#I programmed my little guy to get through a maze

[heliads]

Hi! Could I ask for a 🌎 with Newt from the Maze Runner? Thanks for your time!

me when i create a list of possible options for my celebration and then ignore every ask in my inbox in favor of doing the world swaps 💀 anyway i did my random world generator and newt is doing a crossover with top gun!

The problem with being one of the best pilots in the Navy is that you tend to know the others pretty well, too. Newt can’t quite remember when he started befriending the dozens of boys around him, just that they’re all here now, and that’s what matters most. They’re here, sweating it out in the sun, and they won’t leave this place of labyrinthine bureaucracy and endless tests until one of them makes it to the top of the listings first. 

Newt, callsign Glue for all the times he’s kept his buddies together despite a truly terrible plan to get them home, was one of the best pilots Top Gun had until the accident. No one talks about it much, they don’t like to. If you linger over what makes your latest blond Icarus plunge towards the sea in a fiery tailspin, you start to wonder what your program is doing to the other guys. Ignoring it is easier.

Newt teaches now. He’s fine with that. It keeps him on the ground. He sows the seeds of inspiration for the other recruits. One of the newcomers is about his age, probably wondering why Newt’s already given up on any dreams of making it past the endless cycles of Navy desk jobs. Thomas– codename Tommy, no one has imagination around here– is different from the others, though. Sprinted through his own time at the Naval Academy, the greenest by far but still somehow one of the best. Time does strange things to its favorites.

Tommy flies with Leader, a dark-haired boy named Minho who used to be Newt’s co-pilot up until the accident. Gally, another one of the grounded higher-ups, keeps bringing this up to Newt as if it’s supposed to make him bitter that he was replaced so quickly. Gally, who Newt refuses to call by his code name in a silent act of rebellion, is also one of the most infuriating jocks this side of the sea. He snapped at one of the officer’s kids one day for running around on the base, making the little boy break out into tears. Chuck didn’t deserve that. Minho almost got himself grounded for his revenge, but Newt got him out. They’ve always had each other’s backs.

So life continues, the same yet somehow different. The boys go up in the air and they come back before dark. Newt watches from his place of safety on the ground and wonders if he will ever forgive himself for causing the crash that stuck him here.

[idv-news-boi]

-> Laurence's Journal Entry at the Manor {Part 1}

Note// How is everyday at the manor like with Laurence.

Day 1 {First Day in the Outcast Club-}

Hey James! I'm going to call you James rather than journal- you're my pal! You keep secrets for me afterall~

Today,,, I have the vision that coming to the manor will be worth it. There wasn't regret in leaving the Dyanthus Republic into a mysterious world of button eyes and black voids watching you through the windows,,, and heard you through the walls.

I admit, i do miss home... So I sang my heart's out with a crazy song to cheer me up! Akihiko was looking at me silly the entire carriage ride lol-

Met the Mr. Embalmer himself! Despite being quiet, he is very polite and welcoming. He even helps a little with Akihiko's luggages- it seems my partner made a new friend~ ;)

Someone just called me hot- Well, from an anonymous letter at my room when I was trying to set things up- probably saw me from afar while I was walking around the halls-

Day 2 {Suddenly I was called a Bill Cypher 2.0}

I was just giving with my radio cast microphone until suddenly, 3 figures(a dirty blonde man with glasses, some guy holding a telephone, and the illuminati???) Appeared in my studio and told me to join them to take over a universe while calling me a loser??? What the???

Also, some German gentleman with a classy suit appeared after-heard he's married which is unfortunate since he's hot/ih

But at the end, turns out it's just a dream,,, And that's why I couldn't sleep at that night after-

Ended up drinking a coffee mug as I check on some inbox questions about my and Akihiko's arrival and other things we're going to do at the manor- We both officially have the declaration to name our News Program "The Oletus Times"~!

Day 3 {This Room isn't Yassified Enough!}

Morning James! Setting up everything before taking tours around the manor was a bit complicated- I didn't expect any luxury while in my stay- but gosh,,,- The room is even more dusty! How do these people allow this 'hospitality'? Killing them with disease intentionally? Oh naw!

I don't care whatever the baron says- I'm remodeling and cleaning my room with my style! Secrets on how i got the materials? Oh, a master doesn't tell their secrets~

Akihiko must have thought the same when he first saw his room- So he moved to my room to share it, used his room as our studio - and took a whole 6 hours to finish the extensive replacing and decorating much modern stuff,,,

Aki and I almost got into a short argument whether Modern Jazz style or Westernized Japanese should be the theme of the room- we ended up making the room go half-and-half,,,- I mean, it actually worked at the end surprising. I like how there's different aesthetics in a same room! X'D

As we were remodeling of course, we also got some room service to send us some food meals while we work- it wasn't that bad,,, but not as great as the hamburgers and the coleslaw salad chef Palacios usually makes at my favorite diner!

Day 4 {A Productive Tour With Angeline!} @askthepianist

Oh gosh, Jim,,, I met a tall woman,,, A pretty nice one!!! (Pinned profile picture of Angeline from the manor's survivor files)

I started my first routine interviews that i will do everyday- going around and talk with survivors and hunters to get to know them while still getting lost in this maze-

Nonetheless, I was saved by the pianist from at least being able to know where the kitchen is(Akihiko keeps asking if there's a kitchen around to make mochis-) and now i know where the garden Ms. Woods usually works on! Heard a little bird that the senior Gardener is bringing a new stash of flower beds today~!

What a savior,,, What else can I do if i couldn't receive such help? I learned so many things today!

Day 5 {Nice Artists, Very Familiar Ones...} @idv-artists-trio

Good Evening, James! Just met a group of fellow teammates - i notice that they often stay together, it turns out they're artists! Artist squad hehe~ Rosie may be quiet, but she's very kind and cute! (^-^

Meeting Angel is another advantage to know that i won't be wearing rags for long- I'll be sure to pay him back somehow for his generosity~!

Not going to lie, Kitty resembles so much of the Head Officer Police at home- even she speaks without not having the word "meow" in every sentence!

Only 3 if them seem familiar, the only one that i don't seem to seeing somewhere is Eiji- but he does remind me of Head Shrine Maiden Ivory!

Day 6 {A Sweet Welcome Gift} @ask-idv-baker

My my, Jim! Guess what? I met one of Angel's other artist friends, Beth Anastazja,,,!!! Isn't she adorable???(Pinned profile pic of Beth from the manor's survivor files)

She appeared at our door and gave us a lot of baked goods~! Akihiko couldn't get used to receiving such generous gifts! But he seems to be more happier today after that (^-^

Hope that the cute Baker gets to have everything she needs to fulfill,,,-

Day 7 {Thrilling Game? I'm here to work hard- but i also play hard~!} @ask-idv-thrillseeker

Hey Jim! GUESS WHAT??? The manor's host allowed me to take part in the game at least once in a while! Of course, he still wants me alive- but is not like i get killed that easily~!

I also met a cool, but also hot huntress by the name of Cleo in my first match- (pinned profile pic of Cleo from the manor's hunter files)

It was a bit amusing to see her shocked reaction when i didn't hesitate in oblige her offer to stop decoding in return of her not hunting me- I mean, I'll rather receive a bonk from my teammates rather than get terrorshocked-

I'll keep a reminder to myself in inviting her to dinner,,, If she considers my offer to,,, send me into the basement ~ ❤️/ih

Day 8 {Is that King Kong but Spider,,,????}

Jim! You have no idea what just happened- I just saw a huge spider looking creature creeping on the huge window from the matching room??? Where did that come from...? Impressive,,, 🤔

I might probably start some ghost hunting research around the manor too- is it just me or I just saw a ghost appeared right next to me on the broken chair of the table... It disappears in one blink of an eye!

Day 9 {Met a guitarist- Also a Young Lady that i May or May not Adopt-} @janetheguitarist

I was doing my usual routine, but is this time talking to a young guitarist with a student uniform(?) (Pinned profile pic of Jane from the manor's survivor files)

Also a lil girl that looks like a princess,,,- how precious,,, (Pinned profile pic of Elise,,, the manor's survivor files are also missing some blanks)

Day 10 { What a Lovely Surprise,,, How Enticing ~} @idv-ask-snakecharmer

James? I met a handsome Snakecharmer- I call him Prince now,,, (Pinned post of Amar in the manor's survivor files)

I like his sweet advances while he was using his mother tongue- I didn't even expected him to kiss my hand I-????

Not sure why, but I still played along and got him flustered as well- uno reverse card, hehe~❤️

Sad that he couldn't stay long enough- but he did left me with a nice kiss~ ;)

[persnickety-doodles]

STEM students are wild af

Asami is warming up with an… integral exercise 🫠 before another study session. At this point they’ve started dating and just spend time studying together.

Korra here is still working on her International Relations degree since she wants to be a diplomat or a small bakery owner idk. I haven’t thought too much about it.

More college AU

[esamastation]

Here's a sneak preview of fic I'm currently working. Working title is Loose Ends and it is post AC 3 and post the original Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters manga and anime. I guess spoilers for both. And Ac Valhalla, a tiny bit.

-

"You know you have to take care of it."

Desmond hesitates, hand stilling over golden threads of probability, glowing in the grey darkness. He hadn't gone over even a fraction of them yet, and there are probably a million things that need taking care of, now that Juno and Minerva aren't here anymore to literally pull the strings, but… he doesn't need to ask which it they're talking about here.

"I will," Desmond says. "...as soon as I find a way in, I will."

Clay scoffs. "You're not looking very hard."

No, he isn't. He'd been distracted by alternate realities, watching Ezio marry Christina and Altaïr enjoy quiet life with Maria and – and there's just a lot of stuff to look at, to see, to be… vaguely jealous of, sure, but –

"You know that time is still passing out there all linear like, right?" Clay points out. "Abstergo is still looking for Isu tech, and anyone with any ancestral memories about it – if they find out that someone figured out how to make the damn things –"

"Juno blurred those genes," Desmond says a little defensively. "They're literally been hidden from me. And everyone else too, so, even if Abstergo knew about them, which they don't –"

"That's not going to work forever and you know it. Minerva's protections already wore down – as soon as Juno dies, and let's hope it won't take her too long, her manipulations will go too. The genes will become visible again – Animus readable. Like a program, restarting backup after shutdown."

Desmond sighs, unable to argue with that. His hand wavers indecisively, and then he lowers it, shaking his head. "I know – I am still looking for a way in. I just don't have any ancestors in the area at that specific time. Do you?"

"Look harder."

Frowning a little, Desmond lets his shoulders sag a bit before shaking his head and looking at the threads of probability instead, where they rise in front of him into a magnificent glowing tree with infinite branches.

Look harder – look where? Into his ancestry? He has, Desmond is so aware of his lineage that it's a bit uncomfortable – had he missed something…?

"Think about it," Clay says, sounding almost bored now. "Juno wouldn't have wanted to give those memories to you, that data, so it's not in your DNA – but you do have some ancestry in the area, don't you? Even if it's the wrong time, you have ancestry everywhere. And this was thousands of years ago, and with your lineage…"

Yeah. Minerva had collected his genes from all over the world, putting Desmond Miles together like a puzzle. He has a wider spread ancestry than the average… so looking for who he isn't related to is almost easier than the opposite. The data must still be there, though. The Isu are hoarders, when it comes to genetic memories – they wouldn't have let something as big as this just die out. So somewhere there is someone with that connection – someone with afoothold in the right time period…

Concentrating, Desmond gathers the threads of his own lineage – and then dismisses them. There would be no connection there, he can't find this information from within. It would be somewhere else, obscured, hidden… He'd looked at some of the lineages in the area, and none of them connected to the right time or location either. It smacks of Minerva's obfuscation, she'd lead the bloodlines elsewhere probably, hiding them in the distance as well as time...

Something tickles at Desmond's fingers, just for a moment – without thinking of it twice, he wraps his hand around the thread and pulls –

– and gets pulled away with it.

-

The lineage has protections in place, it turns out – there's a trap. Pulling on that thread tweaks Desmond's own probabilities, and for a while he finds himself in a maze of chances and statistics, all of them leading him wrong. It's incredible – almost physical, like an endlessly folded space of million overlapping staircases and doors leading into more mazes, leading nowhere. Whoever wove it wasn't an Isu, can't have been – it's way too imaginative.

It takes Desmond a bit of manoeuvring to get through even some of it. Luck is on his side, though, even with tweaked probability – the trap isn't active anymore. A bit like Minerva's protection, the maze is unravelling at the edges, because probability isn't an easy thing to tame and it doesn't like to sit idle. Still fascinating, though – definitely a learning experience. If he could learn to weave likelihoods like this –

"Hello?" echoes a voice in the maze of false possibilities, and Desmond freezes. "Is – is someone there?"

… what are the chances of that?

Turning, Desmond finds himself in a sort of hall, surrounded on all sides by stairs and doors – facing a... short asian man with a partially bleached spiky hair. He looks a bit like a punk, with ripped up vest and studded bracelets – there's a belt around his neck and everything. Kinda goth punk. Huh.

"Uh," Desmond says, stunned. Definitely didn't expect that. "Hi…?"

"Hi," the other man says, frowning. "Who are you – how did you get in here?"

"How did I – how did you get in here?" Desmond asks. Desmond at least has the excuse of being a disembodied bundle of genetic data – he can just do that, now. This guy is… not that. "Do you know what this place is?"

The Asian guy frowns, looking at him and then glancing around. "Do you?"

Swallowing the urge to say asked you first, Desmond looks the guy up and down, and then peers inside. Or tries to – and it clicks.

"Oh shoot, this is yours – we're in your head?" Desmond asks and glances around with new appreciation. It's like a – a load screen, an Animus headspace. "Aw man, I'm sorry, I didn't think you might be aware – I thought this was all automated, I wouldn't have just barged in like this if I thought it was all in someone's head."

The Asian punk blinks with surprise and then relaxes a little. "Oh. Well, if it wasn't intentional – and you're not here to harm anything, I guess it's alright?"

"No, no harm intended," Desmond assures. "Sorry – hi, I'm Desmond. Desmond Miles."

"Mutou Yugi – or Yugi Mutou, I guess. Yugi is my given name. It's… nice to meet you?" the punk says and clears his throat, looking him up and down. "Um, how do you end up in someone's Soul Room accidentally?"

-

Have written 2 chapters currently, aiming for the total of 5 or less.

[hideawayintheimaginationworld]

I've gotten a bit into Dark Deception lately too, and I was just intrigued by the idea of one of the Lucky the Rabbit Joy Joy Gang clones being a Nice defect of all the others with no homicidal tendencies whatsoever who hides away in the maze to avoid being bullied by the others. A similar idea for a Nice Trigger Teddy scared of people and warning them because he doesn't want to blow anybody up. It's another shameless 'these evil characters are cute, i want a Nice One to make into a woobie' situation, which I am guilty of doing a LOT.

I hope you don't mind but I wrote a short story about this concept—

Lefty picked up his feet, hearing the maniacal laughter getting louder and the loud thumping behind him. It wasn’t easy, but he had to outrun them if he wanted to survive.

He skidded around the corner, jumping slightly when he heard the wall break behind him which meant only one thing: Hangry was now pursuing him also.

“Get back here! You will join the Joy Joy Gang! Joy! Joy! Joy!”

All that did was prompt Lefty to push harder to run, he was terrified of being captured and reprogrammed, knowing they would likely completely wipe his memory, meaning he'd forget everything— his family, his children, his friends, and his love.

He saw a door ahead and ran towards it, almost jumping towards it as he felt pain shot up from his leg where Hangry had grabbed him before and bit him, luckily he managed to escape but his ability to run was kind of hindered.

He grabbed the door knob, pushing it open and immediately slamming it behind him, he quickly looked around the room to survey the location and spotting items such as a desk, chairs, and lockers, which he could use to barricade the door.

He limped over quickly, pushing the desk forward towards the door and turning it down so the top part of the desk was facing directly foward. He heard the familiar “Joy! Joy! Joy!” taunting chant which prompted him to hurriedly pushed the desk against the door.

As soon as he did that, he was startled to see the door handle rattle violently.

“Hey! You're cheating!!” Lefty heard Lucky scream, “Open this door!!”

He backed away slowly, half expecting Hangry to break down the door as he had seen the pig break down countless walls while chasing him, which that was scary to Lefty, as he couldn’t tell where the pig would come from, he could be sneaking away from Lucky and Penny but running straight towards Hangry, who would be waiting around the next corner, ready to smash down the walls to get him.

For some reason, Hangry appeared angry that Lefty was “inedible” as he described, which Lefty guessed it meant that Hangry would probably eat people and he was terrified for a moment that the pig had killed his kids but he remembered that Hangry commented that he hadn’t eaten anything for “so long” and Lefty breathed in relief, realizing that Alec and Hazel were still alive.

They weren’t here, but they were still alive somewhere else.

