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translations-by-aiimee · 2 years

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Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 45

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is the product of my limited knowledge of Chinese characters as I attempt to learn the language. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 45

Taking Xiao Yu out of the duty-free shop, just as he was about to find a restaurant for dinner, Lin Yan suddenly froze. Two people stood opposite him waving at him, one wearing dirty jeans and a striped T-shirt, the other wearing a blue cloth robe with a pale calf showing at the hem. Lin Yan opened his mouth in surprise. It was Yin Zhou and A-Yan. Why were they here?

"You're leaving too, what a coincidence. Where are you going?" Yin Zhou grinned preemptively.

"Stop pretending. How did you guys know I'm leaving today?" Lin Yan guessed what he wanted to do when he saw the stern expression on his face.

Yin Zhou's face was fake: "So self-absorbed. Who said we're here to see you? You should have asked what we were going to do."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Travelling."

"Look for my master."

Lin Yan's face was cold and disbelieving. The two looked at each other and continued innocently: "Accompanying him on his travels."

"Accompanying him to find his master."

He wasn't taking any of these excuses. The two people who came here without permission acted in an extremely silent manner. They quickly found a seat and threw their bags down. They shared some fried chicken wings while deliberately talking loudly. No matter what he asked, they looked at the ceiling as though they hadn't heard him.

Lin Yan was left to one side, a little moved.

He wasn't confident that he could go deep into enemy territory alone, but he thought it was a personal matter between him and Xiao Yu, so he hadn't told anyone when he was leaving except his parents. Yin Zhou knew Lin Yan's habit of keeping everything negative to himself all too well. After hearing the news of the temple master, he didn't even discuss anything with Lin Yan. He went directly online using his special skills to find the booking records, then he got the young Daoist and the two bought the tickets for the same flight.

"Your firewall sucks. There's a bunch of Trojans. I also cleaned up the system junk for you after I was done." Yin Zhou patted Lin Yan's shoulder earnestly. "Don't feel embarrassed to bother us. Multiple hands, multiple helpers. I'm done with all the projects I've been working on. I'm an idle person with money to spare, so it's good to get out and about."

The young Daoist interrupted: "I-I don't trust you to go alone. Anyway, if you want to find Master, I'll follow you there."

Lin Yan wanted to say something, but the two came prepared. They opened their backpacks and unveiled a map, a compass, water bottles, commonly used medicines, a change of clothes, cash, flashlights, and even a walkie-talkie and cables. A-Yan's had even more strange things. A variety of exorcism tools, not to mention a peach wood sword and compass wrapped in the middle of a thick pile of yellow talismans. In contrast, Lin Yan came empty-handed and looked more like a tourist wandering around the airport.

"Holy shit, you guys know this isn't wilderness survival training, right?" Lin Yan took out a small pig-shaped hand-cranked generator from his bag and weighed it, then took out the sleeve of a sweater. "Hey, why did you bring so many black clothes in this heat?"

Yin Zhou snatched the clothes and bag back, and the little Daoist said: "H-He said it's night clothes so that no one can see us when we go out at night."

Lin Yan was in a state of confusion. He suddenly realized that the lack of secrecy was a big and serious mistake.

Yin Zhou was disdainful. He fastened the buckle with a click and lectured: "There's also a checked bag filled with equipment. I brought a kitchen knife and a hammer. Who knows where the forces of evil are waiting for us. This is called being prepared." He said proudly, patting the hiking bag: "For the sake of being so interesting, I'll house next month and leave the cleaning to you."

"I suddenly had a sense of mission to maintain peace and justice in the world." Yin Zhou hugged the bag and sighed.

"I also have a faint sense of sadness about walking with a fool." Lin Yan gritted his teeth, but his heart felt warm. His talk was just that: all talk. He had no idea what would happen after that. Now that there are two more people, his anxiety had been temporarily dispelled. Lin Yan stuffed the last piece of chicken into his mouth and grasped Yin Zhou's shoulder hard: "Thanks. It's on me when we get there."

The big screen at the boarding gate showed that there was still half an hour before departure. There were very few people in the lounge. There were a few men in business suits, each tapping something on their laptop's keyboard. The air was filled with the creamy scent of baked cheese from a western restaurant.

Lin Yan told the two about the situation after Xiao Yu left and the strange events that happened in the past few days. Hearing that the ghost had returned, Yin Zhou nodded with a complicated expression. When it became clear that he had decided to send Xiao Yu away, the young Daoist priest stared keenly into Lin Yan's eyes: "You made up your mind?"

Lin Yan crossed his fingers on his forehead, bowed his head and said nothing.

Professor Chen sent the latest information on the ancient tomb, saying that the local area is planning to build a cultural tourism spot. The burial chamber and some of the burial objects are being cleaned and will soon be open to visitors. The silk and other easily oxidized cultural relics are specially sealed. He can say hello to the person in charge to let them in if needed.

The ancient tomb is located at the northern foot of Zhongtiao Mountain in the southwest corner of the province, adjacent to Shanxi Province, with high mountains in the south and a basin in the north, with year-round shade and no sunlight. The nearest landing point is a small town called Liumu Town, which belongs to Xia County and is more than four hours away from Wusu Airport.

After looking at the map, the three of them decided to rent a car that night and find a place to stay in town. The conditions were simple but easy to get back and forth. Lin Yan used the airport's wireless network to book a hotel. However, after checking around, there was not a single hotel in town that had been registered online, as if completely isolated from modern society.

"We are going to the mountains and the countryside this time, and it'll take a few days of hard work." Lin Yan sighed while staring at his phone. "I wonder how long it will take to make progress."

"Life is a hard journey, and the meaning of the universe is to search for it in life." Yin Zhou nodded in a mock deep voice.

Soon after boarding the plane, Lin Yan changed seats with an older man who had a vacant seat next to him and leaned against the window. After the plane took off, he kept looking out of the window. The cabin was as quiet and dry as ever, and the people were being baked by the warm afternoon sun. The boundless sea of clouds was like a large flock of running white sheep, their eyes dazzling with a bright light.

It was hard to associate such good weather with ghosts.

Every story has an opportunity to happen. It may be a specific time or a specific place, but as soon as the person in question steps in, the story would start quietly before there was any change around. To Lin Yan, Xiao Yu's tomb was such a place; terrifying, cold, depressing. It was the fork between the world and the underworld. Everyone was working silently, no one answered his questions, and no one told him that the coffin was hiding a ferocious ghost in it.

Recalling this part, he felt faint heart palpitations. The clouds sped past the plane window. The ancient tomb, where some mysterious force wanted him and the place where love Xiao Yu gave him had begun was also the only point of intersection that was getting closer and closer.

People inside and outside the event usually have two different views of it. The insiders believe that only by constantly approaching the center can they see the truth, while outsiders feel that the so-called quest is nothing more than a mosquito in a spider's web of death struggle. The more you wave your arms and legs, the tighter your body will stick.

The bright sky's dazzling eyes pricked his eyes with moisture. Xiao Yu tugged on his arm. Lin Yan leaned back in the chair. He turned his head to fix his eyes on that handsome face, and suddenly it was a little hard to bear.

"We haven't gone far yet but I'm already starting to get homesick." Lin Yan whispered. "I want to do nothing all day long but watch TV in bed with you, the corniest and vulgar things."

"I brought you out the first time. This time, I don't know if I'll be left alone when I leave."

A couple of lovers across the corridor were touching their heads and playing a game of lovingly tapping each other. Their intimacy was enviable. Lin Yan held Xiao Yu's hand and stroked it along his knuckles. He felt as if there were many things he wanted to say to him, but he couldn't get a single word out. He opened his mouth several times, and finally, let out a long sigh.

When they arrived at Wusu Airport, it was in the evening. There was a tinge of red in the western sky, and there was a faint coolness in the wind. Lin Yan dragged a trolley and stood in the square to look around. The nearby tour group was taking a head count. The old man in the red hat was in high spirits, the children were joyful, and their faces were full of anticipation and curiosity.

Everyone who travelled had their own purpose, and he was probably the only one, holding the hand of his lover, walking towards his grave step by step.

There was a row of taxis waiting for customers in the airport parking lot. The drivers gathered in groups of three or five to brag. When they saw Lin Yan and a few walking by, they swarmed them like chickens. But when they heard that they were going to Liumu Town, they all shook their hands and scattered. In the end, there was only a dark and thin middle-aged man left. After thinking for a long time, he snuffed his cigarette and said four hundred, four hundred and he'll go.

"No way! Four hundred, that's highway robbery!" Yin Zhou shouted.

"It's too expensive to go to the east end by bus, but I can tell you that the place is very remote. In the middle of the night, forget a taxi, you won't even find a cattle cart. You decide." The driver impatiently patted the roof of the car. "It's my loss when I go there. I'll be coming back on an empty tank. I won't check the meter. Three hundred dollars so you either go or don't."

In order to get there quickly, the three still got into his car and sped off into the sunset. As the driver said, after driving out of the airport, the four fields became more and more desolate. First the chaotic and bustling towns, and then it turned into the countryside. They passed by large fields of corn and sorghum. From time to time, a group of children dressed in red and green flashed by the roadside, curiously staring back at their car.

As the car bumped along, the sky gradually darkened, and the mountains in the distance appeared like black giants lying down. Soon the last ray of sunset was gone. The moon came up and the winding mountain road was covered with a thin layer of silver moonlight.

"I'm so hungry." Yin Zhou complained. "I don't know if there'll be anything to eat in that hellhole."

Lin Yan didn't answer. The mountain road was no better than the city. The moonlight outside the window didn't enter the car, and the darkness was so suffocating. Yin Zhou felt bored. He took out his mobile phone and turned it on. The blue light cast on his face, unspeakably eerie.

"Turn it off. We're not there yet. Save some electricity." Lin Yan said.

"Either way, there's no signal. It's the same with or without electricity." Yin Zhou muttered. "It was a good idea to bring a walkie-talkie."

A-Yan took out two prepared little wooden figures from his schoolbag and handed them to Lin Yan and Yin Zhou, each with a yellow talisman paper with their date of birth written on it. He said that these were body doubles. If something evil rushes them in the mountain, the double will first fall on the road, thus leaving time for the living to fight back.

Probably because being a Daoist priest was such an ancient profession, he was much more comfortable in primitive and dark places than in the city. The driver, who had been watching the young men in the car with his rearview mirror, could not help but curiously strike up a conversation: "You kids sure are superstitious."

"In a place like this, any kind of natural force is stronger than humans." Lin Yan remembered the little girl who had been staring at him with an unnatural expression, "Master, drive slowly. The road isn't good."

"Are you going to Liumu to see relatives?"

"To travel." Lin Yan smiled.

The driver was a little surprised: "What's so interesting there? It's a place where even birds don't go to shit."

"We came to climb the mountain. I heard the scenery is very good."

"Ah, what's that called, ALICE*. I know you guys, with the big cameras on your back. You pick out the remote places to experience life whenever you have time, right?"

*(T/N: 驴友 - a Chinese term for people who like to travel together. Basically refers to someone who likes to hike, camp, or mountaineer with others)

Lin Yan didn't answer, but instead asked: "Master, do you know about an ancient tomb nearby? I heard that it'll be developed into a tourist area recently."

The driver said: "I heard about it. Some time ago, an archaeological team came, and it was in the newspaper."

Lin Yan said: "Then you know that more than twenty years ago there was a death?"

The driver seemed to think the topic of dead people was unlucky, and his face in the rearview mirror that just revealed a slight smile tightened immediately.

"I don't know, I'm not from that place. You can find out for yourself when you get there."

Afterwards, no matter what the three discussed, the driver didn't take the initiative to speak. The asphalt road got narrower and narrower. A dark cloud covered the moon, and even the road couldn't be seen clearly. The car turned one corner after another, and after going up a slope, there was a new slope, and the night wind was blowing in. Soon, even Yin Zhou, the chatterbox, grew quiet. Several people were silent, staring at the passing trees and the dark mountains outside the window in a daze.

The repetitive scene seemed hypnotic. Lin Yan was a little sleepy. He yawned and rubbed against Xiao Yu's shoulder. The ghost leaned over and thoughtfully let him rest on his shoulder.

A little dim light appeared in the distance. One, two, sparse small yellow lights broke the suffocating darkness. The driver, fearing they would fall asleep, coughed and said he was almost there.

Lin Yan straightened up and looked out the car window. He didn't know if it was because of the night. The place was even more desolate than he thought, and it didn't even look like a town at all. It was only when passing an area of small two-story buildings linked together that the similarities with a town became vaguely visible. The tallest building in the town was no more than four floors, the cinder road had no street lights and the mountains were the background to the streets.

"You guys stayed here last time you came too?" Yin Zhou was also a little surprised, "It's so old."

"Last time there was a bus to pick me up. After leaving the airport, we went straight to the temporary triple-slab house next to the tomb. I've never been here before." Lin Yan smiled bitterly, "I told you that someone deliberately arranged that time. I didn't even know where to go before I was taken into the tomb."

The driver stopped the car and smoked while carrying out the luggage. Lin Yan paid the fare and asked him to find out the location of the hotel. The driver pointed at the opposite side of the road, "Well, that's it, the biggest one in town."

Following the direction of his hand, a two-story building was divided into two adjacent shops. The one on the left was called "Youyi Supermarket" while the one on the right was called "Jiajia Hotel." There was a hair salon not far away. It had no name and the black and white cylinder in front of the door keeps spinning.

The taxi quickly drove away, and there were only three young men with luggage left on the dark street. The night wind was very strong, whirling and blowing the hem of their clothes. They were surrounded by desolate grass and trees. and occasionally a dog barked. For a while, it sounded to the east, and then it seemed to change direction. It reminded Lin Yan of when he was a child, when he returned to his hometown for New Year, there seemed to be only one dog in the village, which sounded everywhere but never appeared.

It was as if it only wanted to remind others that dogs existed here.

"Let's go." Lin Yan took a deep breath and led the way towards the opposite side of the road.

The glass door of the hotel had a yellow light on. The door was very old. The glass was covered with oil stains and fingerprints. No one wanted to wipe it. The two red plastic words "Jiajia" were pasted on the door. The second "Jia" had started to vertically fall off. Lin Yan stared at it, feeling a little unlucky.

The storefront was actually much bigger than it looked from the outside. When you enter the door and turn right, there was a restaurant. There were no customers. In front of the old solid wood counter, a waiter in a black suit was dozing off with her cheek resting in her hand. Her face was round, coated with a thick powder. Her bangs were too little to cover her forehead, and a small piece of her forehead was exposed when she shook her head.

The counter was decorated with some drinks with tacky packaging, their names illegible. There was a whiteboard on the wall with the menu written on it. Probably because of how late it was, the names of the top dishes were crossed with black bars.

The store was extremely quiet and the plump waiter was startled by the sound of pushing the door. She grunted reluctantly, "Accommodation or food?"

"Accommodation." Lin Yan said, "Food as well."

The waiter came to her senses. Her swollen eyes were covered with water vapour from drowsiness. She was actually not very old, but she looked old because of her bulging face and thin eyebrows. After snapping back and sizing up the customer in front of her, her eyes suddenly stopped when she landed on Lin Yan's face and unconsciously gathered the hair behind her ears.

"How many days? The chef is off work and can only make dumplings, rice and noodles. What would you like?"

Lin Yan hesitated: "Let's stay for three nights first. We need two rooms, one standard room, and one. . . um, with a queen bed."

"Just three of you? Do you want a triple room? A big room with two wardrobes." The girl was very attentive.

Yin Zhou threw the bag on the ground and suddenly regained his spirit: "We have three people, three people, we can play games online at night. Lin, it's been a while since we've had an all-nighter."

Lin Yan was a little embarrassed, and pointed behind him: "I also brought another one."

Yin Zhou disagreed: "Doesn't he just float around all day? You let him guard the door outside. There's no one in this place. It's creepy to stay here."

The waiter was curious and looked behind Lin Yan. Lin Yan was afraid that Yin Zhou would rashly tell her about the ghost and scare her. He was just about to nod his head and make do with it for the night when Xiao Yu came up from behind him. Without saying a word, he hooped his arms around his waist, all the way to the chest. A soft tongue started playing with his earlobe.

Lin Yan didn't dare to move. The muscles all over his body were tense. The ghost rubbed his lower body through the jeans, and his breathing became urgent. Lin Yan's hand was propped up on the counter and replied in a breathless muted voice: "Mmm. . . no, no, no, no, no need for three rooms. Two, make it two."

"Are you okay?" Yin Zhou asked with concern.

"Sleep well tonight. We have to get up early tomorrow." After speaking, he couldn't help but gasp. He grabbed Xiao Yu's wrist to warn him not to move.

The girl didn't notice the difference. She took out a large disc full of keys from under the counter. She took out two strings and slapped them on the table, and then registered each of the ID numbers. A-Yan turned his head in disgust. He found an empty table with his bag on his back and sat down, staring out the window.

"Stop it." Lin Yan glanced back at Xiao Yu while the girl was writing.

The three ordered two plates of beef dumplings and chatted while waiting for the dishes to be served. The hotel was too small and the chef had already finished and gotten off work. The waiter went to the kitchen to cook dumplings. Afraid that these few people would be bored, she put a cassette into the tape recorder. It turned out to be Dick and Cowboy. Outside, the street was pitch-black, with no streetlights, and a tractor drove by slowly, a puff of black smoke rising from the rear of the machine.

There was a faint smell of oil in the room.

"It's really cold here." Yin Zhou frowned and fiddled with his mobile phone. "I can't even open a web page since the signal is so poor. Staying here for three days will make me die of boredom. I wonder if there's an Internet cafe in town."

"Do you think we're back in the late 1980s? Tomorrow, go to the barber store to get a middle part, buy a pair of flared pants, and carry a guitar while walking and singing." It'll be so chic." Yin Zhou exclaimed.

This sentence made Lin Yan feel uncomfortable.

"It won't take more than three days. When the girl comes over, let's ask her about the tomb. The ancient tomb is very close to here. The locals should know best what happened before."

Yin Zhou kicked Lin Yan's suitcase: "Why did you bring so much stuff?"

Lin Yan smiled bitterly: "My young master is difficult to serve."

Yin Zhou was silent for a while, then suddenly turned his head and said, "Lin, do you know that you are like a young bride now. I almost don't recognize you anymore."

Lin Yan was startled when he heard these words. The spoon in his hand slammed against the porcelain bowl with a crisp ding sound. He said softly, "Are you disappointed?"

Yin Zhou shook his head and sighed from his nose: "No, I just want to say, don't hide anything. We're buddies no matter what, nothing will change that."

Lin Yan was stunned, his throat a little sore. He hesitated for a while, then nodded.

When the dumplings were served, they were steaming hot. The taste was very good, with an authentic farmhouse flavour. The beef was fresh, the peppers were fragrant, and the most powerful thing was the vinegar. The acid had a mellow flavour of the grain. The hunger of those people that had endured the bumpy cab ride here was quickly swept away. The girl in the store was cheerful and sat behind the counter chatting with the three of them. Hearing that they were inquiring about the ancient tomb, she was a little surprised, with a mysterious expression like she was about to tell a ghost story.

"I know where it is. I heard from my grandmother before that the land is evil. The front is the mountain and the water is behind. The sun can't shine, and the crops don't last long. The children nearby are not willing to play. The cold wind blows and it's terrifying. People here always make up stories about that place. One of them I heard when I was a child. I remember it very clearly. It's said that outsiders had moved there before, and the house had just been built. Suddenly one day, no one knew what happened, but the whole family was hanged to death. Later, people passed by the house in the middle of the night and saw the lights in the broken house, and a shadow appeared on the window, staggeringly hanging on the beam, scaring people to death! "

Lin Yan was drinking dumpling broth. He took a big sip, but he couldn't hold it all in and some dripped down. His hot face contorted.

Xiao Yu sat on the empty chair next to him and shook his head innocently.

#dig a grave to dig out a ghost translation #dig a grave to dig out a ghost #bl novel #chinese novel #english translation #chinese bl #danmei #danmei novel #yaoi novel #yaoi #yaoi smut

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telpea-kalka · 3 years

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Turin, through Anglachel: Are you alone?

Maeglin, through Anguirel: Yup. I’m in the forge.

Turin: Nice, I’ve been thinking about you all day.

Maeglin: I’ve been working on a new enchanted metal, and it’s going really well!

Turin: Cool. Very cool.

Turin: So… What are you wearing?

Maeglin: Just my regular tunic and trousers. Boots. Also a leather apron and gloves. And a heat mask.

Turin: Sounds stuffy. You should take some of that off.

Maeglin:

Maeglin: I’m… Turin, I’m in the forge. Do you have any idea many safety protocols that would break??

Turin: Good point… why don’t you go back to your place? I’ll tell all about what I’m wearing on the way.

Maeglin: You… can tell me now? I’m actually gonna be a while, my steel’s just melted and it needs to be tempted.

Turin:

Maeglin: I’m creating a metal that should glow when orcs come within a hundred metres!

Turin: Sweet Elbereth.

Maeglin: Wanna know how it works!?

Turin: No! Maeglin, I’m seducing you. You’re being seduced! Get the hell out of the forge!

Maeglin: O-oh… OH—! GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES!! Will you call me again and pretend I didn’t answer before!?! I’ll be ready this time—

#evil sword walkie talkies #where turin and maeglin can communicate through their magic swords #maeglin #Turin #anguirel #anglachel #silmarillion #it’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last

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ibrithir-was-here · 3 years

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So I love @telpea-kalka ‘s #evil sword walkie talkies little shorts so much, where Maeglin and Turin are able to talk thru Anglachel and Anguirel and become friends, and with the latest one having them use them to go ona long distance date I just—I had a need to draw Turglin I guess x) (is that the ship name? Do they have one? If not that I’d vote for Extremley Sad and Incredibly Cursed or something like that x)

Anyway I hope you like it!

