#i like to picture them kinda backwards from how it would seem. like they're all sitting down to tea in the headspace

[whimsicalcotton]

okay actually the thing i'm losing my mind about the most is the multiple homuras

[dnalt-d2]

NEW 3/4 BAKED QSMP THEORY, DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL

Right, so I tried cooking a theory, and I think I'm getting to the right track, but I'm worried I might've gotten some wires crossed. I'm gonna write what I have below, and if you agree or disagree with certain parts, please let me know. I'm a little limited in who I'm able to watch, so this might mean I just straight-up don't have all the information available. If anyone can fill in some holes, that'd be great. A lot of this is just me getting my thoughts in order in a place where other people can contribute.

(And note: This kinda relates to a Theory I already made not too long ago, so check that out real quick if you want to. TL;DR is that I think that alongside the Federation and the Resistance, that there's possibly some other Third Faction. Something that a lot of people seem to also be thinking at this point)

Now, this is all going to be really complicated, but remember how I said there were Three Factions before? The Federation, the Resistance, and some Third Unidentified Group? I think I might have some more ideas on this Third Group. I mostly have two, really. One is that this guy Cellbit was just talking to is a part of this Group. Not only that, but I think that there are some Codes working for them. (Remember how people have been talking about "Good" and "Bad" Codes?) CodeFlippa is likely one of the Codes working for them. This would explain why some of the Codes seem to be working against the members (Attacking Maximus is the main example I can think of, leading directly to his manipulation at the hands of Cucurucho regarding his new infection) While others seem to be working against the Federation and anyone on their side (The Codes attacking the Eggs multiple times, and Cellbit that one time)

Now the second thing I'm thinking is that they've been working from within the Federation, trying to work against them from the inside. This means that they only have the information that the Federation would have, which is why CodeFlippa doesn't seem to know where the eggs are. The Feds don't know, which means this Inside Group doesn't know either. This new guy that Cellbit was just talking to is almost certainly part of this Group. I don't think Walter Bob is, due to the fact that the new Mystery guy seemed surprised that Cellbit has the password for the Main Channel. However, I do ALSO think that Fred is working with them. Remember how it seemed to be Fred who led them to the maze in the first place? (Though that could've easily been some other blue-hat worker, I'll admit) But he also said in his report on Fit, that he could relate to him working for the Federation despite hating them. That means we have three possible people working for this Third Group, as well as possible some Codes.

But what does this mean for the Eggs? Well, I seem to recall that Etoiles said that the picture with Leo might've looked like the Resistance Base he found once. So here's my theory regarding that.

(This last part is the one with the most holes in it, so if anyone has any thoughts regarding it, please reblog or comment. I feel like I'm getting close, but I might have some things backwards. I'll put more details about that at the end though, so if you don't agree with my thory so far, please check that out)

I think the Resistance are the ones responsible for the Eggs disappearance. We've heard that the Eggs ran away on their own, which could possible be true (Though I don't know how Cucurucho would know that. For all we know he was lying, but possibly not? Idk) I think that maybe the Resistance knows how important these eggs are to keeping the islanders in line, and seeing an opportunity to throw things into chaos, decided to take the eggs, either trying to save them from this Big Evil that they're worried about, or simply wanting to screw over the Feds. Either way, they have the kids. But where are they? Well, I still think that the other dimension theory is true. But I also think that the Resistance are IN this other dimension. This all relies on the rest of my theory being true, and that brings in something that might be a problem for me.

I think I started to get some things backwards, and I'm worried that if I keep going, I'll run into some confirmation bias. I realized as I was writing this that some of the stuff I was thinking didn't make a whole lot of sense. Mainly that if the Codes are working for the Third Group and NOT the Resistance, why would the Code lead Etoiles to a Resistance Base? I could just say that "Oh well the Third Group wants strong people to be against the Federation!" But like I said, that would just feel like confirmation bias, like I'm trying to fit everything into a conclusion I've already come to. So unfortunately, I don't know if much or any of my theory is true, but I'm gonna put it here anyway, mostly because I wanna see if anyone else can make sense of this all based on the information I put together here.

Here are the facts we have

--There are at least two Groups: The Federation and the Resistance, but possible a Third Unidentified Group, working from within the Federation

--Fred and CodeFlippa respectively led people to the maze, then guided them the maze to the dice room, which means they could know something about the maze and tickets/where they lead

--According to Cucurucho, the Eggs left because of some Big Bad Threat we don't know about

--The Eggs are most likely in some other dimension

--CodeFlippa is CLAIMING not to know where the eggs are, or about going through the maze

--Etoiles was led to the Resistance Base by information given to him by the Code

--CUCUREVIL/CUCUROJO IS STILL A THING AND DEFINITELY INVOLVED WITH THE MAZE

--This new guy claims to be the one who started Cellbit on that huge manhunt enigma a while back that led to the sword, but look how that ended up

And the final, most important fact

--My mind is an absolute mess of details and anticipation for tomorrow's event, where this will all likely be proven true or false, but regardless, will probably destroy people emotionally, including and ESPECIALLY me.

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL I GUESS I'M CUTTING MY LOSSES AND POSTING THIS, I WILL PROBABLY FIGURE SOMETHING OUT IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THE UNIVERSE LIKES TO BE. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE ELSE

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1077: Bartending with Uncle Rodin (Persona 5 x Bayonetta x SSBU)

2:34 p.m. at the Gates of Hell Bar.......

Ren: (Standing Behind the Bar With a Confident Smirk on his Face) Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my first and lastest creation....(Presents Two Small Glasses of Red Colored Drinks) Passionate Crimson Flaré~

Enzo: (Amazed at the Drink In Front of Him) Ooooooooh.....

Rodin: (Crosses his Arms as He Examines his Drink Closer) The name could use a little more work. But the drink itself does look promising. I wonder.....

Enzo and Rodin takes a sip of their respective drinks. It wasn't long for the duo to take a liking to them in question.

Enzo: (Turns to His Boss Next to Him) Holy shit, Boss. This creation of his taste fucking phenomenal!

Rodin: Wouldn't go that far. (Begins to Nod as his Taste Buds Starts Kicking in a Bit) ('Mm') But this is pretty delectable. (Turns to Ren in Front of Him) Not bad, kid.

Ren: (Smiles Proudly) Thanks! I wasn't kidding when I said this was my first time creating something like this, but I'm really glad the Bardtending Class is paying off somewhat.

Rodin: That's good and all, but what exactly makes you wanna take up this job in the first place?

Enzo: Yeah, not that we don't want ya here obviously, but you seem like the kinda fellow who would be more interested in the undercover business if anything.

Ren: Funny you mentioned that tidbit. I was planning on becoming one at one point, but I thought about all the times the legal system screwed me over in the past. So I decided not to go through with it in the end. 'Sure Makoto can do a better undercover agent than I ever could anyways.

Enzo: (Raised an Eyebrow in Confusion) Makoto who now?

Ren: Makoto Niijima. (Puts on a Cheeky Grin on his Face) My one and only Queen~ (Shows his Uncles a Picture of him and his Girlfriend Together on his Phone) We started dating back in high school and been a romantic team ever since.

Enzo: (Starts Holding his Chin and Nodding With a Grin of his Own) Aha!~ That girl looks like a real keeper, I'll tell ya what.

Rodin: She must be if you call her Queen.

Ren: ('Sighs Dreamingly') Oh you have no idea.....She's smart, resourceful, always does her best to lookout for others, and can definitely kick my ass anyday of the week~

Enzo: (Let's Out Heartdy Laugh) Hahaaa!~ Girl who can kick your ass, huh? I never expected any less from one of my nephews!~

Rodin: (Rolls his Eyes) They're OUR nephews, moron. And of course you would be into that dominance shit. Your own wife been kicking your fatass since the day you first met her.

Enzo: (Shrugs Casually) True. I may be the resident punching bag in the relationship, but it's still leagues better than being coped up in a bar all day and night being single, bald, and moody-(Quickly Notice his Boss Glaring at Him Before Sweating Bullets) I-I don't mean you, of course, boss! I mean, you're bald too, b-b-but like in a more sophisticated way in, ya know? A-And who could ever resist a bald man owning a bar, am i right? (Chuckles Very Awkwardly)

'Silence'

Enzo: (Clicks his Tongue Briefly) You know, I JUST remembered....I had an assignment or two I had get done by the end if the day, you know the one with mafia business and whatnot? (Slowly Starts Getting Up From his Table and Points at the Door Far Behind him) Yeah, I should....go out there and get my lazy-ass started already. (Turns Back to Ren With a Smile as He Gives him a Handshake) But hey! It was nice to finally have the opportunity to meet you, Renny Boy. I don't know why your mothers didn't introduce you to us sooner, but that's neither here nor there. Stay safe and try not to work your ass off to death, alright? Business here been going slow here for God knows how long and I doubt the boss man is gonna do anything to make more interesti-

Enzo turns back to see Rodin still glaring at him.

Enzo: I-I'mma gonna....head out now.....(Starts Walking Backwards Before Turning Around and Sprinting his Way Towards the Exit)

Ren: (Waves Goodbye to Enzo) It was nice to meet you. Uncle Enzo!

Rodin: Try not to trip your ass on the way out!

Enzo: (Turbs Back to the Duo on a Far Enough) Huh? WoahwoahwoahWOAH!-

The loud sound of trash cans falling and cats yelling cam be heard as Enzo trips outside.

Enzo: ('Groans in the Distance') Ah gee....What a fucking start to the day......

Ren: Hm. (Starts Nodding Before Smiling a Bit) He seems pretty cool.

Rodin: Who? Enzo? ('Tch') Please. (Takes a Cigar From Out his Coat Pocket and Uses his Finger to Light It Up) That fool's more of constant headache if anything....(Starts Smoking From his Cigar Before Exhaling it With a Sigh) But I'm glad you're taking a liking to us at least. You seem like a nice kid, or rather young adult.

Ren: Thanks. I'm glad I have opportunity to meet you two as I am happy to be here. I'll do everything I can not to get in your all that much.

Rodin: I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. Just keep doing what you've been doing and everything can go smoothly from there. (Points at Ren) Also, don't get too experimental on the drink, ya hear? Their bitter taste is a whole lot stronger than it looks and I don't wanna deal spent an hour or two trying get these drunk fucks out of my bar.

Ren: (Simply Nodded at the Request) Right.

A few minutes has passed by and there wasn't any customers insight, which for Rodin, is a blessing in most disguised figure. As Ren finishing up cleaning the used glasses for today, a thought suddenly occurred in his mind as he speaks.

Ren: Hey, Uncle Rodin, can I ask you something?

Rodin: (Looks Up at Ren With a Magazine in his Habd) Yeah, shoot.

Ren: I....know this might not be my business or anything, but.....Is it true that you and our goddess mom had bad history with one another at one point?

Rodin: Me & Palutena? (Sighs Heavily at the Particular Memory) Yeah.......something like that. I mean, I'm indifferent towards her nowadays, but she still despise me with every fiber in her flesh abd bones.

Ren: Really.

Rodin: Damn right. And it all started wayyy back when I was just your average, run of a mill Angel. (Let's Out a Chuckle) Well, actually, I wouldn't go that far. I was actually pretty well respected for the most part, taking charge of the creation and half of Paradiso's population and whatnot. The women wanted to fuck me and the men would write an entire essay why they wanna be me. That was, until the day I got fed up with the job and higher ups to the point I rebelled on the system entirely and boy, let me tell you that they were NOT happy about that at all.

Ren: Not even mom?

Rodin: ESPECIALLY your mother. You see, she never admits this to anyone, but back then, your mother was a fan of mines, said my contribution inspired her in someway. So once she found out about my insurgency that day, she teleported her way to the battlefield and tried to kill me herself.

Ren: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Shock) You're kidding.......

Rodin: It's true. That woman did everything in her power to end my existence one way or another. But I'll say this much: as loud and obnoxiously preachy as she was....(Smirks a Bit) She's actually one the few worthy adversaries I had in a real long time.

Ren: So she hated you for that long, didn't she?

Rodin: ('Heh') "Hated"? Boy, she still hates my guts even when her and your momma started dating. But I suppose as long as she keep treating y'all with the respect and care, I shouldn't have any reasons to worry. (Pulls Down his Glasses as He Raises his Eyebrow at Ren) You do like having her around as your Goddess Mom or whatever, right?

Ren: (Happily Nodded) Yeah, how could not? She and Witch Mom went out of their way to adopt and raise me as their own. (Frowns a Bit) Which is more than I can say about my actual parents......

Rodin: You had a shitty home life?

Ren: ('Sigh') Somewhat....It was mostly strict if anything. It wasn't long until I was framed for a crime I didn't commit that they moved me away to Shiyuba, labeled me as a disgrace to the family's name, and disowned me altogether. But as sucky as that was....(Starts Smiling a Little) The move did help me start my life over and meet the people I've grown attached to over the recent years. So there's that at least.

Rodin: (Smiles Back at Ren With a Simple Nod) Good, good. The world we live in is filled with cruelty and disaster, but It's nice to see some folks out there finding a better outlook and living the best life for themselves, away from their past sufferings.

'DOOR KOCKED OPENS'

????: HEEEEEEERE'S HADES!

Rodin: (Sighs While Rolling his Eyes at a Familiar Face) Speaking of disasters......

Ren: 'Sup Hades. What brings you here?

Hades: Ohh nothing too grand. (Makes his Way inside the Bar) Just checking up on how my nephew is doing on his first day as a bartender.

Rodin: (Turns to Ren) Y'all appointed this fool as your uncle?

Ren: Not really. He declared himself as one a while back. (Leans in and Whispers into Rodin's Ear) He's not even close being the best uncle in the entire Smash Family.

Hades: (Glares at his Self Proclaimed Nephew) Hey, my ears aren't broken, I heard that! (Crosses his Arms Together) And I'll have you know that have set a good enough example for each of you ungrateful brats as a parental figure.

Ren: (Gives Hades a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Really? Then why did showed Pitto that one scene from Toyoko Tribe last year on the first day of October?

Rodin: Wait. You mean one with that big lipped fucker and-

Ren: Yeeeup. And let's not forget the time you made him watch three episodes of Boku no Pico a year or two earlier just for shits and giggles.

Rodin slowly turns his head back towards Hades with a menacing glare on his face.

Rodin: What in the everlasting hell is wrong with you?

Hades: ('SIghs in Defeat') Look, I was bored at each of those times alright!? I didn't think they would actually sacred him THAT badly.......

Ren: Yeah, well they did. (Chuckles Lightly) And honestly, you deserved every beating that came your way after that. (Whispers into Rodin's Ear Again While Snickering) He got whopped by goddess mom AND Pitto's girlfriends.

Rodin: (Forms a Conniving Looking Smirk on his Face) You don't say?

Hades: Hey, they only beaten me by surprise! I can handle all three of them easily in a rematch, Palutena especially!

Ren: Really. So if I were to call her right now and ask her to come over here, you'd still fight her?

Hades: Yeeeup! (Crosses his Arms Again) Your Best Uncle in the Mutliverse Hades us not afraid of anyone. Not even all your mothers.

Ren; No one ever calls you that. (Shrugs) But hey, it's your funeral.

Ren takes his phone out of his pants pocket and begins his call. He waits for a few seconds for the beeps to go off until the words "Hello?" from a feminine voice finally reach into his eardrums.

Ren: Hey, mom, how's its going?

Rodin: (Turns to Hades) You're about to enter a word of eternal pain, you know that?

Hades: (Puts on a Cocky Smirk on his Face as He Scoffs at Rodin) Oh please, like she would ever step foot on this bar alone. She still hates you, remember?

Ren: What's that? You said you're coming over right away to beat him up!?

Hades' sudden begins to widens as he mentally hears the sound of broken glass ringing in his ears and a hint of fear slowly rears it's ugly head as shown in his facial expression.

Ren: And you don't care if you have step foot in Uncle Rodin's bar to do so!?

Rodin: (Went Back to Smirking at Hades) You were saying?

Hades: (Glares at Ren) Ren, what the hell did you tell your mother!?

Ren: Ohhh nothing too major~ Just the fact that I told her that you said that she's too much of a wuss to fight you again and you could vaporize her easily.

Hades: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) VAPORIZ- Ren Amimaya, you know DAMN well I never said anything about vaporizing her bitch ass!

Ren: (Holds a Finger Up at Hades as He Continues His Phone Call With Palutena) .....Yeah, you heard that too, right? He just called you the B word.

