#Caseys gonna take good care of that fish

[stupidstrawberrystars]

I’ve decided that my WIPs should be somewhere. This is wolfstar, modern au (where Sirius and James have a tiktok account). It was supposed to be multi chaptered (basically just gonna be Wolfstar doing couples trends on tiktok, but they’re not actually together yet), but I only fully completed the first chapter. But it’s just rotting away so here, it’s about 1k.

I’ve made this a thing now so;

Next

Their video went viral two months ago. Sirius and James precariously attempted to pet a pigeon. Gotta give the guy credit, Pete’s great at dares. 

He recorded it all, planning to use it to blackmail the two in the future. Nothing like friendly bullying between mates. And he got some good footage, a pigeon did fly in James’ face and Sirius stepped in poop, but then Remus just had to help.

He went to the shop and grabbed some bread. So they could lure a pigeon in. And in a shocking turn of events, they managed to pet one eventually. 

They posted the video as a joke.

It took the algorithm only a few weeks to hit all the UK uni students currently withering away behind their desks.

And soon Pads and Prongs went viral. 

And so as James and Remus crashed through uni, Pete cruised through his internship as a sous chef, and Sirius desperately search for artistic inspiration, they kept an online presence too.

Sirius and James documented their crazy days of boring work and painting, and entertained their fans with late night lives at their flats and short tiktok clips of dumb pranks. James’ hair was pink for a week. It was hilarious.

The internet was quick to fall in love with James’ long distance relationship with Lily. Pete popped up to show off his cooking sometimes. Remus appeared in the background sometimes. Sirius finds it unbelievable that he hasn’t realised how much the tiktok book girlies already love him. 

And that’s what lead to last night. The marauders, a nickname from school and therefore an embarrassing inside joke, are all huddled in the small living room of James and Sirius’, eating Pete’s cake and cuddled under blankets. Their live and just chatting with the fans, relating over awful projects and difficult teachers. 

“Not that this cake isn’t amazing, but does anyone want actual food? I could order takeaway since clearly none of us want to get up and make shit.” It’s a good suggestion from James, but Sirius isn’t really hungry.

“Yeah i’d have food mate.” Remus agrees and then so does Pete. 

“I’m good i’m not hungry.” James shoots him a vaguely sceptical look, and asks him if he’s sure.

“Yes i’m sure James.”

They decide on simple fish and chips. Usually they get something, as James would say, with more taste. But the chippies the only place that’ll bring them food and not take more than two hours. It is a Friday after all. 

Since they’re using James’ phone for the live, Remus takes his phone out and takes Pete and James’ order.

So they continue along chatting and rather quickly the questions about Remus, who’s been pretty quiet all evening, increase from about 50% of the comments to 75%. 

“Just appease them a bit Lupin.” Remus glares at James for that. 

“I have no clue what the people on your phone want to know about me James.”

Remus has a tendency to refer to technology as if he’s a grandpa who understands nothing beyond a radio. Sirius has heard people call it annoying but really it’s just endearing. At least to Sirius.

“How about that book you read Moony? Red, White and Royal Blue? Apparently you were caught making some choice expressions while reading in the background of me and James’ last tiktok. Did you like it?”

Remus gives him a disapproving look, likely annoyed at Sirius’ question. Apparently books need more detail than just a simple, yes it was good, or no it was not.

“Well… okay do your phone people really care about my opinion?” Remus turns to James. He replies that yes they obviously do. The comments are going crazy over having Remus’ attention.

“Fine. I enjoy Casey McQuiston’s writing style. I thought it was entertaining and I really liked how Alex and Henry complimented each other. Henry was able to calm Alex and Alex’s able to reason with Henry when he’s struggling.” 

Sirius looked blankly at Remus.

“Oh come on Moons. You spent like 2 hours explaining the whole book in depth and going on and on about your favourite characters and lines. Your book is annotated all over. At least share with the audience your favourite quotes.”

Remus sighs beside Sirius. Sirius really wants to hear these though. Remus seemed to love the book and Sirius often finds listening to him describe something he loves is always majestic. He details it all with elegant words until you’re eating out the plan of his hand. 

“I guess I thought it was pretty funny when Nora said, How did I know I was Bi? I touched a boob. Wasn’t that profound.”

“Remus.” Sirius whines.

“Oh fine. There’s a tone of quotes from that book I love. There’s I love him on purpose. Or he tells his too fast brain: don’t miss it this time, it’s too important. I- erm- I guess I also kind of love this thing Henry says, it’s like And I thought if someone like that ever loved me, it’d set me on fire. But then I was a careless fool and fell in love with you anyway.” Remus has not taken his eyes of Sirius once as he quotes this beautiful book. How does he remember those lines just of the top of his head?

“You know what though,” His voice takes on a soft tone. The one he reserves for kids, animals, things he loves, and sometimes Sirius. If he’s in a good mood. “my favourite, has got to be When have I ever, since the very first instant I touched you, pretended to be anything less than in love with you?” Remus’ eyes are rich and deep and chocolate. Sirius wants to paint them. 

“Moony!” James interrupts their eye contact. “Now they’re all gonna be in love with you, damn it.”

Remus chuckles and glances to the side.

“Doubt that Prongs. But yeah I loved the book. Oh and erm- food should be here soon by the way guys. Just got the notification to say it’s on its way here.”

Remus then clearly decides he’s done enough socialising with the internet so he grabs his current book, Song of Achilles, and carries on reading. 

And of course, because he’s so easy to deal with already, Sirius’ stomach, as if it has a mind of its own, decides now is the time to become bloody starving.

He glances guilty at Prongs, who furrows his eyebrows as if to ask what’s wrong.

“Hey Moons,” Sirius raises the pitch of his voice slightly to warn Remus he’s about to be a bit annoying. Remus glances up, squints at him and tilts his head.

“Remember when I said I wasn’t hungry?”

James bursts into laughter and Pete chuckles. But Remus just goes back to his book. And once the laughter dies down he, without even lifting his head from reading, tells Sirius,

“Idiot. I know. I ordered you food when I ordered ours. I know you. I knew you’d be hungry.” He rolls his eyes but goes straight back to the book.

The entire internet sees Sirius’ doe eyes but Remus does not. It sends James up the wall. 

#the IDIOT is endearing and usually Remus uses much cuter petnames with Sirius I promise #if I did carry this on it would be so fluffy and mushy so if that’s not your vibe then ignore this #low on angst high on love #the next bit would be Sirius in a skirt stealing the jumper Remus is wearing just for fun (because he knows Remus will let him) #you guessed it though they’re still not dating yet #wolfstar #dead gay wizards #marauders era #sirius black #james potter #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #i wrote a fic #my fic #wolfstar fic

[coffee-n-some-cream]

Here's a little Rasey meet cute snippet from a bigger project I'm working on. The story isn't Raph/Casey centric and I wasn't sure I was even gonna put the ship in, but apparently I can't help myself!

Casey Jones was on the hunt. Shrouded in a dark hood and menacing mask, he lurked in the shadows, watching over his city from the rooftops and striking fear into the hearts of friends and foe alike.

The lead of the pencil Casey was sketching with broke at the tip, and he sighed as he pushed more out. One sneaker-clad foot hung down, tapping a rhythm against the fire escape. His earbuds hung in a loop around his neck and pushed out music as loud as they could, the sound tinny and crunchy. His mask was pushed up onto the top of his head, and he stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on the drawing, filling in his hoodie with hatching. His own dark form crouched on the page, intense gaze peering out from his skull-like mask. He hummed, lightly sketched out a cape flowing dramatically from his back, then frowned and erased it. Nah, that looked stupid.

He glanced up to check the surrounding alleyways and streets for any nefarious criminals.

From the highest point, he could survey all of Brooklyn. He was an all-seeing watchdog, ready to sink his teeth into the neck of any foolish trespasser.

A breeze tousled his messy hair. He watched an empty plastic bag dance down an alley, listened to the rustle of a cat digging through the trash. Nothing. He sighed. Another dead night. Maybe he needed to take his act to another part of the city?

Movement along the rooftops caught his eye. He squinted and leaned forward, peering at the shadowy figure that was sprinting across roofs and hopping alleyway gaps with a speed and grace that was, frankly, unfair. Was that…? Casey shoved his hand in his backpack and frantically fished out his binoculars, wanting to get a good look at the person before they ran out of sight. But lucky for him, as he raised them to his eyes, the person paused on one of the rooftops and didn’t move.

A burly build, green skin, red bandana hanging around his shoulders. “Hello again,” Casey muttered to himself, zooming the binoculars in to get a better look at him. He was slumped over the edge of the rooftop, resting his arms on the ledge and letting his head hang down.

An old challenger returns.

Casey threw his things into his backpack, pulled his mask down over his face, and scrambled up. The clanging of the fire escape followed him as he made for the turtle mutant.

The night air was cool and felt good against the warmth of his skin. Raph took deep breaths, trying to let it soak into him, to temper the burning that was starting to choke him from the inside out, but it didn’t help any.

His brothers' eyes flashed through his mind. Worried, gentle, caring, unsure. Unsure what to say to him, what to do with him, but always trying to be understanding. They were everything but what they should be, which was angry. Resentful. They should even hate him a little bit. He knew they wouldn't. Couldn't. But they should.

He dug his fingernails into his arm, willing the skin to break and bleed. It didn't, of course. It held firm like soft leather. He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced, the lump in his throat unbearable.

“Fuck,” he muttered, before taking one more deep breath and forcing himself to relax. His face, his throat, his back, his chest, his hands, all loosened the impossible tension he held them under. And slowly, his chin trembled, his lips pulled back, his throat pushed, and a sob fell out of his mouth.

He ducked his head down. It didn’t matter that he was entirely alone. His hands went over his face as another sob tore through him and tears started to pool in his palms. His breathing was haggard and quick no matter how he tried to deepen it, and his shoulders heaved. He let it go, knowing that the tears and the snot and the cries were the only way to loosen the knot in his chest, to quell the burning in his throat.

A shuffling of feet sounded to his left. He whipped his head up, jumping back and reaching one hand for the sai at his side.

“Woah there.” Hands up in surrender, the guy came to a halt. Hockey mask over his face, golf bag of old sports equipment on his back… it was the guy from the park. Casey Jones. Fucking Christ. “I come in peace.”

Raph eyed him up and down, taking in the relaxed stance and unassuming gaze. He let his hand fall from his sai and turned so he was staring over the ledge again, very aware of how he must look. Great. This total asshole of a stranger had caught him alone on a rooftop, bawling his eyes out. It made his hackles rise, and he opened his mouth to tell the guy to fuck off.

A little hiccup came out instead, and with that, he lost every ounce of energy he had to be upset. Instead of saying anything, he just gave the guy a watery glare.

Seeing that Raph wasn’t about to attack him, Casey moved a bit closer and leaned one hand casually against the ledge, propping the other one on his hip. He gave Raph a lidded look. “We meet again.”

Raph cocked a brow at him. “Uh-huh. What do you want?”

Casey shrugged. “Well, I was gonna challenge you to a duel, but seeing as you’re in the middle of crying, I’m gonna assume you’re not in the headspace for it.”

“I’m not in the middle of crying,” Raph lied, unsure why he was even trying.

“You very clearly are crying.”

“Also, a duel? Really? What, are we gonna turn our backs? Take ten paces?” He laughed a little at the ridiculous image. “Draw pistols?”

Raph couldn’t see it behind the mask, but Casey smiled at him. The turtle mutant looked so different without the mask over his eyes, face open and bare. He was an absolute mess. His face was covered in tears and snot, his eyes were red-rimmed, his cheeks were flushed, he looked miserable. His glare was still biting, his watery laugh was still deep and full. Something about it all tugged at Casey’s chest. 

“Okay, fine, wise guy.” He stepped closer so he was right next to the mutant, put his back against the ledge, and tipped the mask back so it was on top of his head. “What do you wanna call it?”

“A fight.” The turtle wiped some of the snot off his face with the back of his hand, then turned his head to look at Casey full-on. “It’s just a fight.”

Casey sat under the heavy stare of both amber eyes for a moment. Then he rolled his eyes. “Pssshhh. Boring! Duel sounds way cooler. I don’t care if we have to break out the pistols, we’re gonna duel.”

The turtle shook his head, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah but in a cute way, right?”

Raph gave him an incredulous look and lied for the second time that night. “No. Not in a cute way.”

Casey shoved a fist against his chest. “Oof! Straight to the heart!” He leaned closer to Raph. “So… since we can’t duel because you’re crying and stuff–”

“Not crying.”

“Uh-huh. Do you wanna talk about why you’re crying?”

Raph gave him a truly disgusted look. “To you?”

“Why not?”

“You’re a total stranger, and the only other time I interacted with you, we were enemies.”

“Woah, woah, enemies? I wouldn’t say that.”

“We fought.”

“We dueled, totally different.”

Raph scoffed and looked away. Casey chewed on his lip, thinking, then slapped a hand against the turtle’s shoulder.

“You know what makes me feel better when everything is shit?”

Raph looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “...what?”

Casey pulled a baseball bat from the golf bag on his back and brandished it proudly. “Bustin’ heads.”

The turtle eyed the bat warily for a moment. “Uh, yeah, I noticed that’s how you get your kicks. You kinda have a hard time… stopping. Busting their heads, I mean.”

A shrug. “Yeah, sometimes. Don’t worry, I’ll be good.” He batted eyelashes at Raph and offered a winning grin. “C’mon.”

Raph pursed his lips, thinking that he should really be getting back because Leo did not like anyone being gone too long, especially when he was injured like this, when he couldn’t just get up and track them down. But Casey’s smile was lively and warm, and it was hard not to smile back.

“Alright.” He pushed away from the ledge and gave his face one last wipe to remove the evidence of his crying session. “I could go for some head-busting.”

“Hell yeah!” Casey grabbed his wrist to tug him toward the fire escape, then let go. “Hey, what’s your name by the way? Or, like, do you have a name?”

Raph looked down at his own wrist, then back up at Casey as he pulled his hockey mask back over his face. He actually looked kind of menacing, with a face of bone white and shadow, but Raph knew that the smile was still wide and burning bright under there. “It’s Raph.”

Casey swung down onto the fire escape. “They won’t know what hit ‘em, Raph!”

#my writing #fandom writings #fanfiction #fanfic #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #raph #raphael #casey jones #rasey #sorry this isn't very polished or interesting i promise its better in context #anyway have a meetcute (part 2 because they technically already met?) #this is from my own tmnt version where the turtles are genetically engineered to be super soldiers so raph has really tough skin #dulled pain receptors and he doesn't get hurt very easily #and it causes lots of guilt and stuff ofc lmao #idk if this is gonna go on ao3 cause i don't really like it enough

[clanofjones]

Ghosts of Our Days - Chapter Eleven

Ao3

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Chapter Eleven: Two's a Company, Three is a Crime

TW: Homophobic language and semi-graphic descriptions of murder.

A/N: Co-written with @theosb0rnway :)

Casey Jones never took the day off, that was a fact set deep in stone. If evil never slept, then neither did she, but this was different. 

He needed a day to process the idea that his boyfriend was not just a corpse in an icy coffin, but a being, a SPIRIT, that only Casey could see. He slept mostly, residing on top of the ice box while Raph watched her from afar, hesitant to make a move and not wanting to scare or piss off his lover. He didn't want to be double dead. 

The next day was far more productive, and Casey seemed to be in a much better mood after his almost day-long rest. The duo sat at the little coffee table in the middle of the room, Casey writing down ideas for his next moves against Shredder while Raph played with his ghostly sais. 

Who knew that whatever you had on your person also went with you to the next life? Raph didn't know much, or used to care much, about death, thinking he was some invincible force that even when battling Oroku Saki as Super Shredder could not be defeated, but now, here he was, thoroughly defeated. 

He was dead, and he was spiritually attached to the prettiest lunatic on planet Earth whose only current goal was to kill Super Shredder, not something normal like taking a shower or eating a meal that wasn't packaged. It was an issue, sure, but then again, to Hamato Raphael, Casey Jones was the definition of putting the 'hot' in psychotic. 

Said hot lunatic was actually being productive, scribbling some ideas down that Raphael surprisingly approved of. 

Ways to get that bastard's attention: 

Don't? Nah, that's no fun 

Bomb the old mansion 

Karai? 

Take down Tiger Face 

Fish Face 

Wolf Dude 

Beat the shit outta Hun! 

There was a giant scribbled star by the last one, making it officially Casey's favorite choice, despite it loosely having to deal with Shredder. Off to the side, there were little drawings of Casey using various weapons to kill Shredder and his Foot goons, which Raphael tried to ignore as best he could. Then something else popped into the scheming vigilante's mind, a way to get not only Shredder's attention, but the entire city's. A way to make himself truly known. It was a... different idea, but Casey knew she had to throw it out there. For all he knew, Raph might actually like it. 

"Hey, Raphie?" 

"Yeah, babe?"

"...What 'bout goin' after a cop?"

"A cop?" Raph didn't seem angry, which was a good sign. 

"Yeah! Get us actual attention from all the cameras and reporters and shit cause killin' the Foot ain't doin' nothin'." 

"Wait, you wanna... kill a cop?" Casey looked at Raph like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. 

"Duh! Hurting one won't do anything!" 

"Casey, I agree that it'll get us the attention we need, but if we do that, it's gonna get us attention from EVERYWHERE. We're gonna have to be way more careful about what we do and how we're see- how you're seen." 

"So you're... not mad?" Is that really what Casey was focused on right now? 

"'Course I'm not mad, Case! Cops are assholes-" 

"Damn right!" 

"But we also gotta focus on keeping you safe. I know you can pull off the job, but the hardest part is making sure whatever they send after you doesn't find you." 

"I can handle it, Raphie. I hate you always rainin' on my parade, sayin' I can't do things like you can. Not like this is my first time dealing with pigs." 

"I'm not 'raining on your parade', babe, I'm just scared you can't do this by yourself." 

"Casey Jones wo-" 

"I know, I know! 'Casey Jones works better alone', but you can't work at all if you're caught, or worse, killed!" Casey sighed, but from behind her mask, he looked like he was in thought, chewing at her bottom lip. 

"Alright, I'll listen to you, just this once. So whaddya think I should do after I off the guy? Or lady? Or... what's a word for not a dude or a girl?" 

Raph did a facepalm. "It's just a cop, Case, Jesus Christ." 

"Yeah, you're right. But what should I do after I off the pig?" 

"Lay low. Before you do it, we should go out one last time for food and supplies, stuff that'll last us at least a month or so."

"A month? Hope they got those dumb little number puzzles at the store cause I'm gonna need 'em." 

"Sudokus, and yeah. Ya know ya' got me too, babe." 

"I know, but now that I can't pin ya down, I've gotta find other ways to keep busy." 

Raph swore he could hear Casey smirk and blushed a little, not that he could tell.

"I'm gonna need paint too, and I might... I'm gonna try to stop by my place, get clothes, money stash, firepower, all that." 

"Alright." 

"Raph?" 

"Yeah?" 

"...C-Can I let her see me? She's good at keepin' secrets, she doesn't know 'bout what we do, there's no way they could tie me to her if we're careful-" 

"Yeah. Tell her Mr. Turtle says he loves her, okay?" "Course, baby. I know she loves you too, a lot. Oh god, she has no idea that you-" 

Raph put a hand on Casey's shoulder and grimaced at her natural flinch. "Sorry. Look, don't tell her, it'll break her little heart and nobody wants that." 

"I wasn't going to, I'm not gonna hurt my baby sis like that, she's everything I've got left! A-and I left her all alone with Arnold... oh FUCK ME!" Casey slammed her fist down on the table and Raph could hear her crying underneath the mask. 

"It'll be okay, Case, I promise." 

"Will it though?" 

"If we get it done right, yeah. It'll be fuckin awesome." 

"You promise?" 

"I promise, dumbass." 

"Thanks, Raphie boy." 

"No problem, Casey baby." Raph put his arms around Casey, and even though she couldn't exactly do the same, he still tried his best. Casey broke the "hug" standing up slowly and stretching herself out. 

"Ugh! That fuckin table's so low, it's more of a pain in my back than Donnie!" Raph snorted, standing up through the table. 

"So where to, master planner? 

"First thing's first!" She smiled through the mask, "I need the rest my gear." It seems Raph had more experience breaking into Casey's house than she did, knowing how to climb onto the ledge and unlock the window so they could slip inside. Casey's room hadn't changed one bit, if you don't count the smell being fifty times worse. Given that it was 1 am, Arnold was fast asleep on the couch, and poor Angel was in the room right next to Casey's, no doubt breathing in that godawful smell and wondering when her brother would come back. 

Casey opened the door to the living room, sneaking quietly past Arnold and into Angel's room. He closed the door behind her, softly speed walking over to her little sister's bed. "Angel?" He ran a gloved hand through her hair and watched as the young girl opened her eyes. She seemed scared, and Casey realized it was because of the mask. "It's me, Ange, it's me!" He flipped the mask up to show off his real face for the first time in months. No paint, no skulls, no nothing, just Casey Jones. 

"CA'EY!" Angel whisper-screamed, getting up and jumping into her brother's arms for a hug. 

"Shhh! Gotta be quiet, lil sis! Don't want Dad to hear me, kay?" The girl nodded, a huge grin still stuck on her face. 

"I miss you, Ca'ey! Miss you lot!" 

"Me too, Angel, me too." He started to cry, Angel's grin dropping as she heard her sister start to sob. 

"Why you cryin', Ca'ey? Don' be sad!" 

"I'm not sad, I'm happy! I'm cryin' cause I love you, kiddo. I'm so sorry I left you here, I didn't want to, I didn't mean to, you don't deserve this!" 

They stayed like that for another few minutes, hugging while Casey cried, before Angel asked, "Where you go, big bro? Can I come too?" 

Casey shook his head. "No way. Casey had to go somewhere far away to keep you safe, and I gotta go back again until I'm done with my job." 

"Wha' job, Ca'ey?" 

"Somebody hurt me really bad and so I'm gonna hurt them really bad too. Remember how I taught you that? If somebody hurts you-" 

"You hurt ‘em too!" 

"Exactly! That's exactly right, baby sis!" 

Angel giggled, smiling up at her big sister. "When you gonna come back?" 

"Soon, Angie, soon. I promise. I'll be back as soon as I can be and then I'll never leave again! I pinky swear!" 

"You pinky swear?"

"Always." They locked pinkies and bumped foreheads, making Casey's promise something he could no longer break, not that she ever intended to break it. 

"Ca'ey? Where's Mista Turtle?" Casey's breath hitched and he quickly looked behind him to see Raph standing there, silently staring at him and nodding. 

"He's... he's back at my safe place, he's doin' alright. Want me to say hi to him for ya?" 

