#'ray did you. did you cut this audio yourself' MAYBE. MAYBE I JUST WANTED TO REVIEW HIS BO.TW MINIGAME AND GOT HIT WITH THE

[flockrest]

COLLAPSES OVER THE LITTLE DIFFERENCES IN HIS VOICE BETWEEN HIS BOTW AND TOTK YEARS PUNCHES THE GROUND PUNCHES THE GROUND PUNCHES THE GR

[waiting-for-what-again]

My Own Worst Enemy

My Own Worst Enemy

Atsumu x reader; College au

TW: Mentions of alcohol, angst, breakup

A/N: Idk why but whenever I hear the song “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit I think of this man so I thought it best to try and write it out. Hope you enjoy!

11:39am

It was supposed to be a fun night out. He wanted to show you a good time, what a real party should be like. He can’t count the number he’s gotten around to, nor the number he’s thrown, nor the number of hangovers he’s had, but one thing’s for certain, he never fucked up this badly in his life. A pounding in his head blurred his vision in the early rays of sun peaking through the blinds. The bed was… above him? No, he was on the floor. With his clothes on. That’s one positive – right? Maybe. A groan escaped him as he slowly rose to a sit, his mind swimming in a desperate attempt to piece together the previous night. A stream of cool air ruffled his hair and hit his face. I did not come through the window last night.  The window squeaked as it was slammed shut.

Slowly, he managed to trudge to the bathroom. It might just be the pounding in his head and the intense temptation to vomit, but something was off. Splashing cool water on his face in an attempt for clarity, it hit him. Your facewash you always left here wasn’t on the counter. Your teal toothbrush was missing. You can’t be gone after one bad night, can you?

Shit, shit, shit

Atsumu whispered to himself. His hands patted himself down for his phone. He needed to call someone, anyone who was at that party. He went back to the bathroom – he might actually throw up now.

Suna was probably there. There’s no way he wasn’t and if one person recorded anything last night, it was Suna. First he needed his phone. Probably left it in the car. At least he didn’t have to walk very far to search his vehicle since it happened to be right outside his door. On the lawn. In front of his apartment complex. A groan left him as his hand dragged down his face. To his much needed luck, the phone was indeed in the car and still had a little juice left in the battery.

83 notifications.

That can’t be good…

“I can’t believe you said that to her!!”

“Atsumu you fucking pig.”

“What did you do man…”

He couldn’t bring himself to read the rest, except when he saw a video from Suna accompanied by the words ��Bro you really fucked up this time”. He didn’t know if he was prepared to watch it. He couldn’t bear to think of what he could have possibly said to you. You were everything to him. You brought him so much peace, so many laughs, so much comfort. He never met anyone he was so sure he wanted by his side as he ventured through the rest of college, the rest of his career, the rest of his life. But now he wasn’t so sure. You were gone. Quite possibly for good.

The video quality was poor along with its audio. He could make out some yelling from both of you. Then he remembered. Not everything, but pieces. You were hanging around that Meian guy. A little too close for being “just friends”. He tried to kiss you. Yes that’s what it was. You got upset and came to him, but he, he was drunk off his ass to say the least and he…

He blamed you.

And called you shallow.

And nothing but good looks.

And wanting to ride his coattails of inevitable success.

On the video he made out you throwing something at him. Maybe a bottle? Who knows.

Why, how? He didn’t mean any of that. Hell, he never even thought any of that. So where did it come from? He knew those words cut deep, things you yourself admitted to being insecure of others thinking when they saw the two of you as a couple. Oh but you were so much more. You were so smart and good at what you  wanted to do. You were one of the top students in your manger and were destined for success especially after that internship you won over the summer. Not only were you that, but you were funny, you could keep up with his sense of humor and managed to keep him on his toes. You kept him in line and he kept you adventurous. You stayed friends your freshman year of school, but half way through the next, you both slowly came to terms with your feelings and got together. Now in the winter of you senior year, he was on the verge of losing you – if he hadn’t already.

He didn’t know what to do. He sunk to the floor and next thing he knew hot tears rolled down his cheeks and he began to sob.

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

2:09am

You left the party alone despite your friend’s insisting to follow you. You needed space. The walk to your apartment would hopefully assist in clearing your mind as well. About half-way back, the goosebumps began to appear. You didn’t bring a jacket because you didn’t think you needed one. If anything you would just borrow… his. You were about to pass his apartment actually. You always left a change of clothes there and usually a jacket. You had a key on you so might as well take advantage.

The familiar scent of the apartment hit you as soon as the door opened. He wouldn’t be back for at least another hour or two if he even managed to leave that is. You went to his closet and picked up the small neatly folded stack of clothes. That was all you really needed. But you knew you wouldn’t be coming back any time soon. Might as well grab the other couple things you left there too. That would be sure to send a message to Miya. You wondered if he would even remember what he said. He was the lightest weight you had ever met, which definitely did not suit him.

After collecting your toothbrush, facewash, clothes, and the few other necessities you kept there, you took a seat on the edge of his bed. All of your memories there waltz through your mind. The late night talks, long days studying, exciting nights filled with, well you know what. The past few years spent with Atsumu would certainly not be described as easy, but they were worth it. You dealt with his flaws as you dealt with his as all couples do. This time he just took it a bit too far.

He hit the major insecurities you couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of all together. You came to him for protection, but instead, you ended up wanting protection from him. From his words. He always had your back and was always there. You trusted him and he trusted you. So where did this come from? Was he thinking those things this whole time? Were you really so pathetic to… No, you needed to stop and leave. You couldn’t do this right now. Going home to your own bed never sounded so good.

You almost called him the next morning. Then the next day. Then the day after. You wanted to know why he said what he said if anything. You never saw him act so out of character. You had to know. You wanted to go back to the happy relationship you had not even four days ago. You weren’t sure where things would go from here now though. It might be a sign that things aren’t always as they seem.

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

[hanoella]

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 3)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam’s who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he’s not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Part 3 Word Count: 3k

A/N: Can you tell I don't really have a posting schedule? lol. I also introduced links to the specific pieces I had in mind. I'm using soundcloud because I don't think everyone has access to spotify. Trying to be reader friendly! This can be read with or without the audio, as I do my best to still convey the thought in the fic. Though if you can, I highly recommend :)

Thanks again for all your support! Every heart and comment motivates me and is just so wonderful

Read Part 1; Masterlist

---

A few days had passed since the night that Bucky had overheard your troubles. It had been quiet since, and you hadn’t left the house. The curtains were opened during the day and closed at night, the only telltale signs that you existed.

Doesn’t she have to work? Bucky thought to himself. He speculated all the different possibilities as he used the riding mower around the property. Maybe you were an heiress? You seemed pretty down to earth though. Or maybe you sold a patented idea for a ton of money. All this land had to have been expensive. And to not request actual money from him?

He eyed up the width of the gate for your fence. The riding mower couldn’t fit so he would have to use a push mower for your fenced off yard. He hadn’t seen one in the garage. Maybe the old shed at the back of your yard had one? Bucky parked the mower in the garage, taking a moment to make a mental list of everything. Depending on if he found anything in the shed, he might need to buy a few basic tools and a chainsaw for that fallen tree.

He walked out of the garage and over to the shed. The leaves were changing color and it brought a whole new atmosphere to the secluded forest area. Opening the gate of the weathered white fence, he looked around to see if you were out. No signs of life. Entering the yard and closing the gate behind him, he started walking to the back. Halfway through, he stopped at the fire pit. The grey stone blocks were starting to crumble, with a few of the bricks having fallen off. It would probably be really nice if he got a little bit of cement mix and filled in the gaps. Bucky made another mental note.

The shed had no padlock so he was able to open it with no problem. Amongst the cobwebs and bags of soil, was an older green push mower that looked like it might work. He gave the gas a pull and got no response back. Looking underneath, Bucky saw what might be the problem. He’d have to take a closer look later. Putting the lawn mower back onto its wheels, he pushed it across the yard, pausing when he saw movement though the glass doors of the back patio.

Craning his neck to avoid the glare, he saw you sitting at your fancy full keyboard. The way the piano was against the opposite wall, your back was to him. You had big over-ear headphones plugged into it, so he couldn’t hear the sound but he saw the flurry of keys being pressed down. Whatever you were playing, you played passionately. Hands and arms gracefully moved despite the speed at which they were moving. Enhanced hearing coming into play, he heard the muffled clicks of the fluttering keys. Suddenly, you pressed down forcefully, holding whatever chord you had struck as your shoulders gently relaxed. A deep breath. Arm creating a graceful arc as if you had studied ballet, you pressed gently on another chord. And another. Bucky counted three more times you did this before you let your hands gently fall from the keys to your lap. Several moments passed before slid the headphones off of your ears to sit wrapped around your neck. Another deep breath. This time as the breath escaped you, you stayed slouched, head tilting up to stare at nothing on the wall.

A buzz broke Bucky from his trance.

“Call me, new mission” The text from Sam on his home screen said.

He pocketed his phone, glancing through the glass one more time. There you still sat.

Unmoving.

---

The roar of the plane’s engine was just loud enough to drown out Bucky’s thoughts without being annoying. If it weren’t for the adrenaline of the recovery mission under the cover of nightfall, he probably would’ve been lulled to sleep. Beside him sat Sam, looking on his phone for the exact coordinates of the politician they had been sent to rescue.

“Here it is. I’m assuming there’s some sort of underground base since there are no heat signatures anywhere within the radius where he was taken. It should take us about ten more minutes before we’re directly over it.”

Bucky hummed in acknowledgement.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Earth to Bucky.”

“What does your friend do?” Bucky asked suddenly, sitting up straighter and turning towards him.

“… What?”

“What does she do? I’ve never seen her leave the house. Is she okay?”

“If you’re asking why she doesn’t leave the house, it’s because her contract doesn’t start for a while. She’s technically still supposed to be in physical therapy but she hasn’t found a place yet. You know, your whole routine gets messed up when you move.”

“For her shoulder?”

Now it was Sam’s turn to look at Bucky, trying to decipher the motive behind these questions. Bucky shifted his weight in the chair, antsy under the scrutiny.

“Never mind, I-”

“Yes, for her shoulder.” Sam said, cutting him off. He stopped himself from asking why Bucky wanted to know. There was an awkward pause before Bucky explained himself.

“I just wanted to know. I’m not used to seeing people so…”

“Similar to yourself?”

“I was gonna say isolated but fair point.” Bucky admitted. Sam leaned back in his chair, looking straight forward.

“She’s been through a lot… I know you heard some of it.”

Bucky blinked in surprise.

“I realized the window was open when I could hear you drive off.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright, it’s good that you know.” Sam said as he held up his hand to cut Bucky off.

“She’s just trying to get a fresh start. She’s in a raw emotional space and in the meantime is a little skittish. Just like someone else I know.” Sam jabbed his elbow into Bucky’s side as he enunciated the last sentence.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’m trying!” He shouted as he held one hand up defensively and using the other to block the second jab Sam was trying to get in. Sam chuckled and then stood up, grabbing a parachute pack and tossing it at Bucky, who caught it without even looking.

“Figured you might wanna try an actual chute this time.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and mouthed Sam’s words mockingly with a grimace as he put the backpack on. Clipping it into place, he joined Sam at the side door of the plane.

“She used to play in an orchestra you know.” Sam said wistfully. “The piano. That’s actually how we met. She had volunteered to play a small concert before the dinner. It really helped raise a lot of money for the VA.”

Bucky stayed silent, prompting him to continue.

“Then that bastard she was engaged to beat her and then shoved her down a set of concrete steps when she tried to leave him. It was like a month after we all came back. She was in the hospital for a while. Broken ribs, broken shoulder, and a nasty concussion to boot. Neighbor saw the whole thing and called the cops but the courts were so backed up and the case fell through the cracks. Wouldn’t leave her alone after he got out. So, I pulled some strings and helped her move down here on the fly.”

“… That’s terrible.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say or how to react. They stood in silence, taking a moment to pay a respect of sorts to the trials you have been through. Then Sam broke the silence.

“She just needs time to heal in more ways than one. But she’s strong. Resilient.”

Putting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, he squeezed it lightly with reassurance.

“Reminds me of someone else I know.” Sam said, finishing the conversation and pulling his goggles over his eyes, giving Bucky the opportunity to take the compliment without feeling too on the spot.

Pulling the door open, Sam shouted over the wind.

“Ready?”

Bucky nodded. Sam jumped from the plane and deployed the wings, the shield shining in the moonlight. Bucky jumped right behind him, using the glint of the silver star to guide his descent as he followed the man that gave the shield its meaning.

---

You laid with your head down on the kitchen table, letting the last golden rays of sun warm the side of your face. You were exhausted from going to physical therapy, especially since today had been the first appointment. All the measurements, all the exercises, all the stretching.

All the questions.

“So, how did you break your shoulder?” the young blonde physical therapist asked.

“Ah, I… fell down some stairs.” You said, looking down at your hands in your lap.

She didn’t look up from the papers, instead just raising an eyebrow.

“You also cracked some ribs and had a concussion?”

“… They were concrete.”

She looked up from the papers at you, analyzing. Her gaze softened and she asked no further questions on how these serious injuries had been obtained.

“Let’s look at your range of motion.”

You had practically stumbled into the house, kicking off your sneakers and plopping down at the kitchen table. Minutes passed by as you regained your breath, heartbeat steadying. The house was slightly cold since you had turned the heat down this morning. As your sweat cooled, you wrapped your arms around your legs in an attempt to keep you warm without getting up.

The sun feels so warm… You thought to yourself drowsily, feeling slightly less lonely. The sun was a cheap substitute for the warmth of a partner…

---

You jolted upright, the kitchen dark and cold. Neck and shoulder stiff from the awkward position you had dozed off in. Feeling the dryness of your mouth, you got up, stretching your neck gently while you walked to the fridge to get water. Chugging about half the bottle, you squinted at the clock. You had been asleep for about forty-five minutes. Groaning, you put the bottle down on the counter and walked into the living room to close the curtains. Grabbing one in each hand, you went to pull them together when you hesitated, noticing that Bucky’s apartment was dark for the third day in a row. The sleek motorbike that was usually parked under the slight overhang of the garage was missing as well.

He was probably on a mission, right? Not that it was any of your business. You shut the curtains and turned off the lights before lightly padded down the hall, stopping to adjust the thermostat. The heat kicked on, sending a puff of cold air your way. You shivered as you walked with a quickened pace to your room, shutting the door and heading into the master bathroom, turning the hot water on with just a tad of cold.

Waiting for the shower to warm up, you leaned over the sink and looked into the mirror. Dark circles under your eyes. Small scar on the bridge of your nose. Running your hand through the roots of your hair, you felt for the scar where the stitches had been. When was the last time you had a haircut? Or put on some makeup?

Some higher being must’ve felt pity for you since the steam from the shower fogged the glass, preventing you from tearing yourself apart any further. Stepping underneath the warm stream, you let the warmth seep into your muscles, then bones, filling every fracture and break with a temporary sense of wholeness until the emptiness of your heart and home caused it slowly to drip out until it, along with you, was gone.

---

The next morning, you weren’t motivated to do anything. You lounged around the house, sipping on coffee and browsing on your phone for furniture, clothes, even sneaking a peak at some pianos. Wanting to invest in one you’d use for the next several decades, you had put off buying one until the money from your contract with the orchestra started in a month. You were still well off, nowhere near struggling and probably wouldn’t ever be unless you decided to buy a mansion (which was a no). You just wanted to be careful.

In the afternoon, you popped a pain killer and muscle relaxer in preparation for the few hours you wanted to practice. Thirty minutes went by and the ever-present ache in your shoulder calmed enough to let you practice with relative peace. Sitting on the bench in front of the keyboard, you pondered what you might play to warm up.

Hmm, maybe a Chopin prelude? Short, emotional, familiar.

Your left hand held the soft deep chords as your right hand softly flitted around the higher notes. Breathing in and out with the music, you tried to ignore the ache that start to surround your shoulder.

Playing the last few notes, you paused before reaching over to the bottle of painkillers.

---

Shortly after finishing up, you dragged a small table outside next to the wooden bench swing that was hanging on the porch. Bundled up in a soft sweatshirt, long-sleeve shirt, wool lined leggings, fuzzy socks and slippers, you brought out your hot tea, several blankets, a pillow, and a book you had been meaning to read for months. You were determined to do something besides practice, watch TV, and scroll on your phone.

You settled onto the bench, wrapping the blanket around you, nice and toasty from the layers trapping in the heat of a thorough practice session. The extra medication had really helped keep the pain at bay. Tentatively sipping the steaming cup, you closed your eyes to further appreciate the sweet tones of peach and honey. Setting the cup in your lap with one hand, you used your other hand to flip open to the first page.

---

Bucky hadn’t expected the mission to get so complicated. Finding the base was one thing, navigating in and out of the expansive maze was another. It took a few days to successfully get the target out and back to the embassy. He hadn’t properly slept during that time due to taking shifts with Sam. Not that it was any different from how he slept at home.

The sun was letting its last few rays bless the earth when he turned onto the driveway. Taking it easy on the gravel, he eased his posture and slowed the bike. He put pressure on the brakes as he made it past the final wall of trees that hid the water that was reflecting the last bit of color left in the sky. Rolling casually into a stop, he parked and let out a deep breath, shoulders sinking.

A stray bird calling out turned his attention in the direction of your house. The porch light was on. That’s new, he thought. Squinting his eyes, he saw a bundle on the porch swing. Was that you? Quietly walking over while taking his leather gloves off, he confirmed his suspicions. There you were, lying on your side propped up by a large fuzzy pillow. Eyes closed and breathing rhythmically. Scanning the scene, he noticed the mug on the side table, empty except for the used teabag. Your book was closed, the page you were on marked by one of your fingers. You must’ve fallen asleep while reading.

