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painted-crow · 3 years

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Bird? Bird. Bird Bird.

Hey there. I've been going in circles about my sorting since I discovered the SHC system and would appreciate your help in figuring it out. Although I'm convinced I'm at least some sort of Badger and Bird combo, possibly with some Lion in there somewhere, I'll let you decide based on the word vomit below. 😆

Nonny, I have no idea how Tumblr is going to format an ask this long when I post it, so in the interest of letting people actually read the words you've put effort into (and making sure my reply is also trackable), I'm copypasting this so it'll behave more like a submission. Yours is a recent ask I think, so hopefully you see it! I'll briefly post the original once this is up, so you get the ping.

As a kid, my family called me a walking encyclopedia. I spent a lot of my time burying my head in books and magazines in an effort to understand the world around me rather than engaging with people. National Geographic, atlases, and the Magic Treehouse series were particular favorites of mine, but sometimes I would sprinkle in some fantasy novels here and there when I felt like reading something more creative and fun.

Nice, this is a whole lot of Birdsec up front. Wonder why you need me to confirm this for you.

Along with a genuine curiosity about history and science, I felt a sense of security in gathering knowledge and would let it guide my decisions (What a fucking nerd, am I rIGHT?)

Shoosh, you are perfectly cool.

Also, I would constantly correct everyone and anyone if I felt they didn't understand something or were completely uninformed, even if butting into that conversation was rude (then again, it could also be that I was too young to understand that there was a time and place for speaking).

Probably. Can I take a guess here that you were an asynchronous development (aka "gifted") kid? Maybe even twice exceptional ("gifted" and also neurodivergent)? I don't have that info obviously, I'm just guessing.

@wisteria-lodge just came out with a great post about "gifted" kids (and why that term is garbage).

A lot of twice exceptional kids get "missed" with diagnosis (hi!) and don't know there's a name and a reason for the struggles they have to deal with, especially social struggles. I can't diagnose you, of course, but that might be something to read up on if you haven't already.

(Good places to start are @adultingautistic and @adhd-alien on tumblr, or the YouTube channel HowToADHD. Be very wary of any source that's targeted almost completely towards parents of autistic or ADHDer kids, or anything that feels infantilizing in general. ND folks are just different, not broken or oversensitive or immature. If a source doesn't seem to know that, you know they have at least one huge piece of bad info. Their other stuff probably isn't better.)

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled program.

It felt wrong to let them have an incomplete picture.

Ooh, an Idealist primary. Probably Bird. Could still be Lion?

I was very outspoken about what I thought was right and wrong, and why, which was usually some fun fact I had read in a book or heard through someone else.

Yeah, no, that's Bird.

Even when I would play basketball, I would play better if I understood the theoretical and technicalities of the game and how to work within the rules. I had to understand the why before I could even begin to execute. In a realm where physicality was seemingly more important, I still managed to find a playing and learning style that allowed me to stay in my head.

You are a loud Birdsec, and I suspect the reason you're piling up all this evidence for me is that you also have more unwarranted insecurity about it than the Shaq-A-Roni (not sponsored) has cheap greasy salami.

TLDR; I was an arrogant shit as a kid, lmao.

Bullshit.

I mean, maybe you acted that way. But I don't think you're seeing the whole picture.

Some kids have the bad luck to grow up interacting with adults like this...

Adult: you are Smart, and therefore worthy of Positive Attention.

Kid: ok I will work very hard at being Smart, because I value your opinion and want Positive Attention.

(later)

Kid: can I have the Positive Attention? I am very Smart. look at this Smart thing I did

Adult: bad! arrogant! only We may bestow the label of Smart, and declare worthiness of Attention, when it is convenient to Us!

Kid: but I did the same thing...

Adult: yes but now it's annoying. you should know this, you're Smart.

Of course, there is some reasoning to adults' wanting kids to learn social norms about modesty. But generally they don't explain this well, and the kids who continue to act "arrogant" are at least a little bit attention starved.

Kids wanting attention isn't a bad thing. It's a totally normal and natural need. It's not selfish of them to want feedback and praise; that's just a human thing, and kids need it for development. Kids who get called arrogant are mostly just following the rules adults have set for their interactions.

You can call an adult arrogant, but an adult has the ability to choose not to interact that way. They can opt out of the entire premise that intelligence is what makes them worthy, and they have a lot more freedom to set boundaries. Kids' choices are much more constrained, and they don't always realize they have a choice when they do, because their freedom and autonomy is always growing and it takes time to figure out how to use that. (Also because they don't always have the freedom and safety they should.)

So if you grew up in an environment like this, even if that interaction above was... more subtle, you shouldn't blame yourself for the coping mechanism you picked up--even if it feels bad or shameful to look back on, or you want to act differently now. Feeling shame is also normal, it's just not very productive. Once more I'll point at the works of Brené Brown--you can probably find her books in the library.

Since you're a Birdsec, I wonder if you ever had a "Trying To Impress You" Actor Bird mask. I definitely did, and it became so automatic that it took me ages to realize that it was there and I could take it off. Then I discovered how much energy that thing had been taking to maintain. Yikes.

This garbage isn't limited to one Sorting, btw. The school system and societal expectations fling it at all of us.

Being self-deprecating, and calling yourself nerdy, arrogant, or other labels like that can stem the accusations of arrogance, but it's not the healthiest way to talk to or about yourself. You don't need to put yourself down. You don't need to impress anyone. You're worthy whether you impress people or not.

Be kind to your child-self, is what I'm saying. It's hard, but remember they're a kid, and they're still part of you. Have compassion for them.

During my high school years, I developed social anxiety which also led to depression. Through a lot of therapy and some friends that I would use as a sounding board, it became apparent that the main trigger for my anxiety was concern with doing the right thing in dealing with people (as well as the usual fear of judgment and suffocating feeling of being around large crowds).

Yeah, primary anxiety. Not fun. Also, maybe,,, RSD? Again, not here to diagnose you with anything, just something to read up on.

My thinking was very big picture, too much at times, and I was so worried about considering every single variable and possibility that analysis paralysis became a common frustration for me.

Do I have some sort of bias that's affecting how I treat this person? Why does this work for me but not for this other person? Am I being ignorant by choosing this? Am I really getting to the bottom of this issue or did I make a wrong turn somewhere and now have completely lost sight of it?

Textbook Exploded Bird. Hugs, that's tough.

It looked a lot like caring about what other people thought of me, but really I was concerned with how my thinking and opinions could be negatively affecting those around me.

I wonder who this voice is, cutting you down. The implication that you're obsessed with your own image, how people see you, is a common thread between this and the "arrogance" thing you're worried about. Does that accusation really come from you? Or was it something someone else told you?

You're not just self-conscious. Someone has taught you to be self-conscious about being self-conscious. And look, maybe they meant well or whatever, but this isn't helping you.

(Also, this anxious self-examination? It's a stressed-out Birdpri habit. Your Sorting is the easiest part of this ask to answer.)

Hurting someone else was the result of a flaw in my system. The way that I treated people was a direct reflection of who I was and my goodness as a person; if I made a wrong decision and hurt somebody, then I was a monster.

You and the Bird from my last ask. (Unless you're the same person, lol.) Go read that post here.

And, being somewhat young at the time, I made wrong decisions constantly.

Well, yeah. Everyone does.

I would constantly ask friends, "Should I have done X instead?" in order to gain perspective on every single tiny detail of a social situation. It got so bad that I was extremely burnt out by the middle of my sophomore year and struggled with basic social interactions. I was paralyzed. (Is this what Burning is like? Not totally sure. Maybe just Undecided?)

It's more Explodey, but could be charred too. Again, see that linked post.

Over the years, I had to learn how to not constantly analyze myself and my motivations because it was heavily affecting my quality of life. I have since gotten better, but still do fall into the trap of over-psychoanalyzing myself from time to time, much to my friends' dismay.

Hey, recovery! We love to see it ❤

Even if it's not perfect, this is still really important for you. You're working to move past the struggles you've had to deal with. Congrats! ✨

One pattern that I have noticed over the course of my life is that people trust me more quickly than they trust other people, hence the mediator reputation. I think there is a part of that that was related to my social status and the fact that I wouldn't have anyone to tell, nonetheless being able to help others helped me develop a lot of confidence and decent interpersonal/communication skills.

Did you pick up a Badgersec model/performance/Actor Bird mask as your default social mode? It's possible, and if so, same :p

I have had people who have told me about their mental illnesses, childhood trauma, secret hate for their s/o or family member, etc within a week of knowing them. (For a while it got to the point of me being a bit of an enabler of toxic behaviors, which I've corrected since then) Most of them are lucky that I'm nice enough to keep their secrets, lol.

I get this too--outside the blog, I mean, and completely unprompted. It's kind of strange when it just... happens to you!

That's an experience connected with Badger secondaries and Badgersec models.

I did have one incident recently that involved one person in my friend group crossing of boundaries so blatantly and harmfully and constant gaslighting that I confided in a few friends about how I'd been mistreated and what this person had told me about themselves as reasons that I thought they were a terrible person, and within a few days that person was out of the group.

I didn't need to lie, I didn't need to exaggerate the truth, and I didn't even need to do much else other than tell these few friends about the red flags, and they still took my side. It felt horrible at the time, and still does as I retell it, and I constantly ask myself how I let this person lie to and confuse me for so long without realizing it.

Well done, asking for support when you needed it! Aside from protecting yourself (a worthy and important cause), you protected your friends from this person potentially doing the same thing to them.

Also, you have good friends. And probably a Badgersec model.

Don't blame yourself for not defending yourself earlier, either. It takes time and experience to learn how to set boundaries and figure out when someone is acting in bad faith.

In the least rude way possible, I have to ask: do you have access to therapy? You need some self-compassion, you're way too hard on yourself. That's not a judgment on you; a lot of the advice I'm offering, I gathered from personal experience.

(Hopefully I'm not just projecting. I have to make a lot of guesses in these posts.)

I'm sorry for the lengthy ask, but hopefully there was some helpful information somewhere within that whole shpeel.

I think you already knew you were a double Bird, underneath all the self-doubt. You just needed someone to tell you that you're a good enough double Bird.

It's okay. You are. You belong, I promise.

- Paint

#sortinghatchats #ravenclaw primary #ravenclaw secondary #shc exploded houses #hufflepuff secondary model #asks #paint speaks

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stusbunker · 3 years

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AGA: Spit It Out

A Supernatural Denny AU

Featuring: Dean Winchester/ Benny Lafitte

Other Characters: John and Mary, Jody, Garth, Anna, Castiel, Sam, (mentioned) Benny, Jo, Jack

Word Count: 4222

Summary: Dean has the toughest conversation of his life. Cas asks questions. Sam is a little shit.

Warnings: Homophobic language, internalized biphobia, coming out

Series Masterlist

Shout out to the amazing @cracksinthewalls for all her help on this series.

Dean hadn’t realized how terrified he was of facing his father until he broke down at Jo’s. It hadn’t felt like something he would ever have to do until then. Now, it felt as inevitable as a death sentence.

John had always been a huge force in Dean’s life, but since he had gotten hurt to the point of disability, he was less of a presence and more of an imprint. Letting down his folks was the ultimate sin, one Dean had fought his whole life to resist. He knew they loved him, but would it be enough for them to see beyond the idea of Dean they had in their heads. Could they love a pansy?

His mother would be easier to bring on board; he was her favorite whether she’d admit it or not. On the other hand, John was a Marine, he was a mechanic; he didn’t deal with feelings or things he thought were reckless, selfish choices. Dean had never been selfish a day in his life, but this was something that seemed worth it. Benny was worth it. Dean couldn’t give up on family, and he needed them in his corner if it was going to work at all.

First, Dean just needed to get the words out.

The wind whipped through the neighborhood he grew up in like a child unleashed upon the playground. Direction and speed split its focus until it stilled long enough to move on to the next distraction. Dean parked on the street, letting the familiar siding and newer front door center him as he approached, trying to ignore the uneasiness that was unfurling in his gut. Sam was having lunch with some guys from high school who were in town early for Thanksgiving, granting Dean this window of privacy.

Not that Dean told Sam anything. He had done enough talking at Jo’s, even Benny didn’t know everything that he’d been processing the last few days. He hadn’t wanted to make any promises. Dean walked into the house, calling out his greeting, never one to knock at home. John was parked in front of the television in the living room while Mary sent her welcome from somewhere in the basement.

“Hey! Talk about timing, lunch is just about done,” John teased. “What brings you ‘round? Sammy’s out for the day.”

“Yeah, Dad, I know. Kinda why I came,” Dean shoved his hands in the pockets of jeans, still standing.

“Jayhawks are playing at two if you wanna stay,” John offered. Dean hummed in uncertainty. John dragged his feet from the ottoman to sit up and face Dean better. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, nothing we can’t talk about over lunch. I’m gonna go see if Mom needs anything,” Dean nodded towards the basement steps and left John to his football.

Dean bowed his head as he reached the bottom of the steps, clearing the duct work to find Mary folding laundry at the long narrow table they used for everything from school projects to writing out Christmas cards.

“I thought that was you,” Mary said pleasantly. “Did your dad tell you lunch was almost ready?”

She dropped the shirt she had finished atop an awkward pile and opened her arms for a hug. Dean scooped her up, probably a little too enthusiastically, but he didn’t care and she didn’t mind. A simple gasp told him she noticed though.

“So--- what’s the occasion?” Mary asked, turning back to the basket.

“Nothing really, just wanted to catch up,” Dean downplayed, grabbing a pair of jeans to help. Neither of them pointed out that they’d see each other the next day for Sunday dinner. Mary welcomed the visit as much as Dean was dreading it.

“Your father had physical therapy yesterday. I don’t think they get paid enough,” Mary conspired with a heavy side eye.

Dean chuckled, “I’m guessing not his at least.”

“And supposedly I’m the stubborn one,” Mary muttered. “If you want to make some sandwiches, I’m almost done down here. I don’t want to spread the soup too thin.”

Dean nodded and handed her the sweater he had folded last. “Sounds good, anything in particular?”

“Just don’t let him trick you into letting him have the salami, his doctor says he needs to watch the fats,” Mary warned.

Dean perched against the edge of the steps, listening. He slapped the banister and headed back upstairs. “On it.”

The kitchen’s layout hadn’t changed in thirty years and Dean quickly set up an assembly line with poultry, condiments, lettuce and tomatoes. He tucked the cheese with the processed deli meat back in the drawer, hiding the temptation from John. But not before stealing a slice for his and Mary’s sandwiches. He set the table, like hundreds of times before. John’s spot was the head of the table, Mary to his left. Dean set his own plate on John’s right, a seat he fought Sam for more often than not.

Dean stirred the pot, which was much more a vat, of chicken noodle soup. John’s approach was announced by the steady clink of his cane on the hardwood floor of the hallway. Dean pulled out John’s chair before settling down to his heaping sandwich and extra large bowl of soup.

John lifted the top tier of his sandwich, judging the contents. “She got to you, didn’t she?”

Dean just chewed purposely and gave John innocent eyes.

“Figures,” John muttered before bellowing through the house. “Mary! Soup’s ready.”

They ate comfortably, fighting the cold outside with the warmth of the familiarity of a shared meal. The grease from the chicken made bubbles in the broth and Dean blew across the surface mixing them back in. Meanwhile Mary made small talk and John teased her about her part time job.

“Well, I need to get out of the house, or we’d kill each other, you know that,” Mary flicked John’s ear as she cleared their bowls.

“How’s that going?” Dean asked, eyes fixed on his mother’s face. Panic clogged his ears at the thought of never seeing her again.

“‘S fine. People are picky, but it isn’t bad for what it is. Better than being behind a desk or answering the phone,” Mary explained of her work at the local sporting goods store. “Friday will be nuts, lots of sales, but it’s not like we would have been doing anything anyway.”

“So, Bobby and Ellen’s on Thursday?” Dean verified.

“Yup, dinner’s at 1. He says you’re on pie duty?” John asked, surprised.

“That I am. Sam’s stuck with sides, so please remind him. I don’t want to show up and only have rolls and turkey,” Dean asked Mary.

“Can do. We’re bringing the---,” Mary started.

“Cranberry sauce,” Dean and John said in unison.

“And the wine!” Mary said in dismay at their laughter. “Jerks.”

John and Dean grinned as Mary rolled her eyes.

