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byunpum · 1 year

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EXPERIMENT 56 [your time is coming] sequel | PART 5 |

AVATAR MASTERLIST | EXPERIMENT 56 masterlist

PAIR: Neteyam x Human reader. ( a mix of human and Navi )

Other pairs: Quaritch x reader (platonic) , sully fam x reader.

SUMMARY: Y/N thinks she has a peaceful life with her new family. But a sudden visitor is about to change her life and her family's life.

WARNINGS: 18+, the characters are aged up 20's, a little violence, don't worry no one dies, Y/N and neteyam being parents , Bestie stuff, Family moments.

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5

Note: I hope you like this chapter, Sorry it took so long to upload this part. I've had a lot of work this week, I've even been sick. But I will be catching up this week. Thanks for the support~~

Max was examining the results that norm had given him 5 minutes ago. He hadn't quite entered the lab, when he came upon the image of Quaritch sitting on the examination table, jake sitting across from him looking at him, as if his life depended on it. And norm asking him a few routine questions. As soon as norm noticed max's presence, both men ran up to him and started asking him questions.

"So?" asks Jake, waiting for an answer from his friend. Damn this knowing what was wrong with Quaritch was killing him. Max keeps looking at the results and talking to himself. "No abnormal activity" says max, looking innocently at the two men. - "Max…we know that…we want to know if there's another 'type' of activity?" shouts norm, the man is hysterical because he's had jake screwing with his existence for the last 4 hours. "He says it's someone else," says jake. Max goes back to looking at the results and walks over to Quaritch. Jake and norm watch as their friend starts talking to the man, it was nonsense questions. About everyday life, or what he liked to do. He also asked him how he had been feeling in the last few months and if he had experienced any changes.

After about half an hour, Jake sees Max approaching them. "His consciousness woke up, that's all. I have to run some more tests, but I'm pretty sure," Max says, as if what he is saying is understood by everyone. The man sees how jake and norm are looking at him open-mouthed.

"OK… The avatars they used for the Recoms, they are avatars that already had consciousness. They needed them to have consciousness so that they would be able to accept the memories of the military. A body that has no consciousness cannot walk on its own. It was like a celebral abduction, they repressed the southconsciousness of these avatars and made them believe that the memories they were introducing were theirs" max speaks. Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing. Norm walks over to his friend.

"Oh…that's right. That's why our avatars couldn't walk around without us, because they had no pre-designed consciousness, they were like newborn babies. While these ones had trained them, to then erase everything…" Norm begins to search and write down what they discovered. " You're telling me… that the man in there… he just had a spiritual awakening and now he's not what we think he is. " jake almost screams, he's frustrated. "Yes… he's totally someone else. He tells me that all the memories he has are of that person…but he's not that military guy" max says.

Jake was going to have a heart attack. You were right, Y/N was right. But he couldn't help but feel that he was in danger, this man who claims to be someone else. He had tried to hurt his family, and he had kidnapped you. He had done so much damage to his now home, pandora. He cannot accept. Norm can watch as jake walks out of the lab, and leaves everyone behind. "Hey where are you going?" yells Norm, as he watches his friend walk away from the lab. Norm knows jake will be fine, he just needs more time. "So what do we do with him?" asks max, giving a look at quaritch who was already lying on the table, while looking at the ceiling and playing with his tail. "I don't know…let's do some more tests" says norm. "He looks like an abandoned kitten" says max. "That's what I say" norm laughs a little.

On the other hand… Y/N was following the strange noises she heard. They were like begging and whimpering…and you were pretty sure they weren't from any animal…they were from a human or some na'vi asking for help. You had lo'ak behind you, both of them had stopped running to approach the target. You had to be quiet, you didn't want to scare anyone. To your good fortune you were both very good at it. You and Lo'ak were experienced at sneaking and being quiet, you had escaped from the family hut many times.

Neteyam had his arrow inches away from spider's head, trapping him on the ground. While the boy tried to cover as much of his face as he could with his hands. A single arrow and he would be dead in seconds. "Nete…what's wrong with you?" said spider, his voice trembling, his eyes tightly closed. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew it was impossible to escape. Neteyam's pupils were dilated, beads of sweat were running down his forehead. He was in a trance of rage. Why did he always have to be involved in everything…why did he always have to be with you? Why you were always looking for spider's help, and not him. Neteyam wanted to overcome everything that had happened, but it was impossible for him. Why did spider have to help you, why wasn't he a good friend and he went and told him. He doesn't trust him… they are supposed to be friends, almost brothers…

Just as the arrow was slipping through his fingers, neteyam moved his arm a little to the left. Causing the arrow to pass right next to spider's head, burying itself in the ground. Spider felt like life was passing through his eyes. Neteyam stayed pointed at spider for a second, bow empty. "Nete…please put the bow down?" says spider, moving his hand to move the bow. Spider noticed that neteyam didn't exert any force, and was able to take the bow and put it on the ground. Neteyam's chest was heaving up and down, he looked like he was in a state of shook. He was a second away from ending his friend's life, how could he be able to do that. And still spider had gotten up from the ground, and had his hands in his arms. Trying to sit him down, spider gets neteyam to sit up. The boy moves a little away from the na'vi in hopes of giving him some space.

"Why does y/n always look for you?" speaks neteyam, sitting on the ground his head was hanging down. It was a sign of defeat. His jealousy had consumed him, to the point of eliminating what he thought was a threat, spider. He felt bad spider had nothing to do with it, even you…you had nothing to do with it. The problem was him. "y/n…she's my friend" spider says in a shaky voice. Neteyam looks up and looks at the boy. You could see the fear she had towards him. "I know she is your friend…but she doesn't trust me" says neteyam, he is silent waiting for some answer from spider.

"She trusted you…and you helped her bring our enemy to the village. She could have counted on my help, but no…she looked for you" says neteyam, now he had his whole body turned to spider. He had an authoritative attitude, but it wasn't defensive. "I think she looked to me for help…for fear that you wouldn't help her. Understand this is a delicate situation…but I didn't agree at first. Besides, you met that man once," says spider. Neteyam crawls a little closer to spider, runs his hands over the back of his neck as he sighs loudly. "Us? You mean my father?" asks neteyam.

"You know how jake is and she…y/n likes to help everyone. She…" Spider pauses. "She's great," says spider. Neteyam's eyes focus on the attitude spider now has. He looked kind of sad. "She's all yours neteyam…she loves you so much. If she seeks my help it is because we are friends…very good friends" spider says, raising his gaze to look at neteyam. He laughs a little, relaxing his shoulders. Maybe he had overacted. "You have a beautiful baby…you have a family with her," spider's voice sounds a little gruff. "I know I missed my chance with her a long time ago…I'm just helping her like I would help you" he says.

Neteyam reaches over to drape an arm around the boy's shoulders and give him a nudge. "Thank you…and sorry for trying to kill you" neteyam says laughing a little. "Oh don't worry…it's not the first time they've done it" neteyam started laughing and spider followed him. They stood in silence for a moment enjoying the tranquility of the jungle. "You know I think Y/N looked me up because she thought I might have some kind of relationship with Quaritch" says spider. "That makes sense" says neteyam. Boy were they stupid, maybe that was your plan all along. A noise interrupts them as the two boys see two figures emerge from the bushes. Y/N falls to the ground and is followed by an agitated lo'ak. They both quickly get up in attack position. Neteyam and spider stand there with their mouths hanging open.

"Ahhhh" yells lo'ak, you see neteyam and spider sitting next to each other. You had misheard…you could have sweared you heard some screaming. "Hello yawnetu!!!" says neteyam, sitting up straight and raising his hand to greet you. Spider copies his movements. He had to pretend, if you found out that he had tried to tempt spider's life…ohhh he was in a lot of trouble. He might be big, but you intimidated the hell out of him. You quickly approach neteyam and you sniff him.

"Something happened" you speak. The two men laugh nervously as they look at each other. "Nooo we were here practicing and talking" says spider. You turn your gaze to analyze the boy. "You were with lo'ak?" asks neteyam to change the subject and distract you. "Yes…we were at the beach" you turn your attention to neteyam. He grabs you by the arm and pulls you so that you are now by his side. "Hey why don't we go to the village…I'm hungry" says lo'ak who all this time had been lying down. Neteyam gets up from the ground, just like spider. They all take their possessions and make their way to the village. As they walked, spider and neteyam gave each other a few glances as they laughed a little. Neteyam was glad to have a friend like spider… who would forgive something like what had happened a few moments ago, nobody. But spider did… he was a strange boy.

Arriving at the village, you see how neytiri is talking to jake outside the family hut. You all glance at each other, and walk over to where the couple is. "Dad…what happened?" you say, a little worried. From the look on his face and the way his tail was all up in the air, you knew your father was having a nervous breakdown. Well, he was always like that…but you were sure he was about to collapse. "Y/N you were right…max just confirmed it" says jake raising his arms a little upset. "I'm what?" you're confused, what's going on. Neytiri tries to calm jake down, and invites them all into the hut. "I'm going to get norm and max" says jake, running towards the lab area. "Mom…" you look at neytiri, who is also confused. Neytiri leads us inside and orders us to sit down.

"Mom, where is noah't" you ask for your son, who is probably hungry. "Kiri has taken him to play with tuk, relax, he is fine" Neytiri gives you a squeeze on your arm, sitting down next to you. Everyone was quiet. Lo'ak and spider were talking about anything. And neteyam is next to you, he was playing with a bracelet he had on his ankle, you knew he was nervous about something, you knew it had to do with what happened a few moments ago with spider. You walk over and lay your head on his shoulder. "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" you ask, neteyam just looks at you and nods his head. His eyes betrayed him…he was feeling guilty. What happened? Out of nowhere, you see norm, max and jake enter the hut.

"Hello family!!!" says Norm, sitting down next to everyone. Jake and max follow him. You see that they have some papers in their hands. You were so curious to see what those papepes had written on them. Max looks at you and laughs a little, as does Norm. "You were right little girl… Quaritch is someone else" says Max, everyone is shocked. What do you mean, he's someone else? So what you had interpreted about eywa was correct. Max tried to explain as much as he could so that everyone understood, spider and lo'ak understood. Even neteyam understood what max meant. But your mother, neytiri is not convinced. "We are going to say that in about 2 or 3 months his past memory will be erased. He will be kept with personality traits and some vague memories." Max says ending his monologue. "So what do we do now?" asks neteyam.

"I don't know…you decide" says norm, looking at you quickly. Oh no, now this was your decision. You had gotten it right the first time, now you had to decide what to do about Quaritch. "Mmm we can ask grandma" you speak up. Neytiri supports your decision. "I think it is the right thing to do, tomorrow morning we will all get together and talk to mo'at. She will recommend us what to do" said neytiri with a serious voice. You were always impressed when she spoke like that, you see how everyone nods and hurries your mother's order. "Perfect" says Jake. After a long talk and norm answered some questions about the situation with Quaritch. Norm and max leave. So does spider, saying goodbye to everyone. Thus leaving neytiri, neteyam , lo'ak , jake and you alone in the hut.

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you" says jake, his hand was now holding yours. Your father could be stubborn at times, and it was normal for him to worry. And you hated to see him like that, you knew that the grief and shame he had now had no reason to feel it. "Dad… don't say that" you stand up and hug him. Jake wraps his arms around you and presses you to his chest. "D…daddy" you giggle a little. "Ma jake, let her go" says neytiri laughing a little."My baby girl…" jake says, letting go of you and giving you a kiss on the forehead. "I promise you everything will be okay" you speak, looking at your mother. You knew she was uncomfortable with this whole situation, but she knew how to handle her emotions very well. "I know" says Neytiri, pulling you close to give you another kiss on the cheek. You watch as your two parents look at you, you might be so different, but they loved you so much and trusted you blindly. You hear some smiles and smirks at the entrance. And you all see how kiri enters with tuk, tuk was holding noah't in his arms. While he was playing with some braids in his hair.

"Look who's there!!!" says tuk, pointing at you so your son could see you. Noah't stretched out his little arms as soon as he saw his mom and dad. "Come here" you speak, making faces at noah't. Tuk hands him to you, and you quickly begin to kiss his chubby cheeks. Neteyam is next to you, so you pick up the baby for him to give him a kiss too. Neteyam gives him a kiss and this causes a tender noah't smile. He is already on your chest, laying his head down to fall asleep. "We fed him fruit and played with him a lot" says tuk excitedly. "I see they put something in his hair too" you say, taking a closer look at the baby's new hair ornament. "Yes…that will bring him good luck" says kiri, as she lay down in her hammock. "Ahh yes, how?" asks neteyam, who is now examining the new object in his son's hair. "It's a good luck stone… relax" says neytiri, the woman was looking for various things for the meal. Kiri sticks his tongue out at his older brother and he copies the same gesture.

Neteyam bends, and comes up to your ear. "Ma y/n could we go to our home?" asks neteyam, you stroke your face a little on his cheek, handing him noah't and picking yourself up off the floor. Neteyam copies your movements. "Well…I guess we're leaving" jake is shocked usually you two stay up late with them. "why? you don't want dinner" jake gives neteyam a look, the boy gets a little nervous. "mmm no dad it's just that we are kind of tired" neteyam says shyly. Neteyam was still getting very nervous if he tried to confront his father. "but" jake starts to speak, but is interrupted by a laughing lo'ak. "Father…don't you see they want to be 'alone'" lo'ak speaks in a mocking voice. You laugh a little, you knew neteyam was tired, but you also knew his intentions. "ok….let's go" you start to push neteyam by the thighs, before he started to fight with lo'ak. All the family members say goodbye and you continue on your way to your hut.

You quickly arrived at your hut. Neteyam held noah't, and sat with him on the ground. It was still early to go to sleep, so you had to entertain him for a while before he fell asleep. Luckily for you, your son was a very quiet baby. You sit down next to neteyam, knowing he was acting strange, "Did something happen…between you and spider?" you ask. You could see his ears wiggle and his tail stiffen and start to wag slowly. "mmm I…nothing. Nothing happened" says neteyam. "Neteyam… you are lying to me" you question him. Neteyam sits with his legs crossed and his back straight. He looked like a little boy about to be scolded by his mother, it gave you a little tenderness. "I will tell you the truth" says neteyam. You look at him waiting for an answer. It couldn't be that serious. "I tried to kill spider…but we talked and now everything is fine" says neteyam, he talked as fast as he could so you wouldn't understand well, but boy did you. "You what!!! So the screams I heard were from spider" you raise your voice a little. "Ma y/n everything is fine…calm down" neteyam says, trying to calm you down. You had already gotten up from the ground, and you were right in front of him. It's not like you were very intimidating, even standing up. He looked bigger than you. "Why would you do something like that? Spider didn't do anything" you say. Neteyam looks down.

"I know…and that's why I regretted it. It wasn't right, I let my emotions guide me" he lowered his head in regret. Trying to do damage, and for no justifiable reason was not approved behavior in the omaticaya clan. It was a very passive clan. "Emotions…or jealousy?" you sputter, as you wait for neteyam to have something to say to you. But you only resent a 'mmm' and feel him tilt his head to your chest. You reach out to hug his head. "I don't want to know the reason for the situation…because I'm sure it's something stupid. But did you apologize to spider?" you ask. "Yes I did…spider is a good friend and he understood me" says neteyam, pressing his head on your chest. You stay for a while, stroking his scalp, and giving him a few kisses on the top of his hair. Until you feel someone tapping your foot. You look down, and see noah't raising his arms.

"Ahhh my precious baby…I love you too" you turn away from neteyam, to now sit on his lap. Placing noah't on your chest, you are sure he is very hungry. Neteyam settles in and hugs you. So that both of you are comfortable on his chest. "Why did you ask for spider's help, if I'm ready to do everything for you?" asks neteyam, while rocking in your arms. "You would have helped me care for and feed our father's enemy?" neteyam is silent, of course he wouldn't have. "Spider always does what I want" you speak in a mocking voice. "So you used him" you look up, neteyam had a smile on his lips. "Hey…don't say it like that. Yes…but I didn't mean it that way. He's my friend, that's all" you return to settle back on his chest.

After an hour, Noah wasn't very sleepy. So you put him in his hammock. A small hammock that his aunt kiri had made for him. "He looks so cute!!!" you give him a soft kiss on his cheeks, as you watch the baby settle in. You carefully close the curtain that separated the baby's space from the hut (for privacy) "Hey come here" says neteyam, he was sitting on the other side of the hut. Luckily for you your home was quite big, designed for a family of 5 people. You walk towards him, you see that he has some kind of cream in his hands. "What is it?" you watch as neteyam takes some out of the bottle, and takes your arm to apply it to your skin. "It's ngrr help for hybridization, and it smells great too" neteyam takes your arm, and sniffs the scent leaving a kiss. You laugh a little but let him continue what he is planning to do.

You stand in front of him, watch as he takes a generous amount in his hands and mixes it in his palms. Now he begins to massage it into your legs, his hands gently massaging your skin. You see how he is giving you a few looks, and he comes over to give you a kiss on your shoulder. As he continues to carefully massage your legs, he gently moves up from your calves to the back of your thighs and you feel him squeeze his hands. "They are so soft and plump" neteyam bites his lip and you giggle a little taking his face in your hands. "Hey…easy" you tease, as you feel his grip get tighter and he moves his hands to squeeze your ass. In one swift movement he pulls you closer to him, so that your hands are now around his neck. His hands now crawl to your crotch, to pull you up. You had reached his lips, pulling him closer to you to deepen the kiss, as he let out a few desperate moans, while his hands made quick work of your clothing.

In a matter of seconds your clothes were on the floor, while his hands touched any part of your body he could reach. He seemed so desperate for your touch, and there you could understand his behavior. "Are you?" you pull away a little from his lips, but he keeps leaving kisses on your jaw and breasts. "Neteyam… I" your voice is clipped as you feel his hands lift you off the ground. And he straddles you towards the hammock you both shared. Your back in cold material, as neteyam settled on top of you, leaving kisses on your breasts going down to your belly. "All mine…" was almost a whisper, almost to himself. Reminding himself that he was the only man who could take you like this.

Your legs spread intently, leaving him a clear path. Your hands travel to the top of his head to push him to where you needed him most. "Let's finish what we started this morning" says neteyam giving several bites on your lower belly, you lift your hips a little. You were a mess in little moans, he didn't know the effect he had on you. You thought he was a fool to think, that any man could stand a chance with you.

On the other hand…

Quaritch was sitting on the bed that mo'at had prepared for him. Well, it was more like where she settled anyone who came to ask for her help. He was feeling better, the medications and some stitches that Norm had given him had helped him a lot. He felt strange, he felt like he was in a completely new place, he was like a new person. Every hour that passed felt new to him. His legs were crossed, and now he was holding his tail, analyzing it. Mo'at on the other hand had been watching the man, norm and max had explained everything to her. To her it was watching a lost toddler.

"Careful with that tail…you don't want to hurt yourself" says mo'at. Quaritch quickly lets go of his tail. Mo'at is silent for a moment, until she begins to speak. Capturing the avatar's full attention. "Do you have a name?" the woman asks. She looks at the man who now had his ears lowered and his tail had stopped wagging. "Well…they call me quartch. But I like Miles better" Mo'at smiles a little. "Well Miles, how does it feel to wake up?" Miles settles more into his spot, and gets excited about the question. He'd been there all day, testing and listening to how he was someone else. But no one had ever asked him how he felt…until now. "I feel strange…but free" Miles says, Mo'at stands up and hands him a type of container that contained a drink. "I'm glad you found your home…Y/N wasn't wrong about you" mo'at says.

"Y/N…she where is she? I haven't seen her since I got here." Miles says. Mo'at could notice Miles' behavior to talk about you. Miles' ears perked up, his tail began to wag with excitement, and his eyes widened with interest. "I imagine she's with her mate…it's normal not to see couples this time of year," says mo'at, she knew better than to talk about her granddaughter's intimacy. But she wanted to set the record straight. " Time?" asks Miles, he doesn't understand much of the Navi language. "Mating season" says mo'at without any embarrassment. Miles nods his head, and she can see the redness on the tips of his ears. He didn't have to ask about you…of course you were with your mate. Who else would you be with. "Well get some rest…it's going to be a long day tomorrow," says mo'at getting up to leave the hut. The man stands there thinking, as he settled in. He had to get used to the idea that he wouldn't see you, he just wanted to tell you how grateful he was to you.

6:00 am

The entire sully family was gathered at mo'at's entrance, waiting for norm and max to arrive. They were going to talk to mo'at about the situation, now that they knew that Quaritch was going through his facet of being someone else. And that it wasn't going to hurt, they couldn't just take him out of the village. The poor guy didn't know how to defend himself, life in Pandora is not the same as in the military camp. Besides, you weren't going to let them take him out, you had put so much effort in taking care of him. "Well…what's taking so long?" says Neytiri. As she moves from side to side, you knew she was nervous. This was not a situation she liked, but she had to respect her mother's decision.

On the other hand, neteyam is sitting on a rock. He had his hands around your waist, pressing you to his chest. You could feel how nervous he was, just knowing that you were going to see this man was putting him in a bad mood. Spider slowly approached the group, he hadn't seen neteyam since yesterday. His head was down, and he walked straight towards you. You move a little away from neteyam, and take spider's hand to give him a hug. "Hey…are you okay? i heard about what happened yesterday" you say, looking quickly at neteyam. He laughs a little and waves to spider. "Yeah, I'm fine… nete and I set the record straight" spider laughs, and reaches out his hand to touch neteyam's shoulder. You intertwine your arms with spider's, at the same time norm and max arrive.

You all enter mo'at's hut, as you enter you can see how Miles is sitting next to mo'at. He was helping the woman, he looked so calm. He looked like a different person. You let go of spider's arms and move away from neteyam. And you run to Miles, hugging him by the neck. "Quaritch!!!" you speak cheerfully. The man wraps his arm around your back, laughing. "How are you little one?" speaks Miles. Everyone in the room was looking at you with surprise. The relationship you had created with Miles was very strong. Neteyam had already stepped forward beside you. Miles looks up, watching as your partner looks at him. He moves his hands away from your back. Jake and neytiri had sat down next to mo'at. The atmosphere is heavy, you could feel the breeze. Neytiri had her eyes on Miles, she leans over and takes your arm to pull you closer to her. You obey your mother and sit next to her. Neteyam follows you, while lo'ak and spider stand near the entrance. "Well… I'm glad you're all here," mo'at says.

"I've made up my mind, about this man" mo'at relays a smile to Miles. Jake was about to speak, but the woman raises her hand. "shhh" neytiri says. Your father could be the great jakesully, a strong warrior. But if your mother said to shut up, he does it without thinking.

"I have decided to keep him with us" says mo'at. "Mother!!!!" yells neytiri, getting upset as she lifted herself a little from her seat. Neteyam followed in her mother's footsteps, as did jake. Meanwhile spider and lo'ak were left in a state of shocked. You try to calm your family, but they all ignore you. It's not like you can do much surrounded by giants. "Grandmother…but this man is dangerous" says neteyam. "Neteyam!!!" you take his hand, making him sit up. Miles' eyes meet yours for a moment, you could see those words hurt him. The avatar in front of them, was someone else. But he didn't blame anyone.

"HE WILL STAY HERE! We will help him to adapt…to live with us. I have spoken!" says mo'at. Your grandmother was very upset, she was looking straight at Jake and Neytiri. Norm and max had taken it upon themselves to explain everything to mo'at. She knew the right thing to do was to help him, and let him be part of the clan. Of course, he had to earn the trust of the clan. Everyone in the hut is silent for a long time. Neytiri stands up and looks at MILES. "If you do…the slightest harm to my family. I will kill you again with my own hands" you stand up and take her hand. "Mom calm down…don't be like this" you try to reassure her. Jake could be calmer than your mother, she couldn't control her motherly instincts…in that hut were her children. And they were saying that the man who had done so much damage to their family was going to be part of the clan.

After some discussion, various things. How Miles should behave, and what he should do to gain the trust of the clan. The whole family gets up and leaves the mo'at hut. Only Spider, neteyam and you stayed behind. "Y/N… I am proud of you. Your skills have grown so much" says mo'at caressing your face. You get up from the ground, and sit next to Miles. "ahhhh I am happy for you, how do you feel?" you speak. You felt strange talking to him. Days ago he was the soldier you once knew, and now he was a whole new man. You were glad to know that you had had a big impact on his memories, because he still remembered you.

