#i’m dead ass unless everyone thinks this is stupid in which case it’s a joke

[atopvisenyashill]

elia sand is going to fall in love and elope with aegon vi, this will be used as justification for bran marrying her after the war for the dawn, because she was already (briefly) a queen, she was legitimized, and bran can’t have kids anyway so it’s mostly just about having a dornish influence at court for “keeping the peace” reasons, in a parallel to robb’s attempt at justifying marrying jeyne westerling that there was once a westerling queen

#elia sand #aegon vi targaryen #bran stark #getting on my soap box #i’m dead ass unless everyone thinks this is stupid in which case it’s a joke #akskskskskdkdmd

[lenademonn]

All This Time - 3

*Summary: Elena used to be closed off and composed, always in  control of her feelings and actions. She knew how to survive long before  world ended and didn’t need anyone to keep her alive. Because  attachments are liability, make you weak especially in this new world  where dead are walking and living are more dangerous than before.

A slow burn Daryl Dixon x OC; from season 1 forward, ongoing. Angst, Violence, strong language, sarcastic humour and more.

Warnings: Swearing, some anger managment issues.

Chapter 3

Day 45 The next day was quiet; the silence between Daryl and me uncomfortable. He woke me up a few hours before dusk, which meant that he took the long shift, nothing new in this aspect. He laid down without saying anything after waking me up, and I spend the next few hours watching the area and thinking about our conversation from before. Daryl woke up before I even had a chance to shake him awake. So lack of sleep, that's another thing I can add to my list of what I know about Daryl Dixon. We quickly packed what little we had and started trekking through woods, following the tracks we noticed yesterday. Finding them wasn't that hard, especially not for a brown-haired man. What turned out to be a challenge was picking up a fresh trail. We walked around for good three hours before Daryl crouched down to touch a set of hoof prints when I followed his action I could tell that those tracks were fresher than the one we found previously. Next to me, the man looked around the forest ground and pointed the way he thought we had to go. It took us another hour to finally find the animal, we spotted it standing in the middle of a small clearing, nibbling on grass. Daryl stopped and rose his clenched fist, signaling for me to stay still. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly took an arrow out of my quiver, and lined it up on my bow and stretched the string. Steading my breathing and not taking my eyes out of our game, I was waiting for Dixon's directions. He also prepped his weapon and was watching the animal intensely. "Three, two, one," His whisper was barely hearable, and once he said 'one', we both released our arrows. His bolt hit the deer in its side while mine pierced its belly. Animal yelped in pain and took off instantly, its steps uneasy. "C'mon!" After hearing Daryl's voice, I moved quickly jogging after the animal, to not lose it in the woods again. I was pretty sure that I nicked some significant organs, and even though it didn't go down, it should bleed out soon enough; in that case, we didn't want to lose sight of it and allow geeks a free lunch. We followed the trace of blood left on the ground and leaves for some time when we heard a piercing scream, and I realized how close to the quarry we actually were. It sounded like one of the women or even one of the kids. Oh God, I hope it's not Carl or Sophia and that it's nothing. I quickly looked at Daryl. "That's coming from the camp, hurry up Dixon," Before he could react, I jogged in the direction we heard screaming. It didn't take us long to approach the edge of the camp. Daryl moved in front of me at some point, shoving me behind him when we heard concoction just in front of us. Advancing slowly, we finally emerged into a clearing, and I could see familiar faces of Shane, T-dog, Dale, and others. They all were pointing some sort of weapon in our direction.

"We surrender?" I joked while Shane put his gun down, mumbling under his nose. Dixon, on the other hand... well, he was pissed. And I wasn't surprised when I realized that on the ground just in front of us was a headless geek and half-eaten deer. Our fucking deer, the same we were tracking since yesterday. "Son of a bitch" Brown-haired man moved from in front me, around the bushes towards the deer. "That's mah deer!" His accent deepening signaling how angry he actually was. "Look at it, all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless, poxy bastard." With each word, he gave a sharp kick to the geeks' side, letting his aggression go somewhere else than people in front of us. "Calm down, son. That's not helping," Oh Dale. Why would you say it to Dixon? Do you have a death wish? "What do you know, old man. Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'. I've been trackin' this deer for miles." He pointed a finger in Dale's general direction and moved on to retrieve his bolt. I coughed as a reminder that I'm still here. "We. We tracked that deer for miles, Dixon!" Saying that I finally made my way to the dead animal and crouched down to get my arrow. "And by the looks of it out of our shots, mine was more deadly, so technically this deer is mine, you asshole!" I quickly stood up and wiped the blood off my arrow with my rug, then I put it back into the quiver and made my way back to the camp. On my way out, I made sure to push Daryl out of my way with my shoulder. Who the hell does he think he is? We've been hunting together for months now, and yes, of course, I may not be as skilled as he is, but for fuck sake, I am not terrible. Ignoring the men, I patted Amy and Andrea on the shoulder while walking past them. "Good that you back safe" I gave them a small smile and made my way towards the camp to find Lori. She stood next to the RV with Carol and a few other women. When she saw me she smiled, but I could tell it was strained, and I started to have a bad feeling. I approached them and took the zip bags with meat out of my backpack, watching people in front of me carefully. "That's all the meat we got, it should be enough for a few days. We got a deer as well, but fucking geek gnawed on it before we could get to it." I passed the bags to Lori and Carol, as they were the best cooks out of us, trust me you don't want me to cook you dinner unless you're willing to be ill after eating it. "Thanks, Elena, it means a lot. Listen--" Lori started playing with her fingers, after putting the meat bags on a small foldable table next to the RV's door. So there was something wrong. "There isn't a good way of saying it. Merle was left behind on that run, and we know that Daryl will be so angry, and he is really unpredictable in that state. Can you try to calm him down when the guys gonna tell him?" She sputtered, and for a second there a thought I misunderstood what she said. Merle left behind. What does it even mean? Before I could ask any more questions, I could hear Daryl shouting for his brother, and I felt so bad for him. And angry with everyone who went for that run, how could you leave someone behind?! I mean yeah, sure Merle Dixon is a colossal dick and dumbass, but that's not the reason to just-- "Merle, get yur ass out here. We got us some squirrel." He smirked in my direction when he noticed me looking at him "Yes, I said 'we', women. Merle!" I really hoped that my face didn't show any emotions because that was just heartbreaking. And I was also slightly concerned for whoever will deliver the news to him. "Daryl, slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane was the one to speak, and behind him, I could see the rest of men with a new face in between them.

"Hey, Amy, who's that guy behind Shane?" I asked the blonde woman who was now standing next to me on my right.

"You won't believe it. That's Lori's husband." The fuck? I looked at browned haired women and then at the new guy and tried to hide my surprised face. This is going to be interesting. Making a mental note to ask Lori all about that, I focused on the conversation in front of me.

"There was a problem in Atlanta" Shane touched his face for a second, showing how uncomfortable he was saying it and then moved his hands to rest on his hips. Daryl looked around and hold my gaze for a second before he took a few steps.

"He dead?"

"We're not sure." After that, Daryl moved towards Shane, his voice getting louder.

"He either is or he ain't."

"No easy way to say this so I'll just say it." I could see this new guy move forward, and towards Daryl, he wasn't looking directly at him at all.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes"

"Rick Grimes, ya got something ya want to tell me?" Oh, I could tell that Daryl is starting to lose his patience. Yeah, I know, he doesn't have a lot of it in the first place.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there" When this Rick guy answered, I found myself moving forward too, annoyed at what he was saying. What stopped me was Daryl and his face full of tears when he turned around away from the new guy. He glanced at me for a second before wiping his eyes and then clenched his jaw, turning back to Rick.

"Let me process this. So, ya handcuffed mah brother to a roof, and ya left 'im there?"

"Yeah," Answer was short, and I could hear the shame in the new guy's voice, then with anger on his face, Daryl threw a string of squirrels we caught this morning at Rick Grimes and was ready to beat the shit out of the guy. That was until Shane literally tackled younger Dixon to the ground. Shane quickly stood up while brown-haired men was still lying on the ground, but I could see him reaching for his hunting knife, which was secured on his belt.

"Daryl -" I was cut off by T-Dog, who dropped the logs he was collecting.

"Hey, watch out for the knife!" At this same moment, Daryl got up and swang his arm at Rick, who dodged it. That didn't stop younger Dixon, he moved again, aiming at the men in front of him, but Rick managed to avoid it again and get a hold of Daryl's wrist pushing it away from both of them. Shane sneaked behind Daryl and put him in a headlock. With that, Dixon was shoved to the ground, with Shane's arm still around his neck. In the meantime, Rick pried the knife and dropped on the ground away from the fight.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl was still struggling and trying to get away.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't" I rolled my eyes and finally made my way towards the three of them.

"Shane, let him go!" Using my stern 'work' voice, it usually worked well with criminals and kids, mainly with kids.

"Daryl stop struggling, please. Just calm down for a second so we can get a full story out of them." I crouched in front of him and looked into his blue eyes, now full of tears and rage, his chest rising quickly and his fists clenched, one by his side and the other around Shane's arm, trying to ease the hold. He looked at me for a while and nodded, making me smile just a little.

"Shane, let him go! You know I can handle him if necessary." Both of them looked at me now, one unsure of what to do and the other with a look of pain in his eyes, even though it disappeared very quickly. Shane finally let him go, so I took the opportunity to turn toward this Rick guy and T-Dog.

"Great, now can someone tell us what the fuck happened in Atlanta, and how could you leave a man behind?" I put my hands on my hips, face blank, but my eyebrows rose slightly.

"What I did was not on a whim, Ma'am. His brother does not work and play well with others. He beat T-Dog and was shooting from the rooftop, attracting more and more walkers to our location." Daryl and I exchanged a look, he was biting his lower lip, a clear sign of anxiety. Yeah, unfortunately, what this man was saying was sounding precisely like Merle Dixon.

"It's not Rick's fault." That came from T-dog, "I had a key. I dropped it." Now my face was for sure, showing surprise and confusion, but it was Daryl who voiced what I was thinking.

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"I dropped it down the drain" I run my hand over my face trying to compose myself, while Daryl just scoffed in disbelief.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." He finally stood up and tried to walk away from the group—T-Dog's voice stopping him in his tracks.

"Maybe this will. I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him with a padlock." I looked up at them, confused.

"Are you saying that Merle is alive?" I asked in a low voice.

"Yeah"

"You fucking idiots. Don't you think that's the kind of information you should start with?!" I nearly shouted in Shane's face, seeing as he was the one to start all this show.

"Hell with all y'all. Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you." Lori's voice was calm, but when I turned around to face her, she was anything but. Oh, I see how it is. The first day back and the Grimes family already got problems.

"Yeah, I'm going back."

*

As I was getting ready in my tent, I tried to not listen to what else people got to say about all that. I re-checked if my knives were secure and put my short sleeve blue flannel shirt over the reins. I checked if my Glock is fully loaded and put it in the holster on my right side. I put some water and granola bars in small backpack Glenn found in Atlanta some time ago.

I took my machete and made my way to the track I knew we gonna be taking. I could see Glenn already sitting in the driver's seat while Daryl was pacing the truck's back. I walked past Rick and T-Dog and put my machete down on the floor of the vehicle. I pushed myself up on my arms and got into the back of the truck, making Daryl stop his pacing.

He looked at me, his blue eyes narrowing "What the hell ya doing here, women?"

I just looked at him calmly and picked up my weapon "What does it look like I'm doing, Dixon? Did you really think that I would let you go without me?" He just scoffed and mumbled under his nose, something about a stupid woman.

"Hey! Don't go breaking my records now! We went all 15 days without you calling me stupid." At that comment, I could see his lips twitch just a little, and then he made his way to the seats at the front of the car and used his foot to pressed a horn.

"Hurry up, y'all!" Rick and T-Dog made their way towards us, the new guy was wearing a sheriffs uniform, I guess he was a cop just like Shane, before all this.

"Ma'am, I don't think it's safe for you to go with us. The city is completely overrun, and it might be dangerous." I let a small laugh escape my lips, the others following my steps, except Daryl, of course. That guy doesn't laugh.

"Rick, this is Elena, we were telling you about her last night." Glenn introduced me, and it got me really interested in what they were telling him about me.

"SSA Elena James, not that it matters anymore. Trust me, I had my experience with the dead already, and yet I'm still here alive." I spun my machete in a circle, careful to not nick Daryl with a blade. After that, we finally were ready to go, Rick taking the passenger side at the front, T-Dog climbing up to sit with younger Dixon and me.

*

The journey to Atlanta was uneventful, except few snarky comments from Daryl. Glenn finally parked the car, and we all jumped out, making our way to a chained fence, to go through it. The first time I saw the city after that day on a highway and boy let me tell you it was horrible.

The streets were abandoned except for a few geeks - or walkers, as Rick calls them. I could see abandoned cars and here and there we passed burned down buildings, seeing what napalm actually did to Atlanta and how deserted it looked.

It's kind of image you'd only see in a movie, laughing and asking your friends what would you do if apocalypse, of any kind, would hit. And now we fucking living it and it's scary to think about because it seems like humanity lost and what was left of us was in the minority.

"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl's gravelly voice pulled me out of my thoughts. It seems as he and Officer Friendly were having a go at each other. Again.

"We are. You know the geography, it's your call" That last part was intended for Glenn, who, in fact, like I mentioned before, is a walking map of Atlanta.

"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." I was so happy when Glenn said it. I didn't know if I could stop Daryl if he'd decide to punch Rick, or I should say I wasn't sure if I was willing to do so. I was pissed too, you don't leave people behind like that, it doesn't matter how fucking annoying they are.

We jogged through the streets for about five minutes before making it to the convenience store they left Merle in. I heard a low growl behind me and T, so I quickly spun on my heel and rose my blade into dead men's eye. He was wearing a suit, now shredded in many places, his stomach ripped open and once-white shirt now deep red and brown from all the blood.

As quickly as I sunk my machete in, I pulled it out, pushing caracas to the ground, making the rest of my group look at me. I gave a quick smile in their direction before advancing to the front, following Daryl through a ransacked shop. He gestured for me to take a right, while he went to the left and we both slowly and quietly moved forward, I heard the swish of Daryl's crossbow and then sound of a body going down. When I rounded the corner, I was met with an arrow pointed straight between my eyes. I used my left hand to gently push it down cocking my eyebrow a little.

"Come on, Dixon, you would be super sad if you'd kill me. Who would make you laugh and complement that sexy body of yours if I'd be gone?" He just rolled his eyes and scowled at me before going in the direction we should be going. I looked at Rick, and he had a weird expression on his face. Like a combination of disbelieve, amusement, and resentment all at this same time.

"Don't worry, Rick," T-Dog said, chuckling. "That's just the relationship they have, she pushes his buttons, and he tries not to kill her."

I sent a sweet smile in their direction and moved after Daryl. We finally made our way up the stairs to where the roof door was. When on the top, Daryl made space for T-Dog to use bolt cutters on a padlock and then kicked the door rushing first to get his brother. We all followed him through a platform to a pipe where Merle supposed to be. Yeah, supposed to be...

"No! No!" Daryl's cries broke me a little, he was pacing, and tears rolled down his face. The handcuffs were still attached to the pipe blood all over them, on the floor bloodied handsaw and... a hand.

Impatient prick cut off his own hand. Fuck.

Next Chapter

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon fanfiction #the walking dead fandom #walkers #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #slow burn #excessive swearing

[iamconstantine]

RWBY V3E5: Never Miss a Beat

* PEEEEENNNNNYYYYYY * OH DIP is Penny on an actual team now?? * You guys know I love this show’s actions scenes but sometimes these characters do backflips for literally no reason

* See, like...This is a problem I’m noticing in a lot of these new female characters. There’s promise for a cool design there but they’re all made from the same model. They change the hair, skin, eye color, clothes, etc. but they all have roughly the same build and face. * Also I can’t tell who this girl is supposed to be but I’m sure it’ll hit me like a sack of bricks later * “Thank you for a wonderful time!” I’m headcanoning that Penny has a bloodthirst streak rn * Penny you can’t glomp people you way like 5000 lbs * I 100% do not have anything against Ciel’s voice at all but I think maybe her VA was a little too close to the mic? There’s a notable difference in her and Ruby/Penny’s audio quality * I’m going to throw my cards in and guess the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, maybe? I can’t immediately think of another character all about time management * “Like Weiss!” “Precisely!” I don’t know whether to be disappointed or amused that Weiss is still Salt Queen * Oh? I just kind of assumed everyone kind of knew at this point, my bad. I guess everyone thinks the multiple swords are her semblance?  * And, like...is it? Is she like Pyrrha? * Missed opportunity for an “I played it off *cut to them totally NOT playing it off*” joke * Awww Penny noooo * Ruby and Penny: *important conversation about Penny’s role with Atlas* Ciel:

* Mm...it was a little short of a minute but I’ll give em credit * FREE-ZER-BURN! FREE-ZER-BURN!

* I have no idea when I got it into my head that Yang was like...EXTREMELY taller than everyone else and dwarfed Ruby and Weiss. (Unless Weiss is wearing heels) * “I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategy!”

* Weiss stop you’re walking into a trap stop feeding him * see, sometimes I’m conflicted about holding Weiss accountable for the Schnee Dust Company. Blake I feel was justified since Weiss was talking very proudly about how great it was despite its business practices, but in this case, I’m not so sure. Weiss wasn’t even gloating and he’s pulling the “You’re related to the person who wronged me” card * “Why don’t YOU? That’s what you sound like!” Wow! I hate her! * jowejowauehp I love how instead of Yang being angry she’s like “wh...huh?” * “where’d you get your hair extensions?” asks the girl that probably uses melted skittle juice to dye her hair * “...Top heavy.”  * First of all:

* Second of all: Tops, by definition, cannot be top-heavy

* tfw you thuoght you were about to face some serious military-grade opponents but one’s just a smooth jazz player with a vendetta against your dad and the other is a :3 kawaii lol so random rawr girl who insults your teammate’s boobs out of nowhere  * I figured the attack was going to be a sonic jazz blast * *INTENSE CARELESS WHISPER* * I wish the sound was like...actual music playing, at least. I know it’s supposed to be bad but like...my ears are bleeding.

* I’m very incredibly sorry to anyone that disagrees and/or loves Weiss but this is so far the dumbest, most humiliating way I’ve seen someone get hit in a match so far and I saw a girl break her ass on a skateboard * Sometimes the rainbow effect is fine but other times it’s not doing so great * Actual scene: high-action, gunfire, explosions The music:

* I can’t believe Yang might be beaten by Nyan Cat Beams * “Look! Now you’re bottom heavy too!” She always has been.

* don’t like that * The record scratch I’m love * Ngl I love that music transition into that sort of jazzy quartet style now that the fight is back on Weiss and Blow Job * “Too bad all that money can’t buy you skill!” Too bad having it be your only weapon on the battlefield can’t let you play the trumpet good for shit * There you go Weiss!

* I keep forgetting Oobleck actually has eyes and is kind of a bishounen behind them * Can’t believe that of all the things these people see on a regular basis it’s a guy becoming a rainbow quartet that gets the HUH???? reactions * “You are kind of pretty when you’re angry!” Okay now I’m just convinced this girl is thirsty and is flirting with Yang. * “I wasn’t saying you SHOULD go on a diet! I was saying you NEED to go on a diet!” Ooooor she’s just jealous that Yang has All That Going on For Her while rainbow girl has All...That Going on For Her

* Listen I don’t want to be a nitpicky butthole but didn’t these two just teleport over here just so he could see them? * Yang just go super saiyan already! She’s clearly maxed out your anger points. * There’s no doubt in my mind that people probably really love this rainbow girl but I spent my school years with like 4 “lol im so cewl and quirky im going 2 insult u all coy but then just straight up say wat i mean lolololol uwu” girls and she’s reminding me of every one of them * oh my fucking god she fucking dead * I am really, genuinely confused. Where did Weiss go???

* don’t like that * “Don’t worry about her! She’s easy!” Nah you just wish she was you thirsty bubblegum pop wannabe.

* YANG YANG YANG YANG YANG!! * GO FOR HER ROLLERSKATES! * Man Yang really did pull the cartoony “hold one end of the gun so it fires out the other thing” huh * Which reminds me I don’t think either of these characters had guns for weapons!

