#anyway i did a bunch of research today on name meanings and um

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I've always thought that LWJ didn't really spend 16 years hunting to find WWX. I'm sure he kept his eyes open and looked for any sign of demonic cultivation, sure. But I also think he spent 16 years looking for danger so that he could increase his chance of dying young. Trouble is, he's too skilled to die easy. I headcanon that Lan Xichen made LWJ take the juniors with him on night hunts because he knew his brother wouldn't put /other/ people in clear danger, & he just wanted to keep LWJ alive.

ANGST!  No dialogue, noplot, just ANGST!  This is who I havealways been!

It’s not—Xichenknows that his brother isn’t likely to die on a night hunt.  It’s not thatsimple.  In a way, he’s not even worried for him.  No matter whatelse he is or may be, Xichen’s brother is still Hanguang-jun, the bearer oflight, who stormed Wen supervisory strongholds and who stood against most ofthe cultivation world and whose skill as a warrior is very arguablyunparalleled.  The only one who could match him—

Well.  Xichen doesn’t worry about his brotherbeing beaten in battle, these days.

And he doesn’t worry about Wangji allowing himselfto be killed, either, although that’s a closer way to define it.  There islittle A-Yuan, sweet-eyed Lan Sizhui, to think about, who Wangji loves with adesperate ferocity Xichen has only seen in him once before.  Sizhui is twelve and the best son any father could hope for, in Xichen’sadmittedly biased opinion, talented and kind and earnest, easy to love andquick to love in return.  Xichen loves him almost as recklessly as heloves his brother.  He can do nothing less for the only person who seemsto bring his solemn didi joy anymore.

He is utterly confident that Wangji would neverleave his son, never, not for all the peace that might be found on the otherside of a sword.

This absolute truth,this wholehearted confidence that Wangji will always return, no matter thechallenge, no matter the risk, makes it difficult to explain why Xichenworries.

The thing is, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, A-Zhan, is dimmed, in away that tears at Xichen to see it.  He is less, as if he abandoned more than just color when hestopped wearing blue.  There were days, when Xichen would visit duringWangji’s seclusion—and the elders be damned, for trying to stop him, for tryingto keep A-Yuan away, he is Sect Leader and he was not having it—when he wouldhave sworn that he might have seen straight through his brother.  Wangjihas always been quiet, he was a quiet baby, but since—since, he’s been aghost of himself.  Even after three years in seclusion and nearly a decadeto heal, Xichen still barely recognizes him.  A thick shade has settledover the light in Xichen’s brother, and he is afraid that someday, whileHanguang-jun will come back from a night hunt, that faint light will not.

Xichen is supposed to be wise, he’s supposed to beZewu-jun, he’s supposed to be the calm, enlightened Sect Leader of GusuLan, buthe doesn’t know how to help his brother.  He hasn’t found a good answer inall this time.  He knows that the wound of—that the wound won’t heal becauseWangji won’t let it heal, and he doesn’t know where to go fromhere. 

He remembers when Sizhui first began to learn toplay the guqin, and brought a piece to Xichen in childlike pride.  Hislullaby, he had called it as he plucked out a careful melody, learned by heart. Without spiritual energy directed and channeled, without the complexities of anexperienced hand, it was only music, but Xichen had listened to Inquiry toomany times not to be able to translate it.

Are you there?

Are you lost?

Are you at peace?

Are you with your sister?  Your parents?  Your people?

Are you waiting?

I miss you.

It’s not—it’s not a search, not anymore, Xichendoesn’t think.  It’s been too long to expect an answer, and Wangji hasnever been a fool.  But Wangji can do nothing else.  There’s nowherefor him to bow, there was no vigil to keep, there will never be anyone whoburns paper money or grieves with him.  So Wangji plays Inquiry, over andover again, to a spirit that doesn’t answer, and someday Sizhui will learnInquiry himself, and know that his lullaby was always a eulogy spoken insecret.

Once, Xichen tried to make his brother stop. Tried to make him leave off his long, slow grief, to shakehim out of his ghost-self and back to life and light.  He hadn’t been ableto think of anything except to take Wangji’s guqin, an attempt to force him tostop, stop, playing that damned unanswered query.  Andit had worked, in a way.  The cold, blinding flare of rage, when Wangjiswept uninvited into Xichen’s rooms and demanded flatly that his instrument bereturned, please, Sect Leader Lan—it had been good to see.  Proof that,even if the embers were banked and dull-glowing, there was still a fire to bewoken in Xichen’s brother.  But the days of bitter silence, afterward,wasn’t worth the short-lived victory.

Sizhui had sided with his father, of course, even ifhe didn’t then understand what the point of contention was.  He had given Xichen affronted looks andorbited closer to Wangji than usual for weeks.  Sizhui had always knownthat there was a wound somewhere in his adopted father, in that sharpperceptive way that’s entirely too unlike Wangji, entirely too himself to beanything but a relic of before Cloud Recesses, the time that he doesn’tremember and Wangji won’t discuss.

Xichen has his theories.  But Lan Sizhui is thepride of GusuLan Sect, the brightest light in his father’s life, and Xichen isgrateful that someone else loves his brother enough to be angry on hisbehalf.  Xichen’s theories have been buried in a shallow grave for manyyears.

And Wangji is only himself, in any way thatXichen can recognize, with Sizhui.  It’sbeen like that ever since he first brought the boy back, when A-Yuan, feverishand delirious and calling for people none of them knew, crept into hissickbed.  Wangji had been barely responsive,had allowed the physicians to tend his scourged back and had stared at the wall,not sleeping, not meditating, not speaking, just waiting.  When Xichen got word that his brother hadspoken, to call the weeping A-Yuan over and tell him, quietly, that the man hecalled for was not going to come back, he’d felt a rush of relief like hislungs trying to jump out of his mouth. But he hadn’t spoken to Xichen, not that day, nor for several more, onlyholding A-Yuan close while the boy slept.

Xichen hadn’t gotten a word out of his brother foreight days after he was whipped, and then, when he finally did, it was only toclaim A-Yuan as his son in a tone that broke Xichen’s heart.  He had forced the elders to accept the child withoutarguing or demanding details from Wangji, had simply put him in the sectrecords as Lan Yuan and stared down anyone who questioned his actions.  Xichen would have done anything Wangji askedof him, in that moment, anything to keep him talking, anything to keep A-Yuan nearhim.  Wangji had been nearly a corpsehimself, in those early days, lightless even in the presence of A-Yuan’s tinysun, but he had moved and spoken and lived when A-Yuan was near.  The effect should have grown less pronouncedas Wangji returned to himself, but instead it has only made the difference moreapparent.  

Maybe that’s what he’s worried about, when Wangjileaves on night hunts.  Some part ofXichen never got over the fear of it, of seeing his solemnly brilliant diditransformed into a shell, silent and detached, the heart of him carved out.  Some part of him is terrified still, thatbeing away from Sizhui for too long will let Wangji slip back into thatnumbness, that corpse-cold stillness, so different from his familiar reserve.

Hanguang-jun would never die on a night hunt, notthrough anything but dire misfortune.  Heis still the best of the Lan, their bearer of light.  But Xichen is secretly, desperately afraidthat, someday, one of the reports they receive of resentful spirits and demoniccultivation will be true, and he will not get his brother back.

Wangji never allows anyone else to investigate thosereports, the ones that claim in half-hysterics to be the Yiling Patriarchreborn, or trapped as a spirit, or the dramatics of the day.  He always comes back with flat unfeelingreports of frightened villagers and exaggerations and resentful spirits easilydispatched.  And when Xichen gets down tothe bone of it, the living core of his fear for his brother, Xichen is horriblysure that someday, someday, Wangji will come back from one of those nighthunts and say nothing at all and shimmer out of existence at last, a heatmirage under a cold wind.

It isn’t suitable for Zewu-jun, Sect Leader Lan, tohate someone.  Xichen thinks about itsometimes during meditation, about how foreign it feels, this hard hot chip ofloathing, and worries at it like a loose tooth, tries to pry it out of place tobe discarded.  He can’t manage it.

He hates Wei Wuxian, for what his death has doneto Xichen’s brother.  

For standing up when everyone else knelt down, eventhough it cost him everything, life and family and sanity all gone in a merehandful of months.

For what finding his resentful spirit would do tothe last light in Hanguang-jun.

So.  He just—hehas to find a way to keep Wangji from following these leads.  It isn’t healthy for Wangji, and none of themever have any sign of the man himself anyway, dead or otherwise.  Xichen has to find an excuse to send othercultivators after fantasies of the Yiling Patriarch, and that means findingsomething to keep Wangji busy.

Wangji is only himself around Sizhui—a quieter,sadder self, to be sure, but the honest adoring boy that Xichen half-raisednonetheless.  Sizhui, while a prodigy, istoo young for night hunting.

The junior disciples are promising and bright, andWangji needs a—a check, for lack of a better word.  Something that will force him to speak, tointeract, to think of safety and security rather than only results.

He will not appreciate what Xichen is going to do,but someday, Sizhui will be on night hunts too.  This is��this is practice.  Maybe then Wangji will brighten again, traveling with the son headores.  Maybe then Xichen will be ableto sleep while his brother is gone.

[purelyutilitarian]

ok you said you want people to share history stuff with you, and i was researching for a fic and found a bunch of information that i won’t end up using, so here it is:

there was a flood in johnstown pennsylvania in 1889, because the dam broke after a lot of rain. thousands of people died and there was like 500 million dollars (in todays money) in damages. the aftermath of the flood was one of the first times the red cross was really utilized after it’s creation. also liability laws were changed because of this flood :) and there’s a tourist attraction for it that you can visit.

the more you know.

I did a little research because somehow I had never heard of this before?? I’m absolutely fascinated thank you so much for sharing this.

Okay so the dam was owned by a VERY elite fishing/hunting club. Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and a few other big-name steel/railroad barons were members of the club, and having as much money as they did, they basically owned it and made all of the decisions. When they bought the dam, they “modified it to their recreational interests,” which means they lowered it by three feet so they could fish, which was later determined to be the cause of the failure in 1889.

The flood was “as wide as the Mississippi River and three times more powerful than Niagara Falls” which is absolutely insane to me. Also, according to this article it was nearly $4.5 BILLION in damages in todays money. Holy fuck.

This is dark, so just a warning for flood-related death: “bodies were found as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio—more than 400 miles away.” UM??!!!? 400 MILES IS A SEVEN HOUR DRIVE.

Clara Barton herself (founder and president of the Red Cross) stayed in Johnstown for five months and when she left, the people gave her “a gold pin and a locket, set in diamonds and amethysts, as a farewell present,” which is just a very sweet detail that I liked.

There’s lots of photography from the flood, and I encourage people to look it up, it’s breathtaking. The destruction is literally unfathomable. This image stood out to me though.

The rail car, tilted off the mangled tracks, with the debris of the town behind it, is a really beautiful representation of the event, knowing that it was caused by careless, leisure-seeking railroad barons (who were not held legally responsible for this flood at all. Like you said, liability laws were shit and this case was very instrumental in fixing that).

What’s even more interesting is that the flood happened in the middle of a really nasty labor war in the American Northeast in which the working class realized that the upper class did not value workers’/the working class’ wellbeing at all. I can imagine news of the flood would serve to fuel that growing anger, which led to numerous successful workers rights movements in the 1890s-1910s.

Anyways thank you so much Mary. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this, I feel like it’s an important piece of the American historical narrative.

(here are my sources, please if anyone knows more about this or if I got anything wrong, lmk)

[genshin-impact-writings]

Request for your special event-

Character: Albedo

prompt: 'I love you, my little prince"

Song: Once upon a dream: Lana Del Rey

If it is possible, Can the reader be the one to say the prompt and is a fatui harbinger [or someone that the knights are just wary off] ?? (I am a sucker for forbidden love but the reader is just "screw u, Imma date them anyways) I apologize if this is too specific.

Thank You in advance and Congrats on your milestone!! <3

First of all, thank you very much for your request. I love this song and Albedo, so it really was the perfect combination. Also, this turned out a lot longer than I originally planned, and I really hope you like what I came up with. Have a good day/night and take care! <3

Once upon a dream – Albedo x gn!Fatui!reader

I know you, I’ve walked with you once upon a dream

I know you, the look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

And I know it’s true that visions are seldom all they seem

But if I know you, I know what you’ll do

You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream

Mondstadt was beautiful at night. Although most of the shops were already closed, the streets were still filled with people, sitting in front of the taverns where they enjoyed a few drinks and the balmy breeze that blew gently through the alleyways. Everything was peaceful and somehow quite idyllic, and you stopped in your track to take in all the impressions that rained down on you.

In your life, you had barely experienced moments like this. As a member of the Fatui, you were always on the road, traveling wherever your Archon sent you and fulfilling every mission she gave you. It was a restless life, dangerous too, but you had never been one to complain, especially since you had always dreamed about exploring Teyvat, seeing other cities and meeting new people along the way. Without the Fatui, you probably would still be stuck in Snezhnaya where you would be doing the same things every day, always wondering if this was all life had in store for you.

Needless to say that you still felt incredibly honored that the Tsaritsa had chosen you, alongside with a few other Fatui Diplomats, to accompany Signora, one of the Eleven Harbingers, on her trip to Mondstadt. So far, the trip had been everything but fun, every day filled with work and duties, including spying on the Knights of Favonius that were understandably weary of every Fatui who set foot in their city. Most of them kept their eyes on you twenty-four-seven.

Even now, during your rare free time, you could feel the guards watching you as you made your way back to the market district. A couple of people were standing outside of Cat’s Tail, laughing and joking around, just like they usually did. By now, you recognized most of them since you came by here every day. It was one of the few spots in Mondstadt where nobody payed attention to you because they were too busy with minding their own business to wonder about a Fatui Diplomat passing by, eyeing them curiously before walking on.

Your destination was the upper square, the one with the pretty fountain, right in front of Good Hunter. You had enjoyed a few meals there over the past few days (people where rightfully proud of the restaurant) but at this late hour, the shop was already closed, promotional signs neatly stored away.

You sat down on one of the benches near the fountain and crossed your legs as you let your eyes wander. During the day, this square was a popular meeting spot but now, there were only a few people here. The perfect opportunity to see him again.

During the few meetings with the Knights of Favonius you had attended, he had stayed in the background, only speaking when someone addressed him directly and even then, his answers had been quite brief. It hadn’t taken you long to figure out that he preferred to keep to himself, hence why he almost exclusively came here long after dark to inspect the Crafting Bench for any damages and to have a quick conversation with Timaeus, the alchemist who supervised the Crafting Bench throughout the day.

Usually, you kept your distance, admiring him from afar, but today, you had promised yourself to finally introduce yourself to him. Not only because it was rude to stare at someone you barely knew but also because a considerable part of you really wanted to find out who the Chief Alchemist truly was.

You didn’t have to wait long. Propping up your head on your hand, you watched him as he talked to Timaeus. His bright teal eyes almost seemed to glow in the warm light of the street lamps, and you couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It really should be illegal to be that pretty.

About twenty minutes later, Timaeus made his farewells to the Chief Alchemist, leaving him with a bunch of notes. It took you a brief moment to realize that this was the moment you had waited for but then, you jumped to your feet and took a deep breath before walking over to him.

“Excuse me,” you said, your heart starting to beat frantically as he looked at you, a slightly confused expression on his face. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” you continued and cleared your throat when you realized how squeaky your voice was sounding. “But I think you might have dropped this.”

You put out your hand, showing him the tiny gemstone you had bought at With wind comes glory a few hours ago. The stone’s color perfectly matched his eyes, the same bright teal that you saw in your dreams sometimes. You were absolutely sure that nobody else on this earth had eyes so pretty that you even thought about them in your sleep.

“No, I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” he replied softly, snapping you out of your thoughts. “It’s not mine.”

“Oh,” you mumbled. Well, that didn’t go as planned, you thought and let out a quiet sigh. So, what else could you say to him?

Usually, you had a quick tongue and always managed to figure out a topic to talk about but right now, you felt like every statement that came to your mind was either incredibly stupid or completely irrelevant. Think, you urged yourself, think!

But he had already lost interest in you. His attention was back on the clipboard Timaeus had handed him earlier, his brows slightly furrowed as he studied the notes from his assistant.

“So, um- can I perhaps ask you a few things about alchemy?” you asked when the silence between the two of you got uncomfortable. He didn’t look up from his notes but at least, he nodded which you took as a good sign.

“I mean, not now,” you added, painfully aware that you didn’t even know enough about alchemy to ask him a simple question. It definitely would have been better to prepare for this conversation but now it was too late to turn back. “I just – I wanted to make sure that you’re okay with helping me before I deluge you with my questions.”

Finally, he looked up, his gaze meeting yours for a brief second. “Ah, it’s you. I saw you at the meetings. You’re one of the Fatui Diplomats,” he said but unlike others, he didn’t seem to judge you. He simply stated a fact, nothing more. If anything, he sounded a bit curious.

“My name’s (Y/N),” you replied, in an almost desperate attempt to keep the conversation going because a part of you really didn’t want him to leave. When you saw the small smile that flashed over his face, you felt like your heart stopped for a second.

“I’m Albedo.”

But if I know you, I know what you’ll do

You’ll love me at once, the way you did

Once upon a dream.

That’s when it all had started. Whenever you weren’t busy with your mission or other tasks Signora assigned you to, you spent every minute with Albedo, listening to his musings about alchemy and the secrets of the world he desperately wanted to disclose. You didn’t understand half of the things he was talking about but you didn’t mind. It was enough for you to just listen to him, watching how his eyes lit up whenever he made progress in his research, and every time he sheepishly thanked you for keeping him company, you found yourself falling for him a bit more.

Of course, you knew right from the beginning that it was stupid to develop feelings for him, given the fact that you had to leave Mondstadt at some point to return back to Snezhnaya – but there was nothing you could do to stop it. Everything about Albedo was adorable. He was a gentle soul, curious and kind and so beautiful that it still took your breath away every time you look at him. And you wanted to be with him, against all reason. There was just something about him that seemed so familiar, so wonderfully familiar that you simply didn’t have the power to resist him.

And before you had even fully realized what was happening, you were already head over heels in love with him.

You didn’t tell him, at first. After all, he was still the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favionius and you were still a member of the Fatui, someone the knights didn’t trust at all, and you didn’t want to spoil the precious time you could spend together.

But eventually, you didn’t want to keep it a secret any longer. You wanted him to know how much he really meant to you. It had been an awkward confession, your face hot from embarrassment when he didn’t respond immediately but as soon as he softly asked if it would be alright to kiss you, you fell in love with him all over again.

I know you, I’ve walked with you once upon a dream

I know you, the look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

And I know it’s true that visions are seldom all they seem

But, just as all good things, your relationship with Albedo came to an end about three months later when new orders from Snezhnaya arrived, recalling you and the other remaining Fatui Diplomats back to your home country immediately. Signora and the vast majority of her team had already left Mondstadt quite a while ago, and it would be a lie if you said that it hadn’t raised your hopes up that you were allowed to stay for a little longer.

Now, all your hopes were shattered to pieces. You could feel tears burning in your eyes as you stared down at the letter in your hand, reading the orders over and over again as you tried to understand that it was really over this time. There was no way you could convince your superior or even the Tsaritsa to prolong your deployment in Mondstadt.

How were you supposed to tell Albedo about this? How were you supposed to say Goodbye to him?

You should have stayed away from him right from the start. Then, you would have been the only one who got his heart broken by your new orders but no, you had decided to drag Albedo into this mess, and now you were forced to leave him.

You buried your face in your hands. This was slowly becoming just one big nightmare, one that threatened the wonderful, silly dream you had about your future. A future you wanted to share with Albedo. But of course, you couldn’t, not as long as you were a Fatui. And you couldn’t leave them either because you had sworn an oath to the Tsaritsa; you had sworn to be true to her and Snezhnaya, no matter what happened, and to break this oath had never been an option for you. Heck, you probably wouldn’t even survive betraying your Archon like that, let alone get the happy ending you wished for.

So, no matter how you put it, you had no other choice than to return to Snezhnaya.

*

You couldn’t sleep, contrary to Albedo who was sound asleep next to you, all snuggled up to you and completely unaware of the emotional rollercoaster you had been experiencing for the past few days. You had waited for the perfect moment to tell him that you had to leave but of course, it never came. There simply was no perfect moment to tell the person you loved that you couldn’t stay with them any longer, that you had no idea when you’d be able to see each other again. If you would ever see each other again.

And with that in mind, you had decided that it was for the best to just leave. Albedo would be heartbroken, yes, but he would be angry, too. And maybe that anger would be enough to make him move on from you. But for now, you wanted to enjoy the time the two of you had still left. The Fatui delegation would leave Mondstadt in the early morning, as agreed with the Acting Grandmaster, so you still had another two, maybe three hours you could spend by Albedo’s side.

You turned your head to press a soft kiss to Albedo’s cheek. He mumbled something in his sleep, and when you heard your name, your heart dropped. He was dreaming about you.

He was dreaming about you and you were about to leave him without even saying Goodbye.

*

Dawn came and with it the moment you had feared for the past few days. But you had made your decision, and it was too late to change your mind.

Carefully, you tried to pull away from Albedo who was still clinging to you, his arm wrapped tightly around your waist, almost as if he had sensed that this would be the last night you would spend together. You felt terrible as you pushed his arm aside, freeing yourself from his hug, although every part of you screamed to stay here with him.

But you had to leave. And until now, everything went just as you had planned.

Until you accidentally knocked the small lamp on the bedside table over when you gathered the few belongings you hadn’t packed up yet.

Albedo stirred awake, his eyes fluttering open, confusion clouding his eyes.

“(Y/N)?” he asked, his voice still heavy with sleep. “Where are you going?”

You bit your bottom lip, trying to fight back the urge to tell him the truth, and leaned back down to brush a strand of hair from his forehead. “Nowhere,” you reassured him softly. “You’re just dreaming, my love. Go back to sleep.”

Your fingertips caressed his skin, gently tracing the outlines of his face as you watched him slowly drifting off to sleep again.

“I love you, my little prince,” you whispered and pressed a soft kiss to his lips one last time before you turned away and quietly left the room. Please forgive me.

The walk to the town gate gave you enough time to regain your composure. By the time you joined the others, you had carefully locked away your emotions, putting on that blank expression that didn’t show how much it hurt you to leave this city.

Lyudmila, one of the other Diplomats, gave you a brief smile. “Looks like we’re all here,” she said. “Let’s go home. We’ve spent way too much time here already.”

You nodded, although you couldn’t help but flinch at the word home. Snezhnaya would never be your home again, not when Albedo couldn’t be there with you.

Maybe one day, you thought to yourself and granted yourself one more look at Mondstadt and the town walls that almost seemed to glow in the warm light of the rising sun, we will meet again.

But if I know you, I know what you'll do You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.

[twstarchives]

Epel Felmier・Voice Lines

Additional Voice Lines

Dress-Up Groom event card

Scary Dress event card

School Uniform - R

Unlock Card “What’s wrong? ...Is there something on my face?”

Groovy “I’ll peel an apple for you too. I can promise you they taste delicious.”

Home Setting “I wonder what kind of magic we’re going to learn today.”

Home Transitions “I only wear this frilly blouse because the dorm leader told me to. It’s not because I like it... or anything.”

“I like magic... I think. I mean, the strength of your magic doesn’t have anything to do with your stature, so...”

“It’s really nippy where I live, so—oh, huh? You don’t know what nippy means? It means ‘very cold’... kind of.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “You’re staring at me really hard; do you need something... maybe?”

Home Taps “If I got taller, I’d look like an even more powerful mage... I think.”

“Meemaw—ah, I mean, my grandmother sent a bunch of apples from home. Do you want one too... maybe?”

“Apples can grow in harsh winter conditions. They’re a very strong, durable fruit. Did you know that?”

“Living in a dorm isn’t really that inconvenient... I think. There were always a lot of people in my house back home anyway.”

“Look here, the hell were you——....Ahh, I mean, are you teasing me like I’m weak...?”

PE Uniform - R

Unlock Card “I like these clothes. And I’m not just saying that ‘cause I have to or anything...”

Groovy “Are you tired? Hehe, being a mage is a real test of strength.”

Home Setting “Clothes that are easy to move in are nice, huh?”

Home Transitions “I decided when I first came to this school to try out some sports. 'Cause I wasn’t really able to do them back home...”

“The magical shift club leader Leona told me that winning depends on strategy, not your physique.”

“I’m good at flying... I think. A lot of the sweet, delicious apples grow in high places, right where the sun hits, so I have to ride a broom when I pick them.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “A lot of people say I don’t look like I’d be good at sports, but I kind of like them...”

Home Taps “I don’t really have any muscles, even though I work out. I wish I had muscles like Coach Vargas...”

“Apples are good to eat after exercising. I heard the acids in them help you cool off.”

“I’m not really good at dancing... I think. I’ve only danced a little at the festivals in my village...”

“My muscles are sore after working out with the dorm leader... He told me I wasn’t flexible and tried to stretch me out like pie dough.”

“Y’know, I’m real tired of you jabbin’ at me like tha—ah! Um, could you maybe not poke me like that?”

Lab Coat - SR

Unlock Card “We have a lab...? If I mess it up, the dorm leader’ll get mad at me... probably.”

Groovy “I want to be a master at making potions someday too.”

Home Setting “I want to learn about potions that grow plants...”

Home Transitions “The work at Night Raven College is hard... kind of. I can never remember those long plant names...”

“Whenever Professor Crewel teaches, you can tell he knows a lot about color-changing potions and flowers that can dye things really pretty colors.”

“The library at this school is full of books from all around the world. The dorm leader told me I need to read one every week.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “There’s a lot of fruits I’ve never seen before in the Botanical Garden; it’s fun looking at them all... kind of.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “It’s frustrating when I can’t solve a hard problem... kind of. I was going to go try researching in the library. Want to come too?”

Home Taps “There’s a lot of people in Pomefiore who are good at magic potions. But I’m not really there yet... I think.”

“One bite of the poisoned apple and you fall into an eternal slumber... I need to be careful when making strong potions.”

“If I made a potion that could strengthen weak apple trees, it’d make Pawpaw really happy.”

“Rook’s an amazing person; he’s so good at sports and his studies too... I think. It’s just, he’s really, really weird...”

“Are you blind or somethin’? I’m busy brewing here so leave me alone for now—...ah! I mean, it’s dangerous if you’re not careful, so please don’t touch, okay?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Have you grown any plants before? ...Oh, I see. Want me to split seedlings that are easy to grow for you?”

Ceremony Robes - SR

Unlock Card “Don’t worry about me. ...He does this for the both of us.”

Groovy “I’m going to surpass the dorm leaders in no time. I swear it...!” 

Home Setting “It feels like my robes are dragging on the floor... kind of.”

Home Transitions “They say the hoods of these robes are supposed to give off the impression of the Beautiful Queen when she turned into an old woman... Did you know that?”

“The Queen was even willing to make herself ugly in order to be the fairest in the land... She’s real marvy.”

“The Mirror of Darkness is supposed to pick your dorm based on the qualities of your soul, but does my soul really match Pomefiore...?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Students with all kinds of natural power go to this school... I want to get stronger here too!”

