#yes this is about tucker. or wash.

[frostbittenstatic]

[waxcloth-din]

Read these in this order if you want your heart ripped out and stitched back up again <3 <3

[phantomrose96]

Sham Sacrifice: Chapter 2

(Sham Sacrifice: Chapter 1)

Chapter 2, because @ciestess voiced an idea that absolutely consumed my entire mind and I could not rest until I made this

...

Danny’s eyes tracked the swing of gunfire raining bullets across the horizon. Tucker reloaded, crouched, dodged left and pivoted, another blast of bullet confetti launched through a gaggle of zombie heads. He tossed the magazine and reloaded. Click. Ching. Danny flinched when a zombie smashed a hammer clean through Tucker’s head.

 “God. Fucking…” Tucker pulled out of his hunch. He unclamped his fingers from his controller like bug legs unfurling. He extended the controller to Danny, bouncing it in his grip. “Your turn.”

“Huh?” Danny asked, as if he hadn’t been watching Tucker’s game the whole time.

“You. You’re up. I died.”

Danny accepted the controller, reloaded the screen, and jogged about a hundred feet forward before the first horde of zombies took him out football-style from the left. The death screen rolled.

“Oops,” Danny said.

“Not your best work.” And Tucker took the controller back. Tucker shot a few spare glances to Danny while the level restart loaded in. “Is it Vlad?”

“No. Well, yes,” Danny answered, flopping back into his normal position on the Foley attic armchair. Tucker’s mom had planned to toss it ages ago, before it became Danny’s chair. “But at least he left when my parents went all zombie mode into the basement.” Danny picked absently at the scabs of leather flaking from the armrest. “It was just weird.”

“I don’t mean this as an insult, but it’s definitely not the first time your dad’s gotten some math wrong,” Tucker said. “He blows up like three things a week doesn’t he?”

“He does. But he doesn’t care when he gets that math wrong. This one was like I broke something important.” Danny’s expression soured, and he picked a leather flake clean off the chair. “Vlad did, I mean.”

“Does any of the math actually work?” Sam offered from Tucker’s desk. She leaned an elbow around the back of his chair, head tilted to Danny. A pencil dangled from her loose fingers, nib-half worn to the History of an Invention report she was actually working on. Tucker had half-assed his earlier in the day about the palm pilot. Danny had not done his. “Like, it’s all crackpot theory, right? Do ghosts even follow math?”

“I think they follow some math. It’s not magic that makes the ecto-bazookas work, or the Fenton-phones work, or—well the thermos DIDN’T work—until I made it work.”

The unspoken thing Danny had been not-quite-saying hung in the air. He said it this time.

“So I’m wondering if I did it. Like the Fenton thermos. And now maybe they’re gonna do the math all over and realize the missing piece of the equation is one half-ghost son.”

“Well the order is backwards, for starters,” Sam said. “Thermos worked because you pumped ghost-energy into it. How would you have done that to the portal? You were human when you walked in.”

“Sam’s right. What do you think you brought to the table exactly? Button-slapping abilities?” Tucker loaded up the next level. “It was their portal, and their math, and it worked. There’s a million-billion kinds of math and they probably just forgot one thing.”

Tucker took a headshot and died. Mechanically, he handed the controller back to Danny.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Ask Vlad. He’s got a portal.”

“Like Vlad’s gonna tell me.”

“Just promise to be his diligent little son minion or whatever. He’s easy. Wait, let me do the next level. You know I like the cyberpunk levels.”

“It’s not your turn,” Danny said, reeling the controller just out of Tucker’s wiggling grasp.

“I’ll let you do two in a row for your next turn.”

Danny knocked Tucker away, distracted just long enough for a zombie cyberbeam to launch from the horizon and take him out through the head.

The screen washed sepia. Danny stared at it. You died.

…

Danny hadn’t really meant to stay the night at Tucker’s place. They’d just gotten really far in Man vs. Zombie, and Sam had gone home, and Danny was just resting his eyes between his turns with the controller.

So when he woke to the bright strip of sunlight beaming into his eyes through the attic skylight, his first thought was Fuck.

He was awake, here, morning, school. Fuck he had not actually done his History of Invention report, despite the stupid amount of grief it had already caused him this weekend. He pulled his face out of the armrest, now pineapple-patterned from the decaying leather, and pawed for his phone fallen on the floor. If it was still early enough, he could maybe still afford to desperately half-ass something before sixth period science.

He flipped his phone open. A text from Jazz. “Don’t come home. Make up an excuse.”

“…Fuck,” Danny whispered, through the sensation of his heart launching itself into his throat.

He scrambled upright, whole body shaking at the mercy of adrenaline shock so soon after being pulled from dead sleep. His mouth was dry, teeth unbrushed, wearing his old clothes from yesterday, report not done, Don’t come home, Don’t come home, Don’t come home.

They knew. He’d fucked it up. Somehow they knew. The math. Something. And it had to be with guns blazing, because Jazz would not send that text if they’d taken the “We accept you” angle.

Were they coming for him? On their way here? Tracking by his phone? Did they like Mrs. Foley enough to not SWAT-slam her against the wall when she opened the door for them so they could come capture the ghost pretending to be their son?

Fuck.

Danny was upright. Danny was standing. Danny was shaking. Danny wasn’t actually sure what the next thing was he was supposed to do.

Tucker’s ball of blankets rustled from the couch. “Mmph?” he asked, articulately.

“I have to. Go deal with my parents, I think,” Danny said, because any plan felt a little better than no plan. “I think they know.”  

Danny was a ghost. Danny was gone. Tucker sat upright, alone, blinking himself awake. He was staring at the You Died sepia screen still displayed on monitor, now burnt into the plasma of the tv.

…

Danny paused with his human hand slick on the Fenton front door. The gears in his mind turned as his plan quickly unraveled into no-plan. He had no plan, right? What was his plan? Handle this Man vs Zombie style—open the front door ready to dodge wide, because both zombies and parents liked to camp behind closed doors with bazookas at the ready?

“—absolutely absurd, and entirely unscientific, with no probability of being true. It goes against everything we know about neurology.”

Oh, Jazz. Was Jazz enough of a bazooka-deterrent? Probably not. Knowing his parents.

Danny turned the knob. His heart hammered. If bazookas, dodge left.

The first thing he noticed was in fact the no-bazookas. It was what he was most looking for. And so it was Jazz’s expression he did not notice until second—whites of her eyes wide, snapped to Danny, with a look that would be accusatory if worry hadn’t won that battle. Her cheeks were pale. Her hair was unbrushed.

He noticed his parents third. Compulsively, he rocked back onto his right foot, still outside the doorway, still outside the threshold of the Fenton family household.

Seeing his parents tired was of absolutely no shock-value to Danny. It was at least a twice-per-month tradition to see them haul themselves up from the basement sweaty and glaze-eyed at 7am, babbling excitement about some new ecto-spectral-hoozy-whatsits whose concept had shimmed into their minds at 8pm and now existed, fully operational, 11 nonstop hours later.

So it wasn’t the exhaustion on their face. It wasn’t the stagnant smell of sweat or the paleness of their faces or the stains on their clothes.

It was the way they looked at him. Like their whole world had fallen apart with his foot passing over the doorstep.

“Danny,” Jazz said, choked, a break in the silence. “Things are…! A little weird here. So maybe, if you wanna just get to school, I’ll finish clearing up—there’s a misunderstanding Mom and Dad have with their math. I am state finalist in Math League and have been studying college-level calculus in preparation for school applications so I’ve offered to help them fix their math, or prove to them—”

“Danny,” Maddie said, an echo of Jazz, but it felt worse. Danny scanned her hands for anything pointed enough to be a weapon. They were empty. “Danny can I just ask you something honestly, just quickly? Jazz is right. I’m just trying to clear up an issue with our math. And I won’t be mad. Whatever the answer is, I won’t be mad. I just want an honest answer.”

She stepped closer. Danny fought the urge to match her with a step backwards. Her eyes roved over him in a starved way, looking for something.

“Were you there when the portal turned on?” she asked.

“No, I wasn’t,” Danny answered. He wasn’t sure what to do with his face to make it look convincing. “It just. It needed some time to boot up, or something, right? That’s what you two said.”

“That was our guess ,but we don’t really know. The security tapes are wiped. We tried to make them EMF-resilient but a very, very strong blast of EMF could still corrupt them.”

“Yeah. I mean the portal’s gonna do that, right? When it turned on? Ripping open the Ghost Zone that’s—gotta be huge EMF.” Danny’s focus bounced between his mother’s eyes. “Just a guess. I really don’t know. I was in bed, already, whenever the portal started working.”

Left eye. Right eye. Why was she looking at him like that? Like she was sad. Was this part a trick? Make Danny let his guard down, go hey Mom need a hug? and that’s when the bazooka-whipping starts? It made his ribs feel scratchy. Stop looking at me like that.

“Have you felt anything weird at all, since the portal started working? Any gaps in your memory? Any parts of you that don’t feel right? Is there any part of you that feels like it’s changed in a way you can’t explain?”

She reached a hand out. Danny instinctively recoiled.

“Uh, yeah. They taught us about this in health class. They call it ‘puberty’ there.”

“Danny,” Jack said, and his voice was scratchy from disuse, from a long and uncharacteristic amount of time spent not speaking. “Did you die in the machine?”

A beat. A moment. Like when the zombie sends a hammer through your head.

“I’M alive!” Danny declared with a crack in his voice, with hands slammed to his chest. “Look at me. What are you talking about?”

“It’s the only math that works,” Jack continued, his words like chalk, his voice too dead. He looked too much at Danny. “If one of you two walked into the portal, and died in it. And I don’t think it was Jazz.”

This was bad. This was weird. Danny had ghost powers, sure. ‘They can’t kill me I’m already dead,’ was a funny joke sometimes. But it was funny as a joke. He was a ghost sham, really. A faker, a LARPer, whatever Tucker had called it. He was a human who was just kind of a freak now. More of a freak than he already was. He looked dead, for someone who was super-duper still alive.

He’d buried that worry, already. They weren’t allowed to bring it back.

“Look… at me!” Danny continued, mouth dry. He threw his arms wide. “Look how super alive I am! I’m awake! Using energy! Eating food and sleeping with my human body. I’ve got flesh and blood and bones and stuff! I’m not a ghost-expert but ghosts don’t have that.”

This was weird. This made Danny feel like something was scratching to get free from inside his rib cage. It twisted his entrails. Sure Tucker and Sam had thought he was dead, for those first horrible few minutes, but then he changed back to a human and the nightmare ended there. Jazz never called him dead. The ghosts called him freak and halfa and whelp, but never ‘one of them.’ That was his whole thing: being different from the ghosts who became ghosts by something so normal as dying.

He was not dead.

“If you died in the portal, your ghost wouldn’t have been ripped out of your body. It would have been allowed to stay, and then you’d be…” Jack hesitated. “I don’t know what you’d be, but you wouldn’t be alive.”

“Dad,” Jazz said, and she stood herself bodily between Danny and Jack. “What an absolutely messed up out-of-line thing to say to your son! You don’t know that! Dad you’re tired, and just because you weren’t able to solve your math problem in one night doesn’t mean you get to treat Danny like this! I said I’d help you with your math! Now apologize to Danny.”

Jazz looked over her shoulder to Danny, her expression falling at the sight of Danny’s face.

Danny backed up over the door threshold. He shook his head. “I’m not comfortable with this. This is weird. I’m gonna go to school now.”

“Danny, I promise they’re just—”

Danny turned on heel. No backpack, no change of clothes. He took to the street without a single school supply and moved, and moved.

It was supposed to be guns-blazing. Molecule by molecule. Headshot you died. He’d prepared for that this whole time, in the shower, in his dreams, in his daydreams in class. He’d duck and dodge and explain himself over and over until they understood him.

Danny wasn’t sure he was capable of explaining himself anymore.

…

Danny knocked the heavy iron knocker. He was in ghost form, as a threat. He wondered if he still smelled like yesterday’s sweat now that he wasn’t wearing yesterday’s clothes. Now he was wearing the clothes he died in.

No one answered the door. Danny phased himself in.

“Vlad!” he called, and his words echoed along the slope of the two elaborate winding staircases that twirled and met at the top like caduceus. Gold-plated banisters. A security camera buried somewhere in the ceiling, no doubt.

Danny phased into the library. His eyes roved the three stories of bookshelves wrapping the perimeter like a sheath. Gaudy. Audacious. Like Vlad would ever read that much. Danny racked his brain because some something in here was the secret to opening Vlad’s laboratory. Jazz had told him. Some gold something to be touched, and pressed down, or pushed up? Or it opened to a button. Or a keypad, maybe.