“You can't delay the inevitable!! This isn’t the end and I won't lose to someone like you!!”

Lucky viewed this as a game, Lefty shivered, he pressed himself against the wall, raising his injured leg, trying to think of what he could do to fix it immediately so he could continue to search for an exit.

He didn’t know how he came here, only recalling that he was walking downstairs with Fetch by his side to make breakfast, then he woke up, face down on the concrete at the entrance of this twisted amusement park. He didn’t care at this point how he got here, he just wanted to leave immediately, he had a sick feeling this was a trap, a trap designed to separate him from his family and friends so they were defenceless.

He hoped that Alec and Hazel were okay, he knew in the past that he had instructed them as well as Matt and Stanley that if he was unable to protect them, they had to, they had to run to protect themselves and hopefully Lefty would find them later. He didn’t care about being rescued, he did care about what they might do to Alec and Hazel, as well as his other friends.

So far it didn’t appear that these awful machines had Alec and Hazel, Lefty was sure if they did, they would have mentioned it as a means to get him to cooperate. It could mean however that Alec and Hazel were held by someone else, as he had heard Lucky mention an entity named “Malak”, which that completely disapproved Lefty's initial suspicions that Nightmare was behind this, with yet another plan to bring harm to Alec and Hazel.

All he wanted was to get back to them as soon as possible.

His heart leapt when he heard something behind him, he immediately turned his head around to the source of the noise. He saw a locker door had pulled itself backwards.

His suspicion level rose, he slowly marched over, walking to the side of the locker that he saw had opened.

And he roughly pushed it to the side.

The locker easily tumbled down with a loud bang and Lefty heard an audible “OUCH!” from inside it

“I know you're watching me!” Lefty exclaimed, “Come out! I'm sick of you horrible Joy Joy gang members tormenting me!!” He kicked the side with his good leg, hearing another “OUCH!” from inside.

He stood still, prepared to attack, watching the locker door rattle before it swung open.

Lefty backed away, seeing a large gloved hand reach out.

A Lucky robot pulled itself out of the locker, laying on the floor for a moment before standing up straight.

Lefty immediately curled his fingers and delivered a swift punch to his face.

“OUCH!” Lucky exclaimed, holding his nose, “You're hurting me!”

“That's the idea dipshit!” Lefty snarled, “Now let me leave! Call off your gang and all your doppelgängers, let me walk out of here!”

It shook its head, “I'm not doing it!!”

“I don’t care if you’re the leader or the underling! I will keep fighting despite being injured! So it's better if you just stop!!” Lefty grabbed his ears, pulling him down.

“BUT I'M NOT HURTING YOU!!”

“Are you playing reverse psychology?”

“LOOK AT ME!! DO I LOOK LIKE ONE OF THEM??”

Lefty froze, looking over this particular Lucky model. He did notice it didn’t look “show ready” as he would describe it, as it had several missing suit parts, particularly on one arm, from the lower arm to the finger tips, it was just an exposed robot arm. The suit also looked dirty, with obvious mud caked on the feet, dried up black oil around its eyes, the fur at some parts looked matted, like he hadn’t been cleaned in a long time.

“I'm hiding also,” The rabbit explained, “I'm hiding from them.”

“What are you? An unfinished prototype?” Lefty let go off his ears.

“Malak said I'm a defect!”

“A defect...?” Lefty said skeptically, he knew that “defect” could mean anything, it didn’t necessarily mean this one was good, it could mean that it was missing some important programming. He was also a little confused about the tone in which he had said “defect”, like he didn’t understand what it meant.

“I don’t like them... they're mean... so I've been hiding anywhere I could basically!” Lucky exclaimed, “The concept of killing people doesn’t appeal to me.”

“How do I know you're not lying through your teeth right now?” Lefty frowned.

“I know why you wouldn’t believe me... I know you aren’t one of them... one of the Joy Joy Gang, I mean.”

“Indeed,” Lefty answered, “I just want to go home, to my family... I don’t know where the exit is though and I’ve been chased around in circles by those three,” Lefty exhaled, overwhelmed.

“Maybe... Maybe I can help you to escape! I have a map of this place installed in my memory!”

“As if I'll blindly follow you,” Lefty knew he couldn’t just blindly trust anyone in a strange place.

“How can I...? Oh! I know! Your leg!” Lucky pointed at it, “Looks like you've caused some damage to the main connection on the knee joint... you need a replacement if you want to run as fast as you can... I don’t have a replacement part on me right now, but rubber bands can help hold the joint steady temporarily so it won’t break further! Hopefully long enough for you to escape and get back to your family!”

Lefty tilted his head, “Why would you help me?”

“I want to... I've seen too many people being killed... and hearing you have a family... I know they'd be devastated if you died!” Lucky shook his head.

“I... I don’t know if I can trust you...” Lefty admitted.

“How about I tell you what you need to do with the Joy Joy Gang? You just need to electrify them!” Lucky replied, “That'll stun them long enough for you to have a chance to escape!”

“Is there anything I can do about Hangry? He's a real big problem for me right now.”

“Hangry... you can try roaring at him... he doesn’t like animals like lions or bears...”

Lefty frowned, that seemed too simple and he knew there was likely a catch, “Suppose I could... Alright... so...”

“Lucky.”

“For personal reasons, I'd rather not call you Lucky, I've had a bad experience with someone named Lucky and what's going on right now isn’t helping... can I give you a nickname instead?” Lefty suggested

“Okay!” He seemed happy at the suggestion, “What do you wanna call me?”

Lefty thought for a minute, he didn’t want something too silly, or something too unusual, but he wanted it to be distinctive.

“How about... Jai?” Lefty asked.

He saw his eyes lit up, “Ooooo Jai! That sounds so interesting!”

“It means victory.”

“Wow! I finally have a name, maybe I can stop associating myself with... that other guy...” He frowned.

“Well...” Lefty extended out his arm, “My name is Lefty.”

“Hello Lefty! I'm Jai!” He proudly introduced himself, shaking Lefty's arm, “Wow! That felt amazing! Just to introduce myself like that, as someone separate from the Joy Joy Gang!”

“I apologize also for attacking you,” Lefty shook his head.

“Oh I understand and it's forgiven... now how about I find those rubber bands and you can tell me more about yourself in the meantime, I wanna know about your family! If that's okay of course...”

Lefty chuckled, smiling at Jai.

[xwing-baby]

Impulse: The Beginning (Javier Peña x Reader)

Summary: Top of your class, the DEA have sent you to Colombia to be the poster child for their new ‘placement program’. You’re thrown in at the deep end into the drug war. With Agent Peña as your mentor, what could possibly go wrong? 

Warnings: Nothing much! Mentions of misogyny/sexism, tobacco and alcohol use, show level violence, swearing 

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: BACK TO THE BEGINNING LADS LETS SEE WHERE THIS SHIT SHOW STARTED 

*Spanish translation at the end of the fic*

Have you read Part 1 yet? // Masterlist // Next Chapter -->

---

As one of only a few female agents in the DEA academy at the time, you had fought tooth and nail for your place from day one. Most of the men in your class thought you were useless and had campaigned on multiple occasions to get you taken out of the academy. This was mostly due to your success. You were a great agent already and were itching to get into some real action.

When the agency announced that they would be sending a couple of the highest achieving students from the graduating class out on a new placement program, you knew it was your chance. Incredibly, before you even got a chance to apply you were pulled aside by a professor and told you’d be selected. You were going to Colombia.

The fight in South America was all anyone spoke about. The tonnes they were hauling out was unmatched, it made Miami look like a small fry. A chance to go down there and help, maybe even take down some Narcos yourself, was one everyone dreamed of. Colombia alone had two of the biggest players, Pablo Escobar, and The Cali Cartel. Placement in that country would no doubt be the best learning experience you could ever get! Who knows, maybe you would be the one to catch Escobar!

It took a little convincing to your parents to let you go. They’d seen the news; they knew how dangerous it was and weren’t too keen on you going. Eventually, after a meeting with your coordinator they were convinced, you packed a bag and you flew down to Bogotá.

You were picked up at the airport and driven to the American embassy in the city to meet your mentor Agent Javier Peña. You hadn’t been told much about him other than he was from Texas and had been in Colombia for a while. Not a lot to go off. In your head you imagined some old cowboy, grumpy and hardened by the horrors of the world he had seen. He wouldn’t believe you when you appeared, would probably ask to have you removed immediately. You sighed, already resigning yourself to hate the man you were now forced to spend the next year with.

Your escort took you through the embassy, to the DEA’s office and promptly abandoned you at the door without another word. This was it. You pushed open the door and were instantly greeted by a cheery woman’s voice from behind a desk. Denise, according to her name plate, was filing her nails when you approached. She set the file down and smiled sweetly.

“Hey there, darling! What can I do for you?” Her voice had a strong southern twang to it, a quintessential southern belle with curled blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“Hi, I’m here to see... Agent Peña,” You looked at that note in your hand to check you had the right person.

“‘Course sweetie, what’s your name?” She asked. You gave her your name and she told you to sit down in a seat opposite her desk for a moment while she called him. “So, you’re working with Peña?” She asked when she put the phone down again.

“Yeah,” You nodded, “What’s he like? I don’t really know what to expect,”

Denise giggled, “You’re certainly in for a treat darlin’. He’s something else,” You turned when her eyes watched someone through the window, “But I’m warning you now, don’t flirt with him,”

“I’m not-,” Your jaw dropped when the man in question walked past the window. Denise giggled, “Jesus Christ,” You muttered. He certainly was not the old man you had expected at all. He entered the room and you quickly shut your dropped jaw.

“Javier! Nice to see you,” Denise smiled at the man. You were shocked. Javier Peña was older, yes, but he was incredibly handsome. Tall, dark hair with dark eyes to match. He had a blue shirt on, unbuttoned just one too far. In such a professional environment it almost looked obscene. He smiled and your heart flipped.

“Denise,” Javier smiled charmingly at the assistant before turning to you, “who’s your friend?” Denise introduced you, “You’re the new kid?” He asked briefly looking you up and down, he shook your hand. Still a little dazed you smiled and nodded. “Quiet huh?”

“Sorry, uh it’s nice to meet you,” You pulled yourself out of your head, stumbling over your words as your brain caught up with what was actually going on.

“Let me show you round,” Javier chuckled, “I’ll see you later Denise,”

“See ya Javi,” She waved as you followed Agent Peña out of the office and down a new corridor.

“She’s cute. Is she your girlfriend?” You asked. Javier turned to you and shook his head.

“Never seen her before,” He smirked. You were glad he was walking ahead of you, as your jaw dropped. If he was like that with someone he had never met, what in hell was he like he was someone he liked?!

Javier took you around the office, showing the different places and meeting different people you would need to know. It seemed most people were exasperated by Javier; he was cocky and liked to get a rise out of people. He obviously didn’t really care for the bureaucracy of the job, much more an action guy than a paperwork guy. Despite your track record with these types previously, you got on well with Javier. He was easy to talk to and his confidence wasn’t arrogant.

You followed him around from room to room, making small talk about where you were from, how you’d been enjoying the academy and such. All the while you were trying to remember where everything was but ultimately failing. The place was a maze. Eventually you came to a small office tucked away in the corner of the building.

“And this, is where we live!” Javier said as he opened the room. The room was small, barely enough room for the two desks and row of cabinets inside. Behind one desk, engrossed in a manila file was a blonde man. He looked up when you entered, giving Javier a questioning look, “This is the Rookie,”

“Y/n,” You added. You were pretty sure he had forgotten your name, introducing you as Rookie to the last three people you had met.

“That's what I meant to say,” He replied, waving you off.

“Nice to meet you Rookie,” The blonde man grinned and chuckled, “Steve Murphy,”

“Nice to meet you sir,” You reached over the messy desk and shook his hand.

“Sir? I could get used to that! Bit of respect round here would be nice,” Steve laughed. “Steve will work just fine,”

“Or pendejo, he does respond to that too,” Javier added.

“Real funny Peña,” Steve snapped back. You chuckled. You stood in the doorway for a moment, watching as Javier chaotically cleared a space for you at his desk by moving a pile of paper from one surface to another.

“We’re moving out of here soon,” He explained, you nodded. He offered a chair, and a cigarette. You took both. “Did you have any trouble at the airport?” Javier asked. You shook your head.

“Nope. Bat my eyelashes and they don’t seem to worry,” You laughed to yourself. Javier raised an eyebrow.

“You get a lot of things done that way?” He asked. Your smile dropped quickly.

“No. I got here on credit, didn’t fuck my way to the top of that’s what your asking Agent Peña,” You said seriously, “Get that straight now. I’m just as good as any man, in fact I’m better. I don’t deal well with sexist assholes,”

“Out of line, I got it,” He threw his hands up in defence, leaning back on his chair. You turned to Murphy, who shrugged.

“All good,”

“Good,” you confirmed, “I don’t want you to think I’m rude, I just have to make it clear,”

“Crystal,”

The rest of the day was a blur, shipped about from one office to another getting badges and meeting important people. You were exhausted. Despite the copious amounts of coffee, you consumed, you had to force your eyes to stay open during the car ride home with Javier. You had been awake for more than twenty-four hours and added to the stress of a new job; you were ready to crash.

You said thanks to your mentor and dragged yourself up the stairs to your own apartment. You had only been inside your apartment briefly to drop off your bag earlier in the day. You could barely remember what it looked like.

The apartment was small and dark. There was a good-sized living room with a lumpy looking couch and a tv set. A small kitchen sat next to the entry door, separated by a half to the living room. Three doors came off the living room walls, one to a small closet, one to a tiny pink tiled bathroom and the last to a bedroom. The bedroom had a large window looking out over the street and the city beyond. There was a dresser with handles that were falling off and a double bed. The covers were old, and the colour had faded, the whole structure creaked when you sat down. The whole apartment seemed faded and old, but it would do.

You lay down, fully clothed, and smiled up at the ceiling. You had made it. You had done it! You were in Colombia, working for the DEA fighting Pablo freaking Escobar! You had succeeded beyond anyone’s expectation and you were excited to prove everyone who had ever doubted you wrong.

--

You hit the ground running the next day. Between moving the office to a new location, learning the ropes of the job, and catching up on ongoing investigations you felt like you never stopped. You had been home only to sleep for a few hours. You’d change your outfit, shower, and head straight back to work. You had quickly learnt that Javier was not going to be what you imagined your mentor would be, he was much more of ‘do as I say not as I do’ kind of teacher. In one week, you had already seen things that would have you kicked out of the academy if you were caught doing it. You had realised this experience would be much more of an experience to reflect on later than learn any real textbook things from day to day.

Friday was here. You knew you could get at least a few hours rest tomorrow, hoping that you wouldn’t be called in. You’d steadily been making your way through case notes, trying to make some sort of system so the immense amount of information through your desk wouldn’t get lost. You hadn’t noticed Steve and Javier call you, until Javier tapped on the desk next to you. You looked up.

“Rookie! Come on,” He motioned over to Steve who was waiting at the door, Kevlar vest in hand. You were going out on a raid!

“Seriously?” Your eyes lit up and you jumped up. You rushed to get your gun from the draw and raced after the two agents. Finally, you were getting to see some action. You were itching with excitement to finally be able to go into the field. All your training was leading up to this! A moment which for most agents didn’t happen for years! You ran to the courtyard and jumped into the backseat Javier’s truck

Javier fiddled with a radio on the dash until audible orders could be heard, barked through the walkie-talkie giving the plan for the raid. It was the house of a known sicario, not a big player in the grand scheme of things but they would have valuable information. 

“When we get out there, you’re staying in here, got it?” Javier said once the orders were given.

“I don’t want to be left on the side-lines and watch! How am I meant to learn anything sitting in a truck?”

“You can stand outside the truck,” Javi offered. You

“Come on!” You begged, “Steve?”

“It’s not my call, Rookie,” Steve shrugged. You sighed.

“So, I’m meant to stand around and watch you have all the fun?”

“Quit whining,” Peña replied, glancing at you in the rear-view mirror. You frowned and settled back in your seat, your excitement dying a little.

After a few minutes of driving through the city, the convoy stopped outside a large house on the corner of a street. Javier parked and the two men jumped out of the vehicle slipping on their vests as they did. You took a deep breath, calming yourself, before stepping outside to join them.

Men started piling out of the cars and taking their places cordoning off the area. Steve was the first to get stuck in, immediately walking over to the man you assumed was in charge. You followed him, just to hear how raids were set up. Not so you could get involved, of course.

“Where are you going?” Javier asked as you walked past him.

“With Steve?” You replied cautiously, motioning over to the blonde a few paces ahead. Javi raised a brow.

“Rookie…” He warned.

“Javier…?” You replied in the same tone, as if you didn’t know exactly what he was going to say.

“Stay,” He said firmly, holding his hand up like a command given to a dog. You frowned.

