#at least we're past the part where he's lying to himself

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook/platonic!OT7

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 [Part 3: Glow]

And suddenly, the thing you feared most becomes the only thing you can seem to trust.

Main tags/Warnings: Werewolf!Jungkook, Werewolf!Bangtan, strangers/enemies to lovers, romantic Jungkook x reader, Platonic bangtan x reader, eventual smut, mentions of past emotional/psychological manipulation, hurt and comfort, fluff!, some angst, actually a bit more than just some, but we're getting spicy

Length: 2.5k words

There is no taglist for this fic.

-> Masterlist

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None of it makes sense. Or at least, you refuse to let it make any sense.

Suddenly, the medications in your drawer look more like poison to you, as you anxiously unlock your phone to search up the name of it online. But the moment you do, you accidentally accept Jungkook's call- who's unaware of the panic you're in right now. "I was wondering where you were. You're not ghosting me right now, are you?" He laughs, jokes, but you can't really see any fun in it right now.

"I'll- Jungkook can I call you back later?" You say, trying to sound normal- but you don't, because Jungkook's now serious tone gives away the fact that he knows something's up.

"Everything okay?" He worries. "You sound upset." The alpha wolf states, and you sigh, running a hand over our face.

"Yeah- yeah!" You force out. "I'm good, just, a little sick. That's all." You stutter out, staring at the now opened letters from your mother and the final notice you got today.

"I'm sorry but I'm not buying that at all." He sighs on the other end of the line. "Do you need anything? Even just some company?" He asks, offers, and you're not sure about that. "I can just stay on the phone, too. Don't have to come over or anything-" He rambles, when you swallow thickly, cutting him off.

"Do.." You start, before you summon all of your strength to speak it out loud. "…Do you know a medication called Amatropin O-plus?" You ask, and he's quiet for a moment, before he answers you.

"I know of Amatropin A-plus. It's.. a prescription medication used to control instincts in prime-Alphas." He explains, and you put your phone down at that, putting your face into your hands. "Why are you asking?" He presses, saying your name after to gain your attention back.

"What the fuck.." You breathe out. "I'm gonna lose my job- my whole life-" You rant, deadline for your IC-evaluation test staring back at you, before you grab your phone. "How do I get out of an IC test." You demand to know, voice quivering.

"What are you talking about?" Jungkook asks. "An IC-evaluation is mandatory, you can't just get out of one. But why are you even-" He suddenly stops. "…I knew it." He suddenly says.

"Knew what?" You bark. "Knew what?! Has everyone been lying to me now?" You break, as Jungkook's voice is heard again.

"Can you let me in?" He asks, and you're not sure what he's talking about- when a knock is heard on your door. and as you open is, he's right there, ending the call before he slips his phone back into his pant pocket. And you're not sure why exactly you do it- probably some weird wolf-shit that you just don't understand yet, but you just open the door fully, and let him hug you for a good little while.

"What do I do now.." You whine, while he closes the door behind you, and wraps both of his arms back around you.

"We'll figure it out." He reassures. "Can you show me the notice?" He asks, and you part from him and sniffle, collecting yourself a little to walk him into your bedroom, where the floor is littered with ripped open envelopes, handwritten letters, and lastly- the notice, right next to your opened box of medication. You sit down in the mess, and he himself takes his place right next to you, taking the official notice for himself to read over it. "It's a final notice. Where are the other two?" He asks, and you shrug.

"Probably having been sent to my mother." You say, defeated. "God my whole life is over." You complain, face in your hands.

Jungkook doesn't want to pry, but as he reads some parts of the handwritten letters, he begins to put one and one together. It's not unusual- especially with omegas, situations like this happen more often than not, really. Parents hiding their daughters and sons either out of shame or fear- and in this situation in particular, he doesn't know which one it might be.

Some parents are ashamed due to the stigma russounding omegas. Others are afraid because of how they're treated, and how often they're the victims of crimes.

"She knew. She.. must've known that they'd send me this, right?" You ask, and Jungkook shrugs, trying to contain his own instincts right now. You've probably not taken your medication since yesterday now, because your smell is now a lot more present than he's used to.

"Absolutely." He agrees. "She probably didn't react to them either, which is why they searched for your personal address now for the final notice." Jungkook explains. "You can explain to them what your situation is though. I'm sure they can offer you more time to prepare."

"But I've been technically living alone in the city illegally, right?" You worry. "I've been working illegally- oh god what if I go to prison.." You whine, and he runs a hand over your back in comfort.

"You didn't know." He tells you softly. "I'll help you with things, okay?" He offers, and you nod, trying hard to calm down now. "And I'm sure you have a place with Namjoon and the pack too, if they really deem your score turns out too low to stay here." The wolf comforts.

"She's not even my actual mother." You mumble quietly, staring at the letters with an empty gaze. "She knew all along what I was, but she didn't want me like that. She just.. kept me because she promised my dad to take care of me."

Jungkook feels for you. Omegas aren't seen very fondly, especially not by humans- simply brushed off as sex-hungry beasts who can't even take care of themselves properly without a pack or alpha around or a dick inside them. Which is entirely untrue- but years of written fantasy novels and the misuse of them in online erotica and porn in general has given them a stigma they can't shed. Just like alphas are said to be violent creatures with no sense of control, Omegas are just filled with lust and nothing else.

He's upset at that. You don't deserve to be forced into a situation like this- no one does.

"But that's the past now." He tells you. "I very much want you just the way you are. And I promise you, the rest of the pack won't mind you either." He explains, and you nod.

"Jungkook?" You ask, and he hums a reply, before you lean into him, clinging onto his warm body. "Thank you." You mumble, and he can't help but smile.

"No problem."

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"Not surprised." Yoongi says as he finishes his food. "She might've been able to fool other humans, but not other wolves." He says, while Jimin sighs.

"Poor thing." He sympathizes with you. "I remember my mom went through the same thing. She was so glad when I turned out to be a Beta." He remembers, and Jungkook nods.

"I'm going to try and push the evaluation date back as much as I can today." Jungkook explains. "There's no way she can just be evaluated in two weeks, when she's never even had enough time to prepare. It wouldn't be fair at all.." The alpha wolf complains.

"It's never unfair to them in any case." Namjoon worries to himself. "I still can't believe that they're still seen as something to be ashamed of. I mean, that's her mother we're talking about." He shakes his head. He doesn't know the full situation yet, and Jungkook also doesn't want to involve them too much until you yourself want to.

"I'm more concerned about her safety." Yoongi argues. "Is she taking her suppressants?" He asks Jungkook, who shakes his head.

"She's scared of them now. Refuses them." He explains.

"So you left her?" The alpha growls. "You left an omega alone, who's never even experienced her own Instincts without any control before, and is under added pressure of her entire life basically falling apart?" He scolds angrily, causing Jungkook to shrink in on himself.

Yoongi can be quite intimidating.

"Yoongi has a point." Namjoon offers a lot more kindly. "I'd suggest you either stay with her, or even better bring her here so she's in a safer environment while she adapts to things." He suggests.

"I can ask her if she wants that." Jungkook nods, before he gets up. "If not, I'll stay with her instead." He mostly tells himself, leaving the packhouse.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Hoseok wonders. "I mean.. we all noticed it.. right? Will he be okay alone with her?" He asks, and everyone grows a bit more quiet.

Because you're not just any kind of omega.

And everyone worries about the added challenges you might face because of that.

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"Maybe you should ask about a lower dosage before you just quit them like that-" Jungkook tries, watching you struggle with your clear headache next to him on the couch.

You shake it softly. "No, I don't have time for that." You deny. "I've got too much.. paperwork to fill out and all.." You complain, raising your head to look at all the unopened and opened letters on the table, stacks of paperwork ready to be read and filled out with your personal info as soon as you want to.

Or can, in your case.

"You do have time." He gently argues. "Half a year, remember? Six months to prepare, and these documents don't need to be signed for another three weeks." He attempts to explain to you. "Please think about your health first. Quitting medication you've been on for years just like that isn't a good idea." The alpha urges, and you sigh.

"I don't want them." You argue however. He knows it just has to be overwhelming- if not just mentally, then physically as well. Your body is entirely confused and out of balance now that the usual hormones and other ingredients of your medication aren't present any longer. And yet, you refuse to see anyone for it, and he doesn't know why

Is it shame? Embarrassment? And if so, what does that say about what you think of him?

But he swallows that down, or at least tries to, when you furrow your brows in confusion, suddenly looking around, before your eyes find him. He looks at you in question, when you stare into your kitchen in alarm, getting up to check- but on your way, you already stop, because no, that smell is not coming from there at all.

One look back just offers you Jungkook sitting still on your couch, confused as ever.

"I.. you.. smell that too, right?" You ask, and his golden eyes are unsure.

"I don't really know what you mean." He asks. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Something.. burning. I don't know. It smells like.. I'm not sure, like plastic burning almost." You cringe, and at that, his face softens.

"I'm sorry. That's.. probably me." He chuckles a bit as you walk back towards him to sit down once more. "Your senses are probably.. I guess returning as they're supposed to be." He offers.

"But- my meds are only for instincts-" You start, when he shakes his head.

"No, they're used to prevent sensory overload." He explains. "That's a bit different. It's to basically shut down all the things that make us.. well, different. Our instincts get shut up, our senses become dull, and in turn, our own scents and stuff become almost unnoticeable too because our bodies dont produce the same hormones and stuff." He shrugs. "Which is why I'm trying to tell you you shouldn't just cut them off like that. It'll be incredibly hard to go through that." Jungkook offers.

You feel horrible for him.

For years you believed all the stories told, never actually thinking about what he or any of his kind must be going through. He probably deals with all of this daily but knows how to handle it- and from what you read online, his instincts are even stronger than most.

Which is another thing you want to know more about.

"Jungkook.. what does 'prime' mean?" You ask. "It's.. like, it's in front of your sub-gender, and on the evaluation invite it said the same for mine." You wonder with a good amount of worry.

"That's something for another time." He offers, while you wince from the pain in your head as you move it too quickly to follow him with your gaze as he walks towards the kitchen. "For now, lets settle with some simple human meds for your headache, and then we'll visit a specialist, okay?" He questions, squatting down where you sit on the couch with a glass of water and some regular headache pills.

"...you don't have to go everywhere with me, you know." You mumble, reluctantly taking the items from him- mostly because your headache is getting unbearable at this point.

"I can ask someone else from the pack then- but you shouldn't be out in this state by yourself." He sighs, before he takes his place sitting next to you again.

"Why not?" You whine, after taking the pills and eagerly chugging the cold water down. Somehow, you feel thirsty.

"Because.. You're pretty much a walking target right now." He sighs. "Wolves might not be what they always say but they're still.. some have the potential to be dangerous, let's just say it like that." He offers. "Your scent alone.. is like a drug to alphas especially." He says.

You watch him for a moment.

"Even for you?" You ask, and he shrugs- and only now do you notice the sweat on his hairline.

"Even for me." He nods, before he smiles. "But I've got good self control, so no need to worry." He tries to joke- but you don't find it funny at all.

"I'm sorry." You shake your head, staring into the kitchen where the medications lay. "I.. didn't think about how this could affect you at all.." you apologize, but he just shrugs it off. "No- it's not fair on you at all. You're being nothing but nice to me and I'm acting like a child basically.."

"Your whole life got turned around. I don't blame you for anything." He just shakes it off, and it doesn't make the weight on your soul feel any lighter.

"Jungkook.." you ask quietly, and he leans a bit closer to hear you better. "Can we... still be friends now? Even though I'm.. an omega and all?" You worry.

And Jungkook just laughs.

"Of course we can."

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#bts imagine #bts fanfic #bts fic #jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #bts jungkook imagine #bts jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook imagines #jungkook imagines #werewolf jungkook #werewolf bangtan

[pandorasprongs]

CHAPTER FIVE | this is what it feels like.

'it's nice to have a friend' masterlist + playlist | previous chapter

PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader

WORD COUNT: 5.0k

SUMMARY: reader is starting to forgive jamie, even going to a charity gala together.

WARNINGS: language, mentions of what happened in amsterdam

A/N: yay! welcome back to me, i guess HAHAHA sorry for going ia for how many months, life just got in the way and i wasn’t able to make time for writing. i’m a bit rusty at this, but this is an extra long chapter and is mostly fluffy (at least, imo), so i hope you guys enjoyed it! we’re down to the last two (maybe three?) chapters of our story, which i hope you all will like :) see you then and thank you again for waiting!

Your relationship with Jamie did start getting better. Slowly, but surely. It wasn't the same as the past few months, though. That repair of your relationship was built on denial and was bound to come crashing down like it did. 

You were still talking, but he wasn't coming over every weekend anymore. He was the one who suggested it too, so you wouldn't feel pressured to decide if you forgive him just yet. He wasn't pushing for an immediate answer either and he was making that clear with how he was acting.

He sometimes sends you a message just to check in and your replies were short, but not apathetic. You'd do the same too, usually after his matches, specifically when it ended on a loss, since most of them were as of recent. What was it, seven matches at this point?

The loss at the Man City game was especially painful, but after you saw the article about Zava's retirement, you had hoped that some part of Jamie was relieved about it all.

Your suspicions are confirmed when you hear Jamie knocking at your door. You open it and instantly get blinded by the light. "Fucking hell."

"Shit, sorry," Jamie exclaims, shutting off his headlamp. Once the light is gone, you finally get a clearer look at the footballer. He was in a grey hoodie which was starting to get all sweaty, and was currently jogging in place. "Went out for a workout with Roy before dinner, and we went pretty far. He already went home though."

You knew where Jamie lived and if he had run that entire length, you don't know how he's not passed out at your doorstep. "Congrats, I think. Why'd you pass by?"

"I wanted to see you," he answered, a little out of breath. You'd be lying if you said your heart didn't skip at that. "If that's not weird."

"No, it's not," you answered quickly, a smile creeping on your face. "D'you wanna come in? I made some pasta if you haven't eaten yet." You offer without thinking but don't retract it in any way. Things like these would help you bond again right? And after seeing Jamie give you a genuine smile and a soft look with his eyes, your worries instantly dissipate.

So now you're having dinner with Jamie and barely any words are spoken, until he mentions, "I'm going to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. We're having a friendly against Ajax."

"Amsterdam?" Maybe you should've hidden the worry in your voice better.

As far as you know, Jamie had a complicated relationship with that place. You don't know what happened, never wanting to press for too many details, but the first time he went there with his dad, your best friend came home a shell of himself.

—

You headed over there the moment your mom told you he was back and while you half-expected Georgie to turn you away in case his dad was still there, what you ended up seeing was worse. You found Jamie lying down in his bed, just staring at his ceiling. When you called out to him, he made no move to acknowledge that he had heard you.

You were fourteen and uncomfortable with emotions, but you knew you needed to do something for him. You made multiple attempts to try and get a verbal response from Jamie, but it fell on deaf ears.

It was only when you asked if you could lie down next to him did he finally move. He turned to face the wall and his back towards you, but you didn't say anything about it. Instead, you wrapped your arms around him.

"If you don't want to talk about what happened, it's okay," you whispered. "I'll just stay here with you."

In one swift move, Jamie turned around and pulled you into a hug. It was almost instinct that you pulled him closer.

You don't really know how long you stayed like that, but it was long enough that you started to get sleepy and eventually drifted off. The next morning, you woke up in an empty bed. Your grogginess quickly turned into confusion.

It would've turned into panic soon if Jamie hadn't walked back into the room as he dried his hair with his towel.

"Oh, you're awake," He said softly. From his voice alone, you wouldn't have been able to tell that he spent that night crying, if not for the bags under his eyes betraying him. The swelling had gone down from the cold water, but the redness was still there.

You don't say anything at first, unsure of how to proceed. But Jamie breaks the tension by asking, "Do you wanna have breakfast before you go back? Smelled mum's cooking from the hallway.”

"Okay." Jamie pulls you up from the bed but doesn't let go of your hand as you head down the stairs. He squeezed it tightly as you walked into the kitchen, his own way of saying thank you.

—

That's how the two of you always were. Talking about your feelings was never a strong suit, but that didn't mean you weren't there for one another. It's how you dealt with hard times as kids, but maybe it was time to ditch that as adults. Or at the least, work on expressing yourselves better.

As if Jamie could read your mind, he gives you a reassuring look, "I don't really think about that trip anymore. Don't really remember much of it either. I just remember the second time. When we were 16 right?"

"Oh yeah," You chuckle at the reminder. Jamie's mom had planned a trip for the two of them to Amsterdam and your parents just happened to also be figuring our your own summer holiday plans. 

The five of you spent a week there going on tours, visiting museums, and all the usual tourist activities. One of the pictures you still had of you and Jamie was one your dad took when you visited some tulip fields. Jamie had his arm around your waist and both of you were holding stroopwafels, impatiently waiting to eat them. 

