#And I’ll be offline for a bit longer since my head hurts and I’m pretty sure the cause is a lack of sleep (taking a nap rn)

[artsandstoriesandstuff]

Head pain :(

[hournites]

Bait & Switch

Hournite Week 2021 - Day 3: Secret Admirer 

~.~

“And then we can head to the Pit Stop for—eeep!!” Beth jumped from her locker as a piece of white paper landed in her hair.

 “Oooooh!” Yolanda poked her side. “Is that another letter?” 

 Beth reached up for the standard printed paper sheet folded in three. She glanced at it, biting her lip as she scanned the page. “Looks like it, yeah!” 

 “I’m sorry,” Rick interrupted when Courtney grabbed Beth’s arm to squeeze. “Another what?” 

 “Beth’s been getting letters in her locker.” Courtney pointed to the little green shelf attachment Beth had on her inner locker next to magnets and pictures of Yolanda, Court, and Rick. A small pile of like creased letters accumulated there, sitting innocuously. 

 “Love letters,” Yolanda chimed in. 

 Rick’s frown stayed in place. “Since when did Beth have a boyfriend?” 

 “I don’t,” Beth corrected him. “I mean, not yet? I don’t know? I haven’t reached out or anything, I just started getting them a few days ago. I’d ask Chuck to scan them for fingerprints or something, but...you know.” She laughed a bit, pushing down the way Chuck’s blown in frames still stabbed at her heart. “Anyway, there’s no handwriting since it's printed, see?” She handed it to Rick. 

 “Hey Beth, I notice your yellow shoes.” His eyebrows raised past his hairline. “Why does this kid have a foot fetish?” 

 “Rick!” Courtney scolded. 

 “Sounds like Bowin.” 

 Yolanda scoffed at the Isaac comment. “As if Isaac had the balls.” 

“To you, maybe.” Beth took the letter back when she realized Rick wouldn't appreciate it. “To me, it’s kinda sweet?” She flashed her friends a shy smile. “They always have something to say about what I’m wearing.” 

 “So they’re watching you,” Rick deadpanned. “Not creepy at all.” 

 Her face fell. “You think it’s creepy? Like ISA creepy?” 

 “Rick!” This time it was Yolanda. Courtney swatted his arm. 

 “Hey!” 

 Yolanda veered Rick off to the side, speaking in a hushed tone. “Believe me, you and I both know the guys here can be horrible, but this all seems very PG. I don’t see anything wrong with it, and neither does Courtney. Can we not ruin this for Beth?” 

 Rick pursed his lips, but Yolanda crossed her arms until he gave in. 

 ~.~ 

 One letter turned into two, and then three. Rick leaned against the metal row of lockers as Beth tried to catch the fluttering paper before it touched the dirty floor. 

 “More mystery mail?” 

 “Second one today, I didn’t get one yesterday, I was wondering if they forgot.” She tucked it in her pocket and went for her lunch bag.

 “You’re not going to read it?”

 “I thought you weren’t interested.” 

 Rick straightened his back. “No no, I’m interested! I’m very interested.”

 “You just want to make fun of what they said.”

 “No!” Though he was lying and Beth knew it. 

 They walked to the cafeteria, Yolanda and Court were already eating their lunches.

 “C’mon,” Rick pestered the girls. He leaned his arms on the table conspiratorially. “Don’t we all want to hear what Beth’s secret lover has to say today?”

 “I don’t have a secret lover,” she protested, but the girls got excited at the news of Beth getting locker mail twice and Rick leaned back in his plastic chair, satisfied.

 “Secret admirer, then.”

 Beth shot him another look of exasperation, but he merely raised his eyebrows at her.

 “What,” he countered. “Is that not what it is?”

 “Um, yeah,” she scooted in her chair, pressing the letter down and smoothing it out, refusing to look up at any of them, embarrassed. “We can call them that. Aw! They said I’m pretty!” Beth squinted at the paper. “Oh, they spelled it wrong.” 

 As much as he found Beth’s notes weird as hell, he got a rise out of watching her stammer and flush at all the attention. Courtney’s usually the one to flail around with massive blushing and her awkward high pitched voice when confronted about Cameron. In all honesty, hearing Courtney gush about Cameron without either of them making real moves on each other got tiring. Yolanda never looked like she wanted to talk about a love life for herself ever again, so Beth’s bright eyes reading out loud her dumb letters were new. He’d never seen her so eager to get to her locker. She’d drag him out of their class together to make a beeline for it. Really, it was cute. Maybe that’s why Rick couldn’t stop teasing her. 

 ~.~

 Later that week, the group sat together at lunch as usual. Courtney’s hair would not stay up in the messy bun she’d been trying and failing to pull off. She kept wrapping a hair elastic around the ball of blonde curls. Rick watched as she huffed out an annoyed breath at the fifth time it flopped over the front of her face. 

 “You need a mirror,” Rick pipped in unnecessarily. He smirked when she glared at him. 

 “I give up!” Courtney reached across the lunch table to grab Yolanda’s wrist when she gave up for the sixth time. “Help?” 

 Yolanda laughed, scooting her chair over and said, “I’ll just give you a braid.” 

 “Oh!” Beth jumped in her seat as if she just remembered something. “My letter today said something really nice about my hair!” She unzipped her school bag to bring it out. Yolanda peered over at it while she continued to fix Courtney’s mess. She read it out loud for them. 

 “That’s not even that great,” Rick pointed out when Beth finished. “They like your hair. So what? Your hair always looks great, there’s no effort involved on their part.” 

 Beth frowned at her letter. “Really?” 

 “It’s superficial, don’t you think? They don’t say anything about why they like you as a person.” 

 “Yeah,” Courtney cut in. “Probably because they don’t know her that well? Cut them some slack?” 

 “I don’t need to cut anyone any slack.” 

 Yolanda took a bite out of her apple. “If you liked someone, what would you do?” She batted her eyelashes at him as she chewed on her snack, clearly expecting a lame answer.

 “I don’t like anyone.”

 Yolanda shared a look with Courtney. Courtney would do that a lot with Mike and Beth would do that a lot with himself but when Yolanda did that with Courtney, Rick always felt a bit paranoid. 

 “Is that illegal or something?” Rick muttered, stabbing his fork into his food.

 “No,” Yolanda replied, dragging out the syllable carefully. “But let's say hypothetically that you did, would your answer be the same?”

 Now Beth was waiting intently for his answer as well. 

 Rick pushed his plastic tray away, no longer hungry. “If I liked someone I’d let them know… like a normal person.”

 Courtney stifled a laugh that irked him. Her ice blue painted nails covered her mouth to half hide whatever joke she had within. 

 Yolanda tugged at one of her stray curls as a warning. “Court.” 

 “What now?” Rick groused. 

 Courtney leaned forward, gripping the edges of the table. “Would you actually?”

 “No offense Court, but if I liked a girl, I wouldn’t run off to tell you about it.”

 Now Courtney really did laugh, but Rick was dead serious. If he liked someone, he wouldn’t make it overcomplicated. If it were someone that could actually like him back, he’d just be honest with them. No frilly notes or secret rendez-vous. 

 He pushed Beth’s little love letter across the table. Beth took it wordlessly, mouth pressed in a careful line, eyes inquisitive. 

 Not that Rick had much time to think about what he’d do if he did like anyone. There wasn’t much time for Rick to develop feelings other than the deep-rooted anger and hatred that brewed for years over the conditions of his life. 

Rick shook his head at her. This wasn’t anything complicated. If he were the one secretly crushing on Beth, he’d tell her. He said as much to the girls when they pestered him some more. “It’s not that hard.”

 ~.~

 Beth got new letters every day for the next week. It became routine for her to read them during their lunch period. The girls pushed their chairs closer together to scrutinize the text, eyes peeled for anyone they might think to be the secret admirer. Rick played along half-heartedly, though mostly ate his lunch suppressing eyerolls. 

  “That top looks great on you. Also, why did you take off your rainbow necklace? It's cute.”

 “Hmm,” said Yolanda. “Maybe it’s a girl.” 

 Rick scraped his plastic fork against the paper plate on his lunch tray. “Maybe they should stop staring at Beth’s shirt.”

  “I don’t mind,” Beth said, looking up at him. 

 Rick scraped the styrofoam plate again. These letters weren’t amusing anymore.

 ~.~

 Beth approached him that day after training. She drummed her fingers against the green cloth of her cape along her arms, craning her neck up to look at him as he raked through his upswept hair. They were in the loft of the Pit Stop where they’d dumped their bags. Beth was on the couch, in no hurry to change into fresh clothes because she hadn’t sweat through hers the way he had. Chuck was still offline, so she had been cautioned to stay a few paces behind the others for protection. She usually chose to stick by Rick. 

 Rick shook out his aching fingers. His hood was hanging low over his shoulders and the heaviness of his suit weighed after the effects of his tapered strength. 

 “What?” he asked after several moments, acutely aware that she just stood there, staring.  

 “Is there anything you’re not suspicious of? Sometimes you just have to trust people.” 

 Rick sighed, turning around. He thought this was about the training or the sweat or the way his hair stuck up like a cartoon and he didn’t have enough gel to smooth it back down, but Beth clearly wanted to revisit their conversation from lunch. He’d rather not. “If this is about the letters—” 

 “It is. What’s your deal with them, really? Even my mom knows! She thinks it’s funny! I’m having fun!” She grinned widely and threw out her hands to back up her words. Like he needed to see her laugh off the fact someone was following her around the school without coming forward about it to prove it wasn’t something to be reasonably concerned about. 

 Rick sat down beside her on the couch, taking a moment to articulate his phrasing. He didn’t want Beth to bristle at his tone or words. He’d made the mistake enough, seen the hurt written on her face way too many times. She could handle his heat, but it always left Rick feeling shitty to realize she needed to guard herself around him. Steel herself to get offended. He needed to stop offending her, Beth was quite frankly the kindest person Rick knew. This was why Rick felt strongly about the twenty-seven ways this secret admirer situation emerged red flags. “Don’t you want to know who they’re from?” 

 Beth shrugged. “It’d be nice.” 

 “Would you date them if they revealed themselves?” 

 “Um.” Beth flushed. “Maybe? I don’t know. I’m not planning any weddings but I’ve thought about it, I guess.” She side-eyed him. “Are you going all big brother on me now?” 

 Rick almost said yes, but bit his tongue at the last second, making a face. It didn’t feel quite right. He opened his mouth instead to retort about protecting the team. Beth accepted it well enough, wrapping her arms around his middle to thank him for bothering enough to care. Rick stiffened at her hug, thrown off by the carefree way she clung to him. He placed his hand on her back and she pushed her head further against his shirt. 

 “I don’t want you upset with me.” 

 Her words stabbed at his gut. “I’m not,” he said, surprised and dismayed. Of course she’d perceive it that way even after he tried. “I’m not, Beth. Though I guess you’re right, trusting people isn’t my thing.”

 “I know, I didn’t mean to be so defensive about it.” She looked up at him and removed her cowl. Her hair sprung out high, decompressed from the tight, restraining fabric.  “It’s just that I wish when a note makes me smile...You’d smile back at me.” 

 He didn’t say anything for a moment. Beth crossed her legs, eyes and hands now at the clasp of her vintage cape. Her hair expanded, reclaiming its crown over her head. It bloomed in front of him. Not just the hair, her wisdom and hope and trust to share that so candidly with him. 

 “I’ll try?”

 A tiny pleased smile began as her thumb looped through the hook. “You will?” 

 “Yes,” Rick said. 

 The green of the cape flashed in front of them. Only a trace of that smile remained once it was neatly folded on her lap.  “Thank you.”

 ~.~

 Rick tried. 

 It was like now that Rick gave her his disgruntled blessing of the elusive secret admirer, Beth no longer capped the word count on her inner novel of thoughts about it. She’d speak freely without checking back or worrying that Rick would make any comments and Rick had pretty much shut up about it to her face. 

 This was her thing, and it made her happy. Why did it matter what Rick thought about it anyway? 

 Though it did matter, exactly because of how happy those typed letters made her. It wasn’t wrong that Beth saw the best in people or found cheerfulness in all uncertain things. Rick was glad for it, honestly. That persistence in her wrestled with his own stubbornness— somehow it evened each other out. Beth’s drive blazed a fire that refused to be stomped out. Rick liked that drive in her. He appreciated it, even, just as much as it sometimes drove him insane. He didn’t want to be the one to smother that flame— Not him, or anyone else. 

 ~.~ 

 Rick didn’t realize he was intentionally hanging around Beth’s locker to scout out her secret admirer until he caught them in the act. 

 He straightened up from his slouched position against the wall across the drama room, taking in the uneven dirty blond haircut and letterman jacket worn by the person in question. 

At first, Rick figured the guy was at the wrong locker. He stood there rummaging into his gym bag for something. But then he produced a familiar folded paper and Rick realized this was the guy. Beth’s guy. It got very real. Beth had a guy. This guy wanted Beth. Liked her. He liked her and wrote stupid letters every day with things in it that actually made her want to like him back. And he had freckles and looked pretty short, and would probably make her laugh and would offer her his jacket to show her off to the dicks on the football team. 

Rick’s eyes narrowed, seizing him up. That was right, the guys on the football team were dicks. Beth’s secret admirer was friends with them?

 She wouldn’t take that well. 

 He looked new. Young, even. Not any of the faces he’d cataloged that tormented Yolanda over the last year and a half. Should he follow him? 

 Rick lurked. 

 The kid glanced around nervously, letter slotted in the hinges for the locker. How many days had it been? Two and a half weeks? How was this guy still skittish for sneaking around the school to send love letters to a girl? Wouldn’t he know one of these days he’d get caught?

Alright, Rick had two options. He could turn around and keep this to himself. Never say a word to anyone and let this guy and Beth work out whatever they have and just.... watch.

Or he could walk up there right now and get information. What the hell is your deal? Do you have a foot fetish? Are you another supervillain freak? How did you meet Beth? Why are your notes so uninspired? Do you even know her? Are you embarrassed that you’re into her? Why do you care?

Rick's legs marched him over, having made up his mind.

“Hey!” It came out harsher than he intended by the reaction of the football player. He yelped, backing up against the locker and widening his eyes at Rick. 

 “It’s not what it looks like, I swear!” This poor kid’s voice cracked. 

 Rick squinted at him. “Who the hell are you?” 

 “Huh?” 

 “Your name. Parents? Date of birth. Alien status?” 

 The kid didn’t say anything. Rick sighed, already regretting it but knowing he’d have to in order to speed this along. He slammed his fist against the nearby locker, cornering him. The kid looked properly terrified. At least it was something to know those Rick Harris rumors were still thriving. “Well?” 

 “Joe! Joseph Kindersef. Son of Harold and Shoan Kindersef. August 9th, 2006. Um, Non-alien?” 

 “Sounds like something an alien would say.” 

 “I swear I’m not an alien! I’m just a freshman!” 

 “If I back off, are you gonna run?”

 “I’m on the football team!” he yelled out as if that question was undignified.

  Rick rolled his eyes. “You’re fourteen years old. I don’t care what team you’re on. Are you gonna run?”

 “No.”

 Rick relented, pulling back to put some room between them. “So, you’re the one writing to Beth for the last few weeks?”

 “Yes, but—”

 Rick pulled a face. “She’s a bit old for you, don’t you think?”

 “Maybe, but—”

 “Beth really likes the letters, okay? She doesn’t need someone that’s too much of a coward to come up and talk to her. So pick it up and do something meaningful or leave her alone.” 

 Joseph squeaked. “I can’t.”

 “Okay so—She really likes yellow and cute shit so try sticky notes to include—“ Rick backtracked and paused. That didn’t sound normal. “What? You can’t? Yes, you can. You just have to find the guts to tell her who you are and ask her out so she can finally meet you so she can decide if you’re worth a—”

 “No!” Joe cut Rick off. “I can’t leave her alone!” 

 Rick’s stomach sank. Joe heaved, eyes blown back wide as he grimaced as if waiting to get yelled at again.

 But Rick lost the wind in his rant, lowering his voice to a shocked whisper. “What do you mean? You don’t…want to be Beth’s boyfriend?” 

 “No! I don’t really know her! I don’t get what the big deal is!”

 Rick nearly slammed him back against the metal row. “Then why are you leading her on?”

 “Oh my god!” He weaseled out of Rick’s grip, hands up in surrender. “I swear, I can explain! Just don’t beat me up, I get enough of that from the team!” He dropped his gym bag and kicked it, yanking off his letterman jacket. “God, I’m sick of this!”

 Rick was at a loss for words. He clenched his jaw, keeping his fuming to a minimum to give Joe a chance. Not that he deserved one, in Rick’s honest opinion, but Beth probably would’ve wanted to at least hear his case before Rick undoubtedly scared her only potential prospect of a boyfriend away with a piss stain in his pants. 

 He furrowed his brows. “Sick of what?” 

 “This!” Joe gestured at the floor. “Blue Valley High! The goddamn team!” 

 It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. The thought of it all made Rick sick to his stomach. Of course, in a twisted way it all made perfect sense. There was no villain here, only two victims. Raze the newbie recruit on the team and mercilessly bully the girl that raises her hand one too many times in class all at once. Force Joe to do the dirty work and laugh at Beth’s disappointment when her non-existent secret admirer gets shoved in her face. 

 Wonderful. Great plan for a group of football meatheads that barely even grieved Henry Jr’s death. Rick hated this school so much. 

 “Can’t you just stop?”

 “No!” Joe insisted. “I can’t, I would’ve if I could!” 

 “What are they doing to you?” 

 Rick knew the answer wasn’t going to be pleasant. He crossed his arms, eyebrows raised as he stared up at the ceiling while Joe lamented over the football hierarchy in disarray, wanting to make it past waterboy dweeb status, razing punishments incorporating the abandoned construction porta potty beyond the field parking lot, and the daily checks on Joe the team did to ensure he’s following their crazy rules.  

 “You know what I wanna say?” Rick told the guy when his sob story was over. “I wanna say that’s your problem.” Because after this and his last encounter with Sportsmaster Rick was very close to never watching any organized game in America ever again. 

 “It is my problem.” 

 “Actually, it’s not.” Rick scowled. “You’ve entangled Beth Chapel into this, so you’ve made it my problem.” 

 Joe stared at him. Rick muttered under his breath, dragging a hand over his face. For some reason he pictured Courtney. If she were here right now with him, Rick could perfectly imagine what she’d say: This was part of what it meant to be a superhero. You are a superhero now. 

