#so technically yes he knows a lot of stuff but that information rarely leaves the brain vailt

[randowriters]

Language

D&F: Sorry for lack of content! Been working on my work on Ao3 called Loose Ends! We'll try and keep producing stuff on here though!

DJ hasn’t been in the pizzaplex as long as everyone else. He’s only been around for like…two years. Technically three, but that year was considered his “practice run” to see how well the music man would work within the establishment. Either way, DJ made a lot of friends, and he always gave out stellar performances during opening hours. Yet…he always feels like he’s being ignored. Like he was some kind of background character…

Being stuck in one place, never being allowed to leave the attraction, all due to the fear that everyone has with his giant size. It had the potential to cause some serious collateral damage around the pizzaplex. It’s…kinda lonely. Kinda, since he at least gets visitation from his friends. 

Well…mostly Freddy.

Chica only seemed to visit just to gossip when everyone is too busy to hang out with her. That, or she needed a place to hide so she could stealthily eat the treats she had stolen. Roxy's visits are even more uncommon since she only bothers to stop by to have someone listen to her talk about herself…when literally no one else has the energy to put up with it. Monty's visits only occurred when he wasn't in the mood to nap for the remainder of the day and felt a bit more competitive enough to skip his golfing time. He would give DJ a quick greeting before casually walking over to one of the arcade machines to play and might stick around to gloat about his new high score. 

 Whenever Freddy came over, it felt like all even the worst days for the music man became his special ones. The glamrock leader always made sure that DJ was up to date with most of the things that happened outside of Fazcade, no matter how mundane the information was. He would happily talk about the achievements of everyone else, including the children that visit the megaplex. There had even been moments when bear animatronic spoke about space…only to quickly apologize and change the subject.

 Their conversations remain pretty basic, mostly because of the language barrier between them. DJ spoke in instrumental music with a techno twist to it. Which, considering what his profession is within the Pizzaplex, it makes sense. The sounds that the giant animatronic can create lend well to the vibes within his music, and it made him seem cool. The problem with this form of language presented itself when he tried to communicate with others. It left a lot of them confused, some irritated, others lost, but rarely did the disc jockey find those with the patience to talk with him regardless.

It's what makes Freddy so special to DJ. Not just because of the lead singer's patience, he actually found the robotic spider's dialect fascinating. From time-to-time, the glamrock bear would ask questions about it to learn as much as he can. Which wasn't much since they had to be restricted to yes or no questions. Still, the sentiment touched DJ deeply…just enough to blossom into what the humans would call a crush.

He didn't know how to handle it, at first. He tried not to think about it, until thoughts about Freddy were all that his mind would produce. He tried not to stare at the animatronic bear during his visits, only it caused the robotic bear's appearance to grow more radiant from even the smallest glance. DJ even tried ignoring those feelings, but they became more and more obvious each passing day. That's why today, of all days, will be the day the spider animatronic confesses. Sure, Freddy will never understand it, it will simply go over the smaller animatronic's head when he hears it. Yet, the music man didn't care, he wanted to let it out.

“Freddy?” The glamrock looks up at him. Nervousness begins to fester within DJ, but he swallows it down. “I know you won't understand this…but I…” He takes a deep breath, “I always feel comfortable around you, like all of my worries just disappear when you arrive.” A small smile forms on his face as he continues, “It's like I can sing to the stars, the planets, and the sun when I'm with you.” The more the disc jockey speaks, the more confident he feels behind his words. “Your voice is like a symphony that has graced this world's ears. It can be as wild as rock and roll, yet it can be as gentle as a lullaby. Your smile can brighten up a solar system while your caring core can turn even the harshest of planets into a loving home.” He feels a light flush on his cheeks. “What I'm trying to say is…” DJ looks down at the smaller animatronic, “I love you.”

Freddy doesn't say anything, though that's not what was so odd. It was the glamrock leader's facial expression that confused the animatronic giant. His eyes had widened considerably, almost as if the lead singer was in shock. “Freddy?” DJ questioned. Freddy finally opens his muzzle and asks, “Did you…did you just say that you love me?” The robotic spider froze, his mind replayed the question multiple times to make sure he didn't misinterpret it. “You…you understood that?” He uttered.

The glamrock bear stood up, “A-a little!” …Oh dear stars, Freddy understands him, which means the robotic bear understood the confession. WHICH MEANS THAT FREDDY HEARD DJ CONFESSED HIS CRUSH TO HIM!! The disc jockey's face became static the longer the pause continued between them. Neither of them know what to say, or do, in this sudden change of events. It's not like they can pretend it didn't happen, or anything of the sort. So, the music man decided to take another option: he crawls back inside his tunnels. The move surprised the smaller animatronic. “DJ?!” He calls out to the disc jockey who went deeper inside the tunnels.

Nope, DJ is not coming out. He ruined things with Freddy, and he can clearly see that the glamrock doesn't feel the same way. Devastation starts to take over, the music man curls up as reality begins to set in. 

He ruined everything. 

Then the silence breaks as small, separate notes enter DJ’s audios. He lifts his head. Listening carefully, the spider animatronic realizes that the notes are…actually saying something. “I. Love. You.” His eyes widened. The notes repeat themselves, as though they are trying to form a song without losing their meaning. More importantly to the disc jockey, it dawns on him just who it is that was creating the notes. As he slowly crawls back to the entrance, he finds Freddy standing there…singing.

“I. Love. You.” These were not words, but actual musical tones. Beautiful as it is, to hear the glamrock utter them is strange. It’s almost like…the animatronic giant’s eyes grew.

Freddy is speaking in DJ’s native tongue.

“I. Love. You.” The lead singer places his hand against his chest, “Like Stars. In. My Heart.” While it is clear from listening that Freddy is still amateurish in speaking it, the fact that the robotic bear managed to speak this much of the language at all astounds DJ. “I. Love. You. Like. Music. You sing. To me.” A smile graces the bear animatronic’s muzzle. The robotic spider’s whole face turns red. He’s speechless, absolutely speechless. Freddy takes one of the larger animatronic’s fingers into his hands as a blush appears on his cheeks, “I. Love. You~. D. J.” DJ beams a grin so wide as his very battery core feels like it could explode with utter joy.

Freddy loves him back!

Freddy actually loves him back!

He pulls the glamrock leader close, gently nuzzling the smaller animatronic. “I love you, too.” He said. Freddy returns the loving gesture, hugging the disc jockey’s face.

#DJ Music Man #Glamrock Freddy #DJMM x Glamrock Freddy #DJ x Freddy #FNAF: SB #fanfiction

[therealvinelle]

Why do you think that the Volturi have so much stuff do to? You guessed that there are 500 vampires in general maximum. The vampires know about the Volturi and their law, expect perhaps vampires who spent the last millenias under a stone or in a cave, but even Alistair knows. They are terrified, knowing what is coming for them if they don't obey that law, see Jasper talking about them cleaning up after the newborn war or the Denalis. Then there's a case to be made that the Volturi probably don't even know about a lot of crimes, like they wouldn't have known about Bella if Edward didn't go to Volterra in NM. Plus the vampires which do commit crimes are probably extra careful. We have nearly 100 vampires at the BD confrontation and most of them seem to obey the law, except for example Edward. That would leave us with ca. 400 vampires, who rarely turn other vampires, because it's so hard for most of them. If so many vampires would commit crimes, the vampire race would probably be extinct expect for the vampires we see in BD. Sure there's the obligatory vampire who can't handle immortatlity and goes crazy, but why would there be so many crimes that the twins and the rest of the guard are practically always out? Where are the numbers for that?

(Anon is referring to this post.)

It's true I don't think there are that many vampires (in part because of the Volturi enforcing the law!) but this doesn't mean the Volturi aren't busy.

First of, I think a lot of vampires are dumbasses. The average person is, and these people might have enhanced brains but that's not the same as wisdom, or intelligence. The main thing their shiny new brain is going to give them is a superiority complex. Combine that with god-like powers and being above human laws and authorities, and you have a populace where a lot of people just aren't going to take the Volturi that seriously. Some might even believe the Volturi are just boogey-men dreamed up by their creators to keep them subdued.

Even if they take the Volturi somewhat seriously, they're still likely to think the law is like the sound of a tree falling in the woods, that is, it only applies when the Volturi actually catch you breaking it. And the Volturi are sitting there in Italy, so how are they ever going to find out what Joey the vampire is doing in Ottawa?

I think there's been a lot of geniuses breaking the law outside of the Volterra city border, especially in the times before mass communication, smug that they cheated the system. The Volturi will never know!

To say nothing of those who don't mean to break the law, but they were in public scouting out a victim when someone started bleeding and now they've massacred half a village.

Then there's the fact that there's degrees to breaking the law. If you forget yourself and move too quickly around humans, you did technically break it but hardly worth Jane coming after you, whereas if you create an immortal child you better prepare to be exterminated. I think most vampires have probably broken the law at some point, but the important thing is the spirit of the law - Carlisle performing a slightly too miraculous surgery isn't threatening the world society of vampires, but Bella staying in touch with her father, the town sheriff, after she's been turned into a demon is.

So, yeah, I think that at any given time in the Twilight universe, someone is probably breaking the law, and even if it's not worth executing, it's still worth looking into.

I think the Volturi have a lot of- I wouldn't say spies, but informants, out there. People who regularly return to Aro with updates on who's out there doing what, and if he finds it concerning (which I imagine is fairly often. The Volturi have an extremely ambitious mission, which requires rigorous enforcement.) then he'll send a team to look into it.

I also think they do patrols. The Southern Wars, for instance, are worth checking up on every now and then, and so are the remote corners of the world. Even if they don't find criminals, they'll find out which vampires are living where, get to know those recently turned, let Demetri get a good sniff so he can add more people to his database, and most important of all, give a friendly reminder that the Volturi exist.

Good for recruitment, too.

So, yes, I imagine the Volturi get a lot of leg action.

#volturi #twilight #twilight vampires #twilight renaissance #twilight meta

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Shin Tsukinami (Story 11+CG)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! If you enjoy these translations, please consider supporting me on ko-fi.

Monologue

We sneaked into Violet’s mansion, aiming for the chance that Carla-san and his members had gone out.

In the end, we were discovered by none other than Carla-san himself though.

Thanks to Shin-kun’s quick wittedness, we managed to successfully get away behind his back.

However, Shin-kun has injured himself during that time.

Shin-kun said that it’s not a big deal for him and that there’s no need for me to worry, yet I can’t help but be concerned about his current condition.

Place: Outside — Forest

Yui: (It seems that Carla-san hasn’t been chasing after us for a long time since that happened)

(I wonder, Kino-kun hasn’t come back either, since he’s scouting around the area. But is it really okay for me not to worry about him as well?)

(Thanks to that though, we’re able to rest by an open-air fire in the forest all by ourselves)

Looks as if Kino-kun’s not coming back from scouting any time soon, don’t you think?

Shin: He said he’d be looking around each of the three mansions, so it might really take some time after all, right?

Yui: True...

Shin: ...Kch

Yui: ...Nn! Shin-kun, does your injured leg hurt a lot?

(It must’ve happened when he kicked the chandelier. So he said he was fine, but at the end he isn’t)

Shin: It’s nothing too trivial, seriously.

Yui: But you’re still bleeding… at least let me bind something around it for the sake of stopping it.

*Yui rips clothes*

Shin: Wait! What are you doing without warning!?

Yui: I’m tearing my clothes in order to make a bandage for you. It’ll be fine, it’s just the inner fabric so you can’t tell from the outside that I tore it.

Anyway, now I can finally stop the bleeding.

Shin: Hah… you’re really something...

Yui: ...Hm, Shin-kun. Show me your injured foot.

*Shin shows his foot*

Shin: ...Nn…

Yui: It might hurt a little, but please be patient about it. If I don’t tie it strongly enough, the bleeding won’t stop after all.

Shin: ...Ngh

Yui: Ah, I’m sorry… ! This might’ve been a bit too strong.

Shin: No, it’s fine like this… thank you.

Yui: For the time being, let’s rest now. It would be bad if the wound stretched itself even more dreadfully.

Shin: …..

Yui: (Why’s he so quiet… ? He’s looking at me pretty firmly…)

Shin-kun? What’s wrong? Don’t tell me… ! Did it open one of your weak points even more… !?

Shin: No, that’s not it.

Yui: ….. ?

Yui: ...Eh! Hey, Shin-kun!?

(W-What’s he doing... ? He suddenly hugged me)

Shin: If you want to take care of it… I’d appreciate your blood.

Yui: ...Nn.

(Could it be… that he’s behaving like a spoiled child again? I’m pretty sure he’s acting like this because of him being mentally tired of his injury and worrying about Carla-san)

Shin: That guy isn’t around right now anyway, so it’s okay to stay like this for a while, right?

Yui: (It’s rare for Shin-kun to ask me directly like this, so let’s maybe spoil him right here)

Okay… sure.

Shin: Nn, thanks.

I’m somehow really worn-out today. I just want to touch you even more.

Yui: You can hold me until you’re satisfied, Shin-kun.

Shin: Ah… it feels so good to hold you in my arms like this...

Yui: Shin-kun…

Shin: When I embrace you as closely as I do right now, I always feel so calm. Almost as if you’re exceptionally good at this.

Yui: Heh, you think so? I don’t know about that myself.

Shin: You’ll see what I mean eventually. For now, I’m glad I’m the only one to know. Besides, if I teased you about it, I’d surely provoke an interesting reaction out of you.

Yui: ...Nn! Eh, Shin-kun, where are you touching!? Stop it, it’s tickling me.

Shin: Kuku, I knew it. I can see your body move alongside where I traced the side of your torso nicely, isn’t that right?

Yui: Ah, that’s natural! Anyone who’d touch someone else there would react with it being ticklish and stuff!

Shin: No, you’re the only one who’s as sensitive as that. I already smell the sweet blood coming from your skin just from that.

Haa… seriously, you need to put an end to that. Otherwise I might end up unintentionally getting all crazy about it.

Say… could I suck some if it’s okay? It’ll be useless even if you do end up saying “no”.

Yui: Fine… but only take as much as necessary, okay… ?

♡Roses♡

Shin’s mouth: This really is the best! It’s such a pain to resist and forcibly hold myself back, but it feels so good to get a proper look at your face while sucking now.

Shin’s arm: When it’s just the two of us, without our companion making fun of us, I can finally stop feeling irritated in our relationship.

Shin: Kuku. I don’t hate it when you’re being as obedient as that. Nn… Mm… Nn… !

Yui: Nn… !

Shin: ...Haa… Nn… Mm...

Yui: Shin… kun… Nn, does it feel good… ?

Shin: Haa… yes… it’s still as good as always. Your blood really is the best after all.

The more excited you get about it, the sweeter and richer your blood becomes as well. Nn… Mm… Mm...

Yui: Ah… Nn...

Shin: See, your voice is giving off nice hints too. Why not let me hear how much you’re really feeling it? Mm...

Yui: Ah… !

Shin: Mm… Haa… you really got a dreamy face on. Seems as if you really do love my fangs a lot, right?

Yui: T-That’s not even… true...

(But… I don’t have any power anymore either...)

Kino: Hm?

Yui: Kyaaa!!

Shin: Tch… obviously you had to come in at the best point.

Kino: How annoying. You two let others work their ass off while you were doing what exactly if I might ask?

Yui: N-N-N-Nothing! W-Welcome back, Kino-kun! We were really worried about you and almost got tired of waiting.

Kino: It didn’t seem like nothing happened though. Your face is all red, but what’s the matter? Your eyes are moist and your breath is rising as well, am I right?

Yui: (Uhh… by the way Kino-kun’s talking… he must’ve surely seen us. I’m so very embarrassed and I want to hide so badly…)

Kino: You don’t have to hide yourself now. You’re not the most honest person, hm?

Tell me, are you two in a relationship with another?

Yui: (Kino-kun is definitely enjoying himself right now…)

Choices

1) We’re nothing (black)

2) It’s a secret (white)♡ ♡ ♡

— We’re nothing

Yui: We’re nothing at all, really… ! All I did was check whether or not his injury needs internal medicine...

Kino: What was that? That excuse must’ve been painful to handle.

Don’t you realize that the more you deny it, the more suspicious you get?

Yui: Uhh…

Shin: Haa, the secrets out. You’re seriously one of the worst people when it comes to lying to others.

Yui: S-Sorry…

Shin: Doesn’t matter. We don’t have to necessarily hide our relationship from him anymore now.

— It’s a secret♡

Yui: I-It’s a secret between Shin-kun and I, only the both of us… !

Kino: Eh, why? You’re being unfair. Why am I the only one in the group not involved… ?

Yui: Um…

Shin: Yui, it’s fine. We should probably tell this guy sooner or later anyway.

end Choices

Shin: Kino, I’ll tell you now since it’s the perfect opportunity, so listen. This woman belongs to none other than myself.

It’s best to be clear here for the sake of you not trying any childish pranks or even worse  trying to make a move on her.

Kino: ’Kay, not that I bother. I only want to know more about the detailed beginning of your love and such.

Shin: Hah? Who are you to ask me if I could inform you about how we worked out together?

Kino: Aight, let’s go back to that abandoned house now. It looks like they haven’t found it yet, so it’s safer there than being here.

To be honest, I can’t tell if a member of any family is pursuing me or us as we talk right now either. But we should move as soon as possible.

Yui: (Pursuers, hm…)

Shin: You’re probably right. Every mansion has their own trollers unexpectedly turn up. I’m sure they’re looking for us with a bloody eye.

Yui: (Carla-san and Ruki-kun are looking for us… just thinking about it makes me feel scared)

Shin: Yui, what’s with the face you’re making? Are you okay?

Yui: Y-Yes, I’m fine.

But to be honest, I have to admit that I do get scared thinking of how everyone is chasing and looking after us.

Actually, it’s kind of different… I just want to find a way to get everything back to when it all was normal.

Shin: ...Geez. You’re being scared and just exaggerating everything again. Well, it’s not unreasonable to feel scared though.

You’ll always be by my side in any case. So there’s no need to worry. I’ll always protect you no matter what.

Yui: Yes, that’s true. Shin-kun will always be there with me. Thank you!

Kino: C’mon, hurry up, both of you.

Yui: (Technically there really is no reason for me to feel scared. After all, Shin-kun’s always next to me. I have to do my best for this as well!)

Place: Abandoned house — Inside

Yui: ...Zzz…

Shin: (She’s a really soundly sleeper…)

(I assume you’re tired from always worrying about me and dealing with this guy as well, isn’t that right?)

(It’s always the same tiresome thing with this guy. I have to be careful not to worry too much about him myself—)

Kino: Ahh~, she’s an extreme sound sleeper. I wonder if the strategy was too much for a girl like her?

Shin: Shouldn’t you rather say that this is the fault of your useless breaking into houses here and there? You’re the one continuously making us feel nervous.

Kino: Eh, am I? I’m just playing around a bit, that’s all.

Shin: It didn’t seem like you just “ordinarily” played around.

Kino: —Leaving that aside, don’t you think it’s slowly time for you to hear me out as well?

Shin: About what?

Kino: Al-righ-ty.

How far is your relationship with her? Don’t leave any details, tell me.

Shin: What? Why do you want to know? You know I already told you that I’m not telling you anything.

Kino: I thought you’re simply not telling me anything interesting about it as long as she’s awake.

And now you can technically say things that you usually can’t say, right? So, do you really like that girl?

Shin: ...Shut up! Why would I tell you something like that?

It shouldn’t matter to you if I like her or not. I don’t even understand what you mean anyway.

Kino: This doesn’t have anything to do with any “meaning”. I’m just interested in hearing those kinds of stories from others.

...Hey, I need you to tell me. I want to know what attracted or fascinated you in this woman whatsoever.

Shin: What? You got seriously all of the sudden for that?

Kino: As for this, I’ll be completely serious. When I see you two, I think you do look nice together.

Shin: Huh? Are you feeling sick? You’re acting sort of weird.

Kino: “I’m acting weird”, he said. That’s really mean, y’know?

At the very beginning, I just wanted to use you both for my own benefits.

Shin: ...Heh, is that so? We already knew you must’ve had some ulterior motive.

Kino: But that’s not the case anymore now, y’know? You wouldn’t have suddenly put your trust into me after all.

Shin: Well, more or less. I was only wondering if you really could be of any use for us anyway.

Kino: And even though both of us suspected each other, we somehow joined hands. But—

I didn’t think it would be as much fun as it is when we three are together like this, which makes this game kind of enjoyable for the first time. Also—

You didn’t abandon me when I was at a clear disadvantage while being cornered by Carla from the Violet family.

That made me really happy. I really felt that way.

Shin: …..

Kino: That’s why I want to understand. Until now I didn’t think I needed that feeling, but welp, it’s not that I hate it.

So is that what it means to cooperate with friends? I don’t know yet.

Shin: ...I guess.

Kino: …..

Shin: …..

Kino: Hold on, why are you all quiet now? You’re making this awkward, man. At least say something.

Shin: Me too… I also think I just learned that recently.

Kino: Eh?

Shin: I’m a founder, and my ancestors were absolute in the past.

No-one was ever allowed to go against them. Moreover, those who didn’t obey them were beaten mercilessly.

Anybody and everybody was beating me. But there was a guy who surpassed him over me being injured.

Kino: You mean...

Shin: Yes, it was my brother.

No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ever surpass my brother and that’s why I’ll never become the founder’s king.

I was so annoyed and frustrated by that fact, yet I couldn’t ever admit or recognize that.

Because of that, I wasn’t able to see through my own stupidity and never showed actual respect to my elder brother.

Kino: ...Yeah, I get that feeling. Ever since the moment I was born, I never felt anything other than regret. I never knew what to do and cried a lot as well.

I only wanted for someone to recognize my existence. And just like that, I’ve been continuously searching for the meaning of my existence...

Shin: Kino… don’t tell me you—

*Kino stays silent*

Kino: ...I’m fine with it, wanna continue?

Shin: ...Well, even if I was trying my hardest, it felt as if nothing I did helped me bear the burdens on my shoulders.

But when I met this guy, I was actually able to face my problem properly. I finally understood something I wanted.

And thanks to realizing that, I actually noticed the greatness of my brother now. All that thanks to that one guy.

Kino: Hmm… So does that mean you understand it now? The fact that you can’t surpass your brother, I mean.

Shin: No, that’s not really what I tried to get across the table with what I said...

In other words, I became aware how narrowed my field of vision used to be.

Therefore I’m really worried about my brother.

Kino: Heh. I’m glad you understood whatever you’re confident about now.

Shin: Before we escaped the Violet mansion some time ago, I left a letter for him to read there.

I hope this might give him a chance of somehow restoring his memory. Even if it might not make any sense to him.

I really want him to regain his memory as quickly as possible again, but that’s all I can do for now. I don’t think I’d be up to do that task straight away anyway…

*Kino stays silent*

Kino: At least you're doing whatever you’re able to right now.

Shin: Yes, I guess you could say so.

Kino: …..

Shin: ……

Kino: ...Well, if you’re leaving it as it is, he has to come back to you someday, right? So don’t feel too depressed about it.

Shin: Wait, what happened to your attitude? You were serious just a second ago.

Kino: Because I’m pretty sure he’ll remember and then come back to you. If I believe in that, you’ll do too, right?

Shin: ...Nn!

Kino: So don’t think too much about it. Let’s take a rest for today in preparation for what’s gonna happen tomorrow. I’m going to sleep now, good night.

Shin: Eh?

Kino: Zz… Zz…

Shin: —And he’s asleep already.

The chance of him coming back, hm… ? I really hope he will.

(But I do feel a little bit lighter all of the sudden now)

(When we first joined hands with each other I thought he’d only be a pretty troublesome person…)

(And despite that, maybe Kino and I could get unexpectedly along with each other)

#Diabolik Lovers #diabolik lovers translation #chaos lineage translation #chaos lineage #diabolik lovers chaos lineage #diabolik lovers chaos lineage translation #shin tsukinami #tsukinami shin #tsukinami #tsukinami family #diabolik lovers shin tsukinami #shin tsukinami chaos lineage translation #translation #kino diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers kino #Kino #kino sakamaki

[haikyuu-sins]

Fluff Alphabet-Trafalgar Law

Since no one wanted to send me any Law requests, I took matters into my own hands and did this. I got the prompt from @dragonprincess18 so thank you for this because I needed it! :) 

*********

A-Activities: What do they like to do with their boyfriends/girlfriend? How do they spend their free time together?

For the most part, if you’re on the sub with him and there’s nowhere to go but yours and his rooms, his office, and the kitchen area he prefers to stay in his office and room because he enjoys the quiet. Law absolutely loves reading with you. Especially if you’re reading one of his medical books and you ask questions about it. He just really likes that you’re interested in it and want to learn more. He also likes that you know about this kind of stuff in case you need the information. If you do know that he likes Sora, Warrior of the Sea, (he will try to hide it) then he’ll probably geek out once or twice about it. You can’t help but smile when he talks about it so in depth because you love seeing him talk about something he enjoys. If you aren’t on the sub and you’re on a new island, he will begrudgingly (he secretly loves it, but won’t admit) explore the town with you as long as the last stop is a book store of some sort.

