And… and… u-u-um—I like you—I like you very much!”

Murasakibara now has the biggest shit-eating grin plastered across his face, his eyes shining with utter joy. 

“Chibi-chin… you really feel that way about me?”

At his question, you hid your face behind your hands, bracing yourself for rejection.

“Oiiiiii, Chibi-chin,” he whined, bending down to gently pry your hands off your face. He stared intently at your face even as you averted your eyes.

“You’re as red as strawberry jam.”

“H-h-hey!—”

And he kissed you.

---------

“Told you that Atsushi likes her back.”

“Move, gorilla! Your butt chin is in the way!”

“Thou should'st get rid of thy sideburns too.”

“HEEEEE…! Why is everyone so mean? How are the 1st years getting more attention and popularity than me?...”

“Shut up.”

“Keep silent.”

---------

“I thought you liked Okamura, Chibi-chin.” 

“Eh?”

You were walking hand in hand with Murasakibara to the nearest convenience store for his daily supplement of umaibo sticks.

“You were huddling up to him and being red the other day.” He turned away, pouting. 

Oh. Ohhhhhh.

“Atsu-kun, you dummy,” you giggled. “The team found out I liked you, so they were trying to help me.”

“Ehhhh?”

“Actually, I—uh, used a combination of all their ideas when confessing to… you.” It was your turn to turn away, your index finger scratching your cheek shyly.

“Hmph, Chibi-chin~” He tugged on your arm, his voice clearly filled with relief. “I’m hungry.”

“Yes, yes, Atsu-kun.”

Maybe having nosy Yōsen team starters wasn’t so bad.

Maybe having the deities being so fickle with your days wasn’t so bad either.

And maybe the weather in Akita wasn’t so bad if you could always cuddle up to Murasakibara’s side from now on.

[taephilia]

through time and space

part of @heartsforbtsnet​‘s hearts for halloween event!

pairing: kim seokjin x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst, sci-fi, adventure, time travel au, doctor who au

word count: 10,694 (oops)

warnings/content: swearing, alcohol consumption, if you’ve watched doctor who then this is based off of river song and the doctor

summary: as a universe-renown time traveller, you’re a fairly common household name. From intergalactic governments to planets themselves, your help is needed across the universe; whether it be uniting an alien orphan with its human parents or playing peacemaker between two alien races that have both committed genocide against the other and are at the verge of war. You’ve seen countless faces, heard hundreds of names, but one has always stayed with you, following you like a shadow: kim seokjin.

a/n: this took me SO long mainly bc it’s been years since i watched doctor who and i still never quite understood how the doctor and river’s timelines worked. and it took me so long to even wrap my head around this fic’s timeline so hopefully this all makes sense. if you have any questions, feel free to send them in because time travel is very complicated and every interpretation of it is different and the fact that time just isn’t linear in this can make it very confusing. also this is unedited/not proofread bc i procrastinated, rushed some parts, lost motivation, like to live life on the edge, etc. you know how it is. also yes it’s late i’m sorry, i’m not even going to say why because it’s really embarrassing lmfao

tag list: @suhdays​ @ggukkieland​ @hesperantha​

i. planet busan in the year of AFI-283

Taking a walk through a city that you’ve never been to before in the morning is usually something you quite enjoy, but after having to save a neighboring town from an invasive species (which involved a lot of running away from giant man-eating worms which were the invasive species in question), your thighs are burning more than usual and all you want to do is get back to your ship and go home. You feel a bit guilty as everyone walks around you, grumbling underneath their breath about how slow you’re walking, just looking around like you have all the time in the world, but you figure that you deserve to admire the sights for just a little bit. And besides, you’re a time traveler—technically you do have all the time in the world.

As you get closer to the alleyway that you parked your ship in (and that you hope is still there), a strange whirring noise begins to sound out throughout the street, causing everyone around you to slow down and look for the source. A strange glowing orb appears in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of you and everyone around you either runs away or stands around it, scared but fascinated at the same time. You watch the orb grow brighter and brighter, shielding your eyes against the light with one hand while the other reaches down for the blaster gun on your hip. When the light is finally gone, there’s a metal booth standing in the middle of the street with smoke rising off of it. A strange banging noise can be heard coming from the inside of the machine so you slowly walk up to the door and knock, everyone around you waiting with bated breath to see what kind of creature would emerge.

All you see though when the door opens is a set of broad shoulders before you’re pressed up against someone, their arms wrapped tightly around you as they sway you side to side. They pull back to look at you and you’re met with bright brown eyes and possibly the handsomest man you’ve ever seen in your entire life. And said handsome man still has his arms wrapped around you and although you’re sort of wondering if you actually got eaten by one of those worms and died and went to heaven, you’re also wondering who the hell he is.

“Stunned to see me, sweetheart?” he teases you and you swear that your heart rate picks up at the pet name. “I know that my good looks can be quite shocking sometimes but you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Which we both know isn’t possible since ghosts aren’t real.” He rolls his eyes and laughs as if he made some sort of joke, and before you can even begin to process just what exactly is happening, the man leans down and presses his lips against yours. When he pulls away, he stares into your eyes and says softly, “But the fact that you look so beautiful this early in the morning is upsetting… yet amazing.”

Your brain short-circuits at that and you jump back from him in shock. You have to take a moment to look around, to look at literally anything or anyone but the man that just kissed you as a greeting, to stop your face from heating up even more and your heart from jumping out of your chest. The crowd that had first gathered around the booth had already dispersed during your brief interaction, people walking around you and only stopping to glance when you jumped back.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize, although exactly what you’re apologizing for you have no idea. “But have we… met before?” Or done something more than just meet and somehow I experienced amnesia right after, you think to yourself, your lips still tingling from when they were pressed against his.

The man in front of you pulls out a journal and you’re taken aback at how it just seemed to appear out of nowhere. As he’s flipping through the pages, you stare at the purple cover and wonder where exactly he was hiding it before. He glances up at you and stops turning the pages when he sees you just staring at him, as if he expects you to be doing something as well. 

After a few seconds of the two of you just staring at each other, him in expectancy and you in utter confusion, he lets out a sigh. “What year is it on this planet? Where even are we? Planet Busan, correct?” he asks, hand poised over the pages as he awaits your answer.

At this point, you’re just convinced that this guy is crazy and you’re witnessing some sort of psychotic episode. Once you manage to get yourself out of this situation, you’ll definitely need to contact someone about him. But for now, you’ll play along. “Yeah, we’re on Planet Busan. It’s AFI-283,” you answer, eyebrows raising when he immediately begins thumbing through the pages.

His eyes flicker back and forth as he skims whatever is written down before finally stopping somewhere in the middle of the journal. You watch as his eyes widen before looking up at you and then back down at the journal. He lets out a little stunned “huh” before pursing his lips and closing the book. He takes a step closer to you as his eyes meet yours, and you can’t help but wonder if he’s analyzing you or something because of how hard he’s staring at you. Who is this guy?

“So you don’t know me?” the man questions and you have to resist the urge to roll your eyes. That’s all he got out of this?

“Am I supposed to?” you retort as you cross your arms over your chest, getting a bit impatient at this man’s behavior. You just need to find the right time to slip away and-

“Well not to brag or anything but I am a pretty famous time traveler,” he informs you, interrupting your train of thought at the mention of the words ‘time traveler’. When he sees you perk up at the end of his sentence, he smirks and does a little bow for you. “Kim Seokjin at your service, madame.”

Your eyes widen upon hearing his name. “You’re Kim Seokjin?” you ask, partly in awe but also partly in disbelief. 

Everyone who’s anyone knows about Kim Seokjin; he’s one of the most famous time travelers throughout the universe, and the fact that you’ve heard about him since you were young and now he’s standing in front of you looking as young as ever really says a lot. Namely, this guy is good—like, really good. So good in fact that it made you kind of dislike the guy the more you heard his name. When you first completed your training to become a time traveler on your home planet of Earth, you had been so excited for what the universe had to offer. Diplomatic meetings, running from space monsters, traveling in your very own spaceship; you wanted it all. And as the top of your class in your space academy, you thought you could have it. But any time you did something, it was always “Oh well, did you hear that Kim Seokjin saved an entire planet from being eaten by a Weblum last week?” and “Good ol’ Seokjin’s already done that, gonna have to do something more impressive.” Seokjin this, Seokjin that. They always compared your results to his rather than being happy that you’re the first student in nearly 50 years to even come close to results like his. And now here you are, on a random planet meeting the one person you’re always compared to, and he’s stumbled out of a-

“What even is that?” you ask, pointing to the metal booth that he stepped out of only minutes ago. “I don’t think that that time machine is a standard issue.”

“Have you never seen a coin noraebang before?” he questions you in response, looking taken aback when you shake your head. “Seriously? You’ve never done karaoke with your friends at the arcade or anything? Popped in just to sing that one song that’s been stuck in your head all day?” You shake your head once more and he sighs. “You’re making me feel really old right now. Why don’t I just show you?”

He steps aside and offers to let you take the lead, the door to his ‘noraebang’ wide open but you can’t see anything at all except for darkness and a few blinking lights. Your eyes go back and forth between the machine and him, wondering if you should just make a run for it at this point. After everything you’ve heard about Kim Seokjin, you wish you had learned that he’s probably crazy. 

“You’re kidding, right?” you scoff as you gesture to the machine. “This thing barely looks like it fits you, how the hell is it supposed to fit the two of us?”

He places one foot over the threshold, both hands braced on the door frame on either side of him, and looks down at you curiously. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N); valedictorian of the class of 2193 at the Earth Space Academy, rookie time traveler but already making a name for yourself, and fluent in 17 languages on planet Earth alone. All of that and you can’t understand the basic concepts of wibbly wobbly, time-y wime-y stuff?”

“Of what?” you laugh. You notice his ears go red and can’t help but feel a bit endeared at his embarrassment. 

“Just get in here, will you,” he groans before entering the darkness. His hand pops out when you don’t immediately follow, shaking insistently at you, and you let out a reluctant sigh before grabbing it and allowing him to pull you inside.

You brace yourself as you step inside, fully expecting to slam right into him, but you’re met with nothing but air. When you open your eyes, you’re standing in a giant control room, buttons and levers surrounding multiple screens that display different universes, different angles of the noraebang, and different views of the city from where the machine sits. The ceilings are high with windows that allow the sunlight to come in and all around you are multiple doors leading to who knows where. Seokjin clears his throat after a few minutes of you staring around in awe and you jump because you had almost forgotten he was even there with you. 

“So,” he smirks as he runs a hand along one of the control panels. “Not the tiny metal booth that you thought it would be, huh?”

“I don’t understand,” you breathe out as you stretch your own hand out to run along the walls of the room. “How is this even possible? It’s- It’s bigger on the inside! This room itself is already bigger than I thought it would be but those doors-” You point to the doors around you, ignoring the look of amusement on Seokjin’s face. “Just how many rooms are there?”

He holds out a hand to you with a smile and gestures towards one of the doors on his right. “Care to take a look?”

You place your hand eagerly into his and allow him to give you a tour of his noraebang time machine. You walk through so many different rooms that it’s hard to remember what the previous one was like after you enter a new one, especially since Seokjin is telling you about different planets he’s visited and people he’s met while doing so. There are rooms for different environments and climates, rooms with animals, rooms for different time periods on different planets, normal rooms like bedrooms and bathrooms, and even a kitchen. He talks about planets completely covered by liquid nitrogen, lizard people living underground, and a purple elephant floating through space. There’s a game room, a movie theater, an observatory, a pool, and-

You hear feet scurry by behind you as Seokjin explains the physics behind the gravitational pull of Planet Haxor’s moons but when you turn around, all you see is a flash of hair and a shadow before it’s gone. Seokjin notices your distracted stare and looks at where you’re looking, but sees nothing.

“Sorry,” you apologize as you force your gaze away from the doorway across the hall and back to him. “I thought I saw something. Are you the only one in here? There’s no one else?”

He’s about to answer when you hear a dull thud and what you think sounds like a whispered “shit!” and you can’t help but edge closer to him. Seokjin laughs at the noise, but he sounds a bit nervous as he explains, “Oh that’s just my Flerken, that darned thing! I don’t know where she learned those bad words from. Anyways, that’s the end of the tour!” He ushers you out of the room and back to the main control room, his footsteps quick, and you wonder just what exactly he’s hiding. And who or what that was that you heard because you know for a fact that Flerkens can’t talk. “So what do you think?”

“What do I think?” you ask in response, your hands gesturing around vaguely as you look around the vast room once more. “I think that this is the weirdest day I’ve ever had and you’re probably the most insane but interesting person that I’ve ever met.”

Seokjin ponders over your words for a moment before shrugging. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyways, I was thinking that maybe we could-” A loud beeping noise interrupts him, numbers and symbols that you don’t recognize appearing on a screen that cause him to panic and jump into action. “Gonna need a rain check, I have to go. Gotta take care of some of that time-y wime-y stuff I was telling you about,” he explains as he’s pushing buttons and turning knobs. He waves his arm towards the doors and they open, revealing the bustling city sidewalk that you had been standing on- How long ago was it? An hour ago? A few minutes? It seemed like time had stopped the second you stepped foot into the noraebang. 

The time traveler all but shoos you out when he sees you lingering in his control room and he’s about to close the door on you when you block it with your hand. “One more question,” you say, hoping that he’ll oblige you. “I’m 100% certain that we’ve never met before so how do you know my name?”

He seems taken aback at the question but then a smirk appears on his face, one that you’ve become all too familiar with even though you’ve just met. “Spoilers,” he teases you as he brings a finger up to his lips before shutting the doors.

There’s a whirring sound and you step back from the machine, watching as a light begins to engulf it that grows brighter and brighter, so bright that you have to shield your eyes. There’s a whoosh! and when you look, Seokjin and his time machine are gone.

ii. daechwita mountains on the yoon planet in the year of 9-T-41

You watch with a frown as the acid snow and gigantic crystals continue to fall from the sky, mentally cursing your curious nature that led to you being stuck in a cave for the night. At least, you hope that it’s only for the night. You had been flying home after another successful mission when you realized that today was the day where all 5 of the Yoon Planet’s moons would line up for a quintuple lunar eclipse. You of course couldn’t miss out on this opportunity and thought that a little pit stop wouldn’t delay your plans too much. You were wrong obviously. And now here you are, in a cave on the top of one of the Daechwita Mountains, with only a jacket, the keys to your ship, three granola bars, and a half empty bottle of water. Just great. Leaning against the wall, you close your eyes and pray for a miracle. You don’t know exactly what but that’s the point, isn’t it? You’re not supposed to know until they happen?

As you begin to accept the reality of the situation, you let your mind wander to get yourself to calm down and your thoughts begin to drift towards a certain time traveler that you first met a few months ago. A certain, very confusing time traveler that is; with pretty brown eyes, the most infectious laugh you’ve ever heard, and-

Wait what, you interrupt yourself, physically shaking your head to get yourself to stop thinking… whatever it was that you were thinking. 

Back to Seokjin. You think that the universe must be playing some sort of trick on you now because ever since your first meeting, you seem to be running into the guy everywhere you go. The second time the two of you met, he had had no recollection of giving you a tour of his noraebang time machine. You had thought he was twisting your leg or something but when he informed you that he’s never even owned a Flerken before, you decided to just drop the subject. The more you ran into each other, the weirder Seokjin would get. Sometimes he would recall your previous meetings and his personality would be similar to the first time you met him; flirty, completely comfortable around you, and a bit loud and obnoxious. Other times, he would only recall a select few and his personality would be similar to the second time you met him; awkward, shy, and seems like he has no idea what he’s doing ever. Just as you were starting to wonder how long he was going to keep this charade going, he somehow found the answer to your unspoken question.

“Opposite timelines,” he said to you in lieu of a greeting, not bothering to explain further as he walked beside you in the busy marketplace. 

You struggled to keep up with him as you dodged and weaved around people and you watched as he plucked a purple book off of one of the stands, paid for it, and then handed it over to you. You looked down at the book in his hands and then up at him, waiting for some sort of explanation. You think he purposefully doesn’t elaborate on things for the dramatic effect, which is so very like him. He took your hand and placed the book in it before continuing to walk, this time making sure that you’re keeping up with him so that you heard what he was saying.

“Imagine two lines going in opposite directions,” he started off, trying his best to give you a simplified explanation because he knows that, even for a time traveler, sometimes this kind of stuff isn’t the easiest to understand. “Sometimes, the lines will intersect. Sometimes, one line will do a loop and circle back and intersect with the other line towards its beginning. That line is still going forward in time but in the context of the other line, it’s in the past. Does that make sense?”