Danny spat a curse. He was being stupid. He was frazzled. He wasn’t thinking straight.

He dove into the floor below. Intangibility was the only key he needed.

The sheetrock was cold, even when he wasn’t touching it. The darkness was so piercing it made static jump in his vision, some weird trick of the brain Jazz had explained where, in the absence of all light, the brain hallucinates its own. It came with a sensation of pressure against his eyeballs, and a complete disorientation of direction, and he simply just kept going down.

Danny emerged into a wash of cold air. Cold like metal was cold. The low lights of dials and clicking machines were bright to his eyes previously dunked into the pitchest nothing. He drank it in, eyes grateful for light no matter how little, inner ear grateful for orientation that had left his head swimming and his stomach tight.

His feet tapped down to the stone ground, and the air that breezed past him was chilled.

“Vlad!” Danny called again.

Nothing.

He moved by the floor lighting, which ran in trim along the perimeter of the laboratory rooms. It lit things from beneath, made machines gaunt and specimens into sharp geometries of darkness and flesh. It made the Fenton lab feel warm in a way Danny had never considered it warm.

His feet clacked. His breath puffed.

“Vlad!”

He followed light, followed a wash of green miasma percolating from some far room and catching on the particulate of water and dust that disturbed with the air currents. Danny disturbed it too, walking through, wearing its shade of green which his shadow robbed from the wall behind him.

“Vlad. I swear to god Vlad.”

He crossed the threshold of the portal room, where the dusting of green ambience became a medallion wash of golden-green coating, painting every surface of the room. The Fenton lab was one single expansive room, portal anchored into the far wall and facing all the dead and empty air in front of it. This was different. A much smaller room, walled on all sides save for the simple doorway, and each surface reflected the color back deeper and heavier. It was like a fishtank in the wall of an aquarium lit radiant aqua-blue by all the lights within, but green instead, pure ecto-green.

Danny approached the open portal. He stared into its placid swirls, mesmerized, and scared of it, in a way he hadn’t previously felt about the portal in the Fenton basement.

“Ah, seems the cat is a good mouser after all, it dragged you in my boy.” The words came sing-song. They came spine-shivering for Danny, who felt them like hot breath on his shoulder and reeled back, pivoted, fire crackling to life in his palms.

Vlad stood at the doorway, a solid 20 steps from Danny.

“Vlad.”

“So I’ve been hearing.”

“I need you to explain the portal.”

“Ah, I see you’ve spoken to your parents.” Vlad stepped in, washed in the ecto-green which muddied his ruby red eyes. He held his hands behind his back, cape trailing, a smirk on his fanged face. “Last I heard they weren’t taking the news very well.”

“What news. What did you tell them?”

“Me? Nothing. In fact, very kindly for your sake I even tried to drive them away from the answer but… We know how stubborn your parents can be.”

“What answer?”

“That you’re dead, Daniel.”

Shock washed like ice down Danny’s spine. It sent prickles like spider legs across his skin.

“Well, I suppose there’s still chance for some doubt. It could be Jazz. She could take the fall for you, if there’s any benefit to that at all.”

“I’m a halfa. We are halfas,” Danny said.

“A silly made up word by a silly child,” Vlad mused, and the light smile left his lips. “We are dead.”

“I’m not dead,” and Danny’s words were small, and they were childish.

“You are. I am. Embrace it. It’s nicer this way.” Vlad took a few steps closer, lionously tall in his saunter, feet clacking the ground. “It’s very freeing. After you’ve died already what is there left to fear?”

“I’m alive.”

“You’re a dead body with its soul still stuffed inside it like a Christmas goose. A lot of things in your body don’t work anymore, but ghosts don’t work right anyway and it is, for all its defiance of nature, a perfectly symbiotic relationship.” Vlad’s smile brushed his lips again, warm. “It’s nice to share this with you. Isn’t it nice to share things with people?”

Danny’s heart was beating too fast in his chest, and it was a human heart, a human beat. “I’m not dead,” he declared.

“Your wounds heal quickly because the ghost piloting you only needs to remember form. It stacks cells back into place and calls it good. You’ll endure fatal injuries as you no doubt have many times in your fights, but they’re trivial because physical trauma is not what kills a ghost. It’s what creates one. You’ll necrotize in places but it’s okay, because you’ll carry on, and it will bother you only if you let it bother you, if you’re too sentimental about the puppet you’re still inside.” Vlad closed in closer, neck craning to appraise Danny. “Ghosts love a facsimile of life so you will keep your heart pumping, your lungs breathing. You’ll eat and you’ll sleep but you’ll find you won’t perish if you don’t. It just won’t be a good time if you want to keep occupying your flesh form. Take better care of it. You won’t get another.”

“You’re psychotic. And you’re wrong.”

“I have all the math to prove it.” Vlad leered from over Danny’s shoulder. He circled the boy, knocking Danny’s balance, who still on a hair trigger stood ready to fight. The light from the ghost portal painted Vlad’s face like the phases of the moon as he moved. “Did your parents explain that part to you properly?”

“No, because they didn’t get the math right.”

“Oh they’ve gotten it right. This time. It only took them two decades longer than it took me.” The portal rolled like static, and its fizzling pattern crashed like an ocean wave across Vlad’s cape. “No amount of man-made power is sufficient to drag the entire fabric of the Ghost Zone up against our own, tear a hole through it, and anchor it to a stable frame. It requires something with a pull on the Ghost Zone, a strong pull, and that thing is a human life at the moment of an extraordinarily violent death.”

Danny backed a step away from the portal, from Vlad, but the walls boxed him in. He swam in its green light.

“You stepped in and you turned the portal on, that’s what you thought, right, Daniel? Pressed a careless button on the inside and now here we are. Silly parents for not finding that button first.” Vlad’s face hardened. “No. Jack and Maddie knew about the button. Maddie explained it to me over the phone. What engineer designing and building their own portal would forget the location of the on button? They’d pressed it from the outside. It didn’t work. And so you pressing the button was not the important part. It was you dying to the electrocution that clicked everything right into place. And while your ghost should have been torn from your lifeless corpse and pulled to the Ghost Zone you instead pulled the Ghost Zone here. Your ghost got to stay put. You opened the portal. You became the undead freak you are. And now we’re here.”

Danny’s eyes bounced between Vlad’s. His cheeks felt hot, like he was enduring an accusation of wrongdoing. And he had none of the knowledge to refute what was being said.

“You’re messing with me. You’re wrong,” Danny shot back. He thrust an arm out, drenched in the fog of the portal. “If the portal needs a person to die in it then explain your portal! Are you so casual about it? You killed someone? You’re admitting to murder and you think I won’t do anything about it?”

Anger flashed like a storm across Vlad’s face. His aura swelled, pressing down with a pressure on Danny as Vlad halted and cast his shadow clear across Danny, coating the back wall. “The killing of other people with the wanton carelessness of half-baked machines is the domain of Jack and Jack alone. I’ve brought no such harm onto anyone else.”

“Then how do you have this portal?”

“This portal? This portal that I’ve had for 20 years? Which I opened when I solved the piece of Jack’s broken math that he was never able to solve until this morning?” Vlad stalked closer, hunched, imposing. Danny stepped back. “My boy Daniel you’ve had it so easy. You had it so simple. A truly clean break. So clean so lucky. A single lethal dose of electricity and it was already over. I’m jealous. You never even suffered.”

Vlad stepped closer, striking distance, arm extended. Danny flinched, but Vlad only swept his cape around, clenched in his fist, and pivoted to approach the portal.

“Put out of your misery before it even started.” Vlad slammed his fist against the portal rim, and the explosive metallic clang bounced through the rooms. His laugh belted out. “I should have been so lucky.”

19. Vlad Masters was 19. A sophomore in college. A man actively in the midst of sabotaging his social life to chase a woman who was already deeply in love with Vlad’s best friend who he hated more every day. He wasn’t sure what he ever enjoyed about Jack’s bumbling ineptitude, or his loudness, his brashness, his poor social skills, his bad breath, his mullet. Maybe Vlad had gravitated to Jack because deep down he loved how superior it made him feel to surround himself with the likes of Jack Fenton… And now, he hated how enraged it made him to watch Maddie’s eyes skip past his to focus on Jack Fucking Fenton again and again and again and again.

But surely there was hope still. Surely it was a matter of time before the rose-tinted glasses fell away and Maddie saw bumbling and inept and every such word in the basket when she looked at Jack. There’d come the day she tested the waters with Vlad to complain about one of Jack’s little quirks, and they’d find solace together in all the things Vlad was that Jack wasn’t, and all the things Vlad had that Jack didn’t. And he’d be gone, back to bumble elsewhere, and it would be just them.

The day didn’t come. It wouldn’t come. And maybe Vlad needed to change himself for Maddie. If he listened to her and Jack’s ghost ramblings, if he could put Jack in his place and solve the things Maddie couldn’t, it would show her. She’d understand.

Because that was the thing about Jack. His math was never right. Enduring Calculus 1 with Jack was all it took to prove this to Vlad. How many times he’d caught a single error on a single line for Jack, like a dropped stitch that would unravel the whole sweater. Every problem, without exception. Jack only passed on his homework grade with Vlad’s help. On his tests, he failed.

So Vlad was staring at Jack’s equation, full of bogus math, which Vlad knew was wrong because Jack had penned it, and Vlad had not yet fixed it himself.

“I’m telling you Jack, it won’t work.”

“Bogus V-man it totally will!”

It wouldn’t. But Vlad wouldn’t fix it for him. Not yet. Vlad would let Jack embarrass himself first, fully in front of Maddie, watching on, judging. Vlad would solve it for her. After. Once Jack had made a fool of himself for the hundredth time since college began.

He leaned in to study the portal frame. The gears were turning in his head already. He didn’t hear the whir of the power source catch.

…

19. Vlad Masters was 19. A tube ran down his nose and into his lungs, supplying oxygen for lungs which were failed by a diaphragm sloughing itself away. He was poisoned from the outside-in. Irradiated by ecto-energy none of the nurses or doctors could fully understand. It damaged his DNA. First obvious in the skin of his face where the blisters of his ecto-acne drained and sloughed. “Acne” was the wrong word. An unkind word. They were boils where the blast had cooked his skin, microwaved his cells. The skin on his body blackened over time. Organs decayed. Vlad Master read a lot about radiation sickness. He knew everything he had to expect.

Jack and Maddie had stopped visiting. They were dating now. It was on their last visit they’d told him, and Vlad hadn’t taken it well, and he’d perhaps burned a few bridges with the words he chose. It was deserved. Considering what Jack did to him.

He’d found the error in Jack’s math, by the way. Errors, but all the rest paled in impact compared to the lambda. The ecto-energy. The necessary ecto-potential to pull the Ghost Zone here. How stupid. How idiotic. For Vlad to die to a machine so botched in its construction.

When Vlad was released from the hospital, it was not because they’d cured him. It had been because there is a certain cruelty in making a 19-year-old live the last of his days bedded down in a white-walled room with just his books, his equations, and no one coming to visit anymore.

He was released with bedrest instructions. Vlad did not heed them. In his beater car, every cell of his body aching, he drove. At the materials lab, he disconnected his oxygen tank and moved through the lab space with the tube dangling loose from his nostril. No one was Vlad Masters’ friend. No one cared to stare long at his ugly boil-ridden face. No one stopped him as he hauled sheet metal, and supports, and bolts and wiring and resistors and power tools, checked out with a valid student ID, from the lab. The lab inventory room would not be seeing these back.

It was a prep bunker, buried beneath a vast lot of empty Wisconsin land, that Vlad hauled his materials. He and Jack had discovered it as freshmen. Poked through its bowels with flashlights and quipped and laughed over how eerie it was. Deep beneath the sheetrock, boxy rooms carved out of walls of stone. Shelf upon shelf of dusty canned foods, and shotguns sealed in cases fastened to the walls. The locks had rusted with water damage.

His arms ached until they throbbed, dragging beams of metal across the stone floor, scratching chalk-mark stains into the ground. His skin sloughed, inflamed, burning to the touch. Vlad didn’t bother to rest, because these injuries would never heal anyway. He hauled, and welded, and wired up his circuitry and resistors with a care and caution Jack would never have bothered to practice. He checked it against his math by flashlight. He took naps on the cold stone floor and woke with deep purple bruises on every part of his body that had pressed against the ground.

His appetite left him. His lungs filled with mucus. The boils on his face had spread down to his chest, his shoulders. The touch of his shirt chafed them, so he worked without one, a figure of skeletal rib ridges jutting from tight skin that bloomed with the projection of his shadow against stone walls.