 Rick knew this, theoretically, but thinking about that word in association to himself still felt beyond stupid. Stupid, but so painfully accurate by the way a feeling ate at his insides to help this pathetic freshman. Not just because of Beth. Rick had a magical hourglass and a skintight suit and belonged to a secret crime-fighting team. But it wasn’t just about crime, it was about injustice. And this fits that bill to a tee. 

 He flapped his hand at Joe before he could change his mind. “Go. I’ll take care of it.” 

 “Huh?” 

 “You don’t have to do this anymore.” 

 “But they check at lunch every day for the letters and there are still two and a half weeks left in the month—” 

 “I know!” Rick groaned just thinking about all the ways this was going to ruin his entire schedule. The sneaking and evasion. The random class cutting he’d have to pull off inconveniently now that Yolanda and Pat have drilled it into Rick that he needed to get a decent pass... 

 Joe stepped away, looking over his shoulder at the deserted hallway, unable to believe his newfound freedom. “You need to make it sound like you care or else they’ll get suspicious,” he stressed.

 “I get it.” Rick shooed him away. “Trust me. I get it.” 

 The anxious red splotches all over Joe’s face faded away. He sniffed, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his varsity jacket. “You really want to help me?”

 “Just tell me what I need to do to make this work.”

 He pulled out his dad’s notebook from his bag as Joe ranted about the nonsensical expectations the football team had of him, and what they had planned for Beth via public embarrassment by the end of the month. His dad’s handwriting blurred past as he clicked the top of his ballpoint to start on a fresh page, jotting it all down. He ended up with over a page and a half.  A page is more than he thought he’d need. It was excessive and tedious and stupid enough to put an end to today. He wouldn't, though, end it today. Because of one thing Rick knew for certain. He was going to one-up the Stockholm secret admirer deal Joe had going on. Two weeks of nice deeds weren’t completely out of his reach. 

 ~.~

 Rick stared at the blank word document in front of him, tucked into the furthest computer monitor desk at the very corner of the library. Sneaking in here was easy, though it was stressful enough to make Rick’s hands sweat. It was dumb, nobody questioned a student at the library over lunch. The tenth graders came in anxious packs to prepare for their PSATs, and the juniors freaked out over college pamphlets at the communal tables. Nobody would care that Rick Harris was hunched over a keyboard, glancing down at his lap to refer to an original letter for help. 

 Beth didn’t even notice Rick swiped a letter from her. Her locker door swung open while she chatted about the science homework and then the muffins she planned on making and then the recipe Barbara sent to her phone that she pinned on her Pinterest board. That Pinterest board was very important, something she’d curated since elementary school after her mom accidentally forgot to include a lunch for Beth, exhausted by the first surgery she’d operated on as the new head surgeon at Blue Valley Medical Centre. This was all new information Rick only learned from their walk to get her lunch box, so Beth’s talkativeness did have its advantages some days. Rick reached over and plucked a folded letter from the pristine metal basket right over her head to stuff in his back pocket. Even if she were ever tall enough to catch that, the muffin recipe had too many steps for her to list to ever let her take her eyes off her phone. 

 Rick stood firm in his belief that Joe’s letters were creepy and lame, regardless of how the creepy and lameness parts were now halfway excusable under Joe’s duress and whatever. Still, he couldn’t deny he needed one in his possession to study. At least as an example for formatting one correctly if he wanted to pull this off; the font and size had to be exactly the same. And, most importantly, the letter provided a base of comparison to work from to make the letters going forward less weird. 

 Rick knew Beth better. He could do so much better. And he should, anyway. There’s no harm done. He’s going to have to tell Beth at the end of the month what exactly happened to her secret admirer, so she’ll know Rick became the author somewhere along the line. He’d never be caught dead authoring notes that made it sound like he had a foot fetish or some other weirdness. And if Beth likes the letters more, Joe won’t get as much shit either. 

 So why wasn’t this working?

  Hey, Beth. 

 Rick stared at the screen. His eyes were dry, he needed to blink. A Hey, Beth wasn’t going to get anyone anywhere, and this letter had to be slotted through that locker rust a good half hour before the class that went into lunch.

  I just wanted to let you know how kind you are. I saw you today give away your extra hair elastic to the other girl in the hallway—

 No.

  Beth, 

Your laugh is out of this world. 

 Rick slammed his palm against the backspace button, the stiff keyboard jam startled the senior girl half-napping over her notes beside him. He deleted the word document altogether and started over. Nobody needed to see that. That sentence came out of nowhere. Forget that it was bad and sounded like Hallmark garbage, reading the words on the computer mortified him. Maybe it wasn’t out of limit to find Joe and force him here to do the actual writing himself. At least as a draft for Rick to work with. No wonder Joe’s letters came out awkward and stilted. But where would he even find Joe and was the answer something Rick even wanted to find out? 

 Rick didn’t like Beth like this. How was he going to write to make it seem like it could be implied that he did? This was fucking hard. 

 “Since when do you study?” 

 Rick crumpled Joe’s letter into his fist. He minimized the tab for the Word document. Yolanda’s braids swept over the built-in camera of Rick’s computer monitor, peering down at him with an eyebrow raised.

 “Since today.” He clicked on the school browser to type in one of the chemistry learning sites he went bleary-eyed scrolling through last semester late at night. 

 “When’s the test?”

 He shrugged. Her braids swung over his screen again. Rick shot her an exasperated high brow, flicking them away. 

 Yolanda shook her head at him and took the next seat. The binders she pulled out for her math assignment told Rick she wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. Fine. Rick put the letter on hold. It wasn’t something he wanted to rush anyway. 

 ~.~

  Beth, 

Your laugh is special. Because you can make anything sound great, and find laughter in everything. It’s what you do and who you are. I wouldn’t change that about you, ever. 

 Rick skipped the last ten minutes of class to get to Beth’s locker while the hallway was still empty. In slipped the letter. Out went his breath. 

 They were just words. Once he was able to wrap his head around that fact it got a lot easier. They were just words. Nice words. For Beth. It didn’t really matter if they were poetic or fancy. They were genuine, though, because Rick wasn’t going to lie on top of everything. But they weren’t in the sense Rick felt anything romantic for her. If Beth and the girls read it and felt otherwise, it was only because they were under a preconceived notion. One Rick would explain away when it is all over. 

 Above all, he was sparing her any humiliation by lifting her up and giving some nice compliments. It was a win-win situation. Once Rick was able to digest that, it got a lot easier to justify the emotional connection he teased out of himself to work the right sentiment he needed and had written down. 

  ~.~ 

 The problem was, sometimes letters didn’t cut it. Rick didn’t always have the right words. It was because he knew how Beth’s face brightened up when he wrote something right. She’d let out a breath that was almost a sigh, hugging the letter close. It would put her in a mood nothing could deter for the rest of the day. It’s what Rick noticed two weeks ago when these started, but it was all the better now, admittedly, when they came from him. She’d show them to her mom over FaceTime at lunch, to Barbara and Pat. Beth shared her secret admirer letter with anyone that had an extra second to spare.

  When Rick missed the mark, that was too obvious. Yolanda and Court never seemed to pick up the difference, and Beth never appeared dissatisfied, but Rick knew it wasn’t what she deserved.  

He’d tear out pages in his notebook before and after classes Rick took without her, practicing what he’ll type up by the time he gets to the school library. The pencil in his hand would tap against the paper as he ignored the lesson, thinking about how to best word how much it meant to him to see her turn around and flash him one of those breathless grins without giving himself away. He’d shred the paper after, stuffing it in the trash. The best parts Rick kept memorized to reuse the next day. 

 It took another three more neutral letters for Rick to change tactics. Instead of stressing over ways to tell Beth things he didn’t mean without revealing his identity, he found a way to work around keeping the secret admirer ploy alive while cutting out the amount of time he spent failing at writing. Small things he could afford like her favourite chocolate bars when he filled his car with gas at the station, or cheap bracelets from the dollar store to add when he wasn’t confident that he wrote enough. 

 He kneeled down in the wet grass by the bike rack behind the school on a Tuesday, weaving in the red and yellow roses he plucked from a nice garden a block down Main street through the handlebars of Beth’s teal bike. Beth was the type of girl to press flowers in books. She’d find the roses and would smell them and then keep them with the intention of saving them forever. 

When he managed to get the stem properly wrapped around her handlebars, he realized Beth forgot to lock in her bike properly. He fixed it, then leaned back, appraising his work. 

 He froze when he felt a warm breath against his neck. 

 “I didn’t know you were a part of the garden club.” 

 Rick dropped his hands to his sides, gritting his teeth through a polite nod at Isaac Bowin, who was peering over the bike rack in his pristine band clothes. “I’m not.” 

 “I see.” He scratched his nose. “That’s Beth’s bike.” 

 Rick eyed him. “I know.” 

 “That’s a nice gesture. I didn’t know you liked her.”

 “She’s my best friend.” Rick stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. “It’s not like that.” 

 Isaac shrugged. “It looks like that.”  

 “Okay,” he replied lightly, rolling his eyes. Rick knew he was saving a high school freshman from being bullied by substituting his required secret admirer quotas because of his newfound moral superhero standards, but conversing with Isaac Bowin was something Rick hadn’t yet tolerated the patience for. He slipped his bag and walked around the side of the school building to go through the back. “Bye.” 

 Later that afternoon, Rick got tackled by Beth. He tensed as he always did when someone got a hold of him from behind, though he released the tension immediately when he looked up and saw her. 

 “I got flowers!” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders from his seat at their shared sixth-period class. 

 “Did you?” He replied, measuring his tone. 

 “Roses! They were on my bike. I wasn’t sure if I locked it properly this morning so I got a hall pass in geography and went to check, and they were there!” 

 “Wow,” he said. “That’s pretty thoughtful, right? Do you like them?” 

 “Are you kidding? The KitKat was great but the last time I ever got flowers was like, my fourth grade spelling bee from my mom!” Beth moved her hands from his back to slide into the seat beside him. “They’re so pretty. I love them!” 

 Rick glanced at her empty desk. She pulled out her school bag and pencil case. “So where are they?” 

 “They’re safe.” She hauled out the large math textbook and flipped to the middle, revealing the two roses, freshly pressed in. “I want to keep them forever.” 

 He knew it. Rick suppressed his grin. “Cool.” 

  ~.~ 

 “... You warm my heart, Beth.” Beth paused, taking it in. She looked dizzy. “Oh my goodness. This is a lot.” 

 “Stop. That’s stupidly cute.” Yolanda groaned as she ran a hand over her face as if the sweetness pained her. 

 “You’ve gotta write them back!” Courtney urged, taking a swig of juice. 

 Beth wrinkled her nose. “I dunno.” 

 “What! Why not?” 

 “I don’t want to scare them off?” Beth took her eyes off the letter at last, raising her head to meet Rick’s eyes. She straightened her back immediately. “Why are you smiling like that?”

 In spite of himself, it grew bigger. “Like what?”

 She didn’t reply for a moment. Her eyes squinted and she tilted her head as if to study him. “I can’t explain,” she said at last. “It’s just different.” 

 Yolanda and Courtney stopped talking to watch him too. Rick felt his face heat up at all of their attention. “Shut up. I’m being supportive,” he mumbled. “It’s what you wanted.” 

 ~.~ 

 The thing with Yolanda was that she didn’t fall for bullshit. Rick should’ve known. Books against the table with a slam, she leveled Rick a serious look of incredulity in their next class.  “Who are you and what did you do to my best friend Rick Tyler?”

 He stuck a hand in his pocket. Still grinning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 “Says every suspicious clone, ever.”  

 “I’m not a clone.”

 “Then what are you, sick?” She poked his cheek at the stretched corners of his mouth. “You’ve smiled more in two days than I’ve ever seen you smile in three years and in art class you were zoned out completely.” Rick batted her hand away when she clapped a whole palm over his forehead.

 “I don’t have a fever.”

 “You’ve got something .”

 “I don’t,” he insisted again. “I’m fine.” 

 “Well I’m not an idiot,” Yolanda settled on as class started. “But whatever is going on, keep at it. It’s a good look on you.” 

  ~.~ 

  Three reasons why I’d date Beth Chapel 

  I’d be dating the smartest girl in school 

I could share the homemade food she brings for lunch

I’d see one of those perfect smiles & it would be just for me 

   ~.~ 

  Three reasons why Beth Chapel should date me 

  I’d let her sit shotgun in my car 

 She could talk to me all day about whatever she’d like and I’ll listen to it all 

She can stop wearing fuzzy sweaters to classes without heaters because I’d give her one of my jackets so she’ll stay warm 

I actually really like her

  “Ah shit,” Rick whispered harshly to himself at the computer monitor in the library. He buried his head in his hands, putting the computer to sleep. It was supposed to be generic. Nice enough that Beth would feel touched but not personalized enough that it could directly trace back to Rick. It was his ‘66 he was thinking about in the first sentence. Her effect on his mood was when she placed her arm on his during an imploring talk in the second. And the way Rick knew exactly which jacket he’d like to see her swallowed in with the pooling cuffs rolled up six times to reach her wrists for the third. And now that it was out in that 12 point font, Rick didn’t even want to delete it. 

 “Shit. Shit. Shit. I"m a fucking idiot.”

 He whacked the side of the iMac too hard to wake up the monitor and printed the thing before he could incriminate himself more by adding extra lines. The heat that crawled up his face was sign enough that this was bad, but he’d felt that same sickly warm feeling drop in his stomach sometime before his brain kicked in to realize what he’d done. He was supposed to be doing a favour for his best friend to not humiliate her unjustly by being her pseudo secret admirer.

 Not actually become Beth’s secret admirer. 

 The next morning, Rick waited until Beth raised her hand for a hall pass during their class before lunch. Their teacher handed over the laminated card for Beth to go to the bathroom. Rick counted five seconds then leaned over and dragged her backpack from the dusty classroom floor to his side. 

 She started keeping the letters she liked the most in the pocket folder of her agenda. Rick pulled them out, unfolding the papers as he read them over, eyes scanning over what he’d been writing to her, trying to find the moment in which his feelings for her morphed into something more. Rick felt stupid, reading back. 

 He never wanted to lie to Beth, so he hadn’t. 

 He couldn’t lie to himself either. This started before meeting Joseph. This started before the letters. Hell, it might’ve even started before the JSA ever stopped Project New America.

  A part of Rick wanted Beth all along.

 ~.~

That evening, Rick locked himself in his bedroom and wrote a long and frankly terribly written letter to get his feelings off his chest. Staying up all night to perfect it, he overslept halfway through the morning. He drove to school late and worried over how to get through the day. His entire schedule was thrown off and he needed to both find a way to get his letter in and survive seeing Beth that afternoon. Bad turned to worse when teachers chased after him to pile on detentions for skipping class after he’d just started to improve his attendance. 

 If he wanted to make this work he was going to need support. He needed Court. 

 The only time Rick found Courtney alone was during dodgeball in gym class. They were somehow the only ones left on their team. Courtney used handsprings and cartwheels to avoid the red rubber balls as though her gym mark should be the deciding factor of her Stargirl training success. Rick didn’t take it as seriously, but that’s exactly why he was still winning. He launched the ball to the other side, hitting Cameron Mahkent square in the face. 

 “Court, get Jenny out, and then we can free the rest.” 

 “Good plan.”

 Rick picked up another that ricocheted off the wall, missing both targets. “Hey, you know Beth’s letters?” 

 “Yeah?” Courtney hit Jenny, who yelped in her expensive tennis skirt, manicured hands protecting her face even though she got her hip instead. 

“They’re me.” Rick caught a ball and everyone came hollering back into the game. Courtney gaped at him, motionless in front of the red line. Rick tried to warn her when another ball came flying, but it bonked the side of her curly hair before Rick could push her out of the way, and then another ball assaulted Rick from the other side, disqualifying them both. 

 Rick explained it all once they got to the bench. The important parts, at least, without any of the messy stuff. Joe’s razing and the awkward excuses to use the library computer every day. 

 Courtney grinned so wide. “Shut up!” 

 Rick regretted telling her immediately. She shook his arm like she wanted to make a protein shake out of it. “Shut up! Stop! Are you kidding me? That’s so sweet!” She slapped her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my god. Oh my god! That’s why you’re smiling so much! You like her!” She gasped. “You love her?!”

 “Woah,” said Rick, grabbing her wrist to keep her from bouncing off the gym walls. If he wasn’t careful she’d text Pat this for his advice or something which would be horrifying. “I didn’t say anything like that.” 

 Courtney rolled her eyes, undeterred. “Okay okay okay but you totally are into her. Like a lot!!! A lot a lot, oh my god, Rick this is such big news! You’re falling for Beth!”

 “Oh my god,” Rick muttered to himself, wanting to disappear. “Court, if I say yes will you please be quiet?”

 Courtney squealed, dancing in her seat on the bench. “You didn’t deny it!”

 “Okay calm down.” 

 “Why are you telling me? Are you going to confess? Do you need help?” 

 “I need you to print out her letter for today and get it in her locker. I don’t have the time.” 

 Court clapped her hands and squealed. “Yes! Deal! Done!” 

 ~.~ 

 “You know what?” Beth layered on an extra woolly sweater over her already thick-fabric shirt. Just by looking at it Rick knew it was expensive and set off some type of fashion pattern-texture dichotomy scheme. Though, what mattered was how warm it made her after shivering all throughout their homeroom period. What mattered was how she clutched at her sleeves now, creating friction to sweep out the cold that seeped into her bones. The way she held herself in front of him and how she’d feel if Rick hugged her like that soft-spun sweater instead.  She pulled a sticky note out of her school bag’s front pocket and stuck it to her locker door then stepped away from it, nodding along for Rick to follow her down to their first class. “You’re right.” 

 “I’m right?” For his credit, Rick was cold too. The school heater conked out over the weekend and the weather was abnormally cold, even for their chilly Spring Nebraska. He shoved a hand in his pocket so he wouldn’t feel the joint pain settling into his bruised knuckles. 

 “You are.” 

 “About what?” 

 Beth half-spun on her heel, facing Rick in the thick of the school crowd. “My heart is in this. I need to know who my secret admirer is.” 

 The immediate nausea Rick got from that sentence nearly stopped him in his tracks. He couldn’t stop though, it would be suspicious and then Beth would know and then Rick very might well be sick. So he jerkily forced one foot in front of the other and swallowed the lump down his throat. “You...do?” 

 “We always find my letter after our fourth-period class right before lunch. So they have to be sending it out before then, right? If we both subsequently skip our third-period classes respectfully--” 

 “How does one skip class ‘respectfully?’” Rick used air quotes around the last word. 

 Beth elbowed his side lightly. “When a straight-A student like myself has love on the line!” 

 “ I’m not a straight-A.” 