#my art #tolkien #lotr #silmarillion #maeglin #turin #turin turambar #anglachel #anguirel #turglin #imma just call it that for now #turin x maeglin

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captain-josslett · 3 years

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Broken Melody - Part Twenty

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen...

Summary: Grammy Award winning Emma Danvers is the first to say she has a pretty good life. But what happens when it implodes around her and it looks like things will never be the same again?

Words: 5.8k+

Warnings: Angst, Fluff.

Pairings: Emma Danvers x Lena Luthor

This Part: Emma tries to work through everything and continues to struggle with not seeing her sisters.

So, so, sorry it’s been a while since updating. I’ve started a full time job and my mind just hasn’t been able to write 😅 But I do get to daydream when I work so I have loads of ideas stored away and hopefully will be able to update quicker.

Thank you for reading and let me know if you wanna be tagged or any general feedback will be greatly appreciated. Please! I like knowing your thoughts.

Taglist: @finleyfray, @life-is-hella-unfair, @natasha-danvers, @supergirl-writingz, @camslightstories, @thinking1bee, @aznblossom,

Ten year old Emma Danvers jumps awake when she hears a blood curdling scream. For a few moments she blinks into her dark room, confused at the noise that woke her. But when a softer wail fills the silence Emma quickly rolls out of bed. Recognising the cries coming from her recently adopted kryptonian sister, Kara.

Emma pads out of her small room and into the hallway, yawning and tiredly rubbing her eyes as she gently pushes Alex and Kara’s bedroom door open. Kara’s whimpering increases in volume as Emma enters the room. She softly closes the door behind her and quietly tiptoes over to Kara’s bed.

Emma sadly looks over at her oldest sister, Alex, who is turned away from the crying alien. Seemingly ignoring Kara’s pain. This annoys Emma greatly and the sisters have already argued over it. The blonde had even offered to swap rooms with Alex but the redhead stubbornly refused saying it was her room.

“Kara?” Emma whispers softly and waits for the crying figure to respond. Tearful blue eyes peer over the shaking duvet before quickly disappearing again.

Emma looks mournfully down at the other blonde as she thinks of ways to help her. After a few moments Emma lifts the corner of the covers and climbs into Kara’s bed. She gently reaches out and hugs Kara close, remembering how her Mom would comfort her after she’d have a bad dream.

Her new sister flinches slightly at the touch but soon Emma feels Kara settle and maneuver around to hug her back. The alien starts to shake as she tries to stifle her sobs into Emma’s shoulder.

Emma’s heart aches at the sound. She pulls her head back so she can see Kara’s face. The night light illuminates Kara’s flushed cheeks and bloodshot eyes. “No, it’s okay to cry. Mom said you get sick if you try to keep your tears in.” Emma tries to encourage the alien. Though she doesn’t know if Kara can fully understand her yet. However, Kara’s face scrunches up and fresh tears fall.

“It’s okay.” Emma says soothingly while stroking her hair.

“S-s-sing?” Kara gulps out and buries her head back into Emma’s little shoulder.

“Which one?” Emma asks softly and Kara thinks for a moment but shakes her head as she sniffs heavily. “Okay.” Emma purses her lips forward as she thinks about the other songs she has sung to Kara. “I got it.”

Somewhere over the rainbow, Way up high, There’s a land that I’ve heard of, Once in a lullaby.

Emma immediately feels Kara relaxing as she continues to quietly sing. The sisters had recently watched ‘The Wizard of Oz’ with Kara because Emma wanted to show her new sister one of her favourite films. The alien had truly been fascinated with the movie and Emma couldn’t help but watch Kara’s reactions to certain parts. How Kara’s face lit up when Dorthy opened the door to a world of colour or how freaked out Kara got when the Wicked Witch appeared in a plume of red smoke and disappearing in a blaze of fire.

Somewhere over the rainbow, Bluebirds fly, Birds fly over the rainbow, Why then oh why can’t I?

As Emma nears the end of the song Kara’s sobs start to die down, being replaced with shuddering breaths. The twelve year old alien clings tightly to the little human, the pressure hurts Emma slightly but she knows Kara doesn’t mean to hurt her and she is not use to her super strength yet.

Emma stares over at Alex’s back. Not knowing if the redhead was awake or asleep. But Emma guesses she is awake by how she is breathing. Silently Emma hopes her oldest sister will come around to Kara.

Yes it had been a shock when Superman brought his older, but now younger, alien cousin to them but Emma was overcome with curiosity and intrigue over the other blonde. She tried to communicate with the alien and found a way through hand gestures and persistence. Repeating words for Kara and pointing items out. Mainly important things like water, food, Star Wars and everything a ten year old finds important. Once Eliza found Emma talking to the Kryptonian about the different plants and vegetables in the garden and Kara patiently listened. Fascinated by the texture of the leaves and the words Emma was saying. Both missing the scowling glare Alex was giving them from her bedroom window.

Emma then presented the wooden swords her dad had made. Giving Kara Alex’s and demonstrating how to sword fight. Soon the two blonde’s were giggling while twirling around and bashing each other’s swords. Until Alex furiously stormed over to them and took her sword away from Kara. Grumbling it was hers and she was going to break it. Jeremiah immediately set to work making Kara one of her own. Which the two blonde’s watched with tilted heads.

But when Jeremiah told them to go play and leave him to concentrate Emma took Kara back into the house, trying to figure out more things to show her new sister. She had already displayed her seashell collection, which Kara analysed deeply and Emma noticed a crinkle appearing between the other blonde’s eyebrows.

Emma looks around the house and her eyes fall on her art supplies. Making Kara jump when she claps her hands together in excitement.

“I hope you like art! Alex doesn’t really, which is sad but she likes her own things. Like reading. Reading is okay but I much prefer doing something.” Emma smiles at Kara who smiles politely. “Have a seat.” Emma points at the dining room table and Kara complies. The ten year old then pulls out all of her art supply to show Kara. She watched as the alien’s blue eyes lit up behind her glasses.

“Did you do art on Krypton?” Emma asks, happy that she may have found something Kara enjoys.

Kara nods and the pair quietly sit for hours as they draw and paint. Emma didn’t mind Kara using most of the red paint and was pleased she thought of a good idea.

She hardly sees Alex, seemingly too moody that she wasn’t the centre of attention in the Danvers household anymore. Keeping to herself and barely talking to her baby sister.

Weeks turned into months and slowly Alex seemed to warm up to the new addition to the family. Especially when Kara defended Emma against a group of bullies. Standing with her little sister and ready to defend her. Alex marched over and stood next to her side, ready to punch any bully in the face that hurts either of her sisters. This was the moment Kara uttered her family motto, explaining they were stronger together.

The three started to become closer over time and would regularly be found in the forest by their home playing and having adventures.

On one such occasion a fifteen year old Alex and twelve year old Emma teamed up together as heroes to try and take down the evil villain that was destroying their town of Midvale.

“Psfft I don’t see the target. Over.” Emma quietly talks into the walkie talkie and holds her wooden sword tightly in her other hand.

“Please tell me you did not just make the static noise?” Alex laughs while rolling her eyes.

“Ah come on Al! Plus you need to say over. Over.”

“Fine.” Alex sasses back. “Over.” The redhead continues to look around, listening intently for the fourteen year old Kara. Having a sneaky suspicion that her alien sister was using her powers. Which was against the rules.

“Psttf I have an idea. Over” Emma’s voice whispers out from the walkie talkie.

“And what is that?” Alex responds quickly. “Over.”

“What if we do what that guy did in that movie. Over.”

“Vague… We watch loads of movies dork.” Alex rolls her eyes again at her little sister’s comment. She twirls her bow in her hand as she waits for Emma’s response.

“You know he sacrifices himself. Draws the evil guy out and gives the hero a chance to defeat them. Over.”

“Not a bad idea. Especially if you are the bait.” Alex chuckles and shakes her head. “Over.”

“Let’s do it by the fallen tree in the clearing? You can hide and I’ll call for her. Over.” Alex smirks at the excitement within Emma’s voice.

“Sure Peanut. Over.”

Alex quietly jogs to the huge fallen tree. Constantly on the lookout for Kara. But her adopted alien sister is nowhere to be seen. As Alex approaches the clearing she sees Emma step out of the other end and start to look around. Their eyes immediately connect, as if Emma could sense where she was and Alex quickly hides within some bushes and waits. Readying her bow and arrow. Making sure the arrow was a dummy that would only sting Emma slightly if she got in the way.

Emma waits for Alex to get into position and cups her hands over her mouth, yelling loudly. “Kara?! Hey Kara!” She waits and soon enough a blur appears before her. “Hey! You used your powers!”

“Well as a villain of course I would!” Kara bites back slyly with a grin.

“You really are evil!” Emma gasps dramatically, raising a hand to her chest.

“And when I am finished with you I will hunt your sister down and hurt her! And your little dog too!” Kara slowly takes a few menacing steps towards Emma who stands her ground.

“No! Not Alex and Toto!” Emma’s eyes fill with tears. Alex is always blown away that her baby sister can cry on demand and would often use her sister’s talent to get extra treats from their Mom or sitter.

“Little one?” Kara asks, concerned enough to break character.

“They are fake, keep going! You’re doing really well!” Emma gives Kara a smile before filling her eyes with tears again. “You will never get away with this!” Emma yells dramatically, pointing at Kara.

‘Give her the damn Oscar!’ Alex thinks with a smile as she watches the blonde’s.

Kara nods and puts a sly smirk back on her face. “But I already have!”

“No! You will never win! Good always defeats evil, you piece of bantha fodder!”

Alex snorts at Emma’s Star Wars reference and readies herself, knowing she’ll need to spring out at any moment.

“How dare you insult me! Me the mistress of all evil! You are nothing but the dirt on the bottom of my shoe!” Kara yells as she reaches for her wooden sword. Emma circles around so Kara’s back is to their eldest sister. “Now prepare to meet your doom!”

“Not if I can help it!” Alex suddenly appears behind them and fires her bow and arrow at the blonde. Hitting Kara’s right shoulder where it harmlessly falls to the ground.

“No! Ow!” Kara screams and collapses to her knees. “Damn you!” She coughs comically and falls to the floor.

Emma snorts and places a hand over her mouth.

“Emma! It’s rude to mock the dead.” Alex scolds her little sister.

“Sorry.” The blonde tries to wipe the smile off her face and make her expression natural.

“Who says I’m dead?” Kara’s muffled voice pipes up from the ground.

“Well the arrow would have been made out of a substance that could kill you and due to my excellent marksmanship it went through your heart. Killing you instantly.” Alex explains as she twirls the bow around.

Kara lifts her head up and smirks at the redhead. “You hit me in the right shoulder. My heart is on the left dummy.”

Emma snorts again which erupts into loud laughter when Alex glares at her. “Great shooting Alex!”

“Which means… Sneak attack!” Kara yells while pulling Emma onto the floor and starts tickling her.

“Nooo!!” Emma screams with laughter and tries to get out of her sister’s grip. “Please! Stop! Argh! Alex! Help!”

The redhead watches the pair with amusement before stepping in. “I’ll help you!” Alex yells theatrically. But instead of aiding Emma she joins in with Kara.

“Traitor!” Emma gasps out. “You’re… My sister!”

“And? Maybe I purposefully aimed for Kara’s right shoulder to take down the real villain!”

“Dun dun dunnnnn!” Kara laughs out as she continues ticking the thrashing blonde.

“Please stop! I’m gonna pee!” Tears of laughter stream down Emma’s face and the sisters finally stop their attack.

Alex smirks at her baby sister as Emma wipes the tears from her face, the redhead then looks up at the sky. “It’s getting late, we better head back.” She stands to her feet and holds out her hands for her sisters to take, helping Kara and Emma stand. The sister’s turn towards home and walk together in unison, laughing and joking together. Ready to take on the world.

-- -- --

Present day Emma stares out of the DEO window while plucking at her guitar while her mind wanders through her memories with her sisters. Though she can’t really remember the time before Kara came. To her Kara has always been there.

Slowly her mind starts to filter through the session she had with Alistair. They had worked on her fuzzy memories of the attack. How they are slowly coming back into focus but seemingly her brain was protecting her by blocking most of it out. Emma had projected the hurtful words spoken by her sisters that Emma does remember. That a part of her believes making her insecurities bubble up to the surface.

Lily, Alistair’s white german shepherd, had almost instantly jumped up on Emma’s bed and placed her head in Emma’s lap. Staying there throughout the session. Helping to ground Emma and when she got emotional or experienced a flashback, Lily had been a comforting presence.

A noise by Emma’s open door draws her attention away from the window. Standing in the hall was a transfixed Winn with Brainy and Nia behind him.

Emma smirks and waves at the trio. Stopping the music seemingly snaps them out of their trance.

“Hi Em.” Winn smiles brightly as he approaches one of the chairs around Emma’s bed. Emma returns his smile but it is more subdued. “You okay?” He frowns at the blonde, noticing her lack of a smile. He places the food container on the tray table by Emma and she nods while pulling the table closer to her. Her smile brightens slightly when she sees the sausages, vegetables and mash potato.

“Doctor Hamilton said you can start trying some form of solid foods and as I know you like that British restaurant down the road we thought lunch could be a bit more international.”

‘So the Tai food the other day wasn’t international enough for you?’ Emma wants to say but doesn’t write it down. Instead letting out a breathy snort as she starts cutting into the food.

“Oh yea Doc also said to cut it up real small. Chew lots before swallowing” Winn lists off the instructions Doctor Hamilton had told him while opening his container. Watching as Emma nods in response. “Enjoy your bangers and mash!”

Emma lets out a breathy laugh, remembering the weird names the Brits call their food. ‘Spotted Dick’ being her favourite by far. Not believing they would call a fruit, sponge dessert by that name, but had been proved wrong when the amused waiter brought the pudding out for Emma to try. Despite the very off putting name, Emma thoroughly enjoyed it. Almost having to fight off her bandmates to eat all of it in peace.

“Have you been to the UK Winn?” Nia asks, filling the silence.

“Yea I have. Both future and present.”

Emma lifts an eyebrow in response. Wondering what life is like in the future and being frustrated that Winn was keeping so tight lipped about it all.

“Awesome! I haven’t yet but it’s on my bucket list.” Nia replies enthusiastically, a longing look fills her eyes.

“Did you know the British public consume over sixty billion cups of tea a year. Around 100 million each day.” Brainy chimes into the conversation, causing Nia and Winn to gape at him about the statistic.

Emma continues to listen to her friends talking. Wishing she could join in and tell them about her time in the UK. But also being aware of how painfully slow conversation flows when she has to write everything down.

Sighing deeply Emma shoves more food in her mouth. Thankful that Winn chose something she enjoys. To be fair Emma likes anything. Other than Marmite… A disgusting yeast spread that half of Brits like. One of her stage managers in the UK dared Emma to try it. Making the blonde gag and causing her to drink loads of water to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth.

“Emma?” Nia calls out, breaking Emma’s train of thought. “You’ve been to the UK many times right?” Emma nods. “Have you seen the Queen?” Emma nods again.

“What when?” Winn asks with a mouthful of food and his eyebrows almost up to his hairline.

Emma quietly sighs and grabs her notebook, keenly aware of the silence in the room as she writes.

‘The Royal Variety Performance.’

“Ah yea!” Nia smiles remembering the video she found on youtube after Kara first told her about Emma. She had been transfixed by Axis’ music and Emma’s performance. Singing a powerful ballad that moved the brunette to tears. Nia had spent hours upon hours going through Axis’ social media and debated about whether to send Emma a friend request. The brunette had squealed loudly when Emma had accepted and immediately messaged her,

A knock stops Nia from asking more questions as Emma looks over to see Lucy standing awkwardly by the door. Emma can’t help but shift uncomfortably in the bed, hoping Lucy has calmed down from earlier this morning.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to yell at you.” Lucy says as if she has read Emma’s mind. “May I come in?”

Emma nods before turning back to her meal. Though she feels like she has lost her appetite.

Lucy glances at the three friends who give her looks of encouragement as she cautiously approaches Emma’s bed, watching the blonde push her food around.

“Can I sit here?” Lucy points to the end of the bed and Emma nods without looking up at her. Lucy lowers onto the bed and takes a deep breath. “So, I’m sorry about earlier. I overreacted when I found out you were missing and you are like a sister to me and I got so scared-” Lucy lifts a hand to her head trying to find the words to how terrified she had felt when Emma wasn’t in her room or in the building. She immediately rushed down to the cells but when there was no sign of Emma anywhere the brunette really panicked.

A hand grasps her knee and Lucy’s green eyes snap up to Emma’s. “Sorry.” Lucy breathes out and Emma gives her a timid smile. “So, we also need to discuss the next steps. Mainly the timeline of your recovery because we cannot disclose the Phoenix serum.”

Emma nods and leans back against the bed.

“How long would this timeline be?” Winn asks with a frown.

“We are trying to not make it overly long. Doctor Hamilton did say wounds like Emma’s would have taken at least 3 months to heal fully and she’d be bed bound for a while.”

“But Emma isn’t bed bound.” Nia blinks in confusion. “Would Emma need to stay here?”

“Or in her apartment.” Lucy looks at the blonde mournfully, who deeply swallows in response. Not liking the sound of that at all. Not feeling at all ready to go back to the apartment. Even after J’onn had told her a crew had made it good as new, with no evidence of the incident.

“There would be a huge media frenzy if any photos come out of you like this. The world thinks you can barely open your eyes and hardly move due to the amount of broken bones you have.”

Alarm fills Emma and she quickly grabs her notebook to write.

‘Robyn?!’

“Ah yea. I had her sign a NDA.” Lucy rolls her eyes. “She was annoyingly persistent. I thought you hated each other?” Emma shakes her head and lets out a breathy chuckle. “Jack isn’t far behind, though I’m trying to hold him off for as long as possible.”

Relief starts to filter in and Emma nods before starting to write again. She bites the inside of her lip at the thought of returning back to her apartment. Not sure she’s ready or even wants to go back there.

‘How do you propose we move forward?’ She holds the pad up and watches her friend’s face as she reads.

Lucy hesitates slightly before unlocking her tablet to bring up the timeline. “We will need to stage photos and videos showing your recovery and release them at the right time.” Lucy looks down at her notes. “We do have some already but I’d be happier if we do more.”

Emma glumly sighs causing Lucy to glance back up at her.

“I’m sorry Em but we need to do this to keep the media off our backs. J’onn and I had hoped it would have died down but everyone is still up in arms about what happened.”

Emma’s expression morphs into one of shock and disbelief. She quickly writes one word before showing the lawyer.

‘Why?’

“Because those that listen to your music feel a powerful connection towards you. Even though they have not met you or know you personally.” Brainy explains simply.

“And the attack has brought your music to the attention of more people.” Winn points out.

“Tell me about it.” Lucy says exasperatedly and runs a hand through her hair. “I had a three hour debate with your record label as they want to release the work you’ve done on your new album. Even the covers you’ve been sending Lena.”

Emma immediately shakes her head quickly at the idea. Causing a ringing in her ears.

“Yea I told them they can shove it.” Lucy agrees and quickly takes a piece of sausage from Emma’s container. Almost getting her hand stabbed from Emma’s fork.

Emma playfully glares at the brunette and Lucy sticks her tongue out before popping the meat into her mouth. Emma shakes her head and starts writing.

‘So I will be under house arrest?’

“I’m afraid so.” Lucy says softly, causing Emma’s shoulders to slump and her expression becomes sullen.

“I may be able to help with that.” Winn pipes up, causing Emma and Lucy to stare at him. “I, with Brainy and Lena’s help, could develop a face modifier. That way Emma can move around freely and not disrupt the timeline.”

“That could work.” Lucy squints her eyes as she considers the idea.

“May help Alex and Kara to know Emma is moving around too. I’ve never seen them so broken, I mean poor Alex, you would have thought Kelly would have stood by her and not run away-” Nia comments passionately and Emma freezes.

Horror fills Emma's whole body. She remembers Alex telling her the morning before the attack that she and Kelly were having problems but Emma never imagined Kelly would leave Alex like this. Especially with what her sister is going through.

Immediately Emma leaps out of bed and sprints to the door. She needs to see her sisters. Her heart aches knowing they are both in pain. That they are broken.

“Emma?!” Her friends yells fill the hallway as they chase after her. Agents seemingly appear ahead of her but the blonde easily sidesteps them. Using the training Alex had taught her in self defence.

As soon as she reaches the end of the corridor the blonde slides into the wall and repeatedly slams her hand on the elevator button. When it becomes obvious the doors won’t open quick enough she dashes towards the door to the stairs. Her determination gives her tunnel vision and she ignores those around her.

Until someone leaps on her back.

“Emma stop!” Lucy yells as she clings to Emma, wrapping her arms and legs around the blonde. Halting Emma from leaving the floor. “I’m sorry but they aren’t ready to see you. I’m so sorry.”

Emma tries to get Lucy off her back but the brunette has too good a grip. The blonde heaves in heavy breaths and her face scrunches up as she starts to silently cry. She longs to hold her sisters. To reassure them they are okay.

A ping announces an elevator has arrived. Emma turns her head to gaze longingly at it but feels Lucy’s grip tighten around her chest.

“Emma please.”

The blonde watches mournfully as the doors close.

When it becomes apparent that Emma won’t be running down to the cells Lucy slides off her back.