He knew why Jack’s math was wrong.

A silly mistake. A stupid mistake. Anyone with half a mind for the paranormal should have realized the Ghost Zone was not so easily at your beck and call. Not without chumming the water with something it would rise to feast on.

And in that violent death, what would happen to the ghost? It would stay, wouldn’t it? If it successfully anchored the Ghost Zone to the portal it stood inside, then by definition the ghost would stay?

And was that death? Yes, in a way. But it was a death one would get to keep living. As opposed to the death Vlad was headed for, whose coldness and finality scared Vlad more than anything he could put to words.

He’d fixed the oxygen tank back to himself. He couldn’t work without it, hauling it about on a little dolly with him, back and forth, while he fetched and affixed the last of the plating he needed to craft the frame of his silent soulless portal.

He’d stolen a generator from the sports storage shed. It was meant to be enough to power the portable stadium lights they hauled onto the fields for late games, an absolute obelisk meant to cast light across an entire football field.

Surely, it contained enough power to kill one simple human.

Vlad fixed the last bolt in place. Jumper cables clamped generator to portal wiring. It was a pure skeleton. A paltry thing, like the bones of something already picked clean. Built in haste, sloppy, by a 19-year-old whose fingers were too inflamed to clutch a wrench any longer.

He could have asked Jack for help. Maddie. But he wouldn’t let them have this. They had to solve the portal on their own. They didn’t get to know his hard work. They did not get to save him.

Vlad would save himself.

A ghost anchored to a body. What was that? What monster was that?

Vlad moved. He coughed mucus from his lungs. It made it hard to breathe. So he moved slowly, and crouched, bony jutting angles, painted blotchy purple, all bruises and skin, sloughing away.

He crouched, because the portal he’d constructed was not large enough to hold him standing up. He bowed inside it, a small thing, a pathetic man of little life. He wheezed. He hurt. His eyes burned.

And he held in his hands the remote to flip the generator switch, and connect the circuit, and bring to life the math Vlad had so kindly corrected out from under Jack’s grip.

Vlad did not. Because throwing the switch would kill him.

Deep in his animal brain, his dying brain, he knew this intimately. It filled him with a drowning fear like paralysis. He did not want to die.

He would die if he did nothing.

It would be this one throwing of the switch which could save him. Which would burst the portal to life right through his heart. Electrocute it out of its rhythm, slaughter him like a pig on spot and… maybe… hopefully… drag the Ghost Zone here. And whatever he was, dead, would stay.

And whatever he was, dead, would be better than this.

Vlad held the remote in his clammy hands.

And from within the humming skeleton of his portal, his fingers caressed the on button.

…

The portal sung its happy contentment, mused in its healthy green aura, staining all the slabs of rock wall. Danny swiveled his head, recognizing now the bunker this had been before it had been a laboratory.

“I’ve harmed no one, Daniel,” Vlad concluded, his voice too measured for the horrors it had spilled forth. Too calm against the blossoming terror its words had wrought across Danny’s face. “I opened the portal to save myself. You’re lucky, Daniel. It was because of my fast thinking that your father is not a murderer. I took that honor from him.” Vlad’s head tilted to the side, suddenly sympathetic. “Although, you’ve maybe made the title whole for him.”

Vlad reached out, Danny shot away.

“Dad didn’t kill me,” he choked. “I did this to myself.”

“How lucky Jack is, to always dodge responsibility for his actions.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Of course you don’t. If you believed me, you’d have to accept you’re not wriggling out of this. There’s no denial you can bring home to your parents. If you believe me, then this is reality.” Vlad smiled, a playful glint to his fangs. “I suppose I should have more sympathy. I quite like being this way. It is so much nicer than wasting away to death, like I was. But you. You were healthy before this. This killed you, and it didn’t save you from anything.” Vlad cocked his head. “Such tragic fates, both of us, due to the carelessness of Jack Fenton.”

Danny shook his head. His heart beat—his human heart beat—all too fast in his throat. It made him sick. It made him feel like the walls were closing in around him. This was Vlad’s doing. Vlad’s trap. Vlad’s prison he’d been forced to join.

"That's not true. I'm not like you."

“Of course not,” Vlad said, sweetly. “How sweet denial is. Deny it if you like. Call me a liar. But if you ever want to come to terms with what your father did to you, consider coming to me. I understand you in a way no one else will.”

Danny gave no response. He gave no acknowledgement of Vlad’s words. He took to the air, phased himself up through the sheetrock that had been packed atop the doomsday prepper bunker. Up through the mansion, which had been built atop the portal beneath it, and not the other way around. Into the open sky, he breathed fresh air not stagnant and damp beneath the ground, bathed in light pure white from the sun and not tainted green like the bowels underneath him.

And he flew back toward the portal that made him, leaving Vlad with the portal from which he’d made himself.

...

(inspiration post from @ciestess)

[iwas-princess]

request: y/n and suna come back from an event that went on too long and she’s too tired to do her skincare and change so he does it for her? i love seeing the pinterest couple pics where the girl is sitting on the counter and he’s brushing her teeth and washing her face for her 💗💗 ty so much for your consideration 🥰

suna rintaro • love sick

“wait just a second, princess.” suna instructed you, his right hand opening his car door as he spoke.

you halted your movements, pausing the action of unbuckling your seatbelt out of obedience for him. you already assumed what he was going to do, it was a unwritten rule of his every time the two of you went out.

your hands tuckered back into your lap as you watched him exit the car, catching him sending a wink your way as he shut the driver door, leaving you alone in the warm interior as he jogged around the front of the car, nearly slipping on ice ungracefully.

you let out a worried yelp at the slip of his foot, but was soon relieved when he grinned at you as a way of reassurance.

“jesus.” you mumbled to yourself, nearly having a heart attack just then.

rintaro walked it off like nothing had happened, smoothly recomposing himself for your view only. if it wasn’t for the freezing temperatures, you would have been able to notice the bright blush on his cheeks from embarrassment. but he played himself off well, as usual.

when he got to your side of the car, he hesitated slightly before opening the door. it would be cold out here for you, and you were exhausted, nearly spent already from socializing all night with friends. the sudden, harsh winter air would make you displeased and shivering for a few fleeting moments before entering the house, and suna just couldn’t have that.

he couldn’t have his precious princess be cold for any more than a millisecond or else he’s be very disappointed within himself.

deciding what his solution would be, he help up one finger at you through the window, signaling for you to be patient for one moment and he’d explain the change of plans later.

“what?” you questioned him, but he could only read your lips through the thick glass.

“one minute, baby. i’m going to go do something really quickly, hold on.” he halfheartedly explained.

you understood what you needed to in order to ask no more questions— both exhausted and lack of communication being a result.

your eyes followed him as he walked to the front door of your shared home, unlocking it and entering the house before shutting the door behind him after blowing you a gentle kiss for good measure, a way of telling you that everything is okay and he’ll be back shortly.

you sat back in the seat tiredly, the heated interior keeping you in a nice warm hug while you waited for him.

after only a few fleeting moments, you had forgotten about rintaro and found yourself falling into a soft slumber.

“c’mon, sweet girl, let’s get you inside.”

you awoke slightly when strong arms wrapped around your body, closely holding you tightly to his chest to secure and comfort you as he lifted you carefully out of the car, nudging the door closed with his knee once your were fully outside and safe in his arms.

“rinnie?” you sleepily mumbled, your eyes still closed gently as you called out to him.

he glanced down at you as he began to walk up the driveway, a small smile on his face at your sleepy state.

“yes, princess?”

“are we in bed, yet?”

he chuckled, causing his chest to rumble and you to whine at the vibrations against your body.

“not yet, special one. i’m carrying you inside— you fell asleep in the car.” he answered as he walked into the warm house, you wrapped in blanket in tow.

you stirred slightly at the change of lighting, the dark night sky in contrast to the warm yellow light the living room lamp provided becoming noticeable to you.

your eye were still shut, too tired to open them and welcome light in as you stayed bundled in your boyfriend’s arms.

“gonna have to set you on the couch, okay, pretty girl? i have to take our shoes off.” suna explained, his voice soft as he spoke at you, his eyes taking in your resting face.

you tiredly mumbled a barely coherent ‘yes’ in response, your cute cozy voice causing rintaro’s heart to swell and his stomach to warm up in pure happiness.

how he got to lucky with you was beyond him, but he wouldn’t trade you for the world. every little quirk of your’s had him tripping over his two feet in adoration, much to your disbelief. he didn’t care if you believed him though, because he could feel it in his bones the each centimeter of you was beautiful— especially now as you drool sleepyly in his arms.

he walked a few feet in front him, stopping to crouch down and ever so gently set you down on the velvet couch he had bought a few months prior as a anniversary present. your previous couch had been stained by your newly potty trained puppy and you were heartbroken over it, but as always, suna knew just what to do to cheer his princess up once more.

the feeling of a soft cushion cradling your head had you nuzzling into the feeling, rubbing your flushed cheek against a throw pillow that suna placed there for under your head before lying you down.

a few moments passed before you were scooped up carefully again, your favorite blanket wrapped cozyly around you, granting you infinite warmth.

“alright, princess. now it’s time for bed.” he sighed, relieved.

you were too tired to understand much, only the nickname kissing your ears like a song. but, you trusted that rintaro would do whatever was in your best interest no matter how sleepy you were.

he made his way to the bedroom, continuing to carry you effortlessly throughout the house as you slept peacefully in his arms. he often glanced down at you, finding a small proud smile on his face as he did so.

you were everything to him, nothing else mattered when he was around you. his only focus in those moments were taking the best care of you that he could and making sure you were safe and happy. all of which you seemed to be in this moment.

rintaro watched you thrive tonight as you spoke to all of your friends at the holiday party, and he couldn’t have been seen happier in the corner. his face held a grin all night, a proud smile he wore for everyone to see as they passed him by. the other guests probably assumed that he was one of two things: either high or just had the best sex of his life— but he wasn’t even close to their unclean thoughts. suna rintaro was lovesick, so lovesick that you surrounded his whole night— even on the rare occasion that you were out of his protective sight. you occupied his thoughts every minute, the way you spoke to everyone with such kindness and consideration, the way you let some of them cut you off mid sentence but were careful to bite back if someone off hand was said, the way you gave him sweet reassuring glances every two minutes to make sure he was having a good time and welcome to join your conversation whenever, the way you blew him kisses when you passed by him to go into another room— everything about the way you glew at that engagement party had suna feeling like a hopeless romantic.

as he neared the bedroom, only being two steps away from it, you stirred slightly causing him to gently stop momentarily to check on you. this allowed him to also use this as an opportunity to admire your unconscious state.

‘a true sleeping beauty’ he thought to himself.

your eyes were relaxed, an eyelid delicately draped over them like a blanket.

your mouth was open slightly, leaking drool that pooled in the corner of your mouth. the same mouth the suna kissed every morning and night, and dreamed of stealing more when he couldn’t.

but, as he stared down at you, he noticed how dolled up you still were. you still had your makeup on, a tad but smudged but there and your hair was neater than usual.

“fuck.” he whispered under his breath in realization.

the bathroom wasn’t too far from where he was now, just a few feet behind him, but he didn’t want to move too much in fear of waking the sleeping princess. but, he could manage.

carefully, he turned around as smoothly he could without swinging you around in his arms, his sockclad feet skillfully shifting with little to no motion beyond his torso. glancing down at you, suna nearly sighed in relief to find you still sound asleep.

he confidently but carefully took a few steps before making his way to the bathroom.

“rinnie?” you mumbled dreamily.

his heart almost stopped, had not been gently enough?

“yes, princess?”

you opened your eyes, blinking up at him sleepily.

“i still have my dress on and it’s uncomfy.” you whined softly.

he smiled at your cuteness but sympathized with your uncomfortable feeling.

“i know, sweetheart. i’m going to take you into here and get you all cleaned up and ready for bed, okay?”

you pouted but nodded slowly, dreading having to wake soon to get unready.

———

after a few minutes of unexplained moment, you finally opened your eyes to find suna looking down at you as he cradled you in his arms. you quickly recognized that he was standing in your shared bathroom, the familiar dim light of the mirror giving it away.

“hey, beautiful. i have to wash your pretty face off, okay? you have makeup on.” he softly explained when confusion flashed your face.

“oh.”

he smiled and nodded in agreement before leaning over and eventually attempting to sit you up on the counter. little to no words were exchanged between you two as you repositioned, the action being understood by you quickly.

he reached behind your right side, sliding your cleanser forward before giving your nose a soft kiss.

