#or at least the one who knew Zach existed

[g-girlshavingfun]

Zach: Thanks, Dad... Why is everyone staring at me?

Cammie: You just called Mr Solomon dad.

Macey: You said thanks, dad.

Zach: What? No, I didn't. I said thanks, man.

Joe: Do you see me as a father figure, Zach?

Zach: No, if anything, I see you as a bother figure, 'cause you're always bothering me.

Bex : Hey! You show your father some respect!

[xcherricutie]

🥀 other friends 🥀

[Lucifer Morningstar x Reader]

[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four]

[Word Count - 2.5k]

[Tags: Angst, songfic, canon typical violence]

[Notes: This was a bit more difficult to write than drift away, action scenes aren't really my forte. Also, there are mentions of Adam becoming a demon, its a bit of setup for a potential one shot relating to this series soon. I think it'd be fun to do a little series of Steven Universe song one shots within the canon these one shots have set up. Not promising anything, but it would be fun to try]

“The Hazbin Hotel is now officially open! Come stay with us for a chance to have your soul redeemed, and earn your place in Heaven!” 

The video flickered ever so slightly, the television displaying the image of Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, for both angels and demons alike to see. As the video played, Charlie giving more details about her hotel, a trio of angels looked on, the seraphims keeping their eyes glued on the ancient angel before them. You. 

Upon finding your near lifeless body standing in the abandoned Garden of Eden, Sera and Emily quickly took you into their care. You could hardly pay them any mind since Sera had told you of Lucifer’s fate, of the curse he had put on himself. He had become the Devil, the sin of pride. He had cheated on you and left you for Lilith, who he soon had a child with. The girl on the screen before you happened to be said child. The very personification of Lucifer’s betrayal. 

Your blood boiled at the sight. You had demanded information from Sera, someone you had once considered a friend. You knew she was innocent in all of this, but you could not help your anger at the fact that not only had she let Charlie into Heaven, but was working with her to redeem the sinners that Lucifer had been the cause of in the first place. He was the reason sin and chaos existed in humanity in the first place. You were mad that things had spiraled to this point, you were mad that this was apparently how the story ended. 

No. You wouldn’t have it this way. If you had known just how good Lucifer was having it now after what he did to you, you would have rather stayed ignorant of everything. Perhaps even rather let the garden claim your body, than be here, in this horrible reality. But you were here, and now, you were going to change the ending of this story. You intended to have your happy ending, at any price. 

A soft hum filled the long, glowing halls of the Hazbin Hotel, the sounds of shoes tapping with each step accompanying the hum. With a twirl of his staff, and an adjustment of his top hat, the man entered the grand entrance hall of the lobby, where everyone, including his daughter, waited. His heels clicking as he came to a stop, Lucifer stood atop the steps, looking down at everyone with a smile, his daughter catching his attention right away. 

“Dad! There you are!” Charlie exclaimed, running up the steps. Lucifer raised a brow in confusion, meeting her halfway as he walked down the steps. 

“Charlie? What’s the matter?” Lucifer asked, curious. Surely, their newest resident hadn’t already started causing trouble, right? Lucifer knew the man would be uncomfortable here, but surely Adam wasn’t jumping straight into causing chaos, hopefully. 

Charlie grabbed her father by the wrist, dragging him down the stairs, towards the small crowd of people standing in the doorway. Lucifer immediately noted the uncomfortable, even downright fearful look in their faces, even Adam seemingly upset, or at the very least, startled. His attention was whipped to whatever had caused their discomfort, his eyes widening at the sight. 

“Tears in the sky are appearing all over, and they’re clearly from Heaven,” Charlie spoke, pointing up at the rip that had begun to appear over the hotel, the golden outline of the tear drawing attention. More rips and tears dotted the skies of Hell, all across the pride ring. A soft, white light shone from inside, though nothing else seemed to come through. 

“I thought Heaven agreed to back off, I-I don’t understand,” Charlie grabbed her hair by the roots, pulling tightly. She felt the calming hand of her girlfriend, Vaggie, on her shoulder, but it did little to soothe her anxiety. 

Vaggie huffed, glaring up at the sky, clenching her angelic spear tightly in her other hand. “Well, you know how Heaven can be. They might’ve decided they’re too good for us.” 

But that didn’t seem right. Not to Lucifer at least. He knew Sera. Even if she had intended to betray them, she would’ve gone about it in a more subtle way. This seemed far more... personal. Almost as if they wanted to be seen, to catch the attention of something. Lucifer tried to piece together just what was going on, and just what he should do about it. 

His eyes widened as he noticed the rip just above the hotel widen, and something, someone, coming through. The hair on his neck suddenly stood on end, the light masking the angel, hiding their face and casting a large silhouette over the hotel. 

“Hey!” A loud, booming voice suddenly yelled, Lucifer nearly jumping in his skin. He could clearly see the ethereal glow of their eyes, and the snarl that pulled on their lips. “Are you Charlotte Morningstar?” 

“Um...” Charlie sweat nervously, putting on her best friendly smile, silently begging that maybe they were a friendly angel. But she knew that wasn’t the case, not if this was their entrance. “Yes?” 

Their lips curled upward into a smirk, grinning down at her. “Perfect.” 

Their wings curled into their back, disappearing in a burst of golden magic. Dropping to the ground, they landed just before the hotel with a loud thud, bright blue eyes turning up to look at them, crinkling at the edges as they grinned maniacally. You finally made it into Hell. 

Letting out a sinister chuckle, you stood up straight, nearly bursting at the seams with excitement. “Well, well, well, well, well! Let me get a look at the menagerie!” 

Your eyes, glowing almost ominously, roved over the group before you. Each and every person, you studied meticulously, you knew exactly which ones were of no concern, which one would stand up for the hotel, which ones you would kill. 

“You must Vaggie,” Your eyes landed on the fallen angel, watching as she visibly flinched at the sound of her name coming from your mouth. You moved onto the next one, smirking. “You must be Alastor,” 

Alastor’s eyes narrowed at you, curiosity and even a hint of worry eating at him. Something didn’t seem right about any of this. This wasn’t like the other angelic attacks, no, this seemed far more malicious. He didn’t fail to notice the horror written plainly across the Demon King’s face either, especially as your eyes finally landed on him. Lucifer. 

“And Lucifer, the King of Hell, wow! She keeps you here, isn’t that just swell?” You rolled your eyes in annoyance, your grin ever present as you tensed. You knew Lucifer was in and out of the hotel, but you had hoped to catch Charlie in a moment of vulnerability. Not that it mattered in the end, they were all going to suffer the same fate. You’d already decided how this would end. 

“I-It can’t be...” Lucifer stuttered, nearly stumbling backward, his heart thudding in his chest, drumming loudly in his ears. You let out a string of laughter, your eyes watering at the sight of his trembling frame. This was all so perfect. 

“Oh, but it can be. And it is!” You ran your fingers through your hair, watching as Lucifer’s fearful gaze was drawn to the charcoal color of your hands, as if you had been burnt, the off coloration seeping down your arms, into your skin. Purple lines streaked through your arms, your fingers more resembling claws than hands now. “I got a new style, and a few new toys that are gonna put an end to your happily ever after, once and for all!” 

“Woah, woah!” Charlie jumped to the front, holding her hands out defensively. “This has gotta be a misunderstanding! In case you haven’t heard, I’ve established peace with the Heavens—” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard,” You snapped, glaring at Charlie, who flinched. You clenched your fist, raising it as you glanced at it, before smirking at Charlie. “I’ve had your little message to the Heavens, on loop!” 

A ball of light formed in your hand, your grin stretching across your face as you threw it Charlie. The demon’s eyes widened, letting out a startled cry as it hit her square in the chest, skidding across the grass, tripping on the steps of the hotel entrance. Lucifer was immediately at her side, checking her for injuries, shooting you a dark glare. You giggled, however, your grin leaning on maniacal as your eyes glowed. 

“I just love that part, where Lucifer spends the rest of his days in this nowhere realm, with a bunch of nobodies!” 

Something in you finally snapped, rushing at Charlie. She let out a startled scream as you grabbed her by her ankles, yanking her out of Lucifer’s caring hold, standing her up straight as you danced around with her, flinging her left and right. 

“That’s right, I heard the story over and over again,” You sung cheerfully, spinning Charlie out of your grip, turning your anger on Vaggie as she flew at you, spear pointed to your heart. 

Grabbing the spear handle, the tip just barely pressing into your chest, you flung Vaggie, giggling all the while. “Gee, it’s swell to finally meet his other friends!” 

You watched as the cat demon, Husk, tried to attack, a pitiful attempt in your opinion. You grabbed him by his wings, pulling him up and pulling his feet out from under him, dropping him on the ground. “That’s right, I heard the story, don’t really like how it ends!” 

A tall, spider-like demon, Angel Dust, rushed to Husk’s rescue, yelling as he barreled towards you. You grinned as you sidestepped him, watching as he tripped over Husk. “Gee, it’s swell to finally meet his other friends!” 

Your attention zoned back in on Charlie, who was still trying to gather her wits. Grabbing her by her wrists, your pair of wings flapped behind you as you flew into the air. Charlie cried out in alarm as you tossed her upward, grabbing her by her ankles and dangling her around. “What did he say about me, what did he say?” 

Dropping Charlie, she landed with a thud as you whipped over to Vaggie, grabbing her by her waist and spinning round and round. “What did you do without me, what did you do~?” 

Throwing Vaggie, you turned your attention to the demon who had been narrowly managing to avoid you, Alastor. You grabbed him just before he could melt into the shadows, pulling him up off the ground as you held him by his waist, looking up at him with big, deceivingly innocent eyes. “Did you play games without me? What did you play?” 

Releasing him just before he could retaliate, your wings flapped as you dodged each oncoming attack with ease, gliding towards your true victim. “Did you think all this time that I wouldn’t find out about you!?” 

Your wings spread out, your blue eyes glowing as you floated just before the Devil himself, grinning madly, as if excited. Lucifer flinched under your cold gaze, completely frozen in place. However, he found himself being ripped from his place as silky golden ribbons poured from your hands, wrapping around Lucifer, around each and every sinner and demon. With a flap of your wings, you yanked the ribbons, pulling them together as they smashed into one another. 

“Oh, that’s right I heard the story over and over again, gee it’s swell to finally meet his other friends...” You landed on the roof of the hotel entrance, giggling at the sight of the demons before you scrambling to get their bearings. 

“She’s running circles around us!” Husk hissed, clawed hand running through the fur on his head. Angel scoffed, sitting up as he rubbed his pained arms. 

“I’m rusty, give me a break!” He grumbled, pushing himself up. 

As everyone stood up, one demon remained, stuck on the ground. It felt as though the whole world was spinning, threatening to uproot everything good in his life. Karma certainly was a bitch. “I-It really is her. But she can’t be serious...” 

“You know her, dad!? Can you tell us who she is?” Charlie asked, looking to her father with worry. She had never seen him look so utterly terrified. 

Charlie’s words made the thin thread of patience within you snap. You grit your teeth, blood boiling, your skin burning, your hands aching, aching to squeeze the life out of them. “Who am I!? Who am I? What are you even saying!?” 

You stomped down toward the edge, your shadow casting over them in the glowing lights of the hotel. “I’m the loser of the game you didn’t know you were playing!” 

But this was different. This time, you wouldn’t lose. Your lips twitched, curling into a shaky smirk, nerves fried and emotions haywire. “Let’s play another game! This time, I’ve got to win!” 

A burst of light from your palm startled Lucifer, the light turning into a long staff, almost electrifying. A blade formed at the top in the shape of a scythe, the glow of your angelic power combined with the ominous glow of your eyes offputting. 

“Lives on the line, winner takes all, ready or not, let’s begin!” 

With a flap of your wings, you flew at the demons, watching as they jumped to dodge you. You let out a burst of laughter, slamming your foot into the gut of one of the demons, flinging them across the hotel yard. Another demon jumped at you, the handle of your scythe smashing into them, knocking them into the others. 

“Oh, that’s right, I heard the story over and over again, gee it’s swell to finally beat his other friends!” You sang happily, grabbing the arm of Vaggie and throwing her just before she could attempt an attack. Vaggie cried out as she crashed into the ground, battered and bruised. 

“Oh, that’s right, I heard the story, don’t really like how it ends!” 

You shoved demons aside, throwing them around, all the while Lucifer could only watch. He could only watch as you terrorized his friends, and you were reveling in it. The tables had finally turned, and now, he was playing your game. 

“Gee, it’s swell to finally beat his other,” You flew around, dodging demons, zoning in on one demon in particular. This was it. “Other...” 

“Other friends!” 

Your scythe sliced clean through Charlie’s waist, the angelic weapon leaving a trail of gold through her body. Charlie’s eyes widened, a silent scream stuck in her throat, her vision blotting and clouding. The last thing she saw was the horror in her father’s eyes as he stood before her, completely frozen, unable to move. 

Charlie collapsed to the ground, the golden trail healing like a scar, almost as if it hadn’t cut through her at all. You giggled as Vaggie rushed to Charlie’s side, the other demons shortly behind her as they checked to make sure she was still alive. Your eyes remained on Lucifer, his body deathly still, as if he weren’t even breathing. He wasn’t. Because he knew exactly what you’d done. 