You nodded along and looked down at the notebook, surprised to find that it had the exact same cover as the one that Seokjin pulled out when you first met him. You were about to ask him about it but refrained from doing so. If what he said is true and the two of you really do have opposite timelines, you could potentially cause problems if you brought up something specific that he doesn’t know about. “So what’s this for then?” you asked instead, gesturing to the book in your hands. 

“That is for you to keep track of each and every time that we meet,” he answered. “Make sure that it’s in your chronological order. That way, whenever it is that we meet again, we can compare journals and see where we are in each other’s timeline and it’ll help us know what not to talk about. Time has never been too fond of spoilers.”

It still makes your head hurt a bit whenever you think about it, but it has come in handy ever since he gave it to you. And you find that you do quite enjoy thinking about your adventures with Jin a lot—and thinking about Jin in general. The man practically lives in your mind rent free at this point with how often you think about him, it’s starting to get a bit ridiculous. But you know that it would never work out anyways. Aside from the whole opposite timelines thing, you can’t remember the last time you’ve heard about Jin returning to Earth. He’s always jumping off cliffs and running from planetary authorities but you? You have your family to think about, your job is what’s getting your brother through college right now. You have responsibilities, people who depend on you, a reputation to maintain. Jin would never understand.

You jump as a particularly large crystal hits the ground outside, shattering into smaller pieces with a deafening crack. And although the sudden sound is what initially makes you jump, it’s the scream accompanying it from outside that causes fear to flood your entire body. You watch as a figure enters the cave and approaches you, and you shakily hold up your water bottle in what you hope is a threatening position, praying that they mistake it for a weapon of some kind. They shine their flashlight in your face and you panic as you lose sight of them due to the blinding light, and you’re about to begin just thrashing around wildly to ward them off when you hear a familiar voice call out, “(Y/N)?”

You lower your water bottle as they lower their flashlight, and as your eyes adjust, you let out a sigh when you see that it’s just Seokjin. Wait- “Seokjin? What the hell are you doing here?” you ask incredulously. Out of all places for him to turn up…

“I could ask you the same question,” he answers as he gestures to your supplies, or lack thereof you should say. “Are you trying to die here or something? You don’t even have a full bottle of water.”

Seokjin sits beside you and puts a blanket around the two of you that he pulled from his backpack, and you don’t even feel any shame as you scoot closer to him, his body heat too tempting. “I stopped by after a mission because it’s the only time I could see the lunar eclipse,” you explain. “I didn’t bother checking the weather and before I knew it, the storm came and this was the only place I could go to for shelter.”

“You do realize you’re a time traveler, right?” Seokjin teases you, smiling as he takes the granola bar that you offer to him. “You could just look up all of the dates that Yoon has had a quintuple lunar eclipse and choose one to go to.”

“No unauthorized time traveling, remember?” you point out, wondering just how long it’s actually been since Seokjin graduated for him to already be forgetting the academy’s most basic rules. “They put trackers on our ships.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” he muses before crumpling up the wrapper in his hands and tossing it aside. “Guess that’s what happens when you become a time rogue and all-”

“Wait a second,” you interrupt him. Did he really just say what you think he said? “Did you just say that you’re a time rogue?”

He blinks at you slowly as if waiting for you to start laughing and tell him that you were joking. Instead, you stare directly back at him, the expression on your face still the same as you wait for him to tell you that he’s joking. That he wasn’t serious about being a wanted criminal because he’s broken at least one of the Universal Laws of Time and Space. 

“Yes, that’s what I said,” he answers. “Since around the time you graduated from the academy, I think. Last I heard, they’ve still been sending out emails about me and the incorrect anonymous tips that they get about my last known locations.”

“I haven’t checked my email since I became a traveler,” you admit sheepishly. “I just report back after a mission and then wait for Captain Namjoon to give me a new assignment.”

“Captain Kim Namjoon?” Seokjin asks and you look at him out of the corner of your eye.

“...Yes, Captain Kim Namjoon. Why?”

“That bastard,” he mutters before chuckling to himself. When you look over at him, he’s staring out into the storm and even though he’s right next to you, his gaze looks very far away. “I always knew he was cut out to be a captain. Never believed me though.”

You don’t say anything, knowing that he’s not talking to you, simply content to just sit beside him and watch the storm outside rage on. He begins to hum and as your eyes begin to close, you wonder if it’s one of those songs he would sing at karaoke with his friends before you fall asleep.

While you’re fast asleep on his shoulder, Jin grants himself the luxury of staring at you. You look so relaxed, so open, nothing like you are when you’re awake. He wishes he could save you, whisk you off to some faraway galaxy in his time machine where no one would ever find you. But he knows that that’s too good to be true. He knows your fate, has seen it with his own eyes, and he can’t mess with time, no matter how much he wants to. So he’ll give himself these few hours of your company while he waits for the storm to pass, let himself savor your presence before the guilt takes over. He just hopes that you can find it within yourself to forgive him for leaving you once more.

iii. orbiting around star bt21 in the vantae galaxy, year unknown

You grimace as you swallow the caffeine pill, hoping that it’ll kick in soon otherwise you’ll be falling asleep during this upcoming meeting. You mentally curse Namjoon for forcing you to fly all the way out to Planet Mang on one of your rare days off, wanting nothing more than to just turn around and fly back home so you can crawl back into bed. But no, you “have a job to do” and if you don’t go, you’ll “make the Space Academy look bad”. Whatever that means. You’re just one out of the five time travelers going to represent Earth, you don’t think it would be that bad if you didn’t show up. Namjoon didn’t like it when you brought this up though and threatened to bench you for the few upcoming missions, so you shut your mouth very quickly after that.

As you’re passing through Vantae Galaxy, you spot a familiar floating metal booth orbiting around the BT21 star. Now that you know that Seokjin’s a time rogue, you figure that he’s just been traveling all of time and space to see whatever sites he’d like to see but you didn’t take him for an average tourist. Everyone who’s anyone from the Space Academy knows that the popular star isn’t really worth the travel time that it takes to get there. But upon closer inspection, you see that it looks like the time machine isn’t even… on. As this discovery processes in your brain, you watch it float through space for a brief second before immediately jumping into action, grabbing your helmet and getting your ship as close as you can to Seokjin’s noraebang. 

Clinging on to the outside of your ship, you slowly make your way towards the door, hooking your ship up to Seokjin’s so that it doesn’t float away. You open the doors and place a foot on to the threshold, the machine’s artificial gravity taking effect as you step inside. You’re immediately hit by the cold that seems to have taken over the entire main control room, frost covering every surface and icicles even hanging from the ceiling. The entire machine seems to have powered down and you’re about to call out Seokjin’s name when you hear a thump from the other side of the circular control panel. You approach hesitantly, nervous for what you might find on the other side, but let out a breath of relief when you see that it’s just Seokjin.

But then you immediately begin to panic when you see that the thump was from him slumping over on to the floor. Running over to him, you frantically begin to shake him awake, hugging his body close to yours to give him some semblance of heat. “Jin,” you call out loudly as his head lolls on to your shoulder. “Seokjin, wake up!”

When nothing seems to be working, you heave him up with a grunt, tossing one of his arms over your shoulder before lugging him over to the doors. But as you pull on the handle, it doesn’t budge. You inspect the hinges and the edges for any ice or frost but find none. You pull on the door a couple of more times, panic beginning to rise as it resists. You set Seokjin down, leaning him against the wall, and take a deep breath. You look at your surroundings and then back at the man below you, hoping that some sort of idea will come to you. But nothing does.

You walk over to the control panel and begin looking over every button, hoping that maybe there’s just an “ON” button that you haven’t seen. As you’re desperately scanning the control panel for any sort of answer, you can’t help but think back to a conversation you had with Seokjin regarding his noraebang. He had been rambling on about some crystal that he found in the crust of one of Jupiter’s moons when he caught you leaning against the control panel. 

“Don’t lean against that!” he exclaimed, rushing over to shoo you away. “Jeongguk is sensitive, he doesn’t like when people do that.”

You spun in a circle after he said, looking around for this Jeongguk that he mentioned. Perhaps it was that person (or that Flerken, you should say) that you saw the first time Jin showed you his time machine? But you found yourselves completely alone. “Who’s Jeongguk?” you asked, knowing that he wouldn’t give you any sort of explanation unless you did.

“My noraebang,” he said as if it was obvious. “I named him Jeongguk. Does your ship not have a name?”

Is he being serious right now? you asked yourself as you stared at him and with the way that he went back to casually cleaning, you could only assume that he was. “No because it’s a machine, not a living thing.”

Jin gasped at that, pressing a hand up to the wide glass column that the circular control panel surrounds. “How dare you say that!” he said, eyes accusatory as he glared at you. He rubbed his hand along the glass, as if comforting the time machine as he cooed, “Don’t worry, Jeonggukkie, she’s just in a bad mood today is all. Of course she knows you’re alive.”

I’m friends with a crazy person.

Looking back on it even now, you still don’t believe that Seokjin’s time machine is “alive” like he said it is. But you’re desperate and Jin is starting to look paler by the minute so-

“Jeongguk please,” you whisper, your hand pressed against the glass as you stare at it. You don’t know what you expect to see and even if the time machine is alive, you don’t even know where its eyes could possibly be. “Please wake up.”

You look around but nothing seems to change. You run over to Jin and hold a finger up under his nose, your heart beginning to race when you feel his breaths become shallower and spaced out even more. “Jeongguk, wake up!” you yell out, your voice echoing around the large space. “Seokjin’s in trouble, please, you have to help him! I don’t know any of the controls, I don’t know how to do anything. So please you have to wake up, you have to save him!”

Nothing.

Sinking down to the floor, you feel tears prick at your eyes as you pull Jin closer to you. You shrug off your jacket and wrap it around him, the harsh cold immediately hitting you and causing you to shiver. Jin’s eyes open just the tiniest bit, his voice soft as he whispers, “(Y/N)? What are you doing?”

You just shake your head and wrap your arms around him, closing your eyes as you pray for some sort of miracle. All of a sudden, you hear a soft whirring sound and when you pick your head up, you see some lights on the control panel begin to flicker. With bated breath, you watch as the noraebang starts to come back to life and it feels like your soul leaves your body when you feel a blast of heat coming from the vent behind you. You quickly tug Seokjin off of the floor and carry him to the first bedroom that you find, tucking him in before finding a chair and a blanket for yourself. 

As you hold one of Seokjin’s hands between yours, you suddenly remember the diplomatic meeting you were supposed to be at. To hell with them, you think. One of your friends almost died, you think Namjoon will find it in him to understand. Your eyes trace over every feature of his face as he sleeps, and you once again struggle to push down the fondness and relief that you feel as you watch him. You know that this probably isn’t a good idea, letting yourself indulge in him in the way that you are. But just this once; just this one time you’ll allow yourself this.

You don’t remember falling asleep at Jin’s bedside but when you wake up, you find yourself seated in your ship. You wrack your brain but the memories of what just happened are a bit fuzzy. Even the feeling of the biting cold against your skin is fading.

Was it all a dream?

iv. in a bar on planet earth in the year 3004

The alcohol burns your throat as you swallow but you welcome the feeling, the dark cloud that’s been following you around all day finally beginning to clear up (figuratively of course, not to be confused with the actual dark cloud that was following you on Planet Gwangju). Nothing seemed to be going right that day, absolutely nothing had gone in your favor, so rather than go home and sleep off the long  day as you usually do, you decided to go to the one bar that seems to stay in business no matter what year it is. There’s a couple on stage singing along to an old song (ancient’s more like it, you think the DJ said it was from 2091) but you ignore their off-key yelling in favor of waving down the bartender. 

“Another, please,” you say, not even looking in his direction as you scan your watch to pay for your drink. 

“You know, there is such a thing as an open tab,” the bartender says wryly as he mixes your drink. “I know that it’s an ancient concept but it still works pretty well.”

You roll your eyes before finally making eye contact with Yoongi, the both of you smiling at each other the second your eyes meet. That’s the other thing that doesn’t change about this bar, it’s always had your same favorite AI bartender. He was a bit confused at first as to whether or not you were also an AI because apparently the first time he met you was in 2398 but when you became of age and found the place with your friends from the academy, it was 2192 and you looked a lot younger than the first time. You explained to him that you were a time traveler so he must have met the future version of you and after a bit more explaining, he concluded that you were not in fact a fellow AI. So now whenever you come into the bar, always at the same time of night, Yoongi welcomes you with his classic small but fond smile, not even asking what you’d like to drink because he already knows. 

“I have self-control, Yoon,” you scoff as you grab the drink that he places in front of you. “I don’t have an open tab because I don’t need one. I’m going to stop drinking soon.”

“Yeah well that frown on your face and faraway look in your eyes tells me otherwise,” Yoongi points out. Before you can respond though, another person calls him over and he walks away without a word.

“I don’t have a frown on my face,” you mutter to yourself before looking up at the mirror placed behind all of the alcohol bottles at the bar only to find that you do indeed have a frown on your face. 

You sigh as you look away, eyes roaming over the people seated as well as on the dance floor, and you can’t help but feel a bit disgusted at the fact that the majority of them are couples. Usually you don’t even pay attention to that kind thing but you know exactly why you are right now. It’s the same reason you’ve been sad this entire week, the same reason you’ve started to question the Space Academy, the same reason your heart beats faster and butterflies appear in your stomach: Kim Seokjin. Since you saved him in the Vantae Galaxy about two months ago (which you now know to be real because you can’t find that jacket anywhere so it must be in his noraebang), you haven’t seen nor heard from him. No “thank you for saving my life”, no “hey sorry for leaving you literally every single time we meet”, not even a “who are you, have we met before?” You’d rather take a clueless, younger Seokjin than absolute radio silence. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see two large figures approaching you and heave out another sigh. You’re in no mood to be hit on or even threatened right now so you reach for the knife hidden in your jacket, but just as your hand touches the handle, an arm wraps around your waist and an annoyingly familiar voice exclaims quite loudly, “There you are, sweetheart. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

You look up and who do you see but none other than Jin in the flesh. His ears are bright red to match the color on his neck, and he takes no notice in you staring at his drunken figure as he glares at the two men while they hastily retreat. “Okay they’re gone,” you mutter when you see no sign of them, your voice a bit venomous as you push him away from you. “You can stop touching me now.”

There’s a look of vague surprise on his face when you push him away followed by resignation but it’s quickly followed up by a warm smile. You don’t know how he does it. “It’s great to see you, (Y/N)! How long has it been? Do you have your journal on-”

“Vantae Galaxy at the BT21 star,” you interrupt him to answer his unasked question. You don’t even need your journal anymore. You know your timeline to a T now; every single encounter with Seokjin, down to the planet and the year. “That’s the last time I saw you.”

His eyes widen at that and you pretend not to be hurt when he schools his features back to his happy-go-lucky personality. “Ah yes! The BT21 star, a marvelous star really. A bit tourist-y but you know, it wouldn’t be a popular tourist attraction if it wasn’t good.”

You only nod at his words, downing half of your drink to get rid of the bitter taste in your mouth. You make eye contact with Yoongi across the bar and you watch as he slightly tilts his head in Jin’s direction, and you silently laugh before subtly shaking your head. It’s nice of him to offer to save you, and part of you wants to take the offer, but you don’t need it. Not yet anyways. 

“So,” you say to break the awkward silence, and you almost laugh at the way Jin jumps slightly in his seat, as if he wasn’t expecting you to talk to him. If you were him, you’d be surprised too with how coldly you’re treating him. “Why are you here?”

You order more drinks for the two of you as he tells you some story about a haunted dollhouse, an adopted alien orphan, demon dolls, and unknowing human parents. The alcohol seems to make him more animated and a lot louder as he talks, but the warm feeling that you get remains in your stomach as all of your anger slowly dissipates. You can’t find it in yourself to stay mad at him at this moment. His eyes are shining, his laughter is infectious, and he’s looking at you like you’re the only person in the room. You don’t even notice when he stops talking but you definitely do notice when he rushes forward and kisses you right on the mouth.

His lips are soft, a bit chapped, but you welcome the feeling; well as much as you can when you’re frozen in shock. He pulls away when you don’t kiss him back, his eyes as big as saucers while his mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. “I- I’m so sorry, oh my god- I don’t know what- oh shit-” he stammers out but you’re barely listening as you bring your fingers up to your lips because you know that the tingling you feel in them is definitely not from the alcohol.

