#twc edit

[kdelarenta]

they're in love y'all !! mishka told me !! 👭 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 💝

[sunshineandviolets]

Into the Unknown.

Happy (late) holidays to @yakov-vasilyev, I was your secret santa <3. Much enjoyed learning all about Devon, esp her relationship with Farah and Bobby! Hope I did your girl justice and this new year has been treating you well!! 🥰🤗💕 Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles Characters: Devon Kang x Farah Hauville (& Bobby Marks) @wayhavensecretsanta

The chill of the winter evening would be enough to make time slow down. From the small prickly hedgehogs curled up asleep within a pile of leaves till the warmth of spring was ready to greet them again, to the silent awes and faint twinkle in a young child’s eye as they witnessed their first snowflake. Jack frost nipped at their nose and in return heard the softest giggle as the confusion shifted to intrigue then finally pure wonder. 

It was just past 5pm and the sun had already started to set, however the crowds of townspeople on the street still remained as lively as before.- regardless of the loud honks from a vehicle that was on the verge of collapse. The night sky was lit up from the endless colourful string lights that decorated the streets. No order, just chaos spurred all over the surrounded homes. 

Devon squinted as she glanced up towards the car’s rear view mirror and grumbled once noticed the increased number of civilians that kept ‘mistaken’ the main road for a damn walkway. Her dark eyes ached with the continuous flash of lights directed towards her. The shine highlighted noticeable dark eye bags that had been one of the few consistent variables in her life thus far.  A child or even an naive adult would describe the first snowfall to commence the winter season as ‘magical’ but for someone whose car’s heating would not turn on - despite the amount of times she had punched the button to no reward - Devon was not feeling to share those same reactions as she pulled her coat furthered into herself.

 “Only a few more blocks to go”, she thought as she gripped the steering wheel tight and clenched her teeth to forcibly stop the chatter. A few more blocks till she would arrive back to a place that was once familiar and now is but a stranger. 

Devon never wanted to become an officer in the first place, that was a position forced upon her as punishment for acts of delinquency. Devon Kang - the woman who had a promising future laid out in front of her when she was growing up. She was meant to gain a successful career as a lawyer, being on top - exceeding far from other’s expectations of her. That was until he came into her life. Took her trust, her heart and had let her lay her armour down, only from him stabbed her from behind. The single revelation of the betrayal from someone she once could call hers, led to her eventual down spiral. A fallen angel , knocked off her pedestal and into a string of bad choices and decisions. Her downfall was his fault. She let him in, to drop her guard and only for him to - urgh. It was his fault.

“ So why can’t I - ? ”

Devon let out a low grunt at the nuisance of the thought of those strikingly blue eyes flashed before her, but it was another that they changed out for. Eyes as bright as the sun that rose up from the darkness, like an unexpected gift from under the tree - the reason why Devon cannot fully regret becoming the detective… if it had meant she got to meet the terrifying surprise that tipped her world upside down.

Thoughts of the sunshine vampire whirled into her mind. A bitter laugh left her as she reminiscenced their first kiss all those months ago. Strange yet needed, as through it’s what she had been missing despite never thinking to look. The vulnerable expression of Farah as she asked her for the kiss - did Farah expect her to say no? Should she have? Any doubt that remained was erased once Devon’s mind shifted to the taste of Farah’s candy scented lip gloss. It happened in almost an instant, yet remained gentle and soft like a touch of a sunny clear day.  Felt the sweetness of newly bloomed roses. After they both moved apart, that blissful kiss still lingered on her lips. The deeper she delved in thought about her new girlfriend, the increase of a chill crept along her back. This is new territory for her and one that Devon has yet to believe or understand that she even deserved. 

A few moments passed and Devon eventually arrived at the station. It was once a home away from home, but ever since her forced promotion at the agency she had found herself hesitant by the foot of the stone steps. She watched as the light shined brightly through the windows from the cold shadows. She never understood how her old co-workers could just easily stroll in a place and make conversation without a stumble. All it had taken was a single look from Devon and the others would avoid and cower like she had the plague. She certainly never smelt bad - always remained rather pristine and put together with style, she thought whilst she smoothed down her pressed shirt. 

A ping from her phone broke her chain of thought. Devon does not save people's numbers usually. A small contact list, less names to remember - only those that she actually cares about. 

Tina Poname, 5:12pm. Seen. 

“Dev! You coming to pick your things up or what?”

Tina Poname, 5:13pm. Seen.

“Don’t make me throw your shit in the trash - I will do it 😤”

Devon rolled her eyes, typed out a quick response then shoved the phone back into her coat pocket. Tina’s threats are not some to dismiss. 

Devon Kang, 5:13pm. Sent.

“Try it and I will break your plant.” 

She sighed whilst taking the steps back into a place that felt more as a distant memory. Devon brushed past individuals that made their way out of the building, ignorant of the pleasantries that were thrown her way. 

***

In and out. 

That was all it was supposed to be.

Get in, grab her stuff then leave. In and out. As easy as that. So, why was she stood in front of a bare naked pine tree with a box of cheap plastic ornaments in her hands. Devon wrinkled her nose when she remembered Tina’s big and bold pleading eyes. Devon was about to shrug her request off before Tina pulled out her trap card. 

