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keeperofhounds · 4 years

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Never Know Who’s Watching

You know who's watching, you need to all ways watch your back especially when you know you’re doing something wrong.

This is a fan work I make no profit off it. My Hero Academia belongs to its original content creators.

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The teachers looked uncomfortably at the rat, dog, bear creature at the head of the table. Nezu didn’t seem all that put off by the pair of eyes staring at him, he was after all used to it. Why wouldn’t he be? He was an animal with a quirk, after all, this was bound to cause stares. This, however, wasn’t the cause of the stares.

Instead, it was a screen with what some might consider disturbing footage of a student threatening another student with their quirk. Not to mention all the comments, who appeared to be students from the same school, classmates of both students. Only the comments seemed to be focusing on all the wrong things, in fact, it seemed to be egging on the behavior.

One comment said, ‘Looks like he’s at it again.’

‘What did that loser do this time? Can’t he just keep his head down.’

‘Some people just don’t know how the world works.’

‘Who wants to bet that he said something dumb again. LOL.’

‘OMG, that kid is still around, I swore that he killed himself.’

Normally it wouldn’t be any of the teacher's business, this wasn’t any of their students. The problem was that the tags on social media clearly stated that the abuser was going to be a student at their school. UA takes its reputation very seriously, their students and potential students represent the school with their behavior reflecting on the school. To see such awful behavior in plain view being witnessed by their own possible student just goes to show the oversight on the school's part.

Which is why the teachers were here. To make a decision on the boy in the video's future, ironically the other student being assaulted was also an incoming student. What should they do? Changing his homeroom teacher, it looked like they would be in the same class. Place him in general studies, that way he can get his act together. This wasn’t only the principles decision to make, it is the teachers as well.

Nezu linked his paws together, “So, what should we do about this incident?”

Thirteen raised their hand, “We can place him in another department, it’s too late in the year for him to apply for another school, at least even if it’s not Heroics he can still get an education.”

“Wouldn’t that send the wrong message though?” Present Mic said, crossing his arms over his chest, “General Education isn’t a punishment, and a lot of the time students who didn’t make the cut to Heroics go through General.”

“That’s right,” Vlad King said, “I saw his exam scores, General would be a waste for him, why not keep an eye on him, if it’s a first offense then, I don’t see why we should ruin this kid's chances at becoming a hero.”

All Might was strangely silent to the entire discussion.

Nezu listened as the teacher's debate or argue over a course of action. In a perfect world Nezu could imagine helping this child on the right path, with them being able to achieve their true potential. It’s what any teacher would want for any child. In reality, though, some people can’t be helped by others. They had to help themselves before others could help them.

“Aizawa, this young man is supposed to be your student, it ultimately falls on you to have the final if any actions should be taken.

The shaggy-haired man glared at him tiredly, to him the solution was obvious to him. He had seen many punk kids before, growing up he even dealt with them. “ We revoke his acceptance.”

The teachers stared, that was too harsh.

“What a minute Aizawa, I get the kids a little rough around the edges,” Vlad said in the kid's defense, “but there’s no need to go that far.”

Nezu raised a paw, silencing the homeroom teacher, “Can you explain why this course of action would be best?”

“It’s because he should know better. I don’t know about his home life or what he’s thinking, but I do know one thing, his behavior is unacceptable.” Aizawa looked at the principal in the eye, “The way he acts, shows that he’s done this before and to the same kid no less. This is a grudge that should have no place in a school environment, this behavior should have been stomped out ages ago.”

Nezu took the heroes' words into consideration. He’s right, like many times. This child was another one in thousands, they are a school for heroes and frankly, despite his impressive performance, he still has a lot to learn. He just hopes that the child could use this as a wake-up call, if he still aspires to be a hero then there is no reason why he can’t apply again next year.

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Bakugo Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was reading, what the hell, right? Why was the greatest hero school in the world rejecting someone like him? The stupid letter was making bullshit claims about him being out of line or some shit like that. He read the letter:

Dear, Mr. Bakugo Katsuki

Thank you for your response to our letter of acceptance. The Admissions Committee has discussed at length about your prospects for the upcoming academic year. It is with a heavy heart that we send you this letter.

As you know, the Committee takes seriously the qualities of maturity and moral character. After careful consideration, the Committee voted to rescind your admission to UA High School.

We are sorry about the circumstances that have led us to withdraw your admission, and we wish you success in your future academic endeavors and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Nedzu

Principle of UA High School

Bakugo exploded the stupid letter with his quirk, the fuck did they mean about rescinding his acceptance, this was complete and utter bullshit. He was leagues above everyone else with his kickass quirk and smarts. They were making a mistake if they couldn’t see the mistake they were making by rejecting him. This was shitty Deku all over again.

“Deku…” Katsuki growled, letting out a string of explosives from his hands, “it was him, it’s always him. THAT BASTARD!”

Katsuki stormed out of the house, but not before causing his mom to yell at him and him to yell back at the crazy bitch. Every time something wrong happened in his life Deku always had something to do with it. Getting accepted into UA. The sludge villain incident. Mumbling about heroes. That day in the stream. WHO THE HELL DID THAT BASTARD THINK HE IS!?

“DEKU!” Bakugo called from outside Izuku’s apartment, banging on the door, “GET OUT HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

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Unknown to the explosive teen, Izuku wasn’t home that day. It was the weekend and he was off with All Might who wanted to spend time with him for some reason. Izuku had told his mother Inko that he was meeting with a friend, who helped him train for UA which technically wasn’t a lie, but not the entire truth either. It was just luck that he missed Bakugo’s rampage.

Inko, however, was home alone and scared out of her mind. There was someone at her front door banging on it, calling out a name. Inko didn’t see much point in trying to calm down the clearly feral individual at her doorstep, so she called the police.

Inko kept her tears at bay, glad that her son was out right now, who knows what he would have done. He was a sweet boy, so he would have tried to defend her. “Hello, this is the police speaking, what is your emergency?”

“There’s someone trying to break down my door,” Inko whispered trying to keep her voice steady, flinching at every bang at the door. “He keeps calling for someone, and he won’t leave, I’m too scared to tell him he’s got the wrong house, I think he might turn violent.”

“Don’t worry, help is on the way.”

Inko dropped the call. All she could do now is wait and hope the intruder doesn’t have any quirk that might be able to break down the door.

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Back outside Bakugo could feel his anger and frustration rising, the bastard was ignoring him. Who the hell did that Quirkless reject think he was, ignoring him? Not that of it mattered anymore, all his hard work went down the drain when that letter came in. So Bakugo let loose all his power onto the poor door.

A scream was heard, from the inside of the apartment. Glaring through the hole, all the middle schooler saw an empty house, but someone was there, just not Deku.

It was probably just his bitch of a mom. Deku should have been out by now, it didn’t look like he was home. Bakugo kicked the door, he had come here for nothing.

Police sirens echoed from the entrance, along with the sound of rushing footsteps. Bakugo was met with hero rejects of police officers pointing guns at him. “Freeze, don’t move, and drop on your knees kid.”

Bakugo wasn’t stupid, he knew he was in trouble, he lost his cool and stomped to a nerds house. Bakugo went on his knees, there was no way he was going to be some villain in his story. He’ll get out of this and do what he is meant to do, he’ll win this and then everyone will be sorry.

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Tsukauchi couldn’t believe the utter garbage coming out of this kid's mouth. Who the heck did this kid think he is? In what world did causing a public disturbance and threatening a single mother would be grounds for a slap on the wrist? The kid was taking it all cooly or as cooly as he could with his poor attitude.

This kid was angry, but this was an entire level of anger. Thank goodness the person he was looking for wasn’t home, because, from the look in that kid's eyes, Tsukauchi would have been sure that the call would have been more serious. He fears that someone could have been dead in his altercation.

The police were able to take a statement from one Midoriya Inko, who couldn’t for the life of her understand what the boy’s problem was. Inko, however, cared very little, gave her statement and left hoping to put the entire ordeal behind her. Not that the man could blame her, it looked cut and dry to him. Not to mention that the mother had filed a restraining order for Bakugo to stay away from her and her family.

There will be consequences for this, he would make sure of it, not to mention he’s glad that her son had missed the entire encounter. The detective had heard a lot about him from Toshinori and it seemed like a stroke of bad luck that the kid would have had an encounter weeks before the end of the year. The least he could do was tell Toshinori that the kid's mom was alright.

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Bakugo could only stare angrily at the entire thing. He was being treated as a common villain by people who couldn’t even cut it as heroes. He looked to the side at his “counsel”, some lawyer bitch who came in talking about how she would get the charges dropped against him. Before he could even run, her off his mom punched him over the head to shut him up and to accept her damn counsel.

Which is how Bakugo found himself staring face to face with her. A woman with a face so fake that he knew this was an act, she wanted something from him. “So, what do you want bitch?”

She smiled, “My my, what poor manners you have, how are you going to get out of this if you can’t even play the part of a troubled teen?”

“THE HELL YOU SAY!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you a plea deal and then this episode will be behind you.”

“LIKE HELL!”

The lawyer gave him a dead-eyed stare causing him to freeze, he didn’t know what it was all about, but something about her told him to shut up and listen, “I know you were just showing off your power, nothing wrong with that sweeter, but you gotta play the system, if you don’t then you end up here. Let me do all the talking and everything will be okay.”

Bakugo couldn’t help but believe her.

“Now look I’m friends with the judge, he’s going to send you to a special place where you can use your quirk all you want, as long as you don’t get cause everything will be fine, for now though,” the lawyer rummaged through her purse and placed a book in from on the restrained teen, “why don’t you catch up on some light reading.”

When the woman left Bakugo stared at the book reading the title, Meta Liberation War.

#midoriya izuku #katsuki bakugou #my fanfiction #fanfiction #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #villain! bakugo #aizawa shouta #aizawa sensei #deku midoriya #deku #inko #All Might

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dereksmcgrath · 3 years

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This series started with Izuku, whose “legs just started moving” because someone “looked like [they] needed saving” before he realized what he was doing. Thanks to Ochaco, this chapter brings us back to people whose legs started moving because Izuku looked like he needed saving.

“A Young Woman’s Declaration,” My Hero Academia Chapter 324

By Koehi Horikoshi, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by John Hunt

Available from Viz

Spoiler warning for World Heroes’ Mission.

I don’t like how many of my posts lately have included the disclaimer “I don’t give Ochaco Uraraka enough credit.” It gets to a point that I’m protesting too much and exposing some dislike for the character–which is not true, I do like the character–or it’s me struggling to put into words what I like about the character.

She has been a pivotal part to all of My Hero Academia, and I don’t just mean how this chapter reminds us that she was the first new student Izuku met and that she helped him before he fell on his face during qualifying exams. No, what I mean is that, without Ochaco, a lot of where we are in this plot, for good or bad, would not have happened. While other characters have stood out due to some quirk–a personality detail, an eye-catching design, or a literal Quirk–Ochaco’s importance gets overshadowed because, without her, we would not have arrived at some parts of this story.

I need to re-read previous blog posts to appreciate what she provides to My Hero Academia, and part of that challenge is that there is the considerable gap in my reviews following the Sports Festival Arc. So, I haven’t written here about how impressive her character progression has been. We saw her thought process after losing to Bakugo, as she chose to work under Gunhead to increase her combat training, a skill set we have seen applied in ways that advanced the plot–not necessarily in ways that ultimately helped her, seeing as her ability to disable Toga is what gave her the opportunity to imitate her in the License Exam Arc, which then got her access to Izuku’s blood to imitate him in the Shie Hassekai Arc, and what led to Toga finally unlocking the Quirks of others, starting with Ochaco’s, in the Meta Liberation Army Arc.

Look at all of that: it’s because of Ochaco’s presence that all of that happened in one arc.

I’m ambivalent whether there is going to be some satisfying payoff to Ochaco and Toga’s story, as this chapter has the very brief reference to their connection that I don’t think works as well here in a comic book format–one brief panel showing her memory of Toga smiling despite tearing up, that is continuing the awkwardly construction symbolism of smiles in this series (All Might telling people to smile, Shigaraki’s terrifying re-deployment of such smiles for different ends)–but that I hope will play better with timing and an extended pause for Ochaco whenever this story is adapted for the anime.

But what I’m pointing out is how Ochaco has been relevant to moving the plot along. I don’t think the series at any point has really given her a satisfying character development arc since the Sports Festival, largely because that arc wrapped up her development–she wanted to be a hero to support her family, she realizes she needs to be a hero to protect others, she wants to protect Izuku because he’ll protect others, protecting others means that a lot of other people will be saved and not just her family. This chapter tries to approach all of that again by showing us her memories of her parents cheering on a Pro Hero, something we saw recently in the anime when Ochaco and Shinso saved Izuku from the newly emerged Blackwhip Quirk.

But it feels like the plotline of Ochaco’s rise in heroic work has been dangling for so long, and to return to it to, as I have complained before, build her story as one supporting our main protagonist Izuku, still feels like there is a lot left unfinished to really give Ochaco more to do. There is still time to see how this all pans out, as the story is not finished, and I have to suspend judgment until we see whether Izuku can stop All For One and redeem Shigaraki, and whether Ochaco can help Toga after all that the latter went through in a society that suppressed her desires to the point that she lashed out in awful ways. I just hope, after a disappointing beach episode and, honestly, very little for her to do in the three films, that we do see a new plot emerge for Ochaco. At least we’re not stooping to the same “Ochaco has a crush on Izuku” gags, and, yeah, I’m still whining about those.

I had written last time how I had hoped for speeches by Eri, Kota, and the giant bystander to echo Ochaco’s speech. This approach by Horikoshi and company works a lot better. We’ll see Eri again soon, I bet, given her and Monoma’s presence in the previous chapter and Aizawa’s brief cameo in this one. But the flashback to Kota picking out red shoes like Izuku’s, the giant bystander’s brief remarks from the sidelines that the angry crowd could hear, followed by both silently approaching the devastated Izuku on the ground–all of that worked, using images over words to do what comics should.

Speaking of Izuku, I appreciated how raw this chapter was in showing how much pain he is in, mentally and emotionally, not just physically. The crowd seeing how damaged he is physically does invite comparisons to the unmasking elevated train scene in Spider-Man 2 as everyone sees how young he is. And I love that the first bystander that talked to Izuku way back in Chapter 1 is here again, grimly looking at what has happened to this boy he made one passing encouraging comment to. Despite my suspicions still about Nezu–is his expression one of concern at new heroes getting in the way of his plans, or honest appreciation to see Ochaco rise to the occasion and how devastated Izuku has been through all of this–it is a heartwarming ending to this chapter that has been needed. Things are obviously going to get grim again, based on how Hawks, Todoroki, and Endeavor were looking, especially with the League still out there, but this reprieve is as needed as the one Izuku needs to recuperate.

Speaking of Chapter 1, we return to Izuku’s narration that this is the story about how he became the world’s greatest hero. I do think there is a cheat to now reveal that this is the story about how they all became the world’s greatest hero, but I can overlook that trick given what I have said about this franchise, and what it has made obvious for so long: there is no one individual who can save the day, that work depends on collaborative effort. As I said before, All Might’s failure was that he did not work with others, not only in terms of trying to be the Symbol of Peace alone, not only for staying out of contact with Nana’s family, Gran Torino, and Nighteye, but also because he did not use all the Quirks that One for All could have provided to him. Izuku has learned that lesson so fast over one year, that the only way any of us are getting out of national, global, or societal problems is by working together.

Trying to reach agreement with people who disagree with you is hard; it’s even harder when, in Izuku’s world, people are ready to sacrifice Pro Heroes to whoever is ready to kill them, and in our world we have allowed rightwing terrorists to work in our representative government so that anything–guns, theocrats, poverty, COVID–can kill us.

But if there is any optimistic thought I have about what Izuku says, and it may be another cheat by the story, it’s just exactly who “we” is when he says “the story of how we all became the greatest heroes.” The previous images showed the people who saved Izuku: Ochaco, Bakugo, Iida, Tsuyu, Todoroki, Eijiro, and other classmates. But that’s not who appears on the two-page spread when Izuku says “we”: it’s him, Kota, and the giant bystander. I’m not expecting Kota to become a Pro Hero by the end of the manga’s overall story; I don’t expect the unnamed giant to stop being a bystander. But their presence with Izuku shows that the heroes here are not the Pro Heroes but people within a society fixing the problem in front of them.

I’m struggling to put this into words that doesn’t devolve into Captain Hammer singing “Everyone’s a Hero in Their Own Way,” as that song already exposes the emptiness of such platitudes. But like trying to talk about Ochaco, I’m struggling to talk about how this ending just works, as it gives hope that My Hero Academia changes the definition of “hero” from a Pro Hero to someone who runs without realizing it to help someone in need. It’s why it’s kind of weird that this chapter is named after Ochaco, whereas I think this and the last chapter needed to reverse their titles: the last chapter’s title, “That Single Step,” seems more evocative of how this chapter ends, with someone taking steps to run up to Izuku.

#my hero academia #manga review #izuku midoriya #ochaco uraraka #mha spoilers

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saiilorstars · 4 years

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Rise Up

Ch.7: At Odds

Previous Story: It Had To Be You || Current Masterlist

Pairings: Barry Allen x OFC

Chapter Summary: Belén and Barry come to odds with their plans to fight against Zoom for the first time.

Pronunciation of OC: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

[If you’d like to be part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!]

"Just let me go. Let me disappear," Dr. Light pleaded from her prison pod. She probably sounded like a broken record but it didn't matter to her. Ever since the team decided to try to reason with her, all she kept saying was to be freed so she could hide from Zoom. Unfortunately for her, they weren't having it.

"You would spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, never knowing when Zoom is coming," Barry meant to serve as a reminder but all Dr. Light did was shrug. "Okay, how were you supposed to contact him after you killed me?"

"I was supposed to get something... something I could only get if you were dead... and then throw it through the breach as proof," Light explained.

"And then what?"

"Then he'd come for me. Confirm the kill and bring me home," Light exasperatedly sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to find him."

"You really don't," Light said with widened, alarmed eyes.

"He's gonna keep coming for me. He's gonna keep kidnapping people like you, forcing them to do what he wants," Barry shook his head. "I have to stop him before more people die."

"You can't stop Zoom. Okay, everyone on my Earth knows that Zoom wants the Flash from another world," Light shook her head fiercely. "You're not getting away. He has plans."

"Among those is the Siphoner?" Belén walked into the pipeline, throwing Barry a look for his secret meeting with the metahuman.

"It's only a matter of time until she comes," Light warned quietly, her voice indicating she was as much afraid of Datura as she was of Zoom.

"Well too late," Belén crossed her arms, "She's already here." Her revelation seemed to freeze Light in her spot. Fear accumulated in her eyes, making the other two metas almost feel sorry for her.

"You have to let me go!" Light pounded a fist against the pod. "If Datura is here it means Zoom knows I failed. She's going to siphon me or kill me!"

"Then help us take them down before they do any more harm," Barry still tried to reason with her, hoping that her fear would somehow help her see they were her only option now.

But Light refused. "Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work. Because if you somehow manage to escape Zoom's speed, you won't escape Datura's touch. A lot of us have tried and they're dead."

"We'll see," Barry meant it as a challenge.

~ 0 ~

"Zoom wants Doctor Light to send him your new emblem…" Caitlin repeated after hearing the story. It actually made sense in the villain's perspective, but since none of them were villains it just sounded plain crazy.

"Yes. We need it for bait," Barry glanced momentarily at his suit sitting on the display. "If we can get Doctor Light to take my emblem, throw it through the breach, then Zoom will come to collect my body, and we can trap him."

Cisco wasn't happy with that idea. "You know it took a lot of work to make that emblem, right?"

"Am I the only one who remembers that she tried to kill Linda just to escape Zoom?" Caitlin decided to input in case they truly had forgotten that crucial detail.

"Linda sure hasn't," Belén snorted.

"Look, I know we can get her to help us," Barry could almost promise it was the case. "She's rational, she'll see it's the only way."

"Before I left Earth-2, I worked on a serum to dampen Zoom's speed. All we would need is for Ramon to develop a weapon to deliver it," Harry shared.

"Oh, great, that could be this year's cold gun," Belén shot Cisco a warning look that he shouldn't even try it. "Maybe another criminal can get it, and then we'd have Sergeant Slow."

"I would never let that happen. Sergeant Slow is a terrible name," Cisco flatly responded with.

"Are we forgetting how much more powerful than Barry Zoom seems to be?" Caitlin looked at them incredulously. "I mean, if Barry can catch bullets, what's to say Zoom can't catch whatever you shoot at him?"

"Surprise... the element of surprise," Harry laid it out for them. "All we would do is rig a projectile to fire as Zoom crosses into the breach. He can't stop what he can't see coming."

"That's great," Barry was relieved to see that someone was at least following through with the idea.

"Thanks."

Caitlin shook her head. "Joe, voice of reason here?"

"We need a plan," Joe agreed on some level. "That's as good as any. As long as he can deliver."

"Don't underestimate me, Detective," Harry pointed and walked out of the cortex to get started on the task ahead.

Barry's phone went off and when he checked it he saw Patty's name on the ID. "Oh, Patty needs us back at the station," he told Joe.

Joe nodded. "I'll meet you there, all right?"

Barry agreed and took a head start with Belén.

~0~

"Hey," Iris stopped by Belén's desk at work. She put down a coffee for Belén and then took a seat at the edge of Belén's desk. "I didn't know you'd be coming in today."

"Yeah well, since my endeavors to get stronger, I've been neglecting my work," Belén reached for the cup of coffee. "I can't afford to get fired."

Linda came by rather nervously, and Belén knew once again what the reason was for her detour. "Hey. Have you had any word from The Flash about the meta-human that attacked us? Or the other one that got to me? Look at me, I have to keep count on who kidnaps me."