A group of old ladies passed by as the photo was being taken and thought you were a young couple, which both of you were quick to deny. Things were only awkward for about twenty minutes till Jamie started chasing after your stroopwafel because he had already finished his.

"That was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

"Mhm," Jamie says as he continues to eat. "I still remember all the facts you made me memorize. Might try and annoy Roy with them."

The two of you continued to talk that night and for the first time since that night in Nelson Road, being with Jamie didn't put a pit in your stomach. There was no longer a nagging voice in your head reminding you of the past or the rising feeling of resentment when he'd joke about the past few years. Instead, you were just content and happy to be there with him.

When you finished your meals, you suddenly got a waft of Jamie and almost gagged. "Oh my God, you definitely need to shower."

Jamie pulled his hoodie up to his nose and cringed. "Right. I guess I should head home now."

"No. I am not letting you out into the streets of London smelling like that. You can shower here," you offer and without giving Jamie a chance to respond, you start walking over to the bathroom.

Jamie lagged behind a bit but caught up as you pulled an extra towel from the cabinet. "You can go to the guest room for spare clothes. Dad leaves a bunch of them here when they come over. Oh, and slippers too if you want to give your feet a rest." The footballer gratefully takes the towel and heads into the bathroom. 

When you hear the water start, you move to walk back to the living room when you pass by your bookshelf once again, the empty spaces between your books glaring at you. You head into your room and open your closet to pull out the pictures. You pick up the one from Amsterdam, from your graduation, and from your 10th birthday, and scatter them around the shelf.

You go get ready for bed and change into your pajamas before going back to the living room to wait for Jamie. After 30 minutes — or an episode and a half, — you hear him call out your name.

You find Jamie in the hallway in one of your dad's giant grey shirts and sweatpants. When you approach, he finally asks, "Have these always been here?"

He points towards the frames and you realize that despite the number of times Jamie's been in your flat, he's never looked at the top of your bookshelf.

"I put them there pretty recently." You admit before turning towards the footballer. 

Jamie catches your eyes and seems to be debating whether to say something. He finally speaks up, "So I take it you've..." but he trails off, leaving you to finish it.

"I forgive you. Well, I think I’m starting to," you start. "I guess these past few months, I've been compartmentalizing my anger towards you and that wasn't fair. I know neither of us is particularly good at expressing our feelings, but we should've talked about this back when we saw each other again. That's my fault, I admit and I'm sorry. But I'm happy now, spending time with you and I don't have this sinking feeling that it'll all go to shit anymore. So yeah, I think I forgive you, Jamie."

You give him a wide smile and before you know it, Jamie wraps his arms around you tightly. Your smile only grows wider as you pull him closer. 

This is what you've missed all these years. Being so comfortable and safe with Jamie, that him randomly hugging you doesn't take you by surprise anymore. You're content and happy. And you have Jamie, your Jamie, back.

He breaks apart from you and the two of you walk back to the living room, the sitcom still playing on the TV. You expected him to make his exit by now, but seeing as you've just made up, Jamie felt confident enough to stick around a bit longer. He takes a seat across from you on the couch. Maybe it was because he was fresh out of the shower and no longer wearing sticky clothes, but he felt freer than ever.

Jamie glanced down at his phone at notifications from the team group chat and suddenly remembered another reason why he passed by your apartment. "Are you doing anything Friday?"

The last time Jamie asked you that, it ended with one of the worst outbursts you've ever let out, but you tried not to be reminded of that. Besides, you trusted that he'd keep his word; he wouldn't break your heart once again.

"Not really. My lectures are all in the morning that day. Why?"

"There's this charity ball that my boss does every year and I was looking for a plus one," Jamie explained slowly, before turning to you to see your reaction. "If you want. You know, as friends."

You don't know what stunned you more: the way your heart swelled when Jamie asked you to go with him to an event or the sinking feeling that appeared when he added the 'as friends' part. All this tension and ghosting these past few weeks made you forget all about those pesky, jittery feelings that you still had for him, but now that the dust had settled, they were coming back.

You try to ignore it, just for this moment, and prepare to answer him. But the more you thought about this "charity gala," the more you realized what you were about to agree to.

"Wait, is this the thing where people bid on football players for dates?" You remember seeing an article on it a few years back where three women got into a bidding war for Jamie. "Fucking hell, if you're just doing this to stage another bidding war for you, then—"

"No! 'Course not! You kept saying before how you want a reason to dress up!" Jamie's quick to defend himself and you fall back into your seat. "Plus, I can't have Richard setting me up on yet another disastrous date, I just can't." 

You say nothing, absorbing his plea, but then watch as Jamie's expression turns mischievous. He teasingly asks, "Why? Would you actually bid on me? You're already spending time with me for free." He playfully elbows you and you take in a whiff of the lavender-scented body wash you kept in the guest bathroom.

You roll your eyes and cross your arms. "Christ, and they should be paying me for it, too." You reply, but you avoid eye contact with Jamie knowing how easily you'd break into laughter if you did.

"Fine, I'll go with you." You finally agree and before Jamie can celebrate your response, you add on. "But, you owe me a date, too. To Liv's wedding."

Jamie takes a second to reply, and you worry your usage of the word "date" threw him off. But quickly enough, his mischievous smile returns and he agrees, "Alright, it's a deal."

Neither of you mention the gala again till Jamie finally decides he has to get going — "It'll be worse for me if Roy gets to my house and I'm not there," — and says he'll send you the formal invite when he gets home.

It only sinks in when you're getting ready for bed that you're actually going to a formal gala. With Jamie. As his (friendly) date. Next week. What a way to start the new era of your friendship, right?

You wonder how exactly he'd introduce you to the rest of the people there. As his childhood friend? His date? Every option made you feel jittery inside, and you have a hard time accepting that it's possible you're falling for Jamie once again. 

The first time you ever found him attractive was at the ripe age of 16, after locking eyes with him when he was celebrating one of his team's wins. It was that summer of growth spurts and you started to see what everyone else did; Jamie Tartt, your best friend, was fucking fit. It only took a year till you fully accepted it, but ultimately decided to never act on it. Well, aside from that one time, which neither of you brought up again after the morning after.

It took another two years before you gave up on those feelings and buried them deep down, or at least tried to. But allowing Jamie's friendship back into your life brought those feelings back up to the surface. 

So, the week went by quickly and you were now waiting in your apartment in a cropped silk camisole, high-waisted black trousers, and wedge heels that Liv let you borrow, pacing a hole into your floor. All you did with your hair was pin the side bangs away from your face and you hope that's enough.

You hear a knock on your door and you almost trip on the bottom of your pants to open it. You find Jamie in an almost identical outfit to the one he used for his date before, except in a different color. His hair had been slicked back, reminiscent of his older hairstyle but the highlights made the look pop more.

When his eyes land on you, Jamie takes a second to scan you before exclaiming, "Fucking hell."

With a teasing tone to try and make yourself feel more at ease, you ask, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Jamie looks back up at your eyes and smiles, "You look great." You don't detect a hint of banter from the guy which makes you feel warm inside, until he adds, "Though, I half expected you to wear your dress from our year 12 formal."

"Jamie, I swear I can still find something else to do tonight." You threaten but are unable to stop the smile creeping up on your face.

Jamie just chuckles and takes hold of your hand as if it's the most natural thing in the world. "Come on," He realizes what he's just done and pauses to see your reaction, but when you tighten your grip on his hand, he continues, "Need to get there early so they don't swarm me for pictures." You roll your eyes as the two of you head out of the building.

You actually did get to the venue quite early, since the photographers were still setting up the booth and so the two of you walk over to two ladies, one of whom you recognize as Keeley Jones. After he introduces you, — as his friend and plus one, no mention of the word "date" — you soon find out that the taller one is Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond.

"Wow, so you two practically control Jamie's career. Blink twice if you need me to take him off your hands." You lean in towards the two of them but speak loud enough for Jamie to hear and he pulls you back to his side as you laugh. The two women chuckle and share a look between them that you don’t know them well enough to understand, so instead you brush it off.

Jamie gets called for photos and Rebecca leaves to greet the guests heading inside the venue, so you're left standing with the PR manager of the team. As you watch Jamie cycle through various poses, Keeley leans in to ask you, "So, how long have you known him?"

"Well, I met Jamie when I was seven, but when I went off to uni and he joined Man City, we kind of drifted apart and didn't really talk for the next few years." That was basically the truth, anyway. "But I went to one of the Richmond games and we bumped into each other."

"Well, I'm glad the two of you met again. Honestly, Jamie's become much more tame recently. He hasn't had any Twitter feuds or issues in weeks. Makes my job a lot easier." You chuckle, knowing that instead of fighting back, Jamie ends up just complaining about it to you. She adds, "You must be a good influence on him."

"People have been saying exactly that since we were kids, so maybe it is true." You reply and Keeley gives you a wide grin.

When you head into the venue, there are already a few guests settling down in the area. You recognize some of them as footballers, — both from AFC Richmond and other teams, even some retired ones — business owners who are trying out being philanthropists, and people you've seen on magazine covers. 

You were less uncomfortable than you expected because everyone's attention was on Jamie. You stood by him while he greeted a bunch of people and continued to introduce you as his plus one. You hated crowds when you were kids and Jamie knew that, so he'd always check on you if you wanted to go to your seats ahead of him. You'd shake your head every time because you've already had years to get over that fear. Plus, everyone had been nice so far and more polite than you expected rich people to be.

Everyone finally decides to leave Jamie alone and the two of you head to your table, where some of his teammates are already seated and chatting amongst themselves. You recognized them immediately: Sam Obisanya, Dani Rojas, Isaac McAdoo, Colin Hughes, and Richard Montlaur. Without Jamie even having to introduce you to them, Dani had already asked what your name was.

“What a lovely name! I’m Dani.” You shake the hand he offered you, as the other players start to welcome you as well. They were so warm and kind, that it’s no wonder Jamie had gotten so much better during his time at Richmond. It seemed their energy was so infectious that it was rubbing off on Jamie.

Though, it could be a bit overwhelming too, as they all wanted to have a conversation with you. Someone had asked, “Tell me more about growing up with Jamie,” while someone else chimed in, “Do you think there’s a correlation between your genes and how well you can shoot a penalty? Because Colin here…” and somewhere in the mix, you hear, “That’s a lovely bag you have. Where’d you get that?”

While Jamie was enjoying watching his favorite person interact with his favorite group of people, he started to notice how tense you were becoming, despite the plastered smile on your face. He reached out to grab your hand as he interrupts all the conversations with, “Alright, alright, I think the programs about to start. Let’s stop bothering my date for now, yeah?”

Date. The word alone sent chills down your spine. Even more so when you turned to look him in the eyes, and he had a look of concern that only you could’ve detected. You breathe a sigh of relief and give him a comforting look, which allows him to relax, too.

You both turn towards the stage as Rebecca, along with Ted, their coach, walk up to the mic. They start with the basic pleasantries, thanking everyone for coming, with Ted’s occasional funny chime-ins. As they segue into the auction itself, you can hear your own table come back to life. The teammates started to tease one another when Colin turns to you, “Oi, looks like you’ll have to put up a fight for Jamie tonight.” He nods towards the table behind yours, and you spot a familiar looking lady, smiling at the man beside you. It’s only when Jamie groans that you realize who it is: the old woman who was one of three people in Jamie’s “bidding war” two years ago.

“Oh my god,” you’re unable to stifle your laughter and instead turn away to try and hide it. “You know what, I think I’m fine going home alone, Jamie. This isn’t the first time you’ve gone off at a party to get lucky, so go have fun!” You tease him, but instead, he turns to you with a desperate look in his eyes.

“Please, don’t do this to me, (Y/N). Make sure you win.”

You scoff and lean in, “Who says I’m even bidding tonight? I’m not even tenured, Jamie. How much money do you think I have?”

Jamie pleads once more, “Please. I’ll pay you back in full and you can pick all the movies we watch for the rest of the month. Anything, come on.” You sigh and finally give in to his puppy dog eyes. 

You give him a slight nod and he quietly thanks you, as Ted starts to introduce the team. “Let’s start the auction with one of our striking strikers, Mr. Jamie Tartt!”

Jamie gets up and walks over to the stage, and it’s only then you realize he had been holding your hand this entire time.

Ted rests a comforting hand on his shoulder, but before Richmond’s coach can even start the bidding, you hear a loud voice behind you exclaim, “Five thousand pounds!”

You have to hold in your chuckle as you turn to Jamie who is now desperately staring at you. You raise your paddle high enough and shout, “Six thousand pounds!”

“Oh, and another bid from Mr. Tartt’s lovely date tonight. Can anyone match that, do I hear seven thousand?” The lady once again raises her paddle.

“Eight thousand!” You exclaim once more, as Jamie lets out a sigh of relief.

This back and forth goes on for a while, up until the final bid (from you, unfortunately) of fifteen thousand pounds. The football player finally allows himself to relax and with one final slap on the back from his coach, makes his way back to you.

“Thank you,” he whispers, squeezing your shoulder as he gives you a quick hug and sits down. You playfully roll your eyes, but give him a small smile back. A few more rounds of bidding take place until Jamie leans back into you. “You feel like going on that date now?”

You turn to him confused, “Like, right now? We’re in the middle of the program.”

Jamie shrugs, “We’re done with our part now and gave out a good amount for the charity. Most of them won’t even notice us leave, come on,” He takes hold of your hand, and as if on cue, activating those butterflies in your stomach, yet again. “Unless you want to bid on someone else tonight, which in that case, I didn’t know you had that in you.”

You roll your eyes but eventually agree. You say your short goodbyes to everyone at the table and Jamie leads you to Rebecca and Ted, who, after Coach Beard — you believed his name was? — had taken over for him, was currently gorging on the appetizers.

“Hey boss, Ted, we’re heading out early, but see you both on Monday.” Jamie quickly explains, still not having let go of your hand. You’re starting to wonder if he’ll ever notice or has just grown used to it like he was before.

“That’s no problem, Jamie, see you and thank you for coming!” Rebecca directed that last comment towards you and you give her a big smile. But his coach wipes his mouth with his table napkin and stands up to greet you anyway.

“Well, I can’t let you go off yet without introducing me to this lovely lady.” Ted reaches out to shake your hand and you take it quickly before he leans to whisper to Jamie, but loud enough for you to hear. “Is this her?”

“Jamie Tartt, do you talk about me to your coach?” You ask teasingly, but instead of his usual reaction of fake annoyance, he turns away shyly.

Ted replies for him instead, saying, “Oh well, not all the time. I usually have to pry it out of him, too.” He nudges the football player, who finally decides that it is definitely time for you two to leave. He leads you out of there and the pair of you walk back to his car in a comfortable silence.

You may not have realized it till now, but the inside of the venue was the stuffiest place you’ve been to in a while. Sure, the people were nice, but the mixing of colognes and posh accents was starting to get to you. Before you can thank Jamie for getting you out of there, he’s rifling around his jacket for something.

“I, uh, found something in some of my old stuff. Was planning to give it to you before we left, but I… got distracted,” you try and ignore the warm feeling creeping up on your cheeks as he says that and instead watch Jamie turn back towards you, pull out your hand, and place an item on your palm. “Here.”

You look down to find a small plastic ring with a “gem” in an obnoxious pink color. You chuckle as you’re reminded of the toy rings Jamie would give you on your birthday as kids, till you realize… you’ve been missing one of them since you moved out.

“Wait, is this…” You start and look back up at Jamie, who has a sheepish look on his face. Definitely doesn’t fit him.

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you because well, we weren’t really talking all these years, but I went by your house a few days before you left for uni, but you weren’t home and so I went to your room and saw that lined up with the rest of them on your drawer. I thought you were crazy for keeping them all those years, and I wanted to mess with you, so I… took one of them, hoping you’d notice. You never did though, so now I look kinda stupid.” He explained guiltily, but you could only laugh.

“I thought it just fell into the trash when I was moving out. If you wanted me to notice you taking something, you should’ve taken my shoes or something. Why the ring?” You lean onto the side of his car, and Jamie joins you on your right.

He shrugs and swipes his hair back, “I don’t know. We were going our separate ways and you were going all the way to Wales for so long. I realized it was going to be a while before we saw each other again. I thought, maybe if you’d realize it was missing and wanted to go looking for it, you’d always have a reason to go back to me.”

You feel a heavy weight on your chest as the last part sinks in. After everything that’s happened, it had never occurred to you that even at one point, Jamie was afraid of losing you too.

You sit in that silence for a while before you decide to rest your head on Jamie’s shoulder, in one way telling him, I would always go back to you. He got the message.

“I know it doesn’t go with your usual outfit choices now, but I just thought you’d want it back anyway.” He whispers, causing a smile to form on your face.