Hades: (Angrily Grits his Teeth While Whispering to Ren) STOP TWISTING MY WORDS AROUND, BOY!- (Quickly Pauses Himself Before Taking a Deep Breath to Calm Down) You know what? It's fine, Hades. This is just an elaborate prank to fuck with me us all. Nothing more.

Ren: Hey, Hades, someone would like to have a word with you.

Ren holds up his phone and pits it on speaker mode as the caller in the other line begins to speak.

Palutena: HADES, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF FILITH! I'M COMING OVER THERE TO KICK YOUR SORRY ASS RIGHT NOW AND- (Continues Ranting and Screaming on the Other Line

Hades: (Finally Scared Shitless) Fuck this, I'm not ready to die again yet! Hades out!

And with that Hades finally disappears in the instantaneous speed of darkness much to Ren's satisfaction.

Ren: (Turns Speaker Mode Off and Put the Phone Back in his Ear) Don't waste your time coming over here, mom. He chickened out and left......Uh-huh.....Yep......('Sigh') Yes, I know. I shouldn't call you during work hours. This was just too funny of an opportunity to pass up, you know?.....Yeah......Alright, I'll bring you and Witch Mom something back once I get off.....Love you too. See ya.

Call Ends

Ren: (Turns to Rodin) Hey, you don't mind if I take some of your bags of Hellish Beef Jerky with me back home, do you? It'll only be for an evening.

Rodin: Knock yourself out (Puts on a Proud Smirk on his Face) You deserve it after scaring Hades' dumbass out of our establishment. 'Truly grateful for your service here today so far, boy.

Ren: (Smiles Softly) Thanks. I'm really glad to be here.

@keyenuta

@mariah2014

@cyber-wildcat

@caleb13frede

@bestpony666

@princekirijo

[f0point5]

Oooooh my god the feels from this chapter!! The drama! The emotions! Those two babies 🥺

Whenever you make it sound like those two aren't supposed to end up together as a couple, I'm stuck thinking about it, wondering if you're right. Reading this part I honestly don't see them ending up with anyone BUT each other.

There is so much emotional damage and hurt for both of them and they do need to grow from this and learn how to really trust in a relationship, how to not fear a repeat of their own parents marriages, how to love and be loved and not run from this.

BUT seeing how y/n speaks about Elliot and their "relationship" and how she deals with that makes me believe she's never gonna trust any "normal" boyfriend the way she trusts in Max and their "relationship". She said she needs him. And we can all see how he needs her too. They can learn together. They understand each other's fears and they can work with that. They're already acting like a married couple, just without marriage and the intimate part of a relationship. But everything else is there, all the emotions, the trust.

I can see it. For the first time since you brought up the question whether they might possibly be better off as friends, I can clearly see how that doesn't have to be the way it goes.

The texts between Max and Daniel felt kinda illuminating... I've made this ask a couple weeks ago, how I felt like there's been sth happening in the past that made Max believe y/n wouldn't see him as more than a friend and him reacting to that in a way that made her believe he wouldn't see her like that.

Well... what if that something was the blind date that Clara set up for them? If what Daniel wrote is true to some extent, Max might have been a lil more keen on her back then than she'd thought he was. We only got her side of the picture, saying Max drew his line. But what if he didn't? What if she just thought he did and made it seem like she isn't interested either?

I think I remember y/n once said to someone that Max takes what he wants. But would he now? If he thought there's not a chance in hell she'd like him for more, he wouldn't try. No doubt. I'm not saying he's insecure in that department. But I feel like he's not always aware of how people perceive him. And he might not care about that, especially with anyone else. But be seems to care with her. If I think back to him telling her off for the Twitter posts, I wonder if it was him becoming all self-conscious because he's just not sure how to take those things from her. And if he really thought, like way back in the days, she's not attracted, doesn't see him as boyfriend material, whatever, it might explain his reactions to her publicly discussing how hot she thinks he is (let's put it like that).

Because he might start to think she means it. And it's probably a can of worms he doesn't want to open. Firstly, because of all the obvious reasons and their shared panic of relationship commitments. And secondly, because he might need to rethink the path he's taken with her all those years back, missed chances and all. And Max isn't one to ponder on the past.

Just my feelings about this part and some rambling... sorryyy for the long text again. 😅

Love your work!! 🧡

Right so. I waited until I had time to answer this because honestly it took me a while to formulate an answer for many reasons.

You. Be. Cooking. Like…yes. You and I are cooking from the same stove but you don’t have all my spices, if you catch my drift.

I keep going backwards and forwards whether I’m going to do a flashback part with the actual dinner date because on the one hand I want everyone to know what happened but on the other hand I like the idea that such a big part of their story is this mystery that the characters get to keep private. IDK ITS HARD. Because the story of why it wasn’t a date is illuminating but then also in the grand scheme of things doesn’t make too much difference.

I will say obviously it affected the trajectory of their relationship but there’s more to Max’s thought process than what happened in 2017.

Ugh your rambles always SO tempt me to reveal things that I want people to pick up on more but then it’ll make the plot slightly less surprising.

I will just say that Max and Y/N have known each other a LONG time. And Max has been a public figure for a LONG time. Both of things have shaped his perception of the situation maybe more than even he likes to admit. I mean…it’s kinda hinted very vaguely in a bonus part.

YOUR ASKS ALWAYS MAKE ME WANT TO SHARE EVERYTHING WITH YOU!!!

Keep cooking. It’s smelling good ;)

[doverstar]

What's your thoughts about all this Nancy/Steve thing in S4? Not gonna lie, I'm kinda disappointed. I love Nancy/Jonathan relationship and how they built it though the show. And I think Steve had an incredible development to keep being trapped in this crush on Nancy forever. Get over it, writters. I want him to be happy.

Hi!

I do not like Nancy/Steve. I didn't love it in S1, not because I didn't like Steve but because I didn't like Nancy. She's grown on me, but still.

In S4, the writers didn't seem to know what to do with Steve or Nancy. Nancy is now this big leader whose main thing is that she's a reporter and she shoots guns. Steve is now the babysitter, comedy relief, really cool and good against monsters. On paper, that would make a pretty good couple. But they don't.

We already saw Nancy/Steve in S1. We already saw what they're like. Yes, they've both grown up since then, but you'd think that would move them away from each other. Now it's like they're moving backwards. It's not character growth just because Steve explicitly says Nancy gave him character growth.

I think it's mildly realistic that Steve would be attracted to Nancy still. But that he just can't get over her? Like there aren't girls out there who are better for him? Like ROBIN? Yes, they made Robin a lesbian, but before that they planned on her getting with Steve. The entire bathroom scene in S3 was a misdirect, sure, but what Steve said was true. A girl like Robin was better for him than a girl like Nancy Wheeler. So who's to say there's not more than one girl like that out there for him? Why is this character trapped in this one trait? Which is that he has a crush on this one girl?

She already picked Jonathan. She shouldn't be giving him those eyes throughout S4. It's not fair to him. And it doesn't make her all that likeable, honestly.

No, of course Nancy is attracted to Steve. You can't blame her. But for them to continue to make Nancy flip-flop between these two guys is not relatable in a good way. It doesn't endear us to her. 

It's only compelling if you love Steve and you ship him with happiness. Most people don't want it for Nancy, they want it for Steve, because we're told Steve wants it. But why does he want Nancy? It doesn't make sense. She dumped him. She picked someone else. Yes, she went through trauma, yes, there were extenuating circumstances that put a strain on her relationship with Steve, but that aside, she chose Jonathan. Steve faced down the demogorgon with her too, just like Jonathan did. Steve went back into that house to save them from the demogorgon, and he didn't have to. And in the end, she wanted Jonathan instead. From Steve's perspective, especially at the end of S2, it makes no sense for him to still want Nancy Wheeler. She hurt him. She lied about her feelings for him. She cast him off for someone else. 

I'm not here to trash Nancy, I'm just saying what it must be like from Steve's perspective. Why does he want her? Wanting someone who did string you along, who can't make up her mind, who did all the things I mentioned up there to him? Yeah, that makes no sense. Especially for a character like Steve, who's supposed to be growing.

This isn't growing. It's relapsing.

And what about the six lil nuggets thing? That whole scene made no sense, and neither did its follow-up in the Upside Down. In S1 we're shown very clearly that Nancy does not want the suburban life. She doesn't want to get married and have a family like that. She even reiterates IN THE RV that while traveling and being married sounds nice, six kids does not sound nice to her.

And this is the girl Steve just has to be with? He can't picture anyone else? She doesn't even share what he wants most. He wants six kids. Does he seriously think Nancy Wheeler will be the smiling wife bearing him that pack of Harringtons? She won't. She's a feminist. She's very self-motivated and impulsive and wants what she wants for herself. Being a wife and a mother takes sacrifice. Nancy Wheeler doesn't sacrifice anything for anyone.

Wait this is becoming me trashing Nancy-

She is growing on me, I swear. Who among us was not her biggest fan when she shot the crap out of Vecna.

Anyway! Yeah, I think the Nancy/Steve thing was really stupid. Jonathan and Nancy were built very realistically together, if a little rushed. I'm not a big fan of two characters having a will-they-won't-they until some external character shows up and literally tells them all the character traits they have that would make them a good couple and urges them to become a couple. (*coughcough*Murray*coughcough*) 

I just don't think the writers know what to do with these three characters anymore. They don't know what to do with Nancy besides "strong, independent woman with Barb trauma and heart eyes for Steve, no Jonathan, no Steve-". And they know we all love Steve, but they don't know what to do with him either. He's already been redeemed, what next? Make him the leader? No, that's Nancy's job now because Women. Even Steve himself knows he has no direction. Might as well drool after Nancy again.

Those are my thoughts. Sorry if they're unpopular! You'll see if you read my fic that I actually like Steve and Nancy separately. I do. But putting them in a love triangle was a mistake. Give Steve a girl that's good for him or don't give him a girl. Give Nancy a relationship that makes her a better person (good for her) or don't give her a boy.

If it was really just that Steve was immature when they were together and that's why it eventually didn't work, then maybe Nancy would like him nowadays. But that's still not a sustainable girlfriend. Someone who dumps you for another guy while you're figuring things out and then wants you back when you've been cooking a while longer? No thanks. Run, Steve.

LOVING the questions. <3

[heresathreebee]

Kinktober Day 19 IMPACT PLAY

Takeshi Kovacs (Elias Ryker Sleeve) X Reader

Tags: +18 | 2k words | mentions of canon typical violence, mmm I'm sure theres some kind of fetish for fucking while sick, kinda dysphoria like?? Reader had a new sleeve, unprotected sex

AN: unedited need more Kovacs in my life

While you weren't overly fond of your last sleeve, you still hate the feeling of being stuffed in a new one. Plus you just had your face removed by some wack job merc so you have some hard feelings about that. 

You barely blinked when Louis told you about your new sleeve. 

"Look, things were not supposed to go that way," he said, "and I know I owe you a lot for  what you've done for me so far, sooo–" 

Louis gestured with open palms at you and said "tada!" as if you were supposed to know what he meant. 

He quickly realized his mistake and cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Your current sleeve– while most certainly not your birth sleeve– is actually very similar to it as a token of my sincerest apologies." 

You glanced sidelong at Louis' new associate– a stoic fellow wearing the face of a cop who once arrested you. He gave what may have been a sympathetic raised eyebrow and said the unsaid, "you can't look in a mirror yet but that is how I would describe it, sure." 

You flopped backward onto the edge of the bed and sighed. Louis probably had a picture of your birth sleeve since you've known each other for forever and you wonder why he showed it to this stranger. He's not a complete idiot– he knows this guy is dangerous, right? 

Like last envoy aka former terrorist dangerous. 

You examine your hands. They're the right color this time– pretty damn close from what you remember actually. Your hair was braided but the texture seemed familiar so far and Louis must have gotten the Envoy to pay extra to have your migraine implant installed as well. 

Who the fuck was this new guy with money like a Meth? 

"Whelp," Louis clapped his hands, "I have some research to do: can you stay and watch her while I'm gone? Thanks." 

"Not a babysitter– " but Louis was already gone. 

Silence fills the room as the two of you linger in your own little worlds. You link your fingers over your heart and ask, "so tell me the truth– is it anything like my birth sleeve?" 

Kovacs is silent for a while, but then you hear his footsteps approach before he appears above you. He turns his head left and right, examining your face before he answers. 

"Pretty damn close, yeah." 

It is so weird to see a familiar face with a different person behind it. "Gimme a mirror, would you?" 

Kovacs scratches his chin. "... look–" 

"There's a method to my madness," you offer. "Get me a mirror and… help me out a little." 

Kovacs raises an inquisitive eyebrow at you but acquiesces. He finds a handheld mirror in your bathroom and comes back to find you laid up proper in your futon bed staring at the ceiling. He sits down on an open spot beside your elbow and hands off the mirror. 

"Easy, tiger," he warns. 

You meet his eyes and take it with the reflective surface facing away from you. You touch your face– feeling over the bridge of your nose and the shape of your lips. There's so much you barely remember about your original face that the painful nausea in your gut doesn't intensify too sharply. 

Don't think Tak didn't notice your underwear laying at the end of the bed. He wonders for a second if you're just more comfortable without them, but his intuition tells him it's more deliberate than that. An invitation perhaps. 

You frown deeply, flipping the mirror to examine your collarbone. Louis dressed you in whatever he could find– you're sure he had his own sentimental reasons for picking your old sundress and heart shaped locket necklace. Maybe you were wearing it in the picture he had of you. 

You tilt the mirror a tiny bit and feel a little vertigo. It's just your chin, part of your bottom lip and your ears at this angle. All familiar things you've always had. You change the angle and loom fully at your lips and nose. You poke and prod thinking maybe your lips are a slightly different color but the bow and curve is similar enough. 

Your nose is fine, you suppose. 

Your hands are shaking as you maneuver the mirror around your eyes carefully to examine your hairline. Definitely not the same but it is cute! It's here you put the mirror down and try to take deep breaths to keep yourself from vomiting. 

"You ok?," Kovacs asks, "you can stop for now. Get some rest… try again later." 

You shake your head and it makes you dizzy. "No… No, I can do this." 

You set the mirror aside and close your eyes. There is a retractive mirror in your ceiling and you use voice command to pull it up. You know it shows you the whole bed and you've used it before but never for this specific reason. 

In order to adjust to your sleeve, you need reassurance that you are still, in fact, you. 

It's now that you take a real risk and brush your leg over Takeshi's back. "About that other thing I need you to do…" 

Takeshi's calloused hand catches your calf and lifts your leg higher until it's over his head and he pulls it down into his lap. Already in step with your thoughts and very quickly between your legs. You like eager-to-please partners. 

"Come here." 

Takeshi repositions himself so he's leaning over you on his hands and knees. You have to bury your head in the pillow briefly as you catch a glimpse of your new face in the mirror behind him. When the stabbing nausea abates, you wrap your legs around his hips and draw him closer. 

"You know you are pretty," Takeshi purrs into your ear before nipping the diamond earring stud. 

Takeshi plants a string of kisses down to your bust and sucks a clothed nipple into his mouth. You gasp and rock your hips asking him for more. You've got your eyes screwed shut hoping you won't pass out from sleeve sickness. 

The man continues his trail of kisses down to your navel as he pulls the skirt of your dress up. His tongue dips in and it's so hot it feels like fire. You readjust your legs to sit atop his shoulders and nudge him lower, biting your lip playfully. 

Takeshi sucks marks into your inner thigh, touching everywhere except where you need him the most. He's keen to take things slow it seems, which doesn't displease you but isn't quite what you need right now. 

You stare at your reflection and almost wretch. Your thighs lock around Tak's head as you roll to your side over the edge of the bed, struggling to regain control of your spasms. Tak waits patiently for you to relax again, stroking your outer thigh until you unlock your legs from around his neck. 

"Sorry, sorry." You're out of breath and panting, "keep going." 

It's his sleeve– he's wearing that fucking asshole cop's face. You know yourself– your weakness for people who are probably bad for you. The sleeve is that of a sworn enemy and the man wearing it is a stranger. 

Kovacs buries his face between your thighs and swipes his tongue over everything. You grab his hair and shove his nose into your clit, begging with your words too. 

"Please, fuck, need you inside me…" 

You almost don't let him pull away. Tak sits back on his haunches to unbutton his shirt. The whole time he watches your chest heave and he swallows as he watches you finger yourself. 

You're two fingers deep and trying to stretch when Tak takes his member out from the confines of his pants– he hears you gasp as you look at the curved and veiny thing between his legs. 

"Jesus…" 

Tak laughed. "Had a change of heart?" 

You glare at him for a moment before spreading your legs further. "Nope, I'm all yours. Don't be gentle because I won't be with you." 

