#okay you sent this months ago for teen timeline but that was before we got her in adult so

[ladyintree]

@afraidofchange sent [ WAIT ]:  realizing the receiver is about to leave the room, the sender hastily reaches out and catches their wrist, preventing them from continuing their departure.

It's not like she really knew where to go here,  anyway.   She's worked so hard to push away her wife's insistence on real help and instead,   reverted back to the only way she'd ever been helped before  ---  if that's what she could call it.   Bulldozing her way into Van's life unexpectedly,   showing up at Lottie's compound ready to explore what it was that seemed to help Nat  ---  25 years ago,   she might have laughed at herself,   but now,  somehow it feels like the safer option,  compared to what's waiting for her back at home.   These people know her in a way that no one else possibly could,   because she'd never given anyone else the chance to know her in the same way.   Van,  especially,  has seen her at her worst,   helped her through it even when Tai gave her every reason to turn way,   and she was the onyl one with any real connection to this other side of her   (   even more than Tai herself.  )    

She was here,  she was participating,   but she didn't really know if any of this was helping.  There was comfort in taking a break from her life,   despite knowing her phone was likely blowing up with notifications from her the hospital and her in laws,   her assistant who is now without a car,   the team she abandoned just days after she'd been elected,   and hopefully,  her wife who had made it through.    She needed to get away from all of it,   that perfectly crafted life she built that had started to crumble.   That other part of herself drew her to Van,   and she convinces herself that it hadn't been a conscious effort at all ---  that some other force that she doesn't even believe in had brought them together for a reason. 

She freezes the moment Van grabs her arm and slowly turns back around to look at her.    It's strange,   how easy it is to fall back into place with her,   and yet at the same time,   feel miles apart.   The look in her eyes captures both feelings.   ❝  Let's just---  let's go for a walk,   figure out what's up with this place.  ❞    She's curious,   and she doesn't really want to leave Van just yet anyway.     ❝  I get it,   if you want to leave.  Never wanted you to feel like you had to be here,   but ---  might be fun,   figuring out what the hell Lottie's been up to,  right?  ❞    she suggests in an attempt to get her to want to stay,   at least for a while longer.  

[the-gayest-sky-kid]

@single-use-ship-of-theseus OKAY SO the fic is called i was screaming your name through the radio and it's by ElectricSplatter on ao3. keep in mind that all my rambling is going to be from memory bc its on the long side (256,709 words split between 10 chapters) and the only way i even found and got through it was in a bout of like late night mental illness and i will probably never be able to get through it again dhdjdhdj

cut for spoilers & possible length

anyway i fucking LOVE this fic it may be my favorite bsd fic ever im fucking ABNORMAL about it and by abnormal I mean this was rhe comment i left behind when i finished it at like 1 in the morning

IM SO. NOT OKAY ABOUT IT RIGJT.

so one thing i fucking love about this fic is the way its presented to us. the fic starts six years and eight months after the release of the double black album and the single corruption, with the seventh anniversary approaching. in the present time chuuya finally gets fucking fed up with people asking him about it in interviews and says

“Corruption is insanely overrated, and I would prefer to never hear Dazai’s voice for the rest of my fucking life.”

naturally this fucking BLOWS UP, but we don't get to see that yet. why? BECAUSE THE FIC CUTS TO AUGUST. AUGUST ONE YEAR AND FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THE RELEASE OF CORRUPTION.

FOR MOST OF THE FIC YOU'RE READING FROM TWO SEPERATE SPOTS IN TIME. in fact, the majority of the fic takes place in the past, starting here in august until it finally catches up with the present day. Every chapter tends to begin with a sliver of the present day following chuuyas interview, then cuts back to the past and i fucking LOVW IT SHAKING IT SO HARD RIGHT??? AUGU

so anyway it cuts to like 8 years ago and we switch pov to Dazai. for the entire book the pov switches in the book between chuuya and dazai which is nice. anyway 8 years ago dazai osamu of port mafia records is in a diner watching The Sheep play a bad pop song and HATING every minute of it, because hes been sent out to scout a new talent from them by mori specifically. obviously hes like wow these people suck im not doing that but then someone from the audience requests they play Golden Demon (Kouyou's hit song). shirase is like fuck no ew but chuuyas like c'mon lets do it so shirase sits out and chuuya gets to sing for this one and AIFJG!!!!!!! so he sings his own slower more painful rendition of golden demon and dazai has his 1st homosexual moment™ (of. a LOT) and realizes chuuyas got a LOT of raw talent that could definitely be put to use, which is VERY high praise from him.

and that's part of how chuuya joins PMR and i dont remember much very vividly BUT as the fic goes on you watch how the slowly get closer and closer and do stupid teen things and how they take care of each other from chuuyas nightmares and backstory to dazais own mental illness and aifjfufhgh.

as you read theres the feeling of fucking DREAD bc you KNOW how this ends. you saw the blurb you saw the start of the fic you know they hate each other now. and you know that they'll fall apart soon. eventually. and you just have to WAIT FOR IT AND AICCHDJSJS. PAIN.

and they get like so embarrassingly in love with each other its horrible its great like for dazais birthday chuuya dug up vita sexualis which is a song that moris tried to hide for years and chuuya sang it on stage for him bc he knew dazai would love it and AUFHFD and dazai keeps doing something for chuuyas birthday each year like dragging them on an outing or sending him a wine bottle full of seawater because he loves the ocean....

anyway anwya anyway a big part of the story is dazai and chuuya end up writing thw somg corruption together. thats why the timeline in the fic is framed as ____ years ____ months after/since/before the release of it. corruption is a REALLY big song. as in popular. part of this is the improvised piano solo in the middle of it, the corruption aspect. dazais job is to tell chuuya when to stop the solo. corruption is also HORRIBLE for chuuyas mental health. corruption was the alternative to another song chuuya was initially drafting arahabaki, which was a lot worse at the time. but corruption ultimately hammers in how like. not human he feels he is, how his mother viewed him. this makes chuuyas nightmares worse among other things.

HOWEVER eventually towards the end of the book. well no its revealed earlier but back then you're only concerned about it. so towards the end of the book chuuya finally releases his own solo album. and one of the songs is Arahabaki. the song he said he'd rather die than hear on rhe radio or smth iirc. because he turned it into a song about his realizing his own humanity. and oaidhd

im so tired rn so I'm gonna stop here but shaking you. shaking you

other cool bits

CHUUYA KAJII FRIENDSHIP. !!! chuuya ends up having to join his band the black lizard and they hate each other so fucking much but eventually they find common ground

KOUYOU. SHE IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS CHUUYAS MENTOR AUGH

ODASAKU DOESN'T DIE!!! it still hurts though

RIMBAUD!!!!!!! definitely dies though

teenage skk shenanigans. there are a lot i love them

mori isn't all that bad! him and dazai still have issues but his relationship with chuuya is actually pretty nice.

CHUUYA ELISE FRIENDSHIP!!! CHUUYA KYOUKA FRIENDSHIP!!!! CHUUYA KYOUKA ELISE FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!!!

-

OKAY SERIOUSLY ending it here bc i started this yesterday night and fell asleep in the middle of it 😭 i literally just woke up now augh

[accioharry]

if the world was ending | peter & mj | 1/?

It didn’t take her long to figure out Peter was Spiderman; she had her suspicions ever since the D.C trip. Once she blipped back and learned Peter did too, one of the first things she did was go on the internet to figure out if Spiderman was in New York during the last five years.

There had been no sighting of Spiderman since 2018. From that moment on, she knew she was right.

AU after endgame/far from home. Michelle helps Peter through the aftermath of the end of the world

read here on ao3 | word count: 2k

Michelle always hated unpacking. Her parents hadn’t ‘blipped’ like she did, and over the past five years they kept her room exactly the same –– minus a few boxes here and there. To say she gave them the scare of a lifetime when she appeared into the middle of the living room is an understatement to say the least. She nearly fainted when her parents told her it was 2023 and half the world had blipped alongside her. Her younger brother was in college now, two years ahead of her and even worse…older than her. Was she still in high school? There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered, problems to figure out, and solutions to find. Her family had it lucky compared to others, they never lost their home or their jobs and that was only because the rest of her family was not erased from existence like she was. 

Though her room was the same, she wasn’t. It was her Mom who suggested they use this opportunity to redesign her room, a project Michelle wanted to do, but never got around to.  Some of the things that were packed had been donated, some were put on her new cream-colored walls, or on her new bookshelf in the corner. It felt like a fresh start, and the project gave her something to focus on that she could control. She lost five years of her life, but didn’t age a single minute. Her parents pulled her old laptop from storage, and once it had charged up, all she did was read article after article about events over the past five years. She found herself making a timeline, using sticky notes to mark important events she missed. 

“What is it for?” Her brother asked one day as he helped their Dad put together her new desk, since her old one had been moved into her brother’s room.

“It just…helps,” she shrugged. He didn’t ask about it again. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Midtown High announced the kids who blipped were to restart the school year they were in five years ago, and none of Michelle’s friends were happy about it. To be honest, Michelle wanted to finish school online at first, until she learned majority of the kids she knew, Betty, Ned, Peter, and even Flash, all blipped as well. It would be weird having junior year restart when half the kids were in seventh grade the last time she went to school, but she would have some normalcy back. Her family had done a good job of trying to treat her the same, but sitting next to your suddenly taller and older younger brother gave Michelle a headache every night at dinner.

She wasn’t surprised she hadn’t seen any of her friends since they returned, there was just so much to do, so much to catch up on– things Michelle never would have even thought of. The world hadn’t modernized and in fact was slowly rebuilding from the dystopian society it had fallen into. Every day another apartment that had been boarded up, opened up again for someone who had been displaced during the blip. Michelle hardly recognized any of her neighbors anymore. Her favorite small shops had shut down or were in the process of being built back up. She went on walks around the neighborhood with her family, but seeing all the remains of destruction and rebuilding that was being done, it was too much.

Her parents collected a ton of books over the years, always finding new releases they think she would have liked. Her bookshelf was full of the ones she owned before, but in a stack next to it stood books she read every night when she couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t used to the silence of the city like her family, or the darkness that came when she closed her eyes. There used to be sounds of the city, of cars and people living their lives. She felt like a child that first night, sneaking into her parents’ bed as though she was four years old. The silence was too much for her to handle on her own. They didn’t question it and let her sleep snuggled in between the two of them. When they all woke up that morning and found her brother asleep at the end of the bed with his arm wrapped around Michelle’s foot as though he was terrified she’d turn to dust again, they didn’t question that either. 

It was only a few weeks after that her Mom admitted that her brother, who was in the living room the day Michelle blipped, struggled ever since. Until that conversation, Michelle never thought about how it felt for those left behind, about her then thirteen-year-old brother having to call her parents at work hoping they were still alive after seeing his sister literally turn to dust particles in front of him. She blinked, and he was eighteen and going to NYU in the fall. Before the blip, Michelle hadn’t even thought about what colleges she’d apply to. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The night Peter called her started out on a perfectly normal night. Michelle finished dinner with her family, watched Netflix with her Dad and brother (they were working through The Walking Dead –– Michelle’s favorite show that ended after she blipped), and had a deep conversation with her Mom while she tried to fall asleep. She felt embarrassed at first for needing a nightlight in her room and her Mom to stay until she fell asleep. 

Just like the first night, her parents never asked questions, and Michelle’s therapist encouraged them to let her take the lead on readjusting to society, meaning her family was in no hurry to see her get a part time job anytime soon, thank goodness. 

Her Mom left shortly after she fell asleep but Michelle had already woken up again. She had her lamp on and was reading quietly when her phone buzzed next to her. Her eyes widened when she saw Peter’s name on the caller ID. She hadn’t heard from him in months…actually, in years.  

“Hello?” She held the phone against her ear as she got up to close her bedroom door softly and flicked on her light as she walked back to sit on her bed. 

She heard sniffling on the other line followed by a broken soft cry, as though the person on the other end was trying to hold it together. Her stomach dropped. “Peter? Are you there?”

“Yeah,” his voice was so quiet, Michelle double checked to make sure her volume was all the way up. She knew he was still in New York; there was a group text for the kids she was “close to” in her grade who blipped as well. Majority of the time they sent memes they missed out on, but Michelle quickly noticed that Peter never replied to anything, not even the dumb memes Ned sent. 

“I…” she trailed off, biting her lip. She had no idea what to say to Peter, what do you say to the boy just lost one of the most important people in his life while fighting the universe’s greatest war, but didn’t know that you knew? 

It didn’t take her long to figure out Peter was Spiderman; she had her suspicions ever since the D.C trip. Once she blipped back and learned Peter did too, one of the first things she did was go on the internet to figure out if Spiderman was in New York during the last five years. 

There had been no sighting of Spiderman since 2018. 

From that moment on, she knew she was right. She just couldn’t tell Peter that now and definitely couldn’t tell him she had a feeling she knew why he was upset. She sat in silence while she waited for him to talk. If there was anything she learned about herself since coming back –– she hated being rushed to talk about her experiences. Her life was boring compared to Peter, who fought against Thanos himself and saw his mentor die in front of him. Yeah, she wasn’t going to rush him. 

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, “I didn’t…Ned is already asleep, and I didn’t want to wake Aunt May.” 

“That’s okay,” she shrugged even though he couldn’t see it. “I guess all of us who blipped aren’t sleeping well,” she knew that from the group chat because it was almost most active at night, a nice distraction from her new fear of the dark. 

“No, we aren’t,” he mumbled. Michelle waited for him to continue and when he didn’t, decided the last thing she wanted to do was make things more awkward. She was curious as to why he called her and not anyone else, but again, not a question she could bring up easily. 

“Is there anything specific you wanted to talk about?” She pondered, “or do you just want to hear someone talk about something that isn’t…you know,” she trailed off. 

Peter seemed to understand where she was going with her sentence. He went quiet for a moment. “What are you reading right now?” 

She laughed softly, rolling onto her stomach to grab the book she was reading, flipping through the pages. “How did you know I was reading?”

“You had a different library book every week, I figured you have a lot to catch up on now,” she swore she heard a little chuckle in his voice. The thought made her warm inside.