 “Yeah, but you’ll be with me so I’ve got you covered.” She linked her arm in his. “It’s a buddy system. I posted a sticky note on my locker for my secret admirer to visit this morning!” 

 Oh no. Which meant Courtney was going to find it soon and pressure him to tell Beth too. God, no. 

 “And you need me there...why?” 

 Beth furrowed her brows, fidgeting with her rainbow necklace. “I haven’t completely ignored what you said to me this whole time. I don’t know who it really is. What if I put myself out there and they show up only to hurt me?” 

 “Beth, they won’t.” 

 “But what if you were right and it was the ISA, and they were waiting for me to lure them into a trap to kidnap me because they discovered I’m Dr. Mid-Nite without Chuck?”

 “Where was this support when I suggested this as an actual possibility four weeks ago and you all ignored it and called me an asshole?” He was teasing her, honestly, but it was wild to Rick he was finally hearing her address some of his previous legitimate concerns. What good was she doing bringing this up now if she already made up her mind?

 “We didn’t!” 

 “Yolanda did!” 

 “Yolanda doesn’t use that word.” 

 “She doesn’t need to say it! You’ve seen her glare, right? Yolanda could glare at you and brand you “ asshole ” just with her eyeballs.”

 “You are ridiculous.” Beth huffed out an indignant breath. “And I wasn’t ignoring it completely.” She tugged on his sleeve. “So you should come.” 

 “I swear you’re going to be fine by yourself. It’s just some person here that likes you. It’s not a criminal. No need to suit up.”

 “I want you there.” 

 He wavered at her pleading face, her big eyes hopeful sucking him into dangerous territory. “Fine,” he relented, dooming himself. “I’ll come.” 

~.~

 Courtney did not know how the printer at the library worked because she never used the computers at the library because she never came to the school library. Like. Since she moved here. She banged her hand against the table when she got prompted for her Blue Valley High School student account password to access her printing credits. Was she supposed to pay for that? She didn’t know. She promised Rick to get his letter delivered and he was counting on her so there wasn’t any time for messing this up. 

 “It’s just your initials and the last 3 numbers of your student ID card number.”  

A thousand butterflies let loose in her stomach at the tell-tale sound of her crush’s deep voice.

 “Cameron!” she greeted with a nervous laugh. “Hi! What are you doing here?” 

 “It’s the library.” 

 “Right!” She smacked her head. “Dumb me, of course. You must be studying.” 

 “Actually, I have an oral presentation after lunch and need to reprint my speaking notes. I spilled paint on my cue cards this morning. What are you working on?” 

 “Oh!” Courtney laughed it off. “It’s not important. Thanks for the login info!” 

 “No problem. Maybe we can see each other later after my grief counseling?” 

 Courtney nearly knocked the magic mouse off the surface of the table. “I’d love that!” 

 “Awesome, I’ll text you?”

“Great!” She waved as he turned around and sat down at the next computer. Courtney pulled up the tab she had with the word document of Rick’s letter to Beth and fawned over it, imagining herself in Beth’s shoes with Cameron. She printed it out and ambled over to the printing center while it was still warm. According to the school clock, which was probably ten minutes fast if it were anything like the other clocks in her classrooms, she had twenty minutes to find Beth’s locker and get it in securely without being seen. Courtney packed her bag and folded the sheet in three like Beth had been getting since the beginning of March, sticking it between her teeth as she got that bag over her shoulders. 

 “Court.” 

 She twirled around at the tap on her shoulder, not expecting to find Cameron waiting for her with a grim look on his face. “Huh?” She removed the paper and crinkled her eyes at him. “Hey!” 

 “Hi,” Cameron said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I think my essay got mixed up with your uh….letter…” 

 “What?” Courtney checked Rick’s letter in her hand. “No! This is um, uh it’s ‘ The Republic of Marino is a small country in the region of--’ oooooooh crap.” 

 Courtney snatched it from him, giving herself a papercut in the process as she swapped sheets, mind racing when she put two and two together. Oh no. Oh no oh no. The blood drained from her face. 

 “That’s not mine!” she yelped.

 The librarian barked at them both from across the room as Cameron blinked at her with a complicated expression. 

 “I mean!” Courtney added in more quietly but equally harried, hissing at the stinging from her thumb. She sucked at the blood that trickled down her palm. “I printed it obviously! Because we were here and I was at the printer and you were at the printer and I wrote it!” She was going to get blood on Beth’s love letter and make her think that she’s being stalked by an ax murderer or The Gambler’s personal hitman. “These words aren’t from me ,” she stressed. “I didn’t say these things!” 

 Dang it, this was bad. He wasn’t going to draw her flowers anymore or cute stars passed in notes during their shared homeroom. She continued to ramble when Cameron didn’t say anything. “Actually!” She wiped her palm on her jeans and returned it. “It’s for you!” 

 Cameron maintained cool and collected when he pointed at the opening address, becoming amused. “It says ‘ Dear Beth ’” 

“Does it!? Typo!” 

“Look, I don’t blame you for developing a crush on a close friend. It happens, you don’t have to explain it to me.” 

“But!” 

Cameron backed away. “I’m gonna go.” 

 ~.~ 

 Rick let Beth drag him out of class so they could meet up with her secret admirer in the empty hallway at her locker knowing this wasn’t going to end well. 

 Beth tapped at the yellow sticky note on her locker that had the details of her rendezvous. 

 “What happens if he doesn’t show up?” Rick crossed his arms awkwardly when Beth turned around to look at him. “If they don’t show up.” 

He should’ve noticed the second that he saw Beth that this had been her plan since she got out of bed. She was wearing a dress and tights that perfectly so matched her colour, it took a second glance to confirm it adhered to the no dress on skin school dress code. 

 Her hair had clips in them too, a moon clip that parted the left side of her afro in a way that let it drop slightly over her face like her mom’s weave. It was beautiful and she looked beautiful and Rick got stuck in those thoughts all over again when she slid down the lockers to wait, drawing up her knees. 

 “They will.” She patted on the dusty ground for him to sit. 

 “You’re not going to check your locker first?” 

 “You want me to?” 

“Do you want to?” Rick countered. 

 Beth scrunched up her face at him. “I asked first.” 

 His face warmed and he finally sat down across from her. “Usually you rush to it, that's all.” 

She stretched out her legs, pulling at the hem of her dress. “It’s not going to matter what was written in whatever they put in my locker when I get to see who they are. Meeting them in person will be more exciting.” 

 Bold words to say to her secret admirer, sitting right in front of her. Rick sighed and stretched out too. He drew up one leg, the other bent at the knee. “What if they’re really ugly?” 

Beth rolled her eyes. 

 “Just asking. You can like someone’s sentiments but not their face.” 

 “I’m going to like their face,” she reassured him. “Even if I’ll have to learn to.” 

 “Okay,” Rick drawled. He was hoping if he extended the talk long enough, Beth would grow bored and give up. Just because the secret admirer won’t show up today doesn’t mean that they did so with ill-intent. Rick tried to remind Beth of this as they sat around alone. The secret admirer could’ve got swept up in a test in class or had an early dismissal. Beth wouldn’t know the difference. Rick wasn’t hurting her by playing along. 

 When an hour passed and Rick saw how determined she was to stick this through, the internal panic ramped up.

 Of course, the thought came to him that he should come clean. It’s just that. That meant Rick would have to come clean . He hated that Courtney was right to laugh at him over this. It freaked him out to just blurt out the truth. It would take Beth by surprise. Rick hadn’t planned yet how he was going to wind the secret admirer thing down to prepare her about it all. He thought she’d get to read his letter today to gauge how she’d feel. 

 He stared up at the ceiling thinking through five hundred strategy plans to get out of this mess while untangling the secret as Beth played a game on her phone. 

 “Soooo,” Beth said some while later. “Are we going to be waiting another hour or…” 

 Rick jerked up, saucer-eyed and mouth agape. His brain short-circuited.

 “Because we can take all the time you need, Rick.” 

 “You knew?” He banged his head against the metal behind him. She didn’t need a supercomputer to figure out Rick liked her before Rick figured out he liked her, did she? “Of course you knew,” he muttered to himself. The shock wore off as the embarrassment settled in, his face flushing as bright confirmation. A massive shot of adrenaline flooded through him, similar to the rush of his hourglass. 

“I pieced it together a few days ago,” she admitted. “I don’t think you realize how much lighter you are now.” Beth picked herself up and crossed the hall to sit by his side. Her hand went to his right knee and she leaned forward. “Rick, it’s okay. It’s okay to like me.” 

 The words clogged up in Rick’s throat as she spoke softly, overwhelmed. He wanted to explain everything but it was complicated and delicate and if she’d only read his freakin letter trapped in that locker maybe he’d have a chance to get her to understand- 

“Oh my god, you’re really nervous.” She lifted her hand up to give him room. “Rick, it’s just me. I like you too, I’m just a bit confused about how this all makes sense.” 

 “I didn’t know,” he managed out, stilted. “I really didn’t know.” 

 “Didn’t know what?” 

 “I’m not your real secret admirer.” Rick corrected himself. “I wasn’t your first.” 

 “Okay…” 

“There were those weird letters at first. The random ones. And I didn’t understand why they got under my skin so much. But they did. So I found the guy who was making them and I-" 

 "Really," Beth deadpanned.

 "I know, I know." Rick scowled. "I found out it was that they were being forced to.” 

 Sourness etched over her mouth as it pulled her lips thin together. “Oh.” 

 “And I wanted it to quit but by then it was involving the bullying of that other guy, not just you.” Rick sighed. “So I took over to help.” 

 “Rick.” 

 “I just didn’t want you to get crushed!” he told her, going into more detail about Joseph and the football team. “I was going to explain when it was all over what happened, and you were going to laugh it off and thank me and then I would’ve shrugged that off because it was whatever. It was the right thing to do.”  

 “But?” 

 Rick rolled his eyes at himself. “But I liked what I was doing too much for it to be normal.” He raised his head to give her a crooked smile. “I like you. ” 

 “You are so ridiculous,” she giggled out. She stood up and leisurely made her way to the locker. “So you have this important letter in here for me that you want me to read?” She toyed with her combination lock. “What’s in it?” 

 “Uh. A mess?” 

 “I’ll keep it for later then,” she decided and grabbed his hand. He stood up and followed her, hyper-aware of the way she led him away with her hand in his. “Come on, we have something we need to do.” 

 She brought him to the school library, which Rick did not understand. She sat him down at a macbook and darted in to kiss his cheek. Rick stuttered, lightheaded as she booted up his computer. 

 “Uh- What exactly are we doing?” 

 “Writing.” She tapped on his keyboard and moved his still hands over them with an exciting squeeze. “There are four more days left in the month and I don’t know about you but I’d really rather spend our free periods and after school with you on a date.”

 "That is...a really good idea." 

 She glanced up from their screen to find Cameron watching them oddly. 

 Beth awkwardly waved. 

 “Why is he looking at us like that?” 

 “I don’t know. I don’t care.” Rick put his arm around her, ignoring everyone else. He leaned forward to steal her move, gently kissing away her curiosity. 

 Beth grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder as he typed lines and lines of compliments. “Then I don’t care either.”

[softlilacmoonlight]

Satan x Reader - Starving

(Y/N) pov:

Oh my gosh. I am so hungry! What am I going to do? I've been starving myself dry, and quite frankly... I can barely take it anymore! I need to come up with a solution and fast. Lately, I've been avoiding the brothers, and pretty much anyone who can breathe. While it hurts, I must do it. I can't allow myself to harm them.

Third-person pov:

Little to (Y/N)'s knowledge, everybody was currently gathered in the living room of the House of Lamentation. Some were fretting, others plotting, but they all had the same intention. They all wished to make you escape your room and return to your once-loving self.

"Whatever it is, we must help her with it," states Diavolo, expression scrunched up in worry.

Shaking his head, Belphie (surprisingly awake) pipes up, "How do we do that if she won't even talk to us?"

"We have to lure her out," replies Mammon. "What'dya think she'd want?"

Satan puts a hand up to his chin, his eyes shining with deep thought. "Leave it to me."

With that, after a little arguing, the group disbanded. Everything was now riding on Satan's shoulders.

Satan pov:

Hopefully, this works. If not then I don't know what will.

I leave my room and start to make my way through the house. Taking turn after turn, down a flight of stairs, and a few more twists, I find myself outside of the human's door. I lightly knock, but there's no answer. Determined, I knock again louder. When that also gets no answer, I try the doorknob. To my utter surprise, the door is unlocked and openly accessible.

Turning the knob, I enter the pitch-black room. "(Y/N)? Are you in here?"

"Satan? Please. Leave me alone. I do not wish to have company." comes a tired and ragged voice.

Barely, I can make out the shape of a body laying on the bed. Walking over, I gently grasp (Y/N)'s hand. "(Y/N)? What's wrong? Tell me. Everybody is worried about you. Besides, I have something for you."

"I don't want any of your gifts. Get. Out." she grumbles, anger and frustration tinging her voice.

Refusing, I squeeze her hand. "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving till you tell me."

Before I can react, a pair of blood-red glowing eyes meet my own emerald orbs. "I. Said. Leave."

"(Y/N)! What is going on with you!?" I exclaim in shock as she whips away from me clutching her head.

Her body trembles as she talks to me. "Get... out... text..."

Understanding her meaning, I rush out of the room slamming the door behind me. I run past my brothers in the hall and make my way quickly into my own room. Yanking up my phone, I quickly open my messages up and tap on (Y/N)'s contact.

In Private Chat with (Y/N)

(Y/N): Satan... please don't tell the others about what just happened.

Satan: (Y/N)! How can I not! What is happening to you!?

(Y/N): If you tell them... I'll never be accepted. >_<

Satan: (Y/N), of course, you'll be accepted. We all care about you, but we can't help if you don't confide in us.

(Y/N): I'm not ready to tell everybody yet...

Satan: Then I shall keep your secret... as long as you tell me and let me assist you.

(Y/N): Satan... I... I have no other choice, do I? Alright... I'm a vampire.

Satan: 0.0

(Y/N): Please don't be afraid of me! I don't kill humans, I get their permission before feeding! Please Satan?! Please believe me!?

Satan: ... Alright. I believe you. After all, you've never attacked us.

(Y/N): That would be my worst nightmare, but I can't be around blood right now. I've been starving myself, and when you came in I was far too close to losing control.

Satan: (Y/N)... don't worry about a thing. I'll handle this. Where can I get you blood?

(Y/N): Satan... you're absolutely amazing. There is a vampire blood bank in the human realm where you can get blood. I'll set the specially lined purse I have for this outside of my door. Show them my ID and explain that I need blood. They will send it with you and you can slip it into the purse to hide it. I'll place my ID inside the purse for you.

Satan: Alright. I'll be back in an hour.

(Y/N): You're the best! Thank you, Satan!

Satan has gone offline

(Y/N) has gone offline

An hour later, brought to you by me having a whole other one-shot to type...

After a million years, I eventually make it back to the House of Lamentation, blood purse in hand. Using a series of spells, I make my way up to (Y/N)'s room undetected, and against my better judgment enter the room.

"(Y/N)?" I whisper into the darkness. "I have your blood."

"S-S-S-Satan?" hoarsely croaks a voice before breaking into a ragged cough. "I... I'm too weak to get out of bed. All of my energy has left me."

She lets out some more gut-wrenching coughs. "Shhh... I'm here. (Y/N) I'm here."

Carefully, I make my way over to the bed. My eyes barely make out the outline of (Y/N)'s body and face. Cupping the back of her head, I gently help her drink the blood after removing it from the purse. Almost instantly, her eyes fully shut and she slips into a deep slumber.

Silently, I leave the room with the blood bag returned to the inside of the purse. After escaping from the house once more, I make my way deep into the forest being increasingly careful not to be caught. When I could no longer see the top of the house, I use a little magic to start a fire in the clearing. I take the bag from the purse and watch as the fire burns it to ash, and when I'm certain nothing is left I put out the fire and make my way back to the house.

Once in (Y/N)'s room, I use a little bit more of my magic to light a small floating candle next to me so I can read and watch over her sleeping form. I settle into the seat and open the book. (Y/N) always loves it when I read to her, so opening the book of poems I start to read.

(Y/N) pov:

Waking up, I catch a whisp of a smooth voice gliding through the air. Keeping my eyes shut, I silently listen to the entirety of the poem:

Romance, who loves to nod and sing, With drowsy head and folded wing, Among the green leaves as they shake Far down within some shadowy lake, To me a painted paroquet Hath been—a most familiar bird— Taught me my alphabet to say— To lisp my very earliest word While in the wild wood I did lie, A child—with a most knowing eye. Of late, eternal Condor years So shake the very Heaven on high With tumult as they thunder by, I have no time for idle cares Through gazing on the unquiet sky. And when an hour with calmer wings Its down upon my spirit flings— That little time with lyre and rhyme To while away—forbidden things! My heart would feel to be a crime Unless it trembled with the strings. (-Edgar Allan Poe)

I recognize the poem as that of Edgar Allan Poe, specifically a piece named Romance. How I always did love it.

Opening my eyes, I turn to the gentle light of the candle. "That was amazing. Thank you, Satan."

"You're welcome (Y/N). How are you feeling?" he whispers while threading his fingers through my hair.

I lean into his warm and alive touch. "I feel much better. How about we join the others for dinner?"

"Alright, if you feel up to it," answers Satan with kindness and patience laced through his voice.

"Oh, and Satan?" Turning around, Satan comes back to the bedside. In the blink of an eye, I pull him down and kiss him right on the lips.

I can feel his body stiffen in shock, but as I pull away from the kiss he yanks me back. This time he roughly places kisses on my lips and pushes me back onto the bed. We kiss until we can no longer hold our breath, or should I say till Satan can no longer hold his breath.

"Well, well, well... Mr. Gentleman has a rough love side." I tease, hands on top of Satan's heaving chest.

His face flushes a deep red. "I... I love you (Y/N)."

"I love you too Satan. Although, I think you better tidy your wrinkled shirt and ruffled hair before we go to dinner, otherwise the others will think we did more than kiss." I tease raising an eyebrow in a mocking tone.

In a state of panic, Satan flings himself off of me and flusteredly puts himself back together. However, little did it matter.

Asmo quickly noticed that Satan's coat was missing when we sat down at dinner. Poor Satan turned scarlet as he explained that he had to turn up the temperature in my room since I was feeling sick and that he took off his coat since he got too hot. Asmo however didn't believe a word of it.

"Well... someone was definitely hot," I state with a smirk, causing Asmo to dramatically gasp. "But I think I have a right to think that about my new boyfriend."

