#…at least right now I could jinx myself | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

grugruel · 11 months ago

Text

Wicked Game

Pairings: cop!bucky x f!reader

MDNI/NSFW

Masterlist

Summary: An out of control college party gets crashed by cops, someone tattled, and a cop chase ensues.

The chief is an old friend of your family, who you'd always had a crush on.

Thinking he's harmless, you talk back. But he can only hold back for so long.

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: reader is 20, pinv sex, rough sex, oral sex (m and f recieving), choking, uniform kink, sir kink, reader being bratty, bucky doing something about it!! edging, orgasm denial, overstimulation, handjob, fingering, pet names (girl, doll), praise (yay), mentions of masturbation, slight marking, degrading ish? cum eating, creampie, power dynamic, some soft!bucky at the end.

AN: This is not a Lee bodecker fic! This is just regular, muscly cop!bucky.

Blaring music and thumping bass fill an already crowded house, drunk daredevils otherwise inhabiting it.

God, my skull feels like it's about the cave in. The average college experience in other words.

I'd been drinking the least out of my friends, yet I felt the worst. They sat on the couch around me, trying the wide assortment of drugs that were splayed out in front of us. Littering the table along with various hard liqour bottles, all mostly empty.

Drugs arent my forte, but I wont nark them.

The party had only been going for an hour or so, I think? My lockscreen told me it was 2 in the night, holy shit? It had been 5 hours.

How the hell had no one called the cops yet? Little did I know, how badly I jinxed myself.

'Guys, Guys.' I lazily shrugged the shoulders of two of my friends sitting on each side of me, 'We- we, gotta go.'

'We're fine!' One of them drawled, splaying out on the couch.

I shook my head, head thumping in each bend, 'Theres literally. . .' I paused, searching tiredly for the right words, 'Uhm- No way! That the cops arent on their way here like, right now.'

'We've lasted this long.' The other said, shrugging his shoulders, grinning.

I groaned, 'Fine!' And threw my hands up in defeat, my friend observed me smugly. He held up some coke for me, raising his brows in question. To which I shook my head again.

A sharp alarm cut through the music, everyone groaned, heads complaining at the sound. I figured it was something with the sound system, but no.

I just had to jinx myself, remember?

As my ears adjusted to the sound, I realised. It's sirens, two or three. Cops.

'It's the fucking cops!' I shouted, alerting everyone. The music cut off, and the sirens clarified into the deafening sound of jail, or curfew. Depending on the cop. I was hoping and dreading the Chief in equal amounts, he could take it easy on me, or not.

I roused my friends, dragging them up from the couch and filtering them through the backdoor. Along with at least a hundred other people our age.

My attempts at freeing them had made me lag behind, one of my friends grabbed my arm, 'Come on!' She shouts, trying to pull me with them. But theres to many people between us and she loses her grip, swept away by the crowd.

The front door swings open behind me, and I freeze. Slowly turning around, I see a tall, broad shouldered figure standing silently observing the chaos from the doorway. He stepped inside, searching the crowd, and eventually. His eyes land on me.

'Give em' hell. Get the ones you can!' He barks the orders at his men, and then his eyes narrow in on me. Staring me down, 'And leave this one to me.' His words make my skin crawl, in fear of my parents finding out and possibly, excitement?

I wouldn't say no to punishment dealt by Chief Barnes.

His men rush past me out the backdoor, leading me to back up slowly. Placing the Coffee table between me and the Chief, securing myself somewhat.

Slowly, he stalks forward. A slanted smile growing with every step that he takes, making chills run up my spine. His uniform does him good I notice, shirt and pants sitting around his muscles perfectly. Belt and gun? Hot.

'Heeey, Buck.' I smile cheapishly, 'Fancy meeting you here.' Testing the waters, seeing what chances my charms have of easing the situation for myself.

He nods, raising his eyebrows in response and grins in spite, as if answering, "I'm sure it is" and "You're in deep fuckin shit now."

I laugh nervously and try again, 'I didn't know you enjoy college parties Buck? Or just, college girls?'

Amused, he steps closer, It's now only the table separating us. I step up on the couch behind me, desperately trying to make up for the space I'm losing. He puts his hands around his belt buckle, smirking. At least my incredibly funny self seems to have softened him.

He looks down, studying its content, then looks back up at me. His face turns displeased, undoing all my previous hard work to humour him.

I follow his gaze, looking at the table myself, and it dawns on me, 'No no no no!' I throw out in panic, 'Listen, Buck. . .'

'What could you possibly have to say-' he began and lowered his head, giving me a serious look, 'To get yourself out of this one?' referring to the table.

'I can think of a few things, I might have an ace in my sleeve.' I smirk. Metaphoricly speaking of course, my blouse does not have long sleeves.

He takes a firm step closer, a bemused look on his face, 'Ok Ok! It's not mine! It's not, mine.' I gesture to myself, then to the table in erratic motions. 'I'm an innocent bystander, I just sat on the couch. Never even touched the stuff.' I hold my hands up, palms out. As if it would stop him.

'Theres nothing innocent about you girl.' He tells me sternly, the corner of his lip tugging.

Stunned, there's a sudden flutter in my stumache.

Suddenly, the energy between us change. The tension grows and the look in his eyes turn hungry, like a hunter watching its prey.

'Pinky promise?' I ask, shrugging cheapishly.

He takes a few quick steps toward me, rounding the table. But I run to the end of the couch, making sure that the table is still between us. Butterflies surge through my body, giddy from excitement. This is the most fun I'd had all night. 'Buck, let's- lets be civil about this, alright? Let's just talk.' I giggle.

He chuckles, 'Oh, you think this is funny?'

Nodding, 'Kind of, yes. . .' I tease.

'We're far past talking.' He breathes, 'Had I been anyone else, had I not known your parents, you would've been in cuffs by now.'

My eyes turn mischievous, 'Whats stopping you?' I tilt my head, 'I assure you, I wouldn't mind.' And grin.

He chews the inside of his cheek, then charges, and I run, swivelling to avoid solo cups and various balloons on the floor. I hear his footsteps behind me, catching up. My agility is nothing compared to his raw muscle and speed, but I swerve into the kitchen, adrenaline kicking in. And manage to take cover behind the kitchen island.

Bucky grinds to a halt, slamming his palms into the counter, catching himself against it. Once again, im in safety. For a while at least.

'Youre gonna have to be faster than that.' I pant, grinning. He meets my eyes, pure animalistic tendencies behind them. The look on his face has me biting my lip, I couldn't wait for him to catch me. 'C'mon Chief.' I purr.

And somethings in his eyes ignite at the word, oh?

'Chief?' I test and he grunts, eyes glaring at me through his eyebrows. Naturally, I delve deeper, 'You feeling quite alright. . . Sir?'

He tilts his head with a jerk, then laughs 'You've done it now.' Those are warning words. Then he jumps, sliding over the counter.

'Holy shit!' I squeek as I take of running, narrowly avoiding his grasp. I run through the house with Bucky right on my heels, nothing but the the thrill of the chase keeping me going.

I run out by the backdoor, then stupidly enough, take a right. Into a garden, a fenced in garden. The high type of fence too. I regret my decision the second I see notice it, but its to late. Buckys steps slow behind me, and I slow to a stop myself as I come face to face with a dead-end. 'Oh, fuck me.' I breathe, absolutely exhausted.

'Famous last words, doll.' He cuckles between pants.

I turn around and smile through the pain, 'Ha ha! Funny guy. What. A funny. Guy.' I clench my teeth, sighing.

My eyes lock onto his frame, hands on his hips as he's catching his breath. Mesmerized I stare, men in uniform, huh? Im starting to see the appeal.

Slowly, he begins walking toward me, prowling like a tiger. He grabs hold of his belt, pulling it upward to adjust his pants.

God damn.

My uterus is aching, my entire body is aching. I would've drooled if I hadnt come to my senses, escaping. Right.

I make a break for it. In one quick motion, I turn around and jump. Grabbing hold of the upper ledge of the fence and pull myself up, my feet scrambling against the wood to find some sort of purchase. But im too slow, too focused. I didn't even hear him come up behind me, but I did feel his big hands on my waist.

He yanks me down and pushes me toward the fence, his body flush against my back. I gasp and he digs his fingertips into my waist, making sure I don't escape again. His touch makes me yearn for more, I want it deeper.

He levels his head with mine, leaning in close to my ear. Close enough to feel his hot breathing against the skin on my neck, 'I got you now.' He whispers, making my skin prickle with goosebumps and setting of a pulse deep below my stumache. But I wasn't willing to give up just yet. With my hands free, I pry his own from my waist and turn around, pushing him back by the chest.

Now. . . The intention was to push him hard enough to give me space to run past, but. . .

He barely budged, he grabbed my wrists and pushed me back against the fence, pinning my body between the wood and himself. Wrists in hand, he anchored my arms to my sides by grabbing onto the fabric of my skirt. Rouching it, he helt the flesh of my ass under his fingers.

I laugh nervously, 'You're not gonna tell mom and dad are you?'

He just chuckles, fuck im truly, in deep shit.

I try wriggling free from his grip, but he holds my wrists tighter, carefully slamming them into the fence above my head and leans against me. Leaving zero space for me to move, every curve of our bodies complete the others, I swear I can feel his bulge against my hip. He moves his face closer to mine, needing me to crane my neck upward to meet his eyes. When I do, a self-satisfied smile covers his lips. His face inches from my own, we were basically sharing one breath as his lips barely brush over mine. 'You gonna be a good girl for me and behave?' He asks, breathing heavily.

I whine, he can't possibly turn me on more. 'Depends.' I say.

''Yeah?' He practically whimpers.

I close the distance between our lips, but he pulls back and smiles, teasing me. I meet his eyes and we look at eachother intently, as if entranced, I cant break contact.

He lets go of my wrists and traces his hands down my arms, all the way down to my hands. Chills run amock over my body, I close my eyes and lean in again, but suddenly-

I hear a clasp, then another and I can just feel him smirk against me. My eyes go wide and I realise, 'You didn't.' glaring at him.

'I did.' He laughs, 'What made you think you were in a position to negotiate?'

I look down and sure enough, cuffs bind my wrists together. Shocked, my mouth falls open. I didnt even feel him reach for them.

He backs up and grabs my arm, pulling me with him. 'Could you at least let me off around the corner from our house?' I ask as we make our way toward his car, he glaces down at me but doesnt answer, 'So they dont see me get dropped off in a cruiser, you know?' He opens the front door for me, and helps me inside, 'And maybe avoid talking to them for a few weeks, you'd really be doing me a favor, Buck.' And without a word, he closes the door and walks around to his side. Getting in and driving off.

The first portion of the ride is silent, he'd done what he had to, to catch me. Damn.

Luckily for me though, the party was a long way from home. Meaning I have some time to devise a plan.

I look at my cuffs, carefully observing them. Hmm. . . I yank my hands apart, trying the strength of the schackles, hoping the sound would gather his attention.

This was a game of chance, a game of seduction and persuasion.

Gently, I tickle the skin on my upper knee, 'I really didnt do any drugs y'know.' tracing back and forth with my fingertips, acting somber. Then lay my hand flat against my thigh, squeezing it absentmindedly. Continuing with rubbing small, firm circles with my index finger into my skin and turn to look out of the window.

Bucky clears his throat. The reaction I was looking for, perfect.

I spread my legs slightly, letting my hands slide down either side of my thigh. Clasping them together underneath and slide them up along my thigh. The skirt catching on my cuffs, revealing more and more of my-

-his hand flies to my thigh, hooking the cuff over his thumb and squeezing my flesh. Keeping me from showing anything more. Fuck, my core is throbbing from that alone.

'Buck?' I ask innocently.

'Dont' he croaks, voice sounding pained.

'Sorry-' I pause, glancing at him carefully. His eyes are fixed sternly on the road, 'We could talk about this like adults you know, make a deal.' He squeezes my thigh harder, I lift one hand with the restricted movements of my cuffs and caress his fingertips, 'A real good deal, benefitial for the both of us' I suggest.

'You talk too much for your own good, girl.'

'I'm not quite sure what you mean, Sir?. .' I bite my lip as he looks over at me, meeting my eyes through my lashes. 'You wouldn't tell on me to my parents, would you?' I ask, giving him my best puppy eyes.

He looks away, sitting silently until the next exit comes up. He flashes his indicators and turn off the main road, parking in an empty clearing.

'You want a deal, doll?' He asks, looking straight ahead. Sliding the cuffs off his thumb as his hand travel downward, fingertips sliding under my skirt, knuckles brushing over my clothed clit. Lust flashes through my nerves, and I gasp.

'A deal, or you. Both sound good to me.' I whisper, on the edge of my seat. Eagerly awaiting his answer, waiting for him.

He looks back at me, meeting my eyes with a fiendish grin, 'Then put that big mouth of yours to use.' He orders.

Nodding enthusatically, I lean over. Unbuckling his belt and zip down his pants, I reach into his boxers and fuuuuck, my hands barely fit around him. I pull him out and pull my hands to my mouth, wetting my fingers before returning them. One hand carefully stroking small circles around his tip, while the other strokes him up and down in cylindrical motions along his shaft.

The chief of police bites his lip, muffling a whimper as I move faster, 'Uhh- mmm. .' He hums, 'Yes- yes, doll. Fuck. .' He stutters.

Such a strong man crumbling under the touch of a woman, it was turning me on like nothing ever has, the power I hold is surprising.

His fingers move under my panties and slide along my slit, making it my turn to moan. I Buck my hips to give him better access, and he dips his fingers inside me. Pumping them slowly as he's getting them wet, then slides up to my clit, circling around it. 'Holy-' I gasp, 'Shit.'

We buck our hips to the others touch, leaning against the other, shoulder to shoulder, temple to temple. Moaning breathely. Our lips finally meeting in a needy kiss, tounges moving with the rhythm of our bodies. 'Please, doll. Be a good girl.' He begs between our lips.

Fuck me, that heartbeat in my utherus spread in pulses through out my entire body.

I grin and pull back. Leaning over, I carefully lick the leaking cum off his tip clean, then take him in my mouth. I swirl my tongue around his head, licking greedily. Tasting the salt of him. I push deeper, sucking his length into my mouth. The sloppy sounds of saliva and lips were vulgar inte the most intoxicating way. His hand continues massaging my clit while the other snakes into my hair, grabbing a fistful and aiding my movements. Helping me set merciless pace.

Bucky groans, our strokes growing in greed as we close in on our releases. He shoves two big fingers into my core, curling at just the right spot. Pleasure surge through me, leaving me to stuff my throat with his member, muffling a scream as I topple over the edge. I feel him come right after, my mouth filling with his seed and hearing his moan of completion. The bitterness of salt waa overwhelming to my tastebuds, I swallow what I can and pull myself off.

Leaving a sloppy mess around my mouth, I sit back and smile. Breathing heavily as I regain my strength, Bucky looks at me and laughs, 'You got something right here.' gesturing circles around his mouth, reffering to mine. I wide my mouth clean with my thumb and suck it off, Bucky smiles proudly at the sight. Then brings his own fingers to his mouth, sucking my juices off of them.

Heat ignites within me once again.

Bucky cups my face with one hand and pulls me into a kiss. The tastes of eachother mixing, I can't quite tell what is what. But it's wonderful. Bucky pulls free and looks at me, I give him a hazy, expectant look. He strokes my cheek with his thumb and slides out of the car, walking around to my side. I furrow my eyebrows as he helps me out of the passenger seat. He pulls me to the hood of the car, pushing himself against me until the back of my legs hit the grill. He leans in and whispers against my ear, 'Still need to punish ya.' He drawls, a shiver running through my spine.

'Im begging you Chief.' I look at him thtough hooded, lustfilled eyes, 'Please punish me.' I groan, smiling.

His dick twitched at the word, making him close his eyes to keep his composure. Then suddenly bends down and finds purchase under my knees. In one swift motion, he pulls, and I fall back onto the hood, 'Wanting it defeats the purpose, doll.' He growls, then opens his eyes. But the sight before him makes him unravel.

Upperbody bent to the side in an effort to prop myself up on my forearms, thanks to my cuffs. Skirt over my hips and legs spread, core exposed and ready for him.

'Do you worst, please. Sir. . .' I whisper and grin.

His eyes snap to mine, and that "You're in for it now.' Expression returns, 'Fuckin brat.' He spits.

Then, he kneels. He fuckin kneels. A shiver runs up my spine a the sight, 'Some punishment, huh?' I ask, but he only smirks. Hooking my legs over his shoulders, and grabbing each thigh to keep them spread, then, without warning, he dives in.

I bite my cheek to stop myself from screaming, pulses of pleasure run through me like electric currents. He pushes his tongue inside me, feverishly licking at my juices, exploring my walls, burrying his face in my cunt. Nose pushing up against my clit, making my back arch deliciously. 'That all you can do?' I tease, grinding my hips against his nose, desperate to get some friction. But his eyes meet mine, glaring as he moves his hands to my hips, holding me steady.

He pulls back for a second, just to spit on my cunt, then hastily returning, chasing my clit. I gasp, burrying my cuffed hands in his hair, pulling him closer as I want more. Making him moan against me, his voice vibrating against my clit. My sight blurs from the pleasure, a knot tightening inside me 'More.' I beg, 'So close.'

His tongue slide out of me, and I whine. But he licks a stipe up my cunt and then attatches at my clit, sucking and nipping at my sensitivity. My body jolts, and I shut my eyes. 'You gonna cum?' He asks, voice muffled.

I can barely answer, pleasure overwhelming me as white specks my vision, 'Ye- yeah. . ' I moan, 'So close, ju- just like th-' I begin, about to reach my climax again, but suddenly.

He let's go, pushing himself off of my clit with on last lick and sits back on his heels, watching my unravel.

'No, please, Buck.' I squrim, whining at the loss of him. I try to pull him back, but he doesn't budge. 'I'm begging, please, please.' I whimper, closing my legs and pushing them together, moving my hips for any sort of friction to finish what he started.

'Mouthy brats dont get to cum.' He chuckles and grab my knees to pull them apart. I feel a tear roll down my cheek as the knot loosens again. In a last desperate effort, I pull my hands from his hair, burrying two fingers in me while my thumb rubs my clit. Just for a second, that exctatic feeling returns, blissful sparks ignite, until- he pushes his body between my legs to keep my thighs in place and grab my wrists, ripping them from my cunt. Then laughs, he laughs.

'Not funny.' I whimper.

'It is. . . Im not done even done yet.' He says, face glistening with my juices.

I fall back against the hood groaning, as the ache in my core reaches my bones. 'I need you so bad.' I whisper.

'What was that?' He asks.

'I need you. Buck please.' I whimper.

'Can't quite hear you, doll.' He mocks, hands squeezing tighter around my wrists.

'I fuckin need you inside me, ok?' I almost shout, 'Fuck me, hard. I'm begging, jus- just need you in me.'

'Yeah?' He laughs, standing up. Hooking his hands under my knees and slide me closer to him. His hand trace my skin to my waist, getting a tight grib. Then, in one smooth motion, he flips me to my stumache.

I can't help but gasp, 'Think you can act like a brat all night, and get away with it?' He asks, smaking my ass once. I yelp, the sting making my eyes water in the most delicious way. He lines himself up with my entrance, pushing on it slightly. His tip breeching.

'Please.' I whimper, muttering a string of curses. And without warning, he shoves himself inside. Again, I bite my cheek. Pleasure rolls through me, electrocuting every nerve. He grabs my hips, sinking his fingertips deep into my skin. Silently, I beg for them to leave bruises. Theres nothing hotter than a souvenir to remember him by.

He sets a hard pace, thrusting deeply. Pulling back almost all the way before forcefully pushing himself inside again, over and over. My brain doesnt function, I can't form words, all I can do is moan. The sound of slapping skin perfectly lewd in my ear. 'Harder Buck.' I request.

He leans down, grabbing my throat and pulling me flush against his chest, pushing his nose into my cheek, 'Yeah? This not enough for you?' He asks, grunting in my ear.

'Not enough, more.' I mewl.

His hand tightens his grip around my throat, cutting off just enough air to give me a dizzying euphoria. His other hands come down on my ass again, smacking hard as he thrusts deeper. Then re-grips your hip, using it to push and pull your, making our bodies come together even harder, 'Greedy girl, cant fuckn get enough huh?' He groans between breaths, hot against your skin.

I shake my head, the only answer I can manage as I feel my walls twitching, closing around him. He can feel it too, his hips stutter, throwing his thrusts of balance. He bites my ear, lightly tugging on it before kissing my cheek gently, then kissing down my neck.

A stark contrast to the rest of his movements, it's enough to make my head spin. It's almost too much. I feel the blinding pleasure threatening to spill inside me, 'You wanna cum girl?' He asks against the crook of my neck. I nod my head enthusiastically. 'Words doll, use your words.' He breathes.

'Ye- Yes, please.' I manage, 'Wanna cum so fucking bad, Chief.'

He grunts, hand slipping from my throat to my breasts, working them roughly. Palming, squeezing, pinching 'C'mon, cum for me doll.' He says between pants and immidietly, I topple over the edge. Pleasure blinding me as he continues thrusting, continues to assault my breasts. My body begins spasming, and my knees go week, 'Bucky. . . Fuck-' I groan, but he holds me up. All my senses feel like they're about to burst as he prolongs my orgasm, stretching it out in an exhuastingly wonderful way. He bites down on my shoulder, squeezing my breasts, muffled grunts escaping him as his own body spasms and his thrusts halt, his member finally filling me with seed.

He collapses on top of me as we catch our breaths, im so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

I close my eyes for a second, but doesnt register Bucky pushing himself off of me, or him gathering me in his arms and laying me in the backseat. I don't feel him wrap his jacket around me, or the ride home.

But I do rouse from my sleep as Bucky carries me into my room and lays me down in my bed, he kisses me on the forehead, 'Hey doll.' He whispers, a soft smile on his lips.

I panic slightly as I realise that I'm home, 'Mom n' dad?' I ask anxiously.

'I made a good excuse, don't worry.' He strokes some hair from my face, 'Sleep. You need it. I'll go easier on you next time.' He promises.

'Next time?' I ask, a tired smile covering my face.

'Next time.' He assures, and you drift back to sleep. He stands up and walks to the doorway, silently watching you with admiring eyes as he carefully closes the door.

He tells your parents a made up backstory and they understand, happy to see him. They invite him to dinner next weekend and he happily accepts, he'd do anything to see you again.

He thinks about you the entire car ride home, in the shower as he beats himself off and in the morning as he wakes up with a hard on from dreams off you clenching around him.

He can do nothing but count the days until he sees you again, guranteeing himself it will be a memorable occasion.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky #bucky smut #bucky x female reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky imagine #bucky fanfiction

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mattyriddlesbitch · 4 months ago

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Sunscreen

Blaise Zabini x F!Reader

Warnings: Kissing, nothing else.

Third week of Jinxed July that @thatdammchickennugget and @finalgirllx are doing.

It was the last few days of your time at Hogwarts. Classes were done. Tests were done. Graduation was tomorrow. A lot of the 7th years decided to play in the lake. You'd never seen everyone get along so well. It wasn't house vs house. No Gryffindor vs Slytherin. No Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff. Just a bunch of 18 year olds who are excited to graduate and become actual adults.

You played in the lake with everyone for a bit before you took a break, laying on a towel just on the lakeside, basking in the sun, eyes closed.

“Caught you daydreaming about me again, didn't I?” You heard that all too familiar voice say next to you. The voice that flirted with you every chance during classes. The owner of that voice checking you out every time you passed by. The same owner, who touches you every excuse they can get.

“You caught me. I can't help myself.” You said sarcastically, opening your eyes to see Blaise standing over you.

“Sorry, ma. I know I'm just so sexy. You can't take your eyes off of me.” He was smiling at you, sunglasses perched on his nose, drops of water in his hair and, the best part in your opinion, he was shirtless.

“Well, at least you know it.” You said, shamelessly checking him out. Not like you'd probably see him again after graduation. You'd very much like to, though.

“Let me help you put on some sunscreen before you burn up.” He said, kneeling down and pulling out the bottle from your bag by your towel.

“I think that's just an excuse to touch me.” You smiled at him as he squirts the sunscreen in his hand.

“Can you blame me? You look hot, especially in this little bikini. Hard to resist.” He started rubbing the sunscreen on you, starting on your arms.

“You're as shameless as ever.” You chuckled.

“You like it. Makes you feel all good and sexy, huh?” He teased, moving down to your legs.

“Mhm. Shame that I won't get to hear your flirting in a few days.” You said, sighing softly.

“I can still do it everyday if you'd like.” He said, coming back up to rub sunscreen on your chest and stomach.

“How so? Not probable we'll even run into each other.” You looked over at his face.

“It's a simple solution. We can start going out. I can text you everyday how hot you are. Then take you out on dates where I can say it to your face.” He said it like it was such a casual thing to say, like talking about the weather.

“What?” You leaned up on your elbows, looking at him in confusion.

“Come on. I like you. And you definitely like my flirting at least. I've been playing the long game here. Give me a chance.” His hands paused as he looked back at you.

“This was some long scheme to get with me then?” You let out an amused scoff.

“I'm literally on my knees here, baby.” He said with a playful smile.

“Yeah.” You smiled, looking down to where he kneeled on the ground before looking back up at his face. “You're begging then?”

“If that's what it'll take.”

You smiled at him for a moment biting your lip in thought. “Beg then. Say ‘please’.” You said playfully.

He huffed out a chuckle. “You're killing me. Please go out with me, ma. Give me a chance.”

