#in other news any time i think of furries i now immediately remember that 1 group of hacker furries

[lifeisstrange-incorrectquotes]

Daniel: Do you like furries?

Random Teenager: Sure, I guess.

Daniel: SEAN! THEY ARE SINGLE AND A FREAK JUST LIKE YOU!

[ahfuckaghoulie]

Leather and Silk

image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 [AO3 link] 18+ the ghoul x oc, eventual smut, eventual romance warnings: suicidal thoughts, medical trauma, violence, body horror, cannibalism, stalking, age gap Index: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (1.6k words)

She pursued them carefully at a distance. There was no need to risk getting close, they were not at all subtle and it made tracking them a breeze. She supposed they didn’t need to hide, with how efficiently they could neutralize enemies. So far these were mostly just mutated insects, but not a single conflict lasted more than a few moments. Mr. Howard had incredibly fast reflexes, she wasn’t sure how this was the case considering he had to be over two hundred years old. Although technically, to be fair, so was she.

The longer she followed them, the more questions she had. What happened to him? Where was Janey? Could he still smell? She was captivated by him, even more so than when they first met. This version of him was a mystery that he never used to be.

It was a predicament. Her questions burned but there was no way to get answers without approaching him, and approaching him would mean getting shot immediately—she saw his itchy trigger finger in action plenty of times today. She could try approaching the woman in the Vault suit but she wasn't sure. She didn't know anything about her, and that made her unpredictable.

Maybe it would be better not to reveal herself at all, perhaps she should leave and let him be. He fired her the day before the bombs dropped. It was entirely her fault, he caught her stealing, and she winced at the memory. At least he probably would not be able to recognize her. She hoped.

She hadn't looked at her reflection in ages but the last time she did, she was unrecognizable. Monstrously so. Red and purple warped flesh, swollen proportions, and her left eye had turned entirely black. She was lucky to still have stubby eyelashes and some scruffy hair, but it was growing in patchy. She probably looked like a diseased rat. She sighed, and put it out of her mind. The pair had stopped moving. Her focus landed more often on one over the other. She was glad she got to keep her nose.

Just barely within earshot of the two, she could hear them arguing again over what to do for the night and if the ruins were good enough shelter. This would last a while, they seemed to waste a lot of time arguing.

She hunkered down behind some ruins and was shocked by a dog, some sort of shepherd, trotting out from some nearby rubble towards her. She reached out a hand before thinking of possible consequences, but the dog, like any other pet dog, merely sniffed her hand and affectionately butted her furry head against her for pats. The creature was filthy, covered in viscera, but she nearly sobbed at getting to pet a dog for the first time in two centuries. The dog, for her part, busily sniffed the girl and licked at her face like an excited puppy. Apparently, she enjoyed the acrid chemical scent her skin now gave off.

It was difficult, but she held herself back from throwing her arms around the sweet animal and spending the next hour stroking her disgusting fur. She remembered that she needed to keep an eye on the cowboy and woman up ahead. They were standing in the same spot, but she could no longer hear them over the panting of her new best friend—she would have to get closer.

She weaved through the ruins until she could hear them once again. This brought the dog's attention to the duo, and she went bounding towards them before the girl could stop her. Dread crept in and had her slipping closer than was wise, but to her amazement, the dog was received fondly.

“There ya are Dogmeat,” Mr. Howard leaned down and scratched her behind the ears with a warmth she'd only seen from him pre-War, with Roosevelt, “I was just tellin’ the fuckin’ vaultie you'd be back before the day was up and wouldn't you know it? I was right.”

She felt a pang of loneliness learning the dog was not a stray like her, then pure panic when she barked and turned around. She was running back straight towards her, tail wagging happily. Shit. Her heart was about to leap out of her mouth—she was much too close, and these last few moments had been so unplanned. Could she run? She tried to scramble away, but it was too late.

Dogmeat caught up to her first, excited by the short game of chase, then a rope appeared around her sudden as a gunshot and yanked her off balance. She went tumbling into the sand, which thankfully prevented her weak limbs from snapping. The wind knocked out of her and arms bound tight to her sides, she struggled over onto her knees, but the a cowboy hat was already casting a shadow over her back.

“Well look what the dog dragged in,” he abruptly hoisted her up by the scruff and flipped her over. He pinned down her legs with his much larger body, straddling her, and roughly grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. “What do we have here?” She wanted to stare back at him but flinched when he tore off her eyepatch and appraised her with his hard gaze.

She didn’t struggle nor answer his rhetorical question, and after what felt like an eternity, he released her face. For reasons she couldn't explain, she missed his touch. Immediately, however, he pressed a gun to her head. She saw no indication if he recognized her or not.

“Hey!” The Vault woman shouted, catching up to them. “ Hey! What are you doing?! You can't just tie up every girl you see out in the wasteland!”

“This here,” his gun touched her forehead, “is prolly worth ‘bout 45 vials,” he cocked the hammer. ”30 if it does something stupid, and I gotta put a bullet in its little head.” Fuck .

He was talking about her bounty. She had forgotten that a bounty was even placed on her. It wasn't high, and only one of the agencies bothered to post it. All she had to do was stay out of sight and keep her eyepatch on. It had been weeks since she escaped, and she hadn't been so much as sighted. She figured whoever wanted her had assumed she'd died out in the wasteland and given up by now. They didn't want her that badly. She was no more than a loose end, some synthetic meat to be recycled.

“Now I usually don't bother with small change, but you served yerself up real nice n’ easy, and I’m not known to turn down a free meal,” he looked down at her 4'11” frame and a corner of his mouth tugged upwards, a wicked perversion of the movie star smile she remembered, “well, or a lil morsel.” She stared at him, up the barrel of his gun unblinking, willing herself to think of a plan but was continually distracted. She had spent the whole day looking at him but never got a clear shot until now.

“Quiet one, ain’tcha?” His eyes burned into hers. “You gon’ explain what you were doin’ followin’ us?”

“She was following us?” The Vault woman's nose crinkled, “since when?”

“How ‘bout you answer that, little rat?” He taunted.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before answering, “j… just today,” her voice wavered out, stifled and hoarse from disuse. How long had it been since she’d last made words?

Mr. Howard's eyes narrowed, but the woman spoke first. “Okay, is there something we can help you with? I'm Lucy, and I'm trying to find my dad—”

“Christ, we ain't helpin’ this thing with fuck all. In fact, I’ve half a mind to put her down right now.” The gun knocked painfully into her skull and she winced.

“Stop it, you’re scaring her!” Lucy and Dogmeat were now both crowding around her, yelping in protest.

“I,” she swallowed thickly and continued with a steadier voice, “I’m alright.” She was not scared. It would be better to die by his hand rather than anyone else's. “You might as well keep me alive. I won't fight.”

He snorted, “that ain't the problem, sweetheart, and you don't look like much of a fighter anyways.” She had to admit he was right. “The problem is you'd be a drain on resources,” he frowned, seeming miles away for a moment, “an avoidable inefficiency.”

“I won't be, I can go without water for over a week. Months with no food.” In a way, she learned a lot about herself from those experiments. The ones that weren’t outright torture.

He blinked once, and Lucy piped up, “are you a ghoul too?”

“Maybe? Not… exactly,” she overheard the researchers moralizing about ghouls from time to time. They were definitely not trying to create one, ghouls were impure monsters to them, but they also chose to terminate her in the end so she couldn’t be sure. They could have turned her into a ghoul, or synth, or some kind of monster without meaning to. She felt at times like all three. Uncomfortably, she shifted her arms, hoping it wouldn't cause her to get shot in the face.

“That's a Pip-Boy!" Lucy exclaimed, noticing the hunk of metal attached to her arm that she usually kept hidden under a baggy sleeve. "You're from a Vault too, aren't you?" Lucy stared holes into the side of the ghoul's head, "she's coming with us.” Dogmeat also argued in her favor with barks and whimpers as she pawed at them.

“She’s gettin’ dumped at the next place that takes bounties,” he grumbled, giving up. It was 15 extra vials or a wasted bullet. “Don't get attached.” Next thing she knew, he had her face down, hands tied behind her and a rope around her neck. He hauled her up on her feet and pushed her forward.

Life more or less secured for another day, she pressed on, thinking of how she could convince him to keep her.

Previous | Next

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 11: Guardian Heart Part 1

Time for more furry nonsense!

We start with the Astaria general guy from the mountain pass chapter bursting into the workshop of a craftsman named Haden, telling him to forge another sword called the "Guardian Heart"...

But screw them, in town our group are shopping together!

Cooro wants an iron knife for cutting wood but iron's expensive. Even his sugar daddy Husky can't buy him one without cutting into the food budget, much to the consternation of Nana who wants to eat bread and buy dresses. Cooro then brings up the idea of working to earn money. Novel concept that that is, nobody wants to hire them because 1. they're kids and 2. they aren't from town so no-one trusts them. The group looks screwed and split up to search for work, a random lady eventually approaching Cooro and Nana, overhearing that they were looking for work. Before any creep alarms go off, she asks where are their parents. Nana responds they don't have any, hence the looking for work in a place they're not from thing. The lady then invites them to follow her, saying she was looking for help...children's help.

In town, Senri is recruited by an older man immediately based on his size and Husky is scooped up by a random woman to be a waitress at her bar. Both refuse and leave, coming upon a soldier camp. They are embarrassingly immediately spotted by two soldiers. Senri is once again assumed to be a Kimunkle and Husky tries to run off with him only for the general to literally hear "Kimunkle" and start snapping out of his tent like a rabid dog. It's then that our boys are surrounded by soldiers on all sides.

The general accuses them of following the army and Husky denies it. The general pulls a sword on Senri, still thinking he's a Kimunkle and demands he gets out of his country.

Senri, sensing that he's being threatened with bodily harm, takes out his bear claw on General MAGA who shouts that all Kimunkles are bloodthirsty beasts and now he can't let him go (because he was so fair to him to start out with.). Husky yells for Senri to stop (I believe he's trying to de-escalate but we're way past the point for peaceful resolution, merman...) and the lady arrives in tow with Cooro and Nana, who one of the soldiers recognizes as the crow +Anima and some other chick. Husky bites the soldier's hand (so non +Anima parts are fine to fight with?) and is punched away. Senri sees this and, despite General MAGA calling out his men for being rough with children, is pissed and ready to tear some honey out of the general's head.

Then Haden comes out to yell at everyone to shut up. He then tells Margaret (the lady) to come inside along with Senri. And he carries Husky back inside while Cooro and Nana just walk in. General MAGA seethes, saying that Haden has sided with the Anima...

Husky is treated by Margaret and Haden explains that they want him to make swords for them. He won't though because he's out of the weapon smithing business; he's done making stuff that can kill people. That's when Cooro sees the Guardian Heart. Haden says that twenty years ago, he loved his country, building weapons to support them in war. He put his heart in that particular one...

Haden then grabs Senri's wrist, assuming he's Kimunkle like the army did. He then says that an Anima's abilities are like a weapon; he can't just be using it for whatever.

(He has a point but all Anima abilities are weapons? Problematic.)

Margaret stops the center-of-right pow-wow by calling the others over for dinner (Husky's jaw is fucked up so he can't eat hard foods; cold soup for him.). It's here that Margaret announces the kids are going to be her assistants. Specifically, they're going to unseam old clothes to make new ones. Perfect for kids' fingers.

When alone, Nana points out Haden knows a lot about Anima (at least enough to make sweeping generalizing statements). They briefly wonder if he's an Anima before remembering they just made an enemy of the army and they're in a stranger's house. Cooro points out Haden just doesn't want to make swords but Husky points out that's sacrilege to the military. Nana then gets an idea...

Senri is chopping wood.

Anyway, the chapter ends with Nana becoming a Phantom Thief once more...

[griffintail]

I had this idea, I dunno if it’s dumb or not, but I figured if anyone knew it would be you! Y’know, cause you seem like you know way more than me about all these mcyt guys and gals? Anyways, I saw that a lot of people headcanon that Shlatt was Tubbo’s dad, and seeing all those dad!Shlatt AUs gave me an idea:

What if after Shlatt’s dead, after things have settled, after Tubbo becomes president and spends most of his time cleaning up the messes and mistakes Shlatt left behind- he discovers he wasn’t Shlatt’s only child. He finds handwritten letters in Shlatt’s files from a distant village, all of them fairly recent, asking him for child support money, or asking him to take “his mistake” with him. But the last letter Tubbo finds is a typed one informing Shlatt that the woman who sent all the previous letters has died, and that he has 1 month to come collect his child, or they’ll become a ward of the state; it’s been roughly 2 and a half weeks since that letter arrived. How would Tubbo react to all of this, and more importantly, would he take on the responsibility of becoming his new sibling’s guardian?

I don’t know how I became the person to come to for this lol. I hope you enjoy!

The Girl with the Horns

Pairings: Brother! Tubbo x Child! F! Reader

Warnings: Mentions of emotional abuse, Implied Buillying, Swearing

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

        Tubbo looked up the old White House building, taking a deep breath before going in. Inside, he immediately scrunched up his nose at the familiar smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

        “Damn it, dad.” He muttered under his breath before starting to clean up the building.

        He said he’d clean the building out himself as his father was the one who trashed it and now was that day. A lot of his presidency was cleaning up Schlatt’s mistakes before he even ran the rest of his new country. He sighed as he put another empty bottle in a trash bag. Schlatt had really lost it running things.

        Slowly but surely, Tubbo was able to get the White House to a much cleaner state. He was now in the main office and was searching the drawers for his father's inevitable “secret” booze stashes when he found some handwritten letters tucked in the very back of the drawer. Frowning, Tubbo took them out and saw them all addressed to Schlatt.

        Sitting down, Tubbo read the letter on top and his eyes went wide, back going straight as he reread the words before him.

        I want money for this child you helped bring into this world!

        A child?

        The rest of the letter was talking about asking for child support and Tubbo was floored. Quickly, he read the next letter and it was much of the same, demanding Schlatt to take responsibility.

        “Holy shit…” Tubbo muttered. “I got…I got a sibling?”

        He made his way through the rest of the letters, his heart clenching when the woman writing the letters called his poor sibling a mistake or made stabs at Schlatt.

        Then the last letter was a lot more formal. It was stamped with an official seal and dated. Schlatt had opened it as told by the broken seal but had obviously also put the letter back without a care after reading. Tubbo’s breath hitched as he read the letter though.

          Dear Mr. Jschlatt:

        We are sorry to inform you Miss Trentha has passed in an accident.

        Behind, she has left a five-year-old (Y/N), of which in our records has your name on her birth papers. We will give you a month’s time to make a decision; after, we will have no choice but to send (Y/N) to become a ward of the state.

                Tubbo quickly looked at the date of when the letter was sent.

        “Two and a half weeks!” Tubbo exclaimed as he jumped up. “Shit! What should I do?”

        He looked around the office he had spent time cleaning trying to process everything at once, words failing him. In a few short moments, he had found out he wasn’t an only child, that Schlatt hadn’t even looked back at this girl or her horrible mother, and that the sibling he just found out about was going to become a ward of the state! Schlatt had at least been kind enough to Tubbo to let Philza raise him but this child going into the adoption system…

        “I-I got to run L’Manberg. There’s so much to do.” Tubbo ran a hand through his hair as he panicked.

        But then Tommy’s words echoed in his head.

        You can’t become the next Schlatt.

        Schlatt was obviously going to let this child fend for themselves, Tubbo couldn’t be his father. He had to at least meet them. With a new will, he gathered around his friends, and with reassurances that they had L’Manberg covered, Tubbo set off on a horse to the village. It was a good three-day journey, so he’d only have roughly a week left to make his decision of what he was going to do.

        Coming to the village, Tubbo took a deep breath as he stared at it. What was she going to be like? She probably didn’t have the best raising based on the letters that the mother sent. Tying up the horse outside the main hall, Tubbo went in, going through the various processes to prove that he was indeed Jschlatt’s child and proving that his father was dead.

        After, they took Tubbo to a home where a bunch of children were outside playing but there was one that stood out among them and it wasn’t because she was sitting alone. It was because she had tiny horns on top of her head that were just starting to come in. Tubbo put a hand on his horns that were just starting to curl without thinking.

        “That’s (Y/N).” The man that led him here nodded to the little girl.

        “She’s five, right?” Tubbo asked.

        “Yes. She’s not very talkative, but you can introduce yourself to her.”

        Tubbo had few guesses why she didn’t want to talk. He went over, a few of the other kids were pointing at him. (Y/N) was using a stick to push images in the dirt, looking up when a shadow got in the way of the sun. Tubbo smiled when he saw her surprise when she looked up at him, he sitting next to her, wearing his casual wear rather than his suit.

        “Hi. I’m Tubbo.” He introduced himself to her.

        (Y/N) was silent as she stared obviously at his horns. “You have horns…”

        “Yeah, I do. I’m a ram just like you.”

        “Really?” She met his eyes now.

        “Mhm. I, uh, I actually knew your dad because he was my dad.”

        She shifted as she looked back at the ground. “Daddy was a bad man.”

        Tubbo winced, putting a hand on his neck. “Why do you say that?”

        “Mommy use to say that.”

        “Ah. Well…dad wasn’t the greatest, I agree. It wasn’t nice for him to leave you alone.”

        The little girl was silent and Tubbo tried to think of a subject change.

        “Do you like drawing?”

        She nodded. “Mommy wouldn’t let me use paper but I like drawing in the dirt.”

        “Oh…do you…have any friends?”

        She put a hand on one of her little horns and he immediately understood.

        “I get it.” He smiled gently, putting a hand on his horn. “I didn’t have a lot of friends until I met my best friend Tommy. I’m sure you will find some friends.”

        His heart melted as she gave him her first small smile. “I hope so.”

        He sat with her just talking away, the time passing so fast without either of them knowing as they talked. He felt like he learned so much but so little about her; yet, he loved every moment sitting with her. She had to go back with the other children of the orphanage but within a few hours, Tubbo made up his mind. He couldn’t leave this little girl with everyone else; he’d take her back to L’Manberg.

        So, in the morning, Tubbo put on his suit to be professional and he did the paperwork before waiting for them to bring (Y/N). (Y/N) came in timidly and Tubbo smiled gently as he crouched in front of her.

        “Hey, so, I don’t want to leave without you, would you like to come with me? I can introduce you to a few of my good friends.”

        “…They’re all nice like you, right?”

        He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, a few of them are pretty nice.”

        She looked around but nodded. “Ok.”

        He grinned as he stood up. “Then I’m going to take you back to my home.”

        They got the few things that she owned and Tubbo put them on the horse. After, Tubbo changed into more appropriate riding clothes before getting on with (Y/N).

        “Alright, here we go.” He muttered before getting the horse to go.

        Off they went to L’Manberg, Tubbo making sure they had shelter each night. It was a bit stressful for Tubbo on these few days. He had gotten used to not eating every day but he had to remember now to make sure (Y/N) ate. He also had to remember this was boring as hell for her so he tried his best to make little games as they galloped along. There was a point he went off on a bee tangent for half an hour after spotting one and pouted to himself when he saw (Y/N) had fallen asleep against him but he kept an arm wrapped around her so she didn’t fall off.

        As he got back to L’Manberg, he huffed as he saw Tommy and Fundy arguing as Quackity was laughing, Ranboo standing to the side awkwardly. Yeah, that’s how he expected his cabinet to act with him gone. He tied up his horse, grabbing (Y/N)’s things before taking her hand as he walked over to them. As the pair went over, (Y/N) hide behind him shyly.

        “Guys!” Tubbo called.

        “Tubbo! Tell this furry bitch—” Tommy started.

        “Oh, fuck off Tommy!” Fundy shouted back.

        They started having another go.

