#guy in chair rocking back and forth manically

[cupidle]

zazie

#trigun #zazie #zazie the beast #taps mic anyone here cares abt zazie. is it crickets. #i’ve been sooo interested in zazie and their lore/significance to the story since reading trimax #i feel like adding another variable to the conflict would have been rly interesting and that variable being the native species #on no mans land would have added more nuance to the story #and there was an attempt to discuss that but nothing rly came of it #cause of THE MENACE OF SOCIETY escaping his damn ward cell #i want more worm involvement #in a story so heavily focused on the survivability of one’s species and abuse of power i just think. looking more in depth at the hosts #of the planet would have been cool. #guy in chair rocking back and forth manically #and i love bugs also #cupidle

[anxious-logic]

Support

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 24: When you meet your soulmate for the first time, you get a brief flash-forward of your future.

Ship: Romantic Intruceit, Platonic Creativitwins, background Logicality

Warnings: Homophobia, Remus is kicked out of his house for coming out, some swearing, brief mention of knives, message me for more detailed warnings if you like.

Word count: 2925

Summary: Remus comes out to his parents. It doesn’t go well.

Remus took a deep breath as he squeezed his brother’s hand.

“I love you,” he said. Roman squeezed back, looking up at Remus with worry.

“I love you too,” he said. “It’ll be okay.”

Remus didn’t say anything.

“It- it has to be. Right?”

Remus shut his eyes tight, tilting his head back. “I don’t think so,” he forced out.

Roman slumped forward, his forehead hitting Remus’ shoulder and his arms coming up around his chest. Remus pretended not to notice the wetness soaking into his shirt from his brothers’ tears. “I’m here,” he said. “I love you. I- I don’t know what else to say.” Roman was full-out crying now, his shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath. “I’m sorry that- that I can’t do it too,” he said through the sobs.

“No,” Remus interrupted, his hands coming up to cradle Roman’s head. “You need to stay safe. I know I have places to go if I need to, friends who can take me in. You- you don’t have that. And you’re not ready. And that’s okay. You take as long as you need. And you don’t have to do something just because I do.”

He was rocking the two of them gently back and forth, feeling tears drip down his face into his mustache. He carded his fingers through Roman’s hair, pulling his brother closer to him.

“We’ll still go to school together, okay? We can still see each other if-”

“Don’t-” Roman said sharply, burying his head a little further into Remus’ chest.

“Okay,” Remus said softly, but he couldn’t help but finish his sentence in his mind.

If I get kicked out.

***

“Mother? Father?”

Remus fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt as his father looked up. He felt his mother’s hand touch his shoulder.

“Yes, Remus?”

He took a deep breath. “I have something I want to tell you.”

His father raised an eyebrow, looking up over his book. “What is it?”

Remus snuck a glance at Roman, whose face was pale. He was shaking slightly in his chair, a motion that was only barely visible to Remus.

“I…”

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

“I’m gay.”

There was a moment where everything froze, and Remus thought that maybe it’d all be okay, it was fine, he was wrong-

“Pardon me?”

His father’s voice was sharp, his mother’s hand squeezing painfully tight on Remus’ shoulder. He tried to force down the knot in his stomach.

“I’m gay.”

Then all hell broke loose.

His mother yanked her hand away from his shoulder, her long nails scraping painfully against his skin. His father stood up, dropping the book to the floor, an imposing figure over where Remus was shrinking into his chair.

“How did you come to this conclusion?” his father asked, each word stabbing Remus in the stomach like a knife.

“How did you come to the conclusion that you’re straight,” Remus shot back, and immediately regretted it from the look on his father’s face.

“You will go to your room, and think about your choices,” his father said. It was so tight, so controlled, that Remus knew something bad was boiling under the surface.

“Okay,” he whispered.

“Roman, stay here,” his father ordered, as both of the twins stood up. Roman dropped into his chair, shaking visibly now.

As Remus slowly walked up the stairs, his eyes taking in everything about this house, he did his best to ignore the lack of noise from downstairs. It would almost be better if it were screaming, shouting, breaking plates, anything to show how his parents were feeling.

What would happen to him?

He hadn’t exactly been telling the full truth when he’d told Roman that he had a place to stay if he got kicked out. He’d talked to an acquaintance, who was able to take him for a couple days, but he’d need to figure out somewhere else to go pretty quickly. He’d looked into youth shelters in the area; there weren’t many within walking distance of his school.

He mechanically started loading up his backpack and a duffel bag with clothes and little things he wanted to take with him. Even if he wasn’t kicked out for this, it would push him that much closer to the edge.

He sat down on his bed, pulling his knees up to his chest. He put up a hard shell, but… he’d really miss the house, his experiments, the pets outside his window.

His brother.

He was interrupted by a knock on his door. “Remus?” His mother’s voice called out. As he got up, he took one last look around his room.

He opened his door to see both of his parents standing in front of him. His mother was wringing her hands, standing slightly behind her father.

“We are giving you one hour to pack,” he said. “Then you will get out of this house, and we will not see you again.”

Remus bit his lip. “Okay,” he said quietly. He stepped back slowly, watching his parents walk away from him.

He was startled by his brother barreling headfirst into him. “I love you,” Roman said. “I’ll miss you, but I’m still here, okay? If you need anything- tell me, I’ll get it to you. We still have classes together, you said it, we’ll be okay.”

Remus’s arms came up around Roman. “I promise,” he said. “I’m all packed already, so we can just… talk together, for a bit, one last time.”

Roman bit the inside of his cheek. “Okay,” he whispered, his hand slipping down to hold Remus’s, his head tilting into the crook of Remus’s neck.

***

Remus hiked his bags up a little higher on his shoulder, looking back at the outside of his house. He would probably never get to go back inside.

He had a passing thought that he should probably be feeling something at that realization.

He slowly turned to trudge down the dimly-lit street, his feet dragging slightly. He felt his thoughts wander in every direction but the one they probably should have been going.

What would he do when he had to leave Virgil’s house?

He looked up as he reached the door, hand hovering over the doorbell. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the weight of his bags shift on his back. He pushed the slightly glowing button, hearing the muffled ring that came from inside.

After a moment, Virgil opened the door, a happy smile on his face. When he saw Remus on the doorstep, his eyes widened and his smile vanished.

“Fuck,” he said, opening the door. He stepped forward to grab one of Remus’s bags. “Shit, Remus, are you okay?”

Remus gave him a slightly manic smile as they entered the house, leaving his shoes at the doorway. “I just got kicked out, what do you think?”

Virgil put Remus’s bag down in the corner of the dining room. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, taking a deep breath.

“Okay. I have some friends over tonight, they’re not really… my normal style? But I think that’s okay, they’ll like you, just… play nice, please? I don’t want to have to mediate between you?”

Remus decided not to argue the fact that Virgil assumed Remus would be the one starting any arguments, because, well, that wasn’t inaccurate.

“I’ll try,” Remus said, his fingers coming up to twirl his mustache. Virgil rolled his eyes at the action.

“Seriously, I don’t understand why you’re keeping the mustache,” he said as he led Remus to his bedroom. “It doesn’t look that good, it’s so… scraggly.”

Remus grinned. “That’s the point!”

As Remus walked into the bedroom, he saw two people in Virgil’s room. One of them was sitting on the floor wearing a gray cat onesie, their bubbling laughter filling the room. The other was standing over the other, wearing a polo shirt and a necktie. Their face looked serious, but when Remus looked closely, they appeared to be holding back a smile.

“Hey guys,” Virgil said, interrupting the two of them. They looked up at Virgil, the first one with an excited grin, the second one with a curious expression. “I have… an unexpected guest, I guess. This is Remus, he’s staying with me for a couple days.”

“Hi Remus!” the first person exclaimed, standing up and bouncing on their toes slightly. “My name’s Patton, he/him pronouns. Nice to meet ya, kiddo!”

“My name is Logan,” the other person introduced, holding a hand to Remus. “They/them, please.”

Remus took the offered hand, tilting his head as he shook it. “Whatcha in a tie for?”

Logan took a step back, their hand needlessly coming up to adjust the knot of the tie. “I prefer professional wear to casual. Pajamas are designated for sleeping. Therefore, if I am awake, I wear a necktie.”

Remus thought about it for a minute, then shrugged. “Whatever works for you,” he said happily. He plopped down on Virgil’s bed, feeling the comforter move underneath him.

Virgil sat down on the bed next to him, maybe a little closer than was exactly necessary. “Those two are soulmates,” he said, gesturing to Patton and Logan. “They can get disgustingly cute sometimes, it’s why I keep Janus around, he can third-wheel with me when they’re being all lovey-dovey.”

Remus’s lips twitched slightly. “Who’s Janus?” he asked, not being familiar with the name.

“He’s in the bathroom getting ready for bed right now,” Patton offered, his hand in Logan’s lap. They were absentmindedly tracing patterns on the back of his palm.

“Not anymore,” a new voice said. As Remus looked up at the new person, the first thing he thought was that’s a pretty face, before getting sucked out of his spot on the bed.

***

Janus whirled Remus around, a huge smile on his face. When he put the other man down, he tilted his head to press their foreheads together.

“I love you so much,” he said to Remus. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

Remus giggled, tickling Janus’s face with his mustache. “Roman’s my best man,” he said. “Patton can walk me down the aisle instead of the fuckers that birthed me, I get to wear a dress and I don’t care if you do too, and we’re going ring shopping approximately now.”

“Okay,” Janus said, shrieking a little as Remus hugged him so tightly his legs left the ground. As Remus put him down, he pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss.

“I love you,” Remus whispered as they came apart. “And I always will.”

***

Remus blinked himself out of the scene, not knowing how he was supposed to be feeling right now.

He’d met… his soulmate. On the day he’d been kicked out. During a sleepover he’d accidentally crashed.

“Janus? Remus? You okay?” Patton interrupted them, his head tilted inquisitively to one side. Logan had stopped brushing their fingers over his knuckles, instead looking at them with an off-putting intensity.

Remus looked to Janus, his eyebrows raised. “Apparently… we’re soulmates,” Janus said slowly, his voice smooth as melted chocolate, and that was not normally something Remus would think, what was going on?.

Patton squealed, jumping up and bouncing over to pull Remus and Janus into a hug. “That’s so amazing! I’m so happy for you!!”

Remus stiffened at the unexpected touch, slightly panicked. Janus glanced at Remus, and gently pushed Patton away.

“Thank you,” he said. “Possibly… could Remus and I have a bit of privacy to get to know each other a bit better?”

Logan stood up – Remus was slightly surprised by the gracefulness they exuded. “Of course,” they said, gently grabbing Patton’s hand. “Let’s make cookies,” they said, tugging on his arm. “As much sugar as you want, I have some of your favorite recipes memorized…”

As their voice faded out as they went downstairs together, Virgil turned to the two of them. “Listen, I don’t know either of you all that well, but if you either of you get hurt, I will kill you. Understood?” He looked at them both seriously.

“Understood,” Janus said, his voice sincere.

“Yeah,” Remus said, as he realized they were both looking at him. “I won’t hurt him, promise.”

Virgil nodded. “Good,” he said, exiting the room and closing the door. Remus went to turn to Janus when Virgil suddenly opened the door again.

“And don’t get up to any nasty shit in my room!”

Remus cackled as he pushed the door closed. He turned around to see Janus blushing a bright red, but his expression was contemplative. “I wouldn’t complain,” Janus said thoughtfully. Remus collapsed forward, laughing.

Then the laughter turned slightly hysterical, and Remus realized it wasn’t really laughter anymore.

Janus’s arms came up around him, rubbing gently up and down his back, as tears began trailing down Remus’s face. “Get it out,” he heard distantly. “It’ll be okay. Go ahead, don’t worry…” Remus just kept crying into Janus’s shirt, his tears soaking the black pajama shirt.

Remus sniffled as his tears started slowing. He fisted his hands in the back of Janus’s shirt, looking down at the snake-printed pants.

“I like your pants,” he said, his voice thick through the snot and tears still making their way out of his face holes.

“Thank you,” Janus said, his hands moving to Remus’s shoulders. “But… what was that about? If you’re comfortable talking about it, of course. No pressure, but it’s common that soulmates help each other when they break down crying into the other’s shirt for fifteen minutes.”

Remus jerked back, unintentionally meeting Janus’s eyes. “Fifteen- what?”

Janus shook his head firmly. “I don’t mind. I’m just wondering if there’s something going on that you want to talk to someone about.”

Remus bit his cheek, debating.

“If you’re not comfortable, I would recommend writing some of your thoughts down somewhere nobody else can see, because that seemed like it was caused by more than one incident or event. I’m not going to force you to say anything, but I would like to help you if possible.”

Remus backed up, wiping his face with one of his hands. The other was still desperately clutching Janus’s t-shirt.

“Can we sit down?”

“Of course,” Janus said, maneuvering the two of them onto Virgil’s bed, tucking his legs up underneath him. Remus did a kind of backwards belly-flop onto the bed, landing starfished with his face to the ceiling.

“What’s going on?” Janus asked gently.

Remus couldn’t help but laugh a little. “You make it sound like this is therapy or something,” he giggled. Janus just smiled down at him softly, and Remus couldn’t help but feel like he was melting into a gooey mess of… something, his brain wasn’t working right now.

“Really. What’s wrong?”

Remus took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start.

“Um. I got- kicked out? Earlier tonight?” He heard Janus’s breath catch. “Yeah,” he said, staring at the ceiling. “I came out to my parents, they sent me to my room and told me I had an hour to pack before I was gone.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Worst part is, my twin brother’s gay too. He hasn’t come out, because he’s not ready, and that’s totally fine! But now he’ll be terrified to come out, and I don’t want that for him, because… he should be able to.” He paused for a minute, absentmindedly jiggling his legs where they were hanging off the bed. “I should have been able to. I should be in my bed right now, annoying Roman with my snoring, ignoring my homework. I should be listening to my pet raccoon outside the window. I should be thinking about what prank I’ll pull at school next. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t be worrying about where I’m going to stay in three days. I shouldn’t be wondering if I’ll be sleeping on the streets in winter. I shouldn’t be kicked out for loving…”

He paused, slightly surprised by where his thoughts were going. Then he shrugged internally, and decided to go for it.

“I shouldn’t be kicked out for loving you.”

He looked over at Janus to see his reaction. He had frozen, a look on his face that Remus would call “besotted” if they hadn’t met less than an hour ago.

“Remus…” Janus started, before trailing off. “I can’t… guarantee anything. But if you told Patton and Logan what’s going on… they’d be able to figure something out with their families, I’m sure of it. Patton has a good family with a secure financial situation, and Logan knows practically everything. Between the two of them… I’m sure you could figure something out.”

Remus slowly sat up, thinking about what Janus was saying. “Really?” he asked quietly.

Janus reached over to grab his hand, flipping it palm up so that he could lace their fingers together. “Really.”

Remus leaned over to lay his head on Janus’s shoulder. “Okay. Virgil said he’d be able to keep me for a few days, but I’d have to figure something else out. So… I can get to know them both better, and ask them, and see what they can do?”

Janus turned his head into Remus’s hair, brushing his lips against the top of Remus’s head. “That sounds like a plan.”

Remus sighed as he closed his eyes, exhaustion setting in. “I just want to sleep,” he whispered.

He felt Janus smile into his hair. “Go ahead,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Remus slipped off into sleep, secure in his soulmate’s arms.

#ts remus #ts janus #intruceit #ts fanfiction #soulmate september #ts roman #ts virgil #ts patton #ts logan #i can write sometimes

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs “A Beautiful Mind.”

Ok guys. I am back at school and so will have more time to write, I hope.  I will be looking for your suggestions and prompts to make sure I can still put out content.

Also in this story, I understand that some of you may have experience with places like this, but I did volunteer at a similar place and tried to describe it as accurately as I could. Most of what I depict here are taken from things I actually saw, so hopefully it seems accurate. 

Krill walked at the heals of his human captain holo-board tucked under one of his extra arms mimicking the behavior he had seen from other humans aboard the ship. Commander Vir walked in front of him with his uniform hat tucked under one arm. The long white hallway was full of orderlies scurrying about in all directions like ants through a destroyed anthill.  

“What are we doing here commander.”

The human turned his single green eye upon the Vrul doctor. His usual cheery smile had been almost completely replaced by a more serious expression. It was strange how the human face could do that, seemingly restructure itself to appear ten years older. When he smiled he looked his age, late twenties, when he put on his serious face, he aged almost a decade and a half. It was a useful tool as commander of the first intergalactic fleet of spaceships, but it was unnerving as hell.

“I have decided that it’s time you see something, something very important if you want to understand humans.” Krill  had to hurry to keep up with the human as he sped up aimed for a large reception desk at the end of the hall. 

“What do you mean.” 

“You’ll see.” 

They stopped before the desk, and a smiling orderly looked up from behind her computer, large framed glasses making her eyes look bigger than they should have been. She glanced down over the desk at Krill who stood very business like in his tiny white lab coat. He didn’t usually wear one, but the humans had insisted it made him look more professional.

“Commander Adam Vir. I am here to see Corporal Davis.” 

The orderly glanced down at her computer, gave a smile, “Oh I see, right here.” She stood from  her desk handing them two visitors badges, “Put these on, and then follow me.” Krill pinned the little badge to the front of his lab coat as he scurried down the hall after the two humans. The woman swiped a card, admitting them through a set of doors and into the interior of the building. There was one long grey carpeted hallway and many doors on either side. There were a lot of large white windows that looked out onto the surface of the martian planet, and its hazy grey sky and red soil.

Passing down the corridor, Krill saw many groups of humans milling about near couches and chairs, always overseen by one of those white-coated orderlies. The humans themselves seemed pretty normal, through a disproportionate amount of them had not changed out of their night clothes, and wore large oversized sweatshirts. 

The woman they were following took them through another set of doors, and then ran her key-card, “We call this the Venus Ward.” The three of them stepped through the door and into a large open room. Another three or four orderlies stood about the room staring in towards the center where sat a large set of couches and comfortable beanbags.

Krill noticed right away that something was off. The humans that sat in the middle…. well , they weren’t….. He couldn’t put a finger on it. They LOOKED perfectly human, but as if there was something….. lacking . A few of the humans sat huddled on the couches arms around themselves rocking sharply back and forth. They stared forward with unseeing eyes mouthing words to themselves that no one else would understand. A few of the humans had curled themselves into balls and subsequently fallen asleep curled in heaps of clothing that only appeared human on close inspection.

Occasionally a human would turn to look at them, and the way they looked suggested that the human was completely cognitively there. He could see it in their eyes, the curious nature with which they followed the movements of the alien and the Commander. One of them stood and approached. By all rights the human seemed completely normal, but the eyes were heavily sunken, the skin seemed to hang about it’s skull, its hair was stringy and limp. The body below the clothing was rail thin.

“Good morning Jessie.” The orderly said cheerfully, “Have you eaten this morning?”

The human tilted their head with an almost annoyed or inconvenienced expression, “I had a pudding cup for breakfast.” they turned their head towards the Commander, “You’re that guy from TV. The one who flies that space ship.”

The Commander broke into an easy, calming smile, “That I am. And you are.”

The human smirked, “Well that’s hardly important.”

Commander Vir tilted his head “Well I disagree very much. Your name is just as important as mine.” He held out a hand, “Let's try again. I am Commander Vir, and you are…”

Eventually the human relented and raised a hand to take the Commander’s, “Jessie Dean.” Their once annoyed expression couldn’t help but break into a smile in response to the Commander. He was just like that: hard to resist, as personable as he was. 

“A pleasure to meet you than.” 

By this time, their introduction had drawn the eyes of a crowd. Many of the humans looked up from their rocking or even sleeping to look over. One man, very tall and with long dark hair wandered over. He had a large smile on his face and introduced himself as Samuel. He excitedly started up a conversation about space ships only relenting when one of the orderlies walked over to fetch him. He walked away waving, and the commander waved back. He could have been normal….. Almost… accept for. It was almost as if the man had been too nice too innocent like a child talking with the knowledge of an adult. 

Across the room one of the humans began to laugh. Krill looked up unnerved at the human who paced about the other side of the room with disjointed bodily movements head shaking from side to side hands reaching up to cover his face every so often in quick repetitive bursts. The laughter died away to muttering though the pacing continued. 

As they walked down the hall Krill noticed a few more things. A human sat curled in the corner. At first Krill thought that he was wearing a pair of gloves, but on closer inspection, he found a thin blue energy field around the man’s hands. He reached up trying to gnaw on them,  but his teeth simply slid off the energy barrier. A few of the other humans wore similar contraptions. Some that immobilized the entire upper body while others held tight around the waist. As he watched, one of the humans lost his balance and tipped over saved from hitting the ground as a gravity field about the belt engaged lowering him softly to the ground.

Another human walked past them down the hall followed by a floating silver ball. Looking into her eyes, Krill found another human that appeared to be all there, but with a sudden burst of anger she swiped backwards at the ball. It dodged easily out of her way and kept coming.

Towards the end of the hallway, they stopped at a door, which the orderly opened, “Conner… Mr. Davis, you have a visitor. “ 

She looked back at the commander and then motioned him inwards. The two of them stepped inside the tiny room, barely big enough to fit the two of them, and the third person, who sat huddled on the floor head in his arms rocking slowly back and forth whispering. 

Commander vir slowly lowered himself to one knee, “Hey corporal, it’s me Adam Vir…. do you remember?”

The human stopped rocking at the sound of his voice slowly lifting his head. He had wide manic eyes, but as he saw the commander, a fragile smile broke out across his face. It looked as if he was about to shatter in half like a porcelain doll dropped to the floor, “Captain?” He smiled, “Long time since I saw you…. Long;. Long time….. Long like space…. Space… space, space, space.”

Commander vir placed a hand on the man;s shoulder, “Shhh its ok, you’re safe. There is no space here.” He patted the walls as if to give the man proof, “See, no space.”

Conner nodded, though he didn’t seem convinced, “How are you?”

The man looked at him with haunted eyes, and krill recoiled at the voidless vastness that reflected back at him, “There’s so much….” The man whispered, “When will it end.” 

They weren’t able to get much more out of him other than that first recognition. The poor man was completely lost. Eventually Commander Vir and Krill stepped out of the room and into the hallway. Commander Vir’s face was crossed with pain, “He isn’t getting much better, is he.”

The orderly shook her head, “Afraid not.”

Krill looked between them in confusion, “Commander, what is this all about”

The man sighed, and leaned against the wall, “I…. made a mistake, Krill. A long time ago. I was young and I….. well….. You remember Omnidocing don’t you?”

Of course Krill remembered. It was that crazy exercise where humans left the ship in a space suit on a tether, and then allowed the ship to cloak behind them giving the image that they were in space alone. The effects for humans could be anywhere from euphoria to spiritual to maddening, “Yes.”

He sighed, “Well, I used to do it…. A lot. The only way to legally get high without mind altering substances. Didn’t mean it was any good. I suggested others do it too. IN my idiocy, I assumed that everyone was like me, and that they would get the high that I suggested they might. Turns out, and I should have known this, That that is now always the case….. They called it Cosmic Hysteria back in the day, but I think they renamed it recently Cosmic….. Cosmic Exposure Dissociation Disorder. Some people when confronted with something so mind numbingly large ad empty just… can’t take it. He snapped. They say it's similar to Agoraphobia, but like a hundred times worse. Plus with Agoraphobia people aren't really scared of open spaces themselves but what might end up happening in those open spaces. With CEDD they are afraid of the space, but they also experience horrifying dissociation symptoms like they are going to float out of their body and expand to fill the universe…. To become part of the void. They feel like they need to desperately hold their soul inside their bodies or else it will escape.”

Krill shivered at the thought. He was incapable of imagining what that might feel like, “So… this place. It’s a hospital for the mind/”

Commander Vir nodded, “Yes. A lot of these people you see suffer from a disorder that doesn’t allow them to function properly on their own. Many of them might recover and leave…. Some of them may not. Many of them experience horrific auditory and visual hallucinations, some are just delusional, and others…. Well they are people who were just fine, and then experienced a traumatic event that they just couldn’t recover from on their own. A few of them have to be watched to make sure they don’t hurt themsleves…… it is honestly a shame.” 

Krill glanced around the room again surprised at the sheer amount of things that could go wrong. “It’s better than it used to be, of course. Three thousand years ago, the treatment for mental illness was different types of torture, and even after that things werent great. Women especially got the short end of the stick, they could be called hysterical for simply being a woman, and be locked away for no other reason than being sad on occasion. Even two thousand years ago things were still questionable. They didn’t understand how important activity is for these people, they'd just sit them in a room all day with nothing to do and put them on medication with horrible side effects that most weren’t able to stay on, on their own.” 

He shook his head, “IT takes a special kind of person to work here. Heroic really, because for me it’s just sad to watch. I can’t imagine being trapped by my own mind ...”

“Don’t you have PTSD….” Krill nudged 

“Not so much anymore, but I suppose your right. But there are plenty of people who operate with PTSD, sometimes not in a healthy way, but comparatively to some of these people, I can hardly compare what I went through.” 

***

Walking out of the building, Krill couldn’t help but contemplate what he saw and what he heard. A woman hunched over at a table arms wrapped around a notebook with incomprehensible squiggles on the inside claiming that the bible told her when the end of the world was, that she was thousands of years old, and that she had millions of children. 

He saw another person, with no more but the burden of immense sadness in her eyes, so sad that Krill had to turn his head or the pain that radiated from her was too much to bare.

The dark haired man waved happily at them as they left his wide innocent eyes devoid of guile, devoid of hate. 

It was a sad truth about humans, their complexly beautiful brain structure lorded over by so many chemicals and structures that, even the smallest issue had a similar chance, of being bypassed, or causing a butterfly effect that left the human bent under the burden of a crippled mind. The simple fact that an event, which caused no trauma to the body, could send the mind weeping to its knees was almost too much to bare.

Humans are physically indestructible on many levels, a powerful being with a powerful will, but even as powerful as their bodies are, their minds can be as delicate as glass. So please, I admonish you, take care of your humans, lest they suffer on the inside. 

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, guys. Just like you shouldn’t ignore strep throat, you shouldn’t ignore your mental health. Please stop putting off your trip to the doctor, take your meds, try to get out of bed, and make sure to do something you love even if you don’t fee like it :) 

Orders from your friendly neighborhood psych student

#humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humans are weird #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia

[melyaliz]

Chapter 2 Enter the SandMan

Masterlist 

Fandom: Marvel / X-men 

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x OC 

Summary: No matter when she goes to bed Gemma always feels exhausted when she wakes up. 

Notes: special thank you to all the support I have gotten so far on this fic. Gemma has been an OC I have had for some time now but always seem to struggle to tell her story (for some reason)

Also, I feel like not a lot of happening but I promise it will pick up.  

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive​

Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

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They had been dealing with these mutants for over a year now. Not consistently but every once in a while they would pop back up. Only stealing weird stuff from power cells. Once they had stolen a whole truck full of household batteries (like AA and stuff). Another time they had broken into a string of car dealerships but only took the engines  

Regardless they would strike and then disappear just as quickly. 