"I'm…I'm happy. But confused" Miles speaks, his ears move back. You can hear spider's sarcastic laugh. You look up and make a face at spider. Spider walks over and sits down next to neteyam, who hasn't taken his eyes off Miles at any point. The two men were sure of something, they had to keep an eye on you at all times. They knew that from now on you were not going to leave his side. "Spider…I think you could help Y/N. Miles needs a lot of help" says mo'at, who was sitting next to you. "And so do you neteyam" mo'at chuckles a little.

Before the two boys could complain, mo'at starts talking. "Yes…you two are going to help Y/N. And I don't want you to be complaining" mo'at says. You chuckle a little, as you adjust a piece of Miles' outfit. He looks at you and gives you a shy smile. "Don't worry… you'll get used to it. And everyone will accept you" you say, smiling.

"Let's see" says neteyam in a low voice, just so spider can hear him. "Yes, I doubt it will come so easily to him," says spider. They both have their arms crossed, you watch them. Could they stop judging him, and understand that miles is not the person who once created the RDA.

Noah't aunts : @st4rrry @valeriinee @inutheangel @gielrmn @sloppierjewel @purple7theparty @itscheybaby @ssc7514 @namorslit @ducks118 @tpwkstiles @elli-aesthetics @nao-cchi @uselessbutinteresting @msjae @austynparksandpizza @gamorxa @andyyy4444 @itssomeonereading @meivap @barbii04 @mm-nope @dorck26 @nessrin @purple7theparty @ssc7514 @sloppierjewel @yeosxxx @legendleopard100 @pandoragalora @jayzes-blog @ducks118 @kyriekurokami @heesoftiefreak @teamanime @d4rno @dumb-fawkin-bitch-bitch @burdeningbitch @allsouls-emma @aceofheartzzz @famousbagelhandspurse @fanficblogs @lilyofthetigers @mjnij @laylasbunbunny

@cherrywinesab @sloppierjewel @bubbleguppy0315 @ellielovesrobinarellano @mrs-sullys-blog @lovekeeho @vectoriscommitingcrimes @kimtaehussy @bimbotinkerbell @aceofheartzzz @d4rno @3okutos-3ig-toe @bxnnywriting @anarcoirisgatuno @allsouls-emma @luna-ann @vivendominhahistorias @neteyamsgirll @yeosxxx @naynay2808

@neytirisgf @meivap @gamorxa @nuttyrebelflower @lovelyygirl8 @allenparkermin03 @lucero-ksb-blog @neteyamforlife @btslovergirl12 @nuttyrebelflower @artologia-blog1 @sloppierjewel @queen-dk @kurtisamazing @lovekeeho @rebeccao03 @mikeyswifie @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @lu-the-ghost-reader @liluvtojineteyam @vaishureader @rebeccao03 @myh3artttt @pandoramyst @lu-the-ghost-reader

If there is any problem with the tags, let me know and I will try to fix it as quickly as possible. tag list is open, just let me know *3*//

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64bitgamer · 1 year

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thesarcasticside · 3 years

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Anything-$00000DDD

Summary

He could have been anything. When he looked inside his own mind, he dug through darkness. Memories like ashes, the particles filling his lungs were all that were familiar to him—and those only felt like nothing. No fragments, just a fine powder.

Janus is a cyborg who works for the Dragon Witch, a criminal mastermind who runs a company that designs cybernetics.

He meets Remus, a self-taught biomedical engineer, and a variety of other robotic and alien characters, all of whom are trying to convince him that he is more than just a cybernetic puppet.

But who is “Dee” if not an empty husk created only to be controlled?

General warnings

Psychological horror, body horror, cybernetics, missing limbs, artificial limbs, Non-consensual forced medical treatment, physical abuse, blood, violence, guns, mind control, permanent amnesia, manipulation, emotional abuse, gaslighting, nightmares, streams of consciousness, unreliable narration. Content that resembles depersonalization, derealization, or dissociation

More notes, links, and chapter text under the cut

AO3 Anything, AO3 series, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18

This is my story for the 2021 Storytime! Big Bang! @ts-storytime Thank you to @ben-phantomhive-trash, who is the artist I was partnered with for the event! They created this fantastic art!!!! I love it so much I can't even.

Thank you to PunkRock for helping me figure out the shorts characters and other plot things. Also thank you to AryaSkywalker, Thembo, and Carrotflowerking17 and the Big Bang 2021 discord for additional help!!!!

This fic is an alternative entry point to my (In Other Worlds) Series. This fic happens at the same time roughly as Millennia, a companion novel. You can read this fic and then check out the rest of the series, or check out the series and then read this.

Also, I don't use Janus's actual name throughout the fic for thematic and narrative reasons. You'll see. I hope that does not put you off too much. Consider it part of the angst.

Clarification of general warnings and pairings, minor spoilers

I added the tag unreliable narrator, but I will clarify that the narrator is not actively lying to the audience. This tag relates to Janus's memory issues and the uncertainty resulting from that. tbh I would not worry too much about the events being untrue, and more be concerned about these being Janus's imperfect recollection of events.

I think this fic is a bit more violent than Millennia at times, hence I added the archive warning for violence. I still feel like a teen would be fine reading this, so I am keeping the rating Teen and Up. This fic focuses the most on what I dub psychological horror (angst, mind control, memory issues, consciousness, nightmares, etc.). I also tagged this story with disassociation, and content in this fic may resemble derealization and depersonalization.

If you think I should warn/rate this fic differently, I am happy to hear feedback and reconsider.

I tagged this as Remus/Janus, but like, ya gotta squint. Mostly banter and being soft. I love romance, but I have a hard time writing it. Could be seen as platonic too.

HINT 1: KEY.

HINT 2: "kind of" not "kinda"

CHAPTER START

NAME J. D. Dedrick ID 25:35--25:44 / 51:09 ALIENRACE Dūcesnaca OCCUPATION Robotics Researcher

Chapter Warnings cybernetics, missing/artificial limbs (eye, legs), forced medical treatment/experimentation, amnesia, depersonalization/derealization/dissociation, unreliable narration, psychological horror, swearing Chapter Characters Janus, the Dragon Witch, Virgil (not by name)

He woke up to yellow in his eyes, stinging and unfocused. Lights beyond the veil flickered. He saw a figure move; he looked small. After a brief glance into the world, he began to drown. He threw everything into the yellow encasement, and after an agonizing struggle, the rush of acceleration threw him to the ground.

When the air touched his face, black fireworks exploded in his hazy vision, and the first memory he had was gone.

He woke up again, like a corpse left in the stale air for vultures: beaks plucking out his skin piece by piece. His vision blurry and halved, he stared up at the birds breaking his body into bits.

Reports say he was involved in a huge space crash. DRACANA has generously sponsored his artificiality.

That sounded like a lie. That sort of blatant untruth where there was no connection to reality tied to it. Everything his senses told him felt unreal, everything except the pain that grounded him like a shot duck.

Whispers like gossip broke into his mind between droughts of consciousness. His senses were pieced together and broken apart, like pieces of clay in a kiln shattering. Memories of vultures and lab coats glued together by agony floated through space until eventually he was awake.

Probably just one of her business rivals

Dei’dra—he knew her name—loomed over him, to his right. He could see nothing to his left. The light stung, he squinted and blinked his eye. He could feel nothing on the left side of his face. Dei’dra smiled at him.

“Wake up, dollface. Didn’t think you’d make it, but you pulled through.”

He did not know where he was. He did not know who he was. All he knew was that this woman was Dei’dra, the Dragon Witch, and he hated her.

“Well, he seems to be doing well. Might as well put him under and move onto the next stage.”

He lived out his days creating sand sculptures in his mind. He saw himself running in place, downloading skills and targets and concepts. The sand would blow away each day, leaving him with nothing to remember them by.

Between bouts of black unconsciousness, he saw grey, and white, and pale pink, brown, and blue. Abstract shapes morphing into creatures that prodded at him. Cold metal seething, machines twisting his body together like crochet. He gave nonsense names for some, not even names consisting of words, just pure thoughts.

Slowly, he lost sight of the sand in his brain, yet the grains still dripped from his ears when he shook his head. He became a part of reality. Or perhaps he became part of a hellish dream.

Darkness huddled in the damp sides of his eyes, danger snapping at his bruised joints and soles. Deep inside his chest, his heart damned, words mixed with intuitive instincts, daring his body to live beyond the yellow veil.

Stage One of Project $DEE has been completed.

$DEE was not his name. It was what he was called. One of the words that would echo in his brain. Dee. Dee. Dee. Like a rhythm, like the beeping machines. Like the ringing of the heart monitor. It was embedded in his ears. Baby words jumping around, forming pictures, babbling him into nothing.

Dee, his brain still a desert, started to make better sense of this reality he lived in. He could control his body sometimes. He could move his arms. Or what was left of his limbs. Or what they had lent him.

The second picture in his brain, the one after the yellow veil: it was the artificial lights on Lab C’s ceiling. Grey illuminated by white, he stared up at the square tiles and textured glass, like undulating waves of melted sand.

With how long he was locked in place staring up at this picture, he memorized it. He could close his eyes at any moment and picture it in its exact detail again.

“Time to get up, Doll-face. It’s time for your first mission.”

He saw Dei’dra’s face again. He felt his restraints loosen and break away.

His first mission was not all that glorious. He was lanky, unused to moving in his body. He was a wall of meat. Disposable. He followed a trail like a zombie. He barely spoke to the team he was placed in. He remembered their orders regarding him.

“He’s still pretty out of it. Give him some good experience, but we’d like to keep working on him so bring him back in one piece.”

Dee felt like a puppet, simply put. Some machine inside him aimed his cannons and lasers. He stood in place, shooting at targets. He was guided by an invisible leash by the team he was assigned to. He saw sepia shapes. Blurs of bodies. All he could feel was the emotions in his gut telling him, repeatedly:

Youaregoingtodieyouaregoingtodieyouaregoingtodieagainyouaregoingtodiestoppleasestoppleaseyouaregoingtodiestopstopstopstopstop.

He was kept suspended in place while his body completed the mission. And then he was back in Lab C, mind clearer.

He was thinking in sentences now. He could monologue, like any great villain. That is what he had become, hadn’t he? Why a villain? Where had he learned that word? The more he sifted through the sand, the more words he could find he no longer remembered learning. They were just there, connected to nothing. No memory. No past life.

He kept thinking these words. And then he decided that since his jaw was not glued shut, he would give speaking a try. Garbled and slurred at first, he kept talking as much as they let him.

They made him run between ceilings of grey. They made him speak between illuminated square tiles. He practiced lines of a script. Subterfuge settled in his brain like a mirage in the distance between the settled sand.

He could walk on the unsteady ground once again. He could see. He could hear. He could experience the world around him. He gazed up at the ceiling but was interrupted by a splotch of dark violet.

Another blot. Another vulture. He stood there out of the corner of his artificial eye.

“What are you waiting for? Get on with the tests.” His voice sharp, cutting through his tongue.

This was an unusual time of day for tests. To say it was a time of day was generous. It was more like he would be experimented on for hours upon hours and then suddenly they would stop. Nothing to do but bask in the nothingness it brought.

At this point, Dee thought that he was done with most of the tests. He had his limbs. He had an eye, which he opened wider to get a better look at the violet blotch. Something about the blotch was connected to something else in his brain, but he could not quite place it.

“Well, whatever it is, get on with it, it certainly could not have waited until morning.”

It shuffled closer to him. Less of a blotch now. He could make out shapes. He could recognize his face now if he saw him again.

Air escaped his lungs, and then he said again, asking, “Whatever might you need from me today, doctor?”

The blotch was shaking. “If you are just here to sight-see, I am going back to sleep.” His eyes weighed heavily on his face, eyelids falling through his willpower.

“Are you… okay?”

No, I am not ‘okay’. I am ‘$DEE.’

“Do I LOOK okay? Yeah sure, I am right as rain, having a grand old time—feeling peachy, even.” At this point, the words just spiraled off his tongue and through his teeth. The blotch made a sound, and Dee’s frustration grew, the pain of today’s tests ricocheting in his body.

“If you aren’t here to run another one of your little tests, then just get out. Go tell your superior, or better yet, go tell Dei’dra to go fuck herself and leave me alone.”

And he left him alone. He wondered vaguely what that was all about. He then fell asleep.

#ts (In Other Worlds)#ts (INW)#ts Janus #ts deceit #ts the dragon witch #ts storytime #ts storytime 2021 #ts big bang #ts Virgil #sarcasm writes #sarcasm ts fic #thomas sanders #sander sides #sander sides fic #ts Anything

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juniaships · 3 years

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After being reminded of how awful canon film is I wrote my own self indulgent version of Batman Vs. Superman. I want the story to be self contained, so no Doomsday or Darkseid forewarning. Warning: Rambling, me being butthurt while high on sugar, really trying to make this a coherent storyline with genuine development, some Bruce x OC moments shut up you demon!

The beginning is the same as in canon with Lois in Africa???Middle East??? With her partner James Olsen trying to resolve a hostage situation. James gets killed trying to protect a hostage, but before anymore are killed Superman comes in and rescues them. He subdues not kill the terrorists but gets into trouble with the intelligence agency for interrupting their mission. This incident reaches the ears of Helen Hunt's character the no-nonsense Senator. However Superman is more concerned for the deceased James and the unharmed hostages than getting in trouble with the government, he feels guilty being unable to save James in time.

After James Olsen's funeral Clark and Lois are unsure what to do next. They decide the best way to honor his memory is continuing their line of working bringing light to troubling issues as well as a troubling rose of villains. They also find out that the terrorists had weapons given to them by Luthor (to protect interests in that region).

Meanwhile, Lex decides to capitalize on the post destruction of Metropolis by launching a smear campaign. He also starts pursuing charitable events to make himself look good in front of the masses. Because of growing negativity towards Supes, Clark starts feeling a lack of confidence but from reassurance from his mom he redirects his focus hero by doing small stuff around Smallville. Gradually the town starts to see him in a far better light but there's still Metropolis and the larger world. Clark goes there to help rebuild. At his job at DP, he gets the chance to interview visiting millionaire Bruce Wayne in Whatever City (not the actual name but a totally different city from Metropolis and Gotham). At the press meeting Bruce is rather cold & not as Clark expected. He's even working with Lex Luthor as part of a business deal, which makes Clark wary as he knows about Luthor's criminal activity.

Superman goes out in a flight to clear his head. While flying around he sees a kid walking on the railroad tracks hy himself with a pair of headphones....and a train steadily approaching! Supes swoops in and saves the kod from being nuked and chastises him for being so reckless. The teenager apologies and introduces himself as Jimmy Olsen (a nephew of the deceased James). He had been listening to music as a way to cope with his uncle's death. They talk for a while and Superman brings Jimmy back home. Several weeks later Clark ends up mentoring Jimmy as a school project.

Back in Whatever City we're introduced to one of Lex's assistants Nicola. She's a former Holliday Girl who had overheard Lex's plan and vowed to stop him. She managed to get in contact with an old friend: Diana Prince. Nicola brings up Lex's plan and hidden research of metahumans. The Amazon surmises that such a scheme could result in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people. Diana decides to bring her agency to stop him & asks Nicola to stay low. Diana gathers her old armor and prays to the Gods for luck.

Lex apparently likes Nicola enough to send her an invite to a charity ball, where she crosses paths with Bruce for the first time. They talk for a while only to be interrupted by Clark.

After a meeting with Luthor to discuss a merger with their companies, and seeing hints of Luthor's true selfishness, Bruce grows suspicious of him and started to dig around. We see through memorabilia that his initial coldness towards Clark and other people wasn't out of spite but of grief: Jason Todd's death some years ago.

Clark continues his good deeds and is slowly regaining his respect. He even makes plan to visit a children's hospital but is forced to cancel when Superman gets called to show up for a Congress hearing. At the meeting Superman admits his guilt but tells about James and how he died a hero. The Senator doesn't know where Superman is going with this but is listening. Then Superman's voice trails of as he hears a beeping noise and shocked he leaves the room in a hurry. He briefly searches the place and finds a bomb strapped in a closet. He carries the bomb out and throws it as high into the sky as possible Back inside the audience and senator are bewildered by his absence then hear a loud booming noise outside. There's shock as a bright light flashes in the sky...

Superman legit rejected their hearing to save them from a bomb. A bomb planted there by Tess on the instructions of Luthor...a plan she was willing to sacrifice her own life for.

This leaves the senator reconsidering her stance: if he really was as bad as people say then he wouldn't have saved them.

After the incident the entire country begins to have a more positive opinion of Superman while the government launches a search for possible terrorists. Bruce hears about what happened and after sneaking around as Batman, finds out about Luthor being the one responsible for the attempted terror attack. Later on he (as civilian) makes an announcement that he is not going to go through with the merger with LexCorp.

Hearing the news that Superman foiled his attempted assassination (and losing out on Wayne Enterprises), Lex gets very pissed off and threatens to fire Tess. She tries to save face by reminding Lex of his contingency plan...making Lex calm down and grin as he begins to remake his plan.

Nicola agrees to a date with Bruce and prepares. Meanwhile Lois and Jimmy are enjoying a night on the town while Clark stays behind to work on a news story. The two friends were about ti make it back to their hotel before being accosted by some men who force them into a car and takes them to Lex Corp.

At the HQ Lois calls him out that his plan could spell doom for the world. Surprisingly Luthor agrees but makes it clear he doesn't care. He orders his men to capture her, but Jimmy manages to escape and goes off to find Clark (who is writing a story to expose Luthor's actions). Jimmy tells him learns from him that Lois is in trouble Superman tells him to stay as he fetches the police. In reality he jas gone to find her as his hero alias. He finds her but just as he's about to rescue her Lex threatens that he also has another certain someone (Martha Kent ) captured if he doesn't comply, seeing that Supes was often seen visiting her. Reluctantly Superman complies and Lois is freed from her bonds, yet Lex takes them as hostages to a room lined with Green Kryptonite. He leaves to his warehouse to check on progress of his prototype. Jimmy wonders where Clark has gone and goes to the police station himself.

On their date Bruce mentions to Nicola that he knows what she's up to. Nicola coldly replies what was he talking about and he mentions Lex's actions and her possible status as an accomplice This starts a spat leading to Nicola spilling that she is working against Lex (making her a foil to the blindly loyal Tess) and that her goal was to stop Lex from unleashing his plan. She already called a friend to help them yet when Bruce presses forward they see a kid (Jimmy) wandering around and concerned asks what's wrong. Jimmy replies that his friend was kidnapped and doesn't know what to do. Bruce leaves to find Clark while Nicola stays with Jimmy.

Nicole & Jimmy arrives back at the hotel and sees Tess Mercer waiting for them. She had been sent by Luthor to eliminate the witness. Nicola tries to talk her coworker out of harming an innocent kid but Tess refuses. They duel but Tess proves to be a surprisingly stronger fighter. Before Tess could come in for the kill a frightened Jimmy knocks her out cold from behind.

At HQ Lois & a weakened Superman attempt an escape. Lois believes its hopeless but Clark reminds her that Lex won't put them down for long. Batman arrives at the HQ and stealthily avoids the guards. He deduces the room Lois and Supes are locked up in and free them. Batman says thay a little birdie told him everything Lois and Clark grinning that it's Jimmy and the two superheroes decide to work together to bring down Lex.

Batman goes to save Martha (the warehouse fight) while Superman goes to confront Lex, dropping Lois off at the hotel where rhe police are waiting (Tess apprehended). Nicola researcher offers to take the reporter home but she declines, not wanting to sit back and watch Lex try to destroy the world. After giving her report to the police she and Nicole meet Steven Trevor (a descendant of Steve Trevor and an agent). Steven says he already sent his men to arrest Lex as they found that he waa behind the bombing. Lois sneaks away to see if she can help Clark.

Clark manages to catch uo to Lex at his lab and tries to reason with him. Lex says that he already unleashed his prototype as a test to see how many lives Superman is able to save. Superman argues that Lex has gone mad trying to play god, which he disagrees: "I'm not playing god I'm only playing favorites is all." Disgusted, Superman leaves and goes off to fight the prototype. As he does an entire line of trucks arrive...led by Nicola's special friend...

Lex realizes he has been found out and tries to destroy the evidence. Lois realize that the monster was made of Kryptonian DNA so she looks around for the spare Kryptonite and manages to grab a considerable long piece. Just as she does the place starts flooding and she runs. However she nearly drown. Fortunately she gets pulled out by a woman wearing armor. Lois doesn't even ask her name as she recognizes the W shaped emblem and blue&red color scheme. Lois gives the heroine the spear and tells her that she says she loves Clark. Wonder Woman nods and heads towards the direction of Superman.

Superman draws the monster out away from the city and is helped by Batman. Wonder Woman arrives with the spear. The final battles commences with Batman providing a distraction to lead the prototype away. Diana and Superman fight the beast but is soon overpowered. Clark takes the makeshift spear and goes off and manages to subdue the creature rather unwilling to kill it. However he gets blown up by a missile sent by the US military and everyone thinks he is dead.

To his he walks out of the smoke, banged up but alive, having narrowly escaped the blast. The monster has died, leaving Clark to wonders sadly if the monster could have been saved as it had no control over its actions. A relieved Lois embraces him as the other two supers look on in bittersweet triumph.

Several days later, the President, on the behest of the Helen Hunt Senator, gives Superman a full pardon. The world also starts to see rising of actual superheroes to take in the increase of villains having been inspired by the actions of the newly dubbed Trinity. The ending shows that long term exposure to Kryptonite left Lex without any hair, cementing his iconic look. He had also beem arrested and tried and ends up locked up at a mental institution on an insanity plea. His other henchmen & Tess are jailed and Luthor's company scrambles to do damage control. Bruce catches up to Clark and apologizes for being cold. They part ways on better terms before musing at the similarities between their alter egos. Diana teases that they make a great team and returns to the capital with her team. Bruce returns to Gotham and stops at the cemetery to place flowers on Jason Todd's grave, showing that he moved to the acceptance stage of grief. Jimmy also ends up getting a job as an intern for Daily Planet with Lois as his mentor this time. And Nicola goes to Gotham to work as a social worker and takes up a case: Cassandra Cain.

The final scene ends with Clark as Superman dressed up in Metropolis visiting a local orphanage/foster home, showing that at his core he truly does care about humanity despite all them haters. 👏👏 👏 happy ending everyone!!!

The movie ends with a montage of

- Cyborg walking around aimlessly in his hometown and finding a discarded newspaper highlighting the heroes' exploits and getting the idea to try becoming a hero himself

- Aquaman in his kingdom catching up with the surface world and becoming curious, and wonders about an alliance

- Barry standing in a hill in his city in costume. He grins and smiles, before pulling over his cowl and racing off

- And Lex, plotting an escape from his cell, suddenly sees a peculiarly tall guard looming over him. He makes a digging comment that the guard shrugs off. To his surprise the guard unlocks the cell and leads Lex out. Lex asks who the guard is; the guard slips off his disguises revealing a sapient Gorilla...Gorilla Grodd!

All This sets up a future plot point that wouldn't be explored until after Justice League where we're introduced to the cinematic LEGION OF DOOM!!! The prototype they fight is not doomsday but foreshadows the creation of Bizarro (who was one of the original members of the LoD).

With the actual Justice League movie we continue with the formation of the team through several subplots converging into one major story arc. The Helen Hunt Senator plays a huge role being their ally and influence on building the Hall of Justice. Plus more Brucola stuff because we need fun stuff in Batman, Tom King.

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namjoonchronicles · 4 years

Text

dissertation | yg

↳ genre fluff, domestic, established relationship

↳ words 3.1k

↳ summary many people doubted your union, how exactly an artist with as much influence as yoongi be a husband to a wife that is still studying.