“Well you’re right and it’s quite interesting, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear me talk about a book, do you?” Teasing him felt like coming home, she forgot how easy their banter was and how much she missed it –– missed him. 

“I do actually, if you don’t mind,” he didn’t have to be in front of her for Michelle to know he was kicking himself for sounding like an awkward pre-teen, but she found it endearing. She always did. 

“I don’t mind one bit,” she flipped to the opening cover and began to summarize what she had read so far, even letting Peter jump in to ask questions. 

The two of them stayed on the phone for over an hour and eventually started talking about “normal” life. It felt completely natural to talk to him. Michelle didn’t bother to hide how thankful she was that Peter didn’t age five years without her. The thought alone made her uncomfortable and she shivered, wishing she hadn’t thought about it in the first place. 

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Are you still there?” Peter’s voice came through the phone. She had turned her light off (but not the nightlight) and put Peter on speaker so she could lie down in bed. She wasn’t tired originally, but suddenly she was exhausted. 

“Yeah, I think I’m going to fall asleep soon…which I don’t like doing anymore,” she admitted. Her filter always went out the window when she was falling asleep.

“We can always talk tomorrow if you want,” she smiled hearing him say that and did her best to ignore the little butterflies floating around in her stomach. Her little crush on Peter could not make its second debut while the world had just started to rebuild itself for crying out loud. 

“I’d like that,” she said, snuggling further into her blankets. “Peter? Do you think…you could stay on the phone until I fall asleep?” She pulled the blankets over her head, as though she was afraid to hear his answer. “I can’t…I don’t like falling asleep anymore.”

“Of course,” he didn’t hesitate. “I can talk about Star Wars for hours, you know that.”

“Ugh,” she laughed. “Go for it, I’ll fall asleep right away.”

She heard Peter make a sound of mock offense and shock before he began his long speech about the plot of Star Wars in full, and Michelle fell asleep just as he was telling her all about Luke Skywalker finding out about his real father.  

The next morning, she woke to a text from Peter, asking if she wanted to meet him for coffee. 

She said yes.  

[gumnut-logic]

We’ll Be Home For Christmas 3.4

Title: We’ll be home for Christmas

Day Three - If not for the courage of the fearless crew – Part 4

Prologue | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3

Author: Gumnut

29 Dec 2019 - 4 Jan 2020

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: The boys can’t fly home for Christmas, so they have to find another way.

Word count: 4342

Spoilers & warnings: language and so, so much fluff. Science!Gordon. Artist!Virgil, Minor various ships, mostly background.

Timeline: Christmas Season 3, I have also kinda ignored the main storyline of Season 3. The boys needed a break, so I gave them one. Post season 3B, before Season 3C cos we haven’t seen it yet.

Author’s note: For @scattergraph. This is my 2019 TAG Secret Santa fic :D I hope you enjoy it.

I’m probably posting this before it is ready and I’m not happy with the ending so may change where it ends when I start writing the next part, but I really need a little cheering up today, so here be the next 4000-odd words of this fic. I hope you enjoy them :D

Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for cheering me on and their wonderful support through this craziness. And to @onereyofstarlight for geeking out with me over the setting.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

They stashed their luggage in the hostel, a large white and wooden building that had obviously seen many residents over the years, but was well loved and maintained.

Melissa gave them a quick tour of the compound. It consisted of series of buildings similar to the hostel but of varying sizes over looking the ocean and the adjacent Oneraki Beach. The island was basically a triangle with the encampment on the north facing side high up on Fleetwood Bluff. There was something about a Flagstaff but Virgil missed it...mainly due to the conversation Gordon and Sam were laughing over behind him.

Whatever it was called, the view was magnificent. Far below in the bay, A Little Lightning was a small white smudge on the blue of the Pacific.

Melissa ran them through the rules of conduct on the island. No one was to venture anywhere on the island outside the compound unaccompanied by a DOC employee. Please keep your luggage inside the hostel. All life is protected on the island and in the waters. It was illegal to damage or remove anything. No littering. The list went on.

It was a long one.

Apart from being a cetacean biologist and a loud talker, Sam was also apparently the resident cook on the island. Melissa put no claim to any culinary skills, so had left it to Sam.

The man had baked a cake.

A Christmas cake.

In their isolation on the boat, despite their aim to be home for Christmas, Virgil had forgotten it was the day before Christmas Eve. December twenty-three.

It wasn’t the first time he had forgotten Christmas. Three years ago he had spent Christmas dragging survivors off the Amazon flood plain when the river engulfed an entire city. Christmas had been obliterated. As had the two months after due to the damn fever he had caught from those flood waters. It hadn’t been a great start to the year.

But this year it was different. They were on vacation. A forced vacation, but a vacation nonetheless, of which the whole purpose was to get home in time for Christmas. Yet the decorations and the tree in the corner of the communal hall had taken him by surprise.

The cake was very nice. He had to hold Alan back from grabbing seconds. But it got him thinking about the day after next and what they would be doing as a family.

“He sang to the whales?!”

Virgil jumped at Sam’s exclamation somewhere behind him.

“Yeah, he did. You should have heard it. It was incredible.” Virgil’s eyes widened at the pride in Gordon’s voice.

“They didn’t pay any attention, though, did they? All previous attempts have failed.”

“Ho, Sam, I have to show you the recordings. They responded alright. Virg may not speak whale, but he knows how to speak emotion. Mamma whale definitely understood something.”

Virgil buried his face in his coffee. The experience was still raw. He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about it and it was inevitable that he would be asked.

“What did he use?” And the conversation dropped to normal levels. Virgil’s name was mentioned several times along with John’s. Sam was eager and excited.

Virgil felt dread.

“You okay, bro?” Alan was frowning at him while hoovering the second piece of cake Virgil had already told him he couldn’t have.

Why did he bother?

“So I guess we’ll be hauling in extra food supplies for these people after you’ve finished with them.”

“It was one piece of cake.”

“It’s the only cake, Alan.”

His brother’s eyes widened in realisation. “Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

“I’ll bring them something before New Years.”

“Yes, you will.”

“Or maybe Scott can. He might want to visit.”

“What? Why?” But Alan was gesturing with his head in the direction of their eldest brother.

Deep in conversation with Melissa Fisher.

Virgil raised an eyebrow.

-o-o-o-

“So by claiming for twenty one instead of twenty volunteers we get just that extra bit of funding.”

“Clever move.” Scott had finished his cake and was drinking tea. Virgil had shot him an incredulous look when he asked for it, but if there was one thing Scott remembered about this place, it was the herbal tea. Melissa knew how to brew a great drink...even if she had to threaten him and his father to try it the first time.

“Are you still using Jack Dunning?”

“Oh, yes, the man is brilliant. And he does all our work pro bono which saves us so much. Thank you for the recommendation.”

Scott was not going to mention one Gordon Tracy jumping up and down in front of him one afternoon several years ago. His aquanaut brother had been apoplectic and at the end of a very sharp conversation, Scott had been more than willing to call in their lawyers to act on behalf of the DOC Kermadec Expedition. The fishery megacorporation challenging the validity of the Sanctuary hadn’t known what hit them.

And if Scott wanted Jack to send him all the bills, that was his prerogative. Melissa didn’t have to know everything.

“So how is Virgil?” It was a quiet question as she picked up her own cup of tea.

He eyed her a moment. He was well aware of her attraction to his brother. Gordon had made a point of stirring Virgil until his quiet brother had clapped him around the ears.

“He’s recovering. I’ll be happier when he is home.”

She eyed him as if considering whether she should breach a topic or not. Something flickered in her eyes. “How goes Tracy Island? Is the regrowth flourishing as we hoped?”

He thought back at the tracts of native vegetation his father had planted all those years ago, mostly on the other side of the island, though some covered scars from the IR excavations.The pōhutukawa and palm trees seemed to be okay, but his mind was usually on other things when he ran past them.

He shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t know. You could ask Gordon?”

She peered closer at him. “Are you okay?”

He straightened where he sat. “I’m good.” He stretched. “Got any recommendations for a good place to run? Need to stretch my legs.”

She swallowed the last of her drink. “I can show you.”

“No need, just point me in the right direction and I’ll find my way.”

A snort. “You’re not on Tracy Island, Commander. No visitors go unaccompanied on Raoul, remember. You’ve got a choice between me and Sam.” A smirk. “And you won’t get much distance out of him unless you prefer swimming.”

Internally he groaned. He had been looking forward to time alone.

“I can show you around the crater rim. You’ll get a great workout.”

The thought of finding the physical relief was just too tempting. The hike up the hill had been a teaser and he wanted more. He sculled the last of his tea. “Fine. Lead the way.” He hoped she could keep up.

Her smile was a challenge in itself. “I’ll go grab my running gear. Meet you out front in ten.”

“FAB.”

-o-o-o-

Gordon watched as Scott stood up, brushed past Virgil and said something, before following Mel out the door.

“Do you think Virgil would be willing to talk about his experience?”

Gordon glanced at Sam and then eyed his brother. His linen shirt was tight across his shoulders as the man hunched over his coffee. “I don’t know.”

“Can you ask?” Sam was all eagerness. It was understandable. The surfer had made cetaceans his life’s work and this was a fantastic opportunity.

A sucked in breath. “Leave it with me, I’ll see what I can do.”

-o-o-o-

John, drink in hand, had taken the opportunity to find himself a vantage point on the cliff. The island was very quiet, even quieter than Tracy Island was at times and considerably bigger.

He appreciated the solitude.

Of course, the boat hadn’t exactly been loud or even crowded. He truly enjoyed the time with his brothers. But it was nice to step away, even if only for a little time.

He parked himself in the long grass at the edge of the bluff and stared out into the blue of the Pacific.

An idle thought.

“Eos?”

“Hello, John.”

“Hello, Eos. Status?”

“All emergency calls are being fielded by the appropriate agencies. Mr Lemaire has entombed himself in ice at the South Pole in an attempt to locate Santa Claus. I have advised the GDF. He is safe and secure for the moment.”

John’s thoughts locked up for a second. “The South Pole? Santa Claus lives in the North Pole.”

“Ignoring the fact that Santa Claus is a myth, Mr Lemaire claimed that ‘the North Pole is an ocean and only an idiot would build a house on an ice floe that melts every summer, therefore he must be hidden at the South Pole.’ He planned to be the first human to interview the father of Christmas and used a specialised drilling machine to dig into the ice...which promptly collapsed on him twenty metres down.”

John sighed. “You are sure he is safe?”

“Colonel Casey has sent a specialist team. He and his wife have enough survival supplies to make it through to New Years if necessary.”

“Monitor the situation. Call us in only if there is no alternative.” A trip to the South Pole was something they did not need.

“FAB, John.”

“And how are you?”

“I am functioning well.”

“Do you have any results from the problem I set you?”

“I have analysed three thousand two hundred and twenty-three recordings of humpback whale communications. Unfortunately, many of the recordings are missing the lower frequencies as the equipment used was not sufficient. I do have some translation possibilities, however I am still calculating multiple variables and am hesitant to postulate a theory.”

He had expected as much. She had only been working on it for a few hours. “Are you enjoying the work?” To be honest, he wasn’t expecting a positive result. It did, however, keep a bored AI occupied.

“It is very interesting. Virgil’s response shows no pattern relative to the language he was attempting to respond to, yet he received a result.”

“I suspect there is an element of synergy in the language that enables it to become more than a sum of its parts. Perhaps that is what Virgil was able to tap into.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, John.”

John sucked in a breath. “You are a computer program, yet you are more than lines of code, you are a person. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps this language is a step beyond simple complexity. Perhaps the elements combined create a new level of communication? One that is not entirely on the conscious level.”

His daughter was silent for a moment. “How does interpretation differ between the human conscious and subconscious? The literature claims a lack of cognitive recognition of events created or observed subconsciously. How could Virgil create something he is not aware of?”

“There is much we do not yet understand. The human subconscious is well known for gathering multiple observed factors and combining them into instinct, all without conscious control. Perhaps you should explore that region of research?” Come to think of it, Virgil’s instincts in the field were very sharp. There were multiple examples of his brother acting against orders and ultimately saving lives that otherwise would have been lost, including those of his brothers.

“I will, John, thank you.”

“You are welcome.” His lips curled into a smile. “Enjoy yourself.”

-o-o-o-

It was amazing to finally get his feet moving.

Scott’s shoes pounded volcanic dust and rock so familiar it was almost as if he was home. A regular thud-thud-thud, the sea breeze, the rock, the vegetation...energy flowed through him and was used, muscles firing, skin tingling in the afternoon air. God, it was so good to get out.

Melissa said nothing to him beyond directing which path to take. She had removed her DOC uniform, reducing her clothing to a tight crop top, shorts and running shoes, and if he was honest, he had to admit he was appreciating the view.

The woman was all slim muscle. Tight waist, lightly browned skin. Her pale hair bounced behind her in a hastily tied ponytail and he found himself following it as she leapt from path to rock and over logs.

She had no trouble keeping up. In fact, it was more the other way around. He had to work to keep up with her, despite the difference in stride. She knew exactly where she was going and she was offering no handicap.

They pushed up a steep incline for some time. She had taken them off the main track and deep into the forest. Birds sung all around and the wind rustled through the blossoming trees. The pōhutukawa were in their brilliant crimson Christmas flowers, festooning the island as if to decorate for the season.

Grandma loved the pōhutukawa trees on Tracy Island and was in fact the only reason he knew the name of the plant. She cut flowers every year for their Christmas table to acknowledge the beautiful piece of land they lived on.

They reminded him of home.

This whole island reminded him of home.

Melissa ran around a particularly large tree and he followed only to come to a screeching halt as the path suddenly changed direction. A huge crater appeared in front of him.

Melissa was running on the spot. She nodded down at the lake at the bottom of the volcanic bowl. “Blue Lake.”

And it was.

A stunning, almost unnatural cobalt blue. He stared down at it, panting from his exertions. His thin grey tank top clung to his sweaty body.

She grinned at him before darting off along the crater rim.

Hmmm. An indrawn breath and he took off after her.

The crater wasn’t massive on a volcanic scale, but it was impressive nonetheless. The late afternoon sun shadowed the mountain, emphasising the extremes of the landscape.