Something dark flashed in his eyes. Damn, if you knew officer Ryker was packing the night he arrested you, you might have got off with a slap on the 'wrist'… 

Tak grabs your ankle and drags you down the bed. He dips his long fingers into your heat and uses it to lube his cock. There isn't much time to think before he's sliding that almost coke can thick beast into you. 

"Fuck!" You lock your ankles in the dip of his back and pray it doesn't kill you. The stretch burns and then he bottoms out inside you and lets a few curses of his own fly. It takes a moment to relax around the intrusion, he's thicker than most people you've had and you're in a new body. 

You lock eyes with yourself in the overhanging mirror. This is your new face, a lot like your old mug and it's certainly not a clone but if you saw this sleeve in the street, you would probably do a double take. 

Tak presses his nose into your cheek. "Ready?" 

You answer by squeezing his ass. A pert, round white thing that contrasts like fire and ice against the black fabric of his pants. Tak starts to rock his hips to make sure you're not in pain at first, then he repositions his legs to actually thrust inside of you. 

The first time in a new sleeve always feels like heaven– there's no high quite like it. 

"Feel good," the envoy moans in your ear, "look good, too." 

The nausea that dominated you from before is losing as you gain control of yourself. You watch the mirror as Tak pushes the neckline of your dress aside to expose a breast and kneads it with his hand. You keen, wrapping an arm around his neck and angling your hips for more friction. 

Tak keeps his thrusts short and fast, his pubic bone stimulates your clit and you think you might come just from that. Your sickness comes back with a vengeance and Tak hisses as your pussy strangles his cock. You put your hands on his chest to push him away for a second– you need space as you become suddenly feverish and a wet burp signals another close call. 

Tak sits up and tries to give you space by hovering over you on his hands. His head blocks your view of the mirror and he looks concerned. You know you need more… 

Maybe you should have warned him because he was not prepared to receive a slap to the face. You see the shock register in his features before it settles into something dark. 

"What–" 

You slapped him again and he pressed you down into the cheap mattress. Master of every body he's ever been in and trained by Quellcrest Falconer herself… you know he only allowed you to do it. 

Because he liked it. 

Tak pins your wrist down and goads you on. His other hand hooks around your thigh to let him pound a little deeper into you, breath picking up and eyes like a predator. You slap him again, this time his cheek turns pink and you can almost make out the impression of your fingers near his ear. 

Tak switches the hand he is restraining and his thrusts become rougher. He has of course freed your other hand, goading you to hit him again. You make sure his cheek matches the other in color and he groans. 

Every thrust becomes harder and harder, forcing the breath from your lungs and your moans rise higher and higher. 

"Oh fuck, Kovacs!" 

You wrap your arms around his neck and drag him down, hugging him to your chest so you can look in the mirror as you come. Your pleasure washes over your sickness and you come screaming. 

Your head is spinning, but the nausea from before is completely gone. This is your face now. You don't remember your partner coming but he's stopped thrusting and is simply resting lightly on top of you. 

Tak lifts his head with a smug look. "Feel better?" 

"I do," you cuff him over the ear and let him sit up. "Louie can fuck off with that dangerous underhanded job shit, but you are more than welcome to fuck me like that anytime you're in the area." 

Tak chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." 

[angsty-nerd]

Meta: Echo’s Big Fight in 3x09

Let's talk about the Big Echo fight. Because wandering around in the fandom this past week, I’ve seen a lot of very specific conclusions as far as what they were or weren't arguing about, and I’m not sure my take on that scene really aligns with other folks. So let me try to break it down a bit and give y’all an alternative perspective on it.

To start with, the scene opens with Max on edge because they're breaking and entering. Liz is singularly focused on the mission, and he's kinda freaking out. Instead of responding to his concerns, Liz gets straight to business.

"Ooh, ooh, this is interesting. Heath left Genoryx two days after I did. Must have realized he didn't need to be working underneath their corporate thumb."

Liz is kinda projecting here. Heath never once displayed any discomfort with Genoryx as a company the way that she did. He wanted her to stay. He wanted the resources there. We know these things as an audience, and Liz would too if she was thinking through the big picture at this point in time.

Max, on the other hand, doesn't know any of that. Here's what Max hears from Liz: he hears surprise. He hears Liz acknowledge that this is unexpected news. And right as he’s processing this unexpected reveal...Max sees Heath's Wild Pony t-shirt.

Weird coincidence #1 from Max's POV was Heath (the guy who is currently so pissed at Liz that he won't take her calls) supposedly rescuing Liz's science out of the good of his heart so that Genoryx doesn’t get their hands on it? This doesn't add up.

Weird coincidence #2 was Heath quitting Genoryx - a decision Heath made that Liz wasn't expecting.

The Wild Pony t-shirt is now the 3rd thing that doesn't add up. And if the t-shirt clue isn't adding up for you, see my post about it here:

The T-shirt is strike 3 for Max. He can't really pretend that he's not suspicious of Heath anymore. So he broaches the subject with her.

"How much do you know about this guy, Heath? How close were you?"

Max is feeling uncomfortable and looking for more information. He's trying to make the clue make sense. Why would Heath have the T-shirt? Does he have a connection to Roswell that Liz doesn't know about? And Liz doesn’t listen.

"This isn't the time to be jealous about a boy I met."

For all that Liz is clinical and on mission, she jumps very quickly to assuming that Max is NOT on mission. Yes, Max is inherently more emotional than she is. But throughout the episode he's been asking questions about Heath and NOT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS. That's one of the keys to me here. Max really is trying to give her the benefit of the doubt about him.

At Liz's house, he asked about "the boyfriend" but he wasn't doing it in a jealous or judgy way. If anything it could almost be interpreted as concern. He started with "were you happy" and only when Liz kind of metaphorically admitted that any happiness was a façade...that's when he brought Heath into it. And yeah, Liz says that he impacted her life and helped her grow, but she didn't exactly express romantic feelings that would make Max jealous. So when she basically jumped straight to the jealousy assumption instead of actually discussing this with him, he starts getting worked up. Because she is not hearing him. She is not acknowledging that the facts they have found during this investigation are not adding up. So he is honest and blunt about what he's thinking.

"I'm just saying it's possible that he took your one-of-a-kind alien spores and quit, so that, just like you, he could use the research himself, free of Genoryx."

Max is the one who brings the science into this conversation. Not Liz. And he's not criticizing or questioning HER application of the science. He's questioning the trustworthiness of Heath. Because the lies are starting to jump out at him like a friggin’ neon light.

BUT — now that he's specifically brought up the science, he has her attention. Because Max questioning her science is HER sore spot. So what does she say back to him? Something kinda judgy.

"That grand trust speech certainly had a short shelf life."

Side note: I really don't think there actually was a "grand trust speech" in this episode. I can think of a few scenes where there might have been an opportunity for one. In particular during the milkshake scene when he admits to saving her tapes. But they actually don't talk about trust in that scene. They talk about having hard conversations. They talk about moving forward instead of looking backwards. But they don't talk about trust. My guess is that there might have been content cut for time at some point in this episode, that may have included some grand declaration from Max, but that's really just speculation on my part.

Regardless…Liz's response to Max bringing up the science is to basically accuse him of not trusting her. Which is not what he was saying. He was not questioning her use of the science. He was questioning her trust in Heath through the context of her science. So he elaborates on what he IS saying, and as he does, he's getting more and more worked up...because this does relate directly to his personal fears, and, frankly, his buried trauma that he's never properly addressed.

"I trust you. Okay? But I don't trust some guy I have barely met with a secret that could endanger me, could endanger my family and break the frickin' Internet if it came out."

Max doesn't know Heath, and he doesn't trust Heath with a secret that could endanger Michael and Isobel. His emotions are escalating, because now he's thinking about the science that scares him in the hands of a guy that all signs points to being potentially untrustworthy, and he's triggered.

BUT he doesn't back up his argument. He doesn't point out the very specific evidence he's identified that Heath is probably lying to Liz.

And Liz is inherently reactive and sometimes overly defensive (see 1x09 list of Liz's flaws). So even though he's focused on Heath, she immediately reacts defensively and takes it as a criticism of HER.

"You think I would let myself be conned?"

"No, I think you came out here looking for a partner, and it could blind you."

*deep breath* and this is where it starts to get personal. And rough. Max isn't entirely wrong here. But he also kind of is. Liz didn't choose Genoryx for partnership. She was looking for resources, freedom to do the science she wanted to do, and to save her father from deportation.

But partnership? Yeah, Liz wanted that. But she wanted that from MAX. She was looking for partnership in life, not in science.

And now that Max has thrown that direct criticism out there, Liz is going to throw a bomb right back at him.

"Just because you sabotaged me when I thought you were mine does not mean that Heath would take the same path."

Ouch. This is the hardest line in this whole scene for me to work with. Because it is combative. And purposefully hurtful.

BUT…she is NOT TALKING ABOUT HER SCIENCE. She has not said a single word about her science in this argument. She moved past that. She had the epiphany that she was wrong and she apologized (3x03). That is in the past for her.

This argument, for Liz, is about betrayal. This is about her believing that they were going to be partners and move their lives forward together (2x12), and right when she believed in that future, Max made another massive decision that directly impacted her life (just like he did in 1x13) instead of working with her to make big decisions together.

"And just because you changed the wallpaper doesn't mean you've mended your blind spots."

I really hate this "change the wallpaper" line. It feels like they're mixing metaphors. Liz called her life a commercial. Max is saying that she's changed her decor. Like...pick one and stick with it.

That aside… I think this barb is about her arrogance. Earlier in the scene, she seemed baffled at the idea that Max believes she could have been conned by Heath, because Liz is used to always being the smartest person in the room. She thought she was smarter than Diego and he figured her out. She believed her lab was secure, but Diego (possibly) got in. Sometimes, like most scientists, Liz is so bogged down in the complicated, brilliant details she’s thinking through, that she misses simple things that contribute to the big picture. And I think that's what Max is getting at here. In her arrogance, she believes that she can control the Heath situation. But she's not acknowledging the human factor here - that Heath is a person who may have his own unspoken ulterior motives driving him. Just like Diego did. She's just not seeing what Max is seeing.

BUT - again I'll say. Max is also not communicating the scope of the evidence he is collecting. They're both wrong here.

"I have learned my lessons, but you... oh, my God, you sound an awful lot like the guy who blew up my lab. So forgive me, but you're making it perfectly clear why I felt like I had to go and change the wallpaper."

This is the only line where Liz even comes close to talking about her science, but again, she's talking about his betrayal. She's talking about him undermining their partnership. She's talking about her need for a change of scenery from HIM.

And that’s when Max blows out the safe and they put the fight on hold to finish their investigation.

But, to sum it up…the fight was all about trust and betrayal. It was necessary for them to work through it, though frankly? I wish they could have finished the discussion. Because instead of them coming to some sort of peace with their trust in each other, the truth came out about Heath, Liz realized that she was wrong, she apologized, and they moved forward together, on mission.

I can’t help pointing out though…after the fight and Liz's epiphany about Heath, Max and Liz spent at least 15 hours in a car together. And I'm sorry, I refuse to believe that they didn't talk about anything important for 15 hours. Fic writers assemble? 😆

Many thanks to @ober-affen-geil for doing a quick review and checking me on opinions vs facts. Very important.

And for my next trick… road trips, life choices, and Robert Frost! Coming soon to a Tumblr near you…

[probablyevilrpgideas]

Saw this on Reddit when I was googling to see what deeper lore, or more varieties of Inevitables I could come up with for a character backstory.

Iunno if 5e uses Inevitables, but, basically, Inevitables are ...kinda cosmic justice robots. They come from Mechanus/whatever place represents Lawful Neutrality in a given setting, they're constructs, and there are a handful of canon types who each are tasked with enforcing law in some way. Zelekhuts enforce literal justice, think bounty hunters, maruts enforce the law that everything dies, there are inevitables who enforce causality and the sanctity of divinity, and the Kolyarut exists to punish those who break oaths and agreements.

Here's what the 3.5 SRD says about Kolyaruts-

Kolyaruts mete out punishment to those who break bargains and oaths.

Before beginning a mission against a deal-breaker, a kolyarut learns as much about the contract or oath as possible. It’s not interested in those who break deals accidentally or against their will— only those who willingly break contracts violate the principle that kolyaruts are created to uphold. If a written contract was broken, the kolyarut typically carries a copy of the contract with it.

Kolyaruts are the most talkative of the inevitables, making credible attempts at social niceties such as proper greetings before getting down to the matter at hand. They can use disguise self to appear as almost any kind of humanoid—useful if they need to go undercover to catch their quarry.

So.

First of all, the Reddit OP's "friends" are dicks. They would be fully justified in flipping them the double deuces and giving them a huge stink eye as they walk backwards out the door.

But, assuming someone were to find themselves in this position (and contrary to what some responders on the reddit post claim, wish can in fact force someone to agree to a deal, that's just duplicating the effects of dominate person), ...well, honestly, they should probably just leave, because that DM is not being reasonable, so it will come down to the PC fighting something seven levels above them.

*BUT*, assuming a reasonable DM, this could be a really interesting plot, assuming everyone was on board in the interest of telling cool stories.

Here's what we know-

-OP's character was magically compelled to accept a bad deal.

-Despite that compulsion, somehow, they broke the oath, and now a Kolyarut is on their trail.

-Kolyaruts, despite being, basically, contract lawyers from Hell, or perhaps because they are basically actually extreme contract lawyers, they are interested in having as complete a picture of the circumstances of the broken oath as possible.

-Kolyaruts are not interested in enforcing people who broke an oath against their own will, or otherwise did not voluntarily break their oath.

So, the thing for the player to do would be to reason with the kolyarut. This is an interesting case that will come down to judgement, because, technically, it seems, the PC broke the oath voluntarily. But they didn't make it voluntarily.

In real law, so far as I'm aware, generally, a contract signed, or oath sworn, under duress is considered void, invalid. It's going to vary by locality, but I believe that's fairly universal.

Of course, D&D doesn't necessarily operate on real law standards. But absent a DM telling you how the law, and especially cosmic ideals of law, work in their setting, it's a basis to work from.

Therefore, what the PC should do is, basically, sit and wait for the kolyarut to come to them, and then present the case that they were forced to make that oath. In real law, it is incumbent on the person who breached contract/oath that they were under duress when it was made. The PC would want to have some kind of evidence that they were magically compelled. They may only have witnesses, and those witnesses are probably just the other PCs involved, meaning they won't want to give honest testimony.

Unfortunately, kolyaruts cannot use zone of truth or the like, but they can use mark of justice. It would be reasonable for the kolyarut to put a mark of justice on the witnesses, with the trigger being "providing false witness when I ask you for testimony." This won't prevent the witnesses from lying, but it will cause them to suffer a bestow curse effect if they give false testimony, the kolyarut would know it triggered, and therefore, the kolyarut will know the witnesses gave false testimony. There is a slight problem here that a kolyarut can only use mark of justice once per day, which means multiple witnesses would need be handled over multiple days, but, eh, that's fine.

Now, this is where judgement comes in. By the SRD description of the kolyarut, they only disregard oaths that were broken unwillingly, not made. But, honestly, if people can be held to binding contracts and oaths made under duress, then the entire idea of lawful contracts falls apart, and therefore, personally, I feel a kolyarut, provided with compelling evidence that an oath was made under duress, would abandon their pursuit of the one who broke it. I also feel that the kolyarut would then consult with whoever the superiors of inevitables are about whether those who coerce others into making oaths are under their purpose's jurisdiction--and then show up again pursuing the person who made the wish and the one who took advantage of it. Possibly one or two zelekhuts in tow.

(now, I also wouldn't have this happen between PCs. The wisher and the one who took advantage of it would be recurring NPCs, but...)