“So, was that everything? It seemed like you had something to hash out with us,” John asked Dean, picking up the last of his sandwich.

“Yeah, mostly. I gotta check with Ellen first, but I might be bringing somebody along,” Dean rushed out. He tipped his bowl back, finishing the final dregs.

“A special someone?” Mary asked delicately, looking at John in hope.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Dean grunted, standing to grab another sandwich.

“Well, is it somebody we know?” Mary prodded, not trying to be too pushy, but obviously curious. “Dean, why are we just now hearing about this?”

Mary’s tone had shifted to apprehension, Dean felt their silent conversation behind his back as he slapped the ingredients together. He shrugged in response, unable to find a proper jumping off point.

He tried to remain casual, but the dred had clawed back up. Without enough wherewithal to speak, Dean sat back down and ate, drawing out his confession to the point of confusion.

John chuckled at Mary’s suspicion. “He’s nervous. Let the boy get it out.”

Dean rolled his eyes at the phrase. “I’m thirty six, Dad,” he said through a mouthful.

“Is that right? Coulda fooled me.” John tisked his tongue. Mary ignored his teasing tone.

“Dean, what’s the matter? What’s this girl’s problem that’s making you act so--- cagey all the sudden?” Mary asked anxiously. John slipped Mary’s hand into his, silently soothing her as they waited for Dean’s answer.

“Uh, yeah, about that,” Dean started, sitting back, and shooting for blase. “Turns out I actually like guys, too. So, uh, there’s no problem with a girl. I just wanted to bring, um, this guy I’ve been seeing, Benny, to Bobby and Ellen’s.”

Mary inhaled and clenched John’s hand. John stopped stroking Mary’s arm and twisted in his seat. Dean exhaled slowly, like a pin prick in a deflating balloon, he couldn’t take any of it back. Dean took a chance and looked out through his lashes, face tilted towards his plate. First to Mary’s blue worry and then a flicker to John’s almost black disbelief.

John swallowed and ducked low enough to force Dean’s eyes onto his. "You tellin' me you take it up the ass, is that what you're sayin?"

"Jesus. John!" Mary reproached. But neither man's glare faltered. The dark challenge in John's eyes caused Dean's lips to turn up in a silent snarl.

Dean finally broke the silence. "You really want me to answer that?"

"I think I have a right to know exactly the kind of man my son is," John countered.

Mary stood abruptly. “He's your son! What's the matter with you?! You asking Sam his jerkin' habits now that he's single, while you're at it?!" She went to the sink, bowing over it as if it would cleanse the images the conversation had conjured.

“Oh, hell, that’s not the point,” John muttered.

Dean had been arrested in high school for drag racing. The whole ride home from the police station he was worried what his dad was gonna do to him once they got home, it was the same quiet rage that had terrified Dean as a child. But it was Mary’s disappointment when they walked in the door that tore into Dean to the point of scarring. He could live with his father’s anger, Sam had taught Dean how to slowly stand up to John over the years.

But Dean didn’t know if he could live in the shadow of Mary’s disappointment. He needed somebody to see him as himself, not just a screw up or a queer.

Dean sighed. "I am your son. But if you can't handle this, Dad. I don't think you have any right to know me anymore." He looked from Mary to John as the last sentence left his mouth. Maybe he was asking too much after all.

Everyone in the room froze. But not even an ultimatum like that could stop John Winchester from digging himself deeper. "Christ, son, Jo really did a number on you, didn't she? Made you turn tail to the other team all together."

"Leave Jo out of this,” Dean spit out as he stood up. “This is about me and who I'm with now." He stalked the long way around the table, shoving chairs in as he went. He approached Mary alone, carefully, one terrified animal to another. "You'd love him, Mom. He cooks, runs his own business, even got an old Harley in the garage."

Mary couldn't hide her tears, but she tried to smile through them for Dean's sake. "Sounds like a catch, sweetie. But what matters is if you love him. You don't need our say so."

"Don't I?" Dean replied sadly before glancing over Mary’s shoulder to John. "You know Jo told me to give you the finger if you couldn’t see how happy I am. How important Benny is to me. And maybe she's right. But I wanted this to work. I wanted to keep the family together. That's why I'm here. The rest is up to you, Old Man."

Dean kissed his mother on the cheek, between murmured reassurances and left without another word to John. He teetered on the brink, somewhere between busting his knuckles against the cold glass of the impala’s window and losing his lunch on the frostbitten ground. Somehow, Dean made it into the solitude of the driver’s seat before he broke down and sobbed. The only saving grace he got was when his mother's voice roared from inside the house.

Dean dragged the salt and snot from his face with a heavy palm and started the engine. He couldn't stay there, but he didn't know where to go either. He just drove.

Dean pulled into the parking lot at The Pearly Gates on autopilot. He’d spent the afternoon equally suppressing and dissecting his conversation with his parents as he kept it even between the lines of two lane country roads. Now, Dean was ready to be somebody else, to make drinks and flirt and just forget everything that had happened.

The college football crowd was winding down, which allowed Dean some time to catch up with the day shift bartenders Garth and Jody. Back before Cas got blindsided with the responsibility of business ownership, Cas, Dean, Ash and Artie would claim a booth near the pool tables and blow their grocery money every weekend. When Sam moved back after law school he and Mick joined the crowd that were regularly praised for paying for Jody’s son’s braces.

Garth had been the first dragged from the friend pool to fill the schedule when Cas’s brother dropped off the face of the earth. Though Garth volunteered, Dean knew it was just out of the goodness of his heart, not a need for extra cash.

“Here he is!” Garth announced Dean’s arrival. Luckily for Dean, Garth was pouring a beer otherwise he would have been wrapped in one of Garth’s spider monkey-like hugs. A few regulars in the corner raised their glasses to Dean in greeting as he passed by with his company smile. Jody whipped by him, fresh out of the stock room with her arms full of their dollar bags of chips they sold to keep from having to run a full kitchen.

“Look who’s early,” Jody exclaimed before dropping the load onto the back counter. “You trying to cut into my time there, Winchester?”

“You know if you ever want more hours, you just gotta ask,” Dean offered suggestively, strolling behind the bar.

Jody sputtered dramatically, “And work nights? No, thank you.”

“It was worth a shot,” Dean replied, shrugging at Garth who knew better.

Jody sighed and cocked her head. “You’re cute, but you’re not that cute.”

Dean ducked his head against the compliment as she patted his arm apologetically.

“Want me to split your tips before you go?” Dean asked, bending out of his jacket.

“That’d be lovely,” Jody answered, sorting the chips by kind. “Garth get’s an extra twenty because Bess and Donna were ‘round.”

“Look at you, Mr. Slick,” Dean teased as he grabbed the old milk bottle filled with mostly singles. Garth blushed.

“You know what they say Dean-o, flattery is everything,” Garth explained. Dean, who routinely had the most tips out of any of the staff, including Bela, just nodded at the quirky dude. Dean doled out their shares and washed up before officially punching in.

Jody was gone as soon as Anna arrived, but Garth waited for Jack to show before leaving her and Dean on their own. It was seven o’clock before Cas arrived instead of his unreliable nephew.

“Everything alright?” Dean asked knowingly as Cas hung his trench coat on a broken notch on the rail beside the server’s station.

“Jack is under the weather,” Cas explained blandly. Dean eyed the windows, taking in the light flurries that danced in the streetlight. “I guess I’ll have to do tonight.”

It was a surprisingly unremarkable shift, the weather kept traffic bearable even after Anna’s shift ended at midnight. Dean walked her out the back to her car, like he always did as the plow eased out of the parking lot.

“You gonna be alright with him for the rest of the night?” Anna whispered before they breached the cold. Her big brown eyes held more mischief than worry.

“Goodnight, Anna,” Dean drew out as he held the door sternly.

“Night, Dean,” Anna chuckled. Dean watched her tiptoe around the icy patches and make it to her old Tahoe. He made sure it started before heading back behind the bar, and three more hours with Castiel.

The speakers were set lower than usual to balance their minimal customers. On his shifts, Dean had always insisted on having control over the musical selection. So when he walked into a pop singer’s version of mopey folk he did a double take before bee lining for the stereo.

“Please, don’t,” Cas’s simply requested from somewhere to Dean’s right. “I kind of like this song, but more importantly one of the customer’s requested a change of station.”

Dean eyed the patrons like suspects in a line up, uncertain who would blaspheme in such a way. No one seemed particularly guilty and he had to let it go. Between drinks, Dean washed glasses in the small sink behind the bar until Cas was finally able to start his nightly paperwork. The last couple paid their tab just after 1:30, leaving them holding their breaths in hope as they started to put up the chairs.

“Is it often this quiet?” Cas wondered aloud, “I don’t recall Saturday’s business to dwindle so.”

Dean smiled to himself; leave it to Cas to look a gift horse of a slow night in the mouth. “No, man, this is not the usual. But, it worked out. And thanks for filling in for the kid, I know you don’t like getting your hands dirty.”

Cas quietly beamed at Dean’s gratitude before pausing at the not so subtle jab at the end. They went through the remaining end of day routine in silence. Dean turned off the faux neon signs in the windows to signal the early close as Cas handled the money. Dean would usually even out the till and split tips with Jack, leaving the deposit for Cas to handle the next day. Instead he was left with cleaning detail as the boss man did the accounting.

Before long Dean was rolling the dirty mop bucket back to the office/store room/ kitchen/ employee area. Exhaustion had eaten at Dean’s internal walls, leaving him on the slippery edge between slap-happy and zombie. He hummed to keep his eyes open, waiting on Cas to finally call it a night and let Dean clock out.

“We don’t talk anymore,” Cas said abruptly, without looking up from the cash machine. Dean’s head shot up, concern furrowing his features. “In fact, I’m prone to think you don’t like me at all, Dean.”

“What do you mean, we’re talking right now,” Dean downplayed defensively. Cas glanced up over his desk, mild surprise evident. Cas always seemed such a mystery to Dean, from his social awkwardness to his blunt observations. Dean had come to envy Cas’s almost innocent lack of need to perform for others, to be anyone but himself. He had forgotten that Cas would read into his demeanor in the uncanniest of ways.

“True, we are. But are we?” Cas typed the code into the safe and waited for the time delayed entry. “We used to hang out, watch football, play pool, or cards even.”

“We’ve got bowling every week, man,” Dean wrung out the mophead and latched it onto the rack on the wall. He was trying to remember the last time he and Cas had fun, just the two of them and couldn’t recall a single occurrence over the past year.

“I miss you. I miss my friend,” Cas replied sadly. “And I don’t know what I did to ruin it, but I want you to know that I didn’t mean to.”

Dean closed his eyes and grimaced. “Hey, no, it’s not like that,” Dean started. He walked over and leaned against the edge of the desk, assertive reassurance written all over his face. “Look, I’m tired. Working all week and then coming here is kicking my ass. So I don’t have a lot of free time or brain capacity to hang out like we used to. But I’m doing my best, man.”

Cas looked like a confused puppy, eyes drooping and head tilted. “That isn’t it. There’s something else, something you’re not telling me?”

Dean huffed and shook his head, hands raised in exasperation. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I like you, okay? We’re still--- you know--- buddies.”

“Buddies,” Cas said it like it was a war crime.

“Yeah, man, friends. Do you need me to pull up a dictionary on my phone?!” Dean was getting anxious. He didn’t know what exactly had set Cas down this path of questioning, but he was certain he needed it to end. So much for a quiet night.

After a few weighted stares, Cas squinted and turned them down a different path. “Did me employing you negatively affect our relationship? Should I not have asked that of you?”

“Wait, that would have stopped you?” Dean asked, surprised by Cas’s sudden, if extremely late, realization.

“I wouldn’t knowingly do anything to hurt our friendship, Dean. Has working here hindered you?” Cas asked apologetically.

Dean’s mouth dropped open and his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, man. Working here--- everyone is great, don’t get me wrong--- but man I need a break. I wanted to help out here or there, but I’ve got no time for a life if I stay on.”

“I see,” Cas sat back, poorly masking his own discomfort with Dean’s confession. “Look, I know I’m not the best at what I do. But I find it very hard to trust new people. Employees, especially, tend to let me down. I guess--- I guess I’ve relied on you for too long, Dean. I’m sorry if I’ve taken advantage.”

Dean chuckled. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded if you had.”

Missing the joke, Cas continued, “I am taking this conversation as your verbal resignation. I hope you will stay on for the customary two weeks time?”

“You’re serious?” Dean asked, stunned.

“You’re unhappy. I don’t want to cause you anymore grief,” Cas replied simply.

“It wasn’t that bad, Cas.--- But, you gotta do something about Jack. Man up and light a fire under his ass, or just kick him to the curb until he’s ready to live up to the family business. You need to hire people who want to be here,” Dean offered.

Cas nodded dejectedly. “I know, I just have an awful gauge for people’s reliability from a simple interview. And past employers rarely ‘spill the tea’ as Bela would say.”

Dean giggled, but stopped himself once he saw the worry in Cas’ eyes. “Hey, what if somebody does the interviews for you? I bet Jody would weed out the bad seeds before their asses ever hit the bar stool.”

Cas was surprised by that option. “That could work. She is very intimidating.”

“Right?!” Dean exclaimed, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. “So, we’re really doing this? Two weeks and I’m out?”

“Yes, Dean. You’ve done more than I should have asked of you.” Cas stood and extended his hand.

Dean grabbed it and pulled Cas in for a hug, their bound hands stuck between them. “Thanks, man. But, I’m glad it worked out. It will work out. This is gonna be good.”

“And we’ll---,” Cas asked as they broke apart.

“We’ll still be friends. Hell, if I’m free maybe we can reclaim our old table every once in a while,” Dean offered, patting Cas’s shoulder. A genuine smile crept across Dean’s face for the first time all day.

“I’d like that,” Cas admitted as the safe alerted his time was up.

The next morning, Sam held the door for Dean who was smirking as they walked in. Exhausted and needing the comfort of his favorite diner to fill his empty stomach, Dean agreed to Sunday breakfast with a seemingly none-the-wiser Sam, certain he'd be missing their weekly dinner with his parents for possibly the first time.

"Not that one. Let's see if there's a spot in the back," Sam muttered as Dean tried sitting in the first open booth he saw.

"What? Why?" Dean groaned, but straightened up and followed Sam passed the bustling counter.

Sam lifted his chin and motioned Dean to the second to last spot. Slightly annoyed, Dean threw himself onto the bench seat, only to have Sam slide beside him, caging him in.

"Glad you boys could make it," the all too familiar drawl of their father's voice greeted them from across the table.

Dean looked at Sam and cursed beneath his breath. Sam had the nerve to look guilty, but his puppy dog eyes didn't hold an ounce of potency now.

"Wow, Dad, I had no idea you'd be here. Funny coincidence, hey, Sammy?" Dean snarked.

"Shut up," Sam grumbled.

"I made him drag you here, Dean. So if you wanna be pissed, be pissed at me," John began. "I ordered your usuals, to give us some privacy. It seems we need to talk."

Tagging: @flamencodiva @dolphincliffs @dontshootmespence @fookinghelljensensthighs @fangirlxwritesx67 @dawnie1988 @mrswhozeewhatsis @cosicas-cuquis @foxyjwls007 @tumbler-tidbits @wingedcatninja @defenderrosetyler @ericaprice2008 @crashdevlin @mylovelydame21 @cajunquandary @itmighthavebeenintentional @thoughtslikeaminefield @there-must-be-a-lock @tatted-trina6 @cracksinthewalls @atc74

Series Masterlist

SPN Masterlist

Tell me what you think!

Next Chapter: Giving Up

#A Gentlemen's Agreement #bi!dean #dean winchester fanficiton #dean/benny #dean x benny #coming out #john and mary #aga: spit it out #spn fanfic #spn au #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural au

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marsthemusicfairie · 2 years

Text

Son of a Sauce! - Salami Rose Joe Louis

Album Review - link to album attached

I recently discovered Salami Rose Joe Louis from their song ‘Nostalgic Montage’, and it was enough to get me curious about the rest of their discography. The style was right up my alley. Planetary scientist gone full time artist, and it’s very obvious.

Album cover- 8/10

Album rating- 8/10

‘Son of a Sauce!’ is Salami Rose Joe Louis’ debut album released in 2016. After listening to this album I’m left feeling wowed. I believe Salami produced the album, and I am really impressed. 45 minute, 26 track album filled with dynamics, space/galactic/psychedelic feels, interludes, mind-warps and dreamy, mysterious vocals.