B-Beauty: What do they admire about their boyfriends/girlfriend? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He admires how much you care about him. He can see how much you do and he hasn’t had someone like that since Cora. He melts on the inside when he sees you smiling at him and he’s the reason for it.

C-Comfort: How would they help their boyfriends/girlfriend when they feel down, have a panic attack, etc?

He understands what it’s like and sometimes because from time to time he’ll get them when he’s alone. It depends on how you want to be comforted. If you don’t want to be touched, he won’t. He’ll probably just go to the kitchen and get you something warm to drink to help you calm down. But if physical touch helps you, he’ll have you sit on his desk and he’ll rub your thigh or he’ll let you sit on his lap while he rubs your back up and down or cards his fingers through your hair. He’ll reassure you that everything is going to be okay and it’s going to pass and it’s not going to last forever. He lets you talk about it after it’s over and listens to what you have to say. Law will give you advice on what he thinks will help you in whatever situation you’re in. When he sees you sad, he just wants to hold you because he hates seeing you sad. He’ll bring you your favorite comfort drink and food to his room with you (even though I think he’d hate having food and drinks in his bed, he would absolutely make an exception for you) and you guys will just cuddle together while you talk about what’s wrong.

D-Dreams: How do they picture their future with their boyfriends/girlfriend?

Law doesn’t exactly think very far. He’s basically on a suicide mission so honestly he doesn’t see a future yet. Once everything is over and if he survives then he starts to think about his future with you because he really doesn’t want to get your hopes up. He really just always wants to be around you and as long as you’re there with him, everything is perfectly fine. 

E-Equal: Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He’s a little bit of both, it depends on the day. I’d say he very much tends to be on the more dominant side but there are days where he’s just kind of, whatever about things. That’s only when he has time to relax and that’s almost never.

F-Fight: Would they be easy to forgive their boyfriends/girlfriend? How are they fighting?

I think you’d probably fight with him about how he’s so willing and ready to throw his life away for his causes and how much it bothers you. He says some hurtful things that he’ll admit that he only said out of anger. He’ll be angry for a while but eventually he’ll go and talk to you about the fight and apologize for what he said to you.

G-Gratitude: How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their boyfriends/girlfriend do for them?

He’s very grateful for the things you do for him but he may not show it all the time. Like when he forgets to eat and you bring him something that you made for him. He’s also very aware that you take care of him better than he takes care of himself in terms of making him eat and drink water instead of coffee for once.

H-Honesty: Do they have secrets they hide from their boyfriends/girlfriend? Or do they share everything?

He hides a lot. Law is not a very open person and I don’t even think he’s told his crew about his entire past. You might be an exception but honestly, don’t count on it. It’s difficult to get him to open up about himself and you do have to pry a lot. He might get a little annoyed, but when you tell him that you just want to know more about him, he may give in a bit and tell you a thing or two. Definitely hides the fact that he loves Sora, Warrior of the Sea. He doesn’t know that there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the comics before so he thinks he does a good job at hiding them. They’re either in a box under his bed or in his desk drawer.

I-Inspiration: Did their boyfriends/girlfriend change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things, or helping them overcome personal problems?

If you do get him to open up, you made him realize how good it feels to get things off his chest. Law has been living with this weight on his shoulders about his past and everything that has happened to him. So when you sit there and just listen to him, he likes knowing that you’re actually listening and taking it all in. Don’t say anything, just let him talk. It’s very rare that he comes and talks to you about his problems because he feels like he’s dragging you into unnecessary drama about his plans. He’s taught you to look at things from a different perspective and to think things out thoroughly.

J-Jealousy: Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He doesn’t get jealous at all really, mostly annoyed I guess. He doesn’t really do anything unless you can’t get out of the situation, it gets out of hand, or you look to him for help. If he does get jealous, he doesn’t say it and you’ll have to ask Mr. PoutyPants about it. He’ll be shut in his office and probably be a bit petty about it. I can see him hating the fact that Sanji gives you a lot of attention if you don’t shut it down. He may or may not tell you to “go talk to your other boyfriend” at some point because, well, petty. 

K-Kiss: Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Oh he’s a good kisser alright. Among plenty other things. Something tells me that pre timeskip Law would be a cocky bastard and pull you to him by your shirt and lift your chin and whatnot- just being a tease. But post timeskip Law just gives me awkward vibes but in the best way possible. He’d be a little more shy about it, honestly I think he may even plan it out in his head and just hopes that everything goes accordingly. 

L-Love Confession: How would they confess to their boyfriends/girlfriend?

He didn’t realize his feelings until the two of you were in real danger. Well he actually did but he didn’t want to admit it. He thought he was really good at pushing his feelings down and not letting bubble up but seeing you so bloody and beat up, it changed in an instant. He knew that he couldn’t lose you. When he was able to patch you up and you woke up after asking how he was, Law was mad. “How am I? You should be asking about yourself, dumbass-ya.” “Seriously Law, are you okay?” “No. I could have lost you.” That’s basically his confession and it’s the best you’re going to get until you actually hear him say that he loves you.

M-Marriage: Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

I don’t think Law would want to get married-officially, anyway- he’s not the kind of guy to settle down. He’s a pirate. If you wanted a ring, then sure he’ll get you one but I don’t think he would actually propose to you. It would be more like an unspoken thing that you guys are very much together so technically you’re married in his eyes and he’ll call you his wife/partner. **Spoilers for Wano Arc!!!** When you get captured and are in the prison with Bepo and the others and when Shinobu says to kill you guys after she thinks you snitched, he’s pissed. Absolutely livid. “You think I’m going to let you put a finger my wife/partner? You’ll be dead before you can take one step towards them.”

N-Nicknames: What do they call their boyfriends/girlfriend?

The only name I can think of him calling you is possibly “love” but it is in the utmost of privacy when he absolutely knows that no one can hear him. He just gets all flustered when others tease him for it and it’s happened a handful of times. The bedroom though is a different story

O-On Cloud Nine: What are they like when they’re in love? Is it obvious to others? How do they express their feelings?

Oh it’s so painfully obvious when he loves you to everyone but him. He thinks he’s hiding it so well, but the small unnecessary touches say otherwise. A brush past your shoulder, “Here, I made extra tea,” or him not yelling at you when you come into his office without knocking on accident. It’s the little things that make it obvious when he thinks it’s not. 

P-PDA: Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag about their boyfriends/girlfriend in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss, etc, when others are watching?

Not really. The only time he would do something like that is if you needed some sort of help and someone was hitting on you and you asked him to come over. “I don’t think my partner is very interested. I think it would be best if you leave.” He doesn’t brag very much, I’m sorry, he’s just not that kind of guy. He would much rather have your relationship be private. That being said, yes he’s way too shy to kiss you in front of others. Unless he’s sleepy, you might be able to get away with a little peck here and there. 

Q-Quirk: Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He’s in no way romantic but what he does notice is when you and him are walking along some shops and he sees when something catches your eye or when you look at something longer than the rest. You may find it on your pillow that night. (He will have stolen it.) It makes you happy and that’s all he cares about.

R-Romance: How romantic are they? What would they do to make their boyfriends/girlfriend happy? Cliche, or rather creative?

There is not one romantic bone in this man’s body. He very much relies on his crew to help him. It’s not like they set everything up, although they have a few times but it was a surprise on both of your parts. They wanted you two to have a nice evening together by yourselves and be able to relax without planning it all. That all being said, the romantic stuff is a little on the cliche side, but in the best way possible and it makes really nice memories. 

S-Support: Are they helping their boyfriends/girlfriend achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Oh my goodness yes yes yes! He might not show it often but every once in a while he’ll say that he’s proud of you at how far you’ve come as a pirate. Especially if he’s helped you train and feels how much stronger your punches and kicks are.

T-Thrill: Do they need to try out new things to spice up the relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Routine. Routine. Routine. He does not want to differ from his routine. Sure one new thing every once in a while is okay depending on what it is. But he probably won’t want to incorporate it into the everyday relationship. He likes what he has going with you. Though if you insist on something new, then he’ll try it and see if he gets used to it. If he doesn’t he’ll say something about it. If he does, he’ll stay quiet and not mention it. The second you do is when he wants to stop.

U-Understanding: How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He gets you. How well depends on how far you are in the relationship and how much you’ve talked. He’s also not very empathetic, I’m sorry. He’ll say what he thinks is best no matter what you may think about it and how much it will hurt your feelings. Sometimes it’s best because you can see another perspective and maybe he can help you from there. He will empathize with you if there’s a death or something tragic happens, he’s not that cruel. He would be there for you. 

V-Value: How important is the relationship to them? What is it worth in comparison to other things in their life?

You’re one of the most important things to Law in the world. He’s even found himself second guessing his plans and missions because he doesn’t want to lose you somehow. *spoilers I guess* If Doflamingo or Kaido ever got his hands on you and hurt you, he’d never forgive himself. He does put you first though and like I said before, you’ve argued with him over his plans and he’s very headstrong about it so he’s not going to back down.

W-Wild Card: A random fluff headcanon.

He’s let you paint his nails black one time and one time only. He won’t tell you that he actually didn’t mind it but he made you take it off before you guys went out to eat with the crew.

X-XOXO: Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Only in private. He’s a touch starved baby and he does actually really appreciate your touch when he’s stressed. So if you come into his office when he’s working on something and you can tell he’s ready to rip his hair out, he’ll love if you came up to him and hugged him from behind or rubbed his shoulders. Law actually does like to cuddle at night though when he’s trying to sleep. He’s found that when you’re either on his chest or he’s holding you it’s easier for him to get some shut eye even if it’s just for a few hours.

Y-Yearning: How will they cope when they’re missing their boyfriends/girlfriend?

He copes well enough. Of course he does miss you but he’s not going to cry about it. He might just kinda lean back in his office chair and sigh while he’s thinking about you. But when he’s really missing you, he’ll take a picture out from his desk that Bepo and Penguin made him take with you. He looks annoyed in the photo and he’s rolling his eyes, but he only pays attention to you and your bright smile and goofy pose. He can’t help but smile fondly at it. He won’t admit it but he actually really loves the picture and would never tell Bepo and Penguin that.

Z-Zeal: Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?

Absofuckinlutely! He loves you with all his heart even if he doesn’t say it very often. He hasn’t loved someone like this in a very long time so he wants to protect what he has with you at all costs. I 100% believe he would risk his life for you. He does not want to lose you or anyone he loves ever again.

#one piece #trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #law x reader #trafalgar law headcanons #trafalgar-law-headcanons #law headcanons #one piece trafalgar law #op trafalgar law #trafalgar-law headcanons #one piece headcanons

[searchingwardrobes]

It’s Been . . . a DAY 2/3

One month a few days, and finally I bring you chapter two! Sorry for the wait. Are you ready for Killian to have a bad day? And maybe a certain blonde makes it better?

Summary: Emma Swan bursts into Killian’s life in spectacular fashion - when her three year old pees on his office floor. Nevertheless, Killian is mesmerized by this tenacious woman. Perhaps fate will let them cross paths again …

Rated: G

Words: Just a bit over 2k in this chapter

Also on Ao3

Tagging: @kmomof4​  @snowbellewells​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @xhookswenchx​ @teamhook​ @let-it-raines​ @winterbythesea​ @spartanguard​ @shireness-says​ @superchocovian​ @thesschesthair​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @vvbooklady1256​ @hookedonapirate​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @hollyethecurious​ @welllpthisishappening​ @wellhellotragic​ @bethacaciakay​ @optomisticgirl​ @lfh1226-linda​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @ekr032-blog-blog​ @itsfabianadocarmo​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @thisonesatellite​ @winterbaby89​ @tiganasummertree​ @xsajx​ @jennjenn615​ @zaharadessert​​

Chapter Two:

“That’ll be $2.50.”

It’s an innocuous statement, or it normally would be, but Killian has just escaped the office after a particularly nasty run-in with Zelena Green. Escaped her demands for the most ridiculous tax deductions (with no receipts, mind you) along with her shrill screeching and her terrifying claws - ahem, manicure - so swiftly that he apparently ran to the coffee shop empty handed. 

“Um . . .” Killian’s panic mounts as he pats his jeans pockets and then his leather jacket with no success. “I think,” he chuckles awkwardly and throws the barista a lopsided and charming (he hopes) smile, “I forgot my wallet.”

The barista simply arches a brow at him, communicating quite clearly that she is immune to his wiles. She braces her arms on the counter and leans towards him.

“It’s still $2.50.”

He clutches the to-go cup in his hand so tightly that it threatens to pop the lid. 

“I heard you, lass, and I plan on giving you the money. I just need to run back to the office -”

“You’re not going anywhere until you give me two dollars and fifty cents.”

For a moment, he wants to snap at her, but he learned long ago that he can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. He leans his hip against the counter casually, lowers his gaze a bit, and gives the barista his best smolder.

“You’re a good worker . . .” he finds her name tag, “Ashley. I admire that. I promise you can trust me. My office is only down the block. I’ll be back in a flash.”

“Or I’ll never see you again. Just give me the damn $2.50. I got my pay docked last week for the tinder being short, and I sure as hell won’t let it happen again.”

This is clearly not his day. 

“$2.50 you said?” a voice over his shoulder asks. 

Killian spins, recognizing that voice. His eyes widen with joy when he sees none other than Emma Swan standing there with a sparkle in her green eyes and a smirk on her lips. She leans around him to set her cup beside his. 

“Just put his on my bill,” she tells the barista.

“I can’t let you do that,” he starts to protest, but Emma lifts a hand to stop his words. 

“It’s the least I can do after . . . well, what happened to your floors.”

He chuckles lightly, and she blushes even as she shakes her head and lifts her gaze to the ceiling as if to say what’s a mother to do though, right?

“Fine by me,” Ashley says with a shrug, ringing up Emma’s purchase. “So that’ll be $6.15.”

Killian grimaces inwardly - this is a local place, and the prices are steep - but Emma doesn’t even flinch as she scans her card and then takes the receipt. She turns to Killian with a smile, holding out his to-go cup. 

“I am in your debt,” he tells her. 

Emma rolls her eyes and waves her hand. “Are you kidding? We’re even now.”

Killian racks his brain for a way to prolong this little encounter, but before his mind can connect to his vocal chords, Emma turns to the bar that holds the cream, sugar, and various shakers of spices. He hovers, his brain still refusing to cooperate, as she removes the lid of her cup and shakes some cinnamon on the swirls of whipped cream inside. He practically jumps when she ends up breaking the awkward silence first. 

“You see, I didn’t really mind adding your $2.50 to my order. That’s nothing in this place.” She snaps the lid back on her cup and turns to face him. “Let me guess, regular coffee, black?”

He nods, a smile curling his lips as he takes a sip of said coffee. “Aye. And yours is?”

“Hot chocolate, actually. Most expensive thing on the menu besides the pastries, which is just unfair, in my opinion.”

Their gazes connect over the rims of their cups, and Killian catalogues the new information. She prefers hot chocolate over coffee, with whipped cream and cinnamon. 

“That doesn’t happen to you often, does it?” she asks.

“Forgetting my wallet?”

“No, your charm not working.”

Killian tilts his head back and laughs. Then he saunters closer to her, bends his head, and lowers his voice. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

She doesn’t seem to be visibly affected by his flirting in the least. Instead, she tosses him a casual smirk, one eyebrow arching. “Perhaps I would.”

His heart hammers in his chest as he searches her eyes. This woman is a bloody marvel. He had seen it even when she was falling apart in his office, and it’s even clearer now when she’s the one in control. His gaze falls to her lips, and he can’t help wetting his own. Abruptly, she clears her throat  and takes a step back. 

“I . . . uh, I really need to get back to my stuff.”

She hurries over to a table by the window and starts gathering up a laptop and some books and papers. A highlighter marker falls off and rolls across the floor. Killian picks it up and hands it to her. 

“Thanks,” she mutters, color staining her cheeks. 

“Work?”

“Uh, no,” she stammers, tucking hair behind both ears, “it’s school. My current job sucks, quite frankly, so I’m trying to get my degree.”

“That’s admirable,” Killan tells her sincerely. “In what?”

“Dental hygiene,” she wrinkles her nose adorably. “I know that’s stupid.”

Killian frowns. “Why in the world would you say that?”

Emma shrugs. “I mean, who likes teeth?”

He arches both brows as he bites down on his lower lip. “I can think of some reasons people would.”

She rolls her eyes again and smacks him in the arm. “You know what I mean!”

They both laugh then as he rubs at his arm exaggeratedly. “Okay, seriously, dentists like teeth. I mean, I assume they do.”

Emma shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, maybe some, but mostly I think they just know it will make them lots of money.”

“And that’s why you want to be a dental hygienist?”

Emma lifts her messenger bag and loops it over her shoulder. “I don’t need to be rich, but secure would be nice. I want to give Henry a good life, you know? And dental hygiene is steady work, steady pay, and good hours.”

Emma doesn’t seem to mind when Killian walks beside her as they leave the coffee shop. 

“You’re a good mother, Emma. I still fail to see where any of that is stupid.”

She hitches the bag further up her shoulder, then takes another sip of her hot chocolate. “I don’t know. Aren’t I supposed to be studying something I’m passionate about? Instead, I’m being completely pragmatic. All I need for this career is an associate’s degree, which will take way less time and money.”

“I think we put way too much pressure on people to find a career - a passion, as you say. At the end of the day, a job is pragmatic. We need money to live, and a job gives us that.”

“Is that why you became an accountant?” Emma tilts her head and studies him as she asks the question. “You don’t seem the type. No offense.”

He scratches behind his ear. “None taken. And yes, I make good money at it, so that’s part of it. Liam and I went our entire childhood barely surviving, so we both vowed to change that when we were old enough.”

“I get that,” Emma mutters into her cup of hot chocolate. Killian wonders at the comment, but doesn’t press her. 

“I do like numbers, though, so does Liam. We both excelled at that when we were in the Navy, and . . .” he shook his head. “It’s a dull story. We’ll just use the cliche the rest is history.”

Emma laughs, a free and easy thing in the early spring air, and Killian wants to hold onto it. For some reason, he gets the impression it’s a rare sound from her. 

“I suppose going to school for accounting is about as interesting as dental hygiene.”

“Well, then, here’s to making a living,” he tells her cheerfully, extending his coffee cup. 

She taps it with her cup of cocoa. “To making a living.”

They both sip, the air becoming charged again as their gazes linger. Then Emma glances over his shoulder, and her eyes light up. 

“Flowers!” 

She hurries over to the sidewalk display and picks up a bunch of snowdrops. “These are Mary Margaret’s favorite,” she said with a smile. 

“Really? Elsa loves them too,” Killian says, gently touching a delicate white blossom. “Who is Mary Margaret?”

“My sister,” Emma tells him, her smile fond, “foster sister, technically. Eva and Leopold adopted me when I was twelve and Mary Margaret was sixteen. I was a terror, let me tell you.”

“You had been through a lot of pain, I’m sure.”

Emma studies him for a moment, slight surprise lighting her eyes. “Yeah, I had . . . but the three of them loved me anyway. And now, well, Mary Margaret is both my sister and my best friend. She and Eva both watch Henry for me while I work and study.”

“What about Leopold?”

Emma buries her nose in the snowdrops, “He passed away when I was still in high school.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Emma gives her head a quick shake. “The point is, Mary Margaret and Eva are both the absolute best. I don’t know what I would do without them. David’s not bad either, I guess.” She chuckles fondly.

“David?” He assumes by her laughter that he isn’t a boyfriend. Please don’t let him be a boyfriend.

“Mary Margaret’s husband. They’re newlyweds and completely nauseating.”

Killian treasures each tiny nugget of Emma’s life and files it carefully away. He wants to know so much more. How did she come to have Henry? Why is she raising him alone? What pain was she forced to endure those first twelve years of her life? Though he can imagine that last one fairly well. He and Liam had spent nearly that long shuffled from home to home after their mother’s death, Brennan Jones never wanting to take responsibility for his sons. 

“I want to buy these for Jones & Jones,” Emma tells him, “as a thank you.”

“We’ve told you that it was no trouble. Besides, you bought my coffee, remember?”

Emma shakes her head. “I’ve been meaning to come by with flowers all week, but I was just too embarrassed. Please let me.”

Killian nods, albeit a bit reluctantly. He guesses that Emma is on a tight budget. She said her job sucks, and she’s caring for a toddler while also putting herself through school. He’s sure the small family she mentioned helps when they can, but still, she already spent over six dollars at the coffee shop, thanks to him. However, he can already see that she is a lass of great pride. He doesn’t want to insult her by refusing the gift. 

Emma purchases the flowers, and then she walks with him the rest of the way to Jones & Jones. Elsa exclaims over the flowers just as Killian expected her to, even enveloping Emma in a hug. Ariel hugs her too and asks about Henry. Even Liam is lured away from his desk, and he ends up showing off pictures of little Ian to Emma. He and Elsa swap funny stories about raising a three year old, and before long, an hour has passed. 

“Oh my God,” Emma suddenly gasps, “what time is it?”

“Almost five,” Elsa tells her. 

“Shit, I’ve gotta go. Mary Margaret is expecting me soon, and Henry gets cranky when dinner is late.”

Killian stands there like an idiot as Emma rushes out in a whirlwind, leaving her now cold hot chocolate on the edge of Killian’s desk. 

“Please tell me you asked her out this time,” Liam says once the door has shut behind her. 

Killian groans. He didn’t even get her number. 

“Maybe you’ll run into her again?” Ariel suggests, but there isn’t much faith in her voice.

Not that Killian blames her for her doubt. Fate gave him a second chance, and he doesn’t hold out much hope that it will give him a third. 

#cs #cs ff #modern au #first meeting #and second meeting? #mommy!emma #single mom emma #little henry #fluff #humor

[ssa-babygirl]

Out of My League [Part 2]

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Single mom!Reader

Word count: 4.5k (ohohohoho i went OVERBOARD with the dialogue here I am sorry for all the useless exposition)

Summary: Most things have changed in the last 10 years, but it’s safe to say that a few things stayed exactly the same. Mixed POV

Warning(s): Mentions of past bullying, mentions of cheating, mentions of kidnapping, general criminal minds stuff, cursing, VERY VERY BRIEF MENTION of a miscarriage and leukemia like it’s one sentence and that’s all

Author’s Note: The moment yall have been waiting for! They grow up so fast!! I’m going on a quick trip this week and then heading back to school a few days later, so the next part may take a little longer, but I’m super excited to write it!!

[Previous Part] [Series Masterlist]

Las Vegas, Nevada, 2004

(Spencer’s POV)

My first case out on the field was not a pleasant one. Well, it rarely is, that’s what happens when you work for the FBI to catch serial killers. For the first couple of weeks at the BAU, I helped them consult on cases, but they weren’t sure I was ready to go out on the field with them. After I got my weapon certification, Gideon told me he wanted me to come along on the next case because I was familiar with the area. There had been a series of child abductions near Vegas, my hometown. I would have been much more nervous about traveling had I not been able to see my mom while I was there. I hadn’t visited her in a while and the guilt was gnawing at me.

The first day was brutal. Hotch made some of us go back to the hotel late at night, but it was hard for us to sleep. JJ hated working cases about children, so she went to have a quick drink at the hotel bar, where she promptly forgot her purse and had to call me from her room to go get it for her. I had no hope of getting any rest that night, so I figured I’d take a walk down the hall and try to clear my head. 

There was no sign of the purse at first glance, no small black clutch on the bar like JJ said. But there was a woman cleaning glasses behind the counter, maybe she knew where the purse was.

As I approached the bar, the woman’s features took a familiar shape and triggered a distant memory. Seeing her face again was like coming home after a long drive without a map, squinting through the dark and hoping the headlights would get brighter when finally, you’re pulling onto a road that you know by heart. 

I didn’t need to look at her nametag, I already knew who she was, but judging by her polite smile borne solely out of the courtesy required to work in the service industry, she didn’t recognize me. In her defense, I had grown about a foot and a half since the last time she saw me. And I got a freaking haircut. 

“Y-Y/N?” 

She looked up from her rags and scrunched up her face in confusion.

“Okay, so you definitely know me, and I am so sorry about this, but I can’t quite place it. You look so familiar, though, I just… I meet a lot of people with this job, I’m so sorry, I forgot your name.”

I grinned, she still had that same habit of apologizing every five seconds, “I don’t really have that problem, eidetic memory and all.”

Her eyes widened, “Spencer? Spencer Reid!”

I laughed and nodded.

“You’re so tall now! What has it been, like, 10 years? Oh my goodness, come here.” She awkwardly leaned over the bar and hugged me. She still used the same shampoo. 

“How ya been, kid?”

“I’m good! H-How are you?”

“Doing fine, thanks. What brings you back to good ol’ Sin City?”

“I’m here for work.”

“Oh, and what are you doing now?” She leaned on the counter and gazed up with curious eyes, “Helping the doctors at Area 51?”