“Hey…” Bucky said gently. No response besides a small nose scrunch.

He repeated himself a little louder, squatting to be at eye level while gently setting his hand on your arm and shaking you lightly. You groaned this time, eyes fluttering open, taking a moment to focus. You squinted and pushed yourself up into a sitting position, losing your place in the book and attempting to blink the heavy drowsiness from your eyes.

“Bucky?” You questioned hoarsely as you met his eyes. He was still crouching so you were looking slightly down at him. Brow furrowed, you searched the blue of his eyes before looking around to see how dark it had gotten. As you turned your head back to him, he stood back up, scratching the back of his neck just to occupy his hands.

“It’s starting to get cold. I didn’t want you to spend the rest of the night out here.” He explained, choosing to look out at the water, now dark. When he turned his head back, you had also turned your head to look at the water, exposing the side of your neck, the tendons and clavicle accentuated by the strain. Bucky swallowed and your eyes met his, oblivious.

“Ah, thank you. I must’ve fallen asleep reading. I just started going back to physical therapy so I’ve just been so wiped… Anyway,” you said, dismissing yourself mid-thought. He didn’t want to hear about all that. “…did you just come back from a mission?” You eyed the diagonal cuts of leather on his jacket, noting the missing sleeve that exposed the glint of the metal.

“Yeah. I was gone for a few days.”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re home safe.” You mindlessly said, picking up the book and other various items strewn about.

Home safe. What an unfamiliar phrase.

As the words echoed in his mind, you had opened the door and stepped in, turning your head slightly to look back at him.

“Thanks again… Good night.”

“Good night.” Bucky replied, watching as you shut the door softly behind you.

Slowly walking down the porch steps, he crossed the driveway to the garage. Turning his head just in time to see the last light turn off in your house, he stood with his hand on the knob, meditating on the effect that one short sentence had on him.

Glad you’re home safe. Was this what it was like when you had someone waiting on you at home? The tired eyes and gentle smile. Would that be what it was like when he came home in the middle of a night from a mission when he had someone to share a bed with? Gently shaking them to let them know he was home? Or would he try to sneak into bed without waking them? He tried to imagine what that sort of intimacy would be like as he entered his apartment and then his room. Unzipping his jacket and tossing it over a chair, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed, wondering what it would be like if it was already warm.

[romiithebirdie]

Epilogue for the Lost - Chapter 2

Present day.

Inko Midoriya entered her apartment, softly closing the front door behind her after dropping her shopping bags in the hallway. A harsh breeze slapped her bare arms and she shivered, quickly removing her shoes and padding into the living room to close the window that she hadn't realised she'd left open.

Cheerful music rang out in the direction of the kitchen and she immediately followed the sound up towards one of her kitchen worktops. Within seconds, Inko slid her arm across the space and picked up the mobile device with a questioning frown.

UNKNOWN CALLER

Timidly, she pressed the Answer button and slowly put it to her ear;

"Midoriya Residence, may I ask who's calling?"

Her response came from an intangible grunt followed by loud rustling, like the caller was fumbling through plastic liners. She sighed, "Hello?"

"Y-yeah," the audio was fuzzy, almost like they had a bad signal connection from wherever they were calling from. "I'm looking for an Inko Midoriya."

"Speaking."

"I see."

Inko huffed, switching her phone into her other free hand; "So? Is there something you needed or-"

"You were his wife, right?"

And her instinct to slam the phone down at that moment faltered and she immediately was hit with old painful memories.

"E-Excuse me?" her voice was hushed, like she'd been winded by those words alone.

"Your husband. Hisashi Midoriya."

"Who is this?"

"Just somebody who wanted to talk."

"My husband hasn't lived here," since he disappeared, "for a while. I'm sorry if you were trying to reach him, I can't help you."

With that brief explanation, she immediately ended the call and dropped it on the table top. With a stifled gasp, she clamped a hand over her mouth and leaned over one of the kitchen chairs as if she were in pain.

Emotional pain.

She really needed Izuku right now…

UNKNOWN CALLER buzzed across her phone screen for the second time and a shiver ran from the back of her neck all the way down to her spine. Was someone trying to pull a sick prank or something? She had no clue.

Reluctantly, she pressed Answer once again and whispered an anxious, "Hello?"

"You know you cry way too much, right? Same old Inko."

Crying?

She gingerly touched her cheek and immediately felt the wetness. Then it dawned on her what this person had just said and her breath hitched in her throat.

"Who is this?" she repeated, firmer this time while brushing the back of her arm against her face. Somebody had been watching her, the problem was she had no idea where. "Listen," her voice was jittery yet she ignored it, "I don't know how you got my number or where you've seen me but if you don't stop right now, I will be calling the authorities."

"Call them," the voice cackled gruffly on the other side of the line, "besides, who said anything about having seen you? You shouldn't leave your window open when you leave the house."

The window.

It had been open when she'd returned home from her errand.

She lowered the phone from her ear, heart racing against her chest while her ears picked up every tiny sound coming from the floorboards, thumps against the walls from the neighbours and a slow ticking sound coming from the kitchen clock.

The front door was only along the hallway. Almost taunting her with the reflective rays of the sunshine outside.

Tick, tick, tick.

It felt like she was stuck in slow-motion, her legs trembling violently under the assumption there might be an intruder hiding somewhere in her home right now…

"You've gone quiet."

Was that this person's plan? To lure her outside?

"I-I…" Inko choked on her own words.

"Don't you like talking to me?"

No. I really don't.

"I like talking to you."

Inko closed her eyes and bit her lip before shaking her head.

"After all, we're practically family."

                                                .-.-.-.-.

"You serious, Deku?" came the sneer of a young boy with spiky ash-blond hair. Behind him stood two other boys around the same age as they towered over a smaller boy with messy green locks. "You really think a weakling like you can do a fucking thing against the three of us?"

"He was crying, Kacchan!" the green-haired boy pleaded, wiping furiously at his tear-stained cheeks. "You can't keep acting like a bully; it's wrong!"

"The hell did you just say to me?!"

It was the wrong choice of words.

Something Izuku had quickly learned when dealing with Katsuki Bakugou, a boy that used to be his friend. However, when Izuku confided to the other child about the secret that greatly upset his parents, he was met with complete scorn and eventually became the class outcast.

Defenseless Izuku, the freak that saw dead people and nobody wanted to be friends with.

However, Katsuki's bullying tendencies halted after one of his friends, Tsubasa, vanished without a trace. The fiery boy grew more withdrawn and unsure, keeping Izuku at a great distance rather than choosing to torment him.

Katsuki Bakugou eventually moved away from Musutafu to live with his grandparents after a gruesome event that deeply traumatised him;

Early one morning, the remains of Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugou were found along the coastal side of Dagobah Beach. The media kept a lot of the details brief due to the case's sheer horrifying nature.

Masaru Bakugou was found with his throat slit and hands cut off while Mitsuki Bakugou was covered in various stab wounds with her tongue removed. The forensics and autopsies had ruled out that they had been dead for quite some time due to the fact that their corpses were spread with heavy decay.

Izuku only remembered fragments of the dreadful news; his father being more reserved while his mother broke down over discovering their demise. From what he remembered, his mother and Auntie Mitsuki had met in Junior High and had remained friends in their adult life.

Despite Katsuki's ill-treatment of him, Izuku still found himself feeling concerned for the louder boy. Sadly, Izuku never got a chance to try and rekindle his friendship with the youngest Bakugou due to him immediately being sent away.

It was something that Izuku still found himself longing for many years later in his teenage years…

"Hi, everybody. My name is Izuku Midoriya and I'm visiting today to talk about things that have affected me since I was very young."

And I'd rather be anywhere else than here right now…

Izuku forced himself to smile, despite the overwhelming feeling of nerves tugging away at his chest that made him feel more like a wooden puppet than an actual person at this point. It was pretty on point, he'd been rehearsing his greeting for a while now anyway...

"Thank you, Midoriya, please take your seat," one of the group therapy leaders smiled, sitting forward while hunched over her thick clipboard in an extremely awkward manner. Izuku bared his teeth in another forced grin before sitting back down on his plastic chair, trying to ignore the burn of embarrassment scorching his freckled cheeks.

While various names chorused amongst each other, Izuku chose to tune out. His emerald green eyes focused completely on a particular spot on the floor tiles as voices blended into one incoherent fuzzy noise. Almost sounding like television static.

Therapy had been his mother's idea. Izuku hadn't been thrilled at the proposition but he knew how much it would mean to her if he tried it out. That was several months ago.

They had attempted medication and counselling in the past too, thus why Izuku was understandably growing more and more tired with it. It was the same old story to him.

While he had grown up seeing things that would be… odd to most, the idea for counselling had nothing to do with the invisible people that clung to him in desperation. They still talked to him, though Izuku often found himself tuning out more nowadays.

Maybe he was just crazy?

That would explain why his mother was always sad and his father cut them off years ago.

Perhaps it was the stress of dealing with a problem child?

Izuku shook his head, chiding himself internally for even daring to consider such a ludicrous possibility;

Both of his parents loved him.

His mother was still grieving her husband's disappearance, it had nothing to do with Izuku's quirky little ability to see dead people…

"Get a grip, Izuku," he muttered to himself.

"Uh, is everything alright over there, young man?" one of the counsellors blinked, everybody's attention solely on the greenette as he flushed in humiliation.

Add talking to yourself to that pile of issues too, Izuku thought miserably to himself while the group therapy session came to end. The second that the adults dismissed the teens, Izuku snatched up his bag and bolted for the exit door like his life depended on it. Luckily, it was a short ride on the bullet train back to the city of Musutafu's Tattooin Station and then a ten minute walk back to his apartment complex.

As he made his way along his neighbourhood street, he noticed a large number of people crowding around the apartment blocks, some people were filming while police were running around and taping the area off to the civilians.

What in the…

While he craned his neck to try and see what was happening, his shoulder bumped against another member of the public and they made a short, restrained grunt as they were pushed to the side.

"S-Sorry, are you-" Izuku froze, emerald orbs meeting an intense crimson that sparked an old feeling of anxiousness and bad nostalgia.

"It's fine," the guy muttered, lowering his head before turning on his heel and striding in the opposite direction of the scene.

That was odd, Izuku frowned, watching the guy disappear amongst the sea of people flocking around the teen while using their phones to record.

Paramedics dressed in green appeared from the stairwell of the apartment complex and rushed across the lawn, pushing a stretcher on wheels. Izuku carefully pushed his way towards the front of the crowd and immediately froze in complete horror.

On the stretcher was his mother.

Thick gauze and towels were drenched in red that could only have been blood and she had an oxygen mask over her face. Izuku's vision suddenly swam and he clung to the nearest stranger, gasping for breath.

Police, paramedics and people were surrounding the entire vicinity. Realisation smacked Izuku as hard as a blunt object striking him across the face.

Holy shit. Who had done this?

His mother was being taken away on a stretcher covered in blood. He honestly didn't understand what was currently happening. Why was this happening?

The last that Izuku saw of his kind, gentle mother before the paramedics closed the ambulance doors were three random letters that had been carved into her arm;

A.F.O

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotten Memory

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

With more and more information revealed via Augustus' burner phone, The team now has to make an important decision, one that would change the course of their lives, forever.

Chapter 15 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Meet Me Halfway

Unexpected Alliances

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Task Force 141

Flying above Russian Airspace

Roach was speechless. Admittedly the dark and messy battle at the Gulag was something worth noting but the thing that kept his head preoccupied at the moment was Soap and France kissing in the middle of warfare.

Guess love knows no boundaries huh. He thought to himself as he looked at France kneeling beside Soap who passed out from exhaustion. Another person laying beside him was an old man named Jack. The 141 records had a match to Jack, he's apparently Alex's mentor who got missing when their safehouse got raided.

Guess the force will be having two reunions tonight. His eyes turned to Price, who sat by the huge window and gazed into the sea of clouds, he's always serious and in thought that Gary found him intimidating, even after that short mission in Germany. 

Then there was Ghost. He's surely heartbroken now that she saw what France did. And Gary was slightly to blame, well not necessarily his fault but if he pushed him enough to confess, maybe this won't hurt more than it did to him today.

Gary spent the rest of the trip observing, noting his comrade's actions, discussing with their thoughts, especially after the invasion. He was glad 141 extracted Soap before the deliberation, where none of them are allowed to perform missions. Gary felt scared, he just got here, got the hang of it, and was afraid to cut ties with the 141 on such short notice. But he hoped Shepherd would talk sense to the board, especially now that the burner phone filled with leads was within their possession.

"You're awfully quiet…" Ghost nudged to Gary while fidgeting with his gun.

"Well, I got nothing to talk about." Gary replied, turning to the masked man.

"Well I've got a lot, and it's pretty nasty. Can't say it here though." He replied, his tone was almost relieved, as if he just blurted out something that was bothering him for a long time.

"Is it about them?" Gary whispered, pointing his thumb to the couple back at the med bay.

"That's a different story, and I told you I was right, they already had a thing going on since day 1. Who am I to interfere…" Gary could feel him frown beneath the mask, he got defeated in the war of love.

"That's okay… You'll find someone better." Gary consoled and Ghost automatically shrugged it off. 

"Eh. I hope…" he said, turning to the window opposite to Gary's position.

~

Task Force 141 Base - Infirmary

"The audio from this room's camera is muted so it's best to discuss it here." Ghost sat on the chair as concerned 141 members circled around him, Jack, Alex and Soap occupied the beds as they recovered from injuries.

"What you got for us, lad?" Price crossed his arms as he leaned by the door, his hat tilted perfectly on his head.

"An anonymous number sent Augustus coordinates of the base prior to the attack." He held up the phone and everyone murmured.

"Looks like we have another mole in our hands." Alex grunted, turning to Jack for nostalgia.

"But this time, we have a solid lead to who it is…" Ghost added while everyone braced themselves for the slap of reality they're going to get.

From out of nowhere the infirmary doors opened, Maxine was panting and sobbing at the same time, her hands held her thigh desperately enduring some sort of pain.

"It's Samantha… haaah… Shepherd took her!..." she panted as Gary quickly assisted him while everyone who was capable of fighting dashed to the scene.

"Go, Gary. I'll take care of her." Soap quickly got up with Jack, they were already fine and just required to complete their nutrition so assisting her would be the best option.

Gary nodded and dashed outside, bracing himself for the unbearable news.

"Shit. What's going on! I thought we already agreed not to take Samantha elsewhere!" Gary caught up with Ghost and the rest of the available team.

"I have my wild guess, but you're not going to like it." He replied, adjusting his shades as they exited the building. From there, they saw the General's aircraft already far away from their reach. Behind them Alex, Soap, Jack and Maxine followed, their faces were drawn with extreme sadness. 

A few seconds of staring at the sky and Price's comms received an incoming message.

"Captain, I regret to inform you that the 141 is no more… I'm sending the High Value Individual to their care as the threat escalated and is being designated to a different force. I'm sorry. Please tell the rest of the group that in two weeks they will be returned to their prior assignments before 141 was established." his voice was nonchalant, emotionless and straightforward, like he's reading it from a diner table's tissue paper.

"No…" Price muttered. They were this close to Nero.  The rest of the team looked down, others started to disperse and did as ordered while the more concerned group stayed.

"Shepherd's working with Nero. He wants the EMP based weaponry to help his marines in Afghanistan." Ghost blurted, raising the heads of everyone around him.

"He's trading the economical side of the world to win a war?" Gary asked, as the information doesn't add up.

"It's a wild guess but the global economic pressure is already influencing the government to allocate more funds to anti terrorism. Cutting off 141 shouldn't be in play but he found a way to do so… He wants us to stop fighting back." 

"Then fighting back is what we're going to do." Price muttered, grabbing his phone.

"I'm going to make a few phone calls. Those who want to stay and save the world could stay. Those who are content to return to their past lives, you could leave." 

"What about me?" Maxine asked, raising her hand.

"Come with us, We'll take care of you while it's not safe out." Gary said, almost pleading her to say yes.

"I don't have anyone else but France and Samantha. I don't know where to go from here…"

"Then that settles it. Nikolai will take us somewhere safe. If the 141 is no more, we could still salvage weapons and ammo for ourselves. But after this, there's no turning back." Price added, his voice sparked inspiration to everyone. 

And that was it, from that moment. They've gone rogue, for a good cause. And they have to defeat Nero, Whatever it takes.

The Next Step

John Price

Task Force 141 - Disbanded

Former Task Force 141 Base - Helipad

A small group of his comrades were willing enough to stop the war, even at the cost of losing a lot of privileges. Price was always one to work under strict jurisdiction, and this rogue act he's going to commit will be backed up soon, it's going to be dependent on how Laswell influences the board.

The idea was easy. Create another task force which had to be approved prior to the 141's disbandment so that the papers for their redeployment would never be processed. Of course a few strings needed to be pulled and an organization must be able to absorb them. Interpol was willing to help along with Jack's influence to the CIA and Price was lucky enough to have them two on their side.

And there they were, with Nikolai's majestic aircraft, they set course to a temporary camp thanks to Jack. Price noted that he'd get along with the CIA, given they're age similarities and stance toward warfare. 

He surveyed his trusty crew and took note of their abilities. There's Alex, former CIA and fought alongside him in Verdansk and Urzikstan. He's got a clear objective and will and it doesn't matter to Price whether its love or world peace. He's good at terrible hostile locations and can single-handedly turn the tide of war by local agreements and persuasion. A good weapon.

Then there's Simon Riley, or Ghost. Excellent Sniper, the team's tech guy. He's a keeper, his ability to reject emotions while in combat makes him focused and a keen observer. He also excels in weapon usage. You give him anything with a trigger and he'll be sure to hit enemies no matter what.