“The far lake is Green Lake.” Melissa had stopped and was running on the spot again. A fine sheen of perspiration glistened on her skin.

He did know the geography, he had flown over the island often enough, but this perspective was considerably different. “It’s beautiful.” Not unlike its caretaker.

The random thought shook him out of contemplation and forced himself to look out at the smaller green lake in the distance.

Where the hell had that come from? A sideways glance in her direction and he found her gaze caught on the spectacle before them, her love for the island obvious.

Well, he had to admit that he did have his own island love. Just not this island.

“C’mon, slow poke, let’s up the pace.” And she darted off into the forest again.

Really?

Thighs pumping, he followed her under the trees, down the slope a little before he found himself climbing again.

She called back to him from several metres in front. “Got a full body workout coming up. I hope you’re up to it.” Her grin bounced down the mountain and off his head.

She was challenging him? Well, he had been known to hang off rocket ships and climb vertical cliff faces. Bring it on.

She did.

The path dissolved. There was no other real word for it. It became a mass of black jagged volcanic rocks, interspersed with tree regrowth.

“This was dumped here last time Virgil yanked us off the Island.” Her words were interspersed with harsh breathing as she clambered over the obstacle. As he climbed the crater once again came into view and the scar in the side of the mountain became clear.

Wow.

There was a swath of dead forest dotted with regrowth. He remembered Virgil’s report. The footage had involved billowing smoke and steam, but his brother had confined most of his readings to the encampment, his concern more for the lives endangered than any geological happenings. Brains had taken readings and read GeoNet’s reports as he did for any activity on the Kermadec Ridge, but he had reported it small and unremarkable.

Looked far more remarkable in person.

Melissa reached the top of the pile of rock and finally stopped.

He was grateful. The woman knew how to push it. He clambered up the last few and stood next to her.

The view was magnificent.

“She risks our lives, but I have to say she is beautiful.” Her love was there again, in her eyes. It was a similar expression to what he saw on Gordon’s face when he stared out across the ocean.

“You love this island, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

She turned to stare at him and he realised that her eyes were a startling multicoloured grey. “I love this place. It’s mountains, its plants, its ocean, its everything. It is one of the truly saved places on our planet. There aren’t many left.” She shrugged. “I’m just lucky to be able to experience it and contribute my little bit of help.”

He snorted. “Even I know what you are doing is anything but little. You’ve expanded the Sanctuary by hundreds of kilometres since you’ve been here.”

Her gaze turned back to him. “You’ve been reading up on me?”

Half a grin. “I like to know who I am dealing with.”

She arched an eyebrow. “And what did you find, Commander?”

His smile spread. “Someone remarkable.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil hid for the rest of the afternoon. He slunk away to the hostel, found himself a bed and curled up. At some point, he heard a brother open the door to the communal room and another brother, Alan maybe, mutter something, but they went away and he was glad for it.

The wood of the building creaked in the sun and birds squawked almost continually, but despite, or perhaps because of the soundscape, he fell into a much better sleep than he had had the entire week. Deep and complete.

The sun was heading towards the horizon when he woke, yellowing rays cutting across the hostel windows, turning the white paintwork gold.

Gordon was in the room, fossicking through a bag. “G’don?” He blinked and screwed up his face.

“Hey, Virg! Sorry, did I wake you?”

“No. Don’t think so?”

“How are you feeling?”

Virgil rolled over and pushed himself up, sitting on the side of the bed. He rubbed his hands over his face. “Okay, I guess.”

His brother snorted. “I’ll ask you again in half an hour after coffee and brain activation.”

The grunt he sent in the aquanaut’s direction only proved his point.

“Sam is very interested in what you did today.”

Crap. Another grunt.

That earned him a querying look. Virgil had no idea what his brother expected. If a simple question about how he was feeling was a stumbler, the complex concepts involving what had happened earlier in the day were a complete brain frier.

“You up for dinner?” Gordon was suddenly sitting on the bed next to him. When had he moved? “Sam’s dragged out the barbecue. Claims he wants to test the theory of ‘throwing a prawn on the barbie’. Apparently, as an Australian he’s never cooked a shrimp on a barbecue before.” As if to punctuate the statement, the smell of cooking meat wafted in through the window.

Virgil stared at his brother.

“They had to import the shrimp for Christmas.”

The staring continued.

“They’re throwing a party because we’re here and using their Christmas supplies to do it...why the hell are you staring at me like that?”

Virgil didn’t answer him. He just wrapped an arm around him and hugged Gordon to his side.

His brother didn’t resist, but did look at him strangely. “You okay?”

“I’m good.”

Gordon didn’t say anything further and for a moment they sat there together.

Virgil’s stomach rumbled.

Gordon snorted. “C’mon, bro, food awaits.” He slipped Virgil’s hold and, turning around, offered him a hand up.

Without another word, Virgil took it and stood up beside his brother, his hand landing on his shoulder and squeezing.

That earned him another questioning look, but he ignored it.

The grassed central area of the compound had been transformed both by the golden sunlight and the lights strung between the trees. Sam was standing in front of a sizzling barbecue, someone Virgil didn’t know, laughing and holding him close. Alan and John were deep in discussion with another new person. All three of them had drinks in hand. John’s hair flickered about as if it was on fire, the sun catching it as the breeze tossed it around. And Scott...

Virgil stared.

Scott was laughing his ass off.

With Melissa Fisher.

The two of them sat beside each other in a couple of deck chairs. His brother appearing more relaxed than Virgil had seen him in a long time.

“What happened?” It came out without thought.

“They went for a run. Came back friendly as can be. I think Scott may have fallen for her charms.”

Charms? The woman was a handful. Virgil wasn’t afraid to admit he found her a challenge. Her gratitude the last time he had airlifted her and her squad of staff and volunteers off Raoul had been...exuberant.

If Kayo hadn’t escorted her out of his cockpit, he wasn’t sure what he would have done. As it was, Gordon had ribbed him until he cracked and thwapped him one.

But Scott seemed almost enthusiastic. Despite himself, Virgil broke into a grin.

Gordon echoed it. “Yeah, it’s great to finally see him relaxing.”

Quiet. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

Gordon grabbed his arm and nudged him in the direction of a table piled with food and drink. “Let’s get you fuelled up so I can introduce you to Liam and Elspeth.”

Coffee, as always, solved a lot of problems and, hugging his mug like the lifeline it was, Virgil was introduced to Sam’s husband.

Liam turned out to be a meteorologist. Raoul was not only important as a wildlife sanctuary, but also supported this corner of the Pacific’s meteorological station, providing atmospheric readings crucial to both weather and climate studies.

Having no shortage of interest in weather conditions, both as a pilot and a rescue operative who often found himself in the extremes of all kinds of those conditions, Virgil fell into in a very interesting discussion regarding navigating tropical cyclones.

In appearance, Liam was taller than Sam, blond and much more reserved than his husband. Hell, it was almost like someone had grabbed John and Gordon, thrown their physical characteristics in a blender and then assembled Liam and Sam. Liam even had a similar flick of blond hair on his forehead that John had in his red hair.

Almost in contrast, where Liam was pale and tall, Elspeth was dark and petite. Long plaited black hair hung to her waist, her features in shades of sepia. The artist in him was quite drawn to her.

But not as much as his two starbound brothers, because Elspeth was an astronomer. She and Liam had been on the other side of the island earlier in the day collecting readings from the observatory. Something about a rogue object passing through the Solar System. Virgil lost the discussion at some point between the Oort cloud and the orbit of Jupiter. He kept getting distracted by Scott laughing.

Virgil hadn’t heard his brother laugh so freely in a long time. Melissa appeared to be enjoying herself. It was as if a bubble had surrounded them and cut them off from everyone else. Stuck in their own happy little world.

An irrational spark of envy and the inevitable smirk at his brother deploying his well played charms were all completely smothered by the happiness he felt seeing Scott finally relaxing and enjoying himself.

As the evening became night, Virgil continued to hover on the edges of conversation, more Gordon, Sam and Liam than John, Alan and Elspeth. The latter group’s discussion had dissolved into equations and while Virgil loved a good piece of math like any engineer, theoreticals were more than he was willing to think about right at the moment.

The food was delicious and he complimented Sam thoroughly. Liam smiled and waxed poetic about some of the meals his husband had cooked in the past. Sam blushed appropriately red on several occasions, setting Gordon off into ribbing the poor man.

A thumb in Gordon’s direction. “Ignore him, he’s just jealous. There are days on end where we don’t get time to cook a decent meal.”

“You don’t have a cook?” Sam was frowning.

“We have Grandma.” Gordon was smiling ruefully.

“She’s a good cook?”

Virgil cut in. “Grandma is the backbone of International Rescue.”

“Your grandmother works with you?”

“Often, yes.”

“A truly family business.”

“Yes, it is.”

The conversation fell quiet a moment and Virgil took a swig of the beer in his hand.

“So, how did you become a cetacean biologist?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Oh, um, had an encounter, fell in love, now devoted to them forever.”

Liam snorted. “He asked about you and whales, not for our love story.”

His husband shrugged. “Pretty much the same story really. Found myself in dire straits off Waitpinga Beach while surfing, dolphin saved me.”

Gordon had obviously heard the story before. He grinned. “For a surfer, you really are crap at surfing.”

“It’s all about the image, Gordo. You know that.” But Sam was grinning as much as Gordon. “But on a more serious note,” and the grin turned into a mock glare at Virgil’s brother, “she saved my life. It was a big, life changing moment. Been saving the whales ever since.”

“I can understand that.” All the Tracys could understand that.

Sam sparked up, all eagerness and bright eyes. “So, you spoke to a whale today?”

-o-o-o-

End Day Three, Part Four

[bamby0304]

Apple of my Eye- Ch.19

Series Masterlist

Summary: When Sam and Dean were pulled back into their world, you were left behind. Stuck in the hustle bustle of Hollywood life, you have no choice but to play along, leaving almost all of your old life behind. Seven years later, when a rip in time and space opens up, you are finally able to go home… but you don’t go alone.

Warnings: Angst. Fluff.

Bamby

You were officially panicked. Two days had passed and you hadn’t heard from Sam or Dean. Cas was MIA again, and you knew no one else. You had no one’s number. You were alone… well, almost alone.

Standing by your car, you watched as Dakota walked over the school field. Right away she could tell Sam and Dean weren’t back… the fact they weren’t with you was a dead giveaway of course.

“Hey.” You got to your knees in front of her. “So… they’re not back.”

“Have they called?”

“No.”

“Are you worried about them?”

“No,” you lied. “Are you?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Well… I have an idea. How do you feel about a road trip?”

“Where would we go?”

“My home town. Sioux Falls.”

“The place you named me after?”

Humming, you nodded. “Yeah, sweetie. I know people there that might know where Sam and Dean went. Now come on.” You stood and grabbed her hand, leading her to her door. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”

Driving through Sioux Falls was just as it had been all those years ago. You even recognised a few people walking around the streets. It almost felt like time hadn’t passed.

You hadn’t been wrong when you said it would be a long drive. Having packed before hand, you at least didn’t have to worry about wasting time getting her ready, but it was still a five and a half hour long drive. With Dakota, however, you had to stop a few extra times on the way.

By the time you reached Jody’s it was nearly eleven at night, and you felt guilty as all hell. But you had nowhere else to go, and you needed to get Dakota into bed- having her sleep in the backseat wasn’t exactly ideal.

Taking a deep breath, you slipped out of the car and headed into the back. Carefully, you reached in and grabbed Dakota, lifting her out of her seat.

She groaned, waking up. “Mum?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Are we there yet?”

“We’re here,” you answered, holding her close as you closed the door with your hip.

Looking at the house you’d known for most of your life, you started towards the front door. Inside you could see a couple of lights on, but for the most part it was pitch black. Reaching the door, you took another deep breath before giving a few quick knocks.

A moment passed before the door opened, revealing a young brunette woman. She looked from you to Dakota, a little confused. “Hi?”

“Hi… um… hi…” You pulled back to double check that the sheriff's car was in fact parked in the driveway like it had been when you pulled up. “Does, uh… does Jody Mills live here?”

“Alex? Is someone-” Jody cut herself off as she rounded the corner and spotted you. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head as her jaw dropped. “Y/N?”

You gave a nervous smile. “Hi.”

“Wow…” Stepping up to Alex- the girl who’d answered the door- Jody looked from you to Dakota. “Oh… wow.”

“Do you mind?” you asked, gesturing into the house. “It’s been a long drive.”

“Yeah, of course. Of course.” Jody nodded as both women stepped aside so you could walk in.

With a quick nod as thanks, you ducked inside and headed into the living room that was joined to the entrance. You stepped up to the couch and set Dakota down, making sure she was okay before you turned to the two waiting and watching women.

“So,” Jody started. “I’m sorry, it’s just… last I heard you were stuck in some other universe.”

“Wait, what?” Alex looked between the two of you. “Someone mind catching me up here?”

“Right, you two haven’t met,” Jody realised. “Y/N, this is Alex. Alex, this is Y/N… she was a hunter. Is a hunter?” she corrected before shrugging. “Either way, she was accidentally left behind in another world.”

“Almost seven years ago,” you filled in.

Alex’s eyes went wide. “Oh, wow.”

“Yeah.” Jody nodded.

“And that’s?” Alex gestured to your daughter.

“This is my daughter, Dakota,” you answered as she gave a little wave.

“Do you know where De and Sammy are?”

“Sweetie.” Turning to her, you got to your knees and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Why don’t I get you settled in bed and then I’ll talk to Jody?”

“Okay.” She nodded slowly. “I’m really sleepy.”

“I know.” You gave her a small smile before getting to your feet and picking her up. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Jody shook her head. “Of course not. The spare bedroom is the last door on the right.”

“Thank you.” Ducking passed the women, you headed in that direction to get your daughter to bed, knowing that once she was settled you were going to have to answer a lot of questions.

Walking back into the living room, you found Jody and Alex sitting on the lounge, waiting for you. The two fell silent as you entered, watching as you stopped in the doorway.

Shifting on your feet, thumbs tucked into the loops of your jeans, you smiled awkwardly. “So… I guess you have questions.”

“I didn’t even know you were back,” Jody noted. “How long-”

“A couple of months now.”