"Linda, I promise you that you'll be safe," Belén sighed. She knew it would take Linda a good amount of time before she could feel normal again, what with Dr. Light and Datura kidnapping her...

"Still...I'd just feel better if I could talk to, um...the Azalea? Or the Flash?"

"Linda, I don't think that's a good idea…"

"It's not that I don't believe you!" Linda exclaimed. "I just...I want answers, Belén. Why does that woman look like me? Knowing there's a metahuman with my face on who likes to nearly kill people makes it really hard for me to concentrate on field goals and doping scandals. And then I've got that new plant meta to think about? I don't want to sit around being told not to worry my pretty little head about it."

Belén acknowledged Linda's feelings and sighed. "I get that. Believe me, I do."

"Then tell the Azalea and Flash that I want to talk to them. I bet you can get the message across to the Flash. Please," Linda said, then added, "Iris says he'll listen to you no matter what because of that crush."

Had it not been because they were in public, Belén would have smacked Iris again for that. It definitely didn't help that Iris was smirking.

"I will...try my best," Belén forced herself to say in one go. Soon as Linda was gone though, she hit Iris on the arm. "I'm going to kill you for ever telling that to Linda."

"Sorry," Iris honestly apologized. "When I did that, I didn't know it was Barry. So really, this is your fault."

"Oh, yeah, my bad!" Belén playfully rolled her eyes.

~0~

After getting word of Dr. Light making a run for it, the group gathered at STAR Labs to figure out what exactly enabled her to do it.

"Doctor Light managed to hack into the lights of her cell. The whole building runs on fiber optics that operate on pulses of light, so she turned off the dampeners and used her powers," Cisco reviewed what he learned from the mechanics.

"And made herself invisible?" Belén glanced at the full costume Light had left behind for them. "That's possible?"

"Apparently," Cisco mumbled.

"I told you how dangerous she was," Harry was beyond mad with them. It wasn't like he had warned them about Light - oh wait, he had. "You should have listened to me and sedated her."

"I thought we would be able to convince her that helping us was the only way she'd free herself from Zoom," Barry argued.

"Well, you thought wrong!"

"Yeah. Okay, look, Doctor Light is gone, so instead of assigning blame, let's try to figure out what we're gonna do next," Joe cut in before they went any further.

"Do you think she's gonna try and take Linda again?" Belén worried over her friend who, at the moment, probably didn't know much.

"I had Iris bring Linda to the house, just in case, to keep an eye on her," Barry informed her to ease her concerns. "How are we doing with the speed-dampener?" he asked the others.

"I think we isolated the composite…" Caitlin began, still sounding unsure with this plan.

"And we're modifying the dart the Arrow used to take down Wells," Cisco added.

Harry was growing close to hitting something if they kept using that line. "He's not Wells. I'm Wells!"

"Whatever, Harry," Cisco sarcastically retorted in a louder voice.

"Okay, but we don't even really know if this thing works?" Joe asked just to be sure he was hearing all this craziness.

"Until we try it, no. This will be a field test, so can we end this scintillating staff meeting and get back to work?" Harry motioned he would at least continue with work while everyone else continued to talk.

"Or how about I say what everybody's thinking?" Joe challenged. "Maybe it's a good thing that Doctor Light is gone. Maybe it's the universe stopping us from doing something really stupid."

Caitlin made an agreeing gesture, and honestly Belén was close to doing the same. They had learned the hard way they couldn't just come up with any old, fast plan against Zoom.

"No. No," Barry said loudly. "Keep going. I'm gonna figure out another way to get Zoom."

"A-are you sure?" Belén had to ask, stopping him before he could leave. "Couldn't we come up with something we could all agree with?"

"We don't have the time," Barry sounded rhetorical. Did no one understand they couldn't have the luxury to sit down like a group and discuss their options? Options that were already little to begin with?

When Barry actually left the room, Belén released a sigh. "We can't just go through without calculating. I'm not the cop, I shouldn't have to tell him this."

"I've got you," Joe promised and went after Barry.

~0~

Later that day, Belén stopped by her childhood home to pick up one of the last boxes she meant to take to her new apartment. As she walked in, she found her mother working at the living room, unbeknownst to Belén it was with the papers Veronica had taken from the precinct earlier in the day.

"Mom, hey," Belén greeted and shut the door.

"Hi," Veronica seemed entranced with whatever she was reading at the moment.

"Where's Axel?" Belén searched for her nephew in the quiet room.

"Oh, out in the garden. What did you need?"

"Just coming to make another trip," Belén left her bag at the side table and walked up behind the couch. "What's all that?" she pointed to the mess of papers on the coffee table.

"Information on some old metahuman cases."

Belén raised an eyebrow at her mother, now noticing there were several manila folders spread around the coffee table. "Why are you looking at old meta cases?"

"Because there's some things not adding up, that's why," Veronica said so matter-of-factly one could believe it was just a casual thing she was doing.

"What?" frowned Belén. "What do you mean?"

Veronica sighed as she raised her gaze from her work. "There are several metas that the cops never found but the Flash and the Azalea did yet there are no arrest papers anywhere. Am I to assume the precinct just let it go?"

"Well, what does it matter? The metas were caught-"

"-what matters is that they were not brought to justice in the correct way," Veronica closed the file on her lap. "Does the CCPD let these super heroes take justice into their own hands? We are the cops. These metahumans should be in Iron Heights. And do you know the most significant thing I've discovered in all these cases?"

"Humor me," sighed Belén, figuring she wouldn't win this argument.

"Every single case has been handled by Joe West, with your boyfriend's signature right along the papers."

"Well...I would deem that normal since Barry is the only CSI at that precinct," Belén tried to be casual, and perhaps a tad sarcastic just to make it sound like she wasn't nervous. "I'd be surprised if he hadn't signed anything."

"These cases all have odd details, Belén. If it's not the fact there's no arrests, it's the fact that Joe's overseeing is everywhere on these cases. Does he only do meta cases that involve the Flash and the Azalea?"

"What?" Belén nervously laughed. "I don't know how case selection works. Do you choose your own case or-"

Veronica raised a hand to stop Belén from going further. "I'm beginning to think there's some secrets at this precinct. I'll have to keep digging."

"But Mom-"

Veronica got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. "Are you staying for dinner? I'll get Axel and we cant try this new recipe I found online..."

Belén didn't listen to her mother in the end. She just kept wondering how complicated this would all get if her mother didn't stay away from meta cases. It could land Veronica into dangerous trouble with the newest metas in the city...as well as causing more conflicts between her and Barry and the Wests.

~0~

When Barry returned home the last thing he was expecting was to have the entire house smelling of a mixture of meals. He spotted Iris standing by the dining room that was filled with said mixture of meals.

"Are you guys having a dinner party?" for a moment he thought maybe he'd missed one of Iris' planned sleepovers.

"You would think," Iris crossed her arms and waited for Linda to return from the kitchen. Seconds later, Linda came by holding yet another pot of food.

"I know, I know. It's just, sometimes cooking helps me to relax," she profusely apologized to them both. She knew she was running them dangerously close to nothing in the pantries. "Have you heard anything about Doctor Light? Or that Datura? Am I still in danger?"

"We're not really sure…" Barry felt bad lying to her but they couldn't tell her much.

"Come on. I'm going crazy here, Barry."

"Yeah, she is," Iris nodded to the table full of meals.

Linda gasped when the oven timer went off. "That's the cake! Hope you're hungry."

"She's not kidding," Iris leaned off the table and started making way for the couch. "There's enough food in there to feed an army."

"She must be terrified," Barry misread the situation.

"Uh, more like furious. Someone nearly died because of this metahuman who so happens to look like her. And then she was used as bait in front of the entire city? I mean, trust me. If Linda had Doctor Light's powers right now…"

Barry suddenly raised his head with an incoming idea.

"What?" Iris recognized that as his thinking face.

"I just, uh, Linda and Light...they're identical. So identical that Light even thought she could fool Zoom. Now we have Light's suit." Barry stopped when Iris said nothing. "You don't even have to say anything, I know. It's a terrible idea."

"Well…" Iris tilted her head. "No, not really. We make Zoom think that Linda is Doctor Light and use her to draw him out."

"It's too dangerous, right?"

Iris would have said yes, but this was something neither could decide. "Let Linda decide. I mean, she's desperate to catch the person with her face who's terrorizing people, and she deserves the chance to help us."

"Okay," Barry smiled and started to tell her how it would work for Linda to help them.

~ 0 ~

Deciding to show up to Linda as the Flash, Linda was given the chance to try and help them set a trap for Zoom. Linda didn't think twice before agreeing to help. The idea was for her to pretend to be Dr. Light and have a fake fight with Barry where she would 'win' and hand over his suit's emblem as proof of his defeat.

"Where are they?" Belén walked into the training room where Linda would shortly be out to practice. She wasn't happy and that was evident as soon as someone saw her face. "I cannot believe - oh hell no." She had stopped beside a couple of cardboard cut outs near Cisco who was on top of a small scaffold. "Cisco, why is there a cut out of me?"

Cisco looked over the rail and grinned. "They're practice targets. Don't worry though, yours aren't the target."

"I was a bit more creeped out on the part where my friend keeps cardboard cut outs of me," Belén crossed her arms.

"It's important to have hobbies," Cisco turned over another cut out he was in the process of hanging. It turned out to be himself holding a camera while striking an odd pose of him sticking his tongue out.

Belén blinked emotionlessly for a second. "I fear for your future wife," she shared and walked away. She spotted Barry with Iris from a distance, the former donning his red suit, and so Belén made a direct beeline for them. "What is going on here!?" she asked them soon as they could hear. "Linda is doing what now!?"

"It's okay-" Iris began when Belén cut her off with a sarcastic 'really'.

"Having our friend who has no powers put herself on the line is not okay in my book!" Belén then glanced at Barry. "And was it really smart of you to show up like that?" she gestured to his appearance. "You outed yourself...ish."

"We don't have time to think of something else," he shrugged. "Besides, it can work, Bells."

"That's my friend," Belén said quietly. "I have known her for years. I can't even think about it if something happened to her because she got caught up in this."

"Hey," Barry took her into a hug, "I won't let that happen. I promise." Belén relaxed a bit but she still wasn't entirely on board with this idea. She felt like Barry was rushing into this without all the connections being made.

"This is ridiculous," they heard Linda coming in. Caitlin walked beside her in the costume that gave her the image of Dr. Light.

"Linda," Belén pulled away from Barry, blinking as she studied the new appearance of their friend.

"Belén, hey," Linda was relieved to see she'd been contacted. While she was comfortable with Iris, she had known Belén far longer and truly trusted her.

"You look...just like Doctor Light," Belén looked Linda over.

"I feel ridiculous," Linda admitted and hugged herself.

"You're fine," Caitlin assured and held out a pair of black gloves. Linda took them rather confused and looked at them for some explanation. "And with these gloves that Cisco rigged up, you'll be able to do what Light does."

"Oh...great," Linda said nervously as she began to put the gloves on.

"I'm gonna go make sure everything's been set up," Caitlin said and headed for the elevated platform where they would be monitoring Linda's practice session. Iris followed behind her, and soon enough went Barry as well.

"Linda, I'm sorry," Belén felt the need to apologize to her friend. However, Linda didn't understand only took a double-take at her in response. "I didn't know that...Flash, was going to pull this. Rest assured I would not have let him."

"What? No!" Linda exclaimed. "I'm glad Iris took me to him. Though I'm a bit surprised that Iris knows him too?" Belén's eyes widened for a moment but Linda, thankfully, went ahead and made her own assumption. "I guess that comes as a perk when you're the daughter's cop, hm?"

"Yes!" Belén didn't think twice in confirming. "Exactly."

Linda smiled and started walking with her towards the platform. She fixed the gloves on her hands and thought to ask whether or not these were pretty safe.

"They should be," Belén glanced at Cisco on the platform. "Right?"

"Totally," Cisco said without thinking.

"Ish," Harry said instead, freezing both women below.

"What?" Belén raised both her eyebrows.

"Well, come on, it's gotta be believable," Cisco tried to reason with them, "so they really do fire and explode things."

"Hm…"

"And you-" Cisco then pointed at Barry, "-are going to have to let her hit you with those blasts when she gets the hang of it."

"Please don't kill him," Belén then mumbled to Linda.

"Okay, the suit can absorb the blasts," Cisco said for her comfort, and probably Barry who wasn't looking so excited either.

"For real or 'ish'?" Belén crossed her arms. "Because let me tell you the difference between those two."

"Okay, you know what? I like to think I can see the bright side of things, okay?" Cisco got snappish with her as well. "Positivity, people," he clapped his hands and went back to work.

Barry gestured to Linda to follow him down the room where Cisco and Joe had set up several cardboard cut outs of themselves. "So just hit the ones of me. Okay?"

Linda nodded. "Got it. Great." She took several steps towards the cutouts, mumbling to herself to get prepared. "Doctor Light…" she took a deep breath and thrust a hand forwards to shoot. Soon as she did, however, she felt the gloves sort of take control and shot relentlessly. "Oh! Oh!" she stumbled back on her feet while the gloves continued shooting. Barry caught her from behind and thankfully put an end to the glove fiasco.

"Uh, you know what? I'm just gonna adjust those a little!" Cisco snatched a nearby screwdriver from the platform and rushed towards Linda who more than terrified now.

"Just...okay, so, um, do the opposite of that, and we'll have it," Barry gave a light pat on Linda's arm, figuring she was probably a little discouraged now.

Later, when Cisco promised that the gloves would not malfunction, they gave it another try. Linda led the way slowly searching for the right cut outs to shoot at. She nearly shot a couple of the 'civilians' but she did manage to shoot some of the right ones.

"Yes!" Linda cheered excitedly after shooting the first right cut out of the Flash. "I did it!" she turned back to her friends. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah!" Barry was equally happy to see her beginning to get the hang of it. The two went to do a high-five but Linda's glove accidentally went off and fired straight at the platform. Poor Cisco was blasted backwards to the floor.

"Oh my God!" Linda gasped. Cisco rolled to his side then sat right up, looking pretty annoyed. "Sorry?"

"She's gonna kill you," Belén quietly said to Barry, meaning all kindness for her friend. "And when she does...I'm going to kill you."

"C'mon…" Barry tried to be optimistic, but everyone else seemed to agree with Belén's perspectives.

After dispatching Linda with Iris, the group met back in the cortex to discuss the day.

"Okay, no offense to Linda, but there is no way she can pull this off," Caitlin honestly didn't mean to sound rude.

"Well, maybe if she didn't scream every time she fired," Cisco shook his head.

"Okay, Linda had a rocky start, but she can pull this off," Barry continued firm, apparently, despite everyone going against it. "I know she can. All right, did you find someplace near breach where we don't have to worry about civilians getting in the way?"

Against his better judgement, Cisco answered him. "Yeah, there's a place by the docks that's usually deserted at night."

"Awesome. Cait, how are we doing with the speed-dampener?"

"My tests indicate that it should work," Caitlin answered rather doubtfully as well.

"It will work," Harry was the only one who seemed to share Barry's persistence in the plan. "I'll tune up Ramon's gloves, make sure they work better."

"Okay great," Barry nodded as the other man started to leave.

"Wait, so we're actually going through with this?" Belén's eyes flickered from one person to the next.

"Yeah, we're doing this," Barry said, confused.

"Uuum…" Belén trailed off waiting to see if he would make the connection but apparently she hadn't been too clear. "We can't! Linda is not ready for this - hell, I don't even think we're ready for whatever plan you have in that big head of yours!"

"Bells, we don't have the time-"

"We need to have the time," Belén snapped. "I went up against Datura on a whim and I got my ass handed to me! Now my friend is going to be out there, risking her life to help us. The least you can do is be truly calculating and have a right plan."

Barry was giving her an incredulous stare for her sudden outburst. He couldn't believe she actually was doing that. Yes, she did make some sense but he made sense too. They didn't have the luxury of time. "We have this-"

"No, we don't," Belén shook her head frantically. "And I'm a little worried, honestly, that you're so hellbent on getting Zoom against everything. I...I can't go through with it." She decided that upon seeing that Barry wasn't exactly going to back down anytime soon. Waving her hands, she signaled she was sticking to her decision and leaving the place.

One would think that would be enough to put Barry straight, but he proved to be severely persistent. Now Joe thought enough was enough, and decided to add onto Belén's thoughts. However he would do it privately.

"I can't believe we're still on this, Barry," Joe gave a deep sigh and crossed his arms once Caitlin and Cisco had left them the cortex.

"Belén will get over it, but this is our only chance to get Zoom," Barry said truthfully. He thought that perhaps Belén was a bit too close to Linda and that's why she wasn't seeing what he was: the perfect chance to get Zoom.

"You saw what happened in there. Linda's not ready," Joe hoped to open his eyes.

"She is," Barry argued. "She's ready enough."

"Why are you pushing this!?"

Barry couldn't believe he was actually going to have this conversation. "What... why do you think? I want to get him!"

"Get who, exactly?"

"Is that a real question?"

"You tell me. I'm... I'm not sure this is even about Zoom, honestly," Joe admitted. "I'm starting to feel like you're still chasing the Reverse Flash."

"Reverse Flash is dead," Barry flatly said, finding no relevance in this.

"Yeah, but after all he did to you, you weren't the one that stopped him."

"We all worked together-"

"Yeah, and Eddie got him in the end," Joe reminded. "I mean, did that make you feel cheated, like you didn't get your revenge, and stopping Zoom is the next best thing?" Barry remained silent and for a moment couldn't look Joe in the eyes. "Belén is right. If you're gonna ask people like Linda to risk their lives, you better be sure of exactly why they're doing it. Otherwise, call it off."

With those words, he left Barry to think.

~ 0 ~

Belén thought nothing would help her distract herself than by working. So, she had thought to continue with her unpacking . And she did that...until she felt her arms would fall off for trying to put together a side table. Thanking the heavens that she had brought along one of her couches already, she plopped down and grabbed her laptop to hopefully continue an article she was meant to turn in by the end of the week. Trying to write proved difficult after spending a good thirty minutes coming up with about three sentences. Her attention, however, was drawn to the jiggling of her door's knob.

Thinking it was perhaps a burglar, Belén stopped her writing and began preparing for a fight.

"Auntie Belén!" Axel, instead, came running in after Veronica opened the door.

For a moment, Belén just stared at her incoming mother, ignoring Axel clutching her waist.

"Hey there, sweetie," Veronica closed the door like nothing and walked in.

"H-how did you get in?" Belén gave a pat to Axel's back. Seeing he was acknowledged, the boy rushed to his grandmother to retrieve his tablet so he could watch his shows.

"Oh, yes, well, Mark stopped by to give me his set," Veronica held up a different key in her hand. "I thought I'd bring it back for you."

"Okay…" Belén still wasn't very comfortable with her mother's presence.

"What's wrong?" Veronica noticed her daughter's odd behavior, despite their earlier disagreement she was pretty sure it wasn't related to her this time.

"Nothing…" Belén answered slowly and took the key from Veronica's hand. "Did...did you need anything?" she took a seat on the couch and grabbed her laptop again.

"I thought we should talk...about earlier…" Veronica took a seat across her daughter, setting her purse beside. Axel silently sat across on the same couch, delving into his tablet.

"Oh, you mean where you went ballistic on me?" Belén stared hard at her screen. "Yeah, no, I totally forgot about that."

Veronica may have thought it was sarcasm but in truth Belén had forgotten about it due to Barry and the Dr. Light situation. "Well I haven't, and I really don't want this to cause another problem between us."

"Well it's a little difficult when you're investigating my boyfriend's adoptive father."

"Not going to argue there," Veronica admitted. "But...Belén I'm a cop. I can't let things go where I don't see logic."

"Mom," Belén sighed. She pursed her lips together, struggling to keep it together all of a sudden. "I accept your apology, I do...but can we not do this right now? I just...I had a day...and I don't want to do anything tonight."

"Belén, what's wrong?" Veronica asked again, this time hoping she would get an answer.

Belén closed her laptop once she realized she would not be writing that night. "Barry and I may have had a disagreement."

"About…?"

"Stuff," Belén left it at that.

"Well that 'stuff' seems to be making your eyes, uh…" Veronica gestured to her own, "...kind of reddish…"

"It's normal stuff," Belén shrugged. "I don't like arguing with him but I had to say something."

"Good for you," Veronica said instantly, showing right approval. "Never swallow down your words for a man, sweetie."

There, Belén found amusement. "Yeah," she gave a slight nod of her head. "Well, I spoke my big mouth...and now I'm here."

Veronica took a moment to look at her daughter, and try to feel the pain Belén felt. With a sigh, she got up from her couch and moved to sit with Belén. "I told you my thoughts and on that man-"

"Yeah, believe me, we both got the idea," Belén sniffled a bit.

"But, if there was one thing that was left clear to me, was that this was something mutual. It's not everyday that a mother is shouted at that her daughter is loved by someone-"

Belén chuckled. "Yeah, believe it or not...he's sort of done that before with our old neighbor Mrs. Andrews."

"Really?" Veronica laughed for a moment. "Maybe you two share big mouths after all."

"Mom," Belén playfully rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I can't seem to understand what you would argue about so suddenly," Veronica admitted. "You don't want to explain?"

It was then that Belén gave her mother a look that Veronica had never seen before. It entailed a mixture of guilt and concern to such a level that for a moment Veronica wondered what this argument was really about.

"It's private," Belén finally said, looking away from her mother.

"Really?" Veronica began to show her doubt and suspicions.

