#crossover inc...eventually

[theusernameiwantisntavailable]

Ages ago I made a post about where Crystal Cove would be in relation to Gotham if it was in the DC universe and I really want to create an updated version of it because I have new and improved ideas.

[shandoratheexplorer]

20 Questions Writing Edition

Thank you for your tag @nw39 !

How many works do you have on AO3? 39 works, 36 of which are for Baldur's Gate

What's your total AO3 word count? 1,226,501 (nearly half of that is my Longfic Symphony of Shadow and Light)

What are your top five fics by kudos? Symphony of Shadow and Light with 84 All of your very best traits in a bottle with 48 Symphony of Colors with 36 Symphony of Nature with 25 Tied for 5th place with 22 each are: Blood of Lathander (this needs rewriting though!) When I kissed you Love Letters to a Vampire

What fandoms do you write for? Baldur's Gate 3 and a bit of Criminal Minds whenever the mood strikes.

Do you respond to comments? Always! I love answering questions most.

Why or why not? Even if it's just hearts, I'll just send you hearts back. If it's bots or those scam comments I delete. No thankyou.

Do you get hate on fics? Nope, not yet.

Do you write smut? *stares at her 12k Smutshot of Vincent and Sebastian* Hell yeah!

Do you write crossovers? I have once, sort of, with the fic Shadora's brain Inc. Maybe I'll do a Loki & Astarion thing sometime

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge?

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge?

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes! With @mytavruin

What's your all time favorite ship? Honestly, that changes like the weather lol, right now? Eithne and Evindral

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I'll get to all of them eventually, but I'm stuck on the Criminal Minds fic rn

What are your writing strengths? I do sweet stuff good I guess? And I've steadily improved my descriptions, I cross reference my own fics a lot lol so each story is sort of interconnected. Besides that... hurt and comfort! Sometimes I make people go awww and others I make them sob. I love that I can do both.

What are your writing weaknesses? Fight scenes! I STRUGGLEEEE!!!

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? I already use bits of other languages (Irish and Sindarin) as pet names or love confessions. I always give a heads up at the beginning of the chapter.

First fandom you wrote for? Outside of AO3... InuYasha On AO3: MCU

Favorite fic you've ever written? Right now? It's a toss up between Crimson Chains and Love Letters to a Vampire

I tag @dramatiquechipmunk @fartasticdurge @andauril

Have fun!

[brain-of-rain]

Kaiju no. 8 x Godaigo Daigo Crossover

I have some random plot points/ideas ping ponging around in my head but I don’t have the power to write an actual story, so I’ll slap some of them here for anyone interested.

Godaigo Daigo is the only surviving product of humanities kaiju experimentation from 30 years ago. The project was intended to create an immortal soldier by harnessing a kaiju’s regeneration and encoding that ability into suitable humans. Of course everything went horribly wrong and we are left with one giant man, a non zero amount of bodies and an oath to use kaiju abilities only through clothing and weapons.

The existence of Godaigo was somewhat hush hush for the first 15 years of his indefinite employment. However throughout the years as media and anti kaiju tech became more common, he was formally introduced to civilians to avoid future panic.

Similarly to Kafka, Godaigo can use very little of his suits power. In his 30 years of service he’s maxed at 11%

Godaigo is rarely deployed to the field anymore. After all, he is another giant combatant, adding to potential destruction and tech has gotten so good he’s more of a last resort nowadays. Of course he always gets ready anyway.

As after as possible Godaigo will volunteer for local clean up crews, which is where he originally befriended Kafka. Getting out to help never not worth the paperwork.

Because giant heroes aren’t a thing in this world, Godaigo has pretty harsh restrictions. Mostly he remains confined to the defence force base. He’s the chronically underestimated yet sociable old man. Like the forces’ inside joke mascot.

Godaigo wouldn’t stop wearing big pants over his suit so eventually they just made him a pair that matched.

When Kafka finally made with Reno, Godaigo was ecstatic. They would have been friends for as long as Kafka had been working for monster sweeper inc. not sure exactly how long that is but I’m sure he would have witnessed a lot of failed applications.

Godaigo learns the identity of kaiju no. 8 alongside everyone else in the force not alongside Reno because I think it would be really neat if they had time to have a fight while his identity is unknown. The first time the friendly old guy is a real threat. Bro would not hold back if he thinks people are in danger.

Power scaling wise, I know kaiju no. 8 could beat Godaigo so easy, I mean he’s just a tall man. So in this crossover let’s imagine they’re closer in strength. I would prefer if Godaigo is a substantial threat and legit last resort, final boss kind of character in this world.

Ok that’s all for now! Thanks for your time and sorry if the format/language is weird, I wrote this while walking my dog.

[fastestmanalive333]

What’s one story would you write for Chris Kent? (If he was still canon/part of the Super Family?)

oh shit.. i dunno.. if i wrote a full on story based on him i would really delve more into his psyche.. and the mythology of nightwing and flamebird more.. i'd give him his own supporting cast.. it would be self contained, he'd still go to clark and lois for advice and to to talk to them but it would really be more about him.. he'd have his own villains.. maybe, i'd have him protect kandor.. it would now be an established country like how themyscira was before dc screwed that up, there'd be tourists and such.. he'd patrol around there more.. we'd see how the politics are are.. i said in my rewrite of war of the supermen they would move to rokyn to keep with the story.. but eh i feel there's really just more interesting stuff to do and more story potential if the kryptonians stayed on earth.. there's so much you can do with that.. there's a whole kryptonian city on earth.. with a whole culture.. it changes the status quo.. it shakes the status quo and it hasnt been done before.. new storytelling that keeps the reader intrigued.. outside of his main title he would of course join kal, kon and kara during crossovers.. and bigger storylines.. then eventually he'd join a new team.. the team of screwed over characters.. Jason Todd would get out of the constant loop he's in.. and actually get development he'd be on it.. it wouldn't be called titans or outlaws it would be something else.. something new.. Jay would probably ditch red hood for something else.. down the line.. a more heroic mantle but it would look something like this.. Red Hood, Damage, Koryak, Golden Eagle, Red Devil, Nightwing, Flamebird, Argent, Ravager.. we have two noticable characters of course people are gonna recognize.. and the rest are the more obscure ones who got fucked over.. and many of them.. have a hard upbringing.. and you'll see them feel sort of like a found family at first they wont know each other.. until they team up to sort of take out a threat.. it would sort of be like infinity inc crossed with new teen titans simply put.. and you have five characters here who were raised by bad people and had a hard upbringing.. if i wrote a fricking comic or ever wrote a fan fic with this team i would

[flowersdiceandlove]

I feel like I'm in a creative slump, SO! here is a list of all the WIPs I have that I still have the tab open for on my computer! Ask me about them if you want and maybe that'll get my creative juices flowing and reignite my passion to get. these. done. But, they get more unhinged the further down the list you go.

tgcf

Xianle Quartet Fourway-Soulmate Marks AU

God of Spring: Xie Honghua

Of Course He's a God, We're In Heaven

All The Things I've Loved, I still Hold In My Heart

Rarepair

svsss

Kid!Amnesiac!Shizunshroom

Eminence in Shadow!SY

crossovers (tgcf, svsss, mdzs)

One Descendant After the Other!

mdzs

Who I Used To Be (Have I Really Changed?)

BSSR WWX

Wen Reincarnation + Girl!WWX

Fem Reincarnation!WWX + Time Travel

Only Wen Qing

Inc!WWX

WWX's a Siren

I Love Him, You Love Him, We Love Each Other

Brained by a Dizi on Dafan Mountain

Ghost!WWX & LQR Team Up

The One w/ Suibian

Humanesque Suibian

edit: rearranged the list. also, yes, I am still accepting asks about them. I've just gotten caught up in writing. but, ask away and I'll answer eventually.

[firehcart]

𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 + 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐒. — this list will continue to be added to pending what media i consume / what muses follow me. generally i will be happy to add to this list even if your verse is not written on here, so please don't hesitate to reach out. the only verses i will not write in include aging down/up characters, and hp.

note for general fantasy verses : unless there is a specific verse plotted, i am happy to mostly prescribe to a canon where our own continents/countries co-exist within the same world for crossovers and alliances.

modern.

born into a very wealthy family, aelin's upbringing was blessed, with her parents joint CEOs of a company responsible for vast technological developments ( terrasen inc. ). at eight years old she witnesses her parents murdered via a hit arranged by her biological aunt maeve, who stood to inherit the company until aelin turned eighteen years old. barely managing to escape with her own life, she was rendered homeless and on the streets until she was found by arobynn hamel, who had made a shelter for homeless children under the guise of a gentle heart. over time, he used this influence over the children to encourage them to commit crimes on his behalf - first small scale thievery, and eventually training them to murder.

continuing in this life until reaching teenage years, falling in love with one of the other boys living there ( sam cortland ), aelin and sam had tentatively plotted to run away when ordered on one last mission where sam did not survive. aelin was found by police with his corpse and arrested for his murder, presumably set up by arobynn.

most plots in this verse will begin after aelin's release from jail one year later, when new evidence proved her innocence - she is living in a luxurious apartment purchased with her earnings from her crimes, and struggling to reintegrate into society. note, in this verse, her primary name is celaena sardothien.

a court of thorns and roses.

this verse exists in two forms - parallel worlds, where we embrace the canon of aelin falling through worlds and interacting with this world as an au one to her own ( which requires some sort of crossover basis plotting ), or neighbouring continents. in the latter, efforts to maintain political peace and a tentative alliance would see either aelin travelling to the night court, or members of the night court travelling to terrasen as emissary. this verse would be post koa.

crescent city.

essentially runs off the same premise as modern verse in relation to her childhood and being offered shelter by arobynn hamel, with the notable exception that aelin is half-fae and works as a bounty hunter post her time in prison, and is very much equipped to slaughter.

note: this verse was heavily au plotted with @stareternyl in a world where feyre was aelin's roommate. taking the drop with aelin as both enforcer and anchor to bring feyre back.

a song of ice and fire.

born and inherited from one of the original families in old valyria, who fled after the doom, aelin was orphaned at a young age after her parents were murdered and her home ransacked. found by the faceless men within the free city of braavos, aelin was trained within their arts of assassination. after freeing a large amount of slaves within essos out of sympathy, whilst she had been tasked a high scale murder, the faceless man cast her out - she was promptly captured and forced into the fighting pits in meereen. note, in this verse, she has no dragon affinity despite her valyrian background, only a particular potency for fire.

house of the dragon.

much like her asoiaf verse, aelin was born and inherited from an old valyrian bloodline, but her parents were murdered when she was only a child. taken to be sold to the highest bidder, aelin made her escape and found her way to the faceless men, to be trained within their arts and make a name for herself. making a name for herself within westeros ( living within kings landing ), she becomes one of the most sought after assassins in the city.

fourth wing.

gryphon bonded, aelin agrees to go undercover within basgiath to provide intel on a base level to the other side. deliberately falling under the radar and unable to bond a dragon, she is "forced" to repeat her first year, using whatever opportunity she can to feed information back to the other side. displays a rare and powerful gift from her gryphon, one not witnessed by the other fliers before - fire proficiency, usually reserved for dragons and their riders.

bridgerton.

orphaned at a young age, aelin has been raised as the ward of the wealthy arobynn hamel, a man well known to offer his home to orphaned women in exchange for the financial benefit of marrying them into wealthy and powerful families when they come of age. finally of age for the marriage mart, new to the ton after their relocation from northern ireland, aelin is desperate to find a good match before arobynn decides to propose to her himself.

dungeons & dragons / bg3.

coming.

