#Then Johnny started cracking up and put the sword back

[zappedbyzabka]

[partycatty]

johnny cage > bust your kneecaps

kenshi's sibling isn't exactly known for being the kindest, especially when things don't go their way.

warnings: violence, you're kinda yandere type... or maybe tsundere i don't know i give up. johnny's an ass and i wanna beat him up.

notes: are you seriously telling me NOBODY has written a fic for this man using "bust your kneecaps" by pomplamoose?! LIKE.

[ masterlist ]

johnny, don't leave me, you said you'd love me forever - honey, believe me, i'll have your heart on a platter

• you stepped your way into the stupidly lavish mansion, the address imprinted into your brain and throwing knife at your hip. the belt accentuated the way your hips swayed, capturing the attention of the mansion's owner.

• "where's my wife?" he asks, defensive as he puts the glass of alcohol down.

• "your wife is fine," you turn toward your brother's voice as he speaks, a scowl painting both of your features.

• "you will be too, if you cooperate," your tone is unwelcoming, threatening. "you're johnny cage, aren't you?"

• "what's it to you?" johnny's anger grows by the second, frustrated and confused about the sudden yakuza-looking blade wielders in his home.

• your hand twitches as it rests on the handle of the blade. kenshi puts an arm out, pressing you back. his glare is a silent scolding and you groan, instead opting to cross your arms than threaten the actor at gunpoint.

• "come on," johnny instigates, a beckoning hand thrown out your way. "you're too pretty to be this rude to me."

• "i'm not here for you," you spit back, and kenshi points his sword out to the blade resting just above the fireplace. "we come for sento."

• we all know the drill. before you could fight for what rightfully belonged to your clan, johnny had you and your brother tied to a chair, groaning as consciousness returns to you only to explain your intentions through a groggy tone.

• it seemed like something from a lucid dream, two ninjas and a fire god as you're tied to a chair in a celebrity mansion. it was all a blur, explained quickly before you were whisked off to an academy to fight in a tournament you had only just learned about.

• it was all ridiculous but johnny had dragged sento along with him, keeping it in his room and away from the two of you - he never knew if you'd strike at night and run off into the sunset at any given moment.

• the training itself was quite useful as you learned new styles of fighting, weapon or otherwise. you felt yourself growing bulk and inspiration for combat and attempted to log as much information into your memory, studying after lessons or practicing moves when the campus was cleared of people with the moon high.

• it started innocently enough, johnny would at first spectate you and then eventually join in for (unwelcome) advice. you tried to brush him off, you really did, but he just kept coming back like the prettiest little parasite and that irritated you beyond belief.

• before you could protest or pick up his mood shift, he was being sweet on you - which is to say, pet names, compliments, anything you figured an actor would use to get in a girl's pants. he must do this to all women, you figure, but as time passes you find yourself leaning into his words and cracking a small smile that you cover with your hand.

• you had attempted to confide in kenshi, but in his typical attitude, he just teased you for having a crush on the actor. it was a claim you vehemently denied, no matter how many times his laugh rung in your ears or feather touches made your skin burn.

• it bothered you, truly. you hated him and his stupid sexy smile, his dumb idiot muscles as they flex and ripple during training — lord help you.

• when you started to give in, it was so painfully slow anyone could've missed it. johnny, shockingly, was a good judge of character and wore his opinions on his sleeve. he picked up on it, but wouldn't say anything; he would keeping poking and prodding the bear until you admitted your shameful attraction.

• you gave in after a particularly intimate training session. not having much experience compared to the star, he noticed your tense heat radiating from your back when he wrapped his arms around you, perfecting your stance as you trained against a dummy. unable to contain the trembles of your limbs, you spun around to face him, still caged in his grasp.

• "why do you do the things you do?" you ask, brows naturally furrowed in thought.

• johnny looks at you as if you were a fool. "because i like you."

• the answer left you dumbfounded, the answer was right in front of you but you dared not entertain the thought. your eyes darted between his, searching for any hint of bad intentions, but no. his eyes were sweet and soft, gentle and understanding. it ached you.

• the walls you built up crumbled to nothing the longer you two spent time together, johnny giving you almost little room to fully adjust to a romantic relationship. beside each other it was almost comical how much you resembled a black cat golden retriever duo, a comparison the other boys were sure to make often. even liu kang was surprised by this, commenting once that this "had not happened before." whatever he meant was lost to you.

• at first, it was sweet. he cared, he truly did. johnny would go more than an extra mile for you, understanding where to fully slam the brakes or how to gently encourage you to be intimate. the entire time you were absolutely floored, willing to explore the new world of love. it didn't take long for johnny to call it that, and you followed shortly after. he loved you, only you forever, as he'd say.

• the near-armageddon was heavy on the both of you, but everyone returned in one piece and things seemed to be taking a turn toward the domestic life. this is where everything seemingly took a turn for the worse.

• johnny had insisted you moved in with him as soon as possible, citing both love and your financial connections to the yakuza to support his living conditions even after struggling with money. he'd beg with those sweet puppy eyes, and who were you to turn down the first man that's ever loved you?

• you gave him your all, trying so hard to prove your affections and figure out how to appreciate someone that isn't yourself. johnny ate it up every time, his praise making you dizzy and his little pout every time your voice wavered in hesitation.

• at the academy and sun do, it was easy to forget that he was a supposed A-List celebrity. nobody knew him, flocked for photos and attention, the camera flashing wasn't even a worry considering their lack of technology. he was a normal man with perhaps a slightly inflated ego, but a charming pretty boy nonetheless.

• when you began living in malibu, it started to become a reality for you that you were now in the trenches of fame. while you yourself weren't famous, you did technically appear from nowhere arm in arm with the actor. it didn't take long for paparazzi to camp on your lawns, parking garages, or even as you're out getting your morning coffee.

• as a former yakuza member, your entire life was in the shadows or relatively secretive. now, everyone knew everything about you and the thought made you nauseous. johnny would remind you time and time again that this is what you set yourself up for. you two had never even approached the topic beforehand.

• then came the women. johnny was a conventionally attractive man in malibu, his glittering smile and perfect appearance had women constantly screaming at him for a glance, one that he happily provided with a slight wink. going online and seeing the edits and thirsting messages made your stomach flip. he was yours, but he felt like the world's.

• you tried sitting johnny down, unable to properly articulate your problems having never discussed serious topics with a partner before. it was a foreign topic to you, dancing around your words in one place and being too blunt in the other. johnny couldn't help but look at you with a nearly condescending stare, brow raising in such a way that made you feel... small.

• "you're dating a celebrity," he stated, as if you needed a thousandth reminder. "i'm johnny cage. i may have just been another trainee when we met, but i'm one of the most prominent men in the industry. this is what you signed up for. sorry, but i can't always be yours. i love my fans, too."

• "i didn't know what i signed up for," you clarify, brows furrowing in confusion over his tone. "i thought you'd only love me." he did say it pretty early on.

• "i do," he put his hands up defensively. "i just have more than you to worry about now, sugar. can we get on with our days, now? i have a meeting with a production team in an hour."

• perhaps you didn't know what you really agreed to. fame, women, money, cars, johnny was... wow, a pompous piece of shit in the spotlight no matter how much he claimed to have changed after the events. it was like the most sickening, arrogant light switch. you swore you loved a different man.

• after you had turned away his lifestyle for the tenth time, it was a few months after moving in that he really sat you down. he sat backwards in a chair, as if it was a casual conversation. another part of his routine.

• "you're not cut out for this," he'd open with, and you're not even sure what "this" was really referring to. "i don't want to keep dragging you through a lifestyle you can't keep up with." like you were a lesser being. your mouth goes dry.

• "you said you'd love me forever." your frown is piercing.

• "feelings... change, i guess. we met in a totally different place, things are back to normal and i just can't picture us continuing like we are now. i've got so much work to do and so little time, and you want my attention. i can't prioritize one out without losing the other."

• "so you're choosing directing over me? fame?"

• "it's not like that —" he sighs, pity in his voice. "you don't belong here."

• you stand up now. "you told me we were a forever package deal. you wanted to show me the world. you wanted this, took every first i could give. what? you're done using me for what i'm worth now?"

• johnny winces. "kind of? you're... you haven't been offering up much else than complaints." your jaw truly drops now, the anger you pushed away bubbling back up to the surface.

• "you think you can just clock out?" your voice grows in volume, increasingly nasty as you picture all the ways you could make him apologize. "you don't just get to escape that easily. do you know who i am?"

• johnny states your full name with a pitiful expression. as if it means nothing. he could have tricked you into thinking that was the case if you had kept falling for his love bombing. not anymore.

• "can you relax?" his tone is laced with irritation. "you're working yourself up, just make it easier for the both of us. look, i'll even buy you a plane ticket—" he reaches for his wallet but you catch his wrist, seeing red. for the first time in a long time, he looks at you like you're a strong person, a yakuza member.

• "easy," he wants you, tone now deadly serious. "i've got cameras everywhere. if i show police you put your hands on me like that, knowing your background, it'll be bad news for you."

• a smirk pulls at your lip, twitching in anger. you lean in close, real close. "if they even get to see the footage."

• it was a pathetic assumption that johnny would be able to escape you now, you were fully intertwined with him in such a way that angered you, but made you love him more deep down. your first love isn't supposed to just pull out from your grasp, not easily anyway.

• a wrestling match ensues. he's strong and knows how to fight, you saw it yourself. you were smarter, though. you managed to grab one of his small statues and position him just right to knock him out with a light hit. he goes limp in your arms, sending you to your knees from the weight of his body. not quite satisfied that he was at your mercy, you drag him to your shared bed.

• thanks to your intimate endeavors, rope was tucked neatly in the closet. you tied his wrists to the bedposts and his ankles to the edge of the bed. while you were emotionally detached, you were still utterly enamored with his entire existence. you leaned in close, admiring the crinkle in his nose or his delicate eyelashes as they hopelessly flutter. his plush lips part to breathe shallowly, and you barely notice your hand coming up to stroke at his cheekbone. he was a beautiful specimen, a figure that's meant to be immortalized in art.

• as mad as you were, he was just too pretty to part from. you peppered kisses from his temple to his shoulder, hand feeling the fabric of his dress shirt as you lay your head on his chest. you basically cuddled him as you leaned onto the bed, half sitting in your chair still. you had to be prepared in case he suddenly awoke and went for a bite or headbutt.

• he'll wake up eventually, and when he does, you'll be right there with a blade in hand and a wicked smile pulling at your lips.

[reversemoon255]

(From September 2020 to February 2021, I worked on a Pokémon themed Dungeons and Dragons campaign for a few friends. We didn’t get very far, but I put a significant amount of work into the world, story, and several Pokémon that would appear throughout, including an original set of starters. I want to to leave some record of my work, so I thought I’d write a few summary posts. And while I designed these Pokémon, their fantastic art was done by @extyrannomon on Twitter. I highly recommend you check them out.)

Dungeons 'n' Dragonites - Phase 1: Hello Stelopy City

Our story starts in Stelopy City, located in the Wellou Region. We get a brief introduction from DJ Tomomitsu, a radio host, before each player got their own brief story segments. Our first player was Ethan, as aspiring chef, who lived on campus at his high school. Ethan was approached by one of his dorm mates with a favor (to get him out of the building), as well as having an attractive girl meandering around the kitchen (if he wished to try flaunting his culinary skills). He would then get to choose to either finish up his side-quest or go to the local fisher's market, with him transitioning between those locations taking him to the area where he would meet his starter Pokémon:

"As you enter the alleyway, the walls are covered floor-to-ceiling in moss that seem to appear as soon as the shadows overtake the sunlight. The farther you walk, the more weeds you see popping through the cracks. Once you reach the half-way point, you come to a small open space. With the sunlight now flickering down through the plants brave enough to venture off the verdant walls, the entire area shines a bright, emerald green. In the center of this area is a decently sized fountain. It's no longer flowing, but there's a decent amount of rain water filling it up close to the brim. As you approach it, even through the murky iridescent waters, you can see a thick, fuzzy amount of lichen growing all throughout the inside of the basin. As you pass by the fountain, you hear an audible sploosh. Do you turn around? (Y/N)"

There he would meet the first of our new Starter, the Grass-Type Flymph. I kept it secret that I was doing original Starters. Part of my personal excitement in planning everything was the eventual reveal of these designs I had created. Kept me going when things started feeling like a grind.

Our second player, Johnny, started off at home, woken by his father asking him to run an errand. After being able to talk to his family a bit, he proceeded to a somewhat beaten-up house on the edge of the Pokémon-overrun abandoned district where he would receive some boat parts before leaving and the sidewalk underneath him collapses. Stumbling around the abandoned subway tunnels for a bit, he would run into our second Starter, the Fire-Type Calfyre.

Johnny's player wanted to become an entertainer, which didn't give me a lot to work session one, so a lot of his opener was focused on expanding the world and giving everyone an idea of areas they would be exploring later.

Third was Orion who had a quiet morning at home before being provoked via text messages from his siblings to chase down a mysterious "Wailord in a Top Hat." This pursuit would also lead him to the fisher's market and the nearby docks, where, after just catching sight of his quarry, he would encounter the Water-Starter Squisque.

Orion's player wanted a lot of his story to be based on his relationship with his father, so most of his opening was based on reinforcing his family dynamic. Not home, everyone’s busy, focus on work. This particular Saturday was strange in that Orion didn’t have anything going on.

Our last player was Arthur, who also lived on campus. While our other three players started their segments in bed, Arthur was playing lacrosse. After having an opportunity to show off (or fail), he would be told by a friend that he had upset his girlfriend that morning (kitchen girl from Ethan's story), and needed Arthur to pick up her favorite dessert while he attempted to woo her for the rest of the day. After doing so (while being given a chance to explore some of the local stores) he encountered a hungry Houndoom who proceeds to chase him up a fire escape. Once up there he encountered our final Starter, the Fairy-Type Utaw.

After each player met their Starters, they would have a brief tutorial battle against three Pokémon they were advantageous against before running into each other, and were subsequently arrested for "stealing" Pokémon, which would cap session one.

=====

Let's talk design. Stelopy City is loosely based on Chicago, is a portmanteau of "Steel Canopy," and Wellou is a joke on Illinois. The vast majority of the campaign was to take place in this location. Most of my players had very busy schedules (so busy it took us three sessions to get through the above opener), so DJ Tomomitsu was a way for me to easily start each session with a list of things to do (side-quests), and they as a group could decide which they were the most interested in based on time. Tomomitsu himself was based on DJ Sagara from Kamen Rider Gaim, with Tomomitsu being the name of the actor who played him.

As for the starters, I tried to stick to the reoccurring themes we’ve seen over the past 8 Generations. Flymph's name is a portmanteau of Dragonfly, Errol Flynn, and Nymph (the larval form of a Dragonfly). He's meant to be a special attacker, but, like an early DND Wizard, doesn't have access to a lot of them so he brandishes his sword-like arms to intimidate his foes instead. His diet consists entirely of lichens, algae, and similar flora, storing them in his transparent stomach pouches, and can be seen sunbathing in the water, belly up, feeding the plant matter the sunlight they need to grow. He also does not like Bug-Types, and isn’t Bug himself because of Grass/Bug’s myriad of weaknesses (for balancing), plus he changes Types after his first evolution. The theme of Grass Starters is extinction, which won’t become clear until his final evolution, but you may be able to guess how he relates.

Fire Starters are themed after the Chinese Zodiac, and of the remaining four yet to be used (including Snake, Ram, and Horse), I went with Ox. Calfyre's name is a play on Calf and Fire, and is meant to play like a Barbarian. When it comes to personality he's very timid and unsure of himself like a first-time DND player might be acting in a group. Unlike most Fire-Types, Calfyre lacks a Flame Sac. Instead, his spiral horns are filled with a freon-like liquid that, when swirled, rapidly absorbs energy from the air, which he uses for attacks. This chills the air around him, and makes him one of the few Fire-Types that are cold to the touch. Which sucks, because he’s a snugly sleeper.

Water Starters are usually themed after a weapon or character class. This usually shows in the later evolutions, but it's pretty obvious Squisque (a portmanteau of Squirt, Squire, and Bisque) is themed off a lance and shield. He's a paladin in both role and personality, charging in at the slightest sign of trouble, even if there isn't any real danger. It's the typical non-nuanced idea of what people think when they hear "Paladin." He was to a degree supposed to play a catalyst role, charging into situations the players may not want to in order to force them into helping people or combat if need be. He was also the first design I settled on, being based on an old Kaijin idea I had of a lobster-knight using its asymmetrical claws as different medieval weapons.

Utaw is unique, not just in that he was a fourth or Fairy Starter, but in conception. I was only supposed to have three players, but ended up with four. As such, his design is responsive to the others. Why a dinosaur? Because I had a mammal, crustacean, and bug, was unsure if I wanted a bird or reptile, and decided to meet half-way. Why is he Fairy? Because it has very little interaction with Fire, Water, and Grass, while still having defined weaknesses and resistances to certain types. (Also, this player wanted a Dragon-Type.) He’s based on a Utahraptor, hence the name, and is misspelled to include “Claw” or “Caw.” He’s meant to play team Bard, and uses sound moves. As for personality, he's a bit of a birdbrain who enjoys fighting. Not maliciously; it’s just fun, again acting like a new DND player who’s more interested in combat than role playing.

The idea with the personalities was that each Pokémon was supposed to start out like a rookie DND player on their first campaign. Not knowing how to play their class, being uncomfortable acting in front of a group, leaning too hard into your role without bending, or just fighting everything you see without diplomacy. It felt like a fun extra layer to each of these Pokémon that tied them just as much into the DND side of things as the Pokémon.

=====

Back to our story, after being briefly detained (mostly as an excuse to give the players time to introduce themselves to each other, something my DMs have struggled with), they meet Professor(-in-training) Bianca. The four Pokémon had been found by Silph Co., and had decided to donate them to the Unovan Pokémon Research Lab. However, after seeing the Pokémon interacting with these people, Bianca decides to give them up instead. "Pokémon should be with people," after all.

I had three side quests set up following this (after they all go to the DMV to get their Trainer's licenses). The first was a general "there's wild Pokémon here" quest where they could train and catch things. There was a sale at the mall where they could get some cheap held items and have their first trainer battle, and an event at the fisher's market where they could win some free items and would lead into their first dungeon.

The dungeon was what I was hoping they would pick, and would have them chase a group of Poipole through a warehouse, with them having different battles if they chose to enter from the front or the back. After defeating them, the Poipole would be sucked through a spontaneously generating Ultra Wormhole, with a high enough perception check revealing a strange laugh, or on a 20 have them catch a glimpse of a grey Charizard O_O

From there it was a matter of coming up with (or possibly recycling unused) side-quests until we reached the point where the Starters were about to evolve. I had a few things planned; introductions to a few reoccurring NPCs, a field trip to the local museum where they would be able to catch a Yamask (and possibly learn something about the origins of their Starters), and a raid battle against a group of Onix who would recur through the campaign.

The end of Phase 1 would come about with another dungeon. In the middle of the night, Ethan and Arthur would be awoken by their Pokémon to a group of Durant having busted through the floor of the dorm and raiding their kitchen. Easily driving them off, their Pokémon would encourage them to pursue. Later, full party in toe, the four of them would explore the Duranthill. There would be a number of possible encounters, but only one mandatory fight before reaching the depths. In said encounter, while being surrounded by a group of Durant, they would receive unexpected help from this Pokémon:

With some interpretation, they would discover that this Princess Durant was afraid for the sake of her colony. A new queen had taken up residence there, and was commanding the Durant to attack the surface and steal food for her. With additional party member in toe, they would descend further with better direction, eventually discovering the lair of the Queen Durant...

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

There was a prompt by @frances-the-red:

Oh no! Geralt lost his engagement ring! 😱 What happened and how is the godling Hansi involved? (Just a silly little prompt if you ever become bored. Love your writing! 🧡)

I changed the engagement ring to wedding ring because there has never actually been an engagement, let’s just say that’s not a Nilfgaard custom ;) Also, I changed Hansi to the more common Johnny. I think nobody will understand the joke anyway and English-speaking gamers just know him by this name. Hansi is his name in the german dubbing (which is the same as Johnny) and that happens to be the name of my favorite Heavy Metal singer, too. And I love that you prompted me with it :)

One last thing: I had to alter the outcome of a specific Witcher 3 quest for this. Usually, Sarah only meets Johnny if you throw her out of the house where Corinne meets her. So for this story, let’s just assume it went a bit different. 

Enough babbling! This one is called “A seeker enthralled by a flame” (Avantasia lyrics this time), read under the cut or on AO3. 5330 words, rated G.

   The second of waking up, Geralt realized something was fundamentally wrong.

This had nothing to do with the fact that dull rays of the sun shining through the curtains indicated morning was already advanced. Nothing to do with him waking up in a foreign bed. Or that half of his body was hanging out, as if it missed the habit of a much larger bed. All of this was not unusual. So what was it? When his eyes opened, Geralt immediately knew where he was (in Novigrad), what he had been doing the night before (getting drunk with Dandelion and Zoltan out of pure reunion), and why he was here (a contract, of course, and this was a stopover on the way back).

Nothing of all this was wrong. What he could see of the room without moving his head (possibly one too many beers) was normal. A guest room at the Chameleon, furnished with Dandelion's somewhat exuberant taste and clearly refined by Priscilla's hand; fresh flowers and fruit on a sideboard. The fingertips of Geralt's right hand brushed wood. It took him a moment to realize that his arm was hanging out of the bed, touching the floor. The floor felt normal, as did his body, which was slowly waking up and painfully reminding him that he needed to pee.

But he was not ready yet. His mind was still trying to trace this feeling, even if it might well have been only a vague thought from a dream. Lost in thought, he involuntarily began tapping a kind of rhythm on the floor, an odd imitation of what Emhyr did when he became impatient. And then he understood. An ice-cold feeling ran through his abdomen, and the natural need was gone.

The ring was missing.

Hastily Geralt raised his hand, straightening in the bed, bringing his fingers close to his face, staring. His ring finger had a small, light-colored indentation, an imprint that made it even more evident that something was missing. His wedding ring was gone. Against better judgment, Geralt jumped out of bed and carefully examined the floor; he even crawled under the bed, checked every crack, combed the whole room.

It was simply easier to assume that the ring had slipped off his finger (it sat perfectly, he never took it off, not even when he put on gloves and went into battle) than to believe someone had dared to steal it from him. That was ridiculous. Stealing from a witcher? In one of the hottest establishments in town (a fucking wicked, disgusting town full of disgusting subjects, well). Even drunk as he had been last night, that was not possible. Who would dare to enter his room without him noticing (impossible) and pull a ring off his finger?

It was undoubtedly a valuable piece, but the silver... Geralt's eyes immediately darted to the wall next to the bed, although he had long known what he would see. The swords were still there, leaning neatly against the wall in their scabbards.

That didn't make any sense. Who would steal a ring when there were two swords whose common material value was significantly higher? Indeed, the blades were almost unsaleable – no merchant in his right mind would buy witchers' swords, especially those whose engraved runes were more than clearly traceable to the owner. Nevertheless, Geralt hurriedly began to check the rest of his equipment. The armor, the saddlebags... everything was there; nothing was missing.

Geralt sat down on the bed, resting his slightly aching skull on his hands. Had he perhaps lost the ring during the evening? Or – even worse – had he, in a frenzy, agreed to use the piece as a prize in a game of Gwent? He was notorious (well, in the eyes of a certain man at least) for occasionally doing idiotic things, but Geralt thought something like that was out of the question.

Besides, he didn't want to imagine that possibility because it would have meant that, in a few days, he would have had to confront his husband to tell him he had lost the ring. The symbol of their love come true, the flame that he always carried with him like the one in his heart....

"Silly. And you're hyperventilating."

There wasn't really a voice in his head, but he could imagine it very well (and that was very close to what Emhyr would actually say before he found out the ring was gone). Besides, the voice was right. Geralt took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. If the idea of being robbed seemed absurd, at least there was a way to find out if it was valid. All he had to do was focus on possible clues in the room. However, that was easier said than done; after all, he was in Novigrad, in a much-frequented house – supposedly the most popular in the whole city. Looking for traces in this room was like telling a dog to search through a massive pile of shit to find out if his best friend had been there.

The same was true for the smell. However, chance aided him – this room didn't seem to be used quite as often. Perhaps Dandelion indeed did keep it only for friends at all times, or maybe he exaggerated his establishment's popularity. In any case, most of the traces and smells that Geralt's senses picked up were older and not of concern. Quite clearly, his own smell still hung in the room, an almost visible cloud of alcohol, leather, horse.... well, he had arrived only a few hours before. But there was something else. More like a hunch that someone else had actually been here – a kind of whiff, an indefinable but strangely familiar smell, as if he had sensed it once before, and a tiny trail of footsteps, as delicate as if that had been just a ghost. But a ghost would have left no visible traces at all.