"Yeah! Mista Turtle gonna come back too, Ca'ey?" 

"Of course he is! We're both gonna come back as soon as we can!" He hated lying to Angel about that, but it was the best he could do for now. He couldn't bear to ever tell her the truth, it was too much. 

"He told me to tell you that he loves you VERY much and that he misses your stupid tea parties." 

"They're not stupid!" 

"Hey, tell that to him, not me! I love 'em!" 

"Yay! And I love YOU Ca'ey!" 

"Me too, lil sis." He paused. "Hey, Angel? You gotta promise me something now, alright?" 

"What is it, Ca'ey?" She bounced up and down on her bed with excitement. 

"If you see me on the TV, or hear about me from the bad people in blue, you CAN NOT tell them anything about me, okay baby sis?" 

Angel nodded seriously. "Ca'ey in trouble?" 

"Big BIG trouble." 

"Uh oh! I keep Ca'ey safe from evil people! I help you, big bro!" 

Casey smiled, a fresh wave of tears dripping down his face. "Thank you SO much, Angel, I love you, okay baby?" 

"I love you too Ca'ey! So SO SO SO MUCH!" 

"You go back to sleep now, okay?" 

"Okay... Are you gonna sleep too, Ca'ey?"

"In a little bit, yeah. I gotta do a few things first, but then I'm gonna go back and get some sleep with Mr. Turtle!" 

"Yay! Casey look sleepy, Casey need sleep!" 

"I will, Ange, I will. Can you go back to sleep okay or you need me here for a bit?" 

"Can Ca'ey stay?" 

"Of course. I'll always stay for you, Angel Jones." He sat down next to the bed as Angel tucked herself into the covers. 

"Love you, Ca'ey..." 

"Love you too, Angel." It took Angel about three minutes to fall asleep with Casey rubbing her back. The vigilante stood up, slipped his mask back on, and walked back into his own room, Raph following quickly behind her. 

"Ya gonna get some sleep now, Case?" 

"No. Gotta do a few more things." 

"You heard Angel-" 

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." 

He grabbed a giant plastic bag from the corner of the room and started cleaning everything out. All the rotting food was thrown out the window, the clothes and weapons stuffed into a bag, posters yanked off the walls and shoved in as well. By the time the bag was full, the room looked like it had barely been occupied. 

"Let's go, Raphie. We got what we came for." 

"Whatever you say, Case." 

The duo made their separate jumps out the window and fled into the night. Now all they needed was just to get the rest of the supplies for the murder. Ah, Walmart. 

The place where you can go at 2 am and nobody, nobody, notices you, no matter how out of the ordinary you look. At least, the security doesn't notice. If Casey got a few odd looks from some equally creepy old ladies, she sure didn't give a flying fuck about it. 

As she picked out the biggest package of Sour Patch Kids he could find and put it in her basket, he noticed a little girl staring at him from behind her father's leg at the other end of the aisle. 

He wondered why the hell a little girl was in Walmart at 2 am, but once again, it was none of his business. He smiled and gave her a little wave, watching her gasp and wave back. 

"Casey, you don't need that." 

"Bite me, Raphie." He muttered under her breath. He walked past the little girl and gave her a wink from under the mask, smiling as she heard her talking to her very disinterested father. 

"Daddy! Daddy! The boy with the cool mask waved at me!"

 "Uh huh. Whatever you say, sweetie." 

Casey loved being herself. As she suspected, even with her blood covered clothes and dirtied skull mask, the dead eyed cashier didn't even seem to notice him. He'd just bought all the supplies for a molotov cocktail, homemade grenades, war paint, and some candy just for funsies and nobody cared!

Raph was right, stocking up on things before his next hit was totally paying off! Raph had been muttering to himself the whole time, Casey tuning him out as best she could. His negative attitude was totally burning a hole in his bad girl persona! 

He forked over some of the money she stole from the Foot goons to the cashier, who gave him a dead-eyed stare and accepted the bills. Casey doubted she would have spared a second glance if Raph, in all his ghostiness, had been visible to others, not only a mutant turtle, but also a semi-transparent ghost. Then again, the lady did work in customer service at Walmart in New York, she figured not much would surprise this lady. 

“Have a nice day– NIGHT! I meant night,” the cashier said, automatically course-correcting, eyes widening briefly as she blinked from the daze that must come with working such a long shift. 

“You too,” Casey said as she accepted some bags and exited. A soft ‘whoosh’ of air hit his face as she stepped out of the sliding glass doors with as much vindication as one could when one stepped over a door threshold. Idly, he realized he should probably get her hands on a car. Or at least figure out some mode of transportation other than his own gear. 

Shifting the bags into one hand as she walked into an alley, with Raph bobbing around her head, Casey fired his grappling hook. 

It caught in a more stable part of the ladder, in contrast to the part of the ladder close to the ground, which was mangled and bent all out of shape.

Casey kept to the edge, so that he ascended in a vertical climb to her stomping grounds. She had to fire her grappling hook twice, the second time impaling deep the ceiling of the small room he and Raph resided in, only ascending again after three light tugs confirmed that the brick wasn’t about to cave, and send Casey to an early grave. 

Any time before Oroku Saki’s grave was far too soon, she decided, spreading his newly bought wares on the floor. Investing in an actual table (or at least not a floor that was both freezing and almost definitely infested with any number of roaches and other bugs to make Raph die twice) wouldn’t be a bad idea either. 

She dumped the bags down on the ground, grabbing the bag he'd taken from his home and setting it down next to the first one and sitting down on the ground next to the coffee table. 

"C’mon Raphie! Don't be a stranger!" The turtle was hanging out towards the window, away from the short excuse for a table, slightly pissed that Casey had lied to Angel's face about getting a good night sleep. 

He begrudgingly walked over, not wanting to deny his lover, almost there when his foot fell through the floor. He thought he'd fixed this already! The angry terrapin could hear Casey's cackle as he pulled his foot from the floor, a growl leaving his throat. 

"Oh shut up." Casey stopped laughing for once, her face morphing into one of concern. 

"You okay, Raph?" Uh oh. Not Raphie, just Raph. That meant he was serious, and serious Casey Jones could sometimes be a scarier creature than the angry, insane, or even pissed sides of Casey Jones. 

"I'm fine, Case." 

"Raph. I know you're lyin', knucklehead. What's going on?" 

"Why'd you lie to Angel about sleeping?" 

"I didn't!" 

"Yeah, ya' clearly did!" 

"No way, man! As soon as I kill a cop, I'm coming back here and we can sleep on the ice box together! The two of us! It's really comfy once ya get adjusted to it!" Raph shook his head. 

At least Casey was serious about going to bed, that was a start. She still had a long way to go in terms of mental health, and if he was finally trying to get better, Raph wasn’t about to say no, even if it was sleeping on that godforsaken freezer box that his own fucking corpse was being kept in. 

"Alright. I'll sleep on the fuckin’ death box." Casey glared. 

"Don't call it that, asshole!" 

"Hey, my body box, my choice." Casey looked confused for a moment before shrugging. 

"I don't think the saying goes like that, but whatever, dude." Her face softened. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Raphie. I didn't mean it, I promise."

"It's alright, Casey, I get it. You like it cause it's me in there, and you have your own way of coping. I should respect that. I DO respect it." 

"Thanks. That um... means a lot, babe." Raph could see a hint of an actual, genuinely sweet Casey Jones smile, taking the moment to sit down next to him, cup her cheeks, and kiss him softly what would be her lips under the mask. Casey gasped before pressing her lips to the inside of the mask. 

God, did he miss kissing Raph the normal way, pinning him against a wall, making out slowly until both of them were left breathless. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Raph broke the kiss, setting a pair of pants haphazardly on her lap. "Here." He pulled out a Sharpie too, and the older boy was impressed at how well he could hold it. 

"Woah! You weren't kidding when you said you could hold shit, babe! Holy macaroni, you're good!" 

They shared a laugh, Casey getting to work on redecorating the old pair of ratty gray jeans. Recreating his clothing took about an hour and a half, two Sharpies, a pair of scissors, half a braincell shared between them both, and an old burner phone playing Casey's "Battle Songs for Fucking Up Bitches" playlist. 

Putting on the newly acquired corpse paint took them another hour, Casey insisting on putting the white paint on herself first before Raph saw his face. By the end of it, his entire face, ears, neck, and forearms were covered in elaborate designs Raph took his sweet time making and touching up. Casey put on the first pair of redesigned jeans, slipping on a black long sleeved shirt before adding his Insane Clown Posse "Hatchetman" shirt on top of that. 

Her gear followed, then Raph with the bandana, and finally, the turtle lowered the skull mask over his love's face, finally readying her for the best part of the night. 

"You look beautiful, Casey Jones." 

"Thanks, Raphael Tomato." 

"Hamato." 

"Tomato, Hamato!" They let out a giggle before Casey started towards the door, taking the regular way out the building for once. It was time to go out and take down one of the worst threats to society. 

It wasn't hard for her to find a cop car just sitting around on some random street far enough away from the hideout that he wouldn't be chased back. Casey smirked to himself seeing the guy eating a donut through the side window. She pulled out his spray can, shaking it, letting the black paint attach itself to the wall, starting her latest masterpiece. That ugly bastard in his car didn't like that at ALL. 

He made the show of flashing his lights before hurriedly getting out of his car, cuffs in hand. 

"Hey kid! Drop the can and put your hands in the air! You're under arrest for vandalizing private property!" 

Casey continued to spray the paint, humming some random tune as he went. 

"Hey! Kid! Can you hear me? Kid!" 

"Oh, I heard you alright. I just don't listen to people as low in this world as you." He laughed. "I don't listen to assholes as evil as you." 

"Kid, the only one doing evil is you." He walked over to Casey and grabbed him by his freshly painted arm, causing Casey to flinch and whip around, hitting the cop dead in the face with the spray can. 

"Fuck off, grease-hands! My boyfriend just worked for two hours on that shit and I ain't lettin' a no good pig ruin all his hard work!" 

The cop stumbled back, blood falling from his nose and mouth. "Alright, ya little faggot," he pulled out the gun from his holster. "No more Mr. Nice Guy." 

Casey ducked as the shots fired, pulling out her own gun and shooting the cop in the leg. Unlike him, she never missed his targets. The cop screamed, falling to the ground as Casey pulled out his hockey stick. 

"Aw! Looks like Mr. Not So Nice Guy couldn't even beat up a fag like me! So sad!" 

The hockey stick swung down once, twice, five times, ten, until the pig was officially down on the ground. Then Casey pulled out a knife, relishing the look of horror on the cop's face as she stepped on top of him, kneeling on his chest and taking off her mask.

"I'm not even gonna lie, this is gonna fuckin hurt! Well, this is what you get for trying to arrest a lady just for makin' his art!" The cop looked mildly confused, but that was replaced by a wave of horror as the knife pressed against his skin. 

Casey gave him a false sense of security for two seconds before lifting it up and slashing his throat with one solid motion. 

"Go to hell, fag-" The cop choked out, his eyes wide as Casey watched the life slowly leave him. 

"How's it feel be killed by a fag? Cause it sounds pretty good to me!" As his head finally met the street, Casey could hear cheering from above him, seeing Raph on the rooftop and waving. 

"Look, Raphie! I did it!" He sounded like a kindergartener showing off their latest art project to their mom. 

"I know! I'm so proud of you, babe! Now hurry up with that paint, will ya?" 

Casey didn't waste another second, spreading the dead man's blood all over his gloved fingers and using it as a paint of its own. She alternated between spray can and blood, finishing up in a few minutes before going back to the cop and wiping the smeared corpse paint off his right hand. Raph smiled from above, so glad Casey remembered his rule about leaving no trace. 

Before she left, Casey went over to the car, opening it with his not bloody hand, and grabbed the half eaten donut from on top of the middle console. She climbed up the ladder to where Raph was waiting, gazing down upon her finished masterpiece. 

"It's perfect!" 

"Is that really one you're going with?" 

"Yeah, why?" 

"Alright, I just didn't know you were gonna do it." 

"But you like it?" 

“Of course I like it, Case, I love it! Let's get outta here." They spend the whole way home singing and laughing, Casey reminding himself to wash the blood off her glove so that no one could trace that lowlife's murder back to him. Oh, it really was a good night after all. 

Turtles POV 

The news was the only thing played on the TV anymore, much to Mikey's dismay, but Donnie controlled the living room now, so the TV was technically in his domain. 

The team was all piled up on the benches, sitting down to watch the 10 o'clock news like it was the newest superhero movie, popcorn, pizza, and all. 

"This is Channel 5 news, I'm Theresa Merdir. Breaking news, cop murdered on 5th and Walnut, killer leaves behind a disturbing message to all. Warning, this story contains images of gore and violence. Viewer discretion is advised." 

The group all looked at each other with worried expressions, save for Mikey who was focused solely on the TV. He gasped as the images were shown, many of the dead cop's wounds, but then they flipped to another chilling sight. Written on the cop's face in his own blood was: ‘Look up’, and the camera did exactly that, showing Casey's boldest artwork yet. April let out a gasp of her own. "Oh my god, Donnie, is that-'' 

Donnie looked equally horrified, he could only nod and whisper "It is." 

In a combination of cop's blood and spray paint was Casey's signature hockey mask next to tall, bold graffiti letters that read one single bone chilling word: "Skullshot."

#ghosts of our days #GoOD #tmnt 2012 #2012 raph #2012 casey jones #2012 rasey #2012 donnie #2012 april #2012 mikey #2012 apritello #fanfiction

[obsidiancreates]

Eyes of the Chimera liveblog

Okay, dramatic eagle in the moonlight, and now a fish...

Oh? Oh, showing the mutant car from the last ep right at the start of- OH THAT'S SO CLEVER WAIT I LOVE THAT, SPEED DEMON EXLODING MADE MORE MUTANTS YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

ALWAYS A BOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP THIS INTRO SONG IS A NEVER-SKIP

Oh god Donnie put a metal contraption on April's head an attached JUMPER CABEL CLAMPS OH SHIT HE'S GONE FROM EGULAR SCIENTIST TO MAD SCIENTIST IN THE MONTHS OF LEO'S COMA

He was not this wild with his experiments before, oh dear- oh good it failed but didn't shock her

GIVE MIKEY A TIARA RIGHT NOW

Donnie stop messing with Kraang shit, please.

Oh this is a very cliché psychic test.

Usually I'd side with Mikey here, but no, it is annoying, Even if this wasn't a test of Psychic Powers and was just a game, he'd be spoiling it. There there Mikey, sometimes the Dark ADHD wins with me too.

DONNIE EW DON'T EYEBROW WIGGLE- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT WORM EFFECT WHAT THE FUCK WORM DONNIE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Leo no. RAPH NO

Raph what do you mean "Casey anyway"? That kid's a fucking powerhouse of a human.

OH FUCK HIS LEG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CAREFUL ON THAT FUCKING LEG LEO

Oooooh okay Grief Expressed As Rage For His new Disability, interesting. Liking this Leo Arc.

OH SHIT DONNIE ACTIVATED HER SUPER SAYAN MODE

DONNIE IF YOU BLAME MIKEY BY DEFAULT AGAIN I WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN LIKE DARTH VADER DID OBI-WAN

Oh, she has telekinesis now, OH SHE'S BLIND FUCK

Awwww. When Donnie isn't being weird and creepy about his crush he's so sweet and gentle and supportive. I wish they just had it left at that without the other stuff.

OH SHE'S SEEING THROUGH THE BIRD'S EYES

RAPH AND CASEY FRIENDSHIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP SPARINGGGGGGGGGGG

Hey don't- don't leave the blind girl alone with no support or method of discerning her surroundings?

DAMN DONNIE YOU GOT SOME SICK AIR- OH MIKEY GOT A GOOD PUNCH- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IT HIT LEO'S LEG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Oh shit! Is this episode gonna be April and Leo bonding over being disabled?

IS DONNIE GOING TO GET EATEN AGAIN?!?!?!?!?!

Awwwww "Your pain, your pain!" Casey honey I love you so much.

Oh Casey honey oh your poor head-

MIKEY NEVER TELL THE ANTAGONISTIC FORCE TO "LET YOU DOWN" HONEY YOU WATCH AND READ HORROR STUFF YOU KNOW THIS

So is the Chimera itself going to eat them, or has it reproduced asexually and wants to feed it's children? Hmm, look like it just caught them for itself, that's good

DONNIE AND CASEY TEAMUP TIME WHOOOOOOOOOO BASH THAT THING'S HEAD WITH YOUR STICKS MY BOYS YES

It IS Leo and April bonding over new disabilities! I know this doesn't last, it'd be nice though if they both had long-lasting effects from all of this and learned to deal with it together. April being partially blind, maybe she can see light differences to tell when somethings near but no real shapes or details (I forget what form of blindness causes that). Leo having his bad leg and having to adapt his fighting and movement styles to respect his new limitations. I'd like that.

Oh, poor April. I like her, she's not always written perfectly but I like her.

"We can take this thing!" "Not on it's turf!" Ahhhhh okay another clear indicator of why this ship exists: balancing each other out.

OH SHIT THEY FELL DOWN A HOLE THEY'RE IN UNDERTALE NOW WHERE'S SANS

DONNIE ALMOST DIED SHIT THANK YOU FOR SAVING HIM MIKEY

Leo I get that you're upset over your slow progress, but... you can't be a liability to your team, if your team is dead.

Casey and Donnie both are right, safe from the monster, not safe from like, Starvation. Now is that water below them just weirdly animated, or is it mutagened?

MIKEY AND DONNIE NO oh they're okay phew

Ooooooh okay it's a hot spring/geyser, got it got it.

Pfffft everyone forgot their grappling hooks. Okay let me think of why: Mikey used his to get to the top of a super tall tree earlier and forgot to get it back when he was called back to the house, Donnie used his to grab and pull stuff around his lab since there's no buildings to use it on out here and thus his mind now defaults it to a Lab Tool, and Casey forgot his because he has five million other weapons and tools he grabs every time he suits up and sometimes it's a little overwhelming and things are forgotten.

Raph has a point, their odds of Kidnapped By Giant Mutant are very high. At the same time, this means everyone should have extra gear, not just one piece, so you should be carrying two hooks instead of just one, Raph.

HEY YEAH WHY IS IT ALWAYS ON DONNIE, RAPH?!?!?!?!?! DON'T SPECIFICALLY POINT HIM OUT WITH THE "PREPARED FOR ANYTHING" COMMENT HE'S UNDER ENOUGH PRESSURE AS IT IS TO DO LITERALLY EVERY OTHER FUCKING THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You're the scientist!" RAPH THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE'S INFALLIBLE AND BESIDES SCIENTISTS ARE KNOWN FOR BEING A LITTLE WILDIN'

God this thing is nasty.

Oh god, April is gonna eat Leo, shit. OH APRIL'S LOSING IT OH NO

Okay good she's back.

Leo honey it's called adrenaline from almost being eaten. Pick that crutch back up right now young man.

YAY THEY CAME UP WITH A SOLUTION! MIKEY AND DONNIE TEAM-UP SOLUTION HOURS!

WHOOOO AND CASEY HELPED TOO!!!!!!!!!

Oh Casey, careful sweetie- OH NO RAPH NOOOOOOOOO THE ROPE GOT SNAPPED

NO MIKEY'S BUTT GOT BOILED- pfffft "sweet little turtle tush" Mikey what

LEO APRIL DID YOU TWO CLIMB A FUCKING- THEY'RE CLIMBING A FUCKING MOUNTAIN WHAT THE FUCK LEOOOOOOOOO THE ADRENALINE IS GOING TO WEAR OFF AND YOU'LL BE FUCKED

I'm right on top of us is a very funny phrase

OH HIS LEG- whoa what in the Narnia is this music

Oh, Mikey baby, you tried

OH THEY'RE UNDERWATER NOW OH LEO STABBED IT OH SHIT

ARE WE IN A FUCKED UP VERSION OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON NOW?!?!?!?!?!

LEO YOUR LEG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE WHOLE MOUNTAIN WILL EXPLO- THEY'RE USING IT AS A LIVING LADDER?!?!?!?!?!

DONNIE DON'T SHOVE CASEY YOU GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FRIENDS NOW

Oh no an Avalanche LET'S ALL SCREAM ABOUT IT

She can see again? Oh god, is the Chimera dead?

YAY LEO AND APRIL FRIENDS THEY LIKE NEVER INTERACT THIS IS NICE

NO THE SQUIRREL GOT ATE

#tmnt 2k12 #tmnt 2012 #sid blogs live

[bullfrogjoy]

Bullfrog Joy

December 15, 2023

Good Morning! Nine more days till Christmas. Seven more days till family is here. Gonna take a break from Bullfrog Joy to just relax and enjoy. I don’t even need any snow this year. The November snow was enough!!! I am loving this sunshine in December.

Funny joyful story, at least to me. Yesterday was my day to help serve a Christmas lunch at Macomb High School. At first I felt really weird being in the school that is such a rival to my Titans, but it was OK. I didn’t tell anyone! Thought about wearing my Titan sweatshirt but decided that might not be in good taste. Anyway, the project went fine though I spilled a bit of taco meat in my trunk. (easy cleanup because the mat comes out!) After the lunch, I decided I needed a Diet Coke for the drive home. Thought about Casey’s, but I didn’t have my refill cup. Decided on McDonalds. I went inside, saw a sign that said 1.00 and ordered. Then she said, “That will be 1.99.” What??? OK, the sign said buy one, get one for 1.00. I looked at her, decided it was too much to spend on a Coke I probably shouldn’t be drinking any way, and left. She gave me a pretty weird look.

Good for me, right? Well, I drove past Ayrco where the sign advertised 32 oz. drink for a dollar. More my style! I went in…only Pepsi products. Doesn’t matter, I was really thirsty and this was a deal. It tasted sooooo good! Not gonna switch to Pepsi for good, but for a deal, I can do it!

My day ended yesterday with the last two episodes of Joe Pickett on Paramount +. I read the entire book series by C. J. Box last year, at least 20 books. They are so good, easy to read, great stories, great characters. I love Joe Pickett. I even like Nate Romanowski, who often saves Joe’s life, though he doesn’t have as much loyalty to the law as Joe does, and he occasionally rips the bad guy’s ear off. The series is really nothing like the book, but it was still fun. Season number 2 tried to incorporate three books into 10 shows. Joe is pretty much how I pictured him. Nate is so different from the book, but I began to like him a little better. I am ready for the next season!

Pretty selfish joys, huh? I have lots of things to get done in the next few days to be ready for family to show up, but sometimes we just need to “chill” a little bit and take care of ourselves. The things that we need to do will eventually get done, even if I have to stay up a little later. The house will look good, the presents will all be wrapped and the food will get prepared. (the Christmas cards might go out after Christmas…oops!) There are still eight more days.