* OH MY FUCKING GOD SHE FUCKING DEAD

* Oh Weiss is there still * My heart being warmed by team FNKI actually being sportsmanlike and complimenting Yang and Weiss and Neon asking to hang out later is really confusing my body’s visceral response to Neon in general * oof. ouch. Okay. I’m sorry. But when Ruby and Blake are running to Weiss and Yang they just...shrink.

* Like it isn’t just me right? * Can I just go one damn episode without seeing the three stooges please * “What does that mean?” Mercury I hate you from the bottom of my heart but thanks at least for not just taking the whole ~mysterious evil line~ at face value * ...which is then followed by another ~mysterious evil line~ * Also, side note:

IF ANY ONE OF THESE STUPID KINDERGARTEN IDIOTS WHO OUGHT TO BE COVERED IN BAND AIDS FROM HOW MUCH THEY CUT THEMSELVES ON THEIR OWN EDGE GOES ANYWHERE NEAR PENNY I WILL TEAR OFF THEIR SINGLE PERSONALITY TRAITS WITH MY BARE HANDS

* “His heart is in the right place” Get it? Because he’s the Tin Man. Get it? Get it? Ge * “Sometimes I’m not even sure he has a heart.” GeT it? Get i T? Gte ti? ge t  i ? t * “Ever since the day I met her, I had a feeling she would be the one” I am in fifty different states of confusion and anxiety right now * oh dear oh dear oh Pyrrha my dear what are you about to get into? * So as of right now I’m pretty okay with how they’re approaching the tournament arc. I was concerned it was going to grind to a halt and no plot development would happen but it seems that they’re at least taking 2-3 episode breaks to do that and even then, episodes that focus on the tournament do get at least some progression

#rwby #recap

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Weird “In Memoria”

it is getting 100% frustrating trying to fit these stories into so few pages. Sometimes quality and quantity go together if you want good description. Anyway, here is the next installment of this mini series. Some questions have ben asked about the names to these creatures, and that credit goes to @cephalon-jaunde​ for coming up with the starborn as the creature's name for themselves. You just need to comment or suggest some ideas and I may incorporate them in, no harm in trying. 

here is the first part in case you missed it. 

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/183938010415/humans-are-weird-space-angels

Captain Vir lay on his back staring up at the dimly-lit infirmary ceiling. Despite the padding on the medical restraints, his wrists and ankles ached and throbbed. He had fought the restraints for hours, yanking and pulling against them as he tried to talk Krill down. The little alien was having none of it. He was convinced the captain was going to get himself killed, and he was convinced he was the only one sane enough to see it.

‘They are using you’ he had said, ‘if they can get into your mind who says they can’t change it. You are far too trusting and that will make you easily duped.’

Vir had argued that it was his job to do these sort of things. Yeah, he was a little bit stupid, and the things he did were a little bit stupid, but someone had to do it so the rest of the galaxy didn’t have to. Krill wasn’t convinced and kept him locked down. Captain Vir tried anything he could to force the little surgeon to let him go. He talked about his orders, his intuitions, he gave orders, and eventually he devolved into name calling out of desperation. What Krill was doing was selfish, he was only trying to keep Vir safe for himself, and it wasn’t his decision to make.

But no matter the argument, it hadn’t worked.

He had long since fought himself into exhaustion, and telepathy induced seizures had taken away the rest of what he had left. They were still trying to communicate with him. Sure the thing had been creepy, but he hadn’t had enough time to really tell what it wanted. It seemed interested in communicating with him, so who was to say what its real intentions were. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed that they wouldn’t be likely to try and kill him. They had had plenty of chance to go ahead and do that when he was floating alone in space, and wounded. They could have just let him suffocate, or bleed out, or cartwheel into the vastness of space without any help, but they didn’t.

That’s what Krill didn’t understand… intuition. It didn’t make sense.

He tried his best to communicate with the creatures, tried his best to reach out to them with his mind, but he was quickly learning that, while the human brain HAD the ability to communicate telepathically, it definitely wasn’t meant to. The harder he tried, the more his brain responded with spastic electrical signals. After a series of tree seizures in the course of ten minutes, he had gone right ahead and quit trying. It hadn’t been so bad when he was in contact with the creature, talking with it skin to skin and face to face, somehow that had made it easier on him. It was only when they were far away or when they tried to speak to him all at once that he couldn’t handle it.

If he could just get more time, get a little closer.

Then again, that wasn’t seeming likely to happen. He pulled against the restraints halfheartedly. Designed by humans to restrain humans, there was no way he was getting out and Krill knew it, unless he could break one of his own hands and slip out, which did not seem likely either.

Out in the hallway, he could hear voices moving towards the infirmary. He recognized the sound of Krill, Sunny, and his lieutenant, in charge of the ship when he wasn’t.

“It wouldn’t be wise to un-restrain him.” Krill was saying, “Whatever these creatures are they seem to have induced some sort of psychotic episode.”

“Can you be sure about that?” Sunny wondered hesitantly, “The captain hasn’t led us wrong so far.”

“Not to bring up old wounds or anything, Sunny, but you were supposed to be a spy. If you had done your job a little bit better, the Captain would be dead and so would the rest of the crew.” There was a long silence before Krill continued, “Besides, if they can get into his head, than there is no saying they can’t change things around in there. They could be manipulating him for all we know.”

The group stopped just inside the door. Sunny lowered her voice, though it wasn’t enough to keep him from hearing, “I don’t know Krill, it seems wrong to lock him up like that. He’s the captain…. He’s the acting chief of my tribe. You can’t just lock him up.”

“The hell I can’t.” Krill answered, “Ill lock anyone here up if it means keeping them alive. That includes you, and that damn sure includes the Captain.”

The group of them went quiet again, and Captain Vir heard them moving down the infirmary. The curtain around his bed was pushed back, throwing light across his face. He turned his head away squinting as the group came to stand next to where he lay. Krill, as studious as ever, leaned over him examining his eyes with a small light. The captain shook his head against the bright, “Knock it off, Krill.”

The little surgeon ignored him conducting a quick neurological examination on him as he did, “how are you feeling Captain?”

“Honestly, a little pissed off if you must know. Un-cuff me and that’s an order.” He demanded

Over him, Sunny and the Lieutenant glanced at each other and then at Krill.

He could see their doubt and seized on it with all his desperation, “Come on guys, its ME I’m lucid. They aren’t controlling my mind. It’s my job to figure out who they are and what they want and to establish communication. You all called me crazy when I let Sunny on the ship, and it worked out. So just give me the benefit of the doubt.”

Krill glowered at the others as well, “Do I need to mention the time that he turned off the gravity and let an unknown entity aboard the ship against regulation, and without speaking with the supporting crewmembers?” He motioned towards the wounds on the captain’s arms, “And was injured in the process, and now he wants to go back out.”

The glancing grew in intensity, and Vir could see he had lost the argument. He wilted back against the bedframe with a sigh shrugging his shoulders against his cuffs. The lieutenant rested an apologetic hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry captain, but Krill has a point. No one else can hear what you can, and you did put the entire ship in jeopardy with what you did.” He quickly backpedaled against Vir’s protests, “I know you didn’t mean to hurt us, or put us in danger, but there may be something influencing you that you don’t know about.”

He sighed in frustration, “Can you at least-“ He raised his hands as far as he could and shook the cuffs for emphasis glancing at them with an expectant expression. Sunny seemed ready to oblige him, but krill shook his head.

“No, Captain, you’re not an idiot, and I’m not an idiot. You have survived too long for me to think you aren’t smart enough to escape or dupe your way out.”

“Ok fine then, but you are either going to have to cath me or let me go so I can pee. I’ve been holding it for hours and unless you do something I will have no choice but to just let it go, and then you will HAVE to move me for my health. So, which shall it be?” Krill paused just then thinking hard upon the situation, the captain had a point, and he had no doubt that the man would make his point in the most aggressively and disgustingly human way possible. He could see it in his steely green eye.

“If you are really worried about it, send some of the marines with me, they can kick my ass up and down this ship without batting an eye. I was trained in the air force remember, so I’m not as tough as the marines.” Krill wasn’t totally sure he believed him, but he did know the marines. They were big guys, some of them with at least thirty pounds of muscle on the captain, and the Captain wasn’t small. He estimated him at around 195 to 205 pounds.

“Fine.” He said

***

The marines brought him back without issue. The group of them were laughing and joking as they normally would right up until they watched the man be strapped back into his place.

“What is this all about, Captain?” one of the men asked glancing over at krill with confusion.

He shrugged, “Krill thinks that I’ve gone insane.” The protest lasted for a couple of long minutes as the marines bombarded Krill with questions. He gave them the same explanation as he had given the others. The marines may have been jarheads, but everyone on the ship knew Krill’s reputation for logic. The captain could see that the marines were wary now. Glancing at him with unsure expressions.

Damn.

He sighed and rested his head back against the bed closing his eyes as Krill gave the marines their mission. Bathroom escort duty, how fun for them. This lasted for a good day or two. He would get up with them cause no trouble and then go back to where he was. Eventually the marines were just sending two people, and then one with him. It’s not like it was that far away, just in the other room, he should be fine.

***

“Think you can handle him?”

“Yeah, no problem, go get something to eat.” The big marine said, the big marine the sergeant and the most experienced among them. Krill didn’t even bother to look at the group of marines as they walked through the door leaving only their superior behind to unlock the cuffs and help Vir to his feet rubbing his wrists where they had gone numb. The two of them walked back to the bathroom, and the marine stood by with his eyes respectfully averted.

How long was this annoyance going to last.

Vir finished and turned back. The marine moved forward just as the captain staggered forward clutching his head. In shock, the marine ran forward to help grasping the captain by the shoulder worried he was going into another seizure. The man grabbed him by the shoulder for support bent double in agony.

And then, suddenly, one hand as gripping his arm, and the other the back of his neck. A knee was driven fast and sharp into his abdomen effectively cutting off a cry for help. The man moved behind him gripping him by the shirt and whipping it over his head. The marine was gagged and cuffed in under two seconds leaning against the bathroom stall flat on his ass. The Captain Knelt in front of him single green eye wide in sympathy. He patted the marine’s shoulder a grimace on his face, “I’m sorry marine I….. I owe you a raise when this is all over. It really isn’t personal, but I need to do my job.

***

He made it past the infirmary without error and without Krill noticing. His senses weren’t as keen as a human’s and his intuition even less so. By the time the alarms started going off, he was already wearing one of the suits, and was beginning to don a helmet. He engaged the compressed oxygen, and then checked the systems. His suit pressurized, and he engaged the airlock. Underneath him, the starcycle revved, a sound that was cut out as all of the oxygen fled from the room, and the doors opened into the starlit blue haze of the cobalt nebulae. He engaged the engine and drifted into space even as the door closed behind him.

“Where are you,” He muttered softly as he moved forward, “I’m here to talk, no interruptions this time.” His voice was odd and distorted inside the suit. As he followed what he remembered of his old path back into the dust making sure to keep track of his position as he moved. It was eerie inside the dust cloud, with no notion of up or down, and no way to tell if he was truly going in the right direction, just his estimate. He was beginning to wonder if he really knew where he was going, and then, the dust cloud lightened and broke. He cut into a massive circular clearing with nothing but the blue nebulae on either side and the spiraling trails of white dust.

They had been waiting.

A massive body shifted in space ahead of him. The immense head and stirring black eyes lifted to look down upon him. He reversed the engine, and used just enough backward momentum to cancel out his earlier movement. The bike halted in midair, and floated there while he engaged the gaspack and slowly floated upwards from the boke. All around him the strange alien creatures rose to follow him, their glittering ribbons flaring out behind them in the blue light. Their angelic side was more apparent in the light of the cluster, where he couldn’t hear them, and their skin glowed with the light of celestial heavens. He felt his heart begin to quicken.

“I’m here to talk, like you wanted.” He thought forcing his intentions outwards and towards the massive white form flanked on all sides by a legion of its angelic children.

“You are the first… we knew you would come.” Came the voice inside his head echoing with the sound of a thousand voices speaking at once an entire crowd, “The first one to visit us in our plane, and the first one to speak to us with our own language. The first to visit with us, the starborn”

“But, you speak English.”

“We speak the language of your memories. Your communication is our communication. We know what is in your head, and your heart, and your past. We see everything. We speak the language of the soul, and yours is the only species that may speak with us despite your weak minds.”

Ok that was kind of odd, “Well uh, cool, but you know it isn’t exactly polite to go poking around in someone’s memories, and just like stealing form them. Some things are meant to be private.” All around him, the group shifted, they moved back from him, their ribbons flaring outwards like a dog raising its hackles.

He raised his hands in apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just, we don’t speak with our minds where I’m from.”

“We have seen where you are from, we have seen what your people do, what they keep form each other. What you keep from your friends.” The massive creature unfolded itself stretching far below and far above with its glowing body as it took a step forward. It didn’t need to step, it could have just floated, but the movement made its point it towered over Captain Vir now, its large black eyes staring down at him “You hide yourselves behind lies…. A concept hitherto unknown to us until now. A great evil. A great evil that should and must be purged.”

Captain Vir allowed a little bit of the gas to push him back as he was easy on the controls, “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you. I can’t speak with my mind like you do, so it’s not really an option for everyone to know everything about us. Besides if my way of communicating offended you so much, than why would you bring me out here to talk?” his hand rested lightly on the gaspack controls ready to flee if that was an option.

“Your mind is very hard to read, human. It is tangled and warped by your lies. We are here to seek the truth. The closer you are, the better for us. Truth is always to outlive lies.”

The captain couldn’t help the unease that was creeping up his back. He wasn’t so sure about this. “What do you mean by that?

And before he knew it that massive creature was towering over him, and it was filling his head. It swelled inside his mind like water flooding an empty room. He gasped in surprise and pain as the creature took hold of his thoughts, his memories. Horribly, and suddenly his inner voice was silenced. There was no dialogue, there was nothing but the flashing of the side of his own mind. He couldn’t name anything, he couldn’t identify anything, he couldn’t comprehend what was around him. He wasn’t him…. He was…. Nothing. He had no identity, no conscience, nothing. He floated in a horrible blackness untouched by emotion or identity, unable to comprehend the terror of infinity of not existing.

Inside his head there was complete silence as the creature rifled through him like a filing cabinet tossing things about like a robber ransacking a home for valuables. His most precious memories were thrown to the floor, tossed into a jumble. His painful memories were sifted through with great care, private thoughts were brought back up examined and discarded, and he could do nothing. With no control over the mechanism of his thoughts he could not run, he could not move, and he could not thing. He was simply a husk floating in the blackness of space.

IT didn’t take the creature long to finish ravaging his mind, and one it was done, it drew back. The captain’s inner voice struggled to stand, to think clawing its way from the horrible blackness the terrible awful blackness of not existing, not feeling. He gasped racked with abject terror as he fled back from the black. His body trembled his mind remained fogged. The tears that broke unbidden to his eyes collected there unable to roll or move without gravity.

“A terrible sin. You are nothing but lies you humans. Nothing can be greater than this abomination.” He could feel the thing still inside his head, could feel its abject horror, hear its thought process slowly churning forward. The creature did not know what it was to have secrets, to have a place to itself. Honesty, truth was not an option, and now here was a creature that kept its mind to itself. So alien, so different, the creature rebelled against the idea.  Not even the sin of murder could have been worse, it could not let its people be exposed to such horror.

In his groggy and barely comprehensible state, Vr tried to remember the controls to the gaspack, but found his memories rearranged, gone, he couldn’t find them, couldn’t remember what to do. “You poor creature unable to understand your sin, unable to truly communicate….. I can help you with that. Just a few spots in your head, in your human brain destroyed, and I can give you true freedom of thought. It will help you block out the world, touch, sensation muted, and hearing gone you will better be able to hear the thoughts of your soul, at least before you die.

He desperately searched inside his own head for the memories, for the thoughts bringing others unbidden to his mind, his first flight, bullies at school, the christening of his ship, his father teaching him to ride a bike, his locker combination at the academy, listening to music with Sunny, teaching krill to play chess. He wasn’t sure when he realized the meaning of this situation, but he felt the horror, the worry, the shame. It rushed over him in a flood of pain.

He was going to die, mindless, and memoryless in the blackness of space.

#humans are weird #humans are space orcs #humans are spaceoddities #humans are space australians #earth is space australia #aliens

[writeanapocalae]

Alii Inspiriti

Read on Ao3 | Inspired by Art

Getting a rise out of Nines was hard. It happened, but it was usually when he was on low battery, when he couldn’t waste processing power on preconstructing and scanning and being a smart ass. It happened when he was vulnerable and quiet, when he tried to stay in stasis but couldn’t.

Gavin had noticed it, the way that he was a bit more sluggish than he used to be, that there were days in which his LED fluctuated between red and nothing, battery saver in full effect. He didn’t know an android could get tired but the lower his battery went the less of his programs he ran.

It was cute, in a way that Gavin wasn’t interested in reflecting on. He was big and intimidating but when he was tired he got outright dopey, he would touch more, he would lean his head on Gavin’s shoulder, he would rest with his eyes closed and his chin in his hand.

He didn’t ask why Nines wasn’t getting all of his charge in. That felt too personal. Once he’d stayed in the bullpen overnight, working on some paperwork. He and the other few officers that worked the graveyard shift tried to be as quiet as possible. He didn’t understand it at first, but Nines and the three other androids that resided at the station were in their charging pods. While Kevin, Laney, and Bliss were all dead to the world when they charged, Nines woke up at the slightest sound. Gavin noticed it when he dropped a pen and the sound was enough to rouse his partner. When he picked his pen back up he saw Nines just standing there, in his pod, staring at him, LED pulsing.

They didn’t talk about it. Gavin tried not to talk about anything that was personal, unless it was something that he could make fun of. Like how Nines’ smile looked like :] instead of a real expression or how he ran like a horse that had a base understanding of what would happen if it got caught lame.

He should have talked to him about it though. He should have figured out why Nines didn’t stay in stasis like the other androids.

They’d gone on a case and Nines’ LED was doing that blinking thing, in and out of red. He was slow and quiet, sticking to himself. He looked at the crime scene with his eyes but he wasn’t investigating. Gavin made a joke about pouring a cup of coffee over Nines’ head to wake him up. It was simple really, it wasn’t like Gavin needed Nines for this one. The guy made investigations a lot easier and faster and enjoyable but Gavin could still do the basics on his own.

One shooter, small, two victims, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. There was a gun licensed in Mrs. Jones’ name that was now missing. There were scuff marks of luggage being dragged in by the front door and a neighbor said that their son, Michael, had just moved home after a fallout with his boyfriend. There had been a lot of arguing and, from the cross on the wall and the bible on the coffee table, Gavin could guess what they were about. Gavin’s gut and experience both said that Michael was the shooter.

They didn’t have to go far to find him though.

Michael had been hiding in the house when they arrived and, when they drew too close, Michael did what he could to protect himself. He shot Nines, twice, before the android even caught on that he was there. That wasn’t all though, he pounced on Gavin, whipped him against the forehead with the gun, punched with his right, whipped against his lip with the gun. Gavin brought up a hand, trying to fight back, trying to get Michael off of him, but then the kid bit him of all things. They’d fought for a while but, with so many blows to the head, there was no way Gavin was going to win it.

He woke up a few hours later in a hospital bed, stitched and drugged and bandaged up. Nines had apparently kicked into gear once Gavin was unconscious and apprehended Michael, read him his rights, before he also passed out. Passed out was the human word for it, for androids it was hibernation, which was only a step above powered down. He could stay in hibernation for a while but he would run out of battery even in that mode.

Gavin had the rest of the day off. He could go back to work the next day, as long as he took his medication as instructed. He would. He was good at taking his pills on time. People thought that he was looking for shortcuts, that he didn’t care about the rules, but that was just because he didn’t follow those pertaining to etiquette. If it was for the job, for his health, he’d do it without question.

He came in bright and early, an extra shot in his coffee because he deserved it, whole milk too, in hand. Everyone was working, everything was normal, even Nines was back at his desk with his perfect posture. Tina though, she came by and clasped Gavin on the shoulder, teasing him. Chris gave him a wave. Even Hank gave him a little nod though his attention was on Nines, even while talking to Connor his attention was on Nines.