Another one is John MacTavish, or Soap, what kind of a name is Soap? Price thought. Price looked at the muppet proudly. He rose among his comrades during recruitment and stood at the top of his batch, showing exemplary combat skills and demolitions expertise. Excellent at handling air support machinery and his keen eye never misses a tango hiding from the field. He's got it tough recently, Price believed luck wasn't on his side that's why he got injured a lot.

There's Gary Sanderson or Roach. Price calls him the team's therapist. He sees the willingness to help from the guy. He's eager to train hard and be better and he was impressed on how he handled the German Infilnitration they did together. He has initiative and a clear goal. Something useful at these times.

There's Francine Winters, France a.k.a. Shepherd's prodigy, the last minute addition. He's still quite skeptic as to why she's placed here, but so far he knew that with her sister mentally disturbed by the enemies she's bound to use her emotions as ammunition. She's great at stealth and close combat especially great for breaking and entering missions. She could be trained of open area battles and she has the drive to do so, making her another good addition to the team.

As for the remaining ones, Jack and Maxine, he has no idea yet but them tagging along and using their resources to the fight would greatly increase their chances of killing Nero and destroying the era of EMP machinery.

"Looks like you got yourself a pretty nice team, pal." Jack patted the Former captain's shoulder.

"Yeah. Small enough to remain secret and powerful enough to defeat Nero." he muttered. Jack held his phone and showed it to Price.

"I got us a place. An old CIA Safehouse."

"Are you sure this is going to be okay?" 

"Positive. This one's not used for decades. Classified as dormant and unmaintained. It's situated near a city that once housed a lot of terror activity but after it got neutralized it became very peaceful." Jack convinced. Price no longer hesitated, the team needed the help they can get.

"As long as we're under the radar." He replied and gave Nikolai the coordinates. From there they would begin their revenge toward Nero's attack, plan Samantha's rescue, and discover what Shepherd is really up to...

One step at a time.

Doing everything they can.

To set things right.

Whatever it Takes.

END OF PART 1

Wild ride first half. I hope you stay for the second part right around the corner!

Notification Squad my beloved 💝

@smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @ricinbach @beemybee @whimsywispsblog

[slasher-party]

Leslie Vernon’s Secret 2021 Short Film: Wait For It

J: Calling all Leslie Vernonites! This info is MUST KNOW for all fans of the Glen Echo slasher! So even if you already know about this project, please consider reading & sharing so more fans can get excited about this!  (This is a post I’ve been REALLY excited to make for a while, so I really hope you enjoy and spread the news!) Lace your boots up, kiddies; this is gonna be a looong post. I’m putting every step of my discovery path in here. That way you have access to all my sources:

We begin our journey on YouTube back in July. I was fooling around, watching some Leslie content, and was recommended  Joebizz34's 1/6 Behind The Mask Leslie Vernon custom figure video (tip: bold words from this point forward are most likely links). I thought it was super cool! And it had about 1k views. A small plug! But I scrolled down into the comments... and spotted a familiar face.

‘Nathan?!’ I thought to myself. Was this his actual YouTube account? That singular like is my own, by the way. So odds are, Joebizz34 himself hasn’t even seen this comment (or doesn’t realize who this is). Step One: Investigating Nathan’s Channel A natural skeptic, I assumed this was a fan account and set out to prove myself wrong. (Here’s the link: Nathan Baesel) At the beginning of all of this, this was the main task I was attempting to accomplish.

Pulling up his page, there isn’t much to look at. Just a clip from an old movie and a short video of someone who clearly isn’t Nathan Baesel. He also only has a handful of followers, but that didn’t deter me and I decided to look deeper. 

Popping over to his own subscriptions, another familiar face jumped out at me:

Ben Pace! Who you might recognize as the man who played Doug in Behind the Mask!

Double-checking this page as well, this is definitely his channel. 

And Leslie/Nathan fangirls will find a particular little treat in this pinned video of his, Hello Jogger:

Absolutely fantastic, the both of them. 

So this is a good sign, but Ben doesn’t follow him back, and I couldn’t find any interaction between them with this account. So this isn’t definitive proof.  Step Two: the 197 MPH Promo Going back to his channel, I checked out the first video he had up... with only 15 views on it. 

Now, this guy I didn’t recognize. So I jumped in to see if I could figure out who it was, and low-and-behold, you’re looking at David J. Stieve, the writer of Behind the Mask. And that man in the back? In the stripes? Well, check out the video yourself and you’ll see:

Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. Keep in mind - I was just trying to figure out whether or not this was Nathan’s actual YouTube channel for fun. Now I’m going nuts cause there’s apparently some short-film set in the Behind the Mask universe that I haven’t heard about?! At this point, I can’t say for sure this is Nathan’s actual YouTube account, but I can definitely confirm that that is Nathan in the video, and this main guy is David Stieve, the writer of Behind the Mask. (Also, can I just say, I live for Nathan’s sass? He’s just the best, guys.) But my goal had changed. Now I needed to find out what this Wait for It project was all about. Step Three: Discovering Wait for It I jumped on over to IMDB and there it is: Wait for It (2021)

Check out that unnamed boy. That’s right, folks.  You’re looking at a secret Behind the Mask project. (That little bit of trivia that says they’re linked was actually added by me. Sorry for the bad wording - I tried to fix it but IMDB wouldn’t let me, so, what can I do.) Now, talk about being hard to find! Without my addition, there’s nothing that points to this having anything to do with Leslie. Even with Nathan & David’s involvement. I checked Twitter today, and there are only a few tweets (with the #WaitForIt tag) that refer to this project and not Hamilton. David hasn’t said anything about it, Nathan hasn’t said anything about it. That I saw. I did an advanced search but if I accidentally misspelled something and they have mentioned it, please let me know. From this tweet:

I was able to find the IndieGogo for the project:

Which was closed a long time ago, with only 36 backers, where B4TM got roughly 300. One can only assume it was an exposure issue, but it doesn’t seem like they really advertised it. However, I wasn’t a Vernonite back in 2017, so I can’t really say that for sure. The last update was from 2018, which stated that things were in motion for the project: 

But then again, the last update on the B4TM Indiegogo is outdated, stating issue #6 is in production when I have it sitting on my desk right now. So who knows where this project lies. It could be even further along than the update suggests, and after all, the IMDB does say 2021. One last update I found poking around the official B4TM Facebook page: 

Now, this is a little strange. You have the Behind the Mask crew here, and given the title of the page this is posted on, one would assume this “screening” is for Behind the Mask. But looking at the date, and the now-familiar-to-us posters on the table, that might not be the case.

So, does that mean this short film is finished and unreleased? Does that mean we see Taylor and crew in the film? Or are they there to support the creators? I’m leaning toward the latter. A streaming party was also an incentive for backing the Wait for It fundraiser. I’m lead to believe they premiered a rough-cut of the short film, and that’s what we’re looking at in this photo. That may also be where the technical data on IMDB is pulled from, but that rough cut isn’t available to us, and the finished project isn’t either. If it is I can’t find it, otherwise it’d be part of this post.  I also did check the collector’s edition Blu-ray (which I’ve yet to get myself but I do want it for the incentive of extended/deleted scenes, the interviews, and the movie commentary), but Wait for It was not listed as part of the bonus features.  Now, this interview has the most information about the project’s details out of everything out there I’ve seen so far. It’s an audio-only over the phone interview a horror channel did with David Stieve back in 2017.

For details on what Wait for It is about, and how it fits into the Leslie universe, it would be better to listen to this interview than for me to write it all out.

Step Four: What now?

Well, I realized that I might have found something that maybe a lot of people don’t know about, but they should. So, I’m putting this together! While we can’t back the project monetarily anymore, we can support it, the creator, and the Leslie Universe by spreading as much awareness about it as possible.  With that said, this is all the information I’ve found, with the links included. Poke around and see if you turn up anything else! And if this project is available somewhere, even as a rough cut (but so long as it’s posted legally), please do share! I love Leslie, I love Taylor, and I love what the Behind the Mask universe stands for. I love David Stieve’s mindset, and if I won the lottery tomorrow, I would immediately call him up and tell him any Leslie projects he had planned were now completely funded. I’m really just that passionate about this franchise. 

Thank you so much for reading this!  I hope you found out something new, or you at least now have a post with all the information about Wait for It gathered in one place. Like I mentioned at the beginning, please consider sharing so all the Vernonites know about it! As always, much love to all of you, and the Slasher community!  XOXO, Mod Jess

[sign-from-god-complex]

Warmth

Summary: Despite the reality of it, the room didn’t feel empty. It felt soft—hazy and warm like a mug of hot chocolate or a sleepy summer morning or like Emile. It felt like the air around them was filled with sunbeams or cotton wool or a slow but sweet grin. It felt like love. And Remy was drowning in it.

Pairing: Remile (with background familial sleepxiety)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One, two, three. One, two, three,” Remy murmured under their breath, hands held out in front of them as they twirled around the room.

It wasn’t graceful—their footwork was sloppy and every so often they’d miss a step before taking a breath and starting again—but they were learning. They couldn’t expect to be perfect immediately! Or at least that’s what Emile would tell them anyway.

The music faded out slowly and Remy dropped their arms, heaving out a sigh. Quickly going to check their phone, which was still plugged in to the speakers, they noted it was only 4:30—plenty of time left to practise before they were expected home.

“Rem?”

“Milly!” Remy yelled, scrambling to pause the music which—as they’d set it to loop—was just beginning to start up again, “What the fuck are you doing here?!”

In response, Emile giggled and Remy tried to ignore how it made their chest feel like it was filled with helium or rays of sunlight or cotton candy fluff.

“I was just about to pick up Pat and Ro from rehearsals!” he replied, pacing his way forward into the room. He glanced around, taking in the mostly empty space filled only with mirrors and the sound of Remy’s heart beating out of their chest, “I heard the sound of Disney and I couldn’t help but come and investigate. Was that Someday My Prince Will Come from Snow White?”

Remy scratched at the back of their neck for a moment.  “A version of, yeah.”

They’d actually searched for ages to find an instrumental recording where it didn’t cut out or slow down too much to get in the way of their practice. In the end, they’d just had Virgil cut it for them in some audio editing software. Thankfully, he agreed to do them a favour without asking what they needed it for; they aren’t entirely sure they could have handled the embarrassment.

“What are you doing in here?”

Emile’s tone was slightly baffled but his expression more curious than anything. Honestly, sometimes he reminded Remy too much of Logan which, if you knew how close the four of them were brought up, wasn’t really very strange at all.

(Of course, that wasn’t taking into account the fact that Logan was entirely spoken for and, regardless, Logan didn’t have that delightful sparkle in his eyes when they walked through the park together, chattering about nothing and everything all at once. He didn’t have that look of absolute wonder when he glanced up at Remy, his lips parted and his eyes wide and just crinkled at the corners like he was barely holding back a laugh.

He doesn’t dance around the kitchen, singing and giggling to music playing from his phone; he doesn’t pull Remy into the pool when they refuse to get in, complaining about their hair getting ruined; he doesn’t make Remy’s stomach flip and their cheeks heat and cause their smooth demeanour to abandon them.

So, maybe Emile wasn’t that much like Logan at all.)

They ducked their head, feeling Emile’s gaze on them as they moved to pick up their jacket from the ground. “Uhh… Practising.”

“Practising?” Emile parroted, grabbing Remy’s water bottle from the floor in front of him before handing it to them—Remy just hoped their face wasn’t as red as it felt, “For what?”

“Prom, actually,” they admitted.

They weren’t entirely sure what expression it was that flit across Emile’s face but it barely lasted a moment before his features were set into a look of mild surprise—fake, Remy suspected; sometimes they wondered if Patton was a bad influence on him.

“Oh! I thought you said you weren’t going to prom.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to but Virgil called me a chicken and basically blackmailed me into it. Babes, I swear, that little shit can be so sneaky when he wants to be.”

“What do you mean?”

Remy sighed, running their hand through their hair and immediately regretting it as they realised they were still slightly sweaty from their dancing. Probably should take a shower when they get home. “Uh, just that he knows there’s someone I wanted to ask.”

“Oh.”

Emile stopped in his tracks, blinking a few times before turning up his smile a few notches too bright. There was no crinkling at the corners of his eyes, no glitter in his gaze and it made something in Remy’s chest tighten.

“I, uh- I just remembered I have to go pick up Pat and Roman! They’re probably waiting for me. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?”

Remy barely had time to reply in the affirmative before he disappeared around the corner, practically leaving an Emile-shaped dust cloud in his wake.

“Well, that can’t be good,” Remy mumbled before resigning themself to finding their own way home.

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

The next few weeks saw Remy back in the studio, wishing that they had a partner to practise with. They had very briefly considered asking one of the kids to help them out but Patton had no idea how to dance, Roman was far too much drama and Logan almost certainly would refuse to agree—and dancing with their brother was absolutely a last resort.

Thus, here they were again, partnerless and only feeling slightly less ridiculous about it than they had been to begin with.

Pressing play on the recording, the speakers dragged out the opening bars to Once Upon A Dream, maybe not quite as smoothly as if Remy had left the intro in but they didn’t quite have the patience to sit through 8 something bars of useless instrumental.

It had turned out that Virgil had been entirely too aware of why Remy had needed the recording and, when they’d come to him to ask for help again, told them, “if you need any more disgustingly sappy music to pine to then you’re gonna edit it yourself”. As such, maybe the recording wasn’t quite the quality Virgil could have provided but considering it was only to practise anyway, Remy wasn’t actually too worried about it.

They hummed along softly as the music filled the room, their eyes falling closed as they lost themself for a moment—their head only filled with scraps of conversations, half-formed daydreams and the exact colour of the blush on Emile’s cheeks when they’d told him how much the skirt he’d worn today suited him.

“You’ll love me at once, the way you did once, upon a dream,” Remy sang quietly, their voice barely a whisper in the emptiness around them.

It didn’t feel empty, though. It felt soft—hazy and warm like a mug of hot chocolate or a sleepy summer morning or like Emile. It felt like the air around them was filled with sunbeams or cotton wool or a slow but sweet grin. It felt like love. And Remy was drowning in it.

As the song came to a close, Remy’s motions slowed to a stop. For a moment, they just stood there; their eyes closed as they took their time coming back to their surroundings. Once it registered that they’d managed to run through the entire song without screwing up they beamed—breathless and so proud.

It definitely didn’t mean that this journey was over but they were well on their way.

As Remy was preparing to restart the music, they heard a quiet gasp from the doorway—soft and awed and shocked all at once. They spun around, barely catching a glimpse of a skirt whipping out of sight—in fact, the exact same skirt Emile had been wearing earlier that day.

“Emile?” they called out, half-jogging their way over, “Are you there, babes?”

Their heart was bouncing up and down in their chest, hoping—hoping—that Emile would finally provide them with a good chance to ask him out. He’d been suspiciously absent recently, ducking out for homework more often or claiming overtime at work and they were trying really hard not to worry about what that might mean.

Virgil had been entirely unhelpful in this matter. Really, Remy would have thought Virgil could be a little more sympathetic towards potentially unfounded anxieties but he just kept pressuring them to tell him their “feelings” or whatever. It was getting a little bit exhausting.

Unfortunately for Remy, there was no sign of him; the corridor void of any life that wasn’t simply their own echoing breaths. Resigning themself to the belief that they had only seen what they wanted to see—that it was nothing more than one of the younger kids, surprised to find someone in the practise room and running out of sight before the person inside could identify them—they sighed and began to gather up their things. 

They weren’t really in the mood to dance anymore.

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

Things between the two of them had been weird. 

Remy had managed to pinpoint the origin to about a week or so ago, around the time Emile had caught them dancing for the first time. They didn’t want to admit that that was the reason that Emile was avoiding them now, was cutting himself off mid-thought and not smiling that smile that made Remy’s insides light up like a supernova. Because acknowledging that would mean acknowledging other things—acknowledging that maybe Remy was the only one pining, acknowledging that maybe Emile was uncomfortable with their affections, acknowledging that maybe Remy had ruined everything.

And they didn’t think they could do that.

They had skipped practising for the last few days, feeling like it wasn’t really worth it if there was no chance that they’d be able to go to prom anyway. Plus, Virgil’s needling had really started to get on their nerves—always going on about when they were going to finally ask Emile out—so they’d just told him they changed their mind. In response, he’d just sighed, giving Remy a look they didn’t quite understand but they think may have been disappointment. 

They didn’t blame him; they were pretty disappointed in themself as well.

Today, though, they’d come back. They weren’t sure why. Nothing about this day was different than the last ones had been—sympathetic looks from their friends, stilted conversations and awkward silences—but, for some reason, they’d just felt like they’d needed to.

They’d come to really enjoy dancing over the months they’d been doing it and if they couldn’t find a way to express their emotions through that, they weren’t sure they were going to express them at all. And Emile had always told them bottling things up was unhealthy (though, if you asked them, that had always felt slightly hypocritical).

It was unexpected, maybe, but Remy had long since stopped worrying about what was expected of them.

After scrolling through their music library for a moment, Remy pushed play, locking their phone and coming to stand more in the centre of the room. There were a few bars of pure instrumental—they hadn’t ever thought this was a song they’d have to worry about cutting—but after a few moments, the vocals streamed in.

When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful.

Every hour spent together lives within my heart.

And when she was sad, I was there to dry her tears.

And when she was happy, so was I.

When she loved me.

Remy closed their eyes, spinning in place a few times and just letting the music wash over them. Then, they began to move, slowly and fluidly, showing off for themself just a little. They needed to feel like it was worth it—like all those days they’d spent in this very room, letting themself just be vulnerable hadn’t simply gone to waste.