The brunette sadly looks at the tears streaming down her friend’s face. Placing a gentle hand on Emma’s shoulder Lucy guides her back to the room.

“Emma.” Nia squeaks out with wide eyes as she walks with the pair. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think-”

The blonde reaches out and squeezes Nia’s hand. Giving her a barely there smile which Nia returns with an encouraging one of her own.

Emma re-enters the room and sits heavily on her bed. Staring out of the window.

“Em?” Winn asks softly, causing Emma to slightly move her head and focus on him. “Are you gonna finish that?” Winn points at the half eaten food.

Emma shakes her head before turning back to the window. She ignores the yelp of pain from Winn when Lucy slaps his arm as he reaches out for the discarded food. Purposefully tuning out the conversation in the room.

Instead, focusing on the world outside of the DEO. The airplanes that zoom across the sky, the birds that flutter past the window and settle on the sill. The traffic down an avenue she can see. Anything to try and keep her mind from acknowledging the pain she’s feeling. The thoughts that are screaming in her mind about her sisters.

“-ma?” Winn’s voice breaks through as she recognises he’s calling out to her. Slowly she turns to look at him. “We’re going back to work. I- er- left your food.”

Emma looks down at the tray and sees that Winn hasn’t touched it. She nods and lifts the right corner of her mouth slightly to show her appreciation.

Emma eyes flick to Nia as she cautiously approaches her. “Can I give you a hug?” Emma nods and opens her arms. Nia immediately dives into them. “Message me if you need me.” Emma nods again and squeezes the superhero. When Nia steps back Winn is already there with his arms open, waiting for a hug. Making Emma voicelessly snort.

“Ah come on!” Winn whines and Emma motions for him to hug her. He does immediately and Emma can’t help but feel more of her anxiety melt away. “If you need anything just give a shout.” Winn says as he pulls away. Emma raises an eyebrow at him and can’t help but smile at the look of horror that comes across his face. Especially when Brainy, Nia and Lucy lower their heads into their hands. “Em. I’m so sorry I-”

Emma immediately lifts a hand to his lips, silencing him. Thankfully he complies, instead gaping at her like a goldfish.

“See you later Emma.” Brainy nods at her before quickly leaving the room, already analysing his tablet at ideas for a face modifier. Nia forcefully grabs Winn’s hand and pulls him out with her.

“I can stay if you want me to?” Lucy asks as she hovers by the bed and massages her shoulder.

Emma is tempted to shake her head but instead she nods. Not wanting to be alone right now.

“Okay great!” Lucy beams at her. “Do you want to do anything? I mean I have work I can be doing but I can watch a film with you or we could play a card game? Chess?”

Emma looks over at the chessboard on the coffee table by the sofa. Lena had brought it in to give Emma something else to do. But the board is currently being taken up by an intense game the girlfriends were playing. Emma reaches for her notebook and writes a response.

‘Lena will immediately say she’s won if we mess the board up.’

“Ah! We can’t have that!” Lucy jokes and sits on the end of Emma’s bed. Her expression becomes sombre as she studies the blonde closely and Emma stares right back. “Are you okay?”

Emma looks between Lucy’s questioning green eyes and slowly shakes her head.

Lucy reaches out and gently holds Emma’s hand. “I’m here if you want to discuss it.”

Emma’s eyes start to glisten with tears and she wipes at them in exasperation.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Lucy grabs Emma’s hand to halt her rubbing. “It’s okay to cry. God knows I’m done my fair share recently.”

Emma tilts her head and frowns slightly.

“What?” Lucy mirrors Emma’s expression. The blonde lets go of Lucy’s hand and starts writing.

‘What do you mean?’

“About what?” Lucy asks, confusion written across her face.

‘What have you been crying about?’

“About you! And Alex and Kara! This whole shit show!” Lucy says bitterly and watches Emma move her pen to paper. “And don’t even think about writing that you are not worth my tears cause you fucking are!”

Emma eyes’s snap up to Lucy’s and her mouth drops open. She was going to write exactly that.

“I’m right aren’t I?”

Emma shuts her mouth and shakes her head.

“Bull.” Lucy narrows her eyes. “Have you forgotten I am a lawyer? And a damn good one at that?”

Emma smiles sadly and looks down to write. ‘Yea you are. Frustratingly so.’

“Unless I’m the one defending you right?” Lucy raises an eyebrow and Emma nods, her smile turning more genuine. “So, do you wanna write about it? You don’t have to, I just-” Lucy hesitates, sighing deeply as she chooses her words. “I worry about you and I wish I could make everything better.”

‘I know.’

“You totally wrote that with Han Solo in mind didn’t you?”

Emma lets out a breathy snort and Lucy laughs loudly.

“You're such a nerd.” Lucy teases and Emma just shrugs. But her smile fades and the blonde gazes down at the paper as she thinks about her sisters. “Em?”

Emma takes a breath and starts writing. Lucy watches her and the expressions Emma makes as she scribbles her thoughts down. In these moments Lucy really misses Emma’s voice and her anger bubbles up at whoever did this to her friend. But before Lucy’s anger simmers up anymore Emma turns the notepad around.

‘I just feel so helpless. We’ve always done everything together and I’m happy they have each other but I want to be there with them. Dad always joked we were like a three legged stool. When one of us wasn’t at home we almost couldn’t function. I get what you are saying that they aren’t ready to see me... But I just miss them so much.’

“Aw Em.” Lucy says sympathetically after she reads. Her eyes flick back up to Emma’s. “It will get better. I know that doesn’t help right now. But, it will.”

Emma nods and leans back against the bed.

“So, what do you want to do?”

‘Okay if I paint?’

“Of course it is! I’ll just work here on my tablet.” Lucy smiles reassuringly at Emma and hops off the bed. She pauses and turns back around to Emma. “Hug?”

Emma smiles and opens her arms. Lucy wraps her arms around the blonde and tries to convey how much she cares for her in it.

After Lucy sits in a chair to work she can’t help but watch how Emma morphs into her creative mode. How the blonde focuses solely on what she’s doing with her paint brush. The way Emma’s eyes squint and her tongue slightly pokes out to the side.

Lucy smiles and tries to concentrate on her own work. Leaving the pair in peaceful silence.

-- -- --

Many hours later there is a knock on the door. Lucy glances up as Lena and Sam enter the room.

“Hi!” Lucy greets the friends happily and turns to look at Emma. The blonde is still so busy with what she’s doing she hasn’t noticed the new arrivals.

It’s only when Emma cleans her brushes, happy with what she’s done, does she sense Lena’s presence in the room. She quickly looks up towards the sofa where Lena, Sam and Lucy are sitting. Seemingly halting their conversation as the trio notice Emma’s focus on them. Lena can’t help but greet her girlfriend with a beaming smile.

“Hi love.” Lena says while standing and approaches the blonde. Emma waves at her but gives her a questioning look. “I didn’t want to disturb you.” Lena gracefully sits on the bed next to Emma and softly kisses the blonde’s lips. “You were so engrossed in what you were doing.”

“Sorry.”

“No don’t be! I’m glad you are painting.” Lena smiles reassuringly at her girlfriend. Her smiles then morphs into a shy one. “I- er- got you something.”

Emma tilts her head and her eyes bulge when Lena lifts a huge bouquet of flowers up. Having not noticed them when the raven haired beauty walked in or when she came over to the bed.

“Wow!” Emma signs and she reaches out to touch a red rose. Feeling the softness of the petal and admiring the colour.

“The florist told me the roses mean love, obviously. The baby breath is everlasting love. The-” Lena pauses as she tries to remember the meaning of the other flowers. Emma starts kissing her cheek making Lena beam and lean into them. “Em! I’m trying to think!” Emma pulls away and rests her chin on Lena’s shoulder. “So, the daisies are my love is pure and the tulips all have different meanings, the red being eternal love, the orange desire and passion, yellow happiness and sunshine and the cream tulips-” Lena gently moves her girlfriend’s head so she can gaze deeply into Emma’s slightly bloodshot eyes. “I will love you forever.”

She watches as Emma melts and her eyes glisten with tears. The blonde tilts her head and slowly leans towards her girlfriend. Lena copies her and they gently kiss but before they can deepen it further and noise fills the room.

“Blurgh!” Lucy yells out, pretending to heave. Emma furiously pulls away and flips her off. Glaring at the brunette before turning back to her girlfriend.

“Thank you. I love them.”

“I’m glad.” Lena smirks at the blonde and Emma carefully places the bouquet on the tray table. Making sure not to knock any of the other stuff on there. “So, how's your head?”

“Haven’t had any complaints yet.” Emma signs cheekily and Lena roars with laughter.

“What did she say?” Sam looks between the two girlfriends, wanting to know why Lena reacted the way she did.

“Haven’t had any complaints yet.” Lena responds while continuing to laugh, causing the two brunettes to join in with her and Emma just smiles happily at them as she snuggles into her girlfriend.

(Part Twenty One)

#supergirl #supergirl tv #supergirl imagine #supergirl fanfic #supergirl baby danvers #lena luthor x baby danvers #lena luthor imagine #alex danvers x baby danvers #alex danvers imagine #kara danvers x baby danvers #kara danvers imagine #baby danvers #b!d

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jesussavedevenme · 3 years

Text

To Be A Knight

This is the beginning of a collection of one shots following Seth's adventures as a Knight of the Dawn

Description: Like most young boys Seth had always dreamed of being a spy. He had spent most of his childhood sneaking around the house with a walky-talky while humming the Mission Impossible theme song. And while he technically still wasn't a spy,he was pretty darn close.

May 20

St.Matthew's Island, Alaska

6:25 pm

"Sorenson, I've got a job for you." came a gruff voice from down the hall. Seth turned and saw his handler, a man by the name of Flynn Hotching, leaning out of the door to his office. Flynn was a tall and strong man with a broad frame. At fifty five he was in excellent shape and the only indications to his age were the flecks of white that were sprinkled throughout his dark hair and neatly trimmed beard. Flynn was a serious man and often gave off an intimidating vibe, but Seth knew that he wasn't that bad once you got to know him.

Seth stood, ignoring the way his back popped and cracked in protest because of how long he had spent sitting in the rather uncomfortable wooden chair. He had once started a petition to replace them with those really comfortable bean bag chairs. He actually had quite a few supporters. But Flynn, being the man he was, just rolled his eyes and walked away. Seth could feel the stares of his fellow knights burning into the back of his head as he made his way over but opted to ignore it. Seth got missions quite frequently, a fact that many knights were slightly jealous of since it would occasionally get him out of some the more mundane tasks a Knight had to complete. For example, paper work. Which is what he had been doing when he had been called. He quickly made his way over, eager to get away from the evil sea of inevitable paper cuts. He couldn't help but chuckle as he mentally heard Eve calling him a drama queen. Though she wasn't much better.

Flynn barely waited for the door of his to close behind him before he began pouring out the details of whatever job he had lined up.

" There's a dealer that's been causing us some problems. They are preying on creatures such as unicorns and there has been some rumors that they are working with some less than savory characters. I need you to track them down. " Flynn stated firmly. Seth narrowed his eyes, there was no way it was that easy. If it was that simple then they would have brought in a rookie.

"Ok, what's the catch." He replied crossing his arms over his chest.The man heaved a sigh before sliding a file towards him.

" The catch is we don't have any idea who the dealer is. We don't even have a description. However, all of our dealers crimes have a certain flare to them and we have reason to believe that he is human. We have intercepted news of a deal taking place in three days in Belize. "

Seth read the file and whistled at the lack of information. The file was extremely limited which meant that whoever was doing this knew what they were doing. The Knights of the Dawn had excellent connections and kept tabs on every possible threat so for them to be this uninformed- well lets just say it wasn't good. It also meant he was walking into this mission completely blind. He couldn't plan for anything meaning he had to plan for everything. He had no idea what was going to happen once he got there but, if you ask Seth, that was part of the fun.

"Alright I'll do it." Seth replied after a moment of thought. He had to admit he only pretended to think about it, mostly just for the suspense. He had always loved a good mystery and this mission honestly excited him.

"Good, your plane leaves tomorrow at eight am sharp. You will be issued a bag that will be stocked with supplies but I advise you to bring anything you think would be useful" He said gesturing to the satchel over his shoulder, that served as his emergency kit. " I have wired five thousand dollars into your account but if you need more than that you know who to call." Seth nodded, placing the folder in his satchel and walked out of the office, heading to his apartment to prepare for the mission ahead. He pulled his coat tighter around his body as he walked outside and realized that it was later than he had originally thought. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon and though Seth loved the pinks and oranges that painted the sky, he could practically feel the temperature dropping. Last time he had checked it was 25 degrees, which is no where near as cold as it could get but it was still very cold. Despite how long he had been in Alaska, he had yet to get used to the bitter cold. And he honestly didn't think he ever would. Seth guessed he should count himself lucky, this was the Knights biggest base and it had been cleverly hidden by distractor spells as well as the natural terrain of the island. Seth shivered as a strong gust of wind blew through the base reminding him of the other reason it stayed hidden from most people. Luckily he lived on the grounds of the base so it was only about a minutes walk.

The Knights of the Dawn had no shortage of money. Seth wasn't sure how they got there hands on so much money and honestly he didn't want to know. It was all warranted though considering how many supplies they had to buy along with the amount of damage control. It was amazing sometimes how much chaos a secret organization could cause. Seth knew he definitely wasn't the favourite over in the legal department because of some of the 'incidents' that had been a result of his missions. Seth was proud to be able to state that these incidents were few and far between but when they did happen he knew they had to be a nightmare to clean up.

Needless to say, with all that money, his apartment was very nice. It had a decent size living room and kitchen which connected go a small dining area. Upstairs there was two bedrooms and a bathroom. Seth's furniture was pretty sparse if he was being honest. He had a couch that had been there when he moved in, his bed, a desk, a small dining table that has also come with the apartment, as well as few chairs scattered here and there. It didn't bother him in the slightest. He honestly wasn't here that often. He slept there when he wasn't out on missions which, once again, was pretty rare. Besides the real fun began downstairs. He walked down the stairs into what appeared to be a musty, unfinished basement. A punching bag hung from one of the exposed beams and a small pile of weights sat not far from it. Seth rarely used those, they were reserved for restless nights when the big communal gym and training area was closed for the night.

Seth strode confidently towards the back wall and slid away a lose board revealing a keypad. It was truly a horrible hiding spot for something that important but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. The neat thing about the keypad though was that it had been enchanted so that he was the only one who could touch it. Meaning that not only did you need the correct code, but he had to be the one to punch it in. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen if someone else touched it but he knew it would do more than just set off an alarm. Stuff like always made Seth feel like a true spy and totally made up for the unsecured hiding space.

Seth punched in the code and heard the distinct sound of stone scraping on stone, briefly reminding him of his few days spent in the Sphinx's prison. When the sound stopped, a small opening was revealed that lead to a room containing his weapons and supplies. From the outside the room appeared to be tiny and cramped but it had also been enchanted to be much bigger on the inside. It wasn't quite as big as the knapsack they had all those years ago but it was nothing to sneeze at. Still, no matter how big it was on the outside, Seth had to crouch down to fit through the opening. The door frame was ridiculously short and the amount of time he had smacked his head against the top was honestly embarrassing. The supplies inside the room was a knights dream. There was everything you could dream of, swords, daggers, armor, bows, you name it. The special thing about this room though, was that most of the items were his. They were things he had gathered prior to becoming a knight. Seth also had several magical talismans and tools that had gotten him out of more than a few sketchy situations. His favorite talisman was a ring that sat on his right forefinger. The ring had been a gift from The Fairy King when Seth had been accepted into the Knights Academy. It was pitch black and didn't look like much at first glance however, when you looked closer you could see three unicorns that were engraved on its surface, each of which served more functional purposes. The first unicorn, when pressed, sent out a distress signal strong enough to reach Bracken even if he was in the fairy realm. The distress signal also went out to anyone who had a connected talisman. At this point the only ones being himself and Kendra who had gotten hers when she officially began dating Bracken in the form of a bracelet. The second unicorn held a few precious drops of unicorn blood. The substance could heal almost anything but it could only be used once. The final unicorn was arguably Seth's favorite. When it was pressed it would release a pearly white dagger which had been extremely helpful in the past. The downside to this tool was that, since it was made of light, he tended to have a harder time controlling it.

Seth looked through his stash, trying to decide which weapons were right for this particular mission. He knew at this point stealth was key but if you leave for a job without a weapon, you're just going to get yourself killed.

When going on stealth missions the best route to take is small weapons that can be easily concealed, such as daggers or blow darts. However, the problem with that was those were easily detected when going through airport security. Ever since becoming a knight Seth had decided that he hated flying. It was loud, chaotic, and absolutely impossible to tell who was a danger to you.

Plus carrying weapons onto the plane was pretty much impossible but, a knight needed to be prepared in every situation. The weapon had to be easily accessible, ready at a moments notice, and the best way to do that is to build a weapon that doesn't look like a weapon. Seth walked over to a small red tool box tucked away in the corner, and pulled out a large nut and and tied a piece of cord to it. He secured the cord and then started to spin it, making sure nothing was going to fall off. And just like that he had a weapon that made a killer whip and could easily crack a mans skull if it came down to that. The best part was that it wouldn't trip any alarms. Sure it might seem a little odd that someone carries a piece of cord tied to a nut but, he wouldn't get arrested for it. Seth tied the lose cord around his neck, creating a necklace that he could hide underneath his shirt until it was needed. When that was finished he turned his attention to his emergency kit and sifted through the various items, taking out anything that would tip off a scanner. Seth gathered the items that he had taken out and moved towards the suitcase that he would be taking with him. He felt around one of the sides and unzipped a pocket so small that you most likely wouldn't see unless you knew it was there. In the pocket he placed the remaining items of his emergency kit. This time he wasn't worried about the items being seen as the pocket had been enchanted to hide the items from sight. Seth then repeated the process with the bottom of the suitcase, peeling back the inside to reveal a similar compartment that had also been enchanted to be bigger. In this pocket he placed two daggers, A blow gun and darts, and his favorite sword. He pulled the sword out of it's sheath and inspected it for any chips or dull edges. The sword was jet black and held the name Shadow Slayer, which was kind of ironic given its nature. The sword held just enough darkness to work well with him but not so much that there was a risk it would corrupt him. He had found the sword while on a mission for the fairy realm not long before joining the Knights. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to use it because lets face it, milk or no milk a sword was still a sword. However, Seth had learned that it payed to be prepared. So with that thought in mind, he placed the sheathed sword in the compartment, closed it up, and began to carry it upstairs to his bedroom. He filled the rest of the suit case with clothes and other essentials and once he was satisfied that he had everything, he closed it up.

He slumped down in his desk chair and pulled out the file he had stashed in his emergency kit, pouring over what little detail it had and attempting to prepare for what was to come.

†††††

May 21

St.Matthews Island, Alaska

5:00am

The next morning Seth was up well before five am preparing for the mission ahead. Thankfully he had always been a morning person so the early hour didn't bother him in the slightest. He grabbed his bags and exited the apartment, heading to the missions office to pick up the final things he would need for this job.

The lady at the desk, He pretty sure her name is Jennifer, smiled at him as he approached the counter. She was a women in her mid thirties and she was one of the nicer people that worked the desk. There were quite a few of the people working here that obviously didn't want to and others who even seemed to resent it. Seth really couldn't blame them though, he had worked here for a few months while he was going through training and it definitely hadn't been the most fun or exciting job out there.

" ID and case number?" She asked as more of a formality than anything else. Seth was such a regular visitor that he was pretty sure they knew who he was. However, since it was required, he slid showed them his badge and rattled the number off anyway. Seth supposed that he coukd see the logic behind the badge. It was a way of identifing someone beyond ther looks. All of them had been enchanted fo return to their owners, generally via their pocket, should they be lost. Seems simple and secure enough. However, in their line of work things were rarely that black and white. Seth is not entirely sure what would happen to the badge if their was a stingbuld or if the enchantment could be removed. Luckily they didn't do much. They were just means of identification and they didn't let you into anything at all. Any area qhich required a certain level of access had several different enchantments placed on it. Ones that were designed to recognize the person requesting access and weed out potential imposters. After the battle of Zzyzx and the whole mess with the Evening Star, the knights had undergone huge security upgrades. Bracken as well as one of his sisters, Iredessa, had set mist of the enchantments. Kendra had also played a major part on strengthening these enchantments a few years ago.

The case numbers were pretty harmless. Not the most secure but all they did was let the people at the desk know what bag of supplies to get. It didn't give access to any crucial or confidential information. The most a fake could get was an issued duffle bag and possibly some.plane tickets.

Jennifer smiled as she stood and disappeared through a secured metal door. When she returned a few minutes later she was carrying a black duffle bag which she passed to him over the counter along with a two way plane ticket.

"Thanks a lot," Seth told her, flashing a bright smile her way. She hummed in response before responding,

"Stay safe out there,"

"I'll try my best," Seth replied with a grin as he headed towards the door and began the short treck to the parking lot where a car would take him to the airport. He knew he must have looked a little funny carrying around a huge duffle bag, suit case and a leather satchel that sat across his shoulder but he wasn't worried. Every Knight here had been in similar situations before. Seth looked around the parking lot, squinting in the bright morning sun, before making his way to the small grey jeep that sat close to the front. Leaning against the side was a tall guy with wind blown red hair and a lean build. Seth smiled when he spotted him. The man's name was Parker and he was one of Seth's closest friends here on the base. They had gone through training together though, Parker was about three years older than him. He was twenty-four while Seth was only twenty-one. Seth, unfortunately, hadn't had a lot of friends at that time. Because of his shadow charmer status, people tended to be wary of him but Parker had never been deterred by his abnormal abilities.