"BOYFRIEND!" exclaims six other demons, and with that Satan picks me up and runs for it. This year just got even more interesting.

[ua-monoma]

.10.20.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

[shinsou is online]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Oh...

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

Hello again...

v-shinsou

... hello

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I wasn't sure if you'd come back.

You seemed pretty adamant to avoid talking with us the last time...

v-shinsou

well, surprise or whatever...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Yeah...

v-shinsou

yeah...

not like i have many other options

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Hahahahahaa.

Yeah.

v-shinsou

yeah...

youre one of the ones that are... supposed to be here, right?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

That's some... interesting wording... What does that mean?

v-shinsou

youre not from another timeline or whatever, right?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Oh. No. I'm not.

v-shinsou

huh...

you were a hero student, right?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Am.

I'm... currently taking a bit of a leave of absence, ahahaa... A personal vacation.... hahaha.

v-shinsou

a vacation to... here?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Haha. Ha.

...hehehe...

Yes, it's a little ridiculous when you put it like that, ha...

v-shinsou

... yeah...

why? [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█ ...

v-shinsou

...

shouldnt you maybe... not admit to still considering yourself a hero student in here?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... Hm?

Oh... Perhaps you're right, I suppose I should keep the delusion I'm operating under more of a secret, a private... thing....

But then I'd miss all the opportunities for such delightful pity... Oh, poor Monoma, so broken, he still doesn't realize, hahahaa, let's coddle him and do what we can...

No, you're right, there are better strategies, I suppose... I suppose I. Oh. ... yes... I suppose I've been slipping....

v-shinsou

yeah...

normally, saying that kind of stuff is how you get tortured or just... disappear.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Maybe that's what I want.

I've got such a penchant for being tortured, after all! I was thinking of making it a career of sorts, actually...

Not very familiar with the underground, but I'm sure there's a thriving business there for that very thing...

Not that my captors here would allow me to be shared in such a way, oh no, all so selfish, ahaha...

v-todoroki

Neito...

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Todoroki-kun! Hello... I was just thinking about you.

v-todoroki

Were you?...I've been worrying about you.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Worried...? Ah.

Why? Hm.

Well, I'm glad you're here... I wanted to tell you that I missed you. Too.

I miss you, too. Haha.

...Don't be worried about me...

v-todoroki

I am. I will be.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Why...?

v-todoroki

I care about you.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... Aha... oh.

v-shinsou

gross... [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-todoroki

Keep in touch. If I can help let me know.

[shouto. is idle.]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

ugh...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Aha... My apologies... having such a conversation in front of a third party... not the most considerate of us...

v-shinsou

whatever...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

youre certainly...something... for a hero student

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... I'll take that as a compliment.

v-shinsou

...

it wasnt one. [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█ ...

Ah. Anyway.

Enough about me,,,

Have you gotten used to our universe yet? I understand it's a jarring experience...

v-shinsou

what kind of question is that...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Um.

v-shinsou

no, i havent

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Okay... sorry.

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I didn't... mean to offend... just thought it'd be a topic of conversation, maybe...

Sorry.

I'll just stop trying. Stop... talking. A...ha... ah...

This is so wrong, I hate it, I don't remember this being so hard...

v-shinsou

what are you on about?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Sorry.

v-shinsou

whatever...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Habit, bad habit...

v-shinsou

friendly reminder, im not the version of me youre used to

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

you should get used to that instead of pretending, hero student

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Okay. Sorry.

v-shinsou

mhhm...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

It's... an adjustment... I just have to adjust... alright...

v-shinsou

yeah.

whatever...

it's certainly not nice to be dropped into a completely different timeline where i have like, virtually nothing.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... Yes... I'm sure that'd be at least moderately terrible...

v-shinsou

yeah, moderately...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Aha...

v-shinsou

what?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Nothing in particular...

v-shinsou

that so?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

If you really wanted to analyze my every reason for laughing, we'd be here all night and day, probably...

Not that I'd mind that, I suppose...

Ahah.

v-shinsou

...

id have to care about you to want to analyze your laughter [deleted]

no thanks.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Aha... 'twas merely a joke, it wasn't an invitation...

v-shinsou

... yeah, whatever...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

are a lot of the things you say supposed to be jokes or something?

or are you just... like that? [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Considering how representative they are of my life, yes. I suppose they are.

v-shinsou

...

was you saying that you wanted to take care of me some sort of weird joke too?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

If you'd like to take it that way, sure.

v-shinsou

...

youve got a pretty fucked sense of humor...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Comes from being pretty fucked up.

v-shinsou

for a hero student [deleted]

yeah...

totally didn't pick that up when you were telling me how much of a masochist you are [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

You really dislike me...

v-shinsou

why wouldnt i, hero student?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

what?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Nothing.

v-shinsou

...

whatever

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Lot to adjust to, is all.

Why even continue this conversation, if you hate me so...? Why are you wasting your time?

v-shinsou

... you just answered your own question

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...?

v-shinsou

im wasting time, since ive got nothing better to do right now

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Ah.

v-shinsou

why talk to me if you know that i dont like you?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Masochism, as you aptly pointed out earlier. Or, maybe I just keep hoping to change your mind. Or, maybe I'm using this conversation to make myself feel worse. Or, loneliness, as my dear friend mentioned the other day... again, another thing I could go on all night and day about.

My actions of late haven't made much sense. So.

v-shinsou

change my mind?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

That is what I said, yes.

v-shinsou

you want me to change my mind about what exactly? you?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I suppose.

v-shinsou

how exactly do you want me to change?

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I don't know, exactly...

Haha, I just don't love being hated, is all... It's fine, don't even worry...

v-shinsou

no one does, hero student whatever... should get used to being hated if youre going to continue with your 'vacation'

@v-aizawa

My, I see another new face has been added since I was last online. And the lost little lamb is here as well.

v-shinsou

creep.

@v-hawks

...

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... Fantastic... Always wonderful when we're all getting along...

v-shinsou

shut up.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Haha.

v-shinsou

[control freak is idle]

n-hawks

...

@v-kaminari

yeesh thats a mess n a half

n-hawks

mess...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... You're someone I'm unfamiliar of...

v-hawks

ahh...

v-kaminari

oh! that is right! i also dont know you all either so thats. funny. yeah.

n-hawks

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... Are you going to introduce yourself, then...

v-kaminari

i dont really wanna reveal my name yet i dont think but.......hiiiiiiiiii im. attempting at becoming a more powerful villain, thats about it for now

n-hawks

powerful... villain...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Fine way to attempt it. By staying hidden.

...

Though, I suppose it works for some...

Tch...

v-hawks

hahahaa.. doesn't it.

i'm hawks.

n-hawks

hawks...

v-hawks

so is he.

n-hawks

...

v-kaminari

well, its not like i wanna be Popular or anything....yet, at least, i wanna work more on things and laying low while i gather more um. resources and allies.. sounds best doesnt it? sounds more fun if i can fully emerge with a bang

v-shinsou

[control freak is no longer idle]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

But you've already emerged, haven't you...? Just by being here, you already have a presence... you'd think, if you wanted a more impressive presentation, you'd have one right from the start...

v-kaminari

true i did fuck that up a little....i got lonely :(

v-shinsou

who's this?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Hahahhaaa.... isn't that adorable...

v-kaminari

well, since the bitch pointed out my plan was flawed i shall reveal my name, so sad i messed it all up not fun

im denki kaminari, dont rat me out sweetheart

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

Aha, alright...

v-shinsou

another hero student double...

v-hawks

lovely...

v-kaminari

the hell you mean by that?

v-hawks

gettin to look like a fuckin daycare round here.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I hate this... I hate this...

v-shinsou

... wouldnt you get a kick you of that, creep?

v-hawks

kaitou..?

n-hawks

kaitou...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

I hate this.......... I hate this...........

n-hawks

hate...

v-shinsou

maybe you should've picked a better place to vacation, hero student

v-hawks

hey, calm down..

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Hahaha.

Wouldn't matter.

All these replications... you all follow me around... like cockroaches... doesn't matter where I go, God, there's so many of you now...

I hate it I hate it I hate it

v-shinsou

cockroaches, huh?

v-kaminari

well um. i think that would be my cue to leaaaavee i do NOT wanna make an enemy like. 5 minutes into chillin with my villains....does not sound FUN so im gonna make like a library book and check out-

[shocker is offline]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

ugh...

guess even the doubles of hero students are annoying

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

hopefully the double of you that pops out isn't as self centered as you are

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

... me...?

There won't be a double of me...

v-shinsou

how can you be so sure?

dont we follow you like... cockroaches?

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

v-shinsou

what? youre the one that said it

im just making sure that you dont forget

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

"Forget"... aha

I have a headache my head hurts

v-shinsou

poor you

maybe thats a sign that its time for your vacation to fucking end

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

...

This is so tiring... I don't understand what you're doing... tired... tiring... if you want to hurt me so badly, I'd rather you just do it in person... tiring...

Since it makes you feel better... clearly does... why delay yourself the fun you'll clearly have...

v-shinsou

oh fuck you

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

What... why are you angry now...

v-shinsou

not really into torturing people, sorry to disappoint.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

You want to act like a bully, I'm allowing you the full opportunity... You clearly want to prove your dominance somehow, I'm trying to give that to you.....

v-shinsou

...

if i wanted to bully you, i'd be a hell of a lot fucking crueler to you

just run back to ua already, hero student

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

So you're a bully that can't commit. Somehow that's even worse.

v-shinsou

stop calling me that.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Make me.

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Don't you fully have the ability to? C'mon. I'll be the only one who even lets you use your little quirk on them.

I'll answer anything you like.

v-shinsou

oh fuck off already...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

You don't like me when I try to help you, you don't like me as the victim, you don't like me giving you everything you obviously want... ahaha, you are so hard to please...

v-shinsou

help me?

someone like you will never fucking help me.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

You don't know anything about me.

v-shinsou

youre one of the lucky ones

none of the lucky ones want to get anywhere near a freak like me [deleted]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Oh, yes, I'm so fortunate, that's exactly why I'm here... because I was the one who won fate's hand...

Is that what you're after, then? Petty vengeance?

Come get it, then.

Release your frustrations. I don't mind.

You obviously want to live out a fantasy of power. Go ahead.

v-shinsou

fuck off.

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

You're perfectly within your power to stop talking to me if you aren't enjoying yourself, Shinsou-kun.

v-shinsou

dont call me that...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Hahahaa.... Well, if I can't call you by your name and I can't call you by what you are, what should I call you?

Freak? Would you prefer that?

Freak.

v-shinsou

...

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Freak freak freak.

v-shinsou

[control freak used illegal software to download your location]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

Incredible. I would have just told you where I am.

v-shinsou

[control freak is idle]

█►─═ ₭卂𝔦†ᵒù ═─◄█

So impolite...

...

[valiantsilver]

Riftmakers AU Chapter One

It’s the post that literally no one asked for, but you’re getting it anyway!

This is the first chapter of a story I am writing containing my OCs. It’s pretty bad but yeah. I’ve got two chapters written so far, this is the first one.

Warnings: Swear words

————————————————————

Chapter One: A Fresh Start

Tristen Joseph was in a bad mood.

This would be surprising information to anybody who knew Tristen, as he seemed to make it a point to be happy all the time - or at least try to be. Even when the phantom pains from his right arm brought tears to his eyes, he always had some sort of witty joke or bad pun on the tip of his tongue.

Not today though. Today, there were no jokes.

The people in his small village, who had practically raised the boy since he was discovered as a wailing baby on a doorstep 16 years previously, tried to figure out what was wrong. But they wouldn’t figure it out. Tristen knew this because the only evidence of what was wrong was held in his hands.

The letter had soured his mood right from the first sentence, by addressing him by his deadname, the one written on a slip of paper that had been placed atop baby Tristan’s blankets. The one that had his last name as Gordon. Using his deadname was, quite obviously, not a way to get on good terms with Tristen. And it had only gotten worse.

Everyone had heard of Cliff Gordon’s recent death. How could they not? He’d somehow managed to publicise the bloody thing by leaving his fortune to his many, many illegitimate children. Tristen had no issues with the man - hell, he actually quite liked his role as Fritz Donnegan - but had no real interest in him outside of that, and had thought of their similar surnames as an interesting coincidence at most.

Not any more.

The letter spelled it out in blunt, black ink - he was one of Cliff’s illegitimate children. Apparently he’d recieve his share of the fortune in a few weeks, but Tristen didn’t care. He didn’t need that damned money.

Most people might have been overjoyed at the revelation that they were descended from a celebrity, but it upset Tristen, who’d always envisioned heart wrenching scenes of two loving parents forced to leave their child behind when thinking of his abandonment, that his mother and father were probably nothing more than drunken blurs to each other on a dark and lonely night. It doubly hurt to think that he was probably a result of failed protection - a broken condom, a forgotten pill. So, he did what he always did when he was upset.

He went to the scrapyard.

Tristen had always been a bit of an inventor - hell, he’d created his own prosthetic arm. He enjoyed rummaging through the broken down pieces of machinery, seeing if he could make them new again. Most of all, inventing gave him something to do with hands, soothing his restless mind and helping him focus.

The greasy-haired man who owned the scrapyard nodded to Tristen as he entered. It was strange - Tristen had been coming here for years, yet the two had never exchanged a word. Tristen didn’t particularly mind. He didn’t think he was missing out on much.

The scrapyard was empty of people except for them. Tristen absent-mindedly wandered between teetering stacks of junk. He glanced from here to there, searching for something of interest, and was just eyeing up a beat-up Land Rover - he was almost old enough to drive after all - when something else caught his eye.

It was around the size and shape of a watermelon. Silver and black. Circuitry sticking out of one end, sparking. It looked...

Tristen swallowed.

It looked like a robotic human head.

As soon as that thought entered his head, Tristen had to get a closer look. He began scrambling up the junkpile to get to the head, then when he was near enough - which took longer than you might think - he grabbed it and brought it closer to him, holding it in both hands.

It was a robotic human head. Long and thin, with black hair sticking straight up out of its scalp. On the left cheek, the plating had fallen away to reveal a razor-sharp set of teeth. It’s eyes were shut. It looked vaguely familiar, but Tristen couldn’t think for the life of him why. It certainly didn’t look like him - they were both males (Tristen guessed) but that was where similarities ended. It’s face was sharp-featured, as though someone had sharpened it with a knife, whereas Tristen had a soft, pale, round face complete with large blue eyes and a mop of blond hair. He frowned. The head had seemed interesting before, but it was obviously inactive, just another piece of junk. Tristen went to put it back, disappointed.

That was when the eyes snapped open.

Tristen screamed and dropped the head, which let out an indignant cry. He tried to stand so he could run, but as soon as he planted his foot on the junk-mountain, his leg sank straight in and he was trapped.

Shit.

“Are you going to stop screaming any time soon, or will I have to offline my auditory sensors?” Tristen, realising he was still screaming, shut his mouth and stared at the head. It had spoken. And now - staring at him with those glowing red eyes - it spoke again. “That was a joke, by the way. I lost the capacity to offline those sensors when I lost the rest of my body.” Tristen stared dumbly at the head. “You’re a Nindroid.” He stated flatly. “Oh, well done!” The Nindroid snapped. “And I’m not just any Nindroid either. I am General Cryptor, loyal servant of the Overlord, and-” “Sorry?” The head scowled at the interruption. “What?” “You serve the Overlord?” “Yes, didn’t I just say that?” In spite of himself, Tristen snickered. “Dude... he’s old news. He was destroyed ages ago.” “My master cannot be destroyed!” “And yet, he has been.” “I will serve my master loyally, as I have always done-” “And how’s that worked out for you?

The head - Cryptor, if that was it’s (his?) name - froze. Tristen smirked. “Pretty much what I thought. Face it - you picked the loosing side.” Cryptor glared. “The Overlord is my creator. No matter what, I cannot abandon him.” “Like he’s abandoned you?” Tristen saw a flash of what looked like hurt cross the Nindroid’s face, and felt guilty. He’d gone too far. “Look, I can help you.” Cryptor looked up at this - well, he looked up as well as a severed head can. “I can fix you,” Tristen told him, quite honestly. “But you need to give up this whole ‘worshipping-the-Overlord’ business.”

If the Nindroid had had a chest it would have been puffing up in indignation. “Never! I am sworn to his services-” “Bye then.” Tristen pulled his leg free and began making his way down the pile.

“Wha- you can’t do this!”

“I pretty much can.”

“I’ll come and get you!”

“Good luck with that.”

“You- you stop right now!”

“Nope”

A few seconds of silence, broken only by Tristan’s scrabbling as he descended. Then -

“Fine!”

Tristen turned, a mockingly innocent smile in his face. “Hmmm?”

“Well, if he’s really destroyed as you say he is-” - the Nindroid paused, as though to say the words would be physical pain - “then I’ll stop. The Overlord will not be my master anymore.”

Tristen’s mocking smile widened. “Was that so hard?”

The Nindroid grumbled under his breath as Tristen scrambled back up to collect him.

————————————————————

So there we have it! Sorry if I butchered Cryptor’s character a bit, but it’s been literal years since I saw ns3 so literally all the information I had on him was what I could find on the Wiki page and all the amazing content and headcanons from @sayijo (sorry I massacred your boy in this story :/)

If you guys are interested, I’ll put up the second chapter and start working on a third!

Sorry if I offended anybody, I accept constructive criticism so please tell me how I can improve!!!

[bujeetles]

a very messy (m-rated) panda shrine avengers fic. to the two people reading this, hope you enjoy!

Peter Orso fucking hated his boss. He had always disliked Francis Monogram, his blatant favoritism towards the main branch and his upper management outlook were bad enough, but this? This was the last straw.

“Ah Agent P. Apologies for calling you on your day off.” he said through Peter’s watch, voice fuzzy and picture weak, because Peter had been hiking, and there wasn’t much signal on the mountain. He didn’t actually sound apologetic at all.

“As you’ve probably heard, some of the Avengers were recently in Danville, and OWCA had a manner of cooperation.”

“So?” he signed, raising his eyebrows even further than was probably necessary.

“Director Fury feels it necessary to set up protocol, in case a similar situation arises. We have elected to send you as the OWCA liaison.”

Peter bit the inside of his cheek to avoid a growl, because seriously? They were shacking this bullshit paper-trail nonsense on him?!

“Why not yours?” he asked, carefully steeling his face so it comes out neutral, instead of infuriated. After all, Agent Perry, Codename Platypus, had been the heroic savior of the hour, or whatever. (The pictures were pretty fun to look at, if he was honest. Very Silver Age.)