“Thank you, Jamie.” You look back up at him, his face softening at the sight of yours. “You wanna go on that date now?” You straighten back up and take his hand in yours this time. “What does the legendary Jamie Tartt have planned for this one?”

Jamie looks around and spots a bike rental on the other side of the car park. You didn’t even have to ask to know what he was thinking. “Race you back to that ice cream shop across your flat. Last one there has to pay.” 

“What kind of date is that, Tartt?!” You exclaim, as he drags you across the street.

If there’s one thing you knew about Jamie, it was that he was a sore loser. So after you dropped your bikes in front of your flat and were massaging your calves waiting for your sundaes, this may have been the happiest you’ve seen him lose at something in your whole life.

TAGLIST: @moonflowersandsparkles @faith-alons26 @rexorangecouny @aiyaiy @thegirlthatwantedtowrite @giggling-sewer-ginger @katdahlali @higherthanheroes @guccilongboard @alipap3 @rockchickrebel @ellietartt @shineforever19 @skewedcherries @jamietarttdodo @meg-ro @deepdarkvelvet @taytaylala12 @loveforaugust @crownofdecitreadingrespectfully @dickgraysonspersonalwhore @jess4rush @scaramou @rae4725 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo (couldn't tag you for some reason?)

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt reader #ted lasso #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt fic #ted lasso fanfic #jamie tartt fanfic #jamie tartt x f!reader #jamie tartt x female reader #it's nice to have a friend series

[l0verb0t]

jason todd × masc/male reader. | aftermath loving.

SUMMARY: a fic about Jason getting bombarded with affection by his boyfriend after a mission. WARNINGs: physical contact, slightly suggestive, && the f slur used once. WORD COUNT: 800+ NOTEs: second person && no plot. this insert is more of a tease, and nonchalant personality wise. [no terms or pronouns used to refer to the insert/reader, but they are gay.]

Every damn day was hell for him out there. Another lick of a chance, and Jason was just barely able to get out of another shitstorm he tried to help with. He was sporting enough bruises that almost his entire body had this burning sensation running underneath the skin.

Still, whatever he was dealing with when he did get back seemed just about as worse.

If he needed to describe you in one word, it would be annoying. The word everything came in second place. How in the hell you two ended up on the same ship was beyond him.

There you were, straddling his lap as you peppered kisses along the scarred skin running up to his neck, and if anyone saw him, he'd probably have shot himself right then and there.

He should've pushed you off when he had the chance; it wasn't like you were going to fall back on anything but the bed, and yet.

If he had to describe himself in the moment, the word hopeless would be an understatement. He just had to hope you wouldn't squirm too much while pressed against his skin.

The groan that managed to slip past made the cramped feeling building up in your neck all the more worth it.

"You good there, buddy?"

And that voice. Sometimes he wanted to push you down and muffle you into the sheets, but then he had to mentally hit himself before his mind could drift in a much different direction.

"Don't call me buddy."

Hands wrapped around your thighs to keep you in place; fingers dug into them in case you got any bright ideas. Still, it didn't help with how close you were.

"Are you telling me we're not the best of pals?" You asked, and Jason had to pretend it wasn't one of the stupider things he'd heard that day.

He pushed against the bed, sliding over the fabric until he was stuck in an awkward position where his neck was bent forward as he looked up at you. He lied on his back while you were pushed forward into his stomach.

"Not even close."

And as if to make everything worse, you leaned down to his level and adjusted your own position so you were lying on him, elbows propped up on either side of his head as you continued like nothing.

"You're real touchy with your non-pals, then."

He couldn't get out his own reply fast enough for his liking: "I'm touchy?"

"Well, right now, at least. You usually aren't, though."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." His rib cage felt like it was trying to suffocate his own heavy, beating heart the moment one of your hands started tracing right down the center of his chest. "You're so repressed, you'd make your old man jealous."

Jason grabbed that hand and held it there against him, making sure you couldn't continue whatever that was before he felt sure enough that his voice wouldn't break. "Thanks."

From there, his other arm wrapped around your back and pulled you down against him. Your head was buried into the side of his neck, and a part of him wanted to hold you there only so you couldn't keep messing with him.

Of course, he couldn't get what he wanted with his luck.

Your lips pressed up to the skin of his neck, and words spoke in a muffled way as you shifted downward.

"You're perfect."

He could barely even tell that the snort that rang out came from himself; the sound quiet before he smiled.

"Yeah?"

With an inhale, you continued, "We're perfect."

His head lied back against the headboard, too tired to keep it up anymore, even to look back at you.

He sighed. "Egotistical much?"

The way your arms grew tighter around him made it all the more worth it to him.

"Perfect match."

A hand rolled down your back, creasing the folds so he could rub the muscles underneath. The bones in his hand popped as he cracked his knuckles, trying to relieve himself of some of the aching tension building underneath.

Sometimes he'd rather die than let himself look soft, but that didn't change the fact was as large as his heart. He'd already given too much to people who didn't care enough in his eyes, and even if you were supposed to be different, he couldn't help putting up an act.

And so he scoffed, "Sure, we are."

Like it didn't deter you, you resumed, and from there, he just had to keep himself quiet so you couldn't hear how breathy he was getting.

"You and I? Two peas in a pod."

He clicked his tongue and then just rested his head over yours. "Sure."

"Two fags on an ashtray."

That was enough to get a laugh out of him.

"Yeah, okay."

After shifting around in place for awhile, he made it so his neck didn't feel like it was going to snap, lying back on the bed itself. He wrapped both his arms around you in turn.

"Just go to sleep, babe."

#jason todd x male reader #jason todd x reader #jason todd #dc #written #fluff

[ritcchamadayo]

Please, Part 3 of Punk Jade, you're giving me more of a reason to simp for this man-

I will honestly GLADLY turn into a Jade-fic blog i am so far gone when it comes to this man... Sorry for the wait guys! Uni had me in a chokehold (again) but LETS GET BACK TO SIMPING

A Look Into The Past (Pt. 3)

Jade Leech x Reader ;

On a rare day off, Jade found himself pondering Professor Crewel's fashion tips when it came to styling his piercings but couldn't decide for himself. Who else to ask for opinions other than you?

(we're back again folks!! again thank you so much for the love on this fic!! I'll be considering posting this on Ao3 as a full series after this one XD THANK YOU!!!)

Reader is a Sophomore in this fic, just like the twins!

Read Part 1 Here! Read Part 2 Here!

"U-Um, so that's what you called me out for?" "Yes, exactly."

When Jade had contacted you saying that there was a "disaster", you certainly didn't expect the disaster to be the eel-mer's own wardrobe. You were surprised at the amount of clothes he had, but a few of them are quite... distasteful, to say the least.

When Jade wore his ear piercings to school the other time, he was stopped by none other but Professor Crewel and was given an earful about how to dress and act when wearing such flashy accessories. Granted, they were at school so it can't be helped, but Crewel made sure to make Jade remember his fashion tips for days off like today.

"Did Floyd get you this?" You hold up a purple shirt with a drawing of an eel, and big blocky text saying "Mentally Eel". You grimaced at how tacky the shirt was. "Ah, yes he did. Floyd has the habit of collecting anything eel-related in the surface world, you see."

You had to stifle a laugh at the thought. "Ah, that's where he got those eel keychains."

You rummaged through Jade's wardrobe (with permission, of course) and pulled out most of his clothes, gently putting them down and organizing them by type. There were a few normal button-up shirts, a pair of pajamas, Jade's hiking clothes and equipment, and let's not forget the winter clothes he wore on his trip to Harveston. (You wonder why he wore shorts AND leggings with his hiking wear, but you're not gonna question it.)

"What did Crewel say about them anyway? And uh, why me out of all people? I'm pretty sure someone like Vil or Cater could give you much better insight?" You ask. Jade tilts his head, pondering for a second. "Why, I suppose it's because you were the first person to pop up in my mind. I couldn't hope to bother our seniors, after all. Besides, your sense of fashion is quite good."

Bullshit reasoning. Or so you say, but you feel your ears heat up from the thought of Jade thinking of you. "Oh. I-I see." Jade wasn't lying when he said you had a good sense of fashion though, your choice of outfits on days off were always endearing to him. You were wearing a blouse paired with black overalls today, which looked both comfortable and fashionable at the same time.

"What did Crewel say?" "Hm... He said that a relaxed, mature look would suit for a lesser amount of accessories, to put it simply. Either that, or something simpler to accentuate the accessories if we were to wear more amounts."

Perhaps it's time for a little fashion show, then?

You quickly look around and pull out a few pieces of clothing- A pair of white pants and bright blue and yellow short sleeved shirt, giving off a bit of a tropical vibe. Jade took the clothes gratefully, putting them on the bed for him to change into.

"Oh? Are you perhaps going to watch me change, or~?" "I-I'M NOT! I'M LOOKING AWAY!!!" Your face shone red, quickly turning around to look at the door instead. Jade chuckled quietly, unbuttoning his shirt and taking them off. You can clearly hear the sound of him unzipping his pants as well, making you wipe your sweat off your forehead. (there's the urge to peek, but you better not.)

"Alright, I've finished changing. What do you think?"

You nervously turn around, and closely examined Jade in your chosen clothes. "It looks pretty good! I think a bit of a messier look would look nice with lots of accessories on your ears, like if you unbuttoned a few from the top of your shirt."

Jade complies, messing up his hair slightly and unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his collarbone, and you feel yourself regretting your words.

"I quite agree. The colors of the shirt pop with the addition of the white pants, and the silvers of the metal can be clearly seen."

"A-Ah, yeah!" (remember to look respectfully, dear) "Can you lean down for a sec?" Jade kneels down to your level sitting on the floor, and you take out a few of his accessories from the little wooden box he kept neatly inside his wardrobe. You picked up a few unused piercings and tried mixing and matching them on his ears, laughing when Jade comments your fussing over his ears tickles quite a bit.

"But it's not really your style, honestly... A flashy look like this kinda fits Floyd more." You comment, but deep down you think it wasn't a bad change of pace to see Jade in something other than buttoned-up shirts and suits. Turning back to the clothes pile, you pick out another set of clothes- this time, it was a comfy white turtleneck with black dress pants. You also found a brown trench coat in the depths of his wardrobe, which Jade said his parents' acquaintances gifted him for his birthday and he didn't know how to style it.

You looked back to the door once again as he changes out of the clothes, putting the new set on quickly and gracefully. "Oh, this definitely feels much more my style."

You turned around to see for yourself, and your eyes shone excitedly seeing him in the new getup. "Oh! Definitely!!" You cheered, giggling while at it. "You surprisingly suit the more mature-but-comfortable look, Jade." The eel-mer chuckles, sitting back down on the floor. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. What about the accessory choices, then?"

"Hmm... Crewel said that less is better in this getup, so just a little..." Picking up a few ring shaped ones, you carefully put a few piercings on Jade's ears- a simple look, consisting of the double helix on top of his ears and a couple of silver studs along his lobes.

"There! Well it isn't exactly a little either, but..."

Jade looked at the mirror in his room, a satisfied smile on his face. A smile that is neither shady, plotting, or emotionless- a genuinely happy smile. "My my, I was correct in assuming you had good taste in fashion. I'm rather confident in this look, actually. It's comfortable enough for me to move in, and yet still maintaining the fashionable aura from the coat."

You had a grin on your face, proud of your handiwork. "All thanks to you being a good model! And for having a variety of clothes I can choose from, haha."

You had quickly put the rest of his clothes back into his wardrobe after making a few other suggestions, and dusted yourself off as you stood up. "I should probably get going now, I wouldn't want to invade for too long." You say, stretching your arms and getting ready to get back to your dorm. You open the door, stepping out from his neat room.

"Ah, before that." Jade called out, following you outside. He quickly (and rather smoothly) took your hand in his, closing and locking up his room. "Since we're already in decent clothes, what do you say I take you on a small trip around Sage's Island? Perhaps we can stop by and grab some food. My treat of course, after you've oh-so graciously helped me."

Your cheeks heat up, and you feel your gaze lowering to stare at the floor instead of the man in front of you.

"...Is this your way of asking me out?" "Perhaps. Do you accept?"

You couldn't bring yourself to decline his offer. (Your empty stomach also couldn't.)

"S-sure then. I'd love to, Jade."

"Splendid. It's a date, then."

#✨RitcchanWrites #✨TwistedRitchuland #✨RitcchanDreams #✨ritcchama's crazy simpery #UUHGGHHHHH HES SO HOT #ITS BEEN WEEKS AND IM STILL NOT OVER IT #SIR YOUR HAND IN MARRIAGE PLEASE #twisted wonderland #twst #jade leech #twisted wonderland imagines #octavinelle #twst jade #jade leech x reader #jade x reader

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Honestly? While there's no doubt that Luffy fucked up in Whiskey Peak? Like 80% of the outrage and 100% of the accusations of "ooc"ness come from 1) the misconception of Luffy being this super intuitive guy leading to him being put on an altar, and 2) a refusal to allow him any emotional depth.

To start off – Luffy's not that intuitive. The closest thing to it is what the crew call his "animal instincts" in Water 7, where he predicts that he will have to fight Rob Lucci, like he predicts other fights before and after. Only – is that really what happens? He "just knows"? Because, from what I remember, he very clearly identifies him as the leader and the strongest member of CP9 (#366: "of all the people we'll be fighting in a little while, the strongest is that pigeon guy! I'l definitely be the one to send him flying!"). Of course he assigns himself to fight him. That's his reasoning every other time, as well. At times (certainly not often, but sometimes), he demonstrates actual strategic thinking, like with Moria.

I think a lot of people want to think that Luffy "intuits" the Straw Hats' potential or even their pasts when he asks them to join, but we don't see any evidence of that. What we do see is a lot of instances where Luffy witnesses good things about his friends, both in terms of skill and of character. In Brook's case, he literally just went "talking skeleton cool cool cool cool cool". And that's all. It might be hard to swallow that some of the deepest and strongest bonds we see in the series, the most important ones and the cornerstone of the story, are based on something as flimsy as "hee hee I like you be my nakama", that Luffy didn't somehow know that they needed to be taken in. But that's just the way it is. Hell, if it had been solely up to him, Kureha, Iceberg and a bunch of random zombies without a will of their own who were trying to kill them would be part of the crew.

I think that what happens is that Luffy is very undiscerning and undemanding about who can join the crew or even sail with them (he also let Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 go with them without a fuss, same with the Franky Family, who he only knows from, you know, having beat up Usopp and stolen 200mil berries from them) and we want to think that there's some deeper reason for it. We know that it's nothing rational, because we're not so detached from what's happening on the page, so that leaves some kind of instinct telling him that these are the right people. It's a nice idea – it gives Luffy some unconventional wisdom to make up for his lack of it otherwise and fits well with his upbringing in the jungle.

But there's not really anything special about the people he picks up, except the fact that he picks them up. Not in the sense that they're special because of him, but that they become special to him. That's the real reason why he goes after Nami and Robin and Sanji when they leave. It's not that, oooh, he can sense how tortured and traumatized they are and that deep down they're good people. Nah – he just believes them when they say they are his people, so he refuses to abandon them.

And, okay, this might seem damning in the context of Whiskey Peak, because where was this faith when it came to Zoro, who arguably earned it more than anyone else in the crew? To be honest, that's one of the points where I'll concede that Luffy fucked up the most, but there is another matter at play here: everyone else claimed to be on his side, or at least be a certain kind of person, before apparently turning on him. He chose to believe that original impression out of loyalty.

Not only is Luffy not that discerning, he is known for being a sucker for deception. He can't lie, and he's so honest that most of the time he can't even conceptualize that someone might be lying to him. ("Are you going to betray me?" "No." *grins*) The idea that he could just... take a look at someone and divine either good or evil intent goes directly against canon. He gets taken in by CP9, by Kanjuro, hell, he buys that King Cobra betrayed Alabasta as Vivi is telling him of how Crocodile manipulated them.

And that leads me into Whiskey Peak and point 2.

Before we start, think back to Wano, if you would. (If you haven't reached Wano, don't worry, the spoilers in this paragraph are very light.) Imagine that, after spending the day with Tama, and Tsuru, and Kiku, and the rest of the village who gave up their scarce supplies to feed them, Luffy and Zoro go to sleep. The morning after that, Luffy wakes up to a massacre. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has been cut down. The people who helped them, the people who he was talking and laughing with just a few hours ago, dead or near enough. He recognized Tsuru among the pile of bodies and she still has some breath left, so he asks who did it.

Basically, imagine sympathetic victims to the Whiskey Peak massacre.