“Well this could be a rather difficult task, if you think you won’t be able to handle it then I suppose I could have another - ”

Devon sneered at her past self’s foolishness to fall for such a low blow trick that had landed her to decorate a tree over twice her size. Devon dealt with worse, she knew she didn't need help to assist with such a mindless task. Anyone around her knew better to ask or dealt with the agent’s stone cold glare that could rival Adams. 

Like a blur, time sped up whilst Devon concentrated with the decorations. Volunteers, co workers, guests flew around and past her in all directions - but her focus remained on the tree. No time for pointless greetings or goodbyes, she had a system and it would be followed.

The moment she was unable to find the star topper, Devon decided it was a decent time for a break. That and her stomach betrayed her. She headed for the vending machine, typed out the number, tapped her card and waited for her chips.

And waited.  

… Still waited. 

Devon inched closer with anticipation whilst the bag started to tilt forward and … nothing. It just remained still, mocked her from behind the glass. She kicked at the machine, once or perhaps multiple times, but the chips still refused to budge. How was it that she could shove over an old powerful supernatural, but it was a single bag of chips that held its own against her? At least most people had already left for the day to not see a grown woman’s beef with a mechanical box.

“Oh angel, take it easy on the machine. You are going to leave a dent.” 

Devon groaned and the hairs on the back of her neck stiffened up at that dreadful name. Not even needed to glance away from her new inanimate enemy, she already knew exactly who arrived. She let out another low grunt as she gave the machine one last hard kick, yet the chips remained attached on the rack. 

“Need some assistance there, before you break company property - oh! I meant your ex - company’s property.” Devon made the fatal mistake and shifted her gaze to glance up at the taller man with his smug grin that pierced a burnt feeling in her chest. Bobby Marks leaned against the vending machine with a journalist pass displayed around his neck.

“Ah great. Just when my headache was thought to have gone” She rolled her eyes and spoke in a neutral tone, “the detective is not present, you have no business here.” “Who said I was here for business and not pleasure?” He winked and Devon just barely managed to hold in another groan. He already used that line once before in the past.

She was tired, she had a very brief moment of weakness and it was late - way too late. Devon was usually quite pragmatic, but in that moment, her mind betrayed her when she held the door open for him. Without a second to process, she felt a rough wet collision between their lips. An overwhelming scent of his cologne scraped against her nose. The kiss itself is as she expected. A fight for control. Urgency or desperation? Doesn’t matter. It was over as quick as it had started. After the sounds of betrayal, almost used once again for nothing more than a scoop - she will not allow herself to fall for that same mistake again. 

“But really what a surprise to find you here after your sudden promotion, must be a christmas miracle - “ “It’s the fourth of December.”

Bobby continued as though she never interrupted, “and here I worried that agency of yours had kept you locked up and you’d tragically never see my handsome face again.” Devon noted the venom laced on his tongue at the slight mention of the agency. She managed to array Bobby’s suspicions of her new workplace and unordinary colleagues for the past couple of months, but how long will that secret last? Knowing Bobby for as long as she does, he won’t stop till he figured out the truth. 

Devon rolled her eyes again at his comment, but stopped at the sound of a bag drop. Her eyes darted towards the row ‘035’ and that very same chip bag had indeed fallen onto the tray. When her gaze moved towards the control panel, her surprise quickly shifted to a glare towards her conversation partner who was in the process of putting away his card.

“I did not need your help.” Bobby scoffed lightly, “Bold of you to assume these were for you.” He reached down faster enough to beat her for the winning prize. He opened her bag. He took out her chips. With the usual smirk drawn on his face, crunched down on each chip. One by one. However, it did not last as that nauseating smirk faded into a knowing grimace.

Bobby let out a loud cough and tossed the bag onto an empty desk, “Kale? Who on earth would choose to eat kale flavoured chips?” Devon scoffs with a small quirk of a smile “it’s called being healthy, why don’t you try it some time?” Bobby rubbed a hand on the corners of his mouth, “it’s called being pretentious, Kang.”

“Takes one to know one, Marks.”  

Bobby took a few steps closer towards Devon, leaned down to match her height “we always had much in common, hadn’t we? Shame truly we don’t spend nearly enough time together anymore to explore - “

Devon was about to snap back at him, if it wasn’t for her surprise wrapped up in all colours of the rainbow. 

“Dev!! Honey! I saw your car outside, are you in here?”

Farah’s booming voice echoed through the office, a pleasant chime to the ears. She had a peppy spring to her steps, with her poofy skirt bouncing along with her and colourful rainbow stockings proudly on display. She swung around a small woven tote bag, whilst she skipped with a beaming smile towards Devon. 

“You would not believe what I managed to score, and for free as well!” Farah’s excitement could radiate an entire room with how much twinkle would shine from her amber eyes. 

Bobby let out a loud cough and Farah’s bounce halted and finally realised his existence in the scene. He was not amused, “We were having a conversation here.” Farah threw him a disinterested gaze up and down with a shrug “emphasis on ‘were’. You are no longer needed - not when the real gift has arrived!” She gives a small twirl of the skirt and sent a wink at Devon. Devon snorted at the man’s insulted face. She hesitated at first but reached over for Farah’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. 