Home Transition (Groovy) “When I sent my grandma pictures of me from the entrance ceremony, she said ‘You look real smart ‘n spruce’! Meemaw’s just exaggerating...”

Home Taps “I feel like there’s a whole lotta ballsy guys at this school. It’s a little different from what I’d pictured before coming here.”

“When the black carriage came to pick me up, all my relatives and the villagers came to wish me off... Hehe.”

“Neither of my parents can use magic, but Big Maw and Meemaw⁠—ah, I mean, my great-grandma and my grandma are both witches.”

“I didn’t grow up around a lot of mages, so life at this school feels very new... kind of.”

“Ah? The hell do you want? Stop actin’ like we’re so close.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “This makeup Vil put on me won’t smudge at all... How is it now? Did it come off?”

Dorm Uniform - SSR

Unlock Card “Want a bite of an apple so sweet you’ll think you’re dreaming?”

“I’m just obeying what the dorm leader asks of me. ...For now.”

Groovy “I may be in Pomefiore, but... I’m still me!”

Home Setting “Welcome to Pomefiore! ...Hah.”

Home Transitions “I’ve got a lot of weird seniors in Pomefiore. It still feels kind of hard to fit in here...”

“I’ve never really cared that much about how I dress, but I love apples that are shaped nicely... I think.”

“I always thought Pomefiore was all about enforcing beautiful looks, but not everyone’s like that. The dorm leader is just a special case.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Wearing the Pomefiore dorm uniforms isn’t just about being beautiful. The dorm leader told me ‘You must get strong,’ too.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “I wish people would tell me I’m cool instead of saying things like ‘pretty’ or ‘cute.’”

Home Taps “The deep indigo used for our dorm uniforms is said to be the same color as the Beautiful Queen’s dress.”

“I once got lost in the dorm and ended up at this creepy basement. I wonder what that room is used for...”

“Did you see the huge apple trees in our dorm’s courtyard? Back home, we’ve got apple trees too. ...But I’m not homesick or anything.”

“Keep this a secret from the dorm leader, but... I actually wanted to get into Savanaclaw. They seem kinda bad and tough. I like it.”

“Quit pokin’ at me so casually! ...I’m kidding. I just don’t really like being touched, I think.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Ramshackle must be so nice. I’d love to be alone and free.”

Duo Magic Epel: “Let’s go, Rook!” Rook: “How daring you are, Monsieur Cherry Apple.”

Birthday Celebration Outfit - SSR

This card was only obtainable during Epel’s birthday event (May 5 - May 12, 2021).

Unlock Card “I can’t believe you guys are throwing such a huge celebration for me... Thank you, everyone!”

“I want this year to be fruitful, like the way fresh apples grow every year.”

Groovy “I hope that next year I can have a blast with you and everyone else again!”

Home Setting “How do I look? Cool, right? ...Huh?! I’m ‘cute’?”

Home Transitions “Deuce gave me a cap with really cool patches on it. I’m gonna wear it next time I go see him.”

“Ruggie told me ‘I’m expecting a little something back from ya!’ when he handed me a present... I have no idea what I’d get for a senior.”

“Everyone looked so shocked when I blew out my birthday candles in one breath... Do I really seem that weak?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “It’s my birthday party today, so maybe I can act like myself a little bit, and have fun...”

Home Transition (Groovy) “I’ve still gotta do homework after this... Ah! Maybe it’d fun if I worked with you. It’d be like we’re keeping the party going!”

Home Taps “Jack gave me a cactus. I hear it’s hard to get them to bloom flowers, but I’ll try my best to grow one!”

“I used to mark my height on a pillar to see how tall I’d gotten. But I stopped because I wasn’t really growing...”

“Huh?! There’s cream near my mouth? That could’ve been bad... Vil was about t’get real hacked off at me!”

“It makes me happy to get presents, but I don’t really have a use for makeup and fluttery clothes and stuff like that...”

“You want to see me carve an apple? Then I’ll give a go at carving a portrait. Will you be my model?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I like how the party really picks up when you and Grim are here. I don’t do so great when the mood’s all stiff.”

Duo Magic Epel: “Vil! There’s something a bit different about me today.” Vil: “Happy birthday, Epel. Let’s see it.”

Tutorial “Let’s go! I’ll leave you behind if you don’t keep up.”

Lv Up “Ehehe, I made some progress... I think.”

“If I do my best, someday I’ll definitely make it...!”

“Let’s try our hardest from now on. Okay?”

Max Lv Up “I feel a strong power rising in me, like an ice-cold poison. It feels like I could put anyone to sleep... maybe?”

Episode Lv Up “Why’re you even botherin’ with me? If it’s ‘cause you think I’m strong ‘n reliable, then... that’d make me happy.”

Magic Lv Up “With this power, I’ll even take on the dorm leader!”

Limit Break “I’m getting stronger. Do you believe in me too...? Maybe?”

Groovy “I wish I could grow slowly and steadily, like an apple.”

Select Lesson “What subject are you going to take? ...I like flying, I think.”

“Do you want to take a class with me? It doesn’t really matter to me, though... hehe.”

“Seriously, how long are you just gonna stand there? Pick already.”

Lesson Start “Mm, hello everyone.”

Lesson End “I’m drained from all that studying!”

Battle Start “You’ve got some nerve biting at me...!”

Battle Win “Guess I’m not as soft as I look! Maybe.”

Other

Profile Quote “Apples are awkward and hard to handle... just like...”

January 2020 Trailer “Are you by chance waiting for your prince on a white horse to come?”

Countdown Poster “Would you like a bite of this red apple?”

Login Bonus “It’s important to keep up at something everyday. Apples won’t ripen either if you don’t take care of them everyday... you know?”

Player Birthday Wish “It’s your birthday, ain’t it! I made some jam outta the apples my family sent me... Here! Ah... Um... What’s wrong? You’re making a funny face... Did I say something weird... maybe?”

Epel sometimes slips into speaking in Tsugaru dialect, which is so different than standard Japanese that sometimes it’s impossible to understand unless you’re familiar with it. I’d describe it as a “heavy country dialect.” There’s no perfect way to translate it, and I don’t really have a good grasp on different English dialects anyway, but I tried 🙆‍♀️ If anything was worded strangely, it was probably intentional!

[jacepens]

1: HamilTurn(you can differentiate if needed) or MCU, 2: Washette, 3: Anna Strong

And generally a fandom list would be nice to know what to pick from ;) (Love you♡)

You said HamilTurn or MCU and I say both, I'm going to try my best haha. But anyway, thank you!:) Apologies in advance if this gets rambly, but that's the point of this right? Anyway, for ease of scrolling sake, I'll probably put a cut if this gets long but don't worry, it's just me talking a whole bunch lol. Ok, thank you again!! <3 (love you too!)

1. Hamilton/Turn (fandom)

Favorite character: I have to say Lafayette for both. Oh and Mary

Least favorite character: I have no real reason behind this so sorry but Burr, and Simcoe for many reasons

5 favorite ships: washette, lams, hamliza, benwash, whamilton

Character I find most attractive: ...all. But I have to say overall Brian Wiles as Lafayette. That face just…🥺

Character I would marry: Mary Woodhull or Eliza

Character I would be best friends with: you know I'm not sure, but in an ideal world Lafayette (both versions) or Ben but I feel like we wouldn't be best friends. But also everyone, is that an option? Even some of the "villains" would have good stories to tell

A random thought: I feel like most people in the fandom now are so new (they joined in with the movie release!) and unaware of the uh atrocities of back in the day. And y'all are lucky, but those of us who know. Know. (yes, I was unbearable but that's ok because I was having fun, and despite what I just said: have fun in your fandoms even if you're "unbearable", just keep it welcome to all and enjoy the enthusiasm you have for it:))

An unpopular opinion: Oh boy. Maybe stop making quick judgments about people based on what they write/who they ship? There is a line, but I've genuinely never seen it crossed by anyone at least openly sooo just let people have fun? And don't say anything about something? Unless it's actually harmful but even then, keep it to a dm or something and have an open discussion. Just let people vibe, please? Especially younger fans. Just, I’ve seen a weird amount of negativity towards them. They’re kids having fun, we all used to be like that so please, be kind and patient. They’ll learn if they make a mistake. Ok? Ok cool:) (maybe not unpopular but still I wanted to say it)

My canon OTP: Am I allowed to say lams?

My non-canon OTP: washette, wow, who would've guessed? xD

Most badass character: Mary my beloved

Most epic villain: Robert Rogers hands down

Pairing I am not a fan of: no one murder me, but in general I'm just not a fan of jamilton. also whatever was the deal with Anna and Abe

Characters I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): um. Where to begin? Honestly I think every woman in Turn at one point or another, except perhaps Peggy in my opinion. Oh but especially Anna. Also Simcoe. With Hamilton, probably again everyone at some point, but the way Angelica was written just feels so overwhelmingly fictional it bugs me. (But at least Hamilton had some genuine relationships between women, not great but still)

Favorite friendship(s): Ben and Caleb, Washington and Lafayette (what?? yes, you fools. lol). It may sound a tad ~cringey~ but I generally like Hamilton's vibe with the boys, maybe it's just the gender envy, but it's kinda cute and fun.

Character I most identify with: well jeez, I won't lie but Washington. In both versions, except god knows I could never be that chill. Also a dash of Laurens.

Character I wish I could be: wow what a loaded question ummm. I don't want to be like him, but I want to be like in his position so Hamilton lol. Playing an active role but I know personally I am not cut out for a battlefield, so a desk suits me well.

2. MCU (fandom-that I am so out of date from, please take all of this with a grain of salt)

Favorite character: so when I was younger it was Tony Stark but now it’s definitely Wanda and T’challa

Least favorite character: ummm. I genuinely couldn’t tell you, I’m very out of date

5 favorite ships (canon or non-canon): wandavision, …ngl I can’t think of anymore, I honestly never shipped many and wandavision was like the only couple I remember really liking. Oh, I don’t know them but Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie

Character I find most attractive: embarrassing confession time, Loki was my first bad celebrity crush. Wanda now and Shuri is cute. Also Sylvie

Character I would marry: if I could, Wanda 

Character I would be best friends with: Vision and Peter Parker

A random thought: y’all it’s been so long since I’ve touched MCU I should catch up/refresh shouldn’t I?

An unpopular opinion: I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but I’m going to say it anyway. Personally, I really don’t like the movie Civil War, I think it’s what sorta made me disinterested in mcu. It’s been years since I’ve watched it so maybe I would have a completely different opinion if I saw it today, but at the time it just felt so...wrong? And childish? I literally don’t even remember why they were fighting or how that movie even ended (I feel like it just wasn’t satisfying??) but I think also, as a kid or teen watching that, it reminded me sooo much of the dumb drama that, you know, kids get into. I mean, getting your friends on someone’s side like that?? Like, I know they were mad but- but there are other ways of dealing with emotions??? And involving everyone's friends too? So yeah, it just felt off to me at the time, and looking back now, from what I remember, it just frustrated me. Especially as a kid who deals with dumb drama like that all the time, kids would want to see a better example especially from adult superheroes or at least not be reminded of the bs they have to go through sometimes. But, rant over, that’s all just my opinion:) 

My canon OTP: wandavision

My non-canon OTP: ummm. I guess just Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie lol

Most badass character: I have to say Natasha but actually there are many

Most epic villain: when I was younger I liked that Ultron was voiced by Robert California from the Office lol

Pairing I am not a fan of: I don’t know if it’s popular but I never liked Tony and Pepper. What happened with her?

Characters I feel the writers screwed up: I guess I’ll say Thor because I just felt such a weird difference in his personality that did not make sense to me

Favorite friendship: Wanda and Pietro!! Honestly I think a lot, there were a lot of good friendships but I can’t think of which ones are my favorite

Character I most identify with: ummmmmm. 

Character I wish I could be: My gut says Thor

3. Washette (ship-bless you<3 get ready for rambles oh no)

When I started shipping them: So I first had the thought in 7th grade while my history teacher was talking about them and my little brain went: haha that’s pretty gay. (teacher keeps talking about them) wait a fucking minute, that is pretty gay! But it wasn’t until I got sucked into Hamilton that I really started actively shipping them by reading fics and what not, but something about them became an instant favorite. And later (little personal story time) I pretty much completely stopped reading fic and being active in fandom for years and actually, when I got my first panic attack that - no joke - lasted for 5 hours, for some reason my brain (as it’s decaying lol) said I want to go and reread all my favorite washette fics and also do what I was I always too scared to do. Write!! So that night I binged the fics and found myself falling in love again, feeling all the old passion I had for them again, and the next night (still very shaken) I wrote an outline of a good ol washette confession + kiss that was extremely thoughtful and good, and honestly, I have not actually used that outline yet! Maybe I’m saving it. But yeah, this is a long answer, but I have a weird amount of attachment to them and this ship, I wish I knew why too. <3 

My thoughts: so many. Too many. First of all, I love that I have so many versions of them in my mind, right? When I started writing, I had never watched Turn but then I did and then it was like: hell yeah, another washette set. At this point, my brain has created it’s own unique version of them but it’s like, they’re so versatile! That’s one neat thing about this fandom as a whole, we get more than one character and personality and that’s just fun right?! More specifically on washette I mean, they’re just so sweet. Historically, their relationship is unique and cute, and you’d have to be a fool to think that to Washington Lafayette was just another friend. Even strictly platonically, it was something special and it’s so obvious I just love them. Ok. Enough thoughts for now <3

What makes me happy about them: the loooove, the comfort they found in each other, the fact that like every person at the time documenting them knew and understood they were special to each other like, they were just that in love. 

What makes me sad about them: oh so much that I try to ignore lol. There is the one year when Lafayette went to France and all his letters to Wash are like: “I have not received one letter from you, but it’s ok, I love you and I know you love me too :)” WHO WAS NOT DELIVERING THESE LETTERS, I HAVE NAMES, NOW I WANT ANSWERS. Anyway, also just most things that happened when Laf went back to France. And then when he visited America in 1824 and visited Washington’s grave. Yeah. ow. (also, you know what, I have done too much research on this event. lmk if you would like a post)

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: Generally, I’m not annoyed by much in fanfic at least with them and what I’ve seen. I’m still nostalgic for the old school nonbinary Laf fics, so it ain’t those. Literally maybe it’s because I’m starved for content but I can’t really think of anything, I love it all.

Things I look for in fanfic: back to the whole starved for content thing, I am a library of washette fics but I think if I was to pick a certain thing that I would love it’s just um fluff? And honesty, if that makes sense. Love confessions are very good as well. Canon era, please :) pining but not too much that it hurts me lol

My wishlist: literally all my wips. If I could whisk them into existence I could die happy and knowing I have put a variety of washette content in the world. Something else though, more fics :’) I love writing but sometimes I want to curl up with a cozy, new washette fic like a cup of hot chocolate and be surprised and learn something new and just..yeah:)

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: what. Ok but actually, Martha and Adrienne because they are both honestly perfect for them and I love them too (I’m going to be biased, especially Adrienne)

My happily ever after for them: Can Lafayette just move the family to America? But also, it’s sad, but like I know Laf would be sad in America while France suffers. So...maybe a world where things in France go better and Lafayette gets to visit Washington more often and bring the family!! (Washington visit France too??)

4. Anna Strong (character)

How I feel about this character: I like her! She’s fun and…strong (oops lol) and she’s made some mistakes sure, but I feel like she did her best to learn from them and move on

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Honestly, I know they didn’t have a lot of interaction in the show but Anna/Mary has potential. And Anna/Edmund

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: her and Ben and Caleb

My unpopular opinion about this character: I really can’t think of anything unpopular

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: in general, her having more screen time with less men you know? I mean like one-on-one kind of scenes. Also I would’ve liked to see at least her and Selah talk. Like, really talk. They never really did that, right? I just have so many questions about them

Favorite friendship for this character: Anna and Ben

My crossover ship: I have no idea

And well, I know it’s been a few days but for a fandom list, I’m just a weeb lol but here

Octopath Traveler (my beloved)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Star Wars

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Persona 4

Zelda (to a point)

Pokémon

What We Do in the Shadows

Sailor Moon

Literally anything historical

Ok!! I tried to add a lot because I’m not sure what you might know or not haha. But thank you again!! I had fun <3

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Make It Through The Night (Part 3)

(x)

Summary: The reader meets Dean’s friend, Benny, but everything isn’t as smooth sailing as it seems...

Masterlist

Pairing: Apocalypse!Dean x reader

Square: Dean Winchester

Word Count: 3,100ish

Warnings: langauge, minor violence

A/N: Written for @spngenrebingo​​​

_____

“Morning sunshine,” said Dean as you walked into the kitchen. “Eggs and rice for breakfast.”

“It’s hot. I ain’t complaining,” you said, fixing your arm in it’s sling.

“You change your bandages out yet?” he asked. You yawned and nodded, taking a seat at the counter. “Ever been shot before?”

“No. Hurts like a bitch,” you said, looking around. “So where’s the rice come from?”

“One of the largest rice distribution plants is about twenty minutes down the road. I stocked up,” he said.

“Smart move,” you said. “So where the hell am I exactly? This place I mean.”

“Short version, there used to be these guys, Men of Letters. My grandpa was one. This was their base of operations. They got wiped out in the fifties though,” said Dean. “They used to research monsters, how to kill them, that sort of thing. Through a very long series of events which started long before I was born, I wound up being raised by a hunter, my dad. Along with Sam. Hunters used to kill monsters back when the world was normal and no one knew about this stuff. After my dad died, it was me and Sam for a while and a whole bunch of other bad shit happened and then he got on demon blood and we went our separate ways. I ended up meeting my grandpa who traveled through time before he died and he told me about this place. It’s safe from monsters, demons, you name it. It runs itself. There’s a bunch of information in that library that might be useful. It’s pretty...I lost you at the time traveling grandpa, didn’t I.”

“If that’s the short version, I can’t imagine the long,” you said, resting your head against your palm. “You’re serious?”

“My life’s always been strange. Everyone else finally caught up a year ago,” he said.

“It’s completely safe here?” you asked.

“I mean, nothing is completely safe but it’s probably the safest place on the planet,” he said.

“Good,” you said, closing your eyes. “I could do with someplace safe.”

“It’s not pretty out there. The world now I mean,” he said, handing you a plate, your eyes fluttering open.

“Those guys were probably going to sell me to a monster...or a demon. It seems to be the hot commodity,” you said.

“Speaking of which, after breakfast, you’re gonna have to get tatted up,” said Dean. 

“Um, what?” you said as you started to eat.

“Tattoo,” he said, pulling aside his flannel and t shirt, showing off a tattoo on his chest. “Anti-possession. A demon can’t take over your body that way.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s probably good to have,” you said. “You know how to do tattoo’s?”

“Personally, no but one of my friends should be getting back home soon. He was out on a supply run,” said Dean.

“Oh. Cool,” you said.

“Y/N,” he said, poking at his food. “I thought about last night, what we talked about, what you said. You’re right. I can’t kill Sam. I never could. I don’t want to kill him. It’s my job to fucking protect him. I’m not going to give up on him. I want to try to talk to him, figure out how to catch him and get him off of the demon blood, get rid of his powers. That’s the only option. I know you offered but I won’t go down that road.”

“No killing Sam. Okay,” you said with a nod. “We’ll figure something out then.”

“Thank you,” said Dean. 

Thirty minutes later you were in the library trying to figure out some basics about demons when the front door opened and man in combat gear came walking down the stairs with a box.

“I found you extremely stale gummy bears. You’re welcome,” said the man, setting the box down on the war room table, staring at you. “Cher.”

“What?” you asked, glancing at Dean.

“It’s a nickname thing he does. Y/N, this is Benny. Ex-vampire I met in purgatory. Benny, this is Y/N. Met her yesterday when a few unscrupulous fellas were on my property again,” said Dean.

“Vampire,” you said, instinctively getting out of your seat and taking a few steps back.

“Ex-vampire,” said Dean as he flipped through a book. “He doesn’t bite.”

“Unless you’re into that,” he smiled, flashing you a wink.

“Dude. I get that the dating pool is limited but-”

“Excuse, Dean,” said Benny, ruffling his hair as he went past and took a seat. “He’s a worrier. Plus it’s fun to tease him. He’s totally into you anyways.”

You blinked slowly, Dean giving Benny a bitchface.

“Let’s not scare off the first company we’ve had in oh, months? Hm?” said Dean.

“Ignoring the purgatory part of that sentence for right now, how does one become an ex-vampire?” you asked, staring at Benny.

“Ordinarily there’s a cure but it only works if the person has never tasted human blood and if you have the fang of the vamp that turned you. Benny though...well when we got out of purgatory, he was still a vamp,” said Dean.

“I was almost at the point of asking Deano to end it for me. I knew I would break and hurt someone. But the world decided to go to shit and I drank from an infected person. I got really sick. Majorly sick,” said Benny, peeling off his boots and kicking up his feet in a nearby chair.

“We tried the cure, figured what the hell and now Benny is as human as the day he was born,” said Dean. “He’s like really fucking old by the way.”

“Shut up,” said Benny, pushing Dean’s face, a smile popping up on it for a moment. “So ex-vampire. No need to be afraid.”

“Alright,” you said as you sat back down. 

“What’s with the chicken wing?” asked Benny, nodding at you.

“Shot yesterday. Graze on the arm, through and through in the shoulder,” said Dean, flipping through his book again. “Y/N’s gonna stay here, help with the Sam situation.”

“Good. We could always use a few more hands,” said Benny.

“How many hands are there?” you asked.

“There’s a network of hunters out there. It’s not huge but it’d be useful to get close to Sam,” said Dean. “Plan’s changed by the way, Benny. We take him alive and cure him or it’s the end of us.”

“Whatever you want, brother,” said Benny, standing up with a sigh. “I’ve been on the road all night. I’m gonna shower and crash before I have to head out again.”

“I’ll need a tat done before you go. Gonna stick around more than a day for once?” asked Dean.

“I’ll be here a few days. I know you miss this pretty face, Deano,” he said. Dean rolled his eyes and Benny wandered off down a different hall. 

“So purgatory...no one can ever say you have not led a full life,” you said. Dean chuckled and leaned back in his seat. 

“Full of horrors. But yeah, I suppose you’re right. It’s been interesting,” he said.

“Did you like...die,” you said, Dean cocking his head. “Purgatory.”

“No. Accidentally wound up there when I killed a special kind of monster. I met up with Benny there. We found a way out together,” said Dean. “Just because a monster is a monster...they can be your friend too. I got a buddy who’s a werewolf actually.”

“Here I thought study abroad would make me exciting,” you said. Dean smiled and slid over his book to you.

“Read this one. It’ll give you some good info. We’ll go over some good ways to kill demons maybe later in the week,” he said.

“I’m not a soldier. I don’t know...everything I know, I picked up on my own,” you said.

“I’m pretty confident in your abilities,” he said. “We don’t have to go after Sam this second. Something like this, we need to know our game plan first and I don’t even know where to start so focus on healing and training a bit for now.”

“Alright,” you said, Benny cutting back in wearing nothing but his boxers.

“Dude. We have a lady in the house now,” said Dean.

“She can walk around in her underwear too. I don’t care,” said Benny, going to the box and pulling out a bottle of soap. 

“You and your old spice you freak,” said Dean.

“Don’t knock it,” said Benny. “There’s some shaving cream in there too in case you decide to shave that peach fuzz.”

“Asshole,” said Dean as Benny laughed, carrying the box away with him.

“I like the beard,” you said with a shrug.

“See, brother? Match made in heaven right here,” he said.

“Oh shut up,” said Dean. “Go get clean. You smell filthy.”

“Whatever you say,” he said, whistling as he went.

“Sorry. He’s a bit...Benny sometimes,” said Dean. 

“I like him,” you said, glancing through the pages.

“You actually like the beard?” he asked. Your eyes glanced over and met his, noticing just how pretty of a green they were. 

“It suits you. You look like some badass or something,” you said. He smirked and you rolled your eyes. “Oh my God. I can only handle one man-child at a time.”

“Speaking of badasses, you’ll need some new gear. I’ll take a look around in storage,” he said. “Also, I am so not a man-child.”

“Gummy bears?” you said with a smile.

“Touche,” he said, grabbing his notebook and jogging up into the library. “You get bored of reading come find me. I’m sure we can find something for you to work on.”

“Hey,” said Dean a few hours later. You let out a hiss and grit your teeth, Benny wiping off your bicep. “How’d she do?”

“She was good,” he said. “Barely made a peep.”

“How’s it look?” you asked.

“Good,” said Dean. “It’s just a precaution we have to take.”

“No, it’s fine. I probably should have gone with the right arm is all,” you said, wincing a bit. 

“Come on you two. Dinner’s done,” said Dean. You followed him back down the hall while Benny turned off the equipment. Dean plopped a bottle of pills in front of you at the table. You shook your head and he took two out, putting them on your plate. “Y/N. Take the pain meds. It’s fine.”

“So you come up with anything today?” you asked as Benny joined you, diving into his bowl of stew.

“Maybe. I was thinking Ben, we could retrofit the dungeon, turn it into a holding cell, detox chamber kind of thing,” said Dean.

“It could work. How we get him inside is another problem,” said Benny.

“Do you think you could work on gathering materials, figuring out the best way to build a safe room?” asked Dean.

“I can think of something. I’ll head up North, visit Donna. She’s good with that sort of thing,” said Benny.

“So are you two an item yet or are you still living in denial?” asked Dean, giving him a smirk.

“Who? Me and Donna?” scoffed Benny. “No way. Strictly platonic. We both been burned before.”

“I know about the camping store incident,” smirked Dean. “Benny bear.”

“Fine. We’re dating. You girls gonna chat about this too?” he said, crossing his arms.

“Maybe. We do love to talk about boys and braid our hair,” teased Dean. “Nah, man, that’s great. You and Donna make a good team. Tactically.”

“Shut up. Worse than a high school girl,” said Benny. “You see what I’ve been dealing with during the end of the world?”

“Is she cute?” you asked, Benny throwing up his hands.

“Oh yeah,” said Dean with a laugh. “Donna’s a pretty girl. Sweet as can be but she’s tough. She and Jody…”

He trailed off and pursed his lips, Benny nodding.

“Jody didn’t make it,” said Benny. “Demons. If you guys are all set, I’m gonna head out soon.”

“You travel at night?” you asked.

“Safer actually,” said Dean. “Most of the infected people, they still sleep for some reason. Benny can get up to Sioux falls by dawn pretty good this way.”

“Write down any gear you think you may need,” he said, finishing off his drink before he took off.

“Why is he leaving already?” you asked. “He just got here this morning.”

“He has a job to do and I told it to him,” said Dean. “Benny moves at his own pace. If he wants to go tonight, he can go, I won’t baby him.”

“Doesn’t he want to rest?”

“Benny crashed most of the day. He’s good,” said Dean. “Unlike you. Early bedtime tonight.”

“What are you, my mother?” you mumbled.

“Do I need to be?” he asked. You rolled your eyes and went back to your food, Dean finishing his off before he started to pick up. 

You closed your eyes and rested your head against the table.

“I feel funny,” you said. “Did you drug me?”

“It’s the pain med’s, dumbass. They’re kicking in. It’s pretty strong stuff,” he said. He walked over and sat you upright. “Finish your food and then you can sleep.”