“I’m not a dog,” You argued, Javi grinned and patted you on the head.

“Good girl,” You scowled at him, making him laugh again before he walked away to join his partner.

“Jerk,” You called after him. You complied, reluctantly, leaning back on the hood of the truck and watching from afar. You knew that it was a dangerous situation and you didn’t have much experience yet; you weren’t going to be seeing any up-close action for a while. It was for your own safety and everyone else's.

But it was boring.

After a short while of preparations and what seemed a lot like just milling about. The team entered the building. Those who were left outside visibly relaxed. Now any superior officers had gone out of sight, the soldiers huddled in groups chatting amongst themselves keeping one eye on their post but mostly watching you.

None of them spoke to you, but you could hear them. They assumed you didn’t speak Spanish, like Steve, so spoke without a filter whilst within earshot. How attractive they thought you were, wondering about how you got your role and whether you’d show them how you got it if they got you drunk. It was disgusting, but not new. Men are the same world over, it seemed.

You leant against the hood of the truck and turned your attention to the matter at hand. You weren’t here to make friends after all. You were here to learn, here to work. If you couldn’t follow into the raid you could learn as much as you could from the outside.

Gunfire and shouting erupted from the building suddenly, making you jump in surprise. Nobody else seemed to take any notice, barely looking up. You watched intently following shadows in the windows. Then, out the corner of your eye you saw a man race from the building. You looked over at the men, still stood around, and back to the man from the building who had started to slow down, and nobody was chasing him. They didn’t see anything. This was your chance. Before anyone could stop you, you ran down the street after the escapee.

He spotted you instantly and began to run faster down the hill and around a corner. You kept up well until the corner revealed a large crowd of people between shops. Market stalls lined the streets and your target disappeared in the blink of an eye. You followed into the people, making sure to keep your gun down to avoid mass panic. You didn’t need more of a scene to let the guy escape

You skidded to a halt and looked around, immediately overwhelmed by the amount of people and directions the man could have gone. You walked to the middle of the intersection and looked left, nothing unusual, right, nothing. Your heart hammered into your ribcage as you tried to collect yourself. It was hard to concentrate under the sun. He couldn’t have gone far, you lost him for two seconds! Losing hope of a dramatic first arrest, you looked up another street, and couldn’t spot your target. You moved to slip your gun back into your holster until you turned and saw a man leant against a wall heaving for breath halfway back up the hill you had just run down. He thought he’d lost you.

You collected yourself with a slow breath and pursued the man again, this time slowly so you didn’t catch his attention. He hadn’t spotted you as you exited the crowd of the market and walked up the hill opposite side of the street, dipping your head so not to catch his eye. You reached for your gun, just ten feet away from him when he finally noticed and jumped up.

“Fuck!” You cursed out loud as you chased him once more. The steep hill made your legs burn, but unlike the man in your pursuit you could bare it. He was visibly flagging and by the time he reached the top of the hill he had given up and you had caught up.

You shoved him against the wall, keeping your gun to his back and leg round his to keep him still. Your heart was hammering in your chest, you laughed to yourself as the adrenaline swept you up.

“Te mataré,” The man spat at you, “puta,” You swiftly lifted your knee, kicking him in the balls making the man yelp.  Was it necessary? No. But it felt brilliant.

“Shut up,” You replied. You smugly smiled until you realised you were now stuck. You had no handcuffs so had no way to move him. You had not thought this through at all. You looked around and to your surprise you had just run around the block and ended up on a few feet from where your chase had begun.

You watched the raid exit the house, dragging a few men in cuffs with them. You spotted Murphy and Peña, who quickly noticed that you were gone. You watched them look for you for a minute before calling out. 

“Over here!” You called loud enough for the men to hear you. Murphy was the first to spot you and ran over quickly, with a few soldiers in tow.

“Thought we told you to stay by the truck,” He said.

“You missed one,” You replied. You removed yourself from your prisoner and stuck your gun back into the holster on your hip.

“Good job,” He praised you, clapping you on the back. “Bring him up,”

With handcuffs on, the two soldiers took the man into custody. You followed Steve back over to the trucks. You beamed with pride. You’re first ever arrest! You spotted Javier watching you as you approached, a smirk set on his lips and an eyebrow raised. Your pride wavered a little. Just as you got back to the truck, prepared to get berated by your mentor, a man in a green uniform stormed over to you. You dropped your smile quickly.

“Quien es ella?!” He asked, spitting out the words at Javier. “Porque esta ella aqui?” Despite him asking about you, the man never looked at you. His attitude immediately aggravated you and before Javier could open his mouth to reply you jumped in for him.

“Yo trabajo con Murphy y Peña,” You replied for him, a sarcastic smile on your face, driving home the point that you did understand what he was saying and that he couldn’t ignore you so blatantly.

“Carrillo this is Y/n L/n, Rookie this is Commander Carrillo,” Javier introduced you to Carrillo. Javier gave you a warning look, as if that was going to stop your temper. Carrillo looked you up and down then sneered.

“Eres un poco joven?” He turned to you. You scoffed.

“It’s a new placement programme the agency is trialling,” Peña jumped in again, “Don’t worry about it,”

“Oh, so my war is a place for you to test your kids huh?” Carrillo rolled his eyes, “Fucking gringos. I don’t want some girl here,” He waved you away, turning on his heel and walking away. You scoffed, anger taking over.

“Sir, with all due respect. Fuck you,” You called after him. Carrillo stopped walking, half turned back, shocked at the audacity of what you were saying, “If I wasn’t here that guy would have run off and it would have taken you another month to find him again. Personally, I think a thank you is in order,”

“Okay! In the truck, Rookie,” Steve finally stepped in, before Carrillo could reply. He grabbed you and pulled you out the way and back to the truck. Javier stood in the way of Carrillo, so he didn’t follow.

“What a jerk,” You grumbled as you slammed your door. You glowered in the backseat, watching Javier and Carrillo talk.

“About sums it up,” Murphy agreed.

“He looks pissed,” You commented as you watched Javier part with Carrillo and join you and Murphy ready to leave.

“He always looks like that,” Steve replied, making you chuckle. You were still nervous; you had completely stepped out of line saying that stuff to the commander. No doubt Javier was going to be just as mad. You picked at the loose thread on your shirt, staying quiet when Javier opened the door. “Good?” Steve asked.

“All good,” Javier replied as he shut the truck door. Steve started up the engine and pulled away from the scene.

“Seriously?” You were shocked.

“Oh no he hates you now, but he hated Steve for a while there too so don’t take it too personally,” Javier said, Steve chuckled. “You certainly know how to make a good first impression,”

“I’m not in trouble?”

“I’m a little worried you might be insane; I don’t think I would even say that shit to Carrillo!” Javier said, “But I will say you did a good job with that sicario so, I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate the occasion when we get back,”

Javier turned to look at you quickly, giving you a cheeky smirk. You grinned back. You’d done awesome today, a week into this placement and you’d already made an arrest. One bad guy off the street, all by yourself! You’d pissed off Carrillo, and while you were sure it would probably bite you in the ass further down the road, you had made an unforgettable impression and you couldn’t really bring yourself to care that he hated you.

That evening Javier kept his promise and brought you a drink at the bar after work. Sat with Murphy and Javier in a booth, listening as the two of them bickered like an old married couple, you couldn’t stop smiling.

“To Rookie!” Steve drunkenly called out, raising his beer up. “May you keep on ignoring orders and kicking ass!” You cackled with laughter and cheersed your teammates.

This was going to be a great year.

--

Next Chapter -->

See! I CAN be nice!!!

translations (as always i am learning PLEASE correct me if these are wrong!)

Te mataré - I will kill you 

puta - bitch

Quien es ella? - who is she

porque esta ella aqui? - why is she here?

yo trabajo con Murphy y Peña - i work with Murphy and Peña

eres un poco joven - aren’t you a little young?

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts!

tag list:  @beskar-tano @buckysbeloved @beskarbabs @all-hallows-evie @harrys-stan @themidnightsun-12 @wille-zarr @danniburgh @itsaisopodkillmepls​ @urbankaite2​ @whataloadofmalarkey​ @ahsofka​ @yeetus-my-feetus​ @sara-alonso​ @lesbianlena​ @xiao-lusi​ @all-good-things-have-an-ending​ @eternallyvenus​ @ajeff855 @mayangel19​ @1950schick

[monicashipslokius]

Soulmates, Actually Pt 4

(read part 1/part 2/part 3)

A sharp, shrill alarm blares before the sun has even risen, rousing Loki from a perfect slumber. Loki groans their disgust, but it’s muffled in the meat of Mobius’s shoulder.

“Easy, sunshine,” Mobius says, and the infernal man is actually trying to move.

Loki grumbles louder. Mobius, chuckling, eases Loki away from him and onto the pillow instead. It’s not the same - too soft and not nearly warm enough. Loki clings tighter around Mobius’s waist in retaliation.

“We talked about this,” Mobius says. “I have to go back to work today.”

Loki huffs in frustration as they let Mobius remove their hold and lower their arms to the bed. The pillow is a poor replacement.

For a moment, Mobius brushes Loki’s hair back away from their face. His fingers linger, feather-light, at the edge of Loki’s cheekbone. Too soon, the touch is gone.

“I’ll be back at six pm sharp.”

Loki rolls onto Mobius’s side of the bed and falls asleep again.

When they awaken, the sun is bright and the sheets are cool. Loki’s stomach rumbles. They groan as they pull themself out of bed and finally face the day.

The long, lonely day.

A week has passed since Thor’s departure - a week of Loki and Mobius redecorating and cuddling and learning each other.

They bought six plants of varying sizes, new drapes the color of the ocean, and a soft bedspread to match. Mobius fixed up the broken bathroom door, and Loki hung a few new art pieces and string lights.

The La-Z-Boy they arranged in front of a small boxy television set became a fast favorite.

“What did I tell you?” Mobius said the first time Loki relaxed deeply into the recliner. “It’s the perfect throne.”

Mobius may not understand color palettes, but the man knows comfort.

“It will do for now,” Loki told him, not wanting to give too much away.

Mobius’s smile never wavered. “Mmhm.”

Now, Loki drags themself to the kitchen to make a sandwich. Ten minutes later, they are perched on the recliner, plate on their lap, watching soap operas on television.

Claudio is surprised to find that his fiance Regina’s twin sister Georgina has been behind all of his misfortune, but the plot twist has Loki rolling their eyes.

“Amateurs.” Loki bites into an apple slice.

The hours tick by. Loki watches the anchor-shaped clock that hangs in the kitchen - much of their new decor has an ocean theme. But the more Loki watches the clock, the slower time seems to pass.

Time flew by with Mobius here. But without him...

After the soap operas, the courtroom shows begin. And then the news programs. Loki walks laps around the apartment while listening to the weather forecast for the third time - partly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain. The cost of gasoline is skyrocketing. The local high school football team might make county finals, whatever that means.

At quarter to six, Loki thanks the cosmos. Finally. Mobius will be home and put an end to this monotony.

Loki cleans up a bit, dusting some crumbs off the arms of the recliner. They place the plates in the sink.

Then, because they don’t want to appear too eager, they grab a book and stretch out on the bed.

Six o’clock comes and goes. Mobius does not arrive.

By seven, Loki is annoyed.

By eight, they are angry.

By ten, they are concerned.

Dubuque seems relatively safe. And Mobius has lived here alone for a long time before Loki.

But Loki has enemies. Many, many enemies. All of whom would be more than happy to get their hands on their soulmate.

Mobius is probably fine.

But what if he’s not?

At eleven, they are examining the photo of his office building that Mobius keeps on the dresser. Mobius had taken them to see it in the past week, though they hadn’t gone inside. It wasn’t too far a walk, if they recall. Loki is certain that they could find it again, even in darkness.

So they change into a black suit and hurry out the door. The Dubuque city streets are barren this time of night. Loki encounters no one on their trek to the office - until they barge through the front door and are stopped by a security guard.

Loki promised Mobius that they would not hurt anyone, so instead they create a projection of themself to distract the guard while they themself head toward the elevators. Following the signs for the data analytics department, they ride the elevator to the fourth floor.

They step off the elevator into a darkened field of cubicles. Each is the same - small desk, computer, and chair. All are empty. But Loki isn’t alone here. They follow a light through the cubicle maze and come to one that is occupied.

Mobius has a foot-high pile of files on his desk. He’s tapping at his computer keyboard with the index finger of each hand and peering at the small monitor.

“Mobius?”

Mobius jumps, then clutches his chest. He exhales when he sees Loki standing in the opening of his 3ft x 4ft cell. “Give a guy a warning next time.” He smiles. “But it’s good to see you. How’d you get here? Security let you in?”

Loki only frowns at him. “You said you’d be back at six.”

Mobius’s smile loses some of its brightness. “I have to work a little late. Next time we go out, we’ll get you a phone so I can call and let you know -”

“’A little late?’ Mobius, it’s been hours. I thought you were...” They won’t give name to their truest fears. That Mobius had been kidnapped or killed. Or perhaps that he had finally seen the true darkness in Loki and left of his own free will.

Mobius shakes his head. “Come on, Loki. It hasn’t been that long. It’s only...” He glances at his monitor. “Midnight? That can’t be right.”

“I assure you that is accurate.”

Mobius sits back in his squeaking chair, and rubs his hands over his face. “I’m sorry...” He releases a drawn out sigh and his whole body droops. “Boss was cheesed that I bailed on the conference. I have a lot of work to make up.”

The stack of folders towers over Mobius’s slouched shoulders.

“Would it helped if I -”

“You can’t kill him,” Mobius says.

Loki closes their mouth. Tries again. “He needn’t be killed. I could simply... frighten him.”

Mobius shoots Loki a flat look.

“Fine,” Loki says, disappointed. “But what is your intention? To stay here all night?”

Mobius side-eyes the folder mountain. “I’m going to have to.”

“No.”

Mobius sighs. “Loki -”

“This is a place of employment, Mobius, not a living space.”

“It’s my own fault. I should have come back sooner.” He rubs at the corner of one eye. “Maybe I should have stayed at the conference.”

The words stab Loki between the ribs.

“Magicking away was not my best idea,” Mobius says. “I shouldn’t have run from my responsibilities. I’ll never catch up on this work.”

More stabs, a thousand tiny cuts.

“So you regret everything,” Loki says, fighting hard to keep the hurt from their voice. They are disappointed by their own surprise, their own pain. They had thought Mobius was different. They should have known.

Thor was wrong when he said no one could hold Loki’s interest. It was the other way around. Loki protected themself by leaving before the other could get bored. They should have done that here.

But they thought...

Mobius is supposed to be their perfect match.

“No, hey,” Mobius jumps from his chair. That’s all it takes to put him in Loki’s space. Loki takes a step back. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t regret everything, just some things.”

“You regret coming with me when we escaped.”

“N-no,” he says, but not without hesitation.

“You could have stayed. They weren’t chasing you. You could have told them I brainwashed you and gone on with your day.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” The bags are heavy under Mobius’s eyes. He’s tired, Loki knows that - but Loki’s tired too. Sitting, waiting, stressing.

The room sparks with tension. Loki’s pain festers under their skin.

And Mobius regrets.

Loki takes a breath, searching for calm. For understanding. For their soulmate. “Come home,” they say, “And we can continue talking in the morning.”

Mobius exhales again, too sharp. He places his hands on his hips and looks at that damned pile of folders again. “I can’t go anywhere.”

“Mobius -”

“This is my life, Loki,” Mobius tells him. “Data analysis is my life. You have to understand that.”

Something dark in Loki’s chest snaps clean in half. “This is your life. This.” They wave a hand around. “This tiny box in a sea of tiny boxes. Where everyone else has left you here in the dark. Where your employer buries you under papers so deep that you cannot find your way out of them. Is all this extra work truly because you left the conference? How often would you work late before I arrived?”

Mobius looks away, and Loki knows they’re right. The answer, too often.

“Are you at least receiving additional benefits for all this extra time spent here?”

Mobius still won’t look at them.

“They are taking advantage of you, of your loyalty, and you are letting them.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mobius snaps, the sharpest he’s ever spoken to Loki.

Loki stands taller. They’re used to anger, to cutting words, to pain - more than they were ever used to kindness.

“I am trying to protect you,” Loki says.

“I don’t need protection from my job.”

For one wild moment, Loki thinks of grabbing those folders and tossing them across the room. They dream of throwing Mobius over their shoulder and saving them from this drab place and its tan carpet and eggshell walls.

Instead, they insist, “No, you do. You owned three photos when I first met you: one of your parents, one of a jetski, and one of this office. Can you not see how depressing that is?”

Mobius face hardens.

“You are meant for better things than this. When was the last time you even rode a jetski? Or had fun of any kind?”

“I’m an adult. I don’t need fun.”

“That is absurd.”

Mobius’s brows draw together. “Listen, not all of us could be born into royalty, and just go around doing whatever we want all the time.”