You look up and Seokjin is still stuttering out apologies, his entire upper torso (from what you can see of it) red from both intoxication and embarrassment at what he just did. He’s so absorbed in trying to apologize that he doesn’t even notice you lean towards him until you’re practically nose to nose. He breathes out a, “What-”

And then you kiss him right on the mouth. You place a hand on his chest as you kiss him and he raises up two shaking hands to gently cup your face, and you smile against his lips when you hear him take a shuddering inhale through his nose. His hands slide down your neck, across your shoulders, to your back and you feel yourself practically melt when he pulls your body closer to his. Your hand fists at the fabric of his shirt and you’re about to step closer to him when he pulls away. Seokjin’s pupils are blown wide and he’s panting as he stares down at you like you just showed him all of the secrets of the universe.

“I- We-We’re in public, we shouldn’t-” he stutters out breathily, looking around as if to make sure no one is staring. Not that you could find it in yourself to care right now with the combination of adrenaline and alcohol running through your veins.

“This one’s on the house if the two of you leave after,” Yoongi mutters as he slides two more shots to you. “Can’t have you disgusting lovebirds ruining my bar like this.” Yoongi’s voice sounds disgusted but you can see the amusement in his eyes as he hands you an opportunity on a silver platter.

You throw the shot back and look at Jin who’s still looking at you like you’re a completely different person. “I know exactly where we can go,” you say with a wide smile. You lean closer and smirk at the man in front of you. “For some privacy, that is.”

Seokjin throws the shot back. “Lead the way.”

You’re not sure what exactly it is that wakes you up—the sunlight coming in through the crack in the curtains, your sore body, or the draft entering your cocoon of blankets—but you know that the pounding headache you’re experiencing definitely has something to do with it. You hear the clanking of metal and turn your head, eyes closing once more when you see that it’s just Seokjin putting his pants on.

Wait-

Your eyes fly open and you pick your head up when you realize that Seokjin is putting his clothes on in your hotel room. Every muscle and bone in your body protests as you slowly sit up and you see Jin’s movement stop when he notices that you’re awake. Your gaze meets his and you feel your stomach drop because the look in his eyes is so unfamiliar to you, you can’t gage what he’s feeling at all. You look at his wrinkled shirt, the pants that are only half on, and his bedhead as the events from last night slowly start coming back to you. 

“I know exactly where we can go for some privacy.”

Oh shit.

“Good morning,” he finally greets you as he slowly pulls his pants up over his thighs. “I didn’t think you were awake. Did you sleep well?”

“Where are you going?” you ask, completely ignoring everything he just said. You know exactly what’s about to happen and you wish you didn’t because then maybe you wouldn’t have to be fighting the urge to cry right now.

“Oh uh, I have an important meeting to get to that I forgot about,” Seokjin answers. His voice is a bit higher and wavers a bit at the end and you wish he would just tell you the truth for once.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you,” you say, more of a statement than a question. And he knows exactly what you mean because he doesn’t answer, only continues to fiddle with the buttons on his sleeve. “I’m not letting you leave me behind again, Seokjin.”

He freezes at that and when he looks up at you, you feel your heart crack right down the middle because of how guilty he looks. “(Y/N)-”

“I know you feel it too,” you plead. Your voice sounds so desperate but it’s because you are. You’ll do anything to try to get him to stay. Just this once. “I’ve never felt this for anyone else the way that I feel about you, Jin. So why are you running away?”

He slowly begins to back away and you jump out of bed with the blanket held tightly to your chest. “(Y/N), please, don’t make this harder for me than it needs to be,” he requests, his voice pained though his eyes never leave you.

“It doesn’t have to be hard at all!” you argue, unable to keep your voice at a normal volume as you feel yourself growing more and more frustrated and more and more desperate. “Just stay. Here. With me. Why do you insist on leaving me?”

Jin grimaces at your question as he reaches behind him and slowly turns the door handle. “I guess it’s just what I do. Spoilers,” he shrugs and the way he just casually says that makes you want to throw up blood.

The door shuts behind him and you’re left standing in the middle of your hotel room. There are tears in your eyes, your head is pounding, and there’s only a thin blanket covering your naked body but you still run towards the door and throw it open. “Jin!” you yell out, but when you look down both sides of the hallway, he’s nowhere to be found.

v. koya prison in the year RJ-17

Thirty minutes have gone by and you’re still clueless as to what the hell is going on around you. The prison guards don’t even try to understand what you’re saying, all of the other inmates are either fighting or laughing with each other, and the guy that was taken in for questioning has been gone for fifteen of those minutes. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea to help out a bunch of vigilantes but what can you say? You root for the underdog. You walk over to one of the guys that was leading the group, kicking his leg and disturbing him of the nap he seemed to think was an excellent idea to be taking right now.

“Hey, what the fuck’s going on?” you ask harshly, frustrated at the fact that you literally couldn’t understand the language of the majority of the people around you. You pride yourself on knowing a number of languages known across multiple galaxies, but of course you happen to land in a prison where none of that matters. This usually wouldn’t be a problem if you were wearing your watch, which is able to translate what others say to you and vice versa, but of course, they confiscated that as soon as you were admitted.

“My buddy’s in there getting interrogated right now,” he answers gruffly while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “But don’t worry, he knows what to do. We’ve trained for situations like this, he’ll get us out. Nobody’s getting executed today.”

“Executed?” you shriek, causing some people to turn around and look over at you. You smile weakly at them before crouching down so that you’re face-to-face with the guy, and you’re sure that the panic that you’re feeling right now is very evident. “Nobody said anything about getting executed.”

He gives you a look of disdain, and if you weren’t in such a tight spot, you’d probably feel offended. Part of you still does. “We led a failed revolution to overthrow a government, what did you think was going to happen? They’d keep us here for the night and then give us a slap on the wrist before letting us go?”

Before you can even begin to think of a response, the man who was being interrogated is returned to the cell and says something to everybody that causes them to cheer. They all begin to gather towards the door and you follow suit, assuming that this means that their plan worked and you’re all free to go. But when he sees you making your way with the rest of them, he roughly pushes you back with a shake of his head.

“What are you doing?” you demand as you try to get around him, but he just continues to block your path. “Stop playing around, let’s leave.”

He says something to the other guy that you don’t understand and watch as they slowly begin to leave, their eyes never leaving you. “So he managed to negotiate with the warden like I said. But the only way we’re allowed to go free is if you stay and get executed in our place, Holy Leader.”

“‘Holy Leader’?” you repeat. “What the fuck are you talking about? We did not agree on this, you guys are the ones who came up with this whole thing, I just offered to help!” You run forward to stop them but before you could even try to pull them back inside, they slam the cell door shut right in front of your face.

The actual leader just smirks at you, the prison guards none the wiser as to what’s going on. “While I’d love to help, I’d love to see my family even more. Rest in peace.”

You shake the bars of the cell door as they walk away, yelling and cursing at them until they’ve turned the corner at the end of the hallway. Panic rises in your chest and everything you’ve ever learned is suddenly gone from your head. You have absolutely no idea what to do. Nobody knows that you’re there, you have no means of escape, and not a single person in this entire prison understands you when you speak.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of this.

The door opens and two prison guards make their way into the cell, grabbing you under your arms and dragging you out into the hallway. “Where are you taking me?” you shriek as you try to fight them off. You wriggle around in their grip but it’s no use, they’re too strong. “Where are you taking me? Please, you’ve got the wrong person! I didn’t know, please! Contact the Space Academy, ask for Captain Kim Namjoon, he’ll explain everything! Let me go!”

There are tears streaming down your face as you continue to struggle but you know that it’s no use. This is the end for you. You let your head hang as you finally give up, letting the guards drag your practically lifeless body through the halls towards wherever it is that they’re taking you. Sunlight comes in through the windows and when you look out, you see a stage out in a courtyard, a singular chair in the center of it. Even from here you can see the dried blood on it, and you struggle to keep yourself from throwing up.

Suddenly, you hear a familiar laugh and you don’t think you’ve been more relieved or happy to hear his laugh than in this moment. You look up and see Seokjin walking along with the prison warden, a wide smile on his face as he converses with her. “Jin!” you call out and immediately his eyes meet yours. “Seokjin! Help me! Tell them it’s all a big misunderstanding!”

His head tilts to the side a bit as he looks at you in confusion, and when he comes closer to you, you don’t see even the tiniest bit of recognition in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but how do you know my name?” he asks, and the feeling of horror that consumes you is overwhelming. “I don’t think we’ve ever met before.”

The warden ushers Jin ahead, saying, “Don’t waste your time talking to the prisoners, Mr. Kim, especially this one. She is to be executed today for leading a revolution against the Cree.”

You can’t even bring yourself to say anything more, exhaustion taking over your entire body at the revelation that there is truly no way out. Because of course, out of all times for Seokjin to not know who you are, out of all times in the past month that you wished he didn’t know you ever since he left you, this is the one time you need him the most. The guards drag you through the courtyard and secure you to the chair, the stench of blood and other bodily fluids making you almost gag. The stands begin to fill and you watch in horror as right in front of you, the warden escorts Seokjin into her private booth. His eyes are unfamiliar as he looks down at you and any feeling that you have left leaves your body.

You close your eyes and await your fate, not sure how long you would have to wait for the show to start. You pray to all of the gods and deities across the cosmos that they watch over your family, that Captain Namjoon isn’t too mad at you for getting yourself executed, and that wherever Seokjin is—your Jin—he’s safe. The warden’s voice bellows out across the courtyard as she announces something that you don’t understand, the whoops and hollers of the audience that follows almost deafening. Heavy footsteps approach you but you keep your eyes shut; the panic that’s bubbling up will only get worse if you meet your death head on. 

The courtyard goes silent and a single tear escapes as you hold your breath in anticipation, but a loud bang startles it right out of you. When you open your eyes, there’s smoke everywhere and absolute chaos as fires rage around you. There’s yelling and a stampede of footsteps as everyone scatters, completely ignoring you in your helpless state as you struggle to release yourself of the cuffs that hold you down. A hand reaches out and you try your best to move away from them, thinking that it must be the executioner still trying to do their job.

But even amongst the frenzied crowd with their yelling and the gunshots that you can hear all around you, there’s a voice that’s bright as day, one that you would recognize no matter what: “It’s just me, sweetheart. I’m here.”

You turn your head to find Jin frantically working at the cuffs around your wrist, too concentrated on freeing you that he doesn’t even notice you staring. This isn’t the Seokjin that you saw up in the stands. No, this is Jin, your Jin, the man you thought you would never see again, the man you would gladly let shatter your heart into pieces if it meant you got to spend one more day with him. He’s there, at your side, to rescue you.

“Wh-What are you doing here?” you breathe out, too overwhelmed by everything that’s going on around you to speak up. “How are you-”

“I’m tired of leaving you behind,” he answers, not even looking at you as he finally frees your wrists and begins to work on the cuffs around your ankles. “The first time I met you, I watched you die right in front of me. And I had to live with that, knowing your fate every time I met you after.”

Jin pulls you up out of the chair and pulls you close to him, both of his hands taking yours as he looks into your eyes. “I couldn’t just let the girl that I fell in love with die. Maybe that’s selfish of me, but I’m tired of running away. The only running I want to do is with you.”

At that, you feel yourself begin to float off the ground, and you let out a startled laugh when you see that the two of you are in fact rising up. Jin points above you with a grin and you look up to see his noraebang with a gravitation beam pointed at the two of you. Nobody notices as the two of you escape and above all of the fire and smoke, you see soldiers and prisoners alike fighting off the prison guards. 

“Who are all of these people?” you ask, not recognizing the armor that they wear or the emblems that they display.

“I called in a few friends, cashed in some favors,” he shrugs and although his words sound nonchalant, the smile on his face is as bright as the sun itself. “Had to get the very best if I was going to save you.”

As you get closer and closer to the noraebang, you hear Jin’s voice from down below, and you see the Seokjin that was up on the stands with the warden fighting off the soldiers, shirt torn and blood streaked across his face as he escorts people to safety. And it’s only then that you realize the gravity of the situation.

“Wait,” you say while placing a hand on his chest. “Jin, you can’t do this. You just- You changed my timeline, you came back to the past to rescue me. That breaks like every single time rule that exists in every galaxy. Everyone will be after us. Time itself will be after us. We can’t run away from time.”

Jin’s eyes look determined as he looks at you, one hand grabbing hold of the door to his time machine to pull himself up. “We’re time travelers,” he laughs as he pulls you in with him. “Isn’t that what we do?”

vi. flying through outer space, galaxy and year unknown

“I’m starting to believe that you being at the top of your class was a lie,” Jin snickers as he looks through your journal. “Are you still not understanding it?”

“Well when you use words like ‘time-y wime-y’, it’s a bit hard,” you grind out, trying to recall what meeting with Seokjin in your past could have triggered your alternate timeline.

After escaping from Koya Prison, the first thing on your agenda before traversing the cosmos while simultaneously running from every single authority out there is to ensure that your alternate timeline happens. Jin had explained that your future version of himself (or the current version of himself as he clarified but which only made you even more frustrated as you tried to understand) had to have come back to your past in order to steer you in the right direction. You think back to every instance you’ve seen him and any moment that stood out to you.

Your eyes widen when you realize and you grab your journal and Jin’s to compare them, letting out a noise of disbelief when you see one entry in yours that you don’t see in his. The one event that no version of him has ever remembered no matter how much you try to get him to recall it.

“No wonder,” you mutter before rushing over and putting in the date and coordinates of the exact location.

“‘Planet Busan’?” he reads, eyebrows furrowed as he watches you set all of the controls. “What the hell is on Planet Busan?”

The noraebang shakes around a bit as you travel through the wormhole, and the two of you stumble a bit as it lands on solid ground. You tap one of the screens to check that it’s the correct location and chuckle to yourself when you see your past self making your way through the crowd that gathered around. You push Jin towards the door with your journal and are just about to open it when he stops you.

“What, no plan?” he asks, thoroughly confused as to what could be going on inside your head. “You’re just going to throw me outside without telling me what’s going on?”

“Just trust me,” you say as you shake your head. There’s still a skeptical look on his face but you feel his shoulders deflate a bit. “Just go out there and be your usual charming self.”

You push him out the door and watch as everyone gasps when he emerges, a fond smile appearing on your face when you watch him approach you with a “Stunned to see me, sweetheart?” You walk away while he converses with the past version of yourself, looking at all of the screens to make sure that you weren’t followed by anyone. Jin’s voice gets louder and you realize that he’s bringing you inside so you dart into the other room, careful to make sure that you’re not spotted by your past self. You follow along to ensure that it’s all happening the way that you remember, part of you a bit nostalgic at seeing your younger self. You miscalculate the timing at one point and dart behind yourself, practically throwing your body into another room so as not to be seen, causing you to bump into a shelf and drop one of Jin’s many souvenirs.

“Shit!” you hiss, hand slapping over your mouth after from how loud you were.

“Oh that’s just my Flerken, that darned thing! I don’t know where she learned those bad words from. Anyways, that’s the end of the tour!” You hear Jin laugh nervously as he escorts you back to the main control room and you let out a breath that you didn’t even realize you were holding.

The alarm begins to sound and you rush back, entering the control room just as your past self exits. “A little too close for comfort, don’t you think?” Jin teases you as his hands fly over the controls. “We’ve got bigger problems though so I think that’s our cue to leave.”

He turns to you with a mischievous grin on his face, finger poised over a button as he asks, “So where to first?”

[secretlysheikah]

Fun and Games  

The third chapter of “Hide and Seek” is finally neat-o complete-o! I really hope you like this one, it gave me a bit of trouble, (mostly because my life was in shambles for most of it, but everything is fine). Sorry to leave you all hanging! I think it came out pretty well in the end.   

As always the Linked Universe was started by @jojo56830 so check them out! 

Trigger warnings: Body horror, mentions of blood

read it here on AO3

Start here:

“Run away little hero, run away while you still can! I know you have it in you, just ask those champion friends of yours!” Sky’s voice drifted after Wild as he let himself be swallowed by shadows. Sky continued to laugh and jeer at him and he desperately tried to block out the noise as he inspected the trees nearby. It was almost impossible, and his heart ached with each new insult that was shot his way, but he continued forward nonetheless.    

He wandered around the darkened trees conscious of not straying too far away even as his brain demanded he put more distance between himself and Sky. He could still hear the insults and laughter floating after him in the dark. He continued to try his best to block them out but it was proving to be a lot more difficult than he had expected. Something about hearing insults and crazed laughter coming from a person who he considered a brother hurt all the more. He took a steadying breath and focused on the task at hand as he inspected the trees for the best place to watch and rest. He thought he was getting better at blocking out Dark’s tirade when an insult that came filtering through the trees made him stumble over a hidden root.  

“Such a coward like the supposed champion, is unworthy of the hero’s mantle!” 