Good to know she still had jokes, “No actually, I’m with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.”

“Woah, you’re a fed now?”

“Yeah, we’re investigating a series of--”

“Kidnappings. Yeah. Scary shit. Can I get you a drink?”

“No, I’m good.”

“You close to catching the guy?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Any of the kids turn up?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We found one boy this morning. He… didn’t make it.”

Her face dropped to a look of worry I hadn’t seen since she took off my blindfold that day on the football field, “Name. I need a name,” her voice grew hoarse.

“I can’t really disclose that information.”

“Spencer, please. Every day my kid comes home from school and asks me if I was watching the news.”

I couldn’t deny the way my heart sank at the news, but I could sure as hell ignore it, “Y-You have kids?”

“One. Little Jamie. His best friend, Robbie, is missing.” Robbie Carter, age five, he’s been missing for the past two weeks. He’s likely dead, but we still haven’t found him.

“Every time someone misses school he gets scared they got taken too. Baby Boy doesn’t understand flu season yet.”

“How old is he?” I had to get her mind off of this. I don’t want to worry her.

“Five. Just started kindergarten. Wanna see a picture?” Seems like I succeeded. 

“Sure.”

She whipped out her phone and pulled up a picture of Jamie on his first day of school, backpack far too big for his body. Y/N was posed next to him, the picture too small to show that she was crying ever so slightly.

“Adorable, right?”

I couldn’t stop the grin spreading across my face, “Cute kid. Looks just like you.”

She looked back at the photo and smiled softly, “Except the eyes. He’s got his dad’s eyes.”

I glanced down at her hand holding the phone and was greeted with a pleasant surprise, “I’m guessing Jamie’s dad isn’t in the picture?”

Offense flickered across her features for a second, her eyebrows twitching and lips pursing, “How’d you know?”

“No ring.”

“You do work for the FBI.”

“Would you mind telling me what happened?”

“You know, you’re supposed to be the one spilling your sorrows to the bartender, not the other way around.”

“You don’t have to tell me, just thought we could catch up, I haven’t seen you in ten years.”

She sighed, returning her phone to the front pocket in her apron, “Remember Kyle Brothers?”

“Oh, do I? Yeah, of course, I remember your high school boyfriend, Y/N. What tipped you off, the eidetic memory, or the fact he used to beat me up after gym class?” It was more like the intense rage and jealousy I had when they got back together after football season ended.

“God, see, I always knew he was an asshole, but it never seemed to faze me, I’m so sorry about that.”

“You did what you could. And you apologize too much.”

“Sor--”

She froze mid-word and made a face as she realized once again that she was about to apologize yet again. I stifled a chuckle, but she laughed and grabbed a rag from the counter to finish cleaning the glasses.

“So Kyle?”

“Yes, Kyle. We broke up again before college, I was going out of state and didn’t wanna do long distance, you know all that. I was in a really bad place during my senior year of college, so after graduation, I decided to move back home for a bit, spend some time with my mom--”

“How is she?”

“She’s great! Moved to D.C. with my dad a while back.”

“I should visit her, Quantico isn’t far.” 

She returned a genuine smile, “She would love that.”

“Sorry I interrupted you, keep going.”

“You’re fine. Long story short, moving back home for a few months turned into having a one night stand with my ex. Which turned into us getting engaged nine months later while I’m exhausted and holding my son.”

“Well, that’s a fun birth story for Jamie.”

“Yeah, ‘Happy Birthday, sweetie, your father proposed to me while you were, like, an hour old and then cheated on me six months later.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.” She popped the p, “Came home and heard two things: Jamie fussing in his sleep from the playpen and bedsprings squeaking in our room.”

“I’m guessing that you guys were done for good after that?”

“Nice detective work.”

“Technically, I’m a profiler, not a detective, as they typically work in local police departments and I work for the federal government, not a precinct--”

“Jesus, kid, you’re gonna put the poor lil lady to sleep,” I turned around and saw Morgan crossing the lobby to the bar, still in his work clothes.

“If I'm yawning it’s from my double shift, not his rambling. It’s been a while since I heard a good Spencer Reid knowledge dump.”

“You two know each other?” He leaned on the bar and I could sense him turning on the classic Derek Morgan charm.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Uh, Y/N, this is SSA Derek Morgan, we work together, Morgan, this is Y/N L/N, we went to high school together.” The “I had a huge crush on her” was silent.

“Nice to meet you, doll,” he reached out a hand to shake yours. His eyes lingered on you for a bit too long, and I recognized the look in her eyes from the way she talked to Kyle in the halls before our study sessions, and I didn’t like any of that one bit.

Derek turned back to me, “JJ sent you down here a while ago, she’s looking for you.”

I glanced at Y/N and tried to hide the cocktail of emotions in my mind, “I guess I just lost track of time.”

He probably caught onto something because his regular teasing smirk flashed on across his face, “You guess, sure, loverboy, I’ll be in our room. Nice meeting you, Y/N.” He left and she waved, watching him as he left.

“JJ?” She asked, turning back to me.

“Coworker of mine, she left her purse down here and sent me to get it for her.”

“Oh, Blondie from earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“She seemed nice. So pretty!” She reached below the bar and pulled out the small black purse that was left behind about an hour before, holding it up to me and cocking an eyebrow.

“Yep.” 

“How long have you two been working together? Long enough to be more than coworkers?”

I laughed uncomfortably, “Uh, n-no, actually this is actually my first case on the field, before this I only really helped the team consult on cases, but this one was urgent and I wanted to visit my mom so they brought me along.”

“Well, send Diana my love.”

“Of course. And if you hear anything from Jamie about another missing kid, give us a call.” I reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, sliding it to her and leaving with a sympathetic smile, wishing I could say more.

              (Reader POV)

About a week after you ran into Spencer, you were closely following the story as it unfolded on the news. Another kid had gone missing, the second in two weeks. His name was Drew Olson, he was a year older than Jamie. They didn’t find a body yet, so there was still hope. Robbie hadn’t turned up either, which was the best news you had about him. No other bodies have shown up yet, and the cause of death for the boy they found was starvation, so the guy probably didn’t want to hurt these kids.

Regardless of whether or not the situation was actually dangerous, the school still increased security, since two of the victims were students. The pickup line was heavily monitored by teachers and faculty to make sure all students went home with their parents. You had gotten there a bit later than usual, forcing you to the back of the crowd where you couldn’t see the kids as they came out of the building. 

When you finally got up towards the front, there were only a handful of kids left.

And Jamie wasn’t one of them.

Panic started to twist your stomach into knots, but the rational part of your brain clawed at the inside of your skull saying he was just inside, he was waiting in a classroom, he was safe.

You pushed through to the teacher that was keeping track of names on her clipboard. She was younger, just about your age, and wore wire-framed glasses that complimented her dark braids. She gave a warm smile and asked for your child’s name.

“Brothers, Jamie Brothers.”

“Alrighty, let’s see--” she paused as her finger stopped over a name highlighted by a bright green, indicating that the child had been picked up: Jamie Brothers.

“He’s not here.”

“What? What do you mean he’s not here?” The part of your brain that said he was safe fucked right off and left you a shaking mess on the pavement. The teacher reached an arm out and held you by the elbow as your knees buckled beneath you. Other parents’ attention was suddenly directed towards you. 

“Ma’am, the sheet says he was picked up already.”

“But by who? Not me! So who the hell took my son?” All eyes were on you as you didn’t even bother to control the volume of your voice. 

“Mrs. Brothers, please remain calm, I’m sure there’s been a mistake, I can send someone in to find him inside the school.”

“Please…” You whimpered, unable to find your breath.

...Give us a call…

Spencer’s words echoed in your mind and you knew what you had to do, so you scrambled through your bag for the card you were given the week before. You frantically cursed under your breath as you searched for your wallet. You finally found it, taking it out with your phone so you could call the number on the card. It rang once, twice, three times before an unfamiliar voice crackled through on the other side. 

“Agent Hotchner.”

“Are you with the FBI?”

“...Yes, who is this?”

“My name is Y/N L/N, Spencer Reid gave me this number if I knew anything.”

“Do you have information regarding the recent abductions?”

“My son’s been taken.” You could feel the lump in your throat nearly restricting any words from coming out.

“Hold on, ma’am, where are you?”

“I’m at the school, he’s not here. I came to get him and he’s not here, I don’t know what to do!”

“Miss L/N, stay put, we’re on our way.” The call ended with a click and suddenly the world went quiet. There was nothing but the rush of blood pounding in your ears. All you could do was stare blankly at nothing in particular as the phone fell from your hand, hitting the pavement, your knees following quickly behind. You felt the bruises on impact, but you couldn’t care less about how much pain you were in, not when you felt this numb. Your pain didn’t matter anymore, all that mattered was that Jamie was missing and you were powerless to help. The remaining parents surrounded you, all clutching the shoulders of their children, their safe children, the ones they didn’t have to call the fucking FBI to pick up from school today.

When your brain was able to process information again, you noticed the school parking lot had filled with police cars, including two large black SUVs. You squinted through the inappropriately bright sunlight and the bitter tears in your eyes to see a tall man in a dark suit approach you. Behind him, a scrawny young man in a plaid buttondown was following closely.

You recognized him right away this time.

“Spencer,” your voice was barely a whisper as you attempted to stand on your shaking legs. You looked straight past the man in the suit and scrambled over to him. Before you could even reach him, his arms were stretched out to you, enveloping you in a tight hug as soon as you were close enough.

Your heart had to be beating out of your chest, and you were sure he felt it against him. The tears running down your cheeks stained his shirt, soaking him to the skin as he cradled your head against his chest, trying to do whatever he could to make you feel safe again, no matter how scared he was.

The man in the suit was now joined by an older man in a brown jacket and the man you met at the bar the other night, Derek, you think his name was. The suit turned to you and Spencer and introduced himself as Agent Hotchner, the man you spoke to on the phone. He asked you to describe what happened when you arrived, if you saw anyone who looked out of place, if you saw evidence of a struggle. Spencer’s arms never left your frame the whole time you spoke.

“Thank you very much, Miss L/N, I promise we’ll find your son, we have time on our side. Reid, stay with her in the meantime, Morgan, go question the parents, Gideon and I will talk to the monitors and see if they knew who picked Jamie was picked up by.”

“Yes, sir.”

All the men left to complete their tasks except for Spencer, who was supposed to stay put with you. The second you were alone with him once again, your face returned to the spot on his dampened shirt where it had previously been. One of his hands was planted firmly on your upper back, the other stroking your hair between his fingers.

It’s strange, really. Last time you saw him he was just a kid. A brilliant, sweet, small kid. The kid who’s hair you’d fuck with. The kid you held after his bullies hurt him. Then you don’t see him for over a decade and suddenly the roles are reversed. He was tall enough to rest his chin on your head now, which you had mixed feelings about, but you couldn’t deny it calmed you down. Almost as much as his quick yet steady heartbeat drumming right in your ear. The kid was still skinny, but his hugs were still warm. 

“You’re alright, we’re gonna find him,” he whispered into your hair, but you had a feeling those words weren’t only for you. After a few minutes, the three other agents returned to where you and Spencer stood, alerting the two of you that the team would be heading back to the police station where you were welcome to wait with them. Derek figured you were too shaken to drive yourself, so he offered to let you ride along with him and Spencer in the SUV, which you did not hesitate to accept.

Once at the station, you were greeted by the blonde from the bar. What was her name again?

“Jennifer Jareau, I’m the press liaison for the team. You can call me JJ.”

She sat with you while Spencer worked with the others on the case. You wanted to be updated whenever progress was made, but she told you that wasn’t totally possible. Regardless of how against the rules it was, she still gave you the profile. The unsub likely worked with children and knew them and faculty well enough to enter the building and take the kids without being noticed. They may be a parent going through a loss, as no evidence of sexual assault or any physical violence was found on the only body save for light ligature marks on the wrists. Due to the relatively nonviolent nature of the crime, the unsub could be a woman. They likely live alone since they are keeping several young boys in their home. Although this likely wasn’t the work of a pedophile, a trafficking ring could not be ruled out yet.

You suddenly understood why the victims’ families aren’t supposed to know the profile. You thought it would make you feel better, but it only made you feel worse. JJ opened up another box of tissues for you, got you water, and offered you snacks, but there was no way you could get anything down. Every sound, every person that passed the window, every buzz of JJ’s phone sent your stomach plummeting down a death drop. You had just calmed yourself down from yet another panic attack when you saw agents strapping on kevlar vests and putting their guns into their holsters.

They knew where the kids were.

              (Spencer’s POV)

I wasn’t allowed to see her before we left. I couldn’t tell her where I was going, I couldn’t tell her that Jamie would be okay, I couldn’t tell her anything. I barely spoke to her since we got back to the station, and that was hours ago. Now I-- we just have to leave her there again.

This was my first time going out on the field in this capacity. I’d never had to step out of that SUV with my gun out, ready to shoot anyone who threatened the lives of my team or any hostages they may have. I’d never had to strap on a kevlar vest and worry about the potential bruises that may be left behind by being hit with bullets. I’d never had to worry about not coming back before.

“Don’t be worried. If your hands shake you won’t get a clear shot,” Gideon reminded me in the car, as if I’d be able to get a clear shot with a steady hand anyway.

The unsub was a woman named Harriet Yanonovich. According to hospital records pulled by Garcia, our new tech analyst, her son had recently passed after a short and sudden battle against leukemia. This came shortly after Harriet had a miscarriage that triggered a chemical imbalance, degrading her mental health, which resulted in the trigger, losing her job at the elementary school that the boys had each been taken from. I would have felt bad for her if she hadn’t taken my friend’s son away from her.

But she did, and now I just have to hope she didn’t hurt him.

We arrived at Harriet’s house fairly quickly. Hotch sent Morgan and me around the back, he and Gideon would take the front. As we rounded the back of the house, we discovered that she had a storm cellar under her deck. The doors were closed with a heavy padlock. Morgan aimed his gun to shoot it off the chain.

“Don’t do that. The bullet would ricochet and hit you in the knee.”

He lowered his weapon, “You got a better idea, pretty boy?”

“Yes, actually.” I quietly crept onto the deck, lifting the welcome mat from in front of the sliding glass door into the absolute wreck of a kitchen. Under the mat was a simple looking key. 

“She’s a school teacher going through a depressive episode, not a criminal mastermind.”

“Alright then, genius,” he rolled his eyes, “Let’s see if it even works.”

I inserted the key into the lock, hearing a click and turning it with little difficulty. The shackle popped open. I gently removed it from the chains, trying my hardest not to make any noise that would alarm anyone in the cellar. Unwrapping the chains from the handles, I turned back to face Morgan.

“I accept your apology.” I attempted to muster my smuggest smile, but it was hard to mask the dread and worry on my face.

“Yeah, yeah, open up.”

He grabbed one handle and I grabbed the other, sliding the metal doors open and revealing a staircase into a shadowy basement.

“You first.” Morgan nudged my shoulder.

“What? No way! Morgan, this is serious!”

“So go! It’s your girl’s kid!”

He was right. Not about Y/N being my girl, because she wasn’t (though the thought did briefly replace the anxiety in my heart with pure light that I hadn’t felt since I was twelve), but I was still doing this for her. This case wasn’t just a job for me. This was for Y/N. For Jamie. Y/N deserves to see her son again, I owe her that much.

Derek would learn about my fear of the dark much later, but from how fast I jumped down those stairs into that cellar, he’d never been able to tell.

Against the farthest wall, there were four young boys all curled up in a corner. From the limited light, I could see they were all covered in varying levels of filth, the cleanest boy baring the face I had seen on Y/N’s phone screen. The boys all looked terrified, the two dirtiest looking thin and weak against the ties that bound them to a water pipe. I called up to Morgan to come down and lowered my gun.

“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI, I’m here to help you guys, okay?” The boys all nodded. Morgan helped me untie their wrists.

“Do you know where Mrs. Yanonovich went?”

“She said she was going upstairs, and that we have to be good or else we wouldn’t get any supper,” Jamie piped up.

“How long you been down here, kid?” Morgan asked.

Jamie shrugged, “Couple hours.”

“Did she hurt any of you?” The kids all shook their heads no.

Hotch’s voice crackled over the radio, “We have her in custody, any sign of the kids?”

“Yep, we found them in the cellar. All are alive, but we may need a medic on standby at the station for some of them.”

“Are they hurt?”

“No, just malnourished. Definitely dehydrated.”

Morgan and I led the kids out to the surface, the setting sun creating a glare off of the tin cellar doors. We were greeted by Gideon and police rounding the corner to the backyard. The kids ran out the gate towards the police cars, eager to be home soon. 

               (Reader POV)

“Okay, I’ll let them know.” JJ hung up and turned back to you, a relieved smile gracing her face. You stood up, desperate to hear the news she had.

“They found the kids, Jamie’s safe.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from lunging at the woman you barely knew, wrapping her in a bear hug as delighted laughs left your lungs. You felt tears of pure relief drip down your cheeks as she squeezed you back, also letting out a deep sigh.

You waited impatiently in the bullpen, anxious to see Jamie unharmed and to give the team your gratitude. When they finally arrived, you saw your son walking hand-in-hand with Spencer and the older agent you believed was named Gideon. Spencer pointed over to you with his free hand and smiled, causing Jamie to drop their hands and sprint into your arms crying “Mommy! Mommy!” You immediately lifted him up and covered his face with kisses. The two of you held onto one another so tight, you were surprised either of you could breathe. Spencer came over to you, smiling with eyes you couldn’t quite recognize. 

“Thank you, Spencer.”

“No need, Y/N. I’m glad I could help. I just wish I could have met Jamie here on better terms!”

You adjusted your hold on Jaime to free one hand, stretching it out for Spencer to take it in his own. You squeezed it gently, smiling into those hazel eyes that had somehow never looked warmer before, despite the deep shadows under them.

“Thank you.”

His pursed lips twitched slightly and you noticed the tears brimming his sunken eyes. The poor boy needed sleep and a lot of it soon. He squeezed your hand back, sending shockwaves up your arms straight to your heart, which hadn’t felt this light since you were seventeen years old.

Taglist~~~

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[the-melting-world]

picrew

Seeing as how long I have been a HUGE fan of the airbender series (ATLA), it's actually kind of ridiculous that I never got into the fandom. Anyway, humor me while I go through each of my ocs and babble about their roles, histories, and bending styles in the ATLA universe! Also please excuse the fact that they had zero afro-textured options for hair in this one lol.

*Check under the cut for an unnecessary amount of lore.*

Kipling ~ Waterbender | Northern-style waterbending, vine/plant-bending, healing

Water Tribe Babeyyyyy

I don't really see Kip hailing from the Southern or Northern Water Tribes, but rather from a coastal village that developed after a handful of Southern Water Tribe hostages escaped one of the prisoner of war strongholds in the Earth Kingdom. I mean, if Hama (The Puppetmaster) and the plant benders from Foggy Swamp were any indication, there were water benders scattered all over the Earth Kingdom during Lord Ozai's military campaign.

Bending-wise, Kip has always been an average waterbender, whose bending is strongest when she's manipulating the water in plants and vines. When she comes of age, she is determined to advance her skills and find a way to serve her tribe more directly. So she travels to the Northern Water Tribe to seek an apprenticeship. There Kip advances her skills in traditional water bending forms (because up until then, her methods have been rather unorthodox) as well as her affinity for healing.

While Kip is up north, she does get close to Princess Yue in their healing classes. For a long time, Kip develops what she believes is a stupid crush, but eventually discovers the Princess has mutual feelings. Step aside, Sokka, you ain't the only one. Kip and Yue explore their relationship, but only briefly until the guilt and paranoia of getting caught and tarnishing Yue's reputation catches up to them. Kip ends up leaving in the dead of night leaving nothing but - you guessed it - a poem for Yue to find.

Kip happens to be one of the travelers Team Avatar meets while they're on the road. It's quite some time after the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. This is after Yue has passed on, but before the group reaches Ba Sing Se. Both being kind of self-taught waterbenders, Kip and Katara bond very easily. Kip has a hard time being around Sokka since it's the first time she's felt something for someone since Yue. Still, despite Kip's efforts to ignore Sokka, they end up bonding over a lot of stuff, both stupid and serious. I'm not going to go into details about what went down when they inevitably learned of each other's past relationships with Yue, but yes, there were lots of emotions. A lot of Kip trying to run away and shake herself of Sokka. A lot of Sokka battling between pursuing her or leaving her alone. It's a mess. And no I still don't know how it turns out. Haven't planned it out that far.

After Ozai is defeated, Kip makes her living as a traveling waterbending instructor with her good Earth Kingdom friend, Khleo. She travels the territories, finding hidden water tribes and informing them of the fall of Ozai. She works with Khleo and the community members to open smalls schools, closely modeled after the earthbending schools in Omashu.

***

Khleo ~ Earthbender | earthbending, sandbending, lavabending

Khleo had a rocky start to their journey. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

They were born in an area that bordered on the Si Wong Desert and the mountain chain dividing the land from Chameleon Bay (where they later meet Kipling.) Naturally, Khleo picks up a little bit from each of the known forms of earth manipulation. Although they develop into a fully realized master by the time they reach adulthood, they don't ever try their hand at meltalbending when it starts to gain popularity after the fall of Ozai.

Khleo grew up poor and had to resort to unsavory business ventures with the local sandbenders in order to keep food on the table. But since they were the sole bender that could calm down the nearby volcanoes whenever they acted up, they were always regarded as a hero within the community.

Eventually, the Fire Nation finds a way to complicate Khleo's existence and they have to flee their home. First, they cross the mountain range to Chameleon Bay, where they meet the waterbender Kipling, who they easily bond with. Khleo and Kip travel together for some time until they run into Jet and his crew. Jet's lifestyle appeals to Khleo, who was tired of roughing it. But Kip takes one look at Jet and knows that he's bad news. She and Khleo part ways.

Like most of the kids in Jet's crew, Khleo blinded themself to his activities in order to survive and stay connected to a family group. But when his actions become too hard for them to go along with, they abandon the Freedom Fighters and go to go look for work elsewhere.

Khleo had set their sights on Omashu, where they believed they could earn an honest living and still practice their bending without the eyes of the Fire Nation bearing down on them. The journey was tough and Khleo had a few brushes with death, but they made it to Omashu. There they were immediately hired by a cabbage vendor who struggled in the past with keeping his wares in one piece. Khleo guarded his cabbage stand for all but a week before they were noticed by some Omashu academy trainers. They offered Khleo a job as an instructor in multiple earthbending forms. Surprised, but very willing, Khleo accepted. Eventually, Khleo was inducted into the Order of the White Lotus.

Years later, Khleo reunites with a very emotionally scarred Kipling. She stays with them until the capture of King Bumi, after which they quickly leave the city so that they can carry out the will of the White Lotus in hopes to undermine the Fire Nation's plan to conquer the Earth Kingdom on the day of Sozin's Comet 2.0.

***

Ozy ~ The Avatar Firebender/Airbender hybrid | firebending, airbending

Ozy's kind of special. He has an affinity for two elements.

He was born in the Fire Nation in a very, very small village on the coast of Crescent Island. When Ozy's parents noticed that their child was something of a prodigy, they brought him straight to the Fire Sages.

Now, there was a split among the sages. Some were loyal to Lord Ozai while others were secretly members of the Order of the White Lotus. One of the members recognized Ozy's affinity for airbending very early on and did everything they could to protect him.

Without being able to say goodbye to his parents or getting an explanation for what was happening, Ozy was sent to the Western Air Temple (you know, the cool upsidedown one) where he learned airbending with the help of older White Lotus members as well as spiritual experts like Guru Pathik (the same guru who taught Aang how to navigate the Avatar State.)

As Ozy became more and more enlightened, he came to believe that his gift was not a rare one. When he was not actively practicing the rudimentary components of bending, he was meditating on the factors that led the majority of people to believe that the ability to bend was inherited based on the ethnic and cultural group into which they were born. He thought that while this was true to some degree, additional affinities could be unlocked through the forgotten teachings of the Air Nomads.

To test his theory, Ozy went on a very dangerous journey to the Library in the Si Wong Desert, where he met and became very bonded to Uncle Iroh. Thankfully, Iroh and Ozy managed to not get eaten by the Library's spiritual patron. Later, Ozy declined Iroh's invitation to the Order of the White Lotus, instead choosing to retire to the Northern Air Temple. Thre he ended up assisting the mechanists with the construction of the flight technology (part of which had already been stolen and weaponized by the Fire Nation.) Ozy never left the Northern Air Temple to help in the fight against Ozai. Instead, he remained and became the first of the Air Acolytes, from which grows a community that later founded Air Temple Island and discovered the next child born into the Avatar Cycle - Korra of the Water Tribe.

***

Sun Bai ~ Airbender | proficient in airbending. Technically.

Bai, unfortunately, did not discover that he was an airbender until he was well into his twenties. The only way he unlocked his affinity for bending was through a traumatic event, the effects of which he managed to suppress for several years. It wasn't until Bai found himself in another flight or fight situation that he spontaneously called upon his connection to the air element. (Turns out Ozy was kind of right!)