“Our Agent P is busy.” He said, like that was any excuse, they were all busy. “Seeing as your nemesis is currently...offline, you are our best option.”

Offline. What a lovely little euphemism, so peaceable, so voluntary sounding. How utterly bullshit. Mystery wasn’t ‘offline’, he was missing, he might even have been abducted, though Peter didn’t have enough evidence to say one way or the other. But Monogram could never say something like that, it would imply he gave a shit. In fact, he was probably actually sending Peter because he was tired of him using paid time to look for Mystery.

“When.”

“There will be an agent waiting as soon as you arrive back in civilization, Agent P. Do hurry.” he said, and hung up.

Fucking asshole.

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

Peter finished his hike, but there wasn’t any of the peace he’d hoped for in it. He had thought, being away from the city, he might think of some way to find Mystery. It was strange, he’d always been a thwart and run kind of agent, never staying with one person for long. He’d seen every type of evil there was and some things that weren’t so morally defined. He was unattached, and he was good.

And then Mystery, who never told him anything, and yet he was drawn back and back again, in his traps, in his non-specific monologues. After the kidnapping turned coffee date, they’d gotten closer to traditional, what with overarching the tragic backstory out in the open, but Peter kind of liked the not-knowing, having to figure it out from what little he did know.

Now he wondered, if they were normal, functional, healthy nemeses, maybe he could find him. But they weren’t. They were weird and wrong and made for each other.

He shook those thoughts away as he made his way into the parking lot, he didn’t like Monogram at all, but most of OWCA was solid. He couldn’t afford to let them down just because of his situation.

At first, he didn’t see anyone. The lot was empty, mini-vans and sedans everywhere, the occasional non-family car. His motorcycle. One blink later and there was a woman, tight-laced, no nonsense, gray suit. Very obvious, as far as secret agents went, but well, SHIELD was secret only in name, so perhaps it was appropriate. He walked over to her.

“Identification.” she said, in lieu of hello. Not exactly incognito. Still, he fished out his OWCA ID and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“I thought Agent P worked in Danville.” Peter sighed. Monogram really was leaving it all to him, huh.

“You sign?” he asked, because he hadn’t brought his notebook with him, since it was his day off. He could use his phone if it came down to it, but he didn’t like to. The brightness hurt his eyes.

“A little. Mostly military. You might have to finger spell.” she replied. Not ideal, but at least she wasn’t forcing him to write, nor was she being rude about it.

“Not that Agent P. He’s Platypus. I’m Panda.”

“Weird naming system you guys have got going on.” she said, and he snorted, because she didn’t even know about the alliteration convention, or Agent CH out in Arizona, or was it New Mexico?

“I’ll have to verify your identity on the Helicarrier, but I was going to do that anyway. Let’s go.” she said, and before he could ask their means of transportation, he saw the light gather around him, his stomach start to lurch.

‘Shit. Teleportation.’ Was his first thought. His second, ‘I’m going to pass out.’ He was right.

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

Peter woke up on a cot, with a headache and no sound. He could still feel the vibrations of the Helicarrier under him, but his aides were gone. Not on the table, not in his pocket. He swore under his breath, he’d already been on his spares, and OWCA insurance always fought tooth and nail when he requested a new pair. He wondered if SHIELD would pay the bill, this time. It was clearly their fault.

Something hit him in the head, not enough to hurt, but to get his attention, and there was a guy in purple and black spandex in the door, grinning wide. Peter didn’t pay a lot of attention to heroes, but the bow slung over his shoulder was a bit of a dead giveaway. Hawkeye.

“New aides, if you want.” he signed, and it was confident, natural. Peter’s gaze flicked to his ears, the curling piece of plastic resting there. Huh.

“Didn’t know Hawkeye was deaf.” he said as he stood, tucking the box into his pocket. He didn’t really want to hear what he was feeling, not with the headache he was sporting.

“Try to keep it on the down low. Villains and all.” he said with a shrug, which was fair enough. “You’re from O-W-C-A, right?” Peter nodded.

“I’m supposed to feed you to the sharks, but as we are deaf bros I’m obligated to save you.” There was a dramatic tone to his signs, almost like he was performing. It made Peter smile. Perry was the only other person he could sign with easily, and he was all quick and efficient, like he was briefing someone. Of course, that could just be the circumstances. You thwart a taken nemesis one time and it’s all icy stares thereafter.

“Where to?” he asked, and Hawkeye grinned.

“We’re here to debrief, which means the gang is all here. How’d you like to meet the Avengers?”

He’s woken up to worse suggestions.

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

The first place Hawkeye inelegantly dragged him is a lab. Probably. Everything’s so techno-futuristic around here that it’s hard to tell. The occupant helped. It’s Iron Man, or Tony Stark, seeing as he wasn’t in the suit, poking away at screens and looking sleep deprived.

He wasn’t perturbed by their sudden entrance, at least, Peter was pretty sure he wasn’t. The damn screens meant he couldn’t see his lips, though they were moving so quickly he would probably have had trouble anyway. Well, couldn’t all be winners like Hawkeye, he mused, and popped the new aides in.

“-not to mention non-ripable pants for the Big Guy.” Huh. His voice wasn’t quite so deep, outside the suit. “Who’s your friend?” Stark asked, flicking the screens away. Bit late, but whatever.

“He’s the OWCA liaison, Agent P.”

“OWCA?”

“You know, the whole Danville thing?”

“Christ, is anyone ever going to let us live that down? Those kids were good though, hope they take up my offer on that internship.”

“Benefits of not having superpowers to take.” Hawkeye teased. Stark rolled his eyes.

“I don’t have powers either, dipshit. My suit is more zap proof now, though. So, what’s Agent P - you got something else I can call you? Seems a bit Men in Black.”

“Panda.” he signed, and Clint translated.

“That’s what the P stands for?” he asked, incredulous.

“Your name is Iron Man.” he deadpanned.

“Fair enough. Whatcha’ doing here, Agent Panda?” he asked, a little sing-song, like he was echoing.

“Avoiding my responsibilities.”

Stark laughed at that, long and deep, until his breath couldn’t sustain it any longer.

“I like this guy. OWCA might not be so bad.” he declared, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Peter should have stayed quiet. OWCA did not want to get on the bad side of literal superheroes, and overall it did a lot of good. But it felt wrong, not to forewarn him.

“My boss is a jackass.” He wore a scowl as he said it, his teeth grinding together in frustration. His rage had faded a little, being in Hawkeye’s company, but it was back now, and it burned.

“Oof. We’ve all been there. What’s his particular flavor of jackassery? Let me guess: bad insurance, overworked and underpaid.” Stark commiserated.

“My money’s on non-ADA compliance and subtle but consistent bigotry.” Hawkeye chipped in.

Neither of these accusations were wrong, and it’s not like Peter enjoyed them, but they weren’t the reasons he really hated Monogram enough to tell superheroes about it. He wondered if he should tell them the truth of the matter. Maybe they could actually help.

And honestly? Peter was desperate.

“My...” He paused. He couldn’t call Mystery his nemesis, it was a different term on their level. Part of the reason Peter didn’t pay attention to heroes was the evil that followed them, he didn’t like thinking about the cursed red Nazi still walking around. He was happiest when things were on OWCA’s scale. Preventable, personal, often petty. It was evil still, and the more extreme scientists might even be thrown in jail if schemes turned deadly, but for the most part? OWCA prevented the smart and broken from destroying the world by giving them something to do. With that in mind, the term he did use wasn’t technically a lie.

“My partner disappeared last week. He doesn’t want me looking for him.”

Stark and Hawkeye shared a look, one that conveyed information he wasn’t able to decipher, a wordless (and signless) conversation which ended on agreement.

“Let’s call the Cap.”

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

Everything after that was a bit of a blur, if Peter was honest. Captain America asked for everything he knew about Mystery’s last whereabouts, he told him. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it might be, not mentioning the villainy. Mystery was so closed off even his intentions weren’t obvious to see.

He’s about 70% sure they think Mystery is his lover, which is funny and fucked up and only two degrees away from the truth.  There was something kinetic in animosity, similar to sex, and he’s not going to pretend he hasn’t thought about combining the two with Mystery. So many secrets he could unravel under his tongue,  his fingers, and he could just kiss him and kiss him and never stop.

Reality wasn’t that kind. Reality was in the forms he finally picked up, another gut-wrenching teleportation, an empty apartment and a vague promise of news that might never come. Reality was insomnia, coffee he had to pour down the drain because one of the few things he did know is how much Mystery loves it, and he’s not here. Reality was tears that didn’t count because his eyes were still closed.

Reality could go fuck itself.

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

Four months went by, slow as an ocean current, before Hawkeye - civilian name Clint Barton - texted Peter an update that didn’t include some sort of apology. A photo of a rumpled looking man in a mask with the eyes of a cursed spirit, and a caption that killed in understatement. “he’s kind of grumpy, isn’t he?”

“Yes, yes he is.” he texts back, immediate.

“your bf is kinda dumb, you know”

“like brilliant and whatever but also”

“the only reason he disappeared is b/c of some very illegal wormhole manipulation”

“good luck with the charges on that”

“I’ll manage. When can I come and get him?”

“we were just going to drop him off tbh; you don’t have a good history with teleports”

“also wtf i can’t believe you had us calling you panda for months when your name is actually peter”

“aww he’s asking if you saw anyone else while he was gone”

“I mean he said thwart which is a bit of a weird word choice but seattle so who knows”

“No. I’ve been on desk duty this whole time. I got offers, but I refused.”

“double aww I told him what you said and now he’s all flustered”

“anyway meet us in this field in like an hour”

Peter put on his fedora and googles, sent an email about stopping his nemesis, his nemesis, who was back! He followed the coordinates to a park barely inside Seattle city limits, a little squalid, cameras broken or unattended. All the better for SHIELD’s fake secrecy agenda, when four people beam out of the sky. Thor and Hawkeye were holding Mystery steady, while Dr. Banner - Hulk or not the man had doctorates, while Peter had barely survived grad school - looked on with vague concern.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be, Peter the Panda.” Mystery growled as he righted himself, and oh how he had missed it, the insults, the banter.

“Not at the moment.”

“Peachy. You know, in another dimension, you’re an actual Panda. And you still left me for Doofenshmirtz. Not exactly encouraging.” he accused, moving towards him, one, two steps.

“He’s not a bad night’s call. But you’re my nemesis.”

Mystery’s eyes went wide, and Peter regretted every second he’d spent stepping out, in downplaying how important Mystery was to him, because it was so obvious in his retrospect.

“You mean that?” he asked, a tremor muffled under fabric. When Peter nodded, the distance between them disappeared, the knife glinted against his throat.

“Very well, Peter the Panda. I will take great joy on obliterating you and bringing havoc upon the entire Pacific Northwest,” He pulled away and smirked. “Tomorrow afternoon. Don’t be late.” With that, he strode off into the depths of the greater Seattle area.

“Did we just rescue a super villain?” Hawkeye asked, blinking furiously.

“OWCA business. Don’t worry, he’s mine.”

[calligraphist-artemisia]

I’ll Take Her Place (Chapter 7)

Summary:  AU. When Allura breaks the news that she is to wed Prince Lotor in order to continue the peaceful relationship between Altea and Daibazaal, Pidge knows that she has to do something to change that. And so, with a little help, she comes up with a new plan. A better plan

Pairings: Keith/Pidge (main) ; Shiro/Allura (minor), Hunk/Lance (minor) ; Lotor/Allura (one-sided)

Chapter 1 - Previous - Masterpost

Also on AO3 and fanfiction.net

Work’s still pretty crazy, but it should start calming down after Christmas and then I’ll have more time to work on this fic.

Chapter 7

Hunk awoke warm and comfortable in his own bed and not in the middle of a desert with a name he could barely pronounce, spending the night fighting off large reptilian monsters that wanted to kill him.

Why couldn't he ever get the nice planets like Pidge and Lance? They each got to spend a day on their own in a jungle full of colorful flora and friendly fauna and on a planet that was basically a giant ocean populated by mermaids.

He was determined not to leave his bed for any reason until at least noon. The others would just have to deal with food goo for breakfast. And maybe lunch. He hadn't decided.

Hunk snuggled deeper in his blankets with a happy sigh. He'd sleep for a few more vargas and then get up.

As he started to drift off back to sleep, his bedroom door slid open with a quiet sound and Lance stepped inside with a tray of food. It was the delicious aroma which roused Hunk from slumber. He made a questioning sound, opening his eyes to watch his boyfriend move around to his side of the bed, where he placed the tray on the end table.

“Hey, babe, I made pancakes,” Lance said, his voice full of warm affection. He leaned down to kiss Hunk's forehead, but was unprepared for his boyfriend removing one arm from under the blankets to pull Lance into bed with him.

Lance went down with a yelp of surprise, somehow avoiding kicking the nightstand or elbowing or kneeing Hunk in any unfortunate places. He huffed as he settled down on his side of the bed, brown hair mussed. “So this is what I get for bringing you breakfast in bed?”

“Sorry, I couldn't resist,” Hunk apologized with a small smile. “You look cute like this.”

Lance's cheeks darkened slightly. “You haven't even said 'good morning' to me yet.”

Moving slowly enough that Lance would have time to stop him if he wasn't in a playful mood like he seemed to be, Hunk scooted over until he could easily move his head and kiss him softly on the lips. “Good morning. Thank you for making me breakfast.”

Lance smiled as he moved in for another kiss. “I even put in that fruit you like.”

Hunk made a pleased sound. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Hunk was happy to make an amendment to his plan. Instead of sleeping until noon, he wanted to spend the morning cuddling with Lance, exchanging kisses, and eating the food his boyfriend had thoughtfully made for him.

Keithir hesitated at the door to the training deck, unsure if he would be welcome inside that morning, even though Shiro had told him numerous times that he was always welcome to join him. He knew the other paladins were back from their three day long exercise and were less likely to be as accepting of him as Shiro. And if he was being honest, he wasn't ready to see Lady Katherine yet.

“You can't avoid her forever,” he quietly reminded himself as he punched in his temporary code and went inside.

Shiro was there, sparring against one of the gladiators, his new prosthetic limb glowing with a faint violet light as he punched his fist straight through the robot's chest. By the look of surprise on his face, Keithir guessed it wasn't something he'd expected.

“It looks good,” Keithir called out to him.

Shiro turned to greet him, ordering the program to shut down as he did so. “It feels good. Better than the old one,” he said with a smile. “I almost wish I'd asked one of them to look at it sooner.”

“So you're not mad about mother taking away your arm anymore?” Keithir asked teasingly.

It was so easy to relax around Shiro, to make jokes and let a sliver of himself shine though without the worry of being judged. Around Shiro, he wasn't the younger prince of Daibazaal, he was just a regular person.

Shiro chuckled. “Not anymore. Though I think I was in the right to be annoyed. I spent three days trying to do everything with only one arm and had to send my team off without me.”

“I think you did pretty good,” Keithir said. “So, what are we doing this morning? Hand-to-hand?”

Shiro looked uneasily at his arm. “I don't know about that. I'm still learning what this thing can do. And no offense, but your hand-to-hand could use some work. You could get hurt.”

Keithir had grown fond of Shiro's obvious concern for his safety in the short period of time they had been training together, but sometimes he felt like the man was trying to tread too carefully. He wasn't going to break from a little rough treatment – he'd been training with Thace and Kolivan since he was just a cub.

“I can handle it. Galra are tougher than you think,” Keithir said confidently, as he stepped into the center of the room. “You want to find out what your limits are, right? You're not going to do that by fighting robots all morning.”

Shiro looked like he wanted to argue, but Keithir held firm, waiting for the Black Paladin to agree. After a minute, Shiro sighed.

“You're not going to change your mind, are you?”

Keithir grinned. “Not a chance.”

Shiro took up a position across from Keithir. “Computer, activate intermediate training protocols.”

There was a shimmering effect as a barrier went up around them, giving them enough space to move freely, but providing safety to anyone who happened to enter during their match. Keithir also suspected that there was a safety net in place to prevent any lethal blows from being dealt, which was Shiro's biggest concern with his arm.

And so they began.

From his build, Keithir hadn't expected Shiro to be as fast or graceful as he was. He almost wished he had agreed to gladiators, if only so he could watch the paladin fight. It was more than just his form. With every adjustment Keithir made to try and best him, Shiro adapted as well, never once breaking his stride.

He found himself dodging more and more, moving as fast as he could, trying to find some advantage, some weakness. There had to be something. A chink in the armor that he could exploit. No one was that good.

Except for Kolivan. But Kolivan had to be that good. He was the leader of the Blade of Marmora, a secretive organization dedicated to the preservation of peace for all worlds. Thinking that Shiro was near that level was crazy.

Right?

The longer they went and the more winded he got, Keithir started to think it wasn't such a crazy thought. Shiro had barely broken out in a sweat and they'd been going for some time. Not to mention that he had been running a program before Keithir showed up.

The door to the training deck slid open to reveal Princess Allura and Lady Katherine, which distracted Keithir just long enough for Shiro to land a hard punch on his right shoulder, knocking him off his feet and crashing into the floor.

He was aware of the older man cursing and the sound of footsteps racing across the room. Keithir's entire shoulder radiated with pain as he struggled to push himself up using only his left arm. He caught sight of Lady Katherine rushing to the supply room, before Shiro was at his side, blocking his view.

“Prince Keithir, are you alright?” Allura asked, her voice filled with concern.

“I'm fine,” Keithir replied, even as his arm throbbed in protest. He looked to Shiro and tried to grin, but it came out as more of a grimace. “I know I teased you about your arm earlier, but did you really have to show me what it feels like?”

Shiro stared at him for a moment, a bit shocked by the joke, but then caught on and started to laugh.

Allura continued to worry as she hovered nearby. “Are you certain you're alright? We could have a scan done, just to be sure. Maybe you should spend a few doboshes in a cryo-pod?”

“They might still be offline. Coran mentioned it before we left,” Lady Katherine reminded the princess as she approached with a lightly glowing, blue pack in her hands. She tried to pass it off to Shiro, but he frowned at her and refused to take it.

“Pidge...” Shiro said gently.

She struggled for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Keithir's gaze. He couldn't even begin to guess at what she was thinking, her expression unreadable to him.

“Lady Katherine,” he said, breaking the tension.

“Prince Keithir,” she responded. There was a moment when he thought she had more to add, but instead she held out the glowing pack. “It's for your shoulder. It'll help.”

“Oh... thanks.” Keithir took it from her, feeling the mild chill it emanated. He wondered how it would help, but placed it on his shoulder anyway. A numbing coolness spread across his skin, penetrating into the forming bruise and bringing immediate relief.