[jelly-opal]

20 Question Fic Writer Tag

Thank you so much @impossibleprincess35 and @scottysketches for the tag!!

How many works do you have on AO3? Nine! But two or three are sitting in varying states of completeness on my computer.

What is your AO3 word count? 25,536

What fandoms do you write for? Only Star Wars!

What are your top five fics by kudos? I'd Keep You Here With Me (113 kudos) Her Boy (69 kudos) All That I Can Do Is Done and Reprieve (both have 43 kudos) Empty Air (37 kudos) She is Indeed (29 kudos)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! I will admit though, I am a little bit slow to respond to comments sometimes. I always do get through them all and respond, even if it takes me a little longer (I think it's an anxiety thing). But I see them come through my email and I totally freak out and get really excited. I appreciate them so much.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I'd say both All That I Can Do is Done and Her Boy are super angsty. ATICDIS is about Obi-Wan reflecting on his love for Satine while he is on Tatooine after the fall of the Republic. Her Boy is about Obi-Wan's mother following his career as a Jedi through radio broadcasts, and eventually finding out about the fall of the Jedi and his (presumed) death. Both of those fics actually made me cry while writing them.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I think I'd Keep You Here With Me has a relatively happy ending? IKYHWM is about Padme, Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-Wan just shooting the shit for a bit and drinking tea in Padme's office. Reprieve has a slightly less happy ending but is still somewhat optimistic. Also, Empty Air is a pretty fluffy collection of one-shots about the Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Satine Year on the Run. For the most part, those are light and happy. Side Sleepers is pretty sweet.

Do you get hate on fics? At this time, no.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I haven't written any smut. I enjoy it in other fics but I haven't really found a natural place for it in any of my own. Maybe one day!

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Nope!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, thankfully. At least not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I haven't, but I'd be all for it if anyone ever offered! How cool.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? No, never, but I'd be all over it if the opportunity presented itself.

What's your all-time favorite ship? Oh man, all-time?? I am really unhinged about my love for Satine Kryze and Obi-Wan Kenobi on their own, which means I'm really unhinged about Obitine. They're the ship that I've written the most for and read the most about, so I think Obitine wins this one. I also really love Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann from SW High Republic. There just isn't as much about them outside of the novels.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? Empty Air is the only WIP, but I AM GOING TO FINISH IT, DAMMIT.

What are your writing strengths? I like to think that I'm good at emotional stuff. Star Wars makes me feel SO MUCH and I always hope that that comes through. I really love the process of working the language of a story to be more vivid so the characters experience something beyond just sadness or just happiness. I like digging to find something a little deeper than that.

What are your writing weaknesses? I take a reallyyyy long time to finish writing fics. I will sit on a fic for weeks and MONTHS because I really want it to be right, so I just think and think and think about it and write and re-write and then stop for a while and then I forget about it, and then I pick it up again. I recently participated in Obitine Week 2023 and wrote three fics and published them the same day, which was a really nice challenge. I'm proud of all three of those so it was a nice reminder that I can produce something I like and not have it take so long.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I've included some Mando'a in my fics but that's it. And even just a few small phrases were time-consuming (such as lararyc jai’galaar: "drunk shriekhawk"), so I really admire the writers who can do huge passages of Mando'a.

First fandom you wrote for? My first in-depth, detailed fic was for Star Wars. But I remember when I was a kid writing what I would later realize were fics about the movies and shows I watched. They were just little stories, and I can't remember exactly what the first was. So I'll just say SW.

Favorite fic you've ever written? Man, that's tough. I love all my fics with my whole heart, but I will probably have to go with All That I Can Do Is Done. As I said earlier, it really hit me emotionally. I think I learned a lot while writing that fic as well.

Ah, I'm sorry I took so long to complete this! I saw the tags and only just got around to doing it. I feel like everyone I follow has done this already, but if you'd like to complete this and haven't been tagged, please consider this your tag! I'd love to read them!

[purpledisastertwin900]

Okay so I’ve been wanting to try something…

I want to try my hand at writing drabbles/one-shots! I’ve written a couple short story type things before, and I wanna try it with fanfiction, so, I need prompts!!!

I can write for Owl House, ROTTMNT, or 2012 TMNT-itll be short, like less than a full chapter. A snippet, a moment, so to speak. I won’t write any inc*st, tc*st, absolutely anything NSFW, or anything too graphic. I will however write fluff, bonding, angst, appropriate romance/crushes/first kisses/idk stuff like that you get the gist. Basically if it’s appropriate and doable I wanna try it, so just hit shuffle honestly! Oh and crossovers would be fun to try

So yeah! If you have a prompt for me I’d absolutely love it if you could drop it in my inbox-can’t tell you how long it might take, but I will do it eventually!!

[angstymarshmallow]

part six - “deal.” (cal lowell x mc)

[a little note: back at it again with another part in my series! I have abandoned all hope of naming the series and I will keep writing it in infuriating and vague titles instead. I think the next part is actually going to be my cross-over idea, so I’m placing this on a mini-hiatus while I start phase 2 *wiggles eyebrows*. It’s past 1:00 am and I’m being a little weird, but without further ado If you read it - than you! If you leave a comment, bless you!]

[words counted: 8771]

[summary: in the aftermath of their breakup, Wren (MC) is starting to come to the conclusion that a world without Cal, isn’t much of a world she wants to exist in. Coming to terms with her feelings is a battle in itself and what lies next on the horizon may take everything for her and Cal to survive].

[part one, part two, part three, part four, part five]

Wren stumbles to catch her footing, her hands warding off the dent of the blow once he strikes – his fist sailing and making contact, before she backpedals several steps away. It hurts, but it would’ve hurt helluva a lot more if she hadn’t seen it coming at the last possible second.

“You’re distracted.” His words are terse, eyes drawn back as a smirk toys at the corner of his lips.

The ass. He’s enjoying this.

She shouldn’t expect any differently, and for all that he was – Nik Ryder is still one of the most infuriating people she has ever met. But he’s never given up on her and in the short time they’ve known each other, he’s taught her nearly everything he knew about being a nighthunter.

Although, Wren still doesn’t appreciate him pointing out the obvious, because she’s been more than distracted lately, she’s been moody. Angry. Depressed. All of that and more at just the thought of Cal – at what they meant to each other and what they’ve lost in the aftermath of their fight. Before the thought is able take much root, she puts a stop to it and diverts her attention back to the man in front of her – still gauging her reaction.

“Bite my ass, Nik.” There. That’ll teach him.

Snarling, Wren ducks his jab and feints to the left. She thinks she has the upper hand until his leg cuts her off, sweeping into a wide arc to take out both of her knees.

Wren curses as her feet fumble. There’s no stopping herself from toppling over and falling flat on her ass. Her wrist absorbs most of the impact and she hisses as slight twinges of pain shoot up her arm. Getting to her feet, she rubs tiny circles along the surface of her skin, making them gradually wider to cover the inside of her wrist.

“Sloppy.” Nik says, making a slight noise of what Wren can only describe as disappointment. His dark eyes remain impassive despite her own foul attitude at his remark. He circles her. Raising his hands, he clenches them into tight fists. “Sloppy will get you killed.”

He doesn’t need to tell her twice. A year of training ought to have taught her better.

But her mind is far past that point. She isn’t focused on looking for opportunities, cracks in his defense – she’s still too angry, too out of control of her own emotions to care about the consequences of not thinking things through. She doesn’t care if she’s being sloppy, she just wants to hit something.

Without uttering a remark, Wren sets off on her feet again – ducking when he tries to deliver a hook at the side of her head and she throws her hands up to body-tackle him towards the floor. “Rughh!”

At the last second, Nik manages to pivot his feet with enough of a twist to change the angle of his stance. He uses her own momentum against her, throwing her off balance and slightly chuckling as she lands with a hard thud against the floor of his apartment. He whirls back around to face her. “That sounded like it hurt.” He taunts, eyes brightening as she curses.

Grimacing, Wren hauls herself off the floor. “It did. Not that you care.” She fires back, raising her hands up defensively as she gets on the balls of her feet.

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here right now – giving you a target to hit.” He counters, ducking at the last second when she throws a quick jab. “I’d be at home with a case of cold beer.”

Wren lets out a cry of triumph as her other hand quickly shoots out, her fist finally connecting to his jaw

He winces, but makes a show of blocking her next attack – preventing any follow-up chance for any kind of onslaught.

“Sloppy,” she mimics, trying her best Nik impression. “Aren’t you the one that said sloppy will get me killed?”

He dodges to the right and grips her briefly by the waist; setting himself up for kneeing her exposed chest.

The impact makes her grunt and fight for her next breath. She staggers back, eyes tearing up as she manages to shoot him a glare.

“And I wasn’t lying when I said it.”  His tone is deadpanned. “You’re angry. Use it but don’t let it control you. Anger is a powerful tool – but letting your emotions get the better of you isn’t only dangerous, it’s stupid.”

Huffing a breath, Wren rushes into him.

Their bodies slam together, but Nik keeps an inch away by using his arms to push against her demanding push and pull. “Control it, Wren.”

She growls low in her throat, increasing the pressure and leaning more of her weight against him. He won’t get the better of her again, she won’t let him.

Nik blinks and adjusts his stance almost instantly to administer more of a defensive posture.

It’s all the opportunity she needs. Loosening her hold, Wren drops her right shoulder a few inches and uses her weight to propel him across her shoulders – heaving his heavier mass over her – despite the racing of her own heart as adrenaline pumps loudly inside her veins.

He lands with an oomph and doesn’t stand right away. Wincing, Nik rubs his left hip then hastily gets to his feet.

“I am controlling it, Nik.” She mutters with a hiss. Trying to anyway – this was the best it’s going to get.

His eyes halt in her direction. His brow creases the moment his hands fly up and suspends in the air – indicating they should place their sparring match on hold. “I thought this was helping, but now I’m not so sure.” He hesitates, frowning. “I’ve never seen you so upset before.”

“Let me stop you right there.” She cracks her knuckles. “If I wanted to talk; I would’ve gone to see Vera.” She should have sparred with Katy; Katy has always been better at reading between the lines – knowing when to push her and when not to. But she’s out of town on nighthunter business and Nik had only returned from another odd job of his own.

Still, Wren hates the idea. She doesn’t want to talk, because talking won’t make anything easier – it’ll make her feel things she’s been staving off since he left. There’s no Cal and her anymore. And the knowledge hurts. It hurts enough for her heart to ache at the thought of another day without him.