Once Bai realized what he was made of, he made it a point to gather as much knowledge on the subject as he could. Everything that he came to understand about bending was self-taught. Meditation came more naturally to him, but even that required additional training, discipline, and theory to fully master. (He was basically the opposite of Avatar Korra, who picked up on the manual technique of airbending quite easily, but struggled with its spiritual component.)

Bai didn't really play a role in the fight against Lord Ozai. He didn't run into any of the Trio or Team Avatar. His journey didn't really start until after the war. At which point he meets General Adrenaline, and then later, Sascha of the Water Tribe.

General Rosario Adrenaline ~ Firebender | firebending, master in lightning redirection

Like Ozy, Adrenaline was another firebending prodigy. (In fact, it was Adrenaline who worked very closely with Princess Azula to hone her lightning redirection technique.) Eventually, Nali's skills were exploited to the fullest in the Fire Nation's military campaign, but long before that, firebending for her was a means to perform and entertain the masses.

Adrenaline grew up in the same circus troupe as Ty Lee! They had been best friends since childhood and ended up escaping together.

While Princess Azula always favored Ty Lee and Mei over Nali as bodyguards, she often went to Nali for "companionship." Azula kept her relationship with Nali very private. It lasted well into Azula's teenage years and got pretty serious. Though neither of them considered themselves in love with the other (just due to the fact that there was so much of a strain on them thanks to social hierarchy, and Azula being Azula) Nali developed a very deep, unhealthy loyalty to Azula, that in the end, resulted in her banishment from protecting the royal family.

After she was banished, Nali linked up with Zuko, who wasn't really all that happy about it, but Iroh steps in and gives the wise compassionate uncle lecture. Zuko folds and Nali becomes one his crew!

Nali and Azula continue to pursue their relationship. And now that it started to hinge on whenever Azula came around to fuck with Zuko's head, you can imagine how even more unhealthy and eventually toxic it became. Nali was torn between her loyalty to Azula versus her loyalty to Zuko. And Azula... didn't really care. It was a mess. Didn't end pretty.

Only after Azula was imprisoned by her brother did Nali finally wipe her hands completely clean of the Fire Nation's royal family. Not really caring what was happening in the rest of the world, she stumbled around from territory to territory, drinking, gambling, and taking up muscle for hire gigs to keep herself afloat. Until she meets and unexpectedly bonds with a very lazy monk, who needed an escort through the Serpent's Pass.

***

Sascha ~ Nonbender | weapons specialist - firearms and projectiles

Solo ~ Waterbender | Southern-style waterbending, bloodbending

Sascha and Solo were both students of Hama. Nuff said.

Although the twins soaked up much of Hama's ruthless, yet practical attitude towards survival, they just didn't inherit her very deep, eternal loathing for the Fire Nation.

They also realized that she was pretty messed up.

When Sascha and Solo were of age, they made a clean break from Hama and decided to open up a business in one of the towns along the mountainside.

Having grown up in the Fire Nation colonies, Sascha and Solo were very used to hiding their connection to their Water Tribe heritage. They blended in well and opened their garment and optics shop. It was a strange combination, but they managed to stake their claim in the community.

However, the two of them were still very clear enemies of the Fire Nation. They rebelled by getting the information out to other Water Tribe refugees living in hiding. Solo taught bloodbending in his self defense classes (which was much easier for him to pull off rather than traditional waterbending because it required less physical labor and thus did not put as much of a strain on his body.)

Meanwhile, Sascha would show Water Tribe nonbenders how to assemble firearms, which at the time, were considered still very new and dangerous technology.

Solo was happy with their life, but Sascha grew bored and restless. She wanted an adventure.

Then one day a very strange monk winds up wounded on her doorstep in the middle of the night. He's riddled with bullets - the kind of which only Fire Nation militia and Sascha herself would know how to remove and treat the damage they could cause...

***

And a treat for those that made it this far! 😜

Me!!! A water-airbender hybrid. And you're damn right I would have some hair loopies!

#this ended up be very long and involved #yall i am sorry but i needed it get it out somehow lol #this has nothing to do with the arcana #and yet... #kipling the apprentice #ozy the grey mage #khleo the barhand #sun bai the psychic #mestra adrenaline #sascha the gunslinger #solo the seamstress #atla

[kidhawks]

WAHHGUHFH.. FANTASY HAWKS.. I LOVE UR DESIGN FOR HIM AGHH!! and do u have stuff to say abt him bcos i would LOVE to hear it

YAY i’m glad u like him :’) fantasy au time hehe 😈 it’s still a work in progress but yes.. a few thoughts. i’m just spitballing here so if anyone has ideas of their own i’d love to hear them <3

hawks “”works”” for the commission (aka is owned by them) who still get to be a shady organisation whose goal is to maintain peace and order across kingdoms, which r probably ruled by important characters like endeavor, all might, all for one etc. no one likes the commission because they’re always sticking their nose in other people’s business lmao. they’ve controlled things from the shadows for a loooong time, assassinating leaders who get too power hungry, quashing rebellions before they can begin etc. they want things to stay exactly as they are, always, and so far they’ve mostly succeeded

quirks still exist but mutant discrimination is more pronounced—they only recently got equal rights in all kingdoms. it’s what allowed hawks to be basically enslaved the way he is. now the freedom laws are passed he could technically leave the commission but for a multitude of Reasons he stays. eg, his priority is also maintaining peace not because he thinks society is perfect how it is—far from it—but because upset peace means civilian death. he wants to see change but if innocents die for it then it’s not worth it. his goals align with the commission’s enough that he’ll continue to help them. however, other people, especially other mutants, can’t understand why he’d stay and he’s viewed with a mixture of “dirty commission dog too loyal for his own good” and “poor thing was raised to love the hand that hit it and can’t fathom the idea of freedom, so sad”

similarly to canon, hawks was sold to the commission when he was young and trained into a spy/assassin hehe (what’s the point of an au if it isn’t self indulgent?). the tattoos are added to with achievements. the diamond on his chest was immediately inked on him when he arrived, while the lines are added for things like significant kills, successful missions. i’m toying with the idea of them being a way of controlling him, like they cause pain if he disobeys, but i’m also fond of them just being a symbolic representation of ownership... hmm. oh!! maybe they give him power while also hurting him if he disobeys? i’ll have to think more abt how that works lol, i want him to be able to disobey at times, but knowing hawks he’ll find ways to sneakily work around orders while still technically obeying

his job consists of flying around the kingdoms and knowing everything that’s going on at any given time. there isn’t a rumour he hasn’t heard, whether from frequenting underground fighting rings or influential nobles’ bedrooms if he has to. for discretion’s purpose the tattoos can be made invisible for periods of time but never truly removed—everyone knows him now anyway, the commission’s pet with the bright red wings, so the tattoos are rarely concealed anymore. everyone thinks they can avoid letting slip any information to him but jokes on them because his wings don’t miss a whisper and he’s a charmer to the point that you don’t know what you’ve said until he’s saying “thanks, that was really helpful! great chat! bye!”

he’s also basically a messenger pigeon between kingdoms since he can travel so quickly. the commission “kindly” offered his services but everyone knows it’s a method of planting him in every castle to hear them juicy deets, and you don’t refuse the commission because you want to keep your head, thanks. so hawks is familiar with each ruler and their castle staff for good measure, and probably a fair few commoners too... he was one of them once after all. he’s originally from endeavor’s kingdom but the guy doesn’t need to know that

all might thinks he’s a charming young man but hawks is weirdly creeped out by the constant smile and actually prefers the grump endeavor who shoos him like a pigeon. all for one is terrifying and hawks knows he’s after war but he can’t prove it. if it comes down to it he might have to resort to assassination, but if done wrong that could cause more problems than it solves (plus, killing, bleaugh). he hates afo’s castle and leaves as soon as he’s delivered a message, though he enjoys bothering afo’s heir shigaraki first (hawks was eighteen when he first spotted shigaraki, fifteen, sulking around the castle like he didn’t have a friend in the world. well, maybe hawks could change that and get some info while he was at it... unfortunately shigs is surprisingly tight lipped but he’s good for board games)

i’m thinking of making other top-ten heroes into rulers of their own kingdoms? queen miruko would be awesome, imagine!! the first animal mutant queen who’s loved for not being a passive leader but a fighter with a passionate love for her people. hawks doesn’t like how unpredictable she is, it makes his job harder, while she thinks he lets himself be walked all over and it pisses her off, but i think they could be great pals if they got to know each other. edgeshot the ninja king. jeanist is a peaceful, pragmatic leader who hawks actually gets along with. sorry, pb, i have no idea how to fit wash in. washing machines don’t exist in my self indulgent fantasy AU.

if i wrote this i’d probably have afo wage war after all and hawks kicking himself for not doing better in preventing it. shigaraki is at the head of the war, but after afo is killed/arrested like in canon, shigaraki labels it as more of a rebellion with his new generals by his side, one of whom is a powerful man called dabi who hawks has never heard of, and he’s meant to hear everything. it’s not a good time for hawks knowing he wasn’t enough to stop this. if he had tried harder to sway shigaraki away from afo’s ideals... it hurts seeing the lonely kid he once knew declare his desire for complete destruction. hawks doesn’t have “friends” but he cares for people—the commission didn’t take his heart, just chained it

anyway it’s basically canon but fantasy because fantasy is sexy and cool (it would deviate a lot from canon though i don’t want it to be a carbon copy lmao)

#PHEW that got longer than i thought turns out i do have ideas #ask #hawks posting #hawks ​fantasy au #i probably won’t write this just draw it so if this concept sounds appealing to anyone feel free to write it i’d love u #and u don’t have to stick to my ideas either i’m just making shit up

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (22)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

Laziness. We humans are the champions of laziness. We always push something back the next day or the day after. And sometimes wrongly. Because even the important things, we push them back to the next day. We're lazy on everything, shopping, cleaning, meals, showers, outings, work... Life in general. But where we are the laziest, where we are the champions of the world, what do I say, of the universe, what do I say again, of the whole galaxy! It's to get up.

Aaaah...How good it is to stay in a bed, so soft, so fluffy, that we could say that it’s a cloud. Not a sound, a perfect silence... Why wake up and get up when you can easily stay in bed and sleep all day? Because... Because you have to live anyway. And then starving and stinking the old goat is not an option.

Danny opened his eyes dimly, the soft glow of the day glimmering his cheek. And the first thing he saw and felt made him smile. You were there, in bed, in his arms, a smile on your face, a smile that sublimated your face. He did the right thing not to kill you. For now. Even though he couldn't take you to the seventh heaven that night, he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction in keeping you close to him for the whole night.  

Seeing this... He was thinking about Carla. She was the same. Never let go in the morning, worse than an oyster to his rock. He would give anything to see her again... Just one last time. He rose gently, without waking you, to sit on the bed. He gently opened the drawer of his nightstand to take out the picture. He'll never separate from this picture. It was the only thing, the only memory of her, that he possessed.

He couldn't help but think about it: how would his life be today if Carla were still alive? Well first of all, he wouldn't be a murderer all over the country. I think it’s a no-brainer that we can all make. They both had plans, each would have made a career, they would have had their own home. Children... They would have had a good life. They would have had... But that will never happen now. He suddenly felt two hands resting on his torso, then a head landing in the hollow of his neck. He turned his head slightly to see you, a slight smile on your lips, your hair slightly in battle.

“Sorry... I didn't want to wake you up. You know you can sleep a little longer...” He said before kissing you.

“Don't worry... you have nothing to do with it. And then I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep if you're gone. You're hot, at least, with you I'm not going to get cold.” you respond sticking to him before looking at the picture. “It's... Is that Carla? She was really pretty... You were lovely together... I almost feel ridiculous by comparison.”

“Hey, don't say that. You are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met. What Carla and I lived... How she was... Will never be comparable to the two of us. I could never forget her. That's impossible. But I can't stay like this forever. I have to move forward, and it is with you that I want to move forward now. That is what she would like me to do. And I will, for her. Now all that matters is you. OK?” He replied, hugging you tenderly.

“Thank you, Jed...you’re so adorable.” you answer.

“I know. I'm going to prepare breakfast, I'm not as expert as you but... Eggs and bacon only resist me very rarely. I'll let you wake up gently.”  

He got up as he stretched, then put on a pair of pants and a black tank top. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, releasing eggs and two slices of bacon. Then he turned on the gas and cooked it for each plate. He served each plate and took out orange juice. Everything we need for the day. Today he had planned to spend time with you. Even if first, he had to take you to the police station so that you could make your statement. And of course.... it's with Inspector Wilhelm. Decidedly, it’s to be believed that he is the only inspector of this city ... And yet there are four of them. Of course not. He's the one who falls on.  

The day he can kill him... will be the icing on the cake. Of course, if he's going to kill him, he'll do it when he leaves town. Because unfortunately he won't be able to stay forever in Roseville. In any case, it’s not in his plans. And if you could follow... that would be perfect. Of course, you have your business here... but he will wait until you have an employee qualified enough to take over the coffee, and you will open another one in your new city.

And then... maybe he can accomplish his projects, which he had with Carla, with you? It's a possibility. And like that... you could never leave him. You would be his adorable little wife... raising your children and also working on your side. And he will do the same, Danny is not the type to do nothing in a relationship. He returned to his bedroom when he saw you, your hand on the doorknob of his office. He stepped forward and put a hand on your shoulder gently, which startled you and let go of the handle.

“Curiosity is a nasty flaw my love. There are precious things I care about in there. Even though I know you won't touch anything... I... I can't let you in right now. But promised... one day you'll be able to access this room. The breakfast is ready and careful: I would be very upset if there is anything left on the plate.” He said before kissing you and laugh.

“Yes, sir! leave nothing in the plate or otherwise grumpy Jed will wake up.” You answer laughing.

“I was thinking... After you go to the police station, maybe we could spend a little day together? nothing but you and me... wherever you want, in the park, in the museum, in the shops... even though the shops and I are not very good friends.”

“Why not? And then I could take the opportunity to check if everything's okay at the café. In case some naughty little bake thieves passed.”

“It's not me... I was very well watched last night.”  

You both laugh before you eat. Then Danny cleared it, took his stuff and waited until you were ready to leave to open the door and take the keys to the van. Both, you’re heading towards the vehicle and once properly settled, Danny started and set off for the police station. He didn't think he'd see Wilhelm again anytime soon. He parked in the parking lot of the police station and decided to accompany you. There's no way you're going to be alone with Wilhelm.

You both showed up at the reception and the policeman informed the inspector before letting you through. Danny smiled, he couldn't stand this place, at the same time who wants to be here? No one. But unfortunately, he has no choice even if he could have stayed in the van, Danny prefers to stay with you. He still imagines Wilhelm's face when he sees him. And that didn't take long. Wilhelm was waiting outside his office and when he saw Danny, a little grin appeared on his face.

“Olsen... still in my paws, isn't it? What are you doing here?” He asks, with a false smile.

“Well, I'm coming with my girlfriend. It's been official for a while. It's silly a few days ago you wouldn't have seen me.” Danny responds with a provocative smile.

“Tsk. Well... I don't see what women find in the journalist.... Especially you. Anyway, come in, miss. On the other hand, Olsen, you're staying there.”

“Oh no I don't think so, I wouldn't leave that beautiful angel alone with you.”

Wilhelm growled slightly and let Danny into the office with you. He gave you a little smile and a wink before sitting down with you. The deposition lasted about an hour and a half, Wilhelm sometimes asking you for details about your assault. And on your attacker. After all, He has to know if there's a connection between him and you.  

Danny didn't tell anything. And held back from smiling or laughing when thinking about McKellan. If Wilhelm knew... if he could quickly find his body so Danny could see his head... if he started vomiting it would be the icing on the cake. And once again, he won't be suspected. Everything is perfect. You leave the police station after a few minutes, not without Danny and Wilhelm exchanging a few more spades. Then he joins you, gently taking you by the waist.

“I have the impression that you and Wilhelm are not on very good terms, I'm wrong?” you ask ironically

“Let's say that according to him I am... what does he call me already? Oh, yes! a "dirty weasel that deserves a big kick in the ass". So technically... No, we're both not really on good terms. Ah and also because I usually find more information about the Ghostface murders than he did then... you understand why he doesn't like me too much...” Danny responds with a sneaky smile.  

“I see indeed... Ok... Where are we going now?”

“Wherever you want my love. Tell me what you'd want and I'll take you there.”

“Hm... Let's go to the park. We can land quietly... and enjoy the day. And then we'll go out and eat. I've never tested Indian food...”

“Mattew has a very bad memory of it... Don't ever talk to him about it if you don't want to see him twist in half.” Replied Danny, laughing a little.  

Danny got in the van and waited for you to get on board to start and leave the parking lot of the police station. He went towards the park and besides, he knew exactly where to go to be quiet. The park being quite large, there was a small lake that hardly anyone frequented. So, you won't be disturbed at this place. A perfect moment of calm and peace that Danny wanted.

The park was big. people were scattered all over the place, children played while adults chatted, sipping a small glass of wine or other fun. Danny looked up at the sky, people are inveterate drunks. He also drank and held alcohol but no more than two drinks. The only time he went further than two drinks... Let's say he would have a hard time remembering how and why he woke up in a hammock... In his underwear. When it was cold. Well, he was in high school, and someone put a warm blanket on him. So, we can put this on account of the youthful spirit...

He parked not far from the lake and went down making sure everything was closed and then followed you to land right in front of the lake. The view from here was beautiful. For an artist or photographer, it was the perfect place.

“I often come here when I need to work quietly. And get some fresh air. Even if technically, I could just stay at home and open the window... I'm not that nerd... Not yet.” Said Danny using his coat to sit on the floor.

“It's kind of your secret garden... even if there are still people who come... It's very nice.” You said, sitting next to him.

You watch the lake for several hours while chatting. Some passers-by also came to settle down, and children came to play. In fact, Danny almost got a frisbee in his head twice. It's a good thing he had a good reflex. But despite his good reflexes, you laughed every time. A laugh he could hear all day. Then around noon, you leave the park to eat. There was a small Indian restaurant not far from the park. If Danny was content with a simple chicken curry, you on the other hand enjoy everything you had taken. It wasn't expensive but it was good. And he didn't even have time to get out of what to pay for. You paid, long before he took out his wallet.

Then came the afternoon shopping. Danny couldn't say no unfortunately, he promised to take you wherever you wanted to go. Fortunately, in another sense, not all of them were clothing stores. You made him buy a few decorations, a frame so he could put the picture of him and Carla and two/three other little things. Then comes the clothing store.

“I'm not a big fan of shorts and tank tops you know...” Said Danny, lying. He has to live as a Jed when he's with you. For now. He can’t wait the day when he can be again and simply himself.

“I think it looks good on you! It changes you! it makes you look more ... sexy.” you respond cheerfully.

“Well...if you say so. I'm going to listen to you. But don't expect to change my entire wardrobe...”

“Oh, but little by little I will get there! You won't even realize it.”

Danny sighed and laughed, shaking his head. The evening came, and as you had planned, you go to the café to check that everything was fine. And you take the opportunity to pass a broom. Then tired of your day, you both go home. But this time, Danny didn't have time to get you into his house, you've already opened the door to your apartment.

“You'll be able to sleep alone like a big boy tonight... I have to make the cakes for the shop tomorrow. Even though I'd prefer to spend time with you. I wish I could destroy the wall that separates our two apartments...” You said, laughing a little

“Unfortunately, I'm not sure the owners agree ... but living in the same apartment is not a possibility to be ruled out. you have to think about it... and in the meantime we will be separated by a wall...” said Danny before kissing you. “Good night my love. Have sweet dreams.”  

Danny went back to his apartment and closed the door. He put the bags and his coat on the sofa, the keys on the furniture of the entrance, and walked to his office. He's very lucky to have seen you ready to open the door. He would have a hard time explaining all of this to you. But one day you'll find out. One day... he may be himself again.

But the night was not over for him. He took his bag which contained his Ghostface outfit and prepared to leave. Tonight, he had no particular target. Tonight, he was lazy to stalk someone to kill him later. Tonight, we're going to change our method.  Tonight, a poor unlucky man will cross his path. And he'll die.  

Sometimes... The change in habits...feels good.

***

(I get my code exam! Yeah!!!! Next step: Driving! And that will be another story, because I'm little scared of driving XD. I hope you’ll like this chapter like the others ones! Now time for my brain to get some rest after an intense week! Have a good week-end!  See ya!)

#dbd fanfic #dbd #dead by daylight #ghostface #danny johnson #jed olsen

[365days365movies]

May 9, 2021: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) (Recap: Part One)

Welcome to the future.

At this point, we’ve mostly looked at the past, present, or the near-future (as in, the next ten years, if that). Additionally, we’ve looked either at nonexistent technology in a contemporary setting, or an extension of existing technology taken to a logical next step. But no more. No more realism, no more real-world rules, and nothing that we’re even close to in this reality.

Well...mostly.

That’s genuinely impressive, not gonna lie. Anyway, yeah, from here forwards (for a bit), we’ll be looking at the future and futuristic technology. Now, there are a couple of ways in which these films tend to go. The first big way that we tend to represent the future in film is the same way we always have: flying cars, futuristic technology, smart houses, and robots.

Now, there are countless examples of this future, and it always changes a bit depending on the present. Which, yeah, makes sense. After all, what I’m doing right now, at this moment, would’ve been seen by many people as a massive technological achievement, even around the time that I was born. Which, yes, I’m old, deal with it (because I can’t). Anyway, the way that this begins is with the first major filmed view of a seemingly idyllic future: Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis.

The overly mechanized (and politically dystopic) society seen in this film, as well as the visuals and technology, would inform our ideas of the future throughout the next century. Multiple themes and common objects reoccur throughout futuristic fiction. You know the stuff I’m talking about. Flying cars, automatic food machines, robotic assistants, video watches, holograms, jetpacks, so on and so forth.

But here’s the thing about the future. It’s always ahead of us, and eventually...well, we’ve gotten to most of those things to some degree. Either they already exist...

...or is currently being developed.

Well, one of them we’re still working on. And the development of more advanced AI is something we have yet to perfect, or even fully develop. However, the development of A.I. (and the consequences of that technology) are ALL OVER science fiction. Sometimes, they’re merely used for flavor to help establish the futuristic setting.

Sometimes, they’re characters with their own agency and conflicts, which may or may not define the plot. In these cases, they’re often simply there to back up the main human characters, and help with their development, and sometimes their own. You know, manic pixie dream robots.

And then, possibly most often, they’re the abject villains of the piece. they can be mysterious alien technology, like in The Day the Earth Stood Still, or a man-made danger that turns on the race that created and/or abused it.

But then, on occasion, an A.I. is given the chance to develop as a character, without being used to define the development of a human character. Sometimes, the question of what life truly means is raised through these characters, and we become attached to them outside of any other character. This isn’t nearly as common as the others, but it’s definitely not unheard of.

And for the record...things don’t often go well for those AIs. But still, some of those characters have quite a lasting impact. So, there’s quite a lot of potential for this type of character, from a dramatic standpoint. And that potential leads us to the guy who made this.

I WILL MAKE A JURASSIC PARK REFERENCE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE

Steven Spielberg gives us today’s entry, and this director of a classic science fiction story about science gone awry teamed up with the director of a science fiction film where an artificial intelligence went awry. You know, this thing.

I didn’t forget about HAL. And I won’t forget about him later, either.

Director Stanley Kubrick is pretty well-know for his mind-bending films, especially The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But he also worked with Spielberg on this film before his death in 1999, as this was one of his dream projects for many years, and the two directors were well-known friends.

And so, eventually, Spielberg was given the reins from Kubrick, and results were...mixed. It’s funny, because I’ve never actually seen this movie, but I remember it through its surprisingly widespread ad campaign. I used to go to NYC as a kid a lot, and there was a massive building-side plastered with the iconic logo of this movie. So, I’ve been hovering around this movie for a long time. Enough navel-gazing!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (Part One)

It is, unsurprisingly, the future. A marrator informs us that climate change has caused the ice caps to melt, and global flooding drowns several countries. You could say that it’s a...Waterworld.

I genuinely considered watching that movie at some point, and then I decided I liked myself to much to watch 2 hours of Kevin Costner’s emotionless acting. Granted, it’s not much better now, listening to the emotionless acting of...

Professor Allen Hobby (William Hurt) is a straight-up sociopath. OK, technically, he’s a robotics engineer, but dude’s making a speech, right? He talks about how far robots have come, dissing my boi Deep Blue in the process, and notes that pain-memory response can also be demonstrated by robots. He proves this by stabbing a woman in his audience, like RIGHT through the hand. Jesus, man! Why the hell would you do that?

Oh. Holy shit, I got fooled. Advanced technology indeed. But OK, so Sheila’s a robot, and a very advanced one...to us. But Hobby wants more, and proposes to his workers to make a robot that can really TRULY love. And through love may come a true subconscious, which means making a robot that can dream. And what better robot to make than a robot child? After all, all child conception requires a license in this futuristic world, so many childless couples are yearning for a child.