[athys-obelia]

summary: no one's evil au lmfaooo but make it pt. 2

character/s: anastacius de alger obelia, claude de alger obelia, athanasia de alger obelia, jennette de alger obelia

and here's part 1 <3

oh my god okay. okay. so.

ana, claude, athy and jennette - they go on a LOT of vacations

claude complains every single time but anastacius pulls his trump card and sends athy and jettie BOTH after him

u think he's strong enough to say no after that? lmao jokes

and their vacations always go this way:

jennette: isn't this scenery just gorgeous, uncle

claude: indeed it is. and...quiet

jennette: ...too quiet

[cut to anastacius in the distance, fighting a bear as athy cheers him on]

athy + anastacius, hands down the most chaotic pairing yes i will not be taking criticism

they have tea in ana's palace everyday, just the two of them, they're so poised and picture perfect through the entire thing everyone thinks it's just the emperor giving profound advice to his heir

it's actually them deadass scheming,,, ana has no qualms discussing everything from court gossip to military tactics, both of which she's so on top of all the time

if anyone shit talks jennette or claude, this tea party is where their slow and agonizing demise is planned out to the dot

[true story - count sivan once made the fatal mistake of expressing his favour for athy as the next empress, dissing jennette by comparing her to athy sm which inevitably sparked a debate that ranked the princesses. a week after athy's sources informed her of the kindling behind this new debate, the count's sudden divorce became the talk of the town, and the man's business faced bankruptcy all of a sudden. the sivans still haven't recovered.)

athy n jennette were actually allowed to visit kiel in arlanta a few times, except it was too dark at their first arrival, postponing the meeting to the next morning

buttt then jettie can't sleep and she decides on a midnight snack run (their hotel doesn't really have the maids the palace does, but oh well. she's left the palace w lucas n athy plenty of times)

felix tags along btw, he knows this trip is important to the girls since they're leaving the palace without their Overprotective Papas™ for the first time and want some sense of independence, but... she's just so smol n he couldn't bear it if anything happens so he just shadows her

she totally knows he's there

n e ways so there's a juice place right beside their hotel which she aims for, but when jennette reaches it, it's closed

and out of nowhere, a voice addresses her - "hey you, do you come here a lot?" she nearly jumps out of her skin at the brunette, relaxing when she sees he's literally a kid around her age and not a murderer lmfaoo "me neither," he continues without waiting for her, pouting at the closed sign, before he asks for her name and whether she's new in arlanta

she confirms that yes, she's only visiting, and refuses to tell the stranger her name, still feeling strange at being addressed as 'you' for the first time (well, minus lucas, but he was like her brother and had the emotional capacity of a teaspoon, so)

he eyes her. "you're so weird. i've never seen a girl out so late before, and alone too. are you stupid?"

(felix has his sword out at this point)

she's flushing now and has no idea why she's still out here, but then this stranger kid apparently senses her mood and tells her the best ice cream store in arlanta is not too far away

(he also explains he knows someone who's starts doing weird things when she's hungry as well, and tries to defend that ice cream is actually a healthy midnight snack, "you can just take a healthy flavour like strawberry or mango, mangos are healthy,,right"💀️💀)

so jettie has travelled all the way from obelia, she loves her papa but he would have a heart attack if he found out she was ever awake this late?? yeah bc she's never getting this chance again, jennette accepts the offer

the stranger boy seems to be taking the whole "i'm not telling you my name," thing like a joke, and asks what he should call her since 'you' was getting boring

she goes with "lady j" and like a knight, the boy becomes "sir c"

(felix is on the verge of committing a crime - the princesses can only have one knight, after all)

they walk as the the boy navigates the streets in the dark, and she asks whether he's from the academy, seeing his uniform

"of course i am! you could probably tell bc i look so smart, right?"

she snorts. "yeah, that."

she also comes to know that this guy,,,well he might as well be a tourist? she's out here asking stuff like "oh where's the statue of lady alphia?" or "aren't we really close to the museum where they keep the first emperor's sword?" and he goes "lady do i look like your brochure?? but if you turn right from here there's a cool arcade and across the street from there is the best street food vendor you'll ever eat from."

well at least mans had his priorities straight 😌

"so can you take this off?" he asks, pointing towards her dress once they've neared the store

um???????? sir tf????????????

anyways jettie has been living with lucas n her dad farr too long to not take this the wrong way?? "...no?"

the boy raises an eyebrow "look, it looks like an expensive cloak but i promise i'll return it, alright? i gotta hide my uniform."

ohhhhhhh. 😳.

so she unfastens the cloak and because he's kinda just staring at it cluelessly (he can't even tie his shoelaces fight me), jennette sighs and moves the clothing over his shoulder, fastening it in place at his neck

he's literally a tomato when she looks back up and realises that yes, we are way too close rn

bc she's ana's daughter, jennette by default cannot function when she's flustered. so she kinda stumbles backwards like a fish out of water (years of princess training n etiquette? where art thou??) and 'sir c' has to grab her forearm so she doesn't bump into the pillar behind her smfh

the shopkeep is definitely suspicious of this pair that's definitely too young to be out so late, but chalks it down to his sleeplessness

they escape the store with the ice cream before the shopkeep can ask any questions, and 'sir c' escorts jennette back to her hotel. he climbs onto the roof of the building, helping her up as well

(felix wishes he had a magic stone to capture this moment, this is the first time he's seen jennette become such fast friends with someone)

she stands on the roof (it hurts her butt so she doesn't wanna sit)

"my sister would be so jealous right now," jennette murmurs, "she told me her ideal first date would be either a picnic or something like a moonlit walk. we're having like a moonlit picnic."

it's silent for a few seconds the boy speaks up, "is this a date?"

oh-

oh.

"i mean- i didn't- i don't- uh."

give her some time lmfao she's loading

"i don't really mind that," he tells her, and she thinks she might just walk off the roof in her embarrassment - who just says something like that?? "you're probably feeling really lucky right now, right?"

jennette: ✊😔

he does look pretty in the moonlight, she admits to herself, listening as he excitedly tells her about his siblings at home and how she should send an offering to the gods since they gave her the good fortune to be on a date with the most good looking one of all four of them

in turn, she tells him about how she spent her childhood away from her amazing dad and had gotten closer to him recently, about her sharp-witted uncle, her sister and friends

(the 'friends' section includes felix and he's melting)

she smiles - it's almost as if, at finding out he treasures his family just as much as she does, they've gotten a bit closer

and he tries to listen. jennette had guessed that his temperament was somewhat like her dad's - her dad didn't know how to listen, always making his opinion known before anything else, though she supposes as emperor he could do that

'sir c', on the other hand, tried his best, his blue eyes focused on her as he almost burst from the unsaid words he was holding back, trying to let her finish. the sight was an odd mix of sad and insanely adorable that she couldn't help but let him tell her about everything he couldn't hold in

sensing she could pass out from her exhaustion nearly half an hour later, and 'sir c' escorts her to her window and helps her sneak in bc "what sort of knight would i be otherwise?!"

(felix can't stop shaking the entire night)

the next morning, jennette's heart is pounding as kiel shows her, athy and felix across campus - the chance is low, but still...

"ezekiel!" comes a voice, and the four watch as a turquoise haired boy waves down the alpheus heir "are these the guests you mentioned?"

kiel introduces the trio to johannes vastia before asking, "where's cabel?"

"at the training grounds, he asked if you could bring everyone there so he could show them around there."

"... they're my guests though?"

athy is quick to befriend johannes (i mean she and his sister are practically the same person, so) and at the grounds, jennette's blood runs cold

(so does felix's)

the brunette doesn't notice her at first, arguing with johannes about something as kiel introduces him as cabel ernst

jennette is hyperventilating?? actually back up is this girl even breathing??

cabel ernst from kiel's letters? the 'loud and obnoxious cabel ernst', who gradually turned into 'my acquaintance cabel ernst', then 'hardworking, passionate cabel ernst', and finally 'my friend cabel'?

she'd actually rather admired this slow build of respect between her friend and the ernst boy, and had even expressed her interest to meet him

"this is the first daughter of his highness prince claude de alger obelia, princess athanasia-" cabel mock salutes the princess before his mouth forms an 'o' and he remembers to bow, "-and here's the emperor's only daughter, her highness princess je-"

andddd his eyes widen comically "-hey, lady, it's you?"

yeah jettie is on the brink of literal death - her entire face reddens as this...cabel, grins at her

she watches as he glances behind her, "and you're the guy who was following us - sup?"

felix flinches "...you knew...?"

cabel shrugs. "i mean you do kinda suck ass at the whole subtle thing."

"don't say it like that," jennette retorts, "felix was trying his best."

"princess 😭😭 you knew as well?"

"uhhhh no?"

athy + kiel in a corner: 👁️👄👁️

they watch as cabel's eyes widen all of a sudden and he just,,,runs away

...🐦...🐦...🐦...

yeah well anyway he comes rushing back a few minutes later, a piece of cloth in his hand "...*huff* here *huff*...you go."

athy totally flips out "jennette is that your CLOAK???!??"

"uhhhhh no?"

"um do you realise uncle would literally wage war at this."

and as if it would make everything better,

"i washed it," cabel offers with a grin

"you didn't," the vastia heir deadpans

"i mean, johan helped a little bit."

kiel smiles murderously at the pair. "johan, did you know cabel took the princess out?"

"wait, you're a PRINCESS??"

your honour they aren't very smart

so the group orders some coffee (milk for cabel smfh) to find out what happened, cabel mentions "date" and everything goes to shit again lmfao

kiel and felix scheme against poor cabel while athy n johan get over that stage pretty quick ("listen. MY sister will be living with ME after the marriage and if your friend wants to be with her he'll have to come with us to obelia." and johan's just like "fine by me ✌️😊") and start planning the wedding

cabel + jennette dip n sneak out of the academy again to get the juice they couldn't the night before bc shit is getting awkward here

on another note, our uncle cius' musical intelligence is actually very high - he can probably play more instruments than i can name tbh, but he feels most comfortable singing and i shit you not, this man has straight up an angel's voice

(didn't like singing in front of others coz he was secretly a nerd and only knew old love songs with deep lyrics, athy found out and educated him)

jennette tends to have nightmares often, most often regarding their family - she's seen her father murder her uncle for the throne, and vice versa, athy admitting her affections towards jennette were a front to get the position of crown princess, her uncle killing her to solidify athy's claim, etc - her family is her everything, so despite however many times these horrible scenes play before her, she's left sobbing uncontrollably

and on these nights, she leaves for her father's room, who holds her close and sings her to sleep

also lucas n jennette are like sibling duo# 1,,, jettie is an active lucathy shipper even though he denies it sm - like their dynamic is just peaceful walks in the gardens as she watches the plants n lucas shi talks the nobility and kiel

claude and athy have a thing for each other's sleeping on each other? idk it's weird

athy once fell asleep on the couch while reading with him, and claude moved her head onto his lap so she wouldn't be uncomfy sitting - well, she woke up to his hand absentmindedly raking through her hair and it was just so soothing that whenever she's tired and he's working or reading, she just plops her head on his lap and zzzz

and claude wondered what was up with that, so she proposed they switch roles and he felt so awkward trying to lay down in front of her lmao

obviously athy noticed and she just started reading, thinking he might be more comfortable if her attention isn't on him completely - she ended up reading out loud while playing with his collar and he just,,,passed out

also anastacius has definitely pulled jennette aside regarding the issue of his heir at some point - she had been hesitant at first before admitting she wouldn't like to be the empress at all

i know we'd all love to see empress!jettie and her sister duchess!athy ruling the court, but i really really really can't see her wanting the title?

so thus start athy's empress lessons, but holy shit her teacher is mean

like this man makes me want to bash his face in?? so he doesn't like the idea of athy becoming empress over jennette at all, all bc of both hers and claude's mothers being commoners

he has one of those long ass sticks that you use in presentation to point at stuff?? idk but basically mans has athy name every region, its lords and their vassals during their first lesson

the first time she gets one wrong, she's too shocked as the stick meets the delicate skin of her forearm to react

now the thing is, wmmap!athy would probably stand up against this bc her dad is the emperor and she's his only heir, but i imagine with anastacius' social nature he holds many parties / balls where she's probably heard claude's mom + diana slander and it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to be self conscious abt it (now she's the emperor's heir while jennette, 100% royal + noble blood, is right there which probably makes her feel even less legitimate)

so she endures it, the light marks on her arms as well as the taunts of his she's too smart to not understand - perhaps this is the price to be accepted in jennette's place?

and honestly, no one really notices until at breakfast a few weeks in, where jennette mentions how her dresses are still so modest when sleeveless dresses were more in fashion - ana is suspicious because athy is always on top of these things, societal trends and such, and claude is sus from the way she hesitates slightly in her answer, "i haven't had the time lately, i suppose"

the lesson after focuses on ettiquete since everyone knows she's good at politics and such already, but now tears of frustration are pooling in her eyes because what the hell?? this guy had made an opinion of her long before he even met her, so anything she did would be wrong in his eyes

he gives her a sinister smile, "tired, princess?"

"no," she insists, keeping her voice level. he's about to spout some other nonsense, when anastacius enters the room, taking a seat across from her

anastacius watches quietly as athy answers the teacher's questions in her "public" voice. he watches as her usually cheery disposition is replaced by something far more...dead, despite the front she puts on for him. he's soundless as she hesitates in her answers where she normally would've been louder, more confident. he stops watching in silence when his niece flinches at the sight of the stick

oh.

he interrupts her lesson, not missing the way she winces almost imperceptibly when he grabs ahold of her arm, announcing, "we're going."

he just- it's just that that was the moment he knew for sure - the sight of his niece emotionally disheveled for the first time reminds him too much of how his own brother had once been, and he'd... he'd promised he wouldn't let anyone hurt his family anymore

he ends up taking her to the port with some of his advisors to welcome some royal guests, insisting that she would learn better from experience rather than books - but the guest delegation gets so boring that he sneaks her out of the meeting n they end up in the streets

now athy has no idea where they are, but apparently her uncle does?? ana has his hand on her head as he navigates the streets of the capitol as if he comes here everyday, using magic to casually disguise the two of them

in the meantime?

felix is at the port trying to cover for them smfh, he makes up this huge story about how the great wise emperor wanted to familiarize his heir with the locals, understand her subjects, yada yada

back at the palace prince claude is currently dragging a man by his collar and only upon jennette's insistence does he throw him in prison rather than literally kill him

(jettie visits him later in prison to give the guy a piece of her mind, after felix's visit he's sporting a few noticable bruises and the prisoner is practically unrecognizable once lucas visits)

back to athy + ana, they end up stuffing themselves with some super good street food as anastacius confesses that yes, he has definitely been sneaking out of the palace ever since he was a lil kid

athy almost mentions that she, lucas n jettie sneak out too but that might give him a heart attack, so

"it's so pretty, uncle cius," she says, gesturing towards the necklace he holds up. once he's paid for it, anastacius fists the necklace, opening it to reveal the jewel pendant - now imbued with his magic and replaced with gold lettering of the word athanasia

and she realises that yes, that's what both him and her dad have called her all her life, haven't they?