↳ warning that side of adulthood, lockdown because of pandemic, mentions of anemia

↳ song kodaline ‘saving grace’

It was a thunderstorm that night, when Yoongi laid in bed alone. Face shone by the light on his phone and he was squinting to see the news article clearer. He ran his fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp gently-- a habit he had. He glanced at the time mark on the top right corner of his phone, then to your side of the bed that remained empty. It’s 2:34 AM. Rolling several times over the width of the bed, Yoongi set his foot on the floor and made his way out the opened door where the light from the hall was still on. The ash blue hallway hall, and the wooden floor that creaks under his weight would not guarantee a smooth entry, but his concern was that you might have fallen asleep on the desk, although this was highly unlikely. He just wanted to check.

Took a peek, through the door gap of your study room. Lights on, papers everywhere, whiteboard filled with medical jargons he doesn’t understand. Your laser focused eyes, glasses sliding down your nose, pen in between your lips and typing sounds filled the room. Your purple pencil case unzipped with its contents scattered, next to the coffee mug. And the calculator facing down. Your phone is close by although Yoongi predicts it to be in silent mode. As it had been, since 2010. That’s why you never answer his call the first time. And when you’re in this study mode, an airplane could land in the living room and you wouldn’t even notice. Heck, if he was talking to you in this state, you would look at him blindly and heard absolutely nothing he said. Yoongi knows too well. After the short peek that went unnoticed by you, Yoongi waddled to the kitchen and ran the coffee machine to start.

He scratches his temple while he ensures the machine begins working, then walks to the fridge. Yanks it open to see what is inside. Some old ripen kimchi, newer batch kimchi, some milk and apples. He ran his eyes through several more things and took out two apples. He bought this for your fibre intake. The last visit to the doctor, you were recommended to take more fibres in, as well as iron because you are still anemic. Despite the considerable diet change by Yoongi, the blood count doesn’t project the effort. It was then decided by the nutritionist and doctor, together, that you have to take pills as well as monthly checks while they send your blood result to the lab for thalassemia management, if diagnosed. Yoongi carefully ran the apples under the water, gently. He begins to peel the skin with a knife, and then, wedges them. He places them in the bowl and by then, the coffee has started to pour into the mug he had prepared underneath.

The blue light from the screen is making you pinch the bridge of your nose. Creases begin to form in between your brow as the numbers you obtained from the experiment did not become tally to the theory, suggesting a mechanical error. With the restriction order loosening up, going down to the lab is allowed, but you figured that many other post-graduate students might squabble for a time slot to use the lab.

“Should have calibrated the thing before I started the experiment,” you silently cursed underneath your breath.

Yoongi pushes the door open with his back and reveals a tray, scuffling and making a lot of noise. He set the bowl with apples and switched the cold coffee mug with a new piping hot one. Your whole face lights up.

“Why are you not asleep yet?” you sang. Eyes following him. “How can I sleep, when you’re suffering like this,” he said in a straight voice, almost emotionless, that makes it hard to believe that he was being affectionate. But that’s Yoongi for you. “There were apples in the fridge?” “Don’t lie, we bought them together… If I don’t wedge them out like this, you won’t even eat it,” he nags, “Did you even take the pills for today?” “I did,” you shoved one wedge in your mouth.

“Before or after the coffee?” He was standing next to you and your head was tilting back to see him. “Before,” you chuckled through your nose.

Yoongi turned his attention to your work.

“Is there still a lot to do?” He mutters, kneeling by the table next to your chair. You comfortably circled your arm around his neck from your chair and buried your face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent and nodding as a response to his question. He smells like bedsheets, you thought to yourself. Yoongi’s wedding band shone under the bright light of your study room, and as he is careful not to disturb your work, he couldn’t help but worry about your mental state. He knows just how much stress you could handle and even if you weren’t shy away from an extremely stressful situation, it is the first for this kind of work environment. You told him that the mindset of working from home is entirely different from the ones actually working in the work area. But he always reminds you that, you weren’t working from home, you are at home, working.

“I saw the numbers and I knew that it was tally with the theory we learned in lectures, and have been hammering my head on what went wrong, so I checked on my methods and it was all correct, so it must have been the machine,” you turned to the side to see the laptop, still clinging onto him. Yoongi turns to the side and plants a kiss on your hair, standing up slowly.

“What do we do?” Yoongi leans his hip on the desk and folded his arm, looking down at you who is by now, pouting, helplessly.

“Either I go back to the lab and redo the whole painstakingly slow experiment, or just write the whole report and blame it on the error, and thicken my skin when my doctor screams at me for incompetency to run experiments, and ruin my credibility for the rest of post graduate pharmacy faculty,” you shrugged sadly.

Yoongi pouts too, now.

“Don’t stay up too late,” he gathers your head and sandwiched your face between his hands and kisses the skin between your brows, while your hand slid down his hip then over his butt, before grabbing the butt cheeks, playfully. You watch his back grow smaller and smaller as he gets to the door, leaves a gap between the door and the door frame big enough for an ant to enter, and leaves you to your work. You turned sideways to the word documents you have, and then to the calculations on the board on the far left of the room, and just, let out a massive sigh.

Several times the alarm clock vibrates on the bedside table next to you, and your hand would swiftly grab them to snooze mode, every single time. That eventually stops when the heat from the duvet chases you out and when you realise that it was no longer noon, it was actually almost 3pm. Your head pounds immediately, and even then you were counting the hours you slept to see if it was appropriate. Eversince the lockdown began, your sleep schedules have become even more disorganized. Doctor said looking out the window would help, but walking outside once in a while to get groceries proves to be even more helpful than the former. Yoongi always gets the groceries because he usually cooks. Now that the lockdown has slowly lifted, Yoongi started to go to the company building to resume his work, but you’re stuck at home because the university recommended studying from home.

Apart from having to use the lab now and then, there is no need for you to constantly be at the university. Even the lectures are held online, and assignments are submitted through emails. Group work is discussed through video conferences. But you’re an old school gal who always preferred to have her notes printed so you could scribble over the things you needed to do, and it makes organising tasks a lot easier. Walking into the study room, you saw the printer not where you set them. In fact, it has its own table with rollers on them, the cables are hidden and neatly bound by the computer, ready for use. The overall set up is neat. It made you smile first thing in the day. Because you knew who had done it that way, and you wondered how he made all this--assembling the tiny table and putting rollers on it, so quietly, that you managed to sleep through it.

At the office, Yoongi was just leaving a small meeting room. He has his facemask down covering his chin as he sifted through the papers handed to him by one of his staffs. The staff is standing nearby to wait on his comments. Upon waiting the staff realises that Yoongi had a bandaid on his thumb.

“A minor accident today, nothing to worry about,” Yoongi shrug it off and quickly turned the attention away from him, “...I think it looks pretty good, try to proceed with it first, and show me how it sounds.”

“Through email or Kakao?” “Kakao, because I don’t have the laptop fixed yet and the ones at home are out of discussion,” Yoongi added a chuckle at the end, slapped the staff’s shoulder and excused himself, just when his phone vibrated an incoming message. And a photo, sent by his wife.

“Babe?” - wife

It reads. A photo followed. Of the perfectly set up study station of his wife.

Yoongi smiled and dug his tongue to his cheek, clamping his lower lips between his teeth. He types a reply while leaning to one side of the office wall, by the hallway. Crossing his ankles.

“You’re welcome. Study well~~ Also, we’re having takeouts tonight.” - yoongi

The message chimes in. A jar of cookies in arm, you were nibbling on one java chip cookie while unlocking your phone to read Yoongi’s message. That’s strange. Takeouts?

“But I can cook. And its weekdays.” - wife

”Nonsense. You pulled an all-nighter last night. We are having takeouts. There’s this good new restaurant the staff had been hyping. Think we should go there.” - yoongi

”Okay… whatever you say then. <3 - wife

Yoongi shoves his phone in his back pocket and walks down the hall to his studio. On the way there, he passes by Hoseok who was just leaving.

“Where are you off to?” “Getting lunch, want to go get lunch together?” “Sure.” “Namjoon is joining us too, I’m waiting for his reply.” “Great…you guys decided where?” “There’s a BBQ house I know that sells really good broiled chicken feet.”

Twenty minutes went by since the last text with Yoongi and you had been staring at the calculation on the whiteboard thinking about Krispy Kreme’s premium donuts. You wonder if the outlets are open, as they should be because the lockdown never closed businesses. Yoongi would know, you figured.

“Yeah they are opened, Why?” - yoongi

“I am craving for the ones with the KitKat on, I think my period is coming on soon…” - wife

“We can have that as desserts later no problem, I sent you lunch, and it should be there in 25 minutes. - yoongi

“Yay! What are you having?” - wife

“Broiled chicken feet with Hoseok and Joon.” - yoongi

”That’s not...what you got me… right? - wife

”Of course not, I got you Kimchi jjigae with tofu, and some kimbaps.” - yoongi

Phew. For as long as you’ve gotten married, not once have you doubted that Yoongi wouldn’t understand your palate. But he is quite a prankster sometimes. Even if he is not as savage as your inlaws are, to put strange food in front of your plate, there’s a certain degree of cheekiness of him at stake. You were a bit of a picky eater should it hit you at a specific time of the month. Sometimes you could eat chicken liver with minor problems, sometimes you would vomit at the thought of it. Yoongi had been dealing with the latter, quite a few times now. You have about 3 blister packs of anti-nausea pills at home just to cope with it. Acquaintances and distant relatives would insinuate that you were pregnant, but that isn’t the case. Doctor said it would be difficult to have a baby with your anemia uncontained, and you and Yoongi both would not risk having a child while you were struggling with it.

It is just not worth the while. The risks are too great. Malformed, cleft-lips, premature--the list of risks are endless. Let mommy take care of herself first.

Hoseok drove to the restaurant he was talking about. They got a room to themselves, abiding the social distancing rule with several chairs spread apart. When the food arrives, Yoongi could understand why Hoseok loved the chicken feet. It’s savory down to the bone. He picks the pickled yellow radish with his chopstick and devours it with a mouthful of rice. Hoseok began asking if Yoongi would consider taking his wife here. Namjoon was sitting there answering a call, and had to leave the room so the sound of the grills didn't distract him from the call. Yoongi downed a glass of chinese tea before answering with a groan.

“She doesn’t eat those things. Chicken feet, gizzards, those weird smelling things that don't go away even when you cook it properly…” “Don’t she have that thing, anemic? Anemia, the blood disease?” “Yea, she’s on pills treating that, and I’m also fixing her diet, but she is plunged with work so she takes in more coffee, so that would disrupt the pills function, I heard from the doctor. The woman is a caffeine addict, I don’t think she’ll slow down anytime soon, especially not now.” “I see. She is pretty stubborn…”

Hoseok suddenly burst out laughing, and the reason was, “I remember that one time she went on a full force rant on why you shouldn’t place the picture frame where it was, how did it go though? She went like, why is it on the far left of the light like that…”

Yoongi’s eyes quickly disappeared as his smile grew wider at the memory. He remembers that day so well. You both just moved into the apartment you are living in now and several arguments were brought out as the apartment progresses into a living space and more and more things come in.

“I was the man of the house,” Yoongi pauses and, “So we hang it the way she wanted.”

When Namjoon walked in, Hoseok was full-blown laughing.

“You honestly think I would win against her? She’s a fucking scientist… It’s her world, I’m just living in it, bro.”

Yoongi’s lips pursed as he took another meat into his mouth and chewed, with one knee propped up. The boys continued to talk about their future plans. The games they could watch and eventually, work and where they are heading next. Namjoon was visibly cornered by it all so they were working out balancing work and passion, and it’s usually a difficult thing to do. They were lucky to be loving the job that helps put food on the table. But love can turn to hate so easily. Along the way, one could hate it so much, one could consider leaving it. It would feel like a good choice at the time, but eventually, they will think about longevity, and what makes money. Which is the reality of living.

Yoongi’s whole world is music. And your whole world is science. Both are the opposite side of the same coin. Through the differences, there are many quarrels and conversation shoved under the rug for later days. It is never comprehensible why one would do such a thing, in the perspective of a stranger, but when you are in a relationship, tolerance is as important as communicating, and the two go hand-in-hand with each other. It is only in a relationship that you see someone whose upbringing is so completely different from yours, try to understand the way you were brought up and the values you grew up with, the same way you try to understand theirs. They could be the one who mindlessly folds the doormat messily after they leave the bathroom and doesn’t fix it. Or they could be the one who is passionate about feeding cats but never cleans up after the poos. Or you could be so rigid in your ways of doing things that you simply cannot be flexible.

Or walk the room with their hair dripping wet and leave trails of water droplets around the house. Or leave the dishes in the sink unwashed because it's ‘only one mug’. Or they could use the coffee machine without wiping away the spills that could attract ants. Or have aesthetics that are so different from the ones you like. Maybe they prefer a cupboard with its insides all showing, no doors. Or like to collect designer shoes that cost more than the things you deemed more necessary than that of shoes. Or they might leave their shoes unarranged at the front step and it might drive you crazy how they continuously do this even after countless times, reminded not to.

Or how he is so thoughtful enough to send you the KitKat premium donuts you mentioned just hours ago. Or how he carefully ensured that extra tofu is added in the kimchi jjigae because he knows you love them. Or how he has those printers set up so neatly without you worrying how messy it looks. He had the motion-detecting LED light installed on the balcony so you don’t have to turn on the lights when you want to walk outside. Or how he throws everything away when you say you need to talk. Sure he might fall asleep halfway. Sure he flips the doormats when he leaves the baths. Sure he left his one mug in the sink and went to bed without washing it.

But he also waits 20 minutes for you to get ready because you lost track of time, reading your reports and spotting the error in your datas. And he also smiles when you climbed into the car, with a heaving chest and sparred breaths. And he orders your favourites quite fluently, down to the preferences and drinks. And you might love the way he looks when he is literally just existing. There was no one else that looked so mesmerizing the way he does when he drives. Or when he eats, or when he was thinking, and listening.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t the flipping doormats or the one mug in the sink that became the issue. It was who would still want to hold you even after all these years, in complete darkness and in the brightest day. It was who would still feel you were worth their time, despite having only 24 hours in a day. It is the person you fell asleep thinking of, and woke up looking at.

You keep me strong when I can't carry on

When you lose your feet, fall down to your knees and your heart's about to break I will be your saving grace When your eyes can't see, take my eyes from me When you're lost and losing faith I will be your saving grace

Be my, be my, be my saving grace Won't you be my, be my, be my saving grace

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red-talisman · 4 years

Text

An unbetaed piece of a coffee shop AU based on conversation that happened on the 18+ 2Ha Discord. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

_____________________

There are only three reasons that Mo Ran continues to risk ulcers by frequenting the Red Lotus, and it’s not because the coffee is actually good.

For one thing, the coffee shop is within reasonable walking distance of Sisheng University. It’s not the only coffee shop nearby, taking clear market advantage of the sleep-deprived university population, but it is the one that best understands what students are looking for. This leads into the second reason: the coffee is strong enough to strip paint. No sugar, no fuss, just a suckerpunch straight to the central nervous system on the third day of final exams.

(The Pre-Med kids have a running bet about whether or not they could reanimate one of the lab’s anatomy corpses with it; none of the Humanities majors have been willing to dismiss the rumor entirely as a joke, but the other science departments are a little too intrigued by the discourse to be trusted as allies on the ethics boards.)

The third reason that Mo Ran continues to risk meeting his ancestors earlier than the deities have planned is sitting at a corner table when Mo Ran pushes through the door, hunched over scattered papers and pushing ink-stained fingers through long hair with visible frustration.

“Good evening,” Mo Ran calls out. He automatically heads towards the counter with a glass-fronted display of deceptively edible-looking pastries and an antique register. There are no other people in the shop and the overhead music is some kind of quiet guqin album, and yet his third reason for self-inflicted punishment doesn’t appear to notice Mo Ran’s existence at all. Mo Ran crosses his arms, leans a hip against the counter, and watches Chu Wanning irritably shove at the hair escaping its high ponytail again, failing to notice the ink he leaves behind on a high cheekbone.

“Help, I need service,” Mo Ran murmurs to no one. He knows his fixed stare is bordering on grounds for a lawsuit, and he tries, and fails, to tone it down. “Will no one provide legal vices in my time of need. Alas. Woe.”

Chu Wanning mutters something to himself, grabs one of the many pens perpetually stashed around his person, and furiously scribbles something out.

Eventually, however, not even Mo Ran can ignore the need for coffee in favor of staring at the most beautiful man that’s ever blessed his vision, and he knows from past experience that nothing short of actually grabbing the papers will get Chu Wanning’s attention when he’s like this. Doing so, however, will result in casualties (again).

“Chu-laoshi?” he tries anyway. “Chu-laoshi!”

For all that Chu Wanning reacts, Mo Ran may as well just be another creepy wooden doll sitting on the high shelf against the far wall. Mo Ran looks at the various coffee-related machines stacked on the other side of the counter, looks at Chu Wanning, and looks back at the machines. (The machines are shining, obviously well cared for, unlike the rest of the café’s weird, antique shop chic.)

“Last chance, Chu-laoshi,” he says loudly.

Twenty minutes later, Mo Ran is sitting across the same table as Chu Wanning, enjoying a thick espresso and the delicate spread of Chu Wanning’s eyelashes, when Chu Wanning finally surfaces from mental depths. Mo Ran watches him blink in confusion first at Mo Ran himself, then at the cup of tea steeping off to the side of his papers. “Mo Ran?” he says, with the kind of croak in his voice that indicates he probably hasn’t communicated with another living person for a while now.

“Hello, Chu-laoshi,” Mo Ran replies amiably. “I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself. I left the money behind the counter.”

Chu Wanning turns to look at the register. No answers magically appear from that direction. Mo Ran, however, is pretending to take a deep sip to hide what he knows is an utterly besotted smile over the adorable (sexy, hot, please fuck me no wait respect him damn it!) daze that seems to be hanging persistently over Chu Wanning’s expression.

“You don’t work here,” says Chu Wanning. His brows are pulled together in confusion, eyes a little narrowed and a lot focused, and Mo Ran has to bite the inside of his own cheek to remind himself to fucking behave, you’re not a goddamn dog.

“Might as well, at this point,” he quips. Before Chu Wanning can take strips off of him (don’t think about stripping!) he adds, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen coffee machines so clean. You obviously care for them.”

“Well, yes,” Chu Wanning says bluntly. “Machines stop working if you don’t.”

Ouch. Mo Ran should’ve known better than to try using an oblique angle to lever open some personal discussion. He nods at the papers on the table between them. “You were pretty engrossed in those when I came in. What’re you working on?”

Chu Wanning glances down at the papers, snaps his gaze back up like he’s trying to find the trick in the question, and finally looks back down, avoiding Mo Ran’s gaze. “Nothing. It’s just for Sisheng’s Astronomy department.”

“Astronomy? You do astronomy?” Mo Ran blurts out before he can stop himself, and Chu Wanning visibly bristles.

“Yes. Why is that so shocking?”

“It’s not! I mean, not for bad reasons! Shit, I just mean, you…I knew you were affiliated with the university, obviously, Uncle’s talked about you often enough, but I kind of assumed you were in Literature or something.”

“Dear gods, why?” Chu Wanning asks, looking horrified.

Because you look like a gay man’s ideal of the noble scholar, he doesn’t say. Because I have some very specific fantasies about you sitting on my cock and me trying to make you come before you finish writing a formal letter to your very boring, very conservative colleagues.

“Because of the, y’know. Books,” he manages to say instead, waving an arm vaguely at the variety of books crammed beside random objects on the café’s many shelves.

Chu Wanning just lets out a soft, “Hmm,” and seems to relax a little. The silence stretches, but before Mo Ran can break it in another attempt to force conversation, Chu Wanning says, “With the increase in…the traffic of objects orbiting Earth, there’s more interference in the data collected by our ground-based telescopes. I’m trying to help improve the software for better filtering.”

That sounds – well, really fucking boring, in Mo Ran’s honest opinion, but who is he to judge? He’s the one too stupid to have figured out anything he’s actually good at, and he’s a postgrad because he doesn’t know what else to do. “Why astronomy?”

He keeps his tone light but not irreverent, and when Chu Wanning doesn’t immediately scoff or go mulishly silent, Mo Ran feels his heart pick up a little.

“The stars are the source of…everything.” He pauses. “Everything except for the few lightest elements. Everything that makes life possible came from the intensity of the cores of stars and the violence of their deaths. Our universe is such an unimaginably vast entity, with galaxies and clusters shaped by the literal echoes of creation – and with hypotheses on the likelihood of other universes alongside our own – wouldn’t it be a sad thing if our own hubris blinded us to that?”

Chu Wanning is looking at him with a face that’s forgotten to keep itself guarded in this moment, and Mo Ran stares, long enough for the walls to go back up. Chu Wanning turns his face away with a humiliated flush and a sharp, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

You’re beautiful. “That was beautiful.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just fanciful nonsense – “

Chu Wanning cuts himself off when Mo Ran very gently puts his hand over Chu Wanning’s, stopping him in the middle of pushing his papers together into a messy stack. “I mean it.”

Chu Wanning keeps his face tilted down, a flush working over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

#2ha #2ha fic #ranwan #jukebox fic #i'm clowning myself #i worked on a chapter outline for the novel so i could write 2ha fic #and the first and so far only thing i manage is a goddamn coffee shop AU #( ﾉ ಠдಠ)ﾉ︵┻━┻

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consentaclecthulhuwrites · 3 years

Text

Free Bird, Chapter 6

The next time Revali saw her was at the informal ordination of Link as her sworn protector and chosen knight. The ceremony had supposedly been crafted to be uplifting, and a symbolic beginning for the dangerous journey upon which they were all about to embark. However, if this ritual was meant to set the tone for the entire mission, Revali could only dread the outcome of the plan.

The commentary while Zelda stood above her chosen knight suggested Revali was not the only one with this sense of foreboding.

“Gee, this is uplifting.” Daruk sounded disarmingly sarcastic. “She’s making it sound like we already lost.”

Revali piped up, “Wasn’t this your idea? You’re the one who wanted to designate the appointed knight with all the ceremonial pomp, grandeur, and nonsense we could muster. And if you ask me, the whole thing does seem to be overkill. I think I’m on the same page as the princess regarding… this boy.”

“Oh, give it a rest,” Urbosa sighed. “That boy is a living reminder of her own failures. Well, at least that’s how the princess sees him.”

Her own failures? Revali didn’t understand what Urbosa could have meant. From what he knew of her, Zelda was an accomplished scholar and the pride of the Hyrule legacy. She had modesty, charity, and chastity. She was elegant, well-spoken, truly kind, and carried the weight of royalty like it were gossamer. There was something weighing her down to be sure, but Revali couldn’t imagine it had anything to do with her royal lineage.

Especially around the boy, she seemed more distraught than ever. What was it about this chap that got so under her skin? All the boy had was a stupid destiny. Unlike some people, the champions actually had to work for their skill, for their place in this league of future legends. It was apparent that Zelda had more than earned her reputation as one of the foremost scientific minds Hyrule castle had to offer, as well as a devoted acolyte. Sure, the murmurings made her sound more fanatical and eccentric than anything, but Revali chalked that up to shallow minds with shallow thoughts. It was the squabble of the little people, and what did they know or matter? It was their ignorant hides that needed saving.

After the ceremony had concluded, the champions were allowed time to explore the grounds of the castle. Link had gone to the stables with Mipha, Daruk was off near the armory, Urbosa was in the dining hall carousing with some of the younger soldiers, and Zelda had supposedly returned to her quarters. Revali observed that the princess had slipped out of sight rather swiftly, and none seemed eager to attend her despite what was clearly a downtrodden appearance.

He wondered...

Zelda hunched over the desk in her lab, scowling down at her journal. Why did she ever listen to Daruk? He was such a blockhead sometimes. She appreciated his sentiment; for a man of stone, he certainly had a warm heart, but the ceremony had been an absolute disaster. All the muttering amongst the champions while she spoke the ceremonial script… She caught bits here and there.

“Already lost…”

“Overkill…”

“Failure…”

Her face burned with shame. She wanted the ceremony to be meaningful, positive, and give hope to everyone. She should have known that endeavor would fail. Zelda had no hope herself. Since childhood, the inkling of the goddesses, the innate sense of their presence, just did not exist for her. Her prayers were answered with silence. Her fasts were met with ravenous spiritual hunger. She even offered up plants as sacrifices, then cried with guilt for wastefully plucking them without result. For whatever reason, the goddesses found her… unworthy.