        “GUYS!” Tubbo shouted, making (Y/N) jump with the rest of the group. “I have someone for you to meet, so can you shut it?”

        Tommy spotted the little girl peeking out from behind Tubbo, noticing the horns first.

        “Holy shit, she has horns like yours.” Tommy went around Tubbo.

        “Yeah, this is (Y/N), she’s my little sister.”

        “A sister?!” Tommy looked at Tubbo surprised.

        Tubbo nodded. “I adopted her.”

        “I’m sorry?���

        “It’s a long story but I’m back and I’m got to bring her to my house,” Tubbo told them before walking off, feeling the little girl squeeze his hand tighter, probably getting overwhelmed.

        They got to Tubbo’s house and he looked around.

        “Er…You can have my room. I’ll need to make you a room.” He smiled at her.

        “Ok…thank you.”

        He patted her head between her horns. “I couldn’t leave you behind sis. Let’s get you settled in and I can make us some steak. Sound good?”

        She nodded.

        Tubbo knew it would be stressful learning to take care of another human while he had to run a nation but he had his friends to help him. He hoped he could do all this right.

[loisinherlane]

Bobby first appears in the Uncanny X-Men series, as one of the original five members. Throughout this run, he has a number of moments that come off a little... shippable, especially considering that he later comes out as gay. Reading all of Bobby’s scenes under this lens explains a lot about his relationships with Hank McCoy/Beast and Warren Worthington III/Angel. Of course, back then, Bobby’s main role was playing an icy Johnny Storm (which is a whole nother layer of mutual queer-coding I won’t get into yet), so he didn’t have a solid character arc.

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #1)

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #8--This issue is notable for being the issue IMMEDIATELY preceding the O5′s later travel to the future.)

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #14--Note that Bobby, at this point in time, does not seem to have made an active choice to be a mutant over being gay. However, this scene is recounted in Marvel’s Voices: Pride with a different aftermath. Make of that what you will. Also note Warren’s trans-coding with his binder.)

At this time, the X-Men title had stopped releasing new O5 stories and gone into reruns before Claremont took over and revamped the X-Men into what most people think of. In universe, the X-Men were more or less in hiding, save for Hank, who had transformed himself from his more or less human form into the big blue furry we’re more familiar with. When Bobby and Warren leave the X-Men, they’re shuffled off to found a (short-lived) new team in Los Angeles. Bobby’s character becomes more careful now, as Warren notes that Bobby often hides any feelings under acting goofy.

(Champions (1975) #3)

(I put this here because I felt like this post was the best to be first because it addresses Bobby’s earliest appearances. However, for more information on Bobby’s queercoding and characterization that doesn’t relate directly to other characters, see this post.)

This continues with the other non-X-titles Bobby appears, including his solo and Defenders (1972). At this point, you could easily argue that all of these moments are deliberately written to queercode.

(Defenders (1972) #122)

(Defenders (1972) #125)

This scene may be a little homophobic, as per the time, but it reads massively different knowing Bobby actually is gay--Is he trying to sabotage Hank’s flirting attempts? Is this intentional or subconscious?

(Defenders (1972) #131)

More explicit queercoding comes a little later, with Bobby’s relationship with Cloud. Cloud is introduced as a woman, but due to various circumstances leading to an attraction to Moondragon, a fellow Defender (also a woman), Cloud begins to transition between male and female forms, explicitly stating that they (presenting as a woman at that moment) feels like both. Bobby has very complicated emotions about this situation. (Note: Cloud’s reaction has a degree of homophobia in which they feel like they can’t love Moondragon as a woman, but when they’re a man, it’s okay. Bobby’s reaction has more than a little transphobia AND homophobia.)

(Defenders (1972) #136)

(Defenders (1972) #137)

(Note: In the most faded panel, what Cloud says: --HOLD MY HAND?)

(Defenders (1972) #138)

It’s important to note that Bobby shows no attraction to Cloud until after they begin fluctuating between being a man and a woman. However, Bobby also acts like it’s an affront to his feelings for Cloud when they present as a man.

(Defenders (1972) #142)

(Defenders (1972) #150)

Though Cloud leaves the Defenders (and Bobby) once they remember they’re actually a nebula destined to become a star (and they and Bobby were never in a proper relationship), you can consider this Bobby’s first queer relationship.

Because this is really long and I still need to finish reading X-Factor (1986), I’m going to skip ahead to the next section I’m more familiar with--aka, back to the main X-titles.

In the 90s, Bobby had a LOT of queercoding which is unpacked in my other post. But his old feelings for Hank and Warren continue to surface.

(X-Men (1991) #38--I won’t admit how long it took me to realize Bobby was making a pun on “girl of my dreams.”)

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #331--Emma distracting Bobby with Hank, after distracting him with his father and ex-girlfriend Opal. Implications?)

One plot of note is that at one point, Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar has a crush on Bobby.

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #415)

Despite Bobby’s later admission that he didn’t know Jean-Paul was gay (baffling, considering how long he’d been out), he does seem to return these feelings... or at least flirt with him. As he does all of his friends?

(Uncanny X-Men (1963) #415)

The amount of subtext for Bobby’s sexuality prior to his coming out is just... fascinating, and it’s a big part of why I love him so much. Check out the other side of this, where I discuss Bobby’s queercoding outside of his relationships with men or nonbinary characters.

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 6

Chapter 1 || Previous || NEXT

Elevator took her all the way to the highest floor. When she exited, the floor was back to perfect condition and several more plants were awaiting her. She promised them silently to check on them soon and went to the main office. She knocked several times on the doors, but nobody answered. Hesitantly, she pushed the doors open, but no one was in the office. After double-checking with security, it turned out that Tim Drake did not show to work. She sighed. Looks like more work for her… Just like Nathalie said.

“Didn’t you cause enough drama…” Lila never got a chance to end that sentence, because Mari delivered a straight one strong enough to send her flying several feet back before she came crashing down. Blood pouring from her nose.

The girl was about to launch herself at the liar and pound her into the ground when two strong arms grabbed her. She noticed the characteristic spikes on the sides of black gloves and stated to trash around. “Let me go you overgrown furry!” She screamed. “I will mix her face with the concrete until it’s nice and even!”

She tried to wiggle herself out of his grip. Most of the class surrounded Lila and were trying to help her. It only served to irate Mari more. She kicked her leg back, hitting Batman’s shin. It was finally enough to let her go. The girl fell down... right into the embrace of Chloe and Adrien who managed to get to her on time. The two blondes hugged her tightly. 

“There. It’s alright Goldie. You got her good. Rest.” The girl cooed and pressed her best friend to her chest, muffling the sobbing. Adrien was just silently there and hugged them both. When Batman tried to approach again, the boy sent him an angry glare. The warning was clear and the vigilante didn’t really need anything from the girl right now. 

After a bit, Mari fell asleep in their embrace. The stress finally caught up to her and she couldn’t hold exhaustion at bay any longer. Chloe easily picked her up and started to walk toward a taxi that was conveniently parked nearby, waiting for them. 

“What!?” Angry Alya looked from Lila who was now being cared for by a pair of paramedics. She turned to Commissioner Gordon who was discussing something with Batman. “You!” 

The policeman looked at her curiously. Alya continued her shouting. “You’re letting her go just like that? She just assaulted Lila! She might’ve ruined her modeling career! Arrest her!”

“Miss.” Gordon shook his head. “These are some of the braves men and women in Gotham, but I doubt any of them would dare to try and arrest her right now. They don’t get paid enough.”

“What?!” Several kids started to protest, but Gordon just ignored them and directed Harvey to start taking statements. He wasn’t paid enough to deal with these brats. 

--------

Bruce sighed as he exited the Batmobile. Almost immediately, he was swarmed by the rest of his family. Jason and Dick practically carried him, still in the suit, to the movie room. 

“Now, Ladies and Gents, we have some of the greatest shows for you. We call it… The Demon Trashing!”

What followed was a clip taken from monitoring in the anteroom of the CEO office in Wayne Tower. He watched as Damian, dressed in civilian clothing, and carrying a simple ninjato on his back entered the room. He walked around for a moment before knocking on the main office doors, but whatever answer he got seemed to have irritated him given the scowl that formed on his face. He walked over to the PA’s desk that stood there, but no one was here. After a short moment, one could see the elevator doors open again and a small girl in a smart outfit walked in. Damian dashed to the shadows before she had a chance to notice him. 

Bruce resisted the urge to facepalm. He could already see where this was going. 

When the girl started to walk to the desk, his son suddenly reappeared with the sword drawn. He pressed the blade to her neck. From the angle, it was impossible to see either of them expressions. The man did not expect his son to kill a civilian for trespassing, but the amount of glee on Jason’s and Dick’s faces was suggesting that his headache hadn’t really started.

The girl suddenly grabbed the blade and pushed it away. Damian, probably acting on instinct, tried to cut her, but she just walked out of the way and disarmed his son before knocking him out. There was a short skip to when Jason and Dick entered the room. The small girl was clearly very much irritated with them from the start and when she reached her limits, she used a pencil as a projectile to open the elevator doors. 

A small smirk made its way to Bruce’s face when he saw her storm past his three sons, carrying the ninjato through a tissue. The video ended with Damian waking up.

“And that’s how Drake’s new PA trashed a certain Demon Spawn. I swear, she could probably give Luthor’s bodyguard a run for her money when it comes to being a badass” Jason commented on the silent video in his typical fashion. 

“Tt. She stole my sword.” Damian huffed.

“You mean the sword she later used to stab Riddler’s man before disarming him?”

“I still consider the best part of today when she called B. an overgrown furry,” Dick said trying to hold back on laugher.

“Wait. I have a new personal assistant?” Tim asked half-awake. 

“Yeah. She was supposed to be an intern, but apparently, Sarah hired her on the spot and quit.”

“Oh… Cool.” Tim said and took a swing from his gargantuan cup. 

“Did you manage to pull the video of her taking down Riddler?” Bruce asked.

“The cameras malfunctioned before she even entered.”

“It was me,” Tim confessed. “I was still in my office when the alarm sounded. I keep a separate copy of my suit in a hidden compartment. To save time I dressed there, but I had to disable the CCTV…”

“Yeah yeah. Whatever.” Jason shut him up. “I also got the part when Damian’s eyes roll back as my new screensaver.”

“Tt. You’re lucky I don’t have my sword.”

“Don’t think you’re getting it back any time soon,” Bruce said in a stern tone and sighed. “What exactly do we know about her?”

“She is from Gotham, but she lives in Paris for some years. She said she was practicing martial arts since she was five.” Dick started

“She is also one bada…”

Jason was interrupted by Alfred, who entered the room with a plate full of cookies and tea. “A young woman just called. She asked me to forward a message to young master Damian.”

“Tt. What is it?”

“I quote. ‘Good luck getting your sword back now. Police took it as evidence. Suck it, Wayne.’ I believe the woman was young miss Chloe Bourgeoise.”

Dick, Jason, and Tim were literally rolling on the floor laughing. Bruce just facepalmed.

“No, you can’t break into the evidence room. You might jeopardize the whole investigation if you taint the evidence.” Bruce said in an exasperated tone. 

----------

It was late after midnight (or even early morning, depends on your definition) when the vigilantes returned from the patrol, only to meet Tim and Barbara working on something on Batcomputer in tandem. Whatever it was, they were completely devoted to it since neither realized they had company until Bruce made a coughing sound.

“Not now.” 

“What exactly are you doing?” The father inside Bruce resisted the urge to force-feed Tim some sleeping meds. 

“We’re doing the background check,” Barbara said while typing frantically.

“On my new personal assistant.” The boy supplied.

“oh?” Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“Like… from what we found she is either the worst bitch on the block or strongest badass around.”

“Langauge master Tim.” Alfred scolded him. 

“Sorry. But like seriously! There are so many contradictions.”

“Check this out.” She pulled out a scan of a letter. It was largely creased, but still perfectly readable. “Her adopted parents one day disappeared, leaving her everything they owed sans some of their clothes. It was like they packed and left.”

“You suspect a foul play?”

“I’m not sure. The investigation was a joke and so was the follow-up proceeding. The interesting part is the custody battle that followed.” 

“Jagged freaking Stone and Parisian Mayor.” Tim interrupted Babs. “It ended with a compromise that Jagged was lawfully named her uncle and Mayor became her guardian. She was the one who suggested it.”

“How can one be lawfully named someone’s uncle?”

“Apparently one can in France. Or they just made some concessions to a celebrity. Seen weirder things.” He shrugged. “She was also his designer for years now. You remember that mysterious MDC?”

“The one you used to fawn over?” Bruce asked.

“She is brilliant so sue me.” The boy huffed. “Also, it stands for Marigold Désign et Création. She runs an internet boutique where she takes commissions from both commoners and celebrities.”

“What does it have to do with anything?” 

“I’m getting to that. Gee.” 

“Maybe I will get there?” Babs tried to take over. “She’s been working part-time as a babysitter to get funds to buy materials for new clothes and received nothing but praise. She also became a class representative. A successful one at that. She also holds the national championship in U-17 Mechastrike.”

“How is that important exactly?” 

“You wanted to know everything about her B., so we are giving you everything.” Tim sassed

“Just… get to the important parts.” He shook his head. What did he do to deserve this?

“Fine. Her school records are a mess. Skipping that they wouldn’t hold to any official inspection, they straight-up contradict each other.” Tim waved his hand in some undefined gesture. “On one hand, she receives nothing but praise from the teachers, but at the same time, there are multiple bullying reports and even several assaults in here. Most of them were met with harsh punishments.” Tim opened a separate file. “Too harsh according to the school charter.”

“It didn’t help that the letter from her parents also mentioned these kinds of things.” Babs chimed in, trying to regain control of the tale. Bruce just gave an exasperated sigh. He just gave up and allowed them to solve it, mentally already cataloging the information. 

“Except! There were statements from several people that contradicted this. Especially Chloe Bourgeois. She said, ‘Puh-lease! Mari is the kindest doormat in the world. I was mean to her for years and she still welcomed me back with open arms.’ Given her track record, I’m inclined to believe it.” 

“There was also this Drama, capital ‘D’, with MDC stealing designs. Several tabloids caught the wind of it and it even led to the police investigation. Only after Jagged Stone intervened, the thing quickly shut up.”

“Now onto the juicy parts!” Babs smiled. 

“And that was what? An introduction?”

“Yup. She has a certified black belt in two different martial arts, is a master gymnast, has an IQ of over 130 and owns two separate businesses in Paris.” She quickly read. “As we mentioned, she is the honorary lawful niece of Jagged Stone, but also designed for Clara Nightingale, Nadia Chamack, worked with Gabriel Agreste, was offered an internship from Audrey Bourgeois before she became her ward. She was seen hanging out with Kagami Tsurugi, world-renowned fencer, and Luka Couffaine, the rising star under Jagged Stone’s tutelage.”

“That was fast.” Tim summarised. 

“Yeah. Also, she was adopted some nine years ago. She originally comes from Gotham.”

“Do we know her biological parents?” Bruce asked, getting serious.

“That’s where it gets juicy. When I tried to pull out her adoption files, the computer shut down to avoid detection. There is some serious encryption on it. Probably due to who her father is. We got some of it. She described her mother as ‘wearing an outfit that showed more skin than her beachwear’, so we suspect she was a prostitute.”

“Hm… It’s not unheard of. You say she was with her mother until she was eight?”

“Between seven and nine the file said.”

“Hm… Do you think she is a threat?”

“No. But I have a different question. Why didn’t the league investigate Paris’ supervillain?”

“We were made aware of him only recently, after what our satellites mistook for Poison Ivy attack,” Batman said in an irritated tone. The fact that there was a supervillain running around for close to four years completely undetected grated on his nerves. “Diana Prince has been investigating for some time now. She has it under control.”

“The only problem I see is that she is only sixteen,” Barbara pointed.

“I mean I’m barely seventeen and I ran this company for two years now. And don’t act high and mighty. You started playing Batgirl at fifteen.”

“Played?!” She screamed. 

“You wore a hoodie and carnival mask at first.”

This quickly developed into an insults contest until Bruce finally had enough. He just shook his head and left. Alfred silently followed him, carrying a plate of sandwiches. 

-----

The next morning, Mari woke up in her bed, with Chloe and her curled together in a mess of limbs and clothes. Of course, she panicked and jumped up, waking the blonde.

“Honestly, Goldie, five more minutes. I need my beauty sleep!” She murmured.

“Um… Why are we in one bed?”

“Because you fell asleep hugging me yesterday and refused to let go at any point. I swear I wanted to get a crowbar. Ridiculous!”

“Sorry…” Mari gave her a sheepish smile.

“None of that! You ruined Lila’s face in one punch. Adrien texted me that in the end she lost seven teeth and will require plastic surgery for her nose not to look like a mashed potato.”

“No…!” Her eyes widened. 

“Yup.” Chloe grinned, popping the ‘p’. 

“That’s awful! I can already imagine how much the class will hate me now! And the employees that saw this! There were cameras there!”

“Some people actually applauded you. It could be also because you called Batman an overgrown Furry though…” Chloe’s voice wandered off. Mari collapsed onto the bed, head buried in the pillows.

“Kill me…”

“Can I kill you with hugs?”

“Fine…”

When the panicking bluenette finally calmed down, Chloe got her to sit down and showed her the headlines.

Brave WE employee saves dozens of lives!

A hero without a suit!

Civilian stopped Riddler!

Personal Assistant takes down a dangerous criminal!

They were all overly positive and showed much support. Only one tried to vilify her based on Lila’s comment and her being punched, but it quoted Ladyblog as a reliable source, so it was dismissed. The majority of the comments were also positive. The ‘overgrown Furry’ was already trending too. 

Only one of the articles contained the list of names of people killed in the attack.

Ted Black - a security guard, put himself between the bullet and another employee Sigfried Osborne - a security guard, died when he tried to stop them from entering Molly Bishop - a PR specialist, called the police when she thought the guards were busy Heidi Dickson - a security guard, killed in crossfire Craig Lloyd - an HR employee, wrestled the gun from one of the henchmen before he was shot in the back. Ethel Arson - A lawyer, killed in crossfire Christian Thorn - a security guard, shot two of the riddler’s henchmen in defense of a group of hostages.

Their room had several live plants on the rail. Mari walked to them and allowed her powers to flow. Slowly, the flowers bloomed. She picked seven beautiful flowers and put them on the table.

“Mari… I’m sure they will understand if you don’t come to work today…” Chloe placed a hand on her best friend’s shoulder.

“No… No. I won’t be scared into hiding by Riddler of all people.” She said with determination and some coldness in her voice. She stood up and walked to her suitcase. From there, she gathered a different outfit. Now she would wear a red shirt, a black blazer with the Ladybug logo on her right breast, a black pencil skirt, and black leather ballet shoes (she still hated heels). But the greatest change was her hair and eyes. She let go of her twin pigtails and allowed her wavy hair to run free. It was no longer black, instead turning dark blue with purple highlights. Her eyes also changed. Her bluebell eyes also changed. The iridescent green she used to suppress was now mixed with the normal eye color, giving an entrancing effect that was hard to stop looking at.

“It’s time to rock this place.” She smiled at her best friend.

------- (Play ‘Confident’ by Demi Lovato) --------

Marigold and Chloe entered the Wayne Enterprises in full stride. Flashing her pass, she got them through control without the queue or checking, much to the shock of the class (who still had no idea Mari was now technically their boss). Adrien showed the girls thumbs up. Lila was seething, but neither Chloe nor Marigold paid her any mind and guards didn’t let her follow them and straight-up kicked her to the back of the queue. 

Mari gave a nod to the receptionist, but they didn’t slow down. Elevator was about to close, but one of the employees held it for her. Once they entered, she quickly checked her tablet and the to-do list she had for that day. First stop: PR. Chloe was going to HR to receive a new mentor after… the previous day.