Xavier had said that it was possible they had been causing crimes for longer but the X-men had only come upon them recently. 

Because of their mutant powers he had been worried they would ruin all the hard work he was doing to build a better world where Mutants and Humans could co-exist. They weren’t shy about using their powers both in a fight and when they were busy taking whatever they wanted. 

Peter had never really thought much about it. 

They were just more baddies they needed to fight. 

Until he met one of them on the bus.

Gemma

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Gemma yawned again rubbing her eyes as she turned on her boombox letting the music pulse through the room. James Hetfield’s gravelly voice filled her small bedroom as she changed from her work clothes into something more comfortable for bed. 

It was soothing, the energy pulsing from her speakers. Not that many people would call the tunes of Metallic soothing but she wasn't many people. Sitting down in front of the boombox she hummed along letting the manic sounds flow through her like sparks from a current. As weird as it was to say the fast-paced rhythm was calming she couldn’t explain it any other way. 

Getting up she threw herself down onto her bed letting out a low moan as she buried her head in her pillow. Closing her eyes letting sleep overcome her. Praying it would be a peaceful night. That her body would just rest. Just let her have one good night’s sleep. 

Was that too much to ask for? 

Apparently

Her dreams were filled with weird lights flashing behind her eyelids. Yelling and screaming. Flickers of energy flashing like lighting across her face as monsters with human faces she didn’t recognize danced around her. Their deformed bodies flickering back and forth as if the lighting itself was summoning them. 

And a silver-haired boy. 

Running around her faster and faster. Her headphones on his head.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up.” 

Gemma found herself laying flat on her back on the hard floor of her bedroom, her body unable to move as she looked up at her ceiling blinking a few times. Reality slowly seeped into her consciousness images from her dreams fading. 

All but one, a silver-haired boy.  

Well man really, but you know. 

“Maybe I need to stop playing music before I go to bed” she muttered sitting up rubbing temples trying to bring some feeling back into her body. It felt so numb and exhausting. As if she had just run for miles. Getting up she turned off the buzzing alarm on her clock before dragging herself into the bathroom to try and get herself ready for the day. 

“Morning!” Drew said as his older sister stumbled down into the kitchen looking like death itself. He would never say it to his sister but later she really didn’t seem… herself. “I made coffee,” the 12-year-old said, holding out a mug.

Gemma smiled gratefully taking it in her hands letting the warmth fill her body before taking a sip. “Ok but why are you the coolest brother ever?” 

Drew shrugged “It’s my gift.” 

“Oh, if only I could be as cool.”

“Maybe someday my young padawan”

“Teach me your ways yoda” Gamma chuckled already feeling the effects of the caffeine bringing her back to life. 

“Speaking of the best movie that has ever been made, are we still on for marathoning tomorrow?” 

“Don’t you have like, cool friends you want to hang out with?” 

“Yeah but my sister said she would make her sugar popcorn and I got a bunch of star wars themed snacks with that money you gave me.” As he said this he pulled out a box of C-3PO's cereal out of the cabinet. “I mean look at this,” 

“I mean, I know I want to hang out with you and quote Star Wars ad nauseam until our sweet dear parents make us turn it off or at least speak with inside voices but I assumed you had like… you know kids your own age you wanted to hang with.”

“It’s the summer we hung out all week. Weekends are our time.”

“Sounds perfect to me. I literally can’t wait.”

After a hearty breakfast of sugary themed cereal and coffee Gemma grabbed her bag and rushed off to the bus stop while Led Zeppelin cheered her on through her new headphones.  

Normally Gemma wasn’t one to really pay attention to the other patients on the bus. Keeping her head down and enjoying whatever mixed tape she had made that week. But as she walked onto the bus that morning she couldn’t help but notice a silver-haired boy sitting at the back. 

Was he stalking her? 

Naw probably just had the same route. 

---

Peter was stalking her. All night he had rushed around unnoticed by the small family that resided in the house Gemma had entered.They were your classic American family. Two kids, a boy and a girl (if not a bit of an age gap) with loving parents. They said grace and talked about their days over a roast. 

Picture perfect. 

Besides the constant yawning, Gemma seemed happy. Smiling and engaging with them. Very polite and even seemed to care about the work story her father had to say or what drama Karen was causing in her mom’s sewing circle. 

Shit that Peter would have bashed his head in if he had to listen too. 

Shit, a villain like the woman he had fought wouldn’t sit through. Or at least with a genuine smile like the one Gemma wore. It was like she actually enjoyed family time. 

After dinner, they all watched some TV but Gemma had chosen to rest early. Going to her room where she blasted some music from her stereo turning around letting her hands hover just a few inches from the speaker. This was the first time he noticed any non-normal action from her. Just her standing there, eyes closed, head tilted back, mouth open slightly letting the music wash over her with her hands so close to the sound it was as if they craved it. 

After a few moments she removed her hands then walked toward her bed face-planting on the bed and promptly fell asleep. 

Which was his cue to leave. Yes, he was stalking her but he wasn’t a creeper. Time to find out who this weird girl was. 

A quick break-in and a couple photo books later and he learned she was a VERY average girl. Normal grades, all comments in her yearbook generic like “good luck” “rock on” with a few quotes from songs, all heavy rock and metal. (At least she had a good taste in music) 

There was one thing though, it looked like in her early years she had dark brown hair and eyes which slowly through her teens faded into the white hair and bright blue that she had now. Probably had something to do with her mutation. 

This also confirmed she was one of the four mutants.

Which was almost impossible to believe considering how generic and bland this girl’s life seemed.

It was a puzzle. 

---------

Their eyes met in that awkward “so should we act like we know each other or not’ look. In the light of day and (in the loosest term possible) rest, the silver-haired boy wasn’t bad looking. Large brown eyes and that laid back “whatever” attitude that Gemma had always fallen for in high school. 

But she wasn’t in high school anymore and he was just some weird guy on the bus.

Deciding to not engage she flashed him a half-smile before taking a seat in the middle of the bus. Ok, maybe she shouldn’t have smiled. But it was that christen upbringing engaged in her. 

Be kind to others.

Or some bullshit like that. 

“You forgot your headphones yesterday.” 

Gemma basically jumped out of her skin when the boy appeared out of nowhere now sitting next to her in the empty seat. Holding out small headphones in one hand for her to take. 

“I…” she checked behind her to confirm that the seat he had been in was empty, it was. “I didn’t forget them,” she said, turning her attention back to him. He smelled good, was that bad for her to think? But he did so maybe it was just more of a fact. Kind of like fun. He smelled like fun. Which shouldn’t have a smell… but if it did it would be how this boy smelled. 

He was still sitting there holding out the headphones for her, a look of confusion on his face. 

“I gave them to you.” she clarified, “So you could listen to some better music than Pink Floyd.” 

“Outch, what do you have against Floyd?”

She chuckled, shrugging, “Honestly I don’t, I just felt like razzing you.” 

The boy shrugged fighting back a smile, (was it ok to like this girl if she was a bad guy?) “Fair.”

Both of them sat in an awkward silence for a while. 

“Well this is my stop” the boy said as the bus slowed.

“Cool, bye” 

And like that he was gone. 

Weirdo.

Cute, but still a weirdo.

Not that she was really one to talk. She was VERY far from being normal. 

Turing up her music she leaned back in her chair letting it play as she held the cassette player in her lap trying to make sure she didn’t touch it with her hands. Sometimes her powers would drain electronics when she wasn’t paying attention, especially when she was tired. 

Tired. 

Why was she always so tired? 

Music playing through her head and thoughts of a silver-haired boy played around in her mind as the world rushed past her.

And that was the last thing she remembered. 

-GET TAGGED!- 

Forever tag:  @the-shadow-of-atlantis​​ @coffee-randomness​​ @0hmydeku @xx3fsxx @daisyboobear​​ @  @jason-redhood​ @hello-i-lovespiderman-blr @ocelysium @pinkwitch21 @tomhncharliep  @cdwmtjb8 (Let me know if you too would like to be tagged) 

#Peter maximoff #peter maximoff x reader #Peter Maximoff x oc #Peter Maximoff fanfic #x men oc #X men reader #X men fanfic #ocaap #my fic #my oc #my writing #Gemma #Thief and the Outlaw

[partypetes]

TUA Creator’s Bingo: Hoodie

Summary:  Vanya learns that withdrawals suck. Thankfully, her brother knows a thing or two about it.

Pairing/Characters: Vanya Hargreeves and Klaus Hargreeves

Word Count:  2276

Square Filled: Hoodie

Warnings: implied/reference drug use, withdrawals,

A/N: third entry for @tuacreatorsbingo ! some good good klaus and vanya hurt/comfort content because we need more of that in our lives

AO3 Link

It was a bad, bad day. Withdrawals were awful.

Sitting in the kitchen, Vanya was digging her nails into her arms hard enough to leave marks while she willed her body to stop shaking. She wasn’t even cold- the logical part of her brain told her that her nervous system was probably just overreacting without something to keep it calm.

Worse than the shakes were the ‘brain zaps’. The zaps were unsettling and disorienting and she could never predict when the next one would come. It was almost like trying to wait out hiccups, and it made it impossible to focus on anything- and she’d tried. She only got through half of a Beethoven piece, the zaps causing sudden stops and unexpectedly wrong notes before she gave up in a fit of frustration. Her powers made sheet music fly violently around the room as she made a loud, agitated noise.

Now, not sure she wanted to be alone with her powers and anger, but not really sure what she wanted at all- she sat in the kitchen with a now-cold mug of tea in front of her. Her nails dragged down her arms, leaving red scores.

A lack of sleep and her list of symptoms for the day left her agitated and manic, and she was trying hard not to spiral considering how her powers got when she was too emotional. She didn’t want to take the Academy down a second time, didn’t want to hurt anyone- except. Well, she kind of did. Not in a murderous way, she just- understood Diego and Luther’s constant need to punch things to cope a lot better than she used to.

Vanya didn’t know how much more of this she could take, but she didn’t know how to relieve it. She felt like a pot starting to boil over and she didn’t know how to let any of the steam loose. Old coping mechanisms from older therapists floated in and out of her mind, but she found they were more aggravating than helpful. ‘Identify your feelings. Go to your happy place. Meditate. Breathe’.

Fuck off , her brain responded to the suggestions.

Too stuck in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice her sibling until it was too late.

“Hey, Van.” Klaus greeted, giving her a nod and a smile as he moved into the kitchen, a long skirt trailing after him. A flash of irritation washed over her- if it was Allison or Five that would be one thing, but while she didn’t have much to hold against Klaus, he was so.. Loud. She didn’t think she could handle it gracefully today.

He proved her point as he started opening and shutting cabinets, digging through the fridge, setting a plate down on the counter with a clank. He even mumbled to himself - or to someone else. She and the rest of the Hargreeves were still trying to figure out what was a chatty ghost and what was Klaus being Klaus. Vanya didn’t know how long she sat there, her nails digger harder and harder into her skin as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth and tried to stay calm. Eventually, though, she had to crack .

“Klaus, would you just shut up ?” She demanded as she twisted in her chair to face him, the cup in front of her giving an ominous rattle and spilling most of her tea over the edge. He immediately froze in response, his expression falling. He quickly plastered on another, but she definitely saw the brief moment of hurt before he put on another easygoing mask.

“Shit.” Vanya said. Shame washed over her at the outburst. “I’m so sorry.” She blurted, running her fingers through her hair and clenching her fists at her scalp, “That was unfair, I’m sorry, I’m- the withdrawals today are just-"

“Oh.” Klaus said simply, the realization dawning on his face, “It’s okay, Vanya.”

“No, it’s not, that was shitty and we both know it-”

“Hey, you would not believe the things I’ve said to Ben on my pricklier days.” Klaus said. He was back to rummaging through a cupboard. This time, however, he made sure to close the cabinets gently and not to clink the dishes around as he moved. “And vice versa.” He snorted, holding up a rag, “It’s cute that you guys still think he’s an innocent little bookworm. He knows like three languages and tells me I’m making bad choices in all of them .”

He artfully stepped over to the table, his skirt swishing around his legs while he picked her cup up and set the rag down to start soaking up the tea mess. Then, “I’ll be right back.” He said with a considerate frown, and she nodded numbly before he disappeared down the hall.

The hopeless, angry part of her suggested he probably wasn’t coming back and just wanted to get away from her craziness. But it was Klaus, and if she was crazy.. To prove the point, he soon blazed back into the room with a black bundle in his arms.

“Put this on.” He suggested, setting it down on the table instead of handing it to her directly. “It’ll help.”

Irritation scratched beneath her skin, not wanting to be told what to do, but she reached forward to grab it regardless to try and keep the peace. Unrolling it, she realized it was a comfortably worn-down hoodie.

“Is.. is this Ben’s?” She asked, confused.

“No- well, maybe, actually.” Klaus frowned thoughtfully, “No, wait, you’re right, I definitely stole this from Ben.”

Surprise, surprise . Vanya huffed out a small laugh at his antics.

Then she carefully shrugged the hoodie on- it was a size or two too big, and made of heavy material that weighed on her shoulders. It smelled like a bizarre mix of something flowery and something that was almost definitely weed, but it was something she associated with Klaus. And that small fact was somehow comforting to her, just a little. So she sank back into her chair and into the fabric, the hood bunching up around her neck.

“It helps sometimes, to just have something heavy? It’s kind of grounding.” Klaus said, rocking back and forth on his heels and his toes with a strange expression, his movement betraying his nerves.

“I think you’re right.” Vanya said softly, starting to connect the dots. Even if she wasn’t feeling many more emotions than ‘fuck this’ or ‘fuck you’, she could recognize that Klaus was the resident authority on dealing with withdrawal. He was clean- hell, cleaner than she was, but she distantly remembered the days after the not-apocalypse where he hid himself away, snapped at them, or cried in strange places.

“Do you think a hug would help?” Klaus interrupted her thoughts like he was shoving the words out of his mouth as quickly as he could.

Vanya took a deep breath and slowly let it out through her nose, genuinely considering it. “I think.. That if someone touched me right now.. I’d throw them into the wall.” She said carefully, watching Klaus’ expression.

To her bizarre satisfaction, he nodded like that was a perfectly reasonable answer. “Sounds about right.” He replied absently, his eyes wandering the room before focusing in on her again. Ghosts, or Klaus’ attention span? Who knew.

“You’ve just gotta wait it out, Van.” He sighed, smiling regretfully, “And try not to burn too many bridges along the way.”

She tapped her fingers on the table, focusing on the sound and the vibration- before stopping herself. No going down the ‘catastrophic powers’ rabbit hole, not while she felt like.. this .

“I’m just…” Her hands clenched into fists, wondering just how much he’d get it , “Klaus, I’m- I’m so angry . And even after everything that happened.. I’m not used to it. I don’t know what to do with it.”

Was it a warning? Maybe. Or maybe she just wanted to be heard while someone was there to listen. She expected her brother to shrink away or find some convenient excuse to vanish, a spiteful voice in her head reminding her of how she and her unstable powers could just be too much for her siblings some days. But Klaus only sighed and leaned his hip against the table, staring down at her.

“That’s okay.” He said, “Is your brain like.. screaming at you and lashing out at everything? That’s not you, that’s just..” He made a face. “Chemistry and brain stuff. You can’t help it right now.”

She didn’t think anything could soothe the beast clawing in her chest, but Klaus’ words helped. Maybe only a little, but she’d take what she could get.

“Klaus,” She asked suddenly, as soon as the question popped up in her mind. She twitched, her brain.. well, zapping. “Can I- can I ask you something?”

His face lit up. “Anytime!” Klaus agreed.

She clenched her fists on the tabletop. “Are you ever-“ Her nails bit into her palms as she tried to consider how to phrase it, how to get the point across. “Did you ever feel..” Scared. “Concerned? I- I know you were on drugs for.. for a really long time.” She worried her lip, not sure just how candid they could be about the subject, “So when you were stopping.. was it hard, not knowing what.. what you were supposed to be like after?”

He looked confused but kindly concerned, brow furrowed as he tried to follow along. “You mean like..” He hummed, “You- I was on drugs so long, so was it scary not knowing who I was going to be without the high?”

She breathed out a deep sigh, nodding. “Yeah. Exactly that, yeah.”

“Well..” Klaus sucked in a breath through his teeth, cocking his head to the side, “My timelines were always a little rushed. But.. yeah? C’mon, it was practically baked - get it, baked - into my personality. ‘ Klaus the drug addict ’-“ He snorted unexpectedly, “It was almost like my brand. If I wasn’t him, who was I supposed to be?”

She only nodded. He seemed lost in thought, blinked, then he let out a soft ‘oh’ when he realized the conversational ball was still in his court.

“Soo.. yeah. Yeah, Van, it was fucking scary. Once or twice I think that’s why I fell off the wagon, honestly- back on the streets, I mean.” He rambled, “It was too big and scary, looking into a future where I had to be Klaus The Adult and act ‘normal’ and ‘fix’ myself.” Klaus made a face at the very thought. “It’s hard, getting kicked out of rehab and then knowing it’s all up to you to fix your shit. Even with Ben around.”

Her heart sank. “Oh.” She said. That certainly didn’t bode well for her. But it wasn’t like she could fall off the wagon, could she? After the apocalypse they had her taking her full dose and slowly weaned her off of it, and now she was finally out of pills and it was leaving her system. But she couldn’t deny that life was easier on the pills, as much as she hated feeling ordinary. Could it be enough, just knowing she had these powers under the surface? That she counted as a member of the Academy in her own strange way?

It must’ve been written all over her face. “But!” A panicked Klaus near-shouted, causing her to flinch away and glare with the strength of a thousand suns. He grinned sheepishly, adjusting his volume.  “Sorry. Sorry. I was just gonna say- I think it never stuck because I didn’t have anyone back then. I mean, Ben, but I’d been tuning out that shithead for years. And he tried, but he couldn’t do much to support me.

“Now, though-“ Klaus gestured with his hands, a knowing smile on his face, “I had… I’ve got people . And with hi- them, by my side and willing to help, that makes the future a lot less scary.” He made a soft noise. “Rehab was always hounding me about having a support system to stay sober- guess they knew something after all.”

“Oh.” She repeated.

“Is that…” He worried his lip with his teeth, “Is that helpful? I’m not usually the pep talk guy.”

“I…” She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly unclenching her fists so that she could hide her hands in the oversized hoodie. “I think.. I think it did, actually.” She could still feel the anger bubbling beneath the surface of her skin. She still felt like she was a hair trigger away from something , and she didn’t want to find out what it was.

But the reminder that she wasn’t alone helped. Even if she didn’t trust certain siblings as much as others.. She wasn’t alone in all this. Especially with Klaus here.

Vanya looked at her brother in a strange new light. He hadn’t run away or made her feel like shit, not even when she flung her tea all over the table with her mind. So.. so no, Vanya wasn’t alone. Vanya had support.

Maybe she’d make it through.

“Thanks, Klaus.” She said softly.

“Like I said,” He replied, grabbing the rag and soaking up the rest of the mess before tossing it in the direction of the sink. It hit a cabinet and slid to the floor, but the thought was there. “Anytime, Van.” A pause. "Are you sure you don't want that hug?"

She scoffed out a small laugh. "Klaus, I love you, but go away." Vanya said mildly, the edge of her mouth quirking up in a small smile.

"Yeah," Klaus agreed, "Fair enough."

#The Umbrella Academy #vanya hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #tuacreatorsbingo

[spinningsidetable]

Gentleman 2/3

Pairing: Octavian/Leo Valdez (leotavian)

Warning/Genre: Genre/Warning: AU, No Godly Parents, Spy Shit, Action Movie Parody, Non-Linear Story Telling, Admittedly Unhealthy Relationship, Descriptions of Violence, Dubious Consent Smooching, Sexual Situations,“Humor”

Rating: Mature

Summary: Leo has worked for the Agency for awhile now, the guy in the chair helping Agents save the world and all that, but now it seems like an actual supervillain is enamored with him.

(Notes: Sexual situations in this chapter, which will probably get the story flagged by tumblr. or maybe it won’t care, and just continue to mark pictures of my geckos as porn.)