The album fits perfectly with the blog because i have no idea how to categorize the genre of the album. It’s weird, it’s beautiful, it’s very interesting. Some lo-fi, alternative, experimental, bedroom, abstract, qualities. Why even try to describe it? The album is full of personality and fluidity. There are many songs on here I would love to listen to while tripping, on a night drive, in the woods, or honestly just in my bed completely in the dark. Or like cleaning. You will be stimulated and feeling like you’re a little alien on an adventure while listening to this. Very cool, one of my new favorite albums.

There were many times where I wondered if Salami was foreign because of the way she enunciated and phrased words, but upon research she’s from the Bay Area! Regardless, I love the way she sings because it adds a whole new layer of uniqueness to the tracks, and actually in many tracks the lyrics are very undistinguishable. There are a couple tracks where her vocals are not the forefront, but the production is, so her vocals will be low, quiet, and muted. Other tracks full of beautiful harmonies and clear, sweet vocals. I’m glad she chose to highlight her production in various tracks, because truly it is incredible and should be focused on. Very interesting artistic choices all throughout the album and Salami is a true artist.

My only note is towards the end I did get slightlyyy tired...only ever so slightly. That’s why I took off half a point. It just got a little redundant and slow especially with the piano ballads, even though it was still unique. I started to need a little more excitement. But, it picked back up around Gabush and Why Do You Care When Im Gone.

Re-listen?- Definitely. I am right now, haha.

Favorite tracks- I Miss You So, Crawwee, Tell Meeee/Tell Meeee Again, Losing Sleep over the Cretaceous, Why Do You Care When I’m Gone

Skips- Trust, Lil Wednesday Idear, Evection Resonance, I Used to Think I Knew, To Take and to Wander

Notes made on favorite tracks

*I Miss You So- love the guitar so much, voice is sooo enchanting and sweet but mysterious, simple lyrics but delicious. The break at 2:00 is everything, extremely fluid and moving, as well as the outro

*Crawwee- the percussion immediately draws me attention, I love the sound of the gentle tapping and the clouded drums and and bass combo. so dreamy. her soft voice compliments it so well. The chorus vocals are so interesting.

Tell Meeeee- the percussion on this song is new. this songs a little grimier but short and leads us into the next track quickly

*Tell Meeeee Again- evolving instrumentals from the last track. lovely

*Losing Sleep over the Cretaceous- upbeat again, the time signature/timing on this is fascinating. All the sounds are slightly overwhelming at parts but in the best way. It’s just your brain trying to catch up with all that’s happening. The ending of the song is lovely.

*Why Do You Care When Im Gone- dreamy, starry, upbeat. paints a dreamland in your mind. Absolutely adore her vocals here. Love how in her production she’s not afraid to use any sound.