Wild swallowed hard, he knew logically that it wasn’t actually Sky throwing insults at him but that one had cut him to the quick. A part of him couldn’t help but wonder if that was what Sky really thought of him. He grit his teeth, he knew better, this wasn’t his brother, right? He stopped walking and leaned his head against a tree, forcing his racing thoughts to slow. This wasn’t Sky, it couldn’t be Sky, he took another deep breath before he started to walk again. It was just Dark using Sky’s voice that was all. But he couldn’t stop himself from feeling the sting of the words, couldn’t stop the thought from burrowing deep into the back of his mind. 

Wild took a few more moments to compose himself as he walked up to one of the larger trees he could find and inspected it thoughtfully. It looked promising, it was tall, close but not too close to the camp and the limbs were a fair distance from the ground. It would be a great place to rest for the night while also being close enough to watch Sky when or even if he left the camp in pursuit. Wild pursed his lips and thought it over? What if Sky wandered too far to see him in the gloom? He would be forced to get out of the tree to follow, then he would be vulnerable. He could stay on the ground, but he knew he wouldn’t get any rest at all if he did that. Though it would give him more freedom and better ways to evade Sky. Wild rubbed his forehead in irritation, he needed to stop doing this, he was running himself in circles yet again. He had to come to terms that there was no way he couldn’t plan for every possibility and overthinking would just get him nowhere.  

Wild let out a frustrated groan, he used to know what to do when he was on his adventure. He never used to second guess himself like this and he couldn’t fathom why he was starting now. This was not the time to be indecisive and he had to get himself together. Had traveling with a group really zapped him all his decision making skills? Before he could think anymore of it he grabbed the trunk of the tree and began his climb to the branches above.

It was tough climbing the tree, the bark was loose in some places and would come away in his hands unexpectedly causing him to scramble for a better purchase on the trunk. He could feel the slice on his back burn with the effort and his weakened arm made the climb harder than it needed to be but he continued on. After a few minutes of awkward climbing and sliding down the trunk more times then he cared to admit he finally managed to find a place to rest amongst the branches. He settled into the boughs and the leaves and took a moment to just breathe and wallow in his misery. He could still faintly hear the unhinged laughter and taunts coming from the camp in the distance and he knew it was time to set Sky free. 

Carefully he maneuvered himself so he was facing the light in the distance. From this vantage point he could see the fire flickering and the shadowy form of Sky still dangling from the tree. He judged the distance for a moment before he turned to his slate to pick the appropriate bow for the job. The screen flared to life and Wild had to blink the spots out of his vision for a moment until his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. When he was able to see again he scrolled quickly through his inventory until he got to his large array of bows. He took a moment to consider the distance once again before deciding on one of his longer ranged bows. Summoning an arrow he took careful aim as he drew back and saw that Sky was suddenly not alone. 

Wild froze and slowly lowered the bow as he squinted towards the clearing. It had to be Dark, who else could it be in this crazy place. But how did he get there? Wild hadn’t heard anything suggesting someone else had joined them in the woods. It was possible that he just hadn’t heard the subtle pop and crackle, considering he wasn’t listening for that cue just then. Though the more he thought about it there hadn’t been any strange sounds breaking the eerie silence of the woods, he was sure of it now. He took a closer look this time, really examining the shadowy figure that sat in front of Sky. It was smaller, though it was hard to judge considering it seemed to be slouching in front of the small fire. He continued to stare and for a moment he thought he could see the light of the fire flicker through the figure. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, he couldn’t tell if he was imagining things or not.          

 Another thing struck him then, the near constant jabbering and laughing had also stopped as well and in its place he could hear the sound of a hushed conversation filtering through the trees. He strained his ears and tried to make out the words but he couldn’t make them out clearly. He was at a loss for what to do. Should he cut Sky down, or wait until the coast was clear? He didn’t want to risk exposing his location if Dark really was there, but at the same time he couldn’t just leave Sky hanging there. Would Dark even cut him down? 

A flurry of different thoughts spun around in his brain and for a moment he felt distinctly light headed as he tried to figure out just what to do. His mind was made up however when Sky suddenly let out a tortured howl from his place in the tree and began to writhe like a worm on a hook. Something snapped in Wild’s head and heedless of the consequences he lifted his bow and shot an arrow right at the figure sitting before the fire. 

Time slowed to a crawl and before the arrow had even made it to his target he had another arrow aimed for the rope attached to the tree and fired. Just as the first arrow shot through the figure his second arrow severed the rope cleanly and Sky plummeted to the ground below. Wild could tell that it was a hard landing but he didn’t have time to ponder that fact as the figure split into shards before reforming into four smaller versions of the figure. They let out a unified laugh as they stood and turned to face the darkened woods.  

“Shit,” Wild cursed as he frantically tapped on his slate to dematerialize his bow and without another thought leaped down from the tree. He rolled when he hit the ground and prayed that he hadn’t made too much noise. His head snapped around to look behind him for a moment when he heard the sound of running footsteps behind him and without much time to think on it he picked a direction and darted away into the trees. 

************  

Sky swung gently from the tree as he watched Wild disappear into the shadows of the woods. He could barely hear himself think over the clamor of voices that ricocheted around his skull and the insults that continued to pour from his mouth. He had questions, mainly what was Dark talking about when he told Wild to ask his fellow champions about running away? Wild had told the group about his adventure, sure, but he never really went into detail. 

They knew that Wild had failed in his first confrontation with Ganon, and that his fellow champions had died that terrible day. Wild had explained that it took him a long time to recover and that he had suffered memory loss due to the process and that he was still suffering the effects even to this day. But in the end Wild had destroyed Ganon and had brought peace to his era of Hyrule and that was all he felt that they needed to know. Wild didn’t give much information beyond that but that was okay, he was entitled to his privacy. Though now after hearing Dark’s comment, Sky would be lying if he said his curiosity hadn't peaked. 

‘The champion is a coward,’ Dark scoffed and the other voices cackled their agreement in his head. 

“Such a coward like the supposed champion, is unworthy of the hero’s mantle!” Dark shouted out loud in Sky’s own voice, and if Sky had any control over himself he would have shut his mouth and would have never spoken again. That wasn’t true, Wild was a hero through and through. Dark lied and he prayed that Wild wouldn’t listen to those lies. A soft chuckle rippled through his head and tickled at the edges of his vocal cords.

‘Think what you will, sky child,’ Dark’s amused voice drifted through the noise and Sky felt a shiver run through him. 

‘I can tell that you are curious, maybe one day I’ll share the champion’s story. I would love to see what you think of him then,’ Dark crooned softly and Sky hated feeling the thrill of excitement that rushed through him over the possibility of learning the whole story. 

Sky forced the feeling down angrily and tried to focus on other things. Dark just laughed softly again and went back to jeering at the now disappeared hero. Sky instead decided to focus on the ropes that dug in painfully around his wrists. His weak concentration was broken once again however when he felt his throat constrict with the mocking laughter that tumbled from his lips once again and he fought harder to gain back control over his own body. That was easier said than done however, his thoughts felt scattered and slow and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t force his body to move.

“My my this is painful! Oh champion! Won’t you cut us down?” Sky’s voice called out sadly before it turned into more unhinged laughter and insults. Dark continued his taunting and Sky wished Dark would just shut up.   

Gritting his metaphorical teeth, Sky slowly worked to gather his focus. He needed to find an anchor for his mind to hold on to and gather his trailing thoughts back to center. He focused on the ropes around his wrists first, feeling how they bit and tore into his skin as his gentle swinging slowed to a stop. The pain was a constant burn around his wrists, and the strain of his weight against the rope only added a sense of numbness and tingling to his fingertips. His shoulders cried out in a unified chorus of misery but even that wasn’t enough to break the metaphorical chains that wrapped him tight. Sky desperately wanted to free himself, to find Wild and not feel so alone but he knew he was still locked in. And even if he somehow regained control, it would be too risky to get close to Wild again. He shoved the despairing thought away and retreated back into himself. 

Sky pushed the laughter and jeering taunts in his own voice away, relegating them to the background as he returned his focus back to regaining control. He focused on the blood slowly working it’s way down his arms. Mentally traced it’s path as it wormed its way down under his sleeve. He could feel the thin trickle of heat as it wound down his side and finally pooled at his hip where his belt wrapped around his waist. 

He turned his attention to the pull in his shoulders next when he felt one of his fingers twitch. He froze and very carefully focused on moving his fingers again. His heart soared when he felt his middle finger give the slightest of twitches. It was small, but it was enough hope for him to cling to for now.

Sky was so focused on regaining control that he almost missed that the constant stream of insults and laughter had slowed to stop. The small camp had fallen eerily silent, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the slight creaking of the rope on the branch as he hung there. Even the voices in head seemed to have fallen quiet and Sky didn’t know how to feel about the sudden return to semi-normality.

“I would have thought the champion would have taken pity on you by now and cut you down,” Dark said as he lounged in front of the fire and pretended to warm his hands by the fire. Sky jerked in surprise as he looked at the figure sitting in front of him. He blinked a few times and tried to get his tired mind to focus. Four was sitting in front of him, dressed all in black and looking ever so slightly off. His skin was way too pale and his eyes were ever so slightly too large and stretched a little too tight at the corners. His smile was off too, it seemed too sharp and hungry to be the real Four. It was like looking at a doll, and the uncanny nature of the fake Four made him want to shrink away if he had any control over his movements.  

“What’s the matter, at a loss for words?” The not Four said and if Sky had any doubts about who this person was they were cast away in a flash of understanding. This was Dark masquerading as Four in some sick form of parody. As Dark shifted Sky noticed something else odd, the firelight didn’t seem to be reflecting on Dark. In fact the light seemed to be absorbed into him. His tired and abused brain couldn’t make sense of the information so he just let it be for now. Sky could only blink, he didn’t know what to say even if he could speak. Even so he tried to say something but his mouth remained shut tight. The muscles unyielding, his vocal cords frozen so not even a hum escaped him.

“Ah, that’s right,” Dark Four said as he leaned back and smacked himself lightly on the forehead with the heel of his hand. 

“I forgot, it’s kind of hard to respond if I don’t let you huh?” He asked with a small laugh before he shrugged and waved his hand. Sky felt the subtle way his muscles relaxed and he could feel his body begin to tremble slightly as he felt his consciousness begin to take back control once again. He sucked in a breath and worked his newly freed jaw and revelled in the feeling of being able to move once again.

“How?” Sky croaked and found that his throat felt absolutely shredded and raw. Dark smiled happily at him and Sky reeled at how much he looked like Four in that moment. Dark gave him a little wink and slowly put his hand in the fire. Sky watched in fascination as his hand dissipated like shadows in the flames, as if it weren’t there.

“That’s not really important right now,” Dark said as he withdrew his hand and made a show of waving it back and forth, clearly unharmed and whole. 

“So what, you’re just a copy? A shadow of sorts?” Sky asked dismissively. He was not in the mood for another one of Dark’s games, he already had his fill for that day. He instead turned his attention to the rope above him. Maybe if he could lift himself up he could get enough slack to free one of his hands. Sky tried to get a grip on the rope but found his hands had gone completely numb and clumsy. 

“Oh no, it's a tad more complicated than that.” Dark said as he leaned forward and plucked a leaf off the ground and spun it between his fingers idly. Sky stopped his clumsy attempts at trying to grasp the rope above him and looked down at Dark. 

“Why are you even here? Just to be irritating?” Sky asked exasperatedly as he tried once again to raise himself up high enough to free a hand. Sky ignored the indignant gasp Dark let out as he made another grab for the rope. Dark’s cryptic double talk never seemed to go anywhere and trying to unravel it only wore away the energy he could be using to free himself.

“Temper, temper, honestly I thought you were the more patient of the group.” Dark said as he tossed the leaf aside and graced Sky with a baleful look. 

“You’ll have to pardon me, I’ve had a long day.” Sky shot back, letting himself fall back down to hang by the rope with a hiss, no closer to freeing himself. Sky offered him a glare, heedless of Dark’s quickly souring mood. 

“I’ll let it slide this time. But since you seem to be dying to know, I’m waiting.” Dark said clearly miffed. 

“Waiting? Waiting for what?” Sky asked, eyeing Dark with a questioning stare.

“For the next game to start of course,” Dark said with a shake of his head. “Honestly, I really need to stop expecting anything intelligent to come from you people.” Dark scoffed as he leaned back and looked around that darkened woods once more. 

“Game? What game?” Sky said confusedly, his brain clearly wasn’t up to the task of puzzling out what the madman meant. 

“Tag,” Dark said simply.

“Tag? What makes you think Wild is going to even...” Sky started but was cut off by a low chuckle that came bubbling out from Dark. Sky didn’t like the sound of that.

“Don’t worry, he’ll make himself known. All I have to do is wait, and maybe have a little fun,” Dark said with a wink and Sky was definitely sure he did not like that. If he had learned nothing from this previous experience of the past few hours, he knew that Dark’s version of ‘fun’ should be avoided at all costs. Sky licked his lips as he thought about what he was gonna say next.

“Wild isn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t just...” Sky floundered for the words but found himself lacking. Dark raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. When it was clear that Sky didn’t have much else to say, Dark clapped his hands and gave him a smug look.

“I know that boy isn’t an idiot, but I do know one thing, he is impulsive,”

Sky felt pain explode like a bomb behind his eyes and he felt his head rock back as if he had been struck. He tried to breathe through the pain but he was quickly finding it to be a losing battle as a small whimper slipped from his lips. Sky bit down hard against the sound, unwilling to cry out. He heard Dark click his tongue in minor annoyance.

“You know sky child, you make things a lot more difficult for yourself. Just call for help, save yourself the pain,” Dark wheedled, voice full of false concern. Sky grit his teeth and felt his chest rise and fall rapidly as he worked to overcome the pain. He heard a long suffering sigh before the pain behind his eyes became a white hot inferno. After another long moment the pain rocketed down his spine and radiated out across his chest. It Squeezed at his heart and filled his lungs with boiling water and completely overshadowed the world. 

He tried, he really tried but he couldn’t bear the pain silently anymore and the tortured howl that left his mouth sounded foreign to his own ears. He writhed heedless of the damage he might be causing to his own wrists with his thrashing around. Through the tears in his eyes he could just make out the sharp smile that spread across Dark Four’s face. Then as the pain reached a zenith an arrow shot through the figure’s chest and shattered the form of Four into a thousand pieces. The pain stopped in an instant but there was no time to feel relieved as a second arrow sliced the rope tied to the tree cleanly in two. Sky felt his stomach lurch into his throat as he fell, and a surprised yelp left him as he hit the ground hard.

New sensations of pain flared throughout his body and he was left gasping for a moment as he looked around and tried to get his bearings again. He worked his hands free of the rope clumsily and tried to push himself up but there was simply no strength to be found in his arms. Sky flopped onto his side for the second time that night and watched as the shards of shadows that were once Dark reform into four smaller versions of Four with an odd echoing laugh. 

The small pose stood and turned before three of them darted off in the general direction of where the arrows came from. Sky cursed softly at their departure and clawed at the ground as he felt some sensation come back to his fingertips. How? What was even happening? His mind couldn’t keep up with the rapidly dissolving situation. Too many things were happening all at once but he knew none of it was going to be good. The last of the Fours paused and turned towards him before squatting down to look at him.

“Don’t worry! We’ll keep your friend entertained, you can count on us. You just stay here and sleep,” Dark Four said kindly, as he reached out and rested a hand on Sky’s shoulder. At the word ‘sleep’, Sky felt a reverberation rumble through his head as an invisible weight pressed in on him. Darkness bled into his consciousness and his head lolled as the command tried to drag him away. Sky sucked in a deep breath and shook his head in a poor attempt to clear it. He almost missed the sneer that flitted across Dark Four’s face as he stood, and clenched his hands at his sides. Sky offered him a defiant glare back at him and continued to battle the darkness back, determined to fight until he couldn’t anymore. 

“Stop fighting, you need your rest, sky child. Now sleep.” Dark said again, but this time the command was overt and powerful. The light weight that had settled on him now was  suddenly as though one of Wild’s stone taluses was laying on top of him and he felt himself let out a heavy sigh. Sky had just enough time to see Dark turn and run into the trees before the immeasurable weight of the spell snuffed out his consciousness like a candle and he knew nothing more.  

**********

“Stupid, stupid, I’m an absolute moron,” Wild seethed as another eager shout from behind him told him that he was spotted once again by another one of the figures. Wild sighed and left the comfort of his temporary hiding spot and ran off further into the foreign forest. 