Leo blearily opened his eyes and found himself in a familiar room. White plaster walls, deep red accents, and ancient looking columns on the veranda overlooking a lush garden. It would put the hanging gardens of Babylon to shame, or so Octavian had told Leo once. Leo didn’t know anything about plants, or the outdoors, or what it had to do with that show Babylon 5. But, it was really pretty. The whole base had a classic feel to it, like you’d been removed out of time, or if you had been transported into a bad series on the unfortunately named History Channel. Octavian had a weird thing for age-old Roman things, like conquest and domination. It was partly why no one was entirely sure if his name was Octavian from birth or not. It could have just been a complicated reference to Caesar Augustus, founder of Rome. The current theories about Octavian’s motives were world domination, or at least the creation of a new military state, a New Rome, but it hadn’t ever been confirmed. No one had much on him to go off, no known history, no paper trails, nothing. Just a love of gladiator movies, very presumably BDSM, and apparently Babylon 5. “Ugh,” Leo groaned, turning to grab the aspirin and glass of water he knew would be on the side table. “I should just move some shit in, spare clothes, maybe a toothbrush. I seem to be here often enough…” “I agree, mi amor.” Octavian said, reading from a book at the foot of the bed. Leo also knew he’d be there. “In fact, I believe we should get married. We’ve been dating for quite some time, now. What kind of ring do you want? I have access to an asteroid.” “I’m sorry to break this to you, but we’re actually not dating at all. Not even a little bit. Also, I can’t physically give you any heirs.” Leo sighed, running a hand through his hair. It wasn’t as messy as it usually was, but Octavian usually brushed it while Leo was out for the count. Leo’d never admit Octavian speaking specifically Spanish did things to him. “That’s something crazy dictators want, right? Bunch of heirs?” “Mm, ignoring adoption or surrogates, all we’d just need a host uterus, artificial or otherwise. My people have developed a way to combine the DNA of two men or two women within an artificial egg.” Octavian turned the page, like he wasn’t a supervillain bent on world domination (presumably) “Granted, I don’t particularly care about any heirs. It is possible though.” “Wait,” Leo held up a hand, realization dawning on him. “…Did Larry and Mark finally have kids?” “Mhmm,” Octavian closed the book, looking up at Leo with a pleasant (non-manic) smile on his face. “They’re trying.” “Oh my god, I’m so happy for them!” Leo’d really gotten to know a few of his guards by now. “I’m still not marrying you though, you just blew a hole in an aircraft carrier. That being said, I do also want access to an asteroid, would I get half of it if we got married?” Octavian shrugged a shoulder, never concerned. “I have a sneaking suspicion the military industrial complex will recover, for now. However, I am glad to hear you’ve changed your mind about my so-called manipulation via…how did you put it, sweet talk? I’m glad to hear you think it’s sweet.” Leo faltered, pushing the blankets off and getting out of bed. Silk pajamas, always the best. “That’s…” Leo had forgotten about that. That was right. He remembered the looks on Reyna’s face, on Piper’s and Jason’s. “…If I agreed to marry you, but I promised to never tell you a single secret about the Agency, about Jason, or about anything that could in anyway help you with any of your plans…you’re telling me you’d…be okay with that?” “Oh, mo ghaol, I’ve never assumed you’d tell me anything. Have I ever asked? Threatened you? Hurt you in any way?” Octavian stood, and came to Leo’s side. He raised a hand to Leo’s face, fingers resting causally at Leo’s neck and thumb rubbing small circles into his cheek. “I adore you.” “Why, though?” Leo looked at the floor, away from Octavian’s face. “I’m just…” “Brilliant, smart, handsome, clever, funny, beautiful, talented…” Octavian finished for him, tone slightly chastising, but in a fond way. “Yes, I have no idea.” “I’m 5’2, I’m a tooth pick, I’ve got like a mole on my forehead I keep covered with hair because I’m a little scared it might be an absorbed twin, because it’s got like this massive whisker in it I pluck secretly. And then I say things like that when I’m nervous…” Octavian laughed, shaking his head. “Your size is convenient, cute even; you still have a good deal of upper body strength, your muscles are toned even if you’re slim. And, you have a beauty mark. You’re interesting, and funny. It’s not like I’m particularly muscular either. I think you called me a murderous scarecrow for half a year.” Leo groaned and flopped back down onto the bed, “I still have braces, Octavian!” “It’s respectable that you care about oral hygiene,” Octavian responded with a shrug, kneeling down to the ground between Leo’s legs. He looked like a knight, bowing before his king. “I understand why the Agency may think I have ulterior motives; admittedly, you would be a great target. But, like I said, I truly adore you solnyshka. In time, you’ll accept that, because I believe you already know deep down that I’m telling the truth.” The Brazilian government had apparently covered up the fact that they had recently discovered a massive underground temple. It was a lost holy place for numerous native Brazilian tribes, but the current regime didn’t want to award any more protection of land over to the native peoples. Why? Because of course they didn’t. That would mean they couldn’t strip it for resources, who cared about history, preservation, or other cultures in the face of cold hard cash? The Agency was tasked with keeping peace, and with further private exploration of the temple before the government got to work. The entire place was still majorly unknown, the exact size and scale was a mystery. No one was entirely sure who built it even. Leo and another tech Rachel, were the grunts that were sent down into the terrifying and dark abyss with just flashlights and backpacks. They’d spent a week developing an advanced mapping system, that could create a 3D rendering of any hidden passages and tunnels. But, they had to place a few probes in the temple first at strategic points for it to work, which meant having to be there in person first. Two Agents accompanied them, Agent di Angelo and Agent Levesque. They were apparently the only ones willing to go spelunking with the tech-y desk jockeys. Leo would have preferred Jason, but he knew the guy was terrified of enclosed spaces underground. These two didn’t seem to be bothered by it in the slightest. The two Agents hadn’t talked much at first, but eventually Levesque and Rachel got on like wildfire. Di Angelo wasn’t so friendly, and when it came time to split up, Leo was disappointed he got stuck with the angry emo Agent baby, instead of the stupidly hot spy lady. Agent di Angelo only got angrier for some reason when Leo said as much. They had been walking throughout the tunnels in the cavernous temple for about an hour, when Leo and his babysitter came across an old rope bridge to the other side of the cave system they were in. It was too big to jump across, but Leo needed to get to the other side to place a probe. “Hey, too spooky?” Leo grinned, turning to the Agent who grimaced at said nickname. “Have you ever heard why the lion crossed the bridge?” “What are you talking about- Hey!” Leo was already darting across the bridge, backwards, big hefty backpack and all. He could feel it creaking and cracking under his feet, but Leo made it safely. “To get to the other side! Get it?” Leo called over, cupping his hands around his mouth. Agent di Angelo flipped him off. “That’s not very professional! Come on! It’s totally safe!” The rope bridge promptly snapped and collapsed into the nothingness below. “I rescind that! Don’t do it!” Agent Angel whipped out a comm and seemed to be having a very tense conversation with someone on the other line as he paced back and forth, his light moving around the room. “Hey, it’s fine, buddy!” Leo yelled. “I’ll just go plant the other probe, while you get like a ladder or something! Not like anything else is down here! You know, besides snakes, and spiders, and scorpions and other totally natural things that could kill me!” An hour or two later and Leo was increasingly worried there really was nothing down here. The temple seemed to be built into an existing cave system, which could theoretically be hundreds of miles long. It was just endless amounts of rock and water dripping and bats and bugs. Leo was getting tired, and hungry, so when he heard voices and the reflections of light in the distance, he couldn’t help himself. He bolted towards the commotion, waving his flashlight. “HEY! I’m so glad you-“ Leo found himself in a large cave opening, surrounded by men and women in black attire, now all pointing guns at his face. Octavian stood in the middle, eyebrow raised, and a manic smile beginning to overtake his expression. “Oh boy. I am lost. I am but a poor lost…Brazilian person. I got a bit turned around back there, I’ll just…turn around and go the other way.” “Don’t shoot,” Octavian waved a hand. “I know this little vagalume.” As Octavian walked forward towards sweaty, filthy, gross covered Leo, and the crowds parted around Octavian like he was some kind of God. Supervillains sure knew how to make an impact. “My, my, why are you here, meu querido?” Octavian’s smile was dangerous, and the flashlight casting shadows just accentuated the madness. “The Agency must know something, if they’re willing to send you in.” “I, uh,” Leo was flustered, his sweat sticking his hair to his forehead. “…Searched my soul? And found you!” Octavian laughed, coming close enough to rest his hand on Leo’s cheek. “Well, you weren’t what we were looking for, but I can’t say I’m displeased.” He turned to the men closest to him, “leve-o de volta ao acampamento.” Leo yelped as he was grabbed and thrown over a shoulder. “What the fuck did you just say?! Octavian! Hey! Why are we in the one South American country I can’t speak the language of! Oi, hablar español por favor-” “I hate you, I hate you so much, oh my god.” Leo gasped, moving up and down, his hands clenched into the headboard behind Octavian’s stupid face. Leo was sweating so much, it was disgusting. Had he sweat this much the first time he had had sex? No, Leo was pretty sure he had gotten in the girl, whimpered, and collapsed to the side pretty much immediately. “Do you want to stop?” Octavian grinned up at him knowingly, his own hands on Leo’s lower hips stopped encouraging him. Leo’s thighs were burning, his abdominal muscles were tensed almost the entire time. He needed Octavian’s help to keep going, to keep moving. Leo was already shaky after extended foreplay, he had already spent holding himself up on his arms and knees as the villain decided to take his time and use his tongue. “I will actually kill you if you stop,” one of Leo’s hands left the headboard to dig into Octavian’s scalp and pull him forward for a messy kiss. The angle shifted Leo away from riding the cock inside him, to just rocking back and forth in a needy manner. He needed more momentum, the pressure was good, it was so good, but he needed more. It didn’t help that Octavian had a hand around his cock, with just enough pressure at the base of the shaft that Leo couldn’t find the release he was looking for. He wasn't stroking it, he wasn't doing anything that Leo needed. He was being an actual cocktease. “I will remove your windpipe I swear to god, I refuse to be a pump and dump,” Leo pulled away, nipping just slightly at Octavian’s lower lip. “Octavian, come on, estoy loco por ti, te necesito. Please?” Octavian’s eyes were normally very light blue, but right now Octavian’s pupils were blown wide and black. He flipped Leo over onto his back. “Anything for you, the entire world for you.” Maybe he was easy, Leo thought, sprawled out in bed that night. 16 kidnappings were all it took for him to go full Stockholm Syndrome. Octavian was asleep next to him, completely defenseless, if you didn’t count the armed guards outside and the whole island fortress thing. “Poor thing, wore himself out”, Leo whispered as he reached over and pushed a few pieces of hair away from the man’s forehead. Granted, Leo had fully passed the fuck out after their romp as well, he just woke up sooner. The benefits of horrific insomnia, not even 3 orgasms could keep him asleep for long. “Oh my god, I slept with a supervillain,” Leo flopped back down onto his pillow. The thread count on these sheets was ridiculous. “Repeatedly.” “Mm, was I at least a gentlemen?” Octavian’s voice was somewhat rough from sleep, and probably from the blowjob, but he was awake enough to throw and arm around Leo’s side and pull him close. “Very much so,” Leo whispered back, shoving his face into Octavian’s neck. “Maybe…I can be the…uh, gentleman next time?” Octavian had a great dick, just perfect. Hit all the spots. Looked good, felt fucking fantastic. But, he also was pretty in his own way, and had a nice ass. Leo wanted in it. “Whatever you wish, mi amor. I look forward to it.” Octavian pulled Leo in closely, kissing his forehead. He really was a gentleman. Octavian then swung a leg over Leo, and straddled his waist. “Wait, right now?” “We are going to fucking die!” Leo screamed at the scarecrow on stilts. “I refuse to die because a piece of anthropomorphized spaghetti with a God complex kidnapped me!” Octavian looked mildly annoyed at the insult, or maybe just the fact Leo had been yelling nonstop for about five minutes. Octavian rarely looked particularly bothered by anything Leo did or said, so he must have been fairly stressed out. “We’re not going to die from this,” Octavian glanced at his passenger, who hadn’t put down a small metal lighter. “We might die if you burn up all our oxygen, however.” Leo’s eyes narrowed, and he flicked the lighter shut. “Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Julius Caesar. Your navigation system is shot, your craft is taking on water, and the control panel is fucking glitching halfway to Siberia. You did this, this is your fault. I’m smaller than you, when we inevitably die horrifically here, I want to at least survive long enough to see you die first. You’ll need oxygen before I do.” “No,” Octavian corrected, clenching his jaw. “Your Agency did this by sabotaging my submersible, knowing fully well you were aboard. So much for loyalty.” Leo rolled his eyes, and threw his legs up on the console, as they were starting to get soggy. “No, they didn’t. I’m too valuable. They’d still be stuck with tech from the 50’s if it wasn’t for my ass. Say, how painful would it be to get eaten by sharks?” “Probably very,” Octavian grabbed one of Leo’s feet and tossed it off the machinery. “You know very little about the organization you work for, apparently. They track all assets.” “Uh, yeah, no shit. I removed that crap forever ago.” Leo gestured at a small scar on his arm. “So, again, back to being your fault. You, alone, used a submersible to kidnap me. In my fucking pajamas!” They were classic teenage mutant ninja turtles, Leo had told Octavian. “I thought it would be…” The madman, for once, appeared to be struggling to find the words. “Romantic. Moonlit dinner, with nothing but the ocean around us.” Leo looked in the back of the compartment, at the nearly cliché picnic box and bottle of wine. There were even fucking roses. “Goddammit. Move, you asshat.” Leo got out of his seat, and pushed Octavian to the edge of his own, sitting beside him. Octavian looked at him curiously, but Leo was already starting to fiddle with the console controls. It didn’t look like much was happening. “If we are to die here, then I can’t say I mind the company,” Octavian admitted, only to get flipped off. “…Leonardo was always my favorite ninja turtle.” Leo sat up sharply, looking directly at the man. “Where the fuck are you from?! I swear to Christ, how do you speak 500 languages, yet know TMNT? Ain’t no one in American public school systems do word good.” “Maybe I was raised by a giant rat in the New York city sewers?” Octavian offered, with a smirk. “Who knows. You know, I know some about your past. You were doing extremely advanced mathematics in elementary school. You make fun of my education, but you’re obviously brilliant yourself, in fields and ways much more advanced than I.” “I hate you, leave me alone, I’m working.” Leo’s face was slightly red as he grumbled but turned back to the display. “…I expect more than a picnic when I save your pasty white butt.” “Of course, mój drogi.” The water had gotten uncomfortably close to the electrical equipment, but it had only taken Leo a few minutes before the submersible was back in some amount of working order. It would still sink, it was taking on far too much water with no way of repairing physical damage like that, but at least now they could deploy the emergency raft. Within five minutes, they were sitting in a black and red raft. It wasn’t small or flimsy, thankfully. Leo had enough room to fully stretch out on the blanket that had been in the picnic basket. Octavian had made a call to his men, it was likely they’d be there within the hour, but for the time… Octavian laid down beside the shorter man, staring up at the stars. “I guess it is kind of romantic. Maybe not the impending threat of death so much, but it is pretty out here. There’s not as much pollution out here…the stars are really bright.” Leo pointed at a few, “do you know any constellations?” Octavian did, so instead of answering, sat up on his elbow and leaned over to kiss the mechanic. Leo jerked backwards, eyes wide. “What the hell, did you just kiss me?” Octavian kissed him again, before pulling back and looking mighty pleased with himself. “I hate you, that’s such a breach of my personal space, it is completely uncalled for.” Leo ranted before he was grabbing the back of Octavian’s head and pulling him in for another.

#fanfiction #mypjofanfiction #pjo fanfic #pjo Octavian #hoo octavian #octavian #Leo Valdez #leotavian

[murderclubhq]

GROUP CHOICE 3 // WHAT TO DO WITH TOMMY(ISH)? (RESULTS)

THE QUARTER LANDS ON HEADS FOR EXORCISM !

The coin lands on heads for exorcism and you see Jamie light up at the decision. Everyone looks hesitant but the choice was made fair and square so you swallow your nerves the best you can as Jamie doles out instructions to the room. Keep your distance. Hold onto your faith tight and do not give into any voices you may hear, not even your own.

Trepidation fills your body as you watch him take the stand, your friends all fanned around him as he rifles through the pages of a book with a ram skull on the front. He looks certain enough for all of you. It’s nearly as convincing as the flare of Tommy’s eyes at the challenge.

“Unus rex esto! Stultus stultus stultus!” Tommy cackles, spitting bloody foam from the mouth. His teeth gnash together so hard that you’re not confident that he hadn’t gnawed off his own tongue in the process. You wince, but hold your ground. You didn’t want to become like him.

Jamie begins a prayer in another language that sounds much like the one Tommy’s speaking and you only recognized it because you hear him say ‘Michael’ . You’re skeptical but the flickering lights haven’t stabilized and it’s only making your anxiety worse seeing nothing happening but his laughter getting louder.

Then, he stops.

“Stop it! You’re hurting me!” Tommy cries, his gaunt face and sunken eyes really selling agony. You don’t know what kind of stuff Jamie is made of that he doesn’t flinch. You wonder if you’re doing the right thing but you don’t want to risk interrupting him when his voice reaches a crescendo. The pages of his book flap wildly back and forth like something was trying to disrupt it. The temperature drops. You’re getting pretty scared now.

“Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino qui fertis ascendit super caelum caeli ad Orientem Ecce dabit voci suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem deo.

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus,omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, draco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos!”

Tommy’s rocking grows more violent with each word uttered, the chair legs scraping across the floor has you noticing that he’s ruining the lipstick pentagram Frenchie had drawn there. There’s no time for you to speak up as Tommy falls onto the floor and one of the bulbs overhead breaks. He’s shrieking, his voice alternating between manic laughter and pained sobbing.

Jamie continues chanting.

You don’t know if you believe in any of this bullshit but you start muttering the words after him under your breath, the tension pushing you to unbelievable lengths to make it stop. You’re unable to look away as Tommy starts convulsing, choking, making the most disgusting sounds you’ve ever heard. His body contorts while his arms are stuck to the chair, making your spine ache at the sight of him twisting and turning. His eyes bulge out of his head, black and then blue and then black again before they shut. He coughs up a shard of glass and then goes limp as the shard loses its shimmer.

After a long moment of silence, you hear a tiny voice over your shoulder ask, “Is he okay?”

“Only one way to find out,” Jamie says. He throws the book at Tommy who shudders awake upon collision like he’s late for school. He looks dismayed when he finds that he’s bound to a chair and tasting metal in his mouth. It looks like he still has a tongue. You’re relieved.

“What the hell...” he stutters hoarsely. He looks hostile, then afraid when he sees all eight of you surrounding him like ghouls in the dark. Your heart sinks for the umpteenth time in 24 hours when he struggles feebly in the restraints and whimpers in pain, looking more hostage than demon when he sags like a rag doll. Exhausted.

His eyes grow frantic when he sees the pentagram beneath him and the ram on the book, “Please, my parents will pay you! Just let me go!”

Did that work, or were you the bad guys?

What will you do with Tommy?

OOC //

Admin Note: Tommy’s been exorcised and it looks like he’s back to his water polo-playing ways. Does your character believe that worked? Or do they still think he’s a criminal and must pay? What will the group do with Tommy? Let him go or call the cops? Keep him there? This can be discussed and carried on IC. Tommy appears to have no recollection of what happened. The risk has been thwarted but the police are still looking for him.

#normal:groupchoice

[fandammit]

Loss like the sharp edges of a knife (6/7)

[A/N: This last chapter is upwards of 8K words and that just seemed too damn long, so once again I’m splitting it. Please forgive me, but the next chapter is basically done, so it should be up in the next few days! As always, thank you for reading!]

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

He’s helping Curtis stack chairs after group the following Wednesday, Gracie laying down next to the table at the far end of the room.

He figures she must be exhausted, seeing as she’d spent the entire time at group slowly inching her way to the side of each of the men in the group, resting her head on their lap when one would get agitated, nudge a hand with her nose when another’s voice started to shake with sadness.

Each time, he'd notice the way the other man would climb back down from his anxiety, or back out of his sorrow as he slowly ran their hands over Gracie's fur.

It's not exactly surprising, given the amount of times Gracie has done the same for him on those off days where his memory is sparked by some random song on the radio, some random scent in the park. He’s lost track of the amount of times he’s been jolted out of some hellish nightmare to find her licking his face or whining in his ear.

He glances over at where she's now seated, Curtis crouched down next to her and giving her scratches behind the ear. He smiles, thinks that being emotionally expressive and emotionally attuned to others must go hand in hand.

“Gracie’s a hell of a dog, Frank,” Curtis calls out from across the room, is immediately treated to a doggie kiss on the face as he says it. Curtis grimaces as Frank grins -- not used to dogs, then -- then goes over to drain the last of the coffee pot.

“Yeah, and doesn’t she just know it?” Frank says wryly, stacking the last chair before walking over to him.

Curtis chuckles.

“You know, you should look into getting her officially trained as a therapy dog. Saw a lot of guys down at the VA really benefit from having one, and Gracie looks like she’s basically already halfway there.”

Frank looks down at Gracie, then back over at Curtis.

“Huh.”

It honestly has never occurred to him, though now he can’t understand why. He and Gracie sped through obedience class together, and he doesn’t think it’s favoritism for either of them that made Mrs. Abaya constantly compliment how smart and disciplined Gracie is. He also knows that there’s a therapy dog training class at the shelter, which will give him yet another reason to stick around once the agility class is over.

Curtis shrugs.

“Just something to think about, Frank.”  

“No, I - I ‘preciate it, Curt. I’m gonna look into it.”

Curtis smiles at him, a mixture of satisfied and proud, before he turns and begins emptying the grounds from the coffee pot.

Frank looks at him for a long moment before he sighs and grabs his phone from his pocket.

“Hey, so - I, uh - .” He shuffles back and forth on his feet as Curtis looks on, drawing his eyebrows together. “So, I need you to take a picture of me.”

Curtis blinks rapidly and purses his lips before he nods and reaches out to grab Frank’s phone.

“Alright. Just...you? Standing there?”

Frank shakes his head, breathes out heavily.

“Nah - just.” He shakes his head again and scrubs his hand across the stubble on his chin. “Give me a sec.”

He takes out a carefully folded bandana from his back pocket and shakes it out, then crouches down in front of Gracie and ties it around her neck. He walks to the far wall which holds the bulletin board for the church and the cross and stands in front of it, calls Gracie over to him and waits until she sits next to him before he forces himself to meet Curtis’ stare.

Curtis looks between him and Gracie, his eyes darting between the bandana wrapped around her neck and the shirt that Frank is currently wearing. It’s a flannel button up that he quite likes -- a dark blue and black pattern that gives some variety to his wardrobe without straying too far from the colors he’s used to.

It also happens to be the exact same fabric and pattern as the bandana around Gracie’s neck.

Curtis takes a step back, looks at both him and Gracie standing there next to one another, then takes a deep breath and bursts out laughing.

Frank rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, get it out now, Curt.”

Curtis swallows back the rest of his laugh, though his eyes are still lit up with pure glee, his face stretched by a ridiculous grin.

“Frank, I’m sorry. I mean, I’ll take the picture of course. But I just -- you’re really gonna need to explain this to me.”

“Yeah, man. Look,  I - .” He looks at the grin on Curtis’ face, which is so clearly of the shit-eating variety, and sighs heavily as he rubs his hand across the back of his neck. “Karen got it for me -- for us,” he says, gesturing between him and Gracie. “Probably kind of, you know, as a joke, but also. I, uh, I like the shirt and Gracie likes the bandana, so.” He shrugs. “Wanna let her know I appreciate it.”

Curtis’ grin stretches out even wider which, shit, he didn’t even think was possible at this point. The guy seriously looks almost manic with glee.

“So, how come I didn’t know you were seeing Karen again?”

“Cuz, uh, I - I’m not, Curt,” he says, clearing his throat and shrugging.

The look of disappointment on Curtis’ face is so sudden and so exaggerated that Frank might laugh if it didn’t sent off a low burn of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Because he knows what Curtis is going to ask next, or at least going to ask eventually, and he’s having a harder and harder time coming up with an answer that doesn’t sound vaguely like an excuse.

“You’re not.” It’s not phrased like a question, but he answers it anyway.

“Nah, I’m not.”

“But you’re talking to her?”

Frank starts to nod, then shakes his head, then bites the corner of his lip and just shrugs.

“Not...really? I mean yeah, kind of, but not...guess not the way you would expect.”

Curtis frowns.

“Frank, what the fuck does that even mean?”

He heaves out a long sigh and leans against the wall.

“She reached out to me a few weeks ago. Gave me, uh, left me a gift. Some coffee, new beanie.” A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he glances over at Curtis, who’s looking at him intently. “So, I’ve been doing likewise - pictures and shit - so she knows how I’m doing.”

Curtis stares at him intensely, turning over his words in his mind.

“So, these gifts - she just randomly, what, fedexed them to you? How does she even know where you live?”

Frank shakes his head.

“She doesn’t. She - uh.” He stops and rubs his hand across the back of his neck and up the side of his head. He has a sudden and irrational desire to ask Curtis not to tell anyone what he’s about to say, but swallows it in the last moment. It’d be a stupid and pretty insulting thing to do, seeing as Curtis has kept more important, deeper secrets than the one he’s about reveal. And he’s pretty sure the desire is driven more by a faint sense of embarrassment than anything else.

“When I was -- ah -- before, you know. When no one could really know I was alive.” He glances at Curtis, who folds his arms across his chest and nods. “If Karen needed to get a hold of me, she’d put this pot of flowers out on her windowsill, and I’d know to call her.”

“Whose idea was that? The flowers, the windowsill?”

“Mine.”

Curtis nods slowly.

“Why not a burner phone?”

Frank shrugs.

“Wanted to keep her as safe as I could. Phone’s can still be tracked.” He glances over at Curtis, chews the corner of his lip. “And we, uh, we didn’t exactly, you know, part well when I saw her last. Thought she at least deserved some flowers for not just telling me to go to hell.”

Curtis nods.

He clears his throat, shoves his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels a bit.

“That’s how I let her know I was ok after -- after everything. Left a pot of daffodils and a box of bullets out there for her.”

Curtis snorts a laugh at the word bullets, shakes his head and looks at Frank wryly.

“Of course you did.”

The corner of his mouth lifts in a half smile.

“Yeah, uh. Yeah.” He clears his throat. “So, a few months ago - little bit after I started boxing - I notice the flowers out there on her windowsill.”

“Because you just happened to be walking by her place for no reason,” Curtis says flatly, his lips pressed tightly together in an attempt to keep himself from smiling. “But go on.”

Frank purses his lips and looks away, squints at the far end of the room.

“Well, I told you -- she’d left me a beanie, some coffee.” He looks over at Curtis, then gestures towards Gracie. “Few weeks later, I got Gracie, figured I’d let her know. Took a picture and left it there for her and - .” He lifts his shoulders. “It’s gone back and forth like that a few times now.”

Curtis is quiet for a long moment, looks down at the phone in his hands and then back up at Frank.

“So, Karen gets you and Gracie matching shirts, and you wanna give her a picture of you two wearing them as a thank you.”

Frank nods.

“Why not just say thank you in person, Frank?”

He pushes off from the wall, then crouches down to pet Gracie, running his hands over the softness of her fur as he turns the question over in head.

“Because from where I’m standing,” Curtis says, ducking his head down to catch Frank’s eye, “you look like a guy who isn’t living his life like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop any more. You have a dog, you have hobbies, you have a whole two friends that you see on a regular basis. So what’s stopping you from seeing Karen?”  

He takes a deep breath and stands up, rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet, scrubs his hand across the stubble on his chin.

“Karen gave me this picture of her -- it was the, uh, the second thing she left me.” He tries and fails not to smile as he thinks of it. He’s kept it hidden between the pages of a used copy of In Cold Blood, but has taken it out and looked at it so many times that the edges of the pages have become worn down and bent from the frequency. “It’s nothing special -- I mean, uh, it’s - it’s her standing in front of a Krav Maga gym, probably right before she went in. And she’s wearing this beanie I left her, just this old crappy black beanie that I used to wrap the picture of Gracie in that I left her...and she’s smiling at the camera.” He looks over at Curtis. “And she just looks happy, you know? Just, just fucking bea - .” He stops abruptly and shuffles his feet, refuses to look at Curtis. “Anyway, she looked bright and happy and like...like life was going well for her.”

He licks his lips and looks down at his hands, twists his fingers around one another.

“And yeah, it makes sense that she would, you know? I mean, of course. Yeah...yeah, of course.” He glances over at Curtis, who just nods, makes a motion for him to keep going. “So, you know -- do I really need to drop all my shit back into her life just when she got out of it? I mean, all my... all my shit from before -- Kandahar, Schoonover, Rawlins, that shit -- that shit had an end, Curt. That shit was gonna end one way or another. But this shit…” He makes a vague gesture towards himself, towards the deeds that can’t be undone, a past that can’t be unseen. He shakes his head. “There’s not really an end to it. There’s just dealing with it.

“And you think Karen wouldn’t want to deal with it.”

He shakes his head.

“Nah, she would. I know she would. She’s - she’s all heart.” He chuckles a bit at the words, though he knows it’s only an inside joke with himself, though it sets off a burning in his veins that he can’t ignore. “She would deal with it. I just don’t know if she should have to.”

Curtis reaches a hand out towards Frank.

“And I don’t know that you should be the one to make that decision for her, Frank.”

He nods, is quiet for a long moment before he starts speaking again, his voice low and uncertain.

“Me and Karen -- it’s not like me and you. You knew me -- knew who I was before all this shit.” He glances over at Curt and worries his lip with his teeth. “Karen -- she, we -- there’s never really been the two of us without the war, my war. Without all my shit, without my mission. So what am I to her now -- now that she doesn’t need to help me with that?”

Curtis shakes his head forcefully.

“Karen didn’t care about your mission, you asshole. She cared about you. Cares about you still, from everything I can see.” He blows out an exasperated breath and throws his hands up in the air, begins to pace in front of him. “The beanie and the coffee, Frank, what are those for? Sure as hell isn’t your mission. They’re because you spend half your life wearing one and you drink more black coffee than anyone else on this planet. You put yourself through hell making sure Lewis didn’t hurt her, so she starts going to a gym to let you know she can take care of herself, but she wears your beanie so that you know she’s still thinking of you.” He stops pacing and folds his arms in front of him. “Jesus, Frank, she cares about you. Is that really so hard to believe?”

Frank licks his lips and looks down, lifts his shoulders in a small shrug but doesn’t say anything. Curtis takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. When he starts speaking again, his voice is softer.

“Maybe you’re right, Frank.” He steps away from the wall, turns and faces Frank. “Maybe Karen doesn’t know who you were, maybe she can’t know everything that you’ve ever done.” He unfolds his arms, spreads them out in front of him. “But maybe she knows who you might be -- who you could be. Maybe she could help you figure it out.” He pauses, waits for Frank to look up and meet his gaze. “Don’t you think you both deserve to at least try?”

He wakes up the next day with Curtis’ words reverberating in his mind.

He runs his hands through his hair, then laces his fingers behind the back of his head and looks up at the ceiling like it’ll give him some kind of answer he’s looking for.

When it doesn’t, he just sighs and runs his hands through his hair a few times in frustration before he gets out of bed and walks out to the bookshelf in the living room, Gracie padding softly behind him.

His eyes immediately drop to where In Cold Blood is tucked away, on the middle of the second from the bottom shelf like it’s some small, forgotten book rather than the one he goes to most often. He forces himself to look away from it, steadies his fingers which are twitching with want of it. He lets his eyes drift instead across the spines of the books in front of him, most old and battered, bought from the used bookstore around the corner.

His eyes land on the first book he ever bought, all those months ago -- a worn, paperback copy of Moby Dick. He’d read it over and over again in those first few months -- when it had just been him, alone in his apartment, with only his own morbid thoughts and memories and nightmares for company.

He takes it out and thumbs through it, page after page filled with his observations and questions in the margins, quotes underlined, words circled.

It’s been nearly three months since he’s picked it up, but reading through his notes still offers both a mirror and a window into him. A window into that moment of his life, into Frank Castle without a family, without a home, without a mission. But it’s a mirror, too, because he can see himself so clearly in those words -- in the melancholy of Ishmael, in the intensity of Ahab.

He finds himself reading through it for nearly an hour, jumping to passages he can almost recite by heart and re-reading his margin notes. It’s only Gracie’s whine from beside him that pulls him away from the spray of the sea, the rocking motion of the Pequod. He looks up from the book and glances over at the clock, shocked to find that it’s nearly 9:00 in the morning.

He sets the book down and pets Gracie before standing up.

“Sorry, Gracie,” he says, scratching her behind the ear before going to the kitchen and filling up her bowl with kibble. He gives her an extra scoop as an apology for being forty-five minutes late giving her breakfast.

He changes into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt while she eats, laces up his tennis shoes as she takes a long drink of water after finishing up her breakfast. He very carefully does not look at Moby Dick as he puts on Gracie’s leash, very forcefully does not think about it as he and Gracie go for their morning run.

It’s only a couple hours later, after he’s showered and changed, after he’s made lunch and eaten it and read The Bulletin from front to back, that he picks it up again.

There’s so much of him in it. In the way the book seems to crawl into his heart and reflect it back at him, in the way that he’s written so much of himself into -- his anguish and anger and fear scribbled as notes in the margins, his own arrogance and shortcomings underlined in black ink on the pages.

It’s not a perfect portrait of him. There’s not enough of the man he was, before -- there’s little of Frank, the marine, even less of Frank, the family man. Still, he finds a version of himself in it, the version of him that comes after.