"Yes, um, it's just things between us, you know? Sometimes it's too intimate to tell someone…"

"Mm…" Veronica hummed and raised her head momentarily, apparently thinking, "...so, there isn't anything you want to tell me, then?"

"Mom, I'd really rather not," Belén meant that honestly. She didn't want to think what her mother would say if she discovered that her daughter had been moonlighting as the Azalea, and that her boyfriend was doing the same thing.

"Is 'secrets' something that Barry showed you how to keep?" Veronica got up, confusing Belén as she went on. "Because if he did, then I'm pretty sure he learned that from his pseudo-father Joe West."

"Mom…"

Veronica had crossed to the other couch to retrieve her purse. "If that's the matter then I'll have to take back everything I said about him."

"Mom, what are you-"

"I insist that Joe is covering something up with these meta cases," Veronica said, not raising her voice since Axel was still on the other couch. He was so in-tuned to his tablet he didn't notice their growing disagreements. "No one in this precinct bothered to check where these metahumans were initially being kept in prior to the metahuman compartment being built at Iron Heights. Every metahuman case that was handled was done so by Joe West and Barry Allen and that-"

"Mom-"

"I like knowing where I work, and who I work with. Now you and I can both see that there is something going on in that precinct that no one else has figured out. So I'm going to ask you, Belén, do you know something that I should know? Could this argument you and Barry had possibly be linked to these metahumans?"

Belén looked down for a moment. She knew that lying to her mother about this should have been easy considering this was something important. It was something that could put her mother in danger. But, Belén found it difficult to lie straight to her mother's face. Because right now, all Belén wanted was to tell her mother all her problems she was having. She wanted to tell her mother that someone was targeting her for something dangerous; someone wanted to hurt her. That the same someone had already sent her to get shot, had already fought her and won. Belén wanted to share that her boyfriend was also being targeted for a clear death and she was just scared he might get hurt, or killed.

I need my Mom, she came to the conclusion. That'd been the first time she thought about her mother like that...perhaps because it was the first time Veronica had been available as a mother to Belén...

But Belén couldn't do anything. Because telling Veronica everything would put her in the cross-fires of Zoom and Datura.

"There is nothing I have to say," Belén forced herself to say in one go. She surprisingly held her tears together as she then requested that Veronica leave.

Extremely upset with her daughter lying, Veronica took Axel and hurried out the door. Belén was right behind them and was there to quickly close the door.

"I'm sorry," Belén whispered, closing her eyes as they began to spill tears.

~0~

Heeding some of Joe's words, Barry decided to reveal himself to Linda in order to help both of them out. Linda was already discouraged of her villainous abilities, and seeing the Flash was an actual friend did make her a little more comfortable. It also did help explain some of the oddities surrounding STAR Labs and the Flash. So, she agreed to help him out once more. Dressed as Dr. Light, she took on the role as the Flash's current enemy.

"I'm here to kill you, Flash," she stood tall and mighty across the Flash. "I am loyal to Zoom, so get ready to fry."

Soon as she said those words she knew it was a bad pun.

She shot a ray of light towards Barry but hit a couple of a stockage from the docks instead. Barry whipped a head back and decided to just go with it.

"Ow!" he let himself fall to the ground.

"Gotcha," Linda smirked, although she struggled to stay with a serious face.

"Yeah, you did, real good," Barry pushed himself up.

"Bring it," Linda motioned with a gloved hand.

Barry sped towards her and when Linda shot, she actually managed to get him. Struggling, Barry got past her only to be shot yet again on the back. This time, his fall to the ground was not fake. Linda turned around putting on her best evil smirk.

"Told you, Zoom always wins." She walked towards Barry who had kept himself down. She bent down to take his emblem and found time to whisper to him. "You're okay, right?"

Barry cracked open an eye and whispered back. "Yeah, yeah. I had to make it look good."

Linda straightened up with the emblem in her hand. "Here it is, Zoom, I did what you wanted." She headed to where the open breech was in midair. "Now bring me home." She chucked the emblem into the breech and nervously waited for Zoom to appear.

Wells and Joe waited as well, but hidden in place with weapons hoping to deter Zoom's speed. Barry had to remain 'dead' on the ground but he was more than ready to jump at the chance when Zoom appeared. Everything was in place. Everything.

However, nothing happened. Minutes passed and everything remained silent. It added onto the fear already placed over several of the group.

"Hey, stop fidgeting," Linda hissed when she caught Barry slowly attempting to move his leg.

"Sorry, it's been an hour. I landed in a ridiculous position, and my foot fell asleep," the speedster argued quietly and returned to being 'dead'.

From STAR Labs, Caitlin and Cisco were carefully checking over any security feed from the docks they could find in case Zoom appeared from another unknown breech. "He's probably just waiting to see if you're really dead. Any minute now, he's gonna strike," Cisco said as a means of encouragement.

"No," Barry decided it was just not happening tonight. He sat up with a deep sigh.

"Sorry, I probably screwed up somehow," Linda hung her head, feeling like she had failed them all.

Barry got on his feet and moved over to give her an honest thank you. "No, Linda, you did great. Thank you for helping me."

Linda knew he was disappointed and smiled sadly. She wished there was more that she could do for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Joe and Harry coming out of hiding and the latter loudly kicking anything in his way.

"So Wells ain't taking this well," Joe sarcastically remarked as he met with Barry.

"Mm-hmm…" Barry watched Harry turn in a different direction of the docks, storming and kicking things still.

"How about you?" Joe noticed how unusually quiet Barry was despite the loss of the night.

"Yeah, it just sucks, you know," Barry shrugged, thinking of the entire day's course. "You were right a little bit about this not being just about Zoom... about it being about the Reverse Flash. But not for the reason that you think, not because I didn't beat him." With a sigh, he explained the bit of an old video Joe had yet to know about, that everyone save Belén knew. "It's... Wells... he said something to me on that video before he confessed to my mom's murder. He said that even if he was dead, that he still won because I wasn't happy, that I'd never really be happy."

Joe frowned. It was truly unbelievable how Wells could still manage to screw with them even from beyond the grave. "How the hell would he know?"

Barry shrugged again, thinking logically. "He knew me. He knows future me."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Fine. But that's future you. This is the you here and now."

"I still think that Wells is right. Ever since I went back to that night and I didn't save her... I didn't save my mom, I just... there's just been this void in me. You know, I just feel like that is always gonna be there. For better or worse, Wells...he knew me."

"Better than I know you?" Joe would have laughed had it not been a serious matter. "He may have stalked you for 15 years, but I raised you. Look, Wells said what he said to you to mess with you... to get in your head one last time. If you listen to him, you let him win."

"I know," Barry sighed. And he thought that Wells was already beginning to win. Because of his rushed persistence with this plan, he had gotten into a big argument with Belén. God knows how he would be paying for that one.

"I don't want that. You're responsible for your own happiness, Barry," Joe sincerely hoped Barry would finally begin to listen again. "Forget about Wells. Think hard about what you want and what makes you happy. Go out and get it. Simple as that. All right?"

Barry smiled a bit, giving a small nod of his head. "Yeah."

~ 0 ~

Belén had just finished setting up a small rectangular pot holder for her new Azaleas up on the kitchen window when someone knocked on her door. She dumped the trash then hurried to go open. Her heart skipped a beat when she found Barry standing on the other side. Her first thought was his lack of knowledge of today's events, and for now it seemed like the best.

"You were right," Barry decided to open with that. Perhaps hearing he was admitting she had had a point would soften her up into talking with him.

"Please tell me Linda is okay?" Belén asked in fear. Her first assumption was that his plan went wrong and it got Linda into some serious pain.

"She's fine," Barry promised her. "Zoom...didn't show."

"Oh…" Belén knew that despite her feelings on the matter she didn't like to see Barry so upset either. It was important to him, for good intentions after all. She opened the door more and gestured for Barry to come in. "I'm sorry about that," she honestly said. A good part of her was happy that Zoom didn't show up to terrorize them all, because she knew they were not prepared to fight him yet.

"Thanks," Barry watched her close the door. Sheepishly, Belén crossed the living room, or at least intended to. Barry reached out for her arm and stopped her. "Bells, I'm really sorry. You were right about it all. I knew you were right from the start but I just...I wanted to catch Zoom already."

"Yeah, I think we all saw that," Belén said, mildly playful. "And I get it, believe me I do. I want nothing more than to get Datura...but I just don't like the fact you were willing to go into it all rushed and...fast. This time, we need to be slow and calculating. If Datura was difficult to manage, just imagine what Zoom is like."

"I know," Barry accepted it. "But I have to admit that...it wasn't entirely all about Zoom."

"Then…?" Belén smiled a little as she tried to understand what he meant. "...what was it about?"

"You remember the video Wells left behind as part of his will? Our Wells, I mean."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"He said that I wouldn't ever be happy no matter what. And...and it got to me more than it should have…" Barry ran a hand through his hair, still frustrated it did get to him so much, to this point actually.

"I can't believe you're still giving this dead man the time of the day," Belén said first and sighed. "His words are nothing. They should have gone through one ear-" she pointed to one of his ears, "-and out the other." She then pointed to his other ear. "Ever heard of selective attention? I use it all the time."

Barry smiled knowing this was her playfulness coming out to get them back on track. "Yeah," he nodded.

"You should have said something," Belén touched his arm. "Instead of making a scene in front of our friends, I would have had a very different conversation with you somewhere else."

"Believe me if I'd realized earlier I would have." Barry reached an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers. "I hate arguing with you, Bells, so much."

"Me too," Belén whispered. "I don't like it. It just feels wrong, you know? If that makes sense?"

"Yeah, it does. I don't like knowing that I upset the person that makes me the happiest." Barry gave her a moment to smile before kissing her. And this time, he meant to kiss her in a way that would show her he was truly happy with her despite everything that surrounded them. He walked her up against the nearest wall and kissed her.

Belén let herself be encased in his arms and kissed back until she had to breath, but even then she barely wanted to let go. Barry dragged his lips from hers and set a one kiss on her cheek, then another lower on her jawline, and last on the side of her neck. Afterwards, he nuzzled his nose against her neck, relishing from their moment. This is what made him happy - she made him happy.

"Can we just rest for a while?" his soft tone made it hard for Belén to understand the first time.

She turned her head to the side and met his eyes. "What?"

"The Zoom problem, the Datura problem...I just need one moment of peace...with you," Barry repeated, hoping he made sense without sounding...weird.

Belén brought a hand to rest on his cheek, and just a few seconds after Barry placed his hand over it. "Okay. Let's do that."

She gently pulled him into the hallway and brought him into her bedroom. She wished she could have finished fixing it earlier, but what was done was done. At least she'd gotten the bed. It was an odd thought to just lay down together without doing anything. Usually, they had some movie times or at the very lest were joking with each other about something. Tonight, there was no television. There was no movie. There were no jokes.

And yet, things seemed more...intimate.

Barry was the one to rest his head next to Belén's neck. He eventually scooted closer to her and nuzzled his nose against her neck. Belén moved her arm so that it would rest over his back and she could run her fingers up and down.

It was peaceful.

"We should do this more often," Belén's voice was soft and quiet, perfect for the moment.

"Mhm," Barry had nestled his head closer to the crook of Belén's neck. He didn't want to move anytime soon.

So they continued to lay together, doing nothing except be together. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Half an hour later, both of their phones started vibrating. At first, neither of them wanted to move. Neither wanted to break the nice, peaceful bubble.

But the phones kept vibrating.

"I'm sorry," Belén kissed Barry's hair and sat up so she could answer her phone. Iris was on the other end of the line, and once she was able to speak she said it all in one fast ramble.

Zoom had Linda.

~ 0 ~

STAR Labs' computers were all simultaneously ringing in alarms, indicating there was a new visitor in the area.

"He's on the roof!" Harry shouted soon as he got word from the computer.

"He has Linda," Belén rushed to the desk to see through the security cameras where oh where was Linda. "Is Datura with him!?"

While the question couldn't be answered at once, they had a clear view of Zoom. He had chosen to dangle poor Linda over the roof's edge just as Barry got there. Proving to be the ultimate villain, Zoom dropped Linda like she was a pair of socks. Barry sped down to the ground and, using his whirlwind trick, softened Linda's fall into his arms.

"You need to get out of here, okay?" Barry set her down on her feet.

Linda was beyond terrified. "No, you can't fight that thing. It's a monster! I don't know who's worse, him or that crazy lady!"

"Just go!"

Linda looked up at the roof and thinking that Zoom would come for her again as bait, she ran off as fast as she could.

"What is that thing?" Belén was disgusted by Zoom's appearance despite it being only through a computer screen. She had yet to see the full figure of the speedster but now wished she hadn't. "He cannot be human."

Zoom was pitch black, from head to toe. There was an eerie spark around his figure. One could even say his suit didn't have gloves for hands but instead for claws.

"He is human," Harry was also staring in disgust but in a different tone. "Or was, at least."

"How the hell is Barry supposed to defeat that?" Cisco was thinking of the odds in their favor and they were not looking good.

"Why is he running away?" Harry scowled after they all saw Barry speeding away from Zoom. It looked like even Zoom was a bit confused on it too.

"He's not," Belén shook her head. "He wouldn't. I think we can all agree he's not scared."

A delirious laugh came from Cisco, prompting everyone to look at him. "Ooh, he's gonna thunderbolt him!"

"What?" Harry was left thinking.

"Jay taught him how to throw lightning," Caitlin explained.

Barry returned with a thunder bolt that he threw directly at Zoom. They were all stunned, and horrified, to see Zoom literally grab said thunderbolt and throw it right back at Barry, causing the red speedster to crash against a wall.

"Did he just…?" Belén gaped and glanced at the others just to make sure she hadn't seen things. Even Barry was in disbelief.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked through the comms.

"Uh, see him catch a bolt of lightning with his demonic claws?" Cisco met everyone's looks. "Yeah, saw that."

"Jay was right. He cannot do this alone," Caitlin shook her head.

In their shock, they hadn't even seen Harry go into the side room and come back with his trusty, big gun. "He's not alone," he was busy inputting the syringe into it.

"Barry, maybe this a strategical point where you just run," Belén spoke into the comm. hoping he would listen to her.

"No," Barry, unsurprisingly responded. He had gotten back on his feet and pulled out another syringe carrying the speed-dampener liquid. "I'm gonna see if Wells' speed-dampening serum works."

"Yes, but maybe this is the 'rushed, uncalculating' thing we were talking about earlier?"

Although Barry didn't turn off the communication system, it was almost like he did. He ignored the worries of his girlfriend in an attempt to finally put Zoom down.

"How is Barry gonna match Zoom's speed?" Belén sighed, looking to one of her smarter friends for some reassurance this wouldn't end so bad.

"He's not," Cisco smirked once he had made the realization. "He's gonna take it out of the equation altogether."

Caitlin exchanged a look with Belén, neither one of them in the know. "What are you talking about?" Caitlin then asked.

"Terminal velocity. The highest velocity attainable by a falling object."

"You mean...falling through...the air…?" Belén waved her finger above her head.

"Yeah, freefall fight. Their drag force equals the downward force of gravity, making the net force zero, making…"

"Equal velocities," Caitlin joined Cisco in the end.

"That is genius!" Cisco repeated.

"Is it really?" Belén bit her lip nervously and stared at the computer screen like a hawk.

Following through with Cisco's theory, the two speedsters had made it into the air and as they fell, they tried attacking one another. However, Zoom was the one to put Barry to the ground. Zoom picked him right up and delivered a series of punches that disoriented Barry. The last blow, the strongest of all, was given through the back - through the spine. Barry wasn't sure what he was hearing anymore, nor what he was seeing (it was all mostly blurry) but he was sure he had felt that cracking of bones.

"Never forget, I am the fastest man alive," Zoom declared without a scratch on him to show evidence he'd been in a fight.

"He's killing him!" Belén shouted frantically and turned around, making a run to go and help.

"Woah!" Cisco quickly jumped from his chair to block her way. "You can't go out there! He'll kill you too!"

"Someone has to help him!" Belén tried pushing her way but Cisco kept her there despite her fight. "Cisco!"

"Guys!" Caitlin's loud call made them both stop. They rapidly returned to the desk to see what Caitlin wanted them for. Zoom had injected the speed-dampener into Barry's bloodstream and hadn't stopped there.

"Where did he go!?" Belén slammed a hand on the desk once they lost sight of Zoom and Barry. Even Harry, who'd gone out to help Barry, was struck with confusion.

"I-I don't know," Cisco seemed unable to think of something to help them.

"FIND HIM!" Belén cried. She would've done it herself but she didn't know how the system worked.

Zoom had gone to CC Picture News to make a show of his 'triumph'. In one hand he held an unconscious Barry and addressed the entire staff. "Look at your hero."

Iris nearly had a heart attack. Behind her, cameras started going up and active.

"This man is no god. He is nothing!" Zoom left them with that knowledge and next made a stop at the precinct. "The days of The Flash protecting this city are over."

All of the cops in the area formed a line with aimed guns at the speedster.

"Put him down!" Joe was the one to shout at Zoom.

"Now what will you do without your precious hero?"

"Shoot that thing, now!" Singh gave the order.

All the cops fired until their guns finished their ammo but in the end, Zoom merely dropped all of the bullets to the ground from his palm. "Nice try."

He then sped off again.

~ 0 ~

"I should have gone out there," Belén repeated for the tenth time since Zoom had gone off their radar.

"And then what? Get yourself killed? I don't think so," Cisco remained adamant that he had done the right thing in keeping her inside the place. He was sure that Barry would agree with him.

"But then we wouldn't be in this-" Belén gasped when Zoom sped right into the cortex. "Barry!"

"Harrison Wells, you thought you could defeat me with this?" Zoom lifted Barry's body like it was some rag doll in his possession.

"I made a mistake," Harry admitted truthfully.

"Yes, a costly one."

"Let him go! Let him go right now!" Belén yelled frantically and threw a hand forwards, releasing a vine.

Zoom dropped Barry and sped up to her. Belén gasped with the ugly sight in front of her face, though a good part of it stemmed from fear.

"You are not my fight," he said just a second before Cisco shot a third syringe of the speed-dampener.

Belén stumbled backwards, yelping when Zoom dropped to his knees. Still, he managed to speed out of the place before they could capture him. Soon as he did, Belén ran for Barry's body on the floor.

~ 0 ~

As soon as Joe arrived at STAR Labs after the Zoom fiasco, he went directly for blame. If he thought Harry was suspicious before, now he firmly believed that Harry was at fault for all of it.

"This is all you! If Barry dies, you die!" Joe jabbed a finger on Harry every time he said a word.

"Enough!" Belén walked into the cortex in a hurry with Cisco. Their shouts had carried over down the hallway and, fearing a fight, Belén and Cisco left the workroom to come and stop the two men. "Joe, I get you're angry, believe me I am too, but Harry's got nothing to do with it. Barry wanted to go through with the plan in the end. No one forced him."

Still, Joe cast a menacing glare at Harry who looked more or less unaffected.

Cisco debated whether or not to bring in the mysterious topic he'd learned from Harry, but seeing that Joe was inches away from punching Harry, he decided to go with it. "Who's Jesse?"

It was easy to see that Harry was shocked to know that Cisco had knowledge of the name. "How do... Jesse's my daughter. Zoom has her." Cisco seemed to then be making the connections from his earlier vibe. Harry rushed up to him. "You've...you did vibe me-"

"Yes-"

"What did you see?"

"I saw your daughter. She was with Zoom," as Cisco explained, the others shared mutual surprise - and a bit of understanding - looks.

"But she's alive?" Harry needed to hear proper confirmation that his daughter was still breathing.

"Yes," Cisco said, and he admitted that he did feel a bit of sympathy for Harry. If he was grumpy all the time and had short patience it had to be because he was constantly worrying over his daughter being kidnapped by Zoom.

"Zoom sent you here like the others? You kill The Flash, and you get your daughter back?" demanded Joe, still un-inclined to see Harry in any other light.

"I don't...think he did…" Belén barely got the chance to say when Harry answered and explained his reasons.

"The only way I get my daughter back is I capture Zoom. Do you understand?" Harry tapped the side of his head sarcastically. "You love Barry. I love my daughter. And none of these children are safe as long as Zoom is here. I tried on my Earth to capture him. I failed. I thought I could bring him down here with Barry's help. I was wrong."

"Where are you-" Joe didn't finish on account of Harry storming out of the cortex.

~ 0 ~

When Barry finally came to, he felt his entire body aching in pain. He felt something tight around his neck and took a couple of seconds to realize it was a neckbrace.

"Can you hear me, Barry?" he heard a familiar voice beside him. He found Belén sitting beside his bed, looking so concerned over him. "I've been calling you for a couple of minutes now. Can you hear me?"

"Sorry…" Barry looked around as much as he could and saw it was broad daylight through the windows.

Belén followed his gaze and sighed. "You were out-cold for the entire night. Cait said it was normal, for you anyways…"

"How bad is it?" Barry could see a couple of bruises on his arms and he was sure there were more to discover once he could get rid of the neck brace. But even now, his body still hurt to the point he'd rather not move.

"Well, Caitlin said if you didn't heal fast it would be truly bad," Belén felt relief knowing this situation wouldn't last long for him.

"And...Linda?"

"She's fine. She told Iris and me that she was going to stay with some friends out in Coast City," Belén sighed. "I think after everything that's happened to her it's the best thing she can do."

"...Zoom?"

Belén's eyes lowered. "Um...let's...let's give that some time." When she looked at him again she had plastered a fake, cheery expression for him. "Caitlin says that in a couple of days you'll be able to try and walk and run again." She touched one of his legs with a small smile. "But you're gonna have to be patient. And don't worry, I have a lot of movies we can watch. Maybe we can try to just rest together again?"