He continued to duck and dodge around trees and boulders as quickly and as quietly as he could. But no matter how quickly he ran, no matter what direction his feet carried him, he could still hear his pursuers running around him. Searching, calling after him like a demented game of blind mans bluff, accept he felt like the blind one. He couldn’t understand how they were able to spot him so easily. The only guess he had was that they could see in the gloom where he found himself close to blind in the darkness. One thing stuck out to him however, the shadowy figures, while certainly making it a point to chase him never seemed to be actively trying to catch him either.        

After another few more minutes of blind running, Wild found a little copse of trees with thick thorn bushes at its base, and without too much thought he stealthily slid into the thick brambles. He ignored the burn of the thorns as they grabbed at his skin and just worked at catching his breath. He could hear the figures moving around, calling to each other as they searched for him. The voices would come close but then drift away which Wild took as a good thing. They were spreading out and while that didn’t sound good, it meant they didn’t know exactly where he had gone. As the minutes ticked on the voices grew more faint and he felt himself start to relax slightly. That was until he heard a familiar voice call out to him in a fervent whisper. 

“Wild? Sky? Is anyone there?” 

Startled, Wild peeped out from his hiding spot and watched as a shadow flickered between the trees. It was small, like the other figures that were chasing him but the way it peeked around trees before moving off made it look like it was hiding too. Wild’s heart sank as he thought he recognized the head that poked out from behind the tree about fifty yards ahead of him.     

He waited for a few more minutes and was rewarded when the small darted from his hiding place and made for a grouping of trees nearby. Wild was just able to see a glimpse of pale blonde hair and a familiar headband before the figure was obscured by the trees once again. Four. He didn’t know how it was possible, had Dark dragged Four here along with him and Sky and he hadn’t noticed? It seemed unlikely but not impossible. Four could have been dumped somewhere else when they landed in this place. Portals weren’t an exact science and who knew what the rules were when it came to traveling through them. 

There was a sound of a snapping twig, followed by a meaty thump of an arrow hitting something soft. A cry from the trees as Four came stumbling out into the open. Wild could see blood coating Four’s leg as he tried to move to a new hiding spot, his hand clamped around the shaft of the arrow sticking out from his thigh. 

“Damn it!” Four hissed as he stumbled and almost fell. It was clear he was trying to keep quiet but it was a failing endeavor. Another arrow shot out from the gloom and hit Four in the shoulder, causing him to spin before landing hard on the ground with a pained gasp. Wild felt his heart stop and before he knew it he was bursting out of the brambles and skidding to halt next to Four. His eyes were wide and terrified, and he clutched at the new arrow that was buried deep in his shoulder. 

“Four, how, what, how did you get here?” Wild stammered as laughter rang out from all around the clearing. Four ignored his question and looked around wide eyed as he tried to get back on his feet. 

“Wait, stop, don't move, let me help you,” Wild hissed as he tried to get a better look at the arrows. Wild’s heart leaped, there was a lot of blood and he wondered if the hard landing caused one of the arrows to move and nick an artery. His mind flew through the different possibilities, each one more worrying than the last. Four still hadn’t acknowledged him, which was disturbing and Wild’s hands hovered over the arrow in Four’s leg, hesitant to rip it free just yet. The strange lighting in the in between world made the blood look black as it leaked onto the ground. The laughter grew louder and Wild knew they were running out of time. 

“Hey calm down, look at me,” Wild said imploringly but to no avail, Four only continued to scrabble against the ground in a panic, eyes wide and frantic and still not acknowledging that he was even there. Wild felt his mouth go numb, the animalistic part of his brain commanding him to run but he shoved it away. Four needed help, he couldn’t just leave him there. 

Wild watched as Four’s head continued to whip around, and he tried to get Four to meet his eyes, but Four just seemed to look right through him. Like he wasn’t even there. His brain finally caught on to the wrongness of the whole situation then, and the point was driven home when he reached out to grab the arrow in Four’s leg and his hand passed right through the shaft. As soon as his fingers passed through the arrow Four froze in place, mid scramble, and Wild felt his eyes grow wide in horror. A trap, It was a trap. Wild began to get hastily to his feet but the head of the once frozen Four snapped to the side with a crack to look at him. Four’s hand shot out and grabbed Wild’s wrist hard enough to bruise and a gargled laugh fell from his lips. 

“Got you,” Four said, his mouth spreading into a wide grin that grew wider and wider until his mouth practically bisected his face. His skin quickly started to become transparent and black like shadow. His eyes turned red and began to weep streaks of large white tears. 

“Give me the sword champion,” Four continued his voice becoming muddled and hollow as he began to melt. Four’s hand melded around Wild’s wrist and engulfed his hand before it started to creep up his arm, accompanied by a deathly chill that seeped into his bones. Wild felt his fingertips beginning to numb and he tried to pull away but it was like he stuck his hand in an ice chu. Four’s body lost all shape, melting down into a thick viscous mass but the grip on Wild’s arm never loosened. Wild felt himself gaping like a fish as he watched the gruesome scene unfold before him, his body freezing up in mounting terror and unrefined panic.  

The shadowy blob that was once Four continued to crawl up his arm and was about mid bicep when his brain finally caught up with his panicked stupor. He flailed suddenly and tapped frantically on his slate summoning a short fire blade. In one swift movement he brought the blade down in a fiery arch, slicing the blob away from his arm. He felt the heat of the blade as it grazed past his semi-numbed fingertips and thanked Hylia that he hadn’t just accidently cut off his fingers. The thing let out an ungodly screech that threatened to burst his eardrums causing him to drop the blade to the dirt below. It continued to screech and writhe and Wild scrambled away chest heaving as he covered his ringing ears. 

“The sword! Give me the sword!” The blob screeched as it lurched forward, a melting hand reaching out towards him. Wild felt himself starting to shake as he watched a face grow from the mass, half melted and laughing as it continued to crawl. He felt frozen in place once again, unable to process the horror that he was seeing as his world shrunk down to a single point. It was just him and the mass of shadows crawling quickly towards him and nothing else. The melted blob reached out again, it’s hand making a wet smacking sound against the ground and finally Wild felt the spell break. Without another thought he turned and ran off into the woods with only a garbled laugh trailing after him in his mad sprint through the trees. 

He leapt over fallen trees and large roots, ducked under vines and around rocks. 

Run.

He ran, heedless of any of the figures he might run into, uncaring how far his panicked feet took him away from Sky. 

Run.

His lungs burned, his heart felt close to bursting but he didn’t care, he had to run. He lost track of how long he had been running, and it was only when his arm gave a particularly painful throb that he finally forced himself to stop his mad dash. His throat burned and his muscles ached from exertion and he nearly flung himself down behind a grouping of fallen trees and allowed himself to rest. He was shaking like a leaf in a gale, and he felt like he couldn’t draw in breath so he leaned back against his makeshift resting spot and worked on taking large measured breaths. 

Once he felt a little calmer, and most of the shaking had subsided, he examined his right arm a little closer. His fingertips looked slightly blackened and it looked like his sleeve had been burned away in some places. Carefully he rolled up the fabric of his sleeve and took a look at the skin of his arm with a measured calm. It was hard to see in the dim light but Wild thought he could see a faint swirling pattern of welted skin trail up his arm where the gunk had begun to burn him. He felt tears welling up at the corners of his eyes and he wiped them away with his uninjured hand. He felt tired and more than a little disturbed from what he had just seen and the added stress of his new injury only added to his growing distress. 

“It’s done, I’m safe for now, just calm down.” He whispered to himself as he continued to shake. His arm still felt like it was burning, like it had been trapped in a frozen lake and only now it was starting to warm up again. Wild bit at his lower lip and gently prodded at the skin, feeling how chilled it still felt. He couldn’t see any gunk on his arm or his fingertips but the sensation that the thing was still holding on to him remained. 

Feeling unnerved Wild pulled out his slate and grabbed an old worn shirt and the nearly empty bottle of water he had been using to clean Sky’s hand. He took off his stealthy tunic and carefully poured the water on his arm and wiped at it with the shirt, just to make sure no remnants of the shadow were left behind. Water puddled on the ground below his arm and when he was satisfied that the welts were cleaned he changed into his warm doublet. His arm still ached but he felt a little better knowing it was taken care of. He stowed the empty bottle and old shirt away and took a moment to just sit. His eyes burned, and the adrenaline that had once fueled his mad dash was gone leaving him in an odd floating head space.  

His eyes settled on the puddle of water in front of him, mind empty, breathing slowing as he relaxed. He thought he could see the shimmer of stars in the water and it made his heart long for normality. He missed the others so much it was practically a physical pain in his heart. Wild let out a snort and rubbed at his sore arm, it seemed like all he felt was pain as of late. He settled again and continued to stare into the water not knowing what to do next. 

There was a movement deep within the puddle and Wild blinked slowly at it. He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him when he saw the movement again and this time he felt his eyebrows knit together in curiosity. He leaned in closer and really looked into the oddly clear water. Something was moving below the surface, he was sure of it. It took a moment but slowly the shape of a person coalesced in the water below, framed by the shimmer of stars. Wild got to his knees and scooted closer, careful not to disturb the small pool below him. 

Cobalt blue eyes stared back at him and he sucked in a breath as he saw Twilight looking back at him. He looked tired. Twilight’s eyes were puffy and slightly red, dark circles hung beneath the lids but he looked okay for the most part. Wild couldn’t help the relieved sigh that left him. Twilight was alive, he was okay and Wild felt a small, relieved sob hiccup from his throat. He watched as Twilight moved closer in the puddle and before he could stop himself he touched the surface of the water. Ripples marred the surface of the still pool and when they finally subsided Twilight and the stars were gone. Wild felt tears fall from the tip of his nose and he buried his face in his hands. A mixture of heady relief at seeing one of his brothers safe and sound mixed with crippling disappointment. Overwhelmed he continued to kneel at the side of the puddle and just let himself drift on the wave of emotions for a while as tears continued to fall between his fingers. 

After who knows how long Wild sat back on his haunches and looked around. The gloom appeared to be lifting slightly and he assumed that meant whatever counted as sunrise was on the way. He needed rest. He needed to find a place safe enough to sleep, and he needed to find it soon. Wiping at his face again and taking another steadying breath he stood on shaky legs and struck out to find a place to rest for however long he could manage.

[layanasstories]

Twenty - seven

I was awakened by gentle caresses on my arm. I opened my eyes and saw the nurse smile kindly. "She must have been really tired" she said to Jake with a wink. "I think I'm just a really nice pillow," he joked back. Now she turned to me "Sorry for letting him wake you up. But I need that pillow of yours". My brain wasn't quite up to speed yet, so I looked confused at Jake "Pillow? Which pillow?. My confused comment made him chuckle "She means me, I'm your pillow". He looked at his shoulder and then back at me. "Oh!" it finally dawned on me. I sat up and got off the bed. "I just need him for a moment" again she smiled. "Why do you need him?" I sounded a little too defensive. "Oh don't worry, I just want to do some checkups on him, and need some personal information. The details we have here are incorrect, I think they were mixed up at check in." she said, though her face told what it really was like. My cheeks turned red "Uhm, well" I started, but she interrupted me "No need to explain. I will just blame the front desk, as long as I get the correct details from the gentleman now" this time she gave me a wink.

She had done the check up and Jake had answered her questions. Satisfied she had left the room. "How do you feel?" I asked when we were alone again. "Everything is sore. But the medication is working, so that's good." He sat up a little straighter, but I saw because of a twinge of pain his face flinch. "Everything went so fast. After Richy and I walked down, there was immediately shooting. I saw Richy get hit on the head, and then everything went black with me too." he looked down guilty and defeated. "I haven't been able to protect you. Again.". "Jake! You could never have won this. They were too many, and they had the advantage of the surprise. And besides, you protected me and Hannah by letting us hide." I stroked his leg "Let's not go down that path okay" He nodded "Okay". He put his hand on mine, which rested on his leg. "Who were those guys who set me free?". "Do you want the short or long version?" I sighed, there we go, the can of worms that I would rather have left closed. "Let's face it, I have time.." he shrugged. "Okay, so the long version it is. Fine".

"I served in the army for a few years. But I couldn't live with the bureaucracy, and the way they handle things. So I left. But shortly after I was approached by an old buddy. He knew about my status, the missions I had done etc. So he made me an offer. Whether I wanted to join his group of former soldiers. His group could be hired by the very richest. You do not want to know how often a daughter or son of a millionaire is kidnapped, and ransom is demanded. We were there to free whoever was kidnapped, one way or another. And we didn’t always use clean ways to reach our goal.” I paused to think about where to continue with my story. "And who is Nick?" he asked with his eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?" I asked him back. "Well, I heard one of those guys say, don't piss Nick off because he's going to shoot you.". I had to laugh at the comment, how many time I had heard the newbies being afraid of him "Nick, well.. Nick, is my ex and the person who approached me. It's his group.” I looked at him, waiting for some comment. "Okay" was all he said. "Nick and I, don't worry about that. Let me put it this way, in the battlefield we are a good match, but in love life it is hell, and we are both very aware of that. So you have nothing to worry about.” I smiled reassuringly at him. "That's good to know, yeah". "Anyway... It was during one of the missions to free someone that we were betrayed by a team mate. Nick and a few others were trapped. And at the risk of my life I was able to free them. But it cost me a lot. Which made me give up my career. And I started living as a normal citizen. But, because of my action Nick owed me quite a bit. And he paid that debt, by freeing you for me." I looked back at him and saw the cogs working in his head. "So in short, you asked your ex to free your boyfriend" a playful grin appeared on his face. "Seriously? That's the first thing on your mind?" I rolled my eyes.

"No, not really. I now completely understand why my lie cuts so deep." he shook his head because of the disappointment in himself. I fell silent, because I needed a moment to think how to react. "There is no use in repeating myself again and again, it happened. I understand that crazy things can be done when a loved one is missing. What I don't understand about myself is that I trusted you blindly. But I did, and that's on me. And even though, how strange it is to me, I still trust you. But the cut it made, needs time to heal.” I felt the sadness well up again, and swallowed the lump in my throat . "I wish I could turn back time" he said sincerely. "You know, maybe we should just let it rest for a while. And just be who we are. They say time heals all wounds. Maybe we should try that. I wouldn't know either." I shrugged and took a breath "I know it may sound crazy after all we've been through, but what are we Jake?". He didn't say anything right away, which made me a little nervous. "We are everything you want us to be." he paused "I don't care what name we have as long as you're with me". I got up from the stool, with a smile and gently kissed his lips.

[punkrock-writer]

Space Cowboy- part 5

Never Fight a Man With a Perm

Pairing- Din Djarin x F!OC 

Warnings- Swearing, Mentions Blood, Canon Typical Violence. The Gang from Chapter 6 are dicks. 

A/N- Howdy!! I’m so sorry this took so long to come out. I had a bad case of brain rot this past week and did not want to type, but it’s here and I hope ya’ll like it! I’m kind of nervous about this chapter because this was the situation that inspired the entire story, so please let me know what you think! 

I’m going to try to have the next chapter out quicker! Put who knows, I got worms in my brain! 

Masterlist AO3 

After almost taking another roll around the ship — thanks to Din's lack of a warning — Sedona was now aware of what hyperspace felt like. It was actually rather calm, quiet, and still. She wished she could see it, but she didn't really know if she should attempt to enter the cockpit. Instead, turning to face her bags, she figured it was a good time to get some real clothes on. The child cooed sadly when she set him down in the sleeping compartment, and though she hated to, she ignored him and knelt by her suitcase. Searching for something somewhat warm through the clothes that were packed for Florida was proving difficult. She settled on black leggings, an old grey Ron Jon Surf Shop hoodie, and a pair of soft crew socks. A sports bra and a fresh pair of underwear completed the 'look' and she gathered her things and headed to the shower room.

Not before quickly turning back and grabbing her deodorant, because, yuck.

With a deep breath, she decided it was finally time to look at herself.

Nothing was exciting or truly different to note about the person reflected back to her in the foggy mirror. It was the same girl, blue eyes, short brown hair, but now there was a brand new massive bruise on her left temple. Her dark circles were deeper, and her eyes were tired. But other than the wound there was nothing new. She discarded her pajamas, and slipped into the clean clothes, she never thought it would feel this good to be fully covered. Her arms all the way to her toes now concealed in comfortable fabric, and she was grateful. She quickly put her hair into a folded bun, and set to her second task, putting that extra bacta patch on her head.

Peli made it look much easier. Whatever it was, was slimy and hard to get a grip on, but once it was placed, it stuck. So now she had a slightly lopsided, oversized band-aid on her head. And she knew it was going to hurt like a bitch to yank out of her hair. Taking one last look in the mirror, she sighed.