When she entered the Public Relations department, Mari didn’t stop to chat with the employee that looked at her in awe. Her goal was the department’s head office and that’s where she would go. Gently knocking on the doors before entering, she pushed the doors. While she was smiling kindly, her whole posture screamed professional. 

“Hello. Mr. Drake will need the Friday press conference plan adjusted in response to what happened yesterday. There needs to be a mention of the event, as we won’t want to sound too detached. The press would tear us apart. Some gesture to show the public that we care…”

“Maybe a memory board in the lobby? And perhaps schedule Mr. Drake to visit each of the families somewhere next week?”

“I think it will be okay…” For a short moment, Mari allowed her confidence to drop, but she quickly gathered herself and made a note in her calendar. 

“If that’s all…”

“I will also need a press statement no later than by lunch.” She said quickly. “Make it a priority and forward it to me to read before you post it.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The man smiled. Mari was about to leave when he spoke again. “And thank you for yesterday. Many people owe you their lives.”

She stopped in her tracks, unable to say a word. Finally, she regained her composure. “Thank you. I… I’m coping.” 

As she left the office toward the elevator, Lila and Alya, who were interning in that department, tried to speak with her, but she didn’t even spare them a glance. Alya tried to grab her, but she was stopped by one of the older employees. As the elevator doors closed, Mari could see the girls receive a serious scolding. A grin made its way onto her face. Lila and Alya would have a really hard life for the next two months. Especially if she had anything to say about it. 

Her next stop was the security office. She entered it with a neutral expression, but it lasted only maybe five steps from the elevator. She didn’t tear up. She was a Gothamite inside. Right as one walked out of the elevator, there was a small bar, behind which a board was filled with pictures. Some looked really old, black and white or even sepia, while some others were high-quality and new. Roughly half of them were the clean pictures one would attach to a resume. The other half were profile pictures from social media. Or a photo that was taken in the forest. One was even a detailed drawing of a person. There were maybe fifty of them in total.

“It’s a reminder. Guards who lost their lives since the founding of WE” An older man said. “Silas Wayne started the tradition after he served in the Great War. You’re here for something miss?”

“Oh… Yes. The security on Friday press conference. We must increase it by about fifty percent. And make sure that only those with invites can enter.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her.

“Um…” Mari suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. 

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t your fault.” He said in a comforting voice.

“Thank you, sir.” She allowed a weak smile to enter her face before she left. Only two more stops. 

The elevator next took her to the Legal Department. She had many things that needed to be done here. Chloe met her as soon as she exited the elevator. Mari managed to regain her professional posture and once more emanated the aura of confidence. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up, but she was determined to show that she was okay. 

“I already forwarded your requests. At first, Madame McKinsley was reluctant, but apparently, our entrance is already the top corporate gossip. Good job Mari-bear.”

“Good. Thanks, Chlo. Now get back to work before someone sees me get friendly with an intern. I have a plan.” Before they separated, Marigold let a smile ghost her face. “One more thing. You’re free to unleash the foxes of war.”

Chloe lit up at that. Her whole demeanor changed to almost beaming light. She immediately started planning. Mari left her to the devious scheming and instead went to McKinsley office. The head of the Legal Department was a middle-aged woman with short, slightly graying brown hair and no-nonsense composure.

“Miss Bourgeoise informed me of your visit. I already had several documents prepared, but I will need clarification on several things.” She offered the young PA a chair, but Mari refused with a shake of her head. She opened her tablet and started to go through the list.

“First of all, the video that caused the attack was leaked by an intern. What actions exactly can be undertaken in response?”

“There are several options. We could terminate their contract entirely, but as it’s their first offense, it could’ve been seen as too harsh. It would also require to terminate all internships.” The woman was clearly unamused by the situation. Mari just raised her eyebrow and gave her a quizzing look.

“I’m not sure who in their right mind wrote their contracts, but when I track them down they are gonna get their ass demoted to toilet cleaner. It’s one big mess.”

“Don’t I know it…” Mari deadpanned. “So, other options?”

“We can move them between departments, so having them demoted to Toilet cleaners could also work, but it’s not exactly a legal punishment. The fact that it was Riddler really threw a wrench in any legal proceeding as he is clinically insane and the video was not directly calling him out and only speaking about him. I could give you the legal mumbo-jumbo, but the gist is that they are somewhat protected.”

“What about revoking their privileges?”

“Take that to HR.” 

“Will do. Now, about the next matter.”

“It was much easier. She can’t do anything to you, not even forward the bill. You were in shock and there are several recordings showing her taunting you. If she pushes it, she will lose. You’re a public hero right now. Good job by the way.”

“I was only doing what had to be done.” Mari brushed it, doing her best to keep a professional face. 

“Sure…” It was clear that McKinsley did not believe her.

“Now about the last thing?”

“Ah. The slander. I already directed it to our French and Italian departments, but it’s slow-going. That witch made it an international case. It will definitely bite her, but we have to be patient.”

“Brilliant. Thank you for your time.” Mari left the room with a grin on her face. Now onto the HR.

As she strode through the floor, people turned their heads to look at her. In the killing outfit, she looked older than she was and the aura of confidence and professionalism made her seem like a powerful woman. They had no idea just how powerful she was, but the way she carried herself was enough to make them shake in their shoes. 

----

When the doors of the elevator opened, Juleka and Rose were waiting for her. Both looked furious. Before either got a chance to say anything though, Marigold silenced them with a murderous glare that took away their voice. She strode past them looking fabulous. Any other employee removed themselves from her path to avoid her ire. The rumors were already circulating and the fact that she took down Riddler before Batman even arrived did wonder to her image. 

“Hello. I had an appointment.” She said when she entered the head of the department office. 

“Yes. Miss Dupain-Cheng. I was told you forwarded a list of topics, but an intern lost it.”

“Was this intern from my class?” She asked in a cold voice.

“Um… Yes actually.” The woman said after checking a small post-it.

“Then it was probably sabotage.” Mari spat the words. “I asked to have a list of possible punishments in regards to the newest intern group prepared. Two of them were responsible for the leak. Sadly, as one of them is the class representative, she is quite popular.”

“Ah. Well…”

“First of all, both Alya Cesaire and Lila Rossi are to have all possible privileges revoked for breaking the rules. They leaked or were involved in the leak of video. Neither of them is to be handed anything more important than refilling a stapler or bringing someone coffee, to ensure they are no further threat to this company. They will also receive an official warning and an entry to their acts. They are also restricted to the lower floors. If possible, I want their access to electronic devices restricted. Maybe assign them a pager each so it doesn’t negatively impact their work.”

“Hm… I will see what can be done, Ma’am.” The woman replied, already going through her notes.

“Good. Onto the next business, while it pains me to do it so fast, we need to hire more security as soon as possible. But make sure to triple check their backgrounds.” 

“Understandable.” 

“And the last thing. Why was Damian Wayne allowed to bring a ninjato into the building?”

“There is actually no restriction on bringing swords ma’am. We’re trying to fix it, but we’ve been blocked at every turn even when Mr. Wayne was the CEO.”

“And whose permission is needed?” Mari allowed a small grin.

“Yours would do. Sarah was always too stuck up to even leave her desk unless forced so she didn’t care that much.”

“Consider my permission granted. Forward the paperwork to me.”

“And if Mr. Drake disagrees?”

“He can try.” She said coldly, remembering how close she came to being cut in half.

“Oh…”

“Last thing. When is the top floor scheduled for repairs?”

“It should be done already. It was made to withstand an assault from a much larger force, so we only had to replace the furniture. Following the instructions that were left, we repotted the plants into bigger and more decorative pots. As per your request, we added some more plants.”

“Thank you. Plants always calm me down.”

“I prefer cat pictures.” She pointed at the wall where a cheesy calendar with a cat giving her thumbs-up was hanged. It took all of Marigold’s willpower not to burst into laugher at the image of Chat Noir posing for such a calendar.

“Good. Thank you.” With that, she left. This time, Rose and Juleka did not try anything. They were too terrified of her. 

Elevator took her all the way to the highest floor. When she exited, the floor was back to perfect condition and several more plants were awaiting her. She promised them silently to check on them soon and went to the main office. She knocked several times on the doors, but nobody answered. Hesitantly, she pushed the doors open, but no one was in the office. After double-checking with security, it turned out that Tim Drake did not show to work. She sighed. Looks like more work for her… Just like Nathalie said.

----

NEXT

[nebraska-is-a-myth]

innocence never lasts - crime au

I’m back boys with another part, were getting closer to war time now dudes. This takes place before part 3 just if you wanted to get a better understanding of the timeline. 

part 1 & 2 & 5

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

Wilbur came to town on an invitation from the masked man himself

Dream had enticed the brit with promises of riches and power, and he already had connections within the city so really what had he to lose

Wilbur was supplied with a small team, he was in charge of one of the larger drug trades and production companies on the east side of the city. His job was to eliminate any competition and regain complete control of the eastern drug exchange, how he did that was completely up to him. 

However, when dream sent a duo of teenage criminals to his door, Wilbur was less than impressed

“Dream, how do you expect me to run a drug cartel when two thirds of the cartel are fucking children”

“You'll figure it out dude, I believe in you.”

“No this isn't an ‘I believe in you’ situation dream, they aren't even allowed to drink in this country let alone kill a bunch of drug lords that by the way, are probably predators!”

“Admittedly, yes, they are a little young. But Tommy is one of the best kids I know, everything he knows he either learnt from me or the blood god himself.”

“Wait?” Wilbur moves his eye in front of the peep hole in his front door to inspect the blond on the right. “This Kid is technos?” He watches him pull a face at the shorter boy before punching him in the arm.

“Yup.”

“And you're okay with that?”

“It's a long story but yes.”

Wilbur looks back through the peephole at the smaller of the two and distantly hears “What if we just stab him” through the thin wood of his door. The older brit shakes his head and turns back into his living room

“And who's the kid threatening to stab me”

“Friend of Tommy's, I think. And don't worry about the stabbing, it's probably his way of saying he likes you or something.”

“If any of these kids die it's on you green man.”

“I can live with that.”

When Wilbur opens the door again, Tommy has his head in his hands and sighs as Tubbo puts a knife to his throat.

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

It's a week in and Wilbur has considered shooting the both of them more than he would like to admit.

He's not really one for killing children, but he's not a fan of being outnumbered by the little fuckers. So to make it even he calls up some of his contacts in the city.

He almost regrets it immediately when Tommy asks who the furry is

Wilbur tries to hide his laugh when the blond boy says this, but in the child's defense, Who the fuck wears a fox mask

Fundy and Eret get along fine after their first meeting and Wilbur is just happy he doesn't have to sit around and listen to Tommy and Tubbo argue over who can fit more breadsticks in their mouth without breaking any on his own anymore.

The drug business continues under Wilbur's power and surprisingly, no one dies. They take down competitors and pump out more and more supplies to companies that are willing to pay higher prices than ever. He hates to say it, but maybe he's glad he took this job from Dream

That is until Tommy almost punches his front door down at 1am covered in smoke and blood, Tubbo barely breathing on the porch next to him.

Wilbur panics and shoves the both of them in the back seats of his car, instructing a shaken Tommy to put pressure on Tubbos wounds as he floors it to the nearest hospital. He can deal with the repercussions of running red lights after he comes up with a plan to get through the hospital without being noticed. Sure maybe Wilbur wasn't on anyone's radar yet, but Tommy definitely was, and who knows how many people Tubbo has actually stabbed.

Dream has to have some sort of protocol for something like this, a secret entrance or a codeword or something. He reaches to grab his phone from his jean pocket and swears as he realizes he left it on charge on his night stand, looks like he's on his own for this one. He can do this, just focus and fucking drive Wilbur

When he gets to the hospital he parks right out front in a place where he definitely isn't supposed to be and helps Tommy and Tubbo out of the car and practically has to carry the brunet through the front doors. As soon as he walks in he knows people know, they've been on the news more than once and it's not difficult to keep up with the city's most wanted list these days, but Tommy's limping now and he knows the adrenaline is wearing off so he drags tubbos bleeding body up to the front desk and swallows his pride.

“Help them, please.”

The woman at the front desk looks Wilbur directly in the eyes, sees the way tears are building there and switches her gaze between the two younger boys.

“Please.”

The woman takes a breath and nods. “We need help here.”

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

A few hours later when both boys are patched up and on the mend the doctor lets him in the room. Tubbo is out and hopped up on pain meds, recovering from smoke inhalation and a shrapnel wound on his left side. Doc said it looked worse than it is, he was only out to let his chest ease up a little. Tommy's wounds on the other hand were a little more permanent.

He’s sat on the bed next to Tuboos watching his chest rise and fall. There were bandages wrapping around his left leg, a mix of shrapnel and soft burn marks underneath, and his right arm is in a sling meaning he wouldn't be able walk on his own for a while. Wilbur sits next to him but Tommy doesn't stop watching Tubbos breathing.

“They almost put him on a ventilator.”

Tommy says it so softly, Wilbur almost doesn't recognize it was him at first. He's got a few stitches on his forehead where a purpling bruise blooms underneath, he almost doesn't want to know what happened. Almost.

“What happened Tommy.”

“What, not even gonna compliment my wheels.” He gestures to the right where Wilbur sees a small black wheelchair next to Tommy's bed and he tries not to choke on his breath. He hates being right sometimes.

Tommy sighs and closes his eyes, his head droops and Wilbur rests a comforting hand on the young boy's shoulder.

“It was one of the warehouses on the outer perimeter of the east side, Tubbo had asked me to help him take stock, it was already late and he thought if we both did it we could catch the last bus home together.”

He imagines the two of them dancing to stupid music and running around the warehouse playing tag or something stupid, it wouldn't be the first time.

“We weren't even halfway done before one of the alarms went off, didn't think much of it, smoke alarms go off all the time for stupid shit right. Didn't even reach the office before the first blast. Was a Molotov I think, probably what set the alarms off, no idea what turned the warehouse into a fucking bomb though.”

“Something exploded, don't know what but it got both of us. Landed on my shoulder real good. We ran to the back entrance, or as close as we could get before another blast went off, fucking ceiling came down on me. Hurt like a bitch but at least it's nothing permanent. Think I was out for a bit, not for long but long enough for Tubbo to hurt himself trying to get shit off me. ‘Rest is a bit of a blur to be honest, don't remember much between getting hit and ending up at your door.”

Wilbur takes a deep breath and shakes his head, it's not gunna help anyone if he starts getting emotional right now.

“Who would have done this.”

“That's the thing, I got a call about two minit's before the alarm went off from the master arsonist himself asking where I was. He never calls me will, not once. I didn't even know he had my fucking phone number.”

“Wait, why would sapnap want to blow up one of our warehouses.”

“I don't know, but Will, I lied. He asked if were were out on any jobs and I fucking lied I don't know why but I told him me and Tubbo were playing fucking video games at home, and not two minits later the place where I told him we weren't goes up in fucking flames.”

Wilbur sits in silence and looks between the two injured boys. He can't help but feel fury building in his chest, he doesn't care about the thousands of dollars lost in the fire, couldn't give less of a shit about Dreams fucking money. He’s angry that two teenage boys had been ambushed in an attack at a warehouse that his employer had promised were protected. God only knows what would have happened if Wilbur hadn't been home. He tries not to think about what would have happened if Tommy hadn't been there either, he stands and tries to get the image of Tubbo being trapped in that warehouse out of his head.

 He grinds his teeth together in confusion and anger hopes to god Tommy's wrong.

“Where are you going.”

Tommy looks up and meets Wilbur's eyes, the young boy sees the fury burning in them, he knows the older brit is mad and to be honest, he doesn't blame him. He watches Wilbur walk round to Tubbos bedside and picks up his cracked phone, he doesn't mention the way he’s sees Wilbur's hands shake.

“Ill be back okay, I've got a phone call to make.”

[thatonestarryhuman]

It’s time to give Sleepy (My Version Of Natemare) some love because Nates egos don’t seem as popular as the other ones! Have a one shot I wrote a week ago!

ᴛʏᴘᴇ : ғʟᴜғғ

ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ : ʏᴏᴜ sɴᴇᴀᴋ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴘɪᴢᴢᴇʀɪᴀ ᴀᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴅᴜᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴜʀɪᴏsɪᴛʏ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ʀᴇsᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ's ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴɪɴɢ ᴏғ ᴄʟᴏsɪɴɢ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ sᴇɴsᴇ. ᴜᴘᴏɴ sɴᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪᴢᴢᴇʀɪᴀ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴɪᴍᴀᴛʀᴏɴɪᴄs ᴀɴᴅ... ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ?

ʏ/ɴ's ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs : ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ 'ᴛʜᴇʏ/ᴛʜᴇᴍ'

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ : 1,954

You slowly close the laptop before rubbing your eyes as you let out a yawn. “Is it time yet?” You wonder out loud to yourself as you check the time, it’s 1:02 A.M. “it’s time to go.” You nod to yourself as you pick up a bag you had prepared, you had quite a few things you’d need for your little... journal. You open the bag and check to make sure you’ve packed everything “Flashlight? Check. Pepper Spray? Check. Some snacks? Check. Camera? Check. Power bank just incase? Check. [Energy drink/Tea/Coffee]?.... Not check.” You let out a soft sigh before heading to the kitchen and grabbing the drink of choice. “I need some sort of liquid if I’m gonna be there for quite the few hours, I don’t want dehydration.” You talk out loud to yourself as you go back to pack the said drink.

After packing the drink, you put on shoes that you’d be able to run in, but as well as a jacket because who knows how cold that place could be at night time, or early morning. You wrap the jacket around your waist as it was quite warm currently and you didn’t want to over heat yourself. You pick up the bag after closing the zipper “Let’s hope there’s something at least interesting there.” You hope quietly to yourself as you leave the house, you cross your fingers that no one would be at your destination, after all, why would someone guard an old abandon pizzeria? You wonder to yourself as you shake your head. You grab your house keys and exit the house, locking all the doors as you leave as you wouldn’t want burglars at your house when you come back.

You feel the cold wind hit your face as you breathe in the nice and cool night air, you haven’t done anything like this in a long time. You smile to yourself as you begin jogging to your destination, it wasn’t far from your house so you didn’t need to use a vehicle, it’s not like you have one anyways. It took you around 20 minutes to get there by jogging, you let out soft gasps as you get to the location, you felt really out of shape as you did this. “It’s been ages since I was out.” You smile to yourself “fresh air feels great.” You talk to yourself as you stretch, but take a minute to calm your breathing from the long jog. You look around the outside, it looked like it wasn’t visited or cleaned in many years.

You let out a soft sigh as you walk up to the main doors, you tug on them to try and open them but they were locked “Of course.” You mumble to yourself before walking around the building trying to find any other way of entry, spotting the backdoor you try opening it but it wouldn’t budge. “Well there’s only one thing left to do.” You whisper to yourself as you barge at the door with mainly your shoulder and back as to not hurt yourself badly. With a loud thunk, you managed to open it as the door flung open. You rub your shoulder as you walk inside, you take in a deep breath before wishing you didn’t, you were in the kitchen and it smelled like... rotten pizza you could say, it was clear that this place was abandoned very suddenly as they hadn’t even taken out the products before they left.

You pulled out the flashlight you brought with you from your bag and turn it on, looking around as you flashed the light upon the kitchen. It wasn’t a mess surprisingly, it was quite neat as if someone recently tried to clean up, key word, tried. It was mostly messy but there was an attempt at cleaning and it showed clearly. Upon realizing there was nothing in the kitchen that was worth of interest, you decide to head into the main room that lead from the kitchen. You noticed animatronics but.. they were very small, they were around 8 inches tall and they looked like puppets. You were confused at that “huh, I don’t remember these.” You wonder to yourself as you walk around the dining area, your shoes clicking on the marble checkerboard floor.

