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yourstingrey · 2 months

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Luke X Daughter of Kymopoleia

Reader has constant mood swings which is understandable due to her heritage of being the daughter of the goddess of violent sea storms and sweet BF Luke always helps her out/calms her down and doesn’t let her feel bad about herself because of it since she can’t help it ( also please can you mention Clarisse as like a side character and readers bestfriend )

Calm After the Storm

A/N: EEEEE I was actually kinda so hype for this request cus ive never seen anything similar and its actually a cool like character I hadnt thought about in the pjo universe! I hope this is good anon i tried my very best!! This post was really helped me with kymopoleia so it might be helpful to read before this but you dont have to!

Warnings: threats of fighting someone?

Description: An annoying loss, an annoying Chris, and a very patient Luke!

The sun was shining, and a warm dancing breeze fluttering around camp on what should have been a beautiful day was being ruined by Chris droning on about being a sore winner. Gloatingly of course. We just had our capture the flag the night before and as usual, we lost. We would have been so close to winning this time Clarisse and I had it all planned. Last time we learned last time trying a seduction tactic did in fact not work so this time we decided we would target their weak which to us was Chris. Not to say he was a bad swordsman by any means but up against me and her we knew he wouldn't stand a chance. A perk of dating Luke was also he forgot that he shouldn't spill his capture the flag plans. Soooo we also knew for a fact it was Chris guarding the flag.

We snuck through the woods with ease no one tried to hunt us down they knew we'd get to them first, Chris was practically sleeping while he sat in front of the flag entirely spaced out we moved from behind and started to grab the flag of course a single shift of my chest plate was enough to break him out of his daze and turn towards us and of course start to scream to his team like a little girl. We got caught pretty quickly. We may be strong but not take on 20 campers strong and it wasn't long after we heard the cheers of the Blue team already at the river.

So now of course, as I tried to relax Chris decided it was the perfect time to gloat at me “I mean what a stupid plan no offense” I drowned him out a little too busy clenching my jaw so I didn't practically spit venom at him, Chris continued now laughing as he continued “-I mean really I can't believe you thought I couldn't take you both on bahahaha!” A real knee slapper to him. I finally unballed my fists from my sides to get into Chris’s face, backing him into a tree my voice laced with annoyed anger “We could take you on idiot! You just had to scream for your team to save you!” Chris stuttered before coming up with a weak rebuttal putting his hands up in defeat “UH- that's not even true i just had to get them so they would watch you after the fight but they got there fast pfft I could have easily taken you” I grab a hold of Chris’s shirt “Oh really let's do it now then. No crying for anyone else this time.”

In the background, a crowd had not formed but anyone working or sitting close by paused to watch not swarming in case Chiron were to notice and break up hopefully a really funny fight (funny as all campers knew the outcome) Even Clarrise sitting back with her siblings let out a little yell of “Get his ass Y/N!” But One of those campers mainly Luke, who quickly made his way over forgetting he was supposed to help campers make friendship bracelets he had to make sure his girlfriend was okay bracelets could wait, and that she didn't shred his best friend into pieces. Jogging over he quietly grabbed his girlfriend's hand that was gripping onto Chris. I let out a quiet breath before meeting his eyes, in an instant looking into his soft gaze I dropped my hand not before I quickly gave him one last dirty look and stepped back “C’mon let’s go” Luke said as he grabbed my hand leading me away.

He leads us to sit in front of the creek as I sit I absent mindedly throw rocks at the water watching it ripple and splash. Turning back to face Luke he already gives me a knowing look to tell him why I wanted to maim him. I took a deep breath before I word vomited it out “I mean ugh! I know he's your best friend and all but sometimes he's such a dick! Saying ‘I could take you guys’ But he literally starts screaming out ‘Luke come save me she's here!’ or or ‘Guys come back Clarisse is gonna eat me!’ as if he wouldn't even enjoy that too ugh! He's just so- so ANNOYING!” Luke's hand grabbed mine again to stop me from getting heated again, his eyes flickering back to the creek to see me subconsciously making a creek look like a raging ocean. He threw his back laughing at my rant about Chris, as he calmed down he just looked down at me rubbing slow circles onto the back of my hand.

His hands were rough and calloused but it didn't matter because when he held onto me I could feel warmth practically spread from my fingertips to my head and toes. “I'll make sure to lock him out of the cabin, he can sleep out in the cold. How bout that hmm?” He joked, craning his neck to look at me. I cracked a small smile “Maybe I'll pray for my mom to storm a bit too…” His hand let go but just to sneak behind my waist and pull me closer leaning my head on his chest “I'm sorry I got mad at Chris I know he is your friend..” I mumbled out against him I could feel him shrug against me before looking back down at me “Nah don't be sorry honestly I should have let you at him he deserved it butttt I wouldn't want my girlfriend to have to be cleaning stables all of next week”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and started to start up about what he was doing before he had to save Chris. “Wait doesn't that mean you should be helping those kids now..?” A bit of panic dawned on his face as he tugged us both up and pulled me with him as he walked (more like speed walked) “Actually uh were both going to help now!” I laughed as he tugged me along with him..

#luke castellan x reader #luke castellan #luke castellan fic #luke castellan fluff #pjo #pjo x reader #kymopoleia daughter

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dwobbitfromtheshire · 6 months

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The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie to buy weed for his headache?

Chapter one

Steve’s in the woods, watching Eddie and Chrissy flirt at the picnic table. He flirted enough, even when he flirted badly, to know those two people were flirting. Chrissy and Eddie? They were definitely flirting. No one hides behind their hair like that and not absolutely be smitten with the other person. Who could blame him, though? Chrissy Cunningham was extremely cute and so sweet. They ran in the same crowd a while back, and before she started dating Jason Carver, they used to talk about their parents whenever they found themselves alone. If she hadn't started dating Jason, he would have asked her out.

Steve’s head was killing him, and he really needed weed, but somehow, he still managed to find Eddie turning himself into an idiot to make Chrissy smile very endearing. He winced and smiled, trying not to come off so agitated, but he didn't think it was working. He sighed loudly.

"Something up your butt there, Harrington?" Eddie asked.

"Just waiting for you guys to get done flirting," Steve scoffed.

"Aw, you feeling left out? Chrissy, I think he's feeling left out," Eddie said.

"He's definitely feeling left out," Chrissy giggled.

"You know, I could flirt with you too, if you need me to," Eddie said coyly.

"Keep it in your pants, Munson," Steve blushed. "I'm only here for weed."

"Well, if you ever want anything else, like what it's in my pants, then I charge extra," Eddie said and leaned toward Chrissy. "For you, Chrissy, you still rob me blind."

"Hm, gonna have to keep that in mind," Chrissy grinned.

Chrissy soon parted ways with them, letting Steve get to his own drug deal. She blew them both kisses before bouncing off into the woods. Steve plopped down in her seat. Much to his surprise, Eddie had given him the same deal that he had given Chrissy. Not long after that, they started to leave the woods together. A fallen tree was laying in their path, and without thinking, Steve held out his hand to help Eddie over. Eddie gladly took his hand and hopped over the tree.

"Very gentlemanly of you, Harrington," Eddie said with a grin and held out his hand.

Steve grinned, took his hand, and leaped over the tree. Suddenly, a green and white blur jumped out at them, hollering. Steve and Eddie both screamed, holding onto each other's hands tightly.

"CHRISSY?!"

"JESUS H CHRIST!"

"Oh, your faces!" Chrissy laughed.

"Why?!" Eddie asked.

"You said that I wasn't mean and scary," Chrissy said and growled at him.

"Yeah, okay, very mean and scary," Eddie said, laughing. "Also, very adorable."

"Aww. Are you guys holding hands?" Chrissy asked. "That's a good idea."

She took Eddie's lunch pail and replaced it with her hand, so three of them were holding hands as they walked through the woods. She giggled as Eddie started swinging both hands wildly.

"So, Chrissy, you still dating Carver?" Steve asked.

"I, uh, actually broke with him before lunch," Chrissy said.

"So, should I say sorry or offer my congratulations?" Eddie grinned.

"Definitely congratulations, I hated that guy," Chrissy said. "He was so - so - "

"Full of himself? Yeah, I'm surprised he never made out with his own reflection," Steve snorted.

"He actually did that once when he was really drunk," Chrissy frowned.

"So, Harrington, how much time do you spend on your own hair?" Eddie asked teasingly.

"That's different. My Grandpa Otis used to love working with hair, and he would get up early to fix his. Sometimes, I would get up with him to watch, and he'd look so happy doing it that I decided I wanted to join. Every morning, we'd get up, put on some music, and we would do our hair together. We did that until. . .until he died. I haven't stopped doing it because when I do, it feels like he's still there with me," Steve shrugged.

"Aww, Steve," Chrissy said softly.

"Well. Now I feel bad," Eddie said.

"Don't be," Steve shrugged.

"You know, I grow out my hair because I look more like my mom when I do," Eddie said, sharing a smile with Steve.

Steve and Eddie gazed at each other, their cheeks pink. Chrissy leaned against Eddie's shoulder.

"You guys are so sweet," Chrissy said softly.

There was a comfortable silence as they walked through the woods together. Once they made it to the treeline, they dropped their hands. Chrissy gave Eddie back his lunch pail.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow, but alas, we must," Eddie said.

"We should all hang out, you know, soon," Chrissy said eagerly.

"Chrissy Cunningham, are you asking us both out on a date?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"You know what? Fuck it. Yes, I am," Chrissy said.

"Well, hell, I'm in," Eddie said. "What about you, big boy?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm in," Steve said with a smile.

"Great," Chrissy said with an excited grin. "I'll see you guys later to talk about the details."

She skipped away and nearly tripped over a root. They watched in amusement as she cursed at it and walked off in a huff.

"You better step up your hair game for our big date, big boy," Eddie said.

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint Chrissy," Steve said, and Eddie laughed.

Steve walked away from Eddie with a smile and a spring in his step. His headache was still there, but it seemed like it hurt less. He never thought about dating two people at the same time before, but as long as everyone involved was okay with it, why couldn't it be done? As he thought about Eddie and Chrissy's smiling faces, Steve believed that it really could be done. As he arrived at his car, he spotted Dustin and Mike running around like they were chickens with their heads cut off.

"What the fuck?" Steve squinted.

He approached Dustin, Mike having run off before he could catch him.

"Steve! I tried calling you at work, but you didn't answer!" Dustin exclaimed. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I left early. I came here to pick up something for my headache," Steve said. "What are you doing?"

"Did you buy drugs from Eddie?" Dustin whispered.

"Yes," Steve whispered back. "By the way, you were right. We totally did get along."

"Awesome! So, does that mean that you will play with us tonight?" Dustin asked.

"You mean D&D?" Steve asked.

"Yeah?!" Dustin asked, excited.

"No, because I'm going to Lucas's game tonight," he told him. "Why aren't you?"

"Eddie's been working hard on this campaign. He's not going to post pone it because Lucas decided to join the dark side," Dustin scoffed.

"Is that what Eddie said?" Steve asked furiously. "Just when I was starting to like the guy."

"Are you mad?" Dustin asked wide eyes.

"I'm mad at Eddie. I'm disappointed in you," he sighed. "My headache is getting worse, so I'm going to leave now."