“Or you drugged me,” you said, reaching for your knife. Dean quickly knocked it away and you pulled the gun out of the back of his pants. He froze as you turned off the safety. 

“Y/N. Calm down. No one’s going to hurt you,” said Dean.

“Back up,” you mumbled. He stared at you before you were suddenly on the floor, gun back in his hands.

“Are you infected?” he asked, aiming the gun at you. “Are you?”

“Whoa,” said Benny as he came rushing back in. “What the hell is going on in here?”

“She thinks I drugged her which is insane,” said Dean.

“This ain’t pain medication, dip shit,” you said, flipping him off as you propped yourself up against the wall, the cold floor making you shiver. “Fuck you. You’re the one that’s nuts, not me.”

“You’re both idiots,” said Benny. He walked over to you and reached behind his back, a pair of restraints around your wrists. You shoulder would have been killing you if it weren’t for the drugs. “I drugged her.”

“Excuse me,” said Dean, suddenly lowering the gun and tucking it away. “You did what, Benjamin?”

“I heard of this chick, the second you said her name I knew who she was. She knows Sam.”

You shook your head when Dean slowly turned and stared you down.

“I don’t. I swear,” you said.

“I definitely heard of some demon talking about this chick right here and Sam,” said Benny. 

“You’re thinking an inside job?” asked Dean, pulling the gun out again.

“Possibly. Could be a human that decided to side with what she thinks is the winning side,” said Benny. “Could be a lot of things but point is, we can’t trust her.”

You were too tired to say anything more, simply sat there and shut your eyes, trying not to think of how odds are you wouldn’t be waking up again.

“Y/N,” said Dean. You breathed slowly, Dean’s hand on your shoulder shaking you. “Y/N. You with Sam or not?”

Last thing you remembered you slumped over, straight to the ground.

“Hey,” said Dean. Something wet was on your forehead, a washcloth if you had to guess. It took a moment for you to get your bearings, finding yourself in your room strangely. “Relax. You’re okay.”

“Drugged me,” you said, frowning at him, pushing the washcloth away. “Asshole.”

“Benny made a mistake,” said Dean.

“I wanna go,” you said, shutting your eyes, head swimming. “Let me go.”

“You can go. Just let this stuff get out of your system first,” said Dean. He took the cloth away and you scowled when he put it back. “I’ll make up your bag for you.”

Four hours later you were standing in the garage, trying to get your bag on unsuccessfully.

“Y/N,” said Dean quietly. “Maybe you should stay.”

“Maybe you need better friends,” you said, throwing the bag on, immediately shooting a hand to your shoulder. You sniffled and swallowed hard, giving Dean a dirty look when he stared at you. “What?”

“We both know that if you go out in your condition, the first sign of trouble and you’re dead,” he said.

“What do you care?” you said. You tried heading out but the pain was too much and you had to shrug off the backpack. 

“Something is going on. Benny was adamant that he heard something involving you. I was adamant that whatever your part in this is, you aren’t the bad guy,” said Dean. “You know how it is now. You can’t take chances and Benny wasn’t taking one. But I will.”

You sighed and set the bag down.

“Why?” you asked dryly.

“Because you’re not the bad guy. If you want to go, you can go. Or you can stay and recover and maybe you can help me save my brother.”

You spun around and went past him, heading inside.

“Next time something like that happens, I shoot. No questions asked,” you said. “And don’t think I didn’t realize you put a brick in the bottom of my bag.”

“Welcome back, Y/N.”

_____

A/N: Read Part 4 here!

[my-watch-begins]

Peeping Sam II.

Pairing: Rafe Adler x Reader. 

Warnings: swearing, gun play, mentions of violence. 

Words: 3921

Part I. // Uncharted Masterlist. 

Rafe keeps his hand over your knee as both of your legs rest on top of his thigh. Sitting comfortably on the leather couch of the living room, a maid makes several trips back and forth bringing breakfast options that included fruits in just about every color, toast, avocado, scrambled eggs, croissants, about twenty types of tea and the best coffee money could buy.

Rafe always had coffees but his breakfast options varied here and there, you stuck to tea and always had toast and avocado.

"What about those meetings I told you to handle yesterday?" He asks, stabbing a piece of green apple with a fork and leading it to his mouth.

"Handled, Johnson and Prescott wanted to hold off on the investment of the new production plant" you could already see Rafe's eyes roll in annoyance.

"Market research says it's perfect time to start production"

"I know, I told them if they wanted to stop the investment, you had the right to request 45% of the initial investment capital, as per contract" you answered smugly.

"But that's not in the contract" he replied in a questioning tone.

"I know, by the time those idiots lawyer up and skim the contract to prove me wrong production will have started and profit margins will prove you right"

You turn to give him a winning smile as you lean over to the fruit tray, feeling Rafe's hand on your thigh, teasing upwards and in between your legs.

"That's a smart move"

"I learned from the best didn't I?" You tease giving him a side glance, noticing that he's giving you one of those rare looks of adoration, looking at you through his lashes and a small but genuine smile peaks from his lips.

Before you leave the fruit tray alone and can move to straddle him, he perks up in his seat and smiles.

"Samuel" he called, his hand beckoning for him to come closer. You turn around, finding the one he was talking with, he looked around the room dodging your inspecting eyes "please, join us" he motioned at the couch adjacent to his.

Sam sat down and cleared his throat, his eyes finally meeting yours, you gave him a polite smile.

"I don't think I've properly introduced you to my fiancée" he presented, your hand lifts up over the table, Sam quickly draws his and shakes it gently "(Y/N) darling, Samuel Drake" he introduced to you "I thought your days of seeing woman naked without knowing their name were behind you Sam" he says, his head lowering as he spoke.

"He did not see me naked" you interrupted.

"I was there, he did" Rafe fought back.

"He was looking up" you excused with a shake of your head, not believing that the fight you'd had yesterday was still continuing.

After you'd made your way out of the pool and joined Rafe, he scolded you for swimming naked knowing that there were people in the house, you'd refuted that argument by telling him he didn't seem to bother to have you grind over him in the plane at the sight of the flight attendants. He was not happy with that answer, so by some weird logic he decided to fuck your brains out, you absolutely did not complain.

Sam didn't wanted to be caught up in the middle of a fight, so he quickly shook his head and spoke.

"Don't worry Rafe, she's not my type"

He took more offense by that comment than you, so he frowned and tilted his head to the side.

"And what's that? Beautiful?"

"Taken" he swiftly rebounded. You chuckle lowly, and gave him a praising twist of your eyebrows as your hands lead the steaming cup of tea to your lips.

"Oh" he gasped surprised, then chuckled "well, I thought you two should meet anyway since she's the one you'll be answering to if we don't find the treasure soon"

Sam's eyes rested on your face, seeing you pull an annoyed twist of your lips as you glanced at Rafe.

"Not a fan of pirates (name)?" Sam asked, leaning over the table to grab a toast.

"I mean, the only experience I have with pirates is riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland" you dismiss "though I like that one better, that one hasn't made me reprogram my wedding five times"

Rafe pronounced your name in a warning tone, making you clasp your tongue and roll your eyes, pulling your legs from his lap and turning on the couch until you almost give him your back completely.

"In any case, Rafe is the one who likes history out of the two of us" you pat his thigh loudly enough for Sam to hear on the other side of the table "I like to focus on the other side of the timeline, the future is always more promising"

"Well, opposites attract I guess" Sam said with a little smile.

Rafe led his hand on your thigh, you turn your head to his.

"Sam and I are leaving today, we'll be back in a few hours" he mentioned looking at Sam, when he finished he turned his head to you and gave you a quick smile.

"Sure love" you answer shortly, then mirrored his smile with a little disdain, you certainly didn't like to keep the happy couple façade after touchy subjects like how much fucking time he'd wasted on that stupid treasure.

You stood up shortly after that, heading to the office space upstairs. You had assumed he was gone a few minutes after, so you wandered around in the state, landing on the wing where you knew Sam had made his office. He had books lying around, peppers scribbled, glasses and bottles, but the corner of a laptop peaking from under a stack of papers caught you eye.

You pushed them off and opened the laptop, the screen lights up asking for a password. You frown and place your hand on your hips, pushing your tongue behind your teeth on your palate. A quick trip back and forth later, you take the computer and tilt it to the side, plugging a flashdrive to the side. The screen glitches, overriding the password requirement and showing the desktop.

If Rafe was the history savvy, you were the technology one. If there were things to worry about that had been developped in the last twenty years, he didn't care how the thing got it done as long as it worked.

You spent a few minutes digging through his search history, expecting to find a bunch of Google searches for porn, instead there are a few searches about Avery. After going back and forth on the search history, one of them catches your eye.

There was an auction to be held in the next two months, the lot numbers had already been posted, and a few pages of useless junk later, you found the one that Sam was looking for. A wooden cross.

You were sure Rafe would spill a bunch of knowledge about the year or was made, what it was made of, to you it was just a cross.

You snap a photo of the screen with your phone. There were a lot of searches about wooden crosses after that, and you knew this one was important because Rafe had one he'd gotten from some jail in Panama, at least that's what he'd said when he showed it to you.

You deleted the searches you'd made, closed the laptop and covered it back up. There was still no sign of Rafe or Sam at the state by the time you were finished, so you headed to your own computer and pulled files from the Adler collection until you found the cross Rafe had, cocking your eyebrow in interest as you noticed that the one Rafe had was actually broken at the bottom. The one that was going for auction seemed to be intact.

You sat at the desk, rubbing your fingers on your earing as you thought. Sam had found this new cross months ago, had he brought it up already to Rafe and he hadn't tell you? Did Rafe knew about it at all? Because if he did, he certainly would be excited about the finding, he would be excited to tell you.

The state was so silent you heard the front door shut, so you stood up and walked along a few hallways until you  reached the main living room, seeing just Sam walk around and heading towards the opposite hallway.

"Sam" you called, he turned around quickly, his hand stopping halfway his path towards his neck. "You came back alone?" You ask. Sam's hand finds his neck and rubs it as he sighs.

"Yeah, Rafe was meeting with some woman at the church, so he suggested we continue later, he staid back"

"I see" you say with a quick nod. He gives you a quick smile as he turns around, disappearing in the hall.

Not even two hours later, without sign of Rafe still, you walk to the gym in your workout clothes intending to rub the treadmill for a warm-up, quickly amusing yourself when you see Sam bare chested and laying back on a bench doing presses.

You grip your phone and walk to him, he's busy listening to music on his own phone so he doesn't listen to your step approaching, and he certainly doesn't see you until you've thrown your leg over his lap and sat just over his crotch. He's so caught of guard he can't push the weights up so he lets them fall, the safety bars at the side catching them with a metal thud.

You smiled wickedly and leaned your forearms on the bar that sits barely an inch above his chest.

"I'm sorry to interrupt" you dismiss quietly with a move of your hand. He tugs the earbuds out to listen, a mix of surprise, worry and something more coloring his face "But- I just wanted to know... How did things go at the church? Found anything?"

"Um-" he stutters, his eyes running back and forth between yours. You see several beads of sweat forming in his face, though you didn't know if it was you or the workout. "No, sadly. But Rafe staid back to talk to someone who's going to dig around the site much quicker than just the two of us"

"That sounds lovely" you say mindlessly, as if that was going to be your reaction no matter his answer, squinting your eyes as you smirk "though, I think it would be better if we just told Rafe about the cross that's going for auction at the Rossi state yeah?"

You lived for the moments when color drained from people's faces, when their pupils dilated, when their mouth fell agape at the pretended surprise as they thought quickly how to collect themselves.

"I-I don't-" he stammered, you leaned your face down, your chin coming to your hands still pressed to the bar as your hips pulled back on his crotch, quickly noticing that Samuel Drake was not a "brief" kind of guy.

"You wouldn't take me for an idiot" you whisper "would you Samuel?"

"No, absolutely not" he replied immediately, shaking his head profusely side to side.

"Good" you smile, then lean back, teasingly grinding your hips before you stand up, giving him a quick smile. "Nice catching up with you".

Sam struggles to lift the bar back up to their hooks, but as soon as he's free he jumps to his feet and exits the gym, heads quickly to his room and jumps clothed into the shower. He lets the cold water cascade over him for a few minutes before he takes off his clothes. He still feels like his body is tensed up, his arms hurt by the sudden lost of power and how they had come to such an uncomfortable position while being held down under you. By the time he finishes his shower there's still a light layer of cold sweat on his body and he feels like he needs one too many cigarettes to calm down.

It was just his luck to run into Rafe and Nadine just as they cross the entrance on his way to the patio.

"Sam" Rafe salutes "you look like you've seen a ghost" Sam assumes he looks pale and wide eyes still, quick on his feet he takes this opportunity to tell Rafe about the cross, making him believe it was that why he was so shaken up, because of the huge lead it supposed.

Rafe bough it up, and Sam listens to the quick strategies him and Nadine throw around to get it, but his mind is somewhere else.

He has to get the fuck out of the state.

It's only a matter of time before you out Rafe against him and he didn't just got out of jail to end up dead by the hand of a literal couple of psychos.

Rafe pins the conversation with Nadine for later after he sees that their methods are not exactly aligned on how to get the cross, before he sets our to find you and maybe take you out for dinner, he makes a few calls to known contacts to ask about the auction, and he's promised he'll be put on the guest list if he so desires.

Rafe finds you in the closet of the bedroom, just dressed with a tank-top and a thong, rubbing cream on your legs in circular motions.

"You're back" you say when you see him in the reflection of the mirror "you've been gone all day"

"Remember Nadine Ross?" He walks a few steps into the closet and sits down with a tired sigh on a large ottoman.

"Yeah, the one from the private militia"

"I met her today and had to show her around the cathedral, she has the manpower to scout the place faster"

Rafe gets lost at the sight of your hands rubbing your legs up and down, switching from one to the other shortly after he stops talking.

"Sam found something though" he continues as he blinks, seeing that you've stopped to glance at him "you know... A while back he said Avery was recruiting other pirates, and the cross that we found was broken, so something must've been inside of it. He found another cross"

You just lift your eyebrow curiously as a smile peaks from the corner on your mouth.

"And this cross, where is it?"

"It's going up for auction in a few months, we're brainstorming on how to get it"

"Just buy it" you say with an obvious tone, leaving the cream bottle on one of the open shelves, walking a few steps along it you find your pajama bottoms and slip them on, hearing Rafe let out a chuckle behind you. You turn around with a frown as you finish fasting the pants at your waist.

"You're a god-damned tease, did you know that?"

You tilt your head to the side and lift your shoulder to your cheek, smiling innocently.

He doesn't smile back, instead he ducks his gaze down to his hands, then crossed his arms at his chest.

"If we end up at the auction, you're not coming with me" he sanctions, making you straighten in your spot at tighten your lips "you're a distraction, and I can't have that"

You chuckle humorlessly, then cross your own arms at your chest.

"And who-"

"It's not decided if we are even going to the auction, but if we are it'll be Sam and I"

Another chuckle escapes you as your hands shot up in the air and drop down to smack your thighs, you turn around to leave the closet.

"He's the most obvious choice, as soon as we get the cross we can get to work on finding out the next clue"

You just shake your head and give him a swat of your hand.

"Yeah, sure" You walk to the vanity in the corner of the room and grab your jewelry. You see Rafe leaving the closet through the mirror.

"And how are you going to be better help than him?"

Your mouth falls agape, you turn on your seat to give him an angry look.

"By being loyal to your for one"

Rafe rolls his eyes as he jars his hands on his waist.

"Sam is as loyal to me as you are, I got him out of jail"

You shrugged your shoulder, standing up and walking to the bedside table,you retrieve your phone and tap the screen as he looks back with an inpatient frown, you walk to him and press the phone to his chest.

"And if he's so loyal to you why did he tell you about the cross two months after he found it?"

He frowns just a little, grabbing the phone that's pressed to his chest, then inspects the photo as you walk around him and out of the bedroom.

Rafe inspects the photo, the dates, the searches, and he absolutely refuses to believe that they're real.

How fucking dare he?

He grips the phone and takes one angry breath.

You walked out of the bedroom and into one of the large hallways and towards the kitchen to instruct the cook to make something for dinner.

You heart jumps to your throat when you're pushed to the wall of the hallway, a set of hands push against your mouth as your body is squished between the wall and the hard muscles of the assailant's chest, you eyes lift up to find Sam's brown ones in a twist of rage.

Your blood goes from boiling of rage to freezing when you see his other hand lift a gun and press it to your cheekbone just above his rough hand on your mouth, gripping you with force.

"I do not trust that if I take my hand off of your mouth you won't scream for that nutcase you call a boyfriend, so here's what we're going to do" his tone is low, menacingly enhanced by a raspiness of the back of his throat.

You can smell blood already, and the barrel of the gun is pushing so hard on your skin you swear you can smell the gunpowder emanating from it.

You can't think, your brain has suddenly short-circuited by the sudden thought thag if his finger moves barely half an inch, a bullet will pierce through your cheek, skin, bone, tissue, muscle, bone again, and exit through the back of your head. The worst part is; you're sure it wouldn't even kill you instantly, it would take a few seconds of agonizing pain until you die.

All of these thoughts have made you suddenly start shedding tears that land on the barrel of the gun and the back of Sam's hand, and just then you notice that he's talking to you, his hot breath colliding with the streaks your tears have left down your cheeks.

"The combination to the garage door" you heard him repeat, but it feels like you're underwater, the pressure on your ears is so much they've started ringing.

Why isn't Rafe coming out of the fucking room already?!

You shake your head, but he grabs your face with his hand and pushes you further back on the wall making you whine in pain and let out a muffled sob.

"Don't tell me that you don't know it, I know you know everything about the state" he pushes the barrel of the gun. up and into your eye socket.

A door opens on the end of the hallway and Sam looks to the side, he lowers the hand with the gun still clutched and grabs you by the arm, you're numb, your muscles are so tense he has to pull you by the arm and drag you to the end of the hall, quickly into another one you recognize as the one that leads to the garage door.

In the second it takes you to realize that you're free and call scream for help, you're pulled forward and onto another wall, your hands mitigating the crash against the wall, the cold end of the barrel pushes against your neck making your skin crawl up in goosebumps.

"Enter the code" Sam grunts, you look down and then at your shaking hands. One of them slowly lifts up to press the buttons one by one. The door next to you makes a click and you're about to sink to the ground, your legs unable to keep you up by the sheer fear of having a gun pointed at you, but Sam doesn't let you. He grabs you by the arm again and opens the door, giving the hall behind you a quick look to check that you're not being followed just yet.

He drags you to a jeep and seats you in the passenger seat.

"I don't know what you think you're doing but kidnapping me is really not a good idea" you manage to let out between shallow breaths.

"You're just leverage, don't think you're so special" he pushes a button inside the car to open the garage, the cold wind suddenly hitting your bare arms and feet. The car screeches against the pavement as he sets the car on reverse and quickly exits the garage.

The drive is quiet, you've started to relax your muscles enough to breath normally, giving Sam a few side glances as he drives.

"We're far enough, you can let me go now" you try to persuade, instantly knowing that's not a good idea, it's freezing outside, you're barefoot, only dressed with a pair of pants and a tank-top, you're already shivering at the gushes of wind that sneak through  the cracks between the metal and the fabric tarps of the Jeep.

"Not until we're at the airport, and I know I'm going to get away with this"

"With this you are" he gave you a quick look "but Rafe is still going after you and that stupid cross"

"He can try" he said with a confident shrug "but if he has it, he would still need me to decipher the clues"

"Don't think you're so special" you bark his own words back at him "you're just some common thief with an unhealthy obsession".

"So is your boyfriend".

"With the difference some pirate treasure it's not the only thing he has going for himself, you can't really say that, can you?"

Sam slams on the break and swerves to the side of the road, then grips the handgun that he'd left in his lap.

"Earings" he says, you frown, he tilts the handgun to the side quickly "your earings, take them off"

Your hands undo the clasps of the earings one by one, he motions at the dashboard, you leave the pair laying on top of it.

You are startled when Sam leans towards you, he opens the door and pushes you out of it, your feet landing below you and into the snowbank that's laying on the side of the road. Your hands come up to hug yourself, seeing the Jeep pull up to the road again and speed away.

You begin to shiver violently, your feet dragging from the snow and up to the pavement, you look to one side, then another. With a sigh that leaves your mouth intermittently, you start to walk back to the state.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 258: Have You Thanked Your Twice Today

Previously on BnHA: All Might gave Deku a book with all of the previous OFA successors’ names, quirks, and career stats. Kacchan barely glanced at the book and was all “nah, boring” and JUST LIKE THAT he decided we’re not gonna get any new info, which I don’t think is very fair or considerate Kacchan but whatever!! Anyway though, All Might did reveal that Nana could fly and so Deku is going to learn to fly, so that’s fucking awesome, and then Kacchan and Deku had a moment of being bratty siblings together which I framed and put on my wall, so that was also very enjoyable. Back at the 1-A dorms we learned that Todoroki can’t cook, and the kids had a New Year’s party and talked about how they’re gonna be second years soon and how everything is just SO GREAT AND GOOD AND LIFE IS GOOD, and elsewhere All Might sat outside the teacher’s dorms and had a gorgeous fucking conversation with Aizawa that gave me all the feels. The chapter then ended with a THREE MONTH TIMESKIP to late March when apparently everything is about to go to shit. So yeah. Quite a lot to process there.

Today on BnHA: Hawks spends basically the entire chapter very slowly explaining to us that he became best friends with Twice, and it paid off dividends on account of Twice deciding that Hawks is definitely trustworthy and he should definitely tell him exactly where Tomura is off hiding in the mountains of Kyoto, because that’s the kind of extremely sensitive strategic intel that real best friends don’t keep from one another! Can you guys believe Hawks spent all that time trying to cozy up to fucking Dabi of all people when this whole time Twice was right fucking there. I bet you Twice would never have asked him to kill Best Jeanist and tote around his remains in a knapsack. Anyway so the chapter ends with the heroes launching what I assume is a surprise attack in where I assume is Kyoto, which probably explains that whole “on that day the heroes vanished” bit from the previous chapter. So let’s all wish them good luck, especially because THEY BROUGHT THE FUCKING KIDS WITH THEM GODDAMMIT. Oh my babies. Please be safe.

so I think I’m gonna go back to the Friday schedule since it just works better for me. just gotta remember to take the translations with a grain of salt, but all in all the quality last week wasn’t too bad, and overall the pros outweigh the cons

(ETA: the quality actually went down a lot this time honestly, but Friday still > Sunday in terms of me having the time to read this, so it is what it is.)

well this is interesting!

“in the absence of Endeavor” ? ??? the what now??? “oh yeah did we forget to mention, he’s gone now. we did some focus groups and made a few tweaks based on what the fans said they wanted.” well shit. let this be a warning to you all. it can happen JUST LIKE THAT

um. but I mean, that’s all well and good but uhhhh. [nervous glance toward Ujiko, Tomura, the 100k army, and the 11 noumus] ...

but maybe he’s just absent for the cover though. (ETA: yeah this makes a lot more sense after reading the last page of this chapter lol.) anyway so here we have everyone flying, as all good heroes do, including Deku who doesn’t really need that floating quirk after all I suppose, since he can jump real good. BUT IT’S STILL NICE FOR HIM TO HAVE IT SO SHHH

also the flower!Kacchan eyes are becoming more and more frequent lately. Horikoshi is really having a lot of fun with that

and now we’re going back roughly two months ago! which is still the future as far as I’m concerned! so this is really weird to have a “flashback” that basically still takes place after where we last left off. but whatever

“a week after the ‘hospital’ tip” well thank you, that certainly does help. so Twice is jogging in and beckoning to his best bud Hawks so Hawks is like “?” and walking over

(ETA: this has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but I just wanted to say that it’s very possible this flashback is actually taking place on Shouto’s birthday -- January 11th -- given the timing, so happy birthday Shouto! you are getting so big!)

lol see this is one of those times where the whole ‘translation of a translation’ thing doesn’t really work sob. even with context I’m not quite sure wtf Twice is actually asking, but at any rate this at least does give us an idea of how the rest of the League is spending their time now that they’ve completed their whole villain corporate merger

so Spinner and Compress, who actually have a few brain cells to rub together between the two of them, are already deeply involved in running things, and meanwhile Giran, Dabi, and Toga don’t really give a shit and so are content to sit back and wait until their services are actually needed. incidentally I like to think Giran spends a good chunk of his free time just tormenting ReDestro in a bunch of really small and petty ways. like making him get his coffee, and having him call and cancel his cable subscription and stuff. it’s just nice

guys I have no idea wtf is going on in these four panels honestly

well you heard him. that’s the situation. nobody trusts Twice (or was he talking about Hawks?), and meanwhile he has to go poo. not exactly where I thought this chapter would be picking up after that fun little cliffhanger last week, but just goes to show this series truly is a magical Kinder Egg and you never know what you’re gonna get!

so Hawks is explaining for my benefit that Twice was apparently doing an impression of some guy named “Sanctum” who is the oldest member of the MLA

holy shit it took Hawks a whole month to figure out all of the Pliff members? I’m just gonna pass then. thankfully I’m not a spy and I don’t have the fate of the free world depending on me memorizing the organizational chart of a bunch of really boring people whom I really do not give the slightest fuck about. anyway godspeed Hawks

oh no

son of a bitch. we’re in for another long fucking arc aren’t we lmao. well all right then let’s go ahead and do the rundown

Black 1: Fuhrer King Bradley

Black 2: Flying Ace

Black 3: Mother Ginger

Violet 1: Super Mario and Just A Bald Man

Violet 2: Predator and Best Sweaterist

Violet 3: Vizard and Gang Badger

in conclusion, Horikoshi will never stop making Alien/Predator references, and I’m also seeing some strong FMA and Bleach influence here as well. hell, the Mario guy even reminds me of some of the fishman characters from One Piece. so basically we’re all over the place here

other observations: “the new world movement”, huh? are they moving on from PLF at long last? I’ll take Newm over Pliff any day tbh

and so they have a tactical force and a raid force. now that’s interesting as fuck, because who exactly are they planning to raid? now that’s a nice disturbing question to ponder

lastly, the black and violet color schemes are very interesting and I wonder if there’s any significance there that’s going over my head lol. for now I just think it sounds cool regardless

-- MOTHERFUCKER THERE’S A WHOLE NOTHER PAGE OF THIS SHIT FUCK ME I FUCKING QUIT

goddammit. fine

Carmine 1: Lefty Hair and Gerudo Princess

Carmine 2: Slidin’ Go Away and R2-D2

and I can’t see Carmine 3, oh well. meanwhile on the other side we’ve got:

Cleveland 1: Praying Mantis and Righty Hair

Cleveland 2: Jawa and Just Happy To Be Here

and last but not least, Cleveland 3: Badger’s Revenge

what I have learned from this is that I don’t really know what a badger looks like and so any remotely rodent-looking animal person with stripes on their face is going to be slapped with that label because I don’t have time to research what would be a more appropriate animal nickname unless we want to be here until next week. anyway

haha Hawks what the fuck

well that sure is encouraging. so how exactly are the heroes supposed to get the drop on them then? basically we’re fucked, is what you’re saying. well we all been knew so whatever

so Hawks is monologuing to himself about how he was able to nice his way into learning all of the army’s members without getting caught, and in the process he observed how all of the members are all “FUCK THE SYSTEM”, which they definitely have a point about but are also definitely going about the wrong way holy shit

so now he’s feeding some good rabble-rousing lines to Twice who is eating them up

yeah, because Twice famously loves ReDestro lol, oh wait

so Twice is all “I don’t wanna say something that’s not from the heart” because he is PURE and not a Sneaky Sam like SOME PEOPLE! but he understands Hawks’s point that he basically just has to butter them up and tell them what they want to hear, and now he’s running off with a hearty thanks

fffffson of a --

like, you all can see the breakdown in logic that occurred here, right? “some heroes are corrupt” -- absolutely! “kill all heroes” -- wait, what

like obviously there are some real world parallels here. but I very much get the feeling that the PLF/NWM’s movement is fueled less by sentiments of “our law enforcement system is trigger-happy, racist, void of empathy, and think they’re above the law” and more by the notion of “our self-proclaimed superiority gives us the right to do whatever we want and trumps other people’s right to be safe and free, particularly if those people are unfortunate enough to not have quirks.” like, there are a lot of other nuances we could get into here, but that’s basically the gist of it, so yeah. these guys are not to be sympathized with here

and now there’s a big double page spread basically confirming that what these guys really want is blood and anarchy

and the really interesting thing here to me is that we can see Tomura standing at the front of the pack in that bottom right panel. but on the very next panel, with the close-up of Hawks looking as serious as we’ve ever seen him, he basically says that the endgame of all this, the ultimate outcome that this is all meant to bring into place, is one thing and one thing only

yep. well fuck

anyway I have no idea why he’s thanking Twice, but I’m gonna go ahead and guess he unknowingly did something which might give the heroes the potential glimmer of hope which they desperately need. so I will go ahead and thank you too, Twice. you’re a good guy buddy

oh wow there’s a whole page of more meta about Twice! -- and OH SHITTTTTTT

LKDsjflkjsdlfklskgjlskjlfkjsdlfk oh my fkfdjflk how did this never occur to me, just. FSDKLFLSIFKjk

hahaha. :’) holy fucking shit. they have to take him out. they can’t win otherwise. the heroes are already screwed enough as it is with just one Tomura and eleven high ends to contend with; if Twice is able to use his quirk to multiply that exponentially, we can basically kiss the world goodbye. fuck

but Hawks came to realize that Twice is actually a good guy though as echoed above! which, yeah, and can you imagine if he wasn’t, though? shiiit

oh my god they are so cute

listen, I won’t lie, I’m reading this for my 1-A children first and foremost, so there’s a part of me that’s like “HOW MANY MORE PAGES ARE WE GOING TO GET OF THIS JESUS CHRIST.” but there’s no denying that Jin is a good turnip and his unexpected friendship with Hawks -- which I am happy to report is now confirmed to be genuine! because Hawks really does like him! -- is a delight to witness

OH MY GOD TWICE LMAO

“HERE, LET ME JUST DRAW YOU A MAP! (⌒∇⌒。)ANYTHING FOR YOU, BEST FRIEND”

holy fucking shit Twice. did you just save all our asses you beautiful bastard

so between this, and the “hospital” clue, that could be enough to track him down, couldn’t it? no wonder Hawks was so pumped after getting that call. what are the odds this chapter ends with the start of a hero-led raid on a hospital in Kyoto. oh shit oh shit oh shit

lolol oh fuck me

I swear to god Horikoshi if you end this bromance by having Hawks kill Twice for the sake of the greater good, I’ll. ... well I sure as hell won’t like that. please do not

AND JUST LIKE THAT WE’RE BACK TO SPRINGTIME OH MY GOD

what a time to enter the first fucking grade Dai-kun. godspeed little man. I love the little detail that he’s holding an Endeavor plush while looking at the All Might statue. drawing strength from both heroes. aww

and then of course we have this fucking march of heroes which I can only hope is them heading to that hospital! no wonder they all vanished. they all ran off to Kyoto to try and put a stop to the villains’ plans before it’s too late

but I don’t see any of the kiddos there, though? don’t tell me the villains are gonna try something while the adults are away and leave the kids to deal with it all on their own

oh shit no!!! hold up!!