Let’s just enjoy this season of Christmas. Go see some Christmas lights. Go out for ice cream. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Go for a walk in this wonderful December weather. Jan rode his bike to the farm today. I walked outside. I have a friend who has pledged to walk outside every day in December. If the weather stays like this she will fulfill her pledge!

So my friends, let’s work at being joyful during the next couple of week. Sometimes I am sure it won’t be easy. Other times the laughter will be loud. When I think of Mary and Joseph having a baby outside in a barn, I wonder how they did it. Want to try celebrating Jesus’ birthday outside? So thankful for my home, even if it doesn’t quite meet the white glove inspection.

So slow down a little my friends. Make some lists, cross things off as you get them done.

Jesus is the reason for the season, the reason for the joy. “Joy to the World! All the boys and girls now. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me.” Sing it out!!! I dare you! And “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her king!” Merry Christmas! See you next year!

#christmas #joy #joe pickett

[stupidreamer]

Mobius and Loki got their son Casey a fish tank for his birthday!!

#They took a family field trip to the pet store #And casey picked out the fish he wanted #It was a clownfish #In case you were wondering #Caseys gonna take good care of that fish #And when it dies #Loki and mobius will secretly replace it so he never knows #time husbands #loki x mobius #lokius #loki laufeyson #loki #loki odinson #loki tv series #wowki #loki series #casey loki #tva casey #Marvel #mcu #mcu incorrect quotes #incorrect loki quotes #loki and mobius #loki show #loki friggason

[hiddleloki]

*insert Mushu “I live” gif*

Ok, so I finally watched Loki and I loved it. Loki and Quicksilver are my fav characters and I was really, really mad at Marvel for what they did to my boy Quickie, but I’m still holding out hope that they somehow fix that at some point. I mean, hello, variants? That thing officially exists now.

Luckily Loki seems to be more favored by Feige/Marvel and seems like we’re gonna see lots more of him. Season 2 and possibly even MoM. Season 2 is old news as there were already reports of it actually happening last year, and this year in January Deadline confirmed S2 of Loki with Michael Waldron returning. But I was holding out hope for Loki making an appearance in MoM (I want to see Strange interact with Loki again) and it seems like there’s a good chance of this actually happening.

Anyway, some thoughts about the show:

- I loved the show’s cinematography. It didn’t feel like a tv show at all

- Soundtrack is just *chefs kiss*

- TVA Loki my beloved. I honestly think TVA Loki might be my favorite version of Tom’s Loki so far. This show finally gave us the opportunity to really delve deeper into Loki, who he is as a person, how does he form relationships with people outside his family. It was just so fun to see different sides of him, like making a friend, falling in love? I never thought I’d ever see that. Especially not after IW

- Really liked his reaction to watching his ‘greatest hits’ and realizing his family actually loved him. Loki was always kind of a softie who genuinely cared about his family and seeing his parents’ (and his own) deaths was so emotional

- Infinity Stones being used as paperweights for the TVA will never not be funny. It broke my mind and sent me into existential crisis just as it did with Loki. 

- Loki needs to give Casey a fish at some point. Or take him to an aquarium.

- Mobius needs his jet ski in season 2. I also want to know more about Mobius and his backstory. What was his Nexus event, does he have a family, what is his real name?

- I really liked his friendship with Loki and the fact that he’s canonically Loki’s first real friend. Loki needed a friend (the W3 and Sif were never really his friends, Loki just tagged along I guess) and I’m happy he finally has one

- I need to find out more about B-15, who she was, her real name...Wunmi absolutely killed it during “I looked happy.” scene. God, that bit broke me

- Ravonna was sus to me from the start and she’s also one of the characters I want them to explore more. Especially now since Kang and his variants are also involved.

- Sylvie is probably my favorite new character introduced. I knew Sophia’s gonna play Sylvie and she’s gonna have a large role, but damn I didn’t expect to love this character as much as I do. There’s so much more left of her to be explored and I think her arc in season 2 will be amazing

- I saw that Loki/Sylvie romance coming the moment Lamentis episode ended. There were so many hints in that episode, I’m actually surprised so many people viewed them as having a sibling type of dynamic.

- I know that their love story is not a typical straightforward romance, but also serves as a metaphor for self love, but I found the idea of Loki falling in love with someone who is an au version of him, but also isn’t him both interesting and hilarious. Also, it was adorable especially that blanket scene in the void. There’s just something adorable about Loki being a complete softie for someone else. You know what, I’m rooting for them. I hope they get their happy ending, they deserve it. 

- Literally every character in this show deserves their happy ending. Like, just the idea of the variants not knowing who they are, being brainwashed and forced to work for this organisation...*happy endings for everyone please*

- Majors’ variant of Kang, aka He Who Remains was everything and is right behind Sylvie as my new favorite character. The guy absolutely killed it and I need more of him and his (many) characters/variants right now. Plus I would’t mind if we see this particular version of He Who Remains again. 

- The way they made Loki come out as bi was also so well done and I’m so happy they acknowledged that. Disney is notoriously bad with LGBT+ representation so the fact that the creators of the show managed to put that in was everything. I heard the director was fighting real hard for that to be made canon and I appreciate her effort.

- We were shown more of Loki’s abilities. It was about damn time.

- Alligator Loki is the baby Yoda of the marvel verse. I loved the theory that there’s an universe in which Alligator Loki was adopted by Crocodile Odin.

- Classic Loki.....Richard E Grant stole that episode. God, I wouldn’t mind an episode that focuses strictly on Classic Loki, he was just such a great character and he broke my heart

- I wonder if Kid Loki will travel to the main timeline and join the Young Avengers at some point

- THROG

- I really liked how they established that variants are basically their own people. Their own beings, they each have their own backstories, autonomy, clear differences that make them THEM. They aren’t copies, they’re individuals. And that they aren’t genetically related, but that they share the same soul and role in their universes (basically temporal aura) because that will also clear up some confusion with upcoming multiverse movies, for example Spiderman

- I suppose Loki confirms that all Peter Parkers in NWH are basically variants of Peter Parker, but just like Lokis, they aren’t the same, which explains why they all look different and why they also have different aunts and families. It’s not DNA that makes someone a variant of a certain being, it’s a soul. A role.

- I really hope that that one rumour of various Stephens in MoM actually turns out to be true.

- Strange is gonna kill Loki and Sylvie

- Which brings me to the last take:

- Ralph is totally Peter. I am clowning yes, but lemme have this.

Overall, I really liked the show. I loved it in fact. It was really character driven and didn’t focus much on action, which is a plus for me, because I rather watch characters talk and interact with each other than action sequences. 

The bad thing is that now I’l have to wait at least 2 years to see what happens next. And I’m curious if there’ll be a bit of a time jump between both seasons.

#loki #loki series #loki show #tom hiddleston #sylvie #sophia di martino #mobius #owen wilson #ravonna #gugu mbatha raw #jonathan majors #kang #sylki #ralph bohner #quicksilver

[incarnateirony]

Hi! I’m still not really over the last episode (and that happy montage in the end i-) and I’m feel confused about what’s part of the episode was fake. I mean the end totally is. But all Chuck scene was superweird too. And sometimes i think that it should be Cas instead of Lucifer and Jack felt him. I mean... confused! How do you feel about that?

Okay so here’s the thing -- this is a multifaceted episode--

BuckLeming, while often herded efficiently by Dabb, can muddy up the textual waters, leave gaps, and things unexplained.

However, that doesn’t account for Showalter’s choices in direction. Dutch shots out the ASS which are typically used to evoke that something is "wrong." Lots of panoramas, tracking shots, zooms and blurs in ways that simply are-not-standard for SPN. Extreme aerial shots.

One might even think “maybe it’s Chuck looking in on them!” but then you realize the same overhead view zoomed out on *Chuck* even and panned out to the horizon again.

One of the early mega-zooms literally zoomed out to The World, even. I’m just gonna gesture people to my tag on that and let them think on that, much less the empty world orbiting on the news or whatever the hell else.

There were *several* Cas-baits, yes. Yes, that was intentional from our actual authors. 

But when it comes down to “fake episode”, here’s where we were at.

15.17-19 run immediately concurrently. At the end of 17, Chuck says this was his ending.

Now, the Winchesters largely derailed that ending, so Chuck was writing new material.

But Chuck is also seeking death. 

He wrote a suicide note in 11. He wrote the story that would end in him and Amara being eradicated. And whatever influence he was exerting forcefully with Michael and Lucifer to bop the story around was all in the interest of seeing his book. One might think “to keep the Winchesters from killing him”, but he was desperate to see what his ending WAS, to know it and experience it and scream after them.

The dour taking of “no one cares” right after “I care(d)” about humanity is its own highlight going on.  But wait, there’s MORE.

When Dabb dropped his pre-episode thing, we started talking before the episode.

So I mean, I think what we were *mostly* witnessing is the pen being ripped away.

But this is that emptiness that lingers even with Chuck generally resolved. They’re still kinda on the pages. The book is presented as shut, and the next steps are not taken. Development stops, if not drops.

This entire thing is so meta my damn head hurts.

Summarily: Is it just like, some weird AU that’s gonna go away? Not so much. Is it an incomplete portion of the story told from a skew? Absolutely. And is there still someone watching over them? T’would seem so. The whole World, even. Beyond Chuck. 

Now the point at which we start blocking off issues of “eugenie writes like she’s 3″ is where we ask about things like “god power” or whatever else being thrown in the mix along with eugenie’s ki ball special effects that are literally always unique to her episodes, even if other people have to add the SFX.

So while it was a good bit of masterful work to do it via buckleming for this style of bump, it still inevitably has its flaws because... buckleming. But... Showalter was there. And one thing to note is almost every single scene entrance had some sort of major pan or zoom effect. That’s not typical for him.

The entire thing is designed to evoke, directorially: 

One style: crooked shots, unlevel, unbalanced, uneasy feeling.

Second style: Over-under; some force is watching them on high, while others have a sort of brechtian absurdity, which seats it like a play on an elevated stage.

We are the audience, looking up at figures half the episode; but a second audience is looking in from “on high” and out over the world. As if perhaps even from the heavens. 

Third style: CSI Miami, basically? Parts of this episode were sectioned off to be like a procedural crime drama in its cinematography and flashbacks. Which is ironic, because Dean loathes procedural dramas, but at the same time some of this fandom demands a procedural monster show instead of a family drama show. 

Sam and Dean barely have any lines in the episode *until* we hit Crime Drama Time. Then suddenly, they reveal all of their case work. Despite Dean’s hatred of crime dramas, this is honestly when I feel like the brothers kicked in their own pen. 

Let’s play a game-- the winchesters are aware they can write their own story. So they start telling the story they think people want to hear, or maybe just fill in the gaps from when Chuck gets dropped on his ass. Maybe Dean’s the one writing about how many times god punched them in the face whereas Sam is breaking down the crime scene investigation front. Another, where it feels like we’re loosely circling the war table as others lightly wander too.

But everything before that is the first and second style, and even after that, the overview-angle remains. The uneasiness is gone but there is an emptiness otherwise. But we are no longer spectators from beneath the stage, but staring into them.

I still very much expect everyone to “die” one more time and several specifics to choose to walk back into life at the end of it.

Is it a *complete* false narrative? No. We’re not just gonna turn around and be like “oh that whole ep didn’t happen.” But the writer lost his pen and got jacked at one point, while we also observed the stage from a series of angles as different audiences.

Riddle me this: Why show the World? “Because it’s empty and just them!” okay but there’s a lot of ways to show that which actually gets that point a whole lot better across than “here, here’s a planet that still looks lit up”--yes I know electricity is still running until stuff runs out but essentially speaking, the end of the episode shows us the kind of dramatic shots that could be used for that.

CASey just poofed in the World in the TV, seems legit.

Let’s see these overhead angles again, knowing it isn’t just Chuck.

This sort of overview is known for causing a “dollhouse effect” that derealizes the episode and makes them seem, well, like toys. Which is interesting. Because Chuck isn’t the only one watching them on high.

Cool, this is fine.

Either way, the entire episode is DESIGNED to cause some major uncanny valley. There’s a lot of parts that simply *haven’t been told or filled in.*  It’s almost like evasive maneuvering, half the content just never made it to print, and what did wasn’t in its best draft. There may be battling authors, or a transition of authorship. But the thing is: this is not the complete story.

There is an entire missing section about Sam and Dean even finding out that Jack is a power siphon which they hadn’t witnessed yet much less arranged an entire plan.

Even Chuck’s episodes are generally told from the general POVs of the Winchesters, but this was absolutely not. 

Matthew 28: 18: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Put a pin in that one.

Unless CHUCK IS WRITING HIS OWN FAKE DRAMATIC END, the overhead view, however, IS NOT CHUCK PERSPECTIVE.

-- Regardless, the metaness of “fish in a toilet bowl BRL plot” stacked into this makes it very difficult to accurately decipher the lines, especially with only one watch so far--just skimming back through right now to grab a few things I remember.

Some parts are plot salad buckleming.

Some parts are us as forced spectators of a stage play.

some parts are shifting authorship

Some parts are the heavens looking out over the earth it loves.

------

It almost feels as if, within enclosed spaces, unsteadiness and stageplay, we have Chuck’s POV.

But by the end it ceases to have any relevance, as he is no longer the author, and instead, we have the Presence of Being overseeing them, letting the Winchesters argue for their own proverbial pen in their own storytellings between here and there.

ALTERNATE PROPOSAL:

 it is all one point of view. All of it. Pretend you’re someone’s eyes on a situation, you just happen to be in the sky half the time, and the uncanny valley is pulling forward the concept of being a presence that simply isn’t *there.*  For example we're looking extremely closely at passed out dean but the camera turns and raises to level with Sam before Dean gets up. Our viewership lens is rising to meet Sam.

The camera stays in motion to fill a role or slot of a viewer. At first it’s haunting and ominous, but at other times, it’s simply part of the room, when it isn’t hovering from on high. Rather than speaking of empty space, we are viewing The World through that empty space, as if it were a Being.

Just a few more eye catching shots.

But whoever or whatever frames the end, even without Chuck--like the story is still turning on the pages, roughly. 

The montage at the end feels like the Swan Song one, more or less, but there’s no narrator, no chuck.

The writer, the writer we know at least, is Absent.

Men are writing their own Stories.

But they aren’t alone.

I know how you see yourself. Angry and dark like your father. You think that’s what you are. But you are the most loving man in the whole world. That is who you are.

Someone does care. Even if right now, Sam and Dean don’t feel like anyone does.

...Because of you. I cared. For you, for Sam, for Jack, for the Whole World.

I cared.

“That’s not who I am.”

I am.

I speak therefore I am.

#supernatural #spn #15.19 #meta #my meta #the world #world #absence #being #polol

[cianmars]

They were roommates... (A Lokius Fic)

So I made this a lil while ago, it gets updated every few days

Loki has to stay somewhere in the TVA and if he was working for them then its a little mean to leave him in a cell... or at least that was Mobius' argument, so he took one for the team and has Loki move in with him... A purely selfless act....

AKA Loki learns to be a good person, an okay roomie, and a not so good at being a menace to society (unless society bugs him)

AO3

Loki hadn’t recovered from seeing the projection of his mother being murdered in front of his eyes, because of him, for very obvious reasons…. But he had started to come to terms with it, with everything.

That of course didn’t mean that he wasn’t looking for a way, any way, out; but it did mean that he had agreed to work with the TVA, well not with them, but with Mobius, even if the man (was he a man? Man was just short for human, was he human?) was infuriating, in every Gods damned way.

A whistle and a tilt of the agent’s head was what woke Loki from where he was dozing at the same table he had been sitting at since he had brought in, some unspecified time ago, Loki had opened his mouth to tell him that Gods did not appreciated being whistled at like a dog but Mobius was already off, walking out of the room.

Gods did not chase after anyone, let alone men who were holding him prisoner, Gods did not chase…

“Gods don’t chase,” he told the man, practically bouncing as he caught up to the fast walking man (seriously how did he walk so fast?), his head following everyone who passed them as they walked by, and trying to see what propaganda they had tacked to their modern walls.

“And yet, here you are,” Mobius replied in that calm yet amused tone he always used for Loki.

Loki glared, but Mobius wasn’t looking at him so he rushed past him, turning back to face the man walking backwards without breaking pace, trying to focus on him not on everything they were passing, he hadn’t been this way before, had they? A hundred questions bounced around his mind, most of them were ‘why the fuck is a talking duck being led by four armed guards?’ and ‘can I go talk to the duck?’.

A hand on his upper arm stopped all the thoughts in his head and he had to stop himself from coming to a full stop, or tripping, that would be embarrassing.

“Careful, Loki, you’re gonna bump into someone,” Mobius slowed his pace as he pulled Loki to walk at his side, “You can keep bouncing around like Tigger from beside me.”

Loki was not blushing; not at how flustered the touch made him, not at the mixed soft and amused tone which Loki swore was just for him (he wasn’t possessive he was just right), not from the chastisement, no he was not blushing, the TVA clearly just had a heating issue which seemed to be largely affecting just his cheeks, they couldn’t even heat a building correctly. Typical.

Loki cleared his throat, unrelated to his blushing, “Casey doesn’t know what a fish is but you know what that hyperactive big cat is?”

“Like I said Loki, you’re a pussycat.”

“Remind me to introduce you to a real hungry tiger one time,” Loki muttered, cheeks still pink, he kept an eye onto the admittedly comfortable slip on canvas shoes as they slapped against the floor.

“What was that, darling?”

This bastard was doing this on purpose, he had to be… unless he wasn’t, then he’d have to explain why in general people who were practically strangers didn’t call each other ‘darling’, but that did come with the increased risk of him either never calling him it again… or calling him it again, and they’d both know it was on purpose. He’s a bastard. Loki plastered a cheery smile onto his face, looking up at Mobius with a look of innocence they both knew was fake, “Nothing!” his smile turned genuine hearing Mobius laugh.

They were in a golden doored elevator when Loki found his voice again, “Where are we going?”

“I seem to remember some God of comedy telling me that he didn’t talk much…”

“It’s the god of mischief, or tricks, not comedy,” Loki cut in, narrowing his eyes when he saw a barely concealed smirk on his face, “But of course, you knew that as you know ‘everything’ about me. Where are we going?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“How can I tell you if I don't know?”

“You’re pretty,” Mobius leant forward past Loki and pressed his hand to the black screen on the elevator pad, pausing his speech for a second too long as he did so, “smart, why don’t you try to figure it out?”

Loki was frozen as Mobius’s arm brushed against his own as he leant back and stood beside Loki, he could smell the sandalwood from his aftershave as he moved. “You’ve found The Variant, the less amazing, less talented version of me?”

“The Variant is pretty talented too, Loki.”

“Not as talented as me,” Loki pouted, not pouted, Gods did not pout (as his father so often talk him), but his lips were pressed together and slightly stuck out. This was just ridiculous, he wasn’t pouting and he wasn’t jealous, because what would he even be jealous of? Some less awesome version of himself gaining Mobius’ praises?

“Agreed.”

Loki’s head snapped to the man who was studying his watch intently, a little too intently, if Loki wasn’t imagining it.

Mobius cleared his throat, looking back up at Loki, a mild smile on his face, “We haven’t found The Variant, yet. Any more guesses?”

Loki let out a frustrated noise, “This isn’t fair, you have more information where we’re going, I haven’t been given any clues!”

“Take a breath.” Mobius told him with an amused smile and a glint in his eyes, “Why’s it so hard for you to say I don’t know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nice, very funny,”

Coming from anyone else it would have annoyed Loki, but it sounded both fond and amused from Mobius, he needed to get out of the TVA it was making him… he didn’t know, but it wasn’t what he was used to, and that made him nervous, which typically made him feel stabby.  “So you’re not going to tell me? It’s taking forever, for a place which dictates how everyone else should spend their time you’d think that you would actually develop a elevator which doesn’t waste all of your time.”

“Time works differently here in the TVA, Loki, I’ve already told you; anyway no need to whine, we’re here now.” The elevator stopped and the doors opened and Mobius strode out and headed left.

“I wasn’t whining,” Loki whined to the empty elevator, before bounding after him.

“What’s this?” Loki bounced on the balls of his feet as Mobius stood in front of a door, as it scanned him.

“Do you ever stand still?”

Loki thought for a second, he shook his head, then ran his hand through his hair to place it back into its original place, “Most people ask me if I ever shut up.”

Mobius looked away from the door to Loki with that ever present smile, “I already know the answer to that one,” he winked then pushed the door open and walked inside.

Loki took a few more seconds to follow him than he perhaps would have had Mobius not winked at him.

When he finally did walk in he was met with… an apartment, fairly lifeless, the style of the rest of the TVA continued inside of the place, a small kitchen, a living area with a screen which looked like a television but he dare not ask in case that bloody cartoon clock began to play, there were a couple of doors leading off to one side and a couple more leading off on the other side.

“I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“Don’t use that patronising tone on me, I'm not a child.”

Mobius sighed, “I wasn’t using a patronising tone on you, Loki, I was asking you what you don’t understand, which is okay.”

Loki gritted his teeth and began to move around the room, strolling to the kitchen, he wasn’t sure if it was to stop himself from snapping again, or, gods forbid, from apologising. “So?” He turned back to see Mobius watching him with his hands tucked into his pockets.

“So…? Use your words, Loki.”

Loki could see the glint in his eyes across the room, that time he had meant to “What’s the test? Has the variant been here? Or is there some sort of set of clues? Or…, I swear if there’s a training video or propaganda video I shall launch myself out of the windows.”

“Nah, we’ll start on the training and propaganda in a day or two, not right this second, and those aren’t windows.”

Loki turned to look at the windows, “What are you talking about, of course it’s… oh simulated glass panes… I must have sustained a concussion from The Hulk, I’m never usually this slow.”

“Of course…” he said in a way which made it clear that he did not believe it, “We can get you checked out at the medbay tomorrow, if you like, being here might be affecting your healing capacity. This isn’t some form of test, it’s an apartment, my apartment.”

“It’s…” Loki looked around again with fresh eyes, it was still fairly lifeless, but there was a bright yellow mug on the draining board with that bloody clock on it, and a Coca Cola red pen on the table closest to him, a few certificates with ‘Mobius M. Mobius’ on all of them, along with some books which didn’t seem to be propaganda for the TVA… interesting… “It’s very…,” he tried to think of a compliment but gave up quickly, so instead gave a shrug, “it’s smaller than my childhood nursery was.”

Mobius gave a laugh, “I’m sure it is.”

“Well it’s very… it’s certainly an apartment… Why precisely are we here?”

“It was agreed by Judge Renslayer that if you would be working with us you deserved to be housed somewhere which isn’t a cell, of course you can’t go anywhere without me, and this apartment is fully secure.”