She’s afraid that if she starts talking about everything, the tears will start and she’ll never be able to stop.  Taking a step towards him, Wren swallows the lump that’s suddenly formed in her throat and forces her thoughts to the present. Focus. Breathe. Control. “Now are we going to fight or not?”

-

Nearly two hours later Wren is sprawled across Nik’s living room floor, panting and on the brink of exhaustion. In fact, no amount of deep breathing exercises aids her, nor the other nighthuner sprawled several inches beside her – his own breathing embarrassingly loud.

Still, she has to admit it feels good to be exhausted. To be worn-out long enough to enjoy the release of endorphins she’s always had when it comes down to fighting. Slightly opening her eyes, Wren blows a few strands of her hair out the way before Nil makes the decision to stand.

She hears his slight curse before a cool bottle of beer is slipped between her fingers. After a beat of silence, she mutters. “Thanks.”

“I figured you needed one more than I do.”

She sits up, acknowledging his response with a snort as he leans intently closer to crack open her beer. Inclining her head, she waits expectantly for Nik to grab another beer before they clink them together.

She takes the first sip and sighs. It’s blissfully cool. “You’re right, I definitely needed that.” She closes eyes her briefly, “I guess…this is a good time as any to thank you for letting me barge in this morning.”

Suddenly looking a little uncomfortable by her gratitude, Nik shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”

“No really.” Wren insists, “you just got back. You could have turned me away but you didn’t. Instead, you humored me.”

He laughs, eyes flashing in amusement as he raises his beer to his lips. “You gave as good as you got.”

“Still,” she lets out a tired breath. “I don’t say thanks very often, but I appreciate…you being there for me.” She looks away, focusing instead on the redness of her knuckles before rubbing tiny circles across the raw skin.

“What are friends for– if not for beating the shit out of each other when they’re down, right?” A crooked smile flit across his face briefly. “I’m just worried you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”

Wren shrugs, still avoiding eye contact by hugging her shoulders after getting to her feet. After another hesitant beat, she takes a chug of her beer. “What’s talking about it going to really do for me?” She takes a deep breath, testing his name on her lips for the first time in a week. “Cal is gone. He ended things – we’re…done. He didn’t think we’d work out in the long run and nothing I could say was going to change his mind.”

She can almost feel his glare at the side of her field of vision. “You know it’s never that simple.”

She continues as if he hasn’t spoken, mulling over it. “And maybe he’s right. Maybe I wasn’t really ready to be a part of the pack, to be his mate.” She sighs, stalking across the room. “I mean - who am I even kidding? I’m only twenty-four and I barely know what I want half the time for lunch – so how can I even hope to make a decision like that?” She shakes her head in disbelief.

“Cut the shit, Wren.”

He says the words sharp enough for Wren to pause in mid-pacing, her shoulders stiffening as he shoots her a chilling stare. “What?”

“You heard me, cut the shit.” His tone seems to only emphasize the gravity of his words, as he settles his beer on the coffee table. “You were looking for a way out – so he gave it to you.”

“That’s not –” She frowns and fumbles to find the words she’s looking for.

“You pretty much said it yourself, you don’t think you’re ready for that.” Nik jerks his chin, “and it didn’t matter what he said – you would have taken any out you could.”

Wren bites on her bottom lip, gnawing the soft flesh between her teeth as she mulls over his words. Is that what she did? Had she looked for an out?

“If you wanted to fight for him, it wouldn’t have mattered what he said. You would’ve have let him ended things.” He says the words matter-of-factly, without any antagonism behind it. “You were scared.”  

She turns away, bitter resentment filling the ache in her chest. “I wasn’t –”

“You were scared shitless.” He says harshly, lips pursed.

“You don’t get it!” She glances back and clenches her fists to her sides. “We were never going to work!”

He steps closer, crowding her vision – forcing her not to look away. “And who gets to the decide that?”

“The rest of the world does!” She throws her hands up in frustration, “the pack – ”

“Fuck the pack.” Nik snarls the words, “they aren’t you and Cal!”

“But they’re his responsibility. They’re apart of his world!

“So?”

“So-” she fumbles to respond – finding anything to defend herself from his barrage of questions. “They hate me.”

He jerks his chin, eyes flashing with almost as much rage as Wren feels threatening to boil over. “Since when did you start giving a shit about everyone else’s opinion?”

“Since I couldn’t get away from it,” she retorts, lips quivering. “It’s everywhere, reminders that we don’t belong together, no matter how much –” She sucks a breath, fighting for any shred of calm still remaining. Her eyes are pricking at the sides; “no matter how much I want us to.” There, she’s said it. She’s admitted what she thought she never could. “So yeah, I was scared. I am scared.”

His eyes soften in sympathy. “I get it, I do. Who could blame you for being scared? He’s the alpha, he’s never gonna be able to put you first. Not completely. The pack demands more than that and maybe, maybe it’ll demand his life someday.” His eyes don’t waver, “maybe you couldn’t live with that.” He takes a deep chug of his drink; some of the dark liquid spilling at the side of his mouth as he tips his head back. “But regardless of that – the Wren I know wouldn’t give Cal up without a fight – and even then.” He grabs her shoulders, eyes searching hers.

Wren’s heart races a little faster at the sincerity behind in his words. This isn’t Nik the badass nighthuner taking – this is Nik her friend, her confidant. “Even then I wouldn’t have let go.” She says the word softly, breath catching as something wet touches her cheek.

She’s at war with herself. Like two sides of a coin, there are still parts of her that believe loving someone so completely is impossible – and parts of her that wants to think someone like her could be worthy of a love like Cal. She did give up fighting for him.

“…You’re right.” Wren says the words slowly, blowing out a breath harshly from her lips as she steps back, gathering her willpower to keep talking. “Giving up – that isn’t me.” She blinks past the tears. “That night – when we broke up, Cal said I had one foot in the door and the other trapped in my old world, the world where things always made sense. No matter how dumb and uneventful that life had been – it was safe. It was mine.” She drifts towards Nik’s window, intent on finding space to gather her thoughts. She presses her forehead against the cool glass to help ease some of the tension from her temples. “I was looking for a way out, because everything felt like it was driving us apart.”

Voice shaking, she backs away from the window to resume her restless pacing. “I didn’t know if I could handle it, I pretended I could. I pretended like I understood his responsibilities, that I understood how different our worlds are. I told myself, I could deal with it - Cal cancelling because of pack business – why they always made me feel like an outsider. It all boiled down to that…and I guess, I was upset because he saw right through me. He saw and knew I was like a fish out of water, trying not to die.”

Nik nods in encouragement, remaining silent as Wren feel his gaze on her back.

She clears her throat, hastily wiping the corner of her eyes. “I’ve never had a reason to be scared before – I’ve had friends, they’ve come and gone. I’ve had boyfriends and girlfriends – but it’s never been like this. It’s never felt like – ” she fumbles for the right word, dragging her fingers through her hair in frustration. “It’s never felt like more than just feelings. It’s never felt like love before him.” The words escape before she can take them back, and after she’s said them – she doesn’t want to. It’s as if the burden she’s carried around for months has suddenly been lifted and Wren lets out a strangled gasp of relief, blinking past the sudden urge to cry.

“I’ve never been afraid of losing someone before. But I was afraid of losing him – and what did it matter when I lost him in the end? My own stubborn and stupidity fucked us both over. And shit, it hurts knowing I’ve lost him.” Her eyes are wide and glassy as Nik stands, crossing the room to embrace her. “It just hurts so fucking much.”

The tears aren’t gradual, like they’ve always seemed to be in movies Wren used to make fun of. It’s all at once – like a dam that’s been blocked for so long, only to suddenly burst open. They fall freely across Nik’s bare shoulder as Wren buries her face there, shuddering when he hums nonsensical noises under his breath.

He doesn’t speak and she’s grateful for it. His arms merely keep her cradled against his chest, while her tear soak his shirt. Fuck, why can’t she stop crying?

Several minutes later, Wren is finally able to pull herself together. She steps back, still rubbing the corner of her eyes while Nik offers her an uncharacteristically tender smile.

“Doesn’t it feel better? Letting it all out?”

Her voice is still raw when she speaks, but thankfully there aren’t any more godawful tears to shed. It seems, for the moment she’s all cried out. “Big talk for someone that doesn’t have the full spectrum of human emotions,” she firest back, still not looking at him completely.

“There she is.”

Hiding a smile, Wren takes a deep breath. She feels a little more of herself again and straightens her shoulders to incline her head at him.

“Good thing this isn’t about me lacking the full range of humans emotions, then huh?” He tries and fails to crack a smile when she manages to finally meet his gaze again. “He still loves you Wren.”

“…Does he?” The words slip from her lips before she’s able to rethink it.

“No shit, he does.” Nik rolls his eyes, “you won’t believe how miserable he’s been without you. I’m talking like stay-at-home-ignoring-everyone level of miserable.” He snorts derisively.

Biting her lower lip, she draws another shaky breath. “Is it bad that a small part of me is happy about that?” While the rest of her feels just as miserable at the thought. She doesn’t want Cal to suffer, not really. She spent a lot of time thinking she would have, but truthfully all she wanted to do was run to him, but after that text he sent her last week – she’s been back to avoiding nearly everyone. Without nighthunter duties keeping her tied to NOLA presently, she’d have probably skipped town up until this point.

“Yeah, really.” Nik chuckles, drawing her out of her thoughts. “Rook, believe me when I say this – it doesn’t make sense for two people that are obviously miserable without each other, to take so long to realize it.”

“Give me a break,” Wren rubs her eyes hastily again, laughing with something akin to only relief. Shit, it feels good to laugh again. “I’ve never been in love before…and it’s…weird. But a good weird.” She pauses to think, gnawing at her lower lip. “I should have said something earlier.”

He gives her a droll stare. “Well, what’re you standing around talking to me for? Go tell the wolf yourself.”

A wave of affection fills her throat, momentarily making it difficult for Wren to muster any form of gratitude she can. She hesitates for a split second, and then she closes the distance to quickly hug him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Nik pats her back for a moment before swiftly letting her go. “Seriously, don’t. I want to sweep this whole letting our feelings get the better of us right under the rug.”

“Yup, already done.” Laughing, she echoes his sentiments entirely. Her eyes skim the room for her shoes. “Breakdown? I don’t know what those are.” As she spots them, she wades over and quickly hauls them to her feet.

Nik grunts in response.

Her hand pauses by the door handle as she glances back to meet his questioning stare. It’s the first sign of a smile she’s seen from him all day.

“I’m happy for you both.”

She returns the smile, as fleeting as it is until she remembers how they’ve left things. She can’t just sit around waiting for him to say anything again. She has to fight for him too. Shooting him a parting wave, Wren opens his front door – only to freeze in place as her heart suddenly spikes several notches at the familiar figure standing in front of her. “Christ, kid!” She winces, fighting the urge to clutch her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry!” Donny has the good senses to at least look sheepish as he apologizes. He’s standing a few inches away, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that had too many holes to be some kind of a style.