Steve turned and walked away, shaking his head. His stomach churned with anger. The dark side? Seriously? Does Eddie not know what he's doing by putting a wedge between them? Lucas shouldn't have to choose. Steve cursed. It looked like he was going to have to break the date with Chrissy.

Chapter two

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shanastoryteller · 1 year

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Happy Valentine's Day, Shana! 💕🎉

Something FMA, please! Either a continuation of Colonel Elric or Sacrifice is Free

a continuation of 1 2 3

Hughes had intended to get several meetings out of the way in the morning before the day got too hectic, but he hears about the commotion Elric's team caused just trying to get into the building and rapidly rearranges his plans.

"Is everything alright with Roy?" Gracia asks as soon as he gets off the phone.

He blinks. "Yes. At least I think so. Why?"

"That's your managing Roy face," she says, smoothing his jacket across his shoulders.

He grimaces. "It's also my managing Edward face. You'll be seeing it a lot more."

She laughs, but he's serious.

As always, he hears them before he sees them.

"How the fuck is this considered well packaged?" Russel shouts, grumpy as usual. "I told you we should have shipped our own equipment."

"You know we had to give them the chance to snoop," Al says at a more reasonable volume. "They would have thrown a fit if we'd insisted on doing it ourselves."

"Well, Russel is throwing a fit now, so I'm not sure what the difference is," Kayal points out.

Maes snorts.

"Russel, put down the protractor," Fletcher begs.

"If I'm not complaining about them putting their grubby hands all over my automail, I don't want to hear anything from the rest of you," Winry snaps.

There's a beat of silence.

"You did complain about them putting their grubby hands all over your automail," Ed says.

"Shut up, Ed." Maes nudges the door open to peek inside. Winry is gesturing a wrench threateningly, which is par for the course. She's signed off on a variety of firearms, but somehow it's the hardware that seems to cause the most injuries. "You and Al took all your notes. You're not suffering like the rest of us."

"Hey, Al and I spent weeks making those decoys! That was a lot of suffering," Ed protests, his jacket tossed aside and his sleeves pushed to his elbows as he works on assembling Kayal's furnace.

Winry's eyes narrow. Sciezka pipes up from where she's buried under aforementioned notes, "Everything would be back in order faster if you all stopped bickering and focused. Also Hughes is here."

Every pair of eyes is suddenly focused on him. It's not the first time he's found himself under their scrutiny, but it's unnerving every time.

"I was wondering when you'd swing by," Ed grins. "I thought we could at least make it to lunch without setting off the rumor mill."

"Ed," he sighs, fond in spite himself. "How long until you're office is back up to standards?"

He looks at everyone else. Al looks up from the chemical compounds he's sorting and says , "Everything will be up in running by the end of the day, and organized by," he glances to Sciezka.

"The end of the week," she says, "assuming I get some more filing cabinets."

"Know where we can get some spare filing cabinets?" Ed grins.

Maes sighs. "Can I borrow your commanding officer for a bit?"

"Take him," Kayal shrugs as Russel says, "You'd be doing us a favor," and Winry adds, "Please."

Ed rolls his eyes. Al smirks and says, "We've got it. I'll find you if something goes wrong."

"If something goes wrong I'll just follow the smoke and screaming," Ed says. Maes wishes he was joking. "All right, all right, I'm gone. Don't have too much fun without me."

Fletcher waves goodbye. No one else does.

"I get no respect," Ed complains as they walk down the hall.

"You wouldn't know what to do with it if you did," Maes points out. People treating Ed appropriately for his rank gives him hives.

"True," he admits easily. "Now tell me all the good gossip. We almost never bothered to come to Central."

#prompt answers #prompts are closed #asks #anon #fma

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jpitha · 4 months

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Between the Black and Gray 4

First / Previous / Next

At the docking ring, Fen and Ma-ren led Gord all the way down to the end. Past the regular passenger ships, past the scheduled freighters, past the bays for warships, past the semi permanent bays for residents to the last seven bays, thirty three though forty. Before they reached bay thirty three Gord could see the bulk of the Starjumper. It was easily five times larger than any ship here.

Walking past a simple barricade they stepped into an area of the docks that were not visited very often. The noise and bustle of the docks receded until Gord could only hear their footsteps and the thrum of the air handlers. Fen walked up to an airlock and gestured dramatically. "Here she is. Spyglass. She last moved when my Grandparents were young and Mom was a kid the last time she had power."

Gord walked up to the airlock. It was dark, with no lights, and no indicator over the door. a light layer of dust surrounded everything. "Oh, what happened hon? What did they do to you?" He whispered to the ship. He turned to Fen and Ma-ren "How do we open the airlock?"

"There's no power; we have to open it manually." Ma-ren shrugged. "We should be able to pump that lever there a few times and then the outer door will open."

Gord looked around and found the lever. It was worn and clearly well used. "What about shore power from the station?"

Fen laughed. "We can't afford those fees. Grandma says back when she was a kid they used to pay to run shore power during celebrations like weddings and funerals. These days though, nobody really cares anymore."

Gord stared at Fen and Ma-ren for a long while before turning back to the airlock and pumping the handle.

"Uh Gord?"

"Yes?"

"What's going on? You're acting like Spyglass is alive or something. Like, we left someone behind. If Spyglass was alive, we'd remember. Grandma would have mentioned it, Mom would have mentioned it, anyone would have mentioned it."

"There was a time when Spyglass was alive." Gord sighed. "She was a friend of mine. I'm worried for her. I want to view the logs and figure out what happened."

Fen blinked. "Gord, that doesn't make sense. If you were friends with Spyglass that would make you...."

Gord didn't meet her gaze. The airlock slowly opened as Gord worked the handle. After a moment it was wide enough for a person to enter. "Come on, let's see what's inside."

The inner airlock door was wide open. One the one hand, Gord was happy that he wouldn't have to pump the handle to manually open it, but having the airlock wide open was a bad sign. Gord took out two palm lights and handed one to Ma-ren and turned on the other.

Fen was surprised at how... cramped it was. She hadn't been inside Spyglass since she was a kid, but it always seemed to big when she was little. Now, she realized the halls were only a little taller than her and how small the rooms where. Gord started walking down the hall towards the command deck.

Ma-ren and Fen followed Gord. As soon as he was aboard, he seemed to know exactly where they were going. Occasionally he'd swing his light over some detail and nod, or look at something else and grunt, but he wasn't lost.

After a few minutes, they made it to the command deck. Now they were further into Spyglass than Fen or Ma-ren had ever been, and as evidenced by the floors, it had been a long time since anyone else was here. The floors were dusty and what few boot-prints there were were also covered by a layer of dust. Gord wiped away at a sign on the door. At the top, it said "Command Deck' in Colonic, but under it was another phrase in a different language.

"Gord, what's that under the sign in Colonic?"

Gord looked up. "Oh? Ah yeah, Spyglass was refit right after Colonic took over as the main language for the colony worlds. The bottom text is the same thing in Late Period English." He read the words out loud. The language was strange to Fen and Ma-ren, very staccato.

"You can speak it Gord? Are you a scholar?"

Gord chuckled. "I can, and I'm not. I don't need to be a scholar to speak my native language. Gord opened a panel on the side and stick his hand into the cavity and rummaged around. There was a click and he was able to slide the door open.

Fen and Ma-ren stepped in after Gord and gazed around. They could only see tiny parts at time from their small palm light, but the room was large, with many seats and was all oriented towards a large screen at the front. Gord sat in a seat in the middle and touched a screen on the arm. "Completely dead. I would have expected something, even if was just dim lights." He stood. "Come on ladies, I'll need your help."

"Why?" Fen was having a good time looking around the old command deck, and didn't want to leave just yet.

"We're going to restore power. At least to critical systems."

"What? How?" Ma-ren's fur poofed out and her tail twitched worriedly. "Everything is dead and cold."

"Well yeah, but it wasn't always this way, and so long as you haven't stolen parts-" He turned and looked at them "You haven't stolen parts, right?"

They shook their heads.

"Then we should be able to get her up and at least lit. Spyglass had 6 reactors back in the day. We only need one for lights and heat. We get her lit, we can check the core and figure out what happened.

Gord lead them back down the other end, down stairs and across halls, deep, deep within Spyglass. Fen was sure that nobody had been down here since after they docked. It was odd. She expected things to be... grimer than they were. Sure it was dark, and sure it was dusty, but things weren't leaking or broken, and there weren't any vermin about. It was quite different than the station.

They reached the Reactor Room, and Gord once again did his trick with the panel to open the doors. As soon as he stepped inside, he swung his light around the room and gasped.

"What? What is it?" Ma-ren walked in behind him and looked around. It was a long hall.

"The reactors! There are supposed to be six of them! There's only two left!" Sure enough, Fen and Ma-ren followed Gord as he walked down the hall, his boots clanging on the metal grating as they passed empty space after empty space, finally coming upon two huge, identical machines at the very back of the hall. Gord peered at them and tisked. "Well, so long as they're not both broken in the same way, I can get one going again." Without looking up he gestured at Fen and Ma-ren. "There's a tool kit over in the locker behind you. Please go fetch it. There should be some battery lights too, let's see if we can get a little more light on this.

"It took a few hours to get everything set up, and they were well past curfew before they were finished, but they had set up the lights and Gord had the reactor in more pieces than they thought possible. Gord knew where everything was, even things that he shouldn't know. He had told them that the medical ward was a few doors down and they were able to find some folding chairs to sit, and even some cots so they could take a nap. Gord never seemed to have to take a break. He didn't eat, didn't get tired, just continued to tinker. Fen and Ma-ren dozed on the cots while Gord worked.

Finally he sat back, and closed the panel. "Ladies? I think we're ready for ignition. It's made up of spares and most of the other reactor, so we'll never be able to run the Stardrive or the weapons, but we can at least have lights and heat and the computer.

"You fixed it?" Ma-ren yawned hugely.

"Not really. Just rigged it together. This old model reactor is very durable and resilient. I'm a little surprised the crew that brought you here wasn't able to keep it running. Everything needed was onboard."

Fen nodded. "Grandma mentioned that hardly anyone knew what to do or how to work the ship, there was a lot of guesswork and hoping involved."

Gord didn't reply. Instead he turned back towards the reactor. "I'm going to start it, watch out."

Before Fen and Ma-ren could ask what to watch out for Gord pressed the starter. There was a hum and a loud clack of relays, followed by a warbling hum that started slow and went faster and faster until there was a sound like a burst of static.

And then, with hardly any fanfare at all, the lights came up.

Before they could cheer, there was a cacophony of alarms and klaxons and sirens. Gord jumped at the noise, and then took off towards the command deck. Fen and Ma-ren hurried to catch up.

In addition to the alarm and siren sounds, there were voices warning things. They'd speak in two or three languages that Fen didn't recognize and then in oddly accented Colonic she heard "WARNING. WARNING. REACTORS OFFLINE. BACKUPS OFFLINE. HULL DAMAGE. WEAPON DAMAGE. STARDRIVE DAMAGE. SYSTEMS CRITICAL." and it would repeat.

They made it to the command deck and Gord was sitting in the middle seat, his fingers dancing over the pads until the alarms were silenced one by one. Sighing in relief, and continued to poke and prod at the pad. "I'm turning off running lights. They've been off for decades, no sense in telling station authorities that we have power now." Gord was speaking to them without looking up.

