#As such I'm very very distracted. I hate being berated and I hate being berated publicly even more

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Helloooo, I just binge-read your bowuigi fanfic and well I was delighted with everything because your fanfic is beautifully written😭✨ and I just read your post about Bowser's curse and it was very interesting for me, it left me very curious what you mean by Bowser needs to make the Ultimate sacrifice for someone he loves to break his curse, I hope he doesn't mean that he has to die or something like that T_T, anyway I hope you get better soon, bye bye😌💗

Aw, thanks!! And that is a good question! Since I'm not sure when (or even if...) I'm going to get around to write more of this fic, I'll put the answer in a read more, if anyone is curious how that's going to go. Needless to say, there will be major spoilers there!!!

Anyway, thanks for the ask!!! I'm glad you're enjoying L&tB!! :-D

*Spoilers for the end of L&tB below!! Like... the entire end. Literally, I just write what I have planned for the ending of L&tB, so be warned that you will be entirely spoiled if you read it. Since I'm not sure when I'll be writing again, though, it may not matter in the end, so... it's up to you.*

So, basically, I was just going to have it go roughly the same way that it happens in B&tB. Without giving too too much away, I'll just say that Mario inspires people to become a mob to overtake the castle, which Luigi has left for a reason I know but won't say. Luigi rushes back to help, but he's too late to stop the mob, since they've broken the spell on the castle that cloaks in and have engaged in battle with the inhabitants of the castle.

Luigi finds Bowser and they make up (since Bowser was upset with Luigi for leaving), but before they can figure out how to call of the battle with Mario, a piece of the castle starts to fall and is about to hit Luigi. Mario is too far away to help him, but Bowser isn't, so he pushes Luigi out of the way. Unfortunately, this puts him directly in the path of the falling castle, trapping him under it. Fighting stops when this happens, and soon everyone is trying to help get Bowser out from under the rubble, a truce immediately called.

However, they're too late. Bowser is very bad off, and Kamek only has enough power to help him for a few minutes at most. Bowser wakes up during those minutes and uses them to say goodbye to his kids, telling them that they'll have to be brave, etc. Then he turns to Luigi and confesses his feelings, asking him to look after his children when he's gone. Luigi tearfully says that he will, and they kiss while Bowser slowly fades, Kamek's magic depleted.

However, right when he "dies," the world is bathed in light, while the Star Person who initially cursed Bowser and the castle arrives and says that Bowser has fulfilled the condition for the curse, or whatever. They say that since Bowser was willing to sacrifice himself for someone he loved, he has proven that he is not the selfish, cruel individual that the Star Person had initially cursed, and thus they will be lifting the curse at last. Then, to Luigi astonished joy, the Star Person resurrects Bowser, before fading away. Everyone is too happy that Bowser is alive and well to question anything, Bowser and Luigi kiss, etc. etc.... the end.

😅😅 Yeah, so that's pretty much the entire end of the fic. I have it all planned out, it's just getting the energy or drive to write that is stopping me from writing it. Work is stressful again, and I have other things going on, which is making writing hard for me. But yeah! That's that. :-)

[bumblingbabooshka]

Do you think the events of Tuvix affected how either of them (but I know who I'm talking to lol so let's mostly focus on Tuvok) viewed their own personhood and/or self perception, or perhaps shifted how they assume others perceive them?

[slightly suggestive text ahead] Not in my personal opinion, no, I don't think Tuvok would care at all, and we know that Neelix already knows that Tuvok finds him irritating/doesn't like him so that's not a shock to him. But as soon as I got this ask I got distracted thinking about Tuvix's own personhood and NOT about whether or not they should have killed him WHATEVER that bores me tears. I'm interested in the implications of Tuvix having romantic feelings for Kes. Does he feel, in tandem, Tuvok & Neelix's feelings for every single member of the crew? I think this would make him a very weird and offputting person <3 Especially since I headcanon Neelix as having a crush on Tuvok and Tuvok finding Neelix [???] <- he has a weird alien version of a hate crush on him. Normal for Vulcans who have such heightened emotions. Picture you're a guy who thinks you're kind of irritating but you're kind of getting off on how irritating you're being. Berating yourself because you think you're being cringe. Guy who thinks he's above himself. In a psychosexual relationship with his own psyche. Tuvix has a crush on Tuvix and thinks that's embarrassing but in a way he likes. Kill this man.

[thatanimewriter]

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD.

➳ request: I was wondering if u can like oneshots Bakugou x reader where reader is similar powers to Ruby and Weiss from show rwby and has weapon like Ruby I hope this makes sense

➳ character/s: bakugou katsuki

➳ warnings: canon typical violence, swearing, bakugou being in denial and very competitive, mineta being weird (mentioned to be looking at the girls, reader not specified to be in women or men's change rooms), bro is pining hard

➳ word count: 0.8k

➳ notes: what a cute little conceptt, he'd mistake a crush for an enemy-

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 / 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭  / 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 / 𝐰𝐢𝐩 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

bakugou hates cool people. that's what you think, anyway. you've never seen him smile - not smirk - to anyone in the class regardless of if their quirk or combat abilities were good or not. in fact, you're not sure his face could ever show any form of happiness. there's a few reasons for this theory.

once, you were at the training grounds and you'd perched yourself on a ledge, shooting at whatever 'enemy' was in range with your gun-scythe (his words, not yours) and all he did was scream at you from afar. if you were being perfectly honest, you couldn't actually make out what he was saying because he was so far away. to entertain yourselves, you shot at him instead and earnt yourself what you thought was a middle finger.

another time, you'd been running late to class, so you'd sped there in a flurry of petals. supposedly, bakugou was about to enter the classroom before you whooshed past him and plopped in your seat panting obnoxiously. soon after, you heard a series of coughs and the door slammed open to reveal his spiky hair and deep-set frown.

"oi! flower power! you nearly fucking killed me!" he claimed, pointing an accusatory finger at you and holding a fistful of petals in the other hand.

admittedly, that one was your fault.

however, the day after that incident, he was sparring against you and seemed to be getting quite the ego boost since he was kind of kicking your ass. his cockiness quickly morphed to anger as your gaze flicked to midoriya, who had managed to sweep kaminari from his feet. taking bakugou's temporary distraction, you copied midoriya's move and pinned his shoulders to the ground. you got a lot of spit on your face that day after he berated you for not having your full attention on you.

the rest of class 1-a was unsure if he was really into you and was scared of the feeling or if somehow you'd become worse than midoriya and bakugou's very limited world. there's a couple times jirou thought she caught him staring at you from across the room but she wasn't sure if glaring can still be considered as staring.

in the changing rooms one afternoon, mineta was peering through a small hole in the wall and admiring the girls'... assets. this was no surprise to anyone in the class, but midoriya had a suspicion that he would eventually act on when mineta mentioned your name and a large explosion set off immediately after. typically, bakugou grumbled under his breath and maybe hit mineta over the head for saying disgusting things about women, but that particular day, it seemed your name was way over the line.

after another series of situations that made bakugou's feelings on you ambiguous to everyone but you, midoriya decided to ask him on a class camp whether he liked you or not.

"huh?!" the look of shock and disgust on bakugou's face would've indicated no if not for the fact that that was his default reaction to anything ever.

"i don't know, you just seem to be a little more... activated when they're brought up or when they're around," midoriya mumbled, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"no i'm not!" bakugou protested, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing indignantly.

"you blew up mineta for even mentioning their name when we were getting into our hero costumes."

"that doesn't mean anything!" crackles started emitting from his palms in rapid succession as he continued to think about midoriya's implication. "i don't catch their petals when they fly around and feel them and wonder if their skin is as soft as the petals. i don't wonder if maybe their shampoo smells like strawberries and i don't hug a pillow at night thinking about how it feels to cuddle them!" the sparks died down the further he rambled.

"do you ever think about, i dunno... what it might feel like to hold hands or something?" this was a stretch and there was a high chance that midoriya might get blown up in a minute, but technically bakugou brought it up first.

"sometimes, it's no big deal or anything," bakugou grunted, scuffing his shoe along the dirt and kicking up dust clouds.

that night, bakugou went to bed with a very erratic heartbeat and a very twitchy eye. maybe he's not getting enough quality sleep. he just thinks your gun-scythe is cool and you have a cool quirk that could maybe, totally not likely but maybe could destroy him in a fight. he didn't want you to surpass him in any way, but he liked watching you do your thing and that pissed him off. how dare you look really attractive when you're training?

"stupid red riding hood," he scoffed, rolling over and thinking about the red hooded cape you always wore. maybe he could try it one day. would it bring your bright smile onto your face?

[seineko]

ok, let's talk about jiang cheng.

i hate the two extremes that the fandom has when portraying jiang cheng's character.

he's either the best brother the world has to offer or the worst scum of the beings that ever stepped his foot on the planet.

not many actually acknowledge the canon jiang cheng.

(note that i'm neither speaking against him nor for him so take every sentence without any emotion behind it. also, this is written by a person who doesn't like jiang cheng as a character but doesn't hate him - at least most of the time - either, so do with that what you will.)

he lead the siege against the burial mounds in the grief of losing his sister, the person who he loved the most in the world. but it was stupid that he, of all people killed wei wuxian with the reason being wei wuxian killed his sister, when jiang yanli so clearly sacrificed herself so that wei wuxian could live.

he was entirely jealous of wei wuxian since he was a child and has taken decisions in his adulthood with jealousy and envy many times. but it is also important to note that ever since he was a kid he did not have the acknowledgement of his father and all he had in the form of his mother was a person who constantly compared him to someone he wanted to (and to an extent, succeeded) love as a brother, berating him for not being as good and taking put her jealousy and trauma on her child, making him a shell of negative emotions. the latter doesn't, by any means, excuse the former (i cannot stress this enough), but the former cannot be said without acknowledging the latter.

jiang cheng's feelings towards wei wuxian are very complicated for both us as an audience and himself too. he cared for him and wanted him by his side. the fact that he at least cared for wei wuxian is shown when he distracts the wen guards onto himself so that wei wuxian is not caught by them. like it or not, jiang cheng did sacrifice his core for wei wuxian as wei wuxian did for him. and he wanted wei wuxian to be always by his side, it's clear when he speaks about the broken promises between them. but, at a lot of times i felt that he treated wei wuxian as a subordinate more than a brother even though he wanted to treat him as a brother, but he never really realized that he didn't actually treat him the way he did. (correct me if i'm wrong here but this is how i interpreted it.)

jiang cheng is a hypocrite (like a lot of people in this series). he always speaks about wei wuxian's debt to the jiang sect, but he completely brushes aside his own debt to wen ning and wen qing and doesn't even attempt to help them when they're in a dire situation. in fact, he led the siege that killed their family in the burial mounds. lotus pier was fallen and he could not afford to anger the entire cultivation world, but if he holds someone else as to how they should regard a debt, he himself should regard it the same.

fandom has created the divide where either jiang cheng becomes this ray of sunshine for wei wuxian and helps him by turning his back against the entire cultivation world, which is disregarding what his very character is written for, giving into the societal pressure and someone who runs on negative emotions due to his upbringing. or, he is the evil person who doesn't acknowledge the sacrifice made by wei wuxian and demanding that it doesn't matter if he gave his core to jiang cheng because he owes the jiang sect. an action of wei wuxian that jiang cheng evidently has very strong feelings for and sends him into an emotional mess (granted, it doesn't take much for him to go into an emotional mess). and i hate both versions just as equally.

talking specifically about jiang cheng and wei wuxian's relationship, i personally believe that there is no reconciliation. there is an silent agreement that they do not hate each other and an acknowledgement of what has happened between them (silent, because it is never actually spoken about in detail after the mess of emotions that is guanyin temple), but they cannot put what has happened behind them and treat each other like they did during their teenage years, as much as people would love to see that. they can be nothing more than two people who shared a past and cannot be anything less than that either.

wang zhoucheng softened jiang cheng's character for me along with the writing for cql i admit, but it has also made me see things that i otherwise wouldn't have after looking at the sheer bitterness that the adult jiang cheng was in other adaptations.

either ways, i can't bring myself to completely like his character. i dislike his character for a lot of things he did. a lot of actions he has taken without having to bear the consequences of them while every other person of 'lower standing', in their eyes, has to bear the consequences of not only their own but also others has left a sense of bitterness in me that i don't think can ever leave.

there are many other things that i haven't spoken about, but it just pissed me off a bit to always see either 'good brother jiang cheng' or 'scum of earth jiang cheng' and the rarity of the actual jiang cheng.

on a side note, i hate yu ziyuan. she had a powerful core and a husband who would've listened to her but all she did in life was let bitterness consume her to such an extent that she fucked up the life of both her own son and an orphan, even forcing her daughter to take up the role of a mother at a young age. she could've been so much more but she decided to waste her entire life having jealousy and envy over a woman who never actually directly did anything to her, going as far as to abusing the said woman's son (emotionally, if not physically before the lotus pier fell).

i don't have any strong feelings about jiang fengmain's character but he could've done a lot to help jiang cheng by just acknowledging him. he wasn't a good parent and it can never be excused by how shitty his relationship was with his wife.

the only jiang who deserves everything is jiang yanli. precious, precious shijie.

[mishkakagehishka]

Hey Korka I saw a thing so of course I have to shu-ify it because it can fit this idiot who never says what he actually thinks unless it's strictly necessary.

Anyway thinking about something going wonky with some thing or other and being able to hear Shu's inner voice... Like getting to hear his actual feelings with a sort of echo effect after he says his usual harsh words... Maybe using that to your advantage to tease him a little bit and fluster him while making it not completely obvious so he doesn't evaporate on the spot

I think we don't have to really use any logic because "Well, we just want to see it happen!!" is enough. For the sake of an argument, let's imagine uhhhhhhh [checks notes] the time and space matter is falling apart because of the perpetual timeloop and it's showing in the fact that Shu's thoughts are now shared with whoever he's speaking to in the moment. We could bring up the idea of a soulmate AU, but I won't torture you tonight.

idk the word count i wrote it directly in post (so no spellchecker! should be fun!!) and i . didn't really plan on doing that.