“wait,” you interjected. “i need the makeup remover first before the cleanser…” you corrected.

he nodded understandingly, murmuring a quick ‘thank you, baby’ in return before correcting his almost mistake by placing the larger bottle of micellar water from near the light switch, next to the cleanser.

“this stuff?”

you hummed in agreement, a sleepy haze coating your eyes as he glanced back at you, taking note of how beat you looked. he’ll be sure to get you all nice and tucked in when the two of you finally lay down for the night, the best princess burrito he could muster.

rintaro leaned over closer to you, his strong scent filling the empty air between the two of you causing you to wake slightly but not enough to pull you out of your dozed off state. you’re eyes were open but you had zoned out within the few silent moments, brain foggy and peaceful. his catlike eyes narrowed at you, enjoying the beautiful sight of you so serene. it was like you were an enchantress, your beauty lit up his whole soul, opening him up with light and covering all of his shadowy spots with your glow.

“you’re so fucking beautiful, princess.” he mumbled. “all mine too.”

your lashes fluttered shut, a carelessly swift motion that sent suna’s heart on fire.

“tired.” you groggily mumbled.

“i know, sweet girl. let’s get you all cleaned up, yeah?”

he briefly caressed your hair lovingly before turning the faucet on and squirting a pump of face wash into his open hand.

“one or two pumps?”

you hummed out your answer, a low effort attempt to answer him.

“what was that, princess? gonna have to speak up for me.”

“t-two.”

he obliged, dispensing another glop and lathering it to foam under the running water.

“now, you’re gonna have to wake up a little more, okay? i’m sorry, babygirl, i know you’re tired.” suna gently sympathized, his large callused hands wet with foamy makeup remover.

you let a light whine pass your lips, frustration and exhaustion bubbling in your chest cavity and threatening to flood the bathroom, taking your beautiful boyfriend with it. but, you obliged; opening your bloodshot eyes and being greeted with the domestic sight.

he stood in front of you now, only about two inches of space left between you. his hands were facing up, arms slightly extended to keep the soap from getting on him or dripping everywhere. rintaro’s eyes watched you intently, awaiting your ‘okay’ to wet your face and wash away the day.

but the only thing you could focus on was the scent that filled the air; suna’s scent. the delightful musk of his cologne mixed with fresh linens and a warm scented candle you lit earlier that day embraced your lungs as you breathed in, causing your heart to warm up and a small content smile to graze your lips.

“what’s that pretty smile for?” rintaro asked, his expression mirroring your own.

“just love you so much. feel like home…”

“i feel like home? or this house feels like home?”

you paused, inhaling the comforting aroma once more. this time his icy cologne overpowered the other smells, giving you a nostalgic feeling and a fond memory of yours clouded your vision.

it was late last june, the third summer you had spent with suna wrapped around your finger and this particular night just proved how true that started was. you were sat on this very counter top, your nightgown stained with the green clay mask that suna sloppily applied on your face. your arms were outstretched in front of you, your fingers gently tracing his face and leaving a thick layer of clay trailing behind them with ever inch of skin you graze. his strong hands rested firmly on your hips, thumbs rubbing the clothed skin lovingly.

“is it supposed to sting? because right now it’s stinging.” rintaro asked, his voice filling the silent bathroom.

you chuckled at his childishness, his pain tolerance low.

“yes, just slightly though— nothing harsh. it means it’s working, as long as it isn’t too bad. is it?” you replied.

he shrugged gently, his hands still firmly placed on your generously loved hips. oh, how much he loved your hips.

“nothing major or irritating. just… different.”

you paused the motions of your hands, focusing your attention on the tranquil expression that graced his face. as if he wasn’t already stunning…

his eyes were rested, gently shut and relaxed as you applied the face mask to his already clear face. whispering promises of relaxation and baby soft skin. he trusted you, allowing you to put whatever you desired on him without question.

“you look so pretty, rinnie.”

he chuckled, slightly flattered but used to your compliments by now.

“i bet you look even prettier, princess. my pretty princess.”

your eyes nearly rolled back in ecstasy at the last statement, your tummy infested with butterflies that had just got a sudden burst of energy. 

“my pretty princess.” you tiredly mumbled, the memory of that beloved night leaking into reality accidentally.

he furrowed his brows at you, confused to say the least but sure you had a good reason behind it… at least he hoped.

“what, dollface?”

“you called me your pretty princess the night we did face masks for the first time. don’t you remember?” you explained, hopeful that the memory was dear to him as well.

you and suna were both very madly in love; truly, deeply in love. so in love that both of your friends were so sick of hearing how much you meant to one another, hearing brag upon brag about how amazing the other was. but the worst wasn’t even in conversation— no, it was the way he spoke to you.

you meant the entire world to him, and he was absolutely sure that there was nothing that trumped you in anything; beauty, intelligence, kindness, affection— all of the traits that rintaro was sure you were the best at. his most fond memories of you were selected carefully, hand picked by himself going off of a system he called love.

anytime he felt like his heart was going burst, or when his palms would pool with sweat out of nerves, or whenever you both did something for the first time together— he would hold those special moments as close to his heart as he manage.

so yes, he did in fact remember the particular night you are reminiscing.

“mhm.” he hummed back. “f’ course i remember, sweetie.”

you smiled tiredly, your eyes hardly open but still trying.

“you called me your pretty princess.” you repeated.

suna’s cheeks tinted pink at the way your voice sounded, as if you were dreaming and he was everything you could ever wanted.

and he was.

“i always call you that.” he deadpanned.

why was that particular name sticking to you? it wasn’t an unusual occurrence for those exact words to slip out of his mouth when addressing you, so why were you so hung up on it now?

“yeah- but this was different. you said it like you meant it-“

“i always mean it. always.” his voice was authoritative, as if he was ordering you gently to correct your thoughts.

like a king, ordering his insecure queen to trust his love, demanding that she change her course of thought before he beheads her.

or at least that’s what your groggy mind concocted.

“but this was the first. the first time that i felt you meant it. i could feel the love and security behind your words, even if there were only three of them.”

rintaro was silent, his rough hands foamy and awaiting your approval to wash away the exhausting party. but, he couldn’t think of that right now. all that filled his lovesick brain was how beautifully romantic your soul was, and how it took everything he ever said to heart.

a few fleeting moments passed as he continued to think, a calm silence building in the air before a cheeky grin spread across his face.

“fuck, i just love you so much. you’re so damn fucking sweet, y’know that? my princess is so goddamn sweet and lovely. i just love you. so so much, baby. don’t ever change, please.” suna rambled, a large smile on his face as he spoke.

he placed a kiss to you lips, quick but enchanting before he finally quirked a brow at you, suggesting that he was ready to get this over with. you nodded, consenting him to clean your makeup off at last.

“wet my face a bit first. it’ll come off easier.” you mumbled.

he hissed out a ‘shit’ before rapidly looking around for a washcloth to wet and gently rub on your face to dampen it as you suggested.

you quickly caught on and told him to just rinse off his hands and pat the wetness onto your face before his hands dried.

“are you sure?”

“yes. it’s not like you’re dirty or anything. i suck on your fingers all the time, i’m sure i won’t get any dirtier from this than that.”

he smirked at the mention of his slender fingers in your mouth, suddenly craving the sight and feeling of it. but, he had enough courtesy to wait until before you drifted off in bed soon.

the action wasn’t sexual when you did it, neither of you saw it that way. it was more of a comfort thing for you, and suna sure did enjoy watching you so content just from suckling on his fingers. his.

with a small sigh of self-dissatisfaction, rintaro reached his hand into the sink and nudged the faucet on with his large ring finger.

“suna?”

he ran his hands under the water as he let out a quite hum.

“would it be okay if you could undress me too?”

“of course, princess. i was going to anyway.”

“really? it wouldn’t be weird?”

he furrowed his brows once more.

“why would it, doll? i’ve seen all of you many times, and i adore it. sexually or not.”

your heart swelled.

“what would i do without you?”

he chuckled as his hands turned clean and wet, taking them out of the running sink to wet your face with them.

“nah, sweetheart. the real question is; what would i do without you? my life would be so meaningless without a pretty princess to take care of. who’s door would i open? who’s food would i cut up? who’s pretty feet would i kiss and rub on?” rintaro questioned, taking a pause to place his warm wet hands on your face.

you sighed at the warmth, the water being the perfect temperature for relaxation. plus, his slender hands felt so comforting on your tired face, allowing your eyes to close at the feeling of your cheeks being caressed by your love.

“i love you so much, rinnie.” you mumbled. “thank you for taking such good care of me all of the time. i-i can’t imagine my life without you.”

he huffed out a adoring laugh, leaning down and giving your nose a gentle kiss.

“the pleasure is all mine, sweet girl.”

[lunamugetsu]

House Husband Danny

(Remember this post I made: Danny is a househusband. Well I decided to make it into a story) Crossposted from AO3. Here's a link

Location: Unknown, Date: Unknown

Three figures emerged from a glowing pit of green water, gasping for air as they dragged themselves out.

A man with dark skin was breathing heavily and went to shake the pale man with dark hair that was still unconscious. He paused as another hand was raised motioning for him to stop. He looked over at the women with long black hair.

“He’s tired, let him rest.” She said

“What are we going to do?” the woman merely smiled as she turned to fix the damp hair that was covering the unconscious man’s face.

“Simple… Danny will rest and heal…and we will live like the rulers we are.” She turned to look at her other partner.

“Yes… we will,” he confirmed as they both smiled while looking at their love.

Present Day

Danny hummed as he put away the newly washed dishes from dinner.

Ah, how nice it was to be in a home where the food didn’t come alive and try to declare war on him.

One less thing to worry about.

Now that dinner was eaten and leftovers were put away. He could focus on the package that came in the mail, he had been waiting for it for weeks.

Tucker and Sam had called ahead to say that they were working late.

What a shame.

Danny sat down in the living room and turned on the tv while cracking open the package.

“This is Lois Lane reporting for the Daily Planet! Breaking news as the Justice League members Superman and Wonder Woman are fighting off villains in Metropolis! They have been identified as the new villains: Upload and Nightshade. They made their first appearance known to the world a couple months ago- JIMMY LOOK OUT!”

The camera shook for a moment before stabilizing showing Superman was holding onto Lois Lane and Wonder Woman was holding onto the cameraman.

“It’s not safe here, please evacuate to a safer area.” Superman said before speeding off with Wonder Woman following close behind.

“Jimmy get a shot! That’s Nightshade!” the reporter said pointing to a large plant-like monster made of vines and thorns that was the size of a skyscraper. The cameraman zoomed in on the figure that was currently sitting on the monster’s shoulder. A woman with long black hair that appeared as if it was almost floating in an ethereal manner. She was a pale woman wearing a black skintight bodysuit with matching thigh high boots, black bandages were wrapped around her forearms while her hands lit up with a neon green energy along with her eyes. Nightshade smiled, turning to look straight into the direction of the camera before saying some words that the camera couldn’t pick up before humongous vines started filling up the camera’s screen, the sound of screaming could be heard before the feed was cut.

“That doesn’t look good,” Danny commented before turning back to the open package.

Ooh, that fabric did feel as soft as it was advertised! He better try it on to see it fit. He knew he checked the measurements before placing the order but still, mistakes always happened. He was also still a little hungry, perhaps some fruit from the fridge would be good.

It was a couple of minutes before the for the news to come back on. Danny sat down on the couch, sporting a plate of fruit with a side of whipped cream to dip it in. He plopped one into his mouth as the tv started airing the news again.

The camera lens managed to stay undamaged as the camera man and the reporter were taking cover behind the corner of a building focusing on the figure that was currently standing in front of a fallen Superman that was grimacing as the green light from the glowing rock in the figure’s gloved hand seemed to intensify. It also didn’t help that there appeared to be a set of special cuffs that were encasing the superheroes hands, forcing them together.

“And here I was thinking that defeating you couldn’t be that easy… well then again. Can’t expect a superhero to just not react to their greatest weakness. Kryptonite wasn’t really hard to track down who had a stash of these, it was even easier to take it. ” The figure was a man with dark skin with long dreadlocks and was wearing a visor that covered hi eyes from view. He wore a long coat with short sleeves letting people see the robotic gloves that went up all the way up his arms. The camera picked up a hum emanating from the robotic arms and crack of electricity.

“Why? Why are you doing this, Upload?” Superman said as he made to force himself to stand despite his bound hands.

“Hmm, wealth, fame, power, pettiness, destroying all the buildings I want without needing to pay for it, or maybe I just don’t like people who call themselves heroes,” Upload said as he moved to the side as Wonder Woman was thrown into a building.