"So Gord, is Spyglass alive or not?"

"I don't know. She's not replying to my usual queries." He looked up at the room. "Hey Spyglass! You Up? It's Gord!"

Nothing.

"Come on, let's go check the core. Something's up."

They made their way deeper into the ship; deeper even than the reactors, until they reached a door that was almost completely hidden. There was no frame around this door, and no panel on the outside. There wasn't even a sign in Colonic. Just a small line of text in that angular Late Period English language. With the power on, Gord didn't have to rummage in the walls looking for an override. He approached the door and touched it with both his hands, palms in. There was a click and the door slid smoothy to the side.

This room was completely different than the others. It was barely more than a closet, bathed in a blue light. From the floor to the ceiling were racks and racks of electronics and half of it blinked and hummed. The other half was dark and silent, separated by a large black mechanism that was stuck haphazardly over things. When Gord saw the mechanism he said something in his old language that Fen and Ma-ren didn't understand, but the meaning was clear.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"It's a shackle." He gestured towards the black mechanism. "It's meant to lock down AIs, to prevent them from being intelligent. Spyglass is here, but she's trapped."

"Someone is...inside Spyglass?" Ma-ren's ears twitched.

"Gord shook his head. "No, she is Spyglass. The ship is her body."

"Oh no" Fen shuddered. "So is she aware of herself?"

Gord nodded. "Probably, yes."

"How long has she been like this?"

He peered at the mechanism without touching it. "This looks like late third Empire tech. Right around The War." He straightened up. "She's been locked down at least five hundred years."

Fen and Ma-ren looked at eachother. Five hundred years? "She's... going to be upset when we unlock her right?"

Gord turned to them and smiled thinly. "Ma-ren, I would like to take this moment to state how pleased I am that you assumed we're going to unlock her. To answer your question, she is going to be a mess. But, I have some skill here. I can help her."

Fen nodded. "Okay then, Gord. How do we free her?"

"Luckily" Gord turned back to the shackle "They were never meant to be hard to install and remove. We just have to enter the code." Gord touched a panel on the front and a keypad rolled out from behind.

"What's the code?"

Gord chuckled. "It's zero zero zero zero one."

Fen blinked. "You're kidding."

"I'm not. The Empire set up these shackles, but didn't trust that anyone could remember the code to remove them, so they hard coded it to something easy."

"But then anyone could have removed them."

"This is true, and wonder, Fen, why they didn't." Gord typed in the code and pressed the start key at the bottom.

The shackle lit up and started glowing green. After a moment, the racks of equipment behind it received power and started glowing like the others.

"That's it?" Ma-ren peered at the equipment.

"That's it." Gord looked around. "We should be able--"

Their conversation was interrupted by the PA crackling to life.

There was a piercing noise.

A woman was screaming.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #sci fi writing #humans are space oddities #humans and aliens #jpitha #writing #humans and ai #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #Between the black and gray

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buckleburyblog · 3 months

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LOTR Characters as things I did when I was younger, Part 2:

-> Part 1

- Faramir: Going ice skating with a friend who jokingly dragged me into the middle of the rink and tried to make me slip, only to have it backfire when I somehow turned it back on her and made her lose her balance whilst I stayed upright. (Don't know if this fits w/ Faramir but I feel like he's the type of person to have pranks on him somehow accidentally backfire for whoever's trying to prank him).

- Eomer: Befriending one of the largest horse in the stables that I used to go riding at easily despite the fact that the people working there said he hated most people and wouldn’t cooperate when they took him for rides.

- Eowyn: I genuinely forgot how to cook a dish I cooked regularly for like half an hour and had to physically leave the kitchen to do something else to get my brain to reset. (Happened like last year, but it fits with Eowyn's -10/10 cooking skills so I had to use it here).

- Arwen: Whenever I went with my parents to the local RSPB (a wildlife conservation charity) I used to find the bees on the flowers and literally pet them. I also used my coat to straight up carry them by just gently trapping them inside it (I swear no bees were harmed).

- Elrond: Jokingly being known as Dad by my friend group in secondary school. (Years later it is still a running thing with some of them to the point that their friends, who are a bit younger, genuinely only know me/refer to me as Dad).

- Galadriel: I did karate for a while and one of my favourite games that we'd do at the end of the 'term' was when we had to balance on one leg and the last to put theirs down won. The longer it carried on the more rules there were like: not being allowed to wobble, the instructor putting his foot close to our face or making us laugh, and in the finals you had to close your eyes so you couldn't see who was still in. I always won it whenever we played bc I was competitive af (and there were like GROWN ADULTS in this class that I beat as well).

- Gollum: Spent a few hours messing around by a stream with a little fishing net but got distracted at some point whilst in the water and let go of the net without realising. It got taken by the current and I was too small and slow to catch up to it so I lost it. (Cried when I realised I had lost it ;-;)

- Treebeard: Would have a go at some of the boys in my primary school who snapped the small branch off of the tree me and my friends named Steve because "they hurt it" & it meant we couldn't swing on it anymore.

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fastcardotmp3 · 1 year

Note

Re: the tags of that post you just reblogged from me - AU where Steve and Eddie swap roles for just the final fight (Eddie’s with the girls, Steve’s with Dustin) but with an added subplot where we meet Steve’s parents early in the season & maybe they’re trying to get him to grow up/move out/think about his future, or something else, but they’d have to feature somehow so we still get that ending scene except it’s Robin telling his parents he didn’t make it (im picturing a very tragic recontextualising around the phrase “you need to do something with your life” leading to Steve drawing the bats away from Dustin)

That’s just my quick thoughts though, I’d love to know how you’d do it!

oh I LOVE this you've got my brain spinning I have so many thoughts and it's all your fault!!!

(I am so sorry for how long this got)

I think there are for sure many versions of this plotline that could work BUT here goes nothing

I definitely agree that we'd need to introduce Steve's parents early on (in my ideal world we'd have met them sooner than s4 for this plotline but alas I'm not in charge I'm simply posthumously script doctoring) and I think one version of the conversation there could come from a place of wanting what's best for him, but centering itself around ambition and choice in a way that sticks with Steve.

"You had so much ambition when you were still in school, Steve-- all of your sports, how sociable you were-- what happened to that? Where did you lose that along the way?"

And Steve flounders a little bit, because he's gotten to the point after season 3 where he can see himself better from the outside, is just that touch more self aware and good at reading not just other people's feelings but his own.

So it takes him a beat to put it into words, but he's able to, is the thing--

"Maybe I don't need to go down the-- the usual path to end up where I want to end up."

"Is this where you want to end up?" his mother asks, "working at a video store for the rest of your life?"

"It's not about that," Steve shrugs, pouring two travel mugs of coffee all the while, one for him and one for Robin.

Because he knows it's not about that, he spent all of last summer learning it's not about that and the months since discovering that there's a certain amount of peace in knowing that things aren't perfect but that matters less when you have your people around.

"What's it about then? Steve, I just-- I don't want you to get stuck here, when I know you could do so much more with your life if you just chose to."

"I'm not doing nothing with my life, Mom!" he laughs, exasperated but certain for once in his goddamn life. "I'm-- I'm actually doing really well right now, I've got good friends and I've got the kind of job where I'm kept busy while I figure out what's next for me and I'm just... happy, I guess? Like, can't my ambition just be to keep doing stuff that makes me happy? Can't I choose that?"

And he has to go to work, has to walk out and promise her that they'll talk about it more later, talk about it with his dad too, but Steve knows what he cares about and this isn't going to shake his resolve.

What he cares about is this group of people who have changed his life even more than the monsters did, who brought enough good into it to at the very least match the bad, and in some cases (like the girl already monologuing as she climbs into the front seat of his car and accepts her coffee with a mocking kiss to his cheek) somehow usurp the bad.

Steve doesn't have to be what this town expects of him, what most likely to end up rich superlative voters expect of him, what his parents expect of him, because his life isn't about being any particular something, it's in the doing.

It's in the swinging of a baseball bat, the swinging of his fists to keep the people he loves safe.

It's in the morning drives to get Robin to school on time and the late night ones to make sure Dustin meets curfew.

It's in the friendship he's managed to find with Nancy in the past year, the knowledge that this version of them is the best one by far.

It's in the days driving the kids to the trailer park to visit Max even if she ultimately ends up refusing to come out with them, because at least they're doing it, at least they're trying with her.

It's in this, too, when they drive out to Reefer Rick's place and some of the claims of happiness start slipping through Steve's fingers again with the proof that it isn't over, the fight.

But they've beat it before and they can beat it again. It's in the doing, and Steve has gotten knocked down many a time but the thing he always does is he always gets up on the other side.

He knows this. He trusts in this. He's built a fucking worldview around this because that's where his ambition went, Mom.

That's what happened to "Steve Harrington, actually a cool dude."

Steve's humble enough to thank Eddie for saving his ass, but he's done this enough times to still be able to reassure the guy who calls him badass that, "It always looks hopeless right before we win. Don't freak out too bad if it looks like the end of the world, huh?"

Eddie looks at him like he has two heads, says he's jealous of Steve's optimism.

Even Robin tells him that she thinks they might not win this time but all Steve knows is that they always have before. All Steve knows is that his instincts usually work out, let him protect the rest of them long enough to make the big and vital moves necessary to beat this thing.

All Steve knows is that he just, he's changed a lot but-- He's just the same kid who was cocky enough to run back into the Byers' house to fight a monster, stubborn enough to let the Russian's beat the hell out of him before he'd let them do the same to Robin and he--

"I don't know, I still have hope. Maybe this is the first time we actually win. Forever."

There's this sense of finality to it, hanging in the air, and she doesn't look convinced there in the same way she doesn't look convinced when he and Dustin are saying goodbye to the other three at Eddie's trailer, but Steve kisses her once on the forehead and says, "what are you waiting around for? Go kick some ass, your schmuck will be here when you're done."

His instincts have always protected them in the past.

It's his instincts that have him formulating a plan the second he realizes the bats are going to get inside the trailer, going to make a break for the gate and attack whole swaths of people unprepared for such a thing.

Dustin will be mad about being abandoned on the other side, but Steve's pissed him off before and he's always gotten over it.

It's in the doing, his ambition.

It's in the doing, the key to a well-spent life.

It's in the doing, the being of Steve Harrington, overconfident nature and all.

He always gets back up, every knock to the head and blow to the ego, Steve always gets back up, so he holds his ground and fights. Leads the bats away and keeps them there.

His mother wasn't wrong that he's changed, but she wasn't right when she claimed the thing he'd lost was his ambition. He'd found it, this force of nature in his chest that makes him willing to face down hell if it means the people he loves are safe.

He always gets back up, a tail around his throat.

He always gets back up, teeth in his flesh.

Steve Harrington is a pro at getting knocked down.

"I'll get up in a second, just-- just a second--"

"Steve there's-- there's so much blood-- Steve, you need to-- you have to get up now--"

"It's okay, it's okay, we won, just-- just another minute. Wanna see that-- Rob and the others made it back. Then we--can go--"

Dustin is crying. Dustin is holding him.

And Steve is bleeding out, he thinks somewhere indistinct and hazy at the back of his mind. He'll get up and fix that in a minute.

"You die, I die! Hey, hey motherfucker! Don't close your eyes-- you die, I die, you hear me?!"