“Don’t worry, Luci,” You called out, a wicked grin spread across your face, as if knowing exactly what was going through his mind. “I didn’t kill her. I simply hit her with my divine light. I do wonder what would happen to a half demon being filled with angelic light...” 

You had already won.

[heartlandians]

Filling Empty Spaces (Amy/Mitch), part 237

Mitch and Amy find an unexpected connection due to absent lovers. Set around season 11->.

A/N: I didn’t have a beta for this story, so hopefully there won’t be too many grammar errors.

****

Over the course of his life, Mitch had found that tragedies didn't care if you were in the mourning or paralyzed by sadness, as life never stopped for anyone - or anything.

Back when he had lost his cousin to suicide, it had been one of the hardest things to face.

Suddenly he existed without Zach. It was something that had never been true before, and so life had not seemed right.

And as time had passed - first a day went by, then a week, suddenly months - the farther he had drifted from his time with Zach and their memories together.

Eventually, the Earth had completed its orbit of the Sun and those 365 days since Zach's death had passed.

One year without Zach had become a reality.

It had been difficult for Mitch to realize that there was no going back. That year wasn't just some trial; it was the new normal. He was going to have days without his cousin there till the end of his time.

So, time didn't stop, Mitch knew. His life went on, as harsh as it was to admit. And eventually the realities of life had forced him to continue living. Emotions had been heightened at first, but then they evened out in due course (and that had felt like betrayal). The feeling of loss never left, life was just built around it.

The tricky thing with comas compared to deaths, Mitch had now found, was that he didn't know whether to hang onto the past or look forward to the future. The past he knew, even though memories faded each day no matter how hard he tried to keep them fresh in his mind, but the future... it was unknown.

Future could either be bad or good.

But just like with Zach, life went on and his energy was needed for other things than just feeling sad. He had Maverick and Whisky to think about. He had a ranch to take care of. And he had himself to look after.

And so Mitch had decided to not lose the hope and look forward to the future, even if it was unclear what was going to happen. In order to do that, he had tricked his mind into thinking that each passing day was closer to him getting Amy back.

That was more than what one could do with someone who had already passed. At least with Amy there was still some hope left.

And eventually clinging onto that hope paid off.

Lou's visit to Big Sky Ranch almost a week into Amy's coma surprised Mitch as he was cutting the grass and wasn't expecting any visitors. The man had been about to finish the last stretch, but he then figured that that could wait because he wanted to hear the reason why Lou had dropped by.

Was it good or bad news?

Just as Lou was stepping out of her SUV, Mitch switched off the engine of the lawn mower. The scent of fresh-cut grass clippings lingered in the air as he removed his earbuds.

"Hey", Mitch greeted her shortly, airing out his sweaty head by lifting his hat.

"Hey. I probably should have called before just dropping in, but I'm on my way home from Maggie's and about to go to the hospital, so I might as well come and tell this in person", Lou started the conversation.

Lou's vague announcement made Mitch nervous. He tried reading the look on her face, but it was hard to tell whether she was here to tell him bad news or not as she already looked exhausted fighting the remains of her jet lag, while she tried to stay on top of her businesses and handle things that concerned Amy.

"Oh...?" Mitch let out skeptically, waiting her to go on.

"Yeah, so... they've started drug withdrawal couple of days ago--" Lou began.

Mitch immediately jumped to reply as the words hit him. "Couple of days ago?!"

Here he had been in some type of limbo, waiting for Lou to fill him in if anything would change, while this had been happening - and it was the first he was hearing about it!?

"But I thought you'd let me know if--" he continued but was cut off.

Lou raised her hand to calm him down, almost as if she had been expecting this type of response. If she had been in Mitch's shoes, she probably would have reacted similarly.

"I didn't want to tell you before there would actually be something to tell", Lou explained. "I mean, Amy has not even begin fully regain consciousness until today because apparently it takes a while till the administration completely ceases."

"Okay..." Mitch said. He walked closer, trying to process. He could feel his heart beat faster. "So... how is she...?"

"Grandpa told me the physician said she's responding to light and sound, but that's all for now", Lou informed him. "It's promising, but she still has a long recovery ahead of her."

"But she's alive..." Mitch whispered to himself, feeling relieved. He closed his eyes for a second and then continued with a louder voice. "So... did she say anything...? Did she talk?"

Lou shook her head. "No. She was too... disoriented."

Mitch nodded, realizing how it was hard for him to even understand what recovering from something like this could mean. There was a reason he didn't watch medical TV dramas as even fictional life and death situations made him nervous.

But he wouldn't let that intimidate him as he swore to himself that he would try his best to listen and learn - just like his dad had told him to.

"The good thing is, she's young and she was healthy before the accident, so... they are hoping it'll help her heal", Lou recapped. "The only thing that's worrying about her doctors are the previous injuries she's sustained; there are only so many head traumas anyone can take. But... they're doing a lot of testing and mapping out a rehabilitation plan, so... things are moving along - finally."

Lou touched her forehead and sighed in a way that made Mitch think she had been holding her breath ever since hearing about the accident. It was like she now had permission to breathe again.

"I know it hasn't even been a week, but this has felt like an eternity", Lou's words supported Mitch's theory.

"Yeah... Tell me about it..." he sighed out.

They both shared a beat that was filled with exhaustion and fear.

"Anyway, I should get going. I'm gonna go home, change and collect some of her things. They said that social visits and personal objects around her can help with the recovery", Lou shared, trying to stay focused.

Mitch nodded. "Thanks for letting me know."

"I'll talk to you later", Lou said, turning around to face her car.

Mitch watched her walk away, but then opened his mouth as he thought about Lou's words further.

"Hey, Lou", he called out.

The woman stopped and turned around.

"Maybe you could - I don't know - cut a small part of Spartan's mane and take few strands to her since you can't take the whole horse", Mitch suggested, thinking how that horse was one of the most important things to Amy. "If they allow something like that. It could be a familiar sensation to her."

Lou thought about it, then nodding softly. "That's not a bad idea. I think she might like that. Thanks, Mitch."

Mitch waved his hand a little, feeling like sharing a simple idea was the least he could do.

"And hey, take care of yourself too, Lou. Everything isn't always your job, you know", he added, hoping Lou wouldn't take offence as he was simply expressing his worry over her well-being.

A smile tugged the sides of Lou's mouth. "I'll try. Thanks. Bye now."

Lou then turned around and headed back to her SUV.

Mitch stood there, watching her leave and drive away, not knowing what to do with himself. He now knew Amy was awake, but he still couldn't reach her for a while.

So... in a way nothing had changed - and yet, it had?

What was he to do now?

****

At the hospital, Amy was fighting her way back.

It was hard for her to be up against her own body as it seemed like it wasn't ready to co-operate with her mind at all.

The first thing she could feel when coming out was the sensation of not knowing whether she was laying down, upright or spinning. It was like she was caught in some of kind of amusement park ride that she feared would never stop.

The line between what was real and what was not kept her guessing in other ways too. The closest thing to what she was experiencing reminded her of the times she had been diving in a pool; on one hand, it was so calm under the surface, but on the other, her body couldn't help but feel the pull toward the above. She had no control over anything, but she kept on trying.

Amy knew she couldn't stay here too long or it'd feel like she'd drown, somehow. So she tried her best to wake into a world that kept pulling her back, but it was almost as if she was at odds with everything she knew.

Where was she? How had she gotten there? What was happening to her?

What was that sound? Why did it sound so muted? Where was that bright light coming from?

Whose presence did she sense - or was there even anyone out there?

The breathing tube that she had had down her throat had been the first things to go as it had felt so uncomfortable. Even though Amy's brain was telling her to speak, even scream out as she was caught in a nightmare, nothing came out.

After some time the endless tests of seeing if she could follow the light or move a limb or even a toe followed. She tried her best, but as strange as it was to comprehend for someone who had been very active all her life, it was hard to put that much energy into something so simple, especially when her mind kept escaping from her.

Trying to focus was like running after herself in some type of maze, yet never really being able to reach the taunting figure before she turned around a corner and disappeared only to do it again later.

Pushing herself took a lot of her energy, but at the same time if she faltered, Amy could feel herself slipping closer to that scary abyss she didn't want to go into because she had a strong belief that if she did, she couldn't pull herself back from it.

The never-ending nightmare kept going for who knows how long.

And the more she thought about it, it was like time didn't exist here.

Then, through the muted sounds, she heard her name.

"Amy...?"

Even though that voice was familiar, it was hard to tell who it belonged to.

At first Amy thought maybe it was her grandmother Lyndy, caressing her hair before she'd break into a soft tune, hoping to wake her granddaughter up in the morning so they could go collect wild strawberries.

But she was dead, Amy suddenly remembered.

Mom? Amy guessed next.

But then her mind flashed her an image of her mother, covered in shards of glass over her face, bleeding out against the frame of her truck while Spartan kept kicking the walls of the trailer.

Or was that the thunder?

No. No. No.

Amy didn't want to see that. If she could have shaken her head, she would have.

She didn't even know if that was a real memory or just something her brain had come up with while trying to piece out what exactly had happened during their accident.

"Amy?" the voice said again. "Can you feel this...?"

The focus now turned to her hand. She felt something against her skin.

Maybe grass? A paint brush?

No. Those were not it.

She knew what it was. It was just hard to find the word for it.

It felt like her brain was itching.

What was that?

Whatever it was, it kept her present, away from the abyss and she couldn't be more thankful for that.

[maskmerchand]

@savidem BOUGHT a STARTER .

     WHAT   A   QUIET   LIFE   THE   MERCHANT   LED.   zone 2, collectively known as   BISMARK,   was a   ( less than )   beautiful collection of an array of   BUSINESSES   and   AREAS   for all those who   dared   to explore them. not a soul who wandered through these districts and regions would find a   MORTAL / CREATURE   who inhabited their vessel, outside of the   ELSEN'S   and typical array of   SIDE - CHARACTERS   zacharie affectionately called his   FRIENDS & FAMILY.   but there was one particular   PLACE   that held an arrangement of knick - knacks and essentials that fueled the frenzied consumerism that the   ( very little )   patrons desired   -----   the   SHOPPING CENTER.   what a stunning maze this place was, filled with   TWIST / TURNS   and a variety of   SOULS   that were as lost as they were upon their manifestation.   sweet bliss, is it not?   perhaps not to the average player, but zacharie certainly enjoyed the aimless mindset that each organism carried within their think - pan.

     aside from a few friends   ( and arguably, family )   such as the   JUDGE   and   VALÉRIE   ( where has he been? dead, he knew. ),   not a single soul that inhabited these beautiful zones had a thought behind their mindless eyes. but recently, a newcomer had appeared that harbored MALICIOUS   intent in regards to their home, but zacharie understood the   MISSION   and recognized the player behind the visage was only completing their desired quest.   c'est la vie, as they say!

     the masked merchant working behind the counter had likely polished his wares approximately fifty - or - so times before his friendly little   BATTRE   came in. the man did not even need to look toward his direction, back facing the purifier as he reorganized his stock for the tenth time this past hour   ( was time even real here? he didn't know. but it did provide structure ).   upon the   DING   of the bell from his arrival, the merchant turned on one heel to face the   CREATURE,   his eyes glimmering behind the mask. he was ready to present his well - appointed lines to the retched, as he had expected his arrival long before his manifestation in the zones.

     ❛ hola, ma petite battre, how has the weather been treating you this fine day? ❜   first of all, it wasn't day. time didn't exist in this world, at least not to his knowledge. and the weather? gloomy and stale, and it   REEKED   of plastic.

     ❛ how's the purification of these precious little zones been, hm? do you perhaps need a   LUCK TICKET   to give yourself a bit of a boost? only 40 creditos, mi amigo. ❜   zach was lax in movement, placing his elbow on the counter as he rested his head on hand, tilting it in general curiosity. 

[jaiyiee]

FORBIDDEN LOVE 1821

Continuation

Suddenly, i met Zach, he was masculine , handsome and hot also cheerful and attractive. Also, a son of General Governor the highest official here in the Philippines in the time of Spanish period. It was 5pm in the afternoon. I was in a wooden bench enjoying the good looking paradise in front of me, just kidding hahahaha....

"Hi, gorgeous what is your name? es como si te acabara de ver. Are you new residence here?" Dios mio guapo. I'm so confused what if i'm just assuming, sere amable. Dios mio, que sea mic solo el. I said quetly, but then i see his brown gorgeous eyes waiting my answer.

"a mi?" I said with curiosity, you know, perhaps im just assuming; he was just insame asking himself.

"Hay alquien mos con quien estoy hablando aqui?" Asked the guy in front of me. Mi amor, why are you like that me econocione por un momento. It is not coincidence that i met this handsome boy perhaps God allowed this to happened. In this chaotic world, i thought that destiny would be cruel in me but i'm thankful that God allowed this to happened look how coquette my mind. I have a huge problem if i tell him that im from the present he would judge me and think that im insane. God what would i do now?

"Oh, sorry. Yes, i am new here, actually i grew up in Europe. Mi Madre was a Filipina while my Father was an Espanyol". I said, oh God! Help me i know that i lied but i am scared that he will judge me if he knew that im from the present. Even though it is only a dream but maybe my situation right now has the huge impact why i am here. I really miss my lola Minda so much; i know that she is worried about me but i cant go back in time.