“How?”

“Jack,” you answered. “He was trying to find Sam and Dean’s mum and ended up finding me instead. Well… he found us.”

“Dakota.”

“Yeah.” You nodded, waiting for the inevitable.

The three of you fell silent, no one willing to say the obvious. You weren’t sure if you were ready to tell people outright, and they weren’t sure if it was a safe question to ask. It was all very fickle and awkward.

Finally, Alex cracked.

“Look, I don’t mean to pry, but Dakota… I can’t be the only one who sees it.”

“She looks like Dean,” Jody filled in. “Like exactly like Dean. And the timeline…”

“Yeah. She’s his,” you answered the unasked question.

“Does he know?” Jody asked carefully.

“He knows. She doesn’t.”

Jody nodded, understanding. “So… I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.”

“No, it’s not.” You rocked on your heels. “I would’ve called first, but-”

“It’s okay, Y/N. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Sam and Dean… they’re missing.”

After explaining as much as you could to Jody, she’d sent you off to bed. As much as you all knew sleep wouldn’t come easily, she also knew you needed to at least get some rest for Dakota’s sake.

Space was minimal, which meant you were bunking with Dakota. You didn’t mind, though. Sharing a bed with her, having her close, it helped ease your worries ever so slightly. At least then you knew she was okay.

A little groan woke you from the half sleep you found yourself in.

“Mummy?”

“Hey.” You smiled down at Dakota, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Morning.”

“I’m hungry,” she grumbled.

You chuckled lightly. “Come on, let’s see what Jody’s got for breakfast.”

Climbing out of bed, the two of you padded out of the room and down the hall, headed for the living room. Rounding the corner to the kitchen and dining room, you found Jody, Alex and another girl- who looked to be in her teens- already up and about.

“Morning.” Jody smiled brightly at you and your daughter. “Toast?”

“Yes please.” You nodded at her as you directed Dakota to the dining table.

Across from where you set here was the teen, watching silently and curiously.

“Oh right, Patience, this is Y/N and Dakota. They’re friends of Sam and Dean,” Jody introduced. “Patience here can, uh…” She glanced at Dakota. “She can see things.”

Reaching into your pocket, you pulled out your phone and turned on an episode of Paw patrol on YouTube before handing it to Dakota. As her eyes stayed glued on the screen, you then handed her some toast, knowing food and TV would keep her distracted.

“You see things that aren’t there, or things that haven’t happened yet?” you asked.

“Haven’t happened yet,” Patience answered.

You nodded. “Seen anything about… the brothers?” You knew saying their names could risk catching Dakota’s attention.

She shook her head in response.

“Hey.” Jody came over to rest her hand on your back comfortingly. “We’re gonna find them.”

“I know.”

“Good.” She smiled at you. “Now come on. Sit down and dig in.” She nodded to one of the spare seats. “There’s plenty of room.”

“Here.” Alex came over and took one of the spare seats as she put two cups of coffee on the table. “Hope that’s how you like it.”

“Thanks.” You slid into the seat beside her.

Dakota continued to nibble on her food and watch your phone’s screen. Patience ate quietly, but listened to every word exchanged. Jody stayed in the kitchen a while longer, fixing up a big batch of toast for everyone. Alex sipped on her coffee and talked away about her job, knowing Jody hung on every word.

With everything going on… going wrong… it was nice. To be sitting at a table, having breakfast, with women who understood you but didn’t define themselves of the drama and chaos of their lives… you felt nice.

For the first time in days, you actually relaxed.

Bamby

[amepcrdue]

Questions about Villainous Muses…

1. What would it have taken to prevent your muse from becoming a villain?

Raph started his late teens as a villain, having been molded by an uncaring environment with parents who dealt more with stately affairs than with him. It taught him not to trust nor care about others and it reflected in every move he made. Amy saving him had changed so much inside him that his heart grew three sizes that day. I think the start of spiraling back into villainy was when he poisoned Lord Dumas because he asked Raphael to send Amy away to an orphanage in order to be officially made his son. Raphael would have done anything for her and murdering the old man was so easy. And it tapped back into that darkness that lived in his heart and left him more susceptible to the influence of the sword. While his mind had to be utterly torn to shreds for his body to become the host for Soul Edge because Raph’s will was too strong, even in death, it was still able to poison his mind and Azwel was able to manipulate Raphael further. Everything from there went downhill. Had Azwel never outed Amy as a non-noble in front of Lord Dumas, Dumas would never have figured out Amy was not Raphael’s biological daughter and Raphael wouldn’t have felt compelled to kill him. He rather liked the old man and everyone in the citadel up until that point. Afterward, the only ones he showed any kindness to, or any regard at all were Amy and the governess Maelys.

2. Despite their villainy, does your muses subscribe to some sort of ethical/honor code that guides their behavior?

I think Raphael, for as heartless and cold as he is when at the peak of his evil, I don’t think he would kill a kid. Even in his destined fight with Talim he says time for your nap, and I choose to believe he incapacitated her, not killing her. I think Amy has a lot to do with that. She was his moral anchor, he strived to be a better person because he had another to care for. But outside of that? He was otherwise utterly reprehensible. 

3. When was the last time your muse cried for someone else’s sake?

I think he was wracked emotionally about never being able to provide Amy with what she needed, and while he cried when he met her, it was more relief that she had helped him survive, so more for his sake than her’s. I think the first time he cried was when he returned home from his fight with Nightmare and after almost a month on death’s door and as his body malfested and his mind further rotted into darkness and madness, his first bit of clarity in that time was realizing Amy was gone and that he had failed her. He wept then for what her uncertain fate was and then the darkness took him completely. 

4. Are there any ethical/moral lines your muse will not cross?

Again, he wouldn’t kill a child, but he would fight them if they tried to stop him (re: Talim). I mean listen, this guy was bent on causing utter chaos and mass death to stop the feuding nobles when he was stuck in his soul edge induced madness. And then he malfested the Romanian Valley of Wallachia out of grief for losing Amy (in my blended timeline, since we aren’t getting malfested Amy in the revised timeline) and had them finish decimating an army that tried to stop him. The man has very few lines he won’t cross.

5. Mun, you could have spent the time and effort you dedicate to your museIf roleplaying as a hero. Why did you decide to roleplay as a villain?

I truly truly love heroes, and anti-heroes too, but when I played MKDA (the konquest mode and later the tower) I thought that Frost was a good guy… and turned she wasn’t, but I’m okay with roleplaying a villain. I mean, it is kind of different from writing a muse with heroical intentions, perhaps my decision is more attached to the fact that I love the character but don’t care much about her moral decisions (and some of them worry me). Part of me enjoys writing her as the villain she is supposed to be in canon, and another part of me wishes for her to settle down and think clearer.

6. If questioned about their evil behavior, what excuse would your muse give to justify it?

He was sick on the idea that he could make a better world if he got rid of the warring nobles, no matter the body count that ensued. He thought he could justify it (a lot of it was also the sword needing more souls but he wouldn’t have realized it at the time). And then later as he wreaked havoc in Wallachia? It was all because he was suffering and inflicting his grief and anguish on those who lived in the valley below him. He spread his sickness. He was their plague. 

7. Does your muse have the potential to be a loving parent? The question addresses their ability to feel a child’s emotional needs, not the muse’s ability to physically procreate.

I MEAN... WE ALREADY KNOW HE IS A DEEPLY DEVOTED DAD SO...

8. If your muse could feel the emotional pain of the people they hurt, would this deter their villainous behavior?

I don’t think he had the capacity to feel much beyond his own suffering. It blinded him to much else. I think there were potentially moments where his humanity would show through, but they were brief, fleeting.  

9. What punishment does the mun think would be justifiable for the muse?

Considering he lost everything 3 times, each as a result of horrendous behavior and each behavior worse than the last... canon did a pretty good job. After SCIV he died and his mind was ripped asunder while his corpse was used as a vessel for the very sword that cursed him in the first place and set his life in ruin all three times (okay, i genuinely believe he was killed by siegfried with soul calibur not soul edge, but soul edge still got him in the end so stay with me). And so reclaiming his body with all the skills he had before but none of the memories except a strong need to find an unknown entity named Amy has been a continual punishment. Made worse as he unravels his own mystery and learns that he was once a good man... and once a very very very terrible one as well. Learning that this was who he was, and the painful flashes of memory and the debilitating pain that rips through his right arm (the one that became the nightmare arm), he continually faces his punishment. Canon really set up some good shit for this and then did nothing with it. And the fact that while his body was being used and going by the name of the man he poisoned all those years ago, Soul Edge had sent constant barrages of assassins after two who rebelled against him, Z.W.E.I. and Viola. Viola who was once Amy but no longer knows who she is either. So like yeah, he’s not having a good time post-resurrection. At all. 

tagged by: stole it from @pxlariis​

tagging: hey baddies do the thing.

[daisyxbuckley]

OKAY So, after being told to post this story I am. I have been OBSESSED with an OC that is  set in The 100 timeline, so I decided to write about it. I will be doing Y/N dabbles but this is something thats been running through my head so here is its. 

It’s going to be a series but PLEASE give me feedback, reblog, all that stuff. 

A/N: This is about Marcus Kane’s daughter. In this his wife is still alive and such, and she ends up being floated after taking all the blame for stealing medication and other rations for sick kids. Calliope was with her and 19 at the time. But instead of floating her, Marcus convinced Jaha to send her down with the other kids. 

Word Count: 2k+ Warnings: None as of right now  Pairings: BellamyxOC (little fluff but not a lot)

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

Prologue PT 1 

2 years before going to earth

The pounding sound was what woke her first. A pale, slender arm covered the eyes of Calliope Kane as she sighed trying to wake up. As the fog cleared and she started to become more coherent, the redhead heard the knocking on her door more distinctly. 

“Calliope, you need to get up and come eat. You have class.” Amara Kane said, knocking on her daughters door. “Quickly because i don’t want to hear you complain that you’re hungry again.” Callie knew her mother was waiting for an answer so she sighed and swung her legs out of bed. 

“I’ll be out in a second.” She yelled back as she threw her hair up in a ponytail. Walking over to the chair at her desk she looked down at her legs before putting them on. Rolling her eyes, Callie noticed the dark bruise blossoming against her cream colored skin. It must of come from her sparring session the day before. Her father wanted her to keep up her self defense classes by practicing with the guard cadets. Unfortunately that resulted in her getting bruises and the occasional face shot. But it also resulted in them getting their ass kicked for underestimating her. Smiling to herself, the red headed teen threw a tank top on and put a jacket over that before heading out of her room. 

Walking over to her mom, Callie gave her a kiss on the cheek and started eating what was in front of her. Amara leaned against the counter and smiled at her daughter while fixing her own brilliant red hair. Callie May look like her father but she had her mother’s hair and eyes. Watching as the girl got up, she handed her daughter her bag and brought her in for a hug. 

“I love you. Remember your father wants you to meet him later today okay?” Callie nodded as she made sure she had everything and started to head out the door. “Roger that mama. I’ll see you tonight, i love you too” she said stepping out into the hallway. 

The Kane’s lived in the nicer part of the Ark due to her father's position. Though she would be considered privileged, Callie tried to not be that way. She hated the clear divide that separated people and tried her best to not let that interfere with anything. Grabbing her book out of her bag, the redhead didn’t realize that someone had come up behind her till she felt her ponytail get yanked gently. Spinning around she came face to face with the brown eyes and olive, tan skin of Bellamy Blake. Shooting her a grin that made a small blush creep under the freckles on her face, Callie laughed when she realized who it was 

“What Blake, didn’t get enough of me when i kicked your ass sparing yesterday?” She asked as she continued walking. Bellamy was someone that didn’t treat her like glass due to her father. He was someone that actually put up a fair fight and he was that someone that gave her the bruise on her leg. “Come on cadet, I thought you would be tired of telling your friends that a girl bested you.”

The smile he gave her made Callie turn away. That damn dopey grin twisted her stomach into knots and made her want to trace the outline of his face. “Cal, I distinctly remember me going easy on you. It wouldn’t look right if i fought a girl.” The dark haired boy said. He focused on the way her tongue traced her lips as she turned back to him and laughed. Her red hair was able to shine bright under the harsh fluorescent lights and unlike everyone else that looked washed out, she managed to glow. Slowly shaking his head he smiled slightly at her laugh. He had dreams about that laugh since he met her two months ago.

 “Whatever you have to tell yourself at night Blake.” Callie said smiling at the nickname. Everyone called you Calliope or Callie. Bellamy started shortening it when you started hanging out and thigh she hated people calling her it, she didn’t mind when it rolled off his lips. Realizing he had stepped closer to her Callie’s heart started beating so fast that she thought it would jump out of his chest. Damn he smells good. She thought to herself as she slowly trailed her eyes up to his. “How about we have a rematch today? Then we can see whose the best.” He said quietly running the back of his hand up her arm. Callie’s breath caught as she noticed his smile widened. 

“Calliope there you are.” Marcus Kane’s voice boomed through the quiet hallway making the two jump apart. “Dad, hey!” Callie said turning to him, hoping the blush that was appearing on her face wasn’t too noticeable. Marcus stares at the kids and noticed that even though his daughter was beaming up at him, the Blake boy continued to look only at her.  “I wanted to speak with you before class today. I think we need to cut back on the training. Your mother noticed some big bruises on your legs this morning and was worried.” Callie rolled her eyes and sighed. 

“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s bound to happen, besides Blake over here needed to have some hits in.” She said laughing as she pushed slightly on his shoulder. Noticing the look of worry on Bellamy’s face she laughed. “Chill out pretty boy. It doesn’t hurt that much.” Walking away from him, she winked. “I’ll see you later tonight for a rematch.” 

Going over to her father, Callie stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I’ll see you after class dad. Love you.” She said happily as she walked down the hallway. What she didn’t notice was the pair of eyes that followed her till she turned the corner. 

“Cadet Blake. I don’t think I need to remind you about the relationship you should be having with my daughter.” Marcus said focusing on the boy in front of him. Clearing his throat, Bellamy ran a hand through his hair. “Uh yes sir. Cal and i are just friends.” Nodding Marcus started going down the hallway before turning around with a small smile on his lips. “Try not to take it too easy on her in training. Just lay off the bruises for her mother’s sake.” 