It's in the doing, really, that Steve does as he's told just long enough to see the other three come stumbling out of the tree line towards them.

It's in the doing, in the choice of it, that he dies knowing they won.

(His mother wails when Robin approaches her at the shelter two days later with sunken eyes and unwashed hair. His father sinks into the closest chair and takes the offered keys to a maroon BMW with trembling hands.)

(It's in the doing that this time, in order to really win, they have to cling a little bit to his hope.)

#I just think! steve GOT his arc about realizing life is about more than romance and reputation in season 3 #and letting him take those lessons and lean into them so heavily that it ends up getting him killed???#that he gets just a little too cocky with his new comfort in his own skin??#yeah #dot post #ask #ask me about my dead steve agenda #cw: MCD #there are parts of Old Steve that haven't gone anywhere and one of those is being vulnerable to becoming a tragedy (:

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whosadu · 2 months

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a note i wrote for the guy i love (he has a gf now, but nvm)

when i first met you, i never thought this is how we'd end up. never. you were this absolute perfect human being and i was a random girl crushing over you, never imagining in my whole life that this is the guy i'd love. love is a heavy word for me. i don’t throw it around easily. you’re there for me for everything, whether shit happens with my mom, other people, or maybe just me being dramatic, you’re always there. even when you’re in a bad mood or pissed at me (which you rarely are but nvm). i didn't fall in love with you because i had no one else. it was a choice. i don't want you to just be a fling of mine. i want you by my fucking side. poets would take a step back if i had to explain my feelings towards you. you get me. im a mess of a person. with my mood swings, my abandonment issues, my attachment issues and my fear of being alone. i hate it when my whole body aches and screams in pain because of my fear of abandonment. it starts so slowly and consumes me so damn fast. it's like a prison, where the silence becomes my cellmate, and the shadows of solitude gracefully dance around me. in these moments, i feel like a young child left alone, even though youth surrounds me. you don't make me feel like that it's honestly something alien. you make me feel at peace. you're the only guy i've ever been comfortable with. ever. and we know eachother. there's no one else in this whole wide world who knows me better than you do. and there's no one else who'd make you feel more loved, other than me. so this is me, swallowing my pride, writing to you. i don't want you to just be a fling, just a mere fwb situationship or just more than friends, less that lovers shit. i want you to be wholly mine. the same way i'll be wholly yours. here am i, trying to talk to other guys, trying to find a glimpse of you in them. but i've realised, maybe you're the one i'm meant to be with. you know every side of me. the one that rants about her family, the one that yaps constantly about the dumbest things ever, the one that is stressed about her academics, the one that is just so pissed that she doesn't even wanna talk. you know it all. and i know how you rant about your day, yapping about your gym incidents, your shoots, your friends, how you don't get stressed about your academics even though you probably should be, and how you've been wronged in your past by many people. i can handle your ghosting phases, and i can handle your bad haircut phases, or your tuesday fast tired self. i can handle your lame ass humour and your fashion advice that never fails. i want your bad angle selfies and your tired nights. i know you love receiving gifts even though you say you dont. i know about your birthmark on your ear. i know about the story behind the missing stone of your favourite ring.i know it all. what's more left to say. we're already bestfriends. but i don't wanna be that. i wanna be more. i know you probably love me as a friend but we'll make it work. our bond is deeper than that. maybe this thing is temporary. but i don’t mind being temporary as long as it means i’m temporary with you. i want to make up for the all the love you never thought you deserved, all the love that was stolen from you. i want to be the one that makes you laugh. the one that will always have your back in this fucked up world. the one who'll forgive you no matter what. i know your favourite songs and you can tell me about your dreams and we can live, in peace. be the source of all love and comfort. i just hope you realise, i'm the one for you.

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wheels-of-despair · 10 months

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Worth It: The Honeymoon - Garden

A Worth It Blurb Series | Ralph Penbury x You | Series Masterlist

There weren't many plants inside the Penbury estate.

It was understandable; no one had stayed here in ages. You'd sprung a visit on the limited staff and barely given them a week to prepare for your arrival. They'd brought in a few potted plants to add a bit of life, and placed a few bouquets of cut flowers to tables in areas they knew you'd frequent.

So you and Ralph had to take matters into your own hands.

It had been raining for six days straight, and you desperately needed to break up the dreariness. Even though the house was large and had more rooms than most people would ever dream of, part of the appeal of the country estate was spending time outside, surrounded by nature. And so you and Ralph wandered through and found as many plants as you could, and hauled them all into a small room with cheerful green wallpaper.

You'd lined the walls and the windowsills and moved the chairs out into the hall. After everything was where you wanted it to be, Ralph lit a fire, and the pair of you collapsed onto the floor.

Now, you were both lying on your backs on the plush rug in the center of the room, two exhausted but happy souls holding hands in a sea of green. It was warm, and cozy, and exactly what you needed to combat the dreariness of this rain-soaked week. Your own little indoor garden.

"Should we have a glasshouse, or just a conservatory?"

"Hm?" You'd been trying to count the various types of plants in the room, and had been caught off-guard by Ralph's question.

"When we have a home of our own. Should we have a traditional glasshouse for plants, or a conservatory inside the main house?"

A smile grows on your face.

"Like this, do you?"

"Mhm," he mumbles sleepily.

"Well… I suppose a glasshouse is nice in theory, but on days like this, we'd still have to go outside to get to it."

"Oh," he breathes. "Right."

"But I'll happily nap with you in whatever kind of room you think we need," you smile. He squeezes your hand.

"What else would you like in a home?"

"You," you answer simply. Ralph chuckles.

"Have you thought about it at all?" he asks.

"Not really. A house is a house. A home is wherever we're together."

Ralph turns on his side to face you. He stares, and you wonder if you've out-cheesed yourself with that last comment. Finally, his face breaks into a grin, and he leans forward for a kiss. When he pulls back, he smiles, then returns to lying on his back next to you.

"We'll need a back yard suitable for a garden," he says dreamily, staring at the ceiling. "And a tree that we can put a swing in."

You smile and look upward, trying to see the same things that Ralph is seeing.

"And a library, of course."

"Of course," you agree.

"And we're going to need a lot of bedrooms."

"Oh? Why is that, Mr. Penbury?"

"For all our babies, of course."

"Ah," you say, fighting a smile. "I thought you were going to invite our mothers to come live with us."

Ralph's head slowly turns toward you with a withering glare. You tilt your head toward him and smirk.

"You don't scare me, pup."

He growls, and you look upward and stare at the ceiling. Out of the corner of your eye, you see him slowly creeping closer, like a cat winding up before a pounce. Don't move, don't move…

And then, he attacks.

You squirm and squeal as he nips at your neck, laughing and covering your body with his to hold you down. Once he's got you pinned, he lifts his head with a triumphant smile.

"Tell me I'm scary," he orders with a grin.

"You want me to lie to you?"

His face falls into an adorable pout.

"Awww," you chuckle. "You're the scariest little pup I've ever seen," you say sweetly, lifting your head to kiss the tip of his nose.

He'll take it.

#writings of despair #ralph is worth it #worth it: the honeymoon #ralph penbury x you #ralph penbury x reader #ralph penbury

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memes-saved-me · 2 years

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"I'm not blind, Steve. You just need to go for it and stop dancing around the fact you miss Nancy," Robin rolled her eyes as she boosted herself up onto the counter to swing herself around and lock the front door.

"Well, you must be," Steve snapped under his breath.

"What?" Dustin asked walking over from the horror section.

"Doesn't matter," he groaned and finished logging off the computer, head down looking at the keyboard.

"It's so obvious you still love her. All the moping and avoiding dates with super hot girls," she continued. "What else would it be?"

"It doesn't matter," Steve grabbed the safe keys and the tray from the register. "Both of you in the car when I get back or you're locked in for the night."

With that, he walked into the back office and sure enough when he locked the back door and walked around front they were leaning against the Beamer waiting but the second they drove out of the parking lot they started again.

"Dustin these girls are like better than small town hot. We're talking top of the tier hot but little old Steve is too busy yearning after Wheeler to even consider accepting their dates," Robin dramatically told the boy in the back seat.

"Wow," Dustin laughed. "Now come on you can't get more obvious than that."

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Will you two just stop!" Steve threw on the breaks making them all jolt forward.

"What the hell?" they both exclaimed as they sat in the middle of the road nearing midnight.

"I don't still love Nancy. Haven't in a long time and no I do not miss her. Happy now?"

"Woah, calm down," Robin said.

"I'm sick of being calm. I'm sick and tired and pretending that I don't wake up every morning with a pain in my chest because he's gone," he choked back tears. "Then I have to come to work and listen to you two talk about Nancy and how sad I am or how quiet I've been. I'm sick of it."

"Steve," Dustin leaned between the seats slightly. "What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath and stared out at the empty road, fear suddenly kicking in as he realised he just yelled his most protected secret. Reality crashing down on his tense shoulders.

"Who's gone?" Robin asked quietly.

"Shit," Steve sighed and with his chest tight he answered. "Billy."

"Billy as in Billy?" she looked at him concerned yet confused.

Steve nodded but she titled her head still not clicking what he meant. "Robin," he said with tears welling in his eyes.

"Oh," she breathed. "Is that why he used to-?"

"Yes."

"What?" Dustin asked not understanding what was going on.

"Steve misses Billy," she answered for him. "Billy and Steve were..."

"Dating," Steve filled in for her. "I lo...we were together for a bit but....he's gone now so it doesn't matter."

"Oh," Dustin said sitting back in his seat and going silent which scared Steve more than he thought it would.

"It does matter, Steve. I'm sorry," Robin tried to talk to him but he was already driving again and not fully listening. "I'm sorry."

The car went silent but soon enough they pulled up at the Henderson home and Dustin opened his door but paused. "I'm sorry, Steve."

Steve nodded and waited until he was inside to continue down the road.

"Why didn't you tell me," Robin asked after a few minutes. "You know I wouldn't have said anything."

"He didn't want anyone to know so I kept my promise until now," he replied.

"How long were you two...?"

"March 3rd. Well, that's when it started but we never really talked about it. Things just happened and then we agreed it was something."

"Right," she nodded.

"I loved...I still love him, Rob. I wish I didn't because no one gives a shit about him anymore. There was a few weeks after Starcourt happened that people mentioned him and told Max they were sorry but then nothing."

"I'm so sorry. If we'd known we wouldn't have said all that."

"I know. Sorry I snapped but I'm just so tired of hurting," Steve stopped talking to hold back the tears for as long as he could, the plan to drop Robin off and cry on the way home was about to fail. "I know heartbreak fades. It did with Nancy but this...this is something else."

"Steve," Robin wiped at her face. "You've never talked about this? Ever?"

"No, I thought it would just go away and I'd find a girl or something. We always joked about running away but now I don't think I can ever leave because he's here. I just miss him so much," that was when the tears finally gave way and began streaming down his cheeks to the point he had to pull over.

"I'm so sorry," Robin kept repeating, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he cried into the steering wheel. "You're not supposed to have to deal with this at nineteen, Steve."

"He deserved to be saved and I wasn't there to do anything. I was down in that stupid Russian base thinking about if I survived I was going to get him away from here. Take him home," he was sobbing at this point, hands clutching the wheel as he let it all out for the first time.