Which is why, twenty months later, the first robot child is offered to Henry and Monica Swinton (Sam Robards and Frances O’Connor), a couple...with a child. Um. Guys. You JUST SAID that there are legit childless couples who need a child, and those people would be best suited to love that robot child back (a VERY GOOD question raised by one of Hobby’s subordinates). So why give it to a couple whose son is still alive? Yeah, he’s got a rare disease that they don’t have a cure for yet, and is currently in cryostasis, BUT THEY HAVE A KID! Surely, that’s going to be a potential emotional conflict! And what if the kid wakes up or some shit? This is a TERRIBLE goddamn idea. Think this shit through, guys.

And yet...

This is David (Haley Joel Osment), Cybertronics’ first child robot, brought home by Henry to essentially replace their son. Which is AMAZINGLY FUCKING TONE-DEAF AND INSANE, GODDAMN. That’s extraordinarily messed up. And, for the record, I totally get what Spielberg’s going for, but Jesus Christ, man. This was a terrible way to go about this. And it gets fucking WORSE.

See, Henry (who actually works for Cybertronics) tells Monica that, once they sign the papers and complete the updates, David will imprint on them and see him as their true parents, loving them unconditionally. Which...yeah, fuck, that’s an entire DUMP TRUCK of ethics issues right there. And, while we’re at it, David is...creepy as shit. I mean it, dude, Haley Joel Osment is a VERY good child actor, but he’s laying on the creepy robot child thing THICK. And yeah, this is BEFORE he imprints on them. Jesus fuck, man, there’s a scene where the still uncomfortable Monica is outside of a glass door, and he looks back at her THROUGH THE DOOR like a goddamn SERIAL KILLER.

And I gotta tell ya, dude does not lay off that creepy-ass dial one iota. And for that matter, the music by John Williams ISN’T FUCKING HELPING. LISTEN to this shit, and imagine a robot child that you don’t know wandering around your house. It’s amazingly fucking creepy.

AND IT JUST. KEEPS. GETTING. WORSE. There’s a scene where they’re all at dinner, right, and David’s just staring at them as they eat, mimicking their actions. After all, he’s a robot, he can’t actually eat or drink anything because of his internal working. And then, out of FUCKING NOWHERE, he starts laughing like the FUCKING JOKER, and it scares the EVER-LOVING SHIT OUT OF ME. And somehow, they laugh alongside him, in the never-ending Stockholm syndrome that is this movie! And as soon as its over, he just STOPS laughing, spontaneously. Fuck me, man, I’m tempted to stop watching here and now, and I’m only TWENTY MINUTES IN! I need a fucking break.

And after that...OF COURSE she decides to activate his imprinting protocols to make him, let me remind you, LOVE HIM FOREVER! She reads out a series of words, and after “FREIGHT CAR”, he knows his mission is to kill the Prime Minister of Sokovia. But first, he’ll settle down and love Monica unconditionally (again, FOREVER), calling her Mommy and making me shit my pants in fear. IT WASN’T ME, IT WAS FUCKING DAVID

Oh, and by the way, isn’t it kinda shitty to do that without Henry being involved AT ALL? Like, cool, he has unconditional maternal love, but Henry wasn’t a part of that conditioning at all! And he still refers to him as “Henry” instead of Dad! However, Henry definitely doesn’t care about that, because he still sees David as only a robot. Hey, guys, maybe using these two as your first experiment with a robot child WAS A TERRIBLE FUCKING IDEA, YOU IDIOTS! No wonder William Hurt was cast as Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU. Already shown he can play a character with shitty ideas before.

Anyway, after this terrible series of events, David prevents the parents from leaving one night due to his childlike antics. When Monica goes to comfort him, he asks how long she’ll live, and tells her that he hope she never dies, a COMPLETELY NORMAL THING TO SAY. Look, I get that he’s a robot, but only a goddamn emotionless sociopath would program emotional responses like this into a robot. Which, given what we’ve seen of Hobby, makes sense.

In response, she gives him Teddy (Jack Angel), a technologically advanced teddy bear with sentience, a personality, and the voice of Astrotrain from The Transformers TV series. Because, yes, I am THAT MUCH of a goddamn nerd.

Soon after, the house gets a phone call, which David receives...literally. He takes the phone and allows it to speak through him. It turns out that, shock beyond shocks, THEIR SON IS CURED! Yeah, fuck. Maybe giving David to a family with a STILL LIVING SON is a fucking ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE IDEA, for about a thousand reasons.

And, fucking understandably, Martin Swinton (Jake Thomas) is a little upset to find out that he’s essentially been replaced by a robot kid. Although, to be fair, he’s also kind of a dick to David, holding his humanity over him and treating him as a toy that he attempts to manipulate and bully. My Lord, this is a massively stupid idea. And Martin immediately shows his dickishness by asking his mother to read Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio to them. Which is meant to be a punishment for Pinocchio. However, of course, David loves it.

Still, however, there’s trouble in paradise for David, as he tries to compete with Martin for being a real boy, and eats spinach at dinner one evening. Despite Teddy’s mildly ominous warning to him (”YOU WILL BREAK”), he keeps eating until he basically has a stroke and breaks, forcing him to be repaired by some of Cybertronics’ technicians. Monica has a bit of a break down as a result, which Martin notices. This causes Martin to go pure supervillain, manipulating David to do creepy things in order to insert doubt into Monica about David. Jesus, Martin’s a creepy kid, too. No wonder Monica grew to be cool with David, her actual son is a FUCKING SOCIOPATHIC MONSTER! Are there ANY truly normal people in this world? IS THIS WHAT THE FUTURE IS?

Martin convinces David to cut a lock of Monica’s hair while she’s sleeping. And lemme tell ya, a little boy holding scissors over someone while they sleep is not exactly comforting. Henry agrees, and after stopping him, believes that they need to return him. Monica disagrees, knowing that they’ll destroy him if brought back. But David, ever the semi-sociopath himself, ignores any signs of humanity in David and dismisses Monica's feelings for him entirely. He also says this thing about “IF HE CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO LOVE, CAN NOT HE BE PROGRAMM-ED TO HATE?”, which...no. No, he cannot. He didn’t learn to love, he was programmed to. And, again, that’s ethically FUCKED, but taking that into account...no. HE WASN’T PROGRAMMED TO HATE, HENRY. Goddamn, buddy, use your head here.

It’s Martin’s birthday, and his friends at the pool party expose David to the fun world of anti-robot (or Mecha) racism, and test to see if he has Damage Avoidance Systems by threatening him with a knife. And he does. Buuut, when those systems kick in, he goes to the nearest point of safety to keep himself safe. That point is, unfortunately, Martin, whom he gets behind...and accidentally drags into the pool.

Thing is, because of Martin’s recent illness, he can’t exactly swim, meaning that David almost drowns him. When Henry and other partygoers go to save him, they abandon David in the pool completely. And now, David’s fucked. Because although this situation isn’t even a little bit his fault, he also just nearly killed Martin. And so, after seeing notes that he’s been writing to her, Monica offers to take for a “ride in the country”. Which definitely means something good. In reality, she’s planning on taking him back to Cybertronics. But once in the car, there’s a change in plans. And hear me out...it’s arguably far more horrifying.

She decides to abandon him in the woods completely, despite how hard it is for her to leave him. She’s sparing him from death, sure, but also throwing him into a world he doesn’t understand, and for reasons that he doesn’t understand. It’s genuinely terrible. And then...yeah, she leaves him forever, to an uncertain future.

End Act One.

I think this is a good place to stop. It’s early, and I need more coffee to handle this shit. See you in Part Two. Of Three. Yup. It’s a long one.

#a.i. artificial intelligence #ai artificial intelligence #steven spielberg #stanley kubrick #haley joel osment #jude law #frances o'connor #brendan gleeson #william hurt #science fiction may #sci-fi may #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #movieedit #filmedit

[your-turn-to-role]

hi okay i hate sending asks to people without knowing them but you seem kind so im trying: during the break, i’ve been working my way through VM, and i’m at episode 75. my question, because i’ve read some of your more recent meta, is “what’s Percy’s deal?” i know he’s loved by the fandom, but i can’t find myself relating to him, and i find his assertions that he’s the only one with a plan offputting. is there more context you can give to me about percy’s character that explains his motivations?

aww, thank you!

(and yeah, asks like this are totally fine, i totally get that anxiety, good job on sending this!)

i mean, first off, you don't have to like a character everyone else does? if you don't relate to percy you can just, not relate to percy, that's fine

(and to be fair, as much as i love him as a character, i would not want him as a friend, because he's a very flawed person that has a lot to work on, but in fiction those traits are interesting to watch rather than difficult to deal with)

but, percy's deal! the short answer is people generally like him because taliesin's funny and charismatic and he does morally grey right, which is rare and a fun thing to explore (also in his relationships with other people, the entire vex-vax-percy-keyleth square is full of neat parallels and opposites and interesting things and i have whole essays in my head on all six combos there)

i don’t know which posts you’ve read so i’ll link this one here too, just to cover a couple more of the generally unnoticed aspects of his character, and things i like about percy

he’s also far from perfect, as you’ve noted, he does tend to believe he’s the smartest person in any given room, because he’s young and clever and used to being that, which you’re allowed to find off putting, but i will say i find he does that less than a lot of characters of his general archetype? he listens to pike, he listens to keyleth, he listens to vex, he respects when they have more knowledge than him on a particular subject, he’s not above asking for help. and generally most of the arguments he has with keyleth on that subject aren’t him asserting he knows more than her, but more a matter of principles and values (they’re a really interesting pair that way, they have similar backgrounds, both children of royalty running away from the crown, but they’re such opposites. percy is a natural leader who would rather anyone rule than him, keyleth fumbles her way through all of it but sticks to it because she doesn’t want to let anyone down, percy is a pragmatist, keyleth is an idealist, they both are too focused on the big picture but in two completely different ways, i could write a whole other post on this, but to get to my point, they wouldn’t be such good balances for each other if percy didn’t absolutely respect where keyleth is coming from)

for the long answer, i’m gonna break this down into parts and try to get to the core of percy's character and why he is the way he is

(under the cut bc this gets long)

1 - heavy trauma

like... this is the really really big one. percy, at age 17 or 18, had his entire life up to that point completely destroyed. his family was killed, his friends were killed, people he trusted like family (professor anders, who was a more present figure in percy's life than his actual parents) betrayed him and helped the briarwoods, he was imprisoned in his own castle's dungeons and tortured for information, they threw his siblings' bodies in there with him to make a point, cassandra helped him escape but as far as he knew she died helping him. he has two years of his life after that he straight up doesn't remember, his hair turned white from the stress of it. 

trying to go after ripley the first time didn't work, he was captured and left to starve in a prison cell, for the first few months of travelling with vox machina he genuinely believed it wasn't real, because realistically no one was gonna come save him, this was just a hallucination of his dying mind. returning to whitestone he was forced to confront the fact that literally everyone he ever knew growing up (with the sole exception of archibald) was either dead or working with the briarwoods, and even after retaking the city there's a lot that can never be repaired. 

and he's just... never really dealt with any of this? like, he gave vox machina the technical details of what happened to him in the briarwood arc, because they needed to know that information, but the first time he actually started processing his trauma, the first time he admits it out loud to anyone, is the final episode of campaign one. before then it had been occasional snide or handwavey comments, and like, he'll let himself feel the anger over it (in the beginning of the story he encouraged it, because then he didn't have to feel anything else), but he's never processed the grief, never admitted to himself how badly that affected him

which means he's got a lot of pent up emotions in there that he just keeps burying, and sometimes they come out in unhealthy ways. having so much taken from him also makes him really motivated to keep the things he does have - he’s got some deep set abandonment issues and takes any kind of betrayal really badly, don’t know if you’ve got up to the scanlan stuff by the time i post this, but that’s something to keep in mind as to why he acts the way he does there. (and it’s not more explicit because percy was raised nobility, keeping a brave face through anything is part of who he is, he tends to cover emotions he’s insecure about in snark or indifference or, for the intense ones, anger, because those are the things he thinks he’s allowed to show, but the real emotions show up occasionally, when they’re particularly strong, or if you’re reading between the lines. he really does care a lot about vox machina)

2 - legacy and loyalty. 

speaking of nobility, it's hard to do a character study on percy without mentioning whitestone and the house of de rolo. this is the number one thing to percy. he was raised to respect title and name, and most importantly, raised to respect the people he represents - both the townsfolk of whitestone and also percy's ancestors and future de rolo generations. whitestone is more important than any one life, he has a duty to protect and serve it, and that comes before any personal wants he may have. it's also important to him for family reasons - he was a pretty lonely child, but he loved reading about the history of the city, all the weird ghost stories whitestone had even before the briarwoods. it probably made him feel more connected to all of that, this is the place he belongs. and after his family dies, it becomes even more important, because this is his connection to them. the soul of a city lives as long as its people, by protecting what's left, he keeps a little bit of what came before

(and also in just tidbits to understand percy's character, he sees all cities and man-made things the same way - in a world where some races live for centuries or millennia, their history exists mostly by word of mouth, you can physically talk to people who were around 500 years ago and get their take on things - humans don't have that, they get 100 years at most, so the things they build are vital to their heritage. this is how you keep people alive long after they're gone, by honouring what they created. and especially for someone so concerned with legacy and history, percy literally says abandoning westruun would be blasphemy, because the place people grew up is important, yes it's better that they live, but letting the city be abandoned and destroyed would be an irreparable act of violence.) 

this is the number one thing on percy's mind when evaluating anything about himself, where do i come from, and what do i leave behind? which is a question that has a lot of moments to be tested, because of my next point...

3 - pragmatism and terrible thoughts

when it comes down to it, percy is a very ends justify the means kind of person. he finds it very easy to square away any kind of collateral damage as long as it gets him to his end goal. see: trial of the take, where he's fine to catch his friends in the blast radius of a new bomb design because he's so excited that it worked, preparing to fight vorugal and resigning himself to potentially having to kill innocent people to kill the dragon (he wasn’t okay with that, but he would do it), also his conscious decision to let ripley go, knowing she would lead to the deaths of thousands because it was her or the briarwoods and he wanted revenge 

(this is by his own admission his lowest point and worst mistake, because as mentioned, he thinks about the consequences of his actions near constantly, he knew she would reproduce his guns and they would lead to a whole new form of warfare. but in that moment he was just blinded by grief and way too emotionally burnt out and did not have the capacity to care. and he spends the rest of the campaign and honestly probably the rest of his life trying to make up for that one)

he's also, by his own admission, someone who has a lot of bad thoughts he doesn't act on, he's very clever and creative and ideas for ways to use those skills for violence or vengeance come easily to him (like, percy as an actual villain would be ripley but worse, ripley's intelligent but a very direct point a to point b kind of thinker, percy has multiple times criticised her lack of imagination, a percy with her lack of morals would be terrifying)

(honestly this is why i was seeing percy so much in taliesin's narrative telephone, because "sometimes i wake up having dreamed of a terrible thing, and normally i just file that away for things that i would never do, because i wanna maintain friendships, but then LIAM did something to me." and the whole being absolutely fine with throwing the rest of the cast under the bus just to enact revenge on liam was quintessential percy)

but we’ve seen the pragmatic anti hero everywhere, anyone can be a terrible person, and have reasons for it, that alone doesn’t make an interesting character (at least not for me)

what does, is my last point

4 - trying to be good

i still vividly remember when i first watched campaign one, being really surprised at how much percy asked for help? like, i went in expecting the usual full on demon possession storyline, i expected percy to hide how bad it was, i expected him to make poor decisions without realising he was doing it until he was in too deep to back out

and like, he had some of that. but at the first sign of things being out of his control, he asked his friends for help. he let pike greater restoration him. he told vax to kill him if things ever got too out of hand. he was really, genuinely scared about what he got himself into and what he might do because of it. there was never a point where he pretended, even to himself, that making a deal with orthax was okay. the minute he realised there was a demon involved, he was working to stop it. and yeah, by the time he realised it was already a bit too late, there were already some things out of his control (and also taliesin kept having the worst rolls against the whitestone corruption which was really fun on a meta level), which is how things got as bad as they did. but honestly, all things considered, there’s very little to criticise about the way percy handled himself in the briarwood arc. 

and he keeps doing that, trying to get better. he struggles with it, he struggles a lot, against his anger issues, against all the trauma, against the fact that he really doesn’t want to be here and things would be so much easier if he were dead. but he recognises he holds grudges too easily, so he starts actively trying to forgive those who’ve wronged him (this is something he and vex have in common, and something they were working on together before they were together, which probably helped a lot in getting them to that point as well). he recognises he makes poor decisions when he’s angry, so he starts learning to step back in those moments and leave the decisions to someone else. he has never not owned up to his mistakes, he takes responsibility for everything he’s done, and if he notices a problem he can’t solve himself, he asks for help.

and i find that fun to explore. like, percy’s been likened to hamlet in the actual show, and i was the kid who got super obsessed with hamlet when i was like 15 because i was in that same mental space of suicidal self hatred and existential melancholy but also thinking i was the smartest person in any given room and being too young to have gotten over the arrogance that makes you ignore everyone else’s needs for the sake of indulging your own problems. and then i got older and realised there are smarter ways to go about things, like having empathy and appreciating the light in the world and not being a dickhead to people because it makes you feel better, and maybe hamlet can be justified and in the wrong at the same time. and while there’s some stuff i won’t spoil for you, percy after ripley kills him is definitely starting to learn that, which you rarely see in the hamlet archetype, bc everyone’s like “ah yes so Deep so Important who cares what bad things this person did they had Trauma and are Clever”

well, percy cares about the bad things he did, and cares about not doing those anymore. so like, he’s still a disaster of a person bc he’s like 23 and no one has their life together at 23, especially not someone in percy’s situation, and honestly i find that fun to watch as well bc i like watching characters make stupid mistakes and do stuff i’d never approve of in real life, and as i mentioned at the start, taliesin makes captivating and funny characters. but yeah, that’s generally where percy’s at, most of the time

#would you believe me if i said this was the second shorter attempt at answering this ask? #i honestly tried to pare it down but this hit at least 6 or 7 separate essays in my head that all wanted to be included #and then i had to figure out how to combine them #my brain keeps giving me more things i should add but i think this is enough to be going on with for now 😂 #but hey anyone who likes listening to me talk about percy know i can keep going #this is my word MINIMUM #(and it's still over 2k im so sorry) #but yeah hope this helped! #cr1 #percy de rolo #cr thoughts #text #meta #ask #megabees3

[kaibutsushidousha]

Cat, Ghost, and Revolution Sunday (Sagrada Reset 1) - Chapter 1: Starting on Sunday (part 2)

[INDEX]

Upon hearing the sound of the opening door, Asai Kei checked the café's clock. 9:55. Exactly 5 minutes before the agreed time.

Kei stood up, looking at the entrance. Haruki also stood up from the seat next to his. A girl with red glasses entered through the door.

She looked around the café with a serious expression and walked toward Kei.

"Hello. Are you Murase?"

She raised her eyebrow a little in response to the question but quickly nodded.

(Her expression is stiff. Not sure if she's wary of us or just nervous. I should soften up my smile.)

"Nice to meet you. My name is Asai Kei. And she is Haruki Misora."

After hearing that, the girl, Murase Youka, tried to smile. Her expression didn't get any less stiff, but at least she managed to lift the corners of her lips. On the other hand, her eyes were glaring intensely from behind the lenses. Kei paused for a second to think about the meaning of her gaze but decided he shouldn't be getting attached to first impressions. He focused on his own smile.

She spoke, intentionally trying to contain her voice.

"Hello. My name is Murase Youka. Tsushima told me a lot about you two."

Tsushima Shintarou was a teacher in Kei's school, Ashiharabashi High School. He was also a member of the Management Bureau. Every school in the city had a teacher like him. Just like how every school has a teacher licensed to operate the infirmary. They need to be prepared since ability-related incidents can happen in schools.

Kei and Haruki went to meet Murase by Tsushima's orders. However, all he told them about her was her name and age. He clearly remembered that she is one year older than them. From that, he could assume she was a high schooler, but he had no idea which school she attended.

Murase whispered fast.

"Sorry, I'm not used to this kind of thing."

Kei responded with a smile.

"Neither we are, honestly."

It's very rare for them to learn about their tasks from anyone other than Tsushima.

"Let's sit down before we talk", said Kei. He had stood up without much thought because he felt it would be in bad taste to greet someone from his chair, but he didn't know when was the best time to sit down again.

The waiter came to take their orders and Murase just uttered the word "coffee". Kei added ice cream to his order.

After the waiter left, Murase spoke in a quiet voice.

"Asai, you're a high schooler, right?"

"Yes. I'm a freshman."

"Why are you working for the Bureau?"

Kei reacted to the question with an ambiguous smile.

"Because I'm part of a club dedicated to helping their operations."

"The Service Club."

"Yes."

The Ashiharabashi High School Service Club. Every school in Sakurada has a Service Club and they are all supervised by the teacher from the Bureau.

The Bureau monitors people with special abilities. Technically, every ability is special, but the Bureau's tight surveillance is dedicated especially to the potentially dangerous abilities.

Joining a Service Club was one way to soften that surveillance, even if not by much. The teacher responsible for it gives them jobs according to their abilities and demands detailed reports of how they handled their missions. By filling a report form, the club members would be exempt from a few necessary steps of the regular management, gaining a certain degree of freedom.

"Not the nicest name, don't you agree?", said Murase.

"What name?"

"Service Club, what else?"

"Oh, of course. I'm quite fond of it, actually."

Kei's answer cut the conversation short. Murase didn't know what to say next. After a while, Kei asked:

"Could you explain what's happening? What do you want us to do?"

"He didn't explain anything?"

Her voice was strong, with small hints of annoyance. "Tsushima didn't tell you anything about my request?", she corrected herself in a much calmer tone.

(She's not very used to talking to strangers, isn't she?)

He had received a very simple explanation about his task.

"He told us we'll search for a lost cat. But that felt a bit off since he should have people better equipped to handle this job."

"He said you two were experts in finding things."

(Only if you lost it recently, I guess.)

"When did your cat disappear?"

"About one week ago."

(That's too late. What a shame, this would have gone without a hitch if you had lost it precisely 3 days ago.)

Murase softly closed her eyes and continued with a dark expression.

"But I'm not exactly looking for the cat. I found it last morning. I found it on a neighboring roadside."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"When I found the cat, it was already cold."

(I don't like the way she worded this. "Already cold.")

"Was it a car accident?"

"Yes."

Kei got the gist of his mission. He also understood why Tsushima phrased it as a "search for a cat".

He moved his eyes back to Murase, seeing she was also looking at him. The same glare as always. He noticed her eyes had been like this ever since she sat down. Her overall face changed to express her emotions, but her eyes were fixed, always facing forward. Never lowered, never raised. Those were eyes that could never find a rainbow.

Murase spoke in a firm tone.

"I hired you to revive a dead cat."

That was a very difficult request. As far as Kei could tell, no one in Sakurada had the ability to revive the dead, be it a human or a cat. That said, it's still true that Kei and Haruki were a good pick for this job.

"Got it."

"Can you do it?"

"Revive it? No. But we can undo his its death."

"Really?"

Murase didn't smile. She didn't look relieved. Kei confirmed her pressing glare was still daring him to do it.

Kei answered her question with another question.

"Why do you want to save the cat?"

"I just want my cat back. Is there any problem with that?"

"No, that's a perfectly valid reason."

He never planned to reject Tsushima's request.

He turned to Haruki, who was sitting next to him. She was playing with the black cat keychain attached to her phone, showing no signs of interest in Murase's story. It was always like this. Kei was in charge of all the conversations.

He held back on this urge to sigh. He turned back to Murase and tried his best to look serious.

"Do you have the resolve to kill three days worth of the world for this cat?"

There's no point in asking this question. Kei only did it to feel clever. After all, she would lose her memories of this conversation very soon.

Murase raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Today, yesterday, and the day before might be undone to save your cat. Do you have the resolve to force every person in the world to redo the past three days one more time?"

Murase paused to think for a while. The waiter brought the coffee and the ice cream while she did.

After waiting for the waiter to walk away, Murase gave a short answer.

"I do."

Kei ate a spoonful of ice cream.

"Then please tells us about your cat."

She told the cat was originally a street cat, until Murase Youka adopted it about half a year ago. It was a kitten at the time, but it quickly grew up. It was a crossbreed male. Its name was Calico.

Murase had a photo of the cat on her phone. Kei asked for her contact information so she could send him the photo. A soot gray cat with a crooked tail was eating under the shade of a street lamp. The cat didn't look too amiable, but Kei thought that only made it cuter. He died yesterday, ran over by a car in a commercial district. She found its body around 9:15 in front of a bakery.

After giving all the basic information, she thanked them in advance and stood up. She walked away, leaving behind the hot coffee cup she only touched once.