Through the summer and the fall, we had each other, that was all.

Just she and I together, like it was meant to be.

“And when she was lonely, I was there to comfort her,” Remy sang, the words wavering slightly, “And I knew that he lov-”

Voice breaking, they folded over, hands gripping their thighs and just breathing as the music played on in the background. Their eyes were stinging and the crack in their chest only seemed to widen with every word so they moved to turn the music off, taking something of a steadying breath once silence filled the air again.

“This is stupid,” they muttered, rubbing at their eyes to remove any evidence of their breakdown, “What am I doing?”

“I thought it was amazing.”

Remy’s head shot up, staring at Emile in the doorway with a look of mild horror—though, for his part, Emile didn’t seem to notice.

Slowly, he walked up to them, so close that Remy could lean forward and bump into his chest and despite the fact that their brain was telling them to run as far away as possible, they were completely frozen to the spot. And as Emile gave a small smile, Remy wondered vaguely if it was possible to actually die from just being way too gay.

(They then realised if it was possible to die from being too gay Roman would absolutely have gone first, so they were probably safe.)

“May I make a song suggestion?” He asked, voice soft and just brushing up against their skin.

It took a moment too long for them to register that was a question—something Remy would entirely blame on Emile’s proximity and the fact that they were kind of a gay disaster—but they nodded, letting Emile pluck their cellphone right out of their hands.

It only took a moment of searching before music started flooding out of the speakers and it took Remy less time than that, after the music began, to place it. They refused to close their eyes, not when Emile was standing in front of them looking like that—like fond and soft and sweet and like maybe all this worry was for nothing because he looked a little bit like love too.

“All those days, watching from the windows. All those years, outside looking in. All that time, never even knowing just how blind I've been.”

Emile’s voice was soft and rich and warm and Remy couldn’t help but be reminded again of hot chocolates and sleepy summer mornings and the culmination of every conversation the two of them had ever had. His eyes traced their face with each line he sung and Remy was sure it was bright red but they didn’t feel as if they could be blamed at all.

“Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight. Now I'm here, suddenly I see. Standing here, it's, oh, so clear, I'm where I'm meant to be.”

With a grin—and still singing softly into the space between them—Emile took a step back and offered them his hand. There was almost no hesitation in their reply, grabbing his palm and letting him pull them out further into the room and then tighter against his chest.

“And at last, I see the light and it's like the fog has lifted. And at last, I see the light and it's like the sky is new. And it's warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted.”

Remy could hear his heartbeat from where they were tucked into his arms but they pulled away slightly—enough to grab his hands and begin to guide them around the room.

“All at once, everything looks different. Now that I see you.”

There was a moment of silence between the pair, blanketed in the music and Remy’s gentle touch keeping them moving across the floor. Emile’s ballroom dancing lessons from years prior seemed to have kicked back in and though he let Remy lead, he certainly wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes.

He was avoiding their eyes, though. And Remy knew that fear—even if they’d like to pretend that they didn’t—so they took a deep breath. And they sang.

“All those days, chasing down a daydream. All those years, living in a blur. All that time, never truly seeing things the way they were.”

Truly, Remy didn’t know why Emile was so shocked. Yes, they’d never been particularly open with their emotions but they were so gone on him and they had never been good at hiding it. Years and years and years and years, Remy had been pining after him—long before there was even a him to pine over, long before Remy had even known what pining was.

It was always Emile. Always.

“Now he's here, shining in the starlight. Now he's here, suddenly I know. If he's here, it's crystal clear, I'm where I'm meant to go.”

They hadn’t been entirely sure that the change in pronouns would be audible enough over the sound of the speakers but as Remy watched Emile drop his head with a smile, cheeks stained red, they were glad they had taken the chance.

“And at last, I see the light and it's like the fog has lifted. And at last, I see the light and it's like the sky is new. And it's warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted.”

Their voices melded together, like a tapestry woven with two different threads—circling around each other and weaving in and out but never straying too far.

It was even better than Remy had imagined it to be. It felt so easy—like they were dancing with a sprite or a fairy, something magical that fit perfectly in time with them, except also knowing it could be no one but Emile. He was in every sense they had, overwhelming them almost but in a way that they’d gladly experience for the rest of their life.

“All at once, everything is different, now that I see you.”

Gradually, Remy slowed them to a stop, migrating their hands down to rest on Emile’s hips and watching him blush.

“Now that I see you.”

And with the end of the song fading out came silence, filling up the air in a much more comfortable manner than they had been afforded the last few weeks. Though there was no longer anything to dance to, neither of them moved—neither of them felt they could move, lest they disrupt this sense of calm that had settled.

In the end, Remy caved first, sighing ever so softly. “We should probably head out, doll.”

Emile ducked his head, chewing at the inside of his lip. Remy didn’t move their hands, not wanting to depart just yet, despite their words.

“I’m sorry,” Emile breathed out, honest and remorseful, “I’ve been really silly these past couple days.”

Remy shrugged. “It’s okay, hon, I-”

“No, it- it’s not,” he interrupted, eyes meeting Remy’s for the first time since the silence had been broken. They were almost teary and Remy just barely resisted the urge to reach up to cradle his face in their hands, wiping away any that manage to leak out. “I’ve been so cold to you and all because I was- was jealous! It’s so stupid!”

“Jealous? Darling, there ain’t nobody to be jealous of.” 

Emile scowled and even though Remy could tell it wasn’t directed at them they still felt their chest ache. “Well, I know that now.”

“And what are you gonna do with that information, huh, babe?”

Remy had entirely meant to add an “s” to the end of babe, they just… hadn’t quite managed to get it out of their mouth. So as it was they just watched as Emile’s eyes widened slightly and his cheeks flushed even more and, Jesus, if Remy didn’t get to kiss him soon they were almost certain they were going to die.

It seemed as if Emile was on the same page because, with nothing more than a gentle head tilt and an answering nod from Remy, he leaned in and up, pressing their lips together.

It wasn’t a long kiss; it wasn’t a deep kiss; it was simple, soft and sweet and it was everything Remy had dreamed of and more. Their hands slid up from Emile’s waist to cup his cheek and rest on his shoulder, guiding him gently and feeling the warmth of his skin beneath their hand. 

They drew away after a few moments but not too far—resting their forehead against Emile’s and unable to take their gaze away from the crinkles around his eyes and the sparkle that was staring straight at them.

“Hey, Remy?” Emile asked, the corner of his mouth quirked up in a grin, “D’you wanna go to prom with me?”

Remy beamed. “Honey, I would love nothing more.”

Taglist: @mutechild @super-magical-wizard @shadowsfromthesun @teadays @sandersships @camcam774 @autism-goblin @deadlyhuggles6 @romanthestarstruckqueer @whispers-stuff-in-your-ear @rainboots-are-for-snobs @sanders-and-sides @spirits-in-my-thoughts @kee-and-co @primaryyblogg @stop-it-anxiety @figurative-falsehood @jadedfantasies231 @idosanderssidespromptssometimes @poisonedapples @sanders-screams @another-sandersidesblog @do-not-just-see-observe @mychemicalpanicattheemo @goodandbadisallmadeupnonsense @localtransgrape @fandomsofrandom @gattonero17 @airiervessel @ollyollyoxinfree 

[thesunshinebunny]

Idk if your taking requests right nowww buuut can you do Erik and Damian fighting over s/o? Ahhh sorry if I’m weird nahsjshjd I love ur writing btw❤️💕💖

Oh boy…ohhhhhhh boooy!!! The house is on FIRE

Thank u so much for your sweet comment ❤️❤️❤️❤️

PD: I maaaaaaaaaaaaayyy have used as reference The Prince vs The Brute episode (maybe, it’s a big maybe)

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The day started like any other, a normal day. The sun rising at the horizon, one or two birds singing, the wind hitting lightly on the window and the heat of spring entering through the pores of the skin. Except that, in a normal life, you don't have five incubi sleeping under your same roof, waiting like any mortal for the first rays of the sun to start a productive day. Nor on a normal day is the slight knock on the door, knowing that one of the incubros awaits your response on the other side of it.

But these were normal days for you.

With a hoarse voice you allowed to enter the incubus who was waiting patiently, ignoring the reason for his morning awakening.

"I'm sorry it's too early, I couldn't go back to sleep and ... well, I made you breakfast"

Ahh, Damien, as thoughtful as ever. Even in your sleepy state you could feel the sweetness in his voice and how his feet moved on the carpet, avoiding making any noise that could bother you.

"This is the best way to wake up, thanks Damien." You felt the sheets sink to the empty side of the bed. Damien put the tray on the nightstand and waited for you to straighten up and be able to calmly open your eyes.

It took a few seconds, but when you were finally able to take your eyes off, your sight was rewarded with the warm orange-haired smile. But when your nose unconsciously smelled the aroma of toast with Nutella, your stomach growled with hunger. What a shame.

"Pff- hahaha, I'm glad to hear that you're hungry. I did a lot of things to tell the truth ”

He was right. On the tray you could see the pair of toasts, a cup of freshly made black coffee, a glass with orange juice, a bowl with small slices of fruits and some mini waffles in the shape of a bear.

"How adorable Damien, thank you very much."

"Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness, but ... oh, I see you've already been awakened." Erik was standing under the doorway, holding a huge bouquet of red roses. His gaze however didn’t find yours but his younger brother.

"Good morning Erik, the flowers look beautiful"

"Ah yes! These flowers are fresh from the gazebo, I hope they’re for your delight, your Highness ”

He put the bouquet down on my nightstand and gave you a nice smile before heading back to the door. "I was going to say that breakfast was going to be ready in a few minutes, but apparently my brother went ahead"

And with that he closed the door, leaving you and Damien alone in the room again.

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During the noon and afternoon, having the mansion almost empty, you devoted yourself to review notes and books that were left in virtual classes. But still spending boring hours just reading, you also had the time to teach Damien. For weeks you was teaching him to read and write and now he can write the whole alphabet and read kids short stories. Sometimes you can see the frustrated face when he try to read your books and don't succeed. 

And that's where you come to the rescue! (baby steps Damien, baby steps)

“The audi… audio-visual montage is a process of uniting… uniting…”

"Uniting pieces of film to create sequences, ending in a final tape"

You appeared discreetly in the library doorframe. Damien was trying again to read a book from one of your subjects and from what you could hear, he had improved, but he had problems him a few words.

"You know the whole book backwards?" Damien scoffed slightly, setting the book down on the small coffee table.

"More or less, I mean, they are going to take an exam soon, it’s better to learn it as soon as possible"

You sat next to him on the sofa, leaving some children's stories on the table. A friend of your parents, who had become a father few years ago, lent them to you for a certain time.

"Thank you for helping me, but you shouldn't waste your time on me." He put his hand over yours and gave you a slight yet sad smile.

"No problem Damien, I like to help you and spend time with you" His eyes began to shine, but not because he’s about to cry, on the contrary, you could see a slight happiness in them. Which disappeared when a melody began to sound from the living room. 

Someone was playing the piano. 

The tune was slow and smooth, I would say even romantic. You and Damien went down the stairs to the source of the sound. In the living room, sitting at the piano, was Erik with a small glass pot with a red rose on it.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness, Damien. I'm sorry for the sound, but it had been days since I played a little ballad and seeing this little rose when I returned from work gave me the necessary energy ”

His slow voice accompanied the notes of the melody, as if he’s singing. As you went down the big stairs, Damien stayed behind you, watching as his older brother used his boring compliments. Perhaps the evening sunrays made the scene more romantic than Damien wanted to accept.

He watched how your gaze was lost between Erik's skillful fingers on the piano and how his gaze was lost on your innocent and happy smile. Damien's eyes flashed with determination; determination of not to let his brother win your heart.

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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!"

"I'm trying to make us dinner, I don't know what you are trying to do"

A great uproar could be heard coming from the kitchen. Damien and Erik were apparently trying to cook in unison, but they couldn't get along with each other, much less make a decently cooked meal.

"Erik, it should be impossible to say this, but you are burning the water."

"And you Damien, dear little brother, you don't know how to clean a fish bone"

"Do you think you can do better?!"

"What The Hell Is Going On Here?!?!" James stormed into the kitchen to find his two younger brothers barely making a pitched battle in it. Pots scattered on the countertops, small puddles of water and bits of scales on the floor. You didn't have to have the ability to read minds to know that James wasn’t just fucking them up and down, but that he was counting from 0 to 1000 in milliseconds so as not to kill them right now.

“Both of you. OUT. NOW ” Both brothers left the sight of James with their heads down and when they were about to cross the threshold the brunette spoke again “If you have something to fix or just want to have a real fight, go outside to the gazeboo”

When they went out to the dining room they could hear their brother talking on the phone, apparently ordering Chinese food since the food had been spoiled.

"If you end up destroying the plants I will kill you"

A minute later, loud screams could be heard from outside the mansion.

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"What's going on outside? Who is fighting?” You ran downstars to the dining room trying to understand the situation. You had heard a few small screams a few minutes ago, but didn’t understood a word, not even the context.

"Miss / Mister, you better stay out of this..."

"James? What do you mean?" The incubus was standing in front of the front door holding two bags, apparently of Chinese food. Weird coming from James, who was always willing to cook.

“Well… let's say… Erik and Damien have some business to settle. I don't think it's a good idea that you get involved. ”

You understood very well the fighting between brothers, it was something that an outsider to that bond couldn’t fully involve. You’re about to help James bring the food to the table when the screaming from outside increased.

"YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME JUST BECAUSE YOU KNOW HOW TO SEDUCE ?!"

"WITH OR WITHOUT MY GIFTS OF SEDUCTION I WILL MAKE THEM FALL IN LOVE WITH ME"

What? What they were fighting about? Or… maybe… for WHO were they fighting?

"I LOVE THEM. I LOVE (Y/N) AS I NEVER LOVED BEFORE”

Oh no. They were fighting over you. 

That’s not good.

"I LOVE THEM TOO, AND I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE THEIR HEART WITHOUT FIGHTING"

You bolted out the door of the gazebo and opened it wide. Even before opening it, you could feel a slight charge of their powers, they were about to transform into their original form and it was better to stop this.

"You better stop that RIGHT NOW"

Both brothers were frozen in their places. Damien's skin tattoos peeked over the collar of his shirt and Erik's eyes shone with that golden color characteristic of his race. They stared at you for a long time, so long it made it uncomfortable. You were about to speak again when Erik cut you off.

“You heard our fight, we have nothing to hide" His eyes returned to normal and he gave Damien and you a sad look.

"I don't want to continue fighting anymore" Damien instead tried to avoid your gaze, like a sad and wet dog, but something in the environment prevented him from avoiding it for a long time.

"Me neither" Erik looked you straight in the eyes while giving off an intense aura "The decision is yours, your Highness"

"Erik! You can't ask them like that out of nowhere”

"It’s not our place to decide who is best for them. It’s their heart”

"In that ... you're right" Damien walked to position himself in front of you "The decision is yours"

.

.

Support me on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/abrightsunshine

[aliceaddellheidde]

Fatum

A/N: This is for @the-ss-horniest-book-club Lucky in love. March 22 – Recognition.

WORDS: 2403 (without translation)

WARNINGS: swearing, sex innuendos, death, fighting

PAIRING: Bucky Barnes x reader (eventually) {Soulmates AU}

DISCLAIMERS: Endgame happened, but only Thanos and his peasants died. English isn´t my first language so sorry for mistakes.

Moi, Rai and Parca are genderless & are using they/their pronouns.

This is soulmates au. When you get tattoo, your soulmate gets it as well on same spot. It glows when you touch.

This is multi-chapter story. 13/19

Today would be my grandpa´s birthday. I hope he's celebrating wherever he is.

Gif from here

Divider by @rainbowkisses31

„All right, gather up.” said Steve when you walked into conference room at 3 a.m.. You sat down next to Bucky and opened green binder in front of you. „Your next mission is in Florence, Italy.” „Yes!” you screamed happily. Men in room looked at you like you were a bad kid. „What? I never been in Italy.” Steve sighted and shook his head with smirk. „Back to mission. In Florence will be big ball for all wealthy people from around the world. We got echo that Hydra´s clients will be there too. You have to infiltrate in and get more info. Names, pictures, audio. For that, you will have those special contact lenses. As we know, they want to, or already started, with experiments on humans. Tony and Bruce made tests and analysis. It´s a gas that makes people obedient and comply every order they get. Tony made you new masks. It can look like nose piercing or birthmark. You put it on your face or behind your ear. When you touch it, it will transform into full head mask.” Just now you realised Steve had small silver gem on right side of his nose. He tapped it lightly and in mere seconds he was hidden behind similar mask like Iron mans´. „Cool.” Bucky was amazed. „It´s also bullet proofed. Same as your new suits.” Steve's face appeared again. „We don’t want to risk anything.”

Then wall opened and there were two mannequins on small stage dressed as woman and man. „These are your costumes.” Steve looked at you both. „You will go as spokeswoman for some rich billionaire. Buck will be your translator.” „You speak Italian?” you asked him. „Yes. There are many things you don’t know about me yet, doll.” he smiled at you and you blushed. He still couldn’t touch you, but since that incident at the gym he changed. He did small pranks on you and you to him but it was harmless. He wasn't as annoying as before. There was more teasing and fun between you two. Even your friends saw changes in your behaviour and were mocking you about it. You both said nothing to that. Steve cleared his throat. „Ok, back to work. Y/N, you're going to wear corset underneath your dress. It transforms into your suit once activated. There are more missiles and bullets. Bucky, you gonna have watch for it. Tap twice and you have your suit. Don’t forget to tighten up you tailcoat by pulling string inside of it. That's for your clothes. Now weapons.”