“I should go. I have to check on something,” Lady Katherine told Shiro. “It won't take long.”

There was something important.

The reason he'd been reluctant to see her again.

It was more than just the awkwardness between them. More than how nervous he felt when he thought about telling her that he was the half-Galra servant she'd been talking to.

“Lady Katherine!” he called out to her as she began to walk away. When she stopped, he knew he had her attention. “Would you like to go on a walk through the gardens later? After dinner?”

She turned her head to look at him and nodded in acceptance. “I'd like that.”

Keithir felt relief unrelated to the dissipating pain in his shoulder. “I'll pick you up at your room at seven.”

“I'll see you then,” Lady Katherine said.

And then she was gone.

Pidge had no idea what she was doing.

She thought a little time away from the Castle, bonding with the Green Lion, and putting a little distance between her and everything else going on would help her see things a little more clearly, but she felt just as lost and confused as she did before she left.

She hadn't even fawned over Shiro's new arm! It was sure to be a beautifully crafted piece of technology, but the sight of Prince Keithir being knocked to the floor had driven every thought of examining it from her mind. And then she'd frozen up when she brought him the ice pack, like she was incapable of handling even something so simple.

Pidge groaned in frustration as she stopped in the middle of the hall.

Why had she just agreed to a walk in the gardens with him? They couldn't even handle a walk from the dining all to her room without her mucking things up and overreacting to the mention of a color!

Pidge could feel a sleepy purr from Greenie rumbling through their bond, soothing her and reminding her to calm down.

“Maybe I'll go work on Rover,” she said to herself. It would calm her down, and while she was tinkering she would be able to think without her emotions getting in the way and clouding her judgment.

She turned around and began to walk back the way she came, taking the elevator down to the hangars rather than up to the training deck, her mind already calculating all of the changes needed to make Rover work properly.

The elevator stopped sooner than she expected, jarring her from her thoughts and then further knocking her off track as Empress Honerva stepped inside with Coran and a Galra she assumed to be Ulaz.

“Ah, back from training, I see!” Coran said by way of greeting. “Good to see you're in one piece!”

There was something about his tone of voice that set off alarm bells in her head. “Are the cryo-pods still out of commission?”

Coran's mustache drooped. “I'm afraid so. We've tried to boot them back up, but now two of them are no longer working. I'd hoped shutting them down would prevent this from happening, but...” He put on a smile that was meant to be reassuring. “Nothing to worry about! We'll have this figured out in no time!”

There was a soft 'ping!' as they arrived on the bottom floor and the doors opened.

“Good luck, Coran,” Pidge said as she went to step off.

“Lady Katherine, may I have a word in private?” Empress Honerva asked, catching the doors before they could close. She patiently waited for permission before leaving the elevator.

“Sure,” Pidge agreed, her nervousness returning twofold at the prospect of being left alone with Prince Keithir's mother. “We can talk in my hangar.”

Promising to catch up to Coran and Ulaz later, Honerva followed Pidge the short distance to the Green Lions hangar. Once inside, she spent a few long ticks looking around in interest.

“You wanted to talk, your majesty?”

Honerva laughed softly. “Just Honerva, please. We're to be family in just a few months. There's no need for such formalities.”

Pidge thought she might be able to manage calling the Empress by her first name, but doing the same for Emperor Zarkon was almost unthinkable. “Then please call me Pidge. Or Katie,” she requested.

“Katie,” Honerva tested the name. “I wish to speak to you about my son.”

Pidge's heart rate picked up. “About Prince Keithir?”

Honerva shook her head, locking eyes with the young paladin, her expression serious. “I wish to speak to you about Lotor.”

[james-bionic-barnes]

Update Part 2

A Heads-Up

Okay so, again I’d like to point out that I’m writing this at 4 in the morning so it’s definitely still sincere, but no one is going to see this if I post it at the time I’m writing this so this post (and probably even some asks) will be queued, but whatever I say in them I still definitely mean, I just want them to be seen & not be lost because of the time I’m posting them. Also, I’m going to divide this up a little bit through titles just so it’s easier to skip to the important parts because I’m probably going to ramble & type a lot in this, & I do want those who care to see my explanation as to what happened. Please AT LEAST read the TL;DR near the bottom (after the ‘read more’ link, that is) so that you can avoid my stupid rambling, but know briefly what happened.

My tentative plan is to be active tomorrow & respond to messages (& to any of my friends who might be reading this, I’m sorry that I’m not responding but I don’t want to do so at almost 4 am my time.) However, I am in an area that might be possibly affected slightly by Hurricane Harvey so if I lose power due to storms, I’ll respond on my phone as much as I can, although it’ll take me longer to type out the long messages that I’d like to, but when I’m free (I’m currently in the midst of unpacking & getting ready for school) I’ll respond as much as I can, since obviously, everyone deserves that.

The ‘read more’ link below starts with my actual explanation as to what happened to me & why I was gone for so long. If you read it, or even just skim it (which I’ll understand because I want to let people know what happened, & there IS a TL;DR near the bottom), I hope you understand. But no matter what, I love & appreciate you all <3

What Happened (in as few words as possible, which is still a lot)

So about right after I hit 3k & posted how I wanted to celebrate, I stayed offline for a bit because I was hanging out with family, with full intent to get back on & host a celebration for 3k followers & continue conversations with my friends as always, and ask everyone for opinions on what I should write next. About right after posting my last post, my family got into a tight spot financially, both my parents & as well as my sister & her husband. Obviously, we were all stressed about it despite the fact we knew we were probably going to be okay. But it was a major stress not knowing if my sister was going to be able to pay for groceries or not. Eventually, we got mostly out of that, however, but my stress didn’t really go away.

All summer I’ve been packing and getting ready to move to an apartment close to where I go to school, along with my mother moving in to help me. Even though I was extremely excited at the idea of decorating my own apartment and being closer to the school campus that I love, I was (and still am, honestly) extremely stressed about it. Even though I have my mom with me, the rest of my family (my sister & her husband, and my dad) are back home. But the entire process took forever (as moving does) and I just got more stressed as time went on since I was worried about not getting everything done. That, compounded with my regular stress and anxiety just snowballed on me and made my mental health take a nose-dive. I barely did more than stay in bed and sleep, or just marathon shows I’ve seen before just to let my brain rest a bit and get away from the stress.

I had a brief good period during late July - I celebrated my birthday as well as my mom’s, and I spent a lot of time with family and relaxed a bit. But then my sister began to have issues at work - and I mean issues. She works at the entrance desk of a psychiatric hospital. She deals with visitors before they are allowed back to visit patients, and obviously, there are mandatory requirements before you are allowed back. When a particular woman wasn’t allowed back, she began to physically threaten my sister, & attacked her verbally right in the lobby while my sister’s boss just stood there. The woman has returned twice and each time threatened my sister’s life and continued to attack her verbally and insult her, as her boss does nothing to help. On top of all this, my sister is pregnant with her first child - clearly, this isn’t an environment for her to be in if she’s possibly going to be threatened or hurt. Thankfully, she’s quitting, and hopefully she’ll find another job soon, since it’ll be tight financially for her again, but we’re praying everything works out.

But the biggest personal cause of stress has been school - I start Monday, and although I am now *mostly* moved into my apartment, I still feel under prepared. Not to mention that there was a screw-up in my financial aid process so I’ve been worried about that even though it’s probably fine. Still, school is my biggest source of stress, so now that it’s starting again I’m worried of it getting too much again like last time. Hopefully, since I’m in a different environment this year (with my mother & cats in an apartment, & not in a tiny dorm), my health (both physical & mental) should be better off as I have a lot more ways to cope with it. As some of you might know, I’m physically disabled & have chronic pain, so last year’s dorm situation was not ideal for my health. But now that my living situation is different, I guess I’ll just have to see how everything goes.

The longer I was away (and obviously, I’ve only “come back” just recently, if you can even say that), the worse I felt about tumblr & getting back on - I figured that since I hadn’t posted much writing before I left, if I came back saying that I might not be able to write for a while, I’d just be met with anger. Which, I admit, is a complete discredit to my followers - all of you that I’ve interacted with have been absolute sweethearts, and completely understand. But still, my anxiety got the better of me, and it just spiraled. And I especially felt like shit when it came to the idea of talking to my friends again - since I left every one of you hanging, I just felt like I’d immediately come back to not wanting to talk to me anymore. Which, even though I haven’t been able to speak to anyone yet, I still think it’s a complete discredit to you as well, since every single friend I’ve made on here has treated me with complete & utter kindness & love. And I’ve always made it a point to be kind to people and to always work to be the best friend I can be - which, clearly, I have not been doing AT ALL. I’ll talk to each one of you, I promise, and hopefully everything can be worked out and I can finally apologize to you, too, since each one of your friendships mean an incredible amount to me and I don’t want to lose any of them.

TL;DR - Why I Was Gone

tight financial situations with my family

moving to an apartment for school

school starting soon/financial aid mess up

my sister being threatened and her job & her financial situation now that she’s quitting and expecting her first child

worry that once I came back after being gone for so long, I’d just be met with anger and every one of my friends dropping me

My anxiety just making everything seem so much worse than what it’s probably is going to be, especially when I think of coming back & talking to my friends

& my mental health has been absolute shit since I left and until I get everything worked out here, it’s still probably going to be.

Apology (& this is the last thing, I promise)

So if you at least read the tl;dr, you got a brief idea of what happened to me and why I dropped off the face of the earth again. Despite all of what happened couldn’t exactly be avoided, and that I’m still accepting the fact that I’m allowed to not be okay, even if it’s for a longer period than I would want to, I still am so sorry I disappeared. Believe me, every day I was gone I was so torn about coming back and would go to the login page but would just psych myself out since I was so scared of the backlash I might be met with due to my anxiety causing me to worry about it. I thought of all of you & would read a bunch of my favorite fanfics of all of my friends just to help make me feel better when I had really bad days. But I’m sorry I never actually responded to anyone (that is, until I start to tomorrow, but my apology will still apply), & that I feel completely horrible for, and I don’t think I can get that across in few enough words to not sound pathetic or just to not make this post any longer. But I want everyone to know that I’m sorry for vanishing like that and for any hurt I may have caused during all of this.

After seeing tomorrow (I guess later today, technically?) what some of the reactions are to this, hopefully some of my stress will be a bit lifted about the anxiety of returning back here. Once school starts (and the actual true work starts, not just the opening week) and I find my routine, I plan to figure out exactly how active I can be. At the very least, I plan to be on as much as possible & respond to everyone & reblog, but I’m not sure yet how writing is going to go. If I’m able to, I might just start off with a drabble or two, maybe a one-shot. It all depends on how much free time I have after school starts and how I’m dealing with the stress. For now, I’m back on a writing hiatus (not that I was off of one much before I disappeared) but I’ll see what happens after all this settles down.

I’m still recovering, and a few of these issues are still ongoing, and obviously, mental health is always going to be a struggle for me, and whatever happens is pretty much unavoidable - it’s life, after all. But still, I ask that everyone is patient with me as I respond to asks and messages when I can. I promise I’ll get to everyone. I just need to get back up, and it might take a bit, but I’m going to work to get better, both with figuring out how active I can be, and as well as keeping myself healthy at the same time. For the meantime, I’ll queue up a couple of asks and maybe a few reblogs to appear after this, just so the most recent thing on my blog isn’t this mess.

Regardless of how people react to this, I am sorry about what happened. But I’m thankful for each and every one of you, and I hope that everything can kind of go back to where it was eventually. It’ll just take time, but I’m willing to work toward it if you all are. The people I interact with and the space I’ve created on here for myself (and hopefully, for others, too) has always been a place of love and support for me. It’s not something I ever take for granted - so thank you for all that you’ve done. I love you all <3

Sincerely,

Kathrynn

[chimericarchitect]

gallionicTrickster 5

-- gallionicTrickster [GT] began trolling talentedSalad [TS] at 21:47 --

[09:47] GT: nerd

[09:47] TS: Hey dude. You've been offline for a while.

[09:48] GT: oh you know

[09:48] GT: i been busy

[09:48] TS: With what? Your corpse party?

[09:48] GT: yeah pretty much

[09:48] TS: Is that REALLY what you've been doing?

[09:49] GT: did you know that seadwellers REALLY dont take kindly to criticism?

[09:49] TS: Oh no

[09:49] TS: What did you do?

[09:49] GT: same thing as always

[09:50] GT: talk shit from the safety of my hovel

[09:50] GT: #yolo

[09:50] TS: They came after you? #UFuckinIdiot

[09:50] GT: well its fine

[09:51] GT: my lusus was kinda hungry anyways

[09:51] GT: theyve developed a taste for seafood

[09:51] TS: dude

[09:51] TS: So

[09:51] TS: Are you okay?

[09:51] GT: yeah im fine

[09:51] GT: i do this all the time

[09:51] TS: To seadwellers

[09:51] GT: well

[09:52] GT: they tend to last alot longer

[09:52] GT: but since my trap infested hive isnt where im actually hiding im not really in a whole lot of danger

[09:52] TS: Wait

[09:52] TS: You invited me over

[09:52] GT: pffft

[09:52] GT: yeah to my actual hive

[09:53] TS: PleaseExplain.exe

[09:53] GT: well

[09:53] GT: i kind of have a little bunker close to my "legitimate hive"

[09:54] GT: as a cerulean im given quite a bit of freedom in designing my hive

[09:54] GT: i live in a tiny underground box

[09:54] GT: right next to a giant deathtrap

[09:55] GT: im not much of a hunter myself

[09:56] GT: so i figured if i lured enough easily offended assholes to my hive i can just let them die to a bunch of traps

[09:56] GT: and my lusus get fed ma boi

[09:56] TS: Yeah, but... I mean, I'm surprised you'd go to such lengths. 'Specially considering hives are designed by wrigglers. You were a creepy grub.

[09:56] GT: yeah pretty much

[09:57] TS: So, if everything is fine, why've you been hiding out for days on end?

[09:57] TS: you haven't said a word

[09:58] GT: that last violet blood was a bit smarter than i gave him credit for

[09:58] TS: What happened?

[09:58] GT: almost made it out alive

[09:58] GT: gave my lusus a run for his money

[09:59] TS: Is your lusus hurt?

[09:59] GT: not too poorly

[09:59] GT: just a few scratcges here and there

[10:01] TS: Concerned.exe

[10:02] GT: shouldnt be.exe

[10:02] TS: AreYouSureAboutThat.meme

[10:02] GT: dankasfuckbro.mem

[10:02] TS: You ruffian.

[10:02] GT: pretty much

[10:02] TS: Do you know the seadweller's name?

[10:03] TS: Did you get their lusus too?

[10:03] GT: nah

[10:03] GT: unless you count clamSmasher69 as a "name"

[10:04] TS: I don't think so. Do you know the names of ANY of your victims?

[10:04] TS: Or is it just usernames?

[10:04] GT: usually just usernames

[10:04] TS: Does that make it easier?

[10:04] GT: yeah basically

[10:05] GT: i also usually target the upper end of the hemospectrum because the lifestyle of the high and mighty makes it easy to piss them off

[10:05] GT: but stupidity is universal

[10:06] GT: i get the occasional lowblood here and there

[10:06] TS: You've probably made a few enemies

[10:06] TS: to say the least

[10:06] GT: yeah basically

[10:06] GT: i kind of hate our species anyways

[10:07] GT: either i end up dead or i cull so many highbloods that our society changes in some slightly pleasant way

[10:07] GT: either way i kind of win

[10:07] TS: Wow. Bit of a black slut, huh?

[10:08] TS: JK

[10:08] TS: It sucks

[10:08] GT: eh

[10:08] GT: it is what it is

[10:08] GT: its why most of my freinds are lower on the spectrum

[10:10] TS: Nobody's ever figured out your secret technique?\

[10:11] GT: not yet

[10:11] GT: i give out my location so they dont really need to "track me down"

[10:11] GT: avoids them finding my hidey hole

[10:12] GT: i keep a few tricks up my sleeve just in case

[10:12] TS: And no one's been smart enough to think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the fact that you hand out your coordinates is a touch strange?

[10:12] TS: Bleh

[10:12] GT: its almost like i specifically target trolls that arnt very bright

[10:13] TS: You can't know that as an absolute

[10:13] TS: You barely resaerch your targets at all

[10:13] TS: You don't even know their names

[10:13] GT: no

[10:13] GT: thats true

[10:14] GT: i usually pick people who consistantly act like an ass over trollian

[10:15] TS: Does that mean you'd cull yourself if you met you?

[10:15] GT: yeah basically

[10:15] TS: datk

[10:16] TS: *dark

[10:16] GT: the main difference being that i can laugh at myself and let it go

[10:17] GT: if someones so up their own ass that they need to go hunt someone down for calling them a pussy

[10:17] GT: then they kind of are just asking to get killed

[10:18] TS: *shrugs*

[10:18] TS: I wouldn't know

[10:19] GT: *shrugs*

[10:19] GT: *SHRUGGING INTENSIFIES*

[10:19] TS: *POWERSHRUG ACTIVATE*

[10:19] GT: *ENDLESS SHRUG*

[10:19] TS: *THE SHRUGWAR BEGINS TO DISSOLVE SPACETIME*

[10:20] GT: *shrugmageddon*

[10:20] TS: *the shruggening*

[10:21] GT: so tell me about yourself lowblood

[10:21] GT: your one of like

[10:21] GT: 4 people i cponsider friends?

[10:22] TS: You have four friends? That's pretty wild

[10:22] GT: yeah basically

[10:22] TS: You seem okay, so...

[10:22] TS: What do you wanna know?

[10:22] GT: eh

[10:22] GT: nothing specific

[10:23] GT: so why do you roleplay a lime blood over trollian?

[10:23] TS: Well, I mean...

[10:23] TS: Mystery is cool, right?

[10:23] GT: thats fair

[10:24] TS: I mean, what if you ACTUALLY met a limeblood?

[10:24] GT: well idk

[10:25] GT: i dont really care much

[10:25] GT: i mean sure itd be rare and thats cool

[10:25] GT: but eh

[10:25] GT: blood color only really means how long you live and how beefy your arms are

[10:26] TS: You make an interesting point, Teivel. Why do you think the limebloods were hunted to extinction, then?

[10:26] GT: although i heard limes were crazt strong with psionics

[10:26] TS: Is that why?