"What are we going to do?", asked Haruki.

Kei answered while trying to get a spoon of his mostly melted ice cream.

"We'll save the cat, of course. It's an official job, and I like cats, too. I can't find any reason to refuse."

If everything went right, the cat would be brought back to life, the girl who only looked forward would be happy, and the Ashiharabashi High Service Club's reputation would improve, potentially leading to a rise in their budget. A Service Club's budget was close to a part-time salary. They could use it for pretty much anything they wanted, as long as they remembered to get a receipt.

Haruki waited for him to finish enjoying his ice cream before she talked.

"But didn't this request feel any strange to you?"

"What part of it was weird?"

"First off, the goal of the mission. The Bureau wouldn't get involved unless the cat was killed by an ability, would they?"

"You're completely right."

The Management Bureau acts exclusively on problems caused by abilities. Things would easily get out of hand if they got involved in every problem that ever happened.

"Second, the request happened too soon after the accident."

"Yeah. I agree."

It was still mid-afternoon of the previous day when Tsushima gave them the order to meet Murase. According to her, the accident happened on the same day's morning. That would mean she contacted the Bureau, got her case approved, and transferred to Tsushima in merely a couple of hours. This was unnaturally fast.

"And considering this, what are we going to do?", Haruki asked again.

"We'll save the cat, of course.", Kei answered again. He didn't repeat his reasons why.

(This might not be an official job. It's quite possible that Murase simply asked Tsushima for help without even trying to contact the Bureau. If she's a student in Ashiharabashi, it'd make sense for her to know Tsushima. It's not like I know the names of every student there. If that was a private request to Tsushima, the inconsistencies Haruki pointed out start making sense. The timing sounds reasonable assuming the Bureau was never involved. Honestly, this whole story has many more curious points to it. That said, no one can know everything about something before trying it. Besides, I really like this job. "Save a cat's life". Really nice stuff there.)

Haruki gave a quick nod. It was a movement without emotion. And then, she said:

"Then, let's go to the festival tonight."

Suddenly changing topics used to be one of Kei's bad habits, but now it fully belongs to Haruki.

"What festival?"

(It is festival season, now that I think about it. We have festivals almost all over July, and then summer vacations start. That's how summer goes in Sakurada.)

"Sure. I'm free tonight, I think."

(That should be all for today, regarding this job. The complicated day will be yesterday, when the cat will die.)

Haruki had an innocent smile.

"Then let's hurry and save the cat."

"No, we need information first."

(The time limit is last morning. The cat will already have suffered the accident by 9:15. From my point of view, this moment will come in two days from today. I want to find him before that happens.)

Haruki tilted her head.

"We're asking Sakuin?"

"No, let's go with Unknown Caller today. The case might blow out of proportion if we rely on Sakuin."

After swallowing the last bit of ice cream, Kei stood up.

#sagrada reset #cat ghost and revolution sunday #asai kei #haruki misora #murase youka

[braindeadskeletons]

Speaking of music, I really like to sing, and I think I'm actually pretty good at it. I don't open up very easily at all, so if I'm honest with you I really trust you. And I've been described as the friend everyone comes to for comfort/advice, and I take that role with pride. In public, I can be very affectionate, or not affectionate at all. It really depends on what my S/O would like. But when we're home, I'm usually pretty clingy. (I hope thiat wasn't too much, or too little, info!) (2/2)

okay so I did a huge whoops and deleted the first half of this ask. Here's the first part of it:

Hi, I'm here for a matchup! (Sorry in advance if I do a lot of asks to fit in all my info). My name is Viper, I am Genderfluid, Pansexual, and Polyamorus. I am an ambivert, who normally doesn't leave my house unless asked, but once I do my inner extrovert comes out. But I can only take so much, and after a couple of hours I'll need some alone time to relax. I like to read adventure/sci-fi/horror books when I get the chance. I also am an amateur artist, who listens to music 24/7. (1/?)

Hello there! Don't worry about it at all the more information on you the merrier. Reading this you honestly sound like such an awesome person to be around with and just hangout. Like I could just say something that's been on my mind for a really long time and it's pretty heavy but you completely just listen and understand. You're just someone everybody gets along with you know? Immediately when I read everything two boys came to mind instantly and though they may be the most basic answers I'd say I got the match pretty accurate. Or at least I'd like to think so lol. Thank you so much for sending this in!

I match you with Horrortale!Sans and Undertale!Sans

Alright so immediately off the bat you may be thinking 'how the fuck did I get here?' and honestly that's a valid question. You don't exactly see the two and think that they're best friends who could both share a very cute human. Axe reflects Sans in such a way that really disturbs him. If the human just made one different decision Sans would've been left in the underground to starve with every other monster. He also isn't very fond of how Crooks appears and it kind of haunts him that in another timeline he failed Paps. Axe on the other hand isn't fond of Sans because he feels like he always acts high and mighty. He doesn't like how Sans can sit around and act like Axe is some sort of freak when Sans isn't even a completely innocent monster himself. He just acts like a lazy idiot but he isn't. It also doesn't help that whenever Axe looks at Sans he's just reminded of how his Frisk wronged him. He's reminded that he isn't the monster he used to be because of the head injury he endured and the hardships underground. As mentioned before, one wrong move and at the end of the day Sans and Axe are one of the same. They both reflect the parts of each other that they would rather live without confronting.

There's immediately a lot to unpack here from the start. Getting the two to even begin to compromise on a poly relationship with you is admittedly going to be a challenge. It would require you to be able to firmly hold your ground and get them to sort their shit out. It's a lot of conversation and trust needed in order for this to work out. In the end, they both come to the compromise after a lot of discussion and setting boundaries of what is and isn't alright with them. Sometimes they might clash a bit and have those issues resurface (its very rare since both skeletons when needed are amazing at concealing their emotions) and you'll need to act as the middleman. At the end of the day it's all worth it to them just to see you happy.

Let's start off first with Sans. It's amazing how I've gone on for a bit and I haven't even technically started. The fact that you don't really like going out of your way to go out unless asked to is a bit of a relief. It's not that Sans doesn't like socializing, it's just that a lot of the time he really needs a break to just relax on the couch and nap with you, you know? He's got a lot on his mind and Papyrus often scolds him for sleeping and with Grillby's it can at times be overwhelming when he just needs peace and quiet. Just knowing that his cute datemate isn't going to do any of that helps him relax. It's going to be a lot of just enjoying each other's company even if it's quiet at the start. The silence between you two isn't ever uncomfortable though, just enjoying your company is enough for him. Of course there will actually be times where he does offer you to go to Grillby's and when you say yes he's always really happy to share his favorite bar with you. When you two sit together at his usual spot it's a lot of him joking around with you and absolutely looking at you with heart eyes when he gets a certain genuine laugh out of you. He's actually teased about it a lot the few times you don't accept his offer to go to Grillby's. Sans lives to see you smile with his jokes and he just tells them that they're jealous he ended up with such a cute datemate and they didn't. If you ever find yourself exhausted and you need to go home after you're bone tired just tell him and he'll teleport you right home no hassle.

Once you reach a certain point in your relationship Sans will start to gradually accept your affection. You'll need to ease him into it, since he's really not used to anybody besides his brother showing him any sort of affection. Of course before this he's absolutely bombarding you with flirty puns numerous times but physical affection? That's going to take a while. However once he's used to it you can absolutely smother him all you want. He'll only get embarrassed if it's in a public place like Grillbys but he's good at hiding it for the most part. In front of people like his brother he'll still be a little unsure but for the most part it's like a running joke where Pap yells at him to knock it off and Sans pushes his buttons a little. It often goes a little like this:

Papyrus: SANS! I DEMAND THAT YOU UNHAND THE HUMAN THIS INSTANT!

Sans, a hand on your waist: what human?

Papyrus: THE ONE IN YOUR POSSESSION

Sans, pulling you closer: this human?

Papyrus: SANS

Sans: this one right here?

Papyrus: SANS STOP

Sans, moving his hands a little lower:

Papyrus: SANS PLEASE WE'RE SURROUNDED BY CHILDREN THIS IS A HUMAN CHILD'S 5TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

It's all in good fun and he never goes further than that. The one place he'll draw the line is if you get a little too sexual for him in public. Especially if his brother is right there. He prefers to keep that stuff just between you and him.

Okay now onto Axe! Unlike Sans, Axe would rather stay inside for the rest of his life than go outside. His appearance discourages him from wanting to do so. If you're with him this mentality will probably be projected onto you as well. He won't really ask you to go out anywhere (unless it's somewhere he specifically knows will make you happy) so in terms of that don't expect much from him. Axe is really happy that you don't really like going out either way and you'd rather spend time with him inside the house where it's safe, warm, and he can keep an eye out for you. It's comforting to him that he can know where you are and that you're happy with him. His favorite moments with you are when you've got your head in a book and he sees your face relax as you get lost in your own little world. It's just the cutest thing. Axe absolutely adores the fact that you're clingy because unlike his counterpart (assuming that at this point he obviously trusts you) it doesn't take time for him at all to want to cuddle you, hold you in his arms, kiss you, etc. He's shy about none of it. The only thing you'd really need to look out for is when you try and initiate affection yourself. It's not that it's unwelcomed; he just doesn't take surprises well due to the nature of his underground. Make sure that you let him know what's coming and you'll both be perfectly fine. During the few times that you two are in public together he's not shy about showing the world that you're his. The only time where he might ask you to step back a little is when you're with his brother. He doesn't like Crooks seeing stuff like this because he still has an instinct to protect him from things. Not that you'd ever try anything of course.

An aspect about you that both skeletons greatly appreciate is how you're very honest with the people that you love and that you act as the friend who listens. They've both found themselves in the same position as you and now that you're dating both of them it's a wonderful change of pace. You all can sit down and vent to each other instead of only listening to others rant and you all absolutely trust each other. Honesty and integrity are both traits the skeletons really look for in a datemate. There's basically no secrets between the three of you and for your skeleton boys thats definitely new for them. As for your talent with singing and art? They genuinely can't get enough of either. Whenever you draw something? Sans will literally stare and wonder how he ended up with someone as talented as you meanwhile Axe has already grabbed the drawing and put it on the fridge. If you ever try and talk yourself down both of them are immediately on your case about how you shouldn't put yourself down and that everything you make is a masterpiece. Axe will literally also ask you who the fuck made you think like that and where do they live. He isn't joking. Sans won't be as vocal about it as Axe is but he's listening in as well. With your singing they both love your voice to pieces. Sans will hype you up to every single person at Grillby's and even encourage you to let others hear your talent. If not, that's cool too. He can just sit and listen at home. Axe mostly likes to ask for you to sing to him when he's having a really rough day or when it's late at night and you're both alone. What can he say? It helps him sleep.

#okay so maybe I got a little carried away #this was just so much fun to do i love these #also! if you were wondering why i never mentioned anything regarding your sexuality or gender identity #its because i don't really think the boys would care #you can't help who you are #they'll love you either way #anyways thank you so much for sending this in! #Horrortale #Undertale #Undertale x reader #Horrortale x reader #reader #y/n #x reader #Undertale sans #horrortale sans #undertale sans x reader #horrortale sans x reader #matchup #undertale matchup #long post

[greenninjagal-blog]

Roman Prince, Psychic pt1

Hello, I’m back with another au!

Summary: Roman reads minds, loses his job and makes it his mission to get his brother a boyfriend.

Pairings: Anxceit, (future) Logince, and brotherly Prinxiety

Word Count: 6014

Quick Taglist: @chelsvans​ @faithfulcat111​ @holliberries​ @jemthebookworm​ @killerfangirl3​ @stricken-with-clairvoyancy​ @treasureofpriam​

Read on AO3 || My General Writing List

Roman has lost twenty two jobs in the past three years, which is offensive on many levels. First of all, twenty two was a number that could only be divided by two and eleven, which is much worse than twenty eight minutes ago when he had lost only a total of twenty one jobs in the past three years.

Twenty two only ever brought bad luck.

Additionally, he had been fired from all of his previous jobs so that meant that he had technically failed twenty two times before. Roman was not a fan of failure, not a fan of other people (Virgil) knowing about said failure and lording it over him.

And, of course, there was also the fact that Roman was a grown adult and suddenly money was an issue when he wanted to not be evicted from his apartment. Or, you know, eat. 

So when his brother picks up on the third ring, Roman knows that Virgil already is aware what he’s gonna ask.

“Again?” Virgil says instead of the usual “hello”. He sounds tired, worn out, but Roman gets the feeling its not really directed at him. 

“It was an accident,” Roman whines, slumped over steering wheel of his car. “I swear!”

“That’s the second this month.”

“I can’t help it, Emo Undertaker.”

Which is a lie, because he definitely can help it and has helped it before. Roman is just bad at helping it. He thought he was doing well! He was really trying this time! He had managed to snag an editing job for a newspaper that required barely any talking to other people! He could make it through the day without actually talking to people and then there would be no issues other than his crippling desire to hold a conversation which was easily overlooked in the grand scheme of things-- 

But really, he should have guessed. No one, not even his absolute idiot of a(n ex) boss said “I’m gonna schedule you because you’re the only one stupid enough to say yes” to someone’s face.

Perhaps on his next resume he should title it Roman Prince, Psychic.

On the other side of the phone, Virgil huffs distantly, “No its my brother, Pat. He got fired again.”

“Patton is there?” Roman asks.

He can almost see Virgil cringe on the other end of the phone, “Uh yeah.”

Roman’s lips twist downward on his already not-great mood. “Virge, it’s been months--”

“I know!” Virgil says, “I know! There’s just some stuff we have to do first.”

“We?” The word is short on his tongue, bitter, leaving Roman’s tongue chasing down syllables for the empty space.

“Hey weren’t we talking about your lack of a job?” Virgil says suddenly.

“I do not want that creeper using you, Virgil.” 

“Hey, Pat’s not a creeper.” Virgil says sounding more annoyed than Roman’s sure he has a right to be. “New rule, I don’t tell you to stop reading minds, and you don’t tell me to stop seeing dead people.”

“There’s a difference between seeing dead people, and seeing dead people Virgil.”

“Hey have you considered shutting up?” 

“Look, he may be cute, but he’s been dead for twenty years--”

“Roman.”

“I’m just saying! He is old enough to be our dad, dude!”

“I’m hanging up.”

He does before Roman can say anything else. Roman flips his phone in his hand three times (a good number, Roman’s favorite) and senses the on coming text before it arrives. He twists his keys in the ignition of his car and listens as it rumbles to life with a story of the previous owner (Harold Johnston, who purchased it new, drove it for a while, hit two deer, and got four speeding tickets on before passing it on to his son who crashed it once in a drowsy driving accident that resulted in it being sent in a reused car dealership where Molly Keller bought it----).

By the time Roman makes it through the seven stop lights (three of which he squeezes through because Carl Smith is out jogging and pressed the crosswalk button at just the right time), there’s a message from Virgil in his inbox with a list of new places that were hiring.

It wasn’t that Roman has never thought about starting his own business, because he has. Many times, all the time. Every time he fell asleep. He imagined a cute little office off mainstreet: A psychic shop with charms in the windows that glowed at all hours, colorful draperies and scented candles that would make the shop float on mystery and otherworldness. He’d emerge from the back of the store in elegant clothes, like an ethereal being to startle any customers who dropped in, and he’d whip up a facade of a crystal ball, hide fans around the shop, and electrify the table in the middle of the room to sell the bit.

Roman has thought about starting his own psychic business before. But unfortunately, no one wants to be told things they already knew.

Which of course was the only psychic thing Roman can do. Read minds and see inner dreams with absolutely no ability to confirm them happening and-or not happening. 

(And you only tell a person once that they’re getting a puppy for Christmas before you learn your lesson.) 

To be perfectly honest, which Roman tries to be as he flicks on the lights to his apartment three times, Virgil would have much more luck maintaining a psychic shop. They’re almost opposites, if true opposites were a thing that exists. 

Instead of reading thoughts, Roman’s younger brother hears murder stories. Instead of seeing dreams, Virgil sees dead people wandering the streets.

It made growing up and having friends a real challenge. If Roman had a nickel for every time Virgil had grabbed his arm with his cold fingers and looked him in the eye before asking if Roman could see the person in front of them, he’d have three nickels. Which wasn’t a lot, but there was something upsetting about hearing the complete terror in his little brother’s voice when he couldn’t tell the living from the dead.

The dead also like to talk to Virgil, like to hover around him because he gives off a shadowy aura that works like a drug on ghosts. It makes them feel a bit more alive, makes them more corporal, makes them more dangerous. And once they’ve had a taste, they come back for more, and more, and more.

Ghosts are good for getting information, but rarely good for anything else. 

(Roman does not trust Patton. Not since Virgil told him the ghost had shown up, not since the last guy had whispered all the things he would do to Virgil if Virgil tried to leave or cut him off, not since Roman had put a hole in the hospital waiting room wall because that was his brother and he should have been there.)

Roman calls Virgil back just before dinner time after he had gone over the list (seven places, another good number) and it rings only twice before his brother picked up. 

“Hey Ro, I’m kinda busy right now--”

“Busy?” Roman asks, “On Tuesday?”

“Yes!” Virgil hisses, “Very busy-- ow! Don’t touch that!-- I’ll call you later, Ro.”

“Are you raising the dead again?”

“What? No! I’m, uh,” There was a shuffling, a swear word, and a distant, “at the movies?”

“Right, I’ll pretend I believe that.” Roman says, “I was just checking the list. Your coffee shop is on here.”

“Yes, it is.” Virgil shifts the phone, “Remy fired a guy last week for purposely giving people regular coffee instead of decaf. I thought Remy was gonna kill the guy.”

“Are you sure you want me to apply there?”

There is a swatch and the telltale sound of a match lighting, and the phone shifts again, “I had an idea.”

Roman traces his fingers over the edge of his counter top, absently counting the corners, and grating his skin when it comes up even numbered. “Oh?” 

(wrong wrong wrong. Its too short)

“Yeah, maybe you’ve been going about this all wrong. Instead of cutting yourself off from people, maybe you should embrace them-- ow!” Virgil makes a hiss and Roman guesses plops his fingers in his mouth quickly, “Fucking candles. I hate lighting matches.”

“Stop trying to raise the dead for a second and help your dearest brother understand,” Roman says. “What do you mean “embrace them”?”

His fingers slice the edge of the counter, four four four isn’t enough, is too much, its wrong. 

“A customer came up to me yesterday and demanded a refund because I didn’t put whip cream her latte.” Virgil explains. “I was angry because she didn’t tell me that she wanted whip cream and its not like I can read minds-- and then I remembered my brother can read minds.” The phone shifts again, “Besides you love talking to people and don’t even try to deny it. That editing job was slowly killing you.”

Roman is quiet for a moment, because, really what is he supposed to say to that? Reading minds isn’t all that great, the same way as seeing their childhood cat that died seven years ago wasn’t all that great. But Virgil was also right: Roman missed talking to people, missed the days when he could show up without having to study for the “pop” quizzes and when he could do little magic tricks to wow his friends in between the classes. 

And even if everyone thought his psychic abilities were just parlor tricks, Roman still misses the attention.

“I’ve gotta go, Ro,” Virgil says, “McDonalds nuggets get cold fast, and the dead don’t like cold food.”

“Picky, are they?”

“Very much so.” Virgil agrees, “Just send in an application. I’ll put in a good word to Remy, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something else out.”

Roman’s fingers hit the corner of the counter again, for the seventh time and he flings them back like they were burning. “Right, yeah. Sure.”

“Bye, Ro.”

“Yeah, thanks, Casper.” Roman says and means it deeply. 

Virgil ends the call. 

Roman twists the phone in his hand three times as the call screen closes. The puzzle game on his phone is about two minutes 120 seconds from reminding him his game hasn’t been played yet today and wouldn’t play at all today if he ended up in the hospital waiting room because something his brother got food poisoning from McDonald’s--

Roman fingers tap the call button again.

First ring, “Ro?”

“Sorry,” Roman blurts out, “I-- am? Damnit! I really am sorry, Virge.”

Virgil’s quiet for a moment, but then he says softly, “I get it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Roman’s mouth snaps close. He ends the call and lets his brother go back to raising the dead on his Tuesday night where he is not going to get food poisoning. He leaves his phone on the counter and flicks the switch three times before leaving the room to go find his computer and fill out the online application.

***

Roman enjoys his twenty third job interview much less than Remy Dormire does. It lasts slightly less than twelve minutes, and by the end of it Roman is ushered behind the counter and given a brown apron (with a single hole at the bottom) and a nametag with his name on it. 

(First name only, and it makes the back of his mouth taste like bitter oranges.)

Virgil gives him a rare smile on his way back out, and finishes making two drinks at once, and ships them off to the customers waiting patiently at the end of the counter.

It wasn’t quite the calm Roman was used too, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Thoughts flowed over Roman like a river, dangerous but exciting. He felt a type of connection to everyone in the store, a type of connection that came from understanding the blurbs and fragments that made up a consciousness. 

It was strange to think that no one else felt like this, felt like they were touching and being touched in a way that was closer than physical contact. How could anyone not want to feel like this? 

But how could anyone know what they were missing when they had never had such a feeling before in their lives?

He had tried explaining it to Virgil once, twice, thrice before. He wishes he could send thoughts the way he read them.

Roman leans over the other side of the counter watching Virgil pour coffee into a styrofoam cup, “You’re off in a minute right?” He taps the the dividing wall, “Wanna grab lunch?”

Virgil hums, his eyes flicking to the side just enough for Roman to guess who might be standing in the empty space.

Roman taps again, “Unless you and Ghost McGee already have fun plans.”

“They can be changed.” Virgil says, and slides the drink over the counter, “Logan!”

Roman shuffles to the side so a guy with glasses and a plaid button up can get his drink. “I don’t want to get in the way of your ghost time. And I definitely don’t want you bringing undead dilemmas to our lunch.”

“I don’t have--” Virgil huffs, “Patton has things to do this afternoon anyway.”

Roman frowned. “Things to do? The guy’s dead.”

Virgil scowls darker than usual. Actually now that Roman is looking, he notices that Virgil’s eyeshadow is a shade lighter than normal: as if he’s trying to make his skin look less pale by comparison. His fingers tap the dividing wall again as Roman narrows his eyes at his brother and tries to remember if he’s ever looked his drained after a night of summoning the dead for a ghost party.

“Five minutes,” Virgil says abruptly, “I’ll see you then.” He wipes the counter with a purple rag and then uses it to slide right away from Roman entirely.

Its a cheap tactic. Roman’s almost offended. The buzz of the cafe hums around him, through him, and causing goosebumps right down his spine. Its exciting, being close to people, almost exciting enough to distract Roman from the predicament of Virgil being cagey-er than before (which he hadn’t thought was possible). His knuckles tap the wall three times and he turns on his heel to settle into a chair for the next five minutes.

(Five was an okay number, Roman supposed. Seven was better, and Three was the best. But Five wasn’t an even number so it was something. At least, no one ever got cancer when he counted to five.)

Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location: too little practice, not enough reason to need to. The process itself required a lot of focus and will power and it felt a lot like pulling out teeth (something he had done when he was seven and Virgil was five and he had lost two teeth in a row and it was wrong, and he couldn’t figure out how to explain it to his parents when they came to figure out why the doors kept slamming). Cutting out the thoughts that weren’t even in order, had no logical reasoning: in the span of a minute a person could go from thinking about a TV show, to thinking about the color of the tile floor, to the scent in the air, to a birthday present for a friend, to, to, to. And with multiple people? In a small space like this coffee shop? It was easier to stop a mountain slide than cut off one person from himself.

Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location, but just this once he’s makes an attempt.

Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location-- 

Virgil is his brother, and so that means that Roman is obligated to figure out why he’s being cagey. Especially if he’s going to bring the moping to their lunch. And Roman’s absolutely not patient enough to wait five minutes to figure out what is causing him distress.

Virgil's thoughts feel exactly like him, Roman thinks. He's a little cold, a little clammy, a little crafty. His presence is like a cat evading capture by any means and when Roman was particularly bored as a child he used to chase after them, chase the feelings, and the scraps of emotions and impressions that sped by like he was actively running out of time to think them.

Virgil is thinking about coffee. He’s thinking about how to punch buttons into the computer they use for the register and how the person currently ordering is an actual idiot because they don’t serve a “Vanilla Chai Tea Latte” because this store is not a freaking Starbucks, its either a  “Vanilla Chai Tea” or a “Vanilla Latte” and fuck, Roman get out of my head before I send a Zombie after you.

So Roman blinks back seeing his brother at the counter, using that customer service smile to please the middle aged woman digging through her purse, but his eyes are dark when he shoots Roman his patented don’t-mess-with-me glare.

I said five minutes, fucking wait will you.

And Roman debates for a moment, less than a minute, just 21 seconds staying there in Virgil's mind that feels a lot like a sweater in the middle of the winter. But in the end Virgil’s mind moves on to the ingredients in a Vanilla Chai Tea and someone else and the girl in the corner has the top third song of the week stuck in her head on a loop and Roman is ever so easily distracted by the repetition of the three lines--

He falls out of his brother’s mind and back into the connective conscious of humans as a whole. There's nothing jarring about it. It's just simple acceptance, like the course of a river gently rolling over him. 