You walk past the stage where the animatronics were but you didn’t quite seem to notice the violet bunny animatronic tilt it’s head at you as you walked by. You headed towards the carousels as you had quite a few memories of those, you used to visit the pizzeria when it used to be open, which was around 6 years ago from now. You smiled as you placed a hand on the carousel, some memories coming back to you, but while you were being in your own little memory world, you haven’t noticed the sound of another pair of clicking shoes heading your way. The man’s shadow was still visible even if it was dark, his heavy shoes clicking as he walked slowly, he seemed to be in a defensive state as he slowly inched closer to you.

He stopped at the end of the hallway that lead to the main area, a deep yet smooth voice that had some... possible hesitance in it was heard. “Who are you?” The man asked, snapping you out of your daze. You immediately panicked as you hadn’t expected anyone to be here, let alone it be a human.. or so you thought he was human. You assumed he was a guard and quickly apologized, “Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t think this place had any guards here anymore, I came to remember some of my old memories.” What you said wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth either. You couldn’t see the mans face, you didn’t dare shine your flash light on him “Leave no-“ He was cut off by the bunny animatronic jumping at your feet “New friend!” You two hadn’t noticed the animatronics walk over to you two.

“Bonnie! You blew it!” Chica, a yellow chicken animatronic had pouted as she complained, it seemed like them sneaking over was supposed to be a secret. You were freaked out by the animatronics as you hadn’t expected them to... still work or even talk! “Gah!” You yelp and take a few feet back making you stumble and tripping causing you to fall on your butt, dropping your flashlight to the ground while doing so. “Good job, Chica!” A brown bear animatronic, Freddy said a bit sarcastically “You scared our new friend!” The bear animatronic continued as the Chicken animatronic rubbed the back of her neck “Whoops... Sorry..” She apologized to both you and the bear, but seemingly more to you.

You could hear the sound of small feet hitting the ground very fast, almost as if a child was running. “Raaaa!” Soon enough a fox animatronic was by your side, looking the most excited out of all the animatronics. You could see the man let out a soft sigh “You guys weren’t supposed to do this, I told you to stay on the stage if anyone came.” The ending bit was more stern, the animatronics looked down “Sorry” “I’m sorry” “Sorries!” “raaa raaw....” All of them apologized and you can tell by his shadow, that his once tense form had became a bit more relaxed. “Now, Who are you?” He turned to you and you gulped. “I uhm... I’m [Y/N]” You said quietly at the towering shadowy figure, you had now realized he wasn’t a guard and became more and more nervous as to who this man was.

“Well you got your memories, you can go now.” He crossed his arms, it seemed he wasn’t a big fan of visitors. He grimaced as a bright light was shined in his face and he covered his eyes “Can they stay a while? Pleaaaseeeee!” The chicken animatronic said while holding the flash like she used to get his attention “Chica put that down, and I’m not so sure about a stranger staying.” You could see his face a bit better, honestly you could even see his silhouette. He seemed already quite tall, he looked quite.. muscular. Your eyes slowly met his face, you noticed it was.. quite different than normal, you noticed he had puppet like tear make up, or at least you thought it was make up. Other than the make up, he looked like an attractive young man, you wondered what brought him here. It seemed like he was here for quite some time as he could talk and get the animatronics to listen to him.

“Well they won’t be a stranger after we get to know them!” Bonnies voice snapped you out of staring at the man “Raaa!” Foxy almost cheered as he agreed with Bonnie, at least that’s what it seemed like. They seemed to all give him puppy dog eyes and he let out a soft sigh “Fine but only for a few hours and that’s it.” He said a but hesitantly and the animatronics cheered and ran up to you, you were still confused about everything going on. “Thank you!” “Thanks!” “Yay! Thanks, Sleepy!” “RAA!” They cheered, but you caught onto something, you noticed one of the animatronics call him ‘Sleepy’. You smiled upon noticing that, you found it a cute nickname.

The animatronics crawled up and cuddled to you, Chica was examining your hair, Freddy looked at your eyes, Bonnie fiddled with the flash light while sitting on your shoulder and foxy curled up in your lap. The man, who you now will call Sleepy, sighed “It’s way past your bed time guys.” He said to what seemed to be the animatronics “Hey! You allowed us to be up by letting them stay the few hours.” Chica pouted and Sleepy seemed to give up, knowing he would be trying to fight a losing battle. You looked down at the fox in your lap and pet the fox, smiling at him.

Eventually all animatronics curled up in your lap and fell asleep as it got later and later, the man had seemed to go back down the hallway where you remembered the security room was, you decided to stay the whole night, how could you leave these cuties which rested in your lap alone? You smiled, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as you thought it was gonna be, you could make a bunch of friends, a few furry ones and one seemingly human. You soon enough fall asleep yourself as your body couldn’t handle staying up any longer. In the morning you realized, you and the animatronics were covered by a nice and warm blanket and the man was no where in sight.

You smiled quietly and would wait till the animatronics wake up to move, you wanted to get to know all of them for some reason, you just had a feeling in your heart that they just need someone, a friend, they seemed like family to each other and so maybe they just want a friend. Even if they didn’t want a friend, you were going to become one no matter what. You wanted to know more about the mysterious man, and the cute animatronics. The animatronics seemed to like you already.

[demivampirew]

Dry-leaves

(photos taken from Pinterest. Credits to the owners//collage made by me)

Henry x 1st person reader one shot.

A/N: First of all, I want to thank the people who showed me a lot of love in the post that I explained who I felt these last few days about writing (and in general). I decided to push through the negative thoughts and write. I used the mood I was in to write this one shot. Even thought this character is fictional, there are plenty of things for my personal experience I used for her background. I tried to make it a feel good story, but the issues reader thinks about are pretty real.

Triggers: depression; family drama;  stress (college, job, family)

You can find more of my writings in the Masterlist

Tag list: @lunedelorient @henrythickcavill @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @mary-ann84 @desperate-and-broken @peakygroupie @summersong69 @ivvitm1109 @madbaddic7ed @iloveyouyen @the-soot-sprite @hell1129-blog @whyyoudothistomecavill @thetaoofzoe​ @thereisa8ella​  @darkbooksarwin

The sound of the dry-leaves crunching as I step over them made me tingle and relax. I've been so stressed lately that I often forget to appreciate the beauty of the simple things like this.

If I have to be honest, I never truly value the little pleasures nature gift us: the Orage-ish leaves falling from the trees covering the floor and grass on Autumn; the cosiness of watching a movie while covering yourself with a blanket in the cold winter. The display of beautiful and vibrant colours of the blooming flowers in the spring, which release an often delicious and refreshing scent and,  the longer days in the summer filled with sunshine.

When I was younger, my parents set this expectation that the only way to succeed in life was to get a degree in college and find a well-paid job; so, as I grew up I became more and more obsessed with the idea of achieving this goal, that I completely ignored important things in life: my happiness being the main one. Unconsciously, I convinced myself that all I wanted in life was to get a degree, I thought that was my ultimate destiny. It was only the moment when I felt as if I was drowning when I realized that the only reason I was working hard on graduating from college was to make my parents happy, or to be more specific, not to disappoint them.

In life, there always that point when you're doing something you don't want to do, even if you pressured yourself to believe that it is, and you finally realized that that's not for you. My moment came last year when I was in a job that made me extremely unhappy and to top that, I was -for the third time in my life- in college trying hard to keep up with it and don't give up like the times before. I worked almost every day and with all I had to study for classes, I didn't have the time to do the simple things in life that I adore: watching my favourite shows and movies, listen to music I like, read books or see my friends. I achieve a level of unhappiness, that I would go to sleep every night wishing never to wake up again. I was done with my job, college and life.

Thankfully, there was a part of me that still believed in the possibility of a happy future and that's what gave me the energy to rescue myself from that dark hole. I started therapy, sought for a new job and decided to quit college - at least for now, maybe someday, when things are different and I have more time or maybe when I'm older I'll give it another try if I want to. But, the most important thing is that for the first time I would do what I wish; I'll work hard on building the life I want for me and not what others, my parents, for example, want for me. I might not be in my early twenties anymore, I might be at the age in which society expects you to have your life figured out and just starting to work on the future I want, but it's ok. It's ok just to walk through the park, enjoying watching the wind carry the falling tree-leaves and the little bear play with them, rolling over them and barking at the kids playing as if he was asking permission to join them.

"Here's your hot chocolate, babe," Henry said, handing me a Starbucks coffee cup full of a steamy milky infusion. He chuckled as he saw Kal play with two boys and a girl -the boys around ten and the girl must have been around five or six years old.

I met him a year ago at this same park. He saw me sitting on a bench, crying while I looked at my phone. The reason behind my tears was that I received a message from my mum telling me how disappointed she was for my decision of quitting college - it wasn't like me that was not the exact answer I expected from her, but still hurt to see her words. Henry asked me what was wrong and then sat next to me and had a long chat about life and how he dealt with the negative opinions others had of him. That day I thanked him and walked away, thinking that I'll never see him again. As it turns out, he walked his furry best mate in that park every single chance he got. Me on the other hand, I would go every now and then to that place because I found it hauntingly beautiful and peaceful. It's in a fancy neighbourhood and a bit far for the place I live, but it filled me with good energy so I didn't mind having to travel for an hour or so to get there to be able to enjoy its beauty.

The second time we saw each other was almost a month after that afternoon. I immediately recognized that unique creature that was the Akita and sought for his human with my eyes. And there he was, sitting alone on the same bench we met, watching his dog with an enormous smile on his face. I went into the Starbucks nearby and bought a coffee for him and a latte for me. Thankfully he was still there went I came back from the coffee-shop. Giving the fact that we spent an entire afternoon talking, I was sure he would remember me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he remembered my name as well. We chat for hours again, only this time the topics were more cheerful. That time he was the one who left first, but not without asking for my number first. For the following weeks, there wasn't a day we would not text each other, talking about absolutely everything: from games, books and movies, to family, friends, and ambitions in life. After a few weeks, he finally asked me out - I was dying for him to do that, but I wasn't exactly expecting him to do so, after all, he was a breath-taking gorgeous and very famous man and me, just a simple girl in her late twenties trying to figure out what I wanted to do with life and "breath-taking" isn't exactly an adjective that could be used to describe myself, simple and pretty enough could be more accurate - I might not be ugly, but for sure I'm not a femme fatale.

Living with my parents as I got closer to be thirty wasn't exactly an issue for my age, but rather because I decided to quit college. If I ever wanted to get better, I needed to live in another place, which is extremely difficult when you don't have a big salary. I earned enough money for expenses and other things but I could not afford to rent a flat. Henry offered to help me but I refused at first, until I couldn't stand to be in the house I lived anymore. It was then when I decided to accept his alternative proposal: to move in with him. This option was better than the other 1) because it wouldn't cost him any extra money and 2) we would be able to spend more time together.

"Thanks, baby, " I replied after grabbing the hot chocolate and took a couple of sips. My right arm grabbed his left one and we walked around the park, always keeping an eye on Kal as the bear played with those kids.

I'm happy to know that it's ok to not have things figured out. It's ok to take your time to enjoy the simple things in life. And when someone gives you a hand and tries to help you when you need it the most, you're not less independent, weak for accepting it.

[ichika27]

TWEWY 11

Time to get to the final battles. (I forgot to take a non-spoiler screenshot)

Anyways, spoilers for the game below.

Inside the Shibuya River (the sewers, I guess), they find Minamimoto who couldn’t go forward anymore due to a barrier he can’t break. He then tells them where Konishi is (inside Beat’s shadow which the show had hinted last time) and the two reapers talk.

They make a deal: Konishi gets rid of the barrier and when Minamimoto becomes the new Composer, he’d promote her to Conductor. Minamimoto agrees and goes forward.

Our duo is now left to battle Konishi. (she looks like a furry-bait I wonder if a certain vtuber would think she’s hot lol).

They get transported to some kinda invisible platform in the sky where they proceed to fight. She’s pretty difficult to defeat though.

Beat, upon seeing Neku in distress and that they might lose, remembers Rhyme and how he couldn’t protect her. He resolves that he’d not let that happen again and attacks. This somehow lets him summon noise!Rhyme who immediately reunites with her brother.

Neku and Beat powers up Rhyme. I don’t think this powerup was in the game (I don’t remember much of this part). I do remember her pin being in use but this powerup, not sure. Pretty cool though.

Technically, Rhyme defeats Konishi feat. Neku and Beat lol. She might have become noise but she’s still badass.

I had to get this with the subs. Konishi, before she finally disappears, decides to tell Beat that Rhyme’s memories of her big brother is Beat’s own entry fee and not Rhyme’s. She says that maybe Beat wasn’t as important to Rhyme like he thought.

She then gets erased while Beat is having some sort of crisis asking himself what Rhyme’s entry fee might have been.

Shiki finally appears! She says Rhyme’s entry fee must be her dreams since Rhyme mentions not having any. (I don’t remember this detail completely but Rhyme’s entry fee being her dreams was just a popular fan theory back then as they never really outright mention it in game so this being included either meant it was right all along or they thought that the theory was okay and they should add it).

Neku and Beat realized that Week 3 is over, they won, and so Shiki’s back. Neku apologizes to Shiki as she became his entry fee and Shiki is surprised by this cause of the implications. Someone else pointed it out elsewhere that it’s strange that she’s surprised when she hasn’t disappeared yet when Neku was told that she’d be his entry fee. She disappeared in the game before Neku was told this so it makes sense she didn’t know in the original story. Did the staff forget or something? I mean, they kinda forgot they let Neku and Shiki have a keypin way back in Week 1 and then made Neku surprised that keypins existed in Week 3.

Oh and they also don’t visit Dead God’s Pad (the bar HQ of the reapers).

They find Minamimoto in the white void they’re now in and he’s impaled instead of crushed underneath a bunch of stuff like a vending machine. Is Joshua not capable of summoning vending machines in the white void?

The white void breaks apart to reveal The Room of Reckoning where they see Kitaniji waiting for them and he explains the Composer isn’t here.

Whose happiness though? Is it for himself? Cause Joshua doesn’t seem happy.

So Kitaniji tells them that the personality/mindset of those in Shibuya - like Neku’s and Beat’s - is going to be cause of it’s downfall so he’s gonna fix it.

And then he brainwashes Shiki using the red skull pin. It’s now a battle between noise!Kitaniji and Shiki vs. Neku and Beat. As if the game version wasn’t hard enough lol. They skipped battling them at Dead God’s Pad and just combined the first two battles by having Shiki be brainwashed after Kitaniji has transformed. The duo now has to face Kitaniji as some kinda giant snake plus a horde of Mr. Mews that can fly.

They win, of course, with a bit of difficulty since they don’t want to hurt Shiki. After the fight, the other two are passed out.

Kitaniji refuses to go down and in their exchange, Neku notices the timer on Kitaniji’s hand (which is earlier than in the game since they originally find this out when the whole truth is being revealed at the ending). He explains his plans using the pins.

Meanwhile, Neku gains an epiphany regarding the character development he had been getting throughout the Reaper’s Game.

Kitaniji slowly transforms in a gross way with his body slowly changing shape. They went out of their way to make it creepy.

Last battle with Kitaniji coming up next episode!

--

Joshua didn’t show up unlike in the game which makes this kinda weird. I always assumed Kitaniji got a more powerful form because he captures Joshua and hijacks his Composer powers but here, Josh hasn’t arrived and Kitaniji transformed on his own. He didn’t even capture Beat and Shiki so it makes me wonder if he just has another noise form.

Wait... does this mean the final battle would be Neku, Shiki, Beat (and Joshua if he arrives in the middle of it) vs. Kitaniji instead of just Neku (and then using some powers of the other three) vs. Kitaniji in the game? That actually sounds like a pretty exciting idea and they could showcase using multiple characters that will be the mechanic of NTWEWY (assuming that wasn’t their plan all along).

I wonder how Joshua will show up though? In the middle of the battle? Near the end when he’d join the four-combo attack? At the start and would go “No time to ask questions”? I’m excited haha. I though he’d appear in this episode though but I guess they’re gonna place the Composer reveal at the very end (even though they gave so many hints throughout Week 2 that Josh isn’t what he seems).

Oh my god... the finale is next week, isn’t it? I pray they’d use “A Lullaby for You” as the last ending song as they show the epilogue. I might end up crying if they did that. Are they gonna add Neku’s entire ending monologue? One of the things the anime does that I thought is nice is that they really make the dramatic scenes hit hard. How they’d animate Neku’s monologue might end up hitting me in the feels really bad if they do it right.

Are they gonna animate the secret ending? Gonna hurt me more by showing Josh is unable to be with Neku and the others? And before all of this... the final duel. We’re gonna see Neku cry next episode lol oh no.

I do hope Eri gets to be in the final scenes though. They gave her a bit more screentime in the anime so it’d be really cool if they show Shiki and Eri getting reunited. And Beat waking up to see his sister human again and they’re alive. They never showed those in the game so it’d be nice to end their personal arcs with those.

I’m excited and also sad. We all waited so long. It was a dream that TWEWY would one day get an anime and even a sequel but here we are. The anime is about to end and the sequel will come out next month. After all this time, it feels like it was just a blink of an eye and now it’ll be over.

*sigh* I should really save all of this for the actual last episode.

Either they’d have another episode for “A New Day” or they’re gonna have an OVA for that. Sad cause had that not existed, maybe there’s a possibility of “Another Day” getting an OVA. But then again, they took away tin pin for the main story.

Okay. That’s all for now, I guess. Next week is pain and also happiness. XD

[varnienne]

Shattered Reality - Year 1, Part 1

A/N: Finally got around to finish editing this. I know I said I'd work on the Pokemon Crossover project (and I am, concept drawings and the outline are a WIP) but I think it's better I have at least a few different projects to focus on at a time.

That being said, I hope you guys enjoy my story.

TW: brief references to PTSD and grief, I think that's it?

Her eyes snapped open.

Heavy breaths echoed in the room as a scream died in her throat. Soft ticking penetrated the haze first. Moonlight glinted off of the four-star ball. Its familiar energy caressed her aura. Avoca focused on that feeling. Took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She absorbed the soothing blues of her bedroom walls as she kept breathing. Training clothes folded on the nightstand. A picture of her family hanging by the clock. Its glowing hands reading three fifty-seven.

She sighed. No point trying to sleep now. Tossed her covers off and swung her feet around. Avoca grabbed her training clothes as she stood. Started changing, completely dressed when her door opened. She glanced one way. Then the other. No one but her was up. Thankfully.

Trudged her way down the hall and out the front door, steps carefully soft. The deep violets of early morning kept her hidden as she walked across the field. She stopped in front of a rounded door.

“Open, please.” Air hissed out as it unlocked. Slowly, it fell open, turning into a ramp. She tapped the close button as she passed the frame. The second the door resealed, Avoca called out to the system. “Gravity on, level 275.”

She moved into stretches as the weight settled on her body. Deep breath in, an arm raised into an overhead block. Deep breath out, it was slowly switched with a punch from her other hand. She glided through every new movement, aura swirling around her like a gentle tide.

“Increase the gravity to level 290. Training bot level 3,” she called out to the room's control system.

[Commencing…]

Her body became heavier and she tensed all her muscles before relaxing again. One foot slid back and the other moved to the side. Her brother’s feet wavered as she stepped next to him. Set a shaky hand on his shoulder. Her arms rose into a loose block as small orbs floated in. Light swirled through their seams alerting her to their activation. Together they fell into a familiar stance. They could do this. They could end it. She formed a ball of red energy in her hand and smirked. Avoca sent her energy at the nearest bot.

“Give me what your daddy couldn’t.” His aura expanded as the blast grew. “Before I send you home to him.*”

She snarled at the creature. “You’re reign ends now.”