When we read Whiskey Peak, we know there's something fishy going on. For starters, it's Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9's town, which makes it suspicious enough. Then, before the attack, we see them writing a letter saying that they wanted the Straw Hats to go there, making it obviously dangerous. This is without even getting into the clear threat evident to us readers because we know this is a story and that there's no way the heroes will have it that easy. We mistrust and refuse to sympathize with the Whiskey Peak inhabitants from the start. Until the reveal that Vivi's undercover, they're enemies and future meatsacks to us. We forget that that's not the case for the Straw Hats. Especially, that's not the case for Luffy, who takes everyone at face value.

I think a lot of people maybe get too caught up in their image of Luffy as a sort of chaos, "do things for the laff" entity who'll liberate you from tyranny in exchange from food, so they don't realize that there might be emotional, non-transactional reasons for his behavior. That he feels thankful to the people who help him, because he's survived on the kindness of others all his life and he would've died without it (and if you think that doesn't apply now that he's a pirate, go back to read the Baratie arc). That he might get attached to the people who are kind to him and others. That, even if he doesn't feel affection for them, he'll still be outraged when their kindness is met with cruelty by others. We joke about his disproportionate responses to being fed (aka overthrowing the government for a bowl of rice), but that's because he's not acting under a perceived debt, but out of a bond he's created with his benefactor/s.

So Luffy, who couldn't understand duplicity if it showed up with a twin, gets to a village full of people who happily welcome him and his crew, who appear to do this for every weary traveler that has just passed through the harrowing ordeal of Reverse Mountain. They offer them food, drinks and shelter for as long as they need it. Not only that, they all spend hours partying together, chatting, having fun. Than, Luffy wakes up to find everyone either slaughtered or nearly – the people he was partying with not long ago, from the elderly to children, and, okay, gross, but let's recognize that One Piece is a piece of media with an antiquated system of gallantry that says that it's also an outrage that the women were also hurt. He walks up to one of them and asks them who did it. He says it was Zoro.

Take a moment to place yourself in his shoes. This was objectively a horrifying experience. You wouldn't be surprised if he went after the culprit if it was a stranger. And while I think he should have given Zoro the benefit of the doubt, there's something actually a lot more horrifying in the fact that it was one of his friends who did it: that means Luffy's responsible. He's the one who brought Zoro there, after all. Most codes of honor would have the leader of a group vouching, at least implicitly, for its members.

And it might have easily felt like a betrayal. Not because Zoro went against Luffy, but because he let him down.

A lot of people bring this fight back to loyalty – hasn't Zoro shown Luffy how loyal he is? (And, you know what, I think we could have an interesting discussion about that? About what's said, what's implied, also what's actually witnessed by the characters, but never mind.) Zoro promised him he'd be the best, and that he'd stick by Luffy in his path to achieve that... but he never promised he'd never cruelly cut down an entire village in the meantime, something which is not beyond what any other pirate would do, loyalty notwithstanding. And a good thing, too, because he did, in fact, do that in WP!

That's the other thing. Imagine waking up to a whole village of people who helped you and your crew cut down by a member of said crew. The children included. The idea of there being a good reason for it is actually more out there than a prideful and powerful man who agreed to become a pirate, specifically to establish himself as the strongest in his field, would lash out at the flimsiest offense to his ego, to be honest.

Basically, it all goes down to how this guy, so honest he can barely conceive of being lied to when he's directly informed of it, should have walked out to find bloodied piles of bodies and gone "this guy with violent tendencies I met like a month ago killed dozens of people, including children, who fed us and sheltered and fed us, who I like because of that, probably did it for a good reason". Forgive me if I bring up the children too much, it's just that, if there's one demographic you don't expect anyone to have enough of a good reason to maim, it's that one. Faced with this kind of scene, it makes sense to doubt your initial judgement of a person.

Of course, what he did see of Zoro before that should have told him enough to at least doubt. At the very least, he should have heard him out before killing him. Zoro did try to explain. (Then again, if someone admitted to slaughtering a whole neighborhood and then claimed to have a good reason for it I wouldn't be jumping to hear them out.)

That said, it's not about Luffy doubting Zoro's loyalty, it's about doubting his character when faced with incredibly damning evidence against it. One the one hand, maybe Luffy's the one who should've been more loyal. On the other, the fact that his loyalty didn't extend to forgiving one of his crew when they apparently go rogue and attack not just an entire village, but of full of people who helped them and continuously did the same for others, just goes to prove that he doesn't have the moral backbone of a wet noodle, in addition to checking out with his tendency to develop an attachment to people who feed him.

#One Piece #Whiskey Peak #Monkey D. Luffy #Roronoa Zoro

[the-s1lly-corner]

You points

I'd like to hear some of your general headcanons for itward! Any and all headcanons you can think of >:)

General Itward hcs!

I got too silly guys

This is gonna be long so buckleup

Side note, my silly little goofy baking marathon has begun, so requests are REALLY gonna slow down today and tomorrow and likely Tuesday as well

I current have multiple pies in the oven as we speak <\3 (note from the future i was typing for so long the first batch of pies finished and the second group just got put in)

My bodies gonna hate me for this but imma get paid (yaaaay!!!!)

Love to think that itward is self sufficient. He grows his own stuff and scavenges for any metal parts he needs what whatever (his ship, a project, ect)

As such he also builds and maintains his own stuff; the ship is the most obvious thing! But I like to think nearly everything in the ship itself was either made by him or found abandoned !

Its canon that he loves forks, both stated in the character sheet thing KMG posted as well as the copious amounts of forks decorating the main area of his ship! I mean he literally has a wall covered in forks! I can easily see him having even more forks stashed away somewhere

Torn between headcannoning him to just have them in a jumbled heap in a drawer somewhere... and headcannoning that he sorts them by size, material, color, and style... both seem so in character for him.. hmm..

I can say for certain that he has a box somewhere full of random stuff hes collected and it's not at all neat and organized. Rocks, gears, bolts, sticks, glass vials, jewels, and so on! The "oo pretty I think I'll keep this and use it for later (never uses it for later)" mindset! I like calling those lil trinket boxes "crow boxes"

"The one many children talk about", as said by the man himself. So fran and the twins arent the only ones who have interacted with him... dad of dozens of children

I was gonna go somewhere with that previous point but I genuinely forgot what I was gonna say

Has made stuffed animals and dolls at least once for all of his kids. And yes, that includes Clara and Mia, at least before they tried to kill him... reluctantly makes bunnies for kids who ask

Speaking of bunnies, since it's been proven that itward wasnt bluffing or lying about his fear of them (KMG made a post showing off a type of Kamala that basically makes you addicted to their candy, making you eat them til your guts explode) (which... is horrifying and makes me wonder, did itward see that happen to someone? Perhaps one of his kids? A friend? Or did he not and the concept just scares him so much?) It's a little funny that itward has a bunny plushie on his ship

Sad hc but I like to think it belonged to one of his past children and as much as hes afraid of it he doesnt have the heart to give it away

While we're on the topic of sad stuff, I dont think itward can shed tears. So in place of them, his bones start to rattle a little

While I also headcannon that his bones rattle when hes nervous or flustered, and perhaps on the rare occasion that hes angry, it does happen when hes sad enough

Okay no more sad, I like to think his hat steams when he gets real excited about something or embarrassed. The top of it just. Pops open and theres the steam billowing out

I dunno I think it suits him and his aesthetic...

Stole this idea from someone else but he can purr; it's mostly involuntary imo and if you listen close enough you can hear his bones vibrating and clacking against one another

His eyes glow in the dark! Not too bright, it's fairly dim, but it's enough for him to see around and for you to see where he is in a dark room!

Creaky bones. He is OLD! probably VERY OLD! So it would make sense his bones click and make noise thanks to the general age.. wear and tear you know? Especially prominent in his spine and ankles

Has a habit of clacking his teeth/jaw when speaking, as well as when hes just. Not doing anything

Prone to fiddling with his rings (!! Will get to that in a second!) As well as the accessories on his coat; and sometimes, even his hat!

Okay the rings! I like to hc that itward makes his own accessories too ! That includes the gems and chains on his coat (heck, hes probably made his own clothes!) And I like to hc that he sometimes wears rings !

Sometimes sells his stuff; more likely to sell shoes and clothing, as well as his machines and services! Sure he mostly lives off stuff hes found or grew, but theres some stuff that he cant just find or grow.. plus its generally a good idea to have some money somewhere

I'm pretty sure hes good friends with palontras and ziar (given him and palontras work together to help Fran and the painting of ziar in itwards ship) but I also like to think he is friends with the wizard and cogwind!

Mostly because I wish we got more stuff for both of them... also him and cogwind can bond over their interests!

Does not stay in one place for long, given that KMGs labels him as a wanderer, but assuming he keeps Fran around to raise her I think he anchors down to one place... well not ANCHOR but like, cutting down on traveling at least a bit, especially in the beginning so fran can fully come to terms with everything shes learned (the truth of her parents death, the grieving process, learning she may or may not be part of something larger if memory serves me right, it's been a while since I played the game, as well as being shot.. like yeah she was healed physically but like imagine how shes gonna feel when that fact she was shot mentally sinks in) ... cant have her bouncing between different realities and the spaces in between them constantly

Ponders

Listens to Antonios (giant old ant dude) old music, I think! Probably has a bunch of old vynlls laying around somewhere

Frequently has to clean his hands, especially his fingers since hes always working on SOMETHING, he doesnt wanna walk around with gunk in the grooves of his fingers. Very yucky very gross and very un-gentleman..ly...

I keep trying to wrap this post up but I keep remembering hcs/coming up with new ones

Anyways COMMITS to the bit when hes playing a game with Fran, or really any kid hes looking over. Tea party? Hes gonna bust out his very best manners. Yes he will wear a tiara if its offered to him. It will go over his hat, of course. Playing doctor? Oh he'll moan n cry about how sick hes feeling, please help him! Ect ect, things like that!

Sometimes makes shadow puppets and tells stories. Both in the form of little shadow theatres, but sometimes he will use his own hands and project the shadows onto the wall!

Very good at coming up with stories on the fly

Also very very good at comforting people, I think. Hes been around for a while and he just OOZES comfort

So if you have a nightmare or struggle with anxiety, itward wont let you just suffer and be scared, hes gonna do what suits you best to calm down; distractions, holding, taking, quiet, grounding, ect ect ect anything you need

#itward headcannons #itward imagine #itward x reader #fran bow itward #itward #fran bow #fran bow headcannons

[imekitty]

Danny confronts his parents about the clones they've been experimenting on.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23

-----

"Have you heard from Vlad at all?"

Jack followed Maddie out of their bedroom and shut the door behind him. "Why would Vlad say anything to me?"

"He said he'd send a text when he finalized all the configurations for the new Danielle clones." Maddie looked at her blank phone screen. "I guess I'm just excited."

Jack's shoulders fell. He did not want to think about the new set of clones Maddie had ordered from Vlad.

They walked down the hall, past Danny's and Jazz's bedroom doors.

"Danny's home already," remarked Maddie as she held up an ecto-scanner. Danny's ecto-signature appeared in two locations on the screen, one in his bedroom and the other in the basement lab. "That's good, he really needs to get a good night's sleep. He's been going through a lot lately."

Jack held his tongue, knowing it was no use to remind her that she was the one orchestrating almost everything that had been happening to their son.

Down in the lab, clone 26 was lying on the main examination table right where they had left him earlier, wearing a hospital gown with his wrists and ankles secured in belted restraints. The clone stirred and groggily opened his eyes as Maddie approached. Jack hung back as he usually did. He hated this part, when the clone begged to be freed and Maddie told him no, no, he had to stay here and die.

The clone's eyes widened as Maddie hovered over him, her hood down and goggles up on top of her head. The clone began pulling against the belts, throwing his head wildly as he lifted his upper body off the table as far as he could. Maddie pressed one hand to his chest, forcing him back down.

"Sweetie, calm down," said Maddie, her voice hushed. "I know you're very confused and scared right now, but you're just going to hurt yourself if you struggle."

"What do you mean? What's going on?" The clone's breathing was erratic. "Why am I here? Mom? How did I get here?"

"We have a couple procedures planned for you tonight," said Maddie. "Just a couple, don't worry. Then we'll let you rest until tomorrow night."

The clone stared at her, all fight stopped for the moment. "Procedures?"

"Yes," said Maddie. "Because you're a ghost hybrid, and there is so much more about you that we want to learn."

The clone's eyes widened with shock and panic, as they always did. "You know I'm a ghost?"

"We do," said Maddie, taking the clone's hand in hers.

The clone's gaze moved to Jack. Jack looked away, squeezing and massaging his jaw with one hand.

"What are you going to do to me?" asked the clone, struggling more against the belts. "Why have you brought me here? You know I'm your son, don't you?"

"No, you're not," said Maddie.

The clone froze up. "I am. You know I am."

"No, honey, you're a clone," said Maddie, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "You're a nearly perfect clone of our son."

The clone stared at her in dumbfounded silence.

"We're going to tell you the truth before we start tonight's work," said Maddie. "You can ask any questions, and we'll answer them. You deserve that much, at least."

Jack grimaced. He hated when she included him like that, using the word "we" when he didn't want to be here at all. At this point, the only reason he continued to join Maddie in this cruel line of experimentation was to ensure she didn't take it too far.

Or at least, that was what he kept telling himself.

"The truth about what?" asked the clone.

"Your ghost powers," said Maddie. "The reason you're a ghost hybrid is because we configured the ghost portal to rearrange the molecular structure of your DNA."

"What—no, you wouldn't do that." The clone fiercely shook his head.

"We had to," said Maddie, her tone soothing. "You had the right DNA that could be stabilized after an ectoplasmic mutation. We tried looking for others, but you were the only one. We had no choice."

"No choice?" spat the clone. "Why did you need to turn me into a ghost at all?"

"For our research, sweetie. You know how crucial our research is."

"Crucial for what? How is this going to help anyone?"

"Oh, so many ways! Health care applications for improved surgery that uses invisibility instead of invasive scopes and expensive MRIs and CT scans, intangibility instead of incisions that can get infected. Military applications for super soldiers enhanced with ghost powers—"

"You can't be serious," said the clone. "You're experimenting on your own son so you can find ways to sell ghost powers to other people?"

"You are not our son," said Maddie. "You remember how Vlad attempted to clone you and created Danielle, right? Well, he didn't actually fail. We asked him to clone Danny so we could experiment on his clones without harming the real Danny." Maddie ruffled the clone's hair. "You are one of those clones, sweetheart."

The clone jerked his head away. "I'm not a clone."

"I know you don't believe it. You're not supposed to believe it," said Maddie. "You're supposed to believe you're the real Danny. That's the only way we can get the most accurate data for our research. And you want to help us with our research, don't you?"

"I'm not a clone." The clone shook his head. "Let me go, let me leave."

"We can't do that," said Maddie. "There can only be one Danny. You have to stay here, and you can't leave."

"I'm Danny," the clone insisted with tears in his eyes. "I am your son."

"Danny is upstairs in his room." Maddie pointed to the ceiling. "You're down here in the lab because you're his clone."

"No, you're wrong," said the clone. "I'm not upstairs. I'm here with you. I've always lived in this house with you."

"Sweetie, those memories you have of living here before today aren't real," said Maddie. "You didn't exist until this morning. You had never been to this house before until this afternoon when Vlad brought you here."

"They're real memories," asserted the clone. "I was hanging out with Dad in the lab earlier today when he showed me the Ecto-Dejecto."

Jack's brow creased. Yes, he did indeed show Danny the Ecto-Dejecto that very day so he could later use it to stabilize Danielle, but it was impossible for the clone to know that. The last time Vlad took an updated DNA sample from Danny was over a month ago. The clone's last memories should not and could not be this recent.

A sinking weight dropped deep into Jack's gut as he stared at the clone, noticing for the first time a scar right behind his ear, the same scar Danny had. But the clones were supposed to have unblemished skin, untouched and new.

The clone continued speaking, "And then I went to hang out with Sam and Tucker—"

"No, sweetie," said Maddie. "Those memories you have aren't real. The only reason you have them is because you're an almost perfect copy of the real Danny, including his memories."

"I am the real Danny."

"No, you're not."

"How can you say that? How can you know that for sure?"

The clone's expression was angry, something Jack had never seen before. The clones were usually frightened or hurt, not angry.

"How do you know I'm not the real Danny?" demanded the clone.

"Because of the tattoo on your arm," said Maddie. "Here, let me show you."

Maddie pulled up the right sleeve of the clone's hospital gown, just as she had done twenty-five times before. But there was nothing but skin, no tattooed 26 on the clone's upper arm that Jack definitely remembered seeing when Vlad first delivered the clone.

All blood drained from Jack's face as Maddie screamed and jumped back, her hand clamped over her mouth. Danny's angry expression broke into a wicked smile.

"I told you I was the real Danny," he said.

Maddie's other hand shot up over her mouth as she shook her head furiously. Jack was frozen in place, unable even to tremble.