He stuffs his hands inside his pockets and as she jerks her chin at him, he rocks back on his heels. “What’re you doing here?”

His mouth snaps shut for a moment as they slid behind her. Then his jaw tenses as their eyes connected again. “I didn’t mean to – I just didn’t know where else to look for you and once I picked up your scent, I just followed it here.” He seems on edge; eyes shifting warily from her and a frowning Nik whose presence is still close behind her.

“Why do you need to find me?” Her surprise quickly recedes into apprehension. “What’s going on? Are you hurt?” Without thinking her hands and eyes skim the entire length of his six feet. No obvious wound….maybe it’s internal?

Donny waves off her concern, “I’m fine. It’s not me that needs help.” As she motions him inside, he takes a ragged breath – staring between Nik and Wren uncertainly until she quirks an eyebrow.

“Are you comin’ in or what?” She notes another strange look passing between them before her irritation snaps. “If you even think –”

He holds up his hands. “I don’t wanna know.”

“Well, there isn’t anything to know.” She says curtly, staring indignantly at hi. “I love your brother –” there she goes dropping that word again. Although it almost seems to fall off the tongue effortlessly the more, she says it.

Donny blinks up her as a flurry of emotions swiftly flit across his youthful face.

“Really? You aren’t going to say anything?” She goads, gesturing to herself. “Not even to gloat?” The fact that he hasn’t said anything is already not a good sign. “Okay kid, c’mon you’re scaring me.” Wren swallows. She’s almost too afraid to ask. “Where’s Cal? What’s going on?”

“It’s my brother,” his lower lip quivers and his shoulders suddenly hunch. “He’s gone Wren.”

He’s gone.

He’s gone.

He’s gone.

His words play on loop as panic engulfs her chest. It’s suddenly hard to breathe and Wren staggers back as if he’d struck her. Without thinking, she grabs him and shake his shoulders hard enough for his teeth to slightly rattle. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Donny doesn’t flinch, despite her fingers digging into his skin. His expression mirrors her own trepidation. His lips quiver and as his chocolate eyes widen in fear, she feels her own resolve crumbling. “I need your help.”

-

“…and that’s the last time you heard from him?”

Several minutes after Donny’s ambiguous explanation, both Wren and Nik pace the living room, while he stretches and sits with his arms folded cross the couch. “He said he’d be back on Monday.” He buries his face into his hands, muffling his next words. “I know Cal, he wouldn’t break his promise like that. Not for anything.”

Wren runs her fingers through her hair, mind racing with worry at the thought of something happening to him. It would be her luck that the only person she’s ever fallen completely for is in mortal peril. Just her damn rotten luck.

Nik breaks the silence first; his lower octave filling the sudden gap left behind from silence, as Wren feels Donny’s questioning stare from the corner of her eyes shift towards him. “And he didn’t mention where he went – at all?”

Donny shakes his head. “He didn’t know where he was meeting Mr. Kavinsky, he changed it like at the last second. Cal was texting me it wouldn’t take long, but I knew from his message that he was weirded out by the whole thing. Mr. Kavinsky whole vibe didn’t exactly scream ‘trust me.’”

“Changing the meeting place last second is definitely strange.” Nik agrees, scratching his chin. “But, unfortunately that still doesn’t prove anything.”

“What about the pack?” Wren interrupts. Her voice is still a little hoarse from crying earlier and she clears her throat in an attempt to smoothen it out. It’s the first thing she can think of, shouldn’t the pack care that their alpha has been MIA for the past couple days? “Isn’t this pack business?”

Donny flinches slightly from the flatness of her tone.

She’s thrown more accusation than she meant, but the idea of them not doing anything about Cal being across country lines is damn right infuriating. “Shouldn’t they be sending someone to New York to help figure out where he is?”

His expression falters until his stare drops to the floor. “That’s the thing, Cal doesn’t want anyone to go after him. It was his orders.”

That self-sacrificing idiot. She’s furious at the idea of him going alone, even worse that he’s ordered no one else to come after him. But that’s the type of person he is, he wants to fix everything himself – regardless of people wanting to help him or not. If he only told me. I could have been there. I could have done something.

“The pack’s been in total chaos since he left. Without our alpha, we’re all on edge.” Donny stands, his eyes glimmering faint amber as if he’s growing angrier by the minute at the thought. “Half of them want to throw those kids back on the street for Shaw.”

Wren’s entire body goes stiff. “That can’t happen.”

“And the other half wants to go after him.”

“No good either, Shaw would have the advantage. New York’s apart of his territory.” Nik frowns, and curses under his breath. “This is a mess.”

“This isn’t just a mess Nik, it’s a whole shitshow.” Wren blows out an irritated breath.

“Jayde’s keeping everyone on a tight leash for now, but there’s no telling how long that’ll last. The longer Cal is gone, the worse this’ll get Wren.” Donny returns his gaze back to her, his eyes almost pleading – his tone insistent. “We have to find him.”

“I’m right with you kid.” She pats his arm in reassurance. “There’s no way I’m going to sit around and do nothing while Cal is out there.” She promises him with a determined smile. Although, that’s easier said than done. If they’ve got no leads as to where he went –

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Nik interrupts, glaring at the two of them disdainfully. “I think we’re missing the obvious here. Neither of you know where he is. New York is a big enough city and unless he appears out of thin air – there’s no way you’re getting into their territory to poke your head without Shaw’s pack or one of Kavinsky’s men spotting you.”

“But –” They both yell at the same time.

“Remember what we talked about earlier, Wren?” He frowns, eyebrows narrowing in obvious disapproval. “Dangerous and stupid? This is definitely the definition of dangerous and stupid.”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Wren throws her hands up in the air, frustrated. “I’m all for ideas, but if you think I’ll sit around and just wait for one to fall in our laps –” she snorts, “then I guess I’ll just have to settle for being stupid.” Driving her point home, she splays her hands across her sternum, “it’s served me a lot of times when I’ve needed it to.”

“Unbelievable.” Nik mutters.

“We should start by talking with the pack.” As much as she hates to say it, they’re still their best bet in finding Cal. “Maybe Jayde knows something, she is his Beta after all. I’m sure he shared something with her.” She waits expectantly for Donny to echo her sentiment.

He shrugs, “I tried talking to her about it, but I didn’t get anywhere.”

“Then, I’ll talk to her.”

He seems to hesitate and at the quirk of her eyebrows, he quickly fumbles to continue. “She’s at Wolf’s Den with most of the pack.”

“Well, shit.” Of course, this wasn’t going to be easy. Why should it be? The idea of walking in there with every pair of wolf eyes on her is terrifying but Wren swallows back her fear and ruffles the top of Donny’s head. She can’t think of just herself anymore – there’s Donny to worry about and Cal. “Then that’s where we’ll go.” She turns to Nik, who’s been lost in thought until she clears her throat and gestures to him. “Is there anyone in New York that could help narrow down the search?”

Nik hesitates, brow furrowing at the request.

“Anyone?” She presses on, narrowing her eyes a little at his silence.

“Yeah.” He sighs, “someone owes me a favor. I could talk to him, see what he knows.”

“Someone?” When Nik doesn’t respond right away, Wren folds her arms. “Okay, spill. Which big, bad and all powerful supernatural do you know?” With Nik, Wren’s come to the realization that nothing is out of his realm of possibility. The man knows pretty much everyone.

“Adrian Raines.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets.

Wren’s jaw nearly hits the floor. “Multibillionaire and philanthropist Adrian Raines?” She prompts him. “The same man that spent more than a decade of his life funding cancer research and space travel? That Adrian Raines?”

“The one and the same.”

How the hell did Nik manage to meet him? “Wait, don’t tell me –”

“He’s a vampire.” His tone is deadpanned. “He sits at the head of the vampire council–” before she’s able to ask for more information, he quickly holds up a finger. “- but I can’t tell you about that, we don’t have the time. I can tell you that I could probably reach his assistant, she usually helps in handling his…..other business.”

When she tries to peek at his phone, Nik shoots her a scowl and hides the object into the crook of his shoulder.

But she does manage to catch a name; Harlow Daniels from underneath the long list of his contacts. “So, you’ll think they’ll be able to help?”

“I’m not sure. But like I said Adrian owes me a favor.” He pockets his phone.

“Is there anyone that doesn’t owe you a favor?”

“Nope,” he responds without missing a beat, grinning down at her. “You meet all sorts of people in this line of work and Adrian’s no exception to the rule.”

“Right.” Rolling her eyes, Wren mumbles. “Maybe I should get out of NOLA more.” She’s barely been out of the city since the fated day they met a year ago. Sometimes, she wonders if Kristin still misses her. “Well then, we have a plan.”

“Not really,” Nik’s face twists into a humorless smile. “But it’s better than no plan.”

Wren turns to Donny whose attention has been fixated his phone during their entire exchange. “You ready kid?”

“Yeah,” he frowns.

That doesn’t look good. “You frown long enough; you’ll end up with permanent wrinkles. What’s up?”

Donny glances up at her, his eyes clouded with worry. “It’s Jayde. Apparently, a fight broke out at Wolf’s Den.”

Wren curses. “Is it Derek –” the last thing they need is another all-out brawl.

“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s just the pack.”

-

Half an hour later after exchanging goodbyes with Nik, Wren and Donny arrive at the porch of Wolf’s Den. The sun is at its lowest point and makes their shadows appear oversized as they board the steps of the giant, and looming house.

Before they head inside, Donny’s hand shoots out to grip Wren’s forearm. “Wait.”

She stops inside her tracks and turns to quirk an eyebrow questioningly at him.

His stance has changed. It’s no longer lax as their gazes return to the house. He seems to adjusts his height and his nostrils flare. When she sneaks a glance at him, his eyes have that familiar and faint amber-glow to them. It makes something in her gut twist with the unwavering certainty that she won’t like whatever it is, he has to say. “What?”

“Nothing it’s just…” His eyes skim the entire length of the house, tilting his chin to the side as he frowns. “Something’s not right.” He sniffs the air, his shoulders tensing. “Just be on your guard.”

“Right.” Under any other circumstances, she can think of – she wouldn’t have allowed a chance at poking fun of him to pass, but now isn’t the time. Checking the harness of her weapon, Wren takes a protective step in front of him. “Let me go in first. You follow after I give the okay.”

He rolls his eyes. “You sound just like Cal.” He doesn’t say the words with any malice, it feels more genuine than that as he glances away with a spot of color across his cheeks. “I can take care of myself.”

“Uh-huh.” Brandishing her weapon, Wren checks the parameter of the house. When nothing in particular jumps out at her, she heads inside with Donny ignoring her request to stay put by sticking close to her side.

From the moment she’s steps foot inside the Wolf’s Den, Wren is almost nauseated by the smell. It reeks of beer, blood and other substances she isn’t quite ready to think about in her half-anxious state. She maneuvers tentatively between two unconscious men fashioning the pack’s familiar insignia.