"Porque estas solo-aqui? Tienes algo que esperar aqui? It is getting dark here outside. Are you familiar that theres a curfew at 6 o' clock right?" Asked the guy lord what should i do now? I am homeless.

"Nothing, i just love the environment here it so peaceful and i feel safe. Look how gorgeous the sunset is". I asked to the guy but literally i dont have home to take a nap. I lied again.

"Okay i see, if you dont mind, i can accompany you here to ensure that you are safe, no te preocupes no soy un mal tipo. By the way i'm zach Hernandez 21 yrs old. How about you?". Askes the guy, he looks kinda so maybe i could let him be with me tonight because its too dark, i dont even want to be a cold body next day because of some rapist out there.

" Yah sure, my name is Zhashna Blanca 18 yrs old. Thank you for being here at least i have someone to talk to. Nice to meet you!". I sincerely asked then he tells me about himself and i admire him every detail that i heard from him makes me more curious about him.

Everyday our meeting place is at the bench under the mango tree. He was so gentleman; that is wht i felt valuable, he makes me smile out of nowhere that makes me felt more excited. My heart beats faster; i think im inlove with the guy in my dream. He taught me how to be matured and how to adopt the environment. I learned a lot of things. His existence influences me a lot its like im havinf older brother that taught me good deeds. I dont knew why im so dependent to this guy, like im willing to wait him in a long time just to see him. Perhaps, i just appreciate. What he did for me or im in love. I dont know damn, im insane.

I even tell him that i exist in the present and this was a drean fir me because i an comatose for 1 year and i am glad that he understands me. I know that i can control my dream, but this time i cant control Zach, i dont know why. We are in a relationship right now. A qui no le gusta tanto como es sincer. He was the only one that treat me like a princess, love me for being who i am and understands me, for almost 1 year that i was in this dream our relationship together deepens.

But one day i felt that i will woke up for being comatos i heard the tears and voices of joy of my loved ones. They wabt to make up with me and i know that they are sincere in asking forgiveness. God knows that since the day that i chose to be with Lola, is the day that i forgive them i just sulking in reason to didnt give me time wheb i heard their voice, their somethinf in my chest that heals, the wall that i kep for how many years finally destroyed.

One afternoon i told Zach that can finally woke up that i can go back in my real exustence. But instead of choosing my family and be with them, i chose to be with Zach and live with this world of dreams. Yes, he was happy but i felt that he just fakes it. These past few weeks he is being cold as ice; he is not that Zach that i used to love before. Now i can see his true colors, that the words that he cared to much, it easy for him to tell hurtful words. But anything that makes him get mad at me, i changed it all because i love him. Even forcing myself to understand him. But i was so exhausted doing this shit i cant understand him anymore. It was 3rd week of October year 1821, when he tells me that hwa was just using me for his own sake. He tells that there was a girl that he really loved and it makes his as a wandering soul. He admitted that he was just a soul who can enter to the dream of humans to fool it and hooked its soul. To be able exist in this world , he needs to find a soul as an exchange to make him free. It is a big mistake that i loved each it is a wrong move that he chose me as his victim because anytime i can go back in time. When i heard his explanation and reason. It made my heart broken into pieces. I dont even understand why he needs to do this. I thought all the things that he does for me is true but i was wrong he just used me foe his own saje. Why he needs to do this in being true to him. I dont even question his existence because i love him so much but look what happened. Argh! I dont want to see him anymore!

[904sad]

My Facebook Page's Comments Section Wanted A QB Rankings Article. Now You'll Suffer, Too

For the record, I hate QB ranking articles. I hate listicles. I hate blogs that force writers to do listicles (and still don’t pay flat fees for them). Unfortunately, however, I have fostered a community of degenerates, and us degenerates love a chance to spew hot takes from the fires of Lake Minnetonka. We love to see who has the balls to go out on a limb and defend themselves in the comments section.

We’re barbarians. Heathens, even.

As we revel in the hilarity, however, we also practice a slight bit of intellectualism. Here at 904 SAD, you can have any opinion you want.

Well, as long as you can back it up.

This is why writing an article about the best returning quarterbacks in college football is difficult for me. Shedeur Sanders was the best QB in HBCU football last year, but North Carolina Central’s signal caller (and his Right Guard) put on a clinic in the Celebration Bowl last year. Also, NFL wise, we can’t tell who is worse between Zach Wilson and Trey Lance. Mainly because Trey Lance never plays. All that aside, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance were superstars at BYU (a Group of 5 Independent) and North Dakota State (a 1-AA powerhouse). They both went in the Top 3 of the NFL Draft and each of their franchises regret the picks to this day.

So, pro-level projections aren’t gonna be a thing in this article.

A numbered list won’t be present either.

Instead, we are going to use the written word to find out who the *best* returning starter in FBS or FCS college football is. Sorry D2, D3, NAIA, and NJCAA gunslingers. I’m not being an elitist. Unfortunately, us small school alums know all too well that you’re just gonna end up transferring to a D1 school the first chance you get either way (Why, Austin Reed? Why?).

THE LANDSCAPE

is shit.

Even if you take out the pro potential of the guys available for evaluation, Caleb Williams probably shouldn’t have won the Heisman last year. Come to think of it, Drake Maye wasn’t even a finalist for the damn thing. Unfortunately, that happens when you go 9-5 with a Power 5 schedule. Meaning ya lost 5 games. Meaning it’s hard to be the best player in college football when you can’t beat the best players in college football at least ten times (Lamar Jackson Somewhere: Hey!).

Also, picking Caleb Williams or Drake Maye is too easy. I mean, after all, the correct answer is either one of them. One is being coached by Lincoln Riley and the other one is what Arch Manning is supposed to be.

To make matters even worse, there are a lot of pedestrian fifth-year seniors and pandemmy-waiver dynamos who haven’t even broken 5,000 yards in their entire careers yet. There's also guys like Bo Nix who had one of the best offensive lines in the world, put up some phenomenal stats his first year in a new environment, and still couldn’t leverage his years of SEC experience to make a real run in the Pacific 12. 10-3 ain’t a bad record at all, but Oregon has been pumping out future Hall of Famers and All-Pros for years now. Eventually, somebody has to do what Marcus Mariota did that one time (That One Guy In The Distance: make a fuckin’ playoff, you dorks!).

So, winning obviously has to be a metric when determining who the best returning starter is. Before you guys start: Yes, I’m about to be extremely hypocritical. I wouldn’t be a proper sports journalist (*DEEP COUGH*) if I wasn’t.

MARK GRONOWSKI - South Dakota State

This MF has already led SDSU to the FCS Championship Game TWICE. Once in the spring (that one pandemmy season) and once in the fall last season. Did I mention that Gronowski is going into his Junior year? No? Well, did I tell you that he’s 22-3 as a starter? No? Damn, did I tell you that he’s been a team captain since 2022?

This man is a WINNER, son.

While Group of 5 guys are stat padding in the basement of the Bowl Subdivision, this man is sending an entire state to a promised land it never knew existed.

Throwing or running for a TD against Iowa would have been nice (would have won them the game in a blowout, actually), but at least he didn’t do what sooooo many FCS guys do against Power 5 teams early in the season: completely tank his squad’s chances of winning. Also, you know a QB has the juice when he is winning for programs that are never televised (ESPN+ matters!), rarely have guys taken in the draft (i’m including RD 7, too), and are in parts of the country that have less than 900,000 people in the entire state. Yes, you read that correctly. There are more bandwagon Patriots fans left over from 2018 than the entire state of South Dakota has residents. Gronowski is doing the Lord’s work.

SAM HARTMAN - Notre Dame

Wake Forest would like a word. Sam Hartman is so honored to play for the great cathedral that is Our Lady in Christ, but he made his initial set of bones playing for a…wait…huh? That can’t be right.

How can a Deacon be from Hell?

Anyway, Hartman is a 17th year senior who has 12,967 passing yards under his belt. Unless he has a season BETTER Joe Burrow’s in 2019, he won’t be catching Case Keenum’s all-time record for career passing yards (19,217). HOWEVER, Hartman only needs a measly 1,112 yards to pass Rakeem Cato for 10th all-time in the history of college football. That certainly makes him a name my list should respect, as Hartman also has the chance to play for a program with the resources, tools, and schedule to make a run for the College Football Playoff. This means the Irish signal caller could net that elusive First Team All-American nod he needs to be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Storylines, people. Storylines.

SHEDEUR SANDERS - Colorado

HEY, why are you booing me??? I’m right!

Sheduer Sanders led Jackson State to its most relevant era on the field in a minute. Yeah, he lost both Celebration Bowls, but the developing star led his team to a 23-3 record while he was under center. Sanders also won the Jerry Rice Award (Best FCS Freshman), the Deacon Jones Award (Best HBCU All-Around Player), and the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2022.

Look, you asked me who the best returning starters in the country were. I answered the question (lul).

Entering into his first Power 5 season, Sanders will have a lot to prove in the Pac-12. Like Sam Hartman, Sanders’ prolific production at his previous school was not enough to earn him a First-Team All-American honor. That means the Head-Buffalo-in-Charge (the Chief Buffalo is his daddy) will probably need to make the College Football Playoff for the first time as a starter to make the media tides swing his way.

JORDAN TRAVIS - Florida State

Mike Norvell probably gets fired if Jordan Travis doesn’t turn the corner last year.

After years of development and struggle, Jordan Travis tossed the rock for over 3,000 yards, led his compadres to a 10-win season, thrashed the Florida Gators (who had a Top 5 NFL Draft pick under center [LUL]), and won a bowl against….

Wait, FLORIDA STATE BEAT OKLAHOMA?!

AUSTIN REED - Western Kentucky

Former National Champion? Check (2019 for West Florida)

Bonkers ass single-season as a passer? Check (9-5 record with 389 completions, 602 pass attempts, 4,744 yards, 40 TDs, and 11 picks in 2022)

CUSA Newcomer of the Year Award? Check (2022)

Bowl game win WITH the MVP to match? CheckCheck (2022 New Orleans Bowl)

The resume speaks for itself. Yes, the National Title for West Florida was won in Division 2, but Reed made the MEGA D2 to FBS jump last year and did the best thing Western Kentucky (or any CUSA team for that matter) could hope to do - Win. A. Bowl. Game. And guess what, he’s suiting up for a college football team in 2023.

Which means….(Isiah Thomas: I fit the criteria).

CAMERON RISING - Utah

Played against the Heisman Winner in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game and blew the Heisman Winners’ Malibu doors off the frame and the hinges.

Was efficient and accurate all year with a 64.7% completion percentage.

20-8 record as a starter with 2 Pac-12 Championships to his name.

Uh, yeah. Cue the Isiah Thomas ad-lib again. (Isiah Thomas: I fit the criteria).

AFTER THIS BATCH OF GUYS,

the list gets murky.

Spencer Rattler was supposed to be the #1 overall pick. Then he sucked. Then he transferred to South Carolina and got…hmm.

DJ Uiagalelei got Dabo Sweeney to do something he’s never done before: Give up on his guys. Before we knew it, DJU was benched for a Freshman and Coach Sweeney started looking for new coordinators to replace his new coordinators. Damn, son; that ain’t good.

Bo Nix has a chance to break out (like, REALLY break out), but what will it lead to? Will pretty numbers be enough to win? Or will it all just lead to some team taking a “flyer” on him in the 4th round? We’ll see.

Jalon Daniels? Ha.

Jayden Daniels? Ha. Ha.

Tyler Van Dyke? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Emory Jones? HA. HA. HAAAAAAAAA.

SO, YEAH

The past 2 NFL Drafts have taken a lot out the sport. Even if I scour the rest of the FCS and Group of 5, I’m not gonna find a guy who’s better than Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. That means I have to make a decision based on the guys I already named in this article. And with that, I choooooooseee…

FLORIDA STATE QB JORDAN TRAVIS: The Man Who Saved Multiple Families From A Cold Winter.

Well, not Odell Haggins’. That man ain’t ever gettin fired.

[lukamoonvibe]

Chapter One: Redemption Lies Blatantly In Truth

Chapter Index

Summary: 

Medalling with time has a consequence, the consequence of his choice is to be a slave to it until Fate decides he's no fun anymore or he escapes...but does he really want to escape anymore? It's been so long, what would even be the point of going back anymore? Would anyone still remember him? Probably not. No one escapes Fate and lives to tell the tale. Not even a traveller of time.

Fandoms: Crewniverse, Crewfu/Morning Lobby, Chaos Crew/Derp Crew

Characters: Anthony | ChilledChaos, Max Gamble | APlatypuss, Steven | ZeRoyalViking , Taylor | TayderTot, Zach | CheesyBlueNips, Lucas | KYRSP33DY, Apollo Willems | Dumdog, Albi | SideArms4Reason, Skadj, Steven Suptic, 5up, Madi | Kruzadar, Shelby Grace | Shubble [Updated as I add more]

Rating: Mature

Status: On Going

To traverse time must be a lonely venture. 

She had told him this once and he just laughed, but how right she was. He would give anything to go back, to see his friends and family again. But he had chosen his path, that of someone who travelled solo, someone who oversaw time itself, someone who was bound to preserve love but never receive it. It truly was a lonely venture, but someone had to do it.