She scribbled hastily, trying to put down the words as fast as they entered her brain. On the verge of tears, she noted, “It is as if there is a great chasm between the goddesses and I. I shout and shout for them to hear me, but only my voice bounces back from that deep, unending void.”

She heard a noise and snapped her journal shut. Someone was clearing their throat. She whipped back to the doorway, but no one was there upon opening the door, nor waiting at the end of the bridge that led from her scientific tower to her bedchamber.

She began checking the windows and at last, she saw a fierce green eye surrounded by blue feathers floating within the frame of one of the slit-sized windows.

“Champion Revali, I believe it was you who reiterated that it was rude to eavesdrop when we first met.”

He hoisted himself up to where he was fully visible in the window frame, flapped his wings, and gave a bow. “My sincerest apologies.”

“Also, do you not think it inappropriate to come see a member of the royal family in their private chambers?”

“But I’m not in them, now am I?”

Zelda laughed. “Are you in need of something, master Revali?”

He offered a gallant smile. “Perhaps your majesty would care to join me for a walk on the grounds. I can see everything up here, but I’ll admit… Hylian structures are baffling to me. I wondered if perhaps you would be willing to educate me.”

The warmth of the smile that grew on her face told Revali he had succeeded in breaking her out of whatever dismal reverie she’d been in when he peered in at her, scowling at her journal.

Zelda met Revali at the base of the stairs. They began to explore the walkways leading down the primary battlement of the castle with a leisurely gait.

“Here we have the entrance to our library.”

“Library?”

Zelda blinked in surprise, then ushered Revali inside.

“What in Hyrule…” His eyes widened as he glanced around the massive room filled wall-to-wall with books.

“Surely you know what a library is, Revali.” Zelda giggled.

Revali rolled his eyes and ruffled his feathers, then said, “Of course I know what a library is… I’ve just never seen one this massive. There is no actual library in the Rito village.”

The princess’s head cocked to the side. “Why not?”

The Rito raised his wing up to the princess’ field of vision and wiggled the most controllable, dexterous portions of his wing, which still looked wildly unwieldy.

“Oh… penmanship and flipping pages must be difficult!”

“Only disciplined Rito, dedicated to the art, actively pursue reading and writing beyond a primary education. We are creatures of oral tradition and have little use for books, though some of the oldest legends are inscribed on tablets of stone.”

“Is it mostly birdsong?”

“Yes. Why would we speak about the legends of the Rito when we could sing the ballads of heroes, the laments of our tribe, the lullabies our fathers learned from their fathers?”

Zelda pondered this for a moment. Then asked: “Do you sing, Master Revali?”

“I can, but I generally do not.”

Zelda had led Revali up a cascading set of stairs and was clearly determined to show him a specific volume. She was scowling and tracing her fingers along titles as she walked along the upper level of the library.

“I could have sworn it was in this section… Found it!” She pulled out a broad but thin volume, clearly weighted, almost square enough to be used as a breastplate for armor fitted to the girl. A harp was crested into the volume’s cover, gilt in gold.

“This is a musical volume of songs from Hyrule’s history. Do the Rito use notations like this?”

She showed him a page with a simple melody. The notations were similar but…

“We use lines like this but typically our musical staves are much larger…” He squinted at the page and then pulled back. “Our notes are not all round. We use shapes and lines to indicate different note lengths…”

“Fascinating! Could you read a melody like this?”

“I am not well-versed in musical notation. We received basic training in childhood, but after those initial years, my studies were dedicated elsewhere. However, this melody is similar to one we learned as nestlings. The Ballad of the Goddess, I believe?”

Zelda laughed with excitement. Revali could not help but notice her laugh was high and sweet, almost birdlike with a chirpy nature.

“Would you sing it for me, Revali?”

“I would rather not.”

The disappointment that fell across her face was immeasurable. It nearly ruined Revali’s day to see her so put out; he felt he had to explain, even if the reason was made up on the spot.

“I do not like the way I sound when I sing from prescribed notes; the planned nature feels stifling. I would rather you not insist.”

“Oh. I would never dream to impose upon you. I’m sorry!”

Revali turned very stern, and gazed at her directly. “Do not apologize. It is not for someone of your position.”

Zelda was a bit taken aback by this admonishment. Most did not speak to her in this blunt fashion. No one but her father had spoken in unfiltered directives. She understood the Rito were a singularly bold people; perhaps tact was not really part of their vocabulary. Her facial expression betrayed her utter bafflement. She nodded sharply.

“You’re right, Revali.”

At that moment, a member of the royal guard emerged at the top of the stairs and was clearly headed in their direction. Revali moved from the princess’ side just as the guard focused his attention on her and said, “Your presence is requested by his majesty King Rhoam.”

Zelda turned to speak with Revali, but he was already taking a bow.

“Till we meet again, your highness.”

The guard extended his arm, and Zelda passed him by, where he took up her rear as he escorted her from the library, following her quite closely.

Revali watched as she disappeared down the staircase, the royal guard following behind her. Why send a guard? Why did he follow her with so little space between them? What an incredible sign of disrespect. It’s as if they expected her to give chase if they even dared to blink. He hoped nothing was amiss. But he couldn’t help to wonder, yet again…

~*~*~*~*~

Link to Chapter 5 HERE

Link to Chapter 4, Part 2 HERE

Link to Chapter 4, Part 1 HERE

Link to Chapter 3 HERE

Link to Chapter 2 HERE

Link to Chapter 1 HERE

#revali #legend of zelda #zelda #breath of the wild #botw #revali x zelda #zelda x revali #free bird #free bird chapter 6

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dc41896 · 4 years

Text

Say Something

Pairing: Johnny “Human Torch” StormxBlack Reader

⚠️: Maybe a teensie tiny bit of angst, fluff

“Hey Sue, I got the study results for Reed but his office is locked. Could you hand them to him for me? I have to meet someone in a few minutes,” you ask, slightly losing your balance from the stack of papers against your chest paired with your platform wedge sandals.

“Yea sure, I’ll give it to him when he comes back,” she smiles taking the stack from you. “And might I add you look so cute!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, and where are you going?”

Of course the night wouldn’t be complete without you running into Johnny.

Not exactly a couple but also more than friends, you guys had been playing with that line for a while now and you were getting tired. With each goodnight text and playful second glance, you thought maybe you guys would soon make things official.

But in typical Johnny Storm fashion, he’d bring a new fling to the Baxter building trying to impress her with a tour and leave you heartbroken feeling like a clown. Being disappointed one too many times, you finally decided to stop waiting and move on with your life.

Yeah it hurt, but constantly feeling as if you were left on the sideline without even a second thought hurt you more.

Arms crossed as he leans against the doorframe with signature smirk on his face, he eyes you up and down making you roll your eyes.

“Nowhere you need to worry your little mind about,” you sarcastically smile. “Thanks Sue, I’ll see you later.”

Watching you walk past, he finds himself mesmerized by everything from your sweet perfume to the way your skin glowed against your floral off the shoulder dress. Then again when wasn’t he entranced by you? He knew he wasn’t the type to openly express it in some grand, romantic way, but at least once a day he couldn’t stop the smile he’d get seeing you writing some formula on the whiteboard and occasionally pushing your glasses higher on your nose as you discussed science with Reed.

Never had Johnny experienced such strong feelings for someone like this before, which scared him more than any villain could.

“Need me to get a bucket for your drool?,” Sue asks peeking over her glasses as Johnny rolls his eyes.

“Seriously though, where’s she going?”

“And why do you need to know? Is someone jealous?”

“No, I’m just...curious,” he shrugs walking up to stand in front of her desk.

“Yea sure,” she laughs going back to the computer screens in front of her. Hearing footsteps on the white tile floors, he turns to see Reed solely focused on the phone in his hands as he enters the lab and sparking an idea.

“Well I’m about to head out, do you want me to give this to Reed since it’s on my way? He just got back.”

“Sure if you want to, thanks,” she smiles as he picks up the stack walking out the door and leaving her with a smile.

“I hope Reed knows to keep quiet,” Sue whispers to herself shaking her head as she watches the two men interact.

“Hey Y/N left these for you. She would’ve given them to you herself but she was running late.”

“Oh thank you,” he smiles skimming through the first few pages.

“Big night for her huh?”

“Yea she’s been so excited for a while now. I hope everything goes well.”

“Me too. Oh that reminds me, she said she’d bring you back something as an apology for not being able to go through that, uh, stuff with you,” he adds leaning against the metal table behind him.

“That’s nice of her but Pho really isn’t a favorite of mine,” he answers still looking at the paper in his hands.

“So that’s where she went,” Johnny speaks under his breath, devious smile on his lips as Reed finally looks up from his work.

“Did you say something?”

“Oh no, I was just thinking out loud really. Hey I’m heading out for a while, maybe try to give that brain a rest yeah?”

Whistling as he enters the golden elevator, he twirls the keys to his red corvette around his index finger; for the first time in his life excited to get a bowl of Pho.

———

“No way that happened!,” you laughed along with your guest, hand covering your mouth as a drop of water fell from your closed eyes.

“Yep! I still have the scars to prove it.”

Since you both sat down, it seems that all either of you did after every story was laugh and joke around. At first, you kinda felt bad thinking you might be a disturbance because of the noise, but the more you talked the less you cared what others thought and just wanted to enjoy your time out with him.

Using your chopsticks to gather some of the contents in your bowl before placing it in your mouth, a looming figure overhead nearly makes you choke as soon as you hear his voice.

“Y/N?! What are the odds that we both meet here tonight!” Pulling up a chair, he sits at the table before sticking his hand out towards the stranger in front of you. “Johnny Storm.”

“Um Cole Jones, nice to meet you,” he hesitantly shakes his hand confusedly looking at you.

“I’m sorry Cole, Johnny is a friend from work.”

“Yea really close work friends,” he smiles looking at you.

“Mmm that’s a bit of a stretch, especially with how I’m feeling at this moment,” you reply through your forced smile trying not to make a scene. “What are you doing here?”

“Uhh...to get something to eat duh.”

“You don’t even like Pho.”

“Nonsense I eat it all the time!”

“Hi can I get anybody anything?,” the waitress smiles looking between the three of you.

“Yea can I get what she has?”

“But without mushrooms please?,” you add giving her his menu as she nods before leaving towards the back.

“Aww you remembered I’m allergic to mushrooms,” he cockily smiles leaning back in his chair with hand over his heart.

“Yes and you’re making me wish I hadn’t.”

“Do you guys need a minute or something? Because I can step outside,” Cole asks still confused on what exactly was going on to which you and Johnny both quickly replied no.

“Yea everything’s fine! And what about you guys? How long has uh this been going on?,” Johnny asks crossing his arms on the table.

“This isn’t a date,” you frustratedly sigh rubbing your temple and hoping a giant hole would open somewhere that he would have to go investigate.

“Woww that bad huh? Hey don’t feel bad bud it’s not your fault she’s been spoiled with higher quality.”

Kicking him under the table and making him yelp in pain, Cole scoots his chair back before standing and collecting his things.

“Okayyy you know what? Clearly you guys have some issues you need to work through so I’m gonna head to the bar to get the bill then head out. I’ll talk to you later love.”

“I’m so so sorry about this, I promise to make it up to you,” you whisper with an apologetic smile as you give him a hug. Directing a head nod in Johnny’s direction, he flashes a fake smile before rolling his eyes as soon as Cole was no longer in view.

“You know, for people who aren’t dating it’s strange to hear couple nicknames like that.”

“And for someone who shouldn’t be in my business here you are. Who told you where I was?”

“Hey it’s like I said I came here to eat, it’s highly coincidental we met,” he shrugs taking a bite of his food.

Not caring that you were in public, you grab his ear pulling him along as he continuously “ow’s” behind you.

“Um is everything ok?,” the waitress asks looking equal parts concerned and amused at the sight in front of her.

“Yea it’s fine, and thank you for everything the food was really good.”

“Uh..you’re welcome,” she replies as you walk out with your “plus one” and all eyes on the both of you.

“Jeez don’t rip it off!”

“How could you embarrass me like that?! Seriously what is wrong with you?!,” you shout, words echoing off the parking garage walls.

“Nothing! I told you-,”

“Don’t lie to me!”

Looking into your frustrated dark brown eyes, a long sigh escapes his pink lips while he leans against your car with arms crossed over his chest.

“Fine, I got jealous ok? The moment I walked in and saw you both laughing and having fun I wanted to stop it there I admitted it,” he explains making you laugh in disbelief.

“So you can go be with any woman you want without even a second thought, yet the moment I go out that’s when you apparently have some sort of feelings for me?! You really are that full of yourself.”

“Listen I know I-,”

“No don’t try to excuse your way out of this like you do everything else! Do you know how long I waited to finally be chosen by you to only continuously get pushed to the back?!” Eyes burning as angry tears forced their way down your face, you quickly knock away his hand trying to wipe them for you. “I’m not some toy you pick up when you want to play and put back when your done. Your other girls might’ve been okay with that, but I’m not.”

“You’re right.”

“....what?”

“I said you’re right,” he softly chuckles at your shocked reaction. “To string you along while still going out with other girls was wrong and I’m sorry.”

Shifting from one foot to the other, his hand runs over his head as he lets out a breath. “Y/N I’m in love with you, have been since we started hanging out really. But I know how I am and that you deserve someone so much better so that’s where the girls came in. It sounds dumb, but I figured you would see that too and then both of us would move on like it was nothing. Only no matter how much I tried all I wanted was you.”

“And no this isn’t me trying to make more excuses or soften you up with lines. I’m telling you where my head was and is and how instead of just telling you how I felt, I made things 10 times worse which definitely sounds like me.”

Silence falling over the both of you, you wipe your face getting out your last few sniffles before looking down at your feet.

“You’re right, you aren’t the best person for me,” you finally speak. “You’re reckless, have selfish tendencies, and honestly sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain.”

“Ouch, but I deserve that,” he replies looking away until he feels your cool hands on the sides of his face.

“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want you too.” Johnny’s icy blue eyes light up as he smiles hearing those words from your mouth. Taking your hands in his, he moves them to wrap around his abdomen while he embraces you, kissing your temple.

“That also doesn’t mean that you’re completely forgiven,” you add looking up at him. “Saying it is one thing, but you have to show me that you really want this Johnny because I swear if you play anymore games-,”

Unable to finish your sentence, you feel his soft lips crash onto yours while his thumbs gently graze your cheeks. Your heart races the deeper the kiss gets and your knees feel like they won’t last much longer making you grab onto his white tee shirt.

“That is part of my promise to you, Y/N, that there won’t be anymore games or immature stunts like tonight. This is gonna sound super cliche but you’re the only one for me and I will do whatever I can everyday to prove that to you,” he smiles, thumb now grazing over your lips. “So what are you gonna say to Cole?”

“Oh about that, Cole is my cousin. He’s in town for a few days before his next assignment and he wanted to hang out,” you giggle watching him hang his head as he laughs at himself.

“I really am an idiot huh?”

“No, not a total one. You just might want to get all the facts before trying to ruin someone’s night again,” you laugh pecking his lips.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @my-rosegold-soul @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @curlyhairclub @renfrewscorner @secretmysteriousperson @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @plokyu23 @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#chris evans #chrisxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxreader #fantastic four #johnny storm #johnnyxblackreader #johnnyxwoc #johnnyxreader

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bleachanimefan1 · 3 years

Text

Oblitus Part 16

Human Again

60 days left until Extermination...

Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, and Anna were walking down the hallway then down a staircase leading to the basement of the hotel. Charlie walked up to the door and knocked on it. "Baxter? Are you okay?" the princess asked. Everyone heard a loud crash, something breaking, on the other side of the door. Charlie turned the handle of the door, opening it, walking inside, with the rest following behind her. The entire room was engulfed in smoke, black as coal, making it hard to see anything.

"How did the experiment go?" Charlie asked, squinting her eyes looking around, calling out for the scientist.

Soon, the smoke began to fade. Anna leaned to the side over Charlie as she saw something faintly glowing in the dimly lit room to see someone on the floor, it was a young man, Baxter. However, he wasn't human. His appearance was fish-like. His skin tone was a grayish-blue color and luminescent in the dark, ears that looked like fins, under his eyes light blue freckles were speckled on his cheeks, and his black hair was swept back and short with some pieces sticking out in some places, singed from the explosion. He was wearing an dark laboratory coat with yellow buttons and a small grey hat with an lure, dangling at the top of it, like an anglerfish.

Reddish-pink irises glared as the princess as she walked in along with everyone else. Baxter coughed as he brushed the soot and dirt off of him.

"What do you think?" He answered, irritated. Charlie walked over to him, helping him up.

"What happened?" Vaggie questioned. The fish scientist headed over to the lab table picking up some of his flasks and beakers, that weren't broken, lying on the floor along the way, putting them back on the table.

"I thought I grabbed the right ingredients. But, apparently my stuff's been moved around. I know I specifically left it exactly where I placed them so I know where they're at."

"Oh, you mean those jars, I cleaned it up." A voice called out. Anna jumped, completely startled, and looked down to see Niffty in front of her. Baxter froze, his shoulders tending up. He slowly turned to the cyclops demon, looking at her, as did everybody else.

"You did what?" Baxter asked. Niffty smiled as she began to clean up the broken glass, sweeping it up.

"I cleaned your room up. Nobody could find anything in a mess like it was and I reorganized your containers, bottles, and ingredients. So, you're welcome!" Niffty smiled as she finished explaining. Baxter stared at the cyclops demon in disbelief with a strained smile on his face.

"Thank you? Because of your obsessive cleaning the experiment was a completely bust! I was SO close to finding an answer to redemption for demons!" Baxter yelled, furiously. Nifty stared up at the scientist, eye wide in surprise.

"I just wanted to help." She stammered.

"Well, you didn't!" Baxter hissed. Alastor stepped up, standing in front of Niffty blocking her from Baxter. The scientist looked like he wanted to strangle her.

"Well, you can just start from scratch. I'm sure you can do the same steps again, EXACTLY like you did last time." Alastor smiled, darkly. He walked over to the table and picked up the concoction that Baxter was working on. The liquid was a darkish green in color, which looked gross. "It shouldn't too hard for a royal scientist like you."

"Easy for you to say." Baxter growled, taking the flask from Alastor. "Don't touch that!"

"It's such a shame that it didn't work." Charlie murmured, disappointed. Baxter and Alastor were fighting, as Alastor began to pick up the scientist's jars, and flasks looking at them.

"Put that down!"

Anna walked over to the table, looking at the results of the scientist had. "So, this is what you've got so far? Well, no wonder it didn't work." She murmured, scanning over the notes, flipping the pages from Baxter's book. "You can't force change."

Baxter snatched the book from her hands, slamming it hard. "What part of "Do not touch that", do you not understand?" He growled. Anna stepped away from him. Baxter looked at the human woman up and down with a questionable look on his face.

"And who the hell are you?!"

Charlie placed her hands on Anna's shoulders. "Baxter, this is Anna. She's going to help us with the redemption plan!" She explained, smiling.

"Well, if you have any ideas, I would love to hear it." Baxter said.

"Well, I don't know if this is going to actually work. But, there's a theory that I want to try." Anna said.

Charlie had everyone meet Anna in a room, they were sitting in chairs, waiting. Angel walked in, carrying Fat Nuggets in his arms.

"So why did you call me here?" the spider demon asked. Charlie smiled, gesturing for him to sit.

"I didn't, Anna did."

"Why are we all here?" Angel asked.

"I've called you all here for sort of like an intervention." Anna answered. "If I'm going to help, I need to know why and how sinners are here in the first place. What's better than to find out of the root of the problem?"

Angel stood up immediately and walked away heading towards the door. "This is complete bullshit nonsense. I'm leaving!" He tried to open it, but couldn't. "Hey, why's the door locked?!"

"I told Charlie to because I know that some would disagree with this method. Have a seat, Angel." Anna said. Angel frowned, and walked over back to his seat, sitting down with crossed arms, pouting.

"You are a crazy bitch!"

"I know I am, thank you." Anna replied. She turned to everyone else, pressing her hands together. "Now, for this to work, I'm going to speak with each one of you privately, taking notes, so no personal information will be violated. Only Charlie, Vaggie and I will have access to them." She explained as she finished. Anna looked around, smiling.

"So, who's up first?"

Nifty immediately shot up her hand, nearly jumping out of her seat. "Me! Me, me, me!"

Anna smiled. "I guess I have my volunteer." She turned to everyone else. "So, if you guys will wait outside. Niffty and I will get started."

As everyone got up and began to walk out, Charlie walked over Anna. "I really think I should stay," the princess said, concerned. "I mean, what if something goes wrong? If you upset her-"

"Blondie's right, doll face. Red's not just a happy face and sweet." Angel replied. "She can a 180 real quick if you do something wrong. It's scary."

"I'll be fine." Anna answered. Charlie smiled and nodded and Angel and her left the room, leaving the two alone.

"I'm ready!" Niffty shouted, gripping the edge of her seat with her hands in anticipation.

"You're really eager, aren't you?" Anna asked as she sat down, with a pen and notebook in her hands.

"I want to see if you can really find out my problems!"

"I'll try," Anna said. "So what was your occupation before? What did you do?"

"I was a house cleaning maid."

"That would explain your obsession with cleaning. But, it can also mean that your OCD." Anna replied.

"What's that?!"

Anna looked stopped, writing, and looked at the cyclops demon. "Everything has to be perfect for you, if one thing's misplaced, it'll drive you crazy. It can also mean something that happened in your past, something that you're trying to hide." Maybe it was her imagination, but Anna could've swore she she saw Niffty's smile slightly drop before it disappeared.

"Next question, were you happy before?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" the cyclops demon questioned, confused.

"Did you have a boyfriend or married?" the human woman asked.

"Do you?" Nifty asked, ignoring the question. Anna looked up, with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do." She answered. Nifty leaned forward in her seat.

"What's he like?" She asked.

"He's sweet, very protective, sometimes it can be overbearing and annoying. He makes me feel safe and makes me feel like I'm the only girl for him. Especially, when he calls me by my nickname, which I absolutely hate." Anna told her.

"What's the nickname?" Nifty smiled as she asked, wondering.

"I can't, it's too embarrassing." Anna stammered as her cheeks blushed.

"Now I have to know! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Nifty pressed.

"Alright," Anna said. "It's Anna banana." She cringed as she told the cyclops.

"That's adorable!" Nifty beamed.

"Maybe for you," Anna said. "But, we're getting of track. This questioning is supposed to be for you, not me. Besides, you never answered my question before."

Niffty's eyes shifted away looking elsewhere to the side of the room, before looking down. "I-I don't want talk about that. Can we go to another question?"

"I need to know, if I'm going to be able to help." Anna pressed.

Nifty shook her head. "I said I don't want to talk about it!" Anna frowned, this wasn't going anywhere. The little cyclops demon was completely distraught.

"Niffty, I know that you can do this. Just let it out and you'll feel better." Anna said, calmly.

"Let it out?" Nifty looked up. Anna nodded her head.

"Yes, any anger, sadness, that you're feeling, pretend I'm that person who hurt you."

"Okay, I'll try," Niffty said, nodding softly. She sighed and looked at Anna. "Why didn't you love me? Why did you beat me?"

"Everything that I've did, I did for you! But, it was never enough. When I changed my looks, cut my hair, you never noticed. When I worked hard, you never noticed. You just hit me and beat me. I had to protect myself. I grabbed a knife and stabbed. Next thing I knew, the coppers were at the door and came busting in after receiving a call disturbance. They told me to drop the weapon but I didn't hear them. I was too shocked and distraught. The sight of your dead body at my feet. Then the next thing I felt, a sharp pain in my chest a several gunshots fired. One of the bullets had hit an gas valve, which caused an explosion. Our house was immediately engulfed in flames, me included. I'm sorry that I hurt y-" Niffty cried. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

Outside, Charlie, Baxter, and Vaggie were standing in front of the door, while the princess paced across the room, back and forth, anxiously. Angel was sitting on the couch with Fat Nuggets on his lap, petting him. Crymini was sitting with him, flipping through her phone. Husk was at the bar, leaning back with his legs resting on the counter, chugging down a bottle of booze. Alastor was with him, sitting on a stool, drinking as well, with his back facing the two girls.