“You didn't even question me. I like that. Alright, I'll give you a chance.” You said, laying back down, closing your eyes again.

“For real?” He asked, sounding like he was in disbelief.

“Yeah, for real.” You chuckled.

“Fuck, all those years and all it took was a little ‘please’.”

“You never even asked.”

“Let me ask this then-can I kiss you?”

Your eyes shot back open as you looked at him. “Yeah.”

He smiled as he leaned down and kissed you gently, his hands moving to support himself on either side of you. He gave your bottom lip a little nip before pulling back to smile at you.

“Now finish putting on my sunscreen.” You said jokingly.

“Right. Yes, ma'am. Anything for my baby.” You could practically hear the smile in his voice as his hands resumed putting the sunscreen on your stomach.

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @yourenogoodforme @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff

@soaked4abby @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem @brittney-121 @leovaldezsbitch

@dracoslovergirl @littlemadamred @mattheoriddlesbitch @acornacreacure @opheliamalfoy236

@demieyesore @akira1246 @queenshu @prettypinkprincess15 @starryslytherin0

@jolly4holly @st0n3dbarbi3

Let me know if you wanna be added!

#slytherin boys #slytherin boys x reader #blaise zabini x you #blaise zabini x reader #blaise zabini fluff #slytherin boys fluff #jinxedjuly

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wisteriaphobia · 4 months ago

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Alright time to come out, not out of the closet, but I am Nat (Or Lilnatx) . I wanted to come here and share my story or fairy tales if you don't like me. I was a part of “clique 1”

Not to use my age like a pokemon card but I am 15, and I don't care what you have to say to me personally but I'm sick and tired of my name being dragged through the mud and being used as a scapegoat. But I have lots of pent up anger that I didn't have the privilege of saying.

April 3rd was the day I was banned from nevermore, with no proof. Like at all, I'm still bamboozled and scratching my head like a monkey on what was actually on me and my friends. We were accused of “shit talking” and I have yet to see the shit that we have allegedly talked about.

And honestly? Even if I did shit talk people, why… in a conversation about a predator … does that matter? I'm exhausted with how Red always fights with teenagers (like me) and other friends of mine. It's so despicable that the minions might just leave Gru for her instead. I was in gym class when I got banned and honestly? I would rather get banned 10 more times than do another plank for 2 minutes while seeing my P.E teacher's bald head.

My crimes that I did publicly (in the screenshot that red posted) is me being.. not fucking involved? Right before I got banned I was staying away from people that I previously did not enjoy and in fact I tried my best to not interact with them directly. At one point I had many members blocked on my discord because I was tired of being the villain.

Yet here I am in the year of our lord July of 2024 and people are still referring to my friends as “nats clique” like I said earlier im 15, quince. I have little power over my friends' actions , especially if they're an adult. I can barely get Laci to join me on Minecraft let alone make her collaborate on some high tech scheme, what is this shit? Oceans 11?

I find it petty that red refers to my friends as a “clique” we're a friend group, and the definition of a clique requires a group that's hard to get into. The server (until now) was open, you could pull up to Jinx's profile like a McDonald's drive through and get an invite. Our friend group was constantly expanding and if you personally felt like you were scared to talk to us, I'm sorry that you never experienced the poop closet jokes.

Red being paranoid about what a bunch of teenagers were maybe saying behind her back to deflect about crimson is quite irresponsible I do say so myself. So please Red! With a cherry on top! Show me what I did to you. What sin have I committed on your ego that should banish me to hell. Because I sure as hell don't know what I've done, (and you can quote this) you probably don't know what I've done either, because you made it all up.

Unfortunately I have no screenshots to give, because my phone storage is ass. But you can hit up any of the members of my clique for proof regarding my innocence. I promise I'm not an evil bitch who wants to ban you (not evil not evil no I'm the least evil person I know)

I'm sorry if this response upsets you, but if a 15 year old girl who ships who chicks bothers you so much. Imagine how I feel, imagine now so many people who once looked up to you feel. Everyone in your post looked up to you once as a role model, and have had panic attacks and stress because (allegedly) you harmed them with your cruel words. You can think it's your fault or not that's not my problem.. but for someone who wants evidence and proof 24/7 you sure like to not give out proof of anyone else.

P.S if you were anyone who gave red evidence of my wrong doings, can I see them? Cause I don't know what I have done.

P.P.S I'm not a man, and I write fanfiction of lesbian vampires.

P.P.P.S this is so not sigma that I gotta make this response

#nevermore webtoon #nevermore webcomic #annabel lee whitlock #annabel lee nevermore #lenore nevermore

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sokuly419 · 4 days ago

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I have so many thoughts and feelings about act 1 of Arcane season 2. I don’t think I could even put them into coherent sentences right now. A few things that I can are:

— I’ve said this on a couple reblogs but I can’t shake the thoughts about it. When Cait finally lets herself break in front of Vi, I noticed Vi almost hesitate. It looks like she takes a small step back before leaning forward to catch Cait. Once she does, she doesn’t seem to hug back right away, hands closed into fists. Even when she does, her hands are still closed. When Cait slides her arms down Vi’s back is when Vi finally opens her hands. I have a feeling it means something (aside from the dropping of her guard) and we might get a parallel to it.

— Speaking of Vi dropping her guard, she does it a lot around Cait in act 1. After their kiss, the gauntlets come off. Before the uh… super heartbreaking breakup, the gauntlets come off. She completely lowered her guard before talking to Cait (who was still armed) which almost makes it worse.

— Vi already drinking a lot.

— Completely unrelated to the show itself… Maddie’s voice actress is the same one who voices the companion Cait in Fallout 4. Kinda found that funny but also a touch irritated with myself for not noticing seeing as Cait is my favorite companion (outside of Dogmeat, of course). Like I should have noticed from the lines “I have to ask…” and “… a heart like yours.” Like… she says it damn near the exact same way in the game. So that makes 2 people in Arcane related to Fallout in some way. Ella Purnell (Jinx) being the other. She plays Lucy in the show. Just a neat little bit of trivia for the Fallout fans.

— Cait, darling, I love you but you’re making it awfully hard to keep defending you. Knock it off and go get your girl back. You better have a damn good apology.

— Jinx was so unbothered for most of act 1 and I am so here for it. Especially with Sevika’s new arm.

— I see a lot of people going on about Maddie. Her vibe is all off to me. Not related to any of the leaks either (sigh). Just… nah. I dunno what it is.

— Can we also talk about the blue guy on the strike team? Come on. He’s cool and doesn’t even say a word. I want to know more about him. He has a good vibe about him… for now at least.

— Cait’s cape is cool looking.

— Heimerdinger was so unbothered. Absolutely love it. Funny lil guy.

— Viktor is Jesus?? Alrighty then.

— Mel got kidnapped?

— Ambessa needs to kindly fuck off and leave Cait alone.

—Jayce needs to not touch things sometimes. I swear. Had to go fuck around with magic at the worst time while our girls were in the middle of a fucking battle.

There’s so much more bouncing around my head but can’t quite put into words yet. I’m sure I’ll get there and have even more to say once act 2 destroys us further. Until then, let’s just focus on that kiss and not what happened after…

#arcane #arcane season 2 #caitlyn kiramman #vi arcane #caitvi #arcane s2 #jinx arcane

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hergrandplan · 3 months ago

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💜 wilmon;

"Do you know how many times I imagined this."

“Do you know how many times I imagined this?” Simon asked as he looked at himself this way and that in the mirror of the changing room. The suit wasn’t quite right; the jacket was a little bit too wide for him, and he didn’t like the color as much as he thought he would. “Hm?” came Wille’s voice from the other side of the wall. “I just… I always pictured myself trying on suits with my fiancé, and now here I am doing it.” Simon turned around again, to see if he’d like the suit better, but nothing changed. “How’re you doing over there?” “I don’t think I like this one too much.” “You want to show it to me?” “I thought we weren’t supposed to see each other in our suits, not before the wedding day at least.” “Yeah, but it won’t be your suit, so we’re not jinxing anything.” But Simon did want to see his husband-to-be in a suit, because he always looked unfairly good in one, all sharp features and crisp lines, and it made Simon just want to completely eat him up. “Besides, I don’t think this one’s it for me either.” So Wille agreed, and when they stepped out of their adjoining dressing rooms, Simon’s breath got caught in his throat. Maybe they couldn’t see themselves getting married in these suits, but Simon could absolutely imagine himself walking down the aisle towards Wille – and he couldn’t wait for it to happen.

Can we... pretend that this is even close to 5 sentences? 😅 I tried okay! but 5 sentences is not much, soooooo yeah. I'm trying

Send me Wilmon + a sentence and get the next 5! or maybe more

#young royals #wilmon #yr ficlet

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thesharktanksdriver · 6 months ago

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Oh! When I asked about magical girl! Y/n in Teen Titans (2003 version), I forgot to mention about how she would interact, meet or deal with the Titans’ villains like the HIVE, Slade, Red X, or the Brotherhood of Evil

No prob, I was actually wanting to add a bit about the hive in my first response but didn’t want to make it too long lol. I’m just gonna do the hive and Slade for this since I can’t remember the brotherhood of evil very well and red x would need his own thing lol

Is it any surprise that y/n ends up befriending the light? I mean really? With her track record the light are probably the least Bruce has to worry about. But anyways she would have probably heard about them through the teen titans but kinda didn’t pay them any mind till she ran into them. They at first think she’s a potential “no good goody two shoes” set out to stop their fun until she pulls out a sniper rifle and quite literally blow off the head of a shadowmite on one of their shoulders, effortlessly scaring the crap out of them and also making them quite interested in her.

I’d say she’s find them to be pretty fun, but she’d especially get along with Jinx and surprisingly Mammoth. Y/n is tired and exasperated half the time making her a kinda low energy person who would take to answering their questions as long as they got her bat-burger which leads to some interesting conversations.

“Yeah Robin has been pretty miffed lately cause-“

“Wait so you know Robin?”

“Yeah, both”

“Both???”

“Well you guys are from a seperate dimension right? Well there’s a Robin from my dimension who’s a different Robin from your Robin but still Robin. You can tell them apart cause your Robin is adverse to any real violence while my Robin would try and cut your arm off”

“….your Robin has a sword?!?!?!?”

“Yeah he also used to be an assassin too”

Yeah after that they start to think that they lucked out in the Robin department knowing theirs wasn’t the type to possibly cause real injury. That’s not even to mention when you mention other hero’s in this world or hell even the villains. Cause Jesus, Joker wore his own face after it was cut off?!?!? Or that an end of the world scenario happened just about every year?!?!?

They’re starting to enjoy where they live in comparison to you especially after you explain Shadowmites to them. How you hunt these monstrous creatures by your lonesome (maybe not as much as before since one of the bats typically tags along but still, there are times you go off on your own) and how your the sole thing keeping these things from literally devouring the universe.

But with that comes with you saying something oddly sad that makes them pause

“Hey….if the Shadowmites end up in your world and a magical girl is defending against them? Tell her about me. Tell her that I wish I could have met her myself and that…it’s gonna be hard but to keep going”

Damn…..that’s more depressing than they’d like to admit nor think about.

Her meeting 2003 Slade would be an….odd scenario considering she knows the Slade in her universe. So it’s definitely an awkward meeting when she’s like “yo Slade how’s rose doing” and 2003 Slade is wondering who the fuck she is and how she knows about his daughter.

When y/n learns that this is 2003 Slade though….she definitely tries to avoid him for various reasons. Cause listen, as much as her Slade is an asshole sometimes and has some weird ass morals he doesn’t act like a creep towards literal children. When hearing what he did to Raven she is appalled, she did not think being a hired murderer could get worse before she had heard that.

She does not in the slightest want to be around him

But him on the other hand is interested partially due to the fact he can see she’s skilled and some of the techniques she uses are some of his moves.

Which means that she must have known and trained under her universe’s version of him

When y/n now meets up with her version of Slade she thanks the gods he isn’t the same one from 2003

(Y/n to 2003 Slade be like lol)

#answers #magical girl y/n

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d1xonss · 1 year ago

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Desert Rose

Chapter 6 ~ Metallica

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 1

✧ Word Count : 4.6k

In this chapter ~ With the plan of the CDC in motion, the whole group packed up everything and headed for the long and boring journey to get there. The trip hit a few unexpected bumps, leading to even leaving a member behind, but the question remained once they arrive if any of this was even worth it at all.

"Alright, y'all know what to do if anything goes wrong, just honk twice and we'll all pull over." Shane said, clapping his hands together.

This morning was hectic to say the least as we all got ready bright and early to head off towards the CDC like Rick had planned. Everything felt rushed as the group packed up the entirety of the camp, gathering our most precious belongings into small bags as we gathered around for one last moment before diving straight into the uncharted territory. It was nerve racking.

I could sense immediately that everyone was uneasy about this decision, now more than ever knowing that we were actually going through with it. Since I first woke up this morning there had been nothing but tension and anxiety filling the air, though nothing seemed to change. In fact, the need to get there faster only grew with how quickly Jim seemed to be slipping away.

After Shane's long and drug out speech, the directions in which he recited for us to go, Morales stepped up next as he looked to all of us with saddened eyes. "We're...we're not going." he hesitantly announced.

Our eyes looked to him and his small family, unsure if they knew what they were doing. "Are you sure?" Rick asked the man.

He nodded, "We're sure. We have some loved ones hauled up just a few hours away. And I gotta do what's right for my family." he confirmed.

The situation then only grew tenser as the rest were forced to say goodbye to some good people they had known since the outbreak first started, feeling as though they were losing them for good. But no one wanted to stop them from finding the rest of their family, only offering tearful embraces as they parted with heavy hearts. I only waved towards them with a small smile, silently wishing them the best even though I hadn't known them all that well.

Through everyone's emotions we all wished them luck as we watched them pile into their car and slowly drive off down the dirt road, honking and waving out the window until we couldn't see them anymore. Genuinely I hoped that they would be okay and continue to be safe going off on their own, but there was something about the situation telling me that something bad was bound to happen. Though I didn't want to jinx or dwell on it, so I just let it go.

Everyone then began moving towards their own vehicles now seeing as they were fully gone, causing me to shake my head at my thoughts and jog over to retrieve my bag before we left. Though upon a second glance, I quickly realized that there was little to no room anywhere else in the many cars lined up in front of me. There was one spot left in Shane's Jeep, while the other option was in Daryl's pickup. Awesome.

I couldn't lie though, it wasn't that hard of a decision as I found myself instantly moving towards the truck, lingering towards the passenger side as I opened up the door. "Mind if I ride with you...?"

He huffed with a shake of his head, "Whatever."

My brows raised as I ignored whatever mood he was in, hopping in with my bag and set it down by my feet, beginning the drive to the CDC as soon as the RV started to move and lead the line of vehicles. The anticipation weighing heavily on each and every one of us. I glanced out the window as my elbow leaned against it, staring at the entirety of the forest passing by as we slowly made our way down the little mountain. There was a long silence that followed, but it wasn't uncomfortable. However, I grew bored of it after only a few minutes and found myself mindlessly looking for any cd's laying around if I was lucky.

Surely he and his brother had some type of music in here considering they either look like they listened to hick country or death metal. Which one, I wouldn't know for sure until I found wherever their secret stash of music was in this rusty thing.

Daryl quickly took notice of me poking around and I could tell he didn't like it. "The hell ya doin?" he asked, taking his eyes off the road for a split second.

"Do you have any cd's?" I asked him. I couldn't even remember the last time I had listened to some music, and I was dying to get away from the silence.

"In here." he said, pointing to the center console.

I opened it and looked in, noticing he had a decent number of cases lined up against each other which brought a small smile to my face. Flipping through them quickly, one immediately caught my eye, taking out the disk to place it in without a second thought.

"What'd you pick?" he asked.

I just held my finger up, signaling him to wait for it to start playing. He rolled his eyes, but managed to keep his mouth shut until, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica started to blast through the shitty speakers.

He looked back at me in clear disbelief before shaking his head, "Nah, ain't no way yer a Metallica fan."

I glanced over at him with a nonchalant shrug, "Well, believe it. There's dead people walking around, clearly anything is possible these days."

My comment caused a flicker of amusement to flash across his face, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly before he looked back toward the road to keep driving. I leaned my head back on the cushioned seat, resting my eyes and tapping my fingers on my legs to the rhythm of the song as I listened. Although there was still a dull pressure in the front of my head that was causing me to grow much more tired quicker than I anticipated. And before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep without even realizing, feeling the truck vibrating soothingly as he drove.

My heart about fell out of my chest when I felt someone lightly shaking my shoulder as I somehow submerged myself in a deep sleep, "Rose?" I heard Daryl's voice rasp. My eyes snapped open as I turned over quickly to face him, still trying to wake up as he continued, "Come on, somethin happened, we're all pulled over."

I nodded slowly as I processed his words, following him out of the truck and walking side by side to see what the issue was. Except I couldn't help but replay the moment Daryl woke me in my head a few different times now that my brain was actually registering what was going on. That was the first time he called me by my actual name, and for some reason it caused a flutter to erupt in my stomach, hearing his gravel voice say it so clearly. Though I seemed to drop it before I could linger on it too much, focusing on the actual problem at hand as we all surrounded the RV.

Jacqui came out breathlessly, "Y'all, it's Jim, he's looking really bad, I don't think he's gonna make it." she said sadly.

It was a tough pill to swallow, nearly an impossible thing to accept, but Jim reluctantly informed all of us that he wanted to be left behind. Practically the entire group began to protest, wanting to think of another solution rather than just ditching him on the side of the road, but that wasn't what he wanted. I didn't know how I felt about the sudden idea, but in the end, it was his choice. And no one else could really seem to argue with that as there was simply no other resolution.

Rick and Shane trailed back into the RV with hesitance as they removed him from the mattress he was laying on in the back, gently taking him by each arm to support him towards a tree up a small grassy hill to our right. They placed him down on the ground, making sure he was comfortable before everyone else began going up to him to say their goodbyes.

God this was depressing, parting ways with Morales and his family just this morning and now having to say goodbye to a dying man that chose to be all alone when he passed. The situation was enough to send my stomach twisting in remorse. One by one I watched everyone say something to him with a certain sadness on their features, some hugging him before swiftly turning back down the hill before it got to be too much.

I didn't do much other than a simple wave with a nod, not knowing if I could find the right words before slowly turning to head back toward the truck.

"Rose, wait!" Jim suddenly called.

I was taken off guard at his wish to speak to me, but who was I to say no? "Yeah?" I asked in a soft voice, crouching down to his level.

"I wish I could've gotten to know you better," he said with a smile "you seem like a great person and you're strong. Never stop fighting"

I was honestly at a loss for words, his sincerity leaving me speechless. I hardly knew this man at all and here he was, giving me a piece of advice and confidence after only knowing him a few days. If anything, this just made me feel even worse for him than I did before, making it harder to turn back around and leave.

I nodded in genuine appreciation, "Thank you, Jim. I'm so sorry this happened to you..."

He smiled a little, "It's okay," he breathed, "I'm seeing my family again...that's something I can't wait for."

My lips curved up to return his smile, giving his hand a squeeze before turning back to trail down toward the road, noticing Jim had called Daryl back to say something just as he did with me. I didn't look back even though I may have wanted to, opening the door and closing it again as I stared down at my feet, waiting for him to get back. I couldn't help but think this was all a waste of time now, heading towards the CDC while Jim was left behind here. It didn't feel right.

Not a minute later I felt Daryl return to the driver's side, starting the truck back up with a sputter to follow the others ahead of us once more, not even giving the man a second glance as we passed. I didn't ask what he said to him, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious.

A variety of different songs played as an hour passed, driving down the long and tedious roads. But suddenly, Daryl's voice was the one to break the silence which surprised me greatly. I could've sworn at first that I imagined it.

"So, how'd ya end up findin the group anyway?" he asked, not looking over at me.

I hummed, "Well...when they were stuck it Atlanta, they saved me from a bunch of walkers...I guess they just heard me and came running. But Andrea for one wasn't a big fan of helping a stranger, believe me she made that very clear." I muttered with a scoff, "To be honest, I didn't even want to come back with them to camp."

He then looked over at me a bit curiously, "Why?"

I shrugged, "Because I figured I was better off on my own, away from people. That's kind of how it's always been for me, so I didn't like the idea of coming into a group so suddenly."

He grew silent for a moment or two after my comment, leaving the entire conversation nearly up in the air as I thought he was done speaking. But again, he surprised me. "So, that means you ain't stayin?"

My eyes glanced over at him for a second, desperately trying to study him and figure out what was going through his mind. Though something I was able to catch was a hint of displeasure in his eyes, but I could've been completely off about that. I mean, why would he of all people care if I stayed or not?

"I wasn't going to at first," I admitted, "But I guess I came to realize that it's kind of nice having people around. And I don't know, maybe a change would be good for me."

I attempted to open myself up a bit more since I decided to put my trust into these people. Normally I would've never in a million years said any of that to him, wanting to stay closed off in fear of being judged for what I had to say. But somehow this...felt different. It almost confused me with how well I could talk to him so effortlessly. But then again it shouldn't have, seeing as he was a good listener. Just like I tried to be.

He didn't say much in response to my answer, just a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips before turning all his attention back to the road, Metallica still playing loudly in the background.

The road trip of a journey finally led all of us to what seemed like the CDC, the giant and expensive building being on the outskirts of everything else. But we all silently knew this was the place, the metal guard rails blocking every single thing was kind of a big giveaway. My brows furrowed with worry as I saw the number of dead walkers laying outside, piling up around the sidewalk, but that didn't stop anyone else from getting out of their vehicles to scope the place out.

I was quick to follow as I stepped out of the truck, the worst smell hitting my nose instantly the moment my feet hit the ground. There were walking corpses scattered everywhere, a small group of them wandering around not too far off from where we were parked. Yet, none of them had taken notice to us, though it was only a matter of time before they did, knowing we needed to be fast about this.

We all quietly took our weapons and gathered around together in a small circle, watching each others backs as we sprinted up towards the large, fancy structure as fast as we could. My eyes stayed firmly on the walkers just a few feet away, glancing back at them over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure they stayed in place as we figured out how to get inside. I prayed that the doors would open, granting us a little hope that we all desperately needed after coming all this way.

But my hope was instantly squashed the moment we got close enough, seeing shutters over the glass doors that was blocking us from entering completely. Upon realizing that we had hit a dead end with darkness approaching, the group was quick to panic, the kids clinging to their mothers as the rest of us tried to figure out what to do.

"Rick- Rick, this is a dead end." Shane said to his friend, trying to pull him back away from the doors as there was clearly no way of getting inside. But Rick was stubborn, trying to find a way we could break through as he paid Shane no mind from just behind him as if he wasn't even there.

I glanced over my shoulder again as if on instinct, this time seeing the walkers had now moved closer towards us, their eyes locked in our direction as their limbs flailed around wildly. "Walkers!" I yelled to get everyone's attention.

"You led us into a goddamn graveyard!" Daryl yelled to Rick as he quickly began to load his crossbow, firing it towards one of the monsters.

"He made a call-"

"It was the wrong damn call!" I interrupted him. I was angry and very panicked. I didn't want anyone else to die and if we couldn't get in we needed to leave. Right now.

"Godamnit, shut up! Do you hear me? Shut up!" Shane yelled right back at me, turning to Rick to attempt to convince him to leave, wanting to head toward Fort Benning instead like he wished from the beginning.

That alone set everyone into a fit of different arguments as none of them liked either idea, wanting to just leave instead of standing here right out in the open. It made no difference to me where the hell we would go after this, it didn't fucking matter. What was important right now was getting the hell out of here alive before we were too dead to discuss the matter further.

I tuned out their frantic voices as they yelled at each other, stepping up further towards the walkers to stab a few of them in the head before they could get too close to the others. Their blood began to spray in all different directions as I hit them, ripping my knives back out of their heads quickly to move onto the next, seeing bolts fly by my head as Daryl had the same idea. Neither of us couldn't be bothered to listen to their disagreement, not when there was danger heading our way in every direction.

But right before I could kill the next one in sight, I felt my arm being gently tugged back toward the vehicles, looking up to see Daryl. "Come on, we gotta go." he spoke in frustration.

I didn't need to be told twice, following his lead so we could make an escape. But we both seemed to stop in our tracks when we heard the sounds of the shutters opening, squeaking loudly as they rose. The two of us looked at each other for only a split second before bolting back toward the doors, following along everyone else.

My steps were cautious as I raised one of my knives, unsure if we could completely trust this place, or better yet anyone else who still lingered behind the thick walls. It was then a sudden voice came from the top of the stairs, loud enough to give us a heart attack.

"Anybody infected?" the man asked, a shadow lining over his features.

Rick swallowed before stepping forward, "One in our group was...he didn't make it."

My brows furrowed a bit at why Rick felt the need to bring it up, though I didn't linger on it long as my gaze searched to scan the big, white room we walked into. Everything was clean and neat like it hadn't been touched in years, a futuristic vibe circling through the entire place.

"Who are you?" he then asked, "What do you want?"

"A chance." Rick breathed.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." said the man before pausing to think, to consider. "You'll all submit to a blood test...that's the price to get in here."

Rick nodded assertively, "We can do that."

He remained silent for a few more seconds as he eyed us suspiciously, almost as if he was rethinking his decision, before his eyes looked back to the outside as he saw the amount of walkers now filling the streets. He opened his mouth again only to tell us to grab the rest of our things as he planned to shut the heavy doors, informing us that they would be remained closed as this was our only chance to do so.