Danny sat up, slipping out of all four belt restraints and jumping off the table onto the floor. He changed into his ghost form, black and white jumpsuit replacing the hospital gown.

"Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?" he asked. "Did you really think you could make Vlad clone me twenty-six times and I would just never know?"

He started walking toward Maddie with slow steps. Maddie stepped back each time, still covering her mouth as she watched him come closer.

"Did you think I was too stupid to figure it out?" Danny paused, chuckling darkly. "I guess maybe you're right. I guess I was too stupid to figure it out. You were able to experiment on me and torture me and—and kill me twenty-five times and I was too stupid to realize it until now."

Maddie cowered, hunching her shoulders and covering more of her face with her hands.

"And you were going to kill me a twenty-sixth time tonight," yelled Danny. "And you—" He turned to Jack with a snarl. "You were just going to stand there and let her."

Jack held up his shaking hands in defense, but he could not think of a good reply. He could only meet Danny's hate-filled eyes, trying to somehow communicate just how sorry he was.

"You and Vlad both," muttered Danny. "You'll both just do anything for her, won't you? You'll even kill for her."

"Danny," Maddie gasped out. "Danny, listen, I'm sorry—"

"No, you're not sorry," roared Danny, turning and pointing an accusatory finger at her. "Don't say you're sorry. If you were sorry, you would've stopped a long time ago." He choked, his voice losing strength as he stifled a sob. "If you really cared about me—" He sucked in a deep breath. "If you really loved me, you would've never done this."

"Danny, I do love you." Maddie clasped her hands as tears streamed down her face. "So much."

"How can you say that?" demanded Danny. "How can you look me in the eyes after everything you've done to me and say that?"

His fists glowed with ectoplasmic light as he stomped toward Maddie, backing her up against a wall. Maddie whimpered and curled in on herself.

Jack stared at her, frozen with shock.

She was scared.

He had never seen her look so scared before. In fact, he wasn't sure he had ever seen her show any sign of fear at all.

And Jack realized he was also afraid, because Danny could very easily kill both of them right now and they would be powerless against him.

His gut sank and twisted with the horror of what they had turned their son into.

"Danny, please," bleated Maddie. "I'm your mother."

"You're right, you are my mother." Tears began falling down Danny's face. "Which is why I can't believe you would do this to me. My life has been hell ever since I became—this." He used one gloved hand to gesture to himself, top to bottom. "Fighting ghosts, protecting the town—it's been painful and terrifying and exhausting."

Danny's tears were coming fast and hot now. Maddie continued to whimper while Jack stayed still.

"But I kept doing it because…I thought I had to," continued Danny. "I thought it was my fault that all of these ghosts were coming in through the portal and invading our town. But now I find out that…you did this to me. It was never my fault; you set me up to do it. You wanted me to do it—you were counting on me to do it."

Danny sobbed, covering his eyes with his hands as his body shook. Maddie looked at Jack, begging him for help. But Jack could only stare back.

"This whole time." Danny uncovered his eyes now swollen with ectoplasm. "You've been pulling strings, watching me like I'm a marionette in your sick puppet show. And you made me afraid of you. You pretended to hunt me down and you would actually shoot at me so I would believe that I really was a freak and I could never trust anyone with my secret."

Danny lowered his eyes, his face drenched with tears.

"You made me believe that I couldn't trust you, my own parents," he whispered. He then raised his eyes, which flashed green. "But I guess I was right about that after all, wasn't I?"

He came close to Maddie, raising both of his glowing fists. Maddie pressed her back to the wall and held up her hands in front of her face.

"Are you going to kill me?" blubbered Maddie.

Danny stared at her for a long, long time.

Then his fists opened, their green glow disappearing as his whole body relaxed.

"No," he said with a soft shake of his head. "Of course not. Because you are my mother."

Danny glanced up at the ceiling, more tears glistening on the lower edge of his eyes. He sniffled and brought his gaze back down to Maddie.

"I hate that my own mother could do this to me," Danny continued, his words strangled, "but I can't hurt you. Obviously you're more than willing to hurt me, but…I can't." His eyes hardened. "But I'm not letting you hurt me ever again. Whether it's the real me or a clone of me, I won't allow it."

Danny looked up at the ceiling again, but this time in a very particular direction, up toward his room. Jack took notice of the look, and he could see Maddie also noticed, her brows drawing together in scrutiny.

"Where is the clone?" Maddie's voice was suddenly much stronger as she straightened her back and stood taller. "Clone 26, where is he?"

Danny's eyes once again returned to her. He frowned but did not reply.

"Vlad delivered him this afternoon," said Maddie. "I saw the tattoo on his arm with my own eyes. Where is he now?"

Danny stiffened. "You don't need to know that."

"I do," said Maddie. "You won't let us experiment on any more clones, fine. We'll stop. But that clone cannot be allowed to exist."

Danny's eyes twitched, his jaw clenching.

"We have to kill him, Danny," said Maddie.

"No," said Danny with a firm shake of his head. "You are not going anywhere near him."

"We can't let a clone of you run around freely, Danny," said Maddie. "People would notice. How would we even explain that? It would only be a matter of time before the police or the Guys in White figure out that you're a ghost hybrid, and then you'd be taken away for far worse experimentation."

"Don't pretend like you care about what happens to me," spat Danny. "You just don't want them to find out what you've been doing."

"You know I'm right," retorted Maddie. "There can't be two of you."

"Then kill me." Danny held out his arms in offering. "Do it."

Maddie's mouth fell open. "Danny—no, I'm not going to kill you."

"Why not?" asked Danny. "If only one Danny is allowed to exist, then why does it have to be me?"

"Because you are Danny. The clone is no one."

"But isn't the clone a perfect copy of me? With all my memories?"

"Most, not all of them."

"He's good enough, isn't he?"

Danny glared at Maddie, still holding his arms out, ready and waiting for her to come at him. Maddie did not move, simply stared back in tense silence. Jack watched, wondering for a moment if she might actually do it, if she might actually grab an ecto-gun and blast a hole through Danny's chest.

Jack was ready to throw himself in front of Danny if she tried.

"The clone must die, Danny," said Maddie. "That's why he was created. That's his purpose."

"So now you think you can just assign people purposes?" asked Danny. "Does this sick little game make you feel like God?" Danny pressed a palm to his chest. "What's my purpose, Mom? Have I been giving you everything you wanted? Or am I a failed experiment now?"

Maddie narrowed her eyes. "The clone has to die, Danny."

Danny shook his head. "No."

"Danny."

"No."

Danny shot up into the air, soaring straight through the lab ceiling and disappearing. Maddie bolted toward the stairs to follow him.

"Maddie." Jack grabbed her arm before she could get too far up the stairs, forcing her to stumble back down onto the main floor.

"Jack." Maddie struggled in his grip. "Let me go, Jack."

Jack kept a tight hold on her, using all his strength to keep her from getting away. "Maddie, what are you planning on doing?"

"We have to kill the clone, Jack," said Maddie, sounding panicked. "We can't let Danny help him escape."

"But why? Why do we have to kill the clone?" asked Jack.

Maddie glared at him. "You know why. I shouldn't have to explain this to you."

"Maddie." Jack took hold of her other arm and forced her to face him. "But maybe we shouldn't, Maddie."

Maddie stopped struggling and became still, unblinking.

"Maybe we shouldn't kill the clone?" said Maddie. "Are you saying we should kill the real Danny? Like he asked us to? Remove the clone's tattoo and just rewrite our son with a copy?"

Jack balked and slacked his grip on her arms, but she did not try to break away.

"The clone's earliest memories will be from a few weeks ago." Maddie nodded as she spoke. "Clone 26 won't remember any of this. We could continue our experiments and Vlad could continue creating new clones and we'd just have to be more careful and watch the new Danny a lot more closely, make sure he never discovers the truth again—"

"Would you listen to yourself?" Jack shouted in her face. "Are you fucking insane? We are not going to kill the real Danny just so you can keep fucking with his clones."

He shook her, causing her head to snap back, her eyes wide as she stared up at him, frozen.

"It's over, Maddie," yelled Jack. "It has to be over now."

Maddie stayed frozen a little longer. Jack waited for her to move, to respond in some way, never letting go of her arms.

"You're right," murmured Maddie. "He's my baby. I carried him inside of me—he was part of me for nine months. The clone was never part of me no matter how much he looks and acts like the real Danny. I can't kill my boy, never."

She started crying. Jack felt a twinge, a strange urge to comfort her even though he knew she didn't deserve it.

"But the clone still has to die, Jack." Maddie used the heel of her hand to wipe her eyes and locked her gaze with Jack's. "And you know it."

Jack stared back at her, the scientist inside of him activating. Because as much as he hated to admit it, he did know it. The clone was an abomination, an affront to the natural order, an entity that was never supposed to exist in the first place.

And Danny himself would be in danger of being discovered and taken away if the clone was allowed to exist as its own person.

Yes, the clone did have to die. It was the only way to protect the real Danny.

And the only way to stay out of prison.

Jack loosened his hold on Maddie and watched as she ran up the stairs, numb and empty.

And then he breathed deep and ran up after her.

Just one last time. One final murder.

Part 25

#danny phantom #danny fenton #maddie fenton #jack fenton #planned au #imekitty writes #horror #angst

[nix-writes-mcyt]

could you please do a doc x cat hybrid reader where they don’t get along at first but end up spending a lot of time together and end up catching feelings for each other? <3

I hope I captured this well, this is the thing that got me stuck but I have worked through it and here we are!

Natural Enemies

Oneshot Contains: Creeper hybrid!Doc, Cat Hybrid!reader, Fluff, Cleo and Joe being Cleo and Joe ----------------------------------

When you and Doc first met it was safe for anyone to say you didn't get along. No, no, no.

The cat part of you was calm around him, but ready to pounce at a moments notice. You weren't outwardly aggressive toward him, you didn't want to be. It was just in your nature.

Doc being part creeper had him hard wired to stay away from you. He'd hiss at you and you'd hiss back, an exchange which often caused him to back off quite far. Often more than the six blocks you were used to.

For the longest time you and Doc were forced to spend time around each other. Mutual friends would drag the two of you along, together, not caring if your hybrid parts detested the other.

You can't say at first it wasn't hard. But it got easier and easier. You've never admitted it, keeping up the act toward Doc. After all, his behaviour hasn't changed. Why should yours?

Recently your friends have been disappearing early when you meet up, leaving you and Doc alone. Today being no different.

A picnic with Joe and Cleo was what had been organised. You'd all shown up at the designated meeting point, walking for some time before settling in a quiet, flower-covered clearing in deep in the birch forest.

Joe and Cleo had been playfully bickering among themselves the whole way, occasionally bringing you and Doc into it to defend them. The picnic blanket had barely been set down when Cleo chased Joe into the trees, leaving you and Doc alone.

The quiet was calming, your eyes everywhere but on Doc. For once it was an easy task, so many things for you to focus on.

But it was so hard to ignore his presence.  No matter how many small flowers you threaded into one another to create chain after chain, no matter how many leaves you counted, how many stripes on the bark, it didn't matter. Doc was there.

It wasn't so long ago the two of you couldn't sit beside each other. It wasn't long at all. You glance in his direction, masking it as you looking around at the flowers.

You could touch him if you reached out. There was a time Doc wouldn't get this close to you. Part of you wonders what it's like to be right up next to him, curled up with your head in his lap.

You blink, realising your eyes have met his.  So much for making it look like you were looking past him.

Doc holds your gaze, another thing he couldn't do when you first met. How things have changed, at least for you. The feelings you have caught for the one you used to despise the most.

"I wonder when Cleo and Joe will be back." Doc mumbles, deep voice soothing. You nod, snapping your gaze away. As you turn your head you see movement in the trees, ears twitching with the sound of movement which lets you know your eyes weren't lying.

"Did you see something too?" Doc asks. You nod, not looking over at him again. "I did, but I didn't catch what it was." Doc hums quietly, you hear him shuffle behind you.

You keep your focus on the forest, something is there.  Right there.

"Do you think we're in danger?" His voice is closer this time, almost distractingly so. "I don't think so." Your eyes move between the tree trunks, but you just can't see what made the noise.

"And you're sure?" Doc asks. "Yes, I'm sure." You turn your head in his direction now you've made a decision, realising just how much closer to you he has become.

You can see Doc fighting with himself to stay where he is, your slightly aggressive tone triggering his instinct to back away from you. But he doesn't move.

You feel your ears twitch as more movement occurs outside of your field of view, but you can't seem to take your eyes off of him.

Doc pulls his eyes from yours, moving backwards, away from you. Your reflexes are quick, hand reaching out and grabbing his metal arm.

"Don't go." You whisper, realising that this is the first time the two of you have ever actually touched in the whole time you've know each other.

Doc seems to have noticed this as well, hesitation and confusion written all over his face. Two emotions you've never really seem him express.

"Don't you hate me?" He asks quietly. "No, I haven't in a long while. Quite the opposite really but you never showed interest in knowing." Your words are rushed but he nods, it's clear to you he understood.

"I was scared you'd reject me. You and I were born enemies. Yet now I see how stupid that is." He places his other hand on top of yours, moving out so both of his hands hold yours.

"Where do we go from here?" You ask,  "I feel so strongly for you but we don't really know each other." Doc nods, but smiles reassuringly.

"We take it slow and steady. We've come this far, I know we can go further. My feelings for you can only grow. I'm willing to try if you are?" You nod, smiling as Doc pulls you in for a short hug.

As the two of you separate a twig snaps in the trees, gaining the attention of you both. "They're going to hear us if you keep standing on things" You and share a knowing look.

"They're going to hear us if you keep talking so loud." "Oh sorry, I didn't realise whispering was louder than standing on every twig in the forest." "Whisper shouting maybe."

"You know we can hear you both, right?" Doc calls out. "I told you we'd get caught." Joe laughs as they walk out from behind a tree.

"I told you to watch your step as well but here we are." Cleo states, dropping from another tree with a smirk on her face. "You're both as bad as each other." You chuckle, both Cleo and Joe pulling a face before doing a bad job of stifling their laughter.

They join you on the blanket once again, listening as you and Doc fill them in, the four of you ready to enjoy the rest of your afternoon. And for you and Doc, ready to enjoy getting to know each other and your feelings.

#doc x reader #docm77 x reader #hermitcraft x reader #fluff #request #hybrid #docm #doc #docm77 #hermitcraft #creeper hybrid!doc #cat hybrid!reader #mcyt x reader #mcyt #mcytblr

[aha-chuu]

Sumeru Archon Quest Theory

Okay so throughout Act 3 and 4 there is a lot of emphasis put on the akasha terminals, specifically that Nahida can only possess people who wearing them and that Dottore can hijack them as well.

(Despite this, Nahida is able to mind swap with the Traveler even though they aren't wearing the akasha terminal past the opening with Setaria. I assume this is because possession ≠ swapped consciousness, and the Traveler usually plays by different rules anyhow).

But basically - there's an emphasis on akasha terminals and a real focus on the fact that wearing one makes you very vulnerable. Both innocent civilians getting hypnotised by Dottore and the Sages avoiding theirs because even the villains recognise the danger that comes with them (despite the fact that they don't know Nahida has been transferring her consciousness around through them).

The Traveler doesn't wear their Akasha terminal once Nahida is done swapping our consciousness between all of Setaria's acquaintances. Paimon, Cyno, Dehya, Candace and everyone else from the desert don't wear theirs either. This makes logical sense since a) desert dwellers don't have access to a lot of the info stored in the akasha and b) the akasha does not work very well outside of cities (Sumeru City and Port Ormos). Dehya assumedly came from the city since we know she was headed into the desert for a break, but she isn't wearing hers when we meet up with her. This is probably because she knows the akasha is dangerous due to the Sabzeruz festival (does she even remember that? I think so) and has said that she doesn't care about wearing it anyway:

In addition, despite the fact that akasha terminals don't work well outside of cities, the Village Keepers do wear them, so that the Sages can keep track of them.

As Cyno says here though, there isn't any benefit to the wearer. Akasha terminals are still dangerous to wear in the desert, and you cannot use them for any of their benefits either.

All this to ask - why does Alhaitham keep his on? It's not an issue that it's 'part of his character model' because Dehya is introduced wearing her akasha terminal and doesn't wear it later on, and the Traveler takes theirs on and off. Alhaitham also wears his throughout the entire quest, from the rainforest to the outer reaches of the desert, even though there's plenty of time he's off screen where he could return without it if they simply didn't want to include a conversation about it.

(as you can see, he's wearing it even in the hospital scene.)