Even these were almost impossible to see, smell or feel. It was strange, but at least a better explanation than that he had simply lost the ring. Still, what creature would have managed to pull the thing off his finger and disappear with it completely without a sound and almost without a trace? There was only one way to find out, and, if possible, before anyone saw him without the ring. Now it didn't seem like such a good idea that he had presented it so openly (because he was damn proud of it).

Geralt left the Chameleon like a suitor who had fallen asleep over his secret lover – very quietly. No one was awake yet anyway. He disappeared without a message, which was not that unusual, and sneaked out through the back exit. It was challenging to follow the delicate breeze on the streets and impossible to make out the tracks anymore. Almost as if the thief had fled across the rooftops – a not so unlikely possibility. Besides, the city itself stank of all the shit that places like these stink of: too many people and their numerous vices.

His motivation was high (if not desperate), so his focus was tremendous. The sight of a witcher trudging through Novigrad with a grim expression on his face, looking neither left nor right, was not common even here. As so often, his reputation preceded him, and if he had bothered to look into the eyes of the people who hurriedly avoided him, he probably could have guessed which of the numerous things said about him they were most likely to believe. He didn't care anyway. Geralt followed the fleeting trail of a breeze mixed with so many smells that it became almost impossible to keep track of it.

Twice he lost it, once he almost lost his nerve, and yet he held on convulsively to that one delicate scent. It led him out of the city, which was good; it would be easier to track now. Only briefly did he give up following the scent because, outside the city gate, he was sure to find it again. The trail led directly away from the main road, which didn't surprise him. The brazen thief surely had not been interested in encountering any guards. So he unhitched his horse from the capable businessman who had recently started running a livery stable near the entrance.

/

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   It went cross-country, over meadows and fields, which Geralt had to ride around as a precaution if he did not want to incur the farmers' wrath, and he lost valuable time, but never the trail. Whoever had taken the ring had been nimble, and they were several hours ahead of him. But he wondered where this would lead. The ring had hardly been stolen by a magpie that had flown into its nest with it. So why through the countryside and into the forest? Maybe the thief just wanted to hide and wait because there was no direct way to the next town from here, and Geralt still considered it doubtful that it would be possible to sell the ring, just like the swords. However, some crazy collectors paid a fortune for witcher's memorabilia. Maybe there was a black market for his wedding ring. This was such a monstrous thought that he already imagined what he would do to the thief if….

Geralt stopped as if rooted to the spot. The scent ceased here, in a small clearing of beech trees, in the middle of a meadow, sprinkled with daisies and wild herbs. He had been leading Roach on the reins for quite a while because the forest had become too dense. Now he let go, patted her briefly, and whispered to her to be good and stay put, which earned him a snort that sounded almost contemptuous.

The trail might end here, but that didn't mean he had lost it. He perceived a presence that was trying to hide, but... Geralt looked up.

"Johnny," he said. "You can come down now."

Up there, perched in a treetop, sat the reason why the smell had appeared familiar to him from the very beginning. He had just not been able to assign it to the little godling immediately. In fact, Geralt had not expected to see him again at all.

"I don't want to," resounded a pitched voice from above.

"I can imagine, but I'd rather you come down. My neck hurts from staring up."

"That's old age."

"I'm sure you know something about that," Geralt replied patiently. "Come down now. I want to ask you something."

Johnny grumbled, and he played coy for a few more seconds, but he seemed to realize that he would not escape the witcher just by hiding in the tree. So he climbed down the bark as nimbly as a squirrel, but when he reached the ground, he still kept some distance.

"Long time no see, witcher," he chirped, though also with a certain mistrust – which, in Geralt's opinion, he had good reason to feel.

"Johnny, you know it's dangerous for you to show yourself outside," Geralt began carefully.

The little one grimaced.

"I'm careful. Besides, sometimes it's pretty boring to just sit inside all the time."

"You promised to watch Corinne – and Sarah, didn't you?"

"And I do! Really!"

Now a genuine smile covered the godling's face, who outwardly and also in many traits almost resembled a child. The smile might have as much to do with his conspecific Sarah as with the sorceress who had taken them in. They could have lived a pleasant life in the wilderness, where they would not have had to hide all the time. But the godling's natural kindness had driven Sarah to return to Novigrad as if she felt a connection with the oneiromancer, and Johnny had gone along. It was certainly not a forever bond, but it seemed to work.

"I'm sure you do," Geralt replied, "But listen.... is it possible you paid me a visit last night?"

Johnny's big eyes had an innocent look.

"Maybe?"

"And did you maybe take something that doesn't belong to you?"

Johnny scratched his head.

"Well, that would depend on how you define property, I guess."

Geralt sighed.

"My ring, Johnny. Why did you steal my ring? And don't even try to deny it. I know you have it in your little pouch."

Involuntarily, the godling's gaze went to the slim bag he carried over his shoulder. There could hardly be a more apparent admission of guilt, and he noticed his mistake immediately.

"Oh, unfair," he complained. "You tricked me. That'll teach me to play with witchers again."

"This isn't a game, Johnny," Geralt said, now noticeably more severe. "Give the ring back."

"Oh, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I need it."

"For what?" sighed Geralt.

"That's a secret," the godling quickly replied.

"Johnny..."

"No, no, I won't be fooled again!"

"I'm sure Corinne doesn't know anything about it. Right? Would she approve?"

"You're not going to rat me out, are you? That's not proper between friends."

Johnny was visibly indignant now.

"It's not proper between friends to steal from each other, either."

The godling sighed.

"Oh, fine. Suppose you don't rat me out! Promise!"

Geralt counted very slowly inwardly to ten before answering, albeit through clenched teeth.

"I promise. So?"

"Well, if you can give anything on a witcher's word of honor.... I'll try to summon Liuba."

Geralt stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Liuba, the goddess of love?"

Johnny nodded eagerly. Geralt narrowed his eyes.

"Listen, I have no idea how this works among you godlings, but if Sarah isn't interested in you in that way, summoning a tricky goddess certainly isn't the best approach..."

"Dumbass. It's not for me," Johnny interrupted him. "It's about Corinne. She's been pretty lonely since she started taking care of us. She doesn't go out much, and even though we've offered to leave, she says she doesn't want us to. As far as we know, there are hardly any mages left in town. It is reasonably safe, but most are suspicious. And Corinne believes that no one who doesn't understand her powers can love her."

"Did she say that?"

Johnny sighed theatrically.

"We're magical beings, witcher. She doesn't have to say anything."

"All right, but... Johnny, you and Sarah are already very rare. Gods are – well, in many cases, just myths. Things made up by humans who found winter too cold and dark. And even if Liuba does exist, she may not be the best choice. According to her legend, she more or less killed a woman who asked her for help. Which technically fulfilled the deal to reunite her with her beloved, who happened to die on the battlefield at the same time."

"Hogwash," the godling replied contemptuously. "I do believe that gods exist. And that they are nothing other than magical beings, just like us. You should understand that, even if your magic is a flyspeck compared to what I can do. That they are myths, yes, that is a merit of the humans, and that's good because otherwise, they would have probably wiped them all out. This way, they've just forgotten many of them."

Annoyed, Geralt blew a strand of hair out of his face.

"All right, let's not argue about the existence of gods. Why does my ring have to be the pledge to call her?"

"It must be a symbol of true love," Johnny said seriously.

"Surely there will be enough love to be found in Novigrad..."

"You don't understand! What do you think I have tried already? Garters, lockets with drawings in them, love letters.... None of it worked. This may be a big city, but true love is rarely found."

"You stole all that?"

The godling shrugged.

"And a lot of wedding rings," he admitted. "But yours is special. There's much stronger magic in that."

"There's no magic in it at all," Geralt objected.

Johnny chuckled.

"You have no idea. There is destiny in true love, and the two combined are a rarity. Your ring radiates that. No wonder you don't realize it. You can't do anything but light fires and make people look elsewhere when you don't like them."

"That's not quite what..."

"That's some magic you don't know a thing about," Johnny continued. "Why you, of all people, have a ring like that is beyond me. There are far more beautiful wedding rings; believe me, I've had enough in my hand. But I haven't seen one that had an engraving like that. Even the metal was chosen with care. Almost all the wedding rings I saw were gold; yours is not."

"But what makes you think you can conjure Liuba here in the wilderness, of all places?"

"Ha, my dear, research!"

Johnny tapped his nose, a strangely touching gesture, even if it was meant to express superiority.

"Corinne had picked up some books so we wouldn't be bored. I honestly believe, secretly, that she genuinely thinks we're like children because of our shape. Well, anyway, one of the books was about local legends in the area. It was not difficult to get to the right place. The book said that some lovers claimed to have seen Liuba there."

"Did the book also say that it was dangerous?" Geralt asked dryly.

"It said that only true love could summon her," the godling replied unaffected. "Otherwise, Liuba would punish the callers. That's why I need your ring, you see."

"Well, let's say I believe all that; what happens if you succeed in calling the goddess with this pledge?" asked Geralt.

"She will accept the gift and fulfill my wish: that Corinne meets the love of her life. You know, she wouldn't have to take care of us. We can do it quite well on our own. But Sarah thinks we make sure her powers don't turn against her. I guess all this dream magic isn't that much fun."

"I can't let that happen," Geralt said seriously.

"What, you don't begrudge Corinne finding someone she loves?" asked Johnny indignantly.

"This isn't about Corinne. You can't give my ring to some goddess. This is my wedding ring, Johnny. It's very important to me."

"Weren't you listening? That's also one reason why it'll be so valuable to Liuba."

"I get it," Geralt replied grimly. "But it's my ring, and you can't have it. You'll have to find something else."

"I told you, I've already tried."

"All right... I'll try. I'll get you a pledge of true love that's just as good."

Johnny grimaced.

"I don't think that's possible."

"You do believe that you can summon a goddess, and I don't think that will work, either with my ring or if we sacrifice a virgin."

"That's barbaric," Johnny said indignantly.

"That's why we're not doing it," Geralt returned irritably. "Listen, you know I could just take that ring off you. But I don't want to hurt you or your, well, religious feelings. So I'm going to help you and get you another love symbol. I'm convinced it doesn't even have to be magical."

"But..."

"You don't even know her legend," Geralt continued. "The woman who summoned Liuba paid with jewelry. Among them was possibly a love pledge, a gift, but that's only part of the ritual, isn't it?"

Johnny nodded slowly.

"Well, there are a few other things required as well, I've already obtained them all, wasn't exactly easy either."

"You mean you stole those too."

"How could I have bought them?" the godling replied innocently. "So, what's your plan?“

/

*//////{<>==================-

\

   Geralt didn't believe for a second that Johnny would succeed in summoning a goddess - let alone that she was anything more than a legend. What he did believe, however, was that maybe something was there. The fact that the information in Johnny's book pointed explicitly to a particular location was hardly a coincidence. Also that the ritual was described in detail – although the special ingredient, namely the love pledge, was mentioned rather vaguely in the book, as he had gotten out of Johnny after some more inquiring. Geralt thought it possible that perhaps something really could be summoned at this point, but certainly not a goddess. A specter, perhaps, or a cursed being, a corgowrath, a Shishiga… whatever it was, he believed it to be rare and old, probably dangerous.

He asked the godling not to try to start the ritual without him but to prepare it so that they could start right away when Geralt returned. Meanwhile, he rode back to Novigrad, spending an outrageous amount of money on a small silver box decorated with tacky rose petals made of tiny, inexpensive gems. Then he spent considerable time unobtrusively looking around for a mage or sorceress. He could by no means go to Corinne with his request without betraying Johnny – which he didn't want to do because it was clear to him that the godling meant well. But as a being exceedingly connected with nature, he lacked the sense for many human characteristics, and he did not grasp the danger that could hide in such magical incantation. Furthermore, Geralt was aware that he would only get his ring back safely if he played at least partially by Johnny's rules. And in the end, it was always about playing with these creatures.

He found a mage who, even if they officially no longer had to hide, made a somewhat nervous impression. Geralt had the box covered with a spell that he had thought about for a while and was reasonably sure that Johnny wouldn't recognize what was actually behind it. This took a while, and the mage relaxed a bit, even admitting at the end that he still slept poorly, albeit the city was safe for his kind again. However, prejudices did not disappear from people's minds so quickly. Emhyr held back on the presence of soldiers in the city; it was still a sensitive topic in negotiations. Of the northern kingdoms, no one felt responsible either, which is why crime still flourished in Novigrad. Before leaving, Geralt recommended that the mage visit Corinne – just for safety. Briefly, the thought crossed his mind that he was traveling in the matter of love, after all. That was ridiculous, and besides, it was none of his business.

When he returned, Johnny had prepared the ritual. He had set up a circle in the clearing, made of half-burned candles and at least one unused one. In the middle of it, he had placed a pile of gifts, mainly jewelry and love letters, all stolen like the candles – like Geralt's ring, but it was not among the other stuff. The godling noticed Geralt's look and defended himself by saying that all of this was only for security, to strengthen the spell.

"I really don't think that's going to work," Geralt said, "not even with this."

He held up the silver box.

"For someone who possesses such a mighty token of love, you're surprisingly doubtful of its power," Johnny remarked pointedly.

"Maybe, but I'm a reformed skeptic when it comes to love."

Johnny shook his head.

"So, what did you bring?"

"In this box," Geralt claimed dramatically, "I had one of my memories magically locked away."

"What?"

"A memory of a loving moment."

"Memories are powerful," Johnny mused. "I just hope it's nothing objectionable?"

Geralt shrugged.

"Love has many facets. Ultimately, it's up to your goddess to decide, isn't it?"

The godling still looked a little indecisive, but finally, he nodded.

"All right, I'll tell you how we do it," Geralt continued.

"But I've read the book, I know..."

"Well, you can do it as the book says. But as soon as the time comes when the box is needed, you give me back the ring. At that exact moment, you hear?"

Johnny tilted his head.

"That's not stupid," he said appreciatively. "You think if your little box isn't strong enough, after all, Liuba will be attracted to the power of the ring. In the end, the memory in your little box might still be enough for her. Clever."

"Exactly," Geralt lied without batting an eye.

"That way, you can keep the ring, and I can still talk to her.... it's just a little bit of cheating. I like it," Johnny said. "Let's get started."

So they began. Geralt lit the candles in the order Johnny solemnly told him to. He had even stolen a flint, which Geralt thought was almost more dangerous than anything else he had done. Then began a litany of mumbled words, a strange mixture of elder speech and some gibberish. Maybe some swear words, who could tell for sure.

At some point, the godling reached into his little bag, and at last, Geralt saw his ring again. The sight of it stung him a little. Perhaps it was indeed strange how attached he was to this object. Still, he did not regard the ring as a mere object.

"It's time," Johnny whispered, his face a single mask of concentration, his big eyes half-closed.

Geralt held out his hand with the box. The atmosphere was strange. Evening had fallen on the small clearing; the light had given way to a pale gray, at the edge of which still hung the last pink of the setting sun. The birds' singing from the forest had stopped; not even the woodpecker, which had been hammering on some trees almost all day, could still be heard. Actually, all sounds had fallen silent, even that of small animals in the undergrowth. Although a gentle breeze was blowing, not even a rustle could be heard.

That was strange, but even stranger was that the air, which had been pure and clear all day, seemed to condense. Johnny had insisted that Geralt put down the swords, but he had placed them on the floor not too far from him and was now glancing at them. If any specter was indeed going to show itself, he had to be quick. The silver sword was prepared in case, but since he didn't know what he was up against, he had to decide on a possible potion at the last second. And he had to get Johnny to safety somehow.

"Now," Geralt hissed as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Promptly, he held out the box to Johnny. The latter’s eyes seemed even bigger than usual, and a delighted smile now appeared on his face. He took the box and gave the ring to Geralt, who immediately put it on his finger. At the same moment, a strange glow seemed to fill the air. Geralt stood waiting at the edge of the candle circle, his knees slightly bent, ready to make a daring leap towards the swords. It seemed to grow darker around them, while a bright spot of light remained in the center of the circle. The air crackled. Suddenly Johnny chuckled and lowered his eyes in a shy gesture. Geralt stared over at him, frowning.

"What's going on?"

The godling did not answer. He seemed not to perceive Geralt at all. Then he nodded and began to speak incoherently.

"That's right," he said, and "What mage?"

He chuckled again. Then he pointed to Geralt.

"No, he has no idea," he said.

The witcher wondered if Johnny had gone mad. Nothing was there. It seemed as if an apparition was about to materialize, but at the same time, as if something prevented it from doing so. Johnny spoke to the air. Geralt thought carefully. What creature could manage to make itself entirely invisible for a witcher, not even causing the medallion to vibrate? It was also strange that the changed atmosphere had nothing dangerous about it at all. Nevertheless, he thought it impossible that Johnny was talking to a love goddess right now – or that she would show herself to the godling, of all people, who had nothing to offer but a handful of jewelry and a small box covered with a strong but rather silly spell. This only confirmed his suspicion that it was not about a love pledge at all. Geralt took a quick look at his ring. The engraved flame on it seemed to glow red. He ran the index finger of his left hand over it. It was all in his imagination; there was nothing at all.

Just at that moment, the strange sensation hovering over the surroundings disappeared, and suddenly, the birds began to sing again. The light was back as before. Everything was exactly as before, just as if nothing had ever happened – only the candles had all gone out.

"What was that just now?" Geralt addressed the godling.

Johnny looked at him innocently, the box still in his hand.

"Look, she didn't take it at all. Nor any of the other stuff. She said she'd do it for free for me. You got all worked up over your ring for nothing!"

"Better safe than sorry," Geralt grumbled, "What did she say, your goddess?"

He sounded so skeptical that Johnny burst out laughing.

"You don't believe it even now, do you? I suppose you didn't see anything? Well, these gods play by their own rules, my dear. She said Corinne's already been taken care of. I don't know what that means, but I think Sarah and I won't have to worry about her anytime soon."

"I see," Geralt replied. He couldn't think of any other answer. He made a mental note to ask Dandelion to check on Corinne occasionally. While he didn't actually believe Johnny had been talking to a goddess, as long as he didn't know what he was dealing with, he preferred to play it safe. If there was some spectral being around, someone would have to take care of it sooner or later.

/

*//////{<>==================-

\

   "You're late."

Emhyr, engrossed in papers in his study as usual at this hour, did not precisely toss aside his quill at the sight of Geralt, but he leaned back, regarding his spouse intently.

"Late?" asked Geralt, after closing the door and making sure they were indeed alone (occasionally, there were minions in the alcoves, scurrying out at a hint). Only then did he casually stroll around the table to pick up the kiss he thought he richly deserved. He got it, and it felt like he had actually been gone too long. The fact that he then sat down on the desk, however, earned him a disapproving look.

"You're crumpling important documents. All I’m saying is that, according to my information, you had already arrived in Novigrad about a week ago. Usually, you stay a day or two, then you head back."

"You sent your spies after me?"

"Certainly not."

"So you have spies in Novigrad?"

"Don't act surprised," Emhyr returned. "With your penchant for dubious adventures, you can't blame me for occasionally liking to know where you hang out."

"Dubious... pah."

Geralt grinned cockily.

"Then why didn't your spies tell you where I was if you think I should have been back by now?"

Emhyr didn't bat an eye, but at least he had to admit, "I'm afraid they... lost sight of you at some point."

"Well, maybe I just don't let myself be watched on my dubious adventures," Geralt countered. "I'll tell you about it sometime; however, right now, I want to get rid of the dust from the journey. Just this much: I was traveling in matters of love."

Emhyr folded his arms, raising his brows.

"Is this going to be some weird attempt to make me jealous?"

"Oh, would that work?"

"Sure, though it would be high treason."

"High treason?"

"Of course," Emhyr replied calmly, "betraying the Emperor is high treason."

"In that case," Geralt said, "it's a good thing your spies didn't get me."

He wiped away Emhyr's now slightly confused expression with another kiss. Before closing his eyes, he took one last look at his ring.

This story was probably better left a secret after all.

[multiverseforger]

Victor Von Doom was born decades ago to a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman called the Baron. Victor's mother was witch Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Von Doom was young. His father, Werner, was the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorceress life quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate. Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grew incurably ill from cancer and Werner was called to the capital to heal her. When she succumbed to illness, the Baron labeled Werner a murderer and called for his death. Werner escaped with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He goes on to die of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survived and, on return to the Romani camp, discovered his mother's occult instruments and swore revenge on the Baron. Victor grew into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices which would keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people. His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sent someone to the camp.[49] Offered the chance to study in the United States, Von Doom chose to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.

Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future rival Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Von Doom disliked him and asked for another roommate. After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead, specifically his mother. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results, the machine violently failing with the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaging his face.[49] It is later revealed that Ben Grimm, a friend of Richards who despised Victor for his superior attitude, tampered with the machine. He would later blame himself for Doom's initial fall to villainy and rise to power, but never revealed this information to anyone.[50] Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside. Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves. Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with an iron mask, but before the mask had finished cooling, Victor put it on permanently bonding it to his skin, and then took the mantle Doctor Doom.[49] As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He succeeded in leading a revolution to take over Latveria from the Baron, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.

In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captures the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage so the Fantastic Four will travel back in time to steal the enchanted treasure of Blackbeardwhich will help him to conquer the world and rule it peacefully, but he is fooled by Reed Richards, who swaps the treasure with worthless chains.[51] Doom then forms an alliance with the Sub-Mariner, who places a magnetic device in the Baxter Building. However, Doom uses this to pull him and the Fantastic Four into space, thinking this will rid him of those capable of preventing him from assuming control of the world's governments; the Sub-Mariner gets to Doom's ship and returns the Baxter Building to New York, stranding Doom on an asteroid. Returning to Earth after learning the secrets of an advanced alien race, the Ovids, Doom accidentally exchanges consciousnesses with Mister Fantastic; Richards, inhabiting Doom 's body, switches the two back, and Doom ends up trapped in a micro-world when he is hit with a shrinking ray he had intended to use on the rest of the Fantastic Four.[52] Doom takes over this micro-world, but leaves after the Fantastic Four end his rule. He is then thrown into space when he attempts to prevent the Fantastic Four from leaving the micro-world.[53] Doom is saved by Rama-Tut, and he returns to Earth to destroy the Fantastic Four by turning each member against the other using a special berry juice. Richards outwits Doom by using the hallucinogenic juice against him. Doom, believing he has killed Richards in a test of willpower, departs certain of his victory and superior intelligence, although saddened.[54]

During the 1960s, Doom attempted to recruit Spider-Man into joining forces with him,[55]and he came into conflict with the Avengerswhen Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch illegally entered Latveria to find a long-lost relative of theirs.[56] He stole the Silver Surfer's powers in 1967, but lost them after breaching a barrier Galactus had set for the Surfer on Earth.[57][58]

During the 1970s, Doom branched out to more Marvel titles, with a battle between Victor Von Doom and Prince Rudolfo over control of the Latverian throne being featured in Astonishing Tales.[59] Doctor Doom also attempts to use the Hulk as his slave during two issues of The Incredible Hulk.[60] The character also made several appearances in the story arcs of Super-Villain Team-Up, starting in 1975, as well as appearances in Marvel Team-Up, beginning with issue #42 (February 1976). In August 1981, Doom also made an appearance in Iron Man when the two traveled to Camelot, where Stark thwarted Doom 's attempt to solicit the aide of Morgan le Fay into defeating King Arthur's forces with an army of revived warriors who were slain by the sword Excalibur; Doom swore deadly vengeance for that interference, which stranded him in the past - this vengeance had to be indefinitely delayed in the interest of returning to the present day.[61] A particularly detailed plan saw Doom ally with the Puppet Master to trap the Fantastic Four within the miniature artificial city of "Liddleville", their minds trapped inside tiny cybernetic, part-organic copies of their original bodies. However, Doom perverts what had been intended by the Puppet Master as a chance to give Alicia and Ben a normal life into a trap, deliberately disrupting Reed's connection to his copy to make it hard for him to concentrate while "Vincent Vaughn"- Doom's alias as he monitors the project- belittles him, and the Puppet Master eventually helps the FF learn the truth and escape Liddleville while trapping Doom in the android body he had used to monitor the FF.[62]

During John Byrne's run in the 1980s, Doom attempted to steal the cosmic powers of Terrax, but Doom's body was destroyed in the resulting fight between Terrax and the Silver Surfer.[63] Doom survived by transferring his consciousness to another human, and is returned to his original body by the Beyonder[64] (who had reached into the relative future to 'recruit' Doom for the conflict on Battleworld that the FF had participated in a few months ago from their perspective). While on Battleworld, Doom attempted and briefly succeeded in stealing the Beyonder's power, but it proves too vast for him to control and the disembodied Beyonder is able to take his power back.

When Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Onslaught, Doom joined the Fantastic Four, Avengers and the X-Men to battle Onslaughtin Central Park. An enraged Hulk was able to crack open Onslaught's shell. However, Onslaught remained as pure psionic energy, separated Hulk and Banner, planning to spread across the planet. Thor Odinsonplunged into Onslaught, trying to contain him. The Fantastic Four, the majority of the Avengers, and the Hulk-less Banner followed in short order, with Doom being forced to join the sacrifice when Iron Man tackled the villain into the energy mass. Thanks to this sacrifice, the X-Men finally managed to destroy Onslaught. Doom, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers and Banner were believed dead but were instead saved by Franklin, who created a pocket dimension called Counter-Earth to keep them safe. After several months away, the missing heroes returned from Counter-Earth, except for Doom, who remained there for a time. Doom uncovers the secret power at the heart of the planet, an avatar of his arch-foe Reed Richards' son, Franklin, the super-powered youth who conjured this globe and left a bit of himself behind to guide it from within. Doom managed to convince the little boy to relinquish control of this world with little more than a few errant promises of a better life.

When Susan Richards experienced problems with her second pregnancy while Reed was away, Johnny contacted Doom for help, correctly guessing that Doom will be unable to pass up a chance to succeed where Reed failed (due to the complex events involving the then-recent resurrection of Galactus, this pregnancy is a 'repeat' of an earlier one where Sue miscarried). Doom not only saves Sue's daughter but also cured Johnny of a recent problem with his powers where Johnny was unable to 'flame off' without technological support after becoming overcharged with energy from the Negative Zone by channeling Johnny's excess energy into Sue to keep her alive. After the birth, Doom's only apparent condition for his aid is that he be allowed to name Sue and Reed's daughter, calling her 'Valeria' after his long-lost love. However, this inspires a new plan where Doom makes Valeria his familiar while seeking out her namesake as part of a deal with a trio of demons; by sacrificing his old lover, Doom is granted magical powers on the level he would possess if he had spent the past years studying sorcery rather than science.[65] With this new power, Doom trapped Franklin in Hell, immobilised Doctor Strange, and then neutralises the FF's powers, torturing the other three while taunting Reed by leaving him in his magical library, comparing it to giving a dog a road-map as he concluded that it would be impossible for Reed to master sufficient magical skill to be a threat to him.[66]However, Reed was able to release Doctor Strange's astral self from Doom's traps, allowing Strange to give Reed a sufficient crash-course in magic for Reed to free the rest of the team and trick Doom into angering his demonic benefactors, prompting them to take him to Hell.[67] Determined to ensure that Doom cannot be a further threat, Reed takes control of Latveria to dismantle all of Doom's equipment,[68] simultaneously subtly driving his family away so that he can trap Doom and himself in a pocket dimension so that he can make sure Doom never threatens anyone again.[69] However, this plan backfires when the rest of the team attempt to rescue Reed, resulting in Doom transferring his spirit into Sue, Johnny and Ben respectively, forcing Reed to kill his best friend to stop his greatest enemy.[70] Doom was returned to Hell, but Reed is later able to use the same machine Doom once tried to create to travel to Heaven and restore Ben to life.[71] Doom remained in Hell until Mjolnir falls to Earth after the events of Ragnarok as it creates a dimensional tear during its fall that allows Doom to escape, although he decides to focus on rebuilding his power base when he proves unable to even lift the hammer. The events of this were deleted from Marvel Comics continuity in the 2015 series Secret Wars.

Later, a Doombot was taken down by Reed Richards, Henry Pym, Iron Man, She-Hulk and others in New York City. Whether or not it was sent by Doom himself remains to be seen, as does his role in the overall conflict. Doom was not invited to the wedding of Storm and the Black Panther. However, he did send a present: an invitation to form an alliance with Latveria, using the Civil War currently going on among the hero community as a reason to quite possibly forge an alliance between their two countries. When Black Panther, on a diplomatic mission to other countries with Storm, did show up in Latveria, he presented them with a real present and extended another invitation to form an alliance with Black Panther. He demonstrated behavior very uncharacteristic of him, however, which may or may not become a plot point later. Panther spurned the invitation, detonating an EMP that blacked out a local portion of Latveria before Doctor Doom 's robots could destroy his ship. Later on, Doom is then shown collaborating with the Red Skull on a weapon which will only "be the beginning" of Captain America's suffering. Von Doom gave the Red Skull the weapon because the Red Skull gave Victor pieces of technology from an old German castle. The castle was owned by a "Baron of Iron" centuries prior, who had used his technological genius to protect himself and his people. The map the Red Skull used to find the castle bore a picture of Von Doom. Doom states that the technology the Red Skull gave him is more advanced than what he currently has and that he will become the Baron of Iron in his future; although he does not agree with the Red Skull's principles, the time paradox the situation causes forces him to comply. The Red Skull is currently in the process of reverse-engineering Doom's weapon for multiple uses, rather than the single use Doctor Doom agreed to.

At the end of the first chapter of the X-Men event Endangered Species, Doom is among the various geniuses that Beast contacts to help him reverse the effects of Decimation. He spurns Beast by stating that genetics do not number among his talents. In Spider-Man: One More Day, Doom was among those that Spider-Man contacts to help save Aunt May.[72] Doom also makes Latveria into a refugee camp for the Atlanteans following the destruction of their underwater kingdom[73] as well as becoming allies with Loki in his plot to manipulate his brother into unwittingly release his Asgardian allies.[74]

Doctor Doom later defends Latveria from the Mighty Avengers, following a revelation that it was one of Doom's satellites that carried the 'Venom Virus' released in New York City (which was actually hacked by an enemy of Doom).[75] In a battle with Iron Man and the Sentry, the time travel mechanism within his armor overloads, trapping Doctor and his opponents at some point in the past - Doom continues his relationship with Morgan le Fayusing his time machine.[76] He and Iron Man managed to get back to the present, but Doom has left Iron Man in his exploding castle. Despite his helping, Doom ended up falsely incarcerated at The Raft.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Doom was among those who escaped the Raft when a virus was uploaded into its systems by the Skrulls. In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion, Doctor Doom became a member of the Dark Illuminati alongside Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki's female form, and the Hood, intending to seek revenge on the world for falsely ruining his reputation. At the end of this meeting, Namor and Doom are seen having a discussion of their own plans that have already been set in motion.[77]

Doom soon allies himself with the isolationist group known as the Desturi to take control of Wakanda, attacking and wounding T'Challa, then the current Black Panther, maiming him enough to prevent him from holding the mantle again. Doom's main objective was to secure Wakanda's store of vibranium, which he could mystically enhance to make himself invulnerable. Doom was also a part of the group known as the Intelligencia after being captured to complete their plan. With the help of Bruce Banner, he escaped and returned to Latveria, damaged by this experience.

At the start of the Siege storyline, Doom was with the Cabal discussing the current problems with the X-Men and both Avengers teams. Doom demands that Osborn at once reverse his course of action against his ally Namor, to which Osborn refuses, saying that he and Emma Frost had "crossed the line" with him. Doom, loathing Thor and the Asgardians all the more due to his recent defeat at their hands, claims that he will support Osborn's "madness" should Namor be returned to him, but Osborn refuses. Osborn's mysterious ally, the Void, violently attacks Doom, and an apparently amused Loki tells the Hood that he should go, as there is nothing here for either of them, which the Hood, now loyal to Loki due to his hand in the restoration of his mystical abilities, agrees. However, it is revealed that "Doctor Doom" who had been involved with the Cabal was actually an upgraded Doctor Doombot, which releases swarms of Doctor Doombot nanites against the Cabal, tearing down Avengers Tower and forcing its denizens, such as the Dark Avengers, to evacuate. Osborn is rescued by the Sentry, who destroys the body. When Osborn contacts the real Von Doom, Victor informs him not to ever strike him again or he would be willing to go further.[33]

It has been revealed that the Scarlet Witch seen in Wundagore Mountain is actually a Doctor Doombot which apparently means that the real one has been captured by Doom sometime after the House of M event.[78] It is revealed that Wanda's enhanced powers were a result of her and Doom's combined attempt to channel the Life Force in order to resurrect her children. This proves to be too much for Wanda to contain and it overtook her. With Wiccan and Doom's help, they seek to use the entity that is possessing Wanda to restore the powers of mutantkinds. This is stopped by the Young Avengers (who are concerned at the fall-out that would ensue if the powerless mutants are suddenly re-powered) only to find out that Doom intended to transfer the entity into his own body and gain Wanda's god-like powers of re-writing reality for himself.[79]Doom becomes omnipotent with powers surpassing those of beings as the Beyonderor the Cosmic Cube. The Young Avengers confront him, but Doom accidentally kills Cassie just before Wanda and Wiccan stole his new-found powers.[80]

At the start of the story arc "Fantastic Four: Three", a guilt-ridden Doom felt that he needed to be "reborn" and was making plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff when Valeria teleported to his room unexpectedly asking for his assistance to help her father. Valeria quickly notices that Doom had suffered brain damage from his previous battle and is slowly losing his memories; she makes a deal with him to restore his mental capacities if he helps Reed and the Fantastic Four. Doom agrees to her proposition.[36]Later, Doom appears among those in attendance at Johnny Storm's funeral.[37]

Due to the agreement, Doom was recommended by Nathaniel and Valeria Von Doom to be a member of the Future Foundation.[38] Objecting, Thing attacks Doom out of anger, but the fight was stopped by Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who welcomes Victor to their group. When Valeria asks Victor if he has a backup for restoring his memories, he reveals that Kristoff Vernard is his backup. Afterward, Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, Nathaniel, Valeria, and Victor head to Latveria to meet with Kristoff and request his help. Mister Fantastic sets up a brain transfer machine in order to help restore Victor's memories and knowledge, which is successful. When Kristoff wants to return the throne to him, Doom states that it is not time yet because of a promise he made to Valeria. When Mister Fantastic asks what promise Doom made to Valeria, Victor states that he made a promise to help her defeat Mister Fantastic when she calls for it.[39] Doom decides to hold a symposium on how to finally defeat Reed Richards. The Thing and the evolved Moloids give an invitation to the High Evolutionary. Dragon Man and Alex Power give an invitation to Diablo. Upon receiving an invitation from Spider-Man, Mad Thinker is convinced to take part in the event. Bentley 23 even gives an invitation to his creator, the Wizard, along with two A.I.M. lieutenants. However, it is subsequently revealed that the 'Richards' they have been invited to defeat are actually members of the "Council of Reeds" (alternate versions of Reed who were trapped in this universe by Valeria a while back, possessing Reed's intellect while lacking his conscience).[81] While Spider-Man and Invisible Woman make sandwiches for the kids, Mister Fantastic, Victor, Valeria, and Nathaniel Richards meet with the supervillain geniuses and Uatu the Watcher about what to do with the Council of Reeds.[82]

Around this time, Von Doom performed brain surgery on the Hulk to separate him from Bruce Banner, extracting the uniquely Banner elements from Hulk's brain and cloning a new body for Banner, in return for a favor from the Hulk.[83] This clone is killed soon afterward.[84]Later, Doom is apparently killed by the Mad Celestials.[85] With no knowledge as to how he survived, Doom awakens in the ruins of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds, where Valeria had left him a present: the full army of lobotomized Doctor Dooms from alternate realities who were previously captured by the Council, along with two Infinity Gauntlets from alternate universes. With these resources, Doom created the Parliament of Doom, an interdimensional council charged with maintaining peace across the multiverse.[86]He later returned to again rule Latveria, upon ruling the council for a millennium.[87] An ill-fated excursion into the alternate universe of the one of Infinity Gauntlets resulted in Reed and Nathaniel Richards rescuing Doom from his own council.[88]

During the a confrontation between the Avengers and the X-Men, Doom allies with Magneto and others against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form.[89] In an attempt to atone for past misdeeds, Doom absorbs the Scarlet Witch reality-altering powers and resurrects the dead Cassie Lang, whom he had accidentally killed.[90] He subsequently makes a Faustian deal with an unspecified demon to resurrect Brother Voodoo.[91] After returning to normal, Doom is taken into captivity for his initial killing of Lang.[92]

With the final Incursion imminent during the Secret Wars storyline, Doom usurps the power of the Beyonders with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man,[40] collecting what he can of the destroyed multiverse and forming a new Battleworld consisting of different alternate realities. He also assumes the role of God and claims complete dominion of this new world and its inhabitants, controlling them into thinking he was always the almighty force of creation; he takes Sue as his wife, Franklin and Valeria as his children, condemns the Human Torch to be the sun and Ben Grimm to be the Shield wall, and rewrites his own history to resurrect the majority of those whose deaths he caused. Richards and a ragtag collection of heroes and villains that survived the destruction of all universes challenge Doom and, with the help of Molecule Man, are able to take his power and restore the multiverse. Opting to heal rather than harm, Reed finally uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face.[41]

In the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Doom returns to Latveria where he saves Tony Starkby incapacitating a group of Latverian rebels with a sonic attack.[42] Doom reveals to Tony that he is a new man and wishes to help, giving the latter one of the Wands of Watoomb to keep safe from Madame Masque. When more rebels arrive, Doom teleports Iron Man to the Bronx Zoo.[43]

Doom finds Iron Man again and teleports the two to the Jackpot Club in Chicago to confront Madam Masque.[44] Discovering that Madame Masque is displaying symptoms of demonic possession, Doom has Tony trap her in the Iron Man Armor then proceeds to exorcise the demon from her. Doom disappears before Tony regains consciousness.[45] Doom appears once again and interrupts Tony's breakfast date with Amara. Doom is trying to prove to Tony that he has changed and is trying to correct the mistakes he has made, explaining that he has arrived to check up on Tony and see if he is suffering from any side-effects from being in the presence of an exorcism. Tony still refuses to trust him after what he has done and Doom leaves once again.[46]

Following the defeat of Tony Stark at the hands of Captain Marvel at the conclusion of Civil War II, Doom discovers his calling. Remembering his dissatisfaction as a God, Doom decides that it was his role to help heal the world. Inspired by Stark, and informing his A.I. duplicate that he intends to establish Stark's legacy, Doom fights for his unique brand of justice as the third Iron Man, and later comes into conflict with Mephistodisguised as The Maker, the evil Ultimate Universe version of Reed Richards.[47] Doom goes on to join the Avengers, and later conceives a child with Dr. Amara Perera.[48]Doom's sudden change sparked grievances that resulted in a group of villains, led by the Hood, to join forces to take him down.[93]After the villains besieged Doom several times, the final battle occurred when the Hood attempted to take over Stark Industries, which happened not long after Stark had secretly recovered from his injuries. Tony confronted the Hood and stumbled into Victor. Doom took on the Hood and the unidentified demon possessing him one-on-one, and his face was severely burned by the demon in the process. Following the villains' defeat, Victor retreated to the ruins of Castle Doom.[94]

Later, a young woman named Zora Vokuvic breaks into Castle Doom demanding to see Doctor Doom. She makes it past the many Doombots that guard the palace before finally confronting Doom himself. She tells him that Latveria has been overrun with dictators and opportunists since he left and that the nation needs its leader back. Initially rejecting Zora's pleas for help, showing her his grotesquely scarred face in the process, Victor finally agrees when she refuses to give up and hands him his iconic mask, telling him that Latveria needs its true champion. Taking the mask, Doom ventures out into Latveria, quashing the civil war that is apparently raging and vowing to fix the country with his own strength – summoning magical energy as he does.[95]

[rohad93]

Sea Glass - Ch 4

18+

She was swimming in a sea of darkness; deep and murky. 

Everything was a fuzzy haze and she couldn’t feel her body as it floated through the dark. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t to last.

She was slammed back into reality by the sudden roaring pain in her head and the general ache coursing through the rest of her body as she slowly came back to consciousness.  

She groaned, her eyelids felt like they were too heavy to open and the throbbing behind her eyes didn’t help any, in fact, she just squeezed them tighter, trying to will away the stabbing pain.

“Still alive? I was starting to think you’d taken your last.” A soft voice broke the quiet haze of pain around her, startling her for a moment, though she still didn’t open her eyes. She knew that voice.

Slowly she began to mover her fingers and toes. They heeded her command, so at least there was that 

“I wish I wasn’t…,” she finally rasps, eyes slowly starting to peel open. 

The first thing she saw was the damp, dingy, wood ceiling above her. The lantern flickering above her on a chain swung with a gentle rocking motion. They were below deck. 

“What happened?” Her voice comes out with a crack as she slowly moved her head, looking around. 

She’s in the brig, because of course.

“We were captured…” The obvious answer didn’t elicit the normal exasperated response from her for once. 

She turned toward the voice and as she expected, sees Blue sitting on the floor beside her in the dim light, back leaning against the iron bars of their cell, her knees pulled up to her chest and her right arm slung over them to cradle her chin as she gazed back at Yellow with half-lidded eyes. Her face was splattered with blood and she wasn’t sure if it was hers or someone else’s.  

With a groan, Yellow began to push herself up and immediately became aware of the cinching weight around her left wrist.

She looked down and scowled upon seeing the heavy iron shackle clamped around her left wrist, the chain trailing two feet across the floor to the matching shackle locked securely around Blue’s right wrist hanging at her side. 

“I wasn’t thrilled either,” she said, seeing the look on the Yellow’s face. 

Still scowling, Yellow pushed herself up, pressing her free right hand to her face in a vain hope of assuaging some of the pain in her skull as she leaned against the wall adjacent to Blue. The chain stretched out the two feet between them. 

Not nearly far enough away from her. 

After a long quiet moment, she sighed, dragging her hand through her hair and looking around the brig before her eyes inevitably fell back on Blue, still watching her silently.  

“We’re on board the galleon?” 

“Headed for Port Royal, for our first and last dance with Johnny Ketch,” Blue confirmed voice low. 

Yellow scowled at that.

Not that she expected anything less than the gallows. She always knew that this was where she was going to end up eventually, hanging at the end of a rope, though she certainly thought she’d had more time.

The longer they sat there in silence the angrier she got. Some of it at herself.

She had been sailing long enough that when that nagging in her gut started she should have listened to it! It was her basic instincts telling her better.

Some of her anger though was aimed outward….

“This is your fault…,” she finally growled, making Blue jerk to look at her. 

‘My fault?” Her eyes were wide and disbelieving. “How is this my fault?” She sat up straight, frowning. 

“You forced my hand!” Yellow growled. “I knew something was wrong the second I saw that ship, but you didn’t give me any choice!” she accused, leaning forward. 

“How did I make you do anything?!” Blue squawked indignantly.

Yellow flung herself onto her knees to tower over Blue, eyes blown wide and filled with unfettered rage.

“You and damnable games are what got us into this mess!”

“My games!?” Blue erupted shrilly with disbelief.

“Yes! Your fuckin mind games outside the tavern!” 

“I…,” Blue started.

“You and your... damn mouth!” The blonde was a bright red from her neck to her hairline, but this time with rage as she flung out both her arms, jerking Blue forward by the chain. 

“I didn’t make you kiss me back!” Blue shot up to her knees, jerking her arm back and pulling Yellow forward so they were nose to nose. “You’re full of shite, you still would have fallen for this and just been captured on your own!” Blue eyes flashed with cold fire, lips pulled back over her teeth in a snarl.  

“They only set up this trap because they knew they could catch us both at the same time, because gods know, for some reason wherever I go you usually follow!” Yellow spat. 

Blue opened her mouth to retort, jaw working but no sound came out. Her face was a bright red when her mouth finally snapped shut and she sat back against the wall petulantly turned away from that harsh amber gaze. 

Yellow fell back against the wall, mouth still set in a deep frown as she looked anywhere but at Blue. 

They sat there in stony silence for several hours, adamantly refusing to acknowledge the other. 

Eventually, the throbbing pain in Yellow’s head had dulled into something far more bearable and she sighed. The last of her rage had fizzled out a while ago, now she was just tired. 

Perhaps sensing the settling change in the atmosphere, Blue glanced over at her, mouth pursed. She’d wanted to ask Yellow something before she had started yelling her head off. Now the blonde seemed to be calmer and the sizzling anger in herself had dwindled out. 

“Yellow…,” she tried.

A grunt was her answer but it was more answer then she could sometimes expect from the other woman. 

“Why did you help my sister?” she asked after a long moment of chewing on the words, unsure if she should voice them at all. She turned ever so slightly as to look at the blonde’s profile in the low light.

Yellow just grunted again in response and Blue sighed, scowling.

“I don’t understand you” She admitted, starting to turn away but her eyes were drawn back to Yellow when that statement elicited an amused snort from the blonde.

“You’re right, you don’t.” came the throaty reply that only made Blue frown. 

In truth, when it came to Blue, Yellow didn’t even understand why she did half the things she sometimes did in the cerulean-eyed pirate’s presence. 

That was something she didn’t want to examine. Something that had been digging at her; for some time actually.

Yellow had killed men for far less offenses than the kind Blue often liked to levy against her, such as her… jaunty little tune in the tavern. 

Yet...

She had never been able to bring herself to truly try to get rid of the other woman. Not that they hadn’t had their fair share of tavern brawls and scuffles. No one had ever drawn their sword or fired a pistol shot, though they had certainly shot at each other with cannons.

For all the growling and grumbling she did about Blue, she had never really taken any steps to do something about it.

Maybe some of it was that Blue kept things interesting.

When she had first started sailing it had been a constant dog fight to get anywhere, but as the years passed and she had established herself as one of the tops dogs out there, things had settled into a sort of predictableness.

Then Blue had appeared and things had never been the same since.

Most ships avoided The Cluster at all costs. 

Blue, brazen as she was, would pull right up alongside, just to make dirty jokes at Yellow’s expense, sailing off before the cluster could turn and unload its cannons on her. 

If nothing else it certainly broke up the monotony of the days.

Whenever the barrelman shouted that he saw The Menagerie coming Yellow never knew what was going to happen. 

She certainly hadn’t been expecting the time the sloop had sailed by, firing globs of mud and straw out of its cannons at them. 

They’d lost a day cleaning the ship but the crew had been amused by it nonetheless, inspiring them to come up with ideas to get back at the other ship.

Things had been a little dry before Blue had sailed into her part of the world. 

Yellow glanced at Blue out of the corner of her eye, contemplating for a long moment before finally answering, casually running a hand through her hair as she did. 

“Your sister never did anything to me…,” was the answer, causing Blue to turn and look at her, eyes widening in surprise at the sudden answer. The surprise was short-lived and she chuckled.

“Neither do half the things you put musket balls through…,” Blue snorted.

“Yet I’ve never put one through you either,” Yellow grumbled, brows dipping low over her eyes as she regarded Blue with sharp amber eyes that flickered in the low light from the lantern above them. 

“Curiously true…,” the blue-eyed pirate smiled at her and Yellow grunted. They sat together silently for a long moment before Yellow spoke up again, looking down the hall at the royal navy guard standing by the stairs.

“We need to escape.” She said quietly, looking around at the metal walls. 

“That would be the best course of action, but how do we do that, especially with this?” She held up her shackled wrist, rattling the chain and Yellow’s wrist along with it.

“We need to get on deck.” 

“Then what? Steal a rowboat?” Blue rolled her eyes but Yellow said nothing. “You can’t be serious…,” she hissed.

“I’d love to hear your suggestion,” Yellow snapped. “We either row to somewhere else or we hang when we get to Port Royal.”  

Blue sighed, toying with the blue gemstone hanging around her neck as she looked at the cell around them. 

“If we can get the rowboat my crew will be waiting in Genada,” she said. Yellow looked at her questioningly. “That was our contingency plan, if something happened to me, to wait in the Grenada port for two weeks, and if I don’t show in that time they’ll move on,” she explained.  

Yellow didn’t say as much but she was impressed by Blue’s foresight. 

“We just need to figure out how to get on deck and out of this.” She held up her left wrist. 

Blue looked at the guard by the door. He was young, probably only just barely old enough to have joined.

“I have an idea.” she finally said.

Yellow looked at her questioningly but Blue just shook her head, making Yellow frown. 

“You need to trust me, Yellow,” Blue said quietly.

Yellow couldn’t help but bark a laugh at that. 

“That’s asking a lot… an impossible amount actually,” she gruffed. Blue was silent for several long moments before she nodded.

“I know…,” she agreed with a frown. “But for now, you and I are pair.” She held up her shackled wrist. “And I want to save my neck as much as I’m sure you want to save yours, if nothing else, trust in that. For now, we have to work together.”

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Yellow sighed heavily through her nose.

“Fine,” she agreed and Blue smiled, face lighting up.

“So…?” she asked, cocking a brow.

“We wait.” Was Blue’s answer as she settled back against the wall. 