If he closes his eyes it feels like safety and warmth and calmness.

The next thing he knows there's a shove as his shoulder that nearly nearly knocks him off the chair. Virgil's standing there, his hair sticking up from where he yanked off his visor and his mysterious purple eyes glowing with annoyance and irritation and a bit of worry.

"I've been calling you," He says, "Are you alright?"

Roman offers him a blinding smile, that most likely comes across dopey, "Absolutely, Graveyard ghoul!”

Virgil stares at him for a moment longer, mouth curled downwards. “Holy shit, just how socially starved are you? You look like you’re on drugs.”

Roman’s vision is a little blurry. He rubs his eye to clear it, and is surprised when it comes back with tears. Was he crying? “I’m perfectly fine!” He flicks away the tears, because honestly they’re happy tears, and they mean so much and absolutely nothing at the same time.

He gathers his stuff and stands up, (tall enough that he can count the three inch difference between him and Virgil), “Are we going to lunch now?”

Virgil keeps staring at him for a moment, and Roman can only glimpse fractions of impressions from him before his eyes narrow with suspicion.

“Fine. Yeah.” Virgil says, “I know just the place.”

****

“Really, this place?” Roman asks and almost can’t quite believe it. 

Virgil, in all his brother loving glory, does not give him a response. Since he was the one driving he puts the car in park (“not this spot! Use that one!” “Is this necessary?” “Do you like your current car insurance number, Virge?”) and then kicks the door open with more force than necessary. In the car is a lot quieter than in the cafe, but Virgil spends the entire drive thinking of musical numbers rather than what is bothering him.

The only things that Roman learns from the twenty minute drive to a sandwich shop in the middle of the city is that, Virgil is really into The Guy Who Doesn’t Like Musicals for someone who doesn’t like musicals, and that he’s three times a better driver than Roman can ever hope to be.

“Why here, Virge?” Roman asks getting out of the car and stumbling around the edge of the trunk. His brother is already across the parking lot by that time. “We passed nine other shops on the way here!”

Virgil’s hand goes flying up and snaps close in a silencing motion. Roman thinks that its way more effective on ghosts than on living being that he can’t control, but he goes quiet anyway. Virgil huddles by the storefront glass doors turning his around with his hand to his ear-- is he seriously pretending to be on the phone right now?-- and is peering into the shop as inconspicuously as he can.  

Roman is beyond confused.

Virgil takes a deep breath, and nods to himself apparently seeing whatever he was looking for. He grabs the door and then waves Roman inside quickly like he’s embarrassed to be seen with him.

“What is happening?” Roman asks.

“Just shut up and follow my lead.” Virgil says. 

And proceeds to go up to the counter and order a sandwich like a normal person. Roman frowns at the implication that he doesn’t know how to order a sandwich from a shop. His fingers knock the counter (Ew the last customer did not wash their hands after using the restroom, ew, ew!) and he gives the tired sandwich maker a dazzling smile. 

He looks a little old to be working in food retail in honesty. Much more Virgil and Roman’s age than the high school teenagers that are manning the cash register a few feet over. His eyes are gold and brown and very interesting to look at, along with with the dusting of concealer that is all over his cheek covering up something. His name tag is strategically missing in the moment but Roman doesn’t think it matters too much in the grand scheme of things.

The guys name is Dante Ethan Ekans. He’s tired. Overworked. Not paid enough.

He got a nice voice though. He keeps glancing between Virgil and Roman and Virgil, Virgil, Virgil. So much so that he puts way too much mayo on Roman’s sandwich.

Roman grabs a thing of chips and throws them on the counter at the same time as Dante the sandwich maker puts his carefully wrapped flatbread sandwich next to the register to be rung up. Instead of sliding to the back, Dante leans on the counter next to the sandwiches ignoring the high schooler ringing them up and grins at (a blushing????) Virgil.

“Back again, Raccoon?” Dante the sandwich maker says flicking his tongue out just enough to show off a tongue piercing. Its not something Roman thought could be attractive, but somehow he makes it attractive. 

And if Roman can tell that from two feet away, Virgil’s hopeless as the target of such an action.

“Yeah,” Virgil says, “I mean- I just-- I wanted lunch.”

“I can see,” Dante says with a smile. “You’ve made a habit out of coming here for lunch. A guy has to wonder if thats the only reason you keep coming back.”

Roman looks at him, and then Dante the sandwich maker, and thinks he almost understands what is going on.

“Virgil, quick question….”

“I’ll buy you a cookie if you can hold your fucking tongue for three more seconds.” Virgil snaps out loud and then thinks so horrifically loud in his head that Roman resists the urge grimace.

Say it out loud. I dare you.

Virgil is glaring at him again. Dante is staring at him like he’s just now noticing that Virgil came with someone, despite the fact that the man made his sandwich. He pushes off the counter suddenly, with his eyes darting between Virgil and Roman and his thoughts becoming clouded with a sudden flurry of unhappy impressions then he clears his throat and hums a self dismissal.

“And Ice cream from the parlor on First Street.” Roman whispers quickly.

“Roman!” Virgil snaps.

“Deal or no?”

“I hate you.”

“What type of brother would I be if you didn’t hate me?” Roman says loudly without even looking at Virgil. Dante stumbles his steps towards the back. Roman thinks he glances back, but its so quick that Roman really only has the unraveling of the sandwich makers shoulders to take as assurance he was heard.

Roman leans towards his brother in a much, much lower voice, “is this why you’ve been distracted? Because boy troubles?”

“Shut up!” Virgil hisses back and elbows him.

“That will be $23.36.” The cashier says effectively keeping them from breaking into a brawl at the counter.

Roman taps his foot in a series of three while Virgil pays with a debt card and takes their sandwiches and drink cups to a table.

“He’s flipping amazing,” Roman says once they’re sitting and Virgil’s stopped blushing through his concealer. “What’s the problem?”

“Can you read his thoughts right now?” Virgil hisses back. He does a great job of flicking a piece of lettuce off his sandwich.

“Can I-- YES!” Roman presses a hand to his chest in mock offense. “I am insulted you had to ask at all--”

“Just do it.” Virgil snaps and then folds his arms on the table and burrows his head into them without even attempting to eat his sandwich at all. 

Roman imagines that Patton is floating over Virgil’s shoulder even if he can’t see the ghost. He hopes the ghost is as confused as he is, but he seriously doubts it.

“It shouldn’t be that hard.” Virgil mumbles, “He’s probably always thinking about him.”

Roman’s stomach drops for his brother, “A boy friend?” (He frowns at the needless separation of the words)

Virgil moans, “Worse.”

“He’s not straight,” Roman mumbles, because at least that much is obvious.

Virgil doesn’t give him a response, so Roman goes deeper. Dante’s thoughts are at odds with his actions, which throws Roman off when he goes to single them out from Virgil’s and the other workers and the small family that was eating across the dining area. Where he comes off as smooth and suave and absolutely sure of himself….

HOLY FUCK BROTHER DOES HOT RUN IN THE FAMILY WHAT THE FUCK--

...His thoughts are not. Roman chases the screaming through the astral plane with mild amusement. Even when the man is cleaning dishes in the back or checking bread or pacing the back, his thoughts are shouting with panic and he keeps coming back to the snapshot of Virgil at the counter. There’s fragments of emotions with it too, amusement, happiness, self embarrassment, as if he can’t believe he really called Virgil a Raccoon and Virgil let him. 

Honestly with how much Virgil comes up in his mind, Roman can’t see why his brother isn't launching himself over the counter and dragging the sandwich maker to the freezer for an impromptu make out session. 

Or at least he couldn’t.

Then Dante’s thoughts take a leap to the cook time on the last batch of bread, and then the clock, and then the current time and then--

“Dad!”

Roman’s head jerks as he lets go of the isolated thought process and comes back to reality. Virgil does not look up but half his sandwich is gone. Its looks very much like Virgil is throwing himself a pity party while Dante rounds the counter to catch a small child in a hug.

Its undeniably adorable. Roman’s own heart is melting at the sight. The kid can only be four at max, and he’s wearing a backpack almost as big as he is, with a spiderman theme. When the kid talks, he prattles on, and Dante listens to each word with adoration in his eyes.

“So he has got a kid,” Roman comments. He taps Virgil’s foot under the table, “Don’t tell me a kid is a turn off.”

“Roman, you know how I am with kids,” Virgil says. “I’m worse with kids than I am with adults! Which is saying something! The last living person I talked casually to called me a freak and threw a kickball at my face.”

“That was middle school, Miserable Mortuary.” Roman points out, and taps Virgil's foot again, “And if you remember, I beat the snot out of Alfred Hitchcockopolous for saying that. Not to mention, we are talking right this second.”

Virgil grunts sullenly, “Whatever. I’m still bad with kids. I give off that dark energy aura, remember? Give it an hour and Thomas will be running for the hills! There’s no way I could court his dad if he hates me. I’m not gonna drive that wedge between them.”

“You don’t know that yet! Have you talked to this Thomas?”

“And get labeled as a pedophile? No way, not happening.”

“Virgil,” Roman says pointedly (and taps Virgil's foot again), “I’m not saying approach the kid and offer him a joy ride in your crappy used silver Scion. You don’t have to even wait until Dante is out of earshot. Ask him about his favorite color.”

Virgil makes a rather pathetic noise in response. “It’s Dee. He hates being called Dante.” 

Roman glances back at Dante the sandwich maker and Thomas the kid. Dante was getting him set up at a table by the counter where he could color in a cheap Star Wars coloring book. He hadn’t come in with anyone. Which was odd. It wasn’t like anyone would let a four year old ride the buses around town either. But surely if there was another parent in the mix they would have at least come in to see that Dante had received the kid, right?

Roman chews on his sandwich for a moment. His eyes are narrowed at his brother as the melody of thoughts roll over him. He’s seeing, feeling glimpses of something else from his brother something that’s making him even more upset than the whole Dad issue.

“What is it?” Roman says, because he’s terribly impatient for his brothers cryptic dance around thoughts.

“You know how I was busy last night?”

“Summoning the dead on a Tuesday?” Roman nods three times.

“Yeah,” Virgil says and drops his head again like a moody teenager. “Yeah that.”

Roman gets flashes of flash night from Virgil’s point of view: Patton kneeling beside him, McDonalds kids meals, too many melted candles, too many slight variations to the chalk circle, a long night. There’s an unsatisfied tinged to them, an unhappiness, a frustration and a nervousness. 

It takes Roman a moment to work out what it means.

“Oh,” Roman says, “oh no.”

“Yeah,” Virgil bounces his head on his arms staring into his lap, “Thomas’s mother, Dee’s girlfriend, died in childbirth.”

The sandwich tastes foul in Romans mouth. Too much mayo and bad feelings from it. Virgil stuffs a chip in his mouth and crunches on it sadly.

Overall, it's not how Roman was expecting the lunch out to go.

"It's been four years though, right?" Roman tries, because even if Virgil and him give each other grief all the time, he never wants to see his brother unhappy. "He's definitely in to you, Vee. I have proof. He's moved on."

"That's not the issue," Virgil whines. His eyes flick over Romans shoulder where there's absolutely nothing there, which means that Patton the ghost is witnessing this exchange at least. "Ghosts are tricky businesses. For all I know, me dating Dee will cause a tremor in the afterlife and will bring a vengeful ghost down on the three of us."

"Isn't that an extremely rare occurrence?" Roman says.

Virgil huffs glaring to the side, "Not helping, Pat. And to answer your question, Ro, it is a rare occurrence. But I'm also a magical fucking beacon of dark energy that draws ghosts to myself. Do you really think that the odds are in my favor for this one?"

Roman squints at his brother, "Yes, I do? That is why I'm telling you to go talk to the kid?"

"I'm not going to talk to the kid," Virgil says stubbornly, "Not until I know I'm not gonna endanger him or Dee or… myself." He rubs the insides of his arms, and Roman gets flashes of an emergency room and his own fist in the walls. Neither of them say anything for a moment, and from the glassy look in Virgil's eyes, Patton chooses to be quiet too. 

Then Virgil shakes his head and wards off the thoughts. "It's fine. Or whatever. Patton and I are going to do some deep research and I'll find a way to contact Marissa. If she gives me permission, I'll go ahead and talk to Dee again."

He wraps up the rest of his sandwich neatly and leans back in his chair facing the counter where Dante is replacing the produce selection. As if sensing him watching Dante's head tilts up and he winks towards Virgil with another snake like flick of his tongue piercing.

Virgil goes red in the face and stands up. "You know what, I'll be outside!" 

Roman catches a glimpse of a dopey, stupid, lovesick smile on his brothers face and cant believe that hes not in a Hallmark movie. Really it's insulting now. This is drama gold and no ones even writing it down. 

Dante frowns as Virgil flees the scene, and head to the back again with the clear intention to mope in his thoughts. Roman is left alone at a table, with half a sandwich. Which is fine! All fine!

Roman packs up their combined trash and saves the second half of Virgil's sandwich before he gets up and strolls across the restaurant to the trashcan near where Thomas is sitting. Once he throws his stuff away he stops by the table where the kid is sitting.

"Oh my lord!" Roman says, "Look at this magnificent art work! The colors, the lines, the texture! How very bold! Tell me artist, are you the one who crafted such intricate works?"

Thomas grins up at him bursting with joviality. "I am, mister! Who are you?"

"My name's Roman Prince, young artist!" Roman says, "I am trying to solve a problem that I think you can help me with."

"Me?" Thomas says, "What is it?"

Roman thinks that this kid would be very easy to kidnap.

"Well you see, my brother comes here quite often and he thinks your dad is very super nice." Roman explains the best he can, "He wants to be your dad's friend but my brother is very shy around people."

Thomas taps a red crayon to his lip, "He's that scary man that was over there, right? Dad talks about him a lot."

Roman smiles, "My brother talks about your dad a lot, too!" It's a lie, but really it's for a good cause. "I want them to be friends because they seem very happy together. How about I write down my brothers phone number and you give it to your dad for me?"

Thomas nods easily at the words, and then excitedly, "Then they can set up a playdate! Even if Mr. Purple is really scary, I think he makes dad laugh a lot. And Uncle Emile says laughing is good!"

Roman laughs at that. He scribbles out the numbers for Virgil's personal phone in red crayon on a napkin and gives Thomas a fist bump for teamwork. By the time Dante appears in the front again (with a cloud of suspicion and terror that a stranger is near his son) Roman gives him a cheery wave goodbye and is out the door. 

(Virgil is lying in the middle of the parking lot just behind his car and asks Roman to run him over and put him out of his misery.)

(Roman does not run him over.)

(It does take twelve minutes to convince his hopeless brother to get off the asphalt and into the car for the ride back to Virgil's apartment.)

#psychic au #thomas sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #symapthetic deceit #deceit sanders #dadceit #patton sanders #Psychic!Roman #Necromancer!Virgil #kid!Thomas #coffee shops #anxceit #future logince #brotherly prinxiety #Number counting OCD #ghost!patton #sorry pat

[tempestaurora]

Hi I just need to share this idea before I fall asleep: AU where Beck targeted Harley instead because Tony left Harley EDITH instead of Peter

read on ao3

They showed up in the hand of a suited man who looked uncomfortably hot in the Tennessee sun. E.D.I.T.H., the card in the glasses case read, Even In Death I’m The Hero – T.S.

Harley had been to his funeral the month before, had stood outside the lake house with a collection of plain-clothed superheroes. He’d recognised some, but not all. Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner. They were all red-eyed and sombre, donned in black suits and congregating in small groups after the ceremony. Harley had come alone, without his mother or sister, and had spoken to barely anyone, bar Colonel Rhodes who recognised him, Pepper and Morgan, who’d invited him, and the kid called Peter Parker, who looked about his age - though, post-snap, it was hard to tell anymore.

He hadn’t touched the glasses for two days before finally working up the nerve to try them on, then he’d played with them in complete awe for three days before finally putting them away again. He’d read the texts of strangers on the street, peered inside the Mustang’s engine and dissected every part, stared at the maths problems on his homework sheet and watched the numbers float off the page and solve themselves. It was a lot of power, Harley figured. Too much for a kid in fuck-all nowhere Rose Hill.

He made a small hole in the floorboards of the garage, and hid the glasses away.

He’d vanished in the snap, like half the universe, but his sister and mother had lived on for five years, continued to grow and change. He’d been in his senior year when he’d died, and now his sister was too. They shared the same classes, and though she’d desperately tried to get into science and engineering; to make use of the tools in the garage that Tony had provided Harley with, she just wasn’t interested, and leant heavily towards history, with dreams of archaeology and excavation.

They looked like twins now, and started to tell people that they were.

His little sister was five years younger than him, but they were both eighteen now anyway.

In all, despite having E.D.I.T.H. under the floorboards of the half-gutted garage (the equipment inside was both too sentimental to sell, and too expensive not to), nothing much changed with Harley as the world tried to right itself after the second snap. Time continued on, the world slowly rebuilt itself and struggled to house all the new homeless folk, and superheroes re-emerged from the cracks, fighting the everyday bank robbers and crazy scientists, rather than colonising aliens.

Harley and Ariel graduated side by side, her name read out first, then his, and they wore matching robes and smiled matching smiles for their mother’s photos. They packed up their things and both headed for New York, both of them studying at Columbia, and both of them scoring rooms in the same dorm. On the day they left; Harley’s Mustang idling out front with his sister’s music blaring from the stereo, Harley wandered around the garage, decked out by a dead man, and pulled back the floorboard. E.D.I.T.H. still sat there in the case, just as it had when Harley had first received it a year before, and he removed it, replaced the floorboard, and started the long drive north.

His classes were the good kind of difficult, and he threw himself into electrical and mechanical engineering, scoring high grades and making new friends. Parties were a rare thing in Rose Hill, as everyone lived so far apart and kids his age were rare, so now he and Ariel had new experiences to make; dorm parties and frat houses, night clubs and bars. Despite the new laws about post-snap identification, his I.D. from before still worked in some places; technically twenty-three rather than the lived eighteen.

“We’re twins,” he and Ariel would say to whoever asked; the two Keeners living on the same floor and going to the same parties. They shared a lot of friends, though drew themselves to different areas; Harley falling easily into the D&D Society, and Ariel finding herself in three separate book clubs.

“Family has become more important than ever,” the post-snap counsellor would say in their mandatory session in their first semester. Every student had to meet with them, only a year since the world came back, but Harley and Ariel attended theirs together, more joined at the hip than they had ever been when they were five years apart in age.

They went home for Christmas and returned in January, starting classes anew. It was then that Harley met his new teacher, Quentin Beck, an M.I.T. graduate who’d once been a successful head developer in R&D at Stark Industries. Harley took every reference to Tony like a stab in the side; Tony’s face was everywhere, painted in every mural. All his classmates were obsessed with the arc reactor and the Stark tech, they all held Starkphones like once everyone had held Apples. Beck’s entire first class was essentially a spiel about what he learned at S.I., and Harley felt sick by the end of it.

Just as he was rushing out of the class, Quentin – all the tutors insisted being called by their first names – called him back. “I hear you’re the student to look out for,” he said easily, resting against the edge of his desk. “Tell me, where did your interest start?”

Harley had never been asked this question, but he had always thought he’d lie if he were. Instead, facing a man who’d also known and cared about Tony Stark, he said, “I’ve always liked building things, but I don’t think it was until I met Tony Stark myself that I really got invested.”

Quentin raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You’ve met Tony Stark?”

“It’s a little hard to believe,” he admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck, “but back in 2013—the Mandarin incident? With the President?—when Tony vanished after his house got bombed, he ended up in my hometown. Broke into my garage to hide out from the snow, and well—I dunno. I got to hang out with him for a few days.”

He thought he’d be scoffed at, honestly – it wasn’t a particularly believable story, though Harley had realised that was the case with a lot of truths – but instead, Quentin smiled, like he’d found someone similar to himself, a friend. They talked for a bit about Tony, and then after the next class, they talked again. They went to Quentin’s office and told stories about working with Tony and their experiences with Iron Man. Harley showed him the photos from when he was fifteen and visiting New York mere weeks before Ultron, when he and Tony worked on the code for his own helper bot and later went to a museum together.

It was—strange, honestly. Having someone to relate to about this stuff. Having someone who cared—about Harley, about Tony, about his legacy. Quentin was the only person who got it. Ariel had never met Tony, had been too young to really remember the events anyway, and Harley hadn’t wanted to bother anyone he’d met at the funeral; their connections to Tony far stronger than his could ever be. He hadn’t known the man like Colonel Rhodes had, like Pepper had – but he still grieved, still mourned, still wanted him back.

Talking to Quentin, then working with him on his project, was a little like that; like finding Tony in the world again.

So, one day, as they worked in the shop he said, “Tony left me a gift actually.”

Quentin paused and leant back on his stool, saying, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. When he died. Some lawyer showed up at my door with it; said he’d left it in his will for me.”

“What was it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Glasses,” Harley replied. “They’re—it’s an A.I., called E.D.I.T.H..” He shrugged. “I don’t know why he left them to me, honestly. He already gave me a whole workshop and a vintage Mustang. And we weren’t—we didn’t talk a whole lot, even before the snap. Couple times a year, I guess. I came up to New York like, twice, and he would email out of the blue to see if I wanted to test the new Starkphone…”

“What does the A.I. do?”

“What doesn’t it do?” Harley sighed. “I’m pretty sure it’s a borderline surveillance state A.I., I mean, if the government had it. It can see everything, I think. In the wrong hands… it could be catastrophic.”

“Are your hands the wrong hands?” Quentin asked.

Harley hesitated. “I hope not. Tony trusted me with it, so he must think… must think they’re right.”

“Well,” Quentin said, “I’d love to see them sometime. They sound incredible.”

That afternoon he returned to his room, where he knelt by the drawer he’d fixed a false bottom into, pulling out the E.D.I.T.H. glasses for the first time since he hid them away in September. He tried them on, and E.D.I.T.H. greeted him in the warm tone, information pouring out before him. He peered around his room slowly, and as the sight caught on his roommate’s laptop, their tablet, E.D.I.T.H. captured the data and sent it scrolling before his eyes.

“E.D.I.T.H.,” Harley said quietly.

“Yes, Harley?”

“Why did Tony leave you to me?”

“Tony Stark left gifts for all loved ones in case of his demise. He did not tell me the significance or reasoning behind his actions.”

Harley sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. “What did other people get?”

“Virginia “Pepper” Potts and Morgan Stark received the majority of the wealth, assets and properties under the name Anthony Edward Stark. Virginia Potts was also left controlling ownership of Stark Industries. Colonel James Rhodes was bequeathed several vintage cars, a large sum of money, and several sentimental items. Harold Hogan was bequeathed the same. Should I go on?”

“Sure.”

“Mr. Stark left various moneys, cars, sentimental items and properties to individuals he worked with under the Avengers Initiative: Robert “Bruce” Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Steven Rogers, Clinton Barton and Thor Odinson. Other moneys were left to various organisations, foundations and charities supported by Mr Stark. He bequeathed myself and a college fund to you, Harley Keener, and a matching college fund and equipped workshop space in Queens, New York, New York, to Peter Parker. He left—”

“Stop,” Harley said.

Peter Parker had been the other kid at the funeral. The one with the internship with Tony. The one at the front of the dock, who’d cried beside his Aunt, who’d been introduced to Morgan for the first time mere minutes after Harley had.

“E.D.I.T.H.,” Harley said, “do you have the contact information for Peter Parker?”

“Of course, Harley.”

Peter’s phone number, email and address appeared before his eyes. His personal information scrolled beside it; seventeen, in his senior year, Midtown Tech High School. Harley thought about calling him; about saying Hi, we met at the funeral, want to be friends? About the bond he had with Quentin, the only person who understood what Harley was going through, even a little, and how he could have it again, with someone else. Someone who had worked beside Tony and looked up to him, just like Harley.

He was about to ask E.D.I.T.H. to call the number when his phone started ringing.

QUENTIN BECK CALLING his glasses read. He and Quentin had shared numbers because Harley’s college email was glitchy and Quentin had needed a way to contact him about class schedules and extra shop time.

“Hi, Quentin,” Harley said as he picked up.

“Harley! I’m glad I caught you. I was just thinking about those glasses Tony left you…”

It didn’t take much, really, for Quentin to persuade Harley to let him take a look at them. He was a friend, he was trusted – he, too, might be the right hands. Quentin and Harley talked for hours about them, trying them out and asking E.D.I.T.H. about her various functions. Harley had been right about how incredible they were, but he’d also been right about how much power they held for trouble. How far the wrong hands could take them; they were connected to satellites across the globe, had an enabled drone strike, and could send missiles to any given place on the planet. And Tony Stark had made this?