Shu's usual biting remarks - something that takes lots of getting used to, and even then can hurt quite a lot. It's not like he wants to be mean, but that's how he comes across to most. To most, with a few notable exceptions, to most except to those who, after all, know him.

But it takes practice to know how to translate Shu's words, to know that his "Even a child could do it" doesn't necessarily mean you're stupid so you should be able to do it - it doesn't mean that he considers you on the level of the imaginary child he is mentioning, but that he expects someone of your skills and knowledge to be able to breeze through it. To know that his scoffs and "Don't bother me" and "I'm only doing this because it'd be an inconvenience to me otherwise" are just ways of masking his own care for you. That his scoffs are to hide his smiles, his shooing of you just a way to make sure he's not distracted by wanting to talk to you, that he just cannot come clean about his true intentions - it's not in his nature to show vulnerability.

And one day, all that practice, all that difficulty is just. Gone. And suddenly you have access to Shu's inner thoughts. How? Who knows. The author doesn't particularly care, either. But the reality is that you were left sitting in your seat, listening to Shu berating you for not bringing an umbrella, yet very much hearing the echo of, what would I do if you got sick? Why do you always insist on worrying me like this? And how were you supposed to pair it to "Are you a moron? Do you not check the weather like an adult before leaving the house?!"

Easily. By batting your eyelashes at him, by saying, "Sorry, did I worry you?" He paused in his berating, mid-sentence, mid-calling-you-an-imbecile. Eyes widened, mouth still left half-open. Is that the faintest rosiness of a blush you see on his cheeks? "Don't be ridiculous. Whether you get sick or not is none of my business, but think about the work you'd be pushing onto others because of your lack of care. It is highly irresponsible." Yet the echo was panicking. Panicking! Screaming, is it that obvious? Am I that obvious? I don't look worried, do I? You may have just found your entertainment for today.

"Well, I just forgot my umbrella. I'm sorry, but I don't think I deserve to be called names for it," you defended yourself, just wanting to see if he'd think anything vaguely remorseful. "I'm simply stating facts. Forgetting such a trivial thing makes you seem dumber than you are." - If you feel bad about being called names, then quit behaving so carelessly.

Well, Shu will always be Shu.

I hate making you feel bad, too. I wish you would smile at me." And wasn't that your perfect sign? Your wonderful cue to shoot him the brightest, most blinding smile known to humanity, in such perfect timing. And as if an arrow had struck him, he froze. Even his thoughts - empty. But he was under your effect, that was certain, with that faint blush easily deepening, splashing his cheeks in a far more noticeable way. In a way that was, quite frankly, very taking-advantage-of-able. "Are you okay? You're looking a bit red?" Don't come closer, don't come closer, don't come closer, DON'T- Of course you came closer. Of course you placed your hand on his forehead, pressing ever so lightly. "Do you have a fever?" "NO! I'm fine. Don't touch me!" Though he attempted to swat your hand away, it was clearly rather low-effort, and your hand remained on his forehead. He almost leaned into it, and you could hear words so unfitting of Shu's voice, yet undeniably in his voice. Ah~ Your hand is so soft... I wish time would stop so you would never pull away... It's so warm... What a capricious man.

"You're burning up, Shu! And you scolded me about getting sick..." "I'm not sick, I told you! Let go this instant!" Please don't let go please don't let go please don't let go "Why don't you move away? Nobody's holding you." Really, nobody was. You only kept your hand on his forehead, but he was free to even just take a single step backwards. But you knew the reason. And he knew the reason as well. The blush spread to the tip of his ears, making him look nothing less than like a rose in bloom. Or an embarrassed tomato. "You're not sick? So what's with your face? You're red all over. Could it be you're embarrassed?" You happily watched his composure crumble, his breathing turn uneven, his eyes trembling. What's happening?

Suddenly, his cheeks were cupped, squished until his mouth was stuck in a pout. A most undignified state that had him scrambling, trying to push your hands away, but ultimately it was a fruitless endeavor. What's happening!??!?! "You're so cute." "UNHAND ME!" But, like a puppy, his thoughts just repeated the compliment over and over. I'm cute... I'm cute...? He seemed to enjoy it, his heart pounding in his ears at the words, at your touch, at how close your faces were. "You're adorable. Do you like it when I compliment you like that?" I love it "You do, don't you? So cute."

A loud smooch to his cheek. And his knees buckled. Pathetically. "Wha-what is the meaning of this? You're behaving most inappropriately and-!" "Are you crying?" "I'm NOT!" He was not... technically. The tears that collected in the corners of his eyes were those of frustration with himself, frustration with the situation. I would want for nothing more than to embrace you and kiss you, but... Even his thoughts hadn't a ready excuse. It was simply not something that would be in his nature. But I could never take the lead with such acts.

And isn't that all you needed to know to grab his face once more, albeit less like a fussy baby's and more gently now, to cup his jaw and press your lips against his? To cradle his face in your hands, to feel his body tensing up for a mere moment, before his arms caught hold of your shoulders, attempting to ground himself. His breathing evening once more, though his heart continued pounding hard enough that you could feel it against your own chest. And his inner monologue nothing but an unending scream of, what you assumed to be, excitement. It probably wouldn't be horror, else he wouldn't have been kissing back as fervently as he was. Pulling away was equally as entertaining as listening to his inner screaming throughout the kiss, rather, watching him quickly trying to mask his softened features back into a frown, getting ready to scold you, but... No words came out.

"You..! You..! You.....!" He tried his best, he really did. I cannot believe you did that i cannot believe we did that that was so good that was great i want to do that again i never want to be away from you i want to hug you more i want to kiss you more i want to "Me? Me? Me?" You mocked, a victorious smile on your face, knowing you had one over him. Him, who was still out of breath, tried as he did to hide it. "You're that into me, huh?" At this point, he had the bright idea to hide his face. "I already saw how red you are, no use hiding it now. Come kiss me again." Peeking through his fingers, no, glaring through his fingers. He pondered on a response for a second, face still heating up, embarrassment still evident. But, for once, his thoughts and words overlapped, "Can I?"

[run-me-through-but-not-like-that]

This is a bit nsfw so if you’re not comfy just ignore this. So what if reader and Lucius are gossiping to each other instead of doing their work and iz comes to gripe at them till he’s stopped in his tracks when he hears the reader talk about all the things they want iz to do to them. He had assumed reader always hated him and would constantly pick on them because of that. He quickly walks away un heard and is avoiding the reader. Finally reader confronts him and then you decide from there~

Warnings: Izzy does a little slut shaming as a defence mechanism. Talk of sex but no sex actually happens.

Idle Gossip:

It was barely noon and Izzy was already scowling at the crew, already feeling the familiar rage bubbling up in his chest. All he wanted, all he had asked of you all, was for you to do your damn jobs. But instead of doing anything productive, you and Lucius were off in your own little world, probably gossiping about something completely inane.

Reading his orders and insults, Izzy made his way across the deck, down to where the two of you had cornered yourselves away.

"Laugh all you like but it's painful at this point," you groaned over the scribe's quiet laughter.

"You have it bad, babe," Lucius didn't sound very sympathetic, but he did sound fond.

"I know!" you huffed, "seriously, I'd let that man do anything he wanted to me."

Izzy faltered slightly as he approached, still going unnoticed by the two of you. The two of you were far from other members of the crew but you weren't whispering, like you didn't much care if anyone overheard.

"Anything?" Lucius lent in conspiratorially.

"I'd let him do things that afterwards he wouldn't be able to look me in the eye," you insisted.

Izzy rolled his eyes as he came to the corner the two of you were tucked behind. Is everyone on this ship a slut? And is everyone so shameless about it?

"I don't know, Izzy doesn't seem like the Dom type to me," Lucius hummed, unconvinced.

In an instant, Izzy froze. Still hidden behind the corner, he stared at the deck and wondered if he had heard correctly. Were you talking about him?

"Either way," he could practically hear you rolling your eyes. "God, Lucius, that voice. Could you imagine how he sounds when he's turned on. Fuck, when he moans."

"Bet he's kinda loud, being all repressed at all," Lucius was enabling you, God Izzy hated him.

"Izzy's just...fuck, Lucius, he's so fucking hot. Every time he gets all up in my face I'm just praying he'll pin me to the mast or something." Yeah, there was no way Izzy was misinterpreting this, you were talking about him.

"Maybe he wants you to pin him to the mast," Lucius suggested, "he does seem to focus most of his attention on you."

"...do you think?" you asked, a hopeful lilt to your voice. "I swear to God, I'll pin him to the mast and drop to my knees right there on the deck," there was a strange, playful, determination to your words.

Lucius let out a fond laugh. "You little slut," he teased, "you going to let us all watch?"

"You better be fucking sketching it, you can give it to me as a gift," you played along, making him laugh again.

Maybe it was the mention of sketching that made Izzy come to his senses, getting the fuck out of there. All thoughts of interrupting you and demanding you get back to work left him as he turned on his heel, quickly but quietly making his escape.

What the fuck?

It was later the same day when Izzy bumped into you again, you were had been distracted from your duties by Frenchie who wanted to show you a new song he was working on. Of course, the first mate's first instinct was to snap at you and get you back to work, but was suddenly struck with the conversation he overheard that morning.

Suddenly, he thought better than to shout at you, to interrupt. Instead, he ended up turning and leaving to berate the Swede instead. His head filled with thoughts of what you had said about it.

He wasn't avoiding you, not in the slightly. No, definitely not avoiding you.

And if he were avoiding you, which he wasn't, it wasn't because he was in some way newly intimidated by you. It would be more about...not knowing how to react to you anymore. He had been under the impression that you hated him, perhaps even more so than the other members of the crew, but apparently his assumptions had been wrong. You mustn't hate him as much as he thought if...well, if you were talking about how desperate you were for him.

Yes, completely not avoiding you.

It only took a couple of days for you to notice that Izzy was definitely avoiding you. He would give you orders through other people and when he had to give them to you directly he didn't snarl or insult the same way he usually did, the way he continued to do to the others to some extent at least. Most notably, he hadn't chastised you for slacking, which he would normally jump at the chance to do.

Heading into the galley, you grabbed your breakfast from Roach and dropped yourself down on the end of the bench.

"You alright, babe? You look all pent up," Lucius asked, turning his attention to you. Thankfully, everyone else was distracted with some story Black Pete was telling. A story that Lucius had heard plenty of times, so he could hear yours instead.

"I'm pretty sure Izzy is avoiding me," you muttered, prodding at your eggs.

"Yeah...now you mention it, he hasn't been singling you out like he normally does," Lucius hummed, fully turning his body to you. Of course, he had actually noticed this yesterday but was wondering if you had noticed.

"What do you think that's about?" you asked. "The other day I even tried purposely pissing him off and he just buggered off. Like, practically ran away."

"I would say that's strange but this is Izzy we're talking about...so, could just be him being his usual weird self," Lucius considered before shrugging, "just ask him. Even if he doesn't answer, his reaction will probably be pretty funny."

"Suppose so but...what would I say. 'Oh, Izzy, why haven't you been berating me like you usually do? I'm experiencing some unfortunate sexual frustration because of it'," you rolled your eyes before quickly glancing down the table, making sure nobody else was listening in. They didn't seem to be paying any attention to you, Pete had gotten to a particularly outlandish part of his tale.

"...well, at least it's honest," Lucius smirked.

"Fuck off, Lucius," you groaned, shoving a forkful of egg into your mouth. Lucius just laughed.

After lunch that day, you were lazing up on the deck with John and Frenchie. You smiled at Ivan when he approached.

"Izzy needs somebody down in the hold," Ivan told the three of you.

"What for?" Wee John asked with a small huff, one clearly directed at the first mate, not the messenger.

"Apparently it's a mess or something," Ivan shrugged, "he put me up on the helm. Just told me to send somebody down, doesn't matter who,"

"We're on swabbing duty," Frenchie informed him, though neither of them were swabbing anything.

"You're not doing anything though, are you?" Lucius appeared behind you, throwing an arm around your shoulders. You jumped under the initial contact before glaring at him, knowing what he was up to. "They'll do it. Plus, they can read, that might be useful with organising and all," he volunteered your assistance.

"Yeah, alright, whatever," Ivan nodded, his job done, before heading off.

"Well, go on then," Lucius gave your shoulder a squeeze before releasing you.

"I'm going to kill you. When I get back, you're dead," you threatened, but neither of the three of them were convinced.

"Looking forward to it," Lucius grinned, shooing you off.

Frenchie and Wee John just shared a look of confusion before just shrugging and getting back to the conversation they were in the middle of before Ivan wandered over.

You rolled your eyes at Lucius but knew you weren't going to get out of this, so you headed down into the ship.

The sound of somebody walking down into the hold made Izzy turn around, bristling at the mere sight of you.

"Ivan said-" you began to politely explain your presence, even though he could figure out why you were there, since things had been tense. It was just something to say, but you were quickly cut off.

"Get this shit organised, it's a fucking mess," Izzy demanded, about to stomp up out of the hold, already half way across the room.

"Alright, what's your problem?" you sighed, turning to him as he passed you.

"Excuse me?" Izzy sneered as he turned back to you.

"You heard me, what's your fucking problem?" you repeated, knowing full well he heard you the first time. You wouldn't let him intimidate you, it had never worked before. "I mean, you're always an ass but that's just who you are, don't care about that. You're being...weird."

"I'm being weird?" Izzy scoffed, "is that an official complaint?"

"Yeah. You're always a dick to me, like me in particular, but now you barely even glare at me. You've picked me out, singled me out, for weeks. Now you're avoiding me," you accused.

"I am not avoiding you," of course, Izzy denied it.

"Don't lie to me, you're not that good at it. You're avoiding me. Why?" you questioned, arms folded over your chest.

"You're bugging me about how I'm not shouting at you?" Izzy asked, a mix between bewildered and frustrated.

"Kinda, could say that, yeah. Want to know what the problem is," you admitted with a shrug.