In between his own missions Parker volunteered to drive Knights back and forth to the airport. Due to Seth's frequent missions, the two usually ended up paired together.

"Another one Sorenson? Didn't you just finish that one in Sweeping Pine preserve like a week ago?"

" Yeah, Jealous?" Seth teased, raising his eyebrows. Parker laughed and shot a playful glare at the taller boy. Despite Parker's tall height, he was still at least and inch shorter than Seth. Though to be fair, not many people were taller than Seth. A fact that many people found unsettling.

" Just a little bit dude. What, you trying to show the rest of us up or something?" Parker laughed back, poking Seth in the side as he got into the car. Seth rolled his eyes as he loaded his bags into the car before following Parker's lead. They road in silence for several minutes as Parker navigated his way out of the crowded base and set up the directions to the international airport. It wasn't everyday that a Knight flew internationally for a mission. Generally if they were going to somewhere outside the country they were going to a preserve and would have to be flown there by helicopter or other means. So while it did happen, it didn't happen often.

Seth used the temporary quiet to unzip the bulky duffle bag and look at its contents.

Looking into his bag for a mission and seeing the certain supplies or gadgets still made him a bit giddy. Like most young boys, Seth had always wanted to be a spy. He had spent most of his childhood sneaking around the house with a cheap walky-talky while humming the mission impossible theme song. And while he technically wasn't a spy, he was pretty darn close. One of the common misconceptions about the Knights of the Dawn was that they didn't use any human or modern technology such as computers and other gadgets to do their job. However that was far from true. Sure they tended to avoid it when dealing directly with magical creatures, but they often used these gadgets for things such reconnaissance.

Inside the bag was some of the things you would expect such a binoculars and many more that you wouldn't expect. Seth's favorite part of these bags were the small box near the bottom that generally came with each one. The box contained different potions that you might need for the mission. Seth had always found potions to be fascinating. There had even been a time that he had considered going into the field himself. For this particular mission he had been given a night vision potion which was pretty self explanatory, An eavesdropping potion that enhanced his hearing and allowed him to listen in on a conversation without getting too close, and a form of truth serum that would loosen the lips of of someone you wish to get information from. There was at least three bottles of each along with the normal defense and first aid potions that were added. Such as, the gaseous potion, a potion for pain, a salve for injuries and many more. On top of that Tanu insisted on making sure that Seth was always stocked with his own personal set of potions. Tanu usually supplied him with more gaseous potions, a gummy potion, a giant potion, a new potion that enhanced his focus and his reflexes, as well as plenty of first aid related ones. He seemed to be convinced that Seth would end up seriously injured on every mission. Though sadly, Seth could admit, that the worry wasn't completely unfounded. Other than the potions, the bag contained an enchanted communicator, a few listening devices, a laptop, and a few other useful knick knacks.

" Got anything good in there?" Parker questioned.

" You bet," Seth replied holding up the box of potions that was in his bag even knowing that with his friends eyes on the road and so Parker probably couldn't see them. Parker laughed anyway not needing his eyes to know what Seth was referring to.

" Seth, I swear I have never seen anyone get so excited over potions before."

" What can I say, I'm a simple guy," He replied earning a scoff from Parker.

" Uh huh, says the literal Shadow Charmer who has a mission every other week," The pair laughed once again and fell into an easy back and forth banter. Continuing there shenanigans until they pulled into the airport. It was then, as much as he, loathed to do it he bid Parker farewell , thanked him for the ride, and walked into the crowded airport.

Arriving at the airport was just as hectic as he expected it to be. Of course it was crazy for everyone but, it was even more so when you are constantly looking over your shoulder or waiting to get stopped by airport security. Thankfully he was able to board the plane okay even if his makeshift weapon did raise a few eyebrows.

Something Seth had learned was that a knight should always fly economy. It may not be the most comfortable but few people would start a fight with that many witnesses around. Plus it was easier to blend in. A tee shirt and some jeans and you were all set. Ready to settle in for a long flight.

Seth popped one ear bud in his ear but left the other out in order to let him hear incoming threats. Seth found it impossible to sleep on a plane, no matter how long the journey was, because of the unknown circumstances. It would be difficult to keep an eye on people and to know who was a threat. Unlike Kendra, Seth hated reading. Only a few books had every managed to hold his attention for any.period of time. He was too restless. He would much rather be doing something outside. Moving and exploring. He didn't mind doing art, sketching being his favorite. However, that was difficult to do in a crowded, bunny plane. So Seth resigned himself to a long ride half listening to music and ignoring the guy beside him who vaguely smelled like onions.

††††

May 22

Corazol, Belize

4:45 pm

Seth stretched his stiff legs as he walked from baggage claim to the exit of the airport. He breathed deeply and relished the feeling of the sun on his skin, even though he knew he would quickly become hot. But, after a long eight and a half hour flight, they were welcome changes. He glanced at the clock hung on the wall and noted the time. He knew that Corazol Belize was about two hours ahead of Alaska. Not that it mattered. Seth was pretty much immune to jet lag at this point. Not necessarily because of the constant travel, though that certainly helped, but because of the erratic and uncertain sleep schedule he had become used to while on any mission. His body had become well trained in sleeping whenever it was told. The only thing that interrupted this was nightmares but he rarely got those while on missions because his mind was too focused on other things. Seth would never admit it but that's one of the reasons he takes on as many missions as they will give him.

Seth's hotel was not far from the airport so he opted to walk there. He had done some research the night before and found a hotel that he rented under the name of Roger Alpine. The Knights would usually rent one for you but Seth preferred to do it himself. To say the hotel he chose was run down would be putting it nicely. The paint was peeling horribly from the siding and it was definitely not on the nicest side of town. The rooms were separated from the outside by a door with A flimsy looking lock, something Seth would secure once he had settled in. The room held a musty scent mixed with the smell of cigarette smoke. There was a bed in the center of the room, covered in some unsettling stains, a side table and lamp beside it, and a desk under the window. The window itself had a pair of thin ratty curtains and crooked blinds. There wasn't much Seth could do about the window, except string up a blanket, which he did. Opening his suitcase and removing his clothes, he opened the hidden compartment. From inside he took out the pieces of his emergency kit that he had stashed. He also opened up the duffle bag he had and pulled out a few other various knick knacks that he thought he might find useful. He then empty the remaining items into the compartment at the bottom of his suitcase. Leaving the duffle bag empty. This was.common practice for Seth in a place like this. He didn't want to leave his unused supplies in a relatively unprotected duffle bag while he was away. Unfortunately this was something Seth had learned the hard way.

In the end Seth was left with: the box of potions, a rope, a small bottle which held a thin dust that immediately soaked into the skin upon contact allowing the victim to be tracked, dark sunglasses (which did indeed have a camera and microphone installed) , a slingshot, some marbles( which as Seth had found were great for distractions), binoculars, and a pair of ear buds. All of these things were packed neatly into his emergency kit, ready for use. He still had his makeshift weapon secured around his neck and two knife secured in a holster and strapped to each of his legs. He had glanced mournfully at his sword but knew that it would only draw in wanted attention. Besides today wasn't about getting into a fight. Today was about exploring Corazol and getting a lay of the land. Still it played to be prepared, hence the knives. Finally, satisfied that he was ready, Seth left the dingy hotel room and began to wander along the streets. Searching for anything that might lead him in the right direction.

Corazol was a quaint little sea side town. You could smell the salt in the air, carried by the cool breeze. Corazol was small in population but it also had its fair amount of tourists. Especially right now with summer just around the corner. The busy streets were lined with street vendors all vying for his attention but Seth was more interest in searching his surroundings. The smells coming from said street vendors were heavenly and caused his stomach to crumble loudly reminding him that not only had he not eaten breakfast this morning, but that he had been walking for over an hour. Technically he could have rented a car, he definitely had the funds for it, and most Knights probably would. However Seth, was not most Knights. He didn't like rental cars for many reasons, one because it was easier to see a car and a license plate then just someone walking in a crowd. Two, every rental car was required to have trackers and such in them to prevent theft which was fine in most cases but problematic for him. That wasn't necessarily a huge risk but it was still one Seth wasn't willing to take. Maybe he had grown paranoid, but he was still alive so there's that. Finally he didn't like rental cars because, in his line of work, it was likely to get beaten up or destroyed. Plus having a car would cause him to miss out on the unique sights, sounds, and smells. That is yet another thing Seth loved about his job. It allowed him to travel the world and to see as well as, experience things he would never get to otherwise.

He had to admit this was a good place to go if you were going to hunt for artifacts and magical creatures and then illegally sell them . The Cerror Ruins were only a few miles away and Seth knew that it was a prime spot for missing person's cases, especially when people wandered off alone. He hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't have to venture there during this trip but, that's definitely where he would go if he was an illegal dealer trying to avoid the Knights as well as any other prying eyes and ears. Plus it wasn't exactly a place you would expect anything big to happen. And besides the Cerror Ruins, their wasn't really anything magical about the place. It honestly seemed kind of ordinary. It was perfect because it tended to be overlooked.

After another thirty minutes had past, the rumbling in Seth's stomach became too overwhelming to ignore and he resolved find a place to eat. He stumbled upon a small hole in the wall restaurant that seemed to be pretty popular amongst the locals. Meaning it was the perfect place for Seth to gather some information.

Even though he worked directly with magical creatures, you'd be surprised how many times he had to interact with regular people. The knowledge gathered from these people was often shaky at best and should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. However, this information often helped him form some semblance of an idea. In his experience Seth had learned that regular people noticed a lot more than even they realize. In addition most people never pass up a chance for a good gossip. And since they didn't know how valuable their information was, they were a lot less stingy with it. The only problem you run into is when they begin to ask questions and wonder why you're asking and who you are. When that happens you become the subject of gossip and word will eventually get back to you enemy. That's why Seth hated small towns. The information might be easier to come by, but it was also easier to get caught. And getting caught meant revealing your mission too soon.

In his line of work , timing was everything. Move in too soon and you risk blowing you cover as well as the entire mission. However, if you don't move in quick enough you'll miss your chance to get your guy. That perfect timing came only when you knew you enemy better than they knew themselves. It came from careful observation and lots of Intel.

Gathering Intel was arguably one of the most boring and tedious parts of Seth's job. It involved a lot of waiting, listening, learning, more waiting, and every once and awhile, a well calculated risk. Luckily, for Seth, his shade walking gave him an edge in this particular area. The ability allowed him to get closer to his enemies so he could overhear plans and put together one of his own. However no ability came without its share of risks. He had gotten a lot better at learning to shroud himself in the shadow to help cover his movements when shade walking but it wasn't an exact science. Not adding enough shadow would reveal his position should he happen to move too quickly however, adding too much shadow could be just as revealing.

Seth's favorite way of gathering Intel was doing exactly what he was doing now. Finding a place to eat while he sat back and listened. Small places like the diner he had just entered were prime spots for gossip. Additionally, they gave him an opening to talk with the locals in a relatively unsuspicious way. People tended to loosen up and talk more freely when both parties were eating. Plus it gave Seth a reason to try all the local dishes. Most of which were pretty good. The smell of home cooked food hit his nose the minute he walked through the door making his mouth water so much it was a wonder he didn't start drooling. He was met at the entrance by a plump, kind looking lady, who appeared to be somewhere in her mid fifties judging by the gray streaking through her black hair. The hair was pulled tightly into a bun at the back of her head, accentuating her full rosy cheeks. He apron stated that he name was Rosa which somehow seemed to fit her perfectly, even thought Seth didn't know her. She gave off a very motherly vibe that instantly made Seth feel at home. With a smile she led Seth to a table and asked him for his drink order. To which he replied with a simple black coffee. Coffee was something Seth had quickly become addicted when he became a Knight. It often helped him through the multiple all nighters he pulled while on a mission. Some minutes later she returned with his coffee, this time ready for his order of food.

" What would you recommend. I'm from out of town so I'm counting on you to hook me up with the good stuff," He said with a wink. Rosa laughed heartily and replied with a thick accent,

" Well only for you I will tell you my personal favorite," She rattled off the name of a dish which sounded completely foreign to Seth but he wasn't going to admit that.

" Ok then, you've talked me into it,.I'll get that," He replied and as Rosa turned to leave he continued, " And could you do me a favor and just wave your little magic wand and take all the fat and calories out for me," Once again Rosa replied with a full bellied laugh.

"You are a funny man. But for you I will have to add extra. Maybe then some of it will stick. You look like you need it," She teased in return before turning a leaving Seth alone once more. He leaned back in his chair, and pulled out his phone. Absent mindedly scrolling through something or another and trying to hide the fact that he was listening to the conversations around him. The diner was loud, making it difficult to discern the voice of only one person. Seth was tempted to use the potion he had that would hone his eyesight and hearing but didn't want to waste it seeing as he only had one. It would be unfortunate to use all of it now at the beginning of the mission when he could need it more later on.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rose who had come with his food. Seth was shocked at how quick the service was seeing as it was rush hour and the small diner was packed to the gills. With the meal she also brought his check. Seth glanced at the check, surprised at the low prices considering the quality of the food.

" Well would you look at that! you must have given me the senior citizen discount!" He paused for the laugh that he had come to expect and then followed up with, "So what are some cool things to do and see while I'm here, anything particularly interesting?"

" Oh well the Cerror Ruins are always a prime spot for tourism but you must be careful to stay on the trails. Too many people wander off and go missing. One of my favorite things is to see the sights at night. The water takes on this stunning color and you can see the star as clear as day. But if you choose that route you best stay away from Devils Tavern. Its on the North end of Corazol, close to the beaches. That place is nothing but trouble, and full of shady characters, especially recently," Rosa said. Rosa was obviously the type of person who talked openly once you got them going. The last part of her sentence caught Seth's attention.

" Really, shady people in this town? Surely not everyone seems so nice,"

" You are young. You haven't seen the darkness of man. People are not always as they seem child," She replied with a sad smile. Seth internally rolled his eyes. If only she knew. " But yes, a week or so ago , this man arrived and came into the diner to eat. He seemed normal enough even if he was a bit rude. However, later that night I saw him outside the Devils Tavern, its on my route home you see, and he was talking in hushed tones with another man. They were standing in the shadows real creepy like. I wasn't really able to hear what they were saying but they didn't sound to happy and they looked like they were planning something, " Rosa finished with a grim look on her face. A look that didn't last long as it was replaced with her usual bright smile.

Seth stored the information away for later, and smiled brightly in return. Acting as if the information had no effect on him at all. Something that had always made Seth a good agent was his poker face. He had a good control over which emotions showed on his face. This was a vast contrast to Kendra who tended to be easily read, like an open book. One with pictures and big letters. A fact that Seth ,and surprisingly Bracken, had teased her relentlessly for.

" Well I won't keep you, thanks for chatting with me . And I will be sure to check out those suggestions," He said, putting an end to the conversation. Seth then dug into his food, nearly moaning at the taste. It was incredibly good. Probably one of the best meals he's had while on a mission. While he ate, he began to sift through the information that he had been given. As always he had to wonder how much of it was true, seeing as people had a tendency to exaggerate. He also couldn't bring himself to believe that Rosa stumbled upon the Devil's Tavern, a place she claimed to despise, on her way home. From what he had seen of Corazol most of the housing was away from that part of the beaches. He wasn't going to completely discredit it but as Rosa had said, people aren't always who they seemed. However, no how much truth there was in the statement, one thing remained true. Tonight he was heading to the Devil's Tavern.

†††††

May 22

Corazol, Belize

10:00pm

Seth walked through the darkened streets. Careful to remain close enough to the street lights so as not to unintentionally shade walk. He had gotten a lot better at controlling it but it still happened from time to time. And he couldn't afford giving himself away like that. Just in case there were eyes watching him that he could not see. He had done a pretty good job of keeping on the down low. After lunch he had wandered around the streets a bit more and then headed to the beaches. Particularly the part of the beach close to the Devil's Tavern. The Devil's Tavern had been relatively quiet during the day. The sign had stated that they were opened but it had seemed oddly empty. That was a stark contrast to what he was seeing now.

The tavern now seemed to be packed to the gills with people. And even more of them were standing outside. Even from where he was standing a few feet away he could hear the loud music that played he could see the bright, colorful lights shiny through the windows. As Seth drew closer he saw a problem. Standing at the door was a big burly man wearing dark sunglasses and a tight short sleeved T-shirt that accented his bulging muscles. He was shorter than Seth, most people were, but he made up for it in width. Seth was considered to have pretty wide shoulders and his years of training had hardened his muscles into steel cords. However, none of this reassured him as he stared at a man that looked like he could snap him in half like a twig. He wasn't scared of the man per say. But, he was definitely cautious.

As Seth approached the man he seemed to be doing his own analysis and his stance showed that he didn't feel even the slightest bit intimidated. Which was fair and actually worked to Seth's advantage He had done his best to tone down the darkness of his aura that seemed to put people on edge. Plus the leather jacket he had opted to wear hit the bulk of his muscles, which weren't overly pronounced to begin with, as well as a few... other tools. Aside from the daggers strapped to his legs and the makeshift weapon around his neck, he had three throwing knives cleverly hidden in the folds of his jacket. Unfortunately, much to Seth's displeasure, he had once again leave his sword behind. As weird as it may sound he felt like the sword gave him a better sense of security than the multiple knives strapped to his body. He was dangerous with both weapons and that was disregarding the fact that he was a shadow charmer. So even without the sword, he was hardly helpless. Still, he always felt oddly bare without it. A look settled on the bouncers face. A look that Seth had often seen on bullies when he was a kid. In the end that was all this guy was. A bully. And obviously he saw Seth as his next victim. However, despite all the scenarios Seth was mentally planning for, all the man did was sneer. Seth did his best to pretend he was scared as he entered the building

The air smelled heavily of alcohol and the music, which had been loud before, now seemed to shake the floor. He immediately began to weave his way through the sweaty bodies packing the room searching for signs of anything that was amiss. You would think that a place with this much chaos would make it harder to find anything let alone one person but for Seth it made it easier. If there was one thing that the file full of its limited information had taught Seth was that this guy was far from careless. He wouldn't risk anything that might loosen his tongue. The rest of the people in this place shared no such caution. So find the guy who can walk a straight line and that was probably who Seth was looking for.

He hadn't been searching for more than five minutes when something caught his eyes. His eyes darted to what had caught his attention and and, confirming his previous suspicions to be true, he found Rosa.

†††††

So there is part one!!!! Most of this collection will be one shots but seeing as this z alone is over seven thousand words I figured I needed to split them up. I will hopefully be able to post the next part very soon. It needs a few touch ups and changes but.other than that its.practically done. This took SOOO much research its not even funny. I'm pretty sure trip advisor things I'm moving to Belize. Anyway I really hope you all like it, it is probably one of my favorite fics to date so let me know what you think. I apologize for any mistakes you may find. Let me know what adventures you want Seth to have in this book or any other requests you have!!!!!

#fablehaven #dragonwatch #fhdw #seth sorenson #Knights of the dawn #i loved writing this one

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letthemhateme · 3 years

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"Anduin is a wimp" "Anduin is a bad character"

INHALES HERE IS MY RANT, SHADOWLANDS SPOILERS BELOW

His mother was killed just after he was born. His father was missing and Anduin was made king at like, ten. His father returns, split into two people, and then suddenly Onyxia has kidnapped Anduin and is trying to feed him to her whelps. At TEN. Then bam, the Cataclysm starts happening and he watches his friends and good people die and is helpless to save them. He has to watch as Jaina, who is basically his aunt at this point, becomes cold and bitter because of the destruction of Theramore. He gets a goddamn giant bell dropped on his head and nearly dies in Pandaria, ends up with lifelong chronic pain that the Light uses as a walkie-talkie. Then he gets betrayed by Wrathion, who is the closest thing he has to a friend at that point and has the fun experience of watching his bad-future self die to save him. And then Jaina nearly dies too, so that’s fun. Then we have WoD which is just a huge mess (thanks Wrathion).

Oh but that's not all, then Legion happens and suddenly his father is dead. Disenchanted by Gul’dan. Because of (sorta) what Wrathion did. Now he has to be actual king and he's not ready. Yay, we beat the Legion, oh but then Sargeras decides to be an ass and stabs the planet (thanks Sargeras). Now the Alliance and Horde are fighting over the bleeding planet, Lordaeron is a blighted wasteland (thanks Sylvanas) and Teldrassil is on fire. He tries to get the humans and Forsaken to reconcile and be friendly, and that blows up in his face MASSIVELY (thanks Sylvanas and Calia). He's still flailing at being king, and he's somewhere around 17/19 at this point.

In the BFA cinematic he takes down two orcs in two hits with a sword, he gets knocked down by Saurfang and he gets back up

And then he mass heals the ENTIRE Alliance army

he combines a giant Discipline priest barrier, a paladin healing nova that goes out, AND THE HOLY PRIEST MASS REZ SIMULTANEOUSLY

And then oh good, we've stopped fighting because hello Azshara is back and she's mean, and then bam, Anduin is slowly being corrupted by N'Zoth.

Wrathion comes back, yay friendship, but he's still mad that Wrathion betrayed him and got his father killed (and where even was he during Legion?????) and just when it looks like we've beaten N'Zoth and things can calm down

Sylvanas breaks the sky, the Scourge are invading, I can't use the Auction House for a few days because zombies keep exploding on me, and then suddenly he's being kidnapped by a spooky flappy boi and being dragged into the Maw — you know, the place where the worst of the worst go after death.