He’d heard them all say that time was chaotic, but to him, it was tranquil, almost peaceful, chilling. He never had to choose where to go, if he was not meant to be somewhere he would be denied access. It was how he knew he wasn’t meant to be home, not yet at least. He’d tried many times to just walk back through his door, go back, forget this ever existed, and live a normal life. Every time the door was locked, didn’t budge no matter how much brute force he put into it. After the first few decades, he gave up trying. 

I won’t remember you will I?

No…

He’d managed to fall time and time again, knowing that it would only end in misery for him. The eternal existence of heartache. Watching the ones he loved to move on when he had to go. Watching them grow old with their families. Knowing it would never be him, he’d never get that chance. After the first century he stopped watching the timelines play all the way through, he couldn’t bring himself to watch them all be happy and inevitably die in the end, living full prosperous lives. At first, jealousy flowed through his body like poison, but now he was numb to it. He’d learnt to not fall in love, or at least to try not to. It was hard, but a rejection they would forget nonetheless. But one he would never forget, or maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe the heartache reminded him that somewhere deep down he was still human, capable of feeling emotions, love, passion, anger, and hatred. A feeling of humanity is what kept him sane in the timeless void that was his home.

Stay, please.

I can’t.

He had tried, way too many times to just stay where they, whoever they were, allowed him to go but it always ended in some disaster happening and the end of that timeline. He knew when it was time to leave. A strong sensation of being pulled away came over him like he was being stretched endlessly in two different directions. He only made the mistake of resisting once and it was extremely painful. His entire body felt like it was on fire, his insides felt like they were being ripped out. But still, he fought until the pain was just too much and eventually he had to give in and be whisked away. So he learnt not to fight it, just let it happen, it was probably better for everyone anyway, that they just forget him, just move on and be happy again.

Let me come with you!

No.

Why?

You’ll die.

He wasn’t sure if it was a lie. He’d never tried to bring anyone with him, but he was sure if he did try it would be something like that. Maybe not death, but an eternity of pain and suffering. Which to him sounded much worse than just letting them go. They never argued when he told them that. Many people feared death, but to him death was just a new beginning. A chance to start again. In a way, this job was kind of like groundhog day. Except it wasn’t the same day on repeat over and over, it was always the same people. He always managed to find them, or maybe they found him, whatever the case he wished Fate would let it be anyone else. To have to leave them behind broke him more and more every time. Maybe that was the plan, to break him beyond repair but he wouldn’t let it happen, he was too stubborn to give up and let Fate win. Nobody had bested Fate yet but he sure as hell was going to try.

I know you can’t stay, so go. She has me in her grasp too.

His eyes opened and he drew in a deep breath, “Speedy-” he sat up and looked around.

Surrounded by the light purple hues of the void, mist floated around ominously coaxing him towards a door but he stayed where he was. ‘She has me in her grasp too.’ the words seemed to burn themselves into his brain. When I go again, I have to find him first. He knows something I don’t. Something important. He was so deep in thought he didn’t even notice his body involuntarily heading towards the door, he tried to stop himself but it was too late, he was gone again.

[fanboymickey]

Eddie, do you copy? 

Prologue

On Wednesday, February 2nd, 1966, Eddison Wesley Munson was born to eighteen-year-olds, Vincent and Eva Munson. The ground was covered in a light dusting of snow and, much like the winter, Eddie came into the world quietly, as if he knew he wasn’t supposed to make a sound. His parents agreed to name him after Vincent’s late uncle died in world war two. They thought naming him after someone they loved would make them want him more. Neither had met Vincent’s Uncle Eddison. They only knew of him in stories Vincent’s father would share about their shared childhood- just him and his brother against the world. In reality, Eva never wanted to be a mother and Vincent didn’t want to be a father, but one night of fooling around in the back of Vincent’s car after their spring formal led them to where they were now. 

The night Eva found out she was pregnant, she wept in her mother's arms. For a woman in the sixties, there weren’t many options, especially if one found themselves in Eva’s situation. Her mother held her tightly, rubbing her back, and reassured her that everything would be ok. Of course, it wouldn’t be, but neither of them knew that then. The two eighteen-year-olds had been forced to marry when Eva’s pregnancy was discovered. They didn’t get a say in whether it was something either of them wanted because growing up in a small town in Indiana meant that once one person knew, then the whole town knew. 

Eva stared down at the doe-eyed baby. His brown eyes burned into her identical ones. It scared her how much he looked like her. Eddie didn’t make a sound, he just stared up at his mother as if he knew she wasn’t his to keep. He was forever hers, but Eva knew she was never his to keep. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. However, this was the first time she ever considered running. She knew she didn’t want this life. She didn’t want to be a wife. She didn’t want to be a mother. She didn’t want him, but she stayed- at least for now, she did. She didn’t quite dare to leave yet. 

Eva resided herself to this life. She was the perfect mother and wife on paper. She would cook, she would clean; she was affectionate and caring. She was also distant and would hide away in the bathroom to cry to herself. She became mostly content with life and even had another child.

On Friday, June 13th, 1969, Zachariah Alexander Munson was born. He came into this world kicking and screaming. He was the complete opposite of his older brother, who came into this world quietly. It was as if he knew this picture-perfect family he was born into was only temporary. Once again, Eva sat in the hospital bed staring down at her second-born son, who had the same doe-eyed look as his brother did. She thought maybe, just maybe, she could have a redo with this one, and maybe she would love him more. However, that feeling didn’t come. She loved her sons, but not enough to stay. Zach’s existence proved that to her. 

It was a warm day in July when their mother left. Eddie was four years old and Zach was just over a year old. Eddie doesn’t remember much, but he remembers the sound of drawers opening and closing loudly, his father calling after his mother, his crying mother briefly kissing him and Zach on the foreheads, followed by the sound of the front door slamming shut. 

That following year, Eddie and Zach would move back and forth between living in their grandparents' house and the small three-bedroom house they grew up in. Vincent left to find Eva and convince her to come back home. He had found her in New York City at a small coffee shop. He watched through the window as she sat with a few friends he didn’t recognize, smiling and laughing. She was happy for the first time in a long time. He knew this was the life she was supposed to have- not the one they made together in Hawkins, Indiana. Vincent never resented the boys, but ‌resented the choices he had made. What if he hadn’t met Eva? There wasn’t a reality where he didn’t see himself with her. She was the love of his life, however; he wasn’t hers.

As the years went by, Vincent turned to alcohol as a way of coping with his life seemingly falling apart. Vincent couldn’t hold down a job for more than a month or two, which eventually led to them losing the house. Vincent and the boys moved back into his parents' house. The shame Vincent felt about his actions would cause him to disappear for days and even weeks at a time, on a drinking bender; hardly checking in on the boys. 

When Eddie was nine and Zach was six, their grandmother died from a heart attack.

When Eddie was eleven and Zach was eight, their father died. He had drunk his way to the grave. Their grandfather died shortly after. Their Uncle Wayne became their legal guardian, and they moved into the small three-bedroom trailer. 

The boys both learned to cope with all the losses they experienced in different ways; Eddie turned to fantasy literature and games such as Dungeons and Dragons for escapism and learned to play guitar to channel his emotions into his music. He also decided, as he put it, “I will never, ever be like my parents. I don’t want that white picket fence, two and a half kids bullshit.” 

Zach, however, chose to cope through creating goals and working hard. He took his pain and channeled it into basketball, skateboarding, and photography. He wanted to be good at everything because maybe if he was good at everything he did, then maybe he was worthy of being loved. He got involved in multiple extracurriculars; Photographer for Weekly Streak, Member of the Hawkins High Basketball Team, and occasionally a member of Hellfire Club. 

They knew they’d always ultimately have each other’s back, no matter how much they felt their lives were going in two different directions. 

On the night of March 22nd, 1986, when Eddie is twenty and Zach is sixteen, Eddie goes missing and Zach's entire world gets flipped upside down.

[liturgusakrattorum]

runes story infodumping while i eat lunch :3 this ended up being a bit long so i’ll put this under a read more LOL

AtroCorp Biotechnologies is part medical company, part wildlife research startup. founded by Dr. Cassius Castellanos, the company's spent over 50 years finding ways to help humans by learning how animals have evolved to survive and incorporating it into their medical technology. Dr. Castellanos unfortunately passed away about a year ago, leaving his son, Corvus, to take up the reins.

during this year's international villains' convention, AtroCorp announced a partnership with Pave Nature, Inc. to build several new branches of its company. alongside that, both companies revealed a fantastic new technology AtroCorp had unearthed: Creature Power Runes. AtroCorp itself had been researching them for years beforehand, but they'd recently discovered the existence of several more beyond the few they already had.

Paisley, being this year's convention spokeswoman, introduced the Hunt — an international race among the villains to locate the remaining Runes. Whoever got their hands on one was free to use them however they wanted (they sell for incredibly high prices!). This obviously got the attention of Donita, Gourmand, and Zach, each for their own reasons.

Donita found that the Runes could be used for her new jewelry line, and the animalistic features that contact with one of them tended to create was the perfect way to accessorize her work. Gourmand believed the Runes could be refined into exquisite spices that he could sell at the next location he opens.

And Zach -- ever the robotic genius -- knew he could use the Runes to power his animal-based technology, should he find a way to tap into their full power. Plus, they were a hell of a lot easier to wrangle than live creatures.

Meanwhile, the Tortuga Crew (none the wiser to the Hunt that had been announced just a month or so before) have been doing their own research into the three Runes Aviva had found prior to putting the team together. At the time things kick off, the crew is in possession of the Arctic Wolf, Peregrine Falcon, and Cheetah Runes.

The crew gets roped into everything when Zach attempts to steal the Runes from them; Martin and Chris learn about the Hunt after stumbling upon Zach’s plans on his ship. The crew realizes. Hm! This could get ugly if the Runes end up in the wrong hands. And so they make it their goal to get their hands on whatever Runes they can before the villains do.

A majority of the story follows the crew as they travel around the world and do their thing (kinda similar to what we see in the canon show, except there’s that overarching plot of piecing together what’s happening in the background). Alongside doing their field work, Chris and Koki are working together to discover the origin of the Runes, although much of their research has turned up very little. The two of them have at least narrowed down their search to somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, but the exact location is still unknown.

Coincidentally, much of their progress comes from their run-ins with Pave Nature and AtroCorp. After discovering multiple excavation sites around the world, the crew learned that the two companies are looking for the same thing they are. (Also coincidentally, Aviva seems particularly uncomfortable every time the crew encounters AtroCorp...)

So far, Martin and Chris are the only ones who can use a Creature Power Suit. Aviva’s inventions are mostly compatible with the Runes, although there’s still a lot of malfunctions she needs to fix. The more the bros test em out, the better of an understanding she has of how Rune technology works. This actually ends up becoming the basis of the Creature Power Disks later :]

[universallychaoticpan]

Hello! Ik you wrote this a really long time ago, but your one-shot about Levi being a Titan shifter and moving to the walls with the reader was so so good omg. The brainrot has infected me, sO could I request a part two to that one? Maybe the two of them going through the trial (like Eren’s in canon), and maybe them managing to negotiate so they are immediately killed by the military police? For some extra angst, maybe Levi being really hesitant to allow himself and his wife to be dragged into another war when they just found peace. Only if you want to of course! Have a lovely day!

Sorry this took a sec, I've been dealing with migraines and then this got deleted, but I hope you enjoy it! Loved this idea a lot so I just had to do my best to write for it <33

Somehow, you'd thought that making out of Marley meant being safe- you'd thought that maybe, for once, you'd be able to live safely and happily away from the constant threat of war.

Or at least, as happily as you could knowing what no one else did; knowing what lay beyond the rolling hills and sprawling plains of Paradis.

Stupid.

Such naivete is what had landed you here: hands bound tightly behind you with the millitary police on either side of you and your husband, a rifle trained on him, kneeling in the center of a courtroom. Across from you, you caught the eye of a boy, no older than 15, looking just as afraid as you felt; you'd come to know him as Armin Arlert; one of the two witnesses who now held your lives in the balance.

Scarcely daring to breathe, you watched as three men entered and took their respective places. Even though you'd only lived on Paradis for so long, there was only so much time you could go through without hearing three names and learning just who these men were:

Erwin Smith

Niles Dock

And Darius Zachely

And you knew that if you couldn't convince the latter you weren't enemies of humanity, that you wouldn't make it out of your current situation alive.

So for a while you watched and listened, heart drowning out any sound until you were simply watching people's mouths move in speech as sweat rolled down your back. That was until, a voice mentioned your name, and all at once, you saw Levi's eyes flash to you filled with fear as you were dragged to the ground. Almost immediately though, he took his eyes off you and you did the same; he was trying to protect you, and as much as it broke your heart, you knew the truth wouldn't help either of you.

"How do you know this woman," Zachely grunted, Niles's eyes narrow and suspicious as the room waited on the answer with bated breath.

"I don't," Levi responded. "She owned the house I was hiding out in. Forced her to let me stay." "And yet," Niles countered, "for that to be so she would've had an extensive history within the walls. Instead, we find no traces of her existence. No family, friends, no one who can even say they ever saw her before the fall of Trost. Add to that you ability to wield the power of a titan and letting you both live sounds like a recipe for disaster." Turning to Zachely, who had his hands clasped in though under his chin, he finished. "It's our belief that they should both be executed here and now before they can-"

"Now hold on."