"Thought somebody would be grateful that I'm not shouting at them. Get off on it, do you? On me picking on you, on the attention. Do you just love to be the centre of it?" Izzy interrogated, stepping up to you, closing the distance.

"Izzy-"

"No, no that's not it, is it? You get off on discussing your superiors behind their back," Izzy accused, glaring at you.

"What...oh...oh shit..." your eyes widened, face warming, at the realisation.

"Yeah. Oh shit," Izzy agreed, his glare still hard on you.

"You heard me talking with Lucius?" you already knew the answer, but just to make sure.

"Should have figured the deviancy is more rampant around here than I first thought," Izzy was one step away from spitting at you by the sound of it.

"God, Izzy, I'm so sorry," you were quick to apologise, wracking your brain for ways to make this right.

"The two of you are just-"

"Seriously, call me whatever you want, I probably deserve it. I shouldn't have said those things, shouldn't have talked about you like that without your consent. I'm so sorry, Izzy," and now you were one step away from pleading for forgiveness. Not even mercy. Forgiveness.

"You're...what?" Izzy's glare disappeared, more due to confusion than anything, as he frowned at you.

"I'm sorry," you reasserted, "really, I am sorry. Obviously you weren't meant to hear that but that doesn't matter, doesn't make it any better. Shouldn't have done it."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah, of course. It was inappropriate and I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I really meant no harm, just friends talking, y'know. But I promise it won't happen again."

You weren't sure if it was actually reassuring in any way but you couldn't take back what you had said, couldn't go back in time and prevent him from hearing, so now all you could do was apologise.

You weren't sure if it was working since Izzy was just staring at you.

"So, no, I don't get off on talking about people like that. Was just expressing some frustration, I guess," you continued when he didn't say anything.

"...you get off on being pinned to a past? Dropping to your knees in front of all your crewmates, making a spectacle out of yourself?" Izzy questioned, his expression hardening again, something dark flashing behind his eyes for a moment.

"I mean...among other things, I suppose," you shrugged weakly, unsure of how to respond.

"Get off on being degraded, being used, your partner not being able to look you in the eye afterwards," he used his own words against you. You couldn't help but wonder how much he had been thinking about that he had heard and why.

"Honestly, it's more to do with your intensity," you confessed, earning a sneer from the first mate. That seemed to catch him off guard a little. "Don't worry, I get it. You're trying to embarrass me," it wasn't difficult to catch on.

He seemed even more taken back by that, that you had seen through his attempts at humiliation as a form of defence.

"You talk about everyone like that?" Izzy asked after a short pause.

"No..." you decided that at his point, you might as well just be honest.

"I thought you hated me," Izzy's face scrunched up in confusion, seeming to settle on that rather than anger.

"Hate you? No, I just don't put up with your shit. I don't hate you, I'm just not afraid of you," you corrected him, knowing you couldn't be too surprised by his assumption. You couldn't blame him for thinking that the whole crew hated him, even if that wasn't exactly the case. Not anymore anyway. "Anyway, thought you hated me. Even more than the others, if that's possible."

Izzy squinted slightly, studying you before he spoke. "You're right. You don't take shit, thought you were messing me about on purpose, so I singled you out," he admitted, surprising you.

"See, this is why we talk things through as a crew. I don't hate you, you don't hate me. One big misunderstanding," you attempted a small laugh to lighten the mood but it was still tense.

"And was your conversation with Lucius a misunderstanding?" he asked.

"Well...no..." you frowned slightly, a little unsure about his line of questioning. "Unless, you thought I was making fun of you or something like that. Then that would be a misunderstanding. Surface level, though, no misunderstanding," you quickly added.

Izzy nodded, taking a step back and glancing off to the side in thought.

"So...can things just...go back to normal?" you asked, unable to tell if he was angry still or not.

"Yeah, yeah, guess so," he nodded slightly, barely at all.

"I'll organise all of this, don't worry," you assured him, gesturing around at the hold.

The best way to make something up to Izzy Hands? Do your fucking job.

"Fuck," Izzy sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "I'll give you a hand," he offered.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, you just said, "thanks, I appreciate it."

"Fuck off," Izzy muttered before pushing past you, further into the hold once again.

You didn't plan on questioning or pushing him any further, just nodding and getting to work. The two of you worked in silence, moving around the hold, but sticking to your own sections, working together but staying out of each other's way.

"You really like my voice that much?" Izzy asked quietly, quiet enough that you could pretend that you didn't hear it.

For a moment you considered not answering, pretending you heard nothing, but you just couldn't do that. After your short pause, you glanced over at him. "Yeah."

"Fuck sketch it," Izzy snorted, sounding genuinely a little amused by the thought.

"I mean...you said it yourself, it would be a spectacle, would be a waste not to document it," you joked, hoping you had read everything right.

Thankfully, Izzy chuckled. You couldn't help but smile brightly to yourself, feeling giddy at getting a chuckle out of him despite also feeling totally out of your depth.

Were the two of you just laughing it of or was this...flirting?

"Never going to let the boy sketch me," Izzy warned but he didn't sound very angry.

"You're depriving the world, First Mate Hands," you tutted, shaking your head at him.

"Add it to my list of sins," Izzy scoffed.

You bit back a retort about adding plenty of other things to his list of sins, but you weren't exactly sure where his head was at with this while thing and what might cross the invisible line. If there even was a line.

Instead, you just laughed and continued with the task at hand.

Once the two of you had finished organising the hold, you stepped back to admire your hard work.

"I'd say labels would help but most of the crew can't read," you mused.

"So it'd still end up a mess." Honestly, Izzy probably thought they would still mess it up if they had somebody telling them exactly which steps to take.

"Could try pictures...get Frenchie to do them," you suggested.

"This fucking ship," Izzy grumbled, heading for the stairs.

The thought of the hold being organised by Frenchie's little doodles was nearly enough to make him jump overboard.

You just laughed, trotting after him. "If it works, it works," you shrugged.

"...I'll think about it," Izzy conceded with a sigh.

"Going to turn you into one of us before you know it," you playfully promised.

"I'm already having ridiculous fucking conversations," he muttered. He had long since stopped wondering how he ended up here.

"Eh, you like it really," you insisted.

Izzy rolled his eyes. "Lunch should be getting prepared now. Roach actually has decent time management skills. Go grab something," he ordered.

"You not eating with us?" you asked, allowing yourself to sound a little hopeful, welcoming.

"Never eat with you," he pointed out.

"...mix it up a bit," you smiled, still aiming for welcoming, offering the invitation.

"Yeah, like changing up who's against the mast?" Izzy asked, making you sputter slightly.

"Fucking hell, Izzy, you're killing me here," you groaned. "Okay, stop for a minute. Be serious with me, are you just joking or...?"

If he was joking with you, you couldn't really blame him, you probably deserved it at least a little. You wouldn't even be upset with him, you just needed to know which parts of the teasing were serious and which were just him poking fun at you.

Izzy did stop, pausing to look at you. Not just look at you, he looked you up and down, making you shift a little under his scrutiny, wondering what he was thinking. He was rolling the answer around in his mind, as if he wasn't already aware of his answer.

"Not completely joking," Izzy shrugged, actually managing to seem casual.

You felt your knees go a little weak. He couldn't just say things like that!

You gathered your senses up as quickly as you could. "Y'know, I think I might have, uh, left something down in the hold, I should go check," you gestured back towards the hold, pivoting on one foot.

Izzy nodded slowly, there clearly being some understanding as to your intentions, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't biting and that was okay, you just smiled and turned back.

"Need some help looking for it?" Izzy called from behind you, making you halt.

You grinned to yourself before schooling your expression and looking back at him over your shoulder, "couldn't hurt."

Izzy nodded again before following you back down into the hold. Once down in the dim room, you wandered over to the far corner, out of sight if anyone else wandered down. And Izzy followed.

You turned to him and let him approach, and he let you take hold of his necktie, making sure not to touch his ring. He let you tug him towards you, gripped at your shirt when your mouth met his.

[dawnthefox24]

Cole:*is watching on how Jack treat's Lena and Angela while with him it was back in Blackwatch all over again, seeing him smile and fawn over them while he usually gets the cold shoulder or some times getting berated. He took a deep breath and walked out too catch his breath * Tracer:*notice this and zips after Cole Leaving Jack behind wondering were Cole was going * Cole~! where are you going ? Cole: *sighs softly * going for a smoke Lena.... Tracer:*walks over with Cole fallowing him outside as she leans against the balcony watching him smoke his cigar a bit* Cole you alright ? Cole:*sighs softly and looked off in the distance* You know I'm jealous of you and Angela...For many things... Tracer:*looked shocked as she stared at him* You're jealous us!? Cole look if we did something too make you this upset than I can get Jack and- Cole:*cuts her off* No you and Angie didn't do anything it's Jack...He still treats me like shit even when I first came too Overwatch... Tracer: W-What are you talking about he doesn't treat you like that anymore...does he? Cole: Lena look Jack and I argue a lot...he's very close too you and Angela moreover he worries about you but with me..It's different..*He explained before he looked at his cigar before snuffing it out flicking it off the balcony * Tracer: Cole what do you mean by that? Jack care's about you I'm sure of it but that doesn't mean he hates you, you two have different point's of view but that doesn't mean he- *get's cut off by Cole* Cole: Lena who do I remind him of?*he asked her as he looked off into the distance* Tracer: What? I...Cole what do you mean by that? Cole: *sighs as he takes off hit hat and pushes his hair back a bit * my mannerisms the way I gesture my movements who do I remind Jack of.... Tracer:*Looks upset as she placed a hand on his back knowing who he was talking about* Cole this isn't necessary, Jack shouldn't be projecting onto you and you shouldn't take it too heart and- Cole: You're avoiding the question... Tracer: *Sighs softly* I know...I don't want too say it you know... Cole: *Looks away clearly upset and a bit mad* what afraid I'll become him.... Tracer: Cole no....What Gabe did...Look I'm not going to defend his actions but there's one thing I'm thankful for what he did... Cole: Why would you be thankful for Reyes?... Tracer: *smiles* Cause I got too meet you Cole:*sighs and plays with his lighter even more* Yeah I know...he took me in but others gave me weird stares of not being wanted there.... Tracer: We'll the way I saw it was a blessing too me, honestly I was lonely and so was Angela too. When you first arrived Cole, I wanted to spend time with you none stop!! Cole:*snorts a laughter* Yeah and honestly you kept getting in trouble by Ana and Gabe for distracting me~ Tracer: Because I loved your company you have a charm too you. Cause in the end do you know how much I tried to get Gabriel too smile!? Cole: How much? Tracer: So many times but with you, you made it easy. Cole:*chuckles softly* You know it's funny.... Tracer: What is? Cole: That even after everything that happen, You,Me and Angela hell even Fareeha are close as ever...I don't even deserve it... Tracer:*hugs him tightly* You deserve every amount of love Cole..No matter what, Honestly it's been hell since I've last seen you... Cole: *wasn't expecting a hug but hugged her back* I...Thank you Lena... Tracer: Beside if Jack has a problem with you,than he has a problem with me Cole: Lena I don't want to ruin your- Tracer: Cole look, Jack hurt your feelings and in the end he shouldn't base that on what is going on with you, You were close to Gabe but that doesn't mean he should dump everything onto you okay.. Cole:*smiled softly* Thanks Lena... Tracer: Any time also Cole, never think you're alone okay Cole: *smiled softly and chuckled* Thanks Lena, I needed to hear that Lena:*smiles* Anytime Cole

[beetlegoose01]

Ran from Hell, burned from life

[David Saw 0.5 one shot]

David was never meant to be targeted by Jigsaw. It happened by cruel fate that he was mistaken for his twin brother, and as such, had to face the consequences.

read on AO3!

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

David was convinced he would go insane from the repetition of the wall clock's obnoxious tapping. Its crooked hands' restless noise was enough to make any normal person lose their senses. It might as well be a ticking time bomb, since any moment it would seal his fate in the dreary gray room he was forced into. It was bland and cramped with a sloping ceiling and painted chipped walls. Clearly it was never meant to be seen by any respectable interior designer, however it did leave him feeling like a prisoner. The handcuffs certainly didn't help. 

He had yet to properly meet the gaze of the man sitting across from him. Detective...whatever his name was. He was a balding middle aged white man of no particular discernible personality aside from intimidating glares and a permanent scowl. He had introduced himself curtly, only for David to promptly forget his name. Already the man was treating him as though he was dangerous, handcuffing him to the table for extra precautions. Like he was a wild animal ready to attack at any moment. The shackles already made his wrists feel raw, but at least he had the freedom to keep a cigarette between his fingertips. It helped him from shaking, stopped his anxiety from going haywire. 

The detective cleared his throat. "Coffee?" He offered. 

David grimaced and shook his head. Judging from the way the detective's own paper cup filled with lukewarm coffee and no creamer he decided to pass. No use getting poisoned. Water sounded nice though, but he was scared to ask for some. 

"Very well. Let's start from the top."

He took a long drag of his cigarette. "Don't wanna talk anymore about it."

"David, I still need to ask you a few more questions about what happened." 

He stubbornly met the man's piercing eyes, amused when the detective's scowl darkened. 

"I understand you've been through a traumatic experience..." David loudly scoffed. "And I sympathize with you."

"Doesn't sound like it." 

"But," He clenched his jaw. "I need answers on what happened and so far you've been less than helpful." 

"I'm not trying to be helpful." He exhaled, the smoke swirling towards the other man's face, who simply waved it away with disinterest. 

"David."

"I just...I can't, OK? I- I can't talk about it." 

"The sooner you do, the sooner you can leave. Do you understand?" 

He flinched at the harsh tone biting him, but chose to arch his shoulders back, his eyes fierce. 

“Unless you'd rather spend the night in a cell.”

David refused to take the bait

 "I said---"

"I know what you said." he growled. "...Fine. I'll tell you what happened. Everything." 

The detective nodded firmly. "Go on."

The scarred man took a shaky breath, looking down on his painted black nails, most of the polish chewed and ruined. "I was at work." He began.

David hated his job. 