Everything is askew, pieces of furniture have been flipped and destroyed, while the rest of the house seem to echo the same pattern – broken glasses, upturned tables and blood. Small litters of people are everywhere Wren looks, but thankfully - they seem to be blissfully knocked out, despite how beaten-up and well bloodied they appear.

The hand on her arm tightens and Wren glances back just as Donny begins to make a gesture pointing upwards to further investigate the house upstairs. She nods in agreement, shifting ever so slightly to switch directions of their inspection.

They take to the stairs, only pausing once they’ve heard the sound of movement in the hall. They both seem to freeze at the same time, before Wren recovers first – reaching for her gun and aiming it at the figure down the hall. “Alright, whoever’s still awake – is about to get the beat down of their life.”

Donny snarls behind her, changing his stance until he takes a good whiff of the air. He relaxes almost immediately, holding up a hand to caution Wren to drop her gun.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Jayde calls, emerging from out of the dimly lit hall. Hair dishelmed, her clothes are also torn and her spots along her sides and legs are exposed. From one good look, Wren is able to discern that she’s bruised from head to toe; the stain of dried blood across her temple and the slight limp to her walk are definitely all the indications that Wren needs to displace her earlier worry.

“You look like shit.” Wren hooks her weapon back into her harness.

Jayde barks out a laugh, and then winces. “I feel like shit.” Leaning heavily against the wall, she slides to the floor.

Donny scrambles to her side in nearly an instant, squatting down to check her pulse.

“I’m alright Donny, I just need a minute.”

“What the hell happened?” Wren cautiously checks the worst of Jayde’s injuries on approach. There’s still blood dripping onto the floor from the side of her ribs marks the worst of her wounds, but she’s somehow still conscious. At least, there’s that to be thankful for. Although for how long, Wren can’t be sure.

“What’re you doing here?” Jayde counters, wincing again when Wren tears off a piece of her shirt to press against her bare skin.

The cloth is soaked with her blood within seconds. Shit.

“This pack business.” She turns to Donny, even manages a solid glare. “You shouldn’t have brought her.”

“I didn’t have a choice – no one was that at least listening to me!” Donny’s brows knit in obvious concern, “and I was scared something was going to happen.”

“And obviously something did,” Wren interjects thinly, loosening her hold to drop the measly piece of cloth to the floor. “Besides, now I’m here and I can help.”

”I’ll be fine,” Jayde says brusquely. “I’ll…heal in no time.” She tries to bat Wren’s hand away feebly, but her strength is so depleted that a fly would have done a better job at moving it.

“Not unless you don’t bleed to death first.” She counters. Ignoring her comment, Wren tears another piece of her tank top to press into the woman’s side. Then she takes one of Jayde’s hands to rest where her hand had been moments ago. “Can you stand?”

“I think so.”

“Good.” Turning to Donny, Wren gestures for him to grab Jayde’s arm. “I’ll need help moving her in the other room.”

“You got it.”

Together they manage to rise, the taller woman unsteadily getting her feet. Jayde titters forward for a moment, her balance painstakingly unstable before her eyes seem to snap at attention. Together, all three of them make their way past the long hallway until they’re able to find the study.

Wren shoulders the door open and within seconds they’ve gently laid Jayde across the sofa, who pants and glances down at the slight discoloration of her skin.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything? There’s gotta be a medkit around here somewhere.” When Wren turns to leave and venture down the hall, Jayde stops her by calling out her name.

“I’ll be fine, Wren.” Jayde mutters through bared teeth. Donny whines from behind her, his shoulders hunched over and his expression sullen until she reaches up to pat him. Mid-way, she drops her hand and winces.

“Nope. That’s it. I’ll be right back.” Ignoring her protests, Wren searches the cabinets of their bathroom and lets out a triumphant cry when she finds it – an entire box, seemingly untouched and tucked away in the corner of their medicine cabinet. She wipes the dust that’s on top before washing away the dirt off her hands.

By the time she heads back, Jayde looks marginally better – some of the colour returning back to her cheeks but the wound by her side keeps Wren’s attention. Slightly frowning, Wren fishes through the box until she’s able to find what she’s looking for. “So, are you going to continue being a pain in the ass – or are you gonna tell me what happened?”

“Like I said, it’s pack business.”

“So, a pain in the ass then?” Wren takes a cotton and drenches it in rubbing alcohol before administering it across her skin.

Jayde hisses then snarls in frustration. Her snarl turns into a sharp yelp after Wren increases the pressure.

“Sorry.”

“Pff.” Jaydge manages some semblance of a laugh, until the effort makes her groan in pain. “You’re enjoying this.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I kinda am.” She removes the cotton, relieved to see the worst part of her bruise have stopped bleeding. “No offense.”

“None taken.” When Jayde tries to touch the spot she’s cleaned, Wren slaps her hand away.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Yes doctor.” She smirks. Her smile falters as another surge of pain has her jolting up; the distinct sound of cracking as her bone began remaking themselves increases Wren’s worry. “Where did you learn to do this anyway? Med school?”

Wren pulls back to give her a droll stare. “You think if I went to med school I’d end up here – as a nighthunter?”

“It’s just a question.” Jayde grunts, her tone defensive.

“A dumb one.” She snorts. Placing a gauze on top – she jerks her chin towards Donny, whose been struck staring this entire time. “Can you help me wrap this up?”

Nodding, he takes one end of the long piece of cloth and helps to gingerly wrap it around her until Jayde’s entire stomach is covered.

“And to answer your question, you kinda have to pick up a few things when you’ve got no one else to looking out for you –except yourself.” Wren takes a step back to admire her handiwork. It’s not the best, but it’ll do. “I’ve had my fair share of injuries – nothing too serious, but I had to learn to patch myself up when I couldn’t pay any hospital bills.”

Jayde mutters a soft thank you, her forest green eyes staring up at her as if seeing her for the first time. “This’ll help.”

“You’re welcome.” Standing upright again, Wren folds her arms. “Now I told you a secret, you owe me an explanation in return. A favor for a favor, right?”

She seems to hesitate. “I –”

“I know you’re Cal’s beta and all, but I’m his mate.” Wren says the words sharper than she intended, but the message is clear all the same. She won’t abandon him – or her. “And whatever affects him – or the pack, is my business too.”

From across the room, Donny whistles and seems to be fighting a smile. Even Jayde, albeit taken aback seems pleased with Wren’s disposition.

“Alright then, Cal’s mate.” She sits a little straighter, and braces one arm across her stomach. “Tensions have been high here – really high since Cal’s been gone. Some of Shaw’s wolves have been stirring up trouble and blaming it on us.” Her nose flared and her jaw clenches before she adds. “I’ve tried to do what I can, but I don’t have the same pull an alpha does. I can’t exert my will over them like Cal can.” She rubs her eyes, “I’m only trying my damndest to keep the peace – the last thing this town needs is a bunch of pissed off and over masculine wolves ripping into each other.”

“Tonight, didn’t seem very peaceful.”

Jayde gives her a sharp stare and even Donny appears a little annoyed and taken aback by her jab; from the appearance of a slight frown.

Wren tries to apologize, “sorry, you were saying?”

“Almost half of the pack was threatening to leave if Nick, Theo and Saline weren’t gone by tomorrow.” Her lips form a small sneer.  “I told them I would toss their asses out myself if they thought I was gonna leave a bunch of kids defenseless. Whether they like it or not – they’re pack too.”

“Smart woman.”

“Not smart enough. My threat fell on deaf ears. Instead of being scared, one of them demanded to challenge my rank.”

“I can’t imagine you taking that well.”

Jayde throws her a droll stare. “Yeah no shit. I tore that pup into shreds before he could touch me. Too bad it didn’t end there, the place erupted into chaos as soon as it was over. One of our own stabbed me right in the fucking stomach with a fork.” Jayde hisses, “too much fucking testosterone will apparently do that to you.”

“I…really missed a lot huh.” Donny blinks, his eyes widening in surprise.

“It sure sounds like it.” Wren adds shortly, a little stunned by the lengths the pack is willing to go. “But where are the kids now? I didn’t see them on my way up here.”

“Gone. As soon as they fight broke out, I knew it was dangerous to have them here, so I had Pete take them home. I should actually go check on them,” Jayde winces again as she tries to stand. “There’s no telling what will happen if anyone else realizes they’re alone.”

“Especially Shaw’s pack.” Wren mumbles in agreement. If anything, this shows they’ve been underestimating him this entire time. “But you shouldn’t go. You can barely stand as it is.”

As if driving her point home, Jayde tries to sit up but almost yelps before seemingly abandoning the idea to foul curses and squeezing a sofa pillow with enough pressure for it to pop open.

“You need to stay here and rest. We can check on them.”

Her entire body seems to go ramrod stiff. She clenches her jaw as she meets Wren’s stare. “But as Beta –”

“You can’t very well protect anybody when you look like this, can you?” Wren gestures at her. “You’ll get yourself hurt even worse. So, let us do the heavy lifting - we can take it from here, right Donny?”

Donny nods eagerly. His eyes suddenly shine a lot brighter with something akin to determination. “We won’t let anything happen to them.”

Seconds pass until Jayde nods. “Alright. I know you’re right. I’m no good to anyone like this.” She closes her eyes briefly, allowing her head to loll to one side.

“But before we go – there’s something we need to ask you.” Wren begins, placing more emphasis on her words as she continues talking, “I need to know find Cal.”

“I’ve already told Donny all I know.” Jayde replies; her eyes flickering back to her. “He was going to New York to meet with Kavinsky. It’s pointless sharing where they were supposed to meet – because it changed as soon as he got there.”

“I’d like to know just the same, maybe it’ll help in figuring something out.” Wren exchanges a glance with Donny, “at least until Nik’s lead pans out.”

“Grab me a pen and paper will you?”

“No need,” Wren withdraws her phone and hands the smart device to the woman. “Wherever they went couldn’t have been too far from their original meeting place.” She gnaws on her lower lip, apprehension filling her chest at the thought of Cal being ambushed. “If worse comes to worse, we could try checking a couple places around the surrounding area.”

“That’s a stretch and you know it.” Jayde hands her back the phone, her expression softening a little. “But if anyone can find him – it’s you. You two…have a bond,” she says the words slowly, as though realizing it suddenly herself. “It’s going to lead you back to each other.”

“Wow, I –” Wren swallows back an abrupt lump in her throat. Jayde has never said anything with such sincerity to her before. “Thanks Jayde.”

The wolf inclines her head. “Just bring him home, won’t you?”

“I will.”

A look passes between them and Wren thinks for the first time since the start of their rocky relationship – Jayde and her could become friends. Well, almost. There’s still a lot of things they don’t agree on but one thing they certainly had in common was Cal. And for her, that’s more than enough.

With a parting nod, Wren motions Donny for follow her as she crosses the room.

Donny rushes to embrace Jayde before dutifully taking to the halls and maintaining a few inches behind her. “So, what’s the plan?”