Bobby glanced between both women then at their joined hands, gave a slight roll of the eyes before he plastered a tight smile. “Oh! It seems I am getting a call,”  He whipped out his phone and very obviously typed out a number. He kept his gaze locked onto Devon as he spoke, “Hello there Harriet, did you miss me?” Devon just scoffed at his antics. 

Farah stuck her tongue out at the man when he headed out of the station, then shook her head and sighed, “What a total weirdo. Good thing you totally upgraded from that, right honey?” She glanced towards her with an anxious smile. Farah has always been rather open, going through life, her heart on her sleeve, even a hint of insecurity can easily slip past that smiley façade. However, without the necessity of words, Devon lifted their joined hands to press a faint kiss on her knuckles and those once anxious thoughts simply faded away. 

Farah’s cheeks darkened and sputtered out a soft laugh “oh gosh - wow. Gotta say babes, I'm never truly tired of finding these surprises of yours hidden within.” Devon showed a small inch of a smile and Farah’s grin widened, then blinked for a second “Wait, what was I going to say again?” Devon glanced at the tote bag and raised a single brow, Farah clapped her hands “Oh right! Check it.” She opened the bag and revealed a small box of freshly baked mince pies. “Some old human was selling a bunch on the street and she ended up giving me a box with no charge! Must have been hypnotised by my adorable face, haha!” Devon purses her lips in slight confusion, “firstly I am not going to argue about ‘adorableness’ of your face as that’s obviously true to a fact,” Farah blew her a kiss. “But you are a vampire, aren’t you not? You don’t need to eat actual foods.” Farah flapped her hand, “Need? No. But I heard these small pie things are a big deal this time of the year, so I was curious what all the hype was about.” Farah shuffled near, their hands still joined, the sudden closeness caused a warmth to bloom on Devon’s cheeks. “And I thought you might appreciate the snack.”

Devon hadn’t told anyone she was heading to the station. Hadn’t told anyone if she was eating out or staying in. But despite not knowing if they were going to meet, Farah still thought of her. She used her free hand to gently cup her girlfriend’s cheek. Examined her for any possible ulterior motives, tricks or tomfoolery - but what she deduced was nothing but the earnest truth, as she has always been.

“You are forever on my mind, honey. I hope you know that. If not, I do not mind getting to remind you every second of every day.” Left speechless, Devon responded with a slow nod. She leaned up slightly for a gentle kiss with a short breath of relief that escaped her lips. Farah’s leg propped up with her arms around Devon’s waist, kept her close and near. A picturesque portrait with the newly decorated tree behind the blossoming couple and seemingly Devon finally found the star. 

All she wishes for this Christmas season is not to lose her shooting star anytime soon. 

The End.

[not-sewell]

well, well, well. i have bitten the bullet and made some of my detectives' instagram (based on this template) :3

Nimah:

Dinah:

Mona:

Arzoo, on the other hand, is too cool for the 'gram and doesn't have much of a presence (zero posts, only stories). she says she'll work on it tho.

[grapecaseschoices]

a mini farah x adam shipboard.

[quote by catherynne m. valente's deathless]

[vryptidart]

Morag Locke is a dockworker. She goes to work, goes to the pub, goes home, and does it all over again the next day. It's honest, solid work, in the remnants of Wayhaven's industrial heart. But times are changing. And Morag will be damned if she lets the next to useless Wayhaven PD be the only ones investigating the murder shaking this sleepy little town.

> scumverse (wayhaven dockworker) MASTERPOST

What if the events of The Wayhaven Chronicles played out- but your player character would never be a cop? What if, instead, she was a cranky bastard of a dockworker, colleague (and technically friend) of Lance Huttle?

What if you wrote like over 130K about a huge bitch that doesn't deserve Nat's love and affection and then realised it's really hard to convince anyone to hop on board, because that's also 18 posted works (as of April 2025)?

Yes it's all in a series, and the most determined can just read through in that order, which is more or less published order, but definitely not chronological or even recommended order. But I want to Self Advertise a bit So Anyway, here's a guide. Essentials first, and then the remainder. Check each story for its content warnings, this list is going to be Long Enough.

Recommended Essential Reading Order:

1. simple twist of fate. 59,055 words, 17 chapters. Complete.

A full book one rewrite, following Morag Locke, busybody dockworker, as she deals with discovering and investigating the death of Janet Greenland, and the arrival of Ava, Nat, Felix and Mason into her life. Morag/Nat slowishburn Commences.

2. rituals. 1,154 words, one chapter. Complete.

A moment aside, after the plot of simple twist, exploring a little of Ada Grey's homelife. Featuring a lot of my homebrew Gargoyle lore from before we got Any information about them in the setting.

3. flotsam. 1,808 words, one chapter. Complete.

A boring day at work is made more exciting for Morag, when a selkie seeks her assistance. Who said being a liaison would be hard and unrewarding work?

4. tangled up in blue. 23,573 words, seven chapters. Complete.