DON’T TELL ME THEY REALLY DID BRING THE KIDS WITH THEM ON THE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS “TIME TO GET OUR ASSES HANDED TO US BY NOUMURAKI TOMURA” MISSION NOOO MY BABIESSS

oh thank god

at least they don’t have the child soldiers on the front fucking lines, fucking christ

AHHHHHHHHH

SAY A PRAYER FOR KATSUKI’S WINTER COSTUME, EVERYONE. BE AT PEACE, SLEEVES OF GONDOR. FAREWELL BEST JEANIST TRIBUTE COLLAR

is this T chest thing on Shouto’s costume new? I can’t imagine that serves any sort of practical function whatsoever; he was probably just tired of looking boring

BUT!!!! those gloves, though!!?! now those are definitely new and I fucking love them. again I can’t really see them having much of a practical application given his quirk, but there is nothing wrong with upgrading oneself just to look sharp! boy wanted a facelift so he went out and got one

that’s some nice Anime Protagonist Wind they’ve got going on there in the mountains of Kyoto. real epic shit

1-B is there too!! and also Hadou, I think, unless that’s Pony? so that’s fucking awesome. we will certainly need all hands on deck

so that’s it for the chapter! not much happened, but we got a lot of Twice appreciation and learned that the heroes still have a few tricks up their sleeves! can’t wait to see how this will all go disastrously wrong. if you ask me, it’s probably when they decided that the best way to launch a surprise attack was to have fifty Endeavor-led guys gather all together and march up Main Street. but far be it from me to tell the heroes how to do their job I guess. best of luck not dying everyone

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @beerwolves!

Read on AO3

*****

The Prisoner

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2004

Stiles stuck close to his dad, barely looking up from his feet as they toured the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Hall. He wasn’t really sure what his dad’s new job was. Maybe he was in charge of all the other deputies in the kingdom of Beacon now? There had been a letter from the King, but Stiles hadn’t really been paying attention to anything since his mom-

“What’s down here? Storage?” his dad asked.

“It’s mostly unused cells,” their guide, one of his dad’s new deputies, said. “For long-term prisoners. But yes, there’s also some storage down here. Outdated equipment, old files, anything we don’t need on a regular basis.”

His dad hmm’ed thoughtfully. Not too long ago, Stiles would have laughed at that and maybe tried to warn this deputy what that thoughtful hmm meant, but now he just looked up and finally paid attention to the hallway they were in. They were standing next to a door with a sliding panel set in the middle and a slit of a window so narrow that Stiles’s dad would have had to lift him up and hold him right next to it if he wanted to look through it. He might be a kid, but he recognized a solitary confinement cell door when he saw one. He sidled closer to his dad and leaned against his leg.

“Is there anything else I need to see today?” his dad said. He put his hand on Stiles’s shoulder and squeezed.

The deputy looked between them and visibly changed his answer. “No, I’d say we’re all done for now.”

His dad nodded, and they headed for the stairs. Stiles thought he saw a gleam of light in the cell door window, but there was nothing when he looked again.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2006

His dad had a dungeon.

Not a dark and damp stone one lit with torches - which would have been way cooler - but there were prison cells in the basement of the Sheriff’s Hall and that counted as a dungeon and there was someone in one of them . Probably a murderer.

His dad had the best job.

Stiles approached the door of the occupied cell and slowly slid the panel open. He darted back, out of arm’s reach; he wasn’t stupid. He tried to look inside, but it was too dark to see anything without getting closer. He squinted; was that movement? He took a step forward.

“Stiles,” his dad said from the top of the stairs. “I told you not to go down there.”

That was his dad’s ‘I mean business’ voice, so Stiles ran back upstairs.

Next time he was going to talk to the murderer in the dungeon.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2007

Stiles waited until the nearby deputies were distracted, then slipped downstairs. If his dad was really serious about keeping him away from the basement cells, the door would be locked, right?

He didn’t bother to turn on the lights - there was just enough sunlight coming through the tiny window set high on the wall at the end of the hallway for him to see by. He could probably find his way to the Prisoner’s cell blindfolded anyway.

He slid open the panel and peeked through the opening. The room was dim; the Prisoner was to be kept in darkness, no matter how much his dad didn’t like it.  “Hi,” he whispered. “Got you something.” He placed an apple on the ledge that jutted out from the opening.

There was a deep sigh from one corner of the room. “Why?”

“Prison food sucks. Dad says so.”

“Why do you keep coming back? Talking to me?”

Stiles shrugged. He didn’t know why himself. “Because.”

There was a pause.“...thank you.”

Stiles moved away and after a moment the apple disappeared from the ledge. The Prisoner didn’t like for Stiles to get too close or try to see him.

When Stiles had first started bringing outside food for the Prisoner, he had worried about things like apple cores and orange peels. Apparently the orange peels could be flushed if they were broken up into tiny pieces, but the Prisoner ate the apple core, seeds and all. Ew. Stiles didn’t like to think about it, so he started doing what he did best: chatter.

“So my buddy Scott has a crush on the Little Princess and Lydia is all ‘Don’t be stupid, you don’t have a chance’ and it’s not like Scott actually thinks he does, but he can still like her, right? It’s like having a crush on a movie star. I mean, I have a better shot with Lydia than Scott does with a freakin’ princess, and Lydia is like, unattainable. Plus she’s going steady with Jackson, just because his dad is Lord Mayor. She has a genius brain, but I guess even smart people do stupid things.

“Anyway, Scott’s got her picture in his wallet and he looks at it and sighs a lot, which is kinda lame. I don’t do that with Lydia, and I’m an expert at having a crush. I-”

“Someone’s coming,” the Prisoner said suddenly. “Close the panel and hide.”

“What?”

“Stiles, hurry,” the Prisoner hissed, and Stiles did as he was told.

Just as he finished sliding the panel shut, the overhead lights came on. Stiles whirled and ran for the storage closet, which was always unlocked despite his dad’s efforts. He dashed inside and shut the door as quietly as he could. There was less than half an inch of space at the bottom of the door; Stiles lay down and pressed his face as close to the crack as he could. He wouldn’t be able to see anything, but he could probably hear enough to learn something interesting.

A clatter of footsteps marched down the hallway, echoing off the bare cement walls. Stiles had learned early on to be quiet while visiting the Prisoner, who had really sensitive hearing - these people either didn’t know or didn’t care.

“Open the door and leave us.” A woman’s voice, very commanding. Nobility for sure.

“My lady-” A man, probably a personal guard. The nobility always had personal guards.

“He wouldn’t dare try to harm me. He knows what will happen if he does. Open the door and wait by the stairs.”

“Yes, my lady.” There was a metallic groan - the cell door opening? - and then a bunch of footsteps clomping away.

“Der-ek,” the woman sing-songed. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

Stiles didn’t like her.

“Then I’ll have to come to you.”

A muted step and then all he could hear was the muffled sound of her voice, no matter how he adjusted his position. He waited an eternity, with only her unintelligible words and the occasional sound of her mocking laughter audible from the Prisoner’s cell.

She finally emerged. “I’m finished,” she called. The guards came back and as the door was groaning shut, she said mockingly, “Until next year, sweetie.”

Stiles really didn’t like her.

Their footsteps marched away and then up the stairs. Then the lights went out and there was a faint sound of a door closing. Stiles waited.

After another eternity, Stiles got up and opened the door. He stepped out into the darkened hallway - the sun had set at some point - and quietly closed it again. He made his way to the Prisoner’s cell - hey, he really could find his way blind - and slid the panel open.

“Hello?” he whispered.

No answer.

“Derek?”

“Forget you heard that name.” Derek’s voice was low and sad.

“I’m sorry she was mean to you.”

“Just go away.”

“Oh. Okay. Um, I’ll talk to you later?”

No answer.

Reluctantly, Stiles slid the panel closed and left him alone, creeping down the hallway toward the stairs, not only because it was dark.

At the top of the stairs, he opened the door a crack and peeked out. It didn’t look like anyone was around, so he opened it a little more and squeezed out. Then he closed it again and heaved a sigh of relief.

A heavy hand came down on his shoulder. Stiles yelped.

“How long were you down there?” his dad whispered, furious.

“Um-”

“Were you down there when Princess Katherine arrived?”

Stiles’s eyes went wide. “Princess Katherine?”

“Do you know what she would have done if she’d found you down there? We would both be spending the rest of our lives in one of those cells.”

“Dad-”

“Don’t, Stiles. You can’t talk your way out of this one. We’re going home. I’ll figure out your punishment for this once I’ve calmed down.”

His dad let go of his shoulder. “We’re leaving.” He strode away and Stiles hurried after him. He’d never seen his dad so angry, not at him.

The drive home was silent. Stiles felt bad, but he couldn’t think of anything he might have done differently. Not get caught?

When they got home, his dad sent him to his room. Neither of them mentioned supper.

“Dad?” Stiles asked hesitantly from the staircase. “Who is he?”

“Stiles-” His dad sighed and rubbed his forehead. “His name is Adrian Harris. He plotted against the royal family and now he’ll be in prison for the rest of his life. Stay away from him.”

Why would Princess Katherine call the Prisoner Derek if his name was Adrian Harris? Something wasn’t right. Something that might be dangerous for his dad to know. “Okay.”

Stiles trudged up to his room. He had some research to do.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2011

Stiles burst into the kitchen of the Sheriff’s Hall, carrying a small bag of apples. “I’m here! I brought them! It’s not too late, is it?”

Stiles had been helping out in the kitchen since he was eleven, although at first it had been part of his punishment for going places he wasn’t supposed to go. Prison food really did suck. Stiles wasn’t sure if the bad food was part of the criminals paying their debt to society, but he did know that prisoners were supposed to be fed nutritious meals. His dad had agreed and at Stiles’s suggestion, they had added fresh fruit to the prisoner’s meals to go with their otherwise nutritionally adequate slop. For years, Stiles had been allowed to place said fresh fruit on the lunch trays before they were served (because he definitely was not allowed to cook anything or handle sharp objects) and today he had been sent to buy more apples because the ones in the kitchen had gone bad.

“I’d swear you were still eleven years old,” Brenda, the kitchen manager, said fondly. “You aren’t too late. Go on, we’re about to load everything on the carts.”

Stiles rinsed the apples and started putting them on the trays, moving as fast as he could without dropping anything or knocking anything over.

“Sooo, Brenda,” Stiles said as soon as the kitchen workers started loading the trays on carts. “Do you think I could…” He gestured vaguely with hands and smiled, his eyes wide and innocent.

“No,” Brenda scolded with a laugh. “You can’t help deliver the meals. I don’t know why you keep asking.”

“Because one day you might say yes,” Stiles said with a charming smile.

Brenda shooed him away and Stiles went.

As soon as he was out of sight, he hurried down the hallway toward a place he was definitely not supposed to be. He ducked into an unused office and hurried over to the vent, mentally thanking the fates that the Sheriff’s Hall was new enough to have central heating and old enough to have a ventilation system that required repair people to actually enter the vents to fix shit when it broke.

He pulled the grate away and crawled inside. He carefully replaced the grate behind him and began to make his way along the route he’d mapped out from building schematics. Hopefully they had been accurate. He moved as quickly as he could, cursing every thump and scrape he caused. If his luck held, the noise would be dismissed as the random sounds of an old HVAC system.

There were a few heart-stopping moments when he had to climb down to the basement level vents - the maintenance ladder needed maintenance - but soon he was letting himself down into the supply closet where he had hidden from Princess Katherine all those years ago. The door was still being kept unlocked - another uncontrollable variable working out in his favor - and he crept out into the hallway.

The sliding panel on Derek’s cell door barely made a scraping sound as he pulled it aside. “Derek?” he whispered. “It’s me, Stiles.”

“Stiles?” Suddenly a face loomed in front of him in the darkness. Derek was pale, and his dark, unkempt hair and beard were shot through with silver, but he still looked like the pictures Stiles had found on the internet. “What are you doing here?”

“I snuck in. Listen, there’s no time. I need you to promise to eat your apple today, okay?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“It’s going to taste funny. Maybe smell funny. Just eat it, all of it, okay?”

Derek’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Stiles pulled a chain out from under his shirt. The attached pendant was etched with a swirling symbol. “The sun, the moon, the truth. Your mother sent me, Prince Derek. Please, just trust me.”

Derek stared at him, then nodded. Stiles placed his hand in the opening, palm up, and waited to see if Derek would take it. After a moment, Derek did.

When Stiles started to pull away, Derek tightened his grip. “Stiles,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

Stiles nodded. “Good luck.” Then he closed the panel and hurried away. Getting back out would be just as tricky as getting in had been.

He was almost back to the unused office when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. Shit, he was behind schedule. He sped up, muttering ‘Don’t notice me, don’t notice me’ under his breath as his progress made more noise than could be explained by it being old. He almost crashed through the vent grate, still muttering, and quickly got out and replaced it. He stopped at the door, closed his eyes and placed one hand on the knob and the other on the wall. “Don’t notice me,” he said one more time, and opened the door.

There was a deputy in the hall when he stepped out of the office, but she only looked at Stiles with uninterested eyes and continued on her way.

“Holy shit, it worked,” he whispered, then he started running. No one tried to stop him. When he reached his dad’s office, he stopped, let out a slow, deliberate breath, and said, “All done.”

He was panting with exertion when he burst into his dad’s office.

“Stiles, what’s wrong?” his dad asked, halfway out of his seat.

“Dad,” he gasped. “Can I… stay… with Scott… tonight?”

His dad sat back down. “And you rushed in here to ask because…?”

“Scott’s waiting,” Stiles answered, still catching his breath.

“And you couldn’t have called? Texted?” His dad raised a ‘my son is an idiot’ brow at him.

“I… could have done that, yes. But then I wouldn’t have seen you at all today, dad-dad-daddy-o.” Stiles shuffled his feet. “Sooo, can I?”

“How does Melissa feel about this?”

“She’s working the night shift all weekend. She told us not to set anything on fire and not to eat all of the Oreos.”

His dad gave him a piercing look, then nodded. “Fine, you can stay at Scott’s. But if I find out you didn’t clear this with Melissa…”

“Yeah, yeah, grounded for life, no driving until I’m thirty-five, bread and water diet, all that good stuff.”

The phone rang and his dad waved him out. “Don’t cause any mayhem,” he said and answered the phone.

Stiles hurried outside, where Scott was waiting for him in Stiles’s jeep. “Did you do it?” Scott asked while Stiles was buckling his seatbelt.

“All done. Now we live normal teenage boy lives for a while.”

“Awesome. Call of Duty tonight?”

“Scotty, you are going down,” Stiles said as he started the jeep.

The next morning, his dad told him the Prisoner had died in his sleep. The day after that, the news stations reported that the Prisoner’s body had disappeared from the morgue. His name was not given. Princess Katherine was seen storming in and out of the Sheriff’s Hall every day for a week. Stiles stayed far away.

~

Beacon Preserve, neutral territory between the kingdoms of Beacon and Triskele, 2016

Princess Allison Argent, formerly known as the Little Princess, now heir-apparent to the throne of Beacon, waited at the edge of Wolf’s Glade with her honor guard, which counted her secret fiance Scott McCall among its number. On the other side, Princess Laura Hale, heir-apparent to the throne of Triskele, waited with several of her brothers and sisters, including Prince Derek, formerly a prisoner of Princess Allison’s aunt, Princess Katherine. His escape had led to a brutal war, and now, five years later, both sides agreed that the cost of the war was too high. Stiles privately thought Princess Katherine’s death in battle, followed by King Gerard’s fatal heart attack upon hearing the news, had helped the end of the war along.

Stiles, as someone with ties to both sides, stood in the middle of the Glade with Emissary Deaton. Nobody was leaving until they hammered out a treaty, not if he had anything to say about it. He wanted to date his new boyfriend in peace. He looked over at Derek and winked.

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 4 Episode 3: Group A... again? Playoff Time! Commentary & Guesses

Hi all my Masked Singer fanatics! Time for episode 3 of this new season of The Masked Singer woohoo! Group A is back... and you are probably thinking how about Group C? Group C won’t be performing until after the World Series which is about last week in October to first week of November... so next week we will be seeing Group B in the playoffs as well, but having said that, let’s focus on Group A  (aka Popcorn, Giraffe, Sun, and Snow Owls) again because my guesses have changed like a lot since last week... I feel more sure about my guesses this time, I swear they are better and more researched this time... 

But First let’s talk about the eliminated contestant who is....

DRUMROLL PLEASEEE 

THE GIRAFFE 

Performance: He sang “Get Down on It” by Kool & the Gang and it was much better than his first performance, even though the beginning was a bit scary. However, I kind of figured he was going to go home because the rest kind of outshined him by a lot. 

Anyways, the Giraffe ended up being...

*INSERT DRUMROLL AND AN AUDIENCE SCREAMING “TAKE IT OFF”* 

BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN 

And if you are like, um who... same! Well he is from the hit show Beverly Hills 90210 and he’s Megan Fox’s ex husband.... and I actually was convinced due to a large amount of YouTube comments saying that it was him because of the clues (did you see how wonderful that segue was? Come on, that was flawless): 

The Fox from Season 2 and Transformers clues= his ex wife/mother to his kids, Megan Fox reference 

Peach Pit= famous scene from 90210 (idk man I’ve heard of the show but never seen it, don’t judge me) 

Robins on his shoulders= nod to him being best friends with Robin Thicke (we’ll talk about that hilarious moment in a second, btw spoiler alert Robin didn't guess his best friend) since they were both 16 

Golden Ear Time: 

It’s been a while since last time they didn’t show it (btw Jenny got a point for guessing Gremlin) so lemme explain this is the segment where I talk about the judges’ guesses... but today I am just gonna talk about Ken and Robin because they had some funny moments with these guesses (oh and btw I am gonna do judges’ guesses for the rest of them, and Joel McHale was a guest judge so he’s included below.. just so you guys know who I mean when I say Joel) 

So Ken guessed Shia Lebouf.... um, ok? Not the first time... What’s funny tho is that his explanation for his answer was so much that even the Giraffe fell asleep like damn lmao 

Then Robin... his best friend since age 16 (these men are both in their 40s, married/divorced with kids and everything), his neighbor, they were in a 2 man band together.... and HE STILL DIDN’T GUESS HIM (and a bunch of 90210 fans did and even got the reference wowwww). The best part was his face when he saw it was Brain, he was like nooooooooo I done messed up (I was about to curse, but this is a family show), funniest thing ever 10/10 would recommend watching just for that reaction

Anyways, we are done here, now to the final 3 for Group A: 

1. THE POPCORN 

Performance: She sang “Falling” by Harry Styles and damn what an improvement! This is the stuff I was looking for when I saw how adorable her costume was. Omg this was my favorite performance of the night, it was so memorable and amazing! 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and I feel confident about this one, I am locking it in.... 

I think that the Popcorn is 80s pop star.... 

TAYLOR DAYNE 

Here’s why, clues please:

Mention of her being sick and having anxiety as a kid= when she was 5 she underwent ureteral reimplantation surgery and struggled with panic attacks, anxiety, and agoraphobia (fear of open/crowded spaces) 

Crimper and Rubik's cube= 80s reference, when she started her career (1985) and gained success

LGBTQ+ Flag= huge LGBTQ+ supporter 

Venus= planet of love, which most of her songs are about

Judges’ Guesses: 

Ken: Katy Perry?! (I know it’s Ken and he’s not great at this, but really?!) 

Joel: Gloria Gaynor (meh, that’s better, I’ve seen this guess a bit, but nope) 

Jenny: Vanessa Williams (nope, I don’t think so Jenny, that’s worse than Gloria Gaynor) 

2. THE SNOW OWLS 

Performance: They sang “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by John Legend and Meghan Trainor and I really heard the country in their voice this time and they sounded older so the moment I heard them I was like yeah nope not Julianne and Derek at all. However, even though I love them, I really preferred their first performance even though this one was cute and I really want them to go super far. 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and thank you to all the people who helped me out by yelling at me on the YouTube comments section, I am gonna go with country duo....

CLINT BLACK AND HIS WIFE LISA HARTMAN 

Here’s why, clues please:

Witch hat= Lisa played a witch, Tabitha, in the Bewitched sequel 

Going through a messy breakup = Clint had a pretty bad legal falling out with his management company

Anchor with MANagement= Clint was in a movie named Anger Management in 2004 

Opportunity fit for a queen= their song together “When I say I do” going to the Tonight Show and her being apprehensive about it, but him pushing her to do it. 

Judges’ Guesses:

Ken: Will Ferrell and Rachael McAdams (what’s your proof?)

Joel: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood (I like that one, pretty close) 

Jenny: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman (also close not mad at this guess)

3. THE SUN

Performance: She sang "Praying” by Kesha and wow, so good! I loved it so much, her and the seahorse are stiff competition. She’s amazing, I am really into her, she’s one of my faves. 

As for my guess, I am doubling down on my last guess (only one I felt good about).. Let’s go: 

LEANN RIMES

Here’s why I’m doubling down, clues please:

Fractured home= parents were divorced

Into the woods= she used to date Tiger Woods (say what now?! yes this is real, I searched it up after reading a comment on YouTube)

Ugly Rumors= She appeared in Coyote Ugly/ sang for the soundtrack and there were really horrible rumors about her and her divorce

Over the moon= her songs: can’t fight the moonlight and nothing new under the moon 

8 Ball= She was on Star Search at age 8

Judges’ Guesses:

Nicole: Carrie Underwood (her logic is bad, but close enough) 

Jenny: Mandy Moore (um, idk the voice doesn’t match) 

Robin: Katherine McPhee (I like his logic, but no, the voice is too distinct) 

Alright so that’s it! Sorry for it being late but better late than never. I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments and I’ll see you in a couple of days for the Group B playoffs (little fun prediction if you made it this far: I think the Whatchamacallit is next to leave)! BYE!!! 👋🏼

[razielwriter]

Lockdown - A short horror/thriller story

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 1.

M: So… It looks like we’re in here for the long haul…

(Pause)

M: I think I heard somewhere that, to avoid going crazy on submarines, sailors get themselves into routines. It’s been nearly two weeks since… Well, it couldn’t hurt, I guess.

M: I started out slow. Ease myself into it, you know? Having breakfast, getting in some exercise, checking the security monitors. Still nothing. Not even cats. And cats get fucking everywhere. You know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a pigeon? Fucking… ages man. I mean not ages, but like… It’s crazy.

M: I did find a rat, though. Found him in a box of shreddies. He kept making this horrible scratching noise. It’s okay though. I fucking hate shreddies. I’ve decided to name him Jason, for obvious reasons. He now lives in a little cell I managed to rig together. He seems happy. Still likes to bite me, bloody nuisance.

M: I started going through the boxes. Some of the stuff was… Weird. I’ll say it, it was weird. I mean, who packs a Furby? In an emergency bunker? I mean who looks at Gods mistake of a children’s toy and thinks “yes, this will get me through the end of the world”. Its fucking creepy, is what it is. I’ve left it in a corner, next to the toaster. If it turns around, I’m out.

M: And now I’m talking to you. Like you’re a person. Like you care about any of this. Like you won’t outlive me by a decade, assuming, you know, the electricity stays on and nothing springs a leak.

M: But… that’s it. That’s my day. Fucking bollocks, that.

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 9.