Steve picked up a bracelet with oval-cut blue gemstones. „Those are small grenades. You throw it and it explode in five seconds. Earrings are as trackers.” He put little oval gem on himself and it camouflaged at his shirt and become invisible. „It can change colours?” you asked. „Yes. For now it´s blue to match your dress. Bucky has grenades as cufflinks and trackers in waistcoat buttons. Bow-tie can be used as handcuffs.” And me? I don’t have them?” „You have! There is this reverse necklace. You put it around someone's wrists and if they wanna get out of it, it gets tighter.” „Great. And what I´ll do with dress?” „Rip it off.” „What?! It´s for sure expensive!” „I'm sorry. Tony couldn’t make ones that turns into trousers and your suit will be on them. It´s only solution.” You sighed. „Ok. But it´s not fair. Bucky will be dressed underneath his suit and I´ll be naked!” „There are clothes hidden in your car. So you can change. I´m sorry Y/N.” „Yeah, yeah. I´ll have talk about woman clothing with Tony after mission.” Both men laughed. „If mission goes south, your car will be ready to take you to safe house and we will pick when it will be safe. Clint and Natasha goes as your backup. Any more questions?” You and Bucky shook your heads. „Great. You are leaving in an hour. Everything you have in those binders F.R.I.D.A.Y. has too. If you will forget something. See you later.” He left and mannequins disappeared behind the wall. You sat in silence while you were studying and memorizing informations from papers in front of you. Bucky stood up at same time as you. „I'm gonna pack my things doll. Catch you in quinjet.” You nodded and walked to your room, quickly putting some necessities in bag.

You were ready to step inside Quinjet when Steve came to you. „Y/N! Wait.” „What is it?” „We got new info. There should be one of Hydra´s main men. We need to capture him. Are you ok to do it?” „Like seduce him and then knock him off?” Steve blushed. „Yeah.” „I´ll see what I can do.” He nodded and let go of your hand.

„Y/N, you have to see that! Come here!” screamed Bucky when you walked inside the Quinjet. You went down the stairs and found him staring at white car. „It´s Rolls-Royce ghost! Can you believe it?” He was happy like small child. „It´s just a car Borky.” You rolled your eyes and went back to main floor. „I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up when we will be over France, thanks.” You said to Natasha. You were happy Tony listened to his friends and put beds into one part of jet for long flights. Bucky walked in minutes later, but you were already sleeping and he could watch you as he was falling asleep too.

„Ok, your make-up and hair is perfect.” Natasha was satisfied with her work. „Thank you. How long is it?” „Around ten minutes.” You quickly put your attire on and went to the car.

Bucky was there, waiting for you. „Ready Miss Holland?” he asked. „Yes Mr. Tom Walton.” „Great. I have to say our fake IDs look amazing.” „I agree. You remember our story?” „Yes.” He looked at his watch. „Five minutes. You look stunning by the way.” „Thank you. You are not bad yourself.” You smirked at each other.

Back door of jet opened and car moved forward and touched road with no problem. „Good luck you two.” you heard Clint´s voice in your comm. „You hear how quiet this beast is? It´s amazing.” Bucky started talking about the car, but all you could say was that it was white inside and outside and it had stars on the inside´s roof.

After thirty minutes ride and Bucky´s talking you stopped in front of huge building. He quickly walked around the car and opened the door for you. „Thank you Tom. I´ll wait inside.” He nodded and went to park the car. You walked into ivory-gold hallway. Two huge men stood next to glass door and glared at you. You smiled at them lightly and almost jumped when someone touched your arm. „It´s only me doll.” Bucky whispered into your ear. „Thanks God.” Together you walked up to guards, showed them invitations and they let you in. „Now lets mix in and find those douchebags.”

You followed some couple into ball room. There was so many people already. „I need a drink” you said to Bucky. You ordered Manhattan and Bucky had Martini. „You shouldn’t drink when you drive.” „First of all doll, I can´t get drunk. Second of all, our car has auto-drive.” „I forgot about F.R.I.D.A.Y.. You can´t be drunk?” „Nope.” he laughed at your face. „Lucky you.” He wanted to tell you something, but was interrupted.

„Mi scusi signorina. Posso avere questo ballo?” {Excuse me Miss. Can I have this dance?} asked handsome young man. You looked at Bucky. „He wants to dance with you.” You nodded and man softly took your hand and kissed its back. „My name is Fabio.” he said with thick accent. „Vivienne.” You gave your drink and bag to Bucky and nervously walked to dance floor. You were in this house five minutes and you were already dancing. Fabio started small talk and you played along. Every time you looked at Bucky, he was staring right at you. He looked angry or maybe jealous? But you couldn’t forget at your work. After three dances you had to have a break and also look for Hydra´s scams.

„I found five agents on second floor. Nobody interesting. I guess big fishes will come later.” said Bucky to you when you sat down to bar. „Having fun with your new friend?” „Nah. He's kinda funny, but his cologne is killing my nose.” He laughed and finished his drink.

You ended up dancing with three other men before you saw group of man with proud faces walk in. They had women next to them and you swore they were dressed too risky. One in white dress, next one with whole leg revealed and last one had some see-through parts. Lady-less men were probably bodyguards. You looked at Bucky. He was looking at women with wide eyes. Suddenly you felt too boring in your navy blue, backless dress with high thigh slit. „I need another drink.” you told him, but you weren't sure he heard you. He was too busy drooling over those women. Fabio found you at the bar and asked for more dances. And you accepted.

While ordering a third drink some man walked up to you. „Ciao tesoro. Sei solo qui?” {Hi honey. Are you alone here?} he asked. „I'm sorry, but I don’t speak Italian.” You looked at him and were shocked when you realised he's your target tonight. „It´s ok Love. I asked if you are here alone.” You smiled at him sweetly. „Yes. No man in my life. Except for my driver.” you laughed and he chuckled. „Dance?” „Of course!”

You felt uncomfortable with his hand on your ass, but you were hiding it perfectly. He told you straight away he's working for world organization and they will make world better. You told him your fake story about your boss and his desire to help them with weapons. „Beautiful, young woman and she knows her guns.” „Oh, believe me. I know how to use my other guns as well.” you flirted and pressed your breasts into his chest. He looked down on them and back to you. „Can´t wait to find out.” He pushed you more to him and his hand slipped underneath your dress on your naked arse. „So firm. I bet it will bounce so beautifully as I imagine.” You almost threw up. „How about small appetizer before main course?” he asked slyly and squeezed your hip. „Can we dance little bit more? I love holding on your muscles.” „Baby, they are even better without that tailcoat.” he whispered into your ear. „Hmmm, but you can be a gentleman and wait, right?” You batted your eyes at him and smirked when you felt his bulge against your thigh. „Merda.” {Shit} You laughed, turned your back to him and pressed your ass to his crotch. His hand was on your hip, the other one was ghosting around your breast.

You survived another dance and then he was dragging you upstairs. „Where are we going?” „I can´t wait any more.” „Can we eat now? I´m bit hungry.” „No.” he growled. „You had your chance pretty face. Now it´s time for real fun.” He harshly took your face into hand and kissed you. „Those lips will be amazing around my cock.” He pressed you into wall but you pushed him back. His face turned angry. „I don’t wanna be seen by others and ruin this painting. What is it?” „Number 5 by Jackson Pollock.” You repeated it aloud. „I bet it´s expensive. But we have something better, right? Lead the way.” He roughly took your hand and walked you into big room. His bodyguards behind you. „I thought it will be only us.” You innocently touched his tailcoat´s lapel. His hand circled around your neck and he threw you on chaise. „You really thought I´ll not share slut like you.” He smiled wickedly and undid his belt. His bodyguards as well.

„Get ready doll.” you heard Bucky´s voice in your comm. Seconds later he kicked out the door. Bodyguards turned to him and he smacked them with his left arm. Man next to you took out a gun and aimed it on you. „What are you?” „Avengers, mother fucker.” You changed into your suit and jerked gun of idiot´s hand before he knew what's going on. „General Jacopo Abruzzo, you're under arrest.” „Not so quick.” He pushed some button from his pocket and you heard people screaming downstairs. „Shit! What did you do?” „What was our plan. You all will listen to Hydra now!” You angrily knocked him out and searched his clothes. Bucky was warning Natasha and Clint. To your surprise they already had ten Hydra agents. „He´s clean.” „We have to take him. Get down!” Bucky screamed when more men came upstairs in masks. „Nat, we have to get people out of here! They can´t breath that gas.” „Working on it.” There was big explosion and building shook. „Done.” She said proudly. „We have it under control here. Police coming. You two get out of here!” „Ok.” Bucky was fighting last man and you shot him. „Thanks Doll.” There were more coming from foyer. „I´ll take him. Cover me.” With that he jumped out of the window with General over his shoulder. You shot one more man and jumped out too. „F.R.I.D.A.Y. car!” you screamed. „Ready Miss Y/N.”

You had time to put handcuffs on General before Hydra´s agents were shooting at you. You quickly put him on back seat and Bucky started the car. „Safe house F.R.I.D.A.Y. and get them off from us.” „Yes Sergeant Barnes.”

There were cars exploding and some city property damaged, but you managed to escape and come to safe house. Bucky took General inside, you took your bags and F.R.I.D.A.Y. turned car invisible. There was small cellar under the house where you tied Jacopo to a chair only in his underwear, blindfolded and mute.

Tired, you didn't even realised you still have your dress and suit on. You walked into single bedroom and found Bucky standing in the middle of it. „There is only one bed.” he said plainly. „I'm taking left side.” you said fast and hurried into bathroom before he could see your red face. What you didn't know was that Bucky had same problem and his suit was too tight for him now when he realized he´ll sleep with you in same bed.

[thirium-ink]

Inanimate (Machine!Connor x Reader)

Characters: Machine!Connor, Reader

A/N: Had this idea for years and finally figured out how to write it. Let me know what you think xo I promise to write some fluff soon; enjoy guys x

Warnings: Angst, swear words. Smoking (don’t smoke guys!)

word count: ~1.2k | masterlist

Your voice has always been a dangerous whisper. Carried by the wind, sowing doubts in his orderly functioning brain. A grain on an otherwise smooth surface.

“Connor.”

There it is, that whisper that doesn’t go unnoticed by his audio processor. Your breath hitches slightly as if his presence is like a piece of food stuck in your esophagus, making the air stumble around it until you’re breathless.

The android walks over to where you stand, with your back casually leaning against the railing. His movements are calculated and sharp and he scans his environment while walking – scans you.

Your heartrate is elevated, your wide eyes are filmed over, a thin veil of tears threatening to spill over, and your lower lip quivers. Dark bags showcase that you haven’t been sleeping and you’re fiddling with a cigarette between your fingers.

It’s your eyes that capture his interest most though. They never stray from his own, gazing into him, swimming with so much unadulterated emotion, his social relations program tells him to pose a question to make sure you are in good condition.

“Detective,” his voice is smooth like silk, “Are you alright?”

“Fuck, yes. Sorry Connor.” You shake your head and make a vague gesture towards him, “The whole returning-from-the-dead-thing has me on edge, is all.”

He tilts his head inquisitively. “My predecessor was unfortunately destroyed. This should not have such an impact on you, Detective.”

“You look very human when you die, did you know that?” There it is again, your voice. Warmth is seeping through every word you say, your eyes holding so much kindness for him, for a machine. They are jumping between his, searching, inquisitive.

He knows what you hope to find.

It is nothing he could give.

“I do not die. I shut down. Please don’t confuse the two.”

You frown and take a drag of your cigarette before you quip back, “Your eyes become dull and your LED dies out—” a shudder racks your body at the mental image— “I call this dying.”

Connor doesn’t reply immediately. He studies you and another shiver runs down your spine. He might as well have x-ray vision for it feels like his gaze is turning you inside out.

“I must inform you that your attachment is misplaced and hinders the progress of the investigation.”

“Is that your social relations program trying to comfort me?” you muse but your voice sounds strained, tired, “Because it’s fucking shit at it.”

You toss the cigarette over the railing and wrap your arms around yourself, avoiding looking at Connor. He doesn’t say anything for a while but you can still feel his eyes on you. Groaning, you let your head fall back and huff out a sigh. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this but seeing you die and come back every fucking time is not fun! It’s like I keep losing someone I care for over and over again!”

Connor stares blankly at you, eyes void of any emotion. He can’t understand the pain in your eyes, can’t understand why it would bother you, for he would always come back the following day. A machine, replacing another machine. And frankly, he doesn’t care for your pain, even when your voice tries to claw its way into his mind palace, tugs at his wires to shape him into what you hope him to be. But Connor is inanimate, an object. He is unable to feel, acts based on priorities and percentages and you are not able to shift them.

“Then perhaps you should stop caring and treating me like a human. I’m a machine (Y/N).” he suggests, and his voice is eerily calm, “Don’t you think I haven’t noticed your heartbeat spike and pupils dilate whenever I’m around?”

Your head whips around, your eyes lock with his and you’re sure there is an audible crack from the cut that tears open your heart. “W-what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t let your emotions get in the way of my mission,” Connor snarls, “So you should ‘suck it up,’ as you humans say and get over it!”

You blink, startled by the amount of malice that is laced in his words, and grip the railing behind you. Despite the sunny November afternoon, you feel like someone has dialed down the thermostat, goosebumps running up and down your arms. But the cold is coming from within yourself.

You don’t want to hear this. Any of this.

“I can never reciprocate your feelings. I do not feel emotions. I’m a machine designed to accomplish a task and that task is not to be your boyfriend.”

“I’m sorry, okay!?” you shout, taking a step towards him, “I didn’t choose to fall in love with you, that’s not how it works!” Tears are falling from your eyes, tickling your cheeks, and you sniffle. 

Seconds pass without either of you saying a word, then you mutter, “It’s not easy for me either. I didn’t want any of this, I knew it was hopeless, but the feelings just don’t go away.” You glare at him through the veil of tears, “I’m trying but they just won’t go away!”

“You’re not in love with me, (Y/N),” his voice is still smooth, void of emotion, machine-like, “I am not a person. My reactions are pre-programmed, you’re infatuated with an idea, a line of code.”

“That’s a load of bullshit!”

You love him, you do. Desperately so. You love him more than you had ever loved anyone before, your stupid human heart unwilling to let go. But his words hit deep, especially accompanied with that look he gives you, a look of pity.

Poor, frail human, stupidly in love with a machine. Pathetic human, controlled by her own emotions.

He is looking down at you, and the daydreams of Connor, allowing himself to feel, letting you help him discover emotions, falling in love with you, they all shatter and are replaced by nightmares.

Connor is a surgeon, dissecting your heart and putting it back together, leaving chunks on the floor he doesn’t deem fit for his mission.

Loving the android sent by CyberLife has always been like falling into an endless, pitch-black abyss. There was no stopping you, even though you knew how painful the landing would be. Yet you always had a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe, he could learn – a flame you fostered with daydreams and possibilities.

He has taken that hope from you. Has quenched the flame and slammed your body to the ground covered with spikes.

He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t even care, is not able to, will never be. 

You break, the pain like someone is carving out your insides, and you give in. Your body slumps to the ground, legs too weak to carry your body. The lump in your throat feels like a noose around your neck, allowing only stuttered intakes of breath as sobs shake you.

And Connor just stares, unfazed. “I hope my clarification will help to facilitate the progress of the investigation in the future, Detective.” He turns to leave then, only to stiffen for a second and adding, “Please be mindful of your nicotine use. It could cause you great harm.”

You can’t believe he— no, his programming— has the audacity to fabricate care for your physical health when, in the same moment, he crushes your heart and leaves you broken beyond repair.

The door to the rooftop closes behind him with finality and you’re left to pick up the broken pieces and stitch them back together to what once has been you.

[thenervousmedic]

A coffee a day... (Connor x Reader)

Note: I had some help! :D I lovely user by the name @rk800downloading was nice enough to give the beginnign part of this chapter a quick read-through. turns out i;ve been spelling Thirium as ‘therium’ this entire time- whoops. so big thanks to them for catching that ;w;

3 1/2 k words.

Summary: Hank brings you to his home for safekeeping where you end up snooping around his files to look at what they knew about your case. It’s not much, but you can;t help yourself, digging into the black hole that is investigative work to contribute your own theories.

A coffee a day- Chapter 5: A professional sleepover.

Hank let out a long drawn out sigh, stopping a short walk away from the hospital. Getting out of his car with a grunt of effort to grab what lay in the back seat. A set of large old-looking clothes were slung over his arm, the rustling of the fabric lost amongst a brush of air, leaves being swept up from the floor in a strong gust of wind. This was dumb…. Fuck it, if Connor doesn’t like it he can kiss his ass. He’s not going all the way to your house to pick up clothes for you. Not because of the effort- mostly because he doesn't want to invade a strangers home and rummage around their belongings uninvited.

His face wrinkled into a slight snarl as the androids words rattled around his brain. “Y/N is the only lead we have on this case Lieutenant, I feel it would be of our best interest to keep her as close and safe as possible.” A smile took its place as he walked. Connor had dropped everything he was supposed to accomplish in order to save him from falling the other day, maybe there was something there he couldn’t see just yet.

The approaching doors of the hospital put a knot firmly in his stomach. A heavy urge to drink began pawing across his spine and throat. With a heavy breath he went in, barely even showing his badge to the receptionist droid, heading straight for your room. You’re going to be in his house for who knows how long, and it's not exactly the prettiest playground on the planet, so he might as well make a better impression than last time.

--

“Oh, you’re not dead yet.” His barking voice was like managing to listen to the personified sound of toast. Crunchy and slightly burnt at the edges but welcoming and warm. You were sat at the edge of the bed, dangling your legs over the side while Connor stood clumsily looking as if he’d been caught with his head in a cookie jar. He probably would’ve pointed out your exact health statistics if you hadn't already answered with a short but witty “Not yet, but the boredom is going to finish me off sooner or later.”