Her blast ricocheted from it onto the others, passing her every chance they could. She let her body take over and forced her mind to fall silent. Years of honed instinct kept her movements fluid as she danced around the blast. The snickering monster was distracted with a blast to his back. Avoca noticed. “Now, brother!” She added another ball to the fray. They gritted their teeth, planted their feet, and forced out everything they had. Another command to the system had the gravity strengthening to 310.

As she created a third energy ball, the door opened. “Avoca-nee?”

She jumped and released the ball as she turned, but the bots took advantage and aimed all three blasts at her. Growling, Avoca twirled, tail unwrapping from her waist to bat them into the walls. She commanded the system to shut off and whirled back to her brother.

“Gohan, you know better than to come in here when I’m in the middle of my routine!” The younger Saiyan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Avoca sighed. “Just be careful next time, okay?”

He glanced away and scratched his cheek. Her heart lurched. Gohan looked just like their father doing that. She sighed and asked him why he’d come to get her. “I wanted to make sure you'd have time to get ready for your first day.”

Shit. Had she gotten too caught up in training? It wouldn’t be the first time. “What time is it?”

[The current time is six, twenty-two…] echoed through the room.

“Oh, good. I have time to shower.” The Saiyan girl thanked her brother as she rushed down the hall. Maybe school could keep her memories away for a while.

~oOo~

A week earlier, on the other side of town, a team of teachers were chatting as they waited for the principal. He’d called an impromptu meeting so early some of them were still yawning. One person, in particular, was curious why Nedzu would call him in. He wasn’t even done with his teacher certification yet.

The tired heroes perked up as the being in question finally joined them. In his paws was a red USB that arrested everyone's attention. Its implications sobered them immediately.

Nedzu maneuvered into his seat at the head of the table and smiled. "Good morning everyone! I'm sorry to call a meeting like this on such short notice, but I've been informed that one of our new admittees is… quite powerful."

He paused to plug the drive into the table's display input. The places in front of the staff members lit up with the school logo before showed a fierce young brunette with determined amber eyes. There was a hardened light in her gaze that told of her experience in battle. Her hair was noticeably thick and spiky, much like the furry tail around her waist.

"This is Son Avoca, publicly registered as Midoriya Izumi." The lightness in Nedzu's tone vanished. A conflicted look took over his face. "She is one of the two children responsible for ending Perfect Cell."

Toshinori's heart dropped. She was so young and had already been exposed to such horrors. He'd known the two who'd stopped the creature were a bit young, but he wasn't expecting children. She was barely fourteen.

"From what I understand, young Gohan will also be attending UA in a couple of years." The screen changed to show an even younger boy with black hair just as spiky as his sister's. Though his expression was a bit softer, the same determination reflected in his eyes. "He'll be going to a nearby middle school until then."

Toshinori frowned. If these kids were so powerful… "How come we hadn't heard of them before the Cell Games?" The abilities they displayed both with and without the aid of their quirks was unbelievable. Most kids their age had nowhere near the amount of training they surely must've had.

"They were living out in the mountains in the southern district. But they have been mentioned in the news before." At this, Nedzu's nose twitched. "Had Miss Son- Miss Midoriya - not mentioned it herself, I doubt even I would've noticed the connection."

The principal pulled up an infamous headline from eight years ago.

Throat dry, Toshinori glanced around at the other teachers and found them just as pale as he felt. He returned his focus to the files. The more he read, the more questions he had, a pit growing in his stomach with each one. The hows and whys swirled in his mind until Nezu spoke again.

“I know you all have questions. I do too.” His smile returned. “I've organized an interview so we may learn more about Miss Midoriya and perhaps find some answers.”

“Wait.” Present Mic frowned and leaned back in his chair. “I don't recognize her. Did she not take the entrance exam?”

Nezu's smile became strained. “The Hero Commission was quite insistent about her attending our school.”

Oh. That explained a lot. It also brought more questions Toshinori wasn’t sure he wanted answers to.

~oOo~

Looking at her reflection, Avoca turned. The skirt was a little short on her with how curvy she was starting to get. At least they were allowed to wear leggings underneath it. The blazer was a nice neutral grey to compliment the greens of the skirt and lapel stripes.

Her gaze caught the papers sitting on her desk and the brunette frowned. All the important papers she needed to verify her "new identity." Any reference to their father or their role in the Cell Games was conveniently left out. But they'd made note that Principal Nezu and her teachers would be aware of who she was.

Ugh, the regulation and hidden identity were like some twisted witness protection program. More like monitoring persons of interest. She shook her head to force those thoughts from her mind.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see her brother in the doorway. His pink checks and twitching tail made her smile reassuringly at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, couldn't tuck it in comfortably…"

Avoca giggled. "I had the same problem when we were younger. Here," pulled the band of skirt down. Lifted and resettled her tail. "Wrap it just under the waistband and don't wear a belt." Watched her brother do as told. Gave him a small smile when he didn't look back up. Patted his shoulder. "It'll be fine, brother. We just have to play by their rules a bit." Gohan merely sighed.

He was dressed in his own uniform. The black slacks and blazer looked good on him. She ruffled his hair and laughed at his protest. He'll make friends easily.

Which reminded her… "You remember the names we've been registered under, right?"

The boy nodded. He didn't like having to hide their identities. She didn't either. They were children of Earth's former protector. Maybe they wouldn't shout it from the rooftops, but it's not like anyone would think to look into their father’s past. It wasn't out of shame, but it felt like they were hiding their father.

"Well, let's get going." Avoca sighed and grabbed her backpack. "We don't wanna be late on our first day."

"Yeah."

She nudged his shoulder. He nudged her back. They joked and played as they walked out. She laughed.

Avoca had hope that whatever adventure lay before them, it would be one full of memories.

~oOo~

*TeamFourStar reference. I believe this is from Episode 60 Part 3?

Buy the writer a Coffee

[captainkirkk]

i see your amnesia water dream post and i raise you a new AU - the reason dumbledore invite lockhart 2nd year is because he has the most comprehensive mastery of the memory charm and memory enchantments. everyone was potioned during first year to not write their parents/ the Prophet (about rumors of a cerberus in a barely locked corridor, or unicorns dying, or...), but d'dore knows he needs a more thorough solution: blacmailing lockhart with exposure or helping enchant the plumbing (1/?)

(amnesia water anon 3/?) whispering to each other because they all remember what happened fifty years ago, but has the monster gotten worse? it has memory powers now? by the end of the year lockhart and dumbledore have their project finished, and then two kids come into lockhart's office for help killing a basilisk. d'dore told lockhart that the Monster of the Chamber was a basilisk in the plumbing (he's not an idiot, of course he knew) and lockhart thinks, maybe if i go take one risk i could

(amnesia water anon 4/?) get dumbledore to owe me something. after all, the chamber is connected to the plumbing and has its own set of founder's wards. if he could tie the memory enchantment into that... all the better. the chamber fight goes as canon but riddle mentions that he's not messing with anyone's memory but ginny's, and harry doesn't tell dumbledore that diary!riddle said this. the final version of the enchantment allows dumbledore to control the memories removed.

(amnesia water anon 5/?) harry's a bit more self-aware third and fourth year - everyone forgot that he almost got kissed on the train, and at the quidditch match, but no one forgets about lupin's furry problem. harry starts to be a bit more studious and a lot more self-reliant. the ghosts tell him not to tell dumbledore about anything he's not directly asked about. rumors about the bwl being an attention seeking liar surface - he says dementors keep trying to kiss him, haha, like he's so special

(amnesia water anon 6/?) fourth year no one remembers exactly what happened with the cup, but everyone knows potter's an attention seeking liar, so of course he did something to get his name in the cup. the ghosts start a proper support squad for the poor pariah child. the international press is going wtf!? about the whole situation, but dumbles and fudge keep it out of the prophet. the quibbler is actually quality news - luna doesn't remember, but she has dreams, and her dad publishes them

(amnesia water anon 7/?) the third task is as much of a mess as you'd think. voldemort says something about dumbles' memory game making things easier this time around. the DE's are all, wtf do you mean, and then they get crucio'd. when dumbles asks harry what happened later, he uses veritaserum but doesn't want to know anything other than the ritual used - and then he gives harry a glass of water. harry doesn't pay any attention to the rumors after the task,

(amnesia water anon 8/?) but asks the ghosts to cover for him while he sneaks to a hogsmead bookshop and buys everything he can get on memory magic (even a borderline dark book). the summer is shitty, but at #12 harry hides in the black library and reads. the DEs manipulate fudge, the papers, and the school into a cold war. when harry isn't in detention with umbridge he's in the pipes, swearing about how the warding and enchanting electives were removed due to "lack of staff" in the mid 70s.

(amnesia water anon 9/?) he doesn't make much progress in messing with the memory enchantment until after the ministry fight, when he blows up everything in dumbles' office after he tries to give him some tea to calm him down. one of dumbles' many trinkets is the blood magic control device for what memories the school's water supresses. in the explosion, shards of that device get absorbed by harry's magic, and soon enough, he finds that he can effect the memory controls as well, on a small scale

(amnesia water anon 10/?) over the summer, the memory device remnants react with the scar-horcrux, and both voldie and harry feel it when it wakes up. i'll leave the ending open for now, lol ...i realize i just wrote a minific in your asks, but c'est la vie, i hope you enjoyed? be safe & well :)

(I think your second ask got eaten by tumblr, anon)

But god, I didn’t even think about how the amnesia water would make everyone think Harry was always a liar, since they couldn’t remember all the traumatic shit that happened to him. And Harry keeps forgetting too, since Dumbledore keeps giving him water or tea... That’s gaslighting on a whole other level.

I love that Harry develops a support group with the ghosts, even if it’s sad that his biggest supporters are dead. I like to think Ron and Hermione still support him, even if they struggle to believe him sometimes. And Luna! Of course she’s having weird dreams, and doesn’t just dismiss them immediately.

This AU hurts me. Why did my subconscious come up with it.

[emptypringlescanister]

New Perspective: Chapter 2

Hello again! It’s me again, back with another chapter for y’all. Demand is definitely a lot higher than I thought it was going to be, and I’m so grateful for how much love this has been getting! I hope y’all continue to enjoy. See the end for additional notes as well as the tag list.

Tom Nook x Reader

Slow Burn

Warnings: Spoilers for Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Words: 2.6K

Links: Prologue  -  Chapter 1  -  Chapter 2 (You are here!)  -  Chapter 3

Any photos or gifs do not belong to me, so if you like them then go give love to the original creator!

Chapter 2

           Sleep lifted off you slowly and you groaned, turning over in your cot. You had slept like a rock for the first time in months and you would be damned if you had to get up now. “_____? Are you in there?” a familiar voice filtered in from outside. “Oh, I hope I haven’t woken you abruptly. Ah, but I do wish to discuss something with you. Yes, yes! I’ll be here when you’re ready.” You could hear footsteps walking away and you sighed, resigning yourself to the fact that getting up was inevitable. Opening your eyes was a chore, and you had to squint for a few seconds due to the blinding sunlight that made its way in through the cracks. You could hear birds chirping outside, a melodious chirping that reminded you of home. Standing and stretching, you could hear a few joints pop.

           Unzipping the door to the tent, you climbed out and were greeted with the smiling face of Tom. “Ah, there you are. I hope you had a pleasant nap. Or, well… I suppose it was a bit more than a nap, wasn’t it? It’s a brand-new day!” You choked mid-yawn. “I slept that long?!” Tom burst out laughing.

           “Oh ho ho! Yes, it’s quite normal to be worn out from such a long trip – and a major life event! Speaking of which, I have some things for you! Rummaging in his pockets for a few seconds, he brought out a cell phone. You had had one before you departed but left it behind. Purposely of course, for reasons best left unspoken. “Oh, Mr. Nook- “ “Tom.” He reminded you, smiling, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Tom. I can’t accept this. Besides, I didn’t think there was actual cell service out here...?” Nook chuckled, “Yes, yes, that’s what one would think! But these are special Nook phones! I had them made specifically for island residents. We have our own special cell network out here that only our island-goers can access. It’s very secure.” A part of your anxiety was eased with this reassurance and you took the phone from him.

           After a somewhat lengthy process of Nook going through and explaining the apps and their capabilities, you pocketed the phone. “Now you’ll notice that the contact list is rather empty,” Nook began. “So, would you do me the honor of letting me give you my number?” he asked, giving you a wink. Cue an immediate blush on your part. “Oh, sure! That’d be great actually.” You said, totally not fumbling with getting your phone back out of your pocket. You handed it over to him and watched as he typed on the phone. When he handed it back to you, you noticed that he had saved his number under the name of Tom N, but he had added a leaf emoji along with one that had a smiling face. You chuckled.

           “Unfortunately, we are to the part that everyone seems to dislike.” Hearing him say that, you look up from the phone to see him holding a piece of paper. “Your itemized bill.” He hands you the paper with a few various fees on it. A few listed are the air fare, accommodations, labor fees, and the price of the Nook Phone, all totaling at $49,800 bells. You paled, not at the price, well, yes, at the price. You had spent the last of your bells on the air ticket, leaving you with nothing extra. You had been in such a hurry to leave, the thought of bringing extra to live on didn’t even occur to you. “I um…” you began hesitantly, your mouth suddenly very dry. Nook cocked his head at you questioningly. “I don’t have any bells. I spent the last of them on the travel ticket.” You looked back down at the paper, not wanting Nook to see the fearful expression on your face.

           A paw landed on your shoulder. “My dear ____, there’s no need to fret! There are other ways you can pay besides bells!” Your head snapped up, locking eyes with his. “Tom! If you’re implying what I think you’re implying then-!” He cuts you off quickly, rushing to explain. “No no no! I don’t mean that in the slightest! I meant paying with the Nook Mileage Program!” You giggle, “I was just teasing Tom, no need to get all worked up.” He blushes, his furry face heating up and tail bushing up. “I’ll admit that didn’t exactly come out the way I meant.” You wink at him, silently preening at the fact that you could fluster him. “So, Nook Mileage?” you ask, changing the subject.

           “Ah, yes, with the program, you earn miles by simply living and doing things around the island. Think of it like scout awards, but miles! Ill just have to register you in the program.’ You hand over your phone and he fiddles with it, soon handing it back to you. “There! You’re all registered.” You thank him and pocket it. “Now then, I do have some things I have to take care of in the Resident Services tent, so you are free to explore and do anything to your heart’s content. This is your home now after all.” He gives a farewell wave and leaves in the direction of the main area.

           Now left to your own devices, you look around, seeing a lot of trees and natural growth. Weeds litter the area, so you take some time and pick them. In no time at all, you cleaned up your little spot, and most of the surrounding area. Everything is just so green and fresh; you can’t help but smile. You brush all the picked weeds together in a pile and stand, wiping your hands onto already grass-stained pants. A splashing sound alerts you to the stream and you walk over to it. Some small fish swim under the water, occasionally jumping out and back in. Following the stream seems like a good thing, so you follow it, and it leads to a sandy beach area. The airport is in the distance, but other than that the waves lapping against the sand are unobstructed. You follow the beach, picking up shells that you run across and just enjoying the sunshine. After walking for a little bit, cliffs come up in your field of vision with flowers atop them. If you had a ladder, you could probably appreciate them more up close, but oh well. The beach continues a bit, so you keep walking.

           “Oh!” You exclaim out loud. A small private beach had been revealed, sandwiched between the cliff and the sea, hidden behind a wall of rocks that you had to climb over to access. Rather small, but cozy and private, being at the very corner of the island. Perhaps this could be somewhere to come to relax by yourself.

           The sun was starting to set, so you stopped in your exploring and began to head back to the main area. You had had a full day, exploring and having a few conversations with your new neighbors had set you in a rather good mood. All the things you had done throughout the day had you feeling rather hungry, so you stopped at a fruit tree and shook some of the peaches off. You grabbed one for yourself, but upon remembering that you needed to stop by the Resident Services tent, you grabbed a few more for Tom and the kids.

           It didn’t take you long to reach the main area, and with peaches in hand, you entered the tent. All three of the tanukis were inside, and they looked up to see you. “_____!” Timmy cried, running up to hug you with Tommy close behind. They crashed into you and you staggered, trying to keep a hand on the peaches while still leaning down to catch the boys in a hug. “Hello, you two!” you laughed, steadying yourself and them. They released you from their surprisingly strong grips and started to bombard you with questions about your day and where all you went in your exploration. They were babbling so much though that you couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “Alright Timmy, Tommy, that’s enough. I think poor _____ would like to talk sometime as well.” Nook speaks up, and the boys’ voices quiet. You laugh and hand the boys their peaches. “My day was fine; I talked to the neighbors and had a lot of fun exploring the island.” They seemed to accept your short explanation and focused on eating their treats. You walked over to Nook and handed him his as well. “Oh! Thank you ____!” Nook smiled at you, placing it on the table beside him. “I shall have it as a snack later. Now that it is dark out, will you allow me to walk you back to your tent tonight as well?” Timmy looked up when he heard this and nudged his brother, the both of them watching you and Nook curiously.

           ‘I’d like that.” You smiled at him, and took his outstretched paw, him leading you out of the tent. A few seconds after the door zipped shut, Tommy turned to his brother. ‘Do you think they like each other?” Timmy shrugged, taking a thoughtful bit of his peach. ‘I mean, _____ brought us peaches, so if Uncle Nook got one too… I guess so.” Tommy rolled his eyes.

“No Timmy, I mean like-like him.”

“Oooohh… Well, probably. They were holding hands after all.”

 _______________________________________________________________

             The night air refreshed you from the cramped interior of the tent and you let out a happy sigh. The moonlight here was strong, so everything was illuminated rather well. “So, you had a good day exploring, hm?” Nook asks, glancing at you. “Oh yeah, there was tons to explore and I found a really cool spot by the beach.” Nook looks at you in wonder. “Is that so? I had explored the island when I had first arrived here to deem it suitable to live on, but I hadn’t explored the beach in its entirety. I would love to see it if you don’t mind showing me.” He looks at you with pleading eyes, and you’re too weak to say no.

           “Alright! Just quit looking at me like that!” You groan. He chuckles, “Too mesmerized by me to say no, hm?” He squeezes your hand slightly, making you blush but laugh as well. Walking in silence for a while, you finally come to the rock wall that the beach was hidden behind. Nook whistles lowly, “No wonder I didn’t see this before, it’s rather far away from everything else, and hidden on top of that!” Humming in agreement, you clamber on top of the rocks. Perching on top of the wall, you lean down to see Nook looking up at you. “It’s a bit of a climb, think you can handle it old man?” you tease, swinging your legs back and forth. “Old man?! He squawks in indignation, “I’ll show you who’s old!” He climbs up the wall and sets himself beside you, a look of smug victory on his face before hopping down to the other side. “I beat you,” he says smugly, paws on his hips. Punching yourself for forgetting his feat of strength in carrying you yesterday, you roll you eyes at him. “I never said it was a race,” You stick your tongue out at him. “Well if it was, I would have won,” He replies. Holding his arms out, he adds, “Come on now, jump down and I’ll catch you.” “I can get down on my own thanks,” You say, and he starts to lower his arms but before he can, you continue. “But I will accept your gracious offer.” He looks up at you to see your teasing face and he chuckles. Shimmying yourself a bit, you let yourself off the wall and fall into his waiting arms.

           After setting you down, he turns to observe the small area. “Isn’t it beautiful?” you ask, settling yourself down onto the sand just out of reach of the lapping waves. The moonlight beams softly down, illuminating the sand and bouncing off the moving waves, causing sparkling reflections to be thrown around. Your attention captured by the water, you don’t see Nooks gaze looking at you when he utters, “Yes, beautiful…”

           He settles down beside you, leaning back to see the full moon sitting high in the sky. “I think we might be the only two to know about this spot,” you say, lifting some sand into your hand and letting it filter through your fingers. “There were no footprints here earlier in the day, and only mine when we got here.” Nook hums in response.