Bellamy nodded at the retreating figure and started walking his own way. The entire time his mind was on the red headed wild girl that made him smile. 

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

Calliope stood in the locker room changing into her work out clothes. It had been a long day and it turned into an even longer one after the meeting she had with her dad. Closing her eyes Callie rubbed her forehead as she remembered the talk with im. 

“Calliope, you turn 18 in seven months. You NEED to figure out what you want to do.” Marcus said looking at his daughter. Sitting in his chair with her hair falling in her face, he marveled at how grown she already looked. How did his small, little girl become a woman over night. When she raised her green eyes to his brown, he sighed. That defiance that was showing he knew well. Too well sometimes. “You mean you want me to decide to follow you with the council.” She said, her eyes narrowing as she looked back down at her book. “I’ll figure it out dad, when I know you will know.” She said finally looking back up to him. 

Callie knew her dad wanted her to follow in his footsteps. Become the next Kane on the council, but the redhead knew that she never wanted to go down that path. Going down that path meant she had to follow the rules, and she honestly thought the rules were bullshit. Throwing a baggy tank top over her sports bra, the girl pulled her hair up into a braid and started wrapping her hands. Heading out to the practice room for sparring she noticed that only a few cadets were there today. Shrugging she went over to the punching bag and started. 

She had been zoned out for about five minutes before she heard her name. “Kane, Kane….Calliope!” She finally stopped and turned towards the voice. Noticing LT Shumway standing next to her, she stopped. “Hey! Sorry, I guess I was zoning out.” She said flashing him a smile. Chuckling, he shook his head as he looked at her. “No harm no foul. Just wanted to let you know that a lot of the cadets are out today due to some other issues. So you may be on your own today.” Nodding, Callie shrugged. “Not a big deal.” She said “Thank you for telling me.” Callie watched him walk away before she went back to what she was doing. 

After about 30 minutes she decided to go and shower and head back to her room. Walking down the hallway, she noticed she had about 45 minutes till she had to be back before curfew and decided to take her time. Standing in front of a window, she looked out at the vast emptiness that expanded in front of her. Seeing earth, she wondered what it would be like to finally be back down on the ground. To be able to live and be free, instead of suffocating to death up in space. Feeling hands on her shoulders, Callie tensed up and quickly shoved whoever it was against the window. Her forearm located against their neck. Hearing the chuckle, she released and let her arm fall at her side as she stared into the eyes that made her stomach do back flips. Raising her lips in a grin, she kept her hand resting on his arm. “Sorry about that. You know you can’t just sneak up on me like that.”

Bellamy tried to ignore the heat that rushed through is body when she pinned him against the window. He tried to ignore the way her body was still pressed to his when she let go and how her touch sent his mind into a frenzy. “My bad Red. I promise I will make myself known next time. “ He said laughing a bit. Callie had finally realized how close she was to him and  stepped back. The dark haired boy tried to hide his disappointment. “How about I walk you back to your quarters. Don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.” All Callie could do was nod as they started walking that way. 

“I didn’t see you at the training area today.” Green eyes flicked over to catch the dark brown ones that she was starting to fall for. “I thought you owed me a rematch.” Callie said flashing a smile. Bell nodded and ran a hand through hair. “Yeah, I had to do some other training and shadowing, next time though. I promise.” It was a promise he intended to keep. Any way to get the feeling of her hands on his body, or her underneath him was something that he wanted to accomplish. A lot of people thought that Callie was little miss perfect. Perfect life...perfect family...perfect everything. Truth be told, he thought the same thing. Till he got to know her and everything changed. Now he can't imagine not being able to talk to the girl, even if it's just passing her in the hall and saying hi. 

“Well i’m here. Thanks Bell for walking me back. I should probably get inside before my mom has a fit.” She said. As if on cue  the door slid open and low and behold her mother was standing there with a small smile on her face. “Calliope, it’s almost curfew.” She said with knowing eyes. “Yeah mom, hence me being here ten minutes before.” The redhead said with a small smile. Looking at Bellamy, she squeezed his arm before stepping inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow for that rematch okay?” Callie smiled and the door shut. 

“It’s a date.” The dark hair boy said chuckling as he walked back down the hall. 

[takadasaiko]

Second Chances: Chapter Four

FFN II AO3

Summary: Steve has every intention of returning the Infinity Stones to their correct place in the timeline and heading back to his own. His problems start when he makes an impulse decision to jump over to 1946 and Peggy decides to go back home with him. It only gets more complicated from there when Howard tags along with them to 2023. Tony lives fix-it fic. Pepperony.

Chapter Summary: Howard explores the tech needed to get Peggy back to 2023 along with Steve while Tony works on an upgraded ARC reactor that will give him the fighting chance he needs.

Note: Just as a side note, the amount of time covered with the team in 1946 does not necessarily correspond to the amount of time covered in 2023, even if they're both in the same chapter. In other words what may be the next day for Steve, Peggy, and Howard might be a week or a month later for Tony and the gang in the future. It will all make sense once Steve et al jump to 2023, but I wanted to make sure that I mentioned it in case anyone out there is crazy like me and wobbly timelines drive them crazy.

Chapter Four

They had released Mr Stark from the hospital sometime during the day. Peter had a text waiting for him the moment his last class of the day wrapped and he found himself mumbling excuses why he has to skip out right away. When Iron Man calls, you don't make him wait, even if you can't tell MJ that's the reason why. So he had hopped the train into Manhattan, foot tapping nervously the whole way.

He had only been to the New York HQ for Stark Industries once to make the 'internship' official, and it hadn't even been with Mr Stark. Happy had had to give him a tour of the facility. The head of Stark Industry's security had grumbled the whole way and probably skipped half of what he was supposed to show him. Peter had wanted to see the R&D labs, but it hadn't been in the cards that day. Instead he had seen a few stray offices, the kitchen, and the lobby. Oh, and Happy chasing more than one person down the hall yelling at them over a badge.

Today was different. Today was perfect. Not only was Mr Stark finally out of the hospital - that had to be a good sign, right? They wouldn't let him out if he wasn't doing better - but he'd asked Peter to come help him with a special project. Maybe it was the braces his mentor had shown him the designs for. They had been clumsily sketched out with his left hand, but all the moving parts had made sense when he had talked him through the design one afternoon after Peter had dropped by after school. He might not be a natural engineer like Mr Stark, but he caught on pretty fast. Maybe not quite as fast as chemistry, but if he had to rate them he'd say physics was right behind it. If Mr Stark was willing to talk him through it, Peter was sure that he could —

The teen slammed to a stop at the entrance into Mr Stark's private lab that he had been directed to. The older man sat in a chair, right arm fitted into the very brace he'd designed. Standing with him was a young man only a few years older than Peter. He wasn't an employee. At least he didn't look like it. He was dressed in an MIT hoodie and wasn't wearing a badge as far as Peter could tell, but he was talking through the way the new brace worked as Mr Stark carefully stretched his arm out with it.

"Yeah, we need to tighten it just a hair around my wrist."

"You didn't exactly warn me how much weight you'd dropped," the young man responded, and there was a hint of worry in his voice.

"Hospital food," he answered with a noncommittal shrug.

"Better than alien spacecraft food?"

Mr Stark shot him an exasperated look. "Really? That's where you're going with this?"

"I'm just saying you hop on a spaceship and five years later I'm still waiting on stories."

"Then keep waiting. You don't need stories. You need to pay attention in Elger's class."

"I do!"

"Uh huh. Snoring straight through it is what I've heard."

"What'd he do? Call you?"

"It's cute you think I don't have eyes and ears all over that school."

The younger man shot him an exasperated look. "Not creepy at all. Obviously I'm learning something. You called me for your designs."

"I offered to let you put it together because if you've been sleeping through Edlger's class you're gonna need the extra credit." Mr Stark smirked, stretching the fingers of his right hand with the help of the brace that ran along each finger. "You did good, kid." His dark gaze flickered towards the door. "You just gonna hang out there all day, Underoos?"

Peter could feel his face heat up at the sudden realization that Mr Stark had known he was standing there for…. well for some amount of time. He wasn't sure how long he'd known. "I, uh…. got your text."

"I know. And sent one back."

"I didn't know you'd have someone else here."

The young man flashed a grin. "Harley Keener. You must be Peter. Tony was telling me all about you earlier."

"All?" the teen squeaked.

"Well yeah. That you're an expert chemist and crazy quick learner. Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous you're gonna get to work on the ARC reactor. I wish I could. That thing is hella cool."

"I'm… what?"

"I mean, I could stay," Harley offered. "Lend a hand. Maybe even-"

"Get outta here," Mr Stark grumbled. "Go fail your tests."

"Gonna ace them."

"I know."

"I'll send you the tightened up version as soon as I get a chance."

"Mark Two," Mr Stark responded, his smile bordering on tired, but he offered a wave with his right hand as if to prove that he could.

Peter watched as Harley started for the door and back to wherever he'd come from and he swallowed hard. The two seemed perfectly at ease with each other. Tony. He'd called Mr Stark Tony.

"You with me, kid?"

The tone made it sound like he'd called Peter's name several times and the teen sputtered. "Yeah. Yeah, I was just thinking Happy's gonna have a fit if he sees him without a badge."

Mr Stark snorted a laugh. "Happy knows who he is. I've known Harley for a decade. It'll be fine."

Oh. Okay. So he hadn't just met him. Or met him while he was gone. That was a relief.

"What'dya thinking kid? I just went out and replaced you while you were gone?"

And he was pretty sure his face was bright red all over again. "I, uh, well I mean…"

His movements were slow, tired, but the older man pulled himself from his seat for the first time since Peter had walked in and took a hesitant step forward as if he weren't entirely comfortable with the brace around his knee yet. Unlike the brace on his arm, that one didn't have to support his entire limb, just help to steady him on it. The brace on his arm stretched from shoulder to fingers though, a shell that fit over his scarred arm and Peter saw the bluetooth receiver that he must have been using to control it like he used in his Iron Man suits. Better or not, he still was having trouble doing much more than twitching his fingers before fitting the mechanics around the nearly useless limb. All of his plans seemed to work out from theory to execution, though, and that had to count for something, even if Peter was wondering if maybe they had released him earlier than they should have. He didn't exactly look healthy.

Mr Stark made his way over and closed the gap. "Hey." Peter's gaze flickered from the brace to his mentor's face, and his expression tough to pin down. Almost like he was reliving some terrible memory, but he reached forward with his uninjured hand and clasped his shoulder. "There's no replacing you, kid."

"Really?"

"Really."

Peter's lips stretched slowly, the smile taking on a life of its own. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I mean… you are, right? Feeling better?"

"I will be once we get this dealt with. What'dya say we get started?"

                                                   _______________

The house was so quiet as Peggy made her way down the stairs that she found herself wondering if the night before had all been a dream. Really, if she were honest, it would make more sense than Steve Rogers showing up at her front door, an ecstatic Howard in tow, and claiming he'd come back to her because of time travel. She'd seen a lot of strange things - and, admittedly, most of them had had something to do with Howard Stark - but this one topped them all. It was fanciful. The kind of thing her brain might betray her with after finally trying to say goodbye to Steve. Perhaps she should ready herself for the strong possibility that she and Angie were the only ones there.

She heard the swinging door leading into the kitchen open and freshly brewed coffee wafted from towards her. Breakfast was laid out on the table in the breakfast nook, Angie already digging through it. Her friend looked up, fork still in her mouth, and she swallowed hard. "Hey, sleepy head. You up late last night?" If her tone hadn't been suggestive enough, the look that she gave her said it all.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Peggy answered coily and reached for a piece of bacon. "Are we sure that's caffeinated coffee?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

The door to the kitchen opened again and Mr Jarvis paused midstep, looking rather sheepish as Peggy turned her cool gaze on him. If his expression was anything to go by her suspicion that he had swapped her coffee for decaf the night before were more founded than the lingering fear that Steve's arrival had been some sort of cruel dream. "Oh, I don't know, but I think Mr Jarvis might," she said pointedly, but her smile eased the sharp edges of the words. "Are the boys in the lab?"

"Wait. This place's got a lab?" Angie squeaked, eyes wide.

"I found it a couple of weeks ago. Hidden door in the library."

"You don't say."

"Something about rich men and their hidden doors."

Jarvis cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes, Miss Carter. I know that Mr Stark is still in there, and I wager Captain Rogers is as well."

"Oh no you don't, Peg," Angie called out as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I want to hear everything."

"Of course, Angie. Soon."

She didn't give her time to argue as she took her coffee and started back for the library. She pulled the appropriate book forward as she pushed another at the same time, a satisfying click proving signalling the mechanisms movement. It slid open to reveal a moderately stocked lab.

Howard sat on a stool, bent over his work and, if the way his foot tapped nervously on the rung was any indication, he not only had been up all night, but Mr Jarvis had failed to cut off his supply of caffeine. Well, he did sign the butler's checks, she supposed.

Steve was the one that looked over first and it didn't look like he'd slept any more than Howard. He reached up, smoothing back blond hair. "Good morning," he greeted and she couldn't stop the smile.

"Hiya, Peg," Howard offered without looking up from his microscope.

"I see you boys didn't bother to turn in as promised. Mr Jarvis has a full spread on the table."

"And coffee?"

"Haven't you had enough?" she asked the inventor and Steve chuckled.

"We should probably take a break. Howard's been picking Tony's tech apart all night."

"Tony?" Peggy echoed and she didn't miss the mildly panicked look that flashed across his face when he realized he had dropped the name.

"One of the Avengers," he said carefully. "He's, uh…"

"Cap's been dancing around names and details all night," Howard said, amusement lining his voice as he stood. "Thinks he's gonna break time and space. Got news for you, friend. She's going with you. She'll hear it all anyway."

"But you're not, and I don't want to-"

Peggy wasn't sure she trusted the look in her friend's eyes as he waved a hand. "Right, right. I'm just putting the tech together so you and Peg can have your dance. I get my place. Did you say breakfast is ready?"

"It is," she confirmed carefully.

Dark eyes narrowed at her and suddenly Howard's laser focus was directed squarely at her. "What's that look?"

