#yeah his talon isn't on his head but there's a reason

[weatheringtea]

WIP Al’s going somewhere...... My brain turned off before I could clean up his legs lol.  Imagine them *wiggles fingers*

[magniloquent-raven]

its midnight and im sleeby but i finished this thing i started scribbling out this afternoon based on @harringroveera 's post that i couldnt get outta my brain

i think i might have angsted it up a little cuz i can't help myself but its still cute so. pls enjoy

--

Billy's not super clear on where he is right now.

There are people everywhere. Yelling. Laughing. Music plays over a big fancy sound system. There's a blurry blue light glowing through glass sliding doors that he's been staring at for a little while 'cause it's…pretty. Twinkly and stuff. 

He's too many drinks past a good buzz, that much he's sure of. His head feels. Floaty. And heavy. And if he tries to move the room starts to spin. 

Whatever he's sitting on is comfy though. Soft. Softer than his damn mattress with that broken spring that's always stabbing him in the ribs. 

He's tired. Really tired.

Feels like he hasn't slept in months.

To his left a girl starts squealing as her boyfriend grabs her around the waist, to his right a speaker vibrates against the wall, buzzing to the beat of a deep bassline. Everything sounds far away, though. White noise blending together while the edges of his vision go fuzzy and faded.

He feels his head tip, just a little, and then—

With a sharp inhale he jolts, blinks, glancing around blearily at a silent, empty room.

It's still dark out. The blue glow still shimmers at him through glass. A lamp lights the room he's in. Everything's…shapes. Colours. His brain is still mushy.

He blinks a couple more times. His eyes are dry. Wobbly. All the shapes are wobbly.

"Hey, man, party's over." A voice startles him. He tries to look around, but it fucking hurts, and moving his head is so much work. Whatever, it's a nice voice. Way nicer than the jarring silence. 

Wait, why's the party over. He doesn't want the party to be over.

He wrinkles his nose. "Nooo…" 

"...Yeessss." There's a pause. "Everyone is gone, dude."

"No." Billy rubs his eyes. The chair is still so comfy. He sinks further into it, unwilling to move. "You're here."

"It's my house. I'm allowed to stay." The voice sounds amused. There's some rustling behind Billy. Plastic crinkling. Maybe. Something being moved around. "Why are you even here, anyways?" 

Hazy memories jumble together. A flask of vodka in his pocket, slipped under itchy robes. Sitting two heads away from Steve Harrington, sneaking glances between barely concealed shots. A droning speech. Another droning speech. Neil's solemn face in a crowd, watching him walk across the stage to shake hands with…the guy. The. Whatever.  

Some girl digging her talons into his arm after he slipped away from Neil's attempts to maintain a public image by acting like he gave a shit about his son's accomplishments. Beer and cheap tequila and shitty music blurring into each other as he gets dragged around like a trophy dangling off the elbow of whichever nameless girl claimed him for the night.

"Graduated," he says, picking at a sticky spot on the thigh of his jeans. Pinching the fabric isn't doing anything but he can't stop prodding. 

"Yeah, I know, with honors. Congrats." There's a huff. A silence. "Doesn't explain why you're here though." Footsteps, sneakers on linoleum, tap tap tap, meandering around whatever room is at his back. Glass bottles getting moved around. It's sort of soothing to listen to someone move around their house without any reason to be keeping track of their movements.

Well, unless…

Billy's stomach flips, and his chest goes tight. "You're not gonna kick me out are you?" he asks, his voice small. He feels sick, saying it. Thinking about it. He doesn't want to be anywhere else. This house smells sweet under the stink of spilled beer and leftover perfume. And he likes this chair.

The movement behind him stops for a second. "...Nnno?"

He breathes. Relaxing into velvety upholstery. "'Kay." 

"You sure you don't have anywhere to be? Family waiting up? Girlfriend expecting a midnight rendezvous?" 

Billy snorts. "No one gives a shit where I am." 

Neil will care tomorrow when Billy makes him look bad by pulling up hungover and in yesterday's clothes, but that's a problem for tomorrow. He won't be waiting up for him, worrying about Billy's safety or whatever.

A glass bottle clinks against something. "What about your sister?"

"Pfff…" He snickers, and gives his head a tiny shake. The movement makes everything spinny for a second and he has to pause to swallow bile. The sour taste on his tongue feels appropriate. And gross. "I fucked up. Everything. Beat the shit outta her friend. She's prolly hoping I don' come home at all. Ever."

Another glass bottle gets set down, slower this time. Carefully. "...This friend of hers…"

"Steve," Billy sighs. His eyes fall shut and he leans back into a cushioned headrest. His insides do the stupid fluttery thing they always do when he thinks about Steve. Steve and his stupid kissable face. 

"It was pretty dumb of him to pick a fight with you, huh," the voice says wryly. 

"Mnh…I guess." There's a soft snort behind him. But something prickles at Billy. Guilt, maybe. It's uncomfortable. He chews his lip as his eyes start to burn. "Nah. No. Whole thing was my fault. All my fault. S'always my fault." 

Saying it doesn't make it feel better.

"What do you mean?" There's sounds anymore. Just the voice, and Billy's heartbeat in his ears.

"It's…" Billy swipes at his eyes with the back of his hand. "It's a secret."

"I'm good at keeping those."

"You can't tell him."

"...I definitely will not tell him."

Billy hums. "He's real pretty, y'know."

"So I've been told, but what—"

"No, he's…he's so pretty. Like, I can't believe it sometimes, and I just wanna. Do something about it. All the time. But it hurts. Hurts so bad, and it's not supposed to, so I had to—I had to…I just got so mad. And I had to prove I didn't wanna kiss him, but I do. 'Cause I like him so much. Too much."

The silence is back. Ringing in Billy's ears. He sniffles quietly. 

"Oh…" 

"Please don't tell him. Or anyone."

"Billy…"

"Promise."

There's a strained pause. Billy fidgets, his insides twisting into knots. 

"I promise." The voice is so gentle, and it makes Billy's eyes sting again. He blinks away tears and listens to more bottles being moved. Plastic cups hitting plastic bags. Sneakers against linoleum, and hardwood, and carpet. And after a while, "You're not gonna spend all night in the chair, are you?"

"You said—"

"I'm not kicking you out, I just meant. There's a guest bed, man," 

"Oh."

**

Sunlight hits Billy directly in the face and he rolls over, groaning. 

The motion makes his stomach lurch, but he buries his face in…pillowcase. Unfamiliar pillowcase. Smells like honeysuckle and clean air and it's softer than any bedding he's ever touched. 

His legs are tangled in sheets just as sweet-smelling and finely woven, and his guts give another heave as he realizes he's only wearing briefs. 

Did…did he fuck someone last night?

He was definitely drunk enough to do something that stupid, if the cottonmouth and pounding headache are any indication, but he doesn't fucking remember. Which would normally be a blessing, except he usually doesn't stay the goddamn night. 

Is he going to have some girl hanging all over him for the first couple weeks of summer? Until he can figure out how to ditch her without making it look like he's too eager to.

Or maybe he'll stick around for a little while, this bed is actually ridiculous. He might be able to fake his way through one shitty summer fling if it means sleeping like a goddamn king. There are like, five pillows, and it feels like he's laying on a cloud. 

He nuzzles deeper into the pillowcase. Smells nice too.

His memories of the previous day mostly stop around Tammy Whatsherface dragging him away for a graduation afterparty. Maybe he shouldn't have started drinking at noon. 

Christ, he's not even sure how he got here, or where his car is. 

Or where here is.

It's one of the Loch Nora houses, probably. Nowhere else would have sheets like this.

Eventually he drags himself, reluctantly, out of bed. And immediately tastes bile.

Which is. Bad. 

Being upright is bad. 

And he doesn't know where the nearest toilet is. Which could be extremely bad. Girls whose carpets you puke on don't invite you back to sleep in their nice guest rooms.

So, he's very slow and careful about pulling his jeans on. And he makes sure to pause when he starts to feel clammy, sitting on the floor to stop his head spinning. 

It takes him forever to get mostly dressed, jeans and an undershirt are enough. He can't find his button-up and socks require too much bending down, which his dehydrated brain does not appreciate. 

Peeking out into the nondescript hall doesn't provide any more answers about whose house this is. It's all shiny boring expensive decor and not a single person in sight.

Oh, looks like there's a bathroom at the end of the hallway though, good. 

He beelines for the sweet promise of a place to piss and rinse out his mouth, shuffling past a couple closed doors, listening for any signs of life and hearing nothing, until he shoulders his way into the bathroom and freezes in his tracks, because—

"Hey, uh. You're awake." Steve Harrington blinks at him, standing in front of a plain oval mirror, hairbrush in hand. Which he obviously hasn't used yet, because the bedhead he's sporting is kind of hilarious. It's all fluff in every direction. Billy wants to run his hands through it. 

Worse, though, is the fact that he's bare chested, wearing an unzipped hoodie and soft plaid pants, with all that fucking chest hair, and he's looking at Billy with a curious expression that isn't remotely like any way he's ever looked at Billy before and this is…all very, very strange.

So, obviously Billy's theory about what happened last night was wrong. He's not even back to square one, he has less than no idea what the fuck is happening.

"...Yes," Billy responds after a beat too long. 

Great.

Fantastic.

Very smooth.

The corner of Steve's mouth twitches. There's something soft and warm about the amusement twinkling in his eyes and it's making Billy itch. 

"I think I'm gonna puke."

Steve snorts, and drops his hairbrush on the vanity. "Right, I'll get out of your way then." He sidles past Billy, far too close, patting his shoulder as he passes. Which does not help when he's just barely keeping his shit together.

His footsteps fade down the hallway at Billy's back. And Billy doesn't move. 

What the actual fuck.

He slams the bathroom door shut behind him, and leans his forehead against it, trying to breathe slowly through his nose. 

They didn't have sex last night. There's no way. He did not fuck Steve Harrington.

He couldn't have. Steve would never…

He's not…

That's just. Not what happened. Because that would never happen. 

It kind of looks like that's what happened, but it's not. 

He sits on the floor, head in his hands. And breathes. 

It's unclear how long he stays curled up on cold tile. Long enough that his legs start to feel stiff. Nothing about last night comes back to him. He sighs.

And gets up.

And splashes some water on his face. Drinks a little from the tap. Uses some of the mouthwash he digs out from under the counter. Takes a piss.

He's still unsteady. His temples throb if he moves too quickly. But he feels a little less like roadkill.

Steve waves at him when he spots him coming down the stairs. Waggles his fingers in the air, like they're best buds and this situation isn't the most surreal thing to happen to them since the Byers' weirdly trashed living room.

Billy rubs the back of his neck. "...Hey."

"Coffee?"

"Sure."

Steve pulls out two mugs, one of his thumbs stuck through a hole in the cuff of his sleeve. There's sunlight warming the honey-coloured highlights in his hair.

Yeah, no, this is definitely more fucked up than finding Max in a random house with a busted window and shitty drawings everywhere.

He might actually have lost his mind.

"What the fuck happened last night?" He blurts, his cheeks hot, fingers jittery. He shoves his hands in his pockets, fists balled up against his thighs.

Steve glances at him out of the corner of his eye. "Ah, figures you don't remember."

"Don't remember what?"

"You were pretty out of it."

"Yeah, thanks, I know that part."

Steve snorts, grabbing more things out of cupboards. Billy's paying more attention to his hands than what's in them. "You didn't want to leave, so I let you sleep upstairs."

"...Why?"

"You didn't say, just said you didn't have anywhere else to be."

"That's not what I meant." He knows exactly why he didn't want to leave. All the many reasons why he'd rather be here than under Neil's roof. Or anywhere else. What doesn't make any fucking sense is Steve accommodating him. 