“You’re not worried that I’ll slit your sleep in your sleep?”

“It would mean I don’t have to get around to all of the paperwork on my desk.”

Loki frowned, why did this man never take his threats seriously? “If I’m staying here where will you be staying?”

“There’s two bedroom’s Loki, you’ll be staying in the guest bedroom.”

“A guest bedroom? Why do you have a guest bedroom? Are you allowed guests at the TVA headquarters? Do you have guests? Like your mother? Do you have a mother? Do all of the apartments have guest bedrooms? Are you agents allowed to get married and have kids? I don’t see why else you’d need two-.”

“Loki, can we stay on topic, please?”

“Sorry,” Loki swallowed, looking around once more, then back at Mobius, “I… I suppose it’s better than a cell.” The best thing about the cell had been Mobius’s visits, because Loki enjoyed annoying him, and nothing more.

“Marginally,” Mobius chuckled. “Is that a yes? Cause if not I should get you down to a proper cell before dinner time.”

“I… I suppose.”

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic, the cells really aren’t that bad, if you’d be more comfortable in your own space then I can take you there.”

Loki rolled his eyes, dropping into a rather uncomfortable armchair, he almost regretted his dramatics, almost . “I’m staying… But if you try to indoctrinate me into your cult with more of those videos I’ll skin you alive.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Loki was certain that he was going to kill either himself or Mobius by the end of the week.

#lokius #lokius fic #wowki #wowki fic #agent mobius #mobius m mobius #loki #loki laufeyson #loki disney+ #loki show #they were roommates fic #twr fic #twr

[hedgiwithapen]

Leverage + kittens

Not quite your brand, but on the other hand, 150% your brand

It turns out that being free from “ Stuck in the Van” doesn’t mean much if it’s replaced with “ stay in the house” and Breanna mutters curses against “mean genies” for a solid half hour. She knows it’s just to keep out of sight, like back-up. Alec always impressed on her--she got the idea it was a learn-from-my-mistakes-- the importance of keeping the mark from seeing everyone too soon. If someone calls an audible, or new information turns up that changes the whole plan, it’s good to have a new face in reserve. It’s not because they don’t trust her, Eliot tells her seriously. It’s because she’s very important. Yeah, sure. She gets the idea that they’re trying to protect her from this job, something about old friends. The house is huge--she has waaaaay more room than she ever did at Nana’s-- but she still chafes, eager to do more than follow the money and read emails and texts and whatever else she can dig up. She can only read through so many clear facebook market place scam messages in one sitting. Who cares this much about paying 10 bucks for lamps??? Breanna decides to go exploring. The house is fully tricked out, and she knows that Alec took what was already there and had even more secret panels and cubbies and passages put in. She also knows that some of them have prizes in them, and that Alec said there are still a bunch no one’s found. She’s exploring the attic when she hears the noise and frowns. It’s not the scratching of rats--for all she lightly teases Eliot about his ability to identify anything off the tiniest clue, she knows the sound of rats too well. She runs her hands along the wall and finds a patch that’s warm. “Well,” she says out loud, though her com is off, “I’m either about to get savaged by a raccoon or not.”

She pushes on a section of wood, feeling for a place it might move, and it swings open a little, revealing a cubbyhole lined with lint and scraps of litter, a tiny passage stretching beyond that must lead into the roof itself, and--- Breanna taps her com on. “ Hey I know, I know you said only to com you if it was an emergency--” “Are you hurt? Did people try to break in? Do you have your taser?” Parker cuts in fast. “No, No, and Yes,” Breanna rattles back just as quickly. “Um, I found kittens.” “Kittens?” Parker chirps, and then adds an accented, “Oh, no, nothing, just the dust--” to whoever’s in the same room as her. “Where did you find kittens? You’re supposed to stay in the house,” Eliot says. “I am in the house!” Breanna says, affronted. “The kittens are in the house, they’re in the wall.” “There are not kittens in the house, I would have known,” Eliot grumbles. “Uh, tell that to them. There are three, can we keep them? “No.” “Please?” “Yeah, Eliot, please?” Parker puts in. “ If they could break into the house with all our security and even you didn’t notice, they’ve earned it. “ “We can’t have pets, what happens when we have to go out of town? Or you get bored of them?” “I’ll ask Tina to look after them! And I’m not going to get bored, I wouldn’t give them away because I don’t want them anymore, when, when they get bigger and they’re not little and cute, I--, that’s not going to happen.” Breanna says fiercely. She puts a hand into the cubby, and one of the kittens starts purring instantly, whiskers brushing her fingertips. “....I’m not feeding them or cleaning the catbox or driving them to the vet or...waving those little feathers on strings or anything,” Eliot insists. “I’ll do all of that!” Breanna swears. There’s a long pause, filled with the sound of a particularly brutal fight/ “Fine,” Eliot agrees. “Yessssss,” Breanna cheers. “Thank you! I’m gonna get them some snacks, and--” “Don’t give them my steak.” “Breanna, hate to interrupt but this is urgent,” Sophie joins the call for the first time. “Was there anything in the emails about a lamp shaped like a fish?” “Oh, uh, yeah. Sending you the deets now.” Breanna fishes out her phone, sends the message, and takes three pictures on the kittens to send to Alec. The biggest of them, a calico, yawns and shows off all her sharp little teeth, and the little tuxedo looking one with a white tip to his tail starts mewing for affection. “I’m going to regret this.” Eliot sighs. ~ “Regret this, huh?” Breanna asks, holding up her phone. Eliot is sitting on the couch, besieged. “Don’t you dare,” he says pulling the calico off his shoulder where she’s been chewing on his hair. “Molly, stop--” she starts chewing on his shirt sleeve instead. “Oh, this is video, streaming straight to Alec.” Breanna reaches out a finger towards the kitties. “Awww, hello! Hello Widmark!” she coos to the tux, who has yet to move from the curve of Eliot’s elbow, purring his lungs out. The tabby, Trevor, launches himself from Eliot’s knee to the top of the couch, stepping on Molly, and the chase is on. “Dammit, Casey,” Eliot sighs, and Breanna beams.

#dammit hedgi day 2021 #leverage redemption

[misterewrites]

Cheers from Newton Haven ( Mirror’s Edge)

Hey everyone E here with a surprising amount original works. haha so you can blame my good friend @hains-mae for this because she enabled me. So long story short I love writing. I love creating ideas, story plots, characters all that jazz. Often there's a lot of leftovers that i put away in word document just so I have stuff to work with or ideas i can use later. Most of the time I might write something just to get it out of my system but it usually just ends up gathering dust in my computer.

I've been getting more into modern urban fantasy stories and watching the unsleeping city which is a modern dnd show (highly recommend it. first season's free on youtube over at the dimension 20 channel) and naturally I wanted to write some so here we go.

I don't know how often I'll be writing this because this accidentally became my side project whenever I need a break from the underground but who knows might turn into another big layered project.

so basic summary is there are a group of friends, associates, reluctant allies, organizations and frenemies who work together to keep the peace of the supernatural world in check and to ensure it remains secret to everyone else while living their lives as best as they can. Today's chapter includes Finnrick Drift a private investigator wizard and his best friend Casey Remington, cleric of the hearth

that's it for me. have a great week! stay safe, take care of each other. wear your mask, wash your hands, get the vaccine if you can and I'll see you soon!

and if you wanna an easier place to read and leave me some good old comments or reviews you find the chapter right here https://archiveofourown.org/works/30599756/chapters/75486005

Not gonna lie i promised I’d try to promote myself more and it’s weird. it feels so weird. haha 

It was a busy Friday afternoon in Midtown. People in designer named suits and dresses bustled across the sidewalks in all directions, too caught up in last minute phone calls or sudden late night work orders to notice anything else. The buildings that scraped the bottom of the sky were clean with a fresh coat of paint and maintenance, a testimony to the wealth and power that was found here.

So naturally Casey felt as out of place as fish out of water in his purple baseball jersey and black shorts just standing outside some fancy restaurants doors with his friend.

“Finny” Casey started awkwardly, his sea green eyes darting back and forth awkwardly “Any reason we’re out here being creepy? I got a Neighborhood Watch meeting at like 6.”

Finnrick or Finny as Casey referred to him, was no better dress than he was for the environment. A long black trench coat that was more stitching than fabric, a matching frayed faded fedora sitting comfortably on his head. He wore a nice collared dark red shirt tucked in a black vest but even that felt cheap and tacky compared to the thousands of dollars worth of clothing that passed them on the street every second. At least his black dress pants were dark enough to hide the patch up jobs and naturally the only kept squeaky clean were his loafers.

Finnrick sucked on the thin white stick for a moment before speaking up “I’m debating if it’s worth the trouble. I didn’t realize you had a meeting tonight.”

“Well we always meet up on the fifth. You know talking about treaties, clean up jobs, if any undead hordes have been spotted. My birthday cake.”

“Ah shit” Finnrick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his dark brown eyes apologetic “It’s your birthday? Did you want to go? I think I can handle it alone.”

Casey lifted the hat off Finnrick’s head and playfully ruffled his already messy black hair “You getting old Finny. My birthday is the tenth.”

Finnrick waved off his assault “I’m six months younger than you.”

“But” Casey gestured to the smattering of sliver streaks in Finn’s hair “You look older.”

“At least I don’t look like I’m 15. Dude you need a haircut. Everyone here thinks you’re a hippie.”

“A good looking hippie.” Casey gave a dramatic shake, his wavy dark brown hair flowing in the breeze.

The pair burst out laughing, doubling over trying to catch their breath as the business suits eyed them distastefully.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Finnrick made his way over, smiles and charm as they approached the doorman.

“Your cigarette sir.” The doorman spoke dully.

Finnrick pulled out the now finished lollipop “Don’t smoke but done anyway.”

The doorman gestured to the nearby trashcan but Finnrick opt to tuck it away in coat pocket. Disgusted but professional, the doorman gave strained smile as he allowed them entry into the building.

Casey nudged Finnrick curiously “Wizards? Warlocks? God not druids.”

“Probably. This is guy doesn’t have an ounce of magic in him but I wouldn’t doubt he’s got some casters on the payroll. Try not to leave anything behind.”

“I’m a freaking walking carpet here!”

“That” Finnrick grinned playfully “Is why you need haircut.”

Casey gave a fake snarl “Shut up and call the elevator.”

Finnrick whistled, amused by the near silence of the opening doors “Such fance. Barely a sound.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Finnrick scratched the little bush of hair he had on his chin thoughtfully “Ask some questions. Probably get no answers. Be threatened more than likely.

Casey cracked the tension in his neck “Think it’s gonna get ugly?”

“Depends on how many witnesses.”

The two made their way to the seventh floor, the elevator smoothly slowing to a stop before the doors opened with a ding. Two burly men in suits were waiting, flanked on either side as they gestured to an empty restaurant dining room.

“The boss will like to speak to you.”

Finnrick and Casey shared a look.

“Sure!” Finnrick beamed cheerfully, patting both the brutes arms as he passed “I was hoping to talk to him anyway.”

The men growled in annoyance but did nothing as Casey and Finnrick made their way to the center talk, unsurprised to find two glasses of wine waiting for them.

“After you” Finnrick joked, pulling out Casey’s chair for him.

Casey gave a mocking smile “Such a gentleman.”

“Only one I bet” Finnrick whispered before taking his seat.

Casey could hear the low hissing of whatever spells were on their chairs being dispelled.

Yep there was going to be trouble.

Casey eyed the room carefully in search for options: The room itself was pretty dark, dark reddish walls with dim lights to set the mood. Most of the tables had been left alone for whatever event this room was scheduled for later with the chairs stacked in the corner. A few feet to their left was the bar, unmanned but well stocked and a window to the outside nearby.

“Well, well, well!” A voice called out from some shadowy part of the room “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting this fine Friday afternoon?”

Finnrick rose to his feet, politely motioning to himself and Casey “My name is Fredrick and this is my friend Charles.”

The man’s hazel eyes shone with suspicion “No last names?”

“Of course” Finnrick grin “But there’s no need for friends, right? We are friends Robert?”

Robert paused, a barely contained rage shimmering just under the surface. His slicked back graying hair and tailored perfect dark blue suit were signs of a precise, irrational control. This was a man that was never told what to do and considered himself above everyone and anyone.

“Of course.” He answered a moment too late. He was not happy. “Of course. What are polite manners among friends?”

“Thanks Bobby!” Finnrick gave a friendly wink before retaking his seat.

Robert fumed but followed Finnrick’s example as a trio of secret service wannabes took their spots across the room: Inhumanly beautiful men with dark suits and shades. Something was off about them but Casey couldn’t put his finger on it.

“What do I owe the pleasure Freddy?” Robert sneered, hoping to see how Finnrick a taste of his own medicine.

“Well Bobby.” Finnrick went on, purposely ignoring the older man’s jab “As you know you have been stealing countless money from your employees.”

Robert chuckled darkly “I am afraid wherever you have been getting this claim is very misinformed. I am a simple, honest businessman.”

Finnrick nodded in agreement “Of course. Of course. That’s how you can say that with a straight face. Honest businessman of mundane practices.”

Casey felt his hair on his arm stand on end as the atmosphere in the room tensed. The brutes growled unhappily, the trio of bodyguards shifted uneasily and Robert’s eyes shone with understanding.

“I see.” He spoke simply “You’re from the other side.”

“Naturally.” Finnrick confirmed “No need to peer around the bush, is there?”

“No need at all. It is refreshing for such transparency. You don’t get that often in the world of business.”

“I doubt you give much either Mister Walker.”

“Enough games. What are you doing here? Some kind of union rep for magical freaks? Blackmailing me?”

Finnrick sat up with pride “Private investigator. Building a case against you actually.”

Robert carefully studied both men before him, trying to piece together their plan, their angle.

“Either.” He spoke after a few moments “You have all you need or more than likely you have nothing and you are simply here to smoke me out, hoping I will give you something to use against me.”

Casey felt Finnrick’s hand move underneath the table and a rush of chilly air brushed his leg.

Casey gave a quick nod to let Finn know he understood.

Finnrick cleared his throat “You’re aware of the works of Tolkien Mister Walker?”

Robert was caught off guard “What?”

“Elves.” Finnrick answered with a calming voice “Elves are the most famous of his characters that aren’t humans of course but there’s more: Elves, dwarves...”

“Hob…” Robert began but Finnrick cut him off.

“That’s a legal matter but yes. Wonderfully fantastic creatures.”

Robert narrowed his eyes “And?”

Finnrick leaned in close, smile mocking and cold “I hate when people take advantage of them.”

Robert was a cold, calculating heartless man who was used to being the smartest one in the room. The one who rigged the playing field in his favor, held every ace in his hand and led his prey exactly where he wanted them to be. He played with people before he destroyed their hope. He was the apex predator in the world of business.

It was satisfying to see that swagger and pride drain out of his face.

The businessman went for the button hidden underneath his side of the table, no doubt the switch to trigger the holding spells on Casey and Finnrick’s chairs. Of course Finnrick had dispelled them first chance he got and since the only other caster in the room was Casey, no one else noticed.

Robert’s face was the second most beautiful thing Casey had ever seen (first being Jaime but there was no need to tell her that). The panic, the fear, the utter confusion. Just poetic justice at its finest.

Finnrick shot to his feet with a surprising speed given his unremarkable build. He muttered the words of power, a magical incantation as his hand made the proper gestures to complete the spell.

The shades squad went for their weapons but Finnrick had gotten the drop on all of them. He pulled his hand back, a burning flame sitting peacefully in his palm. He pitched the flame forward, lobbing directly at the closet goon. The inhumanly beautiful man rose his arms to defend himself in time. The flame, mostly pressurized air, splashed over him harmlessly as the force of the attack shoved him back into the wall.

Casey followed Finn’s example. He stood as well (not as quick as his friend), a soft gentle light glowing from his hands. He glanced at the two remaining shades and aimed directly for them. A bolt of pure light burst forth from his palms. One goon got a chest full of holy energy and skidded backwards but the other was ready. He leapt to the side and narrowly avoided the attack as he slid out of sight.

The brutes charged towards the pair, murder in their eyes. Finnrick barely spared them a look as he snapped his finger. The two flames sigils he had imprinted om them when he grabbed their arms ignited, twin fires eating at their sleeves and sending them into a panic.

“What’s the plan?” Casey shouted, sending more holy bolts towards the shades.

“Up and over the counter.” Finnrick answered, tossing another fireball.

Casey quickly made his way closer, prepping to leap over the bar when Finnrick crashed into him, a strange whistling sound piercing his ears one moment then silent the next.

“Over buddy over!” Finnrick repeated, grabbing Casey by the collar and heaving him ontop of the counter. Casey flailed for a moment before glancing backwards. Finnrick was right behind him, hand outstretched as a blue translucent field of protective magic hung before the two while the shades opened fire with crossbows, the jet black bolts barely visible in the dimness of the room. They bounced harmlessly off the barrier but Casey could see the cracks starting to form.

Casey hopped over the bar gracelessly, struggling for a moment before clearing the jump. Finnrick tucked himself backwards, allowing himself to roll over the counter top and land on the other side with a thud.

“Remember when elves were honorable?” Casey huffed, quickly scanning the various bottles.

Finnrick scoffed “They were never honorable. They just acted better than everyone.”

“Remember when we were kids?”

“Vaguely. Pass the absinthe. I want to really make this hurt.”

“Blue bottle? These are all in German and Russian.”

“Green liquid. Come on Case I taught you better.”

“Right. I miss when the cartoons used to tell us the mafia was honorable.”

“Criminals these days.” Finnrick shook his head disappointingly “Just don’t make them like they used to. It’s all corporate shit.”

Casey began picking other bottles at random, wrapping them tightly with the tape he brought “It’s disillusioning I tell you. How right is he?”

Finnrick smashed a pane of glass. He took the jagged edge and slowly inched it over the counter, catching sight of the trio of shades for a moment before a crossbow bolt shattered the glass.

He flexed his hand, trying to relax his muscles. They were elves alright. They might be dressed in suits and ears hidden by some sort of glamour illusion magic but old habits died hard. Elves habits never died given their long lives. The trio had fallen into a close knit triangle formation: one fires, one reloads with the last taking aim.

“He had this whole operation locked tight. No one was talking. Either bribed them or made an example of them. Broken bones or horns. I had enough evidence to implicate him but bringing him to trial in the mundy court was going to be pointless.”

Casey moved the bottles back and forth to ensure they wouldn’t come loose midair “So what are we doing here?”

“Given his limited knowledge and the numerous magical violations I counted in this building alone, I figured he’s not registered with the Council.”

Casey’s eyes lit up in understanding “Gotcha. How long we got?”

Finnrick shook his hand back and forth “I’d say 10 minutes knowing the Council. Magic in an unregistered area requires a subtler approach for them. “

Casey snorted “Fake beards and stilts for the gnomes you mean? Robert will be gone by then.”

Finnrick’s face scrunched in concentration “He’s still here. Cowering under the table. He’s not used to dangerous wizards up in his face. Let’s scare him put huh?”

Casey spared his friend a glance “Big shot?”

Finnrick nodded in agreement “Aim high Case.”

And with a synchronicity only achieved through years of friendship, the two stood up at once. Casey threw the makeshift bomb high into the air as Finnrick formed the magical shield once more. Arrow after arrow bounced harmlessly off its surface as the bottles sailed through the air. Finnrick focused directly in the center of the payload. The shield dropped but the elves had broken formation and were all reloading at once. Finnrick pinched his thumb and finger together, murmuring under his breath. A small spark of flame fluttered wildly on his finger. He flicked it as quickly as he could towards the bottles. The spark spun and twisted as it floated towards the payload. The spark expanded, growing in size, and intensity, rapidly without warning. The air warmed as the spark exploded, smashing the bottles and engulfing the alcohol within. Flaming liquid, glass and hot air shot out in every direction. The elves were blasted off their feet and crashed against the far wall with sickening series of crunches. The floor above now had a massive hole in it and the brutes sprawled across the floor. Robert himself was thrown onto the ground, ash and soot covering his face as he struggled to breath.

He tried to call for someone but his ears were ringing and everyone was down for the count. He tried to search for the trouble makers but the smoke that filled the room was too thick.

The elevator dinged open once more and three pale suits came scuttling out. They clung to the walls on all fours, unnatural and repulsive. Their blood red eyes shone in the dimly light room, their fangs barred and ready for blood.

“Vampires!” Casey rubbed his eyes tiredly “This fucker has vampires. Loose by the way.”

“Right?” Finnrick shook his head “There are just so many regulations being violated right now.”

The vampires did not care. They dropped to the floor, gliding effortlessly midst the smoke and flame.

Casey took a step closer to the encroaching undead. He outstretched one hand towards them while the other clasped his necklace tightly. The vampires tilted their head quizzically at the symbol that adored the chain: It was a house of all things, a simple shape of rectangles and triangles no different than what a child would draw.

The vampires chuckled, their eyes bright with hunger.

Of course in their bloodlust they had forgotten something important: It was not the symbol but the faith behind it that was their bane.

Casey held the symbol as high as he could. The vampire shrunk away from him as his eyes blazed with holy energy, the symbol of home glowing with a harsh light. The vampires barred their fangs as a symphony of noises overwhelmed their senses: the soft hum of an air conditioner, footsteps thundering about, the chill of winter, the heat of summer, the overlapping sounds of cars and buses as the roar of crowds boomed in their ears. The city, the hearth of so many people, filled this room for a moment.

The vampires drew back, white smoking curling off their charring flaky skins. They ducked back into the elevator, hiding in whatever corner they could manage until the doors shut with a satisfying ding.

“Come on” Finnrick gestured to the window “I don’t want to be written up for unauthorized magic in an unregistered area.”

Casey and Finnrick scampered to the window. Casey’s face turned a sickly green when he realized how high up they were.

“Ugh I don’t feel good.” his stomach churned queasily.

Finnrick broke the window with his elbow, the fresh smoggy air of the city bringing some color back into Casey’s cheeks “I know buddy but it’s only eight floors up.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Okay cool jump now!”

Robert regained enough sense to see the troublemakers leap out the window without hesitation. He struggled to his feet when flickers of something began to form. Before he knew what was going on, the previously empty room was now filled with various creatures: Elves, dwarves, a gnome on silts had appeared out of thin air. They weren’t dress in any ancient medieval garb but rather dark blue jackets, jeans and combat boots with the initials M.R.R.D stitched on their clothing. They were no different than any one on the street aside their more unique physical features.

“M.R.R.D!” the gnome cried out, brandishing a strange clockwork pistol “Everyone freeze! We sensed a magical disturbance and a violation of the Arcane Veil!”