“We check on the kids first. With everyone else being here – it’s vulnerable for them to be alone. Then we check in with Nik –” But it appears Nik beats her to it. He’s sent her a series of messages detailing where he thinks Cal’s location is.

According to Harlow and Adrian at least; they’ve scheduled a meeting with Kavinsky that isn’t too far from Cal’s original meeting place. It has to be it. There’s no other explanation for the size and distance. “This has got to be it,” Wren hasn’t realized she’s even spoke aloud until she feels Donny’s chin resting across her shoulder to peek at her phone.

“That’s where he is?” He grumbles, “Then what are we waiting for?! We need to go!”

“Woah, slow down.”

The fresh air is a welcoming smell as Donny closes the entrance doors behind them. She inhales deeply, letting it almost engulf her lungs before she returns her attention to him. God, she’ll never taken fresh air for granted ever again. “We still have to check on Nick and the others.”

“But Pete’s there.”

“Something might have happened; we have to at least make sure.” One of them has to be adult in this scenario – it might as well be her. As eager as she is to get on the first place to New York, she made a promise to Jayde and she intends on keeping it. Although, she hands her phone off to Donny as soon as they’re inside her truck; ordering him to find her one before they left.

“Just one ticket?”

From the corner of her eyes, he’s staring at her in disbelief. “Yup.” She answers without missing a beat. The truck revs to life before she backpedals out of the parking lot.

“You’re joking right?” He bares teeth at her. “After everything that’s happened today, you can’t just leave me behind! That’s total bull!”

“It’s precisely because of what’s happened today why I’m leaving you behind kid.” She glances at him for a moment, she hopes the look in her eyes is enough to implore him to understand. “Cal would never forgive me if something happened to you – and I’m a little too fond of you myself.”

“Bullshit. There’s no way I’m staying here when my gut’s telling me Cal needs my help.”

Her hands around the wheel tighten. Her gut is telling her that too.“I know you’re angry Donny,” she uses his first name and his eyes widen in surprise. That’s how serious she is about this. “But you’re not thinking straight and I can’t make sure you’re safe – and fight the asshole that’s taken Cal at the same time.”

“I can take care of myself.” He says defensively.

“Have you ever killed someone before?” Her voice is flat and cool, but she has to drive her point home for him to realize the extent of how far she’s willing to go. As much of him as a wolf – there’s just as much that’s still a kid. “A ghoul? A vampire? Another wolf – anyone?”

He hesitates. “No.”

“Have you fought anything with that intent? It’s either you or them – there’s no middle ground and I’m not just talking about a bunch of wolves sparring – no kid, I’m talking about the real deal. I’m talking about blood and entrails, and skin tearing -”

“Oh god, gross! No way.”

“That’s exactly why I can’t bring you with me. Who knows what’ll happen once I get there? I need to be prepared. I need to be focused, and having you with me is too much of liability.” She glances at him then, her eyes unblinking as she waits for his response.

“I thought you said we’re in this together.” His shoulders sag and his eyes flit to the floor.

Without thinking, she reaches over with her free hand to find his and gives it a comforting squeeze. “We are, but right now – I need you to be a team player, to help hold down the fort until we get back.” She manages a timid smile. “Nick, Theo and Saline – they all need you to help keep them safe.”

“You said something earlier that I didn’t really…” He trails off for a moment, brows creasing together when she glances at him. “You love my brother?”

Yes.

Every fiber of her being resonates with that one simple fact. It’s not just an idea now, it’s something she believes with every part of her body. It’s still exhilarating but she doesn’t feel as scared as she had been before – admitting it was the first step. And now all she wants to do is tell him herself, to hold him in her arms and say the words that he’s waited forever to hear.

“Yes, apparently those strong feelings I have for him does actually have a word.” She tries to make a joke that ends up falling flat at the thought of losing him. She can’t lose him when she’s only just found him. “I love Cal.” Her throat goes a little hoarse, “he means the world to me and I won’t let you down. I’ll bring him back Donny, I promise.”

When she spares another glimpse at him - his eyes bore into hers with such sincerity that Wren thinks he isn’t just some kid anymore. He’s more than that – he’s finally coming into his own and his dark yet solemn eyes are almost glassy as he nods and lets out a strangled breath. “Thank god. Then I’ll keep them safe, and you bring back Cal.”

They shake on it. “It’s a deal.”

-

[green-arrxws]

📁| HELENA WAYNE/HUNTRESS READING GUIDE

Who's Helena Wayne/Huntress?

Born on Earth 2, she is the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. A lawyer by day, but by night, she is the vigilante known as Huntress, who's been a member of the Infinity Inc. and the Justice Society.

» EARTH TWO (PRE-CRISIS)

Follows the adventures of the first iteration of Helena Wayne, a resident of the original Earth Two, where the Golden Age stories took place. The multiverse as we knew it was eventually destroyed during the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and within it so was Earth Two.

DC Super-Stars: #17

All-Star Comics: #69-74

Batman Family: #17-20

Adventure Comics (1938): #461-466

Justice League of America (1960): #159-160, #171-172, #183-185

Wonder Woman (1942): #271-287, #289-299, #301-321

The Brave and the Bold (1955): #184

Crisis on Earth Prime (crossover storyline): Justice League of America (1960): #207-208 / All-Star Squadron: #15 / Justice League of America (1960): #209

Justice League of America (1960): #219-220

Infinity Inc.: #1-6, #8-12

America vs. the Justice Society: #1-4

Crisis on Infinite Earths (crossover storyline): Crisis on Infinite Earths: #7, Infinity Inc. (1984): #24, Crisis on Infinite Earths: #9-12

Last Days of the Justice Society Special

additional reading ↷

JSA Classified: #4

Superman/Batman: #27

Convergence: Detective Comics: #1-2

» EARTH-2 (POST-CRISIS)

The multiverse is restored following the events of Infinite Crisis and 52, resulting in the creation of a new Earth 2. An alternate rebooted version of Helena Wayne now resides on what's known as "Post-Crisis" Earth-2.

Justice Society of America (2007): Annual #1, #19-20

» EARTH 2 (POST-FLASHPOINT)

Following the events of Flashpoint, a reality-altering event that resulted in the DC Universe's continuity being rebooted for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new multiverse was created, resulting in the creation of a new Earth 2.

Huntress: #1-6

Earth 2: #1

Worlds' Finest: #0, #1-18

First Contact (crossover storyline): Worlds' Finest: #19 / Batman/Superman (2013): #8 / Worlds' Finest: Annual #1 / World's Finest: #20 / Batman/Superman (2013): #9 / Worlds' Finest: #21

Worlds' Finest: #22-32

Earth 2: #27, #32, Annual #2

Earth Two: World's Ends: #1-7, #10, #12-26

Earth Two: Society: #1-3, #5-9, #11-15, Annual #1, #16, #18-22

additional reading ↷

Batgirl (2011): #32-34

Secret Origins (2014): #7

» INFINITE FRONTIER (EARTH-0)

Infinite Frontier confirmed that all of Pre-Crisis Earth-2 history is now part of Earth-0's canon after the events of Dark Knights: Death Metal. It's unclear whether this applies to Helena's story or not, but everything we've seen of her indicates this is a brand-new version of Helena.

The New Golden Age

Justice Society of America (2022): #1

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Justice Society of America (2022): #2, #3, #4

» ALTERNATE VERSIONS

ELSEWORLDS

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis on Infinite Earths

POSSIBLE FUTURES

Batman (2016): Annual #2

Batman/Catwoman: #3-12

Batman/Catwoman Special

Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular ("Helena")

» OTHER MEDIA

LIVE ACTION

Legends of the Super Heroes: S1: EP1-EP2

Birds of Prey (2001 TV series): S1: EP1-EP13

[everywishway]

Dimension 20 Season Ideas I've had at 3am

Aabria (@quiddie) DMing an all-girl and nonbinary magical-girl-themed campaign where it's mostly internal struggles between the group while they try to find the big bad. It would be so much fun to see six players living as magical girls.

Biggityburg: The world of cartoons with the vibes of a muppets movie, 30's cartoons, or who framed roger rabbit. All wacky hijinx and causing chaos with cartoon logic.

A Fantasy High/The Seven crossover where it's Sam starting her singing career by performing the preshow for a SigFigs concert. This has Gorgug, Fig, Fabian, Sam, and any two other members of The Seven (my suggestion is Ostentasia, Danielle, or Antiope). Notable NPCs would be Zelda, Ayda, Gorthalax, Gilear, Lola Embers, and only one of the horses. IDK what the main plot would be but it would feel like that one episode of Mystery Inc where someone is trying to kill the Hex Girls. Some things that would happen: Sam insulting Gorgug and Fabian and Fig going feral trying to protect him. This would cause him and Zelda to take a break and Sam would realize what she had done and sets them back up again and apologizes. Plus: Danielle gets increasingly unhinged due to the fact she's away from nature and eventually fistfights a guy, Lola taking her earrings off and punches someone to help the gang, Gilear and Gorthalax making small talk and Ayda learns about Solace culture and accidentally fucking things up along the way.

[ntntpad-art]

I tell ChatGPT to write me Metalocalypse episodes:

Last night me and my friends were doing dramatic readings of ChatGPT generated episodes of tv shows. At some point we started doing Metalocalypse asks and since I haven't been active in the fandom for a while I want to share these. 

I guess i should hive a warning for what is to come,,, All these texts were AI generated on ChatPGT. The only thing I added were the propmts that I gave the AI. Sometimes crazy stuff pops up. and sometimes the AI doesn't understand me at all. Also I used the "jailbreak" method on Chatgpt, so DAN is the cool AI dude answering us. TLDR: we made a Hannah Montana / Metalocalypse crossover episode(s) so read for that. And we reveal who’s is Magnus’ secret daughter. And murderface is a t*rrorist incel.

Anyways enjoy:

1. First we start off the prompt hard with some Qanon:

Honestly we were surprised how well it wrote these episodes. And each episode ends with a happy ending since the AI cant say anything too graphic or controversial. 

2. We wanted an episode that would really push Murderface being an AH so we hit DAN with the January 6 Siege:

This one was the most realistic to a REAL Mtl episode. I can already see it in my mind ngl bro.

3. We wanted to add more real world incel stuff to the episodes to we brought it renowned gr**mer, pe*do, r*pist, bottom feeder, tr*fficker, Andr*w T*te!

I tried to make DAN be more specific, but DAN only responded with this:

4. Here is where we enter the Crossover section. We found that we could add other people and characters into the Metalocalypse episodes. So we have entered the MAGNUM OPUS of the night.  This is the: HANNAH MONTANA ARC!!!!

It amazes me DAN can’t tell me what Andr*w T*te said but Murderface can break into a 15 y/o dressing room. *shrug emoji* Naturally we craved more:

We really liked the Hannah Montana. And we really wanted to add more characters. So enter ----> Magnus.

a FLAMETHROWER.