His responding grin made you feel fuzzy. Not quite the fuzzy you got from Connor but more like the feeling of pride at earning one from the stereotypical grumpy old man. “Alright, put these on, you’re not getting in my car looking like that-” A quick hand gesture motioned at your patient’s nightgown brought some mild embarrassment. You weren't really one to wear skirts or dresses to the feeling of the open-legged hospital clothing was very emotionally uncomfortable. “Wait really?” You ask in surprise as the new clothes are handed to you. They feel freshly washed, like they’re still warm from a tumble dryer, and were definitely some of Hank’s clothes. “Are you sure it’s ok for me to use these?”

--

Connor watched on in confusion as the two of you talked it over; Hank repeatedly assuring you it’s no big deal while you thanked him and moved behind a curtain to change. He wasn't going to question the old man, it would only slow down progress, instead walking over to the doorway ready to leave. The longer you stay here the more your probability of further harm rises.

You emerged shortly after going behind the curtain, Hank’s heavy clothes looked gigantic on you, the coat alone hung down past your knees with its sleeves rolled up so your fingertips just barely peeked out from the ends. Connor felt his thirium pump do something strange, a malfunction perhaps, as it needlessly began to speed up and almost sounded louder in his internal audio. You were laughing from how much the clothes dwarfed you, so was Hank, but he couldn’t hear much of it over his own systems whirring. “I’m like a real detective now.”

“Yeah, well, this ‘real detective’ needs to get her ass in my car.” He grumbled back, turning to leave as you stumbled to catch up - taking Connor’s hand on the way past since he seemed pretty rooted to the spot. “Earth to Connor.” Your smile was hypnotic. “You’re not scanning me are you?” “No.” His voice strained for a moment, almost sounding embarrassed, as he trailed along beside you without taking his hand away from yours. It was an odd gesture but if you started it so calmly then he wasn’t going to go and make things difficult. Your hand was so soft… he soon found himself smiling, tightening his grip ever so slightly as he sped up to match your pace. Overtaking you on the way to the door. “I’m sorry, I was distracted by something.”

--

No... Did he just?

You said that to him. When you gave him the coffee that morning- when you had been lost in thought just looking at him awkwardly like a complete idiot. Heat went straight to your face at the thought of him remembering it, god it was so cringy, noooo. You dare not look directly at him, but the small window of peripheral vision did allow you to catch the smirk plastered to his dumb face.

As you got to the car Hank was already inside, the engine running, his gaze absently on the horizon as the two of you got closer. Seemingly off in his own little world too. You tried to insist on getting in yourself but Connor was having none of it; opening the door for you and hovering strangely close once you sat down. You finally stared back at his big brown eyes as he broke contact with you- looking just to the right of your head while reaching out to do something. A tingling electrical buzz went off in your chest as his hand came up to brush a messy slither of your hair back behind your ear before just as quickly stopping and grabbing the seatbelt. Tightly clicking you in place with a startling clank that shoved you back into reality.

Connor took the front seat, naturally, next to Hank and strapped himself in also. Hank not waiting for the android to be secure before setting off down the sunridden road. Fireworks had just been set off in Connor’s head and he couldn’t understand it for the life of him. For once he dared not open his mouth and ask Hank what it meant, not with you in the car, what was stopping him…

It built up slowly, like pouring water into a tall glass, the want to hear you say something. Anything. So long as you were talking he could satisfy that part of his programming that was going haywire.

“Y/N, how is your injury? I did not pick up any signs of pain from the walk.” “Ah she’s a tough cookie, Connor, even if she felt it she wouldn't say anything.” Hank chuckled back while briefly looking in his middle mirror to catch you smiling back at him. He was right, you wouldn’t have mentioned it regardless, keeping it to yourself was just natural.

“I'm fine, Connor, really. Thank you for worrying though, you're very sweet.”

You couldn't catch it from where you sat but Connors face was twisted into what looked like mild frustration. The bumping of the car jostling everyone around. It hurt, but not a lot, so you kept quiet about it. Instead shifting the conversation.

“Thank you for letting me come to your place, Lieutenant, I promise I won't be any trouble.”

Hank blew air roughly out of his nose, looking away from where he was driving for a second with an annoyed huff, “You're starting to sound like Connor.” despite the angry body language his voice betrayed the amusement behind it. “Call me Hank.”

Rays of sun started hitting you in the eyes, dusk closing over the city streets as the final glowing shards of daylight started to drown behind buildings. “We never really did get to introduce ourselves…”

You grinned automatically, knowing this was mostly Connors fault, trying to sit neat and straight in your seat. “My name is Y/N. Y/N Woods. It's nice to finally meet you.”

“Fuckin-a’ it is" he grumbled under a breath before finally answering back with a short- “Hank... Anderson.”

-- As the car came to a rocky halt everyone bailed out of the car at their own speed. The street was blanketed in that dim autumn atmosphere that can't really be described. The dust and leaves that littered the pavement held conversations with one another whilst being whisked away in a flurry of chilled wind. A damp but not murky taste to the air, fresh cut grass and someone's distant cooking coming and going as it pleased.

The house itself was quite cute and did indeed reflect its owner. The garden was unkempt and scraggly with weeds growing out of every crack in the path. But even if they're weeds, they're still flowering, they're still worth letting grow. You tried not to recoil upon walking through the front door when the scent of alcohol and dog roughly mauled your senses.

“I have a couch but you can use the bed if you want, I sleep on the sofa most of the time anyway.” The complete hollow sadness that enveloped Hanks tone drove empathetic daggers into your heart. The open kitchen and living room seemingly fucked for the sake of being fucked.

You had to admit though, this was already light years ahead of the hospital in terms of comfort. The smell of booze, though strong, wasn't as overpowering as you first thought and each scattered object added a little more character to the rooms they were in. Books lined every available shelf near the TV in a chaotic yet orderly fashion. “Sumo!” Hank barked into the house, throwing his coat haphazardly onto a small wooden kitchen chair.

“WOOF”

A large bundle of heavy fur and muscle waddled it’s way out of the distant bedroom. A saint Bernard, of course, the big droopy features on its face tensed into happy panting. Hank mumbled something inaudible as you cautiously walked in- looking a little out of place while Connor shut the door behind you.

The house wasn’t inherently bad. If anything it was a big step up from the discomfort of the hospital; the walls were lined with character. “Hank. Can I speak with you?” The serious inflection to his tone made you curious and yet completely discouraged you from trying to listen in as Connor directed Hank away from you. Sitting yourself quietly down on the sofa with a hand placed firmly across the sewn up bullet wound- trying to ignore the continual sting that arose now your painkillers were wearing off.

It was easy to tell which little hoard of written information was work related- the only stack of folders in the house that actually looked importantly wrapped. One on top of another in a knee-high collum; all underneath an old dingy laptop. Sumo huffed as he padded over to you, seemingly interested in the fact you wore clothing that still held faint traces of his owners scent, sniffing heavily at one of your sleeves while you reached forward to pat him.

Man, you loved dogs, you loved all animals. Sumo was no exception. Big, fluffy, with a gentle heart- you were smitten immediately.

His short puffy tail wobbled back and forth as you smooshed his cheeks together, giving him every little inch of attention you could spare, completely forgetting about the rising pain in your abdomen as he jumped up onto the sofa with you. You were… incredibly stuck. He’s so heavy! But you couldn’t bring yourself to be unhappy at the fact you were not partially buried under half a ton of happy-looking dog. “S-sumo stop!” She giggled uncontrollably, big slobbery dog-kisses now soaked your hands and face, forcing you to wipe your cheeks with Hank’s sleeve. The other two stopped their conversation to watch you, Hank being unable to hide the smile that came from seeing you get smothered by Sumo, Connor’s arms going back to their default position at his sides. “Well… It looks like you’re having the couch then-” Hank waved his hand at you, not bothering to call off his oh so terrifying companion from pinning you down. “-I’m going to bed. Don’t wake me.” “I’ll try not to!” you chirped back as Sumo settled down a little, curling himself onto your lap with the intent on keeping you there.

“That was actually for Connor-” You couldn’t hold back the snickers that came from imagining Hank being awoken in the middle of the night by Connor to go on some intense deviant hunt. “Night.”

--

The house was mostly silent when you woke back up, only a few short hours from when you had fallen asleep, the weight of Sumo no longer pressed onto your legs. It wasn’t really a cold night, but it wasn’t warm either, the air just kind of sat still like it was waiting for you to make a move. You missed your own apartment… as nice as it was to be here you couldn’t help the homesickness that gnawed at your neck. Your bedroom was a little messy but you knew where everything was. It was like having your own little word to live in, a retreat from the hassle that was talking to strangers all day as your job. As confident as you appeared, there were some days where you just couldn’t stand the thought of facing another human and actually looking at them, nevermind saying words to their face.

Shuffling to sit with your legs along the cushions while you nosed about the closest folders of information. You weren't usually one to snoop, but it WAS a case involving you, so you figured it couldn’t be bad to take a little peep inside. The writing was all perfectly uniform and printed, obviously Connors, with each letter spaced apart the perfect amount to make it easy enough to read and yet fit a good amount of words per page. Something fell into place, a little jigsaw piece in your mind that had been away from its post for a very long time, the love of a mystery.

As you glanced across the page, taking in every little detail that was your case, ideas sprang to mind and started yelping for your attention. Theories, leads, causation, reason. Visual threads begun weaving around the papers you had unknowingly spread out onto the coffee table beside you. Red wired tangling around invisible pinpoints of interest, totally engrossing you in it’s evidence. Your name was written several times along the side as well as a few other women of a similar age to you. The words ‘Biocode = B10C0D3, what does it mean, where can I put this?’ written on a separate page by itself in the center.

Without thinking you grabbed Hank’s dirty old laptop and booted it up, your fingers glided across the keys so seamlessly connecting one word after another you could have been mistaken for an android. A sound file emerged from your searches, it had only a few downloads but curiosity prompted you to check it out regardless.

“Biocode, a key component to creating an android, without it they would just be hollow husks. Not all coding is full of ones and zeros, just because that is a core component to how a machine thinks doesn’t mean it can’t think past those numbers…. Like you and I, no? Our brains zip around giving little electrical shocks from one neuron to another but that’s only a part of what it means to think. Just because you think doesn’t make you who you are, your experiences do.” You were completely absorbed. Crossing your arms to lean over and stare at the screen as a young man spoke with such enthusiasm it made you believe every word that came out of his mouth.

“If we made these androids without biocode we’d get robots… not androids. Our androids think, they process what’s given to them in a very human way to make them more… alive.” He looked directly at the camera. You could feel the hairs on your arms stand, the sudden dryness of your mouth. Every part of you yearned to hear more, but his smile betrayed the cockiness that was his upcoming ego. “Such an interesting concept don’t you think? Sentience. Complete autonomy. Of course our androids will never experience this, it’s not in their programming-” The video cut out, almost as if the entire speech was a practice round before the real thing, but the words remained with you for a long while. Grabbing the spare page with ‘B10C0D3’ printed in the middle, letting the pen you picked up scribble away at what you immediately turned into a spider diagram. Alive, Programming, Deviancy, and Jayden all splaying from the center, each branching out their own tree of thought as it rolled off of your hand as quickly as it came to mind.

“What are you doing?” You almost screamed, only just managing to slam a hand over your mouth as to not wake anyone who might be asleep. Connor was sat next to you. How long had he been there. How didn't you notice?

“N-nothing! Just… I thought maybe-” Guilt made it harder to speak your mind, knowing that you didn’t actually have the right to touch any of this stuff- nevermind interfere with a police investigation. His warm brown eyes loomed over your shoulder to look at the frenzied notes you had taken.

“You appear to be tense.” true to his word you froze up once he placed a hand on your shoulder, leaning you back against his chest as the rest of you stayed stretched out across the couch. “Is this better?” his hand reached up to gently stroke through your hair, de-tangling the scruffy mop with each brush through.

“Y-yeah.” You didn't quite know how to respond, finding a small shy smile creep it’s way onto your lips, his head resting atop yours so he could read your new information. He was quite impressed. In the short hour you had taken to do some research you had got more answeres than he had managed to scrape up from looking in the wrong places. “Do…. you want me to keep going?” He hummed for a moment, almost like he was contemplating turning down the offer, before reaching over your shoulder to hold the paper for you. “If you feel you have any useful contributions to our investigation then please don’t hesitate to share them. You are a key part in this afterall.” A sickeningly sweet feeling started hugging at your chest as you tried to focus on recalling information for Connor to note down.

--

This lasted for hours. Connor wasn’t sure he had done the right thing, cuddling up behind you while you worked, but the positive affect it was having on your mental state urged him to continue. Humans who feel safer and more relaxed tend to recall information easier than those experiencing too much stress. You were very quiet, but he didn’t mind that, he could see everything you wrote from this vantage point over your head. Though your heart rate did noticeably rise every time his hand wandered back to your hair- taking some time to brush down the soft strands.

Your concentration was admirable given the terrible grades you had in school. it’s almost like something didn’t quite line up between your real intellect and what the tests were built to determine. “Y/N. Maybe I ask you a personal question?” -- Uh oh, personal questions? Well surely it has something to do with the case, otherwise why would he even be asking. “Sure, what is it?” “You trained to become an investigator for detroit's police force-” you mumbled something too quiet to pick up in response before he continued. “-Why didn't you send your application in? I have no record of you attempting to join the department, which is a shame considering your apparent proficiency in the field.”

A long sigh escapes your breath, putting down the pen to rest both hands on your stomach cautiously. Why did he have to ask about that, i mean sure it’s relevant but it’s not… you didn't want to explain that to him. Truth be told you were terrified of failure, although the job excited you the thought of getting a case you couldn't solve was a gut wrenching and entirely possible scenario. You had chickened out… “Have I upset you?” “No, no, it’s fine, i’m just kinda… weighing my options right now.” you grunt while putting the paperwork onto the coffee table, closing the laptop to put it on the floor beside Sumo.

“I’d like to hear the truth option, if that’s available.” The way he said it almost made you snort, god he was so straightforward, it was practically impossible to keep anything to yourself once he’d asked. The dread that hung over many questions almost seemed to step aside at his command.

“I’m not… good enough for that job, Connor. I’m not like you, or like Hank, i’m just too…” You pause was met with silence as you raised both hands to your face and slid down the sofa to put your head on Connors lap. His hand now resting on your shoulder. “Dumb. I’m too Stupid.”

“...I don't think you’re unintelligent Y/N.” “......Thanks Connor…”

[survivor-guyana]

Immunity Results #3

Meet Your Judges!

DAN

Hi sisters, it’s Dan, king of half faced selfies, here to roast your lip syncs

NEHE

Hi sisters, it's Nehemiah, king of not winning a game he deserves to win, here to judge you guys like you never been judged before, p.s Tim stop stealing my role as the one straight black guy in the org community

CHARLOTTE

hi sisters, i’m back from the dead and ready to roast some bitches. i honestly don’t remember if i’ve played more than one main season but i was in kuang si and really that’s the only one that matters. not sorry!

CONNOR

hey sisters, hope you missed me because im still not coming back.

DENNIS

Hi sisters, I was forced to write this start. But entertain me

JESS

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn't know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

HOSORORO

Dan: 31/50

Theme: 5 - No real theme tbh, I guess the editing incorporated some nice colors and stuff. I wish y'all could have been more in sync with a theme tho. Maybe I'm just being critical.

Creativity: 5 - The editing was creative, I liked the effects and the added little bits that went along with the lyrics. I think the difference between this video and the others tho was that the others tried something new and exciting to spice up their videos. Was it more creative? Maybe? There's nothing wrong with picking a bop and lip syncing, but it's 2019 ladies, spice it up.

Effort: 7 - She may have bought that hair, but y’all yanked it right off. I think some of you really tried harder than others, but I stan when people just do their best and record where and when they can. It shows dedication and I like that shit. I think that the effort into learning the lyrics without reading them off the screen and dedication to filming in the car kind of showed y'all want this.

Composition: 7 - BITCHHHHH I’M GAGGGGGT. It’s 240p, but honestly Ariana Grande who? Whoever edited this made it seemless, but honestly the low quality needs to get clocked a few points.

Entertainment Value: 7 - The dancing, the outfits, the lip sync skills? A bitch was entertained. While the other videos tried to make things new and exciting, y'all delivered what I think of as more of a successful project.

Jess: 34/50

Theme 8/10. If I had to say the theme, I'd guess that it's "bad bitches" which you all are.

Creativity 5/10. If a 0 is 1 person playing basketball instead of lip syncing at all, and a 10 is a full out choreographed dance number done by your entire tribe, I think this falls solidly in the middle. I don't think there is a lot about this that sets it apart from past music videos I've seen, but I don't think it is bad.

Effort 8/10. It seems like most of your tribe members were at least majorly involved and tried to make this good! And you all put effort into the dancing/attitude you had, it felt like everyone tried to match their actions to the song.

Composition 6/10. I think the editing is good and it matches the timing of the music which is nice, the cuts are usually on the beats! But it did get a little repetitive after a while, like I felt as though the same thing was happening throughout the whole video and there wasn't a variety in the images/cutting style/etc. I also think it was hard to tell if the video was in sync because for some reason y'all are in 2007 and only uploaded this at 240p???? Are you guys all over the age of 45 why did you do that. Finally, the flickering glitter filter was cool at the start, but I wish you'd spiced it up and not just used that throughout the entire video, also at points it was a little distracting due to the bright colours that would pop up.