You save him in the Maw (before he gets taken to Torghast) and despite being chained up on his knees and tortured for god knows how long, his first reaction when freed is "I'm fine, don't worry about me, I need to heal these people"

He's like 19/21 at this point, and he's one of the most powerful priests in the entire Warcraft lore. He didn’t want to be made king in Legion, he was not ready for it. He was a kid who now has to deal with a world-ending catastrophe of epic proportions and he still desperately tries to find a solution that doesn’t end in bloodshed — incredibly difficult to do when you have Greymane telling you the Horde sucks 24/7 and every single one of your advisors keeps insisting peace with the Horde will never work.

He's a priest using a sword okay, his control of the Light surpasses just about all mortals except Velen, he's basically a paladin/priest combo at this point AND despite all the horrible things that has happened to him and the chronic pain he has suffered since he was FIFTEEN, he still wants peace for everyone and has never abandoned his ideals. Wavered, perhaps, but never abandoned them.

The Light is with him, even in the Maw.

"Anduin is a wimp" stfu you're just mad that he's pretty

And if blizzard kills him off or turns him evil this xpac, I can and will riot

#World of Warcraft #anduin wrynn #shadowlands spoilers #warcraft #rant #anduin is a good boy just doing his best #and I wish him the best #give him a happy ending blizzard pls #lore

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randomfandomimagine · 5 years

Text

Don’t Hate You That Much (Steve x Reader)

Character: Steve Harrington (ft. Dustin Henderson and others)

Fandom: Stranger Things

Categories: GenderNeutral!Reader, Sibling!Reader, Henderson!Reader

Warnings: Injuries, bit of violence, swearing, spoilers for season 2

Word count: 4.673 words

Summary: Y/N realizes Dustin has been hanging out with Steve Harrington, and as the older sibling, wants to protect him from Steve's bad influence. Or so it seemed, because as Y/N gets involved in their endeavor, Steve doesn't seem such a bad guy.

Home sweet home. After a long day studying at the library, I was exhausted. I couldn’t wait to plop down on my bed and rest. Just thinking about it put a smile on my face.

I parked the car and got out, noticing that the lights were out. That was odd, mom and Dustin should be home by now.

“Mom?” I yelled out to the house as I came in, turning the lights on. “Dusty?”

There was no response, so I sat down on the couch and thought where they could be. I tapped my chin with one finger, just then remembering that mom was looking for Mews. But where the hell was my little brother?

Interrupting my train of thought, I heard a loud bang outside. I stood still, waiting to see if something else happened. After a few seconds of stillness, I could hear voices in the distance.

Standing up with determination, I headed to my room and grabbed my replica of Aragorn’s sword. Wielding the weapon to defend myself from potential intruders, I headed outside to where the noise originated from.

In the darkness of the night, I noticed a beam of light from a torch someone was holding. I recognized the hatted figure and the one next to him.

“Hey!” I shouted, startling them both. “What’s going on here?”

“Jesus, put that down!” The taller one said, taking a step back.

“Dusty, what’s he doing here?” I asked my brother, ignoring the other one.

“I’m-“ The latter replied, but I shoved him a little.

“I’m not talking to you, Harrington” I glared at him, trying to warn him. “Get away from my brother”

“No, Y/N, I asked him to come” Dustin defended him. “It’s okay”

“Yeah, what’s your problem?” Harrington mumbled in outrage, but he stood back when I pointed the sword his direction again. “Whoa, hey, watch it!”

“My problem is that you’re an asshole” He used to hang out with Tommy and Carol, and even if they had drifted apart, I didn’t believe him to be any better than them. “And I don’t like you being around my little brother”

Dustin tried to calm me down by pushing my sword arm down. I still eyed Harrington, secretly enjoying the cautious look he was giving me.

“Is that an actual sword?” He asked instead, probably trying to pretend he wasn’t intimidated.

“Yeah, from Lord of the Rings” Dustin proudly replied, grinning widely.

“You’re a nerd too?” The other exclaimed in surprise.

“Where do you think he got it from?” I replied, patting my brother’s head.

“Look, don’t tell mom” He told me gravelly, which wasn’t a great start. “But I think I’ve been harboring an evil creature”

“A what now?”

“Dart, I think he was evil”

“Dart? Who’s-” Was that the name he had given this new pet he was talking about? Nevermind, that wasn’t important. “How can you know that it was evil?”

“Because it ate Mews”

“Mews?! But mom is looking for him at the other side of town!”

“Exactly, that’s why I needed Steve’s help”

“Son of a bitch, Dustin!” I complained, eyeing Harrington as he wielded his bat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because! I didn’t want to freak you out, and you were in the library so…”

“Okay, sorry to interrupt this cute little family moment but…” Harrington knocked his bat against the closed doors that led to the basement. “Are you opening this or not?”

Dustin nodded, giving him the key, so he could reveal the inside of the cellar. The three of us stood there in silence for a moment until Harrington took a step forward.

“Not so fast, dumbass” I said, planting a hand on his chest and pushing him back. “I’m going first”

“What, why?”

“Because I don’t trust you, that’s why”

Harrington rolled his eyes at me and rested a hand against his hip in annoyance. I ignored him and entered the cellar, sword in hand. I walked slowly down the steps, glad that they were illuminating my way with their flashlight.

I suddenly yelped when I stepped on something slippery that made me fall. I landed with a thud that accompanied the clinking noise of the blade against the floor.

“Shit!” Harrington uttered, rushing to my aid. “You okay?”

“Y/N?” Dustin asked from the entrance too as Steve pulled me up.

“I’m fine!” I told them both, swatting him away. “It’s fine…”

Ignoring his exasperated sigh, I went to turn the light bulb on by pulling at the chord. The room was now flooded in the dim yellowish light. Harrington crouched down and used his bat to pick up what I had slipped with. I grimaced in disgust at the gross viscous substance hanging from it.

“Shit” Dustin muttered, examining whatever that thing was as he joined us.

“What is that?” I asked, watching how it dripped to the ground.

“Dart” My brother half-questioned, looking up at me.

“What kind of pets are you keeping, Dusty?” I uttered in outrage, eyeing him.

However, I walked away from them when I noticed something. There was an opening at the other end of the cellar, one that shouldn’t be there. I knelt down on the ground to examine it, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Um…” I piped up, trying to gather their attention. “What the hell is this?”

“Oh, shit” Dustin repeated as they both walked closer to see it.

Steve directed the beam of light to the opening, where we could see a tunnel.

After our little discovery, we came into the house to discuss how to approach the situation. While Steve and Dustin paced up and down, debating their next movement, I ended up falling asleep in the couch. When I woke up it was day already and last night’s events almost felt unreal.

I jumped to my feet, dropping something on the process, which I realized was Harrington’s jacket. I rolled my eyes at his poor attempt at getting on my good side and grabbed it as I stomped over to Dustin’s room. No one was there, and I hated to think that my little brother was alone with Steve Harrington.

I looked under the bed for his walkie-talkie and pressed the button, growing more anxious by the second. Especially when I remembered there was some sort of strange creature roaming around and they were going after it.

“Dusty, do you copy?” I paused, but insisted when I had no answer. “It’s Y/N, please respond if you copy. Over”

There was only static for several seconds until his voice came next.

“I copy, Y/N” I intently listened to his voice, but he seemed to sound unharmed. “I’m with Steve”

“Where the hell are you? I don’t want you chasing after some weird thing with only him to protect you”

“Um, yeah, I’m right here” Steve interrupted us, and I rolled my eyes just at his voice.

“Good” I told him, then pretending he wasn’t even there. “Answer me, Dustin, where are you?”

“We’re going to the old junkyard. But we got it under control, you can-“

“No way” I spoke to the walkie-talkie, already heading outside. “I’m on my way, over”

I wish I could take a weapon with me like Harrington had his bat with nails, but the closest thing I had to that was the Lord of the Rings sword, and it was blunt. I just hoped for the best and hurried to the car to get to them as soon as possible.

When I arrived, Dustin and Steve weren’t alone. Lucas was there too, along with a girl that I had never seen before. I supposed that was Max, the girl Dustin had told me about.

As I approached, Steve smiled at me as a peace offering, but I still didn’t like him. I had heard too many shitty things about him to trust him in the slightest. So I just ignored him, heading straight for the two boys hiding behind a rundown car.

“Hey, Lucas” I said, earning a ‘hi, Y/N’ from him. “Dusty, what are you two doing?”

“We’re talking, do you mind?” My brother complained, so I scowled at him a little and backed away.

I looked at Steve and the girl, wondering why the hell they were moving metallic plaques over to the outside of the bus. Still, I knew it had to do with the thing we found on our cellar and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Hey, Y/N” Harrington showed me a smile that I assumed pretended to be charming.

“Nice try, asshole” I tossed him the jacket, making him drop the plaque he was holding in order to catch it.

“What? I was just…”

“You’re gonna have to try a little harder than that”

“There’s just no pleasing you”

“You can always stop trying”

I heard a small laugh and was reminded of the girl’s presence there, so I approached her and forgot about Steve. I did smirk, though, when he walked away muttering to himself.

“Hi, I’m Y/N” I held my hand out for her to shake. “Dustin’s my brother”

“I’m Max” She replied, giving my hand a firm shake before dropping it.

“So Max, can you tell me what’s going on exactly?”

“As far as I understood, we’re trying to bait something with that” She pointed to the ground, where I noticed pieces of raw meat. “This ‘demogorgon’ from another dimension or something”

I frowned, completely baffled. I had heard that word before, but from Dusty’s D&D sessions. I opened my mouth to reply, but she was already walking away. Determined to confront Dustin about this whole thing, I walked over to him, just to see that Harrington had beat me to it.

“Hey, dickheads” He called them, slamming a rusty old chair against the car they hid behind. “How come the only one to help me is this random girl?”

They reluctantly followed after him, but I grabbed Steve by the arm. I wasn’t going to let him treat them like that.

“Don’t insult Lucas and my little brother” Before he could retaliate, I continued speaking. “In fact, don’t insult people, you jerk”

“I was just… I didn’t actually…” He bitterly chuckled and shook his head. “You’re such a joy, Henderson. Can’t wait to spend hours trapped with you on a small bus”

“Yeah, try to survive without looking at yourself in a mirror for so long”

He scoffed at me before carrying on with what he was doing. I walked over to Dustin and nudged him.

“Did that asshole say something to you?” I gravely asked, imagining lots of scenarios in which he gave my brother some really bad ideas.

“Huh?” Understanding what I was getting at, he shook his head. “No, he just gave me advice”

“Advice on what?”

“Girls…”

“Yeah, I’m sure it was great advice” I sarcastically replied, looking Harrington up and down in annoyance.

“What’s your problem with him?” Dustin complained. “Did he do something to you or something?”

“Not really, but I kept hearing all these things about him and… I just don’t think he’s a good influence, okay?” I rolled my eyes, hating to have to justify myself. “Besides, you didn’t like him either!”

“That was before” My brother began walking towards the bus. “I think he changed”

“Yeah, right…” I noticed Harrington was leaning on the bus, waiting for us. “Still don’t trust him”

“C’mon, slackers” He clapped his hands to hustle us. “It’ll be dark soon”

“Fine” I let Dustin go in first, but following close behind. “Just don’t stand too close to me. Wouldn’t want to catch any of the dumbass”

“Clever” Harrington muttered, walking in after me and closing the bus door behind him. “Come up with it on your own?”

I mockingly smiled at him, sitting down on the ground far away from where he settled in. Max occupied one of the worn out seats, lazily pointing up to the hole that led to the roof to tell us that Lucas was there keeping watch.

While it got dark, I found myself in a pensive mood. All of that was still crazy, the fact that just some hours ago I had been studying in the library like any other day and now we were waiting for some strange creatures that we had baited there to ambush.

I got back to reality when I noticed Dustin paced up and down. He was turning to the girl to reply to something she had told him, but he was being pretty rude to her.

Done with his outburst, Max went to stay up on the roof with Lucas. If that was his attempt to get her to like him, my brother was very wrong.

“Dusty!” I scolded him, but he just shrugged and continued pacing.

“Showing you don’t care, huh?” Harrington smirked at him.

“I don’t” Dustin replied simply, barely acknowledging him.

The other winked an eye at him, and I just knew that he had told him to treat her like that.

“Why are you winking, dumbass?” I kicked him in the knee, having to hold back a smirk when he let out a long ‘ouch!’ in response. “That was terrible advice”

“What do you know?” Closing the zippo he had been playing with, he defiantly stared.

“I know that if you want someone to like you, that’s not the way to go, okay?” I leaned forward, challenging him to talk back to me. “Being kind and thoughtful is”

“You’re an expert on that, aren’t you, Henderson?”

“That’s because I don’t like you” I said slowly, trying to let the words sink in. “Stop teaching my brother bad lessons”

With that, Harrington looked up to the inside of the bus. It was now empty.

“Wait, where is he?” We both ran to the window, watching Dustin outside.

“He probably got fed up with our arguing” Harrington observed, barely letting me see as he took all the space.

“And whose fault is that?” I rushed to the door, but felt a hand tugging at my arm. “Hey, they’re not even here yet”

“I don’t care” I broke free from his grasp and opened the bus door. “If he gets hurt today, I’m blaming you”

“What?! But he was the one-“ I heard him slapping his hands against his sides in exasperation seeing as I was ignoring him.

Dustin turned at the sound of the door opening. Our eyes met, and I silently asked him to come back with a gesture. My brother nodded, sinking his hands inside his pockets, and returned to us seeing that we were done fighting.

“Uh… Henderson?” Harrington spoke up, just as Dustin entered.

“What?” We both replied at the same time, soon realizing what he meant when a growling echoed around the junkyard.

“They’re here, but…” Steve nervously shook his head. “They’re not taking the bait”

“That doesn’t make sense” Dustin intervened, looking up at me to explain. “I thought…”

We both jumped when Harrington quickly moved around.

“What are you doing?” I questioned him when he turned to us.

“Just get ready” He tossed the zippo to Dustin and grabbed his bat.

“Steve…” Dustin uttered, watching him leave the bus.

“What…? Harrington, get back in here!” I whisper-yelled, even if he ignored me and closed the door again. “He’s gonna get himself killed”

Max had come down, so the three of us went for the windows to see what Harrington did. He stood outside, taunting the demogorgon as he slowly advanced in the fog. Time seemed to go by very slowly as we watched him being there on his own, attracting those things. It felt like it would jump at him at any moment, and I braced myself just in case.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Lucas called out from above, warning Steve.

“Crap” I muttered when I realized that, indeed, there was more than one.

“Steve!” Dustin ran to the door and opened it all the way. “Abort, abort!”

He took a look around, taking notice of the many creatures that surrounded him, and stepped back. We anxiously watched as he dodged one of them and swung his bat at another one, making a run for it when he got the chance. We encouraged him, urging him to run, until he made it in safely and Dustin quickly slammed the door shut.

Steve caught his breath, lying down on the ground, as he recovered. I gulped as I him, tapping his arm to check he was unharmed. I was distracted, though, hearing those things getting closer.

“Watch out!” I said when the demogorgons started banging against the door.

Steve grabbed a metallic plaque and set it against the door, keeping it in place with his feet. He swore under his breath when they banged it again, and I threw all my weight over it to try and help keep them out.

The bus violently shook, making us all yelp in alarm. I squeaked when they managed to break through the door, but Harrington was already prepared.

“Watch the kids!” He told me, sticking by the door with his bat.

I ushered the three of them closer to me, holding on to them and taking them with me to the other end of the bus. Dustin was desperately trying to get ahold of someone with the walkie-talkie while Max and Lucas stood closely together.

“Y/N…” The latter claimed my attention, and when I looked at him I noticed he was glancing up. Max screamed, and I resisted the urge to do too.

“No!” I pushed them all behind me after I saw a demogorgon creeping on us from above.

“Outa the way, outa the way!” Steve was with us in a heartbeat, wielding his bat.

Protectively standing before us, he attentively watched the creature, ready to strike. It growled once more, and I couldn’t contain a cry this time, feeling myself shaking. We were locked in a bus, surrounded by those horrible things that would no doubt kill us.

The bus then wobbled before the silence established. The change from tension to stillness was jarring, but I welcomed the calm. I put a hand on top of Dustin’s head, over his hat, wanting him to look at me. Without any words, he nodded rapidly to assure he was okay. I noticed his eyes shifted to Max and Lucas, who were holding hands, and I frowned at the sight.

I really wanted to comfort Dustin about it, but it was not the time for that. We had bigger things to worry about.

Moving cautiously, nearly afraid to make any sound whatsoever, we neared the door. Steve, always at the front, opened it slowly. They weren’t around the bus anymore.

“Are they gone?” I dared to ask, shuddering when my voice abruptly interrupted the loud quietness.

“Think so” Max replied behind me, although shakily.

“What… happened?”

“Steve scared them off?”

“No, no way” The aforementioned was already outside, but he turned to us and rested the bat on his shoulder. “They’re going somewhere”

There was a pause in which we all looked at each other. I tried not to freak out thinking that we had lucked out to come out alive.

“Alright” I took a deep breath, realizing like the feeling of imminent death was gone now. “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah” The kids lowly replied, soberly nodding their heads.

“Wait” I tapped Harrington on the shoulder when he began walking. “Where are you going?”

“We’re following them” He replied, gesturing in that direction, like it was obvious.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“We can’t let them hurt anyone”

“Y-Yeah, but we barely made it!”

“No one’s asking you to come anyway”

“I’m not just… leaving you guys now!”

Steve motioned for me to get going with a head movement and took a step forward without looking back. I sighed in resignation, knowing there was no going back now.

I watched Harrington as he walked, bat against his shoulder. I was suddenly unable to avert my eyes in awe of what I had just witnessed. That jerk, who had picked up fights with Jonathan Byers when his brother went missing, who always thought he was better than anyone and looked down on people. That jerk had just risked his life, several times, in order to protect us. Willingly. He had valiantly fought those things while we stayed behind in the safety of the bus. He had surprised me, doing selfless things I never thought a self-absorbed asshole like him was capable of.

“Y/N?” Dustin tugged at my hand, interrupting my train of thought. “You alright?”

“Yeah…” I lied, since I was feeling a headache coming. “You, little guy?”

“I’m fine…” He assured, even if it wasn’t really convincing.

“Wanna talk?” I offered while we walked, knowing he was still upset about Max.

“Not really” He shrugged one shoulder. “There’s not much I can do, is it? I think she made up her mind”

While Harrington was at the front, Lucas and Max were walking side by side after all. They seemed really close, and I understood that it bothered Dustin if he was interested in her too.

“Well, that’s very mature of you” I fondly put an arm over his shoulders and shook him a little. “But hey, I’m sure you’ll find an amazing girl who loves you just the way you are”

“You’re just saying that” He feebly kicked a rock on the floor, sending it flying forward.

“I mean it, just be patient” I let go of him, ruffling his hat and his hair. “Life surprises us, you’ll find someone you vibe with”

“Can you tell me when?” Dustin tiredly asked, looking up at me.

As we continued walking, I felt someone watching me. I turned to find Steve’s brown eyes fixed on me. However, when I reciprocated the glance, he frowned and looked away.

“When you least expect it, I guess…”

The evening had been absolutely crazy. After we were nearly attacked by those demogorgon things, we followed them to Hawkins lab, where we met Jonathan and Nancy. It was crazy, Hopper and Joyce were there too, with Will and Mike. Apparently, Will was sick somehow and we all went to the Byers house to try and cure him.

Once there, I spoke to Nancy and Jonathan, who explained the whole thing. I was still having a hard time believing things like another dimension called ‘the upside down’ and a creature they called ‘the shadow monster’ were real. But I was willing to stay with Dustin, to protect him and look after the kids. I had said it before, I wasn’t going to abandon them now.

“You okay?” Steve’s voice startled me so much that I noticeably jumped.

“Y-Yeah” I muttered, lowering my hand when I realized I had been biting my nails.

“Here” He said, taking his jacket off and offering it to me. “You’re shaking”

“I’m not scared” I said, facing my back to him in annoyance.

“I didn’t say you were scared” Not giving up, Harrington moved to face me again. “Just that you’re shaking”

He offered me the jacket again, and I honestly welcomed the thought. This nervous shivering was partially because of the cold, but the comforting feeling of the extra layer was appealing. I stared at Steve as I took his jacket, not breaking eye contact when I put it on.

“What?” He asked, uncomfortable under my scrutiny.

“It looks like you’re not that much of a jerk after all, Harrington” I smiled, surprised by this sweet side of him. “At least you seem to have a heart”

Not only had he protected us all back in the bus, but also even offer himself as bait. And after all, I hadn’t seen him with those jerks friends of his again. Maybe Steve wasn’t as bad as I thought.

“Spare me the little speech” He smirked, causing me to chuckle a little.

“Gladly” I huddled under his jacket, welcoming the warmth.

He then nodded, leaving with a last soft smile in my direction. Everything started feeling a little better now.

“Hey” I called him, averting my gaze when he turned to me again. “Your advice is still terrible…”

“Y/N, c’mon” Steve complained, throwing his hands up in the air.

“What I mean is…” I rushed to say, implying that I meant no harm. “Even if it’s terrible, thanks for taking care of my brother”

“Sure, the little shit’s cool” Harrington coolly leaned on the wall.

“Where do you think he gets it from?” I replied, making him laugh a little.

I tiredly leaned on the wall as well, feeling a throbbing headache at all the new information I learned that day. It was so overwhelming and, honestly, kind of terrifying.

“You sure you’re okay?” Steve insisted, gently fondling my arm.

“Yeah, just got a headache” I rubbed my forehead, feeling a bit lightheaded as well. “Always get one when I’m anxious”

“You don’t have to do this, you know?”