Steve's eyes flicker to his again, briefly, before he turns back to the counter. When he shrugs the nonchalance seems forced. "You're a lot nicer when you're plastered."

"I…" Billy opens his mouth. Shuts it again. 

What the fuck does that mean. 

Steve fidgets with a spoon. "You got…kind of weepy, y'know."

Oh.

Goddamnit.

His shoulders go tense, jagged edges of a shield around what's left of his dignity. "Fuck you, Harrington," he snaps. It's all he can muster when he doesn't know what the fuck he was crying about. Every possibility is worse than the last.

"Yeah, you wish," Steve mutters.

Billy freezes. 

And doesn't recover quick enough to hide it from Steve. Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "Holy shit, it's true isn't it?" He turns around fully, the mess he's made of the counter forgotten. 

Fuck.

"I—don't know what you're talking about." His stupid deer-in-the-headlights expression is mostly under control but the sudden tremble in his voice definitely fucking isn't. 

He backs away a step and then stops. Where the fuck is he going to go, he doesn't know where his car is, where his keys are, and he's fucking barefoot. Running upstairs and locking himself in Steve's bathroom seems just a little too pathetic but that doesn't mean he doesn't consider it.

Billy clenches his jaw. It makes his head pound. "What exactly did I say last night?" He grits out, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Steve eyes him. Slowly, carefully. Deliberating. He chews his bottom lip. The silence is fucking agonizing. 

"Can't tell you," he finally replies, his voice light. One corner of his mouth lifts into half a smile, and scratches his cheek. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"That's…" Billy rubs his forehead with the palm of his hand, like he's looking for the button to restart his poor, confused brain. He drops his hand, exasperated, eyebrows creeping up to his hairline. "Steve, what the fuck."

Steve cracks a full-blown grin. "I told you I'm good at keeping secrets."

"I swear to god—"

"Aw c'mon, I can't break a promise! Especially 'cause you asked so nicely. You were so polite. It was very cute."

"I…what?"

He can't have heard that right.

Or Steve's just fucking with him. That's what's going on here. Billy let something slip last night and now Steve's holding it over his head. Because why wouldn't he, honestly. He has every reason to want to mess with Billy, and now he's got the perfect leverage.

"Billy." Steve's voice is soft, suddenly. His expression gentles, and he moves to close the gap between them. And Billy…doesn't get it. He's stalled out and stuck trying to figure out how this is gonna go wrong, how it fits into whatever prank Steve is clearly pulling.

He doesn't know what his face is doing, but he's pretty sure he's being way more readable than he'd like. 

He nearly jumps out of his skin when Steve touches him. A hand on his shoulder. A hesitant, awkward pat. Testing the waters, maybe. Trying to make sure he's real, maybe.

Is any of this real? Billy's still not convinced. He can smell Steve's shampoo and see all the little flecks of colour in his eyes and his shoulder is still burning where they made contact, but…

"I'm sorry I hurt you, y'know," Steve murmurs, his gaze dropping, hovering somewhere around Billy's crossed arms. He reaches out again, fingers grazing Billy's knuckles this time. All Billy can do is blink at him, afraid to breathe. "Doesn't have to be like that."

He tugs at Billy's hand, untucking it from the crook of his elbow, unfolding Billy's arms, and Billy lets him. One hand drops to his side and the other stays cradled in Steve's grip. He's…staring at it like he's studying for a test. Billy has no idea what's so fucking interesting, or what Steve's talking about, but he's also not bothered at this point. 

His knees feel like jello. 

"You could've just kissed me."

Billy nearly collapses. Like one of those swooning chicks in shitty romance novels. Breathless and flushed and overwhelmed. Except he just stands there like a moron, staring at Steve. And Steve's mouth.

"What?" he manages not to sound too strangled. Miraculously. 

Steve smiles at him, almost sheepishly. "You still could. I wouldn't mind."

"You…wouldn't."

"Yeah, I mean, if you had morning breath still it might be a different story, but…" Steve gestures vaguely, pulling Billy's hand along with him as he shrugs. 

Billy snorts.

And hey, maybe Steve is messing with him, and this will blow up in his face, but…

Well, he just really wants to kiss him before it does.

So he leans in and presses their lips together. 

~~tag list @spreckle @growup-thatbeautiful @prettyboy-like-you @suddenlyinlove

[the-possum-writes]

Hi! I was meaning to request if you could write how would finn and princess bubblegum react if they found out there was a human princess around. Maybe she was adopted by the Queen and King from a small kingdom and kept her hidden for safety. I hope it's okay, and thank you for everything <3

Discovering a human Princess

❥Characters: Finn Mertens, Princess Bubblegum

❥Tags: SFW, Fem!reader, princess!reader, drabble, hcs

❥Synopsis: Bubblegum and Finn attempt to help a princess who they believe is inflicted with a curse but turns out she's actually a human being.

❥A/n: No prob! This is in the early seasons when humans are almost non existent and are considered extinct. Gonna take the same approach and write a small intro before seperating it into hcs for each character.

❥Taglist: @foxpearlwilder @watchingfromthefloorboards

Finn isn't one to dwell too long about being part of an extinct species or he'll get soul searchy, but one day the topic came to mind when he was rummaging through a barrel filled with old toys, some were old and moldy while others were mostly intended for babies. "Did you use to have toys like these growing up?" Bubblegum asks him, rummaging through her own pile of things. Her investigations leaded them to the remains of a shopping mall, mainly in effort to find more information about old times.

"Not really? I always had Jake to play with, well, that and any cool stick that looked like a sword." Finn responds, with his fingertips touching an unfamiliar rubber plate which turned out to be a Frisbee, he didn't get the chance to check it out because  Bubblegum cries out when her pile starts jiggling and something starts crawling out of it, Bubblegum takes a step back while Finn jumps into action with his gold sword ready, but instead  of confronting monster he was met with a harpy pigeon. "Oh I must've fallen asleep again..." he rubs his round eyes with the tip of his gray wings. "You! You're struck with the land walker curse as well?" the pigeon directs his attention at Finn.

Finn took it like some sort of insult. "Curses shmurses!" he responds almost immediately.

"Yeah, Finn has been curse free ever since that one witch gave him a booty rash." Jake exclaims in his failed attempt to defend Finn.

The human boy lowers himself to Jake's height. "Duuude, you weren't supposed to tell anyone." he mumbles with pinkish face cheeks.

"What's the land walker curse?" Bubblegum focuses on the topic at hand, to which the pigeon harpy dwells further.

"Back at the harpy kingdom our rulers were blessed with two royal heirs many seasons ago, one prince with wings and talons and a princess who remains wingless. The king said his beloved daughter was cursed by a shaman to walk on land forever, never to soar the skies with her family nor her people. It's so tragic don't you think?" he pulls out a handkerchief to dramatically wipe his non existent tears.

Bubblegum remained skeptical with her arms crossed together as she mutters to herself. "There's gotta be a scientific reason for this, maybe a genetic mutation? Or someone cheated." her thinking gears started running inside her head, meanwhile Finn and Jake were, in their own words, sweating from their eyes.

"That's so sad! We have to help her somehow." Jake expresses sincerely, being someone that wears his emotions on his sleeve.

____

Bubblegum called her giant bird marrow so they could fly their way to the harpy kingdom with the pigeon harpy as a guide, the flight lasted a few minutes with their surroundings turning into cloudy skies and rocky mountainsides. Bubblegum hopped off Marrow without any issues but it's Finn and Jake who were feeling nauseas due to the kingdom’s necessary altitude.

"They royal family live thus way, follow me!" the pigeon says joyfully.

It took a while for the guards to allow these foreigners entry but with a bit of Jake's charismatic persuasion and Bubblegum's own royal status, they were able to get a council with the Harpy King and Queen, such royals would despise an abrupt meeting but once they saw Finn they immediately became started at the human boy, especially the king who became agitated in his mighty throne.

"Honey look, that one over there is just like our daughter!" the harpy queen tugs on her husband's sleeve.

"I can see it clear as day my dear, no need to shout." the king sighs as he calms down his wife, "How dare you remind me of my daughter's misfortune, I order the three of you to leave this instance." his booming voice echoes through the room with Finn being the first to speak up.

"What? But we came all this way to help your cursed princess."

The king ruffles up his feathers like a bird of prey attempting to scare off another predator, but it was nothing more than an act because he lowers himself to Finn's height and mutters. "No, you don't understand if my daughter see you she'll know we've been..."

"Dad? I heard a loud noise coming from outside, is everything alright?" a new voice let's itself known, the cursed princess herself. But rather than being some sort of flightless bird or lack any feathers, she's actually an ordinary human being, or at least as ordinary as one can be when you're part of a rare species. Her bare footsteps echo through the room between small gasps and low  murmurs as she makes eye contact with Finn, calmly walking past her father as she extends a hand to the young man, both intrigued but uncertain about talking to him.

"Are you're cursed as well?" she asks him to which Finn replies. "Not exactly." he looks at Jake and to the shocked King and queen, feeling like he's accidentally got himself wrapped in family drama.

❥Finn

❥It's amazing he was allowed to stay in the kingdom even after revealing the King's biggest secret. That he found and adopted a human child from the wilderness and raised her alongside his harpy son.

❥"I just wanted my citizens to accept you without judgment"

"It's okay dad, I know you meant well."

Finn is just standing there while you console your father who is crying more about the whole situation more than you are, turns out the guilt was eating him inside.

❥"How's your dad?" he asks while you walk alongside him, stepping over branches and loose feathers.

"He's kinda sensitive right now but I know he'll get through." your tone is calm and mellow. Which makes it hard for Finn to get a good read on you, even the most steady rivers have heavy currents underneath.

"And what about you? How are you taking this?" Finn asks carefully.

You exhale loudly through your nostrils, failing to hold back a laugh. "Suprisingly well? I mean, I always knew I was different to everyone in this kingdom." you stretched your arms out. "I just wished I would've meet you earlier, hang out and do... Whatever humans do." you wave a hand in the air.

❥Finn thought about it for a moment before remembering the item he found at the mall ruins, shrugging off his backpack to open it up and pull out a rubber disc. "What's that?" you raise your guard up at the unfamiliar item, but still eyeing it in curiosity.

"It's a frisbee! Just stay there and catch it when it comes to you." At the mention of this, Finn runs up a few feet away from you and throws the disc at you. Still being cautious of the item you stood rigid until it was right above your head, prompting you to jump an grab it, filling you with excitement like when you caught your first fish.

"I did it? I did it!"

"Good job!" Finn gives you the thumbs up.

"Now what do I do??"

"You throw it back!" Finn explains, doing a circular motion with his hand.

Of course you threw it with too much strength and it landed on a tree, you spew a few curses but Finn still gives you the thumbs up.

❥After an afternoon of playing with Finn, the two of you settle on a small water stream, looking at your reflection in the water as dubious thoughts invade you. "It had me thinking... If the Harpy family isn't my real family, then what happened to my human family?"

"They're still your family. Sure they might not physically be like you but they still raised you like their kid." Finn explained.

You press your lips together, still unsure how to feel about that.

"What about you Finn? Did you ever meet your human parents."

Finn looks down at the frisbee in his hands. "Nope,"

"And weren't you ever curious to find out who they are?"

"... Sometimes, but Joshua and Margaret were always there for me and never really drove me to find out."

❥You look back at the giant castle made of twigs and leafs, knowing full well your dad is probably still sniffling like he just watched a soap opera. The thought brought a smile to your face.

"I'm just happy to know I have you."

❥Bubblegum

❥It was kinda awkward for her to stand there while this family drama came undone in front of her, but Bubblegum remained still and didn't disturb while the Harpy King cried his eyes out.

❥"I just wanted my citizens to accept you without judgment"

"It's okay dad, I know you meant well."