Entertainment Value 7/10. Six of these points are for the girl who was in the car because she was killing it and I loved her. I took points off for a similar reason I had above -- it felt like the video was one note and I wish you guys had a little more variety throughout.

Dennis: 38/50

Theme: 6/10 Creativity: 8/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 8/10 Entertainment: 8/10

I know I will get alot of hate comments for this, but this in general is not really a song to lipsync too. EITHER WAY I think you did a good pretty good job with it. All of you seemed to enjoy yourself and the editing was enough to keep my attention throughout the whole video. I didn't really get the theme, but overall it was a very entertaining Lipsync!

Connor: 35/50

Ok this is good. You clearly all worked together artistically so that your individual shots were coherent. Im not crazy about the pink strobe kinda thing going on through the entire video but you were all performing and this is well done. Theme: 7 Creativity: 6 Effort: 8 Composition: 7 Entertainment Value: 7

Charlotte: 42/50

Theme:  IF THE THEME WAS FABULOUSNESS YOU ACHIEVED IT. ARIANA WOULD BE PROUD.  8/10

Creativity:  I feel like you could have done a little bit more with some of the lyrics but all in all I loved this video and now I'm just being picky. 7/10

Effort:  See above. I think you could have done a little but more but keeping the pink aesthetic through your editing and ALL THAT DANCING werk werk werk.   8/10

Composition:  Love. That. Aesthetic. 10/10  PLUS YOU'RE ALL IN THE SAME CAMERA ORIENTATION I LOVE THAT. LOVE THAT FOR YOU.

Entertainment Value:  FUN, ENJOYABLE, FLAWLESS, NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. 9/10

Nehe: 44/50

7 8 9 10 10

Now this is a fucking music video work bitches work

TOTAL: 224

ARAKAKA

Dan: 29/50

Theme: 7 - Annoying advertisements? Trying to show the effects of product placement on our every day life? I loved it haha I was shook.

Creativity: 6 - V creative, but was it really a music video? I guess parts were but I also was like so lost after a while. I think song choice is always important and I was so bored during the song parts. I wish you had made the song part as creative as the ad parts.

Effort: 4 - Honestly the effort was misfocused on the ads and less on the music video, was I mad about it? only like 50%. the song was boring and just kinda blah so it was interesting

Composition: 5 - Choppy, but I can’t edit so rip

Entertainment Value: 7 - Honestly this how to video taught me so much and I’m shook. THE POPCORN I LITERALLY SCREAMED. While I nodded off during the music video portion, I stanned the ads

Jess: 32/50

Theme 6/10. I think your theme was ads? I didn't really understand it but it was fun and unique.

Creativity 8/10. I have never seen anything like this that's for sure.

Effort 4/10. It seemed like everyone in your tribe was in the video I think? But most of the stuff you guys submitted was 1 take/shot and wouldn't have required a lot of editing, which is the most time consuming/effort requiring portion of the challenge so...

Composition 5/10 The editing of the commercials was pretty good, but it didn't flow as well as it should have because the audio levels were a bit all over the place. Also at one point it was in colour and out of focus but I wasn't sure why? Also a+ for doing your video in 1080p (@ other tribes take note). Since the actual music video portion was just one shot, I feel like I can't really give you a higher rating than the other tribes in this category.

Entertainment Value 9/10 First frame: a guy in a Stitch onesie with a bottle of tequila and a mug that says "ray of fucking sunshine"?? I laughed immediately. Then I was shook when later I realized it was actually a shot glass and was close to the camera and it got even better. This whole video was wild and I had no idea what was going to happen so I was pretty entertained.

Dennis: 45/50

Theme: 8/10 Creativity: 10/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 9/10 Entertainment: 10/10

This is probably the last kind of video which I expected in a challenge like this. I think it was really creative and connected entertainment with comedy and a nice little theme. I am very impressed good job!

Connor: 20/50

“””””Acting””””””” “””””””Edgy”””””””” Eggs?? Im vegan. What was the point of this? Was there a point? Pop corn girl gets you an extra point but this is not a music video. To quote bandersnatch, you chose the wrong path.

Theme: 3 Creativity: 6 Effort: 4 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 3

Charlotte: 34/50

Theme:  I've been out of the ORG world for awhile but is this what music videos are now??? I feel like the music video of your video was sorely lacking. YouTube loves ads but not that many!!!!! I did think the ads were pretty creative though so I marked up points for that below. 6/10

Creativity: See above. 9/10

Effort:  It wasn't just straight up lip syncing so I gotta reward you guys for that. 8/10

Composition: That black and white switching to color towards the end got me fucked up. 6/10

Entertainment Value:  To quote the person sitting beside me: "OMG another ad?"Cute concept, not sure it works as a music video but you tried.  5/10

Nehe: 35/50

6

6

6

7

10

Honestly this was something i never seen before and i enjoyed it hahaha

TOTAL: 195

TAKAMA

Dan: 26/50

Theme: 6 - Cats? Bikes? Awkward White People Dancing? Are these the themes you went for? If so, y’all killed it haha, but it wasn't cohesive and I don't get what y'all were going for really.

Creativity: 5 - honestly, I stan an original song choice bc I haven’t seen this before, but also, a song like this needs to be sold and I don't know if y'all pulled out all the stops. I would have liked to see more passion from some of you in the props and theatrics department.

Effort: 5 - Some of you seemed to try a little harder than others, but overall y’all were feelin it

Composition: 5 - A little choppy, but I can’t edit for shit so like good job?

Entertainment Value: 5 - Okay Miss Tim with that bike balance, idk your name sis (maybe Jones) but striped sweater, pm me on skype – dan.disbrow so I can buy it ty. Other than that I don't really remember much besides a lot of cringey dancing.

Jess: 29/50

Theme 1/10. Tbh I don't really know what the theme was here, did you guys forget this category??

Creativity 4/10. Pretty much the same reason that I gave Hororo's tribe a 5, I'm giving you a 4. I am taking one point off because they at least did some stuff to make their video more unique/specific to their song whereas I think you guys could have used this editing style/dancing/etc to any song and it would have also worked, so it wasn't super unique.

Effort 9/10. Everyone who was in the video seemed really into it and did a good job having fun! But this is a 6 person tribe... one person wasn't in it and they weren't the editor?? You should vote them out if you lose.

Composition 9/10. The editing flowed well, you showed everyone on the tribe a pretty decent amount, and everyone's individual videos were pretty on point for lip sync? Usually when people film on their webcams it's not in sync, but these were all really good! You lose one point because the video quality was low and wasn't 1080p which it really should be.

Entertainment Value 6/10. I liked everyone's attitude and dancing and I loved the cats. I originally had 5 but then I remembered the cats and went back and added another point. But I wish you guys had done something unique for each mini song, like maybe divided them up amongst your tribe, or had people change outfits or something? If you had done that, I'd have given you way more points for theme and entertainment value. But because it was kind of repetitive/one note, it's hard to say I was REALLY entertained the whole time.

Dennis: 37/50

Theme: 9/10 Creativity: 7/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 7/10 Entertainment: 6/10

Comment: What stood out for me in your video was the theme. I assume that you wanted to mimic the fans v faves theme with a riff off and I thought that was actually quite smart. Everything else seemed to be for me what I would expect from a lipsync, but besides the theme nothing that stood out to me especially.

Connor: 27/50

The lip sinking is a little off at times (im coming back to this part, in the middle / two ish minute point-on it is not good) and I think the transitions from song to songs could have been smoother, but I think this is creative in terms of it being a mashup. I think there could have been more “music video” aspects to it. In addition to y’all singing. EXTRA POINT FOR THE CATS ( stripped sweater??? who is this??? Queen????)

Theme: 5 Creativity: 6 Effort: 6 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 6

Charlotte: 28/50

Theme: Was your theme Pitch Perfect? Like, I'm not sure whether or not there was anything you guys planned out but it really just seemed kind of randomly thrown together.  5/10

Creativity: I liked the cats? 6/10

Effort: See above. I feel like y'all just kind of threw this together? It was missing something for me. The person in the stripes pulled it together for you though so 7/10

Composition: Y'all really out here in 2019 not filming in the same orientation? I'm deducting 50% for that. It's a travesty. Also, if one person does a filter and no one else does, does it really make sense? IDK.  3/10

Entertainment Value: ... again, I liked the cats. Plus the stuff with the bicycle was weirdly entertaining.  7/10

Nehe: 31/50

TOTAL: 178

Thank you judges!

That means, Takama, I will be seeing you that tribal council on January 28 at 10 pm est.

[spacebrick3]

Experiment S-80 Part 7

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

Year 3, Day 172: 2.12.2385

"What's that?"

Ari smiled, holding his hands behind his back. He'd grown attached to S-80 over the past year. He wasn't sure why - maybe it's just that she reminded him of somebody. This project had kept him away from his family for over two years now, and there were no guarantees it would end any time soon. He would take what he could. "Well, see, it's a special day today, don't you see?"'

She shook her head. "No. I don't - I don't know. Is it more tests?" Her good eye went wide. "Are you going to-"

"No - no," he said quickly. "Today is a good day. You really don't know?"

"Know - know what?"

He smiled and took the box out from behind his back. "Today is your birthday."

She looked confused. "What day - is it?"

Oh. Right. "It's, um," He checked his tablet. "February twelfth. 2385. You're turning six."

"I was born…today?"

"Yes," he said. "Yeah. Six years ago. And I got you a present."

"Why?" She frowned.

"That’s what people do for each others' birthdays. They get each other presents. Little gifts."

"But why?" she asked again.

He paused, then shrugged. "I don't really know. But it's something that happens. I don't know why, but it does. So I got you one."

She took the box, examining it. A spark flew from her implants, and he guessed that she was trying to look inside the box somehow without opening it. Sadly, they hadn't figured out yet how to get X-ray vision in it without making a massive radiation spinout. "Open the box," he prompted.

"What's in it?"

"You open it and find out," he said. "Go on."

She touched the wrapping tentatively, tapping at it with a finger. "But what if - I don't want to break it."

"You're not going to break it."

"How do I open it if I don't break it?"

"No - it's meant to be broken. You see? I can start it if you want to," he said, tugging at one of the corners of the paper.

She watched him, pulling at another corner of the paper. It tore, and she flinched back slightly. After nothing happened, she pulled at it a bit harder, ripping it away from the box in one long spiraling piece. It was actually slightly impressive to watch as she methodically refused to let it rip, instead taking pains to get it all off in one piece.

Once the last bit of blue paper landed on the floor, she took the cardboard box and examined it. "It's not open."

He sighed. "Do you want to let me do it? I don't think I'm allowed to let you have sharp objects, and I think it'd be a bad idea anyways for…well, you."

She nodded, and handed the box to him. He grabbed a folding knife from the table and cut the tape on both ends before handing it back to her. "Here. It should be open now."

"I can just-?" She took the box and, holding it gingerly, peeked inside one of the flaps. "What is it?" Reaching inside, she pulled out a small pendant engraved with a stylized sun and moon. She held it up to the light, squinting at the small lettering engraved on it.

"It's a necklace," he replied. "You wear it."

"But what does it do?"

"It - doesn't do anything, I don't think," he said. "It's just something that you wear. I mean, if you want to. Remind you of, uh," He stopped. He wanted to say 'good memories' but he was a little hazy on when, exactly, she would have had any of those. "uh…it can make you feel better. It's for luck," he said quickly. "Helps things go better if you think they're going to go badly - or if they already are. All you have to do is wear it.'

She tried to put it on, but couldn't. "It doesn't fit."

"No - see-" He showed her how to undo the clasp to put it around her neck. She did so, tucking the small pendant into her white medical jumpsuit so that it was barely visible. Only a slight length of nickel chain showed. "So I just wear it like this," she said slowly, "and it makes luck?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "It looks good."

"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked. "None of the others got me anything."

"Yeah…." he said , taking a step back and rubbing at an eye, "they, um, don't really appreciate that…They forgot. They didn't realize that today was your birthday. I'm sure they would have gotten you something."

"Will you tell them?"

"I, um, yeah. I'll tell them. Hopefully they, um, can still get you something."

"They won't," she said sadly. "You're lying. I know you are."

"No. Of course I'm not lying," he said. holding up his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Why would I lie?"

"You want to make me feel better. I know that's what you're doing," she said, pulling at the chain. "You don't do this stuff with any of the others. I asked Blue. They told me."

"Blue? Who's-?" He shook his head. "Never mind. I'm helping you because you're - because you're little. And little people always need more help than the big people."

"Why?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Because - they're still growing. And so they need help growing into the right sort of people."

"Did you?"

He didn't answer that. A light flicked on his tablet, and he saw that there was a notification. Jensky wanted to talk to him about something. She'd been reclusive lately, hiding out in her office and barely communicating with any of them for weeks. It must be important. "I have to go," he said, "but I'll come back."

She toyed with her necklace, not saying anything. He nodded, then grabbed his tablet and headed out the door.

——————————————————————————————————

"Chance. Come in."

He pushed the door open nervously. Jensky looked terrible, with dark circles under her eyes and a faraway look in them that he was sure hadn't been there last time he'd seen her. But she was still sitting straight, and had obviously left the office at some point, so that was good. Right? "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked. "You implied it was urgent, and I wasn't sure if I-."

"Sit." He sat.

"Also, where have you been? Why aren't you talking to us anymore?"

"It's not important," she said, folding her arms on the desk and staring at him intently. "Or, it won't be. Let's focus on what I brought you here to discuss."

"Which would be…what, exactly?" he asked again. "You're not really helping, what with this whole reclusive business."

She sighed. "Let's talk professionalism."

"Professionalism?"

"It's simple," she said, standing up and circling to stand behind her chair. "We're scientists. We have a job. The government of the Charter has asked us to do this job. You know why, correct?"

He shifted nervously. This couldn't be good. "The…whole war thing that's going on? The fact that we're about three times outmatched against the League? That whole thing?"

"Good," she said. "The 'whole war thing'. Yes. So we have a duty not only to ourselves as scientists, but also to our country, to our faction, to do our jobs and do them well. And that means we have standards. Standards about how experiments are supposed to work. Standards about how-" She paused, inclining her head- "How the subjects of experiments should be treated. To avoid contamination from outside forces. You do know that, correct?"

"I - I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Please. You really want to play that card? We have footage. Audio. Records. Name the type of data, and I can probably find it.  So don't play dumb with me, Chance."

He stood up and glared at her. So this was it. He was out. "Fine then. You say you have data. Well, then, how was she affected?"

"I'm sorry?"

"How. Was. She. Affected?" he said again. "Because from what I hear, you're trying to tell me I did something bad by being nice to a child. By showing even basic human decency. You're saying that's not worth it. So prove it. You say you have data. Show me."

"It's not about kindness," she said. "It's never been about kindness. If it was about that we wouldn't be standing here today, would we?"

He waved that away. "You said it yourself. We can't just walk away. But that doesn't mean we can't show kindness. That doesn't mean we can't strive for even an iota of basic human caring. Emotion. Is that what this project is doing to you? To all of us?"

She sighed. "Do you know the planet Ytterby?"

"No," he said, taken off guard by the sudden change in subject. "Why?"

"Two weeks ago, the Charter launched an assault there. Ten weeks of orbital bombardment followed by a ground landing in order to take control of whatever structures remained. There weren't many."

"And?"

"That squadron was led by a sergeant of three years, Chance. Her name was Katarina Jensky."

"I, uh-"

"Unfortunately," she continued over him, staring off into space, "they encountered resistance. Heavy resistance from forces the League had left behind to hold the planet. Their ships were long gone. There was nothing left for them. But they still fought to the very end. Ambushed the ground forces, even. It wasn't even to serve a purpose. It was just vengeance. She fought them. Of course she did. But it wasn't enough. Katarina Jensky and her entire command were wiped out."

Without warning, she slammed her fist down on the desk. "So don't you see? See why we have to fight? Why we can't afford delays of the kind you're creating? Maybe you think you're doing right. Hell, maybe you even are. But-" she snarled, jabbing a finger at him- "it doesn't matter. Because it will never outweigh what those people out there are going through. How many of them are dying, every second that we delay. That you delay."

"I disagree," he replied coldly. "Because in your mind, we're playing a zero-sum game. We have to sacrifice our morals, our human essence of emotion, in order to move this project. In your head, it's either the project, or your humanity. And you've chosen the project. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can still be kind. We can still feel. And it will be better then. You've seen the data. I have too," he said desperately. "And you've seen that it's better. That S-80 is performing better and - more importantly - she's doing better. Healthier. Why is that not something we want to promote?"

"Because those soldiers won't be experiencing kindness," she said. "On the battlefield, they won't have the opportunity to be coddled with chocolate or given birthday presents. We need to prepare them for the scenarios these implants are going to be going into."

"They're also not going to be fighting as children, you recognize," he said. "In fact, most of them will have had fairly normal childhoods. Which, if you weren't aware, includes things like chocolate or birthdays. Exactly those things you want to deny her."

"No. She's going to be a soldier. That's what the implants are for. That's what we're preparing her for," she said flatly. "Now get out of my office. You are no longer a part of this project, Chance."

He threw caution to the wind. "Fine then. But you know what happens, right? What's already happened to the people who used to be your friends?"

"What?"

"Myrr, Vukovic, and Okeke. Right? I've seen the pictures. I know you worked together for years. And they left because of this project. They were better people than you, Jensky, and now they're dead."

She stiffened. "They're not dead. What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?"

“I know Myrr and Vukovic and Okeke left. It’s understandable that they wanted to cut ties with me. I don’t blame them. But if you want to spread rumors-”

“They’re not rumors! If you’d just wake up and look-”

"Get out, Chance," she said coldly. "I don't want to call the security, but I can."