He wasn't ashamed to admit that. In fact, he would proudly tell it to anyone who bothered to listen. He always wanted to help people, but he was too dumb and easily distracted to be a doctor or nurse, so he was stuck being an orderly. Day after day, week after week, he grew accustomed to cleaning up the worst bodily fluids imaginable. Shit, piss, blood, vomit, he was familiar with it all. The smell didn't even phase him anymore. He was used to getting down and dirty, hating his life as he scrubbed like fucking Cinderella while patients berated him. 

It wasn't his fault he had terrible bedside manners. He couldn't help that he smoked in the hallways and blasted his music through his walkman instead of changing bandages. He just didn't give two shits about these people, work or otherwise. They were all blurs, nameless faces that he was forced to interact with. The only bonus was the healthcare benefits and even that wasn't worth it. 

Oftentimes his fellow orderlies would comment on how he set a bad example for the hospital. He was lazy, had terrible eating habits, didn't care about his health and took so many smoke breaks that all the doctors were convinced his lungs must be fully black and shriveled up by now from all the nicotine he inhaled. It was as though he was planning on dying young. But if he was honest, he wouldn't mind that. He didn't expect to live to see thirty, let alone to be an old man.

Living is overrated anyway. 

He just didn't expect to be tested with that careless phrase as soon as he did. 

It was the middle of the night by the time his shift ended. His head was aching from the long, odd hours of work and the lack of sleep, the only thing that kept him awake was the pounding music in his ears and a can of Red Bull he had a few hours earlier. His eyes drooped, yawning as he fumbled for his car keys, blasted Green Day too loudly in his ears as he made his way to reach his car. But eventually his exhaustion caught up to him, and his keys flew out of his hands and landed on the pavement. 

He groaned, pulling his headphones out and reaching for them. He clicked the keys, and somewhere in the distance he heard his car. 

And that was when he heard an entirely different noise. 

Turning around with his back facing a nearby pillar, he kept himself alert for anything suspicious. He swore he heard something moving behind him. Some footsteps approaching his general direction. Moving from the stairs, maybe.  But all he saw now was a floating plastic bag dancing in the chilly breeze. Nobody was here. There couldn't be. He was the last orderly in staff that was supposed to leave at this time. 

"Hello?" He called out. "Anyone there?"  His voice echoed from the deepest stretch of the basement. Then silence. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Yeah, you better stay back. I took one muay thai class, so I could easily beat you. Whoever you are." He couldn't help but laugh at his own joke. But his laughter faded in his throat seconds later. 

The footsteps returned, faster this time. They were getting closer now. Too close. Whether he saw some movement or not, he wasn't risking his life to find out what it was. 

At last, he saw it. Someone was standing there, watching him. They were dressed in some kind of black cloak, and most notably had a grotesque pig mask. David couldn't tell if the skin was real or not. He didn't want to find out. He let out a scream. 

"Fuckfuckfuck- FUCK! HELP!" With one last burst of adrenaline, and without any further thoughts, he bolted towards the end of the lot. He didn't care if it was all in his head, he was out of there. His heart raced erratically in his chest, he really wished in that moment he paid attention in gym class more. Cardio was not exactly his strong suit. "Oh fuck me."

At last, he saw his beacon of hope. His holy grail. His car. He was almost there. He just had to ignore the stitch in his side and keep running. Keep running. Keep running. Don't stop. The footsteps continued to chase after him. And they were fast. 

He couldn't give up now. Not when he was so close to escaping. 

He swerved around, gasping as he caught a glimpse of whomever was after him, and to check if they were catching up. But that split second of checking proved to be his downfall, as he crashed into the nearest pillar and landed to the floor with a pathetic thud. 

The last thing he saw was the face of a pig, before he was hit with complete darkness. 

Blood and metal. That was what he tasted when he finally woke up, alongside a  pounding headache from being smacked around. His eyes rolled around, scanning the area despite everything around him seeming blurry, and dizziness prevented him from focusing. After blinking for several seconds, at last his vision finally adjusted and he realized he had been placed in some kind of abandoned warehouse. 

"Mmfh..." a groan escaped his lips, muffled. 

His eyes went wide with panic as he came to a more terrifying revelation. There was something around his head, a metal contraption covering his mouth and jaw. If he had a choice of getting kidnapped, he would have preferred a regular gag...not some stupid helmet from the industrial revolution. 

He tried to steady his breathing, focusing on why he had been taken. Ransom seemed unlikely, considering he had no money and no one would actually pay to save him. Which could only mean he was here for a more terrifying reason. 

David squirmed desperately against his restraints, finding it harder and harder not to lose control and freak out. He could hear the twisting of gears against his ears, rattling around till it hit his skull. 

"Rise and shine Adam." 

He jolted forward, attempting to find where the voice was coming from, and less why it had called him Adam. It was deep and distorted, something out of an old recording. It was only then that he saw a video player to his left, and on the screen was what appeared to be a clown-skeleton puppet. 

"You don't know me, but I know you." 

'Do you?' David thought to himself. 

"I want to play a game. Here's what happens if you lose. The device you are wearing is hooked into your upper and lower jaw. When the timer in the back goes off, your mouth will be permanently ripped open. Think of it as a reverse bear trap. Why don't I show you a demonstration of what it's capable of?" 

David struggled against his bounds once more, panic rising as he saw a mannequin head appear on screen and promptly explode. It was impossible not to hyperventilate. His breaths started in short, shallow gasps before rapidly increasing towards the feeling of pure suffocation. All in vain to fight against the erratic hammering heart in his ribcage. 

"There is only one key to open the device. It's in the stomach of your dead cell mate. Look around, Adam. Better hurry up."

The recording switched off, and was replaced with the ticking of a timer. The second he was released from the chair, he started to pull at the device, and seeing if he could remove it manually. With a few muffled shrieks and whimpers, he came to the conclusion that it was sealed tight. Not that his sweaty palms could even attempt to open it either way. 

'It's in the stomach of your dead cellmate.' 

There was a way out. Right smack in front of him, in the corner of the room was a body. And when he crawled over, he spotted the knife, the tracing of where he was supposed to carve. It was disgusting, but doable. He had even seen doctors perform this before. How hard could it be? 

But when he reached for the knife, preparing for the incision, he discovered something horrifying.

The man was breathing. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. 

His time was running out. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, praying for the wall clock to shut up. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

"David..." The detective said cautiously. "Do you need a break?" 

"No." 

"What happened next?" 

"What do you think happened next? I fucking...I tore into the guy. Didn't even hesitate. Ripped him open like a fish, found the key and got out. There was..." He swallowed back a sob. "So much blood. Blood splattered everywhere. An' the organs and...God." 

"And you knew the man was alive."

He nodded weakly. 

"You saw him breathing."

"Ye- yeah."

"Disemboweled him, knowing he was alive."

David broke down, collapsing into the desk. "Yes." He whimpered. 

"David!" The detective snarled. "You realize you've just confessed to a murder, don't you?" 

"I- I didn't mean to, I panicked, I was gonna fucking die man!" 

 "It doesn't matter, you still did it."

"What else was I supposed to do? If I didn't, the maniac was gonna kill me! I had to do it to survive. I was gonna be ripped to shreds!" 

"You can make up all the excuses you want but it doesn't change the fact that you're a murderer."

"What would you have done?"

"What?" 

"If you were in my place. What would you have done? You can pretend to be, I dunno, high and mighty but you would have done the same thing."

The detective was astonished, unable to come up with a response. 

"Do you have any more questions or can I leave now?" 

"N- No. A court hearing will take place, I'm sure you understand. But for now, you're free to go." 

With his handcuffs removed, David slowly slinked away from the table. It wasn't until he was at the door, that the detective decided to speak up again. 

"Wait. You mentioned that the...puppet called you Adam." 

He didn't turn to face the man. "It did."

"Why?" 

"I wasn't thinking at the time, obviously," He admitted. "Until recently I put it together that they were after my brother Adam, not me. We're twins."

"Identical, I assume?" 

"Mm. Except he has a mole on his---"

"I think I understand. And why do you think he was targeted?" 

David could think of a million different reasons why. But instead he said, "I don't know, I haven't spoken to him in years...well, until now."

"Are you worried he will be targeted again?" 

David chewed his lip. "I called him recently, and he's staying with me for the time being. He hates the arrangement and so do I but he should be safe. So long as your guys do their job." 

Truth be told, he knew Adam hated him. Resented him even, and he didn't appreciate the favor at all. He was stubborn like that. But David was stubborn too. 

With one hand on the door knob, he did a half hearted salute. "See ya around." 

At last he made his way out of the station. He rolled down his sweater to keep his hands warm, though it didn't prevent him from trembling slightly. A few people stopped by, recognizing him from the news and gave him some pitying looks. He ignored them. It was late and he wanted to go home. 

With one last look at the police station, he turned a corner. The area was quiet and empty. Which was why he didn't expect to be grabbed again. 

This time he didn't resist when a hand covered his mouth and dragged him into the alley. Instead he felt rather annoyed. He shoved the hand away from his mouth and glared furiously. 

"Don't do that again." David warned. "Nearly scared the shit outta me. And let go, for Christ's sake, Hoffman you're such a dick---"

Mark Hoffman huffed out a laugh, tightening his grip. Meanwhile the other figure, Amanda stared at him intently. 

"You didn't squeal, did you?" 

"Of course not, I'm a man of my word."

"Good." Hoffman released him, but kept his body angled so both he and Amanda were blocking him from any potential exit. "You're not as stupid as you look then."

David glowered, hating them. "Don't forget our deal." 

"We spoke to John and he agreed not to take Adam. We'll find someone else for the game." Softening, she said firmer. "I swear."

He was wary, but he had no choice but to trust her. "Thanks."

"But don't forget our end of the bargain." Her lips twisted into a smirk, throwing an object at him, which he caught. He traced out the worn out pig mask, hating how much it felt so close to flesh instead of fabric. In contrast, the hair didn't feel like hair, just long black tendrils. But it would have to do.

For now at least. 

"You have my word."

[roseyuri]

oh my head is full.

Ik pnpyns parents gotta be HOMOPHOBIC ASFF

I think pnpyn is picking "safe men" like a lot of comphet sapphics

now.. this can either be with men that are unattainable, like celebrities or men you know won't like you..

OR

with men that already like you, and because they like you, you get into a relationship to convince others (or yourself) you're perfectly straight

she "fixates" on men that already like her, so she tries to force herself to like them. she's definitely aware she's atleast interested in women in a non straight manner, and is trying to push it down. Probably dislikes minji for bringing those feelings up and instead convincing herself that attraction is hatred (love and hate are two very similar emotions)

I think pnpyn in the argument got distracted by minji cause she's pretty and... Got mad. She's probably terrified of people suspecting she's gay, and will immediately refute the claims. some people do this by presenting as homophobic but... She's an idol I don't think she's doing that LMFAO

It's probably a really sensitive topic.. I bet she picks male celebrities she likes out of a catalog of "safe" guys she has in her head LMFAOO

her relationships never last long because she doesn't love them in the way they want or the way SHE herself wants.. the comphet is beating her ass

This will create a veeeryy interesting dynamic.. I feel her on a spiritual level I realized I was gay watching charlie's angels because LUCY LIUUU😭😭😭😭😭

poor pink 2000s girl watching mean girls seeing Regina George ik her ass was just convinced she appreciates the outfits... girl.

anyway I think that she probably has a lot of resentment towards herself because of this. she probably views herself in a bad light and definitely berates herself if she catches herself staring at minji because "girls can't like girls she's probably straight why are you being weird" and such.

especially in a country like korea. I'm hispanic and it used to be really bad here, if you were gay in public you risked your life and family. it's gotten better, but not only is she an idol but living in a not very accepting country.. and it's obvious her parents probably caused this so she risks losing her FAMILY. she probably thinks her members would hate her too so I can't blame her for being defensive. If someone even tries to make a joke about her not liking men I think she would SPIRALLLL she'd be like "FUCK THEY FOUND OUT" and be like uhmm no im not gay lmao have you seen (male celebrity) hes so hot (lie)

overall, while I can't gather her character from just one work, she definitely puts on a "unbothered girlboss" persona to hide her self hate and paranoia. she probably actually doesn't like herself at ALL.

do u think she is terrified of liking women in a male way. like how men belittle her and only see her for her looks do u think she's afraid to find women attractive in case she's "acting like a man" and also belittling them and such because that's like. lesbian experience.

one day she's gonna be found taking an am I gay quiz shaking and crying at the results guys mark my words.

ALSO. hope she has a breakdown over realizing (accepting) she's gay btw❤️I hope she actually starts crying screaming convinced her members r gonna HATE her ong

also.. other people can send analysis I don't own analysis LMFAOOO I would love to see other ppl take a crack at it especially characters I don't rlly understand (wowyn)

like I'd love to get a little more insight on specific characters from the lense of people with wildly different experiences. there is no such thing as copying character analysis I do not own this!!! u r not competition ur my friend.. coworker, even. All of us working together at the analysis factory 😞😞 we should unionize 🤓

I would love if people who have experienced comphet come and give character insight on pnpyn as well!!! I hope to see more ppl sending analysis but RICHGIRLYN IS MINE‼️💥💥(JOKE)

the mitski song I condemn her with is come into the water (maybe I'm the same as all those men, writing songs of all their dreaming— but would you tell me if you want me? cause I can't move till you show me)

-🎏

this is an amazing first analysis on pnp!yn I feel like some of ur views on her might change a little as the story goes on but I’d say most of things you think about her are pretty spot on.

I always find it funny that it’s hard for u to analyze wow!yn’s I feel like because ur not the biggest fan of her it makes it hard for you to understand her because there’s some asks that I’ve gotten on her and they’re pretty spot on with her. but she rlly is my most complex yn so that kinda makes me glad that you have a hard time understanding her that means my job is done

[shadowofroses]

Neko-Sanemi excerpt/short

Demon Slayer

Pairing: Tsugoku!Reader x Shinazugawa Sanemi

Ao3 Part of my "Demon Slayer Ideas" there I intended to make it a longer story with some chapters, but I was trying to focus on a series at the time and trying not to get distracted. PART 2

Warnings: Neko Sanemi, Language, Large chested reader.