They mostly sat in silence, what they were waiting for Yellow had no idea but she had agreed to trust Blue, so she would, for now.

Yellow twirled her signet ring around her finger anxiously, smoothing her fingers over her initials engraved into the old, tarnished metal.

Blue stayed quiet, presumably deep in thought, and she was, some of the time.

The rest she spent glancing at the blondes profile. There were still shadows of bruises on her face from their row the other night and splattered blood from the fight on the ship.

This was probably the longest she had ever seen the other captain without her hat.

Her short, blonde hair was mussed and Blue could see a scar that started at her hairline and dragged down thorough her eyebrow to just above her left eye. It was during this intense inspection that she noticed the dusting of markings across the blonde’s nose and cheeks.

“You have freckles…” She hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but she evidently had if the way Yellow whipped around to look at her was any indication.

“What of it?” she grumbled and Blue couldn’t help but smirk.

“Nothing…,” Blue quickly sing-songed.  

The sun slowly sank below the horizon, they could tell by the amount of light shining down into the hold in the stairwell. 

Once it was dark, predictably, the young officer started drinking. 

Blue watched him carefully. Halfway through the bottle, he swayed ever so slightly with the gentle rocking of the ship.

“Now…” She turned to Yellow who just cocked a brow as she stood, pulling Yellow along as she moved to the cell door. She leaned against the metal, motioning for Yellow to sit next to it, their two feet of chain not allowing for much else. “Feign sleep…” she mumbled.

With one last look, Yellow leaned her back against the wall next to the door and crossed one arm over her chest, slumped forward. The other hanging loose at her side to allow Blue free range with both her hands. 

“Oh good officer, sir,” Blue called and Yellow immediately recognized that flirty, honeyed tone as one she’d used on her many a time. 

The man turned to look at her, staggering forward before straightening himself back up.

“Whatdya want, wench?” he slurred.    

“I was hoping a dashing naval officer like yourself could help a woman fulfill her last wish before she’s off to dance with Johnny Ketch.” She smiled in that way she knew always disarmed men.

He looked at her for a minute before stumbling closer to the cell but still out of reach.

“And what, pray tell, could a mangy pirate whore want?” He spat on the floor.

“Nothing of importance, I assure you. Just a final kiss.” she purred and it took all of Yellow’s willpower not to jerk her head up at that. Instead, she stayed still, though she may not have even been breathing she was listening so hard. 

The officer looked down at Yellow, sitting still on the floor before grinning.

“Aye, I can do that.” He grinned lecherously, moving in close. Blue could feel his breath on her face as he leaned in, reeking of rum and eyes sliding closed.

In a flash she had whipped a blade out of the front of her shirt, her other hand reaching through the metal bars to grab the front of the officer’s shirt, jerking him in close and burying the blade in the side of his throat.

He choked and spluttered on his own blood, eyes popping open to stare at Blue as she twisted the blade and with a jerk finished slitting his throat, blood splattered across the front of her shirt and the floor. She held tight as his body went limp.

“Help me lower him quietly to the floor.” 

They silently slid his body to the floor and took the keys from his belt.

“Shite, none of them fit our cuffs.” Blue scowled as she frantically twisted the metal in the locks with no results.

“But it will fit the door. We need to get off this ship, we can deal with the cuffs later,” Yellow hissed quietly. 

“Aye…,” Blue agreed as they unlocked the cell. Blue leading them quietly down the hall to the stairs. 

She peaked her head up out of the hold. The ship was dark, only a few lanterns illuminating the pitch blackness of night. 

There was one man standing at the bow, but the way he was slumped against the railing told Blue he was asleep on watch.

Only about twenty feet away, several rowboats were hanging. They moved quietly across the deck, Yellow trying her damndest not to thump. Blue never made a sound. 

They climbed into the boat and immediately Blue noticed their next problem.

“How are we going to lower ourselves down with only one hand?” she hissed.

The minute they undid the ties the rowboat would begin to drop and if they made to much noise they would alert the whole ship to their escape. With ties on each side, they could reach the ropes, but even with the two feet of chain stretched taut between them, only their unchained arms could reach, and it certainly took two hands to lower the rope without letting it drop into a freefall. 

“Not in a fun way,” Yellow whispered. “We need to hold it and release it a little at a time.” She wound the end of the rope tightly around her right hand and looked at Blue, who frowned but followed suit with her left.

“Just a little at a time…,” she said quietly as she undid her tie and the rope immediately snapped tight around her hand, she held her arm tight, keeping it still. The boat jerked as Blue undid her side and winced at the pressure on her arm as she held up her side. 

“Now, just a little,” Yellow mumbled, letting an inch at a time uncoil from her fingers, keeping her fist clenched enough to hold it, least it all slip through her fingers at once and completely drop her side and cut off her fingers. 

Blue was straining under the weight. Even with both hands, this wouldn’t have been easy for her. She was too busy concentrating on the task at hand, but would later marvel at how strong the blonde was.

It took an agonizing twenty minutes to slowly lower themselves to the sea below and Blue’s arm was screaming at her and her left hand was a bright red as they finally sat in the boat, exhausted.

“We don’t have time…” Yellow mumbled as they sat side by side, each taking a paddle and with a look at the stars, decided their heading and began rowing away from the galleon, watching it grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the darkness altogether. 

Johnny Ketch - hanging

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers IV (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: Y/N has trust issues and terrible luck.

Remember to leave feedback!

Words: 2,199

Warnings: Blood, a lot of running, cursing, a lot of gross ig??

Previous chapter // Next chapter

Josh steps inside the store and prepares to put his hand in danger, not without whining and groaning, of course, I can’t blame him, putting your hand down someone’s throat must be disgusting. 

The closest thing I’ve seen to this is that time Alex and I were over at Nathan’s and Alex had to pull a plastic cap out of Nathan’s dog’s mouth. The way his hand smelled that day... ugh, totally would not recommend. We had to rush over to the vet to make sure Patty hadn’t swallowed any more plastic items, it’s like a block away from the mall, so we decided to let Nathan take his dog back home and we stayed here.

-Time for another beautiful flashback, sponsored by the terrible image of Josh searching on a ghoulie’s stomach with his bare hand-

“Don’t ever let me put my hand down a dog’s throat ever again.”

“How often do you think it could happen?”

“Dogs are silly, Y/N, I don’t know,” He shrugs, examining his hand with repulsion.

“If you ask me, I think that was pretty heroic,” I offer.

“Shut up,” He whines.

“For real!”

“You’re only saying that so I don’t feel as gross...”

“I say it cause I think it was a brave move. Patty’s a pitbull, she could’ve eaten your arm,” I giggle.

“Nah, she’s an angel” 

Alex is the angel, but I won’t admit that to his face.

“Will you ever take a compliment without shrugging it off?” I roll my eyes, “I’m trying to say that I admire you, bitch.” Alex laughs at my outburst.

“I only do it so you keep complimenting me, isn’t it working?” He winks at me, and I feel the urgent need to push him towards the passing cars. Or hold his hand. Whatever.

“Sure. Tell you what, let’s go to the mall, I’ll get you icecream and you can look for a bathroom and wash your hand.”

“Yes, please,” He sighs and takes my hand to practically drag me on the direction of the mall. Alright then, I don’t mind at all.

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Josh got the keys. His hand is covered in something gross and I can’t hide the smirk that’s growing on my face.

“The things we do for love, am I right?” I grin.

“Don’t start, Y/N,” He complains.

“No I mean, fucking respect. Not everyone would do that for their crush.” He shakes his head at my statement, not flattered at all.

“I just wanna find Sam.”

“And I want to get out of here, so let’s go!” I start walking, a new burst of energy going through my veins now that we have the keys.

“I’ll see you around,” He tells Angelica, and I happily wave goodbye while passing.

“Guys!” She says, following us.

“So what’s your plan, then?” Josh looks at me, “You’re leaving too? What about your skates?”

“There’s a store close to my old neighborhood, I’ll get a new pair from there.”

“You can’t wait to leave, huh?”

“Same as you,” I frown, “I’m sure anywhere’s better than with a bunch of weirdos.”

“Hey! Just because you’re not as cool doesn’t mean I’m weird” He replies playfully.

“I don’t think so, mister,” I hold to my backpack tighter, getting ready to go out, “I just need to leave this place, this mall has brought me nothing but trouble...”

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And I wasn’t talking about Triumph or the Jocks only, I was also thinking about that day with Alex:

“How’s that hand?”

“Still smelling like crap.”

“Too bad. Here, take it. My treat,” I give him the icecream cone I bought moments ago, hoping it’ll make him feel better.

“Jee, thanks, Vinchi.”

I smile at the stupid nickname; it was the invention of a ten-year-old Alex that saw my drawing of a butterfly and thought  I was the next big paintor, “like that guy, ’vinchi”. He meant to say Da Vinci, but the other name was funnier so it’s the one that stuck. You know how you’re supposed to hate silly nicknames? Well, even that was impossible when it came from Alex. I liked him too much. 

I liked everything about him, or slightly related to him. Yet, I managed to keep my distance. Why? Cause you don’t get attached to things you cannot have. Alex was dating our friend Stuart. 

Unrequited love is not something I personally enjoy, so is better to stay away from it. And just like unrequited love, if a bunch of rowdy misfits is running in your direction, you run faster and hide.

---------------------------------------

Angelica has been insisting on staying and forming our own tribe. Fucking crazy, right? You’d have to be out of your mind to try to form a tribe with these people. There’s no way I’m trying that.

“Angelica, maybe next time okay?” I look at her over my shoulder, “seriously you don’t want us on your tribe, we’re very dumb and slow.”

“You know that’s a lie.”

“Still, it’s better this way, you don’t need us.”

“Bye-bye Angelica,” Says Josh while opening the exit door.

You know when things are bound to end in tragedy? You get this feeling that it’s going to be one shit after the other, and you’re right, cause that’s all that’s been happening so why would it change, right? Yeah, well I was so excited about leaving that I forgot this was the case.

The same ghoulie that had run off with Josh’s sword on her back was outside the door, she jumps on him and throws him to the floor, Angelica and I jump back in surprise.

“Get off me now! Shit!” 

“Don’t die!” Angelica runs back to get her molotov bombs (because according to her, fire is the only answer) and I’m left with no weapons to defend us.

“Okay! it’s two against one I can do this!” I try to reach the sword but the ghoulie keeps moving and I don’t wanna hurt Josh by accident, “Hold on, I’m trying to get the sword!”

“Try harder!”

“Shut up, I’m saving your life!” I kick the ghoulie’s hip and she doesn’t budge. Josh seems to be having a hard time and I can’t do much without putting myself in danger as well, the sword is halfway out and is dangerously close to his chest. If I make the wrong move, I’ll kill him.

“Fuck! I need a real weapon, hold on!”

I run like hell until I get to the hardware store and my eyes land on the only thing that I feel capable enough to handle. A sledgehammer. Because judging by my record, I’m pretty good at smashing things. I grab it and run back to where Josh is, lifting the tool at shoulder level.

“Here’s Johnny!” 

I swing it hard and hit the ghoulie’s head with full force, she tries to stand up but Eli appears on the other side of the hall exactly where she landed and pulls the sword from her chest only to put it back, this time in her head. She falls like a puppet on the floor.

“Eli?” Josh seems disoriented, I help him stand up.

“You better be worth it,” He replies, handing him the sword and looking at my hammer with a nod of approval.

We run again until we reach the elevator, we find Wesley there, keeping the door closed.

“I can’t hold it!” He screams.

“Let him in!”

Wesley steps back and the door opens harshly, Triumph stepping in like a nightmare. The guys attack but Triumph easily beats them, I swing my hammer but he traps it mid-air and pulls me towards him. I kick his crotch and he barely groans. It’s not enough.

“Hoyles! Man! This does not need to end up in violence!”

Triumph stops and lets go of me, throwing me into the floor. Eli and Josh both pull me far from him, I grab my hammer tightly.

“Wes!” Josh warns him. Triumph is getting close to the boy and I know that he won’t be able to pull it off alone either, Samurai or not, he’s still a kid.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Crumble jumps from the roof of the elevator and attacks Baron Triumph with her bare hands. He easily pushes her away. Crumble stands up slowly, we’re all expectant, not knowing what the hell to do.

And then Crumble raises her hands and starts speaking in what I’m most certain is nonsense in Spanish, but it does the trick: Triumph backs off until he reaches the elevator and closes the gate. Wesley closes the second gate and supports his back against it.

“What the fuck was that?” Asks Josh.

“I wanted to help you,” whispers Crumble.

“How did you get out of the store?”

“I can turn myself into mist,” She explains excitedly, “and then I float through the cracks. Watch!” Then she proceeds to run straight into the elevator’s door and knocks her lights off.

“Outstanding,” I look over to Angelica, “bet you’re really proud of your Ghoulie witch now.” Angelica just smiles back at me.

So... that happened. Thank god it’s over, now I can finally go. But first, I think I’ll take Josh’s word and go shopping one last time.

---------------------------------------

“Thanks again for the icecream.”

“Anytime, Al,” I smile.

“You ‘going home now?”

“I guess, it doesn’t look like anything interesting is about to happen so...”

“Hey, about what you said...” He scratches the back of his neck, “you really think it was heroic?”

“Patty could’ve died. Of course I do,” I answer with full honesty.

“Thanks... I think you’re very heroic too.”

“What?” I laugh, “Dude, I’ve never done anything out of the ordinary.”

“You call out the jocks on their bullshit even if they annoy you afterwards. When Lily got high and was having a bad trip, it was you who took her to the shower and made her threw it up out of her system,” He puts a hand on my shoulder, applying light pressure to it, “You may not be saving the world, but you take care of your people. That’s cool.”

And maybe it’s the sugar rush, maybe it was the way his words sting on my heart or the way the artificial lights inside the mall made his eyes look so shiny. But my feelings for him went through the roof. Exactly like my common sense.

Whatever it was, all I know is that suddenly we were too close, and suddenly we were kissing outside the icecream shop. It lasted only five seconds though, cause then he tried to cup my face with both hands and the smell of dog’s saliva made me step back in disgust.

“Oh my god, what is that dog eating?”

“I’m sorry!” Alex covers his mouth with both hands and regrets it immediately after, grossed out by the smell, “fuck, I need to put on sanitizer.”

“I have to go,” I mumbled in a hurry, walking towards the exit.

“Wait, Y/N!”

“See you on monday, Alex,” I walk faster, almost crashing against a random boy wearing the ugliest reddish pants on earth, seemingly also running for his life.

Don’t. Just don’t. Whatever you have to say, trust me, I already heard it in my head every night for the past six months. I know it was a shitty thing to do, kiss someone else’s boyfriend. My best friend. Who had been dating my other friend for the past four months.

It doesn’t matter that he kept going. It was wrong. “Y/N, you bitch ass liar, you told us none of you ever made a move!”. Joke’s on you, a kiss is not a move if it doesn’t affect on anything after it happens. A kiss is just a kiss. Mine was a huge mistake for sure, but not a love declaration.

Alex and Stuart kept dating and we never mentioned our incident. Not even after he broke up with Stuart two months before the nuke. Not even when he went with me to look for my sister Katie.

---------------------------------------

So how’s that for a move huh? That’s the reason why I’m leaving. Cause it doesn’t matter if you’ve known them for a day, a semester or ten years. I thought that the people I hung with during Highschool would be my tribe during the apocalypse. That we were inseparable. Turns out we weren’t.

Love is weak compared to personal interests and I refuse to be the only idiot that gets attached. No one is worth that much pain. I’m leaving. Best of wishes to Josh and gang of weirdos but I’m out. I’m backing up. Stepping back. I’m-

“Y/N, come here quick! Stupid Josh cut his finger and now I need to get bandages and duct tape! Make sure he doesn’t faint!”

I’m coming into a halt and drop my backpack and weapon to the floor as I’m rushing over to the restrooms.

“He did WHAT?”

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic​

[razzle-zazzle]

Yo. Do you have any more info on your When Everything Goes Wrong, Make it Right Again AU???

Oh, I’ve got plenty >:D

Day One of the AU goes something like this:

It starts when the group first arrives on Earth; as in canon, Asch collapses due to being unable to breathe, and nobody else can move

The story starts to diverge when Ava doesn’t show up, deciding to take out her trash after the job interview. She needs that job and won’t risk being late (she ends up being late due to a noodle incident)

Once the group is able to move again, they move Asch out of the sunlight. Rhys confirms that Asch isn’t breathing. The news takes a moment to set in, but when it does everyone panics. Rhys is just sitting there besides the unconscious prince getting progressively more done with everything.

Leif is the first to leave, following the reasoning of “well, fuck” and he runs off because, in his eyes, he no longer has a reason to stay.

Rhys orders Noi to chase after Leif, as Noi is the only one with even a chance of catching up. So now it’s just Pierce cradling Asch’s unconscious body while Rhys tries to devise a solution.

Eventually, Rhys leaves to search for proper shelter, leaving Pierce and Asch behind for when Noi returns with Leif.

Problem is, Rhys doesn’t return. For two hours. Pierce continues to sit there, waiting, worrying, trying oh so desperately to convince himself that he hasn’t failed his duty.

At that point, Pierce hears a scream that he recognizes as Noi. Thinking that Noi caught up to Leif and that a fight has broken up, Pierce moves to go break it up. Only to be reminded of Asch, who’s still not moving in Pierce’s arms.

Caught between his duty to his charge and to his teammates, Pierce makes a decision. He hides Asch behind a dumpster, and goes off to find Noi and Leif, following the slowly fading sounds of screaming. He’s a bit disoriented by all the sounds in the city, but he eventually manages to find Noi.

Noi, as it turns out, was not able to catch up to Leif, on account of him tripping and falling off a building into an alleyway. The scene that Pierce finds is rather… grisley.

Noi had been struggling to walk off his broken leg, mild concussion, cracked ribs, and shattered arm when he’s found by a group of guys who are a) douchebags, b) drunk, and c) armed with baseball bats and other pieces of junk. The guys who find Noi comment on how Noi’s in bad shape, laughing about it in the way that only a drunkard would. The exchange continues on for a little bit, until one of the guys realizes that Noi has a tail. And actual horns.Things go downhill from there very rapidly.

When Pierce arrives, Noi is on the ground, his weapons still where he dropped them when he fell, lying in his own blood while a group of 3-5 guys are beating him to death.

Pierce doesn’t think. He doesn’t pause to sort out his million thoughts, he just sees his friend on the ground, badly hurt, and removes the aggressors. He doesn’t think when he plunges his sword deep into the back of one human, using a free hand to knock another to the ground. Doesn’t think when he uses the flat side of his sword to crack open one of the human’s skulls, doesn’t think when he grabs another by the neck and snaps the spine. He just fights, and fights, until he and Noi are the only ones still alive in that alleyway, and only then does he pause to realize what he’s done.

And then Noi whimpers, fading in and out of consciousness, and Pierce hears sirens—not that he knows what those are yet—and panics. So he grabs Noi, and Noi’s scattered equipment, and hauls tail. He’s running on autopilot, disoriented from the shock of what he’s just done and the city sounds at night, he’s panicking, ready to collapse into a ball of anxiety, when he remembers Asch.

Meanwhile, Rhys returns to where he left Pierce and Asch, having found several potential sites for a base camp. Except, nobody’s there. Asch is not where Pierce left him.

Why is Asch not where he was hidden? Because Ava.

To elaborate, Ava’s been having a shitty day. First, she’s late to her job interview. Then, she trips and crashes into someone, spilling their smoothie all over herself. She’s tired, and needs a shower, but when she arrives home she realizes she still has to take out the trash. So she does just that.

It’s while she’s taking out the trash that she notices what looks like a body behind a nearby dumpster. Her first reaction is to panic, but, out of a sense of morbid curiosity, she decides to take a closer look.

She realizes that this person is not breathing, even though by all accounts they look healthy. So Ava decides to put her knowledge of CPR to use, only to stop.

For all she knows, this could just be someone too wasted or drugged up to be messed with. Except the clothes are too nice. After a moment of deliberation, Ava does CPR, bringing Asch back to consciousness.

When Asch wakes up, and realizes he’s alone with an unknown human, his knights nowhere to be found, he panics and summons fire, with the intent to use it. At this, Ava panics and jumps back, screaming. So Asch decides to press his advantage before this human regains her wits and attacks. Ava faints, and Asch pauses, realizing now he’s really alone. It’s getting darker, he should find shelter, but he has no idea where anyone else is and he’s lost in an unfamiliar world.

Enter Johnny.

Johnny paws at Ava, and Asch decides this spirit must be connected to Ava. So when Asch decides to take Ava prisoner, he follows Johnny to Ava’s apartment. He burns through the lock, lays Ava on the couch, and settles in to wait.

Because of all of this, when Rhys returns, nobody is there. After a brief moment of panic, Rhys decides to go through things logically, and sets out to search for the others.

Back to Pierce, who’s rushing to where he left Asch (as gently as possible, he doesn’t want to jostle Noi). When Pierce arrives, after getting lost briefly, Rhys has already left. So Pierce returns to find his prince—his charge, his sole duty—missing.

Today is just not a good day for anyone, really.

Pierce, panicking and wary of humans, is having a crisis because he failed to do his job and protect his prince. After a few moments of “oh-htrae-what-do-I-do-now”, Pierce realizes that there’s nothing he can do but keep moving forwards. Noi is injured and needs help. He needs a safe place to rest up and heal.

So Pierce goes out looking for that place.

Once he finds it, the first thing Pierce does is dig out a scrape to sleep in. Then he tends to Noi, using what limited healing magic he has (and the medical supplies he has) to help Noi as much as possible. He may have failed his prince, but he won’t fail his friend.

Once Pierce is sure that Noi won’t die in his sleep, he curls up in the scrape and holds Noi close to him, purring in order to help Noi heal.

He doesn’t get much sleep that night.

Meanwhile, Leif, after running and running and running until he can’t see the city anymore, decides that he, too, should settle down for the night. Rhys continues to search for the others throughout the night, though he does eventually stop for the night somewhere around 2:00 AM.

Back at Ava’s apartment, she has regained consciousness, lead Asch to city hall only to realize her mistake, and agreed to teach Asch about the human world. She gets the feeling there’s something missing, but all she wants to do is take a very long, relaxing bath, so after making sure that Asch will be okay for the night, she does just that.

And thus, day one ends and the story can begin.

[thedeaditeslayer]

Bruce Campbell Calls Hosting ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’ A ‘No-Brainer,’ Pans Hollywood’s Lack Of Originality.

This interview includes a hint of more “Evil Dead” but for what we would like you to consider is to take it with a grain of salt. The interview covers various topics but mostly Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Over the course of his storied career, actor Bruce Campbell has brought to life many memorable, colorful characters. As the definitive character-actor-trapped-in-a-leading-man’s-body, he’s portrayed Elvis in the campy Bubba Ho-Tep, Ronald Reagan in Fargo, Sam Axe in Burn Notice, and is, perhaps, best known as the Deadite-killing Ash Williams in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise.

As the Travel Channel prepares to relaunch Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, Campbell finds himself in the role of host, introducing us to a fresh round of the spectacular and amazing. Over the course of 10 episodes, he’ll invite viewers on a journey to explore the lives of people capable of incredible things.

“Shooting this iconic series in the Ripley’s warehouse was actually unbelievable,” said Campbell. “I was blown away by the treasures that unveil a fascinating time capsule into the past and present. Fans are not going to be disappointed when they see the scope of wonderful and weird stories we reveal every week.”

Bruce Campbell was groovy enough to get on the phone with me and talk about his new gig with the Ripley’s relaunch, the fates of some of his iconic characters, and the lack of originality in Hollywood — all with the grace to forgive my fanboying.

Kevin Tall: Hey Bruce! I appreciate you taking some time to talk to me.

Bruce Campbell: I happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought I’d step in.

KT: I usually make an effort to at least pretend to be professional but I’m not sure I’m going to pull it off today.

BC: That’s exactly right.

KT: I do want to say it’s an honor to talk to you and I promise I’ll do my best to keep my inner fanboy in check.

BC: Very good.

KT: Can I call you ‘El Jefe’?

BC: Whatever you’d like, sir.

KT: Groovy. Alright. So, coming soon to a cable network near you, you’re hosting the newest incarnation of ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!’ on the Travel Channel. How did you come to be attached to the project?

BC: Things come across the old desk, you know, and you evaluate them. And this was a no-brainer. I still have the Ripley’s book, the red cloth-covered book with those strange illustrations of people doing crazy stuff inside. As a kid, I had it on a shelf so I’m like, ‘Yeah I know Ripley’s.’