“Truly, I thought they’d give more of a challenge,” Nightshade commented as the plant-monster then slammed a hand down onto Wonder Woman encasing the superhero in vines  making it practically impossible for the woman to rip out of.

Danny hummed as he looked at the news.

He should probably help… he stuck a strawberry into his mouth.

“How do you think we should do this, Nightshade? Slowly and methodical, or fast and exciting?” Upload turned to look at Nightshade.

“Obviously, something with mo-“

RING! RING! RING!

The two supervillains looked towards each other. Upload taking out a phone from his pocket while Nightshade motioned for the plant monster to give her, her bag so she could take out her phone.

“Hello/Hello.” Thy said answering their phone in unison.

“You’re hungry?” Nightshade asked.

“We did say we were working late, you’re welcome to eat out if you want- huh? I mean, what are you wearing?” Upload said

The two paused and looked at each other.

“The thing you ordered a couple weeks ago?” Upload said, “the red one?”

“That’s made with silk?” Nightshade hands were clenching down onto her phone.

“And you’re eating,” Upload looked over at Nightshade.

“Strawberries and whipped cream,” She said.

Ding! Ding!

The two turned to their phone at having received a message. The villains looked at their phone  and then to each other.

“We’ll be there in ten!” they said in unison before putting away their phones.

It happened quickly.

With a wave her hand, all of the plants started retreating back away from the superheroes while saying some words that the camera couldn ’t pick up and a portal opened right next to her.

Meanwhile Upload placed the kryptonite into a contain while hitting some buttons that were on his gloves and the cuffs that were on Superman unlocked and fell off the man ’s wrists.

Nightshade motioned for the now human-sized plant monster to walk through the portal while Upload was walking up to her.

“Wait! Where do you think you’re goin-” Wonder Woman and Superman held their ears as a loud sound echoed out a tool that Upload threw on the ground.

“Oh no! How dare you heroes foil our evil plan!” Nightshade said in a dead tone before grabbing Upload by his collar, “c’mon we gotta go!”

The two ran into the portal, disappearing out of sight, leaving nothing but the aftermath of the destruction of the fight they had with the two heroes.

“I’m sorry, what the heck just happened?!” Lois Lane said, turning to look at the camera.

Danny hummed as he turned off the tv and took his plate of food with him as he got off the couch.

He needed to get upstairs, after all, Sam and Tucker weren’t going to be working late after all.

The man sat himself into the master bedroom, it had a bed that was an Alaskan King size. Largest size of bed they could find, could easily fit a whole family of four on it. He didn’t even know beds came in that size.

Danny continued humming as he settled himself down in the middle of the bed. The sheets were made of Egyptian cotton. Ethically sourced, of course. Sam wouldn’t stand sleeping on something that was made by a company that destroyed the environment while simultaneously overworking and underpaying their employees. Tucker had come to the rescue, buying a set of sheets on his last trip from Egypt. They had to custom order it especially since their bed didn’t fit the common dimensions that mass production usually went by.

But he wasn’t complaining, the bed was really… nice.

He laid back against the pillows, wearing nothing but the little red number that came in the mail that day.

He dipped a strawberry into the whipped cream and took a bite out of it. Giving a hum as he enjoyed the taste. It was so nice not to have to worry about anything. No ghosts trying to kill him, no government agency trying to track him down to vivisect and kill him, no parents trying to shoot, vivisect, and kill him- Danny wondered if that was a normal amount of people to have to want to kill him.

Whatever, it didn’t matter anymore.

He smiled as he heard the sound of the front door being slammed open and shut followed by a furious pattering sound of feet going up the stairs. He hoped they’d taken their shoes off when they got in. He just vacuumed the house that afternoon.

The door to the bedroom opened with a bang as he saw Sam and Tucker, wearing their civilian clothing that they had clearly just thrown on with no thought of whether or not they should straighten out any of the clothes or at least to check if they put on their shirt inside out. It was a rule though, never bring work home, it always brought trouble. They had enough trouble dealing with ghosts to last a lifetime, let alone the afterlife.

“I’m hungry,” Danny said while taking  a bite of a strawberry and licking off cream that caught on his lip. He could see them already looking at his mouth and trailing their eyes across the new article of clothing he was wearing.. The man curled his finger to motion for them to come closer.

“Come and feed me.” He smiled as his partners joined him in bed.

Ah, it was so nice when his partners didn’t work late nights.

[leonardalphachurch]

i was trying to figure out how to make tucker be less shitty in a way that would work in canon without making it sound like a Very Special Episode about it and settled on the answer that he’s genuinely trying to improve but just. really dumb about it. like so:

tucker: im sorry, kai, i guess what i said to you was… misogyny?

kai: yeah… you know, you should talk to my hr rep. she’s the one who taught me i shouldn’t take my shirt off in front of my employees

tucker: what? why?

kai: apparently having my tits out makes people “uncomfortable”

tucker: who would be uncomfortable about your tits? they’re awesome!

kai: i know, right! but i don’t wanna make anyone uncomfy, so these puppies stay in their cages

tucker: well i don’t wanna make anyone uncomfy either… you know, if you were a dude i bet people wouldn’t care if you took your shirt off— oh my god. thats misogyny!

later

tucker: wash, guess what! i learned what misogyny is

wash: …what?

tucker: well, yknow, like, i knew what it was but did you know that, like, it’s still an issue that affects women in real life?

wash: ……………y. yes.

tucker: i know! crazy right? hey, carolina!

camera pans to carolina, who was standing right there the whole time

tucker: it sucks that you can’t take your shirt off in public. i think you should be able to take off your shirt AND not have guys make any comments about your tits, even if they’re awesome.

wash: do you want me to punch him or do you want to do it yourself

carolina: no, no, i… think this is actually an improvement

[juletheghoul]

Dinner Date

Authors note: I can't stop thinking about neighbour!Joel and I've decided to make that your problem, affectionately (Thanks to my bestie @wheresarizona for encouraging me!) Enjoy!

Pairing: Young Joel Miller x F!Reader

Word count: 1.3k

Warnings: 18+ no minors, piv sex, dirty talk, creampie, let me know if I missed any!

Masterlist Series Masterlist

He groaned when he got up from the table, pointedly ignoring the way Sarah teased him at the sound. Tutting to himself at her you can do it old man and carrying the plates to your kitchen with a proud, above-it-all expression. 

“You should help clear the dishes, instead of teasin’ your old man.” He finally called back, unable to stay silent. You laugh quietly with her, conspirators, giggles mixed with the clinks of dishes and utensils hitting the sink. 

Tucker’s collar jingles as he walks over to Sarah where she sits at your dining table, no doubt begging for scraps now that he knows the meal is over. Her attention turns to him while yours goes back to Joel, admiring the outline of him standing over your sink. He’d put on a nicer t-shirt, one that showed the strong lines of his back, one that made it incredibly hard to keep your hands off him. 

“After I finish clearing the table, is it okay if I take Tucker for a walk?” Her voice pulled your attention from him, “Would that be okay?” She’d said the magic word. Tucker’s tail was waving wildly, practically jumping in place. 

“Of course, don’t worry about the dishes–I can take care of it. He might keep you out there longer than you’re planning on being though.” You laugh at his impatience. 

“Oh that’s okay!” She hands you the dishes in her hands and heads toward the door, the dog hot on her heels and within a few very fidgety moments she manages to get him leashed and out the door. 

“Be careful!” Joel calls out from the kitchen, his eyes fixed on her through the window above the sink. 

“She’ll be fine.” You slide in beside him, stacking more dishes. He notices the closeness, and the solitude then, a rare moment alone since this whole thing started and he’s quick to seize it. Big hands land on your hips and you sigh, leaning back to feel the bulk of him pressed against you tight. 

“Think we got time?” His voice is sinful in your ear, his lips press soft kisses to your shoulders and it’s everything you’d been daydreaming about since the moment you opened your eyes that morning. The feel of him surrounding you, the citrusy smell of his body wash, the soft clean laundry scent of his clothes. 

“I think so.” You turn your head to the side, bracing your hands against the counter to push the swell of your ass against his groin. He moans low, a firm grip on your hips so he can grind against you in the sunny, quiet kitchen. 

“Better be quick then.” he pulls away momentarily and your pulse is racing, hurriedly pulling up your skirt, listening for the clink of his belt and the sound of the zipper. “Good christ woman–” He breathes the words out before turning your face for a misaligned kiss, one palm sliding up to hold onto the weight of your breast before it slips down towards where you’re already dripping for him. “I’m so fuckin’ hard for you it hurts.” His tongue is as obscene as his words, one hand sliding into your panties to cup your pussy while the other keeps a firm hold onto the column of your neck. 

He held you there, your noses touching, breaths shared while his fingers slipped between the lips of your sex. You made to look down but he only held you tighter, a delicious pressure that made you gasp. 

“Stay there, I wanna look at your pretty face.” His eyes took in everything, the almost pained expression, the shaky exhale when he dipped into the mouth of your cunt to wet his fingers in your arousal. “Already wet for me, you been thinkin’ about this?” He nudged your nose with his as his fingers circled the plump little berry of your clit. 

“God yes–” You watched his lips, standing almost on your tip toes as his fingers kept up their dizzying rhythm. “Thought about you fucking me all day.” You stick your tongue out, licking at his top lip for a moment before he crashes his mouth to yours. He licks into it while his fingers slip back down, slipping two inside, easing the growing ache of emptiness. 

“Joel–” You moan, trying to focus on your words, “Baby, we don’t have much time, stick it in me already.” He lets out a breath and it’s almost a laugh, he pulls his fingers away and sticks them into his mouth. 

“So goddamn sweet.” He says it mostly to himself, moving quick to pull his cock out. You hurry to spread your legs when he taps his foot against yours, leaning against the counter to brace yourself. The anticipation is almost too much, the seconds between the switch more akin to hours, days. 

You wiggle your ass against him for a moment and he laughs, one hand holding a fistful of your dress while the other wrenches down your panties, that same hand landing a solid crack on your ass before you feel the hardness of him swiping through your folds. 

His first thrust is brutal, it knocks the air out of your lungs. 

“Oh fuck baby–” He groans, almost pained, pulling you up to meet the solid wall of his chest. “Gonna make me come so fast.” His breath at your neck makes a shiver run down your spine, drawing out more of your slick to coat him, enough to drip out around him and onto your thighs. 

“Do it, come inside me.” Your hand travels up and around to hold onto the back of his head, threading through the soft waves of his hair and he lets out a pleasurable hiss when you hold onto a fist full of it. 

“Not before you soak me.” He lets go of your dress to pull one side of your neckline down with one hand, while the other slides down and around to find your clit. They work in tandem, one plucking and massaging your breast while the other circles your clit with breathtaking precision. He’s a well-oiled machine and he pushes you towards your release without mercy. 

It crashes into you with a force that makes you lock up around him.

“There we fuckin’ go.” He speeds up, the wet sounds of your joining filling the kitchen for a moment before he squeezes you tight, grinding himself as deep as he can get, filling you to the brim just how he likes. 

He waits for a moment, breathing hard, pressing kisses to your neck, pulling the other breast out because he's never satisfied with just one. You can feel the evidence of his climax inside but it’s done nothing to calm him, if anything it’s made him more feral for you. His teeth bite at your shoulder, his hands wander from your breasts to your hips, to the globes of your ass. 

“Good Christ woman, I could just eat you up.” He turns your head again to kiss you as best he can, “You know that?” He’s looking at you strangely, almost confused. Pensive.

“You okay?” You scratch at his scalp, you know he’s somewhere else but the look is gone in a flash and he's smiling once more. 

“Better than okay, annoyed because I can’t throw you on the bed and clean you up with my tongue but–” He hisses when he pulls out, moving quick to find something to clean you both up, “There’s always time for that later.”

“Oh there better be, I’m not done with you yet either.” You turn towards him after, wrapping your arms around his neck to kiss him properly. He smiles after, burying his face in your neck, laughing when you squeal from his facial hair. 

By the time Sarah comes home, you’re both presentable, but the looks linger and you know he’s watching the time, counting down the hours until she’s in bed and you can both continue where you left off.