Robert rose to his full height “I am Robert Walker and I…”

The gnome opened fire and Robert could feel exhaustion overtake him. Sleepiness began to ebb at his resolve and before he could mutter another word, he closed his eyes. A dreamless sleep until he woke up in a council prison cell a few hours later.

-----

Casey didn’t scream as he fell through the air. He was too busy trying to keep his lunch in his stomach.

Finnrick waited a moment to make sure everything was in place and with a wave of his hand, the two began to fall much slower. They landed on their feet as if they had taken a step off the sidewalk instead of several stories up.

Casey began hyperventilating, trying his best to get his stomach settled. Finnrick began fanning his face when a man walked up to him.

Casey and Finnrick said nothing, waiting for the Arcana Veil to fill in any blanks they were missing. They could’ve told this man anything but they found from experience that it was just easier to roll with whatever the magical blanket that separated the mundane world from the magical decided.

The man peered at them, his gaze unsure and confused.

“Hey, you guys okay?” he asked helpfully.

Casey and Finnrick remained silent.

His eyes glazed over for a moment, a strange shimmering sheen within his pupils telling the duo that the veil was in effect.

“You guys are oddly dressed for window washers.” the man chuckled.

Finnrick glanced back to find a ghostly image of an electrically operated scaffold behind them, water buckets and squeegees included.

They shared a look.

“Would you believe it’s national window washer day?” Casey filled in.

Finnrick added “Yeah, they let us wear whatever want today. It’s only one day out of the year anyway and most of the time we work by ourselves so no harm done.”

the man nodded like that was the most reasonable thing he had ever heard “Right sorry. I’ll just be on my way.”

Finnick and Casey ducked out of the alleyway behind him, heads low and nonchalant as the human M.R.R.D members began to shut down the restaurant from the outside.

“Well that sucked.”

“Just a little. Here let’s go some dinner on me.”

“Damn straight on you Finny. Brutes, elves, vampires?”

“Oh my.”

“Now I’m ordering extra bread for that.”

#Original Work #original story #my work #Mirrors edge story

[lokigodofaces]

thoughts on loki ep 2: the variant (spoilers)

under cut to not disturb your scrolling

Overall I enjoyed so that's good

Uh frick my mind blanked so sorry if things are completely out of order

I don't know, I expected the renaissance fair to be 2012 or 2021 or 2024 (Loki's time, our time, current time in the "sacred timeline"). So I was genuinely surprised when it was in 1985.

Ok, i really like the title card thing. And how the year scrolls around. It's a nice aesthetic touch there.

I wonder why the female Loki variant chooses her locations? Does she have a thing for renaissance fairs, French cathedrals, and Oklahoma?

1985 is when Back to the Future came out. And it's y'know, one of the most popular time travel movies ever. So I think they chose that year as a reference.

Again, not liking that the minutemen only have numbers, not names. It is giving me lots of Clone Wars vibes. If you don't know anything about Clone Wars, the clones are given number identifiers by the Kaminoans. Things like CT-7567. The clones would give themselves names (CT-7567, for example, names himself Rex). A really good sign throughout the series that someone is a sketchy person is if they call the clones by their numbers. The clones don't want to be known as numbers. They are people too, they deserve names, so they come up with all sorts of creative names (Rex, Fives, Cody, Tup, Hevy, Hardcase, Echo, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, Fox, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, Tech, Matchstick, etc). The jedi respect this, and the only jedi that i can think of that called clones by their numbers is Krell, who fell to the dark side. the Kaminoans and other sketchy people all call them by their numbers and the clones don't like it. A big focus of the show is on the clone's agency (at the end, they all have brain chips that take away their agency and force them to kill jedi), and how the clones need to be respected. So for me to see in another series that people are only given numbers is bad. What's worse is that the minutemen are fine with this. They don't see it as dehumanizing or belittling. They are brainwashed into being okay with it. Which says a thing or two about the Time Keepers.

did. did the renaissance fair really have Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" for their renaissance themed fight? Is this normal? Was it normal in the '80's? We saw later that the female Loki can do electronic stuff. Did she rig it to play it? For the vibes?

Also the stuff before the song was about fighting for a princess, and in the end she kidnaps C-20.

Okay, btw, I'm just gonna say Lady Loki for a while because no one has explicitly said Sylvie yet, so I'm going to refer to di Martino as Loki until she or another calls her Sylvie. Cool? Cool.

I was thinking the "Holding Out for a Hero" fight would be the roomba fight or something. It is such a good song that has huge potential for this genre. Why did they use it in a lame fight as that one?

When Lady Loki did the spell on C-20, it looked similar to what Wanda and Agatha can do. As in, it had similar visuals.

Loki reading a random magazine he finds while sitting with his feet on the desk bored out of his mind because he has to learn sh*t is a MOOD.

What is Miss Minutes? She can jump around anywhere, and pop into computers. But she can't be just a projection. She took the effort to dodge Loki swatting at her, so that may mean she was corporeal. She also could be something similar to the Kree's Supreme Intelligence?

So, did Mobius give Loki the shirt, tie, and slacks, but really didn't give him the jacket until they had to call him in? What? That makes no sense? Did the TVA not have any jackets with the variant label? Did someone have to custom design a jacket for Loki?

What is up with this show giving me things I wanted to see only in holographic form? First we saw Coulson's death, and now Loki in his Jotun form in a holograph of another variant.

Okay, Loki being someone the TVA has to constantly deal with is very on brand. Loki is a creature of chaos, of course he's going to unknowingly rebel against the sacred timeline.

Also, headcanon that the Jotun Loki we see is king of Jotunheim because that would be epic.

Also, for personal reasons I choose to believe there is a Loki variant that defeated the Avengers and immediately went queer rights.

Loki's reaction to there being many Loki variants. He's seen what his life is supposed to be. I think he is even more upset that the TVA often deals with him, that there are so many things that could have been instead if it weren't for the TVA and the "sacred timeline."

Also, I totally think Mobius was waiting for another Loki to show up to help him defeat Lady Loki. They get them so often, it makes sense.

Loki explaining the difference between illusion projection and duplication was great. And very helpful to me personally understanding lore. Also, Mobius, get your crap together. If you're a Loki expert, figure this stuff out.

Loki calling the TVA out on propaganda, we love that.

The wolf quote is actually very nice, I quite like it.

Okay, the TVA doesn't even bury or cremate or do any sort of ritual for their fallen minutemen, they just reset the timeline. Which to me seems like another way to show how little the TVA actually care for their workers.

There are statues of the Time Keepers in Ravonna's office. The camera pays extra attention to it. Keep reading for more about Time Keepers and cinematography choices.

What. What sort of relationship does Ravonna and Mobius have? What is going on there? I am really confused.

Who is this "analyst on the side?" What is going on there?

Ravonna is MEGA SUS. Along with that, the Time Keepers are mega sus.

She signs R. Slayer. Yeah. Slayer. Not at all subtle, Marvel. Letting us know that she'll do the deed if needed.

Mobius you are sending me mixed signals. What do you want?

Okay, Mobius saying Loki was a "cold, scared boy" and an "ice runt" and stuff was totally a jab at Loki being Jotun.

Mobius saying Loki is insecure because of Lady Loki is...probably true.

With the elevator, the camera stops and focuses on the Time Keepers.

The Creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, the end of time, all classified. That is sus.

Loki almost crying over Ragnarok was good. Let him cry over the destruction of his home.

Loki being the one to discover something the TVA had no idea about after a day is on brand for Loki. And it shows how the TVA really are vulnerable.

Mobius: Really? In front of my salad?

No but the object lesson was well done and actually did help me understand what Loki was talking about.

Casey! Casey drinks grape juice! Imagine how confusing this is for Casey though. Loki is captured, threatens to gut you like a fish (whatever that means), and now he's dressed like an analysist, stealing your juice box. Does Loki get Casey more juice?

Honestly, Loki looking at everything logically and scientifically is fantastic. Adds to the science = magic thing Marvel's got going on, since Loki is a sorcerer.

Loki saying volcanoes are cool is fun. I agree. Volcanoes mean the planet is geologically active, which means we won't die. Also, there is a volcano named Loki on one of Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the creators knew that and put Loki in Pompeii because he is already linked with volcanoes.

Mobius telling Loki to start off small and Loki completely disregarding that felt very personal to me.

Loki being absolutely chaotic and telling everyone they were going to die while speaking perfect Latin was iconic. I want more of that content. Let the man be buckwild.

Again, Loki finding something out after a day that the TVA never knew about is on brand.

"Be free, my horned friends, be free!" I love that way too much.

Mobius being obsessed with jet skis wasn't something I expected, but I'm down for it. Heck, even Loki admitted they were cool.

The discussion on beliefs is going to lead to saying the Time Keepers are bullcrap. Hopefully.

Grapes and nuts are "candy" on Asgard. So, when Loki was eating grapes in Ragnarok, we can interpret that as him eating M&Ms. Second, this might add to something I've seen around here. I've seen things about a book somewhere with Loki saying chocolate fountains are mythical (which is really funny to me). So, I guess Asgard really doesn't have chocolate.

Oh my gosh, so many apocalypses between 2047 and 2051...hopefully none of those happen in real life.

Roxxcart is probably part of Roxxon, something that has been around in Iron Man movies.

Lady Loki got the shovel thing from Roxxcart that she left in Oklahoma! The minutemen said it was from the early third millenia, which is where we are now! 2050 also fits that category!

I saw something about the file saying Class 8 hurricane...there are only 5 classes...which means this is a crazy storm.

Does B-15 want Loki dead? This is a legitimate question, because I think she does. Dead or pruned.

Loki looking around at the storm, I love it. This could be him loving science, or him missing Thor, since Thor creates storms. Also, at this point Loki probably things Thor dies shortly after him in the sacred timeline, so Loki would be particularly sentimental about Thor.

I love Loki drying himself off and not anyone else. And B-15 yelling about his magic. And Loki's motions are so fluid, it's so aesthetically pleasing, I love it.

Dudes, I thought B-15 was going to try to prune Loki when they were alone.

Okay, was Lady Loki bsing about the azalea sale, or does Roxxcart actually do that? I want to know.

Wunmi Mosaku did a really good job as Lady Loki, I loved it.

Loki being annoyed at Lady Loki and saying he understood how Thor felt, does that insinuate Loki can do what Lady Loki was doing?

B-15 and C-20 were both very shaken after being possessed by Lady Loki. I wonder how that felt for them? We've had different explanations of mind control/brainwashing/similar from Clint, Bucky, Daisy, Mack, Fitz, and Monica in the MCU (including AoS). I wonder what is specific to Lady Loki's possession.

C-20 kept going on about something being real. What was that about?

C-20 revealed the location of the Time Keepers to Lady Loki!

Lady Loki not wanting to be called Loki could be a sign she is Sylvie.

There's something weird where Loki's voice echoed around while the camera focused on Lady Loki. Maybe she's telepathic?

Someone needs to keep a tracker on people telling Loki this isn't his story in a show literally about him.

But, that does add to themes for his life, and how everything was always about someone else in his life. He was always a supporting character for Thor, for Odin, for Thanos. Now, even in his own story, everyone insists he doesn't matter.

I was wondering what the reset charges would be used for. I wasn't expecting a massive bombing of the sacred timeline! Wow! That was unexpected and I loved it!

Okay, this isn't from me, this is from New Rockstars. But to list all the places mentioned on chronomonitors, either bombed or not: Knowhere, Barcelona, Niflheim, Dartford, Phong Nha, Lisbon, Vormir, Thorton, Cookeville, Asgard, Rome, Sakaar, Barichara, Porvoo, Ego, Titan, New York City, Tokyo, Hala, Kingsport, Xandar, Beijing, Madrid, Portland, Jotunheim. Bolded are other planets. Those are almost all the planets visited in the MCU. So fun easter eggs there!

I like Lady Loki's aesthetic. The fingerless gloves, the cloak, I love it. And YES SHE ISN'T SEXUALIZED. So many genderbent characters are excuses to sexualize women. But Lady Loki is just as covered as the male Lokis.

Lady Loki just...left the time door open for Loki to follow...for a really long time...I'm worried he's running into a trap.

What is Loki going to do now?

Theory time y'alls: Lady Loki bombed the sacred timeline to flush the minutemen out of the TVA, leaving it defenseless. And she's gonna go after the Time Keepers themselves. We know she gets into the TVA from trailer footage, and that's what I think we're gonna see next episode. I think she (like the Loki we are following) is upset over the lack of free will, and she plans to change that. That's why she wasn't interested in helping Loki "take over" the TVA, because she doesn't want to become the leader of a new TVA, she wants it destroyed.

Alright, back to the Time Keepers stuff. They keep focusing on the middle Time Keeper. Even in the end credits they have a weird cut to focus directly on his face. I'm not 100% on this, but I like this theory. That face is similar to Jonathan Major's, the actor confirmed to be Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang is a well known time travelling villain in Marvel. Maybe he is Kang, and is using variant versions of himself (that's a Kang thing in the comics) to mess with the timeline, and no one expects that from him. Also, Renslayer was his S/O for a bit in the comics, and they keep framing her in front of that one Time Keeper's face. I feel like this would be a good way to set up Quantumania and to show how sus the Time Keepers are.

Also, Loki was absolutely adorable the entire episode. And he got to sleep! Yay for him!

Again, I enjoyed, and can't wait for next week!

#loki (2021) #loki (2021) spoilers #loki (2021) review #loki laufeyson #tva loki #dimartino loki #sylvie lushton #mobius m mobius #ravonna renslayer #hunter b 15 #hunter c 20 #miss minutes #time keepers #aaaaaaaa im excited for the next episode

[cocochannel00]

No Sympathy

Harry gets injured and (Y/n) shows no sympathy.....

Kids: Connor (18), Becca (17), Grayson and Riley (15), Victoria (10), Casey (5)

You had been working as a nurse for over 18 years now. It was true that you had been on and off between kids and other events, but you had always been fully committed to the idea that you were going to work regardless of Harry’s ability to support your family financially. You didn't go to school for all of those years to get a degree and pursue your passion just to give it up after having kids and marrying the love of your life that also happened to be a millionaire. You admired stay at home moms and the hard work they do but you were a busy body and having too much free time made you slowly go insane so you decided to get back to work. 

Your kids were more or less grown up with the eldest, Connor, being 17 and your youngest, Casey, being 5. Harry had decided to stay home and watch the kids that Friday (the ones that were hanging around the house at least) as you covered one of your coworker's shift. It had been an overall quiet day except for the few patients that were being stubborn and a couple of fans that were visiting family that occasionally came in to ask for pictures. Since you and Harry had been married things had settled down fairly well as you not only lived in the outskirts of London but the locals also got tired of seeing you. Sometimes the tourist would come to see if they could catch a glimpse of Harry at your home but with the giant fence Harry had built there wasn’t much they could see.

You had just finished taking a chest x-ray of a little boy who had come in with what you thought was bronchitis when you heard some commotion coming from the ER wing. Doctors were chatting loudly as the nurses raced around looking for empty rooms. Why they were so worried about getting a private room you had yet to figure out but it didn't really matter to you.

As you dropped off the little boy and continued to walk through the hallway getting ready to check on your other patients your coworker Jasmine came running down the corridor screaming your name. Startled you looked up from your clipboard waiting for the news to come.

"(Y/n) you need to come down to room 203d" she said slightly out of breath.

"Why?" You asked as you carefully closed the clipboard and tucked your pencil behind your ear.

"Harry's been in a bit of an accident of sorts and he won't stop causing a commotion. They’ve just started him on a morphine drip to get him to calm down," she said quickly.

You sighed but abruptly began to jog down the hallway towards the elevator to go meet your wailing husband. It had been a while since Harry had injured himself to the point of needing the hospital. The last time you could remember was when Connor was learning to parallel park an accidentally ran over Harry's foot. He was in a boot for a couple of weeks but other than that he had been relatively ok.

The elevator sounded as you reached the second floor where Harry was. You could hear muffled groans and screams as you approached the room. Two doctors stood outside the room as you saw Becca, Casey, Vicca and Riley sitting in chairs across from Harry’s room. Casey was sobbing as Becca held her on her lap. Vicca and Riley were wincing at each groan from their father but didn't overt their eyes from Riley's phone.

Walking up to them quickly you greeted them all with a kiss on the forehead before picking Casey up from Becca's arms and cradled her to your chest. Harry's groans had subsided to whimpers for now and you took the opportunity to calm Casey down before sending her to the vending machine with Rebecca to buy some candy. You gave Riley and Victoria a dollar too a told them to follow them and wait outside once they get back. 

Once they were gone you greeted the doctors and walked in to see your husband on the hospital bed, one arm over his face the other twisted in an odd position. Amy, the oldest and meanest nurse you knew, had just finished cutting his shirt off his body in hopes of better assessing his injuries without causing more pain.

"Oh, would you stop your shouting your gonna scare the fish in the waiting room" Amy scolded as she walked around the room.

"Well, Amy I hope this gives them the opportunity to escape like in Finding Nemo" Harry retorted, slightly disoriented from the morphine that was starting to kick in.

You chuckled in the corner as you slowly approached his bed.

"I'm glad you're all for saving the fish, but I think they're just fine where they are. Thank you, Amy, I’ll save you the trouble and pop it back in my self. Send a tech to take his vitals in 10 minutes please " you said.

“Alright darling, don’t know how you married such a dramatic man” she laughed as she left the room.  

“I ask myself that every day” you replied with a grin.

Harry lifted his uninjured arm away from his face before grimacing at you sheepishly.

"Hey honey what brings you here," Harry asked as you glared at him. He groaned slightly as he attempted to lift his head, moving his shoulder in the process.

"Oh you know I could hear my husband’s screams two stories up and I thought maybe he was in a life-threatening situation like a bullet wound or something but no he's here yelling about a dislocated shoulder," you stated with an eyebrow raised as if challenging him to say something.

"(Y/n) I'm in immense pain ok! I don't need this" he replied as he looked at you with tears swarming his eyes.

"Ok, ok calm down a bit form me, baby, ok? let me pop it back in real quick. It's going to hurt." You stated

"Oh sweet Jesus, pray for me at the hands of this merciless woman" Harry mumbled as he stared up at the ceiling.

You need to find a way to distract him in order for it to pop in properly so you decided to question him about his day so you could assess the problem properly. 

"What on earth did you do today that you managed to pop this out?" You asked.

"Well you see it started with lunch, Casey wanted Mac and Cheese and we didn't have any upstairs and I was climbing the stairs and you see I was about to-" he started but before he could finish you quickly popped it back in causing Harry to scream at the top of his lungs. You hoped he wouldn’t faint as Harry had a tendency to do that when he was in severe pain (like when you broke his hand while giving birth to the twins).

Just as you predicted he began to tense up and hyperventilate. his heart monitor began to beep rapidly as you cursed at your husband. You quickly grabbed his face in your hands and forced him to open his eyes and look at you. 

"H deep breaths. Come on you can do it" you encouraged but Harry only became less cooperative.

You decided that this was going to go downhill quickly if you didn’t act now so you did the only thing you knew would get your husband to calm down. You smashed your lips to his and held his face in your hands hoping that the kiss would help his body calm down like it usually does. It felt as if you had held your breath for hours before you released him and rested your forehead against his. Harry's breath had returned to a somewhat normal rate as you sat on the edge of the bed staring at him. 

You could sense the doctors' gazes and awkwardly smiled at them. You were never one for showing affection in public and much less in the hospital. They both cautiously walked out and left you two alone.

"I hope you don't do that with all of your patients" Harry whispered as he smiled up at you. You pecked his lips quickly before laughing.

"No, just on the really hot grammy winners. I’m hoping to test it out on Stormzy soon" you replied smugly as you went to grab a sling from the cabinet.

"Haha very funny, I’m going to let the comment slide because I’m on a lot of drugs and I’m a bit drowsy. Oh, I also forgive you for crushing my hand with the twins. If this is just a fraction of the pain you felt during childbirth then I don't even want to know how you did it five times."

"Well someone always said they wanted to have a big family and could never keep it in his pants." You retorted as you wrapped the sling over his now swollen shoulder.

"So how did this happen again?" You asked as you walked to the door to let your kids in.

"Well long story short Riley left his skateboard in the kitchen and I tripped and fell on it while I was playing a game on my phone and well, now we're here." He replied.

You heard a knock on the door before it opened slowly. Casey came running in followed by Connor who you assume had come from football practice along with Gray as they both still had their padding. Casey jumped into your arms as the rest of your crazy family shuffled into the room with their various snacks and crowded around the bed Harry was currently sitting up in.

The rush of questions and shouts was enough for you to quickly let out a loud whistle which caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Your father was stupid so I want zero sympathy for the man in the bed. He brought this upon himself and he knows it” you stated as Harry gave you a loopy grin and blew you a quick kiss causing Victora and Casey to giggle.

“Daddy is very sorry for being clumsy. I guess Mommy’s going to have to take extra good care of me when I get home” Harry replied with a winkle that made your older kids groan in discomfort.

You shook your head with a smile and got up from the edge of the bed, placing Casey on the bed next to him.

“I need to go check on my other, more important patients upstairs. I’ll have Amy bring you some water and find a couple of extra chairs. I get off at 7 so I’ll stop by with your discharge papers and we can all go home for dinner. See you soon babies.” you shouted as you blew them a kiss and walked out of Harry’s room. 

 The rest of that afternoon was spent with you stopping by his room in between patients and your kids laying around Harry's room messing around and watching tv. Nothing like a hospital visit to bring everyone together. 

Masterlist 

#Harry Styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles blurb #harry styles concept #harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles masterlist #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles stories

[theatrelove3000]

Little Itty Bitty Fingers

Hello! I need a baby fix and with the world the way it is right now, this is as close as I am gonna get! Suffer with me and let me destroy your ovaries! @just-the-hiddles, @myraiswack

Background: Noelle and Loki were “Bound” by a witch in Alfheim after a battle they fought in. This means that the witch split each of their souls in half and one half switched places. Noelle has half of Loki’s soul and vice versa. They can feel each other's emotions and hear each other's thoughts. Noelle is also Half Asgardian, half Midgardian. Her father is Tyr and her mother is of Midgard. Loki enchanted her wedding ring so that she can be immortal with him.

Summary: Loki meets more of Noelle’s family when they go over to Nonna’s for dinner

Warnings: Fluff, babies, cuteness, sweetness, other synonyms I am too tired to  think of. Implied smut if you squint.

Little Itty Bitty Fingers

Noelle PoV: 

"Are you almost ready, love?" Loki asks me as he walks into the bedroom. I nod at him and I reach for the zipper of my new emerald green dress. Loki beats me to it. He zips me up before wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder, looking at our reflection in the mirror.