Born into royalty. A fresh sting, not one Mobius could know would hit so hard. But it does all the same. Loki steps backward from the force of it.

Mobius unhooks his arms. “Loki -”

Loki shakes their head. Mobius watches them, confusion replacing frustration, followed quickly by concern. He lifts his hand, but Loki steps back again, further out of reach.

“It’s fine,” Loki says, lying. “Stay as long as you like.” They bury the pain down deep. It’s familiar, an old, hated friend. “I wouldn’t dare dream of treading on your unhappiness.”

Mobius drops his hand. “I am happy. I am perfectly happy.”

“Good,” Loki says.

“Great,” Mobius says.

“Wonderful.”

“Fantastic.”

They stare hard at each other. Loki refuses to look away first.

When Mobius finally does, turning back to his cubicle and his chair and the stack of folders, disappointment floods through Loki.

They don’t wait to be dismissed, they turn and leave on their own.

*

Loki does not return to the apartment. Instead, they walk and they walk and they walk. They almost hope to be accosted by vagrants, so as to release some restless energy in a fight, but they see no one. They reach a river and follow it into a forest.

They sit along the riverbank and watch the sunlight crest over the trees.

Maybe they shouldn’t have surrendered the scepter. With the tesseract, they could have traveled anywhere. Now they are limited to the distance of their own two legs. Not that they would know where to go anyway.

The only place they want to be is back at the apartment with Mobius.

It’s evening when they eventually make their way back there. Their stomach growls, and they’re thirsty and tired. With some food and a good night’s rest, perhaps they could leave again with a plan this time. Hire a taxi to an airport and take a plane. Find a city of decadence and lose themself for a few decades.

They don’t expect Mobius to be home. It’s only shortly after seven, far too early for his beloved late nights. Yet as they place the key into the lock and start to turn, they barely have time to remove it before being yanked forward into the apartment and into a crushing embrace.

“Don’t leave me,” Mobius says. His arms are sure around Loki’s waist. His nose is buried in the crook of Loki’s neck and shoulder. His words are muffled by Loki’s forest-dirty suit coat. “I’m not happy. I haven’t been in a long time. Not until you. And not without you.”

Loki sags into his arms, and he holds tighter, keeping Loki upright. Keeping them safe. They close their eyes and let the warmth of Mobius’s body chase away the chill of the Iowa evening air.

“You scared the hell outta me,” Mobius says, voice shaky. “I looked for you everywhere, but I kept checking here. I kept hoping you’d come back. I’m so sorry.” Mobius leans back. He reaches up and cups Loki’s face between his palms. Gently, he rubs his thumbs over Loki’s cheekbones. “I want to be good for you.”

“How could you think you’re not?”

Regret shines in Mobius’s eyes now, more than it ever did during their argument. “I hurt you. I don’t want to ever do that again.”

Loki places their hand over one of Mobius’s on their face. “I hurt you, too, I suspect.”

“No, everything you said was right.” He swallows. “Work’s all I had for so long, and when I was back there, and they started piling it on... Everyone else in that office has always had someone, so before I would take on the extra work myself. It was better than coming home alone. It’s a hard habit to break. Loki, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to do this.” But Loki still wants to hear it. Each of Mobius’s words are a balm over their pain. Mobius keeps going. He doesn’t even stop for breath.

“I lashed out at you, and I only did that because you were right. And I didn’t want to hear it. But then you were gone.”

“I’m here,” Loki says. “I’m here now.”

“I am a lousy soulmate.” Mobius smiles, but it’s too soft, too sad. “After so long alone, I don’t think that I know how to be with somebody. But I want to learn. I want to deserve this, with you.”

“Mobius,” Loki says, and their mending heart threatens to break again. “I am no great prize.”

Mobius starts to laugh. “I’m trying to be serious, Loki.”

“I am too,” Loki says, and whatever Mobius sees on their face stops the laughter. Loki studies the softness in Mobius’s gaze, the adoration, the great care, memorizing as much as they can, in case this is the last time they see it. “I’m a monster.”

Mobius, voice flat and unamused, says, “Be serious.”

“I was not born to royalty. Not like you think,” Loki says and waits. Dread rolls over them in waves, but Mobius does not react more than a slight cant of his head. “I’m not...” It would be easier to show him, but Loki can’t. If they do, Mobius will change all of his sweet words. He won’t stand to share this small apartment with them any longer, and Loki will be back on that riverside. “How you see me is not... how I am.”

Mobius is patient. Mobius waits. Maybe Loki wasn’t wrong about Mobius after all. Maybe Mobius, like them, is imperfect and a little afraid but trying.

Slowly, Loki pulls Mobius’s hands from their face so as not to burn him with the cold of their skin as they lift the glamour that hides their Jotunn form.

They want to look away, to hide from the horror they are sure to see on Mobius’s face, but simultaneously are too desperate to see any and every reaction.

Mobius’s eyes grow wide. His lips part. He blinks a few times.

“Loki,” Mobius says, and Loki braces for fresh heartache. But then he smiles, real and true and bright, a lighthouse in a lifetime of hurt. “Blue like the ocean.” The adoration never dims from his eyes. “You are beautiful.”

*

Mobius insists he doesn’t care, but Loki only feels comfortable again with their glamour restored.

“Either way,” Mobius says, and sends Loki off to the bathroom to shower and change. “I’ll have dinner ready by the time you’re done.”

When Loki leaves the tiny bathroom in their silk pajamas, they find the small two-person table lit by candlelight. Mobius stands beside it, wearing one of the dark suits Loki picked out for him at the store, with a deep green tie that’s slightly askew.

“What’s all this?” Loki asks.

“I know we’re soulmates, and our fates are destined and everything,” Mobius says, tugging at his collar. A bit of pink dusts his cheeks. “But some things should be done the old fashioned way. I want to win your heart, so I thought...” He clears his throat. “I want to wine and dine you. Properly.”

“Ah.” Loki slides further into the room, heart lighter than it’s been in the past forty-eight hours. All the lingering hurts are mended. And Mobius looks delectable in that suit, just as Loki thought he would. Loki strides right up to him, reaches out, and adjusts his tie. “You are attempting to seduce me.”

Mobius’s cheeks redden. He glances away for the briefest of moments before his eyes return to Loki’s face.

“You are everything a guy could want,” Mobius says. “More than I ever dreamed.”

Loki finishes fixing Mobius’s tie, but leaves their hands flat on Mobius’s chest. Mobius takes one and brings it to his mouth. He places a kiss to Loki’s palm.

Loki shivers, but not from any cold.

“Loki,” Mobius says, giving so much weight to the name - things unspoken, maybe not ready to be said, but are known - so known, and ready to be shown.

Mobius leans, and Loki stays very still, waiting, wanting but so, so afraid.

Mobius stops just out of reach. His breath hot on Loki’s lips, he asks, “Can I kiss you?”

Loki swallows all their fear and whispers, “Please.”

Mobius closes the distance and presses their lips together.

Fireworks ignite in Loki’s chest. Their heart thunders. Their hands itch for more, so they grab Mobius by the shoulders and hold, clinging, ruining the new suit and not caring at all.

Mobius cups Loki’s jawline, guiding them closer, tilting gently, positioning Loki just as he wants them. Loki goes willingly, opening their mouth as Mobius licks his way inside.

They should have done this long ago. They should do this all the time. This should never, ever stop.

Loki moans as Mobius’s fingers comb into their hair. Mobius breaks for air, tilts his head, and comes back for more. Loki holds Mobius so close, they are certain their heart beats straight into Mobius’s chest.

It’s perfect, passion incarnate, and Loki wants so much that they -

Loki’s stomach growls. Loudly.

Mobius smiles against Loki’s lips.

Loki groans as Mobius plants one more soft kiss and pulls away.

“Wining and dining time,” he says with a wink.

Loki is both endeared and annoyed. “I will have more of this.” His stomach grumbles again. “After dinner.”

Loki doesn’t miss the flush of Mobius’s cheeks, even as his easy smile returns. “It would be my absolute pleasure, and I mean that.”

[unstable-sapphic-hoe]

The Ultimatum

AN: OK, so I haven’t decided yet so I’ma ask your guys’ opinion. Would You want Diana as a mother figure or as a sister? Tell me what you want cause I’m fine with both. Also, my wifi’s being a little bitch.

Ukr - Father

Jeju - Mother

Italics - they’re speaking in Kryptonese.

Note: Kara’s 16 here, Y/N is 5, and Kal is 2. Also the Kryptonian clothes I was referencing to was taken from here.

1,230+ words

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Chapter 2

Masterlist

Kara gasped as she jolted upwards into a sitting position, her heart drumming in her chest, breath labored. She was once again startled by all the sound baring down onto her, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, she could suddenly see through the walls.

When she got her senses back she then took in the room she was in, noticing that she was lying on a bed that smelled faintly like one of the flowers Kori gave her when she last visited Krypton. The next thing she noticed was that there was a man sitting opposite her in the corner of the room. 

The man was wearing a suit that somewhat reminded Kara of the clothes they wore on Krypton, albeit less colorful and lacked character. He had dark brunette hair that was gelled away from his face, his face was cleanly shaven, and he had dark eyes that felt like they were piercing through her soul.        

“Good, you’re awake” the man spoke, his voice deep. He stared at her, making her feel uncomfortable. But she was an El, and El’s weren’t one to back down so quickly.

“Where am I? Who are you? Where are they?” She asked frantically. When she realized she was speaking in the man’s language and could understand him, she thanked Rao her Ukr thought to initiate the learning program for her.

“Before I answer your questions I need to know who YOU are. You and those kids come out of nowhere, in a pod, those kids babbling on in a strange language none of us can understand, so it’s safe to assume you’re not from around here, are you?” He said, somehow sounding both bored and accusing in his monotonous tone.

“Where are they?” Kara asked firmly, glaring at the man. Just then the door to the room opened revealing a woman.

“Bruce leave the child alone” The woman interrupts as she enters the room. She was tall and a slim yet had a muscular physique, long silky brunette hair, so dark that it was almost black, cascaded down her shoulders, soulful brown eyes that held a gentleness to them. She wore a white button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, black pants and black heels.

“Should I be concerned that every security measure I’ve had so far has been bypassed by you multiple time?” the man, Bruce, said as he glanced at the woman, lacing his fingers together as his elbows were propped up against the arms rests of the chair.

 “Yes, you should look into that, it might become a problem.” the women replied with a teasing smile, her eyes filled with mirth. “I am Diana, princess of Themyscira” she said, finally introducing herself, “and he is Bruce Wayne”

Kara stood and did the traditional Kryptonian greeting for noble houses, placing her hand formed into a fist above the left side of her chest, her left hand behind her back as she bent at the waist to bow slightly, just like her Jeju had taught her. “Greetings princess Diana of Themyscira, I am Kara El, formerly Zor-El, and head of the great and noble house of El. Now if you wouldn’t mind, where are the children?” she said.

“You need not worry Kara El, they are safe with one of our friends J’onn” Diana reassured. “If you would like, I could take you to them.” She offered, Kara gladly accepted and followed her, passing by so many halls it almost felt like a maze.

They arrived in a living room. The walls were a muted shade of dark green, there was a fireplace surrounded by brown leather couches, a white rug on the floor, and pictures hung off the walls. By the couches she saw her cousin and sister, they sat on the rug with a man in his mid-40’s watching them. She immediately ran to them and engulfed both in a hug. Diana and J’onn only smiled at the sight with a scowling Bruce behind them.

“Kara I’m hungry” Y/K/N whined with a pout, Kal agreeing with her as the two of them pulled out the famous puppy dog eyes. Kara smiled fondly at them as she ruffled their hair, earning a few disgruntled yells.

“Kara who are they?” Kal asked, pointing at the, now four, people watching them, with Y/K/N peering at them curiously above Kara’s shoulder. Diana noticed this and smiled at her, giving a small wave, and receiving a shy one in reply.

 “Friends… hopefully” she answered with a sigh as she glanced back at them. “Could we please get food? Kal and Y/K/N are hungry”

“Of course sweetheart, come” Diana said, Kara stood up with Kal in her arms as Y/K/N clung onto her hand. She placed her arm around Kara’s shoulders when she got close enough, which startled the girl, though she found that she didn’t mind and leaned into the comforting touch of the woman as they were lead into the kitchen with Albert and J’onn trailing behind them, Bruce leaving to go to his secret lair. 

There they sat on one of the stools by the counter as they waited on Albert, who insisted on doing it, to make them a little snack. The silence was filled with the two children babbling together in Kryptonese.

 “If don’t mind me asking, where did you come from?” J’onn asked, despite already having a clue as to where.

 “A planet called Krypton” she answered, confirming his suspicions.

 “Why are you here now? Are you alone?” Diana asked concerned. So far all she has seen are these 3 children, unless there are more of them.

 “I… Krypton is… gone… everything and everyone-” Kara looked down as she quietly answered, barely audible, with tears forming in her eyes, but the two still heard it. “It exploded”, she said in a broken whisper.

At that Diana and J’onn were stunned. That would have meant that these children would have been alone, the last of their kind. Though they were particularly more concerned about Kara, she would have to be burdened by all the loss, the only one to remember what the essence of what their home truly was, the only one that is left to carry and pass on the legacy of their people. Diana abruptly stood up and pulled the poor girl into her, trapping her in an embrace, Kara reciprocating a few seconds later.

Just then Albert sat down a plate full of pb&j sandwiches, and another filled with cut up fruits. Kal and Y/K/N eagerly devoured the food, making Kara chuckle at their enthusiasm as she took a sandwich for herself.

 A few hours later, when the kids were put down for a nap, Kara was lead down to Bruce’s secret lair, or as Albert jokingly called it, The Bat Cave. Her eyes immediately landed on the pod that she quickly rushed to, though what she wasn’t expecting was to crash straight into the wall, which surprisingly created a crack and a small dent where her body was. Diana quickly rushed over to her and checked over her.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, her hands on Kara’s shoulder.

“Rao… What was that?” Kara asked shocked. “Oh Rao” she breathed out.

“It seems like you have a few tricks up your sleeve, Kara” Diana said with an airy chuckle as Kara tilted her head to one side in confusion.

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What would you guys prefer, Diana as a mom or a sister? 

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Sweet Pandemonium - Gally (The Maze Runner) Part 16 of 16

Welp, this is it I guess. I’ve never finished a story of this size before, so ngl, I’m proud of myself. This story was originally gonna be a short possibly two parter imagine, I never intended for this to be 16 chapters long lmao. AND, I didn’t do much pre planning either. I kinda just made things up as I wrote, which is why this story is such a shit show. But a big thank you to the supporters of this shit show, it means a whole fucking lot. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