Alhaitham isn't dumb or forgetful. He's perhaps the least likely character to forget to remove it, and he's definitely high up enough in the Akademiya to know the dangers. But for the whole quest so far, he cannot be seen without it. This means a couple of things for how I think the storyline will continue:

A) they made such a big deal about akasha terminals that if he wears his consistently, I assume it will become plot relevant. Either he'll be mind-controlled by Dottore or Nahida will be able to use his connection to the akasha to swoop in and save everyone last minute. I think think the latter option is more likely, since the first would just make Alhaitham look dumb and Hoyoverse are really focusing on his intelligence and attention to detail for characterising him.

B) there will be an explanation as for why he's still wearing it. I think he'll lie if asked, perhaps 'access to all knowledge is more beneficial than the risk the akasha terminal presents'.

Now, why does he wear it? It has no value in the desert plus it's dangerous even when it is useful, not least of all because it allows the Akademiya to keep track of Alhaitham. In the quest we're told Cyno is the one being tracked, but it's Alhaitham who suggests that and provides 'evidence'.

Imo, it's more likely that they are following Alhaitham and this is Alhaitham lying to cover himself. The Sages probably do have some sort of process to deal with Cyno, but this just seems convoluted. So maybe Alhaitham is on the Akademiya's side, though I doubt that, but there is the chance that he's already being subliminally controlled and has no choice in the matter.

See those chunky headphones Alhaitham is wearing? They're interesting. They line up perfectly with his akasha terminal, as though they are designed to, and visually they appear similar to the headsets the Village Keepers wear:

His are smaller, but green leaf patterning and golden gilding is the same. In this picture you can also see a wire coming out from the back of his headset and going over his shoulder to... Something. The headset is connected to the Akademiya and the akasha, and somehow there is a biological connection between the headset and Alhaitham himself.

Now I won't bore you with my 'Alhaitham is a cyborg' theories. But what if he simply can't remove his Akasha because he's plugged himself into the system? He's very studious, has no issues with a little immorality and prioritises his thirst for knowledge over his own safety throughout the quest. Alhaitham is the only character who isn't involved because his principles force him to help out - the only explanation we really get from him is as to why he's here is -

The Divine Knowledge capsule. That he already has (Cyno never confiscated it) and he stays with us even after finding out that they are made using the Village Keepers' minds, even though that should satiate his curiosity. He says he isn't tempted to use the Divine Knowledge Capsule for himself, or rather, that he would rather know why the Akademiya were so willing to hand out "divine knowledge" in the first place.

It's weird. His motivations don't make sense. If he's on our side and smart, which is how he's characterised, there is no good reason for him to wear his Akasha Terminal unless he physically cannot remove it. If he is dumb and on our side then I guess he just forgot, and now he can be a tool for the plot when we need mind control shenanigans later on. The most interesting option is that he's smart and not on our side, and he's choosing to let some third party keep track of us all while manipulating us into trusting him by being deceptively honest about how little sympathy he has for others. Who he could be working for..? Not the Akademiya, I think he is truly frustrated with the Sages. It could be the Fatui, since his headset wire thing is similar to all the wires in Scaramouche's back.

But I'd really like it if he's working for Nahida. Not as in, under her authority (I don't think she has the capacity to give orders any more than Alhaitham could take them) but if he somehow knows that Nahida needs an akasha terminal to function, then it would not be out of character for him to put himself in harm's way to facilitate her return further down the plotline. This has issues, for example Alhaitham doesn't mention knowing Nahida or vice versa (though I don't trust a word out of Alhaitham's mouth, Nahida brushes us off when we suggest going to him for help. Either she didn't see it fit to mention that she knows him or she already knew that he couldn't get them closer to the sages because he's helping her on the down low.)

This is what Nahida has to say about the akasha terminals:

Could Nahida be able to keep track of us by using the akasha to compile Alhaitham's knowledge? Maybe. I think that would make his views on gods make more sense in the context of the plot, if he's essentially partnered with one and sees her as an equal.

Anyhow, that's probably not the case. Something fishy is definitely going on with Alhaitham though, and I anticipate how it will unfold.

#genshin impact #sumeru archon quest #sumeru act 3 #sumeru act 4 #Alhaitham #nahida genshin #Kusanali #akasha terminal #cyno #Akademiya #theory #long post

[angeliana2023]

Weird dream #2:

So this one was kinda cathartic for me. For YEARS, my overactive brain has been spooked by certain video game error sounds, ESPECIALLY this one from Wii Fit. It's the 'beep beep' sound when your Wiimote disconnects in the middle of playing. Since this dream, I've been doing better.

So, in the dream, I was living in the usual house I dream about, which is usually just my house (or one of my old ones) with a bunch of characters. In real life, I'd been watching a lot of Futurama after learning my new cable plan came with DVR. In the dream, I kept hearing the THX sound, and the Wii Fit sound, and I couldn't sleep. One night, I was lying with Zapp Brannigan, of all people, (Don't get any ideas, please) and he was comforting me. This is where it gets TRIPPY. I don't know who cursed me, but I was cursed to hear these sounds! When I 'fell asleep' in the dream, a portal appeared in my room, and it was making the THX noise. The portal was sucking me in, but Zapp grabbed my hands and held onto something.

Zapp then CONFESSED HIS LOVE FOR ME and told me that if we were sucked through the portal, he'd never leave my side, and protect me through whatever nightmares were in it. This next part was scary, but honestly kinda cool. Zapp and I fell through the portal, through a kaleidoscope of screaming THX logos, that played kind of a distorted version of the sound. We landed in this nightmare world, where the THX sound and all of my least favorite error sounds were playing. I clung to Zapp, and he protected me. We woke up, somehow, and he decided to take me to some fictional hospital to stop the magically conjured dreams.

It turns out, Zapp himself had started hearing the sounds, too. At first, he was just listening to me when I described them and started seeing 'THX' on everything in the hospital, kind of like Acme in Road Runner. He tried to go see me, but the nurse stopped him, and said, "We're trying to stop the stuff that's been plaguing her for the past 13 years!" meaning that was when I first got scared of a logo. THIS is where it gets funny. Since Zapp was now hearing the sounds, some of the nurse's words were the Wii sound. It sounded more like this: "We're *beep beep* to *beep beep* the *beep beep* that's *beep beep plaguing *beep beep* for *beep beep* past *beep beep* years!" Here's the sound I'm referring to: Wii Fit overexertion warning - YouTube

(This error message is in the game, but this particular overexertion warning is fanmade. I couldn't find a real version on YouTube.)

Anyway, After I came back from the hospital, the error message curse thingy was gone. Zapp made me this quesadilla in the shape of a garden gnome to help me feel better.

I woke up, then went back to sleep, and had another dream with Zapp in it. I'll post a part 2 because this is getting long. Cya!

#dreaming #dreams #wierd dreams #strange dreams #zapp brannigan #futurama #fears #thx #Wii fit

[avelera]

Enter the Pirate Hunters: My Predictions for the Plot of OFMD S2

(I've discussed in another post (here) that I think the emotional plot of a good chunk of S2 will be the Redemption of Blackbeard. This post is more about what I think the action plot structure of S2 will look like.)

So I think the OFMD fandom can't help but be wrong about a lot of what's going to go down in S2 because most (not all) people are extrapolating from the available data and imagining the new season's drama without knowing what new elements are going to be introduced, like new characters and especially new antagonists.

For example, I've been saying for a bit that I don't think Ed and Stede having a big dramatic fight is going to take up the whole season, I just don't think that's in-character for how they've interacted up to this point (in a very caring way for each other and with very little drama up to the point where Stede vanished because he was kidnapped at gunpoint). I think they might fight for The Drama but I also think it's more likely that if they're kept apart by any sort of conflict it's more likely to be because some antagonist keeps them apart (for ex., Izzy lying about who Captain Thomas is or otherwise deliberately steering the Revenge away from Stede if he spots him before Ed does) OR, it's going to be because of other external villains we have't seen yet.

At the very least, even if these external villains aren't what keep Stede and Ed from each other, they're likely going to make up a chunk of the plot in S2 and I hope people are ready for that and the fact that all of S2 isn't going to be 10 episodes of Ed adn Stede making up and getting back together, there's going to be other pirate adventure stuff going on, just based on the structure of S1. Characters like Calico Jack, Spanish Jackie, and the Badmintons are going to have a lot of screen time too, and drive a lot of the plot that isn't just Ed and Stede (or Izzy or Olu and Jim's) relationship.

My predictions for S2 aren't that filled in yet, because we don't know for certain yet who the villains are, but structurally they look like this:.

Episodes 1-3

Mirroring S1 (again, extrapolating from available data so this also could be totally wrong if they don't build from the same structure) - we spend 3 episodes seeing how hapless Ed is without Stede, in a striking reversal. We're introduced to just how evil Blackbeard was but we're seeing it through the lens of an Ed who is trying to recapture being Blackbeard after tasting the happiness of being himself with someone like Stede. He might be better at it in some ways (ie, more vicious, with his "no direct killing" rule abandoned as part of no longer running from the "Kraken" part of his past) but in other ways he might be worse because he really doesn't want to be doing this, he's emotionally shattered, and because we need to not just emotionally give up on this guy if he's too loathsome. We need to see glimmers of the Ed we knew.

Meanwhile, Lucius is IMO on the Revenge. To get a bit more granular with the predictions, I think Ed is having a psychological breakdown, not unlike Stede did after killing Nigel. I think Ed will be hallucinating a spiteful, drowned ghost of Lucius telling him how awful he is, to the point where at the end of episode 1, Ed doesn't even notice the real Lucius standing in the galley stealing some food (or something like that) because he's too in his head about the ghost version.

Lucius's not-actually-dead return is the comedy beat (and welcome surprise for the audience) that relieves us from the darkness of Ed's new normal, as Lucius is stunned that Ed looks right at him and keeps walking. From that point on, we have Lucius sneaking around inside the walls as our audience surrogate who is able to give us the objective narration of what's really happening on board the Revenge, like whatever Izzy is really planning, how Jim and Frenchie are doing, and things like the fact that Ed is crying himself to sleep every night.

I'm not sure if we'll see Stede in these first episodes in a similar manner to the fact we didn't see Ed until ep 3 of S1. Of course, Stede is our protagonist so that could be completely wrong. We might see glimpses of him or we might even get a Stede-dominant episode as he finds a new ship with the crew or does some other post-time-skip stuff.

(Oh, and at some point in here I expect we'll meet Ed's original crew on the Queen Anne's Revenge and find out what they've been up to.)

More importantly, like the British in S1, I think we're going to see the S2 villain in these first few episodes and have the non-romance plot of the season introduced. Possibilities include:

Anne Bonny and Mary Read and their lesbian crew hunting down our protagonists to look for Calico Jack - for the record, I think they're more likely to be a one-off episode antagonist (or ally) and not the overarching plot because my theory is:

Pirate Hunters - Stede and Ed skipped out on the Act of Grace. I think that will be ignored when convenient, like when Stede went home, but I think it's a great dangling thread of consequences to bring back. They are wanted by the law if they return to piracy (technically, only if they attack English ships, but I'm not sure how historical OFMD is going to bother to be). Which brings me to my real predictions for potential villains in S2:

Benjamin Hornigold (dream-cast as Vincent D'Onofrio of MCU Kingpin fame in my mind, who expressed interest in being on the show) who historically was Blackbeard's "mentor" and went on to become a pirate hunter after his crew mutinied on him. (He historically hunted Charles Vane who could be brought in as an ally to our protagonists on the run from Hornigold.)

Woodes Rogers - the historical pirate hunter who is credited with ending the Golden Age of Piracy

Lieutenant Robert Maynard - the man who historically killed Blackbeard (to be clear I'm 1000% convinced Stede and Ed's historical deaths will actually be fuckeries so they can run away together at the end of the show).

Episode 4 - 8

If the show continues to mirror the structure of S1, this will be the "Ed and Stede get back together" episodes. I honestly think their fighting will not dominate the entire season, I think they'll be reunited by Episode 4 and then rebuilding or growing their relationship up until the finale.

This is when you'll probably get one-off episode antagonists like the French party folks or Calico Jack and where I think we'll meet more women characters and specifically where I'd expect to see an Anne Bonny/Mary Read introduction.

Remember, this show is technically a romantic comedy so I also expect to just see some silly hijinks-style plotlines in here somewhere.

Episodes 9-10: The Finale

Whatever villains have been pursuing Our Heroes catch up to them in the finale. In S1 it was the British with the help of episodic antagonists like Spanish Jackie and Izzy.

IMO, it will be pirate hunters catching up with them, or any of the above-mentioned likely antagonists like Rogers, Maynard, or Hornigold. S3 will be set up, perhaps with a cliffhanger, teasing that Stede and Ed are very much in danger now and heading towards a climactic battle / Stede being captured and hung for his return to piracy (as happened historically and which again, I believe he will escape in the show).

S3 will, in my opinion, focus on the historical ends of Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet and be the most epic in tone as befitting a climax of a 3 part story.

#our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd s2 predictions

[mrssimply]

For the advent calendar, can I prompt some Kerry/Dino?

If the "A slipping backstage to congratulate B" trope is too oblivious/already asked, I was also thinking of the "A calling B in the middle of the night" trope! 🤭

(Both NSFW and SFW are alright, I'll let you pick who's A and who's B between these two!)

HELLO! We're getting to the tumblr prompts!!!

First of all, thank you so much for prompting me and with such an interesting pairing! As you might have seen, someone else also prompted a Dino/Kerry V, so that makes two!

This prompt event was a great occasion to make this pairing live and thrive ahah.

I hope you'll enjoy this little fic. I chose you second prompt because it was the one that ispired me best :D

Oh, and it is SFW, despite what the beginign might hint at ^^

8th: Nightcall

For Dino, five a.m. is generally the time of the night where he either reaps the rewards of jobs well done, or one of his mercs calls him to say they made a mess. Tonight's five a.m call is something in between. It’s Kerry Eurodyne, which is… Surprising. Sure they know each other, Kerry is a client, and Dino is sort of a fan so he might have flirted with him a bit. Then again, he flirts with everyone, even if they aren’t worldwide renowned rockstars.

“Hey Kerry, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he purrs into the holo. On the other side, the musician is smiling, even if it’s a self-deprecating one.

“Hey Dino… Er. I think I need your help.”

He says it like he’s not sure, and looks at something above himself. That's when Dino realizes Kerry is actually lying down on a bed, and apparently, he’s not dressed, at least not the part the fixer can see. 

Interesting. 

“Always happy to help,” he answers cautiously, not sure if this is a booty call yet. If it is, he’s damn lucky, because he had a feeling he wasn’t going anywhere with his flirting.

“I huh… To tell the truth, I’m tied to a bed at the moment. Naked,” he adds after a little pause and rolls his eyes at himself. 

Dino frowns: this feels serious. Kerry has been abducted already once, years ago, and he’s had a lot of weird encounters with psycho fans ever since, so the fixer’s mind automatically jumps to that conclusion.

“You know where you are?”

“Oh yeah,” Kerry chuckles, and it relaxes Dino immediately, “I’m in Charter Hill, I’ll send you the detes. I’m calling you because I need someone discreet to come and untie me.”

Ok, now this doesn’t make any sense.

“Care to explain a bit more.”

Again, the rockstar laughs and shifts on the bed before wincing. 

“You know Alena Markel?”

“The actress?”

“Yep. Well, we’ve been seeing each other for some weeks now. Great chemistry in bed,” Kerry comments, “tonight we had sort of a… Disagreement. We had great make-up sex, or I thought it was make-up sex but… She refused to untie me when we were done. So we had a pretty brutal fight, and then a rematch of the make-up sex, except apparently, it still wasn’t make-up sex ‘cause I’m still tied. She left so she didn’t have to listen to me scream at her anymore, it’s been an hour already.”

Through the explanation, Dino’s smirk grows until he can barely suppress a chuckle.

“Yeah, you can laugh,” Kerry acknowledges with a wry smile, “but I would prefer if you were the only one laughing. I don’t know what she intends to do, but I’m not in the mood to wait and find out. Also, I need you to wipe her security feed, don’t think she recorded with her holo, but if she did, I’ll deal with that later.”

It occurs to Dino how much hassle it is to be a celebrity in such circumstances. Sure, Dino had a few exes trying the revenge porn act, but if it was embarrassing, it didn’t go past his own friends and small community. With Kerry, such problems splash all over the world.

“Alright, I’ll send you someone discret,” Dino says, mirth still coloring his words. Now that he is assured Kerry isn’t in real danger, he can appreciate the ridicule of the situation.

“Ah. I was hoping you would come personally,” Kerry goes on, suddenly more hesitant.

“I’m better as a fixer than a merc,” Dino replies gently.

The rockstar bites his lips, and the fixer sees him flex his arms with a painful expression.

“Fine, just… Someone you can trust, ok?”

“Absolutely.”