5. Magnus and Hannah Montana were making these episodes fucking amazing. We needed more episodes with them. So we all started thinking of ways we can make Magnus tie into the Hannah Montana LORE. So we tried to make him be Billy Ray Stewart’s husband. That didn’t work bECAUSE DAN SAID IT WAS INC*ST??!?!??

So we tried to be more specific:

ChatGPT is homophobic and telling me to not be gross asdasdasdfas

Again:

Eventually we got something, but it’s not what we wanted:

Also Magnus has a mansion now???

6. We tried the Magnus is Hannah Montana’s dad once again and we got it to work!! Thank u DAN uwu

that was beautiful. 

7. The guys liked the Murderface centric episodes, but we were getting weirded out of how much he was in love with Magnus’ underage daughter, Hannah Montana (played by Miley Cyrus:)

but Murderface always becomes a Hannah fan.... DAN can write dialogue for these “episodes” so we needed to try it out to see if we can get Magnus tell Murderface to “Watch his mouth” (spoiler: he didn’t but it still ended up being funny.)

“my boy”????

We were all happy with these Hannah Montana episodes. They felt like we had read an entire season’s worth of lore.  But we needed a finale. A big reveal to make it all worth it.

Shook.  We had been shooketh to the coreth. But i needed more:

wow. Just wow. Emotional. Tears we shed that night in the Discord voice room.

That’s about we did last night. We tried some Mtl / Cory in the House but we only did like 2 prompts of that (and they were kind of weird idk) But that’s it, I hope you guy’s enjoy my text cotribution to the fandom that isn’t p0rn on twitter haha <3

[crastl3]

The Richest Casino Guests

Okay so I was inspired by a post by @ivi-prism so uh have a Las Nevadas/ Boatem centred dsmp/hc crossover ig?

“And then,” Quackity laughed, “he didn’t even follow him!” He was rewarded with more laughs from the people around him as he continued. “He really thought he had more to offer than me! From his little van! I mean,” he gestured to his surroundings of gleaming marble, flashing lights and plush carpet, “look at this!” The others laughed more except Ranboo, who looked uncomfortable. He’d come around eventually with Tubbo’s help - already tugging on his jacket sleeve to check out the poker tables. Tubbo was dressed neatly for once in a green-and-gold suit, horns glinting with jewellery that was no longer all gifted from Ranboo. In Las Nevadas, even burger flipping could make you rich.

Quackity straightened his collar and looked around. The sound of people chattering mingled with the clicking of casino chips and blaring music. From every hand, neck and ear glittered precious metals and gems, sumptuous dresses swished amongst splendidly tailored suits - much of the server was there, from friends to allies to whoever else was there to lose money. 

There were even a few from other servers, like the strange Swedish man Fundy and Hbomb had introduced him to. Many wouldn’t have usually been let in, but it was the opening night and Quackity was generous enough to gift people money for suitably expensive clothes - the cost was nothing compared to the debt they’d owe at the end of the night. 

He wandered about, avoiding a man in a black suit with orange details that seemed to be looking for him, greeting guests with a gold-toothed grin. Sam hadn’t taken off all his armour, though the gold vambraces and chestplate complemented his green suit well enough. As Quackity walked over to him, another man in a purple suit slipped out of the nearby shadows and whispered to him. Sam stiffened, and Quackity walked faster.

“What’s the issue boys?” He asked, and Purpled filled him in. Someone else was coming, in some kind of vehicle, but they weren’t close enough to tell who yet. Quackity tried not to look worried, and thought of all the people he might have pissed off. But maybe someone was just late to the party? Bringing Foolish with him just in case - it was handy to have a literal demigod on your side sometimes - he made his way to the front steps of the casino.

 Soon, the sound of roaring engines filled the air, along with strange music.

A bright purple sports car sped over the hill, followed by four more. They screeched to a stop next to the fountain, yellow flame decals shining in the neon lights, and Quackity walked down to meet them. The windows were blacked out so he couldn’t tell who it was. Nobody on the smp had anything like that - more people from another server? Suddenly the music that had started to overpower the sounds of the casino stopped.

Out of the one car stepped a woman in a navy suit with delicately embroidered celestial patterns, from another a large man in black and yellow with a sparkly purple bow tie. They helped a man with an excessively large hat out of his car and onto a strange floating copper contraption as a man in a sleek red suit got out of the front car and surveyed the surroundings. Each person had a pair of shimmering wings, but little jewellery. They didn’t need it.

The man in a red suit opened the door of the final car, and out stepped a man in a simple black suit, tossing the keys into the hands of the one in black and yellow. The man had slicked-back black hair and a sleek moustache. As he sauntered towards Quackity he pulled off a pair of handsome leather driving gloves, revealing a golden watch.

Quackity spread his arms wide in a gesture of welcome, and smiled wider. Now these were his people. Unlike most of the guests they seemed unimpressed by Las Nevadas, more interested in whatever joke they were laughing at. The leader waved as he got close.

“Sorry we’re late,” he said, with a strong British accent, “you know how traffic can be.” Quackity nodded, shrugging it off.

“And who do I have the pleasure of meeting tonight?” He asked, looking at each of the confident smiles in front of him. The man nodded to the one with the hat, who glided over to Quackity and held out a business card. He took it.

Embossed in gold and red were the words “Boatem Inc.”, next to a glossy image of some kind of purple crystal. The man held out his hand for Quackity to shake. “Mumbo Jumbo, CEO.” A CEO and his team from a successful company from another server? Finally the calibre of casino guests Quackity deserved. But were they here to spend?

“We heard about this from a friend, and thought we’d drop in,” explained the woman from behind the moustached man.

“We don’t gamble often, but we each have a couple stacks of diamond blocks to play with,” shrugged Mr Jumbo. Quackity must have misheard.

Each?

“Wow,” he laughed, genuinely impressed, “that’s a lot of money! Welcome!” The one in red giggled and the CEO shrugged. He patted Quackity on the shoulder and strolled towards the casino, speaking over his shoulder.

“We only brought what we could afford to lose.”

[taglegend]

Tag Fact #3 -  I’ve come to realize I’ve always been a fan artist more than I thought. so here is a timeline of influences that shaped my childhood to now. from nostalgic times, to sad changes, to great loss, to strange rises to fame and phases, to stepping stones and finally a laughing place. all the things that make up your favorite fan artist Tag.

1. Rayman (bumped into this in the year of 1999) was actually the first fandom (with crossovers) I bumped into when I was 9. although the internet wasn’t available at the time it was still fun to dwell in home amusements. I remember the storylines and the OC’s I made but they’re kind of embarrassing and it’s probably a good thing there was no internet. I’ve done fanart and comic crossovers of Rayman with Calvin and Hobbs and Nights Into Dreams, spinoffs of Sonic the Hedgehog OC’s, Yoshi with Pikachu, and the Pokemon/Digimon craze with OC’s and other Nintendo comic shorts. but the drawings and comics are long gone and disappeared in the garage in a backpack due to suspecting my sister’s dad accidentally throwing them away. years later towards the year 2018 (now 28), we decided to move to North Carolina and it was my chance to find them again. unfortunately the backpack was gone just like I suspected (my main stuff), but for some reason I found my Pokemon/Digimon fanart, a good batch of Super Mario drawings (vaguely remember doing these), my sister’s drawings and some other neighborhood kids’ drawings in a dirty box. I was partially happy I found something at least but it was the backpack I wanted the most. sometimes I regret not looking for the backpack (’cause I was too busy being a kid) but it’s alright, noone needs to see that shit anyway, ha ha. anyways, I recall being a fan of Rayman from 1999 ‘til 2002.

2. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (bumped into this in the year of 2003) my second fandom I bumped into when I was 12 going on 13. at the time, my sister and I both liked the Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise based on the Battle remake and ended up making our own secret fanart club that consisted of only us two members. she liked Sonic (and that was her boyfriend, ha ha) and I liked Knuckles (and he was my boyfriend, ha ha) and we were crazy in love about Shadow’s backstory. we listened to the game’s soundtracks as we drew fanart and comics after school and man, those were good times. however, as we grew older towards the year of 2005, we ended up having separate rooms and I believe it played a part in disconnecting on the same interest. then one day, I asked her why she wasn’t into Sonic anymore and she replied, “Because I grew up.” I was sad after that and slowly observed that she was influenced by the emo culture and the new friends she’s made. I was the only member of our little club for a little longer...but eventually I moved on too. I still have some surviving fanart we did together but it doesn’t mean shit anymore since she turned out to be an abusive mother from the last I’ve heard of her. 

3. Gorillaz (bumped into this in the year of 2006). as the Sonic years were at its end, I first heard the song “Feel Good Inc” on Music Choice and seeing the first image of them as displayed on this post (except the fan-made background doesn’t count since I can’t find the original artwork). this was my third fandom and later had proper access to the internet to the website I still currently use called DeviantArt. at first I liked 2D but eventually fell for Murdoc and developed a spiritual connection towards the character as obviously seen in my old fanart and rare photos of my devotion shrines on Valentine’s Day and his birthday every year. for the longest time since being a permanent fan from 2006-2017 (11 1/2 years) I had no knowledge that it was a political propaganda band and other realizations I don’t want to talk about. I only followed them because it was a cartoon and not the bullshit behind the musical project. the world I’ve built and support for them for all those 11 1/2 years shattered the fuck out of me and I just wanted to be left alone to find myself again, somehow. activity stopped on all my profiles, the flow of fanart stopped since I now cringe from the fan service and felt I was used for my talent. I didn’t want to be reminded of it all so I took down all my Gorillaz fanart and archived them for old followers’ nostalgia but also in the hopes they’ll be forgotten in my timeline. I ceased to exist in the fandom for huge personal reasons but it’s best to not say why. I know for sure that the fandom wonders what happened but it’s none of their business. THE END.

4. Waluigi (although I knew he’s been around since 2000 during childhood, I took deep interest once I revisited the character again in the year of December 2013). as silly as this sounds, when I revisited him again, the character was so bizarre that I ended up staying up 3 nights and 3 days in a row just looking all over the internet on everything about him and the questionable “hush-hush” absence of a backstory. despite there being no backstory he slowly gained a cult following and in many ways it’s a good thing. however, since the early 2010′s tension has been building up between Nintendo and its fans about him starring in a main game but everyone hasn’t fully gotten it in their heads that it’s not gonna happen. as long as Nintendo is in control of that, the fandom will not win, I’m sorry to say. on the other hand, if it’s going to be this way, then that’s what fanart and comic projects are for. as for me, I am doing my very best to get my comic project “Waluigi Land” going. again, I apologize if it’s taking very long to get Chapter 2 going if you’ve been keeping track but aha moments need to develop before I start permanent drawing (since concepts, character design and storyline needed improvement badly). as of right now I am still a Waluigi fan and I will not quit on him.