---

Tag list: @foli-vora @frannyzooey @greeneyedblondie44 @lola4pedro @ezrasbirdie @221bshrlocked @artsymaddie @supernaturalgirl20 @sleep-tight1 @sherala007 @marydjarin @cannedsoupsucks @thirstworldproblemss @ilikechocolatemilkh @freeshavocadoooo @hrk-fic-recs @maxwell--lord @princessxkenobi @the-feckless-wonder @kirsteng42 @thisshipwillsail316 @feministfanboi @dihra-vesa @stevie75 @readsalot73 @pedrostories @tobealostwanderer @mandocrasis @elegantduckturtle @diogodxlot @alczysz17 @evyiione @absurdthirst @beskarboobs @andruxx @littlemissoblivious @1800-fight-me @maievdenoir @gracie7209 @omlwhatamidoinghere @magikfanatic @frankiecatfish @mrs-ghuleh @pedritoispunk @studythoreauly @missswriter @pintsizemama @mswarriorbabe80 @a-trial-run-on-paper @la-le-lu @chickadee-djarin @dobbyjen @rosiefridayrogersunday @ajeff855 @johnsrevelation @the-witty-pen-name @zombiesnips-blog @quica-quica-quica @sarahjkl82-blog @fan-of-encouragement @queenofthecloudss @deadhumourist @felicisimor @sophiefatale2495 @toomanystoriessolittletime @what-iwish-you-knew @pedrostories @athalien @bi-thewayy @literallydontlook @pedrosbrat @gamingaquarius @localddreamers @luxmundee @iamafadedmoon @nakhudanyx @littlemisspascal @grogusmum @recklessworry @heyitmelexie @killyspinacoladas @gothicxbarbie @evildxad @dragonslarimar @spideysimpossiblegirl @chemtrail-mix @maievdenoir @breezythesimp @altarsw @artooies-scream @staygolddindjarin @softsweetedbeauty @littlemisspascal @yuiopiklmn @squidwell @allthatsleftbehind @just-blogging-around @bbyanarchist @girlofchaos @maddiedrmr @frasmotic @acourtofsnakes @buckybarneshairpullingkink @astoryisaloveaffair @harriedandharassed @swtaura @send-me-to-valhalla @shirks-all-responsibilities @androah @alwaysachorusgirl @dindjarinsmut @captain-jebi @gallowsjoker @oliviajdjarin @actuallyanita @tusk89 @dadbodfanatic-x @naiomiwinchester @blazedprince @rosymythologies @avidreader73 @mr-underhills-things @avengersfan25 @tastygoldentaters

[cahboose]

My cringe red vs blue 19 opinions. Spoilers, obvs.

Yes it's different, but I actually PREFER the new Caboose voice actor. He doesn't do the annoying inflection Joel did and his manner of speaking is way less annoying to me.

I don't care about how many callback characters they used [ One, 479er, Kai ] ect, when they completely ignored Donut.

On that subject, hated the scene where Simmons threw the memory unit, that should've been Donut. He should've failed.

Didn't care about Sarges death for one second. Killing off a main character in such a jokey way takes out any depth. His final speech to Simmons and Grif was poorly written anyways.

Tucker having 0 impact after the AI leave is so questionable. I know it's already foreshadowed in the beginning that everyone experience with AI overtake is different, and you can sum it up to him not remembering because he didn't have Epsilon (?) or to just traumatic memory block, but Tucker WAS 'there' in moments, so the fact he didn't remember anything -- or comment on killing sarge, and his last interaction with the series was a 'hot nurse' off screen joke was just bad. Especially if you consider how the Meta affected Maine, or even having multiple / strong AI affected Carolina and Wash. Everything else involving Meta Tucker was great though.

Tex being the one to come back (which not to brag, I called.) was crazy good. Like. Sickening good.

Carolina or Washington should have been one of the main characters to die, not Sarge.

Killing Doc off screen was such a weird choice. Did call that he was a hallucination though.

20 years of queerbating grimmons was incredibly funny of them.

The ending showing all the freelancers except wyoming was so fucking funny.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for being "obsessed" with my neighbor's dog?

Not entirely sure how else to word this. I'm not sure I did anything wrong, but when I talked to a friend about it they said I was being creepy and I'm open to other opinions here.

I (F27) love dogs, but sadly I can't have one because I'm allergic. It's not a deathly allergy, just if I'm around dog hair and dander for too long my nose starts running and my eyes start itching. So I'm fine if I pass by one in public, or pet one and wash my hands after, but I can't have a dog in my house laying on my furniture and bed and getting hair on my clothes.

About a year ago I had a new neighbor move in we'll call Alice (F30), and Alice has a pit bull we'll call Cain. She actually came and knocked on my door and told me she just wanted to warn me she had a large dog who looks scary and barks a lot, but she'll try to keep him quiet and only let him out during the day so hopefully he won't interrupt my sleep. I told her I didn't mind and I asked if I could toss treats over the fence if I saw him outside and she said yes, I could even come pet him if I wanted. That he looks scary but he's a big sweetie. She even told me she was relieved I didn't freak out about living next to a huge pit bull, and that she had to move from her last place because people kept complaining and saying she shouldn't own such a "dangerous animal".

I won Cain over pretty quickly, because I would carry milk bones in my car and toss him some whenever I saw him out in the yard. Eventually he would see me coming and run up to the fence demanding treats and pets. Then I got permission from Alice to come in her yard to pet him, which I did probably a couple times a week and only when she was home (but not always while she was outside, sometimes she was inside). Then Alice told me how she had to start working double shifts at her job and was worried Cain would tear her house up from the lack of exercise and attention, so I offered to walk him everyday. She told me where she hid her spare house key and left his leash and some water bottles on her porch. I would come over everyday and walk Cain and hang out in her yard with him, then put him back inside when he was tuckered out. I never went in her house.

I thought we had a pretty good thing going. I got along great with Cain and hanging out with him was scratching the itch I sometimes get to have a dog, but I know he's not mine. And Alice comes home to a happy and sleepy pup to cuddle with at night. But recently a video game came out where you can adopt pets, and one of the adoptable dogs looks strikingly like Cain. I adopted that dog in the game and sent Alice a picture of the dog with a joking text that said "He's finally all mine! Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

Alice didn't text me back that night, and the next day she said she'd prefer if I didn't come over to her house anymore. I asked if she was okay, and she just said she wasn't feeling comfortable with our arrangement anymore. Now I think she's purposely keeping Cain in when I go to work or come home, because he's never out anymore. I haven't seen her or him in a couple weeks, and when I try to call her it goes straight to voicemail. I told my friend what happened and he said I was being creepy and too obsessed with Cain. Was I?

What are these acronyms?

[bejeweledblondie]

A Royal Baby

Captain John Price x F! Royalty Reader

Summary: the final part in my royalty series, I thought finishing it out with a baby would be best!

Warnings: childbirth, mentions of sex, nudity, throwing up & anxiety

Y/N had always loved waking up like this, wrapped in John’s arms. Inhaling his masculine scent of cigars & bourbon. She smiled to herself & ran her delicate fingers along his arm. They had been married for three months now & after a romantic honeymoon in the south of France they had returned to London. With his morning wood poking her the back she was reminded of the many times they consummated their marriage. She’ll never forget the embarrassment of a her security hearing them. Their welsh corgi a gift from Y/N’s grandmother jumped up onto the bed & started to lick her face.

She giggled & wiggled herself out of John’s grasp.

“Alright, alright I’m up.” She replied. John was still tuckered out from the flight home. She admired his chest leading down to his happy trail. “How did I get so lucky?” She whispered to herself. When she went to go swing her legs over to the side of the best to put her slippers on a wave of nausea washed over her. Hastily putting her beloved pet on the bed & ditching the slippers she sprinting to the toilet. Holding her hair back & lifting up the lid she emptied the contents from her stomach. Last night’s dinner was floating in the water in front of her. All the commotion must’ve woken John up as she felt his hand soothingly rubbing her back. Finally once she was done, she flushed the toilet & rest back up against John.

“Were you feeling this ill when we left Paris yesterday?” He asked still rubbing her back.

“I don’t think so, I don’t know what came over me I hate throwing up.” Y/N replied. “Let me brush my teeth at least so I can get this horrific taste out of my mouth. Then we will phone for the doctor to come take a look.” While she was brushing the taste of bile out of her mouth John was already one step ahead calling for the physician.

“He’ll be here in one hour love,” John said as he walked into the bathroom. “Why don’t you lie down for the remainder of time & I’ll have of the maids get you some tea.”

Soon enough within the hour there Y/N sat with an empty tea cup on her beside table & the Royal physician sitting beside her.

“Now you said you didn’t feel like this when you got home last night, right?” The Doctor asked.

“No I felt perfectly fine it was just this morning it came out of nowhere.” Y/N replied. John sat beside her holding her hand.

“Now I do have to ask,” the Doctor started. “You two have been sexually active I’m assuming?” A blush crept up on Y/N’s cheeks at the question.

“Yes,” John replied beating her to the punch. He knew how coy she was about their intimate life.

“Have you tried a pregnancy test?” She asked as she started to dig through her bag. Once she pulled one out & she handed it to Y/N. “Morning nausea is an early sign of pregnancy, & you had also mentioned previously your monthly is late. So it’s definitely possible. Go take the test & if it is negative give me a call. I have a great referral for the wonder OB if it’s positive.”

“Thank you doctor,” John replied. “Let me have one of the staff escort you out.” John lead the doctor to the door & one of the butler’s already stood there ready to escort her. Once he returned Y/N was already out of bed & urinating onto the stick. She laid out a piece of toilet paper & laid the stick on it. Who knew two minutes could by so slowly. Y/N was pacing the floor biting onto her nails trinternally processing what was happening.

“Love you’ll started a draft if you keep doing that.” John said & he walked over to comfort her. He outstretched his arms & pulled her in for a deep hug. “Whatever happens, remember I still love you remember that.” The timer had gone off signifying that the test was done. They both walked into the bathroom & Y/N took a deep breath before picking it up. She flipped the test over to see word “positive.”

Her whole body went numb as she read the word over & over again.

“It’s positive, John.” She replied & looked at him. “We’re going to have a baby.” He looked at her with wide eyes & pulled her in for a deep kiss. Once he let go he placed both of his hands on her head & smiled at her.

“I’m going to be a dad!” He cheered. “I cannot wait to tell the boys!” It had been a few months since he had seen his former team. Being married to a member of the British Royal Family meant he had to take more of a backseat role in the military. She knew he was desperately missing his friends & this would be a great opportunity for them to be reunited. She also knew how public her pregnancy would be & how much she’d have to do to ensure stress was a factor in creating problems for her health. Her hand rubbed small circles on her abdomen as she looked down. She was taking in John’s moment of jumping around out of excitement.

“Your daddy’s a little crazy, but you’ll get used to him.” Y/N whispered to her lower abdomen.

9 months later

Pregnancy was taking a toll on Y/N. The first couple of months had been a breeze she had been sporting a little beach ball bump for the first eight months. They knew they were going to be having a little boy which made John even more elated than he was because they’d get to do father/son activities. Now she was feeling like a whale, & her stomach was incredibly heavy. Her doctor had requested she stay out of public appearances & stay in bed. John had taken a leave of absence from his position with the military due to his wife’s state. He couldn’t bear to see her in this much pain.

The baby was now overdue & Y/N was pacing with her nurse in the comfort of their master bedroom to help see if it would induce labor. John sat in a chair with their beloved Corgi draped across his lap.

“Oh how I wish I could evict you,” She grumbled at her belly. “I know it’s probably warm & you get food whenever but you’ll have to stop freed loading at some point.”

“Love, why don’t you have some of the spicy Mexican food that the chef made for you? It might help with speeding this up.” He said. She waddled over to him with the nurse still holding her side. She took the plate from him & started to eat.

“I blame you for this,” Y/N said and pointed her fork at him. “You just had to be all sexy & down to-“ She stopped mid sentence. Both the nurse & John looked at her with worried looks.

“Darling what’s wrong?” He asked in a worried tone. He looked down at her pajamas pants & they were soaked. He took the plate of food out of her hands and put it on the table besides them. Looking down at the floor & he noticed a big puddle around her feet.

“I think my water broke.” She replied. A sharp pain in her abdomen caused her scream out a bunch of curses.

“We need to get to the hospital.” The nurse said. “I’ll phone the doctor, your highness get the baby bag & we will get her to St. Mary’s.” The nurse ran into the other room & John took hold of Y/N’s hand.

“How are you feeling love?” He asked. With tired eyes she glared at him.

“Wet.” She replied. “I need to change.” She waddled off with John quickly trailing behind her.

“Love,” John started as he watched her walk into her closet. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“Ah ha I found it!” She cheered & stripped out of her now wet pajamas into a nightgown. “Much better.”

“Okay that’s great you look beautiful now let’s go before you have our son in our closet.” He said & gently guided her to the doorway. Baby bag in hand, they all quickly made their way down to were the ambulance was waiting for them.

Once at the hospital, they were put in a private wing & Y/N was hooked up to a bunch of monitors. Even with the epidural, labor was still a very intense process. It killed John to see her like this, seeing her in any pain caused him emotional distress. He never wanted to see her hurt like this. Soon she was fully dilated & ready to push.