When he got closer he could see why. While Nines’ LED wasn’t blank as often, it was still cycling from red to nothing, and he wasn’t interfacing with the screen. He was typing, the old fashioned way, and while he was typing far more words per minute than Gavin could try to count it was still strange because he had no need to type.

He glanced up at Gavin for only a second.

Then he looked up at Gavin again, eyes big, and he was getting out of his chair and over to Gavin, putting his hands in Gavin’s cheeks, looking him over. The blinking stopped as the red went solid for a moment and Gavin knew that he was being scanned. There was no emotion on Nines’ face, just those big blue eyes, and those hands mussing up Gavin’s hair.

Those hands that were shaking.

Gavin had seen Nines shake before. It always started at his hands. Gavin didn’t know what it meant, had never seen it go up past his arms before. Nines always left when it happened. Gavin just assumed it was some android thing.

“Hey relax, Tin can,” Gavin tried to smirk but his cheeks were in the way from the pressure of Nines’ shaky palms. He set his coffee down on his desk. “I’m okay, see?”

That broke Nines’ stupid plastic face, making it crack into that :] smile. His LED, for the first time in hat must have been a month, spun into blue. Gavin could only catch a glimpse of it though because Nines was wrapping his arms around Gavin’s shoulders, one hand cradling the back of his head, and he was being crushed against android chest. Right there, in the bullpen, in front of everyone, Nines had given Gavin a hug and it didn’t feel like he had any mind to let go of him.

His whole body was shaking.

“I’m okay,” Gavin repeated.

Nines just held him tighter.

It took a moment for sound to reach them, for the whooping and hollering to become apparent. Nines pulled away, LED back to red and nothing, his eyes down. He was still shaking.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his voice that crushed velvet of gravel that he kept hidden away most of the time. It was like that stupid smile of his, not quite right, not what he wanted people to know about him, but it was quiet enough that he could speak to Gavin and know that the others wouldn’t hear.

Gavin slapped him on the shoulder, “If you’re not careful there, Plastic, people are going to think you’ve got a heart in there or something.”

He started to go back to his own desk, but Nines gripped his arm, just for a moment. “After work?” he asked and Gavin had to strain to hear him. “I want to. talk to you.”

Gavin paused, just for a moment, before nodding his consent.

The rest of the workday went over alright, just paperwork for most of the cases and a bit of a migraine. Nines did have to leave though, twice, once for the shaking and another time for a quick attempt at charging that didn’t seem to go anywhere. With all these people around, it was hard for him to do so much as close his eyes. It was at this second moment when Connor came up to Gavin’s desk.

“I’m glad to see you alright, Detective,” he stated, “most wouldn’t be back to work after such head injuries.”

“And here comes the headache,” Gavin groaned, leaning back in his seat, hands clasped behind his head. “What do you want Plastic Prick?”

Connor tapped his fingers on Gavin’s desk, all in a row. “Nines does not want me to interfere with his affairs. I am, however, worried about him. While he may not want me to intrude, you may have an easier time of it.”

The time for petty jabs was over and Gavin leaned forward, lowering his volume. “Any idea what’s going on with him?”

“He’s a highly advanced android, far more than I am. He’s also very sensitive. I fear that his inability to charge may stem from more than just hypersensitivity though. If he keeps going as he does, it won’t just be your face being rearranged and a short hibernation.”

Gavin gave him a nod, he hoped that was what this talk was meant to be about. Connor went back to his desk and, by the time Nines returned there was no sign that they’d even spoken. They went back to their uneventful workdays and Gavin took his pills on time. When it was time to leave they did so together, got to Gavin’s little beater of a car, and Nines didn’t try to advocate that Gavin should sit in the passenger seat and let him drive.

Nines was unfocused on the ride, staring straight ahead at nothing. He didn’t speak. He just sat there like a big human shaped doll, shaking every once in a while. Gavin didn’t ask him about it. They’d get home first, then the could talk as much as they needed, get all of this sorted out.

When they got to the apartment though, Nines didn’t move. He just sat there in the passenger. Gavin had to put a hand in front of his face, snap his fingers a few times, to get Nines’ attention. Only then did he get out of the car but, even then he had that glassy look to his eyes and leaned on the side of the car. Gavin took him by the elbow and lead him up the stairs, up to his apartment, and by then the shaking had settled all the way to Nines’ shoulders. Almost time for him to do his vanishing act.

Gavin let him into the apartment and lead him to the couch, where he sat heavy and tired, bone tired, more tired than Gavin had been since college probably. He reached up, brushed that one purposefully imperfect lock of hair away from his face, and asked him the question he should have asked weeks ago.

“Why the phck aren’t you charging?”

Nines leaned his face against Gavin’s hand and he spoke louder now that he knew no one but Gavin could hear him. “Can’t stay in stasis.”

“It’s the noise, right?” Gavin asked, actually letting Nines rest against him. It felt good in a way that Gavin didn’t want to think about. “You keep getting woken up? God, you’re dummy thicc in the head, there are noise canceling headphones out there, they’re not going to mess with your ‘do.”

Nines bit his lip then and that was something Gavin had never seen him do before. He’d never seen Nines wrap his arms around himself and start to rock, start to have what could only be a panic attack. Gavin put his other hand out, the bandage of it making it so he couldn’t feel how smooth Nines’ skin was on that hand.

“Don’t want. to talk. about it,” Nines admitted. “I want you to. know though. I wish I could just. touch you and. you’d know.”

“Yeah well I’m not a plastic boy like you, Pinocchio, you’re going to use your big words.”

Nines put a hand on Gavin’s thigh, his grip tight and vibrating. Gavin started to do his breathing exercises. He knew that Nines didn’t need to breathe, but he did the rhythm that he’d learned online in the middle of a week long panic attack back when he was new to the force. It helped, he was sure of it. The grip loosened at least.

“I dream. Whenever I’m in. stasis I dream the. worst things, I. I dream of you dying. of me. being the one to. kill you or you dying. from my negligence. and there’s. Nothing. I can do. Nothing. Any sound that wakes me. is a. blessing.”

Of course. Nines had deviated on his own, hadn’t let another deviant help him with this and he was working for the DPD, where all of their lives where in danger at all times. Gavin had gotten hurt so many times in their partnership, Nines always getting it far worse than he did, but with how Nines hadn’t been charging there was a now very obvious fear that he could get himself killed out there.

“That’s normal. We all have nightmares from work. Hell, some of us have nightmares from things worse than work. But you not resting is going to shut you down.”

Nines squeezed his eyes shut. “I know. I know.”

Gavin leaned forward more, resting his forehead against Nines’ own cold one. He could feel the way that Nines inhales unnecessary breaths, trying to mimic Gavin’s pattern, how much they shuddered.

“I know I’m an asshole and I know you’ve got no reason to think I wouldn’t judge you for this but just, know that I’m not, okay? I have nightmares too. But this is killing you. I need to know what I can do.”

Nines closed his eyes. Gavin noted that there was hardly any red in his LED. “Just be alive. Convince me. that you’ll stay alive.”

Gavin didn’t know how to do that. But he did. It was just a lot more intimate than what he’d ever thought he could do with someone, it was something he would do with a friend. Was Nines his friend? He didn’t know. But Nines was confiding in him and he wouldn’t even confide in Connor so that had to mean something.

“I’ve got an idea. A phone charger would work, right?”

Nines nodded, though it was slow. Gavin pulled his forehead away, looking him over. Nines looked like he was about to fall asleep or, more likely, into hibernation, at any moment.

“You trust me?”

Nines opened his eyes and he stared at Gavin and it was about the most cognitive that he’d seen him in ages.

“Of course.”

Gavin moved his hands down, took Nines’ elbows in his palms and stood up, pulling Nines up with him. He walked Nines to his bedroom, which was in a constant state of disarray, and sat him down on the bed. Carefully he unwound his phone cord and, upon showing it to Nines the android pulled off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and folded it over the elbow. Gavin did his best not to blush or, even look at it because there was no way he was going to get flustered over his android partner’s bicep. A panel slid open and out of the way though and he held it out, let Gavin insert the plug.

“Okay, you know what sleeping is, right?” Gavin teased, “Like, how humans sleep? Get on your side, you’re doing that tonight.”

Nines did as he was told but not without looking at him with confusion. “I don’t sleep.”

“You do too. I said so.”

Nines lay down on his side, eyes closing, eyelashes against his cheeks. He didn’t argue. He didn’t even move when Gavin climbed in beside him, pulling off his hoodie and undoing his pants for a bit more comfort as he tried to spoon the gigantic android before him. It was a bit early for him and he was going to wake up starving, but that was fine. This was more important. He needed more rest anyway.

“Can you feel me breathing?”

Nines nodded.

“Then you’ll know I’m hear and that I’m safe. You don’t have to worry about me.”

That stupid smile crossed Nines’ lips one more time before he did, finally, enter stasis.

#detroit become human #my writing #reed900 #gavin reed #rk900 #fanfiction

[angryteapot]

Last Laugh

Characters: Reader, Steve Rogers

Word Count: 1485

Warnings: None, I think? Let me know if I need to add anything.

Summary:  You and Steve are workout buddies. But really, you're no match for Captain America, so you're just there for the laughs and his muscles.

A/N: Just something I wrote forever ago, back when I didn’t care about unrealistic workout regimens lol. I re-read it and nearly died from the awfulness of it. So yeah... read at your own peril, I guess. 

Want to be tagged in more garbage? Send me an ask! <3

You stand outside in the morning chill in your thin workout clothes, with your phone and headphones in hand. You shiver, but know you'll be sweating in no time once Cap comes down to join you. You play a game on your phone, enjoying standing still while you can. 

Steve walks through the compound entrance, calling out to you, "Hey Y/N, shouldn't you be doing warm up stretches?" You grin at him saying, "I'm hoping a cramp will incapacitate me so I won't have to run."

He smiles and shakes his head, and you both stretch a little before your run. The compound training area is huge, and you're seriously not looking forward to attempting to keep up with the super soldier. You aren't a fan of running unless it's a life or death situation, in which case you're nearly as fast as Steve and Bucky, to everyone's intense surprise. 

You start out at a light jog, music blaring through your headphones and motivating you to match your pace with the pounding rhythm. You speed up a little, Steve matching your pace. You're finally finishing your second lap around the perimeter when Steve signals to you that he's going to go full speed. 

You're surprised that he stuck with you for so long, considering that your running pace wasn't even enough for him to break a sweat. You, on the other hand, were already overheating and peeled off your thin sweater, leaving you in a tank top. You took a minute to get some water, deciding that one more lap should be sufficient before you collapse.

You're going at a good pace, enough to make your lungs burn and legs ache, but not so much that it's overwhelming. You're not even a third of the way through your lap when Steve breezes past you, shouting, "On your left!" with a shit-eating grin. Ugh, that asshole. Now you know how Sam feels whenever he trains with Steve. 

By the time you finish your lap (about 5 normal-people-sized laps), Steve has passed you up and shouted "On your left!" three more times, each time accompanied by a bigger grin at your glare. 

You collapse on the lawn, chugging water and trying desperately to catch your breath. Steve finishes another lap before jogging up to you with a smile, motioning for the water in your hand. You throw it at his head with a mock glare, chuckling at his affronted expression when he catches it.

You flop down on your back, pulling the headphones out of your ears and putting them in your pocket. Steve smirks down at you, taunting, "Given up already, Y/L/N? We're barely getting started." 

You glare up at him, staring at his stupid muscles and that stupid smirk. "You can workout to your heart's content, Captain. But I'm remaining right where I am. Maybe I'll practice my Dead Man's yoga pose." 

He laughs at your antics, dropping into position for push ups a few feet from you. You lazily turn to look at him, giving him a look that said 'you're crazy'. He only arched an eyebrow and laughed at you before starting his push ups.

You stared up at the sky, catching your breath, when an idea hit you. For Steve, working out hardly ever had him out of breath. Laughter, though, always had him gasping for air like a fish out of water. You formulated a plan and rolled over towards him until your head was right next to his whenever he did a push up. 

When he went down, he held himself effortlessly and looked confusedly at your upside down face next to his. 

"Hi," you said cheekily with a smile. 

"... Hey?" was his confused reply before he pushed up again for another push up. 

When he went back down again, you were humming some song and looking up at the clouds. Steve smiled fondly because of how close you were and how comforting it was just to have you near while he worked out. He continued his push ups, your splayed-out hair brushing his nose whenever he was in the down position. 

You suddenly spoke, so softly that his super soldier hearing was the only reason he heard it. Between your humming, you had whispered, "My ass on the grass," with a slight giggle. He huffed out a laugh, amused at your weird comment.

You continued your plan to hear his adorable laughter until he was paralyzed with it and gasping for air. Still looking at the clouds, you saw a vague rabbit-looking shape and sing-songed, "Bunny with the money, looking for the honeys." 

Steve let out a snort at this, and you were disappointed that it wasn't a full laugh. Time for Phase Two, then. Few knew that Steve "Captain America" Rogers was ticklish, and those that did know were threatened with death should they try anything. You, however, were always the exception from his wrath; only earning the Eyebrows of Disappointment ™ while he playfully threw you onto the nearest soft surface and tickled you until you begged for mercy.

The next time he was in the down position, you whisper, "Abs for the grabs," as you reach under him and lightly tickle his clenched stomach. 

He laughs in surprise, twitching hard as he holds himself up with one hand and swats you away with the other. 

Yes, success! Thinking it was a one time thing, he continues with his push ups while you formulate more rhymes. 

You rhyme his various body parts while poking and tickling said part until he's gasping for breath, his eyes and nose adorable scrunched with laughter. 

You poke his forehead next, saying," Frontal lobe gets the probe!" His face scrunches while he laughs, though still not giving up on his workout. Time to bring out the big guns then...

You suddenly shout, "Pecs that flex!" and place your hands on his pectorals, squeezing the firm muscles and laughing hysterically to yourself. 

Steve's eyes widen in shock as he bursts out laughing, almost falling from his position as he gasps for breath between each laugh. 

HELL YEAH, you are triumphant! When he finally catches his breath, there's a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and you know that you're in for some payback. 

You try to scramble away, but (still in push-up position) he pushes up hard, his hands leaving the ground as he come back down, landing in the down position again; this time with his hands on either side of your upside-down head. You lay there gaping like a fish, half impressed at his dexterity, a quarter aroused, and a quarter mock-fearful about whatever his payback is going to be.

*Image is only used to show the position, no implied appearance of Y/N*

But he doesn't move, only holds himself up as he gazes intensely at you. You swallow, gazing fondly into his ocean eyes. Said deep blue eyes roam your face before looking into your own bright eyes again. He notices your breathing, blush-tinged cheeks, and your slightly-parted lips. 

You swallow and try to joke, "Elbow to elbow!" while hooking your arms around his bent elbows. 

He smiles beautifully and, unable to stand his longing anymore, whispers, "Mouth to mouth." 

The words barely register in your brain before he lowers himself further, his soft lips meeting yours in an upside down kiss. When he pulls back, your eyes flutter open and you roll over, pushing yourself up and looking him in the eye. 

You give him a small smile (because he looks adorably anxious) and move back in to kiss him again. He sighs and sinks into the kiss, dazedly pulling back after a moment and resting his forehead against yours. 

You share a smile, and while he thinks you're moving in for another kiss, you stop with your lips barely brushing his. He glances at you, waiting for another kiss, when you suddenly whisper, "Tongue to cheek," licking a broad stripe up his cheek.

Before he can process what just happened, you laugh joyously and spring up before sprinting away towards the compound. He stares after you in shock before grinning devilishly, jumping up to sprint after you. He has a difficult time catching up to your unnatural speed, but he eventually does, and slings an arm around your waist, lifting you up and swinging you around in circles. 

Peals of laughter escape your lips as he spins you, with you clutching onto his arms for dear life. When he stops spinning, he holds your body tight to his, your feet not even brushing the ground. 

He grins at you adoringly before kissing you softly and putting you back down on your feet. You hug him and grab his hand as you walk into the compound together for your customary post-workout breakfast. 

Glancing up at his satisfied smile, you think you could get used to actually keeping up with him on a run if it ended with playful chasing and victory kisses.

#steve rogers #reader insert #steve rogers x reader #captain america #captain america x reader #jogging #eugh #mcu fic #marvel fic #steve rogers fic #cringe

[bi-bi-richie]

So, Why?

Alright!! I’m an hour away from seeing It Chapter 2 and I’m so EXCITED but I know my heart is gonna break so I wrote this fluffy fic for the soul. Wish me luck everyone!

The truth is, well, one truth, that the Losers Club is a mix of seven kids who have no visual things in common. Visually, the only people who look like they’re actually friends would be Stan and Eddie as their clothes are mostly similar in the sense that their outfits consist of mostly polos and respectable shorts. Personality-wise, the Losers Club is a mix of seven kids who all love each other dearly and couldn’t imagine their lives without each other, though one day they knew they’d have to find out. 

Yes, the group worked well together, nobody really knew why exactly but the members of the club could tell you that it’s the shared experience of being an outcast that brought them together. That’s not to say it’s the only reason they’re together as a group but it’s definitely how it started. 

Now, there were friendships that were still unbreakable and beyond a group dynamic that existed between the seven. For example, Mike and Ben’s friendship that blossomed out of their shared interest in Derry and history in general, they usually choose to be near each other during one of the group outings or hang out individually often. Everybody did that, of course, it’s just that they might be the person the other one turns to when they need to rant or just have fun. 

However, there is one relationship in the group that everybody knew was stronger than friendship ever since it came to be, yet nobody said anything, probably because nobody really knew what it was exactly. It was stronger than friendship, farther from attraction and beyond anything any of the other losers had ever seen or felt before. Maybe they didn’t classify it as anything because they didn’t have the right word for it, even though the right word was very obvious. 

“Hey, Eddie! What’re you doing after school?” 

“Oh, I’m actually busy today, I promised Richie I would study at his place, next time?”

…

“Richie, you’re going to be literally three pennies away from being broke if you buy that bag of corn nuts. You don’t even like corn nuts! Why bother buying them?”

“Eds likes them, Bev! Could you imagine infuriating the mighty Edward? I couldn’t.”

…

“You can’t sit here!”

“Why? There’s a ton of space next to you, Eddie.” 

“I’m saving it.”

“For Richie?”

“I’m saving it.”

“...”

…

“I thought we agreed that Eddie was going on my team for paintball.”

“Please, I couldn’t let this short cutie go on your team, he’d shoot my ass in a second.” 

…

“Why?” Stan asked out loud one day. On this particular day, the only losers who came out to the quarry were Ben, Stan, and Mike. They (well, they meaning Eddie) planned to meet up with the other half of the club (and other half meaning Richie) later in the day but they were currently wrapping up an infuriatingly long game of Street Fighters back at the arcade where the whole group had been earlier. Truth be told, Eddie really didn’t want to leave and subtly tried to stay behind but gave in when Stan said he had something he wanted to talk about with him. So, now they’re lounging about on the warm rocks of the quarry. 

“Why what?” Eddie asked and pulled his head up from the little drawings he had been making with a stick in the dirt below his feet. 

“You’re always connected at the hip with Richie. I don’t really know any of us to spend as much time as you do together. I’ve never seen either of you two spend as much time as you do with each other with anyone else, which is weird to me because we’ve all always been on the same page as our friendships go. We’re all equally best friends to each other, and yet it feels like that’s not the case for either of you. So, why?” 

Eddie has been speechless before, mostly when his mom was scolding him or when Richie had said or done something so impossibly stupid he simply could not form the words to tell him. But, now he was speechless because he genuinely had no idea why. It had always been that way, Eddie may have met Bill first but he was truly friends with Richie before he was with anyone else. Richie was his polar opposite as far as how he was raised and how expressive he was allowed to be. Maybe that excited the younger Eddie, it was exciting to be around someone who was so unlike him and so unlike his suffocating home life. Of course, he wouldn’t have known, he was only seven years old at the time. 

Now, the real truth is that Richie and Eddie aren’t platonic and they both knew that even though they never talked about it. Afternoon cuddles, lingering cheek kisses, hand holding under tables, and, of course, the two chaste kisses they shared in the dead of night when they knew the world and their anxieties were asleep. It was clear to both of them that they weren’t just friends, and that was okay, but they weren’t ones to force labels onto anything, and that’s okay too. 