For the first time, Erwin had spoken; for another moment he was silent, the room quiet as a tomb as he surveyed the both of you; Levi's bruised face, your eyes hooded and bleary from days without sleep. "According to our witnesses the defendant in question was not actively pursuing the people fleeing Trost. In fact, he seemed uninterested in anyone but this woman in particular; everyone else was left alone. Mr. Arlert, Mr. Jaeger, what say you?"

Swallowing hard, the blonde boy started forward, once again staring at your eyes: they were full of panic and desperation, begging him to say what he knew.

So he did.

"Commander Smith is right," he began, voice shaking as Zachely's intense stare focused in on him. "The defendant did not go after or attempt to harm a single person. All he did was attack and kill several titans. I believe Commander Smith sees this man as a potential asset to the survey corp's cause; if he is in fact a titan who only kills other titans, than we have gained an ally no matter how strange it may seem."

"And the woman?" This was once again Niles, who nodded to a soldier; in a moment there was the barrel of a rifle planted against the side of your head, your eyes as well as Levi's widening in shock while your mouth went dry. "If we can use him as a potential weapon, so be it; as long as he can be controlled, it's your funeral. But she remains an object of suspicion: no one can validate her life within the walls, and she herself maintains that she can not for our safety reveal what she knows until she is sure of us. Do what you will with him; but letting her life seems like more risk than it's worth. We aren't even sure what it is she does-"

"Kill her and I don't fight."

His voice was hard and stubborn, your husband's eyes trained on you; he'd betrayed the nonchalance that had been protecting him; and like a dog, Niles saw the opening, ready and open for him to sink his teeth into.

"Oh? So she's more than the woman who provided you shelter? Seems peculiar that you would care so much for the life of a stranger." As if on cue, the rifle at your temple clicking as the safety was switched off. "Tell us then, if you don't want a bullet through her pretty head."

When he was silent, Niles sighed impatiently. "We don't have all day here. I'm giving you three seconds. One."

Your heart was racing, your eyes warning him not to say a word.

"Two."

His own eyes were fixed on you in horror, a silent debate taking place as he tried to find a way to keep you alive without exposing you. If the truth came out, there was no way to avoid being dragged right back into the same war you'd run from. If he stayed quiet, though, he knew there was no way you would leave the room alive. He was panicking, and if there was one thing he knew well, it was that no one ever made the best choice while panicked.

So he did the only thing that would keep you alive.

"Thre-"

"She's my wife," he gasped out finally, fear overtaking him at last. It was rare to see him well and truly afraid and even after so long, it still shocked you. "She's my wife and a scientist-"

"What does she study?"

This was asked sharply by the brunette standing near Erwin, her eyes now alert as she watched your teary eyes intently.

"Titans," you whispered. "I uh- I study titans and titan paralysis agents." You left out the fact that when you'd left, your research had been in favor of Marley: how to combat such agents and make their titans more suitable for battle as technology advanced. They didn't even know those enemies existed. You weren't about to admit that you had been buying them more time.

"Well there you have it," Erwin said calmly, voice easy and measured as Niles reluctantly motioned for you to be lifted from the cold floor - which you were, albeit roughly, - "her abilities revealed." Turning to Zachely, he gestured to the both of you, your body still weak and legs threatening to give way under you, and Levi straining against his bonds with a gun still on his every move. "It seems to me, Premier Zachely, that both of these two would be assets to our fight against the titans. All that remains to be seen is how far they are willing to go."

He was right.

Somehow, you'd both found yourself back in the same war you'd run from; all you could do now was whatever it took to stay alive.

[sevensistersofsussex]

Elena Gilbert Meta: Why is she so secretive?

Children often use secrets as ways to exercise control when they grow up feeling like they have no control, particularly in situations where their caregivers are overly controlling.

We get this narrative that Elena's family life was very idyllic and the reason for the downfall was the night her parents drowned, but I think that Elena is either an unreliable narrator and is remembering her dead loved ones in a better light than the truth. I think part of her nature is because she is a doppelganger, but I think her upbringing has a role.

1) Town Council

Elena's parents are both in on this huge secret of the town council and if it weren't for the point below that comes up in season five, you could argue that they were being vigilant but maybe didn't know that vampires were still around or even existed. Zach knew, but maybe he would keep it hush since the ones he knows are also his ancestors? But the experiments. No. Elena's parents knew and they never told her. Let her go out to parties in the woods unprepared. Never mentioned it to her or Jenna to maybe...I dunno, be careful about who they invite into the house. Didn't even sneak vervain in her morning cereal? Maybe Zach had just started growing it after the car accident? But unlikely. They were keeping a huge secret from her and there is no way she didn't at least have a suspicion that they were keeping secrets. That kind of atmosphere builds a foundation of someone valuing secrets and information.

2) Augustine Experiments

Dr. Grayson Gilbert was running experiments on Enzo in the basement of his old medical practice and leaves toddler Elena alone long enough for her to hear Enzo in 5x10. She is drawn towards the noises and almost gets to the door before he stops her.

The level of neglect to bring your child to a place that houses a dangerous vampire and then just let her out of your sight like that is astounding. For me, this makes me wonder how likely it is that her parents were neglectful in general beyond just this one incident. This is a man who is arrogant enough to believe not only can he control vampires and use them to work on experimental medicine, but who also believes that that he is so in control of the situation that his young daughter is also safe.

I believe he is arrogant and controlling much in the same way Wes is.

3) Doctor Elena Gilbert

Elena's mother gave her the journals. Encouraged her to write. Grayson wanted her to be a doctor. And that's what she became in the end, a doctor not a writer though she continues to journal. Could it be her father's influence?

4) Doppelganger Parallels

I think, much like Katherine, Elena's father was the controlling, domineering presence in her life and though their mothers may have been more sympathetic, they also didn't do much to stop anything. It's more speculative in Elena's situation, but for Katherine it was clear in the flashback scenes of her dad taking Nadia away from her and her mother trying to soothe her.

5) Her Nature

Elena feels a strong sense of duty to other people and not as much to herself. She tries to sacrifice herself over and over again for her loved ones and is only ever stopped by other people and never by changing her mind. What 16-17 year old would do that? One conditioned by her family to always put their needs above her own. With boundaries blurred between the parent and child roles, secrets become so important. It's the one thing she has all to herself because the rest of her resources belong to her family.

Ultimately, this is one of her qualities I find so tragic and resonate with so strongly. A child doesn't become secretive and self-sacrificing out of nowhere. A personality like that is cultivated over many years. Doppelganger nature plays a role, but so does nurture and I don't think the Gilbert household was nearly as picture perfect as Elena or other characters make it out to be. (See Jeremy).

[teenwolffan-with-nolife]

New Life Pt.8

Word Count: 2,146

Characters: Derek Hale, Carol Lockwood (mentioned), Laura Hale (mentioned), Stefan Salvatore (mentioned), Zach Salvatore (mentioned), OC Characters, Reader

Pairings: Eventual Derek Hale x Reader

Warnings: angst, cliffhanger, insecurities, violence but nothing too graphic

A/N: ---

Masterlist     Series Masterlist

You wrapped your arms around yourself, laying down on your bed as you buried your head in your lap, taking deep breaths. Derek was back from the hospital, it had been a week. There was still no word from Jay. Your anxiety had come back, worse than before. Your heart was constantly racing, it was harder to control it. 

There was a full moon tonight, you could tell Derek was slightly worried as well. Once again, you two were the only ones home, you refrained from telling anyone else that Jay was back in town. 

You still had no idea what supernatural creature he was. 

Your head shot up, hearing someone arguing in Derek’s room.

You tried to ignore it, before finding yourself leaning against Derek’s door.

“What happened?” you asked.

“I told Emily I couldn’t go out with her tonight and now she’s upset,” Derek sighed.

“Yeah, that’ll happen a lot,” you shrugged.

“I can’t think about that. I have to find some new chains or something. The last ones broke,” you nodded your head as Derek grabbed his wallet.

“Wait,” he frowned slightly.

“I’ll come with you,” you replied.

“Why? You do know Damon’s gone, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m still coming with you. I know exactly where to go too,” he sighed, before nodding his head.

You were scared to let him out of your sight again. If he was home, you were home. If he wasn’t, you weren’t. 

You grabbed your keys, getting into the car as he followed you.

“Can I drive?” he asked.

“In your dreams, Hale,” you rolled your eyes, before driving off.

---

You retrieved some chains among other things from the Lockwoods, the two of you made your way to the Grill. You sat at a table, looking around through the mirrors.

“Okay, seriously. What’s up?” Derek sat across from you, while you shrugged.

“Nothing,” you replied.

“You’re acting really weird.”

“I’m not acting weird.”

“Yes, you are. You haven’t insulted me for almost a week, you haven’t done anything that doesn’t involve me. You’re barely even paying attention to this conversation!” you turned to him, running your fingers through your hair.

“Look-” you froze, seeing something past your eye as you tensed.

You looked out the window, seeing Jay standing in the park.

“I gotta go,” you heard him yell in protest as you got up, running out of the restaurant.

“What are you planning?” you immediately asked him.

“Really? No hello, or how are you?” he raised an eyebrow.

“I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it. Tell me what the hell you’re doing,” you spat.

“Walk with me,” he began to walk away, while you stuck your hand in your pocket, reaching for your gun.

“Oh, come on! Don’t you just want to catch up?” you could see the smirk on your face as you shook your head.

“Last time we saw each other, you killed my mom. Sorry if I’m not in a talkative mood.”

He scoffed, shaking his head.

“Who’s the raven-haired kid you’re with? Friend? Boyfriend?” 

You stayed silent, clenching your jaw.

“Wonder which way he swings. Would he go out with me if I asked him?” you froze in your steps, shaking your head.

“You go near him, I’ll empty this clip into your brain,” you threatened.

“That almost sounded believable, you know. Do you intimidate people like that?” he asked.

“Jay, what are you doing here?” you asked again.

“Spent the last year trying to figure out what I want to do with life. I got the revenge I wanted my entire life. It’s kind of like I have no purpose now,” he shrugged.

You tensed as he put his arm around your shoulder.

You have a gun, why are you scared?

“I finally figured it out. You see, when the supernatural kill innocent humans, all these hunters kill them. But, when innocent supernaturals die, hunters are praised. How is that fair?” 

“I got the locations of some hunters from your phone. Kinda freaked the first time, a group of them against one. I still killed them all. You saw it, right? It was in the paper,” he put his hand on your waist, pulling you in slightly.

“Why are you telling me this? I could kill you now. End it here,” your voice wavered slightly as you mentally scolded yourself.

“You could, but we both know you’re not strong enough to do it. Aim your gun, take your best shot at me,” his eyes flashed grey as he winked.

“What are you?” you asked.

“Why would I tell you? So you can figure out how to kill me? I’d rather not,” he scoffed.

“Look, your parents were not innocent. My mother believed that all innocent supernatural creatures should live their lives freely,” you saw his face fall into a glare as his grip on you tightened.

“Shouldn’t you be on my side? I mean, you’re all for equality, aren’t you?” 

“Those hunters you killed last week never killed a supernatural who didn’t deserve it,” you shook your head softly.

“They had it coming. If hunters didn’t exist, everything would be peaceful.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Supernaturals would kill off the entire human race.”

He put his hands on your waist, stopping in front of you.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Humans are the worst. This stupid, degenerate species… they all deserve to die. Not everyone is like you, you know. You always saw the good in everyone and everything. Well, at least you used to,” you could hear him laugh as you dug your nails into your palm.

“I’m assuming you didn’t come back here just to bother me.”

“I want you to come with me. You’re sort of a hunter, you can get around. People knew your mother. It’ll be fun,” you could feel his breath on your face as you looked up, frowning.

“You’re disgusting. You’re a monster. You killed my mother right in front of me and expect me to be okay with you waltzing back into town, and then you ask me to come with you? To murder all these-”

“Not murder. I’d call it evening out the playing field. Why should the supernatural cower and be afraid for their lives while hunters and humans walk freely?” 

You opened your mouth to speak, before hearing someone walking up to you two.

“Dean,” you saw a smile on Jay’s face as you turned around, feeling his hand on your waist.

“Jay! I didn’t know you were back. It’s good to see you, man,” your heart was racing, as you looked at Dean.

“Are you okay, (Y/N)? You look-” Dean started.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” you lied. You didn’t need to cause panic.

“So, are you guys back together or something?” Dean asked.

“Looks like it, yeah?” Jay smirked, pressing a small kiss to your cheek as you stiffened.

“Well, I’m happy for you guys. I’m running late for my shift. We should plan a hang or something while you’re in town. I’m sure Derek would love to meet you,” Dean replied.

“Yeah, definitely. We’ll see you,” Dean gave you two a small smile before walking off. 

You pulled away from Jay, taking a few steps back. You held your gun out, pointing it at Jay, feeling your heart beating in the back of your head.

“You know what? I’ll see you tonight. Make sure your bags are packed,” you cocked the gun, pointing it at him.

“Incensa,” you winced softly, dropping the gun as it burst into flames.