“Alright your highnesses, are you ready to meet your son?” The doctor said as he walked in. He sat down right in front of her & put gloves on. Two nurses held her feet & legs in the air while John held her right hand. “When I say push, push.” The doctor instructed. “Take deep breaths in between. I can see the babies head. Okay. Push.” The doctor instructed.

With a bone crushing grip on John’s hand Y/N let out a strangled scream & pushed. Once she couldn’t push anymore she relaxed & took a deep breath. A nurse took a wet towel & brushed over her forehead. “Okay Push!” The doctor yelled again. The epidural had started to wear off & Y/N started to scream bloody murder as soon as the ring of fire started to happened.

“You’re doing great my love keep pushing.” John said & kissed her forehead.

“That’s great your highness, he’s so close keep pushing!” The doctor said & soon enough he caught the screaming infant in his hands. The wail of her son filled the room & Y/N started to cry. A nurse placed her son on her chest as they started to wipe off of the some of fluid from his head.

“Oh John,” Y/N said look at him. “He’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.” John said as he started to cry. “Thank you for gifting me the best thing in my life.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, & the nurse took the infant to clean him up.

After a few hours once Y/N was all stitched up & well rested she was holding her newborn son. He was latched to her breast & John was just in awe at the life that was created. His son was so little & he was just so beautiful. They had decided on a family name for him, James, named after Y/N’s paternal grandfather. It took a few days, but soon Y/N allowed for visitors to come in before they revealed the infant to the world. A slew of family & friends came to see the new edition.

Then the Task Force came by. Y/N was all dolled up in a dress for the reveal later on in the day. Simon, maskless & in casual clothing was holding the newest edition to the Price household. They came with gifts, including a camouflage onesie with a custom name tape on it, a baby blanket, & many other items. John & Y/N watched as the infant was cooing at Simon. His little body was able to fit in the crook of his arm.

“Oi you’ve had your turn let me hold the little lad.” Soap said. Simon passed the infant off to the Scotsman. “I want one.” As soon as the infant was placed into his arms.

“You can’t just go to the store & buy one MacTavish.” Gaz said. “You can barely take care of a goldfish.” James started to wiggle around in Soap’s arms & giggling at the silly faces he was making while mocking Gaz. A knock at the door turned everyone’s attention to the front of the room. One of the Royal advisors was standing there alerting them that in fifteen minutes they were due in the front for a photo op with the press. Soap reluctantly, handed the infant back to Y/N. They said their goodbyes to the team, & started to gather themselves.

“Are you ready to meet the world little one?” John asked as they exited the delivery room. “Come on love it’s time for the world to meet our son.” Side by side they walked out of the doors of St. Mary’s & introduced their first born son to the world.

[rvb-canon-grimmons]

RVB RESTORATION THOUGHTS!!!!

LONG POST IM SO SORRY I HAD A LOT OF FEELINGS

(Im so sorry this got so long, but i got emotional while writing it so please bear with me, read this like its the morning paper while u eat breakfast or something i have alot to say)

Before I go into the things I didn't like I do want to focus on some positives.

-Like I said in an earlier post, Geoff's acting…he absolutely killed it, and maybe this is because I'm a little bit Geoff/Grif biased but he was giving so much emotion and everyone else felt a little bit flat. Also only he could have delivered the "Come with me" line with so much Homoeroticism -I Had a pretty fun time watching the fight in the second half, The references to Monty we're sweet and getting to see Tex and Carolina fight together was pretty epic! -A good handful of jokes got me good. "23rd in my class" Shelia translating Caboose's Spanish to Lopez

Ok……. the next bit of this will get a little bit negative, but I do want to say this is coming from a place of deep love and care for this series. I have run this blog for like 6/7 years now and I've been a fan of this show for double that. My biggest fear is that fans get the same treatment we did when no one liked RVBZero. I have criticisms. This is a 21 year old series that so many people have had a part in and so many have loved. I was not looking for perfection, I wasn't even looking for something good. I was looking for an ending to the stories of characters people have held in their hearts for 21 years. Unfortunately, what I feel we were left with was a hastily thrown together hour of basically nothing.

-Why weren't they friends…..Why weren't they friends…No one cared for the others. I understand that we have semi warped perceptions of the characters from fanon works and things of that nature. But even in canon, the reds and blue care about each other. On their own team and the other team. Simmons, Grif, Tucker, and Caboose spent MONTHS together in chorus and same for Donut/Sarge/Wash. I've recently rewatched blood gulch and Caboose and Sarge have a great dynamic! Tucker and Grif canonically get along pretty well. Simmons was ON BLUE TEAM for like a hot minute there. THEY KNOW EACH OTHER AND CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. This was zero percent present in this film. No one had any motivation to look for Tucker. No one cared that it was Tuckers body inside the suit. THE REDS LEFT CABOOSE FOR DEAD!!!!!! THEY JUST LEFT HIM!!!!

-Tucker, I'm so sorry baby girl, this was supposed to be your arc, your moment. You were hardly in it. No build up to how he became the Meta. The scene where he breaks out of it to not kill caboose was the best part of the arc. And he just wakes up and remembers it "like someone elses Nightmare??" ok sure

-Wash………………WHAT THE FUCK???? WHAT THE FUCK???????????????? WHAT THE FUCK??????? WHAT THE FUCK???? TO RUIN THIS MANS ENTIRE CHARACTER ARC BY MAKING HIM COMPLETELY OBSOLETE. PUTTING HIM IN SOME RANDOM HOSPITAL FOR AN UNKNOWN INJURY THAT HAPPENS OFF SCREEN AND ISN'T EXPLAINED. HAVE HIM HALUCINATING DOC FOR SOME FUCKING REASON. HAVE HIM SHOW UP TO THE FINAL BATTLE AND DO ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING BUT JUMP OFF A FUCKING CLIFF AND NOT SAY A WORD TO ANY OF THE RED AND BLUES I AM LIERALLY ABOUT TO FUCKING CRY TYPING THIS I AM LITERALLY SO FUCKING PISSED OFF. AGENT WASHINGTON, THE CHARACTER THAT WAS SO HAPPY IN THE SEASON RIGHT BEFORE CHORUS JUST TO BE ON BLUE TEAM AND HAVE A FUCKING FAMILY AGAIN. JUST SIDELINE HIM FOR NO FUCKING REASON AND THEN NOT LET HIM SPEAK TO ANY OF HIS FRIENDS EXCEPT CAROLINA AND DEAD DOC. AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE FACT THAT TUCKER BEING THE META WAS LITERALLY A PLOT POINT CATERED TO HAVE WASH BE INVOLVED. THIS IS LIKE AGENT WASHINGTON ANGST BAIT 101. YES IM A TUCKINGTON SHIPPER BUT PUT ALL SHIPPING ASIDE, THEY WERE STILL FRIENDS, THEY WERE FRIENDS THEY WERE FRIENDS.

Grimmons. I am disappointed. But really not surprised. Honestly for everything I disliked I thought Grimmons was handled ok… at this point im like….. they couldn't even throw us a bone. company was dying, final season airing, and they couldn't even throw us a solid Grimmons queerbait joke. Its whatever….I don't wanna get too upset about shipping because at the end of the day, ships becoming canon isn't what shipping is all about (says Tumblr user "RVB-Canon-Grimmons) you get what im saying.

-Donut…..where was he…..Fucking Homophobic honestly

-DOC IS DEAD?????????????????????????????? FUCKING WHY???

-Sarge's death was fine, I'm not upset by it I just didn't feel like it was emotionally satisfying. Especially after the shock of them leaving Caboose and the much better scene of tucker fighting the meta's control over him to not hurt caboose.

-PEOPLE CALLED U SIR ALL THROUGHOUT CHORUS SIMMONS WHAT THE FUCK??????????? WHY IS SIMMONS PROMOTED AND INCHARGE OF NO ONE???? WHY DID GRIF LEAVE HIM???

Im sorry………..this is so long………just remeber this is only my opinions and if u don't agree thats totally ok!!!!! I am just a critical bitch….

[slyvester101]

Tucker was starting to drive Wash crazy. And not in the “Stop sleeping naked, Tucker” or “Stop flirting with the adult recruits, Tucker” or even a “Stop being an idiot out in the field so I don’t have to worry my head off wondering if you’re going to come out alive” way.

No, Wash could handle that kind of crazy.

This. This was way worse.

Tucker was currently chatting with Grif and Donut, animatedly complaining about the training he had to do that morning with Wash. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Except Tucker was wearing one of Wash’s sweatshirts, the fact emphasizes everytime he moved his arms, showing off the way the sleeves swallowed up his hands. 

Wash had known that Tucker was a chronic clothes thief. Had seen him in Caboose’s massive blue sweaters, had seen him flaunt about in Church’s old shirts, had seen him wearing Simons’ fancy compression braces over his knees and elbows before putting his armor on, had watched him lounge in Sarge’s never ending supply of tank tops and Donut’s bright pink and super fluffy socks and some of the high quality bonnets he’d steal off Grif. Hell, Wash had seen him in some of Carolina’s sweatpants at one point. 

But seeing Tucker wrapped up in his shirts, seeing him cuddled up in the familiar faded colors of his old sweatshirts. Well, it certainly brings up some strong feelings. Feelings that tend to stray a bit lower than Wash is comfortable with. 

It certainly didn’t help that he tended to wear fuck else whenever he was wearing Wash’s stuff, always picking his shortest, tightest shorts to wear underneath. And then the hem would fall over the length of them and make it look like he really wasn’t wearing anything else underneath. 

Wash always had to do a double take at the sight, freezing up at the sight of Tucker’s long, strong, thick legs being out for all to see without the cover of pants or armor in the way. Of the sight of him looking like he’d just come fresh out of Wash’s room like they were- like they had- 

It made Wash feel a certain way. And Tucker fucking knew it too.

If he sensed Wash watching him, his hips would sway a little bit more or cock it to the side in a way that made his shirt slip up a bit more to show off the curve of his ass. He reached his arms up like he was showing off his apparel for everyone to see, unashamed of what connotations come with wearing Wash’s clothes like that. 

And then he’d swerve his head behind him, looking every bit of a fucking model that Tucker knows he is, and smirk at catching Wash watching him. Again. And keep on having a normal conversation like he wasn’t doing all that. Like he wasn’t actively driving Wash up the wall. 

God, Wash wanted to fuck hi- fucking kill him. He wanted to kill him. Because he was driving Wash crazy and honestly being so inappropriate, they were in a war zone for fuck’s sake, why was he half naked all the time? Showing off all his glowing skin that looked unfairly soft even with all the scars criss-crossing over dark skin leading down to his actual glowing fucking scars across his stomach– fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Something wrong, Wash?”

Wash looks up to see the smug look on Tucker’s face, head tilted oh so innocently as he looks over Wash with this glint in his eyes that sends a jolt down Wash’s spine. 

“I’m fi-” Wash coughs over the break in his voice before trying again. “I’m fine, Tucker.”

Tucker’s smile only grows as catches Wash’s eye. “Really? Because you look a little red.”

Damnit. 

“Yes. I’m sure.”

Tucker hums in response, low and long as he looks over Wash and then the paperwork Wash had completely forgotten about while he stared at Tucker’s ass– while he observed Tucker’s conversation with the red team. 

“You need help with that? Looks like you’re having a hard time. Bow chicka bow wow.”

Wash rolls his eyes before finally looking away from Tucker. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“You sure? I don’t mind helping you out.” Tucker crowds into Wash’s space, hovering over his shoulder and basically whispering in his ear.

Wash coughs again and ducks his head down to hide the blush he feels spreading down his neck. “Yeah, I’m almost finished anyways.”

Tucker wrapped his hand carefully over the back of Wash’s neck, rubbing circles into the side of his jaw with his thumb. Wash’s head goes completely blank at the motion, unconsciously tilting his head back into the pressure. Tucker lets out another hum, whispering over the shell of Wash’s ear. “I could help you finish faster. It’d be more enjoyable if it was the two of us working at it too, don’t you think?”

“Oh my god, get a fucking room!” Wash startles, suddenly remembering the presence of the other two captains. 

Donut smacks Grif on the arm, earning a yelp from the larger man. “Shh! It was getting good!”

“It’s unbearable, Donut.”

Tucker scoffs at that, gently pulling away to fold his arms across his chest. “Oh, like you and Simons are any better.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tucker.”

“Make me, bitch.”

“And I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” Wash gathers up the papers and tablets he has scattered over the table, fully prepared to book it the moment any kind of chaos comes anywhere near his work. He’s already spent too much time on them to start over again.