But, being presented with the question, Eddie knew that maybe it was okay to label this one thing. 

“I think I love him.”

Stan didn’t ask any more questions. 

…

“Fuck yeah!” Richie cried out as he burst through the doors of the rusting arcade with Bill and Beverly following behind him with proud smiles. “Holy shit, just wait until I find Eds! He’s going to flip!” 

Bill looked to Bev as the remark about Eddie slipped from Richie’s chapped lips. It was a knowing look, one that referred to multiple questions and conversations about their two friends and trying to truly understand why their relationship was so different from the rest. Bill suggested that it could possibly be from them being friends the longest in the group, and that’s when Beverly offered that maybe they weren’t friends at all. The night before, right after both Richie and Eddie blew the two of them off, they decided that maybe it was time to finally ask questions about it. 

“I mean, why just Eddie?” Beverly weakly offered as a bridge to connect the remark to the question. 

“Well, obviously because he’s my Eddie! Plus, I’ve been telling him about this for what feels like months at this point, he’s going to be so excited.” 

Bill pursed his lips and crossed his arms as if he was about to try and even weaker attempt of asking the same question. “I’m s-sure Stan will b-be too?” 

“Hm, sure, but not as much as Eddie.” 

Bev and Bill stop walking then and give Richie a look like he just told them that he was seriously going to shave his head and run ass naked through the streets at midnight. Richie kept walking for a few seconds more before he realized he couldn’t see Bev’s red hair bounce as she walked beside him. He slowly turned around with a confused, questioning smile that wavered when he saw the not-so-humorous look on his friend’s faces. 

“What?” Richie asked.

Bev just sighed and walked up to be closer to Richie. “Richie, we’re all friends, right? Best friends?” 

Richie shrugged, not in a careless yeah I guess way but more of a yeah of course, what kind of question is that? “That’s a fucking stupid question.”

Both his friends rolled their eyes but Bev continued. “Okay, then what’s with the constant fuss over Eddie?” 

Richie was quick to open his mouth as if he had a response already prepared for a totally different question. Maybe something closer to “did it bother you when Stan pushed you over the edge the other week after you accidentally pushed a shit ton of dirt onto his book?” to which Richie would’ve replied, “why, yes, it did bother me, he has a stick so far up his ass it caused water to fly up my nose!” But, that wasn’t the question, and Richie had no answer to this question, that’s why no noise came out of his mouth when he tried to speak. 

Instead, he let out an awkward chuckle and felt himself blush a little. “Uh, I don’t really know what you mean.” 

“S-sure you do.” Bill offered, “we all d-do.” 

Richie shook his head and finally let his smile drop. Of course he knew what they were talking about. It wasn’t like he just didn’t comprehend the kisses and the hand-holding and the cuddles. Hell, they’re probably the only thing Richie ever comprehends. 

“You spend every free moment with him, well, unless one of us drags you away from him. It’s like he’s a magnet and the only person attracted to him is you!” 

Richie kind of wants to make a joke that, yeah, he’s very attracted to him, but it’s not the time. 

“So, why?” 

Richie felt his skin prickle just a little bit, he had the urge to scratch at it but he didn’t. He looked at it though, it was on his right elbow and he stared at it with pursed lips. He knew the answer, he knew the question as well as he knew where to find everything in his messy room when nobody else could possibly know. He knew the answer like he knew his favorite candies and outfits. He knew the answer like he knew the way his truck liked to turn on the check engine light even though nothing was wrong because it was a very old truck. He knew the answer like he knew Eddie. 

“I… I love him.” 

…

The revelations… well, they weren’t really revelations. More like saying things they already knew but out loud for the first time. Now, if it were a revelation, the two might’ve avoided each other for much longer than necessary. They might’ve even gotten into a fight and pushed the other away only to show up a week or month later apologizing and confessing their undying love. 

But, it wasn’t a revelation. 

So, that night Richie still crawled into Eddie’s room at night despite being a few years to big for the window and many years too old to still be doing it. Eddie still smiled when he saw him and pulled back his comforter so Richie could wiggle in next to him and wrap his skinny but warm arms around his torso. Eddie still snuggled into his chest and chuckled at a sleepy joke Richie huffed out and things were still the same. 

“Richie?” Eddie whispered, the sleepiness heavy in his voice but the coherent thoughts not yet gone from his head. 

“Yeah, Eds?” Richie swore he felt his heart skip a beat at the softness of the smaller boy’s voice, it gave him butterflies like no other. 

“I love you.” 

And, funny enough, the world didn’t freeze and Richie didn’t freak out like some people would’ve he would if they spent three seconds around him. Instead, everything felt just right, beyond right, righter than right. Everything was perfect. 

“I love you too.” 

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #my writing #I'm EXCITED GUYS #:')

[kennythecarrot12]

I was watching Friends for the 10000th time and I decided to write about the The One Where No One’s Ready, but with our lovely SVU cast, i’m just writing this for fun so i’m sorry if anyone is OOC, also this is barba x reader

-

“Olivia! Quit hogging the bathroom!” Y/N knocked on the bathroom door of their shared apartment. Y/N rolled her eyes when she opened the door to reveal Olivia curling her hair.

“I’ll stop when I’m done, Y/N,” Olivia replied and Y/N hoffed, stepping out into the younger detective’s room. There was a knock on the door and Y/N went to open it, groaning as she did. She needed time to choose an outfit!

Y/N saw two well dressed men chatting up behind the peephole before she opened the door.

“A little late to be wearing PJ’s,” Munch commented, looking at her. “Shush and just come in,” he chuckled and came in with Fin close behind him.

Munch was wearing one of his black suits, a nice tie complimenting him. Fin was wearing a black turtleneck and brown pants. “Looking good, Tutuola,” she said. He smirked, “Tell me something I don’t know.” she laughed and shook her head. As she was about to close the door, Rafael placed his body in between the door.

“Babe! You’re here early.” Y/N said, opening the door so he could come in. “Early? No, we need to leave in 30 minutes.” She widened her eyes at this. “WHAT? OLIVIA!” she started marching back to the bathroom, but went back to Rafael to give him a kiss.

“It’s good to see you, babe,” she said, noticing how he was wearing her favorite three piece suit. “Hmm,” he was about to hold her closer towards him, when he noticed the other detectives in the room.

“Detectives,” he cleared his throat before nodding his head at them. John got up from his seat in the living room to roam the fridge. “Counselor, what brings you here?” He joked. “Ready for the big speech?”

The detectives and the ADA engaged in small talk when there was another knock on the door. Seeing as Y/N was too focused on finding an outfit, Barba opened the door, which revealed Amanda and Nick.

“Are we late?” Amanda asked, her cheeks slightly red. “No, you got here just in time. We are leaving in 20 minutes.” Amanda smiled widely at Barba’s response. “Alright! Y’all ready yet?” she asked, stepping inside and greeting the detectives inside.

Amaro and Barba seemed to be having a stare down when Olivia stepped out of the bathroom, hair curled and towel wrapped around her body.

“You guys gonna come in or..?” she asked, making both men clear their throat before Nick made his way inside.

“Finally, Liv,” John said before hurrying inside the bathroom. Fin eyed the small couch John was sitting on and shrugged, sitting in the more comfier looking spot.

“Woah, Amanda, looking good girl!” Y/N said once she stepped out of her room, embracing her friend. “It took me FOREVER just to choose which dress fits this event better,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes. “It also doesn’t help that I have no nice clothes.” They both shared a laugh.

“Y/N, you guys have 18 minutes left. Please tell Olivia to hurry.” Barba said, looking at how his girlfriend was still wearing her PJ’s from before.

“Sure honey, we just need to know what we need to wear. No biggie!” Y/N answered, making Barba huff and sit down on the couch while she walked back to her room.

There was the found of flushing the toilet, with Munch stepping out, phone in hand. “Well, according to Buzzfeed, I do put my career before men.” he snickered as he approached Tutuola. “Get up.”

Fin’s eyebrow furrowed. “Uh, what?” John put his phone in his pocket. “You’re in my seat.”

“How is this your seat?” Fin asked. John turned to the other detectives and the ADA, as if asking if this was happening. “I was sitting there last.” he replied. “Yeah, but then you left.” “It’s not like I went to Spain! I went to the bathroom,” he pointed behind him. “You knew I was coming back.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is, just sit somewhere else.” Tutuola said, taking out his phone and sending a text out. “The deal is, that is my seat!” Munch said.

“Fellas, are you seriously arguing over a SEAT?” Rafael asked, getting in between the two older detectives. “Munch, just sit somewhere else.” They all started arguing when Amanda’s voice interrupted them.

“SHIT!” They all turned to see Nick’s face look as if he was a dead man, and Amanda looking down on her yellow dress.

“What-” Barba was about to say when Amanda turned to look at him, when he saw the huge red spot right in between her chest.

“Nick and his stupid kool-aid! I told you not to drink that!” She yelled at him, with Nick laying apologies every two seconds.

“No, don’t rub it!” Barba tried to say, but it was too late, the stain on Amanda only grew more. Barba caught a look at his watch: 13 more minutes. “Quick, what gets out kool-aid stains?!” he yelled.

Y/N stepped out, still wearing her PJ’s. She gasped when she saw Amanda, “‘Manda, what happened?” Amanda approached her, “Kool-aid, I got the Kool-aid.” she pouted.

“Maybe my black sweater can cover you up,” Y’N said and Amanda shook her head. “Yeah, but that sweater doesn’t match with my outfit.” Y/N looked at Amanda, scanning her. “No, you’re right. Come, we’ll look for something else, or Liv can let you borrow something.”

Barba places his hands over his face, a headache already forming. “Uh, so, Fin. I wrote a little song today. It’s called ‘Get Up’” Munch continued. “Munch, just sit over there!” Fin exclaimed, raising his voice a bit.

“Boys, aren’t you guys a little old to be arguing over this?” Amaro questioned, his arms crossed. “For once I agree, Detective.” Barba weighed in.

“Whatever, if you won’t get up, I guess we’ll both sit.” Munch said as he sat on top of Fin. “Wow, I am SO comfortable.”

Tutuola nodded. “Yup. You could say I’m getting… a little TOO comfortable.” Munch immediately got up, a shiver down his spine. “Ugh!”

Amanda got out of Y/N’s room, wearing a large pin with the words “SEXY’ on top of her yellow dress. Everybody in the room winced. “Y/N didn’t have anything that I liked, so I thought ‘Fine I’ll be bold tonight’.” she shrugged. Barba fake smiled. “Looks great, Amanda. Is Y/N done?” The blonde laughed. “Not even close. She keeps alternating between outfits.”

Barba exhaled loudly and checked his watch. 13 minutes. “Wha… my… my watch stopped. What time is it?!” he asked.

“It’s 7:33,” Amanda answered, playing with the pin on her chest. “7:33… 7… I have seven minutes. Seven minutes!” He then entered Y/N’s room.

Olivia stepped out, wearing a beautiful red dress. “Finally done, can’t believe it took me that long.” she sighed. She looked at Fin. “Hey, can I sit there? It’s sort of my spot.” Tutuola immediately got up, leaving Munch’s mouth hanging.

“What, so for Liv you give it up but not me?” Munch asked, seeing Olivia sit down and looking confused. “Get over it, John.” Fin said with a chuckle.

“So, sexy, huh?” Nick laughed at Amanda, who shoved him.

“I’m sorry, I thought it looked like a good outfit.” Barba said, stepping out of Y/N’s room. “Rafa, that was a Halloween costume. Unless you want me to go as Marie Antoinette to the event.” she laughed. “Look, I wouldn’t have recognized it without the big wig.” Barba said. “Which, by the way, would like back one of these days, Nick.” Y/N said, looking at Nick, whose cheeks flushed. Barba raised an eyebrow. Y/N went back in to her room.

“....We used it to recreate a scene.” Nick told Barba. “What?”

“T-The wig. We used it to recreate a scene back at the precinct.” Barba raised one of his hands. “Look, what you do on your own time…” Amanda and Olivia both held in a laugh.

After a minute, Y/N stepped out with two different heels. “Ladies, which heel fits better for this dress, the black or purple?” Amanda and Olivia looked. “Don’t you have the one with the strap?” Olivia questioned. “Ooh, a strap would be nice.” Amanda added.

Y/N shook her head. “Those go better with pants.” Barba had enough of this.

“Choose whichever! Look, I don’t know what you want from me, pants no pants, dress, no dress! I don’t care! Just get your ass in that room and put whatever shoes fit your feet. No, I do NOT care if they match!” Y/N opened her mouth to say something but Barba wouldn’t let her speak.

“No, no, no, just GO and get dressed up so we can get out of here.” The room fell silent. “...Alright.” she slowly entered her room. “Thank you!” Barba said and shook his head, turning back to the living room where everyone else was pretending not to have heard all of that.

“Uh, Amanda, come look at this in my room.” Olivia awkwardly said, getting up from her seat, the blonde quickly heading to the room, the rest of the detectives following closely behind, like a herd of sheep.

Barba kept tapping his feet.

He was about to go to Y/N’s room when she stepped out, back in her old PJ’s. Barba’s mouth hung open.

Y/N sat down, opening up a case file. She hummed a song as she wrote down some notes. Barba cleared his throat.

“Y/N, I know it says black tie optional but...uh... “ Barba started off saying. “Yeahh.. I’m not going to go,” Y/N said, a blank expression on her face. “You’re… you’re not going? You’re kidding right?” he asked. The detectives started to file out of the room once hearing Y/N’s voice, thinking they were ready to go.

“I don’t know, but ever since I was yelled at and humiliated in front of my friends, I don’t know, I’m just not in a mood to go out and celebrate.” Y/N said, her voice flat.

“Um, I’m sorry I yelled,” Barba tried to say. “That’s fine,” Y/N said. The detectives swallowed hard.

Munch and Tutuola looked at each other and the vacated seat. They both jumped to the seat and Fin laughed as he sat first. “Dammit!” Munch quietly said.

“I’m just not going.” Y/N said once more. “But… you do know I have to go right?” Y/N hummed in response. “So, is it going to be like I’m abandoning you while you’re upset… or…?” Barba said, dragging his words as Y/N wrote down some notes.

“Nope,” she said. “Right, because you’re not upset about the yelling,” Barba said. “And the humiliating,” his girlfriend added. Barba swallowed, “right, of course, the humiliating,” he said.

The detectives watched with second-hand embarrassment. “Alright, so… we… we are okay,” Barba said. “Yup,” Y/N said. Barba got up.

“Sweetie?” she turned her head and he leaned in for a kiss but Y/N turned her head back and started writing once more. He sighed.

Rafael turned and saw the rest of SVU trying so hard not to cringe. “Uh… ready to go?” he awkwardly asked them. They all nodded, he checked his watch and saw there was a minute to spare.

“I’ll get an Uber,” he said while stepping out of the apartment. The tension seemed to lift.

“Oh, honey, come on, please go,” Amanda begged Y/N, grabbing a hold of her arm. “I’m sure Barba didn’t mean to yell.” Olivia weighed in. “Whatever, just go. I’m not in the mood.” they all looked sympathetic, but their signal to leave was given when Barba came back.

“Time to go,” he said. He looked at Y/N for a quick second before leaving the door wide open and taking the stairs to the lobby.

Everyone said their goodbyes.

“Take it easy” “We’ll miss you” “We’ll see you tomorrow” “I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow”

Whatever.

#Rafael Barba x reader #Rafael barba #svu #friends #TOW no one is ready #TOW Rafael yells #cringe

[mellz117]

Hello all and welcome to part 4 of my playthrough of KH2 on the PS2. If you haven't seen the previous entries please go do that.

[ _1_ ] [ _2_ ] [ _3_ ]

To recap: The Wonders of Twilight Town are boring as hell. We spoke to Namine again, Roxas finally realizes his life this week is a lie and starts to remember his life in the Organization. DiZ is racist against Nobodies but we already knew that. Roxas and Axel fight, I wanted to cry. Roxas meets Sora in his sleeping pod before disappearing, I wanted to cry.

And the adventure continues

I wanna know how Sora wakes up in the real world when Roxas merges with him in the virtual one. How in CoM does Sora go to sleep in Castle Oblivion, the whole-ass chamber and then some get transferred to Twilight Town, Roxas meets him in a virtual version of the mansion, and Sora wakes up in the real mansion in KH2? Nomura please explain this series. Is Final Fantasy ever this convoluted?

Donald and Goofy call out to Sora and we're once again reminded this is a Disney game. I don’t know why but the fact that Disney owns the original Kingdom Hearts characters bothers me. It means, unless DISNEY gives the OK, Sora will never be in Smash Bros. and that makes me sad.

I don't know much about comas but after a year of total inactivity, wouldn't your muscles atrophy like, A BUNCH? At least is wasn’t 7... OR VENTUS WITH A WHOLE DECADE WTF?

Again WHY COULDN'T JIMINY JUST KEEP EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN CHAIN OF MEMORIES WRITTEN DOWN IN HIS JOURNAL INSTEAD OF A CRYPTIC MEMO TO THANK NAMINE?

The trinity trio wanders out of the mansion, loot some chests, and find their way to the back alleys of town.

Hayner is rude RIGHT outta the gate, wow. Ok I remember that Pence actually met Roxas in Days, and so to me he seems to recognize Sora through his memories of Roxas despite the two sharing like, one visual similarly: blue eyes. But KH3 to my understanding reveals that the virtual versions of characters affect the real version so I dunno!! WHAT IS THIS SERIES?

"Have you finished the summer homework yet?" Olette asks Sora and his two ANIMAL COMPANIONS as if seeing two anthropomorphic animals is fucking normal in a town comprised entirely of humans and exactly one moogle.

Sora doesn't have any homework. For over a year he's been away from home and his mom couldn't make him go to school. I wonder how she's doing? Does she miss her son? Kingdom Hearts and parents don't gel.

I like how.. When Pence describes this cloaked figure who was looking for the trinity trio, as having big, round ears, they have to think about who it could possibly be. They’re not too bright.

Why is “sofa” capitalized? Also they weren't even sitting on it, neither of them were!

HAYNER IS A RUDE BOY! He tells us so ask Seifer about the town, as we are new. Bruh, if you’re this rude to us I’m sure how much worse Seifer and his posse are.

Seifer is immediately confrontational. “You here to pick a fight with us?” and Sora’s all like “No, we’re new here.” and DONALD FUCKING DUCK! INSULTS SEIFER AND NOW EVERYONE’S READY TO THROW DOWN! THANKS TO THIS DUMB FUCK DUCK!

But thank Christ big chungus appears out of nowhere and stops the children and two adult furries from causing a scene.

This dude is WAY too into the Struggle tournament. Seifer has an unwanted faaaaan! Bro, go away, you’re creeping on a teenager.

I wanna fight Seifer.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

I'm not working on this like I should be. I'm going on vacation soon and since we're all in quarantine I can't really do anything fun so this is the opportune time to catch up.

Moving on! We make our way to the train station and oh no, we're ambushed by Dusks! Because of COURSE we are. Who could've seen THAT coming? /s

I- I like how, even after hearing his voice, and seeing his fucking mousey silhouette, the gang STILL might not be sure this is their stupid rat king. One brain cell between the three of them, I swear, and Goofy is the primary carrier, and it only sometimes works.

Why do we need to purchase tickets to travel on a magical train embarking to an ethereal plane of existence? I guess it's the principal of it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED TO HUG THIS BOY. LOOK, HE'S CRYING!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Pence is so cute. I didn't care much for him when I was younger but he's such a cutie. 

……………………………………………………………………………………………

I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED TO HUG THIS BOY. LOOK, HE'S SAD!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

It's fat cat Pete. For like ever, I had no idea he was a cat. Wonder what Maleficent saw in him to ally with him.

The trinity trio laughing about killing (or at least taking part in killing) Maleficent. "She's toast!" this sure is early 2000's dialogue...

Heartless everywhere! "You mean the worlds aren't at peace after all" well, no sweetie. It takes time for things to recover from horrible events. *looks at current state of the real world*

So like, I had no idea Yen Sid was a Keyblade warrior??? I had read about that in his Wiki page when I googled if any Keyblade warriors were left handed. (Ven might be, but more likely ambidextrous) But I guess being Mickey's teacher would imply his Keyblade wielder roots but whatever, I didn't pay attention when I was a teenager.