"Do you think they're okay?" Charlie asked.

"Maybe, we should check on them?" Veggie asked.

"Ladies, give the two their privacy." Alastor smiled, taking a sip from his drink, laughing like it was a joke. "Ha! It's not like talking about your sins is going to change everything." Before everyone had left the room, without them noticing, Alastor had ordered his shadow to stay behind, to eavesdrop on Niffty's and Anna's conversation.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Anna walked out, stepping to the side. As Charlie, Vaggie, Angel stared in shock, while Fat Nuggets squealed, at Niffty. Husk's eyes widen, his mouth dropped slightly as he dropped his drink, shattering on the floor. Alastor turned to the cat demon, wondering what was going on, then turned around and spit out his drink, spraying Husk, seeing Niffty as well.

Her appearance looked almost the same, she still had one eye, fangs and claws. However, the cyclops hair and skin color had changed. Her flaming red hair was now blonde with a few curls hanging on the side of her face and her skin was a pinkish-pale color with some freckles on the bridge of her nose.

"I-I can't believe it." Charlie murmured in shock. "I was right! Redemption is possible!"

#hazbin hotel #charlie hazbin hotel #alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #angel dust #vaggie #husk hazbin hotel #niffty hazbin hotel #baxter hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel oc #fanfiction

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unwiltingblossom · 4 years

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Code: Realize Route Review - Van Helsing

Round two of the Code: Realize routes/character reviews. This uses information from the main game + extra scenes in the main game. I have the first sequel fandisc, but I haven’t played it yet, so that content isn’t included.

Abraham Van Helsing

I have determined Van Helsing is the correct/expected second route. Similar to Impey, his route doesn’t spoil anything, but it does hint at Germain’s route and sets up Victor’s. (Victor’s route will spoil Van’s)

Van Helsing got the immediate VA boost, which was good, because his introduction was the first jarring experience of making a choice that meant nothing. “Come Out/Stay Hidden” has no difference except a couple paragraphs of dialog and which people get affection points. That’s to be expected in a free mobile game, but for a game with a $50 price tag (even considering the bundled fandisc) it’s pretty unforgivable. The lack of animation and repeat backgrounds/misc CGs also show through in this route whether it’s your second as is likely to be expected or especially if it’s third like mine was.

Not to go on a tangent, but the fact that the boys don’t even get unique bedrooms despite each of them getting at least one scene in their bedroom is a travesty.

Anyway, back on topic. Van is a fun little tsundere route, but the trouble with his route is that you spend most of it waiting for a payoff that barely happens, due to the plot they decided to go with. Transferring tsundere into manpain makes for a rough route when it’s the same length as everyone else’s.

It’s interesting that this route departs from the others where it has multiple villains that Van has to go through before the final villain, instead of just sending endless waves of Twilight mooks and giving one big boss at the end. Unfortunately, if you’re a fool like myself and first played Victor and Impey before him, you’ll be disappointed that Cardia isn’t really ‘shaped’ by Helsing. Despite the focus on self defense and martial arts - which will come in handy in other routes - Cardia’s role is pretty similar here as in Impey’s, minus engineering stuff: stand back, let Van Helsing be awesome, worry about him.

I found his bad endings easier to avoid in general, except against Jack the Ripper. Mostly because the choices were again pretty weird. You can kind of guess ‘don’t resist’ is the correct choice from his lessons about when to surrender (if you forget that it’s literally Jack the Ripper, and you don’t let Jack get near you with knives) - but good luck if you’ve done Germain’s route before this, because like with Impey and Victor’s routes, the same dilemma has the opposite answer in Germain and Van’s route. The second bad end Jack can give you (because what’s more fun than one bad end instantly after you start a route? Two!) is just some serious BS, though, I’m calling it right now. “Do you stay and try to get the door open or abandon it and look for another route” is absolutely a ‘damned if you do or don’t’ dilemma, because either route can and will result in death in a horror movie...but when you stack on that the narrative says “This is a dead end with only one door that has faint light behind it” before giving you the option to decide whether you should keep struggling with the door while Jack closes in or abandon it and look elsewhere is just unfair. (Spoiler: it wasn’t a dead end, she could have kept running and does so)

On the bright side, the story does eventually let Cardia be more violent in Van’s route compared to others, as the climax of the story has her grab a man’s throat with her bare hands specifically intent on murdering the heck out of him if necessary. But man is there a lot of ‘just stay out of Van’s way’ up until then.

The route’s really slim on romance, but it has lots of angst and feels in its place, and it’s the route Delly gets to be more than just ‘that kid who pops his head up and sasses sometimes before he goes back to house-sitting or something’. Even in Lupin’s route, Delly barely gets to do anything onscreen. Since Delly is glued to Van’s side, he basically fulfills a role somewhere between little brother and son to Cardia through the route and it’s pretty cute. Even in the ‘normal’ ending, Delly is the one who’s there.

The only iffy moment isn’t much of one, because it’s a pretty weak trap. You’re supposed to stay and help Delly in one scene - failing to do so will just get Van injured - while in another, staying and helping him will get you a bad end. That said, it’s not so bad, because the former doesn’t give you a bad end and in the latter case you should know the flow of things well enough to know you should chase after Van. (Weirdly, in Code: Realize, it’s basically never that a bad end results in a boyfriend dying, even when it would makes sense)

Speaking of bad ends, Victor’s normal end isn’t a sucker punch choice designed to mess with you, as Impey’s feels like...but man is his lazy. His isn’t the only route that does it, sadly, but nothing feels quite so much like they wrote the True Route first and went ‘what if we just MESS WITH them for the Normal End’ as Van’s. It’s tedious because you have to track through a bunch of identical stuff for a microscopic amount of change pre-epilogue, whether you started with Normal or True End (but especially if you start with True End, the only reason you’d bother with Normal End is to see epilogue Delly. Maybe two lines of writing is even any different at the Normal End cut off point, compared to just playing through True End and seeing ‘the rest of the scene’)

Overall, Van Helsing’s route is extremely thorough in exploring both Van and Delly, because it’s extremely plot relevant to know basically everything there is to know about Van Helsing in it. It’s really great for getting the player to fall for Van. It’s very weak on romancing Van Helsing, though, because when you get into a tsundere route your expectation is that you’re gonna break through to the dere, but that really doesn’t happen. You wanna see Van Helsing’s dere? You can see it from Isaac’s lab all the way up until Azoth appears. Most of that time Cardia isn’t with Van...and in Germain and Lupin’s route it’s confirmed Van behaves pretty similarly when Cardia goes ‘missing’ in those, so unless the game is implying everyone falls for her no matter what (which sometimes I think it is), it’s not that helpful.

Van’s love of Cardia isn’t secret to the player - Azoth immediately calls him out about it, which is what makes him push Cardia away for her safety, when Cardia almost dies to save Van they have a sweet moment, the final choice in the route has his anguished declaration of ‘you’re important to me’ in the rain, and the climax of the route has Azoth using Van’s unspoken love for Cardia against him, resulting in Van attempting to kill himself to protect Cardia. Unfortunately...that’s all you get until True End, extra scenes, and sequel fandisc stuff.

My main criticisms of the route are these:

1 - Cardia’s training under Van Helsing doesn’t come into play, and she’s instead expected to stand back and let her boyfriend be awesome like with Impey’s route, but she doesn’t get to be an engineer on this one, so it’s all her running from danger or through it to get to Van. Arguably, the scene where Cardia has to sneak through a fortress full of Twilight soldiers to help spring Impey from his cage in Impey’s route would have fit better in this route (with Van captive) than his - and to support that, you have to use one of Van’s lessons to succeed in that! To know the answer for one of Van’s bad end choices, you need an answer Lupin provides, which is impossible to have on first run.

2 - Van’s route is very slim on actually romancing him. If Impey’s route has him CONSTANTLY confessing and having Cardia refuse to accept she’s in love with him because it’s embarrassing, Van’s is the opposite where he refuses to accept he’s in love with her but Cardia is incredibly determined.

3 - The Normal End, although so easy to avoid you pretty much have to get it on purpose, is nonsensical in its cause-effect relation to the choice you actually make to trigger it (unless it’s really triggered by overall affection points, like Lupin’s is) and is extremely lazy, just cutting off the True End at a point that would make the story end sadly instead of happily

4 - Just screw everything to do with Jack the Ripper’s section except the moment when Van Helsing finally manages to rescue her and looks cute. It was an awful section, Jack’s design is ugly, and it overall makes no sense. Sholmes doesn’t solve an easily solvable criminal case we later learn he’s tracking extremely closely, Azoth wants a crazy woman killer to capture and keep a woman without killing her, Jack goes from ‘I won’t kill you’ to ‘Nevermind killing time’ without any real reason to it, and the choices you’re given seem designed specifically to bait you into getting the bad end first. ALSO - we later learn that Azoth expected Van to kill Jack and this would have hurt his psyche for some reason, when killing a serial killer in the midst of actively murdering women doesn’t really seem like something that would at all harm a soldier’s psyche. And he set up a bomb in the room with his recording anyway.

5- NOT EVEN ONE ‘FAKE’ KISS. NO KISSING. NO TOUCHING. Because Cardia neither removes her poison, nor has it weakened temporarily in his route, no one gets to touch her. Because Van pretends he isn’t in love with her the whole time, he never even does the Lupin hat kiss thing. No kisses. No touches.

Overall the route is good, though. Its big twist is 100% ruined if you play Victor’s route first, because nothing Van can say will change the fact that Aleister causes two bad ends all on his own in that route, but it’s still a fun route to play through and the lack of Van Helsing fluff can be fixed in the fandiscs. By the epilogue and the extra scenes, Van is full dere in his slightly sarcastic and prickly way, it’s just a shame we couldn’t get more of that.

#code: realize #code realize #abraham van helsing #otome game #code realize review #spoilers #ooc

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tiny-crecher · 5 years

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Root Beer Part 2/2

You can find part one here

Stephen slowly rejoined the waking world. Everything was very sore, and he groaned a bit. The floor beneath him was rather cold, but smooth and slightly curved, almost like glass.

Stephen didn’t open his eyes just yet, but sat up and aimlessly felt around with his hands.

His right hand immediately touched more of the glass-like surface as he stretched it out.

That’s… slightly concerning, Stephen thought.

He reached out his left hand as well, which held the same result with his right. Which meant that he was surrounded.

Stephen slowly opened his eyes, and what he saw was… troubling, to say the least.

The first thing he noticed was that everything felt like glass because it was glass. Everything outside was blurry, but wherever he was was huge.

Taking a second look, Stephen supposed that the cylindrical glass room he was in was similar to a large jar of some sort. The glass was shaded slightly blue, and it definitely had a sort of texture to it. He actually looked up, and saw that it was completely open at the top.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Stephen recognized Jay’s voice, although he did not understand why it was so loud. Perhaps the shape and material of the walls amplified it somehow? The idea wasn’t unbelievable.

A shadow passed over the open ceiling of the room. Stephen looked up, curiously, and the sight was rather horrifying.

What appeared to be a large human hand was reaching toward him, most likely intent on grabbing him. It moved slowly, yet very steadily towards him. Stephen felt paralyzed, unable to move as he just watched the thing get closer and closer.

FUCK FUCK FUCK WHAT THE HELL IS THAT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HOLY SHI- DON’T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH ME! His mind was running a mile a minute as he hopelessly stared at whatever was coming for him.

Enormous fingers wrapped around Stephen’s body, closing him into a large fist. He resisted the urge to scream as he was lifted out of the container. Remembering how to move again, he viciously squirmed, trying to escape whatever hell this was, but it was all for naught. He closed his eyes, bracing for whatever cruel fate awaited him.

“Stop squirming, I’m not going to kill you.” Jay’s voice again.

Stephen stopped, but he was still extremely on edge. His body was rigid with fear, which didn’t really help his sore muscles at all. He forced his eyes open.

And then he saw Jay, who was much, much taller than Stephen remembered. Or, no, Stephen was just very small… small enough to fit into his friend’s hand. He began squirming again, trying to escape.

“What- what the HELL did you do to me Jay?” Stephen yelled. He could feel his breath becoming irregular and forced.

“I find it quite obvious, honestly.”

Stephen could feel a few tears begin to run down his face as he continued to struggle inside Jay’s grasp. His chest was tightening. He couldn’t breathe. “Just let me go, Jay.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I fully intend to.” Jay replied, “Once I’m done having my fun.”

Stephen was absolutely terrified of his friend’s idea of ‘fun’. He gasped for breath as he felt sobs shudder throughout his entire body. “Please… don’t hurt me. Just change me back and I’ll be on my way.”

“Hurt you?” Jay seemed surprised. “Why would I do that?”

“Why would you do any of this?!”

Jay sighed and rubbed his free hand across his face. “Because I needed a lab rat, Stephen.” This didn’t seem to calm Stephen down at all, so he added: “You’re my friend, I’m not going to harm you.”

Stephen had given up on escaping, and was instead trying to curl in on himself as best as he could, almost disappearing behind Jay’s fingers. Jay could feel his friend trembling in his grasp, so he decided to show a bit of sympathy.

“Here. How about...” Jay set Stephen down on the desk next to him and removed his hand. “-that? Does that make you feel any better?”

Stephen drew his knees up to his chest. He took deep and shaky breaths, wiping a few tears with the sleeve of his hoodie while slowly nodding to answer Jay’s question.

They waited in silence for a while, Stephen slowly calming himself down while Jay awkwardly fiddled with a pen.

“So, uh...” Stephen said, breaking the silence after a bit. “Where’d you get the money to do all of this?”

“That’s… that’s none of your concern.”

Stephen laughed. “Alright then.”

“So… you’re not mad at me?” Jay asked. He had expected his friend to at least be a little ticked off.

Stephen shrugged. “Being angry won’t do me any good. Might as well enjoy this before it wears off.” He raised an eyebrow. “It will wear off, right?” he added.

“The longest I’ve gotten it to last is a little over twenty-four hours,” Jay replied. “But that’s with rats. I’ve never tested this on a human before.”

“What do you mean ‘you’ve never tested this on a human before’? You just decided to call over your best friend, experiment on them, and hope they don’t die?” Stephen replied in a playful manner.

“Oh, so now you’re mad at me?”

“You know what? Maybe I am!”

The two bantered for a few hours about random nonsense in the way that friends do. It was as the sun started to sink below the horizon that Stephen began to revert back to his normal size. He didn’t pass out this time, but he did scream a large stretch of curse words directed at Jay.

“...are you okay now?” Jay asked after a few minutes.

Stephen was lying on Jay’s bed, breathing heavily. “Y-yeah, I’m fine,” he replied.

“You need some water?”

“Water sounds nice.”

------------------------------------

“Sorry about… all that,” Jay said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“It’s fine,” Stephen replied. He stood in the doorway, about to leave his friend’s apartment.

“I literally drugged you for a personal science experiment.”

“This is the fifth time you’ve apologized, how long until you get the memo? I’m not freaking mad at you, dude.”

“Yes, you’ve made that point pretty clear.”

Stephen laughed. “Then forget about it! We had fun, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You’ve nothing to worry about, Jay. We’re still friends.” Stephen turned to leave, but looked back into the apartment. “Perhaps… we could do it again sometime?” he added with a sly smile.

Jay laughed. “Sure.”

------------------------------

Some author’s notes

- I can’t write Jay... at all. I’m working on it

- Feedback is appreciated so I can learn to improve :)

#danplan #danplan fandom #danplan fanfic #danplan fanfiction #danplan stephen #danplan jay #danplan gt fic

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nadziejastar · 5 years

Text

“Axel this, Axel that… Sounds like you’re thick as thieves.” Xigbar restlessly jiggled his crossed legs. “Makes me wonder what you two are up to.”

“I might wonder the same about you,” Saïx retorted, and the tension was so thick it was hard to breathe.

“We have but one objective,” said Xemnas. “Be sure to keep that in mind.”

Yeah, what was all that about how Saïx is one of the “chosen” so his hands are tied? What do you mean his hands are tied!? He just showed up on the clock tower like, yo what up, can I get some of that ice cream? And you know what makes it even more ridiculous? Xemnas KNEW that Saïx was conspiring with Axel. He just never cared.

Xigbar turned to the other remaining member. “What’s happening with Axel?”

“I can’t find him,” Saïx replied, his scarred brow darkening with a frown.

“Were you looking?”

Xigbar had doubts that Saïx was even trying to find Axel in KH2. Everyone knew that he was more loyal to Axel than Xemnas. Why would Xemnas be surprised that he sided with Lea? Especially after Lea came to find Isa in KH3D? I mean, come on. Xehanort is supposed to be smart. Why would Saïx---a known traitor---be chosen unless Xemnas knew that once the final battle began, he'd be fully possessed and a total puppet (which is exactly what he looked like). Xemnas thought he could murder Lea right in front of him and he wouldn’t do anything. Do vessels have free will or not? They shouldn’t because Xehanort is supposed to be able to see their experiences in real time. They share a mind and heart with him, after all. Norts are a hive mind.

Xemnas: However--through weakness of body...weakness of will...or weakness of trust--most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate.

Doesn’t it defeat the entire purpose of a vessel, if they could betray him? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of needing to complete the artificial Kingdom Hearts, turning all the members of the original organization into Xehanort? Why would Master Xehanort bother to try and make Sora or Axel into a vessel if they were capable of ANY free will? Xehanort of all people would know that Sora would be the last people who would willingly help him cause the apocalypse. He would be the worst person you could possibly pick to be a Seeker of Darkness, unless they were just empty puppets.

“But—!” Saïx jumped to his feet again. At that, Xemnas’s smile disappeared.

“Silence,” he growled, returning his attention to Axel. “Where are Naminé and the boy?”

“The haunted mansion in Twilight Town.” Axel stuck the last of the ice cream pop in his mouth.

Xemnas narrowed his eyes. “Oh…?”

“I’ll go.” Saïx started walking as if he couldn’t wait to leave the scene.

And ya know, it’s also funny because although Saïx was definitely not loyal to Xemnas, he was also the member that seemed the most terrified of him. Saïx rose so high in the organization’s ranks because he’s really good at being submissive. Nomura said they had a master-servant relationship. I’m sure this is due to having Isa’s memories. During the scene where Xigbar doubted Saïx was looking for Axel, Xemnas “growled” at him. He couldn’t wait to get away from Xemnas.

Saïx: We don’t accept resignations.

It was common knowledge that Saïx would betray Xemnas if given the opportunity, but I definitely don’t think he’d be so nonchalant about it like he was in KH3.

Axel: You can’t just throw orders to the wind, Xion.

Xion: Or else what? They’ll turn me into a Dusk?

Axel: Not even a Dusk. They’ll skip right past that and destroy you outright.

Axel was terrified of Xemnas, too. Lea casually telling Saïx he should “wise up already and just quit” made me laugh so hard. But it also REALLY pissed me off.

Axel: You can’t turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they’ll destroy you!

Since when was THAT an option? It’s a cult. They couldn’t just leave! That’s why Xehanort brands people with the “Mark of Heresy”. To keep an eye on them and to mark them as his property. You know the story was butchered beyond repair if the characters are acting like you can just casually QUIT the organization, like it’s a job at Starbucks! Are we seriously expected to believe that Axel and Saïx only stayed in Organization XIII and followed Xemnas’s orders to find information about Subject X? Really? It shows how disastrous the game’s development was, if something that bad could even get approved. I could tell nobody really gave a shit about KH3′s story by the end of its development. They were just desperate to get the game released ASAP so they could rake in that $$$.

What are the “seeds” that Xehanort has planted?

Nomura: In the secret event, Master Xehanort tells Terra that he has already laid many plans, and that the seeds have been sown. Telling Braig and Maleficent about “Kingdom Hearts” was one part of his plans, but what other plans have Braig and Master Xehanort laid? What other measures have been taken?

KH3 blatantly contradicted everything that had been established about Seekers of Darkness and the end result was ridiculous. It didn’t even affect just Isa’s character. It made the whole plot of the Dark Seeker Saga into nonsense. And it ruined Organization XIII. What made Saïx such a compelling character was that he started off as Isa.

Saïx: I passed on the message as you so desired. I told the young Sora to keep defeating the Heartless.

Xemnas: Good. Not only have you the power to inflict pain, you also have the power to plant seeds of doubt in one's receptive heart.

After he got possessed he gradually changed, and DID become more like Xehanort. Which is…actually very disturbing and sad. He started off as such a cute and innocent kid. Then by the time we play Days and KH2, he is supposed to be creepy and Xehanort-like. Lea never wanted to be friends with Xehanort 2.0, he wanted to be friends with Isa. Axel was extremely upset that his friend’s personality changed. That is what made his story so compelling in Days. KH3 RUINED Lea’s beautifully tragic backstory.

Saïx: There’s something I’ve meant to ask.

Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.

After saving Sora, Lea didn’t look like he was thinking, “Gee, I guess Isa decided to join Team Xehanort! Derp.” No. It seemed like he finally realized he spent the last decade chasing after an illusion. Suddenly everything made sense. Isa never changed. He was simply a vessel the whole time. Saïx was an imposter. Smoke and mirrors. Of course he would know this because he just found out how vessels are created. That’s the fate he JUST rescued Sora from.

Day 150: Too Precious to Lose

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

Why would he then assume Isa joined Xehanort of his own volition? Lea looked like his mind was racing 1000 miles per hour while he was brooding in the corner. He only looked up when Riku asked Yen Sid if there was a way to cure Sora’s affliction. That piqued his interest. He wanted to know if there was a way to cure Isa, too! After Riku brought Sora back, Lea summoned his Keyblade. I guess that renewed his hope and gave him the strength of heart to awaken it.

Master Xehanort: Yes. They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness.

Why does Saïx suddenly want to atone NOW anyways? Isn’t the point of being Norted that you lose your humanity? How are you supposed to be a vessel for Xehanort’s heart if you are not totally consumed in darkness, evil, wickedness, malevolence? What did being Norted actually DO in KH3? I have no idea, honestly. The whole point was that Seekers of Darkness are filled with PURE DARKNESS!!! It’s the clash of extreme opposite polarities that forges the X-Blade. PURE light vs. PURE darkness. How are they going behind Xehanort’s back and doing good deeds while at the same time being a vessel for pure darkness?

Here’s the reason I think Saïx was able to betray Xehanort: Axel and Saïx had an established canon relationship, so Nomura couldn’t just throw that away entirely and leave him as a villain. So, he thought that he’d just write poor Isa out of the story entirely, pretend that he wasn’t Norted, and give Saïx a lazy, half-assed, pathetic excuse for a “redemption”. Then they’d rewrite his personality to be “just” a douchebag instead of a murderous psycho. Because making him an actual nice and kind person would be going a little too far, lol. If Saïx brought back two fan favorite characters, they thought the fandom would consider him “worthy” to be on the good side.

Not because Isa showed that he cared about Lea so much he broke free of Xemnas’s control. Not because the audience got to see HIS tragic backstory of how he was Norted as a teenage lab rat. Not because the story was written to create sympathy for HIM. Not because rescuing HIM and ending HIS pain was considered a priority. Not because Lea actually considered Isa his best friend, couldn’t bear to lose HIM, and whose main goal was to bring HIM home. No, nothing like that. He gets to be an honorary good guy because he gave Lea back his REAL “best friends”.

#kh saix #kh isa #kh axel #kh lea #kh #KH3 #kh xehanort

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robininthelabyrinth · 5 years

Text

Fic: An Internal Affair - Chapter 23 (Ao3 link)

Fandom: The Flash Pairing: Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Summary: Leonard Snart, the CCPD Captain of Internal Affairs, is known as Captain Cold for a very good reason: He hates corrupt cops with a merciless vengeance, and once you’re on his list, you’re in serious trouble.

His next target?

A CCPD lab tech named Barry Allen who’s developed a suspicious habit of disappearing at random intervals.