After his life fell apart. After there was nothing left but vengeance. After there was nothing left, not even vengeance.

So much of him is in that book, laid bare. It’s terrifying in its realness, in its rawness, in its honesty.

It’s that last word that juts up against Curtis’ question in his mind, against his memories of Karen -- her talking about his honesty in the shitty lighting of a rundown diner, her asking him where it all ends as she’s lit by the lights of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge.

So before he loses his nerve completely, he walks across the room with the book in hand. Grabs the photo of him and Gracie dressed in their matching shirt and bandana and tucks it carefully within the pages of the book, grabs his keys and calls Gracie to his side as he walks determinedly out of his apartment and down to his truck.

He keeps one hand on Gracie the entire ride over to Karen’s, the feel of her fur and the dampness of her tongue as she gives his hand a doggie kiss every now and again helping to keep him focused, helping to keep his truck driving in the direction of her apartment.

He stops a couple streets over and parks his car, walks slowly over to her apartment with the book in one hand, Gracie’s leash in the other. He loops the end of her leash around a stop sign pole and tells her to sit, then jogs over to the ladder and scales it easily.

He breathes out sharply once, then reaches over and drops the book with the photo tucked in its pages onto the ledge. As nervous as he is to lay himself out so bare, so clearly before her, there’s also a certain kind of relief at doing it so many steps removed from her. At dropping off a part of himself without ever having to see the moment when she chooses to take another step towards him, or else chooses to recoil away from him forever.

He tells himself that it’s better to do it this way, that it’s practical instead of cowardly. He repeats it over and over again as he walks back to his truck, as he heads out of the city to David’s house. By the time he gets back to his apartment later that afternoon, he almost believes it.

#kastle #kastleff #frank castle #karen page #curtis hoyle #my fic #fic: loss like the sharp edges of a knife

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Can u write a mini fic about what happens when lightning goes through the rs haunted house for the first time? (With fin and holly plz) Oki thx

Based on this headcanon.

“Stickers, aren’t you supposed to be a part of this? Why are you up here?” Sally was confused and tired of yelling instructions at the guests.

“We put all this work into it, I figure I might as well see if it’s any good.” he shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”

Sally rolled her eyes at him, but let him pass. “Remember, no touching.”

Lightning entered the front door and was immediately greeted by a costumed Mater, sitting in a darkened room full of fog.

“Abandon all hope ye who - oh hey McQueen!” Mater seemed surprised to see his best friend.

“Mater, aren’t you supposed to be in character?” Lightning laughed.

“Oh!” Mater remembered his role and resumed his vampiric stature, talking awkwardly through his fangs. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here! Beware the horrors, beware the nightmares!”

Lightning was thoroughly amused, and started to move on to the next room. He took one last look at Mater to see him following closely behind. While he was distracted, Mater pulled a switch and several rubber spiders dropped from strings in the ceiling.

“Whoa!” Lightning had forgot about that part. He shook them off, recollected himself, and entered the next room.

Immediately he was immersed in a war movie. There were explosions and gunshots in constant cacophony. The strobe lights were disorienting. Finally Lightning saw Sarge, covered in gore, crawling toward him. An extra loud boom sounded from behind Lightning and something, he couldn’t tell what, shot straight at the veteran. This angered the undead. 

“You!” Sarge shouted. “You think you can defeat me?”

This is fake. This is all fake. These guys are just really good actors. Lightning told himself. Still, the Jeep was advancing toward him quickly, angrily. It put the racer on edge. All it took was one lunge and Lightning rushed into the next room.

This room was peaceful, the only sound was a music box playing in the far corner of the room, a corner so dark he couldn’t see. He stayed on the lit path as he slowly, carefully made his way across the space. 

This ain’t so bad. He felt like he was in a child’s play room. But then the lights all went out and the music slowed to a stop. Lightning could hear himself breathing, and a slight breeze made him shiver.

The music returned and sped up as a spotlight appeared out of nowhere. Red’s giant, clown-adorned face was mere inches from Lightning’s front fender.

“Ack!” he let out an audible sound of surprise.

Red slowly grinned and continued to stare at Lightning with wide, unblinking eyes. It was extremely uncomfortable. Lightning nervously laughed as he began to move towards the next door. Red followed him, never making a sound, never straying more than a foot away. Lightning hurriedly entered the next room.

Cozy. Lizzie was rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, looking at a book in front of her.

“Would you like to hear a story, my dear?” she asked, gazing his way.

Lightning couldn’t help but smile at the kind, old woman she was able to play so perfectly. She smiled back at him and started in on a bed time story. Lightning was by then relaxed enough, he wouldn’t have minded taking a snooze.

“Once upon a time in a land far out west, there lived a herd of tractors, peacefully roaming where - “

The fire promptly went out and Lightning felt the cold chill of fog rising around him. A light flashed brightly a couple times, immediately followed by a roaring clap of thunder that rolled into oblivion. Lizzie cackled as the fire rekindled itself with a fury so that it was bigger than before. In the span of about three seconds, she’d moved from the chair, somehow obtained a witch’s hat, and was eagerly moving towards Lightning.

“You look like what I’ve been missing!” she said, her enthusiastic voice sounding enough like an actual witch she didn’t need to try and change it. “What if I just take a small piece and add it to my brew? What do you think, dear? A headlight? A wheel?”

She lunged at him, and he did his level best to get out of the way in time. On his way out, he felt a familiar slap on his rear bumper, followed by more cackling and frustrated Italian ranting somewhere behind a wall.

The next room was bright and colorful, with uplifting music playing in the background. It felt like he’d driven right into a festival. Flo and Ramone approached him in full Day of the Dead makeup. Only Ramone could come up with art this convincing.

“Welcome, sugar.” Flo said almost as if they weren’t in a haunted house at all. “Why don’t you come join us?”

“There’s plenty of room for everyone, man.” Ramone said in a slightly less relaxed tone. “We can be family forever here.”

“Come on, sweetie.” Flo added, driving closer, and sounding even more desperate.

Lightning saw where this was going. He took liberty to leave before it got too intense. After his interaction with Lizzie, he wasn’t so sure they wouldn’t actually pull him ‘to the other side’. He’d never heard Ramone or Flo yell or scream before that night, and he didn’t intend on hearing it again. 

He knew he had reached the end when he entered the room he normally played a part in. But he figured it would be empty, and it most certainly was not empty. It was filled with old medical equipment that looked more like torture devices than anything else. Sitting in the middle of the cold room, behind the jail-room bars was Finn. What was he doing here? Mater hadn’t said anything about having visitors.

Finn looked half dead, prosthetic parts and gore all over him. As Lightning looked around, Finn cracked his eyes opened and looked at him. Then he started to panic.

“Mate, you’ve got to help.” Finn croaked. “You’ve got to - AARRRRGGG!”

Bands of electricity shot down some wires that appeared to electrocute him. It was so convincing, Lightning wasn’t sure it was fake. Then, an innocent but loud laugh came from the rafters and Holley appeared, floating down to the ground with the help of her rocket boosters. Finn panicked and started to struggle, screaming for help as Holley calmly administered more shocks with a smile.

It was pretty disturbing, he’d admit. Having seen all he wanted, he made his way to the exit, but before he could move more than a few inches, arcs of electricity appeared in the air in front of him, and Holley started manically laughing. 

“Nope!” Lightning exclaimed as the arcs disappeared. He gunned it for the exit, leaving Finn’s tortured screams behind him.

#lightning mcqueen #sally carrera #mater #sarge #red #lizzie #flo #ramone #finn mcmissile #holley shiftwell #halloween in radiator springs

[warriorqueen1991]

Bad At Love (pt. 1)

Characters: Bruce x Katherine (oc)

Warnings: violence, blood, language, mentions of torture

Notes: not sure ware this came from but *shrugs* let me know if you guys want me to continue it or not. Now obviously if you’ve seen Guns For Hire you’ll know this is definitely an au given the events of the movie.

For all of you who don’t know Bruce is Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character in Guns For Hire, he’s an assassin who fancies knives, acid and torture ;)

————————————————————-

The loud thwack of a fist hitting Bruce’s jaw echoed throughout the empty warehouse. Groaning he rolled his head forward to spit a mouthful of blood on the concrete by his boots.

Letting out a wheezing laugh, his bloody teeth gleaming in the dull light he smiled up at the woman before him.

“Oh Kitty Kat…I’ve missed you”

The woman’s beautiful face twisted in anger before she pulled back slamming her fist against his face with a loud crunch.

“Fuck!!” he roared, the ropes around his wrists behind the chair cut into his skin as a stream of blood and saliva dripped from his bruised mouth.

Leaning over he let out a rough cough, wincing as another smile spread across his swelling skin.

“Baby… we both know I’m better at this” he chuckled leering at her with his piercing eyes.

She glared at him, her mouth pulled back in a vicious snarl as she kicked his chair over straddling his chest so she could grip his shirt.

“I fucking gave you everything, and…and you used me, made me do horrible things…you destroyed my life”. She was screaming at him, her long hair hanging down onto his chest.

He licked his lip with a wicked smile “You were magnificent baby, those crackpot doctors of yours are full of shit”. He leaned his head back with an almost soft smile “fire and gasoline baby…we lit the city on fire”.

She closed her eyes shaking her head “no, you…you tricked me” she jabbed her finger at him, her whole body shaking.

“You made me think you…you cared for me, that you understood”

He shifted his body with a slight wince before his smile returned “what makes you think I don’t?”

She growled slapping him hard across the face “don’t try to pull that shit on me…not on me!!… your whole ‘play dumb’ routine makes me fucking sick…you’re a manipulative bastard”.

He huffed, biting his lip with a breathy laugh “what did they do to you?” she stared down at him in rage “the only one who did anything to me Bruce was you”.

His smile slowly faded as he cocked his head at her “Katherine”.

She looked at him with a deep frown as he grunted, moving his body to try and get comfortable. “You remember when you told me about your baby sister?” she rolled her lips as tears welled up in her eyes with a nodded.

He sighed “I told you that it wasn’t your fault, that you couldn’t change who you are…I meant every word”.

She grimaced “stop pretending you care, we both know you’re not capable”. He growled “I don’t need to justify myself to you, I made you feel powerful…that’s what fucking matters”. He thrashed against his binds “you need me, to make you feel…alive” he rasped licking his teeth.

“I don’t need you” Katherine hissed getting to her feet as she dragged his chair upright. Jerking forward as the chair’s legs hit the concrete, Bruce glared at her as she circled around him.

“Then untie me”

She stopped “so you can kill me?”

He laughed “why the hell would I do that?”

She walked around to face him “why wouldn’t you?”

He smiled, his whole body seemed to vibrate with excitement “because you complete me, everyday you were at that fucking place it was like I could feel you…like a phantom limb”.

She furrowed her brow “you tortured me!” he rolled his eyes “that wasn’t torture darlin…I was letting you see me… for who I was, for who I am… like you…no secrets remember?”.

“You made me feel crazy”

He chuckled deeply “you’re not crazy baby, neither of us are”.

She shook her head “I…I can’t do this again, it feels like a giant nightmare”. He nodded “look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t fucking miss it”.

She looked at him before dropping her gaze “I’m not playing this game Bruce”.

“Then why am I here?”

Pulling his large knife from the back of her pants she eyed him with a sad smile.

“Closure”.

He gave her a manic grin bouncing his legs in excitement “look at you…fucking beautiful”.

She was trembling as she moved in behind him, wrapping her arm around his neck to press his knife firmly against his throat. She was breathing heavy, her chest brushing against him slightly as he leaned his head to the side.

His eyes drifting closed “do it baby, set yourself free”. She pressed the cool blade into his skin sending a drop of blood running down his neck. He let out a breathy moan “do it and release yourself…”.

She pressed her forehead against the side of his face with a sob “I…I cant”.

The knife fell from her hand clattering to the concrete as she broke down, Bruce sighed nuzzling his head against hers “you were so close baby” he purred.

“I’m so proud of you”

She grimaced baring her teeth “I…I should kill you…”

Running his nose down the her cheek he smiled against her neck “but you don’t want to?”

Laving her neck with bloody open mouthed kisses he groaned “you missed me”.

Her eyes drifted shut, Bruce had been the only person who ever made her feel normal.

Worthy.

Loved?

He hurt her on more than one occasion, told her things about himself he claimed only she knew. Made her do things she could never forgive herself for.

He was poison.

She grasped the side of his face digging her nails into his tan skin with a hiss. Growling against her flesh he lifted his head up to her lips just resting his against hers.

“We belong together”

Katherine bit her trembling lip as she rubbed her hand up his face caressing his hair.

“I hate you so much” she choked.

His eyes were closed as she pressed her lips against his, sliding her tongue inside his mouth. He smiled as his mouth worked with hers, their tongues tangling with one another with noisy appreciation. The taste of blood in his mouth only seemed to encourage her as she leaned over him, pressing her hand against his throat.

Bruce let out a deep groan as she pulled away with a look of defeat, sliding to the floor at his side she slowly laid her head on his lap. Her bloodshot eyes falling on his knife, her still shaking hand reaching out to grab its handle.

Dragging the blade across the concrete, she rubbed her head against his thigh as more tears fell down her face. Bruce watched her as she eyed the shimmering blade with contempt her eyes clenching shut as she quickly reached behind him to slice through the rope.

Pulling his arms to his lap, he rubbed his bracelet covered wrist as he got to his feet.

Katherine remained on the floor her eyes still closed as she dropped his knife back to the floor. He smirked crouching down in front of her, grasping her chin between his fingers. Her eyes fluttering open “just kill me…please” she sighed.

Giving her a soft smile he rose to his full height holding out his hand to help her to her feet.

She looked at him in confusion “why?”

Pulling her to him he cradled her head with his right hand as he rubbed her back.

“Because we’re two halves of the same whole, not even god himself could keep us apart”.

She was still crying, she tried so hard to end this toxic relationship between the two of them. But try as she might, she couldn’t stop herself from caring.

She loved the madman wrapped around her.

More than she could ever love herself.

“I will kill you!”

He smiled, rocking her back and forth as he kissed her hair “I wouldn’t have it any other way my love”.

————————————————————-

☆TAG LIST☆

@noodlecupcakes @zoesmama2024 @ashzombie13 @artemisxeros @ride-with-negan @fotos-del-alma @angelofthenite @star017 @sodanova @thamberlina @negans-girl @neganswinchesters @magikat409 @roguesandsaviors @karlbourbonismyhero @niababee21 @ask-kakashihatake @staceyruby @babygirl-pouting7 @buckybarnessmile @epidemicmonster @musicistobeheard-blog @jeffreynegan

#jdm #jdm fanfiction #jdm fic #jeffrey dean morgan rarechar #jeffrey dean morgan smut #jeffrey dean morgan #jdm fluff #jeffrey dean morgan fluff #guns for hire au #guns for hire #bruce #bruce guns for hire #bruce x reader #bruce x oc #bruce x Katherine #assassin au #assassin fic #my fic #bad at love

[waywardmoeyy]

Chained (Part 2)

Sam x Reader 

Word Count: 1555

Warnings: flashbacks/nightmares, mental breakdown, angst, violence.

**Sorry this one is a little… different. I had a bit of a rough day emotionally and this is what came out. It’s not really what I was planning, but I just went with it... so I apologize.

Chained Master List

Dean nodded towards you, giving you he “go” to round the corner. Your machete was clenched tightly in your right hand as you swung around the decrepit concrete building, meeting up with half a dozen large vamps. The one in the middle was slight, but very tall. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, tickling his elbows. The monster grinned as you froze before them.

“Hello, my dear,” the monster cackled. You winced at his words as Dean took his place beside you, followed by Sam.

Sam shouted as another vampire tackled him from behind. You spun around to see at least a dozen more sprinting towards you and the boys. Before you could think, you were running at the front pack, machete straight out in front of you. Two massive vamps stomped towards you causing you to slow your pace. Each of them could eat you for breakfast, literally.

You lunged at the first one, slamming yourself into his arm causing him to lose his balance. “Timber!” you joked as your blade met his neck. The second vamp caught you by surprise, lifting you with one arm and slamming you to the damp concrete.

“Save this one for the collection.” The slim vampire ordered his thug. The giant lifted you into his arms and followed his master.

“Sam…” you muttered as your consciousness drifted away.

The smell of spice and soap filled your senses as you came to. Your head lay against a warm, solid mass clad in what felt like a cotton tee. You slowly opened your eye to see Sam glimpsing down at you.

“Welcome back, beautiful,” he whispered, leaning down and kissing your forehead. Dark purple rings encircled his eyes and his lower lip was split. His oily hair stuck to the side of his face. But he still looked pretty damn dapper.

You cleared your throat. “Hey.” Cough. “Water,” you begged. Sam turned to the table beside him, grabbed the glass of water, and handed it to you. You sipped it and sighed. “How long have I been out?”

“Several hours. You needed your rest. Gave us a bit of a scare, though. One minute you were up, the next you were out cold,” Sam explained. He cupped your cheek in his hand and smiled.

You brow furrowed. “You’ve been sitting here for several hours?”

Sam nodded and squirmed under you. “Yeah. I lost feeling in my legs at least and hour ago, and I really need to pee,” he joked. His tone was light, given what had transpired over the last week.

You slowly sat up, propping yourself on your hands, and shimmied off Sam’s lap. He stood and made a break for the bathroom. You chuckled as you watched him do his “potty dance” to through the doorway.

Once Sam was gone, the emptiness of the room consumed you. The four walls felt like they were closing in, wall photos of you and the boys growing and shifting in your blurred vision. You clutched the covers on your bed, shrinking into the fluffy comfort. I’m home, I’m safe. You repeated the mantra in your head. It was the only thing keeping you sane at the moment.

“Hey, you.” You jumped as Dean entered your bedroom. The room shot back to normal. “It’s good to see you awake.” Dean parked himself beside you on your bed, leaning in to hug you. You winced at the contact, closing your eyes and imagining Sam instead, wrapping his safety net around you.

“Yeah, glad to be back.” That was a lie. Your body ached. “You got any Ibuprofen? Aspirin? Something? I’ve got a headache the size of Siberia,” you moaned. It was true. Your neck had been the personal drinking fountain for vamps for four days or so. Ugh. Not something to think about right now.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.” Dean shot up from your bed and headed down the hall.

Closing your eyes, you leaned against the headboard and shivered. The tension from being in that cell never left, but chained itself to you like a parasite. It had been the most terrifying thing to happen to you in a while.

You slipped out from under your covers and sauntered to the kitchen. Biting your lip, you reached above the fridge, on your tip toes, and grabbed the brother’s “hidden” bottle of whiskey. Then, you shuffled back into you room.

A sigh of relief left you as you studied your room. Neither of the boys were there, leaving you completely alone to enjoy yourself. You grabbed the bottle of aspirin Dean left on your beside table. After taking two pills with a swig of the whiskey, you flipped on the TV and searched through the channels. You stopped as you found one of your favorite movies, Underworld. You took another swig as you settled back into the plush comfort of your bed. A few days of good movies and whiskey should do the trick.

You lurched up against the backboard as a scream erupted from your TV. You eyes widened as the vampires fangs extended. Shutting your eyes, you dropped the whiskey to the floor, shattering the bottle. The clamor echoed down the hall.

“Y/N!” Sam shouted as he pounded down the hall. He rounded the corner into your doorway, “Y/N, what happened—“

You began to sob uncontrollably, your shaky hands holding your tear-soaked face. Your knees met your chest as you rocked back and forth. “No, no, no.”

“Y/N, baby.” Sam reached for you.

He grunted as your fist met his jaw. “No!” you shrieked. Sam plunged to the floor, holding his jaw.

Struggling to ignore the pain, Sam shot back up to your side and encased you in his muscular arms. “Shhh. It’s okay.” Sam repeated, holding you close. You wanted to believe him, you really did, but the fact was you had completely lost your marbles. Whatever the vampire did, whatever venom he released into your bloodstream was making you a nervous wreck. Vamps were an easy kill, but this was a new kind of vampire. A larger, stronger pack. Driven by something.

“Sam!” You wiggled from his grasp. “Sam! The vamps-“ Tears continued to stream down your face as you struggled for words. “They are hunting us! They are hunting the hunters, wiping us out.” The realization kick started your entire body. Standing from the bed, you started to pace back and forth in front of Sam. The hunter stared at you, wide-eyed.

“Y/N, slow down. Please. You’re starting to scare me,” Sam breathed. His breaths shuttered as his eyes flicked back and forth, following you as you continued to pace.

Guilt consumed you as you watched Sam struggle to find himself. He was overrun with concern and confusion. You had been kidnapped by vampires, tortured and fed on for four days, and now you were acting like someone had just shaken you like a maraca.

Sam grabbed you and pulled you onto his lap, holding you still. “Baby, please. Just stop. Just breathe,” he begged. Fear swirled in his hazel eyes as he watched the woman he loved break down. He rocked you against his chest. “There you go. Just breathe.”

You nestled your face in his neck. “Thank you,” you whispered as exhaustion took over.

Sam gulped down another shot of whiskey and slammed the glass onto the map room table. The younger Winchester ran his thick fingers through his freshly washed hair and sighed, thinking back to your meltdown a few hours before. He didn’t blame you. He had been in a similar situation several times. He just wished it was him going through it and not the love of his life.

“How’s she doin’?” Dean asked as he dropped into a chair across from Sam.

Sam contemplated lying to his older brother, but Dean would probably see right through him. He let out a sharp breath. “Not good, Dean. She’s having nightmares, flashbacks. Hell, one of her favorite movies triggered a major freak out. She’s sleeping now, but I have no idea what’s going to happen when she wakes up. It’s almost like a small part of her is still chained in that room.” Sam tilted his head as a thought crossed his mind as he remembered your rant. They are hunting the hunters.

Dean cocked his head as he studied his troubled sibling. “Dude, I’m so sorry. I’m sure she will get better as time goes on.” He slapped a hand onto Sam’s shoulder.

“Dean, there was something she said to me when she was having her episode. Something worth looking into.” He blinked hard as he tried to get the vision of you manically pacing out of his mind. “She said that she thought the vamps were hunting hunters. What if that’s why Harrison was there? A few of those guys looked familiar. I mean, what if Y/N is right?”

Dean rested his chin on his fist. “But why? Vamps have been around for centuries and only take what they need, maybe a little extra. But that was a pretty big nest…” Dean scratched his head. “I’ll look into it. Go check on Y/N.” Dean joked.

Sam raised himself from the table, nodding at his brother. He braced himself for what he might be walking into.

Forever Tag List

@pizzarollpatrol, @barbedwireandbubblegum, @drawingheartz

Chained Tags:

@the-bottom-of-the-abyss, @neverenough24, @roseangel013bf @aquabrie 

#sam x reader #sam and reader #sam winchester #sam winchester x reader #sam x y/n #sam winchester and reader #sam winchester angst #angst #dean winchester

[burndownthehousetonight]

((This ain’t a full RP like most of these, but more an RP that’s inevitable going to be longer that I’m just cutting up in the name of keeping things concise, so keep an eye out for more additions @tinyredartist and I make!))

Where had these guys taken Aria, anyways? It wasn't a BAD restaurant, it didn't look like, but it seemed like such an oddly... bland choice. It didn't look like they were a bad place, just not really the ritz, either. A perfectly middle of the road restaurant in her own city. It was a surprise, just not really the best surprise she'd ever gotten.

Don't go flagging down that benz Don't kiss that garnet cartier

It seemed like that night, they had some kind of live singer there. It was no wonder that it was these two that had some kind of surprise for Aria. The only accompaniment was guitar and keyboard, so their missing keyboard player must have been playing here that night. And it clearly wasn't a vanity gift just for his sake, either...

Those red flags are dyed with blood from guys who didn't get away

...because that singing voice was clearly Manic.

As bland and quiet as it was, this place might as well have been the Ritz for the hedgehog. She rarely ate out because she didn’t have time, so this was already a treat. And the fact that the boys had remembered her birthday gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside. In fact, she even forgot. Her ears perked at the keyboard, the trio having walked in during a lyrical break, so she didn’t hear the singer at first.

But she recognized his sound.

She stood on tiptoes, trying to see over a partition if that was Manic. When she heard the green hedgehog’s singing, she squealed quietly. “I didn’t know Manic was playing a show in town! You guys this is the best!!” She had been texting back and forth with the green hedgehog for a while, but he never seemed to be in town on her days off.

They were lead to a table, front and center, but not too close to the amps. The perfect spot to watch. Manic sat on a small stage, clearly not designed with musicians in mind but set up well nonetheless. Detour, the group's keyboardist, nudged Manic slightly when he saw Aria enter. Manic was sitting down guitar in hand, performing some more down-tempo songs for a more down-tempo crowd. Manic looked up at the nudge, and smiled at Aria without breaking up the set. Surprisingly, he was playing unplugged for once. I've already died for you, no, no one's got a clue Pick me up at Shana's Tavern and we'll shift to overdrive You can find our stolen kisses hidden underneath my "grave" They can pry it from our corpses when we burn alive One of the songs off of the album he was selling at Dasvidania, but adjusted for the smaller instrument set. Mellow with a slight reggae vibe, it had a nice rhythm to it. It seemed she'd just arrived a short while after the show started, so she got to hear him cycle through all kind of style experiments and lyrical stories. Aria smiled back, clearly content with the surprise and the music choice. The relaxed music fit the vibe of the venue, the music choices simpler than what a full set would be, yet fitting.

She brought out her sketchbook and did a few rough sketches of Manic and Detour. Art made her happy and the lights were set up perfectly to get good detail from her seat. The sketches were influences by the music and when a particular favorite would come up, she would stop drawing to devote all her attention to listening. "Tell me all about your violent history 'Bout your scars and all your little fights" Original songs and covers were stitched throughout the set so the general moods would flow well together. No angsty songs leading directly into peppy songs, although Manic would have loved to do something like that just to watch the audience reactions. The final song of the set was a cover of a fairly popular soul song at the moment, even though it barely got much pop radio play. A solid choice. Take me to the marble gardens Gonna have to beg your pardon But I can't wait another night" Once the songs were over (far too soon for Manic's tastes) he disappeared into the back of the building with Detour and their instruments. Barely a minute later, they popped up behind the three sitting at Aria's table. "Heeeey, dude, happy birthday!" Manic said, giving her a friendly slap on the back. "Sorry I didn't say anything, but these guys said not to talk." He gave an exaggerated pout at the bat specifically. The two exchanged equally sassy glares for a moment, before laughing off the joking tension as usual. The audience clapped and cheered for the two as they walked off stage after their set. The tip jar Detour had put up filled quickly and was taken by a waiter to the backroom as well, added into the money from the gig itself.

Manic would be greeted with a hug, Aria's tail wagging. “Thank you thank you thank you! This was an awesome surprise!”