“How did you-”

“I’m going to be stronger than you, no matter what. You’re coming with me tonight, whether you want to or not. I suggest you say your goodbyes,” he disappeared from in front of you as tears rushed to your eyes, dialing Zach’s number.

It went straight to voicemail as your heart dropped.

“Zach, please call me back,” you sniffled softly, ending the call as you ran your fingers through your hair.

No matter how much you tried to convince yourself, you were weak. You couldn’t stop Jay when you had the chance, you barely stopped Damon. 

Stupid and useless

Your hands were shaking as you rushed to your car, driving off. You forgot about Derek, leaving him at the Grill before he ran out, yelling for you.

“(Y/N)!” he groaned, taking his phone out, about to dial your number.

“Hey, you’re Derek, right?” Derek frowned, turning around to see another boy standing behind him.

“Uhm…”

“Oh, I’m an old friend of (Y/N)’s. We used to be close, but then I moved away for some time,” Jay explained.

“I’ve never heard of you,” Derek tensed slightly.

“Yeah, it has been a while. I can give you a ride to the Salvatore House. I was gonna head there anyway to see (Y/N),” Derek softened slightly, nodding his head.

“Great,” the two of them walked to his car, before taking off. 

---

“Derek, this isn’t funny. Dean said he saw you driving off with someone. Call me back,” it was nearly sundown, only a few hours until the full moon and Derek was nowhere to be found. Zach hadn’t replied to your call, neither had Stefan or Laura.

You paced around the house anxiously. You made a barrier of wolfsbane and salt around the entire house, keeping your weapons ready.

You dialed Laura’s number once again.

“Laura, please call me back. I-I can’t find Derek. The full moon…” your voice broke slightly as you stopped yourself.

“None of you are answering your fucking phones, what's the point of having them?!” you hung up the call, rubbing the back of your neck.

Fuck this

You walked outside of the house, met with Jay on the doorstep.

“Oh, hey,” he smiled softly, while you aimed your gun at him.

“Where’s Derek?” you yelled.

“Passed out. Don’t worry about him, he’ll sleep through the full moon. Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“I’m not going with you. Where is Derek,” you asked again.

“If you come with me, maybe I’ll let him live,” you felt a chill up your spine as your face dropped.

“What do you mean… Where is he?” you yelled.

“You keep asking me that, like I’m gonna give you an answer,” he crossed his arms.

You cocked your gun, about to fire before he muttered something under his breath. Your gun was knocked out of your hands, before you grabbed your knife from your pocket, aiming for his chest. 

He pulled it from you, twisting your arm back before you kicked his stomach, causing him to stumble back.

“You know, you’re getting better at this,” he smirked.

You clenched your fist, aiming for this jaw as he moved slightly, while your fist met with his head.

His eyes glew a light grey, as he looked at you with rage.

“We don’t have time for this,” he used his powers, putting his hand around your neck, pushing you back as you felt your head hit the wall behind you. 

He pulled you off your feet, pulling you higher up. Tears filled your eyes as you felt the air leaving your body.

“Let Derek go,” you cried softly.

He dropped you to the floor, as you gasped for air.

“You’re still the same weak girl that I had the displeasure of knowing,” you looked up at him, your vision blurry as he kicked your stomach. You coughed loudly, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“You couldn’t beat me if I let you,” he yelled.

“Jay…” your voice drifted as you laid on your back, blood dripping from your lips as you gasped for air.

“Come on. Get in the car,” he pulled you up, you couldn’t escape his grip.

He put handcuffs on you, pulling your arms behind the seat as you winced.

He put your seatbelt on you, before stroking your cheek.

“Was that so hard for you to do?” he smirked slightly.

“Derek…” you cried.

“Oh, he’s fine!” Jay opened up his trunk, while you saw him pull Derek’s unconscious body to the doorstep of the house.

“You can’t leave him like that,” you cried softly.

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” he closed your door, before walking to the driver’s seat, sitting next to you.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

You cried softly, shaking your head.

“Shhh, I can’t have you crying. I’ll patch you up once we’re out of here. Can’t have Zach or Stefan catching up with us,” he pressed a kiss to your forehead as you felt a small tear rush down your face.

You looked back at Derek’s body, as your heart began to ache. 

“I hate you,” you cried softly.

Jay wiped away your tear, pulling your head up.

“No, you don’t. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

Taglist: 

@bellabadacadabra​

@teen-wolf-obsessed4life​

@eunoia-kth​

@angelgtzdar

@shortimaginewriter​

@linkpk88​

[clio-just-clio]

The Riverdale 102(?)-Day Sprint, Day 1: “Chapter One: The River’s Edge”

Just Like Twin Peaks

I have always loathed the CW and its shows. It seems that every CW property starts out strong, or at least adequate, and then devolves into melodrama and mediocrity by season 2 or 3. There’s a veritable bingo card’s worth of things I could say about it, but that seems more like a job for TVTropes than me. 

So, Riverdale. I knew nothing about this show going into it, except that it is a very very very loose adaptation/reimagining of Archie Comics characters, who I am mildly familiar with. The characters from Archie as I remember them are: Archie, a good old-fashioned American redhead whose personality can best be described as “main character”; Betty, Archie’s girlfriend, and Jughead, the misfit best friend who at one point was mistaken for a drug dealer and almost murdered by the Punisher (this actually happened in the comics. look it up). So yeah, I know nothing about this show, except that it is a CW show, and eventually it has zombies and serial killers and musical numbers.

Well, after watching the first episode, this show sure does exist! Already pieces are falling into place for future plotlines which I will eventually piece together, maybe. We have Cheryl Blossom who definitely 100% murdered her brother, Veronica Lodge and her assimilation into the nightmare hell-world that is Riverdale, Archie and his growing musical talent which will probably become The Archies at some point (if this show follows the comics at all), and the machinations of Hiram Lodge who will 100% show up at some point, probably. And of course, the “will-they-won’t-they” of Betty and Archie, which I’m tired of already. 

So why do I say it’s just like Twin Peaks? Probably because it’s an inscrutable mess of a show with winding plot threads and twists and turns and melodrama! However, its inscrutability is not intentional; it’s clear that this was a monster written by a fleet of writers instead of the work of a duo of auteurs. There’s murder, romance that is held back by contrivances, and Mädchen Amick is here.

This first episode alone is making me question how people could ever enjoy this show. The dialogue screams that it was written by someone at least in their 40s who has no idea how highschoolers act, or how high school is in general. The fact that eventually there’s satanic rituals and zombies and cults or whatever doesn’t surprise me in the least, but I’m curious how it’ll all come about. And how is this show on season 6? How have they not killed off their audience yet with all the garbage they’ve thrown at them? How many years will these 30-somethings be trapped in high school? All these questions will surely be answered at some point in the future, maybe, as I begin the random path tomorrow with... “Chapter 61: Halloween”.

Under the cut here are my quick notes taken throughout my watching of the episode. I figured it’d make more sense to compile them here than live-blog them:

quick notes

- oh good a gay best friend. how original

- all of these people look more like graduate students in a drama club than highschoolers

- Betty to her mom: “I’m only a sophomore” BAHAHAHHAAHAHA

- is that fucking Zach Dempsey from smash-hit Netflix show 13 Reasons Why????

- “Kevin is gay, thank god” my disdain for this show is only growing

- Josie and the Pussycats??? is this show adapting every teen comic from the 20th century? I mean I know Sabrina shows up at some point but... c’mon man

- Betty describes Archie to Veronica as the “red-headed Ansel Elgort”...that definitely aged well

- what’s the deal with the cars in this town? during the first few minutes of the show I thought it was set in the ‘50s because of the cars and diner but then I saw a MacBook. will they have some kind of hand-wave explanation for that? I know it’s to match the comics’ aesthetic but...

- HUH WHAT Archie had sex with a teacher or something? what is this show??? (I’d make some kind of Euphoria reference here but I haven’t seen that either)

- Cheryl Blossom - “What are you three gossiping about? Archie’s Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?” ... what have I gotten myself into

- Kevin: “Is cheerleading still a thing?” Cheryl: “Is being the ‘gay best friend’ still a thing?” I hate self-awareness in media with a burning passion but this line was alright

- Oh so there are two murder mysteries! and one of them was heard by Archie and the teacher!

- Queerbaiting!

- Archie’s dad seems like an alright guy. can’t wait for when he’s revealed to be an ax murderer or something

- Every single line of dialogue that comes out of Veronica Lodge’s mouth in this episode is baaaaaaad. The actor is trying her best to sell these lines but ehhhh

- HORSE COCK JOKE FROM THE GAY CHARACTER. HUH

- Poor Archie, the tortured artist, torn between his feelings of familial responsibilities with his dad who loves and supports him and being a rising star varsity football player. Truly, no one can know his suffering (well I guess the “sleeping with a teacher and maybe hearing a murder” part is pretty serious)

- Does... does he have actual feelings for this teacher?

- “I’m in the mood for chaos.” Love that Cheryl Blossom is just a mustache-twirling villain. Every show should have a comically diabolical mustache-twirling villain

- Archie seems really blind to Betty’s seemingly obvious adoration for him. Love that for him. I want to see these characters suffer

- oh who is this narrator guy? all mysterious and – JUGHEAD AHJABHABABHHBZS that’s not how I pictured him at all. then again, I’m not that familiar with the comics

- Archie and Jughead seem to be ex-best-friends. wonder what that’s about

- I get it, the narration is Jughead’s novel, whatever

- Wait so was the gunshot Archie and the teacher whose name I can’ remember heard Jason getting shot? or was it a separate incident?

[xaspiringbeamoflightx]

Starter for @barrel-borror​

If anyone was to guess where Tina was heading today, in a slightly better mood than she had been for the past five days (five months, more like) they would have been correct without having to think too hard. She was heading for Jack’s Attic again, having used up the last of the glitter she had purchased at Halloween. She spent all her goddamned money in that store this weather, no thanks to Jack showing her where they kept the real supply of glitter, which Zach always denied existing.

Now, Tina liked to think she knew everyone that worked there, though she tried to avoid Sally, and knew that if those other two weirdos were in the store then Zach wouldn’t be there. She also knew that, occasionally, those other two weirdos were accompanied by a third weirdo who lurked around doing... well, Tina had no idea. One thing was for sure was that this group were distinctly not Lost-Boy friendly, and so, Tina, seeing the one marked B outside the store, took the opportunity for a bit of mischief. “You know, if you’re going to stalk people, you should at least be subtle about it,” Tina said, appearing at Barrel’s side from seemingly nowhere. (She knew all the best sneaking routes outside the store to get Zach when he least expected it. Her miniature stature certainly helped.)

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 125

I am so sorry that this is posting late today!! I didn’t realize my queue ran out, or that I didn’t load these in there.

Thank you, every day, to everyone who helped me hang in there as long as I’ve been lucky enough to write this story.  As much fun as the weapons expo was, I swear we are working towards everything else that has changed in the time skip!  I would love to hear what y’all are most excited to find out about.

Shoutouts always go to @baelpenrose, @charlylimph-blog, and @the-raven-fae for all your encouragement, plot bunnies, and beta-reading.

The day after the weapons exhibition, the air on the Ark was still crackling with excitement. Every time I overheard people chattering over a specific performance, I smiled to myself.  That particular event had been the first that Parvati and Hannah planned without my help, and hearing the overwhelming approval for it was something I would be all too happy to convey back to them.  They really had done a great job.

Sebastian ended up bowing out after the first year, because he was unable to balance the demands of the mentorship and the Undine.  As the only one of the three who could not just change their job responsibilities, he had chosen his passion - which absolutely no one was upset about.   Parvati had even joked that we had backup Councillors, but only one Undine.

The response I received from my mentees when I shared what I heard, however, was underwhelming. Hannah gave a small smile and nodded, while Parvati waved off the praise with a scoff. “We were essentially following a template,” she pointed out.

Hannah nodded at me with a rueful expression. “Unfortunately, she’s right.  There wasn’t much of a challenge, there.”

Just as a full pout was settling into my chest, Alistair breezed in and took off his scarf - for once, I couldn’t tell myself it was just for dramatic effect, as the climate controls in public areas were phased in to mimic what was projected for seasonal changes on Von.  Currently it was the cold season, and Alistair was miserable about it. “Of course it wasn’t a challenge,” he scowled. “You both have been assisting Madam Reid since the exhibitions began. However, it is profoundly rude to ignore the feedback you received.” He glared at Parvati and Hannah, who managed to look sheepish. “One of you will be Councillor one day, and your responsibility will be things just like this. You should be pleased with a job well done, not resting on your laurels.”

I nodded and didn’t bother hiding my grin. “He’s right, you know. Besides, don’t forget that this is when the hard part starts.”

Two sets of eyes widened at me, with Hannah adding a gasp of horror. “Oh gods. The feedback…”

“Yep.” I popped the last letter as I took my seat and the coffee that Alistair offered, noticing that he did not retrieve any for my mentees. Apparently he was really miffed by their attitudes before. “And, along with coordinating the event on your own…”

“Sophia, you’re joking,” Parvati glared.

“I am most certainly not,” I shook my head. “Every event, you have to read the feedback. You can filter it all you want, narrow down the categories, whatever. But I strongly recommend that you read all of the negative feedback if nothing else.”