None of us hesitated then to take off back outside in a flash, gathering up everything we needed from our vehicles parked along the sidewalk before sprinting right back. We quickly slipped by the few corpses that continued to reach out for us, rushing past their slower steps as we all made it back just in time before the shutters came down once more at the press of a button. The locks then clicked loudly, the sound nearly bouncing off every wall with how much of an echo was present in the room.

The man then nodded for us to follow him as he introduced himself as Edwin Jenner, telling us that he was one of the doctors that used to work here before the outbreak. Though I didn't fail to notice how he didn't linger on the subject for long before he went into talking about the structure of the building, how secure and safe it was as we all stepped inside an elevator. The space alone immediately made me grow uncomfortable, not quite fitting all of us comfortably as I was being squished in between Glenn and Dale in the back. My shoulders were scrunched up uncomfortably by my neck, feeling Glenn trying to step aside the minute he noticed, muttering a small apology.

The ride was finally cut short after we passed a few floors, landing on the fourth as it dinged and came to a stop, the doors opening to freedom. Jenner led us further down a long hallway and towards a room on the right to take us in to get our blood drawn just as we promised in the first place. I tried not to think about it too much as it didn't seem like a big deal before, but now that it was practically staring me in the face, it was all I could think about.

My breathing picked up a little and my hands began to sweat when I knew it was almost my turn to go next. I've always been a bit afraid of needles, but I knew I needed to do this in order to have a safe place to sleep tonight. Imagine that. There were literal monsters outside that were constantly after us the second we let our guard down, but nope. Needles. That was my breaking point.

Daryl noticed from a distance how fidgety I was becoming and caught my eye from a few feet away across the space. He gave me a nod in reassurance as if that would somehow give me the confidence I needed, but I still appreciated it nonetheless as I managed to smile in return. Swallowing thickly, I anxiously inched closer to the table the moment Andrea was finishing up.

A heavy breath passed through my lips as I sat down in the hot seat, briefly closing my eyes as I prepared myself, "Afraid of needles?" Jenner asked.

I just nodded my head silently as my eyes remained closed, trying to think about anything else other than the thing about to pierce through my skin. Though I was surprised to feel someone grasp my right hand gently just before Jenner got a chance to do anything. I opened my eyes again to see Glenn giving me a smile as he squeezed my hand slightly, giving me the comfort that he was right there. I found myself nodding thankfully before closing my eyes again, trying to distract my mind from the slight poke where my vein was.

"Oh son of a bitch" I muttered to myself when I felt the blood rushing out of my body.

Glenn snickered softly, but never let go of my hand as Jenner took as much blood as he damn well pleased, "Take it all why don't you. Bleed me dry." I sarcastically quipped, acting as if I was giving birth.

"I just need a small tube full." he informed.

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, "Small my ass."

A few people around me let out a light chuckle at my behavior, only opening my eyes again when I felt Jenner placing a band aid over the hole he put in my body. Exhaling through my nose, I felt a little more relieved now that it was over and done with.

"Hey, we think she might've gotten a concussion not too long ago, could you maybe take a look?" Glenn suddenly asked.

Jenner nodded his head and pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket as he shined a light in my eyes to check my pupils. He instructed me to follow his finger as he waved it back and forth over my vision a few times before clicking it back off with a nod. According to him I only was at a stage one, and it looked like the worst had already passed, informing me that I should wait another day before I should be back to normal. Thank God.

Though when I stood up from the chair, I began to feel a little lightheaded and almost stumbled to the ground from sudden dizziness as I got an instant head rush. Glenn thankfully caught my arm the moment he noticed and helped steady me as Jenner glanced down towards me in question.

"None of us have eaten in a while." he informed the man.

Jenner looked at my state for a moment before nodding towards the doorway we once came through, "Follow me."

He then then surprisingly led us to a large cafeteria where he offered us food, water, and anything else we needed that he could provide. We all sat ourselves around a large table, having our first actual meal in months. Everyone was talking loudly, laughing and drinking some wine that Jenner brought out as we enjoyed each other's company.

It nearly felt like some kind of movie as I lived in the moment, actually enjoying myself for the first time in a very long time. These people I now surrounded myself with made me feel happy and just a little less lonely, thinking back to myself that I clearly made the right decision to stay put. That could be the wine mixed with the concussion talking, but my words were far from a lie.

The group then quieted down suddenly as Lori agreed to let Carl try some of the wine that was being passed around, after a little convincing from Dale and Rick. We all watched his face carefully as he raised the glass up to his lips, before slamming it back down on the table with a disgusted look.

"Eww!" he exclaimed, his face scrunched up, "That tastes nasty."

Everyone burst into laughs at his reaction while Lori just nodded in approval, "That's my boy." she praised with a smile as she poured the rest of the wine into her glass.

"Why don't you just stick to soda over there, okay bud?" Shane advised towards the kid as he pushed it closer to his direction.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl was quick to say.

The man heard the brief mention of his name and looked up from his spot next to me, "What?" he laughed in confusion.

"Keep drinkin little man, I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl continued with a slightly scrunched nose.

I laughed at his words which quickly caught his attention from where he was placed across from me. He sent a wink over in my direction and continued to eat his food, occasionally taking a swig from the bottle he was drinking straight out of. I liked seeing this side of him, or of anyone actually. It was nice to watch them all just enjoying themselves for one night, not having to worry about a damn thing. But it was especially amusing to see Daryl loosen up a bit, and Dale finding just about anything hilarious with the amount of wine he consumed.

"So where is everybody, Doc?" Shane suddenly asked after a few moments of bliss.

The room went oddly quiet in an instant after that, all of our eyes traveling to the doctor. Jenner looked uncomfortable with the question, but still felt the need to answer it anyway as he couldn't ignore the elephant in the room any longer.

He informed us that he was all that was left here and the others either evacuated with their families or "opted out"; committed suicide. There was no cure, and no hope for the future as far as he knew, leaving us all in an awful silence as the hope we once had, dimmed into absolutely nothing. It remained dead silent in the room as we all tried to process his words, Glenn being the first one to speak out of everyone.

"Dude, you're such a buzzkill man." he directed at Shane with a groan.

It remained incredibly awkward as we continued to eat, still talking somewhat and laughing occasionally but the vibe of the room felt different considering the disappointing news. I really took the time to think about everything he said to us just moments ago, suddenly getting a bad feeling about the missing details he obviously avoided.

~ Thanks for reading!

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five-rivers · 2 years ago

Text

Iewuukaubweenz

AO3

@jaybirdscall

Footnotes at the bottom!

“Iewuukaubweenz,” said Danny, smiling toothily at the tour guide.

“What was that?” she asked. “I wasn’t quite able to make it out.”

“Iewuukaubweenz(1),” repeated Danny.

“Ignore my brother,” said Jazz. “It means good morning in one of the languages he’s studying.”

“Oh,” said the guide, smiling, “that’s wonderful. Preparing for college?”

“It’s just a hobby,” said Danny.

“What language is it?”

“Oiwawu uno Yinis(2).”

“Well, it’s lovely. Ah, I think that must be everyone…” The guide stepped away and started to do a headcount.

“Don’t make me regret bringing you,” said Jazz.

“Oh, you should have done that long ago, nu(3).”

“Nuuhuueiwee, uu iiuuni yinis, uzue(4)!” snapped Jazz.

“Your pronunciation is a little off, there. ‘Don’t forget’ should be ‘nuuheiwee,’ since ‘eiwee’ starts with a vowel.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Wibli i iiuuni eulmau noo iitsetu(5)!”

Jazz groaned. “Please, just don’t scare off any of my potential future classmates.”

“I make no promises.”

“Danny.”

“I won’t do anything on purpose,” said Danny. As annoyed as he was to be here, he didn’t want to tank Jazz’s social life from the start. “But you know how things are.”

“Yeah, I know. Uu iiuuni(6). But you could be helpful, too.”

“That sounds like a jinx, honestly.”

“Danny.”

“If you look at it from a certain perspective, it’s like I’m helping them.” And Jazz, too, because most people would run for the hills upon being presented with the elder Fentons. Crummy friend material, if you asked him. Which people usually didn’t.

Jazz gave him a look. It was a remarkably effective look. He crumbled.

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Well,” said Jazz, “when people ask why you’re here, I want you to let me explain that you speak over a dozen languages fluently and that I brought you here so you can look at the language, anthropology, and archaeology options.”

“But,” said Danny, “that is why you… Oh.”

“Honesty is sometimes the best policy.”

Danny squinted at her.

“Look, you’re the one going around showing off ghost speak. At least stick to Latin or something?”

“Ihi Yinis nyoobli wutish(7)!”

“And maybe stick to English unless someone asks? Maybe? Like, it’s kind of weird when someone who isn’t, you know, Spanish or Mexican or something starts a conversation off with hola, right?”

“I guess. But I am a native speaker of Yinis.”

“Danny. You have a utwueeeweustee(8).”

“Your pronunciation is still off.”

“Give me a break, here, I’m not sure if you can pronounce things in Yinis correctly unless you’re a native speaker.”

“Native speaker?” asked a young man behind who had crept up behind them. “What are you a native speaker of, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, it’s Danny that’s the native speaker,” said Jazz, spots of color high in her cheeks. “My little brother. I’m hoping he’ll be interested in some of the language programs here at the university, if he gets to see them.”

“The language is super rare, though. Not very many people speak it at all.” Well, all of the dead, but that didn’t count.

“Mind saying a few words to me? I’m a bit of a language buff myself. Maybe I can guess it.”

“Noo iileihush hii u ib eunti aawee(9).”

“Yinis! Noo ieku iiiwoo, noo u hib euwi einu ihwuu muueu(10).”

Danny’s mouth fell open. A sideling look at Jazz revealed that she, too, was slack-jawed.

“Hii huuyeu yihi, iim. Wuicheuu(11).”

“Ur hii(12)!” exclaimed Danny.

The tour guide clapped her hands together. “Now that you’ve all got a moment to get to know one another, let’s start!”

Danny and Jazz kept an eye on the young man all through the tour. Neither of them were quite sure what to do with the fact that a… Ghost? Human? Someone who knew how to speak ghost was here, at the college with them.

“All right!” said the guide, “here’s the student union and our food court! Let’s meet back here for the second half of the tour in one hour! Okay!”

Everyone nodded, murmured, or cheered their assent, and scattered. Danny and Jazz made a beeline for the maybe-ghost. He had staked out a lonely table in the corner, as if waiting for them.

… Actually, that was probably accurate.

Jazz slid into the seat right in front of the maybe-ghost. “Before you two start talking, I want you to know I’m not fluent.”

“Of course not,” said the young man, “I wouldn’t expect a winoo(13) to be.”

“So you are…?” Jazz said.

“You can call me Roman,” he said. “But, for what you were actually trying to ask, yes, I am a ghost.”

“Your disguise is really good,” muttered Danny.

“Yet not, I think, better than yours. It’s practice. I’ve been in academia for a while.”

Jazz sharpened. “As a student? Isn’t that a bit unethical, considering that there are a limited number of admissions every year?”

Roman laughed. “Not really. I’m a ghost student, so to speak. I don’t really show up anywhere officially, people just remember that I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

So, unethical but in an entirely different way. “You just… go to school?” asked Danny. “That’s what you do with your… life?”

“What’s better than learning forever?” asked Roman with a shrug. “They say you’re not really dead until you stop doing that, and intend to demonstrate that idiom. I do move around, though. This is my first time at this university. But speaking of that… You must be a lover of knowledge as well, to scout out this place for your afterlife.”

“It’s not like that. I’m just here because of Jazz.”

“You really should think about what you want to do when you graduate, though.”

Roman cleared his throat. “As presumptuous as it may be… If you do determine to further your education, I will be here for the next several years.” He reached into his vest-pocket and pulled out a small, pale green business card. “I can show you the tricks of the trade. How to blend in, even if you look, and feel, out of place.”

“Go ahead and take it, Danny,” said Jazz, nudging him.

“I don’t know,” said Danny. “It’s not really…”

“You can always throw it away later,” said Roman.

“Alright,” said Danny, plucking it out of the ghost’s hand.

“Excellent. Now that we have that out of the way, what major are you taking, Miss…?”

Jazz blushed. “I’m Jazz. Psychology and pre-med.”

“Hm. I was planning on sociology this year, but that’s not set in stone.”

Danny stood up. “I’m going to go buy lunch.”

He did not need to watch Jazz flirt with a ghost. Another ghost. Jazz… seemed to only flirt with ghosts. And guys like Spike.

Oh, ew, Danny did not need to know about his sister’s preferences.

Did Mountain Dew work as brain bleach? Yuck.

Or, as ghosts would say it, nuekawuhuu(14).

1 - Good morning.

2 - The language of Yinis (also called Old High Spirit)

3 - Sister

4 - Don’t forget, I know Old High Spirit, too!

5 - Now you know how I feel!

6 - I know.

7 - But Old High Spirit is fun!

8 - Secret identity

9 - I doubt you have heard this one

10 - Old High Spirit! I must say, I have not heard that in many years.

11 - You don’t look dead, though. Very impressive.

12 - Neither do you!

13 - Human

14 - Gross

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2023 #ghost speak

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chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter · 8 months ago

Text

I'll love you better when I'm dead

(chapter 206 from Sanzu's POV)

(tragic MuSan drabble)

(link to ao3 in case some one preferes to read it there)

First of all...I'm sorry for this (not really but yes a lot at the same time, but I did this to myself too). An evil snail shared with me this AMAZING AND BRUTAL essay on Sanzu & katana-chan and reading the last pages about Mucho, this fic happened. So first of all...

GO, READ THE ESSAY NOW!

Summary: "We are both dying here today, captain."

[or why Sanzu looses his grip]

Warnings: Manga Spoilers. Major Character Death (chapter 206, duh). Hurt/No Comfort. Like for real, comfort has been slashed with a katana and is sinking in the bottom of the ocean.

The title is from "Love you better" because I listened in a loop for two days while reading the essay and writing this.

Oh, I played with Sanzu name (again, yes) but this time doing a full Jinx, ooopsie!

(English is not my first language, so be nice please 🙈)

It’s been six months since the Kanto Incident. Six months of planning for this day, of imagining how he’s going to punish that damn traitor. Of pretending his whole body doesn’t ache at the idea of killing the only person that made him feel like he mattered.

Haruchiyo is good at that, at hiding his true feelings from the world, lying to himself as much as he needs as a way of achieving it. He’s good at rationalize the overwhelming whirlwind of emotions that threaten to flood his mind all the time. He’s used to repress the pain, keep his anxiety at bay, bury all of it next to the memories he can’t face without having the need to scream and break everything at his reach (including himself).

Six months that seem to crumble the second his captain’s eyes light up when he spots him outside the detention center.

The ride is dominated by silence, that only breaks with Muto’s simple questions about how he’s been doing during this time. Genuine concern plastered on the face he’s supposed to hate. Haruchiyo wants to laugh hysterically at this, the irony that even now the older boy is only worried about him. Instead, he just gives short answers, knowing the other won’t push his boundaries.

They are finally at the wharf and his resolve flatters for a moment, overwhelmed by a kindness that he forgot how warm it feels.

“I’ve been waiting for this day...”

Haruchiyo trails off, talking mostly to himself. His hands grip the hilt of the katana, steading his inner turmoil with the reminder of why he’s doing this. The tangible proof of his vow, of the promise that gives him purpose. Wielding it with years of practice, preparing himself to strike a fatal blow.

‘Is that it? Is that the only reason I’m doing this?’

He hesitates, consciously loosening his grip on one hand and landing a sloppy cut that buys him some precious seconds.

“You damned betrayer!”

‘Liar, you made me think I could trust you, made me feel safe, seen. How can you say you love me when you couldn’t tell your treason would rot everything we shared?’

“Sanzu...?”

Muto looks at him in shock, trying to stop the bleeding with his hand and falling on his knees. He’s the perfect image of bewilderment, like he can’t comprehend what is happening, why is happening.

“I’ve been fooling you all along.”

‘I’ve been fooling myself, pretending this never meant anything to me. Pretending you never meant anything to me.’

Haruchiyo keeps talking, winning some time in order to collect his thoughts, to understand his own feelings in order to let them go and fully put his heart on the second hit.

“Remember our conversation that day when we were playing shogi? I said it, right?”

‘Do you remember how you told me I also mattered? You made me yearn for more, you were the first person that taught me to be selfish, to listen to my own needs.’

It’s almost ironic, realizing killing Muto is a sick way of putting himself first. Realizing this is personal.

“Protecting the king is the priority. You betrayed Mikey, didn’t you?”

‘You betrayed me, didn’t you?’

He takes off his mask, the scars reminding him of his place, letting go the faint illusion it could ever be somewhere else. That it could be next to his captain. He can’t forget it again, can’t keep hiding his devotion behind his craving for affection.

A sadistic grin on his face. That’s the new mask he’s going to show to a world that will never be the same for him.

“Now it’s checkmate.”

This time the cut is fatal, slashing a lot more than flesh and bones and severing the ties between them.

‘We are both dying here today, captain.’

Somehow, Muto hears the words he never says. But his will be the only tears shed, no one else will mourn the Haruchiyo that knew genuine love.

Sanzu can’t allow himself to grieve. He can’t be weak again, these seconds that felt like ages will be the last entertaining the idea he could be more than a loyal knight to his beloved king.

He made a promise and Sanzu is willing to do anything in order to fulfill it. Even killing a part of himself forever. His weakness, the love that tempted him to break free of his sacred vow. In a twisted way, he can’t avoid thinking how fitting it feels burying it with his captain.

Haruchiyo is dead.

Only Sanzu prevails.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers spoilers #me writing🌻#tokyo revengers fic #drabble #kanto manji timeline #bonten timeline #hurt/no comfort #comfort is not here anymore #angst #sanzu angst #sanzu haruchiyo #muto yasuhiro #musan #tragic as fuck musan #but what's new #tr chapter 206 #katana-chan is here again #canon complicit

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douglysium · 7 months ago

Text

Episode 12 TMP Quick Thoughts

Housekeeping and Prologue

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers for TMP up until episode 10. You can read my ramblings on the last episode here (Episode 11 TMP Quick Thoughts).

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

These articles are meant to be quick and short so sorry if there’s typos and if I don’t address every possible question or possibility. I don’t want to repeat myself too much in this series outside of the prologue so be sure to skim some of my other articles.

Episode 12 “Getting Off”

I think this episode is definitely one of the more straightforward Protocol episodes we have gotten so far, so hopefully this Quick Thoughts won’t br too long (but knowing me I probably just jinxed it).

We take in the scene through a CCTV in the breakroom of the OIAR at night. The transcripts clarify that Celia is very tired and searching through the cupboards for something and it is quickly made apparent that she is looking for tea and, since the break room has run out, Sam gives Celia a teabag from a secret stash that he apparently has. Sam then asks Celia out on a date and while she is busy at the moment she does show that she is willing to go out with Sam on “Saturday, 6? under the clock at Leicester Square. That work? We’ll go for dinner- well, breakfast- you know what I mean.” Once again, we see that the OIAR jobs appear to be very exhausting and have odd work hours. I also wonder what Celia’s end goal is. Does she genuinely like Sam or does she see him as means to an end. Is Celia here to help Sam and co or is she here to harm them?

As Celia leaves, Alice walks in and proceeds to make fun of Sam for clearly being extremely nervous as he asked out Celia. Alice says “(normal again) You know it’s rude to have absolutely no game? Christ, all these years and you still ask people out like a baby foal learning to tapdance.” A reference to the fact that she and Sam dated at some point, and how Sam probably acted very similarly when trying to ask her out. Sam does point out “Look it worked didn’t it?” which seems like it could be a sort of double meaning. Sam’s nervous approach got Celia to agree to a date but also Alice presumably agreed to go out with him in the past too.

Sam apologizes to Alice for dragging her to the ruins of the Institute only to fund nothing… well nothing Sam and Alice know about since something escaped the Institute. Sam says he’s done with Magnus stuff and Alice responds with “So you’re telling me that if I had a case full of emails with the title “Magnus Institute re: Samama Khalid – Massive Conspiracy” you wouldn’t be tempted?” to which Sam says no before asking “You don’t, though. Do you? That was just, like, a joke. Right?” Alice then says “Come on, for now let’s just focus on getting you as jaded and apathetic as possible.” Considering that Alice does appear to be pretty jaded about listening to the cases and piecing them together this could be related to her point about ignoring the talkers and not getting caught up in thinking too much about what’s happening.

NORRIS starts expositing the next case

“Claim Review: EL-56920

Policy Holder: Soho Jack’s Ltd.

Policy Number: 548651-656

Policy Type: Employers’ Liability

Site Address: Soho Jack’s, 9 Carlisle St, London W1D 3BK

Affected Employee: Ms. Jordan Bennett

Date of Incident: 9 March 2024

Incident Location: On site.

Documentation: Crime Report – Submitted

Medical Practitioner Report – Submitted

Incident Book Entry – Submitted First Aider’s Report – Submitted

Supervisor’s incident Report - Submitted

HSE communications - Submitted

Health-And-Safety policies - Submitted

Employment Contract - Submitted

Claim Valuation: £1,560,000 Assessment

Conclusion: Claim Denied Reason: Fraudulent claim (see incident description and police report)”

This, along with some information Jordan mentions later, means Jordan is suing Soho Jack’s Ltd. They go on to say that their lawyer has advised them to cooperate with Soho Jack’s insurance claim as a show of good faith, even if they’re planning on “suing your asses to kingdom-come.” They start recounting an event that occurred on the company’s property and apologize for their terrible handwriting (which we later learn is probably because Mr. Bonzo bit off one of their hands).

They go over how they started working at Jack’s in the spring of 2021 after they had finished Flair Academy. After struggling to find a job they managed to get an interview and then job at the aforementioned Jack’s. The club seems to have a good reputation as Jordan refers to it as “the Soho Gentleman’s club.” The company’s building “...has dances on the bottom two floors with VIP suites for hire above with a dedicated bouncer keeping them separate. Really, it’s just a quieter box with a private bar, some comfy chairs and the option of private dancers.” Despite this being “THE” Soho Gentleman’s club Jordan says “It’s always booked up with swank dickheads trying to show off, but Stags are the worst: they’re cheap, they’re loud, they drink too much, tip too little and only ever hire one dance for the groom. Plus there’s always some “nice guy” that won’t shut up about exploitation without even bothering to stop staring.”

Jordan begins to explain how the party the specific party that led to them wanting to sue Jack’s. They state that this specific party’s lot was not the worst and were “Just a bunch of heavyset, middle-aged lads with names like Ozzer, or Rozzer or whatever. ” and notes that “The groom was fine, acted embarrassed even though he was obviously keen and they were easily pleased. ”

“They started giving the groom gifts. Same old tat as always, cufflinks, poo gags, all the standard stuff. Then the groom spotted the last one on the table, this cheap yellow and purple kids lunch box. It looked old and shoddy and no one admitted to bringing it but the groom just squealed with glee and carefully opened it before pulling out a bunch old souvenir merch. Pencils, postcards, keyrings, all sorts of crap, all the same yellow and purple and last of all a cracked CD case. When they saw it the whole bunch gave this big laughing cheer.” I have talked about how I think Mr. Bonzo is probably tied to The Stranger if we view him through the lens of Smirke’s 14. I will retread some of those reasons later but right now I want to point out that no one admitted to bringing the Bonzo CD. It could simply be that it’s a prank and someone happened to grab an artifact or something tied to Bonzo, and maybe someone from the OIAR even planted it there, but it could also be connected to the idea of The Stranger and the fear of the unknown because it could be that no one actually knows who got that CD.

We also know that The Stranger is no… stranger to dropping off or delivering strange artifacts in order to feed on the fear of people interacting with unknown /mysterious objects. Breekon and Hope’s delivery service are a good example of this (strangers that show up and drop off never before seen or uncanny objects and artifacts).

“I could see which way the wind was turning and sure enough the bestman came over and asked if he could play it. The cover had this awful comic sans title: “Mr. Bonzo’s On His Way” and I wasn't exactly thrilled by this.” Jordan explains that “Mr. Bonzo was way before my time and from what I had seen online he had always looked pretty messed up. But hey, it was their night, if they wanted to spend it on some cringy nostalgia trip, who was I to say no?” Which could mean that Jordan doesn’t know a lot about Mr. Bonzo, and lack of familiarity with something is one of the things that we know entities like The Stranger love to prey on.

“This kind of thing happened often enough that we kept a battered old CD Player in the back that we could patch into the room's speakers, just in case. So, I ducked back there, put it on, turned the volume down as low as I could get away with, and prayed it wasn’t too obnoxious. Immediately the cheering children’s voices blared out the speakers accompanied by bouncy tubas loud enough to drown out the rest of the club’s music. It was awful but I could hear the lads stamping the floor in rhythm and as the kids started singing the men were singing along: “Mr. Bonzo’s on his way, he wants to stay, he wants to play! Mr. Bonzo’s on his way, he wants to stay, he wants to play!” If you want to listen to the song Jordan is referring to it is actually available on Youtube: Mr Bonzo (from 'The Magnus Protocol'). Maybe you can put yourself in the shoes of an annoyed Jordan or ecstatic old man at the club.