Thought there'd be no protagonist detective, huh? Before the events of book two, Unit Bravo is assigned to observe a city detective, Salt Wax, who appears to have the same blood mutation as Morag. Detective Wax, meanwhile, finds her life on the line when she investigates a series of disappearances linked to a local strip club... And I get to add the Detective/Ava tag to the series.

5. the times they are a-changin'. 19,640 words, six chapters. Complete.

We're not at Book Two and my beloved Falk yet. First we need to see Detective Salt Wax move to Wayhaven, and how Morag handles an incident or two, involving new supernaturals that move through the town- some to stay, and others planning on drifting on... Unit Bravo don't get tagged but they do pop up right at the end there.

6. playing cards. 1,430 words, one chapter. Complete.

Set midway through Chapter 3 of the last fic here, we get an additional scene of the tarot cards being pulled and discussed. Happens right before Niko's Bad Nap.

7. lethe. 1,237 words, one chapter. Complete.

A glimpse both backwards and ahead. An early appearance of Sanja- when she met Salt as a child, before she met the Maa-alused.

8. shelter from the storm. 34,502 words (so far), 8 chapters. In Progress.

The most current entry as of writing- the Book Two Rewrite begins. Or began like a year ago and now I'm back to it with chapter 3 oops. ANYWAY. Unit Bravo returned at the very end of times, but they hadn't finished settling in. Rebecca returns to her position as handler, and tries to take back control. Salt fights multiple walking headaches. And the Maa-alused are driven from their home...

That's It That's The Essentials

We're excluding the Art ones for now, but only because my energy to fix my image hosting is depleted. But now I've cherrypicked through the list, here's the more optional ones, rearranged in reading order…

transitions. 1,199 words, one chapter. Complete.

After simple twist, scenes of Wayhaven as spring rolls in.

crazing. EXPLICIT 6,233 words, one chapter. Complete.

Between tangled up in blue and shelter from the storm, Ada borrows Mason for what should be a quick sidemission- and ends up being a sexpollen fanfic.

The next lot have the ambiguous chronology of being established relationship for their featured pairings, possibly post-TWC-full-series, or maybe slot in among them- their positioning might change.

raw. 880 words, one chapter. Complete.

Actually the first thing I published of Morag and Nat. Written during the early writing days of simple twist, but set likely well after. Morag gets in a barfight.

ecdysis. 1,716 words, one chapter. Complete.

Salt is cursed in the course of a mission, and Ava must follow the wisdom of fairytales to free her.

goliath. 1,379 words, one chapter. Complete.

Ava and Salt get a cat.

it leads you here, despite your destination / under the Milky Way tonight. 824 words, one chapter. Complete.

Dinner with friends domesticity, with Morag trying to start a fight over music with Salt.

like real people do. 2,277 words, one chapter. Complete.

Evil offscreen nobodies try to get Nat to eat Morag. Luckily Morag drugs her! Then they make out. I promise it's kinda sweet and maybe hot but DO check the content warnings for this one.

And then... the beginning of the end.

Sometimes you know how the story will end. For Morag, I started writing it already, years ago. There's still plenty in between here and then, I don't plan on finishing any time soon and I'm having fun scuttling in Sera's shadows and rewriting the main series, but here is the start of the sequence.

One More Cup of Coffee for the Road.

katabasis. 3,774 words, one chapter. Complete.

Morag Locke is now fifty-seven years old. Natalie Sewell is now three hundred and fifty-two years old. Average human female life expectancy in ██████ is eighty-six years.

[crownleys]

pov your temperature-sensitive vampire girlfriend keeps insisting on joining you for a walk in the winter weather you love

[delucadarlingwriting]

Vampire Divorce Court - Striking Matches Burns Fingers

Man, writing has been a hell of a task lately. This has been marinating in my docs for a while, because I like having two parts done before posting one, but...Yeah, I'm doing it now. I've got the next one done, though it needs a bit of work. I'm still figuring out the outline for part 10. Part of me feels like I need to go back and replay the games a bit, just so I'm not constantly second guessing if I've written them OOC or what.

Anyway! I did have fun with this part. Mason and Barbie barking at one another while getting absolutely zero communication done is very fun for me. Plus, I love Kira.

Summary: Mason really wishes he could backpedal on the whole Barbie-coming-to-help thing.

First | Previous | Part 8 | Next

Word Count: 3,610

***

Book 1, Haley’s Bakery, early morning

There’s not much good about this mission, but Mason can at least appreciate that Barbie seems to want to be away from him as much as he wants to be away from her. She’d been gone when he came down for his break from babysitting the detective just a few hours after snapping at one another. He couldn’t catch her scent at all either, so she must’ve left right after he’d gone inside. No telling where she went or what she was doing, only that Adam had determined someone needs to keep an eye on her. Mason’s glad the commanding agent chose to tackle that project himself.

He’s doubly glad that Farah had elected to leave the subject well alone as they wandered the quiet town. That didn’t stop her from chattering about anything and everything else, but Mason’s more than used to tuning other people out. That is, until she suddenly says, “Adam’s texted.”

“What about?” Mason grunts. He’d just dug out his carton of smokes, but finding only a quarter left inside, he shoves it back into his pocket. The sky is just starting to turn pink, the quiet buzz of life starting to grow around them. If he’s going to make it through the day, he’ll need to ration them out.