“But you’ve always had help,” Hannah pointed out calmly.

“I did,” I admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I ignored or delegated the important parts.  Having people who you trust to do a pulse check of what is being said unofficially is an extremely valuable tool. However, at the end of the day, the performance of the events, or the projects, or the staffing balances, comes right back to this office and only this office. I can listen to Tyche, or my partners, or other Councillors until my ears fall off. But if something went wrong, or could have been done better, I’m the one who catches fault for that. Which means, eventually, it will be one of you.”

With a deep breath, both women nodded and opened the files in question. After simply staring and scrolling for a few minutes, Parvati sat back and tapped the side of her chin. “Can we filter out all comments under five words and comments with only positive adjectives that do not contain a conditional statement?” She glanced at me and I nodded my approval.

That seemed to spark an idea in Hannah. “Prioritize comments including the words ‘dangerous’, ‘barbaric’, or synonyms of.” When her co-mentee gave her a quizzical look, she shrugged. “It’s good to have at least a count of people who object to the weapons exhibitions, and if they are just a small number at least there are guaranteed to be a few in there that are pretty funny.”

Parvati still looked like she wasn’t convinced, so Alistair spoke up. “If you do not enjoy the weapons exhibitions, why are you attending?”

“Ahhh,” she smiled. Clearly the thought had never occurred to her, which was entirely unsurprising.  Parvati hadn’t dated Xiomara as long as she did by harboring a secret grudge against self-defense and proper applications of force.

Now that they found a starting point for weeding through the feedback, it was clear they were engrossed in gathering information.  Periodically, I would hear one make a considering noise before jotting down a note to come back to later.  I quietly moved to my desk and observed how differently they handled the process - When I went through feedback with Alistair, we shared it on the table emitter so both could see.  Parvati and Hannah, however, sat across from each other, on their singular data pads, flicking particular pieces of information back and forth to each other without even glancing up.  The partnership they had developed over the last four years of working with me was astounding to watch.

“What you are feeling now is exactly what it feels like to watch you and Tyche,” Alistair murmured, startling me out of my reverie. When I glanced at him, he simply lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Even after working with you both for so long, there are moments where it is clear you both are working on some sort of wavelength the rest of us are not aware of.”

“Charly is pretty tuned in to it. And Arthur, when he wants to be.”

“Miss Harper is a force unto herself.” The corner of his mouth lifted in one of his rare, fond smiles. “As for Farro, I am beginning to believe that Reidish is one of the languages he learned for historical manuscripts.” Snark dripped from his tone out of old habit - if there had ever been any animosity between the two, it was long gone.

Although, apparently the hypothetical existence of ‘Reidish’ as a language was still bopping it’s merry way around the Ark.

“Noah,” I pointed out. “They understand us perfectly well.”

“Yes, let us all congratulate you two, not only on the fact that a mind-reading alien understands your communication better than your own species, but also on the fact that you have tainted them with your mannerisms.” The sarcasm would have stung, had he not felt the need to demonstrate by tipping his index finger and thumb over his eye in imitation of an eyebrow with one hand, while making a sock-puppet nod with the other - both of which were gestures Noah used as filler for human body language. The contrast between his words, the gestures, and the absolute deadpan expression on his face sent me into hysterics.

I didn’t realize we were being watched until Hannah’s voice broke through my laughter. “Derek actually taught them the eyebrow one.  That wasn’t Sophia or Tyche.  He started doing it because he can’t just lift one eyebrow, and Miys started mimicking him when they saw how useful it was to convey tone.” When Alistair only stared at her in disbelief, she huffed and turned to her datapad before flicking a recording to the table emitter.

Sure enough, there was Derek, adjusting Miys ‘fingers’ and repeating the gesture for them to imitate. After several adjustments of where the vomu was held, Derek seemed satisfied and flashed a double thumbs-up, which was returned in triplicate.  As the recording ended, Hannah turned back with the smuggest expression I had ever seen on her gentle face.

“I’ll be damned.” Alistair’s voice was soft with surprise and a hint of admiration.

“Hannah, how do you have that?” I asked, concerned for Derek’s privacy.

She waved me off. “Zach was doing routine security sensor testing, found that in the process, and asked Derek if we could keep a copy of it. Derek said it was okay, and asked for a copy for himself.” She shrugged. “I’d never seen him voluntarily touch someone that much before, and even without that, it was adorable.”

“I’m glad he knows you have it,” I sighed in relief. “But yeah, it makes sense, honestly.” Hannah nodded in agreement, while Parvati and Alistair were clearly waiting for an explanation. I started ticking off reasons on my fingers. “Miys is very careful of personal space because they know how large they are, and Derek hates having his space invaded without permission. Miys is never ‘too loud’ for Derek, or touches without permission, or even speaks to him without Derek speaking first. There’s no pressure for eye contact, even just in Derek’s head, because Miys doesn’t have eyes.”

“Your mind is a strange and wonderful place,” Alistair stated drily before turning to Hannah and Parvati. “I hope you two have been taking notes on it. I happen to know what your next event is, and you’re going to need that level of insight.”

Arching an eyebrow at him, Parvati did not even look away to pull up her calendar, dragging it into her line of sight. Her eyes widened suddenly.

“You have three months,” I pointed out.

She reached out and shook Hannah’s arm vigorously. “Han.”

A quick glance and a second horrified expression looked at me from the table.

“Three months.”

“Sophia.”

“You’ve both helped me with it, for at least the last four years.  And you said you wanted a challenge.”

They both groaned comically, but I struggled not to smile at their antics.  I knew they weren’t really as worried as they pretended to be.

Alistair leaned over the whisper again. “I thought Tyche was the evil one.”

That did get me to smile.

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[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 28: Fusion Frenzy (originally published on October 4, 2021)

AN: It's fusion time everyone! Last time, Black Rutile initiated Phase 2 of her new plan to eradicate her enemies by interrupting the President's emergency address and now, she's on her way to Beach City as we speak to begin Phase 3. Can the Crystal Gems stop this monster and save both Steven & the Earth? Find out today on Steven Universe Alternate Future!

Synopsis: Bluebird Azurite, Black Rutile & White Topaz return to capture Steven.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Monster Steven, Watermelon Stevens

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Volleyball, Mega Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie/Future Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Shelby Rabara as Peridot/Future Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth/Future Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Noël Wells as Black Rutile/Future Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Aparna Nancherla as Lemon Jade

Erica Luttrell as Future Sapphire

Lin-Manuel Miranda as President Eduardo Suarez

Wendie Malick as Vice President Theresa Maxwell

GZA as Major General Wade Grant

Aimee Mann as Opal

Billie Eilish as Turquoise

Esme Bianco as Malachite

Catherine Tate as Lepidolite

Toks Olagundoye as Nanafua

--

Closed off from the chaos outside, Jasper remained curled up in the bathtub, sobbing quietly over being rejected by her Diamond, over how nothing seemed to go right for her on Earth, and how she'd rather have gone back to Homeworld with the Diamonds rather than stay with all the other healed Gems. However, her misery wouldn't last any longer.

"Can you keep it down?! I'm trying to mope!" Jasper bellowed before she finally burst from the bathroom and marched on outside as she heard roaring from the beach. However, what she saw was a shocking sight. "What is that?"

"Is that you Jasper?" Lapis exclaimed as she hovered over to her orange frenemy. "Where have you been this whole time, you'd be pretty useful here but it seems like you don't want to!"

"I was busy being depressed, brat." Jasper snarled at Lapis. "Depressed over how my Diamond left me again. Now where is he? I want to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Funny you should mention that," Peridot replied loudly. "That monster thing is Steven!"

"You're kidding!" Jasper replied before she began sounding more insecure. "Please tell me you're kidding and that this isn't all my fault because he shattered me, I'm begging you guys!"

"Are you okay?" Pearl asked the big Quartz as Lapis brought Jasper over to the Gems. "You're sounding a bit more frantic than usual."

"Sorry," Jasper began, cringing at the thought of apologizing for something she did. "I just think this might be my fault, since because of me he went mad with power and shattered me."

"It's not your fault Jasper," Garnet said comfortingly. "I think we all might be to blame here. But it could be worse." The fusion followed up by kissing Jasper on the forehead, much to her disgust.

"Ew, what did you do to me?!" Jasper yelped in disgust as she harshly rubbed at her forehead before her vision began to distort. "Wait, what's-"

--

What Jasper then saw was not a beautiful seaside where a monster stormed about, but the remnants of Little Homeworld, now reduced to ruins in the middle of a desolate wasteland. As far as she could see, no life could be seen for miles, all except for a ragtag band of survivors finding their way in this apocalyptic future.

"Any sign of He Who Must Not Be Named yet?" the possible future version of Peridot, easily distinguished from her regular self through wearing Pearl's blazer, asked a young adult version of Connie.

"No, thankfully." Connie said as she looked through the skies with her binoculars. "But we gotta move at some point, he could be here at any moment now!"

"No, I say we stay and fight!" Bismuth declared. "I don't care if that's still Steven, you all seen what he did to our friends!" she added despondently. "Ruby, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, they're all gone now, all thanks to him!"

"Bismuth, you're being irrational." Sapphire calmed the blacksmith down. "But I do agree, there's no future I see where we calm Steven down and rebuild society."

"Well, let him come." Peridot stated tiredly. "Anything to be with Lapis again. I'm just so tired of fighting."

As the surviving Crystal Gems bowed their heads in shame of how powerless they were to save their loved ones, a hoarse, piercing laugh rang out, causing the four to take up arms against whatever foe crossed their path. That foe in question turned out to be Black Rutile, now without her cape and her visor showed many visible cracks.

"Ah, yes." Black Rutile said as her laughing turned into smirking. "Tired of something you barely even did to begin with. Maybe if you two weren't tossed to the side after the Cluster and reduced to a comic relief role, that little witch could've stood a better chance."

"Be very careful with what you say next." Connie threatened the Rutile by pointing her sword straight at her gem.

"Oh come now Mama-Say-Mama-Sah-Warren, I've lost people too." Black Rutile grinned while lowering the sword. "I've lost people too. Heck, you saw how Steven killed my old gang, and now he's after me too for all I've done."

"Well frankly, you had it coming for all that." Bismuth responded before turning her finger into a spike. "Now pipe down while I smash you to pieces."

"Bismuth, stop." Connie advised Bismuth. "I think she might be our best chance at surviving yet."

"Are you serious?!" Peridot shrieked in defiance. "It's all because of her that Steven went nuts, shattered Jasper, and then started rampaging across the planet and maybe beyond! All our friends and family are dead because of Black Rutile, and you think she might help us?!"

"We kept you around despite being a Homeworld loyalist." Sapphire told Peridot.

"So anyways, you might be our best chance at stopping Steven." Connie said to Black Rutile before sticking her hand out. "You in?"

"I'm going to assume that if I don't play by your rules, I'll pay with my life?" Black Rutile asked as she shook the human's hand.

"You bet." Connie answered. "When I found White Topaz before Steven shattered her, she begged me, with her last words that when I'd kill you, and make no mistake I will kill you, I'll give you the slowest and most painful death I can offer. And if you try and run away, I'm going to honor that promise."

As the handshake broke, Black Rutile was left completely speechless at both Connie's death threat and her late bodyguard having the audacity to wish death upon her. Before long, her silence was broken by another bout of maniacal laughter at Connie's expense. "Honor? Really kid?" Black Rutile declared. "You know we live in a society, or at least what's left of one, where honor is but a distant memory."

"You talk too much, you know that?" Sapphire snarked before she received another future vision, one that might spell their doom. "My stars, he's coming!"

While Connie, Peridot, Bismuth, and Sapphire prepared for the fight of their lives, Black Rutile looked up at the pink-colored sonic boom in the sky and laughed as a pink glowing figure landed on the ground in front of the rebels, the resulting impact causing more destruction to Little Homeworld.

Connie pointed her sword at their opponent, and her face softened upon discovering who it was. A pink, gargoyle-like monster whose size was equal to Bismuth's with massive horns on his head, scars on his chest forming a star, and a pink gem on his stomach.

"Steven?"

--

"So all that could've happened, because of me?" Jasper despaired as she was returned to the present day before dropping to her knees. "You were right, I am nothing but trouble."

"Okay, maybe you are, but you can still change." Amethyst rejected Jasper's notion. "And you can start by helping us stop him!" She then pointed to the pink monster, who took one look at Jasper and began to run away from her, no doubt the Steven inside it afraid to see Jasper again after killing her.

"Hey, get back here!" Jasper yelled as Steven tried to run straight towards Beach City.

"It's gonna smash Beach City!" Amethyst yelled. "We gotta stop him!" Without even a chance to be asked, Lapis summoned a water rope that she used to lasso Steven and drag him away from Beach City.

"So, is there any way to fix him?" Jasper asked.

"None that we know of so far." Garnet replied. "Not even the Diamonds could solve this problem."

"And now, I don't think there's anything we can do." Pearl declared.

"Anything, except surrender." Black Rutile declared as she, White Topaz, Aquamarine, and Eyeball dropped down from and stood before the group with an army of robots behind them. "Oh look, everyone is here! We got the insipid oppressors, their mindless sheep, and the sorry excuses for monarchs!"

"What's your game Black Rutile?" White Diamond angrily asked her former subordinate.