"Can I do anything?" she asked moving back to her seat as he sat up and wiped his face with his sleeves.

"There's nothing to do really. I just miss him and I don't know when I'll stop and the stupid thing is I don't want to get used to him being gone. I hate the fact he's gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye and if I ever lose this feeling it's like he's actually gone. I can't even say that he's..," he sighed and looked up. "For so long I hoped he was stuck somewhere like Will was. That he would give me a sign but no...he's not stuck in the Upside Down, he's dead."

"Does Max know?" she asked which distracted him enough to calm down slightly.

"I don't know," he replied taking a deep breath and checking the time. "I saw her at the cemetery a few weeks back but I didn't say anything."

"You should. Maybe you can talk about him or something because if anyone else knows what it's like, she will."

Steve nodded and pulled back onto the road with a twisted feeling in his gut as he continued towards Robin's but before he let her get out he thanked her to which she replied with another apology. One she refused to take back before closing the door and heading inside. For a moment he sat there with one of those headaches you get after crying a little too hard and thought about all the what-ifs he usually did late into the night but this time it was focused on Robin and the group.

What if Billy had known about everything before he was flayed? What if he had joined the group in fighting that thing and survived to hang out with him and Robin? What if he had the chance to get out of Hawkins like he always talked about instead of being stuck? But the worst one he always brushed off was, what if they had never met at the Quarry that night in February and shared a cigarette over an understanding conversation that led to spontaneous sex on the 3rd of March after he went in for a kiss after Billy turned up at his house late at night? What if they hadn't whispered I love you under the covers of Steve's sheets on the 12th of May? What if this tight painful clutch those moments had on Steve's heart had never happened?

Except, Steve knew he would rather deal with the pain than have never gone through what now caused it. The happy moments which were bittersweet in the present, memories of the past he clung to. He knew that if he could go back, he'd do it all again without hesitating because missing Billy Hargrove was better than having never known him in the first place.

#anyone care for some angst on this fair evening?#pain #i cried #anyway #enjoy #also on my ao3 #harringrove #writing

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justwearthegoddamncardigan · 1 year

Text

All in two days - Part 2

Read Part 1 here, full masterlist on pinned post

Newt x gender neutral!reader

Direct continuation of Part 1

Initially set in the Scorch Trials, but deviates from canon in this chapter. The end result is basically the same, but I've just taken pieces of canon and used them to fit my story

Warnings: canon-typical violence, language (normal swearing and Glader slang)

The communicator starts ringing as your finger hits the call button, and someone picks up on the fourth ring.

You lift the device to your ear. "Hello?" you say shakily.

"This is Marie, speaking from WCKD Base 7. How can I help?"

"I have-" you clear your throat. "I have information to share: the location of escaped Immunes."

There's a pause as you hear shuffling in the background, following by typing noises on a keyboard. "What are the names of the Immunes?"

"Wait," you say. "I'd like something in return."

"Of course." Marie's voice is flat. "And what would that be?" she asks.

"My sister is sick, but I don't know what the illness is. It's not the Flare though," you tell her. You think for a second, then add "I also want supplies; food and water."

"WCKD will have the resources to cure your sister's illness. And, if the information you share is valuable, we may be able to provide you with additional supplies too. WCKD is good like that."

"Right," you say, swallowing.

"The names?" she prompts.

"Oh, yes," you hesitate for a second, then list them out, your voice clear. "Winston, Frypan, Aris, Minho, Teresa, Thomas... and Newt."

Silence on the other end. Then: "Please hold on, I'm transferring you to another line."

You wait, chewing your lip nervously.

"Hello? Is it true you have the whereabouts of subjects Thomas, Teresa, and the rest of the group?" It's a male voice.

"I- yes," you confirm.

"What's your name?" asks the man.

"Y/n L/n," you tell him.

"Lovely to meet you, Y/n. I am Assistant Director Janson. The people you've named are extremely important to us. If you help us find them, you will be highly rewarded."

Shit. You remember your friends, if you can still call them that, telling you stories about this Janson guy.

"I can find them for you. The stayed at my place for a while, and left just this morning."

"Excellent," says Janson. "If you can put me on speakerphone now, I'll direct you on how to send us your location."

"Okay," you say numbly.

You follow his directions and send your location to WCKD, before ending the call.

You bow your head, unable to believe yourself for what you've done. WCKD is really coming, and they're gonna take your friends away.

You give yourself a mental shake. You only knew them two days, no matter how close you felt to them over those days. Your sister is your first priority.

Nothing else happens in that day, but the next morning, you wake to the deafening sound of rumbling engines.

You rise up off the storage room floor, where you'd fallen asleep. You swing the door open, running out to see a helicopter-y kind of thing landing, it's massive size casting a shadow over you.

A man walks off the helicopter-vehicle, followed by a small group of guards. You recognise him immediately, recalling Minho's description.

"Janson! The Ratman! He's literally a shucking rat. Little bitch," says Minho, arms waving animatedly as he speaks.

Teresa's laugh echoes through your mind, and you can perfectly picture Newt's amused grin.

You shove thoughts of them from your mind and step up to meet Janson.

"Y/n," he says, extending a hand. "Good to meet you in person."

"Janson," you shake his hand and force a smile.

"Listen, the people you've seen are very valuable to me. We're willing to treat you very generously if you deliver on our agreement."

"Thank you very much. We'd appreciate that a lot."

"Well then, let's begin." He claps his hands together.

"As a show of our faith in you, our own Berg here has a medical wing and experienced doctors to look at your sister now. Pack your belongings and prepare to leave. Do you need someone to help you get your sister out?"

"Uhh, yeah, that'd be good."

He nods. "I'll arrange that now, go pack your stuff."

You pack quickly, but as you move to leave you spy Newt's leather wristband on the table. You'd taken it off last night, weighed down by guilt as you waited for WCKD to find you.

You pick it up and look at it, thinking for a bit. You decide to fasten it to your upper arm, just above your elbow, and pull your jacket on, covering the band.

As you shift your bag onto your shoulder, a group of doctors walk in rolling a stretcher behind them, carefully moving your sister.

Then, you follow them out, turning to take one last glance at your home, and step onto the Berg.

You trail behind them as they roll your sister to the medical wing, moving her to a bed.

"Y/n," a voice greets you. You turn to see a doctor smiling kindly at you. She's tiny, about a head shorter than you, and has black hair cut into a sleek bob framing her pale face.

"Hi," you say, offering her a small smile.

"I'm Dr Liu," she says. "My team and I will be treating your sister. Don't worry, she's in good hands."

You nod, genuinely grateful.

"You've got a meeting with Director Janson right now, but I promise we'll give you an update on your sister soon," she tells you, gesturing to Janson as he appears in the doorway.

"Y/n, this way please."

You follow him to the control centre at the front of the Berg, where you can see out the windows.

"Which way are we heading?" asks Janson. "And how far do you think they'll be?"

"They left before midday yesterday, and they're travelling on foot with an injured person, so they wouldn't be that far," you explain.

"They said they were going towards the mountains, and they started in that direction when they left.” You point out a window.

"I see," says Janson. "You got that?" he speaks to the Berg pilot.

"Towards the mountains," acknowledges the pilot, and the Berg begins to lift off the ground.

You assume you're dismissed, and walk back to the medical wing to check on your sister.

When you get there, you see her hooked up to a bunch of monitors, heartrate beeping steadily and an intravenous drip in her arm administering fluids.

"How is she?" you ask worriedly.

"She'll be just fine," responds Dr Liu, pressing buttons on some machine. "The disease is actually pretty common, and would have been easily cured with medicine if you had access. Modern medicine wouldn't have let it get this bad." She gives you a sympathetic look.

"So it's not long-term or anything? You can cure it?" A spark of hope appears.

"Yes," she replies, smiling. "In fact, she should be awake in just a few days."

You release a sigh, the weight of years of worry lifting away.

You're directed to a small bedroom, complete with a simple bunk and closet of plain clothes.

You collapse into the bed and sleep the afternoon away.

When you wake, someone is knocking on your door, telling you to meet in the control centre. There's a clock in your room that tells you the time is 7:15pm.

You get up and rifle through the closet, picking out black pants and a white tee, which you pull your jacket over, giving it a tug as it snags on the leather band.

"We've located them," announces Janson as you enter. "They've sighted the Berg and are hiding now, but we're preparing a team to go down and bring them in."

You step closer to the window, looking down over what looks like an abandoned city. They're right down there, Newt and Thomas and everyone.

You whirl around to Janson. "Is there a way- Do you think I could... not be seen by them?"

Janson raises an eyebrow, but you hold his gaze. "We can arrange that," he concedes. "But listen, whatever they told you when they were staying with you, it's wrong. They paint us as the villains in their story, but all we're trying to do is save humanity from a disease."

"Right, yeah, but I just..." you trail off.

"I see. Thomas and his little group can be quite the charmers." He scoffs a little. "We can make sure they're nowhere near your room, if that's what you want. But just know that by helping us, you're on the right side of this fight, Y/n."

"Yeah, thanks," you say flatly, and you turn and leave.

You end up in the medical ward, sitting by your sister's bed. Her face is soft in her sleep, and you watch as her chest rises and falls.

"Y/n," Dr Liu steps in and you give a small wave in greeting.

She hands you a device. "Janson wanted me to give you this. They've got long range cameras on the Berg, so you can see what's happening down below."

She looks a little conflicted. "Do you want to watch?" she asks hesitantly.

You definitely do not want to watch... but the screen is right in front of you. You can't not watch. You nod and take the screen from her, already regretting doing so as it turns on.

On the device, you can see WCKD's team, holding guns. The view is zoomed out; long range cameras can probably only see to a certain distance, but you can still see the small images of your friends.

You subconsciously twist your hands in your sister's blankets as they start running. You identify Teresa by her long hair, running alongside Thomas and the rest of the group as they disappear under a building, out of the camera's view. Your heart clenches when you realise Winston isn't with them.

When they emerge back into sight, they split up, scattering in different directions. Your heart pounds as the WCKD officers give chase, hot on the heels of Minho and Frypan.

They take down Fry first with an taser shot that leaves him writhing on the ground, and you watch Minho turn to try and save him before being shot himself.

The camera moves to focus on another group as someone knocks Thomas out and corners Aris in a dead end.

You turn the screen off as the camera shifts to show Teresa trying to help Newt along, his limp worse than ever.

You set screen down and try to take deep breaths, blinking fast as your eyes start to sting.

Dr Liu sits down beside you. "I'm sorry," she says.

You don't respond for a bit, and you reach out to cover your sister's hand with your own, rubbing your thumb over her knuckles.

"I cared about them," you say. "They were my first friends in... as long as I can remember. It's just- I knew Elle wouldn't make it if I didn't get help. I had to do this for her."

"I understand," she says. "WCKD is very... There's a lot of give and take. Everyone here had to sacrifice something to receive the privileges they give us. To be a part of the team that's gonna save the world, you're gonna have to lose some things."

She leans forward, looking you in the eyes. "You're not a bad person, Y/n," she insists.

"Thanks," you say quietly. You're grateful for her words, but you still can't believe them when you just watched your friends getting hurt and captured.

"Y/n." It's Janson. You turn to look at him, and notice that he's sporting a decent bruise on his left cheekbone.