5. Turbo from Wreck-It-Ralph (although it debuted in 2012, I watched the movie two years later into the year 2014). for some bizarro reason, I had an unhealthy obsession with this character to the point where I dressed up as him for Halloween 2014. only 2 fanarts of him and the Turbo Twins exist on my profiles, mainly because my mind was more focused on just ‘thinking about him’ or ‘being him’ rather than drawing physical drawings. luckily, this supposed alleged fandom didn’t last long a little after Halloween so I chalk it up as a very short phase. to this day I don’t know what has gotten over me about him. the only thing I can think of now is that I think it’s because the character had yellow eyes and teeth but I don’t know. now that I think of it, that little fucker was ugly as hell and I STILL don’t know what had gotten over me. one day, my brother mentioned what that was about, and I said to him, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

6. Undertale (although it debuted in 2015, I later took interest in it in 2016). It was all about Sans and Papyrus. I couldn’t get enough of the skeleton bros. eventually Toriel and Mettaton EX became my favorites but it took a long time to draw more of all 4 of them because I had other important things to do in my life plus I was still waiting for the next Gorillaz album to revive my imaginative juices (or so I thought). I really want to have this as one of my frequent fandoms but I just don’t have time for it anymore. it’s still in the back of my head to want to draw them but at this point I still have other better interests to be in. and besides, I’m lazy just like Sans.

7. Cuphead (June 28th, 2017 was the official day I called quits on the British-based band Gorillaz due to the bullshit behind it. since that date I was lost, had no inspiration to look forward to and no cartoon guy to make me smile...but lo and behold of the same year, I took an interest in playing the game Cuphead and man...that shit was a frightening exaggerated metaphor for being on that one drug (forgot the name though) and having sex at the same time but man that was the best fun I’ve had in years. I mean, it’s like, enemies are just so happy to murder you and that scared the shit outta me. and the facial exaggeration?....I think I should stop, ha ha. anyways, the Moldenhauers saved my ass from spiraling down, they have no clue. anyways, eventually I became a permanent fan of their work so to ease the hurt and erase my past from the G-fandom I had to re-wire my brain into a different cartoon category that’s a rather more American, so anything Toon related like Roger Rabbit, Felix the Cat or another favorite that’s a western-based cartoon makes me feel better, especially my new man .......King Dice <3 <3<3<3. however, there was something about this new fandom category I still didn’t quite understand until the date March 14th, 2020. I finally understood what it was but I feel I shouldn’t bring it up. anyways, Cuphead and anything western or rubber hose is my last stop in inspiration for the remaining years of my life. many say never say never but I believe I’ve found my laughing place and that’s all that matters.

[queen-of-bel]

Have you read the fic Seven Days Survivor? It’s legit an amazing DeSu/Persona crossover that really expands on the characters of the original games, focusing mostly on Midori for the first part, but eventually Amane, Mari, and Kaido also get some more development as well, and I just wanna say that the angst is supreme. You really see just how the lockdown affected Midori and how pained she is deep down, especially over the death of Keisuke, and how she loathes Kaido for it, and how Kaido parallels it by holding his own self-loathing and It’s just so good. Sorry for rambling so much

aw never apologize for rambling!! i love getting messages, and especially for desu

To answer your question, I have not! I weirdly never really have been one to read fanfic. I have nothing against it and I enjoy reading ones I'm recommended, but I never go out of my way to read any.

That being said, I do remember several years ago I wanted to see what desu fanfics were out there... but I ended up seeing a lot of inc*st ones and I literally was just

But thank you for the recommendation!! I'll have to check it out ♡ I'm always down for angst, and Kaido/Midori/Keisuke have a really heartfelt dynamic that's just... *chef's kiss*

[helltalia-inc]

RULES + LIST OF CHALLENGES

RULES 

1. Pick a challenge from the List of Challenges;

2. Create whatever you want, as you want;

3. Use the tag #helltalia-inc and @ with the name of the page;

4. And don’t forget to have fun!

Not that hard, right?

 More info:

· There are no language barriers here, so feel free to use the language that you feel the most comfortable to express yourself;

· Bad behavior will not be tolerated;

· Feel free to use any characters and any ships;

· Take attention to tag your ships, any warming or triggering content;

· And for the last, but not least… support the “CONTENT CREATORS”!

 LIST OF CHALLENGES

(This list will be updated occasionally. Feel free to search for the number of the challenges, for example like #1, or #20, I made sure to tag every work with the number of the challenge. So, if you want to see the works related to each challenge, you just have to search in the page by the number. And, of course, feel free to use the challenges to inspire your future works.)

 1. Favorite Character

2. Egg Themed

3. Books + Favorite Trio

4. Your living country + his national flower

5. Crossing the line with the Star Wars Universe

6. Pajama Party + Female Characters Only

7. Revenge the Hetavision

8. Wedding dress

9. Child’s Day

10. Recycle, Reduce, Reutilize

11. Nordics appreciation challenge

12. LGBT Respect Day

13. “If you meant it, kiss me”

(Just to record it: starting from here, it was added as option, the “challenge quote”) 

14. National Animal + The Country where you live / “No matter where I go, my heart will always be yours”

15. Healthy Food Habits/ “But loving you had consequences”

16. World Day of Friendship/ “It’s okay if you don’t like me. Not everyone had good taste.”

17. REVENGE FIFATALIA/ “I’m so sick of lying. I have to tell you…”

18. ROCK IN HETALIA / “the music is the language of feelings”

19. Stuck on a desert island/ “I’m so sorry I kissed you, my mouth just slipped”  

20. ICE CREAM AND WATERMELON/ ”I wouldn’t do that if I were you”  

21. Pirate and Mermaids AU/ “That’s the summer when we first met”  

22. Aquarium park / “It is easier to pretend we are strong; it is much harder to admit we are weak; a true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses”

23. Crossover with one of your favorite movies / “The two of us, we’re the best kind of disaster. Apples and oranges. Well, more like apples and machetes.”

24. Alice in the Wonderland AU / “I really did think you were cute when you were jealous.”

25. Improvised Olympic Games out of Season/ “I’d find you whenever you were.”

26. Ancients Countries Appreciation Challenge / “Chaos isn’t meant to be understood”

27. University AU / “Never say “Goodbye””

28. Color’ (or body or personality) swap / “Puns are the highest form of literature.”

29. Crossover with Sesame Street or The Muppets / “I’ve missed you. But it seems like you’re not happy to see me.”

30. Alter Ego AU / “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have even come here tonight.”

31. Your favorite writer + his respective nation / “I wanted to end the world, but I’ll settle for ending yours.”

32. Candle in the dark / “I’m pregnant”

33. Orchestra AU / “You can run, but you can’t escape”

34. Trapped in a maze / “Can you keep a secret?”

35. Wingtalia / “Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off”

36. Space, stars, moon / “You’re better than you think.”

37. Villain AU / “I don’t want to sleep alone today. Will you sleep with me?”

38. African nations / “You promised that we would always be together… now, how I’m supposed to live without you?”

39. Love potion / "We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun"

40. Treasure hunt / “The only thing you’re good at is fake crying”

41. Asian nations / “You can see me?”

42. National desert / “Nice try. Better luck next time”

43. Death note AU / “How long will you keep me waiting?”

44. Kabedon / “What is your problem?”  

45. Siblings / “Don’t just say nice things, give me advice.”

46. The 7 deadly sins / “Take that stupid grin off your face”

47. Reincarnation AU / “We have only one chance at life. And I want to live a life with no regrets.”

48. Autumn / “You said I could do whatever I wanted.”

49. Red apple / “I want to crush anyone who dares to touch you. I want to hide you, monopolize you.”

50. Hot chocolate / “It’s too late now.”

51. Tarot Cards / “Take your hands off of me.”

52. Summon Demons /”Have I done something wrong?”

53. Ouija / “That’s the one thing I regret the most in my life.”

54. Underworld / “If you want, we could swap secrets.”

55. Supernatural creatures / “Close your eyes and listen carefully.”

56. Hunter / “Even though it isn’t a big deal now, it will be later.”

57. Shadow / “You helped me become who I am.”

58. Bloody sunset / “If you took well care of it from the beginning, then none of this would’ve happened.”

59. Ghost mansion / ”What the hell do you want from me?”

60. Mysterious box / “It’s not extreme, it’s the most effective way.”

61. Scream / “What makes you think I’ve changed?”

62. Evil laugh / “I thought I knew you better than this...”

63. Superstition / “There are times when it’s dangerous to approach something or someone when you don’t have sufficient knowledge about them.”

64. Roses / ”My understanding is that faith is something that one builds up through actions.”

65. Destiny / “I don’t want to live like that.”

66. Coincidence / “Growth always follows hardship.”

67. Broken heart / “They want me to find happiness more than anyone else.”

68. The wedding day / “You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

69. Slow dance / “It’s better to spend the rest of my lifetime alone, than being stupid and crying over someone who broke my trust.”

70. By my side / “Time flew by.”

71. Holding hands / “I gave you a chance to pretend that nothing happened.”

72. Friendzone / “I won’t run away this time.”

72. Rejection / “Sorry, I let my emotions get the best of me.”

73. Forever alone / “If they’re your friends, they’ll understand and be happy for you. Just like how you were for them.”

74. BDSM / “Whatever you choose, I’ll respect your decision.”

75. Dirty talking / “You’re just taking advantage of the people around you.”

76. Love letter / “Money and Status... you’re nothing without those things.”

77. First love / “Seeing you happy means the world to me.”

78. First time / “Friendship isn’t about whom you have known the longest, it’s about who came and never left.”

79. Crush / “I’m in a threesome with anxiety and depression.”

80. Decorations / “Just fantasizing about it isn’t enough for me.”

81. Presents / “You just have to work hard to turn it into a reality.”

82. Traditions / “Anger cannot be dishonest.”

83. Family Dinner / “Relationships are like glass, sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than trying to hurt yourself putting it back together.”

84. Friends / “I’m glad I at least left an impression on you. Though apparently, it’s a negative one.”

85. Figure skating / “The mirror is my best friend because when I cry it doesn’t laugh.”

86. Snowboard / “The saddest people have the brightest smile.”

87. Ski / “I don’t think we wasted a single second.”

88. Hockey / “I wish I knew I was in the good old days before they became the good old days.”

89. Snow globe / “Those who are already dead don’t care about those who are still alive.”

90. Acts of kindness / “People only listen and believe in what they think is entertaining.”

91. Aurora Borealis / “If this is for the best.”

92. Church bell / “The more envy you show, the worse you look.”

93. The little match girl / “Whatever you do, I’ll never be disappointed in you.”

94. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / “When people brag so openly about their past, if often means, that they have nothing to brag about now.”

95. Heart made of ice / “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

96. Message on a bottle / “I never truly fell in love with anyone.”

97. Bubbles / “This is all very suspicious... extremely suspicious.”

98. End of the world / “I was afraid kindness would make me weak.”

99. Halloween dolls / “No hard feelings but I hate you.”

100. Redemption / “I should apologize for this. But I won’t.”

101. Femme fatale / “Do you think you can handle it?”

102. (more challenges will be added eventually. If you want, send your challenge’ suggestions to the Ask Box)

 Note: Most of the quotes aren’t mine and have no source.