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silverfrostheart · 3 years

Text

Random drabble bit! Lemme know if anyone wants me to finish it or something!

~~~~~~~~~~~☆☆☆☆☆☆

The sun beat down on duel academy as Megan Yuki chased after her laughing twin brother, Jaden, who had mischeviously decided that it was a good idea to steal his sister's lunch.

"JADEN!! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'M GOING TO BE AN ONLY CHILD!!!!" The twins friends, Bastion Misawa, Tyranno Hassleberry and Syrus Trusdale watched from a nearby bench. It was something that never phased them as it was normal for them at this point.

"How long till you think Meg catches him this time, Bastion?" Syrus asked, Sipping his juice box. Bastion chuckled.

"Judging by Megan's speed today and what the lunch is....I'd say give her two more minutes." He replied. Right on time Megan tackled her brother, Snatching the salami and cheese sandwhich safely out of Jaden's hands.

"Wow nice prediction, private!" Hassleberry said, praising Bastion's estimation skills. Megan huffed, dusting off her pants. She preferred the boys uniform to the girl's uniform. Though to make sure people could tell her and Jaden apart, she always rolled up her sleeves.

"I told you to quit trying to steal my lunch dweebus!" She huffed at Jaden as he got up from the ground, grinning. To outsiders the two may seem like they're at odds. But the truth was, they were as thick as thieves.

"Aw c'mon sis! I was just keeping you on your toes!" Jaden giggled, taking his own sandwhich out of his pocket. "Phew, thank god, you didn't smoosh it!" He teased. Megan huffed.

"I'll smoosh your face in..." She grumbled, sitting down on the grass. Syrus laughed.

"Man you guys are always really something." He said. And Syrus had meant that in a good way. The Yuki twins had been his dearest friends since everything began last year. Hassleberry laughed

"No kidding! Honestly when I first met y'all, I thought the Lady-Sarge was gonna bite my head off like a preying mantis!" Bastion snorted at that as he sipped his tea.

"Oh don't worry. That's just Megan in general." The Ra yellow smirked.

"HEY!!" Meg protested. Everyone burst into laughter. The temperamental slifer girl grumbled, pouting as she bit into her sandwhich.

"Well aren't you guys a boisterous bunch?" Megan groaned. GREAT. Just great....the others turned to see Aster Phoenix, smiling abit.

"Ugh. if it isnt Aster....." she huffed. Aster smirked.

"And if it isnt little miss dragon princess. Did you get any better insults while I was away? Cuz dust bunny and dandy boy really aren't very creative." The silver haired pro taunted. Megan's face turned red

"Oh shut up!" She hissed, in turn making Aster only grin wider. Jaden stepped in, knowing if he didn't, his sister was going to pick a fight. Yet again.

"Now now, let's not fight...." he said. He looked back at Aster. "What's up? I thought you left?" He asked. Aster shrugged.

"Yeah well i was going to...but after the crap with Sartorius 'enrolling' I figured I would too. Cuz something isn't right...." Aster explained. Megan rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh." She said. "Are you sure it's not just cuz you wanna be a pompous dick?" She huffed. Syrus coughed.

"Megan, Language.....we don't want you getting yelled at again...." he reminded the more fiery Yuki sibling. Aster smirked.

"Yeah Meggy, Language." Megan stood up. Her face bright red.

"Call me that again, Phoenix and you're dueling ME." she warned. Hassleberry, Syrus and Bastion looked at each other then to Jaden. Jaden sighed.

"Sis c'mon--" he started.

"No!! I'm not having this jerk just sit here all smug! He still tried to humiliate you! Or have you forgotten Jay?!" Megan protested. Jaden shook his head.

"I didn't forget. But Meg...." the gentle brotherly tone sounding. "Remember, I don't care. Those people will believe what they believe. At the end of the day, what matters is I kick their butts!" He smiled. Megan sighed, defeated.

"You're way too nice sometimes jay...." she smiled abit.

"Look, as cute as this little sibling moment is and as fun as it is to go back n forth with you meggy poo-- I DO just wanna talk. I even brought a peace offering." Aster spoke up. Meg growled.

"You have ten seconds to show me before I revoke your kneecap privileges for calling me 'meggy poo.'" Aster just simply raised a box of what seemed to be....canned coffee?

"Oh sweet!! Canned coffee!" Jaden exclaimed. He jumped over and took the box. "Ooooo it's a caramel mocha mix! Hey sis isn't that your favorite?' Jaden grinned. Megan glared at aster, her face red.

"You live for another day." She grumbled, walking over and snatching out a can. Aster teasingly bowed.

"Why thank you madam dragon. Your kindness is appreciated." He joked sarcastically. Then chuckled when Megan flipped him the bird.

#dragon drabbles #yugioh gx #jaden yuki #tyranno hassleberry #syrus truesdale #judai yuki #yugioh oc #bastion misawa #edo phoenix #aster phoenix

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justasparkwritings · 3 years

Text

Merry & Bright: I Sincerely Tried

Previous: All the Love and Joy

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The stockings were no longer hung by the chimney with care, but tossed around the living room, contents splayed on the carpet. The twinkling lights were barely visible in the daylight, and Nat King Cole was on his second rendition of The Christmas Song. The pretty paper once containing the presents you had meticulously selected was disregarded, wadded up or folded to be recycled before dinner. The ribbons and bows sat in an empty box, to be reused next year. You sat on the floor, engrossed in playing with the new toys, laughing, tickling, smiling like this had been all you wanted for Christmas.

Seokjin sat on the couch, eyes transfixed by the sight in front of him. Sipping on his tea, he tried to smile through the surge of emotions he was feeling, the combination of sugar high and emotional distress. He promised you he wouldn’t do this; swore he would be strong until the kids were tucked in their beds for the night. He guaranteed he could keep it together. You knew he was lying, despite Instagram edits of his previous successful attempts at righting his emotions. But this? You knew when you found out you were pregnant the first time that Seokjin would be a blubbering mess for the rest of his life.

Glancing up at him, you notice the gloss in his eyes. An untrained eye wouldn’t be able to distinguish the glare from his spectacles from tears about to spill, but you knew better, you always did. Standing up from your place on the floor, you moved slowly towards the kitchen.

“Honey, can you help me clean up some of the breakfast mess?” You called, grabbing your children’s dirty plates and moving languidly towards the kitchen. Seokjin cleared his throat and followed, not stopping to make a dad joke about the Christmas mess his children had made.

Delicately placing the plates in the sink, you began to fill it with hot soapy water, leaving them to soak for a while. As the sink filled, you turned to your husband.

“This has to be the record,” You said, eyes forgiving as you took in the alligator tears sliding down his cheeks.

“I tried, I swear, I did,” He said, shaking his head.

“It’s okay, baby, you can cry,” You pushed yourself off the counter and wrapped your arms around his waist. “You do every year,”

“I wanted this one to be different! I don’t want them going ‘oh why is Appa crying? Is he okay?’ I’m a grown man, I should be able to control these tears!”

“Darling, it happens every year,” You smiled at him.

“I sincerely tried to hold it back, I was going to wait until they went to sleep,” Seokjin set his glasses on the counter, his hands grasping at his sleeves to try his tears.

“I know that was the goal, Seokjin, but you can’t control your emotions like that,” You reminded him.

“I’m ruining Christmas,” He said.

“It’s not your fault that Christmas makes you cry,”

“I just… They’re growing up so fast,”

“Oh honey, they’re three and five,”

“Yeah, old enough to remember that their father ruins Christmas every year because he’s crying over them,”

“Baby, you are crying for a totally valid reason, you know I cry on their birthdays,” You offered.

“You at least wait until they’re in bed!” Jin countered.

“No, I don’t, this year I cried during cake!” You jogged his memory.

“They thought you hated your cake,” He laughed, shoulders bouncing up and down.

“It was so funny, they didn’t believe me when I said it was my favorite!”

“It wasn’t your favorite,” He couldn’t stop laughing.

“I don’t need to spoil their dreams, I can pretend it’s my favorite until they get older,” You said, your own laughs settling.

“And then you have to tell them you’ve been lying their entire lives?” His eyes were wide.

“You’re the one that says the Little Mermaid is your favorite!” You argued.

“Low blow,” He said, feigning offense.

“But daddy, I love him!” You whined.

“How dare you,” He was trying to blue steel you, but it wasn’t working.

“I love that you cry on Christmas,” You said, moving back to stand within his grasp, a hand moving to cup his face, thumb tracing shapes on his fair skin.

“You remember our first Christmas as a couple?” Seokjin asked, resting his cheek in your palm.

“I try to forget it,” Your scrunched nose went perfectly with the horrors of that first year together.

“When I was twelve hours ahead, and couldn’t get a hold of you for two days?” Jin reminisced.

“My heart was shattered, I thought you didn’t love me anymore,” You added.

“But my phone was broken, and my texts from my computer weren’t getting to you,” He continued.

“None of the guys were around because they’d gone to see their families, and your brother was in and out with the restaurant,” Your prolonged list of sorrows kept getting worse.

“It was hell, no one to kiss under the mistletoe,” Seokjin said, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Do you remember our first married Christmas?” You inquired.

“Mmm, I missed my flight, and I didn’t arrive to your aunts house until the 26th,” Jin closed his eyes at the blunder.

“I cried then too,” You said.

“We cried together, remember?” He probed.

“Oh my god, we just sobbed on Facetime,” You rested your forehead against his chest, shaking it slowly.

“Everyone kept saying merry Christmas and happy holidays,” Seokjin said.

“We were trying so hard,” You laughed.

“But we were so miserable,” He joined you in mocking the memory.

“And now, look at us,” You were still smiling, eyes bright as you watched him.

“Two kids, a house, a marriage,” Seokjin said, tightening his grip on you.

“Mm,”

“Mama?” Your eldest yelled from the living room. “I’m hungry.”

“Well, who is in charge of snacks?”

“Appa,” They said.

“Hm, who do you need to ask?” You said, glancing past them to eye your three-year-old.

“Appa, can we have a snack please?” They asked, arms reaching up for Seokjin to lift them.

“I think a snack is a good idea, what should we have?” He wondered.

“Whatever makes you stop being sad,” Your eldest responded.

“Oh, honey, Appa isn’t sad,” Seokjin said, placing a kiss to your eldest’s forehead.

“Then why were you crying?” They questioned.

“I was just so happy, watching you two play with mama,” He said.

“Oh, happy tears, like mama on my birthday?” They asked, eyes wide, pouty lips parted.

“Just like that,” Seokjin held your child close, a faint smile on his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you!” Your child giggled before placing a kiss on Jin’s cheek and wiggling out of his arms. “Mama, Appa loves me!”

“I love you too honey,” You replied, your youngest resting on your hip, thumb in their mouth.

“Oppa’s making a cha-cha- something board with cheese,” They said sitting on their stool at the counter.

“Oo, yum,” You said, smiling warmly at your little family.

Seokjin moved around the kitchen, gathering fruits and veggies to make the little charcuterie board for your children, setting string cheese and a simpler cracker on the board. He skillfully cut salami and more elegant cheese for the ‘adult’ board he was making for you and him, complete with a flute of prosecco for each of you. He smiled while listening to you and your children chatting, your youngest trying to keep pace with your eldest. His heart swelled at the banter, and in a moment of emotional reprieve, Seokjin was glad that Christmas always made him cry.

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kaalamarii · 4 years

Text

MC’s Totally Rad 80s Party

I haven’t written in years and my new obsession with Obey Me + not working=me attempting to write again. Also new to tumblr and don’t know wtf I’m doing.

Summary: You’re feeling homesick and the boys throw a party for you.

Pairing: None yet. This is just the prologue and then each demon will have their own part. Like a Choose Your Own Adventure sort of deal, I guess?

Word Count: 2339

Warnings: Set before Belphie’s out of the attic.Talk of sex, talk of alcohol. General cheesiness. Probably some swearing b/c I’m a potty mouth. I’m also the CEO of Run On Sentences. 2nd person pov/female mc, also a random OC that is mentioned (from mc/your life pre devildom)

As much as you’d hate to admit it, you were having fun in Devildom.

At first, you felt nervous, scared, not knowing what to expect. But somehow the six demon brothers had wormed their way into your heart and you had developed a soft spot for each of them. And you knew the feelings were mutual. You knew that no matter how much they insulted you, picked on you, that they all cared for you.

It was surprisingly comforting, you thought. Though you knew any of them could easily kill you, you felt safe around them. They didn’t feel like predators, but protectors.

Still, a part of you missed the human world. You missed your phone, your family, your friends. The human world was, well, home.

The homesick feeling sunk in on one particular night as you were bored and organizing your room and found an old invitation smashed and crumpled in the pocket of the jeans you were wearing the night you got to Devildom. Unraveling it, you smile.

“Come to Lizzie’s Totally Rad 80’s Party! Costume contest, photobooths, and lots and lots of booze and amazing food.”

You sighed. You had known Lizzie since the first grade, and although you had drifted apart since becoming young adults, the two of you always had a bond. You had been looking forward to that party. You had a super cute Madonna costume all carefully pieced together and had the perfect gift for Lizzie.

You laid back on your bed with the invitation still in your hand, wondering what everyone back at home was doing and whether or not they were worried about you. Where did they think you were? You made a mental note to ask Lucifer about it later.

Your thoughts are interrupted by an obnoxious pound on your door. “Yo, MC! Open up! The Great Mammon is here to spend time with you!”

You both rolled your eyes and chuckled at the needy demon friend of yours before getting up to let him in.

“You know,” you say, “you don’t have to knock so loudly.”

Mammon scoffed, waving his hand at you, “Yeah, yeah.”

He made his way over to your bed, sitting down at the edge. “I’m bored. What’re ya up to in here?”

“Just doing some re-organizing.”

“Oi,” the second born said with a sigh. “That’s definitely not going to kill my boredom.”

You shook your head with a smile as you finished putting some things up. Mammon picked up the invitation on the bed and read it. He looked at you. “Where’d you get this?”

“It was in my pocket when I got here. It’s for a friend’s party from back at home.”

“Did you go?”

“I didn't have a chance to,” you say with a frown, looking over the invitation again. “She gave me this and the next day I was here.”

Mammon looks at you while you scan the flyer, noticing your sadness.

“But it’s okay,” you continue. “Lizzie has a lot of other friends, so it’s not like she’ll be missing out not having me there.”

“But you missed out,” Mammon replied.

“Yeah, well, there will be other parties.”

You’re playing off your disappointment, but Mammon could see through it. He knew the look well, having disappointed many people many times. Still, he didn’t press it. He wasn’t so good with all that, and what if you started crying? He would not know how to handle that.

“I should go,” he said awkwardly. “You’re being all weird.”

You nodded, his blunt comment not bothering you much. You were used to it and knew it was him covering up his softness for you.

What you didn’t notice was Mammon stuffing the paper into his pocket as he left your room.

“I wanted to run an idea by you all. Something for MC,” Mammon told his brothers the next day at school when MC wasn’t around.

“Yes, I agree,” Asmo said, not even bothering to listen to Mammon’s idea was, “That girl needs some slap and tickle, if you know what I mean.”

The others all gave the Avatar of Lust a blank look.

“You know, the mattress mambo, bumping uglies, playing hide the salami, riding the flagpole, the down and dirty, boning…”

“What the hell?!” Levi cried, hands going up to cover his ears.

Satan snickered.

Asmo continued, “knocking boots, making love, if that’s your thing. Oh! And then there’s eating out, eating ass…ugh. You all are such prudes.”

“Hmm, eating,” Beel said, the rest of the words in the crude list quickly forgotten as he held a hand to his stomach. “I’m starving.”

“Okay, STOP!” Mammon said, frowning. “That’s not what I’m talking about...and nobody will be doing that with MC.”

“Nobody but you, huh, Mammon?” Asmo said, nudging his brother with his elbow.

“NO! Why would you say that? I’d never be with a lowly human like that!”

“Except MC, right?” Levi teased his already embarrassed brother.

Asmo smiled dreamily. “I’d do delightfully dirty things to MC.”

“First of all, no you wouldn’t. Second of all, why are we still talking about this? This is what I came to you for.” The Avatar of Greed slammed the flyer down on the table before all his brothers. “MC was invited to this party and never got to go because she came here. I think we should have our own 80s party at the House of Lamentation.”

Asmo was the first to accept the idea. “Oh! I love the 80s! One of the sexiest decades...tight pants, mini skirts, big hair.”

Leviathan’s face lit up. “The 80s had some awesome anime! It’s when Studio Ghibli started!”

“Nobody cares, Levi,” Mammon replied.

“Nobody cares about you, Mammon! Scumbag.”

“Hey!”

“Does that say amazing food?” Beel spoke up over his arguing brothers. “I’m in!”

“I’m in too,” Satan said, “It’s been a while since we’ve had a party at the house. I know where Lucifer hides the alcohol.”

“Yeah, in the kitchen next to Cerberus' food,” Asmo stated.

“Nah, he moved it,” Beel replied. “It’s not in the kitchen anymore. He moved it once when I found it looking for snacks.”

“Yeah,” Mammon added, “When he confiscated that expensive bottle of tequila I bought in the human world, he put it in the music room.”

“Oh, really?” Lucifer’s voice boomed from behind them, making the five demons jump.

“G’aaah!” Mammon yelped.

“I guess I need to find a new hiding spot then,” Lucifer said, walking over to his brothers. “What is it you all think you need alcohol for?”

Levi handed the invitation to him. “We want to throw a party for MC.”

Lucifer looked over the paper, brows furrowed. “Why?”

“She’s feeling homesick,” Satan explained.

“Ya, she showed me this last night. She seemed all moody, so I thought maybe we could do this for her.” The second eldest told him.

Lucifer picked up the paper, looking it over. The rest of the demons looked up at him, hopeful. “And where would this gathering take place?”

“At home,” Satan replied, receiving a glare from Mammon.

“Hey, Satan, what’s the big idea! I’m the one that came up with the idea. I was up all night plannin’ this!”

“You were up all night planning a party for MC?” Levi teased. “How romantic.”

“Shut up! It’s not romantic!”

The demon brothers started arguing again until Lucifer cleared his throat. “Enough, you two. We can have the party for MC.”

The demons all cheered.

“BUT-”

Their cheers turned into frowns.

“I knew there’d be a but,” Mammon whined.

“No alcohol. Not on a school night. And it’s over by midnight.”

The younger brothers all started protesting.

“This isn’t up for debate…”

More protesting and boos from his brothers.

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I guess we can have some alcohol.”

“Over by 2 am?” Mammon asked, with an award winning smile.

Lucifer sighed. “Fine.”

The group cheered and Lucifer let a smile play upon his lips when the others weren’t looking.

A week later, you were doing homework in your room when your D.D.D. goes off, distracting you. Your eyes flick over to see that Mammon had sent a message to the group chat between the brothers.

(Mammon:) Alright, Beel and Levi have gotten the food. Beel, didn’t eat any of it, did he?

(Levi:) Food’s safe.

(Mammon:) Okay, good. Asmo, Satan, you two got the decorations?

(Satan:) Yep, got everything.

(Asmo:) Remember there’s a costume contest! Though we all know I’m going to win it.

(Levi:) No way! I’m going to win it! Diavolo is giving out Grimm as the first prize and I’m going to win it so I can get the new Ruri-chan figurine!

(Lucifer:) How does Diavolo know about this party and when did he become part of the planning?

(Levi:) He overheard us talking about it at RAD and got excited. He just kinda sat down and started planning stuff with us. Apparently some of his favorite music and movies from the human world are from the 1980s.

(Lucifer:) Okay, we need to change some of the rules of this party then.

(Mammon:) ugh

...What the hell? Nobody had mentioned a party to you…

And why were they talking about the 80s? Wait. you got up, searching for the invitation for your friend’s party. Where did it go?

D.D.D. again. This time a chat between all brothers excluding Lucifer.

(Satan:) We need to get some booze. The invitation says booze.

(Levi): He’s not going to let you all drink with Diavolo around.

(Satan:) Yeah, I know. That’s why we’re going to find whatever is lying around the house and spike the punch bowl.

(Asmo:) ❤❤❤

(Asmo:) This party is going to be amazing! I hope MC will like it.

(Mammon:) Of course she will! Our parties are way better than any stupid human parties!

(Satan:) How would you know, Mammon? Like you’ve been to any parties in the human world.

(Levi:) Lolololol

(Mammon:) Hey! I’ve been to tons of human world parties!

(Levi:) Sure, you have.

You couldn’t help the grin that took over your face as you reread the messages over and over. The boys were throwing a party...for you. You thought back to the night you were feeling homesick. Mammon actually listened to you complain about missing your friend’s party! And they’ve seen the invitation.

You immediately open up the Akuzon app, hunting down pieces for your costume. An 80s party for you, thrown by your favorite demon guys? Asmo was right... this was going to be amazing.

At breakfast the next morning, you try to act surprised as the demon brothers sit down one by one, all smiles and hand you a white envelope with your name printed neatly on it.

“What’s this?” You ask, pretending you don’t already know.

“Open it,” Mammon replied, a twinkle in his eyes.

You turn the envelope over and gently rip it open. You pull out a folded sheet of paper that was literally a copy of your invitation to Lizzie’s party, except Lizzie’s name was crossed out and your name was sloppily written above it. The date and time was also crossed out and rewritten. ‘Booze’ had a question mark drawn on after it, which was also crossed out with a ‘NO’ beside it.

“Surprise!” The boys howled.

You felt tears gathering in your eyes.

They all slowly, one by one lost their smiles.

“Aw, man,” Levi whined. “She hates it! I told you the invitation was stupid, Mammon!”

“Hey! I didn’t see any of you assholes trying to make up an invitation!”

“Cause you just had to be the one to do it! And now you’ve made her cry,” Levi argued. “Idiot!”

Asmo shook his head. “Drop dead, Mammon.”

“Guys,” you speak up, wiping your face with your sleeve. “These are happy tears, okay? I love it.”

Their smiles return.

“I can’t believe you all did this for me. For demons, y’all are pretty sweet.” You got up, giving each one a hug. “Also, I’m going to slay all of you in the costume contest.”

You felt nervous as you got ready for the party. You tried to calm yourself as you teased and sprayed your hair a bit before tying a headband over it. You lined your eyes with black and added some colored eyeshadow. The outfit itself consisted of a black miniskirt and a couple belts over lace tights and a sheer shirt with a black bra underneath. And of course, lace black gloves with lots and lots of bracelets and necklaces.

You checked yourself out in the mirror, confident and self conscious at the same time. You wondered to yourself how the boys would react seeing you like this.

It’s not like you hadn’t shown skin around them before, and you admitted to yourself that you liked the way they all looked at you when you wore something revealing. Even your RAD uniform didn’t keep much to the imagination when you sat down and it rode up your thighs. And you had caught more than one of the guys ogling you as you walked around the house in your pjs, which usually consisted of short shorts and a tank top.

The sound of loud music echoing through the house and bass rattling the room pulled you from your thoughts. You smiled, eager to see how your boys dressed up and decorated.

You couldn’t get that smile to leave as you stepped into the dining room and saw all the decorations. Neon greens, yellows, blues, and pinks glowed under black light.Colored streamers hung from the ceiling and the table and walls were adorned with various 80s pop culture; posters of John Hughes movies, records and cassette tapes, Rubix Cubes, Trolls, and Pac-Man. “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley blared from giant speakers.

You felt herself blushing as she looked around the room in awe...they put so much work into this. For you.

You scanned the room, searching through the room of your scattered friends until you set your eyes on the one you wanted to go to first...

Masterlist

Mammon Satan Lucifer Levi Beel Asmo Belphie

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me beelzebub #obey me asmodeus #obey me mc #obey me leviathan #obey me diavolo #obey me fanfic #obey me swd #obey me fanfiction #obey me main character

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

Text

survey by tater-tots

What is a fruit that you might eat in the morning? I, personally, haven’t had any fruit in quite awhile. :X I used to have a banana sometimes in the morning, though. Cutting it up and putting it on bread with peanut butter was also good, as well as in oatmeal.

Do you enjoy any food combinations that others might consider to be weird? I’m sure. Scrambled eggs with ranch is probably weird to some. I also recently discovered sourdough bread and Lay’s ranch dip go quite well together.

What is a green vegetable that you enjoy eating? Spinach.

Name something you might find in a salad. Hard boiled eggs. What is your favorite type of sandwich? Turkey and salami with either Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar, or Colby Jack cheese, mayo, and spinach or bologna and either of those cheeses with mayo. A pickle on the side is good as well as some olive oil for dipping. If I get a sandwich from a deli, I like to add a sandwich spread of some kind.

Which condiment do you use the most often? Ranch. Name a chocolate bar that you enjoy eating. White chocolate bars.

What is a meat that you do not eat - ever. Anything other than beef, chicken, turkey, or pork.

Are you lactose intolerant, or have any other sort of food allergies? I am.

What was the last food that you burnt your mouth on? Probably ramen.

Which brand of soup do you eat? Maruchan pork ramen.

What are some flavors of ice cream that your enjoy? Strawberry, mint chocolate chip, ones with peanut butter cups or brownie chunks, and birthday cake.

What is the best type of cookie, in your opinion? My favorites are sugar cookies and shortbread.

Would you rather have popcorn, pretzels, or chips as your salty snack? Popcorn.

Have you thought about going on a diet & actually went through with it? No.

survey by pinkchocolate

When you woke up today, was there anything on your mind? That it was freezing, ha.

Who was the last person you interacted with for the first time? Hm. I don’t recall. I haven’t interacted with anyone new in quite awhile.

What colour was the wrapper of the last snack you ate? Hm.The last thing I ate that had a wrapper was ramen, which had a brown wrapper.

Do you have a favourite mug to drink from? What does it look like? It’s a Peter Pan mug that has Peter and the gang on it flying and is blue on the outside and yellow on the inside.

What was the last thing you used, that came in a spray can? The Christmas-y room spray I got from Bath and Body Works. I loveee it.

What colour is your favourite bra? I prefer just black bras.

Who was the last person you went to for advice about something? My mom.

Have you had a deep conversation with anyone lately? Not really.

What was the last compliment you recall receiving from someone? I don’t recall.

And the last compliment you gave to someone else? My brother on his Thanksgiving cooking. Everything came out really, really good.

What kind of bread did you eat most recently? Sourdough. I’ve always liked it, but prior to Thanksgiving I hadn’t had it in awhile. My brother got a loaf from the store and I ended up eating a ton of it with this olive oil and different seasonings dip I made, but then I discovered it also goes really well with Lay’s ranch dip and ended up eating it with that. Ha, the next day I asked my brother to bring home some sourdough bread from his job (he works at Panera) and I’ve been enjoying that ever since.

What was the last sound you heard, that you found pleasant? I’m currently watching/listening to an ASMR video.

How many books do you think there are in your house? Take a rough guess. Oh, man. Uhhhhh. At least 100. A lot of them being my mom’s.

Of all the books you own, which do you think has the most pages in it? The Bible.

^ And how many pages is that? 1,200.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What did you think of it? The Invisible Man back in February. I enjoyed it.

In the last book you read, what was the main character's name? Eva Rae.

What was the last song you heard, that meant something to you? Everlong by Foo Fighters.

How many people do you know whose name begins with Z? Two.

What do you expect to be doing at this time tomorrow? Hopefully sleeping.

survey by luckforlemmy

Did you start listening to more Michael Jackson after his death? I grew up listening to his music, but admittedly I did get into it more after his passing. I was really into his This is It album for awhile, which he worked on just before his death and was done with his concert documentary by the same name.

When was the last time that you played hide and seek? I play with my doggo sometimes.

Who was your first celebrity crush, if you can remember? Aaron Carter.

Do you worry about money? Yes.

Have you ever had to beg for a second chance? No, not begged.

When was the last time that you sent an actual letter through the mail? Many, many, many years ago.

Are you excited to return to school? I’m done with school.

Do you hate Internet abbreviations? No. Omg, but I hate stuff like, “C-U l8er” or something like that. *cringe* That was done more so back in the AOL days, though. Everything was abbreviated back then it seemed.

What was the last insult you gave out? Uhh I don’t go around giving out insults.

What'd you last look up on YouTube? The ASMR video I’m watching.

Are you texting someone really awesome right now? I’m not texting anyone right now.

Do you know when to be serious and when you shouldn't be? Yes.

Do you think that you're funny? I have my moments once in a blue moon and I own the hell out of it when it does happen haha.

Have you ever sent a secret to Post Secret? No.

What movie do you really want to see in theatres right now? There aren’t any showing in theaters in right now or for most of this year. I miss going to the movie theater.

Have either of your parents shown affection for you today? I haven’t seen either of them, yet.

What's the last thing that you sang out loud? Christmas songs.

Is there a word that you always misspell? I always say this when a question like this comes up, but “onomatopoeia.” I only ever use that word when asked this, but I have to look up the spelling every time. I don’t know why it won’t stick.

What was the last thing that you bought that someone else benefited from? I ordered my mom a cute Christmas mask.

Has someone ever made you a really great mix CD? Yeah.

Have you ever been on Omegle.com? Yes.

Did you talk to someone cool there? I didn’t talk much, I just went on there to check it out.

What song reminds you of your best friend? There’s a lot of songs that do.

Who was the last person to hit on you? I have no idea, it’s been a long time.

What's on the paper nearest you? There isn’t any paper near me.

Do you have a set of lyrics that you really love? A ton.

Did you get an A in your last English class? Yes.

What did you last use scissors for? I think it was to cut the plastic thingy that holds bottled drinks together.

Did you ever secretly hate a friend of yours that thought you liked them? No.

What do you think of when I say "boat"? Uhhh, a boat?

Would you ever get a tattoo sleeve? No.

Do you know any really fake people? Yes.

What does the last blanket you used look like? I currently have two throw blankets: a rose gold fuzzy one and a super soft Christmas one.

Do you have appreciation for graffiti? I’ve seen some really cool graffiti artwork.

Why don't you drive? Well, there are extra things that need to be done since I’m a paraplegic and it can be quite expensive. Mostly, though, I’m scared.

Does it annoy you when your printer runs out of ink? It was always super annoying how my printer seemed to know when I was in a hurry or really stressed out cause that’s when it would decide to malfunction or be out of ink.

Have you ever drank anything from a thermos? Yeah.

When was the last time you played in the snow? The last time I was around snow at all was back in 2010.

Do you know any ignorant people? Yes.

What is the coolest name you've ever heard? Hmm.

What did you last argue with someone about? Bleh.

Is there anyone that you dislike for no real reason? No.

Have you had a good day? Not much has happened so far. It’s still early and I’m in bed all snuggled up while doing this and listening to ASMR.

Are you going to have a good night? We’ll see.

#a few surveys thrown into one #personal #text #survey #surveys

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kaunisbaby · 3 years

Text

the lovely @smileandasong tagged me to answer 30 questions!! thank you dear i love doing these 🖤

name/nickname: giulia

gender: female

star sign: capricorn

height: 158 cm or 5'2"

time: 7:14 pm

birthday: january 15th

favorite bands: nine inch nails, skold, motionless in white, him, bring me the horizon, my chemical romance, motley crue, kmfdm and many more

favorite solo artist: i don't really listen to solo artists, idk if you'd consider skold that lol

song stuck in my head: diamant - rammstein

last film: i don't remember 😳 i don't really watch many movies

last show: the winx saga lol

when i made this blog: early 2011 i think

what i post: rockstars i lust after, music, the #aesthetic, mental illness related content, rants. basically it's a shitshow lmao

last thing i googled: song lyrics

other blogs: @thriftingothic where i post my thrift finds and outfits

do i get asks: sometimes i guess

why i choose my url: the nin intro/song HELLO??

following: 355

followers: 1814 (how 😳)

average hours of sleep: around 8 and a half. i love sleeping 🖤

lucky numbers: i hate numbers i never wanna see one ever

instruments: i took bass lessons for a year but god is music not my forte lol

what i am wearing: green and white pajamas and a pastel pink robe lmao

dream trip: idk?? some european city i still haven't visited probably

favorite food: salami. and pasta with clams and shrimps and that kinda things

nationality: italian

favorite song: in general?? oh god. probably the great below by nin. and in this point in time i guess it's venus doom by him

last book read: damned by chuck palahniuk, i have been so busy these days that i still haven't started anything new

top 3 fictional universes you'd like to live in: i have no idea probably some fanfiction AUs I read. I'm not good with pop culture 😳

favorite color: black, burgundy/deep red, dusty pink

#tagged

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rosesisupposes · 5 years

Text

Fall to Rise

Part 11 of Another Goddamn Hero Story

read on ao3

Chapter Relationships: Romantic LAMP; Familial LAMPT; Background OC pairings;

Chapter Warnings: Memories of trauma; questioning memories/reality; mentions of past death/murder; cadaver mention; Human experimentation; nonconsensual experimentation; cryogenic freezing; mention of blood loss

Word Count: over 7,600 i’m so sorry

Taglist: @residentanchor @royally-anxious@bewarethegrammarpolice @jemthebookworm@arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt @astral-eclipse@thelowlysatsuma @monsterinatophat @turtally-pawsome @um-yes-hi-hello @idkaurl @potestessemagishomosexualitatis@hawthornshadow

a/n: yeah, it's been a minute. i started law school, things got hectic. here’s a Lot of Things

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337501 [UPDATED] Classification: M.1.iv [Primary Tier Neutral, Unknown] Name: Agent Whisper Status: INACTIVE /////////Reason: Reformation-In-Progress, Enrolled Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Thomas Sanders Affiliation: Neutral Partners/Sidekicks: DI#A-4894 - Team Left Brain; DI#A-4895 - Team Right Brain; /////////The two teams volunteered to oversee his reformation Primary Foes: None Powers: Pathokinesis - Broad Spectrum; Illusions - Broad Spectrum; Self-Healing/Rejuvenation - Broad Spectrum; /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] There have been multiple edits to this entry, and I’ve no idea why, and I can’t see the history. Can you check this? - Joan Costume: Black t-shirt with a skull that can change between white and floral, jeans. Age: 19 Height: 5’10” Pronouns: He/Him H.E.A.R.T.S. Class: Enrolled Note: Brother of DI#337437 - Gale Force; Presumed killed in IR15-Z-0632, apparently self-healed; Unclear if powers were created by [REDACTED], or if they were always present and [REDACTED]. /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Talyn, what’s going on? Why can’t I un-redact these phrases? /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] I have no idea - these details weren’t added by me. It makes no sense. The note was added, and then edited and redacted. But from the code it looks like both changes were from… Logan?