Yen Sid's decor is baffling. What are these bookshelves? What are these BOOKS? They're huge!

Good on Yen Sid for using singular “they” pronouns in 2005.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

On to our change of wardrobe. Without a doubt Sora's best look in the whole series, in my humble opinion. Lookit my handsome boy. 

And Sora learns about drive forms, blah, blah, blah, powerful forms, gotta sacrifice something like in Duel Monsters, in this case an ally.

Yen Sid is so boring.

All seriousness and tension is just broken as soon as Goofy’s name is uttered, at least Sora and Donald have normal names wtf.

It’s interesting how like, 15 years later, Union X explains how Maleficent was able to return after her defeat. Something about, as long as someone from your original time remembers you and you have a physical object to represent you you’re able to basically some back from the dead. Right? Am I right on that? I haven’t played it but I’m hanging by a thread on this loop.

Sora’s hard work down the drain...

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Hollow Bastion! And of course there’s trouble. Heartless, Nobodies, and Yuffie, oh my!

A problem sequels have to work around is when the protagonist needs to relearn their abilities. KH does a well and good job with this one. In CoM, it’s a different battle style, in KH2 Sora’s been asleep for a hear prior.

Also, Merlin “leant” Sora some magic spells? How does that work? Like, once you learn it you can’t just... give that knowledge back...?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

How old is Leon? He has no right being this pretty.

Another ambush by Nobodies. Give it a rest, would ya? Battle ensues, Leon deals the final blow against an enemy, and as the camera usually does, zooms in on the victor and we get a nice slow-mo crotch shot of Leon. Thanks, game... Then, Xemnas’s very sexy, very manly voice echoes across town and the organization appears before our protagonists. I’m weak.

Demyx’s laugh, dude. I love it. Sora is ready to throw hands with anyone in his way. Honey, you’re barely out of a magic coma and this dude is like, two whole feet taller than you. Not to mention very fit.

I’m done thirsting over Xemnas...

After a few taunting words, the new villains depart, Donald attempts to give chase somehow? Where you gonna go? They disappeared behind dark corridors. It seems Goofy is still holding onto that shared brain cell.

The Bastard

I like the majority of the Organization. Xigbar is definitely one of my favorites based on this next scene alone. He’s so snarky and full of shit. I love it. He’s great. He was definitely a stoner at some point.

I’m confused though. “He used to give me that same exact look!” the Wiki says Xigbar’s talking about Ven but I always thought he was referring to Roxas? Did Braig and Ven have a history? That’s implied in Days (which released before BbS) IDK dude. I’m surprised I’ve gone this long without spoiling myself too much on BbS. Like, a few story beats here and there but a lot of it isn’t gonna be known until I play it.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

The dialogue for KH2 was so different from the first game. It dates itself so much in comparison.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Xiggy stands like this for 7 whole seconds parting with a condescending “Be a good boy now!” before disappearing. I love this fucker.

Leon, who’s been sitting on the sidelines this whole time, joins Sora and the others after the real threat is gone. We chitchat for a little bit and say our goodbyes. It’s time to leave this place and move on to one of two available worlds.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

At the Beast's Castle. After fighting a hoard of Shadows, the least intimidating enemy in the series (although the demon tower in kh3 is quite frightening nlg), the Beast himself makes his appearance, takes out the Heartless that suddenly stop multiplying upon his arrival, disgracefully shoves his supposed friends aside, and takes his precious rose to the west wing, which is where it SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE FIRST PLACE. ADAM WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

No joke one of the funniest actual gags in the whole series is:

*Donald Duck manhandling Cogsworth*

Cut to Sora saying "I'm glad you're OK." to Lumiere

……………………………………………………………………………………………

OK the minigame where you gotta light the magic torches, why do we have to make sure Cogsworth  has enough strength to keep the lever down when we have two perfectly capable companions that can hold it down instead? I remember this sequence being a lot more annoying when I was a teen.

Xaldin's voice makes me feel things. Ahhh he sounds so tired lol. He peaces out and we fight the Beast. I remember getting him to calm down being harder.

"Xaldin used my anger to control me!" Says Beast. He angers very easily so this must have been a cinch. Xaldin's been obsessed with him since Days so I would imagine this intel would come in handy.

More fodder to fight and on to the boss. Phase one is just an angrier version of the Darkball Heartless. Phase two is just skinny Ganon. I like its design though.

“Belle, I’m sorry. I wasn’t myself, being all rude and overall kind of a jackass to you and my servants” Except that’s kinda how you’ve always been lmao. Just because you couldn’t choose not to be an ass here doesn’t change that this IS in character. Still gotta work on that a bit.

“You don’t have to apologize” No, no he still does.

They all reconcile and the Trinity Trio departs until Xaldin shows up again to wreak more havoc.

Time to move on to the next world.

#mellz plays kh2 #Kingdom Hearts series #Kingdom Hearts 2 #square enix #disney #PlayStation 2

[ccyans]

Kfjdjdnndndjdj what were you acually gonna do in flowers in my footsteps. I was very surprised at first that you were the one who wrote it bec I read it a few years ago,,,, and,,, bec my girl rin o' course needs some love y'all and i was so into fics with alive!rin back then haha! And god, you really did evolve as a writer. Howd you do that? I am completely junk at being descriptive/creative in writing, and I might not do any justice when I get to write characters + their interactions

OH MY GOD. FLOWERS. FLOWERS.

I always MEAN to come back to that fic. It’s not like In The Company Of (another naruto fic) which needs a complete rewrite – I only have 2k up for Flowers and though it was written so long ago I’m pretty okay with it, barring some descriptionary fixes. I have 3 drafts for Chapter 2 in my drives but it just keeps on getting derailed because I can’t figure out Konoha’s STUPID ASS ninja infrastructure system.

SPOILERS!!

Some Kakashi POV written in my notes. Not sure if this was supposed to make it into the actual story, but the background knowledge is necessary.(was Flowers dual POV? Single POV? it’s been so long.)

*

So there are a lot of places Kakashi should be on February tenth but aren’t, and there are a lot places he shouldn’t be but still is. Namely, for the former, his hospital room. He limped back from an A-rank two days ago (tracking and destroying another one of Orochimaru’s hidden laboratories at the edge of Grass) and he’s spent the time after sleeping off chakra exhaustion, a case of black manba poisoning, and getting the blown out nerves in his hand fixed again. Technically, he hasn’t been discharged (and his regular attending is getting so fucking sick of seeing his stupid masked face, why the fuck are you here again, Hatake) but February 10th is Obito’s birthday. Kakashi has a duty. Kakashi has been grimly terrible at most of of his assigned duties so far, all the important ones at least but they do exist. On bad days he imagines the little boxed dates on the calender (ObitoRinSenseiKushina) so small and so heavy with all that unrealized potential, and Kakashi is hit with a wave of terror strong enough to make him want to drag himself back to ANBU Barracks and get another misison, any mission, but–

Birthdays are important. Death dates are important. Some days Kakashi feels like his blood is boiling in the hours leading up to the morning, but he goes. He always goes. February tenth is Obito’s birthday, and Kakashi owes him that at least.

Which brings us to where Kakashi isn’t supposed to be: the Memorial stone.There is a tiny, tiny little girl at the Memorial stone.

Her hair is very pink, tugged up into pigtails, and she’s swaddled in a scarf and a woolen coat and boots. She doesn’t look older than five. The memorial is a public monument–a public ninja monument, but still public–so it’s not exactly strange to see her there. She might have dead relatives on the stone. Most people do.

What is strange is the lack of parents. He thinks maybe there should be an adult figure nearby. That is likely the normal expectation. Kakashi does not know anything about kids, not even when he was a kid, and these days the closest interaction he has with people under ten are when he’s in the middle of killing them (Rebelling Lord’s children for examples and dead-eyed experiments for mercy) but he thinks, normally, parents are involved.

There aren’t any

The kid is just sitting there, seiza. Incense smoke curls off the bright red sticks. There’s food laid out, untouched. It smells of oolong and fruit and hamburger steak and crisp winter. The girl smells a little of trepidition and a little grief and a lot of pomegranate. 

Um. Children. No.

Kakashi waits in a tree. It’s a cold day. She’ll have to leave, preferably sometime soon.

His ankle throbs. Dodgy joint. 

Except the little girl does not leave. The little girl does not even move. She sits there, after the tea has long cooled and the food is probably frozen, head bowed and chakra a loose, tiny curl and Kakashi is beginning to think she’s fallen asleep with how uniformly even her breaths have been coming. 

He doesn’t know if that’s a normal thing. He really doesn’t. 

He finally gets off his tree (in like, an hour) because, you know, it’s been an hour and Obito is probably rolling his other eye at him from beyond the grave. It’s just a little girl Bakashi. Genius my ass. He makes sure to make noise as he moves. Withered brown leaves crunch under the heel of his sandals. Kakashi is not very sure about children, but generally, all living things have decent enough survival instincts (which didn’t apparently apply to any if Kakashi’s Genin team, but well), and he’s a ninja still wearing the remainders of his bloodied and burned ANBU uniform.

The girl shakes her head out from her scarf. She sneezes, then stands up, and her legs wobble, likely because she’s been sitting there for an hour. She blinks huge green eyes at him. 

They stare at one another for a while.

Then, contrary to expectation, she doesn’t shriek or apologize or leave or even continue with the silence. She smiles at him, one edge hiked just a little higher than the other. She has an expression on her face that makes Kakashi automatically tense up, alarms blaring: it is familliar and nostalgic and she looks at him the way people look at soft, precious, delicate things. People looked at him like that once. Not many–but. They’re dead now.

All of them are dead now. She has no reason or right to look at him like that.Then she says: “Hello, Kakashi,” in a tone that is tired and all too relieved, and Kakashi’s first thought, two days fresh from burning another one of the Snake’s base is: Orochimaru. 

But that’s quickly discarded; it makes no sense, Orochimaru has no reason to sound like that, even if he is the foremost enemy that would take over a little girl’s body, and his second is: infiltrator, but he can’t think of any village that would call him Kakashi, they would call him Hatake or Sharingan or White Fang’s hier. 

Unless this is a psyche tactic. Very likely it is.

He grips the hilt of the kunai in his pocket. 

He wonders if it’s even a little girl. He’s been sitting on that tree for an awfully long time, and his reflexes are not in that great shape after the hospital. Subtly, he weaves a quick genjutsu, a tiny one, (which wouldn’t work against Orochimaru, but nothing Kakashi does is likely to work against Orochimaru, so) and opens Obito’s eye. 

The world lights up in colour. Hazy chakra. The tendrils of the earth, green gold. The little girl, pine-lit in earthern shades. The oil green of summer leaves. The bottle green of a wine glass. Her chakra is calm, no insidious threads wrapped around in a henge or genjutsu or some other obscure technique. He can read the tremble of her muscles, every micro-expression in beautiful, perfect stillness. No apprehension, but tension, something fine and delicate in her shoulders. 

The little girl tilts her head. Kakashi catches every strand of pink hair that goes into her eyes, past and present and almost-future.

Then she bends down, turns her back towards him, and begins to tidy her lunch boxes. She slings everything into a violently yellow knapsack, puts it over her shoulder, and then turns back at him. She smiles that same strange smile.

“Walk with me, Kakashi” she says. 

His eyes narrow, and then physically relaxes, a thin veneer of uncaring. “Mah, why I should I?”

The girl’s eyebrow raises; the smile doesn’t go away. It itches like hives down his back, another warning of danger. “Because we’re going to the place you’re already probably thinking of sending me.” Her child voice is fond. “Come on. I have an appointment with a Yamanaka at Interrogation.”

*

The confirmation of Rin’s identity is something she already set up (she knows a) Kakashi, and b) ninjas well enough to know they’ll want like, a BRAIN SCOUR to make sure she’s not a hidden plant.) So there’s the Yamanaka, and then the Hokage, and then Kakashi who comes up of Sarutobi’s office with the completely..????? knowledge of: yes that tiny child out there IS the dead team-mate/best-friend whom he promised (his other dead best friend) to protect and then killed and have had nightmares about for the past 5 years because the sharingan gives you beautiful photographic memory. ;)

ANYWAYS: The plot of Flowers is basically soft and focuses a lot on recovery (Kakashi’s). It goes into deph about Kakashi and Rin’s former friendship, which I think both canon and fanon glosses over a lot, (I explored it in the platonic soulmate AU, this is the longer version) and their current… ??? friendship, because currently Rin is a 4 year old from a civilian family who has no idea about her previous incarnation and Kakashi is this giant mess of issues dressed in ANBU armour. 

Flowers is basically Rin trying to address Kakashi’s giant ridiculous mess of issues and trying to help him through it. Even if he tries to basically shove everything into the closet. I think it’s important for it to be Rin, because she’s one of the… like… 3 people he was ever emotionally close AND transparent with, which means that unlike everyone currently alive she already has a way into his stupid spiky apathetic shell. 

Anyways a lot of this fic is conversation and Kakashi not saying things and Rin just READING INBETWEEN THE LINES DO YOU THINK THAT SINCE YOU GREW 5 INCHES I FORGOT HOW DO THAT?? And the the hilarious Outsider view (mainly Tenzo) of watching this tiny cheerful no-nonsense civilian pink haired girl hanging out in Kakashi’s space and bullying Kakashi into eating things that aren’t ration bars, and doing normal people things like decorating his apartment, and STAYING IN THE HOSPITAL KAKASHI I CAN SMELL THE DISNFECTANT. And Kakashi lets her, which is the STRANGEST THING to everyone who’s ever known Kakashi. They also have like 90 inside jokes and Kakashi-senpei can joke?????? Yeah. 

#cyan ficstuff #naruto #flowers in my footsteps #ask

[canyousevmyheavydirtysoul]

Bodyguard III: Avengers Assemble (Chapter 15) (B. Urie x Reader)

You stood with your back against the metal railing of the balcony, arms folded across your chest defensively as your foot tapped against the tiled floor. Right across from you was Brendon, leaning against the wall with one hand stuffed in the front pocket of his jeans and the other absentmindedly combing through his hair.

This had been the case for the last five minutes, during which neither of you uttered a single word to one another, despite that being the reason you were both standing in each other’s company in the first place.

“You know,” you sucked on your teeth, taking the initiative and breaking the silence, “usually when someone says ‘I need to talk to you’, they actually talk to you.”

The agent’s jaw muscles tensed up as he gave a small, barely noticable nod, seemingly agreeing with your words. Yet, it still took a minute before he spoke.

“What I did… pretending to die, disappearing for a year…it was stupid. It was stupid, it was irrational and I-” he started out in his usual tone, strong and confident and controlled and Brendon, but all of that faltered towards the end, and you got the tiniest of glimpses at his vulnerability, “I never should have done it.”

He didn’t look at you as he spoke, rather boring a hole in the floor with his intense stare, as he shook his head, almost as if he were disgusted with himself.

“I never should have done it,” he repeated, “I never should have left you. Not like that.”

“But you did,” you whispered, averting your gaze downwards as well. You were afraid to look at him; doing so would’ve thrown you off completely. “You did. And I just-“ you breathed out, “I just want to know why. What was so important that you had to do what you did in order to deal with it? ‘Cause ever since you came back, that’s the question that’s been burning at the back of my mind and for the life of me, I cannot figure out the answer.”

“I went looking for my brother.”

Your lips parted and your eyes narrowed, the admission shocking you. Brendon was not at all family-orientated. In fact, the only time he’d ever mentioned any sort of familial ties was when he had told you he had never met his father. He’d never even mentioned a mother, let alone a brother – so his sudden revelation that he had disappeared in search of his sibling caught you entirely off guard.

“Brother?” you furrowed your brows, your head moving forward slightly, “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Yeah, well,” he huffed, again running his fingers through his hair, “He’s not someone I’m exactly proud to be associated with.”

“So why risk everything to go looking for him?” you pressed, failing to understand his logic or reasoning.

Pushing himself off of the wall, he stepped closer. “I needed answers,” he explained, looking you dead in the eyes, “About my family, my father… myself… and he was the only one who could give them to me.”

Nodding to show your comprehension, you uncrossed your arms and let them drop to your sides. “Willing to share that information with me?” you tried your luck, but already knew what his answer would be.

His eyes softened slightly. “Some other time. I promise.”

Even though you had every reason not to, you believed him.

“So that’s it?” you sighed, “You did it because you wanted to find your brother? Why didn’t you just tell me that? Brendon, I would have understood.”

“I know,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, “But I didn’t, and I can’t change that now. Just belive me when I say that I know that it was hell for you, and I hate myself for that.”

Swallowing to try and alleviate the dryness in your throat, you looked down in embarrassment. It’s true that the past twelve months were insanely hard for you, and you did some things you weren’t proud of. For some reason, the thought of Brendon knowing of them brought along a feeling of shame. Ironic, considering he was a major cause of it.

“What did Spencer tell you?” you breathed.

“Enough.” He took a step nearer to you. “Enough to make me regret doing it in the first place. Enough to make me more ashamed of myself than I’ve ever been.” He placed two fingers under your chin and tilted your head up so that you were looking at him again. “Enough to make me promise that I will never, ever leave you again.”

You closed your eyes for a moment, taking it all in.

“I was so ready to kill you,” you whispered, then let out a short chuckle.

His lips twitched. “I would’vekilled me.”

“I hate you,” you reminded.

“I know,” he said softly, “Come here.”

He pulled you in gently, bringing you to his chest and holding you. His lips pressed to your forehead in a gentle kiss, then he rested his chin on top of your head, squeezing you tighter.

And just like that, all of the resentment you had been harbouring toward him melted away in a second. It was astonishing, really, how easily he had gotten you to cave in and forgive him. Mildly concerning, even.

But that was just how things were when it came to Brendon. Everything, every action, every word, every emotion was fast-paced, intense, and undisputably compelling.

Which is why even if you wanted to, you couldn’t walk away.

✧✧✧

The next day. Conference room, S.H.I.E.L.D HQ.

“I’m glad you guys talked it out,” Dallon said as worked on setting up the holographic displays in the middle of the room above the table, “The tension was unbearable for all of us.”

Even though his back was toward you and he couldn’t see your face, you still scrunched it up in distaste, straddling a swivvel chair as your arms dangled over the backrest.

“All of youshould get a life and stop concerning yourselves with mine,” you sassed, eliciting a half-offended laugh from the techie.

“Yours is so much more interesting, though,” he looked over his shoulder at you with an innocent smile.

Narrowing your eyes, you pursed your lips and pointed an accusatory finger his way. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, mister. I’m still unbelievable pissed at you for your part in all this, and I’ll get payback. Although, I must admit,” you tilted your head side to side, “a little bit impressed by how well you did. I can’t belive you of all people managed to keep it a secret.”

“Hey, I’m great at keeping secrets!” he defended, turning around sharply. “No need to be surprised about it!”

“That’s not what I heard,” you taunted in sing-song voice, lightly swivveling in your seat.

“What…” he started out sounding panicky but after taking a second to compose himself, folded his arms and cleared his throat before continuing, “what did you hear? Did Corvey say something about the Christmas party of 2009? Because that was not my fault.”

Stifling a laugh, you widened your eyes and made a zipping motion over your lips, letting the chair swing all the way around.

Now facing the entrance, your eyes were drawn to The Hounds as they swaggered into the room, clad in their usual tactical uniforms. You had heard about the three men before via break room conversations with some other agents, but up until now had not had the chance to see them in person for introductions.

One look at them told you everything you needed to know about the tactical team, and it was evident that their reputations did not lie.

You stood up so that you could greet them properly, the smallest of smiles gracing your features as they stopped in front of you. Reigns was the first one to step forward and extend his hand, gripping your hand in a firm but friendly handshake.

“Roman Reigns,” he introduced, deep voice reverberating off the glass walls, “pleasure to meet you. Been a long time coming.”

“Definitely has been,” you agreed.

All three men were already well aware of who you were – everyone was – so they left no oppurtunity for you to speak your name; Rollins stepped up almost immediately after.

“I’m Seth Rollins,” he spoke; his handshake was much like his voice – choppy and soft, “also known as ‘the only one on this team with brains’. Call me what you chose; I answer to both.”

His teammates showed their aversity through glares and side-eye, as you gave a short laugh at the two-toned agent’s joke.