And I haven’t done a show like this in a while; I’ve hosted stuff. Back in Detroit, I got my Screen Actor’s Guild card doing training films for industrials, for Chrysler, and some of the other companies. Now I’m back doing it again, so here I am… I guess, showing people, in this case, it’s not about the cross-section of a Chrysler car seat but people doing extraordinary things.

KT: Ah, cool. Part of me thought this revival of Ripley’s could have just been a thinly-veiled attempt at revenge on Dean Cain for stealing the television role of Superman out from under your chin in the 90s.

BC: No, no revenge necessary on Mr. Cain. I see him at conventions all the time.

KT: While I do feel you have the superior jawline, I was a huge fan of ‘The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.’ There have been several Supermen but there was only one Brisco County. Er, two, if you count his dad.

BC: Anyone can play Superman.

KT: Would you ever consider reprising the role of Brisco?

BC: Brisco would be fine. You could do Brisco Rides Again. He started as a lawyer and then someone has to get killed. I’ll put the spurs back on, sure.

KT: So I got to see a screener of the first episode of Ripley’s. I have an idea if you’re open to suggestion.

BC: OK.

KT: Do a follow up in which you balance on a slack line while swallowing a sword and someone throws playing cards at you from a ladder balanced on someone else’s chin.

BC: [Laughs] I think you’ve got it. I think you should work for the Travel Channel.

KT: So your parts were shot on location at the Ripley’s warehouse in Orlando.

BC: Yes, yes, we shot at THE warehouse.

KT: Did you get to see anything amazing or… unbelievable?

BC: You know, the warehouse, where would you start? It is the closest we have to one of those Indiana Jones-type warehouses. It’s probably the most richly appointed warehouses in the world, I would say. They’ve collected for a hundred years. I can’t think of anyone else, maybe the Smithsonian, but Ripley’s is probably a close second. Ripley’s might have more stuff than the Smithsonian, that would be a fun one to test.

KT: Which do you think would have more body parts?

BC: Well, Ripley’s would have more body parts.

KT: OK, but the Smithsonian does have John Dillinger’s, well, you know.

BC: So the rumor goes.

KT: As they say. So, speaking of ‘Believe It or Not!,’ I still can’t believe you retired iconic character, Ash Williams. Are you sticking to that? No way I can talk you into reconsidering?

BC: Yeah, I’m sticking to that; it gets easier every year.

KT: [Laughs] Fair enough.

BC: I’m still doing video games, I’m doing voices for Ash. I’m just not going to grovel in the blood anymore.

KT: I think that’s fair. It’s not retiring the character, just a retirement plan.

BC: I’m retiring from certain types of roles, ones that require looking at tennis balls on sticks.

KT: I’m excited to see you’ve got the paperback for ‘Hail to the Chin’ coming out; I was a big fan of ‘If Chins Could Kill.’ Although when you were teasing that on social media, I think a couple of fans interpreted that as a little bit of foreshadowing of a new gig for Ash.

BC: That’s fine. Fans are always going to do that. Everyone’s a genius, everyone’s got opinions and the internet fans the flames. No, it’s all good. They’re going to see different versions, they’re going to be seeing more ‘Evil Dead,’ too. We’re not done with the ‘Evil Dead’ saga, more stories to tell.

KT: Do you think Fede Alvarez might return?

BC: I don’t know, Fede’s a big Hollywood director now. I don’t know if Fede needs this. We’ll have to see.

KT: Everyone needs a passion project.

BC: Fede had it. Fede came and pitched his version of ‘Evil Dead.’

KT: Any juicy tidbits you want to tease from the ‘Requiem For Ash’ Edition?

BC: It’s a fuller explanation of the birth, life, and death of ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ and then the ultimate retirement of that character. It’s a little more of an essay approach, it’s a little more esoteric.

KT: Psychologically, what is it about Ash Williams that inspires such devotion from fans?

BC: Because he is the fans, the fans are him. Ash has no skills, Ash doesn’t come from another planet, he comes from Michigan. He’s the guy you want in the foxhole, but he probably got low SAT scores. So people watching him, I think they root for him because they’re like, ‘Damn, that’s like my neighbor. That’s like if my neighbor decided to save the world from evil.’ Kind of like that. That’s how I look at it and that’s how we played it. That’s why it was worth bringing the guy back 48 years later to try it again… He’s the ultimate anti-hero, anti in that he can’t even get out of bed, you know?

KT: He comes across as an oafish, ill-mannered lout as well.

BC: Of course, but you know what? He was written in an ancient book, so there’s more to him than just the trailer park guy. That’s what was fun exploring.

KT: The prophecy of the ultimate average guy.

BC: Exactly.

KT: Got it. You’ve had a number of memorable, colorful roles over the years, from Ash to Brisco, Autolycus to Sam Axe, even a fictionalized version of yourself in ‘My Name Is Bruce’ (shout out to Guan Di, the patron saint of bean curd). Is there one, in particular, you’ve enjoyed playing the most, above all others?

BC: Elvis was pretty fun. I think most American males would have enjoyed playing that part. Playing President Reagan on ‘Fargo’ was fun, I used to imitate him with my buddy, John Cameron, who produced that show. In the ’80s we were both subjected to endless Reagan on television. That was fun.

KT: Have you been in that situation professionally, where you’ve gotten kind of a lousy role on a great show?

BC: Well, I’m better at saying no to stuff now, so hopefully I won’t find myself in that situation nearly as much.

KT: Circling back to Elvis, there was talk of a ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ follow-up years ago. What are the chances of that coming together?

BC: Zero. I’ve retired that character as well. I’ve notified Don Coscarelli and Joe Lansdale. You know, it’s Don Coscarelli’s project, he’s more than welcome to forge ahead. We couldn’t crack the script the way I saw it and we were going to come to loggerheads. I didn’t want to do that, so I backed out because I know now if the script isn’t where it needs to be, the movie will not get there either.

KT: Marlon Brando advised a young(er) Johnny Depp to play Hamlet before he got too old for the role. Are there any of those iconic types of roles you’d like to tackle?

BC: Of iconic people?

KT: Yeah. Just those classic roles from that sort of timeless production, like ‘Hamlet.’

BC: No. No, I don’t, because I like original stuff. I mean, if we’re going to remake something, let’s remake our own stuff. That’s the case with ‘Bubba Ho-Tep.’ It won’t be as good and people will only remember that you blew it on the second try.

KT: So the legacy of the project would be one of failure.

BC: You have to have original stuff out there to make up for the movies that have a seven, eight, and nine after them.

KT: The old maxim is that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

BC: Yes, except ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not!’ There’s never too much of that.

KT: [Laughs] Well played, fair enough. Fan question: Who would win in a left-handed arm wrestling match, Ash Williams or Sam Axe?

BC: I don’t do those questions, because they’re hypothetical and impossible to answer.

KT: Can you hook me up with a six-pack of Ash’s favorite beer, Shemp’s?

BC: No, because it’s fake.

KT: Well, Bruce, I came here to ask questions and kick ass, and I’m all out of questions.

BC: Let’s go kick ass!

KT: Again, thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me and putting up with my silliness and unending admiration.

BC: Yeah, my friend. All good. Thank you, sir. Have a good day.

KT: Thanks, Bruce!

BC: Cheers.

[beheadedtm]

@fellfoxe asked: he's knocking on his door in the middle of the night, which is not exactly a thing the fox ever pictured himself doing. a lot of what's happened tonight is unexpected--there are messages from lazarus locked in his phone now, things that made his heart skip, and one of them is nothing more than a willing invitation for him to come over. he's still fighting the feeling that he *shouldn't* be here even when he's standing on his doorstep waiting for him to answer, shuffling anxiously in place.

drinking isn't something lazarus crawford does often ——— but apparently, when he does do it, he reaches for the johnnie walker. the night starts as many have; with the hunter shut away inside his family home. clocks tick by. he doesn't play music, doesn't turn on the television. for a while, it's just him and his family's things ——— an archive of artifacts wanted by so many. there are rare things in glass cases, books stacked to the ceiling. a few personal things exist here; there are photographs on a few walls where shelves only go so high. pictures of his parents, who are dead. pictures of his grandfather, who is also dead. he finds more in photo albums in a cabinet in the dining room ——— locked away with other secrets. the crawford family tree used to be so vast but the branches have wilted. he still has an aunt, an uncle, and plenty of cousins to carry down the name but in this house, it feels as if everything has stopped ——— as if all of it now rests on his shoulders.

he sits there for a while, flipping through albums. he digs out liquor and sits for a little while longer.

something sinks in. something dangerously close to loneliness.

he reaches out in the only way he knows how. stuffed away in a hoard dubbed a collection, lazarus opens his flip phone and stares at the most recent messages. the number at the top is one he's refused to save but he has it memorized, like all the others. there are a few recent things from felix, his usual teasing ——— the banter they manage late at night when the hole in his chest widens so much it's a wonder it doesn't start swallowing things inside.

he isn't sure why he does it.

he certainly shouldn't do it while drunk. but that's exactly what he does; filter lacking, fingers shaking over the buttons that seem too small. his phone is so out-dated and yet he refuses to switch it over, to follow everyone else.

if he changes his phone, he loses everything. his pictures, grainy as they may be. his messages, even if normally in code and short. the voicemails, accessed again tonight.

it hurts. he tries to lash out. the fox knows better.

when he opens the door it's will a dull look. the hour is strange. his house is stranger. one of the items inside may be the answer to snuffing felix's light for good but neither of them care about that. lazarus doesn't care about killing felix tonight, not when he's the one fucking thing on the planet he knows will be around as long as he will.

killing that fucking hunter had made him feel more whole than he thought possible.

this, like so many other things, go without saying.

"rule one: don't touch anything. not only will it piss me off, you might end up cursed or something and it'll be more annoying than anything else. rule two: ..." there's a pause. he shakes his head, motions for felix to actually step inside. the bottle is in his hand but it's almost empty. it ends up on a stack of books, one he knows contains lore concerning vampires. nothing else is spoken as he shuts the door again, as locks click into place. lazarus' shoulders are more relaxed with the alcohol in him but his movements around the mountains of stuff are still fluid as he leads the fox from room to room until stairs complain under their weight, until they end up on the second floor where lazarus' room actually resides.

there's a lot less clutter, here. it's more modern, even if it's simplistic. what few objects that can be found all tell their own little stories ——— snippets of who lazarus is aside from being a soulless hunter. his sword is by the door, yes, but there is a line of different shoes there as well, most of them containing leds so they light up. there is a pair of drumsticks on one of the shelves, no dust to be found. pusheen seems to have taken over a lot of the surface area, here; there's his backpack, a small poster, a pillow, and a sticker on the lid to his closed laptop. there are actual novels to be found ——— a closet without any plaid in it despite the fact that lazarus now wears it daily. a dry-erase calendar hasn't been touched since august of 2018. a bullet journal. pastel colored pens. a few succulents in the window. prescription glasses on the desk.

"well. you're here." right. transparency. when lazarus turns to face felix, there’s frustration in his gaze. “i let you in but i don’t  ——— i don’t know why.” oh. oh, no. with the phone he could only say so much, could only push the buttons so fast. he had time to think a little before he said something but now? now the dam opens. now it bursts and there’s very little to stop what alcohol shoves through the cracks. “you shouldn’t be here. there hasn’t been a cryptid inside the crawford home in over sixty years and here i am just  ——— what? failing? blowing it? disappointing people, even after i’ve kicked it. do you know how much of a laughingstock i must be, fucking around with you? it’s bad enough to sleep with you but to want your company? to ache like some stupid romance novel’s two-dimensional lead? they put my head back on but my brain must be fucking missing because this isn’t how shit is supposed to go. things like me kill things like you  ——— period. they don’t fuck. they don’t call each other pet names. they don’t ... text!” somehow, that word is the one he practically spits. “i get why i’m doing it. i get why the stupid human fucks it all up, i get why i’d finally go insane and come out plain delusional but what i don’t get is you. what the fuck do you  ——— is this just a joke? is that what all of this is? is it just fun? are you having a good fucking time, fox? barely cheating death, testing my patience, occupying my thoughts ——— calling me ‘mon beau’ like it doesn’t almost kill me all over again.” stop him. stop talking. stop. everything needs to stop. when his voice cuts, he realizes it’s the loudest his voice has gotten in ... a while. when was the last time he raised his voice to anyone? to anything? when was the last time he was aware of his heart beating so fast? when was the last time he felt anything, felt real? alive. he stares, lost. hands quietly uncurl from being in fists at his sides. his gaze drops, as if he’s suddenly been defeated by something. maybe he has.

[jinterlude]

"Romantic” Bonding Time

↳This story aesthetic is made by yours truly. I do not own the rights to any of the images used.

➳ Pairing: Gang Member!Mark Lee x Superhero!Reader (female OC)

➳ Genre(s): Superhero!AU, Superpowers!AU, Gang!AU, MCU, Humor, Fluff, Action, & Slight-Angst

➳ Words: 5.7K

➳ Summary: Having yet another date night ruined, you, your brother, and the gang, NCT 127, are called once again to protect the city of Seoul. After discovering that you and brother possess two stones that can enhance the ability of the six infinity stones, Thanos sends Ebony Maw to retrieve them. The two of you continue to battle until Haechan causes an explosion that causes the deformed octopus to retreat. Now, in the rainy city of London, both you and Mark are on a mission to find him. What can possibly go wrong?

Cars zoom by. Screaming, panicking bystanders run as if their lives depend on it. A new threat has come out to play with the beautiful city of Seoul as its backyard.

A menacing laughter fills the atmosphere while a fiery blaze colors the blank night sky. With his army of minions by his side, Ebony Maw, destroys everything and kills everyone in sight. He is given the greatest of privileges by Thanos. He is tasked with retrieving two of the most powerful stones, outside of the six infinity stones. Legends say that the universe has created these stones to enhance the abilities of the other six. Like a supporting system one can say.

Many people, both outside and inside the Milky Way galaxy, have tried to find these stones and claim it for their own but alas, many have failed.

That is…

Until a certain enhanced pair of siblings received them as a last gift from their mother.

Now, they have sworn to protect their beloved country from any invaders that have a sudden lapse in judgement and want to attack anything and anyone under their jurisdiction. Of course, they are times where the dynamic duo has done enough damage to the buildings to the point that their structural integrity has come into question. However, they always brought their president results, and that is more than enough for the government.

At the end of the day, if their city is safe, then it is quite alright with them.

Currently, on a black and white street bike, you are zooming by hundreds of cars, who are going in the opposite direction, with the adrenaline pumping throughout your veins. You rev up your bike, adding more speed, and continue to maneuver through the debris that the Squidward wannabe is hauling at you.

Damn. To think all you’ve asked for was some quality time with your boyfriend, and you get this. What a great date night!

          “Yuta, his buddies are heading towards Hongdae,” You begin, speaking through the shared audio device, “Do you and WinWin want to take care of that?” You ask, activating one of your many abilities. Not even a moment later, you hear Yuta say that he and WinWin will head over there ASAP. You utter a quick thank you as you begin the process of another ability that you possess.

Speaking of which…

The abilities that you possess is based off moon and its lunar cycle. Depending on where it is at, you can either go full defense, offense, or a combination of both. Lucky for you, the lunar cycle is heading towards a full moon, so that means you get to go all out and have a bit of fun. It’s always fun time when you possess the ability of lunar manipulation. You have access to everything and anything associated with the beloved moon.

Holding out your right hand; your palm visible to everyone, you gather enough energy for form this ball of energy. Aligning up your hand, you release a thick beam of lunar energy at the minions, who think it's wise to block your path.

          “Okay…question!” You hear Doyoung through the intercoms, “Why did you have me design a weapon specific for your abilities, and you don’t use it!” He complains, causing you, your brother and the rest of NCT 127 to laugh.

          “I’m sorry Doyoung but given the fact that I’m on a street bike and being chased by Squidward on crack, I think using your specialized weapon is the last thing on my mind right now.” You explain, continuing to attack anything that has gotten in your way.

While with Doyoung, he simply sighs, flopping back in his chair. The joys of being the technology expert for his little gang. He then sits up straight and rolls his chair to a different monitor. He quickly types in some codes and is instantly granted access to your brother's camera feed.

          “How's it going on your end?” He inquires noticing him, Mark, Johnny, and Taeyong struggling a bit.

          “Do I have to answer?!” He hears your brother shout as he sets a few enemies ablaze. Don’t you love having abilities based off the sun?

As if he’s physically there, Doyoung holds up his hands in defense, not wanting to deal with your brother’s infamous temper.

          “Hey now. I am just checking in, especially with your sister sending away Yuta and WinWin to protect Hongdae.” Doyoung states, which instantly alarms Mark.

Mark stops fighting briefly; his pulse pauses as he worries for the woman he loves.

Johnny and Taeyong stop in their actions as well. Not because they worry for Mark’s mindset but because they know how ruthless their chameleon can be when anyone threatens his woman.

This can’t be good…

Taeyong throws his fist back, landing a clean punch on one of the alien invaders. Then, he whips out his favorite gun and fires a few rounds into its skull, hoping that it kills it. It does.

He then rushes over to the second youngest, placing a friendly hand on the boy’s shoulder.

           “Mark…” Taeyong begins, “Y/N is fine. Remember, she has enhanced abilities that —” However before he can finish his sentence, Mark runs towards his street bike, hops on it, and starts it up. Not bothered to wear his helmet, he revs it up and drives to wherever his girlfriend is at.

Your safety is his utmost priority. He knows that his members can take care of themselves. Plus, they have your brother, so they have an extra layer of protection.

Johnny watches his retreating body, letting out a long sigh.

           “You know…” He pauses, taking a moment to fire his weapon one of the few alien invaders that linger around the area, “I kind of envy him and Y/N.” He confesses.

Y/B/N perks up his brow, finding his statement both odd and amusing.

           “Why’s that?” He asks.

           “Because, Mark has time to love his woman amidst this chaos while I barely have time to tinker with our weapons and make them even better.” Johnny answers, reloading his favorite semi-automatic just in case there’s another swarm.

Both Taeyong and Y/B/N laugh at his statement before agreeing with them. In their line of work, it is quite difficult to maintain a relationship. There are days where they are lonely for companionship. On the other hand, with a few of them loving the idea of playing the field, a simple one-night stand will satisfy their manly urges…

Currently fighting as if your life depends on it, you hide behind a cracked pillar, catching your breath and replenishing your energy. This Ebony Maw fella really wants both yours and your brother’s stone.

           “Come out. Come out. You should think of this as an honor. Only a select few can say that they have died at the hands of the children of Thanos.” You hear that creeper’s voice state, further irking you.

An almost animalistic growl emerges from your lips. This asshole has done an excellent job at annoying you to no end, and the weekend isn’t even over yet!

Channeling all of your energy into the palms of your hand, moisture from the air begins to attract to them.

Slowly, it begins to take the shape of your favorite weapon—a Korean style katana. You always do love shedding the blood of your enemies with it.

With one deep breath, you slowly exhale, allowing the nerves to exit your precious body. For this fight, you can’t afford to lose focus. If you do, then everyone you have come to love and cherish will die. It will be a cold day in Hell if someone you love dies on your watch.

Not again. Not ever again.

You open your eyes, taking a step behind the pillar. You swing your katana, hearing this whishing sound from the blade as it cuts through the air.

A smug smirk graces his face as Ebony Maw holds up two fingers, summoning all of the debris from the ground and shaping them into sharp points. Sharp enough to penetrate your body over and over until you bleed to your death. A painfully slow death that you’ll never wish to experience.

You draw back your sword before letting out this battle cry filled with your pent-up rage as you rush him.

Ebony Maw flings the sharpened debris at you, desperately wanting to please his master.

You swing your sword in every direction, deflecting every single one of them, as you close the gap between you and the pain in the ass that has overstayed his welcome.

Using one of the destroyed cars as leverage, you jump on the hood, adding more momentum, before flinging yourself at him. However, that’s a foolish decision on your part.

With just a flick of his wrist, he forces your body to the side. He has hoped to capture you and your brother alive, but one out of two isn’t so bad. Like how he’s a rock in your boots, you’re annoying thorn on his side and quite frankly, he wants you dead more than alive.

           “Shit!” You curse, knowing that your defensive abilities are nonexistent at the moment.

You slam your eyes shut, bracing for impact; however, instead of landing on the cold hard ground, you feel a pair of arms around your body, securing themselves on your waist.

           “Looks like I’m saving you this time, huh baby girl?” You hear a familiar arrogant voice say.

You pry one eye open before opening the other. A breath of relief escapes your lips as a warm smile begins to take shape. Though, you soon pause as you realize that your amazing boyfriend has put himself in harm’s way—again.

Realizing that he has picked the wrong time to play hero, you scramble off of him and punch him square in the shoulder.

           “What are you doing here, Mark?!” You question loudly as you protect both you and him from Ebony Maw’s attack.

Mark yelps, rubbing his now injured shoulder, “Okay…! Ow!” He gives you a look of disbelief, “I’m here rescuing my woman from the drugged-up octopus!” He replies in an obvious tone of voice.

You can’t help but gawk at his words. While you do appreciate that he has come to your rescue, you want to choke him for failing in realizing that Ebony Maw can easily kill him without lifting more than two fingers.

           “I appreciate the thought, babe. I do, but as you can see, his threat level—” You suddenly stop mid-sentence as you throw your body over Mark, shielding him from one of the cars that Ebony Maw has graciously given you two.

Without a second a thought, you press your earpiece, activating the link between you and the rest of the team.

           “Guys…a little help here!” You request loudly as both you and Mark scramble to your feet and rush to cover.

           “Haechan is on his way!” The two of you hear Doyoung announce and just as he says that you hear Haechan’s cheery voice tell you and Mark to get away from the zone of impact.

A look of confusion washes over your faces but instead of verbally questioning, the two of you do as your told.

           “I always wanted to test out my new invention, cherry bomb!” Haechan shouts happily as he grabs a few interestingly designed explosives from his pockets and fling them around the perimeter.

           “Cherry bomb?” Mark asks, observing an almost maniacal smile on his closest friend’s face.

Instead of answering, Haechan simply holds out the trigger presses the red button, activating the explosives one by one. As each bomb goes off, the explosives produce different colors of smoke; a smoke that is toxic to anyone who inhales it. Originally, Haechan has hoped to use his beautiful creation on enemy gangs throughout South Korea but considering their predicament, he might as well test it out now.

Your eyes widen at the rather colorful sight that the explosives are producing. While with Mark, he slowly nods, finally understanding why Haechan calls it, “Cherry Bomb”

           “Isn’t this a tad overboard?” You asks, turning your attention towards the explosive expert.

Haechan gasps, feeling a bit insulted by your words.

           “Nonsense! While, I don’t think it’s enough to kill him, I do think it’s enough to distract him enough for us to get away.” He answers as the toxic clouds begin to disperse.

Just as you are about to answer, you notice that Ebony Maw’s silhouette is not seen.

Odd…

Feeling a bit anxious, you quickly tell Mark and Haechan to ready up just in case he comes for a surprise attack.

Your eyes scan the area; your breath a bit shaky. There’s no way that something simple as toxic cloud can make him retreat so easily.

The three of you continue to wait, feeling the cool breeze brush by your bodies. It’s as if the wind is warning you of what’s to come next. Yet, that moment never came.

           “Doyoung, scan for his whereabouts.” You quickly instruct as you hear the collected roar from a few engines. You instantly snap towards the direction of the noise; your guard at an all time high and ready to fight once more.

Thankfully, your mind registers that it’s only Taeyong, Johnny, and your brother. When you quickly ask about Yuta, WinWin, Jungwoo, and Taeil’s location, Johnny informs you that they have gone back to headquarters. You quickly thank the stars that everyone is alive with only a few injuries.

           “No sign of the Squidward on crack or any of his creepy Resident Evil like minions.” You hear Doyoung announce, lifting a huge weight off your shoulders. Though, deep down, you know he’s going to come back for you and your brother soon.

Honestly, you want to take the fight to him instead of allowing him to wreak havoc on your beloved country. Your home has suffered enough because of him.

Now, it’s time to put a stop to him once and for all.

           “Let’s head back to base. We have some things to sort out. I want him dead once and for all…”

A few days later, you and Mark are currently on a plane heading towards England. Why? Well, it’s because of Doyoung’s brilliant plan. He believes that Ebony Maw has retreated to a different country in order to find the other stones. When you’ve asked him why, Doyoung told you that it’s more than likely because his master ordered him too.

Not knowing who his master is can be unsettling for anyone, but for you and your brother, it’s quite the opposite. If anything, this is like an arousing game of who’s the true puppet master, and the two of you are ready to play.

Staring out the window, you absentmindedly run your fingers through Mark’s hair as you take in the different color hues that paint the sky. You admire the tranquility that radiates from the empty sky as the plane continues to penetrate the puffs of clouds. Fluffy clouds that remind you of pillows on your childhood bed.