Barry smiled, though tired, because the way in which she had asked made her look adorable. He needed that right now. "I'd like that."

Belén's smile widened. She ran her hand up and down his leg. "But you'll be patient, okay?"

Before Barry could answer, he thought of something. He realized that in all this time he hadn't felt her touch. Her fingers running down his leg...he didn't feel it. Thinking perhaps it was just the medication that was affecting his mind, he tried sitting up to check for himself.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no, you have to stay put!" Belén assumed he would try to get back in the running game before he could.

"No, Bells, I...I didn't feel your hand…"

"What-"

"I can't feel my legs!" Barry frantically yelled, leading Belén to call for their friends.

~ 0 ~

"It's about time you showed up," Wells heard soon as he put one foot into the alleyway he'd been appointed to.

Datura's heels clicked against the cement underneath but she still walked in a graceful manner to meet with Wells. "I was doing my errands." Her sarcasm was met with rolling eyes. "C'mon, you can at least say you like where we're meeting," she gestured to the alley, "It's where I made my first Earth 1 kill a few days ago. What was her name?"

Harry dismissed her smugness and went straight to business. "The hell did you want me for? Can I expect Zoom to make another appearance?"

Datura smirked, almost laughing since she knew exactly what happened. "He really knows how to make an entrance, doesn't he? But that's not why I'm here now. I need you to retrieve something for me," Datura said, losing her sarcasm when it came to her brewing idea.

Of course that idea, whilst unknown to Harry, was one that would require him to further betray the STAR Labs team. "What do you need?" he finally asked.

"It's simple. I need Belén's suit tracker." Datura raised her head the moment Harry's eyes widened. She was already tall, but this was one of her ways to feel in control. And unfortunately for Harry, she was in control.

"Why do you need that!?"

Datura's red lips curled into an evil smirk. "That's for you and the others to find out later - soon, if all my errands go well."

"I...I can't do that-" Harry attempted to argue but Datura raised a finger to stop him.

"Don't say no to me. No one says no to me," she said darkly, bringing one gloved hand to the air. Electricity crackled around it for a few seconds before it was fired at the dumpster just behind Harry. The man jumped to the side to avoid getting hit then wildly blinked at her. She, however, remained completely at ease. "It's not a difficult mission, Wells. All you have to do is take the damn device and bring it to me. I'd let you keep it but I don't trust you not to hand it back to the others."

"What do you need it for!?" Harry still demanded some type of answer from her.

"For an idea, I've said this already," she playfully rolled her eyes.

"I can't take that from her suit!"

"Well, I'd ask you to take it from Barry's suit but he's on another level. I'll take care of him when the time comes." Her resurfaced evil smile gave Harry the chills.

"I thought he was all Zoom's..."

"He is, but it doesn't mean I can't have my own fun. Besides," Datura put her hands behind her back as she took a couple steps forwards, "He's not my target. He's really just a bonus for me - to get to Belén, I need him on the side. And to do that, I need Belén's suit tracker. It's really a whole-" she made hand gestures in the air, "-cycle thing that only I understand, but..." she drew in a deep breath and put on a sweet smile, "...it's all good. I get it. So-" she came to stand right in front of Harry, her sweet smile gone and replaced with seriousness, "-get me the suit tracker by tonight or I'll get it myself and I won't care who gets in my way."

Harry honestly felt like shooting her right there and then...but he was out of weapons...and he was short one daughter. "Fine."

#ocappreciation #arrowverseocs #the flash #barry allen #fd: the flash #barry allen imagines #barry allen fic #the flash imagines #the flash fics #oc: Belén Palayta #oc: Belen Palayta #oc: the azalea #fic: rise up

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promptis-imagines · 4 years

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How about Promptis go on their first ever date at an arcade or a fair and they're both nervous at first. They relax after a nice chat and some junk food and Noct notices a giant chocobo plush at a stall/prize counter and tries to win it for Prompto

nananasonatra: Noctis taking Prom on a summer carnival date. They both act like teenagers in love and at the end of the night they ride the Ferris wheel .Noctis bribes the operator to make them stop ontop .Sorry my heads fried in this heat lol

yes this is exactly what I need. You two have galaxy brains. So I will combine them: first date to the fair complete with shitty carnival games and a ferris wheel extravaganza

They are both very obnoxiously awkward. Prompto can’t stop talking even when he desperately wants to shut up. Noctis is having a hard time speaking at all. They went to the fair because hey, it’s in town! Surely that’s gotta be cheesy and fun. Thing is, both of them are too shy to admit that they love cheesy things (even tho they literally...are going on a date there. They’re doing their best). It’s the way there and the getting tickets where they’re still acting the nervous couple bit, but once they feel the adrenaline of a rollercoaster and stock up on junk food (a horrible choice before going on more rides), they start to loosen up and laugh off the nerves.

Also I can just...picture that scene. So vividly.

The sky was growing darker by the minute, which was only accentuated by the carnival lights dotting the view. Most of the rickety rides had been conquered, though not without a fair share of screaming on the couple’s part, so the tired boys decided to take a break for snacks before taking on the rest of the event.

Okay, maybe calling them “snacks” was a bit of an understatement. Two orders of fried oreos, an entire funnel cake, some wildly-oversized corndogs, and a large lemonade. They might have forgotten to grab dinner before the fair in their nervous endeavors, and nothing was healthy at the fair.

Sitting on that bench, laughing and munching on their food, any hint of awkwardness or fear was left behind in some gross seat of a rollercoaster car. Well and truly, this was a real date.

There was only a bit left of the funnel cake in the end. Prompto heaved a sigh, shoving the plate onto Noctis’ lap while his head flopped onto his shoulder. “You eat it,” he murmured.

Noctis pouted. “No, you.” The plate was passed back.

“Noooo, I’m so done, dude,” Prompto whined. “Just take one for the team.”

That earned a snort from Noctis. “What team? And why do we have to finish it?” he questioned.

Prompto paused, then sat up straight again. “I dunno. Feels wrong to just throw it away?” he reasoned. Especially considering that Noctis was the one who paid for all of it. He would feel bad, prince or not.

Noctis lightly bumped him with his shoulder. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s the last thing we have, and I’d rather toss it than have either one of us get sick before our date is over.”

He couldn’t lie, Prompto’s stomach still erupted with butterflies at legitimately hearing Noctis say they were on a date. He’d been dreaming of this for so long that he’d chalked up his hopes to wishful thinking. But no, they were here, and they were having a good time. It was enough to make him grin. “Fine, fine. Throw it away, and we can walk around for a while before hitting something that could make us lose all that food we just ate,” he conceded.

“Right.”

The two of them hauled their trash to the nearest trash can, and Prompto had to laugh at just how much powdered sugar had attached itself to Noctis’ all-black clothing. “Y’know, I applaud your choices to start wearing white,” he teased, making Noctis look down at his shirt.

“Oh, come on,” Noctis grumbled.

Prompto ran his hands along the worst parts. “No worries, I got you.” It only took a few seconds more for him to note how low the powder had gotten. “Um...”

Noctis huffed a laugh, getting the rest off. “You’ve got some on you, too.”

“I do?” Prompto asked with a confused expression. “Could’ve sworn I dusted myself off, already. Where’s it at?” he rambled, hoping he didn’t look like a mess.

“Hm, right here.” Suddenly, Noctis’ hand was on his cheek, his warm lips pressed gently to Prompto’s in a kiss that lasted all of three seconds. Nonetheless, his cheeks were absolutely burning afterwards.

When they parted, it appeared that he wasn’t the only one. Noctis’ cheeks were dusted a soft shade of pink, though it was hard to see under the harsh lighting around them.

It took a moment for either of them to say anything. “Did...you get it off?”

Noctis’ lips turned up in a faint smile. “Think so.”

Now it was Prompto’s turn to smile. “Cool. Thanks. What would I do without you?” he joked.

“Dunno. Have powdered sugar all over your face?” Noctis returned teasingly.

“All over? You saying I’ve got more on me?”

Noctis hummed in thought, once again brushing his fingers along Prompto’s cheek. “Nope, got it all,” he confirmed.

An eye-roll from Prompto. “Dork. Let’s move away from the trash can, yeah?”

The two headed back into the bustle of the fair, hand in hand without Prompto even realizing they'd reached for each other. It made him giddy all over again.

Before long, they stopped. A long row of carnie games sprawled out before them, vendors shouting for patrons to step up and take their chances. Stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes were presented along every surface, and it was a safe bet to assume they’d been waiting to be claimed for far longer than necessary.

Prompto looked over to his date. “Got something in your sights?” he questioned.

That got Noctis tugging him towards a nearby stall. “Does a giant chocobo sound good? I’ll try to win it for you,” he stated, all the determination in the world lighting up his eyes. It was rare to see Noctis this enthusiastic about something. Gods, it was cute.

Still, Prompto couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. The thing Noctis had pointed out was giant, which also meant that it was going to be near impossible to get. “I mean, it sounds great, Noct,” he started, leaning against Noctis’ shoulder. “But I’m not gonna get my hopes up.”

Noctis knocked his head against Prompto’s. “What, don’t believe in me?” he returned in mock-offense.

“Oh, c’mon, you know these things are rigged,” Prompto reasoned. “Plus, this is a shooting game. One, that’s even more rigged. Two, we should both know by now that I'm the better marksman out of the two of us."

His boasting earned him a scoff from Noctis. "While I might cave and admit that, it doesn't mean that I'm bad at it. Have a little faith," he requested, giving Prompto's hand a light squeeze. Without waiting for a response, he was off towards the unattainable holy grail of stuffed animals. Oh, to be the carnie that got to proctor this little event in history.

Watching with an air of amusement, Prompto leaned on his elbows over the counter. "Heya! What's the requirements for getting that Behemoth up there?" he asked, gesturing to the comically large bird in question.

The carnie's polished grin focused on him. "Well, buddy, it's fairly simple!" he chirped. "All you've gotta do is shoot at those little targets that are moving across the planks." He made a grand gesture towards the back wall, which sported plenty of painted wooden ducks with red and white targets on their sides meandering in a single file. "Each duckie has a different number on the back. Shoot as many as you can before the time runs out, and your score will be tallied afterwards. Get over fifty points, and the chocobo is all yours. But watch out! Some of the ducks are hiding negative numbers that will reduce your score. So, care to test your skills?"

His speech had sounded so trained and NPC-like, Prompto had to laugh. "No, not me. But this guy wants to give it a go." He tugged on Noctis' sleeve, a grin of pride bright on his face. Noctis, on the other hand, had lost some of that brazen confidence in his expression.

It was always funny to watch people's eyes go wide. "O-Oh, Prince Noctis! Er, that is you, isn't it?"

"Nah, but I get that a lot," Noctis replied nonchalantly, rolling his shoulders in preparation. "Just a guy trying to win a chocobo for his boyfriend. Can I start?"

The man, seemingly recovered, nodded with his previous vigor. "Of course! Here is your weapon, good sir." After ducking down to grab one of the dingy guns from under the counter, he handed it over. "The timer starts when you first shoot."

Prompto cast a smirk at his boyfriend. "Let's see what you got, sharpshooter," he teased.

Noctis took aim. "Oh, hush. I'm doing this for you."

After a quick "Good luck!" from the man behind the counter, Noctis started the timer with a pop from the toy gun. One duck down, who knew how many more to go.

"Wohoo, got one!" Prompto exclaimed, beaming at a smug-looking Noctis. "Think you can keep it up?"

Still keeping his eyes on the targets, Noctis gave a little nod. "You bet I will. I've got someone to impress," he replied before knocking another off of the shelf.

Prompto snorted, slumping more over the counter. "You say that like you're on a date," he continued.

Another duck toppled. "And what if I am?"

That earned a dramatized gasp from Prompto. "Are you, now? Didn't know you had it in you to snatch a date. Always thought you were too shy." The mocking edge to his words were light, and he couldn't hide the slight giggling that followed. The next few shots hit the wall. He poked Noctis in the shoulder before wrapping an arm around his middle. "Trying to win him something?"

Noctis gave him a knowing glance. "I would be, if he wasn't doing stuff to distract me. Don't be disappointed when I can't get the prize for you," he warned, getting another target down.

Prompto leaned in to press a kiss to Noctis' cheek. "A good marksman should be able to work well under pressure." Still, deciding that he'd messed with him enough, Prompto let go and returned to being an encouraging spectator.

As the timer drew nearer to zero and the little duckies came crashing down, Prompto did have to admit that he was impressed. Especially considering the hindrance that was a rickety carnival gun, the sizeable amount of targets Noctis had managed to hit was most likely more than the average. Though he hadn't expected much of a reward from this mess, part of him was thinking he might be going home with a giant stuffed chocobo.

When the timer sounded, the carnie bounced back to life. "Aaalrighty, let's see how you did!" he said in his merry speech. He collected the last few fallen ducks, then laid them face up on the counter in front of them.

"Sweet, let's count 'em up!" Prompto was grinning as he began to turn over the targets. "Noct, count with me. This one's five," he stated, "and then eight, and…damn, negative six." Oh well, there were plenty more to bring the score up.

Noctis continued flipping over the next few. "Hey, got a fifteen," he boasted, shoving it over to the counted pile.

"Aw, so proud."

The scores varied for the rest of the ducks, some on the smaller or negative sides, presumably to keep the prizes from all being taken. Still, Noctis had gotten a few of the higher numbered ones. With one left to check, he had reached a whopping forty-five. Prompto was tingling with excitement; that chocobo was as good as won.

The last one stared them down with its chipped paint and bright, ducky smile. "You want to do the last one?" Noctis offered.

With a nod and bated breath, Prompto turned over the last one to add the number….

"Negative twenty?" he cried. "Why is that even in here!" Noctis groaned as well, and the two boys slumped against each other in defeat.

The man behind the counter drew up an apologetic smile. "Sorry, fellas, luck of the duck. But you still get to choose from one of the smaller prizes!"

He gestured to the side wall that sported the rest of this booth's treasures. They were way smaller than the grand prizes, more hug-to-your-chest size, but they were still something.

Noctis nudged Prompto's shoulder. "Go ahead and pick one."

"Mh-hm." Prompto's eyes flitted over the options: stuffed dogs and coeurls, moogles, various fruits for some reason, and a mini version of that giant chocobo above their heads. "Not to be predictable, but I do want the chocobo," he decided. So what if he consistently chose them? They were his favorites!

As it was being retrieved, Prompto turned to Noctis with a bright smile. "By the way, good job, dude."

Noctis shrugged, a light mix of embarrassment and pride in his face. "I would've won if it had just been about knocking them over," he reasoned.

Prompto chuckled. "Sure would've. They weren't ready for you," he teased.

"Here you are, sir." Holding it in his hands, Prompto decided that this was officially the best first date ever. How cool was it that his boyfriend won him something at a shitty carnival game?

They ventured back into the crowds, a bit dissuaded from trying any of the other booths for now. The chocobo plush was held securely with one arm while his other hand held fast to Noctis'. Now there was just the matter of deciding what else to do before calling it a night.

"Got any ideas what to do next?" Prompto questioned.

Noctis pursed his lips, doing a quick glance around. "Well, I think we already went on all of the rollercoasters, and you're not putting me back on that drop thing," he said definitively.

That drew a laugh from Prompto. "I half expected you to warp right off of that thing, by the way," he commented. "But fine, something else. How about…." He trailed off, rubbing his thumb along Noctis' hand. "Oh! We haven't done the ferris wheel yet."

What other way was there to end a night at the fair than being sappy while overlooking part of the city from the top of a rickety ferris wheel? Prompto hoped he wasn't coming across as too sappy, though; it was embarrassing, but he really did enjoy those dumb romantic fantasies. Even after being asked out, he was still worried that Noctis might laugh at him for wanting to do cheesy romantic things. Noctis just didn't seem like the type to enjoy that. He knew he was probably being ridiculous, but that didn't dispel the doubt in the back of his mind.

Thankfully, Noctis gave a casual shrug and nodded. "Sounds good to me. We can hit the ferris wheel and then head out for the night," he said.

Relief flooded back into Prompto's lungs, and before long, they were speeding up towards bright lights of the their last ride. Giggling, the two kept it up until they were running and dodging people in the crowd to get there first. Nevermind that they were still holding hands.

The pair stumbled to a breathless halt at the entrance gates, turning to each other with a full-out laugh. Prompto still had his chocobo clasped tightly between his arm and chest.

"After you," Noctis said, finally letting go of his hand to gesture to the open gate.

Prompto landed a playful punch to Noctis' shoulder as he walked past. "Really acting like a prince today, huh?"

"What, I don't normally?"

"Gonna have to give a no to that one, bud."

"Rude."

The worker got them situated in the seat, Prompto first. Noctis lagged behind slightly, turning to the lady in charge before climbing in next to his boyfriend.

Once they were snugly hip to hip, Noctis sighed. "How old do you think this ride even is?" he asked.

Prompto looked up. "Proooobably pretty old," he reasoned. "But I'm sure it's fine. They have, like, inspections and stuff, right?"

Noctis huffed a little laugh. "Hope so. If something does happen, I'll just grab you and warp off of this thing."

"My hero," Prompto teased. Though, as they began their ascent up and around the ferris wheel, the idea that it might break down did start to creep into his mind. A jarring bump halfway there didn't help one bit.

He pressed closer to Noctis' side just as he did the same. Prompto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the feeling of being close to him soothe him. The warmth they shared was a nice defense against the cold winds, too.

A tiny smile formed on his face when he felt Noctis nuzzle slightly into his hair. "Sorry I couldn't get you the giant chocobo," he heard him murmur.

Prompto gave a slight shake of his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. This one's just as cute. And it's travel sized." He gave the toy a squeeze. Honestly, he was thrilled to have a gift from him in the first place. It was a silly little thing, but it made his heart swell in a way he thought he'd never feel.

As they completed the first rotation of the wheel, Prompto decided to look around more at the fair below. By now the sky was completely dark, making the colorful lights shine brighter. Laughter and shrieks of children reached even where they were up high. He even saw someone drop their cotton candy in a puddle, which he pointed out to Noctis so they could both grimace at the sight.

All of a sudden, they were stuttered to a halt at the top of the wheel. Prompto swung his leg a bit and laughed. "Welp, looks like we're up here forever," he joked.

Noctis snorted. "We'd better not be. I'm not sleeping on a ferris wheel."

"That's your problem with it?" Prompto laughed, making the seat sway slightly.

"There's other issues with living on a ferris wheel for the rest of my life. That one just came to mind first," Noctis said in his defense.

Prompto's laughter continued while he squeezed the stuffed chocobo to keep from dropping it. "Yeah, okay. Sleep is always your first thought."

"Don't judge."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Being stuck at the top really wasn't so bad. They could see everything, and it was just the two of them, despite there being hundreds of people around. It was as if they'd been brought up just to be alone for a few minutes.

A hand rested atop his thigh, and Prompto turned to face his date. And gods, did he look so good with the lights of the city behind him. Noctis' dark hair made him a silhouette, though his features were close enough to make out. His cool gray eyes had a soft shine to them, and he was looking at Prompto in a way that stole his breath. He had to be the luckiest guy in Eos right now.

Noctis quirked a small smile. "Is it…too cheesy if I ask for a kiss right now?"

Prompto paused, then cracked a smile as well. "Very cheesy. Do it," he replied.

"Then can I kiss you at the top of the ferris wheel?"

Without speaking, Prompto slid a hand along the side of Noctis' neck and pulled him in. His lips were tinged with slight cold, but they felt soft as they touched Prompto's. And just like that, they were sharing one of those dumb movie kisses on their first date at the fair. The thought made Prompto's smile grow as he leaned in more.

Once they pulled away, there were a few moments of silence between them. Then the ride began to move again, starting through one more loop before they would be let off.

Prompto couldn't hold back another little laugh. "Good way to end that?"

"Definitely," Noctis said, looking equally relieved and happy. "Now we can't say anything else for the rest of the time so we don't ruin it."

That earned a shoulder punch from Prompto. "Oh, shut up."

"See, like that."

Prompto grinned, taking Noctis' hand in his. "Too bad you're stuck with me, then," he retorted.

Noctis smiled back. "What a shame."

#I finally finished it lakfjagahgkjdk #this took me forever I am sorry #y'all be like: give me the tooth rotting fluff #and I try to provide #promptis #ask #thedarkrose17 #nananasonatra #answered

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ofravensandgenesis · 4 years

Text

Meme Tag Games!

Thank you for all the lovely tags!! :D <3 This is quite belated but between some health happenings, the weather deciding to turn the thermostat way up (and the house AC went out), and other stuff, I got swamped for a while there. Here we are now though! :D Tagging anyone who wants to jump in on any of these, namely FC5 GFH tag game; OC Fighting Style; and WIP Day. Continued below the cut because this got long:

FC5 Guns For Hire Meme Game

Tagged by @chyrstis and @amistrio for the FC5 GFH meme, thank you for the tag!! :D <3 We have full length responses with some banter with the human GFH in particular here. I was kind of stumped with how to answer this for Joshua in what he might say as a GFH since his verse is very tailored for him being the Deputy and all the psychic shenanigans. Eventually I got over that and this is basically an AU where there’s another (unnamed here) Deputy who IS slated to be The Deputy that Joshua is trying to help (and convince to do less murder) to explain how he fits into a verse as a Gun For Hire. Psychic shenanigans still happen in this AU of an AU ofc, just it’s perhaps less prominent. We’re skipping over possible musings of relevant sidequests for Joshua relating to the Seeds in this for the sake of time, though I acknowledge that it’s something to explore, likely would impact the endgame with the Heralds, cult, and Joseph depending on the Deputy’s choices of doing a Kill or No-kill run. This verse also assumes that Joshua, the Deputy, Whitehorse, Pratt, and Hudson all got away or were not present for the helicopter crash. Other characters minor and otherwise who are alive in Joshua’s main fic verse ACABH are the same as in that story thus far, such as Rae-Rae and Ryan being alive. We’ll also presume the Seeds are all still alive at the time of these dialogue lines.