Honestly, she looked like she was about to go take a plane trip back home, and it tugged her heart a little bit.

Shaking her head she picked her things back up and opened the door to exit into the hull. A shiny helmet of beskar startled her, he must've just jumped down from the cockpit, as he was facing her through the ladder. She tried not to think too much about the way he stared for a bit too long, most likely just assessing her change in appearance. Before she could say anything he turned sharply, stepping over to where the child pouted in the sleeping compartment. She scooted by them, heading to put her things back in her bag. And when she straightened up to see what he was doing, he was already halfway up the ladder, taking the child with him.

Sedona tried not to dwell on it too much, it's not like he knew her, he barely even trusted her. He didn't owe her any more kindness than he was already giving her. But it really didn't help when she felt like she knew him. She needed to get that idea out of her head, she didn't know jack shit about what went through his head. Seeing someone on screen is so much different than actually being around them, and Sedona had to make sure she didn't get too comfortable too fast— she couldn't afford any slip-ups. So for now she would take it slow, tiptoe around the Crest, and do what she needed to do when called.

In pursuit of being quiet, she decided now might be a good time to check her phone. She settled herself in the sleeping compartment, purse in her lap, and plucked it from the bag. The time read 10:34 am, and obviously, there was no way of telling if that was right. Her calendar read two days since she had been ripped from her hotel room, and she was pretty sure that would be reliable. As long as she had some way of knowing how long she'd been here, she could keep herself grounded.

It didn't even cross her mind that she should try to find some way to get back home.

Sedona dozed off after a while, curled around her purse in the sleeping compartment. Her circadian rhythm was thrown off, or maybe it was like some kind of space-sickness. She was just tired, and she didn't know what else to do. The plot was getting scrambled in her head, and until Din jogged her mind in some way, she wasn't going to risk getting a headache thinking about it.

So she slept, the soft hum of hyperspace lulling her into relaxation, no matter how uncomfortable the bed was.

~o~o~o~

That was how Din found her a few hours later. Curled like a lothcat around one of her smaller bags. The child gurgled in happiness at the sight of her— he was the reason they were down there, wailing incessantly at the ladder. He didn't understand why he liked her so much, but if he trusted anyone, it was the child. So he set him down next to her knees, a position they had just recently been in. The child began climbing up her legs, and Din could only look on in amusement as she grumbled something incoherent.

The toddler reached his intended destination, her shoulder, and began to tap his tiny hands on her cheek. Din couldn't stop a small smile from breaking his features, thankful for the helmet once again. Her eyes popped open, panic clear on her features as she turned to look at what was tapping her face, and a smile overtook her.

"Hey little guy, how'd you get up there." Din pretended not to notice the roughness of her voice or the sleepy smile that turned to face him. "Oh I see now, you had an accomplice."

She slowly sat up, taking care to hold the child steady. She folded her legs in front of her, setting him in her lap. The child smiled up at him, and before he could stop himself, a gloved hand reached out and stroked his ear. Din wasn't used to showing affection in front of others, especially people he didn't fully trust. But the atmosphere was so relaxed, and it seems his body reacted before his mind could stop it.

"Did we stop somewhere?" Her quiet voice broke him out of his trance, his head snapped back up to meet hers. She looked worried, her eyes searched the helmet, and her teeth caught her bottom lip. Din told himself he was just observing a possible threat, analyzing her tells.

Subconsciously, that was a different story.

"No," he paused to clear his throat when it came out in a whisper. "I've picked up a job, I'm changing our course, and we'll be there in an hour... I just—" well Din didn't really know why exactly he felt the need to warn her. "I just wanted to know if you had... anything to tell me." Right, just trying to get information. Her eyes seemed to light up in recognition, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Who- or what is the job exactly." She looked confused still, her eyes zoned in on something in the distance, deep in thought.

"It's with an old... acquaintance of mine." His voice was rougher than he intended, still not really enjoying the idea of the job. But by the way her eyes darkened, he knew it was probably going to be a big mistake.

~o~o~o~

Sedona's mind instantly hooked onto the information and dragged it from the depths of the scramble. This situation, she knew well. This episode, she had watched, many times. For the plot... not for the way the red lights danced off beskar or the amazingly hot fight scenes.

No for the plot.

She knew what she needed to do.

"They betray you, they're going to try and shove you in a cell and leave you there... and a droid tries to shoot the baby— and they're all massive dicks, every one of them." Okay. That sounded crazy, she didn't mean for everything to tumble out like that. According to the way Din suddenly stood straight and alert, she probably didn't say the right things. "Wait... but you get out of it, no one gets hurt— except for the assholes— but they deserved it a-and you get money."

He just stood there, still as a rock. She couldn't imagine how all of that sounded to him. He probably didn't even know what the mission was supposed to be, and she had already informed him it was doomed from the start.

Yeah, I gotta work on the info delivery.

He let out a long sigh. His fingers twitched at his side, he probably would've rubbed his forehead in frustration if he could. She could feel herself shrinking in the silence, she unconsciously held onto the baby in her lap a little tighter. He cooed at her, seemingly sensing her anxiety. His little 3 clawed hands tapped at hers that held his waist.

"Well... like I said, an hour." He then turned and quickly made his way to the ladder. Climbing into the cockpit in almost record time. Sedona let a long sigh escape her, bringing one hand up to rub her eyes. She wasn't tired anymore, anxiety had squandered that quickly.

She had to either, A. Figure out some way to keep Din from being tricked and captured. Or B. Make sure Grogu doesn't alert the droid of his presence. For some reason, the situation felt wrong. She knew this mission was on course to go sour, but there was a bad feeling whispering at the edges of her mind.

Everything was feeling super, extra, bad and it was making her stomach hurt.

Or maybe she was just fucking starving.

Sedona realized she had never eaten the 'bar' Peli had given her. And an all-liquid diet the day before probably wasn't helping her whole, situation. Moving the child from her lap, she placed her feet on the ground. Thankful for her socks as the cold of the metal seeped through the fabric. She walked over to her suitcase— not really remembering where she had put the food— the entire evening leading up to her fight with Toro was a blur. When she didn't find it in her purse, she searched through her suitcase. Her hands touched the foil wrapping, and suddenly there was another presence at her side.

The little green gremlin was a bloodhound for food, it was like he read her mind and teleported to her. Letting out an excited squeal when she brought the bar into view, Sedona couldn't help but laugh with him. Sitting cross-legged in front of her suitcase she invited him to sit with her. And with more adorable grunts and snorts he sat down in between her legs, eyes never leaving the bar.

"Okay we can share, but don't tell your dad" she whispered, he made a soft coo in response. The bar looked like someone had put a granola bar through a grinder, and then reformed it back into a bar. Not exactly the most appetizing thing, but food was food, and the little guy seemed excited. She broke off a small piece— yes she had witnessed the child swallow a frog whole— but he was so little in front of her, so she went by baby rules and gave him something small. He grabbed it in his little hands, and then she broke off a piece for herself.

It was dry, and tasted kind of like a protein bar, but not at all like a protein bar. It was just different, but with the way the child inhaled it, she knew it was probably worth eating. They carried on like this till it was gone, Grogu munching happily, not minding the crumbs that fell into his lap. She was able to choke it down with the assistance of the water bottle that still sat in her purse. But eating didn't seem to help the way her stomach twisted in worry. When she wasn't distracting herself by watching the child, her mind wandered dangerously.

She couldn't tell if the walls her mind had put up the moment she dropped on the Crest were finally crumbling. Or if something was actually wrong. Her head was starting to hurt again, and now with a stomach ache, she felt like she was starting to break down. She needed another distraction.

Crumbling up the wrapper she turned to her suitcase. The child babbled a little, probably wondering if she had more food. Instead, she was just looking for anything; she moved through everything in the bag, toiletries, bras, a journal. And then she felt something solid. Her boots! She had honestly figured she didn't have any shoes here. Those had been the first thing to come out of her suitcase when she got to her hotel. But now, pulling her work boots from the depths, it was the first time she had actually been excited to see them. They were beat up hiking boots, with the perfect amount of ankle support and non-slip bottom to make it in space.

"Well, are you gonna let me put these on or what?" She said to the child in her lap, he tilted his head with a coo. She slowly started to straighten her legs, he made a squeal and then started to wiggle away from her. She laughed, helping him get off her lap and setting him to the side. He grunted, loudly, instantly very mad at her. She chuckled again, trying not to notice the way her hands shook as she began to lace up her boots.

Grogu toddled over to the ladder, reaching his arms up toward the cockpit. She couldn't help the smile, she finished tying her boots, standing, and headed over to the child. He was hanging from the 3rd rung of the ladder, obviously getting his speed from his father, she was able to catch him just as his 3 fingers slid off the metal. She rose and looked up with anticipation, obviously he wanted to go up there, and that meant she would have to... talk to Din.

She swallowed, but the baby in her arms let out an impatient squeal, reaching his arms up. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Um... D-Mando" she called, catching herself on the name quickly. "G-The kid wants to come up, i-is it alright if I bring him up." She hated the way she was stumbling through this, it shouldn't be that difficult to ask, but she almost shaking in fear at the prospect of being dropped off on the next planet. Her subconscious was telling her the Din she knew wouldn't do that, but this wasn't the Din she 'knew', this was a stranger. God, why did this have to be so complicated?

There was a long daunting pause. "Just don't touch anything." She let out a sigh of relief, and quickly attempted the climb to the cockpit. Proving to be much trickier with one hand. Her head breached the hole, and in front of her was something amazing. The cockpit of the Razor Crest lit up with the blue streaks of hyperspace. She stopped, awestruck at all of the buttons and levers, all of the details laid out before her. She didn't even notice the child wiggling out of her grasp.

It was beautiful, but also so terrifying. She watched the expanse of space whiz by, something her mind could've never been able to comprehend. And as she stared, she didn't notice when the pilot's chair slowly turned.

"You can come inside." She jumped at his voice, eyes meeting the helmet she didn't know was facing her. She quickly shut her mouth, just now realizing Grogu had made his way to Din's lap. Slowly, she finished the climb up the ladder and found herself at the door to the cockpit. Tentatively she stepped inside, eyes still wide in wonder, and made her way to the chair behind Din's left shoulder. He turned back to the controls, or more back to making sure the child didn't touch anything. She sat down slowly, still not entirely certain this was all real.

Swirling blue was constantly moving above and before her, it was mesmerizing, she felt herself getting lost in it. She could probably look at it for the rest of her life. It was the perfect distraction. Or until someone broke her from her daze, but she didn't expect that to happen anytime soon. Instead, she sat quietly, trying to take up as little space in the room as she could. Her thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind, she was allowed this brief moment of peace.

Sedona had held it together surprisingly well, though it was more likely she was in shock. Numb is what she would call it, seeing everything moving around her, but she didn't really feel it. A mild form of disassociation is probably what a therapist would tell her, her body was in survival mode while her brain just followed, screaming from the shadows. But at this current moment, her mind was quiet, the rolling blue was enough.

Comfortable silence, the baby sleeping, his snores being the only thing breaking through the hum of hyperspace. The pair sat quietly for what seemed to be a long time. It was the first moments of calm both had experienced at the same time, hopefully, it wouldn't be the last. In the past, the silence would have irked her, gnawed at her stomach. She probably would've started a conversation with anyone in the room. But now, it felt okay, her mind felt at ease for the first time since she'd got here. She ignored the voice that whispered, maybe it's him.

A sudden beeping broke through the serene atmosphere, Sedona jumped, while Din only moved his helmet. His hands reached out to flick some switches and punch some buttons.

She secretly wished she might be able to figure out what it all meant, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up.

"We're dropping out of hyperspace, hold on." It was an off-hand comment she realized because she didn't even have time to straighten in her spine when the ship seemed to lurch forward. Her hands flew to her sides, gripping the seat quickly. With the sudden movement, all of her anxieties flew into her throat. And as another giant space ship came into view, another emotion came forward.

Rage.

"Oh, those fuckers." The words were growled out before she even knew her mouth was open. Her eyes widening in surprise as a T-shaped visor snapped to face her. She could only shrug in response, it was the truth. Deep down, she was glad to know her shock-induced state hadn't taken everything from her, she could still talk some smack.

That was going to cause problems.

"You're staying on the ship, with the child." He had turned back to the controls, grasping the handles with gloved hands. The child in question had just woken up, cooing curiously at the scene change. "Make sure he doesn't cause any trouble, or whatever you said happens." She heard him and understood. But she was focused on trying to figure out how the hell she was going to hold her tongue when she knew what was about to happen. Din seemed to notice her unease, his helmet shifted slightly toward her, most likely confused by the white-knuckle grip she still had on the seat.

"You're going to have to gag me." The realization came suddenly, it was the only way, she did not trust herself to keep quiet. Din fully spun to face her now, even without seeing his face she could tell he was surprised and mad. She aimed for his eyes beneath the black visor, "It's the only way to shut me up." He let out a long sigh, that ended more in a frustrated growl.

"Are you serious?" His voice was sharp, serious disbelief. She nodded, it was ridiculous she knew, but with all the choice words swirling in her head, and the way she didn't have full control of herself, it really was the only way. With another growl-sigh he leaned down, ripping off a strip of material from his cape, and handed it to her, then he more or less shoved the child in her lap. "Just go— take him to the sleeping compartment, and... do it yourself."

She stood and left quickly, not wanting to anger him further. She staggered her way down the ladder, Grogu laughing at her struggles. She was panicking, her eyes darted over everything quickly, setting the child in the compartment she went over to her things. She zipped her suitcase closed, then hooked the handle to one of the nets that hung on the wall, hoping that would keep it out of way. Then with her purse, she made her way over to Grogu and climbed in after him. He babbled excitedly, not picking up on the frazzled emotions that were rolling off her in waves.

"We are going to have a totally chill time in here." She said to the child, though it was also mostly to herself. She adjusted till her back was against the wall, and allowed Grogu to clamber onto her lap. "It's gonna be totally cool and nothing bad is going to happen, alright?" Her voice had risen multiple octaves, and it seemed the gremlin had finally caught on to her panic. He tilted his head at her, making a much smaller, almost sadder sound. She instantly felt bad; making shushing noises, she rubbed his little back as he pouted up at her. The ship started to wobble, Din was maneuvering it into the bigger space ship, she held onto the little creature. And with a big thump, they were stopped.

Sedona let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Grogu's ears seemed to perk up at that, he settled down onto her lap. Listening carefully to the noises above her, she could hear Din moving around before steps began to descend on the ladder. He paused in front of the compartment, carefully observing the situation. Sedona could only stare back, doing her best not to let him know how scared she was, but he probably had a fear sensor on his helmet. Before he could turn away her voice betrayed her again.

"Di-Mando... could I have a weapon." It was a whisper, she was doing the best she could to hold herself together. But this was becoming more and more real by the second. He stared at her for much longer than she wanted, even Grogu made a small whine at the atmosphere. Then his hand moved to his wrist, tapping something, and a compartment opened adjacent to the one she was in. She peaked around the corner, eyes widening at all of the weapons laid out. And she almost laughed at the sight of her pink taser, placed there among all of the space gadgets. He grabbed that, setting it in front of her.

Without a word, he turned, fingers working at his wrist again. Almost simultaneously, the weapons doors and the door to her compartment shut. While the side ship door opened. She and Grogu were alone in the dimly lit compartment. He turned to look at her, head tilting in confusion. And she could only shrug in response.

There was silence on the ship for what felt like hours. Sedona and Grogu sat quietly, only the child breaking the silence with his babbles. She would shush him quickly; not really knowing when the crew would be joining the ship, and she didn't want their cover blown sooner than it needed to be. When his fussing became a bit more persistent, she gave him her keys that were still tucked in her purse. His big eyes widened further, entranced by the shiny metal and jingles.

Because how else do you calm a baby you don't know what to do with, you give it your keys. Fuck.

A heavy sigh passed through her as she leaned her head back against the wall. She's trying desperately to keep her emotions under control, obviously, Grogu could sense them, so if she was calm, he was calm. And that was most important right now. Her mind was constantly on edge, just waiting for something to happen. She didn't want to tie her mouth yet, fearing it would startle the child. Instead, she chewed on her lip, distracted by the soft tinkling of her keys.

The wait was soon over.

Metallic footsteps were making their way up the ramp. Thinking fast she tied the strip of fabric around her mouth, then held the child close. He cooed, moving his head up to face her before his ears flicked up in surprise. She tried to give him a smile.

It definitely looked absolutely horrifying.