Last but definitely not least, Ambrose moved forward, extending an arm to shove his two friends back, causing them to stumble a little. Already knowing where this was headed, Reigns and Rollins groaned; the former shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose and the latter shaking his head in disapproval.

“Dean Ambrose,” he grinned, shooting you a wink as he gently took your hand in his, “and you… are somuch hotter in person, are you kidding me- hey!”

His head jerked around sharply so that he could scowl at Rollins, who had given him a solid slap on the back of his neck.

“Not this one, bro,” Rollins reminded in a hushed tone, “Unless you have a death wish.”

“What?” Ambrose pointed at himself. “I was just being nice.”

Speaking up, you diffused the situation. “Thank you for the compliment, Dean,” you smiled, then raised one brow and nudged him with your elbow, “You’re pretty hot, yourself.”

“Ha!” the blue-eyed agent’s face lit up as he laughed, chucking a triumphant look at his two friends before moving to throw one arm around your shoulders, “See… I have a feeling we’re gonna be great friends. Hey, there he is!”

Spotting Brendon entering the room, Ambrose extended both of his arms to the sides. The brooding agent tossed a fleeting look at you and the Hound as he strolled in, showing that he had spotted the half-embrace you had been in, but said nothing about it.

“Your majesty,” Ambrose greeted Brendon, dropping down into a series of bows.

Scoffing, Brendon shook his head. “Stand your stupid ass up.”

“Aw, I missed you, too,” the Hound stood up and poked Brendon’s cheek affectionately.

Smacking the intruding hand away, Brendon greeted Reigns and Rollins with what you assumed to be some sort of secret handshake, then made his way over to the table.

“Alright, Weekes,” he breathed, pulling up his sleeves and leaning open-palmed on the glass tabletop, “Do your thing.”

“With pleasure,” the techie smiled. After pressing a few buttons on his display, he sent an array of information flying into the space above the table.

The rest of you gathered around, taking in as much as you could as you looked on at the various pictures and pieces of information. Once he had eveything he needed to explain, Dallon began the brief.

“I’ll keep this as short as possible, which,” the techie skewed his mouth to the side, his fingers twirling a pen, “won’t be that hard, considering there’s not much we know about this particular mission. Basically…” he pointed at profile shots of a group of people at the edge of the hologram, “young couples are being abducted in major cities all over the world. There’s been over twenty reported cases so far. All within roughly the same age group, good physical condition, and with barely any family or friends. In fact, the only reason most of them were reported missing was because their employers became concerned when they stopped showing up to work.”

“Runaways?” Rollins queried, dwelling on the fact that the victims weren’t family orientated.

Dallon shrugged. “Potentially. Although their way of living shows no indication of it.”

“How did this fall onto S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar?” you asked.

“Yeah,” Reigns backed you up, frowning slightly, “Sounds more like a FBI or Interpol gig, to me.”

With a toothy grin, Dallon pointed his pen between the two of you. “Ah, but here’s the kicker.” The techie dished out tablets to each of you, and you all immediately looked down at what was on the screen. “The abductees? They’ve been spotted in various countries, and witnesses describe them as having ‘superhuman abilities’.”

“Yep, that sounds more like our kinda thing,” Ambrose pursed his lips.

Everyone in the room exchanged a look after finishing reading through the information on your tablets. The agreement was unspoken.

“Alright,” Brendon said as he placed his device onto the table, “Where are we headed?”

Dallon gave a devilish smirk. “Vegas.”

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x

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[luci-cunt]

Neil Josten’s Vendetta

Neil needs a roommate, he gets Andrew. Which is fine, until Andrew is the first person to connect all of Neil’s victims and actually start figuring out who is killing all of the Butcher of Baltimore’s people.

“Umm, that’s pretty much it,” he said, forcing his eyes to land back on Minyard, who was still examining the apartment. He paused for a moment on the dead cactus, and then glanced questioningly at Neil, who smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m not much of a– well I’m not very good at keeping things alive,” he said, then smiled a little wider at his own joke. Sustaining life was definitely a lot harder than watching it drain from someone’s eyes.

(Pt. 1/ ????)

(AN: this is my crappy attempt at fanfic so lol sorry if there’s spelling issues and if it randomly switches to first person, I tried to fix it but I’m more used to writing first person so I slip. Also thanks to @sig66​ cause I’m 100% stealing what you added on to my OG idea– unless you want to write it yourself then I’ll back off, but it’s a rad ass idea. Also thank you to @writingpuddle because you’re an icon and really nice so thanks for liking my au idea hope you like this lol)

*******

Neil scowled at the newspaper on his kitchen table. Well, more specifically the ad he knew was folded inside the pages. Written in typed, neat, black and white ink just like all the other rows of ads for dog sales and car sales and sales in general.

He’d been the one to publish the ad, which made it that much worse. Everything about his life until this point– hell even at this point–  was about skimming just below the radar. Staying out of everyone’s attention or as far in the periphery as he could manage. First it was staying carefully out of his father’s range and notice, then it was running from the eyes of his father’s people with his mother hand yanking at his hair and her hissing voice close in his ear reminding him that they’re close. You’re stalling us. Stop speaking now. We need to move. Forget that name. Remember this one. And now it was keeping ahead of the cops and making sure no one connected the trail of bodies he was leaving scattered over the country.

Neil ran a hand through his hair, trying to sooth the phantom pains and ghosts of fingers that thinking of his mother brought up. He sighed and looked away from the paper finally, trying to console himself with the fact that the ad had already been publish, it wasn’t under his actual name (he’d used his middle and last initials. A.J.), and his mother was dead. Dead and burned.

That was another memory he wasn’t feeling like reliving, so instead he took a sip of the scalding coffee he’d been making. It burned his tongue but shot him back into the present, out of the smoke and sand of that beach beneath the stars.

He tossed the paper in the trash as he went to grab cream from the kitchen. He knew what the ad said, had it burned into his brain as he’d read and re-read it trying to decide whether or not it was the right decision.

Roommate wanted, must be quiet and able to clean up after themselves. Email me with inquiries.

Part of him knew it was vague and a horrible ad, but part of him hoped no one would answer and he could convince himself that he’d tried.

People had answered though, three to be exact. The first two he’d written off, one asking if medium sized dogs were allowed– no– and the other wanting to know what kind of coffee he kept in the house. Neil hadn’t bothered responding to that one.

But the third one had been a single line.

Does the room have a door that locks.

Not even a question mark, or a name. The email said the person was an A. Minyard, and a quick google search hadn’t really gotten Neil much. Something about a car crash, some court cases Neil couldn’t be bothered to read, and a story about twins reuniting. The picture that had been taken for the article had actually made Neil laugh. Two boys– each with identical blond hair, roundish faces, and small statues– were scowling into the camera while a woman subtly fought to rest her hand on one of the boys shoulders. She looked a lot like them, except she was trying for a pained looking smile.

The exact same picture he realized was also used for her obituary. Just cropped to hide the twins.

But Neil didn’t really care, and he was running out of options so he’d responded with an equally thought-provoking yes. A. Minyard– who could have been either Aaron or Andrew if he was one of the twins Neil realized with some annoyance– had responded simply with a date and time and Neil had given him his address. (Even though his fingers froze when he tried to type it in and he couldn’t breathe right afterwards until he’d double and triple checked that all the doors and windows were locked and the cameras in place).

It had been a long time since Neil had been on the run. Actually, Neil Josten had never been on the run. Alex Crizewald, Chris Lucas, Stephan Waldridge, Nathaniel Wesninski and many more had been on the run. Neil Josten was a broke ex-college student working part time in a coffee shop down the street from his two bedroom apartment, he’d grown up in Virginia, and had a sister in Washington who he never talked to.

Neil Abram Josten was Neil Abram Josten. He’d stopped being anyone else the day his mother was killed.

Neil Abram Josten also had to get ready to meet A. Minyard, who was supposed to be coming over at 1:30. Neil almost groaned when he looked at his clock and it beamed 1:12 at him. He sipped at his coffee again, it tasted better now with cream, and it was less scalding, which was a relief for his already charred tongue.

Damn, and he’d wanted to get a shower.

He caught his own eye in the bathroom mirror as he decided to risk a quick shower anyways. He’d been at the gym down the street for the past couple of hours, trying desperately to run off the burn in the back of his head telling him to run. Leave everything, you’ve been found. They know where you are, they’re coming. Run.

His eyes used to scare him, there wasn’t much special about them, but paired with the Wesninski red curls it made him look like a smaller, more pointy version of the very Butcher he’d run from all those years ago. He’d dyed his hair back to auburn and removed his contacts mostly for dramatic effect, and luckily now they didn’t remind him so much of his father. Well, that’s not totally true, they just reminded him of his mission– Neil Josten’s vendetta if you will. Also the stupid reason he needed a roommate in the first place.

Turns out, hunting down and killing every person to have worked for your father (and your father) takes a lot out of your day.

He tore his eyes away from the mirror and pulled off his clothes, rinsing off fast and changing back into a loose pair of sweatpants and a hoodie just a loud knock pounded on the door. Neil tried not to scowl too much as he opened the door.

The first thing he noticed about A. Minyard was that he smelled like cigarettes and new car, which was an odd mix. Minyard was also shorter than Neil, which was slightly comforting– until Neil realized Minyard was nearly twice the size of him in muscle mass, that was not comforting. He was wearing all black, a pair of jeans, a dark t-shirt with a gray flannel around his waist and twin black armbands on both forearms.

Neil was kind of impressed, it was the end of what felt like one of the worst summers ever and this guy didn’t seem the slightest bit fazed. In fact he looked downright bored, with hooded hazel eyes and nothing other than a lazy eyebrow arch as Neil opened the door. He looked almost exactly like the photo from the newspaper article, and not much taller. The only real difference was his build and a slight shadow of stubble on his chin.

“A. Minyard?” Neil asked.

“Sunshine Muffin 7260?” Minyard asked in a deadpanned tone, Neil winced. He kept forgetting he’d let Matt make him the email after his coworker had found out he didn’t have one. He kept meaning to change it, but he only ever used it to talk to Matt, and sometimes his boss– Matt’s fiancé Dan– since he didn’t keep a phone for more than a week.

“Neil, actually,” Neil said, he didn’t bother to try for a handshake. From the cross-armed stance Minyard was holding Neil thought it wouldn’t be well received.

“Andrew,” he said simply, and Neil stepped aside to allow him to enter. He closed the door after Minyard– Andrew– walked in and then moved past him towards the kitchen.

“I have coffee?” he half asked, a little awkwardly. He wasn’t used to having guests in his apartment– still wasn’t exactly used to having an apartment–, but it was something Matt always said when he dragged Neil over for a movie night.

“I’m good,” Andrew said, glancing around the apartment as he followed Neil into the kitchen. It wasn’t very big, the front door leading into a small living room that turned into a kitchen on the left side. The living room had a couch set up facing the TV, and there was a dead cactus Dan had gotten him sitting in the windowsill above the sink, but otherwise the room was completely undecorated. There was also a door leading to a bathroom through the kitchen, and a tiny hallway to where the two bedrooms were. Both identical, small rooms with a single window and a half closet.

“Cool, uh, your room would be down he hall, mine’s on the right–” Neil pointed down the hall, he didn’t mention that the room on the right had the window over his downstairs neighbors shrub garden, and that he’d picked that room because it would make a halfway decent escape route if needed. “There’s only one bathroom, that’s it there, and then the kitchen and the living room…” he drifted off, glancing around the apartment and fidgeting with his sleeve a little. “Umm, that’s pretty much it,” he said, forcing his eyes to land back on Minyard, who was still examining the apartment. He paused for a moment on the dead cactus, and then glanced questioningly at Neil, who smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m not much of a– well I’m not very good at keeping things alive,” he said, then smiled a little wider at his own joke. Sustaining life was definitely a lot harder than watching it drain from someone’s eyes.

“Huh, can I smoke in here or are you a prude?” Minyard asked bluntly, and Neil raised a brow and smirked at his blank expression.

“Not technically, but the smoke alarms in the rooms are shit if you open the window,” Neil said, and Minyard nodded. “You can take that as either the warning sign or invitation that it is,” Neil added, and Minyard eyed him carefully, somehow managing to peer at Neil down his nose despite being shorter.

“Can I see the room?” He asked instead of answering, and Neil nodded, gesturing down the hall. Minyard turned out of sight and Neil heard him try the handle of his own– thankfully locked– door.

“Mine’s on the right,” Neil reminded him, poking his head into the hallway and then raised a brow at Minyard, “You remember my email down to the number but can’t remember your lefts and rights?” he mocked, and Minyard scowled at him, before disappearing into the room. Neil breathed a small laugh and went into the kitchen where his laptop was set up. With nothing better to do while he waited for Minyard to decide he opened it up and winced at the number of emails Matt and Dan had both sent him. He regretted mentioning Minyard coming over now.

He closed the laptop instead of reading any of them and instead pulled out his phone. There was a new message, from an unknown number which wasn’t that unusual on Neil’s phone. He opened it and scanned the code. Well, it wasn’t much of a code, just written in French. It was from one of Neil’s newer contacts– one that apparently didn’t understand what Neil meant by confidential. There was GPS coordinates, and a date and time window for Neil to reach it by. Luckily it looked like he had a day, but his fingers itched to get the envelope he knew would be waiting at the site. Containing the names and information on his next victims.

Neil had been hunting down the Butcher’s men for the years. It had been surprisingly easy at first, hunting down the weakest members and picking them off. But the higher up he got the more difficult it was proving– and the longer surveillance took. Neil hated surveillance. If he had any trust left he probably would hire someone to do it for him. But this wasn’t something he could risk– or put in someone else's hands.

The killing had been something to get used to– no, the feeling of killing. Killing was easy, you just stab the right place and the blood drains and the person goes limp and usually piss themselves. It’s not all that.

But the exhilaration of adding another notch into his knife, of getting that much higher in the Wesninski ladder, it was frightening how much he’d started to understand that light in his fathers eyes. It helped a little to know everyone he was killing were monsters, working for a monster, but the first couple of kills had been messy as he dredged up the lessons from Lola and his father and tried to act them out.

A dark part of his mind wished he was able to draw things out longer, to make sure his victims knew who was killing them and why. But another part was glad he didn’t, and knew he never would be able to do more than quick kills from the shadows.

There was also the fact that killing slow meant mess, and unfortunately Neil Josten didn’t have Nathan Wesninski’s murder budget. What a shame.

“I need to move in as soon as possible,” Minyard said, snapping Neil out of his thoughts and making him jump. For being such a heavy looking person he was startlingly quiet. Neil ran a hand through his hair.

“That’s fine, I have work tomorrow but I get off by 11,” Neil said, and Minyard nodded.

“I’ll be here by 11:30,” he said curtly, and Neil laughed.

“Hopefully the enthusiasm isn’t from some trouble you might be dragging in, that would be impolite,” he said, a very thinly veiled threat that he punctuated with his father’s smile– no his smile. Minyard scowled at him.

“I don’t think anything could be more trouble than you seem to be,” Minyard said flatly, and Neil laughed again, barely biting back the words you have no idea.

“See you tomorrow roomie,” Neil grinned as Minyard gave him a last scathing look and then left.

*****

“Surprise!” A voice shouted from behind Neil, and he jumped, reaching for a weapon he didn’t have on him as he whirled around. He relaxed once he recognized Matt’s grinning face and rolled his eyes.

“Are you going to shout that everytime you show up for your scheduled work time?” Neil asked as he finished refilling the to-go cups in the front of the cafe. Matt laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Dan and I have a bet to see who can get you to cuss first,” Matt explained and Neil gave him a flat look.

“That’s the stupidest bet I’ve heard you guys make, and you were betting whether or not toe-jamb was one word or last week,” Neil said, finishing the cups and untying his apron, Matt laughed. He had a good laugh, like him it was large and unignorable and much too frequent. Matt seemed to know everyone, and he loved introducing Neil to people, which made Neil’s skin crawl. But Matt was also the closest thing to a friend Neil could say he ever had.

Well, there was Kevin and Riko, but Neil didn’t think the wonder-twins counted as friends more than childhood acquaintances.

Matt had actually been Neil’s first roommate– aside from his mother (Neil tried not to wince at how that sounded), and had gotten him the job at the horribly named “Biscottea.”

“And what did we learn from that?” Dan asked, suddenly appearing from the back room and making Matt beam. Neil sighed and recited Dan’s ‘lessons’ with a more than excited Matt.

“‘Don’t argue with Dan, and hyphens count as one word.’”

“Mmm, just like Boyd-Wilds,” Matt said, walking over to plant a kiss on Dan who smiled up at him.

“I do like the sound of that word,” Dan agreed, “Hey babe,” she added. Which made Matt’s smile widen– impossibly– as he wrapped his arms around Dan, she hugged him back and they rocked for a moment.

“Come here often?” Matt asked cheekily, and she rolled her eyes with faux annoyance. Neil tried his best to fade into the shadows, suddenly feeling like an intruder, and attempted to open the drawer where his time card was silently. It didn’t work– there was nothing less silent than that stupid drawer– and both Dan and Matt were focused back on him.

“You going to meet your new roomie?” Matt asked, and Neil nodded.

“Technically I already met him,” Neil muttered, but they both ignored him.

“Apparently he’s a grouch,” Dan said, crossing her arms over her chest as Neil handed his apron over to Matt, who furrowed his brow as he tied it on.

“What’s that mean?”

“He said like, four words the whole time, and called me a prude,” Neil explained, checking the clock to fill out the time on the card. Matt laughed.

“Is he wrong though?” he asked, and Dan chuckled when Neil glared over at both of them.

“Whatever, I’m going home,” he grumbled, before closing the drawer extra slowly so that it made a horrible screeching noise that caused most of the customers in the cafe to glare at him. Matt and Dan dramatically covered their ears and screamed.

“Noo! Not the drawer!” Matt cried, and Neil rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

“Bye Spinster!” Dan called after him as he slammed the door behind him. He shook his head out and didn’t bother wiping the smile off his face. He glanced at his watch, 11:03 that meant he still had time to look over the new envelope before Minyard showed up. He sighed as he realized that wasn’t something he was going to be able to do in his own apartment with the new roommate.

He jogged back to the apartment, and took a quick shower to wash off the smell of the cafe and his jog before plopping down on the couch with the plain manila envelope. He turned on the TV, which was tuned to some sports channel reviewing an exy game from last night.

Neil would never admit that he’d picked the station because it played mostly exy reviews. He’d told himself he wouldn’t even dip his toes in the risk of temptation by actually watching an exy game, but the review weren’t games. And, it wasn’t his fault they were on when he got home.

Pure, unadulterated coincidence.

Just like how the envelope was discarded so Neil could curl his knees up to his chest and get sucked into a slow motion replay of a play made by the captain of the Trojan’s team– Jeremy Knox.

Not that Neil knew that. That was a lie, the only thing Neil didn’t know about nearly every Class I exy team was the players numbers, because he needed some kind of deniability for his shabby example of self restraint.

At least he didn’t have the stalker binder of Kevin and Riko anymore, now it was disguised as a cookbook in the kitchen. Though he had kept tabs on them both, enough to know that Kevin had suffered a nasty injury that made it impossible for him to play exy anymore. Neil was pretty sure he’d decided to become a history major and coach the local exy teams. He and Dan actually coached one of the community ones together, and Neil had heard plenty about the arrogant son of exy and his “perfectionist” and “douchwad” tendencies from Dan.

Soon enough there was a pounding on the door that jerked Neil out of his exy hole. He glanced wistfully at the screen and switched it to a regular news station before getting up. He stuffed the envelope behind the fridge on his way to the door and checked the peep hole. Spotting the top of Minyard’s blond head he opened the door.

Minyard was dressed drastically different from yesterday. Neil raised a brow at the choice of light-washed jeans and a bright orange Palmetto State hoodie.

“Are you having an identity crisis?” he asked, frowning at the way Minyard glared at him with more emotion than he’d all of yesterday.

“Not Andrew,” he growled, and Neil nodded in realization.

“Oooh, you’re Aaron,” he said, and Aaron furrowed his brow.

“He mentioned me?” he asked, sounding surprised and Neil laughed.