Summery: During a Mission with the Sound Hashira, the Wind Hashira falls victim to a Blood Demon Art causing him to be fluffy. And Kocho has no patience for fluffy animals, which leads to his Tsugoku to watch him.

Story so far:

You walked out of your room and down the hall to the kitchen area, where you sleepily made some Miso. You let out a squeaky yawn that generally got you berated by the Wind Hashira every time. Setting the stove for the teapot there was a loud knocking on the door.

“OI! I have a Flamboyant request for you (Name)! Open up!”

You groaned, it was really too early to deal with Uzui. Regardless you went towards door finding the Sound Hashira holding a purring white and gray cat by the scruff of it's neck, while the holder had the largest grin on his face. You raised an eyebrow at this. “What's this?”

“I just got back from a mission I need you to watch him till Kocho is able to see him.”

The cat was thrust into your arms causing you to twitch and the cat to hiss. “What? One Master Shinazugawa likes dogs, not sure how he'll react to cats being in here. Two Kocho isn't a Vet. Three, why do I have to watch this fur ball?”

It seemed Uzui's grin only got larger as the cat seemed to bristle in your arms before resting on your large chest. “I'm sure Shinazugawa won't mind, he does look comfy already huh?” You nose twitched, “Besides, this is Shinazugawa.”

The Cats ear twitched as if expecting something loud. Your eyes narrowed at the cat noticing the grey tiger like stripes almost as if they were scarred across it's white fur. “Very funny Uzui, I can see the similarity and this is a very Flamboyant joke even for you! I can't take this cat in, I don't even like cats, and I don't want yelled at by Master Shinazugawa.”

Uzui smirked, “If only it was.” The cat huffed out air through it’s nose at that.. “Demon Blood Art! Ran into a interesting Demon and Shinazugawa got too close to it. Now he is a Furball.”

Your face deadpanned in disbelief. You went to pull the cat from your chest and it's claws dug in lightly to not be pulled away, “Little fucking shit, don't claw at my boobs regardless if they are comfy.” You held it at arms length while growling at it. It seemed to have snorted in response while Uzui snickered at that. “Do you really think I'm that Gullible?” you rolled your eyes placing the cat on the ground. “Get.”

Uzui's face dropped into serious mode, “I'm dead serious. This is Shinazugawa, and you need to keep an eye on him here cause Kocho hates furry animals so she will be treating him here.”

“Why not Himejima-san or Shinazugawa's broth...” you paused looking down at the cat as it hissed at you, “Point taken...I can't believe this right now....”

Uzui grinned in response. “Take good care of your Master!” Uzui ran off quickly both you and the cat twitched wondering which person he was referring to as Master.

“Too early for this shit...” you let out another squeaky yawn. The Cat promptly nipped your ankle making you look down at it. “Okay you're definitely Master Shinazugawa...” you kneel down to it, “You hungry? Thirsty? Sleepy?” you questioned each time and he shook his head. Sanemi raised it's head to look you in the eyes before it nipped at your wrist. “Want me to train...” a nod. “Fuck sake, least let me finish my breakfast.” Nip. “STOP THAT.” Nip.  “FUUUUUCK” 

[thisismyveryownsideblog]

With the final report now released, I feel compelled to say something, or else I risk looking back and berating myself for staying quiet.

We now know, for a fact, that the commonly-repeated claim that many of the means of medical transition are safe is, in fact, not based on sufficient high-quality research.

Moreover, we also now know, for a fact, that the referral rate has skyrocketted in recent years. I have been listening to the stories of detransitioners quietly myself now for about a year. Please, please, please understand: there is no guarantee that your certainty right now means that you won't end up detransitioning later. So many detrans people will tell you right out the gate that they were absolutely 100% sure they were trans when they first started out down this road.

Please, please, pause and really evaluate this decision before you make it. Ignore people who are trying to rush you to medically transition; if they really cared about you, they'd let you take the time you need to make such a huge decision. You don't need to rush. You can take your time and really ask yourself what you want—not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but for forty, fifty, sixty years down the line. This isn't just a choice you make for your teen years or twenties or thirties. This is a choice you're going to have to live with when you're middle-aged, your grandparents' age, and very elderly.

The trans community is known for downplaying negative results of medical transition and silencing naysayers; people who are deep into a possible sunk cost fallacy cannot be trusted to inform you about the possible negative effects of their decision. Ask detransitioners to tell you what they wish they'd known before starting medical transition.

And ask yourself why you want to transition. Really sit down and interrogate this. I know it's scary. But you wouldn't want to make a serious medical decision without making sure first that there wasn't another way to solve it. Many detransitioners have listed among the reasons they thought they were trans as repressed internalized misogyny or misandry, justified discomfort with being sexualized or a self-defense response to past sexual assault, repressed AGP or AAP, trying to "trans the gay away," or undiagnosed autism. For many of them, transition was only a distraction from the real root cause of their unhappiness—a costly, invasive, and ultimately harmful distraction. Dysphoria does not automatically mean that medical transition is your only option for dealing with these feelings.

Look. I'm not a TERF. I don't hate you. I don't want you dead. I'm just really, really concerned that a lot of you are making extremely serious medical choices, choices that will leave you a medical patient for the rest of your life when you don't have to be, choices that could gravely affect your ability to have kids or find a partner someday if you decide you want that, choices that plenty of other people before you have made and later regretted.

Slow down. Think this through. Do your own, independent research, and ask people who've come through the other side and regretted it what they would have done differently.

[bnnuy-wabbit]

I'm going to say something and u are not going to be happy about it. If you have to follow a set of rules to be safe in your own house that house is abusive. It honestly sounds like you're mainly upset at your brother for not being 'good' and making the house unsafe. But he's not making the house unsafe? The people yelling and throwing stuff are. And unless he's over 18 he can't be expected to manage living in abuse well either. Idk just the way you talked about it reminded me of my own household and how angry I got at my siblings. But think about it okay? I hope you find somewhere safe soon

Yeah... I know to be fair... I just don't have any better way to put it...? I'm aware it's abuse it's just! Im really dang tired of having to deal with the outcomes of my brother's misbehavior.

If you'll allow me, let me explain the entire situation. If you have any ideas of what to do Here, please PLEASE let me know because I'm going insane. I hold no grudges, I'm just extremely out of ideas on how to manage it.

There actually are very few rules! Is the issue! It used to be wayyy worse when i was a kid. It's just that my brother is ridiculously spoiled (not his fault!) and can't follow basic things such as "don't speak over people", "when someone says No to something you want to do and/or have, then you accept it even if you really want it". It always ends with him screaming and complaining for several hours straight until someone lets him have what he wants, and telling everybody "i hate you" and throwing loud tantrums everywhere. All day. Everyday. All the time. And then eventually his parents lose their patience and either i have to deal with Not Letting That Happen or suffer the consequences with him too.

We are on vacation rn. I just spent the last 8 hours of my life with him clinging to everybody's clothes complaining about everything we were doing and screaming about how he wants to be on the phone or go home or do something else.

And we can't let him home when we go out because he cries when we do anything without him. He only ever shuts up when he's on the phone. It's not healthy for a kid to be on the phone all day, so nobody lets him. When hes at home he complains about not doing anything and wants to be on the phone. The "something else" usually involves phone or videogames.

It's frustrating for everybody involved. He's never happy with anything and because of that my parents are always on a shitty mood and because of that i have to deal with the fall out.

I know its not MY responsibility but also its not like i like watching my parebts berate him either. I diffuse him often by distracting him. But sometimes he won't let me do that (like today. Dad almost threw his icecream on the floor because hed been tantruming for 8 hours straight).

[dumbwa-sian]

November 6th

These days I don't feel okay, too much has happened and it's making me crazy. we broke up and now it's weird. I never wanted to make the friend group choose sides or have a rift between us. I even told you if being with you was going to cause a rift in our friendship then I don't want to be with you. I would rather have only ever been friends from the start.

Now I'm feeling some type of way and trying to navigate my own feelings and mental health. I don't know what to do and I feel like I've hit a road block. But I really am trying to fix myself and everything but it feels like my friends- our friends are picking sides and their picking yours. This was the last thing I wanted.

I never and still don't want anyone to pick sides. But I no longer feel safe telling them how I feel or allowing myself to feel any emotion around them, in fear that they'll continue to berate and get angry at my own feelings. Like I said I am trying my absolute best everyday to try and control said emotions.

But as anyone will tell you, bottling your emotions are unhealthy and often leads to you exploding. So of course I try to let go of these emotions healthily but I don't know how to do that right now, but I am still trying everyday to find the best solution. Right now I need my friends and people who love me around me, just to listen, let me cry and be angry and laugh by my side, to be patient and just show me love. But like I said, our friends are picking sides and they picked yours.

I no longer feel safe with my friends.

For the first time in a very long time, I really feel alone. All I have is my best friend from childhood who I can truly rely on and call whenever I want/need. In my world, it's just the two of us who I can depend on. I don't have any other true friends or people I can openly talk to and let my feelings out too, free of judgement. Maybe thats why I've been drinking so much.

I've said it before but the emotional pain of losing everyone and having my world crumble is something I can handle. I've done it before and I can do it again. But the problem lies in the physical manifestations of these feelings. Feeling so sick I get horrible nausea, being unable to eat/eating too much, not being able to leave my bed etc. These are the things I can't handle and affect my everyday/professional life. I don't know what to do with these emotions.

What's worse is that I have to figure it all out alone, since I no longer have friends.

I could make new friends but I

Hate people

Am so scared they'll be like everyone else and leave

tired

I am perfectly happy being alone for the rest of my life with no friends and only having superficial connections for work, especially if it means I no longer have to get hurt. I don't think I can handle thinking I have real friends and having them disappear/betray me over and over again anymore. I don't have anyone in my corner and I am losing my shit.

The only thing keeping me sane these days is listening to Christmas music and burying myself in work or being distracted with literally anything else.

I guess I just hope one day I can have REAL friends who'll back me up, but I doubt it'll happen for me and who knows if I can make it. For now I'll post my troubles on the internet, hopefully someone reads this and doesn't feel alone. Cause lord knows I am.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 240

His Last Vow

“His Last Vow”

Plot Description: Sherlock goes up against Charles Augustus Magnussen, media tycoon and a notorious blackmailer

I had to check…at the time this aired, I definitely knew Magnussen was played by Hannibal’s brother. The Mikkelsen brothers have a very wonderfully offputting effect on any scene they’re in

Yikes yikes yikes. Sure *I* know this guy is bad, but the way this committee is asking him questions just feels xenophobic

I hate the twist at the end that this is Magnussen’s mind palace and none of what we’re seeing is real…so the only way to get rid of his files on everyone is to shoot him in the head

This man is such a downgrade from Moriarty. Yes, I'm biased, but I'm also right

Wait, there was another person in that room and he just...LET MAGNUSSEN LICK THAT LADY'S FACE?

I do remember how the "WELL I'M NOT NOW" gif was all over this site for a long time after this episode aired. It's probably the highl--I was going to say it's the highlight of the episode but I forgot this one, I BELIEVE, has Mycroft being forced into Christmas celebrations, so...that's...that's better

Man, they really jumped to all sorts of conclusions all while Sherlock was saying that he was in the drug den for a case. Not even a clean urine test saved him from Molly slapping him and everyone berating him. wtf

This is possibly the one time where I'm like "Mmmmm, Mycroft, noooo" You're SIDING WITH MAGNUSSEN?! Look, I KNOW he's got all sorts of info on all sorts of people, but that does not make him an asset to you, bud

John's total confusion about Janine's presence in 221b is very chef's kiss. He's also so fucking annoyed by it.

I'm sorry. But the (lack of) build up for Magnussen's big bad status for this season makes everything Sherlock is saying about him just fall completely flat. I truly don't blame John for remaining more distracted by Janine and Sherlock dating

Remember how everyone wanted Janine to secretly be Moriarty's sister? (That does make season 4 just a little bit funny...) They saw a dark haired Irish actress and went "She MUST be related to Moriarty"

He really needs to stop pulling all these gross power moves. Moriarty would never.

God, I forgot that Janine was Magnussen's assistant.

Dude. I think this is the moment that I actually hate using Sherlock as ace and/or aro coded representation (and if we're being for real the autistic coding of the character, too). He just proposed to Janine in order to get into Magnussen's office and called her love for him that allowed him to do that "human error." Not being experiencing those types of attraction does not make someone inherently cruel like that

They get wayyyyyyyyy too...I don't even know what to call it. I don't want to call it artistic because that's so broad. But from the moment Mary shoots Sherlock, the way this part is being filmed is such a departure from the "modern twist on the Sherlock Holmes stories" that we get in the first two seasons and even, to a lesser extent, the first two episodes of this season. They're, for some reason, being akin to an action movie.

There's so much time wasted on Sherlock being shot and nearly dying.

EUGH!! NO. Not the subconscious mention of the secret sister that comes in next season

The fact that he enters the very dingy room in his mind that contains a straightjacket-ed and chained up Moriarty while yelling "control!" repeatedly is...it's something. And really?? Moriarty never felt pain?? Were you not on that rooftop with him when he pontificated about how lonesome he was in his life? How boring everyone he's ever met was? Yes, he had his machinations, but that only gets you so far.

Not to bring my "everything is about the Todorokis and especially Touya" into Sherlock, too. But this depiction of Moriarty in Sherlock's mind is so reminiscent of all the times post Dabi's Dance that someone in that family thinks about him and what he's doing at that moment. It's so much more unhinged than anything he's actually doing. And yes, Moriarty had his outbursts, but he wasn't like this all the time

But truly. They could have been friends. They could have been such good and cool FRIENDS. And Sherlock fucked that up by pretending to be in love with her, stringing her along, just to get to Magnussen.