Oh, how you miss the simple life. Before you and your brother have discovered the “blessing” that is your gifts. Blessing? More like curse. It is because of them that your parents are no longer on this Earth. It is because of them that your aunt and uncle are being protected by the agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D.

Honestly, you just want it all to end.

Yet…

At the same time, you know that it can’t end.

So as long as you and your brother live and breathe, the two of you will continue to protect the people since you know that they can’t protect themselves.

You both have taken an oath to protect the country of South Korea, and that’s what you will do…

Slowly, a soft sigh escapes your lips as you pry your eyes away from the window and pull down the shutter. You trail your eyes down and notice Mark’s peaceful sleeping face. A warm smile appears on your face as you can’t help but look at him with complete love and adoration.

You can’t help but shake your head as you recall the first day you’ve met this young man. Under a fake alias, you and Y/B/N have enrolled at the School of Performing Arts even though you’re currently “preparing” to make your big debut. There, you’ve had your first run in with Mark and his little gang of delinquents. Little did you know that day, him and the rest of NCT 127 would be the backing force that your team has been missing.

           “Okay, why are staring at me like that?” You hear Mark say in a sleepy tone of voice.

You immediately snap out of your thoughts and kiss him sweetly on the nose.

           “Nothing. I was just admiring how different you become when you’re not talking.” You tease with a playful smile on your lips.

Mark rolls his eyes as he sits up and stretches out his neck muscles. Instead of retaliating, Mark asks how much longer they have on the plane. He’s starting to get a bit anxious as he shakes his leg. He never does like being in one place for more than thirty minutes.

One of the downsides to being the group’s chameleon man. He always has to blend in with the crowd and make sure that no one can retrace his steps.

To calm his nerves, you lean over your seat and place a loving yet soft kiss on his lips. As you are about to pull away, you feel his hand rest against the back of your neck, keeping you in place. You can’t help but laugh into the kiss because of his sudden courageous action. Where’s your shy boyfriend?

The two of you finally pull away and as you do, you hear the one announcement that anyone on a ten hour plus flights longs to hear.

           “This is your captain speaking. Please buckle up your seat belts as we are about to descend onto the runway.” Announces the flight captain.

Mark shouts a quick, “Finally!”, as he swiftly buckles his seat belt, grinning from ear-to-ear.

You shake your head, chuckling at your other half’s sudden childish behavior.

You really can’t take him anywhere…

After what seemed like forever doing the whole airport check in procedure, both you and Mark now stand out in the pouring rain, not caring that you guys are becoming soaked.

Before executing your plan, you quickly establish a connection between you and Doyoung. You see his face pop up on the projector and proceed to ask him about any intel he has gathered while you were up in the air.

           “Nothing new since you left, boss.” He says as he types away on his mini laptop.

Your lips purse as you nod. You then tell him to keep an eye on your brother and provide him with whatever support he needs.

Doyoung laughs at how overprotective you are when it comes to your sibling, but he understands why. You two have been inseparable since you were children, so it’s

kind of weird to be on this mission, and you two aren’t together.

He’s in Spain while you’re in London. Two different parts of the world yet so close in a way.

Oh well…

           “Don’t worry, Y/N. I’ll make sure that Y/B/N is safe from harm, though, you and I both know that he can take care of himself. Especially, since he has Jungwoo, Yuta, and Taeil with him. Doyoung out!” He says before terminating the connection.

While Doyoung’s words have this feeling of reassurance, you don’t feel it. You’ll always worry for your younger brother.

Noticing the worried expression painted on your face, Mark wraps a loving arm around your shoulders as he places a sweet kiss on your drenched hair. He then sweetly whispers words of comfort, hoping that he can wash away your concerns away.

           “Now, let’s go find this asshole. I’m already kind of sick of this rain.” Mark says, causing you to giggle.

You nod and lead the two of you to the warehouse that Doyoung has graciously found for you guys.

What?

You can’t do your fighting in simple street clothes…

Now standing in front of what it seems to be an abandoned building, you look at your watch, courtesy of Jungwoo, and press a combination of buttons; thus, activating a tiny drone. You then command the small device to scan the building for any signs of foreign life. If it comes up positive, then that means some sort of alien invader is in there. Hopefully, it means that Ebony Maw is being coward and is hiding inside.

What a bitch…

Seconds later, your watch beeps, telling you that there’s no sign of foreign life inhabiting the building.

Okay. Odd.

With a short sigh, you command the drone to return to your headquarters and then tell Mark that it looks like you have to do it the old fashion way.

You unhook a few explosives that looks like an ordinary clock and hand them to Mark. Before fully handing them over, you quickly ask if he knows how to handle Haechan’s rather special inventions.

Mark’s body tenses at your question. Shit. Should he tell the truth or tell a white lie? Well, he did pay attention to Haechan when he explained what they did before they all went their separate ways—sort of.

           “Of course. I know how to use these.” He lies flawlessly, flashing a bright smile.

You raise your brow briefly. Your gut tells you that Mark’s lying, however, you choose to believe him since it’s just the two of you, and you definitely do not know how to use Haechan’s explosives.

Without a moment to spare, you hand over the time bombs before breaking down the door. You signal Mark to follow closely behind and have his firearm ready to use.

As soon as you step inside, you are instantly blinded by this luminescence light. It also doesn’t help that the entire walls are painted white, so the lights are reflecting off it.

And you thought that your brother’s solar flare attack were blinding. Nope. This takes the cake.

The two of you continue down the empty, quiet corridor. Both of you on high alert as you inspected every single room throughout the first floor.

After seeing yet another empty room, you and Mark stand up straight; this feeling of confusion washes over you.

What is going on here?

           “I’m not sensing any forms of life at all in this building, babe…” says Mark as he’s reading some sort of date from his phone.

You make a noise as your lips thin. You refuse to believe that there’s no one in this building.

Slowly, you inhale and exhale deeply. That tiny action always calms down your nerves before they go into a frenzy.

           “Okay. I think we should split up,” You begin, summoning a katana in your right hand, “I’m going to check the rest of the floors while you go check out the basement. If you find any suspicious activity, I want you to plant those explosives in those said areas. Got it?” You finish relaying your plan.

Mark stares at you, secretly hating the idea of the two of you splitting up; however, he knows that you’ll be safe, and your plan seems flawless.

In a reluctant tone, he says okay before running off towards the basement area.

You remain in your place, silently summoning this gravitational barrier around Mark.

You pray to the Gods that your shield will protect him from harm’s way before taking off towards the second and third floor. You kick open the door leading to the stairwell. A loud bang echoes throughout the building. You practically fly up the stairs and in a blink of an eye, you are already on the second floor.

You remain in place as you take a moment to listen for any suspicious sounds. Your eyes scan every detail of the hallway. Taking note of, again, how clean it looks. A little too clean for your liking.

Once you are greeted with silence, you make the executive decision to not check the rooms. Maybe you’ll have some sort of luck on the third floor.

You dash down the hallway; only the sound of your boots meeting the tile floor is heard. You feel the air slowly leave your lungs as you exert every ounce of stamina you have left.

With the adrenaline fueling your desire—your need—to put an end to this, you sprint up the next flight of stairs leading to the third floor…

You push open the door and instead of being greeted with the usual bright, clean scenery, you take note of the flickering lights. The cracks on the wall as if someone or something landed a nice clean hit on it. Your eyes trail up and you see that a few bulbs on the “EXIT” sign is blown out.

Okay…

Why the sudden change in appearance?

Then, it hits you. Maybe this is just a distraction, and both you and Mark have fallen right for it.

Shit…

You frantically survey the area, focusing all your energy in your hearing. You wait a few moments as you hear nothing but dripping sounds echo throughout the corridor.

A cold gush of air brushes past you causing you to lose focus for a split moment.

Then, sounds of lively chatters surface. You direct your attention towards the area where it originates before running towards it.

Now standing in front of a door, you lean close enough to confirm your suspicion.

Yup…

There it is…

Something or someone is on the other side, and they are definitely not alone.

You slowly exhale before gathering enough energy to activate both an offense and defensive ability. You feel this surge of power flow through your veins as it spreads to your hands. This white, holy aura surrounds your body as you become prepared to handle anything and everything that comes your way.

Just as you are about to use your gravity manipulation ability to force the door open, the floor suddenly shakes. You feel this gigantic tremor beneath your feet as if an earthquake just happened.

Then, this loud explosion sounds throughout the building.

Your eyes immediately widen as you conclude that without a doubt, Mark has activated Haechan’s “0 MILE” explosive.

As you are about to rush to Mark’s aid, you hear the door open, causing you to get into a fighting stance.

You ball up one of your hands into a fist while the other is gathering any debris in the building.

           “What are you doing breaking and entering in a federal government building?” asks an older gentleman with in a posh accent.

Wait…did he just say government building?

You and Mark are currently in a government building?!

Not wanting to humiliate your country, especially the president, you come out of your fighting stance.

A nervous chuckle escapes your lips before you sprint off to find Mark and leave this burning building.

           “I already phoned the police!” You hear the man shout as you exit to the stairwell and continue your journey.

Oh…

You are going to kill Doyoung when you get home…

Meanwhile, with Mark, he’s currently planting yet another explosive. Totally unaware that he’s destroying the building structure of a government owned facility.

Whistling a little tune, he winds the clock until it says, “1:27”, and places it on another pillar. He then creates enough distance between him and the bomb and just as he’s about to set it off, he hears you shouting, screaming at him to stop.

Before Mark can ask you why, he feels your hand around his wrist, and he’s now forced away from the area.

With Mark now in tow, the two of you flee the scene of the crime, running with no specific distance in mind, as the sounds of sirens grow near.

You two continue to run away from the soon-to-be crumbling building. Your eyes light up when you see an abandoned alleyway. You roughly pull Mark into it before basically exploding on him for ruining the mission.

The mission where little to no destruction will occur while in a foreign country.

           “This is all your  fault! If you haven’t gotten a little trigger happy, then we wouldn’t be in this position!” You take a deep breath, “I told you to stick to the plan! Remember?! Little to no destruction to this country!” You practically scream at him, ignoring the fact that the loudness of your voice will alert the police to your location.

You honestly don’t care. You are just incredibly pissed off. Not only at him, but Doyoung as well for feeding you false intel.

Mark gasps, feeling a tad offended by your statement.

           “Hey now. If we’re assigning blame, then this is your fault for leaving me alone with explosives in the first place! Especially, after you told me to plant explosives in areas that I thought were strange!” He then starts talking with his hands, “News flash! That entire building screams enemy activity, so it is not my fault!” He argues back, matching the anger in your tone.

An almost animalistic growl leaves your lips. You narrow your eyes; a harsh glare ever so visible. You honestly can’t believe what you are hearing right now.

Is he seriously putting the blame on you?

Seriously, the urge to choke your “incredible” boyfriend is strong within you.

You throw up your hands as an exasperated sigh exits your mouth.

           “Ugh! Why did you volunteer to come with me, knowing that you don’t know how and what Haechan’s fun little gadgets do?” You question, pinching the bridge of your nose as you hope to understand your boyfriend’s random surge of stupidity.

Mark scoffs before puffing out his cheeks, unsure if he wants to confess the truth. The truth of him missing you…

He wants to tell you his reasoning but at the same time, he doesn’t. The last thing he wants is to hear his members teasing him for being open about his feelings towards you.

Though, what he doesn’t realize is that the rest of NCT 127 already know. They aren’t stupid. They observe everything when it comes to their chameleon man.

As time passes, a blanket of awkward tensions covers the two of you as you hear the sirens become closer.

Great. Now, you’re more than likely going to get arrested, and you haven’t resolved your little couple’s spat.

           “Mark, please just talk to me. Why did you lie?” You try again, hoping the animosity in your voice is gone. Raising your voice at him isn’t going to make him talk to you. You have learned that after your first argument, which lasted more than a week.

Mark sighs, hearing the softness in your tone, as he remembers that an open communication is key to any relationship.

           “Okay…I lied about knowing how to work Haechan’s explosives. I just wanted to spend some quality time with you,” He meets your gaze, “It’s been three months since we had an actual date night. Just the two of us. No threats coming at us. No stakeouts. Nothing,” He takes a step towards you, closing the gap between your chests, “Just you and me in our normal civilian clothes and enjoying the night life that Seoul has to offer,” He takes your hands into his, “Remember, that was on your list of things to experience as a normal teenager?” He says, finishing his explanation.

You simply nod, smiling sweetly and softly at him. There’s no need for words.

Mark kisses your knuckles, “I honestly had planned for us to get through this mission with no bumps whatsoever…” He adds, letting out an airy chuckle.

His statement causes you let out an airy chuckle as well.

           “Well, the plan was going great until we got arrested,” You say in a light playful tone as you notice a few officers enter the alleyway, “Ha. Think of our pending jail time as our date night.” You add as you break the loving hold and hold up your hands in surrender.

Mark chuckles at your comment, mimicking your action, “True, though, it would be rather strange that they have arrested a member of the Avengers. Just throwing that out there.”

           “Don’t remind me. Cap’ and Uncle Stark will never let me live this down,” You direct your gaze on Mark, “You do know that they like to treat me as if I’m their own daughter, right?” You tell him as the officers slowly decrease the distance between you guys.

Mark grimaces, “Don’t I know it. I believe Ironman threatened me a few times…” He states, shuddering at the not-so-fond memory of his first meeting with the legend.

You laugh at his remark as you hold out your wrists for the police officers to handcuff you.

           “Wait…aren’t you Y/S/N?” inquires one of the officers, finding it odd that she’s indeed arresting a member of the Avengers.

You only nod, making sure to weaken the gravitational field around Mark. You don’t feel like adding, “assault on an officer” to your pending list of arrests.

           “I’m sorry miss, but not even superheroes are exempted from the law.” The other officer says apologetically as he and the female officer escorts the two of you to their police car.

You tell them that you understand. The law is the law.

           “I’m going to call Doyoung and see if he can get in touch with the president. Maybe he can get us out of this predicament.” Mark whispers to you as you slide into the backseat.

You mumble, “Okay”, before asking,

           “I have a question for you guys,” You begin, waiting to get the okay from the officers.

           “What is it?” the female officer inquires, perking her brow up.

           “Why do you guys call your bars, “pubs”, here?” You question, smiling.

Mark, on the other hand, shakes his head. He would’ve face palmed, but his hands are currently restrained.

           “Why am I with you again?” He asks, though, it’s a rhetorical question.

           “Because you approached me first and kept asking me out until I said yes.” You answer him, failing to realize that it’s a rhetorical question.

           “And I do not regret that decision whatsoever!”

           “But I do…”            “That hurts baby girl. That really hurts.”

A/N: Hi everyone! You are probably surprised to see another one shot! Me too! I think looking at my work (school work + studying) schedule, I have only have time to write on the weekends, unless I have prior engagements to attend. Also, I added a rough estimate to the stories that I have planned out, so that helps me keep accountable/on track. Anyway, this is a response to KPOPWONDERLAND’s 13 days of Horror! I based this story off prompt no.32 (“If we’re assigning blame then this is your fault for leaving me alone with explosives in the first place.”) & no.33  (“The plan was going great until we got arrested.”). As I am the queen of comedy and have a been wanting a Superhero!AU (especially for the Marvel universe), what a better way to write it than during the month of Halloween! :)

Don’t forget to leave a like/reblog/comment/a message in my inbox! I love hearing your thoughts! :)

- Kim

[blog-brett-matthew-west-gazette]

Done Deal

(Over the years, I have created some popular characters in my stories. One of them is Detective John Dutton. I have written several tales featuring him. This is one in that series. I wrote this piece on April 26, 2020 in response to a prose challenge.)

A curtain of thick tension descended over the packed courtroom. Defense Attorney Marshall Hatterfield sauntered to the witness stand. He smiled like a feral dog in the heat of manipulation and asked, "Detective Dutton, isn't it true you are well known throughout the hierarchy of the Marion County Police Department to be a, how shall I put this? A lone wolf."

An uneasy stir arose among the spectators. Many shifted in their seats. Hushed murmurs were heard as the confrontation brewed.

Hatterfiel wrung his hands together and continued, "Isn't it also true you like to bend the rules as the situation fits your needs?" Like a vulture circled overhead, with discredit an allegation away, he tightened the screws, "Most importantly, would you not agree minus your shoddy investigative tactics, this insane charge of capitol murder against my esteemed client would it have been launched?"

Detective John Dutton calmly responded, "As you know, Mr. Hatterfield, from our previous encounters, I am not a Johnny One-Time, nor is this my first rodeo." What Dutton ached to do was knock some manners into the barrister. Instead, he maintained his compunction, rose tall in the saddle, and said, "All the evidence the Marion County Police Department collected was gathered in the utmost legal way possible."

"Or so you claim, Detective. Care to enlighten us about what so-called evidence you have to offer this court?" Hatterfield pondered. He walked to his table and picked up a manila folder.

State Attorney Debra Anderson bolted to her feet and complained, "Your Honor, Mr. Hatterfield is deliberately badgering our witness."

Judge Albert Stancil glared down from the bench. He twirled the tips of his handlebar moustache and admonished the Defense Attorney, "Mr. Hatterfield, cease and desist. This court will not tolerate any such theatrics."

"Yes, Your Honor," Hatterfield replied. He raised his eyes, looked at Dutton, and rephrased the tone of his inquiry, "Detective, can you inform the court what evidence you collected during your investigation?"

Dutton spoke into the microphone, "A puddle of bleach, approximately two feet in diameter, stained the garage floor. And, a variety of aerosols and cleaning agents were boxed together on the Formica-topped island in the kitchen of the Deals' house."

"Did you locate anything else, Detective? Perhaps something of value," Hatterfield questioned.

"Yes we did," Dutton responded, "we found six towels in the washing machine with a reddish substance on them. Forensics determined this was blood that matched the deceased."

"Deceased, Detective? Really?" Hatterfield scoffed. "That is quite an interesting perspective considering there is no body. My question would be how can there possibly be a deceased without one? In addition, a blood match would hardly prove my client murdered Vanessa Deal or anyone else, for that matter."

"No it would not," Dutton agreed, "but,when Gretchen, our cadaver dog, discovered a positive indication on the driveway underneath the carport an arrest warrant was secured. That led us to bring Virgil Deal in for questioning."

"I see," Hatterfield started. He flipped open the cover of his manila folder and ran his forefinger halfway down the top paper contained inside. He approached Dutton, showed him the document, and asked, "Detective, were you not quoted as saying "We still don't have the skank's missing body, but we've got Virgil Deal by the cajones. Now's the time to ratchet up the squeeze real tight and see if we can crack a coconut?" Those comments sound like you were hell-bent to nail the innocent philanthropist Virgil Deal to the wall regardless. Detective, I strongly remind you that you are under oath."

Taking ownership, Dutton admitted, "Yes I said those words and I stand by them. You see, Mr. Hatterfield, aggression is easily aroused in lovebirds, and the Deals were in the middle of toxic divorce proceedings. But, the odd text messages Vanessa Deal's friends received were what I wanted to know about. The beginning always sounded like a stimulating environment for me."

"Clueless!" Hatterfield muttered under his breath. He asked Dutton, "Does testifying in a death penalty trial sound like a stimulating environment to you, Detective?"

"Your Honor!" Debra Anderson vehemently protested.

"I retract my question," Hatterfield smiled at the attentive jury.

Dutton explained, "Following the date Vanessa Deal was reported missing, signals from her cell phone bounced off the tower in Laramie, two-hundred-and-twenty-six miles north of Marion County." Then, he asked his own question, "Riddle me this, Mr. Hatterfield, how can a missing person text her dear, sweet, mama and tell her she is on a ventilator?"

"I'm not the one providing testimony, Detective," Hatterfield responded.

Dutton continued, "Once Maryanne Dungston received this text, we scoured all the local hospitals. Vanessa Deal did not surface. That gave us probable cause. Who else would retain access to Vanessa Deal's cell phone to send that text to her mother after she was reported missing except Virgil Deal?"

"As I recollect, the last time Vanessa Deal was seen alive was on February 14, 2019," Hatterfield began.

"Sweethearts Day," Dutton cut in. He elaborated, "Larry Courtney, her supervisor at Thurston Interiors, reported his favorite office clerk was in very good health at that time."

In an attempt to cast suspicion off his client, Hatterfield paced in front of the witness stand and stated, "It is my understanding that Larry Courtney and Vanessa Deal were having an affair."

"I will remind the court Larry Courtney has been cleared of any possible involvement in Vanessa Deal's death," Debra Anderson quickly responded.

Hatterfield stared at the news hounds clustered together in the far corner of the courtroom and warned, "Detective Dutton, while this text message you mentioned may have aroused your curiosity, it certainly did not establish a murder was committed. Unless you can produce any real substantiating evidence implicating my client in a crime, I am going to petition the court to drop all charges against Virgil Deal."

Poised, Dutton presented, "On February 21, 2019, Vanessa Deal's silver Hyundai Tucson was discovered in the North Annex of the Marion County Parking Garage. Security video showed Virgil Deal drove the vehicle into Parking Slip 618 and edited out the driver's door. Why, Mr. Hatterfield, would your client be inclined to do such a thing?" Dutton paused, look accussingly at Deal, and stated,"Unless it was a desperate act intended to cover something up."

He focused his attention on Hatterfield and continued, "Three days prior to Vanessa Deal's car being found, her next door neighbor, Marjorie Stoneman, provided a deposition stating she heard the victim plead, "No! No! No! You're hurting me! Why would Vanessa Deal make that comment if she wasn't under duress?"

Silence filled the courtroom.

"And, Mr Hatterfield, why would Vanessa Deal's neighbor from across the street, Riley Johannson, provide a sword statement in which he recalled seeing a black F150 pickup truck at her residence with a license plate that matched the one owned by Virgil Deal on the day she was reported missing?" Dutton wanted to know.

The mousey Maurice Witherspoon slipped into the courtroom seemingly unnoticed. He slid into an empty chair next to Debra Anderson and spoke softly in her ear.

"If I may approach the bench, Your Honor. My associate has informed me workers just excavated Vanessa Deal's half-naked remains from a ravine in Rock Smasher Canyon," Debra Anderson enlightened Judge Stancil.

Anguished, Virgil Dea,l a bookworm with wire-rimmed spectacles, cried out, "Stop it! I didn't mean to kill Vanessa. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I went to her house to discuss the settlement of our finances. At first, she was warm. You know, the way we used to be before all our disagreements started.

The notion brought a fond remembrance to Deal's face. He returned back to the gravity of the situation at hand and said, "Then, Vanessa told me she wanted eighty percent of all my assets. Eighty percent! I'm no fool. I couldn't do that. I tried to convince her she would ruin me and everything I've spent my life building. She didn't care."

A collective gasped emitted from the gallery as the brash Hatterfield grumbled to his client, "Shut up, Virgil! You've already confessed too much you pathetic weakling! I could have gotten you off."

Deal fiddled with the top button of his blazer and finished his confession "Do you know what she did? Do you? She laughed in my face. I lost control and slapped the taste out of her mouth. All of a sudden Vanessa wasn't so demanding. Then, I-I picked up a knife from off the tool counter and I," as if the memory was too strong to overcome, Deal hesitated, "I stabbed her again! And again! And again!" Each time the word became more venomous. Deal concluded, "There was blood all over the floor of the garage. I tried to clean it up." Collapsing into his chair, Deal moaned, "I couldn't allow Vanessa to destroy me. Don't you see? I couldn't."

Judge Stencil instructed, "Bailiff, remand the defendant. This court stands adjourned until one o'clock."

Steel bracelets flashed, then clicked.

Outside the courthouse, Dutton told his young partner, "I may not be as good as I once was, but make no mistakes about this simple fact, Mark, I'm still as good once as I ever was." He paused, collected his thoughts and stated, "I see the electric chair in Virgil Deal's future. His sand castle in the sky is gonna crash down on top of his head, and I have no sympathy for him. The greedy bastard Oh well, duty calls."

"Your timing is impeccable," Mark Ballister complimented Dutton They bounded down the courthouse stairs. Ballister stopped and asked, "But, how did you know where to send Witherspoon in search of Vanessa Deal's corpse in Rock Smasher Canyon?"

Dutton flashed a toothy grin and replied, "All in a day's labor, kiddo. Witherspoon turned that dagger just right to force Deal's confession. Helps to have snitches in low places. Let's roll."

[panticwritten]

10 Questions from Breakeven2007

Haha, thanks for the tag @breakeven2007, I’m always a slut for answering questions.

Since I forgot to put the rules on the post last time I got tagged, I’ll go ahead and do that this time. Basically, if you’re tagged, you answer the questions your tagger left at the bottom of the post, then you tag some other folks and leave your own questions at the bottom for the next people to answer!

I’ll do this under the break again.