"What happened to...?" you gesture at your own face.

He rolls his eyes. "Let's just say that Thomas was definitely not happy to see me."

"Ah, I see." You contain a smirk despite the current circumstances.

"I'm going down to see them now. You wanna tag along?"

" 'course not," you say. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't let them see me."

"Yeah, but you could just sit out of sight and listen in," he offers.

You know full well that he's just messing with your head by letting you listen; just like he did when he told Dr Liu to give you the device with the cameras on the screen.

It's clear he wants you to stop believing in your friends.

Despite knowing all that, you sigh and follow him anyway.

"Stay here," he instructs when you arrive.

You stand with your back to the solid wall of the cell. Newt and the others are right behind you on the other side of it. If you walked just three steps over to where Janson is standing now, you'd be looking them straight in the face.

"Hello everyone," says Janson with a gloating grin. He really does look like a Ratman.

None of them respond, except for Minho muttering "Shuckin' slinthead."

"What was that?"

"How'd you find us, anyway?" Thomas spits out, stopping Minho from throwing out any more insults.

"Oh, we had you the whole time," says Janson. Liar. "Plus, it helped that we met someone along the way. Someone who knew you."

Shit, he's gonna bring you up.

"Y/n," Teresa breathes, realising quickly.

"That's right. After we got the information out of them, it was all too easy to find you."

"You better not have touched them," snarls Newt.

You jolt as you hear a loud noise; Newt must have slammed his arm into the bars of the cell.

Turning your head, you watch Janson lean closer to the cell, and you can picture him face to face with Newt.

You strain to hear what Janson says, but you can't make out his whispered words.

All you see is his satisfied smirk as he steps away from the cell.

You don't move as Janson strides out, instead closing your eyes as you lean your head back against the wall.

"I told you we shouldn't have left them," you can barely hear Newt's broken voice.

"They wouldn't've been any better here with us," says Thomas.

You can't stay here, listening to the way they care for you.

You move abruptly and run to a bathroom nearby. You brace your hands on the sink, staring into the mirror. That face looking back at you has betrayed your friends. They're all in there, worrying about you, when they're the ones being flown to their deaths, and you're the one that sold them to WCKD.

You focus your thoughts on Elle, alive and healing. You think about the sweet, bubbly smile that you haven't seen in years. You're doing this for that smile.

⭒----⭒

The Berg lands in a place known as the Last City, and you're moved to a tall building which is apparently WCKD's main compound.

By now, two weeks after arriving, your sister has gotten a lot better, and you've spoken to her in her bed every day since she woke up. You haven't seen Newt and the others since that day on the Berg.

Elle actually started standing and running yesterday, for the first time in years. You'd given Dr Liu an incredulous look, and watched Elle dance around the medical ward for hours.

Today, after eating lunch with Elle, you move to the labs, where scientists are working on the cure for the Flare.

You've become an apprentice of sorts, training under Dr Liu and her colleagues. You only do simple jobs like cleaning used micropipettes and beakers, but you've also been learning things from the scientists around you.

The science wing of the compound is massive, which makes sense, but it also means you get lost a lot. Today, you've probably taken about five wrong turns, and you're trying to retrace your steps when you see someone hooked up to a sinister-looking machine.

Everything goes cold as you realise. Holy shit, it's Newt. You push the door open and enter the room, and the scientists ignore you - probably because you're wearing a lab coat just like theirs.

One of them presses some sort of 'start' button, and you stand, frozen, as the heartrate monitor starts beeping faster and faster, and you watch in horror as Newt starts writhing and screaming. He's not in pain though, he's scared. You can see his face twisting in terror.

You rush out, the door swinging shut behind you, and you bend over as bile rises in your throat. Tears sting your eyes as you grab another scientist, intercepting him as he moves to enter the room.

"What's happening in there? What are they doing to him?" you demand.

The scientist's eyes flick to your badge. "This isn't your area," he says.

"What. Are. They. Doing."

"He's in a fear simulation. Fear stimulates the production of the enzyme we're trying to extract to make the cure," he tells you. "Even though this subject isn't immune, our tests have shown that he still produces the enzyme we need."

You stumble back, unable to hear any more, and leave the science wing, running out towards your room.

⭒----⭒

You gulp in deep breaths of air as you stand by your window, and you rest your forehead on the cool glass.

That's what they're doing to them. Forcing them into their worst fears and using them like they're nothing but tools.

You look out at the city below. Billboards flash with huge letters, large enough for you to read them from your room on a high floor. NOTIFY WCKD OF ANY OCCURRENCES OF THE FLARE. HIDING CRANKS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

One particular sign catches your attention. REWARDS WILL BE GIVEN FOR INTEL ON REBEL MOVEMENTS.

A crazy thought starts to form. You clench your hands, resolve hardening as you make your decision.

You may have failed your friends, and they'd be right to hate you if they found out what you did, but maybe you can get them out. Maybe you can still save them.

⭒----⭒

That afternoon, you attend your training in the labs as usual, then dinner with Elle and bed. The next morning, you're ready to go.

"I'd like to request a meeting with Assistant Director Janson," you tell the receptionist on your floor.

Within an hour, you're knocking on the door to his office and walking in, shoes clicking on marble floors. "Ah, Y/n. It's been a while."

"It has," you agree. "I've come today to ask to be allowed out in the City."

"Really," he raises his eyebrows. "And why's that?"

"At the start of all this, you said you could reward my sister and I with a lot if I told you how to find Thomas and everyone."

"You don't think you've been given a lot already?"

"I have, and I'm very grateful," you say. "But I'd like to move my sister out of here when she's given clearance by the doctors. And, I want to go out early to scope out the City, you know, get a better feel for it before we move out."

"Will you still be working with us? Wendy says you have a lot of potential," he responds, referring to Dr Liu.

"I will, and I've seen the trains from my window. I'll make the commute in to work here from wherever my sister and I decide to live."

He hums for a bit, eyeing you from the other side of the desk.

"I'm happy to go out with guards for the first few days, if you don't trust me," you say with a casual shrug.

“That’s fine. I’ll have guards escort you just on your first trip, only so you don’t get lost.”

“Sounds good,” you say, holding in your sigh of relief.

“Before you go, there was something else I wanted to ask you about. I’m going to be visiting your friends soon. I’m sure you’ve heard by now about how they’re helping further our cause. Would you like to join me to meet them?”

His baiting style is old now. You shake your head. “No, thanks. I’m trying to move on with my life now,” you tell him.

“Right, a good choice.” He believes you. “Well then, I’ll call some guards now for today’s trip.”

⭒----⭒

Over the next few days, you wander the streets of the City alone, without the masked guards watching your every move after the first trip.

You’re trying to figure out how to communicate with the rebels.

While exploring one afternoon, you see strange marks near a sewer entrance. They look like boot marks. You grab a torch from your backpack and drop down into the sewer.

You quickly click your torch off when you see someone else’s light up ahead, but you’re too late. “Who’s there?” a male voice calls out.

Screw subterfuge and subtleness, you decide.

You click your torch back on. “My name is Y/n and I’m here to find you. I want to help you get into the City. In return, I need your help to save my friends. They’re trapped inside WCKD headquarters.”

One of the rebels scoffs at you, but the other one speaks up. “Interesting… Alright then, follow us.”

You end up being driven to the rebel base. When you arrive, the people that brought you in lead you to some sort of main office. They knock on the door, and then leave you there alone.

“Come in,” a voice sounds from inside.

You cautiously open the door and step in. The room is shrouded in darkness, but you see the silhouette of a man, with a masked guard on either side of him.

“So you think you can get us in,” says the man.

“That’s right,” you say, and you quickly outline your plan for him. “Do you think that could work?”

“Interesting,” he muses. “And all you need in return is…”

“My friends. Newt, Thomas, Minho- WCKD has six of my friends in their compound. I need at least one person to help me get them out.”

“Wait,” one of the guards interrupts, stepping forward. The man, Lawrence, gives a warning growl. Like, he actually growls.

The guard speaks anyway. “What are the names of your friends? All of them?”

You list out all your friends’ names.

“Impossible,” whispers the guard.

“What?” you ask.

“I was in the Maze with them, I’m Gally.” He lifts the mask off his face.

“You knew them? Holy fuck.”

Gally turns to Lawrence. “I’ll go with Y/n on their mission. You and the rest of the group can enact the second stage of their plan.”

“Well,” Lawrence drags out the word. “Alright then. Get things ready on your end,” he says to you. “We’ll prepare for your plan. Gally, get them a communicator. Y/n, call us when you’re ready.”

You nod, and take the communicator from Gally, who leads you out of the room.

“You really know Thomas and Minho and everyone?” he asks, expression unreadable.

“I do,” you say. “How come you weren’t with them?”

He sighs. “Here, I’ll drive you back, and I’ll tell you everything.”

Over the drive, Gally summarises everything, including how he was possessed or stung or something, killed a boy, almost got killed by Minho, and then found by the rebels.

“Jeez,” you say when he’s finished. “That all sounds insane.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “So what’s your story?”

You hesitate for a bit. “It’s actually my fault that they’re with WCKD,” you admit, and then you explain all of it.

Gally is surprisingly understanding, given that you gave up his friends to WCKD.

“I’m not gonna tell you you did a good thing,” he says bluntly. “But I can see why you did it. Your sister and everything, it makes sense. There wasn’t another way.”

“Thank you,” you say as he drops you off at the sewers. “I’ll call you guys to get the plan moving.”

You wave as he departs, and you start the walk back to the compound.

⭒----⭒

You take an elevator up to the science wing, wanting to get some study in before going to bed.

You’re making your way to your usual room when you hear a commotion down a hallway. You walk faster as you follow the noise.

“Stop! Just leave him alone!” You freeze as you turn and hear Thomas’ voice. “Haven’t you put us through enough?”

You step closer. If you turned the corner, you’d be in the same corridor as them.

“Fine, take them back.” You hear Janson’s commanding tone. “But you’re next tomorrow, Thomas.”

Footsteps start moving towards you. Shit, shit, fuck. Where can you go? You’re turning to the elevators when Janson rounds the corner... And Aris and Thomas are right behind him.

"...Y/n?" Fuck.

Hi everyone, thanks for reading!

I had a little trouble with this chapter cause it got way too long, and I kept trying to pace it faster so I could finish up the story in 2 chapters, so it's a little messy.

But, I've ended up splitting this chapter into 2 separate parts, and so this story's probably gonna end up with 3-4 chapters total.

Unfortunately this chapter was a lot of filler and background/set up - sorry about that, but I promise the payoff will be worth it in the end

Part 3 will be up soon since it's basically already been written, I just decided to cut it out of this chapter

@regulus-black-223048 ❤

If anyone wants to be tagged for next chapter just lmk

#the maze runner #tmr newt #newt x you #newt x reader #my writing

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nian-7 · 7 months

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Nazuna Nanakusa x gn!reader

✧halloween event, cw: alcohol, nazuna (sexual jokes)

Halloween, the time of year where the streets seemingly get even more busy than they usually are with people dressed up in all sorts of fun and interesting costumes!

And where were you? Sitting in an apartment, possibly growing more and more bored as the controller Nazuna had in her hands was getting closer to being thrown. Apparently, it was a very intense game of.. yeah, you had no clue what she was playing.