Jordan clearly finds the song annoying and after waiting a minute, in order to avoid being a “total killjoy,” they decide to turn off the song before “ Derek came down from the office to “have a word.” I assume Jordan meant Derek would complain about the music. However, when Jordan turns the CD player off it “...just grew louder, rattling the glassware in the bar: “Mr. Bonzo’s on his way, he wants to stay, he wants to play!” I even yanked the cables from the speakers, but it just kept getting louder.” Obviously, something supernatural is going on but Jordan reasonably assumes that the player just broke and begins to reach for their walkie talkie in order to call for some tech support. However, as they do so they are interrupted by a massive crash coming from another part of the room followed by a cheer. Jordan gets ready to reprimand the party goers for whatever mess they might have made but instead sees Mr. Bonzo. “It was hunched in the doorway, a bulbous figure with a purple hat that cast crazed shadows in all directions thanks to the club’s lighting effects. Then it doffed its hat and pushed itself into the room, foam catching on the doorframe with a squeak that set my teeth on edge. Its massive bulbous google-eyes seemed to roam all over the room before settling on the groom and it was almost as if the huge toothy grin grew wider when it saw him.” We know that Gwen delivered a name and address to Bonzo and in the previous episode Lena even tells Gwen “I’m sure you’ve already worked that out. But just in case you haven’t, keep an eye on the case loads over the next few days. It should become abundantly clear.” Implying that this could be the case Lena was alluding to or that the groom (or someone else in the room) is Bonzo’s target (but it’s almost definitely the groom).

Everyone in the room assumes the appearance of Bonzo is some sort of gift or prank and “The rugby boys were tripping over themselves to get in and hug it, laughing and pushing the groom to the front and so I figured at that point it was a prank. Again, none of them took credit for it and there was a moment of genuine hesitation, until one of them yelled out “It's ya lapdance, Baz!” and they all fell about laughing.” Jordan is furious that a coworker named Joey presumably let Bonzo in and the idea that Joey might have bailed on Jordan again by “ducking out for a smoke.” But as Jordan moves forward they notice something- “I began to stride over, readying for the inevitable complaints then hesitated as I saw something far more unnerving than the ugly costume that was capering with the groom in the middle of the group. There was a pair of heavy boots on their side, poking just inside the still open doorway. Joey’s boots, and they weren't moving. Just then the google eyes looked turned to me, and a puffy finger raised cheekily to its mouth.” So Joey was killed by Bonzo and all the while “the men had all started chanting “Bonzo! Bonzo! Bonzo”, stamping their feet and banging the tables in a circle around the pair in the center…” and the music kept getting louder. So loud that it began to sound distorted from the strain the song was putting on the speakers.

Out of all the Entities the Slaughter seems to have a pretty strong connection to music but The Stranger also has a strong precedent for music. For example, The Calliope in TMA is an artifact tied to The Stranger. In MAG 024 (Strange Music) it is mentioned that the instrument has "Be still, for there is strange music" carved into the cover of the keyboard. While The Slaughter’s connection to music is probably due to an association between rhythm and war (think the marching of an army or the phrase “drums of war”) as well as the fear of “violent” music, The Stranger’s connection to music seems to come from the idea of either strange unknown sounds or a song / sound that sounds really uncanny. It is noted by Jordan that Mr. Bonzo’s song grows louder and more distorted overtime which would mean that the song is becoming more and more incomprehensible as it would slowly change into a song with lyrics you couldn’t understand or identify as easily. It could also be that the song sounds uncanny in the sense that it is familiar in some ways but something is off about it.

Jordan tries to call for help on his walkie talkie but can only hear Mr. Bonzo’s theme blaring out of its tiny speaker. Jordan tries to warn everyone and get out but no one can hear him over the music. Bonzo takes the groom and begins to “dance” with him by spinning around faster and faster until Bonzo decides to rip his arms off and even as this act of gorey brutality took place the other party goers present continued to laugh and laugh until Jordan’s scream caused them to realize this wasn’t some sort of prank. Almost everyone begins to yell in terror but some yelled in rage and proceeded to attack Bonzo: “A few of the bigger guys picked up chairs or bottles and began to beat and slash at the thing. It didn’t seem to notice, its bulbous, bloodshot, eyes staying fixed on the groom’s body as it raised it overhead.” Bonzo then proceeds to continue pulverizing the body by smashing it against the ground over and over.

“For a split second, all was still but the music just pounded on, barely recognizable now over the distortion from the smoking speakers as those voices, no longer childlike, still chanted the words “He’s here to stay… He wants to play…”” “Then Mr. Bonzo turned towards us with its head bowed almost reverentially and everybody went silent. Slowly, awfully slowly, it raised its head, titling it coquettishly to one side. Then the seams across its face split revealing its gaping maw filled with even larger, sharper teeth.” Jordan admits that they don’t remember much about what happened after that but “I dream about it most nights. In the dream it digs through all those men to get to me, grabbing fistfuls of them and throwing them to smash against the wall. The strobe fires as its hands plunge into the pile of us and each flash shows a little less flesh between me and it, between me and all those teeth… finally everyone else is gone. I raise my arm to protect myself and it gently but inexorably lifts it into its mouth, smiles and bites… None of us was left whole but I was the luckiest. All I lost was a hand, it wasn’t even my dominant one.” The biting was set up previously in episode 10 when the transcripts mention “Gwen holds out the envelope and Mr Bonzo snatches it into his mouth, audibly chewing it. His teeth are not soft.”

Jordan says that they “told the investigators everything I know, doctors too. I don't know why nobody outside the room heard or saw anything, why the cameras weren't working, why it let me live. But I do know why there weren't any bodies. All I actually want is my hand back so I can tend bar but that isn’t going to happen is it? So I’ll have to settle for the next best thing and sue you for everything I can get, because I don’t know what happened that night but it was in your venue and no one came to help. Not Derek, not another doorman, no one. So yeah, you’d better have one hell of a settlement waiting for me, or I'll see you in court.”

While you could make an argument for themes of Entities like The Desolation, Flesh, Hunt, etc. I’m still going to primarily argue for Bonzo being tied to The Stranger or a similar Entity due to what we see in his previous appearances. For the sake of clarity, if there is any debate about what The Stranger embodies in MAG 200 it is stated “And as they learned to know their friends and kin, so too did they learn to fear the unknown figure, the coming of the stranger” and in MAG 092 (Nothing Beside Remains) Jonah tells Jon “We thrive on ceaseless watching, on knowing too much. What we face is the hidden, the uncanny, and the unknown.” while in MAG 111 (Family Business) Jon says “The Stranger is the unknown. The uncanny.” and Gerard doesn’t correct him.

However, a lot of Mr. Bonzo’s behaviours in previous episodes resembles The Stranger (and The Stranger has violently attacked or killed people in the past). Mr. Bonzo is also described as being a clown. Something we know The Stranger has a precedent for manifesting as, probably due to both the idea of the uncanny valley being achieved with a costume or makeup and the idea of a traveling circus full of strangers you don’t know from out of town in addition to a clown costume acting as a disguise that can obscure whoever is wearing it. Not to mention that Mr. Bonzo is described as a suit, which could very easily connect to an Entity like The Stranger. Firstly, The Stranger tends to have a big emphasis on wearing things like skins and suits. Additionally, Gwen mentions in episode 11 “That… abomination wasn’t a costume. That was skin. It was sagging, it was sweaty!” and we know The Stranger has a tendency for wearing skin, skinning things (such as with taxidermy), etc. as a form of disguise, in order to hide itself, or to metaphorically rob something of their identity.

This also applies to costumes in general since usually wearing costumes or disguises can actually obscure who is wearing them and thus their true identity is unknown. There’s also the fact that costumes themselves can easily fall into the uncanny valley. Ever since Five Nights at Freddy’s became popular there’s been an uptick in horror media focusing on how creepy and uncanny things like animatronic suits can be. Not that Mr. Bonzo is an animatronic but it is a suit. Also, Bonzo apparently has hard teeth and having solid teeth on a suit could look uncanny.

The surprise gift and sudden appearance of Bonzo that others assume is some sort of surprise or prank could also tie into The Stranger and the idea of something mysteriously appearing or not being expected. Bonzo was originally made to prank celebrities. As Nigel explains in episode 10 that his produce ““inviting a famous person on, someone really serious, and we tell them we’re going to have them do a segment with a popular children’s entertainer. Now, obviously these folks won’t have any idea about what kids are actually watching, so we could come up with the most horrendous thing, claim kids loved it and see how long it took for the guest to realize that they were the joke. That they’d been “berried”” and “The problem with a surprise prank is that doing it on Saturday night primetime means pretty soon everyone knows about it, and the guests knew it was coming. A couple even requested it. So the prank part of it sort of died, and he just became an SOS mascot. One of my many tormentors in the dungeon. By the end we’d even retired Mr. Six, and it was all Bonzo.” Once again, a focus on surprise and I think it’s interesting that Bonzo loses his punch the more people know about and understand him. Bonzo is a character that thrived specifically on the guests not knowing who he was and did. So a potential relationship with the unknown again.”

In episode 10 Nigel says to Gwen ““Try not to stare. He doesn’t like it when people stare.” Which could relate to The Stranger. While all the Entities are connected, overlap, and need each other for a ritual bringing them into the world to work, with even seemingly opposing Entities bleeding into each other or having overlapping fears, The Stranger can often have an antagonistic relationship with The Eye and forms of being known. The Stranger tends to thrive off the fear of being unknown so staring at something aligned with The Stranger might make it react negatively. In MAG 092 (Nothing Beside Remains) Jonah tells Jon “We thrive on ceaseless watching, on knowing too much. What we face is the hidden, the uncanny, and the unknown.” In MAG 165 (Revolutions) Not-Sasha says this in regards to The Eye’s Post-Change world “Do you know how it feels? To be – anonymous? And yet known! To have all the sweetest dread I can create tainted by the relentless gaze of that damned Eye. I’ve suffered enough.” So if my theory that Bonzo is tied to something like The Stranger is correct, that could explain a potentially negative reaction to being looked at for too long since aspects of The Stranger often don’t like it when people try to figure out what they are. This could ring extra true if it does turn out that the OIAR is somehow connected to The Eye.

Bonzo’s eating and biting could potentially be linked to The Stranger’s tendency for odd uncanny behavior, like that time Breekon / Hope ate a butterfly. The fact that this monster looks like Bonzo could also be related to the idea of the uncanny, since he would resemble Bonzo but behave and look a bit off. Also, it seems hard to tell if Bonzo is a costume or a monster resembling a costume which makes it harder to know what he is for sure, and The Stranger loves playing up mystery (think how we never know which character is Breekon and which character is Hope from Breekon and Hope in TMA, and Jon describes one of them as “one half of Breekon and Hope”). Also, Bonzo can only say his name which means you never really know what he’s saying or talking about.

Bonzo killing everyone in the room but leaving someone alive is not a completely unheard of idea. The Entities in general often seem to leave witnesses if in doing so more fear is generated and we see creatures like the Not-Them kill and replace people while ensuring that at least one person remembers what the original persona actually looked like even if no one else does. The reason for this is because if the Not-Them’s disguise was perfect and changed every bit of memory and evidence then there wouldn’t be anyone to be afraid of the idea that someone they know has been replaced by a stranger.

Jordan mentions “I don't know why nobody outside the room heard or saw anything, why the cameras weren't working, why it let me live. But I do know why there weren't any bodies.” which emphasizes his confusion about what’s happening. While confusion is often tied to The Spiral, in this case it stems from a bunch of unknown factors and variables, like why there were no other witnesses and why the cameras weren’t working.” As far as there being no witnesses and the cameras failing to work, the Entities are known for usually being on the downlow and not common knowledge but Entities like The Stranger tend to thrive off the fear of mystery and have a precedent for things like mysterious disappearances or hiding people / things. The Calliope I mentioned earlier mysteriously disappeared from the Institute’s archives at some point in TMA and in MAG 092 (Nothing Beside Remains) Jonah tells Jon “We thrive on ceaseless watching, on knowing too much. What we face is the hidden, the uncanny, and the unknown.” Jonah specifically mentions that The Stranger has a connection to “the hidden” among other things. In MAG 102 (Nesting Instinct) Jonah even says that The Stranger essentially hid Jon from him when saying “I was doing everything in my power to locate you. Everyone was working on finding the ritual site.” and “[Irritated] I am sorry, John, that my powers have not yet reached the level of omniscience.” Jordan does say that they know why there weren’t any bodies which implies that Mr. Bonzo probably ate them.

Jordan having trouble remembering exactly what happened actually does have a precedent with The Stranger since the Entity does have connections to memory loss or a loss of identity. In MAG 165 (Revolutions) we see Not-Sasha watch over a Domain that takes the form of a merry-go-round with people fighting over faces. People with no faces must fight over the faces of others to rip them off and regain some sense of identity. When they lose their face it is said “And soon enough they will forget they ever even had one, rest assured; it’s best to step the dance and keep your face secured as much as you are able. Just. Keep. Running.” Jon and co also face memory loss when they interrupt The Stranger’ ritual in TMA and forget who they are and what they are doing for a period of time.

Some other Entities this statement parallels are that of The Slaughter (with sudden brutal and gory violence), The Flesh (via bodily disfigurement by way of losing a hand, Bonzo being described as releasing “some vile mixture of putrid water, rotten foam and rancid meat.” when cut at some point, and Bonzo biting into people), The End (a lot of people brutally die), The Corruption (from the aforementioned vile mixture pouring out of Bonzo), and even The Eye (with the strange and horrifying dreams Jordan is forced to relive over and over resembling how people who give Jon live statements are forced to relive said moments in the form of nightmares over and over). Like always, I have to at least touch on the fact that The Eye doesn’t seem to just be the fear of being watched but also being a witness to something you don’t want to see. Jon can force people to recount and relive terrible moments, Jonah can force information into the heads of people like Melanie and Martin, and in MAG 200 The Eye is stated to have been born from the fear of one’s own eyes showing them too much.

All this being said, I still think the OIAR is somehow connected to The Eye. There’s the cases being like statements but also the fact that they supply sensitive information (such as names and locations) to things like Mr. Bonzo. People like Jonah could almost always know one’s location thanks to their Eye powers and The Eye is connected to the fear of someone / something knowing too much about you (such as knowing where and who you are). I wonder why Bonzo was sent to kill this particular groom when he was just partying? Did the groom know something or overstep some line or was the groom just some sort of offering to appease Mr. Bonzo? How was this person’s name and address obtained? Was it just mundane tracking or something closer to Jonah’s clairvoyance? Nigel acted like he was doing the OIAR a favor so right now it seems like this was a target decided by the OIAR and not necessarily Nigel. Unless you want to argue that the “favor” is aiding in keeping Bonzo pacified, under wraps, or something potentially more mutually beneficial. I wonder if Jordan’s dreams are somehow connected to being directly involved in a case or facing an External of the OIAR? It could also simply be that Jordan is traumatized.

We cut to Gwen and the transcripts say she “is sat at her desk, stunned by what she has just heard.” and she only says “Jesus Christ…” I wonder if this is because the case is unusually brutal or gorey when compared to most others or if she realized there’s a connection between the letter she delivered and what happens in this case. Considering what Lena said it's very possible that some of the cases the OIAR gets are connected to the activity of their own Externals (such as Mr. Bonzo).

ALICE CONT.

“Gwen? Hello?”

GWEN

“(dazed) What?”

Getting sucked into a statement like this and statements having a negative impact on one’s mental state are both things we have seen in TMA. Jon had a hard time stopping once he started a statement and at one point Jon expresses worry that Martin was listening to a bunch of statements for Peter Lukas and his plan in regards to The Extinction. Although, it could be that Gwen is merely shocked.

Gwen explains that she met one of the Externals but Alice seems to think Gwen is just referring to some annoying assholes as opposed to any supernatural monsters that takes the form of beloved childhood characters.

Gwen seems to finally wonder the question that I’ve been wondering for a while now:

GWEN

“What do you think we’re actually doing, here at the O.I.A.R.?”

ALICE

“Apart from mortgaging our mental health for a wage packet?”

GWEN

“We’ve both been here long enough to know this place. We’re not doing good. We’re not just sifting random data. There’s something wrong here.”

ALICE

“What are you getting at?”

GWEN

“You never wonder what the point is? Who benefits from all this awfulness?”

ALICE

“I don’t wonder. I know.”

GWEN

(sitting up) “What? Really?”

ALICE

“(portentous) Oh yeah. I’ve known for a while. What we’re doing here, it’s all part of a grand plan to satisfy one of the most unspeakable evils known to mankind... “

Gwen’s on the edge of her seat.

ALICE

“(almost a whisper) …the UK government.”

In TMA the point of the Institute sifting through statements and stuff was twofold. Firstly, to feed The Eye but also to set up the lynchpin for The Eye’s ritual with the position of the Archivist. I wonder if something similar is going on here but I can’t say since while you could argue that being an Externals Liaison is like the Archivist and shares the role as being a “living chronicle of fear” (especially since Lena remarked that Gwen should show fear via screaming because Externals tend to like that) Gwen had to blackmail her way into that position. I have no idea who was the Externals Liaison before her or if there are other Liaisons, if there even was one(s) before / with Gwen at all. Also, unlike the Institute, the OIAR is explicitly connected to the government and is meant to respond to things (not just watch). So it’s very likely that the OIAR has a role that is different from just “The Mass Ritual / Institute 2.0.” They could still be gathering fear related to the statements and being observed like the Institute in TMA though. However, even the Institute still wanted the Archival staff to do a good job following up statements and stuff. Jon tries to reorganize the Archives after Gertrude purposefully left them disorganized and Tim corrects Jon about some errors he made when reading some statements. The OIAR doesn’t really seem to care how well or poorly their workers categorize the cases and I don’t know if anyone checks.

Alice’s joke about the greatest evil known to mankind being the UK government feels like foreshadowing considering that the OIAR, and by extension all the Externals like Bonzo, are connected to the government.

Alice’s comment “Apart from mortgaging our mental health for a wage packet?” references how stressful this job seems to be.

Conclusion

Yeah, idk. This was a very simple episode overall and it mostly just seemed like it was following up Lena’s point about paying attention to the caseload.

Okay, hold on, before I end this I figured I should actually try to look at the voices in the computer system a bit more closely, since quite frankly, like with the alchemy symbols, I’ve admittedly been neglecting them and not focusing on them as much as I should have. This is because I actually couldn’t tell if there was any kind of correlation between the voices and the kinds of cases they read but a video by Maddie’s Maxis called “This Channel's First Video - The Magnus Protocol Analysis and Theories” (which you can view here This Channel's First Video - The Magnus Protocol Analysis and Theories) hypothesizes that there is actually a correlation. As we all know two of the computer voices sound like Martin and Jon and Maddie argues that the kinds of statements the voices read correspond to something that had to do with the character. For example, in theory NORRIS (Martin’s voice) tends to have statements relating to self-loathing and loneliness. I don’t know what they are feeding Maddie but Maddie is potentially cooking here. So I decided to glance over at some of the statements and see if there are any patterns.

I’m going to start with the theme that seems the most concrete in my opinion. The cases that NORRIS (Martin’s voice) reads seem to often be tied to themes of isolation, losing loved ones, or feeling abandoned. I should make it clear that while I know Martin in TMA is connected to The Lonely I am not saying all the cases NORRIS reads are connected to The Lonely. The mere presence of feeling alone or isolated doesn’t automatically make a statement Lonely related in the same way someone dying, getting attacked, or something taking place at night or in darkness automatically means End, Slaughter, or Dark respectively. Also, it’s important to remember that every Entity, even seemingly opposing ones, have overlap, shared fears, commonalities, etc..

But let’s look at the cases to see if this pattern is really there. The case NORRIS covers in episode 1 involves the Anglerfish, or something resembling it, killing and replacing their romantic partner. Harriet even says “And that voice I have loved for twenty years answered: “Some of him.”” So loss of a loved one.

In episode 3 NORRIS covers a case in which Dr. Samuel seems to feel immense guilt and sorrow about the death of Maddie. Once again, the loss of a close loved one.

In episode 8 NORRIS goes over a report Terrance submits about the effects of brutal liminalism. While no one dies or is replaced in the actual events of the case, Terrance does mention “originally took my role as a night janitor at Forton following a protracted divorce which cost me the majority of my friendships.” So while their partner isn’t dead they did lose a loved one, and if you read my thoughts on that episode you know that I actually think the case has a lot of similarities with The Lonely. The fog, the vaguely familiar but impossible to understand gibberish, people with repeating features, being isolated in a dark void, etc.. Even if you disagree that it’s The Lonely there is still a connection to themes of losing someone close and being alone.

If there was an episode to disprove this theory it would probably be episode 12 since it’s just Bonzo murdering a room full of people. Jordan does say “I don't know why nobody outside the room heard or saw anything” and earlier in the case they mention that they believed their coworker by the name of Joey the doorman might have ditched him again but this definitely feels a bit more like a stretch. Jordan does seem to blame the establishment for what happened and this is because from the perspective of Jordan no one came to help despite how obvious and loud the commotion was. Which could maybe tie into the idea of being abandoned or left alone but this is definitely pushin it and it’s clear that our understanding of what kinds of cases each voice reads might expand as the series goes on.

Maddie argues that CHESTER (Jonathon’s voice) seems to usually cover cases related directly to the Magnus Institute. Which is generally true, CHESTER covers the cases of RedCanary spelunking in the Institute’s ruins in episode 1, and the gambling dice being submitted to the Institute in episode 9 for example. But CHESTER also covers the case about Tom wanting to watch Voyeur in episode 5, the case regarding Hilltop Center in episode 7, Gordon’s encounter with the tattoos and Ink5 during construction in episode 11. It’s very possible that these are just related to the Institute in ways we don’t understand yet, for example some of the characters that appear could be members of the Institute or something, but in my opinion this definitely throws a wrench into some things.

CHESTER seems to have a stronger case for a theme of curiosity and a desire to know in general as opposed to just the Magnus Institute. RedCanary investigates the archives out of curiosity, Tom really wants to see the Voyeur movie for their blog, the narrator explains that they experimented with the gambling dice to figure out how they worked, and Gordon keeps talking about how they “just need to see it. I need to know what’s in the water.” As I’ve mentioned previously, The Eye also has a major emphasis on a desire to know and understand something even if it comes at the cost of yourself and / or other people. Hilltop Center still seems like a bit of an outlier here but while Dianne isn’t spelunking through ruins or anything she does mention that she was looking for people to help her work at the center. Which, while a bit of a stretch, could fit with a theme of curiosity or desire to know in the case of Chester. Or at least the idea of something being searched for as a theme at least.

If you wanted to argue that CHESTER actually related to things being looked for you could say that the case about the gambling dice revolves around the narrator giving the Institute artifacts, and they even say “So yeah, I tell you all about them, how I got them, all that crap and you just… You take them away, right? You accept them? Good. I think. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. It’s how it worked for me, at least. Put them in whatever vault you like, bury them, drop them in the ocean, for all I care. All that matters is that they’re yours now.” So you could say that the Institute was looking for artifacts. You could also argue that the narrator was looking for people to roll the dice, looking for good luck, or started making their way towards Gary when they found him.

AUGUSTUS has a voice I am not familiar with (and we will get to the popular theory in a moment). I can only recall AUGUSTUS voicing one case, I might be forgetting one or something, so I don’t have a lot to go on. AUGUSTUS could be covering really old statements, as Sam notes the one in episode 4 is from the 18th century, or statements revolving around others climbing their way to their top and doing whatever it takes to do so. It’s kind of unclear until I can see some more AUGUSTUS statements.

There’s also some obvious character associations with this theory. Martin, someone connected to The Lonely, has statements reflecting some kind of isolation or abandonment, Jon, the Archivist with a strong tie to The Eye and someone who was strung along while trying to solve Jonah’s plan and learn the truth about the Entities, has statements involving extreme curiosity or people looking for things, and Jonah, someone who is really old and ruthless (so ruthless that they made the world a fear hellscape in an attempt to avoid death), has had a statement taking place in the 18th century involving someone giving a blood sacrifice to play violin super well.

There’s a popular theory going around that the three voices in the computers are actually Jonathon, Martin, and Jonah, and this definitely seems like one of the more credible theories floating around the community to a degree. AUGUSTUS’ unfamiliar voice could be the voice of Jonah’s original body. Jon, Martin, and Jonah were all in the panopticon when the Change ended which could be the event that got them tied to the computers. It could also have to do with being the pupil of the Eye somehow. Jonah and Jon were both the Eye’s pupil at some point and Jon got his position by killing Jonah to take his spot. It’s possible something weird happened like Martin was about to become the Eye’s pupil after removing Jon from the position, giving them this common link, but I can’t say for sure.

Maddie also points out another big thing to remember in the video. I have mentioned that Annabelle seems generally right about what happens to the Entities’ various Monsters and Avatars after the Entities get pulled into the next universe. Monsters, like potentially the Anglerfish, presumably get sucked into the new universe since they are part of the Entities. Other people may or may not get sucked into the universe depending on how attached they were to the Entity. It’s also possible that they will always just be left behind. However, Annabelle also mentions that it’s possible the Entities will take the aspects of a person that are connected to or are a part of the Entity. So, it’s possible that the parts of Jon, Martin, and Jonah in the computer are not them in their entirety but merely specific aspects of their personality or being. It could literally just be their voices taken by one or more Entities for all we know.