1. What OC makes you want to tear your hair out and why?

Okay, when it come to writing a character, like getting the writing down when I’m writing them, it would probably be Jay. They spend so much time locked away in their lab that they talk to their androids more than they even see other people. They have shaky morals and I always want to write them as being better than they are.

With the way characters act and general ‘what are you doing?’ tearing my hair out, I’d say it’s Sawyer. Because most of my writing is daydreams and I’m writing the things that happened in my daydream, I write with the knowledge of how much those decisions fucked me over. Sometimes I wish I could go back and whisper in my past-self’s ear saying “NO!”

Retrospect is 20/20 and I hate it.

2. Do you like going back and reading old writing or looking at old drawings? Why or why not?

Oh my god, yes. To a point. I love reading 2014-onward writing. Before that, there are things I should just let die. I have a completed Johnny the Homicidal Maniac/”Gory Demise” by Creature Feature fanfic in the depths of my DA, for Christ’s sake.

The worst part is, on my particularly nostalgic days, I have thought about rewriting that ;^;

But I like looking back and seeing how far I’ve come in my writing. I like seeing how different projects change the way that I write. If I read my god-awful writing for 2010, I can actually start to believe it when people tell me my writing is good. Because no matter how many flaws it might have, It’s better than it was. That’s all that matters in the end.

3. Have you ever had a daydream so long and extensive you actually have to catch yourself before writing all that shit down because it was good.

HA yes.

I’d like to say that all of my daydreams that I end up writing are like that, but I know that isn’t true. I waited about a month before I started writing Breaking Furnace, and it took one of my friends asking questions about what in my daydreams was bothering to get me to write Sequence of Regrettable Happenings. I started writing Trollhunter’s: Subverted a few says after the daydream started, but I wish I’d started sooner. So many little details were lost from the first couple days.

The daydream sequence that brought Journey to the Center of Our Mind around is what I’m thinking of for this one. So much just started happening at once and I started writing it as soon as I could tear myself away from the actual daydream.’

On a vaguely related note, the beginning plot for Savior Destroy came out of an actual dream, and so did Damien, one of the paras/characters I have.

4. What is the hardest genre for you to write?

I’m not sure if this actually counts as a genre, but the hardest thing for me to write is physical fights. I’ve never experienced an actual fight, and I have a hard time balancing pacing, action, emotion, all of that stuff.

5. How often do you pull all-nighters (if you do)?

I don’t really pull all-nighters, but I come close a lot. I normally go into staying up past 2am expecting to stay up the whole night because I used to all the time. I never do, though, because I get tired and can’t function. I’m already so tired all the time, I have a hard time when I reach the middle point between normal levels and the I’ve-been-awake-for-36-hours-I’ve -never-felt-so-alive high. I miss the manic feeling of staying up the whole night, but it’s probably not a bad thing that I can’t seem to get there anymore.

I normally just end up making bad decisions lmAO

6. Is your writing better with or without sufficient sleep?

Without. I do good writing between like 8pm and 6am which is why I try to stay up so often, even if I know I’ll fail.

7. Do you have a favorite fandom? If so, why?

Favorite fandom, not really. If I stay on the very surface of fandoms, they’re fine but most of the time if I go any deeper I just end up getting uncomfortable so I tend to not delve. I probably like what I’ve seen of the Dragon Age fandom the most, though. Particularly DA2 because I will fight on my stance that DA2 is the best game in the series.

I just like things. I like the things and I especially like it when I watch/read/listen to things without my brain deciding to give me another 500,000 page-worth daydream to obsess over. Can I just be a casual fan for once in my goddamn life please.

8. What book would you recommend to anyone who asked, regardless of personal taste? (Doesn’t have to be your favorite.)

The Belgariad and The Mallorean. It’s actually two five-book series, but they are everything to me. It’s a fantasy series by David Eddings (and his wife, Leigh Eddings, though she wasn’t credited until much later), and it’s a wonderful coming of age story.

The Belgariad is really focused, most of the characters (except for the protag of course) know roughly what they need to do and who the bad guys are and where they need to go.

The Mallorean delves a lot deeper into the particulars of war. That even the ‘bad guys’ aren’t necessarily evil or irredeemable. There’s a lot more confusion, mystery, and the unknown plays a big part in how the story plays out and the decisions the characters make.

They’re Good Books.

9. Is there an author that you can’t stand? And conversely, one that’s on your auto-read list? Why?

I think I’ve answered a question similar to this on this blog. I haven’t really found an author that I hate, partially because if I start a book and can’t get through it I tend to forget that it and its author exists. Mostly, though, it’s because of how writing grows and a writer can do terrible work in one genre and be great in another. For example, I don’t really like most of James Patterson’s work because the way he writes crime fiction is a little too much for me. I love his YA modern fantasy/science fiction writing, though! Maximum Ride and (okay god I can’t remember what the series was called, like ‘W’ or something, it’s about witches) were genuinely enjoyable, even if they have some big continuation and plot issues that come along with the past pace at which authors like JP write.

I’d say that I want to read every piece of writing that Daniel Handler has ever created as Lemony Snicket. The voice in his work is SO GOOD and fun to read. I’ve been reading TSOUE to my sister and I’m noticing more and more that went completely over my head when I first read it in middle school. Some jokes that are more relatable now that I’m older, and I fully appreciate how terrifying Count Olaf is as a villain. I’m also in the process of reading ATWQ, which takes place in the childhood of Lemony and his first mission as an apprentice in the VFD.

10. If you were a published author, would you support fanfiction of your work? (This is tumblr so I kinda assume so, but some people wouldn’t want someone to “mangle” their work, if you will.) Would you support complete crack ships or ships that you didn’t agree with canonically?

This is kind of a double edged sword, to be completely honest. Since, even in the works I could publish, the main character is a version of myself from my daydreams, fanfiction could be a little weird for me to read.

But, like, fanfiction?? And fanart????? Of something I wrote?? That would be awesome. It would be cool to see how people see my characters, even if they completely fuck up the actual characterization. There is only one noncanon ship that I wouldn’t just say ‘oh, okay, not what I had in mind but fine.’ I wouldn’t ask people not to write it because you know write what you want, but Sawyer and Dominic is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

And that’s a wrap!

I’ll go ahead and tag @cadewrites @itstheenglishkid and @alextriestowritestuff

Okay, here are my questions for you! 

1. Do you have any pets? How about your OCs?

2. How do you beat writer’s block?

3. Where do you draw most of your inspiration from?

4. How do you and your OCs feel about pineapple on pizza?

5. If you had to choose a fictional universe to live in, which one would it be?

6. Would you get along with your OCs if you met them in person? 

7. Which of your OCs would burn a house down or overreact in a similar way if they even thought they saw a spider?

8. What’s your favorite time of day to write?

9. Have you ever written an AU of your own work?

10. Have you ever written a scene so emotionally charged that it hurt you upon rereading it?

A fun story relating vaguely to question 7. Once, I was drawing during the summer with the window open. A dragonfly zoomed in as I was about to close the window and go to sleep, so I abandoned my room in terror, screaming, and slept in the living room instead.

I’m not even scared of dragonflies?? They just don’t belong in my room.

[iamwhelmed]

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Chapter 15

This was the one I was dreading so. It’s long, it’s action-packed, and it’s bloody enough for me to bump this fic up to an M rating. I’d say this is what everything has been leading up to, but you haven’t seen anything yet ;D

Also on AO3 and will later be on Fanfiction.net!

Summary: When monsters start to invade Mayview, the morality of the connection between a medium and their spirit comes into question. Is killing a spirit any different from taking the life of another human? Relationships between club members become strained, and if Max thought the club was coming apart before, it certainly is now.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Stephen backed into Johnny, who reached back and gripped his arm in a shaking hand.

RJ whipped beat down a lingering fleshy tentacle down with a bat from the gym broom closet, crouching down just as Ollie swung a net, filled to the brim with soccer balls, over their head. The balls made contact with another tentacle, crushing against the wall under the weight. "What is going on? What are these things?"

RJ straightened up, fixing their hoodie with hands that wouldn't cooperate. "It's something out of every horror movie we've ever watched!" They turned their wide eyes on Johnny, who slammed the door on yet another tentacle inching through the cracked-open door of what would have been Miss Baxter's classroom. "What do we do, Johnny?"

"I don't-!" He swallowed hard. "I don't know!"

What was there to do? Find a way out of the school? That seemed like a good start, but he wasn't entirely sure the… things… hadn't already made it out into the rest of the city. Were his parents okay? He flinched, both hands reaching up and grasping his head. Were his friends' parents okay? "I don't know! I don't f-!"

Something loud and obnoxious revved up, riding fast up the staircase in the distance. RJ and Ollie turned around, and Johnny let his hands fall back to his sides. "What the…?"

One of the clumps of flesh, which had been occupied carrying itself up the stairs, paused in its plight, seemingly as curious as Johnny was about the sudden racket.

Then the thing was nothing but blood, crushed under the weight of a lawn mower pounding up the stairs behind it. Johnny and company watched as it momentarily became airborne, faces contorting in confusion at the sight of the activity club- and the journalism club- latched to the mower with Isaac at the back, spouting wind, and Max at the front with a metal bat.

"WAA HOO!" Max crowed as the lawn mower hit the tiled floor, using his free hand to steer it to the side, heading down the hall. He thought he might have seen Johnny on their way by, but he wasn't too bothered with him at the moment, though it was nice to see somebody he knew hadn't already been sucked up and digested. "Did I tell you this was a good idea or what?"

Ed nearly tumbled off as Spender unintentionally fell a few inches back. He waved his arms around manically until Isabel screeched and reached the hand that wasn't clinging to Spender's waist for dear life to grab him by the collar. "WHAT!"

Max looked over his shoulder. "I said-!"

"I HEARD YOU!"

Spender reached out and grabbed Max's shoulder, nodding ahead. "We're almost to the cafeteria! That should be the center of the school! From there, we'll fan out!"

Max nodded and turned back around, gripping the wheel with more force. "Hey, Isaac! We need some more juice!"

"I'm-!" He grunted from the back, maneuvering himself so that his hands were pushing them more forward as opposed to upward. His efforts nearly sent him falling off, but Dimitri and Collin gripped his bottom half at the last second, Suzy pressing one hand to her mouth to stifle a yelp. He raised one hand to silently thank them before putting it back to work. "I'm trying, okay? This takes more energy than it looks!"

The mower slid into the cafeteria, mowing- pun intentional- down a monster ready to strike a student down. The girl wiped frantically at the tears streaming down her face before crawling away as fast as she could.

The club hopped off, then Collin and Dimitri, who paused and turned around to help Suzy down.

Isaac was the first to charge forward, conjuring a massive bolt of lightning larger than his head, sending it straight into the closest clump of flesh he could find. "Oh my god, dude!" Max gestured to the bloody monster, swaying back and forth, trying to regain its footing. "I thought you said you were running low on energy!"

"Well," he moved out of the way as Ed took out the other half with a painted sword. "Now I'm not."

Max scowled at Isaac, but he shrugged it off.

The rest of the club got to work taking down monsters, Max and Isabel going at a monster with three arms and a sideways, sharp-toothed mouth, Max swinging at its core and Isabel distracting it as best she could with her umbrella. Spender and Ed double-teamed another monster, Spender wrapping a shadow around its only eye as Ed drew up a spear and sent it through the gum-only mouth parting to scream. Dimitri stuck close to Suzy and Collin, driving his hand through everything that so much as tried to peck at them.

Isaac stayed close to them, but was less focused than Dimitri might have been. All he could do was fight, all he could think about was lightning. He grabbed one monster's tentacle near the tip, hand squeezing the eyeball attached as he sent wave after wave of electricity bolting through it. The monster screamed, and though the human-spirit hybrid sound unsettled him, he wouldn't let it distract him. He raised one leg and let wind collect around it, a tornado rolling and growing and roaring around it. It took him more concentration and balance than he had, but with a swift kick to the monster's side, it went flying across the cafeteria and into the wall, stuck in wood and drywall.

"ISAAC, LOOK OUT!"

Straight-faced, he spun around, sizing up the sharp, bloody teeth opening and salivating over him. The mouth was as tall as he was and took up one full side of the monster before him; its jaws parted further and the smell was putrid, something like eggs and feces, overwhelming and nauseating. Isaac nearly puked on the spot, but before he could even raise an arm to his nose, it charged.

Isaac remained where he stood, unflinching.

"Back" Dimitri came down on it from overhead, leg raised and vibrating, covered in orange aura. He cut the mouth straight off the body, sending the rest of its body falling backward, motionless. "Off!" He landed next to Isaac, turning a lidded glare on him before he could even say "thank you". Suzy and Collin, holding onto each other, approached them slowly, leaving what little cover the lawn mower offered them.

"What exactly were you doing?"

"What?" It was less of a question and more of a comment to brush him off.

"You didn't even move! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No." Isaac raised one hand and set it at his shoulder, rolling it around. Another tentacle approached him, fast as a snake in the grass, and he sidestepped it as Dimitri cut it in half. Their eyes met again, and Isaac turned around. "Just not exactly trying to get out alive."

Dimitri froze, tightened eyes widening, as Suzy and Collin reached him.

Isabel screamed out as a clawed monster got her right in the shoulder, although just barely. She twisted around to get at it when Ed leaped in front of her. The clawed hand reached for her again, but Ed raised his scythe and cut it clean in half. It kept coming, not stopping even when most of it was sliced, until the monster itself came running at them. Ed growled and set his scythe aside, setting it on the ground and leaping to stand atop it so that he was taller than the monster. There he drew a large, sharpened circle and, with great balance, leaped from his perch and sliced the monster right down the middle. Blood and ectoplasm predictably followed, and Isabel had to wipe her face of it. Ed landed on his heel in front of her, immediately turning around and running straight to her. "Izzy! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Ed. I'm fine!" She smiled at him. "It's just a scratch!"

His sigh was heavy with relief, and so was his smile.

"All right, children, gather round!" Spender raised both hands and gestured for his students to come closer. Each pair made their way over, albeit struggling among the messes they'd made. Suzy stepped in the mucus of a monster on its last legs and squeaked, falling backwards into Collin, who caught her in exasperated arms, and shook her foot clear of it. Undigested students and teachers crawled around in the mush, looking dazed and confused, helping each other up or falling all over the place. Max paused to help a sixth grader up who, though scared and delirious, thanked him kindly for, uh, buying him a cookie from the cafeteria. Max waved him off and approached the growing circle with the rest of the group. "Now, there are a lot of monsters around here, and it'll be awfully difficult for any of you to fight them alone." He glanced at Ed from the side, who reached up and grabbed at his still-healing shoulder. Isabel frowned. "So we'll be splitting into teams. Dimitri, you'll be coming with me." Dimitri nodded, and Suzy and Collin both reached up and grabbed at either of his arms. "Isabel, Ed, you two are together." They looked to each other and nodded. Spender turned on Isaac and Max, both looking deathly serious, as he supposed they should have been. "Max, Isaac… can I trust you two to work together?"

Max looked at Isaac head on, but found his partner only looking at him from the side. Still not up for eye-contact, huh? "Yeah," Max answered for both of them. "We can do that."

The teams split up, Dimitri and Spender (and, of course, Suzy and Collin) heading to the East wing, Isabel and Ed heading for the South wing, and Isaac and Max headed for the West wing. The mood of the room, though initially strong with confidence, had petered out as each group parted. A hint of dread fell in cold air, riding on the coattails of obligation. There were a few uncertain looks back, primarily from the present non-spectrals, but they all had their fair share of uneasy thoughts.

"Dimitri!"

He twisted around at Isabel's voice, one eyebrow raised. She'd paused on their way out the door they'd come in, waving at him from across the cafeteria as Ed pressed passed the threshold. "You're a little rusty from so long outta the game, right? Be safe!"

He blinked, then shook his head and chuckled to himself. With a wave and a grin, he yelled back. "You too! Wouldn't wanna see that pretty smile all torn up!"

Isabel's waving hand dropped instantly, face flushing as red as her aura. He winked at her and continued on his way.

Isaac was terrifyingly brutal, far more than Ed and even laughably more than Isabel. When Max had weakened one monster down, Isaac was ripping them apart like nothing. Max cringed and wiped the blood that'd hit him dead on, raising an eyebrow at the carnage in their wake. "Hey, dude?"

"What?" Isaac was more preoccupied dragging a fist of electricity through a monster than he was answering whatever it was Max was about to ask, the ring of his tone didn't exactly hide that.

Max dodged a tentacle, which he noted with disgust was slick with slime and ectoplasm, and took a swing wherever his instincts led him. Gratefully, his sixth sense knew what it was talking about most of the time, and the hit landed square in the unblinking eye-of-sauron-looking sucker rising on him to his left. "Is there a reason you're blatantly ignoring your own moral code?"

Isaac paused as soon as the monster he'd driven a fist through fell to his feet, unmoving, wiping away the blood at his cheeks, perhaps ineffectually, considering his hand was covered in it up to his elbow. The sideways glance he gave Max wasn't as cold as it had been the weeks leading up to- Max mentally shook the thought off- his betrayal, but it was still distant, like an invisible arm extended, palm upturned. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Max shrugged, pushing down the curiosity urging him to glance around at their torn-apart, ravaged school; Isaac was not only more important, but momentarily more interesting. "You're kinda acting… violent."

Isaac shrugged right back at him, gesturing to his entirety. "You're beating that thing to death with a metal bat, and I'm the one being violent?"

Max glanced down at the monster raising one shaking claw up to his face before taking the final swing and stepping away with a wince. "Right." He'd forgotten, in the adrenaline of it all, that those things weren't just spirits, they were people. They had friends and family, even if they were all long gone, and that thought got to him the worst. They'd been stuck, struggling for dominance of their own body, living with nothing but agony and torture long enough they didn't even have a life to return to. He guessed, by that thought process, that he was releasing them for all of that, but he still wasn't sure the concept sat well with him.

He came to stand by Isaac's side, frowning as they both stopped to take in the scenery. Blood and ectoplasm were all over the halls and lockers, clumps of monster remains littering the hall, looking like hatched monster eggs instead of corpses. The students they'd saved, and presumably their other teammates had saved, wandered around the halls looking lost and horrified. Max got that; they were swallowed whole, after all. People don't usually expect to survive that. Ghosts that had been saved alongside students hugged each other and spun around in glee, though others moved casually along as usual. They must have been used to getting devoured and spit back up. The lights hanging above swung menacingly, blinking on and off, sometimes fizzling out before coming back on only moments later. Some lamps were shattered, but others had just been smacked around. Max side-eyed his shoulder and brushed ectoplasm from it. "Do you think they've gotten out into the city?" His dad and Zoe and Pj and Lefty came to mind. Part of him wanted to leave the school right then, go charging down the hill until he hit home so he could be sure they were completely safe, or he could hide them.

Isaac shook his head. "No. The city was pretty calm on our way back here, remember? These things are attacking the school specifically. I just don't know why."

Max sighed, and Isaac continued on down the hall. He followed him, careful not to trip and slip over the mess that surrounded them.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

Max licked his dry lips, cringing inwardly when they tasted like copper. "Is there a reason you saved us?"

Isaac paused ahead of him, and Max thought he might turn on him and snap, go into hysterics about his reasoning and get all mushy and heartfelt and dramatic.

Instead he huffed.

"I just needed your help. Don't think about it too much."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued on, and Max felt irritation rise as he scurried off after him.

"Why are you being such a jerk?"

"Because you're asking rhetorical questions."

Another monster down, only infinitely many more to go. Spender stood straight and readjusted his glasses, watching Dimitri give the monster they'd tag-teamed a finishing blow. As predicted, it created a mess, and he could hear Suze and Collin shrieking to themselves somewhere behind them. He grimaced. "You know it isn't safe, don't you?"

He couldn't see them with his back turned, but he knew they nodded their heads.

"That's just who they are." Dimitri stood too, vibrating his hand clean of ectoplasm. "Suzy goes running headfirst into danger, and Collin's just along for the ride." He glanced to the side at them and smiled, and Spender could practically feel their moods lifting.

With a sigh, he continued onward. He was worried about them. They weren't spectrals with any powers to speak of, and there wasn't a whole lot to hand them for weapons- anything that'd be effective, anyway. They did have Dimitri, at least, who seemed nothing if not intent on defending them. Even should he fail, he had a feeling Dimitri would pick up more than half the slack in his place.

"They'll be after us now, you know."

Spender raised an eyebrow as they continued down the hallway, silently urging Dimitri to continue his thought. He was always the more serious of his students, and often had a tendency to appear- and to be- more mature than his classmates. Even then, with what were perhaps the most terrifying enemies Spender himself had ever faced (aside from one, he could almost hear Lucifer reminding him), Dimitri seemed cool and collected, eyes focused on the hall ahead of them. "Who will be?"

"The men who arrested us. You think they're gonna just let us go 'cause we happened to escape? With all due respect, sir, they're gonna come after us."

"Maybe if my superiors hadn't predicted something like this would inevitably happen."

Dimitri blinked and looked up to him, and Spender was reminded that he never looked more his age than when he'd been surprised. He smiled back at him. "You have people on the inside?"

"Of course. This isn't the first time the spectral world was in danger of being exposed" He frowned again, humming more to himself than aloud. "Though, it is the first time such a large number of non-spectrals have been in contact with a paranatural entity, and we can't be sure word hasn't spread outside of the city."

"Because of my article?"

Suzy's voice was tentative, but he could hear how ready she was to take responsibility. SHe must have felt some semblance of guilt for the part she'd played in leaving the school defenseless, but he by no means blamed her. Even if she had gone to the authorities, he imagined even an adult unfamiliar with their world might have had the same reaction.

"I doubt your article raised too much suspicion, Suzy. You are, after all, a school newspaper, and as I recall, your organizer hasn't been very good about funding you." Suzy growled under her breath, but he had a feeling it was less directed at him and more the situation at hand. "As true to journalism as you were, I can't help but think the conclusion most would come to was that it was an attention-grab."

"Right."

Dimitri chuckled. "You knew Isaac would come around, didn't you?"

Spender smiled.

The last monster in their wing, at least she was semi-certain of that, hit the ground with a thud and a twitch; Isabel and Ed high-fived. It'd been a little larger than some of the other ones they'd tag-teamed, but still not quite as ferocious as it might have been had they been separated. It was fat and it smelled of stale blood and an uncleaned mouth, stench strong enough they'd both raised a fist to their mouths simultaneously to keep from upchucking right then and there. Its skin perpetually was melting and sinking back into itself- on the bright side, it would often slip over itself. It was easy enough for Isabel to flip it over while Ed sliced it down the middle. "Man," she crowed, setting a hand on her shoulder, rolling it around to stretch it. "It feels good to be your partner again!"

Ed smiled at her, and she smiled right back.

She stopped and looked from him to the ground, fumbling around with the words she wanted to say. Could she just come out and ask him why he'd been lying to her? Would he tell her the truth? Would it be better for her plan if she never confronted him about it and just hoped he'd change his mind? Maybe. But maybe they'd both been dancing around each other, and maybe they both should have been upfront from the beginning.

Maybe she could turn things around by doing what she should have done in the first place.

"Hey, Ed?" She clenched her umbrella in one nervous hand, looking back to him as she began. It was then that she saw his eyes were somewhere behind them, and he didn't exactly look relieved. She turned to face the end of the hallway as he was, and his distracted gaze certainly made sense then.

The monster was larger than every other they'd faced, she could tell even as it slinked around at the end of the hall. It sat so high its head, or what she guessed was its head, brushed against the ceiling, leaving a trail of ectoplasm and blood on both ends. It rammed into the lamps above, bending and snapping them as it passed. When it moved forward, each fell to the floor, hitting the ground and darkening the hallway with a threatening

SMASH… crunch… crunch…

They both took a step back as it approached them, millions of eyes blinking with no coordination, looking at everything and nothing all at the same time. There were thousands of mouths for each eye, some talking, some screaming, some crying.

Some hissed and cackled.

"Help me!"

"What is happening?"

"You'll all get what's coming to you!"

"This body is mine! It's mine!"

All at once, she was reminded that they weren't just fighting normal spirits- these things were human, too, or had been once. Isabel reached out and gripped Ed's arm, and he turned only slightly to look at her, eyes still pasted to the monster approaching. Her eyes were trained to the set settling on them, blinking but never wavering as it grew on them.

He'd knocked down around twenty different attempts on Isaac's life in their time partnering up that afternoon, he was sure of it. Isaac was acting recklessly, tearing through monster after monster with no remorse, though he knew nobody had filled him in on just what the monsters were yet; that might have been a good thing, considering he was sure he'd be horrified with himself if he knew, but it was bad because he wasn't treading as carefully as Max was, and he still had no clue why. They'd just taken another monster down, Max batting a claw with fatal-intent headed Isaac's way, when the urge to say something finally kicked in.