Dante, Detour and Drench would all receive hugs and a thanks from the small hedgie. She felt so loved and wanted. It was nice. "Wait, wait, this was a surprise?" Manic clearly didn't know. Drench just gave a toothy smile in response to that comment, blushing and getting embarrassed from the sudden hug. "You're welcome," Detour said, amused from seeing his crocodile bandmate looking uncharacteristically bashful. "But Manic pulled all the strings on this, he should get the credit." "Pulled the-? I just got the first open gig here I could get, I didn't know till cheetah bungy here told me offstage!" Manic pushed his quills back. "Ah, crap, I didn't get you a gift!" "You'll be fine," Danté assured him while receiving another hug from Aria. "She clearly doesn't care that much." Manic still felt a little guilty, but was temporarily distracted by a small warp activating near the entrance of the restaurant. This would have been terrifying to him most days, but from what Aria said, this was a completely normal thing for Scourge to do. As melodramatic and frivolous as it was. Aria was distracted by the band members, thanking the trio and Manic multiple times. She was blushy and happy, perfectly content. The waitress brought them bread and the band sat down with the birthday girl, leaving the two open chairs.

Scourge looked around for them from his portal, spotting Manic and waving. He made his way over, smiling. “Hey Manic. Haven’t seen you in a while… Oh hey guys. And hello birthday girl!!” Scourge briefly acknowledged the band before picking up Aria from behind in a bear hug. She whined and squealed, almost dropping her bread

“Scourge!!! I almost dropped my food!” She pouted, clearly still pleased with the affection. The band members either greeted Scourge with a nod or a wave of some kind. "Hey, mate," Manic greeted. He was going time to get used to how sociable Scourge was. His presence didn't even seem to give off too much of an edge, but today wasn't Scourge's birthday. Aria was the girl of the day, not that she had much competition at this table. And he had to come up with something personal, or at least that he thought of! Manic didn't touch the bread, still thinking as the five spoke between themselves. What did he have on hand? All his normal CDs and musical gubbins in his car, but nothing that interesting. A song...? Nah, he couldn't even write custom lyrics worth singing, and he wasn't giving a half-finished middle-school tier poem as a gift. But he didn't have anything else in his van! His van... "Uh, guys, how good's the food here, anyways?" Danté wiggled his fingers and shrugged. "It's kind of okay?" "Alright, cause I've got an idea." He pointed at Aria when she wasn't speaking. "You got any plans after this? We could just like, have the three of us pile in my van and drive for an hour, see where we end up. They could all come along too, if they ain't busy. Come on, a bland meal ain't exciting!" Scourge joined in on the bands conversation, mostly teasing the group and Aria. Around these people he wasn’t a criminal. Around these people he was a friend. An older brother figure. It was relaxing.

Aria herself was thriving in the attention. The boys knew she needed the night off, seeing as she hadn’t had a day off in two weeks. The hedgie turned to look at Manic as he spoke, and tilted her head to think. “I don’t think I’m busy… But yeah that sounds awesome!! Let’s do it!”

The boys in the band unfortunately declined. “Not that we wouldn’t love to celebrate with you, but we have a flight out east for my sisters wedding tomorrow.” Dante explained, getting up and throwing a tip for the waitress on the table.

“See you all when we get back?” The cheetah asked, as Aria gave them all hugs again. "Yeah, gimme a call when you wanna jam again!" He gave Dante and Detour their usual fist bumps, and Dante his usual high five. It was a bit disappointing to only be traveling with the three people, but it was three people who cared about one another. They didn't waste too long getting to Manic's van. It wasn't the cleanest, but it was just some litter. Nothing compared to the kinds of messes Aria had doubtless needed to clean before. Aria took front passenger seat, of course, with Manic taking the wheel and Scourge sitting behind Aria. "Alright, let's get this mess on the road! Manic revved the engine, and whatever old garage rock CD he was listening to came right back on as the van sped and trundled away from the restaurant. "Alright, so what kind of adventure are y'all in the mood for?" Manic asked, turning to Aria more directly. "You wanna roam around the city and see what comes up, or you just wanna get away from here?" Aria lacked her usual hesitation to get into a car and climbed in happily, turning up the music a bit. The beat of this song was good, as Aria's foot tapped to the music. The car drove off and Aria barely thought about her answer. "Out of the city,” she decided, settling in for the long drive ahead. Turning to Manic, she smiled.

“Thanks for this Manic. It means a lot… This is the nicest birthday I’ve had in a long time.” Her smile was a little sad, but it was covered up quickly.

Scourge agreed and leaned back in his seat inspecting the vans contents. The state of the interior was clean of course but Scourge had a sneaking suspicion that Manic had spent many nights here. He decided not to ask. It was Aria's birthday and he didn’t want to ruin it. "Hey, no problem, you should celebrate!" He was getting into the groove as well while the three turned onto some highway interchange. He wouldn't drive all the way out here without getting good driving music, after all. Dated and explicitly 90s, but still good music. Judging by the ways Manic tapped his feet and fingers to the beat, he must have listened to these songs many times. Manic wasted no time getting into the left lane and speeding up, just barely gracing under the speed limit. There were signs indicating towns that were nearby, and some that seemed much further away. He had no idea what any of these places were, and he wasn't going to find out for many of them. Still, if there was a sign indicating a city that was an hour away, there must have been something there to see. He silently made his choice. "Buckle up, I think we've got a looong ride going." Manic stopped himself short of actually singing along to some of the music. He didn't wanna annoy them, this was Aria's day out! But instead of Aria, his attention kept drifting to Scourge, who seemed to be checking out the back of the van. All that was back there now was his guitar and some miscellaneous garbage. A travel pillow, some old jacket, what looked like spare drumsticks, and some loose litter. It looked like he was thinking something... but kept his trap shut. If he had any questions, he could just ask them. And if he had any sass, he could drive himself back. Aria herself was getting into the groove, happily bouncing a little in her seat. She wasn’t as on beat as Manic was, but then again with all the driving Manic must have done, he knew the songs better. The red hedgie glanced at passing signs, super excited. Her tail wagged and she relaxed in the passengers seat. She barely recognized city names, perking up suddenly as they drove past a richly forested area. "Oh I know which way we’re going! I used to live there!”

She was pointing to a wide expanse of undeveloped land, not a house in sight. Judging by the sign they passed, the land was protected. There’s no way she could have lived there… Could she?

Scourges attention was on Manic, a little concerned. When he happened to catch the others eyes he raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he was okay. Before he could get a visual answer, his attention was drawn to Aria, and he leaned over to peek out the window.

“Oh yeah. Guess you did.” Manic just stared. This wasn't a home, this was... what, a park? A preservation area? Whatever it was was guarded, and Manic was curious about just what laid within. He almost wanted to stop and break in, but those guards either meant they were trying to keep people out, or they were trying to keep something in. And committing a felony and getting hurt wasn't generally a good birthday present. Manic slowed down a bit as they drove past, leaning over to stare out at the empty land. "Are you sure this is the right place? Maybe-" Aria seemed certain, though. He could watch thoughts billow, but couldn't tell what a single one was. There weren't any houses here now... maybe it was demolished? It was hard to believe some natural event could take out that much land. "Woah, dude..." He didn't say much, and didn't say it fluently. He tried to keep her happy by avoiding the obvious questions, and instead going to that same happy smarm. "So do you already know what's down this way, or is it still gonna be a surprise?" Manic focused on Aria for a short while. Scourge had definitely caught him peeking, so he kept turning away and saying nothing. Maybe if he acted natural, Scourge would think it was just a casual glance, nothing more. And he didn't want to stir up any drama on a trip for someone else. "Nah, I have no idea what’s down this way. Because of the rapids I wasn’t allowed to come anywhere near here. We should be coming up on the river soon,” she mused. Sighing dreamily at the forest. “I remember my siblings teaching me to climb trees over here so we could watch the cars.”

“The same siblings that pushed you out of said tree?” Scourge asked, amused.

“Well yeah but I got them all back.. Eventually. If we get back early enough, can we go for a walk?” Aria asked, turning around to ask the two for permission. If Manic wanted in, this was the only way. "Dude, it's your birthday!" Manic reassured here. "We can stop right now and walk around, do whatever you want!" They would need to drive a bit further before they could get on roads that lead to anywhere they could park. Maybe a short drive wasn't exactly a road trip, but they could always drive into the night and see what the city nightlife had to offer. Besides, Manic was curious about what was behind these gates. Telling Manic he couldn't go somewhere was a surefire way to make sure he ended up breaking in anyways. The place they found to finally park was just a patch of dirt with a few tire marks. They were the only people parked there, and by just how few treads there were, it didn't seem like many other people visited, either. He stole a few more looks at Scourge through his peripheral vision, making sure he wasn't up to anything. Thankfully not. He couldn't help but not trust him completely yet. "So, how're we getting in here?" "Really? Thanks so much manic!! Don’t worry about getting in, we just have to walk to the gates.” She got out of the car and Scourge did as well, waiting for Manic to join them. When he did, the trio walked over to the guards. Rather than speak, she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a barcode tattooed on the inside of her forearm. The guards scanned it and let her in with the boys.

Before she pulled her sleeve back down, Manic would see how scarred and red the tattoo was. Like it had been done by someone who was not a professional. Or like Aria had struggled during it.

The forest itself was beautiful, lush and green. Untouched by development.

How did she live here? This was wrong. Manic didn't know what this forest was, but it felt wrong. She needed identification tattooed into her skin to enter. It was heavily gaurded, it was a home, it was many things. Whatever this place really was, though, it definitely wasn't a simple lush forest. Either some thing bad was here or something bad happened here, he just knew it. "I've never seen this place before," Manic said, stating the obvious. He kept staring upwards at the tree canopy. It really was incredible, but Manic just knew he had to be on guard from... from what, exactly? Aria certainly wasn't nervous, so he should be fine with just a stroll. Especially if she calls this place her home. So they just kept walking through the rows of trees and local wildflowers. Manic fell behind, just so he could pull Scourge aside. "You get the feeling this place is... off?" The wind that blew through the trees carried smells of flowers and fruits. Like an orchard was nearby. Aria followed the smell.

Scourge looked at the other, a little sad. "Its not …off.. Just scarred. There was a… A very bad thing that happened here a long time ago… And this is the result of it all. Careful where you tread when we get to the trees that have posters on them.”

Scourge's statement was cryptic at best, and Manic couldn’t have understood until they reached an orchard of trees that were native to the area. It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet that off feeling in Manics gut was even more pronounced.

The portraits of all different people. The trees one of a kind. It felt like a sad place. A holy place….

A graveyard. Manic didn't even bother to step forward when they reached the orchard. He was terrified he'd stumbled on something that he shouldn't have. He couldn't take his eyes off of the posters. They were drawn with simple lines and shading, but were astonishingly lifelike. He could make out all the small bumps and curves of their faces, even from a distance. He didn't even want to keep going into these woods, it felt as though he was disgracing... someone. Disgracing someone by intruding into a history he wasn't a part of. But Aria was already walking forward, clearly not with any of the same complaints Manic had. What happened here, and why did Manic feel like this environment was choking him? Was it just his nerves acting up again? He tried to pull back Scourge, visibly shaken by his surroundings. "I feel like I shouldn't be here, dude." He confessed, letting his eyes dart to the side to look at the posters and ground. "Is she gonna be alright here?" Aria patted some trees gently as she navigated roots that stuck up from the ground. She shared quite a few cultural signifiers with the portraits. The portraits all had paper of varying age up until a certain point. Then all the paper was the same kind, the same age. Rips on the bottom of one portrait could be seen on the top of another one. The ages of the people were getting younger too. People killed in their prime, not of old age.

What had killed so many people? And why was Aria so at home here?

Scourge saw the nervousness in Manic's tone and whistled to Aria. "We forgot something in the car. Go on head we’ll catch up!” He called, and Aria walked deeper into the forest.

He turned back to Manic and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Deep breaths okay? Aria will be fine. If you don’t want to go in you don’t have to. It's overwhelming the first couple of times… ”

Another wind though the trees. Cherry blossoms and lavender smells wafting through the air. The scent was calming and soothing. In, out. He focused on calming down for once, but once a bit of anxiety crept through, he wasn't going to calm down completely. He appreciated that Scourge was trying to help him stay calm, but the fact that a Scourge was this understanding was screwing with Manic even more. Who the hell WAS he? Who the hell was Aria? Where the hell had they stumbled into? He stood up after a moment, having let some of his anxious nerves pass by. "Alright... I'm cool. Are you sure it's alright for me to- Well, she let us in, I guess." He faced the path leading up to the cemetary again. If it wasn't so grim, it would have been a lovely place to visit. But a place that clearly must have held many emotions for her on her birthday? Moreover, her not even being bothere by something so haunting and personal? Manic didn't have even one part of the story, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it. There were many, many thoughts going through Manic's head. But if he wanted answers to most of his questions, he was going to need to ask Aria herself. Scourge could only answer a few of Manic's questions. "Who are you?" It came out of nowhere as they started moving into the forest again. "I mean, I've never met a Scourge like you before. So... who are you?" Scourge was taken aback by Manic's outburst, his sudden spring back from an anxious state.

"Who am I? Well that depends on who’s asking. To Aria I’m a good friend. To my people, I am a king who tries hard for a job he wasn’t trained for. To my enemies, I’m a force to be reckoned with. To myself, I’m a mix of all of those and more…. The reason you haven’t met anyone like me, is because of the way this place sits in the vast expansion of the multiverse. Most Scourges are opposites of Sonics. The evil used to balance out the good. In our case. I’m the good used to balance out the evil. So don’t expect me to follow the patterns you’re used to, because I don’t think I could… As for this place, I understand how you feel about it and I wouldn’t worry. Aria is desensitized in a way, sometimes I catch her forgetting not everyone had the tough life she did. She came out of this tragedy a fighter and she will still be one for as long as she can.”

He started walking down the path. “Don’t be afraid of this place. Their deaths may have been sad, but from what Aria told me, the trees as gravestones are sort of meant to make this area better to be in.”

Aria's head popped around the edge of a tree further down the path. “Everything okay, Manic?” It was a lot to take in at once, and a lot to hear. He had so many more questions he wanted to ask Scourge, but he hadn't asked Aria any of the questions he had about her or this place, either. He couldn't focus without feeling like he was leaving something out. So he stopped focusing on asking questions, and decided to start going with the flow. "Yeah, turns out I had the thing with me all along!" Manic shouted back, putting on a small smile. Just big enough to seem natural to Aria, given how he'd reacted before. "Yeah, we're catching up!" He did exactly as Scourge had asked before, tip-toeing through the grounds carefully. He did his best to match Aria's own footsteps through the dirt. He didn't want to step on anything that wasn't supposed to be stepped on. His attention kept shifting back towards Scourge as he walked, but there was too much to focus on for him to keep staring at one person. The serenity of the area was somehow more uncomfortable than a disturbing, gnarled forest may have been. It was like the whole forest was lying about it's intentions. Aria lead them through a clearing. In the center was a cherry blossom tree wrapped up and intertwined with an oak tree that grew crooked. Surrounding those two was a small semicircle of six other trees. Unevenly spaced, they looked like there was room for two more. The portraits on these trees were different. They looked like a family. A group of siblings and their parents. The parents portraits were the only two he would see facing each other, the look shared between them was one of love and devotion.

Scourge guided Manic away quickly. The other would be overwhelmed by the sight. They kept walking until the posters disappeared and they came upon water. A lake, crystal clear and perfect.

"Ah. Much better! This is my favorite place to go for a walk! Sorry that it's not as exciting as the city” Aria apologized, taking off her heels and walking along the beach. What was being hidden from him? His gaze was averted when they came up on another patch of trees, although he couldn't see any details. Maybe it was another gravesite? Maybe those portraits were meant to be comforting, but they only made each gravestone more personal. Manic might have tried to steal peeks, but He couldn't see anything that seemed too unique about this site from a distance. This couldn't have been TOO bad, right? Still, Scourge's sentiment was nice. "Go wherever you want, dude..." Manic said, still somewhere between awestruck and confused. The lake was so bizarrely... perfect. That's what this forest was, it seemed perfect. The water was so clear, he could see deep into the bottom of the pool at the lowest reaching sands. There weren't waves or large ripples, only light movements from the light breeze. It was gorgeous, in spite of everything. But the sight of the bed going deeper and deeper under the clear water was somehow terrifying. That lavender breeze came back, pushing the water slightly in a different direction. He took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "It's a gorgeous place," Manic said to no one in particular. Scourge didn't know how manic would react. His first time here, he freaked at the sight of those trees. Scourge didn’t want Manic freaking out about it. Not here.

"Thank you,” Aria smiled at Manic's compliment. Then splashed at Scourge a little bit.

“HEY! ” Scourge whined.

He was let go, and Scourge sat to take his shoes off, joining Aria to walk along the beach. Neither was paying attention to Manic, so if he was really curious, he could go back and check to see what Scourge was hiding. But the spot they were on right now was perfectly beautiful. The sky was just starring to turn purple as the sun set, and the lake reflected it all. Manic needed to know. What was this place all about? Clearly, the intertwined trees and rows of portraits in the small grove were more meaningful, or even important. He was used to taking plenty of things he shouldn't have, and used the first opportunity to steal a chance to run. He ducked into the small area, once more careful to step on the bare ground and nowhere else. At first, he didn't quite seem to understand anything about this patch. It didn't just look like trees were cut or burnt down, it looked as though they weren't ever planted in the first place. Once more, the artistry of the portraits struck him. The refined but loving glare between the couple was subtle, it was intense, it was a complicated set of emotions that carried perfectly through the paper, and all of their presumed children carried some kind of elegant or regal air to them. A proud family. Family? The more he looked, the more it dawned on him just who these pictures were. Was this child someone he... no, she wasn't anyone Manic could have known, but she looked vaguely familiar for some reason. All of them did, in fact. And the more he looked to find an answer, the more he focused on the pencil work. Not that he was an art snob, but he knew this pencil work as Aria's. Had she really been drawing these kinds of portraits for years upon years, cataloging the faces of deceased friends and neighbors for years? He just leaned over, examining the features on a portrait of one of their sons to try and find an answer. Aria had noticed that Manic had left, and walked away from the splash fight to follow him, peeking around a tree.

She was surprised to see him inspecting the work she had done and redone for years. Every other portrait was fine, only done once. Her family had been redone more than three times at least. Even on the portraits, everyone’s looked like they had been redrawn or changed at one point or another.

The emotion here was strong, and the lavender breeze blew again. The first tree on the right was surrounded by a bed of lavenders. That’s where the smell came from. This tree was of a women who could have been Aria, but not quite. An older sister.

“Manic? Everything okay?” Aria stepped out from behind the tree as if she hadn’t been watching. Manic kept staring forward at the portraits. There was no doubt in his mind that these were relatives of Aria. The sound of her walking into a small area like this startled him. He would have hated walking somewhere like this, but Aria had taken this entire trip so blithely. How was she not even a little sad? Manic turned around, not moving his head at first. "Your drawings are incredible," he said. Yeah, Aria's face was too similar to many of these hanging around him for it to be a coincidence. He still wasn't sure what to make of the empty spaces where trees seemed to be missing entirely. As though they had never been planted in the first place. All he could do was smile and carry on. He couldn't smile convincingly. His eyes belied his sadness, his worry. He didn't know what to say about this that wouldn't likely make everything worse. He walked towards Aria while still trying to force a smile out. "I'm really sorry, if I knew what was here, I wouldn't've driven us..." He held his forehead in his hand, taking a deep breath and trying to relax. "I don't think I should've come in, dude." It seemed as though he thought he somehow insulted, or even offended Aria just by being in what was clearly a personal place. “Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you…” She paused as Manic complemented her work, the portraits she had spend hours on to get just right with only a single photo and her blurry memories to go on. “Oh, thanks… That means a lot. I’m still not happy with them. I can’t get the eyes right.”

Her smile dropped as she inspected his face. He was trying to keep it together and under control. She drew closer, concerned for Manic. “No, I’m sorry Manic… I shouldn’t have brought you. I keep forgetting that people aren’t as desensitized to this as I am… We can go if you want, go to the city and see if we can’t find something better to do?” Aria seemed worried about Manic now, and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Guess I ruined the fun tonight, didn’t I? I’m sorry…” "Ah, Aria..." Manic held his arms out and walked forward at the apology. "Dude, you don't need to apologize, Scourge warned me. I mean, Scourge tried to stop me from looking too hard, you didn't do anything. I'm just being a butthead." He said with that joking tone. Manic sighed, and peaked behind himself once more. "I dunno, I guess if you want to see this place again..." He turned around and put on another smile. "It's your birthday, dude. If this place makes you happy, then yeah, you should come here! Celebrate however you want, I'm just trying to make sure you're having a good time. I'll be fine." He didn't know what else to say, so he just offered her a comforting pat on the back. "Come on, don't you have a splash fight to win or something?" “Actually I think we should head to the city and see what the nightlife has to offer. Come on, let’s go find Scourge.”

She lead the other back to the lake, where fireflies were just starting to emerge. Several had landed on Scourge and he was admiring the view of the lake. Aria slowed to match Manic's pace. “I owe you drinks and an explanation, but not tonight.”

Scourge got up and waded back over to them, looking at them both and raising a brow, asking if they were both okay in a nonverbal manner. Aria merely nodded.

“Wanna head back to the highway and go to the city?” Aria asked.

Scourge shrugged. “Whatever the birthday girl and driver say.” "Hell, I wanna head down there, too! Come on, let's go make some mistakes!" Manic put on some excitement to help lighten their moods just a bit. He waved his hand towards Scourge as he waded out of the water, motioning for him to follow the two. Aria lead the way of course, leaving Manic to keep glancing back at all of the strange things they passed. He took one more look over the various portraits in the family graveyard. How could she have been unhappy with those eyes? He took one more look at the many, many hanging pictures in what must have been the community graveyard. Who were these people, their names, their stories? He supposed he might never know. He took one more look at the guards as they exited the gates. Why on earth did she have that tattooed into her arm? Why not a simple ID card? Manic kept his mouth closed and stopped himself from saying any more. Aria was doing better, and he wasn't ruining the mood. When he got into the drivers seat, he reached under his chair and pulled out a book of CDs. There was a surprisingly random mix of genres throughout it - Manic's driving music, clearly. "Come on, it's your birthday, what're you in the mood for?" The car was already pulling out of the spot, restarting the long drive towards whatever that city was. "Trust me, they're all worth a listen." Scourge pulled on his shoes and they all passed through the orchard again. Scourge unable to stop Manic from looking this time. Another lavender wind. Soothing. Gently ruffling the papers and making them wave in the wind. Almost as if they were saying goodbye.

The fireflies danced around them, natures flashlight so they didn’t trip in the dark. They got to the gate and Aria held it open for the boys. One of the guards, the younger one probably, cleared his throat.

“Uh, Miss Aria? The scanner said it was your birthday soon… So happy birthday.” He stuttered a little, nervous. Aria responded with a sweet smile and a pat on his cheek. “Thank you hon. See you next week.”

In the car, she flipped through the CDs. Unable to care about artists or genres, she looked for pretty CD art or anything by Manic himself. “Got any of your stuff in here?” She asked, stopping on a page to inspect art. "This binder's like, all my usual listening music." He looked over with a slightly judging grin. "Don't you think that'd be really pretentious?" He held a stare with her for a moment. "Anyways, yeah, they're all in the first few pages." The three were already speeding down the highway towards whatever this city had to offer. The CD reader took it's time reading through the CD, before starting to churn out some vaguely familiar songs. Don't go flagging down that benz Don't kiss that garnet cartier The version of the song with full instrumentation was very heavy on the piano. In fact, it seemed like the vast majority of the instruments had been cut out entirely, or reduced down into a modified piano backing track for his earlier show. He wasn't getting into it as much, but hell, he'd listened to this song tons of times before. He kept thinking about everything he'd seen, feeling the time virtually slip away through the incandescent streetlight glow and smooth synth grooves. "Knew it.” She giggle as she put in one of his CDs. She bounced around in her seat and hummed along. “I have to say. As much as I like the live version, I like this version better. Piano alone doesn’t get the vibe across.”

The drive ended quite a while later on a bright, bustling city of neon lights and flashing signs. Aria was awestruck by the sights. Scourge was quiet. He’d been here before years ago so he knew the general layout. But hey, if the two in the front wanted adventure he would let them adventure.

“Its beautiful! Look at all these lights!! And all of these people!! I don’t know where to focus on first? Where do you wanna go Manic?” "Oooh crap, this is awesome!" He almost wanted to drive on the highway circling the city just to see how ridiculous the city lights could get, but he was too impatient, and immediately started looking for the nearest exit. "It's like, the tackiest garbage, I LOVE tacky garbage! I've got no idea, let's just see what there is!" As they turned down the ramp, they started to realize just what kind of a city this was. There were casinos and resorts dotting the city, surrounded by all kinds of flashy hotels, grand restaurants, all decorated in groteque, almost baroque over-the-top ornamentation. It was a delightful, thrilling kind of tacky. An off brand Vegas, essentially. But Manic was expecting a normal city with tons of interesting stores and sights, not something this exciting! He was just as taken back by how energized it all seemed. They could stop for a real meal. They could explore the casinos or resorts. They could check out the show venues or even just walk around and see what the most ridiculous thing they could find would be. Manic couldn't decide, and given Aria's reaction to it all, she certainly liked the sights, too. "How about we just park at random, wander at random and see what kinda nonsense we can run into, hm?" Aria drew off of Manics excitement and started wagging her tail super fast. Bouncing around. Super excited. Scourge chuckled at Aria's wiggled of excitement, knowing how much she would love this place.

"That sounds awesome! But can we go get food? I’m starving!” Aria suggested, looking for a restaurant in the bright lights. Scourge leaned forward to suggest a restaurant he’d seen on TV a few days before.

“It's Italian food. So we're looking for an Italian flag or a sign that looks like Italy. They have this lasagna that’s supposed to be heavenly. I know that’s your favorite, kiddo.”

Aria squeaked happily and looked out the window for the restaurant. Oh, it certainly had an Italian flag. In the prevailing local style of throwing everything all together at once as much as possible, they soon came across a restaurant whose exterior was aggresively italian. From down the street, they could already see the massive green, white and red stripes up the building. That was to say nothing of the massive statue of the Leaning Tower protruding from the exterior, or the giant central window mimicking the Milan cathedral. For some reason, they put this exterior on a building with what was clearly strangely elegant and comfortable decorations. A normal day in whatever the hell this place was called. "I'm like, ten percent sure we've found it." Manic said, pulling around to look for some parking space. It seemed that the night life in this place was stunningly busy, but they still managed to find a parking space that wasn't ten miles from their destination. It was out of the way of the casinos, after all. The CD abruptly cut off in the middle of yet another song that had been drilled into Manic's memory, and the three hopped out of the car.  "You go on ahead, I'm just gonna check something quickly." He waiter for Aria to disappear behind the corner, before leaning against the car and letting out a long sigh. "Alright, that happened, it's over. Don't let it get to you." He pinched his forehead for a moment, and then stood up tall. "You'll be fine, Manic. "Only ten?” Aria snorted a little, staring at the classy building that had been redecorated, and made just as tacky as the rest of the city. Her stomach made a bit of a growling noise. Aria put her heels back on in the car, then hopped out of the van. When Manic told her to go on ahead, she did so. A little concerned albeit, but if Manic needed something he would ask. She walked into the restaurant, asking for a table for three. She was seated in a booth by the front window so she could see when the boys were coming.