TW: Page 250

I keep forgetting to tag, fucking hell: @multifandom-fangirl4​  @dxllysoutsider​ @gladerscake​

~~~~~~~~~~

( not my gif )

Shakily changing into a stolen guard’s uniform, you found yourself more nervous than you probably should’ve been. 

You just dreaded going back, now with the threat of everyone you care about dying. 

Before, when it was just you risking your life, it was easier. You didn’t really care if you died if you could save someone else, and you knew that mentality was not the healthiest. But compared to Gally, Thomas, or even Brenda, you didn’t feel like you mattered as much. 

What could you possibly have to offer that would be greater than anyone else’s contribution?

“You ready?” Gally smiled at you.

Ah, but being able to be with Gally overpowered those feelings.

“Yup. How do I look?” You teased, jokingly twirling around to show off the heavy uniform.

“Pretty damn good, I gotta say.”

You brushed off the butterflies in your stomach with a scoff. “Well, a good uniform can make anyone look good, I think.”

“I mean, sure. But damn, you really pull it off.”

Your lighthearted conversation was cut short by a sharp cough, looking over to see Newt with an annoyed look on his face. “You guys are bloody disgusting, excuse me while I go vomit.”

“Oh, come on, man. Look at her and tell me she doesn’t look nice.” Gally pointed to you.

“Jesus, keep it in your pants, mate.”

You stifled a laugh as Gally turned a light shade of red, ignoring the suggestive comment with an eye roll. “I’m just sayin’.”

Newt walked away from the amusing exchange, still stifling a few coughs. You couldn’t help but worry. “Does he seem a bit off to you?” You asked. Gally looked to Newt then back to you, the sad look on his face giving you a guarantee that something was wrong.

You would’ve prodded further if it weren’t for Thomas giving the signal that it was time to start infiltrating the W.C.K.D. building.

The way it was planned, Thomas and Teresa would walk in the front together, meeting up with Newt, soon you and Gally would find them, making sure to keep a natural distance away. Brenda’s job seemed the easiest, to you at least, all she had to do was steal a bus. You prayed that Frypan didn’t fall to his death, and that Jorge would get back in time with the Berg.

“You’re worrying.”

You rolled your eyes at Gally’s tone. “Yeah, of course I’m worrying. When do I not worry?”

“Not as much as you’d think.”

Your felt your heavy breaths waft back into your face from the helmet you were wearing not allowing much to circulate. Seriously, how could people do this all day for a job? You ignored the queasy feeling in your gut as you found Teresa with the other two “guards.”

Entering into a stairwell, Gally suddenly stopped the group. “Hold on, hold on.” He said, looking over some sort of electric box. “I can get in here.”

“Kay, throw me the walkie.” Thomas ordered, motioning for you to follow with him to clear the area.

You heard Newt cough heavily as you descended down the stairs with your gun, right behind Thomas. “How long has Newt been like this?” You whispered.

“Now’s not the time, Y/N.” Thomas said, scanning next floor to see that it was clear.

“Thomas.” You pleaded.

Thomas huffed, an annoyed yet mournful face overtaking his features. You knew his answer wouldn’t be good, and you found yourself dreading what he would say. “He’s got the Flare...he’s been like this for awhile now. I just found out myself.” He frowned.

You cast your gaze downwards, tears already welling up in your eyes as you realized what this meant. Thomas didn’t give you a chance to respond as he quickly ascended the stairs back to the others, holding up the radio. “Frypan, we’re in. How you doing?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there.” Fry voiced. “Tell Minho hi for me.”

“Hang in there, buddy.”

Gally soon got into the box, quickly looking through the various labels until finding the right one. “This’ll work.” He assured.

“Okay, Brenda, what’s your status?” Thomas spoke through the radio.

“Working on it.” She answered.

“Copy. Just make sure you’re ready on your end.”

“Don’t worry, you know I’m gonna be there.”

Gally quickly set up the hacking signal up to the correct wires, shutting the box door with a grin. “Alright, let’s go.” Everyone quickly bounded down the stairs, stopping at the door at the bottom. “Lawrence, we’re in position.” Gally radioed, only to be greeted with silence. “Lawrence?” 

“If he doesn’t turn those bloody cameras off, then we’re gonna be in big trouble.” Newt expressed everyone’s thoughts.

Gally looked nervous, but peeking though the little window in the door, he huffed. “He’ll do his part.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, sighing heavily before readjusting the mask part of the helmet over your face. “Let’s get this over with.”

Teresa reluctantly placed her thumb over the ID scanner, and Gally quickly encouraged everyone through the door to cautiously speed through the halls to get to where Minho was being held. 

It didn’t take long to find the holding bay with Teresa leading the group, but you didn’t know if getting in would be easy with a bunch of guards inside.

“Teresa, stay back.” You ordered, gently pushing her behind you. The last thing you guys needed was for her getting in the crossfire.

“Ready?” Gally looked to everyone, they all nodded, clutching their weapons tightly.

As soon as the door opened, shots rang out from your side, making work of all the guards in no time. The element of surprise probably helped. “Huh, that was surprisingly easy.” You chuckled breathlessly, almost proud of yourself for getting some decent shots in, the recoil packed a punch though.

“Yeah? Don’t let it go to your head.” Newt sassed.  

Seeing all the kids exit their holding cells with looks of hopefulness, almost made you tear up. What could’ve these poor innocent souls had to endure by the hands of W.C.K.D. You risked a glace at your cousin, and you couldn’t tell how she felt. Did she feel joy that these kids were finally getting rescued? Or all that she saw in those kids was possible cure, dehumanizing them for the sake of her morality? 

You didn’t want to think about it anymore.

“The vault. How do I get in?” Gally’s voice caught your attention. The person he was holding a gun to simply said that he couldn’t. “Guys, this might take some time.” He voiced after looking over the heavy vault door.

You looked around and furrowed your brows when you saw one key person missing. “Where’s Minho? He’s supposed to be here.”

Thomas scowled, storming up to Teresa. “Where is he?”

Teresa quickly went to the computers, looking up his file. “Someone’s moved him up to the medical wing. Thomas, that’s on the other side of the building.”

Thomas sighed. “Okay, take me to him, right now.”

“Alright, I’m coming with you.” You and Newt both stepped up.

“No. No, you guys have to wait with Gally for the serum.”

“You can’t do this on your own.” Newt argued. “And Minho comes first, remember?”

“Just go, we’re wasting time!” Gally called out. “I’ll get the serum, we’ll meet you out back.”

Thomas nodded to Newt, but turned to you with a remorseful look on his face. “No, no, you’re not making me stay.” You expressed. “I’m part of this as much as he is.”

“Y/N, you’ve done so much for us already. I can’t ask you to do this.”

“I’m offering.”

“No, please. Stay here. We’ll be okay.”

You scowled, exhaling sharply. “Fine. Keep an eye on Newt.” You whispered, Thomas nodding then running out with Newt and Teresa. “Please, be careful.”

“They’ll be fine, just watch my six and the kids.” Gally said, starting to saw into the door.

You stood guard at the door, impatiently tapping your foot as you worried about your friends, especially Newt. You wished he had stayed with you and Gally so you could give him the serum as soon as the vault opened. You knew it wouldn’t cure him, but it would give him time, and that’s what he needed right now.

You heard Gally’s saw stop, smiling ear to ear when the vault door finally opened. You went inside to help Gally load up all the vials, the whole room glowing blue from the color of the serum. “Come on, we need to hurry.”

The room was almost empty of its contents, but staring at one of the only vials left, you debated. Emotion overtook logic as you grabbed a singular vial of the serum, gathering courage and turning around, only to be stopped by Gally. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I have to find Newt.”

Gally looked at the serum clutched tight in your hand, putting the pieces together quickly. “No, no way.”

“Who know how much time he had left? This can help him.”

“It’s too dangerous.” He said slowly.

“I can’t do nothing while I know I can help him.”

“You’re not doing nothing. You’re gonna help these kids get to Brenda. I’m not letting you.”

“I wasn’t asking.” You said bluntly, a determined look in your eyes that made Gally speechless. He had seen that look before, and he finally realized he wouldn’t be able to convince you to stay with him.

Gally quickly pulled you into a hug with his free arm, placing a rough kiss to the top of your head. “You better come back to me.”

You smiled softly. “I will.” 

And with that, you took off without a glance behind you, determined to save your friend from a terrible fate. Of course, if you had glanced behind you to see Gally’s face, you probably wouldn’t been complied to stay. But you had to help Newt, he couldn’t become one of those things. You couldn’t save Gally all those months ago, couldn’t save Jeff...or Chuck. You didn’t want history to repeat itself.

You followed the signs that led you toward where the medical bay would be, making sure to avoid being sighted at all costs. You felt silly hiding in small confined places that made your legs cramp up and wish you had more flexibility or stamina at least. It definitely didn’t help that alarms were blaring all around you, making you believe you actually did get caught. But hearing a few guards talk loudly about how intruders were heading to the medical bay, you realized it was just Thomas who must’ve fucked up, or worse Teresa.

This was going to get a lot harder...

All the guards seemed to rally to the medical bay to capture Thomas and Newt, it wasn’t too difficult to blend in with everyone else distracted from the chaos of it all.

You heard gunshots and glass smashing down the halls of the medical wing. Those boys sure were making it obvious, weren’t they?

You clutched you gun to your chest, not feeling very confident about taking on the guards by yourself, but when you saw your friends with a newly escaped Minho struggling to avoid the guards, you knew you had to do something.

You saying a silent prayer, even though you didn’t know if there was any being out there that heard it, gave you some sort of comfort enough to charge the guards that were gaining on your friends. Shooting at will, not even sure you were hitting any guards, you heard a few men fall to the floor with pained groans.

You didn’t have time to be proud of yourself before you felt a sharp pain in the back of your head, immediately falling to the floor yourself with a yelp.

You looked up to see the annoyed face of Jensen, him leaning down and roughly grabbing onto you and hoisting you up to stand. “You’re a real pain the arse, aren’t you, youngblood?”

Teresa jumped when she heard the doors slam opened, gasping when she saw you on the floor with a bloodied face in front of Jensen. “What the hell, Jensen?”

“Look who I found at the med wing, taking out guards left and right.” Jensen sneered.

“I said alive, Jensen!” Teresa fumed, looking at your almost unconscious form.

“I know what you said, Teresa. She’s breathing, isn’t she?”

Teresa scowled at the man before leaning down to delicately lift you to your feet, ungracefully dragging you to a gurney from the lack of help with your dead weight. “Get out. Thomas is still out there.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” Jensen bowed sarcastically, turning on his heel to walk out of the room.

Teresa turned her attention back to you. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.” She whispered, quickly fixing up a wet cloth to wipe away at the blood leaking from your nose and mouth.

You groaned at the pained pressure of the cloth, weakly pushing Teresa’s hand away from your face. “Hurts...” You mumbled.

“I thought you were supposed to stay with Gally.” Teresa fussed, ignoring your discomfort to clean your face. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“I needed to help Newt...” You frowned, holding up the serum that was once safely in your pocket.

Teresa sighed sadly. “It wouldn’t have saved him.”

“But it would’ve given him time.”

Teresa stayed silent for a moment, deciding what to do with you. You furrowed your brows when you felt her strap you to the gurney tightly. “What’re you...?”

“I can’t have you wondering off, plus, you might have a concussion.” Teresa said, inserting a needle into your arm, pulling blood from your veins.

“You need my blood to keep me from wondering off?” You glared. Teresa avoiding your eyes as she readied another needle. “You’re still looking for a cure...even though there is none.”

“I’m just going to run some tests.” She answered simply.

You bit your lip when you felt tears well up in your eyes, gently banging your head down onto the gurney in frustration. How the hell were you gonna escape now?

Gally could’ve sworn his heart almost stopped when he saw his friends jump out of that window. Did these guys have a death wish? But what scared him even more if that there were only three, not four. Please, tell me she made it... “Where’s Y/N?” Gally tried not to shout.

Thomas eyes widened. “What do you mean? We left her with you!”

“She went to find you guys, to give that shank the serum.” Gally pointed to Newt.

Thomas clenched his fists, feeling anger well up in his gut. “Teresa wouldn’t let her get hurt. If anything, she needs her. We’ll get her back, Gally.”

“I know, cause I’m not leaving without her.”

It felt like hours before you talked to Teresa again, her being so fixated on her tests tubes and microscopes. “Any luck in finding your make believe cure?” You teased mockingly. Teresa stayed silent, watching through her scientific equipment for any sign that her cousin blood did anything to get rid of the Flare virus. Teresa slammed her hands on the table when the blood wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. “Guess I’m not the one, huh?”

Teresa glared at you, not appreciating your irritating commentary. She chose to move on to Thomas’ blood that she took back in the church, and her eyes widened when she saw his blood destroying the Flare virus.

Just when she finished making the first serum that she knew would work, the whole building shook as a boom echoed around the whole city.

You strained your neck to look behind you, seeing an almost mushroom cloud of fire at the wall that protected the city. “What the hell...?” Your eyes widened even more when you could faintly see a swarm of people charging through the gap in the wall, quickly realizing that the people were fighting and destroying everything. “Teresa, we have to get out of here.” You said, noticing everyone outside the lab room where thinking the same thing and trying to making a quick escape.

Teresa frowned, storming over to you and removing your restraints, and quickly going back to her experiments. “I can’t.”

You quickly removed yourself from the gurney. “What do you mean? The city’s getting raided. They’ll burn this place down, with us in it.”

“Thomas is the cure, Y/N!” She yelled, making you speechless. “His blood is destroying the virus! He can save us all. I need him.”

“Teresa...if all went as planned, he’s long gone by now.”

“No, he can’t be. Newt is dying and Thomas won’t abandon him, you know that. He’ll be slowing them down. I have to get through to him.” Teresa exhaled shakily. “You can go if you want, I’m staying. I have to.”

You looked to the exit then back to Teresa, your cousin, your only family. In the past, most choices you made were clearly the right ones. But now...you had no idea what to do.

You wanted to choose Teresa...you really did. But you still had the temporary serum, you still had the chance to help Newt. “I’m sorry, Teresa.” You voiced, gaining her attention. “I want to stay with you. But I need to find our friends.”

Teresa’s face fell, frowning. “I understand.”

“I’ll come back for you.” Your voice wavered, feeling intense emotion wash over you, suddenly getting the feeling to tell her you loved her. But you cut the goodbye short, running out of the room and rushed to leave the building.

Thankfully, everyone was so focused on packing up to leave, you had no trouble escaping. But you almost didn’t want to leave the building when you saw the hell on earth that was just outside. But you pushed on, making sure you kept the hold on the vial safely in your hand.

You almost jumped when you heard your cousin’s voice echo around the city’s speakers.

“Thomas? Can you hear me? I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt. There’s still time for him. There’s a reason Brenda isn’t sick anymore. It’s your blood, do you understand? She isn’t sick because...you cured her. She doesn’t have to be the only one. You just need to come back, and this will all finally be over. Please, just come back to me. I know you’ll-”

The speakers suddenly cut out, as almost all power in the city was down.

You suddenly felt dread wash over you, you had to find Thomas.

Running through the city as fast as you could, you wished you were a Runner, then maybe your legs wouldn’t cramp up every time you exerted yourself. You felt the heat of fires and explosions as you sprinted, dodging multiple guards and people fighting each other. This wasn’t supposed to happen...

Finally getting to a clearing, you stopped to cease the wheezing in your heavy breaths, until you heard screaming. You quickly rounded the corner to see Thomas and Newt...fighting each other.

No...you were too late...

You ran to them, quickly trying to pull Newt off of Thomas, only for his attention to turn to you and tackle you to the ground. “Newt!” You yelled, tearing up quickly at the sight of his dead eyes and Flared up face. “Newt...”

Thomas pushed Newt off of you, giving you the chance to take the vial out of your pocket, but the new Crank got free of Thomas’ hold and attacked you again, the vial violently being thrown from your hand. You internally cringed when you heard a shatter. Fuck...

You felt your vision get blurry when Newt smashed your head against the pavement, the pain resonating throughout your skull and making you feel lightheaded.

You didn’t know what happened after that, you just woke up and Newt wasn’t attacking you anymore. You didn’t hear the sound of struggle anymore. You looked to your left to see Brenda, a look of pained shock on her face. Then you realized, Thomas was sitting next to Newt. 

“No...” You whispered.

You crawled over to Thomas, looking down at Newt’s body. You could barely see anything due to the tears that welled up in your eyes, making the world around you blurry. You couldn’t do anything but stare numbly at your fallen friend, unaware that Thomas had left.

“Y/N.”

You knew that voice belonged to Gally, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. Or do anything when Frypan wrapped his arms around you to give you some sort of comfort, him feeling the same grief as you, if not worse.

Gally felt the pain of the loss too, but seeing everything being burned down too quickly, he had to speak up. “This place is gonna take us down with it if we don’t get outta here...”

Fry gently pulled you away from Newt’s body, reluctantly motioning for Minho to follow. “Come on.” Fry rubbed your shoulder.

You were basically on autopilot on the way to the Berg, where Jorge, Vince, and the kids were waiting to take off. “We have to find Thomas. He went back to the holding facility.” Brenda voiced worryingly.

“That damn kid.” Vince huffed.

The numbness went away enough to remember that you told Teresa that you’d be back for her. You had to find her again, but the Berg was already being lifted up into the air. In your heart, you knew wherever Thomas was, Teresa was most likely with him. That’s something you could rely on, at least.

“Hey...” Gally sat next to you, gently holding your hand. You could faintly see tear marks down his face, his eyes a shade of red and watery. “We’ll find them.”

You wished you believed that, but after everything that’s happened, you felt having hope was childish. You couldn’t bear to hope just for things to end terribly.

“I think I got him!” You heard Jorge shout, everyone, including you, rallying to the front to look out the Berg’s window.

“Yeah, that’s him. I got the hatch.” Brenda said, quickly springing into action.

“Alright, I got him. I got him.” Jorge said, proceeding to carefully turn the Berg around so the now open hatch was facing the burning building roof. “I can’t get any closer!”

Everyone crowded the hatch, calling out for Thomas and Teresa on the roof, reaching out their hands to grab them. Quickly noticing that he was injured badly, you started to reach out as well. “Thomas! Teresa! Come on!”

“Get closer!” Teresa called out.

“Jump!” Vince yelled, his body almost half out of the aircraft trying to reach.

“We gotta get closer!” Gally yelled to Jorge.

“Come on, reach!”

The Berg finally got close enough to where Teresa could help Thomas onto the hatch, everyone quickly pulling him inside. You looked back to Teresa, holding out your hand as far as you could. “Your turn, jump!” You called out. You furrowed your brows in confusion when Teresa made no effort to move, not even to reach out for you. You could see the debate in her eyes, wondering if she actually deserved to live or not. “Don’t leave me!”

Teresa’s eyes softened, almost bringing her to tears upon hearing that short but impactful sentence. In a matter of a few seconds, the next building over was destroyed, large chunks of debris falling, making the roof collapse into itself, taking your cousin with it.

“No!” You sobbed loudly, ripping apart your vocal cords and feeling your heart break in two.

The Berg quickly left the destroyed area, bringing you all back to their base to pack up and finally go to a place called the “Safe Haven.”

You fell back, feeling grief and guilt weigh you down. I shouldn’t have left her...she would be here if I had just stayed...

You looked to see that Thomas passed out, but he was alive. Brenda and Gally quickly patched him up, but he would have to be better treated when the Berg arrived.

Gally just sat next to you the whole ride, not saying anything, not even attempting to give you comforting touches in fear that it would just make things worse, he just sat there to let you know he was there for you.

Everything felt like it was moving too fast, like time sped up without warning or giving you time to adjust. It made you feel nauseous, but you had nothing in your stomach to throw up, besides bile, you which you did upchuck. You huffed at the burning feeling in your throat. “Damn it...”

Gally was right by your side, rubbing your back and telling you everything would be okay. But it wouldn’t be okay. You lost your close friend, and then you lost your only family that you had left. You couldn’t help the new flow of tears, Gally quickly pulling you close to lean on his chest. “It’s okay. Let it out...” He said softly.

“I could’ve...I could’ve...” You hiccupped.

“There’s nothing you could’ve done, sweetheart.” Gally hugged you tighter, feeling your body rack with heavy cries.

Hours later, you finally calmed down, the tears ran out a long time ago. But you noticed the machine hum of the Berg stopped. “We’re here!” Jorge called out, making you flinch at the sudden shout. 

“Come on, help me get Thomas situated.” Vince called out, gathering the group to carry him, including Gally.

You stepped out of the Berg to immediately smell a slight salty scent, you never smelled anything like it. And you heard an unfamiliar sound, almost like white noise. It was just after sunset, but it was still a little light out. But you instantly recognized the light tan sandy ground, the water the stretched out for miles and miles to the horizon.

You’d never seen a beach before, not even before your memory wipe before the Maze. It was beautiful, but you would appreciate it better without the rotting feeling of grief weighing on your shoulders.

You walked to where you saw Vince take Thomas, stopping right outside the entrance of the wooden hut. “Is he okay?” You asked softly.

“He’ll be okay.” Vince answered. “He should wake up soon, but I have to go and make sure things have been taken care of while I’ve been gone.” And with that, Vince walked away with a fast pace.

Minho then exited the hut, meeting you with wide eyes. “Hey...” He said awkwardly, making you give a tight lipped smile. “I’m...sorry, about Teresa. I know how important she was to you.”

You didn’t want to cry anymore, you were sick of crying and the thought alone made you exhausted. “I’m sorry about Newt. He...he was a good guy.”

Minho’s lip quivered slightly, but quickly covered it up with a sigh. “We all lost him.”

You brought him into a hug, not knowing what else to do. It was weird at first, you two weren’t the type to show physical affection to each other, but you felt the situation called for it. Minho hugged you back tightly, trying not to cry at the thought of never being able to hug his best friend again.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.” You sighed.

“Yeah, I think everyone is. It would be weird if they weren’t.” Minho looked past you and smiled to himself weakly. “I think I should get some sleep. I’ll see you later.” You turned to watch Minho walk off, giving Gally a slight nod as he passed him.

Gally walked up to you with a small smile. “I would ask if you’re okay, but I feel like that question is pretty obvious.”

“Yeah...” You whispered. “I’m just fucking exhausted.”

Gally frowned, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Vince already has some beds set up for us. Shall we go?”

You nodded. “That sounds nice.”

You and Gally set up your beds next to each other, at your insistent request. To be fair, in a new environment, you didn’t feel safe at all. Ironic in the “Safe Haven.”

You didn’t get a lot of sleep, constantly worrying about how Thomas was doing. Gally seemed to sense your worry. “He’ll be fine. He’s a stubborn kid.” He said, bringing you closer to him. It did seem to relax you as you fell asleep soon after, but that didn’t stop the influx of nightmares to plague your subconscious. 

The next morning, everyone was up and atom, but you and your friends seemed to have been allowed to sleep in. “Who knew waking up beside you would be so nice?” You opened your eyes to see Gally smiling softly at you. You tried not to blush, temporarily forgetting the events that happened last night.

“You guys are disgusting.” Fry suddenly voiced loudly.

“You jealous, Fry?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I am.”

You chuckled weakly at the interaction, but you sat up and stretched, looking around to see the beach lit up in its full glory. “Wow...” You whispered.

Waking up to such a beautiful sight, it did bring a small smile to your face. You wished so badly that Newt and Teresa were there to share it with everyone too, but you tried to shake those thoughts away.

Later that day, you sat beside Minho and Jorge, watching Gally help build something from afar. “He’s lucky to have you.” Minho smirked, picking at the fruit in his hand.

You smiled slightly, not truly believing it. “It’s the other way around really.”

“Well, whatever. You two are good for each other.” Minho rolled his eyes, making you chuckle. “Thomas...” You heard Minho suddenly whisper, and you looked in the same direction he was, seeing that Thomas was indeed walking through the new area.

You and Minho quickly stood up, slowly walking towards Thomas, along with everyone else behind you guys. Thomas’ eyes were tired, just like the rest of yours probably were. He didn’t smile, you couldn’t blame him. There was nothing to say, so Minho brought Thomas into a hug. You were in so much pain from the loss of your cousin, but Thomas was in love with her, you couldn’t imagine how he felt. He lost two of the most important people to him.

You hugged Thomas too, silently communicating each other’s condolences through the gesture.

That night, you and Gally sat next to each other as everyone else gathered to hear Vince speak at the bonfire that was set up, a celebration of sorts of surviving.

“We have come a long way together.” Vince started. “So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends, and your family. So here's to the ones who couldn't be here, here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us, but this,” He held up a knife, pointing it to the large stone pillar in front of the crowd, “this is for them. So in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace. And welcome to the Safe Haven!” He cheered, the crowd following suit.

You forced yourself to smile as you held up the drink in your hand, following along with the rest of the crowd that were actually happy to be there. You were too, but it was hard to convey those feelings. Celebrating didn’t feel right, not this soon anyway.

You watched as multiple people lined up to carve their fallen friend’s or family’s names onto the pillar. You knew who’s name Minho would carve, it was obvious. But you didn’t expect Gally to get up and carve a name. Of course you were curious, but it seemed like it would be personal.

You had a name in mind, but you looked over to Thomas who was frowning while reading something. You knew Teresa meant something to him too, they were close, almost as close you and her had been when you were kids. But you two were kids, you two grew apart. You didn’t know her in the end, not truly. You knew you didn’t deserve to be the one to carve her name. You would let Thomas be the one.

You thought back to your past, having more names pop up in your head, only one truly sticking out.

You stood up after the crowd cleared, walking to the stone pillar with the knife in hand. You found the place for the name, thankful that the light from the fire still reached. You held up the knife and started carving the name.

You smiled fondly when it was done.

“Who’s that?” Gally walked up behind you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

You took a deep breath. “My baby sister...”

“You had a sister?”

“Yeah, my parents wanted me to choose the name, but she got the Flare along with them before I could give her one. It was only a week later that I finally gave her a name...even if she was dead.”

“How old was she?”

You frowned. “...three days old.”

“Y/N...I’m so sorry.”

You turned around to see Gally’s solemn face, but you smiled weakly. “I just have to believe she would’ve been better off, or in a better place.”

Gally only nodded, taking his hands in yours and leading you away to walk along the shore. “Things will be better here.”

“You really think so?” You asked, not sounding very hopeful.

“It have to be. We fought so hard for this.”

“I hope your right, Gally. What’ll life be like here though?” You wondered aloud.

Gally suddenly smiled giddily. “We’ll build our own city.” He nodded confidently, making you scoff.

“Oh really?” You raised your eyebrows skeptically, but a smile playing at the corner of your lips.

“Yeah! And we’ll have parties and bonfires every night.”

You couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “Easy there, tiger. We’ve only been here one day. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Come on, dare to dream, Y/N.” He grinned.

“I’ll leave the dreaming up to you, Captain.”

You and Gally stopped and sat on a little incline of the shore to take a break from walking, just watching the sun come up. 

Gally was sitting behind you, his arms wrapped around your shoulders and you leaning into him comfortably. You basked in his body heat, shielding you from the slightly chilly air from the ocean tides. It felt nice, the nicest feeling you’ve felt in the past few days.

You looked up to see Gally’s eyes entranced in watching the waves, his lips naturally upturned in a slight smile.

You leaned up and placed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw, seeing his eyes briefly close at the feeling and his smile growing into a shy grin. He turned his head and leaned down to place a kiss to your lips. “I love you, you know.”

You grinned. “Yeah, I know. I love you too...so much.”

Looking back to the ocean, you knew you guys were going to be okay now.