"Isaac."

Max watched him pause mid-step, sighing into the dead air without so much as turning to look at him. They hadn't cleared their wing just yet, but if he didn't say something soon, he had a feeling one of them wouldn't be walking out of Mayview Middle alive. "What?"

"Do you wanna tell me what's been up with you?" He waved a hand to Isaac, who couldn't see the gesture, but he did it anyway. "I've been trying to figure it out since Thursday, and honestly I can't come up with a reason you would have sold us out like that. And then, a day later- almost twenty-four hours on the dot- you break us out! Why? And before you even did all of that, you were avoiding us like we ran your dog over or something! I get that we had a fight, dude, but it wasn't that deep! What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?"

The hallway was completely silent, aside from the bouts of confusion that had the wandering student body mumbling amongst themselves. Nobody that passed by paid them any attention, too wrapped up in what just happened to them to acknowledge the only two composed bodies in the wing. Max stared Isaac's back down, hoping he could feel the heat of his glower, sense the boiling irritation seething between them. The light above them flickered on and off, fizzling faintly with life.

Then Isaac clenched his fists and whipped around. "You wanna know what my problem is?" Max took a step back upon seeing Isaac's wide, wild eyes, watching his aura grow and flare each time he blinked. "My problem is you! It's been you this whole freaking time! Wanna know why?" Max might have nodded had Isaac given him time to. "Because I was an idiot and I trusted you! I knew you for all of a week and I trusted you! Completely! Like some stupid little kid!" Isaac laughed to himself then, eyes falling from Max's to his hands- his trembling, open hands. "And look where it got me! I thought you'd be my friend! I thought you'd stand up for me! I thought you'd like me! How stupid is that?" Isaac ran a hand through his spiked hair, and Max noticed it looked duller than it used to. His aura started to die down, leaving only Isaac, who looked so small right then and so, painfully, broken. "All this time I've been holding onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, somebody would swoop in and take my side! That somebody would actually care about me and want me around! But you didn't!" Max flinched. "You betrayed me just like my gut told me you would! I was dumb enough to think that you'd be the first one to care and you just became one of them! I'm such an idiot!" Isaac's eyes found his again, looking bloodshot and glassy and wet, but the tears weren't falling. Isaac was smiling at him, laughing to himself between words, though it was clear neither of them thought anything about the situation was funny. "It's my fault, okay? I screwed up. I wanted you all to care about me, and if you didn't like me, I thought maybe..." He exhaled through his nose and shrugged with an undertone of defeat. "Maybe if I made you guys mad, then I'd be on your minds, you know? You'd think about me. But," Max felt his stomach dropping, feel the familiar sensation of guilt creeping up on him as Isaac shook his head and chuckled again. "But it just hurt worse…"

"Why" the words came out in croaks, so Max cleared his throat. "Why didn't you say anything?" Isaac looked up at him with his head downturned. "If that's how you felt, why didn't you tell us?"

The light above them flickered on. "It's not like you would have listened anyway."

Max paused. That wasn't true- without even thinking, Max knew that wasn't true. He would have listened. He knew what it was like to bottle something up, to feel like he couldn't speak his mind, to be scared he'd just make things worse is he did. Oh.

So that's what Zoe had been going on about…

Max took off his cap and ran a hand through his sweaty hair before setting it back on. "Isaac, listen-"

Then there was a scream, unsettlingly familiar, sounding so agonized Max and Isaac both felt horror settle over them.

The same scream rang through the halls of the East wing. Everyone halted and glanced upwards to the second floor, eyes wide, fear gripping each of them as the last of the scream settled over their heads. Dimitri and Spender were the first to run off down the hall, carrying themselves toward the staircase with such speed and urgency that Collin and Suzy had to mentally play catch up. Suzy, who had wrapped one arm around Collin's as the scream entered the hall, swallowed audibly. "That wasn't…" Collin looked at her, mouth open but never saying a word. "That wasn't Isabel, was it?"

"Isabel!"

Ed lunged after her as she rolled across the hall, grasping at her torn shoulder, the same place she'd told him she'd been bitten a few weeks prior. She came to a stop as he landed on the other side of her, reaching down and lifting her up in his arms. "Isabel, are you okay?" She winced up at him, one hand clutching, with pain and with vengeance, at her bleeding shoulder.

"I'm fine, but I swear I'm going to kill that thing!"

"You're too hurt to move, Izzy!"

"And you're not?" He frowned, nearly reaching up to touch one of the healing bite marks at his side. Instead, he squeezed her side where he lifted her.

"I'm healed enough."

"I can still fight." She sat up in his arms, close enough that their foreheads would have brushed had she moved any closer. Ed set a cautious hand over hers where her wound was.

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as can be."

He helped her to her feet without another word. The monster at the other end of the hall shrieked from all of its mouths, each individual voice ringing in their ears, a wave of sound hitting them with so much force they both stepped back. Isabel took her hand from her shoulder, but kept Ed's in hers; she squeezed him. They looked from the monster to each other, and suddenly everything felt right again.

LIke the old times, like usual, when they were a team, when they were best friends- when nobody and nothing could tear them apart, because they were going to be together for the rest of their lives. Ed found himself grinning again, the way he used to before the train and the last three weeks, and Isabel reflected it with her own bloodthirsty smirk.

"Your love for her will make you stronger. Focus on that."

Then, with a battlecry that rivaled even the monster's screams, they were charging- together, full force, auras melding like fingers intertwining. Green against red, red fixing into the green, braiding to become one with every leap they took towards the enemy. The monster ran at them, knocking out the last of the lights, but their auras lit the way for them, and with another cry, they lunged forward.

Together, they became a bullet, shooting through the monster, taking a huge chunk from the square middle, large enough they left a gaping hole so huge that they could have seen right through it without squinting. The monster roared and lunged forward still, slowing to a stop along the way because its targets had shifted right through it. Isabel and Ed came out the other side, shooting across the hall until Isabel set one foot on the ground below them. Ed followed suit, and they both slowed to a stop.

The first thing they did was glance at each other as their auras faded. He gave her his smallest grin, and she mirrored everything he was feeling in her smile. They turned to look at the monster as it let out another ferocious howl, echoing in the near-empty hallways.

Dimitri had cut right through one of its fleshy arms with his hand, the eyes along the length of it closing for good as the limb hit the ground. Max attacked its other side with a solid hit to three of the eyes, causing the monster to lurch to the side Dimitri was on, squealing in pain. Isaac was next, summoning a storm cloud as he charged forward. Hail rained down on the monster, causing Max and Dimitri to stumble out of the way, Max whining to anyone who'd listen, though primarily whining to Isaac, about how close that'd been. The monster folded back, slinking backwards, towards Ed and Isabel. They both crouched down, ready to form another bullet should they need to.

To their surprise, Spender launched into the air, grazing the ceiling above, and used the shadow of the broken shards of glass on the floor to slice its head clean off, sending it spiraling their way. With a noise of disgust, and a stuck-out tongue on Isabel's part, they moved as it went right by their heads.

On the other side of the hall, they could hear Suzy and Collin screaming and laughing, hugging each other and leaping for joy, though the leaping part was clearly at Collin's expense.

Dimitri met Isabel's gaze and grinned, offering her a simple thumbs up. She grinned from ear to ear and returned the gesture.

[farmhandler]

Anger

Rating: T

Pairing: Jack/Johnny, aka “Samruai Bravo

Summary: Over his time in the world of Aku, Jack developed a temper. 

A/N: This was inspired by the latest episode. I really like seeing other sides to Jack’s character and I wanted to explore this a little more.

Anger is often quick to rise inside Jack. It has always been a point of hidden shame for him, sitting inside him long after he finally defeated Aku and found his way to this timeline. He thought he had left behind his rage, meditated enough to cast it off, but as he settled into his routine with Johnny, it quickly became clear that that was not the case. 

He loves Johnny, and he loves this town. But in some ways, it is maddening. 

The people are slow, yet impatient. They move as though the world is ending, but rarely do they make room for others. They are selfish, concerned only for their own well-being.

In the other future, the people were quick to give him a fight, an outlet for his anger at the Aku and his world. Here, he is a slave to the master of time, waiting, waiting until the people move. His fingers tighten on the bars. He want to scream and run over the laughing teenagers crossing the street.

Jack has learned to drive an extra mile towards a quieter route. 

He expressed these feelings to Johnny once, unsure how it would be taken, only to be given a quick dismissal. 

“Everyone ‘round here’s a bad driver, Jack,” he’d said, swirling his spoon through his cereal. Jack watched him bring it up to his mouth and chew, impossibly loud. His fingers tightened their hold on the dining table.

“Perhaps you are right,” he replied, loudly enough to drown out the sound.

Johnny did not understand. He still does not understand. There are plenty of irritants that bother most people, but sometimes Jack will be struck with a rage so acute for something entirely undeserved that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. 

There is an old woman who lives near them. She crosses the street every morning to swim at the local pool. She is slow and cumbersome, and it hurts Jack to admit that as she crosses, ever so slowly, on occasion he squeezes through the small opening she creates. One morning, when Johnny offered to drive them to the local part, Jack had to wait for he to cross the road entirely. 

It should not have angered him. Such a small, simple thing--the span of a few minutes. Yet his temper flared inside him as he waited in agony until he could bear it no longer.

“Must we wait until she reaches the end? It feels like it’s been hours!”

Johnny glances at him, raising a brow at his outburst.

“It’s the law. And you know I can’t get another ticket, Jack. If they take my license away mama will kill me.”

This appeased Jack, but only a little. He was still angry. 

Once they finally moved, his anger dissipated, and he barely remembers why he was angry in the first place. 

He knows it’s a problem, but he does not know how to overcome it. No amount of meditation has cured him of this ailment. On his attempts to complete a traditional tea ceremony, with its steps and instructions, a strange impulsiveness overcomes him, and he inevitably fails. 

Have my sensibilities abandoned me? Jack wonders one morning, staring at his sword hanging up on the wall. He has not told Johnny much about the sword or his past, and he doesn’t want to, lest Johnny’s opinion of him change. Johnny sees him as a pillar of tranquility and good morals. It would crush him to know that Jack has not been living up to those expectations. 

So Jack tries to deal with it. He shoves down angry remarks when small things irritate him, and takes longer rides to clear his head. It doesn’t really help, but he does get quite good at hiding his anger. 

Until one evening when he comes home and Johnny has left his shoes in front of the door. 

This is something they have spoken about, once or twice. Johnny is faithful and lives a very active lifestyle, but sometimes he is very lazy. When he comes home from work, he prefers to step out of his shoes and move into the house without a second thought. Jack has expressed that he would prefer if Johnny put his shoes away in the closet so that he might not trip over them. 

It should not annoy Jack that Johnny has defied his wishes. After all, it has only been a handful of times that it has happened. 

But they have talked about it. They have talked about it. 

Jack stumbles over them as he’s stepping out of his sandals and slams his shoulder into the closet door. The doorknob bites into his side. Anger that has been simmering all day bursts up into his throat; fire licks at his lips, and he is shouting, calling Johnny out of the kitchen before he can even give it a second thought. 

“Jack? What’s wrong?” he asks, innocent, wide eyed, an apron wrapped around his waist. 

What’s wrong. It makes him want to laugh. He is not just angry now, he is furious. Jack’s lips curl back into a snarl and he points to the shoes. 

“What have I said about leaving these out, Johnny? How many times have we spoken about this?!” 

His voice rings loudly in the small apartment. Rage flows through him, and he feels powerless to stop it. This is the first time he has spoken to Johnny like this. 

Johnny’s mouth hangs open for a few seconds before he speaks. Jack counts every one. 

“Sorry, Jack, I’ll--” 

“Just once, is it so hard to put your shoes away?” Jack picks them up and tosses them into the closet, with more force than is necessary. “I am not your babysitter, Johnny!”

“’Course not, Jack. I--” 

“And another thing!” Jack whips around to look at Johnny, only to stop dead in his tracks. What he sees makes his voice fail him, his anger fade. 

Johnny looks frightened. For all his width and muscle he looks impossible small, his shoulders hunched inward. To top it all off, he’s looking at Jack as though he’ll swallow him if he makes one wrong move.

Jack’s anger is instantly replaced by shame. 

“Johnny, I...I am so sorry. I should not have yelled at you.” He reaches out, hesitant, intensely relieved when Johnny doesn’t pull away. “That was silly of me. They are just shoes.” 

Maybe if he repeats it enough in his head, it will finally stick. He will stop feeling like this. 

“No, I get it,” Johnny says. “I mean, I knew it would make you mad, but I was really tired. Just didn’t feel like it. I should’ve--” 

“No,”Jack interrupts, cupping Johnny’s cheek, forcing him to face Jack. “My reaction was unnecessary. I should not have raised my voice like that.” 

His voice cracks at the last word. Jack feels like he’s going to crumble. He used to wake up every morning prepared for a battle or a fight, letting loose his feelings in a barrage of bullets. Now he is stuck inside himself, nursing his anger without realizing how much like a festering wound it has become.

“I am so sorry, Johnny. Forgive me.” 

“You know I do, Jack,” Johnny says, holding onto his arm. “Something’s up. Tell me what’s wrong.” 

Jack winces. If Johnny, one of the most oblivious people in this world has noticed his behavior, then truly has become paper thin. 

“I do not want to burden you,” he whispers. “It is foolish. Old hurts that I cannot escape.” 

“I want to be burdened,” Johnny insists. Jack cannot resist him; he melts in the face of his sincerity.

“Lately, or for a long time, I have become...angry.” 

“About the shoes?”

“No, not the shoes. This specific anger has been with me since Aku. I...perhaps we should sit down.” 

Johnny nods and leads them to the couch, but not before Jack slides out of his shoes and sets them aside with care. Johnny tosses his apron on the kitchen table and turns down the oven, allowing whatever is inside to simmer. 

“All right. So you’re...angry?” 

Jack bites his lip. It is difficult to explain how normal it feels to be enraged. Even now he feels threads of irritation building as Johnny soothes his thumbs over Jack’s fingers, movements that were once comforting. 

“It is a long story. I’m not even sure where to begin.” 

“C’mon, you can tell me anything, Jack. Just start from the beginning.” 

He hesitates, but ultimately decides that it is time. 

“All right. You deserve to know, so I will tell you.” 

He does. He describes his tail from when he entered the future, skipping past most of the guts and gore in favor of the feelings. 

“I had never been so angry,” he says, staring down at his hands, recalling the feelings that particular memory triggers. “Aku destroyed the last portal, my last chance to go home. That rage was what led me to lose my sword.” 

He tells him of Ashi. How she helped him defeat Aku, and conquer his feelings. For a moment Johnny looks jealous, his lips curling at descriptions of the woman, and a strange relief washes over Jack. It becomes easier to talk about it, and before he knows it, he’s reached the present. 

Once he’s completely finished, he gives Johnny time to absorb the information. It wasn’t easy to live, and it certainly isn’t easy to hear. 

“I understand if you need time to think,” Jack offers. 

“No, I’m fine. Just--thinkin’ real quick.” Johnny leans back, drumming his fingers against the arm of the sofa. 

Jack waits, patient, almost meditatively. It amazes him how good he feels now that it’s out in the open. 

“I think we should see a doctor.” 

Jack raises a brow. “Doctor?” 

“Er, brain doc.” He cocks his head. “Psychiatrist. Therapist. I mean, I’m no expert, but my dad, he--” Johnny swallows. “Long story short, he had a lot of issues and never went to see anybody, and eventually mama made him leave.” 

“Not that you’re anything like that!” he hastens to add. 

Jack smiles colorlessly. “But I could be.” 

“That’s not what I’m sayin’. I just mean...I don’t want you to feel like this all the time, and I don’t know what to do about it. I could try, but...”

“No.” Jack sighs, folding his hands over Johnny’s and pulling him close. “You may be right. I have never seen a...therapist, but I cannot continue to let this consume me.” He raises Johnny’s hands and kisses the knuckles. “Not if it ends up hurting the ones I care about most.” 

Johnny goes beet red, hands twitching like he’d like to pull them away. 

“Shucks, Jack.” He rubs the back of his neck, a grin forming on his face. Then his gaze narrows, and his expression turns sharp. “You’re important to me, too, you know that, right?”

Johnny is not as free with his affection, but it never fails to make Jack amused to see him so concerned.

“Yes.” He slides closer, then climbs onto his lap--a move that Johnny loves--and peppers his face with slow-given, soft kisses. “I love you, Johnny.”

Johnny wraps his arms around Jack’s waist, fingers creeping towards his ass. “Love you, too, Jack.” 

Jack leans in for a kiss, and feels a well of love and contentment rise inside him, washing away the negative emotions lying dormant. 

It is by no means an immediate solution, but to have Johnny in his corner is a huge relief. The weight of what he was carrying has risen off of his shoulders. 

Thank you, he thinks, trying to direct his thoughts into the space between their lips. 

Johnny smiles, inexplicably, and pulls him closer.

[princesamuraijack-blog]

Part 3 / ?

part 2 > https://samuraijjack.tumblr.com/post/159462271527/part-2

A mass of swirling smoke and flames manifested from the portal and enveloped the entire area in a blanket of darkness. His face appeared, a green mouthed monster with flickering flamed brows and six horns peered down with a sneer.

“FOOLISH SAMURAI! You’ll never make it back in time! HAHAHAHA!”

The samurai narrowed his eyes, tightening the grip on his sword. The dark entity gave a small flourish of his clawed hand, giving the drones a command to focus their attack elsewhere. They leapt back in a single bound, and began parading the lot in pairs. People began screaming and running for cover. He grinned with malicious intent, lowering the portal down just within his reach. “You have a choice, Samurai. Fulfill your so-called destiny and let these people to die, or save them and fail your quest.”

The endless cries echoed, forcing his gaze away from the entity’s cheshire grin. He turned and ran from the portal, using his sword to take down a drone just seconds before it had a chance to drop its scythes on a crying child and her mother. “Aku! Leave the people of this world!” cried the samurai. He swung his sword again to take down another drone that tried to attack him from the side. Aku laughed madly, the portal disappearing in a single flash of light and the demon  was gone. The only thing that remained of him was his voice, which trailed out of the portal in an eerie echo. “You made your choice, Samurai. GOOD LUCK FINDING SOMEONE WHO WILL HELP YOU!” His words stung. His hope was barely holding on by a thread. He couldn’t afford to lose himself, not now. There were too many lives depending on him. He had to keep fighting.   One of the drones that strayed away spotted Johnny. It spread its mandibles with an ear-splitting shriek, running at the blond on its back legs. He jumped back, putting up his fists and struck it across its face as hard as he could. His knuckles cracked against the metal and he winced visibly. “Not gonna get near Mama’s car,” he grumbled, finding a stray shopping cart, picked it up over his head and hurled it at the drone. “Go mess with someone else’s car!” Bunny heard the commotion outside. She hurried to scan the item and pay for it before she dashed out the doors to see Johnny ducking just in time to avoid a nasty blade to his face. “Back off my boy!” She shouted, swinging her huge purse to hit the drone hard in its side. It recoiled from her as Johnny turned and ran in front of Bunny, hoping to put enough of a barrier between her and the drone. Sparks flew from its cracked body and it moved in a staggering motion toward them. Its scythes raised up high above them, preparing to strike. Johnny grabbed Bunny quickly, tossing her over his shoulder, and ran in the opposite direction. His eyes scanned over the shattered remains of what was left. Their car was miraculously still intact. “I think it's safe here now, Mama. Ain’t no freaky robots in sight.” Johnny set her down gently on her feet. There was a riding roller-compactor nearby that still had its keys in the ignition. He looked from the machine, then to the samurai who was still fighting off the remaining drones. He climbed in, not bothering to look over the controls and shifted gears. “PUT ON YOUR SEATBELT JOHNNY!” Bunny yelled. Johnny hurriedly fastened his belt and gave his mother an apologetic grin. There was a hard hat lying on the console, but he wasn’t going to sacrifice his hair wearing that damn thing. She watched nervously as her son drove the machine, crushing the drones beneath its wheels. The samurai fought valiantly, weaving through the rotating scythes and slashing down drones that crossed his path. The rumble of the machine and the sound of metal snapping caught his attention. He stood in the pile of metal bodies, oil dripping from his blade.  It wasn’t his first time seeing this kind of machine, but it still surprised him. He watched him with confusion. The rest of the people ran away. What made this man stay? What made him want to risk his life to help him? His wandering mind cost him, and he felt the sting of something cold slice through his shoulder. Blood oozed out, seeping through his kimono as he cut the last drone’s head off. “Oh man,” Johnny’s eyes grew wide. He managed to swallow down a sudden queasiness, and turned off the machine. “Who are you, and where did you learn those moves? That was amazing! The best karate moves I’ve seen since Squint Ringo’s last box office hit,” he said with a grin, brushing back his hair with his comb and giving the man a long stare, focusing on his shoulder wound. Johnny’s skin crawled. “You oughta check that wet spot on your shoulder,” he muttered, his vision going black and he slumped to the ground. The samurai startled when he collapsed so suddenly in front of him. He barely caught him in time just before the blond’s head could hit the pavement. Bunny rushed over to help. “Come this way, dearie. We’ll set him in the car and patch your shoulder right up!” She said, leading up to her car. After putting Johnny in the backseat, Bunny tended to the man’s wound, bandaging it up rather quickly. “I thank you for your kindness. What are your names?” He asked in a softly accented voice. “I’m Bunny Bravo, and that’s my son Johnny.” She replied, pointing to him proudly. “What is your name, dear?” He hesitated only for a moment. “I’m called Jack.” Johnny was beginning to wake from his unconscious state. The memory of the man being cut in front of him and his wound seeping through his strange clothes was still fresh in his mind, and he groaned with his hand over his eyes. He’d prefer not to think about that. “Wha … who’s a Jack?” Johnny mumbled groggily. Jack turned to give a little wave to the blond. Bunny smiled, leaning over to check on Johnny. “Jack is the nice young man who saved everyone from those dreaded robots. And he helped with getting you back to the car.” She took her son’s hand, glancing it over. “We’ll head on home so I can properly fix Jack’s shoulder and put ice on your hand. That sound okay?” Jack smiled a little, “Thank you.” He said softly. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to explain his situation to these people or if they could help him, but he decided that for now, he would just accept their hospitality and think on what to do later. Bunny patted Jack’s hand with a smile, “Buckle in, dear.” He looked a little confused, and observed her as she pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder to fasten it. Johnny studied the man quietly. Bunny started the car once she made sure everyone was buckled in. The noise startled Jack, and his face paled when the car began to slowly move around what was left of the beetle drones, police sirens and ambulances already flooding the area to investigate the situation. “Do y’always go out wearing dresses?” Johnny asked suddenly. Jack chuckled. “It is not a dress, but a kimono.” “Don’t chicks wear those?” Jack tilted his head, peering at Johnny with curiosity. “Your chickens wear dresses?” Johnny blinked. “No, no. Chicks. Babes. Women.” He made an hourglass shape with his hands. 

“Ah. I misunderstood.” He smiled just a little. These people were different, but kind nonetheless. “Kimonos can be worn for both genders, and there is also the yukata, which can be worn in the summer. They are very comfortable.” “Oh. Cool,” Johnny replied, ducking his head and peering out the window. The way Jack looked at him made him feel a little funny, but he figured it was because Jack was cool and he admired him a little. Bunny smiled, “You two seem to be getting along well. You did fall out of the sky sweetie, do you need a place to stay until you find your way back?” Bunny’s sudden offer made Johnny’s head jerk in her direction. “But there’s only two bedrooms in our house! But uh, I guess he could crash on our couch, but the springs are kinda worn in.” He muttered. “Mama just did the laundry so I guess ya can take my bed if y’wanna.” Johnny was peculiar about his room and his possessions. The only person he trusted to go in his room unattended was his mother, but Jack was polite and quiet and nothing like their annoying neighbors. “We can get your old mattress from the basement,” Bunny suggested. “And you both can sleep in your room. He’ll also need some clothes, so you can dig up something old for him to wear in the meantime. That way I can patch up his kimono.” Jack smiled, grateful for such kindness. “If you are sure it is alright. Thank you.” He bowed his head respectfully. “Y-Yeah. I’ll get some clothes and wash them. I-I don’t want him to feel gross or anything.” Johnny looked away again, watching out the window again. “Aww, Johnny! Look at you taking responsibility for Jack!” Bunny said cheerfully, pulling the car in their driveway. “Take him on inside and I’ll put these things away.” His mother’s comment made him blush and he hurried out of the car. Johnny straightened his back out again, and opened the door first for his mother, then for Jack. “Okay, follow me Jack.” He said, taking the keys from his pocket to unlock the front door.