~~~~~~

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337413 [UPDATED] Classification: Class A.2.iii [Secondary Tier Hero, anomaly] Name: Crimson Marauder Status: ACTIVE Civilian Name: [TOP SECRET] Roman Fitzroy Affiliation: Hero ///////// H.A.T.C.H. Status: On Call Partners/Sidekicks: member of DI#A-4895 - Team Right Brain; Works with DI#A-4894 - Team Left Brain; Primary Foes: N/A Powers: Psionic Construction; /////////Able to manipulate color of constructions along the red spectrum, unless it is a previously-created object being stored in a psionic pocket dimension; Constructs that have persisted need less energy to maintain; complete lack of consciousness can deconstruct Costume: Black Suit with Red Blocks, Gold Belt, Black and Red Cape with Gold accents; Black and gold mask Age: 25 Height: 5’ 11” Pronouns: He/Him H.E.A.R.T.S. Class N/A Note: Formerly known as Scarlet Prince, see DI#337321; Origin and family unknown

~~~~~~

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337437 [UPDATED] Classification: A.1.iv [Primary Tier Hero, unknown] Name: Gale Force Status: ACTIVE ///////// H.A.T.C.H. Status: Blackout Only Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Patton Sanders Affiliation: Hero Partners/Sidekicks: member of DI#A-4895 - Team Right Brain; Works with DI#A-4894 - Team Left Brain; Primary Foes: N/A Powers: Air Manipulation - Broad Spectrum; Costume: Grey calf-length tunic, slits up to waist with loose sleeves over loose white trousers; light blue belt; matching blue symbol of a hurricane across chest. Does not wear a mask. Age: 21 Height: 5’10” Pronouns: He/Him H.E.A.R.T.S. Class: Enrolled Note: Highly volatile, responsible for deaths of DI#265351 - Commander Eagle and DI#337236 - Silver Sparrow, see IR15-Z-0632; First appearance at Harmony City Foster Care; Origin and family unknown. ///////// Changed affiliation after unmasking of DI#337501 - Agent Whisper revealed to be his brother. Still unclear if he is an anomaly or if the Sanders bloodline is super, particularly because of DI#337501’s involvement in [REDACTED]. /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Talyn, it’s happened again here! Has Logan been messing in our files? /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Joan, this is really troubling - some of the edits have been made while I know Logan has been in the field. DREAM may have been hacked. I’m going to have to suspend all access until further notice.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

“Pat, are you sure about this?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.”

“This just feels like the superhero equivalent of a whoopie cushion. Or ‘down low, too slow.’”

Patton hugged his brother around the shoulders. “I mean it, Tommy Salami! You won’t be hurt.”

“It’s a long way down, though,” Thomas said, eyeing the edge of the roof nervously.

“Never fear! Your knight is here!” Roman announced, landing gently by the brothers with a smile. He bowed gallantly to the teen. “Sir Roman Fitzroy, on official Safety Net duty!”

Thomas smiled shyly. “You’re sure?”

“Of course, my Very Special Agent! Even if you can’t fly naturally, you’ll feel just like a bird,” Roman said, gesturing off the roof with a flourish. Floating in mid-air was a giant red cushion, soft, plush, and downy.

Other students at HEARTS were mingling around in various levels of trepidation and excitement. Some were confirmed flyers, ready to practice more and to build up their reaction time. Some were like Thomas, testing for latent abilities in a controlled environment. And some knew they couldn’t fly, but were here for the experience anyway.

“Ready?” the teacher called. A ten-year-old wearing what looked suspiciously like a beloved blankie tied around their neck like a cape clapped their hands and nodded. “Here we go!”

The teacher scooped the little one up and tossed them onto the trampoline, launching them into the air in a burst of surprised giggles. Their cape fluttered behind them as they bounced, eyes squeezed tightly shut. When they finally opened them, it was to realize they were floating about fifteen feet above the heads of their classmates.

“I doned it!”

“Yes indeed! You did it!” one of the older students said as their classmates clapped and cheered. The elder girl floated up serenely to their level. “Can you get down yourself?”

The child frowned and focused on their feet. Slowly, they lowered down to the ground once more, sparking another round of applause as the next student stepped up to try.

Finally, it was Thomas’ turn. There were rounds of encouragement from the crowd, though more subdued than they had been for the others. But the youngest students didn’t flinch or waver, just cheered as Thomas offered his hand to the teacher. Patton floated just by the edge of the roof, Roman at his side, ready with the enormous cushion to catch him should he go awry.

Virgil glided up beside the two just as Thomas was tossed onto the trampoline. He bounced high into the air, making a strangled yell that grew louder as he immediately started to plummet. But in a breath, air wrapped around him and he was gently deposited on his feet by Patton’s side.

He smiled shakily at his brother. “I guess you got the ginger and the flying genes, Pat.”

“You okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Thomas said. He looked over at the other students. The ten-year-old who’d gone first was going for a second turn, keeping their eyes open this time. “I think I’ll leave the flying attempts to the experts though. C.C. was right - they said they weren’t sure I’d like it.”

“Who’s-” Patton started, but one of the students walked over with impeccable timing.

“Hi! I’m CC! I’m in Thomas’ class.”

Patton grinned and shook their hand. “I’m Patton, Thomas’ brother.”

“And you’re also Gale Force,” CC said with a nod.

“Only when I’m in uniform! I wouldn’t want you all to think I’m full of hot air,” he replied with a wink.

They laughed brightly. “Ooh, can I add that to my list? I’m documenting super school, you see. The conversations here are so much fun to overhear!”

Patton agreed willingly, and asked about their favorites and classes, watching with pleasure as they drew Thomas into the conversation too. Not everyone was so comfortable with his brother, the shadow of his past still lurking in their minds.

CC smiled suddenly at the brothers, interrupting the conversation. “Did you know? You’re going to be happy.”

“Is that another prediction?” Thomas asked them. He slipped a hand into Patton’s, a tic of seeking reassurance that had been carrying them both through their school days.

CC shook their head, smiling softly. “It’s a guarantee.”

Only feet away, Virgil tugged Roman towards him, fidgeting with the papers in his other hand. “Hey, could you come over here for a second?” Roman looked nervously at Pat and Thomas, not wanting to leave them. Virgil smiled in understanding. “We won’t go far - I’ll help you keep an eye on them. I just want to be safely out of earshot.”

Roman followed him to the the other half of the roof, where the building rose up into the elevated classrooms. He was intrigued by whatever Virgil had to say, but still took the opportunity to slip a hand into his back pocket to squeeze his ass.

Virgil turned with a smile, bringing them chest to chest, and leaned down to steal a kiss. “Are you trying to distract me?”

“Depends, is it working?” Roman asked with a wink. The past month had seen them all maintaining a laser-sharp focus on Thomas and his recovery, leaving only the occasional night and stolen moment for them to solidify the affections they’d finally expressed in so many words. Virgil, Logan, and Roman all cared far more about supporting Patton in his reunion and joint recovery with his brother than escalating their relationship - but there were still the occasional moments where they couldn’t, or didn’t want to, restrain themselves.

Virgil drew back smirking, one brow raised. “Up to you, Princey. We can get distracted in the closet right around the corner, or I can share the surprise with you.”

Roman exaggerated his pout, circling Virgil’s muscled waist with both arms. “How dare you pit my love of your kisses against my love of surprises. Can’t I have both?”

Virgil kissed Roman’s temple. “Here, read this first, and maybe there’ll be time for distraction after.”

He handed Roman the sheaf of paper he’d been twisting in his hands. Roman smoothed out the crinkles and glanced over it. He did a double take and looked over it again, reading closer, mouth falling open as he went.

“A new foster home?”

“Not just any foster home,” Virgil said, a smile slowly stretching across his face. “One that’ll allow supers to stay together with non-supers. One that’ll work with HEARTS without making kids leave their home to learn.”

“For them?” Roman asked, glancing back across the roof at Patton and Thomas.

Virgil nodded. “For them and everyone like them. And if a kid is staying there, there won’t be a cost to go to HEARTS. I’m working on Joan to allow the normal foster allowances to go towards school fees.”

Roman smoothed the paper again with hands that shook slightly. “For me,” he said quietly. It wasn’t a question, but Virgil nodded all the same, resting a comforting hand on his boyfriend’s waist.

Roman’s eyes filled slightly as he smiled up into Virgil’s dark ones. “Virge, this is wonderful . Where’s it going to be? Who’s gonna run it?”

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling slightly. “My family’s house, actually. It was my moms’ idea. I already have to talk them out of adopting every single friend they meet - what if I just… didn’t talk them out of it? And I’m hoping that this means Thomas won’t ever have to be on call. His detail can just be protecting the kids, maybe keep Pat with him too-”

Any further words were cut off by Roman tugging his head down to silence him with enthusiastic kiss after kiss. “You wonderful, brilliant, beautiful man,” Roman said in between kisses. “You’re so considerate and sweet and smart!”

The packet of papers were discarded as Virgil responded with equal enthusiasm despite a spreading blush. Roman summoned a discreet wall around them, preempting any students stumbling by.

They could tell the others the news later, at a less interesting time.

~~~~~~

That evening found the brothers Sanders taking time away from the other students again. Mealtimes were fine, but the atmosphere after dinner, where teens and kids and young adults all mixed and played in the common areas still had twinges of uncomfortable familiarity.

So Thomas sat instead with his brother on the roof of the school in the setting sun, staring out at the reflection of the clouds on the harbor. The light bathed his face in blood-red tones as he listened to the crash of waves and call of gulls.

“Patton, I’ve been meaning to ask,” he started, then paused with a nervous laugh. “I don’t know that I really want to know, but I have to find out sometime. How do I know when it became real?”

“What do you mean, kiddo?”

“I spent so long hallucinating in what I think was the facility. But I saw myself escaping almost every day. When did I do it for real? When did I start infecting everyone else with my visions?”

Patton turned to look at his brother. The boy looked scared, but his face was set, even as he refused to make eye contact.

“It was a bit over a month ago that the first attack came,” Patton supplied.

“What happened in that one, Pat?” Thomas asked. His voice was strained and distant.

“Are you sure you want to know, Tommy? You didn’t know what you were doing, you can’t blame yourself-”

“Yes I can, Patton!” Thomas interrupted. “I have to! I didn’t know it was real, but I still chose to attack innocent people, even if I thought they were just illusions. I could have stayed nonviolent, I could have just tried to hide from it all, but I just… it hurt, so much, every time I watched the home collapse around me, every time I had to feel the fire and bricks blasting through us, and I lashed out. I need to know what I did. How else will I ever make up for it?”

Tears leaked out of Patton’s eyes. “You’re… Thomathy, I know you will make up for all of it. We both will. I lashed out, too. We’ll work hard, and we’ll become the heroes we needed when we were younger. We’ll help.”

Thomas grabbed Patton’s hand, squeezing too tightly. “I still need to know, Pat. What did I do that was real? What happened that first time?”

Patton sucked in a shaky breath. “How many of our friends do you remember, from before? From when we were kids?”

Thomas closed his eyes. “I remember… I remember Leo. And Derri and Dahlia. And… Ms. and Miss Parson.” He opened his eyes, looking anxiously at Patton. “Am I right? Were they real?”

“They were real,” Patton confirmed. “They were our Hundred-Acre Wood friends and our moms, or the closest we got.” He steeled himself, breathing in deep. “Do… do you remember Damien?”