           “I truly admire all you’ve done on the island so far.” Nook begins after a while, breaking the quiet of the night. “Your interaction with the residents definitely deems you worthy of the title of Resident Representative. But because of that title, I wish to apologize. It has come to my attention that I may have pressured you into the position, and I wish to apologize if I made you uncomfortable in any way.” “Tom,” You interrupt, placing your hand on his paw to stop him. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. Far from it actually…” If Nook notices your blush at that, he chooses not to comment. “And I’m happy with the position. I’m glad you gave it to me.” Nook smiles at that, and you smile back at him. You gaze into each other’s eyes, transfixed. His eyes flick down momentarily to your lips then back up. He leans forward slightly, and time seems to slow. His paw reaches up and cradles your face, and you lean into his touch. “May I… kiss you?” he whispers. Not trusting yourself to speak without saying something stupid, you nod, and Nook closes the distance between you, pressing your lips together. The kiss is chaste and gentle, his paw still cradling your face with the sounds of the ocean surrounding you. He pulls back and you follow subconsciously. You look at each other, unsure of what to say after that event. “So, do I get miles for kissing you?” you ask, and you both burst into laughter.

 _______________________________________________________________

             “So, now you know about that spot on the island,” You say in front of the entrance to your tent. Nook nods, “Indeed! It was an interesting find, and I thank you for showing me. Though I promise not to let the secret out.” He winks and you giggle. “I think it might be time for me to retire for the night though,” You yawn. “I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes. In fact, thanks to your wildlife contributions today, and old friend of mine will be coming to the island tomorrow in hopes to set up a museum here.” Nook mentions.

You smile at him, shaking your head fondly. “Tom, I have to go to sleep now.” He sighs, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yes, yes. I understand. Sleep is important. Very much so. Did I mention that my old friend is an owl?”

You lean forward to kiss him, and swiftly enter your tent, zipping it behind you, leaving Nook in a shocked silence. “Goodnight!” You call out, laughter in your voice. A small squeak is all that reaches your ears before you hear him turn and walk away unsteadily.

           Settling into your cot is a great comfort and you snuggle down into your blanket. Rest reaches you for a few seconds before the full weight of the evening’s events decide to replay in your mind. A blush resides heavily on your face and your mind begins to race. “Wait, we kissed. Twice…”

________________________________________________________________

And so ends chapter 2! Sorry that the Nooklings didn’t get much time in this chapter, but don’t worry, they’ll appear a lot more in the upcoming chapters!

Thanks everyone so much for reading! If you’d like, go check out my other works on my page. My uploading schedule is a little inconsistent, but thanks to summer break coming up, I’m hoping to post maybe every other day.

Requests are open!! Send me a message or send me an Ask.

Ask if you want to be added to the tag list! And for those of you on the tag list, if the tags don’t work, let me know! I still don’t fully understand how tagging works lol

Tag list for New Perspective

@accio-zara

@themagpiewitchescorner

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

hey! thank you for everything that you do! you are awesome. im just wondering if you any fic were Stiles is fae? thank you!

We sure do. - Anastasia

till the moon has taken flight (to the waters and the wild) by WindyRein

(5/10 I 1,426 I Not Rated I Steter)

It's not fair! But he knows already that life isn't fair, doesn't he? He can feel the bitter smile curling his lips.He, if there is such a thing anymore, floats and is torn apart and doesn't exist. (but that would be kind, wouldn't it?)

Bloody Secrets by cywscross

(1/1 I 3,085 I Teen I Steter)

Stiles has silver in his veins.

Peter could’ve done without finding out this way though.

Somewhere to Start by Lissadiane

(1/1 I 3,352 I Teen I Sterek)

Stiles has always known that he isn't quite human - the plant life that tends to sprout around him whenever he gets upset or excited gives it away. He's never really fit in among the regular people in Beacon Hills and is determined to wait it out, go to college, and find somewhere to belong. He's forced to abandon those plans, however, after he desperately agrees to enter into an arranged marriage to save his father's life.

An arranged marriage with an angry, sometimes furry dude with trust issues. It's all very Beauty and the Beast, without the singing candlesticks.

Dance Under the Moonlight by Therapeutic_Steter

(2/2 I 3,440 I Mature I Steter)

Fae!Stiles saving Peter from Pack's stupidity and washing his hands of them. Please?

The Other Side by Green

(1/1 I 3,769 I Explicit I Steter)

Stiles doesn't know anything about his father, only what his mother told him, that he's human. Despite her words, Stiles has had his doubts. So when the queen sends him through the veil, he's nervous and isn't sure what to think.

Seven Years Falling by InfiniteAlexisA

(1/1 I 3,880 I Not Rated I Sterek)

“I don’t mean to!” Derek yelled throwing his hands in the air.“DON’T YELL AT ME!” Stiles screeched, his entire body going up in flames.This is what Derek gets for dating a fire elemental.

we're not so different (you and i) by colferstilinski

(1/1 I 5,621 I Explicit I Sterek)

For many of the fairies that lives here, Utopia is their sanctuary—haven, in other words—and why shouldn't it be? It never rains on this stretch of meadow, the clouds in the skies always pink with interest and it smells like the breaking of spring every dawn and dusk.

Stiles detest it, the least to say.

It’s too much and he hates swinging along with the status quo with the other fairies. Yeah, with their blooming shades of colours and the shimmering, silken tunics they don on and fuck, the limitless sparkles. There’s even a new trend going on with the younger generation where they gather allium blooms to form a flower crown, oh—with added glitter!—and it makes Stiles wants to roll his eyes.

-

Or the fic in which Stiles is a fairy and wants to escape the horrendous, boring world of fairyland to have an adventure. And by adventure, he means meeting Derek. The plant. Or... not-so plant.

Cold Iron by the_problem_with_stardust

(5/5 I 5,641 I Teen I Sterek)

Derek thought the disaster that ended with Kate Argent almost burning down his family home was a relationship worst-case scenario. So, when Dr. Deaton reveals that his current girlfriend is not what she seems, Derek is ready to swear off romance forever. In an attempt to escape his well-meaning (but insanely overbearing) family, Derek volunteers to take over remodeling the small cottage that was left to the Hale siblings in his grandmother’s will. Connemara is nothing like California, and Derek feels like his luck just might be looking up.

salt and a waltz by The Byger (Byacolate)

(1/1 I 7,433 I Explicit i Sterek)

"Not that lubed-up Q-tips aren’t the sexiest thing in the world, but I kinda want to know what it’s like, you know. To be impaled on your huge dick without actually being impaled.”

“It was about to get sexy there, but you shot the mood right in the face.”

In which Stiles is a faerie and Derek is sick and tired of not being able to fuck him.

Don't You Wanna Be My Sky? by WhoNatural

(1/1 I 9,420 I General I Sterek)

Stiles got ratted out by the Realm Guard for sneaking off with Scott a total of seven times before his dad buckled, promising sabbatical once Stiles reached Faehood, and enough Earth culture in the meantime to have him talking like a born-and-bred Californian teenager.

He just didn’t have the tan.

(Or, in which Stiles is a Frost Fae sent to the Earth Realm on the Fae version of Rumspringa and immediately falls head-first into a Coffee Shop AU)

No Love in Idleness by Elpie (Horribibble)

(2/2 I 11,687 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles is the sole grandchild of none other than Robin Goodfellow, the most mischievous faerie ever to wreak havoc among the Folk and Man alike. To the people of Beacon Court, he is at best a merry wanderer of the night.

At first, Ser Derek is inclined to agree, but the little bird on his shoulder has quite a bit to say about that.

Trees are always a relief after dealing with people (except when they aren't) by ravelqueen

(1/1 I 15,889 I Mature I Sterek)

Derek Hale decides to become a hermit before he reaches 25. Too bad he picked Beacon Hills as his retirement home.

(Or the one where Stiles is a wood nymph/pixie/human hybrid who falls in love with his new grumpy werewolf neighbour)

Broken People Get Recycled by poemwithnorhyme

(1/1 I 16,389 I General i Sterek)

Nothing is ever just calm in Beacon Hills. No, something always has to go wrong, and this time, it's Stiles' turn in the spotlight. That doesn't mean he has to like it. Post S2 AUFae!Stiles

The Magic's in the Coffee by xxxillusionxxx

(8/8 I 17,596 I Explicit I Sterek)

Ever since the tall, muscled, leather-clad werewolf had begun his daily coffee routine at the Skullery—a horrendous name in Stiles’s opinion, but his boss was a skeleton who thought he was terribly clever—an impromptu competition developed among the baristas.

When Trust is Everything by hellbells

(12/12 I 27,913 I Teen i Sterek)

For a secret to remain true then only one person can know it; if not then it will come out. Beacon Hills is the converging point of several secrets all wrapped up in the supernatural. For Stiles, the unravelling of several will let him find peace, love and safety in the arms of his true mate. The only question is can he trust a Sourwolf and his pack well enough to show his true self.

It just might be the one thing between Beacon Hills and safety!

(Or observe the really awkward distrustful courtship between a Sourwolf and a hidden Fae Mage)

A Little Bit of Sunshine by 100KlicksAway

(21/? I 29,600 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles woke with a start, dreams of pixies flitting around his head. He’d dreamed… He’d dreamed that he was a wolf? Or…. He wasn’t sure. Something with fangs… His mouth had been dripping blood in his dream, and when he woke, he could still taste the thick copper taste coating his mouth.

Stiles has been working hard for the pack since Scott was bitten. They leave him out more and more frequently, though, until Stiles realizes that he's strictly unnecessary. Then, the pack's activities throw him into danger and he ends up in a shitty situation with no one helping him.

Stiles leaves Beacon Hills. He doesn't care anymore, he just... Needs out.

The Last Chills of Winter by LeeHan

(1/1 I 42,525 I Explicit I Sterek)

“He didn’t magically charm me,” Derek shot back in his defense.“Oh, so he just regular charmed you?” Laura said with a smirk.“What? No,” Derek growled.“Was he hot?”“No! He just—“ He just had a laugh like a sun shower. Fuck.

We Follow Darkness Like a Dream by GreenasCole

(10/10 I 51,106 I Mature I Sterek)

When a mysterious note is left on the Stilinski's door it leads Stiles and his best friend Scott out into the woods on quest for answers about Beacon Hills's most infamous tragedy. After a surprise encounter with a monstrous wolf the two boys are hurled into an ancient and terrifying world, only for Stiles to discover he was secretly a part of it all along. Will he manage to survive the insanity of Fae politics and avoid the enemies that are suddenly crawling out of the woodwork to find a place in this new world? Or will the very revelation of his existence be the catalyst that plunges both worlds into war and chaos? And why can't Scott just stop teasing him every time he catches Stiles looking at their new "friend" Derek too long?

Laughter in the Dark by Starshaker

(13/? I 56,148 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles is a fae. A trickster spirit with too much curiosity for his own good and a knack for getting into trouble. When he's just trying to help things don't go to plan and coincidences don't seem to end up for the better.Trapped, isolated and aching to get home, though it's better than what Gerard would have had planned for him initially, Stiles learns to deal with his new set of circumstances.

The Fairy's Wolf by kuki

(57/? I 90,602 I Explicit I Sciles)

In a world where non-humans mingle with humans in public schools until they became of age, about high school age, going instead to a specialty finishing school, a young halfling fae fights to stay with his friends. His fear of losing touch with his best friend, a young Alpha werewolf, has the pair pushing their relationship to the edge; and their relationship has the world on the brink of war.

-or-where I apparently ship Skittles hard now, hate myself with this work load on top of my school work, switch up species because f-u that's why, make up mythology, and try to give Derek a nice life.

Where You Still Remember Dreaming by yodasyoyo

(15/15 I 95,612 I Explicit I Sterek)

“What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Balto.”

“What’s yours?”

“Stiles.”

Derek raises an eyebrow. That isn’t his real name. There’s no way. But now he thinks about it, he has a vague memory of someone, probably Uncle Peter, telling him that with the fae, names have power. “I’m Miguel,” he says.

“Lie.”

“Are you trying to tell me your real name is Stiles?”

Stiles runs his tongue across his teeth and considers Derek carefully. “Fair enough,” he says, “Miguel it is.”

Grabbing his groceries and pocketing the change, Derek turns to leave; he’s nearly at the door when Stiles calls out, “By the way, Miguel, if you’re interested, it’s two for one on bags of kibble at the pet store down the street.”

Derek doesn’t look back, doesn’t hesitate, just raises a hand and flips him off on the way out.

[redledger]

texting with a 106 year old man, a discord thread (pt.2) with @epiitaphs​ (pt.1 here)

NAT

She waited on the doorstep, a little soggy from the rain and arms burdened with enough Thai food to feed a family of four. They could always drop some off to Marina in the unlikely event Bucky didn’t finish it. All her kit fit neatly in her rucksack, she travelled incredibly light on tips like this. She lent against the wall, wishing he would hurry the fuck up.

BUCKY

Once he sent the text in reply, Bucky straightened up his closet nest a little - it wouldn't make her stop worrying, but it couldn't hurt. And there was even some food still left in the cupboards. That was also good proof that he was doing fine. Everything settled, he padded over to the door, unlocking it  - and opening it without being told, Liho cradled in his flesh arm. "Welcome home. For a day or two."

NAT

The sight of the two of them was actually pretty adorable. It reminded her of the fake apartment in Novosibirsk. Coming out of the cold and into the even colder home they had shared. It probably felt like a decent chunk of his life, if he remembered if. It was only a fraction of hers, but some of the happiest memories she had ever had. It was enough to be close to another living person then.

She moved inside, pressing a kiss to his cheek and struggling to balance all the food herself till the made it through the hall and into the kitchen. “Is the news still on? Did they have a cause of death?”

BUCKY

The kiss felt like it held the weight of several decades. They'd done that before, then. He remembered some of their time together, but time combined with brainwashing kept those recollections scattered and out of focus. When he doubled down on trying to remember, it usually got better, but now wasn't hte time to get lost in the past. 

He followed her to the kitchen silently, gently petting Liho as he went. "I left it on." He shook his head. "Won't say. Just murder - mysterious causes, looking for perpetrator. They will cast blame soon, but they haven't yet." He held the cat out to her a little once she set the food down. "Say hello to her too."

NAT

She set everything down, immediately confronted by a big black fur all extended in her direction. She switched to Russian, and for a woman who claimed to not want a cat, Nat sounded like she was taking to a baby.

”Oh look at you, what did the mean man do to you? You just want a cuddle don’t you-“

Her arms opened, scooping the mass of fur into her chest and covering the cats head on kisses. She did miss the scrappy thing. And she made a fuss knowing it might make Bucky happy.

“I’ve text a source for more information. Plates? Do you think we need them?”

BUCKY

A quick smile crossed his face as she cooed at the cat, clearly disproving all of her earlier statements about disliking the furry thing. ”The mean man fed her and gave her lots of attention,” he informed her as he looked over the food she’d set down. Getting any of it out of the containers would have to wait her her cue, but it did at least smell good. 

”Careful not to spoil her.” There. A joke to her face. He was having a good day and that was proof. 

“Okay.” Involving more people could be dangerous, but if she had nothing at all, that was worse. “We don’t need them. But it might be helpful. Otherwise you won’t get anything of whatever I’ve chosen.”

NAT

It was welcome, to come home to him in such a good mood. Maybe it was the fact she was back, although more likely the fact he was hungry. She could live with that. The cat squirmed in her arms, wriggling at the smell of food. ”No, that’s not for you my little misery.” 

She set Liho down on the floor, pulling open the drawer to her left with cutlery. “You’re alright. I’ll just take the Pad Thai off the top, the rest is for you.” 

She paused, the reel on the TV catching her attention even though it just released what he said. “Go on, before you combust.”

BUCKY

"She's been very good for me. Maybe if you were around for her." There was no real point in attempting to convince Natasha to stay around. Both of them came and went as they pleased. He imagined she came back when he wasn't there, just as he stayed around mostly in her absence.

"Okay." That was good. He glanced over the bags she'd set down, calculating. Despite her accusations, he'd eaten while she was gone, but something like this would shore him up well for the future and for his current hunger. He assumed it was hunger, at least. Sometimes he wasn't really sure. 

"I took the explosives out of the arm, don't worry," he told her. For him, it felt like a joke, though sometimes those were hit or miss. Still, permission was helpful, even now. He took a couple containers for himself, reaching out for a utensil before going to sit on the floor in front of the TV.

NAT

They switched between Russian and English without delay, it was second nature after all. She handed him the fork, not really looking as her eyes were still glued to the tv. It was only when he sat down that it really registered in Nats brain want has happening. And she wasn’t hungry anyone. 

She missed his joke, missed his teasing. Here in the walls of her flat she could let her brain process, fully. No instead she reached for the bottle of wine and a glass. She hovered behind the breakfast bar in the kitchen, reading the scroll again.

“What we’re you doing? Whilst you were gone?” It couldn’t wait, not even until Bucky had finished eating. There was no stopping her when she was in this mood. “Where did you go?”

BUCKY

He ate, listening to the TV as he did. Chaos, confusion, death. It was, in its own way, old news. The world moved from death to death, from regime to regime, ultimately with more or less the same organizations calling the shot. That said, the fingerprints on this weren't obviously Hydra's. A good reason for them both to be concerned. 

"West Virginia. In the mountains, Point Pleasant area." If he told her, he could keep eating, and she was far enough away that there was no need to worry. "Cleaning up threats." He could tell her. She knew what they'd done to him, better than most. "There was a Chair there, I remembered. So I cleaned up."

And now here he was, back in the relative safety of her apartment, with her cat lurking around the far corner of the couch, waiting for a treat. He tossed a bite of chicken at her, which she ate with satisfaction. "Like I said. My own business."

NAT

“Threats to who?” Nat set the bottle down, swirling the wine in the glass. Finally she left the kitchen, completely forgetting about the food she has set aside and instead taking a seat on the sofa. She didn’t even look at him. She was concentrating on the face, trying to pull it forcibly from the depths of her memory.

“Hydra, not KGB then. Anything connected to this?”

BUCKY

“Me.” Or really - his continued freedom. He watched her approach, but her attention was directed to the TV, rather than him or his diminishing collection of food. “Maybe America, but I’m doing it for me.”

“KGB comes later. Their programming stuck better and lasted longer. Better off waiting. And Hydra presents the most credible threat at the moment because they want me returned or decommissioned.” Over all at least. “This base had a former KGB there. Ossi, not Russian. Started out Stasi, got comfortable with those holding the leash. Can’t remember why he defected.” There seemed to be a decent former Soviet to Hydra pipeline. “Human, though. Died in 2002. Not me.”

NAT

It was good, both seeing him eat and getting this much information from him. She set her glass don on the table, desperately running her hands through her hair as she bent low. None of this made sense, and what she had hoped would be breadcrumbs felt more like a wild goose chase. Another few minutes with the news reporter filling the silence was all she could manage.

“Any connection to the room? Or Madam?” She had to ask. The clarification Bucky wasn’t behind a targeted attack was something, especially given how messy and murky the timelines got. “Ex client? The American or the defector?”

BUCKY

He made use in the pause in her interrogation to keep eating. He considered leaving some of what was still sitting on the table for later, but decided to at least start in on some of it. Couldn't hurt. He was up and back by the time she asked her next question, sitting down quietly for someone his size and with a metal arm. 

"Madame, no. The Room, maybe. He had connections, I think. To many things." Their world was one big web of connections, reaching between every operative, whether they knew it or not. "The defector worked for Hydra, gave them information for me to use. Out of date, but better than nothing." That was parroted, clearly someone else's speech. "The Americans there...they are dead now. C4, controlled blasts. There's always been something funny about the old factory." Difference voice, different person's speech. "They were waiting for orders. Not responsible for Havanna, if that's what you're asking."