Bubblegum heard from across the hall, it isn't until you notice her did you approach her with an apologetic sigh.

❥"My apologies Princess Bubblegum you're still our guest, please, join me for a cup of tea." you bow slightly, keeping the manners you've been taught since forever.

❥"I hope the king is alright?" Bonnibel starts making small talk while you wait for the staff to bring your teapot.

"He's always been very sensitive, but I know he'll be alright." you shrug off with an uneasy smile.

Bubblegum takes note of this and holds the top of your hand in comfort.

"But will you be alright?"

You take a moment to cherish the hold and give her a comforting squeeze. "It won't be easy, but i'll be fine." you reassure her.

❥"It takes alot of strength to deal with newfound emotions, just by looking at you I know you'll make a great ruler someday." is the most she can muster up at the moment, since she can't fully relate to the situation you're going through. But still tries to get in your shoes.

❥Bubblegum removes her hands from you when the castle staff brings in your favorite tea set, relishing in the smell of fine herbs as you serve PB her cup.

"I don't think I'm eligible to rule, even before the reveal happened I am pretty sure my brother is the next heir to the throne." you confess.

"You can never know, I have an older brother too but he's okay doing his own thing."

"Oh really?" you reconsider, looking back at your sibling and his array of trophies on the high shelf, he always had the weird dream of becoming a professional baseball player so it's a possibility. "Then maybe it's not too bad of an idea. Though I would need to learn alot of new things about kingdom management." you chuckle, shaking your head at the thought.

❥"Hey, no need to get nervous I could help you...! If you like." Bubblegum offers.

You hum contently at the suggestion, raising your teacup to clink it with hers. "I would love that."

[w33nies]

Qué Maravilla - CH.9

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Miguel O'hara x SpiderReader rating: E for Everyone bby warnings: none? lots of angst tbh and bad words summary: you and miguel talk out your differences because you love eachother art is from the movie !!

----------------- Ch.9 - Warts and All ---------------------

Not a word was spoken between you and Miguel as you leaped through the streets of Brooklyn - 42. You were currently giving him the silent treatment for the condescending spiel he gave you at Uncle Aaron's hideout. Ever since you found yourself on opposite sides of this ‘canon events’ issue, your patience for him was wearing thin (though you were certain the feeling was mutual). 

You pause to anchor yourself on the side of some office building to gauge your position. Fisk tower began to distinguish itself over the horizon. It would only take a few minutes to reach, and if you were lucky you would find Miles there. How you would get him home without Miguel interfering well… that was yet to be determined. 

“Hey.” 

His deep voice from above cuts through the air like a knife. You hadn’t heard him land. You turned to see him standing on the ledge of the building looking down at you.

“Can we talk? Just for a second.” 

You furrow your brows at his request. Really you wanted to say no. The gall on this man to pull a ‘can we talk’ on you at a time like this, as a young boy was essentially stranded in an alternate dimension while his family was at stake. The anger rising in you compels you to tell him off, ‘but this will probably give Gwen and the others a chance to catch up to Miles,’ you eventually reason. An irritated ‘tsk’ escapes from your mouth. 

“Sure,” you replied curtly.

You begrudgingly climb to meet him on the roof. Miguel sits down with a pained groan, his hand propped on the ground for support. A wave of worry washes over you watching him like this, however you quickly discard the feeling. 

“What is it?” Your attitude is terse; you rip your mask off to face him before placing your hands on your hips. 

Miguel gently pats the ground beside him. His dangling feet are swinging hastily under his growing nerves. You sigh as you sit down next to him with crossed arms and legs.

The hi-tech fabric that made up his suit receded enough just to reveal his face. He sat picking invisible dirt from his talons, feigning interest in them under your scrutinizing gaze. “What I said back there…,” he began nervously, “I…I didn’t mean it.” 

You look him up and down unconvinced. “You didn’t mean it?” 

“Well, I mean, I did but-“ 

“-You didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

“No-I…” he pauses under your raised brow before relenting “...Yeah… I’m sorry.” He shrinks into himself (though impossible given his large stature). With a groan he pinches his aching temples. 

“I was just really upset and,you know, the withdrawals on top of everything isn't helping. Not that it’s an excuse or anything-”

“-It’s whatever.” You dismiss him with a shake of your head. 

 “Cariño. Please…” 

“...What?” 

“I really am sorry.” 

“I said whatever. It’s fine.” 

“If we talk it out then maybe-”

“-It’s fine Miguel.” 

Miguel sighed as his hand pulled down on the front of his face. ‘Things were definitely not fine.’ 

“I just…”  Miguel picks up a small rock and fiddles with it in his fingers  “...didn’t expect things to snowball into a fucking civil war.” He then throws a pebble into the abyss below, sending his right mind with it it seems.

“And whose fault is that?” you rebuke instantly. Flushed with anger you unintentionally began to raise your voice,“Were you ever gonna tell me?” 

Miguel’s chest rises as he takes in a breath to speak, but when he opens his mouth he finds that no words come out. “I only found out because you embarrassed that poor boy in front of everyone. You put him in serious danger-”

 “He was not in danger-”

“-Yeah, you only ripped off his day pass while he was in a foreign dimension then body slammed him into the side of the train headed straight for the fucking moon.”

“You think I do all this because I want to?” Miguel flails his arms exasperatedly, “Someone has to be the one to keep everyone in line and I am the only one holding everything together.” 

“Wow. Okay.” You scoff,  “So me and the thousands of other spider men and women you work with are what? Dead weight?” 

“No, I- You know what I mean.” 

“Yeah…I do…” 

The quiet that ensued was agonizing, especially for Miguel. And to think things between you guys were going so well until day. He didn’t mean to lie to you, but was the only way he knew how to ‘save’ you. But then again, ‘save’ was a funny word. What could he possibly save you from? The two of you simply being together is what got you and millions of innocent people killed the last time. Sometimes he feels that things would’ve been better if he had never got involved with you. That the first time was an omen of the trouble that came with when he tried so desperately to entangle his life with yours. An indicator that some things work in theory but not in practice. That maybe you two were just never meant to be…

Miguel believed the multiverse had a path set out for him just like everyone else. His job was just to make sure everyone focused on connecting the dots. Those who freehand or doodle in the margins risked ruining the bigger picture until it was all just unintelligible scribbles or worse, until the canvas was so vandalized it became completely blank, meaningless, nothing. Maybe your picture was never meant to include him in it…

Though where everyone else had merely dots, you had stars. And even if his and your stars would never share a constellation he would still run to see you each night with a telescope in hand, creating stories and myths about the most wondrous heavenly body to grace the sky. Tales that would outlast time and transcend space, much like his love for you…

Any sane person would deduce that it is debilitating work to continue chasing something that could be destined to fail so miserably. However this is what set Miguel O’Hara apart. Such work was not work to him, not if it was for you. 

He remembered a story he read about religious fables from alternate universes. What was the one they told about the man, the woman, and a bite of a forbidden fruit? Maybe it wasn’t the fruit that they bit…

“Mira.” Miguel spoke softly as he unceremoniously tried to shift himself to be closer to you. “I feel for you. I do. If I could give my life to keep Miles' father and your niece alive, you could bet I would. In a heartbeat. But that's not how things work around here. As awful as it sounds… If everyone got the justice they deserved it would upset the delicate balance of things. The whole idea just sounds like a pipe dream. It’s unrealistic…”

You refuse to give Miguel your eyes, instead bringing your focus on the tower in the distance. The others were likely well inside by now. You wanted to believe you were still sitting here talking to Miguel simply to buy them time,but deep down you knew that wasn’t the case.

 “How can you say that and still call yourself a good guy?” 

Miguel rubs his hands down the front of his face. “What did you expect me to do?” He wailed a tone of vulnerability that almost threw you off your righteous demeanor. “How did you expect me to tell you that your niece was gonna die and that there is nothing you can do about it?” 

Frustrated, you smack your tongue against your teeth, “Well you sure found a way to explain it to everyone else-”

“-I didn’t tell Pavitir-”

“-Doesn’t make it any better,” you snapped back.  “I deserve to know the truth even if it hurts my feelings. That’s for me to decide.” 

The man scrunches his face with confusion, “If it hurts your feelings?” 

“No. If there’s nothing I can do about it.”  

Miguel sighs, “But you can’t.”  Your chest rises and your mouth drops, ready for immediate retort. Miguel raises his palms pleadingly, silently asking you to pause so he can continue. 

“We can’t control everything. No matter how hard we try. But you know what? That’s okay. Canon events like these, it’s the one thing that keeps us connected. The good and the bad.” He places his hands dangerously close to yours, fingertips brushing against one another. “It’s beautiful in a way. Isn’t it? Our stories, similar yet so unique. Different yet the same…”

“Then why are you?”

“Why am I what?”

“Trying to control everything.” You look up to meet his gaze, expecting to find irritability but instead find his head cocked to the side in confusion. “Let him live his life the way he wants. Let him decide how his story goes.”

He sighed, turning to face you fully.  “Ay dios mío, it's not up to me. I’ll be the first to say that everything happening right now, it sucks. Truly. But my hands are tied.” he hesitantly moves to hold your hand despite himself.

 “I’m sorry cariño. It’s just the lesser of two evils.” 

You rub your thumb along his knuckles. “I think our universes are all connected, but not in the way you believe. I think it’s deeper than the trauma we do or don’t share with each other. ”

“You’re right. But I’ve learned from experience that we can’t cherry pick the parts we like. It’s either all or nothing. We have to take it in stride, warts and all.”  He grips your hand tighter while he takes a few slow, steadying breaths with closed eyes. Almost as if he was asthmatic and your touch alone was his inhaler. 

 “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he murmured, “I thought I was… protecting you.” He avoids your stare, instead messaging the palm of your hand, tracing his fingers along the creases as if he were about to read you your fortune. 

You looked for clues of deceit in his eyes but all you found was remorse. You felt his hurt just as you knew he felt yours. You didn’t want to hurt each other but you were essentially on opposite sides of a serious cultural war. And was there any room for compromise when there were lives on the line? 

You decided no. You needed Miles to succeed. Because if he could do it maybe you could too. Because what kind of cruel joke would it be to live a story you couldn’t even write yourself?

There was just one more thing you had to ask…

“What if it was Gabi? Your Gabi? You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same if it was her.”

Miguel's eyes momentarily widened with shock before then instantly looked downward with shame. “To be honest I…” he gives you one final squeeze before shamefully letting it go.

“...I don’t know. I would do anything for her, but… It hurts to think about. To think about the things I should’ve done. The things I could’ve done. Even if I could go back in time with everything I know now I’m worried I would’ve just made different mistakes.”  

He heaves a deep sigh, running his fingers through his wavy locks “I don’t think it's quite the same but… I can see myself doing the same for Gabi.” And he would most definitely do the same for you. 

. “I’m sorry.” he mumbled “That’s the best I can do-”

“-Thank you.”

He lets out a bewildered chuckle. “Uhhh. For what?”

“...For trying to understand I guess.” 

Despite your nerves, you move to rest your head on his shoulder. He hesitantly hover his cheek above your head before giving into temptation and allowing it to rest on top of it. “I know it's hard. I just wanna say… I get it too. Whatever happens, let’s try to forgive each other. You finally look up to meet his crimson eyes.  

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He said in a low whisper. You hold each other's gaze for just a moment, any longer and you fear you’d melt.

“Welp.” You straighten your back and slap your comically thighs with your hands. “I guess this is the part where we pinky promise.” You playfully extend out your hand for him to take, “Or maybe we can shake on it-”

Before you can finish yourself, his body is pressed up against you and you find yourself engulfed in the scent of his sweat and shampoo (musky, woody, sweet).  A soft warmth crashing against your lips and a strong, calloused hand moved to cup your jaw. It takes you a second to process what is going on…

You were being kissed. Miguel O’hara was kissing you. 