Scourge wasn’t as eager to eat and placed a hand on Manic's shoulder. “Hey, you alright man? You need to sit down or something?”

He understood what the other was feeling. Overwhelmed. Confused. If Manic wanted to say something, Scourge was the best person to say it to.

Well. In theory. "You said you didn't really handle Aria's home that well the first time you visited, right?" He let out a chuckle. "I guess I'm just not over that stuff." Just from the way Manic stared at the ground, it was clear he didn't know if he wanted to say something or not. But Scourge was patient. "Hey... I don't want this to make things awkward, right?" He said more quietly this time around. "I've just known a bunch of Scourges before. Most of them were just assholes, but some of them were really- just the worst people. More than some Finitevuses. And some were just-" He paused again, trying to think of a way to say it that wouldn't have been too terrible. "Some of the best guys I've ever known. Scourges are all... there are a lot of emotions there, you know? All of the emotions, actually." He more joked out of instinct than a need to be humored. "I'm just not used to it yet, dude. If I ever do anything stupid, just..." He chuckled again. "I don't care, punch me or something." For 'just checking something,' he was spending a lot of time outside. "Come on, I ain't leaving Ari hanging." "Yeah. Dealing with that place is hard. And Aria showing you was definitely a sign of trust. If you need a few minutes to process without me here I can go.” He motioned in the direction Aria walked off in, then stopped.

“Manic. This is the second or third time you’ve told me this. And this is the second or third time that I’m telling you, its fine. I’m not gonna hit you. You’ve been nothing but kind and I know that if you do say something mean spirited, that you’ll recognize and apologize. So please stop. It’s not needed.”

Scourge looked back towards the restaurant that Aria had gone into.

“$5 says she’s already eating the bread." It did mean a lot to him that Aria trusted him enough to show him somewhere that personal to him. And it did mean a lot that Scourge was putting so much trust into Manic. There was a swell of emotions, and many, many thanks in order. He needed to think hard to find the best way to say thank you. "Five bucks says she's not eating the next basket." And then he stopped searching. Yeah, Scourge already made himself clear, Manic knew he was going to be fine. Maybe it hadn't sunk in entirely that, but he knew that logically. As long as he forced himself to have a good time, the fact would sink in eventually. It didn't come through to him in words, just in loose thoughts, but he knew exactly what he was doing. He started back towards the building. Most of his strong emotions were simply replace by other strong emotions. Relief, primarily. But for now, he had a day to enjoy. And judging by what he saw through the window, Scourge was about to have five more dollars to enjoy. Aria was a bit of a stress eater. When Manic and Scourge stayed behind she felt this ugly feeling in her gut. A little bit of a bubbly, burning sensation that announced the start of what she knew as anxiety. The bread she had been given served dual purpose as a distraction and to calm her biology. She had learned years ago that ones flight or fight response could be overridden with food. Ingesting food tricks the body into thinking one is safe and calms anxiety.

The feeling slowly went away as she caught sight of the boys walking towards the restaurant. When they came in, she wouldn’t notice the exchange of money under the table or Scourge's smirk as he pocketed the five.

"The bread good?” He teased her, grabbing a piece from the basket. She merely stuck her tongue out at him.

“Everything okay Manic?” Manic smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm doing fine." Not entirely a lie. Given the outside of the building, the inside was unfittingly comfortable. Good design, good atmosphere, it seemed like the outside was just some attempt at making it a tourist trap. They meshed terribly together, but they weren't here to judge the design. They were here to choose what to eat, and the menu made that a serious task. Every of the extensive menu items was given a flowery description and some kind of a professional photo that made them look absolutely divine. It was more than enough to keep Manic's mind off of his still settling emotions. "The hell is this menu, War and Peace or something?" He kept flipping back and forth, looking through the excessive number of pages. "Ah man... I think I'm definitely going with these little ravioli boys, but dang, this was a good choice." Maybe he was going to be somewhat uncomfortable, but he definitely wasn't going to be miserable here, especially with friends to put up with his stupid jokes. The menu made everything look appetizing. Aria had picked the lasagna already, and Scourge was settling on the three cheese Alfredo.

"The outside and the inside do not match,” Scourge mused, saying what Manic was thinking. The inside was made to feel like home because that’s what was being served. Food that made people feel at home.

Aria shrugged a little. “I dunno. I kinda like it.” She had her sketch book out and was drawing the city from their window view. Settled into comfortable silence. Manic couldn't see the invisible shapes and guides Aria already had laid out in her head. To his eyes, she somehow had the shapes of the city already down on paper somehow, and was carefully tracing over every line with detail. He didn't want to stare, but he couldn't help for just a minute. Watching what looked like vague squares and nondescript lines take on new forms in a moment was more than fascinating. If her earlier portraits didn't already say how good of an artist she was, this certainly gave it away. But he realized she might not have enjoyed having her art watched from a distance, so he turned back towards Scourge, giving Aria a clear view of the street behind him. "Hey, I love that kind of nonsense out there, but I don't want to eat my food on a chair-shaped mishmash of Italian stereotypes. I'm glad the stupid stuff's staying out there." It wasn't a great conversation starter, but it was quiet enough that it shouldn't have distracted Aria from her work. Besides, Scourge was cool, and he wasn't going to get comfortable if he didn't bite the bullet and talk to him. Aria didn’t mind someone watching her draw, her mind engrossed in the action of the art and the street itself. The people were drawn in a different way than Manic would be used to seeing, instead of details they were quick gestural figures.

Scourge nodded. "Yeah. The stereotypes are kinda offensive. But this place is run by Italian people so I guess that’s why it's not in here at all. Anyways, the food here is supposed to be worth being blinded by the signs for.” "Hey, the tacky stuff's the memorable part, at least. Now you get your horrible 90s and 80s tacky stuff, THAT'S the good stuff." Manic and Scourge would shoot back and forth with these comments, discussing tacky design and the various kinds of nonsense of the area as they placed their orders and continued emptying basket after basket of bread with Aria's willing help. But he was starting to get calmer as the night went on. Was it the good company or just the light drinking? Maybe a little of both. Either way, Manic was feeling better. And as time passed and their orders were started, Manic started watching Aria draw more and more. He didn't know much about art, but he knew this was good art. The figures were oddly simplified in a good way. He thought that maybe she specialized in landscapes, but her portraiture was clearly great, and the light sketches he could see through the paper of himself and Detour performing showed she had a good grasp on bodies, too. "How long have you been drawing?" Manic felt like he had to ask. She seemed to have a great grasp on many different areas. Even if he wasn't watching her drawing process live, he would have still appreciated it. Scourge laughed at one of Manics jokes, sipping at his wine. The other male was fun to be around. Still a little stressed maybe, but fun. The night was a good one this far. And the company was lovely.

Aria's ears perked and she looked up at Manic. Then her nose scrunched up as she thought. "Well I don’t know. I’ve been drawing since I was a baby. We used to have one designated person who would draw all of those portraits on the trees. Like a job. My grandfather was best friends with the man who did them, and when my parents would leave me and my siblings with our grandfather, he would leave me with him and I would sit on his lap and watch as a little baby. When I got older I would hand him art supplies and he would teach me basics. He taught me basic sketching, painting, everything really. Then I didn’t do much because I was out on the streets and didn’t have a place or money to keep supplies. When I got older and got a steady income the first thing I treated myself to was art supplies. And I haven’t stopped since.” Manic listened intently, darting his eyes down to watch her continue drawing from time to time. The implications of the story were quite depressing, but she presented it all so romantically. The same way she treated her little home. It felt as though she was using the terror to build fond memories. An odd, odd concept. "Hey, me and drumming?" He spoke as she finished her story. "It's the exact same kinda love story." Even with only a vague idea of Aria's history, he knew that if he was in some kind of similar situation, he wouldn't have been able to continue drawing, or drumming, or whatever his hobby would have been. But here she was, enjoying her time spent with her art. It was pleasant, even if he couldn't help but feel just a little jealous. Of her reclamation of her emotions, her raw talent- Okay, he was very jealous. But he was used to it by now. And at least this particular jealousy came with a nice night out with friends and a good meal. She smiled at the thought of tiny Manic smashing away on a tiny drum kit. It made her smile. "So who taught you how to drum then? I imagine you as that kid who would steal pots and pans and pretend to play on them.”

Scourge stayed quiet. He didn’t have an interest like the other two did. Didn’t have the support system. Aria was not the only sad story at the table, but he kept quiet.

They could compare battle scars another day. Their food was ready. "Who taught me how to drum? I taught me how to drum," Manic said with just a bit too much pride. "Trust me, I just had drum sticks with me all the time. Pots and pans? Drums. Buckets? Drums. That smashed up old car outside no one ever towed or took back or anything? You'd better believe that crap was ten kinds of drums." He looked down at the table, with another large grin. "I was the worst kind of kid." Scourge didn't seem to be talking much on the topic. Maybe he just had some kind of weird hobby he didn't like talking about. Manic was about to pry into an open wound... And then immediately forgot everything. "Oooooh dang nuggets!" Manic was immediately distracted by the arrival of their food. The menu photos didn't do them justice. Fresh, warm and clearly plated with plenty of care. Every piece of food was clearly prepared with a lot of love and care, and cooked with just as much. This wasn't the kind of food that reminded people of home, this was the food that reminded them of old childhood memories where everything was fun and exciting, and every little detail of life was perfect and beautiful in it's own way. As though someone had reached into those memories and pulled them out. It was almost a shame to start eating and ruin the plating. Almost. Aria put her sketchbook away and perked up, trying not to drool at the sight of dinner. A perfectly plated, hearty lasagna. Scourge's Alfredo was just as tasty looking, rich and creamy with mushrooms on top.

"Bon appetite!” The girl said and started cutting up the lasagna. Scourge snapped a picture of Aria eating and the two had a small play fight over the phone and deleting the image. He held it put of her reach and mused.

“Hey Manic who should we send this photo to?” He teased her. In moments like these, he forgot his loneliness. "Hmmm?" Manic had gotten lost in the dish. Every part of the cheese, sauce and sweet pasta exterior meshed together perfectly. Each texture complimented the last perfectly, overtones and subtle spicing playing off of one another perfectly. It was perfectly cooked, perfectly prepared, a simple experience. Manic hardly realized just how much of it he had eaten already. He would have continued eating like this, if there wasn't an opportunity to mess with someone. "What, you sending that to a food blogger now or summat?" Manic asked, looked up at Scourge with his usual sass. "Don't you send that to me, I don't wanna look at this kind of awesome food when I'm cooking dollar store raviolis in an empty soup can!" Although he kind of did want the photo. He knew he was going to remember a day like this for a while, but a few mementos were always nice. Even if he did have to see them while cooking in a soup can. "Scourrrrgggeee!” Aria whined, having been disturbed from her pasta induced food coma by the green hedgehogs. She pouted, crossed her arms and glared holes into Scourge's head. The older male only laughed.

Manic would feel a whoosh of air next to his leg, and Scourge dropped his phone to grab at his shin, trying not to curse in the family friendly restaurant. Aria stuck her tongue out and grabbed his phone off the floor, happily deleting the picture and returning to her lasagna quietly. Looking up at Manic.

“Why do you cook in an empty soup can? Do you not have a pot?” She seemed concerned as she ate her pasta and hid Scourge's phone in her shirt so the other wouldn’t grab it and take any other pictures.

Scourge stopped as well. “Well then you’re definitely coming over for dinner at the castle next time you’re in town.” "Really, dude? That'd be ace." Manic was more than fine with the idea, as long as he didn't need to be too formal for a royal visit. "Nah, I can but cooking stuff, but like, I cook so little it ain't worth it. Besides, it's like, a really big soup can. It's more like a really big bowl. I think-" He stopped himself. "I think it might just be a paint can." Manic didn't speak too much. He definitely wanted to keep eating his heavenly meal, and he didn't want to gnash it all with his mouth open after knowing people for barely a month. Month and a half? Probably, but he wasn't there yet. "Oh my god, this place is incredible." He regularly took sips of wine, probably just a bit more than the driver should have. "Ah man, that's good. I wouldn't expect this from how this whole place... you know, looks, but damn, this was a good choice." He was grinning ear to ear, silently happy Aria's sketchbook had been pushed far away from the table. He didn't have to worry about ruining her sketches in a delicious manner. Sketches! That was it, he hadn't gotten to ask his question. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, dude!" He turned back to face Scourge mid bite. "Yeah, I mean, I'm a music bloke, she's a drawing type, are we all artsy types here? You got anything of the sort?" He gleamed at him as he ate, impatient and excited for an answer. Aria was appalled when she found that he was cooking in a paint can. "Manic that’s super dangerous!! The toxic chemicals in the paint could kill you! Until you get a better pot you can just take one from my place.”

They all savored their food, Scourge unusually silent during his meal. That usually meet he liked it a lot. “I agree. This place was just as good as they said. Definitely going to come here again. Next time though, Imma go easier on the bread…” Still he finished his dinner and used some bread to clean his dish of the extra sauce.

Aria tensed as Manic asked about Scourge's hobbies, wondering if that would prompt a bad reaction from her friend. Scourge stiffened as well, but tried to hide it behind a relaxed façade. “No. I don’t usually have time for hobbies.”

Short. To the point. Manic probably hit a sore spot. He should drip the topic and move on to something else. Oops. "Alright, fair enough. Gotta do what you've gotta do," Manic added. He could see some of the tenseness, but wasn't about to push him too far. Scourge was gonna be patient with him, Manic had to be patient with him. So he just played along and acted as though he hadn't seen some of those sudden nerves. He thought he might as well finally address that point Aria brought up and shove that aside. "And yeah, I'll get something that isn't a paint can, but I ain't taking some kinda pots from you, I ain't a charity case over here! I can afford this kinda meal, I ain't broke!" Well, usually not, but that was beyond the point. He wished he could keep eating, but any more and he was likely to hurl. "Speaking of, where's our waiter? We've got a whole city worth of weird nonsense to discover!" Payment might have been a little more than Manic would have liked, but he could definitely afford it. Hell, that show went spectacularly, he knew tonight was gonna be on him. "I don't wanna mooove," he moaned as he stood up, forcing himself to not fall asleep in an explosion of italian stereotypes. The short walk back outside hit them all in the face with exactly how ridiculous the streets looked again. To their left, a mass of performance halls for magicians, musician, all covered in a small island nation's worth of light bulbs. In front of them, streets leading to flashy shows with clothes, jewelry, all kinds of luxury goods. And to their right, the mass of glass and neon lights that loosely formed into some kind of post-modernist casino. "So," Manic mused, "what kinda nonsense are we getting up to?" He wasn't just curious to sees what Aria wanted to do, he also wanted a moment to step away from her and wonder just what was going on with Scourge. There was a squabble for payment between the two green males, the green king offering to cut the bill. He relented, by making both of them promise that the rest of the nights purchases were on him. Aria agreed quietly, and only because she knew her measly pay couldn’t cover anything the city had to offer.

"It's not charity. You’ll give it back when you have the money and time”, she insisted, walking out of the restaurant. Staring in awe at the glittering lights again. Just admiring. Scourge joined her, leaning against the building and taking all the glamour in. Manic had hit a bit of a sore spot. He needed to readjust his personality.

Aria's ears perked as she looked towards the casino, tilting her head. “How about we hit the casino first, rake in some cash, then go to the shops, then the music hall? Sound good?”

Scourge nodded and glanced down at the takeout container that aria had. That also upset him, as did her talks about money. Aria had, in the past, eaten in portions like this to prolong food when they were younger and she was short on cash. He had a feeling she wasn’t being honest with him…

“Manic. Can you unlock the van so Aria can put her leftovers away and I can grab something I dropped in there?” He borrowed one of Manic's excuses. Aria noticed and stated quiet. Chances are scourge was going to be talking money and didn’t want to embarrass her in front of Manic with how little she actually had. "Yeah, dude, take your time." Manic pulled his car key out of his pocket and chucked it over to the two of them. "I've gotta call someone up, anyways." He watched them go towards the van for a moment, before taking a break and walking in the other direction. Just a few steps, just far enough to lean against the side of the building without leaning on the window. How long were they going to be searching for whatever Scourge dropped? Hopefully long enough so he could finish talking to him. He went straight to speed dial, and waited as the phone rang again and again... "Yo, Sonic." Manic said, quieter than usual. "Yeah, we just headed out for dinner, we're doing good. ... Dude, I'm not a kid anymore, I'm- No, I can take care of myself. You're lucky I'm putting up with this, don't press your luck." There was a wait as he listened to Sonic speak. "Yeah, they're both fine! They're good people, Sonic, you can cut it! You've already told me- Yes, nerves in spines and that garbage, but- No, YOU listen, you aren't alone with that! You don't know what-" He sighed excessively loudly, making sure every bit of air was plainly audible. "Alright, you can choke. Piss off." He didn't just stop at ending the call, but turned off his phone completely, leaning against the building and breathing deeply to keep himself calm. Aria and scourge walked to the van, aria placing her leftovers inside. Scourge grabbed the door, blocking her path. "Talk to me. You’re not eating. Why?”

She pushed her hair out of her face, unamused with her friend. “Too much bread.”

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve seen you portion like this before. When you were homeless and broke. You aren’t getting paid, are you?” He challenged again, knowing Aria couldn’t resist correcting a mistake in his story. She did not correct him, merely glared.

“You’ve been working your ass off. Why aren’t you getting paid? Is the bat harassing you again? Do I need to file a complaint?” Scourge was getting angry and Aria pushed him back, walking around the car to go back to Manic. Scourge stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

“If I find out you’re hiding something because you didn’t want to worry me, you are gonna be in so much trouble.”

Aria was furious, drawing herself up to her full, still short, height. “You are NOT the boss of me,” she declared, and stormed off back to Manic. Manic had since bottled up his emotions, mucking around with some random game on his phone when he finally saw Aria returning from the car. He definitely had enough time to talk, so he wasn't going to ask what made them wait. All he knew was that Aria was definitely making some kind of pout from a distance. "Hey toffee, why the grumpy face?" He said, giving her a confusing sentence and a joking ruffle of her hair to try and get a smile out of her. "Are you sad you aren't gonna get five more baskets of bread?" In usual Manic fashion, sticking his tongue out as he toyed with Aria while Scourge trailed behind. "Come on, let's go see how ridiculous this place gets!" Manic was happy to let Aria take the lead on the short walk over to the casino area. Of course, there were a lot of emotions being pushed aside for the time being. Aria's money, Manic's conversation, and Scourge's mess of burdens, but they all pushed through their real feelings for no real good reason. Some better than others. "Not a fan of casinos?" Manic said, turning to Scourge while Aria charged ahead. "Yeah, they're kinda skeevy, ain't they?"

Aria's pout disappeared when she got close enough to Manic, giggling and purring as he messed up her hair. "Yeah just upset that I couldn’t finish that meal, it was so good! But I wouldn’t say toffee, maybe more red licorice,” she joked back, inspecting the red hue of her hair.

Aria jogged up ahead to inspect the entrance. The lights were blinding but beautiful. She felt like a little kid in a candy store. She also stuck relatively close to the boys. Just as protection.

Scourge shrugged at Manic's question. “I don’t gamble. Only been inside one once and that was years ago for a diplomatic meeting when I was far too young to gamble.”

Aria fell into step with them and nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know much about anything like this… Never had the opportunities.” "Alright, so y'all already know that you're gonna be at disadvantages, right?" Manic said. "House always wins, and all that crap. All you've gotta know is, don't push your luck. Quit when you're ahead. Like, you guys hit fifty bucks or something, that's it, don't go any further. We're just here to have fun, y'know?" It was pretty much all common sense, but Manic had to learn these things thought a complete lack of common sense, so he felt like he had to tell them, just to be safe. There was no mistaking that this was a casino lobby. The over-the-top marble and glass, the bright lights and classy patterns used in tacky, delightful ways, it was all there. Not to mention the blasts of sound from the various casino halls and a ridiculous resort area. Bells and chimes and all kinds of exciting sounds to make it sound like everyone was making money in some capacity. It was an instantly thrilling atmosphere, promising that someday, this could all be yours with just a few lucky pulls of a lever and a few hands of cards. Manic had been to plenty of casinos, but usually not to gamble. It was an atmosphere he'd come to love, in spite of all of the underlying tragedy that was doubtlessly present. "I was just gonna hit up some slots and maybe stop at the bar a bit. You guys wanna come along, or you wanna find your own adventures?" "I think I’ll stick with you. I feel like an open target.” Aria said, staying close to Manic. She stared in awe at the glamour of the marble and gold, in awe of the beautiful architecture. The card tables they passed on their way to the slots were full of people and Arias eyes lit up. She had found the perfect drawing place. Thankfully the open bar tables were in perfect view of the card games.

“Actually.. Imma stay here. It's a great view!” She sat at a table by herself and started drawing. Rough sketches and such, to be used as inspiration for a painting. In her element. They left her as she ordered a water from a passing waitress and made small talk.

Scourge merely came along with Manic, watching the green one sit at a machine and leaning on the chair slightly. “So how do you play? Coin in slot and pull the lever?” "Yep, it ain't exactly a nuclear reactor over here." Manic shrugged, reaching into his wallet. "You kinda gotta choose lines to change your bet and all that, but that's pretty much what it comes down to." It looked like he had a lot of small bills ready. Actually, a LOT of small bills. He didn't stop at an ATM... not that Scourge knew of. Maybe he went when him and Aria were at the car. The machine quickly processed the bill, lighting up the vast number of lights decorating the machine even brighter than their neighboring companions. With a few presses of a button on the bottom of the machine, rows lit up between the slots. Manic happily wrapped his fingers around the head of the lever, giving it a swift pull and sending the wheels spinning. The various technicolor pictures soon stopped in a row, leading to what appeared to be some kind of a win, even if it was just enough to break even with the cost of a spin. "Ah, come on, don't give me that crap, machine!" Manic said in jest, giving it another spin. "So I'm guessing she's always looking for things to draw?" He asked as the wheels stopped again, appearing to break even again. Manic pressed the button to light up more of the rows and columns. "Trust me, I tried for a bit... there's a reason I don't any more." He said with a stupid grin. "Man, that kind of talent's... anyone can appreciate that." Scourge had seen the tip jar at the gig Manic had played, and didn’t question the small bills. He watched the spinning lights with hidden enthusiasm. "It does seem rather simple. I can see why people come here… Did you know that casinos are designed with no clocks and no windows to trick you into staying longer? Always thought it was fascinating…”

He raised a brow at the second win but said nothing, lest he break a streak. At Manic's question, he turned to look at Aria. Odd, she was still talking to the waitress. Laughing. She had actually put her pencil down.

“Weird… You’re right, she’s always one to draw what she can.. She sees the world through an artists vision. Occasionally that’s a bad thing, she’s a little naive. But she’s never not looked at the world like that. I think it’s a coping habit… But she doesn’t usually talk to people while she’s working unless she likes them…”

The waitress left and came back with a purse and a jacket on, sitting at the table and looking as Aria drew. The hedgie's view had switched from the tables to the girl beside her.

“…or they’re flirting with her and she just thinks they're being friendly.” Manic really wasn't winning much, but he wasn't losing much, either. Maybe he was hoping for a little thrill, but with one friend taking a break to sketch and another just watching how slow machines worked, it didn't really have the same kind of thrill. It was one thing to be with someone reveling int he same kind of excitement, but alone? It didn't carry too much of a thrill. He wouldn't let it, either. He had enough issues without bringing gambling into it. "I guess it does make sense. She's always drawn, she's always had an interest in drawing. It just makes sense you're going to look at things in an artsy way, like when the making gives you a bell at the WRONG TIME." He feigned annoyance, it was just some stupid fun. "Seriously, though, I get it. When everything's gone to crap, sometimes you've just gotta polish a turd and call it pretty enough. Besides, she's pretty clearly-" Manic pretended to stumble in his seat and push the lever, instead of just stopping his sentence. It have him time to think of a better retort than his obvious response. "She's clearly kind of working in a crappy place, you know? Gotta take what you can." The wheels stopped again, blinging and making all kinds of flash sounds at a small win. "You- That was kind of a stupid cover, wasn't it?" They both knew what he was originally going to talk about. "Yeah, that's... I dunno what all that meant, but I know she's seen a ton. You kind of have to take what you can, you know? People deal with trauma in all kinds of bad ways, but she's taking it... really well, I guess." He looked away from the machine, things having gotten heavier than he expected. "I'm almost jealous of how... healthily she seems to be taking it all." "That was an awful cover. But you’re right, on both counts. She’s had a lot to deal with in the past, and she’s stuck in a shitty place now… And what’s she’s doing isn’t healthy. She’s bottling it up as best she can because she doesn’t like people knowing her business. Her anxiety is bad. So are her nightmares. She refuses to take help or see a therapist. All in all, she holds up well from a distance, which is the line you crossed about three hours ago. Once you start looking closer you start to see all the toll her trauma has taken. And let’s just say that the events you think you know were far worse than you can imagine… I for sure can’t, and I know the whole story.”

He watched Aria check her phone and excuse herself from the pretty girl to take a call. From someone who she was speaking to in a language that Manic wouldn’t recognize. The conversation grew heated, and Aria held the phone away from her ear as if she was being yelled at.

Scourge growled. Deep, throaty, and protective. Stopping once he realized he was doing it. “Sorry. Just.. That’s her brother, the only sibling left alive. He’s a bastard. Wanted nothing to do with her from the age of zero to about 18. When he didn’t have to legally support her anymore. If he wasn’t half a world away I’d beat him senseless.” Hearing this much about Aria all at once wasn't what Manic expected, and it certainly what he wanted to hear. But he listened. He listened to each word intently, playing less attention to the machine he was playing and barely pulling half as much. He knew things were going to get real if they kept talking about her, he didn't expect them to get half as real as they did. But he listened anyways, wondering what he could say to stop there from being some kind of an uncomfortable silence. Although he didn't want to share his own stories, so he said nothing. The call from Aria's brother wasn't what he expected, but it gave him a chance. "I mean, I don't know what that'd be like, but trust me - I know shitty brothers." He let out a laugh, and help up one hand as he spoke making simple gestures. "Now my sister? She's a snob, but the GOOD kinda snob. She's the kind of snob that donates to charity and gives thoughtful cards and good hugs. She's ace. But him?" Manic let out a laugh more for effect than any kind of humor. "He didn't like this one guy I used to date, and now he acts like the gatekeeper to my genitals or summat. Anyone sneezes near me, he needs their name and occupation and favorite shade of brown." He exhaled. "Which kinda sucks, because he's actually really talented? Yeah, like, he's a really good athlete and- well, just a great athlete, I guess." He stopped short of actually saying 'agent.' "But like, REALLY great. Shame he ain't half as talented with shutting his mouth." Manic gave Scourge one more sassy glance. "You think I could get a recording of that growl?" Manic joked. "I need a ringtone for him." Scourge laughed a bit nodding. "Sure thing. Hell, I’ll even go out of my way to freak him out of you want. I enjoy messing with people and being petty when they deserve it… But your sister sounds nice at least, and it sounds like she’d be the type to not care about who you were with so long as you were happy. But my advice is to not bring your brother around here. Alternates of the Blue Blur aren’t usually welcomed in this zone.”