Deputy Joshua Raguel Rook

(All images used were public domain and/or labeled free for reuse under creative commons license. Above image was sourced from [here.]) With Fangs for Hire

Boomer: “Hey there boy, how’re you feeling today? Got some venison strips saved for you, you eating enough with all this running around?” [cue more small talk and praise for Boomer about how Boomer’s doing such a good job and Joshua feeding Boomer bits of cooked meat. Will likely sing snatches of cheery dog-themed songs he’s heard when in the party with Boomer and there’s no enemies nearby.]

Peaches: “...I hope that’s not people-meat in your teeth, Peaches, you know how Miss Mable feels about that, it’s bad for your health. I’m also not quite brave enough to want to brush your teeth—though maybe Dr. Lindsey or Wade can offer advice on that. We’ll get you some nice fish instead, that’s a good kitty.” [He’s a bit more shy around Peaches than Boomer bc cougar, but an effort at friendliness will be made.]

Cheeseburger: “...that is one big bear. He’s a sweetheart though. Just...hoping he doesn’t make a mistake of who he’s barreling into. It’s not like we’re wearing team colors or anything.” [Cheeseburger is a sweetie and Joshua likes him, but also: bear. Joshua’s a bit wary around him, but will still feed Cheeseburger salmon when able. May crack a joke paralleling Cheeseburger going “Only You Can Prevent Cult Gun Fire.” Will not crack this joke after any Jacob-region events though.]

With Other Guns for Hire:

Sharky

Sharky: So amibro, I was thinking, you know how those Angels are all dead in the head and stuff? How are they still shuffling around, is the Bliss like a zombie plant or something? Joshua: ...no, that’s more in line with the aliens that Larry keeps going on about I’m sure. Something about brainmelting and bendy straws, I got lost when he started mentioning Navier-Stokes equations for how the...resulting brain juice would be redirected. [Shuddery noise of disgust.] I’m not sure if he’s serious or just fucking with me and referencing Guy’s zombie movie series at this point. Could be either or. The Bliss is more like...like...uh. Like if you lost the keys to your car, but the car’s your body. You get me? Sharky: Damn, remind me never to OD on the stuff, I lose the keys to my car all the time. Sometimes I can’t be bothered to find em and just jiggle the lock so I can hop on in to hotwire the car because I’m in a hurry, you know? Ladies love a man who’s good with his hands, and who’s good with time and can improvise. You think that’d work on the Bliss car keys? Joshua: Maybe? Not everyone seems to be as readily lost to the Bliss at the same amounts. Personally I’d wager you’d be able to find your way back to your body no matter where you were in the bliss if we stood you near a signal fire. Sharky: This is why we’re friends man! Ride or die! ...also can you help me find my keys with that trick of yours, I lost ‘em again. Joshua: Yeah, though did you check under your bed? Also, maybe hang your regular set and a spare set of keys on a hook by the door so you can always find them, just in case you’re in a hurry.

Hurk

Joshua: Hurk. [Said in a Mild, Judgmental Voice of Impending Doom From A Friend kind of tone.] Hurk: Hey man I didn’t do nothin’ to deserve that tone of voice now don’t you start on me. Joshua: How can you say that when you and Sharky went and invented zipline grenade-golf without me last night? And blew up part of the mini-YES-sign. Hurk: Oh man you were talking up Lindsey and with the way the two of you were smiling and laughing, we figured you might be getting lucky so like the proper supportive wingmen me and Sharky were, we left you gentlemen some of our finest booze and sticky green. You did find it didn’t you, I’d hate to waste the gifts of the beneficent Monkey God from above as He Who Likes To Par-tay Above And Here Below On This Earth did command me never to waste beer or the good kush and to always help a brother out who’s trying to hook it up with their fine persons of choice. Joshua: Hurk I’m not— [sighs in accepting and fond exasperation.] It’s not like that with me and Charles— Hurk: Ooooooooooooo, you’re on a first name basis already! I knew you had it in you! Get it man, get it good! I’m not into that, you know I like the ladies strictly, but I will support your endeavors no matter the sex of your fellow party-goer as leader of Hurk Gate and the Bro-iest of Bros. Joshua: Hurk oh my god, I’m not trying to sleep with or romance him. I’m—he’s not looking for that, at least not with me certainly, and I—...just, thanks. I still have most of the beer and weed leftover if you and Sharky are up for graffiting one of John’s billboard signs though. You in? Hurk: Hell yeah man, and oo, you did get some then, Josh you sly dog! Joshua: I DID NOT! [Meta-clarification: Joshua indeed did not, for reasons to be revealed at a later time in the main fic.]

Sharky, Hurk, and Joshua, if one bends the mechanics so they are all in the party together at the same time:

Sharky: Pfhahahahaha oh man did you see the look on those Peggies’s faces when we came just crashing down the mountainside in that burning car? It was priceless!

Joshua: What better way to set fire to mass amounts of Bliss fields than with a moving fireball? Sharky: I know man it was great! We didn’t get too singed or nothin’! We gotta try that burning trash-ball idea next time though, like building a snowman but with fire! A fireman! Ha! That was the easiest fifty bucks of my life, cuz. Joshua: Hold up a tick now, what. Hurk: Sharky man that’s against the betting code! You’re not supposed to tell! Joshua: Oh, you cheeky bastards were betting on if Sharky could convince me to drive the car down the hill, weren’t you. Hurk: Man it’s always a crap shoot with you, specially around cars. That’s what makes it fun, sometimes you get all “guys that’s not safe,” [said with a poor imitation of Joshua’s voice complete with a very terrible southern, Georgian-style accent before Hurk switches to his normal speaking voice to continue,] —and other times it’s just “hold my beer.” You’re not going to go all prim and proper on us now are ya? Joshua: I can’t believe you two. Gambling in Hope County, I’m shocked, shocked. Sharky you owe me half, I’ll buy you a beer first round. Sharky: Hell yeah man! Hurk: Wait a second did you two just con me? I’ve been robbed! Police! Joshua: Hurk I *am* the police, one of them present at least. Hurk: Oh shit son, you right. Help I’m being oppressed by the system!

Nick Rye

[This conversation happens after Seed Ranch has been taken, along with the AU detail of capturing John’s plane Affirmation at the same time, preferably early on, while John is still alive.] Nick: Hey Joshua I was talking to Sharky— Joshua: Oh no. Nick: And he had an idea that wasn’t half bad. Not a good one, and you’d be liable to get killed or captured, but I got stuck thinking on it and wanted to ask: What d’you think would happen if you dressed up like the Father and just pulled a whole Mission: Impossible face-a-roo switch? You can do that imitation of how he speaks and everything, I’ve heard you do it before. And with how high the Peggies are most of the time, they’re so far out of their gourds they wouldn’t notice the differences. Joshua: You mean aside from his brothers and sister noticing he’s suddenly an inch shorter, twenty years younger and the wrong brand of crazy? Nick: Just go off about there being an edit to God’s Plan or something, and you could get makeup or something going on with that age thing. People do all kinds of wizardry with foundation and stuff, though you’d have to ask someone else on that. Maybe Addie or someone she knows? I don’t know if they have aging-up tricks compared to aging-down though. It could work! Might be a quick way to end the fighting if we can just stuff Joseph into a car trunk and then stash him in a bunker somewhere while you’re pretending you’re him. Joshua: Nick my tattoos are different and I’m not going to convince people I’m Joseph if I have to do one of his shirtless walkarounds, NOR am I having sins and Bible verses carved into my hide to complete the look. I don’t think we have any special effects or make up artists in the county who specialize in convincingly fake scars made out of latex or something. Nick: I don’t know, that Guy Marvel might have someone. Or, had someone. He has to be able to afford all those special effects somehow. Joshua: I’m not going anywhere near that guy with a ten foot pole man, he weirds me out. Also consider: I’d have to talk to Jacob, John and Faith as Joseph. I don’t want that kind of responsibility of herding that conversation at the family dinner. Nick: Hoo, good point. So...how is that family bullshit coming along then? Joshua: I have no idea, I’m just winging it, like you are. Nick: [who’s currently flying a plane, thus the slight pun] Heh. Good luck with that then, and let me know if you want me to paint something special on John’s precious little Affirmation next time you take it out for a spin to spite him. Joshua: I’m sure I can think of a thing or two.

Adelaide

Adelaide: Honey you need to take a breather one of these days and just take a load off, if you keep up the way you’re going you’re going to end up looking more like your dad sooner rather than later. You should swing by the Marina sometime and have a yoga session with Xander, really helps get the blood pumping and limber you up if you know what I’m saying. Joshua: [Snorts in amusement.] Is Xander trying to convince you to eat more kale chips instead of potato chips again? Adelaide: Rook sweetie, I love Xander but there are some things a woman won’t put in her mouth, and kale chips are one of them. Joshua: I’ll swing by sometime to help out with the kale chips then, and maybe get in a yoga session at the same time. It’s been a while since I chatted Xander up what with the county going pearshaped. Adelaide: I’ll never understand how you two can eat those things. Ugh. Gives me the willies. Joshua: *I* eat them dipped in homemade spicy nacho cheese sauce. I have no idea how Xander eats them straight and still claims to have working tastebuds.

Grace

[For context: This conversation is based on the AU’s detail that Grace’s father has survived the previous attempt on his life prior to the start of the Reaping.]

Joshua: Did you crack open the extra care packages we dropped off yet Grace, or did your dad get to ‘em first? Grace: You referring to the chocolate bars you stashed in there? I got my share of them out in time. Joshua: Good, I was a little worried when you told me they were missing last time. Thought they might’ve been lifted without me knowing beforehand. Grace: He’s a sly one when sweets are up for grabs. Now if you can do something about the shortage of decent coffee… Joshua: What’s that? A reason to piss John off today and raid his personal stash? Say no more!

Jess

Jess: So. Joshua: So. Jess: Just like old times but with more fucked up cultist family bullshit than before, huh. Joshua: [Sighs.] Yeah. Jess: That’s rough, buddy. Joshua: Least I can steal shit en masse from the cultists and no one else minds right now. For the life of me though I can’t figure out where all of the snacks from Lorna’s went when the Peggies hit her place. I think they ate ‘em all. Jess: [Noise of disgust.] Those two-faced fuckers going on and on about how bad commercially produced food is and how everyone should get back to basics, but there they go snatching up all the frosted cakes and maple bars like it's baby’s first shoplifting spree. Joshua: I know right? Even if they do believe the end of the world’s coming, that’s still rude to clean the store out on the first go around—leave some snacks for the next bunch of looters, god damn.

In Combat

[Note: due to Joshua’s verse details, this comes with the assumption that were one to play in a version of his universe, the Deputy would have a kill/spare mechanic and thus also an option of doing a No Kill run and variations on that spectrum, which Joshua’s mechanics would support more so. This would likely also mean some additional options for the other guns-for-hire and creative use of their canonical loadouts and abilities. Joshua’s setup would overlap with Boomer and Jess’s via the Spotter and Concealment abilities, and he’d be equipped with a bliss dart gun and a scoped hunting rifle. Also melee options and such.] Seeing/tagging an enemy: “Hey look, another whack-a-mole.” / ”Fashionably challenged mountain-man zealot sighted.” / “Enemy sighted.” Seeing/tagging multiple enemies at once: “duck, duck, cultists.”/ “The Rapture called, they don’t want these Peggies back.” / “multiple hostiles in the area.” Bliss darting/knocking out a Peggie at range: “Nap time.” / “Another one bites the dust.” / “Down they go!” / “A little dirt nap never hurt any Peggie. Won’t hurt their outfits any either, a little dirt brown looks better than all of that mayonnaise-white so many of them wear anyway.” Knocking out a Peggie with a non-lethal stealth takedown: “Lights out.” / “Rang this one’s chimes hard enough he’ll think it’s time for morning service on a sunday when he wakes up.” / “Sleep tight.” / “She’s/he’s down.” Sneaking: “Feels like a tuesday.” / “...” / “Five bucks says I can pickpocket the guards and they’d never even know till later.” / “Moving position.” / “Good to go.” Upon witnessing the Deputy killing an enemy: “Was that really necessary?!” / “...shit.” / “Maybe we should disengage and drop back out of sight instead of this.” / “What the fuck!” Reviving an ally/The Deputy: “Don’t you go dying on me! Stay alive, you’ve got so much to live for!” / “Come on, let’s get you patched up, you’re gonna be okay!” / “No no no! Don’t you dare die! Not today!” Hurt: “MOTHERFUCKER!” / “Ow!” / “God damn it, I just patched this shirt! And myself!” / “This is NOT my fucking element, fuck!” / “Why are we even in a situation where we’d get shot at?!” Downed: “Could use a little help over here!” / “Bleeding out, help!” / “...mom?”

Driving

When asked to drive: “...you sure? I really think someone else driving would be a better idea under current circumstances, but okay. Just don’t go making a habit out of this. Please. For everyone’s sake.” / “No.” [This is followed by outright refusal to sit in the driver’s seat.] / [Optionally if Sharky and/or Hurk are around] “Ugh. Just...gotta pretend this is driving through a Clutch Nixon. With live gun fire, instead of just fire-fire.”

When the Deputy/someone else is driving recklessly: “Iwantoffthisride” / “I’m going to have to pick upholstery out from under my nails later.” / “JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL.” / [Recites a Hail Mary.] / “Having a good time! NOT.” / [If it’s Sharky or Hurk driving] “This is the kind of reckless driving I can get behind. Through regular past exposure therapy.” Changing radio stations: [If it’s being changed to Eden’s Gate stations] “Can we not? I’ve heard this music so many times it’s old as hell, however catchy.” / “They did do a good job on the music, I gotta say. More ominous meaning to the lyrics right now in particular though.” / [If it’s being changed to Resistance Radio stations] “Road trip time! Watch out for moose in the road.” / “Hell yeah, crank those tunes!” / “I’m glad we have regular music to listen to still, it’d be such a drag to have to go without it.”

Idle

- [General] “What’s up? Everything going alright with you?” - [General] “I heard of a good fishing spot where the rainbow trout [or other game fish depending on situation/mechanics] are really biting today if you want to take a breather and just do a bit of fishing.” [this dialogue only triggers if the Deputy hasn’t filled out the map yet for fishing spots, and adds one to the map with a notification.] - [General] “Hey, there’s a prepper stash over yonder, if you want to try your hand at getting at it. [This dialogue only triggers at random if the Deputy hasn’t polished off all the nearby Prepper stashes already. Marks a nearby prepper stash on the map and gives a notification.]

- [General] “You know what surprises me? That the Project didn’t try to shut off the power plant to at least portions of the county. Sure lots of people are preppers or woodsmen and such, but electricity makes everything easier for us. Weird, ain’t it? They have the technicians for it I’m sure. Guess we should thank our lucky stars they either didn’t think of that or decided it wasn’t worth it. We’d be straight out of ice cold beer then, Whitehorse would hate that.” - [If the Deputy is taking the no-kill route] “Hey I just want to say...I appreciate you trying not to kill people, even if some of these cultists are absolute motherfuckers who deserve it. We might be able to stop all their prophecy crap dead in its tracks if you keep this up. And...you know. Thanks for not killing my crazy relatives? I think. They’ve done a lot of bad shit and they need to answer for that, but...the right way, not backwoods murder. We’re better than that, I hope.” - [If the Deputy is taking the killing route] “I get wanting to kill the Seeds and the cult...but this isn’t going to end well, even after we’re done. I wish you wouldn’t, but I can’t stop you if this is the choice you’ve made. ...I’m sorry I can’t be of more help to you. I...hope you’ll be alright, in the end. But I don’t think you will be.” [Recall that Joshua Knows What Will Happen To The Deputy if they take the canonically-based killing route. He leaves before the final confrontation, and curiously Whitehorse, Pratt, and Hudson don’t show up in the final scene either—ie, whichever route the Deputy chooses, they survive elsewhere (coughcough Joshua’s secret bunker cough.) The scene with Joseph still happens more or less the same, only the Deputy leaves alone if they choose Walk Away, and ends up alone with Joseph if they choose Resist. Also interestingly enough: Dutch isn’t present on the radio, nor in his bunker. His fish have been taken too. Joshua didn’t have the time to grab everyone, so he tried to grab the ones he knew for sure would die, and warned the others that he foresaw not surviving the Collapse or aftermath, like Mary May and Jess Black, or who suffered serious injuries like Grace. His buds Sharky and Hurk he bribes with beer and weed to hide out in their bunker or hang out in his while this goes down. Boomer, Cheeseburger, and Peaches are all herded to safety (yes there are mechanics for that in the standard AU verse, we shan’t delve into them here though bc spoilers tho.) The others he tries to warn, but whether he managed to get to them and some of the other latter people mentioned above in time or not is uncertain.] - [If the Deputy switched from a killing route to a no-kill route and all of the Seeds are still alive, Joshua sounds relieved] “Hey, I know it’s...it’s hard to hold off pulling the trigger when someone who’s hurt so many people is in your gunsights, but...I do think bringing them in for actual processing through the legal system—a proper trial without bullshit—is the better way. For all of us. Thank you.” - [If the Deputy switched from a no-kill route to a killing route, sounds slightly devastated] “...Why?” - [If the Deputy is doing a “neutral” run of killing significant numbers of cultists, but is sparing the Seeds as they go] “...I appreciate you not killing the murdery head-cult-family members, but…you think we could maybe lighten up on killing the rank and file? They don’t have the big names and they aren’t the leaders, but those are still people. They are responsible for their own actions, not saying they aren’t, but many of them are redeemable. Not all of them, but...maybe we can just lay them out in the infirmary for a good long while instead? Nothing permanent. The bad ones though can fall off a cliff.”

- [If the Deputy is doing a “selective killing” run of not killing rank and file cultists, but is in the process of killing all the Seed Heralds. Joshua sounds conflicted.] “I appreciate you not killing the followers, though some of them are definitely bastards who shouldn’t be allowed to walk free for the shit they’ve done, but...you think we could...maybe not kill the Seeds either? The Seeds are the primary responsible parties, not contesting that, but maybe we can just kick their asses and arrest them instead? It might help dampen the chaos somewhat, maybe we can use ‘em for leverage. We certainly could hide them somewhere secure that the Peggies wouldn’t be able to find ‘em. It’d be easier to talk Joseph down too, using his siblings as leverage.” [See above for killing route ending details.] Also? We’re driving in separate cars. Don’t turn on the radio, stay away from the others. You’re still brainwashed, and dangerous.” [Joshua is disappointed in the Deputy for not having stuck to some manner of universal moral principle.] - [If friendly, and the Deputy is on either a no-kill playthrough or has switched to a no-kill route,] “Hey, you wanna play a game of checkers, or chess? Take five for a bit, if you got the time?” - [If friendly, and the Deputy is on either a no-kill playthrough or has switched to a no-kill route,] “Hey, not to be mushy or anything, but...thank you. For being you. It’s inspiring to see someone’s able to take the higher path when everything’s falling to pieces all around us. Makes me have a little bit more faith in humanity, too.” - [If friendly, and the Deputy is on either a no-kill playthrough or has switched to a no-kill route, and has been on said no-kill route for a decent amount of time,] “Hey, we grabbed some really good produce this time around and sent it on over to Casey. Told him I’d tell you to swing by, and asked him to save some for you in case you were interested. They’ve got some fresh beef for burgers and sandwiches, pumpkin pie, apple pie, loaded baked potatoes, and all kinds of other tasty stuff for a cookout. The Ryes are coming round to help pitch in and organize it all as a little morale boost party. Wanna come? You deserve to put up your feet and relax, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d appreciate your company if you felt like joining in. If you’d rather not, I can sneak food to you if you want quiet time to yourself. It’s all good, just tell me what you want and where you want it.”

Location Specific:

- Near where the police station was, if it’s been burned down: [Sighs.] “While I’m not missing the paperwork that got torched, there was a nice feel of history to the old place. Wish they hadn’t burned it down, fuckers. But, well...the Project and the Seeds have good reason to have no love for police and authority figures among others, even before all this horribleness and the leadup stuff came down. So I can’t say I’m surprised they did.”

- Upon entering the Spread Eagle, if friendly: “Finally, a place where everybody knows our names instead of yelling “Deputies!” at us all day! Wanna hit up the arcade? I’ll buy the first round if you get the higher score.”

- Seed Ranch, outside if it hasn’t been liberated, inside if it has been liberated: “Never going to understand why some folks want real airy houses with so much dead space as their main living quarters. Feels more like a knickknack museum you’re supposed to look at, not a home you’re supposed to live in. He’s got all this Eden’s Gate paraphernalia in those glass display cases, and I don’t doubt John’s fervent in his beliefs, but it feels more like a rich boy’s hunting and vacation lodge cobbled together with a vague idea of home. You saw the doghouse out back, right? What’s the point of having a dog live outside if you’ve got ALL this space, it’s all finished wood floors, and you’ve made sure to train ‘em and raise ‘em properly so they know not to chew on the furniture? It’s lonely, that’s what this is. Joseph chides John and all that about learning to love, but it’s a case of the blind leading the blind there.” - Outside St. Francis Veterans Center: [Before the Veterans Center is liberated, if Jacob has captured the Deputy at least once, so the song “Only You” is played around the Center, and the melody starts to be audible in the distance as the group approaches.] “Yeah hey, I’m going to go the other way now and wait for you over here where I can’t hear the song of madness, ‘kay? Maybe you should avoid it too.” [This is followed by Joshua refusing to go too close to the Center, sans possible AU story missions.] - Anywhere near Joseph’s Island: [The first time the party gets near Joseph’s Island,] “Uh. No. I’m not going near that place twice any sooner than we need to.” [Watch Joshua be willing to jump out even into deep water and swim away if the Deputy tries to approach the island with him in tow on a boat.]