Once you overcome the shock you lean into it. The hand you previously extended for him to shake is now pressed firmly against his chest. The feel of his quickening heartbeat emboldens you to embrace him with your free arm around his back. Miguel’s moves to pull you closer by your waist. You finally break the kiss after having to come up for some much needed air. You rest your foreheads against one another as you both regain your breath.

“How does that work?” he asks in a low husky whisper.

“It works,” you laugh through huffs and puffs. 

You both stay like that for what felt like a minute, though no amount of time would’ve been enough. Miguel is the first to break the embrace, clearing his throat as stands at his feet.

“...We should go.”

“Yeah.” You rise to your feet as well. 

He watches you as you pull on your mask, taking in your features before they’re covered completely. Only then does he cover his face. You both nod and then jump off the building to resume your travels.

The euphoric feeling didn’t last long. The closer and closer you swung to the more dread boiled in your gut.  There was no delaying the inevitable any longer. Though you both had agreed to disagree, you knew that sentiment would be tested once you both reached the tower. How would he react when face to face with the rest of the crew? Would he be able to keep his cool once seeing Peter or Gwen? Nothing you do could quell the nervous fire brewing in your psyche.

At least there was one thing you and Miguel could for sure agree on…

…Shit was was about to hit the fan.

[s1ebren]

sigma and siebren are the same person but they are so vastly different. basically like two personas in one body. when the melody is at it's loudest and he is sigma, siebren is dead in that moment. (well, basically after the experiment, siebren de kuiper is classified as deceased anyways but that's a whole different story) sigma is ruthless, unforgiving which is what makes him so valuable to talon. at first, they had no way of controlling it but they figured it out.

his augments are used to control the melody. and no, he doesn't have a say in the control. they are controlled for him using the augments they have installed on his face, near his eyes. siebren, being the lovely, trusting man he is, has been assured that they know what is best and if he has any problems, he can report it and they will adjust accordingly. they always keep the melody at a "comfortable" hum. but when they need sigma, they remind him of what they do for him. that he owes them because they take care of him. they gave him his life back. they adjust his augments until the melody is blaring in his head and he becomes erratic. this is when he is ready to perform for them.

sigma is argued to be the most powerful hero in the overwatch universe. his powers really prove that. of course, he mostly prefers to use his hyperspheres, of course. they are simple and easily manifested. but, his powers go beyond the in game mechanics we see. with enough force and concentration, with a simple gesture of his arm, he can use his gravitic powers to tear down a building (within reason). he can tear up streets, and manipulate objects such as vehicles, boulders and the like. you will often see him in battles, picking up abandoned cars and tossing them at his enemies. if he can crush a building, or vehicle - imagine what he could do to a human. he knows what because he's done it. sometimes the melody is so loud and he already basically blacks out within the heat of battle, get him going enough, he can and will pick up anyone shooting at him or his allies. all it takes is him balling his fist and their bodies are crushed midair. i can imagine it being a similar fate as the occupants of the titan 2 submersible (sorry for the morbid comparison) but literally instant implosion. instant, painless death but certainly gruesome.

NOTE FOR WRITING THESE POWERS: never do i intend to use these powers against any muses. we don't even have to get into this graphic stuff either in any threads. i reckon these are not in game for a reason obviously. he would be VERY op to play against. but yeah!

after battle, siebren returns. the melody in his mind is usually stabilized. he often has a splitting headache. he remembers mostly everything at first, but he forgets with time. it is always very turbulent for him. siebren de kuiper isn't a killer, but sigma is. it scares him a lot knowing what he is capable of. he cries a lot. he feels helpless and this is also a time where those in charge of him are really trying to butter him up and tell him he did what he needed to do. i will probably expand a lot more on those conversations in the future but i want to stress that siebren holds immense guilt for what sigma does but cognitively, he might not always remember as memories fade. often, that is done on purpose. the melody being controlled does have an effect on his memory. (just trust me on this. don't question my science)

that's all my brain has for now but i bet i'll have a lot more to say in the future as well :3

[purplekoop]

oh yeah if they put Witch Kiriko in the Credits shop for Halloween then. well uh. RIP to her mythic skin as far as I'm concerned.

I mean I'm not like a super frequent Kiriko player, I'll usually just pick her in my rotation of not getting bored playing the same support too many matches in a row, but uh... yeah her Mythic is kind of the worst one so far by a decent margin in my book.

Also while the rest of the Season 7 pass from what we've seen so far looks kinda... mneh, gonna be honest the western gothic creepy theme isn't really landing with me, at least the (kind of unrelated besides "dark and spooky") Hanzo Mythic actually looks pretty solid. Bad news is that it's... uh... Hanzo... so uh. huh.

I'm so mad I'm not missing this one but I missed Cyber Demon Genji and Knight Tracer AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I'm so so eternally enraged I missed that one. Genji's is just cool and Tracer combines my favorite DPS character with an awesome fantasy knight theme, while Hanzo is. one of the few characters in this entire cast of nearly 40 that I don't like all that much.

I guess to get out my other Mythic thoughts (since I have all the others):

Zeus JQ: Grinded the hell out of Season 2 to just barely get this one in time and it was vaguely worth it. Gonna be stiff competition replacing this one, the effects are cool but to be honest the main appeal is just the big muscley lady getting to show off. Not a fan of the red/pink coloration but that's my only complaint.

Amaterasu Kiriko: Again, the worst Mythic so far imo, and honestly one of my least favorite out of Kiriko's skins in general. Better than her Season 1 BP skin at least, but really this one just doesn't play into Kiriko's design in any interesting ways for me, it just makes her generically fancy. The options don't really do anything for me either, all of them just slightly change the amount of "meh" it makes me feel.

Emperor Sigma: A bit mixed on this one honestly. Still like it overall, but it's got a few shortcomings that make it my second least favorite. The overall design is slick, but it's another one where the variants are a bit of a letdown. The ugly beige color option just does nothing for me, but the default black and purple is a combo I don't have much issue with sticking to. The shoulder armor options are kinda whatever, and while I love the M Bison hat plus eyepatch head, the other options are just... eh. Also, while the overhauled visual effects are fantastic, especially the tractor beam ult, there's a change I'm oddly not super fond of in this skin, that being his voice lines. This is petty, but like... I don't like how mean this skin makes him. I mean, I get that's the point, the space dictator isn't meant to be friendly, but Sigma being a calm, likeable goober most of the time despite being on the bad guy team is part of why he's such a fun character to me, so the flattened characterization is kind of jarring. let me be the silly floaty space man without all my voice lines telling my teammates to get on their knees. Overall great skin, but I have enough reasons to unequip it sometimes. Sigma's got some phenomenal skins, and even some of his Epics like his OG Talon skin are fantastic, at least to me.

Wargod Ana: Of the ones I own, this is definitely my favorite. Just in concept I adore it, of all the options to make the Null Sector mechanisation gimmick into a Mythic skin, Ana was such a cool choice. She's not a super "grandiose" character normally, but the subtle theming of this "ultimate war machine" makes her feel so cool and plays with her aesthetic in such a distinctly cool way. Shoot, the dubiously canon lore for the skin is cool too. The idea of a Null Sector bot that was made in an attempt to copy Ana's combat skill, but got corrupted because of her memories is such a cool way to reflect on Ana as a character that I'm almost a little mad Wargod isn't her own character?? This shows in the voicelines too. While Sigma's personality deviation put me off there, for Ana it feels a bit less... conflicting? Instead of taking a morally complicated but friendly character and turning him into a simple bad guy, this takes a slightly jaded but thoroughly good-hearted and good-acting character, takes her good parts away, and leaves the ruthlessness that was still there in the original. Plus, the voice lines aren't as outright mean, but feel effectively menacing. The change to "You're powered up, destroy them" is so simple and almost goofy, but feels so cool in practice. But that's not even going into the skin itself. While some other Mythics have some neat reference point for their style, Wargod Ana is just a perfect medley of the Null Sector suite of aesthetics. Each of the color variants is something used by existing PvE enemies. The designs also just feature bits and pieces of Null Sector bots too. Not only that, but the armor variants also serve as iterative upgrades. The first variant looks almost like a slicer that grew into gangly human proportions, with exposed, primitive-looking limb mechanisms. The second variant meanwhile, while my least favorite, now actually looks like a Null Sector mini-boss unit. The third one meanwhile feels like a proper character on par with Ana herself, with actual cloth over her legs and a more complex and organic-looking design overall, almost like a bride of frankenstein counterpart to Ramattra. Speaking of, her rifle options also directly reference the man himself, with the first variant having the claw-and-orb part of his Void Accelerator towards the back, while the second has a ribcage-like design reminiscent of his torso. Also points to this one for being arguably the highest percentage of variants I'd actually consider using, the middle body design is a bit meh, and looks actively kinda bleh with the third color option, but aside from that they look great. It's hard for me to swap off the default purple and white, but combining the red color with the third body variant is a hell of a combo too. There's even more great details! The audio effect changes are great as ever, especially for Nano Boost, but her gun also just sounds super satisfying to shoot too. And like!! With her beach ball emote, the beach ball is replaced with a Null Sector bomb guy's bomb!! Come on, how is this not the best Mythic yet.

...this post was just me hoping I could get Witch Kiriko without paying money and turned into an essay about Wargod Ana. oops.

anyways the next mythic skin should be King Dedede Reinhardt.

[queenofdragons12]

Ignited Flames Within Us All - Stray Kids (OT8) x Reader

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Korean is italics, and English is normal ;) Also gonna have from now on them all as dragons instead of humans, just so you guys know

You lay basking in the warm sun; your mind was still foggy as you tried to recall your dream the night before. Then, slowly, the memory started to come back to you. In the dream, you were in your office, eager to tackle whatever tasks came your way. Even though there wasn't much work to be done, you busied yourself by signing some scrolls and sending a servant to the marketplace to pick up more supplies for the bustling trading post.

Unexpectedly, Chan burst into the clearing, his eyes fixed on you. Without explanation, he snatched your talon, leaving you no choice but to follow him. Though you tried to resist, Chan was too strong for you.

As you stumbled behind him, he led you out of the cave and into the open air. His wings opened, and he dragged you behind him as he soared towards the distant shore, where Jisung awaited.

You shook your head, trying to clear the sand from your nostrils as it blew into your snout.

You whirled around, your eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring with smoke. "What in the name of the moons is going on here?" you growled, glaring at Chan. He scratched sheepishly at his neck with his claws, avoiding your gaze. "I just thought you might like to hang out with us again," he muttered. "You know like we did last time. It was so much fun."

You raised an eye ridge, ruffling your wings and tilting them forward in suspicion. That couldn't be why Chan dragged you away from your work at the company. Something was off with your friends lately, and you needed to figure out what it was. "Really?" you asked, your tone skeptical. "That's all you wanted? To hang out?"

Chan shuffled his feet, clearly uncomfortable. "Well, yeah. Isn't that a good enough reason?"

You shook your head, still unconvinced. "I don't know," you said slowly. "It just seems like there's something more going on here." You narrowed your eyes, studying Chan closely. "What's really going on?"

Chan let out a heavy sigh, his wings flaring with a snap. The sudden movement caught Jisung's attention, and he let out a sharp bird call. Behind the rocks surrounding the beach, the rest of your friends emerged, their eyes fixed on you.

You looked at them all, trying to discern what had been going on behind your back. They had been acting so secretive lately, and you couldn't shake the feeling that there was something they weren't telling you.

"What's going on?" you demanded, your tone firm.

Your friends exchanged nervous glances, clearly unsure of how to answer. Finally, Jisung spoke up. "We've been planning something," he said cryptically.

"Planning what?" you asked, your patience starts to wear thin.