~~~~~~~~~~

Welp, yeah...I’m having trouble liking the ending, but I hope y’all do at least. BUT SIKE, this ain’t the end(technically). I’m planning on releasing a bonus chapter reallll soon, for all those heathens that wanted smut ;)

But for those not into that sorta thing, don’t worry! It’s not gonna forward the plot in any way, this chapter is the end of the main story, so you won’t miss anything. Just fluff and smut

[elbiotipo]

We Live In A Society where young people don’t know how to pirate anymore, so here’s a short guide by El Piratetipo:

First things first; security measures: Get a good antivirus; 360 Total Security and Malwarebytes are good options, avoid anything by McAfee. I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but get uBlock to block ALL ads, Decentraleyes and PrivacyBadger, and use Firefox instead of Chrome (Firefox doesn’t track you and doesn’t sell your info to Google, seriously Chrome is Google’s browser, and firefox is a lot better anyways).

You should do all this this EVEN if you aren’t going to pirate anything. uBlock on itself prevents 90% of viruses because most of them hide in clickbait ads and shady applications instead of downloads. In all my years of pirating I’ve been bothered by viruses two times, and those were in computers without uBlock.

Use your common sense, don’t click in shady links, and if ANYTHING anywhere asks you for a registration or email, close that tab and get the fuck out of there. But I don’t know who are the nerds who say “bwhaaaaa all the pirate sites are dead uwu”... they are ALL a google search away... or rather, search them DuckDuckGo

I’ve never bothered myself with VPNs since anti-piracy measures here aren’t very strict (they don’t exist) but there’s Hoxx VPN for Firefox, and most torrent clients are safe. If you really, really want to be safe, use TOR Browser. If anyone can contribute on VPNs feel free to since I don’t use it.

Torrenting is the safest and most practical way to pirate stuff. You need a good torrent client, Qbitorrent is the most used. It’s extremely easy to use; you just go to any website that hosts torrents, click on them (with an adblocker you’ll know what to click), and your download starts.

I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS EVER SAY AGAIN THAT THE PIRATE BAY IS DEAD WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG W ahem, the pirate bay is not dead, it’s never dead. You just have to google “Pirate Bay Proxy List” and you’ll have a list of... Pirate Bay proxies... that are literally the same site, it’s that easy. From there you just search whatever you want and torrent away. The Pirate Bay has literally every game and program you can think of.

Same deal with RARBG. It’s just a google search away. If you can’t access it, search for a proxy. RARBG usually has all the newest movies and series, it’s very complete, safe, and they often come with subtitles.

Wanna watch anime? Nyaa.si has you covered. There’s torrents for EVERY SINGLE ANIME EVER. The only problem is that they’re a bit on the heavy side. If you don’t want to download 25 gigs of Lucky Star, AniMixPlay is the one I currently use, but ever since kissanime got killed (F) there are a lot of sites.

(which reminds me, streaming sites, unlike torrent ones, often dissapear. Check out “where to stream x” reddit threads to keep up)

Wanna watch cartoons? Kimcartoon has, literally, every single cartoon in existence, only in English though, but it has everything from Adventure Time to old Soviet cartoons. As long as you have the common sense procedures I told you, it’s all perfectly safe. Have fun.

Are you a broke college student who needs to cite a science paper and it’s blocked by a paywall? Want to read about third century theology for fun but can’t access it? sci-hub has got you covered. The glorious website of comrade Elbakayan for the liberation of science is as easy to use as copypasting the url of your required paper (it works with some books too) and it gets you the pdf inmediatly. Of all the sites in this list, this one is no doubt the most useful of them all. sci-hub is always moving urls but it’s usually findable by google or duckduckgo.

For streaming series, movies, etc., unfortunately, it’s a maze. There are too many websites and not all of them trustworthy. Usually you can find almost all stuff by simply searching “watch x online” or “stream x online”, as long as you NEVER, NEVER, stay in any website that asks you to subscribe anything.

For music, I just use a youtube mp3 downloader. I’m not a very fancy guy like that and youtube has all my favorite catalog anyways. There are options to crack Spotify but I don’t use them.

READ. THE. INSTRUCTIONS. WHEN. INSTALLING. ANYTHING. They’re always in a little txt file in your torrent. Usually with games is as easy as just clicking the autoinstaller or opening the iso file (windows does it with a single click) and installing it like if it was from a CD. But you often have to things like cracking (just replacing a few files after installation). Pay attention, and don’t open your game until you have finished. Often pirated games have problems with multiplayer, internet connection and such, I don’t ever play multiplayer but keep that in mind.

Fan of retro games? Archive.org has all DOS games and quite a few programs playable in virtual computers online. Emulators are easy to find (just look for “x emulator”), the problem is roms. There are rom collections in the Pirate Bay, and romhustler has worked well for too. Retro games like NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, etc. are very light. I have the entire catalog of the SNES in my cellphone and it’s only 1 gig. If you have a cellphone and gigs to spare, install the retroarch app, and download those collections to the retroarch folder inside your cellphone. You now have a portable retro console, playable through the touchscreen! Suck it, 80s! 8-bits and 16-bits, and a bit of the old generation of 3d consoles, play masterfully in any device. Anything up from the Playstation 2 usually needs a little more effort and won’t play as good as in the original device, but that still means you have a catalog of thosands of Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation games. Most of them aren’t released anymore, so emulation is the best, and sometimes only, way to enjoy them.

There are more tips I could give you, and it’s different for me in the third world than for places in the first world where anti-piracy measures are more strict. But in general, USE COMMON SENSE. Be sure where you click, what you search, and what you download, and you’ll never have a problem or have to pay to the Mouse or Gaben again. Fair winds, matey!

[anxietylord]

Scarecrow and Riddler get lost in a corn maze.

I'm at the point where I'm begging for prompts so desperately that even my non-batman mutuals are responding. I cannot explain how much I appreciate you my friend.

Anyway this was fun as hell to write and deeply stupid, but at least now I can upload the drabbles as a collection. Enjoy!

--

“See this is exactly why I keep my personal life separate from my professional one, I refuse to be roped into your absolute lunacy ever again.”

“I still think this was an utterly brilliant idea, what better way to combine our modus operandi than a corn maze. I get a puzzle, you get this rustic farm bullshit you like so much. Win win, really.”

“Yes, but the was before we had to go tramping through miles of stalks because one of your glorified death roombas wandered off into the corn. I shouldn’t even be bothering to help you, this is entirely a problem you’ve created for yourself. I have work to do, you and your eidetic memory can find your own way out.”

“Whoa, whoa hold on there a minute, I have the corridors of the maze memorized, but were literally in the middle of a field right now, and you are not leaving me out here in the dark by myself so help me God, Jonathan.”

“So you admit you’re lost then?”

“You’re making it sound as if you aren’t right here with me. So why don’t you do something to get us out of here, hmm farm boy? You’re tall, can’t you like… see over this ocean of maize? Ha. Maze of Maize.”

“Maybe if you took a moment to stop laughing at your own asinine jokes you’d notice that I am only six and half feet tall when the corn is over eight.”

“It was a rhetorical request Darling, I know how tall corn is. Now can we please get back to trying to find Prometheus?”

“You named it Prometheus? Rather on the nose, even for you.”

“You literally have a pet bird named Nightmare, you are not allowed to condescend to me about being on brand!”

“That’s neither here nor there. Beside shouldn’t this thing be finding us? You programmed them to be your apostles, which I’ll never cease to marvel at. You really are parody of yourself sometimes, Edward.”

“Oh for fucks sake, can you leave that alone already? It was only done so that no one can install an override function in them!”

“Tell that to all the little disciples of yours who’ve been punished with your malware.”

“God this mud is absolutely ruining these shoes. I should send you an invoice.”

“Again, all this was your idea. And I fail to see how it’s my fault that you neglected to wear appropriate footwear for a cornfield Edward.”

“Shhh! I think I hear him! Promi?? Is that you?”

“You gave it a pet name. Edward that’s vile.”

“Oh shut up and just let me— Jon, Darling, would you mind looking up at the sky over there and telling me if you’re seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yes Edward. I see it.”