—————————————————————————————————

"I think this is the best date we've ever been on," Barry says.

Len, who's tugging at the blanket currently covering both their legs so as to get it into a more optimal cuddling position, pauses, blinking. That was - random.

"We're not doing anything special," he points out. "We're just going to watch some TV and eat some take-out, whenever it arrives."

"Exactly!"

Len looks at Barry, awaiting an explanation.

"It's normal," Barry explains, grinning. "Just two slobs, hanging out and planning to stuff their faces with Thai food while watching some dumb sci-fi - because someone vetoed mysteries -"

"I hate mysteries," Len says stubbornly.

"They're fun! Figuring out the puzzle out of the clues -"

"Real life doesn't have convenient clues."

"You're not wrong, but that's why we're watching TV."

Len rolls his eyes. "You agreed to watch sci-fi tonight, so stop whining. We can watch a mystery next time."

Barry beams. "See, that's why this is the best date ever. There's going to be a next time."

"I feel like there was going to be a next time as soon as we had that first date," Len says dryly. "You remember, with me talking myself into investigating you for corruption and you carefully omitting anything about being the Flash?"

Then he winces.

He still feels bad about what he did, back in Iron Heights - making the cold, rational decision to risk Barry's life and to strip his powers away if it meant defeating Wells and saving their city. Yes, both Mick and Barry have told him that he's being ridiculous - well, Barry's told him he's being ridiculous, Mick just asked where the hell he'd gotten an overdeveloped conscience from and told him to check whether they had a valid return policy - but he can't quite help it.

His decision robbed Barry of his powers. Len’s very aware that by that point, they’d already become a major part of Barry’s identity, and Len just made that decision for him.

He’s still grateful it wasn’t Barry’s life.

He’s painfully aware that he would have made the same decision even if that had been the cost – a speedster like Wells could have murdered an army and would’ve had time to slaughter civilians by the dozen before anyone even got close enough to stop him – but he’s desperately, pathetically grateful that he still has Barry here, by his side.

In his – well, couch.

"It's okay," Barry says, noticing the wince. "You know that I'd rather be sitting on a couch at regular speed with you than have both of us still be lying to each other at super-speed."

"Smooth," Len tells him fondly, "except for the way that metaphor got away from you towards the end there."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure how to bring it back from a plural to a singular. You know what I meant, though."

"You get points for effort." Len leans over and kisses him, just to make sure that message sticks.

Also because he can do that now.

He can just kiss Barry, any time he likes - well, anytime he likes as long as Barry isn't buried in one of his cases, anyway; Len's discovered, to his amusement, that Barry gets just as cranky as Len does when his train of thought is interrupted by nonsense like affection from a loved one.

It's apparently a tendency shared by all CSIs, no matter how usually cheerful - Barry's been having regular study groups with his CSI friends in his little on-site nook at the CCP, and even the perkiest among them growls like an angry terrier if Len’s decision to meander by to see if Barry is free for lunch disturbs a time-sensitive experiment.

But when Barry (or Len, for that matter) isn't busy, it's free season for stealing kisses.

Len’s a very good thief.

But it’s okay, because Barry steals just as many.

Because they're officially boyfriends now.

Len spends about half his time terrified that he's going to screw this up and the other half deliriously happy with how things are going.

They’ve had several long, in-depth conversations about telling each other the truth, several even longer discussions about various facts about their respective lives that might be useful for the other to know about, and finally, even longer than that, several make-out sessions to prove that they did, in fact, still want to go forward with this relationship.

Very important part of the truth-telling process, that.

(Really, the only downside of this is that Barry has now officially joined the group of people who can’t stand Charlie; Len has no idea what’s wrong with the way he’s explaining the guy that this keeps happening – Charlie’s harmless! Really! – but it does.)

But it’s not just their relationship that’s going well.

For what may be the first time in Len’s life, everything seems to be going well.

After all, he’s somehow managed to keep his current job, which he actually really likes, and, with Kara's much-faster-than-normal help, he's actually finished the gigantic mound of paperwork that resulted from him getting both the blame and the credit for the quelling of the Election Day Riots, as they're now being called by the local media.

The national media keeps trying to call them the Primary Day Riots. Shows what they know.

To be perfectly honest, though, Len is just relieved that he narrowly missed getting elected mayor by write-in, and that only because people didn’t have time to agree on what position they wanted him to be serving in, which – no.

Just…no.

They can’t make him take a political job.

...he thinks, anyway. Good thing he didn't win.

At any rate, Len is pretty sure that the roomful of paperwork was meant to be an informal punishment from a governor, who was also awarding him a medal of some sort in recognition of his role in helping save the city. Joke's on her; she wasn’t aware that he had superheroic help.

Though it would've been nice to have Barry's help as well...

"Cisco says they're probably coming back, you know," Barry says, observing Len's expression and correctly figuring out where his thoughts are going. "My powers, I mean. Mardon's did, remember?"

"Nah," Len says. "The fact that we're having 20 degree weather in July's totally escaped me."

"Hey, the team at Mercury Labs swears they've almost got his powers back under his control..."

"Poor guy," Len says, not without real sympathy. He likes Mardon; he liked him from the beginning, and the free grief therapy the guy is getting while sitting around Mercury Labs is only helping improve his personality. Clyde was always the more obnoxious of the two, anyway. "Weather control powers are one thing, a pretty awesome thing, but weather control powers that respond to your mood is just a curse. Not to mention the whole celibacy aspect..."

"Celibacy?" Barry asks, blinking; he’d clearly not thought about that. "Because he's being watched at all times by scientists and it’d be awkward?"

"Doubt that'd stop him," Len says dryly. According to Ramon, who watched over the prisoners in the Accelerator, it never did before. Not that Len has any sympathy – every time Ramon tries to complain, Len just reminds him that he's whining about that time he illegally imprisoned people and Ramon shuts right up. "No, I was thinking more about how the whole of Central City'd notice if his ‘cold wintery weather’ gloom gets abruptly interrupted by a sudden bout of nice weather, if you know what I mean..."

"Oooh, ouch. I hadn't thought of that. Poor guy. I hope Cisco and the others find him a fix soon."

"I'm sure they will," Len says. Rathaway and Ramon working together is exactly as terrifying as one would expect, and when you added Christine McGee to the picture...well. Len has no doubt that Mardon's powers will be under control soon.

Not least because Rathaway apparently has a vested personal interest in making sure that Mardon stops being involuntarily celibate as quickly as possible.

(Len really, really hopes Ramon’s offhand comment about there being a 10% possibility that everyone else involved in the Iron Heights battle would eventually develop powers over time turns out wrong. Ten to one are not odds he likes when it potentially comes to turning into an icicle or something irritatingly thematic like that.)

"Besides," Barry continues, "I don’t mind waiting for my powers to come back. It's not like I don't appreciate taking a few weeks off -"

"It's been nearly two months."

"- a few months off of the superhero stuff. It's like having summer vacation again. Especially since I can rest assured that Kara is keeping an eye on the city -"

"You mean Iris West is keeping an eye on the city," Len interrupts, rolling his eyes. "And Danvers is helping her enforce what she sees with her all-seeing eyes."

"And Mick," Barry adds mischievously. "Don't forget Mick."

Len rolls his eyes again, this time less at Barry than at his partner's antics.

Sure, it came as no surprise that Mick felt himself and his beloved heat gun were more suited for supporting Team (Now Licensed and Properly Supervised) Vigilante than the cops.

The surprise, such as it was, came from what he spent the rest of his time doing.

Out of all the possible outcomes Len might have foreseen with Mick waking up and accepting Len's job as police captain, Mick getting a job with the CCPN as Iris West's bodyguard-slash-photographer wasn't anywhere near the list.

Still, Mick seems happy - he likes having an opportunity to bust heads together, he likes Iris, and he apparently has a natural talent for photography, especially photography in high-stress situations. Like, say, investigating one of the few remaining Family outposts while getting shot at by the few remaining Family thugs.

(Mick is well aware that if he gets himself killed, Len will murder him. Iris has also been informed as much. Once that’d been established, though, Len gave them both his blessing to go as crazy as they liked, which both of them appreciated.)

By all accounts, Mick’s really enjoying his new work.

He's even taken up writing again!

Admittedly, he's still writing those weirdly addictive but somewhat embarrassing pulp romance novels, not journalism, but damnit, Len thought Mick was dead or dying: his joy at being forced to beta-read those novels again is inexpressible.

Especially since he's no longer Mick's only go-to proxy character. Len was getting tired of recognizing himself in both the snarky beloved sidekick and the villainous evildoer that shared a murky past with the hero, and he was even more tired of the not-so-subtle hints that said sidekick should consider getting laid because it would make him less tetchy.

Now – to convince Mick to start publishing…

Maybe under a pseudonym?

"He's doing really well," Barry says, sounding genuinely pleased on Mick's behalf, and not just for Len's sake, either. Len's really glad they like each other. "Iris says she's having to keep him from getting poached by other reporters. Well, the few that remain."

Len snorts at the reminder. When the Families put out the call on Election Day, it wasn't just cops that answered; a disturbing number of journalists were found to be involved. Some of them turned back once the amnesty was offered, but not all of them, and even the ones that did turn back are stuck on the non-political beat until they prove that their journalistic integrity can be trusted again.

In its own way, good journalism's ethical rules, however internal, are as strict as the one that govern the police...

Len scowls.

"Uh-oh," Barry laughs. "It’s the patented Leonard Snart vendetta face."

"I don't got a vendetta face," Len sniffs. "It's just..."

He trails off.

Yeah, he has no idea what he’s going to end that with.

It kind of is his vendetta face.

"Your 'no, actually, it wasn't just all about Mick-related trauma, I'm actually really just that personally offended by corruption' face?" Barry offers, his eyes crinkling with barely suppressed laughter.

"...possibly,” Len allows.

"You're already helping re-build the CCPD from the ground up, remember," Barry says, putting his head on Len's shoulder. He’s really good about signaling what he’s about to do in advance, which helps Len relax. Len’s never been great about physical contact, especially over-long contact, but he’s finding more and more that he’s able to get over that hurdle when it’s with Barry, who deeply enjoys occasional cuddling.

Len’s learned to cuddle. Will wonders never cease.

"Like, even putting aside your little purge –”

“It ain’t a purge. It’s an in-depth investigation and interrogation of every current member of the CCPD and the prosecutor’s office to find out if they have any vulnerabilities to blackmail or bribery and/or have experienced either of those recently. Totally different. We only purge ‘em if they’re still being blackmailed or bribed.”

“Yeah, yeah, but putting that aside, you’ve got the CCPD putting in place all those new mandatory ethics trainings, the lessons on improving community engagement, recruiting all those new people - some of them out of the slums, people who might not have had a chance before - even the courts are being cleaned up now that the equivalent of your position has been created to do that -"

"And yet we still have people thinking it's okay to turn a blind eye when it suits their personal prejudices," Len growls.

"This is about Wells," Barry concludes wisely.

"It's about Wells," Len agrees. He’s still pissed about that. He’s always going to be pissed about that. "Eobard Thawne or whatever. Don't get me wrong, we knew he was a serial killer -"

"Multiple murderer, Len, serial killer is a term of art and I know that you know that -"

"Whatever, he killed lots of people, sometimes in a serial aka sequential fashion -"

"I'll accept that.”

"- and I ain’t denying that it would've been hard to do it if we had to risk his powers coming back sometime, too, yeah, but damnit, the bastard still deserved a proper trial! Not to just get murdered in a cell somewhere!"

"Well," Barry says slowly. "And I know I'm biased here, being the son of one of his victims, but personally speaking I'm not all that upset that Wells got ‘accidentally’ locked into Iron Heights with a bunch of pissed-off Family members looking for revenge for the whole Election Day mess."

It was a nasty, ignominious death, stuck in a cell and forgotten about by everyone but the ones he thought he could play like pawns. A death without drama, without grandeur - without Barry, the subject of Wells’ long-running obsession.

Without the powers that made him something to be feared.

Without the Speed Force .

Len can see why Barry's main feeling on the subject is an overwhelming sense of catharsis. Not to mention that this way, Barry won’t have to go to court to testify against a man he once considered a mentor and even a father figure, and who betrayed him so thoroughly.

Still...

"I know," Len says, turning his head and kissing Barry's hair lightly. "And that's why you're going to go through the entire ethics course I've been designing with the criminal justice defenders' guild."

Barry pretends to groan, but Len knows he doesn't really mind. Barry's a good person at heart, but he's got some serious ethics relearning to do.

They all do.

Central City's getting cleaned up at last.

"It's for the best, really," Barry says with a sigh. "I went way closer to the Ralph Dibny Line of No Return than I'm really comfortable with."

Len smirks. Now that's one outcome he's not even slightly upset about.

It turned out Dibny did possess enough fellow-feeling to go assist the cops in keeping the riots down and restoring the peace, and he'd done a pretty decent job helping out. Decent enough, in fact, that Len had agreed for it to be counted in his favor during his sentencing.

"Sentencing?!" Dibny exclaimed when Len had told him as much. "What sentencing?! There was an amnesty!"

"Which applies to everything the Families manipulated or forced people into doing," Len agrees. "Funnily enough, though, according to what you told us earlier, no one was actually forcing you to blackmail the mayor..."

"That's not fair!"

"You'll have a chance to plead your case, same as everyone else," Len assured him. "If you can find a way to argue that the Family made you do it, it'd be covered by the amnesty."

"Oh. Okay. That's not so bad -"

"Of course," Len interrupted, putting on his best toothy smile, "that only applies to stuff within range of Election Day, and not, let's say, to earlier crimes. Like, say, revealing confidential intel about undercover officers..."

"Aw shit."

"You're probably not that bad a guy, Dibny," Len said thoughtfully, reveling a little in Dibny's disgusted expression. "I've seen your record. You started out - well, about as much of a misogynistic asshole as you are now, but at least you were straight. And then you weren't even that. Do the time you always should've done for what you did in the first place, framing that guy and selling me out. Take some ethics courses while you're inside, and maybe when you get out there'll be something worth keeping around."

Yes, most of that little speech had been at one Barry Allen's instigation, but Len wouldn't have said it if he didn't think there was the slightest glimmer of truth there.

"Thanks," Dibny grumbled, not particularly appeased. "Any chance we can do that without the prison time?"

"Lemme think about it - no, wait, already thought about it. Answer’s no. Go to jail, don't pass Go, don't collect two hundred dollars, and next time, don’t out undercover officers to mobsters. Officers, if you would..?"

At least there were enough cops going in at the same time that Dibny wouldn't run the risk of being shivved in his sleep by angry criminals.

Though if he didn't make an effort at improving that charming personality of his...

Yeah, that'd been fun.

Nearly as much fun as having Singh casually swinging by Len’s office to inform him, purely as a professional courtesy, that they'd finished processing one Lewis Snart. Moreover, in the process, they’d happened to find a whole bunch of open warrants, got a judge to put him on an accelerated trial schedule, and, before Len even remembered his dad was still in town, Lewis’d been sentenced and was going away for a very, very long time.

Len still can't really believe it.

(He's getting weekly text messages from the prison warden that re-confirm he's still there. Sometimes time-stamped photographic evidence is included. It hasn't stopped making him happy yet.)

"You know it's not actually called the Ralph Dibny Line of No Return, right?" Len asks, hiding his amusement.

"I'm going to call it what I like and you can't stop me," Barry declares, although the way he's now very comfortably snuggled in against Len's shoulder rather undercuts the forcefulness of it.

Len snorts. "Bearing a grudge, Barry? How un-heroic."

"I'd say something snarky in response, but I'm still awed by your hypocrisy there, Mr. 'All Cops Are Corrupt' Black Pot."

"Whatever you say, my little kettle," Len faux-coos, making Barry wrinkle his nose.

"I don't usually bear grudges -"

"Says the guy still guilt-tripping Joe West?"

"Hey, he's doing a lot better now," Barry protests. "He's talking with Francine through a mediator and going to family counseling with Iris and he's getting to know Wally - he's so proud -"

"I meant about your dad," Len says dryly. "That whole bit where West not believing you led to a good man rotting in jail for fifteen years while a mass-murderer ran around killing more people?"

"In fairness, it was a pretty unbelievable story," Barry says, managing to maintain a straight face for exactly three seconds before he cracks and grins broadly the way he does any time his dad - or his brand new acquittal - gets mentioned. "Yeah, okay, maybe a bit of teasing. For a bit longer."

Len looks at Barry skeptically.

"A bit longer...like maybe the rest of time," Barry allows, still grinning. "Okay, you're right, I'm never letting him live it down, but only because I was totally right, so there."

That's Len's Barry, in all his petty human glory.

Len still can't believe how much he loves him sometimes. It’s like getting punched in the gut every time he looks at him, a feeling that knocks the breath out of him, and yet he keeps looking over and over and over.

And best of all, Barry feels the same, so they’re both going to have many opportunities to keep looking as much as they like going forward.

"How is your dad doing?" Len asks. "That payment for his wrongful incarceration finish coming through yet?"

"Not all of it – some of it’s still tied up given how many of those payments are coming out all at once, since they don’t actually want to bankrupt the whole city – but he's got most of it by now. He's doing really great – he finally closed on that cabin in the woods not far outside Central he was looking at for so long, the one he swears used to belong to our family even though I don’t remember anything like that. He’s already in talks with lots of people to start putting his plan for the place into effect, too…he's turning the whole place into a halfway house for people who were in Iron Heights, did you know that? Anyone still suffering from the aftereffects."

"Yeah, I know," Len says, amused. Doc Allen - he's always going to be Doc Allen, no matter how long it's been since he was a practicing surgeon - came to Len to ask his thoughts on the subject before he started investing real time and money into the plan.

Luckily for the Doc, Mick was also there with Len when he asked, because otherwise Doc Allen might've mistaken Len's overwhelming horror at the thought of rustic rural living as disapproval of his idea, which would’ve been a mistake since Len actually thinks it’s a great idea. Mick, still a farm boy under all those criminal layers, was far more outwardly enthusiastic about the possibility of ex-cons - many of whom trusted Doc Allen after his many years of even-handed and generous provision of medical services - working out their issues and figuring out where they want to go next far away from the harsh public eye.

Len even passed on his personal recommendations for people to go there through the cardboard brigade, though he politely asked that Magpie not pass along his facial expressions at the thought of non-city life while she did so.

Based on what he's heard since, he's pretty sure she declined to grant that request, but apparently a Leonard Snart recommendation that went, "Well...if you want to leave the city...don't know why anyone in their right mind would, but if you wanted to...and you actually liked, y'know, trees and dirt and shit like that...in that case, Doc Allen’s probably the best option you’ve got." was significantly more believable than any more cleaned up version.

(Iris and Danvers and probably Mick all helped Doc Allen with his advertising posters, which is why that particular quote is now plastered verbatim on walls and lampposts all over the slums. Len has vowed to obtain vengeance at some upcoming date.)

"It's nice, you know?" Barry says, interrupting Len's drifting thoughts. "At first I was disappointed that he wasn't planning on staying closer, you know. I'd sort of imagined he'd be around all the time, be my dad again, except then someone convinced him to stick around for a week - I don't know who, other than it wasn't you -"

Len shrugs. Barry's not wrong; Len still barely understands why someone would be disappointed at having fewer father figures in their life.

Personally, Len suspects Iris. What else are best friends for?

"- and, you know, at first it was amazing but then I started to go back to work and it was weird. Like, I love him, don't get me wrong, he’s my dad! We had a few days of just catching up and it being great, but after that, well, I am just way too old to be parented 24/7 – the last time we lived in the same house, I was eleven, and oh boy can you tell – and on his side, he didn't have anything else to do during the day and...yeah. I don't know. Weird. Now we call or skype for a few minutes every night and I go visit him every other weekend and that's so much better."

"Everyone wants to see their dad at their own intervals," Len allows. Reluctantly.

Barry snorts. "Yeah, and yours can be measured in radioactive half-lives of several hundred thousand years."

Again - not wrong.

It’s kind of nice to have someone other than Mick or Danvers who can read Len that well.

It being someone he wants to kiss is really just a pleasant bonus.

"Still, it's nice," Barry says, returning to the subject. "Having all this family around is just the best. There’s Dad up at the cabin; Joe at work - don't make that face, he's gotten much better, especially now that he's dating that DA; Cisco and Caitlin working as scientific liaisons to the CCPD, technically as part of the CSI department – they hit it off fantastically well with Terri, Gila and Andre, you know, so that was awesome; Iris and Eddie moving in together and looking at houses and maybe setting a wedding date; Mick living with Danvers and making all that amazing food -"

That last one is a pretty recent development.

Mick started off living in Len's place, but there'd been a reason they usually stayed in warehouses when they’d been criminals and it wasn't because being innately compatible partners made them innately compatible roommates. They hated being parted, yes, but when living together they tended to fall back on habits developed while being cellmates in prison and that wasn't really great for anyone.

Len hadn’t wanted to trade in his comfortable apartment for a warehouse again. But on the other hand, Len hadn't wanted Mick to move out, either. He couldn't bear to lose Mick again, and it felt like he would if he let Mick out of his sight for too long.

Also not a great situation.

There was a lot of friction, to say the least.

And then Danvers found out that Mick could cook and liked to do so in very large quantities, and immediately (spontaneously) blurted out an offer to be her roommate.

Her current apartment was too small and too distant for that to work out, but with the addition of Mick's nest egg (both the legal one Len's been stockpiling for him and the slightly more illegal results of pawning his stash, which Len carefully opined on only in hypothetical terms) they were able to afford a nice two-bedroom apartment in the same building as Len - albeit on a much higher floor.

(Danvers needs the roof access, for obvious reasons.)

And now, Mick is only ever an elevator ride away.

Of course, now so is Danvers - the fact that she’d previously kept her distance is apparently the only reason he didn't figure out her powers before, because she's a great believer in the idea of "dropping in" by floating down to knock on his window anytime she had an idea or a question or Mick needs some extra eggs - but Len doesn’t really mind that.

He likes Danvers. Not just as an employee, but as a friend.

He’s still never calling her Kara, though. At this point, it’s not because he doesn’t want to get emotionally close to her – that ship’s already sailed – but rather because he’s just gotten so damn used to using ‘Danvers’ and because she thinks it’s hilariously detective noir of him.

He thinks it might be an in-joke. He’s never had in-jokes with anyone but Mick and Lisa before.

So yeah, he’s cool – pun intended – with Danvers living upstairs.

Now to make things absolutely perfect, all he needs to do is to get over himself enough to convince (or even, you know, ask) for Barry to move in...

Yeah. Len’s gotta agree with Barry: having family around is the best.

Actually, now that he thinks about it -

"Speaking of which," Len starts, "there's something -"

The doorbell rings.

"Ooh, hold that thought," Barry says, pulling away and leaving Len significantly colder. Cold puns and fondness for a nice chill aside, Len disapproves. "That must be our Thai food."

"Probably is. Someone should get it." Len gives Barry a pointed look when he doesn’t move. "Maybe someone like you, since I got up to get the blanket."

"But I'm barefoot," Barry whines. The way he’s already starting to unwind himself from the couch suggests that he’s already accepted his fate, though.

"So run," Len says mercilessly.

Barry sticks his tongue out at Len, laughs at Len's resulting expression, leans over to give him a kiss -

The doorbell rings again, somewhat more insistently this time.

Barry breaks the kiss, groaning. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he calls, climbing out of their little blanket nest on the couch while trying to expose as little of Len as possible. Sometimes (definitely not always) considerate, his Barry. "Hold your horses - yowch, this floor is freezing!"

"Run, Barry, run," Len teases.

Barry rolls his eyes at him and does.

In a flash of light and a crackle of lightning.

Well, that was unexpected.

Len's eyebrows shoot straight up, but it's not a bad surprise by any means.

"Something you forgot to tell me?" he calls out, putting on his best lazy drawl to hide his sheer glee. Barry’s powers are finally coming back!

"No," a very unexpected, very familiar, very welcome female voice drawls right back. "Something you forgot to tell me, I think."

"Lisa!" Len exclaims, beaming at her. His beloved baby sister - not so baby, of course, a fully grown woman, but his nonetheless. "I didn't think you were arriving till tomorrow."