"you're my heir, athanasia," he uncle tells her with a small smile, "i am proud of that."

getting teary, she tells him, "i'm really proud of you too, uncle cius," triggering a very flustered + blushy anastacius

this mans craves validation - not from the sycophantic nobility, or the obsequious concubines he'd dismissed all those years ago, but from the family he thought he'd neither have nor deserve

and just the acknowledgement is so large for athy - he wants her as his heir, not because she's his niece, but bc he trusts her to look after his hard work after him??? - yeah she's totally bawling her eyes out

anastacius magics her a handkerchief but my mans magic isn't that strong?? lmao he's used up so much by now that the 'handkerchief' turns out to be some scratchy tissues

awkward amirite

nope! athy laughs at that, offering him a sip of her drink as she magics another straw and a proper handkerchief lmfaoo

n e ways so when they return, everyone's shocked to learn that the crown heir, princess athanasia will actually be joining the official circles as anastacius' temporary aid - he doesn't wanna entrust her to anyone but family, and decides that the best way to learn is by his side

(she's so confused bc lucas doesn't normally bat an eyelash when she wears the prettiest gowns, but he deadass can't look her in the eyes when she's in her aid uniform - it's more like a suit than it is a dress)

yes lucas women in suits >>>>>

everyone is STUNNED when at dinner, claude proposes they leave on vacation??

anastacius is just not having it?? like no, this is not my brother, and he throws a grape at claude to check if it's a clone or sum (¿¿how does that work??)

anyays so he ain't no felix, ana's aim is ass and it hits jettie instead

mans nearly gets on his knees to apologise

long story short everyone preps for vacation, but by some aCCiDeNt claude n athy end up at a different destination than jettie n ana, when she suggests returning to the palace to regroup, mans deadass sulks

"so you wouldn't like to spend this time with your father, despite barely visiting my office for weeks?"

o-oh

so at their return, the nobility starts pestering everyone that the princesses aren't independent enough, yada yada idc so to quell this annoyance, to the girls' joy, they get to move into emerald palace together, while claude and ana stay in the ruby and main palaces respectively

literally emerald palace becomes such a cool place to be in since it's the residence of the only decent people in this family, the brothers spend hours going through the requests of maids who want to be transferred

it's such a busy time because of athy joining the court and jettie starting her studies as well - naturally, since she isn't becoming empress, she'll be getting the duchy claude + athy were to be given in the beginning

speaking of futures, jettie's interest in plants and cooking has definitely branched out into herbs

claude notices her tending to a small garden during his visit to athy and even gives her a few tips (he had been studying medical since he was a kid, and picked it up again when athy was born and the empire stablised somewhat)

this soon becomes a routinely thing, and he actually starts reading up on some herbs and even orders a few for her prospering garden

after a month of her learning from books, claude proposes adding a medic as one of her teachers, and turns out his hunch was right?? she's excelling at medicine and they keep it between themselves for the time being

it doesn't last long though, bc they're on a hunting trip when ana injures his leg

and !! this girl istg, she gets to cleaning and wrapping the wound without blinking an eye, as if it's the most natural thing ever, and claude is just smirking while athy and anastacius and literally everyone else: 🌟💞✨jettie✨💞🌟

literal tears coming out of anastacius' eyes "how come my daughter is smarter than me😭💅"

claude: that's not a very high standard, brother

anastacius: ✨suddenly i'm an only child✨

behold, the people in charge of running an empire everyone 👏👏👏

even though jennette is claude's (unofficial) student and athy is her uncle's heir, they both ask their dads to the debutante

yes athy does dance with lucas, anastacius sent him an invitation even though he wasn't a noble (he's an active match maker 😌) and nobody dared question the emperor's special guest

at the end of the night, kiel gives jettie a letter from arlanta - it's an invitation to the academy during holidays, from a certain brunette

when she brings up the subject, felix lets out a squeak and literally everyone goes silent 😭😭

athy n kiel are just out here DARING him to spill them beans

but anastacius takes on look at his excited lil kid and decides that yups, she's going to get everything she wants

a/n: i literally don't know how many parts this should have lmaoo but y'all made it this far!! thanks for reading i hope you liked it<3

[writinginthesecrettrees]

John coming home from a week-long hunt. He's tired. His body aches. Luckily nothing major needed to be patched-up, but he still feels like he was "drug through a knot-hole backwards" as the saying goes. All he wants to do is take a shower and collapse into bed. As he approaches the door though he's hears a rhythmic smacking sound coming from the other side. He pauses for moment, listening. The faint sound of whimpering and "Deeeeaaaaan" in that whining voice his youngest has become an expert in comes to him and he shakes his head. Guess he'll have deal with this first.

The boys freeze when John opens the door. Sam is draped over Dean's lap, jeans and underwear around his ankles, his butt already a bright red, and all John can think of is deer-in-the-headlights as they both stare at him for a moment. John closes the door firmly behind himself and cocks an eyebrow at Dean. "Wanna tell me what he did this time?" Dean seems to shake himself out of his shock and clears his throat, pulling Sam a bit closer to him, almost protectively. "He, um, he went to the library after school without asking. Lost track of time and didn't come home till they kicked his ass out. I was worried sick. So..."

John was nodding though. "So, you're teaching him the consequences of his actions." He gets nods in return from both boys and he walks a few steps closer, taking a good look at Sam's rear end. "Doin' a good job there." As he speaks he starts unbuckling his belt, and both boys tense. But he's their father. He always has the final say. "Now Sam," his voice stern, "you get off your brother's lap and go lean over the table so I can finish this up." Neither of them move though and Sam cranes his tear-stained face up to his Dad. "Please.... can I just stay here?" Before John can respond to the strange request Dean is nodding. "Yeah Dad. He's already here." He grips Sam's side more firmly while leaning his torso back a bit, out of the way. "I'll hold him still for you."

Normally John would insist on doing it, every detail, his way. But neither one is debating John using the belt on Sam, just positioning. And well, he can still hit his target as long as Dean stays out of the way. And he really wants to just get this over with and get in the shower. So with a nod he doubles-up his belt and stands to the side a bit. He notices one of Sam's hands moving to grip Dean's leg while the other continues to brace himself against the floor. Without further ado he brings the leather down hard over Sam's ass. The crack is loud in the otherwise silent room, but is immediately followed by a groan from his youngest. Dean grips him tighter and John continues, whack after whack. By the third Sam is squirming but Dean makes sure he stays in place. By the fifth he's breathing hard and jerking forward with every swing. At the tenth, Sam finally lets go with a sob, shuddering from the pain, before he goes completely limp over his brother's lap. Just for good measure John gives him 5 more (to match his age plus one) but Sam just continues crying softly while Dean rubs his back.

Now done with that unpleasant business, John tosses his belt onto the other bed. "No doing that anymore, you hear Sam?" He leans down to grip his son's shoulder and gets a shaking nod in return. "Y-yes ss-sir." Satisfied, John heads toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower. You two get ready for bed. Sorry Dean, you're gonna have to share with your brother tonight."

Dean looks up at his dad and gives him a reassuring nod. "It's okay Dad. Don't worry about it."

Once John is in the bathroom and they hear the shower going, Dean helps his brother up off his lap. There's a wet spot on his jeans where Sam's dick had been. "Man, I thought we were busted," he murmured softly. Sam, still flushed from the whole experience nods, wincing as he gingerly rubs his throbbing behind. "Yeah, same. But..." and now he's blushing which just causes Dean to grin. "I... um... kinda liked it." Dean can't help it anymore and pulls his brother down for a passionate, if brief kiss. "Hurry up and clean up." He nods towards the kitchenette sink. "I'll rub some lotion on it before Dad gets out." As he stands he shucks off his own soiled jeans and his t-shirt. It's warm enough, them sleeping in just their boxers isn't that out of the ordinary. Sam grins at him as he steps out of his own pants and heads over to the sink to take care of things while Dean collects both their clothes to put in the laundry duffel.

It HAD been a close call, but it might be something they'd have to replicate again.

In the shower, John stands for a bit under the hot spray, letting it relax his sore muscles. Almost of its own accord his hand drifts downward and before he knows it he's caressing his thickening cock. It's no big deal, he tells himself. He just needs to blow off a little steam, then he'll be able to sleep, no problem. And he tries to bring up mental images of women, of their breasts and thighs and butts. But then he's seeing a smaller butt, turning red, under his belt. And it's got him harder than any of the other mental images he'd had. He doesn't WANT to picture his son but... the sounds he was making. The way he was moving. He knew (thought he knew) there was nothing really to it, that Sam hadn't known how... how alluring he'd looked. Had he realized he was almost raising his ass invitingly for the belt? John finds his release and then stands there, leaning his head against the cool tiles. He berates himself for using THAT while jerking himself off, but can't banish the images entirely from his mind. And he tries to tell himself that as long as it stays strictly between himself and his own hand, it's not that big of a deal.

And he tells it to himself again when he walks back into the room, now dark with the boys in the one bed, Dean's arm curled protectively around Sam. It's no big deal. Dean's always tried to comfort Sam after the boy's been punished, even if Dean was the one who had to do the punishing.

They're alive and they're okay. That's all that really matters, right? (Hope you enjoy! 💜)

oh my god.

Oh my god, you really wrote this and sent it to me and I read it while I was at my mother’s house I’m going straight to hell. I love it so much.

Love the relationship with Sam and Dean, and Sammy so young but fully aware of and into his kink. Love Dean taking care of him.

Love them getting off on daddy fulfilling it without realizing, and John’s reaction is just!!!! Like I feel like he subconsciously noticed how Sam was responding to him, and maybe that’s why he reacted the way he did, but now he’s got all that delicious guilt. And he’ll be thinking of it later, the next time he has to discipline Sam, the next time he sees Dean doing it.

Oh, I love this so much 😍😍😍😍😍

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom 14-20 thoughts!! I finished up s1 :D these last few eps were actually really really good!!!

-did. did tucker really just say esperanto was a dead language only spoken as a secret code between geeks. google says around 100,000 people actively speak it. oh my god...it being an auxiliary language doesn't mean its 'just for geeks to speak in code' ...it helps bridge gaps between people who don't have a language in common...

-danny really isn't pulling punches when it comes to fighting the ghost-cop possessed people huh. like he SLAMMED KWAN INTO THE CONCRETE SO HARD. HE THREW PAULINA INTO A BILLBOARD. will that...I mean it WOULD carry over to their bodies non-possessed, right? like if the ghost piloting their bodies gets hurt?? itd be so upsetting to be possessed, lose time, then wake up covered in bruises (and possibly, broken bones??) real horror movie stuff im sure wont be addressed in any way

-tuckers parents seem nice! I like them :)

-WULF IS CUTE AND I FEEL BAD. im so glad the gang realized he was only causing trouble bc of the shock collar walker put on him and helped. also, him wearing that big hoodie with the hood on, and thinking its subtle. we can tell youre still a giant wolfie :) THEN GETTING SUCKED INTO THE PORTAL AAAAH :( anxiously waiting to see Him Again....

-DANNY BLASTING HIS PARENTS THINKING THEY WERE OVERSHADOWED LMFAO GET THEIR ASSES. maddie marking how many ghosts she gets with lipstick tallies on the side of her portal gun? kindaaa iconic tho. (ALSO, SHE WAS LIKE, 2 FT AWAY FROM HIM RIGHT AFTER SHE TRIED TO SHOOT HIM. HOW DO YOU NOT RECONINZE YOUR OWN SON??? like sure, he might have diff hair/eye colors. but like, if one of my family members dyed their hair, and was wearing contacts, its not like id be like 'wHO IS THIS STRANGER!!!' ...he still has all his facial features!! same everything!!! I hate it here)

-paulina being #1 girl realizing danny's a friendly ghost immediately. smart queen. lancer and kwan ran away right after he made this sweet baby face at them:

which is hilarious.

-ok. im not saying his bullying is JUSTIFIED, but. dash looked so pleased with the (cute!) poster he just painted, and danny comes thru the wall and spills paint on his nice letterman jacket. his anger is justified maybe 65% of the time so far...(not the way he handles it, but STILL.) at least lancer is stepping in!! and them making a silly little bet was...cute?? until dash pulled out his GROSS UNDERWEAR AND SAID DANNY WOULD HAVE TO EAT THEM???? WHAT THE FUCK MAN. TUCKER WAS SO RIGHT ITS FUCKING WEIRD TO CARRY THOSE AROUND EWWW. THIS KID IS UNWELL. lancer was right, his animatronic setup was SUPER IMPRESSIVE?? hes actually pretty creative. danny meanwhile is stealing the fright knight's design...I hope dash is taking art classes or smth with his sports

-fright knight is the most bestest ghost so far i LOVE THAT DESIGN. I am biased towards knights, and characters with swords, but he fucks so severely. and should sue danny for copyright infringement for stealing his design for his haunted house. if some 14 yr old broke into MY house and stole MY sword, id also be pissed. his evil winged unicorn rules too with its FANGS. and he just CAN SHOVE THE PORTAL OPEN WITH HIS HANDS??? is he the strongest ghost weve seen so far? idk but hes my fav. SOUL SHREDDER IS SUCH A COOL SWORD NAME TOO. ANY NAMED SWORD ALSO FUCKS. 'flaming bedsheets of DEATH' funny king. ALSO he was polite to dash and tucker when just asking for directions and telling tucker 'oh maybe, just a suggestion, maybe be nicer to me and be more respectful :)' I LOOOVE HIM.

-I noticed this in the Ember ep, but jazz has an electric guitar in her room!! talent musical queen!! its cool to see hobbies just in the bg.

-fright knight's murder castle reminds me of the booby trapped murder castle in zexal!! another supposedly 'for kids' show with murder/trap castles! we love that. if you are a dp fan reading this, give yugioh zexal a try. its also got 13-14 year old protags and involves (alien) ghosts. the cardgame is just a vessel for the plot, which is really good. (I just want more people to watch my fav yugioh, man)

-danny. with a SWORD.

-danny doesnt NEED TO WIN this contest, dash didnt STEAL HIS DESIGNS AND STEAL A SWORD. he also got excited to hear lancer got sent to a dimension with his worst fears too just so he could win the contest? DANNY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!! BRO MAYBE YOURE 14 AND HAVENT FULLY DEVOLPED YOUR WHOLE BRAIN YET, BUT...THATS FUCKED. this kid casually says the most deranged things, I do worry for my spooky son. once again, therapy needed. that judo toss was great tho. I wonder if he actually did pick up some martial arts stuff from his mom?

-danny can fly 112 mph!!! thats so fast! I love the lil montage of him and his friends testing his abilities and stuff, very cute and a good way to showcase what he can do by now and how much more proficient he's gotten from ep 1!!! I'm sure he's going to get more abilities :)

-im glad...maddie's at least TRYING this ep. I do feel for her because her husband is a man baby. but the fact it took 16 episodes to get a kinda semblance of any kind of real concern or attempts at bonding. hmm. jack's 'BACK OFF SHES A MINOR' @ the ghost trying to attack jazz. also was very funny. and him wanting to make an action figure of her? are the parents redeeming themselves to me? slightly. they gotta Work Harder

-THE GHOST. IS FLYING. THE PLANE.

-fenton machete. but she doesnt carry a PHONE??? ???

-I mean I expected vlad when you namedrop him earlier in the ep, and also the title card picture, and dalv corp being fucking vlad backwards. but seeing him just pull up on a golf cart made me bust out laughing. WITH the gift baskets prepared. why wouldnt you at least be suspicious. also, if he wants danny to be his lil sonboy, why is he so fucking malicious?? dude you are going about this in such a bad way. stop it. get some help.

-maddie not even hesitating to drag danny out. fucking good. danny is so right, go on the internet to date. get a cat. how do you spend...how many years?? has it been since college?? at least 20, right, since the parents/vlad are in their 40s? hung up on ONE girl. my god, man. incel drama queen. her kung fu IS impressive, but dude. 'we both know hes a creep' SO right. it sucks but they do need a phone and shit being in the middle of NOWHERE. also, just stealing his helicopter was great. <3

-'you must be exhausted carrying the weight of that mistake you made years ago' 'well we all make mistakes. maybe I'll make one now!' WHY DID THIS EXHCHANGE SEND ME. AND VLAD WITH THE BREATH SPRAY EWWW BITCH. 'OLD BAIT BREATH' SOO RIGHT. both danny and his mom playing him HAHAH hes so dumb. or rather, I think he thinks with his emotions too too much and is...actually pretty gullible? lmao he believed danny was ready to give in SO fast. (which is sad hes that hopeful, like you have SO MUCH MONEY YOU COULD EASILY GET ANOTHER GIRL WHO HAS A KID. AND WOULD WANT TO BE WITH YOU AND BE SUPPORTED. GET OVER THIS (1) WOMAN ALREADY IM GETTING SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT AAAAH)

-GHOST BEAR GHOST BEAR GHOST BEAR. it was also in the title card, but I still got very excited. we love bears here

-SAM'S BAT SWIMSUIT COVERUP!!! her outfits are simply iconic.

-'i'd tell you to go to the mens room, but I don't think you qualify' top paulina transphobic moments. :( and him wearing a tanktop to the swim park? hmmm! (actually I think she was overshadowed by then, so, KITTY top 10 transphobic moments??)

-kitty just piloting paulina around makes me feel SO bad tho, paulina's gonna wake up and be like 'wtf do you mean I was dating this rando' like youre leading danny on to make johnny jealous, and also just POSSESSING POOR PAULINA. dude take your relationship problems ELSEWHERE. last time we saw them, they seemed like such a cute couple!! wtf johnny!! I mean, she sucks for trying to make him jealous, he sucks for looking at other girls...maybe they need a break, but Not Like This. or, you know, just. better communication...

-and the A-listers having a full packet and a stamp system. who organizes this. kwan fucking owning being the new danny though, this is hysterical. THE TUCKER/KWAN FLOWER FIELD TWIRL. UNIRONICALLY ADORABLE. and him giving it his all for the poetry slam. bless his HEARTTTT.

-Star owns. actually, all of the extra characters are shining this ep and I love it.

-INVISO-BILL??? NOOOO THEY DID HIM SOO DIRTY. DANNY SWEETIE IM SO SORRY.

-johnny and danny bein friends and staging a fake fight (which danny takes too seriously, once again this child has aggression he NEEDS TO WORK OUT) I hope these three stay friends, I said it before but danny needs more friendly ghosts to hang with.

-at this point, Danny's ghost enemies are a lot like, I dunno, batman's rouge gallery is the first thing that comes to mind. they all have their own gimmick and unique designs, but most of them are easy to beat after learning the Moral Lesson. I still get excited when any of them show up again, though. 18 is another valerie episode!!!! :D skulker really said you two will get along if I have to handcuff you together <3 and the gym teacher really said, youre married now, have a flour baby! ngl, I'm not really watching this show for the shipping stuff (which I am very scared to look at the fandom for after I finish this watch through- I feel like there's probably discourse/arguing about ships...) but. I'm gonna put my opinion out there. valerie/danny > sam/danny. maybe I just really love the enemies to lovers trope. And the secret identity stuff adds Extra Flavor.