“What do you mean? Do what?”

“Pretend like you’re fine. I guess you do it for Dustin, I don’t know, but he can take it”

I stared at him, wondering if he knew how hard I tried to be strong for him. For him, for mom, even for myself. I was the oldest sibling, it was my responsibility.

I patted Steve’s shoulder, nodding at his surprisingly wise words. Briefly looking over to Dustin sitting with his friends, I heaved a sigh. I hated to admit it, but Harrington was right. My brother was smart, and strong. If he could take the demogorgons, he could take me being a little overwhelmed.

“I think I’m gonna lie down” I told Steve, pointing at one of the couches. “Just for one sec”

“Good idea” He grinned, patting my back. “I’ll hold the fort for you”

“Tell Dusty not to worry” That said, I feebly walked to the couch and plopped down there.

I knew it was almost impossible for me to fall asleep, and I didn’t want to anyway. But I closed my eyes to rest my heavy eyelids and weary mind.

Barely realizing I had actually fallen asleep, I was abruptly awoken by loud noises. I had run to see if everyone was safe, just to be stopped by Steve, who held his arm before me.

“What’s going on?!” I exclaimed, holding on to his arm since he still wouldn’t let me pass.

Everyone stood around, apparently expecting something. Hopper and Nancy wielded shotguns, Steve held on to his bat and Lucas had his slingshot at the ready. They all watched the windows, barely even blinking.

“They’re coming” Mike replied ominously, making eye contact.

“What-?” I tried to walk closer to the window, but everyone scolded me for it.

Luckily, Steve’s arm blocked my path still, and he gently pushed me back.

“Stay behind me” He muttered, pressingly tugging at my sleeve. “Behind me, Y/N!”

“Okay, okay!” I obliged, positioning myself behind him and holding on to Dustin’s arm to keep him close.

While Hopper, Nancy, Lucas and Steve wielded their weapons, the rest of us stood behind them. I held on to Steve’s shoulders, still not letting go of my brother to assure he lingered by my side. Jonathan and Joyce were at my right, and he held on to my shoulder.

Noises erupted outside, causing us all to turn to the sound and scream. I clung on to Steve and Dustin when my heart started racing. And then something went through the window.

I squeaked, pushing my brother closer to me and protectively wrapping both arms around him. When we looked, we saw it was a demogorgon, but it wasn’t moving. What…?

“Shit…” I uttered when the door suddenly started unlocking, keeping us tense.

It then opened to reveal a young girl all dressed in black. I panicked thinking who she could be, yet everyone seemed to relax at the sight of her.

READ PART 2 NOW!

Tag list: (Stranger Things) @xionroxas, @raararasputin, @welcome-here-in-my-world, @suenami3, @bitchingpretty, @xxsirensong (Steve) @24-stilinski // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list, let me know!!

#imagone #oneshot #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things oneshot #faves #st #st imagine #st oneshot #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington oneshot #reader insert #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #not requested

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simp4cas · 4 years

Text

It Was Never Us

Masterlist

Dean Winchester × Reader

Chapter 1- Dean Winchester is a Kidnapper

It was the first time that your sleep was dreamless. There was no pain, no death. Just you. It had been a long time since you had a peaceful sleep.

Nightmares were regular to you because of the death and destruction caused by Micheal, the archangel. For the last fifteen years, you'd been fighting against him- not even completing your eleventh grade. But not completing your education had been the least of your worries then.

When the Apocalypse first began with Micheal and Lucifer fighting each other, there was this huge surge of power that fried all of your electronics. Electricity was out, cutting out communication, and at that time, you didn't know that two archangels were fighting each other. It was all pretty quiet from then, only minor earthquakes.

Food and water started to run out and your parents would make supply runs to the store close to your house every two weeks.

Then, the riots began. Hordes of people carrying weapons raided houses and stores for food and water, killing anyone who may stop them. It was then that you noticed real human behavior. Your parents had gone for a supply run and never came back.

Everything pretty much went downhill from there. You had no food in the house and no protection. You would hide in a nook on your roof, afraid that people would break into your house. Eventually, when you came out and left the house, you had been too numb to notice no one on the streets, the debris everywhere.

Fast-forward to fifteen years later, with camps fighting against Micheal and his army of angels. Along the way, you met and lost so many people. Innocent people who had so much of their lives left to them.

You had gone human scouting since you were sick of sitting in boring Resistance meetings and tending to the sick and dying people in camp. It wasn't that you didn't like helping people- your heart just wasn't in it. Lately, you'd been feeling that nothing really mattered anymore.

You and the other people were caught and then they kidnapped Charlie.

Charlie?

Shit, Charlie!

You bolt up in a sitting position, your sleep disrupted by the thought of redhead. Your mind floods with what had happened before- the angels took Charlie to the Northern Camp and left you with another angel. Someone saved you. Some guy wearing layers and another guy in a tactical suit- that honestly made him look like an idiot.

You had accompanied the strange men and gone to the camp, mainly cause they gave you a Glock that was way sleeker than any other gun you'd seen. You frown, remembering what Layers- you didn't remember his name- said to you. Something about them being from an alternate universe and you being dead there. As much as you wanted to believe them, you didn't have the liberty of bringing your hopes high.

A world without Micheal? The first time you imagined a world like that, it had been brought you to tears. A few years later, it was pretty obvious that the humans were losing the war against the angels and it was pretty obvious that all of you were going to die. So the next times you visualized it, you showed no trace of emotion on your face.

You bring your hands up, cradling your head as the memories flood faster and faster. You guys broke Charlie out from the camp but you had been hit in the frenzy of all the people shooting at the angels. Before everything went black, you remembered looking down at your hands dripping with your blood, staining the white snow and your clothes, Layers and Charlie running towards you.

You finally open your eyes, your heart beating quickly in your chest. Your hand immediately goes to your side, where you'd been shot and you feel nothing. It's didn't pain at all.

In a span of 30 seconds, you lifted your dirty gray tank top up to look at your smooth skin and scanned the room you were in.

It was- to you- beautiful. The walls were made with red bricks, only half of it cemented. There was a wooden table to the side with a few books that looked new- no damage or burns. The bed you were on- God, the bed you were on was heavenly. Not the tattered with springs-sticking-out mattresses or the uncomfortable hammocks at camp. It was an actual, comfortable-as-hell mattress on a bed. You scoff in disbelief, lifting the clean white sheet off you.

Wherever you were, it wasn't a camp. Couldn't be one. Either the angels kidnapped cause who knows the luxuries they kept to themselves. You hadn't seen a place that wasn't raided or had at least a few bullet holes in the walls in a long, long time.

What happened after you blacked out? And did Charlie actually leave you?

You scoff, shaking your head. She was one of the people you would give your life for- and that was saying a lot. You couldn't jump to conclusions. Not until you figured out where you were. You feel light-headed for a second as you swing your body of the bed, stretching your toes onto the hard wooden floor.

Your eyes scan the room for weapons, finally setting onto the lamp on your bedside table. You yank the plug out and wrap the wire around the stem of the lamp, widening your eyes at the weight of it. Cautiously, after eyeing the room one more time, you turn the doorknob, surprised to hear it click and open. That was strange. If it was angels that kidnapped you, why would they leave the door unlocked?

The hallway extended to your sides, with simple white walls half-covered with gray tiles. It was a huge place with at least 10 doors in the walls. You raise your eyebrows, wondering how big the place would be.

The floor was cold under your bare feet and you growl in anger. They took your shoes!

With your blood pounding in your ears you pass every door, fearing that one would open and an angel would walk out. You pass an archway that led to what looked like a kitchen with a small dining table, an island, a stove, and a few metal cabinets with black handles on them.

Your body tenses when you hear people speaking in the next room. You try slowing down your breath. You shouldn't be checking it out- if it was an angel, you had no weapon to kill it. But your legs moved on their own accord to the right.

You walk into a room that had a huge table in the middle with a map of the world on it. A few control panels were towards the side of the walls, with bright buttons and dials. It connected to a library and by the looks of it- and a huge one- lavishly decorated with leather chairs and weapons like swords and katanas. In front of you was a black staircase, leading up to a balcony that overlooked the room.

There were two men in the library. A man wearing a tan coat had his back facing you and to his left was another man with tall hair, wearing flannel. Who wore flannel anymore?

"Hello boys," a woman's voice speaks in a Scottish accent and you frown, tensing up more. Were there three people? But it sounded muffled- like she was speaking from a walkie-talkie.

Or a phone.

No, that wasn't possible. All the phones had gotten fried and only a few of them had been salvaged.

"I'm very sure I've done nothing that you know of to make you want to call but so good to hear from you," she continues in a silky voice as ripples of music play in the background- a piano and a harp.

Where were you?

"Rowena, that's not- um- we-"

"You have to speak up," the woman cuts the flannel dude as he leans back in his chair, sighing. You take a small step back, hoping he didn't see you.

"We need your help," another man says in a deep voice- a voice that was familiar to you. Your frown deepens and your heart beats faster as you try placing that voice.

"Really?"

"We must assemble our most powerful allies to save our family and confront the archangel Micheal," the man pauses. This voice was monotone and it definitely wasn't the flannel dude speaking since you could see him. So that meant that there was another man in the room. The man who asked for help- you couldn't see him from where you were. He was probably hidden by the huge beam that led the 'battle' room to the library. "Now, he's from an alternate universe so..."

Alternate universes? Another Micheal? Who spoke that bullshit to you last. Layers. Shit, did he kidnap you or something?

"Oh, the handsome angel is there, isn't he? Hello, cutie pie!"

The man in the coat stands straighter and you assume he was the 'handsome angel'. You swear inwardly. There was an angel here. You should be searching for a weapon to kill him but you remained standing there, listening to the conversation and trying to place that goddamned voice.

"Oh... Hello."

"Lads, obviously I ought to help after what you- Sam did for me but I'm in the damn North Pacific West right now working on my own little project."

"Project?" the man you couldn't see asks.

"What project?"

"Oh, nothing about you to worry about. Just checking off items from my little 'to-do' list."

"Sure, that doesn't sound ominous."

"Rowena," Flannel starts off, "are you at a party... or something?"

"I am but I'm surprised you recognize the sounds of a party since how you're all work and no play."

"We didn't call to talk... Look, the world is in danger, Rowena," the unseen man sighs.

"I'm currently surrounded by art that makes me think the world should be in danger. Best of luck to you boys, my three little Musketeers," she cuts the call after making a 'muah'.

"Damn it."

"You know, she's right. You never go to parties."

Great. All you got to know was that they were talking to a Scottish woman named Rowena who may or may not be evil and that they never go to parties?! There had to be something else-

The scraping of a chair against the wood makes you inhale sharply and hold the lamp closer to your body.

"I'm going to check on Y/n," the gravelly-voice says again. You freeze up but take the chance to step forward and confront them. Something like in a movie- timing and all.

You step out from behind the wall and freeze when you see the man walking down the stairs of the library, head inclining up to look at you.

The same green eyes of the man that saved you from the angel on the bridge. Not knowing his name, you frown, swearing at your forgetfulness. You didn't think knowing his name would be important!

"Layers?"

"I will not sit!" You say loudly, the lamp still extended. Dean- he told you his name after frowning at what you called him- looks down at your 'weapon' and you shake your head.

"That lamp won't do much," he says, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," you say and look at the man in the tan coat who stood in the library, the furthest from you, looking at everybody uncomfortably. "Why are you with an angel? And- and who's he?" you ask, looking at the freakishly tall man who stood behind Dean.

"This is my brother, Sam. That's Cas- he's our friend. You can trust him," Dean reassures and for a second, you wonder why you weren't killing all of them.

"I can assure you I will not hurt you," the angel- Cas says and you shake your head.

"I don't need an angel's assurance. All you guys do is take and take." Your voice cracks slightly and you turn to Dean who looked at the exchange between you and the angel. "Where have you brought me? Where's Charlie?"

"Y/n, just sit down-"

"Dean," Sam cuts his off and you look at him, feeling tears pool at your eyes. You quickly blink them back, not allowing yourself to feel any fear. You would get out of whatever place this was.

Dean stops talking and looks at his brother. "Look," he sighs and looks back at you, "you were dying there and I had to save you. Your camp was too far and you were bleeding out too fast."

You frown, waiting for him to continue, warily glancing at the angel again. He looked almost sad. But that impossible. Angels were ruthless killing machines and they didn't care about anyone other than themselves.

"We're in a world without Micheal, Y/n. You're safe here."

"A world without Micheal," you scoff and look at the three, trying to spot the crack in the lie. But Sam and Cas looked at you with sincere expressions and Dean- well, every time he looked at you, there was something in his eyes- something that made it look like he didn't want to look at you at all.

"A world without Micheal," Sam says this time in a reassuring voice. "Cas healed you up when you came. You're safe here, Y/n," he continues, furrowing his eyebrows and making puppy dog eyes.

"It's actually a world without Micheal," you scoff again, your heart soaring in your chest. "A world- a world without Micheal. That was a phone in your hand," you say, now smiling ear to ear, laughing. "It's a world without Micheal!"

"Yeah," Dean says, a judging look on his face.

Your smile falls, though, as quickly as it came. "What about Charlie? And the others?"

Dean looks down. "She wanted to stay back."

Guilt brings your heart down, making it beat erratically. You shouldn't even be here. You should be there with Charlie and the others like Bobby and Tyler.

"Wait, you only- no. No, no, no. They need me there," you say as your eyes dart around the room. They finally settle on Dean. "You need to take me back."

A world without Micheal. A world where you could live peacefully, not having to live in constant fear all the time, worrying when the angels would attack again. A world where angels were apparently good. A world where you could be happy. But not living in a world with the people you loved and cared about... You were willing to throw away the perfect world for them.

"We can't," Cas says in his monotone voice this time and just him speaking irritates you. You shouldn't be rude to the angel since he was the one who saved you- it still surprised you that an angel did that- but it was just instinct.

"What do you mean you can't?" Your irritation seeped into your voice, earning a slightly surprised look from Sam and Dean.

"The ingredients we need to open the door," Sam continues, glancing at Dean, "we don't have them right now."

Your eyes widen and your mouth hung but you quickly shut it, clenching your jaw. "You brought me here," you speak, voice getting louder with every word, "with no plan of taking me back?"

"Y/n, it's not like that," Sam says but you shake your head, just wanting them to stop talking.

"How do I know you're not lying- that I'm actually in an alternate universe?" You look at Dean, with your brows knit together as a smile graces his lips.

Tags: @bi-danvers0

#dean winchester×reader #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #the bunker

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bestfrownsforever · 4 years

Text

Frown of Doom: Chapter 1

(Cover art by me)

That’s right, it’s FINALLY here, everyone! :D Now prepare yourselves, it’s a big one…

The Unikingdom was sunny and bright as always, and as some of the citizens watched from the bright pink bleachers by the castle, others hopped around in a three-legged race. They were all enjoying themselves except for Q.T. and Toaster, who struggled to stay in the lead. The competition was very close behind them, making them sweat. But before they knew it they tripped and crossed the finish line. Confetti spread, party lights shone, airhorns went off, and Toast popped out of Toaster with an “OOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Princess Unikitty cheerfully flew over to the finish line. “And that’s the end this year’s Unikingdom Three-Legged Race Festival!“ she announced, "Congrats on a job well done, Q.T., Toaster, and Toast!” All the citizens cheered.

“In fact,” Unikitty continued, “I’d say you guys have made this race the kingdom’s best one yet!”

“Yeah sis,” her little brother Puppycorn agreed as he ran her way, “it was a lot of fun!”

Dr. Fox walked over with a clipboard in her hands. "Numbers don’t lie,” she said as she typed away at a calculator, “and even analytics determined that this was been the best three-legged race in the kingdom’s history!”

“Especially when everyone who fell got back up again to keep going,” Hawkodile said as he swooped in.

“Couldn’t agree more, Hawkodile!“ Unikitty chirped. She flew up into the air again, announcing "Now let’s all party!” to the racers and audience alike.

The music and lights began again as Unikitty, her friends and the citizens began the dance party. Richard floated over to them, paying extra attention to the spilled confetti and the racers’ dirty bodies.

“Princess, in this mess? Are you sure?” he asked. “Of course!” Unikitty replied, “Besides, today’s been great! Even if we didn’t fix anything, there’s nothing that can go wrong!”

Everyone kept dancing as Richard only stared. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he said, no one bothering to listen.

(Art by @x-master-brock-x)

As the party went on, Master Frown and Possessed Brock parked their (horribly repainted) car behind Unikitty’s castle. They hopped out, shielding their eyes.

“Ughh, forgot how bright it is here,“ Master Frown grunted. “You can say that again,” Possessed Brock groaned in agreement. “Well I’m not going to,” Master Frown bragged as his eyes glowed, “because I’m too starting a ‘special announcement.’”

The speakers in the kingdom streets roared with static and the party came to a screeching halt. Everyone in the kingdom went silent out of confusion and in some cases, fear.

“Guys, what’s going on?“ Unikitty worriedly asked. “Someone must’ve hacked into the speakers!” Dr. Fox assumed. She tried to run off and fix them when Hawkodile held her and their other friends back. “This could be dangerous, everyone stay back!” he warned.

The speakers’ static cleared and everyone began listening to a familiar voice they had almost forgotten about.

“Hello? Hello? Is this thing woking? Ok, my name is…no, that’s stupid, you already know who I am. It’s just been such a looong time since you’ve even heard about me. And trust me, there’s a reason. While you bozos were ‘busy’ with your stupid little ‘positive’ lifestyle, I’ve become bigger and stronger than ever before! I’m not your pesky milk-spiller anymore, no. I’m ready to do worse. Far worse! I bet none of you will even be breathing by the time I’m done with this kingdom! I’d suggest you’d all run and hide but it doesn’t matter. I’ll find you no matter what, even if it’s just revenge that keeps me going. So hear me out, idiots: your hours are numbered, not even your days!” Master Frown finished his announcement with an evil laugh, unlike any he ever let out before.

Possessed Brock kept his stare on Master Frown as the doom lord walked back to the car. “Uhh, you mean we’re gonna find them no matter what?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, but…” Master Frown paused, his eyes glowing brighter yet. “…actually, I’ve got an even better idea now!” Master Frown laughed again, tossing a walkie-talkie to Possessed Brock and walking away. “Uh..’thank you Brock!?’” Possessed Brock sarcasm was almost as strong as his disappointment.

(Art by @pastel-gothicorn)

Back at the party, citizens ran in circles and screamed as Unikitty and her friends froze in disbelief, aside from Richard and Puppycorn.

“Well I did say I wouldn’t count on it,” Richard said.

“Wait, who was that?” Puppycorn asked. “Master Frown!” Hawkodile yelled at the puppy prince, “And now he could actually be dangerous!” “But this is is still Master Frown,” Richard reminded him, “We need to consider if he’s as dangerous as he says he is.”

“Well come on guys, we’ve been through a lot worse before,” Unikitty declared, “so whatever he does, we just gotta stay positive!” “Exactly!” Dr. Fox agreed, “Starting with…” Dr. Fox took out a megaphone, cleared her throat, and yelled from the top of her lungs to the citizens:

“EVERYONE RUN AND HIDE!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THIS COULD BE THE KINGDOM’S BIGGEST CATASTROPHE YET! STAY INDOORS, LOCK YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS, OR BETTER YET, EVACUATE THE KINGDOM IF THERE’S ANYWHERE YOU CAN GO! UNTIL WE’RE SAFE AGAIN, YOU NEED TO RUN AND HIDE OR ELSE MASTER FROWN WILL GET YOU!!!”

Every single citizen obeyed, flooding the kingdom streets and squabbling for their lives from someone who really didn’t care much about them. Their princess watched as the animosity grew, the opposite of what she wanted.

“Dr. Fox was that really necessary?” she asked her friend, “Even at his worst you know Master Frown can’t be THAT bad.” “Yes, possibly,” Dr. Fox replied, fixing her glasses, “But you heard what he said, and if we don’t take what he says seriously we could be goners! Luckily I know exactly what to do. To the lab!” Dr. Fox jumped down a hole that appeared through the floor, leaving her friends behind.

Puppycorn optimistically broke the silence. “So if Master Frown’s coming back, that means we can all use our super rad skills to stop him, right? Or at least I think we all have skills. What can you do, Rick?”

“I can tell you that if we really are in danger,” Richard replied, “the best course of action would be to stand our ground and raise the castle’s defen-“ “FIGHT TO THE DEATH!!!” Hawkodile interrupted. As Richard signed, Unikitty and Puppycorn came closer to Hawkodile.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Puppycorn shouted as sparkle matter popped from his head. “Yeah! I guess.” Unikitty agreed. As the friends split up, Master Frown and Possessed Brock watched from afar.

“Good,” Master Frown rubbed his hands as his eyes dimly glowed, “now time for the perfect plan to begin!” He pointed to his henchman. “Brock, start with the fox nerd’s lab everyone should be fair game without a better way to fight back. But leave Unikitty alive. She’s mine to take.” His eyes became brighter and his smile widened. “And once she realizes all her friends are gone…” His words turned more and more into giggles until he erupted into wicked laughter again. He dashed away into his car and drove off, leaving Possessed Brock behind.

“Wait, where are you going!?”

: ~~~ :

Down in her lab, Dr. Fox's mind raced in a million different directions at once: about how amazing and complex she could make her inventions, how dangerous Master Frown really was if worse came to worse like he said, how she'd be the hero to save the kingdom by taking him down, or even how absurd it was that water could travel faster than lava but not as fast as Puppycorn could eat all the food in the castle. And all as she was working on several advanced weapons. As she finished another laser gun, Richard floated down from the ceiling to see her.