We also know that some Entities, like The End, seem capable of making copies or “memories” of people after / when they die. In MAG 154 (Bloody Mary) Eric states “I know that I’m not really Eric; I’m just a memory someone wrote down. It hurts, most of the time. I don’t like it.” So one could argue that the voices in the computers are not the fully sentient original versions of Jon, Martin, and Jonah but “memories” or copies created by one or more Entities. This could also explain why the third voice might be Jonah even though Jonah potentially died before the Entities jumped universes. This voice could simply be The Eye’s metaphorical recollection of Jonah or Jonah wasn’t completely dead when the Entities switched universes. This also means that the voices in the computers could be more malicious than we first assume if there’s a chance they are in actuality not Jon, Martin, and Jonah or are in truth aspects of The Eye or bits of their personalities trying to achieve a specific goal.

As I’ve mentioned previously, the cases the voices read out don’t seem to be completely random. The second Sam is about to give up his search for the Magnus Institute CHESTER spits out a case that is perfect for reigniting his curiosity with the addition of a new clue, and when Celia takes the job the first case she gets is about Hilltop Center (which could relate to Celia’s questions about multiversal and time travel). I still can’t say if the CHESTER or any other of the computers are trying to help Sam or use him for more nefarious purposes.

I’m not super confident about this being the patterns the computers follow at the moment because frankly there isn’t a lot of cases to go off of, and I need to see more AUGUSTUS. It’s also possible that the cases are more variable or context dependant. What the voices read could depend on the person at the computer, for example: it’s possible CHESTER reads a bunch of cases connected to the Institute because that’s what Sam was most interested in. There are also some cases we don’t have enough context behind yet, for example the mysterious figure in the Hilltop Road case could be connected to something like the Institute in some way, or that some of the voices focus on certain Externals Liaisons, people, etc..

If you want another TMAGP theory video to watch here’s one by Pinkelotje: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX51EHLy7BQ&ab_channel=pinkelotje.

#tmagp #tma #the magnus protocol #the magnus archives #theory

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yourlocalartsonist · 7 months ago

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ROTTMNT Moths Fly In Packs - Chapter Nine

HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT I'M ALIVE AND I AM SO SORRY! It's been way too long and I'm genuinely sorry this chapter took several fucking months to make but IT'S FINALLY DONE! It ended up way longer than I intended man, I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA BE SHORT. It's my longest chapter yet fun fact. I don't even regret it really, it benefited so much from the extra effort. Hopefully the next few chapters won't take this long but I will refrain from jinxing myself again so🧍‍♀️Anyway enough blabbering, hope y'all enjoy this one ;w;

CREDIT To the MFIP Team: Thank you to @yosajaeofficial, @urlocalmj, misfortun3_ismyname (on TikTok), @chaoticspeedrun, @ramblehour and @goldanrabbit for being my lovely editors! MAN did they give this chapter a lot of polish-

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Chapter One

Disclaimer: Chapter involves verbal abuse/manipulation, harassment, gaslighting, depressive thoughts, violence, blood, mentions of a wounded limb, brief mentions of nausea, displayed anxiety, and curse words. If you're sensitive to that, scroll past and stay safe!

I rushed around my room throwing shit on as fast as I could. Not fast enough apparently, since my phone’s vibrating like it’s gonna explode.

It’s late as hell right now, but Zane insisted on meeting up. Pretty randomly at, like, 11pm on a school night. I was initially planning to reject the idea or ghost with the excuse of sleeping, but it’s been a good while since I actually did hang out with him. I know insomnia’s gonna keep me up for a bit anyway, so why the hell not? We might even have fun! Just wish he’d stop flooding my notifs like I didn't already say I was actively getting ready.

I looked in the mirror, checking to see if I was presentable enough for the outside realm. My reflection’s the same as always; for better or worse. Still the same pink dress, same green skirt, same boots. Can’t forget the gold earrings; the only emergency asset I held onto. I don’t know what I expected. I don’t have much to work with. Guess the gloves from Donnie are new, at least. But I’m still getting… bored? A change in appearance—even a small one—might be able to fill that hole for a while. Keep me distracted.

Maybe I could do something with my hair tonight? I still have Mi’s ribbon lying here somewhere.

I ignored Zane’s digital pestering and spent a few extra minutes shuffling through drawers and boxes, eventually finding her long, white ribbon—handmade from moth silk. She wore it all the time. I barely remember her hair being fully down unless she was sleeping or about to shower. Except for that one night, of course. The night she left and was never found again. She almost did take the ribbon with her. Had her hair done up in a bun and everything, even a little fancier than usual. But she took it off once she saw me behind her, barely reflected in the mirror. She crouched down, placed it in my tiny palms, and gave me her wonderfully warm smile. It’s the last thing she left me with. The last gift she could ever give me.

After that, the ribbon’s survived years of storage and then more years of… unconventional bullshit use. I know moth silk ain’t the weakest thing on Earth but I’ve deadass used this ribbon as a make-shift pulley system to sneak stuff into my room through the window before, some of which weighed more than me! Its got the endurance of a Nokia at this point.

I’ve barely used the ribbon for its intended purpose, though. I mean, how could I? I’m not my mom no matter how similar we look. Maybe this is a me-thing, but I always felt wearing the ribbon would be like replacing her with myself.

Although, I’m sure Mi would’ve loved it if I wore it.

Using the ribbon, I tied my hair into a ponytail and styled it as a loose bow, just to see how it would look. The white tails gently draped over my back down to my hips. I never quite realized how long the ribbon was before now. I don’t look as fancy or pretty as mom did, but it’s the best I’ve got. It… it doesn’t look bad, though, I think. It actually looks kinda nice! Maybe I’ll use it a bit more often.

My phone’s repeated buzzing snapped me out from my trance. “Alright, alright, shut up already.” I groaned. Zane’s growing impatient.

You: hey sorry I jsut finished getting ready

You: heading out the door now! :3

Fuck doors. Sneaking out became a whole lot easier ever since I did it from my window, but he doesn’t have to know that. I can already imagine him scolding me about the dangers of dropping down from high places, even with the fire escape there. He wouldn’t be wrong, per se, but at this point I’ve handled worse. Would probably send him into cardiac arrest if he knew what I’d actually been up to these few months.

I sprinted to the spot we agreed to meet up at. Zane was already there, leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets like always.

“Salena! Hey!” He lit up like a star when he saw me, beckoning me over.

God, for a sour person, he has such a sweet smile. He’s usually so good at being intimidating and frightening. Yet the second he brings out his smile, all that built-up fear washes away like it was never there to begin with.

“I almost thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Well, I figured I could use some fresh air.” I tilted my head to the side, eyeing his fit. “You left your sweater at home?”

“Hm?” He followed my gaze to his pitch black tank top in place of the usual outfit. “Oh, right! Yeah, the weather’s too hot for a sweater tonight. Forgot I changed it, really.”

Now that I’m looking closer, his choker’s missing too. It probably didn’t match with the top. Seems like it got swapped with a black watch on his left wrist that complimented the look way more. Doesn’t matter what he pretends to be though, I know Zane pays very close attention to his appearance. He’s gotta maintain the rep of our grade’s “Pretty Boy” after all. When it comes to him, every little detail matters.

Wait a sec…

“What happened to your arm?”

I couldn’t see ‘till he turned towards me but his left arm had a deep bluish-purple bruise spread across it. It looked like it was from something long like a pipe or a bat. Either way, it was gnarly enough to worry me.

“Oh that. It’s nothing too bad.” He shrugged.

“You kiddin’ me? It looks awful! What happened?” I carefully grabbed his arm and took a closer look at the mark. I wish Leo was here, but thankfully I’ve picked up a little medic knowledge from him so I can at least tell if a bone is broken or not.

“Hey, don’t get your feathers all fluffed! I got a little hurt rough-housing with the guys, that’s all. You know how they are.”

“Rough-housing? Or a secret murder attempt?” I was only being half sarcastic. It wouldn’t be out of character for them.

“Don’t worry! It’s really sweet of you to care, but they’d never dare hurt me on purpose! Now, on another note…“ He paused for a moment, taking a proper look at me. For a little bit, I couldn’t tell why he smirked. “Looks like someone wanted to look cute tonight, ey? You wore your hair up.”

“Huh?” I touched my hair, forgetting I changed it earlier. “Oh, um, yeah! I-I did! I thought I’d give it a try. Does it… um, you know, look too bad or weird or?…”

“No! No, it… it looks really pretty.” Oh god, that’s a relief to hear! I was so paranoid it wouldn’t suit— “I gotta ask, though.”

I caught him inching closer. I tried creating space, but quickly realized I was up against the wall again. Should’ve been more careful about that. His hand reached out, bringing back all sorts of cringe-inducing memories. He didn’t technically pin me like last time, but he tucked my bangs back behind my ear. Feeling his fingers come into contact with my skin almost feels just as nauseating, though.

“How’d you know I had a thing for girls in ponytails?”

And fuck, he made it weird again.

“Z-Zane?”

“Yeah?…” WHY ISN’T HE GETTING THE HINT!? “You know, you always look so soft when you dress up. You just bloom.”

“…So! What are we doing tonight?”

His smile slightly dropped, likely upset I ruined whatever moment he was trying to have. Honestly, didn’t matter to me, as shitty as that sounds. I just wanted to change the topic so he’d step back a bit. We go through this every time; this stupid ass, awkward aura. I wish it would stop happening.

On the bright side, he did step back and redirect his focus to answering my question. On the not so bright side, his answer was a pathetic shrug.

“I don’t know.”

“Y-you… What do you mean you don’t know? I snuck out here in the middle of the night, you told me it’d be something special! You’ve gotta have something planned.”

“Honest, I don’t! I thought it was beautiful outside and it reminded me of you. Wanted to see where such a lovely night could take us. I think that’s special enough, don’t you?”

“W-Well, I mean—“

He chuckled “What’s wrong? You’re not backing out now, are you?”

I may have praised his smile earlier, but right now it’s making my eye twitch. I’m a little peeved knowing he brought me out here for shits and giggles when I could’ve at least been resting in bed, replenishing some of my energy. I know I don’t have the best sleeping habits, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get tired from the constant action going on! I don’t even know how long he’s gonna keep me hostage for! But… he’s also right that it’d be kinda shitty to bail now. Besides, I’m already out here so…

I guess all that’s left to do is suck it up and try to make the best of it.

“Well, do you wanna… go for a walk or something?”

“Sounds perfect to me! Come on, hold my hand, Dove.”

For someone who supposedly didn’t have a plan, he sure took an awful lot of charge during that walk. He suggested we go to Central Park and practically dragged me there despite my common sense screaming to never go to that hellspawn at night. Although, I can’t complain too much. The park’s definitely the best place to see the stars, and tonight had clear skies! He made sure to keep a tight grip on me in case we ran into any classic New York weirdos anyway, so I should probably be less tense. I guess I got used to the guaranteed safety of having literal ninjas around me, I forgot what it was like hanging out with a regular person.

On top of that, Zane seemed really happy! Happier than I’ve seen him in a while, actually. He was giddily pointing out any interesting greenery we saw and rambling random facts he knew about them.

Even later, when we went and dined inside a relatively fancy restaurant, all he could focus on was the different plants they chose as decor. He’s such a huge nature geek, but he’d never let anyone know. Zane’s the type of guy to get 100% on a biology test and shamefully shove it in his backpack to avoid being labeled as a nerd. Being a nerd myself, I think it’s pretty cool, so I never understood it. But either way, I’m glad he feels safe around me. I’m glad he doesn’t hide around me.

I forgot about this side of him, I really did. The side that is my friend.

We were walking back to my place, taking in the bliss of the quiet night. Even if a part of me prefers the busier, noisy parts of the city, it’s really soothing to experience the calmer sides of it too. Everything about tonight feels nearly perfect. I’m surprised nothing ruined it. I’m debating if I could ruin it…

I really want to talk to him. I wanna bring up those photos, get some answers, put my strange emotions to rest once and for all. I wanna hear it from him that neither of them meant to hurt me. That this was just my mind screwing me over again. I need to know. I really need to know.

You know, friends are supposed to lend a shoulder when you need it.

I don’t want to ruin the night. But friendship takes risks sometimes. That’s what shows its strength, right?

I take a deep breath and go for the leap of faith.

“So, I was wondering—” “Salena, I wanted to ask—”

I really gotta work on my timing for these things.

“S-Sorry! You go first.”

He shook his head with a delicate smile. “Nah, it’s okay. You can go.”

“Are you sure? I-I mean it’s kinda complicated…”

“Yeah, I’m sure! I always love hearing you talk, anyway.”

“O-okay then, well…” My hands balled up into determined fists and I looked him right in the eyes. I have to put an end to this or I’ll never be able to move on. “I’ll be real, it might be a weird question.But you’re my friend and I really trust you a lot. I… I have to know this, so please don’t get mad.”

“Yeah…?” Why did he have to lean in closer…

I came this far, I’m not letting my tongue shut me up again.

“What’s going on with you and Jaiden?”

Immediately his demeanor changed. His posture slouched, the disappointment clear as day on his face. “Jaiden? You’re—you’re really thinking about… about them, now?”

“Yes, b-but I want to stop! That’s why I need to ask you this, so please bear with me, Zane.”

He leaned back with a hand on his hip, the other covering his face as he exhaled. “And here I was getting my hopes up for nothing.”

He would never think that I heard him; Zane’s a good whisperer. Unfortunately, my hearing rivals it.

He looked at me again; his eyes didn’t feel the same. “Okay, fine. What is it?”

I felt my stomach twist into itself. My chest began to ache. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was about to hurl.

It’s okay. Friends get a little upset at each other all the time. Doesn’t mean they’ll break apart. Don’t be a coward, Salena.

I told him about everything. The canceled plans, Jaiden’s distant behavior, the increase in their pics together on his Instagram. I vented about how frustrated I felt with seeing them spend so much time together and then completely ignore me. And then vented some more about how frustrated I felt from that frustration, how I knew it was wrong yet couldn’t help it seeping into my everyday life! I let out a lot of steam tonight, even things I didn’t plan on telling him. The only things I left out, honestly, were anything related to the turtles to hide their identity. And to avoid any irrelevant questions.

He seemed strangely chipper hearing all of this, a curiously amused smirk plastered on his face. Not the reaction I expected, but I guess it’s better than him flipping out like I thought he would.

“So, if I’m getting this right, you see me and Jaiden hanging out more often and it actually bothers you?”

“I don’t want it to but yeah, it bothers me a whole fucking lot. It’s taken over my life and I hate it! I hate being jealous! It’s so—“

“You’re jealous!? You’re jealous! Oh man, I can’t believe I am living in the same timeline where the Salena Moni is experiencing jealousy like every. Average. Lowlife. Person!”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead and rub it in, why dontcha? That helps me so much.” I pouted.

He laughed, enjoying my misery. “I know, I’m sorry. Just, damn! Somewhere, pigs are flying aren’t they?” If Meat Sweats could fly, I’d be his murderous Cupid.

“Har har. I get it though. I mean, you know me! I’ve felt envious before, but jealous? How does anyone even deal with this…?” I held myself a little tighter.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Dove. It happens! Everyone gets a little jealous. It’s a normal thing to go through, Salena.”

“Yeah, I sure did want a normal life, so I guess I got what I wished for.” I can’t help feeling salty over all this.

He only laughed and patted my hair, fluffing up the ponytail a little.

“Hey, Zane? For the sake of my psyche, you sure I’m not a bad person for this?”

A tender sigh rang through my ears. “I’m sure. You could never be a bad person, Salena.”

…I never realized a husky voice like his could feel so honeyed.

But he’s right. I’m not a bad person, I’m just human. If both him and Raph said the same thing, it’s more likely to be true.

“And for the record, Jaiden and I are just friends right now. There’s nothing going on between us, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Uh… Cool? I… might be a little lost here. Why are you telling me that?”

“Reassurance, obviously.”

I blinked, not really getting it or knowing how to respond. He thought for a moment, then had a face of realization while he giggled.

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re actually that innocent! You’re so cute, I swear!” He booped my nose and leaned in again with a huge smile. He lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “You’re jealous because you have a crush.”

A crush?

“But why would I have a crush on Jaiden?”

“I’m just saying—Wait, rewind. A crush on Jaiden?” He physically paused for a bit before awkwardly laughing. “No, sweetie, you don’t get jealous of your crush, you get jealous of the people they’re with!”

“That’s why I’m asking. Why would I have a crush on Jaiden?”

…Why does the air feel colder all of a sudden?

The night was warm just a minute ago, but now it’s dead like the core of winter. His smile is long gone. His eyes, they’re slicing me in half. Is my breathing a little faster? He’s coming closer. I’m suddenly aware of just how alone we really are here in this silent little street.

“To be clear. Who are you jealous of.”

My throat clogged up. I blinked and lowered my eyes so he wouldn’t see the tears being fought back. I forgot this side of him, too. The side that made my heart close in on itself.

“Salena, don’t make me ask twice.”

“Of you.” I managed to let out. “J-jealous of you.”

He wouldn’t speak for a while. Only felt him staring me down like a predator stalking its prey, making me swallow to keep my throat from drying up. My hands felt so clammy, begging me to wipe them on my skirt. But I didn’t dare move. I couldn’t even look at him right now.

“Of fucking course you are.”

I knew it was coming, but I still flinched when he cursed with no shame, tugging his hair and punching the wall next to me. It’s stupid, isn’t it? I can handle giant mutants and a literal cult of evil, but Zane’s temper was not something to be messed with, and my unlucky ass did exactly that.

“Why did I ever expect anything different! Of course it’s me you’re jealous of! Why the fuck would you phrase it like that if you meant something else, god dammit!”

You’re gonna bleed if you keep doing that…

“Z-Zane, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t think it’d come off as me being jealous of Jaiden—“

“OBVIOUSLY, IT FUCKING WOULD!!!” He grabbed my shoulders, bringing me closer to him. I don’t know if it’d be an exaggeration to say I nearly got a panic attack from the action alone.

“When you say things like how you’re jealous of how much time Jaiden and I spend together, of course I think you’re jealous of them, not me! Why would I ever assume it was me! That never happens with anyone else! God, you’re such a fucking moron sometimes, I swear!”

“I'm sorry… P-please stop…”

“After everything we’ve fucking been through, everything I did for you! All you can ever do is somehow relate me back to Jaiden! There’s always someone else! I mean nothing to you, Salena! Don’t I!? I! Mean! Nothing!”

“I-I didn’t mean to, I promise—”

“THAT DOESN’T MATTER, IDIOT!”

He let go and pushed me back. Sometimes I overlook how much bigger Zane is compared to me. This is not one of those times.

“You know what? You know what’s funny, Salena? That night you’re so fucking fixated on, the one that’s consumed your ability to even think like a normal person? Yeah, I’ve got some news about that night.”

I just want to disappear…

“I asked Jaiden to go with me to that shitty party on purpose!”

…

What?

“I asked them on purpose, I posted those pictures on purpose! I did everything ‘cause I knew you’d see it! I thought maybe then, for once, you’d finally, finally feel a single ounce of longing for me! That was all I wanted!”

What.

“…You better be lying, Zane.”

“I’m not. And you deserve this.”

I glared at him the entire time while he was too focused on his own bullshit words to even notice. My arms burned with the sensation of my nails digging deeper and deeper. I hope they'll draw blood.

“You don’t understand, Salena! You keep saying all these… all these stupid fucking things that no one else says to me! Do you know what it does to me? If I had my way, I’d hold you forever and never let you go. No one’s shown me kindness like you.” I was so numb I couldn’t even react to him caressing my cheek. Only kept glaring.

“But then you barely ever give me the time of day! You’re barely ever with me! Fuck, honestly, you’re never with me anymore! I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not like you to say one thing and do another! You’re not that type of two-faced asshole! So why are you fucking acting like one!? Ever since that day you went to ‘hang out’ with that stupid drugged-out bitch you called a friend, you’ve never been the fucking same! With the way you act, I wouldn’t be fucking surprised if you got addicted and stay on the high 24/7!”

He’s… Is he talking about Mikey? That’s what this is about? Is he fucking serious right now.

“Who are you!? Where is my Salena?”

“Did you know Jaiden and I had plans that day?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m not stupid, I wasn’t gonna go that far. I wanted you to get a taste of what it felt to not be chosen, that’s it! Obviously, it was dumb to think it would work!” The dumb bitch sighed, exasperated. As if he had any right to be. “Seems you don’t have room for me in that big heart of yours after all, huh? Maybe I’m a dick for saying this, but it’s honestly karma that I happened to choose the one day you two were gonna hang out. That’s gotta be a sign, Salena.”

You never get the fucking hint, do you Zane Evans?

“I need to go.”

I couldn’t even get two steps in before he gripped my wrist to stop me.

“Wait, what do you mean go? Go where?”

“I meant exactly what I said! I’ve had enough. Now let go of me.”

I yanked my arm back and stormed off, Zane following close behind. At least, judging from the sound he was. I didn’t bother looking back.

“Hey! Your place is in the opposite direction!”

“Stop following me, I can go wherever I want!”

“Salena, seriously!? It’s already late, you’re gonna get lost! Come on, are you really that pissed off—”

“YES!!!”

I turned my heel and faced him.

“How are you even unsure of that!? You got upset I hung out with someone else for one day—a person I made plans with in advance, might I add—and you decided to take revenge on me!? Do you have any clue how fucked up that is!?”

“I got a little mad! So what? You’ve known me for two years! Stop overreacting about a harmless dig!”

“Harmless!? You have no idea what I’ve gone through this past month because of your little ‘harmless’ stunt! I’ve suffered so much because of you! I can’t even sleep because of you! God, sometimes you’re so—Ugh!”

I began counting down from ten to one, just like Raph taught. I shouldn’t say something I’ll regret later. Honestly, I shouldn’t have said anything at all.

He looked like a sad puppy. It’s clear he wasn’t expecting this. But somehow, my sympathy won’t halt my anger tonight.

“Salena, I… Look, I didn’t know you’d be so sensitive over this—“

“Zane, I really need to leave. I’m sorry I exploded like that, but it’s gonna happen again if I stay here any longer. So please, just stop following me. Hurting you would add more shit to my plate and I really don’t need that right now, okay?”

“N-no! Stay! I can make it up to you!”

“Another day, any day, but not now! Not now.”

I walked away and this time he didn’t follow.

“…Fine.”

I heard his footsteps stomp in the other direction, slowly fading away.

My own legs went faster till the wind consumed me.

The anger returned almost instantly after I knew he left. I’m happy I kept my cool during the end back there but holy fucking shit! What was he thinking!? I wanted answers tonight but I didn’t expect this! I thought I was overthinking again! I thought my brain made up the possibility that they ditched me intentionally! But no, turns out it wasn’t just Jaiden but Zane, too! What the fuck did I do to them? What did he mean I “deserved it”!?

I don’t get it, what is he expecting me to do? I know he… feels a certain way about me. But even then! I can’t just shit romantic feelings for him out my ass!

Ugh, so fucking stupid. I’m gonna lose my head if I keep thinking about this.

I wandered around the city some more and got back to the main road where a good handful of cars were passing again. It’s past 1am now and I’ve gotta get ready for school in less than five hours. But I know damn well I won’t sleep, not after this. I don’t wanna go home. Take me anywhere but home. I don’t feel like facing any of this right now, I…

I want somewhere I can feel safe for a while, just so the day won’t end on such a horrible note.

I pulled out my phone and opened the contacts. I wish I was one of those folks who didn’t have to think of someone before they dialed but alas, here I am.

I can’t talk to Jaiden.

I obviously can’t talk to Zane.

I don’t know if I can tell Casey any of this yet.

I’d love to talk to April but she’s probably asleep by now. But… but the guys might not be! They’re usually up at these sort of freakish hours of the night. I could try giving the group chat a call and hope for the best. I feel bad for bothering them so often but who else do I have right now?

It took three rings before the line went through.

“You are conversing with Donatell—Why is your screen so dark?”

Oh fucking lovely.

“H-hey, Donnie. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was a video call.”

As my luck would have it, Donnie was the one to pick up. No offense to him; he never did anything wrong. I’m just not entirely sure how he feels about me yet. So, having him answer when I’m already high on nerves isn’t what I pictured hoping for the best would result in. But he’s much, much better than being alone right now.

“Uh, what… Whatcha up to?”

“Oh, simply being my usual genius self to aid with our nightly hero duties! Sure, no regular teenager could detect a break-in on sensitive confidential info before the actual government could, but I, Othello Von Ryan, have proven to be no regular teen!”

“Yep, definitely the usual for you.”

Donnie’s def no less than Leo when it comes to being allergic to humility. Though, they both earned their egos. Donnie’s not wrong; not just any person could be nearly as smart as him.

“So, did you need anything fixed? You’re calling at a rather unusual hour for a school night.”

“Oh, no, not really. I mean, I was kinda out with a friend, but things… ended abruptly. I don’t really feel like sleeping right now. I wanted some company?”

He opened his mouth to respond but got interrupted by a familiar accent asking who was on the phone. The instant my name left his voice, three others repeated it with joy. My screen suddenly overflowed with four green goofballs all trying to fit in the camera’s scope at once.

“SALENA! How are you? How come you’re not asleep? Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

“Mikey, it’s Salena, it’s way too early for them to sleep.”

“Wow, Leo, anyone ever tell you how funny you are?” My words didn’t match my tone. I wonder why.

“Leo, let ‘er breathe!” The camera shook as a red bandana came into frame. “Hey, but for real. Why you up so late, Salena? Somethin’ up?”

“Nah, just couldn’t sleep! I thought I’d call you guys for a bit, but from the sounds of it, y’all seem kinda busy.”

The camera moved again as the device got transferred to the next turtle. “Give me my—Ugh, there we go. And yes, you’re correct. We are actually busy with a mission tonight.”