[10:26] GT: well i mean

[10:26] GT: probobly

[10:26] GT: either that

[10:27] GT: or some petty grievance betweenthem and the highbloods

[10:27] TS: If THAT was all it took, I don't think limebloods would be the only extinct caste

[10:27] GT: because the highbloods tend to cull anything that displeases their delicate sensibilities

[10:27] TS: to a degree

[10:28] GT: so it was probobly because a caste that was lower on the spectrum had crazy strong powers

[10:28] GT: and the higher bloods wanted to maintain the status quo of "being top dog"

[10:30] TS: Most lowbloods have stronger psychic abilities, and besides. You're a highblood too.

[10:30] GT: blegh

[10:30] GT: dont remind me

[10:30] TS: Haha! Is it really so bad?

[10:31] GT: no not particularly

[10:31] GT: im just kind of a pansy

[10:31] GT: that and well

[10:31] GT: i dont exactly get the highblood treatment anymore

[10:32] TS: Not after killing off so many others, right? Or is it because of something else?

[10:32] GT: well highbloods killing highbloods is basically the morning salute for our people

[10:32] GT: its because of this thing

[10:32] GT: idk

[10:33] TS: What thing? :/

[10:33] GT: blegh

[10:34] GT: a couple sweeps back i developed a weird mutation

[10:35] TS: A couple sweeps ago?? That's unusual. I thought most mutations happened during wrigglerhood

[10:35] TS: WHat is it?

[10:35] GT: well fuck it

[10:35] GT: i have a third horn

[10:36] GT: its small and it grew in much later

[10:36] TS: Huh. That was enough for you to get excommunicated?

[10:36] GT: well

[10:37] GT: its not really commonly known

[10:37] GT: i stopped going outside basically

[10:37] TS: Oh. SO you've only recently become a shut-in? I thought that was just how you'd always lived.

[10:37] GT: well i tend to stay indoors anyways

[10:38] GT: i dont live to close to anyone in particular

[10:38] GT: but still

[10:39] GT: less its known less problems ill have

[10:39] TS: Then how have you lost your highblood status if no one knows?

[10:40] GT: its not like a club or anything

[10:40] GT: we dont have membership cards

[10:40] GT: its just how people talk to you and react to you

[10:41] TS: What's changed?

[10:41] GT: idk actually

[10:42] GT: mostly that ive become scared of going outside and that its inevitable that im going to get culled at some point

[10:43] GT: i never really exerted much of my highblood authority before that anyways

[10:43] TS: Join the club, I guess

[10:43] TS: It's interesting

[10:43] TS: I think

[10:43] TS: Yeah

[10:44] TS: Krolio is the only normal friend I have now

[10:44] GT: krolio rules

[10:44] TS: Tru.net

[10:44] GT: i find that olive bloods tend to be pretty chill

[10:46] GT: not constantly being stepped on by litterally everyone while not exactly being encouraged to treat everyone like shit tends to produce trolls that arnt that awful

[10:46] TS: I'll tell Krolio you think he's cool

[10:46] TS: So like, does it hurt? Your new horn, I mean.

[10:46] GT: oh like a sonuvabitch

[10:46] TS: :(

[10:47] GT: i can feel it growing

[10:47] TS: (lewd.gov)

[10:47] GT: its like if a knife decided to grow out your forehead

[10:47] TS: Oh

[10:47] TS: That's... awful, right?

[10:47] TS: Have you been stabbed before?

[10:47] GT: no

[10:47] GT: but i imagine its pretty awful

[10:48] TS: Not that you have a lot to imagine, I guess

[10:53] TS: Is that it, though? Just a new horn?

-- gallionicTrickster [GT] is now an idle chum! --

[10:58] GT: well

[11:01] GT: i can like

[11:01] GT: move stuff

[11:01] GT: if i think hard

[11:02] TS: Wait, really? I wasn't actually expecting you to get bitchin' powers or anything.

[11:02] TS: You're not pulling my leg, are you?

[11:02] GT: no

[11:02] GT: it makes my head ache a little when i do it

[11:02] GT: but its no so bad with tiny things

[11:03] TS: That's...

[11:03] TS: Really cool!

[11:03] TS: ^_^

[11:03] GT: dfgfcgcgvhbjkjhgfcgvhbjnnhgfg

[11:04] GT: im not used to compliments

[11:04] GT: you dont think im a freak?

[11:04] TS: Well, not really

[11:04] TS: I'm more freaked out by the killing, honestly...

[11:04] TS: I'm a shit troll

[11:05] TS: SHHHHH.exe

[11:05] GT: thats fine

[11:05] GT: you got better stuff to do with your life anyways

[11:05] GT: considering that statistically your like

[11:06] GT: not gonna live as long as others

[11:06] TS: Maybe not.

[11:06] TS: Hm.

[11:07] TS: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my own mortality

[11:07] GT: well

[11:07] GT: its good to be aware of it

[11:07] GT: most highbloods think theyre gonna live for centuries

[11:08] GT: im sure youve already outlived several of them

[11:08] TS: YIKES.SUPERNOPE

[11:08] GT: yikes.superyes ;D

[11:09] TS: You're a real wild one

[11:09] TS: It's interesting

[11:09] TS: I appreciate you

[11:09] TS: Uh, sorry

[11:09] GT: dfghjnhgfccgvhbjhgvcf

[11:10] GT: thats very nice of you

[11:10] GT: YOU ARE EQUALLY APRECIATED FRIEND

[11:11] TS: WOWZERS/CAPSLOCK.SUPERCOOL@NERDGATHERING.COM

[11:11] GT: #capslockisgangsta

[11:11] TS: #bitchyouknowit

[11:12] GT: so what is your actual blood color?

[11:12] TS: Oh, well...

[11:12] TS: MMMMMMM

[11:12] TS: Okay

[11:12] TS: But stay shushed about it

[11:12] TS: I really am lime

[11:12] GT: wait

[11:13] GT: what

[11:13] GT: fo sho?

[11:13] TS: Yeh, for reals

[11:13] GT: fuck

[11:13] GT: thats awesome

[11:13] GT: i mean im sure its actually kind of terrible cause like

[11:14] GT: most trolls would kill you on sight

[11:14] GT: but still thats super cool

[11:14] GT: congrats

[11:14] GT: but also my condolenses

[11:14] TS: Dude

[11:14] TS: Nice

[11:14] GT: so like

[11:15] GT: can you shoot lasers?

[11:15] GT: ive heard you guys shopot lasers

[11:15] TS: I... Lasers? I'm surprised you believe me. Unless you're just being an ass.

[11:15] TS: Are you being an ass?

[11:16] GT: well idk

[11:16] GT: i was just trying to be polite

[11:16] GT: i figured you were telling the truth

[11:16] TS: Well, I AM, but...

[11:16] TS: You don't need proof? You just... trust me?

[11:17] GT: well sure i guess

[11:17] GT: i trusted you enough to mention my freakazoid horn

[11:18] TS: Huh. Well, I mean, it's not like I can hurt you for having a mutation

[11:18] TS: Not from here

[11:19] GT: then maby you should come to my hole in the ground and hang out

[11:19] GT: by hanging me

[11:19] GT: or something

[11:23] TS: You and your sinister overtones of drama and despair

[11:24] TS: Classic Teivel

[11:24] GT: yeah basically

[11:25] TS: That's swiftly becoming your catchphrase, you know

[11:25] GT: yeah

[11:25] GT: BASICALLY

[11:26] TS: exhasperated.autorun

[11:27] GT: so are we like moirails?

[11:27] GT: or just shitheads?

[11:27] TS: Shitheads

[11:27] TS: definitely

[11:27] GT: ok cool

[11:27] GT: shitheads fo life

[11:28] TS: shithead_fistbump/DOIT.edu

[11:28] GT: fuck

[11:29] GT: dank

[11:29] TS: SERIOUS STUFF!!

[11:29] TS: Is your lusus actually okay?

[11:29] GT: yeah they fine

[11:29] GT: they a big tough lizard

[11:29] TS: Lizards are the master race confirmed

[11:30] TS: stay tuned for more useful facts

[11:30] GT: YO

[11:30] TS: So, how big is that new horn? Does it match your others?

[11:30] GT: thats lewd

[11:30] GT: its tiny

[11:30] TS: dude

[11:31] GT: but its vlike

[11:31] GT: still growing

[11:31] TS: It's been growing for, uh... two sweeps, you said? And it's still tiny

[11:32] GT: compared to my normal horns yeah

[11:32] TS: Huh

[11:32] TS: So wait

[11:32] TS: how tall are you?

[11:35] GT: 6'4''

[11:36] TS: Huh

[11:36] TS: Still tall, but not as dramatic as I though

[11:36] TS: Aren't highbloods supposed to be massive?

[11:36] GT: eh

[11:36] GT: thats rascist

[11:37] TS: Nice

[11:37] GT: ye

[11:37] TS: SO are you a shrimp or not?

[11:39] GT: not particularly

[11:40] TS: Okay, that's a relief

[11:40] TS: I've never seen anything other than the Jade bloods

[11:40] TS: so I wouldn't know

[11:40] TS: Ignorant racism, I guess

[11:40] TS: caste-ism?

[11:41] GT: its fine

[11:41] GT: friendly cast-ism is a-ok in my book

[11:41] GT: be careful tho

[11:41] GT: might mistake it for a black-rom flirting

[11:42] TS: That's just because you're an idiot

[11:42] TS: and everything has to do with romance

[11:42] TS: Hey, dude?

[11:42] TS: I gotta go

[11:42] TS: prior arrangements

[11:43] GT: okey dokey

[11:43] GT: ima go sleep in my cacoon

[11:43] TS: You do that

[11:43] TS: Catch you later

[11:43] GT: cya later limey ;)

-- gallionicTrickster [GT] gave up trolling talentedSalad [TS] at 23:44 --

@gallionictrickster

[rarespine]

What Lurks Below

I’m going to die. Plain and simple, the end of the road is pretty near for me. I’m floating around in space, alone inside the small scavenger ship that has been my home for what feels like an eternity now. I have no idea what time it is, or even what day it is… But honestly, does that really matter? It’s all the same out here in the empty black void, and the concept of time is now lost on me. At some point, I was heading back to Earth after an intensely bad asteroid mining run… but now getting home is just a pipe dream.

So here I am, propped up in the pilots chair with nothing but a pen, an old instruction manual to write on, and a story to tell. I’ve got limited ship power to spare, so the ship’s systems have all been powered down save for life support and basic dimmed lighting – and they won’t last much longer by my estimation. So I better get this thing done. If someone out there happens to be reading this over my dead body… Give me a proper send off, please?

Now, being a one man crew wasn’t initially the plan, but being a one man operation does mean 100% of the profits, right? I’m such an idiot. Plus, do you want to know what the real kicker is? I’m losing my mind. I’m going insane. I’m actually going bat-shit crazy with what I’ve seen and heard!

It all started happening during an otherwise routine mining expedition. I had been feeling a bit more tired and lethargic than usual, but I put that down to needing time to acclimate back to space – Life out here is a lot different than back at my apartment in Neo Melbourne (The Australian Empire represent!... how I miss it). I had discovered a small asteroid field in the region between Jupiter and Saturn, way beyond the usual hotspots in the asteroid belt on the other side of good ol’ Jupe. It wasn’t a United Galaxy Federation sanctioned zone, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

The trip wasn’t much of a problem for my (admittedly tiny) ship’s FTL drive, but there was always the concern about space pirates. A risk I was willing to take for a big score of course… and boy did I find one. After combing through the field for a little while, I found a small group with several small objects and one massive asteroid. Like, I’m talking unusually huge here for what is normally seen inside sanctioned mining zones.

There was a shimmer about it too, an almost neon reflective glow to it as you moved around it. The rock almost seemed to be stuck in place, as though it was unmoving and held still by an invisible hand. I was honestly a bit unsettled at first, but that quickly gave way to excitement. Big score! One big thought came to mind; could this potentially be some kind of exotic material that nobody has seen before, or at the very least an extremely rare mineral? I had to collect some of this and take it back home, make a big score, and then sneak back to my little secluded spot for more!

Now, I know my ship is far too small to be making any kind of safe operation on such a large and potentially unstable rock, but I could not pass up this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I went in very slowly and carefully towards the asteroid, and when my landing gear made contact with the side of it, the ship shuddered violently as if the asteroid was trying to shake it off. I honestly thought she was going to tear in half! All told that lasted only several seconds and then everything instantly calmed down. Nerves pretty rattled, I decided to get on with it. This turned out to be another stupid move.

I prepared the ship’s drilling instruments to do their thing, and after a bit of messing about with control panels and whatnot, got the job started. As soon as the drills hit the rock there was an immense sound; a painfully strong echo that shook the ship and pained the ears. I’ll never forget the sound – it was as though a thousand orca whales cried… no, screamed out in unison. It was a horrific sound.

Next thing I knew, I woke up floating around the ship. I had blacked out and the gravity module in the ship was knocked offline. I don’t know exactly how long I was out for, but I was still on the rock and the ship was subtly shaking – no, more like vibrating. My ears were still ringing like mad, and upon closer inspection with my fingers, had bled due to ruptured eardrums. However long I had blacked out for, it was enough time for the blood to clot and dry.

I gathered myself as best I could and made plans to get off this thing. Whatever was wrong with this asteroid, I wanted nothing to do with it. After trying to retract the drilling instruments (they wouldn’t retract and snapped off… of course!), I decided to just get the hell out of here. As the ship’s landing gear released its suction pads and took off, I rolled the ship facing where I had landed to see the damage. Sure enough, my drills were still down there – snapped off and stuck in the surface. But that wasn’t the thing that caught my attention the most. Long cracks spread out from the impact point the drills had made, and these went further up the surface then I could see from my viewpoint. These long cracks originating from such a small and insignificant hole left behind by the drills. It made no sense!

I decided not to give it much more thought and to just get the heck out of there. It was then that I noticed it wasn’t my ship that was slightly vibrating – it was the asteroid. Since logic had gone out the window the moment I saw this thing, I didn’t want to think about it any longer.

Initially I full throttled the ship out of there, but once I got far enough away to feel a bit safer, slowed her right down to do a diagnostics check. She was in a bad way, but still workable. My Faster-Than-Light warp drive was still functioning, which meant getting home shouldn’t be a problem. What was an issue, however, was that the systems power was draining far quicker than it had any right to be. Not being a trained engineer, I had no idea where to even start with it. But a few simple math problems later, I realised I’d have enough to FTL out of here and to get at least within orbit of Earth before the ship went into forced emergency power mode. After finally reaching a safe enough FTL spot, I spun it up and prepared to jump.

Vital Systems functional? Check. Gravity back on? Not vital but far more comfortable. So check. FTL drive stable? Check. Ship hull integrity at a safe level? Check!

With all these sorted out, I strapped in and pressed the engage button. I completed my jump and landed some way off the designated jump zones behind the Moon. Calculations were either off or the FTL malfunctioned. Worse still, I felt awful. Now, usually FTL travel is unpleasant and a bit nauseating at the best of times. It’s normal and all part of the experience. But this time, it was a totally different sensation.

Something was very, very wrong with me. My vision became really blurred, so much so that I couldn’t make out anything around me. I felt around my seat buckles and freed myself, moving out of the chair. As soon as I stood up, I fell to the ground instantly and heard the painful orca-like screaming once again. This time I didn’t just black out, no… This time I was somewhere else entirely.

Near instantaneously I was somewhere else, standing inside of a run-down and seemingly abandoned home. The room was near completely dark except for a corner of the room bathed in red light from the window opposite. I could see the paint peeling off the walls, holes the size of fists throughout and a mess of furniture such as a cradle strewn over the rotting floorboards. At this point I was one-hundred-percent sure I had lost my mind. I was probably dead in actuality. Yep, this must have been hell.

I glanced out the window and was met with the most surreal sight I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Blood red skies lined with pitch black and grey clouds, above what can only be described as utter chaos. Wherever this was, it was now unrecognisable. This could have been any of the planets that had matured human colonies and countries on them. It was then that I started hearing strange chanting. Subtle and muted at first, but quickly becoming louder and louder until I couldn’t even hear myself think. My hands instinctively cupped tightly over my ears as I made my way into other areas of the home. The sounds appeared to be coming from a room down a small flight of stairs – leading into the basement.

I wanted to run and to hide for my own safety and sanity. But yet something was drawing me towards the basement. A strange sound that appeared to underline the ongoing chanting, yet not at all in rhythm with it, and almost as if it was talking to me through its strange, incomprehensible whispers. A mix of whispering and guttural sounds all mixed into one blood chilling theme. Yet somehow it soothed me, removing all fear and feelings and placing my whole being into a numb and trance-like state. My legs began moving against my will, heading towards the basement door. One step, two steps, all the way down. The chants got louder and louder while the whispers continued to numb, and in my tranced state I slowly and calmly placed my hand upon the door handle and turned it.

The view from inside the basement became clear. Seven human figures adorned in black robes circled around a makeshift altar. It was as if these people had watched far too many old world movies, for they hit all the tropes. The stone altar was long in width; almost a bed, and covered in intricate markings and rune-like symbols. Even in the dim of the candle-lit room, these markings glowed with a bright orange-red, almost fire-like appearance.

Only one of the hooded figures stopped chanting and turned to face me when I opened the door. They pulled back their hood to reveal an older human woman with short brown hair. She stared at me for just a moment before her wrinkled mouth curled into a wicked smile. She motioned to the altar and right on command my body obeyed the order, slowly walking towards it.

I felt nothing. No fear, no sense of danger. I was trapped in a world of numbness. The strange whispers kept me dull and sedated. I reached the altar and turned to look at the old woman. She reached out and placed the palm of her left hand against my forehead, but only for a moment before motioning to lie down on the altar.

Unable to resist, and incapable of logical reasoning, I immediately did as was asked of me. Lying down and staring up at the wooden framed ceiling. Feeling absolutely no sense of dread or fear, while the hooded figures gathered closer, held me down and tied my arms and legs to hooks in the floorboards. That was, of course, until the whispers stopped. In an instant I regained my senses, head darting from side to side, the recollection of what I’ve done coming to me and forcing me to realise what a terrible mistake I had just made. I tried to yell and scream but no sound escaped. I tried moving my arms and legs in an attempt to break free, but they were bound far too tightly – there was no escape.

The robed people’s chanting grew louder and more intense. The old woman adorned her hood once again and reached inside of her robe, pulling out a large sharp knife. The blade wasn’t your ordinary murdering instrument – the metal was etched with more of the fire-like runes all across the blade, as though a madman had scrawled and scribbled all over it.