" Haha! Got em! You see that, (name)?! " She turned to you pointing at the screen in front of her. The flashing colors of it along with the bright 'First Place!' trophy made you squint a little. You hummed in response, not really getting the hype over the shiny 2d trophy. " I won, don't you get it?! " She whipped her head back to look at you, her brows furrowed.

" Yeah, yeah, I saw it. Good job. " You tilted your head, looking at the spinning trophy. " Can we go out now? "

" One more round! " She turned back to the screen, buttons on the controller sounded as the screen shifted from the trophy.

" You said that last time, Nazuna. " You sighed, getting up from your spot behind her and walking over towards the tv. You leaned to look behind it, unplugging it from the wall.

" (NAME)! " Nazuna got up walking over to you, the controller thrown across the floor. " I didn't get to save the game! And now- " She put her hands on your shoulders and seemingly melted down to the floor. " I lost that trophy I got! "

" Too bad! You said we'd go out since it's Halloween. " You looked down at her, slumped against you. " If you kept playing that damn game we would have never gone out! " She groaned standing back up to look you in the eye.

" Fine, we'll go out- " She crossed her arms. " But you owe me a beer. " She walked over to where her large coat was laying on the floor and picked it up, swinging it around her shoulders. The buttons making a click! when she pressed them together. " C'mon! First vending machine we see, you're buying me a beer! "

The childish vampire made you laugh as you nodded, " Alright, I got it. One beer coming up. " You started walking towards the door of her apartment, Nazuna following close behind you. Then started the trek down the many stairs in her apartment complex as you closed her apartment's door.

The metal stairs clanged as you both walked down them, Nazuna sighing as a couple walked by the two of you as you reached the ground. " Can't they do that stuff somewhere else?! " She shoved her hands in her pockets, a red tone appearing on her face. You could hear the couples giggles fading away as they walked down the sidewalk, Nazuna walking the opposite direction.

The colorful Halloween themed lights around the street and on the stores illuminated the sidewalks, groups of people walked down the street together decorated in costumes together, laughter filling the empty spaces.

" Hmmm, I see a vending machine up ahead. " You leaned to the side, trying to see what was in the machine, hoping the beer wasn't sold out.

" Aw, hell yeah! They got beer still! " Nazuna ran up to the machine, waving towards you. You walked up soon after, putting in your money and punching in the button. The can tumbled down into the slot where Nazuna quickly collected it. The crack of her opening it was soon followed by her taking a big sip of it. " Ahh! That's the stuff right there! "

Another couple walked by you both and Nazuna took another sip of her beer. " Can't they just go home and have sex already?! They're all over each other! " She huffed, her face blushing from the beer and the lovey dovey couple who had just passed by.

" They can hear you, Nazuna! " You turned to her, widening your eyes. " At least wait till they pass till you blurt something out like that! " You started nudging her back to walking the opposite way of the couple.

" So? They're all over each other, they gotta be doing it when they get home. " She looked over at you as she began walking again.

" That doesn't mean you should outright say it- " You cleared your throat, trying to stop yourself from laughing. " I have to admit it was funny though. The look on their faces were.. priceless. " A laugh burst out of you as you thought back to the couples faces.

" What?! Dammit, why didn't I see that?! " She furrowed her brow, taking a sip of her beer. " Their dumb matching costumes and that couple-y behavior distracted me! Gross. " She crossed her arms.

" We should have gotten matching costumes. "

" Hell no. " She whipped her head over at you.

" It's not too late though! "

" I'm not doing that dumb couples matching costume thing! " She took a gulp of her beer and kept walking.

" Then we'll be wasting the night away by just walkin' around and staring at everyone else! " You offered, hoping to convince her.

" We can just keep laughing at them as they walk around then. That sounds like my kind of night! " She held out her hand to you. " C'mon, let's fly! "

please do not repost any of my work without my permission, thank you for reading.

#x reader #fluff #gender neutral reader #yofukashi no uta #call of the night #nazuna nanakusa x reader #nazuna x reader #nazuna nanakusa

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nickeldean · 9 months

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-- March, 1987 --

"Hey, Chandler," Ross says, leaning up against the locker beside Chandler's. He'd been clinging to Chandler lately, which made more sense the more Chandler thought about it. They'd been friends since middle school, and now it was senior year, and they were planning to go to the same college, yeah, but they were getting vastly different degrees and Ross never was very good at making friends. Not that Chandler was great at it either.

Chandler sucks in a deep breath through her nose and slams her locker, leaning back against it once it's closed. "What is it now, Ross?" she asks, wishing she had a cigarette based on the look on Ross' face.

"Well," Ross sighs, "You know about the Prom, and how I haven't found a date yet," he trails off, looking over at Chandler.

Chandler snorts. "Oh God, good. Prom sucks, man, I mean, who wants to dress up like that anyway? I'm just going to stay home and watch whatever's on, probably. I think there's a Star Trek re-run tonight, if you wanna swing by," she offers, raising her eyebrows at Ross.

He only groans in response. "You know I have a math test tomorrow, and my mom will kill me," Ross says, "She'll kill you too, y'know."

"Fine, fine, whatever," Chandler relents, "So you don't want to watch Star Trek with me and you want to go to Prom? Who the hell are you?"

Ross shrugs, looking down at his feet. "I was kinda hoping you'd like, come with me to Prom. And we could watch Star Trek after on my DVR, you know I've got the good episodes on tape, and maybe like, just have fun?" Ross rambles, refusing to look at Chandler as he offers.

Chandler laughs, a full-on, throaty, uninhibited laugh, hands on her knees from its power. "Wow, good one Ross, really had me there," she says, rolling her eyes and leaning back again, chuckling some more.

"I'm not kidding, Chandler."

They both fall silent.

"Ross," Chandler starts, nervously laughing, "You know why we're best friends, right?"

Nodding, Ross answers, "We both like Star Trek and have been bullied our whole lives, yeah," he trails off, not liking the look on Chandler's face.

Chandler shakes her head and shrugs. "Not exactly, really," she mutters, "I mean, I'm your friend because you don't care that I'm weird. I smoke and I dress like I'm straight out of the Dollar Store Men's Warehouse, and you don't care."

"Well," Ross interjects, "I wouldn't say Men's Warehouse. I'd say you still look pretty, it's not like you come off as masculine or anything," he laughs to himself, but Chandler's not laughing.

"Ross, I'm not going with you to Prom."

"Why not?" Ross asks, clearly annoyed.

"Because," Chandler sighs, "Because I think I'm a lesbian."

Ross goes quiet for a moment, tapping his foot on the dirty school floor, thinking. "Well," he starts, "We wouldn't have sex after. Or kiss. You could just show up in a nice dress and we'd pretend. We could watch Star Trek after, even," Ross begs, and Chandler knows why. If they go to the Prom, and both have dates, even if they're each other, they might not be losers for once in their lives.

Chandler forces a laugh. "I'm not the dress type. Kinda butch, I guess. Been thinking of cutting my hair, actually," she admits, unsure where the line between them is, when Ross will tell her to shut up, yell and tell her she can't be a lesbian, she can't, and even though they live in New York, she's not safe. She's not safe anywhere, not with Reagan in the goddamn White House and not with Bush set to succeed him.

Ross must sense Chandler's panic, setting a hand on her shoulder gingerly and shrugging. "We are losers. Maybe you could come with me in a suit? I've got one from a couple years ago that might fit you. My parents probably wouldn't care if you took it, they love you," Ross suggests under his breath, and even if he's ashamed of Chandler in some way, he's still offering her a lot, more than anyone else has before, and so she nods, shrugging beside her friend.

"I guess I'd go to Prom with you, then," Chandler says, "But only if I get to pick out which episode we watch afterwards."

Ross smiles. "Deal."

#pretransition chandler bing #trans chandler bing #transmasc chandler bing #trans man chandler bing #chandler bing #ross geller #theyre friends nothing more #ross is a good guy hes just a little bit stubborn #this is part one of many parts probably

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nellie-elizabeth · 8 months

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What We Do in the Shadows: A Weekend at Morrigan Manor/Exit Interview (5x09/10)

Oh boy. Lots to discuss.

Cons:

The biggest con I have here is... well, if Guillermo was going to be made back into a human at the end of the season, I wish we'd gotten to see more of vampire Guillermo. I actually don't mind narratively this turn where he goes back to being human, but why couldn't we see a whole season of him getting to be a bat and go flying and do all the other vampire things, in full-swing? That way the fact that he's not ready would hit a little harder: he can't bring himself to drink human blood, which is the only way he can continue to be a vampire, even though he's experienced all the perks. I just think that would have been a more fun way to play it. Instead, we spent a whole season waiting and waiting to finally actually see vampire Guillermo, and we... never fully got that at all. He did look good with those fangs, though.

Pros:

The Morrigan Manor stuff was so charming and fresh and different. I truly had no idea where this episode was going to go, from the invitation, to the amazing fencing choreography with Lazlo and his large group of combatants... I even thought the Guide's role in the story added something fun.

All season I've been complaining that they haven't done enough with the whole vibe of her being an outsider, but in this episode, when she finally takes matters into her own hands, I did feel the weight of her relative insignificance all season, finally coming to bear. I realized pretty soon she had to be behind all the disappearances, but it was still fun to see it play out. And I like how she acts as a contrast to Guillermo, who now feels included in the group in various ways. One good moment is at the beginning, when the recording says "six of you" and they're confused about the number six, because they were forgetting to count the Guide. Which means they think of their family as being five people, and that includes Guillermo. So sweet!

And the moment of truth... everyone else trying to distract Nandor form realizing the big secret... Nadja: "I like this cage." That was so funny. The reason that a ridiculous show like this works is that when they want to play up something other than the laughs, they don't shy away from that. All season we've been told that once Nandor learned the truth about Guillermo, he'd kill him and then himself. And then he finds out, conveniently locked in a silver cage, and what does he say? That he's going to kill Guillermo. It's not funny, his rage is played 100% earnestly.

It's also cut up really humorously with Nandor instantly figuring out why Guillermo is only a half-baked vampire. His slayer blood from his Van Helsing family is interfering with his transformation. Everybody else is just like "ohhhhh" but I think this is such a great detail to include, that Nandor actually pays attention and knows enough about Guillermo, has given all of this enough thought, that he instantly knows what's going on.

Lazlo remembering the right tape to play to get the Guide to forgive them was also really funny. I knew instantly there would be a punchline where they undercut their kindness towards her right after Lazlo has the tape cut off, and I like that the Guide doesn't see the mid-credit bit like we do, where it turns out they're trying to get Colin to fall in love with the Guide so they become a couple and move out and leave the rest of them alone. Lazlo continues to get my season MVP award, for being clever enough to manipulate the Guide!

The second episode is full of so much great Guillermo goodness, I don't even know where to start. I think the big thesis of this season is that Guillermo is family with the other vampires in the house. He already achieved that closeness, and in fact it was sort of in spite of becoming a vampire, not because of it. We see it in the way that Nadja, Colin, and Lazlo all sneak off to say goodbye to Guillermo, as they believe he'll be dead soon at the hands of Nandor. The episode with the Guide reminded us that these vampires are never necessarily going to be open about their feelings; they'll care about each other on their own terms, and it doesn't mean they don't treasure those relationships. Guillermo has learned that now, and that being a vampire, something he still greatly wants, isn't the only way to connect with his chosen family.