M: I decided to go exploring today. Started making a map of this place. Goes on forever. Found some cool shit, though. Greenhouse. Supply room. Hell, even found someone’s stash of porn. Truly, the essentials.

M: Coolest thing, though. I found a radio. Not one of the digital ones. Like, 80’s to 90’s shit. Looks like it was used to broadcast. Bit old school, but I think I can get it set up again. I’m hoping someone, out there, might have had the same idea. Maybe they’ll come rescue me.

M: Anyway, my day. Yes, that’s what you really want to know about. Um… Had breakfast, did exercise. Fed Jason. I swear, he’s getting fat. Picked out a book to read. “Lord of the Flies”, cheery I know. But it only seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.

(Sigh)

M: God, I sound like a dating profile. I mean, dating a computer wouldn’t be that bad but, I hate to say it, I just don’t think you’re my type. We can still be friends though. Get a pint from time to time, smile awkwardly at parties. Then you and your boyfriend will have a fight one night, and you’ll call, just wanting a friend, but we both know it’s more than that. We have one drunken night of passionate love making. But we never talk about it.

M: Ooh, that’s the timer. My steak and kidney pies ready.

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 15.

M: God, that Ralphs a nark. All that “… eyes that proclaimed no evil” shit. He’s so preachy. I bet, if he had access to the internet, he’d be just as “innocent” as every other boy his age. Then we’ll see who’s so golden.

(Chuckles)

M: Same as usual. Breakfast, exercise, security cameras, tended to the greenhouse. The potatoes are coming along nicely, and the sunflowers. I’m surprised. I thought they’d need more, you know, sunlight. But halogen will have to do. I can’t exactly go and clean the windows from the outside.

M: Then I went to feed Jason… I don’t know if I should call her that anymore. Turns out he is a she. And she had babies. Tiny little pink bodies, all squirming and squeaking. Their eyes aren’t even open. Never seen a baby rat before. They’re kind of gross, but also kind of cute.

M: Went to check on the radio for a few hours. Calm my nerves a bit. It’s not every day you become a dad to five little rat shaped testicles. Thought I heard something at around seven, but it turned out to be nothing. I think it was just, like, a World War Two radio play, or something. Shooting and shouting, you know the sort.

M: But that’s it for today. Now for some good old-fashioned alone time… As if I haven’t got anything else.

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 26.

M: Okay, lets get this shit over with.  Woke up a little earlier than I would have liked. Damn scratching. I think Jason might be getting some cell mates soon, if I find the culprit. Had breakfast, did exercise, all that good stuff. Fed Jason and the Ratgonauts. Their skin has gone darker, so that’s good… I think… I don’t actually know. God, I wish I could ask someone. Anyway, tended to the greenhouse. Then I went to check on the radio. And, fucking hell, that’s when the interesting shit kicked in.

M: I heard someone. Out there. I’m sure of it this time. I wrote down the words. Hold on… Mm…

(Paper rustling)

M: Fuck, where is it? AH! Here. The signal was a bit shit, so I didn’t get all of it, but this is what I’ve got.

M: To anyone out there… Please… Keep… My name is Sophie. I’m in… To anyone still out there, if anyone is still out there, I am here. I am still alive. But I don’t know how long I can last. Please, if you can hear me, my frequency is… That’s where it cut out.

M: I knew it. I fucking knew it! I knew I couldn’t be the only one left. And if I’m picking up on her signal, Sophie can’t be that far away! I guess I’ll have to keep flicking through the radio signals until I find her again. But I’m gonna make dinner first.

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 31.

M: She… She fucking ate them. I… I can’t…

(Pause)

M: It was normal. Breakfast, exercise, all that bollocks…

(Pause)

M: I thought it was quiet. I thought that was a bit weird. Usually, when its feeding time, Jason starts squeaking and running around… Fuck. Maybe I wasn’t feeding her enough. Maybe I needed to let her loose from time to time but… She ate them. They were gone when I looked in and I only realised when I found the tail… All five…

M: Anyway, yeah, did some gardening… Checked the radio… Nothing…

(Pause)

M: I don’t know why I’m fucking crying over rats. I kind of wanted to… But she’s the only other living thing here, except me…

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 39.

M: It’s quiet without the babies. Fucking little bastards waking me up at three in the morning with their scratching but...

(Pause)

M: Got breakfast, did exercise. It’s weird. Never thought I would have, like, muscle and shit. I’m more beer belly and pork scratchings. Who would have thought it?

M: My sunflowers are doing really well. Never thought I’d like courgettes, but, you know what? They’re not that bad.

M: I think Jason got out in the night. Or maybe it was someone else that ate the rest of my lasagne. Yeah I’m looking at you, baby eater.

M: The Furby woke up today. I was just making some coffee and it fucking laughed at me, this demonic screeching noise and wiggled its fucking ears. So I did what any other self-respecting person would do. Took it and chucked it at the wall. It broke. I still have no idea how it did that. Couldn’t find a battery or anything. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

M: That’s… that’s not the only thing though. Fuck, I really have been out here too long. I… well, I woke up at about 1 am. Nightmares, nothing new there. I went to get myself a drink and… I think I saw something. Outside. It was sort of like a shadow, but not really. Too solid for that. And… teeth. At least, I think they were teeth. They looked like teeth.

(Sigh)

M: Fuck, I need a drink. I found a bunch of booze in the back. I know I promised… but he’s gone now. Who cares about soberness anymore, right?

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 40.

M: The scratching. I think Jason’s getting kind of frustrated in the night. I keep waking up to the sound of scratching.

M: Ah… yeah, sorry. Day, yes. Um… Breakfast, exercise, feeding Jason. Sorry, I haven’t slept… at all, really. That damn scratching and… God, what was in those booze? Feels like my brain is being squeezed by an angry nun.

M: Anyway, that’s about…

(The radio is heard)

Prof S Taylor: Hello? Can anyone hear me?

M: What…? Holy shit… Um… Hello? I mean, fuck, yes! Me. I’m here! I can hear you!

Prof S Taylor: Oh my God. Finally. Hi.

M: Hello.

Prof S Taylor: I… Um… Right, no time for the gushy stuff. I’m Sophie. Professor Taylor, I should say, with the research team. Is Sargent Foster there?

M: Sargent Foster?

Prof S Taylor: You are in the bunker, right?

M: Yeah but, um, I’m not Foster and… Its just me here. No one else.

Prof S Taylor: What? Who are you, then? Name and rank, soldier.

M: Easy there, mate. I’m not a soldier. Its… It’s a little complicated.

Prof S Taylor: Whatever. We’ll talk about it more when I get there. You have supplies?

M: Yeah, sure. But not much.

Prof S Taylor: Fair enough. The higherups probably closed the whole valley in case... Has anyone attempted to contact you?

M: Nope. Only you so far.

Prof S Taylor: And its just you there? What happened to the others?

M: I… I have no idea. I thought you could tell me.

Prof S Taylor: Humm… Still, I’m on the other side of the valley. I’ll be stopping off halfway. There’s another bunker, there should be a few others there. I think their radios defective, though. Haven’t been able to get in contact. I should be with you by the end of Tuesday.

M: Wow, days still exist then? Wonder what else I’ve forgotten? Tell me, do people still shake hands anymore, or do we spit in each other’s general direction, or something?

Prof S Taylor: Oh, so you’re a comedian. That’s… something, I suppose. Listen, just sit tight. I’ll be there soon.

M: Okay. My names Matt by the way.

Prof S Taylor: That’s good to know. Nice to meet you Matt. I’ll be there soon.

(Radio is turned off)

M: … Wow. Just… Fucking wow… I should probably tidy up a bit.

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 45.

M: Okay, I’m sure somethings wrong now. Jason… She’s gone missing. And that… I saw it again. I… I fucking saw it! I know I did! I’m not going crazy, right? I can’t be?

M: Jason got out. I was looking for her and… The window. I saw it out the window. Its jaw was huge, large enough to eat a German shepherd whole. And its teeth were wet and glistening. It looked like… like a cartoon skull. No lips. No nose. Just black, rubbery skin pulled back over that massive jaw and tiny skull. And the body was thin. I could see every rib and organ through the skin. And skinny legs. The arms were fucking crazy, though. Like, long and muscly. I think it walked on them…

(The radio is heard)

Prof S Taylor: Matt? Matt, you there?

M: Shit. Ugh, yeah, yeah I’m here. Where are you?

Prof S Taylor: At the other bunker. Matt… I’m not gonna make it.

M: What do you mean?

Prof S Taylor: They… They’re all dead. And I know it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have trusted it to behave. I should have stopped it.

M: What? Sophie… Are you talking about the thing with the teeth? And the weird arms?

Prof S Taylor: You’ve seen it then. The Scratcher. That’s what the office wits liked calling it. Stupid name. But… I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. My suggestion is get out while you can. I’ll stay here, draw it to me. That should buy you some time.

M: Sophie... How far away are you? I’m sure I could reach you…

Prof S Taylor: There’s no time for that. I can see it through the trees. It shouldn’t be long now.

M: No…

Prof S Taylor: Just… Promise me one thing. If you get out, find Roshni Laghari. She’s a teacher in London. She… Tell her I loved her to. I never told her, but I did. Will you do that for me Matt? Please?

M: Y-Yes. I’ll do that.

Prof S Taylor: Thank you Matt. Thank you.

(Radio is turned off)

M: … Shit. I should never have come here. I… I really shouldn’t have… Where’s my bag?

~~~

Recording date not found. Author Unknown. Located in the Chainwell Tor Research Facility Database. Log 98.

M: I hear him. I hear him. He whispers to me at night, like the prophecies of an angry God. But I have not lost my way yet. I see him for what he is. A pig’s head. And I am the flies. I am the flies.

M: I found her today. He threw her through the greenhouse glass. My Jason. Poor Jason. I’ll tell you something, though. She was tasty. Can of beans and some whisky. Got to be careful. Don’t have too much left…

M: For fuck sake will you quiet. I hear you. I hear you all the fucking time you grinning bastard. I hear you when I sleep. When I wake up. Stop… Stop laughing at me! How you like it if I did it to you?

(Proceeds to laugh for one minute and thirty-two seconds)

M: See, I laugh at you devil. Scum. See how you like it. Because I’m not opening that door. Not for anything. Not for…

M: No. You… You can’t say that. It was… It was an accident. IT WAS AN ACIDENT! I couldn’t stop it. It wasn’t my fault. If anything, it was yours. All your fault, poor, pathetic monster. You’re the reason! You’re the reason they’re dead, not me!

M: What… What’s that?

(Gun shots)

M: Ha, they’ve come for me. They’re here for me. Yes! Take that fucker!

(The door is blown)

M: Yes! Aw man, you have no idea how good it is-

(Gun shots)

Unknown: All clear. Witness neutralised. Send in the clean up team. And send in the roundup team outside.

 ~~~

 End of transcript. Report compiled by T. R. Fisher.

Professional recommendation that these files remained closed to public consumption for the foreseeable future under paragraph W, subsection 26 of the DPA of 1927.

Files not to be removed from The Vault without express permission, upon fear of grievous bodily harm or legal prosecution.

[fanforthefics]

For cliches. 33 and 37 any avs pairing (i literally cant choose theres too many good options)

t33. Everyone thinks I should stay away from you because you’re dangerous

37. We’re dating and I didn’t know you were a mobster/biker

(Look I’ve decided Tyson is included in Avs pairings it’s still a thing sorry not sorry)

(Also not exactly mobster/biker but I think it keeps the spirit of the cliche)

---

“Okay, this is just ridiculous,” Tyson says. He doesn’t bother trying the ropes again, because for better or worse (probably worse) this is not the first time he’s been in this position and he knows it doesn’t work. “First off, aren’t the heroes supposed to be doing the rescuing, not villains?” 

“Villainy is in the eye of the beholder,” the Captain says, sounding sort of prissy behind his maroon mask.   He’s also just finishing punching out the last of the goons who’s kidnapped Tyson, though, so he’s not going to say anything about the tone. Take that, everyone who says he can’t be a bigger person. Then the Captain pauses in front of the chair, looking down at Tyson--he’s floating, too, a few inches above the ground, so he’s even taller. “Also, beggars can’t be choosers. Would you like me to leave and wait for one of your heroes to come get you?” 

“You wouldn’t,” Tyson tells him, with a fair degree of confidence, because, “I think after the fifth capture, we have a bond.” 

“The bond of your recklessness,” the Captain tells him, but he lands and yanks on the ropes. Under his inhumanly strong hands, they snap. Tyson thinks nothing about that at all, because the Captain is a villain and Tyson isn’t into that. “You really need to stop.” 

“Okay, but, counterpoint--this means that I’m right and there is a story here.” Tyson tries to stand up, but he’s been sitting for long enough that his legs are sort of asleep; he stumbles. Before he can fall, though, the Captain’s big hands are on his forearms, keeping him standing. He’s wearing gloves and everything, but Tyson still thinks he can feel the warmth of him through gloves and Tyson’s shirt. No one really knows how the Captain gets his powers; maybe he is giving off more heat. That could be a story too. 

The Captain’s looking down at him now, and he’s not even floating, he’s just taller than Tyson. Or, Tyson thinks he’s looking at Tyson; he can’t see anything behind that full face mask. But he imagines the Captain looking down at him. 

Tyson swallows. Villain. “Care to comment?” he asks, smiling, and the Captain snorts. 

“Yes. Nosy reporters should stay away from stories that will get them kidnapped,” he says, and Tyson rolls his eyes. 

“If a story might not get you kidnapped, what’s even the point?” he asks, and the Captain snorts. 

“You’re incorrigible.” 

“I prefer dogged.” Tyson looks at the Captain again. It’s so hard to see anything; he’s got a full body suit on and a cape, and it all disguises anything about him other than that general shape of his body and the fact that he’s ripped. Rumor is that if you see the Captain’s true face, then he carries you away to his fortress forever. Tyson’s kind of skeptical about that, because he’s run into the Captain a bunch and he’s not the type of villain going in for wholesale destruction. Just like, a spot of reorganization and destruction of property. “Why were you here?” 

The Captain pauses, which makes Tyson perk up, because that means there’s definitely something here. “I’ve been looking in on the School,” he admits, and then his hand closes harder on Tyson’s hand when he goes for his notebook. Like Tyson’s not going to remember this. “Off the record.” 

“Uh-huh. So off the record, you’ll be around for an assist on this story, if I need it?” 

The Captain shakes his head, but Tyson knows that sort of head shake. It usually comes before he’s annoyed a quote out of someone. “I’m a villain, remember? You should call up one of your hero pals.” 

“I’m not pals with them,” Tyson retorts, even though like, fine, Pride’s in his phone as P-Dawg and he’s got a bunch of the rest of that team in his contacts too. “I’m a supers reporter, I have a lot of contacts.” 

The Captain’s face does a thing. “I’m telling Pride that, the next time we’re up against each other,” he warns, and Tyson probably makes a face, because Pride lives up to his name sometimes, and that would take a while to iron out. “Yeah, thought so.” 

“Whatever, I’m friends with him. Doesn’t mean I can’t use you too.” The Captain doesn’t say anything, but somehow his body just expresses the judgment. “As a source, I mean!” Tyson goes on. “Not like, as anything else, because obviously I don’t want to be carried away to your secret fortress for the rest of my life. I’d be really bad at being incarcerated, I got thrown into jail once for civil disobedience and it was a time, let me tell you, I was there for like three hours before dad bailed me out and I almost got shivved because I wouldn’t shut up. You’d probably end up releasing me out of sheer annoyance, actually, and--” 

“Tyson,” the Captain interrupts, but it sounds almost like he’s laughing. Tyson shuts up. “I’m not--carrying you away, or anything.” 

“I see, I’m not good enough to carry away?” Tyson demands. 

The Captain’s hand is somehow gentle on his arm. “That’s not the problem at all,” he says, then shakes his head again, this time like he’s clearing it. “Go home, Tyson. Unless getting kidnapped was on your schedule for today.” 

“Oh, shit.” Tyson digs for his phone, but the School wasn’t that bad; they did take his phone. The Captain sighs, then pulls it out of...somewhere in his suit and hands it over. Not even broken, natch. But when he sees the time, he does swear. He’s not late, he just-- “Yeah, I should go, I’ve got, um. A date.” It feels sort of like he shouldn’t say it to the Captain, but also, villain. 

“You should,” the Captain agrees, and lets go of Tyson, then steps back. 

“But seriously, will you be--” Tyson doesn’t get to finish the sentence, before the Captain’s in the air, up up and away. “That doesn’t get you out of conversations!” Tyson yells after him, but he has no way of knowing if the Captain’s heard him. 

-

Tyson is still like fifteen minutes late to Gabe’s, but in his defense, the Captain just left him alone in a School hideout when Tyson knows they’re up to something with the new developments on the West Side, so what was he supposed to do, not investigate? At least he texted Gabe, so he doesn’t look very annoyed when he opens the door. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Tyson tells him, pushing past him and dropping his bag and then down to one knee to greet Zoey, who comes over wagging her tail and nosing at him. “I got caught up in a story.” 

“What a surprise,” Gabe retorts, and there’s a weird edge to his voice, so Tyson looks up at him. They’ve been going out for a couple months now and it’s getting to the point where Tyson can usually read him, but he can’t quite get this face. It’s all a bit hard; Gabe’s so hot that Tyson gets distracted by that, then by the fact that he actually got someone who looks like that to go out with Tyson, so like, it’s sometimes hard to learn his microexpressions. Tyson wants to, though. “Caught up by internet research?” His voice makes it clear he’s not hopeful. 

“It was only a little bit of capturing,” Tyson tells him, trying for his best innocent look, and gives Zoey one final pat on the head before standing up and stepping closer to Gabe. Gabe’s so warm, Tyson always just wants to sink into him. Both in the sex way and in the cuddling way. “Nothing major, and I’m fine!” 

“Tyson,” Gabe sighs, and Tyson shrugs. 

“I am fine, the Captain was there, and--” 

“That’s not better!” Gabe interrupts. He’d be more convincing if he wasn’t running his hands down Tyson’s arms, like he’s checking for any injuries or maybe angling for a pre-dinner appetizer of sorts. Tyson would take him up on that. “He’s a villain, Tyson.” 

“Okay, yes, but he’s not that bad.” 

“He blew up that warehouse on Eighth yesterday.” 

“And no one was hurt by that, was it?” Tyson argues. He’s not sure why he’s defending the Captain, really--he is a villain, there’s no arguing, he’d said it himself--but like, “He’s not the worst of them. He gave me the info I needed for that expose on the crooked alderman, and he’s rescued me like, half a dozen times.” 

“There was that big blow up with Pride and his guys last week.” 

“Eh, Pride’s kind of a dick sometimes, he probably deserved it,” Tyson counters. Which is not his best argument, to be fair, but like, it’s not untrue. He likes Pride and the rest of those guys, but they get too big for their britches sometimes. Anyway-- “Are we going to argue about this, or are you going to feed me?” He asks, and Gabe snorts and shakes his head, then pulls Tyson in to kiss him hello. That is a much more satisfactory sort of greeting, Tyson thinks. 

They have a nice dinner--Tyson tells Gabe as much as he can about the story he’s working on, Gabe tells Tyson about his day working as an on call IT help, which Tyson still maintains is probably the most boring job in existence but Gabe seems happy in it so who’s he to say anything? He does get that most people don’t want to break into buildings for work. 

Then they clean up from dinner together, and that’s nice too--settling into the routine. Tyson likes Gabe, way more than he’s pretty sure either of them thought after their first disastrous meeting in a bar where Tyson spilled a drink on him, insulted his head, then told him his superpower was his hair all in the space of five minutes. He’s still not entirely sure what led from that to Gabe asking him out, but gift horses and mouths, and all that. 

“Hey,” Tyson asks, when they’re settling in front of the TV for the movie that Tyson anticipates them watching very little of, given how Gabe’s arranged them so Tyson’s tucked under his arm and how Gabe’s been watching Tyson all night. “You still okay to come to my office party next week?” 

“I already told you yes, as long as I’m not called in,” Gabe tells him, rolling his eyes. “You don’t have to ask every time.” 

“Your schedule might change!” Tyson protests. “I have to be sure before I tell anyone, they still think I made you up.” Gabe’s eyebrows raise. “They don’t believe I could land a hot tech guy. I told them that you’re not Mark Zuckerberg or anything and that my drink spilling skills are irresistible, but they think--” 

“Well i’m happy to prove them wrong,” Gabe tells him, then he’s kissing Tyson, and, well. He was right about how little of the movie they actually watch. 

Gabe’s always kind of an intense guy, but he’s even more intense that night, taking his time with all of Tyson like he is checking him for injuries, even though the School went with knock out gas and not force this time. But Tyson’s not going to say anything when it gets him some really great sex, although after, he manages to lift his head up from the pillow. 

“I really am okay, you know,” he tells Gabe. 

Gabe makes a face. “I know, I just wish...” 

Tyson takes a breath, because he’s run into this before. It’s been a dealbreaker before. “I’m not going to stop,” he says. “I--part of my job is being in places that might put me in danger, because stories are in dangerous places, and I’m not going change that. If you can’t live with that, I’ll--” 

“No,” Gabe cuts him off, fast enough that Tyson’s kind of pleased, to be honest. “No, I just--wish you’d be more careful, sometimes.” 

“I’m as careful as I can be.” 

“Not if you’re hanging around with the Captain,” Gabe says, and then when Tyson opens his mouth and he goes on, “I know you don’t think he’s as bad as other villains, but he’s still dangerous, Tys. People around him get hurt. And I don’t want you getting hurt.” 

It’s hard to say no to that, to Gabe’s face in the dark, so Tyson leans in and kisses him instead. “I don’t either,” Tyson tells him, because that at least is true. “I’ll try my best.” 

Gabe clearly notices that it’s no sort of promise, but he also doesn’t ask for anything more, which is--well, it makes Tyson actually hopeful about where this is going. 

-

“You’re in early,” Tyson tells Auston, when he gets into the bullpen and Auston’s already at his desk, typing. “Big fashion news hitting the wires?” 

Auston snorts, but he accepts the coffee Tyson hands him. “I’ve got a story,” he says, and doesn’t elaborate because Auston doesn’t. “Why are you in early?” 

“I’ve got a story,” Tyson replies, trying to close out his vowels to mock Auston’s accent. “Yes, we’re reporters, I’ve heard that’s what happens.” 

“I heard you had another close shave,” Mo says, leaning over the edge of Auston’s cubicle. Tyson hands him his coffee too--Mo being there early isn’t unusual, so that’s not worth comment. Or at least, that’s been Tyson’s impression from the few months he’s been at this paper, instead of his old one. “The Captain, was it?” 

“Again, Tyson?” Auston asks, with a lot more world-weariness than some kid only in his first few years at the paper should have. Tyson is older than him, Auston should not be allowed to sigh at him like that. 

“No, it was the School, the Captain got me out of it,” Tyson retorts. “And how’d you hear about that, anyway?” 

“I don’t reveal my sources,” Mo says, because he’s a jerk. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah it was fine.” Mo, because he gets what reporters are like and specifically someone with Tyson’s job is like, doesn’t press on it, which Tyson’s glad for. Auston’s still watching him with narrowed eyes. 

“Why the Captain?” he asks. It’s got the edge to it that means he cares deeply about the answer despite how casual he sounds. “Don’t you have Pride on speeddial?” 

“They took my phone, I wasn’t exactly sending up an SOS,” Tyson retorts. “Also, the Captain was there, what was I supposed to do, call in Pride so they could duke it out instead of dealing with the School, who’s actually the problem here?” 

“Do you know that?” Auston asks. He doesn’t look like he’s convinced about Tyson’s logic, but he doesn’t need to be. He’s not Tyson’s keeper. “How do you know the Captain didn’t arrange everything to frame the School?” 

“A, because I’m a good reporter and everything on the School checks out, and B, because why would he do that? That’s a lot of work to go through to what, rescue me?” 

“Because he’s clearly got some sort of fixation with you!” Auston snaps, and Tyson raises his eyebrows. “It can’t be a coincidence that he’s always around when you’re in danger. He has to be up to something.” 

“Maybe he enjoys my company, have you thought of that?” 

“It’s not a good thing when a villain enjoys your company,” Auston argues, and Tyson rolls his eyes again. 

“Yes, I get it. But don’t worry, I won’t be seduced away. My boyfriend’s already committed for the party and I think he’d be annoyed if someone else stole me away before then.” 

Like Tyson had expected, ‘boyfriend’ gets the attention not just of Auston and Mo, but also the rest of the bullpen. He’s a little offended how many of them seemed to seriously believe he’d made Gabe up, but also, if it was anyone else he’d probably think the same. It does feel...improbable, that someone like Gabe would like him, and also put up with his tendency to get into danger if danger is anywhere nearby. But he fields questions about Gabe until Babs comes in to yell at them all to get back to work, then heads to his desk to dig in. 

Mo follows him over. “Auston’s not wrong, you know,” he says, quiet and less aggressive than Auston, but no less sure. “The Captain does seem to have some connection to you, and that’s not safe.” 

Tyson huffs out a breath. “I’m not an idiot, and I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than either of you, even if it wasn’t at the Leaf. I can take care of myself.” He thinks sometimes they forget that--that yes, Tyson can be kind of all over the place, but he is a good reporter and he’s managed to keep himself alive for almost three decades without them. Or, well. The first two credit probably goes to his parents, but at least one was on his own. 

“Just--make sure you keep the speed dial with Pride or the Rocket or someone on hand,” Mo says, and Tyson manages to keep a straight face. “Let heroes do a heroes job, eh?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Tyson agrees, which is at least enough to satisfy Mo. 

-

“It’s like they don’t think I can take care of myself,” he complains to Nate, when they go out for coffee a few days later. He has, maybe, noticed everyone in the bullpen watching him more than usual, and it hasn’t escaped his attention even a little that more people seem to want to go on coffee runs with him rather than letting him go alone. 

Nate opens his mouth. Tyson cuts him off. “Don’t say anything,” he warns. “I’m not twenty anymore.” 

“I was going to talk about last year’s birthday party debacle, actually,” Nate says, and Tyson kicks him in retaliation. “I mean. Personally, I’m okay with them keeping an eye on you.” 

“Nate.” 

“Not that you need it, but...” Nate makes a face, trailing off. “You are kind of like, a super trouble magnet?” 

“Because that’s my job.” 

“Sure, but the other super reporters in the city haven’t been rescued by a villain five times.” Tyson pauses, and Nate’s eyes narrow. “Tys--” 

“It was barely a rescue!” Tyson protests. “I just got into a little bit of trouble with those bikers on the lower west, and I think I saw him before I got out fo there.” 

Nate rolls his eyes. “Okay, half a dozen rescues then. He is a villain, it’s weird, you’ve got to admit.” 

“I admit nothing. I am a steel trap. I definitely never say anything but what I mean to.” Nate’s laugh would be insulting if it wasn’t what Tyson was going for. 

“Okay, then.” Nate shrugs. “How’s Gabe?” he draws out the name, teasing. 