-SKULKER JUST HAVING THE BOX GHOST AND DANGLING HIM BY A STRING. HILARIOUS. and him watching them with binoculars and making his silly little commentary. AND MAKING THE SACK BABY CRY. LMAO. THIS DUDE IS A BABY KIDNAPPER. skulker is super fun

-danny, you just...collapsed the water tower. and then attacked the nasty burger machine...mascot thingy...out of anger..I KEEP SAYING HE'S GOT ANGER ISSUES BUT. HE REALLY NEEDS A LESSON IN MANAGING COLLATERAL DAMAGE!!! So does valerie!! They're both pretty focused on each other. I mean it's good of Danny to say he's trying to make sure PEOPLE don't get hurt, but... (I mean I guess it's not something 14 year olds WOULD worry about, but as an adult im like, who's going to fix that? how much money will that take??)

-TUCKER MAKING BANK. and sam and tucker being super emotionally attached to their flour baby and being pretty good parents. that's cute...also him just straight kissing her and being like. WAIT. O_O JDSKAFHD. his mom baking them into cookies was the funniest possible result. tbh I dont feel like this is on tucker, if anything the other kid's shouldve been more responsible! He was just taking an opportunity to get that $$ which I respect

-Danny being more understanding of Valerie's situation in the end (helping her at her job, too, and trying to keep that a secret for her!!!) And seeing them work together this ep, and also her letting phantom get her out of the ghost zone...was very sweet. LOVE that. more valerie eps pls

-me when I realize vlad's big stupid house exploded because of his own carelessness with changing the ghost portal ectofiltrator or whatever: *pointing and laughing*

-me when I realize it means he's gonna go make danny's life hell for it somehow: >:(

-SCOOBY PARODY!!! I feel like there's gotta be some scooby doo/danny phantom crossover stuff, right? also, 'guys in white' men in black wishes

-'oh, that's right! dad married the love of your life! you're bitter and alone!' DANNNNNYY GET HIS ASS ONCE AGAIN WE ARE POINTING AND LAUGHING AT VLAD

-'jack, you captured the ghost boy!!' UMM. he did nothing <3 'we have a weapon's vault??' YOU HAVE A WEAPONS VAULT??? and jack didnt put a handle on the inside. of fucking course he didnt! why would you leave that to your son!! or expect him to clean YOUR LAB when its where you work with probably dangerous chemicals and weapons and hes 14!! give him normal chores, like, I dunno, vacuuming, laundry, dishes...CMON. I hate it here. But I'm glad Jack is more chill about danny while he's a ghost, and willing to work with him for this ep. AND. I DID ENJOY JACK PUNCHING VLAD IN THE FACE. AND GENERALLY JUST OWNING HIM. the ghost punchy fists are actually amazing. like yeah, just punch a ghost in the face. that rules.

-ep 20 opens with the coolest fucking ghost lady design. her tattoos can come off and fight. MA'AM. I like ur nose ring and your cape maam hello 👉👈😳

-sam's grandma is hilarious and the most valid member of her family and I love her. thats my grandma now. and tucker covering for sam by dressing as her. thats true friendship <3 also skipping school to go to a goth circus. just bestie things! sam's parents are haters but for all the wrong reasons.

-'my family has controlled ghosts with this for generations!' WAIT. WAIT FREAKSHOW /ISNT/ A GHOST? I didn't expect that...he's just a fucked up guy controlling ghosts? anyway watching danny shoot at police cars and rob banks while mind controlled. its like, the most stereotypical 'bad' things lmao. (tbh an evil ghost circus troupe is a sick concept)

this gives off big deviantart emo edit vibes

(I'm going to assume evil circus reaper danny has a lot of fan content. people love an edgy au, except this one is canon (even tho its via mind control...having the protag go evil otherwise might be hard, I guess?) but au where he stays with the troupe...that has to exist, right?)

ANYWAY. excited to start s2!! lowkey surprised by how many notes some of these posts have gotten. I've gone back and tagged them all with 'dp thoughts' so they're easier to find on my blog! ^^ and I will probably possibly do (more) fanart on my art blog after I finish the watch of the whole show, so like. @sanchoyodraws follow my art blog :)

[3d-wifey]

Among Us AU (Students)

I'm picturing this as them being actual characters in the game, not them playing the game.

Let's get the colors out of the way first:

Kiri is red, Denki is yellow, Bakugou is orange, Mina is pink, Deku is dark green, Tsu is lime, Iida is dark blue, Todoroki is white, Ochako is brown, Mirio is cyan, Tamaki is black, and Shinsou is purple.

Best Imposters: Mirio, DEKU, Shinsou, Tamaki, and Bakugou

Best Crewmates: IIDA, Deku, Todoroki, Tsu

Iida is probably the fastest crewmate, so nobody bothers going after him.

Wears the safety mask.

He calls regular emergency meetings as "check-ups" and is very adamant about the buddy system.

Can be seen chopping the air whenever he "thinks" he saw someone venting and when he's arguing during discussions.

Usually takes charge during discussions and if he dies, then Mirio takes charge

You'll probably find him in security watching the cameras.

It's very obvious whenever he's the importer.

He literally never vents.

He sticks to snapping necks and then speeding off so fast you can't catch him on the cameras

But he always gives himself away by getting super defensive when anybody asks him a question

"Where were you, Iida?"

"My location during the murder is none of your concern. I don't have to tell you anything at all. In fact, you can come see me scan in Medbay. Actually, don't! You might be the impostor yourself, Midoriya! Trying to pull the wool over our eye–"

"Yeah, go ahead and vote him out. 😪"

Mina, Denki, and Eijiro all dance around Bakugou while he's doing his tasks like cheerleaders and it pisses him the hell off because he can't focus.

Kirishima picks up any babies or pets that were left behind, even if he was the imposter.

He wears the ninja headband because they look "manly".

He honestly hates being the imposter because he gets so stressed out.

Usually just sticks to sabotaging.

He's really reluctant to kill and when he does, it is super sloppy.

One of those alien imposters that eat the crewmates. 🥴

He doesn't really defend himself if the crew starts suspecting him tho.

"I'm sorry I killed you, Shoto. That was super unmanly. 😞"

Shoto's ghost: 😐

Speaking of Shoto, he very rarely does tasks.

The only reason he's a good crewmate is because he's so quiet, the imposter won't even notice he's in the same room when they vent or kill someone.

Wears nothing but his suit, but can be persuaded to wear the halo.

You'll probably find him just wandering around in the halls, so he's an easy kill.

He's one of those Chaotic Neutral characters that say you can vote them out if they're wrong.

"I think I saw Kaminari kill Midoriya...but I could be wrong. You guys can just vote me out if I'm wrong."

He and Deku are very good at doing double kills and then venting right after.

He kills with knives or by impaling and then just walks off because he forgets he can vent.

But, he's not a good imposter by himself because he's kinda forgetful and doesn't make good arguments for himself.

"Shoto's faking tasks."

"No, I'm not. 😐"

Kirishima, Ochako, and Tsu are really reluctant to vote anyone out.

Everyone hates when they're the last people left because they usually throw the entire game.

While Kirishima and Tsu could be persuaded with evidence, Ochako usually just skips.

"Do we really have to vote them out? I mean...do you actually have proof?"

"I literally saw them kill Tsu."

"I don't know. I'm just gonna skip."

Ochako has to snap people's necks because she's too poor to afford a gun 😔.

Ochako, Mirio, and Mina refuse to kill anyone with pets or babies. They're murderers, not monsters.

Ochako and Tsu wear matching pink flowers.

Bakugou is a terrible crewmate, merely because he throws wild accusations until they stick (mostly at Deku)

“Deku’s the imposter!”

“Bakugou...Deku’s dead this round. 👁👄👁”

He gets so mad anytime the crew wants to vote him out, even if he is the imposter.

"I think it was Bakugou."

"No, the hell it wASN'T!"

"You've just been a little sus, dude."

"I WAS DOING MY TASK THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU PIECES OF SHIT THINK IT'S ME?!? ARE YOU DEADASS?!💥🖐🏻🤬"

"What are you getting so mad for? 👀"

"I'M "GETTING MAD" BECAUSE YOU BACK ALLEY RAT TURDS ARE BLAMING ME, KNOWING DAMN WELL YOU SAW ME DOING TASKS! I'M NOT THE-"

And he's a petty bitch so he never does his tasks as a ghost. He just grumbles and follows Kiri around.

Wears that backwards hat because he thinks it looks cool, but don't say anything about it or he will take it off.

Now, he's really in his element as the imposter.

🌠Gaslighting: the game🌠

Deku better hope they never get paired up together, because Bakugou will follow him around and report him as soon as he kills.

"Deku's the imposter. I caught his dumbass lacking."

"K-Kacchan? 🥺"

He prefers to work by himself, but he'll corporate with Kiri, Denki, or Mina.

Weapon of choice is a knife because it's hands-on and he really likes to...get into character.

Tsu and Mina are both imposter types that eat people.

They also have a ton of pets and babies with them at all times

Mina will never empty the garbage.

Ever.

She also wears those cute devil horns.

Tsu always does her tasks as a ghost and then hovers by the abandoned babies/pets.

"Has anybody seen Tsu?"

Tsu: 🐸❤👶🏽

She's also really good at telling when someone is lying, that's why she's one of the first killed.

Denki tries his best, but...

"Leave the electrical tasks to me!"

And then he comes back like: 👍🏻🥴👍🏻

Just completely fried.

He wears that posted note that says "Dum" because he thinks its "ironic"...nobody even bothers telling him it's not.

Really reluctant to kill, but he doesn't understand how to sabotage so it's his only option. He just uses a gun because it seems less personal.

"Sorry to do this to ya, dude. But you know how it goes. 🔫😗✌🏼"

Shinsou's power makes him win every game as an imposter. He's basically OP.

"Hey, Shinsou! Did you just vent?"

"Did you?"

"No–"

"Yeah, how bout you come jump on this knife 😼🔪"

Nobody ever sees him because he likes traveling through the vents and it's crazy because no one ever questions him either.

Sleeps in the vents.

He wears the red beanie.

He generally sticks to popping out of a vent, snapping necks, and going back into the vents.

Knows the vent system of every map like the back of his hand.

Sometimes he uses a knife if he's feeling ✨ᖴᗩᑎᑕY✨

A horrible crewmate.

He'll be sleeping in places he shouldn't be.

Like, he'll do some of his tasks, but he's not running to fix the O2 or the Reactor.

The alarms could be blaring and he'll be like:

"I'm sure somebody'll get that 😴."

He never brings anything to the discussion AT ALL.

He just votes with the majority, honestly.

He literally can not be found in the entire ship and you'll only see him at discussions, then he disappears like a shadow.

So, it's obvious that he rarely gets killed.

He only really pairs up with Deku (and he's usually the one that kills Shinsou)

Poor Tamaki.

He, like Denki, tries his best.

Please, God, don't leave him alone.

He tries to stay with Mirio or Kiri when doing tasks.

He wears that little green plant on his head 🥺.

The thought of there being a murderer around every corner stresses him the fuck out, so his hands are too shaky to do wires.

Doesn't like long tasks, they leave him too exposed.

If you think he's nervous during tasks, imagine him during discussions.

It's like doing back to back presentations on a topic you never researched.

He tries to be helpful by adding his two cents, but there are definitely some...big personalities in the group.

"I...think I s-saw orange vent."

"What the hell are you mumbling about?! Speak up, dammit!"

"N-nevermind, it's no use. 😞"

Now, he's surprisingly a really good imposter.

He's one of the few that nobody ever expects.

He works better with Mirio or Kirishima, and while he prefers to just sabotage, he isn't afraid to eat a bitch.

Tentacles come out of his stomach, so he's just waiting in decontamination like:

🧍🏻‍♂️🐙

You wouldn't think Mirio would be a good imposter, but that's EXACTLY what he wants you to think.

He's smarter than he let's on and he plays dumb to his advantage.

"Mirio, why didn't you go to reactor when the alarm went off?"

"I was looking for my buddy, Tamaki. And I got a bit lost."

"Why didn't you just use your map—"

"Heh, we should just skip, right? 😅👍🏻"

Uses his big boy muscles to snap necks and then self-reports.

Says a corny dad joke before he kills someone.

"Hey, What does a liar do after he dies?"

"Wha—"

"He lies still. Heh, get it? 👱🏻"

"😐"

"👱🏻🔪"

Wears a banana peel on his head and I feel like that needs no explanation.

He relies heavily on his quirk to move around as an imposter and a crewmate.

He just fucking pops out of the ground.

This also means he can catch imposters in the act.

He works well with anyone, but he still makes a good imposter by himself.

He really likes the Sked because of the simple design.

Follows people around for fun and his dumbass gets voted off because of it.

Uses his quirk to pop through walls and scare people.

"Hah. Key swipe, huh? 👱🏻"

Always swipes his key perfectly every time.

He does all of the tasks that nobody else wants to, including his own.

"What did you call an emergency meeting for, Mirio?"

"I just missed you guys. ☺"

"..."

"Vote him out."

Now, Izuku is really good in either role.

This is partially because of a little notebook he keeps filled with stats on the crewmates.

It also holds notes on how long it takes to complete different tasks, multiple layouts of the different ships, a list of combinations for O2, etc.

This comes in handy during discussions.

"Wait. Mina, you came from the labs all the way to the office to call a meeting? And you said it took you four minutes to get here while running, but that's, at least, a fifteen-minute journey, even if you ran at your maximum speed. The only people who could get here that fast are Iida, Mirio, and I. But, there is a vent that leads from the labs to storage and you could probably get here in four minutes if you used it. Also, if you saw Tamaki kill Todoroki, why didn't you just report the body—"

"Oh my God, Izuku. Just vote me out. 😒"

After finishing his tasks, he usually goes to admin to keep an eye on the body count. If not there, he'll be taking notes in the cafeteria.

He gets really focused on his tasks, so he's kind of an easy kill.

He has a little green baby on his head and his name is Kota 😌.

The notebook also helps him out when he's the imposter.

He knows which rooms have vents and where they lead.

Nobody ever suspects sweet baby Izuku to be the killer 🥺 no, not wittle baby boy.

Nobody, but Katsuki.

Literally, if there's no concrete evidence against him, hardly anyone thinks it's him.

And Katsuki isn't exactly trustworthy when it comes to Izuku, but he's literally right every time.

The king of sabotage.

He'll hit the lights, lock the door to Electrical, turn on O2, stab someone in the dark, and then vent to the other side of the ship.

As I said earlier, he's really good at getting double kills and then venting away.

He's real handy with a knife, but he has a strength-based quirk so he could snap necks if he wants.

They hardly ever win by finishing all of their tasks, because Mirio keeps following people around, Katsuki doesn't do tasks as a ghost, Kiri doesn't know how to upload the files, Shinsou sleeps through every alarm, Shoto forgets he has a map and gets lost, and Denki won't do his unless Iida chases him around and forces him.

God help these children 😩.

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Finding the freedom' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Finding the freedom"

"You're not trying to hold on for yourself but for her, Yirina....keep living and fight for her !"

Chapter Summary : Thanks to Sonya Kuzmin, Yirina & Park has managed to escape the place they were prisoner by the Perseus Collective but Yirina was wounded during the escape and she passed out soon after the duo arrived back at the CIA safehouse....and in fact, her chance for her freedom was only now....

Link of the Picrew used !

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3200

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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We did it....me....Park, thanks to Sonya's help....we succeeded into escaping the base that Perseus were using for their operations in Verdansk, giving us an chance to return back to the CIA safehouse we didn't see for almost 2 weeks but....I was unfortunately wounded during the escape...an bullet right into the left shoulder at an few centimeters from my heart that was shot by Freya herself to avoid me to get away. She wanted to keep me and I was going to die because of her, I was dying on the road and when I passed out in that safehouse, I was maybe thinking that I was done, that she killed me....

"Quick, we need support here !"

"We've got an wounded here, help !"

When I opened my eyes, knowing that I was still unconscious, I found myself back into the old safehouse in West-Berlin, dressed in the same clothes....with the same bullet wound at my shoulder despite not feeling it at all and the blood on the white shirt, appearing like out of nowhere in the middle of the main room near Adler's desk, still alone in that empty place, feeling it was an purgatory....mine.