“We’re going to meet up with him, and then we’re going to go meet up with Nat, Kira and…Well, you know.” Farah eyes him, but he doesn’t give her anything to read off. Other than annoyance, but that’s practically nothing. “Think you can manage it?”

“Shut up,” he snaps. Farah snorts and shrugs.

“Alright. Come on, he said he’d meet us near that park in the bougie part of town.” She flounces off, her enthusiasm to meet up with Adam grating against his dread for meeting up with everyone else.

Adam is waiting for them when they arrive, and after greeting Farah, he looks to Mason. At Mason. Like he’s making sure there are no cracks. Mason just takes it until Adam leads the way to wherever they’re going. He hadn’t been listening when Adam told them.

While he’d denied needing anyone to arrange shifts so he doesn’t have to be around Barbie, Mason is starting to regret that now. It’s done though, so he just has to suck it up until it’s done and she leaves. Adam falls back as they approach the bakery, and Mason nearly does too when he spots the back of Barbie’s head through the huge windows.

Farah looks up at him when his next step is off cadence, but he pretends not to notice and keeps going. It’s not as if talking about it will help anything, no matter what she and Nat think. He pushes through the door, Adam catching it as Farah slips through, following the both of them in.

There’s only one enormous table in the place, but luckily no other customers. Nat’s on one side, facing the door, while Kira and Barbie are hip to hip on the other side. A fact that has Adam growling quietly. Admittedly, Mason has his own hesitations at the sight. No vampire that’s as hungry as Barbie has to be should be anywhere near humans. Let alone the human they’re supposed to be protecting.

Mason heads straight for the chair at Nat’s side, throwing himself down on it, while Farah takes the one next to him. Adam doesn’t bother, standing tall with his arms crossed right behind Barbie’s chair. She doesn’t look at him though, nor does she look at Mason. She continues the conversation as if she hasn’t even noticed either of them at all. Fine by him.

The rest of them talk, but Mason isn’t paying attention to what they’re saying. He’s doing his best to tune everything out. It’s damn near impossible though. Ever since she arrived in this town, Mason swears he can feel her, despite the ways in which she’s changed.

She smells different now. Indescribably so, considering he can still recognize her scent as being distinctly Barbie. Her heartbeat is quiet and sluggish, enough to be alarming for a human, but it may as well be a drum beating against the inside of his head. Loud enough that he barely notices the baker woman coming up behind them all.

“Anything I can get you?” she asks, terribly cheerful as she wipes her sugar dusted hands against her apron. Mason turns to glare, but pauses first to look her up and down. Her heart beats fast, faster still when she meets Mason’s eye.

“We’re fine,” Barbie says, her voice slicing through the moment. Her eyes are wide behind her glasses when Mason looks over, like she managed to surprise herself with the vitriol in her voice. “I mean…We—We’re—”

Nat jumps in to fix the situation. She turns to the baker and smiles. “We don’t need a thing, but thank you.”

The baker looks confused, stuck between offense at Barbie’s response and flustered at Nat’s. She settles on an awkward smile, a nod, and beats a hasty retreat for the kitchen.

“Wow,” Farah says with a snicker. “I see how you managed to charm Mason’s pants off.”

“That’s hardly a difficult task,” Barbie mutters, staring down as she folds and unfolds a paper napkin on the table in front of her. Mason leans forward against the table, but he’s cut off from responding by Nat.

“Kira had a question,” Nat says, gripping the conversation in an iron fist before it can go down the drain any further.

The detective, cradling a mug of something dark and bitter in her hands, hesitates for a moment as if forgetting the question herself after that whole exchange.

“Um. Yeah. I guess I was just wondering about…” She looks over toward the counter, but Mason can already hear the baker starting up an industrial mixer in the back. None of this will be overheard. Kira pulls her long, strawberry blond braid over her shoulder, twirling it around a finger as she talks. “The thralls that attacked us. You said they’re people, right? Humans?”

Nat nods. “Residents of Wayhaven, in fact.”

Kira’s face scrunches up unhappily. “But no one’s been reported missing.”

“They wouldn’t be,” Mason says. “He can’t control them without being at full strength.”

“At night,” Barbie elaborates before Kira can ask. “Otherwise they’re just themselves. Normal humans, living their lives.”

“And they don’t know what he’s done to them?” Kira asks.

“Not a clue,” Farah replies. She shifts, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

“Well, I want to check on them,” Kira says, jaw set.

“We are already keeping an eye on them,” Adam says, his tone saying without words that that should be the end of the conversation. Kira dismisses this idea and continues.

“It’s my job to keep them safe,” she says, turning to look up at him. “I know I haven’t done a stellar job so far, but that doesn’t mean I can just shrug off my duties and give up.”

“I’ll go with you,” Barbie says, gently laying a hand on Kira’s. Every other vampire stiffens at the gesture. “I’d like to get an idea of the sort of people Murphy has been targeting, and if there may be a connection to be found there. Where he found them may be an indicator of the locations he’s been working around.”

Kira beams, way too grateful for what’s being offered. Adam’s eyes shift behind his sunglasses, looking quickly between them as he realizes he’s rapidly losing control of the situation.