NAT

She didn’t pull her head out of her hands. Or move at all really. The cat followed him to food in the hopes of being involved but Natasha was buried in her own confusion.

”Fucking connections” She slipped for a moment back into her mother tongue, just because it angered her so much. She needed to pick over the details he had with a fine tooth comb at some point, as well as maybe scold him for being so reckless. He had always had a good memory, but she isn’t a fly felt him filling the gaps with what other people had said verbatim. “Waiting... four red room clients dead and counting. Always one step behind me. Havana was a message James, they’re not screwing around anymore. Not after the fall.”

Not after she had faced off with someone wearing her own image to play games. “Did you keep anything? Take any papers or hard drives?”

BUCKY

He tossed another bit of meat at the cat once he was seated and everything was arranged around him. She ate it in a flash. Bucky understood.

"Everyone knows someone." That had been true through the ages. He looked over a second. "Eat don't agonize. Hunger slows you down." He'd noticed on his trip back and forth. "Real food." That seemed necessary to emphasize. This was the man who'd taught her. "One step behind requires planning. They are watching. You need to find where from." What sort of surveillance they had set up. "They want you. Just you. Not me. Red Room, yes, but connected to you. Without question." Though he couldn't imagine some rogue faction would say no to having control of the Winter Soldier.

"I took the bus. No papers." He had indeed gone on a Greyhound and then on a hike. Not too much room for extra baggage there. "I have a drive from their computers, though." It was something he'd learned from her, though he wasn't planning on looking through the information at the moment. He didn't feel stable enough for that yet.

NAT

“Look at you, giving orders.” It was enough to crack a smile, even with her hands still firmly planted in her hair. He was right, she should eat. But she sat back, reaching for the glass of wine and finally taking a sip. “I am careful. Every job is vetted, you sweep this place for bugs constantly. I watch my back but they know the training...” 

It was harder to run when your every instinct was clear to someone else. She watched the cat gobble up her scraps eagerly, but she didn’t have the energy to call him out on it. “Will you let me decrypt it? I can take a first look. It might jog my memory, give me something to go off. The fake me... is there anything you remember about her that could help?”

At some point they needed to talk about his instinct for revenge. But not when it was actually coming in handy.

BUCKY

"I was in charge of you once." That's why he could do it. She had once been...not necessarily subordinate. But similar. And he had been in charge of training her. So it felt less wrong to tell her these things. It was simply how to be a good asset to them. "I would have noticed if you had gotten sloppy. If they know the training, then they must be somehow connected to it." It felt like it narrowed things down, a little bit. Not by much, but perhaps enough to find a good guess. "I have different operating procedures if you need modifications."

He nodded. "Yes." He dug in a pocket for a moment, tossing a flash drive to her once he'd found it. Better to keep the evidence close. "Shared data with other Hydra locations and local files as well. From my understanding as I watched it transfer." He hadn't done much of that - had gone off to complete some killings in the meantime.

The fake her. He had to think about that one, finishing a container off as he did. "Favorite." Not his, obviously, given whose apartment he was in. "Trained, but leniently. The only one I was told to avoid killing. Who says there is no favoritism among soviets." More thinking. "Did not stand out, but good at what she did."

NAT

“And you won’t be again. Trust me.” She was teasing, but from her perch it was nice to have some time together. The stress showed in her face and her shoulders but watching him eat was a good reminder her body functioned a little closer to his than she would like to admit. She was hungry, if she thought about it. 

She caught the drive, putting it in her own pocket for safe keeping. She’s get out her laptop once he was asleep and pour over the data, trying to find some kind of loophole she could use.

Natasha stood up, grabbing the container of abandoned pad Thai and a fork. Instead of heading back to the sofa though, she moved to the floor to lean against his side. “Agreed. She got lucky that she caught me off balance. It was definitely a her, you could tell by how she moved.”

She picked a three food with her fork, taking a few mouthfuls to consider his words. “I don’t know how old she was, the techniques were the same but the old masters might still be alive. She moved fast.”

She looked at the cat for a moment, then at him. “Maybe you shouldn’t stay here. If they are after me, I mean. Could be compromised.”

BUCKY

"Could you stop me?" Out of anyone, the answer was probably yes. Well - anyone who didn't have the words. "I don't want to be." No need, no desire. He just wanted to be his own person first. 

She stood, Bucky watching her closely to determine whether she was actually going to eat or get rid of it. He glared at her approach, but didn't strike out. As long as she stuck to her own business, he could manage. Maybe, since clearly he'd stopped eating. The lean was too much -  he nudged her back forward, wanting both arms free. Leaning to the other side, he kept eating once he'd determined that she was too. "Luck will not last forever." He nodded. "Not hard to tell much of the time. Especially not with who made her."

Another shrug. "New, I think. But I don't remember exactly." Another nod. "Some are. Very few, but I think there are two still living for sure." Those he would leave for much later. He couldn't destroy everything from his past, but if they remained a threat by the time he turned his attention to the Red Room more, he would reevaluate. 

He frowned. "Could be. I assume it is, usually. Someone's always watching, even if they don't know it yet themselves." He could go - he had other places he could live. And to call them less comfortable would be soft. "I can go when you do."

NAT

“Bet I could.” Not that she would. She was fine until he pushed her away, her eyes flicking up and down. She face masked any shock or hurt that would have registered. Perfectly neutral, and she shuffled away a little. Wanting to be close to someone and only having him to replicate it with was hard. Maybe she should call Clint once in a while. Maybe she should explain, or ask Bucky to use his words next time. But that was how things were. 

She took another forkful but her heart wasn’t in it. He’d pulled her mind out of it now. “Leave them for me. I’ve got plans. Promise?”

It wasn’t great, the idea of him leaving. Here he had someone to rely on him, even if it was just the cat. A bed he refused to sleep in, weapons dotted around where only he knew to find them. He could build his nest and block the world out, and she could breathe a little easier. 

“Tomorrow night. Your call. I’ll ask Marina to feed the cat if you’re not here. Where will you go?”

BUCKY

"We can spar." That was practice, though. Even if they fought to incapacitation, it wouldn't be the same as actually trying to stop him. Maybe when she was younger - there'd been more of a risk of death then. Or the times he'd tried to kill her. She moved away from him. Good. Just a little longer and he'd be ready to look forward to the two of them sleeping in her bed. 

"Alright. They're yours." As if they weren't discussing men who'd tortured and deserved the worst of tortures. Well - someone else might think that. For Bucky, they had trained well. Worked with him and on him. He'd been there to train the girls, but he had also learned many things that had ended up keeping hiim alive over the years. "Promise." Words meant nothing, but he would stay away.

"I will think it over." He hated choices like this. She was right - he shouldn't be returning even when there wasn't a huge chance this base was compromised. He was a fugitive. He was supposed to keep moving, and yet here he was. With a cat. He shrugged. "Somewhere." DC was destroyed. West Virginia was destroyed, and several others. "Maybe North Africa somewhere. Algeria. Could fit in there. Ouran, Algiers. Somewhere like that. But we'll see."

NAT

“We can, not tonight though.” She was careful not to say no to him when he put out suggestions. Shutting him down felt unfair, like kicking a puppy. He didn’t deserve that. Yet she was still tired tonight, from a long flight and what was sure to be a long week. Once he had his space he seemed a little less tense, and the cat was still sitting expectantly near them both. 

In time, when she had a full grasp of the truth, Natasha would track the old masters down and eliminate them. But there were other pieces of the plan in motion for now. She had no desire to play exterminator till she could be absolutely certain how it would end.

“Somewhere hot might be nice.” She didn’t even have details of where she was headed yet. That was a phone call and an encrypted email away. They were sharks, in their own way. Moving constantly to survive. That was the man she knew, although as his memories filtered back in he seemed to settle more. Maybe that was the American in him resurfacing. “Do you still want to go out to Colney island tomorrow? Up to you.”

BUCKY

“No, of course not. You wanted a quiet night.” With that came a quick grin. “And what would your neighbors think? You come home, you make noise, you leave.” Hardly neighborly. 

“Could be.” There had to be a base in that region. It’d just take memory and stolen files to find it. “Hot and dry.” He’d take that over a jungle any day. “Nights are cold in the desert. But not so bad.” He could see a night sky in front of him for a moment. He’d have to go through those memories to get anywhere. 

He set aside his last container, holding onto the fork for a moment. Because he could. And because she’d asked him a question. “Always making me make a choice, aren’t you.” It got on his nerves but it’d worked. “Sure. Middle of the day during the week and hope it rains.” That felt a little too easy to say. “For crowds, you know.”

NAT

“The neighbours might think I’ve got a man over. Who knows.” Others than Marina, Natasha kept to herself. A small smile here or a hello, just enough not to be a stranger but not enough to give anything away. A loner and a workaholic, even if what her job actually was seemed to escape them. She tossed a pice of chicken at the cat and handed him the container. She was done for now anyways. He clearly needed it more.

“You need help then you let me know. I can take a couple days off.” It might be good, to be in the field together again. To trust him and watch him work when her life wasn’t on the line. She spent too long chasing him down as a ghost, being on his side after over fifty years could be nice.

She smiled again. Small and slight, the corners of her mouth pulled up at his teasing. Someone had to give him a choice. “You got a jacket? I could get the bike out of storage. Or we take the subway.” It had been too long since she did something like that. It was funny, with an extended life how fast time seemed to slip by.

BUCKY

"They know you have me over sometimes." Whether he really counted was questionable, given everything - he was only sort of a person. He wondered what the neighbors said - beyond the eavesdropping he had already done. He stared at the container for a moment before taking it from her. It wasn't snatched back, so he dug in. 

"I will." Maybe. If he thought about it at the time. But she was a good option - he knew how she operated and he knew more or less exactly how much he could trust her. He'd probably also never hear the end of it if she found him doing anything particularly foolish.

"Yeah, I've got one with my stuff." It had occurred to him that he could keep things at her place if he really wanted to, but the thought of having it potentially found if something was compromised made him hesitate to keep anything besides weapons there. "Bike." That was an easy choice. "Subway's fine, but the bike would be nice."

NAT

“You’ve met the neighbours? Actually spoken to them?” If he had, she was shocked. It was decent, actual progress. It wasn’t like she hadn’t briefly had people come and go, but it was rare. Maybe only Clint counted. Even then it had been mostly his space, his place, his things. If there was someone else in the last decade it wasn’t anything in particular.

She watched him take the food, he looked like Liho. Permanently starved. “Your stuff?” He had to have a footprint, it just seemed wild to her. She thought about asking what stuff, or if he wanted to leave it here but that wasn’t really smart given the already present security concerns. “You want the bike then we take the bike.” She shuffled backwards, letting her back rest against the wall. She considered scooping the cat but it didn’t feel fair when the chance of food was still present. Liho got the privilege of sharing his meal, which Nat hadn’t earned. “I’ll get up early and head to the locker to get things sorted then.”

BUCKY

"Three times. And if they can see or hear anything, they know." Old people gossiped. He was pretty sure at least. Something told him that, at least. Probably a memory - though from when he had no idea. "Not for long, though." Bucky didn't really talk to people if he could avoid it. Sometimes it was nice, but so close to where he stayed felt like a risk. 

"I have a cache. And a backpack." A cache which he should probably move in a few weeks. Didn't hurt to be careful, after all. Especially when they seemed to be targeting Natasha. There were too many organizations in their pasts to ever lose the paranoia that clung to him. "Good. I want to see it, make sure it's a good one." Not that he didn't trust her, but Bucky was remembering amount of mechanical knowledge beyond how to do repairs on his arm. "Okay. You don't have to leave too early, though." He'd missed her, even if he hadn't yet admitted it. Maybe he would.

NAT

“Wow, and I keep making fun of you for being a shut in. You should have told me you’re turning into a social butterfly.” She watched him, green eyes reading his body. He was like an animal really, so much of him was instinct. “You still hungry?”

“Good.” Assets didn’t have stuff. Agents could drop everything with no warning and move. Leaving a footprint was a sign of real emotions, real connections. A footprint. “Oh it’s a good one. SHIELD don’t pay well but Stark loves to impress for birthday gifts. Apparently this was for my 30th.” That was what it said on file, anyways.

He was almost sweet as he said it. Almost kind. “Earlier we go, less people there will be. Don’t you want that?”

BUCKY

“Didn’t want you to lose a source of fun.” He tensed without tensing  when she asked, only his eyes moving to look down at the now empty container. Well - one more bite for Liho, which he tossed for the cat. “No. I’m good now.” He set aside the container, scooting a bit closer to her. 

He shrugged. “Weapons, mostly. Got no one just handing them over anymore.” And who knew exactly what he’d need next. “He should know, then. About motorcycles. Or at least machines.” He didn’t trust Stark but that seemed in the man’s wheelhouse. “How many 30th’s have you had?”

He shrugged, hearing the plates in his arm flutter. “I do. But you wanted rest.”

NAT

“There’s plenty of other things for me to make fun of, don’t you worry.” The second he inched close it was invitation enough. She loses the gap, settling on the side of his human shoulder and threading her fingers through his. She squeezed his hand just to check in, more for her benefit than his. “We should stop feeding her human food. It’s bound to be bad for her.”

They were both raised when animals got scraps from whatever was left on the table, but there was probably science to say half of it was toxic by now. Liho wasn’t super, like them.

“Anything fun? Anything normal?” So having stuff wasn’t necessarily a good thing. “You saying I don’t have taste? And asking how old I am? Did no one ever teach you manners?”

She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles, they very fake outrage in her voice matched with a smile. “A few. You missed a good one, in the eighties I had a gorgeous surprise party in Paris...” 

It had all been fake, obviously. The target needed an excuse to get her alone and as his live-in girlfriend it was the right move. But the cake was beautiful, and the champagne tasted good even if the tipsy act had been irritating.

“We’ll see how late we sleep and go from there.”

BUCKY

“I guess I’ll find out.” No worries there. She talked to him like he was another person - pretty much always had. She took the cue, moving closer herself and leaning on him. He squeezed back, remembering to be gentle. “I don’t do it often.” Which was probably telling of what he subsisted on when she was away. “But I can stop.” 

He could. He’d just have to find another way to spoil her. And persuade Liho that he wasn’t betraying her. 

 He was pretty sure weapons were normal. “Some clothes.” He wore layers, but his bag could also only hold so much.

“I am. Too practical.” Not that it was a bad thing when it came to vehicles, but in this case, it was nice to have fun. “I’m older, it’s okay.” He shook his head, punting a memory down the road. “No, wasn’t protocol.”

“Sounds like a good time.” Who knew what he was doing at that time. “Might’ve been in the freezer then.” Like ice cream, his brain provided. 

A nod. “A good plan.” Bucky was hopeful he’d get decent sleep, but he wasn’t capable of sleeping too long.

NAT

“She probably deserves it. Not like she was eating healthy before she found me.” That was important. Nat might have taken the poor scrap in but really it was Liho who should get the credit. Not just for making her life a little less lonely, but for making Bucky stick around too. 

“You could leave clothes here if you wanted.” It was nice to put the offer out there, maybe he’d take it if he ever felt ready. She laughed at his jab at her taste. “I’m practical because half of them get wrecked- Steve is a fucker for it. There’s no way a nice bike like this one is seeing any kind of Avengers duty.”

It was flashy. Bright red, more of a statement than a vehicle. But Stark liked his extravagance. “Come on. What about your family? Your Mom never tell you how to talk to a lady?”

Not that she was much of a lady, she just wanted to hear him talk. Natasha Romanoff was a weapon at best.

She nodded against his shoulder, tapping the floor with her free hand in hopes of coaxing the cat to join them.

BUCKY

“She does.” He firmly believed it, too, maybe seeing a little bit of himself in Liho from time to time. “If she’s eating, it means I’m eating too. You, I don’t know.” He’d seen how much was left in that container. 

“I could.” He’d have to think about which ones would seem normal or at least less suspicious of anyone ever looked through her place. A bit of a laugh. He squinted off across the room for a minute. “I think he’s been like that for a long time. And add in all of the Avengers, it will be worse.” He didn’t hate them - hatred was still an emotion he wasn’t sure how to tap into consistently - but he didn’t trust them. 

“Yeah, she did.” For a moment, his original accent stuck. “Too bad they burned all of that out.” He wished he could remember her better, but those memories were scrambled and painful. “Not sure I’d call you a lady like this, though.”

He watched Liho as she considered joining them. “Call her. That might help.”

NAT

“Long day, longer flight. That’s all, promise.” She didn’t eat enough, and sometimes wine counted as a food group. Not that she could be considered an alcoholic given the lack of side effects. Tonight she was simply distracted, but she’d make an effort tomorrow morning when they stopped somewhere. Pancakes at a diner, so he could devour a whole stack if he wanted. Maybe she should cook, she did know how. It was just that leaving again the day after made it feel a little useless. 

She read his squint, knowing that look. She loved her team, or what was her team. She missed them even if she was too jaded to admit it. Being on the outside was her resting state, but having people to have faith in and work beside... it was a nice change. She didn’t trust them, but that was her own issue. She didn’t trust anyone. Maybe worth the exception of the man on her arm.

“They egg each other on. Too much testosterone in one room sometimes. You’d like Thor, he’s a sweetheart. Very easy to mess with.” Nat shoved him a little for his remark. “It’s been too long since you’ve seen me in a dress, you need a reminder of how well I scrub up. You should call her, she likes you more.”

BUCKY

"Okay." He wasn't sure he believed that. What did either of them promising anything mean? Bucky could be ordered to tell the truth, but she couldn't. Not as easily, at least. "I know you can go a long time without it, but might as well stock up before it's a problem." Not that he thought she was heading for anything like that, but you really never knew. 

"It was like that in the war," he said. He was pretty sure at least. "Especially after Steve got there." That was after the experiments. A lot of that time was a little blurry and he wasn't sure how much he'd get back. "I remember the team a little." Moments, flashes, lunacy. 

"Sounds right up my alley. He's the alien. I want to know about that." What space was like, what he though about earth and other plants. What sort of things they had on his planet. Bucky smiled at the push. "You'll have to scrub up, then. Get fancy, make it look like you're slumming it with me." She did, but that was because he was around more. "Liho, come join us."

NAT

“I don’t work like you. All that food, I’d feel stuffed. Little and often is more my style.” That wasn’t a lie. She was a grazer by nature. It was less conspicuous. “I was thinking about breakfast on the road tomorrow, and then you can lecture me on how coffee isn’t a meal. How does that sound?”

She would make an effort, because it was better than giving him something else to worry about. She got up for a moment, slinking away from him to the breakfast bar to grab the spare wine glass and the bottle- and then her own from the coffee table. She poured one for him, curling back up against his side with tired eyes. Then Natasha extended it for him to take. It was good wine. Fruity and full bodied.

“What do you remember?” She didn’t have to keep pushing, but it was nice to hear there was a happy past somewhere. He had a family and a life before the war, something she had always wanted. She could share his memories like they were her own.

 “You’ll have to ask him sometime.” She hadn’t really quizzed the god of thunder, but if she was ever allowed to see them again then she would make an effort even if it was just to report back. “He speaks like a Shakespearean villain, so dramatic. Good texter though. Drives the others mad.”

Her friends. Or at least as close as she could get. “Next time I’ve got an event you could be my date. Have everyone jealous to have me on your arm.” It was a fantasy. One she would have liked if it had been reality. Instead he got here her, in unguarded moments. There was some kind of silver lining in that. She wasn’t performing, just at a resting state. The cat finally made a small noise, padding over with only her claws making noise on the hard wood floor and immediately purring as she clambered into his lap.