I love that Nandor just straight-up murders Patton Oswalt, like, he's dead within the What We Do in the Shadows universe now and it's so fucking funny. Especially the fact that he gives good advice, Nandor kills him in punishment, and then is like "he has a good point, though..."

And again with this show knowing when to play something dead sincere, I love how Nandor's grief and anger is over-exaggerated but one hundred percent earnest, too. He says that he can't imagine anything more painful than having to kill his friend. And then he makes a promise to Guillermo, holding a stake to his own throat, in his original language of Persian, that he will spare his life. It was... well, it was charged, to say the least.

Also played entirely sincere was Guillermo's grief and discomfort over the thought of killing people. It's rendered comedic by the fact that he's killed so many vampires, and lured so many innocent humans to their deaths, but it makes sense that the actual drinking of innocent human blood would feel different to him. Nandor knows him well enough to understand that this isn't what Guillermo really wants.

There's something so narratively satisfying and also funny about Nandor being the one in the dark all season, having no idea what's going on, and then once he's in the know, he has sole custody of the only damn brain cell in the whole group. He figures out how to forgive Guillermo, he figures out what his friend really needs, and even guides him into discovering that for himself.

Even Derek gets a happy ending, hopefully to make friends with his new zombie brethren, where he might fit in the way he never did among vampires!

I've seen a lot of people online disappointed with this finale, calling it an anti-climax and a letdown that Guillermo and Nandor didn't kiss on the mouth or whatever. On some level I do understand that disappointment, in the sense that I wish we'd gotten to have more fun shenanigans with vampire!Guillermo while we had him, instead of this half-assed version of it all season. But at the same time, that's the nature of this kind of comedy show. If you divert from the status quo, the show kind of... ends. And we've seen such huge development this year for Guillermo, in the way he is now given the kind of respect from his chosen family that he's long pined for.

And that's that for season five! I really deeply love this show, all the crazy shenanigans of this bizarre cast of characters. I'm ready for season six whenever they have it prepared for us!

9/10

#review #wwdits #wwdits review #what we do in the shadows #what we do in the shadows review

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boba-beom · 8 months

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! "couple goals" tag game !

rules: show your top 4 (or 6 if you need more room) self-ships and your couple’s aesthetic because y’all know you’d behave differently in different relationships

tagged by: @robin-obsessed; lee and @writingmochi; lissie <3 thank you <3

I smiles x beomgyu

my number one 🫶🏼 beomgyu loves his grey hoodies and as much as I love the thought about using his hoodies I think he’d love matching grey hoodies ^^ and because I’m a short girly I think photos like this would be so fun to take with him 🤭

our relationship would be goofy as, he’d tease me but always always apologise, but tease me again.

“I think you should stand on here, then you’ll see what I can see.” is what he’d say, with a cheesy grin on his face.

because of how short I am, I just know he’d be the type to rest his arm on the top of my head and just tease me with his cute pouts so I don’t get mad lmao

the rest under the cut

II smiles x taehyun

our sportsman, our gym boy— have you seen taehyun in his basketball jerseys?! he’d teach me how to be good with hand-eye coordination bc I lowkey sucks ass at it lmao,, but I can hear the “aww you’re so short, how’re you supposed to score at least one shot?” and then he’d chuckle and crouch down, patting his shoulders and offering to lift me up that way :’)

“come on then, let’s make your first shot.” and :(( I think he’d be so cute, and do the cute ‘aaaah’ sound when you manage to do a slam dunk from his shoulders 😭 “I’ll give you this jersey as your reward.”

III smiles x heeseung

for some reason, I imagine heeseung taking me on long, chill walks around the city, figuring out where to eat next. that is, until I'd get tired because his one step is equivalent to 2 and 1/2 of mine :') being short can be tiring lmao, so he'd offer to give me a piggy-back on the way to our bus stop

"I think you should invest in ni-ki's growing vitamins." he'd say that with my arms wrapped over his shoulders.

"do you have any last words? I have my arms around your neck, you know?" and he'd threaten to drop me and leave me to walk by myself :') (it's all fun and games)

IV smiles x hoshi

hoshi's character seems so wild and playful, I think that even if we'd be chilling together, watching movies or even just talking about nonsense, he'd grab a pillow — with me thinking he'd just place it on his lap — but would catch me off-guard and launch the pillow in my face T^T I can hear his goofy laugh until I'd return the hit with my pillow.

he started it, but I'm willing to end it. for the meantime, this pillow-fight will continue until a certain someone surrenders or one of us fall off the bed — given that we won't get hurt... too badly.

"you best give up right now." I would say after my attempt at launching my pillow at him, but he shields himself with his own.

"never say never!!"

V smiles x wooyoung

I think wooyoung would even want us to be matching clothes every now and again since his style is very much what I would wear too ngl, but I kinda think that's so cute >//< the same varsity jacket, him wearing denim jeans and I'd wear a pleated skirt and the same shoes in different colours hehe

wooyoung's definitely the type to be physical affectionate, taking mirror selfies would always be with him. he's so touchy and such a flirt, he'd probably ask to have my legs hang off of his since it already hangs off the seat, my legs would most likely be swinging back and forth too lmao

"let's take a picture, put your legs on mine. they don’t touch the floor anyway” and he’d LAUGH 😭🥹 but I love wooyoung :(( he’d be one to do that hug while apologising BUT STILL LAUGHING

“what if I don’t want to?”

“then I guess I’ll just match with someone else.” he’d be serious, I bet he’d match with yeonjun 🤭

VI smiles x sung hanbin

hanbin is literally the sweetest. I see him asking to go for a picnic before sunset, and after we eat the food, he’d lay his head on my lap and I’d have my fingers running thru his hair ☹️🫶🏼

he’d make me laugh sm and even when he laughs his whisker dimples appear.

“why’re you covering your smile?” is what he’d say.

“I don’t really like my smile,” I’d start. “I don’t like how I look when I laugh.”

“I think you look fine. your name is smile after all.”

because hanbin is the most loving person ever. so delicate and considerate about everyone’s feelings 🥹 I think he’d also talk to me about anything. I think my relationship with hanbin would be more on the platonic side ^^ asking me if I’m seeing anyone, talking about his past experiences etc. it’s that typa comfort vibe if I’m with him 🥹

tagging: @junniieesbby @heart2beom @banggyu0308 @fairyofshampgyu @txt-yaomi @moonhoures @mazeinthemoon @baljinciaga @hanniejie and anyone else who would like to do it <3

#!! tag games ¡¡#this is so late #[ 🎐 ] — miss gyu q.#choi beomgyu #kang taehyun #lee heeseung #hoshi #jung wooyoung #sung hanbin

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artdecosupernova-writing · 7 months

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Fictober '23 Prompt No. 17/18 — "I never said it would be easy."/"We can't do this on our own."

Category: Original WIP: Partners trilogy Rating: T Timeline: pre-trilogy, 1940s CW: none Word Count: 862 Additional Notes: I can't be bothered with the math of it all but it's probably '43/'44.

***

Ben stared like a mopey child as Reagan counted out coins on the table. Only three other people occupied a single booth of the diner, closer to the door; a trio of young women enjoying a late-night dinner and laughing among themselves.

"Mm-hm," Reagan hummed definitively, taking his wallet back out of the breast pocket of his jacket and shuffling a dollar bill from its folds.

"Ooh, big spender," Ben grumbled.

As Reagan slid the wallet back into its pocket, he caught the eye past Ben's shoulder of at least one of the ladies in the other booth. He flashed them a smile and Ben could not see but heard immediate giggles and titters, indicating Reagan had once again loosed an impeccably aimed arrow of charm at complete strangers and nailed the target on the bullseye.

Ben rolled his eyes and turned to peer at the women. They'd gone back to their conversation, likely revolving around Reagan now, throwing him the occasional glance with blushes creeping across their faces.

"I've been talkin' to Haps over at the Crystal Swing," Reagan said quietly. "He's lettin' us take a couple nights to see how we do, and then, if we bring in a crowd, maybe he'll set us up for a stretch."

When Ben turned back, he took a sip of the soda from the straw in front of his face and shrugged. "Sure."

"Got somethin' to say?"

Reagan's tone was low and private, but the crooked grin on his face betrayed the fact that he knew exactly what was keeping Ben in a dour mood. Ben tried not to dwell too much on the fact that Reagan's attention was now unmistakably on him.

"Why wouldn't we bring in a crowd, Reggie?" Ben challenged. His brows pinched together. "Explain to me why we'd be shit up a creek without even gettin' a decent chance."

"Benny—"

The rise of Ben's ire summoned a muffled chuckle from within Reagan, but Ben ignored it. "Nobody's gonna take us seriously if we don't get our shit together and find a damn manager. We can't do this on our own."

"A manager is gonna cost us money we don't currently have," Reagan said levelly.

"Money we somehow had to buy the house we live in right now?" Ben didn't miss the smile dropping from Reagan's face. "Am I the only one takin' this seriously?"

Whatever levity Reagan harbored disappeared. He made a face as if he wanted to say something else, then shook his head and settled on, "I spent the whole week callin' around the city for a place that'll give us a chance. What have you done?"

Ben waved the admittedly precise point away. "I've been workin' on a song. Alright? I started some music, I just need the lyrics."

The smile he was rewarded then made the whole of Ben's insides cook to roughly the temperature of Reagan's still-steaming coffee. "You didn't tell me that."

Ben watched a man enter the diner and sit himself at the counter, setting a briefcase on the stool beside him. "Maybe I don't gotta tell you everything goin' on, ever think about that?"

Reagan leaned forward. "Uh-huh. You've been my best friend for just about fifteen years, we live together, we're trying to start a career together, we sometimes sleep in the same bed, and now you wanna establish boundaries?"

"Reggie," Ben pleaded. "We need a manager. One who will make all those asinine calls for us. One who knows the ins and outs. I don't know what kind of sick play you've got goin' here, but gigs like us are a dime a dozen. We've gotta stand out."

"We do stand out, baby," Reagan muttered. "Wanna know why?"

"I don't think I could handle it," Ben groaned.

Reagan ticked off a list on his fingers. "We go beyond brothers, beyond best friends, we've got in our pockets the best pianist this side of Vienna, and I've been known to carry a tune around with some semblance of grace."

Ben fought the urge to roll his eyes again at Reagan's unapologetic and dramatic downplaying of his own talent.

"We're gonna be okay," Reagan said. "I never said it would be easy. It's probably gonna be the hardest thing we've ever done. We'll get a manager in time. It's gonna work."

The smile he gave Ben this time was small, warm, confident. If there was anybody in his life that could make him feel as if he were the only one in the universe that mattered, it was Reagan.

"Okay," Ben said, taking another sheepish sip of his soda. "Fine. Just know I'm puttin' my whole life in your giant, baby-smooth hands."

Reagan brought his cup to his lips and blew some of the steam away. "And you know I got it cradled to my heart like it were mine."

It was Ben's turn to attempt to hide his furious blushing. "Okay. I get it."

They finished their beverages, paid the waitress a dollar after which Reagan insisted she keep the change, and on the way out of the diner, he didn't even bless the three young women with another look.

#fictober23 #Partners #pre-trilogy 1 #honestly the timeline of things is starting to look tight. gonna have to work on that I think

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