OC Fighting Style

Tagged by @chyrstis !! Thank you for the tag!! :D <3 This was another fun one to fill out (and shorter than the above but you know what we’re stapling all of these bad boys into one post bc Why Not.) Have an aesthetic picture of a Jacob sheep skull upon a sheep skin for the fun implications of what that says about Joshua’s fighting style. xD Ram skull image after some searching was sourced from [here], with a creative commons license for free-to-reuse, with some limitations.

Rules: bold = often (or always), italics = sometimes, default = rarely, strike = never

fight honorably / fight dirty / prefer close-quarters / prefer range / chat during / go silent / low pain tolerance / high pain tolerance / attack in bursts / attack steadily / go for the kill / aim to disarm / fight defensively / bait an opponent’s first strike / strike first / provoked easily / provoke their opponent / tease / get visibly frustrated / shout while attacking / use strategy / focus on their battle / experience conflicting thoughts during battle / rush in recklessly / try to read their opponent before fighting / fight wildly / fight calmly, apathetically / fight with anger / fight with excitement / fight because they have to / fight because they want to / fight without regard to wounds / run away when wounded / hide wounds / take a blow to protect another / prefer a blade / prefer a gun (non lethal rounds/tranquilizer darts) / prefer a bow / prefer a shield / prefer a spear naginata / prefer a personalized weapon / prefer psychic abilities / prefer brawling / their greatest weakness is physical / their greatest weakness is mental / their greatest weakness is emotional / transform for battle / fight as they appear / rely on strength / rely on speed / use everything they have / hide their full potential / exhaust quickly / high stamina / doubt their strength / proceed with caution / behave arrogantly / brag after landing a hit / belittle their abilities / use psychological tactics / use brute strength / avoid civilians / strike down civilians / damage surroundings / avoid damaging surroundings / signature fighting style / making it up as they go / mastered skillset / learning their skillset / fancy footwork / sloppy footwork / messy fighter / elegant fighter / accept defeat / refuse defeat / beg for mercy / compliment their opponent / insult their opponent / use unnecessary movements / move efficiently / barely move / prefer to dodge / prefer to block / defend their blindside / has no blindside / use all available advantages / strictly use one main method / play around / hold back / fight ruthlessly / show mercy / wait for opponent to be ready / strike when opponent isn’t ready / fear death / fear pain / fear killing / has PTSD / avoid fighting / has lost a fight / has won a fight / has killed / refuses to kill / want to die standing / would succumb slowly

WIP Day

Tagged by @chyrstis and @hawkfurze !! Thank you for the tags!! :D <3

An excerpt from the current WIP chapter for ACABH: ————————— Weak. He was so weak, barely able to move right now, and he didn’t even know why. There was pain, a lot of pain, a feeling like his bones were on fire and about to crumble under pressure at any moment—but he’d been through worse. In this instance, he could recall that he’d fallen through the sky for a brief tumultuous time before gravity had stepped in, leading to him landing hard upon the road, as if making up for the lack of physics earlier. —————————

#FC 5 #Far Cry 5 #FC 5 AU #Far Cry 5 AU #WIP #WIP Wednesday #ask game #tag game #Deputy Joshua Rook #long post

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hibiscusangel15 · 4 years

Text

And Two-Brains Got Away!

Hey @newsiegirlscout! So sorry it’s late, but here’s your Secret Santa gift! You asked for either Tobey having family fun with his mother or Tobey and Two-Brains bonding, but I decided to write a fanfic covering both at once! :D

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and have a very happy new year/decade!

Thanks to @void-apocalypse for hosting the gift exchange, too!

Tobey’s life was always full of last-minutes. Last-minute plans, last-minute cancellations, last-minute, well, everything.

It’d been this way as far as he could remember. This constant unpredictability might have fazed some people, but never him. At least he could construct his robots in peace while she was out.

So when his mother suggested they go out and get a nice Christmas tree right on Christmas morning, Tobey wasn’t at all surprised.

The tree lot was barren save for a few ramshackle bundles of sticks that hardly qualified as a “tree”. That didn’t stop the overexcited salesman from trying to push one onto his mother, though.

He sighed, and the crisp winter air spooled out before him like a puff of smoke. What a foolish endeavor. Didn’t the salesman know who he was even talking to? There was no way his mother would shill out a penny for a pathetic twig like that.

Tobey eyed the enormous pine tree by the salesman’s cabin. It had a massive trunk nearly as wide as it was tall, and the tree was tall enough to rival even his robuts’ heights. Not a practical Christmas tree by any means, but it was by far the best option here.

“Pardon me, Mr. Salesman,” Tobey piped up right as the man showed off yet another pathetic excuse of a tree. “But would you be willing to part with that one over there?”

The salesman hardly glanced over at the towering pine before he burst out laughing. “Ol’ Piney’s been there since before I was born! Family’s tried fer years to tear ‘er down, but ain’t nobody’s been successful yet!”

“So if I were able to take it down, would you let us bring it home?” Tobey pressed.

The salesman roared again. “Persistent lil’ feller, ain’t ya?” He wiped his nose and looked up at the tree once more. “Tell ya what. If you can somehow cut Ol’ Piney down, I’ll let ya have ‘er, free of charge!”

A wicked grin split across Tobey’s face. “‘Free of charge’, hm?”

His mother narrowed her eyes. “Tobey? What are you plotting?”

Instead of answering, Tobey dug a remote from his pocket and pressed a sequence into it with a needless flair. The ground rumbled as something massive approached closer...and closer.

The few crows that had settled on “Ol' Piney” scattered away just as one of Tobey’s robots strolled casually down the street up to them. The shady salesman sputtered out a few incoherent syllables as the robot stooped to pluck Old Piney up like a flower, roots and all.

“You...You cheated,” the salesman wheezed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Tobey nearly burst out in maniacal laughter. What a sore loser.

“You never specified how I was to take this tree down, my good sir. I thought using my robut would be fair game.” He blinked innocently up at the two adults staring down at him.

Much to his surprise, his mother started to laugh. A lot.

The sound was infectious, and soon, the two of them found themselves laughing all the way back home again.

Claire wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh...Oh goodness, Tobey! You really showed him!”

“Serves him right for trying to peddle mere twigs to a lawyer and the world’s most formidable boy genius!” Tobey huffed.

His smug guise soon dispersed into childish giggles when his mother ruffled his hair. “Tobey, your mischief has proven to be rather valuable this time, so I’ll let the use of your robots slide just this once.”

They leapt up in their seats when the robot set the tree next to their house with a resounding boom, garnering even more foolish laughter from them both.

Most of their day after was dedicated to decorating their new Christmas tree. It had been some time since he and his mother had been downtown, but Tobey would bet that their tree was far superior to the shrub in front of City Hall.

At last, his robot daintily placed their enormous Christmas star on top. Tobey held the switch to his mother, and she flipped the heavy lever “On”.

A gentle flood of light washed over their yard like light snowfall. Not bad for having set it up just that day.

Claire wrapped an arm around her son’s shoulders, her eyes gleaming with a keen pride. “Merry Christmas, Tobey.”

“Merry Christmas, mother,” he whispered as he settled against her.

After watching the lights dance along their tree for a few moments longer, the two headed inside to stir up some hot chocolate and pop some kettle corn.

Last-minute tree. Last-minute cocoa. Last-minute present exchanges.

Yes, some people might not appreciate the rushed nature of it all. Tobey McCallister, however, couldn’t imagine a better Christmas with his mother.

It was perfect.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Or at least it was until someone knocked insistently on their front door.

They exchanged glances with one another, but it was clear from the puzzled looks on both their faces that neither of them were expecting anyone.

The door burst open as soon as his mother unlatched the last lock.

“Merry Christmas!” Doctor Two-Brains and his two henchmen yelled. Two-Brains was dressed up in a horrid Santa suit while the two henchmen flanking him had put on green hats with jingling bells on the end of them.

Claire put a hand over her heart. “Oh my!”

“Ho ho ho and etcetera.” Two-Brains rolled his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered to introduce himself properly. “I heard that a very naughty boy lives here! I’ve come to give him a lump of coal!”

The henchmen giggled to themselves as they fished out a large black lump from the red bag their boss toted around. The “lump of coal” in question was in reality just a poorly wrapped gift plopped right onto his lap. Tobey even saw the end of a ray gun poking through the wrapping but decided not to say anything about it.

“Oh, how...thoughtful…” Tobey mused as he caught his mother’s stern eye. Once he managed to tear off all the crumpled wrapping paper, Two-Brains cackled like he had pulled the greatest prank known to villain-kind.

“Did I say lump of coal? I meant ray gun!” Two-Brains-Santa said. “Naughty boys get lumps of coal. Evil villain boys, on the other hand? They get evil villain accessories.”

There was a metallic switch on the side of the ray that said “Shrink” on one side and “Grow” on the other.

Two-Brains flopped onto the couch next to him, moving the switch back and forth like he couldn’t contain his energy. “Just flick the switch, aim, then bam! Make your robots travel-size for easier transport! Flip it back and blam-o! Fifty-foot robots in the blink of an eye!”

He swept his arm out in front of him as if he could picture the scene.

“Now Tobey, what do we say?” his mother prompted.

Tobey resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Thank you, Doctor Two-Brains. I’m sure this will actually prove useful to me in the future.”

“I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, but you’re welcome anyway, kid. Aaaaand I got your mother a little something, too, since she’s been very good this year! Almost too good considering how many times I—I mean—renowned villain Doctor Two-Brains ended up in jail.”

Claire blinked when he handed her a gift card to her favorite tea place in town. “Oh! Why, thank you very much! I’m sorry I couldn’t get you anything. I didn’t even know you would be stopping by!”

She threw her son a questioning look, but he just shrugged. He certainly didn’t invite them over.

“This was all a surprise my henchmen and I planned for this year! We got gifts for every villain in town! In fact, Tobey was our last stop, and I gotta tell ya, I am exhausted.” Two-Brains ripped off the fake, itchy beard and fanned himself with his Santa hat.

“Oh! Well, the least I could do is offer you and your henchmen some hot cocoa!” Claire said as she rushed off to do just that.

The henchmen’s eyes brightened. “We love hot cocoa! Thank you so much!”

“It’s my pleasure!” Claire spooned hot chocolate into some chipped Christmas-themed mugs. “Would you like marshmallows?”

“Yes, please!”

A hush fell over the McCallister living room as everyone sipped their delicious cocoa. Considering most of the people there were villains Claire McCallister had sentenced to jail several times, it was unbearably awkward.

“So...cozy place you got here,” Two-Brains began just to lighten the tension.

“Thank you,” his mother said.

“Surprising lack of robots.”

“My room’s full of them,” Tobey replied.

The small talk only fueled the awkwardness even more.

Two-Brains drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch and looked all around, hoping a topic would simply appear out of thin air.

Charlie whispered something in the other henchman’s ear and he smiled.

“Hey, Boss!”

“Yeah, what?”

“Me ‘n Charlie were wondering...since we didn’t get the chance to go caroling at the other villains’ houses...could we sing a few holiday carols here? For Tobey and his mom?”

Again, Tobey and his mother exchanged questioning glances. Just how well could they all sing together anyway?

“Eeeeh, I don’t know….” Two-Brains took Tobey’s shrink ray, switched it to “Grow” mode, then shot it at a wheel of cheese he fished out of his pocket.

“Aw, c’mon, Boss! This could count as your Christmas gift to us!” his henchman begged. Charlie nodded silently along.

Two-Brains jumped at the chance like the cheapskate he was. “Alright then, that’s your present! No take-backs!”

His henchmen giggled to themselves. “Could you...Could you sing that one you made up about WordGirl?”

Tobey sat up straighter in his seat. “A song about WordGirl, you say?”

His eyes darted to the floor when everyone turned to look at him. “I-I mean, boo, a song about WordGirl. Must be a rather boring song.”

Two-Brains snorted. “Nah, I think it’s one you’ll like. It goes a little something like this!”

The doctor took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began, “Dashing through the snow, in a van made out of cheese, o’er the streets we go, laughing all the way, HAHAHA!”

Despite the inherent ridiculousness of the lyrics, Tobey and his mother couldn’t help but stare in awe at how well Doctor Two-Brains sang. One would expect that his singing would sound just as nasally and near-grating as his speaking voice. Not this beautiful operatic melody before them.

“C’mon, everybody now!” the doctor urged, throwing his hands up in the air.

His henchmen joined in with a low baritone. Charlie waggled his finger to the beat. Even his mother chirped along: “Jingle bells! WordGirl smells! Two-Brains got awaaaaay! Oh what fun it is to steal a great, old, big cheese wheel! Hey!”

Just as they were about to go into the second verse, Two-Brains nudged Tobey’s shoulder. “Don’t you wanna sing along?”

A rare nervous expression flashed across his face for a moment before he replaced it with feigned boredom. “Not really. It’s a rather silly song.”

“Uh, yeah, it’s supposed to be! The holidays are always full of silly stuff like this! Don’t be such a curmudgeon.”

His face flushed. “I...I’m not a curmudgeon!”

“Then sing along with us, kid! C’mon!”

Tobey made a show of rolling his eyes, but eventually joined in anyway. If they chanced a look outside, they might have caught sight of Tobey’s robot peeking in with a wide smile.

“And Two-Brains got AAAAWAAAAAAYYYY! HEY!”

Their voices and warm laughter floated through the window into the winter night.

#Tobey McCallister #Claire McCallister #Doctor Two-Brains #WordGirl #WordGirl Secret Santa 2019 #my fanfiction

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lordclover · 4 years

Text

A Burning Rose

Chapter Two: A Companion of Drunkards

Juliette guided Fleur over to the mail outpost, her gaze slowly surveying the people at it. There was a group of men around one of the tables on the platform, playing a game of poker. There was a man unloading supplies onto the outpost, and a woman in line at the mail window. Juliette dismounted Fleur and led her to the hitching post.

“Hopefully this will be quick,” Juliette murmured in French.

She patted Fleur’s neck gently before walking to the window. As she got there, the woman in front of her left.

“Good morning, madam,” the clerk greeted.

“Morning,” Juliette returned. “Has the mail arrived?”

“Not yet,” he said. “Train should be here shortly if you’ll wait.”

Juliette considered this. She could easily just leave and come back the next day, but she was not sure how much longer she intended to stay in this area. She had hoped to leave tomorrow and head East. She had spent plenty of time around Strawberry and had yet to find anything to photograph.

“Thank you, monsieur,” Juliette said.

“’Course.”

She retreated from the window, looking back at Fleur as she considered her options. She needed to get supplies from Strawberry already, but it felt like a waste to go there just to come back.

“Ay, señorita,” a voice called.

Juliette frowned and looked over to see who had spoken. It was one of the men at the poker table, he had dark messy brown hair, tawny freckled skin, and a mischievous look in his brown eyes. He was wearing a wide brimmed hat that bathed his face in shadows.

“Join us for a round,” he said. “You sound like you have money.”

“Really?” Juliette asked, her tone flat and unamused.

“Sorry miss,” one of the men sitting beside him said. “He ain’t… he’s had too much to drink.”

Juliette surveyed the table for a moment. There were only three people sitting, the man that had called her over had most of the money. She had time to kill and if they were losing to a drunk man, then they could lose to her. She did not gamble often, only when she thought she could win. The table seemed easy, one man seemed drunk and he was still winning against the other two.

“It is alright, I have time to spare,” Juliette said.

“Well alright,” he said. “I’ll deal ya in then.”

Juliette nodded and took the empty seat.

“My name’s Todd,” he said as he began to deal the cards. “That’s Mac and Seamus… and he’s… what’s your name again, feller?”

“Miguel,” the man that had first called her attention said. “And you are, señorita?”

“Juliette,” she said simply.

She was unwilling to give her last name if they did not offer theirs. Miguel seemed to notice this and surveyed her again with a small smirk. His eyes trained on what was visible of her necklace, before his gaze moved back to Todd.

“Give me a good hand, señor, I need another drink,” Miguel said.

“My friend you’ve had plenty,” Todd scoffed.

It was awfully early in the morning to be drinking. She wondered if he had time to kill as well or if he was simply drinking to be drinking.

“If you don’t mind me askin’, miss, what are you doin’ all the way out here?” Seamus asked.

She glanced over at him. He was remarkably less interesting than Miguel. He seemed identical to half the men in Strawberry, all honest and working, but indescribably dull.

“Travelling,” Juliette said.

“Just travellin’?” Todd asked. “Ain’t goin’ anywhere in particular?”

“Not at the moment,” Juliette said.

Juliette was still unused to being asked questions like this. Ones that seemed perfectly harmless, but she knew were not. Information was not something she liked to give freely. Edmond called her distrusting. She knew that was true, but she was not a fool. Trusting people was a dangerous endeavor, not something she would grant strangers without a return.

“Buy in’s two dollars fifty,” Seamus said.

Juliette produced the money and set it on her side as Todd handed each person their hand. The first hand started slow. Seamus folded quickly and Todd followed. Miguel kept raising his bet, unwavering as each card in the middle was revealed. Juliette decided to fold as well. Mac went all in and Miguel met it.

They revealed their hands and Miguel won with a king and a four. Mac groaned.

"Dammit," he growled.

Mac left the table irritably. Juliette watched him leave for a moment while Seamus readied the next set of cards.

"Don't worry about 'im," Todd said. "He is always upset over somethin'."

The next round started and Miguel began with a low bet, but Seamus still folded.

“They’ve been playing it safe all game,” Miguel said as Todd folded.

“I ain’t keen on losin’ money to a drunk,” Todd huffed.

“You already lost most of it, might as well give the rest to me,” Miguel said.

“He don’t get any less annoyin’,” Seamus provided. “Be glad he ain’t singin’.”

“I find him amusing,” Juliette decided.

“That’s the spirit, señorita,” Miguel laughed.

As they played more Juliette slowly began to find each of their tells. Miguel’s became significantly more obvious the more he drank, but he didn’t seemed deterred to stop even after losing two hands back to back. Todd backed out after.

“What do you do?” Juliette asked Miguel.

“I am a bounty hunter,” Miguel provided.

Juliette considered this. She had a hard time seeing him hunting down bounties, but right then she couldn’t imagine him walking straight either.

“He’s pretty good,” Seamus admitted begrudgingly. “Got the rascals that stole my sheep.”

“I don’t remember that,” Miguel said.

“You were drunk then too; your partner did all the talkin’.”

“That sounds right,” Miguel decided.

Seamus left shortly after, leaving only Miguel and Juliette. She had made a considerable dent in Miguel’s winnings, but backed out as she heard the train pull in.

“That’s it?” Miguel asked. “I wanted to win that necklace.”

“You think you would win it drunk?” Juliette mused.

“I’m not drunk yet,” Miguel scoffed.

Juliette shook her head and headed back to the window. The man greeted her instantly.

“How can I help you?”

“I should have a letter, Juliette Bellerose,” she provided.

“Bellerose?” Miguel repeated. “That sounds familiar… do you have a wanted poster?”

“Me?” Juliette repeated in surprise. “I do not, as far as I am aware.”

Miguel considered this as Juliette turned back to the mail clerk.

“These are for you,” he said as he handed the letters to her.

“Thank you,” Juliette said.

She walked back towards Fleur.

Juliette flipped through her mail with a small frown. Nothing she wanted. She had been hoping for a letter from the exhibit manager in Saint Denis, but that was still missing. She needed something better than just landscape photos with a deer in it. It was hardly impressive. Pretty, yes, but anyone with a camera could do it. She needed something… better. What that was, she had no idea.

She considered herself an adequate photographer for the time she had put it into it. It was not easy, but nothing was. She loved the challenge of it, it was completely unique to anything she had done before.

Photography was not something she had ever considered worthwhile until the past year. Ironically it had been her most profitable venture. She’d fallen into it naturally, started only for a hobby, but slowly started to do it more and more. She would be riding down a path and see something interesting and she would stop. She could do that now; she could stop and go wherever she wanted. Before life was moving too quickly for her to stop and look around… Now she could breathe.

It was a strange feeling. At first it had left her feeling anxious, as if she were being left behind. She was so used to being bombarded with new information and problems to solve day after day, never getting a true break. Even parties and galas had a purpose, she could not sit idly by… but she used to like being busy, liked being needed. Now… she wanted to be forgotten.

Coming to America was quite possibly her biggest mistake, one that might get her killed… but it was a mistake she had to make.

Juliette was on her own for the first time and she never regretted it. Slowly she was discovering what she liked, and evidently, that included photography. Was it useless? Not too long ago she knew her answer… now she was not sure. Art had always been a mystery to her. People went to galleries to view art, she had been a few times, but she had never enjoyed it. Now she wondered if she would, if walking down the gallery with a clear mind would help. Juliette liked art well enough, but she had never stopped to look.

“Anything good, señorita?” Miguel asked.

“No,” Juliette said.

“You should buy me a drink with your earnings,” Miguel suggested.

“You need a cold bucket of water,” Juliette readily returned.

“Ay perhaps,” Miguel said. “But I’d rather be drinking.”

“You are drinking,” Juliette said pointedly.

“My beer is empty,” Miguel said. “Tell you what, you buy me a drink and I’ll teach you to shoot!”

Juliette considered this. He was sufficiently drunk already and she doubted he’d remember this deal. Yet… it could come in handy. She did need to learn to shoot a gun better. While she was not against dying in America, she did not want to go down easy. She was all too aware she made an easy target.