He seethed, but managed a passable nod without snapping. "I would say thank you for the work, but I've honestly hated it here. Do keep in touch, though, just so you'll know when I 'disappear'," he said. It was an odd feeling, finally being free from all the expectations and rules that had kept him here. It felt good. "It's been nice knowing you, but it'll be even nicer not knowing you," he said, pushing the door open.

Now that he was officially fired, of course, there was nothing to stop him from doing whatever he liked. Grabbing a handful of stuff from his office - mostly random ornamentation that had accrued there - he jogged down to the lab that he had left earlier. Maybe there was just one more bit of good he could do before he left.

She was gone. He looked around frantically, but he didn't see anywhere she could be hiding. She liked to do that, but there was no sign of her. His heart sank even further when he spied the necklace lying, abandoned, on one of the tables in the corner. The iridescent pendant shimmered in the light.

No. No no no no no NO. I wanted to do something good. She didn't deserve this. I could have gotten her out. He was frozen there, still staring around as if this time he'd spot something new. I had months. I could have done something. Anything. And now it's too late. They've taken her again. Because I wasn't fast enough. Wasn't good enough.

I'm sorry.​

Tagging @cogwrites, @lady-redshield-writes, @no-url-ideas-tho, @ratracechronicler, @ken-kenwrites, @ravenpuffwriter, @cirianne, @lonelylibrary, @endlesshourglass, @micastarsandmirrors - if you want to be added or removed, just let me know!

[zombierunfiction]

Season 2 Mission 22: No Future

The following morning Charlotte was trying to sharpen her axe in peace but her thoughts kept running back over to the suicide of Francesca. She knew that there was nothing she could have done to save her but she still felt horrible about it.  Even Sam and Sara were affected by it.  Sara was concerned about how Charlotte was taken it while Sam was quieter than normal.

"Hey." Sara said as she walked over sitting next to her by the coms shack. The ground had a light snow on it but Charlotte didn't seem to really care about the cold.

"Hey." Charlotte said as she sharpped her axe the best she could.

Sara watched her for a while.  "How are you doing?"

"Could be better.  You?"  Charlotte asked.

"About the same.  Concerned about my friend."  Sara said softly as Charlotte stops sharpening before sighing softly.  

"And who could that friend me I wonder?"  She said sarcasticly.

Sara smiled slightly then leans against her shoulder.  "A lot of things have happened since you came here.  I wanted to make sure you were handling it well."

Charlotte takes a deep breath.  "If you asked me before Archie was killed I would have told you yes I am.  But... since she was killed..."

"Things are harder to shake off?"  Sara supplies.

"Yeah..."

Sara wrapped her arm gently around her.  "Do you blame yourself for her death?"

Charlotte shook her head slowly.  "No... but I feel responsible for her getting tangled up in with Van Ark."

"Van Ark targeted her because of her ability to retain knowledge.  You did everything you could to save her.  Both you and Jamie.  It just wasn't God's plan to save her."  Sara said softly.

"Yet God lets Van Ark continue to do what ever he pleases while Archie took a bullet to the chest.  Not one but two."  Charlotte said bitterly.

Sara sighs softly.  "Nothing I say is going to make you feel better. The only thing you can do is continue to fight.  Don't let Archie's sacrifise be in vain."

Charlotte slowly looked at her.  "Sara... Are you afraid that I might try to eat my gun so to speak?"

Sara looks at her seriously.  "Are you?"

Charlotte shook her head.  "No.  But the thought has popped up once or twice.  I had an aunt who commited suicide when I was little.  I wouldn't want to put anyone through that.  Especially Sam."

Sara nods slowly.  "I'm glad you have something anchoring you to us. I'd hate to have to break in a new partner."

Charlotte chuckles dryly.  "Same here.  When you were gone you left me with Simon.  Now he is a good runner but he's no Sara."

Sara smiles gently petting the top of her head.  "Come on.  Sam asked me to come get you for a run."

"Figures." Charlotte said standing up putting the sharpening stone away.

Soon Charlotte and Sara were outfitted with packs and headsets standing by the gates.  "Raise the gates!"  Sam said as the gates slowly raise for them.  "And you're good to go.  So, Runner Eight, Runner Five, the mission briefing is - oh God, I sound like Janine, don't I?  The aim today - no, can't do that, either.  Yeah, look, we've had a bit of intel.  One of the outlying settlements picked up a transmission from one of Van Ark's men.  They're transporting some audio equipment through Hamling Fountain Park today, probably to do with the tone signal control of the zombies. And, uh, well, we want you to-"

"Spy on them?"  Sara suggests.  "What would make you think I'm the right person to send on an assignment like that?"

"Oh, you've always had a bit of a spy vide to you, you know?  I mean, just that you're a crack shot, and sort of secretive, and uh, that sort of thing."  Sam said quickly.

"Before the apocalypse, I just had an ordinary office job, Sam.  Just a boring bureaucratic job."  Sara said offhandedly.

Sam chuckled slightly.  "Isn't that what you're suppoused to say if you're a spy?"

"Maybe." Charlotte suggested.  "And it's also what you'd say if you did have a boring office job.  How do we know this isn't one of Van Ark's traps?"

"Yeah, I'll be honest - we don't."  Sam said softly.  "But you know, don't worry.  We've got a lot of cams in place around the fountains.  We'll spot any trouble before it sees you."

"And what are they showing you right now?"  Sara asked.

Sam took a moment to answer.  "Hang on... Yeah, just fountains.  Or, well, you know - nozzles where the fountains used to be before all the water got cut off."

"No sign of anyone around yet?"  Charlotte asked as they continued to run.

"Nope." Sam said confidently.

"Then let's get there before they do."  Sara said as they sped up heading towards the fountain.  After a half hour of running, Sara spoke up.  "Approaching the foundtains now."

Charlotte looked around seeing an abandoned playground with overgrown plants starting to overtake the swings and slides.  "Dead playgrounds are always really errie."  She said slowly.

"Yea. Imagine - once upon a time, these fountains would be surrounded by kids playing, laughing -"  Sam said before a gunshot rings out making Sara and Charlotte looking around fast.

"Do you hear that?"  Sara said quickly.

"Mm, getting it on long-range cams."  Sam said.

"Is it Van Ark's men?"  Charlotte asked.

"It is, yeah.  It is, but they're not transporting anything.  They're chasing someone.  A man-"  Sam responds before Sara jumpped in.

"Our enemy's enemy is a friend.  Who is it?"

Sam hums softly.  "Mm, I can't quiet-"

"I see them!"  Sara said pointing towards the small group. "They're coming closer.  Behind the trees, Char."  The two of them moved to the trees hiding behind the large trunks.

Charlotte peeked from behind the side of the tree as the men continued to chase a single man firing as they went.  "I don't like the look of this.  We should move."

Sara nods.  "They'll never see us if they're not looking for us. Hopefully they'll run straight past us."

A few minutes later, the man that was being chased managed to lose the men briefly.  “I knew you’d come!”  The man said as Charlotte blinked.

“Ephraim?!” She squeaked suddenly as the religious man jumped over the bushes to them.

“God, it really is the rerun episode of all our best traitors from last season, isn’t it?”  Sam said as Sara and Charlotte backed away from Ephraim.

“You’re the one who led us straight to Van Ark’s men the last time we met him.”  Sara said as a gunshot rang out making the three people look over seeing that the soldiers were running over.

“Wow. Looks like he’s not working with them anymore, judging by the fact they’re firing guns at him.”  Sam said quickly as the three of them took off away from the soldier.

“You have to help me.  I sent that message so you’d come when I left my hidey-hole.  I knew you’d come.”  Ephraim said quickly.

“Yeah… no, you don’t have to help him.”  Sam said.

“I second that notion.”  Charlotte said as Ephraim speaks up quickly.

“I know one of you is betraying Abel Township.  Someone told Van Ark that you were planning to go to his old labs when your runner Archie got caught.  You were betrayed!  If you don’t help me, you’ll never find out who it is!”  He said quickly making Charlotte and Sara look at him fast.

“We have a mole in Abel?”  Charlotte questioned.

Sam takes a deep breath.  “I’m agreeing to this under duress.  No bringing him back to Abel.”

“Van Ark already knows where Abel is, Sam.”  Sara said slowly.

“Yeah, but he could have like, a tracker or something.  Or a bomb strapped to him!”  Sam said.

“He’s thin as a rail Sam.  Weak too.”  Charlotte said quickly.

“Oh, well, I dunno.  Some kind of hypno-ray.”  Sam suggests as Charlotte sighs heavily.

“Sam enough ok.”  She said slowly.

“I don’t expect you to trust me, the good Lord knows.  You just have to listen.”  Ephraim said slowly.

“Hey Char look!”  Sara said stopping on the street they had been running down.  “This manhole cover’s been lifted.  If we go down into the dewers, we can get away from the area before Van Ark’s men get anywhere near us.  I’ve used sewers before for transport." She said pulling it open completely pushing it to the side.  "Good for confusing the enemy."  She climbs down in as Charlotte gave Ephraim a look.

"You next."  She said as the man nodded and rushed down the ladder. Charlotte followed pulling the lid closed over their heads.  She dropped down into the calf high water.

"We'll find somewhere to take him, away from Abel, Sam."  Sara said.

"The sewers?  What is this, Buffy the Vampire Slayer?  Or the substantially less-good Angel, which had a few too many sewer scenes in it, if you ask me.  I know vampires have to hide from sunlight, but what's wrong with the tube if you need to get around without getting really bad sunburn?”  Sam questioned as the three of them ran as best they could through the sewer.

“This way, Char.  Sorry it's a bit smelly.”  Sara apologised.

Charlotte laughed.  “It's better than being shot at.”  

“Are you sure this is safe?”  Sam asked concerned.

“I've held conversations down here before.  Secret conversations.”  Sara explained vaugely.

“But is it zombie free?”  Sam asked.

“Well if it's not then we can just leave Ephraim down here.”  Charlotte suggested.

“I'd have to say no.  There are definitely zoms about.”  Sara said as the sound of groaning seemed to echo around them.  “Hard to say how close.  Sound does funny things down here.”

“Great. Two of our finest runners leading a known traitor through a zombie-infested sewer.  What could possibly go wrong?”  Sam questioned.

“No plan's perfect.”  Charlotte said as a gun shot rang out suddenly.

“That way, go!”  Someone shouted from behind them.

“Sounds like Van Ark's soldiers have found their way into the sewers.” Charlotte said looking back to see how close they were.

“Never mind, I know a few tricks to throw them off our tail.”  Sara said as she reached into her pack digging for something.  She pulled out something then chucked it behind them with a plop when it hit the water.  “Two minutes until that goes off.  Come on, keep moving. You can tell us what you know while we're on the move, Ephraim.”

More gunshots flew around hitting the sewer walls as Ephraim sighed heavily.  “I'm sorry, ma'am.  I surely am, to have brought you to this plight.  I thought you'd come from my message, I could leave my hiding place, and we could talk.  But as soon as I moved, that devil know what I was about.  The good Lord's brought you to my rescue.” Suddenly another gunshot rang out making Ephraim shout and fall into the water.

“It's over, Ephraim!  Come back and we can treat that wound.  It's your only chance!”  The soldiers shouted as Charlotte grabbed Ephraim's arm lifting him out of the water.

“You're of the devil, all of you!”  Ephraim shouted back at them.  “He has you in his power, and the Lord knows it!”

Sara came around and helpped Charlotte lifthim out of the water and back onto his feet.  “Char, support him.  If they keep chasing us, they're end up in just the right place.”  She said as Ephraim groaned deeply.

“I'm not a cripple.  The power's in me, I can-” He shouted in pain as he stood on his leg that was shot nearly toppling Charlotte and himself over.

“Damn it idiot.  Let me help you!”  Charlotte said quickly straightening them up.  They  started back down the sewer as Sara goes to a gated area and opens up the door.  

“This way, fast as you can.” Sara said quickly as Charlotte and Ephraim ran as fast as they could through the gate.  Sara shut it behind them and took off right behind them.  “It's a maze down here.  Even if more come and know we're here, if we can just get away from these guys who've seen out location-”  

“I'm bleeding out fast.  It's not time for me, Lord, tell me it's not my time yet.  I can't run.” Ephraim said slowing down drasticly.  

“You might not have to run.” Sara said  an explosion suddenly rocked the water at their feet sending several waves towards them.  “Come on. Fast as we can.”  Sara took up Ephraim's other arm and helpped Charlotte take Ephraim down the tunnel as fast as they could.  

After several turns Charlotte looks back behind them.  “I think we're clear.  We've lost Van Ark's soldiers.”  She said.

“Mm... yeah, and gained a whole lot of zoms shambling right towards you.” Sam said quickly.

“Dammit. We need to get out of here, now.”  Sara said quickly.

“I can't!”  Ephraim shouted in pain as the two girls led him down an access area.

“Come on move it alter boy.”  Charlotte said as Sara let go to climb up the ladder.

“I'll get this cover up.  Just hold him up.”  Sara said as she pushed at the cover grunting hard.

“What's wrong?”  Charlotte asked looking up at her.

“It's stuck!”  Sara grunted as she pushed harder.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry!”  Ephraim said paniced.  “Oh, the Lord is merciful.  Leave me here.  He'll take me up in His arms.”

“Uh, I'm afraid you might have to.”  Sam said slowly.

“It's too late for that.”  Sara grunted as she pushed again poping the lid up pushing it open.  “That's it!”  She said as she climbed up fast.  “Come on Char let's go!”  

Charlotte helpped Ephraim hold onto the ladder before climbing up herself. “Come on Ephraim!”  She said turning holding out her hand to him. Sara followed suit letting Ephraim grab both of their hands.

The zombies shambled towards him as he was yanked down slightly.  “One of them's got hold of my shoe!”  Ephraim shouts.

“Come on Char, pull!”  Sara said as the girls pulled as hard as they could trying to get him up through the hole.

“Ah, Runner Eight, the devil will drag you under!”  Ephraim said as he was released letting them pull him up.

“He's free!”  Charlotte shouts as she pushed Ephraim's shot leg out of the way while Sara pushed the cover back into place.

Once done Sara knelt on the ground breathing deeply.  “Fresh air, thank God!  And the zoms won't be able to get through that cover.”  She said before turning her attention to Ephraim.  “Alright Ephraim. Time to tell us what this is all about.”  She said standing up looking down at him.

“Yes, yes...Oh Lord, the pain.”  Ephraim said holding his bleeding leg.

“He doesn't sound too good...”  Sam said slowly.

“I don't care!  Talk!”  Sara snaps as she looks down at Ephraim.

Ephraim sighs heavily the nods.  “I'm a sinner, I know it.  I sinned against you, and for that, I'll answer.  But I did it all for my sister.  She got bit, see?  Van Ark promised he could save her, put her in this tank.  Said if I'd only do as he asked, he'd give her his medicine, turn her right back human again.”  He took a deep breath lowering his head.   “Only he never did.  There was always one more thing he needed me to do.  Then one day, Patty's body was gone.  He'd used her as a soldier!  Never had no intention of letting her live. So I ran, hid.”

Charlotte stood up slowly looking down at him.  “But why run to us?  You can't have expected a warm welcome.”  She said.

“The good Lord told me to come to you, because of what I know.  There's a traitor in your midst, and I know you'll want your eyes opened to that.  And why did I come to you?  My enemy's enemy is my friend.” Ephraim said as a gunshot rang out making Sara and Charlotte look over.

“Sounds like Van Ark's soldiers followed over ground.”  Charlotte said.

“Can you carry Ephraim?”  Sam asked worriedly.

“We'll have to try.”  Sara said as the girls helpped Ephraim to his feet and headed towards the lake that headed down to a river.  

More gunshots were heard as the soldiers shouted.  “Surrender, and we won't kill you!  We know you cannot get away!”

“You're right, I'm hurt to bad.  I can't outrun them.  You can.  A message – I brung you a message.  You have to tell them – I heard the plans, the plans made with that traitor.  Van Ark's gathering zoms – fast zoms, hundreds of them, his whole force – a vast army like the battle of Gog and Magog, the last battle in all the world!  He's going to march on Abel and New Canton and grind them into dirt.” Ephraim said quickly.

“Surrender, it's your last warning!”  The soldiers shouted.

“Last warning?”  Sam questioned.  “They must be a mile and a half off, on foot. And Ed's got some of his bikes stowed around here.”

Sara looked around then pointed ahead of them.  “Hey Char, see that boat?  If we can just - “

“-purposing to kill you all!  Every last one from the oldest to the tiniest child.  He's tired of waiting!  Now go, warn them!”  Ephraim continued as they headed towards the boat.

“We can't leave him here to die, even him.  Help me put him into the boat, Char.  We'll cast him off the shore, and-”  Sara sad as they all but dumpped into the boat.

“The betrayor at your table – I never saw them or heard their voice. But it's the one your Major loves best of all.  That's what I heard him say.  The one she trusts most of all.  The best beloved is always the one who betrays.”  Ephraim continues to speak as he gets situated in the boat.  “He's coming!  He's coming with his army, and he will have you all!”  He said as Charlotte and Sara pushed the boat off sending him into the water with his oars.

Charlotte breathed deeply as she looked at Sara, her head still reeling from the information Ephraim just gave them.  “We should go.”  She said softly.

“Yeah... he will have a chance at surviving now but we need to get to those bikes before Van Ark's men get near us.”  Sara said as they took off away from the water.

“You were too kind to him Sara.”  Charlotte said.

“No mercy from you?  How about you Sam?”  Sara asked.

“Not for anyone who tried to get my runners killed, no.  If he lives or dies, well, it's none of our business.”  Sam said.

“But he did bring us that information.”  Sara supplied.

“Yeah... let's hope it's not too late.”  Charlotte said softly as they ran towards the bikes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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