The way John asks who Sherlock would be protecting by not revealing the name of the person who shot him AND AT THE SAME TIME, HE'S SITTING DOWN INTO HIS CHAIR THAT HAS VERY RECENTLY RETURNED TO 221B. It's a good moment

Maybe I'm delusional, but I believe there could have been a way to make this story line good, the Mary is an assassin/spy/whatever and it needs to be kept from John. Her confrontation with Sherlock in the fake building is good, but the immediate revelation that John was there the whole time sucks. There could have been so much more intrigue, if only things were stretched out more over the season instead of cramming it all into this one.

I love Mycroft's petulance

It is kind of funny how John is often perceived as the normal one, but he's surrounded himself by all this. Sherlock's not wrong when he says John's addicted to danger

The gut-wrenching "you are a client now. this is where you sit and talk, and this is where we sit and listen and decide if we want you or not" from John to Mary. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it for lying to him from the moment they met, but GOD. DAMN.

"Your loss would break my heart" caused more of a reaction in Sherlock than "There ain't no me if there ain't no you" did in Sam. But that might be because the Winchesters talk and lie about how they feel about each other far more often than the Holmes boys ever would.

I forgot he drugs everyone at Christmas as part of a deal with Magnussen...wtf. Sherlock, I know you're not ACTUALLY going to turn over Mycroft's laptop (which he for some reason brought to Christmas dinner) to Magnussen moments after that heart to heart with him

The fact that neither Sherlock but especially John hasn't shot him yet.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVE IT YOU JUST HAVE TO PRINT IT? Aren't Britain's libel and slander laws like...famously bonkers? Like, just incredibly intense? What a crazy thing to have this guy living and working in England who owns multiple newspapers say

We get a couple glimpses in this episode of Sherlock as a kid......not as effective as when we see the Winchesters as kids

Mmmmmm, Sherlock shooting Magnussen is why he's gotta go on that mission Mycroft mentioned earlier that would likely kill him in six months' time

This is truly when Sherlock should have ended. True, it would be sad to have John and Sherlock split up at the end of the series, but nothing that comes after this is good. Also, we could have ended on the threat of Moriarty coming back. I DO remember how the "did you miss me?" image flooded this site

I wish Moriarty had actually come back and not get ruined by the series finale. Then I could have the "if i had a nickel for every time I loved a character who announced they were back from the dead by taking over every screen in the country their story takes place in, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice" meme. But noooooooooooo, Moftiss didn't want me to have anything nice.

[raredecline]

the whale (2022)

i went into this movie without knowing what the hell it was gonna be about outside of the two-sentence blurb i'm finding that i really like psychological dramas, as they pump my shoulders up with a sense of fake sophistication. as a tl;dr: this movie made me cry, but i don't think it was darren aronofsky's direction or samuel hunter's script.

brendan fraser was phenomenal, and sadie sink has an incredibly bright future ahead of her. their scenes together - and only together - were dynamic and raw. brendan brought this pure, optimistic nature to charlie that made my heart wrench for him every time he was looked down on, and even more so when sadie's enraged, near-sociopathic (?) portrayal of ellie berated her own father. hell, her first words to him are asking if she'll be fat like him. but i really think charlie's innate desire to want to provide something for his estranged daughter, after years of not being able to do so, is an almost-perfect foil to ellie's i-hate-everyone-and-you-especially-can-fuck-off demeanor... which builds up into the film's climax (and denouement). the two of them made me cry, and i ended up having a damp mask until i got to my car.

as for the rest of the cast, i wasn't as impressed. hong chau (liz) and samantha morton (mary) had amazing moments, where i felt like i was right there with them, exasperated and aching and angry re: charlie... but whenever there was an outburst or something, i was kinda pushed back out of the car of the scene, watching omnisciently and passively - like i knew they were just acting. with that being said, hong chau's very last scene with fraser is so gutterly real, it hurts.

which leads me to this: i'll eat my words if i'm wrong about it, but the directing on the actors' movements took me out of the scene the most. maybe it was to emphasize charlie's inability to freely move, i don't know, but every single character that faced off with him in his living room constantly did repeat motions: stand in anger, pace to a spot in the room (fridge, counter, table, sofa, chair), come back to original place marker, repeat. it was personally distracting, but i'm probably the only freak who would hyperfixate on something like that.

all this rambling and no review on the story. the meat! of the story! now this is where i expose myself at being horrible at expressing and articulating my thoughts out loud. the parallels between charlie's favorite essay (ellie's 8th grade piece on moby dick - side note, what school makes kids in the 8th grade read that behemoth?) and the way he lives his life were poignant. my ap lit teacher actually had us skip all the "boring whale chapters," and i never actually read the entire book, but i honestly regret it if it's anything like how ellie describes it. the commentary on christianity - thomas innately believing he can "fix" charlie's homosexuality, "fix" charlie's problems - hits the nail on the head.

my gripe lies with the aronofsky's portrayal of society being disgusted with obesity. does he believe it? i feel like he also is disgusted by it, considering i just learned he thought it impossible to find an actually obese actor who could play this part. i don't know, he could have honestly just said he really wanted fraser to be in this film rather than being fatphobic.

this review's all over the place, and i might come back to edit and/or add thoughts later, but it is what it is at 3:30am.

i just wanted to add matthew libatique's cinematography was aesthetically pleasing.

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C12 - ...Okay Maybe It's An Addiction

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter is not particularly spooky, there's just a lot of exposition and important plot stuff and some nice character interactions.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 12 | Next Chapter

C12 - ...Okay Maybe It's An Addiction

     This new schedule was throwing you off. You were setting all kinds of alarms and reminders to make sure you were where you needed to be when you needed to be there. There wasn't much time for your research, which you'd thrown yourself into headfirst in order to help distract from your feelings until they went away.

     You hated the management at the pizza-plex, for many reasons. It felt personal to you, now that you'd gotten to know all the animatronics. You didn't want to just let management use and abuse the animatronics how they saw fit. Besides, if you didn't figure out how to bring management down, who would?

     You weren't very good at research. All you really got were adds for the pizza-plex and its line of merch, and a bunch of old advertisements from when the place had its grand re-opening three years ago. You sighed and considered making plans to check out the public library for information.

     If you ever had the time, that is.

     Luckily, you didn't have as many days or hours at the deli coming up. Today was not one of those days, however. You had a short shift at the deli, followed by two hours at the plex, followed by a longer closing shift back at the deli, and then a night shift at the plex. You also had a tummy ache, but you were being very brave about it. You downed an energy drink on the way to work at the deli.

     At the plex, there was some trouble as a few kids got very upset during snack time when Moon ran out of the popular cracker snacks shaped like the glamrocks. The kids were inconsolable, in tears, and one was even screaming. Sun came to the rescue and consoled the children with candy, if the kids agreed to settle for a different snack. You asked to try one of the candies, since it looked special. It wasn't for sale in any of the gift shops, and didn't have a brand name or anything on its wrapper, just a little sun icon. You recalled a box of candy among Moon's belongings, which you remembered matched his theme. Sun hesitantly told you that the candy was just for the kids, and you shouldn't have any. You, now even more curious, made plans to steal some later.

     Another energy drink on your way back to the deli. A customer berated you for putting an obscene amount of black olives (a regular amount of black olives) on her sub. Another customer came up to the counter five minutes before closing and simply could not figure out what she wanted, but boy did she sure want a lot of it. You opened, sliced a sample of, and re-wrapped and put away nearly every meat and cheese in the case before the customer realized there was a fresh slice case, full of the pre-sliced packs of meats and cheeses you'd been working on for the past two hours. She took every pack of cheese in the case, so you had to slice more to restock it before you could get to cleaning. One of your coworkers, the one who was always complaining about one thing or another (what was her name?? You could never remember) did your dishes without you asking and then complained about having to do everything herself. You ignored her and exchanged riddles with your manager until everything was done and you could finally leave.

     You clocked into the plex for the second time, snatching another energy drink from the fridge. You turned around and nearly leapt out of your skin when you saw someone else in the room with you.

     "Fucking shit. Sorry. Hi, Vanessa. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." You took a few breaths to calm down. You weren't sure when you'd gotten so jumpy.

     "What are you doing here?" Vanessa asked. She punched in, then turned back around to scrutinize you.

     "…I work here? I'm Y/N, the other security guard. We met once in the parking lot," you said.

     Vanessa gave you a tired look. "I mean why are you here right now? I'm scheduled to be here till one. You don't need to be here till then."

     "Oh. I guess management accidentally scheduled us both." You checked your email and re-read your schedule just to be certain. "They just re-worked my schedule so I could supervise Moon, it's probably just a small error they made when changing stuff around."

     Vanessa sighed. "Whatever." She breezed past you and started fixing herself a cup of coffee. The keys hanging on her hip jangled lightly as she went. You noticed a little bunny charm hanging off a keychain, and noted subconsciously that Vanessa seemed to like bunnies.

     You were about to leave and start your rounds, but… you didn't get much opportunity to talk to Vanessa. Not only did you want to form your own opinions of her, but you knew she'd been working here since the place opened. She was bound to know something or other about management, right?

     You took a very casual sip of your energy drink. "…Leave it to management to make a fuck up like this, huh?"

     "Right." Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Those dumbasses don't know a damn thing about what goes on around here. They don't care. All they want is money."

     "Greedy bastards," you agreed.

     "They don't care if people get hurt. They're selfish. Thoughtless."

     You took this as a good sign. She was not only willing to talk to you, but she had to have a reason or two for dissing management. You went on, hoping to encourage her to keep talking. "Right?? Like, they were considering getting rid of Moon because they couldn't figure out the issue with his weird bug. Like legit get rid of him."

     Vanessa scoffed. "Who gives a shit about the animatronics?"

     You were momentarily speechless, somewhat startled by her incredible lack of compassion. There was no way after three years she didn't know the animatronics were just as sentient as anyone else.

     Vanessa went on, glaring down at the coffee pot as it slowly churned out her coffee, filling the styrofoam cup. "They'll just sweep it all under the rug, rebrand, claim it'll be different this time around. Can't have a high employee turnover rate if there's barely any employees to begin with."

     You weren't sure what to say. You wanted to yell at her, you'd told her management wanted to off Moon and her response was to demean the animatronics and then avoid the topic altogether. But… what the hell was she talking about??

     "What do you mean? High employee turnover rate?" you questioned.

     "Back before they closed, when they didn't have security bots and staff bots, they had people. Good, honest, hard working, flesh and blood people. Animatronics like these were so new… still are, for the most part. Not a lot of regulations around them. Not many people who's job it is to make sure they're running right. Make sure they're safe." Vanessa glared at her coffee. It was done pouring, but she didn't move to take it.

     "…What are you saying? The turnover rate was high because…?"

     "No reason I can prove." Vanessa snatched up her coffee, chugged it all, then tossed the cup in the trash. "Hope I don't see you again anytime soon." She left the room.

     You stood there for a long moment, processing and reeling from the conversation. You took a long drink from your can, then started your rounds.

     You came to the conclusion that there was maybe more going on here than you'd thought. According to Vanessa, there'd been some issues with the classic animatronics, leading to people getting hurt, or… worse. Which the company seems to have covered up quite well. Of course, enough money will do that, and this was a very lucrative entertainment business. You weren't sure how to go about validating any of these claims. Maybe Vanessa was messing with you, trying to get you to quit or something. She didn't seem to like you very much. But she had seemed so… passionate. So angry. It was hard for you to believe she was lying.

     So then, in the case it was true, a sane person would likely cease all investigation, probably start looking for a new job, keep their nose out of it. But you were not sane. You were insatiably curious. You also held a deep hatred for management, and didn't care much for your own safety or well-being.

     You opened your writing app and tapped out some notes, recounting what Vanessa had said while it was still fresh in your mind. You got back to your rounds, planning to keep your ear to the ground and your nose as far into this business as you could get it. You finished off your energy drink and tossed the can into the garbage.

     "Those are bad for you."

     You were started out of your thoughts by Moon, who had come up behind you, and oh shit you were supposed to meet him at the daycare before starting your rounds-

     "Ahhhh, man! I'm sorry, Moon. I totally spaced. It's been a long day," you said sheepishly.

     Moon pouted. "I can't believe you forgot all about me. You must hate me."

     You rolled your eyes. "I don't hate you."

     "Ohh, woe is me. Forgotten, left behind, tossed to the wayside." Moon swooned dramatically.

     "I would never!"

     "Abandoned… betrayed…" Moon pretended to weep.

     "Alright, I'm leaving." You rolled your eyes and continued walking.

     Moon walked next to you. "How was your day?"

     "Ugh. It was whatever. How was yours?"

     Moon looked at you for a long moment. "It was alright. After you left Sun had a tea party with the kids. I took a rest. Chica came to say hi around closing time." Moon flipped the hood of your hoodie up.

     You pulled the hood back down and readjusted your hat. "Chica's nice, I like her."

     "What did you do at the deli today? You aren't disgusting so you must not have been in the kitchen," Moon said.

     You rolled your eyes. "Dealt with some irritating people, sliced a lot of meat and cheese, made subs, packed and served hot food. The usual."

     "You seem tense." Moon poked your shoulder.

     "That's just how I am normally. I'm a stiff person, I don't sleep well."

     Moon poked your shoulder again. "You should sleep more."

     "No time. Not to mention, it's never really restful."

     "Tell me about these bad dreams of yours," Moon said.

     "You don't wanna know."

     "If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked." Moon poked you again.

     "Alright, alright." You swatted his hand away and huffed. "Usually there's a lot of fear and stress and… well, I'm hunted down and brutally murdered frequently. For the past couple months, every now and then I'll get a really vivid dream, and there's always this anthropomorphic rabbit. In the last one I had, I was in the arctic with this dog, and I loved the dog, but then the dog turned into the rabbit and started chasing me. And there was nowhere to hide in the void of snow, nowhere to run when your tracks always lead right to you… Actually, that's part of why I wasn't so psyched about you animatronics when I first started. But there doesn't seem to be any bunny animatronics here, so that's good news for me."

     "There… used to be. Until a year ago."

     "Bonnie, right? The bear guy got really upset when I asked him about Bonnie," you prompted.