Thomas frowned, responding slowly. “Yes, I think I do. He was older than me? He left, early. There was… something happened. An accident?” He looked for confirmation.

“Sort of. The experiments weren’t an accident, but the fire in the lab was. Dam’ got adopted and then the man who’d taken him turned out to be not very nice.”

Thomas stiffened at the mention of ‘lab’, but he squeezed Patton’s hand tight and forced himself to relax. “I… yes, I remember. Did he…?”

“He survived, but we didn’t know it. I only learned he was alive recently… the day of your first real attack. He was transformed, given powers, so he got sent here instead of back home.” Patton gestured to the brick school underneath them. “Tommy… do you remember who was with Damien when he left?”

Thomas spoke sadly, eyes fixed on the horizon, staring off into distant haze of remembrance. “Val. Valerie. Kanga. She… we lost her too.”

Patton swallowed. “She… was in the same place as Damien.”

“And the same thing happened to her?” Thomas turned to look at Patton, his eyes searching for confirmation. At Patton’s nod, he looked off, eyes flitting as he poured through his twisted, unclear memories. “I dreamed about her a lot. I saw her so many times. She kept coming back, sometimes the same age I remember her, sometimes older. One time she brought me Teddy. But usually she just hated me. She blamed me for letting her go and letting her get hurt and... I could never help, never enough.”

Patton squeezed his brother’s hand. “What was the last time you saw her?”

Thomas frowned. “I… the day I hurt Roman. She was there, angry with me, telling me that Roman was the reason she was so hurt. She had burn scars from his light powers, and dark bruises all over.” He looked up. “What that real?”

“No, it wasn’t, kiddo. Roman never met her,” Patton said. Tears were coursing down his face, and his voice was thick. “The last real time was three days before that. She… she was given powers too, like Damien, but they were painful. She had feathers growing out of her skin, purple and black ones…”

Thomas scrambled to stand, backing away from his brother. “No. No, you’re lying! That time wasn’t real, it couldn’t have been!”

Patton stood too, grabbing Thomas’ hand before he walked off the roof by accident. Tears continued to fall down his face. “I’m sorry, Tommy. It’s real.”

“But that means that I-” Thomas choked out, and then the sobs took over as he crumpled to the ground. His entire body shivered and convulsed as the reality of his actions took hold.

Patton knelt with him, trying to hold as much of him as possible, crying into his shirt. “You didn’t know,” he whispered. “You didn’t mean it.”

“But I did it anyway!” Thomas wailed. “What have I done, Pat? What kind of monster am I?”

“The one you were made into,” his brother said, voice hardening despite his grief. “The one the world created, leaving you behind. Like they left me behind.”

“The world didn’t create me, Pat,” Thomas responded. “People did, and I did.”

Now Patton looked at him in confusion. “The heroes? They created me too. They’re part of the world.”

“No, Pat. The people in that facility. The lab. Whatever it was.”

Patton hesitated. “I don’t want to make you talk about it, but… what do you remember of that place? Do you remember faces?”

Thomas wiped his eyes. “No. Maybe I did once, but I- no, I don’t want to remember. It’s too much. Too much pain and fire and…” He curled in on himself again. “Please don’t ask me to remember them, ” he asked in a tiny voice.

Patton wrapped his arms around as much of him as he could, holding him close. “I won’t. I’m sorry, Tommy. It’s okay now. You’re here. You’re safe.”

Thomas reached up a hand to bunch in Patton’s shirt, gripping tightly. “Is this real?” he whispered.

“Real, Thomas. It’s real.”

~~~~~~

Things weren’t always great. Logan had learned to be okay with that. Thomas had nightmares, waking in cold sweat and anger, lashing out at anyone who got close. But slowly, he was recognizing them all faster, seeing them as safe. Recovery would be a long road, but they were all on their way. Virgil had started therapy, partly at Logan’s urging and partly as encouragement for Roman and the Sanders to go too. Logan came sometimes for group sessions, more a supporter than a patient. Roman and Patton had nightmares too, but they always woke to the tangle of limbs in the enormous bed that now dominated most of Virgil’s apartment bedroom. They had a good arrangement, even if Logan was finding that he became far too easily flustered by Roman and Patton’s much more overt forms of affection. It was new and intriguing, but the frequency with which he blushed now was, frankly, embarrassing.

He had time to discover all the new shades of red he was able to turn because the level of super activity had also dropped sharply. Virgil and Logan hadn’t been called since that last attack, and they’d been reveling in their newly-free time by exploring the city as civilians, bringing their boyfriends and Thomas out to the Skylar home in surburbia, and taking them on leisurely flights above the cloud cover. When Logan received a call one morning to go see the mayor at City Hall, he was more intrigued than alert.

“Virge, wanna come?”

“Hm, I didn’t get the call, you think I could?”

“Why not? It’s just Joan.”

“You’re right. C’mon, starlight. Want a lift?”

They walked into the office together, stopping short as they realized the alert hadn’t been quite the casual call they’d assumed. The windows were blocked out with heavy shades. The table was covered in printout and status reports that threatened to drown a very frazzled-looking Talyn in paper.

“Joan, Talyn, what’s going on? You needed to speak with me?” Logan asked. “I brought Virgil, I hope that’s okay…”

Joan paced backed and forth, their normal worry lines looker much deeper than normal. They paused one or twice, about to speak, but glanced at Virgil and Logan, then around the room, and away as they resumed pacing. Finally, they sighed and asked, “Can we go to the roof?”

The roof of City Hall was the same graceful style as the rest of the Neo-Renaissance building, with swooping arches and balustrading that made it stand apart from the marble of the other government buildings. The roof had a cupola that had clearly been designed to make it even more distinctive. Now, it functioned as an entrance for flying supers into the building, one that Virgil preferred if he was arriving without Logan. But that wasn’t its only purpose.

“I’m going to turn on the dampers,” Joan told them bluntly as they filed into the small space from the stairwell.

Logan stiffened in shock, glaring at the mayor.

Virgil reached out a gentle hand to rest on his boyfriend’s back. “I trust it’s for a good reason?” he asked Joan drily.

The mayor nodded. “It’s not about you two. It’s to keep other powers out. I really, really don’t want anyone to overhear.”

Logan sighed, his shoulders falling from their tense position. “I know you wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. Go ahead.”

Talyn quickly tapped in a PIN on one of the columns, then a now-glowing button. Walls of light blinked into being around them and sealed over the entrance to the rest of the building. Virgil flexed and stretched his free arm. Knowing that his strength and durability were being neutralized wasn’t a comfortable feeling, even if he understood that it was sometimes necessary. He kept the other hand solidly on Logan’s lower back, feeling the man tremble slightly and offering comfort.

“What’s so important that needs all this secrecy, Mayor Stokes,” Logan asked, voice clipped.

Talyn came over with their tablet in both hands. “It’s the database. DREAM’s been compromised.” There was a slight tremor in their hands as they showed Logan the screenshots from the most recently-updated records. “I created this tool, and Joan is the highest-ranking official in the city, and neither of us can read these edits. All we know is that according to the system, you were the one making them.”

Logan took the tablet, staring hard. Finally he looked up. “I didn’t make these changes.” Three pairs of eyes looked back in concern. “But,” he continued, looking at the screen in confusion, “I think I know who did.”

“And who would it be?”

“Drs. Atticus and Portia Lancaster,” Logan said. “My parents. I- it looks like it might be related to their work on the origin of powers. They’ve been hinting at some more exciting experiments.”

“Hold up,” Joan interjected. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“It was all under the umbrella of EANSC 2.0, and my understanding was they weren’t sure there was anything to find, let alone brief you on. If you didn’t read the full reports, you might not have noticed,” Logan said, removing his glasses to rub his temples. His fingers shook, but his voice remained steady, if a bit detached. “I don’t know the full details myself. If I’d known you hadn’t been informed, I would have procured a summary for you.”

“Lo, we need to get these dampers off and go talk to them,” Virgil said. “If they can tell us more about how to help Thomas, we need to know sooner rather than later.”

Logan replaced his glasses. “Yes. Yes, of course. I- Yes. We shall do that. Yes.”

Virgil paused in his pacing and came over, cupping Logan’s chin in his hand. “Lo? Are you alright?”

Logan looked up at him and attempted a smile. “I… I am trepidatious. I am unclear as to why they would have neglected to inform me, if they made a breakthrough like this seems to imply.” His voice sounded oddly formal and strained. “Let us go discuss with them at once. And, Virgil, if you would - permit me to take the lead, as it were. I am quite confident there will be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. We need only ask without accusation, and it should be all revealed to us.”

“Logan-” Joan started, but Logan just shook his head. Talyn typed in their PIN again to deactivate the dampers.

“You’ll at least let us know what they say?” Joan asked as Logan and Virgil stepped to the edge of the cupola.

Logan took a deep breath and looked back. “You’ll be the first.” He stepped off the edge, becoming a blur as he did so.

Virgil nodded to both Joan and Talyn before leaping out to follow his partner.

~~~~~~

“Logan! Virgil! What a lovely surprise!”

The Drs. Lancaster were both in their lab at the university, and Portia greeted them both with a smile and a little wave. Her red hair was pulled back into a bun, but wavy strands had popped free, held back only by the headband tied into a bow. Virgil had asked, once, how no one ever recognized the former public face of Harmony City’s Heroes, even if she had changed her last name. The doctor had winked, tapping her frames, and said, “It’s all in the glasses.”

Her husband was able to pause his work too and came over smiling. Virgil had always liked the Docs - they’d welcomed him into their home as his ‘City Family,’ once it became clear he couldn’t commute out to his mums in the suburbs as much as he would have liked.

He really, really hoped that Logan was correct.

“What brings you ‘round, big guy? It’s been months!” Atticus asked, going for a hug. Virgil didn’t so much hug back as he patted the man’s shoulders awkwardly, glancing meaningfully at Logan.

The young man cleared his throat. “Mom, Dad, I have a question for you.”

Atticus’ eyes lit up, looking at Virgil and back to his son. “Are you asking us for our blessing, finally?”

Logan did a slight double-take. “Beg pardon?”

Portia chuckled, slinking an arm around Atticus’ waist. “Your father here has been hoping you’re going to make an honest man out of Virgil soon.”

Virgil blushed deep crimson at that. “I- uh. Our boyfriends might object if we got married without them?”

Logan elbowed him. “Virge, I hadn’t told them that yet-”

“Shit-”

“Boyfriends? Multiple? Are you starting a collection?” Atticus asked, blinking. “Is it like a butterfly collection, are you collecting taxonomic details?”

Logan cleared his throat. “No, Dad. I- Virgil and I have started mutually dating Roman and Patton. All four of us as equal romantic partners.”

A slight crease formed in Portia’s forehead. “Roman and Patton? Have we met them?”

“Not as such, no,” Logan said, not meeting either parents’ eyes as he fiddled with his glasses.

Atticus and Portia stared in a mixture of confusion and concern. Logan shot Virgil a pleading look, linking their fingers together.

Virgil flinched. This conversation was far more personal than he’d been prepared for, but he’d gotten them into this mess in the first place. “You may know them by their super names - Crimson Marauder and Gale Force.”

Logan squeezed Virgil’s fingers so tightly that he would have bruised, if he ever bruised.

Portia pursed her lips, the wrinkle in her brow becoming more pronounced. “Weren’t you fighting them, dear?”

“Yes, Mother, I was,” Logan started. “But things, ah, changed. And they’re reformed now.”

Virgil wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Atticus’ face in something that had to try so hard to taken as a smile. “But they’re villains, Lo?”

“They were villains,” Virgil clarified. “They both went through-- god, they went through some rough shit, and the anger from their experiences made them more villainous for a while there. But they really are wonderful men, and they’re nonviolent now.”

“Well. I suppose such a thing is possible, hypothetically,” Portia replied. She tapped her lips with a long, elegant finger. “If trauma was so involved in their moral failings, what on earth could have shaken them enough that they’re now attempting to erase them?”

If Virgil had been a cat, he would have hissed. Instead, his shoulders and back stiffened even as a chill ran down his spine. He exhaled slowly, making sure he didn’t accidentally squeeze Logan’s hand back. Feeling like this, he might hurt him inadvertently.

“Actually, Mother, Father, the answer to that question is the very question we have come to ask,” Logan said. He stood ramrod straight, meeting his mother’s eyes levelly despite the difference in their heights.

“What’s with the fancy-talk, Lolo?” Atticus asked, chuckling uncomfortably. “We’re all family here.”

“Speaking of family,” Logan continued, “Patton and Roman found their perspective on what makes a hero or villain dramatically changed by the events of the last several months. This was largely to the reappearance of Patton’s brother, Thomas Sanders.”

Virgil had never quite determined if his acute awareness of others’ body movements was part of his powers, or if it was just the natural power of anxiety. But it was enough for him to notice that both the Drs. Lancaster blinked in a way that looked a lot like recognition.

“That may be another name you have not heard, I am aware,” Logan continued. “But I am quite confident you know who he is. His alias was Agent Whisper.”

Portia gasped. “Goodness, how upsetting for your friend that his brother was such a terror upon our city! No wonder he was so upset. Such a reveal, and losing even an evil sibling would be terrible, I’m sure.”

“Dr. Lancaster,” Virgil cut in, “Patton didn’t lose his brother again. Thomas is also in reform. I thought you knew.”

“How would I know, dear?”

“Because you’ve been in the DREAM Index,” Logan replied, taking back the thread.

Atticus smiled, round cheeks crinkling. “Lo, you know she doesn’t have access to that anymore! They can’t let just anyone see all the supers’ data!”

“But you two do. You asked for my information, when I handed off my dissertation. To cross-reference, you said.”

Portia pursed her lips. “We did, didn’t we. It must have slipped my mind.”

Logan frowned. “Mother. Please. One of you has been making edits under my name. I’d like to know why, and what it has to do with Thomas.”

“That was me,” Atticus said. “I was preserving the integrity of our research. You know how important that is.”

“Which research was being implicated?” Portia asked conversationally, as if her only son wasn’t still staring her down.

“Project Charcoal.”

“Ah, a good call, my love. That’s far too sensitive to be revealed.”

“Even to the mayor?” Virgil asked innocently. “Because not even they could see past the redaction.”

Atticus walked over to the lab bench. “Lo, come sit. No need to be so suspicious - you know we’ll tell you everything.”

Logan looked to Virgil automatically, who shrugged in response. Are we ready to do this? Do we have a choice? They squeezed their interlocked hands and sat across the bench from the doctors.

“So. My dissertation became Project Charcoal,” Logan stated.

“Yes, that’s what it came to be called,” Portia said. “EANSC 2.0 was too much of a mouthful, and lost accuracy.”

“And you didn’t tell me this sooner because…?”

“You never asked, kiddo,” Atticus said with a smile. “We were telling you about our experiments - the refining of the dampener field, the RNA sequencing, that’s all under the project!”

Logan frowned. “And yet, there is clearly more that you neglected to mention.”

“Well, yes, but we didn’t want to distract you. Your hero work was more important,” Portia explained. “We were continuing our research on side-effects of EAs on civilians and it ended up being merged together, that was really the only big change we didn’t tell you about.”

“...the side-effect research?” Virgil asked quietly.

“It started after the Mystic Magician,” Logan explained. “He managed to succeed, in a terrible way. The Viper is proof of that, and the Condor was too. But it rocked the conventional understanding of enhanced abilities. My parents and the larger genetic research community started looking into whether or not civilians were affected by being exposed to active abilities.”

Atticus nodded. “We wanted to minimize collateral damage beyond what could be seen. Were bystanders being slowly mutated? Was the density of supers here self-fulfilling? So we looked at both demographic data and autopsies of casualties from super fights. We started seeing the beginnings of patterns, but nothing definite. And then we hit a wall completely when Logan was about nine years old.”

“And then, in a fluke, we discovered the EANSC - the Neutralization & Stasis Chamber. And the dampening field,” Portia said, eyes alight. “An electromagnetic field that affected the use of powers. For the first time ever, there was the idea that abilities could actually be affected externally. We had a whole new way to conceptualize the side-effects and to focus our research. And only two years after we perfected EANSC enough to implement, Logan joined us in studying just how the emotional effects of the dampers were connected to the use of abilities.” She smiled fondly at her son. “If we hadn’t been inspired before, getting to work with you was what really did it.”