The blade was positioned above the centre of my chest, two hands firmly gripped upon the handle. I stared at the tip of the knife with the cold realisation this was it for me. The knife rose slightly and then plunged down with force. As the intense pain hit me, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I saw things; I heard things. Things I couldn’t believe or completely comprehend. I saw a planet in utter chaos. An earthquake the likes never before seen on any civilised planet, tearing up the surface and spewing molten lava from the incredible depths below. Ash and dust blot out any hint of a sun in the sky, and threw the entire planet into instant turmoil.

The whispers returned but this time I understood nearly every single word of it. It heralded the delivery of an unholy being from below, a creature born from that planets core, incubating like a developing chick ever since time existed for that planet. Growing stronger and maturing for a day and time that it would be released to wreak havoc upon anything that lived above. How did the people here get it all so wrong? How did they not know of this and discover this sooner?

The whispers spoke of each and every planet developing and housing such monstrosities. Every single creature that lived and survived above existed solely to unwittingly feed and nurture the hell beasts below.

Then… I saw it. For a split second I had visions witnessing the arrival of this demon. In that split second I saw a creature as tall as a skyscraper. Wings like a bat, but a body with thick stone-like hide. A head that looked like an experiment between a spider and a crocodile had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Twelve eyes that were as black as the void itself adorned its freakishly big and scaly head. Then it all faded to black.

Next thing I knew I was back on the ship. I had been on the ground, lying in a pool of my own vomit and saliva, staring blankly into nothingness until I regained awareness once again. My whole body ached as though an enormous weight had been upon me the entire time. My head spun; the things I saw and witnessed still swirling in my memory. I wanted it all to have been a horrible dream, but I couldn’t explain then, how I was able to feel that knife plunging into my chest, and the intense heat of the beast arriving from the depths below.

I managed to scramble to my feet and noticed that my auto-pilot had taken control. The metal blast doors on the windows had been released, obscuring any view from outside. The control panel blared with Danger warnings, warning about intense heat and radiation. It must have gone even further off course and gotten closer to some strange anomaly. I moved to override the blast door protocols for a peek outside the ship, and once one section was pulled up I was met with the worst sight of my life so far...

I saw a planet glowing deep crimson with billowing grey clouds. The heat through the ship windows was incredibly intense so I quickly released the blast windows once more. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening…

I pulled up the FTL screen and punched in Earth’s co-ordinates, and was met with two of the worst possible error screens. Engine failure and destination already reached. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The realisation hit me that there was no recourse left for me. The once sacred green and blue planet was now red, grey and black.

So that’s my story. I honestly doubt anybody will be coming anywhere near this planet to even reach my ship, and that’s provided I don’t end up burning in “Earth’s” atmosphere in the first place. But whatever happened to me on this journey; whatever it was I saw in my visions… It happened. Which must mean that no planet is actually safe… Oh god… You have to warn the Federation!

-The End…?-

[emlan]

The Ringed City trip report!

I'm no writer so I'll just bullet point some misc thoughts pretty much:

- I would've preferred if the long drop-downs was handled in another way. I always play offline since I like finding secrets myself and seeing 3 orange messages in front of a seemingly normal wall kinda gives away that it's an illusion. Since dev messages however show up no matter your online status they where quite the blaring neon signs!

- Obviously my ears perked up when Lorian got name dropped right away but then there's not a single ref to him or the Lothric royal family in rest of DLC? Why would you mention it in the first place then...I guess to refresh people's memories that he fought the Demon Prince way back when but even so it doesn't really bring anything new to the table.

I was mainly hoping for some info on the Queen of Lothric to finally get rid of the theory that she's Gwynevere but I suppose this will never go away...At least the Projected Heal miracle further hints that they’re separate people but you can easily read it both ways.

- Cute that the stone-humped hag ashes implies she was Lorian's (and/or lothric's) wetnurse tho, figures a good lad was handled by a (seemingly) good woman :3

- Not-Patches. I love Patches and his final sendoff was very cute with him gently just pushing you in the direction you needed to go anyway, but I can't help but feel like a salty smash player whining about wasted slots since he got in instead of a wholly new NPC. Also since I'm a swede I regged right away that his name was literally "patch" which kinda gave it a too cheeky On-The-Nose vibe.

- I suffered more than I should've at the hands of the swamp angel, the "parasite" form of the angels you need to kill to get rid of the flying ones looked so pitiful I wasn't sure if killing them would be a sin so I left it alone for a bit.

- Really nice that we got a lot of hot babe armor, Desert Sorceress for maximum sexy, Zullie's for Sexy But Modest, and Shira's outfit just looking lovely overall. Halflight's is also boob country if you wear it as female but it looks like cheap pirate cosplay to me. All outfits appreciated, but it would've been nice to have these options available much earlier. I mean to rush it you have to beat Friede at low level? I shudder at the thought. (Lothric's hoods mends quite nicely with Zullie's dress btw)

- While on the topic on armor I can't believe that even in the end we never got a defiled moonlight set.

- Demon Prince boss, the first half is quite manageable and the second quite hard, I'm not a fan of bosses where you have a long boring part wasting time to get to the real deal. The setup here with two seemingly sickly demons makes me wonder if they're trying to mirror twin princes but if that was the case they didn't seem to commit 100%

- I'm not sure how I feel about the Locust's talking about misc NPCs in the games, it's neat but why would they even bother mentioning someone as unimportant to the world as Irina for example? Ages has gone past.

- I LOVE the cleric turtle enemies!!! Such fun design, made me think about the dogs/spiders in Siren even though they're not quite as warped.

- The long stairway next to Shira with HOW-many-armor-fatties is plain BS. I assume the game expects you to kill them by plunging attacks since there is many ledge opportunities to do so in the area, but in the end it feels like the intention here is designed around blitzing it which is NG.

- "Show Your Humanity". I'm really salty since I actually DID realize what the game wanted here since I had tried a brance earlier trying to sneak past the bramble fatties but I didn't connect that it was standing in the actual swamp that triggered the humanity form. Used a few brances in front of the wall and didn't bother trying harder when it wouldn't cycle to the right one. It's such an unorthodox trigger for something as "important" as continuing a NPC quest, I just figured it would net me some treasure I wouldn't have use of anyway.

(Keeping Solaire alive in DS1 is also unorthodox but the way Patches waves you off makes it seem like the devs expected and wanted you to get his quest correct right away?)

But also randomly getting a ladder to drop down as a humanity sprite is just silly and too video game-y.

- Pretty odd to put a chloranthy ring as the loot on Gwyn's fancy Provide Thee Succ statue instead of something related to the story.

- Midir. I thought I had to kill this thing to progress since I was a huge tool not realizing I could just give the finger to Judicator Argo and open the door even though he told me to fuck off (please no bully I somehow didn't see any Open prompts, I guess I tried opening while he was still talking and that blocked me the first time I attempted it...???) So I butted my head against this flailing HP sponge longer than I should, the camera is a problem even when not locking on and you have to do so much running back and forth in the arena...But since he's 100% optional I don’t mind since it's nice they added something for non-scrubs unlike me to have fun with.

- Halflight, joke boss but then I most likely didn’t have an actual player spawn in. I'm not into PvP so this feature doesn't do anything for me, but fun gimmick to have an Old Monk style battle. Unfortunate that it's far into a DLC? I wonder how long it'll be active.

- Filianore is listed as Gwyn's youngest daughter (and also his favorite? Sorry 'vere.) so I guess this confirms that Yorshka isn't Gwyn's by blood (not that there was any doubt) since there's no way that waif tot can be older than Filly. Wish we got some more info on the mother/s here, it feels to me Filianore might've never even been in Anor Londo and was birthed by another mother than whoever produced the Gwyn-line series of kids.

Her room is so tiny it takes away the full awe of her sight, I wonder if this was a wise choice. In the artbook it looked much more airy and impressive.

- Gael, phase 2 is much more fun and almost easier than first (""easier"" that is, I still died over and over until I gave up and brought a friend ofc), he's just so aggressive in the start! His fancy bloodborne cape did however create the bloodborne problem of having too much parts moving around the boss making it hard to see where he was currently facing or doing.

- The fact that both he and painter constantly talked about The Dark Soul™ ruined any impact the story could've had, it's just plain silly hearing a game title repeated over and over.

In my heart I knew that none of the loose ???-lore tidbits in the main game would be brought up in the DLC but it still hurts that indeed none of them got touched upon. Yorshka's origins forever R.I.P. Overall though it was much more fun and interesting to play than AoA, so that was a treat!

Now how long will we have to wait for proper teasers about Fromsofts new projects I wonder. I'm excited to be able to play something completely fresh without constant callbacks, fanservice and conflicting lore due to there being multiple games in same series. Is just hope they don’t go too sci-fi.

[squadaloo]

My year in games - 2016

So for the past few years, I’ve been recapping the games I’ve played for the first time in the past year.  I was going to do things differently for 2017 as the first 6 months of this year were full of absolutely amazing games and the second half of the year is looking just as good.  However, I realized I actually never posted my 2016 games here, so let me do that first!  Here are the games I played in 2016 and what I thought of them:

The Witness (PC) - I actually wasn’t that big of a fan of Braid, but I like puzzles so I picked up Johnathan Blow’s latest game.  Quite fun with a lot of great puzzles, but suffers from indie art game syndrome where it thinks it’s more amazing and profound than it actually is.  Beat the main ending, didn’t beat every puzzle.

Star Fox Zero (Wii U) - The controls in this game get a lot of hate, but outside of a couple of circumstances, I thought the gyro controls made the game way more fun and with some practice became extremely rewarding.  However, the game is insanely short, and I had pretty much tired of the limited content after just 5 hours.  It has less content than even Star Fox 64 which is unacceptable for a supposedly major release in 2016.  Beat the game, didn’t get every medal because I’m not a completionist.

Star Fox Guard (Wii U) - The tower defense game that came with Star Fox Zero.  I’m not a big fan of Tower Defense and only played it once for about an hour.

Uncharted 4 (PS4) - Being tired of Nintendo not supporting the Wii U, I decided to pick up a PS4 and so Uncharted 4 was the first game I played.  Personally, the only other Uncharted I really liked was 2 (1 was shit, 3 was mediocre) so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The game has an excruciatingly slow beginning, but picks up after a while.  Never reaches the heights of 2, but ends up being a fun enough adventure by the end.  Beat the game.

Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4) - I like this game way more than I should.  The plot sort of falls apart in the second half and the gameplay can be very repetitive, but this is mitigated by the fact that flying around with control of gravity is a blast.  It also helps that it has an excellent soundtrack.  I actually delayed beating Uncharted 4 so I could play this all of the way through.  Actually got sad when I got the Platinum trophy (my first!) since it meant there was no more game left.  Beat the game.

Batman Arkham Knight (PS4) - The Batman Arkham games are pretty much all great including, IMO, the non-Rocksteady developed Origins which I feel actually has the best story.  Arkham Knight is no exception, although it does have one notable weakness:  the Battank.  Driving around with the Batmobile is fun, but as soon as it goes into tank mode, the combat becomes repetitive and boring:  two things this series has typically done a great job of avoiding.  Beat the game, didn’t get all of the Riddler trophies and see the true ending, though.

No Man’s Sky (PS4) - I…actually liked this game?  I wanted a relaxing game I could just waste time doing meaningless (but somewhat fun) tasks in for a few weeks, and that’s what I got.  I wouldn’t recommend it for normal people though, as it’s lacking content, but by now you’ve probably read about that  Didn’t get to the center of the universe because I don’t like losing progress.

Journey (PS4) - I know everybody and their mother loves this game, but I just didn’t.  I do not care for games that put storytelling way over gameplay unless they go full in (more on that in a bit), and I really don’t care when the storytelling isn’t very compelling.  I felt like I knew where the game was going from the moment I turned it on, and got more and more bored as I was continuously proven right.  The multiplayer aspect however, was a very good idea.  Beat the game.

Shantae Risky’s Revenge (PS4) - A rather fun platformer.  It’s pretty short (I beat it only a little over 2 hours) but it has some fun ideas.  There’s two areas that feel like the platformer equivalent of Zelda dungeons which were extremely good, but they only made up about 30% of the game.  The rest was more standard (but decent) fare.  Beat the game.

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (PS4) - A much better platformer than Risky’s Revenge.  It has similar Zelda-ish dungeons but more of them spread throughout the game.  The presentation is better with lovely HD artwork, and the game’s sense of humor is excellent.  Highly recommended.  Beat the game.

Transformers Devastation (PS4) - A PS+ free game which I otherwise wouldn’t have played since I don’t give the slightest care about Transformers.  I didn’t make it very far into the game, but it was a pretty fun and very challenging action game from what I had played.  Didn’t come close to beating the game as I got a PSVR the next week.

Playstation VR Worlds (PSVR) - And here’s where we get into the wild and crazy world of VR.  I bought a PSVR because I was curious about VR and had cash to burn, but I really didn’t try it until this game.  VR Worlds is really a collection of 5 tech demos I MEAN FULLY REALIZED GAMES MOST DEFINITELY NOT TECH DEMOS BEING SOLD BY SONY, NOPE.  Some are good.  Some are not.  I’ll go into each game in a bit, but let me just say if it had not come in my PSVR launch bundle, I would not recommend buying it for $40.

Ocean Descent - A simple experience in which you stand in a shark cage in the ocean.  At the end of the main dive, a shark attacks the cage.  This is the first thing I played in VR and judging by the fact the game comes with the headset in the launch bundle and the fact that it always defaults to Ocean Descent on bootup, it’s basically designed to be a first experience…and succeeds massively.  Within seconds, I was giggling like a little boy at how awesome it was.  VR is the real deal!  There is no gameplay, so it’s a very easy thing to show to non-gamers.   I also showed this demo to my parents who are not gamers, and they loved it as well.

Luge VR - It’s street luge you control with your head.  The graphics look horrible and blurry, even after properly callibrating the headset.  I played it once, and that was enough.

The London Heist - A 40 minute interactive experience in which you help steal a diamond.  It’s split between about 70% interactive cutscenes and 30% shooting action sequences.  Cutscenes are far more effective in VR and I don’t mind them as much.  The shooting sequences are great.  However, outside of a choice right at the end of the experience, there’s not much of a reason to replay it other than just for fun.  It does have a shooting gallery mode which is somewhat neat.

Scavenger’s Odyssey - A FPS in which you pilot a mech.  So far, this is one of the only times I’ve gotten VR sickness.  VR sickness, for those who don’t know, is basically what happens when your eyes tell your body it should be moving when it knows it isn’t.  This is why most VR games either use teleporting for movement or give you a fixed point of reference while moving (like being in the cockpit of a mech) instead of just giving you standard FPS controls.  While this game does try to sidestep VR sickness by putting you in a mech, it also involves jumping and flipping gravity which is what pushed me over the top.  I quit for a while but eventually came back and finished it.  It’s...ok.  Nothing really special.

Danger Ball - An arcade game that’s effectively like cooler PONG except your opponent is in front of you (like in actual ping pong) and you move your paddle by looking in a direction.  It’s kind of fun, but in order to put spin on your ball, you have to flick your neck which kind of hurts because I am out of shape and spend all day on a computer.  It’s kind of fun, but not something I’d really return to.

Batman Arkham VR (PSVR) - It’s a Batman game in which you don’t fight and it only lasts 40 minutes to run through the story.  While this is disappointing, it’s not as much as it would seem for two main reasons.  First, the game is only 20 bucks.  Second, VR is awesome and being Batman is awesome.  The story is somewhat interesting and the VR is probably the most immersive out of any title.  The suiting up and entry into the Batcave sequence is honestly one of my favorite experiences I’ve ever had in a game entirely because VR sells it.  As for the game itself, I liked that they emphasized the detective aspect of Batman and would have gladly wanted a longer game with more cases even if it still didn’t have combat (although it would be nice).  The game has optional Riddler challenge upon completion so the full amount of gametime is probably more like 3 hours, which isn’t too shabby.  Love the experience, despite its length.

Rigs (PSVR) - I’m not much of an FPS person, but after playing the demo of Rigs, I decided to go ahead and buy it.  Rigs is a team-based FPS in which you drive giant mechs and compete in a sort of sports league.  It’s probably the most complete experience currently available in PSVR as it has single player offline modes and online play.  It could use more modes and maps (which is why it’s a good thing they’ve announced another map is coming soon) but it’s still pretty fun.  I’ve always hated shooting with control sticks on consoles which is why I like that you can aim with your head.  VR also makes the scale of the game feel massive which I love.

Windlands (PSVR) - A first person platformer where you use grappling hooks to get around.  This is the first VR game I’ve played with full locomotion with no static frame of reference and I thankfully did not get sick.  The game itself is pretty decent.  There’s some fun platforming but it’s a bit bland as there’s no enemies or major obstacles:  just you vs. the geometry of the level.  Overall, probably not the best use of VR.

Job Simulator (PSVR) - A game in which you visit the museum of jobs run by robots in the year 2050.  The robots don’t exactly know how these jobs worked which leads to…let’s just say inaccurate emulations of Office Worker, Chef, Convenience Store Clerk, and Mechanic jobs.  This is a good example of a game that would suck if not for being in VR.  There’s something that’s a ton of fun about throwing crap around and screwing with people in VR.  The game has a great sense of humor as well.  However, the game is light on content (a major pain point with most early VR games) and some of the jobs get repetitive.  Still, it’s a good game to show to people who are new to VR and want to see what it’s like to use motion controls to interact with the environment.

Call of Duty Jackal Assault (PSVR) - A free game in which you pilot a ship in space and shoot down other ships.  The detail in the ship is great and space combat is way easier when you can look separately of aiming thanks to VR.  However, it only lasts about 5 minutes, which I guess is fair given it’s free with no strings attached…outside of the massive terms of service you have to read prior to playing.

Star Wars Battlefront (PS4) - I bought this on sale for less than $8 because of the VR experience coming soon.  I never bought it originally because it seemed like every other modern shooter I don’t like where only a couple of shots can kill you and you have regenerating health…and that’s exactly what it is.  It can be fun from time to time, but I just suck at it and given the offline AI is stupid, I can’t really get any better either as there’s no good way to train.  The VR mission is pretty nice, but only 20 minutes long and features some absolutely horrible voice acting for your playable character that tries its best to ruin the mission.

Bound (PS4/PSVR) - I bought this because it was 50% off at the same time I was picking up Battlefront and it’s got a VR mode and I’m starving for VR content.  It’s very artistic like Journey, but the more platformy gameplay makes it feel more gameplay based.  Also, the fact that it’s very immersive in VR really helps.  Hell, I’d probably have liked Journey a whole lot more if it were in VR as well.  I haven’t finished this, however, because the VR camera was kind of rough at launch.  They’ve since patched it but I still haven’t returned to it because there’s been pretty much nonstop games I want/put tons of time into this year.