Even to me, I can see how good we look together. He has finally taken to more casual Midgardian attire instead of his all black suit. I love that suit but he needn't wear it everyday. Today he wears a dark pair of jeans, that hug his legs beautifully, and a deep green t-shirt with his leather jacket. My cotton dress is long sleeved and stops at the middle of my thighs.

"This is a very soft dress." He whispers, turning his head to kiss the spot behind my ear. 

I hum in agreement. "Excellent job picking it out, my King." He growls slightly, nibbling on the same spot. He takes a deep breath before straightening and taking my hand. 

"Are you ready now?" He asks again. I laugh a bit.

"What's the rush, Loki? We have time?"

He crosses his arms and scowls at me teasingly, "Perhaps I just miss your grandmother and wish to see her." 

I laugh again. "You miss her cooking is what this is."

His face takes on a slightly pinker shade as he realizes that I see right through him. "It's not my fault she makes the best food in all the nine realms! Let's go." He pulls me against his chest and teleports us to Nonna's front door. I roll my eyes at him. He smirks, opening the door for me.

Not three steps into the kitchen and Nonna has her hands on my face. "AH! My little bambina! Give Nonna a kiss!" And proceeds to plant kisses all over my face.

Loki chuckles but regrets doing so when she turns her attention to him. He's too tall for her to grab his face like she can with me so she grabs his ear, pushes him into a chair, and pinches his cheeks. She chastises him in Italian about being so tall, before kissing his face too.

"How are you doing, marito? You take care of my bambina?"

"Yes ma'am. Always." He responds, looking to me for help. I just grin and wave before running away to the living room. 

I had expected it to be empty, or at least only Nonno asleep in his chair. I was wrong.

"Alaina?!" I ask.

My cousin turns her head to face me and grins widely. "Noelle!" She squeals quietly. She stands up and turns around to hug me when I spot the reason for her hushed tone.

She has a baby swaddled in a little white blanket held to her chest. I look at her in shock, giving her a side hug as to not wake the little one. 

"Who is this?" I ask in a hushed voice.

"This is Ella! She's my daughter."

I raise an eyebrow and smile at her. "When did you have a baby?" 

She laughs, a quick exhale through her nose. "About two months ago. She was a little early but we both made it out fine." 

"I'm so glad! Gods, I haven't seen you in years, Ali. You have to catch me up." I brush my fingers along Ella's blanket. Ali smiles at me and hands her over. 

I take the baby gently, cradling her to me. It's been so long since I've held a baby this young. When I look back up at my cousin, her mouth has fallen open. She points to my wedding ring.

I smile and gesture to the couch. We both sit down and start to catch each other up. She tells me about how she met Ella's father and how he is a deployed Marine. She had the baby alone but was able to video call her fiancè so he could see his daughter. She talks about how much help Nonna has been when it comes to watching Ella while Ali is at work and feeding her dinner afterwards. 

"Enough about me, though! You! You are married now? Or engaged at the very least?" Alaina asks, gesturing to my ring. I smile and look down at it over the baby. 

"Married, yes. It's been about 9 months now, I think."

"Wow, Congratulations! Why wasn't I invited, you brat?" She smacks my arm lightly. 

"I didn't even know I was getting married until an hour before it happened. Nonna was just as upset as you are." I laugh. 

"You supposed to tell your Nonna you getting married, bambina. Is okay, I still love you." Nonna walks up behind me and kisses my cheeks again. 

"I still love you, too." Loki's baritone voice rings in my ear as he leans over to press a kiss to my temple. I jump slightly, not really knowing he was there. Nonna takes the baby from me and sings an Italian lullaby to her. 

I stand up and reach my hand out to Loki. He takes it and I pull him to stand next to me in front of Ali. 

"Alaina Marie, this is my husband, Loki Friggason. Loki, this is my cousin Alaina." 

Ali sticks her hand out to shake Loki's. He takes it and kisses her hand gently, "Lovely to make your acquaintance, Alaina."

My cousin blushes bright red and laughs a bit, "Please. Everyone calls me Ali. It's very nice to meet you, too." She drops his hand and looks at me. "Babe, you got a real gentleman. Where on Earth did you find him?"

Loki snickers but hides it with a cough. I pinch the back of his hand that still holds mine. "No idea." I respond. I sit back down on the couch and drag Loki down with me. He settles himself before pulling me so that I sit sideways on the couch with my back pressed into his side. 

I continue to talk to Ali and after a while, Loki cuts in. "You two seem to have a closer relationship than most cousins. Is there a reason for that?" 

I nod, "We were basically raised as sisters. My mom always worked so I would spend the summer with her and her brothers. How are they, by the way?" 

"Great! James just got married a few months back and Casey is starting his freshman year of college. He's in Yale! Mom is so proud of him. We all are." 

Later on, after Ella wakes up, Nonna and I go into the kitchen to start making dinner, leaving Loki and Ali in the living room to talk with Nonno. Not too long after that, Ali comes in and starts helping us make the pasta, the baby nowhere in sight. 

"Where is Ella? Where did you leave my nuova bambina?" Nonna pokes Ali as she kneads the dough. 

"She started crying and Loki offered to help, so I handed her off to him. She quieted really quickly, actually." She cocks her head thoughtfully, "You know, come to think of it, I don't think she has ever stopped crying for anyone as fast as she did for him." 

I smirk a bit. "He has a super power when it comes to crying children. We live in a place where everyone is basically family. My friend Tony has a daughter named Morgan and she just adores her Uncle Loki. Her older brother does too, but he is a teenager." 

"That's nice. He will be a good father."

"Bambina, you put the panettone in the oven then go talk to your Nonno." 

"Yes, ma'am." I respond and do as I'm told. As I walk into the living room, looking for Loki. I smile when I find him.

He's sitting in Nonna's armchair with the baby held to his chest. He coos at her, rocking back and forth. 

I feel my eyes fill with tears at the sight. He has always been good with Morgan and kids we meet on the job but I've never seen him with a baby this young. It's a little jarring.

I start imagining what he would look like with his own baby in his arms. With my baby.

I know he can hear what I'm thinking because he looks up and smiles softly at me before turning his attention back to Ella. He starts singing to her in old norse. The one his mother sang to him. 

The man is feeding my fantasies.

My cousin walks up to me and hugs my shoulders before going to retrieve her daughter from my husband.

"Could... could I hold her for a bit longer? It's been a very very long time since I've held a child this young." Ali smiles and nods, telling him she will have to take her to feed her in a few minutes. He agrees and turns his attention back to Ella as her mother walks away. 

In a spur of the moment decision, I fish my phone out of the pocket of my dress (Loki always finds the dresses with pockets) and snap a picture of the sight before me.

I walk over and sit on the floor at Loki's feet, leaning my head on his knee. "You do know that you have to share her with the rest of us." I nudge his leg. He glares at me teasingly before his face softens to something I only see occasionally. It's not an emotion I know how to describe but I see it when we find children on a mission. The children we help care for. 

"I know. I've always liked holding babies. I haven't done so in the last hundred years but it feels just as I remember it. Although, I've come to realize that Midgardian infants are quite a bit smaller than Asgardian infants."

"Yes, well, the average height of the Æsir is about 6 feet and an average Midgardian is somewhere around five foot six. You are all just super tall."

"So, what you are telling me is you are tiny even in the place you grew up? How fun! All the jokes I can now make without belittling the rest of mankind!" He chuckles.

I raise up onto my knees and flick him. He can't stop me because of the baby cradled to his chest. “Five foot three is still tall enough to put you on your ass. And do not deny it because we have proven it.” He glares at me and I kiss the top of his head as I stand up. "She has you wrapped around her little Itty bitty fingers, doesn't she?" I whisper.

"I will never say." 

I smile and move the blanket Ella is wrapped in out of her face a bit. "Something tells me she has that effect on everyone." 

"She does." Ali mutters. "I really do have to take her. You can have her back after dinner if you'd like. God knows I need a break after the long nights." She laughs, taking her baby from Loki. 

"Understandable. Babies like to wake Momma." I kiss my cousin's cheek. Taking his hand, I drag Loki to his feet and lead him to the kitchen to help Nonna finish dinner while Ella gets hers. Nonno follows us to give the pair some privacy. He sits at the table and bickers with Nonna as Loki and I plate the food.

During dinner, the four of us play pass the baby while Ali eats her dinner. She eventually lands back with Loki, who is more than happy to talk to and entertain her while he finishes his own food. 

After we finish eating, I help Nonna clean up the dishes while Nonno looks for cookies and Loki and Ali talk about Ella, if she wants more kids, when her father is coming home, if he wants more kids, and the list goes on. 

"She's asleep again? Dude, teach me your magical ways! She always fusses when I try to put her to sleep." 

"I've always been good at putting babies to sleep. Well, infants and Noelle, but she's a different story all together." I gasp dramatically and turn around to smack his shoulder as he laughs. 

Ali smiles at us. "You are good together. I'm happy for you." 

I grin at her, "Thank you, Alaina Marie."

"You are very welcome, Noelle Elizabeth." 

We leave not long after we finish the dishes. With a large paper bag full of food in tow, I kiss my grandparents and cousin goodbye as Loki, reluctantly, hands back little Ella, who he has taken to calling 'Smár Kærr'. Little Dear.

As we walk back to the tower, I lace my fingers through his. "You loved her."

He smiles and raises our hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to my fingers. "I do indeed. I miss children that age. But it's impossible with our line of work. Pepper stays home with Morgan and she stays with us when needed but she is nearly four years old. Babies need constant attention that we don't have time to give." He keeps his eyes glued to the sidewalk. 

"We have a long, long time. We won't always be Avengers. We can wait until we feel we can leave the saving of the world to the others."

"I know. And in the meantime, I can borrow Ella. I already discussed this with Alaina."

I laugh, "Of course you did." 

He smiles and pushes me towards the wall of the nearest building to kiss me. I wrap my arms around his neck as he moves his lips to my neck, muttering proclamations of love against my skin. 

"I love you, too." I whisper back.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Sorry the ending is a little sucky, I had no idea how I wanted to end it. Other than that, my ovaries are just a pile of debris even though I wrote it. It’s fine, I’m fine, everything’s fine!

[myonechicagoworld]

CHICAGO FIRE – HANGING ON (S01E05)

Hallie Thomas: Hello? 

Matt Casey: Just checking in.

Hallie Thomas: I’m fine…

                          Really… I should be checking on you.

Matt Casey: Not a care in the world.

                      Turn here.

Hallie Thomas: Some gang cop breaks into our cars, and you  

                           don’t have a care in the world?

Matt Casey: That’s right. Just another day. 

Hallie Thomas: I want it noted for the record that I don’t believe a  

                          word you’re saying.

Matt Casey: Good thing you’re a doctor and not a lawyer, because 

                      I’m just gonna let this blow over. Call you later.

                      I’ll just be a minute.

Peter Mills: Lieutenant.

                                        [truck door shuts]

Lady 1 (lady on the phone): Sir, um, you can’t go in there. Sir?

                                      [door swings open]

Hank Voight: Listen, I have a visitor. I’ll get back to you.

                                         [receiver clicks]

Matt Casey: Stay away from me.

Hank Voight: Excuse me?

Matt Casey: I’m telling you to back off. 

                     I’m telling you and whatever garbage you have   

                     working under you to stay the hell away from 

                     us.

Hank Voight: Sir, I don’t know what this department did to…

Matt Casey: I mean it. 

Hank Voight: Get your ass out of my office before I throw you  

                       through that window.

Matt Casey: The threats don’t work, Voight. 

                      I’m not some scared banger begging for a look the  

                      other way. Know this…I’m not retracting my 

                      statement. Ever.

                      What, you all afraid of this guy? Huh?

                      Someone tell me why.

Hank Voight: Alright, come on, get back to work. Show’s over.

(Over radio): Truck 81. Factory accident, Ogden and Ash.

                                            [engine starts]

Matt Casey: Drive.

                                          [truck door shuts]

                                                  cutscene

Man 1: He’s over here.

             Move out of the way. Move! Move!

Kelly Severide: How we doing?

Victim 1: [panting] I just need some help getting it out.

Kelly Severide: Okay, well, just stay with us.

Christopher Herrmann: The power’s off, it’s locked out. Holy cow.

Mouch: Bone saw.

Gabby Dawson: What do we got?

Leslie Shay: Excuse me.

Kelly Severide: Trapped arm,

Gabby Dawson: How are you feeling?

Victim 1: Not so good to tell you the truth.

Gabby Dawson: [whispers] That’s a lot of blood.

                            What’s your name, hun?

Victim 1: [clears throat] Garrett.

Gabby Dawson: Garrett, how long you been stuck, hun?

Victim 1 (Garrett): [groans & whimpers] I don’t know.

Gabby Dawson: [yelling] How long’s he been stuck?

Man 1: Going on 15.

Victim 1 (Garrett): [groans]

Firefighter: Here it is.

Leslie Shay: There we go.

Gabby Dawson: Okay, we gotta get him out now.

Kelly Severide: Alright, I loosen it up a little bit.

Victim 1 (Garrett): Good. 

Gabby Dawson: Garrett, we’re just gonna put some morphine in  

                            alright? Give us a minute.

Leslie Shay: You good?

Firefighter: Mmhmm. 

Leslie Shay: Alright sweetie, I gave you some morphine. You 

                     should feel better soon, okay?

Gabby Dawson: Garrett, we’re gonna try to ease your arm out now, 

                            okay?

Victim 1 (Garrett): [whimpering]

Gabby Dawson: Here we go. One…Two…three.

Victim 1 (Garrett): [screams] No! Stop! I can’t! I can’t!

                                           - Title Screen -

Matt Casey: Gear segments come right off. 

Hadley: What do you need?

Matt Casey: Wait. If we get the gears off, we can separate the  

                      casing and travel with it. We need power drills, 

                      ¼ inch hex, an Allen key. 

Capp: Excuse me, Sir.

Matt Casey: Mills, do the gears.

Capp: Here you go, Lieutenant.

Gabby Dawson: Okay?

Victim 1 (Garrett): [grunting]

                               God.

Kelly Severide: Let me in.

Peter Mills: Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it.

Matt Casey: Okay.

Victim 1 (Garrett): God!

Matt Casey: Come on.

                                           [drill buzzes]

Victim 1 (Garrett): [groaning]

Kelly Severide: Watch out, buddy.

                          Come on, Mills.

                          Support it, support it.

Gabby Dawson: Ready? Gurney’s coming in, guys.

Kelly Severide: Okay.

Hadley: Back up, back up, back up.

Leslie Shay: Behind you.

Peter Mills: Clear?

Firefighter: We’re clear.

Matt Casey: Okay.

Gabby Dawson: You good?

Matt Casey: Take it.

Hadley: Got it.

Victim 1 (Garrett): [screams] Oh God!

Kelly Severide: Watch it, watch it.

Firefighter: Got it, got it.

Leslie Shay: Sit down, sweetie. Sit down. Sit down. 

Kelly Severide: Do his legs. Do his legs.

Peter Mills: Just lay down. Lay down.

Victim 1 (Garrett): [groans]

Gabby Dawson: Alright, let’s get him out of here.

Leslie Shay: Casey, Severide, we need you guys. We gotta get this 

                     rig off.

Matt Casey: Yeah.

                                          [train horn blaring]

Victim 1 (Garrett): [groans]

                               God!

Gabby Dawson: Grab the I.V., set it to 5 millilitres drip.

                            We need 4x4s to stop this bleeding and call  

                            Lakeshore and tell them…[continues 

                            indistinctly]

Matt Casey: Ugh.

Kelly Severide: You all right?

Matt Casey: I didn’t sleep well.

Gabby Dawson: Hey, let’s go.

                                             [sirens wailing]

Leslie Shay: Possible crush syndrome, gave four of morphine,   

                     heart rate 130, his BP 110  palp, 2 litres of saline.

Victim 1 (Garrett): Call my boss, tell him…tell him that I’ll be there 

                               tomorrow, so don’t worry about… covering my 

                               shift.

Kelly Severide: Dude really loves his job.

Gabby Dawson: Ready on three.

                            One, two, three.

Victim 1 (Garrett): [screams] Oh, God!

                               [mumbling]

Nurse 1: He’s out. 

Hallie Thomas: Tourniquet’s on. 

                           And we’re ready here.

Matt Casey: Alright, let’s get this thing off.

                     Okay. This piece should just slide out.

                     Here. Ready?

Kelly Severide: Yeah.

Matt Casey: Thank you.

Hallie Thomas: Ease his arm.

Matt Casey: There’s two pieces.

Kelly Severide: I’ll grab it. I got it.

Hallie Thomas: Type and cross four units stat. I need  

                           compression. Get him to O.R. five. 

                           Go, go, go.

                           What a way to start the day.

Matt Casey: Not exactly.

Kelly Severide: Good to see you, Hallie.

Hallie Thomas: You too.

                           Well?

Matt Casey: Went to the CPD this morning; talked to Voight.

Hallie Thomas: You two talked it out?

Matt Casey: No.

                     I yelled.

Leslie Shay: Hey.

Kelly Severide: Hey.

                          Don’t suppose you could point me towards the  

                          Toradol? I might have twisted my shoulder again.

Leslie Shay: You’re dreaming.

Kelly Severide: Alright, don’t point. Just look toward it. I’ll do the 

                          rest.

Leslie Shay: Ugh.

                     [sighs]

                     [grunts in frustration]

Hallie Thomas: You don’t have to do it yourself.

Matt Casey: Then who else is gonna do it?

Hallie Thomas: The system…[continues indistinctly]

Leslie Shay: We ready?

Hallie Thomas: I want you to come home to me, Matt.

Gabby Dawson: Whatever.

                                               cutscene

Mouch: So wait, this bioactive refreshment can only be found on   

              what, Chebeague Island?

Christopher Herrmann: No, genius, it starts there in a natural  

                                        spring. They infuse it with the protein  

                                        and enzymes after in a laboratory. 

                                        Listen, all I know is this kid that I grew up  

                                        with is making a mint hocking this stuff.  

                                        You should see his status reports on 

                                        Facebook or whatnot. 

Otis Zvonecek: I’m sure he’s got a brand new Mercedes and a hot 

                           wife. 

Christopher Herrmann: Something like that.

Chief Boden: Hey, where’s Casey?

Christopher Herrmann: Guy got his arm buried in a machine,   

                                        so he went with Shay and Dawson to 

                                        the hospital to unbury it.

Chief Boden: You guys know anything about a visit to the CPD 

                        today?

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah, we made a stop coming back from Caldwell, 

                           said he needed to talk to somebody.

Chief Boden: Okay.

Otis Zvonecek: [gulping] That’s pretty good, actually. 

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah, sells itself.

                                         I got plenty more, guys. Drink up.

                                                [chuckling]

                                                 cutscene

                                            [water running]

Kelly Severide: You were good under there…with that machine.

Matt Casey: Thanks.

                                                cutscene

Mouch: Dawson.

              A little thank you from the paramedics regulatory board for 

              saving the Madeline girl last month. That’s your copy.

Gabby Dawson: Unbelievable. 

                            [exhales] “This serves as an acknowledgement   

                            that you have read and understood why this 

                            written reprimand was issued.”

Leslie Shay: Dawson, I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. You did the  

                     right thing, you know that. That girl would have died.

Mouch: Hey, it’s barely a slap on the wrist.

              I know Carla over there. I’ll make sure this goes right into  

              her circular file.

Gabby Dawson: Thanks, Mouch.

                            Oh, chives in the eggs. My day is getting better 

                            already.

Peter Mills: Thank you. Look.

Gabby Dawson: Hot sauce? Ugh, sorry.

Peter Mills: Lieutenant Casey, you eating?

Matt Casey: No.

Peter Mills: Okay.

Chief Boden: Casey, come with me.

Chief Grogan: The allegations are unfounded.

Chief Boden: Unfounded? I’m sorry, Chief Grogan, this has got 

                        Voight’s name written all over it.

Chief Grogan: There are no witnesses that Detective Voight was  

                         anywhere but on the job Halloween night.

                         Do you know how many tires got slashed that day?

Chief Boden: 15 years he worked gang unit. You don’t think he’s 

                        got a few locals who can do his dirty work?

Chief Grogan: And that is exactly why we have Internal Affairs and 

                        the A.S.A.’s office investigating. But I gotta tell you, 

                        without a direct link, what do you suggest we do, 

                        Chief Boden?

Chief Boden: I suggest you handle your precinct.

Chief Grogan: Wait just a damn minute.

Chief Boden: My Lieutenant and his fiancée are being harassed.  

                       Don’t you tell me to wait.

Matt Casey: Forget it, Chief. CPD isn’t gonna help. 

                     I’ll do it my own way.

Chief Boden: Casey, no. 

Matt Casey: Give me a better alternative.

                     Something.

Antonio Dawson: I’ll be the primary.

                              I.A., A.S.A., they got fish frying all over the city. 

                              I’ll take the lead on this. 

Chief Grogan: That’s fine by me.

                         We good here?

Chief Boden: Yeah, we’re good.

                                                   cutscene

                               [phone unlocks, keypad beeping]

Kelly Severide: [grunts] Anna, hey, it’s Kelly Severide. Sorry I  

                           haven’t called you back sooner. I changed 

                           cell phone numbers, and it was a big hassle. 

                           Anyway, look forward to hearing from you. 

                           Um, give me a call back when you have a 

                           chance.

                                               [phone locks]

Kelly Severide: [exhales and inhales sharply]

                                    [alarm sounds, PA buzzes]

Kelly Severide: [sighs]

(Over PA): Squad 3, Truck 94. Construction accident, 6248 South 

                  Francisco.

                                 [sirens wailing, horns honking]

Victim 2: [screams] Help! 

Victim 3: I can’t hold him!

Victim 2: Hurry! Help me! 

Victim 3: He’s slipping!

Victim 2: I can’t hold out! Help!

Kelly Severide: I’ll need your aerial on the other side of the church. 

                          Do the best you can, we’ll do the rest. 

                          Let’s gear up.

Victim 3: I can’t hold it!

Kelly Severide: Vargas, when they lock it down, have the rope bag   

                           at the ladder ready to go.

Jose Vargas: Got it.

Kelly Severide: Get that truck over there! Let’s go!

                                             [horn blaring]

Victim 3: I can’t…I can’t hold him.

Victim 2: Help! Please!

                                   [chatter on emergency radio]

Kelly Severide: Talk to me.

Victim 3: He’s slipping.

Victim 2: I’m loose!

Kelly Severide: Try to stay still. 

Victim 2 & 3: [whimpering & grunting] Hurry!

Kelly Severide: Coming to you. You hold tight now.

Victim 3: I can’t – I can’t hold him!

Victim 2: Help! Please! 

                                     [indistinct chatter on radio]

Kelly Severide: Alright, hang on me.

Victim 2: I-I can’t move.