"I'm not giving you a look," she answered immediately.

"Oh, that's a look," he chuckled. "It's the I don't trust Howard look, and I'll tell ya, Peg, it hurts. Especially when I delayed my trip just to help you out."

His tone was teasing and she offered him a smile. "Are you telling me the future holds no appeal to you?"

Howard shrugged. "'Course it does, but Cap was clear. One of us needs to stay and you've earned it, Peggy. You both have."

She pulled in a deep breath, gauging the words that sounded genuine. "Thank you, Howard."

He flashed her a charming smile and breezed past, shouting at Jarvis about coffee. Steve came to stand with her. "You think he's up to something?"

"Maybe. Probably. You dangle something like time travel in front of a man like Howard and he'll be tempted at the very least." Her brows pulled together, a question dancing around in her mind before finally falling from her lips. "Why is it that he needs to stay?"

Steve glanced in the direction that Howard had disappeared in. "He has… a lot ahead of him."

She lifted a skeptical eyebrow and saw the small twitch of his lips downward like he was struggling with something. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you?"

"It's just… I didn't really think this through, you know? Howard does a lot, but so do you. You are…. There are so many people that you help, so much good you do in the world. If you come with me, I'm taking you away from all of that. How's that fair to them?"

Peggy pursed her lips and leaned against the open door frame to the lab. "I understand that you're torn," she said carefully. "You have… You must have so much information that could alter everything as we know it. One step to the left or the right could change it all. I'm not a fool, I know that, but also believe we have a choice in what we do and the paths that we take." She caught his gaze and held it. "You're a hero, Steve, but not because you're Captain America. You're a hero because of the choices you've made again and again…. You fall down on the grenade every time,, and when you went into the ice I..." She swallowed hard, steeling herself as best as she could, but no matter how determined she was she could feel those damned tears building. "I mourned. For over a year I mourned you. I'd only just said my goodbyes and hoped I could stand by them and then there you are standing in the doorway, real as day, and I got my choice back."

"What choice?" he asked, his voice small, almost as if he didn't dare speculate on the answer.

"You, you idiot," Peggy laughed and reached out, her hand brushing his. "I don't just want a dance. I want it all. If I can change the world here, I can change the world anywhere. If Howard can manage it on his own, I want to choose you."

His fingers wrapped around her hand and he pulled it up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of her knuckles. "I should tell you. If it's your choice, you should know."

"Alright."

"Hey, lovebirds!" Howard shouted from down the hall. "You coming?"

Steve finally broke into a real smile and Peggy echoed it. "And you thought you missed him."

"I did. I know someone a lot like him though… Sometimes I forget how much they remind me of each other."

"Tony?" she asked slyly and his look said it all.

"We should probably get back out there before he comes looking for us."

"Probably so," she conceded as she tightened her hold on his hand, not letting go as she led him towards the breakfast nook. She wasn't going to let him go this time. Not when she had a chance to hold on.

                                                  _______________

TBC

Notes: This was a much more difficult chapter to write than the others because I adore Peggy so much. I came to some realizations (right along with Steve) about what taking her to the future before founding SHIELD would actually mean for her as a character. Sure, Howard and Phillips could do it. It might be different, but I think they could have gotten it off the ground without her. The point is she was there. A woman in the late 40's helping to kickstart SHIELD into being, and isn't that  the core of Peggy Carter? Definitely one of the many reasons I love her. I found my fix, and I think from a character standpoint I'm very happy with the questions it will cover. It just caused a bit of a hiccup in the writing process.

Originally this chapter was going to bounce back and forth between the ARC reactor and Howard researching the time travel tech, but I decided I really prefer shorter chapters and more frequent updates for this story. I am fond of the fact that I get one of my parallels I love so much with Tony and his father working on tech that originated with the other in different timelines. It's a lot of fun.

Next time: Howard gets a closer look at the Pym Particles and Tony finishes the new ARC reactor.

[vinnymauro-chenzomauro]

P.S. You’re Mine-Part 3

Word Count: 1,193

Warnings: Mature content and themes

Rating: Teen audiences and up

Summary: Saul “Slash” Hudson has a big secret. He’s not meant to be a part of this time line. On a bad acid trip, he was sent into the future where he is now residing. He’s been trying to stay low-key as his older self. the one from a different timeline where Slash never went on this drug trip, can’t know about his other self as that would cause a paradox. But, he falls in love with someone very close to his older self. Someone that can’t know his secret. Vinny also has a huge secret. He’s a prince spending his senior year in America. He wants to experience life as a normal American teenager. Vinny also falls in love with someone who can’t know his secret. He wants to find a normal love as a normal American teenager. Max is in the middle of this all. He is just a normal teenage. Well, normal in the fact that the situation he is in is normal to him. He’s an aspiring photographer with a father and mother he will never know. Max is the man who both Slash and Vinny have fallen in love with. He has a big decision to make when all of this comes crashing down.

Main pairing: Undecided

I pulled on a black leather jacket and gave myself one more look in the mirror. I was probably going to be late to the shoot but I wanted to make a good impression on him, my model. I wanted to make sure I was professional and casual all at the same time. My outfit wasn’t all that much either. It was all I wanted to say in the most minimalistic way I could. All I wore was a pair of jeans and a tee shirt in addition to the leather jacket my dad had left me. It was a bit ill-fitting in the arms since I wasn’t as muscular as my dad but I filled out the jacket pretty well. I thought I looked good which was all that I was. I smiled, grabbing my camera and it’s bag. I gave myself one final look in the mirror and walked out of the room, down the stairs and out into the world. The park wasn’t too far away from my house. It was within walking distance of most of the houses in the town I lived in which made my whole life a lot easier. I could walk there and back within about ten or so minutes. It was kind of nice being able to walk here and back. I liked getting the fresh air. I smiled and took in the warm, spring sun. I turned and looked at the meeting spot, a lone park bench overlooking the sledding hill. I definitely wasn’t late, which was good considering I had rushed due to me taking forever picking outfit. I wasn’t on time, maybe five minutes late, but Saul wasn’t here yet. I smiled and looked out across the park. On the way, I picked up some red roses. Little kids played with each other as concerned parents watched on. Some shot glances at me. I was a teenaged man wearing a leather jacket, alone in a park with a camera, watching some little kids playing. My hands worked mindlessly on the the flower crown. It was probably the most pleasant sight to see. People were weary of people like me. The outcasts of society that the parents of children were scared of. I was the one the entire town was scared of and it wasn’t even my fault. As soon as Saul came, I would probably look doubly creepy. We would fill up the creepy quota for the day. Our town was a bit weary of people like me and for good reason. One day, in the nineties and a few months before I was born, guys like who dressed and acted a bit like me killed their families and went off to kill their neighbors. As far as I knew, they beat their families then shot and burned the neighbors. They went on a literal witch hunt because they were apparently mad about not being able to go to prom or some petty reason like that and I was a replica of one of those men, almost. His name was Dillan and he was killed in a police shootout. No one really knew the whole reason as to why these kids killed their neighbors and families. “Where did you get that leather jacket? It’s so fucking cool.” A smooth, slightly accented voice asked me. I turned and looked at the voice. It was the same attractive man that had contacted me a few days earlier asking me about taking some photos of him. I smiled and got up, shaking his hand a bit in an awkward sort of greeting. “My dad left it to me after he died. Kind of cool, right?” I gave a slight turn, showing off the jacket to him. Saul’s eyes got wide as he looked at me. “Actually, I think I have the same jacket somewhere.” He gave me a slight smile and looked me over. I smiled back and looked down at the kids once more time. A few of the parents were still watching me, their eyes trained on the two of us. “Cool, do you have any ideas of what you want to do? It’s okay if you don’t because I have a few ideas running through my head.” I smiled and fiddled with my camera bag. “I don’t have any ideas. What do you have running trough your head?” I reached into my camera bag and pulled out a flower crown made from fresh roses. Saul looked at me, arching an eyebrow in confusion. “I’ve been kind of doing this thing with these rocker type dudes where I’m challenging the stereotypes in the rocker community, you know the ones that have cracked up in a few years with these hyper masculine dudes with like twenty five tattoos and assault charges. I want to make these guys seem a bit softer than they are. Show off their softer side, I guess.” I smiled and looked at him. “That sounds pretty cool, actually. I love the whole concept and everything. It kind of reminds me of the woman who did the same thing but with like, pit bulls. That’s super creative of you.” He looked at me and gestured for us to start walking. We moved without a word spoken and headed off on the few miles towards the wooded areas. It was a bit creepy considering we had just met physically for the first time a few moments ago and we were already on the same wavelength mentally. We walked for a few moments in complete silence. It wasn’t awkward at all, which was good. I hated awkward silences. It was a perfect silence that was only broken by the crunching of our feet on the leaves that had fallen to the ground. Our shoulders brushed past each other and a bit of static shot through my body. I smiled lightly and looked at him. We eventually paused in front of a statue of an angel. In our silence we agreed to shoot the pictures here. I pulled out my camera and looked at him. Saul took the flower crown out of my hands. I smiled and watched him place the perfect roses on top of his perfect curls. He sat down on the base of the statues and looked at me. I smiled and looked at him, pulling my camera up to my face. I shot hundreds of photos over the next few hours. He was good to work with and was able to take my direction without many words spoken between the both of us. I smiled and looked at him, finishing up the last of the photos. “I’ll edit these tomorrow and some of them will be on my Instagram page. But they will be emailed to you first. I’ll send you some raw photos and some edited photos.” I smiled and shook his hand. “It was nice meeting you and working with you. I can not wait to see the photos. I hope to work with you in the future.” Saul smiled and looked at me, shaking my hand. I smiled back and we went our separate ways.

[ageeksnerdyworld]

Reasons To Have 30+ Jason In The DCEU:

First off in most comic canon, comic adaptations, and even fan fiction Jason is usually depicted as being eighteen years old. At the most he’s twenty. Now that’s all fine and dandy, but, it just simply does not work for the films.

The only way it would is if they made Jason the first Robin, and thus screw up the timeline, but since they’re making a Nightwing movie this doesn’t seem like a possibility. That being said, if you really think about it, having Jason be in his early twenties doesn’t work for quite a number of reasons. (All under the cut because this gets pretty long.)

DC Rebirth

Older Batman

Overdone

Jensen Ackles

Time to tackle these points…

DC Rebirth:

Jason’s already been aged in Rebirth. We don’t know exactly how old he is now but we can make a pretty good guess given what information we have available. For starters in many panels of Rebirth RHATO when it shows Jason’s past it clearly states YEARS AGO. Even when it shows his death it says YEARS AGO. So we know that a chunk of time has passed between the day he died and right now. We don’t know how much but it’s implied to be quite some time.

In the very first issue Jason tells us, via internal monologue, that he was sixteen when he first met Batman: I’d like to think that I’ve changed since he came across that punk kid in the alley. … But I’ve got something I never had when I was sixteen years old.

Sixteen when he met Bats. Remember that.

But that doesn’t tell us how long Jason was around before Joker killed him. And we’ve never gotten a clear-cut answer on that. We all know that Bruce trained each and every Robin for quite awhile before he deemed them combat ready. U.S. Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) is nine weeks, Air Force is six weeks with one week of processing, while U.S. Marine Corp training is 12 weeks and four days of processing. I feel like Bruce developed his own time frame based on U.S. military branch times it had to be at least a couple years.

One year to settle into everything that the life of a being the son of Gotham’s most prominent billionaire entailed. Maybe a year of actual training because let’s face it two and a half months isn’t going to be enough. (12 weeks = 2 ½ months.) And then a probationary year of actual Robin work.

Three years. Remember that.

There’s a lot of speculation around Jason’s tenure as Robin. We all know that his tenure didn’t last as long as it was supposed to since he died but we need to know how long that time frame was. Some people say two years; citing age difference in relation to other characters. In N52 RHATO Jason said he was Robin for at least a year. We have nothing on this from Rebirth so far. It makes more sense for his tenure as Robin to be two years rather than one.

Why two? Well, that’s easier than you might think. The Dynamic Duo needs the time to adjust to working with one another. They need the time to learn from each other as well as with each other. To grow better as a pair, as a team, and all that because Bruce isn’t working with Dick anymore. A year is a long time but not as long as you might think in the grand scheme of things.

Two years. Remember that.

Back in 1988 when DC killed Jason for the first time (which started the chain reaction of killing him over and over again with each new revamping) we actually see Jason’s death certificate. And how old was he when he died on April 27th, 1988?

Fifteen.

Rebirth Jason has already surpassed the age of his previous incarnation’s death. So why would he be the same age after coming back? Why would be that same eighteen/nineteen/twenty-year-old? Yes, I know that one year isn’t that much of a difference. But I’m not done with Rebirth Jason yet.

We know, from Lobdell’s previous RHATO run, that the dip in the Lazarus Pit aged Jason. He was fifteen when he went in and around eighteen when he came out. Or he could be nineteen. Possibly twenty. So that’s a three-five year age difference.

Three to five years. Remember that.

Ok. Back to Rebirth Jason. We have seen Jason in a bar a couple of times. Once with the helmet on and once with the helmet off. The scene where he’s in a bar with his helmet off is from issue #8 and is far more important. He’s not just in a bar. He’s drinking in a bar.

Legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21. Remember that.

Most bars, if not all, card the patrons when they order. Even if they appear to be of legal drinking age. Why? Because that’s the law. And I know some of you would say If someone walks into your bar with guns and a mask on wouldn’t you serve them a drink no matter how old they were? And he’s in Gotham after all so they’re used to that kinda thing. Well, first of all, we don’t know if Jason wore his mask as he walked into the bar. All we see that Jason is sitting at the counter and his mask is laying on it.

But there is no clear distinction on whether or not he wore it as he entered the bar and ordered. He most likely would’ve been carded.

And remember this little quote from Issue #4: Have to remember every trick I learned in every therapy session I had in Arkham. What did Dr. Quinzel say? “If you can’t talk to me, talk to the wall, a pillow, anything…”

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Jason not only went there but spent time with Harley when she was a doctor instead of an inmate. (This could be a reference to The Arkham Knight but I highly doubt that.) I think that the above quote is saying exactly what its saying. Jason spent time in Arkham with Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Which he did before in N52. But since Rebirth is a whole new timeline it can’t be just a N52 reference either. Jason spent time in Arkham in this current timeline as well.