His little features contorted into a frown, and a whimper was heard before the footsteps on the ship drew closer. They both snapped their heads to stare at the unmoving compartment door. Ears perked, listening closely as she heard someone ascend to the cockpit. There were noises outside of the ship, people were gathering, she felt her heart rate increase sharply. She squeezed them further into the corner of the compartment. The mattress creaked so loudly in the silence, but thankfully the noises coming from above them seemed to drown it out.

Her brain had ceased its flow of information. She wasn't sure who entered the ship first, it could be Din for all she knew. But she knew there were about to be a lot more people, and then shit was going to go down. Her mouth had gone dry thanks to the fabric, and the child had started to whine. She tried to shush him, but it came out more in weird hissing sounds. His eyes bugged out as he looked at her in fear, pushing his arms against her chest. She moved to set him down behind her, pretending her heart didn't break at the sight. She maneuvered herself more to the front of the compartment, leaving the keys behind for him.

She almost didn't notice the grumbling that followed the metallic clink of someone leaving the ship. The person was complaining, aggressively, but the voice was definitely not human.

Of course. That shitty droid.

The one emotion that had been hardest to keep at bay was rising up again. It coiled in her throat, sharpening her tongue with nasty thoughts. She hated this group, and all the shit they say to Din and the violent betrayal. She didn't know how she was going to be able to handle it if it happens right in front of her— the fabric in her mouth was going to be her saving grace. She really did not want to risk making this even worse for Din than it already would be.

And sure, she knows they get their due karma in the end. But the nagging pit in her stomach, the feeling of wrong, was eating her alive. She reached for the taser that sat at the front of the compartment and maneuvered her back to Grogu. If that compartment opens, she was going to fight like hell.

And that's how she waited.

And waited.

Back turned to the child as he jangled her keys around. She waited as voices crept closer to the Crest. As someone made their way up the ramp, then another. Until something was set down with a heavy thump, and a murmur of voices filled the hull. No one was really saying anything of importance, just fighting about who got to sit where. Sedona turned her head back to the child, who was now also listening attentively. His ears perked, owlish eyes met hers, the keys now forgotten in his little hands. He made a small 'ooo' sound and pointed to the compartment door, and she shrugged, holding her finger up to her mouth in a shushing motion.

Then there was the sound of the hatch closing, her head snapped back to the door. Trying to picture the scene behind the metal. She heard someone climbing the ladder, and then there was more grumbling. It wasn't long after, the ship began to move, she braced her hands behind her back as the compartment rocked. She looked back at the child, who was now back to jangling the keys around, she tried not to cringe at the sound, hoping they couldn't hear it.

She couldn't help thinking how insane this was. She was sitting in a space ship with a little green alien, gagged, and listening to other aliens argue. Her breath had started to quicken, and she could feel her pulse thumping in her neck.

This is so fucked up. What the hell am I even doing here. I'm going crazy-

Her spiraling thoughts were cut off when she felt a small hand on her back. She turned, blinking away a tear that had formed in her eye. Grogu made a tiny coo, his eyes wide. She instantly felt bad, he could sense her distress and it was making him feel bad. But she almost let out a sob when the little creature leaned forward, setting both his arms on her back in a tiny hug. A strangled noise tore through her throat, lifting one of her hands to pat his wrinkled little head. He made a snorting noise, one of the cutest things in the world, before plopping down and playing with the keys again. The interaction so small, but it had immediately calmed her down.

God, I can see why everyone loves this little shit.

She felt the atmosphere speed up, and the telltale feeling of hyperspace overtook the ship. A sound she recognized made her snap her head back to the door. The weapons hold adjacent to the sleeping compartment was open. She hadn't even heard their earlier conversations, too entranced by the little guy. She couldn't remember who had opened the door, but from the grumbling, it sounded like the one she hated most. Everything was happening much faster, but it felt as if time had slowed. She distantly registered the thump of someone jumping down the ladder, then the doors closing, and someone immediately hitting them.

"Hey, hey, hey. Okay. Okay. Okay, I get it. I'm a little particular about my personal space too." That voice, God she knew that voice. Her blood boiled as she listened further. "So let's just do this job. We get in, we get out, and you don't have to see our faces anymore."

How ironic, she almost rolled her eyes.

"Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian." The voice was much closer than she wanted it to be.

"Well, apparently they're the greatest warriors in the galaxy." There was a pause, Sedona gritted her teeth around the cloth. "So they say"

"Then why are they all dead"

And there was laughter. She heard a sharp giggle, the kind that makes your lip curl. And she felt herself shaking— she wanted to say something so fucking bad. She didn't know how Din could just take all of this.

"Well, you flew with him, Xi'an— Is he as good as they say?"

"Ask him about the job on Alzoc 111." Their voices grated her ears. Subconsciously she really did want to know what happened on Alzoc 111"

"I did what I had to." But this voice, with his calculated roughness, broke her heart. She didn't know how much more she could take before words started leaving her mouth. She heard a female voice, and her hands curled into fists behind her. She could hear what they were saying, but it wasn't fully registering anymore. Her ears rung with rage, the feeling of the child still leaning against her back was the only thing keeping her from ripping off the gag and screaming.  

Her eyes narrowed at the continued jeering and insults. She tried to blink away the tears of anger that burned her eyes. Pressing all of her weight into her arms, her muscles tense. Ready for what was coming next.

The ringing in her ears didn't stop, even as a fistfight took place outside her door.

Only when she was suddenly faced by the people she did not want to see, did everything come crashing back to the surface.

The trio looked at her in shock, Din out of her view. She sees Mayfield's mouth moving as he walks closer to her, but she only picked up the last of his sentence.

"— you get lonely up here buddy? Huh." He stepped up to the compartment, Xi'an sauntered after him. Sedona tried not to focus on the way the other woman's gaze twisted into disgust. She turned her head to meet all 3 of their eyes, Burg looking even more devil-like up close.

"Why do you have your bed warmer tied up like that huh?" Din didn't answer Mayfield, she couldn't even see him, but with the way Burg had his arm locked out of view, he was probably being held back. "Is that how he kept you, huh, Xi'an? Is that how he likes 'em?" The woman in question hissed in response, and she settled herself against the door. Knife still held loosely in her hand.

"Didn't take you for the type." She snarled at Din, her eyes predatory as they shifted away from Sedona. "Maybe that code of yours has made you soft."

And suddenly there was another voice. Though not really a voice, instead it's sounded like an angry cat in the other room. Muffled, and full of rage.

It wasn't till she noticed the others were just staring at her in silence, that she realized it was her. She was snarling like a rabid dog, her mouth has developed a mind of its own. Thankfully all the words were swallowed by the cloth.

"Well let's see what she has to say," Xi'an said with a sickening smile, sharpened yellow teeth on full display. The next actions happened so quickly, Sedona honestly didn't realize what transpired. There was a flash of metal, as Xi'an's hand darted out like a snake. A searing pain appeared on her left cheek, and the cloth holding her words in fell away. She felt herself gasp, her hand instantly flying up to cradle her cheek. And then there was laughing, the trio laughed at her pain, and it only made her angrier.

"I said," She placed her hand, now sticky with blood, behind her back. Bracing herself. "I've got a penchant for smokes and kicking douches in the mouth. Sadly for you, my last cigarette's gone out."

And with that statement, her right foot flew out. Connecting with Burg's jaw, a sickening crack rang through the hull.

Then there was chaos.

The Devaronian stumbled back, his own hand coming up to clutch his jaw with a growl. Mayfield and Xi'an jumped for their weapons. But before anyone else could cross the threshold of the sleeping compartment, there was a blaster shot— and the metal door collapsed shut. Din had shot the control panel to the door, no one could get in, or get out without the use of his fancy wrist control. There was aggressive banging on the door, Sedona feared it might dent. She could hear swearing and shouting from the other side, but she wasn't done. She sat up on her knees, slamming her hands against the metal a few times. If Din wasn't going to say it, she would.

"Fuck you Xi'an! I wanted to be your friend so bad!" She could hear an aggressive snarl over the other commotion. Burg roared, and then there was a particularly loud thump against the door.

"Fuck you, Burg! Your breath fucking reeks!" Her voice had a heavy growl in it, all of the rage she could muster put behind her words.

"And fuck you, Mayfield! Prison is going to make you it's bitch!" Her voice had risen to a scream to counteract the noise. And with a few more slaps against the metal, she sat back down. Her hand coming up to the cut on her cheek. Xi'an's blades were so sharp, they cut deep and thin. A perfect slice, that was going to leave a nasty scar. It was then she realized the other creature in the room.

Grogu let out soft whimpers at the commotion, he was trying to hide behind her purse. Her stomach dropped at the sight, instantly letting out a soft coo of her own, she reached her hand out to him, trying to let him know it would be okay. But another voice broke through the pandemonium.

"Dropping out of hyperspace now." She scooped up Grogu, and he let out a small cry of protest. But she knew what was coming next. The ship lurched foreword suddenly. "Commencing final approach now."

"Cloaking signal now" Grogu let out a scream as they were suddenly airborne. Sedona's head crashed against the ceiling of the compartment with a thump. They slammed back down, the wind getting knocked out of her lungs. Trying to catch her breath she glanced down at the child, who was relatively fine. Just panicking by the way his massive eyes stared up at her. The ship stopped with a heavy crash, and she heard the droid speaking again. But she was far more distracted by the little green hand straining to reach her cheek.

"I'll be okay buddy" she whispered, bringing her hand up to gently grab his. He frowned, babbling urgently at her. She gave him as much of a smile she could muster, hoping he accepted it. "You don't have to heal me, I'm all right." Truthfully, she wasn't really all right. Her cheek was burning, and from what she could feel, the cut ran from just under her jaw bone, all the way up to her cheekbone. A neat slice, that was still steadily leaking blood. She set Grogu to the side and reached for her purse, fishing out the travel pack of tissues, and holding one to the cut. It wasn't stitches or magical healing space goo, but she hoped it would at least stop her from bleeding all over Din's bed. A loud smack interrupted their tentative peace. Mayfield's voice followed.

"Don't think we forgot about you girl, we'll be back for you!" There was laughing, and for the first time since the door had opened, the wrongness flooded back to her stomach. She focused on taking deep even breaths, for the sake of the child who whimpered beside her. She heard a fast beeping, and then someone jumping from the ship. They were leaving, and her heart only seemed to race faster. She waited till she heard the particularly loud thump of Burg.

"Din," she cleared her throat, voice coming out raw. "Don't let them capture you." She wasn't sure if she was just talking to an empty hull, or if the Mandalorian could even hear her raspy voice. 

She just hoped desperately if he had, he would listen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist- 

I’ve never done this before! But please message me if you’d like to be tagged, and I’ll try to figure it out along the way! 

@thekingofthegoats @cosmicbreathe @daddydjarinxx @gallowsjoker 

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Vera

Part 12

Aka, I have no control over myself and SOMEONE on discord maybe urged me on a little. One of these days, one of you are going to ask about the titles for these and I'm going to refuse to answer. Woah, someone remembered that Jason's body was dipped in a crazy pool and he hasn't experienced that before! How fun.

CLOSED beggars: @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

Jason knew those eyes, had been haunted by those eyes for months now. Felt the absolute need to protect them from the horrors of the world without a second thought. And now they were in front of him, real and alive and coming from the face of a young, tan skinned boy with pitch black, course looking hair that fell in a rumpled mess across his face, quietly calling out Marinette's name. The name he spent the better part of three years responding to as though it were his own.  But that didn't make any sense, he'd never met this boy before. How did he know her? Was this a repressed memory of hers that her body somehow stored all this time and was trying to inform him of over time? Was this the work of the fear toxin taking hold and showing Marinette's worst fear? That also made no sense. He'd known her since she was six and she'd never mentioned this boy. It also couldn't explain the simplicity of the sight before her. Nothing fear inducing was actually happening. Except he felt on the edge of a panic attack anyways.

Could it be that his worst fear was this boy because of his reoccurring presence in his nightmares and the idea of this being a real child who's gone through so damn much it reminded him of himself, it scared him half to death? Or the fear that perhaps he had truly gone insane and the dreams were an indication of the war he raged inside himself?

Lifting his hands up to his face to block the images, he took note of the size, the coloration, the scaring. This wasn't how Marinette's hands looked. Those weren't Marinette's arms. Looking down, he knew that he shouldn't sit this tall or be this broad or have that long of legs. Nothing made sense anymore and as the hysteria set in, green edged his vision.

"Marinette? Mari? What's happening?" The voice drew closer, sounding concerned and hinting at the slightest touch of nerves.

"Venomous green. Electric, neon. Like Plagg."

That wasn't his voice, was it? He spoke, but that voice was too deep, too husky and masculine to be right. Nothing was right. This felt wrong and yet exactly as it was meant to all at once and he didn't understand. The bright green closed in on him and he felt himself tremble.

"It's the pits, Marinette. You've dealt with them, remember? You know how to fight it, how to calm yourself," the voice stayed where it was at, but he was sure if he looked up, those haunting jade eyes would be right there, staring into his soul.

How could he calm himself? The nightmares never talked to him like this, never told him to calm himself, to take control. He'd never dealt with the green overtaking his vision, not since the very first dream well over a year ago. He never fought it, what was this kid on about? Why was his mind screaming at him? He wanted to lash out, to hit and fight and attack, but his instincts yelled to protect the child and nothing else was here. Grabbing up another knife, he slammed it down, surprised to see it hit into a cushion that landed under his hand right as he moved. 

"Deep breaths, counts of seven with me," the voice was closer, counting for him and he followed without thought. His thoughts narrowed into the numbers, the screaming dulling down to a soft roar in the background, the green settling down until it disappeared entirely and still the counting continued on until his breathing became his own.

"Back with me?"

"What the fuck is going on?" He hissed out, fear and nausea piling up.

The kid's eyes widened and then narrowed as he backed up, grip tightening on the blade still in his hand. He opened his mouth and hesitated for half a second before he asked, voice demanding and sharp, leaving no room for argument, "Jason?"

Jason reeled back, having not heard that name since the accident, "How do you know that name?"

"She's been going by it for as long as I've known her."

"Who?!"

"Marinette."

His breath caught in his throat, shoulders dropping from their defensive hunch, unable to speak for a moment. He stayed still, processing as the boy across from him moved around the other side of the kitchen counter, swiftly grabbing the knife block and dropping it off on the counter furthest away from Jason.

"How?"

"She told me she woke up in a grave. Had been in there for quite some time. Dug out and landed in a coma for a year. My- Talia found her after she woke up. Took her back to the league and dropped her in the pits. That was about-"

"A year and a half ago."

"Yes… how do you know this?"

"Saw the acid green at night, didn't know what it was."

"She mentioned the connection cutting when she died. I guess the pits could have healed that as well."

"And she met you about nine months ago, then. Or at least something significant happened. I recognize your eyes." 

"I might have approached her around that time, I suppose."

"How old are you?"

"Seven."

"Fuck kid, tell me half of what I saw wasn't real?"

"Depends on what you saw, but I would assume so."

"Fucking hell. And so what, she just up and ran? Took you with her? Mari's alive? Been alive all this time and I didn't know?"

"Something like that," the kid slid closer, carefully prying the knife from his hand. Realizing he still held it, had thrown one at the boy only minutes before, he abruptly let go, letting it clattered onto the counter below where the kid swiped it off and put it with the others out of immediate reach. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he came to terms with Marinette's state of living. Dug herself out of his grave? A coma? Talia. He couldn't wrap his brain around it. If the dreams were all visions, his sweet little soulmate had killed. Had fought for her life so often it felt like routine. Had suffered and lost so much, had seen this child going through the same things and put her foot down. Had ran for her life, kid in tow, no guarantee of survival, while he lived with her parents. No villains to defeat, no league to push him or force his hand. He hadn't even been grateful. Just depressed and angry while she went through a hell ten times as brutal. From the look the kid gave him, she didn't even talk terribly of him like he deserved. Otherwise he was sure the kid would have that knife worked up to his throat by now, demanding her back. Granted he didn't look happy, but his stance wasn't openly hostile yet.

Shit, he didn't deserve her and yet joy spread through him like a whip. She was alive. She was okay and had a little family of her own and had moved on through it all and he felt so damn proud and joyful to know she was alive all this time. Despite the horrible circumstances and atrocities she obviously faced in her time as him, she had been alive and not taken to an early grave. She turned seventeen last week no matter what body she did so in. The Joker hadn't taken her from him despite his best efforts. She was too strong, too persistent and capable. Marinette was alive and the pure happiness that shocked him to his core left him shaking and breathless.

"Calm down, you'll work yourself up again. She never told me you were an emotional mess."

"Shut it, kid. You would freak out if you found out someone you thought dead for three years was alive too."

"Tt. You won't survive a week with the madness."