“Mason,” he says sharply. Mason’s shoulders drop.

“Seriously?” he asks. Adam stares at him.

“It’s fine,” Kira says, giving Mason a concerned look that he curls a lip at. She shakes her head at him. “Barbie will be with me, I don’t need another babysitter.”

“Yeah, Babs being with you is like, the whole problem,” Farah says. Barbie flinches, looking away as if she hasn’t heard when Kira gives her a questioning look.

Unsure of what possesses him to do so, Mason interferes. “Yeah, you need a real babysitter. So one of us.” He gestures as briefly as he can manage to the rest of Unit Bravo.

At his side, Farah starts peering at him closely, and he can practically feel how she’s trying to pry at him. So he throws an elbow into her side, making her squawk indignantly.

“I’m not a field agent,” Barbie adds on across the table, eager to pounce on the opportunity Mason’s given her. “I wouldn’t be of much help in a dangerous situation.”

Surprised, Kira says, “Really? But you’re also a…”

Looking nauseated, Barbie holds a hand up and shakes her head. “I’ve never been good at physical activities, and that’s as true now as it ever was.”

“All but one, at least,” Mason says. That earns him a swift side kick to the ankle from Nat, along with a stern glare. He growls at her for it, but doesn’t retaliate. No need to start breaking shit and get yelled at for that too.

Kira’s hiding her distaste with a very quick swig from her mug, while Barbie goes a pale pink, her sluggish heartbeat picking up its pace for a moment. He doesn’t think about why she doesn’t blush as deeply as she used to.

“As much as I’m certain Kira and everyone else here appreciates your insight, shall we keep things professional?” Barbie grits out. Mason just grins toothily, enjoying how it makes her let out a frustrated sound and push back from the table. Kira scrambles to follow her lead, pausing only to dust the crumbs from her skirt.

As Mason is hauling himself up, he hears keys jangle in Barbie’s hand. The idea of being stuck in a car with her and the detective makes him want to scratch all his skin off. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Naturally,” Barbie says breezily as she walks past, as if he was being presumptuous by suggesting there was any other option.

Why does he even fucking bother?

***

Book 1, Near the outskirts of Wayhaven, Mid-morning

They show up when he's on his second cigarette. Kira wrinkles her nose as soon as she’s close enough to catch the smell.

“Put that out,” Barbie demands, frowning at him.

“You're one to talk,” Mason says, taking a long, deliberate drag.

“I refrain from doing it around anyone it can damage,” she replies, jerking her chin toward the detective. He cannot summon enough of a fuck to give, considering he’s not exactly huffing in her face. Barbie flinches, the way she does every time he meets her eye, but she doesn’t back down.

Mason sighs and stubs the cigarette against the bottom of his boot before flicking it into the bushes. Kira watches it sail through the air, glares at him, and then stomps off to go fetch it. Barbie crosses her arms and arches a drawn on eyebrow at him.

“Are we here to watch thralls or skip around the woods?” Mason snaps. From behind a bush, Kira pops her head around with a chastising expression.

“We could be watching them already if I didn't have to chase down your litter.” At Mason’s impatient groan, she adds, “This is protected land!”

“That must be part of why this place is so lovely,” Barbie says, as if she has ever gone hiking or appreciated nature in her life. Mason leans back against a tree, doing his best to ignore the way the bark digs into his skin.

“Oh, Wayhaven’s the best!” Kira exclaims, again unseen as she hunts. Eventually she emerges, cigarette butt in hand. Barbie holds her hand out toward her, a cotton, embroidered handkerchief laid over top of it. Kira delicately places the cigarette there, and Barbie folds it up before slipping it all into her pocket.

“Can we go now?” Mason huffs. Barbie flutters a hand at him.

“Well go on, you’re the one who knows where to go,” she urges.

He remembers a time where he liked her decisiveness, the way she didn’t hold back on telling him exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it. Now though, it rankles. He’s tired of every goddamn thing being on Barbie’s terms.

The women exchange glances, and Barbie says, “Well?”

Fuming, Mason swings around and stomps onward. It’s not a real path, but by this point he knows the path of least resistance through the uneven earth and brush. He pushes a branch sticking out in front of him out of the way, letting it go once he’s past it. It swings back, and there are dual yelps of surprise behind him, followed by a sharp, “Mason!”

He smiles to himself and hastens his pace, if only to hear Barbie grumbling as she tries to keep up while wearing heels and a tight dress. The detective isn’t nearly as thrown off, which he almost finds respectable.

Eventually they come to the spot Mason’s used on and off for the past week to keep an eye on the thralls here. Not all of them live in this area, but two are neighbors. Probably targeted for the ease of it all. He crouches down, settling in for a long, boring watch when Kira emerges with Barbie stumbling along behind her.

“Have you spotted them already?” Kira asks. Mason nods and gestures to houses below.

“The ones there, with the red brick,” he says. “The other two are on opposite ends of town, but these ones are easy to watch.”

The detective comes close, smelling distinctly of fragranced soap. It makes his nose itch and his eyes water, but he does his best to ignore it. Eventually, after watching squint for several seconds, he realizes she can’t see the thralls moving around in their houses through the windows.