At first, I started to wander around the place but in fact, I was awaiting for someone to come and it could have been Bell, Lazar, Park, anyone....anyone I could make an talk in my head to pass the time until my heart stopped or until they managed to save me out of here, this safehouse now like an waiting room, me as an patient waiting that death is coming to claim them, walking around to take an look at everything, to see how it was 3 years ago.

This was the only I could have done....waiting. I was passing through our old desks, seeing all the paperwork we did, all the files that we have decrypted, that I have decrypted, the numerous pictures inside the Dark Room, hanging around to dry up on the multiple links and seeing the dashboard, still full of intels we gathered : East-Berlin, Ukraine, Moscow and that was it but mainly, I was just waiting.

"She needs to be immediately healed, we can't lose her !"

"I know that, Sims, we don't want that to happen !"

"No one is wanting this, Woods, no fucking one !"

I was continuing to wait, longer, longer.....seems that time in my head and outside in the real world was working differently but it was seeming so long to wait. I couldn't continue to walk all over the safehouse, deciding to sit on the chair near Adler's old desk, my eyes drifting to look at every papers on it but this time, it wasn't no more about the mission, about Perseus but about me, files that were describing the brainwashing that happened to me, half of the papers looking burned.

It was surely representing the fact that the CIA tried to erase me from their records after Solovetsky but I was still here, just to suffer in my head, awaiting for my death or my recovery. I was just trying to hold on but nothing was helping me, sitting on this chair and holding in my hands Adler's sunglasses, not knowing how to feel to have them in my hands....in real life, back in that pocket.

"What are you awaiting for, Yirina ?" I didn't jump scared from hearing that voice in the room that broke the silence, recognizing my own voice....Bell...sounding normal.

"Either my death...." I started in an low voice, not looking around me to see where she was, my head down and my eyes on these sunglasses. "...or my freedom back into the living world." I finished, putting the sunglasses on the desk.

"Are you trying to say that you're losing hope ?" Bell demanded, using an tone that was looking between 2 things without exactly knowing what he could be. "Don't tell me that you lost hope !" She repeated, arriving in front of me on the other side of the desk and I raised my shoulders to her. "What does that mean ?"

"I don't know." I replied, troubled by everything around me. "What can I do now, Bell ?" I asked rhetorically, given the situation I was now. "I'm surely dying in the hands of everyone on the medical table in the middle of the USSR." I said, passing my right hand above my wound.

"And it's not because of it you have to...

"To lose hope ?" I cut her in an gentle way, starting to think that I was kinda accepting my fate right now. "You ain't the one to get shot."

"She didn't want to shot you, I think that it was only an warning shot." She proclaimed but that wasn't possible.

"If it was the case, she would have shot in the air." I stated, putting 2 of my fingers on the wound, trying to see if it was still bleeding.

"Sonya avoided her to maybe kill you but...." She then stopped her to grab an chair at another desk before coming back, having took Sims's old one to sit near me backwards. "Damnit, you can't be like that." She exclaimed, sitting on the chair.

"Yes but I'm lost, you know ?" I said, finally finding the courage to look at her, myself, in the eyes. "I want to live but all of this trauma I've been facing since I woke up, I don't know." I added, removing my hand off my wound, my two fingers with some blood on it. "More I look at myself, more I want to say that I'm better but each day, there's something that told me that how my old life was either good or shitty."

"Yirina, I'm just something that the CIA created, an piece of your life but....shit, I don't know." She expressed, sounding very painful to talk about this and seeing me like this, she was seeing herself because we're the same person. "I did existed for like what ? 3 weeks for real ? Maybe an month ?"

"I can't remember that well." I told her, having only relived an small part of the events of 1981 in my head. "That's my life in one sentence you just said : I can't remember an goddamn thing." I claimed, basically having resumed myself to that sentence.

"And each day, you're trying to find more about who we were." Bell told me, crossing her arms on the back of the chair, her head on them. "And you know well that you're not alone in this, you got Park, Zasha, Portnova and more." She continued as I was feeling tears in my eyes at hearing these names.

"Stop." I pleaded in an low voice to her.

"Stopping what ?" She asked me, worried and troubled on her face.

"Just...don't say those names, please." I snorted, passing my right hand below my eyes to clean up the tears, starting to cry for good. "It's making me sad." I cried, looking away from her in shame.

"No, it's not for making you sad and hopeless." Bell explained, hearing her getting up from her chair to get in my eyes sight. "Yirina, look at me." She ordered as I moved away my head again when she kneeled at where I was looking.

"No." I whispered.

"Yirina, look....at....me !" She ordered again, sounding also sad as me and pleading to make me look at her before I resigned myself. "Those names, you can't forget them." She alleged, putting her hands on my face to make sure that I would not look away. "They're loyal to you because they know how much you will do for them."

"Maybe." I muttered, taking an breath as the tears were still falling on my pale cheeks.

"Not maybe but entirely !" Bell corrected me, her hands going on top of mine on my lap. "You don't realize that if you die, they would never be able to get over it." She told me in an clear voice, slowly starting to think that death isn't an option.

"She's starting to lose more blood, Woods !"

"I fucking saw it, damnit !"

"Come on, Grigoriev, don't let us down !"

"I know that they're warriors, the best people I met." I admitted, smiling about thinking of Park, Zed, Portnova....all of my friends....

"Yes but...they're worried, they need to be protected." Bell proclaimed, getting her hands off me before sitting on Adler's desk, removing some burned-looking papers along the way. "And they need you !" She affirmed, pointing at me.

"Why it has to be me, Bell ?" I spoke up, deciding to go up from my seat and getting behind it, putting my hands on the back of it. "I know that I need them but..."

"Yes, you need them." She cut me out, avoiding me to speak further. "We both know how much you need to have them near you." She added, knowing the true of her words. "Each time Park isn't here near you, you're getting crazy."

"You're right." I whispered.

"Of course, I'm fucking right, Yirina." Bell raised her voice against me, feeling myself not in control of my own mind. "Right now, I'm trying to make sure that YOU...live on !"  She poked at me at my right shoulder where the blood weren't present, my head looking down at the chair, tears still on my face.

"Stop, don't be angry." I ordered in an low voice.

"I'm not angry but I'm trying to make sure that you understand." She exclaimed, using the same tone as before that was anger without been one actually.

"So, please, don't use that tone." I sniffed away, looking at Park's old desk and....I could see her at her seat, working with an headset. "Park." I started to walk in her direction but I was realizing that it was just an simple vision that couldn't speak or see me before he sadly fade away, like particles into thin air. "No..." I snorted before I fall on my knees, getting slowly weak and feeling that wound getting real to me.

"You can't accept your fate and die, you have to continue to fight for you, for Park and for your friends." Bell stepped in, getting in front of me and still up, offering her left gloveless hand. "Come on, take my hand." She suggested before I took it in mine, helping me to get up but the pain in my shoulder was still here.

"You know better than me, how ?" I questioned her as she was going back slowly towards Adler's desk but she wasn't responding directly, causing me to follow her, holding my left shoulder with my right hand.

"Because I'm your conscience, remember ?" She said, peaking her head towards before leaning back on the desk. "I'm making you do the right choices and to make you live."

"Right now, it's mostly surviving that I want to do." I quoted, walking to join Bell on the desk as she was looking deeply at the dashboard, precisely at the younger Perseus picture and next to me, there were Adler's sunglasses that I decided to take back in my hands. "I've got an bullet in me and I'm trying to hold on." I proclaimed, finding that I needed to live, not die but was I the one that could decide it ?

"Blood pressure is doing better but not good enough !"

"I'm just trying to remove that damn bullet of her, stop stressing me, Song !"

"Come on, we're going to do this and she's going to live !"

"That's good." Bell smiled at me before she was looking back at the same picture her eyes was now focused as me, I decided to....put on the sunglasses despite not loving it.

"Looking at this picture for this long is not going to help you with those files." I spoke, mimicking Adler but keeping my normal voice before I removed the glasses in shame of what I just did.

"See that you didn't lost your sense of humor." Bell scoffed, thinking that it was good for me to joke in the middle of the situation I'm facing. I'm dying but I'm joking... "It proves that you don't want to go." She stated, going up from the desk.

"By joking ?" She nodded at me, walking in front of the dashboard and facing me.

"It appease you, it's nice." She grinned at me as I was trying to reciprocate the move until I managed to do it for good, bringing an smile on my face.

"I just want to hold on." I told her, keeping the smile on me, sounding happy.

"That's all I wanted to hear, Yirina." She confided about the situation before I start to see her fading away in thin air like that vision of Park, starting by her legs. "You know that I'm still here."  She proclaimed before she was finally out of my sight, having disappeared in front of me, feeling saddened by that as I was now back alone in here.

"We're losing her, for fuck sake !"

"Park will kill everyone here if we lose her, understand ?"

"Okay, move for the defibrilator....clear !"

I didn't want to die anymore but I was still here in that safehouse, awaiting for me to recover back in the real world. Time were passing, minutes and it was getting long, prompting me to start to remake an walk inside the safehouse but now, each time I was walking near an desk, there were no more thing on them : no more files, no more personals effects....nothing...nothing...

The Dark Room was now sealed off, impossible to get inside like if the safehouse changed during my talk with Bell, feeling that it was like the last time I stepped in that place for real almost 2 months ago, the CIA having packed up everything to close the place down after it was raided by Stitch. This was maybe meaning that my time in that place in my head was coming at its end but I'm still here.

I did like....3 tours around but now, with nothing on the desks, nothing on the dashboard anymore, nothing to make me pass the time, I was now forced to await, going back to lean on Adler's desk, an blank stare towards the empty dashboard, the sunglasses still next to me until I remembered that I've got something else with me too : my mother's ring that Freya gave me back hours before my escape.

I took it out of the pocket it was along with the sunglasses, taking an better & closer look on it, seeing that it didn't change in three years...an simple ring with an diamond on it, it was maybe simple but it was meaning an lot for me, rekindling with an direct object of my past, something that belonged to my mother. My life was maybe going back together and this ring....it was showing it....

"Nice ring, Yirina." I heard footsteps coming towards me from behind and I smiled, just by recognizing the voice that just talked.

"Thanks, Laz'" I said, turning around to see him, dressed in the 'Burger Town' shirt he was always wearing in the first days 3 years ago when Bell was meeting everyone.

"See that Bell managed to make you live." He stated with an laugh, apparently knowing of the situation....we're in my head....."It's good that you're not giving up."

"I made an lot of promises." I whispered, still looking at the ring before putting it on my ring finger at my right hand. "You asked me to take care of Park, I will."

"I know and it's really good." He told me, walking to get next to me but avoiding to lean against Adler's desk.

"I....you had an diary before ?" I asked him as his presence was making me think about that fact : how the Perseus Collective managed to get their hands on his book ?

"Guy can't have any secret, these days." He replied with an grin, an bit enthusiatic. "You want to know what I write on it ?" He demanded obviously and I nodded but he shake his head. "I'm sorry but.....I'm only in your head."

"Yeah...I....fuck." I cursed, realizing that this Lazar was something that was in my head and he couldn't have all the answers I needed. "I always forgot that."

"Don't need to blame yourself." He expressed his gratitute, making an tap on my right shoulder as the pain of my wound was now gone again for good. "It's normal to feel these sort of things : I know that it's painful for an lot to not see me alive." He added, sadly removing the smile on my face to think about that day.

"No, don't talk about it." I demanded in an sad voice, looking at him clear and he nodded, knowing that the subject can't be talked now, not this close.

"To change the subject...." He started after an few seconds of silence, crossing his arms and still standing up. "I was thinking about that ring."

"What do you want to talk about it ?" I asked curious and showcasing it fully.

"An suggestion." He responded, smiling at me before looking at the direction of Park's old office. "What if you....asked for her hand ?"

"I....uhm....it is...."

"Yes, it's an good idea !" He guessed my words as I was in loss for it, putting his hand back on my shoulder. "You know that it's an chance for you to have an normal life, to have children and to live peacefully."  He exclaimed, wanting to make me believe more about an future where I could live normally.

"If it's an chance..." I whispered, seeing the ring at my finger. "I need to think about it." I confessed, needing an lot of reflection about that subject and with what happened, it will take time until I can talk about this to her..

"I know you will take an good choice." Lazar reassured me before like Bell, he slowly started to vanish into thin air but it was also the surroundings of the safehouse. "You will." He spoke up before him & the old safehouse disappeared, leaving into an black void.

I was now back alone into that strange place, with only Adler's sunglasses in my left hand & my mother's ring back into my right hand. The past....& the future. My burn mark & his sunglasses at my left, the ring and an intact hand meaning the future at my right but I couldn't let go the past because I still need an lot of answers for myself. I was still now awaiting for the moment I will open my eyes back into the real world.

"We need another charge of defibrilator, now !"

"I'm taking it....clear !"

My thoughts were mostly positive when I start to fall on my knees, exhausted by everything including my wound before I fall on my back, looking up at the endless void, an smile on my face as I was finally finding the freedom I needed after that escape from Perseus base, trying to see myself in the future, maybe married....having childrens but now I need to relax and close my eyes, the smile still present on my face when they closed....

This is how I'm feeling my freedom....I want to feel it !

[mittensmorgul]

Reading your 4.16 meta post from earlier today: another possible headcannon to justify some of the things around angel blades and dean killing with an angel blade- by the end of s5, a lot of angels had been killed already with the war with Hell and Lucifer. We know angels get their power from Heaven, and that angels power Heaven, so perhaps already by the end of s5, the angels had lost enough of their numbers in the war that now they're not as invincible?

I don’t see how that explains the fact that for all of s4, we see a grand total of one (1) angel blade, and its only appearance is a shock to even the other angels. But then suddenly beginning in 5.01, every angel seems to have an angel blade, when they never did before. Or if they did, they never resorted to using it, or even manifesting it as a threat display.

I mean in 4.16, Cas let himself get beat up by both Alastair AND Uriel rather than manifest his angel blade even in self defense. Which... if he’d had one, you’d think heck this might be a good time to deploy a weapon against one of these mofos before they obliterate me.

Basically s4 only makes sense with respect to angel powers and weapons as a self-contained unit. Within itself, s4′s continuity is stellar. But the moment you insert it into the rest of canon, stuff before it and after it begins to get super shaky.

(before it: wtf was Azazel up to with his Special Children Hunger Games? wtf did that have to do with ANYTHING re: the bigger plan of the apocalypse?)

(after it: wtf didn’t any angel use an angel blade if they’d actually had them all along? because they’re basically a go-to threat display after 5.01... and yet... are established to be a one-of-a-kind game-changer weapon in 4.16 when before the existence of that singular blade apparently NOTHING could kill an angel?)

And I get the reason they had to make SOMETHING that could hurt angels, because everything needs a weakness or else why bother even fighting them, you know? That was the issue through the first bit of s7, where the leviathan looked effectively invincible, before they discovered borax burned them and beheading them was at least a temporary measure until they found a permanent cure for them. Imagine if s4 had put angels into a similar box, where nothing could even make them a bit itchy, you know? Where’’s the uncertainty about whether heaven or hell would win the big showdown, you know?

I think s4 is the anomaly here, and not ~the entirety of the rest of canon~.

The fact that Dean could just pick up an angel blade and stab Zachariah in the face? Fits exactly with Anna’s comment about only an angel being able to kill another angel, because apparently only angels have angel blades. Or at least they did until angels started dropping like flies and leaving their weapons fallen beside them, and other folks started picking them up.

Like Crowley melting them down into bullets that could kill angels. Like Cas bringing back two swords for Sam and Dean in 5.18 from the angels he killed retrieving Adam.

So that’s actually the easiest bit of canon to explain away. The actual issue is that before 5.01, there was never any mention that every angel had an angel blade, to the point where Cas and Anna BOTH were confounded and then horrified at Uriel having one...

The most hilarious thing to me is the fact that Edlund sort of wrote the angel blade, aka the Sword of Lucifer, as a one-off weapon. Sort of like Ruby’s’ knife (still the only one we know of in canon... Sam and Dean having found a box of them lying around the bunker, you know?). Sort of like the Colt (they were able to rejigger the bullets to keep it working after the originals were gone, but once it was melted they weren’t able to rebuild another one. And if it was that easy, they would’ve made them by the dozen to hand out to other hunters. It wouldn’t be a miraculous weapon with a 160 year long history and bedtime stories told to baby hunters about it, you know?).