“They’re… truly something,” Quentin had said when the sky grew dark. Ariel was texting about dinner and Harley was packing up to leave. “Don’t… please don’t take this the wrong way, Harley—but do you think they’re too much responsibility for you to have?”

“Quentin, I—”

“I know you’re not a child, I know. You’re eighteen, you’re an adult – but these glasses,” he gestured to them on the table, shaking his head. “You could destroy the world with this, Harley. You could literally take it over. And that’s—that’s terrifying. It’s terrifying that Tony would’ve made something like this in the first place, and frankly, more so that he would leave them to someone else upon his death, rather than destroying them.”

“You think they should be destroyed?”

“I think these are simply another foray into weapon building,” Quentin sighed. “Though rather than selling it to the U.S. military, he’s privatised it and kept it for himself.”

“Then why did he give them to me?” Harley asked, nervous hands picking up the glasses. Quentin was right, of course, they were too much responsibility for him. He’d stuck them under the floorboards where they couldn’t be touched because of it. Left them in the drawer and pretended they didn’t exist. Practically ignored the one thing Tony had left for him.

He bet, bitterly, that Peter Parker wasn’t ignoring the gift Tony had left for him.

“I’m not sure, Harley. And this isn’t something I’m saying about you—rather, about him—but I don’t think it was the right decision.”

Harley swallowed, turning over the glasses in his hands. “You think I should get rid of them entirely?”

Quentin sighed, passing a hand over his forehead. “I’m not sure, Harley. I’m not. Perhaps they’ll save the world someday—but only in the hands of the right person.”

Harley bit hard into the inside of his lower lip. He wasn’t the right person. His hands weren’t the right hands. What had Tony been thinking, leaving a weapon this powerful to him? He was a kid from fuck-all nowhere Rose Hill, not a superhero. He was no Captain America, no Thor, no Iron Man.

“Quentin,” Harley said, his mind made up. “If I gave them to you, would you hide them somewhere?”

“What?”

“Hide them. Like you said, they might save the world someday—but that day’s not today, and they need to be somewhere where they can’t cause trouble until then. And if I’m not the right hands—then I shouldn’t know where they are.”

Quentin took the glasses in careful hands. “Are you sure, Harley?”

He nodded, resolute. “I’m sure.”

Quentin hesitated, turning the glasses over in his hands. “Perhaps you should—you should pass over the control to me, too. They only work for you, and if you don’t know where they are…”

Harley swallowed then shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ll keep the control.”

“But, Harley—”

“No,” he repeated. “Maybe I’m not the right hands, but maybe you’re not either.”

“Harley—”

“If you were, Tony would’ve given them to you in the first place. I just need… I just need them hidden. Until I am the right hands, or until the world needs them. Whichever comes first, I guess.”

On the way home, he called Peter Parker and arranged to get coffee in some Queens café the next weekend. After dinner, he shot off an email to Pepper Potts, too, to see how she was doing and apologise for not reaching out for so long. Her response was prompt, and the weekend after, he was to meet her at her Manhattan apartment for dinner with her and Morgan.

He felt strange, that night, and the nights after it, going to bed without the glasses in the drawer beside his head, but it was for the best, he thought, not knowing where they were.

During class on Friday, Quentin seemed busy, side-tracked, and on Saturday, Harley met Peter, who was happier than the last time he’d seen him, and more than willing to share stories about Tony all afternoon, until it grew dark and the two of them went next door for a bite of pizza.

Classes all the next week were cancelled due to Quentin being sick, and he responded to Harley’s get well soon text positively, saying he was already on the mend. At dinner with Pepper and Morgan, Harley told her about college, about meeting Peter even. He didn’t mention Quentin or the glasses, and neither did she. Instead, they laughed at Morgan’s bad jokes and afterwards played a board game and let her win.

And then Quentin didn’t show for class the week after. Didn’t cancel it either, so Harley and his classmates sat around, confused and waiting, until they got bored and went home. Harley tried Quentin’s number and he didn’t pick up. The next day he did the same and the number was cancelled.

“This number no longer exists,” the voice at the end of the line said, and Harley shuddered to a halt in the middle of the packed corridor. People bumped into him from all sides and he squeezed his way over to the wall, the truth playing in front of his eyes on loud, flashing repeat.

Quentin Beck had hidden E.D.I.T.H. and then vanished. He’d taken E.D.I.T.H. He was in possession of the most powerful and dangerous A.I. since Ultron. And Harley had given it to him.

Harley called Pepper as he from campus, searching for a cab.

“Hi, Harley,” Pepper said, “I’m actually about to head into a meeting, so could I call you back—”

“No!” Harley cried, skidding to a stop on the pavement. “It’s important!”

“Is everything alright?”

“No, everything’s not alright! It’s E.D.I.T.H.!”

“Edith? Who’s Edith?”

“E.D.I.T.H.!” Harley repeated. “The A.I. Tony left me! I was kind of overwhelmed by the responsibility of it, and my teacher Quentin convinced me that I shouldn’t have it at all, so I asked him to put it somewhere until I could use it, and now he’s gone! He’s gone and he’s the only one who knows where E.D.I.T.H. is!”

Harley was panting out on the street, but Pepper’s voice was even, hard, “Harley,” she said, “did you hand over control of E.D.I.T.H. when you gave it to your teacher?”

“No,” Harley said. “I didn’t think I should, so it’s still under my control—”

“Alright. That’s very good of you, Harley. E.D.I.T.H. can only be used by the person who has control. Tony gave that control to you, and so long as you don’t ask E.D.I.T.H. to obey anyone else, control will remain with you. Now, can you tell me the name of your teacher?”

“Quentin. Quentin Beck.”

“Oh, fuck,” Pepper said, eloquently. “Amy, would you mind rescheduling my meetings? Harley, come to the apartment. We’ll call in some help and get this sorted.”

Harley grabbed his sister on the way, relaying the events and watching as she chose between a scoff that he could be so dumb, and a pitying smile. She chose the latter and the two of them climbed in a taxi, taking it to the Upper West Side, where Pepper lived when she was in the city. The elevator opened not on the penthouse floor like last time, though, but on the floor beneath, where Pepper stood by an array of computers and Happy paced around behind her.

On one of the screens was Quentin’s face, though a good few years younger, and a long list of information.

Pepper greeted them and then told them all about Quentin Beck, the man who became his college teacher. He had worked for Stark Industries, that much was true, and he had led the development of what eventually became B.A.R.F., an incredibly complex piece of technology that extracted memories and could replay them in 3D, just like Tony had displayed at M.I.T. in 2016. But Quentin hadn’t designed it for use as a billion dollar therapy tool; he’d seen it as a weapon, as a way to manufacture events, hallucinations. With B.A.R.F., the user could extract memories exactly as they were remembered, or exactly as they decided to remember them. It could be used for interrogation, for criminal cases – or it could be used for exonerations. And in other events, it could just as easily be taken advantage of; a guilty person misremembering a murder; a victim being forced to replay a traumatic memory again and again.

He was infuriated what Tony wanted to do with his technology, and had eventually been fired for it too. He was off the deep end, Pepper said, a little crazed and dangerous. His reference had been anything but glowing, and yet he’d still managed to doctor the facts and land himself a role at Columbia during the five years between snaps. He still managed to end up as Harley’s teacher – though, it seemed, by coincidence. One Quentin took advantage of as soon as he discovered how close Tony and Harley had been, and who owned the large fund that was paying Harley’s tuition.

After Pepper told her story, Harley told his – about how dangerous E.D.I.T.H. truly is, about the responsibility of a world killer that he could wear like a pair of smart glasses. Quentin had been right, as awful as it was; Harley wasn’t ready for them, wasn’t prepared to own something like that, and in the wrong hands…

“Why do you think Tony gave them to you?” Pepper asked softly, hers hands on his arms.

“I don’t know!” Harley complained. “I don’t know why he gave them to me—”

“He gave them to you because you are the right hands,” she said. “Because you are responsible. And yes, they’re a weight to carry, and they can be scary—hell knows I feel that pressure with F.R.I.D.A.Y. standing over me at all times, knowing what she can do if I asked—but he wouldn’t have handed them down to you if he thought you couldn’t handle it. And maybe… maybe you can’t yet. Maybe you do need to grow into them, but E.D.I.T.H. is yours, and will be for as long as you want it.”

“But it can do so many bad things.”

“And it can do so many good ones, too,” she replied. “Tony was a futurist. He saw the way forward and brought it to the present. He could see the value of A.I.; of a being that learned and grew and changed, but wasn’t human. They can do a lot of bad, if you ask it to – and they’re installed with safeguards for that exact reason – but they can do a lot of good. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is a personal assistant and security system as much as she can be used as a weapon. She can keep an eye on Morgan, can deploy security measures if someone breaks in, can keep an eye on body temperatures, on health and how hydrated we are. She’s a friend as much as she’s technology. If she sees dips in mood, she can work to relieve it; when Tony was struggling after the first snap, she was also the one that alerted me, so I could help. And maybe—maybe they’re small things, compared with missiles in the sky and drone strikes, but they’re also good things.”

She sighed, smiling. “It’s like being a good person or a bad person, Harley. Just because you think bad thoughts, doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It’s what you do that counts. We all have the potential for chaos, for hurt and harm – we have to choose not to act on it. In the same way, with A.I.s in our hands, we have to continuously choose to use them for good, not evil.”

Harley felt his chest loosen a little, where it had tightened and knotted up. Maybe Pepper was right.

“But E.D.I.T.H. isn’t in my hands,” he said. “I lost her!”

“Anything lost can also be found,” she said easily, turning to the monitors. “I have F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” she said, “and I am using her for good by locating Quentin Beck using New York’s CCTV cameras and S.I.’s advanced facial recognition software—not for sale, distribution or government use,” she added, with a smile. “I could go out there myself, too, but I figured there was someone closer by.” Pepper pressed a button on the dash. “How’s it going Spidey?”

“Hey, Pepper!” a voice responded; the cheery, upbeat tone of Spiderman. “I’m actually just watching him through the window of his buddy’s apartment. They’ve been trying to hack into the glasses since way before I got here and its fun seeing them stressed. They haven’t even noticed I’m here.”

“Spidey,” Pepper sighed, “would you mind getting the glasses back sooner rather than later? And finding out who the buddy is?”

“Oh, KAREN’s already figured that out. Ex-S.I. employee. Guess they all have it out for Mr. Stark, huh?”

The image of a balding man appeared on one screen, clearly taken through the bedroom window. His name popped up next to it, with his details.

“Guess so,” Pepper replied.

It was less than an hour later that Spiderman vaulted through the window of the lab, glasses in hand.

“Oh, pizza?” he said, looking at the boxes Happy had ordered to keep himself busy. “Save any for me?”

Pepper tapped her hand on a closed box. “Pepperoni. Just for you.”

“Oh, you’re the best,” he said, passing Harley on the way to the box and handing back the glasses as he went. “For you,” he added along the way.

Harley eyed the glasses in his hands; they were very Tony, just like the ones he used to wear. He wasn’t ready for them, really. Not yet. But someday, he might be – someday, he might be able to use E.D.I.T.H.’s reach and power for good. Might be able to use her to build good things that help people, to change the world just as Tony had done.

Harley said, “Thanks, Peter,” and grinned as Spiderman, Pepper and Happy froze.

Then Spiderman whined, “How did you know? I didn’t even tell you! I swear, Pepper, I said nothing,” and Harley laughed, waving the glasses around.

“E.D.I.T.H. knows everything,” he said, remembering all the details that appeared when he asked the glasses for Peter’s phone number, “from your class schedule to your secret identity.”

Peter pulled off the mask and Ariel sniggered into her pizza as he did so. He looked so put out. “No telling,” he said, slumping onto a free chair. “I can’t believe everyone I come into contact with figures out my secret identity.”

“It’s probably because you take off the mask every time you want to talk to someone or look dramatically into the middle distance,” Happy replied, with his mouth full.

They all laughed, and Harley grinned, placing the glasses carefully on the table.

Not yet, he thought, but maybe someday.

#marvel #mcu #harley keener #quentin beck #peter parker #bethany talks #bethany writes #could've responded like a normal person and YET i didn't #i wrote this in like 3 hours and then did a quick read through #let me live #jim-hopper-superhero

[spookyboywhump]

Daniel 2

Previous

(this is technically a whole side piece thing so idk if people want to be tagged in all the pre-Wren stuff)

 You ever just black out and go full feral writing something? Yeah here y’all go, a mess featuring Cain before he was a complete bastard man

***

Cain stared at the man with wide eyes, unsure of how to even react. His father was talking to him, he should be listening, but all his focus was on the man sitting on his knees in front of him, bound and gagged and blindfolded. He wasn’t sure he was even older than he was, it was hard to tell anything and he knew better than to ask his father while he was speaking. 

 “Are you listening?” The man snapped, and he finally focused on him again, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. 

 “Yes, father…” he said slowly, glancing between the two of them. His father had brought home countless dogs before, but this was the first time he’d handed him a leash and said it was his. He was used to them being around but they’d never been his problem, and he’d never wanted the responsibility of owning one, much less one he didn’t get to decide on. 

 “His training didn’t go as planned but I think it will be good for you to learn how to train your dog.”

 “Yes sir…” 

 “You need to be strict with him, Cain, especially since he was so difficult to train.”

 “Yes sir…”

 “Get used to him being around, he’s your responsibility now.” He said, and Cain numbly accepted the folder handed to him, containing the man’s papers. He looked down at him again, though he obediently sat on his knees he was tense, hands clenched into fists behind his back. He didn’t look like any of the dogs his father had bought before, he didn’t have that sense of resignation and defeat to him. This one would fight, and Cain didn’t even know what he was supposed to do with him. 

 He gave a hesitant tug on the leash, hoping the man would get to his feet. There was something about a person- a dog on all fours that made his skin crawl, he could never stand it. Instead, the man pulled back, resisting him.

 “You don’t have to be gentle, Cain. Honestly, you’ve seen how I handle my dogs, you should know this.” He snatched the leash back from him, yanking harshly on it so that the man nearly fell forward, before finally struggling to his feet. Fuck, he thought, he’s fucking taller than me. He took the leash back, taking a step away and pulling, the man realized he should follow him. 

 “I’m… going to take him then… um…” He wearily looked to his father who was watching him expectantly. “Thank you, for the gift, father.” He said, which seemed to satisfy him. 

 He led the man out of the room, still unsure of what to do with him. He felt like he should say something but he didn’t know what, his father rarely talked with his dogs, usually just commanding or chastising them. He brought him upstairs, going slow to make sure he wouldn’t trip, and back to his room, shutting the door behind them before looking to him. He wasn’t sure if this would work since his father said his training hadn’t gone right, but he tried anyway.

 “Sit.” He ordered. Much to his relief, he did so, even if it was reluctantly. “Okay… just, stay here, while I figure everything out.” He unclipped the leash from his collar, tossing it on to his desk along with the folder before getting his phone from his pocket, dialing his friend’s number. When she picked up he started rambling before she could say a word. 

 “Hey! Hi, fuck, um, my dad gave me a gift?”

 “What? That’s not like him.”

 “I know, I know, fuck, Vanessa, he gave me a fucking dog.”

 “Oooh! What are you going to do with it?”

 “That’s why I was calling you, I don’t know what to do with it.” He looked back to the man kneeling on his floor, almost subtly pulling against his restraints. “I never fucking wanted one of these, and he went and gave me a difficult one too. Could you just, get over here?” He asked.

 “Of course! I'd love to meet your new pup!” She giggled. “I’ll be there soon!” She promised. Once they hung up he went to his desk, pulling the chair away so he was closer to the man and sitting down. His dark hair was messy and he had a suspicion he hadn’t showered in a week. He thought about how his father usually bathed his dogs and felt sick, this was a grown man, he didn’t need Cain to bathe him. He was his dog though, so he figured he could decide how all that would work. It was odd to him, having complete control over something. 

 He reached over and snatched the folder off his desk, opening it up and looking it over. It didn’t give him a whole lot of information, but he at least had a better idea of who this person was. There was a photo of him in it, a school picture. He looked almost painfully normal, a big smile on his face, bright brown eyes full of life. He was kind of pretty, the kind of person that Cain would have to stop and stare at if he saw him on the street. Instead, he was in his home, on his knees, blindfolded and gagged. 

 “So, your name is Daniel…?” He asked, looking over the papers. Daniel Alexander King, he swore he remembered that last name from somewhere but it didn’t matter much. “Fuck, you’re eighteen?” He asked, and the man nodded. “Damn, he told me they won’t take anyone under twenty… you’re one unlucky son of a bitch huh?” He laughed, and the man made an irritated noise behind the gag. He didn’t need to keep him blindfolded and gagged, he could’ve removed them, but at the same time he almost liked the control, liked deciding whether another man could see or speak. His father would be proud.

 He looked over the rest of the information, he was born in December, he’d just graduated from one of the best high schools in the city, his father was dead and apparently his mother wasn’t important enough to list. He wasn’t a volunteer case, he was a “special request” and the details of his training didn’t look too promising. 

 “Dog Type: Basic*

 Simple commands: successful*

 Advanced commands: unsuccessful

 Name removal: unsuccessful

 Memory removal: unsuccessful”

 It looked like almost everything was either unsuccessful or listed as “N/A”. He was genuinely disgusted by some of the things they offered training for, but thankfully his father hadn’t gone for anything like that, gifting him an unruly dog rather than a sex slave. He looked to the extra notes section, curious as to what they had to say on this one.

 “*Client may want to consider guard dog training for SR-290

 *SR-290 responds best to commands when threatened with punishment. We recommend a strict owner

 Training for SR-290 was cut short, leaving him in a much more stubborn and difficult phase. He is defiant and occasionally resorts to violence when threatened. We recommend he be muzzled to begin with, one of our handlers suffered several bite wounds and a broken finger from his attacks. 

 SR-290 is still a work in progress, not recommended for an inexperienced owner. SR-290 should be returned for further training at his handler’s discretion.”

 “You really put up a fight, huh?” He murmured, flipping through the pages that detailed each day he was there. In only a week he’d broken someone’s nose, broken someone’s finger, bit and scratched and at one point hit a handler hard enough to knock them unconscious. It was honestly a little bit impressive, they recommended him as a guard dog but Cain didn’t need a guard dog, his father and his status was all the security he needed. If he was always this violent though, he’d need somewhere to get all that anger out. 

 It didn’t take long for Vanessa to get there, calling him again. It was some relief to know she was there, she usually knew what to do when he didn’t.

 “Hey, come let me in,” She said when he picked up. “I don’t wanna run into your dad, if he looks at me like that again I might fucking stab him.”

 “You’d be doing us all a favor.” He snickered, thankful the camera installed in his room would only pick up his half of the conversation. He told the boy to stay while he went and opened the front door for her. She seemed more excited about this dog than he was, practically bouncing on her heels.

 “So, where is he? What’s he like?” She asked, and he motioned for her to follow him, leading her upstairs.

 “Right now he’s… quiet. He’s not causing much problems but apparently he’s “difficult”. I don’t know, I don’t even know where to start with him.” He sighed, anxiously running a hand through his hair. He let her into his room, relieved to see he was still where he left him. He shut the door behind them, dropping down in his chair again while she knelt down in front of the boy. 

 “Fuck, how old is he?” She asked, gently taking his face in her hands, looking him over.

 “Eighteen. Younger than normal, right?”

 “Yeah…” She carefully pushed the blindfold up to get a look at his eyes, gasping and nearly startling Cain.

 “What?!”

 “He’s gorgeous!” She said, looking back at Cain while still holding his face. “Look at him! Get him a shower and let him get some rest and he’d just be so pretty!” She was probably right about that, now that he saw his eyes he could tell he probably hadn’t slept in some time, dark circles beneath his eyes. They weren’t bright and happy like in his picture, it was pretty clear that he was fucking pissed. “What’s his name?” She asked, looking back at the boy who had gone red in the face. 

 “Well… the papers my dad gave me said his name is Daniel, but I don’t know, he doesn’t really look like a Daniel does he?”

 “No, not really…” she let go of him, getting to her feet and grabbing the papers from his desk. “Maybe his middle name? Alexander is a nice name.”

 “But a little long for a dog, you know?”

 “Hm… then, what about Zander?” She suggested. He looked back at the man, who seemed frustrated while he watched them. 

 “What do you think, boy, Zander sound good?” He asked him, but all he got was muffled angry shouts. “Yeah, I think Zander fits him.” He laughed.

 “He really didn’t want to be trained, huh?” She said, looking over the notes left on him.

 “To be fair they only had him a week. I’m sure I can make some progress now that I have him. If I can’t then my dad definitely can.” He said, getting to his feet. He crouched down in front of the man, finally removing the gag.

 “I have a fucking name and I’m not letting you fucking change it!” He snapped immediately, startling both of them. 

 “Easy boy, calm down. It’s just a name.” Cain laughed, positioning his hands on his face as he looked him over. He ran one thumb over his lips, forcefully shoving it into his mouth to pry open his jaw, looking over his teeth that had apparently caused so much trouble to his trainers. This proved to be a mistake though as Zander but down, hard. “Fuck! This fucker bit me!” He cried as he finally wrenched his hand away from him, getting to his feet. 

 “Shouldn’t have put your fingers in my damn mouth then!” He snapped. He scowled, raising his hand as if to slap him but Vanessa quickly grabbed his wrist.

 “Cain, calm down!” She said. 

 “He fucking bit me!” 

 “Well you did put your fingers in his mouth. His papers even say he’s a biter, what the fuck did you think would happen?!” 

 “Fuck it, I’m taking him out of here. He doesn’t need to be here to figure out what to do with him.” He said, grabbing the leash and clipping it to his collar again, despite his attempts to get away. He yanked hard on the leash, dragging him out of the room. 

 “Let go of me!” He yelled, pulling against the leash. Cain just yanked harder though, following his father’s example. He wasn’t the most physically strong person but he’d have to give in sooner or later, or accept being dragged behind him.

 “Stop struggling and just come with me!” He snapped. “I’m not gonna fucking hurt you, just gonna put you away for a while!”

 “Not gonna hurt me?! You almost fucking slapped me!”

 “Because you fucking bit me you fucking animal!” 

 “You put your fingers in my fucking mouth of course I’m gonna bite you dumb ass!” He yelled. Cain growled and pulled harder, only getting him to move a few steps further. 

 “Would you shut the fuck up and just come on?!”

 “Cain!” The sudden shout from his father was enough to startle him, dropping the leash and whipping around the face him. His father was clearly irritated with him, enough to leave his office to deal with him, but he must’ve known Vanessa was there because he was also restraining himself, Cain was sure of it. “Are you already having this much trouble with your fucking dog?”

 “Stop calling me a dog!” Zander yelled at him, Cain almost winced. His father would kill him if he ever raised his voice like that. His father marched past him and Cain stood aside, watching him grab Zander by the hair. He’d probably feel bad for him if he hadn’t bitten him. 

 “Well,” his father looked at him, “What do you plan to do with him?” For a moment Cain just stared at him, he wasn’t used to his father letting him make any decisions. 

 “I just… I was just going to lock him up for now. Me and Vanessa are trying to figure out what to do with him, figured I’d lock him in his room…” His father yanked hard on Zander’s hair, dragging him downstairs to that room he’d kept all his dogs in. Cain knew he should’ve followed, but his father was pissed and with Zander locked into that room he wouldn’t have to worry about him. He decided to retreat back to Vanessa before his father got back, staying with her would be safest.

 This whole situation was almost too weird to him. The fact his father got him a gift was weird, the fact that the gift was another person was weird. The fact his father was giving him control of this “gift” was especially weird. He wasn’t sure how long this would last, how long the dog would even survive in this house. His father’s dogs usually only lasted a year or two, and with how stubborn Zander was he felt like it would be even less. However long he lasted though, he’d have to figure out something to do with him.

 He had the strong feeling that things would just continue to get weirder from here.

 ***

 “Let me out!” Daniel screamed, slamming his shoulder against the door again. He’d been banging on the door and yelling and screaming but no one was listening. Once he’d been thrown into the room the door was locked and he couldn’t hear a thing on the other side, he wasn’t sure anyone could even hear him in there. 

 Even if it was useless, he kept going for over an hour. He kicked at the door and banged his fists against it, he screamed until his throat was raw and his voice gave out, and finally, he collapsed against the door, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face in his arms. He hated it but tears filled his eyes, he didn’t even bother trying to hold back. 

 All he wanted was to go home. The past week had been one unending nightmare, he just wanted to rest, to be safe again. As childish as it sounded, more than anything he wanted his mom, he didn’t know what they would tell her since he'd just suddenly disappeared. The thought of her believing he was missing or worse was heart wrenching, he wished he could just tell her he was okay. Was he okay? He wasn’t quite sure, but he was alive. As long as he was alive then he should be okay, as long as he was alive he could try to escape.

 All he needed was to stay alive. 

#whump #kind of #my writing #my oc's #Cain #Vanessa #Zander #pet whump #captivity #collars #leashed #grabbed by the hair #defiant whumpee #cains always been a little shit but he wasn't always full feral bastard