“They’re in there,” he says. He can’t hear anything at this distance, not over the wind in the leaves.

“What are they doing?” Kira asks. This though, she aims at Barbie.

“I can’t see either,” Barbie replies.

“But you’re…” Kira trails off, then gives a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I know you said you’re different.”

Understatement of the fucking year, there. Mason doesn’t say it out loud, but Barbie glares at him anyway like she already knows that’s what he’s thinking. He doesn’t like that she still knows him well enough for that, while he feels like he hardly knows her at all anymore.

Before the quiet can settle in, Kira asks, “Is that why you wear glasses?”

Barbie laughs, the noise like a punch to the gut. “Oh God, no. These are fake, just plain glass in frames. They actually make it harder to see sometimes.”

“Oh,” Kira says. It’s clear she has a thousand questions, while Barbie seems to regret saying as much as she did.

“You know, I’ve never actually seen a thrall before, so this expedition is quite exciting,” Barbie says quickly. While it doesn’t wipe away the curiosity in the detective’s eye, she follows Barbie’s lead anyway.

“Never?” Kira asks. Barbie shakes her head.

“No. Not even in all the time I worked with Unit Bravo.”

“So you worked with them before?” Kira asks. Barbie looks at Mason again, but he isn’t offering any easy answers this time. So she sighs and nods.

“Yes, I work with a variety of teams who need my help, but I used to work most closely with Unit Bravo before I was transferred,” she says.

That makes Mason snort. “Really? You’re calling it a transfer?”

“Do you really want to get into this right here, right now?” Barbie snaps, her gaze cutting over to Kira and back again. Having her stand over him, looking down her nose with every hair in place makes Mason itch all over. He stands, just to put himself on equal footing with her.

“I don’t give a fuck if the detective hears about it, and you’re the one who brought it up in front of her,” Mason says. Barbie rolls her eyes and it makes Mason’s head start spinning.

“Perhaps I don’t feel the need to air out my dirty laundry. Though Lord knows you probably have!” Barbie shouts. Mason steps closer, nearly bouncing Kira out of the way.

“Guys, easy,” she says as she scrambles to her feet, but neither vampire is really hearing her.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Mason demands. Barbie meets his eye fully.

“You have no shame and no decorum,” she says. He blinks.

“Is that news to you?” he asks.

“Don’t speak to me so flippantly,” Barbie says. Mason snorts.

“You think I’m flippant? What about you?”

“What about me?” Barbie crosses her arms.

“At least I actually give a damn about the people I’m supposed to care about,” Mason says. “You can’t handle your goddamn vanity being wounded to the point of running to another fucking continent to hide away.”

Barbie moves then, arm coming up before freezing somewhere just above her hip. She closes her eyes, breathing deep as she pinches her nose with the hand she was certainly about to slap him with. Mason almost wishes she’d tried, even if he’s not sure exactly what he’d do about it.

“Mason, if you think the only problem I have with being a vampire is looking like this,” she says, as if she’s some sort of horrible, mangled thing, “then divorcing you really was the best thing I could’ve done.”

Before Mason can even begin to come up with something to say to that, Kira shoves her way between them.

“Okay, come on. Enough. You’re just finding things to argue about.” She looks between them, keenly taking in all this new information, while also wanting to stop either of them from continuing. Which is just as well, as Mason’s throat has gone so dry he doubts he could say much anyway.

To hell with this, Adam can come babysit if he really wants someone to watch the detective.

Of course, before he can even will himself to move, Barbie steps away first.

“I doubt I can glean much just from observing them as they are now,” she says, fussing with the buttons on her coat. “I’d be better off completing the files the Agency wants on them, which I can do with my laptop and a printer.”

“I have a printer at my apartment,” Kira says after a moment. “You can use that one.”

“Wonderful,” Barbie says flatly. She’s gone the next moment, stumbling back through the trees.

Mason curls and uncurls his fingers, itching to run after her and…

And what? What the fuck does he even want with her anymore? He thought nothing. It should be nothing.

Everything is too bright, too cold, and too damn much. He turns away to settle back on his haunches, ostensibly to observe the thralls, but if he's being truly honest with himself he isn't absorbing a damned thing. The detective settles in beside him, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“That was…a lot,” Kira says haltingly. Mason snorts.

“That’s nothing.” One of the last conversations they had before she ran off, he and Barbie had screamed so loud at one another that Elidor had had to use his magic to separate them. At least Barbie wasn’t cursing his name down for the next century.

“Still, arguing with someone you used to be with can’t be fun.”

Mason rolls his eyes. “You’re a real genius, huh?”

“I guess she hasn’t always been a vampire?” Kira asks. Mason ignores her, but that doesn’t stop the detective from continuing. “I’d ask her, but she seems to get upset when she has to talk about being one. That plus some of what you guys just said…”

“No, she was turned,” Mason says, suddenly too fucking tired to tell Kira to mind her business. Answering her questions will, with any luck, get her to shut up faster.

“Did you know each other as humans?”

“No. I was a vampire, she was human when we met.” Mason stands again, stomping his feet to try and get some feeling back into them. Bloody fucking cold. It’s always worse this close to the ocean.