“You should learn,” Miguel said. “You’ll run into trouble around here, plenty of outlaws wandering.”

“Are you a good shot?” Juliette asked.

“Of course! I am a bounty hunter and I am still alive.”

That was a fair point. He was better than her, which was all that mattered.

“Alright,” Juliette decided. “As long as you do not drink yourself to death.”

“As if I would ever be so lucky,” Miguel cackled.

Juliette frowned. That was awfully morbid. She was getting more used to gallows humor; it was not something she had much experience with before. She glanced around the platform and saw where Miguel had been getting his drinks, on the other side of the mail building was a small store. She bought a beer and brought it back to Miguel.

“I knew I liked you,” Miguel said.

“Enjoy yourself, monsieur,” Juliette said with a shake of her head.

“You as well, señorita. Try not to get shot!”

“Will you remember this?” Juliette asked.

“Who knows,” Miguel said.

Juliette stared at him for a moment, before returning to Fleur. He was an interesting man. She could not quite understand how he survived, but maybe he was different sober. Her gaze drifted to one of the horses hitched not far from Fleur. It was a paint horse, covered in reddish brown and white splotches. The saddle had bullet holes in it, and rifles holstered to it. There was a lasso attached to it as well, blood staining part of it.

She looked back at Miguel uncertainly, before guiding Fleur towards Strawberry.

There were many interesting people she had run into over the past few months, few of which she got to hear their full story. She wondered if she’d ever learn his.

Juliette led Fleur down the path towards Strawberry, her thoughts drifting to the stranger she’d met days ago. Arthur Morgan. He was someone she wanted to talk to again. Someone she knew she should avoid but found herself curious.

Her mother had always warned her curiosity would get her killed.

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#juliette bellerose #rdr2 fanfic #rdr fanfiction #arthur morgan #rdr2 #arthur rdr2 #arthur rdr

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toreadorwriter · 4 years

Text

What happens in the dark ch 6

A blood hunt had been called on Marie, causing the Nosferatu to flee the city. Prince William had heard through the other Nosferatu about what had happened. A rather nosy and money hungry fledgling was more than happy to tell the prince and subsequently gain status within the Camarilla. William also got the news that the hitman's ashes were found in a filthy stained alley way which delighted the prince but the cause of death was still unknown to everyone else.

There was a knock at the door, and the ventrue redirected his attention from the view outside the window. His Sheriff ushered the newcomers into the office, it was the Baron and Baroness of Hollywood, again. Two times this week, this is getting ridiculous. The prince pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the impending headache.

It was at this moment that Prince William was aware of a subtle change in Jewel’s aura. Was she pregnant? He was confident the child was not just a human after all. The offspring of a vampire and a human is rare but disgusting occurrence frowned upon by kindred society. What the Baron did in his free time was none of his business, but he did hope the child of such a union wouldn't survive.

Giving them a fake smile, the Prince noticed that Jewel was wearing a shimmery green backless dress with a silver belt that was way too ostentatious for his taste, obviously meant to hide the baby bump. She was also wearing shimmering gloves to match with her outfit and her hair was put into a messy bun and held together with a silver stash. He hated to admit it, but she looked absolutely astonishing with her green eyeshadow that made her eyes stand out. The ghoul smirked at him as if reading him. He must say he did see why Isaac liked her. Ms. Balewa signed at him in warning. He had been caught staring, hopefully the others didn't notice.

Isaac noticed.

''Are you done ogling my fiancee? If so let's please proceed to the theatre."

William almost punched him then and there but he controlled himself clearing his throat. He was better than the Brujah after all.

The tension in the elevator down to the lobby was enough to give the air a taste.

An hour later, the group was at the theatre and greeted by the Counsel of Primogen, and a few straggling kindred and other associated members of the undead society were in the background. Jewel noticed that both Anarchs and Camarilla were in attendance, and hoped that the Sabbat decided to skip this event too.

The crowd swarmed them like flies to honey and started asking all sorts of questions and chattering amongst themselves. Ms. Balewa stared them down and cleared a path so Prince William could enter the theater, with Isaac and Jewel scrambling to keep up.

Walking onstage, Prince William cleared his throat. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the theater.

''Hello everyone, I apologize for dragging all of you out here tonight. I know a lot of you are all busy but tonight is a special one. I would like to announce that Ms. Jewel Abrams is now Baroness of Hollywood. I know the Anarchs are separate from the Camarilla and are often at odds, but -��

Willam was cut off by an uproar.

“WHAT THE FUCK” was shouted from the back, probably from one of the Last Round gang.

This was also the first time Strauss had an expression on his face, and it was one of disgust.

Therese raised a gloved hand and the crowd went silent again. '' Isaac, why her? She's not even a Vampire and she's only 24 That's way too young for a Baroness! She shouldn’t even be here!”

“I think we have more pressing issues at the moment other than this kindred’s affairs with the kine. As long as she does not break the Masquerade any more than her existence does, who cares? We should focus on why was a Lasombra in Los Angeles and a LA kindred ordering hits on others! There are not enough of us to hold off the Second Inquisition as it is. “ Nines added to the din in the theater.

Gary was being his usual self in the back, although the anger about how Isaac scored his next target as his ghoul started to show on his twisted face. He slunk down farther into the shadows.

The voices began to rise again in anger and confusion and disgust before Ms. Balewa picked up her walking stick, which disguised a huge club and smashed it hard on the ground. The sound echoed like a shot.

''Please try to behave yourselves." The prince said pointedly and everyone fell silent again. He cleared his throat. “Having a ghoul working as a Baroness may be exactly what we need in order to protect this city and keep it moving during the daytime, and to be the hidden face of kindred to mortal society. I expect you all to assist Baroness Jewel in her endeavors.”

Jewel’s face drained. The prince just turned her new position as Isaac’s wife into something way larger than any of them anticipated.

There was applause from the audience, and Jewel did not need any supernatural powers to tell that most of the enthusiasm was not genuine. Jewel felt her social anxiety kicking in, so many people were staring or glaring at her and she felt sick to her stomach.

She decided the best course of action was to wave and nod to acknowledge the prince and immediately turned and grabbed Romero’s hand and bolted out of the room.

Alysa was waiting in the hallway with an orange rose, a granola bar, and Jane and Seregi.

Jewel ran into the brick wall who currently goes by Seregi.

''Oops, sorry daughter." Sergei chirped happily before scooping her up and twirling her around. The door slammed and Lorenzo walked through the door.

''Sir, please put the baroness down!” Lorenzo warned and the Tziscme rolled his eyes.

''Don't worry I'm her father how about you put that gun down son."

“My father is telling the truth, please put the guns down.”

And that put Lorenzo at ease. ''Alrighty, if you need any help don't be afraid to call us. Baroness.” A pointed glare later at the ghoul, and they returned to the auditorium.

“Can we leave now? Camarilla affairs are always so dull. Aren’t you hungry?” Jane asked Jewel, who texted Isaac and Romero it was time to leave.

There were more than a few stares when Jewel left the building, followed by strange and familiar vampires alike.

Jewel ignored them and clambered in with her future husbands. Alysa,Anatole, Mercurio and Susi were already waiting in the limo. How did Alysa travel so fast?

''how did you guys?." but before she could finish what she was saying ,Susi nervously handed her the invite that her parents had sent them.

Seregi reached out and touched Suzi’s hand. “I know how you and the rest of the world feels about my Clan, but I promise you we are just as normal as the rest of you. I just wanted to meet the people who so warmly welcomed my daughter into their home.” He then brushed his greying hair out of his eyes and reclined back in his chair.

Tensions were still high amongst the passengers of the limo, so Alysa and Anatole used their powers to help everyone relax. The unnamed driver was thankful for that, he was starting to get nervous.

The limo rolled into a driveway connecting to a house on the outer edge of LA. The estate was huge, with poisonous and spooky looking plants decorating the gardens and alongside the driveway. Mercurio and Susi started to get nervous. Holding his girlfriend's hand, Mercurio squeezed her hand gently ''Everything will be alright, this is all for Jewel." he whispered to Susi, but then again why was he doing this for Jewel? It's not that he had anything against her, it was just the necromancer felt so distant to him. He tolerated her because she's his girlfriend's friend, but he never actually had the time to sit down and get to know her.

Seeing as that they literally had no choice but to walk into the creepy ass Addams family wannabe mansion, he hoped he would live long enough to actually get to know her and not end up as a new piece of furniture. No matter what Seregi said in the Limo, he still didn't trust the fiend.

The limo mercifully stopped moving and everyone left the vehicle.

For all appearances, Jane looked every bit the charming and not at all threatening hostess.

''Welcome to our lovely home! I bet you guys are just dying to see what's inside!." The Tziscme cheerfully invited everyone inside and began to follow the cobblestone path to the doorway.

Alysa turned around and pointed at Romero. “I heard your thoughts, that was a figure of speech. You will be fine.” she then turned around and followed Jane inside.

The inside was beautiful, it was gothic and very neat. Blood Red furniture was placed in the living room and rare macabre decor littered the walls, interspersed with framed family photos. It was an eclectic sight, but it worked.

Jewel groaned from embarrassment.

'' Mom, Dad, why did you stick that picture up in the foyer, I look hideous!” Jewel whined and Sergei looked at her in utter complete shock.

''I love your prom photos, you look like a princess in your pink dress." he defended but Jewel begged to differ.

''Dad, I had acne! And what is up with that eyeliner I look like I should be in an emo band. Ugh blue eyeshadow too." she said and her old man shook his head

''You were a teenage human, they all have acne. Regardless of how you feel, I think you are beautiful. Besides this is my favorite picture and look how happy you are in it anyhow." Seregi then leaned over and hugged Jewel and kissed her forehead, much to her embarrassment and everyone else’s amusement.

Suddenly, the meows of an unknown cat filled the room and out popped Jewel's childhood pet cat, Cinnamon and Spice. The two headed cat walked up to Jewel and happily jumped into her arms purring loudly.

“What the hell is that?" Romero shouted. He thought to himself “What did those fiends do to that cat?”

''Romero shut it, don't be rude” Susi muttered and Isaac had to give both his ghouls a warning look.

“Behave.” he pointedly whispered and that set them both straight.

“Awww you guys, don't be afraid of the cats, it's not their fault they were left for dead. I had to fuse them together to save their lives. But, I promise they are normal cats." Sergei said taking the cats from his daughter. The cat liked its paw before using Seregi as a launchpad and bounded off to God knows where.

The door opened and the cat exited the room. The door kept opening to reveal a rather large man in a butler outfit. His soulless eyes stared at them glassy and fish like, and what was left of his blonde hair was combed to the side.

'' Oh Jeffrey thank Cain you are here, is dinner ready yet?" Jane asked and the Butler smiled widely, revealing rows of yellow razor sharp. How many teeth do humans have again? This man had an exceptional amount of them.

"Why Madame, yes absolutely, your father Andrei has commanded me to let you and our guests know." He said casually before bowing. He rose and said joyfully “ Ms. Jewel, it's nice to see you. You've blossomed into such a beautiful young woman. I am honoured you've returned back home."

“It is nice to see you again too, Jeffrey it's been way too long." The baroness replied politely.

The grotesque butler smiled before leading them to a huge plush and expensive looking dining room. Two was there with Andrei and Two waved hi to his friends and roommates. ''Wow, I didn't think you'd all come, It's nice to see everyone." He said picking his nails and avoiding eye contact. While Jeffrey and some war form Tzimisce fledgelings placed tons of food for the vampires and humans on the table.

Andrei smiled at Jewel and she couldn't even react in time before he swept her up excitedly.

''Hey, Grandpa, not so rough I'm….” But jewel couldn't finish her sentence because Andrei cut her off with the hug.

''Come sit, let's eat, we will discuss what's wrong during dinner." He chirped placing her down.

Jewel hoped the baby was fine after all that.

Everyone gasped in amazement seeing all the delicious and bountiful food on the table there was a normal human Thanksgiving-style feast: honey glazed ham, yams, mac and cheese,stuffing,turkey, and tons of desserts. Drinks of all sorts were also provided for the humans in the room. Jewel tsked her lips, she would definitely have to steer clear from the alcohol while she was pregnant. Should be fun to explain that one in a few minutes.

Issac pulled the seat out for her and she smiled at him ''Thank you, love." She said thoughtfully smoothing her dress down while she sat down. The hosts’ fledgelings served everyone their food and that's when Sergei got straight to the point.

''Jewel, we've gathered everyone here today because of what happened. The hitman has been killed and we don't know why.” he lied knowing damn well he did it and had to stop himself from giggling .

“Marie has been the one who sent him unfortunately. I heard she has a blood hunt called on her head and has fled the city."

He told her and Jewel wasn't shocked just disappointed. She did not look at the others in the room to see their reactions.

Jane picked up where Seregi left off. “ It is a little odd that she was living with you in the first place, but the issue has been solved and we can move forward in safety now. I’m sure if we all work together, we can keep more threats at bay and stop them before they take action.”

Jewel sighed, twirling her food around on her plate. She decided it was time to let them know.

''Mom, Dad, Grandpa there's something I have to tell you all that might make you reconsider that the threats are gone." She confessed and Isaac intertwined her hands with hers.

''I'm pregnant, you’re going to be Grandparents."

Sergei, who was busy downing a glass of blood suddenly choked and sputtered. Jeffrey pat his back while Jane stood up excitedly shaking her sire ''Oh my God, did you hear that , Father there's going to be a baby! A human baby! I get to hold a baby again!” She squealed excitedly.

Andrei was so excited that he literally almost pulled Romero over the table in a hug. ''This is a very joyous time, we we must celebrate!" he said ecstatically. Romero was less than happy at being anywhere near this house and even more so being hugged by the Archbishop of the Sabbat, but he was relieved the news was received well by the family.

Andrei stood up after releasing Romero and began a toast. “To the baby!” before sitting back down and letting the dinner begin.

During dinner Romero couldn't stop feeling nervous he ate a good amount of food, but still this was a Sabbat household! And he was engaged to the daughter of a Sabbat vampire ,but they were nice and hopefully it stayed that way.

Romero happened to catch a glance of Jane's necklace and his face went pale. Inside the pendant was a bunch of sharpened baby teeth encased in a gem and he hoped that they didn't kill a child for that jewelry.

Upon noticing him staring, Jane smiled sweetly at him.

"Honey, not to worry. These are Jewel's baby teeth, we don't kill children." She assured him.

That was a relief but still creepy as fuck regardless. Romero gave Jane a quick nod before distracting himself with a German chocolate cake. The other humans were busily chomping away at it. Romero cut a piece and placed it on his plate and caught something moving out of the corner of his eye. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Andrei suddenly reached out to him.

''Oh God, oh shit he's going to turn me isn't he?" He thought to himself and that's when he saw Andrei holding a tub of vanilla ice cream.

"Do you want some of this or not?" The vampire asked and Romero sat there in horror

"Oh, um, yes." he sputtered and the Tziscme elder covered the cake in some ice cream. Romero never imagined that that he would ever associate with the flesh crafters, much less be fed perfectly normal human food by them. Besides, before he met Jewel, he was actively at war against them.

He looked around the dining room awkwardly at his new extended family.

God, tonight was one hell of a night for all of them.

To be continued...

#vtmb au #vtmb oc #vtm #vampire loving human

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kiara-carrera · 5 years

Note

“Did they hurt you?” for whoever you want!!

Prompt #94: “Did they hurt you?” — Petejo

author’s note: have i been working on this for like eighty years since you sent in this ask? yes. why did it take this long? honestly, who knows.

If there was one aspect of being a superhero that Joelle Sommers didn’t care for — besides her hero name, she was going to go to the grave hating what the Daily Bugle had branded her all those months ago — it was the asshole, petty criminals that she was forced to take down. Sure, Reappear had gotten into the swing of being one of the two reigning heroes in Queens alongside her partner slash boyfriend Spider-Man, but that didn’t mean some of the guys they deal with weren’t total assholes.

Being Queens’s resident friendly neighborhood crime fighting super-losers meant that most of the time, they weren’t dealing with the big leagues. They weren’t going to class during the day to battle the Vultures of the world at night. Usually, it was just neighborhood based bank robbers and drug smugglers and the occasional annoying crime lord who had a few too many connections to weird laboratories that were bordering along the lines mad scientist. It made Jo roll her eyes. Peter got a little too ecstatic with it sometimes, but to be fair, he’d always been a little bit more cut out for the hero thing than she was. But that was beside point.

Tonight had been all about busting a group of petty thieves who may or may not have been totally trying to ship weapons to some of the bigger threats in the area. It had been going relatively well, Peter and Jo relying on Karen and Milo respectively to do some preliminary scouting and recon before they threw themselves in the field. It was supposed to be simple. Drop in, Reappear keeps them on their toes, maybe knock a few of them out, and then Spidey webs them up for the police. Cops show up, they say a few words about the endeavor, maybe the bad guy says something about meddling kids because when is their life not a reenactment of a Scooby Doo episode, and then they leave. Stop for a slice of pizza and then spend the rest of the night hanging out on the fire escape.

It was standard procedure between them.

You know, until they realized that they greatly underestimated the number of bad guys that were creeping in the warehouse. Like, we thought there were four but there were fifteen altogether sort of underestimated.

It wasn’t like Peter and Joelle weren’t capable of taking on fifteen bad guys, but like…maybe not all at once would have been nice? It’s just that when you have two high school sophomores — super powered or not — taking on fifteen grown men with weapons, nothing really went smoothly. The element of surprise had originally been on Spider-Man and Reappear’s sides, but that all quickly went to shit when they did a quick head count.

God, Jo would bet her whole life that Daredevil didn’t have to deal with this bullshit over in the Kitchen.

Anyways, despite that minor roadblock, things had been going swimmingly for the most part. Peter had dropped in quickly, delivering some really cheesy and corny line before webbing up a few guns and guys. Jo had appeared only seconds later, giving a sarcastic remark, teleporting to the bad guys other side when they made a reach for her, before harshly hitting them in the head. Bodies were quickly dropping to the floor unconscious or entirely stuck together with whatever Peter’s web fluid was made of, the group of men quickly dwindling.

When they were down to a very small, very manageable group, they managed to get the jump on Joelle. Apparently, her normally impeccable timing with teleporting out of the way before getting hit was wearing down just a tad what with the whole fifteen bad guys instead of four ordeal.

That being said, when she went to fake out the first bad guy, she ended up screwing herself over. His elbow had made contact with her arm, causing her to stumble into the path of his friend. The second one’s fist had managed to clip her head at the last possible second and while she still managed to teleport away from him, she landed in a completely different spot then she had intended to, crumpling to the ground in a pathetic heap as a searing pain radiated over her skull.

“Fucking hell,” she moaned, her voice thick with pain. She could make out the sound of Peter yelling, either to her or at the idiots who managed to take her down a peg, but she blocked that out. Rolling over onto her side slowly, letting out a pained hiss as she bit out, “Milo? On a scale of one to ten, how fucked am I?”

In only a few seconds, her Tony Stark approved (and occasionally Dax Gonzalez hacked) AI replied. “Initial scans don’t detect any permanent any damage. Presence of a concussion is unlikely, although you may experience headache like symptoms for quite a bit. Perhaps an ibuprofen would be sufficient at masking the pain?”

“I don’t suppose this suit has a super secret med dispenser?”

“That’s a negative.”

“Perfect,” she muttered out through gritted teeth.

A couple of yells, groans, and thwip sounds later, she felt someone looming over her. Wincing when she forced her eyes open, Jo could see the blurry image of her boyfriend crouched over her, face more than likely contorted in concern under the mask of his suit. Blinking a few times, Jo craned her neck to see both guys that had hit her webbed up agains the back wall.

“Nice job, Spider-Loser,” she croaked out, causing the eyes on the suit to constrict as Peter peered down at her.

“I thought we said we weren’t going to call me that anymore,” Peter whined, effectively sounding like an upset three year old.

Jo tried to shake her head, but only groaned, her hand darting to hold the side of her head as if that was going to make any difference. Lowly, she replied, “We discussed no such thing.”

Peter sighed, but moved on nonetheless. “Did they hurt you?”

“Dumb and Dumber over there?” Peter nodded. “Oh yeah, definitely. Asshole clipped my forehead before I could jump out of there.”

Another sigh. “C’mon, we should go. Karen said the cops are on their way anyways, so we should be fine leaving them here.”

“You know Jameson’s gonna be on our asses in the Bugle if we hero and dash again,” Jo replied, managing a small chuckle through her lips.

Peter shrugged. She was certain if the mask wasn’t covering his face, his usual boyish smile would be tugging at his lips. “He’s just gonna call us menaces to the city either way,” he told her, helping her to her feet. He managed to maneuver her to sling her arms around his shoulders and once he’s certain she won’t let go of him, he nodded at her. “And besides, you probably need an ice pack or something.”

“And pizza?”

Raising his free arm up towards the skylight he’d burst in through earlier, web shooter aimed at the ready, he laughs. “Definitely pizza.”

#asks #prompt lists #petejo #otp: crime fighting super losers #thanks so much for the request!#whindsor

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drink-n-watch · 5 years

Text

I’ve never spoken about this before but did you guys know that Crow is the one that adds in all the links in these posts? Even when I’m the one hosting, Crow just goes through my paragraphs and adds all the relevant links without ever being asked and without ever even mentioning anything. He just sort of naturally does it. To help me out and give you all a better experience. Some people are like that. They gravitate towards helping whenever they can in any way they can. If the rest of us are lucky enough, we can meet someone like that. There’s a name for it…

Thank you Crow, I do appreciate these little things. I’m sorry it took me so long to say something.