Chan shifted his weight from foot to foot, his expression uneasy. "We wanted to surprise you," he said finally. "We've been planning a big adventure, and we wanted you to be a part of it."

You stared at him, incredulous. "An adventure? What kind of adventure?"

Jisung and the others looked at each other, their eyes excitedly shining. "It's a surprise," Jisung said, grinning. "But trust us, it's going to be amazing."

You raised another eye ridge at their insistence, feeling the weight of your responsibilities bearing down on you. "Guys, it will be amazing, but I don't have time. You know that," you said sternly, hoping to convey the urgency of your situation.

But Felix stepped forward, his wings shaking with anger and his face twisted in a scowl. "Busy?" he growled. Again, you were taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor. Felix was usually one of the kindest dragons in your group, always ready to cheer up his friends with a joke or a kind word. But now, he was clearly upset, and you started worrying.

"Yeah, really," you said, trying to calm him down. But Felix rolled his eyes and huffed in frustration, clearly unsatisfied with your answer. His tail lashed back and forth, and you could see the anger burning in his eyes.

You took a step back, feeling a sudden sense of unease. This wasn't like Felix, and you couldn't help but wonder if you were somehow the cause of his anger. The thought scared you, and you could feel your heart racing.

"Felix..." Chan warned, but it was too late. Felix snapped his head toward his leader and hissed, his anger reaching a boiling point. "No, Chan! I'm done waiting around, keeping my feelings bottled up, and having Y/N always be so busy! The staff is doing this intentionally, so she can't be with us. You saw how much they were trying to make her stay away from us when we were at the hotel. They don't like her, and I'm sick of it."

You could see the fire in Felix's eyes, making you uneasy. You had never seen him so worked up before, and it was clear that something had been bothering him for a long time. You looked to Chan for support, but he just watched, his expression unreadable.

"Either we tell JYP that those staff that doesn't like Y/n can leave and never return, or we get something dealt with so that we can take her wherever we please without cameras following us around." Felix finished, snorting heavily and curling smoke around his horns.

You felt a sense of shock wash over you at his words. Were there really staff members who didn't like you? And if so, why? You have always tried your best to be a good employee and friend to your co-workers. The thought that someone might be actively working against you was unsettling and confusing.

"Felix," you spoke up finally, getting the courage you had been searching for. The young dragon turned to face you, his gaze softened, but the smoke still curled around his nostrils. "My dear, I know that you want me to be with you as much as I can, but I am your manager, and it's not up to me if I can't be with you guys all day. I have work to do." Felix dipped his head but said nothing as you continued looking at them all and gouging scores in the sand with your claws.

You took a deep breath and continued, "I understand you want to spend time with me, but my work is important. And it's not just up to me; other factors are at play." Then, you glanced over at Chan, who had been unusually quiet during this exchange. "Chan, do you have anything to add?" you asked, tilting your head slightly.

Chan cleared his throat before speaking up, "I just wanted to say that we understand you have work to do, but we miss you. We just wanted to have fun with you like we used to." He looked at you with pleading eyes.

You softened a bit, feeling guilty for not spending as much time with your friends as you used to. "I promise to try and make time for us to hang out, but I can't promise anything. So many things going on behind the scenes that you aren't aware of." You gave them a small smile, hoping they would understand.

Felix let out a small huff, but didn't say anything else. The tension in the air dissipated slightly, and you all stood there in silence, the waves crashing against the shore in the background.

Then you spread your wings, beckoning them all into a warm embrace. The boys smiled and padded up to you, crossing their wings over yours or the others'. Your tails twined together, and Chan held you close, him in the middle since he was the biggest. "I will always love you guys, no matter how many hours I spend away from you," you clicked. The boys sighed, happy that you felt the same way about them. Those hours would still be challenging, but they knew you would do what you could to be with them as much as possible. But work comes first sometimes, especially here in this industry. But your heart will always be with Stray Kids forever and forever more.

[protokirby]

I had a dream so cool that I'm prioritizing sharing it before other things I typically do when I wake up. (The daily missions on pokemon masters)

It's going to be a lot, so it will be behind a keep reading

The dream started off with trailers for an upcoming pokemon game. A main series one too. It was close to release by this time in the dream and this was the final trailer.

I don't remember much of what it contained other than the trainer person had a level up bar for some reason and the entire internet went into theory mode, as expected.

Then the dream cut to a time I get the game and start playing it. It starts off with the protagonist going to a school after some dialogue with their parents. Yes parents plural. They got to have a dad. (Though it is later revealed that both parents are adoptive parents)

Some scenes show the protagonist doing some school work before they have outdoor break time and I can move the protagonist around finally. Oh yeah there's a jerk rival in the classroom. He looked like the type of character every 12 to 14 year old girl would fall head over heels for. Also the jerk rival is the son of the teacher who was almost as mean.

Everything seems normal while I go around talking to different NPCs but then when I make the trainer walk into an interesting dark place I saw that was like beneath some trees and the trees had claw marks on them and some gem-like things at the base, they transform into some kind of aerodactyl looking thing but with fur styled like the trainer person's hair. (There was like different models for this thing based on how the player customizes the character's hair it was neat)

Then there was another cutscene so I guess this was a story focused game like sun and moon. Also it's funny that there was no indication I was supposed to make the character go to the interesting dark place as if it was just simply a predictable place a player would walk to.

Nobody saw the protagonist transform except for the jerk rival who stared in surprise. The protagonist was very confused by what they've become.

They step out of the darkness nervously and the rival steps back visibly scared. Haha yes scare the jerk rival The dream never told me what the transformation is called or if it did I don't remember but I'm going to call it a wereodactyl like werewolf aerodactyl.

The wereodactyl is a thing not believed to exist by most people in the pokemon world except by a group of conspiracy theorist people I guess. How fun.

A teacher sees this monster of a pokemon and sends out a pokemon to fight. The protagonist is visibly able to control this form and the rival can tell. The protagonist isn't fighting the pokemon but trying to avoid hurting anyone.

The rival seems to have sudden character development out of "Wait this person I was mean to is actually cool" so actually this was not character development but something more like the jerk rival becoming nice to the player specifically.

The rival calls out to the protagonist by name (thanks a lot) and tells them to fly away.

Protagonist picks up jerk rival in their talons and flies away. The teacher heard the name and was furious by this. That student was not only a "vicious monster" but also took his son.

Now I see the flying wereodactyl carrying the jerk rival through the air. Just flying in place. This isn't a cutscene. There is a thing on the side of the screen that was a menu thing. It had a "R button" mark on it. Pressing r brought up the menu and there are controls listed for flying. So basically there's no real flying tutorial it just kinda throws the player in there which is actually cool because it shows that the player and protagonist share the feeling of "what the heck is going on?"

The controls had the usual d-pad to move and the bottom one could even have the character fly backwards though it was slower than flying forward. Also holding y while pressing the top or bottom part of the d-pad could control the height at which the character was flying which is really cool and what I wish they did with Braviary in legends arceus. (Koraidon and Miraidon in scarlet and violet too)

Also x button opened the normal menu and- wowie zowie pressing the L button can pick people and pokemon up if you aren't holding anything and will drop them if you are.

Of course I try and drop the rival just to see what would happen but of course I get a message that tells me I can't drop things from this height. Oh well.

Except the game isn't letting me go to a lower or higher height just yet.

This game in the dream is very open world though.

So I make the wereodactyl fly around aimlessly for a bit looking around at all the places in the game I want to explore while holding the rival against my will but then more wereodactyls can be seen flying and following the protagonist and when enough appear, cutsecene happens that shows them all getting closer and they begin to talk.

They're like "this is the late chief's kid, right? It can't be. I thought he/she was also killed by humans when the chief and the chieftess were!"

I don't remember much of anything else that was said but the plot is getting really interesting. The protagonist (and the rival) went to a small village hidden in a- snowy rainforest/tropical jungle thing?? That's beautiful ??? And probably not something that can actually exist???? But I love it????? Snow in a place like that is incredible. Everyone in the village was in human form but they're all wereodactyls. I also remember the theme of the wereodactyl village sounded like the bittercold final battle theme in pokemon mystery dungeon gates to infinity but remixed to sound like a calm town-like theme.

More cutscene stuff I don't remember much of EXCEPT RYUKI WAS THERE. He got the "battle facility character in a situation " treatment. He was slightly older and had amnesia and he was said to have been somehow transformed into a wereodactly through supernatural means. (the game in the dream worded that differently because honestly I don't remember if the name of the aerodactyl people was mentioned)

Ryuki was friends with the late chief and chieftess and was trusted enough in the village to be the replacement chief since the protagonist's real wereodactyl parents that were the chief and chieftess were killed 10 years before by the protagonist's adoptive parents we see at the beginning of the game.

Ryuki also gives the protagonist and the rival their starter pokemon. This is definitely the latest time until the player receives their first mon ever.

Fights with the rival were few in number throughout the game because the rival hilariously stayed with in the wereodactyl village a lot hoping to find a way to become one without needing to have been born into it but nobody knows how Ryuki became one so things aren't looking good for the rival's aspirations.

The rival did not want to return home lol

I don't remember much more of the plot but I remember stuff like the wereodactyl can crawl on land using its bent wings as claws or something and as the game progresses, the player can make the wereodactyl dive underwater. They're apparently semi-aquatic and can breathe underwater. Also the controls are the same underwater as they are in the air.

Also got to see Ryuki transform a few times. With how his hair looks, his wereodactyl form looked awesome.

Oh and what's the deal with the protagonist having a level up bar? I failed to find a place to mention it earlier but in certain battles within the story they could fight alongside their mons in the battle like a 7th team member.

Leveling up as the wereodactyl could be done by battling wild mons in the overworld too. The protagonist could also pick up overworld mons if they're small enough including ones owned by trainers that are out in towns or whatever. Pokeballs can be thrown in wereodactyl form so as far as I'm concerned staying in wereodactyl form is purely beneficial and I'm going to just say it, I would definitely have the character in wereodactyl form all the time and be annoyed by parts of the game where the character has to be in human form.

After eventually getting through the plot and defeating the 8 gyms, elite 4, and champion while occasionally running into hunters the school teacher sends, post game begins.

Oh yeah also the adoptive parents did not in fact kill the chief and chieftess but perform a science on them and fuse them together to create the ultimate wereodactyl to take over the world. The protagonist would have been fused with them too to make it even stronger (yikes) if the protagonist didn't happen to discover their powers this soon.

Anyhoo, gotta battle the adoptive "parents" and after the win, they are very angry and unleash the fusion of the two wereodactyls and now the battle is between the protagonist and them without the help the protagonist's mons. Although it seems if the protagonist wasn't at least to level 50 at this time, Ryuki joins the battle to help. So we all know I would keep myself undereleveled even though normally I like being comically overpowered and over-train in games I can do that in.

The wereodactyl parents are unfused and return to their senses. That's when the story reaches the conclusion and I don't remember much else.

This is far too outlandish to ever have a chance of being real but it would be cool if it were. I might base an au off of this dream.

This took nearly 2 hours to type wh-

[justmybookthots]

Last of the Talons

4/5 stars

This (physical) library book has been on my desk for about over a week; I kept reading bits of it and then putting it off for other books. At one point, I considered just returning the book because reading paperbacks compared to ebooks felt… tiring. It’s a lot of work—you need good lighting, but then that means I gotta open the curtains, but opening the curtains means letting the heat in, and the heat is nothing to joke about over here. (There is also the fact that the mess in my room becomes more visible, but that is neither here nor there.) 

In any case, the weather cooperated and I finished it yesterday, at long last. 