“No,” he said, which made Aaron look more confused. “Did he pay you to move him in? Cause that would be hilarious.” that made Aaron bristle, but before he could say anything the sound of german drifted up from the stairs. Neil cocked his head as he listened to what sounded like a phone conversation.

“...no, I’m not telling you that. Does it sound like I care about your whiny needs?” The voice deadpanned. There was a pause and then the other Minyard appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked as bored as he had yesterday and was wearing all black again. This time though he had an Arctic Monkeys AM shirt and ripped jeans. Neil tried not to roll his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if–” he sucked in a long, frustrated sounding breath as he was cut off. “No, you will not waste away without details,” he said, pausing for a moment to listen and then sighed. “Then die.” and he hung up. Neil stifled a laugh as Aaron and Andrew shared a look.

“How’s Nicky?” Aaron asked smugly in german, and Andrew rolled his eyes, tossing the phone at him as it rang.

“This is Aaron,” Andrew introduced curtly, and Neil smirked.

“He knows,” Aaron muttered in german, hanging up the phone without picking up he call, and Andrew gave Neil an odd look.

“Knows what, you know I hate vague statements.” he said, not taking his eyes off Neil.

“He knew who I was, I thought you told him but he said you didn’t,” Aaron explained, and Andrew’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Neil tried to smile innocently, but he had a feeling it didn’t work.

“Google is a thing Aaron, stop being paranoid. Go get something from the car,” Andrew snapped a little too sharply to be truly convincing. Aaron seemed to realize this, because he cast a wary look between Andrew and Neil and then reluctantly left for the stairs.

“He’s off so soon?” Neil asked, and Andrew stared him down for a while longer.

“There’s stuff in the car,” he said finally, and Neil nodded.

“Cool, need help? How much do you have?” he asked, Andrew took another lengthy sigh before answering.

“There’s two cars,” Andrew said, before turning and leaving for the stairs again, Neil assumed that meant yes and followed him down. They passed Aaron on the way down, and Neil tensed at the thought of him being in the apartment without Neil there to supervise. Andrew noticed, and raised a brow.

“Worried he’ll steal your dead plant?” he asked dryly, Neil smiled mockingly.

“It’s name is Marshall,” Neil said, Dan had insisted on his naming it, but it had only proven to make him feel worse about telling her he’d killed it. He tried not to pause to much on the fact that he was more guilty over the death of Marshall then the twenty plus people he’d killed.

“Was,” Andrew corrected, before resuming the walk to the cars. Neil clenched his jaw and glared after him, before muttering a couple curses under his breath before following him.

Neil immediately spotted the cars. He didn’t claim to know a single thing about cars, except that the one that Andrew unlocked looked insanely expensive. Next to it there was a large, old looking blue truck stacked full of furniture. Neil almost choked, it seemed to reek permanence.

Not your stuff. Not your stuff. Not your stuff.

He tried to console himself as a girl jumped down out of the truck. She was wearing a flowy looking skirt that had a map of the world on it and a plain green shirt on. Her dirty-blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail and she seemed to bounce over to Neil, grinning widely as she stuck out her hand.

“Hi I’m Katelyn,” she said, sounding as bubbly as she looked. Neil smiled weakly and shook her hand.

“Neil,” he said.

“Nice to meet you, by the way I love your hair, is that a natural color or do you dye it?” she asked, blue eyes bright and sincere.

“Natural,” Neil said on reflex, it was a little odd to realize he was telling the truth. Katelyn’s eyes widened and she reached out like she was going to touch it. Neil flinched slightly and she pulled back.

“Sorry, sorry, that’s my bad, I should have asked,” she said, casting a wary glance back to Andrew, who didn’t appear to have noticed the interaction and was busy pulling something out of the fancy car. Neil furrowed his brow, but before he could think too much about it Aaron suddenly appeared.

“Kate, can you give me a hand?” he asked, subtly dragging his girlfriend away from Neil. He was glad, her cheerfulness was exhausting.

“No problem,” she said, and they both started undoing the ties keeping all the furniture in place. Neil got another near overwhelming sense of panic, and he dragged a hand through his hair to try and calm himself down.

“Here,” Andrew said, suddenly shoving a box into Neil’s arms. Neil glared at him.

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically, before looking at the box and realizing it was an animal carrier. He frowned and peeked inside to see a fluffy looking black and white cat glaring at him.

“Hope you’re not allergic to cats,” Andrew said with a small smirk,

“What the fuck is this?” Neil hissed, which made Andrew’s smirk grow.

“Therapy animal, her name’s King, you should introduce her to the apartment.” Andrew said, before running off to go ‘help’ Aaron unload the truck by standing over his shoulder and snapping at him to be more careful with the furniture. Neil glared between the cat and Andrew before growling and turning away.

“I’m throwing it down the stairs!” he called over his shoulder.

“I dare you,” Andrew replied, and Neil glared again.

“Fuck you.”

*******

#Neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #king fluffikins #aaron minyard #cannon change #au #killers #murder #nothing too graphic #yet #muahahahah #Basically instead of going to Arizona and joining the exy team Neil goes and becomes a fucking killer #he's a badass #Aaron and Andrew are healing together! #Andrew has betsy!! #and King is a therapy animal #fanfic #lol I've never written fanfic before #sorry if this sux ass #thank you also to everyone who was excited for this yall are really niceeee #shit I'm supposed to be tagging #matt boyd #dan wilds #they're engaaageeedd #Kevin is a history major who coaches exy with dan #Wymack is a police chief #all for the game fanfic #all for the game #yeet

[lysieblu]

When the Camellia Blooms

So I decided to do commentary this time. I usually have a lot to say when wacthing dramas but forget it all quickly.

Mild Spoilers Ahead

I’ve renamed the characters because auto-correct sucks if your first language isn’t Korean.

Oh Dong-Baek - Dongbaek

Hwang Yong-sik - Smiley

Choi Hyang-mi / Choi Go-eun - Clepto Waitress

No Gyu-tae - Tae or Gyu-tae

Hong Ja-young  - Baseball, baseball dude

Jo Jung-sook, Dongbaek’s mom - Mama bear

Deok-soon, Yong-sik’s mom - Ma dukes

Why is it that society can take anything and make it a reason to put others down. Humans ain't shit. Episode 6 “Girls like me are like the Emperor's New Clothes... Good guys cants see me.” Best quote of the whole drama so far. Clepto waitress, I love her. She was weird and I wasn't sure if she was playing old dude, Tae. But she was and kinda genius at it. Men help create the traps they get caught in. Is Dongbaek really going to die in the end because it really sucks as this sad girl narrative goes. Being an orphan and or single mom does not doom you. The society in which she lived did. She was a fighter and would always win. The fact that she made it so far in life despite believing the bs others were telling her and the shit she was telling herself is worthy of praise. Episode 7 Smart girl to keep a tab of bad behavior. I just wish she had a bit more confidence, petty, and bad bitch in her delivery. This self deprecating behavior is getting old now. But this kind of behavior can't be unlearned in a night. It's so frustrating. This is why I can't be a therapist. Get a grip bitch. (kidding I know how healing works) all you can really do is pour in the positive and hope it flushes out the negative. That's why smiley is good for her but God he's annoying. He may be good and all but he had def benefited from her lack of boundaries. The dead girl at the end is the Clepto waitress. She stole the bracelet from Dongbaek and thus why the dead body is wearing it. Go Gye-tae has something to do with the murders. He is too punk to do them himself. But he knows and is close to the murderer. The timing of the alarm at the aesticians office. Tae saved her  I think it's the handy man. Episode 8 Chief is looking really suspect. Clepto waitress has crossed the line to disrespectful. Is she really risking hurting Dongbaek to get baseball dude? I think extortion always been her MO. Mom was referring to her when she said watch who you trust. I don't think she's the killer but bitch is not innocent. Episode 9 I hate bitches. It's true that for some people who never grew the fuck up... Hate is their love language. Cliques need a common enemy to thrive and they are weak as fuck. It doesn’t help that Dongbaek never puts them in their place. Me and Dongbaek are the same age and had our kid about the same time. I don't think the killer is female. Unless that bitch is Ronda Rousey I would like to believe I can fight off a bitch with chicken wire. Chief is looking suspect as hell. Why is he always throwing Smiley off the track or avoiding the case. He knows something. I am by no means taking baseball guys side, however I do feel that both parents should be given the opportunity to be parents to their kid. It's unfair to not tell him about his child when he clearly wants to be a father. The scar can go both ways. You son can resent you for keeping this from his father. Pil clearly knows what's up. Dongbaek is growing up. In a way, this is a death flag. But I still don't believe it's her. Episode 10 There isn't a cloud in the sky. They are walking around without coats. And you expect me to believe that it's cold enough for snow. I still feel like Joker isn't a female but her mom is looking hella suspect. What if the connection between all the victims is Dongbaek. Maybe they somehow did her wrong and crazy momma bear was protecting her. But I really can't see her climbing out of a window. Plus the fire alarm.   Trust no one. A lot of people have said the "don't be a joke" line. I called it. That ending was more of a death red flag. So the dead lady is Clepto waitress. She probably died because she obviously owes debts. Dude in hair salon was creepy. But that is separate from joker. I know this goofy mug. I've seen it somewhere (Googling it) ah.. yes... Mr Smiley was in Midnight Runners, playing a cop there too if I remember correctly. Episode 11 A bunch of elementary school kids fighting over baseball. Me yelling at my TV: GET EM!!! Let me tell y'all. I would have been on that field lighting shit up, whipping everyone's ass. Little boy go get yo momma so she can get your ass beating. 😡 Chief is acting wonky. He knows something. What's with the mom? She seems so protective... Now? What about her dad? What if Dongbaek's parents are some crazy con artists who are protecting their daughter by killing off people who conned her? They are basically trying to tell her to "get a grip bitch!" Or "don't be a joke." And did you see her grab the belt and wrap around her fist? She knows what the fuck she's doing. (I want her on my team in a fight) Why is Dongbaek not questioning her lucidity? 🤔 Clepto waitress is the childhood friend.?!. 🤨 IT WAS THE FUCKING HANDYMAN!!! I CALLED IT!!! 🥳🙌🏾👏🏾 Yass bitches. I'm fucking brilliant. Hold on... let's not get ahead of ourselves. Episode 12 This shit just became an episode of 24 “Why try to live so hard?” Because if I live up to the narrative people create for me based on some societal BS explanation, they win. They can say, "see I told you all _______ are _______." Fuck your prejudices and stereotypes. The last thing I want to do is prove some asshole right. So many people want her dead they are trying to confuse me. Who the fuck is the joker?? Handy man's dad? Is he even alive? And this lack of boundaries is killing me. Dongbaek needs to put both those men in their place. Baseball needs to know he has no legal rights, period, if his name is not on the birth certificate. It would be the kids decision as to what his relationship with his dad is. She also needs to tell Smiley to get a fucking grip and that dealing with Baseball is part of being with her. These situations can coexist and it's frustrating to think otherwise. Mom dukes needs to chill. Her son has to make his own decisions and fuck-ups and she cannot fault Dongbaek for that. Life is hard, regardless. If it ain't this, it would be something else. Who lives an easy life?? Challenges build character. And I get it some things you can avoid. But they are grown in their 30s, who at this point does not come with baggage? And fuck you for trying to make me cry. I'm at work Episode 13 Is momma bear on drugs? Her behavior isn't totally out of the ordinary but maybe she goes away to trip and comes back. Lawd we all gon die together😮 They are teasing this story line so hard.  IDK who the joker is. I'ma stick to the handy man but everyone in this story is guilty of something and really it's like matching the crime to the person or the person to the crime. Who killed Clepto? Was it her enemies or the joker? What momma bear is up to? Who's the joker? Is the joker and cleptos killer the same person? What's handy mans deal? Out of all of clepto's enemies, I believe the only ones capable of killing her are Mr. Pimp, Jessica because she's desperate, or Momma bear because she's protecting Dongbaek. In which case, her death is separate from the Joker's killings. Episode 14 You think Smiley's mom may be jealous because no one took an interest in her with three kids? Hold... The ... Fucking.... Phone... It's handy man's dad??? Behind  every weak man is a mother (parental figure) who never held him accountable. I'm tired of grown people not acting like they are grown, kiss and have sex already... Damn. Oh so now they were meant to be? And did Momma bear really come for a kidney? Episode 15 There is a such thing as too much motherly love. This lady is fucking delusional. Her son has always been the type to run towards trouble. Does she really think his life would be easier without Dongbaek? Really? Go-tae is cleared. He was guilty but his crime is gambling. Jessica hit clepto with her car but someone delivered the final blow. Was it Momma bear? Or joker? I think Chief is cleared too. He was just operating out of fear. So hold up. Momma bear has been watching over Dongbaek her whole life. If Momma bear is lurking in the shadows of course she would run into someone else lurking in the shadows. Bitch. Episode 16 Laugh cry? Jesus Christ Dongbaek is stupid. A abandoned mall. Really? She's like a white chick in a horror movie. No don't go in there. Run bitch. 😔 Always take the fucking stairs. I can't. If she falls, I quit. Episode 17 They look like the fucking Power Rangers and I AM LIVING for this movement. Ordering me a track suit on payday. He gets it. He fucking gets it. "I know I made you be a mother when you wanted to just be a woman" 🥳 "We'll not only feed him, we'll wipe his ass if we have to" My bitch. 😂😂😂 If this shit ends with Pil going with his father, I quit. People and situations can peacefully coexist. What's with this all or nothing attitude? And this discarding of a previous family or kids. I see it a lot in these dramas and it's disturbing. Episode 18 Pil's in for a rude awakening but it's a lesson that his mom can't protect him from. His dad may have nice things, but he ain't shit. He'll be back. Damn even your kid thinks your weak. Or is he being mean? He did it for his mom. Funny.. he's assuming what she wants. Did she ever say that she couldn't marry Smiley because of him? Did Smiley say it? That Ma Dukes said it and it's unfortunate. He's too young to realize which opinions matter  Society sucks for making a kid feel this way. Fuck that shit. It just hit me. One of the underlying themes of this drama is parenthood,  more so motherhood. Dongbaek lacked boundaries, even with her son. Smiley's mom is delusional about her son and life in general. She relied on him too much, babied him too much. I don't think any woman would not have been good enough in the long run. The guilt of his father dying, she blames herself, a burden she should have never had to bare, and never fully healed. She projecting that onto Dongbaek. Dongbaek's mom is seeking redemption. She did what she thought was best for her kid. Jessica's mom put up with an asshole for the sake of everyone else and probably to maintain her life. She's learning that she doesn't want that for Jessica. That her own insecuries have transferred to her. Taeks mom is selfish as fuck and babied her son, never holding him accountable. Mother's think they know what's right for their kid, but a nice life from the outside doesn't guarantee a nice life from the inside. That nice lawyer could have treated your daughter like a slave. But it all looks nice to the neighbors. People have got to let "perceptions" go. Most of the time people with the "worst" past have the best character. The issue with it all is.. most mother's define themselves by their kids or husbands. Korea does it very literally. Then, when it all goes away; your kid grows up, your husband may die or leave, what's left of you? Who are you? Women are incouraged to be everything for everyone else but nothing for themselves. When we do, we are made to feel guilty or less than for it. Dongbaek needs to be away from him for while. How this is happening sucks but both of them have lessons to learn. If they don't live happily ever after I have wasted my 20 hours of my life. This is utter bullshit. I hope they're fucking with me. Episode 19 This would have played out differently if she had a daughter. This is literally why fuck boys are running amuck these days. Moms who use their sons (sometimes daughters) as substitutes for men and adult relationships. Boundaries. To love your dad so much even though he is a killer is unhealthy. Sik needs psyhological help. It sends the wrong message that you need to or have to take you parents (family members) bs just because they are parents (or family.) In hindsight, a red flag. I don't want Dongbaek to be a match. I don't want her to give her kidney. I don't like the idea of someone younger giving someone older an organ. Once you've passed 50 you have lived your life. The donor should be the same age or older and preferably on their death beds. Especially in Dongbaek's case. What if something goes wrong and Pil looses his mother and grandmother? You going to let that man-child raise him? I would never be okay with taking any organ from my kid. Episode 20 So it was the handy man? I was right bitches. And his dad is covering for him. Wow let it be known that Episode 7 I called it! He was framing his dad and playing everybody. Why didn't he kill Ma tho? Loving people and being kind-hearted is so fucking easy. Why do humans make it so hard?? I know these dramas are fiction but someone somewhere has lived a similar life. Where the fuck would I be if I didn't have an awesome mom and a loving family? Ongson feels like Stars Hollow. Them pants are rather high-waisted. That ended well. It had important lessons that I hoped someone learned from. Good story. Why I suspected the handy man? It's usually the character that can easily go unnoticed. He has access to the whole town, knew everyone and smart enough to cover his tracks. Everyone else was too obvious but the story did a great job of making me doubt my initial suspicion. Bravo. Low key miss clepto waitress. When she wasn't being a extortionist, she was a fun character.

[geek-gem]

Edit shit I seriously can't put a title. But basically please be warned this is my extremely stupid take on why SU Criticals want Steven to kill the Diamonds. It's very stupid but I try to make sense of it. Please correct me on stuff please.

This is something I've been thinking about. Especially I wanted to write it at first. But I decided just in case even though I was inspired to make this but wanted to look at @ankle-beez his tagged stuff of anti su critical. Seriously man you are awesome and hope you don't mind the mention because this is something I think I've pieced together.

Including this is kind of related to the joke of Michael Bay if he was in charge of Steven Universe. I've pieced together something remembering the idea of if Steven were to literally kill the Diamonds then home world would basically be in a way dead. Especially chaos would ensure if he decided to do such extreme things.

The take here is this.

Basically SU Criticals the ones I keep hearing about basically want in a way a Michael Bay version of Steven Universe.

How does that make sense you ask? I'll explain including this will help if you have seen mainly the first four Bayformers films I haven't seen the fifth and I'm not gonna. Yet it's basically the sequels that have the most of this thing I'm talking about.

In a weird way these criticals literally want Steven to turn into Optimus Prime as he was becoming in the later sequels.

With the character of Optimus Prime being this peace keeper who would go into combat unless it was absolutely necessary. I'm being honest I'm a ex Transformers fan but let me explain. Optimus Prime I almost all of his versions is someone who would fight but he would try to find a peaceful rather then straight up to combat. Especially being a soft and understanding guy and all that shit.

Optimus Prime especially later in Revenge Of The Fallen, Dark Of The Moon, and the most infamous one Age Of Extinction. He is literally the opposite of that. It's Age Of Extinction where it's most prominent. While yes he's being hunted down by humans, his Autobot friends are being killed.

His actions and words and do much else seriously.

It's scenes like where he says shit like threatening Grimlock by saying, "Help defend my family or die" before that he smacked the shit out of Grimlock to get his point across. Including during that Dinobot charge he is literally saying shit like, "I'LL KILL YOU!".

Including even in scenes in Revenge Of The Fallen, he literally rips the face off of the Fallen or something saying, "Give me your face", and literally ripping his heart out.

Then we have Dark Of The Moon he's becoming more done with this shit, where even when Megatron saved his life from Sentinel Prime, even if Megatron might of attacked him, he fucking kills him by ripping off his head and spine. Especially after that he literally kills Sentinel who is so weak after being attacked by Megatron, especially shooting him with Megatron's own gun.

I'm sorry I'm getting off topic. This is me talking too much about Bayformers. Now let's get back to Steven Universe and why criticals keep thinking of Steven killing the diamonds.

They basically want Steven to become like the Bayformers version of Optimus Prime.

I've been wanting to write these seriously. They literally and I thought of this shit and this is perfect in line up with new episodes coming up. Basically and I imagined this scenario is what they want.

Steven after, "Together Alone" is done with this shit. He's fucking done or whatever remember this is all imaginary but it could be anytime. Some how Steven brings back the corrupted Gems. Especially brings back Jasper who is still corrupted. He asks for their help also he got a new sword from some where. Jasper won't listen, he beats the shit out of her, threatens to shatter her. Then he and the corrupted Gems with any other gems joining them do a literal charge against home world.

They and Steven are literally shattering, murdering any Gem on home world that goes against them, Steven is straight up saying, "I'LL KILL YOU!" a loud for everyone to hear. Doing these God damn battle cries and yelling, "CHARGE!"