"The madness? What's that supposed to mean?" Jason felt his hackles rising and had to remind himself of the emotional lockdown from his time fighting Hawkmoth to stamp it down. The kid obviously meant a lot to Mari and he wasn't about to make an enemy of himself.

"The acidic green and screaming in your head I had to talk you down from? That was an aftereffect of being dipped in the Lazarus pit. Marinette has no problem controlling it now. Should have known it wasn't her the second you couldn't force it into submission yourself," the kid gave a haughty sneer, turning his nose up.

"And the first time it struck her? Did she have such control then?"

The boy seemed to wilt at that, looking down in shame, "No."

"What happened?"

"I made a mistake. Someone almost got to me and she lost it. Killed everyone in the vicinity."

"And that was towards the beginning?"

"No. She wasn't allowed in the training room with me until she had the madness locked down. It wasn't even our first mission together. It was my fault she lost control. She would've been fine had I not messed up."

Jason immediately felt bad for chastising the kid for his attitude. He obviously felt uncomfortable looking at a familiar face and yet talking to a virtual stranger.

"Hey, relax kid, I'm sure she doesn't see it that way and wouldn't want you to either. She probably just did what she thought necessary to protect you, even if you don't agree with her methods. Trust me, I'm familiar with them," he offered with a self deprecating chuckle.

The boy seemed to soften, looking at him with curious eyes, "You really are her soulmate," he stated, almost coming off as a tease, "It's Damian by the way."

"Huh?"

"You've been calling me kid for the last half hour. My name is Damian."

"Whatever, kid," he smirked as Damian's lips twisted in annoyance, "Wait, did you say half hour?"

"It took a while to calm you down," he shrugged.

Suddenly it hit Jason where he had been. What had been happening that sent him into that panic.

"Fuck!"

The kid startled, looking at him like he lost his rocker, which okay, that was fair.

"What now?"

"The place I was at. It got attacked when we switched. She had to have taken in some fear toxin, who knows what type of effect that has on her!"

"Attacked? She'll be fine, Marinette's the beat fighter I know," Damian seemed to calm at that, almost offended at his inferring her inability to handle the situation.

"Was she exposed to fear toxin in the league?"

"Fear toxin? I'm not sure what that is, but her immune system was adapted to handle several poisons. Every league members' is."

"You mean this body was. This body's immune system was adapted."

That seemed to throw him for a loop, stiffening up, but he persisted, "Her mind has taken on the chaos of the pit, surely fear pulsing through as well couldn't be worse."

"As well! Her soul was in that pit, not just this body. Meaning the madness probably latched on to her soul as well. In an unadjusted body, with the jolt and panic of being launched into her old body in the middle of an attack with fear toxin coursing through it."

The air about Damian seemingly crashed around him and the small shoulders begin to shake as reality settled in, "she's going to lose herself again, isn't she?" He half whimpered, trying to push it down to sound less weak infront of Jason, but he was obviously afraid. Jason flinched, remembering the kid's age once more and that he probably should have just agreed to keep him calm. 

"We'll track her down. You can ground her, you're good at that, right?"

He nodded, "Can't you just switch back, instead? Give Marinette back?"

"It doesn't work that way kid. You can resist the tug when it comes, but you can't force the tug itself."

"Give her back! She's probably a mess right now, I need to help her!"

"I can't, kid. I'm sorry. We'll find her though, I promise. I know where she is. Where are we? The faster I can map out a route, the sooner you'll be with her. Tell me and then get changed, we'll leave now."

As the kid ran to what was presumably his room, rambling out an address, Jason was surprised to realize how close they were. Marinette lived in Gotham. He shouldn't feel so surprised.

He forced himself to the other room, rummaging through a drawer until he found clothes to shove on and walked towards the door, Damian running up behind him. As his hand touched the doorknob, his mind yanked him back and without any warning, he was thrown into Marinette's body once more.

[tessarichardss]

new york’s very own tessa richards was spotted on broadway street , with a striking semblance to zoey deutch ! you may know them as @tessarichards or hitting the front page of tmz as ex-reality star rumored to have moved to new york for an internship with hassenfeld children’s hospital . according to tmz , you just had your twenty-fourth birthday bash . while living in nyc , you’ve been labeled as being guarded , but also tenderhearted . things that would paint a better picture of you would be endless nights you’ll never forget, sunflowers, running barefoot through an open field . ( cisfemale + she/her  ) +  (  saxon , twenty-six , she/her , cst )

Out Of Character

Hello bbies! 🥰 My name is Saxon and I’d like you to meet the absolute labor of my love Tessa and love her even though she doesn’t deserve it! We are always open for connections, ideas or plots so please, please, please do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to conjure something up with this lovable and ridiculous energetic puppy. I look forward to roleplaying with you and your children!

Basic Information

Full Name: Tessa Grace Richards.

Nickname(s): Tess.

Birthday: Febuary 10th, 1996. 

Orientation: Heterosexual.

Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish.

Background

So Tessa was born to an unwed couple who were in their mid 30′s at the time, her mom thought the two of them were hopelessly in love until Tessa was four and dude just dipped? Her mom came home one day and all his stuff was gone, no note or anything, he drained their account and they haven’t ever heard from him since.

This obviously fucked Tessa up young because she has mad issues with love meaning anything and also abandonment, like she definitely doesn’t sleep well at night because she spent years waking up and running to the window every time she saw car lights, thinking it was him coming home.

Her mom is an absolute saint of a woman however (think Lorelai from Gilmore Girls meets Donna  Sheridan from Mamma Mia), just an absolute quirky angel of a woman who definitely took in and helped abandoned animals but was also the place all the kids in town knew they could go if they had shitty parents/living situations or just a bad day and they needed a safe place to go? So obviously she stepped up and took down all dudes pictures and just raised Tessa like the single boss she is.

Tessa grew up into like an angel of a kid but oh buddy was she a chaotic one. Total tomboy, full of insane energy and personality, always on the move and exploring and doing things she shouldn’t be. Definitely the type to show up back at home as the suns going down just covered in dirt and bumps and bruises. 100% knocked her own baby teeth out from falling and slamming her face and had two front silver teeth as a little kid.

She was never very girly and because she grew up in this southern town that was just full of very critical asshole kids from more well-off families than her own was, particularly the girls who were very prissy, she definitely ended up clicking more with boys and quickly became ‘one of the guys’. Like undoubtedly had an all male friend group and was definitely the girl that girlfriends would be paranoid about while all the dudes were like confused as to how their girls were jealous because Tessa was just like another guy/little sibling, there was no interest on either end.

She had two shitty relationships as a teenager, the first cheated on her because she wasn’t ready to have sex and then the second whom she actually gave it up to, turned out to just be with her on a bet to see how long it would take him to get in her pants? She ended up punching dude in the face when she found out and broke his nose and asshole’s family actually wanted to press charges until Mama Richards shut the shit down.

TW: SUICIDE ATTEMPT MENTION Has slight anger management issues? Like she’s chill but when she blows up man does she blow up. Pushed a girl down a flight of stairs at school after she made a remark about a friend who had tried to commit suicide, the family did press charges this time and Tessa had to go to anger management classes and serve community service hours. She also got kicked out of school and just decided not to go back, went online and just got her GED at seventeen instead.

She was (and still is) very close and attached to her mom, absolute most important person in her life, but she worried about her so much her mom realized she probably wasn’t ever planning on leaving? So her mom got the help of her friends and they actually filled out an application for her to go onto a reality tv show? Seems crazy but each season took place in a different part of the world and her mom knew she wanted to travel but would never make the decision herself so when she got cast her mom was just like “lol here you go bye now”.

She hated it at first because she had grown so used to Texas and the country and her friends and making sure her mom was okay that it gave her a lot of anxiety and stress but she actually fell in love with it? Made a lot of close friends, became a fan favorite of sorts and would you believe it, the dumbass fell in love.

This boy wormed his way into her heart and it was a kind of a slightly unstable relationship because she would try and push away from him and her feelings but he always drew her back? He even proposed after like months of them being together and she panicked and ran but still he drew her back and they agreed that they should chill with the idea of engagement/marriage? He ended up leaving the show after like their fourth messy break up? And she, would you believe it, followed. The two ended up sleeping together but she was overly aware of the fact that he wasn’t actually in love with her anymore so she saved herself any awkward conversation and further heartbreak by just dipping before he woke up. 

After this, Tessa returned to Texas and spent a solid week just out partying and drinking with friends and suddenly - BAM, she was having a one night stand with a complete stranger which was rather out of pocket for her and then even more suddenly - BAM, a pregnancy with no clue as to who the child’s father was. Thankfully it ended up being the one night stand’s and he turned out to be an incredible guy and father.

Obviously she never returned to the show and focused instead on becoming a mother and setting up a future for herself and her child.

She’s always been a big fan of kids (worked for a daycare after school, actually helped start up a charity that works with orphans/orphanages while on the show) and so she decided that she wanted to be a child life specialist and started attending school during her pregnancy and the two years that followed.

She ended up having a little girl named Addison, this child is her whole world and she’s 1000% the mom that posts about their kid too much on social media but she’s 100% turned Tessa’s life around and helped her mature in ways she wouldn’t have without her and she just loves her kid more than anything/anyone else. 

She assumed her life would remain in Texas until a trip to New York a few months back to visit Alex Morgan (who remarked on the fact that she should move in) ended with her packing up her daughter and her bags within less than a month and landing her in the state for the foreseeable future. 

She’s currently continuing her last year of school through online classes in order to get her bachelors while interning at the Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. 

Personality

A dork? Literally the biggest dork, the dorkiest of dorks, just a whole friggen dork. This child rambles like you wouldn’t believe and her mouth 100% works faster than her brain so like you never know what to expect but she’s just a happy, friendly, sarcastic little bean with social anxiety and a heart of gold tbh.

Also an aggressive lil’ lady though, like 12/10 chance she’ll throw hands if you want to fuck with or say something about the people she loves.

A chaotic soul as well like down to party and have a good time and will definitely drink a dude under the table, definitely broke her ribs two summers in a row from a drinking game because this child doesn’t know when to slow down or chill out, she’s just trying to live.

Emotional as hell, like definitely cries during commercials and Disney movies, but like if you’re trying to tap into her serious emotions she’s gonna shut that shit down. She keeps people locked out tbh and just jokes about the serious shit in her life if she does talk about it.

Desired Connections

Friends? This is tricky because she was basically in Texas for most of her life and then traveling? But someone who lived in/visited Texas and they met? Someone she met while filming the show in some random country - they were living there or traveling and met while she was out and about one day? Maybe someone she met through her charity work? Someone who has a kid or a younger sibling/niece/nephew/godchild who she took care of at the hospital or even on a home visit and they met her/know her that way?

Exes? So her most recent ex is off limits because it’s based off a real connection but like either of her exes from high school? The first one would have had to have lived in Texas for some time but the latter could have been visiting friends/family for a summer? If anyone has a character that works for these I’m down for the drama, especially the second because Tessa is fully ready to break dude’s nose again.

Half siblings? So Tessa’s dad basically bailed when she was little - maybe he had another family? Could have had a kid before her who he also bailed on, could have started a family during the same time or after, he could have stayed there for them or bailed on them as well? They could know about Tessa, or neither could know about the other? Tessa pry wouldn’t know about them because she made it a point to never bother searching for this man let alone any family but literally I’m down for whatever other ideas you’ve got on this one!

Honestly Tessa needs some guy friends! Like I said she’s always been very much more one of the guys - would rather be drinking a beer watching a sports game and yelling than going on a shopping spree okay she has 0 interest, and since she moved from home she needs a new guy group to cause trouble with but also, who makes a better wing woman than a girl okay? Chaos friend but also mom friend rolled into one because she will get involved in shenanigans but will also call you out for acting dumb too.

Also here’s some open, wanted musing connection ideas; https://tessarichardsmusings.tumblr.com/tagged/tessa-%2B-open

Pinterest

[hinac0lada]

Would you mind writing a head cannon, please? I think it would be really funny if it was about some of the boys dating a girl libero who was crazy good. Like she can receive the freak quick or something, I think that would be so cool! I’d love to see Noya, Oikawa, Bokuto and Tsukki! Thank you so much!!

OIKAWA TOORU

you stayed by a little longer to watch the team's practice. usually you'd go home by yourself knowing how late oikawa stays just to perfect what's already perfect.

but you decided to stay for once as oikawa promised to walk you home this time. of course you agreed, wanting to cherish every moment you had with him despite his busy schedule

time has passed by and the others have left, leaving you, oikawa, and iwaizumi behind to clean up.

oikawa, realizing it was getting late and was worried that you were getting tired, decided to go for one last serve. this time, he decided to put all his strength into it. but his tiredness got to him and the ball was aiming for the door

unfortunately, yahaba came in saying he forgot something. the world seemed to be in slow motion as you saw yahaba was about to be hit, luckily, you were fast enough to receive the ball before it could even hit his face.

oikawa's, yahaba's and iwaizumi's wigs? flew to mars.

they knew you used to play volleyball, but they never knew you were good enough to receive oikawa's monster serve.

"tooru! be careful where you aim next time!" you said, gaining no answer from him however, still in shock.

"...y/n- chan, were you a libero?" he asked, slowly blinking away the shock from the sudden revelation.

"..yeah?"

you didn't know how you ended up in this situation, but you did. what situation you may ask? your boyfriend asked you if you can receive his serve again.

what was he even trying to prove? you don't really know, cause you managed to receive each one perfectly, which impressed him of course, but then it made him feel even more determined to beat you.

on the way home, he wanted to know more about your past volleyball plays and all that. he even encouraged you to join the seijoh girl's team.

"one day y/n - chan, you won't be able to receive my serves!"

"we'll see about that asskawa"

"meanie! i think you're hanging out with iwa-chan too much.."

NISHINOYA YUU

it was during practice when hinata’s aim was off, and the ball was coming your way. nishinoya being the best boy that he is, was about to save you from the incoming ball.

but your were on your queen shit and perfectly received it yourself  //we stan (1)

he was shook to the core, but he was hyped nonetheless, he was literally jumpy jumpy.

you might've mentioned before that you had some experience playing volleyball, but he never really saw you in action— nor did you mention that you were a libero. his libero heart went boom boom when he knew you were a libero as well.

"what?! babe how come you never told me!"

"well you never asked, yuu"

with that information in mind, he wanted to test your skills. the whole team was quite shocked by your actions and was— as well, curious if your abilities were equal to nishinoya's.

and with that, they decided to get the freak duo— hinata and kageyama— to do their quick to serve as a test for you. and of course, you succeeded!

we stan hard (2).

but what took nishinoya to the edge, is when you did his infamous move— 'the rolling thunder'. he never really taught you that move,

you told him that you learned just by watching him do it countless times. the boy was so proud of you. now he's boasting about how amazing his girlfriend is.

after that occurrence, you two would constantly go on volleyball dates

whenever you came by to watch them practice, you'd end up joining them for a little match.

he would often ask you for input regarding his performance every match. all in all, he would show you off any time he could.

If you ever played for any matches, of course he’d watch it. he’d literally sCREAM from the top of his lungs whenever you managed to save the ball.

“you see that girl over there? she’s my girl! she’s amazing right?”

BOKUTO KOUTARO

in my opinion, bokuto would encourage you to let him know everything there is about you [though won’t overstep boundaries if it comes to personal stuff]

he only discovers this around maybe, during a date ?? 

imagine you guys were in a park or smth - noticing maybe a family with their kids playing volleyball aight

then one of the kids spiked a little too hard and the other child failed to catch it - ball hurtling towards a baby in a stroller oh no dramatic gasp

then!! you come to the child's rescue weeo

bokuto is like .. 0w0

since when did you play??? omfg my baby has secret skills i miraculously did not know about??? WORM.

he’s just really hyper and vv gleeful that you played volleyball - as a libero too!

he wants to play with you during off days, wanting to see if you could save his killer cross shots and straights wee woo

volley dates can become a regular<3

TSUKISHIMA KEI

listen, this string bean is around hinata and kageyama on the daily + nishinoya and the rest of their skillful yet chaotic team. bitch doesn’t even bat an eye when you just so happen to save a ball that was hurling at an alarming speed towards yachi.

if this was the first time you tried showing off your skills as a former volleyball player, you certainly didn’t get the reaction you wanted.

if you had shown him some of your skills way before he met the freak duo, maybe he would’ve been impressed. he may tease you because you really thought you did something ngl.

he’s still proud of you though, don’t get it mixed up sis

he just doesn’t like showing a wee bit of softness in public - it be reserved in private times only mwa

i’m sorry these r short i have no brain cheese n this is ridiculously overdue</3