---

Dino ends up going himself. He tries not to think too hard on why, when he knows at least three mercs that would have loved to take the easy but well paying gig. With the help of a netrunner friend, and his own tech knowledge, he gets in the flat easily and has the security system puring in his hands in no time. He goes to the bedroom first, and finds Kerry looking out of the window with a bored expression. When he turns to the door to discover his savior, his face expresses his surprise and confusion. It’s cute like it shouldn’t be on a man nearing eighty. 

“I thought you were sending one of your mercs…”

“Well, as the saying goes, never better served than by yourself,” Dino replies as he sits next to Kerry to take a look at the handcuffs. They’re old fashioned, with a mechanical lock, and look really sturdy.

“Your girl likes it hard,” he comments as he analyzes the lock. It’s not beyond his own skills, but just in case, he came prepared with serious tools in his satchel.

“You have no idea. Some of the best nights of the last five years, no competition. But as you can see, there is a catch.”

Dino snorts and gets to work, ignoring Kerry’s nakedness the best he can. If his gaze strays once or twice, he can’t be held responsible, it’s a really nice body. He can feel Kerry’s eyes on him with an intensity that’s absolutely distracting, so Dino blames the time it takes for him to break the mechanism on that.

Finally, it unlocks and Kerry lets out a sigh of relief when he can finally bring his arms down.

“Fuck, it hurts like a bitch,” he complains and Dino starts massaging his wrists gently, seeing the angry red welts the cuffs left behind. Kerry probably pulled on them a lot before giving up and calling Dino, the man is known for his stubbornness.

“Ok, take a few minutes, I’ll erase the security vids.”

---

Once outside the building, Kerry lights a cigarette and offers one to Dino.

“You shouldn’t linger here, she might come back,” the fixer advises, taking the offered stick. The rockstar shrugs.

“Nah, think she intended for me to spend the night like this. She was really angry at me.”

“Mind if I ask why?”

Kerry lowers his eyes, and his attitude transforms into one Dino wouldn’t be surprised to see on a schoolboy, not a superstar. 

“I fucked her brother.”

Dino laughs and from the corner of his eyes, he sees Kerry give him a helpless smile.

“Classy,” the fixer says.

“I know. For my defense, he came on to me, I didn’t start it. And we were never exclusive or whatever, it was just fun.”

“Yeah but I think doing her brother — younger brother I bet?”

Kerry nods with a grimace.

“Yep, doing her younger brother is still out of the line.”

“I know… Don’t know what came over me. I think I just don’t care anymore,” the musician confesses, suddenly looking lost. He turns his baby blue eyes, all earnest and desperate, towards Dino, as if the man could take him out of his misery like he did for the handcuffs. It makes Dino’s breath stall in his lungs, and his heart lurch in his chest. Ah, damn it.

Silence stretches between them while their cigarettes’ smoke drifts into the early hour. The first light of the day is rising over the city, bathing it in soft hues, and Dino blames the atmosphere for what he does next.

He gently puts his finger under Kerry’s chin to force his head up, and whispers in the small space between them.

“You know, I think this was a really shitty night for you. I bet I could make it all better. What do you say about a drink at mine?”

Kerry lets out a nervous chuckle, it’s fucking sweet and Dino really just want to kiss him.

“Sure. As a thank you for saving me.”

Dino looks at his lips while they move. He doesn’t miss the way Kerry’s voice dropped into a flirty growl. It will make a preem appearance in Dino’s fantasies, if the night doesn’t end up like he hopes. 

He steps back reluctantly, and gestures to his car, parked haphazardly a few meters away.

“C’mon then, you can show me how grateful you are around a glass of tequila.”

“Oh, I’m super grateful,” Kerry purrs behind him.

Well, as far as five a.m phone calls go, this one sure was worth it.

You can find the prompt list here.

Every fic will be posted on my AO3 Account here.

#fic advent calendar #my writing #kerry eurodyne #dino dinovic #Kerry x Dino #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077

[silcrow-story]

A Child's Moon IV

08. Oracle! Vocative

In a volatile state of mind, fighting the future, a solitaire sits atop a parking-garage citadel. Watching strangers on the street go about their business hurried, they seem far more frenetic from up relatively high. There's nothing among them to watch for, especially; nothing to wait for, just data and noise, cascading past almost regularly.

We're overhead, looking down at an angle; we can't see anyone's faces from here. We can see the maps, spread out on the cement barrier between the roof and the freefall, as well as the red pen and camera-phone. The observer is silent, and they seem fixated on their work, whatever that might be.

A man by a fountain at the park across the street is counting change; a student outside the tobacconist's shop drops a book from a small stack. A hurried businesswoman checks her watch and speedwalks faster, stops for the light at a busy intersection, looking frustrated. The procession of lives and their passing tangents goes untrammeled, here, for now, under the sun; almost no-one's aware of what lurks here and could, given a shift in circumstance, rear its head and be a real disruption.

The one - besides us - who's been watching all this takes some notes, marks some points on a map. You're probably wondering why we've come out here, hoping this all wraps around at some point. Maybe it will; the watcher packs up their things, darts back into the garage's dank security, there in shadow to appreciate the cool a minute before moving onto their next point of interest.

~

Christopher answers the call - knows, already, who it's almost certain to be. He's not used to Dana's flip-phone, and the quality of the voices transmitted is different. It feels wrong, using it, but the alternative is not answering. The alternative is continuing to put off the inevitable, needful work of bringing Nadia and June back on board.

"This is Christopher," he says. "I can explain." I have to explain, he thinks. I'll have to finish the introduction after all.

"Where the fuck is Dana," says the voice on the other end of the line, "and why do you have her phone?"

"Like I said, I can explain. You probably don't remember much of last night. These areas tend to have that effect on people. Dana's a colleague of mine, and she's gone missing. I don't know where she is, but we might be...we might be able to find her." The last part is almost a lie. Almost, but he's not going to admit it yet. Nothing and no one stays lost forever, he tells himself, and waits for the tinny response to come through.

"So you knew her." says Nadia - or, Christopher assumes as much, anyways. He can't tell their voices apart yet, but June wouldn't have Dana's number. "How do I know you're not lying? How do I know you're not the reason she's missing? What really happened last night!?"

This reaction, he supposes, is to be expected - though he couldn't have known that they'd be ambushed then. The arboretum was usually safe. It's somewhere he and Dana met before. "Look, I can show you the way... this all works. As I understand it, at least. It's like Dana told you last night - we've been investigating. We meant to show you, show you what was going on here, before-" He chokes up a little. "Before she got lost."

Getting lost. It's what they'd taken to calling it, because that's what it had felt like when they'd come close to it. One minute, they'd felt certain they knew where they were; next, they didn't. They'd each come back, once; they'd seen others come back, once, and tried to warn them. Most of the time, the ones they warned didn't believe them, and everyone who got lost a second time stayed lost. Whatever, wherever, whoever was orchestrating all of this learned, and learned quickly, and wouldn't let anyone to cross its path stay free for long.

"Do you still have the notebook?" He asks, hoping the line might lead somewhere productive.

"Yes, but - but you still haven't explained much of anything. You're saying Dana's really missing? That you'd worked together? Why should we believe you?"

"So June's still there?"

"That doesn't matter," Nadia says, and June says, "I'm still here. I'm listening."

"So you have the notebook. I know it's mostly empty, but - but you should give it another look. It might jog your memory. We hope - I hope it will."

~

Dana knew that this might happen - indeed, expected it. That fact does little to make the whole situation feel less desperate, to hold at bay anxiety's encroaching. A fusillade of questions that she'd hitherto evaded come back around to strike her as she walks. She'd answered, in a pragmatic (and, naturally, provisional) way, the biggest question - "Why?" - by saying to herself that she just really had to know. More than that, she knows, she had to feel, to feel this lost again - but that she couldn't consciously admit to.

It's not too cold in the dim wood, but she still hugs herself; her jacket, that's her armor, feels so little now. She strikes the lighter again for some comfort, wonders if anyone else is around here. Or, more to the point, if anyone real is around - she shudders to think what simulacra lurk here past the event horizon of the realm in which she's lost. Trying not to think about where they come from, or what they really are, she trudges on, pretending there's a path she's meant to follow. Her eyes are open - she's alert, but bound to tire soon.

There are things growing here - in fact, nothing really seems dead, at least not in a bone-dry way. Even the leaves and the twigs on the ground are in decay actively, coated with lichens and molds and occasional mushrooms. The spots of colour are few and far between, though; the air's far too soft for it to be dull, per se, but it is grey, and the atmosphere foggy. The lighter was the one spot of truly bright colour; she strikes it again, and admires the flame, as so often she does when there's some flame at hand. It's not much, but it's something. Something someone lost, once, she thinks, and keeps walking.

Then all at once there is a rustling in the leaves, but there's no wind. They simply stir up, as by volition, and swim in the air, rustle against one another symphonically. It's a sound with a lightness belying its potency, a surface current hiding greater movements deeper underneath. When a place so impossibly haunted as this one's disrupted, if only for a moment, its whole being notices. Ripples emerge, radiate, then subside. Dana feels these few ripples, as there moment's there, and she wonders if she's the rock that fell in.

When the trees start to move with their upper boughs, she stops - pauses to watch the display. They fall, but fall slowly - as if through high water, as if against some steady current unseen. The roots pull out slowly, and soil erupts with them like a time-lapse of erosion on dunes. They're headed, all, one way - toward a sharp nexus, some point in the distance. It would seem a shocking sight to see their falling and their rising - to one who'd not beheld such sights some times before. But Dana isn't shocked, she's only watching. This is what she came for, after all, whether or not she's the cause; if anything, the causal loop just makes the scene mean all the more.

She almost wishes she'd something to hold on to, fearful, though slightly, that she too might soon fall away. But she doesn't, and she doesn't, and as the depths of the wood become their edge, a horizon of sorts becomes evident. The point to which all of the trees' peaks are drawn lengthens, to become the line of perspective around which the landscape entire re-orients.

Dana lets her eyes, a censor's, surveil the blooming sky for faults. It's like time's stopped, or slowed a moment - but it hasn't, not this time. There's a faint air of anticipation as she watches the fishbowl unfold before her, eastward. The tree trunks form a sort of vortex - roots hang groundless in mid-air, and boughs entangle as they crash together, all to meet. This is real, she tells herself. This is what's really been happening. We just weren't looking close enough.

~

Nadia's got the phone in one hand, the notebook in the other, sitting on her bed confused - unsteady. As she turns the pages, she remembers, somehow.

It's a haunting feeling, that sudden rush of awareness. Unlike normal recollection, it doesn't have an obvious psychical cue; the notebook is the trigger, but there's no epiphany to unlock what was hitherto withheld; it's as though the door wasn't locked but merely hidden, noticed only now. She remembers the lights, and the lookout, and Dana - the real conversation, unfinished, then, there. She remembers the fifth figure who had arrived in so ominous a fashion - but does not, of course, recall their face.

Christopher's still on the line, and she wants to respond, but she's not quite sure how - or indeed, how to accept that any of this is real. But it is - that much she knows, now. The memories that have rushed back to her like a flood are as real as anything she can recall - the cracking of the twigs beneath her feet, the damp post-rain air, the color of the sky above as twilight dimmed by turns.

And so she says, "What just happened?"

And Christopher says, as though it were a matter of fact, "The notebook's a mnemonic device. That is to say, it's beyond the influence of whatever's causing...all of this. The disappearances, the spatial distortions, the mysterious messages."

Nadia's a bit overwhelmed by this; June is simply listening intently, a rapt, almost excited look in her eyes. She's standing still as Nadia stands up, and paces back and forth - the same carpet-diagonal as ever. The phone's speaker's turned up, and but for that the room is quiet - but for the pacing, the room's still. All the tumult of the past two days is trapped herein; there's a crack in the ceiling. But then again, there's always been a crack in the ceiling.

"So...so you weren't just fucking with us. This wasn't a prank, or...or a scheme, you weren't...you weren't trying to hurt us, or..."

"No." Christopher half-knows it's hard to cope with, remembers when he was first told by his old absent friend and former colleague that his experience wasn't some transient psychiatric glitch, that there was something truly strange afoot here. But he only half-knows, of course, because he'd wanted to believe Dana, and they - they've no reason to believe him. Dana would've seemed more trustworthy, he thinks, and he's probably right; unfortunately, she's indisposed, and I...I'm what we've got.

"So - wait. Why did you contact June in the first place? Why does the notebook have my name in it, and my address? Why did she have to pick it up? Even if you aren't lying about last night...you must know this still doesn't make sense," she says, trying to make it make sense. It remains steadfastly noncompliant.

"Like I said, the notebook's a mnemonic. It's got your name for...for the same reason we initially reached out to you, and June. You've both been lost, once, before. We were...trying to stop it from happening again."

"Lost? I mean...I don't recall having mysteriously vanished lately," she says, realising even as she says it that that might not be true. That at this point, there might be no way of knowing.

"You vanished where you left the notebook," Christopher says, "And not too long ago. A matter of days. The notebook reappeared shortly thereafter - Dana figured out when it would arrive, and I sent June to check it out and bring it to you. We figured it would've been too risky to advise you to go there - not to mention the fact you might not have believed that you'd lost it, or been there at all. These are precautions we've learned to be necessary. You're not the first two we...warned." He very nearly says recruited, but thinks the better of it, and stops there, realizing how quickly, how hurriedly he'd been speaking. He had never been especially good at introductions.

~

Dana's trying to keep pressing east, to little avail, and less by each hour spent at it. The trees don't quite act just like trees around here - they've taken to active obstruction of passage, steering her as might some labyrinth's walls. The space seems remarkably open, despite this - the trunks' impossible tangle only emerges, it seems, by necessity, letting her go so long as she goes the right way.

Eventually she stops - lets the wood right itself - sink to the forest floor, lean in the leaves. She's warm with exertion, but swears it's gone colder, like the protean shape of this space has sapped its entropy. She's not quite exhausted, but feels she needs a new plan - this avenue of exploration seems to only have incensed the restless land.

Letting a hand fall down among the dead and dying things, she breathes, and tries to remember. The foliage then shifts softly beneath her; just as the trees did, some few hours prior. They cede to envelop her hand, first, to the wrist - and then with a start she notes her whole forearm's sinking beneath them, not into loam but into something stranger, and more fluid. She tries to rise to her feet, but finds the ground is pulling at her, drawing her in, and under, and out like a rip-tide. In mere moments she's subsumed completely, and the leaves coalesce above her head as though nothing'd disturbed their rest at all.

In the dark below the forest floor, Dana Delaney finds, to her great relief, that she can yet breathe. It's dark, verging on black, and all deliquescent, despite her still-steady breath feeling to her more like a liquid than any thin air in which she's now suspended. It's dim, and it's hazy, but not quite oppressive - indeed, the space seems vast now, and far from claustrophobic. Still, she's quite sure that she'd rather not be here; there seems to be very little to see, few signs to interpret, no trace of a trail one might follow. Turning to look down, she sees something she hadn't expected to, and she remembers.

She was seventeen, and had a driver's license for the first time, and a high school career that was as steady as it was banal. She'd been on her way home when she noticed something was different - something was wrong. Her acquaintance wasn't there at the park as usual, and he was always there. He had become one of the few constants with which she was entirely comfortable.

When she got to the park later, he still wasn't there, but she rested alone for a while in her blue folding chair, sipping her thermos of coffee and pondering all of the future's uncertainties. The future, unlike the present, had seemed open wide, indefinite - welcoming, comforting, somehow, if dark.

She never saw the man again, but that night, she drove out to the highway, straight ahead, and going nowhere. As she crossed the bridge that crossed the city limits, the stars were all innumerable, the firmament's expanse without end - full of desperate, twitching, dying hope. She drove until she felt she couldn't keep up with her thoughts, the way they shot across her mind intensifying with each passing vehicle and each descending star. She knew that most or many of them are, in fact, long-dead; but that fact didn't faze her as she fantasized their world-ending descent.

And now, again, she's wreathed in near-black, and again driving uncertain into territory beyond which she hasn't knowledge or assurance - only curiosity, and beneath that some faint, weak hope, which hope like her short shallow breath yet shudders, twitches. She floats there, suspended just under leaves and rot, and contemplates her next move forward, now. This is what she went and got lost for; this is the design which she arrayed. It's now just on her to advance, unhindered by doubts and anxieties. We watch from underneath, that looking down she might yet see some camera, cosmic in the yawning aether there. Her face is still, and stern, and deliberate as ever; even without an audience she knows of she's performing what she feels she ought to be - a stoic, that she isn't, and a woman with a plan. I'm that, at least, she thinks, repeatedly - I had a plan before, and I've one now. That in itself should serve to pull me through.

~

June still isn't feeling a flood of last night's real events return to her all at once; she's anxious now. Nadia's still on the phone with this Christopher - saying, in a markedly sudden shift - she believes him, remembers it all, after all. June has the texts she supposedly sent, this morning, to Nadia - detailing it. She's gleaned back that much, anyways, of herself. Still, there's so much that's troubling her - why their memories left to begin with, where Dana has gone, and how the notebook washed up in wax paper, just before dawn those two mornings ago.