Kelly Severide: Can you reach out with your other arm?

Victim 2: I can’t move it, no.

Victim 3: It’s my fault.

Kelly Severide: It’s alright. Just be calm, okay. We’re gonna get  

                          both of you down.

Victim 2 & 3: [whimpering]

Capp: This blue line’s for you. Gonna hook you up, take you down 

           first. 

Hadley: Line secure!

Kelly Severide: Okay, you can let go of him, we’ve got it.

Victim 2: [grunting]

Capp: No need to push off. Small steps.

           Here we go.

Kelly Severide: Keep it steady up there, Hadley.

Victim 3: He told me not to walk along the top, and I didn’t listen. 

Kelly Severide: What’s your name?

Victim 3: It’s Ty.

Kelly Severide: All right. Well, hold on, Ty.

Victim 3 (Ty): No, don’t, don’t, don’t! My leg! My leg!

Capp: All the way to the pavement. You’ve got it. 

Kelly Severide: Give me your hand.

                                            [creaking]

Hadley: Kelly!

Victim 3 (Ty): [screams] Ahh!

Kelly Severide: Hey, hang on!

                          Hadley, get that rope up here!

Capp: Doing great, doing great.

           (over radio) All clear. Pick it up.

Kelly Severide: Hang on.    

Victim 3 (Ty): [groaning] 

Kelly Severide: Aah! 

                          [groans] Aah!

                          Ty, reach up. In my right leg pocket, there’s a knife. 

Victim 3 (Ty): I can’t.

Kelly Severide: Ty.

                           Hey, listen to me. You have to. Gotta lose that  

                           extra weight.

Victim 3 (Ty): [groaning]

                      Come on.

                      Ahh! 

Kelly Severide: Cut the line.

                          Watch out below!

                                                     [thud]

Kelly Severide: [grunts]

Victim 3 (Ty): [groans]

Kelly Severide: Ty, grab the line. Clamp it to your harness.

Victim 3 (Ty): I got it, I got it, I got it.

Kelly Severide: [yells] Okay, Hadley.

                           Ty, just slow now the rest of the way, alright?

Hadley: [grunting]

Tony & Capp: I got ya, I got ya.

Victim 3 (Ty): Ah, ah.

Kelly Severide: [silently groaning]

                                             [sirens wailing]

Kelly Severide: [breathing heavily & grunting]

                                                 cutscene

Jose Vargas: Hey Lieutenant, just so you know, I’ve completed all 

                       the descent rescue training. 

Kelly Severide: When I think you’re ready, you’ll be the first to know.

Jose Vargas: Right, I just didn’t want you to waste… 

Kelly Severide: Hey!

Jose Vargas: All your resources.

Kelly Severide: Let it go. I’ve got other things to worry about 

                          besides your career track.

Jose Vargas: [sighs]

Phone Operator: Please leave a message after the tone.

Kelly Severide: Hey, Anna, it’s Kelly again.

                          Listen, I really need you to call me back. If I don’t 

                          answer, you can just leave me a message. I’ll get 

                          back to you. Thanks.

                         [sniffs]

                                              [water running]

                                                 cutscene

Christopher Herrmann: Red carpet treatment. I like it.

Cindy Herrmann: Mmhmm.

                                            [car door shuts]

Cindy Herrmann: My dad wants to know when he can put his  

                              snow blower back in the garage.

Christopher Herrmann: Oh, yeah?

Cindy Herrmann: Mmhmm.

Christopher Herrmann: Mm. 

Cindy Herrmann: Mm.

                                               [kissing sound]

Christopher Herrmann: We’ll be running through that water faster  

                                         than a blizzard in December. Trust me.

Cindy Herrmann: Just don’t put too much pressure on this idea, 

                             please?

                              We’ll be okay.

Christopher Herrmann: We’re getting a house, Cindy. The kids  

                                         need their own space. We need our 

                                         own space, hmm?

Cindy Herrmann: Mmhmm.

                                             [kissing sound]

Christopher Herrmann: Tell your dad to sell that metal lathe.  

                                         There’ll be plenty of room in there.

Cindy Herrmann: Don’t even mention the lathe.

Christopher Herrmann: Your mom uses it as a drying rack. 

Cindy Herrmann: Don’t.

                                           [car door shuts]

Christopher Herrmann: Anyone home?

Cindy Herrmann: No.

Christopher Herrmann: [growls]

Cindy Herrmann: Oh! [laughs]

Christopher Herrmann: Get over here!

                                          [door slamming]

                                                 cutscene

Matt Casey: [grunting]

                     [groaning]

Masked Men: [grunting & groaning]

Matt Casey: [grunting]

Hallie Thomas: No cracked ribs. You’re next in line for the CT scan.

                          Will you sit up for me?

Matt Casey: Yeah [groaning] 

Hallie Thomas: I need you to take some deep breaths, okay?

Matt Casey: Okay [breathes deeply]

Hallie Thomas: Again.

Matt Casey: [breathes deeply, raggedly] [groans]

Hallie Thomas: It sounds clear. That’s good.

                          You can lay back.

Matt Casey: [whimpers]

Chief Boden: Casey, how are you?

Antonio Dawson: So, no faces for these guys? Markings? Anything

                              distinguishable?

Matt Casey: One of them had a tattoo. Forearm.

Antonio Dawson: Left? Right?

Matt Casey: Left. 

                      Oh, God, maybe right.

Antonio Dawson: Think.

Matt Casey: I am thinking!

Antonio Dawson: [sighs] All right. All right, rest for a few.

Chief Boden: Matt. Matt! Believe me, I know what you’re going  

                       through, and I know what you’re thinking but we 

                       are gonna figure out how to do this the right way. 

                       Do you hear me? 

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Chief Boden: Okay.

                       Okay, talk to me. What are you gonna do? 

Antonio Dawson: For starters, we gotta identify at least one of the 

                              attackers.  

Christopher Herrmann: Doesn’t matter. It was that Detective  

                                         yanking those kids’ strings. 

Antonio Dawson: I’m sure it was. But if I can’t connect the hitters  

                              to Voight, and Voight knows this better than  

                              anyone, we don’t have a thing.

Peter Mills: What can we do now, Chief?

Mouch: Well, I’ll tell you what I’d do. Grab a halligan and ring that  

              son of a bitch’s doorbell.

Chief Boden: You guys, keep your eyes forward, and you stay out  

                       of it. Support your Lieutenant. Have his back, that’s it.

Hallie Thomas: Think the Chief’s right. 

Matt Casey: I am not gonna sit back and take it. 

Hallie Thomas: I’m not saying that you should. But you make one  

                          wrong decision, and suddenly you’re the bad guy,  

                          and that’s exactly what he wants. 

Matt Casey: [ragged breathing]

Hallie Thomas: Promise me you’ll be careful. Promise.

Matt Casey: I promise.

                                            [kissing sound]

                                               cutscene

                                           [razor buzzing]

                                            [door chimes]

Chief Boden: Oh my god, how long’s the wait?

Terrance: [chuckles] What? Did I screw up that do of yours?

Chief Boden: No more than you usually do.

Terrance: Oh, [laughs] now you’re just begging for a long wait. 

Chief Boden: [laughs] 

                       Can I see you for a minute?

                                        [razor stops buzzing]

Terrance: Be right back, DJ.

Chief Boden: I got me a problem with a cop. White cop.

Terrance: Not the first time I’ve heard that complaint around here.

Chief Boden: He’s a dirty cop, Terrance. I need me someone who’ll  

                       wear a wire.

Terrance: Dirty white cop.

                 I’m into it.

                                                  cutscene 

Kelly Severide: Hey. 

                                             [kissing sound]

Anna: I about died when your name came up on my phone.

Kelly Severide: Yeah? Well, I’m glad you didn’t.

Anna: Are you still fighting fires?

Kelly Severide: Yeah, most of the time.

Anna: We were good together. Am I right?

Kelly Severide: Yeah, sure. We had our moments. For a while.

Anna: The coat room at the Drake.

Kelly Severide: Definitely a moment.

                           I have a favour to ask you, Anna.

Anna: I knew there was gonna be a catch.

           I’m staying at the Peninsula. Conference B.S. for the next

           three days. Pick a night, and ask me for your favour then.

                                                 cutscene

Christopher Herrmann: [sighs]

Otis Zvonecek: What’s up, Herrmann?

Christopher Herrmann: Nada.

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah? You look like your dog just died.

Christopher Herrmann: That’s just insensitive.

                                         Alright, look, it’s just when I…

                                         Hey, Lieutenant.

Mouch: You should take a few more days, Casey. Well within your 

              rights.

Matt Casey: Eh, I’d just be staring at the ceiling. I’m going to look  

                     at mugshots.

Antonio Dawson: Speaking of, where do you wanna do this?

                              The guys who assaulted you have a record, 

                               guaranteed. Means they’ve been processed,  

                               and we have those tats on file. See if you can 

                               recall one of those.

Matt Casey: [grunts]

Gabby Dawson: Oh, sorry to interrupt. I’m just grabbing my stuff.

                            [whispers] Hey, any progress?

Antonio Dawson: We’ll get there. Unless you got a magic wand on 

                              you.

GabbyDawson: [laughs]

                                                 [phone rings]

Matt Casey: I gotta…[grunts] I gotta take it.

                      Hi.

Hallie Thomas: I, um, I’m just holding to our agreement.  

                          I’m checking in with you. You okay?

Matt Casey: Just looking at photographs of tattoos. 

Hallie Thomas: You never know.

Matt Casey: That’s right. 

Hallie Thomas: I love you.

Matt Casey: I love you too.

Gabby Dawson: [sighs]

Hallie Thomas: Do this the right way, or I may have to come down 

                          there. 

Matt Casey: [chuckles] 

                      So maybe the right way isn’t so right.

Hallie Thomas: Maybe not.

                                   [alarm sounds, PA buzzes]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61, head injury. Northwest corner of Hyde 

                  Park.

Gabby Dawson: Gotta go.

Antonio Dawson: Go get ‘em.

Gabby Dawson: Mmhmm.

                                                   cutscene

Leslie Shay: What’s his name?

Teen 1: What the hell difference does it make? His name’s Vince. 

             Fix him.

Leslie Shay: Vince, can you hear me?

                      All right, if you can hear me, don’t move, blink twice.

Gabby Dawson: C-collar.

Leslie Shay: Yeah.

Teen 1: How long are you gonna leave him lying there? Get him in  

             the damn ambulance already!

Gabby Dawson: What happened?

Teen 1: We rode it off down this ramp, we flipped, he hit first.

Gabby Dawson: You on something, huh? What are you on? 

Teen 1: You need to shut up. Fix him, not me.

Gabby Dawson: Come on.

                            Here we go. On three. One, two, three.

Gabby Dawson: We’ll see you at the hospital. Lakeshore.

Teen 1: I’m going with him.

Gabby Dawson: No you’re not. 

Teen 1: This ain’t up to you lady.

             [groans]

Gabby Dawson: On behalf of the Paramedics Association of 

                            America, I offer my sincerest apologies for  

                            the forceful actions I exhibited here today.

                                                 [engine starts]

                                           [onlookers laughing]

                                                [sirens blares]

                                                    cutscene

                                                   [moaning]

Anna: My God I missed that.

           [exhales deeply]

Kelly Severide: I need a favour, Anna.

Anna: Can we just order a little room service first?

Kelly Severide: You asked me to meet you here, and I did.

Anna: Fine, go ahead. You want a favour, let’s hear it.

Kelly Severide: I need something…okay? Something strong.

                                                 cutscene

Gabby Dawson: Ah! Whoo.

Peter Mills: What is that?

Gabby Dawson: This is my leftovers. Chicken mac and cheese. 

                            Whoa! Hey! 

Peter Mills: No, no, no. That smell, I can’t be held responsible. 

Gabby Dawson: [scoffs]

Peter Mills: Where’d you get this?

Gabby Dawson: Oh, screw you, Mills. I made it.

Peter Mills: Okay, well, name the ingredients.

Gabby Dawson: [laughs] I’m not gonna tell you that. It’s handed  

                            down from my grandmother – hey! It’s a secret.

Peter Mills: I will figure it out. 

Gabby Dawson: Many have tried, young Peter Mills. All have failed.

Peter Mills: Come on! Let me get one more bite at least.

Christopher Herrmann: (on phone) What? Wha…you accepted the 

                                        shipment?

                                        No, it-it’s okay. Just don’t open any of

                                        them. I’ll deal with it when I get back. 

                                        Thank you.

                                        In-laws are single-handedly cutting my life  

                                        expectancy in half.

Otis Zvonecek: What is going on with you?

Christopher Herrmann: [sighs] Just hanging on for dear life.

Otis Zvonecek: Spill it.

Christopher Herrmann: I have cases of this damned energy water  

                                         sitting in my in-laws’ garage, and I’m 

                                         never gonna be able to off-load. I’m in for 

                                         a grand already, and they just keep 

                                         coming. They call it multi-level marketing, 

                                         but it’s a pyramid scheme. 

                                         And I don’t know what I’m gonna tell 

                                        Cindy.

Otis Zvonecek: So return it.

Christopher Herrmann: It’s non-refundable.

Otis Zvonecek: Non-refundable is a word made up by lawyers.

Christopher Herrmann: I signed a contract.

Otis Zvonecek: Give me the number.

                                               cutscene

Gabby Dawson: That is absurd!

                            Well, then, fine. I guess you’ll know where to find 

                            me.

                            On the job!

Leslie Shay: What was all that about?

Gabby Dawson: That frat kid, he filed a complaint with the city.

Leslie Shay: Oh, the kid’s just embarrassed. No way he’ll ever  

                     follow through on that.

Gabby Dawson: Well, he just did, Shay.

Leslie Shay: Well, that’s ridiculous, and screw them.

                      You know I would have done the same thing.

Gabby Dawson: Well, you didn’t. I did.

                            And…that makes two, for everyone keeping score.

                            County said that they could suspend me this time.

                                [alarm sounds, PA buzzes]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61, Altered mental status. West Madison 

                 Street.

Chief Boden: Dawson, I rerouted that call to 34. 

                       Dawson, I need to see you.

                       Come on.

Gabby Dawson: Reckless infliction of emotional distress? Are you 

                            kidding me?

Chief Hatcher: You have a bit of a track record lately, wouldn’t you 

                          say?

Mouch: Apples and oranges. 

Gabby Dawson: Except both involve me saving a life; which I did.

Chief Hatcher: Both involve violations in a very short time span. 

Mouch: But…

Gabby Dawson: That…

Mouch: This isn’t enough to warrant suspension, Chief. No way.

Chief Hatcher: Well, be ready for the possibility. And be absolutely  

                          certain that your memory of the event is accurate to 

                          the best of your knowledge. 

Gabby Dawson: Like what? That I kicked the belligerent jackass  

                            with one foot or two?

Chief Boden: Is there a date set for this hearing?

Chief Hatcher: Not at the moment.

Mouch: There won’t be one, Chief. This will be a written warning  

               just like the other. One call.

                                               [phone rings]

Chief Boden: Well, whatever you need to do. You take care of this.

Gabby Dawson: [sighs]

Mouch: [whispers] It’s fine.

Chief Boden: I have someone. 

                       I know a guy who lives in Voight’s neighbourhood   

                       who knows a kid who’s willing to wear a wire.   

                       We’re gonna meet him at the end of the shift.

                                                  cutscene

                                               [siren wails]

                                     [indistinct radio chatter]

                                           [car door shuts]

Hank Voight: Evening, ma’am. Got you rolling through a stop back 

                       there.

Hallie Thomas: What stop?

Hank Voight: I can let it go with a warning this time. 

                      Just do me a favour. Talk some sense into your man. 

Hallie Thomas: Excuse me?

Hank Voight: I’d really hate to see things get uglier than they 

                      already are.

                      Thank you, Hallie. Have a good night.

                                                   cutscene

Chief Boden: So what’s the process here? 

Antonio Dawson: If the kid’s willing to go on tape, we’ll set up a 

                              sting. 

                                              [phone rings]

Matt Casey: Hey baby. 

                     What’s wrong? Everything all right?

                     I get it. Just why didn’t you call me last night when it 

                     happened?

                                            [car door shuts]

                                                cutscene

Otis Zvonecek: Manager.

                          Man-a-ger.

                          Speak…to…manager.

                          Yes.

                                                 cutscene

Leslie Shay: Come on, let’s get out of here.

                      Where do you…where do you wanna go? Someplace  

                       loud? We can go to Jenson’s? They have good 

                       music. Wanna go someplace quiet, get coffee?   

                       Library maybe? Want to peruse a novel or flip  

                       through some microfilm? [chuckles] Do they 

                       even make microfilm anymore?

Gabby Dawson: I think I already have a plan.

Leslie Shay: Yeah? What?

Gabby Dawson: I’m gonna cook.

                                                 cutscene

Otis Zvonecek: (sighs) Well, the terms of the note are 

                           misrepresented.

                           Why, yes, I am an attorney. Are you?

Christopher Herrmann: [whispers] No…[continues indistinctly]

Otis Zvonecek: Oh, you’re in marketing. Perfect. So you should  

                           know that the basic premise of a pyramid 

                           scheme was found to be illegal in accordance 

                           with the case of Landers versus Holcroft 1985. 

Christopher Herrmann: [mouthing] Stop it…

Otis Zvonecek: And so, if you are illegally refusing my client’s rights 

                          on page one, trust me, [chuckles] it’s not getting  

                          any better on pages 10, 11, or 12, guaranteed.

                          I-I-I do this for a living, sir. All it’s gonna cost me   

                          are the filing fees.

                          That’s right. Small claims, better business bureau.  

                          I can turn this into a real, three-ring circus and not 

                          lose a minute of sleep. 

Christopher Herrmann: [mouthing] Don’t. Stop it.

Otis Zvonecek: I am gonna drain your pockets of 10 grand so fast,  

                          all the fake energy water in the world won’t 

                         rehydrate them.

Christopher Herrmann: [sighs]

Otis Zvonecek: Uh, huh. Yes. 

                           Overnight it, please. 

                           They wanna know where to send the refund.

                            Non-refundable [chuckles]

Christopher Herrmann: Hello? Yeah.

                                                cutscene

Kelly Severide: You seen Vargas?

Hadley: Yeah, he’s heading in. Oh hey, you got a phone call a few  

              minutes ago, by the way. Some woman, name was Anna?

Kelly Severide: Oh, okay, thanks.

                          Hey Vargas, grab your rappelling gear.

Jose Vargas: What? Shift’s ending.

Kelly Severide: You heard me.

                                             cutscene

                                         [train passing]

Terrance: This is Darell. 

Chief Boden: This is Detective Dawson.

Antonio Dawson: What have you got for us, kid? 

Darell: Voight bad, man. Whole West Side up and down know to 

            step back.

Antonio Dawson: You done favours for him?

Darell: Yeah. Hell, enough to get tight.

Antonio Dawson: Yeah? What’s he told you?

Darell: Mess with the lady, expect a payday. But go after you? 

            He said he’s take care of all of us. “Anything you need,”  

            he said. ‘Get out of jail free’ passes for me and some 

            others.

Matt Casey: So you’ll wear a wire? 

Darell: Hell, yeah.

Antonio Dawson: When did Voight reach out last?

Darell: Two weeks ago.

Matt Casey: Two weeks?

Darell: Maybe a week.

Matt Casey: Which is it?

Darell: A week then. 

Antonio Dawson: Ay-yi-yi.

Darell: Whatever you want it to be, you tell me.

Matt Casey: This guy’s full of it. 

Darell: Look, I get paid, I get you what you want. Everybody makes 

            out. Problems go away. It’s capitalism man.

Chief Boden: Get the hell out of here.

Darell: It ain’t gotta be like that.

Chief Boden: I said get the hell out.

Darell: Right.

Terrance: I thought he was legit.

Chief Boden: Casey!

                                                cutscene

Gabby Dawson: Sorry for the wait, Peter Mills.

                            Bon appetit.

Peter Mills: Thank you.

                    [sniffs] So good.

Gabby Dawson: Good luck.

Peter Mills: Yeah?

                     Mmm. Chicken…rotisserie?

Gabby Dawson: Mmhmm.

Peter Mills: Bacon, red peppers, sweet onions, a tablespoon of 

                    butter?

Gabby Dawson: Mmhmm.

Peter Mills: Uh huh. Uh, oil…olive oil.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah.

Peter Mills: Uh…[sniffs]

                    Gruyere cheese?

Gabby Dawson: Yeah.

Peter Mills: Yeah?

Gabby Dawson: And parmesan…

Peter Mills: No, please don’t spot me. I can get it.

Gabby Dawson: I gotta spot you ‘cause you’re not gonna get it.

Peter Mills: What won’t I get? What am I missing?

Gabby Dawson: The thing that makes it a family secret.

Peter Mills: Ah.

Gabby Dawson: Ah. 

Peter Mills: Tell me what it is.

Gabby Dawson: No [chuckles]

Peter Mills: Look, I will tell my mom to put it on the menu 

                    tomorrow. 

Gabby Dawson: [laughs]

Peter Mills: We can call it “Grandma Dawson’s mac and cheese.”

                    Come on.

Gabby Dawson: Another one bites the dust.

Peter Mills: Ah.

Gabby Dawson: Oh. Bam.

Peter Mills: [chuckles]

Gabby Dawson: [laughs]

Peter Mills: All right. 

                    [sniffs]

                    Nutmeg.

Gabby Dawson: Nobody ever gets that. Ever.

Peter Mills: Ooh!

                    Yes, yes! 

Gabby Dawson: [laughs] How did you do that?

                            You are lucky.

Peter Mills: Nobody but me, baby.

Gabby Dawson: Oh my God [laughs]

                                            [phone rings]

Gabby Dawson: That’s just…that’s friggin’ luck.

Peter Mills: That is talent. That is all that is.

Gabby Dawson: One sec.

                            Mouch, what do you know?

Mouch: Yeah I’ve got bad news. They’ve scheduled a hearing.

               I tried like hell to fight it off, but that’s the way it stands.  

               I’ll call you later with more.

Gabby Dawson: Mills, where do you keep the liquor?

                                                 cutscene

Capp: There he is.

Kelly Severide: And time!

                          6:42, ladies. He obliterated your old time.

Hadley: [laughs]

Kelly Severide: Get up here.

Capp: I’m not helping his ass up here.

Jose Vargas: [exhales]

Kelly Severide: Now sit your ass down, Vargas. You earned it.

Jose Vargas: [panting]

Kelly Severide: Welcome to the squad.

Jose Vargas: [sighs] Before breakfast?

Kelly Severide: After shift.

                                              [cans clinking]

Kelly Severide: Have a seat.

Jose Vargas: [groans & panting]

Hadley: Did you ever call Anna back?