That also adds something to what his age is at the start of Rebirth doesn’t it?

The question that remains is: How much time? I’m going to say at least a year. Maybe more. The way the first line reads makes me think it was more than just a few weeks. More than a couple months. He’s spent enough time with Harleen to learn what methods she was using on him. To not only learn those methods but well enough to be able to properly apply them to other people. That being said I think Jason was in Arkham for two or three years. Let’s say three just to be safe because things take time.

Three years. Remember that.

(Side note: Jason’s time at Arkham would fall right before the start of Rebirth. As Rebirth starts Jason’s already been Red Hood for some time. He lost Bruce’s trust through his violent methods and then I’m thinking that Bruce confronted Jason early on and sent him to Arkham to get the help he needed. That patched things up between the two enough for Bruce to work with Jason again.)

Do you remember everything I asked you to?

Sixteen when he met Batman. Three years of training. Two years as Robin. Aged three to five years from The Lazarus Pit. Three years in Arkham. And he has to be at least twenty-one.

Add all that up and Jason’s at least twenty-seven in Rebirth. Possibly twenty-nine.

That’s a pretty big jump from eighteen. So what’s wrong with aging him a little bit more? Especially when we have an…

Older Batman:

We all know that the Bruce Wayne/Batman of the DCEU is 50.

Most of the time, in the comics, Bruce looks to be about in his early thirties. This would make the older Batkids somewhere in their early twenties but we’ve already said that Jason is usually depicted as being eighteen in the comics. Sometimes he makes it up to twenty, but, never really any older than that.

Now with a thirty-year-old Bruce Wayne this makes sense. Does it make sense for a fifty-year-old Bruce? No. It does not.

Thirty to fifty is a twenty year difference that you would have to then also apply to the rest of the Batfam if you’re applying it to Bruce. Which would make Jason how old exactly if he was just eighteen?

Thirty-eight years old.

But if we go off his 27/29 Rebirth age then making him almost 40 is way too old. Thirty-five, though, would be perfect. Making Jason 35 in his first DCEU appearance makes quite a lot of sense. It makes sense with an older Bruce. Thirty-five is old enough to give him plenty of enough time to actually do the things he does to become the Red Hood. Gives him the time he needs to establish the fact that he’s a vigilante. The time he needs to make his way back to Gotham. Time he needs to decide to carry out his revenge.

He doesn’t get enough time if he’s only eighteen or twenty. And having an older Jason Todd is great especially when young superheroes are...

Overdone:

I don’t about all y’all but I’m extremely tired of superheroes always being in the early-mid twenties age range. For comics that age range makes more sense because these characters are meant to appeal to people of that age. And teen superheroes are made to appeal to younger audiences.

All these twenty-something-year-olds feels overdone. (And not just in the superhero genre but that’s not what we’re here to talk about.)

Everyone acts like these characters can stay the same age forever and that it’s okay. It is. For the comics. Its fine for these characters to stay around the same age for revamps in comic canon since comics, and their characters, are supposed to be timeless and appeal to all ages. But since superhero movie are trying to have a more realistic feel to them the twenty-year-old superhero takes away from that added realism.

A thirty-five year old Jason Todd would add more.

Everyone also acts like young superheroes don’t get enough time in the limelight. But just because we don’t see a lot of live-action youngins doesn’t mean they don’t get their fair share of exposure.

X-Men is all about teen superheroes. May I also direct your attention to Young Justice (which currently getting a third season) which is all about teen superheroes doing their own thing? Or what about DC Super Hero Girls which takes every single adult female character and de-ages them into high school teens? Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go? Power Puff Girls? Every single cartoon or movie centered on Spider-Man because for some unknown reason Marvel can never age Peter past teen years. And Ultimate Spider-Man de-aged many adult superheroes into teens as well.

Kick-Ass’s main character, Dave Lizewski, is a teenager who sets out to become a real-life superhero. Chris D’Amico, one of the villains is also a teenager. Hit-Girl, the other main hero, is only eleven. And in the sequel Kick-Ass 2 the MCs from the first movie form a team with other teen heroes and the main villain is the still Chris D’Amico from the first Kick-Ass. (FYI Kick-Ass is based off the comic series of the same name.)

That’s quite enough exposure of teen/kid heroes, right? But that’s not all. Even non-comic book super powered people are more often kids or teens.

Chronicle is a movie all about ordinary kids who develop superpowers and set out to become heroes. Sky High, also a movie, surrounded a flying school for super-powered kids. Three out of five of the MCs in The Incredibles were children. (And, yes, I counted Jack-Jack.) Eleven from Stranger Things. Almost every character in The Darkest Minds book series, which is being turned into a movie, is a teenager with some sort of superpower. The movie reboot of Power Rangers still centers on teenagers in high school. (I don’t remember if the Power Rangers comics existed first or the TV show but I’m pretty sure the movie is based off the TV show so I put it here.)

The sidekick is always a kid. On many occasions the superheroes are kids. The grown-up sidekick turned hero is always a young adult. And all the above mentioned shows and movies don’t challenge this trend in any way shape or form.

Making Jason Todd somewhere in his thirties would turn that trend on its head by making the sidekick-turned-hero character an actual adult. (And since we will be getting a Nightwing movie Dick will have to also be an adult. It wouldn’t really make much sense if Dick’s an adult and Jason’s not. Jason’s only been Red Hood when Dick is Nightwing, after all.) And who would be the best choice to play an older Jason?

Jensen Ackles:

Jensen has already played Jason in UTRH so he has experience playing him. Given the fact that he has this experience he would bring all that to a live-action portrayal. And bringing that experience would just make the portrayal all that much better. (It’s just like how movie franchise/TV actors just keep getting better as their character, you know?)

I know y’all are going to be like But they should give someone else a chance but do you really want to risk it? Do you really want to risk having such a beloved character getting a horrible portrayal? Do you really want a repeat of Leto’s Joker?

Let’s just say we take away his UTRH portrayal for a quick second here.

That still leaves us with an actor who has experience in portraying the kind of person Jason is. Experience which can only help his portrayal after all. Time and time again Jensen has played characters with deep-seated emotional and psychological issues. Most of which were never treated, or even addressed, and if they were treatment didn’t help. Characters like: Tom Hanniger, CJ, and Ben from My Bloody Valentine, Dawson’s Creek and Dark Angel respectively.

Jensen has loads of experience playing characters with an overwhelming need for parental, most of the time fatherly, approval as well. Characters like: Dean Winchester and Jason Teague from Supernatural and Smallville respectively. And almost all of these mentioned characters use more a violent approach to doing what needs to be done. (Including Alex McDowell, also from Dark Angel, whom I forgot to mention.)

Also he’s the right age. But, even if they don’t make Jason exactly thirty-five, Jensen could still be believable as someone in their late-twenties or early-thirties.

I’m not saying they need to cast Jensen I’m just saying it only makes sense to have Jason be in his 30s.

[gumnut-logic]

We’ll Be Home For Christmas 2.3

Sorry this was a little later than usual. I was out of the house.

Title: We’ll be home for Christmas

Day Two – Aboard This Tiny Ship – Part 3 Prologue | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.2

Author: Gumnut

18 - 23 Dec 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: The boys can’t fly home for Christmas, so they have to find another way.

Word count: 4029

Spoilers & warnings: language and so, so much fluff. Science!Gordon. Minor various ships, mostly background.

Timeline: Christmas Season 3, I have also kinda ignored the main storyline of Season 3. The boys needed a break, so I gave them one. Post season 3B, before Season 3C cos we haven’t seen it yet.

Author’s note: For @scattergraph. This is my 2019 TAG Secret Santa fic :D I hope you enjoy it.

Mentions of ship in this bit, but only in discussion. There may be more later (that I haven’t written yet :D)

Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for cheering me on and their wonderful support through this craziness. And to @onereyofstarlight for geeking out with me over the setting.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

 Gordon told him it was unnecessary, but John didn’t agree. He had a brother deployed, it was his job to keep an eye on him. Besides, he hadn’t spoken to Eos for nearly twenty-four hours.

He sat down at the same table Gordon had been using for his fish studies. “Eos, can you relay Gordon’s mission stats down to my tablet? Also, I need seismic readings, wildlife mapping and all the latest observational data for the volcanics around the caldera.”

“Hello, John.”

“Hello, Eos. How are you?”

“Functional.” A pause. “A bit bored.”

Oh no. “What have you been doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Eos!”

“You should have seen them. They were so poor. They were almost starving.”

“What did you do?”

“I saved them.”

“How?”

“They won the lottery.”

“You rigged a lottery? How? They are all manual.”

“I have my ways.”

“Who did you bribe?”

“I didn’t bribe anyone.”

“Who did you blackmail?”

“Honestly, he wasn’t a very nice man anyway.”

John closed his eyes. Thank god Scott was on the other side of the boat helping Alan load up the dingy.

Virgil sat on the lounge opposite staring at him.

“Eos doesn’t like injustice very much.”

His brother arched an eyebrow.

“Eos, we will discuss this later. Deploy the mission to my tablet. Oh, and can you move Gordon’s sensor buoy into range so we can sharpen our reception. Thank you.”

Virgil’s eyebrow was still arched.

“You know if you leave it that way long enough, the wind will change and you will become permanently half Vulcan.”

His brother ignored him. “We will discuss this later, John. Scott hears about it and the shit will hit the fan.”

“Yes, I know.” Scott would likely always be sensitive where Eos was concerned. John had to tread lightly.

Turning to his tablet, he brought up the sensor relay from the buoy and propelled it to one side of the table. Gordon’s vitals, followed by Four’s telemetry were deployed to another corner, followed by a submarine map of the area.

“What is that?”

John jumped as Virgil sat down beside him and pointed at the map. “Is that the caldera?”

“Yes.” John swiped at his tablet and brought up the necessary information. “The island itself is only a fragment of the volcano.”

“That’s considerably bigger than our caldera. When did it last erupt?”

“It’s still active.”

“What?! We just sent Gordon down there.”

John stared at Virgil and wondered if his brother had been taking painkillers and was loopy as a result. “Gordon knows what he is doing.”

Virgil ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Yeah, I know. Just with his accident...”

“He’ll be fine. We are just looking at hydrothermal vents in this case. There is no lava field down there. It shouldn’t take much time to replace the sensor as long as he doesn’t get distracted.”

“Distracted? Gordon?”

“Hmmm, yeah. You have a point.”

-o-o-o-

Gordon was in heaven.

Well, if heaven had this many starfish and in Gordon’s book, it definitely did. Clustered around the heat generating hydrothermal vents, the patches and swarms of specialised life down here were amazing to see. He had read several studies on the ecosystems of the Kermadec chain, but it was always a wonder to see them thriving like this in the darkness.

The caldera was massive. He knew the geological history of the Kermadec chain. They all did as Tracy Island was technically part of it. He knew it had a habit of exploding quite regularly and this caldera was no different, various child cones spewing forth hydrothermal concoctions. It had last blown up quite spectacularly over 6000 years ago, collapsing what used to be a much larger island into this undersea ring of vents.

The heat supported scores of mussels, farmed by starfish and the occasional white crab. He had done a lot of diving around Tracy Island, but that underseascape was considerably different. Higher water temperatures and a dead volcano produced a different ecosystem to what Macauley supported.

Four’s spots lit up the underwater mountain range, volcanic remnants were scattered across the sea floor. The sensor bank was closest to one of the dominant cones to the north-west of the island, placed there specifically to monitor the active spot. The moment he approached it, he knew exactly what the problem was.

“Thunderbird Four to Raoul.”

“Raoul receiving. Thunderfish, did you get your ‘bird out just for me? I thought you were on vacation.”

“Eh, I owe you one.” If he was honest, coasting about the waterline for a couple days without the facility to drop below it at will had left him a little longing for the depths. “I found your sensor problem.”

“Yeah, what do we have?”

“A brand new baby hydrothermal vent right on top of the sensor bank”

“Again? That’s the third this year.”

Gordon frowned. “This happens a lot?”

“You bet your ass it does. This whole bloody volcanic chain does what it bloody wants. Hell, Giggenbach just a little north-west of Macauley threw a fit just last year and dumped a pile of rubble on all our sensor equipment. I’m lucky Tracy Industries continues to provide me with new supplies or I would have had to close up shop years ago. The Kermadecs eat sensors for breakfast.”

“So, what did you want me to do?”

“You got one of those temporary seismic monitors?”

“Not on Four, but Two stocks vibration sensors.”

“Sensitive enough to catch a below 0.0001?”

“I’ll send you the specs. Virgil would be the one to confirm.”

“Really?”

“Be kind to him, Mel. He’s not at his best.”

“Would I do anything to hurt such a gorgeous man?”

“Mel.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll talk nice to the dark-haired hunk.”

“Mel.”

“What?”

-o-o-o-

Alan eyed Virgil as he made his way down the side of the yacht, one arm clutched to his belly. He hated it when his older brothers were injured. It always shook his foundations.

Sure, Alan was an adult, he could handle it, but his eldest brothers had pretty much been his parents for half his life and seeing one them taken down by a medical condition, even one as paltry as appendicitis, struck a nerve.

It didn’t help that Gordon had been so sick, so injured, so recently. To only just have him back in the air and for Virgil to fall out of the sky like that.

It was scary.

“Alan, you okay?”

Scott was standing in the little inflatable dingy, waiting for Alan to hand him the heat cube equipment. The plan was to have a ‘bonfire’ dinner on the beach without the actual bonfire. Gordon’s description of what the Director at Raoul would do to them if they lit a fire on one of her islands was graphic and to the point. So, heat cube it was.

The marshmallows never quite tasted the same.

He shrugged. “Should Virgil be doing that?”

His eldest brother glanced over to where Virgil was making his way in their direction. “As long as he isn’t over doing it, he should be okay.” Scott stared up at him. “He’s going to be fine, Alan.”

Alan grimaced and turned back to watching Virgil slowly approach. He could still hear his brother groaning on that hover stretcher as Gordon maxed out Two’s engines to get them across the Tasman Sea.