He watched the wheels spinning, eyes flicking up to look at Aria every so often. When she hung up, he made a move to go check on her, but stopped.

“I’ll ask her if she’s okay later. She’s kind of mad at me right now anyways… Besides, I think the short stack finally got the hint.” He gestured to Aria's table, drawing Manic's attention to the now very blushy hedgehog and the very flirty squirrel she was talking to. He had to stop with his little games to turn around and watch her try and figure out a way to squirm out of the situation. "Ooooh my wow, I wanna get a picture of this, but she'd probably steal my phone, too." He couldn't help but keep peaking over his shoulders while still continuing to pull the lever, waiting for a chance. "Oh my god, ain't that the worst? I remember when I was- Aaah, you get the story already, I've been there." He glared at Scourge. "Besides, it's always fun to see just how flirty you can get before someone realizes it." "And trust me, no one can keep Sonic in line, messing with him'd be bad news." Manic said, just a bit surprised he knew his brother's name. "He hates Scourges. He sees you helping me, he's gonna try and fuck you up. And he don't give up easy." He looked back to the machine, some frustration getting through his acting. "Hm... Usually, I just jump out when I've got some kinda profit..." He'd won about fifty dollars at this point, more than he'd honestly expected. "Cause once you've started winning, you wanna stop. But I guess if tonight's all about making dumb choices..." He quickly rammed some of the buttons, until the bet was up to all fifty dollars. He leaned away from Scourge, motioning towards the lever. "Wanna give it a pull?" Aria seemed to be flushed but enjoying herself, laughing and giggling at the others jokes. Something was written in her sketchbook and she received a kiss on the cheek before the other left. Aria just watched her go, flustered and a little shocked. She eventually returned to drawing

"I was never that kind of a guy. My wif- … My version of Fiona wore the flirty pants in our relationship. I was so smitten it didn’t matter though. Either way, I think that may have been Aria's first serious flirt.”

Did he almost say wife? They got MARRIED? Suddenly Scourge's story got a lot more complicated than expected. His ears dropped a little. “Your brother will be putting himself in danger if he comes here. Everything is backwards from what you know."

He shook his head no when Manic offered the pull. "Nah, its your money” Manic wasn't surprised to hear that Fiona was his wife. Even through the many layers of terrible people Scourges were, they almost always had a Fiona by their side. And he wasn't surprised to hear the word 'was.' All the remaining Scourges had gone through horrible breakups somehow and sometimes one of them disappearing entirely. He wasn't even too surprised to hear that Aria had hit on Scourge, Manic certainly couldn't judge. What surprised him was just how hesitant he was about it. But heavy questions got heavy answers, and tonight was supposed to be fun and happy, even if conversation after conversation brought troubling questions for Manic. "You sure?" Manic said, moving back towards the machine. "Alright, if you say so." He didn't actually pull the lever, instead changing his bet to something lighter before making a few final spins. "You've been kind of edgy all night, dude." Manic said. "You doing good? You wanna talk about something that's, like... not deeply personal and terrifying?" He didn't use his normal over-the-top sassy grin, but the smirk was still there. "Unfortunately not. Seems like most of the conversations tonight have been deeply personal. Either way, at least the food and company are good. Speaking of company..”

Aria walked over to the boys, having collected her things. Still a blushing mess and hiding her face behind her hair.

“Heya munchkin. How's it going?” He feigned innocence, as if the boys hadn’t been watching her little romantic interaction.

“That was, I think, the first time I have ever flirted with someone. How do you two do it without getting all red?? Did I do something wrong?” She covered her face, which was almost as red as her hair. Scourge merely chuckled and patted her head.

“If ya made her laugh and you got her number, you did just fine. And looking like a tomato is part of the process. You get all your stuff off the table?”

Aria nodded quietly, still very embarrassed. Watching the wheels on the machine turn. The lights lit up and bells rung from a win on Manic's machine and she jumped a little, not expecting it. "Okay, alright, I think I've pushed my luck faaar enough!" Manic said, looking away from the machine victorious. "Like, I wasn't expecting to even get this far, let's get this baby cashed before I get even greedier." He pounded a button on the console, printing a small ticket from the top. Manic usually stopped at winning less, or if he was on a definite losing streak. But Scourge's company had made him want to draw it out a bit more. Eighty bucks wasn't too much, but given he was playing small bills machines, he was more than lucky to have his victory. "So what, are you just gonna leave us hanging?" Manic said, prying his nose into yet another life he shouldn't have been privy to. "So what's her name? What's she like?" He leaned over on the console, his elbow pressed against the buttons making the machine command him to put in payment first. "We ain't gonna tell anyone, I'm just being a snoop." Satisfied with his smarmy little nothing, he stood up. "Let's go and get this cashed. And while we're going over there... How'd your sketch turn out?" Aria blushed heavily, squeaking as they walked over to the place to cash up Manic's winning ticket. She tugged on her ears nervously.

"Terra. She’s really nice and super kind… She doesn’t work here normally, she’s covering for a friend.” She blushed heavily and squeaked more. Looked like she’s gonna be blushy all night.

“The sketch turned out okay. I’m gonna make a painting out of it.” She insisted, watching Manic get paid for his ticket. “Where now?”

Scourge motioned to the exit. “Why don’t we go see the shops then? Maybe you can buy something for your girlfriend?” He teased Aria, ruffling her hair. "Come on, if you're gonna have an ambiguous girlfriend, you need to be ambiguously generous! You said you wanted to go there after, right?" Manic said. He was almost sad to leave the dread-tinged casino atmosphere, but he was used to the crappy downtown casinos that were simple organized crime fronts. Aria did not know she was being flirted with. It was probably best to get her out of there. "Hold on a sec," Manic said as he let the two take the lead on the short walk. He turned his phone back on. Three missed calls from Sonic and a few robocalls. Pretty much what he expected. "Voila! More nonsense!" Manic announced, but he reveled in nonsense. Many of the stores were large but mostly empty designer labels, supposed to give off the illusion of glamour the city promised. Of course, there were many other overpriced stores hoping to cash in on rich tourists and the occasional lucky gambler. Strangely many nice stores. Jewelry shops, art galleries, even a rare books store. There were much mroe affordable stores further away, but it was no coincidence all of the high-end shops were close to the casino. "Dang," Manic said, looking at his grand prize of about eighty bucks. "I could buy, like, half of a shoe here." Aria's blush only worsened from that comment. Once they got the full effect of the shopping district, Aria's eyes lit up, so many of her favorite things in one place! Books, art, and even a live band! She was just so excited she barely noticed Manic step away.

Scourge did and raised and eyebrow at the cell. Since Aria was distracted he turned to Manic quietly. "Being harassed by the cockblock king?” He joked. Turning back to look at Aria, he realized she had walked away.

“Shit… Where did she go?” He looked around from the smaller red headed female, catching her walking into a book store. “Guess she's decided where she wants to go. You coming or do you need a minute?”

Aria meanwhile, had walked in and was talking to the owner about rare books, specifically old, handwritten ones in dead languages. "Eh, he's not being pissy anymore." Manic shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, I'm coming." It wasn't a large store, but it made good use of the space it had. A nice healthy number of shelves, some nearer the back locked being glass screens. It was all warm woods and elegant whites in the standard modern geometric design of the area meant to invoke luxury. It was clear that everything in this store was meant to be handled gently, and with Manic's penchant for ruining things in these kinds of places, he wasn't about to go touching anything. He still gave in to his curiosity by taking his time glancing over the names of the various books. Embossed and engraved in elegant scripts on many types of binding material. Manic didn't bother looking at the price tags, he knew he couldn't afford most of these things. Not that he was much of a reader, anyways. It was more Aria's interest in dead languages and handwritten books that kept most of Manic's attention, as he listened from a distance. "Well my dear, we usually don’t get such enthusiastic readers here, especially not ones who know exactly what they want. The section you want is over here. ”

The old man used his cane to gesture to a section and he walked them over to it. Aria scanned them quickly, pulling one or two and reading them. She finally found one, a small red book weathered with age. She started reading it, smiling fondly.

“How much is this one?” She asked, checking for a price. Ears dropping. Far too expensive. “Never mind. Can’t afford the luxury”. She sighed and put it back. She went to another shelf and Scourge took the book down, checking the price. Relatively inexpensive, less than $50. He raised a brow and showed it to Manic too before looking at the direction she had left in. Scourge turned to the owner. “Mind if I get this?”

The owner cashed up the purchase using an antique machine and Scourge paid with bills. He then pulled Aria off to the side, where Manic could hear and see through the book on the shelf.

“Here. This is your birthday present. But this is a present with baggage. You gotta let me help you out a little bit more.” Scourge held out the book and Aria lit up until he explained his claims.

“Scourge no. I can handle myself. I’m just… Tight on cash.” She took the book anyways. Hugging it close to her chest.

Scourge voice got a little lower, a little more protective. “Bullshit. You’ve been tight on cash before. But you’ve always had food. Now you’re squirreling things away, just like you did when you were on the street. Are you even making rent?!”

“Yes!… ” she declared, and after a look Manic couldn't catch, her ears dropped and she cuddled her book again. “… For this month.” Squirreling food away? He hadn't assumed it was anything more than taking some leftovers, was this normal? Clearly not, judging by what Scourge was saying. He hadn't realized just how poor she was. Living in a crappy apartment, working a crappy job? That had been Manic for years, even with himself buying little luxuries to keep himself happy with stolen money. But he was happy, and healthy. This was clearly neither. And then he hatched a plan. A plan neither of them would be happy with if they knew the details, but a plan nonetheless. He wasn't going to see Aria this poor, and he'd make sure they didn't know he was interloping. With a press of a button on his key, a tiny red LED started flashing. Manic walked up and spoke as if he hadn't heard a thing, holding up the key for show. "Uh, guys, the van's panic alarm's going off. I'mma be right back, just making sure everything's alright." He didn't even give them a chance to agree to come along. He rushed outside, running towards where they parked... and turned off the alarm with his key. How long would seem natural, like he actually went to the car? And would Scourge call him out after all of his excuses? For now, it didn't matter. He started a casual walk past nothing, pretending to take in the sights as his hands danced in and out of pedestrian's pockets. Not the whole wallet, of course, just taking the cash and slipping it back. He didn't even think about it, the muscle memory of thievery burned into his limbs. Aria looked to Manic as he walked in on their private conversation, surprised at the flashing lights on the key ring. "Okay, be careful. There’s probably plenty of car thieves around here.”

When he left they returned to their quiet squabble over money. Aria eventually leaving the store with the green hedgehog in tow and the rage of the argument being continued outside.

“Scourge I’m not a little girl on the street. I have things that I can sell to make up the difference!” She turned on her heel to face him, fuming.

“Like what, your body? Cause I know you won’t sell your books or anything else you own!” He challenged, then immediately regretted it. Dodging Aria's sudden punch and grabbing her by the wrist to stop her from throwing any more. He was clearly unamused.

Aria tore her wrist away and stormed off in the direction of the van, going to catch up with Manic. Scourge waited a bit, then followed. The couldn't see Manic yet, but they knew where he was going. It shouldn't have been a long walk, but tense nerves made it almost unbearable. Soon enough, they ended up back at the van... ...and Manic wasn't there. Neither was any kind of car thief, or damage, or anything. Down the streets leading up towards the casino, they could just barely make out Manic's ridiculous fringe and his casual strut walking down towards the shopping area, and turning on his feet the moment he reached the corner. Why was he going back? Whatever the reason was, the car alarm was clearly some kind of lie. And just from Scourge's vantage point, he could start to notice that Manic was running into the coats and purses of a lot of the people he was passing by. Was he safe? Yeah, he should have been safe right up ahead. He ducked into some coffee shop, sitting down far in the corner and pulling out the wads of loose bills he had, sorting them out quickly and anxiously. He didn't have time to waste, they were bound to get suspicious any moment now. Aria looked around. Anxiety getting the best of her. “Where did he go?” She asked, scanning the crowd, nervously.

Scourge inspected the van for marks but found nothing. “The van is safe. Calm down, I’m sure we can find him..” He scanned the crowds and spotted the other. “I think he’s a little too tipsy. He’s running into everyone.”

Aria had hopped up on a box in the alleyway, now about Scourge's height and able to see Manic. “No, he’s walking normally… Maybe our fight put him in a bad mood? Come on let’s follow him.” Scourge helped her down from the box and the two walked off towards the coffee shop.

They saw a few people check around for something on the ground, or pat their pockets. Several wondering where their money had gotten off to. Aria gripped her book and purse tighter. “Thieves in this area by the looks of it.”

They reached the coffee shop but Manic had already left, and Scourge scanned the crowd again. There wasn't much surprised that Manic was going towards the book store again. Scourge couldn't see beyond the corner of the shopping district, but he was only gone for a few minutes and he said he would be right back, he didn't have any reason to go or think they would be anywhere else. What did surprise was the sound of some car alarm going off again. Was Manic pulling this crap again for whatever reason? Scourge and Manic collided with one another on the street corner, fumbling back and stopping short of falling over. "Scourge!" Manic shouted, almost frightened to see him. Especially coming from the direction of the coffee shop, what else had he seen? There was a tinge of genuine fear to Manic's voice. This fear was soon shoved aside for simple anxiety. "Dude, were you just over there?" Manic said, pointing towards the lot. The key clutched in his hand was blinking again. "My alarm's going off again." He could see some level of distrust in Scourge's eyes. He must have pieced together that the first was a fake. "Look, for real, this time! I dunno what you're angry about, but it's gotta wait." Aria helped the boys up, then took off running towards the car when Manic explained himself. She had more of an idea of what Manic had been doing, but wasn’t gonna say anything.

Scourge tried to calm Manic down and took off, a little confused but full on ready for a fight. He couldn’t use his super speed in the city, she he just had to settle with faster than an average person.

Aria had gotten to the lot first and got defensive, looking around for what caused the alarm. Her class were out and her quills were standing straight, more prickly. Scourge approached from the opposite side. They both saw him at the same time. Some brand new, very expensive shoes that left a clean shoe print on Manic's tires after a firm kick. An old letterman jacket he wore for appearances rather than any kind of alma matter. And most importantly, a head of carefully sharpened, aerodynamic blue quills. "I knew it," Sonic said, stepping back towards Aria as he saw Scourge walk around from the side of the van. Manic was right behind him, half-expecting to see Sonic here. "Aria doesn't exist, you've just been dating again." "Shut the fuck up, Sonic!" Manic yelled. "We ain't dating, and Aria's right behind you. Can't I have, like, FRIENDS?! I'm not a slut over here, can't I just have a night without you trying to protect me from shit-all?!" Sonic grabbed Manic's arm, and stared him right in the eye. "I know what you're like, I'm your brother, and I know-" "No you DON'T!" Manic reached his hand around Sonic's head, giving a harsh tug on his sensitive quills. He pushed him to the ground, continuing to pull back on them as though he was trying to remove them. "You don't know ANYTHING about me, or anything about not being an ass! Is that good?! Is that 'going easy' on you?!" Sonic was desperately trying to scratch back at Manic and get him to loosen his grip - with M anic standing on his legs, he couldn't use his normal speed to his advantage. The screams he made told them this wasn't just having their hair tugged, this was some kind of deep, visceral pain. Scourge wasn't surprised to see the Sonic alternate that Manic called his brother here. He had a feeling he would show up eventually. If Manic hadn’t stepped between him and Sonic, Scourge would have hit him by now. When the two started to fight, Scourge almost stepped in until he realized Manic was on top.

Aria meanwhile, had lost her bravado when she saw it was a Sonic alternate, instead backing away slowly. She was terrified. But when Sonic grabbed Manic and claimed that he knew the musician, she got angry. Projecting her feelings for her own brother onto the similar situation in front of her.

So when Sonic managed to get out from under Manic and out of arms reach, he wouldn’t have expected Aria's sudden tackle from behind. She knocked the other face first into the ground and pinned him down with her knees, pulling roughly on his quills and ‘accidentally’ smashing his face into the pavement once or twice.

“This is what happens when you mess with my friends, in my zone!” She exclaimed, tugging a little harder.

Scourge was checking on Manic, worried about the other green hedgehog. “You alright?” "Yeah, I'll be fine." Manic said, shaking his hand to try and let off some of the sting from touching Sonic's quills. They were tiny pricks in his hand, but still large enough to be annoying. He grabbed Scourge's arm as he stood up again, turning around to watch Aria beating down on Sonic. Every hard tug at his quills lead to him screaming out again and calling uncle, begging to be released. A small crowd had started to form on the edge of the parking lot. "Alright, let go of him, we're good." Manic knelt down and pulled Sonic up to his feet, now visibly bruised and hurt. He was still angry, but clearly not in any position to fight again. "What the hell are you thinking, this is an anti Mobius! Don't you know not to come to these places, ain't I supposed to be the simple one here?" "Yeah, you're being real smart, bro." He spat out, seemingly realizing some amount of defeat. "You're not any safer in these places, don't you know not to hang out with Scourges?" "It's just a friend! It's Ari's birthday, we're just hanging out with her friends, what are you trying to stop?" "I'm stopping you from dating ANOTHER Scourge, kid!" Manic didn't say something immediately. Actually, he took a subtle step forward, something he knew meant Manic was trying to hide some kind of anxiety. Did this Scourge not know that yet? The small crowd cheered as Aria beat him senseless, the hatred for Sonics rampant through the people of this world. She got off, satisfied with her actions as she rubbed the sting out of her hands.

The crowd dispersed as the fight ended and Manic picked his brother up. Aria's growl was low and quiet in the background. “Actually Blue balls, in this town, you’re the bad guy. So watch your tongue.”

At the sudden revaluation of Manic's dating history, Scourge didn’t bat an eye, merely stepped up between the two and grabbed Sonic by the front of his jacket, lifting him off the ground. Scourge was taller, stronger and older than this version of Sonic, and held a more dangerous attitude.

“Listen up buddy. You’d better start treating your brother with a little more respect, lest you get me angry. Now I’m going to put you down, and you’re gonna apologize and ease off being such a fucking voyeur on Manic's life, or Imma give you back to the little red head, and we’re gonna see how badly getting those sensitive little quills cut hurts you, okay?”

Arias claws came out and she inspected them, making sure they were sharp. “Hell, if we film and sell it, we could make a fortune,” she mused. The look she gave Manic, one that Sonic couldn’t see, indicated that this was all for show. There were many feelings going through Manic's mind the moment Scourge picked Sonic up off the ground. Dread that he was going to get his face broken in. Terror that Scourge would flip at the news. Impatience as he waited for whatever threat he would deal out. And some form of strange relief as Aria got her claws out again. Sonic was dropped to the ground, visibly confused at pretty much everything the two had said. At its core, Sonic was still getting beaten up by a Scourge Manic was hanging with, and he knew that this would reign heavier in his mind than Scourge actually being good. Every action had told him that much, yet some shred of stubbornness in his mind would still keep it from sinking in. Manic just glared back at Sonic, his body language saying that he would never her the end of this. It was a deafeningly silent wait. "Jet." Manic said when he realized Sonic wasn't going to get out an apology, pointing his thumb behind him towards the street. "Bro, hear me out-" Another shove back at Sonic. They stood around for a moment and stared, before Sonic realized Manic didn't even want an apology, revved up to his usual speed, and hobbled down some back roads out of the city. Manic took a deep breath, running his hands through his large fringe as he calmed himself down. He was feeling just as many mixed emotions as his brother. "Thanks," Manic said genuinely, finally allowing anxiety to enter his voice. "What... have they done here, anyways?" The second the blue blur was out of the way, Aria walked over to Manic, checking him over with motherly concern. “You’re not hurt are you?” She asked, checking his hands and face.

Scourge looked like he was ready to sucker punch something, but calmed back down into the relaxed person he was before the night had taken its sharp turn. Manic's question was met with a tense Aria and a silent Scourge.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Manic. It's a long story. I think I should get you and Aria home. You’ve both had far too much excitement tonight.”

“I agree. I think I can make us a big enough warp to get us and the van home,” Aria insisted. Manic was on board with all of the concern and attention for a while, and was even fine with the tense reactions to his question. If Scourges were the good guys here, were Sonics their equivalent of the real Scourges? It was an odd logic that made surprising sense to him. And then Aria mentioned warping. "You can make-?! Uh, Ari, but I'm still not completely fine this all this warping stuff. It ain't- There are crimes you just don't mess with, you know." He crossed his arms, looking down at the ground. "I dunno... Is in-zone warping not the same kind of crime? Zone jail ain't nothing I want to mess with." But hell, Scourge evidently warped all over the place, and he was supposed to be the good guy in this place. "Eh- Eh, I guess it's fine." He stepped towards the van, leaning against the side and sighing heavily.. "I'm sorry, guys. I just wanted to show you guys a fun night." Aria nodded to Manic's questions. “Don’t worry. Scourge and I have in-zone warping clearance. But I do mine differently.”

Scourge put his hand on his friend's shoulder “Well I for one had fun… Until the end that is.. Uh.. Maybe you two should stay at my place tonight just in case Sonic tries something?”

“Good plan. Now, get in the car boys.” Aria insisted, standing behind the van.

"Let’s go home." Manic climbed into the car again, sitting in the front seat again. Maybe he wanted to object about Sonic. Sonic got angry at Manic, he didn't like to physically fight them. He knew when to run from battles. He was figuring out that this wasn't the zone for him. There were many, many things that Manic could have said to object to needing to be safe from Sonic. Yet he didn't dwell on any of it specifically. "Sonic ain't gonna hunt us out, we're gonna be fine. Unless you mean-" No, he already brought up this zone's Sonic, and that was another of many sore wounds. "Eh, forget it. I didn't want a heavy night, but I guess that's what we're stuck with." He turned towards Scourge and smiled, like he was finding some scrap of enjoyment in all the nonsense that was going on. But things were starting to get better with Scourge. He knew the worst of it, they were getting more comfortable around one another, they were hopefully going to be alright. But when Manic looked out the window at Aria, he had to move away. He'd seen warp rings being used before, and he never dealt with that nonsense. Seeing a warp being summoned without that kind of assistance was completely different. And seeing one of this size was... terrifying. It felt like this should have been impossible. His eyes were wide, his mouth virtually to the ground. “There’s alcohol at my place, I intend to drink some of it. You’re both free to join me.” Scourge commented, stretching out.

Aria backed up, estimating size of the van. Backing up, she turned with her back to the van and pulled out her claws. She started scratching at nothing until the air just… Ripped apart. Through the rip Manic could see the swirling colors of a portal.

She started pulling at the edges until it was wide enough to fit the van. She hopped through and then came back, motioning for Manic to drive through.

She had the other end of the portal drop them off on the driveway of the castle. The perfect parking spot. Manic was more than cautious about heading through a warp, not quite knowing what to expect. Some strange hyperspace? A mess of swirling colors and sparked as they traversed a long distance? In fact, it wasn't anything that grand. The moment he passed through the portal, he was simply... there. Outside the castle, no drama, no sparkles or flashy lights, no nothing. It didn't feel right at all, because it simply wasn't. It was a rip in reality, by the looks of it, it wasn't going to feel right no matter what it was. He was grateful that the parking spot was right where he exited the portal, he wanted to get out of the car immediately and get used to the idea of what just happened. While he stepped out of the drivers seat, he shook his head and put on a smile. "Was that it? Like, where are all the bad special effects and laser light shows?" He stared up at the castle. Again, these weren't the imposing anti Mobius castles he'd seen before, this was just a castle. Rather normal (at least, as normal as a castle could be) with no tinge of bad intentions or dread. He'd maybe encountered a good Scourge once or twice before, but he never got chummy with them. "So where's the booze, mate?" “Sadly my dear Manic, I’m not a warp ring. The fancy bits that are added into those things aren’t something I can do. Do I look like a rave?” She joked, grabbing her stuff from the car.

“The booze is inside Manic, let’s go.” Scourge insisted and they walked up to the large building. Scourge unlocked the door and they entered the green hedgehog's home.

The entryway was classy, marble floors and old stone walls. They were lead to a living area, a room with an open bar, a pool table, a TV and a small selection of books.

“Make yourselves at home,” he insisted, and Aria kicked off her shoes and faceplanted into the soft couch, purring quietly. Once again, a pleasant, lovely room. The alcohol certainly helped with Manic's opinion in that regard, even if he would have like it without the open bar. Manic was just happy that he was starting to trust this Scourge. He was pleasant to be around, a good friend, with a bit of a heart for adventure. Clearly damaged in some way, but coming out of it with some amount of decency. Just like his old Scourge... Manic crammed that aside and walked up to the bar, happy to see some selection of drinks that weren't probably twelve dollars an ounce. He wasn't the kind of expert bartender Aria was by a long shot, but he knew how to make a few good drinks when he wasn't drinking cheap, over sweetened alcohol from the bottle. A little orange juice, a little vodka, a few little touches, a simple harvey wallbanger. Nothing grand, but good enough. Aria seemed like she was planted into the couch quite comfortably, her purse discarded mindlessly. He wasn't going to have a chance just yet. "Hey, you guys want anything while I'm over here?" On the bookshelf, easily viewed from the bar, was a picture of a much younger Scourge. In this photo he was still blue, his old leather jacket that he had just taken off was brand new, and there was a Fiona alternate in his arms. It was a heartwarming photo. Scourge looked so happy. In another photo next to it, a younger Aria covered with paint as she worked on a large scale canvas, oblivious to the camera. Happy memories, at least 10 years old.

Scourge was laying in the armchair next to the couch, loosening the bandages wrapped around his chest a little. He had his eyes closed and his feet up on the ottoman, relaxed. “I’ll just take whatever you’re making. Bring the sugar vodka for aria, I think she needs it.”

Aria just gave a thumbs up from her place on the couch. There was still an open loveseat next to Scourge or another armchair next to Aria for Manic to choose. "Yoooou got it," Manic said back. His glances kept turning towards those photos. It was nice to finally see some more generally happy sides to these two after such a dour night. It would have been nice to see Fiona here being all schmoopy with Scourge, or to see Aria getting really passionate about painting once again. But any kind of happiness was fine, even just three friends sitting around drinking and being exhausted. It wasn't a hard drink to make a second of. A few ingredients crammed together and shaken up, not rocket science. And by the looks of its position on the shelves of bottles, sugar vodka was drunk regularly in this place. Not that Manic was going to judge. The trashier and more intensely sweet or flavored, the more Manic would usually like it. Where to sit? Well, Aria looked like she was virtually conked out for the night, and Scourge was likely to have some questions or concerns for Manic after everything that happened. He might as well go for the more awkward conversation and get it out of the way, he thought. So he left Aria her bottle of sugar water and gave Scourge his golden-orange drink. Manic slunked down into the armchair, FINALLY getting a chance to relax. "You guys wanna watch anything, or just hang out and get drunk?" There were more photos around the room, mostly of Ari, Acourge and their friends. Odd, only one of Fiona or really anyone who seemed to be romantically involved with Scourge.