“He’s good. It’s good, I think?” Tyson adds the lsat bit, quieter. “I mean, it’s only been a couple months, maybe it’s too early to tell, but it feels like--like he gets it, or something? He just--I mean, I don’t think he likes that I get into trouble so often, but he hasn’t asked me to stop, and he believes in what I’m doing, the stories are right--he thinks something’s wrong at the top too--and it feels like he, I don’t know. Believes that I can do something about it?” Tyson’s red when he’s done, and not looking at Nate. He couldn’t admit this to anyone but Nate, but his best friend, and even that’s hard. “It all feels a little too good to be true, honestly.” 

“Yeah, I don’t know how you tricked him,” Nate agrees, but he kicks at Tyson’s shin until Tyson looks at him. “Look, when I met him, he definitely looked at you like all of that. And you do deserve it.” 

Tyson makes a face. It’s all getting very real here, which--there’s a reason he’s a reporter; he likes to see these things from the outside. “Anyway,” he says loudly, “Tell me the gossip I’ve missed. How many times has EJ almost been fired?” 

“Only three last week, he’s really falling down on the job,” Nate tells him, and fills him in on all the office gossip from Tyson’s old paper until Tyson gets an alert that some supers are going against each other uptown and he has to go. 

-

When he gets there, the fight’s already on it’s way to being over--He can see Captain in the air, dodging Pride's energy blasts and the Rocket’s speed punches. Tyson grabs his phone to get some pictures. 

“What happened?” he asks a police officer who’s corraling everyone away from the fight. “Do we know what the Captain did?” 

“Seems like he was after some supply in the COBRA labs,” The officer says, eyes on the fight. “That’s all I know. We’ve got press after.” 

Tyson hums. Press releases won’t tell him anything. 

He watches the fight as it goes. Super fights, especially with someone who’s pretty indestructible, like the Captain, always feel sort of like stage fights--Tyson knows there are real stakes, that if the Rocket or the Captain fell from the sky they’d really be hurt, that according to Pride his bolts can break someone’s ribs if he’s not careful, and the Captain’s punch has put a super in the hospital before, and obviously if the Captain’s taken out he’ll get sent to the Raft, but it’s somehow hard to take it seriously, at least when the Captain’s there. The Captain’s careful about collateral damage--he’s noticed that, even if no one else has--and it’s not like world destruction is at stake, like it would be with Dr. Destruction or Demolition Man or something. The sort of stuff the Captain does...it always tugs at Tyson’s reporter instincts. His villainy points somewhere, somewhere high that Tyson’s starting to see the shape of. 

He makes a note to look at COBRA, see what was at the lab that’s off the record, and it distracts him enough that he almost misses a rock, falling from a missed punch by the Captain that hit a building instead. He sees it too late to dodge, throws himself out of the way anyway--then he’s off his feet, whisked away fast enough that he barely breathe.  

“You know not to stand that close to a fight,” Rocket tells him, sounding exasperated. 

“And you know to keep a fight contained,” Tyson retorts, as Rocket sets him back on his feet. He eyes the dust on Rocket’s aerodynamic blue suit. “Unless the Captain’s giving you more trouble than normal?” 

“No comments until after the fight,” Rocket tells him, with a quick grin from the half of his face Tyson can see, but--to Tyson it looks like the fight’s mostly over. There must have been more noise from the rock falling than he thought, because he catches both Pride and the Captain looking at him--Pride’s got the tilt to his head that means he’s mad and ready to finish it, and the Captain’s as unreadable as usual in his full suit, but when Pride turns back to him, winds up, the Captain shoots straight up, fast and apparently unexpected if the way the Rocket swears means anything. 

“Shit,” he mutters, then takes off after him, sending Tyson stumbling backwards until he catches himself. 

Everything on the ground seems to be over, though, so he feels less bad going over to where Pride’s standing, a stark flash of desert reds and yellows against the city streets. 

“No comment, Tyson,” he snaps, then takes a breath. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Tyson waves a hand. “So you don’t have any idea what the Captain took?”

“You’ll hear about that from the press like everyone else,” Pride tells him. Tyson wonders who pays for supers’ media training, sometimes. 

“Come on, P-Dawg. Give me something? Why would the Captain want something from COBRA? He doesn’t usually go in for high tech heists.” 

“We’ll find out,” Pride informs him, then shrugs. “That’s all I’ve got.” 

“Useless,” Tyson tells him, and Pride’s lips quirk, just a little. Tyson has a feeling, sometimes, that Pride is significantly less chill than he likes to pretend. 

Rocket lands with a thump. “Lost him,” he tells Pride, who makes a slight irritated face. “What’d you do to him, anyway?” he asks Tyson. “He was in the fight until he noticed you, then he was out. He usually puts on more of a show than that. This was barely any fun.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the experts in supervillains?” Tyson retorts. He doesn’t get it either, honestly. Maybe Pride and the Rocket were distracted and he saw an opportunity. 

“Captain’s fond of Tyson,” Pride says, and Rocket’s face lights up as Tyson glares at Pride. 

“It’s not--we’ve talked sometimes, you know I need to get both sides,” he tells Pride, who looks like he might know that but he does not respect it. “I’d chat with the School too, if they were willing to take my calls.” 

“Talking to the School probably means you have to be like, incorporated first,” Rocket points out, which is fair. “Really, though? You’ve been hanging out with the Captain? Don’t you like us anymore, Tyson?” 

“It’s not hanging out,” Tyson retorts. “Sometimes our paths cross.” 

“Well, next time they do, give us a call, eh?” Rocket suggests, with that easy grin again. “We could make sure that stops for you. Keeping the citizens safe, and all that.” 

“We will make sure it stops,” Pride corrects, fast enough that Tyson thinks he’s got more going on then he’s staying. “Come on, Rock. We need to tell Brick that we lost him.” 

“Yeah, you can tell him that,” Rocket informs Pride, who Tyson can tell is rolling his eyes. “See you later, Tyson.” He waves, then grabs Pride around the waist and takes off. Tyson watches them disappear into the air, then goes to ask around. 

-

“Are you home?” Gabe asks, or maybe demands. Tyson takes a second to finish reading the sentence on the screen, and in that time, “Tyson. Are you home?” 

“Yeah,” Tyson says. COBRA’s definitely up to weirder shit than their public profile might say. “Just doing some research, I’ve got a new angle--” 

“Let me in,” Gabe demands, and, okay. It’s early for Gabe to be off work, but like, it’s not like Tyson’s research is time sensitive. He gets up from his desk to go let Gabe in. 

“Early day--” Tyson starts, but he barely has time before Gabe’s pressing him against a wall and kissing him until his legs are in danger of giving out and the wall is really necessary. “Okay, wow, not that I’m complaining, but like, what brought this on? Horny day at work? Recovered a lot of porn for people?” 

“You almost--” Gabe looks up from Tyson. He looks a little--windswept, Tyson thinks; he must have rushed over here. But his expression is dark and intent on Tyson. “That was a close fucking call.” 

Tyson makes a face. “Was it on the news? Damn. No one’s going to let me live it down.” 

“You almost--and I was too far--fuck,” Gabe mutters, then he’s kissing Tyson again, bruisingly hard, and his hands are under Tyson’s thighs and he’s boosting him up like he doesn’t weigh anything. Tyson holds on and lets Gabe carry him away, until they get to his bedroom and Gabe lets him go to yank his shirt off. 

“If getting too close to a super fight makes this happen, maybe I should do it more often,” he jokes, and Gabe looks up from getting Tyson’s jeans off and glares. 

“No,” he bites off, fierce. “No, you shouldn’t ever--you’re just human, Tyson, fuck, but if something happened--” He cuts himself off by getting his mouth on Tyson’s dick, which Tyson approves of instead of telling Tyson he takes too many risks. 

Tyson runs his hand down Gabe’s back when they’re done, tracing the muscle there, the slash of a scar across his shoulder blade. “Okay?” he asks. “Out of your system?” 

Gabe keeps his forehead against Tyson’s chest. “It was a really close call, Tyson,” he says, quiet. “It was--it scared me, a lot, and I--and there was nothing I can do.” 

“Well, that’s what heroes are for, right?” Tyson points out. “Rocket got me, no problem.” 

“Rocket.” Gabe scoffs. “What if he hadn’t noticed?” 

“But he did, because he’s kind of a pretty good hero, if you hadn’t noticed. Or Pride would have blasted it, or I would have gotten out of the way, or something. Anyway, I’m fine, so what ifs are pointless.” 

“Yeah.” Gabe lifts his head to kiss Tyson, a little calmer this time. “Moral of your life, isn’t it?” 

“I say way too much stupid shit to deal with regrets,” Tyson agrees, and Gabe laughs and kisses him again. 

- 

Gabe and Tyson get to the office party separately, because Tyson’s following up with a source about COBRA and Gabe’s coming from work, so Tyson has to deal with a lot of chirps about his imaginary boyfriend. He’s going to make Gabe pay for that, he thinks, plotting as Mitch gives him shit and Auston smiles and pretends like he isn’t brainstorming something to say. 

Then there’s a hand on Tyson’s waist. “Hey, babe,” Gabe says, and Tyson turns to grin at him. 

“You made it!” He gives Gabe a quick kiss hello, then turns back to Auston and Mitch. “See, I told you I didn’t make him up, this is Gabe, my boyfriend. Gabe, these are some of my co-workers I’ve told you about, Auston and Mitch.” 

“Hello,” Gabe says, and puts out his hand. He’s smiling, his other arm around Tyson’s, but there’s something--weird in it. “Nice to meet you.” 

“You too!” Mitch’s voice is a little high, but he shakes Gabe’s hand. “Right, Aus? It’s good to meet you. Gabe.” 

“Great,” Auston agrees. His handshake lingers in Gabe’s, the sort of long thing that Tyson associates with displays of dominance, which is...weird. Auston is definitely not like, interested in him or jealous of Gabe or anything. But this is. Weird. “We’ve heard plenty about you.” 

“You too.” 

“Um, right.” Tyson looks between them. “Do you guys know each other?” 

“In a manner of speaking,” Gabe says. He’s got a glint in his eyes Tyson associates with him digging his heels in on an argument. “Wouldn’t you say, Auston?” 

“What, did you do a bad job fixing Auston’s computer or something?” Tyson asks. It doesn’t take a reporter to see something going on. 

“I need to talk to Mo,” Auston says, fast, and grabs Mitch’s hand. “Come on, Mitch.” 

They go. Tyson watches them, then turns to Gabe, his eyebrows raised. Gabe shrugs. “I’ve run across them before, and it was a weird situation?” he offers, which is definitely not an explanation, but this is also not the time or the place. 

“Right,” Tyson draws out the word too. “Come on, let’s meet more people.” 

Gabe’s not weird with anyone else, really; he’s his usual handsome charming self, and Tyson’s pretty sure that basically everyone is in love with him, which like, Tyson can sympathize with. It gives Tyson enough confidence to leave him alone to go to the bathroom. 

When he gets back, though, Gabe’s deep in conversation with Auston and Mo, which is not ideal. Tyson’s totally going to intervene, and save Gabe from whatever’s happening--that is definitely what he plans to do--but then hears Auston hiss, 

“What are you doing with Tyson?” and like, he’s a reporter. He’s professionally nosy. He stops to eavesdrop. 

“Enjoying spending time with him, because he’s my boyfriend,” Gabe retorts. 

“If you’re up to something, you should know that Tyson’s become very important to us,” Mo says, which Tyson gets he should be flattered by, and he is--it’s nice to know the guys care even though he hasn’t been at the Leaf for that long--but it’s also, like, definitely said like a threat. And Nate gets to give Tyson’s boyfriend a shovel talk, his co-workers don’t? “We will protect him.” 

“Good, so will I.” Gabe’s grin shows all his teeth. 

“So that’s what happened last week, with the rock that almost fell on him?” Auston drawls, and Gabe’s fists clench. 

“It was Pride’s bolt that threw me there, wasn’t it?” he retorts, and Auston’s eyes narrow. “I think that’s on him.”

Tyson decides that he needs to step in before an actual fight breaks out. “Hey, guys,” he says, inserting himself next to Gabe. Two sets of blue eyes and one of brown turn to him, all wide like they didn’t expect him there. “Let’s not start any brawls in front of the canapes, eh? Newspaper’s not what it used to be, we can’t sacrifice any free food.” 

“Good idea, babe,” Gabe says, and leans down to kiss him. It feels like he’s proving a point, but also he’s a good kisser, so Tyson’s kind of conflicted. “You want another drink? Let’s get one.” He drags Tyson away. 

Gabe sticks close to Tyson for the rest of the night, and so Tyson steers away from the Auston-Mitch-Mo crowd, because he doesn’t know what’s going on. Instead, he maybes gets a little tipsy, and then lets Gabe drive them home. 

“So are we going to talk about what the hell was up with that?” he asks, when they get back to Gabe’s. Gabe makes a face, and walks past Tyson to the kitchen. Tyson follows him, scratching Zoey’s head as he goes. 

Gabe pours them both glasses of water. “Do we have to?” 

“Well, I’m curious, and I’ve been told that I’m pretty good at getting people to answer my questions, so. Your call, but I can be pretty annoying.” 

Gabe scowls at his glass. “I--I’ve run into them before, and it’s pretty clear that we have, um. Deep philosophical disagreements.” 

“Okay, now let’s try again, but this time with actual concrete details.” Tyson leans against the counter. “I know we haven’t been going out for that long and I don’t need you to spill everything, Gabe, but I like you. And if this is going somewhere, we should be honest.” 

“I--it is going somewhere, Tys, or, I want it to,” Gabe tells him, earnestly, which makes Tyson feel better.  “I like you too, I do, but...” He makes another face. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Tyson says, and Gabe looks up, eager. “But if you don’t, I’m going to start digging. It’s just, like, inevitable. Otherwise I’ll obsess. So really, its for the best for you to tell me now. How bad could it be?”  

“I can’t tell you everything,” Gabe says, slowly. Like he’s choosing his words. Which is usually what people do, when they’re telling half-truths. Tyson knew this was too good to be true. “Some of it has to do with--secrets that aren’t mine. But I’ve run across Auston when he was on a story before, and I didn’t like his biases in how he was approaching it.” 

“On the fashion beat,” Tyson asks, skeptical. Gabe shrugs. Tyson guesses that fashion can actually get pretty contentious, and he knows Gabe has some important clients, so they could have run across each other somewhere. And both of them would start fights over something like that. 

It’s definitely not all of it. Tyson’s not even a little fooled. But he’s also tipsy and tired and this night wasn’t what he wanted it to be, and he wants to go to bed. “Fine,” He says, and Gabe’s eyebrows go up in surprise. 

“Fine?” 

“I mean, it’s not fine because you’re still lying to me, but I”m tired,” Tyson tells him. “Let’s go to bed.” 

“It’s not--I’m not lying.” Gabe catches Tyson’s hand, tugs him closer. His expression is entreating. “I just--let me have some things for now, okay? I promise I’ll tell you, I just need a little time.” 

Tyson lets out a long breath. He gets it, he does. Past relationships have broken over his tendency to pry, to get to the bottom of everyone. I’m your girlfriend, I’m not a story, one ex had told him, and when he’d told Nate that, Nate had made the face that meant he supported Tyson implicitly but also he didn’t think she was necessarily wrong. 

He doesn’t want this thing with Gabe to break. “Fine,” he says again. “Yeah. Okay.” 

“Thank you.” Gabe’s thumb rubs against the back of Tyson’s hand, warm and comforting. “Bed?” 

“Yeah,” Tyson agrees. “Bed.” 

-

He barely has a second to finish his coffee the next day before Auston and Mo corner him. 

“How was your nights?” he asks, trying for flippant. Neither of them look put off. “Have fun at the party?” 

“You should stay away from--Gabe,” Auston tells him, without preamble. 

“Uh-huh. So you liked my boyfriend, is what I’m getting.” Tyson manages a grin. “Jealous?” 

“Tyson,” Mo says, with one of the exasperated sighs that Tyson gets too often, the ‘what are you doing Tyson that’s a stupid idea’. “We’re being serious. He’s not--” he cuts off. Tyson waits, but nothing comes. 

“He’s not what?” He demands. “Not in my league? I noticed, but we’re going with it. Not good at cleaning up after himself? I’m trying to train him, but that takes time. Not--” 

“He’s dangerous,” Auston cuts in. “He’s going to get you hurt.” 

“Okay, how?” Neither of them respond. Tyson snorts. “Look, I’m just saying, it’s not very convincing to say my boyfriend’s dangerous and not give a reason why. I like my verified sources.” 

“I--we--” Auston looks at Mo for help. 

“Did he say how he's met us before?” Mo asks. 

“He said he’d run across Auston on a story before and you disagreed about your biases.” 

Auston snorts. “You could say that,” he mutters. 

“So you trusted that vague statement , but you won’t trust us?” Mo asks, gaze intent and earnest. 

Tyson’s email pings--he glances at it. It’s from one of the old lab techs at COBRA, who had agreed to talk to him. He’s been really cagy, which Tyson doesn’t blame him, because everything Tyson’s been getting to are circling around deep government and School connections, and Tyson gets not wanting to cross either of those. But this is a meet, now, and he needs that. 

“Look,” Tyson says, getting up. Neither Mo nor Auston move back to give him room. “I get you’re looking out for me, and that’s cool, I’m glad you like, care about me or whatever. But Gabe’s my boyfriend, and I trust him enough to take his word until you give me a good reason I shouldn’t. Now,” he says, closing his laptop and sticking it in his bag. “I’ve got to go see a source. Unless that’s too dangerous for me, too?” 

Mo’s mouth opens, but Auston elbows him, and he doesn’t say anything. They don’t stop Tyson from leaving, either. 

-

The meeting is--eyeopening. He really gets why the source was being so cagy about everything; he would be too, if the connections to the School ran that deep. Except of course, the source doesn’t have documentation. No proof, anywhere but the lab, to show that these ties go anywhere. 

Which is why, two days later, Tyson goes on the group press tour of the COBRA labs. It’s why he breaks off from it, when he sees his chance. 

It’s also why, some time after that, he wakes up on the top floor of a building with a sort of terrifyingly good view of the whole city from his high up, tied to a chair and with the tall, thin man that he recognizes as the Headmaster standing in front of him, clearly incorporated members of the school around him. 

“You,” the Headmaster tells Tyson, in a voice that’s surprisingly reedy, “Are becoming quite an annoyance.” 

“It’s a gift,” Tyson replies. He’s sort of expecting it to get a punch, or something, so he’s surprised when the Headmaster laughs. 

“I see why they all find you so delightful,” he says, sounding weirdly sincere about it. “I don’t suppose you’d consider becoming--” 

“Yeah, no. I like independent thought, thanks. And I wouldn’t want to burden you with all of this, I’d drive all of you insane in like, an instant, it wouldn’t be good--or maybe it would, I don’t--” 

“Yes, perhaps not the best idea,” the Headmaster agrees. Tyson thinks later, when he’s not freaking out, he might be offended. “A pity. We’ll have to dispose of you in some other way, then.” He gestures to one of the goons, and they start forward--then there’s a crash, and the glass of the windows behind Tyson splinters. 

“We wouldn’t recommend that,” says Rocket, then Pride’s leapt off of him to hit the ground, and it all explodes into chaos as the goons close in on the heroes.

“How did you get in?” the Headmaster screeches, as he retreats from the fight. Tyson wonders, in the hysterical part of his brain that isn’t working on the ropes tying his hands, whether it can be considered monologuing if the heroes aren’t the ones tied up. “The sensors are calibrated for your brainwaves! There was no way for you to enter--” 

“You only counted on the heroes,” comes another voice, and Tyson looks over in time to see one of the goons drop under the Captain’s punch. Tyson blinks. The Captain. And Pride and Rocket. All here. 

He scrambles at the ropes. He’s been practicing for this, he can--he’ll think about it later, everything else, but right now he needs to get out while no one’s watching him, and he does--the ropes come loose, and he staggers to his feet--just in time for a hand to close around his throat, and he’s pulled towards the window, until he’s teetering on the edge.  

“I would stop now,” the Headmaster says, and his voice echoes in everyone’s heads, out of the mouths of all of those incorporated. “If you don’t want your little friend here to have an... accident.” 

Everyone freezes. Pride’s hands are still flickering with energy.  

“Am I Toto in this situation?” Tyson wheezes out, around the Headmaster’s hand. 

“Tyson,” the Captain says, a warning and a plea in a tone Tyson knows, he thinks. Maybe. He’s standing a few feet away from the window, two goons around him frozen like the Headmaster’s command got them too. 

“You three will leave,” the Headmaster goes on, out of al of the incorporated’s mouths. “Then I will let Mr. Barrie here go.” 

“That’s not really good leverage if you’re going to throw him any--” 

“Let him go inside, Rocket,” the Headmaster corrects, with what feels like an eye roll. 

He’s lying, obviously. Tyson doesn’t have to be as good as he is at figuring out lies to know that. The supers leave and Tyson’s back to where he was, alone with the Headmaster. But--the Headmaster’s grip is tight around his neck, and Pride’s weighed down with goons and probably can’t get an angle without Tyson falling, and Rocket’s a whole room away. 

Tyson looks over, meets what he thinks is the Captain’s eyes. “And you thought I wasn’t good enough to carry away,” he gets out before the Headmaster cuts off his air again. He doesn’t know if the Captain gets it, but he can’t care. He brings his knee up, and the Headmaster is apparently still human male enough that getting him in the balls makes him groan and his grip loosen, and then--drop. 

Tyson falls. It feels like he falls forever, long enough to notice the wind rushing past him, the blur of the building next to him, the sky above him. To think about what a stupid plan this was and how he’s probably proving everyone who ever called him reckless right. To think that if he dies now they better find that evidence and finish his story. To think about Gabe, and the way he’d looked at the thought of anything happening to Tyson. 

Then--there are arms around him, under his back and knees, and he’s slowing down, not the hard crash that would kill him but a deceleration, and then he’s going up, up and up, and he wraps his arms around the Captain’s neck and lets his head drop against his chest in relief. 

They land on the roof of the building next to the COBRA labs, and the Captain’s barely put Tyson down before he’s grabbing him again, a hint of that strength in it. “That was the stupidest fucking thing I have ever seen, don’t you ever do that again,” he snaps, and Tyson would be angrier if the panic wasn’t very clear. If the Captain’s hands weren’t running over Tyson’s arms, his torso, checking for injuries. 

“The breaking into COBRA, or getting thrown out a window?” Tyson asks. 

“Either. Any. Fuck, Tyson. A few seconds more, and I couldn’t have--” the Captain shakes his head, then his hand’s on his mask and he’s shoving it up halfway, enough that he can pull Tyson in and kiss him, deep and desperate and Tyson can feel his knees going weak. Like they always do, he thinks, that hysterical part coming back, when Gabe kisses him. 

It takes a long time for Gabe to let go. When he goes, Tyson can only see his jaw to his nose, but--well. 

“I’d say I shouldn’t do that because I have a boyfriend,” Tyson says, slowly. He can see Gabe’s mouth open, close, set. “But that’s not really an issue here, is it?” 

“Tyson--” 

it makes so much sense, is the thing. Gabe’s weird hours. How he always seemed to know when Tyson had close calls with the supers. The half truths. The way he touched Tyson, even, the controlled strength of it. All of it. That they’d said he was dangerous. 

“But how did Auston and Mitch and Mo know?” Tyson thinks out loud. Gabe doesn’t say anything, just stands there and waits, his mask half off, but it’s coming together, like a story when you finally find the piece that makes it all make sense. “Oh, of course. Your philosophical disagreements. Did you set them aside, this time?” 

“The School took you,” Gabe growls. “It wasn’t like the other times, when you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They knew who you were. I took any help I’d get. Even your hero friends.” He sways forward, like he wants to touch Tyson again, but then he stops. “I’d do anything, to keep you safe.” 

Tyson doesn’t know what sort of noise he makes to that, but there definitely is one. He--fuck, he wants to believe it. He wants to, but Gabe--the Captain--is a villain. He might not always do things Tyson disagrees with, and he might have saved Tyson, but villains have schemes, its what they do, and Tyson always did think this was too good to be true. 

“Take me down, Gabe,” he tells him, which is about all he can imagine. “Unless you know how to get inside, and I’ll take an elevator. Or I’ll call--Mitch, I guess. He can get me--” 

“No, I’ll get you down,” Gabe says, and pulls down his mask, so all of him is subsumed by the Captain again. “Hold on.” He picks Tyson up again, bridal style--Tyson’s seen Rocket carry Pride--Mitch carry Auston--next to him and piggy back, so he knows that’s not the only way, but whatever--and then they’re in the air again. Tyson lets his head drop onto Gabe’s chest, the spandex cool beneath his cheek. He wishes he had been able to see Gabe’s face, up there. He’d have a better handle on if he was lying. 

They’ve barely landed when Mitch alights next to Tyson, and Auston comes jogging out of the building. “Tyson!” Mitch yells, a little too loud for how close he ended up being. “Are you okay? I couldn’t get out, and I saw the Captain was going, but--” 

“I’m fine,” Tyson says. He looks over at Gabe, but Gabe’s silent, his arms cross over his chest. “I--there are documents, in the lab, they’re why I was there. They should prove something’s going on.” 

“We’ll get them,” Auston says, simple. Tyson can’t help it; he looks at Gabe too. He trusts Auston and Mitch, but Gabe--Gabe believes Tyson, when he says he thinks something weird is going on. Gabe had been going against COBRA before Tyson had. Gabe had lied. 

“Okay, then. I’m going home.” 

“We’ll come with--” Mitch starts, but Tyson cuts him off. 

“No. I’m going alone.” All three supers look unhappy about that, and Tyson laughs, dry. “Come on, what are the chances I get attacked again? I’m going.” 

He glances behind him, at the end of the block. It looks like Auston had been ready to follow, but Gabe had gotten in between them. Tyson doesn’t know what that means. 

-

He ends up at Nate’s. “You aren’t a secretly a super, are you?” he asks, when Nate opens the door. 

Nate’s brow furrows. “No?” His gaze flicks over Tyson. Tyson doesn’t know what he looks like; he hadn’t gone home first. Gabe might go there. Gabe’s been there too often. “Tyson, what happened?” 

“Ice cream first,” he decides, and goes in. 

He ends up telling Nate everything--anyone who knows him knows he tells Nate everything, and Tyson trusts Nate more than anyone. Nate’s jaw drops more and more as the story goes on. 

“And you’re okay?” he asks, when Tyson’s finished. Tyson gives him a look over a spoonful of ice cream. “I mean, physically.” 

“Yeah. A little sore, but not too bad.” 

“Good.” Nate runs a hand over his hair. “And--everything else?” 

“I don’t know.” Tyson eats more ice cream. He knows that. “I--just--he lied, Nate. A lot.” Nate makes a noise. “What?” 

“Just. He didn’t tell you the truth, but he didn’t really lie.” 

“Seriously? Whose side are you on?” 

Nate hold sup his hands. “Your side, always, you know that, T-Bear. But, I mean.” Nate bites at his lip, then goes on, “You were so happy, with him.” 

“I know.” Tyson does. That’s the problem. “But what if it was, like--he asked me out, after I was an idiot in front of him. He asked me out, and then this happened, and he always felt like he was perfect, like it was too good to be true, so--what if it was? What if he knew who I was, and just--maneuvered all of this, for some scheme?” 

“No one’s that good an actor,” Nate says, and Tyson scoffs. “No, I’m--like, I get it, ad he’s a villain, but--god, Tys. The way he looks at you. And,” he goes on, more practically, “What even would the scheme be?” 