I tried keeping my smile intact as I understandingly nodded my head. Is he mad at me for assuming they were free the exact moment I needed them to be? I mean, I’d be mad at me, so it’d make sense.

“Hey, but you know what?” Leo leaned next to Donnie, trying to see the screen. “You should totally join us! Tag along, have some fun, we’d all love that!”

You would?

“What? Nardo, what are you—“

“OMIGOSH, YEAH!” Mikey jumped in, knocking Donnie out of frame entirely. “If you’re not gonna sleep, we should totally hang out! I really miss you, Salena!”

“Uh, am I really the only one thinking it would be a bad idea to let the person who barely leaves their house join us on a mission to a highly-secured and regulated government facility?”

“Chillax, Don, she’ll be fine! You’ll be fine, right Salena?”

“I mean, uh—”

“See? What’d I tell ya, totally fine!”

“Raph agrees! Salena can handle herself.”

“Oh sure, I’m absolutely positive nothing could go wrong! He said without a trace of doubt.”

…I can’t tell if he’s trying to protect me or just doesn’t want me there. Neither option feels good right now, to be honest.

“C’mon, Dee, we’ve all seen her fight before! Including you, remember? When they helped us stop Meat Sweats?”

Mikey’s got a point. That was before I had any real battle experience, too! I don’t know why Donnie seems so hesitant about this. Or why it’s making me so pissy, actually.

Another car passed by and I lowered the volume a bit, remembering the time. Now that I’m actually near some apartments, I don’t wanna accidentally wake someone up. I really gotta save up for some new earbuds; my last ones broke like, a month ago and I can only make do for so long.

“Three to one, hermano. You’re outnumbered.”

“But—Sigh, forget it! Salena, I—“

“‘NOUGH SMALL TALK!” At this point, they’re just playing hot potato with Donnie’s phone. “Salena, hurry up! We’re boutta start the mission so don’t want ya missin’ out!”

“Ha! Almost made a pun!”

“Shut up, Leo. Anyways, we’re at uh… Uh… Hey, Donnie, where we at?”

I could hear him struggling for his phone in the distance. “You could just send our coordinates!”

“I could send her our coordinates! …How does Raph do that, again?”

The audio muffled as the phone shuffled back to its rightful owner. “God, I’m so gonna install security on this thing. Anyway, I’m sending our location to you right now. And as I was GOING TO SAY BEFORE! Salena, I look forward to seeing you again.”

He flashed a smile and part of my worries vanished. I’m still not sure how to read him but if he’s being nice, it can’t be all bad, right?

“OH, AND IF YA CAN, COULD YOU BRING ME A SNACK—“ Donnie hung up before the teddy bear could finish.

Luckily for him, his face beamed when I finally arrived around twenty minutes later and did, in fact, bring him a snack.

“Hey guys! Hope I didn’t take—“

I couldn’t even finish speaking before finding myself laughing on the floor with four giant turtles hounding me in hugs.

“It has been way too long since we’ve hugged!” Poor Mikey, I haven’t been able to see him in a hot minute. “Nice ponytail, by the way. Really makes your eyes pop.”

“Aww, thanks! I missed you guys too. Ugh, I really wish scheduling was easier! I’d hang out more often.”

“Dude, why waste time on schedules when you could just come over?”

“‘Xactly! Ain’t like you’re not welcome!”

“Oh. I-I mean, sure! If you guys really don’t have a problem with it…” I wonder if this is what it’s like to feel wanted.

“I just wanted you to get a taste of what it felt to not be chosen!”

…T-then again, they’re probably just being polite.

Click!

“And fits perfectly, just as the estimations foretold!” The fuck?

I looked down and saw a shiny black belt matching the arm wraps now resting above my hips. It’s actually fairly loose around my waist but I’m guessing that was the intention. There’s a giant pink button on the left with the same M-shaped logo as all of theirs. It looked super cool, honestly! Even seemed to match with my outfit!

“Woaaah, what is this thing?”

“Donnie. Really?” Leo didn’t sound impressed and neither did the others but, like, who cares! The belt’s dope as hell!

He ignored them and continued addressing me. “It basically functions both as your very own panic button and is a carrier for your sickles thanks to a highly specific magnetic attraction! Plus, it obviously helps tie in your outfit better ‘cause Great Galileo did you need some accessories.”

“Damn, I didn’t know my sickles were magnetic!”

“Oh, they weren’t before, I installed magnets in them last night.” With that, he pulled my fucking weapons seemingly out of his ass. Judging by everyone else’s groans though, I’m the only one who’s surprised and confused.

“Donald! What did we say about breaking into strangers’ homes!”

“Hey, I didn’t break in!… to a stranger’s home! I broke into Salena’s, Salena is not a stranger—OW, HEY!” Raph slapped the back of his head. One quick yet dramatic recovery later, we all began our route of sneaking into the building.

Security wasn’t monitoring the higher floors, so we only had to ninja our way up ‘till there and the rest was easy peasy. I tried focusing on the quick briefing I was receiving on the way up but my mind was admittedly elsewhere. Back to the weird situation I thought I dreamt up last night.

I don’t remember much. I was too tired to really register anything, and Donnie being a ninja probably enhanced that. But I do remember still hearing faint footsteps in my room; drawers being opened, the closet getting browsed. I was so out of it I figured I probably hallucinated everything. Either way, I was way too paralyzed to do anything; I couldn’t even put my phone back earlier. Kept passing in and out of consciousness. But it seemed like someone put it back for me. They helped my sloppy body into a position that wouldn’t leave me aching the next morning and pulled the covers up to tuck me in. What really sealed the whole dream theory to me was the metallic-textured “hand” that patted my head before they left and let the world return to tranquility.

I seriously did figure it was all a weird fever dream or some shit. Personally, I still feel like that’s more believable than it being Donnie all along. But staring down at my sickles, I guess I can’t really argue against the proof right in front of me.

“Gentlemen, here we are! The Techno Cosmic Research Institute! Otherwise known as”—the door opened as I returned back to present time—“The TCRI.”

The moon illuminated the flat, revealing that we were in a main lobby of some sorts. Huge and spacious, decorated with different plants I’m sure Zane would’ve gone crazy over.

…I shouldn’t think about him right now.

It was a huge and spacious lobby full of plants. The windows that were tinted from the outside now presented a full view of the city skyline. Doors were carved into the walls, transitioning to the other rooms. Some, like the several meeting rooms, were made with glass so I could vaguely make out the interior from here. Others were blocked by heavy, solid, metal doors, holding whatever secrets the government had behind them.

I felt strange setting foot in this place, like I wasn’t supposed to be here. Well, I guess we are breaking and entering, but it’s not that. It’s something else, something I can’t quite explain. Unrelated to the guys but personal to me. I feel I’m not wanted for a reason I’m not yet aware of. It’s freaking me out a little.

“So, what do the Purple Dragons want with this place again?”

“Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. I only caught a break-in to the system in general and tracked it back to Kendra, I don’t have info on what they’re trying to gain access to. Whatever it is, though, it has an impressively tight security system that’s nearly impossible to break! At least, not through their simple B-tier remote hacking.”

“If the Purple Dragons want it, then it’s gotta be something major.” I’ve known about them for a while thanks to April.

It kinda shocked me at first, not because a group of teens created a tech-smart gang but because April O’Neil was a loser to someone. Call me a little biased—and you’d be right—but I still think Kendra’s got rocks for brains if she ignores someone like April.

But that’s a mental essay for another day. Right now, Leo’s smirking. And if Leo’s smirking, things will either go amazingly well or horrifically wrong.

“So… If we’re already here, why don’t we just figure out what they want ourselves?”

Mikey propped his chin up on Leo’s shoulder. “You mean like, go and explore? Sounds rad to me!”

“Yeah! Sneak around, let Donnie do his nerdy smart people stuff and see what’s so great about this place, yeah?”

“Invade the privacy of our nation’s government and scavenge for confidential data!? Nardo, I love you!”

“Raph? Your call, buddy.”

He was shockingly quick to shrug. “Sure! Raph don’t see a problem with it. Sounds hella fun to me!”

“Uh, guys?” I raised my hand. “Isn’t this, like, highly illegal?”

“And?” They all said in unison. To be fair, legal doesn’t sound like them anyway.

“What are they gonna do? Arrest us?” His hand circled in front of his blue bandana.

“And don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble for anything that happens! Donnie can get rid of the evidence and no one will know you were here, right Dee?” Mikey shot a wink at Donnie.

“Affirmative!”

Dang, Mikey’s made a lot of good points tonight.

“Eh, you’re right. To hell with laws!” Passing up an opportunity to explore a space institution would be laughably unlike me, anyway!

We decided to split up and meet back at the main lobby in fifteen, assuming the Purple Dragons hadn't arrived by then. It’s kind of scary wandering on my own in this place. It still feels off to me, but at the same time, I’ve always wanted so desperately to walk through a facility like this. Fascinating space research, meeting after meeting to discuss whatever new breakthrough was made, access to a shit ton of databases and technologies I’ll never have the chance to use at home!? Everything about this place is perfect! It’s all I dreamed it to be.

So why won’t that damn feeling go away?

Whatever, it’s probably just tonight in general. I really, really, need to get over it and move on already or else I’m guaranteed to fuck up the whole mission.

I sighed and glanced down at my arm wraps, raising them to get a better look. Despite my flip-floppy mood, I couldn’t help but smile. It’s dorky but they do comfort me every now and then. They felt nice to wear and even looking at them made me all fuzzy and nostalgic. They feel like an older me even though I got them recently.

“I take it you liked them, then.”

His voice startled me, I thought everyone went their own ways but I guess Donnie was nearby.

“Yeah, I do! The belt, too, they’re really cool gifts! Thank you.” He lit up when he heard those magic words. Man, I can’t believe I forgot to thank him sooner. Poor guy was probably aching for some feedback.

“I-I actually always wondered how you made them. They feel really sturdy but like, it’s not heavy to wear, either, if that makes sense.”

“Oh yeah, totally!” He typed on the screen on his arm, booting up the scanning feature to make sure we didn’t miss anything. “It’s an intentional design choice. They are supposed to act as armor, so.”

“Woah, cool! Do they count as tactical gear? As in military grade and all that jazz?”

“What? No, that’s not even good quality, that’s just a buzzword. Military grade simply means they met the minimum stated requirements at the lowest unit price.”

“…”

“…Low budget, few money, lead to mid product, good enough for gullible minds and general public consumption.”

Ohhhh. “So they lied.”

“As per usual. It’s shit engineering in actuality.”

I pushed open one of the meeting rooms’ glass doors as Donnie’s shell held up a bright torch. We began scouting the area for anything interesting while continuing our talk. All this investigative work’s reminding me of April and the way she’d gush about doing the same. Completely understanding the appeal now; it feels so thrilling snooping around somewhere you’re not supposed to be! Especially when the law’s involved.

The room wasn’t anything unordinary. It looked like any other corporate meeting room. The long table leading to the small TV on the wall, decorative paintings and plants, the usual. Man, we probably should’ve gone into a more interesting—“OW!”

“…Watch your step.” He said after I already fell to my knees.

“Thanks for the very useful warning. What even was that?”

He shined the light closer to a… metal? No, definitely not entirely metal. A robot arm sloppily plopped on the floor. We couldn’t see what the arm was attached to, if it was attached to anything at all. It’s too long to trace back with the torch light from where we are. One thing’s for sure, though: It’s giant. The claw I tripped over is practically the same size as my head.

“Hmm…” He crouched closer to the arm, slowly inspecting it. “Weird. It looks like it’s made of some cheap plastic. Perhaps a prototype of some sorts.”

“I don’t think they’d make it this big if it was a prototype.” Maybe we could do a test to see what type of plastic it is. “You got any fire?”

“While I see your angle and would love to carry through that experiment, it’s probably not wise to burn something we don’t know the purpose of. Or, you know, alert the security of our presence from the alarms.”

“Yeah, fair…” Man, would’ve been hella fun, though.

We both stayed on the floor, a little stumped on what the hell this thing was. My eyes got bored after a while and wandered around the room again. The only interesting thing in here was this weird ass plastic arm, it’s pretty much useless looking around the room but it did keep me entertained. There were five plants in this room which explains the fresh smell, all of them were basic enough for me to recognize. Two zebra plants, a ponytail palm, and…

I ignored the plant on the table when I spotted something thin underneath it, hidden by the shadows. I think it’s a slip of paper?

Donnie’s sigh brought my attention back. “You know what, I’m gonna go to their computer lab to see if one of their databases has anything about this thing.”

“Aight, I’ll stay back and keep exploring. Good luck!”

Right as he left, I sped over to the mysterious paper, unable to contain my curiosity any longer. The table was tall enough for me to comfortably sit under, leaning over the paper on the floor to read it. It’s, coincidentally enough, about that puzzling arm. The incomplete text made it clear it was probably part of a stack of paper or a file and fell out. Sadly, it didn’t reveal much but what I could get out of it was that it’s an automated arm controlled by an AI system, mostly covered with polypropylene plastic. Heh, PP plastic. Oh, it was created for the purpose of security. Well that’s just fantastic. I should go warn the boys about it.

I quickly snapped a pic of the loose sheet, almost getting out from under the table.

…But I’m glad as hell I didn’t.

I heard it. A soft, mechanical hum as something slithered off the ground. I grabbed my sickles from their belt, trying to minimize my shaking. It took a few blinks and tries but I managed to turn invisible, watching the machine move through the darkness. How was it suddenly on?

Its movements were smooth and natural. Too natural for something meant to be robotic. It’s so eerily graceful, slithering through the air. The arm swiveled its claw around like an animal head checking its surroundings. It… It’s looking where I am. It’s looking at me. It shouldn’t be able to see me, I’m not supposed to be visible! But it won’t stop staring.

”FUCK!” I shrieked when it lunged at me, quickly slicing it before it could grab me. Thank god it’s just plastic… Why the fuck is it hollow?

That doesn’t make any sense! Shouldn’t there be wiring or something? Even if not to connect the AI, how the hell can it move like that without anything to mimic muscle!?

I gasped, turning my head to the side. I can hear something else. It’s gooey and mushy and…

It’s looping around the room.

It’s getting louder.

”W-what the hell?”

…I think I can see it now. Something solid but stretchy, resembling thick vines climbing up the plastic arm. I backed up, watching as it crawled over to the newly severed claw. It pulled the claw back to its other half and tightened around them. It glowed? A sickeningly blinding green color. Before I realized what was going on, the claw suddenly reattached as the vines slinked back into the darkness.

It saw me again and the chase resumed.

It’s so damn fast, I can barely outrun it! Dodging is saving my ass but it keeps knocking over any furniture I used against it!

I jumped when I heard Donnie from the comms. Wait, he installed comms on my arm wraps? Damn, I'm so frazzled, I forgot about those.

“What’s making all that racket? Everything okay over there?”

”You can hear that!?”

”Yeah, I’m literally right next door?”

”Well—SHIT!” Too fucking close, too fucking close! It almost fucking grabbed me! Fuck, my knees hurt from that! “SON OF A—Don’t worry, I can handle it! I’ll explain soon!”

I tried getting off the floor as quickly as possible but the claw pulled me back down. The four sharp grippers opened up like a mouth and a fucking chainsaw came out. It went straight for my head, life flashing before my eyes as my sickles blocked it by pure reflex, holding it back. It won’t back off! I can’t keep pushing forever! How the hell do I get out of this!?

“FIBONACCI!”

A spinning titanium blur whacked the arm back, grabbing its attention to the maniacally smiling turtle now dashing through the room. His arm reached out, grabbing his staff from mid-air, and chopped off the robot arm with a giant drill. I curled in on myself right before a bright, violet shield spread over me and kept the arm’s falling metal parts from landing on me.

“You know, that did not seem like ‘handling it’.”

My vision cleared to his hand offering to help me up. I’m suddenly getting deja vu from the other countless times my helpless damsel-wannabe ass needed a rescue. Panicked and guilt-ridden, I waved it off and got up on my own.

“We gotta get outta here right now!”

“What? Why? I already—”

The vines returned and began repeating their process of fixing the arm. Though this time, it seems to be going faster.

“Oh my banana pancakes! What is that!?”

“I don’t know but that’s why we’re leaving! Come on!”

I grabbed his hand and we ran out the room, running into the others in the main lobby.

”Leo! There’s—”

“Crazy killer robot arms, we know. Was just in the middle of talking about that, actually.” He gave a glance of disapproval to the pouting red giant next to Mikey. Who also looks hella annoyed. It would appear we’ve walked in on a teensy squabble.

I heard Donnie sigh beside me “Raph, please tell me you didn’t.” He left my clueless ass standing there to join in on their talk.

Wait—Oh god, not again!

Turning around, I grabbed my sickles. I heard it again. Managed to dodge just in time for its jab to my right. It seems the guys are too busy to notice and I really don’t wanna burden them again. I’ll solo this one!

“When I said we should go explore, I didn’t mean go ‘round pushing things! We’re in a government building, why would you touch anything!?”

I heard another hit coming and blocked it with the blade.

Yeah, I-I can totally take this! I should let them finish their conversation—Holy fuck, there’s more than one, fucking end my suffering already.

”I didn’t mean to! You guys know I got a weak spot, what was I supposed to do? If they didn’t want Raph to push the big, red button, maybe they shouldn’t make it big ‘n red!”

“Buddy, that’s not how that works and you know that.”

There’s three of them now and they’re so unreasonably fast! It’s so hard to keep up! Ugh, it almost feels like I am being punished after all.

My accidental yelp luckily got drowned by Mikey’s groan. “Man, just let it go! We can smell your ‘I know I fucked up but don’t wanna admit it ‘cause I’m the big brother’ stench!”

”THAT’S A DIFFERENT STENCH!”

”AHH!”

I really didn’t mean to blurt that out but the claw dug into my leg and yanked me off the ground! Guilt aside, it’s probably a good thing I caught their attention, especially since I dropped my sickles like a fucking moron!

“SALENA!” His sword slashed through the air but got promptly blocked and thrown back by another metal claw. A scary amount of them are showing up now! The guys are completely surrounded and I’m stuck useless, dangling in the air!

One of the arms came closer and opened its grippers, a scanner popping out this time, its red beam blinding my eyes. My breathing grew shallow, the commotion from below fading away. I’m getting lightheaded from being suspended upside down. I need to get out of this situation. But there’s nothing I can do. Just squint past the light and anxiously wait for its next move.

My ears burned from the claw’s monstrous shriek. It sounds like a fucking animalistic version of nails on a chalkboard! Why did it react to me like this? Why me? Aren’t we all intruders? Why is it just me!?

“You deserve this.”

Was he right?

I didn’t process getting swung in the air until I was let go with enough momentum to cause a crash through the decor. My arms shook as I tried lifting my body up. Everything hurts, everything fucking hurts! My ears, my arms, my legs! My head! I just wanted a little distraction tonight! Why is this happening?

Is this really my karma?

…Wait a sec.

When I managed to lift my head, I came face to face with a crack in the wall where the robot arms were emerging from. The vines I saw earlier turned out to be permanently merged with the arms at the roots and lead to… something behind the wall. The crack was too small to properly make much out but it looked like it was breathing?

Whatever, I don’t have time to be surprised. “Guys! The arms! They’re coming from over here!”

The crack’s small but just big enough for something slim! Like—

The claw dug into my leg once again and began dragging me away. “Leo! Donnie! One of your weapons can fit through!”

“Got it!”

“I’ll cover!”

Flashes of blue scattered around the lobby. Each portal and throw of his sword brought Leo closer and closer to the wall. I couldn’t watch for too long, though, as I found myself back in the air again. It froze my skin getting thrown across the room faster than before. This time, towards the glass windows.

Chains grabbed at my ankle and yanked me back to the ground away from my disastrous fate. I looked up to see the tangerine flashing a confident yet relieved smile at me. “Hey!”

“…Hey!”

Mystic metal clinked as Mikey pulled back some of the robot arms chasing after Leo to buy him more time. Raph and Donnie quickly shifted gears and guarded me to make sure the plastic freaks couldn’t grab me again. Mikey continued to aid Leo, bouncing all over the room, keeping the arms distracted with his flow and somehow, still bringing them back to where he originally stood: Away from Leo.

Finally, a sword was heard stabbing through the air and splashing through a soft, squishy substance. The arms dropped to the floor as the thing in the wall hissed in pain, slowly leading to the dreadfully awaited silence at last.

Mikey reached his hand out for me and pulled me up. “You good?”

“Not dead, yeah.”

“Guess that’s a start.”

I glanced to the side at Donnie staring blankly at me, confused until he walked over and held one of my arms to examine my wrap.

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s some modification I can do to your gloves that prevents your sickles from getting so easily lost.” I guess that’s why he was staring a minute ago.

“Honestly, that’d be great. I keep losing them, so…”

“Yeah, I was thinking—“

“Nerd-talk later! Do a med scan!” Leo shoved him out the way and accidentally knocked Mikey back. Didn’t seem like he noticed since he immediately started checking me for injuries. I don’t even know when he got here?

Donnie sighed but went through with it anyway, tapping on his wrist as he checked my vitals. “No broken bones, no internal bleeding, nothing too concerning to report thankfully. Salena, do you feel alright?”

“Mhm! Just some scratches here and there but I’ll live.”

“Just some scratches, hm? You forgettin’ something?” Leo pointed down to my horrifically bruised and bloody leg. Whoops.

“…I-I’ll still live.”

While Leo took care of bandaging my leg, the rest of us spent the next few minutes catching our breaths. Mikey laid on the floor, limbs starfished out, while Donnie was texting April and catching her up to speed. I can only imagine how devastated she’d be in the morning, finding out she missed all this action. It’d have been nice having her here, honestly.

Raph wasn’t near us, though. He stood by the wall where the once-breathing specimen was at. He kept peeking through the crack, rubbing his arm and looking hesitant about something.

“Raph?” My voice prompted the others to turn their attention to him.

“…Nobody else wonderin’ what the hell this thing could be? I know we’re only here to stop the Purple Dinos—“

“That’s Purple Dragons, Raphala.”

“—Whatever! But really, guys! After all that, we just gonna head home and forget about it?”

He’s not wrong.

Come to think of it, this place is government funded. There should be no reason why some foreign entity exists in a place like the TCRI. They’re supposed to do space research and nothing else. That’s what they’re paid for.

“You know what?” Donnie turned his phone off. “I could work on hacking through their system myself. I don’t know if it’ll prove successful, but I can try.”

I felt Mikey’s head drop on my shoulder. He sure loves doing that. “What do we do about the vine thingies?”

“Well, we can’t just—“ Leo paused, making eye contact with Raph. They shared a smirk and nodded.

“You thinkin’ what thinkin’ big bro?”

He chuckled, punching his fists together. “You bet!”

A bright red aura surrounded his figure as his arm reeled back and locked the sais in his hands.

“POWER PUNCH JUTSU!!!”

My body staggered as the ground shook upon impact, the dust clearing to reveal the tiny gap in the wall is suddenly a giant ass hole now.

“Man, y’all really don’t give a shit about government property, do ya?”

“Nope. But hey! It was def the right choice!” Raph’s snaggletooth gleamed through his mischievous smile.

The five of us stared through the hole, trying to comprehend the oversized specimen in front of us. It was a pulsing, yellow-green thing in the shape of a tall tube, wider on the top than the bottom. There were reddish lines on it zigzagging up and down almost like veins. It was punctured at its middle, caused by the blade of the katana that shot right through it a few moments ago.

“Ya know, it kind of resembles a plant. Which would explain the mystery vines, actually.”

“What plant, then? Ain’t no plant Raph knows of that throbs.”

He shook his head with a light shrug. “Sadly, I am not sure. It looks a little like a pitcher plant but also not really? They shouldn’t be luminescent or have vines emerging out like that. And also the throbbing, of course.”

Pitcher plant, ay? I’ve heard of that. They’re my favorite out of all the carnivorous jungle plants Zane rambled about once. Plants were actually one of the first things we had a genuine bond over, even if I’m pretty clueless about them. The way his eyes lit up when talking about them with so much love and adoration just melted me.

His eyes…

His godforsaken eyes…

“Salena?”

“Huh?” How long have I been spaced out?

“You sure you’re good? You seemed kinda out of it just now.” I forgot how close Mikey was to me, I should be more careful.

“Yeah, it’s nothing.”

“Really? ‘Cause lowkey, you’ve been off all night. I didn’t wanna say anything but…”

“Oh, no, no, I’m—“

“Actually, you did mention something happened between you and your friend earlier, remember? Before you called me.” This violet ass motherfucker did not just erm actually me at the worst time ever.

“That what this about, big man? Had another fight with your friend?” Why is everyone suddenly focused on me!?

“N-Not the same one! This is someone different, I promise! T-that’s not to say I have a problem with everyone! I just… Um…” Great going, Salena! Now they’ll think you’re just insufferable and incapable of friendship! “I-I don’t think we should be—Well, we kinda have worse issues to worry about, don’t we?”

“Kendra and her yes-men ain’t here yet. What I wanna know is why you’re so spacey tonight! Dr. Feelings can’t help if he can’t know!”

“It’s nothing! N-nothing too bad, at least. He just—A-actually, it was really mostly me so um… It’s hard to explain exactly…”

Geez, my palms are annoyingly sweaty. I really don’t wanna give them the wrong idea, it was just one fight! It’s not a representation of our entire relationship! But I know from experience any time I try talking about Zane to someone, they end up hating him and I don’t want that! Fuck, I should’ve been more careful. My stupid tongue-tied gibberish ain’t helping the situation, either!