You’re most welcome! I don’t even notice I’m doing it anymore; it’s kinda automatic. In the back of my mind, I worried that I was taking liberties with your text, which wasn’t at all what I intended to do! Glad it came across in the right spirit!

Oh, I’m bold, there will be spoilers, etc…

I’m writing this before Crow reads it but I bet he’s gonna hem and haw and play it down. Of course he is. He isn’t the sort to hoard credit. And he’ll find some excuse to blow it off, like say that I must be in a particularly good mood. And maybe I am, ‘cause this was a fantastic episode! Doesn’t change that I really appreciate what Crow does.

So, do I send the small, unmarked bills to the same address as usual? You were even more kind than usual, so I feel like I should include a bonus or something…

One thing I appreciate is when a series has some reverence for its own lore and history. This is why I love subtle throwbacks. Like the opening scene of this episode which recalled the first moments of the series. Just that already had me in a happy place. But when I saw that Froppy and Uraraka were in fact fighting and holding their own, well I just cheered.

It was fantastic to see the ladies front and center like that. And kicking behind at it! The scene was a short opening tag but it gave me all I needed. The action was fluid and fun to watch. The girls were efficient, powerful and worked very well together. And their mentor, Ryuko, who was on screen for less than a minute, somehow manage to come off as one of the best hero mentors in the series. She gave encouragement and tangible practical advice that was easy to follow and understand. Plus she let the students do the actual work but made sure everything was under control. I am impressed by this agency! One of the best pro heroes, possibly aside from Eraserhead, I’ve seen so far!

It was great to see Froppy and Uraraka again! Froppy was her usual cool, efficient self, and even though she was nervous, Urakaka showed how far she’s come in her training too.

I’d read some Tweets where fans were talking about Ryuko, and I tried not to pay attention because I didn’t want any spoilers. I came away with a vague idea that we should expect great things from her. Based on everything you noticed about how she handled herself and the students that were her responsibility, I think I see signs of greatness.

Or tragedy. They could be setting up a non-core cast member who we grow to love. Just before her final encounter with Overhaul. Seriously, the more I see of that guy, the more worried I become on behalf of our heroes…

That was a lot of text about the little scene before the opening credits. This episode wasn’t about the girls. And normally I might think that’s too bad. The fact that I don’t should clue you in on how this post is about to go.

If you remember, 3 1-A students had been contacted by members of the Big Three. Tsuyu and Uraraka by Neijire (who seems delightful) and Kirishima was contacted by the usually reserved Tamaki. It seemed odd from the start for someone so introverted as to feel the need to constantly hide his face to reach out to someone, and someone as loud and boisterous as Kirishima at that. Only it wasn’t, because as it turns out, Tamaki is smarter than me… But we’ll get back to that.

Tamaki is currently under the tutelage of pro hero and Totoro lookalike, Fat Gum, and he has enlisted Kirishima to join the agency. And what a time to be a professional hero! Behind the scenes Overhaul and Shigaraki seem about ready to strike a deal.

Watching these two together was chilling, but what struck me most was just how calm Shigaraki was. I thought the loss of All for One would have broken him, but it doesn’t even seem to have phased him. In fact he sounded more confident and mature than ever before. I have a feeling that’s a very bad thing…

I think his earlier encounter with Overhaul affected him quite a lot. I got the sense he actually felt responsible for the survivors like Himiko and Mr. Compress. Instead of hurling himself in a despairing fury, he’s regrouped and has begun to exert some self control. As you said, that’s a very bad thing!

In order to secure his place in this wild new world and protect his assets (I have a feeling this guy doesn’t really have allies), Overhaul has devised a plan which would let people considerably boost the power of their own quirks for a short period and also render other incapable of using their quirks for some time. Both through the use of drugs. A devious plan indeed. Super strengthened villains against powerless heroes. I guess we’re about to find out if the quirk makes the man.

Or woman!

But at least the heroes know about this plan now. Now that Fat Gum, Kirishima and Tamaki have been confronted by it. In their first actual chance to work as a trio, our heroes easily catch a group of villains trying to escape after a robbery. Well Fat catches most of them and Tamaki takes care of the one that manages to get through. It’s a very smooth operation, both heroes are obviously quite skilled.

Everything should have ended there. Bright headlines the next day and Kirishima feeling a little bummed he didn’t get to do anything. That was all it should have been really. It was dumb stupid lack of luck that made it so that one of Overhaul’s minions, some guy so far down the line that Overhaul’s probably never even herad of him, happened to be in the crowd of onlookers. Just some guy frustrated by his lack of power, bitter at the display of skill right in front of him, and possessing the one thing that could destroy that power, at least for now. A gun capable of shooting drug capsules. And one manages to hit Tamaki straight on. Of course there are two more Heroes there and Kirishima immediately jumps in to avoid Tamaki getting hit again. Kirishima’s hardening skills makes him ideal as a human shield and the second capsule bounces off him without having the chance to inject anything. This is when I started realizing Tamaki was smarter than me. Kirishima really is a hero, wouldn’t you say?

Yeah, and we see that in all its awesome glory in a few moments. He moved almost like Izuku, before he even received his Quirk, had moved to protect Bakugou. It’s not something he did to look good. It’s something he did simply because of who he is.

At this point the situation isn’t quite clear. The first batch of villains have been handed off to the police. The gunman has run off and Kirishima took to the chase. Tamaki seems unhurt so Fat is about to follow the other two but suddenly it becomes apparent that the boy can’t summon his quirk. It just won’t work.

I’ll give it to Tamaki, he was upset, of course, but he really reacted calmly all things considered. I must say, I like Tamaki a lot. The cast needed an Eeyore to even it out!

Not only that, but did you notice that Fat Gum listened to him instead of continuing to speed off? I’m really glad we got to meet both Fat Gum and Ryuko this episode. They seem like the middle class of heroes — people trying to live up to their calling and pass on their wisdom to the young ‘uns. Just good folk!

It will be nice to have someone like Tamaki to balance the relentless (and sometimes exhausting!) positivity from Izuku and even Mirio and Neijire (or maybe especially those last two!).

The focus changes to Kirishima and this minor villain. He’s just some guy with a weak quirk who saw his team of villains get taken down without being able to do anything. He’s a bad guy, for sure. He’s also just a guy who wants to help his friends and needs to get stronger to do so but doesn’t know how. His fears, and frustration perfectly echo those of every UA student. And Kirishima is a big softie, so his sympathies get immediately engaged.

But there’s a job to do and a confrontation to win, and villains don’t play fair — what would be the point? When Kirishima obviously has the upper hand, the other guy (I should really look up his name – I couldn’t find it; even in the Fandom Wiki, the closest think I could find was a page about Trigger, the drug) decides to play his trump card and injects himself with something that immediately makes him way stronger.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Utena, Crow, but seeing that guy with all the blades through him really reminded me of the symbolic imagery in that show.

It was impressive. Even more impressive with that it cut into Kirishima! I admired how calm he remained, even as the blades were cutting into him. His calm under pressure it going to serve him well!

So this is it. Big decision time. The proper thing for a student hero with no real practical experience would be to fall back and get reinforcements. That sounds reasonable. But there are bystanders around and this guy doesn’t look like he’s about to go peacefully anywhere…

I always liked Kirishima. I like nice guys and he was a bright smiley good natured type. I figured that’s why I liked him. Also I like redheads. That wasn’t it, though. I was a bit slow to pick up on it but, Tamaki knew all along. There are a few general types of heroes in My Hero Academia. The cool and reasoned ones like Eraserhead and Tamaki, the efficient result oriented, slightly power hungry ones like Endeavor and Bakugo, the practical ones like Uraraka and Froppy; and then there are the optimistic idealist dorks like Mirio, All-Might, Deku and… Kirishima.

This kid is a hero to the core and it’s completely unrelated to his ego or circumstances. He’s just an uncomplicated straightforward good guy. The type I scold for their lack of foresight and roll my eyes at their single mindedness; and hold in my heart relieved that there are still heroes out there. Determinators are not a particularly interesting character archetype but I don’t hate them. Not at all. I always liked Kirishima, this little sequence, made me admire him.

He not only stayed put to actively protect the bystanders. He tailored his attack to attract the villain’s blades! Sure, he had just powered up and was reasonably sure the blades couldn’t skewer him, but only for another 30 or 40 seconds. And he had no way to know for sure that his strength was enough. Yes, he was so dedicated to protecting everyone he just did it.

Did you notice the minor flashback we got? The one where he drew inspiration to charge “forward like a horse?” To me, it was the most astonishing thing I saw in this episode, and it ranks right up there in the whole series.

It was Bakugou! He actually inspired someone! I was absolutely astounded.

You what? The very few instances of Bakugo we’ve seen have been mostly positive. His presence also seems to have calmed down Deku and spur on Todoroki. I wonder if the writers are trying to make a tiny character rehabilitation.

Kirishima manages to hold his own but it takes pretty much everything he’s got. At the very end, Fat manages to catch up and cut off the bad guy’s escape. It was an exhausting fight but a very enlightening one. Not only did Kirishima get a chance to figure out what type of hero he wants to be, but it also got everyone a little closer to figuring out the villain’s plan. But is it already too late?

The first step to thwarting a trap is to be aware of the trap… I think I learned that in Dune.

During those last moments of the evening, Kirishima and Tamaki get to chat a bit. Tamaki clearly tells Kirishima how much he reminds him of Mirio. I don’t think Kirishima caught on though. It’s a nice compliment for sure, but coming from Tamaki it takes on a whole new meaning. Tamaki idolizes Mirio and considers him an example of what a hero should be. He didn’t randomly pick some loud first year to help with their internship, he chose someone who he thought worthy. And he is saying as much. Even if Kiri might not understand it just yet. I hope these two can partner up for a while. They make a good odd couple.

They’ve certainly learned that they can rely on each other. There’s nothing like a dangerous fight to learn someone’s character!

This whole quirk nullifying storyline has a lot of very personal implications for Deku. On the one hand he is potential the most experienced and best placed person to fight without a quirk, having grown up quirkless. On the other, gaining One for All is possibly the most important defining moment in his life, and losing it again might break the boy. Either way, it would make sense that having his quirk locked up would hit Deku drastically differently than anyone else. Man! I can’t wait to find out which way he goes!

I’m betting this is how it’d go: His emotional devastation would almost overwhelm him, even as his tactical mind was working out alternate solutions. Plus, there’s that burning desire in his very soul to be a hero. He charged that blob that was attacking Bakugou, after all! He’d end up being less effective but really well organized — while being depressed about it.

I know I was subtle about it but this was my favorite episode so far. I am pumped! What did you think Crow?

I thought it would be hard to beat the exhiliation I felt during Izuku and Mario’s confrontation with Eri and Overhaul, but you know what? Kirishima’s fight was vintage My Hero Academia. Not only that, but seeing some of my other favorite characters back in action was a joy. Outstanding episode over all.

I’m also dying to see what Ryuko’s power is!

me too

My Hero Academia s4 ep68 – I Want to Be Strong I’ve never spoken about this before but did you guys know that Crow is the one that adds in all the links in these posts?

#action #anime #blonde bishie #Collab #episodic #My Hero Academia #shonen

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connywrites · 5 years

Text

of flesh and blood 19

start - part [18]

Head in the clouds I'm daydream driftin' 'cause my focus walked out The clock keeps ticking while there's footsteps abound That feed off pennies and pounds They're getting hungrier now Substance or style? Right now, got neither, got my eyes on the dial

A single line feels 'bout the length of a mile Told this would all be worthwhile I need to wake up, wake up, wake up And still I’m thinking, when will I stop

pennin' frustrations? I'm losin' my patience (My notepad's empty 'cause my headspace is vacant) And I'm still pennin' frustrations, I'm losin' my patience (Maybe an Adderall to help concentration) I’m freaking out

Six days away, and he'd started counting every hour, sometimes even the minutes, mind buzzing with paranoia as he expected the thing to always be right behind him. The mental focus on RK900 only became worse as time went on and he found himself drumming his fingers on the desk, clicking his pen in and out, scrambling obsessively over the case files before finally catching attention from the nearest officer approaching him; Chris.

"You get enough sleep last night? You look like hell," he said mostly with blandness, but the clicking was low-key driving him insane.

"Tch, no," he replied with immediate honesty.

"I can't sleep. Nightmare city." He didn't usually talk about his personal life and the DPD wasn't generally sympathetic, but as he changed himself for the better, the tension seemed to gradually ease. He never thought he would, but he appreciated it in moments like this when he was so stressed and a bad workday would only make it worse.

Chris brought his chair over and sat down next to Gavin, linking his hands as he gave him a polite, but serious stare.

"I know you've been doing better, but this situation you have with the android is definitely strange." Respectfully, he kept his voice low enough not to attract attention. Gavin sped up the thrumming of nails on his desk, and Chris grabbed Gavin’s chair to move him away from the terminal. Gavin looked momentarily offended, folding his arms and clenching his fists as he lacked anything to do with them.

"If you've earned any PTO, I'd suggest you take it for the next week. If it's this hard on you..." He didn't know what else to say. They weren't exactly close.

"I can't focus on my cases. I can't think. I'd love a break, but that thing follows me home and it can't get away with that shit here, so I’m better off," he murmured, looking away with the loss of dignity from his admission.

"I'm worried that Cyberlife isn't taking this seriously," he offered, and Gavin's eyes trailed back to him as he sulked, but still listened.

"The androids are supposed to help and protect us. Sure, it's helped you, but I've never heard anything like that." Without going into detail about the ordeal, Gavin had written that he felt "unsafe" around the android on the appeal, and Chris must have seen it before it was deleted. Great. He didn't even want to imagine who else might have heard about it.

"Yeah. Whatever happened between that," Gavin started with a pointed nod at Connor, who sat at the terminal across from Hank's, "and that," he continued with another nod at the 900 currently parked by Fowler's office, hands behind its back as it remained unassuming. It sickened him.

"They fucked up somewhere. Go figure I get the worse one. Bet they planned on that, too," he griped. Chris leaned back in his seat, puffing his cheeks with a thoughtful, but defeated blow of air.

"It's just a week. Maybe there's something else you can do, but I know you don't really want the word getting around."

"Too late for that," he griped. Chris' expression fell.

"It's not outside of the DPD...yet."

"Who 'm I gonna talk to?" He remarked sarcastically.

"'Hey, Kamski, your androids really suck ass. Can I get compensation for my injuries caused by dumbass machines?'" He rolled his eyes, and Chris only nodded in response to his point.

"Cyberlife doesn't seem as trustworthy as we originally thought. This on top of the deviant business...I don't know," Chris admitted, glancing at Connor.

"The involvement with Warren and the way the company never says anything is weird to me."

"Finally, people are catching on," Gavin degraded with a slow clap and huffed.

"Er. Sorry," he then said dismissively, catching Chris off guard. The changes were still so strange and took time to get used to, and there was the added discomfort of knowing Gavin didn't necessarily change for the better of his own accord – quite the opposite.

"Anyways, I want that tin can gone fast but there's nothing I can do about it now."

"What about Anderson?"

"What about him?"

"He said Connor's been fine, but also violent." He paused, narrowing his eyes with an idea before leaning in closer and lowering his voice.

"Was it always hurting you? Or did it just start?" Gavin froze as he remembered what he could of the night with the Vicodin, swallowing awkwardly and averting his glare.

"It just started. Well. I guess I pissed it off." Closing his eyes, he deeply repressed the negative emotions trying to bubble up from talking about it. No doubt 900 already knew, and he'd suffer for it later.

"What'd you do?" Nope. Not going there.

"I said I pissed it off. Does it matter?" Holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender, Chris slid his chair away in body language for backing off.

"Maybe not. I thought it might help us figure it out if we knew what hapened." Guilt struck him like lightning.

"I got mad and I fought it and it never stopped fighting me back, I guess." His voice was so quiet Chris barely heard him.

"That's what you do? You fight it?"

"No," he barked.

"I'd be in here with a black eye and a bloody nose if I did. That thing's usually more subtle, but..." he tapped beside the wound on his neck from last month, now mostly scarred over. Chris looked surprised, then worried, then defeated in a matter of a few seconds.

"That thing could kill you," he said sternly with a bit of surprise from his own dawning realization. Gavin glared at him with a stare that said what he was asking without so many words.

"You don't think.." Catching himself, he instinctually winced, straightening up his posture and clearing his throat.

"I know. It knows, too." Chris winced.

"Has...it tried?" Gavin wished he could find somewhere more discreet to talk about it.

"No. But it's threatened to." Chris stared long and hard with a solemn stare.

"Maybe this is why they're cancelling the series," he thought aloud.

"Hopefully. And it better be fixed by the next model."

Five days away and he was late for work after RK900 dragged him out from bed, yanking his body upright with a few smacks across the ass and a tase to the side. Surprised from the pain and still disoriented from sleep, he yelped, heart kickstarting into the ever-familiar fast, overwhelming pace with anxiety that rattled his body.

"How dare you," it seethed under its breath, between its teeth. Another identifiable replication of the way he'd treated it in the past. Why was the 900 such a mimicry machine? He didn't see any use in it, from back then or now.

As soon as Gavin tried to stand up straight, he felt the yank of his hair as the android lead him out of the bedroom.

"O-oh God, please, I'm sorry, p-please don't hurt me," he whined, feeling pathetic as he tried to cover his body with his arms, but it did little good for the vulnerable feeling as he was cold and naked, as he now usually started the day.

"If you think you're getting out of this you have another thing coming." He felt his body tremble from cold and fear, wobbling as he'd nearly lost his balance while adrenaline begged him to struggle free and run-- even though that had already been proven to be an ultimately useless endeavor from the last attempt.

The crack was swift, as were his screams of pain. The lacerations dug deep and hurt more than anything else it had done yet.

"I would hospitalize you if you didn't have work to do."

"Y-you didn't s-say anything last n--" The next whip was worse as he remembered he didn't watch his phrasing at all. Two more followed. He covered his mouth with his hand so the screams wouldn’t be so loud, but RK900 was quick to remove it and he did nothing else, frozen with wide eyes of fear.

"Because I was taking care of the case files you skipped and had to visit a scene. Lucky you, hm? You're not eating breakfast this morning." Another slash, and another shrill howl of agony.

"P-please, s-stop," he whimpered, sniffling as the tears wasted no time spilling over his cheeks. Narrowing its eyes, it pulled his face close to its own, glaring directly into his eyes.

"What did I tell you about that?"

"Sorry, sir," he said swiftly, trying not to avert his gaze as the fear of seeing its face alone was overwhelming.

"Please, i-it hurts, so bad," he grunted, but mostly under his breath, feeling the hot tears spill down his cheek.

"Shut up," it demanded with a smack across the face. Lip quivering with another sob, he withdrew, looking at the floor and nodding as he would when his father scolded him all the same.

"You weren't scared enough when your gun was between your teeth? Maybe this time you can eat nails." Gavin did his best to remain still, saying nothing, exactly as he was told.

Work was perfect. Gavin was well-behaved and his posture and mannerisms were flawless. He never once stuttered or mumbled, his attention remained on his work as he kept to himself until break, sauntering to the table and glancing up at the TV to stare blankly at the screen, but he was unable to mentally digest any of it. His back still hurt like hell, but it was externally unnoticeable as his behavior didn’t change so as not to let on he was hurt, knowing better than to risk his demise from the 900 any further.

The news. Androids, androids, androids. Ever-rising deviancy. Jericho. Junkyards. Armies. It all swirled in his head like a surreal dream, distant and hazy as he pretended to forget the reality he was in.

Dozing off in his chair from pure exhaustion, he nearly leapt from his seat as he felt the tap on his arm; Tina, offering a fresh cup of coffee that smelled delightful.

"I know we aren't best friends or anything, but I hate seeing you like this," she said with concern, sliding it over. Gavin ignored it, knowing accepting it alone would further encourage him getting hurt, and he'd had enough of that from the morning prior.

"Thanks for caring," he murmured, followed by a sigh as he put his hands to his temples before running them along his hair in a motion of stress.

"Thanks for saying thanks," she chimed with a halfhearted smile.

"Hey, do you wanna hang out? Catch a movie or something?" Maybe he could get a moment of peace if she helped him get away from the android for even a minute, she figured. Surprised, he looked up at her, waking up a bit from the question alone.

"What?" He couldn't help the surprise in his voice.

"You’re like, losing your mind. It'll help to get out for a bit. What do you say?" Nudging him in the shoulder, she thought of an idea.

"That new movie is out, from the series you like. Wanna go see it?"

"I'm broke," he denied.

"I'll pay." Theaters were crowded and noisy, alongside a few other excuses he tried to think of, but none of them left his mouth. Generally he favored action movies; now he didn’t want to see a gun, an explosion, or an angry white man’s face ever again.

"I'd have to ask, and I'll get shut down. Thanks, Chen, but don't bother," he muttered, already glancing around for any sight of the 900. She frowned, looking genuinely hurt with glossy eyes of concern.

"Alright, Gavin," she responded, remembering his comment about his name from the board meeting.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you. No one deserves it, not even you." Touched by the sentimentality, his cheeks burned with a darkened tint and he glanced away, which she found oddly endearing.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Who cares? Not me. It's gonna be gone soon and I'm going to party about it, by myself, in my own house. Come over if you want." Looking a bit surprised, she shrugged and nodded.

“That’s strangely social of you,” she said with only a sprinkle of sarcasm considering how entirely isolative the phrase was otherwise.

“Next week it is,” she agreed nonetheless. He raised his eyebrows and flashed her a one-sided smile, waving her off as he stood up to get back to work; he felt a bit more stable after the interaction.

#speakin of chapter 19 my frien....#also gav tries to get out of this n gets punished AGAIN the entire saga. thats the series the end #dbh: gavin reed #dbh: rk900 #detroit: become human

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