Logan smiled back, relaxing. “Thanks, Mom.”

Virgil was frowning, though. “But what were you looking for?”

Logan grinned at his boyfriend, squeezing his hand. “We’re scientists, Virge, isn’t it obvious?”

Virgil raised an eyebrow.

Logan opened his mouth to speak at the same time as his mother did the same.

“A greater understanding of the world!!”

“A way to stop supervillains forever.”

Logan whipped around, jaw going slack. “What?”

Atticus nodded. “Loberry, don’t be naive. We don’t get these kinds of resources just for being lecturers at the university. We don’t get highest clearance in the city for teaching undergrads how to run a simple gel electrophoresis. We’re on a direct research mandate from the State. Why do you think your mother thought this work was more important than remaining an active-duty hero?”

The blood was slowly draining out of Logan’s face. “I- she was taking time off for us, for me and Bea and Jem, right?” He looked at Portia, who smiled.

“Of course, dear, that too. But I’d been fighting for almost 20 years. I was practically a senior citizen in hero years. And I was so tired of fighting villains, over and over, knowing there would always be more. So when we were asked if we’d like to work towards ending the fight once and for all, I couldn’t very well say no!”

Virgil looked sick. “You- and what, you’d unmake villains? Like the Magician tried to make them?”

Atticus laughed. “Of course not! The Magician was so ham-handed, it was sloppily done and clearly had painful results. We wanted a painless way to remove the risk. Like declawing a cat.”

“Declawing a cat isn’t painless, it’s mutilation,” Virgil snapped. “It leaves them entirely unable to fend for themselves. Was that the plan? Non-heroes left defenseless?”

“In captivity, preferably, until we were sure they could re-enter society,” Portia said with a shrug. “It’s more humane that the life sentence they get now, except for those who break out.”

Logan had released Virgil’s hands, instead gripping the table until his knuckles had turned white. “You never told me,” he said to himself quietly. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up. “You know more about Agent Whisper than you’ve admitted, too. Tell me. Now.”

Atticus made eye contact with Portia, who inclined her head.

“We examined bystander casualties directly after some incidents and were able to find electromagnetic signatures in the brains that resembled damper fields, but different in a very key way. They were equal and opposite. If the fields correspond to suppressed emotions, then these brains had their emotions intensified, instead.”

Virgil shivered at the thought, reaching for Logan once more under the bench. Without looking, Logan moved a hand to link their fingers once more. He kept his gaze fixed on his parents.

“If there was a heightened effect happening as collateral in bystanders, we thought, there was a chance we could recreate it deliberately,” Portia continued. “And if it persisted enough to show up in autopsy, that modulation in both directions could potentially be made permanent. We could replicate dampers without the tech! But we needed to look at side effects first. We had to wait for more casualties with exposure to extreme ability usage.”

Virgil felt a headache starting to drum in his temples, the ache of anger and tears that he refused to let fall as the pieces connected before him. “And you got the fucking golden opportunity, didn’t you. At the foster home. All of Pat’s rage and grief just created the goddamn ideal specimen.”

Atticus blinked at the venom in Virgil’s voice, but responded calmly,. “It was a tragedy. Heartbreaking, of course. But tragedy breeds emotion, and emotion is the lifeblood of your abilities.”

“We were only trying to use the fields to affect the brainwaves that hadn’t yet petered out,” Portia said, as if that excused it. “We shocked when we picked up a renewed heartbeat. But the brainwaves hadn’t changed. It was still brain-dead by any measure.”

“He.” Virgil’s voice was iron and blood as he spat out the correction.

Logan was paler than Virgil had ever seen him, even when he’d needed treatment for blood loss back in the earliest months of their heroing. “And you kept going? What happened to only experimenting on organ and science donors?”

Atticus smiled in confusion. “Lo, that was never the case. We didn’t perfect the EANSC with cadavers, we had villains to test with.”

“I’m sure they agreed to be lab rats, too,” Virgil accused.

Portia just shrugged. “Anyway, we kept the body in cryo except when running more tests. It still appeared to be brain-dead, right up until the day it- sorry, he,” she corrected exaggeratedly, ” He escaped. And started killing people.”

Logan looked ready to yell, his face yet, but he stopped and took a deep breath. “Are you familiar with his powers? Have you heard about what his memory of that time period is?”

“I’ve read the Index entry,” Portia replied blandly.

“He relived his entire life hundreds of times, and the accident at the foster homes thousands more,” Virgil said quietly, dangerously. “He saw everyone he loved die, then alive and loving him, then dying again. And when the memories were done replaying, new ones started being created. All emotionally charged, extremes of elation and sorrow and fury.”

Atticus looked at Virgil, eyes glinting with interest. “So you’re saying the prolonged exposure to the modified dampers actually created this power? Fascinating!”

“What the fuck, Dad?” Logan spat out. “This isn’t some mere curiosity! This is someone’s life. You destroyed the psyched of a real, living, breathing kid and all you care about is what it means for your fucking research grant?”

“Logan, there’s no need for such language,” Portia chided. Virgil shot a glare in her direction. She looked back, eyebrow arched. “It’s just research.”

“Research that you’re going to stop, correct?” Logan asked.

“When we’ve just gotten confirmation of the biggest breakthrough to date?” she asked incredulously. "We’ll take more precautions going forward, of course, but by no means will we stop. That would be illogical.”

Blood pounded in Virgil’s ears. “I’m sorry, what? You’re going to keep going? Hell fucking no.”

Portia narrowed her eyes. “Virgil, be serious here. This is too important to let a tantrum get in the way.”

“Oh, you want a tantrum?” Virgil rumbled. He stood, bracing himself in a fighting stance. “Let me show you what a tantrum looks like.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not going to fight you,” Portia scoffed, though she stood too. She looked over at her son. “Either of you.”

“So you agree to end the program then? Because it’s one or the other,” Virgil snapped. He tapped his watch decisively. “The mayor is hearing about this. Now or never, Professor Polarity . End this madness, or get ready to see your precious EANSCs up close and personal for the foreseeable future.”

Portia’s metal hair tie popped out of her bun, letting her hair fall free as the tie flew into the air beside her. She lifted her hand, and a metal apparatus flew from the back bench to her grip. “Don’t be stupid, Virgil. I’m immune to it. It’s an electro magnetic field. You, however, aren’t so lucky.” She flicked a switch on the machine, bringing it to life. The familiar glow of dampers show out the front.

“I’m sorry, Lo!” Virgil shouted, and dove at Atticus, easily manhandling him and trapping him, one arm around his neck. “Don’t try it, Portia. I don’t need powers to be able to cut off his air. You turn that on me, you won’t like what happens.”

“You see, Logan?” Portia said, not turning as she scowled at Virgil. “You see what happens? Virgil’s spent so much time with those villains that he’s resorting to their tactics. It’s a contagion. This is why they can’t be forgiven. What reformation can there be, when their lack of morals spreads so?”

Logan was frozen, eyes flicking between his boyfriend, who had his father caught in an uncomfortable chokehold, and his mother, who was pointing a weapon at his boyfriend.

“You don’t exactly have the moral high ground here,” Virgil growled at the former hero. “Unless torturing a child is considered a virtue now.”

“Use it, Porsh!” Atticus rasped around Virgil’s arm. His fingers scrabbled to get a grip, but Virgil’s muscles were unmovable. “He’s bluffing!”

“Am I?” Virgil asked. “You said it yourself, I’m clearly infected by the influence of my other boyfriends. Who knows what I’m capable of, now? I know you love your experiments, but you just might want to not put this particular hypothesis to the test.”

Portia sneered, her face managing to look lovely even when twisted in scorn. “Atticus, dear. I love you very much. I apologize in advance if the max setting hurt you, too.” She aimed the damper squarely at Virgil and hit the switch.

Except she didn’t. And her arms were tied behind her back with pure rope, nothing metal. And the damper was secured in a plastic bin at the corner of the lab. And Logan was standing between his mother and his boyfriend, chest heaving.

“Mom,” he said, voice breaking. “How- how could you? Why?”

“I’m a hero, Logan,” she replied, as steadily as someone who'd just been bound by a family member could be. “I serve the greater good. I thought I’d taught you that, but clearly I failed.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, my love,” Atticus interjected. Virgil had released his neck, though he kept his arms twisted up behind his back. “We both tried. It turns out he wasn’t as much a Lancaster as we’d hoped.”

“Shut up,” Virgil snapped. “I’m tired of your bile, both of you.” He turned to the window, seeing the reflection of flashing lights.

Logan had his back to them all. Virgil saw the quiver in his shoulders and knew he was crying and trying to hide it. He quickly grabbed a stray zip tie and secured Atticus by the wrists to the lab bench. Then he crossed to Logan and wrapped his arms around him.

He didn’t speak. He just let Logan turn and cling to him, face buried in his chest.

Let it out, love. I’ll keep the world at bay.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