Especially adding to this Aquamarine is around that little bitch, despite she's so powerful, Steven literally over powers her because he's all raged up, he says to her, "Give me your gem" and stabs Aquamarine's gem and takes right through her head.

Next he's some how fighting the Diamonds, even White, really Gems are made of light just thinking of those moments from those Bayformers films. Basically he fucking murders them. Especially add the Diamonds how about both Blue and Yellow asking her mercy, and Steven literally tells them they did this to themselves. Maybe White I don't know wait no she is the one that's killed first by having her gem ripped off of head by an axe some how.

There you have it, Steven snapped basically, he just killed the Diamonds. What do criticals expect? A celebration but no it ends up worse and this is what people talked about. Remember Jasper and how she was emotional about Pink's shattering. You see how she turned up, now while it's maybe under different circumstances but imagine many Gems who have been taught their way of life was normal....imagine their reactions, how scarring would that be. How much imbalance and chaos their would be. Everything is out of control you might of started another war you have maybe some Gems invading my Earth now.

You know why because their were actually people thinking and what I think and I'm being extreme but certain criticals want this kid.

To probably become this.

Listen this is a very stupid take. Especially the Bayformers version of Optimus is a different take. But still considering the consistency of Optimus as a character. It's just bothersome. I feel other Transformers fans can explain this better since again I'm an ex fan.

Including if this was a Michael Bay Steven Universe thing you have explosions everywhere, sexualized Gems everywhere, lots of stupid jokes and some racist jokes to have a added bonus, the action is just insane, shit is getting fucked up like buildings and so much more.

But just seriously I understand the Diamonds and people's thoughts on how the fucking hell is this gonna end up, because again the Diamonds have done some fucking awful shit, and even possibly White like seriously. Yet do you seriously think Steven is gonna just drop all of morals because you keep thinking he's a Nazi now which is absolute bullshit. Seriously he and the Gems can't take the Diamonds head on they can kick their asses easily. Especially Steven is a kid who doesn't even wanna do violence and he wants this to be good for everyone. He's trying to get to heal all of the corrupted Gems.

Listen I may be a psychopath and I like violent shit I like slashers and other shit like Doom, Mortal Kombat, and so much other shit. But Steven Universe isn't the place where we have that. Unless it's necessary or whatever. Is that seriously the message even if have problems myself, murder the enemy until theirs nothing left. Even if their are some Gems that are having a secret relationship or something like the new fusion we saw in, "Together Alone"

Especially long ago I thought SU Criticals want Steven to become Doomguy and I have this image in my head of his face he made in, "Together Breakfast" on Doomguy's head in the Doom 2016 cover. The idea he should go all Doomguy on home world I even thought they want that but this makes sense.

Including the Bayformers is a whole different I'm talking about characters. Including both franchises are different I'm sorry.

Decided to put the tags now and I'll put the title after this again this is my very stupid take on this idea of what they want.

#steven universe #anti su critical #michael bay

[beka-kei]

Februabba Day 7 - Friendship

“Sometimes I just don’t get how you’re supposed to be friends with a guy when he spends half his time lecturing you on how stupid you are! It’s not my fault I don’t get all that brainy math shit! I mean, seriously! What’s up with that? One second, he’s saying how proud he is of me and whatnot for trying to learn, but then the next second he’s on my case and smacking me around for getting an answer wrong. I wouldn’t be learning if I got ‘em right all the time! Geesh! And he’s got the nerve to go on about how he’s my ‘friend’ and he cares so damn much. Well, screw him! I don’t have to put up with his crap!”

Leone lifts an eyebrow. “And why are you whining about this to me?” He is sitting on his own in a corner, which he thought would protect him from any unwelcome interactions. At least, that was the theory.

“I’ve already gone to Mista and Buccellati about it, but they just say the same thing they always say.”

“Which is?”

“‘Just be patient with, Fugo. His heart is in the right place. He’s just trying to be your friend’. My ass, he is. I have no friends on this team...”

“I wonder why...”

“You see, guys!” Narancia is suddenly yelling across the room at the rest of their group who are, fortunately for them, going about their business undisturbed.. “Abbacchio agrees with me!”

Narancia is turning back to him, though. “Don’t think that makes us pals or anything, though. Just because we agreed about one thing.” And he’s up and heading back across the room and shouting again. “Oi! Fugo! Get over here! I wanna show you something! It’s real neat, I swear!”

Leone watches the other boy rising, a bit reluctantly it seems, but the next second Narancia’s telling him a joke and Fugo gives him a half-smile for his attempt at humor and follows him out of the room.

Something about what Narancia has said lingers in Leone’s mind though. ‘I have no friends on this team.’ Of course, that isn’t true for Narancia. He just likes to make a big deal out of nothing. But it makes Leone wonder for a moment...if asked would any of these people describe him as a friend? Or is he just the surly, bitchy guy who doesn’t say much unless he’s telling someone off. He’s pretty sure if he were to inexplicably drop dead right now that none of these people would shed a tear over him...well, except maybe one.

His eyes have wandered over to Bruno. It’s a bit strange. His gaze is always wandering to Bruno. And he’s always catching Bruno looking at him too when there are other people around, almost as if he wants to say something, but is waiting for a sign that it’s okay to say it in front of all these people.

But when it’s just the two of them...everything feels different. Leone feels less uptight about things. More often than not he actually feels like talking. But they never talk about things they have in common or what the other likes. More often than not they talk about sad things like the people who have died in their lives and all the things they’ve lost and wish they could get back...these last aren’t actually physical things as much as places.

They’ve actually gone to a handful of these places together. Their most recent excursion was a day trip to the tiny fishing village where Bruno grew up. Leone had spent most of the day just looking and listening and not saying much.

At the very end of it all, Bruno had paused and sighed and said, “It’s really doesn’t feel anything like my home did at all. It’s just all wrong...like it was never anything to me. I’m not even really sure what I was trying to show you anymore...I think I just wanted to share a little piece of myself, but it’s not me at all. That’s not what’s here now...if that makes any sense.”

They’d finished off that day with a short trip to the cemetery. Leone had sat in front of his old partner’s grave for a good half hour, while Bruno stood by and said nothing. Then, Leone had risen silently and walked out and Bruno had followed and neither of them had said a word until they’d arrived home and parted for the night.

But what did that really make Bruno to him? The only shoulder he could cry on? But Bruno seemed pretty open with his feelings around Leone...when it was just the two of them. Could this be just something he did with everyone on his team at one point or another to help them feel more comfortable? Or was his kindness and his sympathy just a bit of cleverness he used to draw people in so that he could...could do what? Bruno never seemed like the type to have ulterior motivations...he was always straightforward with what he wanted from people. He was so easy to trust...and that scared Leone sometimes...

Across the room, Bruno turns and for a moment their eyes meet. It’s not the look of a superior to his subordinate, but something softer, something that asks ‘how are you? Are you doing alright over there?’

The look makes Leone’s heart turn over in his chest. Is this friendship? Is this man really his friend? Is it less about sharing present joys and common interests and pleasant memories and more about trying to and wanting to share their broken lives with one another and accepting what the other is and where they’ve come from? Is that really it? Is it just a matter of acknowledging that the other exists and that that is significant in itself? But as he meets Bruno’s gaze...it’s a feeling of peace, of being home. Then the real question becomes, is this just friendship? Or is this something beyond that? But what’s beyond that? It’s a precipice that Leone’s never cared to look down. But maybe he’s already fallen over the edge and just hasn’t realized it yet.

Leone is on his feet and he’s walking over toward Bruno. It’s enough to make Mista fall into a dead silence, his mouth slightly agape at the fact that Leone Abbacchio has decided to actually join the group, or what’s left of it anyway.

Bruno is patting the seat to his right and he’s smiling. And then he’s continuing on as if nothing has changed and Leone is grateful. He’s making a point of not drawing attention to Leone’s presence, as if he’s been there the whole time. And really, maybe he hasn’t ever been physically present, but he realizes that it feels like he has always been there in some sense and that there’s always been this spot for him and that it’s been Bruno who’s been saving it for him.

Mista is sharing a humorous anecdote now and Bruno is giving him his undivided attention and Leone is trying to do the same. As Mista goes on, though, Leone feels a small pressure on his hand and he’s not quite sure what it means and he doesn’t want to draw attention to it...but as he’s sitting there he’s keenly aware that Bruno has just laid his hand overtop his own.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638013/chapters/41766977

#februabba #bruabba #Leone Abbachio #Bruno Bucciarati #Bruno Buccellati #guido mista #Pannacotta Fugo #Narancia Ghirga #Vento Aureo #Golden Wind #friendship #or is it more than than???? #long post #sorry this is over 1K words #I'm failing at this short drabble thing haha #also this is late #again #but i like how it turned out

[violetbeachpod]

1x02 / incorporeal girlfriend

CHARLOTTE:

Hello Violet Beach! Charlotte Cranor-Liu here to keep informing the general public–or, the not-general not-public–about how terrible everything is!

So! Let’s talk.

I’m Char, I’m sixteen, junior at the Corielli Academy For Creative Youths, and your new best friend. Unless, like, we’ve already met, in which case, you already know what I think of you.

So. Where to start? Cuz I got stories. Uh. At fight call today, I hit Andrew Meyer for real, which was pretty satisfying. Cuz he’s the worst? AJ high-fived me afterward, and actually told me where he worked? Which was super satisfying, cuz I got kicked out of the Starbucks for fighting in the alley by it? In fairness, the guy stole tips, it was–it was morally an obligation. But the assistant manager was like, “oh, but now he’ll sue us, and why did you claim to be an employee,” which, like, has she never heard of getting into character to add more feeling to a situation? He would be more likely to give it back if he thought he was stealing my money? Just—whatever. I needed a new coffee-source and now I have one.

But, anyway, AJ took me to the Bean Zone today, which, cool, I didn’t know they were even open. Neither did anyone else, though, I don’t think because it was empty. Which might also be because their coffee is kind of the worst? Still.

I kept AJ busy, though. He used his employee discount, so, I only paid, like, ten bucks total for my thirteen drinks. So. After I was properly caffeinated and his two-hour shift ended, which, I didn’t even know they did those, we started biking to his place, and he–he fell. And I got nervous, and I grabbed his arm to help him up once I was sure he was okay, and when I made contact, the–

Well, Teresa talked about this last time, but the sky went that gross purple color. And I assumed tehat–I assumed that the glow was because of us touching, so I let go, and then–I couldn’t.

And then the breeze that’s always there happened again. And we were back on the road, on our bikes, and we were pedalling. Like nothing happened.

And he said, like, uh, “Nice grip,” or something, and I nodded, because my grip’s pretty nice, and we were just, in, like, a really weirdass situation, so.

Anywho. So we went back to my place and my sister was all like, oh, wow, who’s this, your–censored rude term that disrespects AJ, who is, like, maybe my only friend–and so I yelled at her?

I mean. He’s not my only friend. I–he is.

Why can’t I say that I have other friends? Like–I’m trying to lie, right now.

Um. Okay. Cool. So.

We’ll get to that later.

But, anyway, I did scream at her, yes. Cuz she was an ass. As per ush.

So. Anyway. AJ and I went up to my room and started watching a bootleg of—y’know? If this, like, truth serum thing going on’s a thing, I’m not gonna try to name the show. Cuz it’s embarrassing. I wanted to—no. Okay.

Can’t lie! That’s—

Ugh! That’s so stupid!

Um. What else? I think I saw a ghost during photography today, but that’s just how the woods are sometimes. AJ and I broke into some asshole’s beach house back there for this week’s project, because last year the guy who owns it was a creep to me. But I think that maybe his house is haunted? Cuz there was this, like, weird mist in the living room right by the TV.

But again, that’s just how the woods are. I think. That’s not really my zone. But, of all places in this town to already be haunted? That’s, like, top thirteen spots, natch.

Also: Gregory And Janet Wilson Who Live In The Beach House Development In The Woods From May To September Every Year But Who Live In Virginia Otherwise left three spare keys under the lion statuette in their uglyass overgrown garden. So, there. Make of that what you will.

But. It’s a supernatural occurrence, or whatever you wanna call it, so I should put it on here. The ghost sighting. Not his key location. That’s–that’s just a thing that I know. Obvi.

The mist was, like–it was kind of all-consuming? Like, in that way that people are always all-consumed by beauty, but not really, because I was also having heart palpitations. Or something. Not really sure what heart palpitations are, but, uh. I was overwhelmed by the beauty but also? Very, very afraid of it. I felt like I was frozen in place, like I was being swallowed by it–

And then AJ said, “Are you okay?” and I snapped out of it. I asked him if he saw it, and he nodded, was like, “uh yeah, but, like, we could agree before entering that the woods are super haunted,” and I agreed, but, like, he didn’t seem to get the vibes that I did. Swear to god, I heard horror movie music behind me.

Uh. The Corielli board is meeting tonight, and I’m supposed to talk about the theater program, just–I don’t like talking in front of the PTA, because I don’t know any of their kids, like, logically, I should know their kids. There are maybe 200 people in the high school, and I know most of them. I know all of their faces.

But the Corielli board’s faces don’t look like anybody. Like, literally. I’ve talked at Corielli board meetings, like, seven times, and I cannot tell you what a single parent looks like.

Which might be supernatural happenings also? Nice.

[faux-excited]

Mystery! Intrigue! Cool!

[a pause, a sigh]

At least this truth-curse-or-whatever-the-hell-it-is has room for jokes. That’s, like, legitimately cool.

Um. So, I have to talk to the board tonight, and I think that’ll be—that—shit. Shit, it’s in ten minutes.

I’ll record more later.

[static, and a click. CHARLOTTE is out of breath.]

Okay, I’m back. I’m—holy shit.

So, I think the truth curse is off, but—like, obvi, I’m not gonna—I can promise that I’m not exaggerating.

So, the board. The board.

So, I think I said that they might be paranormal activity? They super are. I’m usually late, when I go to meetings? But I was on-time, and, uh, I was supposed to stay in the auditorium, but I went backstage to check on the set, but. Whatever. I was backstage. And so were they.

The board, I mean.

And they were—they were silent, in a circle, staring at each other. All of them. No one said anything, for a minute—like, I started timing a few seconds in, and it was at least seventy-seven seconds.

And one of them looked up, and just—feedback and sirens came pouring out of his mouth, like during an emergency when you’re watching TV or—

And he looked at me, blinked, and said, “Miss Cranor-Liu, you made it!” and he pushed through the circle, and nobody moved, just—and he grabbed my shoulders, and I wanted to—I wanted to hit him, to—

He just said, “The meeting’s cancelled, dear, didn’t you hear?”

I tried to take in his face, just cuz, and—nothing stood out to me.

And I tried to pull away, to hit him, to—to, like, kick him in his balls, or whatever, and my body just—it froze. And then there was that stupid purple again, and—

And I was outside. And I checked my email, and I didn’t get a cancellation notice, so—uh.

Something’s happening at Corielli. And, uh, I think—four or five of us went to Corielli, like, Teresa and Elaine def didn’t, and Benji, like—I’ve seen him on campus before, like, when I was in middle school, but also, I’m pretty sure he’s omnipresent, so. Who knows, with him. But the majority of us involved went to Corielli, so—like. That’s relevant, I think? Put it on your conspiracy board, next to the seven photos of Avril Lavigne and her dopplegangers. Use green yarn, for, like—for my sake. S’a good color for conspiracy theory boards that you never see anywhere.

I watch a lot of conspiracy theory videos, just to—to laugh at that. Also, they’re so consistent to me? So they’re very relaxing. Good to fall asleep to. Like, some folks need white noise or ASMR or whatever, but a good ol’ Andy Kaufman death hoax ten hour loop, y’know? Or, like, a Sondheim is multiple people one. It exists. You have to look hard for it, but, like, it almost convinced me that there are eighteen of him, so it’s worth it. I watched a seven-part documentary on the moon-landing thing when I was a kid, and that thing just, like—it got me so interested. I’m not crazy or anything. But this is ringing major documentary alarm bells. Maybe I can hit up some clickbait site and they can send folks over here to wrap a nice bow on this whole weird situation.

[beat]

Nobody’s gonna listen to this, like—and AJ’s the only person who’ll care, so, like, might as well talk on here.

Mae Babson the new transfer student is hot as hell. Like—I try not to have crushes, because they’re dumb, and they keep my eyes off the prize, which is to say, y’know. College. My art.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that feelings are pointless and that we’d be way better off without them, y’know? Especially when those feelings are for really dreamy girls who manage to look, like, at least 70 percent like she’s into girls, even though this is Corielli, so, like, she could be the straightest girl on earth, and also she’s weirdly nice, like—nicer than most people. And it’s kind of annoying how nice she is, like, she—she’s nice to everybody. Even to people who don’t deserve it.

But. Anyways. She’s super hot and I’m kinda sorta in love with her. Whatever. Rant over. I’ll edit that out.

So. Ghosts and mystery and intrigue. Woo.

Y’know, maybe Mae’s caught up in this mystery, actually, cuz—well, she only showed up after all that happened. Maybe she’s, like—maybe she’s a ghost. That’s the nightmare, honestly, being in love with a ghost. Like, second only to her being straight? Worst case scenario.

I could write a solid one act about being in love with a ghost and, like, protag comes to accept that she’s dead and is willing to make this work, but ghost girl’s like, “Oh, too bad, don’t like girls. Sorry, honey!” And that’s the plot twist. Sad ending. A tragicomedy for everyone.

But. Incorporeal Girlfriend and playwriting dreams aside, it is weird that she showed up, cuz—we never get new juniors, especially not midyear? So. It’s not entirely out there that she’s involved. Put her pic up next to the X-Files poster, connect ‘em with red yarn. For love symbolism.

Also, she’s like, otherworldly-ly attractive, so. That contributes to Benji’s alien theory. Also, Benji? I don’t care about your alien theory. Or that you wrote your thesis on aliens. Or that you—

Ugh. Just. The email thread is very long and you aren’t Agent David Duchovny On The X-Files I Don’t Know The Character Name But Oh Boy Do I Know Who David Duchovny Is. Also, use the goddamn group chat? Some of us don’t ever check our emails. And I know you’re gonna call me blasphemous or something for not knowing the X-Files guy’s name, which, yeah, I did that on purpose.

So, um, I was helping out the lighting designer—Ollie, the other day, because if the show looks like shit it’s my fault somehow, and they kept asking me about purple lights. I forgot about this, like—

Wait.

God, I can’t stop thinking about the board, actually. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. I’m—I’m pretty self-aware, I would have said something. I’m me, for God’s sake, I would’ve said something half-charming and half-assholey, and then I would’ve been kicked out, and I would’ve, uh, maybe tried to pick a physical fight, and then—yeah. You know the deal. I told the Starbucks story earlier. I think—I think they somehow stopped me from saying anything, like—just like that force wouldn’t let me lie or let go of AJ’s hand or fight back—there’s always an inability to do something.

I swear, if this interferes with the show, I’ll fight God. Or whatever force is out there, like—I will press legal charges against fate or destiny or the passage of time or aliens or whatever the fuck. And also punch it.

The lighting designer stuff—that’s just me being paranoid, but the—the board, that’s real, and I’m scared as hell. I’m gonna—I’m gonna maybe do some recon, re: that, get those costume slash makeup design elective credits I’ve been trying for. I haven’t taken the class, because it’s seniors only and also because Ms. Dunkers hates me because her nephew accused me of selling him fake Rent tickets, which, I didn’t know they were fake, so, he can’t blame me, so she won’t let me in her classes anymore. She has explicitly told admin that “Miss Cranor-Liu is not to enroll in any of my electives no matter how much she complains to you.” So I asked admin, like, can I just do a bunch of independent studies, and I think they’re afraid of me? So they said yes.

Anyway.

I’m gonna sneak in on next week’s board meeting as an interested potential transfer student. Need an alias, and you know that it will be Faith Deathstrike. Which is an unfortunate last name, but a badass codename.

So. Uh. I’m signing off. Come to the show, week of February twentieth at the Corelli auditorium, and watch me get possessed by an actual ghost during my solo, or whatever. And if I get ritually sacrificed at the board meeting, now you know what led up to my disappearance! This is basically Serial, now, but in real time, right?

Anyway. Cool. Thanks. Bye.

#season one #script #charlotte