And then at the beginning of s5, it’s like Kripke decided his angels needed to be better armed for battle, because what’s the Apocalypse if not the ultimate war of Heaven vs Hell? Up to this point, angels had mostly used straight-up mojo to handle combat (smiting, tossing folks around, screaming loud enough to break glass, just ~appearing~ in their true form, etc.). But it’s like Kripke looked back at s4 and decided “hey that sword thing was p cool... what if they became standard issue for angels? that could make for some cool fight scenes!” and then just... handed them out without any further explanation for why every angel suddenly had one.

So technically we have Ben Edlund to both blame and thank for this, because what would Supernatural be if the angels didn’t have angel blades? But still... Kripke himself kinda handwaved the whole thing by writing s5 and offering zero explanation for it.

I kinda enjoy picturing Kripke-As-Chuck retconning this into the story, you know? You get an angel blade! You get an angel blade! EVERYBODY GETS AN ANGEL BLADE! And with a snap of his fingers, it went backwards and forwards through canon, except for s4 because that’s when Chuck literally inserted himself into the story, and he’s a writer, and writers lie, but even HE couldn’t fix that plot hole, so he just... ignored it and moved on.

14.20 is honestly a gift. Because THAT is where every dumbass thing like this actually finally gets an explanation that actually functions as a continuity fix.

Thanks, Dabb!

[shalebridgecradle]

Re: our convo about Five's past from last night: I kinda want someone from Mullins showing up at Abel now. Someone eager to see the famous Runner 5, someone who gets utterly baffled and incredulous when they bring them the weird girl from the fort that no one liked or cared about. He thinks they're playing a joke on him, snarks that if she was that impressive they wouldn’t have let Abel keep her in the first place. And then pregnant Maxine hits him with a chair.

…oops, my hand slipped and I wrote a thing. Which was probably your intention all along, you horrible enabler. :P (Couldn’t arrange the chair hitting though. I tried, but it turns out there’s a short list of people Maxine would 100% flatten with a chair, and this dude’s not on it. …Yet.)

[2,869 words, ft. a mute, female Five. Spoilers through S4M4. Maybe a tiny warning for abuse if you read between the lines too hard.]

“Iredid most of Abel’s security after the unfortunate…incident thatwas Ms. Spens’s brief tenure,” Janine explained as they turnedthe corner from the armory. “You can see it surpasses even Ministrystandards.”

Theman walking at her side, one Captain Morden of Mullins Base, began tochuckle. “I never doubted it, ma’am. But it also never hurts tobe too careful when it comes to a visit from the Minister.”

“Ofcourse not.”

Thegate alarm sounded at that moment, pulling his attention away fromher. Morden shielded his eyes with a pale hand, squinting through thelate afternoon sunlight. “Is that one of your runners?” Heindicated a silhouette running across the gate threshold under theguards’ watchful eyes.

Janinechecked her watch. “That should be Runner Five, actually. Right onschedule.”

Morden’seyebrows shot up. “Oh? I’d been hoping to meet the famous RunnerFive on this trip.”

Ashints went, she thought that rather obvious. “Yes, there’s beenquite a demand for that of late. Since Five’s mission is completedI don’t see the harm, and we’ll need to coordinate with therunners for the Minister’s visit in any event.” She motioned himforward. “After you, Captain.”

Meanwhile, Runner Five foundherself preoccupied trying to brush all the dirt and dust off herclothes. She’d managed to trip into one of the outer trenches NewCanton had dug during their mind-controlled siege. They’d filledmost of them back in over the months, but this one had beenoverlooked—and was now overgrown with grass and weeds. Hence thetripping.

In her headset, Sam was telling herabout a massive DVD stockpile Cameo and Kytan had just stumbled overin between trying to fill out a work order to fix the trench. On topof that, the alarm still sounded as the gate slid shut and the guardswere all making idle small talk, both with her and around her. Itbordered on overwhelming and made it hard to focus on any one thingfor very long, which perhaps explained why she didn’t noticeJanine’s approach.

When she did finally look up,she took a sudden step backwards, almost into the gate.

A ghost out of her past stoodright there in front of her with that same old crooked smile.Lieutenant Morden. He didn’t look like he’d aged a day, save fora few new lines around the mouth. Maybe he’d lost a little weight.

It took him a moment torecognize her; when he did, his eyebrows shot up almost into his darkhair, but he said nothing. Just tilted his head to look at hersideways.

“Excellenttiming as usual, Runner Five,” Janine was saying. Five forcedherself to pay attention, hoping that if she ignored Morden he’ddisappear back into whateverhole he’d crawled out of.“This is Captain Morden from Mullins.” Apparently there’d beena promotion in her absence. “He’s here toreview our security ahead ofthe Minister’s visit, giventhat Mr. Sissay is occupied at New Canton.”

“RunnerFive,isit?”Something about the way he said her name made the hair on her armsstand on end. Heextendedhis hand,still smiling. Shedidn’t take it, and after an awkward moment he slid it into thepocket of his khakis instead.“Well.Pleasureto finallymeet you. Thewhole country’s singing your praises, you know.”

“Indeed.”Thefaint flicker of irritation in Janine’s voice made Five smile.Neither of them had quite figured out how to deal with all the fameand praisethathad descended on them over the past months.Mostly they’d mutually agreed to ignore it and hope it went away sothey could work in peace. “Ifyou have a minute, Five, I’dlike you toaccompany us back to the farmhouse. We need to discuss who’llbe running interference for the convoy. The Ministry trucks are boundto attract undue attention from the zombies.”

“Andit’ll give us a chance to talk,” Morden added. There was anundercurrent of mockery in his voice that Janine seemed to miss. “Getto know each other better.”

I’dsooner kiss a zom, wasFive’s first panicked thought. She didn’t say it out loud; it’drequire too much explaining. Instead she latched onto the firstexcuse that popped into her head.

“Later?I need to head to the infirmary,” she signed. On seeing Janine’sfrown she was quick to add, “Ran across some zoms. Routinescreening.”

“Isee. I was under the impression the route between Abel and New Cantonwas free of hostiles for the time being. Clearly my information isout of date.”

“Itwas clear,” Samchimed in at her ear. She could picture his brow furrowing inconfusion. “I mean, there was that scarecrow that looked likea zom, and we really need to talk to that one New Canton enclaveabout leaving their art projects lying around like that, but—areyou sure you’re okay, Five?”

Fivedidn’t answer him. She handed her overloaded backpack off to one ofthe gate guards while she waited for Janine’s response.

“Protocolis protocol for a reason,”she agreed with a short nod.“Go, Five. We’ll meetwith you later.”

“Thankyou.” She didn’t wait another moment before taking offat a quick jog, weaving her way through the scant crowd.

Notmore than ten feet later, she heard a familiar shout behind her.“Runner Five! Wait up!” Morden.Shethought about speeding up—running pell-mell through Abel wasgenerally frowned on unless there was an emergency, but she couldprobably get away with it. Thenin the next breathshe paused at a corner,decidingshe could hear him out. If only for a minute. She was a far differentperson than she’d been at Mullins—several times over by thispoint. She could handle him.

Andif she couldn’t, she could always outrun him.

“Itis you, isn’t it?Little Mouse?”

Well,he hadn’t changed at all.

“Mouse?”Sam was trying not to snicker. Five meanwhile was trying very hardnot to grimace. “I know you’re quiet, Five, but come on. Wait—youknow him? From Mullins?”

Mordengrinned at her, all teeth. “I don’t believe it. Imean, we heard all sorts of rumors—yousurvived the crash, you were dead orgone grey, the Exmoor Militiawere trying to hold you for ransom, all sorts of things. Thebrass never got around to telling us the real story. Guessthey figured it wouldn’t matter.” He tilted his head, waiting tosee if she’d notice the sideways jab. She had, but she refused toreact and give him the satisfaction. “Anyway,it’sgood to see you, Mouse.We all missed you, you know?”

Shebit the inside of her cheekto stop herself from laughingin his face. “I doubt it,”she retorted.

Morden,as ever, didn’t understand. “Sure, sure. Hell of a way from CBlock, isn’t it? Guess you’re living the high life these days.Ministry loves this littlehole in the wall.”

Somehowthe slight against Abel was what offended her the most. She turnedand resumed her jog toward the hospital. If Morden couldn’t keepup, that was his problem.

“Hey!Come back!”

“I’mguessing he’s…not your long-lost best friend?” Sam asked at thesame time. She heard his chair creak as he shifted hisweight.

“Notexactly.” That was all she was able to explain to her headcambefore Morden caught up.

“You’refaster than I remember. Now,where’s Runner Five?”

Thatcaused her to slow her step. She turned to look back at him, hereyebrows arched as if to say,what? Even Mordencould figure out what she meant.

“They’reputting me on, yeah?” He’dstarted to laugh. “It’s alla prank, right? De Luca wasin on it the whole time. AndI heard she had no sense of humor.Come on. Where’s the real RunnerFive?”

“Thisis the ‘real’Runner Five, you—” Sam stopped short of actually swearing, optinginstead for a frustrated, inaudiblegrumble. “Is everyone at Mullins as thick as he is? No wonder youdidn’t want to go back, Five.”

Five,her face drawn and placid, indicated the armband on her bicep, whichonly made Mordenlaugh harder. “No, come on!You’re really sticking with this, Mouse?Bloody hell,I remember back when youcouldn’t take a joke, letalone pull one off.”

“What’she on about?”

Shedebated switching her headset off altogether butknew that would only serve to upset Sam. It wouldn’t stop him fromwatching on the nearest security camera, either.

Mordenmeanwhile insisted on carrying on. Hesounded less and less amused by the second.“All right, fine, you’vegot me! Ha-bloody-ha. Now we’re even, Mouse. Is that what you wantto hear?”

Youcan’t deck him, shethought, schooling her expression into one of steely indifference.It’d just causean incident.

Whenshe didn’t respond he reached out and grabbed her elbow, jerkingher backwards a step and forcingher to stop. Inher ear she heard a sharp intake of breath.

“D’youreally expect me tobelieve that you’re the hero of Comansys Tower? The Minister’sgolden child? You?”His voice had dropped to a low, harshwhisper. She shook his hand off, elbowing him in the side in theprocess.

“Five.I can have a guard there in tenseconds. Just say the word.”

Shesigned a quick no toherheadcam and keptmoving.

Mordeninsisted on following her. He made another grab for her elbow but sheanticipated it, dodging sideways out of his reach.

Still,as she pushed through the doors to the hospital, hefollowed right at her heels. She could hear him huffing and puffingfor breath as she sped upstill more. Apparentlyhe’d fallen out of shape since she’d seen him last, she notedwith some faint vindictive amusement. “Come on,” he cajoledbetween one breath and the next. “This is just getting sad now!”

Fiveignored him, winding her way through the crowded halls to Maxine’soffice. She knew the route by muscle memory alone now. That made iteasier to tune Morden out. Atleast until they reached the office door—wherehe put on a burst of speed and beat her there by seconds. He grabbedthe doorknob and held it tight, blocking her path.

Fivemet his icy stare without flinching.A white-hot anger had started to burn its way up her chest. “Move.”She finished with a shooing motion that he couldn’t possiblymisunderstand. Still, he didn’t move. She could feel thefrustration practically rolling off him. Anger management wasn’t arequirement for promotion at Mullins, shesupposed.

“Faceit, little Mouse. You were never that impressive. Youthink the higher-ups at Mullins would’ve left you out here in thebloody boonies if you werethat special? You remember CBlock, don’t you? ‘The C stands for cannon fodder.’Isn’t that what we used tosay? Nobody from there’sworth a scrap. Not me, andsure as hell not you.”

Well.He was half right. She flipped him off beforeshe elbowed him right in the stomach, forcing him tomove out of her way. He letgo of the door to rub his sternum, grimacing. “You and your damnsharp elbows—”

Sheturned the doorknob at the same time someone inside the room did.“Five,” Maxine murmured in quiet surprise. She had one hand onthe door, the other rubbing a sore spot on her lower back. Behindher, Dr. Lobatse waved tothem over a stack of filefolders. “Janine radioed tosay you’d be stopping in.” Hergaze fell on Morden next, her lips pursing into a frown. Fivewondered how much she’d overheard. Sam had gone oddly quiet too.

“CaptainMorden.” The ice in her voice told Five she’d overheard more thanenough. She stood aside, leaving just enough room betweenher growing stomach and the doorframe forFive to slip into the room sideways.

UnfortunatelyMorden didn’t get the subtle message that he wasn’t invited. WhenMaxine tried to close the door in his face he caught it, pushing hisway into the room after them. “So sorry to intrude, Dr. Myers. Dr.Lobatse,” he added, nodding to Kefilwe. “Yourrunner and I were just catching up on old times. Isn’tthat right, Runner Five?”As he said it he clapped Fiveacross the back. Five didn’t move.

Maxine,still frowning, glancedback and forth between the two of them. “Is that right? Ididn’t realize you two knew each other.”At the same time she signedto Five, “If you want himgone…”

“Oh,sure.” Morden carried on,all cheer, like he hadn’teven noticed her signing. Maybe he hadn’t.“Mullins is divided up into all those wards and blocks since wetook on so many refugees,you know?” When Maxinenodded, he continued, “Iused torun C Block back in the day,where our friend here used tolive. Guess you got tired of me bossing you around, eh, Mouse? Tookoff for greener pastures?”

Fivesigned something. She’dbarely finished before Mordenclapped her across the shoulders again, laughing.

“Yousee? Old pals.” Ashe said it she’d tensed her whole back, shrugging his hand off her.

“Oh,”Maxine began, deadpan, “so you must understand sign language,then.”

Morden,jamming his hands in his pockets now,shrugged and kept grinning. “Ofcourse! Might be a little rusty after all this time, but—”

“ThenI guess what Five just said about you and that goat must be true?”Behind her, Dr. Lobatse hadstarted to snicker into her hand. “Ifyou’re not going to dispute it, I mean.”

“I—”Morden’swhole face had begun to turn red, starting from the ears on down.Five made a quick sidewaysstep to get out of the inevitable blast radius as he continued tostammer. “Listen, this isall just some stupid bloody joke you lot have come up with—we allknow that’s not the real RunnerFive. It can’t be! I—”

Maxinelistened to him for a few moments before she turned to Five, archingan eyebrow.

“Throwhim out,” Fivesaid, pointing backto the door for emphasis.

Dr.Lobatse reacted before Maxine could, jumping to her feet. In a momentshe’d taken Morden’s arm, spinninghim around so fast Five almost made herself dizzy watching it. “Thisis a secure area, Captain,”she was saying as she steeredhim straight back out the door overhis protests.“We really can’t have youin here while we have a patient. And I’m sure you’ve kept Janinewaiting long enough as it is—” Kefilwehad them moving at double-time. They’d disappeared down the hall inthe next minute.

“Janine’sdefinitely going to hearabout this,” came the grumpy mutter from her headset. “They can’tjust waltz in here and treat our runners like that. Idon’t care who he works for. Youstay with Maxine, Five. I’m going to go talk to her.” Hisvoice had grown more distant as he talked, until sheheard the door to the comms shack click shut andthen nothing.

Whenthey were well and truly alone in the room, Maxine sighed,tight-lipped and tense. “Youreally knew him from Mullins?”

Fivenodded. “He was telling the truth about that much.”

“And…whatwas all that about you not being Runner Five?”

“It’sa long story.” She shrugged, holding her palms up. “Things weredifferent at Mullins. I wasn’t much use to anyone, and they didn’thave much use for me, either.”

Frowning,Maxine had just started to respond when the door opened again.

“Well!”Dr. Lobatsecame back in, dusting off herhands. “He seemedthoroughly unpleasant. Ithink Imight’ve strained his shoulder a little more than was necessary.”

“Oh.Too bad.” The sarcasm inMaxine’s voice was so thick it had a palpable presence in the room.

“Anyway,I was about to go put thekettle on. Five?”

Shenodded, slipping her headsetoff and setting it aside now that there was nothing therebesides empty air. Dr.Lobatse smiled and ducked into the next room to start on the tea.

Whenshe’d gone, Maxine called after her, “You’dbetter make mine decaf, Kefilwe.” Then, lowering her voice, “Areyou okay, Five?”

Sheconsidered her answer for a long moment, fingers twisting together.“I thinkso.” Morden might be asunpleasant as ever, but she could take some comfort in knowing shewasn’t his mute little Mouse anymore. If he didn’t want to seethat, that was his problem. Not hers.

“Younever talked much aboutMullins. I hope he didn’t bring up any bad memories for you.”

Asfar as she was concerned he was abad memory. Five shrugged again.

“Right,”Maxine sighed. “Well, if he has any sense he’ll apologize beforeJanine or Sam forces himto. Come have some tea in themeantime, Five. We can talkif you want.”

“I’dlike that.”