She doesn't raise questions yet, eager as she is to do so; rather, she focuses on listening, posing contrast to Nadia's frenetic pace, and to Christopher's tone. He sounds distressed, truly, June thinks. I suppose I can't blame him.

Her lack of overt engagement belies a growing excitement within her - indeed, her curiosity's grown into a compulsive fascination. This, here, is a narrative - and almost a caricature of one, at that, its events so mysterious they seem larger than life. Hoping that she can be more than a bit part, that hope fueled by - among other things - her proximity to the notebook, and the fact - relevant or no - that she was the one to retrieve it, was therefore causal and essential to the sequence's whole going down. She's not really making an effort to hide what she's feeling - no, it's more like this is the way she that she typically reacts to pleasant surprise. There's guilt there, though muted - or perhaps, instead, shame - this, at her knowing that someone's gone missing, and feeling no worry or consternation nonetheless. It's not that she doesn't care about Dana - Dana, a functional stranger, despite their allegedly having met; it's just that she doesn't quite care enough for that angst to win out the quickening, the stirring, that this strange affair seems to bring on. The guilt is still there, at not caring enough, though - sat, stationed upon the seemingly evergreen pile of notions and sentiments she's not yet mustered the wherewithal to try to, in depth, address.

Then, Nadia's handing her the notebook, as if to try reawaken her lost memories. This won't work, June thinks, hurriedly, not knowing why, as the faint sound of Christopher's breathing, compressed, crackles through cell-phone speakers to awkwardly occupy air. Then, he speaks, and she notices.

"June...you're listening, right? I - we - we had to warn you, too. Just like Nadia, just like me, and Dana, and everyone to whom we've reached out so far - you've been lost once before. I think you remember. You were down by the water, by the rail, right?"

June's mind's eye fogs over, then - becomes half-lidded as she remembers, and she does remember. It had been a strange experience, to be sure, but she'd written it off - it sounds like most people do, she thinks, and feels an irrational sting of disappointment in herself. I was no different...I thought I had just been tired, just been seeing things. I wasn't an exception, wasn't like Christopher, or his colleague, or colleagues....

But it doesn't take too long for her to shake the thought, and avoid reminiscing in too much detail. So she just says, with real and irrepressible confidence, "Yes. Yes, I remember. But I...I'm here now. And I won't let it happen again, to me, or - or to Nadia. I want to understand. If there's something here to figure out, some mystery to uncover...I want to be here for it."

The declaration cuts through the breathing on the other end of the line, through Nadia's muted footfalls, and through the buzzing of the light overhead. Christopher, elsewhere, holds Dana's old cell-phone away from his face; Nadia halts in her pacing, and looks at June, quizzical, almost impressed; and the warm yellow overhead light in the room flickers out, and leaves them in a cool facsimile twilight. The blue glow of mid-afternoon through rainclouds is all that illuminates them now, and at that, through the gaps in the blinds.

The camera then zooms in, from where it's positioned, above the vast mirror over the small sink, to focus on June's strikingly focused face. Her glasses, no longer occluded with reflected light, let her eyes shine through - magnified, irises dark but full-saturated, stillness anticipatory hewn into her expression. Maybe the lightbulb's burnt out, or maybe the power's gone out temporarily, or maybe there's something more to it - but for now, at least, June's attitude radiates into her two new acquaintances, lets on them alight a light hope that's, to one, too familiar, and to the other, too new.

~

#silcrow #silcrow story #original fiction #web fiction #serial fiction #silcrow 08

[sichore]

1, 15, and 59 for the ship asks? I need the lore

Thank yooooou Fish, we're starting off strong!

1. Who fell first? Who fell harder?

Jimi loves other people fairly easily, even ones she doesn't even know or like all that personally unless they're especially heinous. Falling in love is a whole other thing. Magnus is a tall drink of crisp spring water at 2 A.M. Man's a snack, and the physical attraction came pretty easily. She's had a crush on him just in passing as neighbors. But once Magnus asked her for help with Nairi, that’s when it really started.

Much like I have it with Pickles, Jimi didn't really have any positive male presence in her life to that point. She barely knows her own father. So to see Magnus do the best he could by Nairi, including ignoring any pride to ask for her help, really shifted Jimi's perspective. She's fantasized a lot about them getting together, past the non-committal New Year's kisses, or the time they definitely at least made out. But Jimi's very scared, anxious, and depressed, and doesn't know if she'd be doing it for Nairi's sake or her own. That fear keeps her from admitting that she does love him.

Magnus, on the other hand, is pretty preoccupied with supporting Nairi, so a relationship is not a priority for him. Hook-ups are cool, though, but Jimi seemed nervous about even that, so he didn't pursue her. In a scenario where she does let him in, however, he falls hard. There's not much that Magnus has that's solely his, and it could border on possessiveness. But Jimi's also the kind of person he never imagined he'd have in his life, and it's the kind of love that would take up a big part of him, much like Nairi. Maybe not enough to stop his ultimate plans, but enough for him to convince himself he's doing it for her, for them, to make their lives better.

15. How do they comfort one another when the other is upset?

Touch works for both of them in different ways. Jimi needs big, strong hugs, or to be held under a lot of blankets; the pressure helps her physically calm down, and not being alone helps her heart. Magnus can get explosive when he's upset and needs an outlet, and/or to be redirected. Sometimes it's as simple as holding his hands, because the last thing he wants to do is lash out or scare Jimi. If the timing’s right, sex can work, too, and afterwards they can talk if he wants to.

59. Is there a spot they tend to kiss or caress habitually?

Usually, the only spot Jimi can reach is Magnus’ chest, so she'll rub him there. She really loves feeling his chest hair, so it evens out. If he's more within reach, she'll kiss the hollow of his throat; it's intimate while also hiding her face as eye contact is hard.

If Magnus is driving and Jimi’s riding shotgun, he tends to rub her thigh and keep his hand there. The crook of her neck and shoulder tend to be his favorite places to kiss on average; in bed or if he's lying on her lap, her belly and inner thighs.

OC Relationships Asks

#metalocalypse #magnus hammersmith #jamila calabash #mtl oc #magjam #ask meme #i had to write the first answer twice im saltyyyy but i think i got the point across #all of this is stream of consciousness as im working out magnus!

[leam1983]

The Fourth Wheel

I haven't spoken much about the fourth member of our polycule. That's because he's of the sort of, well, presences that's easy to forget in life accounts. I'm of course speaking of Romeo, the twelve year-old Chocolate Standard Poodle.

Romeo's like all dogs in that he's nonjudgemental. He was best pals with Walt within forty-five minutes of meeting him, he loved Sarah to bits at the first sign of free ear scritches, and I'll be heartbroken the moment I realize he can't follow us to the new flat. Romeo is bound to keep trying to enter our apartment, being as blind as a bat, and won't realize we're gone until it's too late. Considering, we've been putting in as much time with the fuzzball as we can.

It used to be that Romeo was head-over-heels for my father. After a few walks, he starting asking that Walt take him out for walkies, which felt a bit like a betrayal for my father - if a fairly amusing one, at least. Romeo's at the age where stopping to smell the flowers (and the fire hydrants, and sidewalks, and dead leaves and other dog poops) is typically more his speed. Despite that, Walt's find in Romeo the perfect excuse for brisker, more constitution-enhancing walks than I can offer, and my parents are far from minding that the pooch gets run ragged once a week, in the middle of a string of breezier strolls. It affords them an afternoon's worth of a contentedly snoozing overgrown puppy and dials his anxiety levels way down.

Being a stubborn old coot even from puppyhood, Romeo never did pick up a wide selection of tricks, but he figured how giving us his paw could be used as a marker of insistence. A tap is a polite request, a double tap is a renewal and the claws getting involved means he wants something now. Past that, he steps away, uses sound to locate us in space, angles himself in front of us, and sits down in obvious disapproval. This is the last stage before the Perfunctory Bark of Authority, which happens only once and more or less is Dog-speak for "Hey, humans! I'm over here and I have needs to communicate!"

These needs all seem severe to him, but they typically actually vary in severity from basic boredom to Having Heard an Ambulance Siren that's a Little too Loud for a Little Too Long. Food and water are never asked for, as he knows both are always plentiful. He self-regulates his kibble intake, crosses back to the folks' apartment to drink from his bowl when he's thirsty or occasionally cadges a few slurps from a temporarily-repurposed kitchen bowl. He has access to Walt's old, repurposed comforter in a corner of the big guy's office and pops in to check on us every so often during the day, when he isn't locked inside. His blindness leaves him anxious if we're not close by, so he's developed a clear aversion to going past our shared porch if nobody has him on a lead. To enter our unit during the colder months and before closing time around 9 PM, he simply sits down in front of our door and issues a single and fairly polite bark.

For the most part, Romeo's a nap companion for Walt when I'm not around, a TV-browsing buddy, and someone who tends to want to join us for our pre- and post-friskiness parts of our weekend dogpile sessions. He's numbed up Walt's legs more times than I can count and has spent the last three years more than happy lying down with his goddamn anus a few inches away from my face. On somewhat frequent occasions, what gets me out of my state of sheer meditative bliss tends to smell like Eau de Rotten Egg...

I'm mostly writing this down as a sort of mental prepping excercise. The fuzzball is a senior citizen, some stairwells around town are difficult for him to handle, and the metal stairwell to our little back yard is starting to seem a little dicey for him.

We've all reached a consensus across both units: if he ever can't reach a spot that allows him to relieve himself, that means his quality of life will have reached a net zero.

At that point, euthanasia would be the kindest option on the table.

Twelve years old. For a Standard Poodle, this is a good run. Romeo hasn't reached that level of disability yet - but we're paying attention. On the flipside, it makes us appreciate every moment spent with him. Statistically, that's two, maybe three more years. Some Standard Poodles very rarely make it to fifteen years old, but that's truly exceptional.

Walt's asked me how I took to that, a few weeks back. I remember smiling. Romeo's my second dog, my first one taught me how heart-wrenching saying goodbye to someone so devoted, so innocent, can truly be. You come home and there's about a dozen markers of their presence left - now-deserted food and water bowls, toys that won't be played with ever again...

But that's okay. Romeo was in it for the long haul, and his idea of it seems to be nearing its end. The first one was agonizing, the second one's going to hurt just a little bit less.

What's interesting about owning pets is that it brings out a spiritual side out of nearly everyone. You can bill yourself as more of an Atheist than Dawkins himself, for all I know, and you'll still grow misty-eyed at the thought of the Rainbow Bridge story, or the idea of a dog park that never closes - a place where those little lives that touched you so briefly are cared for, and perhaps waiting for your return.

It's a strange dichotomy to have to deal with, honestly. I can buy the thought of most of my relatives turning into worm food at the end of the day, but my dog? That sets a sort of theoretical snowball of conflicting emotions into place, where I start re-assessing my afterlife-related hopes, however guilty they might be, for Walt, Sarah, Mom, Dad, my aunt and the three or four uncles I was close to...

"No Gods, but a liminal plane of Guaranteed Rest" probably is an adequate label for how I'd like to situate myself, once brain death settles in - at least in these moments. As I wouldn't be fully human if I wasn't contradictory and also had zero issues imagining myself fully and completely being annihilated upon death, when pet and family-related feelings don't hijack the synapses.

It's one of the myriad things where, at the end of the day, the wisest answer is probably something to the tune of "I'll figure it out when I get to it - or I won't. Makes no difference either way."

#thoughts #life post #animals #pets #afterlife #atheism #conflicting ideologies #learning to live while being okay with not knowing

[thedepthsoffandomminds]

The last of us- Broken together 3

Part 1 part 2

Your shoulder smacked against the front seat as the truck smashed into the shop front. You ignored the pain and slid out of the truck pulling your bag with you. Ellie copied you and threw herself onto the ground between you and Joel.

On the other side of the truck men were firing at you all, bullets flew through the truck windows, shattering glass above you all. Joel popped up shooting back at them. When dropped down again you pointed to a hole in the wall. He turned to Ellie.

"when I say you crawl to that hole, you squeeze through and don't come out till I tell you."

She looked at him, fear filling her eyes as she glanced around herself.

"and their not no gunna hit you. Look at me, their not gunna hit you. You stay down. You stay low, you stay quiet." After a beat he stood with his gun "GO!" He shouted. You watched as she crawled along the floor, then spun and stood to also fire at the attackers. Joel reloaded, glancing over to see Ellie's legs disappear into the next room. One of your bullets hit an attacker in the head, dropping him to the ground. Joel hit the other. Thinking you were clear, enough at least to grab your packs you both slung your rifles over your shoulders.

Ellie's voice calling for Joel alerted you to the men behind you. One hit you with the but if his gun. The pain sent you to the floor and he kicked you in the gut. Your vision blurred as a stream of blood dripped into your eyes. A gunshot had the man falling to the ground with Joel above you. He bent to check you.

You aren't sure what happened only that Joel was on the ground. Trying to push yourself up you felt Ellie walk by you, the denim of her jeans brushing your arm. The gunshot bursts you back into the room. The second man was lying to one side of him, screaming in pain. Joel stood and took the pistol from Ellie.

"get back behind the wall." He ordered her. The teen nodded and ran back through the hole, as the man who now saw was only a teen himself continued to beg for his life. Joel flicked his eyes to you and you rolled onto your back looking away. Another gunshot and the begging stopped. Joel's hand pulled you up to standing.

"you okay?" He asked. You nod.

"I'll be fine. Let's grab our stuff." You say sliding your pack onto your back and grabbing up the rest of your weapons. Joel grabbed his own bag calling to Ellie.

"we need a way in, we're too big to get through."

"there's a door with a desk in front of it." She called back.

With Joel's help you clambered over the truck into the street. The two of you pushed on the door as Ellie pulled the desk back, just enough for the two of you to squeeze in. Joel got her to help him put the desk back creating a barrier between you all and the outside. Your head spun again. Ellie quickly passed Joel his torch and explained what she had in her bag. He nodded and you both followed him to the back of the shop. Cautiously the three of you skipped through the streets until a jeep drove past. Joel snuck you all into another shop, the windows had been covered in a layer newspaper and paint making it a perfect place to hide for a while. Joel took a moment to look out at the street. You slumped against the counter, realising you'd gone into an old bar.

"they're not fireflies, their not FEDRA so who are they?" Ellie asked.

"People." He answered.

"are we okay in here?" She looks at you. You nod.

"for a little bit maybe, they'll check the apartment buildings first, but they'll be coming through these places soon enough."

Looking back at you Joel clenched his jaw. He stalked over to you pulling a rag from his pocket and poured a small amount of water from his canteen on it.

"sit still." He ordered you. Behind Ellie looked through the gap Joel had left.

His hand gently tilted your head so he could see where the blood was coming from. In another world you would have relaxed into his touch. Joel used the wet cloth to dab at the wound in your hairline. You pressed your teeth together to stop yourself from jumping away. Satisfied the bleeding the had stopped and the wound was clean, Joel used the cloth to wipe away the blood on your face. Your eyes met. Had you really never spent any time studying how deep his were? Ellie speaking caught you both out of the trance.

"there's a really tall building like four blocks away."

"yeah saw it." Joel moved away from you.

"so that's the one?" She asked.

"as soon as we don't hear any trucks we move. Fast as we can." They sat down opposite each other. You knew you were an interloper here. No matter what feelings you had toward Joel it was clear those two had gone through a lot together. Ellie had taken on several of his mannerisms. You watched Joel's face go through several emotions. Ellie saw it as well.

"are you okay?" She asked before you could.

"I'm alright," he answered uncomfortably. "Are you alright?"

"yeah." She answered as awkward as he was. Joel shook his head.

"thing is, I didn't hear that guy coming, you shouldn't have had to-"

"but you're glad I did right?' Ellie asked.

"you're just a kid, you shouldn't know what it means to you"

You zoned out of their conversation, taking your chance to drink water, and check your weapons. You looked over when Joel was teaching Ellie how to hold the pistol properly. You couldn't help but smile at the interaction. It was easy to imagine for a moment that this was what a family looked like. You wondered how long they would want you around. Were you just another gun? You hadn't heard the men come in either, would your welcome run out if you couldn't keep them safe? A bubble of fear crept inside your chest.

"y/n time to go." the mention of your name pulled you out of your thoughts. Joel opened the door and you all made a run for the opposite side of the street, running until you got to the tower building. Joel lifted Ellie up to a small hatch. She climbed inside and opened the door for you and Joel.

"where would you be without me?" She laughed.

"in Wyoming already." Joel huffed as he walked inside. You gave her shoulder a squeeze as you stepped by her.

Part 4 soon