A hand touched his arm and he jumped a little. Scott was back on the yacht beside him, earnest blue eyes trying to pin him down. “He is going to be fine.”

Alan sighed. “I know. I guess he just scared me.” A swallow. “For a second there, all I could think was that Virg was going to be as sick as Gords, or worse, and it...it terrified me.”

An arm wrapped around his shoulders and Alan suddenly felt twelve again, big brother Scott ever looking after him. “He scared all of us, but he is recovering. A couple of weeks and he’ll be back on Two nagging Gordon, a month and you won’t even know he was ill.

“It could have been worse.”

“It wasn’t.” Scott squeezed his shoulder and as Virgil finally made it the last few steps into hearing range, challenged the convalescent. “And what do you think you are doing out here?”

“Just checking out what you two are up to.” Virgil leant on the railing.

“We are preparing a feast for your senses, little brother, and you are not lifting a finger. Alan and I will be your heavy lifters for this dining experience.”

Virgil grunted at his brother.

Alan grinned, hiding his thoughts. “Hey, bro, take the opportunity for what it is and just sit back and relax.”

A lopsided half smile and a mumbled, “Not sure I know how to do that.” Virgil leant both of his elbows on the railing and stared up at the island cliffs looming over them. Alan had to admit, for a tiny chunk of volcano, it was pretty damn big.

“You could always ask Alan for some instruction.” Scott was grinning.

“Hey!” But the twinkle in his brother’s eyes made it clear it was all in jest. “Just because I find efficiencies in everything I do.”

And it was Virgil’s turn to grin and reach out to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

Sometimes being the youngest of five had its challenges. Over protective and mother-henning older brothers was one of them. Half the challenge was working out whether he should accept the gestures or stand more securely on his own two feet.

Considering they were isolated, in the middle of nowhere and his brother had recently scared the shit out of him, he was inclined to accept any and all reassurances.

“You okay, Alan?” Dark eyes and brows were peering at him. Oh, for the love of...

He shouldered off Virgil’s arm and grabbed the heat cube equipment. “Are we packing this before or after sunset?”

Scott rolled his eyes and stepped back into the dingy while Virgil frowned at Alan even more.” I’m fine, Virgil. You’re the one who has the holes in his gut.”

“I’m fine.” It was automatic and defensive.

Scott snorted as Alan handed him a crate.

Hmm, maybe he wasn’t the only one being mother-henned.

-o-o-o-

As afternoon waned and evening moved in, the sun lit up the west side of the island in sharp white gold, riddled with the emerald green of recovering forest. The huge cliffs that ringed the volcanic remnant were a stark mixture of pale tephra and black basalt, an echo of a volcano that had had many moods in its relatively short life.

It was a dramatic background to their rather everyday activities.

Gordon surfaced with little fuss. Mel contacted Virgil and he arranged for Kayo to bring some vibration sensors when she came back to collect Four.  Gordon was stunned to discover Virgil addressed her as Ms Fisher. What the hell?

“What century were you born in, Virg?”

His brother shrugged. “Never hurts to be polite.”

Gordon stared until Virgil glared at him. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Another brown-eyed stab and his brother turned his back on him.

Some smart targeting with Two’s forward cannon and several of the temporary devices were deployed at the foot of the volcanic cone around five hundred metres underwater. Gordon dipped down to check their placement, John looped Mel into their feed via Five and the job was considered complete. Tin picked up Four and with a cheery farewell to her brothers, flew back to Tracy Island.

Gordon did note that Virgil stood staring after his vanished ‘bird a lot longer than necessary. He wasn’t sure which his brother was missing more, Two or her temporary pilot.

He stepped up to the rocks beside his brother. “Hey, she’ll take care of her.”

“I know.”

“Tin knows far more than she ever lets on.”

“I know.”

Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder and stuck a kebab stick with a white blob on one end in front of him. “Want a toasted marshmallow?”

Virgil looked at it and then at Gordon. “It appears to be missing the toasted part.”

Gordon grinned. “Then I guess you better get cooking.”

His brother rolled his eyes, but it appeared to snap him out of his moroseness, which had been the plan.

“Gimme that.” Virgil grabbed the marshmallow on its stick and stalked back to the little camp set up on the island’s excuse for a beach.

He used the term ‘beach’ very broadly, if you could consider a mixture of powdered pumice and basalt dumped like frosting on tumbled rocks, some of which were damn sharp, a ‘beach’.

It had taken both Scott and John to help Virgil first into the inflatable dingy and then onto the rocks and across to the ‘sand’. There were at least two moments where Gordon could see his eldest brother regretting the decision to let Virgil off the yacht. But a determined glare from that brother coupled with at least one whispered profane word appeared to stop Scott from saying anything.

Virgil did sit down in a camp chair and stay that way for some time after that so it was fairly obvious it had hurt.

When Two returned, Gordon found himself caught up with the sensor deployment. The only reason he had been on the beach when the green behemoth finally left was because Tin had delayed her departure to speak to Virgil.

He hadn’t heard what they said to each other, but Virgil was unusually quiet when he returned to the circle with Gordon.

The heat cube was set to cook and Alan had some bacon and eggs sizzling in one pan and Scott was keeping an eye on some pancake batter in another. His eldest brother handed Virgil a soda and the engineer found his seat again, lowering himself slowly into it. Gordon didn’t miss the frustrated exhale.

John even had some fries cooking in a camp quick-oven. All-in-all a decent feast on the rocky beach was almost ready.

The next fifteen minutes or so were spent consuming said food.

“These pancakes are fantastic, Scott.” It was muffled and muttered around one of those pancakes, but Gordon meant every word of it.

“So they should be. Dad’s recipe.”

“Legendary.” Virgil’s voice was equally muffled by another pancake.

“Toasted marshmallows and chocolate mud-cake with cream for dessert.” Alan was grinning. “We packed the best.”

“Oh, god, thank you.” Virgil was always one to appreciate good food.

“Don’t choke yourself, bro. There is plenty to go around.”

“Yes, thank you, guys, so much.”

“Stop talking with your mouth full.” But Scott was grinning like a loon.

Virgil grinned back at him with pancake stuck in his teeth.

Gordon snorted, Alan laughed out loud, and John smiled.

“I would like to raise a toast.” Virgil grabbed his can of soda and held it up and all four brothers scrambled for their own drinks. “To Gordon! For having one of the best ideas ever!” There was a resounding yell of agreement, but Virgil raised his drink again. “Also, to all my brothers for making it happen. I couldn’t ask for a better family than the one I have. I am truly blessed. Thank you, guys, for everything you have done.” And the big dope was all seriousness and, god, was he getting teary? What the hell had Tin said to him?

Every can, cup and glass around the heat cube was lifted, but Gordon stood up so he was taller than everyone for once in his life. “To the Tracy brothers!”

“Hear, hear!” It was shouted and cheered.

Virgil smiled up at him and caught Gordon’s eyes as he drank.

Alan broke the tableau.

“Who want’s mud-cake?!”

-o-o-o-

It was a very satisfied group of brothers who watched the sun dip below the horizon sometime later. The cube temperature had been lowered, but not entirely extinguished. They weren’t in tropical latitudes yet and although the days were warm, the nights got chilly. The sea breeze was gentle and the ocean only mumbled against the rocks.

Virgil had slipped into bit of a stupor, his body determined to digest and removing resources from his brain to do it. Consequently, he missed the beginning of the conversation between his brothers while he stared after the disappearing sun.

“So how long has this been going on?”

“It is just a bit of friendly recreation, Alan.”

A Gordon snort. “Yeah, John, but how friendly and what kind of recreation?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Gordon.”

“I’m only following yours, spacebro.”

“There is nothing untoward occurring between Captain O’Bannon and myself.”

“Ooh, ‘untoward’ no, but there are two lonely space souls stuck up there together, none other than each other’s company.”

This time it was Scott’s snort. “Oh, only the resident AI who sees and hears all, and about twenty-odd GDF specialists.”

“Oh, yes, Eos!” Virgil arched an eyebrow as he realised his fishbrother was tapping his collar comms. “Hey, Eos, are you willing to share the goss on your Dad and Captain Ridley O’Bannon.”

“Hello, Gordon. What would you like to know?”

“Does John have a ‘thing’ for the girl next door?”

“Most definitely.”

“Eos!” John shot up ramrod straight in his seat as Gordon cracked up laughing.

“It is true, John. You have sixteen processors, four electronic clipboards and twenty-three bottles of moisturiser set aside for Captain O’Bannon. These are all things you have for the girl next door.”

Virgil couldn’t help himself and had to smother a laugh.

The expression on Gordon’s face was a mixture of confusion and incredulity. “Twenty-three bottles of moisturiser?”

“It is her favourite brand and she was unable to purchase it before beginning her last rotation, so I acquired some for her.” He glared at his aquanaut brother. “Just like friends do.”

“But twenty-three bottles?” Even Scott was staring at John as if he was a little weirded out.

“You obviously like her. Why don’t you ask her out?” Trust Gordon to poke the issue further.

John shrugged. “Hasn’t come up.”

Gordon groaned. “Really?” His hands dropped to his knees. “I thought it would be obvious.”

John’s glare was acidic. “I can’t see why you can talk. How long did it take you to ask Penny out? Hmm, let me think, oh, yes, that’s right. You didn’t. She asked you.”

“Hey, I was bedridden!”

“Excuses, excuses...”

“Well, at least I’m making progress. Please tell me at least one of you guys has a possibility in your back pocket. Hell, we’re all tough and buff and saving people. Hasn’t anyone swooned for any of you?” Gordon’s eyes raked around the circle and to Virgil’s horror landed on him. “What about you, Virg. You and Tin have a bit of thing happening, don’t you?”

His heart missed a beat. “What? No!”

“Virg and Kayo? Are you kidding me?” Alan was glaring at Gordon, but then seemed to second guess himself and turned that glare on Virgil. “She’s our sister, bro.”

Virgil held up his hands. “Hey, it wasn’t me who postulated the idea.”

“Postulated? Really, Virg? Me thinks you be hiding behind a dictionary.”

“Shut up, Gordon.”

“I think he doth protest too much.”

“I think you should look into the fact she is spending the next month with Wayne Rigby and not entirely for mission related reasons.”

There was no satisfaction in seeing Gordon freeze like that, or Scott’s “What?”

“She’s with us for New Years, but then it is onto Siberia on the third of January. Something about the possibility of a Chaos Crew tech lab infiltration.” Virgil grabbed the carafe of hot chocolate off the heat cube and poured himself a good dose. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that wished it was something ever so much stronger.

“She hasn’t told me about any mission.” Scott was frowning at him.

Virgil hid behind his mug. “Only just came in apparently. She only mentioned it in passing while she was saying goodbye. I have no doubt she will brief you when we get home.”

Gordon was staring at him. He opened his mouth but failed to say anything.

Virgil took another sip and just stared straight back. It took a moment, but eventually Gordon appeared to shake it off, frowning just a little before turning to Scott. “What about you, bro? You’ve always been our leader in the girlfriend department. What’s the count now?”

“Thirty-two.” John was smug behind his own mug of hot chocolate.

His eldest brother shifted in his seat as if suddenly uncomfortable. “Okay, I’m with Virgil on this - shut up, Gordon.”

Gordon held up his hands in all his innocent glory. “Hey, I’m just brotherly bonding around the fire.”

“Go bond with the volcano.” John’s voice was dry. “Or a whale, I hear a few pass through on occasion.”

“Hey, you were the one keeping count.”

“I can’t help it, I’m good with numbers.”

Virgil snorted. “Not good enough. You’re at least two out.”

The glare Scott shot him could have scorched his hair off.

“Don’t worry, Scott, I’m not going to tell them about Petunia.”

“Virgil!”

“What?”

“Shut it or lose it.”

“Hey, I said I wasn’t going to tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Both Alan and Gordon were about ready to fall off their chairs with glee.

John just rolled his eyes.

“About Petunia.”

“Who is Petunia?”

“You’re an idiot, Virg.” Scott’s glare was becoming more resigned and flatter by the second. “I am so gonna let them know about Gertrude now.”

Virgil snorted. “As if I’d care. She really wanted you anyway.”

“Not true, you were her favourite.”

“Yeah, sure, she’d turn to anyone who would give her what she wanted. I just had it more often than you.”

“You planned it that way.”

“I thought you of all people would appreciate a few tactics. With you around, I need all the help I can get.”

“What?”

Okay, so that had come out a little too serious for Petunia talk, but then Virgil’s count was far smaller than thirty-two or thirty-four depending on how you counted. Early on he had tried to get out and about like his eldest brother, but honestly it wasn’t in him. He wasn’t a one-nighter like Scott. Besides standing next to the heir of Tracy Industries, tall and female magnet was like trying to catch moths while standing next to a bug zapper.

“Virgil?”

“Petunia was a goose.”

“What?!” It was choral from both Alan and Gordon and quickly followed by a “Virgil!” from Scott.

“She used to follow him around everywhere about the farm. It was hilarious.

“Yeah, well, Gertrude was goat and she once ate Virgil’s pants. He’s lucky he didn’t lose more.”

Scott and Virgil glared at each other across the heat cube while Gordon and Alan played eyeball tennis between them.

John just drank his chocolate, a vaguely amused expression on his face.

Virgil held his brother’s furious gaze as long as he could, but he had to bite his lip. The moment he realised Scott was doing the same, it became oh so much harder.

Two seconds later he cracked up laughing. Scott followed not a moment after and both of them laughed even harder when they caught sight of the expressions on Gordon and Alan’s faces.

Virgil laughed so hard he had to hold his stitches in place.

Which of course Scott saw and it drew the night to a close as big brother shifted gears into smother brother.

They cleared off the island leaving no mark behind. Gordon clucking like a hen and claiming death threats from Melissa Fisher if they left anything behind.

Making it back to the boat in the dark was easily done, but awkward and a little painful for Virgil and by the time he made it to his bed, he was worn out.

Regardless, he didn’t fall asleep immediately, despite the gentle rocking of the boat. Thoughts of what could be, what could have been and what he actually wanted bounced around the inside of his skull.

It took a long time for them to fall quiet.

-o-o-o-

End Day Two.

Day Three, Part One