“WE DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING YET! I swear that guy is just inventing reasons to punch me in the face at this point.”

“So I suppose we can safely assume that rustling ahead of us is not, in fact, one of your creations?”

“Fuck.”

[iwroteyoualoveletter]

Review - The Second Yu Yu Hakusho Stage Play

Due to a family member of the cast having COVID-19, the opening day of the second Yu Yu Hakusho stage play was postponed to accommodate the 14 day quarantine period, opening this past weekend.

COVID-19 regulations in the theater included mandatory face masks, temperature checks, hand and shoe disinfection, seat blocking, and a ban on talking within the theater. Stage actors wore clear chin face shields and the first row of the audience was required to use full face shields. The stage was sprayed with disinfectant during intermission. Goods usually sold at the venue were moved to online sales. (More on safety protocols in this TikTok if you are interested!) 

Now... on with the show!

::SPOILERS AHEAD::

ACT 1 The show opened with Botan running onto the stage and reminding everyone of the three main rules for safety: wear your mask, do not speak within the theater (even though she knows you want to talk to your friend-- please wait!), and disinfect your hands when you come back from intermission. Her little talk brought us into Hohoemi no Bakudan, during which the main cast showed off their fighting skills, and Koenma slid onto the stage to end it with his remote and a "disinfectant" spray bottle (which he was constantly spraying on stage and accidentally in his own face). 

He was about to launch into the Maze Castle footage when Genkai appeared and began to bully him for skipping her tournament. He conceded slightly and offered a 2 minute recap, during which Kuwabara and Yusuke hyper went through the events, with Yusuke's training with Genkai being acted simultaneously by the main actor and 3 "stage Yusukes" behind him, each doing a different task. When he wanted to balance on his finger, a "stage Yusuke" flipped him upside down and held him up, haha

Then, we moved onto Maze Castle. Because Seiryu and Suzaku were the only 2 mentioned by name in the program, I wasn't sure if the other fights would be featured-- thankfully, they were! 

Genbu 

My personal Kurama bias aside, this fight was done INCREDIBLY WELL. Genbu was a 7 piece puppet, with all his parts assigned to different ensemble members. They used the set pieces to hide and "fly" off stairs/ledges and it made for a great effect. The movement was fantastic and the pieces of the puppet looked like real stone under the stage lights.  

Bakkyo

I'm... so sorry, Kuwabara fans. This scene was certainly an interesting choice. A tiny adorable Bakkyo puppet shouted its threats from the second story of the stage (for the "I can't believe he's that big this far away" line) and Kuwabara threw his hat into the arena by saying he could beat him "without a word being said." So... he pantomied the ENTIRE FIGHT. THE WHOLE THING. ALL BY HIMSELF. It was an awkwardly long, albeit entertaining, game of charades. If you didn't know the battle already, you'd be completely at a loss to understand what he was doing. In the end, he destroyed Bakkyo, who at that point was a projected image on a backdrop. 

Seiryu

Another fantastically done fight, although made comedic by Koenma's commentary. In the first take, the fight is over in a blink, with Hiei not moving and Seiryu falling to the ground. Koenma jumps on stage to say, "Wait, that was too fast, let's rewind a watch in slow-mo." You then get to see the characters fight gracefully in slow motion, with Koenma counting the cuts made by Hiei. In the middle of the slow-mo battle, Hiei makes it a point to punch Kuwabara in the stomach when he passes by him, haha. The last viewing, Koenma plays the fight at "easy viewing" speed, which places Seiryu and Hiei at "normal" speed and the spectators in slow-mo. Overall, very nicely done!

Suzaku

This fight was pretty straight forward and did not have any comedy added into it. It jumps between Yusuke fighting Suzaku and Keiko being attacked in the human world, with the lower stage for the battle and second story for Keiko and Botan's flee/fight. The choreography was good and their acting spot-on. Suzaku's clones were video projections. In my opinion, though, they made a tragic mistake by NOT INCLUDING THE SHOES ON THE HANDS. Maybe they decided it wasn't safe or workable. Either way, it was missed. 

The first part of the play ends with Keiko confronting Yusuke and demanding that she is the first one to know next time he has one of these missions. 

ACT 2

Act 2 opens with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan viewing the video from Koenma about Yukina. The "video" Yukina is the actress up on the second floor of the stage while they sit on the bottom, so when the scene ends for them, the lights focus on her and her scene with the birds. (She captures Yukina’s aura perfectly.)

The Toguro brothers look GREAT on stage, which I didn't expect. Elder Toguro's actor in particular has such a creepy/slinky way of moving, he really embodies what gives you the heebie jeebies about him. 

The choice was made to cut Botan from accompanying them to Tarukane's estate, although I don't know why. The initial demons they encounter in the woods were also cut, for obvious comedic purposes, because they were replaced by a sunglasses and suit wearing demon who says, "No one can defeat me except Hiei. He's so cool. [Insert 1000 compliments about Hiei / jokes about Hiei]" because... it's Hiei's actor, who has nothing to do until the end of Act 2.

(They included Kurama's actor as the young man who tried to save Yukina from Tarukane in a later flashback during the Toguro fight.)

The bottom stage remains the fighting place as the upper stage is turned into Tarukane's betting room. It goes between reactions to the intruders and them knocking out demons, including Miyuki and that ninja guy.

The fight with the Toguro brothers is also well done and, as I said above, they have serious stage presence. After everyone collapses, Hiei shows up to punch Tarukane and they go on their way. We observe the conversation between Younger Toguro and Sakkyo after the main cast has moved off stage. 

We have another brief scene with Yusuke being invited to the Dark Tournament, and then the scene where they are about to get on the boat to Hanging Neck Island and Hiei greets Yusuke by attacking him. As they look off into the distance, Koenma pops up to say that's all we have time for today, and implies we'll have a next time to look forward to.

  GENERAL COMMENTS

The pacing for this show was heaps better than the first one. It was great they chose 2 stories to follow instead of cramming in as many as possible. George was also included in the random in-betweens when Koenma offered commentary and gave actors time to change. All in all, it was a very enjoyable performance for fans of the show, and I think they did everything they could to make it safe for the people involved on stage and for the audience. 

If you can, definitely check out the livestream (there are 9 dates available) or buy the DVD when it comes out in April.

[brandyllyn]

In our own image... (02)

Chapter 2

(Poe Dameron x OFC)

Other chapters...  My Masterlist

Word count: 2200. Read it on AO3.

Rating: Teen & Up (PG) No warnings?

Kina brushed her hair away from her face with the back of one hand, holding the tool in it well away from her face. She’d burnt herself one too many times with a soldering iron to not be careful of the thing now. She wouldn’t even have risked it except that her other hand was occupied holding part of the droid’s circuitry together and if her hair continued to fall as it was she was going to set it on fire.

She waited a moment, then added another bit of solder. "There," she whistled and sat back, dropping the tool back into its cradle. "How do you feel?"

The little round droid flashed through a series of colors before spinning in place. "Much better thank you."

Kina smiled and patted the droid. When they had first arrived they had been full of long, pitiful stories about being shot at by tie-fighters and then covered in sand and tar and something that sounded like saliva. Amid the telling, BB-8 kept mournfully beeping that they were not functioning optimally, as though they were revealing some great secret.

It had been cute. In fact, it had been really cute. Enough so that she had actually missed the arrival of the droid’s companion. It didn’t matter, as he had only wanted to talk to K-0 - which was odd but also fine by her. There was something about being unable to to speak Basic that made people assume she lacked intelligence. Anytime she could avoid talking to people entirely was better off all around. It didn’t really matter that he was easy on the eyes.

As soon as the man was gone the BB unit had proceeded to tell her story after story of Friend Poe. Even when she had half the droid’s panels off and was doing a deep clean, BB-8 kept up an endless chatter about how Friend Poe always made sure that they were clean and functioning well. And how sad Friend Poe had been that he couldn’t take good care of the BB unit on Ajan Kloss.

The information had made Kina feel marginally more gracious towards the pilot. BB-8 was in bad shape, and not all pilots were known for taking good care of their droids. Most seemed to see the units as expendable.

"BB-8," she whistled, ending in a series of clicks, "why do you call him Friend Poe and not Master?"

"Friend Poe asked me to," BB-8 whistled back. "Friend Poe does not like being called Master."

Kina tilted her head, studying the BB unit. That was… interesting information to have. Basic droid programming defaulted to the use of the honorific 'Master' for their owners. The only people she knew of who made an effort to change it were other droidsmiths, like herself. You could often follow the trail of a droid’s repairs based on the terms they used. Some went for gentler monikers, like Friend. Others went ever further past Master. Hells, Hukkin, on Tattooine, taught his droids to call him 'Oh Great One,' which was a bit of an ego stretch but he was also a damned good droidsmith and he had a gentle touch with them. He also had as great of a hatred for restraining bolts as Kina herself so she only barely faulted him for it.

She was so lost in thought she nearly missed the droid’s sudden movement. She barely had time to throw an arm across the table to stop the droid from leaving. "Whoa there little one," she whistled and clicked, "I’m not done with you yet. Let me get you put back together and then you can go back to Friend Poe. Okay?"

The droid settled back, turning their upper unit to her. "Okay."

Snorting, Kina glanced behind her, then up into the rafters. Once she’d gotten the BB unit cleaned out there was a maze of wiring and 'improvements' that she’d needed to sort through. Friend Poe had apparently been doing his own repairs which was… well she knew why people did it but Chasī above - she didn’t try to fly X-Wings, why did people think that just anyone could repair a droid?

She clicked her tongue, "K-0?"

The droid darted out from a small gap between the crates. They were always doing that, finding weird little bolt holes to go exploring. "Where are the converters? The 600 series."

K-0 immediately crossed the floor, bumping into a crate to Kina’s left. She squatted to read the lowest crate before moving to the next. The one she wanted was about three up, with two more stacked on top of it. Two heavy ones. Sighing, she gave herself the mental 'lift with you knees' reminder and started to shift the upper crates away.

"Hello?"

She dropped the crate, jumping back and letting out a sharp whistle. Behind her, she could hear BB-8 trilling happily. "Hello friend! I am much improved since you last saw me."

"Hey BB," the voice said and Kina turned to it. A young woman was cautiously standing near the entrance to the workshop. "May I come in?"

As was their usual wont, K-0 happily translated the woman’s words directly into binary. It was a programming flaw, one that Kina hadn’t been able to fix without wiping the droid’s entire core memory. And she wasn’t going to do that. No harm in letting the droid chatter to themself.

Kina nodded at the woman, gesturing to the BB unit to let her know she could approach them if she wanted to. The woman did, running a hand along the droid in a familiar greeting. "Hey there big guy."

"Friend Rey, I am enthusiastic to see you. Have you met new friend?" BB-8 beeped at her, flashing their recently cleaned lights.

"I haven’t met your friend yet," the woman turned with a smile and held out her hand. "I’m Rey."

Kina stopped thumbing through the crate’s contents to hold out a hand, palm turned open and upwards to show she had no weapon.  She whistled at K-0, who translated for her. "This Kina."

Rey’s gaze swung between her and K-0 and Kina waited for her question. It was the same every time. "It’s nice to meet you Kina."

Okay, so maybe not the same. Rey smiled at her and Kina couldn’t help but return it. Then she turned to BB-8. Clicking to get their attention she told them, "I have a new memory convertor for you, but you’re going to need to power down completely so I can be sure this gets transferred correctly. May I do that?"

"I will not lose memories will I friend?"

Kina smiled, patting the droid reassuringly. "I promise you won’t lose a thing. I am very good at this."

BB-8 nodded it’s top unit before beginning a full power down. Kina waited, aware of the presence of the woman at her side. The slight furrowing of her brow.

"You speak Binary?" Rey asked.

Yep, there it was. Kina nodded, tilting her chin at K-0 before replying in a series of whistles and tongue clicks. "I understand Basic, but I don’t speak it." The droid translated for her almost simultaneously, which was immensely helpful, but their language processor left a little to be desired. It was necessary - otherwise K-0 was prone to add their own… color to the conversation. But her sentence ended up becoming "Know Basic. Can’t speak."

"That’s… I’ve never met any life form that spoke Binary. I thought only droids could." Rey sounded a little awe-struck which was the only reason that Kina didn’t start into her usual speech about the ill-defined lines between those who were considered alive and those who weren’t.

"It’s not perfect," she said instead, listening to K-0 translate about half of what she was saying, "it can take some units a little getting used to, especially the older ones, but I get by."

BB-8 was done powering down, slumped on the table, and Kina pulled a stool up to the workstation, swinging a looking glass down and turning on one of the brighter lights. She felt, more than saw, Rey pull up a stool next to her.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Rey asked, hesitation in her voice.

Kina gave her a sideways look and then shrugged. "Doesn’t bother me."

As she worked, Kina could feel Rey leaning in closer, trying to peer through the magnifying lens. After a minute Kina reached up and swung it slightly towards the other woman. Then she began to speak, listening to K-0 mangle the full meaning but getting the gist of it.

"The thing about a memory converter is that it’s all about the order. Most people don’t realize that. They think if you backup the unit then you can be sloppy about the part replacement," Kina pointed with a set of pliers at the bundle of wires she was poking into. "Each of these has a specific function. They’re like nerves of a body. I can replace one from one part of your body to another, but it will be different. It won’t feel the same." Kina gently nudged the bundle, pulling one free, and then another. "But if you do that too much or too often the whole system won’t work."

Next to her Rey nodded, eyes focused on Kina’s work. She’d never had an audience before, and she appreciated the other woman’s quiet presence beside her. There was something about Rey that was comforting - something she hadn’t felt since she’d left home.

"There," Kina clicked, setting the unit back into its place inside the droid, tightening the braces that held it. Over an hour had gone by and she stretched, feeling bones crack and rumble as she did so. "That should do it."

Tapping the droid’s power panel in a staccato series she felt the low vibration begin and then the top unit slid so that it was completely upright. "Friend!" BB-8 trilled, turning its photoreceptor to look at both Rey and Kina. "Friends!"

"Welcome back small one," Kina whistled. "How do you feel?"

"All systems functioning optimally!" BB-8 replied, spinning in place before wobbling slightly back and forth.

Kina raised an eyebrow, giving the droid a dubious look. "Are you sure your orbiculate motor is functioning correctly?"

"It’s odd," Rey said from beside her, "It’s as though I’m listening to someone speak in a dream. I feel like I should know what you’re saying, like the meaning is right on the tip of my tongue. But I just can’t get there."

Kina jerked her head to Rey, looking down and realizing that K-0 had disappeared at some point. She turned back to the droid on the table, "BB-8 can you repeat what I say in Binary please?"

"BB-8 can you repeat what I say in Binary please?" The droid parroted before titling to look at her. "Friend, for what purpose is this? You are speaking in Binary."

"Yes, but Friend Rey does not understand me," Kina told them. "BB-8 I’d like to check your orbiculate motor. I don’t like the look of that wobble."

"Oh, he does that when he’s happy," Rey interjected, looking between the two of them.

Kina looked at her, then back at BB-8. "Is this true? Do you move like this when you are happy?"

BB-8 flashed their lights, repeating what Kina said before adding, "I am functioning optimally and I am enthusiastic to be doing so."

Kina raised an eyebrow before gesturing at the table, "Can you get down on your own?"

Rather than replying, the orange droid rolled towards the ramp, hitting the floor at a steady clip and circling between the two women a few times before settling to a stop. "All systems are functioning optimally!"

Rey laughed and Kina felt her own shoulders shaking. It was hard not to be amused. BB-8 rolled over, bumping into Kina’s shins and she squatted down to eye level to the droid’s photoreceptor.

"I may return to Friend Poe?" The droid asked.

"If something happens to you between here and there Friend Poe will be very upset with me," Kina started but felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I’ll make sure BB gets back to him, I’m going that way." The woman smiled at her and Kina smiled back standing and leaning against the table.

"Well as long as it’s on your head…"

As she trailed off Kina heard a thump, and then K-0 was back, translating her whistles into Basic even as BB-8 repeated it in Binary. The two droids looked at each other and then K-0 knocked roughly into the larger droid.

"No. Go. No. Bad." K-0 said quickly, continuing to ram into the other droid. BB-8 tilted his upper unit at them quizzically but was barely shifted by the smaller droid’s efforts.

"You two should go," Kina grinned, "before K-0 decides to bite someone."

Thankfully, BB-8 continued to repeat her words because K-0 just kept thumping into the droid, repeating "Go. Bad. Go. No. Bad."

Rey smothered a laugh, ducking around the crates to the front of the workshop, BB-8 close behind her. A few seconds later her head popped back around. "May I visit again?"

Kina nodded and watched K-0 chase them off. When the droid returned, mumbling to themself, Kina blushed. Then she began scolding them, but her heart wasn’t really in it. After a minute she dropped to one knee, stroking a finger along the side of her friend.

"No one will replace you K-0. I promise."