     "I don't doubt it." Moon looked away. He looked sad himself, but not sad like the bear bot. Moon almost looked guilty. Moon noticed your attention on him, and his face quickly snapped into neutrality. "I'm sorry to hear about the nightmares. They sound awful. Have you spoken to a healthcare professional?"

     You laughed. "In this economy?? No way. I'm too busy anyways." You studied Moon, who still appeared neutral. "You seem tense," you said, copying what Moon had said earlier.

     Moon rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."

     You 'tsk'ed at him and stopped walking so you could give him your full attention. "Should have never told me you could lie. I might have believed that."

     "Is it too late to convince you that I am actually possessed by the souls of a hundred spiders and therefor cannot lie?" Moon started to crouch down.

     "Yes, far too late, don't you dare," you said quickly.

     Moon chuckled and straightened back up. He looked away. "…Pass."

     "Oh. Alright." If Moon didn't want to talk about it, you weren't about to make him. "Wanna go say hi to Mister Music?"

     Moon smiled. "I'd love to."

~~~

     Moon only joined you on the rounds for half the night, staying in the daycare with Sun after a short relaxing break. Moon attempted to convince you it was because he didn't want Sun to be lonely, but it was fairly obvious that he missed being with Sun just as much as Sun missed him.

     You weren't too upset, it gave you more time to think and process. What you needed was more information, preferably from some different and more reliable sources.

     As they say, however, beggars can't be choosers.

     It wasn't too surprising that you wound up getting more information from Chica. Every other conversation you had with her, she was filling you in on all the juicy gossip the pizza-plex had to offer. You weren't sure how she knew as much as she did, but she sure did know a lot.

     You'd been investigating some noise in the backroom of a gift shop (just Chica doing her thing, of course) when you'd actually found an old box full of plushies sharing the likeliness of an animatronic you hadn't met before. It was the fox guy, who was dressed like a pirate with an eyepatch and a cutlass and a long bright blue jacket. He had a clever grin and a cute little pirate hat.

     "That's Foxy! Or… it was supposed to be," Chica said. She had this look in her eye, and you knew you were in for it. Garbage forgotten, she lifted one of the plushies and turned it over in her hands.

     "Oh yeah?" you prompted eagerly.

     "So, the story is that Foxy was supposed to cover pirate cove, right? That was originally his area. But then the budget got reworked, and they couldn't afford to finish him, even though they had the area all ready to go. But a few things don't add up, right?" Chica paused.

     You were listening with rapt attention, which Chica seemed pleased with.

     Chica leaned in close and whispered. "Well, rumor has it… Foxy was already completed when they supposedly 'reworked the budget'. But he went missing, and no one knows where or how. Moon got in a lot of trouble with management, since it happened sometime in the night, on his watch. That's when they promoted Vanessa, to help with security. And then he got that bug a couple months later, and then Bonnie went missing a year ago… Moon's been on temporary dismissal since then. I was a little worried that when management hired you, they'd finally decided to permanently dismiss him, and you were his replacement… but it looks like they just had that whole separation project in the works. I'm really glad things worked out."

     "Yeah… right." You weren't sure how much weight to put in this rumor. Chica had once told you that Vanessa absolutely despised bunnies, so you weren't sure whether to trust in the accuracy of this information. You decided to take notes later anyways, just to be safe.

"Say, you sure do spend a lot of time with Sun and Moon. You hang out with them every night, right?" Chica asked.

"Maybe. Why??" You squinted at her.

"No reason~!" Chica giggled.

She got back to her trash, and you got back to your rounds.

     At the end of your shift, you clocked out and set your map on top of the minifridge, where you usually left it so you wouldn't loose it. You made it to your car, head buzzing with all sorts of disorganized thoughts and clutter and feelings. The moment you sat down, the exhaustion hit, and you took a long moment to just… sit.

     You knew it was dangerous to just sit. To be idle, to let your mind wander. Naturally, you found yourself thinking about Sun and Moon. Those ridiculous jesters… when had you gotten so attached to them? And… why?

     Maybe it was because of the way they treated you. With care and respect, like they thought you were worth something. They seemed so attached to you, and damn was the attention addicting. You felt a little pitiful, realizing just how lonely you'd been before coming to work here. Sun and Moon were so concerned with your health and your safety, the last thing either of them wanted was to hurt you.

     All things you'd been missing, longing for without realizing it.

     You thought again about how lonely you were, and why exactly that was. Could you even trust yourself? Trust your own feelings, trust that you actually did have crushes on Sun and Moon, when maybe, actually, you were just lonely and they'd given you a bit of positive attention, and now here you were, falling apart in your car in a lonely parking lot, unsure of what was real, and what was just in your head.

     You jumped at a soft knocking sound on your passenger window. You looked up through blurry twilight shadows -when had you started crying??- to see the bear bot standing just outside. You quickly wiped your face and rolled down the window.

     "Hey, superstar. Is everything alright?" the bear asked softly. He looked concerned.

     "Peachy keen." You used your sleeve to dry your eyes, doing your damndest to stop crying and relax.

     "…Would you like some company?" the bear offered.

     You hesitated for a long moment. You hated the loneliness, the horrible weight of it. You were ashamed to be crying, but… you really did not want to be alone.

     You nodded, and unlocked the door.

     The bear climbed inside, awkwardly adjusting the seat to better fit his massive bulky frame. He carefully closed the door behind him and set his hands on his knees, which were nearly touching his chest.

     "What are you doing out here anyways?" you asked.

     The bear glanced out at the shadowed building beyond the windshield, lit faintly by sparse yellow lights lining the parking lot. "Well, sometimes it can get a little… stifling. In the plex. It helps me at times to step outside and look at the stars and listen to the crickets. I technically never leave the property, so no one can complain. You walked right past me on your way to your car, and you seemed so deep in thought, I did not want to disturb you. But then you did not drive away, and I saw you were crying..."

     "I just… I dunno. I'm just tired." You folded your arms over the wheel and set your chin in your arms, partially hiding your face.

     "People usually do not cry from tiredness alone," the bear said.

     You sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

     The bear looked at you. "Because I care about you, superstar," he said sincerely.

     That did it for you. You started crying again. You started talking, and once you started, you just couldn't stop. You told the bear everything. A part of you was horribly reluctant to confide in him, to let him know things he could easily use to hurt you, but a much bigger part of you was just too tired to care. Maybe it was something about how kind and supportive the bear seemed. There was something about him that made him seem trustworthy.

     You told him about what had happened to you almost a year ago now, the events that had led you here, in need of money to stay afloat. Your fiancé had cheated on you with your friend and roommate. Your now ex-fiancé decided they didn't want to be with you anymore, even though they'd accepted your proposal, even though they'd been the one to tease and ask about when you were going to propose already, even though they'd been the one to say 'I love you' first. They hadn't even told you why, after all that time, they just suddenly didn't want you anymore. They'd lied to you about a lot of things. They weren't the person you thought they were, the person you trusted most to not hurt you. They ran off with your roommate, and you could no longer afford the place you'd been renting. Living alone was alright some days, but the days when you couldn't shake the loneliness, the empty bed, the quiet walls… some days just hit a little too hard.

     When you finally stopped and looked up at the bear, you realized with shock that he'd started crying at some point as well. Animatronics could cry, apparently.

     "Oh, Y/N. I am so truly sorry," the bear whispered.

     You weren't sure how to decipher the heavy emotion in the bear's tone. "…I don't want pity. That's the last fucking thing I need."

     "I do not feel pity for you. I feel empathy. I do not cry for you. I cry with you," the bear said.

     "Oh." You took a moment to study the bear. You saw that familiar sadness on his face, the sadness that had taken you by surprise that night he'd introduced you to DJMM and accompanied you on your rounds. "Oh. I see."

     The bear nodded. "I understand what it feels like to suddenly loose someone you love very much. It is jarring, when they are simply just… gone. There one night and gone the next, and you just do not know why, and no one has the answer. No one knows what happened to Bonnie. He just… disappeared."

     You understood, and your heart hurt. "I'm so sorry."

     The bear closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh. "It is important to remember that you are not alone. You and I, we have friends to help support us and give us company when we need it. It is also important to remember that the events and decisions of others is beyond our control. All we can control is ourselves. So long as we do our best to be our best, we will make it through okay."

     You wrapped your arms around yourself. "But… what if being my best isn't good enough? It wasn't good enough for them."

     "That is their loss, superstar. I mean it. You are a positive light in this world and I for one am lucky to know you." The bear set a hand on your shoulder.

     You smiled. "I'm gonna start crying again."

     "That is okay. Crying is a natural release of large amounts of emotion." The bear rubbed your arm comfortingly. "You do not ever need to cry alone in your car. You can always come to me if you need to, I will listen and do my best to help."

     You hesitated to accept help, but damn this bear was so fucking comforting. "…Thanks. I appreciate it. I… I feel like I shouldn't need help. Like, I should be able to take care of myself."

     "I do not doubt that you can take care of yourself. It is not difficult to tell that you are very strong and independent and resilient. I am very proud of you, superstar. You should know, things do not have to be as hard as they are. A burden becomes much lighter when you have friends to help you carry it."

     "That’s… yeah. Yeah, that makes sense." You took a deep breath and let it out. "Man. I think I really needed that. Just like, talking about it made me feel better. That's so weird."

     The bear smiled. "I am very happy to be of help. If I may offer you some more advice?"

     "Anytime."

     "Try to get some sleep. I know you work very hard, and it is important to get enough rest as well. You could wind up getting sick."

     "You sound like Moon." You rolled your eyes. "I'll try. No promises, but I'll try."

     "Thank you. I will let you get home so you can do just that. Will you be alright?" the bear asked.

     "Yeah, you know me. I'll be fine." You smiled. "Thanks."

     "Okay." The bear carefully climbed back out of the car. He paused before closing the door behind him. "Know that I think you are doing amazing, and I am very proud of you."

     "Thank you. That makes me feel nice." You did indeed feel very nice and special inside. It was so validating to be told that you were doing a good job, after all your hard work, your long days, your even longer nights.

     You waved goodbye to the bear bot and drove yourself home down familiar quiet roads. You slept a little easier that night.

~~~

     Over the next three weeks, you enjoyed shorter and fewer shifts at the deli.

     You spent your free time attempting research, but you couldn’t find anything about the old pizzeria, save for marketing campaigns and collectables and old merchandise for sale.

     You didn’t run into Vanessa, and you were starting to get the feeling she was avoiding you. Even if you came in early to your shorter shifts, Vanessa’s car was already gone. Maybe she was parking around back or down the road? You weren’t sure, and you weren’t complaining.

     The bear, on the other hand, came to check on you at least once a night. He would let you talk about how you’d been feeling and lament with you and give you advice on managing loneliness and sadness. Most of his advice was just to spend more quality time with friends and loved ones and make time to do the things you enjoy, which you supposed was still good advice, if only you had the time or energy.

     Chica came to visit the daycare often, stating how convenient it was to check in on three pals at once. Sun roped her into a tea party one night, where she gossiped about how Roxy had accidentally broken her race car, snapping the wheel clean off. Several kids had seen her do this, as she'd been in the middle of a race, and while she and everyone else was fine and uninjured, she lost the race and was extremely upset. Chica said it was nowhere near as embarrassing as when she herself had gotten a little too into the music a few days ago and had broken her guitar in the middle of a show. Luckily, the crowd had assumed it was on purpose and went wild.

     You went to Roxy’s room afterwards to check on her, but she was an inconsolable mess, so you sat with her and kept her company until she calmed down.

     Mister Music introduced you to a weird little robot he called ‘Lil Music Man’ who you got the feeling was not really management approved. He looked like a miniature version of DJMM, and was roughly the size of a cat. The little guy hid in the vents, as Mister Music explained to you. He wanted you to know, in case you ever spotted Lil Music Man on your rounds, though apparently the little guy had been crafty enough to avoid you so far. You dubbed the tiny robot Mini Man and swore to keep him a secret. He was a little creepy, but you couldn’t help but love the little guy. He was just a tiny version of DJMM, like his little brother or something. You thought it was adorable, how the DJ would dote over the little guy.

     To your pleasant surprise, Monty actually seemed to regard you as a close friend now, and was always delighted to see you. He would always tease you or, as he’d gotten into the habit of lately, would pretend to square off with you, and then before leaving he’d assure you that the next time he saw you it was on sight.

     One night, after a round of pretend fighting, you asked him if he’d run out of lightbulbs yet.

     “Not yet. Why?” Monty asked.

     “Look at me, man. I’m so fuckin small. I can only bottle up so much rage in this tiny frame, ya know?”

     Monty laughed, and the two of you ended up down in the warehouse for another round of cathartic lightbulb smashing.

     Monty told you that the journaling had been helping with his stress, but not the memory problems. He explained that he’d figured out what was causing the problems, though. He was overheating too much, and it was likely causing some internal damage. He told you he hadn’t been able to complete a recharge cycle in a long time, and his systems were suffering. You could see it yourself in the way he moved, not as fluid and confidant as he was when you’d first met him.

     “I’ve got a complete routine maintenance exam coming up in a week, though, so I’ll tell the tech and have them figure out what’s up with my sleep cycle,” Monty said.

     “That sounds good. I hope they fix the problem,” you said.

     “Me too,” Monty agreed.

     You were actually wondering how Monty was holding up, entirely lost in thought, when you felt your hat leave your head.

     Confused, you looked up from the daycare’s security desk to see Sun had set the hat on one of the rays at the top of his head. You rolled your eyes, barely containing a smile. Both Sun and Moon loved to steal your hat. You had begrudgingly come to accept this fact.

     “Howdy sunflower,” you greeted quietly.

��    Moon was in the middle of a story, though it was one you’d already heard before. Today’s small bundle of kids were listening with rapt attention as Moon flawlessly transitioned from different character voices as the cast of adventurers made their plans to thwart the evil wizard’s plots.

     “Hello, dear. Watcha thinking about?” Sun leaned on the other side of the desk and smiled at you.

     “I’m not sure… my thinking cap seems to have vanished. Not a single thought in this brain,” you said.