And I liked it! Enjoyed it, even, despite its flaws. Last of the Talons is far from a perfect book; it’s formulaic, in a way, so much so that I predicted how the story would go about midway through. It’s a simple tale about a female assassin who steals and destroys something precious (a diamond-studded tapestry) from the temple belonging to an immortal emperor called the Pied Piper. As punishment, she is spirited away to his realm and tasked with killing him…. by him. If she fails, he will kill her.

First of all, I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the abduction premise, and that’s a reason I didn’t feel compelled to continue at the beginning. I don’t dislike it because it’s morally wrong or anything, I dislike it because I find this premise stale and not suspenseful, having seen it play out so many times (ACoTAR was the last offender, and I was bored out of my mind). But I went back to it yesterday because Library Due Date Guilt ™ was tearing me apart. And you know what? I enjoyed myself, finishing it in a couple of hours.

Let’s talk about what I did like:

The Emperor/Pied Piper, AKA Rui. He wasn’t gruff, or grumpy… which I must give him kudos for, because your girl is so deathly tired of that archetype. And he was actually a real sweetheart, though, yes, I did have some issues with him that I’ll address later on.

The scene of Rui and Lina (heroine) at the river. Like, damn. That was good. The mind games had me sweating a tiny bit.

Kang, the advisor under Rui. Now THIS man is the real sweetheart. He was unendingly patient and kind to Lina even though she fucked his kingdom and people over so many times. I don't know what kind of saint he was.

This is obviously Korean-inspired. I liked that a lot. The descriptions of the food, the hanboks, the mythology, and the Korean vocabulary / names were most welcome. I just like Asian culture, so fucking sue me, lol. 

I liked how the book’s title came into play at the denouement of the story. 

The plot is simple, but easy to follow and quite engaging once you get in the midst of it. I sense there’s something bigger at play regarding the other humans that were spirited away into the immortal realm, but it isn’t revealed yet, so I have questions. That'll be for the sequel.

The story behind the tapestry was really sweet. And sad.

Now. What I didn’t like. (Nothing major/egregious, but still.) One of the points, Rui actually does a great job addressing, albeit unwittingly, lol:

Lina: “I’ve been told I’m quite the assassin.” Rui: “I was told that as well and I have to admit so far I’m disappointed. I was expecting something more.”

Yeah, Rui. Me too.

The problem with Lina is that she thinks with her heart, not her head. I won't be going explicitly into spoilers (though it’s really so OBVIOUS when you read it), but she chooses a route that she thinks will help her kill the emperor even though it is so FUCKING DUBIOUS. Of course it bites her in the ass later on. A lot of things do—because... she just isn't the brightest bulb out there. (Regardless, I gotta give her props for being so relentless about her mission. I can think of so many heroines that wander off-track in other books, resulting in a meandering plot.)

More cons I was not a fan of:

Insta-love. I mean, it's not like they confess their affections right away (they take a while to get there) but it's clear Rui already likes her early on, maybe even at the beginning of the story. I do not like insta-love. It kills the stakes because I didn't feel like Lina was ever genuinely in any danger with him,  and I should, given that's supposed to be part of the main premise. I wanted a good slow-burn, which should also apply to attraction—it does not apply to: oh! Well, they'll get together late into the story but feel some attraction early on. Nuh-uh. Tbf, though, the insta-attraction is more from Rui than Lina. 

This leads me to another tangent. Rui was still grieving the loss of his old lover. His moving on to Lina was way too abrupt for me. 

Lack of plot twists. I mean, there's supposed to be one, I guess, but it's so obvious where this story was headed to. I'd say one of the best fantasy plot twists that really bowled me over was from Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir earlier this year. Till now, I don't think I've read a plot twist of that magnitude from any other fantasy book. Tbf, I also saw through The Stolen Heir's plot twist, so this is not a major complaint or anything. A story is more than its twists—the fact that I still thoroughly, vastly prefer The Stolen Heir to Torch Against the Night is evidence. 

All in all, a solid YA debut, albeit slightly forgettable. I had a good time reading it, and I'll be reading the next instalment coming out next year in April. 

I just hope I remember to do so. 

- 13 Aug 2023

[wreathedinscales]

"Grogu," Cobb says for the tenth time in five minutes, "I promise, I'm fine. It was an accident. Nothin'—" he holds back a hiss as the bacta spreads, "—nothin' a couple bandages can't fix."

Of course it doesn't work. Convincing a dragon of any age to stop sulking is impossible when you're not their caretaker. Cobb might legally hold the title, but Grogu has claimed Din as sire. Dragons don't just do that with humans. He's got no more sway over Grogu than a Tusken.

There's not much bacta in Mos Pelgo, so Cobb tries to make do. It should be enough. He'd gotten out of Grogu's flame in time to avoid third degree. He's even, with great reluctance, sprinkled a bit of precious water over the burns. They're blistering fast, elbow to fingers. Dominant hand, too.

"Guess I'll have to finish repairs another time," he murmurs, wincing 'cause Grogu has big scaly ears. "Hey, no, it's okay! Speeder's not goin' anywhere."

He could try left-handed, but that hadn't worked out so well last time. Had to've been, what, twenty years back, but the scars on his back remember the failure. Even if his former owners don't.

Grogu starts another round of whining, heartbreaking trills and hiccups with drooping ears and wings. As if the little one expects Cobb to shout the house down around him. Cobb wonders where the reaction comes from, 'cause it's definitely not Din's doing.

Maybe he should call Din after all. But then Din will ask what happened, and the story is ridiculous. Cobb's weld broke down and he wanted to seal some new sheeting on his speeder. Grogu happened to be nearby, and he's a dragon. Of course he's got a little something in his breath. Cobb shouldn't've thought otherwise.

Besides, Din will be back in a couple days. Grogu's silver ball is here. Soon as Cobb's patched up, he'll get it and Grogu will forget all about this.

The burns don't get better. Which is weird, 'cause Cobb's done everything right. He'd been a slave; he's no stranger to 'em.

But every time he checks his arm, the same near-purple blisters snarl back at him. Is it because it's dragonfire? Maybe they take longer to heal.

Townsfolk ask about his arm every minute. Jo volunteers to help with the speeder. His tab at the cantina's suddenly taken care of. It's still not something Cobb's used to, being looked after. Another thing he and his Mando have in common.

Din's called a few times, as he always does when he's away. He's done so a bit more often, since no one can avoid Grogu's pouting. Cobb reassures him the same way he does with his boy: Little accident with the speeder. Grogu's fine, Cobb's fine.

"I'll be delayed another day," Din says, "I'll come back as soon as this is done."

"We know you will," Cobb replies fondly, "Don't push yourself."

"You too."

Cobb swears he can feel the scrutiny. His arm stings.

The night before Din's due back, Cobb is smacking a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. His arm feels like it's trying to melt the bandages, and the rest of him along with it.

He's tried to keep still. Tried to move. Tried to head outside, stick his arm in the freezing air. He's sure he's faced worse pain than this. The story of his life is I've had worse. He just can't think of it right now.

He can't do this.

Cobb heads to the fresher and tears off his bandages. He yanks the sink on and runs his arm under the water.

The relief is staggering. When Cobb comes back to himself, he's slumped over, barely supported by his left elbow and shaky knees.

"Mrruh?"

Damn it.

"I'm alright, kid," Cobb says, "Just. Puttin' it under water. I's what you're supposed t'do. Good for the." He swallows, squeezing his eyes shut. "The heat."

The water won't last long. Cobb dreads switching the tap off, but it's gotta be done. He's wasted enough already.

One...two...

Cobb breathes in through his nose. Out through his mouth. Pushes himself upright as that relief evaporates in seconds.

The kid climbs onto his shoulders. His talons, thankfully, aren't nearly as fierce as his fire. Cobb doubts he could feel more pain anyway.

"I'm fine," he insists, "I'm goin' back t'bed. You do the—"

He screams.

Cobb's arm is encased in ice, the burns tolerably warm. After some squinting, his eyes adjust to the low light.

"Ah, hell."

Din's ship. Had Cobb passed out?

"Patu?"

A little dragon face peers up at him, chin rested on the edge of the cot. Grogu's tail gives a few agitated twitches as Cobb sits up.

"What—"

Cobb blinks at his arm. Beskar shines back at him, neatly polished and tightly fastened over his sleeve. It's so unlike anything Cobb's ever worn, Fett's armor included. It's like wearing gemstones. Gemstones, and handy temperature controls.

The door swishes open. Din barely waits for it before charging into the room.

"What were you thinking?" he snaps.

Cobb's brow furrows. "What happened?"

Din stands coiled above him. "You woke the entire town screaming. You're lucky I was still in the system. What kind of 'accident' causes that damage?"

Each word is slightly over-pronounced, little weights snapping along Din's tongue. Cobb winces.

"He didn't mean it."

"Who?"

Grogu curls into himself. Cobb hurries to pet his head, hesitating when he habitually stretches his right arm.

Din's stance loosens a bit. "...kid?"

"He'd been trying to help with repairs," Cobb replies, "Wasn't expecting his flame to be so big, that's all."

Din's attention snaps back to him. "He can breathe fire?"

"...uh. I mean, it sure looked like it. You didn't know?"

Din sighs and picks Grogu up. Grogu wiggles into his favorite position: curled against his dad's chest, belly up for scritches. "No. The Jedi didn't say anything about any other—special abilities."

"Oh."

Din shakes his head. "You should know better, Grogu. Your Force stuff has the same principles. Control."

Grogu whines.

"He's been apologizing since day one," Cobb replies, "He's still a baby, Din."

"He's also a dragon. You're lucky he only got your arm."

"Hey." Cobb stands to grip his shoulder. "I'm f—"

"You are not. Fine."

"—antastic," Cobb says with a big grin. "You got to me. Thanks for the pretty gift."

Din probably doesn't realize he's giving Grogu scritches now. "It's temporary. We're on course for Naboo. You'll be in the water until that heals."

"And how long'll that take?"

"Depends. You let it fester a while."

"I thought it was a regular burn!"

"By dragonfire?"

Cobb shrugs. "Figured it'd take a little longer to settle down."

Din's stare bores through his helmet. "And you didn't think to tell me?"

"Hey pot, the name's kettle."

Din yanks off his helmet to jam their lips together. Cobb's nerves shudder.

"You are riduur," Din murmurs, "There is nothing I wouldn't tell you. I thought you knew that."

Cobb's throat clicks. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He looks at Grogu's big eyes nestled between them. "I really didn't think it was a big deal. I've had plenty of burns before. Comes with bein' from Tatooine."

Din knows the real reason. He doesn't give it time to hang over them. "That's something you've taught me." His bare hand thumbs Cobb's cheek. "My perception of things isn't—normal. The burn you've got doesn't seem that bad only to you."

Cobb sighs against the lump in his throat. "Shoulda taken my own advice, huh?"

"Just trust me. That's it."

Cobb smiles. "I can do that."

[the-laridian]

FO76 Steel Dawn initial thoughts

And spoilers

In a move that should surprise no one, the Brotherhood of Steel are a bunch of dicks. I mean, it's lore. They're not nice. They want tech and they want it for themselves and everyone not Brotherhood is "civilian" and not worthy of notice, unless they want to join the BOS, because who wouldn't? BOS is awesome of course. And civilians have to prove themselves to join the awesomeness that is the BOS and then look down on other civilians. This is obviously going to appeal to certain people / player-character archetypes. It is really not my cup of tea. If I try this arc, I'll have to use Slade (the alt who isn't even level 5 yet) because Willow already hates the BOS, and Volkov is destined for the Raiders. Now, what's the proof? Well, canonically, they're not nice, in just about any game. But here, one of the first things you're tasked with is, "go talk to these people petitioning the BOS and find out what they're yammering about" (not exact words but close). Those people's reasons for contacting the BOS are: *I'm a farmer and I'm willing to trade my surplus crops for protection *I'm TOTES NOT A RAIDER, I'm just a wee orphan gal, yep yep, who wants some of those big shiny guns to, ah, defend myself and my poor li'l friends with! NOOOOO I'm not a Raider, nope nope! *I'm a scientist/doctor/healer (look, labels are irrelevant after a nuclear war) who really wants to get hold of an actual lab so I can get back to my medical research, which could help people a lot *I'm a farmer who is PO'd because a bunch of you Brotherhood dicks came and 'requisitioned' everything I had and didn't pay or ask if I agreed to it, and I want recompense and confirmation it won't happen again.