Aria picked up the bottle and rolled over, undoing the top and drinking right from the source. She swallowed and set it down, waiting for the fuzziness of intoxication to set in. She wrapped herself up in a blanket and leaned on the armrest.

“Thanks.” Scourge sipped at his drink and clicked a button on a remote that lit up the fireplace. Both hedgies shook their heads, fine with just alcohol and the flames.

“You feeling okay?” He asked Manic, concerned. Manic started to drink the moment Scourge started to speak, and drew out his sip just a bit longer than usual. Not just to think of an answer, but to get some more alcohol in his system. A lot had already happened, and he didn't want to keep feeling tense. "Nah, just- Just still kinda tense, you know?" He leaned back in his seat and let the flames warm him up as he relaxed. "But the worst of it's over. Sonic's gonna head back home and vent to his guy friends, we ain't in any danger." He exhaled heavily. The alcohol was starting to mix with the fire and keep him comfortably warm. "I guess we've both got a ton of questions," Manic said, looking down. "Any answers you need now... or do you wanna let it pass?" He took another sip, not entirely sure which response he'd prefer. “No questions come to mind. At least, no questions that are any of my business…. Did you wanna ask me something… Or talk about anything?” Scourge continued to sip st his drink.

Aria scooted over to their side of the couch with her vodka. She drank some and listened into the conversation. She didn’t say anything though, just watched them talk. Her purse was left unattended. If Manic needed to grab Aria's purse he could do it now.

“Is this only questions relevant to tonight or just in general because I wanna knew how doorknobs were invented." Manic let out a weak chuckle at Aria's joke, smiling for a few moments before fizzling back down to his serious expression. Not the serious of some kind of government agent tasked with protecting their leader, but serious in a more self-reflective kind of way. All those Scourges he'd so much as heard about, let along the ones he'd known hadn't prepared him for someone like this. And being slightly delirious from how late it was and slightly tipsy, Manic wasn't able to focus on anything other than his thoughts when nothing was going on. He didn't even care about her purse anymore. He'd just have to be careful with what he asked. What didn't seem to open a wound? What could he ask that he could likely get a straight answer out of? "Uh, when you went to threaten Sonic, you only moved in after he talked about my old boyfriends." He started rubbing his hands together. "Did Aria... already tell you about that?" He paused, before finding some speck of humor to ease himself at least a little. "Or did I get drunk and text you, and I just don't remember it?" “No, nobody told me anything. But I know that older brothers like that need to be put in their place, that bringing up past relationships can hurt. You’d been hurt by a Scourge in some way and that you clearly were uncomfortable when he brought it up. So I stepped in to give you some breathing room.”

Aria downed a little more alcohol and listened to the story. Snuggling up tightly in her blankets. “N’ I hit him cause he was being a dick… Nobody messes wit’ ma’ friends…” She slurred a little. She had just downed half a bottle of vodka after all.

Scourge patted her head “Yes yes. I’m very proud of you for standing up to a Sonic. Go drink your alcohol.”

“Okiiiii.” Manic just smiled at the drunken Aria. "See, that's how I was planning on spending tonight anyways." He made a silly face and raised his glass as though he was giving a toast, and gave another drink. When he put it down he was smiling genuinely. There wasn't the same heaviness that there was just moments before. "Honestly, I was kinda worried you'd flip," he said with a smile. "Maybe I just need to stop listening to everything he says about Scourges?" He knew he still had to... for the most part. But This clearly wasn't another Scourge in the garbage pile, he was just Scourge. The same thought he would give to any halfway-acceptable Scourge he would meet. "Honestly, though? As much as I rag on them... you're completely wrong." He looked down at the ground, and smiled a glowing, reminiscent smile. "Yeah, he was a Scourge, but he didn't hurt me. He was a butthead, yeah, but that's just how every normal Scourge is." He fidgeted with his hand, toying with a tiny plastic ring. "This thing here was just something he gave me when we were trying to piss off Sonic. Man, we had so many dumb schemes! He got it. He was... the best lover I could ever hope for." Aria met his toast with a swing of her own. Scourge sipped at his drink. Someone had to put Aria to bed after she passed out. Scourge smiled softly at the look in Manic's eyes, remembering when he had the same one. Aria was a lot less graceful and merely slurred her words

“Awwwww. Someone’s in love~” she teased, giggling. Scourge merely watched her passing through the stages of being drunk.

“If she starts speaking another language, we cut her off,” he whispered to Manic, playfully, returning to the more peaceful topic.

“This guy sounds like a riot. And she’s right, you care about him a lot. Its… Refreshing to see someone speak so highly of one of my alternates.” He patted Manic on the shoulder and took another drink. "Then trust me," Manic started, "you should be reeeeal glad you handled my brother. I got some crap with Scourges, but he's got ALL the crap with Scourges." He just smiled and brushed his hair back, realizing he was a bit more drunk than he thought he was. He'd forgotten about the wine he drank earlier, evidently. "I dunno, you know there are all kinds of horror stories about 'em. Just back in my home city, there are all these stories of this one purple Scourge who just- Just the worst, in every way. I try not to be too closed minded about it." He smiled and looked down, not worried about the ones who, to his knowledge, were just urban legends. "But friends trust friends, no matter what. You'd be surprised who you can meet through the right people... and the right drunken hedgehegs." Aria was still flopping about like a fish out of water who had just had a night out and was now relaxing at a friend's castle and getting drunk. Manic leaned over. "So how drunk we gotta get her before she cusses us out in ten different languages?" “Oh yeah, any that are purple are batshit insane. The beryl went to their heads. Incredibly powerful, incredibly dangerous. We’ve got similar legends. Except ours are of a sonic without pupils and glowing in black flame. That ain’t real though”

He chuckled at Manic's question and looked over at Aria. “As far as I know she only speaks two. And one of them is a dead language so I couldn’t tell you if she’s cursing… However if she wants to start snuggling up to you, then she’s full on blackout drunk.”

Aria mewled and looked over at her friend. “Are you talking shit about me?” She asked, trying to focus on Scourge. "Nah, dude, we're just shit talking you. Totally different," Manic assured. He normally would have walked over and wondered exactly how strong that sugary vodka was, but given that she drank about half the bottle, maybe it wasn't as strong as he suspected. Or she was just a heavy weight. Either way, he just needed to stay sober enough for a little longer. Not totally sober, though, since he was still drinking his half-empty drink. even as convenient as it would have been, Aria was still half awake and fully drunk, if he was going to hope for an honest answer from her about anything, it was going to be right now. So he swirled his drink in his hand for a moment, and thought. "Hey, Ari!" Manic asked, putting on a happy tone to try and lighten the question a bit. "Didn't you tell me you were strapped for cash a while back?" He lied. "Why'd you come along to a casino, anyways?" “Mkkay~” She slurred as Manic explained himself, scooting over on the couch. Scourge laughed, face getting just a little flushed from the alcohol. Aria laughed too, but for no reason.

When manic asked his question, Scourge's laughter stopped. He looked between the two, a little offended. “She told you? I had to figure it out on my own”

She crawled over the arm on the couch to reach across Scourge, booping Manic on the nose. “Silly hedgie… I ain’t broke.. My boss just isn’t paying me cause I won’t do what she wants,” she slurred some more, laying limp across the arm of the couch and Scourge's lap. The green hedgehog didn’t seem too uncomfortable with the sudden movements.

“B'sides my favorite green herghergs are here,” she purred, content. "Well then, start doing what she wants, dude!" Manic teased, hiding his genuine advice as some smarmy nothing. "We don't wanna see our favorite red horgharg going broke!" He ruffled Aria's hair again. Evidently, Scourge was at least used to Aria's brand of drunken shenanigans. Manic looked up at Scourge while Aria was distracted, mouthing 'I'll explain when she's asleep' and putting on a more serious face for that moment. "You sure that vodka ain't, like, ninety proof or summat?" Manic joked. "Cause you're looking really sloshed right now." Not much more than she was before, but now that she seemed to be trying to cuddle with Scourge, she was probably completely drunk by now. He could get her to go to bed to get some time to talk with Scourge, or... "Or do you want me to grab your sketchbook and stuff outta the van?" Her being asleep would be more convenient, but her making drunken pictures? THAT would be entertainment, no matter how it went. “Nmm… I don’t wanna… M'not a whore” she lisped a little, an accent of some kind slipping into her words. She purred more as Manic ruffled her quills.

Scourge was a little angry at Aria, but he didn’t let it bug him yet. That was for a sober Aria and Manic to explain later.

Manic was not safe from her affection either as she nuzzled into his hand. When he asked if she wanted a sketchbook, she nodded. “Yes please Manic~” she cooed.

She gulped down the rest of the vodka and snuggled up to Scourge. The green hedgie picked her up and set her down on the couch, cleaning up. Just a short walk to the van and back. No biggie. Manic was kind of tipsy, but he didn't get drunk easily. He was more of a heavyweight than his small body would suggest. 'M'not a whore.' That said many, many things a sober Aria would never have said. Even if they didn't like it, they had their answer. They had many challenges to try and work through with Aria, but they had a starting point, if nothing else. Aria was going to be very, very unhappy when she knew what they found out, but tonight, she was happy. Aria clearly needed all the happiness she could get, and if she loved drawing, bringing her her sketchbook was the least Manic could do. But he couldn't help but flip through some of the sketches. Once more, gorgeous linework on the casino sketch... at least, everything she could get down before being hit on. He flipped it open to a blank page - he wanted to see how Aria would paint it, and he didn't want it to be ruined because she was drunk. "Here you go, dude," Manic said as he handed it over. Scourge seemed somber, as Manic would expect. "I'mma bring your stuff to the front," Manic said, picking up her shoes and purse. He turned to Scourge, speaking slightly forcefully to get his intentions across. "Scourge, could you show me where the coat room or whatever is?" Aria squeaked happily, taking out her pencil and starting to draw with intense concentration. She almost appeared sober as she worked, clearly used to the artistic process while inebriated. Her small travel kit for painting was pulled out of her purse before Manic took it away and she mixed bright greens and blues and rich purples

Scourge led Manic away from the living room into a simple walk in closet beside the front door. Unlike the hallway, this room was drywalled and insulated. His hands were shaking with rage, and Manic would be able to see the flames in his eyes.

“That fucking bat!! I swear, next time I see her I’m gonna kill her! This has gone on for far too long! Fucking bitch can’t get laid on her own so she’s gotta pull this shit to get some!”

He punched the wall, frustrated. It broke the drywall, a large crack forming. That seemed to calm him down a fair amount. He sat on a bench and put his head in his hands, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He suddenly seemed much older than he was, the bags under his eyes a little more noticeable. Manic felt no less intensely than Scourge did, but he didn't know much of anything about Aria's employer. All he knew was Aria was in an awful situation. He didn't feel anger intensely, but intense sympathy. Years of anxiety had taught him how to act through his emotions, so he seemed to keep his head for Scourge's sake. "Dude... We've got an answer." Manic said, sitting down across the bench from Scourge. "Even as bad as things are, we've got some kind of answer. At least we know what's going on with her. We can come up with a plan, we're gonna make sure she's gonna be alright, okay?" He smirked for just a moment. "And if you wanna punch her out... let's wait til we get Aria to quit." Scourge had given him a glare when the two ran into one another. There were many things this could have meant, but in Manic's mind, it only meant he knew exactly what he was doing. So he swallowed his pride, and stood up to walk over to Aria's purse. "Friend's help friends, no matter what." He said, as he opened her purse and started to hide the many loose bills he'd pocketed at the bottom of her purse. "You won't tell Aria, got it?" Scourge popped his knuckles, growling. He was unhappy, angry and just generally annoyed. For Mani'cs sake, he calmed down. He looked up at the other as he watched him empty his pockets.

“Dude, let me sneak her cash instead. That’s your tip money and money from the casino. You earned that.”

Was he serious? Did Scourge not realize what Manic had been doing at the casino? The look in his eye said that he didn’t. He did take in the amount of small bills and looked up a little confused.

“Geez. Either the tippers weren't stingy or you’re secretly a stripper cause that is a whole lot of cash*

In the other room, Aria had finished an intense painting of the room she was in and got up. Drunk, she grabbed onto the couch to steady her spinning head. Then she walked in the direction the boys had left in.

"Scourge? Manic?” Manic's ears darted up as he heard Aria and hastily crammed the rest of the money to the bottom of her bag, shifting everything into essentially it's original position. How close was she?! Either way, Manic had a perfect opportunity to play this off. He peeked out the door to the room. Nowhere in sight. He closed it again, and spoke as softly as he could manage to Scourge with a level of determination, almost fury, to his voice. "I wasn't checking the car, I was getting a withdrawal." Manic said sternly, trying his best to make sure Aria wouldn't hear. "I heard what she said in that store, she needs every cent she can get, and I've got more than I look." He commanded quietly as he walked towards Scourge to make the severity of his sentiment obvious. "Friends help friends. No. Matter. What. Understand?" He looked up at the wall, and back at Scourge. The way he spoke was too severe, the situation was too severe, there was no reason he should have been pretending to be calm. "You ain't the best actor. You're still furious at her boss, aren't you?" Was Aria nearby? There wasn't any reason she would give up looking this soon after starting. "Aria's looking for us. Or... You not ready to talk to her yet?" Scourge was surprised, but put his hand on Manic's shoulder. "Then let me help you after this is all dealt with. You may not be broke, but you could use a little boost. And some decent cooking supplies..”

He followed Manic's eyes to the wall and sighed. “Let’s put it this way. If I was given the chance I’d shoot her dead and put my thumbprint on the bullet so they knew it was me. Aria is like my little sister, I’m supposed to protect her when she can’t do it herself. I just feel like I’ve failed her…” He looked up at Manic from his seated position.

“You’re a good person, you know that?” Scourge asked. “I mean, we barely know each other and you’re already helping her and you’re being so nice by taking her out and letting me tag along. You’re a rare breed Manic. One of a kind."

Aria herself was disoriented. "All the halls look the same in this castle” she slurred, walking down a random hall way. She patted a marble statue of a dog, absentmindedly as she came to a dead end. Aria was starting to get scared. Her anxiety rose and her drunk mind created people in the shadows, causing her to run as fast as she could, attempting to work her way back to the light of the living room.

“SCOURGE? MANIC?!?” Ahe sounded panicky. Where were the boys? "Uh..." Manic seemed almost bashful at the comment. He played it off as such, sure, but his own nerves were stopping him from taking the compliment at face value. It was still built around the fact that Manic was just well-off, without telling him HOW he was getting this money. It would be one thing if he needed to be in someone's good graces for just long enough to finish a job. But Scourge wasn't just some schlub, and if he was going to keep hanging out with him, he was going to have to find out sooner or later. There was a genuine embarrassment as he repressed the anxiety. He was used to off-handed or simple complements, not heartfelt ones. "Thanks, dude... It's just being a nice person." He sat down next to Scourge again, looking down at the floor. "You said you'd do the same for her. Anyone'd do the same." But it was clear that as much as he tried to play it cool, he was taking it to heart. 'You're a good person.' 'You're a good person.' "I'm a thief." Some kind of shred of fear pushed him over the edge, blurting it out as Aria ran through the halls, covering the sound of her loudest echo. He didn't want to screw this up, and the longer he lied, the worse it would get. "I'm a thief, I'm just a pickpocket. You think- I wouldn't withdraw that much in fives and tens." He almost sounded angry, but a burning, inward anger. He didn't even bring up the nice restaurant cutlery and other small valuables he'd taken during their little trip. "It's a casino area... they'd lose it anyways."

He was surprised at the sudden confession. The mood turned cold, Scourge just a little shocked.

"A thief? Wh-why? Never mind, I can guess why but… When? How I… I’m trying to understand and I don't know how…” He paused and looked up at the other. “What I said still holds. You’re still a good person… Just help me understand-”

Aria had gotten close enough, running from something that wasn’t there. In her drunk state it all felt horror movie-eqse. Like she was an actor in an r rated movie.

“SCOURGE!! MANIC!!” She shrieked voice hoarse from screaming. She was in the main hall now, close enough for the boys to hear over their conversation.

Scourges ears perked and he got up, motioning for Manic to follow him as he ran into the hall. “Come on! Aria??” Manic would have tried to say something to help Scourge understand, if it wasn't for the sudden shrieking. Sudden nothing, her shrieking had been a background hum for Manic, even if he couldn't register it over his own mind's anxious yelling. But now he had another set of anxious screams to worry about. "Aria...?!" Manic stood up, his hurried walk quickly escalating into a jog towards the hall. Sure enough, Aria seemed to be running and screaming from nothing, down some kind of corridor through the main hall. Manic didn't even bother asking Scourge if he knew what was going on, he clearly didn't. Manic exited through the same door Aria just ran through. "Aria, wait, it's us!" Manic screamed as he hurried up towards Aria, panicked and red in the face, and by the looks of it, exhausted from her run. Scourge ran up towards the two soon after. Manic wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her close without being too mushy. "Ari, are you alright?! We're here, we're alright! Did something happen?!" Aria clung to Manic, shivering from fear. She felt weak and a little limp, still terrified of what she thought she saw. She was unable to speak, crying just a little bit. Her inhales were shaky, her skin clammy.

Scourge had his phone out, calling someone and ordering a full security sweep of the castle and a nurse to be sent to the living room. Several other people that Manic didn’t know came running in.

"What’s going on?” The pair asked. A pink hedgehog and a black one, still sleepy and a little confused. The male had a sword belt on, and the weapon rested in its sheath. Judging from his voice, he was clearly the other person Scourge had called.

“We dunno. But whatever happened, you’re safe now kiddo.” He insisted as Aria looked up at him. What in Chaos was going on? Manic had no idea what to make of any of this. Aria was spunky, she was brave, she wasn't the kind to just breakdown at nothing. SOMETHING must have happened, but what? All Manic knew was Aria clearly needed to ground herself in reality, and the alcohol wasn't going to help. He looked around the room Aria had run into. Some kind of small sitting room. Manic walked her over to a couch, patting her back to try and comfort her. "Hey, you're okay, we're all here!" Manic said, not quite knowing who 'we' was. Who was this black hedgehog? No idea. Some kind of royal guard, maybe? Who was this pink hedgehog. Probably the nurse? And even though he knew Scourge, a lot had happened in a few minutes, and he had no idea how he was going to react. "What happened, Ari? You gonna be alright?" The pink hedgehog sat on the coffee table, checking Aria's vitals. "Pulse is fast but still within normal parameters… She’s drunk for sure. Nothing else is out of the ordinary. What happened my little lamb?” She asked, petting Aria's cheek. The red hedgie nuzzled into her palm.

The black hedgehog got a message on a radio that was looped onto his belt. “The castle is secure. So either whatever scared her is still in the house, or there’s nothing tangible scaring her”

“Like a ghost?” Scourge asked, clearly off put by the idea of a spirit in his house.

“Or a hallucination. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen this happen to someone. Regardless I think we should get her into a bed. She can sleep it all off.”

Scourge nodded and looked to Manic. “Sorry, looks like the trio’s down to two. Help me get her to bed?” "C'mon, let's get you somewhere else." Manic said, helping Aria to her feet. She seemed frightened still, but walking with two other people seemed to calm her nerves a bit. While Manic lead her by her hand, Scourge actually directed them through the castle, with it being Manic's first visit and all. But soon, Aria was in what looked like a guest bedroom curled up safely. "Here, Ari." Manic handed his phone to Aria, smiling. "We'll still be here. You need anything, just give Scourge a call or text or whatever, okay?" But even as they left the room, they didn't go too far. Manic sat down on one of the benches in the corridors, exhaling loudly. "Is that a normal thing for her?" He was wrenching his hands around uncomfortably, trying not to say anything stupid or thoughtless. "She didn't seem like that earlier... you think somethings actually in the castle?" He wanted to keep asking questions, but Scourge was already trying to ask his own earlier. "I guess I've still got a lot to tell you, don't I? Where do you want me to start, dude?" Aria's shivers died down slowly, but by the time they got to her room, she was still gripping onto his hand. Scourge lit the fire in the fireplace so she would be warm. She nodded in thanks and curled up into a ball to try and sleep it off.

Scourge sat next to Manic and thought. "I think Glare, the black hedgehog, was right. He’s my head of security, if he says the building is secure, it's secure. I don’t think whatever Aria saw was… Physically present.”

He clarified. “This place is haunted as shit, but only the old wing. Maybe Aria got too close to one of the entrances.”

He looked at the other, thinking back to their conversation. “The beginning I guess? I mean, I’m guessing you started stealing out of boredom or desperation.” "Well, I'm a sucker for danger, maybe I've gotta see the old wing sometime?" Manic said, not completely joking. But inevitably, things were going to loop around to his own confession. "Well... yeah. More necessity, but desperation, yeah. Out mom isn't- We kind of had to take care of her for a while. And she couldn't get a ton of money to support us, so we found our own ways to help. Sonic and Sonia found jobs, but thievery was so... easy, y'know? We got enough to live off of, enough to have some fun... and it became kind of an addiction." He sighed, smiling. "And you know? That's how I met Scourge. He actually stole my car, and things went... weirdly well. Two great thieves living out of a crappy van and a worse apartment. It's so damn fun, you wouldn't believe." His eyes were closed, his body barely moving as he spoke. "I've been trying to stop, but there are some things- I love it. I'm perfect at it, I love it, there's nothing else even close. When you're that good, it's impossible to stop." "Besides." Manic stared at the floor now, his face bittersweet and reminiscent. "Scourge'd want me to have fun." "The old wing has been locked up, boarded up and abandoned for… 15 years? And whatever… WHOever is down there is angry. Its too dangerous.”

Scourge watched the others face as he spoke. An honorable reason for a bad deed that slowly got worse. He tried to think of a good way for Manic to get his kleptomania out in a healthy way, but found none.

“I kind of understand… The first but anyways… But Manic, you do realize that some of the people you’re stealing from are in just a bad of a situation as Aria, right? I know you might need that money, but for now maybe stick to uppity rich people. Okay?”

He patted the other on the shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. I think you’re brave and what I said earlier is still true. You’re still a good person.” "I'm not dumb," Manic said with a smile as he got patted on the shoulder. "You can tell who's got cash to burn... but thanks for your concern." He closed his eyes again. "Thanks for everything, mate." There wasn't any hiding the pain in Manic's face. Scourges always got some reaction from him. Yeah, this Scourge was entirely different in personality. But he sounded ALMOST the same, looked ALMOST identical. It felt less like an alternate Scourge. More like a kind person piloting a Scourge's behavior from a safe distance. It was comforting words from the one kind of person that could have made anything of the sort utterly devastating for Manic. "I don't know who I should feel sad for now," Manic desperately chuckled. Manic put one of his hands over Scourge's, not just to show some kind of closeness, but to actually feel his hand. He still had all his fingers. It wasn't his Scourge. He was talking to someone else. He was talking to someone else. "I'm kind of terrified for all of us, dude." "I haven’t done much to help. I could always do more, just say the word… And yeah… We’re all fucked up in 19 different ways… But we’ll get through it eventually.” He smiled at the other.

Looking at details in his face, it was obvious that this was not his Scourge, even if the fingers didn’t give it away. This Scourge was older, quills starting to loose their luster and go grey around the ears. He also had more stress liken, worry wrinkles and a few pale facial scars. Those bandages around his chest and back hadn’t been removed, but one could assume that there were scars there.

Silence between them, the comfortable kind. Scourge glancing at the others hand. “I’m sorry about your Scourge. I don’t know what happened but I know you miss him a whole lot… If there’s ever anything I can do, or if I do or say something that hits too close to home, lemme know okay? I know how tough it is to be around alternates of someone you love who’s no longer around.”

Scourge got up cocking his head towards another door in the hall. “Now bedtime young man. I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day.” "Not knowing what happened's kind of the whole problem," Manic said as he spoke about Scourge, "but I'll tell you all that some other time. I guess this isn't how we wanted Aria's birthday to turn out, yeah?" He agreed completely with turning in for the night. Their day had been emotionally exhausting, and he needed a chance to lay down and try to relax after everything that happened. "Think I've had enough excitement for like, one month," he joked. "You mind if I check in on...?" They slowly opened the door to Aria's room. It seemed like she'd calmed down and started to fall asleep. Manic strolled up quietly. Sure enough, out like a light. He picked up his phone, thankful she didn't feel like she had to call for help. As soon as he was out, he started speaking again. "Guess I can't drive down if we've got all these questions?" He pointed his thumb behind him, down the stairs. "Hey, I'll just be conked out in my van if you need anything. Night, dude." "Yeah.. Tonight did not go as planned. But we always have a chance for a do over, her actual birthday is this Thursday and were having people over for dinner. You’re invited.”

Scourge checked in on Aria from the door, then came in to pull up the covers and pet her gently. She merely curled up in the sheet a little more. Wrapped up in sheets like that, she looked much younger than she actually was.

Scourge looked at Manic like he had three heads. “Manic there’s over a thousand rooms in this castle, and about 100 are being used. You are not sleeping in a van tonight. Come on. You’re staying in style.”

He lead Manic down the hall, past a set of grand doors, then a smaller set of doors that stood out from the rest. “The big doors are my room. Knock if you need anything.” No mention of the small doors. Interesting.

“…and this one is yours for how ever long you want it.” He opened a plain door to another room, similar to Aria's. "Aw, dude...! Like, I literally don't mind sleeping in there, it's weirdly comfy? But thanks, dude, this is awesome!" His normal enthusiasm was knocked out some by simple exhaustion, but the sentiment was clear. He looked over the room again before turning back to Scourge. "Thanks again, mate. Like, for everything." With a two finger salute, he closed the door and walked over to the bed. Normally, it would have been the kind of night where his thoughts kept him up. Everything he'd learned about Aria, about Scourge, about this castle, there were clearly whole lives going on that Manic wasn't privy to. And maybe he would have wanted to ponder everything he heard and tried to deduce anything. But that door was very strange. One of two unique doors in the castle, and Scourge went out of his way to pretend like it didn't exist. He could try and find answers, sure, but something told him there were a lot behind there that Scourge didn't want him to see. Normally, it would have been the kind of night where curiosity got him out of bed. But that day was VERY strange. He'd processed enough, and as soon as he laid down on the mattress, he realized just how tired he was. It didn't take more than a minute for that night to take its toll on Manic.

#TinyRedArtist #Show's Over #There's A Melody Playing #Strong Language