Kelly Severide: Nah.

Hadley: Oh, now I remember.

              Anna. Yeah, she was a pharmaceutical rep or something 

              like that. 

Kelly Severide: Was she? I don’t…We never talked.

                                               cutscene

                                          [train passing]

Anna: I know I shouldn’t have called the firehouse.

           Here.

Kelly Severide: Thank you.

Anna: Be careful with these. Take them only when necessary.

Kelly Severide: I will.

Anna: I’m in town two more days.

Kelly Severide: Cool. I’ll let you know.

                                          [train passing]

                                         [car door shut] 

                                          [engine roars]

                                             cutscene

                                    [cell phone vibrating]

                                        [car door shuts]

Chief Boden: What?

                       Give it to me.

                       I’m only gonna tell you one more time, Casey. 

                       Give it to me.

                       Go on and get out of here.

                       Go home.

                                            [engine starts]

                                                 - end -

Definitions:

¼ inch hex = Also known as an Allen key, is a small handheld tool that’s used for driving bolts and screws with a hexagonal socket.

4x4s = Emergency first aid 4x4 gauze pads

BP by palp = This means that the systolic (maximum pressure your heart exerts while beating) blood pressure was measured by palpitation rather than auscultation (listening to sounds typically with a stethoscope). You find the radial pulse, inflate the cuff well past the point where the pulse disappears and let air out until the pulse returns.

Type and cross = Blood typing is the process of determining the blood type and rH factor (Rhesus factor is a type of protein found on the outside of red blood cells. This protein is genetically inherited. If you have the protein, you are Rh-positive; if not, you are Rh-negative) of a sample of blood. Cross-matching involves finding the best donor for a patient prior to blood transfusion.

Toradol = Is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. Toradol is used short-term (5 days or less) to treat moderate to severe pain.

A.S.A.’s office = Assistant State Attorney

Metal lathe = Originally designed to machine metals; however with the advent of plastics and other materials, and with their inherent versatility, they are used in wide range of applications, and a broad range of materials. Lathes remove material from a rotating work piece via the movements of various cutting tools such as tool bits and drill bits.

Altered mental status = is a broad category that applies to geriatric (refers to medical care for older adults, usually > 65 although most people do not need geriatrics expertise in their case until age, 70, 75, 80) patients who have a change in cognitive level of consciousness (LOC is a measurement of a person’s arousability and responsiveness to stimuli from the environment)

#Chicago Fire #Chicago PD #One Chicago #chicago fire script #matt casey #jesse spencer #peter mills #Charlie Barnett #hank voight #jason beghe #Kelly Severide #taylor kinney #Christopher Herrmann #david eigenberg #mouch #christian stolte #gabby dawson #Monica Raymund #Leslie Shay #Lauren German #chief boden #wallace boden #eamonn walker #hanging on #fire #firefighter #paramedic #paramedics #detective #sargeant

[vmheadquarters]

Welcome to…

We’re going to play a game of written hot potato! Dozens of your favorite authors will take turns telling this story. Each writer will craft a chapter (with no prior planning) and then “toss” the story to the next person to continue the tale. No one knows what will happen, so expect the unexpected! Follow the “vmhq presents” and “murder we wrote” tags for all the installments, or read the story as it develops on AO3. — Chapter Two of MURDER, WE WROTE is written by @nearfantastica​.

And stayed tuned next week for Ch.3 from @saoirsekonstantin​ -tag, you’re it!———————————————————————————————————– [CH1]

CHAPTER TWO by @nearfantastica​ a/k/a casket4mytears

“Of course he’s dead.  Murder mystery weekend?” Dick rolled his eyes.  “Look, we all know Ronnie’s gonna work her PI magic and solve this with ten minutes of searching Google.  Nerd.  Can we go back inside and drink now?”

“No Dick,” Logan gently chastised, as if explaining to his child yet again that he couldn’t grow up and be a Jedi.  “This isn’t part of the game.  He’s actually dead.”

Gia spun around, poking Luke in the chest.  “I did not sign up for actual dead bodies, Luke.  You told me this would be fun.”

A lump formed in Veronica’s throat as she stared at the lifeless form of Leo D’Amato.  Years ago, before Lilly’s murder, she’d considered following in father’s footsteps and pursuing a career in law enforcement.  She’d toyed with the idea anew last summer at her FBI internship, the possibilities a Rubik’s Cube spun deftly in her palms.  Moments like these reminded her why she’d veered towards practicing law instead.  

Bodies, especially those of people she knew, unsettled her.  The inertia of them, the inconsistency… she couldn’t reconcile it.  People breathe.  People move.  At Lilly’s funeral, she remembered whispering to her father that it wasn’t Lilly—that Lilly was never still.  That they should shut the casket, because Lilly would hate to be remembered as motionless.

“Veronica?”

She was coaxed back to the present by the sound of Logan’s voice, concerned and closer than she expected it.  He was crouched beside her, shining his light over the body.  Casting her own Maglite across the ice, she noticed something fluttering beneath the camping lantern.  Hmm…

“You okay?  I know that you and Leo… were friendly.”

Veronica huffed softly.  “We dated.  Briefly, until I cheated on him with you.  I’m fine, Logan.”  Glancing over at him, she smiled gratefully.  “Thank you for asking.”

Logan’s gloved hand reached for hers, offering a reassuring squeeze.  For a moment, she lost herself in the depths of his eyes, all fears of frostbite forgotten as her heart panged with regret.  Seven months, nine days and six hours, and no bookie in Vegas would touch the odds of her moving past Logan Echolls now. 

Focus, Veronica!

Gently extricating her hand from Logan’s, Veronica rose slowly to her feet, circling around the pool of blood towards the lantern.  She kept her eyes downcast, scanning for footprints, drag marks, anything of use, but saw nothing.  The blustery winds of the snowstorm were swiftly disposing of evidence for the killer.  Retrieving her phone from her jeans pocket, she began snapping photos of the fluttering object in situ—well aware the police would be furious she was touching it at all.

“Phone.  Good idea!” Casey enthused.  “We need the cops here now.”

“Casey, do you really think there’s reception on Death Island on a good day, let alone during a storm like this?” Carrie sneered.  “Do you see a cell phone tower anywhere?”

Casey bristled, adjusting the collar of his parka. “Technological advancements being what they are—“

“I have no bars and I’m just taking photos,” Veronica snapped, reaching down to retrieve the mystery object.

Now this might be useful…

“Hey, hey!  She’s hogging all of the clues!” Cole protested, tapping Kimmy on the arm.

Brushing a tear from her cheek, Kimmy shoved him aside.  “You idiot!  This isn’t a game anymore!  How many drinks did you have tonight?”

“ENOUGH,” Logan warned, silencing the chatter.  “Veronica, what is that?”

“It’s a folded sheet of paper,” she replied, tucking it in her pocket.  “It’s too wet out here.  If it has writing on it, I don’t want the snow to damage it.  We should read it inside the house.”

“No, what we should do is get the hell out of here, fast!”  Wallace shouted.  “I’ve seen my share of horror movies.  As the only person of color in this group, that means I’m the likeliest to end up with a knife, a bullet or a fish hook in my gut.”

Veronica frowned, stepping forward to console him.  “Wallace, it’s going to be okay—“

Wallace’s arms flew up in the air.  “For you, maybe!  You’re the Final Girl!  White girl, PI, your ex dead on the ice.  Come on now, Supafly.  Name a horror movie where a Black man lives to the end.  No, we need off this rock.  And until we’re off it, I go where you go.  You feel me?”

“Where else would you go?  I’m your plus one,” she soothed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.  Lowering her voice, she whispered, “I need to check one thing and then we’re headed back to the house to figure a way out of here, okay?”

Wallace nodded anxiously, glancing sideways at Logan.  “Alright.  But we need to bounce.”

“No arguments here.”

Reluctantly, she circled Leo’s body and snapped photos from a variety of angles.  Fighting the urge to vomit, she reached inside his jacket pocket, retrieving his wallet and a set of car keys, but finding no other papers or items of note.  Satisfied she had everything useful, she headed back to the warmth of the mansion, eager to escape the sleet pelting her bare cheeks.  Logan and Wallace—ever helpful in a crisis--ushered the party guests along behind her.

As she trudged through the snow, Veronica considered her priorities:  contact authorities; secure evidence; keep everyone together.  Wallace was right:  they needed to get off the island or engage law enforcement as quickly as possible.  In the meantime, if a killer was on this island with them, safety would be found in numbers.  Cell service was a bust, but surely the sprawling home had a landline or other means of communication with the outside world.  No one wealthy enough to construct a home this beautiful would leave themselves without a means of calling in the cavalry.

“Why was that guy here?” Kimmy sniffled as Veronica opened the front door.  “Who even invited him?  He didn’t go to Neptune High, did he?”

“He went to a dance, once,” Carrie replied.  “I’m surprised you don’t remember it, Kimmy.  Meg invited him for Veronica.  Shouldn’t you have that memorized as part of your body snatching?”

“And I thought it was icy outside,” Wallace muttered quietly. 

“Just remember: you made me come to this party, Papa Bear.”

Kimmy tugged on Veronica’s sleeve, spinning her around.  “Wait, you were dating the dead guy?  Doesn’t that make you a suspect?”

“Dated, as in past tense.  It’s been years, and we only went out a few times,” Veronica replied dismissively, yanking her arm away.  “Leo and I were friends.  Besides, the state of the body… he was dead before Wallace and I arrived.”

“She’s dating that radio dweeb now… Pizzle,” Dick interjected, pouring out a martini.

Veronica stared at her boots, avoiding Logan’s gaze as Wallace mercifully jumped into the conversation.  “Also past tense.  They split up in the summer.  We haven’t seen him since we flew out to New York to visit him at Presbyterian, right V?”

“Mmm-hmm.”  Just keep staring at the tiles…

“Poor guy got hit by a bus, the last week of his summer internship.  He’s still in the hospital there, full body traction, head trauma,” Wallace continued.  “Guy wasn’t even conscious when we were there.”

“Damn.  I’m sorry to hear that,” Logan offered quietly.

“Says the guy who rearranged his ribs and face?” Wallace snapped.

Veronica laid a warning hand on his arm.  “Wallace… You promised.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”  With a heavy sigh, Wallace stormed across the room to console a shuddering Alexis Link.

Veronica shot an apologetic look at Logan, who shrugged it off.  It’s fine, he mouthed.  It wasn’t—that much was clear from the crestfallen look that flickered across his features—but she would apologize in depth later.  Her relationship with Piz, and its demise, had nothing to do with Logan’s fists of fury.  Their ending was the product of a man who couldn’t see the hypocrisy in pursuing his internship and dreams, while holding her solely responsible for the long distance between them as she rightfully pursued hers.  She’d ended it while still in Quantico, moving on to Stanford without looking back.

Well, not at him, anyway, she amended silently. 

“You know, it’s funny,” Carrie Bishop mused aloud.  “I heard that Troy Vandegraff died in a car accident over the holidays.  Didn’t you date him in junior year?”

“I did, for a little while.  That’s a shame…”

Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica noticed Dick tugging Logan behind the bar, struggling to wrap his hand around his bicep.  How are Logan’s arms even bigger than I remember them?  Logan’s expression was one of bemusement, his feet firmly planted in place.

“Black Widow,” Dick muttered ominously.  “I’m not letting you end up on Dateline, dude.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself,” Logan insisted, moving to Veronica’s side.

Dick formed his index fingers into a cross, holding them up in Veronica’s direction.  “Fine.  Your funeral, and I’m so not sending flowers.”

Drawing a deep breath to steady herself (and to resist the urge to chuck the ornamental bowl beside her at Dick’s stupid head), Veronica smacked her palm on the table.  “As much fun as rehashing my love life has been, there’s a dead man on the pond and a killer loose on the island.  Priorities, people?”

Sweeping her Maglite over the group of partygoers, Veronica studied them all in turn:  Wallace, her best friend, consoling a crying Alexis to her right; Carrie and Susan, imbibing with tense expressions on the sofa; Casey and Kimmy, upset, but holding it together; a shocked Luke clinging to a distraught Gia; and Cole and Dick, both of whom seemed too intoxicated to fully appreciate what was happening.  And then there was Logan to her left, whose worried gaze was laser-focused on her.

“Okay, since cell phones are a bust, has anyone seen a landline?”

A lot of shaking heads, save one:  Susan Knight hesitated, her brow furrowing.  “Hmm… I might have seen one in the kitchen earlier?”

Carrie Bishop drained the frothy white concoction in her hand.  “I’ll go look with you.”

“Cole, you go too,” Veronica ordered.

Carrie huffed angrily and advanced towards Veronica.  “Of all the people in this group, the last I would expect sexist bullshit from—“

“Actually, I just want him out of my sight for five minutes and know you can take care of him.  Thanks for being a pal, Carrie.”

Cole’s protests were silenced by Carrie’s arm looping around his, dragging him down the long corridor towards what Veronica assumed was the kitchen.  Not that she and Wallace had gotten that far.  Damn it, they hadn’t even managed a drink before this had all gone to hell. 

Speaking of, Dick was still at the bar, making what were likely terrible, overly strong martinis in the dark. 

“Hey, bring back snacks!” Wallace called after them.  “Chips, Cheetos, a man’s not picky.”

Alexis pulled away from his embrace, tears streaming down her face.  “Are you serious right now?”

“It was a long trip and I’m hungry!” Wallace protested. 

Extracting Leo’s wallet from her pocket, Veronica flipped through the contents, finding little of interest.  Driver’s licence, debit card, credit cards, photos of his sister and his mother.  One item stood out:  a current private investigator’s licence for the state of California.  Huh.  If she did the math… he would have renewed it recently.  Last she’d heard, he was still working as a Deputy for Balboa County, although her information could be out of date.

Now, for the key find:  the mystery paper pinned beneath the camping lantern on the ice.  Veronica carefully unfolded it on the coffee table and shone her Maglite on it.  What she found left her reeling.

It was page three of a case file from Van Lowe Investigations—and according to the header, the lead investigator was none other than Leo D’Amato himself.  The text was smeared in several places from the snow, and being the third page, the notes were difficult to follow in places, but what Veronica could pick up…

“What’s that?” Casey asked.

“Motive for murder,” Veronica replied coolly, snapping photos of the page before carefully re-folding it. 

“So’s being your ex,” Casey remarked dryly, earning a glare from the petite blonde.  “What?  We’re all thinking it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  Troy and Piz had accidents.  Piz?  That was five months ago.  Hardly relevant to—“

The thud of hurried footsteps approaching drew the attention of the group.  Heads turned towards Susan, breathless and distraught, with Carrie and Cole in close pursuit.

“The phones are dead,” she panted.  “But not just dead.  They’re cut.”

Logan cast his flashlight in their direction.  “Cut?”

“The wire was cut,” Cole blurted out, visibly shaking.  “So we ran upstairs, because Carrie remembered a phone in her bedroom.  But that one was cut too.  We checked all the rooms upstairs, but every single phone was cut.  Slashed like buddy’s throat out there.”

“What did I tell you?” Wallace snapped.  “Veronica, we need to go.  A brother’s about to get filleted.”

“Oh hey, found you a Milky Way!” Cole added absently, tossing a chocolate bar in Wallace’s direction.

With an exasperated sigh, Wallace unwrapped the chocolate and waved it in Veronica’s direction.  “Look at this.  My last meal’s going to be the weakest chocolate bar there is.  Some Mars Magic, please?”

Veronica’s mouth fell open to speak, but she found herself cut off by Dick Casablancas, now wearing a tiny bow tie and carrying a tray full of martinis, as he circulated the room.

“No, no way.  If we’re dying, we’re having one last drink first!” Dick insisted.  “I made us chocolate martinis and we’re gonna down these bitches and say a big fuck you to murder, and then Veronica can order Logan around like her lapdog.”

“Dick,” Logan warned.

“What?  Like we all don’t know she’s still got your scrotum in her super purse next to Mr. Zappy or whatever she calls that thing?”  Dick handed martinis to an eager Gia and Luke with a flourish.  “As Class Party Boy Peter Bogart, my alcoholism means I call ‘em like I see them.  Wallace is the token, so he’s toast.  I’m the frat boy, so I’m done-zo.  Might as well die drunk and happy.”

“No one is going to die!” Veronica shouted.  “Not if we stick together and work fast.”

“I don’t recall voting you in charge, Veronica Mars,” Gia sneered, sipping her martini. “I say we drink first.”

As Dick continued to pass around martinis, Veronica nudged Logan in the arm.  “This is why I am not going to Neptune High’s reunion.”

“I’ll handle this.”  Moving into the centre of the room, Logan sighed. “Fine, let’s take a vote:  all in favor of drinking a martini before trying to call the police or leave the island?”

Gia, Luke, Dick, Cole, and Kimmy raised their hands.

“All in favor of leaving right now before anyone else ends up dead?”

Veronica, Logan, Wallace, Carrie, Susan, Alexis and Casey raised their hands.

“Majority says survival over booze.  Sorry Gia, Veronica’s in charge now,” he added wryly.

“Thank you.”  Tugging on her gloves, Veronica rolled her shoulders back.  “We have no landlines and no cell phone service.  Our best bet to call for help is also our way off the island:  the Irish Wake.  Even if the storm’s too bad to leave yet, we can try using the radio to call the coast guard for assistance.  I say we head for the caretaker’s cottage and get the captain’s help.”

“Okay, have fun doing that.  We’ll stay here and drink martinis,” Kimmy replied, sipping her drink.  “Ooh!  Is this Godiva liqueur, Dick?”

Dick clinked glasses with her, grinning.  “Hell yeah!”

“No, we are all going,” Veronica insisted.  “We need to stick together to stay safe.”

Gia’s leg raised in the air, dangling a knee-high leather boot with a blood-red sole and a three-inch heel.  “Do these Louboutins look like they were made for trudging around the grounds of this place?  I barely made it to the pond alive.”

“So change them,” Veronica snapped.

“I only brought my cute boots.”  As Luke began to shake his head, Gia pouted.  “You told me we were going to a party inside a beautiful house!  Why would I need hiking boots, Luke?  This is your fault.”

“Maybe the killer will take me next,” Luke mumbled.

“Or Gia,” Carrie muttered.

“No, it’s Logan next,” Dick insisted.  “Because of the Black Widow.”

Slinging her purse over her shoulder, Veronica rolled her eyes.  “Dick, shut up.  Gia, walk carefully.  Luke will help you.  Bring your martinis for all I care.”

As much as she wanted to abandon the group, grab Wallace and Logan and head off into the blinding snow as a trio, she’d learned years ago to keep everyone in her sight and trust nobody.  There would be no metaphorical backseat surprises tonight.  If she had to tie a rope around the waist of every 09’er here and drag them behind her through the drifts, she would. 

She and Wallace were innocent.  Everyone else was a suspect.

Even Logan?

Listening to the din of complaining rich kids, she stole a glance at her ex.  Even Logan.  Technically.  But I know he didn’t do this.

It was Logan who identified the location of the caretaker’s cottage as they stood on the front porch, a collective of shivering bodies whipped by icy shards from the west.  Visibility was near zero now, the wind cutting through the down filling of Veronica’s ski jacket, but Logan was able to just make out a small structure down a path that veered to the southwest of the property, lying between the dock and the mansion.

“That will be it,” he assured her.

“Lowly peasant I am, I’ll have to trust your expertise.”

“See the chimney, Veronica?  It’s a domicile, not a storage unit or barn.  Simple observation, not elitism.”

Veronica bit her tongue, pressing forward with Wallace at her side.  She was off her game, and their lives literally depended on her. Contact authorities, stick together, preserve the evidence.  Repeat mantra.  Her love life, or lack thereof, was a distraction.  Dick’s outburst—and Logan’s curiously sad expression ever since?  Also a distraction. 

“So, what was on the page?” Logan whispered.

His breath was hot on her ear and Veronica involuntarily shivered.  Body memory carried her to happier moments:  late-night conversations, their naked bodies entwined in tangled sheets.  The security of his muscular arms wrapped around her frame; her head pressed to his chest, counting the beats of his heart.  She bit the inside of her mouth, shocking herself back to the bitter cold of the present.

“Leo works—worked for Vinnie,” she began quietly.

Wallace edged closer and the trio picked up their pace, pulling away from the group.  “Worked for him?  He was a PI?”

“Apparently.”

“But he was friends with your dad.  Why wouldn’t he work for him?”

Veronica shrugged.  “Your guess is as good as mine, Wallace.  Dad probably turned him down, told him he could do better.  He’s always been a lone wolf.  Vinnie, on the other hand, would welcome the opportunity to recruit one of his own deputies for his OG business.”

“So the page was what, a case file?” Logan queried.

“A partial,” Veronica confirmed.  “The page was water-damaged, and I couldn’t find a name anywhere on it, but from what I could read, Leo had stumbled onto a cover-up of a crime, maybe a wrongful death?  It’s hard to tell with so much obscured.  If Leo had ammunition like that on someone here…”

Logan glanced back, taking stock of their present company. “Someone like Luke, who plans to run for Congress.  Or the Gants…”

“It’s a secret someone would kill for,” Veronica affirmed.

“But how did he get here?” Wallace asked.  “We had to give our names and a code word.  Did he come over with you?”

Logan shook his head.  “I came over with Dick, early this afternoon.  Same deal:  name and code word.  For Leo to cross, he would have needed an invite.”

“Maybe the captain knows something,” Veronica decided, veering down a narrow path towards the caretaker’s cottage. 

The cottage was more of a bungalow house, complete with a modest yard of its own.  It was nearly as large as Veronica’s childhood home, sprawling and framed with gardens edged in decorative stones.  Three steps led up to a porch of deep oak, where a heavy door without a window loomed as the entrance.  The curtains were all drawn, offering no view inside.

Without hesitation, Veronica jogged up the steps and pounded on the door.  “Hello?  Hello in there?  We have an emergency!”

No answer. 

Wallace approached, standing behind her.  “Knock again?”

“I might have my lock pick kit in my purse somewhere,” Veronica grumbled, shining her light inside.

Logan pounded on the door, calling out to the captain, to no avail.  “Yeah, I’m not getting a good feeling about this…”

Veronica’s stomach turned.  “Enter through the back door?”

“Title of your sex tape!” Dick called out, immediately clamping his hand over his mouth. 

Oh, he did NOT just go there!

Veronica’s hand closed around her Taser, pulling it from her purse.  “After all these years, Dick you still haven’t learned…”

No sooner had Logan and Wallace’s arms flown out to restrain her than the chilling sound of Gia Goodman’s screams rang out from the back of the cottage, startling a snowy owl into a frantic flight across the night sky.

#veronica mars #veronica mars fanfic #vm fanfic #vmhq presents #murder we wrote #round robin