"Oh hi, Richard!" Dr. Fox turned around and greeted him, "You're just in time! Check it out," She picked up a long, thin bazooka. "This is the Higher-Upper, meant for super long-ranged distance." She picked up another gun that unleashed a sword when she pressed the trigger, but kept it in the muzzle. "And this one's called the Razor Revolver!" she announced as she swung the gun and attached blade around, "I borrowed some of Hawkodile's swords to make this one." Richard worriedly watched as Dr. Fox pushed the sword back through its cylinder.

"Dr. Fox I appreciate your determination," Richard said, "but this seems a little...overkill."

"Rick," Dr. Fox insisted, "whatever plan Master Frown has to wipe us out could be 'overkill'!"

"Yes but that's not what I mean," Richard explained, "I'm afraid that if you're not careful, these inventions could be more dangerous than Master Frown himself. You have to work with the rest of us if we're going to come up with a proper solution, I mean did you even ask Hawkodile if you could use his swords to begin with?"

"Uh..." Dr. Fox face went blank and she lowered her head. "No."

Richard floated closer. "I rest my case. It's not a good idea to come up with solutions this way." "Yeah but Rick, you gotta show a little more confidence," Dr. Fox assured him, lifting her flamethrower, "We can do this together, like you said, but not without the proper set of arms!"

Richard screamed as Dr. Fox used the flamethrower right in front of him. He could hardly stay calm like Dr. Fox suggested as she stopped and looked up smiling.

"Uh huh," Richard somewhat agreed, "well I'm staying here just in case."

"Be my guest!" Dr. Fox winked, "I guess I could use your approval after all."

She continued work on her weapons as Richard sighed, his tired eyes following her busy paws.

(Art by @friffinx)

: ~~~ :

“Come in PB, this is Best Doom Lord Ever, do you copy?” Master Frown’s voice asked through the walkie-talkie.

“Enough with the code names, I told you they’re dumb!” Possessed Brock groaned in a dead-panned voice, “But yes, loud and clear. Now where did you go!?” “Nowhere too important, just to get the Frown-copter,” Master Frown shrugged.

“The WHAT!?” Possessed Brock yelled, “You went back to Frowntown!? Why didn’t you just find her and get it over with!? You’re making things a lot harder for yourself, man.”

“First of all someone needs to remind you what the word ‘distraction’ means,” Master Frown began, “secondly I’m already on my way back, and third it’s either this or more long trips by car or foot, take your pick.”

“Neither of us have feet,” Possessed Brock said bluntly. “YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!” Master Frown yelled. “YES I DID!” Possessed Brock yelled back, “That was just fun.”

“Well the last thing I need you to do is make fun of me and the first is get to the lab!” Master Frown ranted as he started up the helicopter. “Don’t worry, I’m almost there.” Possessed Brock bitterly confirmed.

“Good, now don’t let me down!” Master Frown declared, “We’re getting that disgusting cat no matter what!” He laughed manically again, but Possessed Brock couldn’t stand what sounded to him like a cat choking on nails anymore. Rolling his eyes, he pressed the walkie-talkie’s power button and groaned as he continued on his way to the castle.

: ~~~ :

Inside the treehouse dojo, Puppycorn wagged his tail and eagerly followed Hawkodile’s every move as the bodyguard opened a chest of weapons. Unikitty only stared, still believing that Hawkodile was overreacting a little.

“No, you two still don’t understand what’s really going on here,” he warned again, “Master Frown’s trying to kill us all, Princess. As in actually kill us! And as your bodyguard that’s something I’ll never let him do. Besides, when he says he’ll find us no matter what, don’t you think you should take that even a little seriously?”

“Well I’m taking it seriously!” Puppycorn replied confidently, “Why else would we be here other than to test out our sweet fighting skills so we can kick his bingleberry butt?”

Unikitty and Hawkodile exchanged glances, knowing well that poor Puppycorn wouldn’t last a second in any real combat.

(Art by @pastel-gothicorn, again)

“Well you’re not wrong,” Hawkodile sighed, “It’s five of us against one pest, if you can even call Frown that anymore.” At that moment Unikitty came to a horrible realization.

“WAIT WHAT ABOUT BROCK!?” she yelled, “We were so caught up in Master Frown this whole time that we didn’t stop and think about him!” Her guilt came on fast, and it showed. “Huh, yeah what about him?” Hawkodile said, “He’s always been a real cool guy so it’s a tough call.”

“Maybe Master Frown turned him into a robot,” Puppycorn suggested, “And he’s also an evil jerkface who wants to destroy the kingdom until we stop him and save the day!” He began playfully mimicking a fight between robotic and heroic characters.

“Well, what if he’s trying to help us?” Unikitty cheerfully suggested. “Oh yeah that too, good call,” Puppycorn agreed, “Or both!” He gasped, wagging his tail. “What if he’s really on both sides!?”

As the siblings went on, Hawkodile hung and shook his head. He lifted a heavy axe. “Puppycorn actually has a point,” he said. “I do?” Puppycorn gasped happily. “He does?” Unikitty asked.

“Brock’s probably coming after us the same way Frown is, so I hate to think this way but…” he swung the axe around and held its back towards hi, “better safe than sorry.”

Unikitty gasped. “But I don’t want to hurt him! He could still be the amazingly wonderful blocky guy we always knew, even if he and Master Frown really are evil.” She paused. “Wait, I didn’t make any sense, did I?” “No you didn’t,” Hawkodile said, “You know what? He’s always been kinda confusing as is, so let’s just focus on Master Frown.”

“Ok,” Puppycorn and Unikitty agreed in unison, one more willing than the other.

: ~~~ :

“And this one was made especially for you!” Dr. Fox said as she handed another new invention to Richard; a silver dart gun. When Richard pulled the trigger, out came a tranquilizer with a paperclip shaped like a needle.

“Wow, silent but effective,” Richard admired, “You know me so well.” “Of course I do!” Dr. Fox replied, “It’s not actually effective though but hey, it makes for a great distraction while the rest of us do the actual fighting.” Richard’s face changed to disappointed as Dr. Fox pointed to another table. “I also have some cleaning supplies in some bigger and longer guns in case you need them.” Richard floated over to the table and picked up a mop rifle.

“This makes me question your decisions and faith in me more, but I think I’ll keep them. Thank you,” he complimented with a warm smile. “Hey no problem!” Dr. Fox humbly bragged.

“‘No problem?’ Hah, that’s cute,” an eerily familiar voice echoed down the lab hallway.

Dr. Fox and Richard slowly turned to their left. Possessed Brock was coming closer and closer, scraping his scythe on the wall and chuckling as if he were a Doom Lord himself, the shrill symphony accompanied by his evil smile.

“Oh no!!!” Dr. Fox yelled, grabbing Richard, “How did we forget about Brock!?” “I don’t know, but we have to do something-“ Richard’s voice shook until Possessed Brock swung his scythe in between them. Both would-be victims screamed as they dodged him and ran in different directions.

Trying to defend himself, Richard aimed his new dart gun at Possessed Brock as his body shook and he began breathing heavily. Possessed Brock looked in the floating brick’s direction in enough time to see the paperclip fired at him and flick it away. He raced toward Richard, swinging his scythe only for the brick to avoid being sliced every time.

“Dr. Fox you have to do something or we’re going to die down here!” Richard called out as he evaded death. “What does it look like I’m trying to do!?” the doctor replied, peeking her head out from behind a stash of weapons. Possessed Brock turned around and ran in her direction, jumping into the air to strike her. Dr. Fox ducked and rolled away, leaving many of her new inventions behind to be smashed to bits.

“NO, MY WEAPONS!!!” Dr. Fox cried. Richard floated in from behind her as Possessed Brock got up.

“Well isn’t that a fitting reaction,” he commented, “Didn’t know what to expect though.” He jumped up to strike them again, Richard floating through the floor and Dr. Fox, scrambling to find what other weapons she left lying around. The Razor Revolver caught her eye, and she crawled as fast as she could to get a hold of it. She tried holding it properly until she felt the assassin coming her way and pressed the trigger. Out came a sword in just enough time to save Dr. Fox and give her more time to run back and charge at Possessed Brock. He charged back, and their blades clashed.

(Art by @samthecookielord)

As the fight went on, the Frown-copter flew through the cloudy skies, its driver’s eyes glowing with the mere though of what was to come. Nothing scared him; not the dark clouds, the lighting, or the loud engine giving signs of failing, until a crow flew by and crashed into the front window.

“Out of the way, bird!” Master Frown shouted, swiping with his hand. But before he could press the wipers button, a swarm of dim red light and fire enveloped the crow and flung it away along with the movement of his hand. Master Frown pressed the brakes.

“Wait a minute,” he realized, “I REALLY CAN MOVE STUFF WITH MY MIND!!!”

He laughed again as he drove the helicopter and controlled different of its functions at once using just his mind. Buttons, switches, and fans kept going on and off, all of it meaning nothing to the driver other than his powers were indeed getting stronger.

The forces of good and evil continued their fight in the lab, avoiding each other’s attacks and scowling, knowing that they were both so close yet so far from winning. Possessed Brock swung his scythe over himself again when he stiffened. He groaned, holding his face with one hand and his scythe with the other. Dr. Fox watched, confused as to what was going on and wondering if she should keep her guard down. The red light in Brock’s eyes and demonic sounds in his voice faded as he opened his eyes. He looked around the lab he never thought he’d miss, then at Dr. Fox, staring with equally bewildered eyes.

“W…Dr. Fox??” Brock asked, his head (or lack thereof) still hurting, “What am I doing down here? What’s going on…d-did he really get back to the kingdom like he said he would!? No no no NO NO NOOOOOO!!!” He dropped to the floor out of guilt.

“Brock, what do you mean?” Dr. Fox walked over to him, “Why aren’t your eyes red anymore?” “He mind controlled me, that’s why!” Brock clenched his fists and grunted in the middle of his breakdown. “Wait mind control? Since when could he do that?” Dr. Fox asked, “Either way it does explain why you were just trying to kill me and Richard.”

Brock gasped, tears staining to the lab floor.

“Listen, I am SO SO sorry, I didn’t mean to do any of it! I’d never hurt you, or any of our friends, or anyone who lives here! You didn’t do anything wrong, and I would’ve warned you if I could but the last thing I remember was being told we were coming back here and that he had to control me again.”

“Well,” Dr. Fox suggested, trying to calm him down, “how about we put our weapons down and talk more about this?” “Really?” Brock dropped his scythe and looked her in the eyes again. “Definitely!” Dr. Fox helped him up.

“I’ve helped people with their problems plenty of times,” she continued, “So trust me Brock, there’s nothing a little science can’t fix. Helping you out should be a breeze! Right Rick?” She turned around to find more broken machines and totaled weapons, but Richard was nowhere in sight.

“Richard?”

The gray brick floated up from behind a shelf, his eyes reflecting every inch of fear in his little body. “Is he gone?” he asked with all his strength.

“Nope, he’s right here” Dr. Fox said as she walked his way, “But he only come after us because he was mind controlled. Maybe we can help each other out now!”

Richard floated close to Dr. Fox again, this time inches away from her face. “Doctor, mind control or not he just tried to kill us! Can we really trust him if he’s supposedly under a supervillain’s control?”

“Good question,” Dr. Fox replied as she fixed her glasses, “but hey Brock’s never been as big of a bingleberry as Master Frown is.” “Uh…thanks?” Brock said from behind her.

Richard’s stare went from back and forth between Dr. Fox and Brock, giving the latter a colder focus. “Fine,” he groaned, floated over to Brock.

“So, care to explain what happened since we last saw you and your ‘friend?’” Richard asked. “I’ll tell you everything, I promise,” Brock nervously said, “just please don’t get mad, ok? It’ll just make things worse.”

“Don’t let Rick get you more upset, Brock,” Dr. Fox butted in, “All we need is to find out why Master Frown’s so different.” “Got it,” Brock understood, “Just prepare yourselves cause it’s gonna get heavy.”

“Umm, alright,” Dr. Fox still tried to accept everything warmly. “Believe me, I’ve heard worse than you’d think,” Richard reassured him.

: ~~~ :

Several moments passed before Brock could explain everything to Richard and a nearly trembling Dr. Fox.

“Wait, what!?” Dr. Fox shrieked, “I never imagined he could ever do THAT! And you’ve been living like that for how long again!?”

“Six months,” Brock answered. “Brock…I don’t know what else to say other than…well, that this is terrible!” Dr. Fox stammered. “I’ve still heard worse,” Richard said bluntly.

“Well, not everything’s completely different. It’s kinda hard to explain,” Brock admitted, trying to stay optimistic but becoming sadder with every word, “One day he’s his usual, silly self, and the next he’s as evil as his bosses were. And I don’t know if he really knows what he’s doing sometimes, either. It’s like he knows he has these weird new powers but not what they are or how to use them. Maybe it’s some cry for help when he looks at me all mad at himself, but it doesn’t change the fact that this whole thing’s a living nightmare!”

“Well,” Dr. Fox said thoughtfully, “hopefully we can figure out all these question about the Doom Lords and pummel that stupid, selfish Frowntown scum to the ground, and get you somewhere safe and sound!”

“Yeah,” Brock nervously giggled, “just try not to pummel him too much.” “You just told us about everything he’s done and you STILL- ” Dr. Fox grumbled before taking a short, deep breath. “Well, I do understand how much he means to you, ” she admitted, “and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that your friends’ lives matter more than any experiment ever could. So we probably won’t punish him too bad for you.”

Brock began feeling warmer inside as he thought about it. Maybe they could get Master Frown to finally open up about what changed him so badly and they could find a solution that benefitted everyone. Maybe Brock and Master Frown didn’t have to be so awkwardly afraid of each other anymore and they could be as close as they used to be. Maybe they could be friends without constantly reassuring each other that they were, or even more, like Brock always dreamed they would be.

He cuddled Dr. Fox in an attempt to not think about it too deeply and focus on the present. “Don’t know what I’d do without you Doc, can’t thank you enough!” “Oh it’s quite alright,” Dr. Fox said, bringing Richard in, “So what do you say guys, let’s get this started!”

Dr. Fox, Richard, and Brock walked through the castle halls, just making it to the first floor when Brock’s head began aching again. He held it and tried to hold back his pain. The red in his eyes was coming back.

“Brock, are you ok!?” Dr. Fox asked as she and Richard tried to help him. “I-it’s happening again!!” Brock said, struggling, “Go, g-get e-everyone else before I hurt you!”

Though not wanting to leave him behind, his two friends ran forward anyway. After more yelling Possessed Brock opened his eyes and came to his senses, realizing that his scythe was missing. Remembering that he was last in the lab, he ran back down to find it lying on the reflective, blue floor; waiting for him to pick it up and run back out. He tried to sprint as stealthily as he could to the foyer when he heard an optimistic “And then things are gonna go back to normal!…hopefully.”

Possessed Brock stumbled mid-run and tried to pick himself up before he could make too much noise. Then he hid behind a potted plant under the staircase and listened carefully to what was behind him. He could recognize the voices too well; Unikitty and Hawkodile were getting closer.

“Princess, you seriously still think you can just go easy on them, force them to talk it out, and then BANG the whole thing just blows over!?” Hawkodile still tried reasoning with her, “This is the time for combat, not words! Just think; the announcements, the threats, all the potential danger, and nothing scares you but Brock!?”

“Oh come on, Hawk,” Unikitty confidently said, “ just think: all we have to do is…”

“…surrender or your lives end here and now!” Possessed Brock finished, revealing himself and slowly coming up the staircase. Unikitty and Hawkodile held onto each other and screamed.

“Brock!?” Unikitty asked, now fearing what her supposed friend could do to her, “What happened to you!? Why are your eyes red!?” “You won’t need answers to those questions,” Possessed Brock drew his scythe, “You’ll be too busy begging for your lives.”

“NOT ON MY WATCH!!!” Hawkodile yelled. He guarded Unikitty and winded his arm back to punch the distorted personification of his once good friend. Possessed Brock dodged the punch and made his way up the stairs swiftly.

“GO, HURRY!” Hawkodile commanded. Unikitty flew up the staircase but turned to watch the fight from the top of the stairs. She still tried to understand what was going on as her bodyguard and would-be friend fought. Hawkodile angrily kept trying to punch and kick Possessed Brock, who avoided every attack with ease as he was chased up the stairs before he made it to the top and grabbed Unikitty. The princess squealed and struggled to free herself, trapped in his grasp as he ran down the steps again, past Hawkodile and out the castle door. Possessed Brock reached for his walkie-talkie as he ran through the castle grounds.

“I got her, let’s go!” he yelled into it.

Along came sudden swirling of the wind and sound of the Frown-copter came closer as Master Frown landed it on the hill, feet away from Possessed Brock and Unikitty. The princess froze as she peeked at his grinning face out of the entrance; not just because of his new look but also how he looked at her back, eyes and all.

“Good,” Master Frown relished over the loud engine, “Let’s do this.” For the first time in his live, he felt more evil than he ever had before.

“Master Frown!?” Unikitty screamed, starting to sweat, “I guess it’s great to see you again but WHAT’S GOING ON!?!? WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?” Possessed Brock ignored her questions and hopped into the backseat and all Master Frown said was “Aww man, we actually got her, let’s go!” with the innocence of a child getting candy or a new toy. The Frown-copter took off, and Hawkodile made it in enough time to just see it start zoom away. He wanted nothing more than to fly up to it at lightning speed and punch the red-eyed crooks into oblivion, but he knew that in order to take them down he couldn’t do it alone.

Hawkodile flew to his dojo, where Puppycorn, Dr. Fox, and Richard were discussing a potential plan of attack, and almost crashed landed into the entrance.

“GUYS, THEY’VE GOT UNIKITTY!” He announced, “EVERYBODY GO, GET OUT THERE OR SHE’S A GONER! COME ON, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!” Everyone raced outside and through the streets, following the Frown-copter. Its driver heard some strange commotion from below even over Unikitty still screaming to get out. He peeked down from the driver’s seat he found Unikitty’s friends running after him, then up his way to find Hawkodile flying after them.

“Brock,” Master Frown aggressively whispered through his teeth before yelling, “WHY ARE THEY STILL ALIVE!?” “Not now, bingus!” Possessed Brock yelled back. “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!?” Unikitty still tried to squirm out of Possessed Brock’s grasp as he and Master Frown went back and forth and her friends raced after her.

Puppycorn and Richard ran side by side until the prince grabbed Richard and threw him up at the Frown-copter. It took only a few seconds for the screaming brick to reach the helicopter, and one more for Master Frown to smack him away, sending Richard falling as fast as he came. He landed next to where Dr. Fox stood, aiming the Higher-Upper at the helicopter and firing a missile. It seemed as though the missile would really hit them, and Unikitty and Possessed Brock began fearing for their lives. But Master Frown effortlessly raised the helicopter’s altitude higher into the air so the missile would miss it, land on the ground, blow a kingdom shop up, and make Dr. Fox furious.

Master Frown looked down and laughed at her rage when Hawkodile caught up to him. He stood on the landing skid and grabbed onto the doorway, shaking the entire helicopter. While Master Frown screamed and frantically tried to regain balance Hawkodile reached his hand out for Unikitty.

(Art by @friffinx, again)

“Princess, grab on!” he pleaded. Unikitty reached back, but just before their hands touched, Possessed Brock knocked Hawkodile off the skid and sent him falling.

“HAWKODILE, NOOOO!!!” Unikitty cried. This seemed to be her last straw as she growled with rage, turning into her angry form and shaking the Frown-copter again.

“ALRIGHT, YOU BETTER EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON AND WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO MY FRIENDS-”

A tranquilizer dart hit her cheek, and she was fast asleep on the floor in her normal form.

Possessed Brock looked up to see Master Frown spinning a dart gun with a smug look on his face and chuckling again.

“Not bad, scrub,” Possessed Brock slyly thanked his boss. “Hey, watch it,” Master Frown said with the grin still on his face.

Richard, Dr. Fox, and Hawkodile helped each other get up as Puppycorn gazed into the sky, his heart feeling heavy.

“She’s gone…! MY BIG SIS IS GONE!!!” he sobbed, “What are we gonna do guys!?” Everyone else looked to each other, waiting for someone to give an answer. After a moment Hawkodile took it upon himself to give one. “Honestly Puppycorn, we don’t know.” He put his arm around the prince, and all four looked up to the setting sun.

WOW, that took forever but HEY, it’s finally here! And don’t worry, the other chapters aren’t as long as this one. (Except for maybe chapter 4, a lot’s gonna happen in that one too)

But thanks again for sticking around and being patient for so long, and an EXTREMELY huge thank you to me co-artists, who are linked above. Please check them out and give them your love. And to the co-artists who signed up but had to leave for one reason or another: don’t worry, I’d be happy to have you on board again if/when you’re able to.

And if you’re not a co-artist but would like to be, just message me here or on Amino! I’d be happy to show you how we do it and feature your art for the next chapters!