“Wait, I can-” Tucker whips back around to Wash to slow down his leave, but Wash is already half out the door before he can properly stop him. “Goodbye, Captains.”

Wash is not running away from... whatever the fuck that was. He's making a tactical retreat because he's honestly a little frazzled at how easily he fell into Tucker's hands and how he's definitely half hard under his codpiece with half a mind to turn back around and ask Tucker to do something about it.

Yeah, tactical retreat.

Definitely not embarrassed. Or overwhelmed. Or head over heels for that stubborn, overly horny, sarcastic, gorgeous piece of shit he left back in the other room.

Definitely not.

Not at all.

"So, who's the guy that's got you blushing like that?"

"Don't even, Carolina."

[skwistokwarrior]

blue team: can they cook?

tucker: no. he's not the WORST, it'll be atleast somewhat edible, but he's still not allowed to cook. ever. like, ever.

church: yes and he's very valuable to them for this alone. they would have already starved in blood gulch without him. maybe not the best food but when you're on blue team, it is.

caboose: ok predictable but absolutely not no way in hell he can cook. he tries to help but they all have to usher him out (emphasis on everyone, he's a big boy)

wash: this one's a less common but honestly no. he's been in the military since he was 18 he cannot cook food for shit. i've already made a post on this but he's tried before for the blues and like. that was literally the closest he's ever been to death in his life, and he's a FREELANCER. he's not allowed in the kitchen without active supervision, and you would not believe the amount of protein powder this man has

carolina: also no. you think she had the time to learn how to cook? you're funny. i think she's learning, but it's a slow process, a very slow process. leave it to carolina to know everything but how to cook

tex: i mean, yeah, why not. she knew as a person and a robot. i like to think she made caboose sandwichs in the early seasons (because i love tex/caboose as a duo)

kai: yes and it concerns her that nobody else knows how to. and not just like knows, she's REALLY good at cooking since she's been cooking since she was young. she's blue teams savior (except she's never there so theyre still in distress LOL)

honorary doc: yes but he's not a big help to blue team because he's vegan everything. he told them he can cook and they let him. they were very disappointed when he started very delicately explaining how he substituted just about everything out of a typical dish for something vegan. (and it wasn't even good either, like he makes the food so bad other vegans would rather eat a fucking burger than his food)

in conclusion: they steal the reds food primarily

[january-summers]

Sometimes I think about whether or not Washington has ever accidentally called Caboose "Iowa."

Maybe that's the thing that finally made Caboose stop calling Wash "Church."

(Chucking the back end of this under the cut because it ended up a little shy of 1,000 words in total. Sorry this took off as I was typing. not beta'd, I die like CT: unfairly)

On one of those days before they got Epsilon back, when Wash was still walking around with cobalt armour, having one of his bad days where looking in the mirror is hard because he's not sure whose face should be looking back even though he knows, he knows he knows he's Washington.

(He can't explain it, it's like the way lightheadedness isn't really a dizzy spell. He doesn't lose his sense of identity, it just... gets a little crumpled.)

Caboose accidentally blows up one of their vehicles and Wash snorts.

"That's coming out of your paycheck, Iowa!" He calls out, and Tucker turns to him with his head cocked.

"The fuck is Iowa?"

"What?"

"'Iowa,'" Tucker repeats, "you just said 'that's coming out of your paycheck, Iowa.'"

Inside his helmet Wash closes his eyes, sighs, and whispers a heartfelt 'fuck.' Then, "A Freelancer, he was... a lot like Caboose. I just... forgot for a second."

Tucker just makes a 'huh' in response, and Wash feels tragically grateful the other man is dropping the issue.

But it happens again.

Not 'Iowa' this time though, but 'Mike.'

Wash is sitting in the base's main work area, because they have no office, or they do, technically but it's... uh... better not to talk about why it's not in use because they all agreed it was no one's fault.

He's filling out the paperwork, trying to figure out how anyone gets anything done with the UNSC requisition forms, he swears they weren't this convoluted or nonsensical before he was discharged.

Or maybe sim troopers get fucked up forms on purpose?

He'd taken his helmet off over an hour ago so he could rub the bridge of his nose and his temples in an effort to stave off the headache that's been coming for his brain. They don't have enough painkillers to waste on a headache if one of them gets seriously injured before the next shipment.

There's a movement of blue in his peripheral vision, a familiar dark blue, and a familiar voice saying "I brought you hot chocolate!"

"Thanks, Mike," Washington says not really paying attention.

"It's Michael," comes the reply, the correction. And Wash blinks and looks up at Caboose not Iowa.

"Right, Michael, sorry."

But Caboose doesn't seem upset, just hums in acknowledgement and wonders off. Wash is dazed as he watches him leave. He spots Tucker leaning against the wall slowly sipping from a mug, watching Wash.

Tucker gestures at Wash's mug with his own, "I wouldn't drink that if I were you, but if you're going to throw it out, don't do it where he'll see it. He'll throw a tantrum."

"Uhhhh, right." Wash goes back to his paperwork. Tucker stays where he is, so he's there ten minutes later when Wash's brain cycles information in the background. 'Beverage container in proximity: hydrate'

"SPFFFF! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?!?!?" Tucker doesn't stop laughing the entire time Wash is gagging and trying to get the residue out of his mouth.

Wash doesn't always notice when he calls Caboose by the wrong name, and continues to be grateful no one calls him on it.

But Caboose gets quieter and quieter, not his speaking volume, but his entire personality. He's less and less present around Wash. So Wash goes looking.

Finds Caboose surrounded by bits and parts of machines, just sitting, a tool held loosely in one hand. Bio-signs indicate he's awake in Wash's HUD.

'Spaced out,' Wash assumes, and calls out. "Hey, Caboose."

Caboose startles, just a little flinch. "Yes, I am Caboose."

His voice is loud, his voice is often loud, but the way it's loud... Wash understands why he keeps confusing Caboose and Iowa.

"Mind if I sit?" Wash asks, and waits for the nod before settling himself. "I'm sorry I keep confusing you for Agent Iowa. I know you're not him, I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear."

Caboose doesn't answer, just sits and watches Wash quietly for several minutes.

"He was my friend," Wash ventures, and isn't rebuffed so he keeps talking. "You remind me a lot of him, you both wear the same blue, you're both very upbeat people, you're both-" 'brain damaged and loud and not always able to communicate the way I suspect you want to,' Wash doesn't say. "- my friends. He went away, a long time ago now, him and Ohio and Idaho. I never found out where they went, they were just... gone one day. We were supposed to eat lunch together, but they were all just gone."

Wash doesn't know how to explain what Epsilon did to him, how his memory, one of his greatest strengths had become his own enemy for a time. How somedays it still felt like it was trying to fight him. The echo Epsilon left behind.

He doesn't want to. It feels like an excuse for his own failings.

"I know you aren't Church," Caboose says suddenly instead. "But you are a good Church, not the Best Church, but a good Church. Except when you aren't. You are the best Agent Washingtub though."

Wash... thinks he gets what Caboose is saying, or what he hopes he's saying, because he'd been really concerned Caboose hadn't understood that Wash wasn't Church, he was just pretending to be for the time being.

"Thanks, Caboose. And you are the best very Caboose, ever. Of all time."

"I am," Caboose agrees. Readily. Happily.

Wash tries to be more mindful, and as the days pass, Caboose becomes more familiar than the memory of Iowa to him, and he calls his teammate by the wrong name less and less and then not at all.

He notices too, while Caboose doesn't stop calling him Church, sometimes Caboose calls him Agent Washingtub too. And then he starts calling him Washington.

Tucker starts to call him Wash. Stops watching him like he's about to snap and kill them.

It's nice.

Unlike the requisition forms.

[fishfingersalad]

Rvb bbc ghosts x buzzfeed unsolved au Leonard “Alpha” Church III and his older sister Carolina Church inherit a creepy manor in the middle of nowhere halfway across the country after their great grandfather Leonard “Epsilon” Church dies of old age (yes Epsilon being their great grandfather is odd, it's for lore reasons).

Church’s college roommate Tucker has a ghost hunting youtube channel (Church edits his videos for him) and decides the manor seems spooky so he tags along to check it out with his co host (Kai) and camera/audio guy (Caboose) as well as Junior. Tex (Churches on again off again gf) comes along to bully them for getting scared, whenever she ends up on the show their views go up so they don’t complain. Carolina doesn’t wanna be stuck alone with Church’s friends so she invites her workout buddy Wash.

Unbeknownst to them, Tuckers “rival” youtube channel (the reds, Simmons is video and editing, Grif is audio, Lopez is in charge of their other equipment) catch wind of their plan to investigate the manor (Kai told Grif who accidentally let slip to Sarge) and they (literally just Sarge) take it as a challenge and they decide (are forced by Sarge) to follow the others to the manor to do their own investigation (Donut flirts with Locus the gas station attendant. This is important to me for some reason). Doc is unofficially part of the red team crew as first aid aka he follows them around bc he's worried about them going to all these abandoned buildings with no medical knowledge

Cw: talk of deaths in some detail, especially fires.

The Manor is actually haunted, by fifteen different ghosts:

Wyoming: 1840’s, fell out a window onto a weathervane

Florida: 1960’s, aspirin overdose 

York: 1980’s, car crash, has poltergeist abilities

North: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

South: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

Maine: 1910s, hunting accident, can sometimes be seen as a looming shadow in the dark

Ct: 1940s, military spy, shot

479er: 1960s, pilot, small aircraft crash

AI: 1920s, Children of a rich man who burned his house down while his wife was away with their youngest son, Leonard “Epsilon” Church (age 2 at the time). Delta (17), Theta (7), Eta (11), and Iota(11) died from smoke inhalation,  Gamma (15) and Omega (14) were burned,  Sigma (18) escaped the fire but succumbed to infection while still on the manor grounds. All of the ai ghosts carry a smell of smoke wherever they go (I have a drawing of them somewhere)

The only ones who can see the ghosts without outside influence (cameras, sensors, that stuff) are Church, Carolina, Wash, Donut, and Caboose, due to all five of them having near death experiences in their pasts, and later Doc after he’s possessed by Omega. Junior is also able to see ghosts though no one is sure why. 

Most of the au’s “story” is just silly interactions with the ghosts pranking the youtubers and various shenanigans. Wash deadpan pretends there are no ghosts to annoy both York and Tucker. Junior befriends Theta, Eta, and Iota, which concerns Tucker to no end especially since he tends to act like a horror movie child, all “Daddy, the lady with the hole in her head is in the corner again, daddy my friends with no faces wanna go play outside”. Sarge has a holy water super soaker that he carries everywhere incase of “ghouls”. South takes great joy in tormenting Simmons specifically. York follows the youtubers around and throws things at them, he only uses his poltergeist abilities for mischief. Ct finds a secret joy in sneaking up on Church to make him jump. Donut keeps telling his friends that the ghosts are there and real but none of them really believe him despite York pelting them with random objects. Wash finds a stray kitten and the ghosts are all immediately infatuated and begin following it around. Florida and Donut gossip together. Doc has to figure out how to deal with a rage fueled fourteen year old taking over his body. Tex punches Tucker on camera and it becomes their most popular video to date. Their second most popular video includes Tucker being attacked by Sarge with his holy water super soaker.

I just have so many little silly ideas about them...

[leonardalphachurch]

Actual Meta!Tucker AU.

Epsilon dies and Wash gets injured and without two of his closest friends for support (not that Wash being injured makes him like. gone. but he’s not in a state to offer Tucker any emotional guidance) Tucker majorly blames himself for what happened. If he was better he could’ve protected Wash. If he was better Church wouldn’t have had to destroy himself.

And Sigma senses weakness and pounces.

Manages to convince him that, yes, it is your fault that you weren’t good enough but the only reason things weren’t even worse was because the AI were here. If he didn’t have them even more people would’ve gotten killed. After all, this is what Church wanted, isn’t it? For them to help Tucker? For them to be with Tucker?

So when people (Carolina) are like. Hey. Take that armor off. Get those things out of your head. Tucker resists. And the more Tucker resists the more Carolina insists and the more Carolina insists the more Sigma is able to convince him that she’s just jealous. She just wants the AI all to herself. Just like she did with Church. Don’t you remember how she took him away from you? He was with you first, wasn’t he? And then he left? With her? If he’d stayed with you this whole time this wouldn’t have happened. Don’t let her take us from you. Not again. And it culminates in a huge fight and Tucker goes AWOL.

——————

I was gonna write more about it but I think I wanna write this as a script maybe. But this premise stuff probably wouldn’t be in the actual piece and instead just alluded to so. I’ll share this.