Raider Gal is a bit side-eye, but the others have valid points. So Willow goes to the BOS guy to tell him what their requests are. BOS guy responses: *We're not mercs, we don't take food in exchange for protection, ignore *I wouldn't have given her any guns anyway *We are not a charity, unless he develops some new technology or weapons, then we might be interested, but we just don't do that, ignore until useful *That wasn't Brotherhood who robbed him. "But they said they were." They weren't. "Shouldn't you look into it?" We don't have time to look into every complaint about something we aren't involved in. "But this kinda looks bad for you?" NOT OUR PROBLEM, CIVILIAN.

Sooooo the BOS guy grudgingly admits that maybe Willow could POSSIBLY sign up since he at least followed the order given to him (go talk to these people to give the impression someone cared). Willow heads outside, already determined to flip the Brotherhood the bird, and some BOS (or initiate or hopeful, not sure which now) says something like "Hey, you might wanna get rid of that mutation if you know what's good for you." Now, Willow doesn't have visible mutations. His mutations are: *Speed Demon (moves faster/eats more) *Healing Factor (heals faster/meds don't work as well) *Marsupial (superjump and extra carry capacity/massive hit to intelligence, so yeah, I had to pump a crapload of points into INT to keep him baseline) *Electrically Charged (chance to shock melee attackers/shock yourself) *Plague Walker (poison aura if you're diseased/not sure what the slap here is, actually) *Unstable Isotope (chance to radiate melee attackers/radiate yourself) (I'd get rid of UI, and maybe EC, but you can't randomly pick and choose when you attempt to clear up mutations, and I like the others) None of these are actually visible. Some mutations are, like Scaly Skin or Talons, but none of Willow's are. Either the BOS has a mutation detector up or maybe Willow has a certain aroma around him or smth, idk. The point is, Willow is kind of offended on multiple levels by the Brotherhood now, so he double-flips them off and says the hell with these jerks, maybe we need to get rid of them before they get a good foothold here. (no, not really possible, given the storyline, but we can dream) So that's the end of THAT for now. This was longer on my PF where I typed it up but Tumblr has a limit so

[dukereviewstv]

Duke Reviews TV: Smallville 1x20 Obscura

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews TV Where We Are Continuing Our Look At Smallville By Talking About Episode 20 Of Season 1, Obscura...

This Episode Sees Lana Gaining The Ability To See Through Other People's Eyes When She's Caught In An Explosion Near Some Meteor Rock Fragments...

This Power Comes In Handy During The Episode As Lana's New Powers Let Her See Through The Eyes Of A Person Who Kidnaps Chloe And It's Up To Her And Clark To Find Chloe And Rescue Her, Will They Find Chloe And Stop The Kidnapper Before He Kidnaps Someone Else?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Obscura...

The Episode Starts In A Field Where Lana And Whitney Are Riding Their Horses...

Slowing Their Horses Down, Whitney Asks Lana To The Spring Formal (Despite Next Week's Episode Being His Last As Full Time Cast Member) Only To Hear A Loud Explosion That Spooks Their Horses...

Tieing Their Horses Up, Lana And Whitney Go Toward The Source Of The Explosion Which Happens To Be A Gas Main On Fire, Seeing Another Pipe Near Them Shake Whitney Shows The Guys Trying To Fix The Gas Main Only For Them To Decide That It's Time To Clear Out...

With Whitney Telling Lana To Run...

Yeah (In The Style Of Forrest Gump) Run, Lana, Run...

The Gas Main Explodes In The Style Of Michael Bay Apparently...

All That's Missing Is Shia Labeouf Going No, No, No, No, No A Billion Times And Ben Affleck Saying That It's A Homage To Which I Got A Feeling That's What This Explosion Was...

Taking Lana To The Hospital, Whitney Tells Clark That They Gave Lana Something To Sleep But She'll Most Likely Pull Through...

With Chloe Stopping By To Check On Lana, Clark Knows That She Should Be Half Way To Metropolis Right Now As She Has An Interview For The Daily Planet's Summer Internship Program But Despite That Chloe Saying That She Could Reschedule Clark Knows How Important This Is To Her So Chloe Takes Off...

But As Clark Gets Coffee With Whitney, Lana Sees Chloe Being Taken Outside Of The Hospital By Some Mysterious Person...

The Next Day At The Kent Farm, Martha Talks With Clark About The Spring Formal, Before Lex Enters As Clark Leaves To Deliver A Very Generous Check To Jonathan And Martha For The Chemical Spill That Happened Earlier In The Season In The Episode Zero For The Land And Livestock They Lost, All Lex Wants In Return Is To Leave Any Doubt Between Them In The Past To Which Jonathan Agrees...

Later At School, Lana Stop By The Torch To See Chloe But Clark Tells Her That She's In Metropolis Until Tonight, Asking Why, Lana Tells Clark About Her Dream About Chloe Being Kidnapped. Offering To Call Her Dad To See If Chloe's Okay, Lana Decides To Let It Go For Now As She Doesn't Want To Make Her Father Worry...

Back At The Luthor Mansion, Lex Gets A Visit By Roger Nixon When He Hears About Lex's Visit By Carrie Castle In The Episode Drone....

(Start At 0:26, End At 1:35)

Worried About Chloe As She Hasn't Called Yet, Jonathan Tells Clark Not To Worry About It As She'll Probably Call Eventually, But Talking About Their Broken Tractor, Clark Knows What He Spend Lex's Check On However There's One Problem, Jonathan Hasn't Cashed It Yet And He Doesn't Know If He's Going To As Something Is Telling Him That It's A Bad Idea...

But When Clark Says That Slamming The Door In Lex's Face Over And Over Will Only Turn Lex Into His Father, Jonathan Tells Clark He'll Sleep On It...

Stopping By The Torch Afterwards, Clark Talks With Pete (Who Tells Him That He's Taking One Of The Hottest Girls In School To The Spring Formal) Before Talking With Lana About Chloe Before She Has Another Vision Of Chloe Tied Up In A Funhouse And That The Kidnapper Is Apparently One Of The Flying Monkeys From The Wiz...

Telling Clark What She Saw, Him And Lana Call The Police And Chloe's Father (Who Hasn't Heard From Chloe All Day And Is Starting To Get Concerned) To 9 Tell Them About What She Saw And Despite One Officer Laughing It Off The Other Officer Says They'll Look Into It...

Getting A Call From Someone, Chloe's Father Tells Clark And Lana That They Found Chloe's Car Abandoned In The Woods...

Meanwhile On The Other Side Of Town, Nixon Takes Lex To Talk With His Source, A Former Crop Duster Named Eddie Cole Who Was Dusting Baker's Field The Day Of The Meteor Shower And Saw Something Come Down That Looked More Like A Spaceship Than A Meteor...

Hours Later He Went To Check It Only To Find It Gone...

With Lex Believing That Eddie Is...Well...

Lex Tells Roger To Come Up With Something Better Before He Leaves...

Visiting Clark At His Barn, He Tells Lana That He Searched The Woods With His Father And Chloe's Dad And Found Nothing, So Tomorrow They're Going To Organize A Search Party...

This Leads Clark To Tell Lana About When He First Met Chloe...

(Start At 1:12, End At 2:06)

But As Lana Starts To Leave After That, She Has Another Vision Of Chloe Being Buried Alive At Chandler's Field, Superspeeding There, Clark Uses His X-Ray Vision And Finds Chloe Before She Runs Out Of Air...

Immensely Happy To See Clark, Clark Takes Her To The Hospital So She Can Recuperate After What Happened They Ask Chloe If She Saw Anything But She's Too Traumatized To Remember Right Now Either Way Though She Thanks Lana For Picking A Good Time To Be Weird And Decides To Relax...

As Lana Walks Down The Hospital Hallway She Has Another Vision Of Chloe's Kidnapper Except This Time He's Watching Her...

Coming Home Late From The Hospital, Clark Gives Jonathan A Hand With Bags Of Cornfeed That Need To Be Delivered To Another Farm While Talking To Him About Chloe, Lana And Her Visions And If Jonathan Plans On Cashing That Check To Which The Answer Is Yes After They Deliever The Feed....

But As They Drive Over, They Find Lex And A Crew Of Men Going Over A Piece Of Land, Asking Lex What's Going On, He Tells Jonathan And Clark That He's Thinking About Buying The Land For An Agricultural Project But He Wanted To Test The Soil First...

Asking About The Hazmat Suits And Metal Detectors, Lex Tells Jonathan That That's Because They Think That There May Have Been A Meteor Strike On The Site And With Luthorcorp's Environmental Record Taking A Hit Recently And It Never Hurts To Cross Your T's And Dot Your I's

Not Buying Lex's Story, Jonathan Gives Lex Back His Check Saying That He Can't Accept It. Asking Why His Father Did That As People Test Land All The Time, Jonathan Tells Clark That This Land Was Where His Spaceship Landed Years Ago And If They Find Anything, They'll Trace It Back To Clark...

Later That Night, Whitney Visits Lana At The Talon After Going Through His Father's Things And While Doing So He Comes Across Some Military Medals That His Father Got From His Time In Vietnam. Seeing This As A Sign That His Father Is Telling Him That Throwing A Football Isn't The Only Way To Do Something Important With His Life...

Visiting Clark In His Barn, Lex Says That He Owes Jonathan An Apology But He Doesn't Know Why Exactly But Despite Saying It's Not You, It's Him Lex Gets A Feeling Clark Doesn't Believe Him Either

(Start At 2:13)

Doing Research At The Torch, Clark Is Surprised By Chloe Who Decided That Relaxing Will Only Give Her Nightmares So The Best Place For Her To Be Is There...

Calling Whitney To Drop By, Clark Tells Whitney And Chloe That The Explosion Caused Lana's Visions, Giving Her De Kretser Syndrome Which Is A Post Traumatic Stress Disorder That Caused People In Bomb Shelters In London To Become Psychically Linked To One Another And It Only Happens When The Person Is Stressed, Angry Or Excited

Clark Also Discovered That There Were Meteor Rocks At The Site And The Energy Must Have Binded Lana To Someone There, Asking Whitney Who Was There, He Tells Clark That It Was Only Him And The 2 Officers, Watts And Vertigo But It All Happened So Fast Whitney Has No Idea Of Which Of Officers It Could Be...

Visited By Vertigo At The Talon, Lana Makes Him A Cup Of Coffee Only To Get Another Vision Of The Kidnapper Entering The Talon And Hitting Vertigo On The Head So He Can Kidnap Lana...

So Yeah By The Time Clark, Chloe And Whitney Get There, Both Lana And The Kidnapper Are Gone With Vertigo Having No Clue Where He Went, Asking About Watts, Vertigo Tells Clark That He Has A Second Job At The Carnival Grounds And With It Closed It's The Perfect Place To Hide Someone...

With Lana Sitting Up To Call For Help, She Is Confronted By The Kidnapper Who Happens To Be Watts Who Only Kidnapped Chloe To Get Ahead In His Career As A Cop...

Which Is Kinda Stupid When You Think About It...

Trying To Salvage His Plan By Killing Lana And Solving Her Murder, Watts Is Stopped By Clark When He Bounces The Bullet Off Of His Hand And Into A Glass Mirror Above To Which Clark Covers Lana With His Body To Protect Her From The Falling Shards...