"It's quite simple really." Black Rutile replied. "Thanks to yours truly, all of you are now enemies of humanity for allowing this to happen!" She pointed at Steven. "And not just your little monster problem, but for all the horrible things you've done to this planet! And all while you were too busy crying like babies for the brat."

"Yeesh, someone likes to talk." Spinel murmured.

"Zip it, playmate!" Aquamarine declared. "Once all of you are out of the way, our master shall claim this galaxy as her own!"

"And maybe become one of the great Universal Lords!" Eyeball added.

--

All across the world, riots began breaking out over Black Rutile's broadcast. Picket signs were made, effigies were burned, and calls were made to eliminate the Crystal Gems' threat to humanity, even though not a single one of them knew of their existence before today.

In Washington, Theresa was showing Suarez a livestream on her phone of a group of people in Russia cursing in their native language of how the Gems deprived them of their ancestors' native land, leaving the president more depressed over the incident just as Wade strolled into the Oval Office.

"I just got off the phone with Prime Minister Sorayama." Major General Grant said. "He's saying the cabinet of Japan is ready to launch everything they've got against the monster and the Crystal Gems. They just need you to give the okay."

"No, we are not nuking anything!" Eduardo screamed, making the vice president and the major general jump a bit. "I know the Gems are good, kind people, but is it really true they're responsible for all that? And who's this Pink Diamond anyway?"

"I know they're your friends Mr. President, but what friends places the world in danger so many times, the only one to address that is another member of their species?" Grant asked. "It's your choice, sir. Your friends or your country?"

"He raises a pretty good point, sir." Theresa stated. "What's it gonna be?"

After wiping a few tears from his eyes, Eduardo turned to face the window behind him and made his decision. "Major General, tell Japan to call off the attack. Because we're doing it ourselves."

--

Back in Beach City, Black Rutile continued her speech to the Gems. "Look at all of this." She declared. "This is the chaos I've wanted to engender for so long. I wanted to build a new Homeworld order where you failed, but you chose Steven over your own people just because he's family." As Black Rutile continued speaking, she could feel her sanity begin to teeter off the edge more and more. "My purpose was to fight for the Gems, that is the sole purpose I was given. And now, I barely have any people left. That is what you have taken from me. That is what you have taken from EVERYONE!"

"That is where you're wrong!" Pearl boasted in reply. "You may think you're a misunderstood hero, but you're not! You're nothing more than a sociopathic, bloviating monster who only thinks that she's doing what's best for everyone! As actual heroes, we'll fight to stop you till our last breath, because we are the Crystal Gems and we'll always save the day!"

With that, Pearl took Amethyst's hand and the two merged into Opal, who pulled out her bow and fired an arrow at Black Rutile, who only moved her head an inch to the right to dodge it.

"Oh, fusions, eh?" Black Rutile snickered. "I guess we should even the odds then." She then turned to White Topaz. "Topaz, to me!"

"Right away my Rutile." White Topaz sadly complied and fused with Black Rutile to once again form Lepidolite.

"BEHOLD PEONS!" Lepidolite declared bombastically. "THE UNPARALLELED, UNIMAGINABLY ALMIGHTY LEPIDOLITE HAS FINALLY RETURNED!"

"Oh geez, she can fuse too?" Lapis snarled before turning to Jasper. "Hey Jasper, wanna join in?"

"Whatever." Jasper said and the two formed into the turquoise and gold-colored Malachite.

"Well, you know what to do Eyeball." Aquamarine said as she took the Ruby's hand and twirled in place before they formed Bluebird Azurite and unsheathed her ice cutlass & a flaming saber.

"Gems, now!" Garnet gave the order to attack and led the charge against the four rebels. However, Greg was feeling a little left out.

"Uh, what about me?" Greg asked as the battle began. "If only I could still make Steg." However, Greg quickly saw Lion rising beneath him and making the father ride on his back. "Oh, well that should suffice." Greg smiled before he made Lion gallop into combat. "WOLVERINES!"

--

Lepidolite roared as she threw a punch at Malachite, who caught it in one of her hands and fought back by launching a geyser at Lepidolite's face, sending her flying towards Peridot, who sent Bismuth soaring before the rainbow Gem smacked Lepidolite into the sand with her hammer.

"Feeling a little outmatched?" Malachite boasted with her arms folded.

"Child's play!" Lepidolite growled while summoning her claws and slashing Malachite in the torso. However, Malachite quickly grabbed Lepidolite by the arms and summoned Jasper's crash helmet to give her a nasty headbutt. "Topaz, what are you doing?" the Black Rutile half of Lepidolite asked. "Pull your weight and help me here!"

"But it's the four of us against all the Crystal Gems, the Diamonds, and even a Spinel!" the White Topaz half replied as Malachite began punching Lepidolite at rapid speed. "We're so outmatched here, let's just un-fuse and surrender so we won't have to risk our lives against such an unfair numbers advantage."

"Oh shut up!" Black Rutile yelled before Lepidolite received another punch to the face. However, Lepidolite just as quickly stabbed Malachite with her claws and slowly dragged them up her torso up to her face, hitting both Lapis & Jasper's gems and causing them to un-fuse.

"I got you guys!" Greg shouted as Lion leaped up and he caught the two Gems on his back. Lion then followed up with a roar aimed straight at Bluebird while she was fighting Opal, who was sent flying towards Spinel.

"Comin' at ya!" Spinel exclaimed before she began dribbling Bluebird like a basketball and flung her at some of Black Rutile's robot minions, who were firing at the Diamonds.

"Well, at least we tried with Malachite." Lapis said while getting up before she turned to Peridot. "Hey Peridot, wanna give it a shot!"

"Gladly!" Peridot exclaimed and raced over to her bestie.

"Wait, what?" Jasper asked as she watched her former cohorts fuse into Turquoise. "Since when can you do that?!"

"Don't ask, just fight!" Turquoise declared while forming a set of three swords out of liquid metal from the air to use, two in her hands and one between her teeth.

"Right." Jasper agreed as she prepared to charge. "Let's kill her properly this time."

--

Amid the chaos, Volleyball and Lemon Jade were left trying to escape harm with no idea what to do in battle, as they had never engaged in combat before.

"What are we going to do?!" Lemon Jade yelled while shaking Pink Pearl in her hands.

"I have no idea!" Volleyball replied. "I did fuse before, but it wasn't really for fighting an enemy." That was when she got an idea. "Wait, hold on!"

Volleyball ran towards Opal, who was busy shooting down Black Rutile's robots with her arrows when she felt something pulling down at her drape. "Oh, do you need something Volleyball?"

"Can I fuse with you Pearl so I can protect Jade?" Volleyball asked Opal.

"In the middle of something, but that's a definite possibility." Opal replied, unaware of the robot that was now hovering behind her.

"TARGET OPAL CONFIRMED. COMMENCE UN-FUSING." The robot droned and sent out an electric shock that forced Opal back into Pearl & Amethyst.

"Well ain't that a coincidence." Amethyst snarked as the two Pearls fused into Mega Pearl. "It's like she planned for this!"

"She planned for everything Amethyst." Mega Pearl responded before slashing away at robots that were cornering Lemon Jade.

--

Meanwhile, Turquoise was engaged in a swordfight against Bluebird Azurite, her metal katanas against Bluebird's ice and fire swords. "This is what you get for taking Steven and causing Lapis to leave me!" Turquoise yelled as she tried to stab Bluebird in any opening she could find.

"Oh, did kidnapping Steven hurt you that much?" Bluebird snickered. "I wouldn't have guessed judging by how you never show up." The smaller fusion quickly disarmed Turquoise and prepared to go in for the kill, but she had another thing coming.

"Got this from a manga." Turquoise grinned cheekily while cupping all four of her hands to her side and sticking them out, launching a torrent of water at Bluebird's face.

As for the Diamonds, they were busy protecting Steven from the robots by swatting them away. "These things are multiplying by the second!" Blue said while smashing drones to the ground so that the surviving Watermelon Stevens could dismantle them. "We have to get Steven somewhere safe so we can calm him down!"

"Everyone's trying their hardest, but Black Rutile just keeps coming back up." Yellow replied.

"Don't despair, we can win this!" White added, confident that they could still win the day somehow when she spotted something in the distance. "Wait, what are those?”

--

"Get a move on everyone, we're wasting daylight here!" Wade Grant barked to his men from his Humvee as the US Army advanced towards Beach City. As their goal was only to capture the Crystal Gems, they didn't need massive tanks, only jeeps, armored vans, and helicopters to get the job done. As the seaside town grew closer and closer, some of the army men felt the need to converse among themselves.

"So, do you think it might be sexist to capture a bunch of alien women?" one of the soldiers driving an armored van asked his companion.

"I'm not sure." The other soldier replied. "From what I've heard, they only look like women. They kinda don't have any gender since they're like, holograms projected by rocks. Holograms that happen to look female."

"Yeah but are there male Gems out there somewhere?" the first soldier continued. "How do they even procreate, if possible?"

"Beats me, they don't look like they have the goods, if you catch my drift." The second soldier wiggled his eyebrows. "Y'know, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!"

"Yes, I catch your drift, no need to reference old-timey British comedy." The first soldier groaned before turning on the radio. "Sir, we're nearing Beach City. Permission to be the first to step out?"

"Permission granted Private Eric." Wade accepted over the radio as the two soldiers' van rolled up to Beach City, where its citizens were already evacuating.

"Excuse me, we'd like a word with the mayor of this town." Private Eric said as he and his partner stepped out.

"That's me, Mayor Pizza." Nanafua declared as she walked up to the pair. "Now what brings the military here?"

"We're on official business here Mayor Pizza." Eric stated. "Are you aware you have been housing aliens that have been threatening your planet regularly?"

"Oh, the Gems? They're pretty harmless." Nanafua laughed. "Though that giant monster is a bit concerning."

"Everyone step aside, Black Rutile has convinced us those Gems need to be placed under arrest." Wade stepped forward and prepared a special anti-Gem weapon made from the remains of the Destiny Destroyer. "We won't use lethal force against you all, but we strongly urge you to let us through if you want your planet to live."

The armed forces began marching towards the pink monster menacing Beach City as the townsfolk nervously stepped aside to allow them to pass. Though they treasured the Gems, they couldn't bear to be victims of yet another incident relating to them.

--

"Get back here!" Lepidolite roared as she chased Connie around and clashed her claws with the girl's sword. "Don't think you've won yet just because you've trained with that rotten Pearl!"

"That's what you think!" Connie yelled before she slashed at Lepidolite's arm, causing the fusion to yell.

"How can we be hurt just like that?!" the Black Rutile half of Lepidolite muttered before looking accusingly at no one in particular while beginning to destabilize. "Seriously Topaz, why can't you contribute?!"

"Seriously, can't you read my lips?!" White Topaz yelled. "I want out!" Suddenly, the two Gems split apart and fell to the ground. Black Rutile fell face-first and spat out some sand before glaring daggers at her bodyguard.

"Does it look like I care?" Black Rutile said. "Besides, we should be getting some back up real soon."

"Wait, back up?" Mega Pearl wondered before she got shot down by a weapon resembling a Gem Destabilizer and forced back into Pearl & Volleyball.

"Fan out, take down anything with a star!" Wade Grant gave out orders while his men zapped the Crystal Gems with their Destabilizer-like weapons, managing to take down Turquoise, Garnet, Amethyst, Bismuth, and Jasper before forcing them into a truck.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Jasper roared as she was herded like cattle into the truck with the other Gems.

"You're finally getting the Earth justice you deserve." Black Rutile declared smugly. "When this planet's government learned of your exploits, the leader tried to make an address that I hacked into and used to expose you to the world. Hope you enjoy confinement!"

"You won't get away with this!" Pearl yelled rebelliously before she, Volleyball, and one of the Watermelon Stevens were forced into the truck as two of the soldiers looked up at Steven and the Diamonds.

"What do we do with them?" Private Eric wondered.

"No need, I got this." Black Rutile bragged, taking Aquamarine's wand and using it to imprison the three Diamonds in a forcefield.

"Hey, you let them go!" Spinel yelled before she found herself getting trapped in the bubble as well, along with Lemon Jade.

"Uh, what is going on?" Greg asked before the major general walked up to him.

"There is no need to panic sir, we are simply following orders." Wade answered calmly. "Alright, move out! We're bringing them to Area 42!"

"Area 42?!" Connie exclaimed. "What are you going to do with them there?!"

"Just gonna ask some questions followed by deciding their fates, no big." Wade responded as he hopped into his Humvee and drove off while turning on his radio. "Gems have been captured, I repeat, Gems have been captured. Requesting a lift to Area 42 in Calivada, over."

As the military drove away with the Gems in tow, Bluebird Azurite picked up Black Rutile & White Topaz before she flew them away from the beach, the combined weight of the Diamonds, Steven, Spinel, and Lemon Jade in the bubble having no effect on her.

"So Crystal Gems," Black Rutile laughed evilly. "Who are you going to believe in now?!"

--

With the Crystal Gems in government custody, Black Rutile is just a few steps closer to victory. But what plans does she have in store for the Diamonds, what fate shall await the Crystal Gems at Area 42, and do White Topaz's loyalties still lie with Black Rutile? You're just gonna have to wait and see.