My shoulders flinched when I saw Leo stand in front of me, hand on his hip as he faced towards his brothers. “Okay, hermanos, give her some space! Stop smothering! I know we’re all worried, I’m worried too, but if Salena doesn’t wanna talk, they shouldn’t be forced to.”

The others finally piped down. None of them looked happy about it—understandably so—but it seemed Leo was able to convince them to drop it, anyway. I really owe him one.

He peeked over his shoulder to glance back at me. “If you do wanna talk about something, though, we’re here for you.”

…It’s not that I don’t want to. I just don’t see how it’d help anything—

CRASH!!!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT, HAVE WE NOT HAD ENOUGH SURPRISES FOR ONE NIGHT!?

“Good going, Jase. Real quiet of you.”

All of us, equally tense and gripping our weapons to stand guard, took a solid minute to process that the loud crash wasn’t another dumbass robot-plant-arm thing, but instead was Kendra and the other two stumbling through the main door they hacked open. Speak of the dragons and they arrive, I suppose.

She looked over at us and her sharp eyes drooped lower. “Of course.”

I only ever knew Kendra before tonight, none of the other members. Hate her guts since she’s forever engraved as April’s bully in my mind and doesn’t seem to have changed. Her movements and mannerisms still match the coy, conniving person I remember her to be, walking over in such a smug, superior way that screams “greater than thou”. Once, back when they were still in high school, April had a mini breakdown due to college applications kicking her ass. She was struggling and stressing over not getting accepted into a good amount of her options and believed she’d have to rely solely on her safeties at that point. Kendra really rubbed it in. Wouldn’t shut up about it, demeaning her for being a failure.

April knows damn well to never take Kendra seriously. However, it’s not a surprise those words still stung considering how stupidly frightening the whole college process is. Joke’s on Kendra, though. One of April’s main choices that had her wait-listed ended up accepting her in! As for Kendra? All hypocritical bark, no bite it seems.

“Hello, Von Ryan. How’s life?”

“Good, good. How about you, enjoying your—what’d you call it? ‘Intellectual freedom’?”

“Low blow even for you. You guys couldn’t fuck around here with your little toys another night?” She scoffed and rolled her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. Her gaze drifted towards me as her brows furrowed more.

“Who’s that—Hold up. You… Yeah, I remember you!” She’s doing that annoying fake-nice tone she uses sometimes, the one that makes me wanna punch her in the face. “You’re that idiot kid April wouldn’t shut up about tutoring last year! What’s a teacher’s pet like you doing here?”

Mikey gasped and covered my ears like a parent to a toddler witnessing sailor-speak. “Hey! Don’t you dare talk about our friend like that!”

I honestly couldn’t care less what Kendra says about me. Personally, I’m more focused on the other two, right now. It’s my first time ever seeing them, I think Donnie said their names were Jason and Jeremy? They’ve been pretty quiet so far, standing at her side and smirking like Saturday-morning cartoon lackeys. One of them had a large, blocky figure, dark skin, and dyed green hair. His gold visor looked pretty cool, I’ll admit. The other—I could guess from his hunched demeanor alone—was definitely their token punching bag. He’s got these awkward gloves that are way too big for his hands. Dark eyes, short, black hair, and round… glasses…

NO FUCKING WAY!

“YOU—HIM! OH MY GOD! NOOOO, NO-NO-NO-NO! NO! NO!” Ain’t no motherfucking way this bitch is who I think he is, this has to be a prank! It has to! For the sake of my sanity! Oh, but it isn't! It’s fucking real!

“...Salena? You doin’ okay?” The others looked concerned at my sudden and dramatic outlash. Fucking of course, Donnie and Mikey wouldn’t know! Jason still had the bag over his head when he was around them! Fuck, why didn’t I just take it off right there!?

“Jason! That asshole was who we saved from Meatsweats a few months ago!”

Raph and Leo looked just as lost as before. Mikey and Donnie, on the other hand, went pale with shock.

“That was you!?” Donnie’s staff pointed directly at the fucker. “Why didn’t you say anything!? I know you recognized my voice!”

“I can’t believe Salena and I interrupted a perfectly nice day to save you of all folks! You ruined our lovely little ice cream date, dawg!”

“I was being kidnapped by a pig monster? Why would I reveal I’m a rival when you were the only help I had?”

“And yet, here you are, the very reason we’re stuck in this creepy facility, preventing you three from illegally accessing information and doing who knows what with it even though you now owe us one, YOU UNGRATEFUL MENACE!”

Before I could fix my brain enough to join in on justifiably shaming the idiot, I noticed Leo and Raph exchanging confused glances at each other.

“...What the hell is going on?”

“Raph don’t know.” They both looked at me for answers because the universe hates me.

I tearfully and shamefully explained the bullshit scenario we are now stuck in due to my impulsivity. “Donnie, Mikey, and I saved a guy from Meatsweats I think back in April? H-he had a bag over his head so they didn’t know what he looked like and I-I was the only one who saw him without it b-but I didn’t know he was part of the fucking Purple Dragons and—Fuck my life! My first ever save and it was a villain!?” The one time I actually did something useful…

God, there’s so much noise everywhere! Everyone’s arguing with each other or trying to get it to stop or whatever else is going on! My head hurts. Why did I even come here? I should’ve just went home. I should’ve stayed with Zane. I keep getting in the way, I keep making mistakes, I keep ruining things!

I have to keep my composure, though. I don’t wanna cry in a situation like this, not when I’ve already done enough harm.

“Wait a sec, where’s Jeremy?”

We all paused, the realization clearing up as we heard a cheer from another room. “Yes! I got in! I got past the system!”

“Holy shit, he’s in the computer lab! Quick, we—”

A bat hit Donnie straight on his stomach and knocked him back, Raph catching him so he wouldn’t fall to the floor.

Kendra clicked her tongue as she laughed. “I gotta hand it to ya, you morons somehow turned off these stupid security systems. Definitely the most annoying part I’d have had to figure out; I guess that’s why I wanted ‘em, anyway. I don’t know how you did it but congrats! You’re not completely useless.” It looked more like she was addressing Donnie over any of us.

“But now?” She and Jason blocked the door. Her bat stood by her side. “Stay out of my fucking way.”

Obviously, that’s not happening, so chaos erupted instead. One would think a Two VS. Five would be pretty easy to handle… until they saw how well Kendra used her bat, that is. She’s faster than I expected, able to zip around before anyone could properly react. Definitely has a strong arm, too. Then, of course, there’s the traitor. Jason pushed his glasses up his nose bridge and took out his own set of weapons. Or should I say, whipped them out. ‘Cause they’re actually fucking whips.

They were almost impossible to get by. Glowing in the dark room, buzzing from the static friction they made against each other.

He targeted them towards Leo who barely managed to dodge just in time. Mikey, not being as lucky, got smacked right in the face.

“OW! Hey! Since when did he even have those!?”

“Oh! Since last week, actually. I made them using—”

Either the bitch has good hearing or I was too loud when my sickle swung at his head. “Are ya dense!? How are you still tryna maintain small-talk after literally betraying us!? You know what I looked like, you wouldn’t have even said anything if I didn’t call you out! You lied to me! I saved you and you lied!”

“AH! The hell, man!? You’re gonna kill me for that!?”

“No!” The sickles weren’t sharp, only a little solid. I know I gotta resist. Unfortunately. “Just knock you out for a bit, you scheming piece of shit!”

I wish I could say I was making up for my several blunders tonight by at least being able to handle the living embodiment of a toothpick. My leg’s not super mangled up but, surprise-surprise, it’s hard to move at my fastest and dodge with it still being injured. He’s a little impressively good with those whips, too. It’s hard keeping track of where they both are at all times, the difficulty only increased by how quick he’s able to use them considering he’s only trained for a week. I’m trying my damn best with what I can.

“Oh my god, give it up with the guilt-tripping! I’m not gonna turn on my sister just ‘cause you saved me once!”

“Hell no! I risked turning into mutant-munchies for you—Hol’ up a sec.” The pure blasphemy that came out of his mouth shocked me so bad, I actually had to pause. “Kendra’s your sister? Ew, what’s that like?”

Yet another mistake on my part. One of the whips wrapped around my sickle to fling it and I—determined to not lose them again—got shot through the air along with it.

At this rate, I’ll be free-bird flying and crashing to the floor every five minutes. I don’t even feel like getting up anymore. Fuck, I don’t usually feel pain so easily.

Hm?

The battle ground’s a little chaotic so it’s hard to follow when in the middle of it. But, now that I’m seeing it from a distance, everyone’s intentions are suddenly ten times clearer. Kendra’s hovering towards a specific direction, dancing around the door to where Jeremy is. Jason’s distracting everyone and keeping them from paying attention to her. I have a feeling that’s very much so on purpose.

She’s starting to go in. I guess it doesn’t matter whether or not I want to, I gotta get up now. I closed my eyes and with whatever strength I had, used my sickles to turn invisible and go after her.

I snuck by Kendra and entered the lab. Jeremy was glued to the computer, staring at a loading screen. On the side of the PC was a USB stuck to the port. Of course, accidentally saving the villain wasn’t enough! They had to use the same shitty USB we went back for, too.

“Jeremy, status report!”

“It’s almost done downloading the files! Just a few more seconds and… We got it!”

“Nice work! Quick! Toss ‘em over!”

Oh boy, if Kendra’s able to gain the instructions for those freaky arms, who knows what she’ll make with it! I can’t let them get access to anything here!

Thus, following my usual rule of acting-without-thinking, I threw a sickle at the USB. I don’t know if it was my panic or my rage that caused it to be so sharp but it cut the USB in half mid-air and smashed straight into one of the PCs. My punishment for resorting to such destructively impulsive solutions was being greeted by the lovely melody of security sirens going off for breaking their important tech.

“No! My USB! There was so much stuff in that! Fuck!” She is so seriously distraught over the wrong thing.

Upon retrieving my sickle, I hadn’t realized I was flickering in and out of visibility till Kendra’s bat nearly made contact with my head. “You little skeeze! Do you have any idea how much of my progress you destroyed!”

“But that’s mine and Jason’s progress—“

“SHUT UP!” She snapped her head back to bark at him and I took my moment of escape, knocking her down out of my way. Still, she kept up by yanking at my leg and pulling me down with her, severely getting on my nerves by now.

So, I kicked her in the face.

She stayed there, groaning in pain, while her sidekick buddy checked on her. Sure, I could’ve kicked a little softer but I think a bloody nose is merciful enough for her.

I returned to the lobby, greeted by chaos more hectic than before. The alarms and sirens were still blaring, red lights flashing on and off the entire facility. Our oh so beloved security arm friends returned in even greater numbers now! If I believed in superstition, I’d believe this night was cursed.

Jason’s looking a little overwhelmed now having to solo both the Teenage Mutant Mad Dogz and the newly emerged robot claws, yet he’s still not giving in and letting the guys go in peace. Speaking of them, they’re scattered all over the place, trying to keep themselves and each other from getting yoinked and flung like I was earlier.

Donnie was the only one who managed to maneuver over to me.

“Salena!?”

“Donnie! What’s going on!? Where’d the stupid arms come from!?”

“Well, I suppose it’d be impractical if they only had one source of their weird mystic high-tech robots, so there’s that.” He spun his tech-bō and whacked away the claw that was following him. “What happened in there? You disappeared and then we heard a loud crash from that room and suddenly everything got dialed up to eleven!”

“Uh, yeah, my fault, I uh—Eek!” Thank god for reflexes, the only thing that let me slice at a robot arm before it sliced me. “Good news is, I destroyed the USB they were using so Kendra can’t access the government’s whatever-the-fuck anymore! Bad news, I also accidentally destroyed one of their computers in the process, set off the security alarms, and now we’re here. Sorry, haha…”

“You what!?”

“It was an accident, I swear! I really didn’t mean—”

“You annoying little twinkle-toes!” Kendra charged at us from behind and her bat swung directly at me. Thankfully, Donnie blocked it from knocking me dead and sent Kendra back a few steps.

“You know what? If you got Kendra this mad, then you’re forgiven for everything on my terms! Let’s go!” He grabbed my wrist and dragged us away from the bat-wielding maniac.

Though, I’m not sure whether a metal bat or metal claws are worse. A bunch of them charged towards me now that I got back within their sight.

“Move!” He shoved me out of the way of the monster claws.

I slid on the ground, actually keeping my balance this time, and swung at another claw coming from my right. Without having a moment to breathe, I ducked and slashed at one right above me. I would’ve missed the one coming from behind me, had Raph not been there and created a mystic shield. There’s so many all around the flat and it seems I’m still their favorite toy.

“Salena, try hidin’ somewhere!” He punched one of the claws straight on, the impact causing a loud clunk. “They keep coming after you!”

“I can’t! They saw me even when I turned invisible, they probably have a different type of vision or something!”

“Infrared vision, genius!” Kendra’s bat got caught by my sickle. She aimed for my torso this time, I’m surprised it wasn’t back at my head. “They were built with thermal sensors! Which I would’ve been able to shut off if somebody didn’t break the computers!”

“God, were you built to get on people’s nerves!?”

I’ve just about had it with her bullshit, reflected in my blades turning sharp enough to slice her bat in half. I elbowed her in the stomach and took the chance to roll over to a new spot. The closest I can get to hiding is continuously moving, staying in one place meant getting hoarded.

Mikey grumbled nearby, his nunchucks spinning in his hands. “Man, they’re too much! We gotta go! Leo?”

“A bit busy!” Busy was right, he’s cutting down a good number of the plastic pains with his katanas. There’s no good opportunity to use them as an escape portal, let alone any safe ones.

Beep! Beep!

Donnie raised his gauntlet up and flashed what I assume to be the building’s security cameras he hacked into. “Oh, no, no, no, guys! They’re sending actual human officers up now! What do we do!?”

Everyone’s panicked, shit’s fucked to the brim, and the constant beeps and shrieks are only making it harder to think! Kendra’s yelling about her bat, Mikey’s chosen to deal with the Purple Disasters while they’re bickering away, Raph’s boxing the claws and shielding Donnie, who’s frantically typing at his wristwatch to hack the security, and Leo’s… Screaming and getting flung. Sweet, we’ve matched now.

I ran over to Leo, guarding him from the arms trying to take advantage of the situation. “So, how’d you like your first flight?”

“I’d prefer it more if I was actually expecting it.” He got up almost as fast as he crashed down, not wasting a single second to getting back in the fight. “Ugh, I gotta get us out of here, but I need an opening!”

“Want me to try clearing something out?”

“You got any plans on how—Shit, get back!” His arm pushed me back behind him to avoid getting hit.

The white tails of my ribbon flew forward, slightly blocking my vision. I looked straight ahead, past the death machines and battle-ground chaos, and saw the glass windows showcasing the brightly-lit city night.

The ribbon…

…Bingo.

“I actually might.” I tugged at the silk tails and felt my hair flow down as it got undone. “Just trust me and get everyone out at the first opportunity you get!”

“Wait, what are you—”

I dashed past him before he could ask any questions, no real time for them now. My multitasking skills were given the ultimate test as I focused on darting across the room, intentionally getting the arms to gather and chase after me, while tying the ribbon to the handles of my sickles and connecting them together.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Mikey had managed to take out Kendra and her sidekicks. Don’t even gotta worry about them now, it’s going better than I thought! There was pounding at the door. Seems Donnie locked the officers out for now, but I doubt it’ll be long till they find a way to break in by force. Gotta move fast. This plan could fail horrifically, but it’s the best shot we’ve got!

With all the security arms focused on me now, the boys had a clear opening to leave. I sprinted to the windows, wound back my sickles, and broke the glass with a single throw.

Now or never!

“HOT SOUP!!!”

And out the window I went.

The air felt amazing, rushing by my skin as I let gravity take over the fall. I turned myself over, now looking up at the sky. The arms were shooting out the windows, unable to reach down any further to get me. A flash of blue from the inside indicated everyone was out safely. That’s my cue to prevent myself from dying now!

I held onto one of my sickles and swung the other one up. My spine tingled as a pink aura washed over my hand and over the sickle that I grabbed, trailing its way up the white silk ribbon…

Transforming it to chains!?

The pure white mystic chain clanked as it stretched out. The sickle I threw up now broke through the glass side of the building and continued shattering through it straight down. A few broken shards chipped at me as I snapped back to reality and remembered the original plan. I closed my eyes and refocused on the sickles. No thoughts, no distractions, no room for any of them. I have to breathe. I have to focus.

The blades morphed them into a stiff rubber. Too soft to break the glass, too strong to break itself in half, effectively yanking me to a stop.

I did it.

I actually fucking did it!

“Holy truffle mac and cheese, that was awesome!”

“I know!” I excitedly greeted Donnie who had flown over using his jet pack. “I can’t believe it went so well! You saw it all?”

“And recorded!” He turned his back towards me and pointed at his shell. “Need a ride?”

“Definitely.”

We cruised across the sky onto the roof of a nearby building where the rest of the guys were. The instant I hopped off Donnie’s shell, Leo jumped me with a hug, followed by several frantic checks to make sure all limbs were intact.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you dizzy? What’s wrong with you? You’re crazy! You’re crazy, you know that!?”

“Now who’s smothering them?” Mikey snickered at Leo, who looked relieved and on the verge of tears at the same time.

“Everyone shut up and look at this video first! You’ll probably forget whatever meaningless chitchat you were having, anyway!” Donnie hissed from glee, using his extra mechanical limbs to huddle us all around his phone that was playing the video of me from a few moments ago.

Looking at the footage now, it seemed the pink aura actually came from my whole body. It spread throughout my arms and circled past my hands, flowing to the white ribbon and replacing them with shimmering, white chains.

Mikey screamed from excitement, holding onto my hands. “MYSTIC CHAINS! Omigosh, we match now! We’re like twins!”

“I know! Isn’t it great!? We can be chain buddies—Eh, nevermind, that doesn’t sound right.”

We sat around for a while so Leo could help with all the cuts and microscopic bits of glass stuck to me. In the meantime, they were all curious how the chains even came to be, which I sadly didn’t have a clear answer for. I went ahead and reassured them my plan would’ve still worked with the ribbon itself, though. Speaking of, I can’t really get my ribbon back now. Sorry, Mi. However, I did figure out how to make the chains vanish and re-materialize, so at least I don’t have to learn a different fighting style!

Donnie was paying attention, I think. Just multitasking with a few holographic monitors up. He sighed and put ‘em away after a while.

“Yeah, no, sorry guys. Maybe my brain’s too fuzzy but I can’t hack into the actual database tonight.”

“No big deal, Don. Ya done enough.” Raph gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Hey, you guys wanna go grab some pizza? Raph could use a break.”

“Yeah, I think we all could.” Hopeful, green eyes faced towards me. “Salena? It’s late but… You wanna join us for a bit?”

It’s around 3am now. If I went home now, I’d only get three hours of sleep and that’s assuming I’ll conk out immediately. It’s not impossible, though, I can feel the energy crash creeping up from all the adrenaline. But, I don’t know. I don’t wanna go yet.

“I’m already out, aren’t I? Might as well!”

Turns out, for once tonight, I made the right choice. It was fun getting to be with them in a more casual manner. Just chilling at a park, enjoying some pizza, and re-energizing myself as I watched them goof around. I checked through my phone while I enjoyed the delicious cheesy glory.

Everything seemed normal.

Except for one tiny issue.

I was putting it off but Zane sent a voice note to me a few hours ago. I don’t have earbuds but everyone’s pretty distracted right now, anyway. I could listen to it. Maybe it’s… Maybe it’s better than I think it is.

I lowered the volume just to have it barely audible and clicked play.

“Hey. Um… I hope you’re home and safe now. I…” He sighed and went silent for a while.

“This wasn’t how I intended tonight to be. It was such a gorgeous night. The weather was perfect. Everything was perfect. It was all going so well. What happened? Why do we always end up like this?”

I wish I knew. Or that he knew. Maybe we could’ve helped each other if just one of us knew what was the problem.

“Everything in my life always goes so wrong. I’m so tired of it, Salena. You’re the only thing I haven’t messed up. I don’t want to mess this up. I just—” I could hear a creek from the door opening as someone came in the room. “Yeah, it’s on the floor, clean it up. I don’t know how, just go clean it!”

Sounds of glass being swept up filled the background atmosphere. Zane sighed again. “Sorry. One of my vases broke tonight. The cherry on top, right? Anyway, uh… I’ll just end it here. I hope you’re okay. I hope you’re dreaming of something nice. And I’m… I’m sorry.”

The voice note ended. It wasn’t that bad, I guess. I feel a little bad about earlier but I’m glad he apologized. I guess things are fine now. I should probably leave a text, it’d be wrong to hold a grudge if the situation’s already resolved.

You: hey i’m safe yea. I just wanna say i’m sorry too for lashing out like that earlier. I hope you’re sleeping well, sweet dreams and see ya tomorrow <3

There we go. Nothing to worry about now. Nothing to stress over.

A hand tapped at my shoulder. I raised my head to meet Mikey smiling down at me. “Mind if I sit? They’re bein’ a little loco even for my taste right now.”

I looked straight and saw Leo and Donnie arguing over whether pineapple belongs on pizza and Raph taking the opportunity to sneakily eat their slices. Pretty tame behavior from them, but Mikey’s tone was too lighthearted to be serious, anyway.

I shifted over on the bench and patted the empty space next to me. He sat down and brought his knees to his chest, his back leaning against my side. He shuffled with his phone for a bit before offering me one of his earbuds. “Wanna listen to Fall Out Boy with me?”

“Sure!”

I could use some music after tonight.

Next Chapter

This chapter was nearly 15K words btw-

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allol12 · 3 months ago

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Songs from The Oh Hellos that would work well in Arcane fanfics:

I'm doing The Oh Hellos first just because I've been listening to them more recently. Buckle in, this is a long list.

Dear Wormwood:

Bitter Water: About a toxic relationship!! Great for angsty pairings.

Lyric Spotlight: “Even now you mark my steps, lovely bitter water, all the days of our delights are poison in my veins, I know I shouldn't love you, I know”

Exeunt: About a toxic relationship!! Great for angsty pairings. Especially if one of them leaves the other.

Lyric Spotlight: “So, my little dove, I'm afraid I am leaving” “I will not abide all your raging and reaving, I have set my mind and my will, I am leaving.”

Dear Wormwood: About a toxic relationship except it’s not a romantic one it’s about a human telling a demon to screw off basically. In the wise words of Maggie and Tyler Heath, the singers and songwriters, this is a Screwtape Letters fanfiction. Great for fics where a character is battling with their own metaphorical demons, looking at you Jinx.

Lyric Spotlight: “I know who I am now, and all that you've made of me, I know who you are now, and I name you my enemy”

Through The Deep Dark Valley (If I’m being completely honest here I struggled to not put the entire album because very song in this album fits at least one character.):

The Valley: According to Genius, “’The Valley’ is a song about the struggle and confusion caused by being born into wickedness.”There is one very simple reason why I included this song in this list. It feels like Piltover vs. Zaun from the point of view of Zaunite children. The whole song is about a generation of people having to pay for the decisions and crimes of those who came before them.

Lyric Spotlight: “We were born in the shadow of the crimes of our fathers, blood was our inheritance, no, we did not ask for this”

Like the Dawn: This one is about Adam meeting Eve. It’s pretty interesting though cause it’s sung by a woman (Maggie Heath) from the perspective of Adam. It’s a pretty romantic song so it can be for any ship, especially if it’s one that’s doomed by the narrative.

Lyric Spotlight: “You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen” “And you will surely be the death of me, but how could I have known?”

Second Child Restless Child: This one has too much lore so I won’t go too much into it. Think of it as the troubled younger sibling anthem. Looking at you again, Jinx.

Lyric Spotlight: “See, I was born a second child, with a spirit running wild, running free, and they saw trouble in my eyes, they were quick to recognize the devil in me”

The Lament of Eustace Scrubb: This song is once again C.S. Lewis fanfiction. Idk much about Narnia so I can't explain this much but think of this song as another instance of battling inner demons. Looking at you for a third time, Jinx. And honestly? Viktor too.

Lyric Spotlight: “Father, have mercy, I know that I have gone astray, 'cause when I saw my reflection, it was a stranger beneath my face”

In Memoriam: Yet ANOTHER song with too much lore. It can be interpreted as romantic, but I don’t think the original version was romantic by any means. Nevertheless, it’s very good for fanfic especially for smth like caitvi, you’ll see why in the lyric spotlight.

Lyric Spotlight: “But I've never been a wealthy one before, I got holes in my pocket burned by liars' gold, and I think I'm far too poor for you to want me”

Notos:

Constellations: According to genius, “’Constellations’ explores what it feels like to have your own perception of the universe challenged and ultimately fall apart” If I’m being honest with myself… I put this here for Jayvik, skyvik, or literally any ship regarding the hextech team.

Lyric Spotlight: “Like constellations imploding in the night, everything is turning, everything is turning, and the shapes that you drew may change beneath a different light, everything you thought you knew will fall apart, but you'll be all right”

Eurus:

O’ Sleeper: Genius only tells me where the name comes from so if I’m being honest I have no idea what this song is truly about, but it does have a very nice domestic opening scene.

Lyric Spotlight: “While the weary nations weep, awakening me from a dream, I see the moonlight steal across my sheets, my love is lying fast asleep, chasing its beams, she stirs, and then she turns her back to me”

Boreas:

Rose: This song is about the change that needs to happen within Christianity. If you look this song up on genius, do not be fooled by the first commenter explaining what this song is about. They are wrong. ANYWHO, this song has banger lyrics that can work for angsty ships.