     “Oh goodness, wherever could it have gone??” Sun put a hand up to his forehead, shielding his eyes as he looked all around for the hat, which was not only already shielding his eyes, but located atop his own head.

     “Not a clue.” You laughed.

     “Hm. I believe I recall a magic spell to make lost security hats reappear…” Sun tapped his chin thoughtfully.

     “What a convenient and specific spell,” you remarked.

     “Indeed! Now close your eyes, or the magic won’t work!”

     You gave Sun a curious look, but indulged him and closed your eyes.

     “No peeking!” Sun warned.

     You smiled and put your hands over your eyes, ensuring that you were not peeking.

     “Zip zippity… hat zaloo!” Sun exclaimed. “Here we are! You can look now.”

     You uncovered your eyes to see your hat sitting atop the monitor, Sun’s beaming face just behind it. You had an eyebrow raised and were about to make a comment on ‘hat zaloo’ when you realized there were now pins on the hat. Two of them, made of cardboard and paint and safety pins and no small amount of glitter glue. One was a simple little scene in a circular boundary, featuring a beach and an ocean and a big bright sun hanging high in the sky. The other was also in a circular boundary, but contained a crescent moon instead, with a little sheriff badge at its center.

     “Oh, what…?” You lifted the hat and studied the pins closely. “Where did these come from??”

     Sun was bouncing up and down with excitement. “Moon and I made them for you!”

     You gasped. “Wait, really?? These are for me?” You looked at the pins again. You could clearly see which pin was from who. “Aw, you didn’t have to do that!”

     “Sun! You were supposed to wait till nap time.” Moon quietly stalked over, leaving a pile of napping kids behind him.

     “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t wait.” Sun smiled sheepishly. “We’ve been waiting to give them to you all day, Y/N.”

     “Yes. We made them this morning and apparently a few hours was too much to ask of Sun.” Moon rolled his eyes.

     “You’re the one who gave them both to me for safekeeping! You know how impatient I am,” Sun said.

     You interrupted their squabbling. “Guys… I love these. They’re so nice. I cant believe you made these for me… thank you.” You beamed at Sun and Moon.

     Sun and Moon both smiled.

     “Of course, sunshine! I know they’re sort of poor quality, but they’ve got a lot of love in them!”

     “Sorry they’re not better. We wanted to make actual nice glossy pins, but we don’t have the right materials for that,” Moon fidgeted and glanced at Sun.

     You stood up and took a hand each, one of Sun’s, and one of Moon’s. “These are the sweetest gifts I've ever received. I will treasure them dearly. Than you so much.”

     Sun swayed happily while Moon tugged his nightcap over his eyes.

     You sneezed, with enough sudden force to send you backwards into your chair. Moon and Sun glanced back at the kids, but luckily the noise hadn’t woken any of them.

     “Ugh! That’s it, i’m cleaning this desk.” You stepped out from behind the desk and headed to the supply closet.

     “Oh thank goodness,” Sun whispered. “What did we ever do to deserve you, Y/N?”

     You put your fists on your hips and assumed a heroic stance. “Just doing my duty, citizen.”

     “Heh… duty.” Moon grinned at you.

     “Oh so that’s funny but actual jokes with clever puns aren’t?” You made it back to the desk, cleaning supplies in hand.

     "We hang out with kids all day, what do you expect? Also, puns are not funny, they're annoying." Moon folded his arms.

     "You're annoying," Sun shot back.

     The two continued to bicker as you wiped down the desk and started sorting through the drawers, putting away loose papers and random office supplies.

     "Hey, it's bear guy!" You pulled a replica of the bear bot's head out of one of the drawers. It was small enough to fit in your hand. "What is this, a paperweight?"

     Sun leaned over the desk to see what you were holding. "Oh, boop the nose!"

     You did so, and were rewarded with a fun little congratulatory sound effect as the tiny bear's mouth opened, revealing a shiny card inside. 'Security Clearance Level 3' was printed on the card's surface.

     "Before they came out with those fancy new watches, they used to have these cards that would unlock doors and such. Staff were required to carry around cards up to their approved security clearance level in order to access different areas of the building. It was very cumbersome, and people kept loosing cards, so they came out with the watches and stored the cards in the security desks around the plex instead, as a backup in case the watches malfunctioned," Sun explained.

     "So wait. Different doors needed different level cards to unlock them?" you questioned.

     Sun nodded. "That's right!"

     "That's so inconvenient. Why not just have one card that unlocks all the doors?" You scowled down at the card.

     "Probably to keep certain employees from accessing certain areas." Sun shrugged.

     You closed the card back in its bear bot head holder and set it on the desk after a moment of consideration. It was kinda cute.

"Wait... you keep calling him 'bear guy'. Y/N... do you not know his name??" Moon questioned.

Fuck. Shit. You'd been found out. "Uh. I know it! It's just. Um. 'Bear guy' is just like a nickname."

Moon and sun both shared a disbelieving look. Curse your horrible lying skills.

"Then what's his name?" Sun asked.

"Uh..... Frank?" You winced. You knew that wasn't right.

Sun giggled, and Moon put a hand over his enormous grin. Your face felt hot, and you crossed your arms.

"Well, what is it?? I can't just ask him. I've known him for months now!" You huffed.

Sun and Moon shared another look.

"...You're not gonna tell me, are you." You sighed.

"It's more fun this way." Moon snickered.

"Whatever." You stuck your tongue out at them and busied yourself with finishing up the cleaning. There wasn't much cleaning left to do, but luckily Sun offered a change of topic.

     "Wanna see a trick I can do with your watch?" Sun asked.

     "Sure?" You looked at your watch curiously.

     A smiling sun emoticon popped up on the screen, spun around, then vanished.

     "How'd you do that??" you asked.

     Sun smiled. "A magician never reveals his secrets!"

     "Since he's not in safe mode he's on the system, which means he can connect to your watch, since it's also on the system," Moon explained.

     Sun gave Moon a sour look.

     "What is… the system?" You asked carefully, feeling like the question was dumb. You could only handle so much embarrassment in a day.

     "The system is what everything here runs on. Every machine and animatronic and bot is linked to it, so everything runs as smoothly as possible," Sun said patiently.

     Moon chimed in. "It's sort of like wifi, or the radio. Signals are transmitted through the air that tell the security bots where to patrol, receive updates, send information back to management in their offices. It’s a very small and secure radius, it covers the plex and nothing more. We can connect to the internet if we want to, but usually we don't want to. The ads are annoying."

     "Speaking of that, I've been doing a little bit of research!" Sun straightened up and looked at you.

     "Uh oh. What's that look?" You squinted suspiciously.

     Sun lifted a finger in the air, as if he were about to give a lecture. "Did you know that its recommended that you should consume no more than four hundred milligrams of caffeine a day? Are you aware that each one of your energy drinks contains three hundred and fifty milligrams of caffeine?"

     You glanced at the empty energy drink on the desk. You'd finished it earlier. These days, you were downing at least three a day.

     Sun continued. "Side effects of drinking energy drinks can include and are not limited to upset stomach, leg weakness, heart palpitations, being jittery, nervousness, agitation, difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, problems sleeping, nausea, and can affect your blood pressure."

     "Huh." You picked up the empty can and studied it. Sure enough, you found a little line of text near the bottom reading 'contains 350 mg of caffeine'. "Well. Thanks for telling me."

     Sun gasped. "So you'll stop drinking those??"

     You smiled sheepishly. "…Thanks for telling me so I can make informed bad decisions."

     Sun sighed heavily and set his faceplate down on the desk.

     "Dove, listen. We only bug you about this because we care about you. We want you to be healthy and happy," Moon said.

Sun lifted his head and nodded in agreement.

     You looked at them. The care in their eyes was apparent, you could feel it yourself for them. Your heart felt funny.

"I didn't want to have to do this… but I'm cashing in my favor," Sun said firmly.

     "Huh??"

     "I did you a favor a long while ago, and you promised that you would owe me one. Y/N, you have to try to quit drinking energy drinks," Sun said, folding his arms.

     Well, you did owe him one. You weren't about to go back on your word. Besides, Sun and Moon were both looking at you, and it was still making your heart feel funny. You sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll try to quit."

     Sun and Moon shared a delighted expression.

     "That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you, Y/N." Sun swayed happily.

     "We'll help you any way we can," Moon said.

     "Thanks, guys." You tossed the can in the trash.

     This wouldn't be too hard. Its not like you needed the energy drinks, they just helped you stay on top of your game. You'd be fine. Besides, it was important to Sun and Moon, and you were starting to realize that you'd do just about anything for them.

~~~

     "This is the worst. I'm in hell. Pain and suffering and misery." You set your head against the wall. The drowsiness instantly began to set in, so you quickly lifted your head.

     "You're doing great," Moon said. He looked amused.

"I am in misery," you sang, tiredly kicking at the wall for good measure.

"Oh, it's not so bad, you pitiful canary." Moon lightly pulled at your sleeve.

     You turned to face Moon, leaning sideways against the wall. "I can't believe you stole all my energy drinks from the mini fridge. Where'd you put em, huh?" you demanded.

     "Trash."

     You gaped at Moon. "Trash???"

     "Trash." Moon nodded. "They're gone forever."

     "…I mean, not really. I've still got some at home," you said.

     "I know where you live," Moon stated casually.

     "I'll just buy more from the store!"

     "I'll steal all of them from the store," Moon said.

     "I thought yall didn't like stealing?" You raised an eyebrow.

     "Stealing is prohibited in the daycare. The store is not in the daycare." Moon gave you a cheeky smile.

     "Ugh, this is ridiculous. I'm gonna pass out, man. I'm so tired." You trudged on through the plex, doing your best to make it through the rounds. This was your third night energy drink free, and the withdrawal was slowly killing you, although it was admittedly better than yesterday.

     "Take a nap."

     "I'm at work!"

     "You don't get enough sleep," Moon said.

     "I don't like sleeping," you grumbled. "Moon, I've got the worst headache and I'm so tiiiiiiired."

     "I'll finish the rounds. You take a nap," Moon offered.

     "I'm supposed to be supervising you. You're still a deputy for another two days." You stuck your tongue out at Moon.

     "I feel fine. Omari was right, the problem vanished as soon as Sun and I were separated," Moon argued.

     "Well I still don't wanna loose my job." You fiddled with your watch, checking the cameras. You paused as you realized something. "Hey… there's still coffee in the breakroom, right?"

     "…No," Moon lied.

     You casually and quickly altered course, making a beeline for the breakroom. You got five steps before Moon caught you, lifting you up off the ground.

     "Moon, common," you whined. "I'm dyinggg!"

     "Stop being so dramatic. You're fine." Moon rolled his eyes. "You're going through withdrawal."

     "I know and it sucks."

     Moon turned around and set you down, standing between you and the hall to the breakroom.

     "You can do this, dove. Let's finish the rounds," Moon said.

     You sighed heavily but complied, dragging your feet.

     When you made it back to the daycare, you decided to try your luck with Sun instead.

     "Sunflower!" you called cheerfully as you entered with Moon.

     Sun jumped, snapping the pen he was drawing with. "Oh dear." He scowled at the mess of ink on his hand and the paper.

     "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you," you said, patting Sun's shoulder. "Here, I'll help you clean." You went to retrieve the wipes from the supply closet.

     "It's alright dear. I've been a little extra reactive lately." Sun sighed and studied his ruined drawing.

     "Looks like a flock of birds," Moon said, tilting his head as he studied the paper.

     "It was supposed to be a lighthouse by the ocean," Sun whined.

     "Maybe the birds can be seagulls?" you offered, sitting down next to Sun. You took his hand, then frowned as you realized the metal was a lot warmer than usual. "Sun, do you need to get to a recharge station?"

     "No, I took a rest earlier when you first left with Moon," Sun said.

     You put a hand to Sun's faceplate. Sun smiled and leaned into your hand, but you were too concerned to really notice.

     "You're pretty warm," you said.

     "Of course I am! I'm a sun, after all." Sun giggled.

     "Hmm." You took Sun's hand again and started wiping off the ink.

     Moon studied Sun suspiciously. "How long did your rest cycle last?"

     "…Fifteen minutes," Sun answered. He sighed. "I haven't been able to finish a cycle in a while. I think there was a minor bug in one of the latest updates. It'll get patched out in no time, I'm sure!"

     "Monty's been having some trouble with that as well. Maybe it is an update bug. Yall said you all get updates together through the system right?" you asked.

     "Yes, but I've been getting updates same as everyone else and I've been feeling fine," Moon said. "No issues whatsoever."

     "Hmm. Maybe it was something that happened during the separation?" you wondered.

     "Maybe. I'm sure it'll get patched soon," Sun assured.

     You finished cleaning the ink off of Sun's hand. "There you are. Good as new!"

     Sun wiggled his fingers, then booped your nose. "Thank you, sunshine."

     You smiled. You looked at Sun, then at the ink stained wipe in your hands. You thought about what these two had come to mean to you. You were honestly happier than you'd been in ages. You were also terrified of loosing them, but you put that thought out of mind for now.

     "What are you thinking about, dear?" Sun asked, tilting his head to the left.

     Moon also tilted his head, tilting to the right instead of the left. The pair of them looked adorable, and you smiled.

     "Just uh… ya know. How nice things are for me right now. How horrible things were a while ago. Loss, and… gain," you said.

     "Mm yes. That makes a lot of sense. Not mysterious at all," Moon said.

     You rolled your eyes. "It's complicated." Also, elaborating would require you to admit some things to them that you were not at all ready to admit yet. You weren't sure if you would ever be. "Just, like… maybe I haven't moved on from loss yet, but maybe I'm… moving forward. Taking steps in the right direction. I dunno, I'm feeling and doing better, and yall are to blame."

     "Thank you?" Sun laughed. "I'm glad we can be of help."

     "Let us know if there's anything else we can do. Anything you want from us," Moon said.

     "…I sure would love an energy drink," you said.

     "No," both Sun and Moon said simultaneously.

     You groaned and set your head down on the table. "Ain't no rest for the wicked."