With Watts Trying To Escape, He's Thrown By Clark As The Police Arrive To Arrest Watts But Not Willing To Go Down Without A Fight, The Police Have No Choice But To Kill Watts...

A Perfect End To An Idiot With A Dumb Plan...

The Next Day On The Kent Farm, Chloe Arrives To Tell Clark That She Got The Internship At The Planet Because Of An Article She Wrote For The Ledger On Watts But Before She Can Leave Clark Asks Chloe To Accompany Him To The Spring Formal To Which She Says Yes...

Visited By Dr. Hamilton At The Mansion, He Tells Him Information That They Found On An Octagonal Disc They Found In The Field And It Turns Out That Whatever It Is, The Alloy That It Is Made Of Is Not Of This Earth And Reminding Us That Clark's Ship Has An Octagonal Hole And Most Likely That Disc Will Open Said Ship, Our Episode Ends...

And That's Obscura And Can I Say That This Is The Only Episode This Season That I Don't Care For?

It's All Right, It Has Possibilities For Being Good But In The End It Doesn't Pay Off Giving Us A Stupid Reason For Why Our Kidnapper Did It But Aside From The Story Not Being That Great The Characters Are Well Written And The Effects Are Okay, I Guess But Still This One's A Skip It For Me, If You Like It Good Enjoy It But For Me It's A No...

Tune In Next Week For The Final Episode Of Season 1 Of Smallville Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[ecotone99]

[HR] Off The Beaten Path

“Jeez, it is darker than I thought," Kim pointed out. Duke shrugged. "Eh, it's fine. Not that bad out." The conversation, which might as well not be a conversation but an exchange of two sentences, just suddenly stopped as the two teens continued down the trail. Kim, a dark brown haired girl, bit her lip in thought. "I still can't shake the feeling of what happened at the gas station once we arrived..." She wasn't wrong. Before they went on this trip down the trail, they stopped at the nearby gas station for something quick to eat on their trip. However, things were kind of in dismay. The place was trashed and messy, looking like a great majority of the shelves were ransacked. Luckily, the owner was there to greet them and apologize for the mess. He said something had broken in and trashed the place, catching it on camera and showing them it, seeing a large shadow dash away into the nearby woods. Before the two teens left though, they questioned what he thought it was, he replied that he didn't know, before pointing out that it left hell of a mark, pointing to the center of the store, revealing a large and violent scratches and scars in the floor of the gas station. Whatever it was, it was angry. Angry and hungry for whatever it could find in the gas station before fleeing. So, before heading out to the same woods for their planned hike, they purchased some cheap burritos from the place and bid him goodbye and good luck on cleaning up the mess. And now, here they were, walking down the same trail of where the supposed robber was. Great idea, don't you think? Duke, the jacket wearing 18 year old, shrugged. "Yeah, it was a pretty big mess." "A shelving unit was knocked down to the floor. Aren't those things suppose to be bolted to the floor?" Kim asked. "Uhm..." Duke tilted his head in a ponder. "Well, either it wasn't bolted or whatever bear or large animal broke in and managed to knock it down, breaking the bolts." Kim shook her head, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. " I can't get the picture of what he saw on the cameras out of my head either... Let alone know that it ran off into the direction we are currently going." "Well, just relax. I know the guy at the station said that whatever broke in ran down here but I have a feeling he was exaggerating what he saw." "I don't know... that claw mark on the floor looked pretty real..." she pointed out. Duke shrugged again. "Could have just been a really detailed stain from something spilled during the ransack" "I don't know... it was pretty embedded into the floor." she protested. Silence grew between the two before Duke lifted his head up to the glowing moon before facing back forward, the two still continuing down the trail. "And to your response to you saying that it's dark... it really isn't" Kim sighed. "I know... it just feels it." Kim didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence before a loud rustle of leaves intervened. Duke stopped, extending an arm out in front of her, "Wait, stop." he said, halting her in place. The noise grew louder, more violent. The crunching and rustling of the forest was loud and ear piercing. Kim stepped back before Duke followed, taking a cautious step back. Then, the noise stopped, and an unfamiliar sight emerged. "Hello?" said the female. In a struck of relief, Duke and Kim relax. Their tensed muscles loosening to calm down. "Sorry, I didn't scare you, d-did I?" she suddenly asks, her voice shaking. Kim jumps in response to her sudden question. "Oh, i-it's fine! We were just hiking." Duke nodded. "Yeah. You didn't scare us too bad." After those words, Duke couldn't help but to examine the girls appearance. She looked young, about teenager with black hair. However, she didn't look like she was in good shape. Her clothing, shirt and jeans were withered and dirty, they looked like they were snagged on some really sharp tree branches then tugged to cause the deep gashes and rips. Her jeans weren't any better. The knees were ripped open but Duke couldn't tell if that was the design, or if they were actually ripped open. Kim raised a brow at the teens current state. She was shaky and was acting timid. "You don't look good. Are you lost?" she asked. The girl lifted her head to her in response. "N-No. I-I'm fine...fine enough to be on my feet." Duke just now realized that the toes of her shoes looked like they were blown open, revealing her bare feet inside or what could remain of the socks if they weren't blown open as well and he just couldn't see it. "You sure? It looks like you were attacked." The girl's body began to shudder, as did her voice in response to his question. "I'm fine, trust me." That seems like a lie, both to Duke and Kim. She was shaking, obviously frightened and failing at hiding it. Duke leaned closer to his friend and quietly whispered into her ear. He made sure that the stranger wasn't looking, but she was hugging herself and looking down to the forest floor. A look of unsure on her face. "She could have been attacked by whatever took on the gas station..." he softly whispered to Kim. The stranger suddenly lifted her head. "I-I'm Angela." she said. Duke quickly leaned back and straightened up, pointing to himself with his thumb then to Kim. "Duke, and this is Kim." Kim sweetly smiled as she lifted her hand in a stiff wave as Duke stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. Angela nodded. "Nice to meet you... s-sorry I look kind of messy." Kim raised a brow, concern growing on her face."What happened?" " I-It's nothing too important. What are you two doing out here anyway?" she replied. Kim adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "We're out on a hiking trip. We arrived a little later than we thought." Angela nodded in response before her gentle look faded, dropping and being replaced with heavy concern once again. Duke saw her expression leave her as his own concern lifted. "You sure that you don't need a ride to town? We are fine taking you to a hospital." "Oh no, I'm fine." she softly replied. "Just a little hungry," she then spoke. "Haven't eaten anything all day..."

Duke straightened. "Oh, uh..." he reached into Kim's bag who just allowed it.

Angela raised a brow as Duke pushed away what occupants were inside his friends bag. He then found it. He grabbed one of the large wrapped burritos. "We bought some burritos before we came out here," he said, pulling it fully out of Kim's bag and began unwrapping the white paper around it. "Here, you can have mine, I wasn't really looking forward to it anyway." Angela's eyes widen in awe at the decent looking wrapped sandwich before her as Duke extended an arm out to her for her to have it. Kim smiled to her. Suddenly, Angela flinched. Her eyes widened even bigger like they were in shock. Her back straightened in a recline like she has just seen something horrific. Then, her pupils pulled into slits. Her jaw drops to reveal her incisors growing out longer and more sharp, extending and cracking, sounding painful before they shaped into forms of what could be fangs. Duke and Kim's hopeful expression immediately left them and was instead replaced with noticeable confusion, then fear and wide eyes as Duke carefully drew his arm back.. Angela's legs then shuddered before they seemed to give out on holding her weight, and she dropped to her hands and knees. Angela's once pale skin began to be overtaken by a dark sickly gray color. Duke and Kim, confused yet concerned at the sight, recline a little back as Angela's hair falls to her face and her back arches upwards as she shudders alarmingly. Awful cracks came from her as the atmosphere suddenly felt foreboding. A non-human noise left her, sounding all too similar to animalistic growling and strained groans. Duke and Kim wince and flinch, expressions shifting more fearful as Angela's visible arms and revealing skin is overtaken by thick fine nearly black fur. Her hair extending longer and down her back in a thick flowing mane. Her legs shifting and cracking into an animalistic shape. Her fingers extending out into razor claws. Suddenly the reason why the toes of her shoes looked like they were blown open finally made sense. Her toes bulked out to large paws as sharp, eagle talon like claws pierced out of them. It didn't take Duke long to realize what was happening and why she looked so damaged and ruined when they first met her. She's changing. Changing into something that was not human. Duke turned to Kim with an easily identifiable look of dread. "Kim, we need to move, now!" he demanded. Angela's ears extend and slim out to shape pointed. Her eyes glow a deadly orange, easily able to cut through the darkness of the night as her head shape shifts, a muzzle extending out as her nostrils pulled to slits and whatever human remaining features just suddenly vanished. A thick large appendage of fur grew from the base of her spine, waving left and right behind the once human creature. It looked like a tail. She then begins to rise, from out of the hands and knees of the crouch to standing. Duke and Kim recline back as the horrid shadow of the once human girl loomed over them, revealing just how massive and tall this thing has grown in size. A startled gasp escaped Kim and an unnerved whimper from Duke. The monstrous creature expressed its arms out, throwing its head back, and gave a beastly roar, almost like a howl.

The two teens froze up at the towering creature before it's triumphant roar ended and it dropped back down to a crouch, slamming a palm into the earth and extending the other arm out, exposing the now large bulky humanoid hands and sharp claws. It's horrid eyes examining them as the skin around it's face tightened, baring its razor teeth as it's lips quivered in a snarl! Even in the crouched stance this thing was still huge!

"KIM!" Duke roared!

The ravenous beast that was Angela, pounced! Duke grunted from the tackle of the monster! Kim finally snapped out of her freeze. She screamed as she turned to them, seeing the horrid sight!

Duke screamed as he was pinned to the forest floor. The horrid creature straddled over him and thrashing it's head violently on him! Duke screamed from the attack of the monster! Kim's screams followed as she watched in horror, unable to do a single thing!

Duke screamed in pain and horror as the monster was violently sinking its teeth into his flesh and haphazardly thrashing! It's head then lurched back before throwing itself back into him for seconds, wrapping it's jaws around his neck! Duke screamed, pressing his hands against its shoulders in an attempt to push it away! One of his hands balled into a fist before hitting it's shoulders with it, but his attack was in vain as it didn't even flinch.

Then, the creature jerked it's head. A horrid snap filled the air and Duke's screams suddenly halted. His flailing fist at the creatures shoulder slowed before stopping, going limp and dropping to the forest floor.

Kim's breathing was harsh and unsteady. Her hands over her mouth. Her trembling legs trying their best to back her away but she was too focused at the creature straddled over what could possibly be now her deceased friend. The strap over her shoulder slid off. Her bag dropped to the trail ground as her eyes glossed. She turned her head to the bag she has dropped.

Then, a growl. Kim lifted her head back to the scene. It looked over its shoulder to her with wide, unsteady eyes nailed to her person. The snarl was big as it's hands pressed against the trail floor beside Duke's body as it crawled it's way off of him, not breaking the stare before fully turning to her and beginning to stand up. Kim dissoriently began to stumble back.

She then screamed as the monstrous creature pounced at her, smacking her to the ground from an extended out arm! Kim grunted as she was thrown to her back on the forest floor. She lifted her head in a lean forward to the empty forest before her. Her breathing shuddered as the beast circled around her on all fours shuffling into view, all while keeping its nose pointed to her and not breaking the stare. A terrified whimper left Kim as her assailant straddled over her body, snarling wildly at her, it's face so close to hers that she could feel it's hot and humid breath. The monster then roared, followed with the terror filled screams of Kim as its jaws snapped around her neck, as the noises of the intense struggle and attack echoed in the open, and soon to be quiet forest.

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