"I got bumped onto an earlier flight," she says, coming over - holding a bag of delicious smelling Thai takeout that she must've lifted off the delivery guy - and giving him a brief kiss on the cheek.

Positively effusive, for Lisa; neither she nor Len were all that great at physical contact (Barry apparently excluded, on Len's part). She must've really missed him.

It’s been far, far too long since he’s seen her in person.

She looks as gorgeous as ever – formerly blonde hair gone brown, black leather jacket with gold trim matching black leather pants, make-up as ridiculously sharp as always…

His little baby man-killer.

Len can’t wait to inflict her on everyone he knows now.

"Sorry it took so long for me to finish things up back in Gotham," she adds insincerely.

Len snorts. "You were just waiting to hear that I got my stitches taken out for good this time."

"No lie," Lisa agrees comfortably. She’s utterly shameless when she wants to be, but she wouldn’t be his Lisa if she wasn’t. "Speaking of lies and omissions, though, something you failed to mention about the otherwise famous Barry Allen...?"

"I didn't know myself that his powers came back until just now," Len protests. "And there was no point raising your hopes by telling you about 'em if they never did come back..."

"I didn't know they were coming back either," Barry says dryly. "Or, you know, that your sister was coming to visit."

"I was planning on telling you. Just now, actually!"

"Hopeless, ain't he?" Lisa asks Barry with a smirk, which he returns with a smile. "So, all that about you being a superhero's true, huh? I thought Len'd gotten metaphorical in his old age -"

"Never. Take that back."

"Not in a million years, jerkface."

"Trainwreck."

"Cop."

"Ouch. Right where it hurts."

Barry laughs, his shoulders relaxing. Sibling bickering he knows how to deal with.

"Technically I'm a cop, too, you know," he says mildly. "I work as the on-site CSI for the CCPD, and, now that my powers are coming back, I can finally use that superhero license Len got me."

"He's classified as somewhere between a freelance employee and a tank," Len says proudly. That took some serious rule-smithing to get squeezed through, but the CCPD now has an officially licensed superhero division. Len pushed successfully to get it under Singh’s jurisdiction. Coincidentally, Singh’s precinct ended up being where Len decided the permanent offices of the internal affairs division would go, too. Purely coincidence, really… "Just with extra ethics courses."

Barry hadn't appreciated that very much, and neither had Danvers, but Len is adamant about it. If someone’s going to be acting as a standalone vigilante, even with city approval, then they are damn well going to know the laws of Central City inside and out, and know how to apply them in an ethical fashion to boot.

"Enough about tanks," Lisa says, waving a hand. "Allen, why don't you and I go to the kitchen to get some plates and cutlery for the take-out, and while we're there we can talk a bit more about shovels?"

"Uh. Sure? Len, should I be scared?"

"Terrified," Len cheerfully informs him.

"That's not promising," Barry says, but he follows Lisa towards the kitchen anyway. "It's not fair, you know. By the time we started dating - for real dating, I mean, after the whole blow-up - he was already friends with my best friend, a hero to my other friends, helped rescue my dad from prison and already threw my foster dad in jail once; there wasn't anyone left to give Len a proper shovel talk on my behalf-"

Len starts laughing even as Barry's voice trails off when he walks into the kitchen.

Yes.

Having your family all around you is the best.

#coldflash #barry allen #leonard snart #lisa snart #my fic #an internal affair

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rainoverthemountains · 5 years

Text

More of the Twist Story

Summary: There’s a cure for LV (probably). It’s completely safe (probably). It’s a highly unpleasant experience (definitely). Twist only cares about that first statement. He probably should have paid a little more attention to the other two. But what does it matter? He’s getting what he wants, and he has the best friends and family in any universe to help along the way.

Here’s more of my story about Twist from @itsladykit ‘s Twistfell AU. It should probably have an actual title, but title writing is a writerly skill that I haven’t yet developed, so it gets the same title that it has on my computer.

chapter 1

Chapter 2

It doesn’t take long to finish the car, sign out of work, and head to the lab. Iggy hands Twist a pile of paperwork on a clipboard as soon as they arrive. “Here, just sign these and we can get started. I’ve already filled in all the subject-specific information for you, so you just need to sign where I highlighted and-”

“Now wait just a minute, sweetheart.” Twist frowns. “’M not just gonna sign a bunch of papers with no clue what I’m signin’. Gimme a sec’ ta look through ‘em first.” He turns to the first page and scowls at all the medical and legal jargon. “Not ‘xactly user-friendly, huh? You’d almost think someone was tryin’ ta hide somethin’ in here.”

“Oh don’t be silly.” Iggy waves him off. “That’s just how these are always written, just a bunch of legal requirements to make sure everything is written out precisely for the review board. Most of it is nothing you need to worry about.”

Twist snorts at that suggestion. “Think I’ll decide that fer myself, darlin’.”

“Fine, suit yourself, but I doubt you’ll get much out of it.” Sighing, she crosses the room to check on another project. This could take a while.

Twist resumes reading, frowning in concentration. The frown worsens as he re-reads the same page several times, finally stopping to rub his sockets in frustration. Iggy glances back towards where he’s standing.

“Are you really trying to read the whole thing?”

“Yep.” He already sounds defeated, though.

“Do you read every word of everything you sign?”

“Nah, but the meltin’ thing makes me think I should look a little more closely at this one.”

“Ok, I mean, that makes sense, it really does, and normally I’d say that’s a really smart thing to do, but it doesn’t seem like the best idea right now.”

“Ya seem pretty insistent on that, sweetheart. Sure there’s not somethin’ in here ya don’ want me ta see?”

“No, no, no, nothing like that, it’s just… I mean… can you actually read it? I mean not that I don’t think you can read! It just seems like it’s taking a while, and it’s got a lot of technical terms, and how long are you really wanting to wait for the treatment? I mean you could take it home and spend however long you need to read it all, but wouldn’t you rather go ahead and get started and avoid taking that risk? What if something happened before we could get started?”

“Could get someone else ta look at it. I’ve got some friends who could prob’ly figure it out.”

“And what would those friends say about you being here? What if they don’t approve? Then they’ll either talk you out of it or you’ll get in an argument, and is that really what you want?”

“Yer awfully determined ta keep this a secret. Sure this is somethin’ yer really s’posed ta be doin’?” His sockets narrow. Blackberry would throw a fit if this is half as dangerous as it seems like it might be, but Edge would be more reasonable, or Cash. Papyrus might be able to figure it out too, but he might be a little too worried about the ‘dangerous’ part. “It doesn’t seem like the kinda thing that needs ta be done in secret, unless there’s somethin’ goin’ on that yer not tellin’ me.”

“It’s not a secret! It’s just easier if no one’s around to argue about it.”

“Who’s gonna argue? Not like curin’ LV’s a controversial issue.”

“No, but the treatment is unpleasant, and still a little experimental, and family members tend to complain about that kind of thing, even when it’s in the subject’s, er, patient’s, best interest. It’s way too easy for someone to get upset about something and interfere with the protocol, which can interfere with the results. Everything runs more smoothly with no one around with any emotional investment.” Is that supposed to reassure him? It really, really doesn’t.

“So what’d’ya suggest? Signin’ off on somethin’ that could be donatin’ my body ta science, fer all I know?” Everything about the whole setup seems like a bad idea. On the other hand, it’s a cure for LV. What choice does he have? It’s not like he has ten years to wait around for another one.

“What about a compromise? I’ll tell you the highlights of each page, and you can look at the page while I’m talking so you can see I’m not making anything up, and then you sign it?”

“Pretty easy ta brush over anything ya want me ta ignore when it’s all written like that, darlin’.” His resistance is fading, though. What if it works? The lure of an impossible future is calling, and really, what else is he going to do?

“It’s the best you’re going to get,” she echoes his thoughts.

Now he’s the one who sighs. “Fine, fine, start with this overview section. Seems like there’s stuff I need ta know in there, but it’s mostly nonsense.”

“Sure, just let me pick out the key points.” She scans through the section. “Ok, here’s what you need to know.”

“A newly developed drug containing a compound specifically formulated to dissolve LV will be injected directly into your soul. The compound will gradually diffuse throughout your soul, dissolving concentrations of LV while theoretically leaving the rest of your soul untouched. Your treatment has been calibrated to specifically target LV 17 to minimize its effects on the rest of your soul, so when your LV drops below 17 the treatment will stop until I administer a new dose. Once the drug has been administered it can’t be stopped until your LV decreases, at which point you will be given the option to have the drug re-administered or discontinue treatment. Known side effects include pain, fever, weakness, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, delusions, emotional instability, and possible significant HP loss which can be corrected with magic infusions. All side effects are temporary, and LV reduction is stable over time. All you have to do is let me administer the treatment, let yourself be monitored throughout the treatment, and answer occasional questions regarding your subjective experience. Signing here indicates that you’ve been given this information and you understand it.”

“Well that sounds fun.” Twist signs in the highlighted section. “Got it so far. Why’d that take three pages ta write? Never mind, keep goin’ so we can get started.” Not like there’s any point in looking for anything she might have skipped. He’s going to agree. What else can he do?

They go through each section in the same way, a bunch of legal jargon that Twist has trouble following even in summary form, until finally they reach the end.

“Signing here means you consent to the treatment and to being part of the research study.”

Twist barely hesitates before signing. “Let’s get going, sweetheart!” His grin is a little strained, but still genuine. Getting rid of his LV will be worth whatever shit he has to go through to do it.

“Great, then let’s get started.”

***

“Take off your clothes, then lie down. Get in bed, get comfortable; you’re going to be here a while.”

“Didn’ know ya felt that way ‘bout me, sweetheart. If ya wanted ta get me in bed all ya had ta do was ask! No need ta wait for an excuse! I’m up fer anythin’.” Twist grins while complying, not looking too closely at any strange equipment scattered around the lab.

Clearly determined not to let Twist’s nonsense interrupt her work, Iggy maintains a strictly professional tone. “Good, now manifest your soul.”

“Now wait a minute, don’t ya think this’s movin’ a little fast fer a first date?” Twist jokes nervously.

“I need access to your soul to administer the treatment. Please manifest your soul so we can get started.”

“Ok, ok, no need ta be so pushy.” Twist manifests his soul inside his ribcage.

“How am I supposed to work with that? Do you want me working inside your chest?”

“Darlin’, you can work inside any part a me…”

“Stop.” She glares. “We aren’t here to flirt, we’re here to get rid of your LV. Do you want this cure or not? I can find some other experimental subject if you aren’t willing to cooperate and you can wait around until this is approved for mass production. That is, assuming you can even last that long. You wouldn’t have agreed to this if you were confident in your own self-control.”

“Ok! I get yer point. Fine, have it.” He re-manifests his soul outside of his ribcage. “Don’t usually show it ta anyone. ‘S kinda a mess.” He suddenly feels very vulnerable and exposed in a way that he hadn’t from getting undressed. He can’t even count the number of people who have seen him naked, and plenty of those are associated with good times. The same can’t be said for exposing his soul.

It’s worth it, he reminds himself. Anything that happens will be worth it. It’s not a big deal. Just like going to the doctor. This whole thing is a medical procedure. Just let her have it. Before he can, though, she reaches out and takes it. He’s heard some monsters say letting someone they love touch their soul is one of the most intimate things they’ve ever experienced. This just feels like a violation. Nothing new, he’s dealt with worse before. There’s nothing he can do about it. She has it now and he won’t back out for anything, so he just needs to stay calm, just detach from the situation.

Detaching gets a lot harder once Iggy starts poking around for a crack or weak point in the calcification to get the monitor wires into his soul. “This is some of the thickest calcification I’ve ever seen, at least on a soul that’s still functioning correctly!”

“That’d be the 17 LV for ya. Not a pretty sight.” He grins darkly, more embarrassed than amused, but it is funny to see how surprised such a self-proclaimed expert on LV can be at seeing that LV as high as his affects a monster’s soul.

“How are you even able to function? This much calcification should affect emotional range, self-regulation, reasoning capacity, everything! The whole body-soul interface should be disrupted!”

“Why d’ya think I’m here, darlin’?”

“Right, right, I know. I’m just surprised. I shouldn’t be. It’s just… The amount of effort it must take to function in any way remotely resembling normal!” She shakes her head, actually seeming somewhat impressed. “But enough of that. That’s what we’re here to fix, so let’s get on with it.”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart. An’ if ya could stop squeezin’ my soul while we’re at it, I’d ‘preciate it.”

“What? Oh, sorry. Unfortunately, I’m actually going to have to squeeze it some more for the next part. There’s no way I’m getting wires or a needle through all this so I’m going to have to break it up and remove it.”

“Shit. Well, ok, if that’s what ya gotta do.” No one said this would be easy. Worth it, though. It has to be worth it.

“Will you be able to control yourself well enough to let me do it or will you need to be restrained?”

“No! I mean, I can control m’self. I’ll be fine. No need fer any restraints. None.” He glares at her. “Wasn’t in the agreement. I don’t agree ta that.” Well, it probably wasn’t in the agreement. Not like he has any way of knowing for sure, but surely she would have mentioned that part.

He searches for something to brace himself against and finds low metal bars along both sides of the bed. They look strong enough to at least take some effort to break. Why’re there bars on a hospital bed maybe he should be concerned. Laying back against the thin pillow, he grips the bars tightly and holds back his protest as Iggy carries his soul over to a lab bench. His eyes remain locked on his soul as she holds it in one hand to open a drawer with the other. If she drops it… If she drops it, he’ll be fine. There won’t be any intent behind it, and he can handle a little soul damage. It’ll be worth it. No doubt about it. A cure for LV is worth anything anyone can do to him. Anything. Even…

He cringes as she sits his soul down on the countertop to free up both hands for digging through the drawers. That… you don’t do that with souls! The cold seeping in from the counter makes him shiver. In that moment he’s almost grateful for the protection of the calcification. The feeling of the countertop against his bare soul would be disgusting. Worth it, though. Still worth it. Whatever she needs to do is worth it and how exactly is leaving his soul laying around on a countertop necessary to cure his LV?

“Hey, uh, if ya don’ need that right now I can hold onto it fer a while. I’d rather ya not…” He struggles to keep his voice steady. She’s helping him. He never expected her to be considerate about it.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll need it in a minute. Just as soon as I find that clamp. I could’ve sworn it was in the center drawer.” His soul scrapes against the bench top as she pushes it aside to make room for the contents of the drawer she’s emptying. That… is not a good feeling. His grip on the bars tightens. Where does she get off treating his soul like some fucking paperweight? He doesn’t have to put up with this. Who does she think she’s fucking with here? He could just…

No. Absolutely not. She’s not an enemy and she’s not attacking him. It doesn’t matter what she does to his soul. He can take a little discomfort. Monsters don’t dust through carelessness. There is no intent. There can’t possibly be any intent. She’s trying to help him. He agreed to this. It’s worth it.

This time she picks up his soul to set it behind the growing pile on the counter to move on to the next drawer. Out of sight, the unfamiliar sensations seem even more threatening to his increasingly agitated mind. He grits his teeth until they creak as his focus narrows onto the hands that keep touching him, keep pushing him around like they’re in charge, like he’s theirs to do whatever the fuck they want with, like he’s helpless like he’s already been defeated he’ll show her who’s helpless he’ll-

No. No. There are no enemies here. Iggy isn’t the enemy. She’s helping him. She’s curing him. She’s like a doctor. He isn’t so far gone that he’ll attack his doctor. He knows why he’s here. It’s his choice. It’s worth it. Still, his eyelight remains locked on his captor doctor.

“Ah hah! Found it!” Her voice is grating as she pulls something metallic from one of the drawers. “This will help me break through the calcification without doing much damage to the interior. It’s much better to do it this way than manually because it’s easier to control the amount of force applied, and the treatment itself does enough damage to the soul without starting out with any unnecessary bruising or deep lacerations.” She sets something on the counter that looks like a clamp with hundreds of little curved teeth. His soul is not going anywhere near that thing.

“Give. It. Back.” His voice grates harshly.

***

“Just a minute. I just need to break up the calcification so I can peel if off, then I can put in the wires and give you the injection, and then I’ll put it right back where I found it, promise.” She turns back to give him a reassuring smile, only to freeze at the sharpened bones inches from her chest.

“Give. It. Back. Now.” He’s out of the bed, tensed for an attack, eyelight shrunken to a pinprick and broken socket leaking magic. It looks like the situation is a little more critical than she’d thought. Not totally out of control; she’s been working with monsters who’ve lost themselves for years, but most of them don’t start off calmly chatting while unrestrained in the same room as her. Why didn’t she involve Undyne in this one? She should know better. She feels panic welling up, but forces it back down.

Too late to get Undyne now; she’ll have to save herself. Fighting a monster with his stats does not have a high probability of success. Is he still capable of reasoning? He was a few minutes ago, but how long ago did it start going downhill? She has to admit she wasn’t really paying attention. He hasn’t actually attacked yet, so it’s worth a try.

“You know attacking me won’t get you want you want. Do you remember why you’re here?” He doesn’t respond, but doesn’t attack either, so she continues. “You’re here so I can cure your LV. So you don’t have to deal with problems like this anymore. Remember? I’m trying to help you.”

“Don’ see much help happenin’ ‘ere. Mostly see some bitch thinkin’ she c’n play aroun’ with my soul.” The bones inch closer. Iggy flinches back and raises Twist’s soul as protection against an attack, hoping he’s still close enough to in control to care about self-preservation. He glares, but the bones stop moving forward, suggesting that he is.

“If you attack me, you’re never going to get the LV cure. Or I’ll lock you up like the other monsters who lost themselves and you can go through the treatment in a cell.”

“Jus’ try it.” His eyelight flares but he still doesn’t move.

“I don’t have to try anything. I’m holding your soul. I can lock you up. I’m also the only one with the treatment. I can refuse to give it to you. If you kill me, the treatment will die with me and you’ll still never have it.” Twist snarls, but the bone attack doesn’t move any closer, so she continues.

“You have three choices. Try to kill me, and get locked up with or without the treatment. Back out of the study, and get no treatment. Or put those bones away and cooperate, and never be affected by LV again. Is that worth the effort to get control of yourself?”

“Worth-?” Twist gives a full body shudder and the bones back off a few inches. “Worth it? Shit,” he gasps. He puts his face in his hands. “I…” Iggy lets herself relax slightly, and he shoots to attention at the sound of her shifting. “Don’t. Move.” he bites out. Iggy stills instantly. “Unless ya still wanna fight.” A manic grin splits his face.

“I never wanted to fight in the first place. I’m trying to help you. You were trying to get yourself under control for the LV treatment, remember?” If she can just get him to release the bone attacks she can get out of there.

“Right,” he sighs, hands returning to his face. “Right. ‘m tryn’a calm down.” Claws digging into his skull, he focuses on breathing, but it only reminds him that his soul isn’t in the right place to feed the increased oxygen into his magic.

“Not very good at calmin’ down,” he admits.

“I can see that. Maybe try letting these bones go?” Iggy suggests nervously.

“Huh? Oh, those. Sure. Don’ try anythin’.” He abruptly glares at her while releasing the bones.

“What would I try? I’m not attacking you. I never was.” Maybe it would be best not to argue with him, but it seems like an important point to keep making.

“Well don’t.” His hands return to his face, rubbing what may have meant to be soothing circles on the sides of his skull but seem more likely to cut his face open.

“Would it help if I gave your soul back?” she asks tentatively.

“What? Give me that!” he demands, already reaching to put it back in his chest.

Having his soul in place does seem to calm him. Iggy takes the chance to start backing out of the room, but Twist notices.

“Wait!” She freezes at his shout. “Wait. Don’t ya need this?” He re-manifests his soul and holds it out to her.

She shakes her head. “Um… you keep it for now.”

“But it’s not ready for the treatment. Don’ ya need ta get it ready?” His hostility has been almost entirely replaced with confusion and a hint of desperation.

“I think we should wait a little while. Don’t you want to calm down first?” she suggests, reluctant to do anything that might produce that reaction again.

“No!” he gasps, horrified. “Ya can’t… please don’ make me wait! I need it! Can’t ya see I need it?”

“And you’ll get it!” she reassures. “Just not right now. I really think we should wait for a little while, give you a chance to calm down and me a chance to come up with a better plan.”

“No, please, I need it. I can’ believe how fast tha’ came on. I wasn’ even mad, jus’ kinda freakin’ out, an’ then ’m tryna kill ya? What if I was home with my bro? I can… I can avoid fights, but I can’t avoid every single thing that might bother me. Please. I don’ care what it takes. Even… even lock me up if ya haveta.” He shudders. “I won’ blame ya. Jus’… do what ya need ta do. I won’ fight it. I need this. Ya know I need this.” Iggy certainly hadn’t expected to ever hear him beg. She can feel a small amount of compassion welling up for him. Only a little, he did just try to kill her, after all, but isn’t this the whole point of her project?

“Ok, ok, we’ll do it now. You won’t even be dangerous once the drug starts to work. We just need to get through the administration phase. Now about locking you up, would that even help? Locking you in a cell would be too much separation between you and your soul. I don’t want to risk any unnecessary damage on a mostly intact soul, and I’m really not set up to work in that part of the lab right now. Our other option is chaining you to the bed,” Twist’s fists clench but he otherwise doesn’t react, “but you refused that earlier and it wouldn’t do anything to prevent bone attacks.”

“Might even make ‘em worse,” Twist agrees. “Don’ really react well ta bein’ tied down.”

“Well, then, that just leaves us with you controlling yourself until I can get the injection in. Can you do that? It didn’t work so well before.”

“Yeah. I can do it. Jus’ don’ spend so much time messin’ around this time. That’s when I started ta lose it. I c’n hold on fer a little while.”

“I wasn’t messing around! I was looking for equipment that I didn’t know I’d need. Would you rather I’d tried to break it open by hand? You wouldn’t be in good shape by now.”

“Jus’ sayin’ ya could stand ta be a little more organized.”

“You’re awfully critical for someone who needs my help. I didn’t realize your soul would be such a mess or I’d have already had it prepared. “

“Really? Thought ya’d been workin’ with high-LV monsters fer years. Ya really didn’t realize my soul’d be messed up?” he scoffs.

“Not that badly. Every other soul I’ve seen in that condition belonged to a monster who’d already lost their mind, and I didn’t need to be so careful about avoiding damage.”

“‘Cause you were jus’ plannin’ ta melt them anyway, right?”

“I didn’t plan to melt anyone. It was an unfortunate side effect of the early forms of the treatment which I resolved as soon as I could. If you have such a problem with it, you can just go home and-”

“No!” Twist interrupts, panicked. “Sorry, no, sorry, didn’t mean ta argue with ya. LV must still be actin’ up. Makes me wanna pick fights over stupid shit. I want the treatment. Don’ wanna go home. Please, I’ll shut my mouth an’ you can do what ya want.”

“That’ll be the day. But fine.” She sighs. “You can have the treatment if you can keep yourself under control long enough for me to give it to you. Don’t attack me, and don’t pick fights. And tell me if you feel like you’re losing control. We can find another way to do this if we have to and I’m not going to stop treating you just because you give me a heads up that you’re starting to feel like killing me.”

“Could try not tossin’ my soul around like a paperweight,” he mutters.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’, nothin’, jus’ get on with it.”

“Well hand it over, then.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. Never thought ya’d ask.” He gets an eye-roll in response.

“I still need to get the calcification off. Get back in the bed and brace yourself; it’s not going to be any more fun than it would have been last time we tried this.”

chapter 3

#twistfell papyrus #Twistfell Alphys #more skeletons but they aren't here yet #hurt/comfort #LV problems #LV cure #medical treatment #careless treatment of research participants causing unintentional harm #Those ethical rules and guidelines exist for a reason Iggy #I still don't know what to tag #soul damage #altered states of mind #remembered trauma #brief mention of suicidal thoughts #it's not my fault; Lady Kit got her boy into this situation and he needs rescuing #well actually I got him into this specific situation but I didn't create his problems #this is a terrible way to rescue someone #unfortunately he's very whumpable #and also very badass #but also very wonderful and deserves all good things #honestly most of this story is Twist being surprisingly ok with a shitty situation and his friends and family taking care of him #my version of fluff #except we haven't quite gotten to the fluff part yet

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pbpress · 4 years

Text

Blood Candy: Chapter 2

By Ruqayyah Pickel

This is the second chapter of a longer piece of writing. Chapters will be posted here as they are finished. Stay tuned for the continuation of the story.