Lyric Spotlight: “No, love’ll get you slaughtered, like a ram at the altar, what is safe ain’t the same as what is good”

Zephyrus:

Soap: In my own personal interpretation, this song is about a couple who although may be different, and although may have their own personal issues, are still trying to make it work. Look me in the eyes and tell me this isn’t caitvi. The song literally has oil and water in the lyrics. I rest my case.

Lyric Spotlight: “I've heard, since I was younger, that oil and water don't mix, they're polar opposites, with a molecular rift you can't fix”

The Oh Hellos Ep:

Hello My Old Heart: According to genius, “The narrator of “Hello My Old Heart” addresses his broken heart.” Great for any angsty ship/character especially those who guard their heart.

Lyric Spotlight: “Hello, my old heart, how have you been? How is it being locked away? Don't you worry, in there, you're safe, and it's true, you'll never beat, but you'll never break”

Lay Me Down: According to genius, “’Lay Me Down’ is a song about leaving the beliefs you grew up with and pursuing the truth.” One specific lyric does intrigue me though, as it makes the narrator sound like an adventurous child who wants more than the cards they were dealt.

Lyric Spotlight: “See, I was born a restless, wayward child, I could hear the whole world calling me outside, of the masses I routinely sat behind, and Lord, I had to see with my own eyes”

These are just some examples! I highly recommend listening to The Oh Hellos, they are amazing!!

#the oh hellos #folk rock #arcane #arcane league of legends #arcane fanfic

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m-feline · 6 days ago

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To adapt, to survive, to live - ch 26

Silco x Freaded

Tags: avoiding the other, fight, Canon typical swearing, getting drunk, bathing, apologizing, hint of smut;

No beta, just watching it burn

Masterlist

Previous ->

I woke up, and felt my bones popping as I stretched myself. The bed I had used for four days now wasn’t as comfortable as the bed I shared with Silco. But this was the next best thing in Jinx’s place. Jinx found this place by accident. And by accident, I mean it involved some of her new tests exploding in the right places and finding of some old documents from the mines. But when Jinx saw the cavern, she decided to stay there. I wasn't okay with it at first, but after Jinx had “decorated” her new “room”, I gave her the okay for her to stay there.

Only Silco and I ever came here, if we had something to talk about with Jinx. I came here mostly to bring her food. Silco came here if Jinx called him to check her new inventions. But otherwise, our little family gathered in Silco's office to talk things, or to eat when I made something.

That was before I left the Last Drop. I didn’t mean to but Silco just had to make me more mad. That night, I had stayed in our room, laying in our bed, reading the book, till I heard the steps indicating that Silco was coming. Quickly, I turned off the bedside lamp and set the book away, and went to sleep. I heard the door open and more steps as he walked in. He glanced at the bed, and just walked to the bathroom. I didn’t need a little snake to keep an eye out, although I could have done it. I remained in the bed, pretending to be sleeping, hoping that he would the very least whisper an apology even if he thought that I wouldn’t hear him. He came out of the bathroom, changed his clothes, and went to bed and sleep.

And. That. Was. It.

No apology, not even an apology kiss, a whisper of apology. Nothing. He just went to sleep like nothing had happened. And that made me mad. After everything I had been through. After everything HE made me go through. And he didn’t say a bloody thing. Surely, he must have seen that I really wasn’t sleeping. But no. He said nothing. He didn’t even call my bluff on sleeping. He thinks I’m cool with that? He was so wrong.

The next morning, before he could even wake up, I got up, changed, and left the Last Drop. I didn’t return since. I stayed most of the day in the houses for children, seeing how things were going, then I went to check the labs. Jolynn found me and asked if I was alright. I never answered that question, and thank heavens she never asked again. I kept myself busy till night fall. When it was late enough, I went to Jinx’s place. I didn’t need to say much before she agreed to let me stay in her place. She loved it for the first three days, but even I can tell that she was getting awkward with this whole situation.

“Soooooo~, how long will you stay here?” Jinx asked, after she had eaten her fresh breakfast I made for her.

“Am I in your way?” I asked.

“Wha? No, no, nooo. It’s just that…” Jinx tried to find her words, and then she suddenly hissed at something. “I’m not saying that.”

“JP?” I asked.

“No. Nothing. It’s cool. Everything is cool,” Jinx said nervously before she ate her toast in one bite.

“Is it the voices again?” I asked.

“Noooo. No… Yes,” Jinx finally admitted with a touch of shame.

“What did they say?” I asked while I poured myself a cup of coffee from an elaborate pot that Jinx had.

“They said… that it’s embarrassing that you are here for so long,” Jinx said.

“Oh is it now?” I asked and placed the pot a bit harder to the table than I intended. “Do tell them that unlike them I’m real, and if they have a problem, they better start to talk to me too and not chicken out and hide behind you.”

“You heard her,” Jinx mumbled to the air. I sighed as looked at Jinx while I raised the cup to my lips. “How often they torment you?”

“When it’s quiet,” She said. “And when I’m not building anything new.” That explains the recent bombs and explosions yesterday. She finished her project and hasn’t had other projects to tackle. Sadly, the only thing left is for her to build more bombs. But the material isn’t free I’m afraid. If only there is another way to distract her from the voices.

I sighed as I recalled why Jinx wanted her own place. There were times she still heard the voices of Milo and Glaggor. Silco and I tried our best to help her shut them up, but it didn’t work. We both agreed that this was her trauma and that it won’t be healed so fast. But we both also knew that keeping her occupied with projects helped. That, and blowing things up.

I drank my coffee as I flipped through pages of the book of my mother. I had it brought here when I realized I could stay here. I told Jinx what it was and what I could do with it. She was amazed, of course. And she started to name the little snakes I made.

“Now that is a big snake,” Jinx said, peeking past my shoulder. I had a page open with a huge snake coming out from a person back.

“Apparently, yes,” I said as I sipped the coffee.

“Ouch, wouldn’t that hurt,” Jinx commented.

“It seems that this doesn’t work like the little ones,” I said. “The little ones become their separate bodies, while this… seems to be connected to the host.”

“Okay, what does it do?” Jinx asked.

“Hmmm, it says, I can control it, it can… bite. It… has poison… more in the next chapter,” I said as I read the lines.

“Oooh, can I name this one?” Jinx asked as she became more excited.

“You named the last five little ones, I can’t se why you can’t name this one “ I said.

“Okay, umm, I need time with this,” Jinx said as she started her loud brainstorm. “I already named Slither, Fanggy, Vipy,…” Jinx began to ramble as she went to her desk in the middle of the cave. That should keep her occupied for a while. And in peace from her illusions. I returned to my book and read a few chapters more when I heard steps coming closer to the cave. Another good quality in Jinx’s place was that it always echoed. So, it was easy to know when someone was coming. Unless Jinx would play her records at high volume.

“Jinx, tell him I’m not here,” I said before I took the book and my cup of coffee with me.

“She says she's not here,” Jinx shouted as the sound of the steps came to the end. It's interesting that when Jinx wants to, she can be discreet, but not now, apparently. Silco stood at the other end of the cave, and when he saw me, he walked quickly across towards me.

“(Y/n), we have to talk,” He said.

“No shit,” Jinx said. Silco just barely gave her a chastising glance but he kept walking at me.

“(Y/n),” Silco called me again.

“I have nothing to say to you,” I said as I moved to the side of cave where Jinx had a couch, coffee table, and other stuff.

“(Y/n), stop being ridiculous,” Silco said as he got to the same part of the cave.

“Oh hell, you didn’t just say that,” Jinx said. She didn’t say it loudly, but even if she murmured it, we all could have heard it anyway.

“Me, ridiculous?” I asked. Silco groaned as he already guessed where this was heading.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Silco said, trying to salvage the situation. “But yes, you not coming back home for days is hard to describe as anything other than ridiculous.”

“Oh well, a bit difficult to come home, when I made it clear that I want no whores to Last Drop,” I said with a lecturing tone. “And you made very clear that according to you that’s what I am.”

“(Y/n), I was upset and misled,” Silco explained. “And no one actually heard that.”

“Oh, no one, you say?” I contradicted him. “So, you say Sevika, your top agent, is a no one?”

“She doesn’t care,” Silco said.

“And apparently, Jolynn, my assistant, is a no one?” I was so getting pissed off right now. “And Jinx, is a no one?”

“Jinx wasn’t present, I told her to leave before you came,” Silco said.

“Well, she didn’t. I saw her there right when you slapped me,” I said.

“Fuck,” Silco groaned. He looked even more remorse than before. He glanced at Jinx and she just nodded to him.

“Tell me, Silco. If you had known Jinx was there that time, would you have said those things to me?” I asked with a cold tone.

“No, (Y/n). I…” Silco sighed. “I was upset, but I still would have had some control over my words.”

“Would you have not hit her if I was present?” Jinx asked. Silco grimaced as the memories came back. He did slap me, and the fact that he did so while Jinx was present made me mad.

“After what you did, after what you said to me, you expect me to remain at the Drop and play house like nothing happened?” I asked angrily. “Worse, you did all that in front of Jinx. No, I’m not coming back while you act like you did.”

“(Y/n), I was stressed and upset, and it all just fell apart,” Silco tried to explain. “For a while, there has been trouble at the factory, and then I heard that rumor and…. I lost it. What do you want me to say?”

“How about ‘I’m sorry’?” Jinx mumbled mostly to herself, but we both could hear her. Silco sighed again. And I just rolled my eyes.

“(Y/n), I’m sorry,” Silco said.

“Not as sorry as you should be,” I said, and marched past him, bumping his side as I passed him. “I have work to do today.”

“You didn’t say you had work today,” Jinx said.

“Well, I do now,” I argued back and kept walking to the entrance, leaving Jinx and Silco behind. Once I was gone, Jinx flopped to her seat at her work desk as if she was tired.

“Well that went well,” Jinx said. “But I hoped you would get her out of here.”

“I hoped so too,” Silco sighed. “But it seems (Y/n) isn’t listening to a word I say.”

“Yeah, kinda like you back then,” Jinx said, twirling on her seat back and forth. Silco glared at her, but he remained silent. She was right. He didn’t listen when I had several times tried to explain to him the situation. Now, he was experiencing that same treatment.

“So, what now?” Jinx asked.

“Good question,” Silco said. “What worries me is how far will she take this I’m-pissed-with-you act before we can go back to normal?”

“Normal?” Jinx laughed. “Since when is this family normal? (Y/n) has a living snake on her skin, you run the crime world, and I make things that go boom.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Silco sighed.

“Go, knock her up, or whatever you need to do, just get her out of my place,” Jinx said. “It’s hard to be with my voices when she is here.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Silco asked.

“Yeah-no,” Jinx said, joining the two words together. “Not when I need to blow something, or plan a surprise for her.”

“Great, what else have I missed?” Silco asked think he must have missed an anniversary of something for Jinx to make me a surprise.

“Nothing,” Jinx said. “It’s not her birthday or anniversary. I just wanted to give something small for the Progress day.”

“Right, that,” Silco muttered.

“So go make up already,” Jinx said.

“Fine. I try. I try,” Silco said as he straightened up and walked away. He went through any optional plan he would need to fix this up.

I was sitting at the edge of the bar of the Last Drop. There were so many people, the music was loud, and the lights kept blinking on and off according to the music. With all that noise and happening, the edge of the bar was the perfect place to be if you wanted to be alone. One could see almost everything, yet no one would see you if you took the far edge seat, and that was fine by me.

I was still pissed at Silco, but I was also getting tired of being pissed. So, I had come to the Last Drop after my work. It was late, and I wanted to drink and get wasted so I could just let go of everything. Sadly, my signia made it hard to get drunk the normal way. Since I was immune to most of the poisons, I needed something extra to help the alcohol to kick in. Silco and Sevika knew that I carry small flasks of random potions. Most of the time, it was Shimmer, but sometimes I also carried different stuff as well. Very strong sedatives, stimulants, and even aphrodisiacs. I didn’t label the flasks, so I wasn’t even sure what I had. But they would always do their work. While my body works on neutralizing the potions, the alcohol can kick on and numb me like any other heavy drinker after enough drinks. Sometimes even too well. Now, I was way over my head. I have no recollection of what I had, but I sure knew the stuff in glass was whiskey.

“I finally found you,” Sevika said as she suddenly appeared next to me at the bar. Or maybe she was here already, but I didn’t notice. I guess the drink is doing the job then. “Seriously, (Y/n) where have you been? Things have been crazy here.”

“I’ve been away,” I said and took another sip from my drink. “I sure as hell ain’t staying with him after what he did.”

“You’re mad, I get it. But things are really crazy here without you doing your usual stuff.” Sevika said. “Silco isn’t doing good either. You were the moving force. Checking the club, helping with the cleanup, the food…”

“So basically you are saying he doesn’t miss his wife but a maid,” I said, sounding a bit offended. “Why don’t you hire one of the hookers to do that?”

“That was not what I meant,” Sevika sighed. “He misses you. He is pissed at every little thing someone does wrong. He barked at Thieram yesterday for not doing his drink right.”

“Well, tough tiddies for him,” I said. Sevika raised her eyebrow when she heard me.

“Excuse me?” She asked. She looked at me for a moment til realization hit her. “Oh hell, are you drunk?”

“No,” I said, yet the way I said it made it sound an obvious lie. “I can’t get drunk by drinking.”

“That is unless you drink something else first,” Sevika said angrily. “What did you take?”

“Don’know,” I said, words slurring. “But it tasted lemony. What tastes like that?”

“(Y/n), what did you take?” Sevika insisted. But that did nothing as both poisons did their job. One made me weak, and other made me drunk, and right now, I needed that. Instead of listening to Sevika, I just ordered the next drink. I don’t know when Sevika left me, but after one more drink, she was back, and this time with company.

“What the hell are you doing?” Silco asked as he saw my state.

“Drinking, Silly,” I said as if it was obvious by looking.

“I don’t know what she had, but that must be fourth or fifth glass already,” Sevika said.

“Buzz off, I’m mad at you still,” I said, intending it to Silco, but I wasn’t sure it landed at the correct person. Who cares anymore? I was drunk.

“Come now, let’s get you somewhere where you can be drunk in peace,” Silco said and came closer to me.

“I said, I’m still mad,” I said and tried to push him away.

“Fine then,” Silco said, sighing. He didn’t sound angry but very tired. “Sevika.”

Before I had time to register or say anything, Sevika helped me down from the stool and to my feet before she half walked me and half carried away from the bar. I didn’t follow where I was taken, I was more focused on staying up. But sooner than I realized, I was dropped to a familiar couch in Silco’s office.

“I take it from here,” Silco said to Sevika. Sevika just nodded and left the room, leaving me lying on the couch and alone with Silco. I didn’t see what Silco was doing and, at the moment, didn’t care since the world was spinning. But I did hear something metallic being placed close to me. It took me a moment to turn my head and see what it was. All I saw was a bucket.

“We can’t have you ruin the carpet like last time,” Silco said softly as he straightened up.

“What happened last time?” I asked groggily.

“You threw up,” Silco answered as he lowered himself to sit on the coffee table. “You were so wasted that we had to even call Signed to examine you.”

“Wow, what did I have that time?” I said partly amused and tired.

“If only you labeled those flasks I could answer,” Silco sighed tiredly. “What did you take now?”

“No idea,” I said and giggled. “But it tasted like lemon.”

“That doesn’t help us narrowing it down,” Silco said. “Was it lethal? Sedative? Amplifier? Shimmer?”

“You forgot Aphrodisiac,” I giggled. “I have those, too.”

“Did you take one now?”

“Aphrodisiac? No, no, nope. I wouldn’t be this wasted if I did,” I said, giggling.

“What did you take?”

“Guess.”

Silco sighed again and rubbed his forehead. I was never easy when I was drunk. Jinx saw me drunk once, and even she agreed that it was hilarious to see how I was so out of character. Well, that time I had taken Shimmer with my drink. This time… what did I take again? It wasn’t Shimmer nor aphrodisiac. If it was sedative, it would make me sleepy, silly, honest, and a bit flirty. If it was a stimulant, I would soon get up and go back down for another drink and maybe bust a move on the dancefloor or punch someone who tries to stop me. I have very few memories of taking lethal poisons.

“It could be… sedative,” I said after a moment of silence as I had been staring the roof.

“Good,” Silco sighed again, but this time in relief. Now that he knew what was in my system, he knew how things would play out. “Remain here and sleep it off. If you must have something to drink after that, you can have my best bottle and finish it all by yourself. Just no more mixing poisons at the bar.”

“Your best bottle? You never let anyone touch your bottles,” I asked in shock and surprise, but also a bit happy that I got more to drink.

“Well, consider it an apology,” Silco said as he got up from the coffee table. “I… owe you that much.”

“You sure as hell…” I cut my words as I could taste acid in my mouth. Silco glanced at me, wondering why I stopped halfway. And before he could ask, I turned, grabbed the bucket, and threw up in it. Silco got down and helped me gather my hair out of the way.

“Correction. It was not sedative,” I said after I finally got out whatever it was that came out.

“What it was then?” Silco asked, rubbing small circles on my back.

“I rarely took them, but I guess,” I said as I straightened up and wiped my mouth to the back of my hand. “Some lethal potions I have been testing with Signed.”

“You take those with alcohol?” Silco asked with disapproval in his voice.

“They make me drunk,” I said. I had to throw up again. Silco remained with me till I was done. I laid myself back on the couch from exhaustion, while Silco got up and returned to his desk to do something. Don’t know what it was but he finished it quickly and came back to me.

“Do you need anything?” He asked. His patience sometimes is limitless when it comes to Jinx and me. I wanted to say that he was too busy to help me, but something told me that he had already cleared his schedule when he learned that I was at the bar drinking. After throwing up a couple of times, I was sober, so I decided to pull back any remarks of his job.

“I will be fine,” I said as I rubbed my eyes. “I will go to the bathroom later and sit in the tub for a while.”

“Lets go then,” Silco said as he got up and began to help me.

“I can go by myself,” I protested. “I’m partly still mad at you.”

“Then allow me to make it up to you,” Silco said, his voice still soft as if he was speaking to a temperamental child. I was too tired to continue arguing, so I took his hand and got up. And I instantly regretted it as I wobbled with my first two steps before Silco got me and kept me up.

“Easy now,” He said and guided me to our room. The beat of the music almost hammered my head before we made it to our room, and once the door closed, all the noises were muffled. Silco guided me straight to the bathroom and helped me to sit on the toilet.

“I will fill the tub. You stay here,” Silco said.

“I’m not a child, Silco,” I groaned.

“No, you have a hangover. And that makes you vulnerable as one,” Silco said.

“At least, put the light on,” I said.

“Only the ones at the front,” Silco said while he put the water running to the tub. Meanwhile, I began to take off my clothes, starting with my shoes. While he went to set the lighting, I was undoing my dress. The bathroom had two sets of lights, the front and the back. The front ones were softer and mostly illuminated the entrance and the sink. The back lights were brighter and illuminated, basically the whole room with the shower and bathtub area. But now, with only the front lights, the room was illuminated with soft yellowish light that barely reached the tub at the very back of the bathroom. Silco added some soap and liquid to the bath water and moved his hand in the water to mix them before he closed the tap. He was about to ask something before I walked past him and entered the tub on my own. I sighed as warm water hit my skin, and I leaned against the tub, having most of my body submerged under the scented and colored waters.

“Is it good?” Silco asked leaning over me.

“Perfect,” I said as I closed my eyes.

“I need to go a warp up things at the club, but I will be back soon,” Silco said and caressed my head. I just hummed and enjoyed the water. I heard him leave and door closing. And then I just sat there with content and tiredness. Maybe it would be best to give him slack and come back. Yes, I was still mad. But I was getting tired of this fight. But just to make sure, I was still expecting him to apologize. If he did, I would sleep with him in our bed again. Will we do more? Well, that depended how sincere his apology was. If he didn’t apologize I make him sleep on the couch while I took the bed. But considering how he has been fussing over me a minute ago, the changes of him apologizing if I asked were high. So, we might be sharing a bed tonight. I was still going through where I set the line on what else I allowed him to do when Silco came back to the bathroom.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he entered the bathroom.

“Better,” I said. That was all I could say before Silco began to undo his vest. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry I’m just removing the vest and the pants,” Silco said. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t comment further as he pulled his pants down and just remained in his dress shirt and boxers. I followed him as he came behind me and took out shampoo and another bottle.

“Face forward,” He instructed. I did as he said and heard him pick up one bottle and pump the liquid out to his hand. When I felt his hands on my scalp, I knew what he was doing. As he began to wash my hair, I leaned back against the tub and let him do my hair. It felt good. He has never done this to me before. Sure, he has eagerly helped to wash my body but not my hair. I always did that as I used specific shampoos and oils for my hair to keep my hair shiny and healthy. Since I had been away for a while, my hair treatment was over due, but having Silco do it now for me felt nice. I just need to make sure he uses the right bottles. When he rinsed my hair with water, he placed his hand to cover my face from the water. When he stopped, I turned to him.

“Are you going to do my whole hair treatment?” I asked with amusing smirk.

“I can’t do all of it,” Silco said as he picked up another bottle. “But I can wash it and put conditioner on your hair. You just have to finish the treatment yourself later.”

“Or you do it as I tell you what to do,” I said.

“Fine,” Silco chuckled. “What’s next?” With my instructions, Silco did my hair according to my treatment. And he finished it by wrapping my hair with a towel and leaving it sit there. I turned again and placed my hands over another before placing my chin over them as I watched Silco. His hair was slightly damp from the steam in the bathroom, and his makeup was coming off. But otherwise, he looked so handsome to me. He leaned closer and placed his forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry, (Y/n),” He sighed.

“About what?” I asked as I closed my eyes.

“For doubting you, for hitting you, and most importantly, disrespecting you in front of our daughter,” Silco said. “I shouldn’t have done it, but…” He sounded like he was about to say something else but held it in. He was on his way to my good side. He better not stop now.

“Go on,” I said. Silco seemed to be bracing himself before he spoke again.

“You are very dense sometimes, you know that?” Silco said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Hear me out first,” Silco said with patience. “It is not that I don’t trust you to be faithful. But there are times you leave yourself so open and vulnerable that anyone down here could abuse it.”

“You are not making your point,” I warned him.

“You get yourself drunk with poisons and leave yourself right in the open for everyone to see,” Silco said, raising one finger. “You hire anyone with a sob story to your houses without regard who they are.” I pouted as he lifted a second finger. “You harm yourself in the name of trying new things or testing your signia.” He lifted a third finger.

“Is that all?” I asked, frowning.

“There is a couple of more, but I think three reasons get my point,” Silco said. “When I heard that someone might have slept with you, I thought you had lost yourself in somewhere and gotten used by some animals.” I was still frowning, but I was less angry with him. I appreciate he worries for me but he should know better.

“One; I rarely get drunk, and when I do, it is always inside this establishment,” I said, lifting my finger. “Two; I have people who monitor all my new recruits, so I know exactly who they are, and I have dealt them accordingly. Besides, the only time I ever meet them again is when I make the rounds myself, which isn’t that often.” I lifted my second finger. “Three, I know my limits. Be it testing new potions, starving for half a day, enduring harsh words, or whatever it is you think I’m doing to harm myself.” I lifted the third finger. “And I endure it all because I know you and Jinx are here for me. When I come home tired and worn out, it all melts away when I have you cuddle me in our bed, even if it’s just that. I feel better when you or Jinx say some people can fuck it, and that I should forget them. And I know that one day Zaun will be real, and then we need things to work. We need people to look after each other instead grinding each other to sumps.” I placed my hand against Silco’s disfigured cheek. The makeup was half gone now and I could feel the rough texture of the skin. Silco closed his good eyes and leaned against my hand with a sigh. “And most importantly I know you will never let anyone lay a hand on me.”

“Am I forgiven then?” He asked.

“Not yet,” I said, smirking. Silco opened his good eye and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “You did promise me your best bottle, for starters.”

“For starters?” Silco repeated my words.

“While I drink, you can also tell me how you handled the scum who dared to dream of having me,” I continued with a smile.

“Should I worry how me being violent turns you on?” Silco asked.

“You being violent and possessive,” I corrected him. “And isn’t that how many beasts conquer their mates? Defeating and killing their rivals.”

“Fair point. Anything else?” Silco asked as he kissed my hand, still caressing his face.

“How about I top you tonight?” Silco chuckled softly as he leaned closer.

“Aren’t the males usually on top when the beasts mate?”

“Not necessarily,” I said as I sneaked my hand behind his neck. Before he could react, I grabbed his hair behind his head and brought him closer. He let out a wonderful gasp. “Did you know, although male starts the mating, snakes entwine their bodies so there is no way knowing which is on top or which is at bottom.”

I could tell he was aroused. Not only by the smell, but his good eye dilated as well. I rarely took control over our bed activities, but when I did, I knew exactly what he liked.

“What do you say? Can you earn my forgiveness?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Silco said. Oh yes, he was into it already. I kissed him hungrily, and I could tell he wanted to take control of the kiss. That was how we played this. But he knew when to submit. And that he did.

My bath time soon ended, and we went to our bedroom where the bottle he had promised waited with two glasses. While I had my drink, Silco kissed my whole body drinking the water droplets off my skin. He soon went down and pleasured me as he knelt. And from there, we ended like snakes under the sheets, entwined with each other, no idea who was on top and who was at the bottom. But there was no denying that we ended up satisfied.

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#silco arcane #silco x reader #arcane silco #jinx #sevika #arcane

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