I promise the next few chapters will take less time to release, so stay tuned! ;D

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niqhtlord01 · 5 years

Photo

Hello again Rooster Teeth fighting fans! It’s been some time since we had our last match up, if only for the reason that the announcer couldn’t figure out who next to invite to the slaughterhouse that is the RT Championship. But today that changes as one unlucky soul has decided to step into the ring and test their metal against everything from evil mechanical cloud monsters, robot’s the look like school girls that can flatten cities, and a feud between heroes over who gets the last cookie. (Caboose has left Freckles to protect his stash while he sleeps.) Our latest contestant is the father of the two strongest up and coming warriors ever to grace the halls of Beacon Academy, at least since the last time he was there, and also somehow the husband of two of the most attractive women in the realm of Remnant. We’re honestly not sure how he pulled that off folks but we give credit where credit is due. Pleas put your hands together for TAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Felix: *Walks in twirling knife between fingers* Tai: What kind of man sells his soul? Felix: Cute. How’s your kid by the way? I hear she’s a real handful. Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Poor choice of words. Yang: *Drives in on motorcycle before flipping off and landing* Tai: Yang, what have I told you about riding motorcycles. Yang: *sighs* Always wear a helmet. Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Exactly. Kazu: *Flips in and lands* Tai: Hmf. *Does higher flip in air and lands.* Kazu: Really? That’s all you’ve got? *Does even higher flip.* Tai: *Smirks* I like the cut of your jib. Tai: *Walks in adjusting shoulder guard* Caboose: Tell me where the cookies are an no one gets hurt. Tai: Wouldn’t it make more sense to rob me for my money? Caboose: *Hefts Freckles* You spend money to get cookies silly, so I’m being smart and skipping the pointless step and getting the cookies. Adam: *Lands on the ground, rolls, then draws sword* Tai: So you’re the punk who took my daughter’s arm. Adam: Are you planning on cutting mine off for revenge? Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Oh no. I’m going to rip it off with my bare hands then beat you with it for hurting my kid. Tyrian: *Walks in laughing, wrist axes opening and closing* Tai: And here I was thinking I was the only one with a good sense of humor. Tyrian: That depends; do you find slicing your enemies to ribbons hilarious? Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Why can’t I meet anyone who isn’t insane? Tai: *Walks in adjusting shoulder guard* Grif: Dude, you do know that you’re unarmed and I’m the one with the gun right? Tai: Yeah, you’re going to need it. Grif: *Starts shaking* I suddenly feel like I need a bigger gun. Nemesis: *Nanotech cloud appears and forms Nemesis* Tai: What kind of monster are you? Nemesis: The kind that kills you. Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Right, officially creeped out now. Locus: *Deactivates cloaking* Tai: Not going to lie; that was pretty awesome. Locus: Most people start screaming when I do that. Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Oh I am literally terrified right now but that still doesn’t mean that wasn’t awesome. Tai: *Walks in adjusting shoulder guard* Ruby: Hey dad. you’re looking festive as always. Tai: What did you explode this time? Ruby: *Pulls out walkie talkie* Mission failed, repeat, mission has failed! Going to plan b! Tai: *Walks in adjusting shoulder guard* Valentina: Well hello good looking. Tai: You’re not too bad on the eyes either. Valentina: *Draws knives* Maybe after the fight we can grab a drink, if you can still move that is. Tai: *Walks in adjusting shoulder guard* Church: Really? I have to fight the dad? Tai: Really? I have to fight windows 10? Church: *Pulls out sniper rifle* That cut deep man. Ironwood: *Walks in loading pistol* Tai: So you’re General Ironwood, Qrow’s told me a lot about you. Ironwood: None of it flattering I imagine. Tai: Cracks knuckles* He said I should just punch you on sight, so no. US: *Enters with coin flipping* Tai: You ready to fight? US: Finally, someone that doesn’t crack a joke about me. Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Oh don’t worry, I’m sure your fighting style will be the real joke. Jaune: *Walks in forming great sword* Tai: You remind me of a young me back in the day. Jaune: Really? Tai: *Cracks knuckles* Word of caution though, be prepared for women to fling themselves at you. Raven nearly took off my head one time so I’d recommend learning to duck at a moments notice.

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tb5-heavenward · 4 years

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Prelude, I am COUNTING on you to write a post-finale series for TAG. You write the boys soooo well, you know their voices as if you were related to them and I must know how it all works out now that Jeff's back. Like, is Scott still in charge or does Jeff become the lead again? Do any of the boys (read: John, because we love him) have a hard time with the change? Are Pen and Ink official?! Who is the spy in the GDF?! What does Jeff think of EOS?! Who really is the Mechanic?! I need to know!!

okay well, boy, well okay

full disclosure, as of this answer I still haven’t found the mental energy or brainspace to watch the latest and lastest ep, which is a sad but accurate commentary on how far this show has fallen in terms of importance in my life, because I remember the early days of staying up til five in the goddamn morning, with fuckin hola vpn doing all manner of evil via my IP address, just to watch the latest eps live on ITV. But times change, and times have changed so much that I’m no longer awake at 5AM anyway because I have to nurse a one year old back to sleep, but instead I have to be in bed by 11:30 at the latest so I can walk a six year old to school. Times change.

Anyway, that personal note aside, as far as my writing goes, my major projects have always been a magnification of the aspects of TAG I find the most interesting. Heavenward dialed that lens in on John and EOS and the intensity of their relationship, Harvard likewise focused on John and his most fundamental nature, and these days TA’s focal point is on Gordon/Penny as a couple and the way that all of the relationships both within and without this family ripple outward and overlap and interfere with each other, like a handful of stones thrown into still water.

I’ve been pretty transparent about how I feel re: TAG and the way its latest season went, and the problem with me taking the metaphorical cueball of TAG’s canon and trying to bank a post-series fic into the corner pocket is that I fundamentally disagree with the arc that canon’s taken, pretty much from the end of Season 2. Right up to the finale of S2 there’d been nothing I couldn’t manage to work with, barring a few mental tweaks and adjusted details here and there, but S3 just went so buck fuckin’ wild compared to what I would’ve done, storywise, that to try to write past the end of it is fairly untenable for me personally.

And while those are all interesting questions, I’ve already addressed a lot of them. The spy in the GDF was a literal fucking rando in a goddamn raccoon burglar mask with a walkie talkie in hand. That is how far the writing had fallen, because if you want a couple of those questions answered right here and now, the mole in the GDF should have been Colonel Casey. And who the Mechanic really was should’ve been was Casey’s son, kidnapped and brainwashed and leveraged against her by the Hood, because that’s a poetic and perfect and poignant level of betrayal---Casey betraying IR as a mother who loves her son, as much as those boys ever loved their father.

Anyway. Here’s the bigger problem I have right now.

(TA spoilers-ish below the cut, a loose discussion of the map of the rest of the story, leave this unread unless you want some insight into my process re: currently unanswered but fairly obviously rhetorical questions and the overall arc of the story)

What the finale does do is makes me ask a fairly critical question about the work I have ongoing now, and makes me wonder if I might want to make it into the venue where I explore what I would’ve done with the series’ larger plot (ie: see above re: colonel casey). talented amateurs is, as mentioned above, fundamentally a fic about exploring relationships within IR. TA is my homage to the art of the slow burn, only I’ve done it bassackwards on account of the pair of them fell in love and promptly slept together within the first five chapters of the work. TA also started as a straight-up mood piece, just something to explore what that moment of an initiated relationship between Gordon and Penelope would look like. Needless to say, it blossomed, and now about 200k later, here we are.

In the same manner that TA wasn’t initially intended to be the behemoth it’s become, it was also at one point a question whether the thrust of the plot would concern Penelope’s pregnancy. Obviously it does now, and the works that follow it will continue along that essential arc---that’s the fundamental three act structure of this story, the three trimesters of pregnancy.

But ever since it started getting serious and started making itself apparent as my Next Big Thing, its been teetering on the knife’s edge of the question: Do I want to bring Jeff Tracy into this? Do I want to overshadow the future of IR with the spectre of its past? Do I want to bring him back?

Because the thing with TAG is that, if you’re the sort of person who can perceive the fundamental shape of an overall story---even one as disconnected and disjointed as TAG’s was---it was always transparently apparent that one day they would find their father. It was the series’ biggest macguffin and it’s kind of like, invisibly woven into the tapestry of the narrative. I can’t even quite clearly articulate why it always seemed so obvious---probably simply because they open the show by searching for that last desperate trace of him, but there was never a doubt in my mind that one day that would be the resolution of that question and the ultimate expression of the boys as IR. Their father wasn’t dead and they got to save him.

So it seems like any fic taking place in TAG’s verse must have that truth baked into it---their dad isn’t dead. He’s out there somewhere, alive and findable. I think the question of where could be more compellingly and believably answered than by “he’s been fridged in the fucking Oort Cloud for eight goddamn years” and I think as a writer I could take the bones of the show we’ve got and craft a more interesting version of that story. TA is a Season 2 AU in the same way that hwd is a Season 1 AU, and as far as canon is concerned, it doesn’t consider anything from S3 to be true. In TA, the Hood is still in prison and he’s going to stay there. Havoc and Fuse and Rigby don’t exist. The Mechanic is the biggest unanswered question, but also no longer IR’s problem. As far as TA’s cast is concerned, their dad is dead as a goddamn doornail.

And maybe that would be the bolder move. Maybe he could just be dead and that’s the deeper and more interesting and more poignant thought. What I can’t decide about TA is whether or not I want it to catch a case of Plot. It’s a double-edged sword, because on the one hand, the interpersonal happenings of this story are easily as interesting than anything like an actual high-stakes narrative about their father being alive could be. But equally I know I could tell that story as well or better than the actual writers actually did, and it seems silly to pretend that I’d ever do it elsewhere, though it would be a hell of a thing if I did, and I only know that because I’ve done it already.

Anyway. I’ll know in about ten chapters or so. Til then the coin’s still in the air.

#ta meta #Anonymous

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telpea-kalka · 3 years

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Maeglin, through Anguirel: Turin! Remember how you told me you wanted to exchange gifts for that Mannish holiday, and we couldn’t because my uncle would execute us for exposing Gondolin’s location?

Turin, through Anglachel: Yeah. Bummer.

Maeglin: well I’ve been up all night charting the fluvial systems between Gondolin and Nargathorond and I think I figured out how to send you something!

Turin, through Anglachel: Wait, seriously?

Maeglin: I can’t tell you any details, but if I float a package just the right size down the right point the river, there’s a good chance the current will carry it right down the Narog!

Turin: That’s incredible! I have a gift for you too, where can I float mine?

Maeglin: I’m not sure yet, it might only run one way.

Turin: Damn, I found you the perfect gift. Wanna just say what it is?

Maeglin: Yeah, probably a good idea. There’s a big chance it’ll sink or you just won’t see it go by.

Maeglin: I forged you a shield to match your helm. It’s made of precious galvorn, a metal no smith outside my family could ever hope to replicate. If you manage to get it, it will never fail you.

Turin: You didn’t.

Maeglin: I did. It’s black and I sculpted dragons on it. It’ll totally match your aesthetic.

Turin, crying: That is the most thoughtful—Valar, I love it. You know me so well!

Turin: Your gift is this rock I found. It’s an... igneous? I don’t know. It’s grey, and from the side it kinda looks like a mole. If I can get it to you, you can explain how it formed for thirty minutes.

Maeglin, also crying: I love it so much.

#where turin and maeglin can communicate through their magic swords #evil sword walkie talkies #silmarillion #Turin #Maeglin #both of their gifts sank immediately #anguirel #anglachel

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cora-says · 5 years

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I have more ideas for good omens au so stay with me here folks

Okay so I haven’t read the book (yet it's being shipped soon) so most of this is just jack shit crazy and based off nothing. Actually, it's slightly based off a post I can no longer find about Aziraphale and Crowley’s wings turning grey and that they are truly on their own side. Yep

Aziraphale not fallen but not an angel:

Important parts of AU:

Heaven finds out about the sword and when Aziraphale refuses to say what he did with it and they ask if he smited the demon and when he says he didn't everyone gets upset

Due to this being shortly after the rebellion he is punished harshly.

So harshley that he is in fact cast out from heaven and it on the way to hell.

However he doesn’t quite make it to hell

Somewhere in between heaven and hell, something went wrong hes just his own kinda entity now

His wings are a charcoal grey and he has powers still but is not really under the control of either side.

Heaven just assumes hes in hell so they have no idea and hell doesn’t know either due to buracracy

Basically heaven and hells filing system is the one tumblr uses :|

So hes just kinda lost in the system neither side the wiser.

He still interacts with Crowley and he keeps his electric slide to the side a secret.

He takes the deal to do favors for each other sooner and just comes up with random ‘good stuff’ for Crowley to do

It makes him giggle that crowleys just doing good things.

He still does good stuff because hes a good person.

He falls in love with Crowley like in cannon but he still doesn’t get together with him out of fear of what would happen to Crowley.

He doesn’t know what happens if hes discorperated. He lives in fear of that.

Unimportant parts of AU that are just kinda out there:

He still hears heavens orders its like hes still in the same walkie talkie channel or rather he hears both sides hes tuned into both like tapping a call.

Still likes acting holy and pure because hes meant to be that way but inside hes in turmoil like why should you pretend after all they made it clear that your not an angel anymore.

He didn’t smite or threaten Crowley because first he's soft and god herself told him too let him in (also hes hot and a good conversationalist).

However, when he was cast out from heaven she didn’t speak out in his defense and he kind of resents that.

Hes a little moral grey

Goes by his own code of laws but is still good

Neutral Good

Occasionally when he listens in on heaven and hell he does commentary

He goes to thwart hell and such

He often listens to heavens punishments and goes to that place to provide disaster relief

Like those punishments get out of hand and he realized that when he realized neither side is good

Writing Snippets:

“We could be on our own side!” Crowley exclaimed desperately motioning for him to get in the car. Hysterical laughter bubbled in his throat. On their own side? He had been on his own side for years and look at how that had turned out. With the two of them only hours away from Armageddon.

Bureaucracy is neither good nor evil. It's a separate entity that both heaven and hell have both claimed to have created. But in all honesty, it's just a huge pain in the ass for both sides. However, for Aziraphale, it's his saving grace, his very inefficient savior.

He sobbed, why was this happening to him he had done as he was told. Why was this happening to him?! His wings thrashed against the rope as they were tied down. He whimpered in pain as they were bound choking back yet another sob. How could this happen? He was pulled to his feet and he made one last feeble attempt. "Please, I did nothing wrong! You have to believe me ask God! She'll tell you! I was just a guard!" His desperate pleas was met with the stony faces of the archangels and he was sent back teetering on the edge.

Yeah, that's all I have for now its 4 AM I'm gonna write some stuff for it and post it later!

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thedeaditeslayer · 5 years

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My worst moment: Bruce Campbell and unmanageable costumes — 'no one ever talks about the pinches, the scrapes, the chafing'.

Here’s an article where Bruce Campbell shares an interesting story from on the set of Army of Darkness.

According to Bruce Campbell, who hosts the latest version of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” on the Travel Channel, there is a decent percentage of risk-takers featured on the show. “Probably 20% of our stories are daredevil-ish and that’s always fascinating,” he said. “Who does that? Who are these people? Who’s crazy enough to launch themselves on a motorcycle doing flips? Or smash things with your head or pull things with your hair? How did that all come to be?”

Campbell’s role is mostly to provide voiceover, which means he has yet to meet the individuals spotlighted. “But I hope to because I do a lot of conventions and I tour and man, nothing would be better than to get some of these folks doing a live demonstration at one of these conventions. There are astonishing skills here.”

Does Campbell have any notable skills?

“Oh, amazing skills. I can read a teleprompter like nobody’s business. I do have one skill I developed: It’s a diagonal banana slice. If you just slice your banana — bing, bang, bing — the little slices that land in your bowl, 42% of them are going to stick together because they’re all the same shape and angle. So I do an alternating angular slice. You cut diagonal, spin the banana, cut on the opposite diagonal. And now these diagonal chunks are falling in and when they hit each other, they are bouncing off each other there’s no way they’re going to stick together. You’re welcome.”

He was quick to point out the skills highlighted on the show are “things that you and I could not do. When you see what these folks have gone through in their lives and what they’ve overcome, talk about their worst moment! A lot of people in these episodes have had moments that changed their lives and this is what they did to overcome it or deal with it. It’s surprisingly uplifting.”

When asked about his own worst moment in a career that has spanned many incarnations of the “Evil Dead” franchise as well the USA series “Burn Notice” (and much, much more, detailed in his memoir “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" and its sequel "Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor"), Campbell recalled a story about a costume that got in the way of a certain bodily function.

My worst moment …

“I was shooting ‘Army of Darkness’ (from 1992), which was the third ‘Evil Dead’ movie and it was our version of ‘The Vikings’ — when we were kids, (director) Sam Raimi and me and some of the other guys, we liked ‘The Vikings,’ which is this Kirk Douglas movie (from 1958) where it was like, attacking castles and burning oil and stuff like that. We were all at our physical and mental best and we had enough of a budget that we could make this big epic.

“In the movie, I play two characters: Good Ash, who is the main character, and also his rival, Bad Ash, who is possessed and is a demon. The demon makeup took three hours to put on and I’m in a demon costume with a demon suit-of-armor. And because I’m possessed, I’m wearing contact lenses that blocked out my vision and I have these demon gloves that are like these Playtex gloves you would wear to wash your dishes or whatever, but they’re monster gloves and they have two-inch nails on them. Like, sharp, menacing fingernails. They were so clumsy. I couldn’t do anything once I had them on. Couldn’t open the door, couldn’t hold a cup of coffee.

“We were shooting in the desert outside of Palmdale, California. It’s the middle of the night — and I have to go to the bathroom. And my only option was out in the darkness, somewhere in the desert. There was no port-o-potty at this particular place.

“So someone, like a production assistant with a walkie talkie, was like, ‘Alright, I’ll take Bruce by his arm and lead him off the set over to some yucca plant that’s out of the light.’ It was probably out behind this castle where we were shooting.

“So I’m standing there and realize, I can’t unzip my own fly — let alone get access to it in order to do what I needed to do, because of the fingernails on the monster gloves. It takes two people to put those gloves on and they’re not easy to remove. Once they’re on, you’re not taking them off to do anything. They’re on. They’re yours for the night.

“So, what am I going to do — call my wife over to help do this? Because I wasn’t going to ask the walkie-talkie person to do this. So I said, ‘You need to find my wife and bring her over because there’s an issue here. I cannot access myself to do what I need to do.’

“And I’m thinking: Is this what I’ve stayed in the film business for? For this? Is this what it’s come to? You know, you work hard and train hard and you can’t even urinate in the dessert. The raw indignity of it!

“My wife did end up helping out. She figured out what was going on pretty quick, no one needed to explain it. She was the costume designer on the movie so she was partially to blame for my misery. Her name is Ida Gearon and I said, ‘Ida, look: You and your department, we gotta figure something out here! I need easy access.’ She laughed but it wasn’t funny to me. After that, I think we cut a slit in the glove so you could bend the glove back and pop your real hand out of it. So a box cutter was the solution. Easy solution, took four seconds.

“If she hadn’t been on set that day, the makeup effects guys would have had to come out and remove the gloves — and that would have been a half hour that we didn’t have.”

How long before was Campbell able to laugh about the moment?

“About 10 years later it got funny (laughs). It took about a decade to get funny. It’s still not really hilarious. That was early in our marriage so it was a good test of our relationship, I suppose. It encouraged her to come up with a solution so it was a win-win, as they say.

“Sometime costume designers don’t think about the practical side of things. Or just the weight of what you’re wearing. I did a TV show called ‘Jack of All Trades’ where I was a masked marauder that always wore this velvety red cape, and I put the thing on and it almost gave me scoliosis. I gave it back to the costume designer and said, ‘Put this on and do a sword fight, I dare you. This needs to be a half or a third of the weight.’ She wanted it to flow right, which was absolutely correct. But I was like, ‘We’ve got to find a middle ground between what looks good and what is manageable.’

“The Batman costume? No thanks. Everybody’s like, ‘Bruce, would you ever want to be Batman?’ Not a chance in hell. I would be Commissioner Gordon, no problem — wear a nice suit, double-breasted pinstripe, everything’s good. But nothing could compel me to take a role where there’s a lot of prosthetics or that kind of all-encompassing costume. Earlier on in my career, no problem, get me in that suit, heck yeah! But now, you couldn’t write a soliloquy that could get me into one of those suits. I’m busy fishing.

“I’m not the first guy to say this, by the way. If you get cast as Batman or Spider-Man or Superman, kiss your bathroom goodbye. Or wear a catheter, or something. It’s the nightmare of these costumes. Hey, hurray — you’re Iron Man! Guess what? You’re never urinating again unless it’s in your suit.

“I mean, this is the nightmare of the modern-day actor wearing these stupid costumes (laughs). Everyone’s saying, ‘Oh God, Robert Downey Jr., he’s Iron Man, what a great career!’ and he’s probably cursing that stupid suit to this day. And the rashes, no one ever talks about their rashes — the pinches, the scrapes, the chafing, oh the chafing! I bet they sell more talcum powder to Marvel productions than to anybody else. Our beloved Chewbacca just passed on (played by Peter William Mayhew) and the only thing he ever talked about was how stuffy and uncomfortable that suit was. It’s like acting inside of a yak.

“So that was a real low point for me. People think you’re starring in a movie for Universal, this is the highpoint of your life. And actually it’s like, no, this is a low point.”

The takeaway …

“Don’t wear elaborate costumes (laughs). It’s almost as simple as that! Just don’t go there.

“Or, make sure you go through a NASA-style testing process where it’s like: Put me through all the possibilities. I’m sure the new Batman is going to benefit from everything they learned from all the previous Batman costumes, all the predecessors. Plus, I’ll bet the materials are lightweight now. If it were me, I’d call them all — George Clooney, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale — and be like, ‘Guys, what do I need to know about the dumb suit?’ I’d be right on top of that.

“It’s a thing called prep and it’s a lost art. I actually ran into a producer who had a T-shirt that said, ‘Prep is for (losers)’ — on his shirt! That’s what we’re dealing with.”

#Bruce Campbell

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