D.R.E.A.M. Index #265345 Classification: A.2.i [Secondary Tier Hero, Legacy] /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Do we update this? - Talyn /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Let’s archive this one. Save the legacy. We can record the truth in clearance for now. We can at least save Logan some heartache. - Joan Name: Professor Polarity Status: INACTIVE /////////Reason: Retired /////////[CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Reason: Jailed pending trial Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Portia Lancaster née Portia Price Affiliation: Hero ///////// H.A.T.C.H. Status: Blackout Only ///////// [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] H.A.T.C.H. Status: Inactive Partners/Sidekicks: DI#A-2305 - Forces of Nature Primary Foes: DI#265333 - The Mystic Magician; Powers: Magnetokinesis Costume: Jumpsuit patterned in red-and-blue rectangles; blue cape with Ampère model of a magnetic field; gold belt with a buckle in the shape of a horseshoe magnet Age: 54 Height: 5’6” Pronouns: She/Her H.E.A.R.T.S. Class of ‘82 Note: Mother of DI#337255 - Dr. Vectorious; Co-inventor of the Enhanced Ability Neutralization and Stasis Chamber (EANSC) now in use at City of Harmony Enhanced Ability Containment Center (CHEACC). [Hall of Fame notes archived]. ///////// [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] As architect of the covert Project Charcoal, she attempted to discover a ‘cure’ that would strip supers of their abilities. Involved in reviving and creating DI#337501, see IR19-Z-0001

~~~~~~~~

a/n: It’s been over a year since I started this story, which is insane. So much has happened since I woke up with an idea of “what if royality were villains.” Thank you so much for reading and leaving kudos and commenting and particularly for theorizing. I’ve been in love with this idea, and knowing that anyone liked it too gave me incentive to finish it.

One last epilogue coming up. I promised the boys a happier ending.

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silkkpopbonnet · 5 years

Text

7 Nights of Monsta X

Night Three

The next morning, Alexis awoke to her phone ringing, previously she was somewhere lost in a pleasant dream about being wrapped up in Shownu’s arms when she was thrust back into the conscious realm.

Kicking the covers off her legs, Alexis rolled over and nearly out of bed to reach her phone. Without looking she groggily answered.

“Hello?”

“Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

Her eyes snapped open as she recognized I.M.’s voice. “Hey, cutie.”

“Hello.” He chuckled, “I know it’s early but I wanted to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me this afternoon.”

“And me.”

Kihyun’s voice appeared in the background.

“Just lunch?”

It wasn’t that she was opposed to just lunch, it was just that she was used to someone, her clients, expecting more than just lunch or lunch being a code word for something else.

“Just food, and talking.” He heard the inquiry in her tone. “It’s ok if you have other plans, I mean of course it’s ok, you’re a grown woman.”

Kihyun laughed. “You’re rambling.”

“I am, thank you hyung.” Emphasis was thrown on that last word. “I just mean that I, we, would like to see you outside the house, and we wondered if you’d want to get something to eat with us.”

Alexis grew up in a stable, loving home. She was quite sure when most men asked her about her background, they expected to hear some single mother sob story. Or that she was used and abused, and sure that may have been true for some, but for her, it wasn’t. Her parents were still very much in love after 17 years, and they loved and cared for her. Alexis began escorting when she turned 18, about 6 months before she graduated high school. Money was tight in her home when it came to college, but the government said her parents made enough money that she should be able to pay for it. As a result, her pell grant numbers were ridiculously low. So, what better way to make an obscene amount of money and be able to keep it? No taxes. Besides, she was a pretty woman with a healthy sexual appetite. That’s how she got her. She was running through all that in her mind to come around to the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be getting close and cozy with her clients, at least not for real. Yet, in these few days, she had genuinely enjoyed her time with the guys. Here they were asking her for her personal time, and not making demands of her about it.

“I’d love to.” Alexis wondered if that statement was a mistake as she found her face hurting as she grinned. “What time?”

Lunch went very well, she didn’t meet with them that night, Kihyun suggested for her to rest at home as they had some meetings and work to do anyway. The next day it was Shownu who called and asked her to the movies. He met her outside the theater and gently took her hand, kissing her knuckles. He was a gentleman, not one out of place touch or comment. Afterward, they had coffee, and she was surprised to know that he had studied some philosophers and had questions to ask her about their disciplines.

Alexis pinched her cheeks as she looked at herself in her bathroom mirror that night preparing to go see the guys. “Enough of that Andrews.” She growled out staring at herself. “This is a job, they are clients, a client would want to make you happy to continue the business, that’s all.”

Applying mascara she thought about Shownu’s gentle smile and the way he blushed when she called him a big teddy bear. He was so fluffy she could die, yea, just die, right in those massive arms of his.

As the car pulled up to their apartment, Alexis leaned forward trying to see who the man standing near the sidewalk was. As the vehicle stopped and his head perked up, she noticed it was Jooheon, wearing his glasses as he smiled at her holding a bouquet of pink carnations. Her favorite.

He opened the door and helped her out, the cold wind of October beginning to blowhard.

“Good evening, how are you?” He closed the door behind her and shoved Alexis hand as it held his into his pocket.

“I’m good, didn’t expect to see you out here.” Taking the flowers from him, Alexis tried to push away that fluffy feeling in her heart. “These are beautiful, my favorite.”

“Yea, I remembered you said that, but I also figured I’d mix it up a bit.” He grinned at her, opening the door to the building.

“Does that mean that we play tonight?”

He seemed a bit taken aback as he smirked and pushed the button for their floor. “Even if I wasn’t I had already planned on waiting for you. Do you not want me to?”

“No, no.” Cupping the side of his face, she smiled as he leaned his dimpled cheek into her hand to kiss it. “I love it.”

“Good, but to answer your question, yes, we decided amongst ourselves,” As the door opened he turned back to Alexis. “Of course, you know you can say no and pick who you want.”

“I know.”

It was nice however to be reminded that she held such power. Even though she commanded respect, and exuded confidence, some men liked to push boundaries. Some liked to try to remind her that since they paid her, they made the rules. Alexis gave no qualms about giving back money and leaving. A check was not worth her self-respect.

“Good.”

The guys were happy to see her of course, they always were. Wonho gave her a quick kiss on the lips, followed my Minhyuk who was not to be outdone. Kihyun simply pinched her bottom in greeting as he continued eating his chicken. I.M. and Shownu held her tight with hugs. After greetings were given, the conversation held for a while, some of the guys wound down to watch television, or play video games, while Jooheon and Alexis sat in the kitchen.

“You’re more laid back today,” Jooheon commented.

“What do you mean? Physically?”

“No, you’re clothes, the last few times it was Fendi purses and Louboutins. Dresses. Today is laid back.”

“Oh,” Honestly she had no idea why that was. She looked down at her coral off-shoulder sweater and pants. “I just wanted to look cute and be comfortable.”

“You do look cute,” Reaching across the table, Jooheon slipped his fingers in between hers and leaned in close.

Alexis lifted her head, licking her lips just as he leaned in and kissed her. It was gentle at first, smooth more like little pecks until he pulled Alexis chair close. Hands-on either side of her waist, he rubbed his thumb over the little exposed skin at her waist as he tongue dipped into her mouth. She didn’t mean to open her eyes, but she could hear the soft chuckling of Wonho near her and opened her eyes to see him wave at her.

Breaking the kiss, Alexis laughed covering her mouth. “Do you have to stare?”

“Why not? It’s fun, and besides, Jooheon didn’t tell you?” Crossing one leg over the other, Wonho sat back in his easy chair. “He likes that.”

“Yea he does.” Hyungwon countered. “So, Alexis don’t mind me. Pretend we aren’t here.”

“Or,” I.M. was feeling a little brave. “Look us in the eyes when he’s making you feel good.”

That got her to do a double-take, usually, sweet I.M. was the type to observe and make some quiet but tame quips. This stare he was giving her, direct and heated was making Alexis think it was a precursor for something to come.

“What do you say, baby?” Jooheon twirled one of her spring twists gently. “Want to give them a show? It’s what I love best, hearing you moan under me, all eyes on you while I’m deep in your pussy.”

The very thought of Joohoney holding her hands above her head, while the rest of the guys looked down on her urging her on was beginning to make the room very hot. Seven pairs of eyes watched from various positions as Alexis stood up.

“Where do you want me?”

Between his legs was the answer, on her knees, shirt and bra off between his legs heartily sucking dick. He wasn’t even undressed, he just walked over to his chair, pulled his dick out and waited. Like ordering a maid to stop dusting and to service him, god it got her wet. Joohoney was fat like salami and he eagerly slapped that meat against her lips with her cupped her chin.

“Make me cum hard.” That was his only instruction and now he was gripping the arms of the couch, while the others watched. They weren’t allowed to touch unless Jooheon instructed and right now he was heartily enjoying the attention that was being lavished upon him.

Jooheon liked to be watched, he liked to have someone prime and center while he fucked. He liked it even better when the girl wasn’t his and he was fucking her better than whoever she was with could even imagine. He wanted Alexis to have a throat full of his cock and look at his friends dead in the eye. He wanted to have her spread eagle on the floor, gripping the carpet screaming his name while they looked down on her. If he was generous, he’d let them touch themselves, maybe fill her mouth while he was in her ass. He wondered if Alexis would want them to cum on her while he was cumming inside of her? Either way, the way she was bobbing her head up and down, side to side with the way she twisted her hand around and down gripping his cock like she caught a snake was starting to wax on his control.

She was gorgeous, lips puffy, saliva around her mouth, breasts bouncing as his cock continued to disappear into her mouth.

“You’re not even going to share a little Jooheon? Don’t be selfish.” Minhyuk was kneeling beside Alexis moving her hair out of the way.

“Mm,” Jooheon leaned his head back on the couch. “I don’t know, this is too good.”

Minhyuk bit his bottom lip, reaching his hand out he tweaked one of Alexis nipples causing her to suck harder on Jooheon. “Looks like it, just a little bit, come on it won’t kill you.”

“Then he’d have to let all of us, you don’t think I want some?” Kihyun was kneeling next to Alexis now as well, his hand squeezing her ass. “You go tomorrow, don’t be greedy.”

“Until then.” Shownu was standing behind her. “Let me taste her Jooheon, I won’t make her cum but I bet she’s dripping.”

“So many beggars,” Jooheon joked. “Yea, hyung, you can taste her, you two can jerk your dicks.”

As Shownu helped Alexis ease of out of her pants, he slapped her hands away as she attempted to pull her panties off. With Jooheon standing now, she squatted, fully exposed to the room. Shownu’s fingers caressed along her slit, her already soaked panties rubbing against her pearl as he moved them to the side and slipped two fingers inside of her.

“My, my Alexis,” Shownu whispered near her ear. “You’re having as much fun as he is, dare I say you like us watching you sucking Jooheon’s dick?”

Jooheon pulled his dick from her mouth, popping her on the lips. “Answer him, you like sucking me, don’t you baby?”

“Yes.” God yes. Was what she was saying in her head, but she had no time, as Jooheon lifted his dick and pulled her mouth toward his balls.

Alexis shuffled and shifted them around in her mouth, while her hand pumped Joohoney’s shaft.

“Just like that, baby.” He was about to take a page from Minhyuk’s book and fuck her face when he waved his cock in front of her mouth. “Kiss it.”

Alexis smiled, he really loved his dick being lavished like this, she was keen on giving Jooheon what he wanted though. One, because with a smile like that she’d let him eat her ass, and two he tasted so damn good. Just as she was eagerly praising Jooheon’s dick in her mind, Alexis felt Shownu slide under her thighs. Hands-on her waist, he wasted no time in slurping her down. Lapping his tongue on her clit, pushing it inside of her. Shownu’s hands were on her thighs and stomach rubbing and caressing as his tongue worshipped inside of her temple. She moved her body against his face, biting back a moan as Shownu’s teeth gently passed over her clit, sending an electric shiver down her spine. Oh god, she was close and he knew it, sending his tongue on double time before he slid away mouth glistening.

“She’s all yours now, and my she’s sweet.”

Jooheon held the back of Alexis's head, as she sucked hard on the head of his clit, body convulsing with the need to orgasm as Jooheon released inside of her mouth. It was nearly too much, spilling over her lips and down her chin. She had hardly noticed Minhyuk and Kihyun near her, throbbing cocks ready to cum.

“Come on Joohoney,” Alexis grinned. “Just let them finish.”

Taking off his shirt, the dimpled rapper shook his head. “Fine, on your face, not in you, that’s my job.”

Taking Minhyuk in one hand, Alexis swallowed Kihyun with the other, they were quick, already on edge before they quickly covered her neck and chest with their seed.

On her back she went, Jooheon’s fingers inside of her, his thumb rubbing hard on her clit. “Let them watch you, cum baby.” He leaned forward mouth on her nipples. “I want them to see you unravel.”

Alexis closed her eyes, mouth open her thighs clamped down on Jooheon’s hand just as the thrill raced through her body and caused her to scream with pleasure.

“Damn, she’s tight on my fucking hand.” Jooheon pulled his fingers from Alexis cunt and sucked them dry. “I’d let y’all taste, but you’ll have to wait. Come here, baby.”

Legs on his shoulders, Alexis groaned hardly down from her orgasm as Jooheon shoved every last inch of himself within her. It was a tight fit considering her body just got done convulsing and he was as thick as he was. He made it though, shivering as the backs of her thighs touched his chest and his nose pressed against hers. “All that dick and look at you taking it. Isn’t she pretty Changkyun?”

“Beautiful, come on Alexis open your eyes.” I.M. was standing above her, his eyes on her face.

It was a chore to open them, heavy breaths dragging in and out of her lungs as Jooheon’s thumb rubbed on her clit and her pussy ached, squeezing hard around his cock. I.M.’s loving gaze was on her though, watching attentively to the way her hands gripped the carpet around her.

“I wanna cum again.” Alexis breathed out hard turning her face to the left.

“Oh, you hear that?” Wonho was near. “Doesn’t she feel so hot and soft, Jooheon? Fuck her harder, I want to hear her moan again.”

“My pleasure, but first.”

It was too hard to pull himself from her, but he had to, flipping Alexis onto her hands and knees, face on the carpet.

Slap

His balls were bouncing on the pussy the harder he pushed himself into her. Alexis reached out in front of her, head to the side she looked up and saw them. Six pairs of eyes staring down at her, smiling as she let body go and screamed for the second time.

Night Four: Minhyuk

#7 nights series #7 nights is back #7 nights of monsta x #7 nights showcase #shownu #wonho #hyungwon #kihyun #minhyuk #jooheon #I.M.

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writeforself · 5 years

Text

Hearts of Wolves [2/4]

Brasidas x Reader

A/N:This is going to take a while.

“It’s been ages [Y/N]!” He reaches for an embrace. A conviviality you have long forgotten since your first pater died. But then he remembers something, pulls away and stares at you dumbfounded. His hands grasping your arms. “Why aren’t you with the Wolf? We thought you are both dead.”

You almost forget. After leaving Megaris, you tried to put what happened there behind. The war, the confrontation, and the disappointment in Stentor’s eyes you observed from far away. You will never forget the look on his face; he made the same face when he stopped treating you as a sister since pater appointed you to be his guard. You tried not to think about what happened to pater when he decided to dive alone into the thick woods, to imagine Stentor’s reaction, and the message he sent back home.

Not until now. As someone walking out from your memory and interrogates you with the doubt you tried to abandon. His ardent gaze scorches your skin. His words are like an army of scorpions stinging you with its flaming spears.

You think of Kassandra. Does he know about her? Does he know that you are traveling with her? Will he question you of your intention on abandoning your post? But that’s not the only question in your mind.

“What did Stentor say?” Despite the growing detachment between you and him, deep down you still care about this brother who used to take care of you when being mocked by Spartan children.

“The messenger said they couldn’t find you two after the battle. Back in Sparta, they pronounced you dead.” “Pater too?” “Yes.” He sighed. “It had been a long since we last heard from your troops. The arrival of the messenger only confirm our doubt.”

You couldn’t raise your head up for another potential inquiry. The sun is setting. Mesmerizing colours cover the pale blue sky. All of a sudden the sea seems to become more tranquil as if Poseidon has done playing tricks with sailors for the day. No wind, not even breeze travels through the narrow strait standing between Korinthia and Salamis. An image of a lonely figure disappeared in the dark flashes through your mind; a shining red sank into darkness. You remain silent for a long while, staring blankly at the ground, as if your soul has been picked away along with the departure of Helios.

”So why are you here?” Noticed your silence, he chooses not to press on the questions occupying his mind. His voice is soft, like a gentle touch brushing across your skin.

“Just some personal business. Heading to Athens now.” You answered carelessly, staring at the horizon as the dark sea devours the burning sun. “Athens? You are going to Athens?” He raises his eyebrows and widens his amber eyes. It catches your attention, and for some reason, you find the expression interesting.

“Well, I’m not much of a Spartan now.” You shrug and laugh at the reaction. “A dead one at most. So why not?” “That’s technically right.” He chuckles, a melodious sound to the ears. “Mind if I join you?”

You finally turn and look him straight in the eyes, only to be greeted with a mischievous smile hanging upon his lips. The hypnotizing sparkles in his eye dazzle your senses. You have to make sure you have heard what you just heard.

“What?” “Mind if I accompany you, to Athens?” He asks again patiently, with the usual courteous and genuine beam on his face, which delivers no hesitation, only certitude. “You? An active Spartan soldier?” You question once more just to clarify this unexpected request.

Strangely, it seems like he is indulging himself in your reaction. He replied light-heartedly. Placing his hand on his chest to pledge sincerity and supple reassurance.

“My name hasn’t gone that far. Plus, I’m good at concealing identity.” “You do?” Still overwhelmed by disbelief. “We’ll see.”

His playful reaction breaks your astonishment into pieces of delights. “Be my guest then.”

Barnabas welcomes him with great hospitality in the short voyage to Athens. They sit by the bonfire under the vast night sky. You sit at the far end of the group, watching them and listening to the stories of Barnabas previous adventures. The voyage is short, which gives you great comfort. By the time Adrestia arrives at the harbour no one has mentioned Kassandra. It feels like a heavy burden lifted from your shoulder.

“How do I look?”

He whispers from your back. As you turn around, you see his face buried in darkness, covered by a blue hood like the one Herodotus has. It hangs all the way down to his knees forming a chlamys. Beneath it you notice he has changed as well, into a plain white chiton.

“Like a humble traveler.” But the modesty does not dim his solemnity, if anything, it adds serenity.

Walking on the empty streets illuminated by the crisp moonlight, you tread lightly behind Phoibe as she leads you to the house of Perikles. Along the way you explain the situation, but without giving out too much detail. He mostly remains silent; while looking around the now empty streets, he tries to imagine the bustling city in the morning. You can keenness in his eyes, lights up by the torch in your hand, trying to absorb everything he sees, and imprint it on his mind.

Once you enter the inner city, streets seem harder to navigate. Fortunately Phoibe is a natural guide, steering through these intricate street presents no challenge to her. Before you realize it, you have already arrived at the gate to Perikles mansion, bidding farewell to Phoibe.

“Take care of yourself Phoibe.” “I always do [Y/N],” She chuckles, “Thank Kassandra for me will you?” “I will.” You feel a chill on your back, by the smile clings onto your lips.

When you go your separate way, goddess Eos has just awaken, sprinkling soft rosy aura across the dark sky, dimming twinkling stars, gradually brushing layers of pale blue with her gentle touch.

Brasidas expresses his desire to visit the acropolis, and his plan to return through land. Figure you couldn’t leave him alone wandering across enemy territory, you offer to accompany him back to Korinth. He doesn’t seem surprised at your offer, in the contrary, he seems quite pleased with your reaction. As the sky brightens, it sheds coral light throughout the city. His face glows with the pink light reflected from surfaces of marbles houses.

You tell Barnabas not to wait for you on the way back, and that you will find your way to Mykonos, Kassandra’s next destination, in the near future. Then you start making your way up to the acropolis, the hill which has been calling for you since you set foot in Athens. Higher places have always been your favorite spots. The views and the illusion of flying they offer are like no others.

The city is awakening. Vendors carry their merchandise toward agoras, pilgrims making their way to temples, people heading toward different directions to start their days. When you finally reach the bottom of the acropolis, you stand idly in awe, astonished by the grandeur of the heights and the structures nestling on the top.

You couldn’t help but peek at Brasidas’ reaction, despite his face is darkened by the hood, you can still see his eyes gleams with reverence.

Without exchanging any words, you set your feet on the stairs at the same time, ascending the steep way up to the top of the acropolis.

After being amazed by the size and the scale of Parthenon, you settle yourselves down by the west side, overlooking the vast city laying in the shadow of the acropolis and the broad horizon extend beyond field of view. Smokes of sacrifices twirling up toward the sky, then carried by Zephrys.

Being at a high place like this remind you of your memory meeting Brasidas. By now he has been sitting in silence for a long while. The hood has been taken off. You could see his expression clearly, yet his tranquil countenance only perplex you.

Before you could think of something to say, he speaks.

“I never thought I would be here one day.” He whispers. You turn and find he’s facing slightly south. “I did,” You reply, musing on the idea. “Before the war.”

Then he breaks out in laughter, which stands out among the sea of prayers and the solitude in this peaceful corner.

“You do always seem like you would just leave one day.” “We only met once.” You exclaim, feeling your body warmed up with the mild sunshine. “Well, you left a profound impression.” He puts his hands behind him like he usually does. Holding up his head, gazing at the horizon in the west. “I hope I left a good one.” You murmur, hoping the words would travel away alongside the winds. “Don’t worry, you did.”

He stands slightly apart from you, answering your question with a nod for reassurance. You still cannot take his words to heart, but you feel rather encouraged hearing an answer like this.

The sun has climbed higher. Turning around, you notice that the square before Athena has also become more crowded.

“These few days have been the strangest in my life.” When your thoughts start to wander away, he continues, but end with a sigh. You turn to him but not entirely confused. Eventually you will need to answer questions. “And I think you can clarify some of my doubts.”

Before you could react, he walks toward the statue and descends the stairs, which for a moment you are utterly confused, but you soon catch up.

“Where are we going?” You question. “To Korinth. And we can talk on the way” He replies. Eyes staring forward without blinking. But suddenly he slows down, you can feel hesitation from the sound of his sandals rubbing against the stone-paved ground. “Can I ask you something first?” “Sure.” “Why did you volunteer to go back to Korinth with me?”

He turns at the corner of the stairs. Behind him is the broad city bathing in sunlight. The blue chlamys dances in the air. For a second you feel like he’s floating, and the wind would take him away in any moment. His voice is firm but soft, yet the strength concealed within strikes you like the thunderbolt of the king of gods.

“Why?” You try to stay calm. Answering casually with a half smile on your face. “I mean you are capable. But I can’t just leave you alone. Plus, it would be like Theseus’ adventure in reverse, which sounds fun.”

His expression you cannot fathom. Somehow you feel you have to ask.

“Do you trust me?”

He turns away. You feel a stone sunken into your stomach. But then he walks closer to you, with a smile that confuses you.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” How could you forget? That was the most thrilled experience you had.

“Yes. That was quite a memory.” You giggle. “Then you know the answer is yes.” He laughs.

You feel something inside you has bloomed. Maybe it’s the burning scent in the air that is making you dizzy.

“And a hero and his ghostly sidekick? That sounds like an epic tale.” “I thought it’s a tale about a wanderer and a trusty companion.”

“Why don’t we decide that along the way?” He waves and starts walking again. “There’s plenty of road to travel, and plenty of things to discuss. Let’s go.”

tag list: @melancholiaprincess, @wolfmothar

#brasidas x reader #brasidas #ac oddysey #Assassin's Creed #assassin's creed odyssey #assassin's creed imagine

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