“I don’t know, to get to Auston?” 

“It seems like he could do that anyway?” Nate points out. 

“Maybe I was doing a story, or--I don’t know! He’s a villain, the whole point is I don’t know his plots!” Tyson stabs his spoon into the ice cream again. “Everyone said he was dangerous, and this is why. Maybe it would be smarter to stay away from him. What’s the mortality rate on villain’s boyfriends? It can’t be good.” 

“As someone who likes having you around, your death risk seems a lot higher when he’s not around than when he is,” Nate says, and Tyson sighs. He’s not wrong. 

-

When Tyson gets home, there’s an envelop in his mailbox, with a flash drive on it. These are the originals, the note says, P&R gave copies to the police, but I made sure you got these back. It’s your story. 

It’s unsigned, but it’s not like Tyson doesn’t know Gabe’s handwriting. 

-

He calls in sick the next day. His capture and rescue, and the subsequent takedown of the Headmaster has been on plenty of news channels--everyone loves a good hero/villain team up--so no one questions it. He sort of expects someone to come over, whether Auston and Mitch or Gabe, but no one does. 

It means that the next day, he drops a stack of papers on Babs’ desk, first thing. 

“What’s this?” Babs demands. 

“It’s my story,” Tyson says. “The School’s been working with COBRA, and its government funding. All my sources are there.” Tyson still doesn’t know him that well, hasn’t worked for him that long, but he’s a long-time editor. He doesn’t need much explanation when he’s got a story like that. He reaches for the phone. 

Tyson goes out of the editor’s office, back to his desk. He barely sits down when Auston and Mo appear, like out of the woodwork. 

“Tyson--” Mo starts. Tyson shakes his head. 

“No, I--like, I get it, secret identities, and all that. I mean, it’s shitty you lied to me, but there’s no reason why you wouldn’t. We’re cool.” They are, he thinks. It’s easier with them, maybe, because they’re heroes, so the morality is easier, but also...they were friends, in the suit and out of it, but it’s not the same.

Mo pats Tyson’s shoulder, and heads back to his desk. Auston lingers. 

“For what it’s worth,” he says, looking like saying the words pains him to his very soul. “He came to us, when he knew you’d been captured, and he was freaking out, a lot. He’s still a villain, and all, but, like. He wouldn’t have done all that if he didn’t care.” 

But how much? And why? Or is he just a really good actor? 

“Thanks, Auston,” is what Tyson says, though, and gets back to work. 

- 

In the end, Tyson’s curiosity gets the better of him. He can’t not know something. So he ends up on Gabe’s doorstep, takes a deep breath, and knocks. 

He can hear Zoey’s barking, then the door opens, and Gabe’s there. “Tyson.” 

He sounds surprised. He looks surprised. He looks the same as he did a week ago, before Tyson knew his secret. 

“Would you ever have told me?” Tyson asks, and steps past him, into the house. He kneels down to greet Zoey. She doesn’t seem to have held a grudge against his long absence. 

“Yes,” Gabe answers, too quickly for him not to have thought of it. Tyson looks up at him, over Zoey’s head. He’s looking down at Tyson like he’s drinking in the sight of him. Then his lips twist, wryly. “After Pride made that scene, I didn’t have a choice. You wouldn’t have let that go forever.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” 

“I know. The answer’s still yes.” Gabe doesn’t hesitate again. “I would have, I wouldn’t have kept something that important a secret forever. I just--I didn’t know how you’d react, and I didn’t want to lose you. Maybe I should have told you already, I don’t know, I didn’t...” 

Tyson nods. “Why’d you ask me out?” he asks, checking off questions in his mental notepad. 

“What?” 

“Why did you ask me out? I made a fool of myself, you still asked for my number. Why?” 

“Because you were cute, and funny, and sharp, and laughed at yourself, and I liked you and wanted to get to know you.” Gabe looks confused. “Why else do people ask other people out?” 

“Because they’re part of a scheme.” 

“No!” Gabe’s fierce in that word, and something in Tyson calms. “No, Tyson, never--I didn’t even know who you were until that first date, I had no idea you knew any other supers, I swear. And by then I was too far in already.” 

Tyson stands up. “So you saving me all the time, that was--” 

“That was necessary,” Gabe growls a little, and his jaw sets stubbornly. “You’re--you are terrifying, do you know that? The lengths you’ll go to for a story--they scare me, so much, because you’re human and it’d take so little to--” Gabe shakes his head, shudders a little. “What you do is amazing and needed and I’m not going to stop you from taking those risks, but I’m going to keep you safe while you take them.” 

Tyson blinks. That’s--he hadn’t known, really, how much he wanted to hear that. How much it meant, to have someone not try to change him. Not ask him to be someone he’s not for their own peace of mind. 

He looks at Gabe, and he can’t see a lie in his face. 

“You don’t lie to me anymore,” Tyson says, firmly. “That’s non-negotiable. And you don’t interfere in any of my stories.” 

“I’m going to keep saving you. As long as you keep jumping out of skyscrapers.” 

“I didn’t jump,” Tyson protests, but he takes a step closer to Gabe, wraps his arms around his neck. “And--I reserve the right to turn on you if you go full dark and start doing things that cross the line.” 

Gabe looks down at him, and maybe Tyson gets it, a little, how Nate says Gabe looks at him. “I hope you do,” he says, solemnly, which is just--Tyson has to kiss him. Gabe wraps an arm around his waist and kisses him back, and now that Tyson knows what to look for he can feel the thrill of it, that Gabe could crush him so easily and touches him so carefully. 

He pulls away from Gabe to catch his breath, glances down--and his breath catches for another reason. They’re floating a few inches off the ground. 

"Oh,” Tyson says, and things start to come together. “I didn’t even think of the possibilities here. This is going to be fun.” 

Gabe laughs, and kisses him again, their feet never touching the floor. 

- 

“Okay, so, this?” Tyson gestures around, mainly to himself, but also to his house. “I’m designating this neutral ground.” The four supers sitting in his living room don’t look happy about it, but none of them say anything. Nate, who’s been brought in to meet them and also because he wanted to watch, looks very amused. “No hero/villain things here.” 

“What if the Headmaster escapes and attacks you here?” Mitch asks, and Tyson rolls his eyes. 

“Okay, no hero/villain things here unless necessary to protect someone’s safety.” 

“What if he attacks someone here, because he’s a villain?” Auston asks, jerking his chin at Gabe. Gabe grins back, more baring his teeth than anything else. 

“He’s not going to do that, because he knows the consequences,” Tyson informs Auston. “We agreed? Yes?” 

Four muttered yeses. “Great. Now.” Tyson drops a newspaper on the table. His byline is under the front page headline, big letters and a splashy photo cover. He’s already got invitations from three TV news shows to talk about it. The governor called him. He’s kind of freaking out, but also, he can’t stop thinking about it. “We are going to get drunk and celebrate this, right? All agreed?” 

That gets five much more enthusiastic yeses, and Tyson heads to the kitchen for alcohol. He’s getting the glasses when arms wrap around him from behind, and Gabe’s chin hooks over his shoulder. 

“I’m so proud of you for that,” he says into Tyson’s ear. He’s so warm, Tyson had been right about the cuddling. “Have I said that?” 

“Yeah. Plenty. And showed it. But you could do all that again, keep telling me how great I am,” Tyson says, and turns in his arms. He can’t quite look at Gabe’s beam, but it’s--fuck. It’s a lot. 

“Villainy’s in the eye of the beholder,” Gabe says, in his earnest ‘I’m not a villain I’m doing Good’ Captain voice, “But so is heroism. And that, there?” He gestures, to where the paper is. “That’s being a hero, Tyson.” 

Tyson drops his head into Gabe’s shoulder. “I was wrong, don’t say any more stuff like that, it’s way too corny I can’t take it,” he mutters, and Gabe chuckles into Tyson’s hair. 

“Are we going to get this celebration on?” Mo calls from the other room. 

“Yeah! If I can’t kick Gabe’s ass, I want to kick it in taboo,” Mitch agrees, and Tyson lifts his head to laugh at Gabe’s face. 

“They’re your coworkers,” Gabe says, laughing back at Tyson. “I’d kick them out and skip right to us celebrating if I could.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Tyson kisses him, quickly, then detangles himself from Gabe. “You’re a big scary villain, I know. Now let’s go kick some Taboo ass.” 

(They do, in fact, kick some Taboo ass). 

[amazingspiderfan110]

What If

This story follows what if Dewey became spider-man in this universe

The Prologue ties in to this fan fic https://www.wattpad.com/story/148178722-reservation-for-four the only difference is right before Dewey fell into the shark tank, he got bit by the spider, and right before he went into glomgold’s library, he was trying to UN-stick himself from the walls. And they are 10 instead of 12 

Prologue:(takes place a week after the shadow war, and Della's disappearance is different in this universe). Dewey had an idea of what his powers were, he could stick to walls, spidey sense, and recently found out about his super strength during the shadow war. He thought of putting his skills to good use, he thought about his skill set and thought of being an underground wrestler. So after doing some research, he found a match where he could properly test his skills. He wanted to design a suit to remain anonymous, in case if the person he beats is a sore looser, and he doesn’t need him on the list of villains. So he got out a piece of paper and started, he knew the suit would be blue and black. But how to hide his face, so Dewey added a hood that couldn't fall back, some goggles,and a mask that only covers his mouth. After 2 hours, Dewey finished his suit design, And after 1 week, he finished the suit, Spider-man lenses put into goggle form, a mouth cover (really a bandanna), and the suit was a sky blue and black, the hard part was drawing the webbing and putting on both spider symbols, then the hood, Dewey looked in the mirror, he felt invincible, but more than usual.

The actual story:

Dewey was just at a funeral, it was for his uncle Donald. The police were busy chasing the man responsible for his death, but Dewey beat them to him, after a brutal fight, Dewey turned on a flashlight, he wanted to see the pain and fear that was in him, he wanted revenge. But then he realized that was the man he let past him after he robbed the wrestling match. It was Dewey’s Fault that Uncle Donald was dead

“GAH”

Dewey woke up, it was just a nightmare, and a memory. It was only 2 months since he got his powers, he managed to build web shooters, finally. This past month was crazy, they learned that Their parents died in a crash and Lena was back. Dewey realized that it was 9 o clock, so he decided to go outside, he put on his suit, loaded the web shooters, and he was off. Louie was up watching tv, it was nice and quiet, Until Webby came In”FINALLY”

“What”asked Louie

“I FINALLY FOUND MAGICAS AMULET”

“Oh”

“aren’t you thrilled”

“webby, that think nearly killed us all”

“Its Only one amulet”

Huey rushed in yelling,”GUYS, YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND”

Webby and Louie followed Huey into the Forrest to see a box with 3 amulets that looked like the one webby found.

“You jinxed it”, Said Louie

“I didn’t know this existed”Replied webby

:how did you find it anyway?”

“I saw a weird pile of dirt, so I decided to see what was under It and I found this”Said Huey

“we should take this to someone who can make sure this wont kill us, or at least can figure out what they do”

“how about gyro” said webby

Later in the lab

“so you want me to use my advanced equipment to analyze 3 objects you found in the Forrest,” asked Gyro

“Yep,” responded Louie

“Fine, i’ll have results by tomorrow”

Meanwhile Dewey was swinging around Duckburg, thinking

“how am i going to tell her, i want to but I can’t, and on top of that I have to be spider-man, Maybe if I first show her That I’m Spider-Man, then that will help, No, That would be too rushed, Why am I talking to myself while webbing up a bunch of robbers, never mind, I should just be honest, and if she says no, we can still be friends, RIGHT?, and if she doesn’t, well at least I’m spider-man, I mean i have a catchy theme song, spec-tac-ular spec-tac-ular DANG IT ITS STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN, today Dewey, you are going to tell her how you feel, Its time to be a man, a spider-man,”But he also realized that today, webby was going to give a speech during the duckburg foundation day, and he missed it, so he probably should stay spider for 1 more hour.

After another hour, Dewey starts Heading Home 

Meanwhile Louie is recalling the past 2 months,”That party at glomgold’s, which ended in disaster, That moment with Lena, The truth about his parents, the shadow war, and now spider-man is a thing. This was all insane, and now Dewey keeps on going off for about 3-4 hours almost every day. I get that he’s Dewey, but this was all of a sudden”. Then the door opens and Dewey walks in,”where have you been” asked louie. “why does it matter”

“because you leave almost every day for 3 hours”

“I don’t question what you do on that phone”

“I thought i told you at the d-”

“after we found out what happened”

“Ok, i do go on my phone a lot”

“and I don’t ask what you do on that thing, for all i know you could be listening to the spider-man theme song (this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapWxK7bDRU&list=PLEmWsjToJzcxsR255If_PLgjagXmRemas&index=12) 

“Ok, you proved your point”

Dewey walks downstairs, wondering how to talk to Webby, he has been thinking about this for 2 months now and he still couldn’t tell her, and he is spider-man, why is he so afraid, he has been through worse, like that time the sky pirates raided duckburg, he was able to stop them, but maybe it was that he was in a mask, no one knows who spider-man is, but right now, he is Dewy Duck, but at this point, he is so scared to tell webby how he feels, his spidey sense registers her as a threat. And now his spidey sense was going off. “Hi Dewey”,said Webby

“oh....uh..hi webby”

“are you ok?”

“I’m fine, why would you ask me that”

“well, you have been distant recently”

“why would you say that?”

“about a week after that party, you didn’t talk to me much, and when i talk to you, you leave early, and you missed my speech, come on”

“(that wasn’t me being awkward, it was me being spider-man)”thought Dewey

“Whats going on, just be honest”

“(You have to tell her sometime, you cant do this forever, I know)”

“just tell me”

“meet me in to Forrest tomorrow, at 5 o clock”

“Ok”

The Next Day

“I figured out what these things are”,Said Gyro,”observe” Gyro grabs a hammer and breaks the blue amulet

“WHAT THE”, screamed Webby

“Relax, i know what I’m Doing, look whats inside”

“Looks like an over sized Fruity Pebble” Said Louie

“Close, its actually what i like to call an infinity stone,” Said Gyro,” I came up with the name”

“Pretty sure someone beat you to it”Said Dewey

“That’s not the point”said gyro,” these stones hold the universe together AND  can control it, so basically its a scientific explanation for everything supernatural”

Huey, thrilled that there is a scientific explanation for magic, pulls out a pen and a notebook,”Go on”said Huey, 

“well” said gyro” after a lot of research, i concluded that there is 6 stones in total, space, time, soul, mind, power, and reality”Gyro breaks the 3 other amulets,” magicas amulet had the reality stone, which is weird because its red, but the amulet is purple, anyways, the green one, is the time stone, purple stone is the power stone, and the blue one is the space stone” 

When gyro mentioned the space stone, dewey felt a ting, but it wasn’t his spidey sense, it was as if he felt a connection with the stone

Gyro continued, and iv’e analyzed the stones, and found out that the stones are linked to certain people,specifically 4 of you (lena decided to tag along)

“what does that mean”asked Huey

“It means you can use the stone without an adapter, and not die, remember they control the universe, so they are very powerful”

“(if one of the stones is connected to me, why do i feel a connection with the space stone, i should technically have the power stone because i’m the only one with powers)” thought Dewey

After everyone left, he remembered that gyro did build an adapter to use the stones and not die, and louie wants to know what dewey does all the time, so he sneak in the lab, grabs the time stone, the adapter, and leaves.

“i just want to know”said louie

but since louie doesn’t know how to properly use an infinity stone, he rewinds to the moment when he was with lena (again, read this https://www.wattpad.com/613483635-reservation-for-four-epilogue) but louie just opened a window, and what he saw, he didn’t like what he saw, Lena deceived him, Louie walks out his room pushing past lena,” HEY”said Lena

“You know what you did 2 months ago”replied louie

Lena noticed that louie had the time stone in his hand, with the adapter on of course, and then she put 2 and 2 together, but louie was already gone

Meanwhile webby was in the forrest, waiting for dewey

“Webby”

webby turned around to see spider-man, but then he took off his mask

“DEWEY....you....are”

“spider-man, i know its crazy”

“When did you get powers’

“I think it was at the dance, which would explain a lot”

“So that’s why you are gone for most of the day”

“I guess”

“But that doesn’t explain why you are so nervous when you do talk to me”

“well..um.....its.......................because...........................i........................like................you”

“Really, thats why, how come you didn’t tell me sooner”

“well I wanted to for a while, but after that phase, then me being spider man- and have you tried telling your crush how you felt?”

“no because you told me first”

“wait-WHAT”

“i had a crush on you for a while now”

“So, do.......you.....want.....to, go out”

“of course, and you are spider ma-”

“SHHHHHH”

“oh, right”

at the lab

Dewey walks in, trying to figure out his connection with the space stone, so he focuses, and tries to connect to the stone, and it works, so Dewey tries to test out the stone, and he opened a portal to the forrest, and ho could go back, so he puts on the adapter on his wrist and places the stone on it, and he puts on his suit, and teleport-ed to the main part of the city. He loved it, This could Give him an advantage against his villains like doc ock, or Mark beaks in the “waddle” duck suit, or the sky pirates. This was amazing, so Dewey decides to show webby

“Are you sure about this”Asked Webby

“Please, i’m spider-Man, I think I can Handle this, I mean i could save a lot more people this way”

1 Week later 

Louie,” stupid lena, taking advantage of me, and dewey wont tell me what he is doing all day, Wait, what if i got myself powers, then, i can get a gf,and show lena who is boss, YES”

Louie spots a serum labeled

Category:bio enhancer

Formula: GRN-GBL 1.3

Louie loads the serum into the injector, but accidentally puts his hand on the power stone which causes a reaction with the serum and his body, louie reaches for a suit and steps on a glider

Louie duck was now the green goblin and he wants revenge

The serum changed his plan, now he wants to kill lena, and get rid of spider man, and FORCE dewey to tell him what he has been doing all this time

Dewey is sitting in webbys room, everyone was aware that webby and Dewey are a couple, they were playing a board game, but then his spidey sense was tingling”GET DOWN”The wall blows up, but it was for lena, not dewey, Louie flies in with an electric staff,”REMEMBER ME”

“louie”said lena,”what happened”

“you happened, i remember what you did that night”

“That was when i was working for magica, now i do care for you”

“LIAR”

Louie hits lena with the electric sticks

“look who didn’t get their beauty sleep” Said spider-man/dewey

“Iv’e been looking for you”

“who isn’t, and also why”

“there can only be one special one here”

“Come on, lets dance”

“later we can fight, now i have to talk to someone”

1 day later

Lena had serious injuries, but the doctor said she will be fine, Everyone was confused on who the goblin is, and why he looked so familiar. 

Dewey was sitting in his room, trying to figure out when goblin will strike next, that’s when Dewey's spidey sense was tingling, he was about to grab his suit, but Louie -goblin blew up the wall

“hey gobby, have you ever heard of a door”

“SHUT UP DEWEY, TELL ME, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THESE PAST FEW MONTHS”

“LOUIE”

“YES ITS ME NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION”

“I.....AM ......S”

Then out of nowhere, webby punches evil louie and he sees dewey use the web shooters, louie quickly puts 2 and 2 together and thinks of a plan

Later Spider-man was swinging around, then he sees goblin, he goes to confront his evil brother, after a long fight, goblin knows how to break him, he grabs webby from her hiding spot, and flies high up in the air, laughing of course, Dewey tries to use the space stone, but goblin was too fast for him, so he had to slingshot himself up there.

“Leave her out of this”Screamed Dewey

“Why, you are the one who has the glory, the girl, and no one is there to break you, and that’s where i come in”Said Louie

“What do you mean”

“I’m going to break you, by doing This”

Louie Dropped Webby, his friend, From the top of the money bin, Goblin was holding dewey back, so he used his webbing to grab her, but like in tasm 2, the momentum snapped her back. Webby was gone,

“NOOO”screamed dewey

Dewey immediately threw a punch, whit all of his strength, at louie, he was the evil triplet. 

Dewey Stood there crying at webby, all of the adventures, the relationship, was gone.

1 week later

It was only a week but everyone knew spider-man was gone.

Dewey couldn’t believe it, he lost his girlfriend, his best friend, his brother, his father, and his mother. At least that’s what he thought on the last one (this next part is going to parody the deleted tasm 2 ending)Dewey was standing by webbys grave, and Behind dewey, was Della Duck

“Dewey” Said Della

Dewey turned around

“I don’t want to frighten you”Said Della,”*sight*

Della starts to walk towards Dewey

“Stay there, stay right there, don’t move” said dewey

“But I’d like to tell you a few things if that’s alright, i know this is impossible to understand Dewy, i thought i knew what to say but i don’t, I don’t know what to say to you except I’m sorry, I’ts me, I’s me Dewey I’m Sorry”

“You’re not my mother”

“I am your mother Dewey, now why dont you just listen to-”

“My MoThEr Is DeAD”

“Dewey listen to me”

ShE’s DeAd, WHO ARE YOU!”

“I had to disappear and I’m sorry understand that I had disappear to keep you saf- to keep you safe Like wha-”

“WHAT SAY IT, SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY, WHERE YOU BEEN, your dead”(Dewey's eyes start to fill with tears)

“I had to die to keep you alive, I had to disappear to keep you safe, listen listen to me, I had to disappear to keep my mistakes from catching up with you, I had to stay away to keep certain people from hurting you, do you understand What im saying, there was no other way to keep you safe, im so sorry”

Dewey runs into dellas arms, for the first time in his life, he gets to hug his mother. And then dewey starts crying. Dewey and Della Start walking, Talking, And that when dewey decided to ask

“why now, why’d you come back now?”

“Your father knew there would come a time in you life when you would need us more than anyone else, before he died, I promises that I’d be there for you no matter what, and that time came........I know what its like to lose everything you love, now we both speak for the dead, if you lose hope, the the glomgolds of the world really have won, then your father would have died for nothing, Webby would have died for nothing, I can’t come to terms with the world like that”

“I dont know........I dont Know how to go on without her”

“you don’t, take her with you,.....I’m not the same duck i used to be, i used to be arrogant enough to believe that it was my destiny to save people at one point, but after everything i did, to hide my work, only you and your brothers were able to find it, and i realize now maybe it wasn’t my destiny to save anything, its yours, with great power, comes great responsibility, i love you son”

Dewey went back to the mansion, Della said she will be there, now dewey was looking through photos of webby, then dewey decides to play webbys speech, The speech made dewey cry, he knew his destiny, his mother told him what it was, and he was going to fulfill it every day, until he dies,he looks down on his spider man lenses, its time, time for spider-man to return, the world needs dewey duck, nephew of scrooge mcduck, and he is spider man.

Meanwhile in duckberg, a person in a mechanical suit of armor is causing destruction, the police tried shooting at him, but he was loaded with machine guns.”I AM THE RHINO” Screamed the duck in the suit. That’s when an 8 year old duck in a spider-man cosplay suit walks out into the field. The officers stopped firing.

Officer,”kid you have to get-”

The rhino starts shooting at the officer to make him be quiet, but he missed the officer.

“LOOK DUCKBERG,”said the rhino,” SPIDER-MAN IS BACK”

the kid puts on the spider-man goggles and mouth cover (really just a piece of black cloth)

“brave boy huh, does the rhino scare you little boy”

The rhino starts walking closer, people are thinking that the boy is going to die, then THWIP..........THWIP. the rhino stops walking

“hey spider-man” said dewey

The boy turned around, he lifted the lenses off

“I knew you would come back”

“yeah, thanks for stepping up for me, you're the bravest kid I've ever seen, Im gonna take care of this jerk you go take care of your mom, okay”

Dewey fist bumps the kid, then the kid walks off

“YOU FIGHT ME,”Sid the rhino,” YOU FIGHT ME NOW”

“ON BEHALF OF THE FINE PEOPLE OF DUCKBERG AN REAL RHINOS EVERYWHERE, I DEMAND THAT YOU PUT YOUR MECHANIZED PAWS IN THE AIR”

Then the sinister six forms, Goblin, doc ock, waddle duck, the captain of the sky pirates, and glomgold in his own suit of armor, and there was the rhino.

“NEVER” they screamed,” WE WILL CRUSH YOU, WE WILL DESTROY YOU”

“YOU WANT ME TO COME DOWN THERE SO YOU ALL CAN KILL ME”

“YES” screamed the sinister six

“ILL BE RIGHT THERE”said dewey,”there’s no place like home”

The rhino launches 2 missiles at spider-man, but he uses the space stone to shield him, Then he jumps using a sewer lid as a shield, and hits the rhino with the sewer lid, this is where the tasm 2 film ended, but the story is not over, after knocking down the rhino, he knocks out beaks and glomgold, ties up doc ock, and webs up the sky pirates captain, and now, it was only him, and his brother, louie. And from a distance, della was watching her son fight his brother

“I thought i broke you”said louie

“you did, but I had some encouragement from mom” The two fight for a little bit

“No, she.....is ......dead”

“she is alive”

“LIAR, LYING IS WHAT GOT ME I  THIS MESS, SO STOP IT”

That’s when louie sits there crying, he did all of this, hurt lena, kill webby, all for what, and that’s when dewey injected him with the goblin cure, louie looked normal again. But he wasn’t the same.

Louie sat in his jail cell, angry, he was definitely not getting any inheritance from scrooge. Then he received a letter, louie pulled out the note

dear Louie

Its me, Della, im alive, your father isn’t sadly, i saw your fight  with your brother, and i heard the things you did this past week, im sorry i wasn’t there for you, i wanted to keep you safe. But evil still found a way into our family, it breaks my heart knowing you ended someones life, just because of something that happened in the past

                                  im sorry

                                               Della.D

Louie was angry, and full of regret, out of sadness, he punched a wall, a bit of the goblin serum was left in him. then he sat there crying.

Meanwhile at the mansion scrooge asked dewey where he was.”I was catching up with someone,”replied dewey, that’s when Della walked in. Della explained everything,and then Huey, scrooge, dewey went to hug Della. Meanwhile Lena sat in her room, she regretted having to do what she did she lost her best friend, and louie, she wants to go back in time and undo it all, but that’s not how life works. She went downstairs where dewey was going to make a confession.”The reason why i have disappeared is.......because im spider-man” everyone was shocked, but they were also proud of him, he saved a lot of people. Lena was standing there, she walked up to her room, dewey followed her.”you ok”asked the blue triplet.”No, it was my fault, i should have told louie-”

“that was then, this is now, we cant go back, believe me, im spider-man, but im still a kid”

“what do we do”

“we continue, dont let the past affect who you are now”

“thanks”

Dewey leaves, he knows he is spider-man and that was his destiny.

[arcadiaoaksusedbooks]

Shard Sister’s Texting: The Noatak Horror (part 2)

Under readmore for length

Alora: Sup nerd?

Elisi: Who is this?

Alora: The dumbass sister. How the hell do I get to your place of work?

Elisi: Airplane

Alora: Well, yeah, I’m landing in Anchorage soon. How do I get to you from there?

Elisi: Airplane

Elisi: Literally

Alora: Cause there’s no buses or trains that go there!

Elisi: Unless you can make magic portals

Elisi: Or find the Anchorage Trollmarket and get in a gyre

Elisi: You need to get in an airplane

Elisi: And take it to the local airstrip.