“But she turned before you two broke up,” Kira says. It’s not a question, so Mason doesn’t answer. Besides, he doesn’t really want to even think about Barbie turning, let alone talk about it. If he had his way, she’d be just as human now as she was then. Nearing the end of her life, sure, but not miserable in her existence either. It’s what he’d been preparing himself to deal with ever since they decided to give being a couple a try.

“What does any of this have to do with the thralls?” Mason snaps. Kira shrugs. Just when he thinks that’s the end of that, she piped up again.

“How do you turn people into thralls?”

Mason scoffs. “I don’t. I can’t. Only natural vampires can. And no, I’m not explaining anything else about that.”

To his surprise, the detective’s response to his acerbic words is to laugh. She rests her chin on her knees.

“That’s fine,” she says. “I don’t mind sitting in silence.”

Relief floods him, as that’s all he’s really wanted the whole time. Even if the silence isn’t really silence, between the wind, the birds, and the squirrels darting around barking at one another, it’s better. He can think more clearly. Even the sound of Kira’s breathing isn’t so bothersome.

As time stretches on, he finds the presence of Kira in general isn’t as bothersome as it once was. He might even enjoy it a bit.

Next

[itsmistyeyedbi]

My memory might be failing me again, but I think some at some point mentioned that it would be funny if ub was so popular in the supernatural community that people made edits of them lmaoo. If people made edits of your detective, what type would they be? (Has your detective gotten along enough with them for them to even make those edits?)

[zhoras-bitch]

The Wayhaven Chronicles || m!Bobby Marks

[f!version]

[kdelarenta]

went to girlbossville and everyone knew her there 🙄

meet my mc's

name: amelia winters

li: agent m

story: the wayhaven chronicles by @seraphinitegames

[lykegenia]

Patience, And Words, And Waterfalls

And I'm back on my TWC bullshit

Nate x Leah, fluff and light angst

--

He knows she loves him.

He feels it in the way she seeks him out in a room, her smiles against his mouth, how she can’t help her grip tightening on him as they come apart together. He doesn’t know if her feelings match the depth of his, if she can even comprehend the ache of the eternity he’s waited for her – but no, that’s an unfair thought, because loneliness is something she wears like a cloak, weather-side turned out to deflect the wound of longing beneath. He catches her sometimes, on the cusp of saying it, untangling the words on the tip of her tongue like she’s translating a language she doesn’t speak. Her brow furrows, her heartbeat flutters, and then it’s gone, lost in a sigh like a desert dream of water as she hides against his shoulder.

He tries to lead by example, whispers the words into the curve of her shoulder, offers them over cups of tea, but it doesn’t have the effect he hoped. She shrinks away, minutely, guiltily, and tries to bluff her way into a change of topic. It hurts. It burns, to reach out and feel only empty air. Soon, too soon for his liking, she’ll find out what he really is, and then nevermore will there be a hope that those small words will fall on his desperate ears, but is it so wrong for him to want it just once? To feel assurance brush across his skin? It doesn’t take long to realise he’s never wanted anything so much.

Understanding comes eventually when, slipping back into the warehouse from a patrol along the town’s northern edges, he catches the strains of her voice coming from the kitchen. She’s there with Felix, of course, and he smiles at the thought of how close the two of them have become.

“I don’t know what to do!”

The words are explosive; the smile falls from his face.

“He keeps saying it, and he keeps expecting me to say it back – I know he does.”

Felix must be aware of his presence, even if her human senses haven’t yet picked up on the extra participant in their conversation, because his voice is tentative as he replies, “Do you want to?”

“Doesn’t fucking matter if my face refuses to work,” she bites back, and he can imagine the way her lips twist around the words.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Read the rest on AO3

[grapecaseschoices]

@nat-seal-well, this is for you. *throws basketball and misses*

a not-so-mini farah x nate shipboard.

[right second row quote is from sue zhao]

[vryptidart]

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles - Mishka Jenkins Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Female Detective/Natalie "Nat" Sewell, Detective/Ava du Mortain, Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles)/Original Character(s) Characters: Detective (The Wayhaven Chronicles), Original Characters, Natalie "Nat" Sewell, Ava du Mortain, Felix Hauville, Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles), Rebecca (The Wayhaven Chronicles), Sanja (The Wayhaven Chronicles), Falk (The Wayhaven Chronicles) Additional Tags: Book 2 Rewrite, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, AU specifics can be found in the series description Series: Part 17 of scum (wayhaven dockworker) Summary:

Things are not so simple in Wayhaven now. Detective Salt Wax has settled in, and Morag Locke has more books to add to her already over-packed shelves. Unit Bravo start moving into their new home, and Rebecca returns to the position of handler.

And in from the wilderness, the Carnival comes.

[crownleys]

I like to imagine the vampires as the same heights no matter what, which I've realized in combination with Kira being 5' even makes for a pretty entertaining height difference

[daydreamxsimmer]

The brightest and most colourful vampire you'd ever meet. She's the literal personification of a ray of sunshine <3

Farah Hauville // The Wayhaven Chronicles

[sunshineandviolets]

was bored so have a Jasmine in formal wear <3