=

Chpt 3

[alpacaparkaseok]

Happy Holidays - BTS Style

1. “It’s fake mistletoe, that doesn’t count!”

15. “Psst.” “What?” “You look pretty.”

Pairing: Jimin x reader (Sariah)

Sariah’s eyes were wide as she watched the lights change colors to the beat of the music. When Jimin said that they were going to see Christmas lights, this is certainly not what she expected. 

Rows upon rows of Christmas trees stand tall on either side of the path, a string of people wandering before them as they try to complete the maze. She almost didn’t believe Jimin when he said that there was a Christmas tree maze in the middle of Seoul, it sounded ridiculous. 

Now, 45 minutes into trying to find their way out of the maze that is decked out with lit Christmas trees all programmed to music, Sarah definitely believes Jimin. 

“This is crazy,” Sariah says for the fourth time in the past ten minutes. Jimin chuckles beside her, leading her along.

“It’s fun though, right?”

Sariah is quick to reassure him. “This is amazing! The most fun I’ve had in weeks.”

Jimin smiles to himself, proud that he came up with such a fun idea. He’d been planning on asking Sariah out for a couple of months now, but today was really the only day he was able to. Thankfully she had been willing to come with him, although he’d accidentally forgot to tell her one important detail: that this was an actual date.

As far as she knows, this was just a fun hangout with her new friend. Here for study abroad and just so happening to become friends with Jimin’s younger brother all seemed like a happy coincidence.

But meeting Jimin as a result of his brother and him immediately taking a liking to her? Too good to be true.

And yet, here she was. Strolling through a Christmas tree maze while Jimin wracks his brain with a way to tell her that this is not just a casual hangout and that he doesn’t want her to go home and forget about him in a few months.

Sariah is lost in her own world as she follows the path, eyes sparkling in the Christmas lights. Jimin leans forward, smiling softly. 

“Psst.”

“What?” She turns to face him, taking Jimin off guard and nearly making him chicken out. Swallowing hard, Jimin brushes a strand of hair back off her cheek, watching how Sariah turns pink under his touch.

“You look pretty.”

Sariah’s eyes go wider but before she can say anything the group from up ahead begins shouting.

“You guys should turn left up here!”

Jimin jumps, shooting a glare at the group, but they ignore him and continue on their way. Sariah laughs at his expression, tugging Jimin’s arm to get him to start walking again. As she moves to remove her hand, Jimin’s hand grabs her own. He holds his breath, waiting to see what her reaction will be. When she doesn’t pull away, he lets out a sigh of relief. 

Hand in hand, they make their way down the path. Jimin continues to think of his next move, giving himself an internal pep talk.

A shiny ornament has him pulling Sariah down another path.

“What are you doing?” Sariah laughs.  “The other group said we should turn left here, not right!”

Readjusting his baseball cap and hoping he looks good, Jimin pretends to look confused. 

“Oh, did they? My bad...hey, look at that!” He points to the ornament hanging high up on the tree beside them, Sariah squinting to get a better look. Stepping in a little closer, Jimin shrugs. “Funny. I guess we know what that means...”

Sariah is still squinting, trying to figure out what on earth Jimin is talking about when he takes her other hand in his. Then it finally clicks.

Gasping at what’s about to transpire, Sariah immediately regrets what she says next. “It’s fake mistletoe, that doesn’t count!”

Jimin freezes in place before turning to glare up at the mistletoe ornament. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he grumbles before setting of in another direction.

“Where are we going?” Sariah asks, cursing herself for stopping him. Jimin whips around, pulling Sariah’s beanie down lower so as to keep her ears warm. 

“To find some real mistletoe!”

@jiminiepabo95​

[bandersnatcht]

The Birthday Party

You pause for a moment, the way the decision had come to you was unusual. It felt like a command rather than a choice. You blamed it on the lack of sleep, making you run on autopilot. You pull on the t-shirt, tucking it into the trousers, cigarette still hanging out of your lips. You shuffle into the kitchen area, brewing a cup of coffee. You use the ten odd minutes you planned spare to enjoy the hot drink, before putting on a leather jacket and adidas shoulder bag, slipping into a pair of black Doc Marten boots and rushing out the door.

After the several flights of stairs that smelt of piss, the trudge down the pavement and the quick visit to the vendors stand for a newspaper, you made it onto the bus. Mohan Takhur was a laid back boss, but as a woman working in a very male dominated job, it seemed important to make maximum effort. Plus, the new office was a good fifteen minutes further away.

You came into the office at only one minute past nine, walking across the room to find your desk. You spotted Colin clicking away at his computer. He was programming his new game Nohzdyve. He looked up as he spotted you come in, pulling his headphones down to speak to you.

“Morning, mate. I like your t-shirt. Good choice.” He saluted you with his fingers. You stopped by his desk for a chat.

“How’s the game coming along?” you asked, peering over at his screen full of code. He shrugged.

“It’s not far off actually.”

You looked to the door, noticing a young man with curly dark hair talking to Thakur. You felt an odd sense of deja vu watching them stand and talk, but shrugged it off.

"You should be expecting company," you warned Colin, nodding in the direction of the pair, who were heading toward Colin's desk.

"What's this? Kajagoogoo?" Thakur joked, referencing the sound escaping from Colin's headphones.

"You wish," Colin replied, putting his rollie between his lips and continuing to tap at his computer.

"The state of him, he's made enough this year to buy a Lamborghini and he still smokes roll-ups." Thakur came round to Colin's side. As much as he could be a nuisance, he was very proud to have Colin working for the company.

"Well, we're all smoking strychnine, so I don't blame him," you added in, having heard his reasoning already, and as the words fell off your lips you felt as though you'd said them before. Colin nodded his approval at you. The curly haired guy was still stood there, seemingly starstruck with his mouth slightly open.

"Anyway, this is Stefan, er..." Thakur began.

"B-Butler, Butler," he stammered self consciously.

"Have we met before?" you ask him. "I feel like we've met already." Stefan shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"Okay, this is (Y/n), she does all the cover work, helps with character design, and I'm Colin, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've played all of your games. All of them. Except the Commodore ones, I don't... don't have a Commodore," Stefan gushed, and you tried not to take his act of brushing you aside to heart. You were stood next to his idol after all.

"Great sound chip, the Commodore."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"This is my latest," Colin told him, gesturing the screen and hitting the run key. "It's called Nohzdyve, (Y/n)'s name, not mine." He pressed play, running the game. You leaned over to get a better view of the screen

"The sprites are so smooth," Stefan commented, obviously enamoured with Colin and his work.

"That took some doing."

Then the game crashed, resetting to a blank screen.

"Oh, bollocks," Colin cursed.

"What's that?" Thakur asked.

"It's a buffer error, video memory has been overrun," Stefan pointed out. You looked at him. He'd stolen your exact words from your lips. He shrugged.

"Seen it before," he dismissed.

"Anyway, let's get down to business, Stefan's got something to demo for us," Thakur pointed out. "(Y/n), you can join us, I want you on the cover art for this one."

The game took several turns down corridors, taking a path down a 3D perspective world. It was already a strong concept. You flicked through the book Stefan brought in with him.

"Bloody hell," Thakur exclaimed. "So it's like 3D Monster Maze?"

"Only when you're moving from choice to choice," Stefan explained, fiddling with the joystick. "It's actually an adventure game."

"Like The Hobbit?"

"Yeah... but without any typing," he seemed a little exasperated at Thakur's continuous missing of the point, but that was to be expected. You looked over the cover of the book. Jerome F. Davies. The name rung a bell; the guy went bonkers and killed his wife.

"Without any typing? So no... 'get lamp' or whatever?"

"That's right," Stefan told Thakur proudly. He laughed slightly, impressed, looking over to Colin, who nodded his own approval.

A figure appeared in the corridor on screen, a blue lion-like creature.

"Choices come up on the screen and you pick one against the clock," Stefan explained further. "Okay, he's Pax, he's the demon. He's in the book. So we've actually arrived at a choice point and then you can choose with the joystick."

PUNY HUMAN ! ! ! WILL YOU WORSHIP ME?

[ Deny Pax ] ---------- [ Worship Pax ]

[maine-writes]

Vonvon's Time Vacation: Part III, Winter Wonderland

Every travel brochure that features a beautiful hotel in the midst of an idyllic alpine paradise always like to emphasize the majesty of the great outdoors, the serenity of being far away from the chaos of metropolis, but all without leaving behind the conveniences and modernizations of today. Imagine taking a vacation in a tropical paradise, ostensibly to live the "island way", but with high-speed internet, cable, and a nearby familiar fast-food joint or coffee shop.

But always seem to fail to mention very obvious limitations and risks.

Such as weather.

Or the ever so rare "Trapped in a the middle of nowhere with a madman" situation that only really applies to hotels in the middle of nowhere and Airbnb.

Vonvon hurriedly scurried down a twisting hallway, flanked by storage cages made of slats of wood, locked by simply latches and a padlock. Their shoes squeaked on the cold concrete floors as they clumsily ran, occasionally glancing back down toward the other end of the hall. The grey lights of the hall flickered and buzzed, some dying entirely.

"Oh, Vonvoooonnn..." hissed a low, raspy voice. "Where are youuu?"

The child ducked around a corner, their back against the wood, clasping their mouth shut with their hand as they struggled to catch their breath. In their eyes, the dim glimmer of absolute fear.

As they peeked around the corner, peering down the hall, they saw a form slither out from the edge of the far turn.

It was a googly-eyed sock puppet, a demented smile scribbled on with red marker.

"I see you Vonnie," said the puppet, "You can't hide from me. I can hear your breath. I can smell your fear."

Vonvon scrambled to get away, running deeper into the darkest bowels of the basement. But how did they end up in this situation? How did a crazed killer get into the hotel?

It was around three in the afternoon, everyone had returned to a banquet room adjacent to the ballroom, where a staff of servers worked tirelessly to deliver their meals to them. Tonight, they were served a plate of beef bourguignon on top of garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert, they had an eggy flan with a topping of sweet, sticky caramel. Interestingly, the staff were rather short, a squat team of mostly identical looking oddballs who all seemed to be a bit dim. One notable server wore an eyepatch.

Vonvon looked around at all the empty tables, realizing that their party were the only guests in that evening. A troubling revelation when vacation.

They were just about halfway through their dessert when the lights suddenly died, only the dim afternoon light from the windows illuminating the room.

"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen." Said the tall front desk agent as she walked through the door. "It seems the storm has knocked out our electricity. We have a backup generator on standby, but until main power is back online, we will have to limit electrical use."

With a groan, Vonvon's party dragged their feet back to their rooms.

Vonvon flipped through the channels in their room's television set, all with the same program: static.

"Von, they said we need to limit electric use." Connie said, turning off the TV. "I'd rather not lose power to the lights early. Or heat."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Vonvon groaned. "Some vacation this is turning out to be."

"I'm sure they'll get the power back on soon."

Then there was a knock at the door. It was Sour Cream, peeking his head in.

"Hey, you guys seen my brother?"

Another instance of Onion wandering off to stave off the boredom. Another problem to add onto the load. To help in the search, Buck, Sadie, Jenny, and Lars joined him, and now to see if either Connie or Vonvon were up for it.

"We'll stay with Steven." Connie said, "Where is he?"

"He's in his room." Jenny replied, "I think he's a bit down."

"Ok, good luck guys."

As the group went down the hall, ready for the arduous task of searching for Onion, Connie and Vonvon gathered some blankets and pillows to take to Steven's room.

"You really think a pillow fort will cheer him up?" Vonvon inquired, a stack of pillows in hand.

"Are you kidding?" Connie laughed, "He'll love it!"

"Anything to get his mind off of it, huh?"

But as Connie raised her hand to knock, the door slowly creaked open, revealing a darkness within, illuminated by the flickering light of the TV set.

"Steven?" Connie said, finding no sign of him anywhere. "We brought pillows and blankets, thought we'd make a fort."

But the only thing in the room was a sock puppet, googly-eyes glued on, lying in front of the TV.

"Ok, this is weird." Vonvon said.

"Yeah, you stay here. I'll go find him."

Vonvon was now alone in a cold, dark room, accompanied only by a sock puppet. Nothing good can come of this.

Creeped out by the noise of the static, they turned off the TV and reached for the light switch. But when the lights flipped on, they were not greeted by a warm glow, but by sinister, blood-red light. They looked around the room in horror as they saw the mad rabblings of a crazed psychopath scribbed on the walls, revealed by the crimson glow.

No play makes a boy bored.

No play makes a boy bored.

No play makes a boy bored.

Written again and again and again and again and again and again on every surface, on the mirror, on the painting, on the mattress, and spiraling on the ceiling.

As Vonvon recoiled in horror, they looked at the TV, realizing that the sock puppet that was once there, was there no longer.

"Vonvon..." hissed a voice in the walls. "Want to play a game?"

And that's how they ended up in the basement, running for their life.

"Ok, obviously Dad is stressed out." Vonvon said to themself, "Maybe he just needs a hug."

"Vonnie..." said the sinister sock. "I plan to get under your skin..."

"No hug, no hug!"

Then they came upon a fork in the hall, one leading to darkness, the other to a doorway. They chose to risk it with the door.

As they slammed the door behind them, they turned to find themself trapped in the laundry room. On the far wall, there were large machines, baskets of linen and uniforms, and a cart of cleaning supplies. Above it were a series of windows, but too small for them to crawl through.

"Vonnieeeeee..."

Vonvon pressed their ear against the wooden door, listening as heavy footsteps drifted away. A sigh of relief escaped their lungs.

Then came a loud bang against the door, shaking its hinges, and Vonvon's sigh turned into a scream.

Then came another, and another, with each strike, the child screamed in fear.

"This door's pretty solid." panted the madman, gasping for air.

"I think it's oak." Vonvon sobbed.

"Then I guess I'll just have to huff and puff on this one then."

Vonvon could hear their pursuer take a step back, winding up for a mighty swing. They withdrew from the door as an axehead chopped through the wood, screaming in terror.

Peering in through the door was the puppet, an axe beside it.

"HERE'S COOKY!"

The child backed up toward the washing machines, pulling down tables and throwing baskets of clothes and fabrics on the floor in a vain attempt to make some sort of barrier or obstruction.

They then looked up at the windows, seeing the Garnet lookalike talking on a cellphone.

"Garnet!" Vonvon screamed, "Help me! Help me!"

But all she did, seeing the child waving their arms in distress, was wave back with a smile and return to her call.

Then Vonvon remembered that they had a cellphone.

"Right, stupid scared brain!"

They quickly went through their contacts, finding Pearl's cellphone number and called.

"Pearl's phone, Garnet speaking." responded a familiar voice.

"Garnet!" Vonvon screamed, "Get down here! Your disguises suck and Dad's gone berserk! Why'd you build a whole fountain with badly disguised statues?!"

"We're in the Caribbean." Garnet stated to Vonvon's disbelief. "We thought since you guys are on vacation, we should go on one too. Amethyst rode a shark."

Vonvon looked up through the window, watching the Garnet lookalike finish up her call before walking off.

"Tell Steven we said hi." Said Garnet, Lapis and Peridot laughing loudly in the background. "And don't forget, little kids shouldn't play in laundry rooms. There are exactly 47 ways to die in those rooms."

"Yeah, and I'm in Number 47!" Vonvon yelled into the phone, "Killed by crazed Dad!"

"Vonvon, don't be silly." Garnet said. "47 is Killed by Angry Ghost. Crazed Dad is number 4."

Then she hung up.

Out of options and out of luck, Vonvon threw their phone aside, brandishing a nearby brush as a weapon.

"Back off!" Vonvon yelled, failing to be intimidating, "I have a deadly brush!"

With one final push, the door came crashing down, splintering as it hit the concrete floor. Standing in the doorway was Vonvon's relentless pursuer; Onion, the sock puppet in hand.

"ONION!!!"

"He's such a handful sometimes, isn't he?" Jenny said. "Wandering off like that."

"Sour Cream thought he went to the maze out there and got lost." Buck added, pointing at a shivering Sour Cream wrapped in bundles of blankets, his feet soaking in a bucket of warm water. "Took hours for us to find him."

"Why didn't you come to the pool?" Steven asked, "One of the staff came by after you left and said they were going to keep it heated for us if we wanted to use it."

"Hey, I want to go to the pool." Sadie said.

"That sounds like a fun time." Lars agreed, "I think we can get bathing suits through my head if Lion's with the Gems."

Vonvon was tired. They sipped quietly at a juicebox, reflecting on the traumatic events that transpired. To think, this is what Onion was like as a child. The mild mannered young man they know in the future is the exact opposite of this strange boy.

"So Vonvon," Connie began, "What do you want to do now?"

The child thought about it, not for long though. There was one thing on their mind since the time they thought they were going to die.

"Think the kitchen can make me a burger?"

@artsycooky13