Elisi: There is literally no other way to get here. There’s no roads.

Alora: You picked the worst place to live.

Elisi: Why are you coming here?

Alora: (sends the picture of the statue from earlier)

Alora: Look familiar?

Elisi: Very. Where did you find that?

Alora: It washed up on my beach yesterday with a couple of others. Nadia said you’ve been finding a bunch more.

Elisi: I have. A lot of them since I last talked to her.

Alora: These are trolls.

Elisi: What?

Alora: It’s K-Spar. The ones I found took sunlight straight to the face and look it.

Alora: Like men looking at Medusa and screaming as they turn to stone.

Alora: Am I wrong?

Elisi: No. You’re not.

Elisi: So what warrants you coming here to investigate?

Alora: Hunch.

Elisi: Okay. I can arrange for a plane to come and get you. But you’re coming in late, so it’ll have to be tomorrow morning. Can you check into a hotel when you land?

Alora: (sighing emoji) Yeah, I can do that. Meanwhile, anything weird happening that might be considered troll activity?

Elisi: Now that you mention it, yes.

Elisi: There’s been a shortage of wildlife lately. May is when everything starts coming around, but there’s been almost nothing. Sometimes it takes a month or so for animals to show up, but combined with this and stone cadavers of very small trolls...

Elisi: What kind of trolls are they? I’ve never seen anything like them.

Alora: Me neither. Nadia is doing research of her own.

Elisi: Okay.

Elisi: Some of the locals are finding pets going missing as well.

Alora: That’s troll activity if I’ve ever heard it.

Elisi: Yeah, now that you mention it.

Alora: Anything else?

Elisi: No, nothing. Odd, we would have sniffed out any other weird trolls in this area. It’s been peaceful other than this.

Alora: Hey, I’m gonna see about that gyre. Are any of the trolls in Anchorage... from way back when?

Elisi: I think you’re okay. Most of them are reformed or retired Gumm-gumms.

Alora: OMG please tell me you’re serious!

Elisi: (pleased emoji) I’m sure they’ll let you use the gyre if you ask.

Alora: (happy dance gif)

Alora: I’ll be there tonight! I’m a steak and potatoes kind of girl!

Elisi: I’ll invite you to dinner, and I’ll let you stay the night, but that’s it.

Alora: Aw, c’mon!

Elisi: I’ll see you in the morning. If you get here by gyre tonight, you’re free to walk around the basin and see things for yourself.

Alora: Well, does the village have a hotel?

Elisi: A Motel 6

Alora: Good enough for me. Fine, I’ll see you in the morning. Lemme know if Nadia texts you with something.

Elisi: The same for you. If these things are messing with my eco system, I’m going to have to exterminate them. So, I’ll need your help if that’s the case.

Alora: No complaints here. See you tomorrow.

Elisi: Safe travels, worst sister.

Alora: WORST?!

Alora: You mean coolest.

Elisi: You’re the only Shard who’s still a war criminal.

Alora: (surprised Pikachu face)

Elisi: I jest, I still love you.

Alora: Imma punch you in the face when I see you.

Elisi: I will punch your face clean off your head

Alora: I will punch you first

Elisi: We’ll see when you get here.

Alora: Fine. Touching down in three hours. The gyre should take ten minutes. But I’ll see you in the morning reguardless.

Elisi: Safe travels, worst sister.

Alora: (one punch man gif, of Saitama punching the camera)

Alora: Seriously, see you then. Bye.

Elisi: Bye.

(Nadia is sent a video from Alora’s phone the next day.)

(The video is a selfie shot of Elisi and Alora, arms over their shoulders, Alora waving at the camera before making a fist and punching Elisi square in the nose with it. Elisi is unfazed, slowly turning to look at Alora. Alora chuckles nervously before Elisi puts the phone down and Alora mocks screaming in fear as she’s chased.)

Nadia: (texts) You two play nice!

Nadia: Nothing found about the statues yet. I’ll keep you informed.

(Nadia is sent another video from Alora’s phone.)

(The video is of a herd of caribou walking on the other side of the river.)

Alora: Elisi said the herd goes through these parts this time of year, and the park was set up exclusively so they can migrate in peace. How cool is that?

Alora: I told her this, but this would be a prime target for trolls. If the living versions of these statues are hungry, I bet this is the first thing they’d go after.

Nadia: The video is lovely. Thank you.

Nadia: And I must disagree. These new trolls are roughly the size of possums. The caribou are one hundred times their size. It wouldn’t be feasible.

Alora: (sends several pictures in rapid succession. More statues along the river bank, in various poses, some broken up and a few in tact.)

Alora: A lot of these were found were grouped together. Probably pack hunters.

Nadia: A whole caribou seems to be a stretch. But not rabbits or mink or fish.

Alora: There’s plenty of fish, though. So much!

Alora: Also!

Alora: (sends a picture of a bear salmon hunting in the distance)

Nadia: Oh! Wow!

Alora: Elisi showed me a whole family that came out of hibernation last week. Two cubs! The cutest!

Nadia: Pictures?

Alora: Maybe tomorrow. Was more focused on mystery trolls.

Nadia: And your hunch?

Alora: Well, have you found any in Arcadia?

Nadia: No. And I haven’t seen my customer today.

Alora: Okay, keep keeping us posted. Want me to send more video of wildlife? This place is actually really nice.

Alora: Super remote. Clean, clear water. Lots of greenery now that the snow’s all melted.

Alora: It’s perfect for trolls.

Nadia: It does sound nice. Sure. If you find something worth taking a video of, I’d love to see.

Alora: Cool.

(Nadia to Elisi)

Nadia: Hi, good time?

Elisi: Sure. Find anything?

Nadia: No, I haven’t found anything.

Nadia: I’ve scoured through all of Heartstone Trollmarket’s libraries, resources and talked to everyone I can think of. No one’s heard of this kind of troll.

Nadia: Though, it might help if I tried to take the paint off this statue, but he worked so hard on it!

Elisi: Hmm... maybe if we went more local. The market in Anchorage might have something. Alora and I are going at sundown.

Elisi: There’s no way no one’s heard of these frograts before.

Nadia: !!!

Nadia: Did Alora tell you that name?

Elisi: Yeah, and it’s growing on me.

Elisi: Frograt.

Nadia: No!

Elisi: (laughing while crying emoji) I like the name, alright?!

Nadia: Ugh!

Elisi: Anyway, thanks for the update.

Nadia: Let me know if anything happens.

(Nadia is sent a video from Alora’s phone)

(They’re in a gyre tunnel, the gyre is knocked off it’s track to one side. Alora is pointing the camera on the phone down by her feet. There’s several dozen of the live trolls gathered around her, squeaking and shrieking in hunger. They all are covered in white, fuzzy fur that’s starting to turn brown, their rather small eyes give off eye shine as they look up at the phone, all are scurrying around like kittens pestering for a treat, when their mouths open there’s rows and rows of small teeth. Also in the frame is one of Elisi’s limp arms; Alora is carrying her unconscious sister on her back with one hand while filming with the other.)

Alora: Well, sis, there’s good news and bad news. First, good news. (points the camera down at the small trolls swarming around her and trying to climb up her leg) Here’s what the live ones look like. And sound like. I’d show you what they bite like, but I’ve got my hands full. And there’s... (she points the camera further down the tunnel, where there’s so much more eyeshine staring back at her) ...there’s probably hundreds of them down here. So.... there’s your references.

(There’s a loud screech just down the tunnel that lowers into a roar, but it’s so dark that the camera doesn’t pick it up. Alora starts walking backward. She can’t do anything about this situation with Elisi out for the count.)

Alora: And here comes the bad news... so I need to get out of here. So, um... I think these are all babies... (something starts to claw into view, bringing with it two large shining blue eyes and a low growl) ...and that’s mama. Hold on, I gotta send this...

(The video stops, but was successfully sent.)

(Nadia to Alora)

Nadia: ALORA!

Nadia: ALORA, PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE OKAY!

Nadia: ALORA! PLEASE ANSWER!

(She tries calling the phone but it goes to voice mail)

[e350tb]

Steven Universe: Marooned Together - Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

A lot can change in five years.

New Earth grew every day - for the first time, proper buildings, built from proper materials looted from Homeworld’s abandoned colonies across the universe, had sprung up. There was the hospital, four storeys tall, vibrant with white electric and blue-green neon lights (nothing particularly new, but of much greater quality than what existed at the Diamond’s Lament.) The Museum of Earth had moved to a bigger, more permanent building after the find on the swamp world ,as well as a few other successful recovery missions since. There was even permanent housing going up, replacing the old shacks and shanties. The streets were being paved, the lights no longer flickered on occasion - the time of scavenging and making-do was finally coming to an end.

It was giving way to a new age of uncertainty.

Captain Franks was determined to expand the human resistance. New uniforms were being rolled out - a standard grey jumpsuit, augmented with body armour and a helmet that was longer at the back, covering the ears. Recruitment was being handled by Commander Lewis, who pulled  heavily from the young humans of New Earth; the ones who didn’t remember their old homeworld, whose minds could be filled with stirring tales of human culture and wisdom.

What Franks didn’t know, of course, was that she augmented these teachings with a faint hint of human exceptionalism. Franks believed he was getting soldiers. He was actually receiving fanatics, something he would have noticed, had he bothered to check. But he didn’t mingle with the ranks; he was too busy trying to dream the next big strategy to fight back against Homeworld. He was completely oblivious to his growing cohort of underlings who hated, hated gems - and weren’t impressed by his soft stance towards them.

Garnet was doing very well for herself these days - she had one of the first apartments on New Earth, although she was often away. Sometimes she went on her own scavenging voyages; others she joined Amethyst’s crew in pirate raids. Sometimes she even helped Simon out at the Diamond’s Lament, or ran errands for Jeff. Often, she simply chilled. It was a pretty good life.

And yet, she saw darkness ahead.

Today, she stood next to Peedee and Blue Pearl as the Human Resistance marched by, band playing and boots stomping on the dark-blue tarmac-like surface of the street. The small groups of gems and humans that watched them march by regarded them with suspicion, even fear, but the Resistance marched regardless; for most of them, this was a show of force. Take note gems; our time will come.

“Dickheads.”

Peedee’s whisper was quiet and venomous. It also wasn’t an uncommon sentiment. With the exception of Franks, who either could not or chose not to see the behaviour of the underlings, the people of New Earth knew exactly what sort of person marched before them.

“And Jeff lets them march,” replied Garnet, crossing her arms.

“He has to,” replied Peedee, “They’re the biggest defence force we have, even though they’re next to useless. If Homeworld comes, we’ll need ‘em. Jeff wants to set up community defences, though; some kind of, I dunno, Home Guard?”

“I’m worried,” Blue Pearl said softly, “That they may be getting out of hand.”

“Me too, Bloop,” replied Peedee warily, “Me too.”

Garnet said nothing, her face set in a deep frown as she watched the last line of troops pass by. One soldier turned his head, and their eyes briefly met.

It took a lot to unsettle Garnet. The contempt in that man’s eyes was just enough to do so.

“...aaaand… done.”

Stevonnie stepped back, casually tossing the old bucket to the side as they inspected the sandcastle they and Lapis had built.

It had been a long time since they’d had a mission, and if they were honest, Stevonnie had enjoyed the break. While they didn’t regret helping Amethyst with pirate raids, scavenging about with Jenny and the other extraction teams, or keeping Captain Franks from getting himself killed, the little moments they spent with Lapis on their island were often the most special.

Now was one such time. They had spent the morning building a sandcastle with an old bucket and spade. Stevonnie had built the castle proper - Lapis had manipulated water to ensure the sand was just damp enough to stick, as well as filling moats and waterwork around the structure. The end result was quite nice - a moated castle with a few little streams running through it, centred on a big, multi turreted keep in the middle.

“There we go,” declared Stevonnie, “Castello de la Lazuli is finished!”

“Castello de la Lazuli?” quizzed Lapis, “Not Stevonnie?”

“Nah, nah,” replied Stevonnie, “See that tower?” They pointed to a particularly tall one. “That’s where Princess Lapis Lazuli lives. She’s been locked in there by an evil prince called… uh… Prince Kevin.”

“You really don’t like the name ‘Kevin’, do you?”

“Nope!” said Stevonnie cheerfully.

Lapis nodded, crossing her arms.

“I don’t get it,” she said, “Why doesn’t Princess Lapis control the moat water to make a giant fist and punch her way out?”

“Uh, um…” Stevonnie snapped their fingers. “A terrible curse! Kevin hired a fearsome wizard called… called Marty to enchant Princess Lapis so that she couldn’t do that, and… and so she could never walk away from the castle, or she’d fall asleep forever!”

“Sucks to be her,” said Lapis, “So how does she get out?”

“There’s a bold knight!” replied Stevonnie excitedly, “And their name is Stevonnie! And they go on a quest to free Princess Lapis from the spell! And, uh, they have their noble friends; Lady Peridot, the Dread Pirate Amethyst… uh… Garnet, who’s too cool to have a label…”

“Makes sense.”

“Anyway, they make it to the castle, and they fight this huge dragon!” continued Stevonnie, “But then it turns out the dragon only wants to make friends, so Garnet teaches it the power of friendship and love. And then Stevonnie enters the castle and fights King Kevin…”

“Wasn’t he a prince?”

“He promoted himself. Anyway, there’s this big fight, and Stevonnie stabs him in the spleen…”

Stevonnie mimed a stabbing motion.

“...and they go up the tower to Princess Lapis,” they continued, “And they’re there - the, uh, the moon’s shining in the window, and… um…”

They ran a hand over the back of their head.

“I… uh… didn’t think of how to end this,” they said, “I mean, how do you break a curse, right? You, uh, you gotta… um…”

They blushed, clearing their throat.

“...you know, I’ll work it out later,” they shrugged, “Point is, day is saved. Everyone lives happily ever after.”

“Wish our lives were like that,” muttered Lapis.

“Hey.”

Stevonnie put their hands on Lapis’ shoulders and smiled.

“Maybe we’re just still on the way there?”

There was a long silence, save for the sound of the light breeze on the beach. Stevonnie’s face felt hot - must be sunburn, they thought - and yet there seemed to be a strange tension in the air, one they couldn’t quite pin down…

“Stevonnie! Lapis! Y-y-you-I-they need you on New Earth!”

Stevonnie turned, watching Lenny scurry down the beach from the direction of the warp pad. They couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of… disappointment? Why, they couldn’t fathom.

“What is it, Lenny?” they asked.

“W-w-we found an in… an installation!” replied Lenny, “Ye-Yellow Diamond. Could be weapons plans! Amethyst and Franks are organising a r-raid!”

“You mean Amethyst’s organising a raid and Franks is getting in the way,” said Lapis dryly.

“I… yeah,” nodded Lenny, “Any-anyway, they want you to c-come over for a briefing, i-i-if you’re not in the middle of something or anything!”

“I…”

Stevonnie looked down at the sandcastle, up at Lapis and then finally back towards Lenny. They felt themself deflate for just a moment, but again, they couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

“...sure thing, Lenny,” they said at last, “Lead the way.”

The briefing took place on the bridge of Franks’ flagship, the Lawrence - a place that could be described as overwhelmingly, depressingly grey. To say it was monochromatic would have been too kind; it was three-dimensionally bleak. The interior looked not unlike a submarine: dark, covered in red buttons and glowing screens, and more than a little claustrophobic.

Franks was seated in his captain’s chair, Commander Lewis poised dutifully to one side. Stevonnie waved as they’d entered - if looks could kill, the one Lewis shot their way would have obliterated them at an atomic level. Amethyst, Peridot, Lenny, Garnet, Jeff and Jenny sat around the conference table, looking over a crudely drawn map of a star system.

“Stevonnie, Lapis,” nodded Franks, “Take a seat.”

They did as they were bid, and Amethyst stood up.

“Alright, here’s the sitch,” she said, “Jenny found a new space station Ol’ Yeller’s building in one of her mining systems. Some kind of weapons lab or something, maybe. Anyway, we sent it to some of the ‘Dots on New Earth to analyse. Lenny?”

Lenny stood up, biting her lip nervously before beginning.

“Th… uh… C got a little t-team going,” she said, “Uh, Peridot-RFD, P-Peridot E Cut…”

“Get on with it,” snapped Lewis.

“Hey, these Peris deserve credit!” replied Amethyst.

“We’re planning a mission, not giving participation trophies to a bunch of little green…”

“Commander Lewis, that’ll be sufficient,” interrupted Franks, before Amethyst could disembowel the commander, “Continue?”

“Y-yes, th-th-thank you,” said Lenny, “I-I-I b-believe the s-s-station is a… is a platform to r-research bi-biological and geoweaponry. L-like… like…”

“Like the Cluster,” said Stevonnie, their tone grim.

There was a long silence, and the air coalesced into something thicker, an impossibly heavy vapor that was near-suffocating.

“Y-yes,” replied Lenny, “Like the Cluster.”

“Which is why we have to blow this thing to hell,” said Amethyst, pounding her fist into her palm, “And as badass as most of us are-” She glanced ever so briefly to Franks and Lewis, “...we’re gonna need some help. So we’re bringing in the HR.”

Lapis rolled her eyes, and Stevonnie fought the urge to chuckle - thankfully, Franks didn’t seem to have caught that.

“The Lawrence and the Crystal Avenger will keep Homeworld’s fleet assets busy,” said Franks, “Using the following battle strategy, our ships will…”

“Did he really just say fleet assets?” Lapis whispered as Franks carried on in the background, “What even are those?”

“Ships, I think,” Stevonnie whispered.

“Well why doesn’t he just say that?”

“I think he thinks it makes him sound smarter.”

“...which should divert the attention of their battlewagons,” finished Franks, “Garnet?”

“We’ll come aboard in two teams,” said Garnet, “Jenny and I will sabotage the chemical storage lab, while Stevonnie and Lapis will destroy their record files. The HR will cover the shuttle bays so that we can escape when we’re done.”

“If I may,” Lewis butted in, her face set into a frown, “I don’t believe the HR should be used to babysit some-”

“You may not, Lewis,” grunted Jeff, “One more thing; if you find any evidence of non-gem captives in Yellow Diamond’s possession, we need to know. Anyone we can save, you know?”

“Got it, Jeff,” said Stevonnie, “We’ll keep an eye out.”

“Very good,” said Franks, “We’ll sail in twenty-four hours. Dismissed.”

He got up, marching out of the room with Franks at his heels. For a few moments, Amethyst stared after him.

“Dude knows we hadn’t actually finished, right?” she asked.

She shrugged and turned around.

“Okay, one more thing, guys,” she said, “Peridot?”

“A couple of our scavengers have seen an unidentified object that occasionally approaches New Earth, but then immediately turns around,” said Peridot, “It could be a Homeworld scout.”

“Or it could just be a UFO,” shrugged Jenny.

“It’s unidentified, it’s by very definition a UFO,” said Peridot testily.

“Yeah, but it could be-”

“It is not the Roswell Aliens!” shrieked Peridot.

Jenny chuckled, sitting back and crossing her arms.

“Whoever this is, we kinda wanna know who they are,” added Amethyst, “So they at least stop creeping on us or whatever they’re doing. So if you find any files about them on Yellow Diamond’s Biological Funtime Base, let us know.”

She got up.

“Okay,” she said, “Now you’re dismissed.”

The assembled gems and humans left the room, Stevonnie trailing at the back. Briefly, a scrap of graffiti carved into the table gave them pause.

PIRATE BITCH = NEW NECKLACE WHEN LEWIS TAKES OVER

They frowned deeply. They’d have to bring this up with Franks, and they resolved to do so as soon as they got back…

[presumenothing]

more urban less legend

the nagano fictober continues – or, 007 + 026: exhausted/stretch, except that it’s only tangentially related to certain meanings of those words but hey, listen, no fic is perfect,

Yui powerwalks to the last vacant table in the cafeteria and only stops herself from flopping down bonelessly through sheer power of will.

She'd forgotten how exhausting the police academy could be; it's only thanks to the fact that she's kept physically active over the past year that she hasn't completely keeled over yet, even if most of that activity took the form of cleaning out the stables and upkeeping the Torada family grounds. Still more than a little short of actually being on active duty, obviously, but at least she'd managed to scrape rather more than a pass on the shuttle run, and the time away hadn't blunted her firearms or kendo abilities any, either.

And to think that she still had to come back tomorrow for the written tests, Yui sighs into the glass of green tea. At least the Nagano academy had decent enough food, on the grander scale of things.

(She's more than a little curious – and possibly a little afraid – to find out how Kan-chan had managed to get his requalification, considering… well, a lot of things. In a sense his reinstatement had probably been easier than hers, seeing as she'd completely quit the force while he'd just been declared MIA, but on the other hand –

Yui just really really hopes that he didn't tackle any of the examiners onto the ground to demonstrate his capabilities or anything. Especially now that she's personally witnessed that Kan-chan can do whack-a-criminal just as well even with only half his field of vision intact, crutch and all. She'd heard that both his driving and firearms permits had been suspended until further notice, but Yui makes a mental note to double-check that, even if it means having to sit through an unusually annoyed rant about either one.

Like he'd ever been the one to drive them around even when he'd had a license, jeez.)

Yui's interrupted from her thoughts by a hesitant voice, and she looks up to see an academy trainee gesturing uncertainly at the seat across from hers. "Is this taken?"

"Not at all, please go ahead," Yui answers with what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

"Ah, thank you! I'm Tachibana from first year, by the way," the trainee adds as she sets her tray down with a relieved expression.

Had she ever looked this young even when she'd been new here? Yui doesn't think so, but then again all three of them had chosen to finish undergrad first before the academy, while she's pretty certain this Tachibana-san is probably no more than a full year out of high school at best.

Though in retrospect that probably explains the slight nervous edge still in her voice – between the age difference and Yui not wearing the standard uniform, Tachibana has probably just assumed that Yui's here to conduct lessons rather than take them.

Or possibly that's just the effect of finally meeting another woman on campus? From what she's seen today, the ratio has improved since she was in training, but admittedly that's not saying much – back in her year there were so few female trainees that she'd ended up rooming with three of the senior-year students in the dorm just to make up the numbers.

But anyway. "I'm Yui," she says, then stalls out briefly over how to continue. The chief basically assured her that they were expediting her reinstatement as much as possible (he hadn't said why – probably Kan-chan had thrown some fit over not working with anyone else, she supposes) but until then she still isn't a member of the department yet. And it's all a bit too involved for lunch talk, either way.

"My situation's a little complicated," she finally settles on. "I had to take a break a while ago, so I'm just back for my qualification tests, you know?"

Tachibana-san leans forward in obvious interest, her previous trepidation apparently forgotten. "Oh, really? Which department are you aiming for, if you don't mind me asking?"

At least Yui has no trouble answering this one. "Headquarters, first division. What about you?"

"Mountain or air rescue, but I heard the selection's really strict," comes the slightly-distracted answer. "You said Division 1? Isn't that the one with those two really intimidating inspectors?"

Yui blinks in surprise. "You know them?" she blurts, before belatedly recalling both Takeda-keibu's existence (since she doesn't think that anyone would ever call Saegusa-san intimidating) and the fact that Morofushi-keibu's still over at Arano.

"Know of them, more accurately – I heard that they're really bitter rivals?" Tachibana says, eliminating Yui's sudden doubt. "Apparently they both came as guest lecturers once, a couple years back, and bickered so hard that someone laughed, then ended up making that person cry by the end of it."

…apparently, the academy grapevine has both exaggerated events (somewhat) and forgotten to include her sitting in the last row of the auditorium and glaring daggers at said inspectors. Which is just as well, she figures.

"Ah, well, I'm sure they're not that bad once you get to know them," Yui answers vaguely, because she can't very well state it as fact, and besides Kan-chan really only ever makes people cry by accident. Mostly. Though admittedly Morofushi-keibu can be another matter entirely.

Tachibana gives an unconvinced hmm before continuing. "Maybe. Anyway, I also heard that there's an even scarier person there who isn't even an inspector yet!"

…Yui's genuinely confused this time. "Really? Who's that?"

"I don't know for sure, there's a whole bunch of stories out there," Tachibana says, her eyes glinting – Yui's starting to feel like she's unwittingly run into the nerve centre of the academy's rumour mill. "But all of them agree that this detective is the only one who can keep those inspectors in check, y'know?"

Yui narrowly avoids choking on her tea, though thankfully Tachibana's too involved in her tale to notice.

"So she's gotta be real terrifying, don't you think?" she continues, then frowns. "I did hear her name once – what was it again? Ueda? Uemura?"

"Eh?" Yui croaks, although it's really more like EEHHHHHHHH!?!?? inside her head.

"Oh, that's right!" Tachibana exclaims at the same time. "I remember now, it's Uehar– um, are you alright, Yui-san?"

"…just a little surprised, that's all, don't worry about it." Yui clears her throat, and tries her level best not to look like herself. "Are there really those kinds of rumours out there?"

Tachibana nods, though Yui has the sinking feeling that the expression on her face suggests that's the least of it more than anything else, before it shifts again into something less certain. "It's kinda odd, though – there's been none of those stories lately? Some people are speculating that maybe one of them got tired of the competition and transferred to Tokyo MPD, even, but…"

That sobers Yui's mood as quickly as anything ever could. She wonders, for a moment, what her expression must look like right now. "What do you think, then?" she finally asks.

"I don't know," Tachibana admits, biting her lip. "Maybe something happened? I mean, my sister and I used to argue like that all the time, too, but I'd never have moved away just to be rid of her or anything."

"You're probably right," Yui hedges, then finally takes pity on the slight crease between Tachibana's eyebrows. "How about this – I have to leave soon, but why don't we exchange numbers? That way you can tell me if you hear anything."

"Sure! Ah, just look at me, I've wasted your time talking about all this nonsense… and when I was supposed to be revising for that forensics quiz later, too," Tachibana says sheepishly, pulling out her handphone before pausing. "But wouldn't you be the one who'd hear something first? I mean, if you do make it to Division 1."

"Ahaha," Yui not-quite-laughs as they swap phones, and she keys in her contact under Torada Yui – which it legally still is, until the registry paperwork goes through, but she whispers a silent apology to Yushiro-san anyway. "Well, the HQ is quite a big place, you know? Plus I want to hear all about the rescue squad if you do get selected – good luck with that, by the way!"

"You too!" says Tachibana-san as she stands and returns Yui's phone with a little bow. "Remember to update me as well!"

"Of course," Yui promises as Tachibana leaves, and finishes off the last of her drink before standing up too.

Quiz revision, huh… she probably ought to get on that, too, but first – Yui flips her phone open and sends a quick text to Morofushi-keibu letting him know that she's done with the physicals before hitting the speed dial.

"Kan-chan," she begins far too cheerfully when it connects, "you won't believe what I just heard – and no, you can't stop me calling you that until I've been reinstated, so don't even try – "

.

.

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................i don’t understand i just wanted to make a couple terrible jokes at yui’s expense how did that devolve into almost 1.5k words??????????? what even

a n y w a y uh for what was supposed to be a mostly crackfic a disproportionate amount of research happened because i fell down the rabbithole of nagano pd’s recruitment site so i’m only making about half of this up, but the key takeaway of it all is that kendo yui!! factually has a 50% chance!! of being canon!! thank you for coming to my ted talk