BUCKY

"Hm. You still need to eat at all, though." Wine wasn't a meal, but maybe that was just Bucky's need for a lot of sustenance to keep going talking. "Little doesn't mean nothing." He didn't need to push the issue. She was capable of taking care of herself. "Coffee is not a meal. I can tell you that now." But he shrugged. "That sounds nice."

Wine would not do anything to him. He knew this from before, he thought. Maybe not because of wine, but for some other reason. He took the glass from her when it was offered, her pressed up against his side. Something like this was not a meal - no need to protect it from her. 

He shrugged the shoulder she wasn't leaning against. "We fought in woods and fields and mud. A lot of mud. We'd scrape it off of everything. Throw it at each other until you got tackled. And then more muddy. It was one of those things - we knew we were wasting energy, but we needed something or we'd lose our minds." It was all jumbled together, but it was fairly linear. 

"You think I'll meet him?" It seemed like a big step when he already couldn't quite talk to Steve. Who he had known once. Warming up to Natasha had taken some time too. He didn't know how he'd approach a true stranger, much less an alien. "I wonder why he does." Maybe he had a translator device. That was from a radio drama, he thought. "How come? Because he knows how to text?"

A quick flash of a smile. "Metal or flesh?" They'd never get to that point. He was a fugitive from multiple governments, multiple agencies. Bucky didn't think he'd find internal or external peace for a long time. Maybe he never would. The cat listened to him - a victory. "See? You should come home more often. She thinks I'm the one who lives here." He petted the cat carefully, switching the wineglass to his metal hand.

NAT

“Alright doc, any other health advice for me?” It rolled off her tongue instantly, but not defensively. “I’ll have some biscuits from the cupboard or something if you’ve left me any. Does that sound fair?”

She noticed there was far less of a reaction this time, less of a drive to protect. Maybe it was because he was full, or he read that she was no real threat. Nat closed her eyes to listen to him, a soft smile spreading across her face. He had mud, where she had only known the bitter winters of war. The way Bucky spoke made it seem like the mythical good old days people referred to. The brotherhood and camaraderie that she had never fully known.

“If you want.” The chance was almost none. Not without a small miracle, yet it was no harm to anyone to pretend. “He’s dramatic. Good heart though, always means well. He send paragraphs, huge long statements of intent and it drives Tony mad. Someone might have told him it’s rude not to state the time and date at the start- oh and of course sign off.” She laughed, fully proud of herself.

She set her glass down to her left to wrap her arm under the one she was leaning on. Looping it lightly as he stroked the cat. “This one. Metal one is too stiff. Does it still hurt?” 

He didn’t have to say it. It was clear, both in how he held himself when no one was looking and how he slept. When he wasn’t in a blanket nest in the hall closet. “Yeah, I know.” It was the first time she fully conceded the point. But how was there a way to tell him this still didn’t feel like home? She was on the outs with the Avengers, her identity was known and she had a lot to answer for. Especially to Steve. 

She didn’t open her eyes but let out a heavy sigh. “If I know you’re here it’s more likely. I’ve not exactly got friends in New York right now.”

BUCKY

“Breakfast is healthy.” If she wanted to make fun of his suggestions, he could do the same. He considered. “That is okay.” Probably. She wouldn’t each much and since he had a base he could get more food. She had picked up food for him today. This was a fair exchange. “There is good in the cupboard by the refrigerator. The cat food is under the sink. Your choice.” A joke. 

She relaxed into him more fully, closing her eyes in his presence in a way that no one had dared do in a very long time. Maybe the last time had been her. 

He didn’t want things like that. He barely knew which brand of food he wanted over another. “Maybe.” Probably not. But he didn’t want to disappoint her. “He sounds like a nice friend for you. Not normal, but at least he’s nice.” A quick huff of a laugh. “Of course. A good protocol you designed.” It had to be her, if it annoyed the other ones. And if she was actually laughing like that. 

She got even closer, touch light. Escapable. The cat settled into his lap, purring almost imperceptibly. The metal one was an amazing piece of engineering, he’d been told. But it wasn’t really his. “Nothing above baseline. It’s stable.” There were some slightly damaged plates, and he was often on the edge of the weight of it causing problems. But today it hurt no more than usual. 

“I thought you might.” They’d talked about this before, and she wasn’t a fool. She sighed, air currents playing over his arm. “I can tell you when I’m here.” Right, yes, she’d blown every cover on record. “I’m a friend. I think, at least. I haven’t tried to kill you for at least a year.”

NAT

“I don’t know who it would be worse for you to take food from, you or little misery down here.” Her time was warm, it wasn’t an accusation. Just an observation. And he was funny, so he earned another soft laugh. It was a welcome distraction when he was funny, a reminder there was a human beneath the pain and hazy memories. 

“I think our definition of normal was broken a long time ago. I’ve been hanging out with men in spandex and robot armour, it’s hardly a good measure.” His maybe was non-communal. She didn’t miss it for a second, shattering her daydream just a little. It was fair for him to be skeptical though, and it wasn’t like she was going to be allowed back in stark tower anytime soon.

“You want me to take a look?” She was indeed tired, but that ball he slept in had to be making things worse. There was hardly much she could do, but she knew enough about the human side of his body. How it carried stress and how to relieve pain if need be.

“You’re a friend James. Definitely a friend.” That much she was certain of. As much as Natasha was attracted to danger, she wouldn’t be curled up on the floor with him like this if there was any doubt. The metallic sound of his arm was oddly soothing. “It’s refreshing, nee level of friendship for us.”

BUCKY

"Me. She cannot tear you from limb to limb." Bucky thought what he might be feeling was some sort of defensiveness. She hadn't taken anything from him, but there was always the possibility that one day she might. She could starve too. 

She laughed a little, though, and he relaxed slightly. "I agree." He couldn't imagine what that could be like. They'd always sent teams with him - normal people. "They stand out a lot more than you do."

He didn't know if he had the energy to want much - his body was still working through the food he'd just eaten. He could let her that close. He knew that. "If you want to." It wasn't a yes or a no, but he set down his glass at his side to pull his shirt off one-handed while trying not to disturb the cat. 

A friend. It was nice of her to think that. He still wasn't sure that was allowed, but it'd be nice. "Thanks." She had tried a little less to kill him. "I guess so. I take care of your cat for you, you make fun of me."

NAT

She hummed softly, knowing he wasn’t joking. He could pull her apart at the seams if he really wanted to. She just had enough trust that he didn’t. 

Natasha shuffled off the wall to get a better look at his back, hands on it the second the shirt was over his head. It had been a long time since she had seen it in real detail, and so many of the scars were new. Of course she knew how brutally cruel his life had been. But she was more than a little grateful he couldn’t read the sadness in her eyes as she surveyed the damage. She started at the base of his spine, digging her thumbs in with a little pressure and slowly, carefully moving them up towards his shoulders. 

It was hard to tell what was metal and what was knots. “If anything hurts, tell me. I mean it.” Once she hit underneath his shoulder blades, she ran her thumbs outwards, just underneath the curve.

“Seems like a fair exchange, although if I’m going to keep feeding you I might have to work a bit more. You eat like a racehorse.” Hopefully he would see that as more teasing and not a reason to stop showing up.

[jarofrebuke-transcripts]

Jar of Rebuke Episode 4 Unofficial Transcript

Season 1 Episode 4: Green Claw

INTRO

The following audio recording is classified documentation for Case [audio distortion] with the Enclosure. Unauthorized access to this information will lead to immediate intervention. Progress further if proper clearance has been given.

JARED

Today sucked. [eating ice cream] It didn't start bad, I mean it actually started pretty good. I have so much ice cream in my freezer, all from the Royal Cow. Anytime I die I eat a whole pint to soothe the stress. This one's butter pecan. I changed into my PJs. I haven't even showered yet. I'm freezing, even with this blanket around me I'm shivering. Ugh, but yeah no, um, it started well, really well. I spent the afternoon with Darius by the river. It's a bit too chilly to go swimming now, but it was nice for a walk and a little picnic. He brought some food that he'd learned to cook in his classes and some apple ale that his dads made, and plenty of water bottles of course. We sat and just talked for a while. He'd picked me up from my place in his truck and drove us out there. He'd seemed a bit nervous for the first portion of the relatively short drive, but he loosened up after we talked a bit more. First about the weather, then about how his folks had been, and then just conversation flowed from one topic to the next. [eats more ice cream] Once by the river we uh, we set up the picnic out on the grass near the water and then we cracked into the food. He made various finger foods for us to eat like pigs in a blanket and fried cheese curds. I have no idea how early he woke up to make all of it but it was all delicious. That and the apple ale was the most soul-pleasing lunch that I could ask for. We sat together and watched the river flow by, shared jokes and stories. It was actually nice to smile that much.

[shivers, eats more ice cream] It was great, you know? Then we packed up the blanket and the food containers and we took it all back to his truck. Then we went for a walk along the river. There's a nice little path through the grass and the trees. Lots of kids bike round there during the warmer months, but we pretty much had it to ourselves the whole walk. The thing about that part of the river though is that there's a creature rumored to lurk in the water that's been known to drag people down into the depths. Usually parents use it as a story to warn, you know, their kids to steer away from the waters and going swimming alone. I've personally never seen anything out there, but I know for a fact that we have files on something living in that water. Darius and I didn't talk about it though. We had a bunch of other things to talk about. [whispered] Oh god. [eats more ice cream] Yeah so we talked about how work’s been for both of us, and also what we've been up to outside of work. Which on my end wasn't exactly much. So he did a good portion of the talking on that front.

We walked pretty close together. He asked a few times if I was chilly and he even offered me his jacket at one point. I had my own jacket on, but it was nice just walking together. I declined his offer but thanked him. But gave him a little playful nudge about how he would also be cold if he gave me his jacket. And I'm so damn cold. But this ice cream is my ritual. So about after an hour of walking he asked if he could ask me something pretty serious. It was a big tone shift in conversation, and I told him sure. Before he could even ask, his phone started ringing in his pocket. It was one of his dads asking him to come home. Some incident on the farm, everything was fine, but they really needed all hands on deck. It sounded pretty urgent. Darius looked a bit annoyed, but I told him that it was okay. He offered to drive me home but his dad had sounded a bit frantic. I told him that I could call someone to come pick me up, I wanted to walk a bit more anyways. We stared at each other for a moment, he even took a step towards me, I wasn't sure what he had planned to do but then he just took off his jacket and wrapped it around me, then jogged back off towards his truck. “Tell to your folks I say hi!” was the last thing I said as I watched him drive off. His jacket smelled really nice.

To be honest I had no idea who I was going to call, but I did want to walk some more so I did. I zipped up his jacket that was a bit too big for me and continued on down the path. He's always worn jackets that are probably about two sizes too big for him. He always seems comfortable but it just made it quite big on me. As I walked along the river, something pulled my attention out over the water. I saw something that looked like hands struggling and some splashing, like someone was trying to get out. Like someone was drowning. So without thinking I ran and threw myself into the water. Like an idiot. I lost another pair of glasses. No one would be swimming this time of year and I knew that there's something out in that river that's inhuman, but I still dove in to save whoever was struggling! Ugh, I literally knew better! But no…

The water was pretty calm, but cold as hell already. It actually stung when I jumped in. It wasn't a hard swim to get out there, to where I'd seen the struggling happening, besides all the layers that I was wearing anyways. But when I got out there I didn't feel anything. I went above the water and looked around and there was nothing to see. I went underwater and felt around again, and nothing. At least for a few moments anyway. I went up above water to take in a breath and enough time had passed for me to realize that again, I'd been duped. Before I could even turn back towards land, I felt something grab my ankle and pull me under. Literally all I could say was “damn it!” before that thing snagged me. Not my first time being yanked into a lake or a river or whatever, but it's still hard to resist breathing in a bunch of water on my way down. The grip of my ankle was tight, like three strong fingers. It felt like it had plush, something almost furry, but definitely a clawed hand. Once fully under the really cold water, I tried to take in what was around me as I struggled, but all I could see in front of me was some green blur with a line of what I assume were sharp teeth smiling at me. That was when I heard a voice come out in a bubbly haze, but in my head I could understand every word that was said to me.

RIVER MONSTER

It's been a while since I've caught anything.

JARED

I.. I don't know how I knew that that's what it said, but I just wanted to get away. I always feel off for days if my body has to reform anything, so being eaten especially sucks. I tried kicking at the grip, but then the hands moved from my ankle to actually hold my arms so that they could... I don't know, so that the creature could look at my face? And then they asked-

RIVER MONSTER

You're not afraid? You don't fight the same way most do. No screams, not even trying to breathe anymore. [evil laugh]

JARED

And then they laughed at me. It was almost worse being laughed at than held under the water, though my lungs did start to hurt from not being able to breathe. I must have sneered or something, I don't know, but I just heard another laugh.

RIVER MONSTER

Do you even know fear?

JARED

That struck me as weird, but uh... it made me think. Like I'm not afraid of death. I'm more afraid of surprise parties and saying the wrong thing in conversation than I am of death. Death sucks, but I've gotten used to it. I struggled more. I got a few good kicks in. I reached up towards the surface, anything that I could do to get free. After my last run-in with the mud mermaids I didn't feel like drowning again. But no matter how much I struggled, I wasn't strong enough. My heart was pounding as I tried to fight the urge to breathe in water. The mocking became less in my focus but it was still there. I still remember how the voice sounded so clear!

RIVER MONSTER

So curious... such determination. Such desperation. Yet no attempted screaming. This isn't your first time, huh? But I've never seen you before.

JARED

I got pulled back down a bit further, as if the creature was trying to take a closer look at me. The closer I got, the blurrier the creature got, which wasn't hard considering you can't see very clearly underwater. At that point, everything was sore and I was feeling lightheaded. I let out the air that I had been holding in since it felt like that my head was gonna burst, and on reflex I almost inhaled a huge gulp of water. But I clamped my mouth shut just in time. But it got really difficult towards the end there. It was so cold, yet so much of me burned because I just wanted to breathe.

RIVER MONSTER

What if I just let go? Would you make it to the surface in time?

JARED

A different kind of teasing, and it sucked nonetheless. Like a cat toying with its prey, and just like a cat that's just how some of these creatures are. Humans have a propensity to know better, but for some of these creatures it's just in their nature. I can't really fault them for that. Besides I was food. I had just hoped that if I was gonna die, at least I'd go unconscious before I became supper. That was about the breaking point, though. My mouth involuntarily opened and my body tried gasping for air. But there was no air. If I thought my lungs had burned before, no. That water made them burn far, far worse. All I remember after that was thrashing and burning and it became impossible to fight anymore and then... nothing.

[eats more ice cream] I don't know if the creature ate anything, but my clothes were pretty much still intact. When I woke up and I didn't see any new scars, so I guess not. I have no idea why the creature didn't just commit. Asshole. I woke up on the riverbank, coughed up a bunch of water when I woke up, and gods! Everything still ached for a bit. It didn't last long, once I got the water out of my system, but it was still very unpleasant. I was freezing because my clothes were still soaking wet, but the most frustrating thing was that since I went downstream, I was even further from home. I must have only been out of commission for an hour or so, considering that no one had found my body and since it was well lit, I assumed that not much time had passed. I’m always scared that someone's gonna find my body before I wake up. Now that would be awkward for me and traumatizing for them. Anyways I got up and started walking along the river. Really just trying to find my phone. After a little while I did eventually find it, still on the edge of the path from where I jumped in. My fingers were so pruney from all that time in the water and I was shivering with all the soaked layers, but I picked up my phone and checked the time. No new messages, no missed calls, nothing besides a very low battery. It's kind of sad. What if I had died, died. When would people even notice? But it was like the universe wanted to give me something. Because then and there I got a text from Darius apologizing for having to leave so quickly. He asked if I'd gotten home but I told him half the truth. Still walking, heading home soon. And before I could call anyone, my phone died. I was trying to figure out who I could come to get me, I went to call Amir, and just then my phone shut off. I felt mocked.

So then I walked all the way home in soaked clothes, and the fall air did not help. I didn't want to be out after dark so I made sure to keep a good pace, shivering and swearing under my breath most of the way home. It may not have been a long drive, but it took me hours to walk home. And now here I am. I still smell the river water, I still have some weird green handprints on my ankle from where the creature first grabbed me, but no new scars. At least none that I've noticed. I tossed the wet clothes into my washing machine and just started my post-death ritual before recording. Getting at the ice cream and wrapping myself in blankets. I don't care if I'm freezing. Ice cream is my ritual, I am sticking to it. My phone is finally charged enough to turn it back on, and um, oh shoot. A few missed messages, all from Darius. He'd asked if I'd found someone to come get me, and then another message of him offering to come get me if I couldn't find anyone, and then another message asking if I'd gotten home, each like an hour apart. Oh man, I worried him. I gotta text him back hold on. “I'm so sorry I'm home. Phone died. Had an amazing time with you today. Hope everything's settled down on your end.”

It would be so nice to be honest, but what would I say? “Hey sorry, I drowned and died and then had to walk home and soaking wet clothes in the cold after my phone also died!” Best case scenario, if he believed me, he'd probably feel so guilty. But more likely than not, he wouldn't believe me. I mean most people just don't, they... they don't just walk off death. It's starting to rain again, so at least I beat that home, I guess. Just a light drizzle but I'm already cold enough as it is. And I know that I should report this incident to the Enclosure. but honestly? I don't really feel like meddling further. That creature was minding their own business anyways, why should I just drive other scientists to the river? I mean if it was so obviously deadly, then Todd would just send me again. I'm not looking forward to a round two. Because of my abilities I actually get most of the orders directly from Todd himself instead of from the higher ups in the lab that I work in, like most of the other scientists do. A bit of a special case, I guess, one that I'm not particularly thrilled about, honestly. But, whatever. It's a stable job, and it's good money, so I don't complain all that much. I might not tell anyone about this. I don't want to deal with all the trouble that I'm gonna have to deal with if I do. Not like Todd would be the most empathetic about the matter, and Dr. Rahal would probably worry more than necessary. I don't think that he really emotionally processes that I come back when I die. Then, of course, I can't really talk to anyone outside of the Enclosure, I guess. I could reach out to Dr. Lomax? They were always a great listener and I don't really see them much anymore. I've been thinking about seeing if they want to meet up and, I don't know, grab a bite to eat, catch up? And I have no clue what their schedule is like anymore. I don't really have friends to spend time with, so maybe I should change that. I'm gonna go finish this ice cream before it melts and then I'm gonna go take a hot shower and get into some warmer clothes. I might call Darius later and see how he's doing, make sure that everything's all right on his end. Also I'm definitely requesting some time off, even a weekend would be nice. I know I've got some paid time off built up, so i'll look into using some of that here soon just to recoup. Not like I've ever really taken a vacation before or anything. I mean all I could really do is just lounge around my house but right now that doesn't sound all that bad. But first, ice cream, then shower. This has been Dr. Jared Hel, signing off.

OUTRO

Jar of Rebuke is written and produced by Casper Oliver, who is also the voice of Dr. Jared Hel. The River Monster was played by Jason Larock. The intro is read by Vanessa Rosengrant, and credits are read by Ashley Craft, who has created the podcast official graphics. Music was created by Luke Menniss, spelled m-e-n-n-i-s-s, who you can find and support on Bandcamp, Spotify and Twitch. Find us on Twitter, Instagram and anywhere else you get your podcast fix for more Jar of Rebuke and also to get updates on upcoming official merch for our show. Support projects by this crew on Patreon to further other queer-lead projects and get neat perks. All donations are appreciated and will grant further clearance to special Jar of Rebuke content. You can also make one-time donations on Ko-fi. And special thanks to our patreon supporters Becky Thompson, Perry Bruns, and Tristan Fraud.