I walked down the ancient-looking stairwell to the basement. What appeared to be dark, dried red paint smeared the walls, as if someone had made some semblance of an attempt to renovate the old stairwell but somehow fainted or otherwise was forced to cut their work short. Then again, with the odd scent that filled the air, I would faint, too.

Finally, I got downstairs to the much cleaner looking, obviously renovated bottom floors. I walked down the hallway, observing the white painted walls lined with all kinds of fliers encouraging habits for better health. Some blotches of red paint stained some parts of the walls and floor, I noticed. Finally, I arrived at room 0134, where I was supposed to meet Dr. Kermit. I sat down, waiting, wondering why a doctor didn’t guide me there themselves.

The room was small and rather messy. Files were stuffed in overflowing drawers and shelves, pretty easy for the taking. The floor was lined with long scuff marks leading to the door, and there were very little pieces of doctors’ equipment in sight, save for a blood pressure monitor, a vital signs monitor (what?), and a syringe kit.

Must’ve forgot to move that vital signs monitor someplace, I thought.

“Sorry I’m late,” a male voice suddenly spoke. I jumped slightly as I looked up, startled from the abrupt entrance.

A young man who appeared to be only a few years older than me was suddenly in the doorway. He had black hair that covered one of his maroon-colored eyes. Aside from the distinctly maroon eyes, not many other features stood out to me. He wore the standard white coat and a black shirt and jeans.

“Oh! Hey,” I said. “You must be Jasper Kermit.”

“The one and only.” The young doctor smiled. “And no, before you ask, I cannot do a Kermit impression.”

“I’m guessing a lot of people ask you that?”

An exasperated look crossed Jasper’s face as he sighed.

“It’s a family curse,” he said. “Literally can’t go a day without someone making a Kermit joke. That’s why I say my last name is Kody. Was gonna do that here, too, but my little troll of a brother ratted me out.”

I chuckled.

“That’s rough, buddy,” I said.

“Yep,” Jasper sighed. “So, what grade you in…Dakota, was it? You don’t look that much younger than me.”

“Yep,” I said. “Nearly wrapping up junior year,” I said.

“Sweet. That was my toughest year…how’s it going?”

“Got an essay due in 2 days, but my parents practically begged me to get my blood drawn first. They want to know if I’m still allergic to eggs so my aunt Natalie won’t have to waste her time preparing her famous end-of-junior-year cake.”

“You’re telling me junior year is so rough that you guys need a full blown party to commemorate the end to this hellish year?” Jasper laughed. “Dang. If only I were that lucky.”

“Sorta. Normally it’s at the end of every year, but they stopped that tradition when they realized I was mildly allergic to eggs.”

“Wish my parents threw me a party with cake when I graduated from medical school,” he said. “But nope! They were so eager to kick me out of the house. What school do you go to?”

“North Clueham High.”

Jasper paused, and nodded.

“I see.” He seemed shocked by my answer, but I figured it was nothing.

I smiled.

“Glad I got a doctor that actually treats me like a human being instead of a child or a freakin’ lab rat,” I said.

“‘Bout time, huh?” Jasper said, grabbing an empty syringe from the cabinet. “I try not to patronize too much. Believe me, I know that feeling all too well. Besides,” he continued, looking back at me with a slightly unnerving look, “I gotta make sure my patients are all nice and cozy before I suck the blood right out of ‘em.”

I gave a nervous laugh. Maybe Seb was onto something, I thought amusingly to myself.

“Funny you mention that,” I said. “My friend Sebastian runs a conspiracy blog with my friend Akira. It’s called AkiSeb, and right now he’s all over this theory that people who do bloodwork and blood drives are secretly vampires who use humans to gain enough blood to fuel their evil agenda.”

“Your friends seem smart.” Jasper grinned.

“More like crazy,” I retorted. “Too many horror movies.”

“Probably.”

“Well, when you and your little legion of vampire doctors and nurses finally get enough blood to awaken Dracula or whatever and you guys finally enslave the human race,” I joked, “at least spare my life and everyone else who’s given you blood. You oughta thank us for helping you out, even if unwillingly.”

Jasper laughed.

“Will do,” he said, sitting down in a chair across from me. “But humans suck, no pun intended. You oughta thank us for getting you hooligans under control. Alright, let’s get started.”

We went through the usual procedure, with me clenching my fists so he gets a good idea of where my veins are and where best to extract blood from. Finally, he chose my arm.

“Normally I would’ve gone for the neck,” he joked, “but you know how it goes.”

“Can’t give it away?” I laughed. “Smart.”

Jasper grinned as the needle pierced through my skin and into my vein, leaving a sharp, stinging feeling that lingered for what felt like ages. Normally blood drawings only took a few seconds, but it felt like I had been in that chair for almost a minute.

“Jasper,” a female voice called while I was still getting blood drawn. A nurse who looked about his age with brown, curly hair appeared in the doorway. “You better shut up with all this vampire nonsense. You’re gonna scare your little brother.”

“Serves him right for revealing my real surname to the whole freakin’ office,” he retorted. “Shouldn’t you be babysitting the little twerp, anyhow?”

The nurse glared daggers at him and disappeared back into the doorway.

“It’s not babysitting, by the way, he’s 15!” she called.

“Still a baby!” Jasper yelled back before turning back to me. “That’s Harriet, my co-worker. Major buzzkill. She babysits my little brother since our parents are at work, like, all the time, and I can’t expose the little twerp to stuff like syringes. Dude might stab my eyes out for teasin’ him so much.”

“My older sister was annoying,” I said, “so I can’t blame you. Good thing she’s married now so she can go bother her husband instead of me.”

Finally, the blood drawing was finished.

“There we go,” Jasper said, applying the wad of cotton and the bandages over it. “You good?”

“Yeah…” I said, still slightly nervous. “That felt pretty long, though. How much did you take?”

“Enough. It may have felt long, but I assure you it was only a few seconds.”

“Really? I’m positive I was there for almost a minute.” I checked my watch. “Yep. Definitely a minute, give or take.”

“Strange.” Jasper secured the syringe with my blood in it. “Maybe I’m just so used to this that it feels much shorter to me.”

I stood up, but Jasper gestured for me to sit back down.

“I’m gonna go put this in the lab so I can get the results,” he said. “Can I trust you to wait here ‘till I get back?”

I nodded.

Jasper gave me a smile as he left the room with the blood-filled syringe in hand. I went on my phone while I waited, calling Seb and telling him to get ready to pick me up.

“Oh hey! You’re alive!” Seb teased over the phone. He then said in a monotone voice, like an automated phone call, “Thank you for donating to the Clueham Charity for Vampires in Need. Your contribution to the future enslavement of the human race is very much appreciated, ya filthy mortal.”

“Oh, shut it,” I laughed. “Turns out the doctor has a sense of humor after all. He was on that whole vampire junk, too. Told him about you while he was at it.”

“Really? What’d he say?”

“He said you were smart,” I answered, “and I said you were a buffoon who watches too many horror movies.”

“I like him,” Seb said. “What’s his name?”

“Uhh…” I contemplated which of Jasper’s last names to use. “Jasper Kody.”

“Sweet. I’ll be sure to get an appointment with him next time I need one,” he said. “Hopefully he doesn’t have a stake through his heart by that point.”

I rolled my eyes. We proceeded to talk about whatever was on our minds for about the next ten minutes while I waited for Jasper to get back.

“This dude’s taking forever,” I groaned, interrupting our mini-debate/scenario on whether or not we would survive a slasher movie. “He better have my results back--and I swear if you mention anything about how he’s secretly a vampire, I will personally bash that big head of yours in and drive home myself.”

“You can’t even drive, ya killjoy,” Seb taunted. “But you know me so well. I’m almost flattered. Emphasis on ‘almost.’”

I checked the battery on my phone. Only 5%?! I swear I remember charging this thing, I thought.

“Shoot, I gotta hang up,” I said. “Remember to actually pick me up this time?”

“Fine, if I must,” Seb laughed. “We don’t want a repeat of the mall incident; Akira might actually murder me if I leave you again. See ya.”

As if on cue, Jasper finally came back. The blood-filled syringe was swapped out for a red ball in plastic wrapping that he held in his hand.

“Now, I know this seems childish,” he admitted bashfully, “but believe me, I do this to all my patients. Besides, it’s good to keep your energy up after a blood drawing.”

It was a piece of candy. A small, translucent red, probably strawberry or cherry flavored ball of hard candy. It almost looked like a cat’s eye marble.

“O-oh, thanks…!” I said. “…but I really don’t do sweets.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow, a bit of a disapproving look on his face. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that...I thought, silently cursing myself for being so rude. He didn’t have to give me the candy...so I might as well take it, right?

“B-but I can give it to my friend Seb!” I said suddenly. “Y’know, conspiracy blog guy? Yeah, he’s got a crazy sweet tooth. One time I gave him most of my Halloween candy when we went trick-or-treating...and he downed the entire thing in, like, half a day.”

The smile returned to Jasper’s face as I took the candy.

“Nice,” he said. “Have a good day!”

“You too!” I said, still slightly embarrassed that I hurt the young doctor’s feelings.

After quickly walking back upstairs, I looked around for a nearby seat while I waited for Seb. The only one nearby was taken by a kid in a dark green jacket with messy brown hair. I decided to stand. The kid, who looked rather nervous, looked at me almost pleadingly.

“You alright?” I asked the kid. He nodded. He only looked a few years younger than me.

“You got Jasper, right?” he asked me. I nodded.

“Why’d you ask?” I said.

“That’s my brother. I’m Oliver, but you can call me Oli.”

“Ah. Nice to meet you. I’m—“

“Dakota? Yeah. I overheard that whole conversation while he was stealing your blood.”

I sighed. If I hear anything related to vampires one more time—

“Your brother got you on this whole vampire mess, too?” I said. “Geez, what is it with everyone and vampires, today? First my friend, now my doctor, now his kid brother…”

“He likes to chase me around the house with syringes he brings home,” Oli admitted bitterly.

“Oof…that’s gotta be scarring.” I leaned against the wall next to the seat Oli was in. “Did he ever…?”

“Stick me with one? No,” Oli answered, then quickly added. “Only because I knocked it away from him in time.”

I froze. Now, I used to lie to my mom all the time whenever my sister and I were play-fighting, insisting that she always hurt me more than she was supposed to. So, Oli could easily be getting revenge on Jasper “stereotypical annoying older brother” Kermit by making me believe he was much more cruel than he seemed.

Or he wasn’t.

“Oh…” was all I managed to say before I got a text from Seb.

“I’m outside.”

“Shoot, I gotta go,” I told Oliver. “See ya around!” I walked off, quickening my pace so as not to deal with more of this vampire nonsense from anyone else.

“No you won’t,” the boy said bluntly. I stopped in my tracks and turned around.

“If you know what’s good for you,” Oliver said, looking me dead in the eyes, “you won’t come back here again.”

#ruqayyah pickel #poetryfiction

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chaniters · 5 years

Text

The friend-zone.

This took me infinitely longer than usual to write. Mostly because Discord is so addictive. But I think the time paid off, re-reading it several times improved it so much. I generally fumble the middle of these stories in a rush to get to the sweet finales. So I guess I’m learning? I kind of feel somewhat more confident about the end result.

Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------

THE FRIEND ZONE

You walk carefully through the large dark room, trying not to drop anything.

Hollow Ground, looms ahead of you, larger than life and ready for battle.

You keep walking towards him... until you find the right spot, sliding into your seat on the left row. You pass on the popcorn and sodas to Elyse and Anathema.

Now more relaxed, you lay back, taking your seat, as you watch rapid clips from many of the Ranger’s previous movies cycling through the screen until the Producer's logo comes out from a collage of them.

Anathema Is still watching some video about kittens in his phone, while Elyise still talks to her girlfriend, giggling in a way more befitting of a young teenager.

"Hey," you say "It's about to start!"

"Oh.. right," Anathema says putting her's in airplane mode. Elyise finally hangs up and smiles to you.

And then, the movie starts...

------Some seventh art magic later--------

You walk out, feeling bit sick. Maybe you ate too much sweet popcorn... Why do they make the buckets so large?

"Well, I'll go first... I didn't like it much..." Anathema starts. "...it's just not a very good follow-up to the Eldritch movie"

"Well duh, Eldritch was... Eldritch. A great and interesting villain makes a better movie than an ensemble of random evil guys. Eldritch took all of us to defeat in the end, remember?”. And it could have killed us all, you say to yourself. We were lucky.

"You think so?" Elsyise asks. "I kind of enjoyed it. Seeing all the different powers and abilities facing off against each other."

"I guess it's subject to debate" Anathema concedes.

They go ahead while discussing the movie. Your thoughts lie elsewhere.

You always watch movies like this along with Ortega and Themie... And now you've kind of replaced him with Elyise. You fucking miss him.

She turns at you.

Oh shit.

You let your shields slip for a moment and she noticed you're thinking about her and Ortega.

She says nothing and goes back to talking to Anathema.

You walk him off to his bike and say goodbye as he sets off through the streets.

"So" Elyise finally asks.

"Sorry" you begin before she does. "I keep thinking about Ortega and that fight..."

"I'm intrigued. Steel had a point. Why didn't you join the Rangers already? You and Ortega are very close... Even after that fight"

"I... " you look at her. What lie can you possibly tell her? "I don't... trust the government enough to join them" you say at last. That's not really a lie.

Her eyes widen for a second at your honest response, and then she smiles.

"That's wise," She says with a bitter smile. "No telepath ever should trust them," she says walking onwards.

"W...why?" You ask, your shields raised into impenetrable barriers.

"You're too young to know about it... Back in the day when the first of us... telepaths ... gained our powers... there was a big scare in the media. They demonized us. Some of us had gone public... and suffered for it. The government just rounded us up. And took us to camps and labs... there were... experiments."

Fuck. You know all too well about it.

"That's terrible!" you say "What... happened then?"

"I was lucky. My parents had money... they sued big time. They had to release me in the end, but most who take the hero drugs are desperate, and they had no one outside. There was never any record of them being taken either." She looks much older, tired and sad as she speaks about this. "You know... I still look for some of them... In social media. I haven't been able to find a single one yet." Her eyes are bit tearful."

"It's.. over," you say "They can't hurt you now" You are not very good with words... but you have other means. You can't help it. Your shields open and you brush your mind against her... offering her some comforting thoughts.

You used to do this... when they weren't looking. And so did your brothers and sisters. It's how you survived.

She gasps as she realizes what you're doing. Blocking and negating her fears and terrors... "THat's... that...." She takes your wrist "I don't know how you can do those things. I thought I was a strong telepath... I've had these powers for 20 years and I can't manage something like that"

"It's not so hard..." you smile. "Just... follow my lead" It's tricky teaching her these things. But you're good enough to play the game and hide your cards at the same time.

Her mind observes as you do it a few times... brushing thoughts against people around you. Leaving them with a sense of peace and stupid nonsensical smiles. Sometimes you wish you could do that to yourself...

And then... she attempts it herself. Slowly at first... until she manages to reach the superficial layers of a woman passing by, causing her to smile briefly.

"What the... I did it!" she is overjoyed.

"Told you it wasn't hard!"

"What? That was the hardest thing I've ever done!"

She’s not wrong... without someone showing you how to do it beforehand, you’d probably fry people’s brains and hurt yourself in the process if you tried.

You roll your eyes. "I think Jupiter would beg to differ."

"Telepathy is the hard part you smartass."

"Hey, I can't toss motorboats at enemies!"

"Sure can... you just ask me!"

A couple passes looking at you and laughs.

“Oh fuck. More people thinking I’m your cougar mamma... Let’s go already”

You just chuckle. She jokes about it, but she’s quite self-conscious. Oh well... you're not one to judge her.

Your phone rings, startling you. Anathema made you buy it some time ago, but you almost never use it.

You fidget with it, trying to turn it on

It's Ortega.

You let it ring a few more times, while your mind decides what to do. Elyise stands patiently.

"Hello there" you say in the end

"Hey Cyrus" his voice sounds a bit hesitant. "I was wondering... can I meet you somewhere?"

You doubt for a moment.

Fuck.

"ah... sorry... If you're busy then maybe..." He starts again.

You take a deep breath.

"No. I'm not busy. It's ok. Let's meet"

You agree to meet in a bar, not far from where you're standing. Just a few blocks.

"Ooohh... you are meeting him tonight?" Elyise is guessing who he is... but it's not that hard to guess. She knows how hard it is to get your number.

"Yes... we are meeting. Not far from here actually"

"Well, what are you waiting for? I'll walk you there!" she grins. "I was wondering when were you two going to make peace."

You sigh. "Yeah... we are friends... it's about time we make out" She just snorts walking ahead as you realize what you just said.

"Make up! Make up i mean! We're not going to make out!" you try to correct but it's no use

"Of course!" she says laughing as you reach your destination. She turns to you, and gives you a strong patt on both of your shoulders "You go in there tiger... and you make out with that man, you hear me?"

"I didn't..." you start

And she turns dramatically looking at you over her shoulder

"French-style" is the last thing she says as she walks away laughing towards her own ride.

You smile. She knows how to make you laugh.

THere's no loud music inside, and several pool tables. It's decent and has some good food.

He shows up a moment later.

"Hey," you say a bit awkwardly.

"Hey, you" he answers. You stand apart...

"About the other day..." he starts. He’s also feeling the awkwardness, grabbing his elbow across his body tightly with his right hand.

"Yeah... that was... bad..." you say looking down

"I mean... I'm so..."

"No... I am." You say it first. Let’s make this painless

"Hey, that was my line!"

"Yeah... but... I'm not happy about that argument...either"

"Well... I'm sorry too. We shouldn't have let you out of the loop, you were part of the mission too. Sometimes Steel gets too muddled up in the rules."

"I know... but still I shouldn't have asked you to go against him. You're the Marshall"

"So... we forget about it?" He asks extending his hand

"Yes. Forgotten already, Ricardo" you shake hands, and he draws you into a hug.

"Darn. Should have called you sooner. We could have seen the movie together"

"It sucked. And I should have called you first"

"It's in the past. Let's go in!" he says, his bright smile flashing again. You avoid it like the plague.

You talk. You play pool. You have some drinks. You're being careful not to activate any of his or your triggers, and thus he doesn't make another move on you this time. He's just grateful you're hanging out again. And you are as well.

Now if you can just manage to maintain this chemistry... he'll hook up with someone else soon enough and you'll be in the clear. It's all about knowing how to keep the balance.

A few hours later, you are leaving together. He had a few more drinks than he should, so you agree to drive him home. You can take a bus there.

"Put on your seatbelt, safety first," you say as you adjust the mirrors. "We should invite you to one of that safety on the road campaigns they make us do" he chuckles “You’d look swell in the posters!” "Well, if it pays, I'll do it," you say. "But the mask stays on" "Not sure if they can send you a check if they don't know your true name" "So we're not doing that then" you grin. "I have to tell you... you're the most paranoid, neurotic, unreasonably suspicious person I know..." "Oh, I just know what's best for me" you smile as you take a turn.

Odd... your mind feels there are several bugs around. Did some insects get inside the car? You feel them flying towards you. You look around but don't see them.

He bumps your arm lightly "You sir, are a loon. But you're my kind of loon!" "You're a crazy maniac yourself" you chuckle. You are happy. Success. You're plot worked, and you’re back in the friend zone. You just need to remember to never overstep the boundary again. Ricardo’s your best friend, after all you’d be lost without him.

You can't help it... you swat at the air around you.

"Is there a bee in the car?" you ask out of the blue. He looks around, a bit bewildered. If there is, Drunk Ortega won't be able to see it. "I don't think so?" he says in the end.

You stop at a traffic light. This is getting weird. You focus your thoughts, looking for the bee. Bees. Eight bees. All focused on you. And then you realize... they aren't inside your car. You look at the car next to you.

"Ortega.. what the fuck is that?" you look in disbelief.

The driver on the car next to you wears a trenchcoat and a hat... and its eyes glow burning yellow. IT's face isn't human... but robotic.

He turns. "Wha...” he takes a brief look before almost jumping in his seat “START THE ENGINE RIGHT NOW!" Ortega utters you.

"But the traffic light is...."

"Forget about the stupid traffic light! Get us out of here!"

You start the car, accelerating as fast as you can.

And then you hear the shots. The things in the car behind you are shooting.

"Just keep going, this car is bulletproof!" You take a turn, trying to avoid them.

"What are those things?"

"It's HIVE" he says as if that explained it all. "I mean they are HIVE."

"Wait... are those the bees?"

"Yes. HIVE always attacks in numbers! Keep going!"

You ignore the following two traffic lights. Another car joins the one already pursuing you, shooting energy weapons and bullets at Ortega's car.

You keep trying to outrun them...

And you don't notice the car coming from your left and right. They drive forward, ahead of you, trying to force you to slow down.

"They are going to catch us!"

"Not if I can... help it!" Ortega opens his window and you notice a discharge from him. The driver on your left explodes in a rain of sparks, overcharged, and its car goes out of control, crashing into a small flower shop. You take the chance to turn left now that it's not blocking you.

"What the fuck are they? I only sense bees inside them!"

"Rogue robot network, controlled by Bee's brains! It's my Nemesis!"

"What?! How come I’ve never fucking ever heard of it??!"

"It's a secret government project... and it was destroyed! Hood And I defeated Hive back in the day!"

"It seems pretty Healthy to me!"

And then you sense it... bees... so many bee brains.

"Fuck they have us surrounded! they're coming from all sides!"

"Can you evade them?"

"I'll try,” You say with little confidence. Fuck. Ortega is the better drive... if only he hadn’t had so many drinks...

More cars full of robots come into view.

You try to get in between them... but they turn at the last moment causing a crash. The airbags burst in your face, leaving you winded.

Something tears down the door on your side and a robotic arm struggle to pull you off, but the seatbelt gets in the way. You shoot at it with your energy gun, sending it into the ground. Another one inmediately takes it’s place, pulling the gun from your hand. It then unbuckles the belt and pulls you down onto the pavement, face-first.

You stand up with difficulty. They approach with their glowing yellow eyes. All of them wearing the creepy trenchcoats and hats, disguising their metallic bodies. You see Ortega fighting them off, he's good enough to do it even while drunk. And his electrical arcs are good excellent weapons against them. Several are already broken on the floor.

One of them charges.. and you try to block his fist, but the kick to your gut takes you unprepared, sending you down on your back.

You have no idea how to predict a or read a bee's brain. You try to stand up again, but another one sends a metallic fist to your face that makes you see dotted colors.

Two of them take you by your arms and drag you away, your arms and legs refusing to cooperate.

"Cyrus! I'm coming to you, Cyrus! Hang on!!" you hear Ortega's voice in the distance, as the robots toss you at the back of a ban and start the engine.

Someone runs a hand through your face... what...? You look at them and immediately regret it.

"Oh hello, again you sweet sweet funny man!" The CandyMaster greets you. "We're going to play so many games together. It will be so much fun!!"

What. The. Fuck.

You open your mouth to scream.

His hand covers it before any coherent sound can come out of it.

"HHMMHGGFFRHFFHG!!" You scream for someone to help you. Anyone. This one gives you the fucking creeps.

He widens his gaze as he activates his power. You feel the crystal candy expanding inside your mouth. Sealing it shut. You can’t even spit it out.

One of the HIVE robots takes hold of your hands and locks them with handcuffs.

"Now now, don't be rude! Eat your candy or there will be a ...punishment!" he chuckles giving you a smile with his shining white teeth that is just the stuff of nightmares.

The overwhelming sweetness in your mouth wants to make you throw up. But you can’t even do that.

You try to enter his mind... but It’s so warped... It will take a while to get to know how it works.

The ban drives off through the dark streets of Los Diablos' suburbs.

-----------------------------

My fanfiction: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

#fallen hero: rebirth #fallen hero spoilers #Chargestep #Anathema

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